Hiding text on video clips

[Violet2010]

I need to hide three letters of text, superimposed on video clips by the organisation who have given me permission to use them.

The letters are near the bottom right- hand corner. I cannot avoid them showing, and have tried a variety of masks using textured PNG files, to no avail. The blob on the screen looks worse than the 3 letters do.

The background of the video footage obviously changes, but the text is always in a greyish white.

Anyone got any suggestions?

thanks

Violet

[Lin Evans]

Hi Violet

Put up a screen capture to make it possible to see what you are trying to do. There are multiple possibilities, but without seeing it it would be impossible to give you helpful advice...

Lin

[thedom]

Could you add black long rectangles, like a CinémaScope style ?

Or you could add your own text/logo on a color rectangle ?

Just suggestions...

[Violet2010]

Could you add black long rectangles, like a CinémaScope style ?

Or you could add your own text/logo on a color rectangle ?

Just suggestions...

Unfortunately that would not work, as I need to include the video clips in an AV sequence of many other images.

thanks anyway

Violet

[Violet2010]

Screen capture 01.doc

Hi Violet

Put up a screen capture to make it possible to see what you are trying to do. There are multiple possibilities, but without seeing it it would be impossible to give you helpful advice...

Lin

Screen capture attached - hope this helps!

Violet

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Violet.

Use the button feature top left of the O&A screen, see attached screen shots.

Yachtsman1.

[Lin Evans]

Hi Violet,

There are a couple possibilities. First you could do as Dominique suggested and use your own logo, etc., as a PNG to lay over that same area. Another way would be to insert a mask and run the same video inside the mask but move it an inch up or down. Assuming there was a suitable area of background within an inch or so of the video, you could make the mask very small - about a quarter inch larger than the text all around and just run the same video both inside and outside the mask, except offset the one inside just enough to hide the text with the surrounding background. In the portion of the video you captured, just moving the inside video far enough that the text was outside the masked area would just show more "ocean" and look fine. On the other hand, if the background area were something with detail, it would look strange. Because you can keframe the video's position inside the mask, you could move it as needed by manually dragging the video navigation bar through the extent of the video and inserting a pair of keyframes as needed to move the video around inside the mask. This would be much more work than just using your own initials or logo, etc., but might be worth doing if it's really important.

Without actually having the video to test, it's not easy to say which way would work best. Using your own logo or you own initials, etc., would work but it would be on every frame if that's not a problem.

The "easiest" way, if you can do without that small part of the bottom of the video, is to run the video in a mask and just "cut-off" the bottom inch or so. Just use a rectangular mask, run the video inside. Hold the shift key and left click on the small black "square" on the bottom of the mask and "drag" it upward until the bottom of the video with the text is hidden.

Best regards,

Lin

[Violet2010]

Hi Violet,

There are a couple possibilities. First you could do as Dominique suggested and use your own logo, etc., as a PNG to lay over that same area. Another way would be to insert a mask and run the same video inside the mask but move it an inch up or down. Assuming there was a suitable area of background within an inch or so of the video, you could make the mask very small - about a quarter inch larger than the text all around and just run the same video both inside and outside the mask, except offset the one inside just enough to hide the text with the surrounding background. In the portion of the video you captured, just moving the inside video far enough that the text was outside the masked area would just show more "ocean" and look fine. On the other hand, if the background area were something with detail, it would look strange. Because you can keframe the video's position inside the mask, you could move it as needed by manually dragging the video navigation bar through the extent of the video and inserting a pair of keyframes as needed to move the video around inside the mask. This would be much more work than just using your own initials or logo, etc., but might be worth doing if it's really important.

Without actually having the video to test, it's not easy to say which way would work best. Using your own logo or you own initials, etc., would work but it would be on every frame if that's not a problem.

The "easiest" way, if you can do without that small part of the bottom of the video, is to run the video in a mask and just "cut-off" the bottom inch or so. Just use a rectangular mask, run the video inside. Hold the shift key and left click on the small black "square" on the bottom of the mask and "drag" it upward until the bottom of the video with the text is hidden.

Best regards,

Lin

Thanks Lin

Some ideas for me to try , not sure which will work yet, and maybe more than one option , as I have split the original film into three video clips, so different solutions may work for different kinds of background

Violet

[PGA]

Screen capture attached - hope this helps!

