Basic Pan/Crop questions

RexA wrote on 7/2/2003, 1:45 AM
These are probably common questions, but I don't remember seeing them recently. I'm still quite new to Vegas but am getting results and seeing potentials I haven't touched yet.

First:
What's the difference between Track Motion and Video Event Pan/Crop? Is it just that Track covers all events, or is there more to it? Is there more than these two I should look into?

Second:
I've had pretty good success playing with documentary-style of zooming and panning through parts of a still image. Seems like I had poorer resolution than expected on one attempt, though. So...

The question is about using a still image stretched out for some number of seconds on the time line, then moving around in that image with Pan/Scan. If I import an image of 655x480 for NTSC it should have full resolution for NTSC 720x480 as a full frame. If I use an image of much higher resolution (say 1965x1404) then zoom into that image on the timeline with P/S, will Vegas preserve the original image resolution when scanning in to use a small portion of the original as the video frame?

Saying it another way, if I start the clip looking at the whole image in a frame, then zoom into a portion, the zooming takes place on the original still image, not the reduced 100% frame that started it, true?

Thanks for all the help everyone gives here on the forum. It's a major resource.

-Rex

Comments

Grazie wrote on 7/2/2003, 2:04 AM
PAL here - so I'll only chip in on the "First" question/s

Track motion effects all events on THAT whole track

Pan/Crop is an effect you can apply to a single "Video Event" or using Track motion using P/C to whole track - good question!

What you need to understand is that Track Motion is good if you want an effect to that whole track - BUT, if you want an event specific effect, then do it to that event - yeah?

"Is there more than these two I should look into?" Wellllll.... much! Have you got free downaload V4 manual - get it! Its chock full of info. - You're question will start an avalanche of "You Can Do's!! " - get the manual and be preapared for what will be said here!

Regards,

Grazie
TorS wrote on 7/2/2003, 2:43 AM
I'll only add keyframes to what Grazie wrote. Both tack motion and pan/crop can be controlled by keyframes, which makes them both extremely powerful.
Tor
Grazie wrote on 7/2/2003, 3:16 AM
. .. oh yes yes yes . .The power of K/Fs! A major BIG plus in V4 . . .

G
RexA wrote on 7/2/2003, 5:11 AM
Thanks, guys.

Let me try again on my second part because what I was asking shouldn't be affected by PAL/NTSC.

Basically I make a clip from a still and pan/crop into it. If I started with an image that was sized as appropriate pixels for a full frame and zoomed into it, the resulting zoomed frame has to lose resolution. My question is, if I start with a still with lots of excess pixels and zoom into it, Vegas knows and will give me a zoomed frame with as good quality as can come from the original still, regardless of the path that I choose for zooming through this clip. Is that correct?

-Rex
TorS wrote on 7/2/2003, 5:23 AM
Someone knows this for sure. I think your assupmtion is correct.
Tor
Chienworks wrote on 7/2/2003, 7:26 AM
Another difference between Track Motion and Pan/Crop is the method by which they operate.

- Track motion controls the size of the image which appears in the project's frame.

- Pan/Crop controls the size of the project frame in which the image appears.

The implications may not be obvious at first, but in track motion when you resize the dashed rectangle you're directly changing the size of the picture, so when you make the rectangle smaller the image gets smaller. Pan/Crop is just the opposite; when you make the dashed rectangle smaller, you're making a smaller frame to fit the image in so the image gets larger. Weird, until you get used to it.

The other difference is that Track motion allows some special effects such as a glowing border around the image. These effects aren't available in Pan/Crop.
TorS wrote on 7/2/2003, 7:50 AM
You are right Chienworkd, but in pan/crop, when you uncheck the stretch to fill frame box, you can crop your image (hence the name of the FX) and it does get smaller than the frame size - or revals partly what is on the track beneath.
(See the opening of The Cyclist on your own site. The cropped image is done with pan/crop and with a solid grey underneath.)
Tor
philfort wrote on 7/2/2003, 10:46 AM
Yes, that's correct, Pan/Crop will use the "excess" pixels when you zoom in. Track motion won't though.