On your favourite TV show, you may have seen little animated graphics moving across the screen, usually in the lower 1/3 portion. It is very easy to create this effect and apply it to improve your opening sequences by inserting an animated GIF and have the GIF follow a moving path. This tutorial will enhance a title portion of an Easter day home movie by displaying a cute little Easter bunny holding a basket of eggs bouncing on a pogo stick. The bunny will it enter the left side of the screen, continue on to the right side, and then exit the right side of the screen. Each time the pogo stick is extended; a wav file containing a boing sound effect will be played
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Select an animated GIF and, if needed, a corresponding sound effect (wav file). GIF¡¦s are generally not a high-resolution image. When selecting a GIF image and more then one image size is available, choose the largest, to help reduce pixilation. See example below.
Also determine the amount of time you need the animation to play; about 15 seconds will be used here.
2. Open MediaStudio Pro Video Editor and start a new project. The frame size should be the same as the GIF image size. In this tutorial the frame size is set to 200 x 200 pixels.
3. Insert your GIF image into the Timeline. If you are also using a sound effect, locate the position where the sound effect is to begin and insert your wav file. See example below.
4. Since the animation continues for about 15 seconds, copy and paste the GIF image multiple times until the desired timeframe is reached. Make sure each image is against the previous in the Timeline. Also copy and paste the sound effect file multiple times. Position the start of each of the sound effect file as you did with the first. See example below.
5. We want to give the effect of the bunny entering the screen from a distant, reduce the volume of the first few sound effect files. See example below.
6. And to give the effect of the bunny leaving the screen, we will do the same for the last few sound effect files See example below.
7. Create an AVI video file (quality at 100%). Don¡¦t worry that the image is not moving across the screen, movement will be done later.
8. Start a new project and set the frame size to the dimensions desired for your finished project, or open an existing project.
9. Insert your saved AVI video file in the Overlay Track V1. See example below.
10. With the video file in V1 selected, go to the Production Library and click Picture in Picture under Moving Path. Drag the left Lower path onto the video file in V1. See example below.
11. A 2D Basic Moving Path option box will appear. Make the changes listed. See example below.
a) Verify the left key frame is indicated
b) Click the Keep Aspect Ratio Check box
c) Reduce the Width to equal or smaller GIF image size. In this tutorial, 160 x 160 pixels is used
d) In the motion control area, reposition the red dot outside and to the left of the frame
e) Do not click OK at this time
12. Move the slider to the right and the right key frame should be indicated. See example below.
a) Reduce the Width to the same as the previous step
b) In the motion control area, reposition the red dot outside and to the right of the frame
c) Click OK
Note; changing the X and Y coordinates, as well as, the width and height will give the impression of the image moving toward or away from you.
13. Previewing, you should see the image move from the left to the right. Now we need to make the images background transparent. See example below.
14. Right click your video file in V1 and select Overlay Options? See example below.
a) Change the Type to Color Key?
b) Change the Soft Edge to small?
c) When the mouse is moved over the Overlay Clip area, it turns into an eyedropper. Click in the open area to select the images background color.
d) Additionally, Similarity may be adjusted.
e) Click OK.
15. Previewing, you should see the image move from the left to the right. See example below.
And that completes this tutorial; just add some titling and your done.
