[open] Using a video file as a background

booho

Hi all,
I'm new at OpenSesame and wanted to know if there is an option to add a media file - video file - to the experiment as a background.
Thanks,
Gali

Daniel

It should be possible, but it is not easy; not in the current way that the video player is implemented in OpenSesame. I have never tried this myself, so the suggestions I give below are untested and not warranted to work.

You could try putting the code with which you draw the stimuli to the screen in the "Custom python code" area of the media player. This is code that is executed after every video frame renderinIf the drawing code in there is executed, it should be drawn on top of the video.

Another way would be to make direct use of the video playing functions that are implemented in the plug-in. There are functions to play, pause, load a video file, etc. that should be usable from inline and exernal script items. It will involve a lot of programming and will definitely not be easy, but you might be able to get the job done this way.

Be aware that you will be limited to the legacy backend for using the video player. This module is hopelessly outdated and I hope to find the time to give it an update soon.'

sebastiaan

As Daniel says, it's a bit tricky, but I would like to add another possible method (not necessarily better than using the media_player, just different): You can use OpenCV to playback your video file. The script below illustrates how to do this. It plays 10 frames and draws a red rectangle on top of the video. It should work straight-away in OpenSesame (using the legacy back-end only!), but you'll obviously need to tweak it (heavily) to fit your needs.

More info:

• http://opencv.willowgarage.com/documentation/python/index.html
• http://www.pygame.org/docs/ref/

[pastebin:xtX66ZW2]

Good luck and don't hesitate to post more questions!