Delay Ken Burns start/finish?

Longtime user... For some time I've used third-party plug-ins to do "moves." Recently, I've started tinkering with FCPX's "Ken Burns" effect (which I abandoned several years ago, since it only allows for two moves.)


After all these years, is there still not way to delay when the Ken Burns effect starts/finishes? Presently, it's the total length of the clip.


Yes, I know there is "Motion" that I could hop into. But, if Apple has the effect, why not offer simple "offsets?"

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), macOS Sierra (10.12.3), 3.4Ghz Intel i7 32GB FCPX 10.3.2

Posted on Oct 8, 2017 10:12 PM

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7 replies

Dec 10, 2017 11:28 AM in response to dastoelk

You're not going to get anywhere with Apple because I'm sure they feel that Ken Burns effect is enough for 99% of users, and what you want is a specialty item (that's easily made in Motion).


Try this:

http://fcpxtemplates.com/free_stuff/sc_simpleCamera.zip


It's just a "camera" object with the Position parameter published. It is a single click keyframe setup (X,Y and Z) if you keyframe "Position" [dial down the disclosure triangle to do XYZ at once on the Position "line"].

User uploaded file


This was left "raw" as part of the design. Design benefits include using this effect as a magnifier callout by using a Shape Mask and being able to position the camera to exactly fill the magnifier area. Another design benefit is that the keyframes can be Smooth (default) or Linear [use the Video Animation pane and right click on keyframes to set which.] Using the Position Z parameter (on a camera) is far superior to using Scale.


The "downside" : Camera moves are backwards from what you would expect [opposite of Transform parameters]. Zoom In means going into negative Z [camera moves towards subject]. Moving right and/or up is going in the negative direction parameter-wise. So when you use this, just keep thinking how "you're looking through the camera" and what you're seeing is how the lens "sees" the scene. As the Camera moves right - the image moves left; etc.


You can keyframe as many moves on a clip as you like; start and finish however you like; etc.


I tried making this with onscreen controls... but I think the trade-off [loss of smooth/linear keyframe choice] was worse. It's more like Ken Burns with the interpolation option.

Dec 9, 2017 8:26 PM in response to dastoelk

I'm in your boat. I'm a longtime user who still "longs" for a simple delay on the "start/stop" of the Ken Burns effect--and not tied to a clip's duration.


I'd also appreciate a simple way to add multiple "zoom/pans" in the same image, with delays between. For example, begin on a ** of a face... delay/hold... PAN over to a second face, in the same image... delay/hold... the, widen to a 2-shot, to reveal both faces in context... delay/hold, etc.


Yes, I know there are third-party plugins available (and I have one,) but, 't'would be nice to have that capability inside the Ken Burns effect.


Giving "feedback" seems to fall on deaf ears in Cupertino. Maybe in 10.4?

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Delay Ken Burns start/finish?

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