Pinnacle Systems Xpress User Manual

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Avid® Xpress™ for Macintosh

Effects Guide

Release 2.0

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tools for storytellers™

Chapter 1 Preparing to Work with Effects

Introduction Effect Palette Overview

List of Effect Categories

Displaying the Effect Palette Effect Templates Overview Third-Party Plug-in Effects Overview

Installing Photoshop-Compatible Plug-in Effects

Installing AVX Plug-in Effects

Troubleshooting AVX Plug-ins

Settings for Effects

Effect Settings Understanding the Color Coding

Render Settings

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Blank Effect Icons in the Timeline Missing Effect Categories in the Effect Palette Avid Xpress Cannot Render the Plug-In

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Chapter 2 Basics of Effects Editing

Task Overview Ñ Working with Effects Effect Types

Transition Effects

Segment Effects Real-Time Effects Applying Effects to a Sequence

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Applying an Effect to a Single Transition or Segment

Applying an Effect to Multiple Segments

Applying an Effect to Multiple Transitions

Applying a Third-Party Plug-in Effect Deleting Effects in a Sequence

Deleting a Single Effect

Deleting Multiple Segment Effects Working with Transition Effects

Applying a Dissolve Effect

Using the Effect Palette Using the Transition Parameters

Using the Add Dissolve Button Sizing the Effect to Fit the Media Trimming and Customizing a Transition Effect

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Chapter 3 Working with the Effect Editor Window

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Opening the Effect Editor Window Understanding the Effect Preview Monitor

Changing Position in Effect Mode

Understanding the Effect Editor

Effect Editor Buttons Manipulating the Image

Using Parameter Pane Controls Manipulating the Image Directly

Moving an Enlarged Image in the Effect Preview Monitor Changing a Parameter Adjusting a Color Parameter

Selecting a Color Using the Eyedropper

Selecting a Color Using the Macintosh Color Picker Adjusting Effect Position Adjusting Effect Size Cropping an Effect Fading an Effect

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Accessing an EffectÕs Additional Parameters

Safe Title/Action Guidelines Overview Using Key Frames

Adding a Key Frame Selecting a Key Frame

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Adjusting the Level Between Key Frames Adjusting the Acceleration Moving a Key Frame

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Changing a Key FrameÕs Parameters

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Copying and Pasting Key-Frame Parameters Deleting a Key Frame

DeÞning a Motion Path

Moving the Image Directly Adjusting Key Frame Parameters

Playing a Motion Path Preview Rendering an Effect

Selecting the Render Setting for a Project

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Combining Real-Time Effects and Rendered Effects

Overlapping Real-Time Effects

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Overlapping Real-Time and Rendered Effects

Speed Considerations Displaying Effects While You Edit Rendering a Single Effect Rendering Multiple Effects Rendering Third-Party Plug-in Effects

Using an Effect Template

Saving an Effect Template Applying an Effect Template Applying Part of an Effect Template

Managing Your Effect Media Files

Locating and Deleting Effect Media Files

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Chapter 4 Working with Multilayer and Nested Effects

Using Multilayer Effects

Creating a Key Effect

Creating a YUV Chroma Key Effect

Creating a Luma Key Effect

Creating a Matte Key Effect

Working with Imported Graphics and Animation

Editing with Imported Matte Key Clips Editing with Imported Master Clips

Nested Effects

Describing Nested Tracks Nesting a Title Within a Picture-in-Picture Nesting a Matte Key Effect Another Nested Effect Technique Modifying Nested Effects

Submaster Editing

Submaster Editing of Multiple Clips Submaster Editing of Multiple Effects Collapsing Layers into One Submaster Effect

Using Video Mixdown

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Chapter 5 3D Effects Editing

Using 3D Effects

3D Effects Overview Accessing the 3D Effects Parameters

Using the Enable Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Resetting Default Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Real-Time Frame Updating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Using the Default Key-Frame Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

The 3D Effect Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Rotation Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Promoting 2D Effects to 3D Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Using Matte Keys with 3D Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

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3D Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Shadow Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Trail Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Border Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Background Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Spline Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Scaling Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Position Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Axis Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Rotation Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Page Turn Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

urn Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Page T

Page Curl Angle Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Radial Shape Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Multiwave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Offset Shape Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Turning the 3D Effects Option On and Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Turning the 3D Effects Option On and Off at Startup. . . . . . . 136

Turning the 3D Effects Option On and Off from the Console 137

Avid Xpress Effects and Media Composer Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Chapter 6 Creating Titles and Graphic Objects

Task Overview Ñ Creating and Editing Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Creating New Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Using the Title Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Downstream Keying of Titles and Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Understanding the Title Tool Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Understanding the Tool Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Using the Selection Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Setting Up the Drawing Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Previewing Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Using Title and Action Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Using Safe Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Selecting a Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Using a Video Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Updating the Video Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Creating a Color Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Displaying a Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Snapping to Grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Bringing the Title Tool Window to the Foreground. . . . . . . . . 151

Working with Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Creating Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Repositioning Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Resizing T

ext Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Editing an Existing Text String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Viewing Anti-Aliased Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

The Text Formatting Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Setting the Default Text Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Selecting Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Justifying Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Kerning Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Adjusting Leading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Changing Point Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Making Text Bold and Italic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Using the Drawing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Selecting Line Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Rounding Corners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Selecting a Line or Border Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Adding Arrowheads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Changing Arrowhead Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Creating Rolling or Crawling Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Support for Rolling and Crawling Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Page Count Limits for Rolling or Crawling Titles . . . . . . . . . . 166

Using Auto Size Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Setting Up Text Formatting for Rolling Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Workßow Options for Creating Crawling Titles . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Typing the Rolling or Crawling Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Resizing a Rolling or Crawling Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Scrolling Through a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Going to a Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Adding Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Deleting Additional Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Formatting Rolling or Crawling Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Selecting Colors and Setting Transparency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Adjusting the Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Blending Two Colors in an Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Adjusting the T

ransparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Blending Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Working with Shadows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Manipulating Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Viewing Titles Full Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Basic Manipulation Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Moving and Resizing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Using the Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Grouping, Locking, and Layering Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Grouping Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Locking and Unlocking Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Layering Text and Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Aligning Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Distributing Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Distribute Left to Right. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Distribute Top to Bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Distribute First to Last . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Saving Titles and Title Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Matching Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Using the Fast Save Option. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Saving a Title and Exiting the Title Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Saving Multiple Titles in a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Revising Titles in a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Saving a Title Effect Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Saving Title Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Recalling a Title Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Managing Title Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Exporting a Title as a Graphics File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Titles and Their Related Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Chapter 7 Editing with Titles

An Overview of Editing with Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Restrictions of Downstream Key Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Downstream Key Error Messages

Converting Downstream Key Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Restrictions of Non-Downstream Key Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Playback Capabilities of DSK and Non-DSK Titles . . . . . . . . 204

Adding a Video Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Editing a Title into a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Editing a Title over Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Dragging the Title Effect Icon into the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Removing a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Replacing Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Setting Marks in Rolling and Crawling Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Trimming the Duration of Rolling and Crawling Titles. . . . . . . . . 213

Fading a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Adjusting Title Effect Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Using Title Key Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Adjusting Foreground Transparency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Adjusting Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Adjusting Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Cropping Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Softening Edges on Rolling Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Reducing Title Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Revising Titles in a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Replacing Fill Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Rendering Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Re-creating Title Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Promoting a 2D Title to 3D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Chapter 8 2D Effects Reference

Effect Categories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Effect Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Border Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Color Effect Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Color Selection Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Using the Macintosh Color Picker

Key Control Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Secondary Key Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Using the Enable Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Resetting Default Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Spill Suppression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Crop Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Matrix Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Motion Effect Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Position Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Scaling Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Rate Control Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Reverse Parameter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Transition Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Blend Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Dip to Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Dissolve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Fade from Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Fade to Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Picture-in-Picture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Superimpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Conceal Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Bottom Left to Top Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Bottom Right to Top Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Bottom to Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Left to Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Right to Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Top Left to Bottom Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Top Right to Bottom Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Top to Bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Image Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Color Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Luminance (Luma Adjust) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Chrominance (Chroma Adjust)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Color Style. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Color Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Flip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Flip-Flop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Flop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Resize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Key Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

YUV Chroma Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Luma Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Matte Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

L-Conceal Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Bottom Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Bottom Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Top Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Top Right. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Motion Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Freeze Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Variable Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Strobe Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Peel Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Bottom Left Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Bottom Right Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Bottom to Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Left to Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Right to Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Top Left Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Top Right Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Top to Bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Push Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Bottom Left to Top Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Bottom Right to Top Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Bottom to T

op. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Left to Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Right to Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Top Left to Bottom Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Top Right to Bottom Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Top to Bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Spin Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

X Spin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Y Spin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Squeeze Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Bottom Centered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Bottom Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Bottom Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Bottom to Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Centered Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Horizontal Centered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Left Centered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Left to Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Right Centered. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Right to Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Top Centered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Top Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Top Right. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Top to Bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Vertical Centered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Box Wipes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Bottom Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Left Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Lower Left Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Lower Right Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Right Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Top Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Upper Left Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Upper Right Corner

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Edge Wipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Horizontal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Horizontal Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Lower Left Diagonal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

Lower Right Diagonal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Upper Left Diagonal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Upper Right Diagonal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Vertical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Vertical Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Matrix Wipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Block Spiral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

One-Way Row . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

Speckle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Zig-Zag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Saw Tooth Wipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Horizontal Open Saw Tooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Horizontal Saw Tooth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Vertical Open Saw Tooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Vertical Saw Tooth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Shape Wipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Center Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Diamond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

Ellipse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Four Corners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Horizontal Bands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Horizontal Blind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Vertical Blind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Comparison of Similar Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

Box Wipe Ð Upper Left Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

Conceal Ð T

Push Ð Top Left to Bottom Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Squeeze Ð Top Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

op Left to Bottom Right. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Index

Introduction

CHAPTER 1

Preparing to Work with Effects

Avid Xpress offers many effects that you can apply to your sequences. This chapter describes some of the concepts you must become familiar with before you begin creating and editing effects into sequences.

The Effect Palette is a window that lists all the effects that are available on your Avid Xpress system. The effects that are available depend on the model and options that you purchased.

You also can use third-party plug-in effects that are compatible with the Avid Visual Extension (AVXª) standards and with Adobe¨ Photoshop¨. After you install these plug-ins, the effects appear in the Effect Palette. After you create an effect, you can save it as an effect template and reapply the template to other transitions or segments in your sequence. Effect templates also appear in a special section at the bottom of the Effect Palette.

