Quote: ...have not really found much use for most of them.

Yeah, me either. About a year ago, I wanted a video background related to the images displayed. I don't even remember what effect I used. That seems to be the only use I have come up with for most effects. CyberPowerPC | Win7HP-64 | AMD FX-8320 3.5 Ghz | 8GB Mem | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB | WEI 5.9


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I know it'd be just great if all the 'features' offered we found useful and that we wanted all of them - but we don't - I think this is 'normal' ... or should I say average?

I think we all have 'in mind' what we want to do editing-wise and thus we formulate a 'style' of what we do. <shrugs> ... This happens - Oh well!

I'll have to look into the 'effects' ... have not really done so to date -been happy with the editing I've done so far. But they may offer some interesting moments. I almost think of 'effects' as 'gadgets' - gimmicks - used sparingly they have a place - over-used they could take away from a project.

I'm sure those that edit professionally - or do so for others - may find that the effects may be appealing to the wide array of their customer base. It's just not MY particular cup of tea?!

Ah....To each his own eh?

CS

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Quote: hows the moving going jcard {thought you were in the middle of a move} ???)

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Hi all!

Of all the "features" of Power Director 14 or even Power Director 8, both "Ultra" by the way, The least-used would be the "effects", either applied directly to the clip or on the effects(fx) track on the timeline. As I mentioned earlier, probably the only effect I found useful at all was the "Delay" which gave a kind of strobing effect as a graphic image is applied to a video(a cartoon car or steam loco, for instance, is animated to move across the screen). The other effect I mentioned, "Mirror"(half the screen flipped left-for-right) I've only ever used once and not even from Power Director's effects library, that effect was generated within the camera I was using at the time(model and brand mentioned earlier).

If I'm doing VHS-To-DVD transfers(my old tapes or tapes for friends), then I get a lot of use out of the fix/enhance to clean up the videos and the CLPV system to convert aspect ratios. In the Fix/Enhance, I've noted the video Denoise does an amazing job of "smoothing out" the image of old video content from those old tapes. Anyone uninitiated into this world of videography could look at those old videos after they've been "treated" and think(almost) that they were shot with modern digital cameras, that's how well the video denoise application does its job. The CLPV system also helps to add to the impression of the old analogue stuff being shot digitally(to those not in the know), but only he or she who processed the video would know the truth.

If anything gets used the most, it's the transitions, particularly so, now that they can be added to the PiP tracks just as easily as they can to the master track. I create my own title graphics, and the selected transition effects applied really help to enhance my video, providing intro or exit effects not available in the motion settings. I couldn't use the transitions on the PiP tracks in PD8 but I can use them in PD14, it adds an extra dimension to my clips. The only let-down in PD14 is the "burning" issue of DVD authoring but I've covered that elsewhere and often enough so I won't mention it here.

That about sums it up for me.

Cheers!

Neil.

Neil - you're a funny guy sometimes!

Quote: The only let-down in PD14 is the "burning" issue of DVD authoring but I've covered that elsewhere and often enough so I won't mention it here.

BUT you did!

Clearly, CyberLink has tried to develop a product that meets many people's needs. Not every PDR user is a male born in 1955 who likes filming tram museums & burning DVDs at the lowest possible resolution.

So - even though you & I might not typically use many effects in our videos that doesn't mean EVERYONE doesn't. Even though I've been told the user base is mainly 55+ males, there are many thousands who might want an array of effects to spice up their videos. Just have a look at some of the videos posted on DirectorZone.

If I were making an action video or I'd recorded a dance party or loud celebration/concert, I think I'd be tempted to throw in some effects. "Not only, but also" (vale Ronnie Corbett), whilst many of the FX are fancy, tizzing up things, many are practical tools - particularly in the NewBlue modules.

Everyone's different, right?

