portrait pictures in slideshow , background

[Choptop]

I have Video Studio 9 and have used it for slide shows. When adding adding portrait type photos I can add a background color to the black side bars, but for Christmas I wanted to use a JPG file with snowflakes.
Is there an option I cannot find for this? If I put the snowflakes in the overlay track, they cover the photo. If I move the photo to the overlay track and the snowflakes in the main track I have to resize the photo and then the transistions don't work right.

How do I do this? Is there a better program for doing this? I snooped around the trial of DVD Pictureshow but didn't see an obvious answer there either...


Sorry if this has been beaten up before but I did not find what I was looking for with a search,

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

First thoughts:

Use a green background
Render slide show to a new video file using DV.
Use the new file in the overlay track
Use the Chrome Key to remove green
Use the snowflakes in the main track
Render to a new video file again

Trevor

[BrianCee]

Instead of making a .jpeg why not make a .png with the snowflakes on and put a large vertical oblong transparent block in the middle so the photo shows through when you put the .png in the overlay track.

In fact the transparent section in the middle need not be a regular shape at all and some of the snowflakes could overlay the edges of the photos forming a frame.

Have a look at the screen shot in the middle of this page :-

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/bri ... page1.html

it does actually show a heart but that 'hole' could be any shape and the red frame could have your snowflakes all over it.

[Ron P.]

Now that's a neat trick Brian. I'd never thought of that approach, and I have had to do some slideshows that had portrait images (which I don't like using).

Thanks..

[sjj1805]

This user forum is also about providing alternatives.
The method that is best will vary from one project to another, in fact there is nothing to prevent you from using more than one method in more than one project.

For this alternative you have a video playing in the background.
A good 'video' would be one made using the steps in the tutorial
Creating an Animated Background

Now we use the method outlined in this tutorial:
Transitions in the overlay track

You will need to set your project preferences to a green background as shown here:

Now download the following
http://www.steve-jones.pwp.blueyonder.c ... slides.zip
Unzip to the default location
C:\Projects\portrait
and then open portrait02.VSP (VideoStudio 10+)

[Choptop]

I tried Brians idea of creating a hole in the snowflake picture. The color of the transparent hole shows up in the video (no transparency). If I use Video studios chroma it and choose a color it works a little better but the transistions are still all botched up.
I just saw a new post to look into but it looks like I will have to make landscape size pictures out of every one of my pictures to get them to work correctly.

[Black Lab]

Create your slideshow, complete with your transitions, and save it so you have a vsp file. Now start a new project and put your snowflake jpg on the main video track. Click on Insert Media Files Into The Timeline and insert your previously created vsp project onto the overlay track. You may have to resize it to get the effect you want, but your transitions will be intact.