Portrait Images-"Echo" Pillarbox Effect on Edges

AAProds schreef op 18.09.2020 om 15:50 uur

I'm doing a slideshow where the millennials are providing some of the images. You guessed it, half of them are portrait! I am trying to come up with a quick solution to avoid having straight black bars down the sides. I've currently got the sectioned photo on top of a partially opaque zoomed-in copy that stretches across the screen with the "Sand" effect applied:

This is pretty laborious as I expect will have around 30 images like this. Another issue I have come across is because of the partial video level of the background. Even if I export the image and bring it back in, the crossfade doesn't work properly as the next image comes into view earlier in the pillarbox area. I could just use hard cuts for these images, I suppose.

Does anybody have any suggestions about how to do this more efficiently in MEP, or is there specialist software that does "echo pillarboxing", as the effect seems to be called?

Added: thinking on the run here! Do I even need to do this? Another example, albeit 4:3:

verses:

Thanks, Al

Reacties

browj2 schreef op 18.09.2020 om 16:42 uur

@AAProds

Hi Alwyn,

Did you try this?

Do the first one. If you use edge effects, it makes 2 copies and puts them on lower tracks. You can ungroup them, delete the original from track 1 and move the other 2 to tracks 1 and 2;
Put the other images on track 1;
Select all of these (except for the first one that has the effects) on track 1, Ctrl drag to track 2 to make a copy of them all;
Select the first image that has the background sand effect, shortcut " - " to copy effects. Copy them. Select the rest of the images on track 1, shortcut " Shift+-" that is, shift minus;
If you have any effects on the first foreground image, then do the same, copy paste the effects.

Now you can try transitions by dragging one end of an image over another. If you like the results, then apply it everywhere.

John CB

CubeAce schreef op 18.09.2020 om 19:01 uur

@AAProds @browj2

Hi Alwyn.

One thing I'll say is when dealing still images I have found as you have that some transitions don't take. The answer on my system was to turn the Calculate video effects on GPU off.

Unfortunately I can't think of any shortcuts but the fun must be thinking of different ways to set up the background foreground mix for each one.

I did a quick dabble. It's still rendering to 4K but HD is available.

Ray.

johnebaker schreef op 18.09.2020 om 20:04 uur

@AAProds

Hi Alwyn

I keep it simple - duplicate image to use as background, apply Section or Size & Position to get at least full screen or bigger , apply Gaussian blur.

No problem with xfades

It is fairly quick to do - Ctrl drag to duplicate image and after the first one copy/paste the effects to others images applied to the background and only have to move the image to get find a decent background

John EB

CubeAce schreef op 18.09.2020 om 20:24 uur

@johnebaker @browj2 @AAProds

Sorry, I'll rephrase my last statement. Some applied effects did not take if involved with a transition when using still images.

Ray.

CubeAce schreef op 18.09.2020 om 20:40 uur

@AAProds @browj2 @johnebaker

This is what happened just after I got to this point with the export using the 'Calculate video effects on GPU' on.

The following background file was just not exported in the mix-down render.

Leaving the video looking like this for a short period until the next non blurred background kicked in.

At which point it behaved as it should again.

Ray.

johnebaker schreef op 18.09.2020 om 20:40 uur

@CubeAce

Hi Ray

. . . . Some applied effects did not take if involved with a transition when using still images . . . .

Can you give us some examples of which effects so we can test?

John EB

CubeAce schreef op 18.09.2020 om 21:13 uur

@johnebaker

Hi John.

That specific effect above was Gaussian Blur and it was applied to the first half of the image on the top track. (Pith helmet man). Images were around 20MP exporting at 4K 50fps. Gaussian blur was only used on the vertical slider.

Front smaller image had cookie cutter applied with feathering to an oval selection slightly off centre. No problems with that one.

Worked fine when not using GPU acceleration on export.

Ray.

johnebaker schreef op 18.09.2020 om 23:08 uur

@CubeAce

Hi Ray

. . . . That specific effect above was Gaussian Blur and it was applied to the first half of the image on the top track. (Pith helmet man) . . . .

I have a good idea what may be going on - can you post a zoomed in screen shot of the Pith Helmet man section from 01:10 to 01:20 so it almost fills the timeline pane.

John EB

CubeAce schreef op 18.09.2020 om 23:35 uur

@johnebaker

Hi John.

Ray.

johnebaker schreef op 19.09.2020 om 00:29 uur

@CubeAce

Hi Ray

Thanks for the image it confirms what I thought may be going on - the crossfade from 2 into 4, which has the cookie cutter applied, appears to be the issue.

With reference to the image below - move images 1 + 2 up a track so image 2 and 3 crossfade into each other and fade image 4 in for the same duration as the crossfade 2 to 3.

The effect should then work and export correctly - it does on my testing.

HTH

John EB

Scenestealer schreef op 19.09.2020 om 00:32 uur

@AAProds

Hi Al

Does anybody have any suggestions about how to do this more efficiently in MEP, or is there specialist software that does "echo pillarboxing", as the effect seems to be called?

