I am trying to achieve something in quicktime but as an Apple Script very mediocre user I am unable to understand if I can get what I hope.
1st
I would like to open 4 quicktime films.
(Easy I did It and it works)
2nd
Id’like to play them all at once
(impossible for me while the option is there in quicktime player).
In fact the script should be as this example:
1- open “these” four films located “here there or everywhere in several hd”,
2 - put them one next to eachother in a 2 up 2 down size:
12
34
3- play them all or pause them all at a click of the mouse, or pressing the bar or any other simple way to start it all.
All this is easy in quicktime player, and can be manual only. Is there a way to automate it in Applescript?
A variation could be: start to play them all at the cursor position assigned to each film, not at the actual beginning.
3rd
I’d like to display and see something like the time code or whatever else Quicktime uses to check the position of the cursor while it is playing. The dictionary in Apple script is far too technical and I was never able to achieve any result. The timecode track exists in theory but unless some other program writes it there is noway to see it. This makes no sense as films play in time, QTPlayer allows cuts and pasting therefore there must be a way to locate and visualize not only the cursor position but also the IN and OUT points.
4th
I explain with an example:
In the timeline of Quicktime Player I might have a 59 minutes film (I only use PAL which is 25fps). I’d like to be able to select portion a (from timecode 00:01:32:12 to timecode 00:01:34:08) and be able to write these values to a text file
Example
FILM1 located “here” CUT (1st or number of the cut)
In … 00:01:32:12
out … 00:01:34:08
FILM3 located “there” CUT (2nd number of the cut)
In … 00:00:08:11
out … 00:00:44:18
As in the timeline of any single film I might decide to cut at different points and not necessarily in order (first cut by the end of the timeline, second at the beginning and third wherever else). For this reason ah external text file would be handy,
5th
Assuming I can get this text file telling me the Film Name, its location, the in and out point in the time line according to the order of the text file,
Is there a way to retrieve the various selection?
Looking at the quicktime dictionary in applescript all this seems very very possible but it needs skiills I don’t have, and possibly an age I no longer have (73, I’m not totally gone though … )
and for the ones asking why I want all this the answer is easy:
Once upon a time film editing happened in machines called Flatbed. They allowed the editor to see the different takes all at once and experiment. THIS ISN’T AT ALL LIKE THE MULTICAM IN FINALCUT. As I still edit films after AVID, PREMIERE, FINALCUT, IMOVIE, and you name the rest as I tried them all, I just want to be able to COMPARE takes all at once before deciding the best one and before dreaming about SFX or Soundmixing as this comes later only after the tempo of the story works …
That’s why I’m asking.
So I will be forever gratefull to all young and smart people who mitgh find these litte problems challenging enough to give me an answer.
Kind regards and Happy Easter for the ones who care
Danwan
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