Let’s face it,
using still images in video
can be plain boring,
but sometimes, you still have to use them.
Today, we’ll take a look at three ways
to animate your still images for use in video.
Hey guys, whats up.
This is Serge, and welcome back to my channel.
If you’re new here,
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and if you like what you see,
please subscribe.
Lets jump right into Final Cut Pro and get started.
First up is the Ken Burns effect.
This is the easiest way to animate your images,
and a lot of the time,
this is all you need.
Down in our timeline,
we have a nice landscape panorama image.
If we press Shift F to reveal this image
in the media browser,
over in the inspector,
if I click the info tab,
you can see we have a ton of resolution to work with.
So, back in our timeline,
lets first ripple trim this image to the desired length,
around 5 seconds.
Next, select the image in your timeline,
and from the viewer drop down menu,
select Crop,
and Ken Burns.
In the viewer, adjust the size of your start frame,
and your end frame.
You can also swap these around,
by clicking the swap button in the top left corner.
Click done,
and you just turned you still image
into a fake camera pan.
Next up is the parallax effect.
For this, you’ll need a photo editing app,
such as photoshop,
or a cheaper alternative I use is Pixelmator.
First thing we need to do
is separate our subject from the background,
and split the two into layers.
You can use the pen tool,
or if available, a smart selection tool.
Separate your subject from the background,
and split the image into layers.
Now, disable the subject layer,
and use a clone tool to fill the hole left behind.
If necessary, use the repair tool
to smooth out any visible edges in your clone.
It doesn’t have to be perfect,
but make it look as smooth as you can.
Next, re-enable the subject layer,
and export your image as a photoshop file.
Import your photoshop file into Final Cut Pro,
and add it to your timeline.
If necessary,
crop your image to fit the video frame.
You should see a little layer icon
beside the clip name,
to show that there are multiple layers in this image.
Double click on your clip in the timeline
to reveal layers, just like a compound clip.
Ripple trim both these layers to the desired length.
Set your playhead at the start of your clip,
and select just the top layer.
From the dropdown menu,
select the transform tool,
and add a keyframe.
Move your playhead to the end of your top layer,
and increase the scale to about 130 percent.
Select the bottom layer,
move your playhead back to the start,
and add a keyframe to the transform parameter.
Move your playhead to the end,
and set the scale to 110 percent.
Press the back button to go back to your project,
and ripple trim the layer clip.
Now, when we play back our clip,
the subject and the background
move at different rates,
giving it some separation for a subtle parallax effect.
Last method we’ll take a look at today
is adding some 3D perspective to your image.
For this, you’ll need an image with a flat horizon,
and Apple’s Motion 5.
Create a new motion project,
import your still image,
and in the inspector,
scale up your image to fit the video frame.
First thing we want to do is add a camera
and Switch to 3D.
Select your image layer,
and make a copy of it
by pressing K on your keyboard.
Select the bottom layer,
and crop the top of the image down to the horizon line.
Select your top image layer,
and crop the bottom of the image
up to the same horizon line.
Click on the bottom layer again to select it,
right click in the viewer,
and select Anchor Point.
Move this down to the bottom of the frame.
Press Q to enable the 3D Controls,
hold down the Shift key,
and drag down on the top circle
to rotate the image 90 degrees.
Next, grab the top of your image,
and stretch it all the way up
until it touches the top image.
Right click in the viewer again,
and choose the distort tool.
Click and drag the corners
to resize your image to its original shape.
Select your top layer,
and move the anchor point down to the bottom of it.
Press Q to enable the 3D controls,
and switch to the right side camera view.
Move your top image over and down
until it lines up with the edge of your bottom image.
Switch back to the Active Camera view,
and in the inspector,
scale up your top image to fill the frame again.
If we orbit the camera,
you can see we now have a little box here.
Double click the orbit button to reset the camera.
Now, with the camera layer selected,
from the behaviours drop down menu,
select basic motion, and move.
Move the playhead to the end of your timeline,
and reframe your image.
I’ll dolly in on mine,
and maybe move it down a little.
If we play back our clip,
we now have a fake dolly move,
with some 3D perspective added it it.
All thats left to do now,
is export your project,
import it into Final Cut Pro,
and add it to your project.
If you want to learn more about any of these techniques,
I’ll leave a few links in the video description
to videos that go a little more in depth
into each of these methods.
I you enjoyed this video,
make sure to hit the like button,
and check out the rest of my channel for more tutorials.
Thanks for watching,
and I’ll see you back here next week.