Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

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Ducksfeet

Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby Ducksfeet » Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:35 am

I've arrived in Pro Show Gold land in what is quite a step-up -- or should be -- from Microsoft's PhotoStory.

I love PhotoStory's simple, intuitive style of operation but have grown weary of lock-ups after completing projects and before saving (transcoding) to DVD output. I tried some rival commercial products but found them not so much simplistic as downright simple-minded, where if you changed one parameter (slide duration, for example) that then applied to the entire show. So last year I became the proud owner of PSG version 3.5. . . and didn't get very far with it at all: my own fault, due to absence of time.

I now have that time to spend on creating in PSG the kind of DVD slideshow I managed in Photostory, one in which the finished production closely resembles the appearance, if not necessarily the quality, of a TV programme or film -- i.e., without rotations, without bizarrely intrusive transitions, without slides-layered-on-slides (though that is a facility I'll use when I've mastered it.)

My problem is that I cannot find anywhere the kind of simple, step by step, easy to follow panning & zooming tutorial equivalent to PhotoStory's.

In PS, two images of the same slide appear on screen when you wisdh to add motion to the slide.

At left is the start position. At right is the end position. By using the "box" overlay on the lefthand image of the slide, you pull or push the box corners so that the box shrinks or expands to the area of the image you wish to be shown as the view start position.

You then go to the box overlay on the second image of the same slide and either move the box laterally across -- so that the slide is panned -- or pull out the corners so that the whole of the image is boxed: you've zoomed out to the full image.

All this is accomplished as a WYSIWYG task and takes less than 10 seconds.

Sadly, I've now spent an infinity of time longer than that 10 seconds trying to replicate this in PSG. I've also spent a seeming infinity of time trying to fathom out to do this by searching everything from the Help files to the Web.

So I've concluded I am a total numpty. :(

If someone can point me in the direction of a simple step by step tutorial for what in PhotoStory is the simplest of step by step procedures, that would be appreciated.

And if someone can suggest which of all the countless dissolves offered by PSG most closely resembles the "standard" dissolve I'm used to in PhotoStory, that would be a help too.

I've nothing at all against having a choice of transitions. It's just that I want the images -- panned, zoomed, or whatever -- to tell the story I create on a DVD. Not the gimmicks.

Thanks.

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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby gpsmikey » Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:55 am

Well, you are off to a good start -- many people when they first start doing these things take it as a personal challenge to use ALL available transitions in one show ... by the end, everybody's eyes are spinning and the faint hearted ones have become motion sick :lol:

As far as the tutorial, I don't think one exists, however, perhaps this will help. First off, unless they have changed it in Gold, you don't have "keyframes" (which Producer does have) where you can define what happens at any point in time during the slide. In gold to have a picture that starts at one zoom level for a bit, zooms to a new level then stays at that for a bit actually requires 3 slides - the first one at the initial zoom level for however long you want it to hold, the second that zooms from the current level to the new level then a third slide that holds the ending level for the length of time you want to hold there. Use a simple cut transition between those 3 slides and a transition time of "0" (otherwise you get a funny "jump" between each slide). For most images, you will find the crossfade works quite well with maybe 1/2 second duration depending on the tempo of the show.

mikey
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Lots of PIC and Arduino microprocessor stuff too !!

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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby debngar » Sat Jan 10, 2009 10:41 am

Simple pan example:

Motion Effects area > Zoom in a bit to size 115 in both start and finish of an image.

Set pan to 5/0 and -5/0 at start and finish respectively. You need the zoom if you want the image to cover the screen the whole time. At least that's how I'd approach it. Set it at a higher zoom zoom and you can pan back and forth with a larger number than my suggestion.

The movement will not finish as it starts to show the next slide unless you dupe the slide, use cut transition in between slides and match the 2nd slide start and finish with the end motion zoom and pan settings of the first slide. This will hold the image static for the viewer's eyes to rest on it and complete the movement.

I started with Photostory in 2005 and like the Ken Burns effect and made the jump to ProShow shortly after that. Just study how/why this works as you dissect the settings and you will eventually get it.

With Gold, you have to add that extra slide if you want to complete the motion. With Producer, you can do it all in one with key frames. But that's a whole 'nuther set of skills.

Before you know it, you'll be moving stuff all around with no trouble at all.
Debbie
Photography http://deborah-green.com

Ducksfeet

Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby Ducksfeet » Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:12 am

Mikey and Debbie:

Many thanks indeed for the quick response. I must admit to feeling nervous at coming on here as a complete novice with a question the answer to which might've turned out to be along the lines of "see that icon third from the left? Try clicking on it. . ."

Then I would truly have been mortified, and justifiably so.

The advice from you pair is much appreciated, though apologies for intruding on your time. Fact is, both posts have delivered within a few minutes' reading time the specific info I've failed to locate in hours of searching; if time is money -- well, ultimately it is -- then the advice is as worthy of the gold description as the ProShow product.