Many effects are real time, which means you do not have to render them before you play them. You can preview effects that are not real time before rendering. Rendering an effect creates a media Þle that plays with the sequence. When you establish Effect settings and Ren-

der settings, you determine how Avid Xpress plays real-time effects and non-real-time effects. Additionally, you can conÞgure the Timeline and Trim settings to make working with effects easier.

Effect Palette Overview

You select most effects from the Effect Palette, accessed from the Tools menu. The exceptions are motion effects that are accessed from the buttons below the pop-up monitor, the Freeze Frame effect that is accessed from the Clip menu, and titles that are created with the Title Tool. For a description of motion effects, see ÒMotion EffectsÓ on

page 278. Titles are described in Chapter 6 and Chapter 7.

List of Effect Categories

The effects available through the Effect Palette are grouped by effect category:

¥ Blend

¥ Box Wipe

¥ Conceal

¥ Edge Wipe

¥ Image

¥ Key

¥ L-Conceal

¥ Matrix Wipe

¥ Peel

¥ Push

¥ Saw Tooth Wipe

¥ Shape Wipe

¥ Spin

¥ Squeeze

Each of these effect categories contains multiple effects. Use the procedure in the following section to display the Effect Palette.

If your Avid Xpress system has the 3D Effects option, the 3D Effect category appears in the Effect Palette. For an explanation of the 3D effects and the effect parameters, see Chapter 5.

If you install third-party plug-ins, you will see additional effect categories. See ÒThird-Party Plug-in Effects OverviewÓ on page 20.

Displaying the Effect Palette

1. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu, or press kÐ8.

The Effect Palette appears.

Scrollable list of effect categories

Blend effect choices

The left side of the Effect Palette displays a scrollable list of effect categories. The right side shows the various effects that are available for the currently selected effect category.

2. Click an effect category to select it.

Effect T emplates Overview

Effect templates allow you to save the parameters of an effect and use them again to create or modify other effects.

In addition to allowing you to view all the standard effects, the Effect Palette allows you to view and access effect templates that are stored in open bins. The names of open bins containing effects appear in a list below the effect categories.

To view the effect template:

1. Open the bins containing the effect templates.

Effect category list

Bin name containing effect templates

2. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu, or press kÐ8.

The Effect Palette appears.

Effect templates

3. Click the bin name below the effect category list to view the effect templates in the bin.

For example, in the previous illustration, the bin named Boat Shop Examples contains two effect templates named Bottom To Top and 3D PIP.

In the previous illustration, notice that Avid Xpress also displays other effect Þles, such as titles and matte key clips.

Whenever you open or close a bin, or whenever you drop an effect into a bin, both lists are automatically updated.

Once a template appears in the right side of the Effect Palette, you can apply it like any other effect. For more information, see ÒUsing an

Effect TemplateÓ on page 82.

Third-Party Plug-in Effects Overview

You can use third-party plug-in effects that add new effects to Avid Xpress or update existing effects, with no changes to Avid Xpress. Third-party plug-in effects include plug-ins that are compatible with Adobe Photoshop Version 2.5 and AVX (Avid Visual Extension) plugins.

When third-party plug-in effects are installed on your Avid Xpress system, they appear in the Effect Palette. You can apply them to your sequence as you would apply an Avid effect. You can set a third-party plug-in effectÕs parameters in Effect mode. You can view and render third-party plug-in effects using the same editing procedures as Avid effects. The following sections describe how to install the Photoshopcompatible plug-ins and the AVX plug-ins.

Avid Xpress also supports Digidesign AudioSuite Plug-Ins. These plug-ins apply only to audio clips and do not appear in the Effect Palette. For more information, see ÒWorking with AudioÓ under ÒEditing SequencesÓ in the Contents tab of the online help.

Installing Photoshop-Compatible Plug-in Effects

Avid Xpress can use many plug-in effects that are compatible with Adobe Photoshop Version 2.5. You purchase these plug-ins directly from a third-party vendor.

To install Photoshop-compatible plug-ins:

1. Copy the plug-in Þles from the software vendorÕs folder to the Ò3rd Party Plug-InsÓ folder in the Supporting Files folder in your Composer folder located on the Avid drive. You must place the plug-ins directly in this folder. They cannot be inside another folder within this folder or elsewhere on Avid Xpress. If they are, the system will not recognize them.

2. If the Avid Xpress application is open, you must quit the application and relaunch it before the third-party plug-in effects will appear in the Effect Palette.

The following is an example of how third-party plug-in effects appear in the Effect Palette.

Avid Xpress creates a new effect category for the plug-ins.

Third-party plug-in effects

For information on applying third-party effects, see ÒApplying a

Third-Party Plug-in EffectÓ on page 38.

Installing AVX Plug-in Effects

AVX is a plug-in standard for integrating various third-party effects with Avid Xpress. AVX is a cross-platform software architecture designed to allow software effect modules to be dynamically linked with a host application such as Avid Xpress.

You can purchase these plug-ins directly from a third-party vendor, such as Ultimatte¨ Corporation (Ultimatteª) and Artel Software (Boris FXª). AVX plug-ins usually come complete with any necessary documentation. This section describes how to install the plug-ins and how to access them from Avid Xpress.

To install AVX plug-ins:

1. Exit the Avid Xpress application.

2. Copy the plug-in Þles from the software vendorÕs folder to the AVX_Plug-Ins folder on the Avid drive.

You must place the plug-ins directly in the AVX_Plug-Ins folder. They cannot be inside another folder within this folder or else-

where on Avid Xpress. If they are, the system will not recognize them.

3. Restart Avid Xpress and open the Effect Palette. The AVX plug-in effects will appear in the Effect Palette under a new effect category. The category is usually identiÞed by the vendor name.

Effect category

Do not add or remove plug-ins while the Avid Xpress application is running.

The following is an example of how AVX plug-in effects appear in the Effect Palette. This example shows several Boris effects.

Effects

For information on applying third-party effects, see ÒApplying a

Third-Party Plug-in EffectÓ on page 38.

Some plug-in effects come with their own installation program. In that case, follow the directions supplied with the package.

Troubleshooting AVX Plug-ins

This section describes solutions to problems that you may encounter with AVX plug-ins.

Blank Effect Icons in the Timeline

AVX plug-ins have a plug icon in the Effect Palette and in the Timeline. If the Effect icon in the Timeline is blank, Avid Xpress either could not Þnd the plug-in or the plug-in version doesn't match the version of software that you used to create the plug-in.

To determine the cause of the problem, open the Console window (choose Console from the Tools menu) and look for the message ÒCan't Þnd effect.Ó The message will identify the plug-in that can't be displayed.

The following are the most common problems:

¥ The plug-in may be missing from the AVX_Plug-Ins folder. Open

the AVX_Plug-Ins folder (located in the SupportingFiles folder) and look for your plug-in. If it is missing, replace it. This may involve reinstalling the plug-In.

¥ The plug-In in the AVX_Plug-Ins folder may be incompatible with

the effect in the Timeline. This might happen if you update the plug-ins on your system. For example, if you create an effect with Version 1.1 of the plug-in software and then update your plug-ins to Version 2.5, the new software may not be compatible with the old effect.

Plug-ins should be compatible with minor releases but not necessarily with major releases of the plug-in software. For example, Version 1.0 of a plug-in should be compatible with Version 1.1 or

1.2 (minor revision). But Version 1.0 may not be compatible with Version 2.0 (major revision change).

If the plug-in is installed correctly, contact the plug-in vendor and ask if there are any known version compatibility problems with the plugin.

Missing Effect Categories in the Effect Palette

If the plug-in categories are not visible in the Effect Palette, they are either not installed correctly or you may have an incorrect version of the AVXLibrary. In this case, check the Console window for a message that states that AVX was disabled. If it was not disabled, quit the Avid Xpress application, reinstall the plug-ins, and restart the application.

If the message in the Console window states that AVX software was disabled, call Avid Customer Support to determine whether you need a new version of the AVXLibrary.

Avid Xpress Cannot Render the Plug-In

If Avid Xpress cannot render the plug-in, check the Console window. Some plug-ins write more information about the failure to the Console window. Also, some plug-ins may report the problem as a message at the bottom of the Composer monitor. In general, contact the plug-in vendor if a plug-in doesnÕt work as expected.

Settings for Effects

There are two User settings that control how effects are used: Effect and Render. This section explains each of these settings. For information about other settings in the system, see the Avid Xpress online help.

Effect Settings

There are two effect categories, Wipes and Keys, that contain effects that are mutually exclusive as real-time effects. If you have both effect categories in a sequence, only one can be real time. The other must be rendered. Use the Effect Settings dialog box to specify which effect category should be real time.

Because Wipes and Keys are real-time effects on Avid Xpress systems with the 3D Effects option, the Effect settings do not apply to these systems. If you have the 3D Effects option, continue with ÒUnderstanding the Color Cod-

ingÓ on page 27.

To change the Effect settings:

1. Click the Settings button in the Project window.

2. Double-click the Effect setting.

The Effect Settings dialog box appears.

3. Select which effect category you want to be real time. The change takes place immediately in the Effect Palette.

Understanding the Color Coding

The Effect settings also control how effects are displayed in the Effect Palette. You will notice in the Effect Palette that:

¥ Real-time effects are preceded by an orange dot.

¥ Real-time effects that might not be playable in real time due to

their position in a sequence or the options chosen in the Effect Settings are preceded by a green dot. These effects take advantage of fast rendering.

¥ Non-real-time effects have no dot.

Orange dot indicates a real-time effect.

Green dot indicates a real-time effect that might not be playable in real time.

No dot indicates a nonreal-time effect.

In the Timeline, a non-real-time effect icon contains a blue dot until the effect is rendered.

Render Settings

A real-time effect might not be playable in real time because of the projectÕs Effect Setting, because a real-time transition effect has been applied on top of another effect, or because there is more than one realtime overlapping effect.

For more information on real-time effects, see ÒReal-Time EffectsÓ on

page 32.

You can control the size of an imported graphic and a rendered effect by changing the Render settings. This setting is intended to prevent playback pauses caused by PICT images, QuickTimeª Þles, or rendered composites that are too complex.

To change the Render settings:

1. Click the Settings button in the Project window.

2. Double-click the Render setting.

The Render Settings dialog box appears.

