User’s Guide Revision A - English Pinnacle Systems, Inc. 280 N. Bernardo Ave Mountain View, CA 94043 www.pinnaclesys.
License Agreement This End User License Agreement (“License”) is a legal agreement between you and Pinnacle Systems (“Pinnacle”) regarding Pinnacle’s software and the accompanying documentation (collectively, the “Software”). CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING LICENSE. USING THIS SOFTWARE INDICATES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THIS LICENSE. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT OR UNDERSTAND THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE, YOU SHOULD NOT INSTALL THE SOFTWARE AND PROMPTLY RETURN THIS PRODUCT TO YOUR VALUE-ADDED RESELLER. 1. License Grant.
impair the Software (and any other software on your computer which specifically depends on the Software) including disabling your ability to copy and/or play "secure" content, i.e. content protected by digital rights management.
T able Of Contents LICENSE AGREEMENT........................................................ 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................ 5 INTRODUCTION.................................................................. 9 What is Hollywood FX?..................................................................9 Hollywood FX Levels ...................................................................10 Before You Start................................................................
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide 3D Text Generation PRO ............................................................... 62 REFERENCE GUIDE ..........................................................63 THE HOLLYWOOD FX DIALOG ...........................................65 The Hollywood FX Dialog ............................................................ 65 The Control Panel....................................................................... 66 The Monitor Panel ..............................................
T able Of Con ten ts Texture Options ..........................................................................93 Color Options .............................................................................94 THE ENVELOPE EDITOR PLUS PRO ......................................... 97 The Single Value Envelope ..........................................................97 Multiple Value Envelope ..............................................................98 The Envelope Window ..............................
Introduction Thank you for purchasing Hollywood FX. Hollywood FX gives you an incredible collection of 3D transitions that you can quickly add to your video productions, and customize completely for your needs. This chapter will introduce you to Hollywood FX, provide instructions for installation and give contact information for customer support. This is a general guide to using Hollywood FX.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Hollywood FX Lev els There are three levels of Hollywood FX: • Basic. Includes 100 transitions and simple control over flight direction, lighting, shadows shine, motion blur, trails, and antialiasing (Basic for Pinnacle Studio includes 16 sample transitions and limited control). • Plus. Enables 188 additional transitions (288 total) plus advanced control over lighting, light direction, shadows, shine, motion blur, trails, antialiasing and more.
In trodu ction Before You Start Before getting started with Hollywood FX you should have a good working knowledge of your Windows system. You should be able to use the mouse to select menu options and should understand and be able to use the common controls. You should also be thoroughly familiar with your video editing software. You should be able to use clips in the timeline and understand how to add and modify transitions and filters.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Installing Hollywood FX If Hollywood FX was included in a Pinnacle Systems’ solution, it will be installed automatically with that product, and you can skip this section. Before installing Hollywood FX, verify that you have the correct minimum requirements: • • • • • PC compatible computer with at least a 300 MHz (Intel Celeron/Pentium II, or AMD Duron/Athlon class processor) Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.
In trodu ction Licensing and Registration The License Tool Registering your software gives you access to important benefits including current updates, support, upgrade promotions, and information on exciting new products from Pinnacle Systems. Hollywood FX Basic and Plus do not require registration, but will continue to remind you until you have registered your software. Hollywood FX PRO is copy protected, and users must register within 90 days to continue using the software.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Customer Support Pinnacle Systems is dedicated to providing the best products and the best customer support. For fastest support, point your browser to www.pinnaclesys.com/support. Please note Pinnacle Systems cannot provide support for using your nonPinnacle video editing software. You should first make sure you fully understand the operation of your other software before calling.
Getting Started This chapter provides quick-start documentation for each video editor (host application) that Hollywood FX plugs into. For each host application, the basic procedure is described for adding and modifying Hollywood FX transitions and filters, as well as hints and tips specific to that video editor. After reading the section describing your video editor, you should continue to the tutorials in the following chapter.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Pinnacle Studio Hollywood FX transitions can be applied between video clips and titles within Pinnacle Studio 7 and higher. Addin g a Hollyw ood FX T ran sition To use Hollywood FX, first prepare two video sources into the storyboard. Two video clips ready with a Hollywood FX transition in the storyboard · T o add a tr ansition to the stor yboar d or timeline: Make sure the Transitions tab in the Album is visible.
Gettin g Started F F F You can quickly reverse the direction by checking the Reverse check box. You can also type in a specific duration for the effect. If you have Hollywood FX Plus or PRO, you will see the Edit button. When you click the Edit button, the Hollywood FX dialog will appear, letting you choose a specific transition, and change options for your transition. The Studio Transition Toolbox where you can edit your selection.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide F F Drag BAS-Page Peel from the album (when you stop the mouse pointer over an icon, the effect name will appear) into the timeline at the beginning of the title. Adjust the length of the transition as desired. Hollywood FX flies the title on · M ake the title Fly Off Close the toolbox if it is still open. F From the Hollywood FX For Studio group in the Transition Album, drag and drop PLS-Warp into the timeline at the end of the title.
