ggarra13
Insert Reference Frame
Description
Sometimes during review, a static image is required as a reference to replace or guide a scene.
For example:
- Showing a visual example of what should be placed in the scene.
- Overlaying an image on top of the video to indicate style, layout, or composition.
Currently, MRV2 does not allow placing an external image directly over the video as a visual guide.
Proposed Solution
- Add a "Reference Frame" annotation type.
- Place the image over the video as an annotation, with the ability to:
- Move and resize it.
- Adjust opacity.
- Open original reference image
Benefits:
- Makes feedback more visual and intuitive.
- Eliminates ambiguity in complex changes.
- Improves efficiency in art direction and VFX workflows.
@ONOVAR While not ideal, you should be able to open a file, copy the frame and paste it into another OpenTimelineIO EDL. Then you could compare back and forth between the reference frame and your actual animation. The Compare Panel could also be used, albeit there's currently no way to offset the start of the timeline to match a specific frame. That could also be an enhancement.
Sorry for the earlier confusion — I probably didn’t explain the request clearly.
The main goal of this feature request is to allow inserting a reference image as a small floating frame directly on top of the video, rather than only creating a clickable link. The image would appear as part of the annotation itself, visible in the video viewport as a small preview window.
Example:
If the video shows element A and the reviewer wants it replaced with B, they could insert an image of B directly into the video as a floating reference frame.
This makes the feedback immediately clear, without requiring the user to:
- Click a link (not yet implemented), or
- Write long explainer text about which file should be used as a replacement.
Such a feature would provide a faster and more visual way to communicate changes, especially until the “Insert Link” feature becomes available.