Still photo scaling and motion

I'm editing a series of still photos and can't figure out how to properly scale the photos and add zooms and other motions. Any advice??

To do this in FCP, place the images in the order you want on the Timeline. Double-click one to load it into the Viewer window. Click on the Motion tab, then use the SCALE and CENTER controls to set the animation you want.
Once you set the initial keyframe for an image, FCP will automatically add new keyframes for each change over the duration of the image. Setting the Canvas window to Image+Wireframe mode will allow you to scale and drag the image with the mouse.
This book may help: http://tinyurl.com/5csyaw
-DH

Similar Messages

Still photos flicker and transitions glitchy in 6.5

I am using Premiere 6.5 on a pc with vista. I am making a still photo video and maybe my initial settings are wrong. The preset I am using is dv-ntsc real time preview standard 48kHz. When I playback my timeline, my transitions are not smooth and are "bar-like" (for lack of a better word). The photos that have motion on them flicker. I have reduced the interlace on the photos with motion, I have rendered my timeline. I have tried the gaussian blur, but that makes the photo worse. I made sure the Rendering setting is at lower field first. Should I click on optimize stills? Can I reset my project settings after I have put everything on the timeline? All of my photos are .jpgs The only thing I can think of that I am doing wrong is my settings! I want to export this to a DVD. I have made an MPEG file and an AVI file and that obviously doesn't matter. This project is due in 4 days and I don't want to start over in another software program. Please offer any advice you can. Thank you!

The first thing you need to do is provide the DETAILS about your pictures... especially including how they were created and their pixel size
Some other general reading...
How to ask a question http://forums.adobe.com/thread/416679
This is aimed at Premiere Pro, but may help
A link with many ideas about computer setup http://forums.adobe.com/thread/436215?tstart=0
Work through all of the steps (ideas) listed at http://ppro.wikia.com/wiki/Troubleshooting
If your problem isn't fixed after you follow all of the steps, report back with the DETAILS asked for in the questions at the end of the troubleshooting link

Acceptable File Size and Resolution for Still Photos in Keyframe Motion

Hello Hello
I know that FCE HD (as other Video Editors), will automatically fit a still photo's size to it's default capability of 720 x 480 Correct?
Well, in regard to making the best possible ZOOMS, and Pans from Still Photos, is it neccessary to re-size all your photos (from an external editor like photoshop), to a specfic size?
According to an older book for FCE, it sez that actually photos re-sized to 720x534 with a resolution of 72 are best. *The proper proportion for NTSC.
And I noticed that when I inserted larger JPG still sizes (like about a meg), on the FCE timline, and when applying Panning, or Zooms, some of the rendered images with motion didn't pan or zoom smoothly.
Is that because those file sizes were TOO large?
Well I have soooo many stills that need to be imported into this particular project that it would be a lot easier for me to just generally reduce these stills (by percentage).
And is the magic resolution amount supposed to be 72?
Because if that's the case I can re-size all my photos to 72, and try to keep the file sizes down to say 300 KB's or so.
Sound like a plan?

Thank you guys
"basically, you should try to make your images large enough so they never have to be scaled beyond 100% in the motion tab in fcp."
Actually as I mentioned some of these file sizes are very large. About 800-900 KB's - and what as a result, what I've noticed is that I actually had to DECREASE the viewing area in both the Browser Window, and the Canvas Winbow just to be able to see the whole image.
Ok - so the 72 DPI is not as important as the dimensions of the photo. But as I said I have soooooo many of these that it would take me forever to manually re-size them all not to mention the fact that re-sizing some of them (odd shapes),would throw the images out of balance.
So again I ask - if there is NO motion applied to the photo, file sizes of about 200 to 350 KB's appear just beautifully ....
BUT
If I need to PAN or ZOOM, is it ok to laod a 1 MEG sized JPG onto the timeline and start working with Keyframe?????
In fact in some cases I'm actually using these larger file JPS's (1 meg or more), so that they TOTALLLY fit the canvas window (cropping them by enlargment)
*With some clipping of the original image of course ...
Why do I do this?
So that you don't see the usual border with horizontal images, or vertical images - know what I mean?
Thanx

Still photo "zoom" through motion

Hi,
I'm trying to create a "memories slideshow" consisting of still photos that zoom in slowly. I'm encountering a couple problems that I'm hoping to get help with:
1) When zooming in by setting keyframes in each clip's motion tab, I find that it's difficult to get each photo to zoom in at the same speed and direction. Is there a shortcut to doing this easily? I guess the effect I'm aiming for is similar to what iPhoto does automatically with an album slideshow, just more controlled. (Is there any way to just do this from iPhoto and adjust the settings for each clip's duration and zoom?)
2) When I zoom in I find that the images become very blurry, although they are less so when viewed in the program I used to scan them (Lexmark Imaging Studio on a PC). I scanned the images at 300 DPI and saved them to JPEG. I realize these settings may not be optimal - what DPI and file format are recommended if I want to zoom in to, say, 5x?
Thanks.

