Embedded Files
I have to be very careful about using the original Brady Bunch soundtrack theme to accompany the above video for copyright reasons. Hopefully you can visualise and audiolise (a word I’ve just made up I’m sure) how the above video might be presented with 9 grinning subjects and a soundtrack cooked sometime back in the late 6Ts
The project has been built using the sometimes intimidating , but ever so usefulAvisynth. I have attempted to create a replica of the original Brady Bunch intro sequence but there are a few minor differences – none that cause me any loss of sleep !
For users that are new to Avisynth check out my Avisynth introduction for new users
Here is a brief overview:
The main project folder contains some sample aviscipts,an mp3 audio track, a single image for the “Brady bunch” text overlay, and three folders. The two folders named “Act1″ and “Act2.” correspond to the two distinct appearances of each family member. Act1 folder will contain 8 videos and Act2 will contain 9 (Including Alice). The third folder titled “Do Not Touch” contains essential images to make the effect work.
There are 3 scripts:
BB_Full.avs – This is the all singing all dancing version that renders the output video with the audio track. A “Brady Bunch” image overlay is included. The most critical thing is the soundtrack mp3 and getting it to synch up nicely with the video. In my tests I used the “The Brady Buch Theme” included on “Televisions Greatest Hits Volume 2″ which synchs up perfectly
BB_Full_AudioDelay.avs – Identical to the above but a small 0.5 second delay has been added to the audio. www.mythemes.tv have a couple of Brady Bunch intro themes that synch nicely with the video using this script although users are advised to read the sites disclaimer before considering their use.
BB-Minimal.avs – Same as BB_Full.avs, except that the audio and text overlay have been removed. The intention of this is in case anyone should wish to add audio and text titles to the rendered output video in something like Movie Maker2. I could include many more variations, but it would be far more useful for users to dive in themselves and modify the scripts to their own requirements. This is where having Avisynth awareness is hugely beneficial. Inside the scripts I have written some notes that will hopefully assist in certain things such as delaying the audio track or altering the video resolution
I have based the scripts on using wmv source videos. Videos created within Windows Movie Maker 2 seem to work very nicely. I’ve tested both PAL (25fps) and NTSC (29.97) videos and they both work fine, although I would advise against mixing up both types together. DV-AVI videos created within MM2 also work fine and will probably produce a higher quality result. If using DV encoded avi files a user will need to open up the scripts and change the 17 occurrences of .wmv to .avi. While the script might work with videos that have been encoded differently to the above, just be aware that you may suffer from issues associated with the Directshow filters installed and registered on your PC – YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
The source videos will not loop and will display a static image of the last frame if the video is short and finishes early. I would advise making all source vids at least 30 seconds in length to play safe. Avisynth will trim all source videos to the correct length including all of the fades. The grid below shows the position of each video.
Because the script and project as a whole is quite complex I have decided to make the scripts available as part of a fully working project with test videos, audio and images. Users will need to replace the included video and audio files with their own. Before doing so however I would advise running the scripts as a test standard. If the test videos render OK , then that will be a firm foundation to build the project upon. In my tests I used Nic’s Encoder to feed the aviscripts in to. The settings I used for NTSC videos are as shown below. If PAL source videos are used then the FPS box would need to be altered to 25 to obtain the best results.
That’s it – I hope you have fun with this effect and not to many problems!
Further resources
“The Brady Bunch” text overlay in the effect is a png image. It was created using the free and excellent INKSCAPE. Anybody using INKSCAPE can easily alter the text to their own requirements. An Inkscape project file has been included for download below. Simply open in Inkscape, alter the text, and then export the page to a png bitmap. The project file depends on a suitable Brady Bunch font being installed in a users font folder otherwise Inkscape will select a default font. The Inkscape project file I have uploaded requires this Brady Bunch Font
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