New user animation question

[harbrimar]

Hi

My first post so please go easy on me!! I have searched through the forum and looked at the manual but I am still flummoxed. I have downloaded v7 trial version of PTE and have been experimenting. I want to achieve an animation effect of the view through a car windscreen and the scenery zooming slowly in to create an illusion of movement. I have managed to create a zoom effect on the scenery slide and I have also created a mask PNG file with a transparent windscreen. However when I go through the process of putting scenery and mask together, I can see the scenery through my windscreen but the zoom effects the mask as well, so in effect cancelling out the illusion of movement. Any suggestions please?

[fh1805]

Consider the following structure of objects:

SlideA

Mask Container

--SlideB

--Mask Image

The black part of your mask image shows SlideA. The white part of your mask image shows SlideB. If you apply the zoom to the Mask Container, both the mask image and SlideB will be zoomed together. If you apply the zoom to just SlideB, only SlideB will move.

regards,

Peter

[xahu34]

Harbrimar,

Perhaps you have inserted the PNG image (windscreen) as a child object of the background image. In this case, it will inherit the background's zoom effect.

Regards,

Xaver

[harbrimar]

Thanks Peter and Xaver, now achieved the zoom effect on the background image. I think the problem was that when I clicked on 'Mask' the background image had the green square around it. But I now have a problem with the mask. It is a PNG file which is in colour. The area that should be transparent to enable view of the background is hatched in grey and white squares as is normal and works fine. However the background image can also be seen through the areas that are not pure black in the mask. The mask works perfectly in Photoshop Elements and also ProShow Gold, any suggestions please?

[fh1805]

PTE requires its mask images to be "black and white". It doesn't support coloured masks at present.

Peter

[harbrimar]

Thanks Peter but in the new features for v7 the spiel states " Mask object can use a color 32-bit PNG image file with an alpha channel for special visual effects". I am not sure what this means or how you can produce a 32 bit PNG image file. Your help would be appreciated

Regards

Brian

[Spock]

Hello Harbrimar:

Why not upload that part of the project,so you will do two things:

The advanced forum members will can help you better.

All will learn something else.

Spock

[xahu34]

...

Why not upload that part of the project

...

This is a good idea. Delete all slides except the one which contains the problem. Save the project using a new name, and export it using the function "Create Backup in Zip". Make an upload of the zip file to mediafire, or dropbpox , or ... an show us the link.

Regards,

Xaver

[Spock]

This is a good idea. Delete all slides except the one which contains the problem. Save the project using a new name, and export it using the function "Create Backup in Zip". Make an upload of the zip file to mediafire, or dropbpox , or ... an show us the link.

Regards,

Xaver

Hello Xaver.

It is not need upload to mediafire, dropbpox... That part of the project will be not heavy, so he can put it as an attachment in the new post.

Spock

[fh1805]

Thanks Peter but in the new features for v7 the spiel states " Mask object can use a color 32-bit PNG image file with an alpha channel for special visual effects". I am not sure what this means or how you can produce a 32 bit PNG image file. Your help would be appreciated

Regards

Brian

Brian,

From your original post, I don't think you need the extra function of a colour mask. Why not try the simple approach of a black and white mask? I'm fairly confident it will do what you want (i.e. allow the outside world to zoom whilst the car interior remains static.

Peter

[harbrimar]

Thanks again for the response. Hopefully the attachment will work. I have produced a very simple slide to illustrate the problem (not the finished product!). I would prefer not to convert the mask to B&W as I don't think it would look right.

Thanks

Brian

car.zip

[Ian]

Hi Brian

The easiest solution is to use a black-only mask as Peter suggests, but then also add as a new layer the coloured png file on top. The mask will produce the desired effect of giving you a transparent windscreen and the additional layer will give you the colour. See attached zipfile. I've only made a rough black-only mask so its a bit jagged around the edges but you'll get the idea.

[Ian]

Hi Brian

The easiest solution is to use a black-only mask as Peter suggests, but then also add as a new layer the coloured png file on top. The mask will produce the desired effect of giving you a transparent windscreen and the additional layer will give you the colour. See attached zipfile. I've only made a rough black-only mask so its a bit jagged around the edges but you'll get the idea.

hmm..... doesn't seem to allow me to attach the zipfile. Hopefully the suggestion will help anyway!

[xahu34]

In your situation, you do not need a mask container. The PNG file already includes the desired alpha channel. Just put screen.png on top of view.jpg, see project "car2".

Regards,

Xaver

car2_Jan16-2012_15-32-59.zip

[harbrimar]

Many thanks to you all for your help. Ian's suggestion works perfectly

Regards

Brian

[Lin Evans]

Hi Brian,

In looking at your construction, I'm perplexed. You have nothing inside the mask at all and you have transparency - but not full transparency - inside the vehicle in places like the mirror, steering wheel, etc.

