adding/editing image background for chroma/greenscreen

[soji08]

i've viewed many youtube videos regarding 'how to greenscreen' tutorials and they all have their different approaches. my problem is i am stuck at editing the background image. i've tried the different techniques in the 'how to' videos but for some reason i cannot extend the image used to the length of the video used. i click on image and try to scroll it across but it will not move. i've tried unattaching audio track from video, to see if that will work, tried different image formats/sizes to see if it was the image used. i think i am missing a step (or two) where these videos assume the viewer already knows what to do, so they do not add it, or something, i am stuck.

any thoughts?  -alx

[borate]

Drop the background image onto track one, and make it any length you like.

Drop the green screen image onto track two, open the EFFECTS box and adjust the sliders for best presentation.

In reality, other colors than green can be used.  The 'key' to clean keying with this tool is to have marked contrast between the desired and undesired portions of the image.

 

[soji08]

hi,

this sounds obvious but how do you make bg image the length of the video added in 'track 2'? when i try to use mouse to scroll it (image in track 1) to the length of the video it doesn't let me. for the life of me, i can't remember what steps i used to create a green-screen video i made prior. i followed steps i've seen in some youtube videos and same instructions basically as you have mentioned but for some reason, i can't get it to work again. in the "clip feature' box it has it so one can "Set end time to time", i tried that but you can only set time to that of the image, you can't make it longer.  -alx

[Nationalsolo]

Hi

If your b/g is an image on Video track 1 and not a clip you can make it virtually any duration you want.

1. Grab the right hand end of the image clip with the mouse and you will see a white open square bracket appear. The open ends of the bracket should point into the b/g image clip with a small arrow on each side pointing in different directions.
2. Drag the bracket to the right. This will drag out the image clip. You can now release it when it lines up with your green screened clip on Video Track 2.

Alternative...

1. Select the green screened image on Video Track 2 and hover the mouse. A small window will open giving details of the clip. Note the value for the clip duration.
2. Switch into Storyboard mode
3. Left click the duration value shown under the b/g image thumbnail.
4. In the Clip duration window that opens enter the duration value noted in (1) above.
5. Click "Set"
6. Returning to Timeline mode you will see that the b/g image clip now has the same duration as the green screened clip in Video Track 2.

Nat

[soji08]

i don't know, i tried 'alternative' method. when i placed the duration settings of bg image in storyboard mode, i get prompt that says i can only adjust duration within the time of the original image settings.

so the image i used has a duration of "0:00:00.500".  my video has a duration of "0:00:10.300". keeps saying i can only adjust within .500.  prompt actually says this...

"Clip duration must be between 1 and 0:00:00.500"

[soji08]

it appears that the one thing i can do is copy/paste image until i get it to the length of the video, which would be quite time consuming, especially if video is 4 minutes or longer. 

 

[Nationalsolo]

Hi

Something seems very odd....You should be able to lengthen an image duration on the timeline using these two methods

Do this then...

1. Save your project off
2. Reopen VP and check the default image duration in Tools/Options/media..........Enter 5
3. Load an Image (.jpg/.bmp etc.) to VP and Drag and drop it onto Video Track 1.  The image clip should have a timeline duration duration of 5 seconds.
4. Grab the right hand end of the thumbnails on the timeline to get the white bracket and drag the timeline both ways.

This will shorten and/or lengthen the image clip. Does this happen?   (It should!)

      Now try the alternative method I suggested.....Go into Storyboard mode and note the duration of the image clip printed under the thumbnail. Left click on the value shown and enter10 in the duration box shown in the window that comes up followed by Set. Return to timeline mode. Your timeline image clip duration should now be 10 seconds again. Does this happen?

If both of these procedures work then you should be able to change the duration of your project background image clip to match the length of the overlay (greenscreen) clip. 

The only reason I can think of why your image clip won't lengthen is because it is NOT an image. You have loaded a very short video clip.

Nat 

 

 

 

[c_major]

6 hours ago, soji08 said:

i don't know, i tried 'alternative' method. when i placed the duration settings of bg image in storyboard mode, i get prompt that says i can only adjust duration within the time of the original image settings.

Looks like you were changing the transition duration.

There are a number of different ways to change image clip duration:

1. Drag the end of clip on the time line:

2. Click on the duration in Clip Preview window:

3. Click on the duration on storyboard time line:

[soji08]

hey all,

i found out why (sort of) image(s) would not 'extend' out when using mouse or when setting time duration. apparently, while troubleshooting, i selected, of all the hundreds of images i have on my pc, the 3 images that would NOT work on VP!! what are the frikiin' odds of that?  i went back and concluded that the problem had to either be: that the software was corrupt so i would have to remove and reinstall it OR images used were bad. i went the easier route and grabbed ANOTHER 4-5 banner images AND THEY ALL WORKED!.  un-effin'-believable!   now, the 3 images i used prior, that did not work happened to be gif files. gif files are suppose to work with VP right? they weren't animated gifs, look okay to me, am able to upload to my blogs and they view correctly.  crazy.

anyway, appreciate all the replies. maybe if i had more sleep i would have figured this out sooner, without having to post, but c'est la vie, no? 

 

cheerz - alx

 

[soji08]

FOLLOW UP:

i went and changed the 3  gif images that would not work in VP and changed them to .jpg. they all now work in VP with no problem.  how do you like that?  i didn't read anywhere that VP rejects .gif files so i'm a bit confused. haven't tried using another couple of other gif image files... maybe after i get some sleep.  bye now 

[Nationalsolo]

Hi

There should be no problem loading .gif files into VP.  Both normal.gif images, transparent gif images and animated .gif images will load. There is a slight problem recently reported re exporting animated gifs with transparency but this is in the process of being sorted out. So still not sure why some of your particular gifs wouldn't work correctly.

Nat