Transitions FX

I've been working with various video editing programs lately. In some cases I've used a number of different programs in a single project.

It seems that every editing program you find has a number of special effects to be used. There is always the temptation to used a lot of them. It is also the best way to destroy potentially good video. I tend to use very few FX. I usually use a cross-fade between scenes and a very slow zoom on every still shot.

However, it is great fun to used the transitions effects and video effects as a means unto themselves. That is to say using the effects to create animation.

In the sequence at the left I used Ulead Video Studio 9, Photoshop 7, Epson NX400 scanner as well as video, and sound clips from the Internet and the obvious photograph of me.

This will make for a neat transition between longer videos on my DVDs.

PhotoStory 3

I recently downloaded a free copy of PhotoStory 3 from Microsoft. Of the many programs used to make slide shows it is one of the best. It's very user friendly. But there are several things that I would like to change. For example, the program is designed so that all things audio and video wise are done to each slide before advancing to the next.I prefer to add only visual embellishments to all slides before adding audio. I prefer to begin with only the pictures, no video effects of transitions. The first thing I do is to make sure that I have everything in the correct sequence. Then I determine the amount of time each slide will be on the screen. This may be adjusted later as narration is added. Here is the first video made with PhotoStory in which I used all it's features.

Ta-da....

I've been playing with jigsaw puzzles at Jigzone.com.  I'm concidering animating them for some video FX.

For My Father(Sof Shavua B'Tel Aviv)

S

o often we read of suicide bombers and think of them only as radical terrorists. This film gives a view into the life of one such bomber. The characters are well developed in this story about an incident in Tel Aviv. Strapped into a vest of explosives, young Palestinian Terek (Shredi Jabarin) enters Tel Aviv on a suicide mission to restore his father's honor. But a faulty fuse leaves him stranded among Israelis, and he begins to question his ingrained beliefs about his enemy. While he waits the weekend for a repair, he meets beautiful Keren (Hili Yalon). Still wearing his remote-controlled bomb, Terek must decide his fate before a decision is made for him

The location reeks of the realism of today.good direction and camera work move the story along at a good pace.

Sin Nombre

T
his is a powerful movie about people and the environments they inhabit. The film begins in Central America following the lives of two young people with entirely different

objectives in life, but both are trapped by the culture in which they live. Sayre is a young woman who is seeking a better life in the USA.  He wishes to escape gang life.  Their paths cross on a north bound freight train with refugees perched precariously on top as it rumbles along. They become friends and become inseparable but are hunted by the gang which he deserted.

It has a good story and depicts the extreme poverty in which some Central Americans live in. There is a lot of violence but not gratuitous. Sin Nombre is a good film worthy of awards in the industry.

Traveling Partner

I've got a new traveling partner.  No, I'm not replacing my main squeeze.  Paerhaps I should say podner not partner since I'm talking about my iPod Touch. In our recent trip to France we found it most helpful.  It's a well know fact that there are thousands of applications for iPods.  We found a few that were very helpful traveling in the land of fois gras and escargot. We used it to download maps and driving directions to our next point on our journey.  Whether it was a  train schedule or subway station locations we found downloaded information very helpful.  The Metro even sends out bulletins informing you if trains are running late. Another good feature is an app that allows you type in an English phrase which is then translated into French  and is returned to you by voice. You just repeat the phrase and you've spoken French!  We found it helpful to download actual audio tours of places like the Louvre and listen to a tour guide while touring the greatest collection of art in the world. As an artist, Autodesk Sketchbook Express, was great to use to do sketches directly on the screen. We'll certainly make the iPod touch a part of our normal traveling and camping essentials.  

colours

I took some stills at the fleamarket and also some photos of anime on my TV. I then used the Movie Wizard feature on Ulead 9 to put together the slide show. Then I exported it to Ulead Video Editor to add FX.

I think it turned out pretty good.