Tim Kurkoski
Forum Replies Created
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No, sorry Justin, you can’t go backwards with your Premiere projects. Why didn’t you buy the full version of Premiere Pro 1.5 instead of 1.0?
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A simple way to start would be to set keyframes for opacity (0% to 100%), then use the Wiggler to create random keyframes between them. Play with the Wiggler values until you get something you like, and/or tweak some of the keyframes afterwards to fine-tune the effect.
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I’d really honestly recommend that you download the trial versions of as many apps as you want to try, and see which works best for you. Encore is a good program in my opinion, but every application has it’s quirks.
Encore is a very straightforward program for the most part. It uses Photoshop (PSD) files for building the menus, using a naming convention on layer sets to define button and layer functionality. Video files need to be DVD-legal MPEG-2, AVI, or QuickTime files (I think it will handle WMV, too), and if needed it transcodes using the MainConcept encoder (which has a good reputation).
I’ve honestly not spent a lot of time with Encore’s competitors, but compared to what I’ve seen, the interface is pretty plain, and you don’t have to dig down a lot of levels to get to a feature. But Encore also doesn’t have a lot of fancy features, like auto-building a disc or making easy slideshows.
As far as problems go, it’s six of one, half dozen of another. Encore certainly isn’t a perfect program, and some of the problems people have are caused by something wrong in the program, or some quirk that it can’t overcome. But as with any application, problems can be caused by the system, a problem with the hardware, or with the media files being used. So it’s hard to tell. My experiences have been mostly good.
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Encore is a standalone application. It can not be used as a plug-in.
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When transitions occur, the clips need to overlap. So there needs to be extra frames (called frame handles) off the ends of your clips that the transition can be created from. If there are no extra frames in your clips, you’ll get the insufficient media warning. Premiere will duplicate the last/first frames of the clips to fill out the handles, but that’s not always the best way to go.
The fact that you’re not seeing anything probably has to do with the particular frames that are being used as the handles. If they’re identical (if they’re both black, for example), you won’t notice any difference with a cross dissolve transition since you’re dissolving one frame into itself!
Try trimming the ends of the clips by 15 frames or so before you place the transition, and see how that works. Or trim only the second instance of the clip by at least the transition duration, and then place the transition to start at the cut.
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Honestly, I’d recommend you capture the clips separately. Or get a program like Scenalyzer that allows you to set up batch capture (a feature of Premiere Pro that it’s little brother lacks).
But if you must capture as one clip, there are two ways you can split it up:
1. After you capture the clip, put it on the timeline. Put the work area bar over the first section. Choose File > Export > Movie, and change the settings so that it only uses the Work Area, and deselect the “recompress” option. Repeat this for each segment you want to individualize.
2. In the Media window, double-click on the clip so that it shows in the Monitor window. Set the in and out points around each segment, then click in the middle of the Monitor and drag the clip back to the Media window. You’ll be asked to name the sub-clip (assuming you’re using Premiere Elements 2). Repeat for each clip.
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AE can create an SWF file just fine. What you need to pay attention to when you do it is how much of the AE comp you rasterize. Not all of AE’s features can be directly translated into native SWF, but it can rasterize what’s not supported. Problem is that can make the file really big. You can always increase the compression on those objects, but then it can look nasty.
If you’re just doing simple animations with vector shapes, though, it shouldn’t be bad at all. Experiment a little and see how the results work for your project.
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Are you RAM previewing? (Zero on the keypad) Or audio previewing? (Period on the keypad.)
How are you exporting? Going through the render queue, with the exception of a couple of the presets, audio is usually turned off. You have to turn it on explicitly.
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Sorry Winddancer, but Premiere Pro will never detect your converter. USB devices are not supported.
Premiere is designed around using a DV workflow, which only uses FireWire. Older versions (6.x and previous) had an option where you could try to connect through the Windows Media layer to other devices, but it was flakey and unreliable. It was dependent on the drivers for the device being compatible with Premiere (the standards for USB video devices aren’t as clear cut as those for FireWire) and the moon being aligned with the stars and so forth.
I’d recommend you look into an analog-to-DV converter. Canopus makes some good ones, I use the ADVC100. The Pyro A/V Link is cheaper and I’ve heard good things about it.
You could also capture with Ulead or Windows Movie Maker, or whatever program you can use to capture from that device, and then take the files to Premiere Pro. I’d recommend you capture or export the files as DV-AVI for Premiere Pro, as that will ease your workflow.
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Best AE books on the planet: Creating Motion Graphics by Chris and Trish Meyer. There’s two volumes that cover the basics and more advanced stuff, plus the “In Production” book which shows how professional users created their projects in AE.
Here’s their web site:
https://www.cybmotion.com/As for video training, Total Training is the best I’ve seen. But not the cheapest by any means.
And if you’re looking for tutorials, look no further. CreativeCow/CreativeCalf has tons of them for AE. Just click on the “Tutorials and Reviews” link at the top of this page.