I saw that feature slideshow generator is already in the roadmap but I found a workaround:
Import first picture, set desired duration as default, import other images and add all to timeline.
The thing I dont understand is that when I try to set shorter duration by pressing down arrow in the duration text field the last two digits ends on number 24 and then higher digits overflow. Is this some special number or is it a bug?
Another thing is that when I try to import high resolution pictures shotcut slows down as hell - I think this will be very useful for many users if it will be solved in some future version. Maybe perform resampling when importing or something like that?
Another thing is that default duration is ten minutes - quite long time i think for most usage.
A bit confusing is that when you set some duration as default it will apply only for images that will be imported, not for that which are already in playlist.
Can you please tell me how does work the Image sequence checkbox and what it is its function?
And at last question: is there some way to select multiple items on timeline or is it planned? For example when you want to remove more clips but not the whole timeline?
Sorry for super long post and thank you in advance for your time
This is a timecode field: HH:MM:SS:FF where FF = frames, and your project is 25 fps. Also, since numbering starts at 0, 24 is the highest frame number for 25 fps. 04:00 is four seconds. Press arrow down, and one less than that is 03:24 - three seconds and 24 frames. It is normal behavior and common in video applications.
I disagree with some of your opinions because this is not a slideshow feature; it is the properties for an image. Therefore, when you change the default image duration, it most definitely should not affect the duration of all other images already in the composition. All the program knows is that this is an image. It does not know how you are using it - that it is a for a slide show. The default duration is 4 seconds, not 10 minutes. 10 minutes is the maximum duration and gives people some flexibility to choose a duration using the scrub bar in the Source player and to drag its length on the Timeline. There are many situations where you want an image for more than a few seconds - for example, a logo overlay on a track.
The Image sequence checkbox is for a collection of image files representing the frames of an animation or video that have a number in their name. Normally when you open the first image you get only that image. You click the checkbox to make it automatically step through the sequentially numbered files. Shotcut does not try to automatically detect an image sequence because camera files are also frequently numbered sequentially, but they are not typically intended to be viewed like an animation.
There are no plans to add multiple selection to the timeline in the near to mid-term. I cannot say, however, for the long term. It can come, but it adds many special cases to deal with and also adds user complexity, which complicates usability.
Yes, very high res photos are slow. There is a reason for this that becomes obvious when slow, smooth pan and zoom animation becomes available. Basically the cropped or resampled image is not cached. Rather, the full source res is to make it available for effects. This might be improved at some time but not right now.
I had a similar problem with creating a slideshow quickly. I had 620 photos that I wanted to create in a slideshow with cross-fade transitions. I then wanted to add sections of video into the overall slideshow as well. I was finding it frustrating not being able to multi-select the photos from the playlist to add to the timeline, and also not being able to add multiple cross fades in one go. It looked like it was going to take a couple of days to do them all one-by-one. So I spent a couple of days writing a program to do it for me instead.
It can be used to create slideshows or timelapse. Itâs a bit rough and doesnât do a lot of error, or abnormal condition checking, but it does the job quickly. Here it is - with no support or promises. I hope others find it useful.
You simply select the image files you want and it creates the .MLT file that you can open with Shotcut. It adds all of the images to the Playlist, and creates a Timeline with all of the images in the order you select them with transitions between them. It doesnât check for image file types, so just make sure that you only select image files that Shotcut will support, and no extraneous files, like âdesktop.iniâ.
Your slideshow addition works well and will be handy.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Any chance of adding an option for some very subtle image movement like, zoom in and/ or zoom out?. It would probably need to be about 5% or less. That would make the slideshow nicer to watch.
Thank again
goorawin
Hi @goorawin,
Thanks for the suggestion. Iâm just about to head off on a holiday for 7 weeks and so probably wonât have time to look at it until I get back. Hopefully by then, the capability may make it into Shotcut itself. If itâs not, or I have some spare time and itâs easy to add Iâll have a look at it.
