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Intrigued by the recent video personalisation demonstration using Photoshop CS3 and XMPie uImage at the recent XMPie Users Group Conference, I decided to try this for myself. I purchased a suitable video from iStockphoto and gave it a whirl!
I found that it was surprisingly easy to master the Animation feature in Photoshop CS3, it was definitely more straightforward than using high-end video editing software. My first project was rather ambitious; I created text to move in time with a video. I quickly learned that this type of editing requires patience, but you can achieve very nice effects with a little perseverance. I incorporated an Illustrator Smart Object as my text layer in the video, as it enables you to apply a motion blur effect without rasterising the text. It's a very brief one second video, but hopefully you get the idea where you can go with this. Imagine seeing a name flapping on a flag, or being typed on a typewriter, the possibilities are endless!
Posted on Sunday, 10 February 2008 at 10:21 PM | TrackBack: http://www.veedeepee.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/89
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» Try It Yourself from veedeepee
Further to my last entry, I had some time during my 15 hour flight home to try some more video personalisation in Photoshop and XMPie uImage. I've simplified my original approach so that it's easier customise and have added in... Read More »
Tracked on Friday, 15 February 2008 at 6:32 AM
Love it ... so how do you do it? Run an action to export an flv or something. I havent' really done much video in PS yet.
Posted by marshall on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 at 4:35 AM
While this is a fantastic, impressive, and immediate step forward towards accomplishing personalized video I feel the ideal scenario would be XMPie integration with Adobe After Effects. Hope to see something of this nature in the near future.
Posted by Jeremy Bible on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 at 6:35 AM
Marshall, it's pretty straightforward, up to a point. You tag the variable text and Smart Object placeholders as you normally would in Photoshop. Then you use Photoshop's ScriptListener plug-in to capture the required video rendering settings. You then take the generated code from the Listener and insert it into a JavaScript, which you can then use as a closing script from uImage.
This may sound rather clunky, and it is, but XMPie have prepared a tutorial and JavaScript file template, so you really don't need to understand the code. At the conference, XMPie explained that they are working on tightening up the integration in a future release, so you will be able to simply define the required video output format in your uImage call, without any requirements for scripts.
Posted by Eliot on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 at 12:46 PM
Jeremy, I agree, integration with After Effects or Premiere would give you more control over the effects you could create. However, the advantage of using Photoshop is that you don't need to learn complex video editing/authoring software. If you know how to use Photoshop, then it's pretty straightforward to use the Animation feature. Also, I'm pleasantly surprised (and still learning) about the type of effects that you can create with this feature.
Posted by Eliot on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 at 12:58 PM
I'll have to admit I was blown away to find out the Photoshop CS3 Extended could even output video.
That's not typically what you'd expect from what is historically only a graphics editing package. Jeremy, although my first inclination upon seeing this capability was to jump to the... "WOW what if XMPie could integrate with AfterEffects or Premiere"?!
But, I have to admit after seeing how EASY these personalised videos are accomplished with Photoshop/Illustrator... I'm inclined to agree with Eliot.
With the mass skilled user base of Photoshop/Illustrator the potential for mass customisation/personalisation video rendering out of CS3 Extended is enormous. I think the value of the higher end tools (AfterEffects and Premier) is then adding further effects and additional editing together of customised/personalised video via scripting etc.
Posted by K. Duane Mackey on Friday, 15 February 2008 at 1:18 AM