Need FCE plug-in to display source date/time

Discussion in 'Digital Video' started by frankacano, Dec 23, 2008.

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  1. frankacano, Dec 23, 2008

    frankacano macrumors newbie

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    #1
    Remember those old video cameras where you could push a button and the date and/or time of the shooting would appear at the bottom of the screen?

    Now I have a Sony SR12 and import with iMovie (like the way it names files) and build projects in FCE.

    Does anyone know of a way to display the date and time embedded in the clip on the output like the old cameras used to do?

    Thanks!

    PS I have looked at CGM DVE and TooMuchTooSoon "clock" plug-ins but they are only up/down counters and do not pull date/time data form the video stream.
     
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  2. DPA, Dec 24, 2008

    DPA macrumors 65816

    DPA

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    #2
    Do you want this to make it look like a home video or because you need it dated? If it's just for looks then you can just add a text layer. Find a pretty font here or [URL="http://www.1001fonts.com]here[/URL] to make it look like it's real. If you are looking to make it because you need the date and time. Your camera is a new HD camcorder as you have said and it record on a 120GB HDD. Correct? I am not familiar with the new HDD recording camcorders. So I don't know if it even records time and date on your camera. If it does you still would have had to set up the time, time zone, date, etc. :eek: I hope I could help. I will be online most of the time throughout the rest of the holiday season and a lot more after the holidays. PM me if you have any questions or post a reply.:D
     
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  3. frankacano, Dec 24, 2008

    frankacano thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #3
    FCP.guru.guy,
    Thanks for the ideas.

    I am doing game films for a soccer team. I want to be able to display the time and date so that my customers can know where in the game they are at any given point and go back to it.

    When I play back on the camera it shows date and time on the screen.
    I expect this data is also carried over into the .dv file when the clips are imported.

    In iMovie, you can see the date and time as you move your cursor across the clip. It is a record of the date and time from the camera when the clip was shot.

    Yes, I set the date time and zone in the camera when I got it.


    My guess is that the plug-in needs to some how access the time code inside the movie and display it.


    -Frank
     
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  4. DPA, Dec 24, 2008

    DPA macrumors 65816

    DPA

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    #4
    Usually the only information taken off of a DV tape is the time code. The easiest way that I know of would be to capture in iMovie and then move the files to your project folder in the capture scratch folder. This should give the dates and times. This is should be easier than trying to find a plug-in. Even if you do find one, you may find that the plug-in is $100.:mad: You also could se the date and time in the log and capture window before you capture. This way the date and time would be in the Sequence # (or whatever you named it) bin in the long line of data. You can arrange these columns of data by dragging the title at the top over. This way you don't have to scroll left and right. Once you have your data, you can add a text layer. You can pick a nice font also. Every 30 frames (each second) you should paste the same text layer. Go to the controls tab and increase the seconds spot. You could also do this with the plugins that you mentioned in you original post. I hope I could help. Once again, feel free to PM me or post a reply. I will be on for a while.:apple::D:apple:
     
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  5. CaptainChunk, Dec 26, 2008

    CaptainChunk macrumors 68020

    CaptainChunk

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    #5
    I'm not quite sure if FCE has this filter (it's in FCP, I know for sure), but look under Effects --> Video Generators for a filter called "Time Code Reader." That filter will run overlaid time code over the clip, sourced from the time code that originally came off the tape.
     
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