Knowledge Base

Create a Video from Your Data

Aim: To export the animated track and the plots of the dependent variables to a video file, for instance for presentation purposes.

Procedure

1. Choose Analysis > Results > Integrated Visualization.
2. From the toolbar, select the Analysis profile that contains the variables to plot.
3. If you do not want the Track Plot Settings pane to be part of the screen capture, click the Show/Hide button on the toolbar and deselect Track Plot Settings.
4. Position the video where you want your recording to start, or click the Jump to Begin button to start from the beginning of the trial.
5. Click the Start Screen Recording button.
6. In the Screen Recording window, under Region, choose whether you want to capture the Video, tracks and plots or the Full screen. Note that with Full screen you also record the Experiment Explorer and the desktop (if visible).
7. Choose the Frame rate (default: 25 fps) and the Resolution (default width: 1280).
8. Choose the video file Saving location and File name.
9. Click Start.
10. Play the video at the speed you require.
11. To stop screen recording, click the Stop Screen Recording button.

Notes

• If you choose Video, tracks and plots, the Track Plot Settings pane is also recorded. To remove this from your video, see step 3.
• Video resolution is available in a number of steps. The values of width are 320, 480, 640, 800, 1024, 1280 (default), and 1600 pixels. The values of height are adjusted in each step, based on the Region option you choose and the current size of the EthoVision screen.
• The video file is saved in DivX format; the file extension is *.mpg.
• The suggested video file name is Screen Recording n, where n is a progressive number (0001, 0002, etc.).

What Do You Want to Do?

• Customize the elements and length of the tracks
• Customize the track colors
• Display background, arenas and zones

Tracks

Aim: To optimize visibility of data points.

To Access These Options

Choose Analysis > Results > Plot Tracks or Plot Integrated Data. In the Track Plot Settings pane, click the Show/Hide tab.

What Do You Want to Do?

• Show and hide body points
• Adjust line thickness and dot size
• Show and hide subjects
• Show part of the track

Show and Hide Body Points

Under Features, select the following:

• Nose-point (only for nose-tail tracking).
• Center-point.
• Tail-base (only for nose-tail tracking).
• Connectors (only for nose-tail tracking) to display the line connecting the nose-point and the tail-base to the center-point.

To view the body points, select the Sample option next to that body point. To view the line connecting samples for a body point, select the Trail option next to that body point.

The nose-point is always represented by a filled triangle, the center-point by a filled circle, and the tail-base by a filled square. You cannot change the shape of body points in your tracks.

Adjust Line Thickness and Dot Size

In the Show/Hide pane on the right, under Features, choose a value for:

• Line thickness. This changes the thickness of the tracks and the connectors, that is, the segments joining the body point.
• Dot size. This changes the size of the body points along the tracks.

Show and Hide Subjects

When you track multiple subjects in the same arena, under Subjects select the Visible option for the subjects you want to have displayed and clear the selection for the others.

Show Part of the Track

Under Filter, choose how many samples you want to display at the same time.

• Last ... seconds. Choose this option to visualize only part of the track, for instance only the last 5 seconds.
• Every ... sample. If the subject moves slowly, the samples are very dense. Choose this option to visualize, for example, every 5th sample.

Tips

• To show the entire track, deselect Last ... seconds and click the Jump to End button in the Playback Control window.
• To show all samples in the track, select Every ... sample and enter the appropriate value.
• To only show the last sample, select Every ... sample and enter the appropriate value next to it. Make sure that in the Features box the option under Sample is selected for the body point you want to plot.

Source: EthoVision XT 19 Help, Noldus Information Technology