# How can I capture a good image of a scene in a movie? I know the exact minute.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-capture-a-good-image-of-a-scene-in-a-movie-i-know-the-exact-minute/514526 "2009-10-20T21:27:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-capture-a-good-image-of-a-scene-in-a-movie-i-know-the-exact-minute/514526/1 "2009-10-20T21:27:24Z")
I am trying to capture a photo of a particular scene in a particular movie at a particular minute in said movie. Do I need special software for this? Can’t I just put the dvd in the player, move it to the exact minute press pause and hit **Ctrl+Print Screen**? Would that work? I’m trying to get a shot of the One Ring falling perfectly onto Frodo’s finger when he trips in the Prancing Pony. It’s for a friend who is getting married, he’s ring phobic so the shot may be therapeutic 🙂 Just kidding…it’s just for fun. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-capture-a-good-image-of-a-scene-in-a-movie-i-know-the-exact-minute/514526/2 "2009-10-20T21:33:14Z")
I use GOM player, a free download, to play movies; it has a good screen capture tool. Better quality picture than print screen, in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-capture-a-good-image-of-a-scene-in-a-movie-i-know-the-exact-minute/514526/3 "2009-10-20T21:55:20Z")
Most computer DVD players will not work with print screen. ---
**Author:** ![maleinblack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@maleinblack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maleinblack)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-capture-a-good-image-of-a-scene-in-a-movie-i-know-the-exact-minute/514526/4 "2009-10-20T21:58:03Z")
Media Player Classic or VLC player will let you do this with use. If you have VLC, launch VLC, hit control P for preferences. Click on Video preferences and choose the output you want (JPG, PNG) and the destination directory and hit ok. Play the video in VLC, pause at the desired frame, click on Video from the dropdown and click on Snapshot. Your scene should be there in the folder. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-capture-a-good-image-of-a-scene-in-a-movie-i-know-the-exact-minute/514526/5 "2009-10-20T22:10:20Z")
I’ve never seen a software DVD player that didn’t have a capture function. I like MPlayer, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-capture-a-good-image-of-a-scene-in-a-movie-i-know-the-exact-minute/514526/6 "2009-10-20T22:11:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Most computer DVD players will not work with print screen. It depends more on the software playing the movie than the DVD player. I can do it quite easily using nothing more than WMP, as long as it is not full screen. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-capture-a-good-image-of-a-scene-in-a-movie-i-know-the-exact-minute/514526/7 "2009-10-20T22:18:38Z")
[VLC](http://www.videolan.org/vlc/). Built right into the software. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-capture-a-good-image-of-a-scene-in-a-movie-i-know-the-exact-minute/514526/8 "2009-10-20T22:36:23Z")
Thousand Thanks! I downloaded GOM and VLC. I’ll see who gives the best pic. Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-capture-a-good-image-of-a-scene-in-a-movie-i-know-the-exact-minute/514526/9 "2009-10-21T20:31:04Z")
VLC is the way to go. But for the record, on my PC I can do this with Windows Media Player 11. Go to options, click the “performance” tab, and at the bottom of the tab is “video acceleration”. Click on the “advanced” button. On the pop-up, uncheck the two “use overlays” boxes.