You can choose to set an unnumbered marker, the next available num- bered marker, or choose Other Numbered and create a marker with a specific number.
The only real difference between numbered and unnumbered markers is the way they appear on the Timeline ruler, so it’s really a matter of personal preference whether you use numbered markers, unnumbered markers, or a combination of both.
The marker now appears on the Timeline ruler. Pretty easy, huh? If you ever want to get rid of a marker, simply choose Marker➪Clear Timeline Marker and choose an option from the submenu to sentence a marker to the electronic ether.
Using DVD markers
Premiere Elements includes a special kind of marker called a DVD marker, and as the name implies these markers are designed to be used in movies that will be recorded to DVD. If you plan to record your movie to DVD, you’ll probably want to create some DVD markers to serve as scene references. DVD markers come in handy for several reasons:
When you create a DVD layout in Premiere Elements, the Scene Selection portion of the DVD menu uses the scene references that you create.
When you watch the DVD in almost any DVD player, you can quickly jump from scene to scene by pressing the Next Scene and Previous Scene buttons on the DVD player’s controls.
You can use DVD markers to automatically stop playback or return the viewer to the DVD menu.
Creating DVD markers
You can create DVD markers manually. I recommend creating DVD markers at the beginning of major events or sections of your movie. To create a DVD marker, simply place the CTI where you want to place a DVD marker and choose Marker➪Set DVD Marker. A DVD Marker dialog box will appear as shown in Figure 8-15. In the DVD Marker dialog box:
Enter a name for the marker in the Name field. This name should be simple and in plain language, because viewers will see this scene name in the DVD’s scene selection menu.
Choose a type from the Marker Type menu.
• A scene marker is the most common type of DVD marker and simply marks the beginning of a new scene.
• A main menu marker is similar to a scene marker, but it suggests a more important location. Also, when you use this kind of marker, Premiere Elements places a button linking to this marker in the DVD’s main menu (as opposed to placing it in the scene selection menu).
Use a Main Menu marker if your movie project actually contains sev- eral unique “mini” movies that are meant to be viewed separately.
• A Stop marker is usually placed at the end of a movie or wherever you want playback to stop and the main menu to reappear.
Select a thumbnail image for the marker. The DVD’s scene selection menu includes thumbnail images for each scene, and by default the thumbnail is always the first frame of the scene. This thumbnail is similar to the poster frames you use in the Premiere Elements Media window. Often, the first frame of a scene doesn’t provide a good visual summation of the contents of the scene. Click-and-drag left or right on the timecode under the Thumbnail Offset control until you see a scene that you think would make an appropriate thumbnail. In Figure 8-15 I’ve chosen a frame that is about 20 seconds into the scene.
Automatically generating DVD markers
If you’re in a hurry, you can let Premiere Elements automatically generate DVD markers for you. To do so, choose Marker➪Auto-Generate DVD Markers.
The Automatically Set DVD Scene Markers dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 8-16. You have several options:
Figure 8-15:
Add DVD markers to your project if you plan to record it to DVD.
At Each Scene. This option sets a DVD marker at every scene. In most cases I don’t recommend this option because creating a DVD marker for every single clip in your movie is probably overkill. Only choose this option if your movie consists primarily of a few long, unedited clips.
Every x Minutes. You can automatically generate DVD markers at specific time intervals. Use this option if your movie contains several hours of riveting footage of grass growing or paint drying.
Total Markers. If you just want to quickly create a few markers — say, five or six — choose this option and enter a number. Premiere Elements automatically creates your markers and spaces them out evenly.
Clear Existing DVD Markers. Place a check mark next to this option if you want to get rid of the markers that you created earlier. Only do this if you know that the markers you created earlier are worthless.
Click OK to close the dialog box and automatically generate DVD markers.
Moving around with Timeline markers
Moving around in the Timeline is one of my favorite uses for markers. As I’m working through a project (especially a big project with lots of footage) I often say to myself, “I’ll probably want to come back to this point.” That’s my cue to create a marker, and it should be your cue, too. Eventually you end up with a col- lection of markers that you can use to quickly jump back and forth in the project.
There are several methods for moving around in the Timeline using markers:
Choose Marker➪Go to Timeline Marker and then choose an option from the submenu.
On the keyboard, press Ctrl+Right Arrow to move to the next Timeline marker. Press Ctrl+Left Arrow to move to the previous Timeline marker.
Right-click the Timeline ruler, choose Go to Timeline Marker, and select an option from the submenu.
As you can see in the Marker menus, you can also move around using DVD markers!
Figure 8-16:
Premiere Elements can auto- matically generate DVD mark- ers for you.
Chapter 9
Using Video Transitions
In This Chapter
Scoping out the video transitions that come with Premiere Elements Selecting effective transitions
Adding transitions to your movies Fine-tuning video transitions
Anyone with two VCRs and a cable can dub desirable bits of video from one tape to another. This is movie editing at its most basic. But making movies like this is inefficient and crude. By using a program like Adobe Premiere Elements you can fine-tune your edits frame by frame, apply your own musical soundtrack, dub in some narration, and add special effects.
