Does anyone know how to do this video map effect?

[Paul R Johnson]

In my case, a perfectly normal size 1980 x 1080 frame, then you bring in a mega wide by normal height frame created in photoshop and then you simple move it across the screen with keyframes as usual. works fine. No point creating a huge video frame just a normal one.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay I see, I thought before, you meant a really big aspect ratio in Premiere Pro, in order to put all the photos together. My mistake. I can try photoshop and see how it goes. Thanks.

But as for recording google Earth as it moves from location to another, another filmmaker I worked with before, was able to do this for his project, and google Earth moved smoothly. Was he able to do something to get it move smoother without pausing and skipping frames?

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Animating a larger image is better than a video screen capture of google earth because it will be smoother and you have full control of the speed and movement of the animation. Don't get lazy.

[Boyd Ostroff]

Like many things, this comes down to having the right software. I make maps, and there are many ways that I can think of to do this. The examples that have been posted are a good try at problem-solving, but are pretty kludgy. :)

Here's a suggestion: install the free, open source Mobile Atlas Creator program - it runs on Macs, Windows and Linux. You will need to install Java if you don't already have it and that can be confusing unfortunately. I have written a tutorial for installing Mobile Atlas Creator and Java, you can read/download the PDF file here (I should update it again)

https://boydsmaps.com/mobile-atlas-creator/

I don't know what kind of map you want - there are many free sources of maps and imagery available. Here's a quick example using OpenStreetMap. I'll assume that you have followed the tutorial above and installed Mobile Atlas Creator.

Start the program and create a new atlas in OziExplorer format (see attached screenshots)

Now choose OpenStreetMap 4uMaps.eu as a mapsource and drag/zoom the map to the location you want. You must hold down the RIGHT mouse button to drag the map (not very intuitive)

Use the left mouse button to drag a box over the area you want. I suggest doing a quick test with very small area for starters.

The Zoom Levels checkboxes will select the resolution of the map. For a first test, choose a small zoom level. Each level is twice the scale of the previous which means 4x the amount of data. Level 15 is a resolution of 4 meters per pixel, which could produce a very large image depending on the area you select. ONLY CHECK ONE BOX here. This setting has nothing to do with the scale of the map in the viewer, you can zoom way out there to make it easy to select the area you want.

Click the Add Selection button and you should see it appear in the Atlas Content window.

Now click the Create Atlas button. When it finishes you can click the button to open the atlas folder. Open the enclosed folders and you will find a PNG image and another file that you don't need. In this example, it took around 30 seconds and created a 3584 × 2048 image. The speed of your internet connection will affect this, of course.

There are a lot of other built-in map sources you could try, the USGS has topo maps and aerial imagery, there are also free topo maps for Canada. Also possible to add other mapsources, but that gets complicated.

[Boyd Ostroff]

BTW, I should also add that using OpenStreetMap, USGS and the other built-in sources mentioned above, it will give you imagery that you are free to use in your movie (although you should probably mention them in the credits). Google Maps and imagery is copyrighted and if you want to play it by the book, you would need their permission.

[Paul R Johnson]

That's good stuff Boyd - thanks for posting this.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay thanks. I can use OpenStreetMap or the other ones. OpenStreetMap doesn't look as good as google earth though. Can I use google Earth if I recolor it to black and white, and no names from there show up, for example, or is that not good enough? The problem with OpenStreetMap is that it says the names of way too many places on it, where as I want a map with no names or words on it if possible.

[Josh Bass]

Most people would probably just create something specific in photoshop from scratch and draw all the relevant state lines roads etc. themselves.

[Brian Drysdale]

If you can get OpenStrreetMap into Photoshop, you mat be able to remove the street names.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

How many pages you think a simple map animation thread will be? Ryan can’t problem solve or think creatively to save his life. He needs to be constantly feed answers.

[Paul R Johnson]

I just wonder sometimes! Is not graphics something everyone studied at school to at least the kind of level we're talking about here. As for the copyright issues - I cannot believe any younger person doesn't know how to plagiarise, steal, mimic or copy material? I thought they all learned this unofficially in their teens?

Pete is totally right though, Ryan as a multi-disciplinary producer seems so ill equipped to do the job. Everything is so hard, and learning so difficult.

[Josh Bass]

Yes, I am seeing that seems to be the root of every issue that starts off every thread. It may be that in a job/environment where there are precise instructions for every single task, with no room for creative interpretation, and someone on hand all the time to give simple answers to questions that do come up, he would thrive (that’s probably what his day job entails—-he has one, dont think hes ever said what it was). But filmmaking or really any arts field is the opposite of all that and seems to be a bad fit for him.

[Boyd Ostroff]

Originally Posted by Ryan Elder

Can I use google Earth if I recolor it to black and white, and no names from there show up, for example

Can I take one of your movies if I recolor it to black and white and no names from the credits show up, for example?

[Ryan Elder]

Originally Posted by Paul R Johnson

I just wonder sometimes! Is not graphics something everyone studied at school to at least the kind of level we're talking about here. As for the copyright issues - I cannot believe any younger person doesn't know how to plagiarise, steal, mimic or copy material? I thought they all learned this unofficially in their teens?

Pete is totally right though, Ryan as a multi-disciplinary producer seems so ill equipped to do the job. Everything is so hard, and learning so difficult.

Oh well it's just that every time I try to come up with creative ways to solve a problem, I keep running into more problems within that solution, and then more problems, within that solution, etc. So I get stuck because I am not sure what to do then.

[Paul R Johnson]

The trouble Ryan is you have the ideas, but just can't come up with the way to do even these quite basic things. They're really very low down the difficulty list.