Problems with Ken Burns effect

Having a very frustrating time trying to get a decent slideshow. Like the KB effect but when I play it back the images jerk and jump. Smoothness totally
gone. Strange thing is sometimes it is worse than others. Have tried closing all
other unnecessary programs to save RAM , etc...does not help. Sometimes it
looks ok played in iphoto but when I send to idvd the jerking is back. HELP.
When going through process have about 250MB free and 10 GB on disk.
Also when I export a slideshow (size-large 720X480)to Quicktime image
quality degrades considerably. All I want is a decent dvd copy of my honeymoon
pictures but can't seem to accomplish this. Am very disappointed at all the
grief involved in this...any help would be greatly appreciated.

Greetings Old Toad.
It seems that a fair number of users have run into this same problem over recent months: namely, producing a slideshow with audio from iPhoto with the Ken Burns effect creates a "jerky" movie as a result. The advice I have seen is to either clean up your hard drive or get more memory. I consistently run into this problem even though I have a 1Ghz G4 iMac with 768MB main memory. I have tried this on my root drive with about 7GB available and on a firewire drive I have with ~30GB available space. I have also tried using Cache Out X to clean up caches and other various files, and still iPhoto produces jerky results.
The one workaround that has worked was to turn off audio. That seems to fix the problem, but I do want audio in these slideshows to put onto DVD. Others have suggested using iMovie to add the audio track, but reading in the output of iPhoto into iMovie seriously degrades the quality of the video -- not to mention that it is a very slow and tedious process to do this.
I would like to point out that this was not always the case. Unfortunately I cannot pinpoint the exact time when this started happening, but I could swear that I had been able to create slideshows in this manner before one of the many iPhoto upgrades I automatically received over the last year. I now have version 5.0.4.
Have you heard of anyone successfully fixing or working around this problem? I love my Mac...and this is one of the fundamental reasons I switched from Windows a few years ago was for the great photo tools. But now, without the ability to make DVDs the way I want, I am considering switching back .
1 Ghz G4 iMac Mac OS X (10.4.3) 768 MB DDR

Similar Messages

IMovies problem with Ken Burns effect.

When I use Ken Burns effect in IMovies, the bricks of a house, the line of a shirt, ... are kind of vibrating. In Aperture 3, it is ok. Is that a known problem with IMovies ?
Lombarr1.

I have seen that in older editions - like iMovie 6 - especially when using pics at a high resolution - the water or sky seemd to shimmer. Funny I'm using iMovie 11 now and some things I liked better in 6, but you bring to mind something that bugged me (though people would ask - "How did you get that to happen?")

IMovie Crashing when importing photo with Ken Burns Effect

iMovie is crashing all the time when I am trying to import a photo with Ken burns effect using media browser and hitting "apply". Is this a known problem ? If I dont apply Ken Buruns effect then it imports it fine.
I am trying to put Photo at the begining of my project ( and then put title on that photo). If I have any clip in the begining and then try importing photo with ken burn's effect then it is not crashing, but it still does not import it. I click "apply" and it does soemthing , I can see the clip in timeline for a sec and then it disappears. So either way, cant use any photos anywhere with Ken Burn's effect. Whats going on?
I have more than enough space available on my HDD and I do not think there is any conflicting QT plugins I have ( It's all default Install). This is so consistent that it seems like a Bug but can't find this exact case mentioned anywhere in discussions.
Powerbook G4 12.1" 1.5Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Welcome to the forum! And thanks for such an insightful post.
I have two guesses here:
o The Ken Burns code of iMovie has a problem with partitions
o The Ken Burns code of iMovie has a problem with access rights
I've never seen a Ken Burns problem with partitions (I've used multiple partitions for years with no problems). I suspect that's not the cause.
But I think you've hit the nail on the head that iMovie may have a problem with permissions/access rights. I don't know exactly what the problem is — or whether it's caused by iMovie or OSX — but there is behavior that suggests something isn't right.
I suspect the issue, whatever it is, causes a failure to save the rendered Ken Burns clip inside the project package. The red bar runs, but the rendered clip isn't saved to disk. My guess is OSX refuses to allow iMovie to save the file for OSX doesn't believe YOU have permission.
One would think that using the Finder to set the permissions of the project package would solve the problem, but it doesn't seem to.
There are two possible solutions:
1. Set the partition to ignore permissions. In the Finder, click on the partition and Get Info. Turn ON the checkbox "Ignore permissions on this volume";
2. Use Disk Utility to reformat (erase) the partition. Somehow that seems to fix the problem.
Here's some history which may suggest another solution: In an earlier version of iMovie a similar problem occurred, where iMovie would refuse to open a project. It had somehow decided you didn't have permission to edit the project.
The only solution was to use the Finder to create a new set of project folders — a folder and all the folders it normally contains — then Option-drag the FILES of the original project folder to the appropriate folders. (Option-dragging COPIED the files instead of moving them.) The new project folder would now open normally.
If you are adept at working with packages, you might try creating your own package (which contains all the normal folders) then Option-drag the files of the problem project to your package.
Once I saw an error -52 announcement, but it was not reproducible.
Error -52 is a "Get file position error", which (may) suggest a disk directory error. That may be a disk issue unrelated to iMovie. You might want to consider using Disk Utility to Verify/Repair that partition.
I have a separate partition for the movies and made a
link from my home account to the directory with the
movies on that partition. iMovie works correctly
except for the Ken Burns photo rendering.
I'm never sure whether creating such a link is a good idea or not, especially for the iLife apps. Some apps don't resolve the alias as they should, which creates other problems. A "Movies" alias sends iDVD a million miles beyond Jupiter, for example, where the iDVD project joins the space dust.
For iMovie projects saved on partitions and external drives, I just save them inside a "iMovie 6 Projects" folder on that drive. (Every new version of iMovie gets a new folder.) For convenience, I may create aliases to help navigate there, but do nothing else. Everything just works.
If you figure out something new, please say.
Karl

