Route Progress on a map

[JohnFeg]

Some 4-5 weeks ago Alrobin , and others, produced some animations that illustrated the progress made, on a journey, by means of a "Red Progress Line" moving along a cut out route on a map.

At the time the was some discussion on how to cope when the route included sharp changes of direction, in particular, the visually unpleasing effect this produces because the red progress bar ceases to be perpendicular the axis of the route.

I've been putting together a show which includes a river excursion on the Gualalquivir in Seville. This trip included a 180 degree course change, within the 150m, or so, wide river.

My method, which I think resolves the above difficulties, has been made into a 4.25mg. file (inc. .exe file, artwork and Project File.

I'd like to make this available for comment and information. BUT , am not sure how to post it on the forum.

Will be grateful for a bit of guidance.

John

[Ken Cox]

JOHN

upload the complete file with all components file in a zip + include a short text describing it

it must also have a descriptive pict not exceeding 120/80 kb

to

http://beechbrook.com/upload/

follow instructions on upload page

also see

http://beechbrook.com/pte/index.asp

as to how your show will be displayed for download

ken

[thedom]

Hi John,

Lin described the way to do it (http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....indpost&p=29026) but nobody showed an example yet.

Or may be you use an other method ?

Anyway, very curious to see your roadmap in action.

Thanks for uploading it.

[alrobin]

.........I'd like to make this available for comment and information. BUT , am not sure how to post it on the forum.

Will be grateful for a bit of guidance.

John,

If you wish you can send it to me I'll put it on my website for you for a few weeks or so. Then you simply refer everyone to the link where it can be found.

[JohnFeg]

Alrobin, Ken & Thedom,

Many thanks for the help.

I've sent the demo to Alrobin's site, he has been kind enough to host it for me.

Hope it will be of some interest.

john

[JohnFeg]

Alrobin, Ken & Thedom,

Many thanks for the help.

I've sent the demo to Alrobin's site, he has been kind enough to host it for me.

Hope it will be of some interest.

john

This demo has now been posted at http://www.alrobinson.com/Seville_Boat_Trip.zip

[thedom]

Too bad you didn't include the .exe.

I'm at work right now (lunch time ) and I have to wait for tomorrow night to watch it (I'm out tonight).

Thanks anyway for sharing.

[thedom]

Ebenist,

I had a look at your show. Nicely done.

I don't know if it was your purpose, but I think that this kind of moving route is interesting only if you give the spectator the impression to "travel".

Adding a under layer movement and some pictures is a nice improvement.

Even if your map is cut to close to the route progress to be nicely done (you should keep the progress in the middle of the show), here is what I made with your show to improve it. (Hope you don't mind )

And you could add a dot or better, a small boat... and everything you can think of.

It only takes time to do it.

[Ken Cox]

Even if your map is cut to close to the route progress to be nicely done (you should keep the progress in the middle of the show), here is what I made with your show to improve it. (Hope you don't mind )

Dom

no file at your link

http://thefreedom.free.fr/PTE/BoatTrip.exe

Not Found

The requested URL /PTE/BoatTrip.exe was not found on this server.

Apache/ProXad [Jun 8 2006 10:50:30] Server at thefreedom.free.fr Port 80

ken

[thedom]

Oops, I gave you a wrong link. Sorry.

I modified the name of the file on my ftp.

Should be ok right now (same link).

Thank you for telling me Ken.

[Ken Cox]

workin now

ken

[JohnFeg]

Ebenist,

I had a look at your show. Nicely done.

And you could add a dot or better, a small boat... and everything you can think of.

It only takes time to do it.

Thank you Thedom, I'm grateful you took the trouble to make such useful suggestions.

My intention, for the final version of the animation, had been to make the journey some 4 mins duration. As the red marker progessed, photographs would "spring out" at the appropriate point, to fill about 50% of the screen area, so that the map remained visible. There is a voiceover for each photo' on completion of which, the photo fades out.

I got this version completed today.

I WAS quite pleased with it, until I saw your idea of maintaining the route centre screen. SO, it's back to the drawing board in the morning!

