The new Pan & Zoom Tool

[Gerlinde]

I was kind of stumped by the new Pan&Zoom Tool as I looked at it for the first time. I found a nice video Tutorial on the new feature through the Inspiration Browser.

I don't know how to place a link to it, but you should be able to find it by searching for "Create incredible movies using just your photos". It also explains how to apply a pan&zoom effect to a video.

[Steve Grisetti]

And I show you the basics in my walk-through tutorial here, too!
http://Muvipix.com/pe10.php

[Gerlinde]

I was almost sure there would be a tutorial from you about this. I looked in the Subscriber Download area and did not find it there
But then it never hurts to have more tutorials

Steve, like always a great tutorial!

[Neale]

This is a copy of a discussion I created in the Adobe PRE Forum concerning the Pan & Zoom tool and the disappointment I've had with it. I'm keen to know how good or bad others are finding the tool.

The last couple of days I've been creating a slideshow containing around 80 still photos and applying the Pan & Zoom (hereafter P&Z) tool.

All of the images were .PSD files batch created at 1,000x750 from original camera jpegs. All non essential applications and processes closed. All anti-virus and anti-spyware scanners deactivated. Project settings PAL-DV-Standard 48kHz. Timeline rendered. All images auto-analyzed in advance.

Now this is the first release of the P&Z so I was expecting some rough edges. At first it was a little slow (around 8 -10 seconds to get into P&Z from a selected picture). But after around twenty P&Z paths applied it all pretty much grinds to a halt.

Selecting an image and clicking P&Z it takes thirty seconds before the P&Z screen appears. If I move or resize a frame in P&Z it is another twenty seconds before control comes back. It also has a knock on effect on other activities(e.g. manually creating pan and zoom with keyframes). In case the project file was somehow corrupted I cut and pasted the whole timeline (using clipmate) into a new project but the same problem persists.

It certainly seems in my case to be affected by the number of slides present in the project to which P&Z effects have been applied. I cut half of them out of the timeline and it all sped up to the original performance (around ten seconds to load and two to three seconds when dragging a frame).

I'm keen to know if others have a performance hit working with P&Z (and with how many images)

[Steve Grisetti]

Yep. It definitely looks like there is a limit to how many pan & zoom stills you can work with in a project (though I'm sure that number is affected by how much RAM and virtual memory you have, the size of the photos, which operating system you're using, etc.).

[Neale]

Yep. It definitely looks like there is a limit to how many pan & zoom stills you can work with in a project.

Annoying, but hopefully to be further developed in PRE11. What it is doing though is making me fall in love with some of the other features in Corel's VideoStudio Pro X4 (although not its name!). Its Pan & Zoom editor is amazing - instant previews, excellent key-framing tools and it works with my full size 4MB jpeg's without a stutter (4,608 x 3,456 px) meaning that close up zooms are still sharp. And a zippy MPG render ready for DVD Architect. The only annoying thing I've found with it so far (and it's pretty trivial) is that it has no automatic 'hold times' - meaning that I have to copy the first and last keyframes to where I want the opening hold to stop and the ending hold to start.

[Gerlinde]

I just created a test project ( NTSC - HD 720p30) to use with .mov files from my Panasonic Lumix and about 40 .jpeg files at various sizes ( 1280x720, 1600x1200, 3264x2448). I applied a simple pan&zoom to all of the pictures. I did not auto analyze them beforehand.
Using the notebook in my signature, I had no slowdown in any way, did not need to render to get a smooth playback. I also did not bother to shutdown any background programs like antivirus, Skype etc.

[Neale]

Interesting - I'll have to try one of the HD project settings at my end. Thanks for doing that.

[Gerlinde]

I re-read your post and started wondering if the fact that you used .psd files might have an impact on performance. I created a new project with NTSC-DV standard setting. I imported 60 psd files at 1600x1200 pixels, scale to frame size unchecked, default transition - cross dissolve applied to all, p&s applied to the 1st 10 pictures. (I have to finish it later).
I don't experience any slowdowns, everything is very snappy and responsive so far. I will report back when I'm done with the project ....

[Steve Grisetti]

I wonder if the fact that you have 64-bit Windows 7 makes a difference (although you don't have a larger than average RAM load).

[Gerlinde]

I just checked Neale's post over at the Adobe forum and he posted the specs of his computer: Intel Q6600 Quad Core at 2.40 GHz, 4GB RAM, W7-64.

[Neale]

p&s applied to the 1st 10 pictures. (I have to finish it later).

I didn't notice any gradual decline in performance. I'd done a load of slides, did one more and bamm, it all ground to a halt. I thought it might have been a problem with one specific image so removed that from the project, but it made no difference. As I mentioned, chopping a lot from the project brought its performance back to how it originally was. I'm afraid I was too undisciplined to take them out one-by-one to determine a 'cut-off' point but switched to VideoStudio for the stills as I wanted to get them finished (video work still in PRE).

Interesting thought about PSD v JPG. I've always converted to PSD in the belief that the Adobe native format would be best. I'll have to try with JPGs.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

If it persists in being problematical a work around might be to create a series of mini projects then combining them into the final project.

[Neale]

Interesting thought about PSD v JPG. I've always converted to PSD in the belief that the Adobe native format would be best. I'll have to try with JPGs.

OK - I added 78 jpegs at 1,000 x 750 to a SD project and added a Pan & Zoom to every image with no obvious performance hit. In the tool I could add frames, detect faces , and move the frames quite fluidly. So I think that it could well be the PSD files that slowed it down.

I'm not planning any new slide shows in the immediate future, but when I do I''ll give PRE another chance. But I'll try with with higher resolution pictures (the 1,000 x 750 doesn't really permit high zooms).

[Gerlinde]

I kind of doubt that the psd files are causing you the problem. From what you described in your earlier post,it sounds you may have had a corrupted file somewhere or maybe a dead space in between your photos.

On the other hand, I never even thought twice about using jpeg files. There is really no reason to convert to psd, unless you want something with a clear background.

I got bored with my test project, there should be a way to apply a basic P&Z automatically so you have to only tweak some pictures to mix it up. One way of doing that could be to copy and paste attributes of one picture to others.

I ended up giving the Instant Movie > Slideshow > Pan & Zoom feature a try-out. The only problem is, you don't have a lot of control over the order of the photos. And I found again - using PRE7 for that purpose is much easier on your nerves. I broke the finished Instant Movie apart and re-arranged things, which ended in a total disaster with PRE10 , but went very smooth in PRE7.

I don't think I will be using the P&Z feature a lot in PRE10, I rather use Magix MEP17plus or Avid Studio ( which has a great P&Z tool) for slide shows.