Clunky transition from blur to clear

JSC

Member Joined: Apr 20, 2012 09:22 Messages: 71 Offline

Solved by

Nov 04, 2020 14:28

I've placed a blur on an image, and with keyframes I've got it going from a Degree of 5 down to 0 over about six seconds. The ttransition is not smooth, but rather you see it change from 5 to 4, then 4 to 3, etc. Is there a better way of doing this to get a smooth transition from blur to clear or vice versa? I've tried both 'Blur' and 'Gaussian Blur'. Same results.

Thanks,

Jim PowerDirector 365, AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-core processor 4.05 GHz, 32GB RAM, Windows 10 64-bit OS, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Nov 04, 2020 15:12

Yeah, the steps are pretty big and are very noticeable on the FX.

If this is for an ending, you're much better off using a transition which is meant to be smooth. I show 4 different ones available in my PD365 setup, and you can split a clip to provide a place for the transition if needed. You may want to place the second part of the clip on a track above and starting slightly before the blurred clip ends for a seamless transition.

If you need more control take a look the Pixelan BlurMaster plug-in.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Nov 04. 2020 15:27

JSC

Member Joined: Apr 20, 2012 09:22 Messages: 71 Offline

Nov 04, 2020 15:33

Quote Yeah, the steps are pretty big and are very noticeable on the FX.

If this is for an ending, you're much better off using a transition which is meant to be smooth. I show 4 different ones available in my PD365 setup, and you can split a clip to provide a place for the transition if needed. You may want to place the second part of the clip on a track above and starting slightly before the blurred clip ends for a seamless transition.

If you need more control take a look the Pixelan BlurMaster plug-in.

Thanks, optodata. You mean like the Fade transition?

Since posting, I tried NewBlue Soft Focus effect. What do you think of that? It appears to be much smoother.

Jim

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Nov 04, 2020 15:50

Quote Thanks, optodata. You mean like the Fade transition?

Since posting, I tried NewBlue Soft Focus effect. What do you think of that? It appears to be much smoother.

Yes, like the Fade transition. If the Soft Focus gives you the effect you're looking for, by all means use it

ynotfish

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

Nov 04, 2020 17:29

Hi Jim -

Yep - totally agree. Keyframing Blur & Gaussion Blur effects is totally clunky. It works nicely with NB Soft Focus.

I don't have the Blur Master plugin, but I do have Pixelan Blur Pro which can't be keyframed, it seems (greyed out).

Here's a packed project showing how I used the fades/transitions optodata suggested.

Cheers - Tony
Visit PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials, tips, free resources & more. Subscribe!
Full linked Tutorial Catalog PDtoots happily supports fellow PowerDirector users!

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Nov 04, 2020 22:22

Tony, those look great! Each of your other examples looks beautiful and smooth without any of the obvious stepping in the original FX.

BlurMaster is a transition pack and has a standalone tool like most other Pixelan plug-ins. It does have keyframes available there, although you really only need a starting and ending one to have a smooth gradiation.

I also have the CreativeEase (Version 3) BlurPro FX and it has essentially the same tool as BlurMaster. Keyframes aren't greyed out on my system, so it's actually a better choice for OP's issue since you can keyframe a single clip without having to split the clip in two, like this:

There are also animated presets so you don't need any keyframes, just place the FX on the track below the clip where it's needed.

All in all, lots of choices are a good thing here