darktable-org / darktable-org/darktable

Support viewing and cataloging videos in the lighttable

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#19,651 5 comments 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Description

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Editing photos and editing videos is a very different thing, and I would not want to use the same tool for that (and I generally have next to no interest in editing videos anyway). However, cataloging videos and photos, tagging and geotagging them, giving them star ratings, and searching through that… is extremely similar.

Mostly, I take pictures. Occasionally, I'll shoot some videos as well along side. it is frustrating to me that I cannot use one tool to catalog everything.

EXIF and XMP are applicable to photos and videos. Everything I do in darktable other than photo editing, I wish I could do with one tool.

Describe the solution you'd like

I'd like darktable to support videos in the lighttable and map views, allowing me to import, view, tag, geotag, rate, metadata-edit, label, search, etc, the videos, in the same way and with the same tools as I do with photos. I have no expectation that the darkroom would be able to do anything with them (if somehow it works anyway, I wouldn't complain, but I'd have no expectation that it would).

In the lighttable, I'd expect that the "history stack" and "styles" modules are the only native ones which would need to be disabled. Everything else seems applicable.

Alternatives

If I keep the videos in the same folder hierarchy as the photos, I largely never see them again, because I access that through darktable, and it acts as if they weren't there.

If I keep them in a separate folder hierarchy, then I can easily find them, but they're now disconnected from the photo sessions during which they were shot.

I suppose I could keep them in the same folder hierarchy and use a different tool to organize/tag/rate everything, but:

  • I haven't found a FOSS good tool for that
  • I actually like using darktable's feature in that area, and don't particularly want to stop

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Begin with the lighttable and map views named in the request, then trace how supported media are imported and cataloged. Done means videos can participate in the requested cataloging, metadata, tagging, geotagging, rating, labeling, and search workflows without requiring darkroom editing.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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