If you’ve followed along in previous chapters — capturing video onto your computer’s hard drive, sorting through clips, picking out the parts you want to use, and assembling those clips in the Timeline — you’re ready for the next step in your video-editing adventure — dressing up your project with transi- tions between scenes. You can use Premiere Elements to create transitions that fade in or out, pull open like a stage curtain, spiral down into a vortex, and more. Transitions provide visual breaks between scenes that help the viewer understand that the setting or mood of the movie is changing. This chapter shows you how to choose, apply, and customize transitions in your projects.
Reviewing the Premiere Elements Library of Transitions
One of the trickiest aspects of movie editing (for me, anyway) is making clean transitions between clips. Sometimes the best transition is no transition at all, but a simple, straight cut from one clip to the next. Other times you need a fancy transition — say, one that rotates the image from the old clip in an ever- decreasing radius, like a vortex spinning, spinning towards the center, until — a tiny black dot at the center of the screen — it disappears entirely. Most of your transitions probably fall somewhere in between.
Adobe Premiere Elements comes with 71 unique video transitions that you can use in your projects. You can add even more transitions to Premiere Elements using third-party plug-ins (see Chapter 20 for more on Premiere Elements plug-ins). But for now, you probably agree that 71 transitions, divided into nine categories, are enough to start with. The following sections describe the transi- tions in each category. To find these categories, choose Window➪Effects and open the Video Transitions folder in the Effects window. You see a subfolder for each category of transitions.
Three-dimensional transitions
The 3D Motion category consists of ten transitions that apply various kinds of three-dimensional motion to one clip as it disappears to reveal the next one. Most of the transitions here involve getting the exiting clip to swing like a door or spin in a spiral. Figure 9-1 shows the Tumble Away transition, where the outgoing clip appears to be on a plane that is tumbling away from view.
Figure 9-1:
Tumble Away is one of the Premiere Elements 3D transitions.
Dissolves
My favorite transition, the Cross Dissolve, can be found in the Dissolve cate- gory. It’s my favorite not because it is fancy but because it’s not. The Cross Dissolve is subtle; one clip blends smoothly into the next. It’s softer than a straight cut — and if I want the program to be about what’s in the clips (and not about fancy transitions), this is the one I choose. Cross Dissolve is just one of six Dissolve transitions available with Premiere Elements.
Iris transitions
The seven Iris transitions are all variations on a theme of one clip starting as a point in the middle and growing to fill the screen. Different Iris patterns include circles, squares, stars, diamonds (I know, it’s starting to sound like a breakfast cereal!), and more. Figure 9-2 shows the Iris Shapes transition using diamond shapes. Like many transitions, this transition can be customized by changing the shape and quantity of irises in the transition.
Figure 9-2:
The Iris Shapes transi- tion can be easily customized.
Page Peels
The five Page Peel transitions simulate the turning of a page or opening of a book. Use these to make the transition from your “Once upon a time . . .”
screen to the story!
Slide transitions
The Slide category is a descriptively named group that contains 12 transitions.
All of the transitions in this group are variations on sliding a clip one way or the other. These subtle transitions are also among my favorites. Slide transi- tions are similar to wipe transitions, which I describe later.
Special Effect transitions
The Special Effect category contains six advanced and varied transitions that apply various combinations of color masks and distortions while moving from one clip to the next.
Stretch and squeeze transitions
The five transitions found in the Stretch category are pretty cool, even though technically some of them squeezerather than stretch the clip image during transition. In Figure 9-3 the outgoing image is squeezed down a funnel using the Funnel transition.
Wipes
Wipe style transitions have been around for a while: One clip appears from the edge of the screen and appears to wipe over the previous clip like a squeegee.
Wipe transitions differ from Slide transitions because in a wipe the outgoing image remains static while the incoming image wipes over it. In Slide transi- tions, the incoming image slides in while the outgoing image slides out.
Premiere Elements includes no less than 16 different Wipe transitions.
Transitions that zoom
There are four Zoom transitions, and as you would imagine, they all simulate different camera zooms. An outgoing transition can zoom out into the distance where it disappears, or the camera may appear to zoom in on the incoming clip.
Using Transitions Effectively
With so many unique transitions to choose from, selecting just the right one can be challenging. When you consider that most transitions can also be fine- tuned and customized, the endless possibilities may have already started your head spinning. So how do you choose? Because video production is such a creative and personal endeavor, I couldn’t possibly recommend a perfect transition for every situation. I do, however, have a few basic transition rules to follow as you develop your own editing style:
Use transitions sparingly. You don’t need to apply a transition between every single clip in your Timeline. That’s too much. I try to save transi- tions for changes of scene. Simple camera angle or position changes in the same scene (for example) usually don’t warrant a transition. Watch a typical feature-length movie and you’ll probably see just a small hand- ful of simple transitions, even though the movie may be a couple of hours long.
Keep ’em short. Later in this chapter, I show you how to control the length of a transition. Most transitions should be short in duration, usually one second or less.
Figure 9-3:
The Funnel transition squeezes the outgoing image down a funnel.
It’s all about the pictures. Editing can help shape the mood and flow of a movie, but ultimately the focus of your project is the video content.
