Photos in Timeline and Ken Burns Effect (Motion Control)

I'd like to check my processes for setting photos with the Ken Burns Effect. I've used Tom's Motion Control example to set Ken Burns Effect on two or more photos that are next to each other in the timeline. I have found that if the photos are approximately the same pixel size that it works well. When they are significantly different I still see the second pic holding still for a few frames and then the movement.
So, I'm interested in other experiences. Did you also find that the relative size of the photos makes a difference? And, when you have photos that are significantly diff in size, what process do you use to bring them closer together?
Thanks,
dave

Hi David,
I think the problem you are having is similar to one that I was encountering while finishing a project a few weeks ago. I also was using photos of differing sizes, but the issue with the late start on the "Ken Burns Effect" on the second photo wasn't related to the differing photo sizes, but to the transition I used between the images.
I found that when I applied Motion to a photo using keyframes, the motion looked fine on both images until I applied a cross dissolve in between images. I realized that the cross dissolve is looking for frames before the motion keyframe to blend with the previous photo. Since the frames before the keyframe are "generated" (I'm not sure if that's the correct word) from the first frame of the still (which has no motion) it generates 15 frames (for a 1 second cross dissolve) that are not moving. That makes it appear like it's stuck and then starts moving when the playhead hits the motion keyframe.
My solution was to move the still photo clips (one at a time) up one video track, extend both ends 15 frames and set the motion keyframe at the "new" beginning of the clip and the "new" end and do my motion based on that new clip length. I then brought in both ends back to their original positions and dropped the clip back into its original spot and then applied the cross dissolve. Now the cross dissolve would have 15 frames with motion to work with for blending the two pictures.
It was incredibly tedious, but I had to do it because the images made up a large part of the video project I was working on. If anyone can suggest a better way of doing it, I would greatly appreciate it.
Despite the time involved, I was really happy with the final results.
I hope that helps.
I don't log in here very often, so if you have any questions, feel free to email me at cgonzalezat*sfchronicle*dotcom
Good luck.

Similar Messages

Trouble saving transitions and Ken Burns Effect

I have tried to reverse the Ken Burns effect and add panning and zooming in I-movie and it will not save. When I preview the photo (it's a still photo) the preview plays like I've designed it to play; however, the new effects do not save on the movie. When I add still photos to I-movie, they are all added with the same effects-in other words, they all are panning the same way. I want to switch it up, but can't seem to get my photos to save.
IMac Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Found my answer...
Don't use FCP to create slideshows of still images. David S. provided the real answer... use Fotomagico.
What had taken me five hours to create in FCP, downsizing images, creating start and end markers for motion and adding sound... took me TEN MINUTES in Fotomagico. It's nuts.
I don't even care to guess at the insane amount of hours I spent creating slideshows over the last 8 years in FCP. I could cry.
As a photographer, I'd much rather be spending time shooting than sitting in front of a computer. This program will allow me to do that.
Again, big thanks goes to David S. for providing the answer.
Al Romero

Thmes and Ken Burns Effect

All images used are still photos at least 5x7 inches @ 300ppi. I like the "Themes" feature in iMovie, but when i drop the photos in, they seem quite "soft" as the Theme goes through its motion. Also; when I preview the Ken Burns effect, the photos look fantastic on the screen as I zoom and Pan. However, when I hit the "Apply" button, the images soften. Any explanation for these two questions? One more question please, would a more expensive software product produce sharper results? Thanks very much. Wayne from Studio 24

Hi Wayne
I'm not so familiar with Ken Burns but can share some thoughts.
1 - If I would use KB in an iMovie project I would definitly NOT use the Share/Export
to iDVD function within iMovie BUT
a) Close iMovie
b) find the project icon/folder
c) Ctrl-click on it and Show package.
d) in this there are a folder -> Shared Movies -> iDVD
e) in this there is a QT movie nnnnnnn.mov
- You can test this with QT-player to see that it is OK -
START A NEW iDVD project - so that old material will not interfere.
f) drop this into an open theme in iDVD (just inside the edge of the
window) and save it as a desktop image
(if iDVD prior HD/5 You have to add a hack to make this possibly
named HPfurz and install it)
Test this with Apple DVD-player - OK then burn it with iDVD
or Toast if You have and don’t want to re-code the movie.
2 - I use more and more FinalCut Express HD 3.5 and in this there are no
Ken Burn as a function but there are a much more powerful function to lay
out motions by hand and in a very precise way. And here You have a really
super quality on Your picture.
BUT on the other hand FCE has a rather steep learning curve and to me lots
of trial and error. But it's much more fun than any coputer games I came across
to date. AND it costs !
Yours Bengt W

Trying to add a pause after Ken Burns effect to hold the photo

I am trying to set a pause to my still photos after using the Ken Burns effect. So it starts zoomed in on an area of the photo and pulls out and then I want it to hold for a few seconds so you can see the full photo. Any suggestions? I can't find anything anywhere???