One thing, that I'm not sure is practical, is: the addition a small boat. It would necessitate a great number of individual "red progress bars" if the boats heading was to remain parallel to the river banks (and as an ex Navy man, nothing else would be good enough). If you can see a way round this little difficulty, I'd be glad to hear of it

By the way, I much admired the night shot over the Guadalquivir.

Kind regards

John

[thedom]

One thing, that I'm not sure is practical, is: the addition a small boat. It would necessitate a great number of individual "red progress bars" if the boats heading was to remain parallel to the river banks (and as an ex Navy man, nothing else would be good enough). If you can see a way round this little difficulty, I'd be glad to hear of it

Here is how I see you could do it :

The boat is not a part of your bars.

It is an independant object that you will put just at the end of your route progress and over your map (bring to front).

Now that you have done the bars, the boat is really a piece of cake :

You will need to add as many keypoints to this object as the route changes its direction.

And in the same time, you will rotate the boat to follow the direction of the route.

I think you will understand what i mean by studying my "RoadMap" project (in my signature below).

For a first try, the dot should be easier to do though because you don't have to deal with the rotating.

Last thing : you gonna have to add independant bridges (small .png files) if you want your boat (or your doat) to go "under" them. To make it "run", you will have to bring those bridges to front (over the boat or dot).

Don't hesitate if you need more help.

I'm really interested to see your final result.

Good work !

[alrobin]

John,

Thedom's suggestion is a good one. Having a boat go under the bridges would really make your audience sit up and take notice!

[JohnFeg]

Here is how I see you could do it :

The boat is not a part of your bars.

It is an independant object that you will put just at the end of your route progress and over your map (bring to front).

Thanks again for your help. I've, I hope, grasped the technique for adding the boat. BUT, having woken very early this morning, all fired with enthusiasm for applying your "keep the route centre stage" idea. When I added a new keypoint (to the map cut out-route image) and then tried to zoom and pan it, I hit a snag. It zoomed and panned OK, but. independantly of the underlying "map background image" and, of course, registration was lost.

I'm sure that all the images must be linked. but cannot figure out how to do it in the existing image list. Can it be done? or must I start from scratch?

I hope you will not mind, too much, me again distracting you from your own work.

John

[alrobin]

I don't know if it was your purpose, but I think that this kind of moving route is interesting only if you give the spectator the impression to "travel".

Adding a under layer movement and some pictures is a nice improvement.

Thedom,

Your "version" of the show adds some improvements to the way the map is displayed. It helps to be "closer" to it, and it would be even better if it could be re-photographed so that the details were more readable. Some labels in larger font size overlaid on the map might help identify the locations.

One aspect I don't care for too much is the way your images never display at 100% opacity. I find viewing them a bit disturbing, especially with the moving map underneath. I think they would be more effective if they came "full on" for a brief instant so they could be seen better (maybe in smaller format, even, to separate them even more from the map).

John, it might even be a good idea, too, to stop the action of the boat and the red line momentarily while the images of the passing scenery are displayed in order to give the audience a chance to "catch up" after viewing them. Just a few personal preferences - but I'm sure you have this all figured out already. Good luck with the show!

p.s. any time you want to post a new version of the show, don't hesitate to send it to me. If it gets bigger than 5 Mb or so, it might be a good idea to send it by "dropload" or "yousendit" rather than by email.

[thedom]

When I added a new keypoint (to the map cut out-route image) and then tried to zoom and pan it, I hit a snag. It zoomed and panned OK, but. independantly of the underlying "map background image" and, of course, registration was lost.

I'm sure that all the images must be linked. but cannot figure out how to do it in the existing image list. Can it be done? or must I start from scratch?

Yes, it can be done and you don't have to start from scratch.

Actually, you have to add a under layer. It will be the parent object. Let's call him "Master".

Here are the steps you must follow :

- add this "master" as a new object (this object has to have exactly the same aspect ratio as your map. You could use a frame but if you don't want to deal with it, use your map image for this object)

- copy all your objects (except the "master") and paste them as sub-objects of your "Master" (to do so, you have to select the "Master" before you paste the objects)

- delete all the objects you just copied (you have to do it this way because you can't make a cut/paste right now, only copy/paste).

