Adding Some Flash to the Clip

Adding Some "Flash" to the Clip

For the final effects task that we are applying to the video clip, we're going to add some real flash to our clip. Specifically, we are going to add that "flash" of light that you often see in old movies. As movies age, the celluloid wears and weathers differently, allowing for bright spots as the projector bulb shines through with varying intensity at different points in the film. We can simulate this by animating the Brightness control so that it changes dramatically and suddenly at different points over time. To do this, we'll use the keyframes in the Properties panel for the clip to set two bright flashes, one at three seconds, and one at five seconds.

Adjust the Brightness Over Time

Select the 1850-old.avi clip on the Video 1 track on the Timeline.

In the Properties panel, click the Show Keyframes button and expand the panel as needed to get a good view of the keyframes work area, as shown in the illustration.

Timesaver

We'll be starting at the beginning of the clip, so press the Page Up or the Home key on your keyboard to return the CTI to the start position of the track (the head of the clip), if it's not already there.

With the CTI at the head of the clip, click the Toggle animation button.

Move the CTI three seconds into the clip (00;00;03;00).

In the Properties panel, under Image Control, set the Brightness level to 60.0.

Note

Premiere Elements automatically places a keyframe at this spot.

Move the CTI back 10 frames to 00;00;02;20 and reset the Brightness to 0.0.

Move the CTI ahead to 00;00;03;10 and reset the Brightness here as well to 0.0.

Repeat the process above and change the Brightness at these locations as follows:

00;00;05;00	60.0
00;00;04;20	0.0
00;00;05;10	0.0