Positioning and cropping

downtown

I have 10 images of a sunset that I want to make a into a video of the sun setting. Since the sun moves
while capturing the images, the "hot spot" of the sun moves. Can I use positioning and cropping to align
these images so the sun aligns where it should be and can track through all the images? Can I crop the
final animation or do I need to crop the images first?

Thanks

borate

As always, there are a number of approaches. One would be to use a sequence exclusively for the images.

Place images 1 and 2 side by side and position them to taste. Add #3 and do the same, and so on. Transition between them if desired.

When satisfied with their movement, export that sequence. It becomes a clip to be added to the main edit and cropped.

[deleted]

Set up dual previews so you can monitor the result without having to click between them and then use the Position effect on each image to line up the Horizon or some prominent feature on the horizon..The Sun's disc will then descend in steps to a stationary horizon. To Lining up the sun on each image might look odd as the horizon will rise to the sun! from the point of view of the jumps in the disc use crossfade between images to smooth the transition. Once that part is OK create a sequence, reload the sequence and then use Zoom at a suitable AR to remove edge problems.

I used a similar approach using VP to "film" the Solar eclipse of 2006, lining up the images of the sun's disc in the centre of the frame . It worked perfectly. In this case the horizon was just a rocky desert and would be the moving part of the image but due to filtering wasn't visible anyway.🙂

Nat

downtown

Thanks to both of you. It worked great....but, as I reposition the images to line up the sun and the horizon,
I have "dead space" around some images as it moves in the frame. Can I crop the final output, as you would
maybe in Photoshop when layering images of different sizes. And are you suggesting that the ZOOM effect
will fix this?

borate

Save Project File AS routinely, giving it a unique # or name, so as not to overwrite prior saves. Using Save Project Files (no AS) will overwrite. From the HOME tab, that choice is available by clicking the chevron to the right of the Save Project button on the toolbar.

Then test Crop or Zoom on the result of the positioning...

If a separate sequence was created for the positioned clips, that sequence can be embedded into the main sequence. With the main sequence displaying on the timeline, click the Sequences tab in the bin and drag the 'position' sequence into the main sequence.

Or simply export the 'position' sequence and add it as a clip to the main sequence.

[deleted]

"....Can I crop the final output, as you would
maybe in Photoshop when layering images of different sizes. And are you suggesting that the ZOOM effect
will fix this?...."

If there are "borders" to some of the images as a result of re positioning them, they could be cropped but that would make things worse as those images would now have black borders and be smaller than uncropped images. The best way (IMHO) is to proceed in this way......

First Save Project As so you have a vpj file that will restore your work if things go wrong.
Now Create a Sequence by clicking the + sign that follows Sequence 1 X at the left end of the timeline. This will create a single clip of your work put it in the Sequence bin and clear the timeline.
Now open the Sequence bin and load Sequence 1 back to the timeline.
You can now add a Zoom effect to what is now a single clip.
Set the AR to 16:9 (or the AR of the images) and then adjust the rectangle to such a size that the "bad bits" are outside the rectangle. You can review the Sequence preview to check all is well and readjust the Zoom rectangle if bad bits on some images are still visible.
When all seems OK Export your work.

Note:

When you use Crop the image is in effect trimmed leaving the areas around the Crop Rectangle black. The image is not enlarged.

Using Zoom, on the other hand will trim the image back in a similar way to Crop but then it will enlarge it again so the full frame is retained. A 16:9 AR is full frame in VP(see below right)

As you are using a Sequence (in effect a single clip of all your images,) they all get the same treatment.

To illustrate the different results with Zoom and Crop....

Left: Orignal 16:9 image Centre: Image Cropped 16:9 Right:Same image and same area Zoomed 16:9

On the right it is Full Frame again (being 16:9) - the same AR as the original. but slightly enlarged now to eliminate the black borders that you would get if had you just cropped.

Nat