I have to say that it was probably the best photo montage I have ever seen. Dude, youre total class and have great talent. Photo montages should tell a story and from viewing that, I feel as if I know a great deal more about her than before I viewed. it. Excellent choice of music, can never go wrong with Billy Joel.

That family is truly blessed. Great work.

Well, I smiled through the whole thing and really enjoyed it. Isn't that the main purpose of creating a video? To capture someone's heart, mind? Good job, and frankly, the little imperfections are an integral part of the work, it's perfect. Nice job on the black outlines.

Very nice work---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

. .Ana . superb! Really, if Sony ever wanted to "show" or demonstrate just what can be done with this package they wouldn't need to look any further than your work here. Honest!

Hey, we all got those sack fulls of photos .. lying asleep and forgotten. . . You've turned that into something alive - AGAIN!

Very well done.

You've given me a lot to think about . .. a helluva lot.

Grazie

I do not usually like transitions and a lot of movement in slideshows, but I really liked what you have done. I was thinking "That was all done in the NLE I have on my PC?!!!" Very nice work!! Congratulations.

Ana , awsome job!
like I said in a post where I posted a short video I did, it's people and beautiful work like that, that inspires me to try different types of things with Vegas.Some great ideas and great use of Vegas.
Thank you for sharing!
Eric

That's fantastic. She must have been really thrilled to see it. You've really made the most out of a bunch of stills. Great music and perfect length too. I shall be raiding my mum's photo albums shortly.

Ana. Very inspiring. at :56 to 1:02 (in that area) you have a really great sequence that I was curious about. The middle of the picture goes up and then another picture is joined out of three parts. Then the two (dancing) is highlighted (while the rest of the photo is blurred) and starts moving towards the point of view.

Is there anyway you can explain how you did that sequence? You would be helping a greater good. I have a very important montage that I would love to incorporate even the slightest of that idea.

Did you do alot of your work in Photoshop first and then import?

Thomas

Thank you guys very much for all the GREAT comments!!Ü

This is the first time i've posted a work because i felt this was my truning point as an editor. Hehe! I hope to sustain the kind of evergy i brought to this project for the next ones.

Okay ReneH, i will post the veg file in the VASST website the soonest i can.Ü

Pmasters: I agree, Billy Joel rocks!

Toddgeer: I was actually debating between using black or white, guess i made the right choice with the black, thanks!

Grazie: I think that was the least i can do, (Sony) having come up with a really great program we all can utilize!

Eric: Its the same for me, all the great stuff i've gathered from all the good people here you never seem to get tired of helping, this is the result.

Bubblevision: She did like it, as well as the whole family! I'm thinking now, wouldn't it be great if i can just scan a bunch of photos, press one button and viola! instant photo essay. Hehe!

Thomaskay: Yes i did a lot of work with Photshop! For that particular sequence hope i'll be able to explain it here:
1. I started with 3 different pics which i transitioned dividing the dancing picture into 3
2. Right after the transition settled, i immediately replaced the 3 divided pics with the whole picture plutting it in the middle track, fading out the image on the top track.
3. Immediately after i also placed that cut out pic of the 2 peole dancing in the middle on top track and started the moving forward motion
4. At the same time i cued the gaussian blur to start.

If you need further explanation, let me know.Ü

Again, thanks!!!Ü (Feels like this has been my Palm D'Or winning speech) Hehe!Ü

Hats off, sir. Hats off !

I just started doing video montages for my family simply using pan/crop and some glorified swipes/fades. This gave me some new ideas. I hadn't really thought about getting so fancy with it, and truthfully I'd keep my stuff a little less busy. On the stuff I'm doing I think there's an elegence in simplicity. You find one thing in a picture to serve as the focal point and you zoom slowly into it, or out from it.

Nice work. Cool ideas. You did ask for a critique though, so I'll add one thing. When you outlined certain things, I'm not sure if you were using a mask or if you made the picture in photo shop or what, I think the lines are a little thick outlining people. I'm not sure if you tried making the lines thinner, or maybe you didn't like them thin, but personally I would not have made the lines that thick.

That's the only thing I can say about it that wasn't perfect. I really liked it.

Hi guys,

I just wanted to ask how i should upload the VEG file of this in the VASST website, do i just upload the whole VEG file or just get some parts of it.

Another thing, when i do upload will the media be uploaded too or it is okay to upload with the media files.

Hope to hear from you.

Thank you and cheers,Ü

-Ana-

put all your files in one dir and zip them into one file for uploading. Chiensworks site has instructions on how to upload.

You can upload the .veg file at VegasUsers.com if you wish. You can either upload the .veg file only, or you can zip the entire project with media files into a .zip file and upload that. However, if the entire .zip file is more than 10MB then i would suggest uploading only the .veg file without media. No one will want to download anything more than that.

Always clean your media pool before uploading the file! If you have anything in the media pool that is no longer in use on the timeline, Vegas will still ask for those items when loading the project.

Thanks you guys will work on that tonight!

Cheers,Ü

-Ana-

Thanks, Ana, I will be studying your .veg file with enthusiasm! Incidentally, I showed your vid to someone at work (who became a Vegas convert) and he was blown away! Thanks again for shring it with us, can't thank you enough.

I too have been working with a photo editor lately, JASC PSP, and tweaking the slides to make them more interesting.

Hey ReneH, and for everyone else who is interested. I've uploaded my VEG file
http://www.vegasusers.com/vegshare/textdisp?peeks-photo_essay_idea

Sorry for the 4MB size cause i really wanted to show how i segmented my pics.

When you do use it, i would love to see your finished work. Please do let me know when i can view your works and be inspired!

Thank you and cheers,Ü

-Ana-

Hi Ana

I agree with all the others. You have done a really nice job.

I like to be inspired too and that was what your video did to me. I have now downloaded your project files to learn more about advanced Photomontage. Thank you for your upload.

But I’m also agreeing with SonicClang about the thick white and black lines around your Aunt. I would have made them thinner or with a soft edge.

I don’t know if you have seen Valentines Day, which Ray did a year ago, if not go to his site and you will be inspired too.

http://www.undergroundplanet.com/valentinesday.htm

Rune

Your observation on the lines have been noted! Thanks!Ü

Just watched the Valentines video, To Ray (if ever you'll get to read this): Two thumbs up! Loved the opening sequence. It had the feel of Joss Stones' video Superdooper! Applause Applause!

I have another interesting one in my archive, which I have downloaded from a link here i this forum or creative cow. The filename is "yfc_regeneration.wmv" (12MB).

Maybe you can find it.

It's very different from the others, another way to make a good PhotoMontage or maybe it was his way to promote his music.

Rune

Hey Redio,

Thanks for the heads up, i'll be downloading it in a while...Ü