3. Enter the following parameters:

¥ Click Show Intermediate Results if you want Avid Xpress to

display the rendering of the effect as it processes in the fullscreen monitor. This option is for systems that have a third, full-screen monitor.

¥ Limit rendered frame size to n% of default limit Ñ This is a

percent of the Avid Video ResolutionÕs (AVRÕs) default limit for the frame size. The effectÕs AVR is the same as the sequenceÕs AVR. Enter a percent. The default is 100%. For more information on Avid Video Resolution, see ÒAvid SpeciÞcationsÓ under ÒQuick ReferenceÓ in the Contents tab of the online help.

¥ If frame size exceeds threshold Ñ The threshold is established

by the above percent. Select an action. The default is ÒAsk me.Ó

If you select ÒAsk me,Ó and the threshold is exceeded during rendering, a dialog box appears.

If you select ÒDonÕt Soften,Ó you may get an error message, such as a video underrun, when you play the rendered Þle.

If you do not respond within 30 seconds, the system automatically selects Soften.

CHAPTER 2

Basics of Effects Editing

This chapter explains how to apply effects to transitions or segments (clips) in your sequence. After you have selected the effect and applied it to a transition or segment, you can adjust the effect parameters to meet your requirements.

Task Overview — Working with Effects

The following is an overview of the tasks you will perform to create and edit an effect:

¥ Load a sequence in the Timeline.

¥ Select a position in the Timeline for the effect.

¥ Apply the effect.

¥ Adjust the effectÕs parameters to create the desired effect.

¥ Render non-real-time effects. If the effect is a real-time effect, you

can play it without having to render the effect.

Effect T ypes

There are two primary effect types that are deÞned by where you use them in a sequence:

¥ Transition effects

¥ Segment effects (single-layer and multilayer)

Some effects can be applied only to transitions, other effects can be applied only to segments, and some effects can be applied to both transitions and segments. In addition, some effects can be applied to a single video layer, and others to multiple video layers.

For an explanation of particular effects and the effect parameters, see

Chapter 5 for 3D effects and Chapter 8 for 2D effects.

Transition Effects

A transition effect is applied at the cut point of two video clips that are on the same video track (that is, the same video layer). Transition effects are commonly used to show a time lapse or change of scene. They highlight or smooth the change from one shot to another.

Segment Effects

Examples of transition effects include Dissolve and Wipe effects.

A segment effect is applied to an entire clip or a group of clips. There are two types of segment effects:

¥ A single-layer segment effect, such as a Mask effect, is applied to a

segment on one video track.

¥ A multilayer segment effect, such as a Picture-in-Picture effect, is

applied to the top layer or a middle layer of segments that contain two or more video tracks that will be played simultaneously.

The Timeline, by default, provides two tracks for editing video. You can add two additional tracks using the New Video Track command for a total of four video tracks.

¥ The V1 video track is where you edit your sequence.

¥ The other video tracks are where you build layered video effects

and titles. In a multilayer effect, the video clip in the upper track appears in the foreground, or appears with some degree of transparency over the video in the lower track.

For example, you would use the V2 video track to:

¥ Place titles and credits over background video

¥ Superimpose a logo or other graphic over video

¥ Inset a video clip over background video (a Picture-in-Picture

effect)

¥ Superimpose an animation over video

¥ Layer a semitransparent image over background video

Effects can also be nested within other effects. Instead of one video layer being physically above another video layer, a nested effect is contained within another effect on the same video layer. For more information about nested effects, see ÒNested Ef

fectsÓ on page 96.

Real-Time Effects

A real-time effect is an effect that you can apply to a sequence and play without rendering, which takes time and disk space. A real-time effect has a small orange dot within the effect icon in the Timeline. Effects that must be rendered have a small green or blue dot within the effect icon in the Timeline. For more information, see ÒUnderstanding the

Color CodingÓ on page 27.

Although you can create a sequence that has any number of real-time and non-real-time effects, you can play only one real-time effect at a

time. If you want to play two overlapping effects, you must render one of the effects. For an explanation of how the Avid Xpress system handles situations with overlapping real-time effects, see ÒCombining

Real-Time Effects and Rendered EffectsÓ on page 77.

If you have a real-time Title and a real-time Dissolve effect, render the Dissolve effect because it takes less time.

Applying Effects to a Sequence

This section explains how to apply an effect to a sequence in the Timeline. You can apply an effect to:

¥ One transition or segment on a single video layer

¥ Multiple segments in a sequence

¥ Multiple transitions in a sequence

The effect type (transition or segment) determines where you can place the effect in the sequence. For an explanation of the effect types, see ÒEf

After you apply an effect, the next step is to adjust the effectÕs appearance and operation by changing its effect parameters. To understand how to adjust the effect parameters, see ÒUnderstanding the Effect

EditorÓ on page 51.

fect TypesÓ on page 31.

Applying an Effect to a Single Transition or Segment

Use the following procedure to apply an effect to one transition or segment on a single video layer:

1. Create a sequence in the Timeline using the standard Avid Xpress editing procedures. For information about editing a sequence, see ÒEditing BasicsÓ under ÒEditing SequencesÓ in the Contents tab of the online help.

Effect icon

2. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu, or press k-8.

3. To apply an effect, do one of the following:

¥ Click and drag the desired effect to the segment or transition

in the Timeline, and release the mouse button.

¥ Highlight the transition or segment in the Timeline where you

want to apply the effect and double-click the effectÕs icon in the Effect Palette.

The effect icon appears in the Timeline as shown in the following example.

Timeline

If the effect is a segment effect, one segment at a time is highlighted as you drag the effect within the Timeline. If the effect is a transition effect, one transition at a time is highlighted as you drag the effect within the Timeline. Some effects can be either a transition or a segment effect; when you drag an effect within the Timeline, both transitions and segments are highlighted.

Applying an Effect to Multiple Segments

You can apply an effect to multiple segments on the same video layer or on multiple video layers in a single step. The following procedure describes selecting multiple segments in the same video layer. You can also use this procedure to select segments on multiple layers.

1. Create a sequence in the Timeline using the standard Avid Xpress editing procedures. For information about editing a sequence, see the Avid Xpress online help.

2. Click one of the Segment Mode buttons in the Timeline.

3. Move the cursor above the segment in the Timeline that you want to select.

4. Click and drag the cursor to activate a selection box.

Cursor selection box

5. Continue to drag the selection box until you lasso the segment that you want to select.

Three segments are lassoed.

6. Release the mouse button when you have lassoed all the desired segments. The segments that you selected are highlighted.

If the desired segments are not contiguous, Shift-click a segment to deselect it.

7. Open the Effect Palette and double-click the icon of the effect that you want to apply to the segments Ñ in this example, the Dip to Color effect.

The effect is applied to the highlighted segments in the Timeline.

You can also use Shift-click to select segments in the Timeline.

Applying an Effect to Multiple Transitions

You can apply an effect to multiple transitions on the same video layer or on multiple video layers. After you apply one transition effect in the

Timeline, you can select other transitions. Then, with a single step, you can apply an effect to all the selected transitions. The following procedure describes selecting multiple transitions.

1. Create a sequence in the Timeline using the standard Avid Xpress editing procedures. For information about editing a sequence, see the Avid Xpress online help.

2. Apply a transition effect to the leftmost transition where you want an effect.

3. Choose Effect Editor from the Tools menu. The Effect Editor window opens.

4. Make sure the transition effect in the Timeline is selected and its parameters are displayed in the Effect Editor window.

5. Move the cursor to the left and above the transition effect in the Timeline.

6. Click and drag the cursor to the right and down to activate a selection box. Make sure you lasso the leftmost transition effect.

7. Continue to drag the selection box to the right until you lasso the rightmost transition that you want to select.

8. Release the mouse button when you have lassoed all the desired transitions. The transitions that you selected are highlighted.

If the desired transitions are not contiguous, Shift-click a transition to deselect it.

9. Open the Effect Palette and double-click the icon of the effect that you want to apply to all the selected transitions.

The effect is applied to the highlighted transitions in the Timeline.

After selecting one transition effect in the Timeline, you can also use Shiftclick to select additional transitions.

Applying a Third-Party Plug-in Effect

Third-party plug-in effects are applied to a sequence using procedures that are similar to those used for an Avid Xpress effect. Third-party plug-in effects that you can apply to a sequence include plug-ins compatible with Adobe Photoshop Version 2.5 and AVX plug-ins.

Effect category

When a segment contains a Photoshop-compatible plug-in effect, the effectÕs parameters dialog box displays the Þrst time you move the position indicator to another frame in that segment.

Applying a plug-in effect is similar to applying a standard Avid Xpress effect.

1. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu, or press k-8.

The Effect Palette appears.

2. Choose the effect category that contains the plug-in. For example, the following illustration shows the Boris plug-ins.

Effects

3. Drag the effect onto your clip or transition in the Timeline.

4. Click the Effect Mode button.

The Effect Editor appears. Plug-in vendors have the following styles for dialog boxes:

¥ Avid Xpress-style Effect Editor controls only. This means that

all available controls are in the Avid Xpress Effect Editor window.

Other Options button

¥ Custom dialog box only. In this case, when you open the Effect

Editor, the window does not display any Avid Xpress-style controls. Click the Other Options button to open the Plug-in dialog box.

¥ Combination Avid Xpress-style and custom. In this case, Avid

Xpress-style controls appear, and you also see the Other Options button. Click the button to see the additional dialog box.

5. Adjust and preview the effect depending on the controls in the dialog box. The plug-in vendor usually supplies documentation on how to adjust the effect.

6. When it is appropriate, render the effect.

Applying a third-party plug-in to a clip can cause the clip levels to be illegal by NTSC standards. Use an external vectorscope to check if the chroma and luma levels are still appropriate. If they are not, apply a color effect within Avid Xpress to correct the levels.

Deleting Effects in a Sequence

You can delete transition effects and segment effects from a sequence using the Delete key. Use the following procedures either to delete a single effect from a sequence or to delete effects in multiple segments.

Deleting a Single Effect

1. Place the blue position indicator on the effectÕs icon in the Timeline.

In this example, the segment effect for the Þrst segment on video track V1 is being deleted.

Blue position indicator

2. Click one of the Segment Mode buttons from the bottom of the Timeline window.

3. If there are multiple tracks that contain effects at the same position in the Timeline, select only the track where the effect to be deleted resides.

