Hi John,

Thanks, you're right.

I had copied everything that looked remotely useful to my 4 TB HD on this PC. It proved elusive (I was searching 'xara') but just found a (2010!) setup called
3d_maker_65mb_us(2).exe. That has duly installed the trial. Trying to get it working, either stand-alone or integrated, but so far in vain.

EDIT: Now working as independent program.

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Hi Terry

Xara 3D was never installed with any version of MEP from version 17.

IIRC I found the 3D editing could be achieved installing Xara 3D by accident.

. . . . That has duly installed the trial. Trying to get it working, either stand-alone or integrated, but so far in vain. . . .

AFAIK there is not a 64 bit version of 3D Maker which you need - the latest is version 7 and it is 32 bit as is the one you installed.

HTH

John EB

Hi John, and Terry

AFAIK there is not a 64 bit version of 3D Maker which you need - the latest is version 7 and it is 32 bit as is the one you installed.

True, but 3D "titles" created in and exported from Xara 3D Maker 7 can be imported and used in VPX/MEP. But I agree with Terry, 3D titling in MEP (365) seems rather "lacking" whereas in VPX that screen that Terry provided a screenshot of, does exist.

Jeff

Hi Jeff

. . . 3D "titles" created in and exported from Xara 3D Maker 7 . . .

Very true, however there is no 'external editor' function, when Xara 3D is installed and becomes an external editor for MEP, where double clicking or adding a 3D title to the timeline would open the Xara 3D editor window.

This still works with the 32 bit versions of MEP ie up to and including MEP2014, but not in the 64 bit versions MEP2015 onwards.

HTH

John EB

Thanks John. Tomorrow I'll see if MEP 2014 will bring up 3D Maker as it used to on my old PC.

Otherwise as Jeff says I can always use the independent program, export, and import into MEP. 2016/2017 too?

However...this is a time-limited trial version. Previously I recall having permanent access to this. Did you? I'm vague about it but pretty sure I never had an activation code or parted with any money.

Anyway, academic curiosity aside, I wonder if it's worth much effort?

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Hi Terry,

Unless you want to pay 40$ for 3D Maker, you might want to use the old version of MEP that gives you access.

As an aside, the files are all .x3d and you can make what you want once you are in the interface and save it to the folder below or similar in MEP:

C:\ProgramData\MAGIX\Video Pro X\8\Titles\Standard

That way, whatever you make and save as .x3d will show up under titles and you can reuse it. Of course, it is much more convenient to be able to modify your own title in the tool.

Hi John,

Given the limited use I make of 3D titles I'll be happy enough with that sort of simple approach. I made quite a few templates of my own way back, but not sure I ever subsequently used them. Like my Bluff Titler stuff, macros, MEP collages, etc, I enjoy the creation stage - but a rational review later would rarely demonstrate a productivity payoff!

How about you and the others here? Do you regularly use 3D titles/captions/logos in your videos?

Terry, East Grinstead, U(?)K

Hi Terry

. . . . How about you and the others here? Do you regularly use 3D titles/captions/logos in your videos? . . . .

I have used the 3D titles once while experimenting with Xara 3D, back in 2014, to create a credits logo as shown below .

I have seen them slowly creeping into some TV documentaries and feel they are a distraction taking away some of the professionalism of the creator.

If I were to use one then it would be creating a 'corporate identification' logo such as those you often see on many TV channels spinning away in the top left or right corner or the intro and outro video.

John EB

Hi John,

Thanks, nice example.

When I see one I think 'Neat, must use that...' but the appropriate time never arrives.

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Given the limited use I make of 3D titles I'll be happy enough with that sort of simple approach. I made quite a few templates of my own way back, but not sure I ever subsequently used them. Like my Bluff Titler stuff, macros, MEP collages, etc, I enjoy the creation stage - but a rational review later would rarely demonstrate a productivity payoff!

How about you and the others here? Do you regularly use 3D titles/captions/logos in your videos?

Hi Terry,

I have yet to actually use a 3D maker type title in a video. I have used BluffTitler a couple of times and intend to use it more in the future now that I have a better understanding as to how it works; the basic things are better for me than the high energy BixPack Templates. I gave up on collages as I never seen to find one that I like and I don't want to invest the time to make one up. I just use transitions or PiP.

You have seen the intro to my tutorials. I keep meaning to upgrade this, but only to change the globe to a spinning one that ends up on Montreal. When I watch tutorials by others, they often have splashy bang-up, exploding effects as intros...... and then the subject is a low-key tutorial, not Star Wars, so the content is a let-down from the intro. The same applies to our travel videos; a Star Wars intro is inappropriate to the content that follows. Maybe I'm just not the exciting type.

