[Dave Gage]

Rob,

Yep, couldn’t agree more. This whole 1080p to 720p project with Transform and keyframes is going to make my video life much more efficient and likely save me money buying a second camera. It is looking like the Transform/Keyframe method is going to make more sense then using the Ken Burns effect which is more limited to the a start and end point.

Dave

[Dave Gage]

Rob,

Excellent! This has been my recent question also-
https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/344/4357

I hope someone decides to create a tutorial with some of the methods, ins and outs, and advantages/disadvantages of the different FCP X zooming approaches. This of course is all dependent on shooting at 1920 x 1080 and using using the footage on a 1280 x 720 timeline. This whole process is great in that it can give you pseudo 2-camera cuts and also the software version of pan and zoom. It’s perfect for guys like me who are a one man show with one camera.

Thanks,
Dave

[Dave Gage]

Rafael,

Thanks for taking the time to add your replies. I’ve been busy with non-video related projects and haven’t had a chance to play with this stuff. As soon as I get back into FCP X, I will give this a try and then post back if I run into any problems.

Thanks again,
Dave

[Dave Gage]

[Rafael Amador] “The process would be changing the project setting to 1080. Of course, basic motion animations (pan, zoom,..) would be lost. You would need to fix Graphics too.”
Cool. That’s what I thought. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. I think I would likely just create a new Project and start there.

[Rafael Amador] “If you FIT 1080 stuff on a 720 sequence the picture gets a 66.66% of the size. You can blow the picture up a 33% without losing definition.”
I did understand that from a previous post, but I didn’t know Pan and Scan was the same thing. Makes perfect sense. Sometimes I just get a bit lost with the different terminology that gets used.

[Rafael Amador] “BEWARE: When you have selected the FIT option in FCPX, the inspector size keeps showing 100% (Transform), even when FIT means up/downscaling.”
That’s good to know. I will need to play with this. I am still not clear though how this integrates with the Ken Burns effect when applied to a video clip vs. on a photo. I have no problem with the KB effect on a photo (especially in FCP X, it’s even easier than in FCP 7).

I haven’t been able to find a tutorial anywhere on this, but I believe I’m just missing one simple step somewhere. Do keyframes come into play here?

Thanks,
Dave

[Dave Gage]

Jason,

[Jason Jenkins] “It was a simple matter of creating a couple of scale keyframes.”
I’m hoping you or someone else here can fill in a few more details so I can start playing with this. Someone elsewhere had mentioned “animating Transform will give you more control”, but again, I just a few more details to get going with it.

[Jason Jenkins] “I went all out on a new MacBook Pro. 8 Gigs of RAM, matte screen, and an SSD. I’ve been considering a 16 GB RAM upgrade from OWC. I’m looking forward to the Thunderbolt stuff coming from Sonnet.”

I went the same way without the SSD as I wanted the extra internal space on the 750GB drive. The 16 GB upgrade would be great, but not in the budget at the moment. I’m also looking forward to the new Thunderbolt stuff. In the meantime, I’ve got an eSata card and 2 drive RAID 1 setup which seems to be working fine.

Thanks,
Dave

[Dave Gage]

Rafael,

[Rafael Amador] “For the render speed, the footage size will be more determining that the sequence size.
In the end you are processing (stabilization, color, effects,..) the same 1080 stuff and making a downscaling almost in the last step.”
Got it. Thanks. If somewhere in the future I decide to go to blu-ray (assuming it’s still around with a market for it), what would be the process to take the 720p Project (with 1080p footage) and change it to 1920x1080p?

[Rafael Amador] “Editing 1080 and downscaling in the end won’t allow to use the potential for pan & scan neither.”
Can you explain the “pan and scan”? Is this the same as the pseudo dolly or panning effect I was asking about earlier in the post? If so, what is the setup for it?

Thanks,
Dave

[Dave Gage]

[Jason Jenkins] “There is no zoom in the Dr. Lichtenstein clip, but I have used it in an interview before.”

Do you mind listing the steps involved in how you created the zoom effect?

Thanks again,
Dave

P.S. It appears we might have the same laptop. I just picked up a new MBP i7 17″ about three months ago. I upgraded the ram to 8 gigs and so far, it’s been great.

[Dave Gage]

Vince,

“We edit at 1080 then put the edit into a 720 timeline to reframe or zoom on shots.”

Let me see if I understand, you do the majority of edits in a 1080 Project and then open a new project with the finished edits in a 720 timeline and then reframed some shots? Is there a reason that you didn’t just start in a 720 timeline?

“Instant closeups,it was a cooking show and it looked like a 4 camera shoot by the time we were done and the quality was great.”

That’s very cool. I think this 720 timeline concept is going to work out great for me.

Thanks,
Dave

[Dave Gage]

Jason,

Wow, very cool with the Dr. Lichtenstein clip. It does look like a 2 camera shot with cuts back and forth. Now, my question would be if it’s possible to pan or zoom in with keyframes or another technique.

“I use a slow zoom (hoping it looks more like a push/dolly) occasionally, to add some emphasis.”
I wasn’t able to pick up on where this was used. Can you tell me at what point in the clip this was used? But, this should pertain directly to what my original question was a la “Ken Burns” effect.

Comcast Community Ice Rink Clip:
I wasn’t able to pick up where and how you used it in this clip (which I suppose is a very good endorsement for how well it came out).

Thanks,
Dave

[Dave Gage]

Jason,

You may have also answered another question of mine which I recently posted at the Apple Forum (I thought it might be too silly for this forum if I was missing something quite obvious).

Here’s what I posted:

Subject: Zooming into video clip a la Ken Burns effect

“Does the “Ken Burns” effect also work on video clips? That is, if you have a one camera interview shot or tutorial, can you “zoom” in on the person as you might with a still photo? If I had a 2nd camera or some one to shoot for me, it would be less of an issue. But, just to have some movement occasionally instead of a static talking head would be nice. I suppose if overdone, focus and quality issues would come into play.”
—

I’m essentially shooting myself doing instructional video to post in the Members Area of one of my websites. Some will also go to Youtube.com. It looks like what you described might be my solution.

Thanks,
Dave