more on Ken Burns

Ok I'm trying to post new creative ideas on here whenever I come across them, Here's my newest idea:
Everybody knows how to do the "Ken Burns" pan and scan of a still frame using Classic 2D editor. (using a still higher than 720x480)
This takes it a step further. First you need a still frame with something/ someone in the foreground and something behind it/them. The whole shot, or at least these 2 primary elements should be tightly in focus. In Windows, make a copy of the still frame, so you have 2 identical stills with different names. Open one of these with a graphics program of some nature. You can even use Microsoft Paint (I did) selectively delete the entire background being careful to get nice edges all the way around the foreground subject. It's a good idea to zoom in and clean up any stray pixels around the edges of your primary subject. Then color in the entire blank background with a bright "chroma green" color. Save these changes. Open Edition and import both the original intact still frame and the edited one with the chroma background. Drop the original still onto the timeline and adjust the duration you want. Then drop the edited still onto the video track above where the original sits. Adjust it for length also. If your still is larger than 720x480 you will not see the entire still in the playback window. Apply a Classic 2D editor to each clip and after selecting "Do not use Keyframes" resize each clip to exactly the same H and V size. Then apply a Chroma key (green) to the top clip. When I did this I turned off the "background processing" so it wasn't rendering over and over with each change. I then applied a Classic clip effect to both clips, and placed 2 keyframes about 3 seconds apart and centered on the clips. The keyframes in clip 1 and clip 2 are in the exact same position (or at least really close). In the top clip the first and second keyframes are set with no changes to the image, the third and fourth keyframes are set with about level 10 gaussian blur. On the lower clip the keyframes are reversed 1-2 with (L-10.) gaussian blur, and 3-4 unchanged. Turn back on the render engine, and give it a few seconds to churn it out. The result is the still with the foreground element tightly in focus and then as the playback hits the second keyframe, focus shifts from the foreground to the background. and stays there until the end of the clip. It really adds a touch of realism and a third dimention to an otherwise static shot. I could see this really selling when using images of still objects rather than people or animals. You could reverse the keyframes to focus on the background first and then the foreground. You could try tilting the foreground element slightly in the horizontal axis and then bringing it back to center as the shot pans right or left. I hope this process helps you think of new ways you can use Liquid Edition to make neat stuff, and then you'll be kind enough to share them, too. - Collin