- just to verify that everything is ok, play your show. At this step, it should look exactly the same way as it was

- add your boat as a sub-object of the "Master" and define appropriate keypoints to follow the route progress.

- add your bridges as sub-objects of the "Master" (this way, the boat will sail under your bridges).

- apply pan & zoom to the "Master".

It should work...

[thedom]

One aspect I don't care for too much is the way your images never display at 100% opacity. I find viewing them a bit disturbing, especially with the moving map underneath. I think they would be more effective if they came "full on" for a brief instant so they could be seen better (maybe in smaller format, even, to separate them even more from the map).

Al,

I was really wondering what is the best way to display the images it and I must admit that I am not fully happy with those "full screen 80% opacity" display.

Your suggestions are really interesting. Thank you.

I would really like to have feelings of other people because I will use a lot of route progress in my future slideshow and I don't want to miss it because of inappropriate "artistic" choices...

Thank you everyone !

[Lin Evans]

Here is how I see you could do it :

The boat is not a part of your bars.

It is an independant object that you will put just at the end of your route progress and over your map (bring to front).

Now that you have done the bars, the boat is really a piece of cake :

You will need to add as many keypoints to this object as the route changes its direction.

And in the same time, you will rotate the boat to follow the direction of the route.

I think you will understand what i mean by studying my "RoadMap" project (in my signature below).

For a first try, the dot should be easier to do though because you don't have to deal with the rotating.

Last thing : you gonna have to add independant bridges (small .png files) if you want your boat (or your doat) to go "under" them. To make it "run", you will have to bring those bridges to front (over the boat or dot).

Don't hesitate if you need more help.

I'm really interested to see your final result.

Good work !

Hey Guys,

I have "Y-Fi" In my hotel room!! I didn't think I would be able to get on the web - but "Yippie" - HA! My wife is not too happy about it but......

Actually there are two other ways to deal with the boat passing under the bridge. You don't need to "bring Mohammed to the Mountain" (American interpretation of scriptural saying to say you are working too hard) you can simply change the boat's opacity by setting a 100% opacity keypoint just before the bridge on the timeline, then an instant later another to make it zero opacity to make the boat disappear as it passes "under the bridge" then repeat the operation in the opposite direction to make it re-appear when it comes out from under the bridge.

I think you could do the same by just setting a keypoint right before the boat would pass under the bridge and moving the boat by using the Object - send to back" , etc., then another keypoint at the time it would re-appear with "bring to front"

Of course it would be more "elegant" if you had the bridges as little PNG's so it would "disappear" in real time from front to back (the bow would dissapear before the stern". But couldn't you also get this same effect easier by just making a small black rectangle in an underlying layer at the bridge then move the boat to a layer just beneath so it was visible until it hit this layer then would disappear for the duration of the black rectangle?

Just some thoughts.....

Wife - calling - bye for now LOL

Lin

[alrobin]

Lin,

"Wi-fe" and "Wi-fi" in the same room, on vacation - bad combination! I know, from personal experience!

I prefer Thedom's approach, with the separate "over-passes" - allows for gradual disappearance of boat under the bridge, and then back out again.

[JohnFeg]

Yes, it can be done and you don't have to start from scratch.

Actually, you have to add a under layer. It will be the parent object. Let's call him "Master".

Thedom, Al & Lin,

Well you folk have certainly given me something to think about. I've placed a large bottle of Asprin alongside my machine LOL, tonight I'll get down to it.

It seems to me, at least for the "travelogue" sort of shows I make, that it will be well worth getting the fundementals of this type of animation sorted out. It lends itself well to the application of a 1001 themes and variations.

On the subject of how images of locations along the way are presented; initially, I made my images "spring out" (from very small image @ 0% opacity to about 50% screen area at 100% opacity) I liked the effect of still being able to see the map, while an image is displayed. However, it seemed that the image was not sypmathetically related to the map, maybe because the edges were too sharp. When I'm a little futher down the track I'm going to try feathering the image edges, using images having edges with no straight lines and applying a drop shadow.

