Embed A Timer/Stopwatch Into A Video Stream ?

[The Gloimel]

Hi,

Is there a means to embed a timer or stopwatch type functionality into a video stream, and if so what software would I need to do this?

What I would like to achieve is to be able to edit the video stream and have the timer placed in the stream at a specific point with time 0.00 then as the video stream plays the timer runs automatically and if I freeze the video stream at any point then I can see the evolved time to that point. If possible I need the timer to be accurate to one hundredth of a second. The timer would need to be permanently in the video so that if i sent the file to a colleague they would be able to see it without having to edit the video stream.

I am not sure if it is possible, however, if it is possible I would be grateful for any help with it.


Rgds
The Gloimel

[cosmicma]

first off you will need a video of the stopwatch counting the amount of desired time and then you would overlay the stopwatch on the video

the best way is to record a stopwatch for the amount of time you need and use that

[WRATH OF BOD]

just capture somthing like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lgn22Cn9g4
or this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Rxb...eature=related
or this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFLBc...eature=related
& overlay

[The Gloimel]

Thanks for the replies.

If I have a video of a horse race and the gates/starting stalls open about 30 seconds into the video what I hope to be able to do is to get the overlay of the stopwatch/timer to start from zero when the horses leave the gates/starting stalls. I think that I need to advance the horse racing video frame by frame until I get to the frame where the gates/starting stalls begin to open and attach or overlay the stopwatch to start at that specific frame.

Unfortunately, I have never done any video editing at all and am at a loss where to start. Is there a free download of some editing software that I can use or would I need to buy some software. Also, is it possible to overlay the stopwatch/timer to start at a specific frame that is not at the very beginning of the video stream?

Apoligies for what may be very basic questions but I am a total novice at video editing and overlaying.


Rgds
The Gloimel

[WRATH OF BOD]

have a Look At tutarials, i posted a tutarial last week on picture in picture(overlay)
raly easy with sony vegas 8,9,10

[The Gloimel]

have a Look At tutarials, i posted a tutarial last week on picture in picture(overlay)
raly easy with sony vegas 8,9,10

WRATH OF BOD,

Thank you for the help, I have looked at the tutorial you provided and also downloaded a stopwatch graphic so i am nearly ready to go.

One last point if you could please advise, I will probably only need video editing software to do basic stuff which will include the overlay I need. Which of the Sony Vegas applications would you recommend as there seem to be quite a few options and I have never done any video editing so am not sure which one is best for my needs. Do I need to get the Sony Vegas Pro v10 to do this as it sems quite expensive for the use I will get out of it as a "non video editing" person?

Thanks once again for the help, most appreciated.


Rgds
The Gloimel

[WRATH OF BOD]

try vegas 8 pro BUT Make Sure You Follow The Instrucions For Install To The Letter,If you Havnt installed anything from the usual places(downloads???) before it can be tricky & might not Run.i use 9 but not any dif between 8-9 realy.

[The Gloimel]

Update:

I managed to get a working version of Sony Vegas Pro v10 and have also got the timer embedded in the video. I did not use an overlay but instead I sliced the video at a specific frame then used the Vfx timecode to start at the sliced frame. It all works OK but now I am stuck when it comes to saving the file.

The original file that I loaded into Vegas was an mp4 file but now that I have got the timer in the file I cannot get an option to save it as an mp4 file, instead, I have some options to save as project files etc. However, I wish to send the file to a colleague who does not have Vegas and I wish to send it in a file format that can be played on a PC using a player or similar. Surely there must be a way to do this rather than have to save it as a weird format. Unfortunately, my total lack of experience with video editing is getting in the way.

Any help most appreciated


Rgds

[WRATH OF BOD]

easy, goto file..render as...pick format & select output folder & wait, sorted.

[The Gloimel]

Brilliant, done it, thanks for all the help. Good stuff this Vegas malarky.

Rgds