| Review the questions and answers in this section to sharpen your tips, tricks, and techniques when using Premiere. Also, take a few moments to tackle my short quiz and the exercises. Q&A | Q1: | I tried using the overlay method to place a cutaway in a piece. But each time I click the Overlay button, it places the cutaway in a completely different location or I get the message "The Source and Destination Durations Don't Match." What's going on? | | A1: | I have not found any documentation about this issue, but here's what I think is happening: Take a look at your timeline. Is there a gry band in the time ruler? That's the culprit. It shows the location of in- and out-points placed in your Program Monitor window. Sometimes those in- and out-points seem to appear for no apparent reason. Because all it takes is single-key shortcuts to put those in- and out-points in the Program Monitor window (I for In and O for Out), that could be how they showed up. In any event, they trump the edit line when it comes to telling the timeline where to place an overlay. So get rid of those in- and out-points. Press D and F to do that. | | Q2: | I want to apply a video effect gradually over the duration of a clip so the effect reaches its maximum values at the end of the clip. But it always returns to the default settings as it approaches the end. What's up? | | A2: | This is why I suggested setting the start and end keyframe values before working on any others. The end keyframe does not reflect any values you've placed in the middle of the clip. Unless you change it, it will retain the original, default value of the effect. | Quiz | 1: | The N key is versatile. What are its two shortcut functions? | | A1: | With the Timeline "active," pressing N selects the In- or Out-Point tool. Pressing it again changes from In to Out, or vice versa. With that tool selected, moving the cursor to the work area bar lets you select the right or left end of the work area. | | 2: | When floating clips over another clip, how do you make sure the drop shadow matte follows the same path ? | | A2: | After you create a path and select other motion settings for a clip, save those settings. Then when you open the Motion Settings dialog box for the black matte below the clip on the timeline, load those saved settings. Offset the matte from your floating clip by changing the location for each point along the motion path. | | 3: | You want to reuse a matte you created in the Title Designer to highlight a different clip. But that means you need to adjust its position and change its size. How do you do that? | | A3: | Use motion settings. Place the title on a superimposing video track and select Motion in the Effect Controls palette. Adjust that matte's location and size using the Motion Settings dialog box. | Exercises | 1: | Convert a collection of clips to smaller- sized clips by exporting them and giving them smaller frame sizes and using a compression codec. Edit a piece with them and when completed, swap the compacted clips with the real thing. This way, you'll see whether it's worth the conversion inconvenience. The slower your system, the more likely you'll want to do this more often. | | 2: | Place several clips in motion over a still image adding black matte drop shadows, a Title Designer “created tint with slight blurring to the background, and an alternative tinting to the floating images. | | 3: | Scan some old family photos. If you don't have a scanner, videotape them using a tripod. Do the Ken Burns thing and (using motion settings ”not your camcorder) zoom in on them, pan across them, and dissolve between wide and tight shots. Give your project a consistent look by creating a sepia tone for one clip, copying that clip, and using Paste Attributes to give that look to all the clips. | |
