Multistate Object for Video - Video Builder

[eliecreative]

Some Background: I'm creating a "Build your own video" kind of widget.  User gets to select 5 out of 14 choices as well as 1 of 4 songs.  I was able to get everything to work from a logical standpoint.  Since I wanted the music to play through rather than jumping around, I opted for event video as opposed to slide video with bookmarks.  I created a multistate object with 16 states (opening, closing, and 14 options).  The opening is 10 seconds, the closing is 10 second, and the 14 options are each 5 seconds.  These are not huge video files.  I'm also running this on a really powerful computer).

The Problem that I'm experiencing is that while some of the first few states work fine, when switched, states ~6-16 show up as a blank screen.

Are there known issues with too many states on a muiltistate object in Captivate?  Perhaps is video related?

Alternativley, is there a workaround to get the background music to not jump around on a slide based/bookmarked video interaction when video is being jumped from bookmark to bookmark?

Thanks!

[Lilybiri]

Not sure to understand completely what you want? Looks like you want to compose a complete video by assembling partial videos?  And add one audio clip? I have never tried something similar, but want to give you some answers and hope another user has more experience for your use case.

Personally I have created multistate objects with a lot more states, but not with event video. Audio and Video needs ot be loaded On Enter for the slide where they are sitting, and that can take a while. Conclusion: not the number of states but the fact they contain event videos may be the problem.

I suspect you do the assembling by having a sequence of Change state commands, and using the Delay Next actions to care for the duration of each video? How do you add the song? 

Wrong assumption about slide video always needing bookmarks. The layers for bookmark and overlay are always there for any slide video, but you don't need to use them. However I understand the issue with using such a slide where parts should be skipped. 

[eliecreative]

Thanks Lily,

You are pretty much correct in my approach.  I have an initial slide that asks the users for their choices (up to 5 out of 14) and then I create a group of variables and expressions that increasingly adds 5 seconds increments (the length of each clip) to 14  unique delay action (either to be used as change state or to jump to bookmark in order to compile the video).  On entering the slide that actually assembles the video,  I have an advanced action that has if statements that initiates the 5 selected delay actions.  Due to the advanced action executing all decision at once, this approach was the only way I could think of to achieve the the desired outcome in order to have different delay amounts for each clip. Hope that makes sense.

Below are two links.  The first is to the multistate version where only states 1-5 show up.  The other link is to the slide video/bookmark version where the audio jumps around because its part of the slide.  With both versions I am adding the sound directly to the timeline.  If I add it via the multistate object properties or grouped into the advance action, the audio cuts out when the next delay decision is enabled.

Multistate Version: www.eliecreative.com/sssw/Acceptance%20Videos%202021/Drafts/VideoBuilder_multistate_v1/index.html

Slide Video: www.eliecreative.com/sssw/Acceptance%20Videos%202021/Drafts/VideoBuilder_v1/index.html

I have some background in elearning and captivate but I am primarily a video guy hence my goal of using captivate to produce some really engaging and ambitious video content.  Here is an example of a really complex project I wrapped up last month: http://vive.leffellschool.org

[Lilybiri]

Interesting, but personally I never have done or seen something similar.

The slide video version seems better except for the background audio. Just an idea: why not try to use the Play audio command instead of slide audio? No synchronisation is needed in this case, no Closed Captioning. Of course you need an audio clip which is long enough. You could use the Delay action command with 'Stop triggered audio' to stop the audio at the end (see further about trial and error testing).

IMO there are two possible causes for the problems:

• All audio and video needs to be loaded On Enter for a slide, which can cause delays. You could have a short timed static object to offer more time for loading.
• Delay Next actions... is a useful command but it is very strict, it will not take into account delays, lags, and will not respect pausing. That is what is causing the interruptions in the state version. To make it work perfectly (have used it as well) you need to test the delay time by trial and error.

[eliecreative]

Thanks for taking an interest in this despite not having attempted something like this before.

With regards to trying hte play audio command as part of the advance action (in the slide video version).  The issue that I'm experiencing is that the audio cuts out after the first decision is executed.  This happens wether I place it as the first decision or the last.  Another seemingly strange glitch that should logicially work. 

I would like to try the times static object idea that you had to see if it will help give time to things load.  Can you clarify how I would go about this?

Thanks!

[Lilybiri]

I never tried this but I am really comfortable with advanced/shared actions which I have explored since over a decade. Can you insert a screenshot of the advanced action you are using? Use the Preview window for advanced actions, easier to read when you have multiple decisions. 

[eliecreative]

even the preview window needed scrolling since there are 15 decisions.

That being said, you're welcome to download and take a look at the actual project:

www.eliecreative.com/sssw/Acceptance%20Videos%202021/Drafts/Captivate.zip

[Lilybiri]

I'm wondering if it couldn't be simplified (the advanced action)? I know that the Preview will need scrolling, but it is a lot better than seeing multiple screenshots of THEN/ELSE screens. I suspect many decisions are similar as well.

Sorry, but to limit the number of hours I spent for free, I decided not to download projects. Thanks for the trust anyway.

[eliecreative]

No worries, don't feel pressured to resolve this for me, don't want to monopolize your time.  I've attached the screenshots just in case.  I realize I'm definitly pushing the boundaries of what Captivate was intended for.  I wish Adobe would realize it's potential for video creators and really invest the time and energy in making it a fully functional solution for that type of work. 

[Lilybiri]

Feel free to launch a feature request. Beware: as I told, I never did see any similar request in the forums. Here is a link to the form:

FeatureRequest

BTW I don't see the Play audio command in the advanced action.

[eliecreative]

For sure, I'll do that.  The play audio command was taken out because it doesn't play after the first decision is executed.  It was placed directly on the timeline for that reason.  Thanks for your help!