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Name

topomovie - generate movies from the output of the tbat(?) script (ERP scripts)

Synposis

topomovie dir [ dir2... ] [ -c cols ] [ -r rows ] [ -s scale ] [ -t ] [ -a ] [ -b ] [ -d delay ] [ -g ] [ -h ] [ -k ] [ -n ] [ -o value ] [ -p ]

Description

Topomovie is a csh script which automates the processes of converting, cropping, and combining the image files which result from running the tbat(?) script. Topomovie will combine the .ps.gz files in each directory specified on the command line (or .ppm files, if the -p option is used) into a single MPEG movie or animated GIF.

The conversion process unzips each file, then uses ghostscript to convert the resulting .ps file into a .ppm file (see ppm(5) for more info). The vital region of the .ppm file is then removed and saved, scaled (if the -s option is used), and then added to the frame of the movie being constructed at that time.

Options

Directory names and options may appear in any order on the command line. All options have a "long" and a "short" version, which are equivalent. These options are available for topomovie:
-a, --animatedgif
Output an animated GIF rather than an MPEG. The default is to create an MPEG movie.
-b, --both
Output both an animated GIF and an MPEG movie.
-c, --cols num
Arrange the frame such that the files in num directories appear in each column of the output movie. The result of multiplying the values given for the -c and -r options much equal the number of directories listed on the command line. Default is 1.
-d, --delay num
Set the delay between frames of an animated GIF to num 1/100ths of a second. The default is 10, which equals 1 frame per 1/10th of a second, and also equals 10 frames per second. This option only applies when the output is an animated GIF.
-g, --keepgif
Create GIF files for each individual frame (irregardless of whether or not the output will be an animated GIF) and keep them after the program exits. These files will be stored in the temporary directory below the current directory.
-h, --help
Show help info.
-k, --keepppm
Keep the intermediary .ppm files after the program exits. These files will be stored in the same directories given on the command line.
-n, --nice
Run at a higher niceness. This gives other running programs priority to use system resources. Useful when running topomovie as a background job. This option may appear on the command line multiple times. See renice(8) for more info.
-o, --optimize num
Optimize the size of the output file. 0=least/none 1=more, 2=most. For MPEG output, smaller files mean lower quality. For GIF output, smaller files may be less compatible with various GIF viewers. Default is 1.
-p, --ppm
Run the program using .ppm files as the input. This option is used after topomovie has been run once using the -k option. Using saved .ppm files increases speed, but can lead to problems if those .ppm files have been altered or damaged.
-r, --rows num
Arrange the frame such that the files in num directories appear in each row of the output movie. The result of multiplying the values given for the -c and -r options much equal the number of directories listed on the command line. Default is 1.
-s, --scale num
Scale the movie by num amount. Num is an integer or decimal number. Values larger than 1 result in a larger movie, while values less than 1 result in a smaller movie. If the -g or -k option is used with this option, the saved files will also be shrunk by this amount. Default is 1.
-t, --text
Include the text appearing at the top of each .ps file in the movie. The default is to exclude this text.

See Also

tbat(?)

History

Topomovie is mostly new code, but is in concept based on rgb2mpg by Marty Sereno. The .ps->.ppm conversion is based on a line in pstopnm by Alberto Accomazzi. Tbat(?) was written by Tim Rohrer, who also aided in the development of this script.

Author

Marcus Lauer


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