Hey!
I've had this idea for a while, but I figured I'd like to go a head and make a formal FR to see if anybody else thinks it's good, or maybe even point out potential flaws with the idea!
Let's jump right in. The basic premise is that instead of Stretch Markers being special snowflakes and having their own UI implementation, couldn't they just have their own automation category, just like Volume, Pan, etc? This would allow for the ability to put Stretch Markers inside of Automation Items...how cool would that be! No longer would your Stretch Markers have to be 'attached' to your media items in any way!
They aren't anything amazing, but here are my mock-ups. Took me about 15 minutes to throw them together using Paint.net. The first image shows the old method (green media item) and the new method (blue media item) with the envelope lane and automation item below it, check it out:
This next mock-up shows a basic stretch:
Lastly, we see a sliding stretch:
I'd like to point out that the old method and the new method aren't mutually exclusive...J&S, if they were interested, could keep the current system (old method) and simply attach it to an underlying envelope system. Then you could have the best of both worlds, so to speak, and keep the user friendliness of the current Stretch Marker design. The only real difference would be that even though you could still
see the stretch markers on your media items, they wouldn't actually be attached. They would simply serve as a visual representation for the Stretch Marker Envelope. Here's a mock-up of how the 'dual system' would look:
What do y'all think?
FR: Stretch Marker Envelope
Linear Mode