Problem editing ken burns effects in timeline

All i'm getting is a black screen. Its not allowing me to preview the ken burns effects in the timeline. The only way i can edit pictures is from the media file. Anyone have any suggestions on why this is happening?

The only way i can edit pictures is from the media
file.
Sorry, I don't understand what that means. Please say more, if it's important.
There's a bug in iMovie 6 that makes it impossible to re-edit (Update) photo clips previously imported with the Ken Burns checkbox ON. The source photo, normally stored in the Media folder of the project, is (inappropriately) discarded when you empty the iMovie trash. The clips Update as black clips and the preview is usually black too, if I recall.
The workaround is to 1) drag the photo from the iMovie trash to the iMovie Clips pane; or 2) never empty the iMovie trash.
So, is the preview black on NEW photo imports, or just those clips you are Updating? If the latter, then it's that bug causing the problem.
Karl

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

Mixing photos with Ken Burns effect with 'still' photos

I am just beginning to experiment with iMovie '09. My medium is still photographs and my goal was to create a movie with these photographs, and send them to iDVD to test the quality of the final images.
I have 3 questions.
1. I started by using about 10 photos from iPhoto, then adding music and transitions. I used the same 10 slides, same music and transitions to make a second movie, but this time I used the Ken Burns effect on two of the photos. When I moved the movies to iDVD, the first one was fine, but in the second one, the 'jaggies' appeared in the iDVD version. Is it an 'all or none' proposition regarding the Ken Burns effect if I want to avoid images with jagged edges or is there a way to combine moving and still images?
2. The first time I tried to send the movie to iDVD I chose Share>iDVD. A drop down window appeared and it looked as if a movie had been created but when I opened the media/movies pane in iDVD, a message appeared saying "the project can't be used because it has not been prepared for sharing yet." What was actually happening when I chose Share>iDVD?
3. I have been reading other posts about sharing from iMovie to iDVD. Am I understanding correctly that I the largest size I can go to is 'medium'? In my experiments, I have been choosing 'large' and they look OK. (I chose 'large' because that was what was modelled in the tutorial.) Would I have trouble when it comes to burning them?

Is it an 'all or none' proposition regarding the Ken Burns effect if I want to avoid images with jagged >edges or is there a way to combine moving and still images?
You should be able to combine.
Open iMovie Preferences and put a check mark next to "Display Time as HH:MM:SS:Frames". This lets you edit more accurately and if there is an extraneous Ken Burns Frame you can see it.
he first time I tried to send the movie to iDVD I chose Share>iDVD. A drop down window appeared >and it looked as if a movie had been created but when I opened the media/movies pane in iDVD, a >message appeared saying "the project can't be used because it has not been prepared for sharing >yet." What was actually happening when I chose Share>iDVD?
Try saving your movie to either iTunes or the Media Browser first. When you send straight to iDVD it is expected DV or AIC or h.264. With photos only, none of these exist.
After sharing to the media browser or iTunes, if Share to iDVD still isn't working, you can open iDVD, find your movie in the Media Browser, and bring it into iDVD from there.
I have been reading other posts about sharing from iMovie to iDVD. Am I understanding correctly >that I the largest size I can go to is 'medium'? In my experiments, I have been choosing 'large' and >they look OK. (I chose 'large' because that was what was modelled in the tutorial.) Would I have >trouble when it comes to burning them?
Both will work. DVDs are 480i, so if you send in large, iDVD has to downscale. You may want to try it both ways to see which gives you better results.