Gettin g Started Pinnacle Edition and Liquid The Hollywood FX effects can be found under PlugIn Transition FX and Plugin Clip Fx folders under the Edition.FX tab in the Project window. Addin g a Hollyw ood T ran sition Before adding a Hollywood FX transition, prepare two video sources on the A and B tracks of the timeline, so that there is some overlap between the two video clips. · T o add a tr ansition to the timeline: F Click on the Edition.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide A Hollywood FX Transition in the timeline F Double-click on the transition block or Right-click on the transition and choose the Edit... command from the popup menu. F The Hollywood FX dialog will appear, letting you choose a specific transition, and change options for your transition. Ch an gin g an Existin g HFX T ran sition You can modify a transition that is already in the timeline, changing the selected effect or any options at any time.
Gettin g Started · Fly on the title with Hollywood FX: F In the Project window, click on the Edition.FX tab, then double-click on the Plug In Clip Fx folder. F Drag the Hollywood FX 4.6 Filter from the Project window into the timeline on top of the first copy of the title. Click on this icon to display the Hollywood FX dialog. Hollywood FX Filter added to first title clip F F F F F Double-click on the asterisk (*) icon on the title clip to display the Hollywood FX dialog.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Adobe Premiere Hollywood FX appears in the Pinnacle Folder in Adobe Premiere. If it does not appear see Troubleshooting for more information. Addin g a New HFX T ran sition Before adding a Hollywood FX transition, prepare two video sources on the A and B tracks of the timeline, so that there is some overlap between the two video clips. Two video clips ready for a Hollywood FX transition · T o add a tr ansition to the timeline: F Make sure the Transitions window is visible.
Gettin g Started The Hollywood FX dialog lets you choose a specific transition, and change options for your transition (and will be described in full detail later). F F F Click on Dive Off in the first row of icons in the FX Catalog. Click Ok to close the Hollywood FX dialog. Render that section of your project in Premiere to see the results. Ch an gin g an Existin g T ran sition You can modify a transition that is already in the timeline, changing the selected gradient or any options.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide F In the Transparency Settings dialog change the key type to Alpha Channel, click Ok. Premiere’s Transparency Dialog F From the Video Tab, drag and drop the Hollywood FX 4.6 filter onto the second title. The Hollywood FX 4.6 filter F Now click the Setup button next to the Hollywood FX in the Effect Control panel (the name of the specific effect selected will be listed); the Hollywood FX dialog will appear.
Gettin g Started Av id AVX Avid’s AVX plugin structure allows for flexibility with Hollywood FX. Hollywood FX can be used as a single image filter, a transition, or for MultiWindow effects directly within the timeline. The following sections describe the process for using Hollywood FX in Avid AVX compatible products.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide A Hollywood FX transition in the Avid Timeline · T o change a tr ansition in the timeline: F Switch to Effect Mode. F Click on the plugin icon in timeline. F Click on the button to the left of 02 Sources - Transition in the Effect Editor window. F Make your changes in the Hollywood FX Selection dialog. Click here to display the Hollywood FX dialog.
Gettin g Started F F Click on the button to the left of 01 Source - Filter in the Effect Editor window. Make your changes in the Hollywood FX Selection dialog. Addin g A Hollyw ood FX Mu ltiWin dow Effect Avid’s nested track capability makes it simple to use Hollywood FX’s MultiWindow effects in your projects. · T o add a M ultiWindow to the timeline: F Open the Effect Palette (Ctrl-8). F Select the Pinnacle Hollywood FX group from the left side of the Effect Palette.
T utorials Transitions & Options This tutorial will take you through the basics of selecting a Transition FX and setting Effect Options. · T o pr epar e for this tutor ial: F Set up two video clips in your host application and add Hollywood FX as described in Getting Started. F When the Hollywood FX dialog appears, you are ready to begin. The Hollywood FX dialog The Hollywood FX dialog is organized into panels. The first panel is the Control panel, which is the central control for working with FX.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide F Click on the Ball Split FX icon. When you select this FX, hints and tips for that effect appear at the bottom of the FX Catalog panel. T h e Mon itor Pan el Whenever you make changes in Hollywood FX, the preview window in the Monitor panel is updated. Try dragging the slider directly below the preview to view different frames of the preview. Press loop play to preview continuously as you work. Press again to stop preview. Jump to the last frame Play entire FX preview once.
T u torials · Rever se Flight: F Click on the Reverse Flight checkbox. Watch the changes in the preview. F Click on the Reverse Flight checkbox to clear it. Watch the preview now. You will see that instead of the first video source flying off and revealing the second video source, the second video source will fly on and cover the first video source. · Flight Path: F Click-and-drag the Flight Path dial so that it reads 45. Watch the preview. F Click on the Rotate Object checkbox so it is checked.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide · Light Dir ection: Plus PRO F Click-and-drag the Light Direction dial so that it reads 90. Watch the preview. F Click-and-drag the Light Direction dial so that it reads 180. Watch the preview. F Click-and-drag the Light Direction dial so that it reads 0. You can also use the arrow keys to change the dial by one degree increments. Changing the light direction to 180 degrees gives a very unique, almost sinister appearance.
T u torials Transition+ In the previous tutorial you worked with a Transition FX which had only two video sources. In this tutorial you will use a Transition+ FX that performs a transition, but has additional video sources you can use. NOTICE: Avid AVX users will want to follow the directions in the Host Applications section for setting up Transition+, since Avid provides special features for Transition+.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide You have selected a new video source and should be able to see it in the background as Source 1 flips over to Source 2. You should also make sure the field interpretation is correct for this video. · T o change field Inter pr etation: Click on the Interpret popup, and select the proper field interpretation for your video. For most video capture cards you will select Interlaced – Upper First or Interlaced – Lower First.
