Overlay Moving Around

[DilbertIsMyHero]

Hello,

I am a newbie here and to VideoStudio! I search the forum to see if anyone else had posted this question / issue and didn't find any instances of it so I hope I am not duplicating a previously addressed topic.

I have a short (30 seconds or so) thermal video in which there is a Chevy SUV. I need to blur out the Chevy emblem on the front of the SUV. The SUV never moves in the video nor does anyone ever cross the emblems path. Should be fairly simple, right? That is what I thought too.

**Note: In the screen captures below, I added the red oval to highlight the problem. Those are not part of the video file.

This is basically what I did to accomplish this:

1. Loaded the AVI file into VideoStudio.
2. Took a snapshot of the first frame of the video.
3. Opened the snapshot BMP in Photoshop (sorry, I know it is a competitor:))
4. Painted out the emblem on a separate layer.
5. Saved the file with only the layer showing (hid the thermal snapshot)
6. Saved the file as a PNG so the entire image would be transparent except for my painting.
7. Loaded the PNG file into VideoStudio.
8. Put the PNG on the Overlay Track.
9. Set the Attributes of the Overlay Track to 'Original Size'.
10.Did a few tweaks to align it just so. See below.

Video window showing overlay.

11.Went to Share and saved the video as an AVI file.

Here is the rub...when I view the rendered AVI file, my overlay has moved. See the Before Render screen capture below.

Video window before the render. Overlay aligned perfectly.

After the video is rendered, the overlay has shifted to the right. This is exactly how it displays in the finished AVI file.

Video window after the render. Overlay shifted to right.

I have tried all sorts of things to get my overlay to remain in place during the rendering process. Am I missing something simple? Is there a better way to accomplish this task perhaps?

I am open to trying anything. This has been so frustrating. Thank you in advance for any assistance you may provide.

Regards,

Gilley Estes

[lata]

Hi

Welcome to the forums

Thanks for the information, excellent approach, I don’t know how you positioned the mask but this is what I would do……….

You can take a snapshot in either Project Playback or Clip Playback, which you choose really depends on the type of video file being used.
In Project Playback the frame size will be same as project settings, probably the best option……….
Take another in clip playback to compare the difference…….

After photo-shopping keep the same resolution/frame size as original.
Add the image to overlay track—right click preview screen- choose fit to screen-repeat and choose Keep Aspect Ratio
Your masked area should be in position.

Render the project.
If it is out of position- then render again but disable Smart Render.

[aljimenez]

Other ideas: don't use Proxy files as perhaps they are not precisely positioned? Does preview show the overlaid photos precisely where you want it? I wonder if you have somehow set the image to fade in from some direction and fade out? Al

[DilbertIsMyHero]

Thank you both for replying. I have tried the suggestions from lata thinking that would be the perfect solution but have just run into more issues.

I take the snapshot and when I look at the properties of the image file it is 640x480. I put a new layer in Photoshop, paint out the emblem, and save the layer by itself as a PNG. When I look at the properties of my new PNG the file is 640x480. Here is where my problem starts...

I add the overlay to my video by either dragging and dropping the image into the library or importing it into the library (same results).
When I add the overlay to the timeline, the initial overlay track is smaller than the video. See below.

Overlay when first added

Then I use the Alignment Options to size it. No matter what selections I make, the overlay isn't the correct size. If I select Original Size, it is too large. See below.

Original Size Selected

If I select Original Size, shouldn't it size to 640x480 since that is the actual size of not only my video but my image? Because it isn't sizing right, I am having to manually position the overlay. Then when I render the video, it positions it as if it thinks this is the original size.

I guess my question is...What should I select when placing my overlay so that it sizes and positions as expected? Is there a way to make the overlay stay where I put it, not where it thinks it should be? Oh and btw, I tried turning off 'Smart Render' and that didn't seem to make a difference either.

Thanks again in advance for any assistance.

Regards,
Gilley

[lata]

Hi Gilley

The original video file is 640 x 480 this is 4:3 aspect ratio.
Can you give the full properties of this file., right click and select properties. What are they?

Your project appears to be set to widescreen 16:9, you should take a “SnapShot” when in Project Playback mode. This will create an image to the shape of the project screen (16:9)

Click the word “project” adjacent to the play button before taking the snapshot.
The image should be 16:9 ratio and probably have black bar either side.

When you fit to screen it should fill the frame, also try “Keep aspect Ratio”

If you take the snapshot in Clip Playback then the image will use the video frame size 640 x 480.
When you fit to screen it will stretch it to 16:9 ratio.

However if you are intending to create a 4:3 video then change the project properties to 4:3.

Even so take the snapshot in Project Playback mode

One more thought

If the image is positioned correctly but appears to move after rendering then deselect Non – Square Pixel Rendering before creating the new video.
Share Create Video File – choose a template – Options button –un-tick Non Square

[DilbertIsMyHero]

Hey Lata...

YOU ARE THE BOMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your suggestion to take the snapshot with Project selected (not Clip) was the secret. That game me an image file at the proper dimensions to just drop back in and not have to manually resize.

Another trick from your message that I learned was that I was under the impression that the preview window always display in a 16:9 format and I didn't realize you could change that.

ALL of the tips and tricks I have garnered from your messages will be put to good use. Thanks for not making me feel silly or stupid for not knowing these things either.

Luckily most of the 'emblems' I have to blur or paint out are on stationary objects. However, I think there are one or two that move. When it comes time to tackling those, I am sure I will be back!

Thanks again to everyone who took time to post suggestions, none of the suggestions will go to waste!

Regards,

Gilley

[lata]

Hi Gilley

One more tip, the empty preview screen shows as black, surrounding the preview screen is also black, so you cannot readily identify the actual frame.
As a test change the background colour from black. Settings Preferences- background color.

the colour you now see is part of the frame, you may wish to change back to black before rendering.