Imovie will not render photos with ken burns effect

I have started to produce a video and have tried to import photos from both iphotos and straight from desktop however when i do this the red bar showing the state of rendering does not move. The photo will not render and therfor i am unable to use the ken burns effect. Could anyone please give me any idea of what i am doing wrong.
Thanks.

Hi
What file type is Your photos eg .tiff, .pict or .jpg ?
What size are they eg 1Mb, 10Mb or 100Mb ?
How much free space is there on Your internal (start-up) hard disc ?
Ps When ready - Don't use Share/Export to iDVD from within iMovie. Just drop Your movie icon
(with a Star on it) into iDVD theme window.
OR - Your movie project in iMovie will be harmed and You'll have to re-do it ! ! AND
the DVD disc will be severely pixelated - extreme low quality Ds
Yours Bengt W

MAKE A iPHOTO ALBUM ON A CD WITH KEN BURNS EFFECT AND MUSIC

I'd like to know how to save an album using the Ken Burns effect (pictures automatically panned or zoomed) and the music I've saved to the album from the samples given in Iphoto. When I try to open a CD with an album on it on a Windows pc, I get only the pictures and neither the Ken Burns effect nor the music, so all I can run is a simple slideshow, which looks anemic when compared with the full effect available on the Mac. Any ideas?

Export the Slideshow as a Quicktime Movie (File -> Export) and burn that to the CD.
Regards
TD

Stutter when playing back photos with Ken Burns effects

I am new to iMovie (& Macs) and am trying to replicate some complex motion on a still photo that I had on my PC with Adobe Premiere.
The motion I would like is to pan and/or zoom around a photo, then pause at the end of the motion for a few seconds before transitioning to the next photo. I tried to do this by basically using two paired clips:
1) add ken burns effects to the clip to accomplish the pan/zoom
2) copy the clip
3) on the copy, use the option key to transfer the settings from the "End" to the "Start" (which should make the clip motionless, but give it the same zoom and location settings as the end of the first clip)
4) set the second clip duration to a few seconds (first clip is generally between 6-10 seconds originally)
Sometimes this works great, but other times I get an inexplicable stutter between the two clips (both during playback on my computer or in the finished DVD), even though theoretically, the frames should be exactly the same between the two clips. It seems to happen after I've added transitions between photos (but not between the 2 paired clips that make up the motion), after it's re-rendered items.
Does anyone know why I would be getting this stutter (it looks like a flash of white, actually, that is only 1 frame long) ? When I walk through the movie, frame by frame, it looks like somehow I am actually getting a single white frame at the end of the first clip, but I have no idea where this frame is coming from or how to get rid of it.
Is there a better way to accomplish this type of motion ? I did some searching, but didn't find any topics on doing complex motions - has anyone seen any.
Thanks for any help.

I have had something similar happen in my slideshows. I would first check to see if you have a flash frame between the photos (which I've found sometimes randomly occurs for some unknown reason). You can enlarge the timeline as big as possible to see if you have one and just delete it. But I've also had a flash of white that appears at the end of a photo that is not a flash frame on the timeline. The only way I've figured to get rid of it is to delete the photo and re-insert it. Which is a pain, but has worked for me.

Problems with Ken Burns

Can someone from Apple support be so kind as to explain what is wrong with the Ken Burns effect in the new version of iMovie? Im not able to adjust the start / end cropping of stillpictures. Regular cropping of still images / video clips are are also impossible to adjust.
I work on a MacBook Pro 13" with the latest system version (Mavericks, norwegian) installed.