T u torials MultiWindow FX The final type of FX in Hollywood FX is the MultiWindow FX. MultiWindow FX do not perform a transition from one video source to another. Instead, they feature multiple video windows that fly on or off screen in various ways. For this tutorial we will use the Flip 4 effect and we will reverse it, so that we have four video windows that fly on, and play over a backdrop.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Selectin g th e FX an d Settin g Option s For this tutorial, you will select an effect called Flip 4, where four video sources fly off over a backdrop video. We want the video sources to fly on, so we will reverse the FX. · Selecting the Flip 4 FX and setting options: Select Multiwindow Effects from the FX Group popup menu. F Select Flip 4 from the FX icons. F Click on the Effect Options item in the Control panel. F Click on the Reverse checkbox.
T u torials The last position will hold for the final 30% of the total time Hold Time controls and how it affects the timeline · T o change the Hold at End: F Click on the Advanced Options item in the Control panel. F Drag the End slider (under Hold Times) to 30%. F Click the Play Once button in the Monitor panel to see the preview. Now all of the video windows will fly on during the first 70% of the total FX time, and will hold at their final position for the last 30% of the total time.
Pinnacle Online When you register Hollywood FX online to get your permanent keycode, you will also receive a userid and password for Pinnacle Online, where you can purchase and instantly download upgrades and add-on packs of FX. To use Pinnacle Online you will need a web browser (like Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher), and a connection to the Internet. Simply connect to http://hollywoodfx.pinnaclesys.com. Follow the instructions there to access and use your Pinnacle Online account.
T roubleshooting This section provides a list of common problems and their solutions. If you can’t find an answer to your problem in this list, or in the ReadMe file that is created during setup, then contact Hollywood FX customer support for more help. Hollywood FX does not show up in my host application. During installation Hollywood FX will attempt to find all compatible host applications and install the proper plugin files for that application.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide • Click on the Settings button in the Hollywood FX dialog and try changing the Render Type to OpenGL Software Engine. If it is already set to OpenGL Software change it to Portable Software. When I select video or images in the Media Options panel I get a white object instead of video. Generally this indicates you have run low on memory.
Performance Hollywood FX uses OpenGL, which is the industry standard 3D graphics language for high performance high quality rendering. Over the past few years the 3D accelerators and their OpenGL graphics drivers have improved dramatically, however there are still times that the graphics drivers cause incompatibilities with Hollywood FX. For this reason, Hollywood FX defaults to software-only rendering for the highest degree of compatibility, at the cost of slower previews and rendering.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide F Click OK to return to the Hollywood FX window and try the new settings. If you encounter problems with the preview after enabling on-screen rendering, you should immediately return to Hollywood FX Settings and select the OpenGL Software or Portable Software Engine. NOTICE: It is recommended to perform test these rendering changes using the Easy FX editor that you can launch from the Start Menu.
Advanced T utorials Before following these tutorials, you should fully read and understand the previous portion of this guide. Keyframe Editing with Env elopes Plus PRO This tutorial demonstrates the way you can keyframe any option in Hollywood FX to create advanced results. Hollywood FX uses the term Envelope to describe a set of keyframes that describe how an option’s value will change over time in Hollywood FX.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Hollywood FX makes it extremely easy to create envelopes by simply clicking and dragging in the envelope window. We want to create an envelope for dissolve that makes the object disappear over the entire length of the transition. · T o cr eate a simple envelope: F Click-and-drag in the envelope window at 100% in time, and 100% in value. Drag the keyframe you create all the way to 100% value and release the mouse. Click here to create your first keyframe.
Advan ced T u torials Now our envelope will work correctly, causing the object to dissolve over the entire length of the transition. Try playing the preview to see the results. Let’s add one more keyframe to this envelope, so that the object becomes transparent more quickly. We will create this key in a different way. · T o cr eate the new keyfr ame: F Drag the current time slider at the top of the envelope window until it is at 50%. F Now drag the Dissolve slider in the Object Options panel up to 90%.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide F Click Ok in the file requester to save the envelope. Now let’s say we don’t really like having the keyframe at 50%, so we will get rid of it. · T o delete the cur r ent keyfr ame: F Click on the Delete button in the Envelope Editor. The keyframe at 50% disappears, and the envelope returns to a straight line between 0% and 100%.
Advan ced T u torials Flight Path Editing Plus PRO You can edit the paths of any 3D object to create unique results. A set of tools on the Object Options panel along with the Envelope Editor give you complete flexibility to create new flight paths for objects. In this tutorial we will take the Ball Backup FX, and create a new path so that the ball bounces up and down on the screen. We use the term path to mean the envelope for an object’s position, rotation, and scale.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide The picture above shows each keyframe in the Ball Backup FX. For each keyframe you can see the position, rotation and scale values, as well as a camera preview and a perspective preview of the FX at that time. You can follow along yourself by using the Next and Prev buttons in the Envelope Editor, and using the View buttons in the Monitor panel to switch between camera and perspective view.
Advan ced T u torials move. Let’s change the 100% keyframe so that the object will be in its final position. You will actually move and adjust the sphere object by clicking and dragging in the preview window, so read the following directions very carefully. · T o change the last keyfr ame: F Click the Next button in the Envelope Editor, so that the 100% time keyframe is selected. F Click on the Scale tool button in the Object Options panel.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Now we will create two more keyframes for the top and bottom of our bounce (then we will use the Envelope Editor’s copy function to duplicate the bounce). First let’s create the top of the bounce. · T o cr eate a new keyfr ame: Move the current time slider to time 10%. F Click on the Scale tool button in the Object Options panel. F Click-and-drag to the left in the preview until the object’s scale values are around 0.25.
