Bluff Titler

Movick wrote on 4/21/2006, 6:11 PM
I realize this isn't a Vegas-direct subject, however I just downloaded and purchased a copy if this program on the advice of some contributors here.

One quick question... how does one fade an effect in the timeline such as a lightray at the end of its path? I can get the light effect to move from one keyframe to the next; I cannot get the effect to fade at the end of its lifespan.

Thanks!

Movick

Comments

Paul_Holmes wrote on 4/21/2006, 6:38 PM
I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to but most layers have a transparency setting. If you want a picture, text or special effects layer to fade out, you select that layer, set a key-frame where you want the fade to start, set another keyframe where you want the fade to end and then set transparency to full on the last keyframe using the slider.
Movick wrote on 4/21/2006, 6:44 PM
That makes sense. What I'm having trouble with is assigning a lifespan to an effect. I am using a light ray effect after the text travels in an animated path from infinity to its final static position. The now static text will receive a light ray effect which will travel along the width of the text. I thus far have been unable to have the effect fade up at the beginning of the light ray effect, then fade down when the effect event is complete. As it stands now - the effect appears throughout the entire timeline. It animates along the tweened path, but does not fade up or down at the beginning and end of its lifespan.

Movick
Movick wrote on 4/21/2006, 6:48 PM
Forgive me, but how do I select and adjust the transparency of the particle layer? I don't see any controls to do so. The documentation really sucks with this program.

movick
Movick wrote on 4/21/2006, 6:50 PM
Never mind... got it!
thanx!
DJPadre wrote on 4/21/2006, 7:22 PM
Its a top little program isnt it!!
If Sony were smart, theyd buy out teh company and integrate bluff into Vegas.. vegas needs a titler like this...
Jim H wrote on 4/21/2006, 7:54 PM
I just bought it myself. Titler is great, but I thought this was a good way to get particles on the cheap. Used it for the first time last night for this little vid:

Triple Trouble
rsp wrote on 4/22/2006, 1:51 AM
Nice one Jim!

Also keep an eye on the Blufftitler Gallery where you can find user created BluffTitler show files, presets, textures, 3D models and other artwork.

Blufftitler Gallery

Rudi
Paul_Holmes wrote on 4/22/2006, 4:47 AM
One thing I really like about Bluff Titler is that you can add a music track to it and then create the title to correspond to the music. If you need to you can use Vegas to cut the music to the in points and out points you want, save as a wave and then add as an audio layer to Bluff. then once you've created the title, slide-show, or whatever to the music, you can later integrate them perfectly.
Paul_Holmes wrote on 4/22/2006, 4:53 AM
Jim H, how did you do "Triple Trouble?" That was incredible. I assume you brought the picture of the player lying on the sand into Bluff to match up the particle layer, but the falling into the pit looked so realistic!
Tinle wrote on 4/22/2006, 5:54 AM

Two of Bluff Titler's more exotic features are:

1. The ability to add a live DV camera feed to your pre-built graphic design. Add a soundtrack as well (the live feed is images only). If you can get live DV into your laptop via firewire, you're ready. Bluff takes care of the capturing.

With a digital projector or large display screen, its great for building up a Bluff show containing your logo, text message, and preferred sound track, and adding a live feed layer of your booth customers, meeting participants, party goers, etc.

2. More technically complex, but a definite attention getter is "Dynamic Content". One of Bluff's samples, mates their graphic design , and adds real time (constantly updating) headlines from the BBC's website.

Bluff generously provides numerous samples to prime your creative pump.
DGrob wrote on 4/22/2006, 6:26 AM
New users: make sure you access antialiasing to ensure top quality output. I use the "bilinear interpolation" method they describe and output uncompressed .avi. Quality is really, really nice. Darryl

http://www.outerspace-software.com/antialiasing.html
Jim H wrote on 4/22/2006, 2:41 PM
For "Triple Trouble" I snapped a still of that last frame and brought it into Photo Paint. I created three files.

One I cloned out the jumper with sand from a previous frame and created the hole where his body was.

Two I created a shot of just the jumper with a transparent background.

Three, I created a shot of the sand layer just in front of the jumper with a transparent background.

Then I created the smoke with Bluff with a transparent alpha channel. I brought the sand pit with the hole picture into bluff to help me line up the smoke but turned that layer off before I rendered.

I layered these into Vegas in the following order from top to bottom:
1. Foreground sand
2. smoke layer
3. jumper
4. a dupe of the smoke layer so smoke comes from behind too.
5. background with hole in sand.

I'm pretty sure that was it.
Jim H wrote on 4/22/2006, 2:44 PM
DGrob, that link is broke for me.
DGrob wrote on 4/22/2006, 3:02 PM
Try it now. Sorry, one too many /////s. Darryl
Paul_Holmes wrote on 4/23/2006, 11:25 AM
Thank's for the explanation, Jim, about the Sandpit. I knew it wasn't going to be simple, but it was extremely well done.