modifoo » framegrab http://modifoo.com film | technology | life Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:31:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 en Frame grabbing http://modifoo.com/2007/10/30/frame-grabbing.html http://modifoo.com/2007/10/30/frame-grabbing.html#comments Tue, 30 Oct 2007 08:16:23 +0000 Martin http://modifoo.com/2007/10/30/frame-grabbing.html Sometimes you have to produce photographs from films, so-called frame grabs. In Final Cut Pro this entails several clicks for each frame, something that becomes tiresome after a while. Also, if your material is anamorphic, you have to resize it in a separate programme, adding yet more clicks.Enter Movie Frame Grabber, a simple programme for the Mac.You drag a QT into the blue window, then you chose the frame you want, hit “Save Frame” and you are done.Much easier than using QT or FCP.One thing I noticed - and I am torn between calling it a feature or a bug - is that each frame gets exported in the same size as your windows is sized. I.E. When you have a 600×400 QT file, but your window is, say 605×605, you get a square picture. The good thing is that Movie Frame Grabber does a decent job of uprezzing. So if you need some quick framegrabs, this is a big time saver.

Wishes

What I would love are the following future features:

  • De-interlacing
  • Automatic naming and numbering of exported frames.
  • Option to export in native QT size (with option of having 16:9). Option of having 25%, 50%, 200%, 400% sizes. Throw in some advanced resizing calculations, and this could become a powerful tool that people would spend money on. This reviewer included.
  • Display of current window size.
  • A Text saying “Drop QT file here” instead of the blue screen — this threw me off at first; blue screen to me suggested that I would have to plug in a DV source.
  • Support for keyboard control. Space = start/stop. Arrow left/right = one frame advance/back.

That said, great little – and free – program.(Review at Macupdate.)

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