Advan ced T u torials F Click-and-drag down in the preview until the object is at the very bottom of the preview. Right now, at the bottom of the bounce, the keyframe is set to move smoothly through that time, so it won’t look much like a bounce. Let’s change that by making the spline curve to perform a bounce instead of a smooth curve. We will use the Presets feature in Hollywood FX.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Creating New FX from Existing FX PRO The easiest way to create new FX is by changing an existing FX to meet your needs rather than starting from scratch. In this example, we will take the Flyoff FX and replace the flying window with a morphing shape, plus we will use an image filter plugin to dissolve the shape in an exciting way. · Pr epar e for the T utor ial and Select the FX: Create a new project in your host application.
Advan ced T u torials Click-and-drag up from here. Let go of the mouse button here. Creating the first keyframes. · Adjust the 100% time keyfr ame: F Click-and-drag on the keyframe at 100% time. F Drag it up to 100% value and let go of the mouse button. F Click on the Linear checkbox in the Key Type group in the Envelope Editor. After adjusting the 100% time keyframe We now have an envelope where the Morph starts at 0% and moves up to 100% during the first 10% of the duration of the FX.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Your new morphing cylinder effect Savin g You r Cu stom FX In a moment we will make some more changes to this FX, but lets save it as a new FX right now. If you are creating a custom FX for a specific project, you don’t need to save it. All of your customizations will be saved as part of the host application’s project file. However, if you want to use the customized FX again and again you will want to save it to disk and add it to the FX Catalog.
Advan ced T u torials Addin g a Filter Plu gin Now, let’s make our cylinder do a cool dissolve over time using the Gradient Wipe plugin. Hollywood FX includes a number of plugins for filtering media video and for warping 3D objects. The Gradient Wipe plugin uses a grayscale gradient image to dissolve a Media item using the “shape” of the gradient as the shape of the dissolve. · T o add the Gr adient Wipe Plugin: F Select the Host Video 1 Media item in the Control panel.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide object partially dissolve then reappear, and you could envelope softness, border size, and color to create a more dynamic and interesting dissolve. Same cylinder, now with gradient wipe To conclude this tutorial, save your modified FX one more time. · T o Save Your Custom FX: Make sure the current time slider in the Envelope Editor window is at 40% time (for the icon). F Click on the Save FX button in the Control panel. A save file requester will appear.
Advan ced T u torials Warp Plugins PRO Hollywood FX includes a number of 3D plugins called Warps. These Warps mathematically change the shape of a 3D object and can be keyframed over time. This tutorial will demonstrate the use of one of the most common Warp plugins called Peel. Unlike more limited effect software, Hollywood FX allows you to attach a Peel to any object (not just a flat plane) and allows you to attach multiple peels to the same object.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide · T o modify Per cent of peel completed and Angle of Peel: Clear the Tie transition amount to effect transition checkbox. F Clear the Tie peel direction to flight direction checkbox. F Change the Angle of Peel spinner to –45 and the Percent of peel completed slider to 50. F Angle of Peel of –45 and 180 The Percent of peel completed controls how far the peel has progressed.
Advan ced T u torials Roll and Peel Now lets quickly create an interesting keyframed effect where the peel spins around the object as it peels. · T o star t keyfr aming the Angle of Peel: F Clear the Peel instead of roll checkbox. F Check the Tie Transition Amount to Effect Transition checkbox. F Move the Angle of Peel spinner to 0. F Move the current time slider in the envelope window to 0%.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide 3D Text Generation PRO Hollywood FX includes an easy-to-use 3D text generator. This feature is best used within the Filter format of Hollywood FX. It allows you to create text that is extruded in 3D with bevels. You can assign different colors to the sides, face and bevel edges of the text. You can also generate the text as a single block or with each letter being it’s own separate object. This tutorial will demonstrate the use of 3D text in its most common uses.
Reference Guide 63
T he Hollywood FX Dialog The Hollywood FX dialog gives you quick and easy access to all of your 3D transitions, and lets you quickly change rendering options and edit flight paths and other attributes of FX. This chapter describes the Hollywood FX dialog and all of its controls. The Hollywood FX Dialog The Hollywood FX dialog is made up of a number of panels. These panels group together the different features of Hollywood FX so that you can quickly and easily select effects and make changes.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide The Control Panel The Control panel is the central control for the Hollywood FX dialog. It contains items to select the current FX, set options for the FX, and edit individual media items and objects. When you click on one of these items, the Item Panel on the right side of the Hollywood FX dialog changes to show the options for the selected item. Click on Effect Options to change options like lighting, shadows, shine, motion blur, and more.
T h e Hollyw ood FX Dialog Move Up/Move Dow n … Plus PRO Click either of these buttons to change the rendering order of objects. The feature is particularly useful for effects you design that have a keyhole or transparency need. Examples of effects using this technique are: Spotlight and 00HFX in the Video & Film group. In order to create the illusion of a disk keying through source one, we need to have it rendering before source one.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Ren ame… PRO Click this button to rename an item in the Control panel (you cannot rename the FX or the Effect Options items). When you click this button, the rename dialog will appear, letting you type in a new name for the current item. The Rename dialog Clon e… PRO Click this button to copy the current item. Only Media, Object, and Plugin items can currently be cloned.
