Resize behaviour in MEP 2022

Basel-Shishani wrote on 9/2/2021, 12:41 AM

[Version 21.0.1.85 UDP3]

Hi everyone,

So I upgraded to MEP 2022, and I'm seeing that the video resize effect [Size/Position/Rotation] has been redesigned in an unconventional way. The handler icons are bigger than before which is good, but there are new issues. Before, it used to be that selecting one handle point on the frame would make the opposite point an anchor for resizing. But in this new design all the handle points exhibit the same exact behaviour where the centre point is always the anchor regardless of the choices of the handle point, and the resizing affects all the edges of the video.

This behaviour is rather annoying because commonly one has fixed an edge and just wants to keep it anchored without having to move the image again. Worse, levelling the video becomes a time-wasting repeat operation. Say I want to level the top of a speaker head with some point in a background object by resizing the talking head video. I would have to cycle through resizing, then moving to align the bottom edge, then checking the if the level is right, then resizing again and moving again, and so on. All this because the resize operation now affects all edges; so utterly annoying design. In the conventional design, I could grab by the top handle, and the bottom edge remains anchored, and I can resize to the desired point.

Another issue is the lack of horizontal/vertical only movement (with CTRL or SHIFT while dragging) that is very common in most graphics software. Again if an edge is fixed and just one direct of movement is desired, the free movement disturbs that and a careful and time wasting repositions is required.

Any thoughts on this?!

Comments

me_again wrote on 9/2/2021, 4:28 AM

@Basel-Shishani

Greetings,

I wish I could help but this has got me totally confused. I arrange a zoom on a clip with camer/zoom shot and then want to centralise the zoomed bit so go into size/position/rotation and centralise it only to find it's b****red up the full shot.

AndyW

EDIT - From what John CB has said, this action now seems to be the same as in VPX. Does anyone with VPX have a tutorial to show how the system works for just a simple photo - for example a portrait photo in portrait aspect zooming from a waist shot to a head and shoulders shot within the width of the preview window i.e no black sides, then how to centralise the zoomed shot and maybe move it up or down.

I've spent a couple of hours this motning, trying without too much success.

It was simple in MEP 202, now it appear to be a complete faff - sorry, been reading PG Wodhouse, he likes that word.

browj2 wrote on 9/3/2021, 11:26 PM

@Basel-Shishani

Hi,

...in this new design all the handle points exhibit the same exact behaviour...

Uncheck "Combine input fields" and you can now stretch whereby using the different handles stretches/shrinks disproportionately.

Having horizontal/vertical only movement (with CTRL or SHIFT) while dragging would be great. I have always had to note the x or y values and then adjust after moving.

You forgot to mention the lack of the rotation handle.

John CB

Basel-Shishani wrote on 9/3/2021, 11:31 PM

@browj2

...Uncheck "Combine input fields" and you can now stretch

I'm not trying to stretch the image. I'll record a video on the issues I'm facing with this new design.

CubeAce wrote on 9/4/2021, 1:05 AM

@Basel-Shishani

Hi Basil.

I think I have always had to crop or changed the perspective of an image before I have been able resize it.

What has annoyed me more is not being able to add a key frame before a rotation handle is touched. Even if then the rotation handle is then set back to zero.

Ray.

johnebaker wrote on 9/4/2021, 4:16 AM

@Basel-Shishani

See this and the following comments

HTH

John EB

browj2 wrote on 9/4/2021, 8:02 AM

@Basel-Shishani

Hi Basel,

You can move the anchor point to one of the nodes or edges that you want fixed, then pull a node and the image will resize from the anchor point. The anchor point is probably most useful for rotation. With the new anchor, there is a lot more flexibility, however, it should be possible to snap the anchor point to a node and have a button to select the anchor point location, something like in Xara.

I would also like to see the zoom slider/percentage control back in.

John CB

Basel-Shishani wrote on 9/4/2021, 11:03 PM

@browj2

... You can move the anchor point to one of the nodes or edges

That's what I'm doing now, but it's awkward and more time-consuming. The objection is to ruining user experience and making common tasks harder to perform, not making them unachievable. Also exact positioning of the anchor-point is not possible if more accurate control is desired (discussed below).

The anchor point is more flexible, but adding an anchor point feature doesn't mean we have to remove the established convention of the 8 handles and opposite anchors. Resizing to anchor-point is a single action that should be achievable by a single point of interaction, for example a slider in the control area rather than handles on the canvas. It just goes against established UX norms to provide 8 handles that all perform the exact same action, which should be sufficient to tell us there's something problematic about the design.

Apart from that, there's a also a major flaw in the interface for positioning the anchor point. What's the point of providing fields for moving the anchor-point that repositions the image itself!! That means that exact positioning of the anchor-point is not achievable (except without going through the additional fields of image position too!!).

The interface definitely needs major polishing: snapping to anchors that you mentioned if they insist on the current design, a feature to restrict to vertical/horizontal while dragging, providing slider resizing for an option maybe, and associating anchor-point movement to a single field and untying it from image repositioning to allow for clean and exact anchor-point positioning, to mention the most obvious.

Other minor annoyances are that anchor hovering should change the mouse pointer because it's a different action from image movement, and that canvas view zoom should be available at all points (it has been disabled within the resize frame).

browj2 wrote on 9/4/2021, 11:30 PM

@Basel-Shishani

Hi Basel,

This definitely needs work.

Good catch on the zoom in Preview Window not working if the mouse is within the box. That looks to be a bug to me.

Take a look at my comments/test about Size/Position/Rotation in this thread, third page. The impact of the anchor point location is more evident when using rotation.

Snapping to nodes when moving anchors plus the selection button would solve some problems.

Also, I agree, the mouse pointer should change when over the anchor point.

John CB