hfx1

The World’s Top Tips for

Pinnacle Studio Video Editing software

(with some Avid Liquid snippets)

HOLLYWOOD FX,

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CREATING A BASIC PICTURE IN PICTURE

The Picture-in-Picture effect is probably one of the top three most requested features for any video editor. Indeed, in the Edit section these pages you'll find a method for creating a Picture-in-Picture with any Studio software (except Studio 400), using a series of bitmaps in TitleDeko. However, with HFX Pro (and possibly Plus), you have a far far easier method at your fingertips.

The procedure described here isn't the only way to do it: you can start by adapting one of the existing effects - the Fly Off, for example. However, I have chosen to create the effect from scratch, and explain how you can adjust the various parameters to suit your own exact requirements... Without having a long tedious learning curve... (I hope!)

Note: You can use this basic 'picture-in-picture' technique as the starting point for other effects. For example, if you want to add an overlay frame Chroma-keyed to give an animated cut-out, you would need to start by adding the 'overlay picture' to the existing scene.

START A NEW, BLANK EFFECT

* Click on 'Blank FX', to clear out the existing effect. The preview window will display a 'blank', empty stage. Notice that the Media and Objects & Surfaces windows are also cleared. We have a clean slate to work with, no hidden settings to worry about.

ADD A 'BACKGROUND' AND 'FOREGROUND' OBJECT

Click on 3D Object and select Back 2 from the 00-Common folder. Then click on 3D Object (again), and select Flat 1 from the same folder

1. A scene has a smaller scene (the pic-in-pic) fade in over it. After a while, the smaller, overlaid scene and the scene itself then dissolve away to reveal an incoming scene.

2. A scene has a smaller picture fade in over it. After a while the smaller overlaid scene fades away, and the main scene continues on.

Now you can see you have two Host Videos in the Media box - Host Video 2 which, by default, is the second or incoming clip of a transition, and Host Video 1, which by default is the first - or outgoing - of the two clips linked by a transition. Notice that Host Video 1 is 'on top' of the display. Note too that the Host Video 'number' is the same as the 3D Object number - thus Back 2 is associated with Host Video 2. Similarly, Back 3 would be associated with Host Video 3, although you can re-assign these associations if you wish. Last thing to point out at this stage is that 'Back' objects are usually used for background items - and 'Flat' objects (plus all the other many objects available in the other folders) are usually used for 'foreground objects.

As a matter of interest, if you click on the different Preview views - Perspective, Top and Side - you'll see that, at the moment, both objects occupy virtually the same spatial position. You can check this out by clicking on Back 2 and then Flat 1 in the Objects & Surfaces box.

Also note that you can, if you wish, rename the items in the Media and Objects areas of the Control Panel, to something more meaningful - you could, for example, rename Flat 1 as 'Outgoing Picture' This really only useful if you're going to save the effect (HFX Pro only).

DECIDE HOW THE EFFECT IS GOING TO WORK

Crunch time. At the moment, we have the basis for a simple transition from an outgoing clip, to an incoming clip. It will also be the basis for a Picture in Picture effect. Now, a Picture-in-Picture effect can be used in a number of different ways. Here are just two of them.

These are quite different effects. The first one is, basically, a dissolve transition with an overlay pic thrown in as an 'extra'. The second one is an individual effect, and whilst it could be handled on the video line as a transition, it is (trust me) far far easier to handle it on the title overlay line, as a Stand alone effect. You'll find an article on creating Stand Alone effects elsewhere on this page.

I'll explain how to achieve a result with both types of effect. But let me say again - the methods I describe here are not the only solutions, nor are they necessarily the best solutions. In fact, for the 2nd method, you probably don't even have to load in the Back 2 3D Object (I haven't tried it without, but I'm sure it would work). OK. Here goes ...

Pic-in-Pic as part of a transition.

This effect is going to be used on the Video time line. The Host Video 1 will, by default, be the outgoing video in the transition. Host Video 2 will, by default, be the incoming video. Note that both are included in the transition from the outset. That means, if the effect is going to be made to last, say, 8 seconds overall, then 8 seconds of the incoming Host Video 2 clip will be 'used' in the transition - although it will only break to the surface and be seen towards the end. Bear that in mind when trimming the second clip!

OK. Picking up where we left off ...You have the outgoing clip, and you have an incoming clip. You will now need to load in another 3D object, to carry the pic-in-pic clip. So -

Click on 3D Object, as before, and select another Flat Object - say Flat 3. This will add Host Video 3 to the list in the Control panel - and Host Video 3 will be the one that carries the pic-in-pic AVI (or still picture for us).