T h e Hollyw ood FX Dialog Starting Host Track control to set the first host track used by the clones. • Starting Host Track. When Create New Media For Each Clone is selected, you can enter a starting track number to use for the clones. The clone tool will begin by using the track number entered here, then increment the track for each successive clone. The Clone dialog D el et e PRO This button will delete the current item from the FX (only Media and Object items can be deleted).
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide T oolbar PRO The Toolbar is an area of buttons allowing for incredible functionality. You can create any of the following. • Blank FX. Select this item to start a new FX from scratch. The new FX will be named Untitled until you save it with a new name. • Plugin. Click this to add a plugin to the current element. If a Media item is currently selected, a list of Filters will be displayed. If a 3D object is selected, then a list of Warps will be displayed.
T h e Hollyw ood FX Dialog The Monitor Panel Change camera views while editing flight paths. Click this button to play the entire preview one time. Use this slider to move back and forth through the frames of the preview. Click this button to start and stop looping playback of the preview. Use Skip and Step buttons to jump to start or end of the preview and single frame step. The Monitor Panel provides a preview of your chosen FX and options. The preview is generated on the fly as you make changes.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide T h e Preview Slider The preview slider lets you manually move to any frame of the preview. Simply move the slider back and forth to see different frames of the preview. If the preview is playing (either the looping playback is selected, or the single playback was just pressed), you will not be able to use the preview slider. View Bu tton s Normally, the preview shows the view from the camera in the FX. The camera view is what is used for rendering the actual FX.
T h e Hollyw ood FX Dialog The Item Panel The Item Panel changes to display options for the current selection in the Control panel. The different Item Panels are discussed in the following chapters. The Env elope Editor Panel Plus PRO The Envelope Editor is used for advanced keyframe editing of object flight paths and option envelopes. This panel is discussed in detail in the chapter titled The Envelope Editor.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide can also quickly connect to Pinnacle Online through the Internet from the About dialog. Ok Click Ok to save your changes and exit the Hollywood FX dialog. When you click Ok you are returned to your host application. Clicking the close button at the top right of the dialog has the same effect as clicking Ok. C an cel If you wish to discard the changes you have made since the Hollywood FX dialog was displayed, click Cancel.
T he FX Catalog When the Hollywood FX dialog is first displayed, and whenever you click on the current FX name in the Control panel, the FX Catalog is displayed on the right side of the Hollywood FX dialog. Select from the different groups of FX using this dropdown. Left-click on an icon to select that FX. The current selected FX is highlighted in purple.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide A list of the current groups and FX within those groups is maintained in the file effects.org within the Hollywood FX\Orgs folder. This list is updated automatically when you use the Save FX button, but must be deleted if you want to rebuild the list after reorganizing effect files. Within the Effects folder in Hollywood FX you will find a set of folders that are in fact the groups in the FX catalog. Within these folders you will find the .
Basic Options Once you have selected an FX from the FX Catalog, you can change rendering options for that FX. · T o Display the Basic Options Panel F Click on the Basic Options item in the Control panel The Basic Options Panel Hollywood FX makes it easy to quickly customize an FX to your needs with a series of simple controls. Easy Flight Controls Reverse Fligh t In most transitions, the Source 1 (A) video flies off screen revealing the Source 2 (B) video.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide check the Rotate Object checkbox, the object will rotate to follow the Flight Direction, often giving a more interesting result. Easy Lighting Controls Ligh tin g Use this checkbox to turn on or off lighting in the FX. Turning off lighting will eliminate the realistic shading, but will speed up rendering. Sh adow s Use this checkbox to turn on or off shadows in the FX. Turning off shadows will speed up rendering. Having shadows on can add a sense of 3D realism to an FX.
Basic Option s • Video. Highest level of antialiasing, slowest rendering. Motion Blu r This checkbox will turn on realistic motion blur for an FX. Motion blur mimics the blur that is seen when objects move quickly across a camera’s view. Turning on this option will increase rendering time. T ra i l s Checking this will turn on trails. Any moving objects will leave trails behind them as they move.
Advanced Options Plus PRO Once you have selected an FX from the FX Catalog, you can change rendering options for that FX. · T o Display the Advanced Options Panel F Click on the Advanced Options item in the Control panel The Advanced Options Panel Shadow Controls When shadows are turned on, they can be controlled with more precision using the Shadow Controls. Sh adow T ype These radio buttons control the type of shadow that is generated. • Cast.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Opacity This slider controls the darkness of the shadows. The higher the value, the darker and more opaque the shadows are. The lower the value, the more transparent the shadows are. Generally a value from 30% to 50% produces a very realistic shadow. D i st an ce This slider controls the distance of shadows from their objects. The greater the distance, the farther the shadow is drawn from the object. This slider is particularly useful for Drop shadows.
Advan ced Option s Start This controls the hold time at the start of the FX. The value is a percentage of the total time of the FX in your timeline. For example, if you were doing a fly off transition, and set this value to 15%, then the “A” video source will stay on screen for 15% of the total time, then will fly off during the last 85% of the total time of the transition. If you have the Envelope Editor open, you will be able to see the change in the transition percent values when you adjust this slider.