1) copy the photo with the Ken Burns effect
2) place the copy after the original photo
3) edit the copy, reverse the order of the Ken Burns effect using the arrows next to the word "Start" so the end point is now the start point, change "Ken Burns" effect to "Crop", and change the duration of the copy
If you want the pause at the beginning
- place the copy before the original photo
- edit the copy by just changing the "Ken Burns" effect to a "Crop" (i.e., crop using the start point),and change the duration of the copy
If you have a "pause, ken burns effect, pause" don't use a transition after the 1st pause and before the 2nd pause.
With a group picture, you can simulate a real Ken Burns effect with
transition, pause, zoom in, pause, [pan, pause] ... [pan, pause,] zoom out, pause, transition

Ken burns effect deny photo import

Hallo I updated iMove to 6.03, but now if I make a project encoded for MPEG4, it doesn't permit import photo on project if ken-burn effect has been selected.
On iMove 6.02 it worked!
What can I do? or please how can downgrade Imove release to 6.02?
thanks in advance
peppo

THIS IS WHAT MY CONSOLE.LOG SAYS....Basically when the burns efffect works onthe preview, but when i hit play the image that was burnsed goes all back
2006-10-06 10:08:46.939 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:08:50.812 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:08:51.228 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:08:54.133 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:08:56.987 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:00.293 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:03.481 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:09.290 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:12.211 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:15.433 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:18.237 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:21.309 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:24.030 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:30.223 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:33.610 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:36.482 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:39.486 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:42.558 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:53.642 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:09:57.247 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:10:00.252 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:10:03.206 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:10:06.044 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.
2006-10-06 10:15:39.627 iMovie HD[214] Looked for URLs on the pasteboard, but found none.

Ken Burns Effect Pollutes Everything

If you're putting together a slideshow, do not turn on the KB Effect for anything. Ever. I hate to say this, for I love this feature. It has enhanced many of my slides. However, it's a sorcerer's apprentice.
It causes nightmares once it's in your timeline. You can't update its durations, unless you delete the slide & start all over. I've found, oddly, that if a transition is connected, and you try to reduce the duration of the slide, after the transition is rendered, the slide, instead of having reduced duration, is actually increased by the amount of the reduction you wanted!
Beware of using KBE for any photo in your iPhoto imported album. Once you invoke KBE on any photo, it pollutes every photo you click on, thereafter, whether you turn it off or not. Karl Petersen posted a message last month, praising this polluting feature of KBE:
"The most important is that all of the Ken Burns settings, the KB checkbox, zoom, pan and duration are controlled by the LAST imported clip you made, or a previously-imported clip you clicked on. THAT's what sets the default setting for your next import(s). (A very nice feature, by the way, for it lets you apply the Ken Burns settings of one clip to the next photos you import. You don't have to reconfigure settings each time.)"
First, it's boring to an audience to have repetitious effects. Second, I don't know what he means by "import." iM4, in moving a photo from the Pane to the Viewer (timeline), says it's importing it, but I already imported it from iPhoto4. Third, I'm not so lazy as to resent having to reconfigure individual photos, if it means I have control over what I want to reconfigure & what I don't want to reconfigure.
Third, I wish Apple would realize users do have a brain: They don't need everything automated. There should be two buttons: KBE on for all, another KBE off for all. KBE off would allow the user to select which photos KBE is confined to. One thing I like about Microsoft is, it doesn't assume anything about the user. The user has choice & is always in control.
I'm really at the point of not invoking KBE for anything, anymore. It's causing too much frustration, & it's not worth the time trying to figure it out, especially once the photo is in the timeline.
BTW, what's the relationship between the Monitor, the Timeline, & the window in the upper right corner of the Photo Pane?