I do appreciate there's a learning curve with everything and am more than happy to pursue it; it's just when you're unsure of the first steps on that curve that life becomes difficult.

Thanks again then for the constructive help re panning and zooming, and also for identifying the cross-fade, because that has also saved me a headache!

I'll traipse back here again in future no doubt so do be prepared for yet further cries for help! :wink:

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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby DickK » Sun Jan 11, 2009 3:02 pm

First welcome and by all means drop by with both the questions and feedback if you work it out or still have trouble.

One thing to try to do is to forget what you know from other software -- yeah, much easier said than done but keep in mind that doing most things in Gold is straightforward--not necessarily easy, especially the first time, but it's not complicated. However, every application "thinks" or "feels" different because they were designed and implemented by different people. It takes awhile then to get used to how a new one "feels".

The good thing about coming to PSG from something else is that you're ahead on the "what can this thing do?" curve. You know some things that you've done before and while PSG may do them differently, as far as I can remember, it will do everything Story will do and much more.

Best advice is to just play with the software and try stuff, ask questions and read the stuff here. Oh, and enjoy it!

Dick
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle ((PSG, PSE & Fuji HS20 user)) Presentation Impact Blog

Ducksfeet

Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby Ducksfeet » Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:01 am

Hi Dick:

Many thanks for the reassuring words -- and pretty darned sensible, too, because while memories are still fresh, it's always a battle to push aside the routines one was familiar with and embrace the new.

I'm pretty sure PSG is worth the effort (well, all you folks on here can't be wrong!) :wink:

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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby kerrymitch » Fri May 01, 2009 6:38 pm

use cut transition in between slides
What do you mean by that, is it one of the transition effects to select?

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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby DickK » Fri May 01, 2009 8:15 pm

Yep, exactly. The cut simply means there is no transition effect at all.
Dick
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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby debngar » Fri May 01, 2009 8:19 pm

kerrymitch wrote:
use cut transition in between slides
What do you mean by that, is it one of the transition effects to select?


Yes, then set transition time to "0" seconds in between those slides (but it actually will automatically ignore any seconds that exist there). The transition is named "CUT" You don't want any time in between those slides.
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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby VidQueen » Sat May 02, 2009 4:03 am

Hi Ducksfeet,

I just wanted to point you to one of the best resources for Gold Tutorials....and he's from your neck of the woods :D

Gavin Hoey's YouTube Channel

He has a lot of ProShow tutorials (15, to be exact) and even more Photoshop tutorials (53).

I think you'll learn tons by watching his tutorials.

To put it in American terms, Gavin is the "Bomb". (that's a nice compliment!)

Jennifer

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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby SherryJB » Sat May 02, 2009 5:59 pm

Well - the pros told you what to do for free and there's more info in the Forum Book. But, it always helps me to see a tutorial and then figure out how to do it. Jennifer Weeks at Choice Backgrounds had a great series of "Training Bytes" which are very reasonably priced - only $5 for the one that tells you about movement. Here's the URL for this module: http://choicebackgroundsserver.com/inde ... Path=78_79

Also, great tutorials on some basics the Photodex site from our experts here: Look up VidQueen, Debngar, Nannybear, HunnyB, to mention just a few. . All have tutorials and sample shows on their Photodex sites. I "sit at the feet of the masters" to learn, and pour over their examples!

SherryB.

chantal012

Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby chantal012 » Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:08 am

VidQueen wrote:Hi Ducksfeet,

I just wanted to point you to one of the best resources for Gold Tutorials....and he's from your neck of the woods :D

Gavin Hoey's YouTube Channel

He has a lot of ProShow tutorials (15, to be exact) and even more Photoshop tutorials (53).
Jennifer


Thank you! LOVE IT!!

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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby eftilton » Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:02 pm

Instructions for producing the "Ken Burns effect" are available on pages 27 through 29 in the PDF user manual for ProShow Gold, which can be downloaded from the Photodex website.

I too am a convert from PhotoStory 3 and was afraid at the beginning that this pan and zoom feature could not be accessed in ProShow 4.1. So I was happy to find these pages.

Hope this helps.

Elizabeth

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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby SteveP » Wed Apr 27, 2011 6:42 am

Gavin Hoey's YouTube Channel that Jennifer mentioned has a tutorial "Keyframes in Proshow Gold" that demonstrates how to use duplicates of one slide to accomplish pan and zooming.

http://www.youtube.com/user/PhotoGavin# ... XkizqXaKT0

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Re: Does a *simple* pan and zoom tutorial actually exist?

Postby VidQueen » Wed Apr 27, 2011 7:07 am

This thread is fairly old...I've since started a new blog full of tutorials for both Gold and Producer.

You can find it at www.learnproshow.blogspot.com

Happy ProShowing!

Jennifer

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