Cheers - Tony
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In addition to frequently using New Blue's auto pan effect (which I find a lot simpler and more intuitive than CL magic motion), I recently used "Quake", a CL effect. A tree fell on my cabin. You can see how I used Quake in the attached 20-second clip... Regards,
Dan
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I really resisted posting on this, but...
Rest assured, Neil, that if PD did NOT have an FX room, it would not have gone past version 1 or 2, never mind all the way to version 14. I do music videos quite frequently and the FX room is bursting with opportunity to do something different and special, even "artsy". I might add that there are FX that clean up old video, just like the in-house fixers. I also did a video in an old abandoned factory and used a dreamy effect to try to bring the viewer deeper into my story. Over-used FX are silly or distracting, true, but so are transitions. At this point I still don't quite get the point of your thread, to point out to us something you rarely use. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
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Neil I think I am a bit like you. I have had a look at the Effects library especially when I am struggling to do something that is beyond my abilities in the hope that the scales will fall from my eyes and I will see exactly what I need to use. So yes I have enjoyed this thread.

Not an effect but I have spent most of today trying to work out how to show the spread of the Picts on a map of Scotland. I wanted a colour to spread south slowly covering the areas of Pictish influence. I eventually managed this to a degree by using PIP and the PaintDirector which I discovered by chance. I used a chalk brush set at 100% and painted over the area I required. It took a bit of trial and error to get it to work but in doing so it occurred to me that if the PaintDirector was developed a bit more a lot more interesting effects could be created. It is a bit primitive at the moment.
Regards
Nigel

I'd like to add a few of those EFFECTS are actually more like TOOLS for video, so look a little closer at what is on your screen, they may be helpful. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
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Hi All!

Okay, I'll try to answer as best I can, some of your comments:-

Tony,

quoting: even though you & I might not typically use many effects in our videos that doesn't mean EVERYONE doesn't. Even though I've been told the user base is mainly 55+ males, there are many thousands who might want an array of effects to spice up their videos. I never intended to imply that "everyone" doesn't use these effects, I meant that some or most of the effects may not necessarily meet the needs of some people in editing their videos. That's fairly straight-forward, isn't it?

Barry,

quoting: if PD did NOT have an FX room, it would not have gone past version 1 or 2, never mind all the way to version 14. It's not a matter of what's included in Power Director, or what's been left on the "cutting room floor"! It's a matter of simply what an individual editor may or may not find useful when putting together his/her movie. I find the transitions to be of greater value than the effects, but that's just me, though I must admit to an unintended omission. One effect I do use, but only very occasionally is the "TV Wall" effect where the image is multiplied several times - the effect starts and ends at the single image. I sometimes apply this effect across a fade transition(I'll leave it to your "mind's eye" to imagine how the effect might work).

Collie581,

I don't know that I've come across you before, so (if perhaps belated) welcome to the forum! Quoting: I have had a look at the Effects library especially when I am struggling to do something that is beyond my abilities in the hope that the scales will fall from my eyes and I will see exactly what I need to use. Yes, using Power Director can be daunting to some users, particularly if they're new to editing video. Some pick up skills with earlier PD versions or from other makes of video editing software and apply some of what they've learned elsewhere to their use of PD. What effects that are available may suit some porposes, but not all. It all comes down to "tinkering" with the effects to see what works and what doesn't. I might "tinker" with some of the effects when not actally putting together a video, just to see what they do and make a mental note, "yeah, that one might be useful at some stage" or "no, not likely to use that one, ever".

CS2014,

I think your remark sums it all up neatly, quoting: "I know it'd be just great if all the 'features' offered we found useful and that we wanted all of them - but we don't - I think this is 'normal' ... or should I say average?"

Cheers!

Neil.

And I finished with "I'm sure those that edit professionally - or do so for others - may find that the effects may be appealing to the wide array of their customer base. It's just not MY particular cup of tea?! "

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Quote: And I finished with "I'm sure those that edit professionally - or do so for others - may find that the effects may be appealing to the wide array of their customer base. It's just not MY particular cup of tea?! "

CS

Hi, CS!

I did notice that ending remark, but it was your opening comment that summed everything up neatly. I often find myself editing a friend's camerawork, I even combine his work with mine(if we're both at the same event and shooting something from two different positions - ah no, I don't use the Multi-Cam feature, I have my own method of synchronising videos that works quite well for me, a practice I started in PD7 when Multi-Cam was not available). As it happens, such an event is happening this weekend in the city of Maitland, NSW. It's the 30th Anniversary of Steamfest(which means it should be the 31st staging of this event, the number of times an event is staged is one ahead of the number of anniversaries). I'll make sure my camera battery is well-and-truly "juiced-up" for that event.