The conclusions you've reached about the Ken Burns Effect are so strange it makes me wonder if you've understood how it works. Unlike the Ken Burns Effect in iPhoto — which adds the effect on-the-fly as a sequence of photos is played — the Ken Burns Effect in iMovie affects how the photo is imported and rendered. iMovie renders video — creates a movie clip — based on your Ken Burns settings.
Remember, iMovie is all about creating video clips that play as part of a movie. iPhoto, on the other hand, has no movie. It simply displays a series of images. It never creates a movie until we export the slideshow to a QuickTime movie.
Changing the Ken Burns settings of a photo in iPhoto simply changes how that image is played in the iPhoto slideshow. Changing the Ken Burns settings of an iMovie clip, on the other hand, changes how it is (immediately) rendered into a new video clip.
You can't update its durations, unless you delete the slide & start all over
Of course you can change a duration. Click on the rendered clip in the Timeline, change the duration, and Update the clip.
Of course, if you've edited a previously-rendered clip — added a title or transition, for example — then it is no longer a KB clip. But if you remove the title or transition you can update the KB settings normally.
First, it's boring to an audience to have repetitious effects.
I never suggested you use the same KB effect on all your clips. I suggested that if you want to avoid having to reconfigure your Ken Burns settings before importing a photo, first click on a clip that already uses those KB settings. This saves time and considerable aggravation. I find this especially useful because the KB settings window is so clumsy (and buggy).
Second, I don't know what he means by "import." iM
Each time you add a photo from the iPhoto list to your iMovie project it is imported to the project. iMovie adds the photo to the project, then renders the video clip, if needed. (The imported photo is retained so you can Update the clip later, if you want.)
Third, I'm not so lazy as to resent having to reconfigure individual photos, if it means I have control over what I want to reconfigure & what I don't want to reconfigure.
Fine, iMovie lets you do that. There's nothing preventing you from configuring new Ken Burns settings for each photo. (My suggestion was to avoid having to do that unnecessarily.)
Third, I wish Apple would realize users do have a brain:
Apple DOES assume we have brains. And that we use them to learn how the program actually works, and why.
There should be two buttons: KBE on for all, another KBE off for all. KBE off would allow the user to select which photos KBE is confined to.
It's that point which makes me wonder if you've misunderstood something important. The Ken Burns settings we apply in iMovie do NOT control how the movie PLAYS in iMovie, at least not directly, like it does in iPhoto (and other slideshow software). The KB settings control how a clip is RENDERED when the photo is imported to iMovie. Once rendered, that clip is FIXED unless we re-render (Update) it. Changing its Ken Burns settings changes the clip ONLY if we re-render the clip.
Another way to think about it is that the Ken Burns Effect affects how a photo is imported. Once imported, it does not affect how it plays.
Once you invoke KBE on any photo, it pollutes every photo you click on, thereafter, whether you turn it off or not
There's no pollution of anything. For the reasons I mentioned earlier, the settings do NOT change anything about existing photos or clips until you Apply those settings, which (usually) causes iMovie to re-render the clip.
Try to re-think how Ken Burns works, where you assume iMovie is creating video, not just a series of images it plays in sequence. Those are two very different things.
Karl

Why is ken burns effect not working on individual slides I have amended when sent to iDVD

When making a slideshow in iPhoto, I changed the zoom and scan on individual slides as instructed in the Help dialog; these showed perfectly when played. However, when I shared the slideshow to iDVD, those particular slides were just 'still' and there was no Ken Burns effect at all. Why did this happen?

The Slideshow was created in iPhoto and then shared to iDVD. The Ken Burns effect works on all the photos that used the basic "Ken Burns' setting. However, on some of the photos I tried to amend the scanning to zoom into particular faces or parts of the photo. When I played the slideshow in iPhoto, these amended photos were exactly as I wanted, but after 'sharing' it and viewing it in iDVD, those photos I had altered were 'frozen' and the Ken Burns effect did not work at all, neither the automatic version, nor the specific way I had set it. All the other photos still had the Ken Burns effect as expected. I am using iPhoto 11, 9.1.5, I haven't had this problem in the past.
If you have any ideas why this should have happened I'd be grateful.
Thanks

Slideshow -- Ken Burns effect

IPhoto slideshows not only has the ability to dissolve between photos, but includes the Ken Burns effect. While the ability to use transitions like dissolve in a slideshow is supported in Aperture, I have not found a way to float the photo to the left, right, down, up, etc. while being displayed. This effect really adds polish to a slide presentation, however, it is not supported in iDVD, DVD Studio Pro (at least version 2 which I have), and it appears it isn't supported in Aperture. Is it hidden somewhere in Aperture that I haven't found yet, and if not, why is iPhoto the only app that seems to have this feature? It seems weird that iPhoto would eclipse two professional-level apps (DVD Studio Pro and Aperture) with regards to a feature.
If anyone knows for sure, let me know!
Brad

Paul,
Thanks for you reply. The reason for my reply above is that the discussion pages ask to add some remark to mark the thread as answered, so I just added that "no known answer". This was discussed with others in another topic, and yes you are correct, the discussion was on the very pro vs. amateur point you brought up.
Brad

Ken Burns effect won't work with imovie 6.0.3

I'm hopeful to find a way to use the Ken Burns effect in my 6.0.3 HD imovie. Does anyone have a solution to this problem? I can't get it to work.

