Some help with video overlays...

[Muffin Squisher]

When I got Screenblast Movie Studio 3.0 a few months ago I was pretty happy because it had so many things I was looking for. Including two video timelines, one of them blatently labeled "Video overlay" Video overlays are something I've always wanted to do, but I don't still can't figure it out! Does anyone else have any experience with this program or overlays in general?

[narcted]

Overlays basically go on top of the main video. The advantage is that the size of the video can be changed and that the video can be given motion, like making it go across the screen. This is also how you would create a picture in picture. You can also make them opaque or transparent.

I usually use Video Studio and Mediastudio Pro. Here's a web tutorial.

[TaranT]

When I got Screenblast Movie Studio 3.0 a few months ago I was pretty happy because it had so many things I was looking for. Including two video timelines, one of them blatently labeled "Video overlay" Video overlays are something I've always wanted to do, but I don't still can't figure it out! Does anyone else have any experience with this program or overlays in general?

You've probably discovered that anything you put on the overlay track will cover whatever is on the main video track. Priority is from the top down. In order to make things interesting, you need to cut away some of the overlay clip so that parts of both clips will show at the same time. In general there are many ways to do this. But only a few of these work with Screenblast (aka VideoFactory aka Vegas Movie Studio) since it cost less that $100. (That may change as Sony updates to compete with the new Premiere Elements.)

Here are some quick ways to use the Video Overlay track. In each case use a clip on the main track and another clip directly above it on the overlay track.

1. Drag the left or right edge of the upper clip and create a fade (transition). When you press play, the upper clip will fade in or out and the lower clip will appear or disappear. Try using different transition types for different results.

2. Remove the fade. Right-click the upper clip and select Pan/Crop. Drag the blue squares and see what happens. For example, drag the square on the right edge of the dashed line inward toward the center. You should see the lower clip appear in the preview window. Read the Help menu item for Panning/Cropping to get more details.

3. Start with two more clips. Right-click the top one and select Event FX. In the left column, left-click Cookie Cutter and drag it into the window. Grab the Size slider and drag it left until you see a change in the preview window. You can get different effects by experimenting with the other controls in that window.

4. Using a drawing program like Photoshop, create a picture with a transparent background. Save it in PNG format. Then place it on the overlay track above any clip. That lower clip will show through the transparent areas of the picture.

5. Place a clip in the main (lower) track. Place the time cursor at the start of that clip. Right-click anywhere in the overlay track and select Insert Text Media. This opens the Screenblast text generator; use the tabs (Placement, Effect, etc.) and controls to shape the text. All text will appear over the clip that is on the lower track. The text clip is like any other clip in that you can apply fades, special effects, and so on.

6. Place a clip on the main track. In the lower left window, click the tab, Text & Backdrops. Select Credit Roll. Drag "Scrolling On Transparent" to the overlay track above the clip on the lower track. (Or select Text instead of Credit Roll.)

7. Place a clip on the main track. In the lower left window, click the tab, Text & Backdrops. Select Color Gradient. Drag Rectangular Transparent or Elliptical Transparent to the overlay track above the clip on the lower track. The controls for these are tricky to use and take some patience.

[Muffin Squisher]

Thanks! I'll try some of those methods out. *_*