Quote: I've noticed another that was not available in PD8 but is available in PD14, a "Mirror" effect in which the screen is split down the center and one half of the screen is right-way-round and the other half is inverted left-for-right.

This appears to be the main point of OP and it's just not true. A pic displaces a 1000 myths.

Jeff

Neil -

First up, my apology. I wrote "tram museum" in error. I should have recalled it was steam trains that were of particular interest.

You got a little defensive & condescending in your reply there. Yes - what you said was straight forward. I understood it. Did you think I missed something (aside from muddling up trams & steam trains)?

I read your original post as (paraphrased): "I only use a few of the effects in the FX room, so I can't see any point in including the others." If that's not what you were saying, it came across like that to me.

I use Microsoft Word & have done for many years. My needs are pretty basic, so I'm totally aware that i don't use anything like Word's full feature set. BUT - others I know who use it for business purposes DO quite amazing things with it, using features I've never even bothered to explore because I have no need.

Even though I'll never use many of the FX in PDR, I'm happy for them to be included for other users who might want/need them. Your original post seemed to be suggesting something very different.

Cheers - Tony
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I might add that there are FX that clean up old video, just like the in-house fixers"

Barry,

Where is this effect you are talking about ? Is it newblue ?

Stéphane

Hi Stéphane -

I can't answer for Barry, but maybe he was thinking of NewBlue Video TuneUp Plus, which is part of Video Essentials VII (included in PDR14 Ultimate)

http://legacy.newbluefx.com/helpfiles/VideoEssentialsVII/Win/Corel/id_video_tuneup_plus.htm

Screenshot attached.

Cheers - Tony
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There is New Blue Color Fixer Plus, Detail enhancer, crop borders, Flash remover, Sharpener, Touch up, Tune up, the list goes on, and those are TOOLS, really, not what I might consider an EFFECT. And I have to say, Neil, your inability to focus on a topic without adding endless trivia, personal observations, and unrelated other things is really fascinating to witness. You started with why you consider most FX totally useless, and ended with trains and multi-cam and batteries. It's got to the point I WANT to see your posts to see how far off-topic you can meander. It should be a drinking game! HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
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Thank you Tony and Barry

Quote: Neil -

First up, my apology. I wrote "tram museum" in error. I should have recalled it was steam trains that were of particular interest.

You got a little defensive & condescending in your reply there. Yes - what you said was straight forward. I understood it. Did you think I missed something (aside from muddling up trams & steam trains)?

I read your original post as (paraphrased): "I only use a few of the effects in the FX room, so I can't see any point in including the others." If that's not what you were saying, it came across like that to me.

I use Microsoft Word & have done for many years. My needs are pretty basic, so I'm totally aware that i don't use anything like Word's full feature set. BUT - others I know who use it for business purposes DO quite amazing things with it, using features I've never even bothered to explore because I have no need.

Even though I'll never use many of the FX in PDR, I'm happy for them to be included for other users who might want/need them. Your original post seemed to be suggesting something very different.

Cheers - Tony

Tony!

Apology accepted! Actually steam locos AND trams are of interest to me. But apart from that(don't want to stray too far from topic), my point was, only a couple(a few at most) effects have had any value to me in editing video, The Delay effect is used to create a sort-of "strobing" when graphic images have motion applied to them, the TV Wall effect is used in conjunction with a Fade transition as a segue from one scene to another(effect used only sparingly) and the Mirror effect, well' I've yet to put that to use after finding it in PD14, I had used the effect that was built-in to my now-ancient(by today's standards) Hi-8 camera/recorder, and here is where I must correct JL_JL's impression, Not finding the Mirror effect in PD8 was NOT the main point of my original post, I was simply saying I had not found that effect in PD8, but did find it in PD14. The Mirror effect has a comical quality to it(sort-of) but opportunities to apply it don't come along very often, if at all. The TV Wall, as I said, I use it sparingly. Outside these effects, for the rest of the effects I cannot find any real use, so I generally ignore them. If and when the mood grabs me, I may rummage through them and see what they do(to remind myself of their natures) but that only serves as a reminder to why I didn't bother with them in the first place.

Cheers!

Neil.