Photoshop Batch Problem

[sheeny]

Mike posted a lovely time lapse overt the AAO this morning that had a sequence where each frames was added to the previous one to build up a startrail at the same rate the movie was playing. I thought I'd have a go at writing a PS action/batch to do just that.

Now when I manually do all these steps it works like a dream, but in the batch, it makes no change to the images:shrug:. What am I doing wrong?

Here's my procedure:

Before starting the batch I create a new blank image with black background. Select All, copy, and then close this image. There is now a black image in the clipboard. Then I run a batch process on the images that uses the following action:

1. Open the file.
2. Make a new layer.
3. Paste the clipboard image to the new layer.
4. Set the blending mode for the layer to lighten.
5. Flatten the image.
6. Select All.
7. Copy to the clipboard (for pasting into the next image)
8. Save the file.
9. Close the file.

This should leave the first image unchanged, but add all previous startrail images into each frame from there on to build up the startrail, but it's not. It doesn't change the images, and it doesn't close them once they are open.

Al.

[Octane]

I think it's just a limitation to some things that Photoshop can/can't do with regards to automation.

Which version of Photoshop are you running?

H

[sheeny]

CS5

Al.

[Octane]

I'll have a poke around when I get home. If you're trying to do what I think you are, then, it's something I was hoping to try myself with data I captured at Milford Sound. :)

H

[sheeny]

Solved it!:thumbsup:

One problem was that the save command is not available as soon as the layers are flattened/changed, so it seems to have skipped all commands after that. Another problem I found was the open command - it was only opening a specific file and not each file in turn.

So... the procedure is:

Make a new image, blank, black background.
Select all and copy it to the clipboard.

Have all your source images in one directory and make a new directory for the target directory.

The Action will be as follows:
1. Make Layer.
2. Paste.
3. Set current layer blending mode to lighten.
4. Flatten image.
5. Select all
6. Copy

:D

(This is one way of doubling the length of your timelapses when you don't have a lot of data.;))

Al.

[bartman]

Wicked Thanks Al ( and Mike) I have been waiting for the tutorial on this.( I think I asked Mike a while ago).
Cheers, I'm gunna have fun with this ( if it works :) )
Thanks for the guidelines!
Bartman

[bartman]

Oops jumped the gun there a bit.....I thought Mike had posted on the Projects and Articles section a guide to his startrail timelapse.
Could not find it ....so I'm wondering what "AAO" is?
:shrug::question::thanx:
and if you can provide a link:D
Thanks
Sheepish Bartman

[iceman]

The processing you're specifying - is that just to create the star trails image itself?

Or how are you going to record the process of it building up the image?

Oh I think I get it - you're saving each intermediate image and then will feed that into a normal timelapse movie?

[sheeny]

No...

Yep.

I've done it. I assembled my time lapse video from all the little bits I captured, including both the normal timelapse of the stars plus the corresponding accumulating startrails at 720p... 4.7GB! :eyepop: Does that sound right or am I using the wrong codec?

BTW Virtual Dub seems to have gone a bit berserk on me...:lol:... it puts some of my clips in the final compilation multiple times in different spots... weird!

Man, is this a way to fill in a lot of time!:P


Al.

[sheeny]

Have a look here:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=82522

Al.

[bartman]

Thanks Al,
Sorry about the confusing post I made, I reacted before I properly read and digested the info.
I just remembered a post ( that I thought Mike had made some time ago) in which he had done the "startrail time lapse". Prob not him.
So thanks for you insight and hope to see your results soon!
Cheers
Bartman

[iceman]

Yeh I have done it before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRJysFYWQqo

But I did it a different way - I took screen capture of startrails.exe software as it built up the image.

It was no good for HD video or large images.

[bartman]

Thanks Mike ......At least now I know I'm not going crazy.
However....I still remember (?) a clip of a similar thing where the ST-TL looked like meteors. So it was like the ST-TL, but as it progressed, the trailing part would vanish. It also had clouds coming through, and trees on the left hand side......(Thought it was yours....). Do you remember such a clip?

Al, I managed to do a ST-TL and made the clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43YDzvUAy5w) in Picasa. Its a 7 sec test clip ( to be honest it would have been longer had CS5 not crashed - prob due to to many windows open and me surfing the web whilst it was crunching the pics).
I had 198 pics but only 118 processed. The clip is in HD and is only 3.9MB ( the 118 pics). The original pics were 4288x2848 pix jpegs and the clip is reduced to 1080.

So once again thank you for the effort of putting this CS action together.
(I'll try and see if I can figure out the 'meteor effect' myself....but cant see that hap'ning soon!)
Bartman:D

[iceman]

You mean this one?

http://www.mikesalway.com.au/2008/11/04/raining-stars-at-lostock/

[bartman]

No sorry Mike......
It was a video clip:question::shrug:
That first pic is nice though!
Bartman