Yep! It's right there in MEP and can be found in Templates > Design Elements > Edge effects. They are basically colllage effects and are what @browj2 was referring to.

Peter

browj2 schreef op 19.09.2020 om 00:48 uur

@AAProds @Scenestealer

Alwyn, I was assuming that you knew about the Edge Effects and were looking for a way to apply the effect quickly to 30 images. The next step was to make the transitions. Were you aware of the Edge Effects? There are two - Sand 1 and Sand 2. I thought that you were referring to these.

You can, of course, apply the effect to the 30 images, or do one and copy/paste the effect from each of the first images done, in turn, to the 29 other images.

Another way is to create 1 image that you would like as the background and use it for all of the photos.

Curses on those people who film in portrait mode (photos are ok).

John CB

CubeAce schreef op 19.09.2020 om 00:52 uur

@johnebaker

Hi John.

Any idea why the order I did it in caused problems or why it doesn't happen using just the CPU?

The only saving grace in not using the GPU in this instance was there was not much difference in rendering times between using or not using a GPU.

Ray.

AAProds schreef op 19.09.2020 om 03:35 uur

@johnebaker @browj2 @Scenestealer @CubeAce

John CB, I wasn't aware of the Edge effects and have had a look at them as you described.

I'm coming to the conclusion that the edge effect is complicating the main image; in the time I'm allocating for each (~7 seconds), the edges are a distraction, especially in a couple of complex images where it isn't easy to see the difference between the image and the edge unless you look closely.

I'm angling towards just leaving the edges black or doing as John CB suggested, having a plain, common background edge.

Thanks all for your input.

CubeAce schreef op 19.09.2020 om 08:47 uur

@AAProds

Hi Alwyn.

Having a second look through these posts people are suggesting various techniques including copy and paste of effects but why not Save Effect As? Do a few variations to swap around and use? Add the Change Speed effect for one or two of them but use Reverse Speed to have the effect backwards for additional variation.

Ray.

AAProds schreef op 19.09.2020 om 08:59 uur

@CubeAce @johnebaker @browj2 @Scenestealer

Thanks Ray, yes, I'll have a look at that. I've done a 180 since my last comment; I've put the echo pillar concept back in and have brought down the video level so the pillars are quite dark but not a boring single colour.

Which leads me to another question: is there a way of setting a specific video level/opacity rather than just dragging down the vertical slider?

CubeAce schreef op 19.09.2020 om 09:48 uur

@AAProds

Hi Alwyn.

That's a tough one.

Copied as an Object, the amount of opacity is copied with the object but 'Save Effect As' doesn't. So for the same background repeated, yes you can, but for individual backgrounds you can't, as far as I can work out.

If on the other hand you went to the Brightness / Contrast effect and lowered the brightness there you could 'Save Effect As' but it adds another additional step to the procedure of creating it.

Ray.

johnebaker schreef op 19.09.2020 om 10:15 uur

@CubeAce

Hi Ray

. . . . Any idea why the order I did it in caused problems . . . .

The Cookie cutter is equivalent to using a black white mask with Chromakey Black applied which occasionally can have a weird effects depending on what transitions are applied on it and objects are in front/behind.

John EB

CubeAce schreef op 19.09.2020 om 10:52 uur

@johnebaker

Hi John.

That sounds very reasonable and sensible. Thank you.

Can't figure out why the CPU has no problems but the GPU seemingly does unless it has something to do with how the tasks are then split up.

Ray.

AAProds schreef op 19.09.2020 om 11:12 uur

@CubeAce

Ray,

If on the other hand you went to the Brightness / Contrast effect and lowered the brightness there you could 'Save Effect As'

Got this working well now. I've saved the Brightness and Artistic Blur as a preset. Thanks! 👍

terrypin schreef op 19.09.2020 om 13:15 uur

Me neither, don't like to see that space going unused! Sometimes I lazily apply one of the built-in single-object collages for portraits, as in these examples:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xo23v58eeimtrtl/CollageExamples.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6l5hbdy70wrhsfd/MEPcollage%5E0102.mp4?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5kfnhsrb7jyvet6/MEPcollage%5E0103.mp4?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6opwi8sbpeq9mep/MEPcollage%5E0105.mp4?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/id317l8debnqo13/MEPcollage%5E0106.mp4?raw=1

And if you have a related selection of them, perhaps try two-object collages. Built-in or home grown. BTW, I find the former are typically rather too long, but can often be speeded up without significant damage. Either by editing elements carefully before export or simply shortening it afterwards.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l5ns72av23bj1gg/TcollageSlideIn.mp4?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fiagkcbi68mxoj0/Tcollage%5E0209ZtoH.mp4?raw=1

And, of course, incoming and outgoing transitions offer another approach.

(Links also included until I'm sure the embedded images succeed.)

Terry

AAProds schreef op 19.09.2020 om 14:17 uur

@terrypin Good job Terry, I didn't even know they existed. They will be a bit "intensive" for what I want though.

Apostrophes? Don't get me started!! 😂