Transitions - Creating Them - Not the Pre-made ones in PD

CS2014

Senior Contributor Location: USA-Eastern Time Zone Joined: Sep 16, 2014 16:44 Messages: 629 Offline

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Sep 29, 2015 11:45

I've been searching and found the interesting thread dated 21 & 22-04-2014 that started with a tutorial about the alpha transitions. Primarialy the discussion was between optodata and Dafydd B. The discussion revolved around the XML, png and jpg files that I've seen in the downloaded transiton folders' - that I've dld to date.

I realize that the .png is a grey-scalde image and that I think the transition is going from black to the white areas in the png file.

Some of the transition files I have only have 2 jpg images in it and the one, the iris has over 2 dozen. I do not see the jpg files referenced in the XML files though. I am NOT a programer but I think knowing how to manipulate the XML file to 'get it to do what I want' - is not beyond my abliity. I have to get a XML editor (don't think I have one to date).

But the purpose of this thread is to ask what next 'leap' of knowledge do I need to try to create my owwn transitions that will work in PD? I realize I need to either learn XML or at least know how to modify existing XML files - I may need to create jpg files of various states (of iris closure) if I want to create the shutte/iris transition - etc...

Might be barking up the wrong tree and I don't see me creating dozens of transitions as this may take me a LONG time as - since I'm not a programmer but... I might like to dabble with this a bit.

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ynotfish

Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline

Sep 29, 2015 17:17

Hi CS -

No - you don't have to learn to edit XML files. When customisable Alpha Transitions were introduced in PDR12 there was an issue with how they were named in the transitions library BUT that's a thing of the past with PDR 13 & 14.

It's been discussed quite a bit in these forums... just ignore the (now) irrelevant posts about the naming issue.

http://www.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/44557.page

http://www.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/38116.page

http://www.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/38463.page

http://www.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/29740.page

Making your own transition is easy. Here's a tutorial showing how - https://youtu.be/uIRzdehurOU

From your post it seems like you want to make a transition like a camera aperture closing/opening. Have I read it correctly?

Cheers - Tony
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CS2014

Senior Contributor Location: USA-Eastern Time Zone Joined: Sep 16, 2014 16:44 Messages: 629 Offline

Sep 29, 2015 18:28

Hi ynotfish!

I searched and found some of those linked discussions and briefly read over them. Thanks though for them and the ones I did not see before.

I am trying to 'improve' on a shutter/iris sort of transition. I've seen jcard's transition and dld it even - but I'm fixated on trying to come up with (ideally) the moving shutter vanes closing and opening - closing on the last video clip and opening on the new clip/photo/snapshot.

Ok, I know I'm OBSESSING a bit so I apologize for that but... I've spent the afternoon trying to draw a octagonal shape and trying to get a more gradual greyscale off each octagonal segment - if that makes sense.

I've created the octagon and tried to use a Gaussian 'blur' but it doesn't satisfy me. So, at the moment, I am trying to create a greyscale off each segment. Maybe if I blur that sort of image - the movement of the transition will be more to my liking. We'll see.

But, that is what I'm 'trying' to do - but ideally I'd like to get a motion of the shutter 'flaps' opening and closing (eventually - but I know what I am doing with the greyscale off the oct's segments wont do this - just trying it as an exercise).

Thanks for a response.

CS

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at Sep 29. 2015 18:31

PD13 Ultimate - Build 3516, WIN 8.1, 64 Bit, 16G RAM, Intel Core i5 4460, CPU @ 3.2GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GT720, Graphics Memory(total avail.)-4093MB
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CS2014

Senior Contributor Location: USA-Eastern Time Zone Joined: Sep 16, 2014 16:44 Messages: 629 Offline

Sep 29, 2015 22:06

I've gotten several Transition Designer created transitions now - variations on my theme of trying to develop a grey scale that increments toward a center of the frame.

I was able to introduce lines that define a border of a shutter vane - sort of - not exactly. So the transition still goes Black to White in transition but with black lines that define the octagon's sectors.

Like I've stated, its not 'exactly' what I eventually would like to come up with but, this is what the capabilities of the Transition Designer can do I believe.

I understand how to create different png files to define the greyscale - But that doesn't make a transition that simulates a camera shutter/iris exactly - i.e. moving vanes that slide into place closing and then opening.

I have the tutorials you've mentioned. Thanks.

CS PD13 Ultimate - Build 3516, WIN 8.1, 64 Bit, 16G RAM, Intel Core i5 4460, CPU @ 3.2GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GT720, Graphics Memory(total avail.)-4093MB
LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray Drive