Creating videos of timeline simulations and fly pasts

You can record videos of timeline simulations, for distribution to people who do not have access to an Asta Powerproject 4D licence. If a fly past is selected when you record a video, the video will record the different viewpoints of the fly past accurately. Asta Powerproject 4D records videos in AVI format.

You can specify that videos should include the view that is displayed in the IFC Comparison Model pane, as well as the view displayed in the IFC Model pane.

You can annotate videos with text or information of your choice. For example, you might want the names of the tasks that are involved in the timeline simulation to appear at the top-right of a video, with the date or week number appearing at the bottom-left. If a video includes the IFC Comparison Model pane, you can annotate this pane with different text or information in the video.

You can add images to the start and end of a video, and add a "watermark" image that overlays the entire video, partially-transparent, if required. For example, you may want to insert your corporate logo at the start or end of a video, or add a "watermark" image of the projected construction as an overlay to the video.

To create a video of a timeline simulation of a 3D model or IFC group model:

1. On the 4D tab, in the Timeline Export group, click Create Video. The Video tab of the Create Timeline Video dialog appears.
2. Enter a location and file name to identify the video in the File name field. Click ... if you want to browse for a location in which to save the video.
3. Use the Panes field to specify whether you want the video to include:
   • The IFC Model pane only.
   • The IFC Model pane with the IFC Comparison Model pane to the right of it in a vertically-split screen.
   • The IFC Model pane with the IFC Comparison Model pane beneath it in a horizontally-split screen.
4. Enter the size, in pixels, that you want to apply to the video in the Width and Height fields.
5. The Codecs field lists all codecs - computer programs capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal - that are installed on your computer. Select the codec that you want to use when producing the video. It is possible to configure the way in which some codecs work. If this is possible for the selected codec, the Properties button is enabled. Click this button to configure the codec if required.
6. Click the Annotations tab.
7. To annotate the video with text of your choice, select the Free text check box, select the position in which you want the text to appear in the field to the right, then enter the text to display in the Text field. You can enter up to 50 characters of text. For example, you may want to annotate the video with the name of the project, or with the revision number of the project at the current time. Clear the Free text check box to create the video without any free text annotation.
8. To annotate the video with the names of the tasks that are involved in the timeline simulation, select the Task data check box, select the position in which you want the names to appear in the field to the right, then specify the maximum number of lines of text to display in the Max lines field. If a task has both a bar name and a task name, both are displayed; if a task has only a bar name or a task name, either is displayed. Clear the Task data check box to create the video without any task name annotations.
9. To annotate the video with the current timeline date, select the Date check box, select the position in which you want the dates to appear in the field to the right, then specify the date format to use in the Date format field. Clear the Date check box to create the video without any date annotations.
10. To annotate the video with the week number, select the Week numbers check box, then select the position in which you want the week numbers to appear in the field to the right. Clear the Week numbers check box to create the video without any week number annotations.
    
    If you annotate the video with week numbers, the week numbers start from the project's global date zero, as specified in the Zero date field on the Properties tab of the Backstage view.
11. To include a timeline in the video, select the Timeline check box. If you include a timeline, it appears at the bottom of the video, displaying a date scale from the start to the end of the video. A moving vertical dropline, or 'now line', indicates the current position of the video on the date scale.
    
    By default, the timeline background is transparent and the 'now line' is displayed in your chosen text colour. This may make them difficult to see. You can specify colours for the timeline's background and 'now line' using the Background and Now line fields.
12. If you have chosen to annotate the video with one or more types of information, specify the colour, font and font size to apply to the annotation text in the Text colour, Font and Size fields.
13. If the video includes the IFC Comparison Model pane and you want to annotate this pane with different text or information in the video, click Comparison Pane to display the Comparison Model Annotations dialog. On this dialog, select the Use alternative comparison annotations check box, then use the fields below to specify the text or information with which to annotate the IFC Comparison Model pane in the video and click OK. If you clear the Use alternative comparison annotations check box, the IFC Comparison Model pane is annotated in the same way as the IFC Model pane in the video.
14. If you want to add images to the start or end of the video, or add a "watermark" image that overlays the entire video, click Image Overlay. The Image Overlay dialog appears.
15. Select the Intro image check box to add an image to the start of the video; click ... to select the file to display and specify the number of seconds for which it should appear.
16. Select the Outro image check box to add an image to the end of the video; click ... to select the file to display and specify the number of seconds for which it should appear.
17. Select the Overlay image check box to add a "watermark" image that overlays the entire video; click ... to select the file to display and use the remaining fields to specify the way in which the image should appear in the video.
18. Click OK to return to the Create Timeline Video dialog.
19. Click Create. The video creation starts and the Creating Video dialog appears. This dialog has a progress bar that illustrates the progress of the video as it is recorded. When the video recording is complete, the dialog disappears and the video is saved to the folder that you specified in the File name field.
    
    You can halt the recording of a video before it has been completed. To do this, click Cancel in the Creating Video dialog. If you halt the recording of a video and you were in the process of overwriting an existing video, the existing video is deleted.
20. Click Close to close the Create Timeline Video dialog.

Related Topics:

Running a timeline simulation of a 3D model

Configuring the way in which timeline simulations run

Creating fly pasts for use in timeline simulations

Creating flipbooks of timeline simulations and fly pasts