Animating a map with an airplane

[Marcus Martell]

How can i animate a map to show the flight of an airplane ?

Thank you so much

[Adam Stanislav]

I don’t know about the airplane, but this tutorial can get you started:

Line Animation in Sony Vegas - YouTube

[Leslie Wand]

prodad hieroglyph has this as a template...

[Pete Baratta]

Hi Marcus,

The easiest way I know is to download Route Generator...it's free.
You can put a picture or map as a background then place markers along the route. Click
playback and the line is generated as a smooth curve. You can also vary the width and
color of the line and also add an icon ( car, plane, boat, etc.) at the start of the line.

You can import from Google maps as well.
Finally, the whole thing can be exported as a movie, MP4, AVI and such.

Have Fun, Pete

[Roy Alexander]

I can't find a tutorial on how to use Route Generator. Any help before I download this app. will be appreciated. As I am 88 years old I need plain instructions. Thank you.

[Mike Kujbida]

Roy, I came across this tutorial on YouTube that seems easy enough.
I've never used it but it seems that it saves the route as a video file and a series of images. If the resulting video file isn't to your liking, you can always import the images as an image sequence into Vegas and modify it (speed up, slow down, freeze frame, etc.) as desired.

How To make travel route using freeware Route Generator (如何绘制旅游路线) - YouTube

[Pete Baratta]

Hi.

The Version # on this is 1.7 and it comes with a simple tutorial and help guide.

The only downside is the bitmap file can become HUGE ...just did a test
of a 5 second long map segment. Although the video size in mb can vary depending on the codec
used of which Route Gen has several, the Bitmap picture size might be 7 to 10 mb each.

My 5 second test at 25fps therefore ran into 125 separate bitmaps at 8mb each but once generated into a movie format that can be imported into Vegas the Bitmaps can be deleted.

It doesn't sound simple but it is really.

Pete.

[Roy Alexander]

Originally Posted by Mike Kujbida

Roy, I came across this tutorial on YouTube that seems easy enough.
I've never used it but it seems that it saves the route as a video file and a series of images. If the resulting video file isn't to your liking, you can always import the images as an image sequence into Vegas and modify it (speed up, slow down, freeze frame, etc.) as desired.

How To make travel route using freeware Route Generator (如何绘制旅游路线) - YouTube

Thanks Mike. But I can't follow this tutorial (1) it has no verbal explanation and (2) on my CP which is pretty good the image is faint and small that I can't follow what is being done. Thanks anyway

[Erik Phairas]

A simple way would be to draw the line on the map. Put the image of the map on the timeline above exact same image with the line drawn on it. Then you could use cookie cutter or something like that and slowly wipe away the top image revealing the image with the line on it. Then you just animate the image of the plane to follow the tip of the red line as it is exposed.

[Paul R Johnson]

How good are you with Vegas Roy? There are lots of ways to do it, assuming you have a handle on the basic functions. If you need something simple, like a left to right line appearing, then the layering of images is the basic level secret. Do you know how to key one image over another? Allowing say a logo to be keyed over a background? Assuming you can do this, the cookie cutter idea would let you reveal bits of the image gradually, but there are other ways, as per the suggestions.

With Vegas and premiere pro, tutorials always assume basics are already covered, so they rarely explain what is happening, assuming the viewer understands. In addition, many of ease so called tutorials are people showing off, or really really good people assuming they're helping, which many of course aren't.

Far too many assumptions to make tutorials work on these platforms.

I often use them when I just can't figure out how a rarely used feature works. In almost every case, you see the hidden menu, or spot the one little button you forgot to turn on, and then you switch it off and work on your own again.
The very first YouTube link is pretty good, is this of no use. It copies the map, adds a line, then simply reveals it.this is probably as simple as you go. Using a new programme needs you to learn a totally new pice of software and then integrate what it produces. Is the first one no good? Even if you don't have photoshop, the basic idea works. Copy the picture into anything like Microsoft paint. Draw in the route, save it. Bring that I to Vegas, and do a simple wipe. This might do for your purposes?..

In education speak, programmes like Vegas require the user to have kinaesthetic learning abilities. You learn from basically fiddling with it. Those that need step by step instructions struggle, like those who like to read manuals cover to cover before turning a piece of kit on.

We can't help unless you can explain exactly where you are in the process. Can you draw, for example, the curve you want to 'uncover''? Do you know how to key? Are you ok on animating masks and cutouts, wipes etc? We don't know how to advise at your level and proficiency with the software.

[Roy Alexander]

thank you everyone who has offered advice to me on this matter. I will take time to ponder over it.

[Chris Harding]

Download a trial copy of Heroglyph Roy ..it's really easy and generates the route automatically and even supplies so0me icons too!! Makes very nice titles too!!!

There is a demo tutorial here Heroglyph

[Roy Alexander]

Can anyone tell me if the Route Generator works with 32bit and 64 bit windows 7. I am having problems with the end product. I set the duration for 3 seconds but there are so many frames transferred to Vegas movie studio that it seems to play for ever. On some ocassions the result wont play at all. My fault of course but I don't know what I am doing wrong as the help line might as well be in chinese

[Roy Alexander]

Originally Posted by Pete Baratta

Hi.

The Version # on this is 1.7 and it comes with a simple tutorial and help guide.

The only downside is the bitmap file can become HUGE ...just did a test
of a 5 second long map segment. Although the video size in mb can vary depending on the codec
used of which Route Gen has several, the Bitmap picture size might be 7 to 10 mb each.

My 5 second test at 25fps therefore ran into 125 separate bitmaps at 8mb each but once generated into a movie format that can be imported into Vegas the Bitmaps can be deleted.

It doesn't sound simple but it is really.

Pete.

Pete. How do I generate into a movie format. I have successfully made an AVI file but although Vegas Movie studio 10 puts the file onto the timeline it won't play it IT shows the plane travelling the route if I move the cursor manually across the image, but that's all. That's why I asked if the route generator works with Windows 64 bit which is what I have the Vegas studio on. I could be barking up the wrong tree of course.

[Roy Alexander]

Thanks to everyone giving advice. I am happy to say I've sussed out the problem and everything now works well.