It appears there is a bug in with Cropping in the Norwegian localization of iMoive 10.
As a workaround until Apple fixes, it you might try swithching to Englesh in System Preferences>Language & Region.
Matt

Cannot import stills with Ken Burns effect

I apply Ken to the clip, tell it to update or apply it to a clip and drag it into the timeline. I get the status window showing it is importing, then I get an alert sound and the clip with the effect is not there. Tied removing he plist but that made no difference. Cannot figure this one out. All pics are jpg and not huge in size. I used to be able to do this with no problem in earlier versions of iMovie but HD6 is giving me fits. I dunno - maybe this will require a support call - juts hoping someone has had a similar problem and found a way to solve it.

Well - much to my dismay and disgust moving the movie file to the main system drive solved the problem. Dismay and disgust because the other drive is an internal SATA. formatted properly. etc. Just don't seem right. I appreciate, as always, the help I get on the forum.
Thanks again.
Joe

Ken Burns effects with stills

I am trying to superimpose images with Ken Burns effects. I have one still that takes up my full frame (rectangle, 16:9). I also have smaller photos superimposed on the first that are placed in other parts of the frame. I can size these other images to any dimensions if I don't use effects, but as soon as I try to use Ken Burns effects on the smaller images, Final Cut is forcing the image to 16:9. This is particularly awkard if the image is a still with portait orientation as opposed to landscape.
Any ideas what I can do? Was not an issue with Final Cut Express.

In Image/Wireframe mode, holding down shift causes resize to be unconstrained when dragging the corners. Have you tried simply dragging the corners of the video without holding down shift? This works for me on my system, although my default method is to use the scroll wheel on my trackball to change the values for scale in the motion tab.
shoots808

Ken Burns Effects Don't Work in iMovie HD (I've Tried Everything)

Version:
OS X 10.4.10
iMovie 6
*Hardware 1:*
PowerMac G4 Dual 500 Mhz, 1GB RAM, Internal 40GB HDD and Internal 320 GB HDD
*Hardware 2:*
PowerBook G4 500 Mhz, 512MB RAM, Internal 20 GB HDD
Problem:
This problem occurs on both of my G4 Macs. In iMovie HD, I imported a JPEG from iPhoto with Ken Burns Effects on. The still photo appeared properly in the Clip Viewer initially, but appeared as a black screen in the iMovie Monitor. Once the imported photo with the Ken Burns Effects completed rendering, the clip in the Clip Viewer turned white and appeared as a white screen in the iMovie Monitor. I have tried almost everything I read about in these forums in search of a resolution.
*Resolutions that Failed:*
1. The photo is definitely a .jpg
2. Tried importing the actual .jpg file as well as importing from iPhoto.
3. QuickTime and all other Software updates have been applied and are running on the most current release.
4. Repaired disk permissions.
5. Created, saved and manipulated the iMovie file in the standard Movie Folder on my main internal hard drive. (i.e. – I'm not saving to an external HDD)
6. Created, saved and manipulated the iMovie file in the standard Movie Folder on my secondary internal hard drive. (i.e. – I'm not saving to an external HDD)
7. Deleted the 'mac.imovie.plist' file and created a new one.
8. Attempted to do apply the effects logged on as a different user.
9. Saved file, restarted machine and reopened numerous times but the problem persists.
10. Tried a lower resolution photo and the problem persists.
11. Attempted to import all the photos I planned to use, added transitions to all of the clips and rendered completely. Saved the file, restarted the machine and reopened the file with no change to the blank clips.
12. The iMovie trash emptying issue did nothing to help.
*Additional Notes:*
1. The problem is confined to the Ken Burns Effects in iMovie. I am able to work with true video clips without incident.
2. Ken Burns Effects operate properly in iPhoto 6 using the slideshow functionality.
3. I would use iPhoto, but it seems like it would be easier to line up specific sections of an audio track with certain Ken Burns Effects in iMovie. (i.e. – a crescendo at the 16 second mark of the audio track coincides with the end of a 'zoom' on a photo, transition from second 16-17 second mark, new photo at the 17 second mark and pan left to right from 17 second mark to the 25 second mark.) Point is that it lines up precisely with the markers on the audio track, which seems far easier to do in iMovie than iPhoto.
4. Please help me, I'm going nuts troubleshooting this bug! I can't find any resolution that works.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Message was edited by: Charlie Brown Jr.