I'll let you know how it goes, but, don't hold your breath! I can't work at the rate as you guys are able to produce results.

Regards

John

[thedom]

I have "Y-Fi" In my hotel room!! I didn't think I would be able to get on the web - but "Yippie" - HA! My wife is not too happy about it but......

LOL, you are as addicted to this forum as I am !

And I'm sure you can't stop thinking about it.

Seriously, is it indiscrete to ask you where you are in vaccation ?

I think you could do the same by just setting a keypoint right before the boat would pass under the bridge and moving the boat by using the Object - send to back" , etc., then another keypoint at the time it would re-appear with "bring to front"

I think you can not "bring to front"/"send to back" an object in the same slide.

This option is set for the whole slide and you can not modify it during the time slide.

But maybe I'm wrong or I don't know how to do it !

But couldn't you also get this same effect easier by just making a small black rectangle in an underlying layer at the bridge then move the boat to a layer just beneath so it was visible until it hit this layer then would disappear for the duration of the black rectangle?

Are you sure it's easier because I don't even understand what you mean.

Do you mean : replace the bridges with black rectangles ?

[Lin Evans]

Lin,

"Wi-fe" and "Wi-fi" in the same room, on vacation - bad combination! I know, from personal experience!

I prefer Thedom's approach, with the separate "over-passes" - allows for gradual disappearance of boat under the bridge, and then back out again.

LOL - it's even worse because it's not a "vacation" but a working trip for my wife. We're in San Francisco (for the Dom) and I've just returned to the hotel from a 14 mile walk. The hills here are a real killer - HA! Fortunately I live at about 6,000 feet elevation and I'm used to long rugged trails at up to and over 14,000 feet so the walking part is easy for me but the humidity here has me wringing wet!

I like the idea of separate bridge parts too, but aligning them might be tougher than just using a rectangle a layer under. Actually I "think" you can set different layer positions via the keypoints at different times on the same slide for separate objects - I'll try it and let you know, Dom. As I remember I did that on my "map" but I'll have to go back and look.

I just tried it and you're right! It can't be done by moving the order of the object and changing it back on the timeline - on the same slide - too many variables to think about and I'm not thinking straight because I'm still thinking about all these cute girls on the streets of San Francisco- HA! Oh to be 20 years old again (well that was 44 years ago) My wife's going to kill me but heck, I'm just old, not dead - LOL.

I don't have my desktop along on the trip so I can't remember how I made the red bar go under the road signs then re-appear but when I get home I'll check and see. As I remember it wasn't that difficult and I didn't make duplicate PNG's to set-on top and I don't remember having more than one red layer (of course it could be done that way with the "river" route). In other words one red layer would stop and another could appear right after the bridge but that's too complicated too.

---------------------------

Oh duhhh, I just remembered how I did it, I didn't cut out the road when it came to the road signs, I just left it opaque at that point without the transparency showing through. That solves the red line going under the bridge but does nothing for the boat but if the boat is on another layer just above the red line instead of on the same layer - hmmmm. Then there is why the red line at all and why not just the boat. So if the cut out were exactly the contours of the river then the top layer would look just like the river with the boat traveling down the river rather than in front of a red lline wouldn't that look better??

here's what I had in mind. This one has the boat going down the transparency and under the lettering and "bridge" (road) by carefully not cutting out the bridge and writing on the transparency. No red line though.....

http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/boatrip.zip

Best regards,

Lin

[JohnFeg]

Do you mean : replace the bridges with black rectangles ?

[Ken Cox]

HEY JOHN

does it have a steam whistle and a bell - and i think sidewheelers also have a siren:)

toot toot

you guys will be going to AAA to make travelogues -- hope you dont forget who helped you to become rich and famous

ken

for thedom

AAA

American Automobile Association

http://ww2.aaa.com/scripts/WebObjects.dll/...de.woa/wa/route