[willys36@aol.com]

OK, this is as far from a car question as I can come up with! How can I get good stills from a movie clip on Real Player? My grandson went to see National Treasure last week and wants a copy of that meerschaum pipe that as the key clue to solving the mystery. I can carve one, make a silicone mold and cast it in white urethane resin and come up with a great copy but I can't get a good still photo? When I pause the movie trailer to a good still of the pipe, hit Print Screen, then paste it into PaintShop pro, the picture seems to be there. However, the scene seems to still be alive and if I move the PaintShop picture window the scene stays still and moves out of the screen! If I try to print it or save it, it disappears. I have tried everything I can think of to turn it into a static image to no avail. There HAS to be a way to do this. Help!

[edge]

I wouldn't consider myself a geek, but I have been accused of working for Rush Limbaugh (lol). Does that qualify?

You may be able to use Windows Movie Maker. Best part is, it is FREE! Every computer I have had recently (say 3 in the last five years) has this installed from the factory.

Open Windows Movie Maker

Goto File > Import into Collections

Browse for the file you want to import, in your case a movie trailer. Highlight the file and click "Import".

If it is a big file, say 10+MB, you need to let it take a few minutes to load. If you try to do anything with it right away, for some reason it locks up and you have to "Ctrl-Alt-Del", End Task and try again.

Now, once it has loaded, the clip will show up on the little monitor on the right hand side of the screen. If all goes well, you can hit play and watch the entire movie on the little screen. You can slide the progress bar to the section of the clip you want to print a still of. Once you get the frame you want to print, click on the little camera at the bottom right hand of the little screen. When the pointer hovers over the camera button it will say "Take Picture". You can rename the file and choose a file location if you wish. Click "Save" and you should have a JPG of the frame you want.

Windows Movie Maker is an awesome little tool. I use it to make the video clips (from a DVD camcorder) for the website I built and maintain for my friend who is a driver in the USAR Hooters ProCup Series. The cars are basically Busch cars but they are exclusively a short-track series. You can see the the car specs with pictures at www.bennygordon.us They actually run mufflers!

You can clip, add titles, transitions, mix video and pictures, etc. It also lets you compress original MPEG files so that you can post on the internet and not kill someone's computer with a big download. I try to keep my clips less than 2,000 KB. That's still pretty long for a dial-up connection, but not too bad. Here are two clips I made:

http://www.bennygordon.us/car/engine_idling.wmv
http://www.bennygordon.us/photos/pho...4/102304-1.wmv

Here is an example I just used to create a picture from a movie clip using Windows Movie Maker.

The video: http://www.edgesz28.com/edgesz28/jok...undbarrier.wmv

Now, here is a still I made:


Just like that! No problem. Let me know if you need any more help, Ed www.edgesz28.com

[MichaelSBarker]

Part of the problem might be in copy protection or in the original encoding of scan lines to have it broadcast on television

I pulled a capture off the apple streaming version and will post it.. its not very clear however =(

I clipped mine the easy way... I hit the "print screen" button on the keyboard.. opened paint, and pasted. Its a feature most people have forgotten about =)


If you can find me a better source in video, I can rip it.... I am also looking for stills on the web...

-Take care,
-Me

[willys36@aol.com]

Thanks guys knew there had to be a way! Edge, if you worked for Rush you are a patriot! I guess I need to dig into Windows Movie Maker.

Mike; There is a pretty good shot of it here @ 1:09 time of 'National Treasure' Theatrical Trailer No.2.

And several good shots here @ 6:48, 6:51, 6:52, 6:53, 6:55, & 7:07. That last one is the one you posted I think.

Amazingly there are no still photos on the web.

[edge]

Originally posted by MichaelSBarker
Part of the problem might be in copy protection or in the original encoding of scan lines to have it broadcast on television

Wow, that is a tough nut to crack!

I see what you mean MichaelSBarker. My suggestion was based on having the file on your harddrive. This one is above me.

Oh well, if you want to compress or edit other videos, now you know a cheap and easy way to do it. Good luck Willys, Ed.

[MichaelSBarker]

Hey, Here is a decent one with a few fingers in the way...

I'll try to rip the others later tonight (oh, around 2 AM EST for a more clear definition of 'tonight') .. I have to go now or I'll be late for work

-Michael

One more thing.. this is where I got the best vid from.. yahoo was a toned down version.. the short trailer ( #2,.. listed as number 3 on the site for some reason) was like 26 megabytes in the 'full screen' resolution.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nati...e/trailers.php

-Michael

[edge]

I found this trailer with the same scene, but mine is smaller.

http://movies.apple.com/movies/touch...re-tlr_480.mov



Here is one that came from a Windows Media Player, but not clear at all:



That's probably the best I can do. Ed

[MichaelSBarker]

Here are the better rips: =)








I hope those help...

Hey.. and if you dont mind checking out the pics of this car and tell me what you think... It's up for sale and I am probably going to buy it...
37 tudor sedan humpback

Take care,
Michael

[willys36@aol.com]

Wow! You are an officer and a gentleman. I need to take back half the things I have been saying about you now! LOL. How did you do that?

PS. I love the car! If I ever owned a Phord it would be a '37 slant back. And you are running a great old '63 T-bird FE! Awesome!!!!! I have one BIG suggestion though. I see you are using Heidt's MII X-member with strut rod eliminators. This is bad. This has been discussed in depth on the board here and here and here.

Here is a photo if the way these things fail and a suggested fix.


This website shows the best way to beef up the Heidt's X-member to give it a fighting chance to live w/ strut rod eliminators.

[MichaelSBarker]

Hey Willys,

Not a problem... I just used the highest quality videos from rottentomatos and the official site... from rotten tomatos i could double the video size in the media player.. from the home site I had to settle for a reduced size and expand it in paint.

I dont usually use mspaint.. I prefer corel products.. but they aren't on this computer.. so I made do..

Just pause the video, print screen.. paste it in paint =) Use stretch to get the part you want to rough size, drag the part you want to the top left, then use attributes to shrink the overall size to what you are looking for =)

Or just ask me again in the future..

As for the car.. it's not mine yet... I am looking at buying it for 5500 sans engine/trans/glass/most interior. Will be my first major project. Probably take 10 years to build.

A *Big* thanks for the info reguarding boxing the Heidts cross member!

Take care,
-Michael