Sizing a movie clip, to place over still image in FCP 5 - help a newbie please!!

Hi all,

I really need your expert help for a university project I'm working on to be finished in advance of Jan 13th.

I'm a real newbie on final cut pro 5, so please could you help me out with this request.

Ok!

I have a still image of a woman with a thought/think bubble coming from her head in FCP.

I'd like to import a movie clip, and size it to play for the duration of the still. But, play as a small movie within the thought bubble.

Is this possible at all?

If so, please could you expert guys help me out asap. I'd be ever so thankful for your help.

Please!

Thanks

Ashley

Double-click on a clip in the timeline to open it in the Viewer. To size it, use the Motion tab and change the Scale to under 100 per cent.

You'd probably want to use some kind of image matte so that the movie file plays in the shape of your thought bubble. Or, use Mask Shape (Oval) to shape the movie file approximately. You can also try a Color Key/Chroma Key/Luma Key so that the colour of the thought bubble becomes transparent to reveal the resized movie file underneath. Read these articles for some more information on what tools are available to you:

[www.kenstone.net]
[www.kenstone.net]

This site is a treasure trove of tips by killer pros, some of whom frequent this forum. Have fun.

Thanks ever so much for the quick reply m8

Is it possible to create a mask or something to shape the movie into a cloud shape thought bubble?

I have a program called ComicLife Deluxe, which I will use to create the thought cloud on my picture, then save it off as a jpeg and import it to FCP.

P.s. how do I lengthen the still image so that the small video in the cloud will play throught the still image duration?

I guess you understand what I'm trying to achive here - a woman will think of a previous time (a car crash in this case), and the movie will play in the cloud over that still image of her.

Cheers for all the help

P.p.s I know nothing about FCP and its Color Key/Chroma Key/Luma Key. So please could you give me a short run down of how to use and where to find them.

Thanks again m8, really appriciate your help

Thanks ever so much for the quick reply m8

> Is it possible to create a mask or something to shape the movie into a cloud
> shape thought bubble?

Yes; I actually encourage you to base the mask on the actual graphic you're using, so you don't have to fudge with the shape.

> I have a program called ComicLife Deluxe, which I will use to create the
> thought cloud on my picture, then save it off as a jpeg and import it to FCP.

Don't use JPEGs in video editing. JPEGs are a very compressed format. Use TIFFs or PSDs.

> P.s. how do I lengthen the still image so that the small video in the cloud will
> play throught the still image duration?

When imported into Final Cut Pro, still images can have an indefinite length. You can either loop it (paste copies of the same still back to back), or change the duration of the still in the Browser by keying in a larger number in the Duration column. Under User Preferences - Editing, there's also an option for determining the default length of a still when first imported into FCP. Be aware, however, that this option only changes how long a still becomes when it's first imported, not the duration of stills already in your project.

> P.s I know nothing about FCP and its Color Key/Chroma Key/Luma Key.

Chroma and Color Key filters select a particular colour (or range of colours) in a shot and makes that colour transparent. The best example is green screen -- where the green background of an actor's shot is removed and replaced with another image -- hence, the actor can't be wearing any green colours on his body, or parts of his body will become transparent as well. Chroma Key produces better results, but can be a little counter-intuitive to use. Luma Key does the same, except it applies to bright or dark areas. Both are under Effects - Video Filters - Key. Check out the articles I linked above.

Quote:

Yes; I actually encourage you to base the mask on the actual graphic you're using, so you don't have to fudge with the shape.


Ok, so how do I do this mask of the shape and place the vid inside? The video is obviously square, so I don't really get how I could cut the cloud shape out of the vid (if you know what I mean).

Cheers

Ok m8

Just done tutorial:
[www.lafcpug.org]

using the text "FCP" over a still image, and it works great.

However, now, I guess I need to scale my video and use the wire frame to posistion it in place of the thought bubble, correct???

How now do I get the bubble to become as the text was in the tutorial, so I can use the travel matte alpha and place the video inside it?

Also I need to figure out how to snap the video to that cloud shape.

Cheers

m8 m8 m8

I've found these video tutorials here:

[forums.creativecow.net]

What they guy is showing in the video's is exactly what I'm trying to achive

: )