Vegas is excellent for creating still image/crop/pan effects. Along with appropriate scripts, I doubt there is a faster, better way to make them with any other program, in my opinion.

Thanks.

What's the learning curve on the scripts, and which ones did you have in mind?

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Try StillMotion (it is a script) and pretty much automates the process. Of course, you will need to go back and tweak the keyframes it creates to your liking, but it makes the process so much faster.

Go to Vasst.com and search for StillMotion.

j razz

IMO if you want to apply Ken Burns sophistication, don't bother with scripts - they apply some kind of formula which may or may not suit the content of each picture.

Vegas on its own is excellent for creating your own "journey" into and around a frame, and you can see the effect of any changes as you apply them.

Thanks again.

How doe Vegas compare to dedicated programs like Imaginate?

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I don't know Imaginate, but Vegas Pan Crop tool gives you control over exactly which part of the frame is showing at any given moment, and speed and acceleration from keyframe to keyframe can be adjusted by right clicking on a keyfrane and selecting from Linear, Fast, Slow, Smooth, Sharp and Hold, and at any given moment the frame can be rotated ....

So, once you get a feel for the tool, you can do whatever you want.

Fadeout, download the demo. Have your kid play with it.

If he can't figure it out, have him come back here and search on "Ken Burns." He find a ton of posts on it and he will be able to do that effect in less than an hour once he learns the basics of Vegas.
Vegas is incredibly easy to learn.


Imaginate is not a video editor. Vegas is.

Imaginate is a great program with alot of flexibility. It is great for making slide shows. Has lots of controls including position, scale, anchor points, 3d camera position, etc. all controlled with keyframes. It does have some limitations. One big one is a limit of 200 pictures per project. Another is types of output. And finally...Busterkeaton has it right, it's not a video editor.

So, if your son is after more than just a slide show Imaginate would not be a good choice. But for slide shows it does a great job within its limits.

>>What's the learning curve on the scripts, and which ones did you have in mind?

I am talking about things like Ultimate S and Excalibur. Those are essentially scripts with a nice user interface.

You can basically lay out hundreds of photos in a click, then you just need to fine tune.

If one had to do it manually would take a very, very long time. I've done it both ways; with scripts and without. With is definitely the best.

My 2 cents:
While scripting would be easier/faster initially, it's - well it's scripted. There's no personality to it.
WIth about 20 minutes of learning on Vegas in the Pan/Crop tool, you're off and running: zooming into specific areas you want, panning the direction you choose, pausing at points you might want to pause at, moving to a sound track etc.
If you script it, you'll have to lay it out initially (very fast), then go back and tweek each key frame.
It all depends on the individual and their choosen work flow.
Personally, I'm always aiming for a specific purpose in the photos I use (zoom into that face; pan from that person to that one; reveal that building, etc), so no script has yet learned to read my mind. I choose to do it all by hand.
But then, I rarely do more than 5 -10 photos. If I were doing hundreds at a shot, I might change my tune.

I somewhat agree, but it just takes way too much time. I always start off with the Ultimate S script photo montage. From there I start customizing what the script started. It is WAY faster than doing the whole thing manually and still ends up with a very personalized feel. I'm always amazed at how good the totally automated slideshow looks.

applying the "ken burns" effect on still images is one of my fave things i love about vegas ... i find it much better than the way you approach it in final cut or premiere...

If you plan on NOT using scripts, you don't need Vegas full - which is very expensive - but Vegas Movie Studio will do just fine and is much cheaper!

The Ulitmate S photo montage tool is not to be used for a final product. Unless you have an ultrasoon deadline. It's used to help you get to the final product much, much faster. As Laurence points out, you almost always go and tweak it after you run the script.

True that products like Stillmotion won't give you a perfect pan for every image. But if your processing a 100 images the hardest part is laying out all the events on the timeline with consistently timed transitions. And if you're planning your transitions to the beat of the music, nothing could be easier than tapping out 100 markers to the beat and letting Stillmotion drop all your images onto the timeline for you. Then it's a simple process of tweaking those pans that don't quite work. Hands down a much improved workflow.

It appears from the posts on this topic that there is a consensus that Vegas is the way to go vis a vis the Ken Burns Effect. The only question seems to be whether to go manual with Vegas or to automate with Ultimate S.

Query: To those who eschew the automation of Ultimate S for the customization of Vegas, as long as you have the ability to manually adjust anything that doesn't quite hit the high note, what is the downside of getting 100 out of 200 pans right in Ultimate S? Aren't you still 100 pictures ahead of the curve time wise?

No real downside - I have both Ulimatte S and Excalibur, but I don't use this particular function because I prefer to roll my own, including variables such as event duration - some pics need longer on the timeline to "explore".

True, with scripts in Vegas you still have access to modify any settings - I just prefer building from the ground up. As long as you finish with the montage you want, go for it.

Yes, you are still way, way ahead time-wise. It's still a win-win situation. The time you spend on the slide show is time spent getting it right, not time spent fidgeting with 200 different transition times and positions.

Vegas + Ultimate S gives you a lot of power.

Automatic edting to musical beats is an incredible timesaver and so powerful.

If your son really wants to get something running quickly and without a lot of effort, check out Microsoft Photo Story.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
It's incredibly easy to use. The default output format is WMV (naturally). If he runs up against Photo Story's limitations, there's Vegas to graduate to.

You can still find a humorous example using Photo Story starring Al Franken, complete with a photo of Ken Burns, here:
http://wwwbeta.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/demos/video_quality_demos.aspx