* You will now need to associate Host Video 3 with the required AVI (or Still file - BMP, TGA type etc)

To do that click on 'Host Video 3' in the Media section of the Control Panel, and over on the right side, in the Media Options Panel, click on Select File. A file selector dialog will pop up, enabling you to browse to and select the required file. If you select an AVI, you can preview it in the Media Options panel (drag the scrubber), select the start and end points (find the appropriate frame, and click on the 'In' or 'Out' button underneath the viewer), how it is going to play (faster, slower, reverse, etc), and what is to happen if the AVI stops before the effect has finished (is it going to loop back to the start, start playing back in reverse, or simply stop).

The next step is to resize the Host Video 3 object so that it is as large (or as small) as you want, and to reposition it so that it occupies the part of the screen you want. (Don't forget the 'safe' areas round the edges). Both of these operations are very easy to do by dragging - and are explained in the next section dealing with the 'Stand Alone version. Just remember which object needs to be resized - in this variation, you will want to resize Flat 3.

The final step is to add the 'in' and 'out' dissolves to the Host Video 3, and the 'out' dissolve to the outgoing Host Video 1. How to add dissolves to an object (and create a template you can use over and over again) is discussed in a separate article. When you've finished here, you can complete your transition by reading that one.

Pic-in-Pic as a stand alone effect

This effect is going to be used on the Title Overlay line, with a dummy title (see the article on 'Creating a stand alone effect'). Strictly speaking, therefore, it doesn't need the 'Back 2' object. However, if you use this effect as the 'transition' at the start of a dummy title, the dummy title itself will be the Back 2 object. So you can leave it.

With this version, we're going to use Host Video 1 for the pic-in-pic AVI. So, click on Host Video 1 in the Control Panel to highlight it, then click on Select File in the Media Options panel (see the screen dump above - which shows the set up with Host Video 3 selected). Select the AVI or still file that you want to use for the pic-in-pic. Adjust the in and out points etc, as described above for the 'transition' method.

It's now time to adjust the size of the pic-in-pic video. Easy peasy. First, select the object in the Control Panel. In this case, you'll select (highlight) Flat 1. (For the Transition version above, you'll select Flat 3). Now, in the right hand Options Panel, you'll see the X/Y/Z dimensions grid. Panic not - you don't have to fiddle round experimenting with numbers! Here's the easy way to do it ...

Click on the Scale button, so that it appears depressed - with the other two buttons, Move and Rotate, 'raised'. Make sure the X, Y, Z buttons at the top are depressed (that enables the values in the corresponding boxes top be changed. When the buttons are not depressed, the values in the boxes are 'locked').

Now for the hard bit (!). Put the mouse pointer in the preview window, left click and drag up or down. You'll see immediately what happens - the selected object gets bigger or smaller. You want it smaller, so make it the size you want. Watch the figures in the scale windows, if you want a specific size (eg .5)

If you want to distort the picture, horizontally or vertically, simply click on the X or Y button above the table, to 'deselect' it, before clicking and dragging. Is this editor powerful, or what?

You've guessed the next step for yourself, haven't you. I shall tell you anyway, for completeness. And because I like the sound of my keyboard clicking.

Click on the Scale button, to deselect it, and click on the Move button to select it (see next screen dump). Now click and drag the pic-in-pic object screen to the position you want. Was that easy? Good.

You want another pic-in-pic on the screen? Well, If I tell you all you need to do is add another 3D Object, as before, then select it, size it and move it, and of course, select the video or AVI file to be used, I think you won't need any further explanation. I haven't tried it, but I believe you could add up to 32 pictures with HFX Pro. Mind you, render time, with all those AVIs, will be quite long! Also, note that you can drag the objects into position using any of the four Preview views. That can help you to get objects visually exactly where you want. And if needs be, trim the positions by changing the numbers in the table.

All that remains is to add the 'dissolves' to the object(s) at the appropriate points within the time scale of the effect. You'll find how to do that in a separate article on this page (otherwise, I'd have to repeat the procedure endlessly in almost every effect!).

Saving your work

If you are likely to use the effect you've created more than once, then create it by opening the HFX Editor from the Start menu (rather than from Studio), so that when you save it (HFX Pro) you will have a generic version as the FX icon. (Remember to select a suitable frame in the Preview window before saving - that becomes the effect icon). You may also find it helpful to give the Object files etc meaningful names before saving. And add some notes about the effect in the appropriate box of the Options panel, with the title of the effect selected.

Homework (ha ha)

Notice in this instance we haven't 'attached' anything for the 'Back 2' object. It will by default take up the 'blank' title. Now, here's another idea... Suppose the title isn't blank, suppose instead you have rolling credits, say, running up the right side of the screen, and you place your pic-in-pic on the left side, and 'tilt' the right edge back (drag it in the perspective view) ... you'll have the kind of credits display you often see on TV. You'd have to drag the HFX effect almost completely over the created rolling title, of course.

Where next?

[General HFX Info] [New FX to create]

Creating a pic-in-pic effect

(using HFX version 4.5 )