I do use captions quite a bit, but only a couple of them. Other than the one below, I use ones that are low-energy; the important part is the text.

I like this caption as the colours stand out against my Vasco da Gamma. But, I have had problems with it. The template has 3 lines. Adding one caused the positioning in the keyframes to jump and the title ended up elsewhere. The other day, I decided to sit down, investigate and resolve this problem. What happened? It worked perfectly this time. Strange.

Maybe I should add in a 3D Maker logo like this one that I made:

Hi John CB

Agree total with the 'Star Wars' bang intro then lack lustre video, we are on the same page with this.

As far as the collages go the times I do use them is as a means to get display a lot of images while allowing plenty of time to see each one without a long boring sequential one after the other presentation eg this collage goes through 16 images each displayed for ~6 secs and completes the sequence in ~ 25 secs compared to a sequential presentation of ~ 96 secs

. . . . . Maybe I should add in a 3D Maker logo like this one that I made: . . . .

IMHO the 3D logo, like mine above, does not look professional enough - mine was changed to this which I changed to this.

John EB

Hi John,

I have same attitude. Keep it simple and let the content do the work. I lapse occsionally with transitions, mainly to distinguish when I'm using material other than my own photos or movies. And that's also when I use few DIY collages.

I like your logo! How did you get the 'flash' at its end?

This has also prompted me to try more of the built in captions soon, such as that neat 'gradient' example of yours.

Hi Terry

Which John and which logo ?

John EB

@johnebaker

I like your logos and the music and the collage. I remember creating masks to duplicate this. Excellent use of the round circle in the middle. The transition from rectangular image to circle and back to the arch-shaped view is so smooth that I can't tell how you did it. Maybe I'll look into collages again to try to find something to do just as you say, pass a lot of photos quickly. 

@terrypin

The "logo" is the same shape that I used a couple of years ago, but the shape was a solid and I put a tartan on the sides. I must look to see how I did that. For one that I showed above, I had trouble getting a font and characters to look good in the short time that I played around with 3D Maker yesterday. I had to relearn the interface and it is still murky.

The flash was done using Red Giant Magic Bullet Knoll Light Factory that came with MEP2015 Premium. That is another tool that requires time to learn to use usefully as it does not come with keyframing like in Pinnacle Studio. There are many possibilities with it, but you only get 2 points for animation, and the animation moves in a straight line. I can give you a short video demonstration of the interface and some of the possibilities if you want.

John EB,

My reply above was to John CB. Had not seen your post then. Hard to say which of your Adler logos I prefer. The one yesterday was clever, the revision more refined.

My favourite home made collage is rather similar to yours. I think I posted it before - I'll look for it tomorrow. It simply fades in four objects (usually photos) successively, filling each corner of the 1920x1200 screen. Variations zoom out to each corner. Another places 16 instead of four.

I'll post examples.

Hi All

I think 'twas me who discovered the 3D Maker 7 trial trick back then.

I see VPX8 has the full 3D maker version (access with a Rt click on a title) included so it must work in the 64bit versions but I can not find any reference to it in the Program Files in Windows, 32 or 64bit, just the same Embedded version that is in MEP which is hobbled.

I have used it a bit over the years but prefer(ed) the classier effects in Heroglyph and Vitascene, like the animated metallic scripts. New Blue is also good but I have not plumbed the depths of that yet.

Overlaying (wrapping) the text with photos as textures in any of the programs can be quite nice too.

I usually use the Collages as an intro / teaser showing the best shots in the movie, during the title sequence, or I use animated P in P's. More lately I have been using the short version movie templates as an intro and titles.

Peter

Hi

@Peter

. . . . I think 'twas me who discovered the 3D Maker 7 trial trick back then. . . . .

You are correct, my apologies for inferring I discovered the work around.

IIRC it was about 3 years ago and I was playing around with a free full version of Xara 3D 5, when you posted about 3D titles being editable direct from within MEP and it worked with this older version.

The reason I know it was Xara 3D v5 is because I have just spent a couple of hours cleaning redundant software from my laptop and one of the programs I dumped was Xara 3D v5 which I downloaded back in 2013.

Coincidence or what?

Cheers

John EB

Here are the examples I promised.

Or here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f3tp8jo2dj24rn8/CollageExamplesPost.mp4?dl=0