Maintaining the Same Size in First and Last Keyframe

solarblast · Member Joined: 29 Nov 2004 Location: N. California. USA

In my current video project, which touches on physics, I decided to use a falling apple over the title Gravity. It works quite well, but I made the apple a bit too big and probably should have used anti-aliasing. Rather than do it over again, I decided to try using the zoom (resize) aspect of video pans and keyframes to additionally make the apple pass vertically down the title.

By using the rectangular resize tool, it works fine on the first keyframe. I can shrink the apple nicely, so it looks round and not edgy. However, when I go to the second, last, keyframe, I have no idea how to match the resize to that of the first keyframe. The result is a smallish apple begins the fall and ends up being the original size as it goes out of sight. Is there a way to resize to a given value?

Vegas 6.0.

solarblast · Member Joined: 29 Nov 2004 Location: N. California. USA

Maintaining in the Subject, of course.

solarblast · Member Joined: 29 Nov 2004 Location: N. California. USA

I guess this just takes practice and experimentation. I'll give a brief sketch of what I did. I don't think there really is a way to specify the size, but the graphics can aid you to keep the same size throughout manipulations.

I started by setting up new project with two video tracks. I put a black text title generator on track 2 and the transparent still with the apple (and stem!) above it. I made them both the same length (10 sec). The apple is in the center of the still. Set a keyframe at 0 and 10 sec. Select keyframe 1.

Click on the pan/crop icon for the apple. You are presented with a Pan/Apple dialog. Off to the left in a column are icons, tools. The next section to the right is data on position, rotation, etc. Further to the right is the large work space with the apple frame in the middle on a checkered rectangular (frame) background. Surrounding the rectangle is a movable frame with grippers along the outline. The tools on the left are important.

Use the Move tool icon (bottom one) to allow motion only in Y. Now select the magnifier. Put your cursor in the workspace and right-click to magnify the area. Click until you see the image (frame) area in the middle of a field of rectangles. Change your tool to the arrow (edit tool). Pull a corner of the rectangle outward and watch the size of the apple in the Preview window. Find a satisfactory size.

I'll stop the finer details here. Basically, one pulls the image area upward, which causes the apple to disappear at the top. Now go to the next icon, the apple size stays the same, as does the workspace. Finish the motion off to make the apple drop out the bottom. You're done.