MooVer creates a QuickTime movie from a sequence of Macintosh PICT data files dropped on it. It can also add a sound track if a System 7 sound file is dropped on it. MooVer works on both 68k-based Macs and the new Power Macintoshes, and requires at least System 7.0, and QuickTime version 1.6 or newer.
You can optionally "add subtitles" under each image frame. In this case, MooVer will subtitle each frame with text. It will either use the name of each PICT file, or, if there is a special "subtitle" text file in the same folder as the PICT files, MooVer will use each text line from this file for the subtitles instead.
The display size of the overall movie is determined by the size of the first image dropped in. All successive images, no matter what size they are, will be resized (scaled, not cropped) to fit the size of the first image.
MooVer can create QuickTime movies in either 256 colors (8-bit) or millions of colors (24-bit, or TrueColor.) If 256-color mode is used, then any 24-bit PICTs will first be dithered down to 8 bits before their frames are added to the movie. This is independent of any QuickTime compression settings.
MooVer is fully functional Shareware, which means you may try the software a few times to see if it suits your needs. If you find it useful and continue to use it, you are asked to register it by sending a check or money order to esp Software for $10 USA.
How To Use It
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To use MooVer, do the following:
(1) Drag some PICT files onto MooVer.
(2) Answer the prompts for settings, compression and where to put the movie.
(3) Drag some more PICT or sound files onto MooVer, they will be added on to the current movie.
(4) Choose "Close" or "Quit" to save and close the QuickTime movie as output.
(5) Repeat steps 1 through 4 to create new movies until you are dizzy, or out of disk space.
Example
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I have enclosed a sequence of PICT files that you can select and drag onto MooVer to create a simple computer animated movie. I wanted to include an interesting set of frames for a sample movie, but at the same time I wanted to keep this archive small. I hope this is a reasonable compromise.
What's that interesting graphic?
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By the way, this animation sequence was created by a Freeware ray tracing application I've helped build called POV-Ray Macintosh version 2.2. POV-Ray is available for the Macintosh and many other computer platforms. You can find the latest copy of this impressive application on CompuServe (go GRAPHDEV), America On-line (keyword PGR), and the Internet (ftp to povray.org.) Also look for my book on the Macintosh version of POV-Ray, called "Ray Tracing for the Macintosh CD", published by Waite Group Press, ISBN 1-878739-72-7.) I have included the original POV-Ray scene source file that generated the frames, so that you may use it with POV-Ray to create a larger or smoother movie if you wish.
Quiet Mode
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If you do the same kind of movies over and over (or if you are running MooVer from AppleScript), you may wish to preset all the settings, and then just drop images on MooVer, and have MooVer just use the previous settings without prompting you for anything. To do this, drop an image on MooVer, and set up the settings the way you want. Close the movie, and select Settings from the File menu. Now turn off the checkbox called "Always prompt for these settings", and quit MooVer. MooVer will no longer prompt for anything, but will use your settings as defaults. Note that if an output movie already exists, you will NOT be prompted to replace it, it will automatically be overwritten. To turn quiet mode back off, just run MooVer, choose Settings from the File menu, and turn the "Always prompt..." checkbox back on.
AppleScript?
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You can use MooVer as a scriptable movie maker. First run MooVer interactively, and set up the settings the way you want for your movies, then turn on Quiet mode (see above.) Next, simply send "open file" commands to it to add frames, and send a "close" or "quit" command to finish and save the movie.
More about Subtitles
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If you have the Subtitles checkbox off (the default), then a simple QuickTime movie will be generated, straight from the pictures. If you turn Subtitles on, then MooVer will overlay some text at the bottom of the image. MooVer will automatically put the name of the PICT file in the subtitle area, unless you do something special. If you want some subtitles other than filenames under each image, you must create a subtitle file. The subtitle file must be named "Subtitles", or it must be the name of the first PICT file, with any PICT file extension replaced by ".Sub". For example, if the first image was called "Red October.Pict", then you'd need a Subtitle file called "Red October.Sub". This subtitle file must be in the same directory as the first Pict file. The subtitle file is simply a text file, with each line holding text for the subtitle of that picture (First line goes onto the first frame, 2nd onto the 2nd frame, etc.) If a line is empty, the previous line is repeated in its place. If the subtitle file has no more lines, but more pictures are added, their frame subtitles will revert back to their file names.