In this example, only video track V1 is selected, because the Title effect on video track V2 should not be deleted.

If you are deleting a segment effect and the segment contains a transition effect, the transition effect will be deleted also, because the transition effect resides Òon top ofÓ the segment effect. If necessary, you will have to reapply the transition effect.

4. Use one of the following methods to delete the effect:

¥ If the Effect Editor is not active, click the Remove Effect button

on the Tear-off palette or press the Delete key.

¥ When the Effect Editor is active, select the effect and press the

Delete key.

¥ In Trim mode (for transition effects only), either press the

Delete key or click the Remove Effect button.

When you delete an effect from a sequence, the associated media Þle is NOT deleted. In order to delete the effectÕs media Þle, you must manually remove it from the disk drive. The system operates this way so that you will be able to undo the deletion of an effect or undo the change you made to an effect. To delete an effectÕs media Þle, see ÒManaging Your Effect Media FilesÓ on page 86.

Deleting Multiple Segment Effects

Use the following procedure to delete multiple segment effects from your sequence:

1. Click one of the Segment Mode buttons below the Timeline.

2. Shift-click each segment that contains a segment effect to be deleted.

3. Press the Delete key or click the Remove Effect button.

Working with Transition Effects

You apply a transition effect to the cut point between two clips on the same video track. After you apply a transition effect, you can adjust its relative position and duration. Depending on the speciÞc effect, other effect parameters may apply.

Transition effects are included in all effect categories on the Effect Palette. For an explanation of the transition effects in each effect category, see Chapter 5 for 3D effects and Chapter 8 for 2D effects.

Applying a Dissolve Effect

One of the most common transition effects is a Dissolve. Avid Xpress has three methods you can use to apply a Dissolve effect.

¥ Drag the Dissolve Effect icon from the Effect Palette to a transition.

¥ In Trim mode, select a transition and enter the DissolveÕs duration

in the Transition Effect Duration text box.

¥ Click the Add Dissolve button on the Composer monitor Tear-off

palette.

This section describes each of these methods.

Using the Effect Palette

Use the following procedure to apply a Dissolve effect to a transition using the Effect Palette.

1. Create a sequence in the Timeline using the standard Avid Xpress

2. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu, or press k-8.

3. Click the Blend category to display its available effects.

editing procedures. For information about editing a sequence, see ÒEditing BasicsÓ under ÒEditing SequencesÓ in the Contents tab of the online help.

4. Drag the Dissolve Effect icon to the transition in the Timeline, and release the mouse button.

The Dissolve Effect icon appears in the Timeline.

When there is not enough incoming or outgoing media to apply a transition effect, a dialog box appears. See ÒSizing the Effect to Fit the

MediaÓ on page 46.

Using the Transition Parameters

You can create a Dissolve effect using the Transition Effect Alignment parameters displayed in Trim mode and in the Effect Editor window. Simply enter the duration for which the effect will play, and the system adds the Dissolve effect to the sequence.

Use the following procedure to create a dissolve using the Transition Effect Alignment parameters:

1. Click a transition in the Timeline while in Trim mode or with the Effect Editor window active.

2. Enter the DissolveÕs duration in the Transition Effect Duration text box and press Enter. The Duration format is timecode.

Transition Effect Alignment

Transition Effect Alignment pop-up menu

Transition Effect Duration text box

This adds the Dissolve effect at the selected transition, and a Dissolve Effect icon appears in the Timeline.

3. Select the relative position from the pop-up menu. Select the effectÕs position relative to the cut point.

For an explanation of the Transition Effect Alignment menu selections, see ÒT

ransition ParametersÓ on page 244.

Using the Add Dissolve Button

Another way to create a transition effect is to go to the transition and click the Add Dissolve button. This button allows you to apply a Dissolve or a Dip to Color effect without opening the Effect Palette.

1. Move the position indicator to the transition in the Timeline.

2. Click the Add Dissolve button on the Tear-off palette.

A dialog box appears.

3. Choose a transition effect from the Add pop-up menu.

For an explanation of individual effects, see Chapter 5 for 3D effects and Chapter 8 for 2D effects.

4. Enter the duration of the transition effect in frames.

5. Click the Position parameter; from the pop-up menu, choose the effectÕs relative position to the cut point.

6. If you select Custom Start, in the Starts text box you must enter the number of frames before the cut to start the effect.

7. If you plan to render the effect, click Target Disk; from the pop-up menu, choose a disk on which to store the effect.

The Effect Source Disk is the disk where the media on the outgoing shot of a transition resides.

8. If the effect you selected is real time on your Avid Xpress system, select the DonÕt Render Real-time Effects option to prevent realtime effects from being rendered.

9. Do one of the following:

¥ Click the Add button to add the effect without rendering it.

¥ Click the Add and Render button to add the effect and

render it.

These commands add the selected effect to the transition in the sequence.

Sizing the Effect to Fit the Media

When you select a transition effect from the Effect Palette, such as a Dissolve, and there is not enough source media to apply the effect, the following message appears:

¥ Off Media A Ñ refers to the number of frames by which the outgo-

ing media is short.

¥ Off Media B Ñ refers to the number of frames by which the incom-

ing media is short.

This dialog box lets you select the Size To Fit option, which causes the system to set the duration of the effect to Þt the available media. If you have selected a relative position, the system attempts to preserve it. To select this option, click the Size To Fit button in the dialog box.

To change the relative position or duration of the transition effect, see

ÒUsing the T

ransition ParametersÓ on page 43.

Trimming and Customizing a Transition Effect

Avid Xpress lets you do the following:

¥ Trim a transition effect using the standard transition trim proce-

dures. For more information, see ÒWorking in Trim ModeÓ under ÒEditing SequencesÓ in the Contents tab of the online help.

¥ Customize a transition effect, such as changing the fade color. See

Chapter 3 for a description of how to change effect parameters.

CHAPTER 3

Working with the Effect Editor Window

After you have created an effect and applied it to a transition or segment in your sequence, you can adjust its appearance and operation by changing its effect parameters using the Effect Editor window. This section explains how to use the Effect Editor window and how to adjust the most common effect parameters.

Not all effect parameters apply to all effects. If a parameter is not applicable, it does not appear in the Effect Editor window for that effect. To determine which parameters pertain to a 3D effect, refer to the effectÕs description in Chapter 5; see Chapter 8 for 2D effects.

You can also change the appearance and operation of an effect by adding key frames to the effect. A key frame is a point in the effectÕs Timeline at which you can set parameters. The Effect Editor window and key frames allow you to modify an effectÕs parameters at various positions in the sequence so you can change the effectÕs appearance as it plays. For more information on using key frames, see ÒUsing Key FramesÓ

on page 65.

Opening the Effect Editor Window

After you add an effect to a sequence, you must open the Effect Editor window to change the parameters of the effect. Opening the Effect Editor window transforms the Composer monitor into the Effect Preview monitor.

To open the Effect Editor window:

1. Place the blue position indicator on the effectÕs icon in the Timeline.

2. Click the Effect Mode button in the Tear-off palette.

Avid Xpress opens the Effect Editor window and displays the values for the current effect in the window. At the same time, Avid Xpress transforms the Composer monitor into the Effect Preview monitor.

Effect Editor

Effect Preview monitor

Understanding the Effect Preview Monitor

When an effect is selected and the Effect Editor window is active, the selected effect displays in the Composer monitor. The Composer monitorÕs position bar no longer represents the complete sequence, but represents only the selected effect.

Effect’s position indicator

Effect’s position bar

Press and hold the mouse button for tracking information.

If the effect you expect does not appear in the Effect Preview monitor, make sure that you have activated the monitor in the monitor column of the effectÕs track.

Length of effect

Current position in effect

The two boxes above the Effect Preview monitor display the length of the effect in seconds and frames and the current position in the effectÕs Timeline.

You can press and hold the mouse button to display a menu for viewing and changing the tracking information; this is the same method you use to change tracking information for clips and sequences. For information on displaying tracking information, see ÒCustomizing Your SystemÓ under ÒManaging a ProjectÓ in the Contents tab of the online help.

Changing Position in Effect Mode

You can change your position in the effect by either dragging the position indicator in the effectÕs position bar or by typing the timecode in the same way you do when you are editing a sequence. The type of timecode you enter (master timecode or absolute timecode) depends on the top row of tracking information you are displaying. The position information boxes above the Effect Preview monitor update as you change position. For more information on entering timecode to change the current position, see ÒFinding Frames, Clips, and BinsÓ in ÒViewing and Marking FootageÓ under ÒManaging a ProjectÓ in the Contents tab of the online help.

Understanding the Effect Editor

Use the following procedure to display an effectÕs parameters in the Effect Editor window:

1. Place the blue position indicator on the effectÕs icon in the Timeline.

2. Click the Effect Mode button in the Tear-off palette.

If the Effect Editor window is already open and active, you can just select the segment or transition effect to display the effectÕs parameters in the Effect Editor window.

The Effect Editor window opens.

Effect name

Other Options button

Triangular opener

Parameter pane

Slider used to adjust parameter

Effect icon

Transition parameters

This example shows the Grid effect parameters.

If the position indicator is not on an effectÕs icon in the Timeline and the track is not selected, then the Effect Editor window is blank.

If the position indicator is on an effect and the Effect Editor window is blank, click the Effect Editor window to activate it.

Effect Editor Buttons

This section describes the buttons and controls in the Effect Editor window, starting from the top left button in the window. Not all buttons apply to each effect. Only buttons that apply to the effect appear in the Effect Editor window. For more information about using each of the buttons, refer to the associated topic in this chapter.

¥ Other Options Ð Use this button to access additional parameters

for matrix effects and third-party plug-in effects. You also use this button to access the Title Tool to modify the selected Title effect.

Other Options button

¥ Triangular opener Ð Click this button to display or hide the param-

eter pane. A downward-pointing triangle displays the parameter pane; a right-pointing triangle displays only the parameter name.

Triangular opener

Parameter pane

¥ Color Selection Ð Click the Other Options button to display the

Macintosh Color Picker when selecting a color. The Color Preview window displays the selected color and allows you to access the eyedropper. For more information, see ÒAdjusting a Color Param-

eterÓ on page 59.