Media Options When you select a Media item in the Control panel, the Media Options will be displayed in the Item panel. The Media Options panel gives you the ability to map video and image files onto the 3D objects in an FX. Usually, Source 1 and 2 come from the host application’s timeline and normally you will not remap those. The Media items are most often used to map additional video sources for MultiWindow FX, when the host application does not provide that video.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide numbered sequentially). Hollywood FX currently supports targa, bitmap, and png images, as well as Video for Windows and Quicktime video files. Prev iew and Trimming Plus PRO The preview area lets you view any frame of a sequence or video file, and lets you trim that file for use in Hollywood FX. T h e Preview Slider Use this slider to move to any frame in the video sequence.
Media Option s • Interlaced – Lower First. This option is used when the video source consists of interlaced frames (consisting of two fields), where the lower field is rendered first in time. • Single Image. Use this option when you are mapping an individual image, or you only want to use a single image from a sequence of images or video file. For most video, one of the Interlaced interpretations will be used. Generally this should be the same field order as you set in your host application.
Object Options Plus PRO When an object is selected in the Control panel, the Object Options panel is is displayed in the Item panel area. The Object Options panel gives you controls to keyframe a new path for an object or to adjust its morphing or dissolve level during an FX. Using the Object Options and the Envelope Editor, you can completely customize any FX to create an entirely new and unique result. Replace the current object with any other object file.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide The Scroll Parent Null is an invisible null object that is used to control the movement of all of the pieces of the wooden scroll (Stick, Stick, and Scroll). An example of an object hierarchy in the Scroll2 FX Select File… Hollywood FX lets you replace an object in an FX with any other object on disk. Click on Select File…, then select one of the object files (.hfo) within the Objects folder in the Hollywood FX application folder.
Object Option s key while clicking-and-dragging. The left button controls scaling along the X and Y axis, while the right mouse button scales the object along the Z axis. • Pivot. The pivot tool lets you adjust the pivot point of an object. The pivot point indicates the point in space that an object rotates around. Moving the pivot point can create entirely new results when rotating an object. The pivot point is indicated by a light blue X shape for the selected object.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide shape change. At 0% the object is not morphed at all (and usually will be flat). At 100% the object is fully morphed into its final shape. Anywhere in between, the object will be partially morphed between the original flat shape and the final shape. Use this slider along with the Envelope Editor to create interesting new shape changes. For example, with the Small Cylinder FX, you could have the object morph back and forth between flat and cylinder to create a flapping FX.
Surface Options Plus PRO Surfaces describe the color and texture properties of polygons in an object. A surface can describe a simple color or can indicate that a Media item is to be mapped on the object. An object may have multiple surfaces (for example the stopwatch object in the Clockers FX has a surface for the gold colored watch and a separate surface for the area that is mapped with video. Select a Media item to map to this surface.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide left to adjust the X position of the texture. You can create interesting results by moving a texture across an object (keyframe the position over time). • Rotate. Use the left mouse button to rotate on the X and Y axes. Use the right mouse button to rotate around the Z axis. Rotating a texture can create some very unique results. • Scale.
Su rface Option s Base Color button to display a color requester and select a specific color. Adjusting the Alpha channel below 1 will create a semi-transparent object. Opacity This slider determines how transparent a surface is. The highest value of 1.000 is completely opaque, while the lowest value of 0.000 is completely transparent. This will only make the surface transparent and not the entire object, unless the entire object is a single surface.
T he Envelope Editor Plus PRO The Envelope Editor is used for advanced keyframing of flight paths and individual options in Hollywood FX. When you first use Hollywood FX, the Envelope Editor is hidden to keep things simple. When you are ready to begin using the Envelope Editor, open it by clicking on the envelope button at the bottom of the Hollywood FX dialog. The Envelope Editor is used to create keyframes for whatever control is currently active in the Hollywood FX dialog.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Multiple Value Env elope When you are editing the flight path of the object using the object tools, you are actually adjusting keyframes for the position, rotation and scale simultaneously for a keyframe. In this case, the envelope looks a little different. Instead of showing the actual value, it simply indicates where keyframes are in time. You edit the values for those keyframes using the tools in the current Item panel.
T h e En velope Editor easily scale to any duration, be reversed and to control Hold at Start and Hold at End quickly and easily. Normally the values in this ruler run from 0% to 100% coinciding with the Time Ruler above it. However, this can be affected by certain Effect Options settings. When the Reverse Effect checkbox is checked in Effect Options, the transition % ruler is reversed also, running from 100% to 0%.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Direction, since Flight Direction requires an envelope that uses values from 0 to 360 degrees. Remove This button will remove the current envelope. Once removed, changing the current control will change it for the entire FX, rather than for the current time’s keyframe. Key Type Controls When the current time is on a keyframe (the keyframe block will be highlighted red), you can use these radio buttons to control the type of keyframe at that time.
T h e En velope Editor You enter a start and end time (in Transition %) to copy, and a starting time to paste the keys into. For example, to create a Morph envelope where the object morphs back and forth between its original flat shape and its fully morphed shape, you could start by creating the following simply envelope (remove the original envelope, then simply click in the envelope window at 10% time and 100% value). The original envelope, created by clicking and dragging.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Sh ift The shift button is used to shift a range of keys either in time or in value. For example, if you created some keys, but you want to shift them so that they start later in time you can do so, or if the values you selected at each keyframe were slightly lower than what you wanted, you could shift them so that they have higher values. When you click on this button, the Shift Keys dialog is displayed. The Shift Keys dialog • Start %.
