Creating a 90min stopwatch with CS3?
 

Hey all, this is killing me. I'm trying to overlay a clock onto a soccer match. Soccer clocks don't stop, they count from zero to 90 minutes, in a MM:SS format.

I can't use time code generators (and then matting out the parts I don't need) because it adds an hour slot once you hit 60mins. I need the clock to go to 61, 62, 63, etc. In After Effects, there is the numbers effect, and I think I could take a 60 second clip of black, put number 0 at the beginning, keyframe, and number 60 at the end, and keyframe again to get the seconds, but repeating the process for minutes, then compositing, while possible, wouldn't be a real synced clock. It would be hard to match it up. I might still try it though.

Is there a simple way of doing this that I'm missing? None of the NLE's will let you do a custom timecode that will actually count from zero to 90. I suppose I could point a camera at the clock next match and record a 90 minute count and just have that element laying around...or I could get a soccer match on my DVR and just matte out everything but the clock and borrow theirs, but it all seems pretty convoluted.

Any help would be appreciated...

Well, I ended up using my microwave. Put the thing on 90 minutes and started it counting down on the Timer. Zoomed in tight and shut the light off. Nice time ticking down on a black background. Then I'll reverse the clip.

Can't believe that's what I resorted to. I found numerous timers out there on the webs, but either they maxed out at 60 minutes for a countdown, or added an hour slot on a count-up. It's really nuts.

One guy I read about actually used photoshop to create every number from one to ninety and manually dropped them into the timeline.

Cool great save .. but you should never run the microwave with nothing in it. Cheers.

Didn't have to run it. It has a "timer" button that you can push and it will just count down without running.

Use the Timecode effect in AE. Set Time Units to 60 on a 1.30.00.00 timeline. Render out and reverse in PP.

Ann, the timecode effect will not let you display 90:00. It will display as 01:30:00 instead.

However, if you crop out the seconds display, you can then add another solid with a number effect on it and keyframe it to count down from 90 to zero. then crop it also, resize so it matches the timcode layer and move/synchronise it so it counts properly (going 90:00, 89:59, 89:58 etc rather than 90:00, 90:59, 90:58, etc).

I think filming the microwave was probably easier than this method, but this is definitely better than using photoshop and doing it manually like that other guy!

Ah, missed the 90 minutes in minutes.

I think Jeremiah's microwave solution is rather ingenious, and I think I'll do this as well, just to have it as an asset.

If you guys want to judge how it worked, you can view the final product here:

I had to create the scorebug by hand...shot the microwave, de-saturated it and adjusted the gamma. Reversed the clip. Used the cookie-cutter tool to crop the clock, then used the pan/crop tool to scale it and move it to the scorebug.

It's the two videos labeled "Manchester City" here: portlandtimbers.com: Live


Jeremiah

Very good.