Pan and zoom for beginners

Larry-Reid wrote on 12/16/2019, 12:36 AM

I am new to Photostory. I have spent the first week learning the basics and got those down but have run into a problem trying to learn the pan and zoom technique. One tutorial talked about going into the size/position window and changing the settings for each key frame. This involved a lot of trial and error in zooming, trying different numbers in the position and zoom fields, then going to the image to see if it works (correct zoom amount, positioning, etc.). I was thinking I could maybe click and drag the image while in this screen but that doesn't work. I can't imagine doing this for more than several photos considering the amount of time that it takes.

I then tried the full screen effects. I was able to get it to work by moving the round handles up to zoom in but when I go to the sensor pad to change the position of the zoomed image, the image reverts to the full size when I try to click and drag the indicator on the sensor screen. I then go out and back into full screen mode and the handle has moved back to the full size image position instead of the zoom setting where I had set it.

I read a post awhile back where someone else was having an issue. Someone else posted "It isn't the program, it's you." This is probably the case here also, but I feel so frustrated that I can't understand how it works and am spending so much time with technical issues rather than being creative. This person said that it's a very intuitive program but I wonder why I can just pinch or spread on my iPad and it's done in an instant rather than going through so many steps here and not having it work.

I have spent several hours just trying to make this one technique work. If I have to do the same for other functions, I can't imagine ever getting around to completing my projects. I tried to find specific instructions in the pdf manual on how to accomplish this and troubleshooting the above issues and was unable to locate anything like that.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 12/16/2019, 5:13 AM

@Larry-Reid

Try the Camera / zoom shot effect - this combines zoom and pan in one and is easier to learn.

Having applied the effect, click Size/position and then drag the timeline watching what happens to the Position, Size and Zoom values to see how it is working.

HTH

John EB

browj2 wrote on 12/16/2019, 8:16 AM

@Larry-Reid

Hi Larry,

Read through this about Camera/zoom shot effect.

My comment about "It isn't the program, it's you" pertains to someone who spent hours and wasn't able to do a simple project with some photos and titles. What you want to do is not basic, it's advanced, unless you simply use presets. All video programs do panning and zooming approximately the same way, and you have to learn how and how to use keyframes if you want to be able to modify things exactly the way that you want them.

There are also presets under Effects, View&Animation, Presets. See this tutorial on Movie Edit Pro - same thing in PhotoStory.

The Camera/Zoom Shot effect and using preset simplify panning and zooming, but if you need to modify what is done, then you need to understand how to do it. However, you can probably do most of what you want using these effects.

After looking at and trying all of this, do you still need a video on how to do a pan zoom manually?

John CB

Larry-Reid wrote on 12/16/2019, 9:07 AM

browj2 and johnebaker: Thank you both for the quick responses with the suggestions and links, I will try them and see how they work. Thanks again!

Larry

Larry-Reid wrote on 12/16/2019, 11:24 AM

Success! John, thank you so much for the link to the tutorial for Movie Edit Pro. I did not understand the function of the Preview button. Once I watched the video, it was clear how to use the preview button to lock in the selection. I went back and did multiple zooms on some images and it worked perfectly.

The tutorial page for Photostory has a couple of great summary videos for the program but I really appreciate the detailed treatment that your video gave. Is there a way to locate other tutorials such as this that go into detail about some of the Photostory functions?

Many thanks again for your help!

Larry

browj2 wrote on 12/16/2019, 11:52 AM

@Larry-Reid

Yes, the Preview button. If you're in preview mode, you can't drag the image around the screen.

BTW, you can move keyframes by dragging them.

Take a look at the videos on my YT channel for Movie Edit Pro, Basic Editing 1 and 2. Nothing advanced, but they give you a good idea as to the overall editing process - the bulk of the work. MEP has more tools than PhotoStory, mainly for editing video content so you have to adjust to what you have with PhotoStory.

Here are 2 tutorials that I just produced:

You can also go through the Tutorials tab and look at other MEP tutorials and also other ones on YT.

Creating a tutorial takes a lot of time, even for a short one. I think that anyone who makes tutorials for Magix products uses MEP and not PhotoStory, so they go with what they know and a wider audience.

If there is anything specific, let us know.

John CB

Larry-Reid wrote on 12/18/2019, 9:08 AM

Thanks for the help, John. I'll check out these resources after the holiday rush. Happy holidays!

Larry