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Another “easy” effect made complicated by Avid..How can I “Zoom” objects ?
Ok, another dumb question…
Im doing a Twilight Zone ( the old black and white TV show)Parody and I’m trying to re-reate the beginning montage where the various images (clocks, Hour glass, eye ball, etc) float into the screen and disappear into that spinning black hole.
I figured a simple “Zoom in to center” effect would do and I would then adjust the position of eash Image so they enter from different points on the screen, then just lower the opacity right at the end so it looks like they “disappear” in the center.
Once again, Avid MC doesnt have a simple “Zoom” in or out effect. Noooo, it has to be complicated.
Do I have to create a “zoom” effect myself by adjusting size, position, and opacity with a million annoying keyframes?
Because that will take forever since I would have to do that with each image.Please tell me there is an easier way…
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12 Replies
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Do these images have an alpha? If so, promote them to 3D. First keyframe–place them where you want them to start, 100% scale, no rotation. Pick the last keyframe, scale to 0, move the image to the middle of the frame with a rotation on Z axis set at maybe 360 or 540. 2 Keyframe–done.
If these don’t have an alpha, drop a Blend effect or PIP effect, promote that to 3D (bottom right of effect editor), then follow the steps above.
After you finish this project (or while you’re working on it, if you have time), I suggest getting out the effects manual or opening the Help file and reading about all the different effects. This is really basic stuff.
Michael.
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Once you’ve made the effect you want you can save the effect to a bin (this is true of all Avid effects) and then drop it on to one or more clips as needed.
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Don’t expect the Avid to have too many pre-cooked effects, it’s just not that type of editor. There are customisable effects, which you can save and re-apply.
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Thanks for your patience with my stupid questions…
Hey, I didn’t know you can save effects… that are good info! You’re right, Michael, I know this is basic stuff…I’ve been spoiled using Adobe’s CS3- I use after effects and Photoshop a LOT and Premiere melds better with them.
But I have Avid MC at home as well, and we use it at work-I use Premier 3 on my laptop at work when I can get away with it. It’s just faster. When I started using Avid last year, little things annoyed me. like when I wanted to move a clip around on the timeline or to a different track, I couldn’t just grab it and drag it…nooo I have to set in and out points, copy it, make sure de-select the other tracks-otherwise I copy everything above and below it- then paste it , then go back and delete the original. That’s a lot of steps just to move a clip.But… Avid MC does have some envious capabilities that Premiere doesn’t so I’m forcing myself to use it more. Consequently, I have to re-learn the “basics” 🙂
Bear with me!
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[Dionne Knapp] “when I wanted to move a clip around on the timeline or to a different track, I couldn’t just grab it and drag it…nooo I have to set in and out points, copy it, make sure de-select the other tracks-otherwise I copy everything above and below it- then paste it , then go back and delete the original. That’s a lot of steps just to move a clip.”
Look up Segment Mode. If you want to move a clip, you go into Segment mode, select it, and drag it where you want. It functions just like Premiere’s does, but it’s not always active.
Also, if you have a lot of clips you want to move to different tracks or later in your piece you can hit Alt+Z to lift them out of your sequence and into your source monitor. Move your playhead where you want to insert them and cut them in (insert or overwrite edit). That way you aren’t copying, cutting, reselecting, deleting, etc…
While these are basic things in Avid, if you’re coming from Premiere it can get frustrating. As hard as it is, you can’t compare how Premiere works to how Avid works–you need to learn the Avid way of doing things. And don’t hesitate to post here if you run into more questions or something seems far too difficult compared to Premiere. We might know a way that’s easier.
Michael
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Thaks for the tips Michael!
Umm, speaking of tips…
How do I place keyframes in the audio tracks? I clicked “fast menu”, then “audio Data” then “audio gain” but it does’nt open up the audio tracks so I can actually see the waveform and place keyframes. I need to fade certain parts in and out.
Can you walk me through that? -
In the timeline fast menu, go to Audio Data and turn on Auto Gain and Sample Plots. You’ll see the sample plots on the audio now, and hit the Pink Triangle (Add Keyframe) button on either your tool palette or keyboard (N on the keyboard in Xpress Pro, ‘ in Media Composer if using the defaults.) You’ll see a black marker show up–it’s your keyframe.
Now move the keyframe up or down as you want. You might want to resize your audio tracks though. Use Ctrl+L and Ctrl+K to make a selected track larger or smaller, respectively.
If you select a keyframe with In and Out points marked all keyframes between the In and Out points will move up and down relative to each other. If you need to move a keyframe Left or Right–hold Alt. To delete a keyframe, click it then hit Delete (this can be finicky). To do an easy fade at the end of an audio track, just add a dissolve.
Michael.
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Thanks!
I don’t see any pink triangle…I’ve only seen that when I’m editing effects on the video.
I got that little black marker though. Finally!The gain shows as straight lines. How do I expand the audio track so I get the squiggly black waves? Those come in handy because I had an actor record a voice over with Rod Serlings opening lines from the Twilight zone.
I put Serling’s actual recording above the VO so I can sync the two-making sure the VO takes the same pauses that Serling does so the timing is the same. Right now it’s a guessing game. I playing Serling and putting markers where he takes his pauses, the going to the VO track and adjusting it accordingly.
It would be easier if I can just see the pauses which would show up as a flat line in between the squiggly ones- if I could expand it.You’ve been a big help! You’re very patient…you must be a father with young kids!
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[Dionne Knapp] “The gain shows as straight lines. How do I expand the audio track so I get the squiggly black waves?”
What you need are the sample plots. Go to the fast menu in your timeline, Audio Data, and make sure Sample Plots are checked. If they are, but you still don’t see them, select your audio tracks and hit Shift+Ctrl+L and it will make the sample plots larger. Again, hitting Ctrl+L expands the track, too, so it’s easier to see.
[Dionne Knapp] “You’re very patient…you must be a father with young kids!”
No kids, but my wife and I treat our puppy like a child, if that counts.
Michael.
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Ok that worked! Thanks!
Last question, I promise…for today…How can I make frame of video into a Picture-like a jpeg or something? In Premiere there is an option to print frame and save it as a graphic or send it directly to photo shop. I don’t need to send it to Photoshop- just want to use it as a still background.
Having kids doesn’t make you patient, necessarily. I have 2 young kids and I’m not very patient…just a little nuts.
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