Other Options button

Color Preview window

Add Key Frame

Play Preview Render Effect

Outline/Path

Grid

The following illustration shows the basic set of Effect Editor buttons. This example shows the Lower Left Corner Wipe effect. The number of buttons varies with the effect.

Reduce Enlarge

Play Loop

Play Effect

Transition Effect Duration

Transition Effect Alignment

¥ Add Key Frame Ñ Click this button to create a key frame at the

frame in the effectÕs Timeline where you place the position indicator. Each effect can have a maximum of four key frames, except for the Picture-in-Picture effect, which allows for 255 key frames.

¥ Play Preview Ñ Click this button to play a preview of an unren-

dered effect.

¥ Render Effect Ñ Renders the effect.

¥ Outline/Path Ñ Displays a wire-frame representation to illustrate

the movement of an effect from the Þrst key frame through the last key frame.

¥ Grid Ñ Displays the safe title and safe action guidelines.

¥ Transition Effect Alignment Ñ Click this button to select the rela-

tive position of the transition effect from the cut point. Note that the button icon changes depending on the selected option.

¥ Transition Effect Duration Ñ Click this text box to enter the dura-

tion of the transition effect.

¥ Play Effect Ñ Plays the effect from the current position in the

effectÕs Timeline for most 2D and 3D effects.

¥ Play Loop Ñ Plays back a transition or segment effect in a loop.

Click the button again to stop the looped playback.

¥ Enlarge Ñ Click this button to enlarge the image area.

¥ Reduce Ñ Click this button to view an outline of the image area at

a reduced scale to show effects that are outside the normal viewing area. For example, movement of a Picture-in-Picture effect.

For a detailed explanation of the Transition Effect Duration and Duration parameters, see ÒUsing the T

ransition ParametersÓ on page 43.

The 3D Promote button appears in the bottom right corner of the following effects:

¥ Title effects

¥ Picture-in-Picture effects

¥ Imported matte keys

This button allows you to promote these effects to 3D effects on a system with the 3D Effects option installed. You can click the button to promote the effect to a 3D effect. For example, you can promote a 2D Picture-in-Picture effect to a 3D effect and make use of 3D effects parameters such as rotation in three-dimensional space. See ÒPromot-

ing 2D Effects to 3D EffectsÓ on page 116.

For descriptions of the 3D Effects buttons on the Effect Editor window, see Ò3D Picture-in-Picture EffectÓ on page 118.

Manipulating the Image

You can change the appearance of an image using the parameter pane controls in the Effect Editor window, or for multilayer effects such as Picture-in-Picture, by clicking and dragging the image in the Composer monitor.

Using Parameter Pane Controls

Click the triangular opener to the left of the parameter name to display the parameter pane. A downward-pointing triangle displays the parameter pane; a right-pointing triangle displays only the parameter name.

To manipulate the image, use the sliders or type values in the parameter pane. The image is automatically updated as you change values. For information on using sliders and the numeric keypad, see ÒChang-

ing a ParameterÓ on page 58.

Manipulating the Image Directly

You can change the size and position of multilayer effects by manipulating the image directly in the Composer monitor. When you apply a multilayer effect, the Outline/Path button outlines the foreground image with a wire frame and handles. You can change the size and position of the foreground image by clicking and dragging the wireframe handles.

To activate the wire frame and handles, click the Outline/Path button. Click the button a second time to turn off the wire frame.

For more details about using the Wire Frame feature, see ÒDeÞning a

Motion PathÓ on page 71.

Wire frame

Wire-frame handle

Foreground image

The parameter pane values automatically change when you move the wire-frame handles.

Moving an Enlarged Image in the Effect Preview Monitor

When you use the Enlarge button to increase the size of the image in the Effect Preview monitor, you cannot view the entire frame all at once. When you are creating an effect that requires great detail, you can reposition the enlarged frame in the monitor to view the sections that need your attention.

This feature applies only to an enlarged image in the Effect Preview monitor, not a standard-sized or reduced image.

To move the image within the Effect Preview monitor:

1. Click within the boundaries of the Effect Preview monitor.

2. Press and hold kÐOption.

The cursor becomes a hand.

Cursor Pixel Size display

3. Drag the hand in any direction to reposition the image within the Effect Preview monitor.

Changing a Parameter

To change a parameter that has a slider, you must click its slider. When a slider is activated, it turns pink. Use the Tab key to move from the current slider to the next slider.

Parameter’s slider

Parameter’s numeric value

Use any of the following methods to change the value of a parameter that has a slider:

¥ Move the slider with the cursor.

¥ Type a new value using the numeric keypad. If you type less than

3 digits, press Enter.

¥ Use the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys to change the value by

Ð1 or +1.

¥ Press the Shift key and use the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys

to change the value by Ð10 or +10.

Adjusting a Color Parameter

You can use the following methods to change a color parameter:

¥ Use the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance sliders to select a color.

See ÒColor Selection ParametersÓ on page 233 for a description of these values.

¥ Use the eyedropper to choose any color from the image displayed

in the Composer monitor. Use the Color Preview window to activate the eyedropper.

¥ Use the Macintosh Color Picker to select a color. Click the Other

Options button to open the Macintosh Color Picker.

Other Options button

Selecting a Color Using the Eyedropper

The eyedropper allows you to select a color from the image displayed in the Composer monitor.

Color Preview window

1. Move the cursor to the Color Preview window at the right of the parameter name to activate the eyedropper.

Other Options button

2. Click and drag the eyedropper into the Composer monitor and release the mouse button on the color you want to select from the video image.

The parameterÕs numeric values are updated, and the selected color appears in the Color Preview window.

When you use the eyedropper to select a border color, the Border blend color is also changed to ensure a solid border color. You can select a different color for the Blend color.

Selecting a Color Using the Macintosh Color Picker

The Macintosh Color Picker is a standard application that ships with Macintosh systems. Its appearance varies depending on the current release of the Macintosh operating system.

Color Preview window and eyedropper

Click the Other Options button to open the Macintosh Color Picker. See ÒUsing the Macintosh Color PickerÓ on page 235 for a description of the tool.

Adjusting Effect Position

The Position parameters represent the position of the effect center along both the X axis (H Pos) and Y axis (V Pos) at a key frame. If the effect center is positioned at H Pos = 0 and V Pos = 0, the effect is centered in the frame.

Position parameters

On the X axis, an H Pos value of side of the frame, and a value of 999 places it beyond the right side of the frame. Both values Ð999 and 999 place the effect outside the frame.

On the Y axis, a V Pos value of Ð999 places the effect beyond the top of the frame, and a value of 999 places it beyond the bottom of the frame. Both values Ð999 and 999 place the effect outside the frame.

If you move the sliders while the wire frame is active, you can see the frame outline moving in the Composer monitor.

You can also change the effectÕs position by moving the effectÕs image directly in the Composer monitor. For more information, see ÒMoving

the Image DirectlyÓ on page 72.

Adjusting Effect Size

The Scaling parameters Wid (width) and Hgt (height) represent the size of the effect.

Ð999 places the effect beyond the left

Size parameters

The range of values for the Width and Height sliders is 0 to 400. A size of 100 means you have not scaled the effect (it is 100 percent of its normal size). A setting of 400 means the effect is 4 times its original size.

You can adjust the Scaling parameters using the standard procedures explained in ÒChanging a ParameterÓ on page 58.

You can also change the effectÕs size by moving the image directly in the Composer monitor. See ÒMoving the Image DirectlyÓ on page 72.

Cropping an Effect

Use Crop parameters to eliminate unwanted picture areas in Picturein-Picture effects.

Cropping allows you to remove video from the top, bottom, left, and right edge of the inner or incoming video.

T (top) Removes video from the top of the inner or incoming

video. Values range from 0 to 999; 0 is the top of the screen, 500 is the middle of the screen, and 999 is the bottom of the screen.

B (bottom) Removes video from the bottom of the inner or incom-

ing video. Values range from Ð999 to 0; 0 is the bottom of the screen, Ð500 is the middle of the screen, and Ð999 is the top of the screen.

L (left) Removes video from the left side of the inner or

incoming video. Values range from 0 to 999; 0 is the left side of the screen, 500 is the middle of the screen, and 999 is the right side of the screen.

R (right) Removes video from the right side of the inner or

incoming video. Values range from Ð999 to 0; 0 is the right side of the screen, Ð500 is the middle of the screen, and Ð999 is the left side of the screen.

Fading an Effect

You can use the Fade Effect button on the Tear-off palette to fade an effect. See ÒFading a TitleÓ on page 214.

Accessing an Effect’s Additional Parameters

Some effects have additional parameters that control their operation. For example, the Grid effect has additional parameters in which you set the number of columns and rows in the grid. When an effect has additional parameters, the Other Options button appears at the left of the effect name in the Effect Editor window.

Click the Other Options button next to the effect name to access additional parameters.

A dialog box appears in which you set the additional parameters.

You also use the Other Options button to access the parameters for thirdparty plug-in effects and the Title Tool.

Safe Title/Action Guidelines Overview

Many effects can utilize the outer edges of the viewing screen area. If you are editing material that will be viewed on screens with more limited viewing areas, such as standard televisions, you can use the Safe Title/Action guidelines to provide visual guidelines in the Composer monitor that replicate the actual viewable area on a standard television screen.

For example, you can use the Safe Title/Action guidelines as a template for the area in which you want the effect to operate. In this way, you can avoid the appearance of the effect ßoating off into a nonviewable area of a standard television screen.

Use the following procedure to display the Safe Title/Action guidelines.

¥ To display the Safe Title/Action guidelines in the Composer mon-

itor select the Grid button in the Tear-off palette or choose Safe Title/Area Global Grid from the Object menu.

¥ To display the Safe Title/Action guidelines in the Title Tool,

choose Safe Title/Area Global Grid from the Object menu.

Two outlined boxes appear in the Composer monitor. The inner box is the safe title area. All text and objects should remain within the inner box. The outer box is the safe action area for video display.

Safe title area

Safe action area

Fast Menu button

Using Key Frames

A key frame is a point in the effect at which you can set parameters. Modifying an effectÕs parameters at various points causes the effectÕs appearance to vary as it plays. For example, you can add key frames to a Picture-in-Picture effect, and change the position parameters for each key frame to add movement to the effect.