Why not accept the presence of the logo, and then give credit to the Imperial War Museum as the source of the historic video in your credits at the end of your sequence?

regards,

Peter

[Violet2010]

Why not accept the presence of the logo, and then give credit to the Imperial War Museum as the source of the historic video in your credits at the end of your sequence?

regards,

Peter

I will give them full credit as the source at the end of the sequence, and indeed yous suggestion is one alternative I have been considering. If I cannot find a neat solution that is what I will do

thanks

Violet

[Violet2010]

I have not tried this filter but it might work.

http://www.compression.ru/video/logo_removal/index_en.html

Tom

This download looks like a great idea, BUT unfortunately it is a .vdf file, and no matter how hard I try, I cannot get my PC to open it. Microsoft directs me to a whole range of websites offering to clean up my registry, ( which is not a bad idea in itself) but does not solve the actual problem. I can report this having tried for the last several hours!!!

Thanks for the idea Tom

Violet

[Lin Evans]

Hi Violet,

You don't "open" the VDF file, you follow the instructions on the VirtualDub page and install the file as a "filter" (Virtual Dub Filter - VDF) in the freeware software VirtualDub which you must either have on your computer or install first. My guess is that if you install VirtualDub and this filter, then run your video clips through Virtual Dub applying the filter, that it will satisfactorily remove the logo for you.

Best regards,

Lin

This download looks like a great idea, BUT unfortunately it is a .vdf file, and no matter how hard I try, I cannot get my PC to open it. Microsoft directs me to a whole range of websites offering to clean up my registry, ( which is not a bad idea in itself) but does not solve the actual problem. I can report this having tried for the last several hours!!!

Thanks for the idea Tom

Violet

[Violet2010]

Another way would be to insert a mask and run the same video inside the mask but move it an inch up or down. Assuming there was a suitable area of background within an inch or so of the video, you could make the mask very small - about a quarter inch larger than the text all around and just run the same video both inside and outside the mask, except offset the one inside just enough to hide the text

I have tried the above method, and this is the best option so far.... I need to show it to some unsuspecting volunteers and see if they notice it

Many Thanks

Violet

[Violet2010]

Hi Violet,

You don't "open" the VDF file, you follow the instructions on the VirtualDub page and install the file as a "filter" (Virtual Dub Filter - VDF) in the freeware software VirtualDub which you must either have on your computer or install first. My guess is that if you install VirtualDub and this filter, then run your video clips through Virtual Dub applying the filter, that it will satisfactorily remove the logo for you.

Best regards,

Lin

Ohhhhhhhhhhh !!!!! Light bulb moment! I can only wonder why no other source told em this, when it now seems to obvious!

I now have the filter downloaded into my video editing programme, but as yet cannot persuade it to only clean up the logo in the bottom right hand corner, despite telling the filter screen that's where it is!!!!! So far it insists in making the whole screen black. Ho Hum! I'm sure there's a way, I just haven't found it yet

Thanks for your continuing patience and help

Violet

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Violet

You are using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. Look at my post 6 above, I did give a blow by blow account of how I was shown what to do to cover my number plate in a video clip, but unfortutely it disappeared when I went to review it, so you only got a potted version. The button method can be customised to give different shaps sizes & colours. However, if you are trying to delete the logo all together, it won't work. You can re-position the clip, in the O&A screen using the grab handles of the bounding box, stretch the image a little then move it down until the logo is off the screen, it will degrade it somewhat but it looks low quality from your screen shot.

Yachtsman1.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Violet

You are using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. Look at my post 6 above, I did give a blow by blow account of how I was shown what to do to cover my number plate in a video clip, but unfortutely it disappeared when I went to review it, so you only got a potted version. The button method can be customised to give different shaps sizes & colours. However, if you are trying to delete the logo all together, it won't work. You can re-position the clip, in the O&A screen using the grab handles of the bounding box, stretch the image a little then move it down until the logo is off the screen, it will degrade it somewhat but it looks low quality from your screen shot.

Yachtsman1.

Just to demonstrate the stretching method I described, see attached screen shot, I'm using 16-9 aspect ratio on my test show, the clip looks like 4-3 so the effect will be distorted to what yours will be.

Yachtsman1.

[Violet2010]

Another way would be to insert a mask and run the same video inside the mask but move it an inch up or down. Assuming there was a suitable area of background within an inch or so of the video, you could make the mask very small - about a quarter inch larger than the text all around and just run the same video both inside and outside the mask, except offset the one inside just enough to hide the text

I have tried the above method, and this is the best option so far.... I need to show it to some unsuspecting volunteers and see if they notice it

Many Thanks

Violet

I have refined the mask, with 100% " feathering" and am now running another version of the clip inside the mask, but moved just enough to avoid the letters, and it works so well I cannot really notice it myself now.

Many thanks for all your help

Violet