starman

Yes, this is what I plan to do (film the shot first and then add the screensaver in later). However, since the screensaver has motion to it I cannot simply impose an image into the shot - it must be video file of the screensaver. The trick is turning the screensaver into a video file. I tried using a Screen Capture program which works but made the screensaver too choppy to use. Any ideas on how to transfer a screensaver into a video file smoothly?

Yes, Alvin is correct. I was thinking... Since a monitor refresh rate at 60 hertz equals 60 refreshes per second and video cameras operate at 30 frames per second, wouldn't using a monitor refresh rate at 30 hertz be the answer? And if so, is it possible to change the refresh rate to 30 hertz? Mine seems to only go as low as 60 hertz.

Yes, taking a still image and importing it after is what I plan to do for the other computer shots, however for the first shot there must be an animated screensaver showing on the monitor. I'm not really taking a shot of a computer, it's more like I'm taking a shot of a desk with a computer on it in the background. The computer will be on the top half of the screen... Then, on the bottom half I will be animating my character walking along the desk over to the monitor where he will stop and look up at the screensaver. Then I will combine the top and bottom half together using split screen. Hope that makes a little more sense. Sorry, I'm sometimes not good at explaining myself. Any ideas? The film I am making is part 3 of an animation series I have going called 'Table Kid Kirby'. If you would like to get a better idea of what I am doing you can check out the first 2 episodes at my website. The Kirby download page is: http://www.carrotkid.com/kirbydownloads.htm Thank you for your time everyone.

Thank you for the responses... Unfortunately though, my camera is not a professional one and it does not have Synchro scan or a shutter speed adjustment. But thanks for the info (I now know what to look for if I ever get a new camera). Also, I set my monitor refresh rate to 60 hertz and it does not flicker anymore, however, there is now a thick blackish bar that repeatedly pans down the screen instead and the shot is still unusable. As for panning, the shots are all still shots for it is an animation I am making so I thought I could always overlay the computer monitor image into the shot later but I would still need footage of the screensaver to do that. I tried using a 'Screen Capture' program to do that but the screensaver becomes choppy with the Capture program running at the same time. Any other thoughts on how I could Film a monitor without interferance, or of another way to turn a screensaver into a video file? Or does anyone know of a good 'Screen Capture' program that doesn't make the screen choppy when capturing? Thanks people, your info is much appreciated.

I am in the middle of filming my latest film and for some of the shots I need to have a computer monitor in the shots. I am using a digital camcorder to make the film and we all know how computer moniters flicker when video taped... Does anyone know how to film a monitor without the flicker? I was just going to overlay screen-captured images over top of the monitor screen during the editing but I need to film a monitor with a screensaver on it so I will need to have movement. Please help, thanks! :) Paul www.carrotkid.com