T h e En velope Editor The Scale Keys dialog • Start %. Enter the starting time of the range of keys you wish to scale. • End %. Enter the ending time of the range of keys you wish to scale. • Key Time. If you want to scale the time of each key, change the value from 1. A value greater than one will increase the time between keys, while a value less than one will decrease the time. For example, if you have a key at 50% and you scale it by 0.5 then the new time for that key would be 25%. • Value.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Spline Controls When the key type for a key is a Spline Curve, these controls let you adjust how the envelope moves through the key. There are three spline control values for each key: tension, continuity and bias (described below). These controls adjust the way the curve is calculated through the keyframe. Presets Dropdow n The Presets dropdown list provides a list of preset values for the spline at the current key.
Plugins PRO Hollywood FX is an incredibly expandable program. You can add new FX, new objects to create FX, and new plugins that expand Hollywood FX capabilities in many ways. A plugin is basically a special program that can be “attached” to an item in an FX, and it modifies that item in some way. There are two basic types of plugins currently available for Hollywood FX. • Image Filters. These are the traditional plugins you will find in nonlinear editors and older effects programs.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide The Gradient Wipe image filter plugin attached to Host Video 1 media. Gradient Plugin applied to Media · T o change the options for a plugin: F Click on the plugin in the Control panel. The Options panel will appear for that plugin. F Change options and see the results in the Monitor panel. Plugins can be removed at any time. · T o r emove a plugin fr om an item: F Click on the plugin in the Control panel. F Click on the Delete button at the bottom of the Control panel.
Plu gin s Filter - Blur The Blur filter lets you blur incoming video using a number of different options. Blur Options Box, Guassian and Directional Blur T ie Blu r Percen tage to tran sition When checked, this option automatically keyframes the blur so that the object blurs more over time as the transition progresses. T ie th e h orizon tal an d vertical togeth er When checked (the default), there will be one slider which controls both the horizontal and vertical blurring.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide two sliders, one to control the amount of blur horizontally, and one to control the amount of blur vertically. Generally, the higher the blur percentage, the longer the blur will take to calculate. Mix w ith origin al percen tage This slider allows you to overlay the blur on top of the original image to produce more interesting results. The higher the number, the more of the original image you will see. Blu r T ype Use this dropdown to select different types of blur.
Plu gin s R e v e rs e K e y This checkbox will reverse the key, so that everything except the blue or green areas are removed. T h resh old This slider controls how much of the picture is keyed out. The higher the number the greater the range of color that is keyed out. Fin e Adju st This slider controls the fine adjustment of the key around edges of differing colors. Filter - Luma Key The Luma key filter is a simple keyer that allows you to quickly key out dark or light areas of a video source.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Filter - Directional Wipe This filter allows you to quickly “wipe away” a source image in any direction you choose. This filter can be especially interesting on video that is mapped onto complex objects. Directional Wipe Options and example Wipe Direction This spinner controls the direction that the image is “wiped away”.
Plu gin s Softn ess This slider controls the softness at the edge of the wipe. The higher the value the softer the edge of the wipe. Border Size When border is enabled, this slider controls the thickness of the colored border. The higher the value, the larger the border. Filter – Edge Wipe This filter allows you to quickly “wipe away” a source image using a framed border with optional soft and curved edges.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Wipe Percen tage When Tie To Transition is cleared, this slider gives you manual control over the completion of the wipe. You can keyframe this value to create interesting results. X a n d Y Of f s e t Normally the wipe is centered on the source image. Use these sliders to center the wipe anywhere on the image. Softn ess This slider controls the softness of the edge of the wipe. The higher the value the softer the edge.
Plu gin s images. You can find some sample gradients in Hollywood FX\Images\gradients. T ie tran sition amou n t to effect tran sition If this button is checked, then Gradient Wipe will automatically dissolve the media during the entire duration of the FX. If cleared, then the Transition Amount value (and any envelope for that value) are used to dissolve the media. T ran sition Amou n t This determines how far the media is dissolved.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Select File Click on this button to display a file requester to select a gradient. You can use any .bmp, .png or .tga image file as the gradient. Reverse gradien t lu min osity Normally the time particles start to move, and the direction they move is towards the lighter areas of the gradient. Checking this option causes the particles to move towards the darker areas of the gradient.
Plu gin s Rotation This slider controls how much each particles rotates (spins) as it moves. The higher the value, the more each particle will spin. Pu ll If Tie direction to gradient is checked, this determines how much the gradient brightness changes will affect the direction of each particle. The higher the value, the more each particle will be pulled towards the brighter areas of the gradient. Increasing this slider also increases the time required to calculate each frame.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Reverse Lu min osity Checking this reverses the brightness of the image, so that areas that were dark in the image are now bright. This changes the displacement, since polygons are displaced more for brighter parts of the image. En able Blu r Enabling blur makes the displacement of the polygons smoother. When checked, a slider will appear where you can adjust the amount of smoothness. The higher the blur the more time it takes to calculate the displacement.
Plu gin s R eset This button quickly resets all options to their defaults. T ime When the Tie Time To Transition checkbox is cleared, you can manually control and keyframe the explosion time using this slider. T ie T ime T o T ran sition When checked (the default), the explosion time will automatically be tied to the total Transition time, so that the object will explode during the entire time of the transition. Clear this checkbox to manually keyframe the explosion time.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Maximu m Nu mber of Pieces This slider controls how many pieces the object will be broken into for the explosion. When set to 0, the object is broken into individual polygons. This generally produces the most number of pieces with the quickest calculation. Above 0, the plugin will attempt to generate the number of pieces indicated by the slider. If the Jagged Pieces option is checked, this can take a good deal of time to calculate.
