Rotate still photos?

[mingusman]

I am an FCPer in an AVID world at the moment. My wife (an AVIDer) left town with a project going and asked me to help her out while she's gone. She is doing a piece with a multitude of still shots. She imported them from a CD without righting the vertical shots that are lying horizontally and would like me to right them.

The CD is at her office (preventing me from altering the originals), the AVID manuals are in another city (we're in the middle of a move) and the "Help" menu is of no help in this matter...plus she doesn't know how to do it either.

It is SOOO easy to do in FCP but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to perform this simple task in AVID (ggrrrrrr). So I ask: how does one rotate a vertical shot 90 degrees so that it is viewed properly.

Thanks

alan b

[debe]

Xpress DV doesn't rotate. This is part of what makes it less expensive.

However, the Boris tools may be of help. I'm not in front of an Avid right now, so this is from memory...

If Boris is installed, try adding a Boris effect, a basic motion or 3D...I can't remember what it's called...

Then try to rotate it. Sorry I can't be more specific. It's been a really long time!

Otherwise, do what I do, export the photos to FCP, do your photo montage in FCP, and export it out of FCP as an uncompressed QT and import it back in to Avid and drop the complete montage into Avid. Remember to add handles! Or try a little app called PhotoToMovie with the photo exports.

I don't think I helped...but I hope I did!

debe

[mingusman]

Really?

I am incredulous at your assertion. It seems such a basic need. Why wouldn't AVID include it? Amazing.

Well anyway, in my digging through bins and things I found in the effect bin(I think that's the bin) that has a "spin" effect folder and contained within are "x-spin" and "y-spin." I take it these do not produce the effect I'm after. Trouble is, AVID makes it so complicated to affect an effect (?) that I can't figure out for myself.

Oh well, thanks anyway. i guess we just wait until she can retrieve the CD with the originals.

ab

[debe]

Yep. I was sittin' there, hired to work on someone eles's Xpress Pro, trying to make something rotate....

To my own astonishment, it is not possible with the Xpress Pro tools, and the client had never installed Boris...so, with trusty laptop in tow, I imported the PSD file into FCP, did my move, exported a movie out, and dropped it back into the Xpress Pro timeline.

It might be possible with the Boris tools that ship with Xpress Pro. I've just never investigated it because I found a work-around that worked for me, and then that client moved three states away...so I don't use Xpress Pro anymore.

debe

[mingusman]

That is too much, man. Nothing like having to buy a $1000 program just so you can rotate still photos in the $1500 program that doesn't allow that action (though I wonder why you didn't just rotate the originals in Photoshop or some other image program?).

I don't want--really I don't--to get into a flame war here but I just gotta say, could there be a better argment for FCP vs AVID? FCP is just so much more intuitive. The only reason my wife has it at all is becuase the station she was producing for used it. I bemoaned her going that way but there wasn't any choice.

Alrighty then. So much for that. Thanks!

ab

[debe]

Oh, yeah..the client didn't have PhotoShop...and I only have one license, and it's installed on my G5 tower. He was a very bare-bones operation. He usually did VNRs and such. Then a client asked him to do a full-blown video production, and he said , "why, sure...my Avid can handle that...". Hah! Actually, for the most part, it worked just fine for what we needed to do. It's just very limited in "make it pretty" options. But again, that might be covered by the Boris tools, if he ever bothers to install them.

The FCP moves were much better, since you can go beyond raster in FCP. It ended up being a happy thing for us. Not so happy for you!

Full blown Avid is another story, but if I had to choose between Xpress Pro and FCP, hands down, FCP. If my options included Media Composer, and money was no object, I'd rather have BOTH Avid & FCP. Each has strengths, each has weaknesses. Which tool is the best tool depends on the project. When I'm lucky, I get to choose which tool I use!

debe

[MTDude]

There is a plug in that will do rotating and zooming and a host of other great things. It also works in the full resolution of the picture.

Check out Stage Tools and get the Moving Picture plug in.
www.stagetools.com

I would post the price, but I am not sure of the policies here. Suffice that it is very affordable for us editors.

Hope this helps.

[debe]

Thanks, MTDude!

We post prices for plug-ins and other products all the time around here...or say things like, "Nattress is the best 100 bucks you'll ever spend!"...or "Digital Heaven filters for $10 each, why NOT!!?

debe

[MTDude]

O.K. It is one of the best 268 dollars spent on a plug-in that will rotate and zoom pictures.

[grinner]

I knew it was weak but I seriously wasnt aware that it didnt even rotate.
I have an adrenaline and dont use the DVE much as it's still the same DVE they released in '95. It's just too aliased and primative to mess with so I am in the habbit of keeping AE open in every session.
I use to think one day Avid would assume we actually finish shows and upgrade accordingly but now it's pretty obvious they are in the FCP selling bidness.
this may be why the reciently cleaned house.
lets hop so.