Using the Time Object

[louwjlabuschagne]

Is there a way to receive the player position (Seconds or tics..doesnt matter) as kind of a variable for calculations? F.e. my Player is at 1 sec, meaning it's lokated at 254016000000 ticks. Now I need this value in seconds (getting this by dividing by 254016000000) to do some simple maths for my Automation. Later on I want to use this value to insert another clip at a certain caltulated point like this: activeSequence.videoTracks[0].insertClip(PartB, "[calculated point]"). What ever I do, I receive 'illegal parameter' warning. Maybe you can help me..thanks!

[louwjlabuschagne]

Try the following:

var videoTrackNr = 0;
var seq = app.project.activeSequence;
var videoTrack = seq.videoTracks[videoTrackNr];
var clips = videoTrack.clips;
var clip = clips[0];
var clipStartTime = clip.start;

clipStartTime.seconds = clipStartTime.seconds + 5;

videoTrack.insertClip(clip.projectItem, clipStartTime.ticks);

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/10983628/119355879-0f2afa80-bca6-11eb-8891-8756056235aa.mp4

[titusFTV]

Thanks for your response! I'm not sure if this will do. Let me explain my problem in detail: I have one video file, split in 3 Parts (Part A, B and C). After every part I need to check whether the clip-end Timecode is below or above 30 seconds (minutes and hours don't matter). If it is below 30 seconds, the automation has to put a 'special' black frame (2 minute long .mxf video file) into the timeline right after part A, which ends at exactly at the following full minute (f.e.: Part A ends at 00:20:25:00 [HH:MM:SS:FF] so the black frame has to end at 00:21:00:00.). If the clip-end is above 30 seconds it has to end exactly at the second next full minute (Part A ends at 00:21:35:00 -> black frame ends at 00:23:00:00). I've already done the maths behind that, I just need to get the correct parameter to use the following command "activeSequence.videoTracks[0].insertClip(BlackFrame, [the time in seconds or ticks I calculated])"

So the variable 'd' should be my end time, but every time I execute the script I receive "Illegal Parameter type" in this line: "activeSequence.videoTracks[0].insertClip(BlackFrame, d)"

[titusFTV]

clipStartTime.seconds = clipStartTime.seconds + 5;

Or is it possible to use my calculated variable d, instead of 5 in this case?

I'm new to this, excuse all these questions :D Greetings

[titusFTV]

A bit for the context. Sorry for the missing snippit on the right side. I took this photo last week in office for a colleague. I don't think there is anything essential missing, to understand what I was doing

[louwjlabuschagne]

@titusFTV try the following:

var seq = app.project.activeSequence;
var blackClipProjItem = seq.videoTracks[1].clips[0].projectItem;
var videoTrackNr = 0;
var videoTrack = seq.videoTracks[videoTrackNr];
var clips = videoTrack.clips;
var clip = clips[0];
var clipEndTime = clip.end;

// We use the modules (%) operator to give us the seconds after we remove all the minutes
// if the seconds where 183, then 183 % 60 = 3,
// if the secods where 179, then 179 % 60 = 59
var secondsModulus60 = clipEndTime.seconds % 60;
// we can then use the `secondsModulus60` variable to determine
// if we are before or after the 30s mark
var isBefore30s = secondsModulus60 < 30;

// This might be the ingrediant you were needing,
// you can initialise a new Time object and set the seconds
// and the ticks will update automatically, this way you
// don't have to worry about converting between the 2.
// Plus, if you do normal math on the seconds, which are Integers,
// the the ticks, which are Strings, reflect this
var durationTime = new Time();

// Below we calculate how long our black clip needs to be
// If before 30s, then we only fill up to the next minute
// If after 30s, then we fill all the way to the next minute
if (isBefore30s) {
  durationTime.seconds = 60 - secondsModulus60;
} else {
  durationTime.seconds = 60 + (60 - secondsModulus60);
}

// Since there is no way to set the duration of our clip,
// we need to alter the endPoint, this can be done using
// the setOutPoint method on our black clip's project item
// the ProjectItem.setOutPoint method takes 2 arguments:
// time: in ticks as a String
// mediaType: as an integer that represents a lookup of Video: 1, Audio: 2, Both: 4,
blackClipProjItem.setOutPoint(durationTime.ticks, 4);

videoTrack.overwriteClip(blackClipProjItem, clipEndTime.ticks);

[louwjlabuschagne]

Vid of it filling to the next second if the clip ends after 30s:

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/10983628/119552143-af624b80-bd9a-11eb-9025-23a280d5a0eb.mp4

[louwjlabuschagne]

Vid of it filling to the second if the clip ends before 30s:

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/10983628/119552276-cef97400-bd9a-11eb-843c-3b083712868f.mp4

[titusFTV]

Hi there! So I have an update for you. There is good and bad news. The good one: the code snippit is working perfectly. The bad one: inserting clips right after the "trimmed" blackClipProjItem doesn´t work like I did before. I´ve tried for hours but always received "illegal parameter type" in line 107. I tried stuff like using the clipLength as ticks or seconds, I´ve tried using the "overwriteClip" command and set the playhead to the ending of the BlackFrame, took the PlayerPosition.seconds/.ticks and so on..nothing worked. Even the console told me, that var "duration" is a string (like needed for the commands I used [Source: https://readthedocs.org/projects/premiere-scripting-guide/downloads/pdf/latest/ 20.2.3 & 20.2.1]. I couldn´t solve the problem.