If what you want is to have the outside image zoom and see that from within the vehicle, you only need full transparency on the front winshield and you don't need a mask at all. If you will post the original from inside the vehicle without any alterations, I'll quickly make a sample for you which I think might help you get your head around the concept better....

EDIT:

Never mind - Xaver has done it perfectly - if you haven't downloaded his example please do so....

Best regards,

Lin

Many thanks to you all for your help. Ian's suggestion works perfectly

Regards

Brian

[xahu34]

...

If what you want is to have the outside image zoom and see that from within the vehicle, you only need full transparency on the front winshield and you don't need a mask at all.

...

That's what I have said (Post 14).

Regards,

Xaver

[harbrimar]

Hi Xaver

Tried your suggestion as well and it also works perfectly

Many thanks

Brian

[Lin Evans]

Hi Xaver,

I posted before I looked at your sample, then we posted simultaneously - LOL. After looking at his sample, I was scratching my head about what he was trying to achieve. The only remaining thing other than your sample which may need to be done is to put a small PNG file with a mask on the rear view mirror so that the view changes as the vehicle apparently moves forward...

Best regards,

Lin

That's what I have said (Post 14).

Regards,

Xaver

[xahu34]

... The only remaining thing other than your sample which may need to be done is to put a small PNG file with a mask on the rear view mirror so that the view changes as the vehicle apparently moves forward ...

... the solution for the perfectionist

Best regards,

Xaver

[xahu34]

... After looking at his sample, I was scratching my head about what he was trying to achieve ...

What he tried to do isn't that bad! Some competitors allow to use PNG files as masks where the image part is ignored, and the included alpha channel is used as mask.

Best regards,

Xaver

[Lin Evans]

What was confusing me was all the partial transparency inside the vehicle. I use Producer which works very similar to PS Gold in that regards, but all the partial transparency wasn't making sense. The only place any masking would be needed for Gold or Producer would be in the areas of the windows, not on the steering wheel, etc. What I would do would be to make a small mask for the mirror, place an image inside to be manipulated, remove the steering wheel and replace it with a PNG overlay so it could be rotated a bit as the vehicle moved. Then add keyframes randomly and give the vehicle rotation and up and down motion to simulate driving over rough ground. Not too much work to add lots of realism...

Best regards,

Lin

What he tried to do isn't that bad! Some competitors allow to use PNG files as masks where the image part is ignored, and the included alpha channel is used as mask.

Best regards,

Xaver

[Spock]

Hello Brian

I made some changes...

Spock

http://depositfiles.com/files/ozy8ptfvk

[harbrimar]

Great effect Spock, I can see that I need a lot more practice. In so far as Lin's post is concerned I do not know how the partial transparency was achieved and put it down to the fact that the PTE mask has to be black. I made the mask windscreen image in Photoshop Elements 9 using Image/Magic Extractor (to create a transparent windscreen)and then saved the image as a PNG. The windscreen image and the background worked fine in PSG and no black mask was needed.I was confused by the masking process in PTE and had I just stuck with the same method I used in PS Gold i.e. using the windscreen image as a layer it would have been fine (apart from the semi transparency problem). If there is a simpler way of achieving the windscreen layer in PTE without using a black mask between it and the background I am open to suggestions.

Thanks again for your interest

Brian

[Lin Evans]

Hi Brian,

You don't need a mask at all. What you do is take your image of the vehicle into Elements (I have Photoshop, so instructions will be similar). Once you have the image opened, determine the size in pixel dimensions. Copy your vehicle to the clipboard. Open a transparency of identical size to your vehicle picture and "paste" the original image over the transparency. Why there were areas of partial transparency, I can't say. Perhaps it's because of the method you used in Elements to create the transparent windshield. Transparency is "indicated" by the checkerboard pattern. Where it is pure black and white there is 100 percent transparency. Where you see color in the checkerboard, there is partial transparency.

Next use the eraser tool and "erase" the area of the windshield(s) which you want to see the background through. Save this file as a PNG. Then open PTE, put the PNG transparency image on the layer above the background. What will show through the "windows" of your vehicle will be what is on the layer beneath. Then simply manipulate the layer beneath.

I will send you a project file done this way so you can see how it works.

Give me a few moments.

http://www.learntoma...vehiclemove.zip

The above is essentially the same project as Xaver sent you. The vehicle has transparency on the windshield in front and on the right side leaving the rear view mirror which you want to see. The transparency allows the layer beneath to show through in the areas where you see the checkerboard pattern that represents the alpha channel.

You create it by simply using two layers in Elements. The lower layer is transparency and the upper layer is your vehicle. You erase the areas of the "vehicle," i.e., the windshield which you want to be able to "see through" and this allows the image beneath (the animals, grass, etc.) to show through. There is no need for a mask at all unless you want to get a little more sophisticated and run the rear view mirror view inside a mask. If you want to see how that would be done let me know and I'll create a sample for you.

Best regards,

Lin