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zenvideo  
#1 Posted : Wednesday, November 30, 2016 7:18:22 AM(UTC)
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ShowStarter is a small remote control application for vMix, explicitly designed to help self-op presenters of one-man web shows, or anyone wanting some extra automation to make life easier. It can run on the same PC as vMix, or any other on the network, and controls the cueing up and running of the "opening video" title sequence, during which the presenter's audio will be muted, and then the transition into the "main camera" shot and optional overlay of a (lower third) caption.

There's a short video showing it in action which can be downloaded from Dropbox and the software itself is at my zenvideo.co.uk site. Note that the example video uses a pre-recorded clip to simulate the live camera and the audio input that gets muted, but hopefully you'll get the idea of how it works. Please see the ReadMe file in the download package for more information.
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thanks 7 users thanked zenvideo for this useful post.
stigaard on 11/30/2016(UTC), sinc747 on 11/30/2016(UTC), Stavlin on 12/1/2016(UTC), SportsNetUSA.net on 12/1/2016(UTC), richardgatarski on 12/31/2016(UTC), peterphelan on 1/14/2017(UTC), RobLambert on 6/7/2017(UTC)
IceStream  
#2 Posted : Wednesday, November 30, 2016 9:44:58 AM(UTC)
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@ zenvideo

Awesome little automation tool Martin!
Curious to know if there is an option to carry over an underlying audio track and slowly fade it out after transitioning to the "Main Camera Shot"?


ICe
zenvideo  
#3 Posted : Wednesday, November 30, 2016 2:36:42 PM(UTC)
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IceStream wrote:
Curious to know if there is an option to carry over an underlying audio track and slowly fade it out after transitioning to the "Main Camera Shot"?

If the "title video" duration extends past the point where the transition is set to take place, then it will carry on playing as long as all the "automatic" options are off. (eg. Automatically mix audio, Automatically Pause after Transition). Then, assuming you have control over creation of the title video, create it to include a slow audio fade after the transition point, and then you'll get the effect you're looking for.
IceStream  
#4 Posted : Wednesday, November 30, 2016 3:34:39 PM(UTC)
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@ zenvideo

Thanks for your response, the reason I ask is because the issue has been raised before with regards to slowly fading out the audio "automatically", and unfortunately, there is no single 'function' in vMix to accomplish this task just yet, but rather is only accomplished with a series of progressive "Triggers", I was just curious as to whether your little app had a means to accomplish that.


Ice
zenvideo  
#5 Posted : Wednesday, November 30, 2016 7:09:32 PM(UTC)
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IceStream wrote:
... but rather is only accomplished with a series of progressive "Triggers", I was just curious as to whether your little app had a means to accomplish that.

It could be done in a similar way, by a series of progressive volume changes, given that I'm using the vMix API and so only have the same commands available that can also be used in Shortcuts, Macros, etc. Broadly speaking, the idea behind ShowStarter is to automate the control functions that have to be performed "live", in real-time, rather than things that can be done in pre-production like including an audio fade at the end of the title sequence.
sinc747  
#6 Posted : Wednesday, November 30, 2016 7:50:52 PM(UTC)
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A W E S O M E !

- Tom

SportsNetUSA.net  
#7 Posted : Thursday, December 1, 2016 2:16:25 PM(UTC)
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Martin,

You are the ZEN MASTER!
Cpilcher  
#8 Posted : Thursday, December 1, 2016 5:43:31 PM(UTC)
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Such a nice Add-0n. I've just now been playing around with the software and I have everything working great, I love the countdown timer, and the fact that it can be adjusted regardless of the length of the intro video.

I am getting an error popup stating "Enter an integer between 2 and 10." It seems to be referring to the Overlay delay and duration settings. But even with the error it seems to be working exactly as I have set it. I have an input 3 set as the overlay input, a delay of 7 seconds before it goes live, and a duration of 14 seconds. Maybe I have some other setting wrong but I thought I would let you know.

Is there a fee or donation required for this software? I will use this regularly on my productions, and am happy to help fund the development. Well done!

Chuck
zenvideo  
#9 Posted : Friday, December 2, 2016 7:21:26 AM(UTC)
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Cpilcher wrote:
I am getting an error popup stating "Enter an integer between 2 and 10." It seems to be referring to the Overlay delay and duration settings. But even with the error it seems to be working exactly as I have set it. I have an input 3 set as the overlay input, a delay of 7 seconds before it goes live, and a duration of 14 seconds. Maybe I have some other setting wrong but I thought I would let you know.

Thank you, Chuck. Yes, there were a few "cosmetic" bugs introduced when I added the Overlay feature but forgot to initialise any values for settings that should be non-zero. Once you've entered your settings and they're saved as the defaults then you shouldn't get those spurious warnings and, as you found, it didn't prevent the program from working as expected. I've corrected it for the next release, although since it's non-fatal I'll wait a little longer before uploading it in case there's anything else that gets reported.

As it stands, there's no charge for this particular software, and I don't foresee that much further development given that it only has one primary task to perform.
Cpilcher  
#10 Posted : Friday, December 2, 2016 10:03:37 AM(UTC)
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Sounds good. Thanks for the reply. Can't wait to give it a shot live tomorrow night. Another element of my production that can be set in advance to make my life easier. Thanks.

Chuck
hubert17  
#11 Posted : Friday, December 2, 2016 12:15:04 PM(UTC)
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sinc747 wrote:
A W E S O M E !

- Tom



Eastern guy Tom Sinclair would simply love this! haha!
zenvideo  
#12 Posted : Friday, December 30, 2016 1:34:59 PM(UTC)
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IceStream wrote:
... the reason I ask is because the issue has been raised before with regards to slowly fading out the audio "automatically", and unfortunately, there is no single 'function' in vMix to accomplish this task just yet, but rather is only accomplished with a series of progressive "Triggers", I was just curious as to whether your little app had a means to accomplish that.

I have been experimenting with adding the option of a separate audio track being played along with the video file containing the title sequence, and having it fade (rather then cut) as the video transitions to the main camera shot. I've simply sent a series of volume setting commands in quick succession which produces the desired effect, and the revised file can be downloaded here. It's worth remembering that many professional mixing desks prior to the 1970s had "quadrant faders" which comprised an array of fixed resister attenuators with a wiper contact that moved from one to the next, effectively changing the volume in small increments rather than in a continuously variable way, so it's not as big a compromise as might be imagined.
IceStream  
#13 Posted : Friday, December 30, 2016 6:06:40 PM(UTC)
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@ zenvideo

Awesome stuff Martin, I look forward to trying it out!


Ice
richardgatarski  
#14 Posted : Saturday, December 31, 2016 4:23:32 PM(UTC)
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Mr Kay (aka zenvideo),
I just want to chime in and say jolly good - and generous!
Haven't tried yet, but looking forward to.

Tack!
IceStream  
#15 Posted : Sunday, January 1, 2017 9:41:09 PM(UTC)
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@ zenvideo

Nicely done Martin!
I've had a chance to play around with the latest version for a few minutes and the BG audio fade out works well (once I figured out how to set-it up properly) and is much nicer than a hard cut.
If anything, I think it would benefit from a few more options, like the ability to extend and/or delay the fade out. My optimal opening would have a 2 or 3 second delay and then a 7 to 15 second slow fade out after the presenter begins to speak,
Never-the-less, I am very impressed with what you have developed Mr. Kay, it will undoubtedly be very beneficial to the "One Man" operations or those looking to 'Automate' various aspects of their Shows.


Ice
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