Moving line on a map

[artcart]

I recently toured England and am trying to put together a slideshow. One of the things I was hoping I could do to orientate the viewers was to show a map of England, zoom in on the area we were in and then using a moving line show where we went for a couple of days and then after some pictures of that area do the same thing with a different area, similar to "Coast", a show devoted to the Coast of England.

Things went well using the method described in Premiere Elements 2 in a Snap with the Crop Effect but then I came to a section in our travels where we went in a triangle, ending up where we started earlier and this does not allow me to use the Crop Effect because it obviously shows the whole route at once. I then tried Steve's method using the Gradient Wipe and although I can get it to work when I have not zoomed in, if I try it on the zoomed image, I do not get the desired effect. It just goes from no line to showing the whole line.

I think the problem lies in my Gradient Wipe Image. I have tried to enlarge it to try to make it fit my enlarged line but so far nothing I have tried seems to work.

It is possible that what I am trying to do cannot be done with Premiere Elements but from watching some of the productions on this site, that seems unlikely and it is far more likely that I have yet not yet grasped the concept.

I am currently using Version 3 but I do have Version 7 and am waiting for Steve's book to arrive in the mail before I really look at it but I am inclined to think that if it is possible, it is possible in either version.

I do not know how to add smilies but the one showing one hitting his head against a brick wall comes very close to describing my feelings at the moment.

Art

[Bob]

I think the problem lies in my Gradient Wipe Image. I have tried to enlarge it to try to make it fit my enlarged line but so far nothing I have tried seems to work.

Yes, the problem is with your gradient wipe image. Did you crop the gradient wipe image after you enlarged it? If it's enlarged to match the line in your zoomed image and you crop it to match the video frame size, it should work.

[artcart]

No, I did not crop it. I will try that and get back .

Thank you for the quick reply.

Art

[momoffduty]

Would a garbage matte work better? An 8 point or 16 point.

[artcart]

I haven't had a chance to work on it but I will also look at your suggestion about a Garbage Matte.

Thanks for the help.

Art

[Bob]

The gradient wipe effect uses an image that is not on the timeline to define the wipe. Since the gradient wipe image is not on the timeline, you can't apply a garbage matte to it. Also, the gradient wipe image is scaled to frame size by the gradient wipe effect when it loads it. The only way to prevent the scaling is to crop the gradient wipe image to the frame size.

[momoffduty]

Bob that is correct on the gradient wipe. Didn't see that. My thinking is to have two maps. One with a line and the other without. Place the garbage matte on the one without the line and keyframe it to reveal in increments the one with the line. Or maybe it is vice versa. I did something similar with writing in the sand and keyframed to go with the tide sweeping in.

[Bob]

Ok, that would work. I'm ususally very good at picking up on those kind of things. My mind was fixated on the gradient wipe and didn't make the connection.

[artcart]

Again, thank you to both Cheryl and Bob for your help. I think the Garbage Matte idea is going to work for me. I'm not as fast as you and it takes time to figure it all out but when I do, I will try to get up enough nerve to post it so you can see that I actually did it.

Art

[momoffduty]

Again, thank you to both Cheryl and Bob for your help. I think the Garbage Matte idea is going to work for me. I'm not as fast as you and it takes time to figure it all out but when I do, I will try to get up enough nerve to post it so you can see that I actually did it.

Art

Please do post! Love to see how things are worked out. And regarding being fast, well I will use an effect and then forget how to do it months later and it feels like I am all thumbs again.

[Bob]

Would love to see it when you're done.

[artcart]

OK, I promise. I'm sure it's not too difficult but if I have any trouble, I know who to ask.

Art

[artcart]

Here is my first attempt at getting a line to move on a map. There are some obvious things going on that I am not sure how to cure.

I know that I have blown things way up but I did not know how else to show the map to start with and then focus on the particular area we were in. This means that things are hopelessly out of focus but I think you can see the line moving.

When I use the crop effect you can see the edge of the map changing. It seems as though the copies of the map I was using are slightly different but I do not know how to get them exactly superimposed other than by making sure the position coordinates are exactly the same.

I tried to attach it to this post but that was not successful so I put it into the Gallery but no matter what I tried I have two thumbnails. I did make the thumbnail album private but that does not seem to have worked for me. Because it is private, perhaps I am the only one who sees two thumbnails?


Art


[wmvvideo]http://muvipix.com/cpg/albums/userpics/11159/Line_on_a_map.wmv[/wmvvideo]

[momoffduty]

Added the video to your post. Well done! Nicely timed with the narration. Looked like it lined up with the map underneath. Thanks for posting the result.

[artcart]

Thanks for your comments, Cheryl.

Now I have to ask, how did you add the video to the post?

Art