Are you suggesting a different type of transition, or the addition of a filter to each slide?
Thank you for your response.
My idea would be to have a dissolve between each photo as it does now with the addition of the option to select a zoom in or out for every photo within the slideshow (meaning all images would move the same direction). This zoom would need to be continue through each dissolve so there was no stopping of movement. The starting point for a zoom-in would be the full photo and the ending point for a zoom-out would be the full photo.
To make it more flexible is to have an option to alternate the zooming-in and zooming-out between a selectable number of photos. This would allow, say 10 photos to zoom-in and the next 10 zoom-out.
The only other option that may be worth considering is the zoom percentage.
Of course you could have many other effects options but that just add to its complexity.
I hope you have a great holiday, seven weeks sound wonderful.
Hi @goorawin,
Iâm not sure if I have the knowledge and skill for that. If these functions already exist within Shotcut, could you set up a short sample slideshow of say 6 images 3 zooming in and 3 zooming out send my a sample .MLT file?
Hi, Greg,
Thanks for taking the time to create the program âSlideshow for Shotcutâ.
Your post is quite old but the problem persists.
I came across this while trying to create a slide show. I downloaded your âSlideshow for Shotcutâ and gave it a try. For a test, I used just 14 images, all the same dimensions. I followed the popup instructions:
Select the Files you want to include and where you want to save the output
Set the Slide Time and the Transition Time
Then Process the Files
âŚ
Result: an MLT file appeared in the designated folder. When I clicked on it to open it, what opened was the normal Shotcut starting screen. No sign of any slide show or any part of it, and no sign of how to open it or put it into the timeline.
So: how is one supposed to proceed after generating the MLT file with your program?
Thanks,
BG
Hi Greg - gjc2:
I see that no enhanced version of your program has been released in a long time.
I could use some enhancements to your Slideshow utility and would be willing to
enhance the code myself if you are willing to release the source.
Hi PaulW,
Sure - as long as you donât criticise my code. It was created in Visual Studio 2015. It was a quick and dirty solution to my problem at the time. Iâm sure that it doesnât comply with the standards around MLT files, but it was enough for ShotCut to work it out and tidy up the rest. The only thing I added from the original version was the frame-rate. Iâve zipped up the project files and uploaded it to my website. Iâll send you a download link in a PM.
Hi BG,
My software creates a bit of a bare-bones MLT file. It may not meet the minimum specifications, but at the time I created it, it was enough for Shotcut to be able to load it and then write a more complete MLT file.
Iâve just upgraded to Shotcut 20.02.17. I tried it with some photos of varying sizes and dimensions on one of my local drives as well as from a network-connected drive and they worked fine. I even tried a mixture of JPG stills and MP4 video files, which it was never designed to handle, but even that worked.
As long as the files can normally be oppened by Shotcut then it should work, but I really canât gaurantee it. Itâs hard to know exactly what is happenning on your PC. Iâve attached the current version of my program that Iâve been using. Slideshow_for_Shotcut.zip (12.2 KB)
Aloha, Greg,
Just tried again after downloading from the latest link you provided.
Pretty much the same result. Created a file/image sequence (see attached). Tried to open in Shotcut (both drag & drop, and âOpenâ) but Shotcut gave âfailed to openâ message. Running Win7, 64bit, Shotcut 20-02-17. Never had a problem like this with Shotcut before.
It is probably creating invalid XML, perhaps by not encoding reserved characters that might be in your file name. You can search for an xml lint web site and paste the contents in there to check it. Or, you can upload the file in a reply here to let others help.
Thanks - It was a quick and dirty solution to serve my needs. I was hoping that the functionality would get buit into shotcut at some stage. I avoid the use of reserved characters in my filenames and folder names, which is probably why I didnât have any problems. Iâll have a quick look at the code when I get a chance and see if I can fix it easily.