1) When zooming in by setting keyframes in each
clip's motion tab, I find that it's difficult to get
each photo to zoom in at the same speed and
direction. Is there a shortcut to doing this easily?
I guess the effect I'm aiming for is similar to what
iPhoto does automatically with an album slideshow,
just more controlled. (Is there any way to just do
this from iPhoto and adjust the settings for each
clip's duration and zoom?)
Speed of a move is dependent upon the length of of the move. A move set up to do the "same" thing will be faster if there is a shorter duration between the keyframes. if all of you photos are the same size and aspect ratio, set one up to your liking then save that as a Motion Favorite, then you can apply that to them all. And there is no way to take info from iPhoto and adjust in FCP.
2) When I zoom in I find that the images become very
blurry, although they are less so when viewed in the
program I used to scan them (Lexmark Imaging Studio
on a PC). I scanned the images at 300 DPI and saved
them to JPEG. I realize these settings may not be
optimal - what DPI and file format are recommended if
I want to zoom in to, say, 5x?
300dpi is high for video. Video is 72dpi. But a higher dpi scan means you can zoom further in without the image breaking up. If they are blurry... have you rendered the move? They should look better when rendered.
Doing still moves is a difficult task. If you search the forum you will find many topics on the issue that will provide valuable tips.

Can't get still photos that have motion key frames to stop "shaking."

Hi folks,
I am currently trying to make a video comprised soley of still photos for a friend that has recently lost his 16 year old daughter to a tragic accident. I'm trying to get this done by Saturday June 13th. I'm setting motion keyframes throught the viewers "motion" tab and when I play the final result I see in almost every picture popping and shaking while in motion. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a specific way to upload the pics or format them so this doesn't happen? I'm using FCE 4 with an iMac G5 (pre-INTEL). If someone could help me with this I would really be grateful. Thanks again.
Message was edited by: BudweiserDave
Message was edited by: BudweiserDave

Most of these errors are related to trying to view the results on a progressive computer monitor instead of an interlaced tv set.
You could export the whole movie and reimport it as a single item. apply a 2 pixel vertical blur to the whole thing, render, print.
bogiesan

Still photos disappearing and showing up in random order?!

Hi,
I'm trying to add a series of still photos to my iMovie project, and while they're appearing correctly in the project map, they either disappear or appear in a random order when I play back the movie. Oddly enough, if I play it back a couple of times in a row, it'll pick a different random order to show the photos...if it decides to show anything at all. I don't seem to be having the photo duration problem that other people seem to have (knock on wood), but this seems really weird. Is there a setting I'm missing?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Mardie

I may be mistaken, but it appears that you are trying to add stills to an iMovie Trailer template. Unfortunately, the Trailer templates only allow the insertion of video clips. The way around this limitation is to convert the Trailer to a normal project, then you can add stills and/or edit the project in the normal way. At the points where you wish to add stills, just leave the animatics in place. When the Trailer is converted, simply replace the animatics with your own stills.
To convert the Trailer, go to iMovie's menu and select File>Convert to Project. It's best to duplicate the Trailer first. To do this, in Project Library view, right-click (or Control-click) on the name of the Trailer. From the pop-up menu select Duplicate Project, then convert the duplicate to a normal project.
John
Message was edited by: John Cogdell

Still Photo's and High Definition Video.

Would there be any advantage to scanning photo's for High Definition and then converting them to Standard Definition? Or would you just scan them at a higher resolution.?
I'm looking for a way to have clearer photo's and at the same time use them in a standard DVD player.
I'm in the need of a video monitor and trying to decide if there would be any advantage to moving to high definition to be ready for the future when I do not have a need for it right now. I use mostly still photo's in my videos.

As for the phpotos I would always scan or produce them at least 2x the target resolution in each direction - especdially if you're doing moves. If you know you won't be doing moves, then you can prepare them at exactly the target resolution (including the pixel shape if you're using say NTSC standard or anamorphic).
Since you're looking at protecting for an HD future, assume that target resolution is... 1080x to cover your bases.
Don't know what you're scanning, but watch out for moire patterns coming from halftone dots in printed photos. There are ways to deal with them, poke around here or better yet in Photoshop or other graphics forums.
As for an HD monitor, prices will of course plummet just after you buy it. No sense in jumping on a bandwagon you won't even be using yet. If you're serious about quality, get a broadcast SD monitor.