Key-frame indicators appear as triangles in the position bar of the Composer monitor when an effect is selected and the Effect Editor window is active. You adjust key-frame parameters using the Effect Editor window.

Starting key frame

Selected key frame

Ending key frame

By default, the Avid Xpress system always provides the starting and ending key frames of an effect. You can create two additional key frames for each effect, except for the Picture-in-Picture effect, which allows for 255 key frames.

Regardless of the number of key frames in your effect, you can use different parameter settings for each key frame.

Adding a Key Frame

You can add a key frame at any point in an effect to change the effectÕs appearance.

Use the following procedure to create a key frame:

1. Click the position in the effectÕs position bar below the Composer monitor where you want to add the key frame. The position indicator moves to that frame.

2. Do one of the following to add a key frame:

¥ Click the Add Key Frame button in either the Effect Editor

window or on the Tear-off palette.

¥ Press the letter N on the keyboard.

Selecting a Key Frame

You can select a key frame or multiple key frames using the following procedures. A key frame turns pink when selected.

¥ To select one key frame, click the key-frame indicator in the

effectÕs position bar.

¥ To select multiple key frames, hold down the Shift key and click

the desired key-frame indicators in the effectÕs position bar.

¥ To select all key frames in the effectÕs position bar, press kÐA, or

press k and click on any key frame.

Adjusting the Level Between Key Frames

Use the Level parameter, together with key frames, to set the relative amount of the effect to be displayed over time Ñ for example, to fade a Superimpose effect in or out.

The Level parameter performs differently depending on the effect.

¥ For Blend and Key effects, the Level parameter represents the

effectÕs opacity. A level of 100 is completely opaque, a level of 50 is 50 percent transparent, and a level of 0 is completely transparent.

¥ For Wipes and all other transition effects (except Dissolves) the

Level parameter represents the proportion of incoming frames to outgoing frames. A Level of 0 is 100 percent of outgoing, a level of 50 is 50 percent of outgoing, and a level of 100 is 0 percent of outgoing.

Dissolve effects are a special case, where the Level parameter represents both the effectÕs opacity and the proportion of incoming to outgoing frames.

Use the following procedure to adjust the Level parameter:

Triangular opener

1. Click a key-frame indicator in the effectÕs position bar to select it.

2. Click the triangular opener to display the Foreground parameter pane.

3. Adjust the Level parameter using the standard procedures explained in ÒChanging a ParameterÓ on page

58.

Adjusting the Acceleration

The Acceleration parameter allows you to adjust the ßow of the effect by having the effect ease in and ease out of every key frame. The Acceleration parameter applies to the entire effect, not speciÞc key frames. The following table shows some sample Acceleration settings.

Settings Results

0 Linear acceleration

50 Slight ease in and ease out

100 Maximum ease in and ease out

The overall speed of an effect is determined by the duration of the effect, which is determined by the length of the clip in the sequence. If you want to slow down or speed up the movement of an effect, you will need to change the length of your clip.

To adjust the Acceleration parameter, use the standard procedures explained in ÒChanging a ParameterÓ on page

Moving a Key Frame

After you have created a key frame, you can move it to another position in the effectÕs position bar.

To move a key frame, hold down the Option key and click and drag the key frame to its new position.

The starting and ending key frames cannot be moved.

58.

Changing a Key Frame’s Parameters

You can change the parameters for any key frame, including the starting and ending key frames.

Use the following procedure to change a key frameÕs parameters:

1. Select an effect in your sequence.

2. Choose Effect Editor from the Tools menu.

3. Click the key-frame indicator in the effectÕs position bar to select it. The key-frame indicator turns pink when selected.

Effect’s position bar

4. Adjust any of the applicable parameters in the Effect Editor window using the standard procedures explained in ÒChanging a

ParameterÓ on page 58.

The Scaling and Position parameters can also be changed by directly moving the image in the Composer monitor. See ÒMoving the Image DirectlyÓ on

page 72.

Selected key frame

Copying and Pasting Key-Frame Parameters

You can copy and paste parameters from one key frame and apply them to another key frame. You can also copy key-frame parameters from one effect to another effect.

Use the following procedure to copy and paste key-frame parameters:

1. Click one key-frame indicator in the effectÕs position bar whose parameters you want to copy. The key-frame indicator turns pink when selected.

2. Choose Copy from the Edit menu, or press kÐC.

3. Click the key-frame indicator that you want to apply the new parameters to.

¥ To copy the parameters to multiple frames, Shift-click

¥ To copy the parameters to all key frames, press kÐA.

4. Choose Paste from the Edit menu, or press kÐV.

The parameters that you copied from the key frame are pasted to the key frame, or frames, you selected.

Deleting a Key Frame

You can delete any key frame you create. You cannot delete the starting and ending key frames that the Avid Xpress system creates.

Use the following procedure to delete a key frame:

1. Click the key-frame indicator in the effectÕs position bar. The keyframe indicator turns pink when selected.

multiple key frames.

2. Press the Delete key.

For a quick way to delete a key frame, press the Option key and click the Add Key Frame button.

Deﬁning a Motion Path

You can deÞne how the foreground image of a multilayer effect will move across the background video by building a motion path, or string of key frames. You can deÞne a motion path on multilayer video effects such as Picture-in-Picture effects. Use the wire-frame preview feature when you want to see the path an image takes on the screen.

When you are creating a motion path that moves beyond the viewing screen, you can use the Enlarge button to view an outline of the image at a reduced scale. The reduced scale view shows the area outside the background image and allows you to extend the motion path into that area. The Reduce button returns the screen to full view.

You can deÞne a motion path for the foreground image using either of two methods:

¥ Move the image directly and automatically add key frames.

¥ Add key frames and adjust the parameter sliders.

Moving the Image Directly

You can add a motion path to a multilayer effect using the wire-frame feature and key frames. The Outline/Path button on the Effect Editor window places a wire frame around the foreground image in the Composer monitor. You can then drag the wire frame to new locations and add key frames at each location to add movement to the effect.

You can also resize the foreground image using the wire frame by clicking and dragging the wire-frame handles. The top center handle adjusts the imageÕs height and the right center handle adjusts the imageÕs width. You can use the top right corner handle to equally change the imageÕs height and width.

Use the following procedure to add a motion path to the foreground image using the wire frame and key frames:

1. Create a sequence with two video layers (foreground video on track V2, background video on track V1). For information about creating a sequence, see ÒEditing SequencesÓ in the Contents tab of the online help.

2. Apply a multilayer effect to the foreground segment on video track V2.

3. Select the foreground effect segment.

Wire frame outlining foreground image on video track V2

Background image on video track V1

Effect’s position bar

4. Open the Effect Editor window. By default, the wire frame is active. The foreground image is outlined, and both the starting and ending key-frame indicators are highlighted (pink) in the effectÕs position bar.

Starting key-frame indicator

If the wire frame is not displayed, click the Outline/Path button on the Effect Editor window to activate the wire frame.

5. Drag the wire frame to the start point of the motion path you are creating. The starting key-frame indicator represents the start point.

6. Click the ending key-frame indicator to select it. Make sure the ending key-frame indicator is the only indicator selected (pink).

7. Drag the wire frame to the end point of the motion path. A path line from the center of the starting position to the center of the ending position appears.

Ending key-frame indicator

Center handle

Wire frame

Path line

8. Drag the position indicator in the effectÕs position bar to a new location. The wire frame moves with the position indicator; notice the path line does not change.

9. Click inside the wire frame and drag or stretch the wire frame to add a key frame at the new location. A handle appears in the center of the wire frame, indicating the path position of the new key frame.

10. Drag the wire frame to change the effectÕs path.

Effect’s position bar

Selected key frame

11. Repeat the last three steps to add more variation to the path.

Adjusting Key Frame Parameters

You can adjust the foreground imageÕs motion path by adding a string of key frames and adjusting their Position parameters.

1. Select the foreground effect segment in the Timeline.

2. Open the Effect Editor window. Both the starting and ending keyframe indicators are highlighted (pink) in the effectÕs position bar.

Effect’s position bar

Triangular opener

Position parameter pane

Starting key-frame indicator

Ending key-frame indicator

3. Click the Position triangular opener to display the Position parameter pane.

4. Click the starting key-frame indicator to select it. Make sure the starting key-frame indicator is the only indicator selected (pink).

5. Adjust the Position parameters to set the pathÕs starting position.

6. Click the ending key-frame indicator to select it. Make sure the ending key-frame indicator is the only indicator selected (pink).

7. Adjust the Position parameters to set the pathÕs ending position. A path line appears between the starting position and the ending position.

8. Drag the position indicator in the effectÕs position bar to a new location.

9. Click the Add Key Frame button to add a key frame at the new location in the effect.

10. Adjust the Position parameters until the desired path is set. The path line changes to represent the new motion path.

11. Repeat the last three steps to add additional key frames to vary the path of the foreground image.

Playing a Motion Path Preview

You may want to play a Picture-in-Picture effect to check the movement of the foreground image. The Play Preview button allows you to preview the path of the wire frame in a Picture-in-Picture effect. To play the effect at its full speed, you must Þrst render the effect.

Use the following procedure to play a preview of the wire-frame path:

1. Click the Play Preview button.

Play Preview shows a preview of the path the foreground image takes from the current position. For non-real-time effects, the outline does not play in real time. For example, if an effect is 3 seconds long, the outline may take 8 seconds to play. However, if an effect is real time, it is played in real time.

2. Do one of the following to stop playing the effect preview:

¥ Click the mouse button.

¥ Press the space bar.

¥ Click the Play Preview button a second time.

Rendering an Effect

You must render a non-real-time effect before it can be played at full speed. When an effect is rendered, the system stores the effect and its media Þle as a precomputed master clip (often referred to as a precom- pute). The system uses the precompute the next time to play the effect at its full speed.

You can identify nonrendered effects by the blue dot located on the effect icon in the Timeline or in the Effect Editor window. Once an effect is rendered, the blue dot is removed.

Selecting the Render Setting for a Project

You can control the size of a rendered effect to Þt within a playable range by changing the Render settings. For an explanation of the Render settings, see ÒRender SettingsÓ on page 28.

Combining Real-Time Effects and Rendered Effects

Avid Xpress can process only two streams of video at one time. Therefore, when two or more real-time effects overlap, Avid Xpress can play only one of these effects in real time. The other effects will not be displayed.