I´m using PrPr2020 ver. 14.3/14.0..

What do I do? Greetings

[louwjlabuschagne]

@titusFTV can you confirm that the importPartB_SM is of type ProjectItem.

If you can maybe paste the line of code where you declare importBlack and importPartB_SM?

Also, if you can maybe paste the code as text, not as an image, then I can pop in on my side and see if it works... Check out the Syntax highlighting section on https://guides.github.com/features/mastering-markdown/

Basically you can wrap your code in 3 back ticks, i.e. `

On a more conceptional level, what are you trying to achieve? Loop through all the clips on track 1 and fill it with the black clip depending on the below30s criteria?

[titusFTV]

app.project.importFiles("L:\\2_Ingest\\AZ\\ExtendScript\\Legalizer.mxf");           //0
app.project.importFiles("L:\\2_Ingest\\AZ\\ExtendScript\\Legalizer_30sek.mxf"); //1
app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + WDH);                                        //2
app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartA_SM);                                 //3
app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartB_SM);                                 //4
app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartC_SM);                                 //5
_//~ app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartA_CF);                                  //6
//~ app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartB_CF);                                  //7
//~ app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartC_CF);                                  //8_

var importBlack30 = app.project.rootItem.children[1];
var importWDH = app.project.rootItem.children[2];
var importPartA_SM = app.project.rootItem.children[3];
var importBlack = app.project.rootItem.children[0];
var importPartB_SM = app.project.rootItem[4]; _//**so this is where Problems began, there´s just 2 children missing :)**_
var importPartC_SM = app.project.rootItem[5];```

These are the lines where everything needed is getting Imported and declared.
The main goal is to insert 3 Clips (PartA, PartB and PartC) into one timeline and add the blackframe right after every single Part, filling the gaps between Parts A,B & C depending on the below30s criteria. No trimming, no cutting on Part A, B and C, just put it in as it is. The Part right after the blackFrame has to begin right at a full minute. (Currently the next Part begins with one frame offset; too early..but it depends on the clips. It is kind of random, sometimes the next Part starts at full minute, sometimes at one frame offset).
While writing this I´ve already found my mistake in the lines above. Import now works just fine, there is just the fine-tuning of the timing left. (Btw, you might be asking if it is necessary that the Parts B and C begin at exactly the full minute: yes, it really is :D). 