Displaying Photo Titles and Descriptions in stills in iMovie

Hello, I'm wondering if it's possible to get still photo titles and descriptions from iPhoto to display on Stills inserted into iMovie. I am trying to create slideshows of stills and iMovie is the only system that allows you to modify soundtracks, but it, as far as I can tell, won't display Titles or Descriptions. iPhoto and iDVD slideshows display this info, but you have no control or can't even see what audio files you have inserted.
Please help!!
Thanks

I'm wondering if it's possible to get still photo titles and descriptions from iPhoto to display on Stills inserted into iMovie.
I assume you are referrimg to an automatic method of displaying this information and AFAIK there is no such feature currently programmed into iMovie '08. You can, of course manually title each slide.

I need to add text over a still photo in iMovie. Following directions that always worked before but not this time.

I am running OS 10.6.8, an upgrade that I did after Christmas. A couple of times a year, I need to make a video of my students' performances, and have always been able to add text over the still photos before, using the directions in iMovie "help." However, this time, I am not able to choose a title style; no amount of clicking makes anything show up on the selected still photo. And no amount of trying to choose the font style makes anything show up either.
This is iMovie 09; is it possible that it is not compatible with my OS upgrade?
I've been able to insert still photos into the video footage, but can't add any titles or acknowledgements. Thank you so much for your help! Since I only do this a couple of times a year, it always takes me forever to accomplish, which is why I printed off the Help directions to follow.

just to make thing clear (sorry for sounding impudent!)
you do .... :
create a New Project
make a selection of an Event and add it to the Project
select a title and drag it onto the clip?
iM does work with your OS ...

I have used still photos to make a Quick Time movie using FCE. The DVD made using i-DVD looks somewhat grainy and the motion isn't smooth when played on my TV. Other DVD's I have made play much better and I am wondering if the problem is my Quick Time m

I have used still photos to make a Quick Time movie using FCE. The DVD made using i-DVD looks somewhat grainy and the motion isn’t smooth when played on my TV. Other DVD’s I have made play much better and I am wondering if the problem is my Quick Time movie settings. The Dimensions and size of the problem movie are 1920X1080 and 584 MB respectively, while the movies that play better have Dimensions of 853X480 and are about 1.3 GB in size. Is this the source of my problem and how do I change things for the better.

Are you exporting to QuickTime Movie, or to QuickTime Conversion? For iDVD, you need to export to QuickTime Movie. Exporting to QT Conversion will kill the quality if you are moving the video from FCE to iDVD.
The file size per se makes no difference.
What size (pixel dimensions) are the photos that you put into your 1920x1080 sequence? Also, exactly what are the sequence properties ... is it 1920x1080i60 ... or i50? In North America it should be i60.
853X480 is an odd frame size. Where are you seeing this number? It would appear to be DV-NTSC, which has a frame size of 720x480. Your 1920x1080 frame size would not be DV-NTSC, it would be Apple Intermediate Codec. DV and AIC will look different, for sure.
Also, your quality setting in iDVD can affect the final video. You may want to check that also (in iDVD Preferences > Projects). Set it to Professional Quality if at all possible.

I'm trying to make "Stop motion videos" in Final Cut EXPRESS by using 100's of still photos and setting them to music. They are coming out blurry if viewed larger than 4x6 in size

I'm trying to make "Stop motion videos" in Final Cut EXPRESS by using 100's of still photos and setting them to music. They are coming out blurry if viewed larger than 4x6 in size.
I don't understand why this is happening.

Quick follow up, since I was on my phone earlier and am back to a real keyboard.
To access Easy Setup, hit Control Q.
If you click on the blue discosure triangles, a dropdown menu with about a dozen different presets will be displayed. Select the one you want, (Here, I've selected 720P.)
Whatever you select for a preset will not be applied until you make a new sequence. (I don't like to have sequences with different properties in the same project so I prefer to make a new project if I change the Easy Setup.)
Because photo aspect ratios are different than video, I typically put a solid generator of some compatible color on the first track (v1) and put my photos on the track above (v2). Looks better, IMO, than black bars. There are other creative ways to display them. And of course, you could scale them up to fill the frame…but then you probably would have to re-position them.
Good luck.
Russ

Acceptable and Quality Still Photo Resolution for HDV Documentary

I've scanned through several pages of posts on photo resolution here, but I haven't actually found a simple answer to a beginner's question. Two, actually:
1. If someone is supplying you with still photo prints for scanning and use in a documentary (shot in HDV, edited on FCP5), is there a particular size print that you should ask for? Does the broadcast venue (theatrical, TV, etc.) have any relevance?
2. If someone is scanning photos and sending you a CD with them, what are the specs (size, resolution, etc.) you should ask for? And are there "minimum acceptable" specs and "preferred, high quality" specs?
Thanks.
Paul S.
Power Mac G5 [email protected]; 4GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.4) FCP 5 (FC Studio), Logic Express, Presonus Firebox

