9 replies to this topic

[ehedemann]

I have a video of a talking head that I'd like to intersperse with a still photo while the audio track continues uninterrupted. Is it possible to separate the audio track from the video such that I can substitute a still photo (which I'd like to pan and zoom on) in place of part of the talking head segment?

[malatekid]

ehedemann, on Oct 6 2006, 10:47 AM, said:

I have a video of a talking head that I'd like to intersperse with a still photo while the audio track continues uninterrupted. Is it possible to separate the audio track from the video such that I can substitute a still photo (which I'd like to pan and zoom on) in place of part of the talking head segment?

With the video in the main track, you can place the still photos in the Overlay track.

Edited by malatekid, 06 October 2006 - 07:16 AM.

[ehedemann]

malatekid, on Oct 6 2006, 06:53 AM, said:

With the video in the main track, you can place the still photos in the Overlay track.

But can I do a pan and zoom on the still when it's in the overlay track?

[malatekid]

ehedemann, on Oct 6 2006, 11:24 AM, said:

But can I do a pan and zoom on the still when it's in the overlay track?

I'm afraid there's no pan/zoom within the still photo. There's only the Path tab (and Key tab to determine positioning and sizing of the overlay among others). The Path tab of the Overlay Editor gives you many options for customizing the animation of the overlay, such as how it appears in and moves out of an item. For example, you have the overlay fly in from the left, and then fly out to the right.

Edited by malatekid, 06 October 2006 - 11:17 AM.

[Merv]

ehedemann, on Oct 6 2006, 11:24 AM, said:

But can I do a pan and zoom on the still when it's in the overlay track?

What Jess has suggested is the easiest way, but you will not be able to apply pan and zoom to a picture on the overlay track.

If you absolutely want to apply the pan and zoom, try this:

1.  Open Videowave, navigate to the video clip in the Media Selector, right click the clip and select extract audio.  Give it a name and location.

2.  Drag the video clip to the video track.

3.  Point to and right click the clip on the video track, select Edit>Native Audio and mute the native audio by sliding the Overall Volume slider the entire way to the left (value should be -34).

4.  Drag the audio clip extracted in step 1 to the audio track (the narration track or sound effects track will also work).

5.  Play the clip and split out and delete the section of the clip where you want the picture to appear.  I would suggest you split out a section equal to the time duration you want for the photo.  In other words, if you want the picture to appear for 6 seconds, split out and delete 6 seconds of the video.

6.  Insert the picture in place of the section of video clip you deleted and apply pan and zoom as desired.

7.  Repeat steps 5 and 6 for all additional pictures.

The above will work, although it is somewhat cumbersome.  I know of no other way to do what you want.

Edit:  One thing, you will have to be very exact to ensure the length (in terms of time) of the deleted clip portions is equal to the duration of each inserted picture.  Otherwise the audio and the video will get out of sync.

Hope that helps

Edited by Merv, 06 October 2006 - 11:35 AM.

[ehedemann]

Thanks, something like this had occurred to me but I was hoping there was an easier way to do it. One of the key things for me is to match up the extracted audio very closely with the video since the video is well-lit, close ups of talking heads. If it's slightly out of sync (a problem that I had queried in another post a few days ago), it'll be very noticeable. Anyway, a least I know that if I'm desparate enough to want this, I won't be wasting my time doing a labor-intensive workaround while worrying that something simplier exists.

The overlay option is also useful for some visual variety.

Thanks again.

[malatekid]

Merv, on Oct 6 2006, 03:30 PM, said:

What Jess has suggested is the easiest way, but you will not be able to apply pan and zoom to a picture on the overlay track.

If you absolutely want to apply the pan and zoom, try this:

1. Open Videowave, navigate to the video clip in the Media Selector, right click the clip and select extract audio. Give it a name and location.

2. Drag the video clip to the video track.

3. Point to and right click the clip on the video track, select Edit>Native Audio and mute the native audio by sliding the Overall Volume slider the entire way to the left (value should be -34).

4. Drag the audio clip extracted in step 1 to the audio track (the narration track or sound effects track will also work).

5. Play the clip and split out and delete the section of the clip where you want the picture to appear. I would suggest you split out a section equal to the time duration you want for the photo. In other words, if you want the picture to appear for 6 seconds, split out and delete 6 seconds of the video.

6. Insert the picture in place of the section of video clip you deleted and apply pan and zoom as desired.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for all additional pictures.

The above will work, although it is somewhat cumbersome. I know of no other way to do what you want.

Edit: One thing, you will have to be very exact to ensure the length (in terms of time) of the deleted clip portions is equal to the duration of each inserted picture. Otherwise the audio and the video will get out of sync.

Hope that helps

That's a great suggestion, Merv.

I just thought of another way, based on your suggestion. If there are only a handful of still photos (with pan/zoom effect), maybe create a video (mpg file) of each still photo with the pan and zoom. Then use those short video clips as overlays to the main video. Audio will then be seamless.

Edited by malatekid, 06 October 2006 - 11:47 AM.

[Merv]

malatekid, on Oct 6 2006, 03:45 PM, said:

That's a great suggestion, Merv.

I just thought of another way, based on your suggestion. If there are only a handful of still photos (with pan/zoom effect), maybe create a video (mpg file) of each still photo with the pan and zoom. Then use those short video clips as overlays to the main video. Audio will then be seamless.

Good idea Jess.  That is certainly another way I had not thought of, and will cause less problems trying to keep the audio/video in sync than my steps.

[malatekid]

Merv, on Oct 6 2006, 04:09 PM, said:

Good idea Jess. That is certainly another way I had not thought of, and will cause less problems trying to keep the audio/video in sync than my steps.

Your lead led me to my suggestion.

[ehedemann]

Very clever. I think that would be easier to do. Thanks!