Film Strip Technique

Today I found a free truetype font that makes up realistic looking 35mm film, complete with sprocket holes and a film can.

A comma generates the 35mm film can, each letter typed becomes a frame of the film that
starts to lay it's self out across the screen and a full stop makes the film leader.
I thought this was ok and could be useful, so made a moving title in EditDV's using
the font. Experimenting, I set the Composite Mode in the "More" tab to "Alpha", with
a brightly coloured clip of a Peacock Butterfly behind, this blacked out the background
and just left the moving filmstrip which had become alive with the reds and yellows and
golds of the butterfly showing through the film, dancing and shimmering as the butterfly
moved behind.

Feeling quite chuffed I rendered it to the VP track, noted the name EditDV had given
this, closed EditDV then loaded this into After Effects. Applying the PS+Wave Generator
to it, produced the effect of the film twisting realistically as it tracked across the
screen. Fine, but there was too much black area above the filmstrip, first a Lens Flare,
then finally the Lighting Effects Filter (pinched from PhotoShop) finished off this
AfterEffects treatment and I rendered it out using the Digital Origin codec.

Well, I wish I could show you it! The flare produced sparkling coloured rings of various
sizes and I moved the flare centre in an arc so as to simulate a speeded up setting sun,
the flare intensity decreasing as it "set" This cost me a few hours but I enjoyed it.

NOTE: Font is in the Download Shareware section

Claire Watson, (EditDV 1.01 for Windows)