### **The full code:**
```javascript
var project = app.project;
var projectItem = project.rootItem;

_// Deklaration Staffel und Sendung_
var Staffel = "04";
var Sendung = "13"; 

_// Deklaration Sourcepath_
var importFolder = "L:\\2_Ingest\\AZ\\AZ" + Sendung;

_//Deklaration importclips_
var PartA_SM = "LNB_S" + Staffel + "_F" + Sendung + "_Part_A.mxf";
var PartB_SM ="LNB_S" + Staffel + "_F" + Sendung + "_Part_B.mxf";          
var PartC_SM = "LNB_S" + Staffel + "_F" + Sendung + "_Part_C.mxf";
var PartA_CF = "LNB_S" + Staffel + "_F" + Sendung + "_Part_A_CF.mxf";
var PartB_CF = "LNB_S" + Staffel + "_F" + Sendung + "_Part_B_CF.mxf";
var PartC_CF = "LNB_S" + Staffel + "_F" + Sendung + "_Part_C_CF.mxf";
var WDH = "LNB_S" + Staffel + "_F" + Sendung + "_WDH.mxf";
var Black = "Legalizer.mxf";
var Black30 = "Legalizer_30sek";

_//Deklaration Sequenzen_
var Seq_SM = "LNB_S" + Staffel + "_F" + Sendung + "_SM";
var Seq_CF = "LNB_S" + Staffel + "_F" + Sendung + "_CF";
var Seq_WDH = "LNB_S" + Staffel + "_F" + Sendung + "_WDH";

_//Import aller Files_
app.project.importFiles("L:\\2_Ingest\\AZ\\ExtendScript\\Legalizer.mxf");           //0
app.project.importFiles("L:\\2_Ingest\\AZ\\ExtendScript\\Legalizer_30sek.mxf"); //1
app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + WDH);                                        //2
app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartA_SM);                                 //3
app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartB_SM);                                 //4
app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartC_SM);                                 //5
_//~ app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartA_CF);                                  //6
//~ app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartB_CF);                                  //7
//~ app.project.importFiles(importFolder+ "\\" + PartC_CF);                                  //8_

var importBlack30 =     app.project.rootItem.children[1];
var importWDH =         app.project.rootItem.children[2];
var importPartA_SM =  app.project.rootItem.children[3];
var importBlack =         app.project.rootItem.children[0];
var importPartB_SM =  app.project.rootItem.children[4];
var importPartC_SM =  app.project.rootItem.children[5];

_//Erstelle Sequenz WDH_
app.project.newSequence(Seq_WDH, "C:\\Users\\Edit2\\Documents\\Adobe\\Premiere Pro\\14.0\\Profile-Edit2\\Settings\\Benutzerdefiniert\\Playout_CF.sqpreset");
var activeSequence = app.project.activeSequence;

_//WDH to SEQ + Legalizer30_
activeSequence.videoTracks[0].insertClip(importWDH, 0)
var clipLengthWDH = app.project.activeSequence.videoTracks[0].clips[0].duration;
activeSequence.videoTracks[0].insertClip(importBlack30, clipLengthWDH)

_//Erstelle Sequenz SM_
app.project.newSequence(Seq_SM, "C:\\Users\\Edit2\\Documents\\Adobe\\Premiere Pro\\14.0\\Profile-Edit2\\Settings\\Benutzerdefiniert\\Playout_CF.sqpreset");
var activeSequence = app.project.activeSequence;

_//SM to SEQ + Legalizer_
activeSequence.videoTracks[0].insertClip(importPartA_SM, 0)
_//~ var clipLengthSM_A = app.project.activeSequence.videoTracks[0].clips[0].duration;_

_//Timing_
var seq = app.project.activeSequence;
var videoTrackNr = 0;
var videoTrack = seq.videoTracks[0];
var clips = videoTrack.clips;
var clip = clips[0];
var clipEndTime = clip.end;

_//Quick Maths_

var secondsModulus60 = clipEndTime.seconds % 60;
var isBefore30s = secondsModulus60 < 30;
var durationTime = new Time();

if (isBefore30s) {
        durationTime.seconds = 60 - secondsModulus60;
    } else {
        durationTime.seconds = 60 + (60 - secondsModulus60);
    }
_//~ alert(durationTime.seconds);_

importBlack.setOutPoint(durationTime.ticks, 4);
videoTrack.overwriteClip(importBlack, clipEndTime.ticks);

_//Reset Outpoint für 2. Legalizer nach Part B_
app.project.rootItem.children[0].clearOutPoint()

var videoTracks = activeSequence.videoTracks;
var trackOne = videoTracks[0];
var clip = trackOne.clips[1];
var duration = clip.end.ticks;
_//Bewege Playhead zum Ende vom Schwarzbild_
app.project.activeSequence.setPlayerPosition(duration);
var playheadTime = activeSequence.getPlayerPosition()
var playheadSeconds= playheadTime.ticks;

_//Setze neue StartTime von Part B_
app.project.rootItem.children[4].setStartTime(playheadSeconds)
activeSequence.videoTracks[0].insertClip(importPartB_SM,playheadSeconds);

_//Timing_
var seq = app.project.activeSequence;
var videoTrackNr = 0;
var videoTrack = seq.videoTracks[0];
var clips = videoTrack.clips;
var clip = clips[2];
var clipEndTime = clip.end;

_//Quick Maths_

var secondsModulus60 = clipEndTime.seconds % 60;
var isBefore30s = secondsModulus60 < 30;
var durationTime = new Time();

if (isBefore30s) {
        durationTime.seconds = 60 - secondsModulus60;
    } else {
        durationTime.seconds = 60 + (60 - secondsModulus60);
    }
_//~ alert(durationTime.seconds);_

importBlack.setOutPoint(durationTime.ticks, 4);
videoTrack.overwriteClip(importBlack, clipEndTime.ticks);

_//Reset Outpoint für 2. Legalizer nach Part B_
app.project.rootItem.children[0].clearOutPoint()

var videoTracks = activeSequence.videoTracks;
var trackOne = videoTracks[0];
var clip = trackOne.clips[3];
var duration = clip.end.ticks;
_//Bewege Playhead zum Ende vom Schwarzbild_
app.project.activeSequence.setPlayerPosition(duration);
var playheadTime = activeSequence.getPlayerPosition()
var playheadSeconds= playheadTime.ticks;

_//Setze neue StartTime von Part C_
app.project.rootItem.children[5].setStartTime(playheadSeconds)
activeSequence.videoTracks[0].insertClip(importPartC_SM,playheadSeconds);

var clip = trackOne.clips[4];
var duration = clip.end.ticks;
_//Bewege Playhead zum Ende vom Schwarzbild_
app.project.activeSequence.setPlayerPosition(duration);
var playheadTime = activeSequence.getPlayerPosition()
var playheadSeconds= playheadTime.ticks;
activeSequence.videoTracks[0].insertClip(importBlack30,playheadSeconds);```

[titusFTV]

Okay I solved the issue of clips beginning with one frame offset simply by rounding var secondsModulus60. I almost finished my script today and have no more questions concerning the usage of timeObjects. Thanks for all you help!

Over and Out

[louwjlabuschagne]

Awesome news @titusFTV - I've been looking into the frame drop and it is very odd, it seems to appear sometimes but not other times... Glad you could get it working for your use case.