Hmmm. You seem to have tried, without success, most if not all of the methods of resolving a Ken Burns black screen issue.
Some thoughts that have occurred to me:
1. Perhaps your G4 500mhz Mac is not fast enough. I think that the minimum spec for iLife '06 is 733mhz. Might have nothing to do with this problem, but I just mention it.
2. Are the sizes of your images too large, as can happen with some of these new high def cameras? iMovie has trouble working with very large images.
3. Do you have any 3rd pary plug-ins, particularly in Quick Time, that could be causing a conflict?
4. Do you have enough disk space for the project to operate?
5. Have you done a recent Quick Time update? Some users have reported a problem with that.
6. From your post, it appears that you have continuously worked within the same iMovie file that exhibits the Ken Burns problem. If this is true, try creating a new iMovie project and experimenting with a few clips to see if the problem persists in the new project.
Ken Burns issues can be very frustrating. I think that you will need to keep trying things until something works. Wish I could be more help, but perhaps some of the tech experts on this forum will have some workable suggestions.
There is an application called Photo to Movie that reputedly has a far better Ken Burns type of effect. If you can't resolve your problem, you might try downloading that app. I believe that it offers a demo download.
Good luck.

Jaggies in Ken Burns effect

My Photos with Ken Burns effect usually have jaggies to one degree or another. I had same problem with windows programs (Roxio EMC 8, Adobe Premier and Studio Media by Pinnacle). I just bought an iMac because all of those programs would crash too often, and their Pan and Zoom effects produced jaggies. Apple has such a good reputation for video that I assumed their programs would not have the same problems. The good news is that the iMac has not crashed at all. The bad news is that the pan and zoom produces jaggies in complex pictures (flower gardens) or in pictures with a lot of lines (sail boats). I have read the boards here (thanks Karl !!) and I have tried many of the remedies (render in iDvd not iMovie, import with effect on, etc.,) but the results are still very very disappointing. it is almost misleading to say that you can add motion to a picture when the quality suffers so much on so many pictures.
But this isnt a rant - just a question. What do I need to produce a quality pan and zoom effect on a photo if cost is not a big issue? Is there an upgrade for Idvd or iMovie? Would Final Cut Express or Pro produce a better product? Would more memory help (I have 512 mb)? What do the pros use? I am willing to throw dollars to solve this problem but I dont know where to throw them.

Hi Mardot - welcome to Apple, and to this forum!
It might be worth looking at either Still Life, or Photo to Movie before trying the expensive FC route. Both of these applications create very good pan and zoom effects that can be later integrated into an imovie project.
http://www.grantedsw.com/still-life/
http://www.lqgraphics.com/phototomovie.php
You probably should up-grade your imovie. imovie 6 is part of the iLife 6 suite of applications, which includes iDVD as well. Just be aware that iMovie 6, or indeed FC uses 'non-destructive' editing which needs much more storage space.
It would be a good idea also to list your computer model, RAM etc in your profile as this will then appear at the bottom of your posts. It can be helpful when diagnosing problems.

Is it just me or does iMovie have too many bugs especially with Ken Burns

Has anyone else been experiencing the same amount of problems with iMovie 6 as myself?
Random crashes every so often (iMovie has closed unexpectically), it seems to happen every time I've forgatten to save my movie for a while.
Constant problems with Ken Burns rendering ...
Frequent white flashes in between frames ... after a picture has been rendered, especially in HD. To the point that I can't create movies in 720 dv because I will always get static frames here and there.
Static rendering with some images with Ken Burns (diffrent from previous problem) , it seems to effect photos from some digital cameras more then otheres, but I have seen this problem affect just about every photo source. With my photos especially I can't use the Ken burns effect, because I get problems atleast 50%.
And all these problems are happening on my new (current generation) ibook. I've combed through the forums and tried just about every possible solution, reinstalled imovie, repatched it, deleted preferences, installed from a friendssdvd instead of mine, etc ... but I still keep getting these problems. Anything short of reverting back to iLife 5 doesn't work, which ofcourse defeats the whole purpose of gettin iLife 6.
Don't get me wrong a like the new features in iMovie 6, but I'm really finding it impossible to work with it.
Maybe iMovie 6 simply doesn't run well on iBooks?

No iMovie has always been a touchy beast
http://danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/iMovie3FixesIssues.shtml
http://danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/iMovie4FixesIssues.shtml
http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/%7Eshmhav/iMovieHD_5bugs.html
http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/%7Eshmhav/iMovieHD_6bugs.html
Daniel C. Slagle
Keeper of the "Unofficial" iMovie FAQ
http://iMovie.danslagle.com

Problems with Ken Burns effect

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