No way to keyframe "Section" in View/Animation effects?

eSonOfAnder wrote on 2/24/2023, 1:06 AM

I've looked around for an answer to this question, but the extremely limited number of things I've found don't match what I am looking to do here. I am working on a 9:16 format video, but I would like to embed in the middle a wider format video, but with an animated selected Section over the length of that clip. The Section area does not allow you to set keyframes at all, and even though if you move to the Selection that you want, and then go into the Camera/Zoom shot area and add a keyframe from there, it effectively ignores any changes that you make to the Section selection. I've seen at least one other thread where it was mentioned the Section literally cannot be keyframed at all, which makes very little sense to me based purely on the editor workflow as presented to the user. The help file was, frankly, not helpful:

"Note: In order to move the section with a movement effect across the image, please refer to the following section, "Camera/zoom"."

There is nothing in the linked Camera/zoom section of the help file that gives any indication of how you would make any sort of movement effect of a section across an image or video clip. I am unsure if there is just something super obvious that I am missing, or if what the help file says is just extremely badly worded. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am using an admittedly slightly older version of Video Pro X, Version 17.0.3.68 (UDP3) (I believe this was billed as Video Pro X 11, but that does not show up in the About section anywhere).

Thanks.

Comments

AAProds wrote on 2/24/2023, 3:45 AM

@eSonOfAnder

Aha! The old Section and Camera/Zoomshot. I love them both.

You are correct about Section. You cannot keyframe it. It is a one-shot set-and-forget for that entire clip. It is designed to keep life simple if you need to zoom in a bit without all the fluffing about using Size and Position or Camera Zoomshot. For example, it will be ideal for the landscape video portion you want to put into your 9:16 portrait movie. Other examples where it is really useful is cropping videos that have a constant lop-sided nature (eg a fixed camera with the subject off to one side), centring still images and cropping VHS captures where you get unwanted rough black edges and video noise.

If, however, you do want to crop/pan/zoom, then Camera Zoomshot is your tool. One thing to remember about CZS is that the crop box is the same shape/ratio as your movie setting (which you say is 9:16), so that may not suit your current task if you have a 16:9 video you want to put "on top of" your 9:16 movie.

What you can do though is set up the Section on your overlay video (any shape; use the Size dropdown), then go to Size and Position and position your Sectioned overlay wherever you like. You can, of course, move it around and resize it with Size and Position keyframes.

And yes, the Camera/Zoomshot Help section is appalling. It's one of the best features of the program but the explanatory text is utter gobbledigook. I should rewrite it for them...

AAProds wrote on 2/24/2023, 6:57 AM

@eSonOfAnder

If you specifically wanted to use Camera/Zoomshot on your overlay 16:9 video and not just Section, you could do it in another movie (click on the Plus button next to the current movie name above the timeline), set that movie's settings (key E) to 16:9, then open your overlay video and apply CZS as wanted.

Then export that movie (MXV would be best, unless you've got a grunty machine, then use MPEG 4 at a high bitrate) and re-import it into your 9:16 movie. Then apply Size and Position to the overlay as desired.

browj2 wrote on 2/24/2023, 7:34 AM

@eSonOfAnder

Hi,

Look at this thread in its entirety starting from here.

The Section effect, with a capital "S" is a cropping function, similar to cropping in a photo program. That is all this effect does - it crops and you work with the cropped image/video clip. No keyframing is allowed or needed. If you take a photo and cut out a part with scissor, scan it, and import it into MEP, then you have the same effect. You can't uncrop the photo. Of course, MEP is a non-destructive editor, so you can always undo or modify the effect. However, do not try to make Section do something that it is not intended to do. Use the correct tools.

The Camera/Zoom Shot effect is a special purpose tool facilitating zooming in/out and panning and uses the Size/Position effect to do this. Here, the section, with a small "s" has nothing to do with the "S"ection effect. The section in CZS is a rectangle with the aspect ratio of your project. When you select a section, that is, you resize the rectangle and place it where you want over the image, you are effectively zooming into the image with the size and position of the rectangle; you are not cropping in the true sense of the word, just zooming in.

For panning and zooming and showing in a window that is not full screen or does not have the project aspect ratio, there are other tools for this like the Cookie Cutter and using masks, combined with Size/Position/Rotation.

John CB

eSonOfAnder wrote on 2/24/2023, 12:48 PM

@eSonOfAnder

If, however, you do want to crop/pan/zoom, then Camera Zoomshot is your tool. One thing to remember about CZS is that the crop box is the same shape/ratio as your movie setting (which you say is 9:16), so that may not suit your current task if you have a 16:9 video you want to put "on top of" your 9:16 movie.

This does sound like what I am trying to do; I've got a wider aspect ratio clip that I'd just like to have the existing 9:16 ratio crop box pan back and forth across the clip over time, basically just letting me keyframe the X offset left and right for its duration. I'll have to play around with the tool, though, because the UI as presented makes it seem like an extremely limited function capability.

What you can do though is set up the Section on your overlay video (any shape; use the Size dropdown), then go to Size and Position and position your Sectioned overlay wherever you like. You can, of course, move it around and resize it with Size and Position keyframes.

This also sounds like pretty much exactly what I am trying to accomplish, so I will poke at this tool also to see if I can get the desired results.

And yes, the Camera/Zoomshot Help section is appalling. It's one of the best features of the program but the explanatory text is utter gobbledigook. I should rewrite it for them...

That's putting it mildly on the help section, lol.