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"Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:45 pm
by InyoRanger
"Ken Burns" effect is what I've heard people call the panning and zooming of a still photograph into a video.

The very beginning of this Youtube video shows this effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wxhT4KG-G8

I've played around with VideoMeld but have been unable to achieve the desired result.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 6:50 pm
by 2leftfeet
Know exactly what you are talking about - I tried to do that recently but could not work out how to do it because the effects window is not very easy to get your head round it all. I know you can because I did it once a long time ago :( There is other software out there which will work, but you must buy first. I made many slide shows with Pro Show Gold about 8 years ago. Might have to upgrade it this time round. Videomeld works brilliantly for what I mostly use it for, nothing else comes close.
Good luck!

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:46 pm
by Sped2001
It's easy with the crop/pan/zoom effect, once you get the hang of it. Example: https://youtu.be/rD2mqJvnFPA

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 10:52 pm
by GoldWave Inc.
The Crop/Pan/Zoom effect can be a little tricky to set up because the preview shows how the effect will look. The important thing to remember is to check the Original box when setting the points, then uncheck it to see how it looks.

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 9:57 pm
by InyoRanger
I finally got around to this project again and I'm pretty happy with the results.

https://youtu.be/nAzUpdYKiaU

One thing I couldn't figure out. I wanted to frame a small portion of the image, hold that framing for about five seconds and then zoom out to the whole frame.

Every time I tried to do this, the project would immediately start zooming. I could not figure out how to "hold" a particular framing.

Still very happy with the result. Thanks!

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 11:34 am
by GoldWave Inc.
You'd set the zoomed-in frame at the time you want to start holding it, then right-click on the timeline graph and choose "Copy all points at this time". Adjust the time (either buy dragging the red time line or adjusting the thumb above the effect range) to the end of the hold time, then right-click on the graph and choose "Paste all points at this time".

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 2:32 pm
by InyoRanger
OK - that's understandable. It works well and gives the desired result, but it is not "user friendly."

I realize that it is a difficult programming problem, so this suggestion may not be workable.

First the user would select the desired aspect ration (16x9, 4x3, etxc), then a "viewfinder" of the appropriate shape would appear over the image. The "i" key would zoom in, the "o" key would zoom out and the mouse would control where in the image the "viewfinder" would be. Press "record" ans start creating your Videomeld template for video file creation. In other words, it would be much like using a video camera viewfinder and adjusting the zoom to "crop" the scene as desired.

BTW - my video is now at:
https://vimeo.com/218067477

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 10:39 am
by GoldWave Inc.
All you really have to do is to set all the points at the end of the "hold" so that they are the same as as the points at the beginning of the hold time. That way they remain constant during that time. Using the copy/paste buttons in the Settings area is the quickest way to do that. It's actually much quicker than using zoom keys and recording once you get the hang of it.

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 11:23 pm
by InyoRanger
Deleted.

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:53 am
by GoldWave Inc.
That may be a problem with the aspect ratio. If you adjust coordinates manually or move points in the graph, that may cause the ratio to change. All 4 corners must be set at once and stay at the same instant of time. To correct the problem you'd need to delete some of the points and set them again so that the ratio is maintained throughout the effect.

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:39 pm
by InyoRanger
Not really sure what most of your reply means. I "programmed" this video just like many others I have created and only this one has that noticeable distortion. I have re-tried it from scratch several times and always get the same facial distortion.

Additionally, why would the program change aspect ratio during creation without the user specifying that change? Shouldn't the "default" be to maintain the aspect ratio unless the user requests the change?

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 1:43 pm
by GoldWave Inc.
Somehow the ratio of the width and height are not staying constant (proportional). That can happen if you drag individual points on the graph or if you make a change between two other changes. Usually if you move the points in the preview area only (and keep away from the edges when moving them) and make adjustments in time order, that should keep things proportional.

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 10:09 am
by GoldWave Inc.
I should have mentioned earlier to make sure you have the "Mode" set to "Proportional" for the Crop/Pan/Zoom effect.

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2017 7:21 pm
by InyoRanger
I've kept trying to get this the way I want it to look. Still not sure that I understand the exact sequence needed to achieve the effect I want, but I think it is finally right now.

https://vimeo.com/226239963

Re: "Ken Burns" Effect

Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 12:46 pm
by InyoRanger
It seems like the latest version (1.61) has changed the way this effect is implemented?

I tried to do this the way I've done it before as shown in this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD2mqJv ... e=youtu.be

and it's not working the same way. When I crop in to begin and set it as shown in the video and how I remember, any new crop setting changes the entire project to whatever new crop is set.

What's going on?