Premiere Pro Slide Show Problems

[osbornes5]

OK, let me see if I can explain this problem so that it makes sense. I have done several video based slide shows which I created in Adobe's Premiere Pro. When I set it to pan/zoom across the picture as it is shown and then put a dissolve transition between the two frames, there is a problem. When the new picture comes on it is shown for a split second before it starts to move. So, there is a slight pause before the pan/zoom actually starts. It is not smooth and looks like a mistake. When I am setting the pan/zoom, the timeline indicator is all of the way over to the left of the little effects screen and will go no farther. Sometimes I can fix it on an individual slide by grabbing the beginning edge of the picture and shortening it by several frames. But when you are doing a slide show of fifty to 300 slides, that is just not feasable. Can anybody out there give me a fix for this problem or does it even make sense?

[Majestic Video Creations]

Actually, I have had this same problem but have just always adjusted it in the same way on every slide. If the pan and zoom is very slow, it is not noticeable and these slides do not need adjustment but the majority do. If there is an answer, I would love to hear it too.

[HankCastello]

You may have noticed this same issue in "regular" video too - not just slideshows.  How many times have you watched a wedding video (hopefully not your own!) and as the next scene dissolves into view, the frame shakes violently for a half-second before settling down.  Or perhaps the scene is out of focus for the first half-second or so.  

In judging wedding videos, we see this a lot (unfortunately).

This problem could never have happened back in the days when I edited by actually cutting and splicing tape. But by allowing our NLEs to "automagically" do stuff for us, we can all too easily overlook just what is actually going on, and this is what leads to problems.

When you set your keyframes for your "Ken Burns effects", you are begining with a particular frame and ending at another frame, probably about a hundred frames or so distant.

Drop that clip onto your timeline and it displayes perfectly, right?

Now add a dissolve transition between this clip and the preceding one and what happens?  You get roughly a half-second of a still image before the pan, right?

Let's say your clip is to start at timecode 08;32;16 and it ends at 08;37;16
Your animation is set perfectly for this clip, but looks strange as it dissolves in then later as it fades out.  But why?

Let's look into just what exactly that dissolve effect did..

Assuming a 1-second transition, the dissolve effect ADDS 15 frames to the start of your clip in order to have a dissolve image for the half second PRIOR to your clip's start.  Same thing at the end where it must ADD 15 frames to blend into the following clip.

I suppose you could make your clip one-second longer, then trip half a second off of each end before adding the dissolve, but why not make things simpler and take control?

Place one clip on a higher track and control your dissolves by rubber-banding your opacities.  Now you can see what is happening and you are in total control.

[osbornes5]

OK, I am probably the only dork out here who doesn't know this but what is "rubber banding" the opacities? My guess is that it is something pretty obvious and I am going to feel silly when I find out. On the other hand, maybe there are a bunch of dorks out here who don't know and I will just save everyone else the trouble of looking like one! Thanks for your patience Mr. Hank!

[HankCastello]

Sorry about that!

"Rubber bands" refers to the lines between keyframes.  Keyframes are what we use to animate things.  If you want your opacity (opacity is the opposite of transparency.  Thus 100% opacity is opaque.) to change over time, you would set a keyframe at the point where you want the change to begin.

Oh, wait a minute!  I've done it again.  First, expand your video track by clicking the tiny triangle on the far left.  (This works for audio tracks also, except you have a choice of applying changes to an entire track or just a clip).  Now select a clip on the track, by clicking it.  Preferrably, this is the clip on the track above the clip you wish to reveal with your dissolve.  Click the second icon on the lower row (keyframe with pulldowns) and choose "show keyframes".

Now, set the timeline at the point where you want your dissolve effect to begin, then click the keyframe icon (this time, it's the rightmost keyframe icon).  You'll now see a keyframe on the clip at the selected point on the timeline.

Move the timeline indicator to where you want 100% transparency (0% opacity) and click the keyframe icon again.  You now have two keyframes on your clip.  Select and drag the rightmost keyframe all the way down (0% opacity).  Note the yellow line (rubber band) that now slants downward from your first keyframe to your second.

You do the same sort of effects on audio tracks when editing wedding vows.  Typically, the minister's voice clips on the groom's mic (but is just right on the minister's mic), so you have to rubberband the audio levels on the groom's track, up and down like a roller coaster.  (It's best to remove the ambient background noise on that track, as much as possible, so the volume changes don't stand out.)

I hope this helps.