Cookie cutter & keyframing question

rlc4810 wrote on 10/19/2005, 8:52 AM

Hello all. I've searched a bit thru previous threads and can't find an answer to this question... Here goes:

I have a video background of a twinkling star field. I want to overlay the background footage with some stills; a picture-in-picture effect with the stars from the background showing around the borders. However, I don't want rectangular edges on the stills; instead I want a soft, blurry look around the border of the stills. I discovered that feathering the borders of the oval cookie cutter tool gives me precisely the look I'm after. My problem is transitioning between the stills.

I'll try to describe this as best as I can. I want to see the starry background, fade into a cookie cutter PIP, dissolve back to solid starry background, fade into the next PIP, back to starry background, etc.

The only way I've figured out to blur in the stars back in between PIP's is by keyframing the size of the cookie cutter between stills. But this gives me the undesirable look of the cookie cutter gradually 'opening and closing', like a camera lens.

Hopefully, someone here will be able to decipher what I've tried to describe. Thanks in advance for any tips you guys can provide.

Rick <><

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 10/19/2005, 9:02 AM

How about fading the stills in and out?

rlc4810 wrote on 10/19/2005, 9:27 AM

Thanks for the quick reply. I could fade the stills in and out, but I don't know how to get the soft and fluffy oval border around the stills provided by the cookie cutter tool.

I guess I could touch up the photos in Paint Shop Pro, and apply a feathered / semi-transparent (alpha channel) border around the edges, but I was hoping to do it entirely in Vegas without modifying the stills.

Again, thanks for the tip.

Rick <><

jetdv wrote on 10/19/2005, 9:50 AM

Fading in and out and using the cookie cutter are NOT mutually exclusive. You can apply the cookie cutter as desired and still fade in and out as desired. You might also look at the Border effect instead using a feathered edge.

GGman wrote on 10/19/2005, 10:02 AM

ric,
add a new track on top with a Vegas Media Generator-Eliptical White to Black preset. Change that black to transparent in the generator by dragging the alpha handle down. Make that new event a Parent to the pic event below it. Use the fade handles on the Parent Media event to fade in and out. Adjust the Media event for size, shape and amount of feather as needed.

GG

Chienworks wrote on 10/19/2005, 10:50 AM

Rick, by any chance do you have the stars on the upper track and the photos on the lower track? If so, reverse that so the photos are on the top track and apply the cookie cutter there. Then fade the photos in and out.

rlc4810 wrote on 10/19/2005, 12:16 PM

I was just reading the responses here and it dawned on me... duh! Why not do the cookie cutting on the pictures rather than the stars?

You guys are exactly right: I have the stars on the top track with the stills on the next track. And I applied the cookie cutter to the stars. But there's no reason whatsoever I couldn't flip things around. Makes perfect sense. I'll give that a try and let you know how things work.

Thanks so much to everyone who responded!
Rick <><

rlc4810 wrote on 10/20/2005, 5:00 AM

That did it! I flipped the tracks, placing the stills on a track above the stars, and applied the cookie cutter to the stills. It looks perfect!

Many thanks to everyone who responded!
Rick <><