need advice on some effects I want to do

dogwalker wrote on 8/20/2010, 9:07 AM

I'm going to create a slideshow (mostly photos, a few video clips) to present at our Troop Court of Honor next month, showing stuff we did over the summer (summer camp, sailboating, Philmont, etc), to help pump the guys up and celebrate the summer we just completed.

I was thinking about the intro, and had a few ideas, and I'd appreciate any tips on how to do them in Vegas; but also, should I buy and use a different tool, like ProShow or PowerDirector?

First, I want to find some music which just starts out with a steady sound, kind of anticipatory, building. For the video portion, I was thinking I'd quickly fade in, alternating at different areas of the screen, words like "Sailboating" "Camp Hale" "Philmont" etc. I'd like to make those words stand out, and was thinking maybe use some sort of "spotlight" (cookie cutter?) to feather them?

Then, I was thinking maybe bring in photos, into maybe four placeholders at angles and overlapping and slowly change each, speeding up, then very fast (as the music hopefully is building up) to the point where each photo is being replaced extremely quickly, and then have the last four "explode" out, leaving a black screen.

And then feed into the actual slide show.

First, what do you think? I just want to grab their attention, and most of the audience is 12-16 year old boys.

Second, I understand conceptually how to do this, using Pan and Zoom (maybe track motion, I'll have to experiment), but could use any advice.

On the accelerating photos, should I first just create them, then (somehow) render them as a clip (or nested project, which I've *never* done), so I could then use a velocity envelope to speed it up? If so, can someone tell me how to do the nested part?

Thanks.

Comments

TeetimeNC wrote on 8/20/2010, 11:53 AM

Hi dogwalker,

>I'm going to create a slideshow (mostly photos, a few video clips) to present at our Troop Court of Honor next month, showing stuff we did over the summer (summer camp, sailboating, Philmont, etc), to help pump the guys up and celebrate the summer we just completed.

Are you by chance from east Tennessee? I used to go to a camp Philmont many years ago on Norris Lake.

> I was thinking about the intro, and had a few ideas, and I'd appreciate any tips on how to do them in Vegas; but also, should I buy and use a different tool, like ProShow or PowerDirector?

I use Vegas Pro and and recently purchased Proshow Producer (PSP). You can certainly do what you describe in Vegas. PSP can as well, and there are some great "styles" included and available for purchase that really give it that professional look.

>First, I want to find some music which just starts out with a steady sound, kind of anticipatory, building. For the video portion, I was thinking I'd quickly fade in, alternating at different areas of the screen, words like "Sailboating" "Camp Hale" "Philmont" etc. I'd like to make those words stand out, and was thinking maybe use some sort of "spotlight" (cookie cutter?) to feather them?

In the Vegas titler you can put a stroke around your text and it can be blurred to give a glow like effect.

>Then, I was thinking maybe bring in photos, into maybe four placeholders at angles and overlapping and slowly change each, speeding up, then very fast (as the music hopefully is building up) to the point where each photo is being replaced extremely quickly, and then have the last four "explode" out, leaving a black screen.

The best way to do this is create four tracks, one for each placeholder. Set track composite mode to 3d source alpha and use track motion to set each place holder to the desired size, position, and tilt. Then just sequence your opening photos on the four tracks. Display (for example) the first photo on each of the tracks for 6 seconds, the second on each of the tracks for 5 seconds, and so on. The explode out is most easily done with a parent "controller" track above these four photo tracks. If you decide to go this route we can help you with that.

>And then feed into the actual slide show.

I don't think you will need nesting for this but you'll probably get several different ways to approach this from the others here.

/jerry

dogwalker wrote on 8/20/2010, 12:13 PM

Thanks, Jerry.

I live in Texas now, but I grew up in Georgia and dated a wonderful girl in Tennessee. I love Tennessee. I love Texas, too, but I sure miss the mountains and trees!

We went (two years ago and again this year) to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. It's a two-week "high adventure" trek of backpacking in the back country. We had 8 Scouts and 4 adults. It was tough, but a lot of fun!

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to work on it this afternoon. I've got the four tracks done now, though I need to alter the display lengths.

For the explosion, I assume I'll just zoom completely in on each, so the photos zoom toward the screen?

Thanks again!

TeetimeNC wrote on 8/20/2010, 12:23 PM

For the explosion, I would make the four photo tracks children of a "controller" track that sits above them. Set the controller's parent composite mode to 3d Source Alpha and use the Parent Motion on the controller to zoom in on the four tracks at once, doing a slight 3d roll. Apply some motion blur and a whoosh sound to help sell the effect. You could also animate the four children to roll away from the center as you are doing the parent zoom.

Also, I just remembered the BS camp I went to was Pellissippi, not Philmont. I like east TN and GA, and now live in NC. I once hitchhiked from Norfolk, VA to Dillard GA for a weekend conference.

/jerry

dogwalker wrote on 8/20/2010, 12:28 PM

Thanks, Jerry, I'll try that! NC is wonderful country, too. I've been to the Greensboro area.

TeetimeNC wrote on 8/20/2010, 12:35 PM

PS: Here is a slideshow I made with ProShow Producer. Pretty much out of the box with hardly any customization by me.

dogwalker wrote on 8/20/2010, 12:51 PM

That was great!! Maybe I should really reconsider whether to use Vegas, to be honest. In the past, I've used MemoriesOnTV (nice, easy to use, does a lot, but no tracks or layers) and Vegas, but the more I see of ProShow Producer, the more I think I should probably go that route. I create 5-6 slideshows a year for family and Scouts, so it would definitely get used.

Again, very nice!