Overlapping Real-Time Effects

The following deÞnes how Avid Xpress handles situations with overlapping real-time effects:

¥ If two or more real-time effects overlap, Avid Xpress plays one of

the effects in real time and substitutes video from track V1 for the real-time effect that it cannot create. If the video on track V1 is not readily available because it is also a real-time effect, then Avid Xpress substitutes black for the real-time effect that it cannot create.

¥ If real-time effects on different video tracks overlap, Avid Xpress

plays the effect on the highest numbered track in real time.

¥ If you have two real-time effects on the same track (for example, a

dissolve or wipe overlaps video with color effects), Avid Xpress plays the real-time transition effect using video without the segment effect, or using black, in some cases.

In summary, if you want to view the video with both effects, render one of the overlapping effects.

Overlapping Real-Time and Rendered Effects

If you are rendering effects that will overlap real-time transition effects, place the real-time transition effects in the sequence before rendering the non-real-time effects. This ensures that you render enough extra frames of video to create the real-time effect in real time.

Avid Xpress renders this section of video only if the real-time transition effect is present before you render the segment effect.

Speed Considerations

If you have multiple short clips with multiple real-time effects, you may exceed the capacity of the hardware to play these in real time, resulting in Video Underrun error messages. In this case, render some of the intermediate effects before playing the sequence.

Displaying Effects While You Edit

You can display the results of effects automatically as soon as you create them. Note that this can slow down your editing of the sequence.

To display effects automatically, choose the Render On-The-Fly command from the Clip menu. It is enabled when there is a check mark next to it in the menu.

Rendering a Single Effect

After you have adjusted an effectÕs parameters, you can render the effect.

Use the following procedure to render a single effect:

1. Place the blue position indicator on the effect in the Timeline.

2. Click the Render Effect button in the Tear-off palette.

A dialog box appears.

To prevent this dialog box from displaying, press and hold the Option key when you click the Render Effect button. The system will use the last disk drive selected.

3. Select a disk drive from the Target Disk pop-up menu on which to store the rendered effect.

The Effect Source Disk is the disk drive where the media on the out- going shot of a transition resides.

The following dialog box appears if the disk drive you selected does not have enough available disk space for the precompute media Þle.

You have two choices:

¥ Stop the rendering procedure so you can select another disk

drive with more space available.

¥ Continue with the rendering procedure and try to place the

precompute on the selected disk drive.

4. Click OK.

The effect is rendered, and a precompute master clip is stored on the disk drive you selected.

To display the estimated render time, press the letter T on the keyboard. Press T again to clear the display.

Rendering Multiple Effects

When you have more than one effect to render, you can render them as a group.

Save your sequence before you use this feature. Depending on the number, type, and complexity of the effects, the batch process can take a long time.

Use the following procedure to render multiple effects:

1. Click the track selector in the Timeline for each track on which you have effects to be rendered.

2. Mark an IN point before the start of the Þrst effect to be rendered in your sequence; mark an OUT point after the last effect to be rendered.

3. Choose Render In/Out from the Clip menu.

The Render Preferences dialog box appears.

4. Select a disk drive from the pop-up menu on which to store the rendered effect.

The Effect Source Disk is the disk where the media on the outgoing shot of a transition resides.

5. Click OK.

The Avid Xpress system renders all effects between the IN and OUT points.

To display the estimated render time, press the letter T on the keyboard. Press T again to clear the display.

Another way to speed up rendering is to use the Submaster effect. See ÒSub-

master EditingÓ on page 103.

Rendering Third-Party Plug-in Effects

Third-party plug-in effects must be rendered. Use the same procedures explained in ÒRendering Multiple EffectsÓ on page 81.

Using an Effect Template

The parameters for an effect are called the effect template. You can reuse an effect template in multiple places in a sequence by saving the template in a bin and later applying the template to other effects or video clips in the sequence.

Saving an Effect Template

You can save the parameters from the effect in the Effect Editor window and reuse them for another effect.

Use the following procedure to save an effect template:

1. Do one of the following:

¥ Drag the effectÕs effect icon from the Effect Editor window to a

bin. This creates a new effect template in the bin, containing the parameter setting information for the effect.

Effect icon

¥ To save the source for a segment effect, press and hold the

Option key while dragging the effectÕs icon from the Effect Editor window to a bin. This also saves the source clips associated with the effect and anything that might be nested inside.

For example, saving the source is useful when you want to save an imported PICT Þle or matte key clip for future editing into a sequence.

The new effect template is identiÞed in the bin by its effect icon.

Effect template

2. Click on the effect template name below the icon and type a new name to rename the template.

Title effects are saved with source by default. If you hold the Option key while dragging the icon, you will get a key-frame only template. This template will retain the movement of the title without the source.

Effect icons for open bins are also displayed in the Effect Palette.

Applying an Effect Template

You can take an effect template that has been saved in a bin and apply the template and its parameters to other transitions or segments in your sequence.

Choose one of the following procedures to apply an effect template to a transition or segment:

¥ Click the effect template in the bin or in the Effect Palette, and

drag it to the Timeline.

¥ Select a segment or transition in the Timeline, and double-click the

effect template in the bin or in the Effect Palette.

This applies all the parameters from the effect template to the new video clip that you are creating.

Applying Part of an Effect Template

You can apply part of an effect template to transitions or segments in your sequence.

Use the following procedure to apply part of an effect template to a transition or segment:

1. Select an effect transition or segment in the Timeline.

2. Open the Effect Editor window.

3. Open the parameter pane you want to change. For example, the following illustration shows the Position parameter pane.

Position parameter pane

4. Click the effect template icon in the bin or in the Effect Palette, and drag it to the speciÞc parameter pane in the Effect Editor window.

The effect template is applied only to the effect parameter pane you selected.

Do not drag the effect template through the Timeline window, because this deselects the effect.

Managing Your Effect Media Files

When you render an effect, create a title, or import a graphic Þle, Avid Xpress creates two elements: an effect clip and a precompute master clip (also known as a rendered effect media Þle).

Avid Xpress overwrites or automatically deletes a media Þle from your disk drive only if you:

1. Render an effect two or more times with the Render Effect button

2. Close the project before either an Auto Save or a manual save occurs

In this case, Avid Xpress automatically saves the last-rendered effect and deletes the earlier, unreferenced versions. This autodeletion applies only to effects rendered since the last save or project close.

This prevents you from deleting media that may be necessary to play other versions of the sequence. If you want to remove media Þles from your disk to save disk space, you will have to manually delete the Þles.

Locating and Deleting Effect Media Files

Use this procedure to locate and delete unwanted media Þles on your disk drive for your current project.

1. Choose Media Tool from the Tools menu.

The Display Media Selector dialog box appears.

2. Select Current Project and Precompute Master Clips and click OK.

The Media Tool window opens and displays all precompute master clips associated with your current project. To determine which precomputes your project is using, continue to the next step.

3. Resize the Media Tool window, until you can see all or most of the precomputes.

4. Open the bin that contains the sequences and highlight the sequence that you want to keep.

This procedure deletes any precompute media Þles in the project that are not used by the selected sequences.

5. Choose Select Media Relatives from the Bin menu.

In the Media Tool window and in other open bins, all the precompute master clips are highlighted. These clips point to the media Þles that the selected sequences are using.

6. Click the title bar of the Media Tool to make it the active window.

7. Choose Reverse Selection from the Bin menu to highlight all the precompute master clips you are not using in the selected sequences.

8. Press Delete.

The Delete Media Files dialog box appears.

9. Click OK to delete the selected precomputes.

CHAPTER 4

Working with Multilayer and Nested Effects

This chapter describes how to apply multilayer effects to your sequence. Multilayer effects consist of two or more tracks of video with effects that play back simultaneously, such as Picture-in-Picture, Superimpose, and Submaster. The methods and concepts for creating and applying multilayer effects build on the procedures for creating single-layer effects described in Chapter 2.

Effects can also be nested within other effects. Instead of one video layer being physically above another video layer, a nested effect is contained within another effect on the same video layer.

Using Multilayer Effects

Some effects are made up of multiple video layers (tracks). The procedures for applying multilayer effects differ slightly from applying single-layer effects. This section explains how to create some of the more common multilayer effects Ñ the Key effects.

Creating a Key Effect

Avid Xpress supports the following Key effects:

¥ YUV Chroma Key Ñ Replaces one part of the video image with

another video image based on color

¥ Luma Key Ñ Replaces one part of the video image with another

video image based on luminance (brightness)

¥ Matte Key Ñ Replaces one part of the video image with another

video image or graphic based on the location of a high-contrast image known as a matte

Creating a YUV Chroma Key Effect

The YUV Chroma Key effect is used most frequently with a foreground image shot in front of a highly saturated color screen (for example, a meteorologist against a weather map). See ÒYUV Chroma

KeyÓ on page 271 for an example.

To create a YUV Chroma Key effect:

1. Create a sequence with two layers. Place the foreground image on track V2 and place the background image on track V1.

2. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu, or press kÐ8.

3. Drag the YUV Chroma Key effect from the Effect Palette to the segment on track V2.

The Key effect is added. Ultimate Blue is the default key color.

To change the key color, open the Effect Editor window and see

ÒAdjusting a Color ParameterÓ on page 59.

4. Set the Secondary Key color, Spill Suppression, Gain, and Softness parameters. For an explanation of these parameters, see ÒKey

Control ParametersÓ on page 236.

Creating a Luma Key Effect

Use a Luma Key effect to replace portions of the foreground video with the background video based on brightness or luminance.

Use the following procedure to create a Luma Key effect:

1. Create a sequence with two layers. Place the foreground image on track V2 and place the background image on track V1.

2. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu, or press kÐ8.

3. Drag the Luma Key effect from the Effect Palette to the segment on track V2.

Use the eyedropper or the Luma Key sliders to select a brightness value in the foreground video. Avid Xpress replaces the corresponding portions of the foreground video with background video. See ÒLuma

KeyÓ on page 272 for an example.

Creating a Matte Key Effect

The Matte Key effect uses three layers of video to create the effect. The bottom layer is the background image, the middle layer is the foreground image, and the top layer contains the matte or alpha channel.

