Keyframing lens flares

Hi Jason.

Unfortunately Transitions and Effects can NOT be keyframed in FCE (they can in FCP).

There are some workarounds.

To increase or decrease the BRIGHTNESS of the flare you could put a copy clip with the flare at full strength on V2 immediately above the original. Then you could adjust the Opacity of the flare to increase or decrease it. (The opacity of a clip can be keyframed but not the Effect).

I have no idea how you would move it. I think that may be impossible - unless someone has found a way!

Ian.

Hi Ian,

not sure it applies here, but in addition to your suggestions about opacity, I'd apply the Basic Motion to the superimposed clip (v2) to move, enlarge, reduce, rotate the effect following the action on the base clip (v1): this CAN be keyframed and I used it various times.

Only glitch: no clear description in the FCE HD manual on how do it - so I used the FCP manual and some experimentation...

Piero

It sounds OK Piero - I will give it a try. I hope Jason sees it.

Ian.

I have just tried it and it doesn't seem to work because when you move the lens flare, the rest of the clip moves - or am I missing something?

Ian.

Ian, my assumption is that you have the original clip in v1 and you added the lens flare as an effect in new clip in v2; this clip, in my assumption, has transparency in the areas where there is no flare effect. But Ian, this is just my guess, so if this is wrong what follows might not apply.

Suppose I guessed right. Then, you can apply the basic motion, keyframed, to clip in v2 to follow any path you want based on the motion in v1, and adjust opacity dynamically as well. If the issue is the application of keyframed basic motion to clip in v2, let me know, and I'll try to be more specific.

Piero

I should never have doubted you Piero - you are, as usual, right.

All I had to do was make a black Slug and put it on V2. Then I applied the flare to the Slug together with the Lumakey, which I set to key out the black.

It was then just a matter of using the Motion keyframes.

When I originally tried it I had forgotten about the Lumakey so I just ended up with the black Slug moving across the screen!

I hope Jason sees this because it works perfectly.

Ian.

Try adding composite mode>screen to knock out the black on the lens flare on the slug. It's be much, much cleaner than the luma key.

Thanks Tom - I've just done a quick test and it works fine.

However, the lumakey also seemed OK.

It's getting late over here so I'll carefully compare the two results tomorrow to see if there is any difference.

Ian.

"...you are, as usual, right"

Thanks Ian,
to say the truth I'm not sure you are right,
since when I'm wrong I just try to be quiet;
so your statistics has been likely biased:
surely the chance of my errors is highest.

Piero
(note for me: never post at 1am... mostly in a foreign language - note for Tom and Ian: I'll try both your suggestions: tomorrow...)

I meant you are usually right with your answers - don't forget it was you who worked out how to make the "Seconds Counter" go in reverse.

Ian.

I have done a test using the Lumakey and the Composite Mode>Screen.

The only adjustment I made was to set the Lumakey to "Key out Darker".

I couldn't say one method was better than another - they were just different.

I had made a 10 pointed star. The Lumakey one had sharp edges whilst the other had larger, softer edges.

Both methods produced attractive results.

Ian.