Having worked on several long-form historical docos with hundreds of source photo scans, I'd highly recommend getting the originals in as high a resolution as you can (at least 300 DPI), and getting the entire photo scanned. You just never know when you need to apply pans or zooms or crop into a particular area to improve the edit, and there are many simple ways to prep the selected photos for import.
The simplest is just to do the scaling & cropping in FCP. It will do a fine job of this, but if it turns out most of the photos will be static, you can waste computer resources by importing unnecessarily-large images. As mooblie pointed out, you strictly only need enough resolution to prevent scaling up past 100%, as this will create pixelated lower quality output.
The most common way to prep scans is in Photoshop, where you can scale the image to a desired pixel size very easily. I'd still leave the image at its natural frame size (as scanned), so you have the most creative choice when you are framing it in the timeline using FCPs cropping & motion tabs tools.
If you've got lots of photos and lots of pans & zooms, consider using one of the third-party tools that will help with this, such as Photo to Movie from LQ Graphics, Moving Picture from StageTools, or even the plugin for FCP I wrote to help with the docos I mentioned above. It's called Pan Zoom Pro and you can see about it and download a demo here: http://www.lyric.com/fcp-plugins/index.htm#pzp .
Cheers,
John
Lyric Media

How do I create motion for still photos/pictures. I'd like to pan/scan & zoom. Please help!

How do I create motion for still photos/pictures. I'd like to pan/scan & zoom. Please help!

You kind of answered your own question..
Check out Motion in the FX Control Window and learn how keyframing works..

Motion unresponsive with many still photos

I've read many posts dealing with Motion 3's slow performance - especially in projects with a lot of elements... but none of them have provided a solution that has worked for me.
I have a project that is made of many still photos in jpeg format. In one scene I've built a 13 x 13 matrix of many still photos (169 total photos). It looks fantastic - too bad I can't manipulate the photos for editing since Motion just chokes on it.
Is there any way I can do something to that scene so I don't have to wait 30 mins for it to load and another 30 mins after a single edit?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Using a replicator was a thought I had initially - but the matrix of photos will be animated in such a way where I would want more control of every single photo going forward in the project. It's sorta like that old iPod/iTunes commercial they released a while back where a tower of album art gets sucked into an iPod (remember that one?).
For this same reason I didn't want to shrink the photos before importing them into Motion - since I would be zooming in and out of certain photos of the matrix and I didn't want to lose image quality.
but perhaps I could shrink them a bit more before importing - I just don't know how much that would help it.
Message was edited by: yeequon

Flicker on modified speed clips and still photos

This particular clip has a railing of a building so there are lots of straight lines. It has a very slight flicker when at 100%, but when I change it to 75 it really flickers. The flicker filter doesn't help. I tried adding a blur as one post said to do but that didn't seem to fix it either.
Also - I have had a persistent problem with flicker on motion keyfraned still photos, esp. if the image has straight edges or thin lines. Has anyone been able to fix this issue?
Thx
Message was edited by: Editgrrl2

The flickering is an artifact of the interlaced nature of video. It is a result of very thin (often horizontal) elements that exist on one scanline as is common in text or titling. This can also be the case in scanned images with great deal of detail with high contrast.
As the alternate fields play, the flashing element is essentially being turned on/off. The basic strategy is to get the element to exist over two scanlines so it is refreshed every time the field plays or to reduce the amount of contrast so the difference between ON and OFF is not noticeable.
Things to try (In increasing order of image degradation)
• (in FCP) field order>none
• (in FCP or Photoshop) reduce whites by 10% - reduces overly bright areas
• (in FCP) flicker filter - minimum
• (in Photoshop) motion blur>vertical> .2 - .5 pixels - blurs vertically only
• (In FCP or Photoshop) Gaussian blur> .2 - .5 pixels -blurs both horizontally as well as vertically
• (in FCP or Photoshop) deinterlace - throws away half the image and is generally not appropriate on scanned images
If you have slowed your material significantly, and have not used some sort of frame blending/optical flow processing, you may be simply duplicating frames to create the additional material to pad the playback. The flashing you see is the result of this.
Remember: Unless you are viewing your work in the appropriate external NTSC/PAL monitor, you are playing blind. The computer monitor only shows you a proxy image.
good luck.
x

Still photo scaling and motion

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