[John Kane] “but seems to finish fast.”
For slowing them down, use the Ease In keyframe. Rightclick on the ending keyframe and select Ease In
[John Kane] “And how can I be sure my close-up and full photo are going to fit the TV screen exactly? “
The best way to do this would be to preview your view on a real TV. You can either do this by using a firewire passthrough or by purchasing a dedicated card. If none of these is an option, I would reccomend using the guides from the action safe area. But, remember that no two TVs are the same. What you might see on one TV might be considerably different than another one.