Did you empty iMovie's trash after creating your clips? Did you previously apply the Ken Burns effect to that particular clip and now want to change the settings?
If you already had the clip/photo imported using the Ken Burns effect, and then emptied the trash, you cannot redo the KB settings. It is a bug in iMovie. You will get the black frame when you try. The only thing you can do is reimport the photo.
Here is an explanation of the problem (Thanks to Matti Haveri) :http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/iMovieHD_6_bugs.html#stillupdate

IMovie HD6 Ken Burns Effect Not working

Hi. I've been using iMovie HD6 with my old iMacG4. We used Ken Burns Effect a lot with no problems.
I just got a 1 year old G5 iMAC with Intel Dual Processor and it has the latest versions of Tiger and iMovie 06. Everything works but the Ken Burns Effect. When I use the Ken Burns effect, it shows up when I set it up but when I push the button to make iMovie render the effect, the clinic does not render. It looks like the computer is about to render the effect but nothing happens and I need to force quit iMovie to do anything else. On the set-up of the Ken Burns effect, the preview shows the Ken Burns effect working.
I had a previous version of iLife O6 so I tried deleting the iMovie from the application and reloading the iLife 06 but this did not help. Because I don't have iLife 08, I cannot download a version of iMovie O6 to give this a try.
Any suggestions?
Thanks for your help, Andy

Since you just got a one year old computer, I would do the following:
1. Close iMovie and trash the file com.apple.iMovie.plist located in User/Library/Preferences. iMovie will create a new .plist file on relaunch.
2. Before you relaunch iMovie, do a permissions repair using the Disk Utility app on your Mac.
3. Make sure that you have sufficient free disk space for iMovie to operate efficiently -- 25GB is recommended.
4. Update iMovie and Quicktime to current versions, and do a permissions repair afterwards.
5. If you have any 3rd party plug-ins, or Quicktime plug-ins, move them to another folder to temporarily disable them.
With the Ken Burns effect, do not empty the trash until your project is finished. Emptying the trash will cause you to be unable to edit a photo to which the Ken Burns effect has been applied.
Hope the above helps.

Can't turn off Ken Burns effect

Hi
doing a movie of some photos and can't seem to turn off the ken burns effect when i uncheck the box and click update. Any ideas? Thanks

Two things occur to me.
First, you might just need to delete preferences and do a permissions repair. To delete preferences, shut down iMovie and trash the file com.apple.iMovie.plist located in User (the house icon)/Library/Preferences. On relaunch iMovie will replace the deleted .plist file. Before relaunching, do a permissions repair using the Disk Utility app on your Mac. Close down all running programs. Open Disk Utility and select your hard drive icon displayed in the left hand pane, and then click on Repair Permissions.
Second, there is a bug in iM6 that prevents any editing of a photo to which the Ken Burns effect has been applied if the trash has been emptied at any time after the effect had been applied. The solution there is to reimport the photo, and don't empty the project trash until after your project is completed.

IMovie producing scrambled video with ken Burns effect

I was creating a movie with stills from iPhoto. The first 3 photos are using the Ken Burns effect just fine. Anything after that is absolutely unrecognizable. It looks like a scrambled mess of what is on my screen. I can actually see my Dock in the video. This is really strange. It occurs with photos I've edited and with ones I haven't. I have the latest version of Quicktime (7.0.4), iMovie (6.02) and iPhoto (6.0.4) as well as Tiger.
I've never had this problem before. As long as I don't use the Ken Burns effect I'm fine.
eMac Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Hi Appleman1958
Thanks for the advise. I'll give it a try when I get home tonight. Went nuts last night looking for a way
to do it. Didn't want to do them one at a time or delete it and start over. Any idea why the pictures
are not nearly as sharp when I burn to a disc on iDVD. as they are when viewed on iMovie or Aperture?
Thanks Again,
kayaking1

IMovie 6, DVDSP 4, and Ken Burns

Hi,
There seems to be an issue with DVDSP drop zones and Ken Burns effects rendered in iMovie 6 (or any other pan/zoom software like Photo to Movie). Dropping a pan/zoom-rendered movie into a menu drop zone looks horrid after building the project, then viewing the VIDEO_TS folder with DVD player. Same result after burning DVD.
The drop zone video, as it pans and zooms, undulates in some areas while zooming, to the point of distraction. I cannot see this effect if the file is imported into an iDVD6 drop zone or opened in Quicktime 7. I have tried deinterlacing, blah, blah to no avail.
***? I paid $80 for iLife '06 and $500 for DVDSP and I get better results with iLife? This doesn't make any sense. Any advice appreciated.