The desire to show off your editing skills with fancy transitions can be tempting — but generally speaking, transitions should complement and enhance the video images, not overpower them.
Thinking of the mood you want to set may help you narrow down your transition choices. For example, you want to avoid transmogrifying the scene with a high-tech Distortion transition if you’re editing a movie that celebrates your grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary. Remember, ultimately the movie is about your grandparents, not your incredible movie-editing abilities.
Follow your inspiration.You should be familiar with the various transition styles that are available in Premiere Elements, even the ones you seldom, if ever, use. In a moment of late-night, caffeine-induced inspiration, it might come to you: “This is the spot for that fancy, spinning, 3D transition!”
Premiere Elements also offers a couple of audio transitions. In this chapter, I mainly want to talk about video transitions, so for more on working with audio transitions, slide, peel, or dissolve your way over to Chapter 13.
Incorporating Transitions into Your Movies
The tricky part of adding transitions to a movie project in Adobe Premiere Elements, in my opinion, is choosing a transition that looks good without detracting from the overall flow of the project. In the previous section, I talk about choosing an effective transition. In this section, I show you how to actually put some transitions to use.
Finding transitions to use
If you’re new to video, you may be surprised by how many different transi- tions are possible between two clips. As I mention previously in this chapter, Adobe Premiere Elements comes with 71 transitions already built in, and you can add even more by using third-party plug-ins.
Premiere Elements stores all its transitions in the Effects window. To open the Effects window, choose Window➪Effects. The Effects window opens, as shown in Figure 9-4. Transitions are divvied up into 10 subfolders, which you can reveal by clicking the arrow next to Video Transitions. Click an arrow next to a subfolder to see a list of transitions. In Figure 9-4, you can see that six tran- sitions are listed in the Dissolve subfolder.
Applying a transition
The software designers at Adobe must really like drag-and-drop because, as with so many other editing actions in Premiere Elements, drag-and-drop is the best way to apply a transition. Simply choose a transition and drag it directly from the Effects tab to the desired spot on the Timeline, as shown in Figure 9-5.
Drop transition here.
Drag transition from here.
Figure 9-5:
Drop transitions between video clips in the Timeline.
Figure 9-4:
Transitions are located in the Video Transitions folder of the Effects window.
When you add a transition to the Timeline, the In and Out points of adjacent clips are automatically extended to facilitate the transition. Thus, each clip needs some unused frames that were trimmed off when you edited the clip into the Timeline. For example, if a transition lasts one second, the preceding clip must have at least one half-second of trailing material, and the following clip must have one half-second of leading material. Keep this in mind when you set In and Out points as you edit clips into the Timeline (see Chapter 7 for more on setting In and Out points).
If the clips lack sufficient leading or trailing material, you are somewhat lim- ited in how you can position the transition. The default method in Premiere Elements is to drop it so that the transition evenly overlaps both adjacent clips, as shown in Figure 9-6. In the figure, the transition is 30 frames long, which means that 15 frames are added onto the end of the outgoing clip and 15 frames are added to the beginning of the incoming clip.
If either of the clips doesn’t have enough material, Premiere Elements won’t let you drop the transition right on the edit line — your Timeline won’t look neat and pretty like Figures 9-5 and 9-6. Instead, Premiere Elements may only allow you to drop the transition entirely on one clip or the other. You may even see a warning message as shown in Figure 9-7, advising you that some frames will be repeated.
If you find yourself in a situation in which you have too little media to accom- modate a transition, you have a couple of options:
Transition
Outgoing clip Incoming clip Figure 9-6:
Transitions usually overlap both adja- cent clips.
Skip using a transition at this point in your movie. Maybe this problem is a sign that you don’t really need a transition.
Shorten the length of the transition. If the clips have some leading and trailing material, but not quite enough for the current transition length, you might be able to make the transition work if you make it shorter. I show you how to adjust transition duration later in this chapter.
Shorten the length of the clip(s). Choose the Selection tool in the Timeline (see Chapter 8 for more on ripple edits) and drag the edges of the leading and trailing clips until you’ve trimmed about half a second from each clip.
Because a ripple edit basically trims material off the clip and changes the In and Out points, this should create enough leading and trailing time to facilitate the transition.
If you want to apply a transition between two clips, those clips must be in the same Timeline track. Fortunately, Adobe Premiere Elements allows you to use transitions in any video track. Some older versions of Adobe Premiere, as well as many other consumer-oriented video editing programs, only allowed you to use transitions in the Video 1 track.
Fine-tuning transitions
More often than not, you may just plop a transition down on the Timeline and use it as it sits. Sometimes, however, you may want to fine-tune the transition.
You can change the length of a transition by clicking-and-dragging on either side of the transition. For example, you can shorten the duration of a transition to speed it up, or lengthen the transition if you want it to occur more gradually.
To change the duration of a transition, first click the Selection tool in the upper- left corner of the Timeline (the Selection tool looks like a single large arrow) and then click-and-drag one side of a transition to lengthen or shorten it.
Figure 9-7:
You’ll need to make some changes if you see this warning message.