Subtitle technical note: Currently the subtitle text is imaged right onto the image behind it, which means that any lossy compression will affect the quality of the text, and scaling the movie will scale the text in an ugly chunky way. A future version may split the text out as a separate track and use TrueType text for smooth scaling.
More about Sounds
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Currently, MooVer only accepts System 7 style sounds, that is, sounds like those dragged out of the system file. These are sound resource files of type 'sfil', and can also be created by many standard sound recording programs (for example, MacroMedia's SoundEdit 16/Pro). Currently, MooVer always adds the sound at the BEGINNING of the movie. Future versions may start the sound at the last image frame dropped in. It is perfectly acceptable (but questionable) to drop multiple sound files on MooVer, they will all be played simultaneously at the beginning of the movie. One useful side-effect is that they will be played as stereo, so if you separate your sounds into the two stereo halves, you can create a stereo-sound movie this way.
More about QuickTime Compression
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Sorry, there is not room here to go into detail about the trade-offs of all the different QuickTime compression settings you can choose for your movies, that is beyond the scope of this Read-me document. However, I have found that for a good compromise of quality, compression, and speed of playback, the Animation compressor is quite good. If you want very high compression and can stand some small loss in image quality, and you are playing the movie very slowly (as in a slide show), you may want to use the JPEG compression at about 70%. These are just starting hints; you should experiment with your particular input files and use what works best for you.
Known Bugs
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It has been reported that movies played in some Mac QuickTime players, or flattened and moved to MSDOS and played in QuickTime for Windows will play at strange frame rates, or show "unknown" frame rates. I have not been able to verify this, but have hopefully made it less likely. This may only happen at high frame rates (16 fps or higher.)
We have also found that some movies at higher frame rates don't play properly in MoviePlayer 1.1d1 and QuickTime 2.0, but play just fine after Apple's Multimedia Tuner extension (QuickTime bugfix) is installed. This extension is available from most on-line services and the internet. I am not sure if Authorized Apple Dealers still give out this Apple Software. They used to, back in the good old days. Thank you Mark de Jong, main MooVer and Shaker!
History
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1.0a1, 5/93
First started designing and coding
1.0b13, 3/3/94
Fixed splash screen to take keys/clicks correctly, and added a POV-Ray-generated logo
1.0 final, 3/25/94
Finalized document, created example POV-Ray animation scene and PICTs.
1.1 beta, 9/1/94
Added registration logic, new MooVer and esp Software logos, added simple single sound import, started FLI/FLC work.
1.1 final, 9/1/94
Incorporated ideas and documentation fixes from beta testers, finalized documents, created Registration document.
1.2b2, 2/5/95
(Hopfully) fixed movie Frame-rate calculation, tested.
1.2 final, 3/16/94
Updated about box and documents, made menus and strings look better on international systems, tested more.
Maybe Later
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After 1.2, these may be added:
-Multiple System 7 Sound Files and AIFF files can be dropped along the sequence, and they will be added as part of the sound track, starting at the frame they were dropped.
-FLI/FLC style (MSDOS) movies may be dropped on and converted to QuickTime movies
-separate the image and subtitle as independent QuickTime tracks
-save the subtitle track as TRUE text (better when scaled)
-allow even more user options for the final generation of movies
-allow FLI/FLC output, so we Mac guys can contribute MSDOS-readable movies
Of course, the most important options are the ones you decide need to be added. Please let me know how you are using this, and what you might like to see added!
Legal
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This application program and its files and documents are Copyrighted Shareware. MooVer may be used by any individual to create movies for any purpose, personal or commercial. It may be distributed freely as a complete package with its documentation and files on BBSes. It may not be sold for profit, or be distributed by Shareware companies or bundled with commercial software without prior permission from the author. Registering entitles you to use this program on one computer at a time. The author does not guarantee its fitness for any purpose. The author cannot be held liable for the software's use or misuse.
If you use this program often and you feel it is worthwhile, please pay for the program by sending the Shareware fee of $10 in USA funds to esp Software. Please read and print the accompanying document called "Registration Form" for details on registering this software product. This registration is a one-time fee, and licenses the use of the software to you for all future releases of the Shareware version of MooVer. After you register, esp Software will e-mail or postal mail you a personal registration number. When you enter this number with your name, the initial "Please Register" dialog will no longer appear when you launch the application. Registering entitles you to notices of updates to this application, and also possible notices of any other new applications created by esp Software. Please help support the Shareware concept and Macintosh software development, register today.
