Running Clock Graphic at DVinfo.net

Anthony Marotti · September 17th, 2007, 05:20 PM

Hello All,

I need a clock graphic that will run in real time. The idea is that we are showing how long a process will take and we want a clock to start counting the time when the technician starts, and stop it once the process is finished... we'll run it in the lower right corner.

I have AE, but if this is already available, that would be great!

If not available, any tips on how to do this??

Thanks guys!!

Shawn McCalip · September 17th, 2007, 05:39 PM

In After Effects, there is an Effect under Text called Timecode. Apply that effect to your layer of footage or a layer above and you got yourself timecode!

Hope this helps.

Daniel Ross · September 17th, 2007, 06:44 PM

Or if you want analog, you can easily make a clock face in photoshop and rotate a hand, or hands on it.

David Fleming · September 17th, 2007, 07:14 PM

I needed a clock for a project once and I did with a couple of shareware / freeware software downloads like this.

1) Download a clock program that will display a clock in whatever format you want. I don’t remember what I used, but it would let me change the font, color, size, background of the clock. I am sure if you search around download.com you can find something you like.

2) Get a screen capture program that will let you capture your screen (or a portion of it) to a video file. Again, I don’t remember what I found, but I think it was a time limited demo that let me specify a region of the screen, press record, then create an AVI or MOV. It was desigened for people creating demo videos for software I think.

3) Set the recorder to record and then start the clock running. If you need a stopwatch showing the time something takes then just set the clock to stopwatch mode and record for longer than the longest clip you will need to time. You will end up with a movie of a clock counting from 0 – whatever (or counting down if you need it).

4) Use your NLE software to position, resize, crop, and overlay the clock video (I actually keyed out the black background using and alpha key so the digits floated over the video) to place the clock over the video you want to show time for. If you need to lapse time, then just cut the video file so the stopwatch time matches what you want it to read.

Hope this helps out

Anthony Marotti · September 17th, 2007, 07:38 PM

Hey, thanks guys, great tips!!

Dearl Golden · September 17th, 2007, 08:02 PM

"SnagIt" From TechSmith (http://www.techsmith.com) will record screen video, as the post above suggests, and there is a free, fully functioning 30 day trial.

September 17th, 2007, 05:20 PM	#1
Anthony Marotti Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 263	Running Clock Graphic Hello All, I need a clock graphic that will run in real time. The idea is that we are showing how long a process will take and we want a clock to start counting the time when the technician starts, and stop it once the process is finished... we'll run it in the lower right corner. I have AE, but if this is already available, that would be great! If not available, any tips on how to do this?? Thanks guys!! __________________ AM

September 17th, 2007, 07:38 PM	#5
Anthony Marotti Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 263	Hey, thanks guys, great tips!! __________________ AM

September 17th, 2007, 05:39 PM	#2
Shawn McCalip Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Anchorage, AK Posts: 315	In After Effects, there is an Effect under Text called Timecode. Apply that effect to your layer of footage or a layer above and you got yourself timecode! Hope this helps.

September 17th, 2007, 06:44 PM	#3
Daniel Ross Major Player Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Marin & Davis, CA, USA Posts: 418	Or if you want analog, you can easily make a clock face in photoshop and rotate a hand, or hands on it.

September 17th, 2007, 07:14 PM	#4
David Fleming Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springfield, MO Posts: 42	I needed a clock for a project once and I did with a couple of shareware / freeware software downloads like this. 1) Download a clock program that will display a clock in whatever format you want. I don’t remember what I used, but it would let me change the font, color, size, background of the clock. I am sure if you search around download.com you can find something you like. 2) Get a screen capture program that will let you capture your screen (or a portion of it) to a video file. Again, I don’t remember what I found, but I think it was a time limited demo that let me specify a region of the screen, press record, then create an AVI or MOV. It was desigened for people creating demo videos for software I think. 3) Set the recorder to record and then start the clock running. If you need a stopwatch showing the time something takes then just set the clock to stopwatch mode and record for longer than the longest clip you will need to time. You will end up with a movie of a clock counting from 0 – whatever (or counting down if you need it). 4) Use your NLE software to position, resize, crop, and overlay the clock video (I actually keyed out the black background using and alpha key so the digits floated over the video) to place the clock over the video you want to show time for. If you need to lapse time, then just cut the video file so the stopwatch time matches what you want it to read. Hope this helps out

September 17th, 2007, 08:02 PM	#6
Dearl Golden Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Gallatin, TN Posts: 147	"SnagIt" From TechSmith (http://www.techsmith.com) will record screen video, as the post above suggests, and there is a free, fully functioning 30 day trial.