Use the following procedure to create a Matte Key effect:

1. Create a Timeline with three video tracks.

2. Edit the background image onto track V1.

3. Edit the foreground image onto track V2.

4. Load a high-contrast image into a pop-up monitor and edit it onto track V3.

5. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu, or press kÐ8.

6. Choose the Key category and drag the Matte Key effect to the clip on track V3.

7. Click the Monitor selector for track V3. You should see tracks V2 and V1 through the high-contrast image on track V3.

8. Place the blue position indicator over the Matte Key Effect icon and render the effect.

For an example of a Matte Key effect, see ÒMatte KeyÓ on page 273.

You can also import a graphic image with an alpha channel and use it as a Matte Key effect. See ÒEditing with Imported Matte Key ClipsÓ

on page 93.

Working with Imported Graphics and Animation

This section describes two different approaches to editing with imported graphic images, depending upon whether:

¥ The image was imported as a master clip with no alpha channel

(an opaque graphic element)

¥ The image was imported as a Matte Key Effect clip with an alpha

channel (a keyable graphic element for video overlay)

Graphic master clip with no alpha channel

Matte Key Effect clip with alpha channel

These alternatives apply to both single-frame graphic images or animation. In addition, you can edit imported images into sequences using Avid Xpress editing procedures. These topics are described in this section.

For more information on importing graphic and animation clips, see ÒFile Format SpeciÞcationsÓ under ÒImporting, Exporting, and TransferringÓ in the Contents tab of the online help.

Editing with Imported Matte Key Clips

When an imported clip includes an alpha channel for keying the graphic over video, it appears in the bin with an effect icon and the words ÒMatte KeyÓ attached to the front of the clip name and Ò(With Alpha)Ó attached to the end. You can shorten or change this name at any time.

Both single-frame graphic images (such as a single PICT Þle) and multiple-frame animation sequences (such as a PICT sequence Þle) appear in the bin in the same form after import, and you use the same editing techniques for both. You can edit this type of clip into a sequence as a standard matte key overlay.

Only PICT Þles and PICT sequence Þles can be used as real-time keyed graphics. QuickTime Þles and PICS animation Þles cannot be used as realtime keyed graphics.

Use the following procedure to edit a matte key clip into the sequence.

1. Edit the main video sequence onto track V1.

2. Play the sequence and mark an IN and OUT point where you want to overlay the graphic.

3. Load a matte key clip into the pop-up monitor. Mark an IN point toward the center of the clip if it is a still image.

4. Drag the matte key clip from the pop-up monitor onto track V2.

The graphic is keyed over the video on V1.

You must edit Matte Key Effect clips onto track V2 to achieve the keyed effect. If you edit a Matte Key Effect clip onto V1, the image is keyed over black.

Monitor selector

In the Timeline, the graphic appears on the track above the main video sequence. A Matte Key Effect icon appears in the Timeline segment. The blue dot in the icon indicates that the effect must be rendered before it can be played.

Matte Key graphic keyed over video

5. Adjust effect parameters with the Effect Editor window, if necessary, using procedures described in ÒUnderstanding the Ef

EditorÓ on page 51.

Matte Key Effect icon

fect

If the keyed portions of the images are the reverse of the intended effect, then you must reimport and reverse the effect on import.

6. Use the standard effect editing procedures to preview, render, or play the matte key clip.

Make sure the Monitor selector is on for track V2 in order to see the complete effect.

Editing with Imported Master Clips

When an imported clip does not include an alpha channel for keying the graphic over video, its icon is the standard Master Clip icon. This is true for both single-image graphics and animation sequences. You can edit this type of clip into a sequence as an opaque image or animation (in other words, as a single layer) using basic editing techniques described in this section.

Use the following procedure to edit an imported master clip into the sequence.

1. Double-click the graphic clip icon to open a pop-up monitor.

2. Create a sequence in the Timeline.

3. In the pop-up monitor, mark an IN point at the start of the clip and mark an OUT point to specify the duration of the graphic.

4. In the Composer monitor, mark an IN point where you want to edit the graphic clip into the sequence.

5. Click one of the Segment Mode buttons in the Timeline.

6. Drag the clip into the Timeline to add the opaque graphic to the sequence.

The opaque image appears in the sequence. In the Timeline, the graphic looks like a standard video clip edited into the sequence.

7. Play the clip. If necessary, use the standard editing procedures to edit the graphic, the same as you would a video clip.

Nested Effects

You can use the Avid Xpress system to layer multiple effects in a single video track to better combine multiple images and digital video effects. This process is known as nesting, which allows you to layer multiple effects. You can then render the nested effects as one segment on the video track.

You can use nesting to constrain one effect by using another effect. For example, you can use a Circle Wipe effect to constrain an image posterization inside a region.

Avid Xpress allows you to expand the Timeline video tracks so you can select each nested effect and modify it using the Effect Editor window.

You cannot nest transition effects or audio tracks.

Describing Nested Tracks

You can add nested effects to any of the video tracks in the Timeline. The video track expands, allowing you to view the nested tracks, which are numbered 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and so on. The number of nested tracks displayed in the Timeline depends on the effect.

For example, a two-layer effect such as Picture-in-Picture creates two nested tracks. Track 1.1 represents V1 (the background video) and track 1.2 represents V2 (the foreground video). When nested track 1.1 is empty, the video on V1 contains the background video for the effect.

The following example shows a Timeline with nested tracks for a Picture-in-Picture effect.

Nested tracks

In the previous example, nested track 1.2 holds the foreground image and nested track 1.1 is for the background image. In this case, nested track 1.1 is empty, which allows the video on track V1 to be used as the background video. If you want a different background, you can edit another video onto nested video track 1.1.

Nesting a Title Within a Picture-in-Picture

If you want to create a moving picture-in-picture that includes a title, you will have to create a nested effect so the title moves with the picture-in-picture as one unit.

Effect icon

The following picture shows a title within a Picture-in-Picture effect.

Use the following procedure to nest a title within a Picture-in-Picture effect:

1. Create a sequence with two video layers. Put your foreground video on V2 and your background video on V1.

2. Create a Title effect and place it in an open bin. For information on how to create a title, see Chapter 6.

3. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu.

4. Choose the Blend category and apply the Picture-in-Picture effect to the segment on V2. The following illustration shows an example.

Source track selector

Picture-in-Picture Effect icon

5. Click one of the Segment Mode buttons in the Timeline.

6. Double-click the Picture-in-Picture Effect icon in the segment. The Timeline expands to display the nested tracks 1.1 and 1.2.

7. Deselect the Segment Mode button so you can edit the tracks.

8. Drag the Source track selector to nested track 1.2.

9. Choose New Video Track from the Clip menu. Avid Xpress creates nested track 1.3.

10. Drag the Source track selector to nested track 1.3.

11. Edit the title into the new nested track 1.3 as shown in the following illustration.

12. Select one of the Segment Mode buttons again, and double-click the Picture-in-Picture effect on track V2.

Avid Xpress collapses the nested track. Now, if you animate the Picture-in-Picture effect, the title moves with it.

Nesting a Matte Key Effect

A Matte Key effect uses three layers of video to create the effect. You can use nested video tracks for this effect.

A Matte Key effect creates three nested tracks. Track 1.1 represents the background video (V1), track 1.2 is the Þller track for the foreground video, and track 1.3 contains the matte or alpha channel (V2).

Nested tracks

Background image

Monitor selector

Matte Key Effect icon

New foreground image

Use the following procedure to create a Matte Key effect:

1. Create a sequence with the background video on track V1.

2. Load a high-contrast image into a pop-up monitor and edit it onto track V2. For an example of a high-contrast image, see ÒMatte

KeyÓ on page 273.

3. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu, or press kÐ8.

4. Open the Key effect category from the Effect Palette, and drag the Matte Key effect to the segment on track V2.

5. Click one of the Segment Mode buttons in the Timeline.

6. Double-click the Matte Key Effect icon in the segment. The Timeline expands to display three nested tracks (1.1, 1.2, and 1.3).

100

Pinnacle Systems Xpress User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Introduction

Preparing to Work with Effects

Effect Palette Overview

List of Effect Categories

Displaying the Effect Palette

Effect T emplates Overview

Third-Party Plug-in Effects Overview

Installing Photoshop-Compatible Plug-in Effects

Installing AVX Plug-in Effects

Troubleshooting AVX Plug-ins

Blank Effect Icons in the Timeline

Missing Effect Categories in the Effect Palette

Avid Xpress Cannot Render the Plug-In

Settings for Effects

Effect Settings

Understanding the Color Coding

Render Settings

Basics of Effects Editing

Task Overview — Working with Effects

Effect T ypes

Transition Effects

Segment Effects

Real-Time Effects

Applying Effects to a Sequence

Applying an Effect to Multiple Segments

Applying an Effect to Multiple Transitions

Applying a Third-Party Plug-in Effect

Deleting Effects in a Sequence

Deleting a Single Effect

Deleting Multiple Segment Effects

Working with Transition Effects

Applying a Dissolve Effect

Using the Effect Palette

Using the Transition Parameters

Using the Add Dissolve Button

Sizing the Effect to Fit the Media

Trimming and Customizing a Transition Effect

Working with the Effect Editor Window

Opening the Effect Editor Window

Understanding the Effect Preview Monitor

Changing Position in Effect Mode

Understanding the Effect Editor

Effect Editor Buttons

Manipulating the Image

Using Parameter Pane Controls

Manipulating the Image Directly

Changing a Parameter

Adjusting a Color Parameter

Selecting a Color Using the Eyedropper

Adjusting Effect Position

Adjusting Effect Size

Cropping an Effect

Fading an Effect

Accessing an Effect’s Additional Parameters

Safe Title/Action Guidelines Overview

Using Key Frames

Adding a Key Frame

Selecting a Key Frame

Adjusting the Level Between Key Frames

Adjusting the Acceleration

Moving a Key Frame

Changing a Key Frame’s Parameters

Copying and Pasting Key-Frame Parameters

Deleting a Key Frame

Moving the Image Directly

Adjusting Key Frame Parameters

Playing a Motion Path Preview

Rendering an Effect

Selecting the Render Setting for a Project

Combining Real-Time Effects and Rendered Effects

Overlapping Real-Time Effects

Overlapping Real-Time and Rendered Effects

Speed Considerations

Displaying Effects While You Edit

Rendering a Single Effect