Media In in a Fusion Composition

I searched through the forum in multiple ways and did not find an answer ot this - may be I am not using the terms correctly. I am on Davinci Reslve Version 16 (free version).

Here is what I would like to do.

1) Create a fusion composition (FC1).
2) Add a video clip for the media in.(MC1)
3) The MC1 clip is about 3 minutes long.
4) I am at present connecting the media in to media out. Just plain vanilla composition.

The composition plays fine on the timeline. It is on a top of a video layer VL0 below it - which is quite long, say 8-9 minutes.

5) I want to make the FC1 composition longer. I am unable to do so as the Media In is only 3 minutes.

6) What I would like to do is make the FC1 Composition as long as I want -- and the Media In (MC1) contents of FC1 be looped to the new length of FC1.

Are there any setup/configurations/tips through which I can make Media In in the Fusion clip behave like a continuous feed? simply loop and feed frames to media out as long as needed i.e. for the full duration of the composition? (like the behavior one gets if the media IN was an image and not a video clip).

Note: I am leaving out all unessential details to simply state what I want to do. Please be assured that I know why I need this idiom - and I do not want to resort to other trivial methods like simply repeating the composition on the time line as many times as needed.

7) You can hold this out for the moment but I need to address this as well. I would like to use only some part, say middle 1 minute section of the MC1 clip. So looping should be only on that part.

Thanks in advance.

br Sri.

P.S. I saw a few posts on compound clips and looping - may be posters from there could clarify whether that can be used. Ideally, I would like Merge or Transform Node taking the input from the Media IN to select frames from Media IN according to [time] expression.

The MediaIn node has a "Loop" option but it appears to break the auto scaling of nodes in a Fusion Composition. In other words, a MediaIn node set to loop will not automatically increase its length (as seen in Keyframes pane) when the composition is grown.

This method works:
- Connect the MediaIn to a TimeStretcher node, and then connect the TimeStretcher to the next node (or MediaOut)
- Keyframe "Source Time" in the TimeStretcher from 0 to <last frame of MediaIn1> over that many frames, eg if MedIaIn1 is 900 frames, keyframe Source Time with two keyframes, frame 0: value 0, frame 899: value 899
- In Spline Editor, select the two keyframes, right-click, choose "Set Loop" -> Loop.
- Spline Editor will now look something like this:

- Now duplicate your Fusion Composition and extend its length, and MediaIn1 will loop up to whatever length the new FC is.

Dear TheBloke

Thanks for your quick response.

a) I am unable to navigate to the "Loop" setting for the Media In. Appreciate your help/navigation path.

b) I will also try the procedure you laid out -- that overcomes some other issues which you foresee.

Sri.

The Bloke

I am coming back to Davinci Resolve after a gap of 3-4 months and struggling with navigation and menus again.

a) - Keyframe "Source Time" in the TimeStretcher from 0 to <last frame of MediaIn1> over that many frames, eg if MedIaIn1 is 900 frames, keyframe Source Time with two keyframes, frame 0: value 0, frame 899: value 899

** I think I have done this step properly.


b) - In Spline Editor, select the two keyframes, right-click, choose "Set Loop" -> Loop.

** I am stalled on this. Just cannot figure out how to select the keyframes. I have tried to select using rectangular select. Of both starting and end points.

Right click does not bring any option for Set Loop -> Loop.

Earlier I had seen some faint options on a bar below the main panels and there was one Set Loop there, pops up on mouse over. Cannot see that when I select Spline Editor.

I am missing some things.



- Spline Editor will now look something like this:

*** By the way the image you attached was too dark and with little contrast to see. I copied the image and pasted it inside Paint.Net and did some resizing and some color changes to see what you were trying to show. I could see that you have a Saw Tooth waveform repeating -- indicative of loops.

** I could not get this pattern for whatever reason. I guess I have to select the base Saw pattern, which I can get on Keyframe/Spline Panel, and repeat/loop to the full length of the composition. Since I do not see Set Loop-> Loop, I am stalled here.

- Now duplicate your Fusion Composition and extend its length, and MediaIn1 will loop up to whatever length the new FC is.

** I am unable to extend the length of the edited composition and also not of the duplicated composition.

Clearly I am missing some things and not executing or unable to execute the procedure you laid out truthfully.

Will dig bac into the user manual again to brush up on the keyframes, Splines panel and also times stretcher node. If you can spot what I may be doing wrong let me know.

Sri.

!! SUCCESS !!

TheBloke,

I explored your first tip and I should have known better that, Resolve can be idiomatic and temperamental. Figured out that How you create the Fusion Composition makes a BIG difference.

I now have a way to do Video Clip as a Continuous Feed, rather trivially and addresses all my original needs.

Create New Fusion Composition
Set the length to something like 2 minutes.
You can always reduce or increase it later.
Open that composition in Fusion.
Now drag and drop a media clip.
Select it and open the inspector.

Viola..
You can adjust the trim
as well as,
set the Loop on.
Remember to set the Global In/Out in the inspector to full length (left and right ends)

Now drag this Fusion Composition to the time line.
You can adjust the duration of the clip any time and as much as you desire.

Works nicely.

I can also add other nodes in the fusion composition, like mask, transform, merge etc. and everything works fine!!

I will keep a watch for the other issue(s) you mentioned.

Thanks again

Sri.