Plu gin s Peel Options and Example Peel Plan e This determine which 3-dimensional plane the peel ‘rolls’ across. Normally for a flat object like High Mesh 1, you will leave this set to the XY plane. For other objects you may want to switch to different Peel Planes to see the result. T ie T ran sition Amou n t to effect tran sition When checked (the default), the peel amount will automatically be tied to the total Transition time, so that the object will peel over the entire time of the transition.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide An gle of Peel This spinner controls the direction of the peel (if Tie Peel Direction to flight direction is cleared). Warp – PolyShrink The Polyshrink plugin shrinks each polygon in an object, creating something like a dissolve in the 3D world. Polyshrink Options and example T ie sh rin kage to tran sition If checked, then the polygons will shrink uniformly over the entire time of the transition (by the end of the transition, the polygons will disappear).
Plu gin s # of Fragmen ts When the Enable fragment size slider is checked, then you can use this slider to control the number of fragments used to shrink. At 0, individual polygons are used, at other values, this slider determines the number of fragments created. So when this slider is 4, then 4 large fragments are created over the entire object surface, then those fragments can be shrunk over time. Warp – Ripple The advanced ripple plugin lets you add a wide variety of different ripples to any object.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide You can get very interesting results by setting the frequency in one direction to 0, while maintaining a higher value in the other direction. Offset (X an d Y) These two sliders control the “center” of the ripple. Use these sliders to adjust the center of the ripple. T ie Ph ase to tran sition When checked, the phase is automatically tied to the total transition time so that the plugin ripples over the total time of the transition.
Plu gin s • Black Hole – Pulls the polygons of the object in and creates a hole that spreads. Defau lt Settin gs This button reverts all settings to their defaults for the selected functions. Clear all valu es to 0.0 This button sets all values to 0. This is useful for the beginning of an effect when you don’t want the ripple to show immediately. Warp – Swirl This plugin will swirl the faces of an object. It can create a whirlpool-like effect with video mapped on an object.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide X an d Y sliders Use these sliders to move the center of the swirl. You can animate these over time to make it look like the swirl is moving (like the eye of a storm moving). Sw irl Plan e A swirl is calculated along a 3D plane. Use these buttons to change which plane the swirl is calculated over. Amou n t of Sw irl These two spinners control the amount of swirl at the inner and outer edges of the swirl.
Export HFZ PRO The Export HFZ tool is designed to let you easily share your custom creations with other Hollywood FX users. When you export an effect as a .hfz file, Hollywood FX compresses the effect itself, along with any of your own objects and images that are used in the effect. There are a few of important rules when using Export HFZ: • You cannot Export any of the original effects that come with Hollywood FX. Export HFZ is for exporting your modifications and custom-created FX only.
Import 3D PRO The Import 3D tool lets you import Lightwave 5.x 3D objects (other object formats may be supported in future updates, see the readme file for more information). Import 3D supports importing simple objects, as well as importing multiple objects to become morph targets. Within the Hollywood FX installation folder, you will find the Lightwave Content folder that contains sample objects and images to use. Within the Images folder, you will find the MAPxxx targa images.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide The 3D Object Importer dialog Con ten t Folder You should select the root folder where your Lightwave 3D content files are stored. By default this is the Lightwave Content folder that is installed with Hollywood FX. This folder is needed so that the importer can find the images associated with an object. Master/Sin gle Click on the folder to select a Lightwave object file.
3D T ext PRO The 3D Text plugin generates 3D text objects that can be used like any other objects in Hollywood FX. The 3D Text Generator dialog Select Fon t Click this button to display the Font selection dialog. Select any font, adjust the size, and change options (bold, italic, etc). The size of the font is not particularly important since you can resize the 3D object after it is generated. T ext Box Here you can type in the text you want to be made into a 3D object.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide Colors The color buttons let you set the initial surface color of each portion of the text, including the Bevel, Face, Sides and Back of the text. Click on a color button to display the color requester and select a color. You can later change the generated 3D object surface colors and other attributes. You can also map video or images onto any of the surfaces.
T he Settings Dialog The Settings Dialog contains global settings that affect how Hollywood FX functions. The dialog is grouped into sections that control different aspects of Hollywood FX. These controls affect how the preview is rendered. This control affects final output speed. These controls affect certain editing features. The Hollywood FX Settings Dialog Prev iew Settings The Preview Settings let you control how the preview is rendered.
Hollyw ood FX User’s Gu ide • OpenGL Hardware Engine is for systems using NVIDIA display cards with the latest drivers. This will make your Hollywood FX preview environment blazing fast and more pleasant when designing effects, composites and animations. Sou rces Dropdow n The Sources dropdown list lets you select what type of video is mapped onto the objects in the preview. These options do not affect the final rendering of an FX. There are three options: • Placeholder.
T h e Settin gs Dialog • SMPTE 25 fps. This option is used primarily on PAL editing systems for editing video at 25 frames per second. Time is shown in format HH:MM:SS:ff. • SMPTE 30 fps drop-frame (NTSC 29.97). This is used for standard NTSC editing, where specific frame numbers are dropped to maintain the NTSC 29.97 frame frame. Time is shown in format HH;MM;SS;ff. • SMPTE 30 fps non drop-frame. This option is used when you want to edit at 30 frames per second without worrying about the NTSC 29.
