Animating Still Images

It is very easy to make slide shows with Vegas Video, but why settle for a ho-hum presentation, when with a little extra effort you can add advanced effects that go far beyond simple transitions. This tutorial is designed to be a hands-on exercise. Feel free to copy these image files from this web site, then work through the tutorial step by step as you build the mini video.

Part One

Simultaneous Panning, Zooming, Using Cookie Cutter Plug-in

Goal: Use an ordinary still image of a road map, panning from left to right with a marker accurately following the roads as the map in panned and zoomed.

  1. Drop image Dallas.jpg on the timeline, click Event Pan/Crop button, stretch out so it ends at about 25:15 on timeline.
  2. Click on first keyframe, set Size: 383.6 x 281.3. Center: 196.5 x 327.9.
  3. Click on last keyframe, set Size: 232.7 x 170.6. Center: 492.0 x 271.3.
  4. Return to first and last keyframes, right click on image within Pan/Crop work area, select Match Output Aspect.
  5. Copy the image already on the main video track by right clicking on it and selecting copy. Do not load another copy, from media pool or Explorer! Create and Paste on a new overlay track positioned above the main video track as shown in the above illustration.
  6. Drag and drop the Cookie Cutter Filter onto this TOP track.
  7. In the Cookie Cutter work area, (shown below) click on first keyframe, set shape: circle, Method: Cut away all but section.
  8. Set border to 0.15 and Size to .015. You may change the size of the circle and change the color sliders if you want a color other than black for the moving circle.
  9. To move the circle along the road, you move the square in the white rectangle of the Pan/Crop work area to position the circle along the road.
  10. To begin move the square in the white rectangle to the black road under the red interstate road just to the right and above the words Grand Parie.

Use your keyboard right arrow key to advance frame by frame watching how well the circle tracks on the road. Be sure your cursor is on the Timeline when you're advancing frame by frame and not in the Cookie Cutter work area, otherwise you'll change values instead. Once the circle starts to get off course, stop, click inside the rectangle (white area of Cookie Cutter work area) and use any of the keyboard arrow keys to reposition the square which will move the circle position on the map as you watch the preview window. Once the circle is back on the road, click on the Create Keyframe button, (the diamond with a plus sign) then click back on the main timeline and advance to the next frame by again clicking on the right arrow key. Repeat as needed until you reach the end of the video, remembering to insert keyframes every time you need to reposition the circle.

Note: the diamonds between the two tracks on the image above showing the timeline detail. These indicate where a keyframe was inserted. How many you need and where they go depends on how well you setup the key frames of the first image (steps 2-3) which controls the panning. Following a road on a map you may need to bunch keyframes as I did near the center due to various turns in the road. The more keyframes you add, the more precise you can control the marker.

Part Two

3D Title with Spotlight Effect Traveling Along Map

The above image is a snapshot of another style of panning a road map. It is a variation of the first map effect using the cookie cutter in a different way combined with the Fade to Color Video Envelope. We'll use a fade to color video envelope to highlight the circle cutout of the cookie-cutter window as it shrinks in size while panning, as the background of the larger map on the main video track darkens, finally ending with a cross-fade into our first picture of our slide show. Phew! The steps sound more complicated then they really are.

Step A: Add a Color Gradient, Animate 3D Text Title

  1. Start a new project, drag and drop the Linear Red to Yellow Color Gradient from the Text/Backgrounds tab.
  2. Adjust its size to 3.13 on the timeline. Add a second video track (overlay) and drag and drop the default text template.
  3. Use Arial font, 72 points, type in " My Trip To Arizona". Click placement tab, select center, effects tab, draw shadow.
  4. From the Video FX tab drag the PluginPac 3D LE and drop on the overlay track over the color gradient.
  5. Click first key frame button. Enter: .350000 for both Scale X and Scale Y.
  6. Click last key frame button. Enter: .650000 for both Scale X and Scale Y.

Step B: Add Main Map

  1. Drag and drop image az-moving.jpg. Place on main video track stretch out to 17:24 on timeline.
  2. Drag and drop Color Balance filter. Click on first key frame button. Enter:-.1185 for red and blue channel.
  3. Drag and drop Levels filter. Click on first key frame button. Enter: 940 for input end, 1.320 for Gamma.
  4. Click on Event Pan/Crop. Click on first keyframe button. Right click on image in work area, select Match Output Aspect.
  5. Click on last keyframe button. Right click on image, select Match Output Aspect.

Use the four headed arrow cursor to position map so that the caption Phoenix is centered and about 40% down from top of screen with the river edge just inside the left border. Screen settings should be Size: 272.7 x 200 Center: 138 x 288.5. Zoom: 54.1 Click on last keyframe button. Again using the four headed arrow cursor grab and move so the center point of the box is right over Wupatki NM and should be roughly centered on screen. Drag in on a corner of the control box so that 'yon NP' just is on the left top center of the screen with Walnut Canyon and the Interstate sign US 40 is just within the screen limits in the lower right hand corner. Screen settings should be Size: 194.3 x 143.5. Center 243.5 x 144.2. Zoom; 54.1.

Click on first keyframe. Play video to test. Image should slowly pan up and to the right zooming slowly in as it goes, ending up as described above. If not, use the button with the minus sign to delete keyframes and try again.

Step C: Add Small Map to Main Video Track

  1. Drag and drop image WupatkiNM-detail.jpg onto main video track, stretch out to 22:23 on timeline.
  2. Click on Pan/Crop. Click on first key frame button.
  3. Enter: Size: 992.0 x 948.0. Center: 307.5 306.5. Zoom 25%

Step D: Add panning Cutout to Overlay track

  1. Take copy of WupatkiNM-detail.jpg on main video track and copy to overlay track then position over its pair on the main video track so they align correctly.
  2. Drag and drop Cookie Cutter filter over this (2nd image) on the overlay track.
  3. Click on first key frame in Cookie Cutter work area. Set Shape to Circle, method, cut away all but section.
  4. Set border to 0.02. Size: .220 or to a value where the circle surrounds the Wupatki monument area.
  5. Click on last key frame. Change Size to 110. Move the circle down to the lower center to surround Sunset Crater NM adjusting the size of the circle if needed to just surround the area.

Step E: Add Video Envelope

  1. Click on Insert on Main Tool Bar. Select Video Envelopes, track fade to color, add to main video track.
  2. Right click on the blue line than now runs through the middle of the track, add a point near the start of the track.
  3. Add a second point near where Red to Yellow Gradient and image az-moving meet.
  4. Position mouse over blue line, while holding down left mouse button so first point at :00:00 reads 30% top color.
  5. Adjust second point so fade value reads somewhere between no color and 5% bottom color.
  6. Add a third point at the junction between az-moving.jpg and WupatkiNM-detail.jpg. Set fade value to no color.
  7. Add a fourth point roughly at position: 21.22 or about 3/4 across the image WupatkiNM-detail.jpg. Set to 54% bottom color.
  8. Add a fifth point at the end of WupatkiNM-detail.jpg at the right edge of the image. Fade value reading no color.

Step F: Add Monument Image

  1. Drag and Drop image monument.jpg. Stretch to position 25:18 on timeline. Set Match Output Aspect as before.
  2. Drag and Drop default text template onto overlay track above monument image, but only stretch half of width of image below so the image will appear for half the time without any caption.
  3. Use Verdana font, 24 point, enter Wupatki National Monument near Flagstaff AZ
  4. Select free form and place near bottom.
  5. Drag Opacity curve at image edge so image text fades out and image below is seen for a few seconds without caption.