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Participant
October 30, 2019
Question

Add a stroked path to video

  • October 30, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 326 views

I have a video of a golf swing. I want to overlay two stroked paths: one showing the clubhead path on the backswing and another stroked path showing the clubhead path on the downswing. I know how to create stroked paths, but I can't figure out how to get stroked paths to overlay the video. In my case the stroked paths do not have to be animated. They both should appear throughout the entire 35 second slow motion clip. I am using the current Photoshop CC. Thanks in advance for help with this.

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    2 replies

    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 30, 2019

    You'll probably need to create a separate video group for each of the stroked path layers you want to show for the entire clip. Fortunately, that's very easy to do:

     

     

    If you don't create a separate video group, what will probably happen is that any layers you add will insist on being sequenced before or after other clips in the same video group. I think a separate video group is needed for any clip that you want to display simultaneously with other clips playing back.

    teetime17Author
    Participant
    October 30, 2019

    Conrad, it was sequencing the path clip with the base video. I've fixed that with new video group for each of the two paths but I'm still having a problem stroking the path once it is created. Let me describe exactly what I am doing and maybe you can spot where I'm going wrong.

    1. I created a Photoshop video project with my golf swing clip on Video Group 1.
    2. I created Video Group 2 and used the curvature pen tool to create an arc that traces the club head during the swing. To do this I positioned the play head at the begining of the swing and using the pen tool created the first point where the club head is. Then I advanced the club head a second or so and placed another point. I repeated this until the club head was at the top of the backswing. Then I pressed ESC to finish the arc. At this poing I could see the path, and I could move the play head through the entire swing and the golf club head followed the path.
    3. I then created Video Group 3 and repeated the steps in 2, creating another path that traces the down swing.
    4. Now in the Paths panel I can switch between the "Club Head Back" path and the "Club Head Down" path. 
    5. Finally, I now want to stroke each of these path (using different properties for each to give visual differentiation). However, the stroke path function is disabled. I then reselected the path (which enables the points) but still can;t stroke the path. I have verified I have the corresponding Video Group and Path selected. By the way, I don't actually see any visual indication that something is on either Video Group 2 or Video Group 3.

    I hope I have explained this clearly enough for someone to see where I am in error.

     

    EDIT: I see now what the problem is. The paths are actually created on the video layer (Layer1) under Video Group 1. I discovered this to be the case when I disabled Video Groups 2 & 3 and the paths were still there. Once I selected Layer 1 I was able to stroke the path.

     

    EDIT2: There was still a problem in that doing the above added the stroked path to only a single frame of the video. Here is the correct procedure AFAIK:

    1. Create a Video Group with the video you want to overlay with a stroked path and convert it to a Smart Object.
    2. Create a new layer under the Video Group for EACH path you will create.
    3. Size each of the layers to span the part of the video over which the stroked path is to appear.
    4. Select the target layer and create the path.
    5. With that path selected, stroke the path in the normal manner.
    6. Repeat 3-5 for each of the remaining paths you wish to create.

    Each stroked path will now overlay the video for the length of its respective layer.

    Mylenium
    Legend
    October 30, 2019

    Not sure what you are looking for, but in your case adding new layers as individual tracks to the timeline should more than suffice.

     

    Mylenium