If you getting a moire (intereference) effect this is usually associated with things like checked shirts or lots of very small detail in the footage. It probably looks fine in iMovie as it is larger so you don't see the effect but when you make it smaller in the drop zone all the small detail "bunches" together and because then the effective resolution is smaller it has less pixels to play with. Also are the photos you are using for your Kens Burns montage scanned from magazines... this would also give a moire effect as the scanner has scanned the dots that the picture is made up of.
I had a similar problem recently with a scene access menu created in After Effects. The scene in question had a great big venetian blind in the background. Looked fine as full sized footage but when reduced to a scene selection size it was "ringing" like crazy and looked horrible. The only way to get rid of it was to blur the footage slightly - as it was appearing small you didn't notice.
If your pics are from magazines etc. then you can use your scanners descreening methods to largely eliminate any dot...
Hope this helps
Steve Kirkham
PS. As Hal said welcome back Chris - and Hal is right this board does have a sense of camararderie with everyone trying to help out

Is it possible to undo the Ken Burns effect on all photos at once in iMovie, rather than clicking "crop" and "fit" on each individual photo?

Is it possible to undo the Ken Burns effect on all photos at once in iMovie, rather than clicking "crop" and "fit" on each individual photo?

Hey Villiam, Kevin is referring to setting a movement on a photo setting keyframes (like zoom out to in), right-clicking on Motion, and choose save as preset. This will put that movement into your presets folder under Effects. I am going to try this on my next montage and see if I can find some efficiencies. Thanks Kevin, that was a great tip!!!
Also thanks to Jim. I spent like 30 min looking at all the keyboard shortcuts. It's a little overwhelming to establish a solid shortcut format that a team of editors can learn and use. I'm going to be trying the FCP short cuts, then go back to the default. It looks like the PR default has a lot of existing and helpful shortcuts assigned already. It's just going to take getting used to a new platform.
I'm still looking for tools and/or methods to allow an editor to assemble a 60 second montage with 10 photos, VO and music in 30 minutes. It's going to be a challenge but I think it's possible with the right innovative process. I'll still challenge anyone to find a way to quickly assemble a montage in an assembly line or template-based fashion using Adobe Premiere CC where there's on-screen text, advanced transitions, timed to VO, etc.
I think I'm dreaming for a tool to automatically do this within Premiere, while I think the answer for now might just be customizing motion presets and creating a favorites folder of transitions that can be dragged onto each clip. I'll see if there’s a way to apply a set of transitions or motion presets to a series of photos on the timeline opposed to doing it one by one. I can see this solution being important as video montages are becoming more popular in our industry, and the faster we can make them using a professional software package like Premiere the more prosperous we will be.

Inserting Photos and the Ken Burns Effect

First
I have inserted a number of photos from iPhoto onto the timeline via the "Photos" panel in the "Media" section. After adding these pictures to the timeline, with transitions, etc. I realized that I wanted to add some pictures before the current ones in the timeline. How would I do this easily?
Second
These pictures are motionless, which is boring, and I want to add the Ken Burns Effect. However, I don't want the same effect on every picture is there some way to randomize the effect, similar to the way iPhoto does in its slideshows?
Thanks!

I have inserted a number of photos from iPhoto onto the timeline via the "Photos" panel in the "Media" section. After adding these pictures to the timeline, with transitions, etc. I realized that I wanted to add some pictures before the current ones in the timeline. How would I do this easily?
Just select the photos (Command-click) you wish to import, and drag them directly from the photos panel down to the timeline at the point you want to insert them.
is there some way to randomize the effect, similar to the way iPhoto does in its slideshows?
Not in iMovie. You would have to vary them individually.
However, you can use Photo-to-Movie to accomplish this. With this app, you drag in the photos and let the application create the effects. You can also individualize the effects yourself. Photo to Movie

Photos in Timeline and Ken Burns Effect (Motion Control)

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