How to Use This Help System                          CreativEase plugins main help page

This help guide includes basic info, tutorials, and tips. To access this help while using CreativEase plugin, Click the Fx Help or ? button.

Contents

•How to Apply CreativEase Plugin in Adobe Premiere
•Basics Within CreativEase
•CreativEase Saved Settings and Presets
•Detailed CreativEase Help and Tutorials
•Pixelan custom interface

NOTE: Presets section, Effects Browser and Pixelan custom interface are not available in StepMotion and StepTime.

In Adobe Premiere Pro (CS6 or any Creative Cloud version):

1. From the Effects window (Video Effects > Pixelan folder) of Premiere Pro, drag a CreativEase effects plugin on a clip.
2. In the Effect Controls panel, adjust controls create an effect, or untwirl the Presets section and click the blue Click here to load a preset... button at the top to open our large Effects Browser window to visually choose/compare effect presets.

In Adobe Premiere Elements 13 or later:
1. Turn on Premiere Element's Expert view to see all available effects and transitions, including plugins.

2. From the Effects tab of Premiere Elements, choose Pixelan in the tab's top menu. Then drag a CreativEase effects plugin onto a clip.

3. In the Applied Effects panel of Premiere Elements, untwirl to show the plugin's controls. Adjust controls create an effect, or click the blue Click here to load a preset... button in the Presets section to open our large Effects Browser window to visually choose/compare effect presets. NOTE: Clicking the Settings (gear icon) button next to the plugin in the Premiere Elements UI will also open the Effects Browser, but with a placeholder clip instead of your actual clip.

In Adobe Premiere Pro (CS6, or any Creative Cloud version):

1. From the Effects window (Video Transitions > Pixelan folder) of Premiere Pro, drag CreativEase transition onto a cut point between two clips in any track, or onto the beginning or end of a single clip.
2. Click the applied transition in the Premiere timeline to activate it. Drag the transition's edge to adjust its duration as desired.
3. In the Effect Controls panel of Premiere Pro, click the Custom button that is below Premiere's standard transition controls. The plugin's interface will then appear.

In Adobe Premiere Elements 13 or later:

1. Make sure you first turn on its Expert view to see all available effects and transitions, including plug-ins.

2. From the Transitions tab, choose Pixelan in the tab's top menu. Then drag-and-drop CreativEase transition onto a cut point between two clips in a Video track, or onto the beginning or end of a single clip.
3. In the Transitions Adjustments panel that will appear, adjust Duration and Alignment as desired, then click the small More button at the bottom of the panel. That will reveal a Custom button.
4. Click the Custom button to open the plugin's interface.

Click here to visually choose from a HUGE range of pre-made effects presets (plus saved favorites) in an animated Effects Browser window. Click Recent to quickly load a recently used preset. Click Menu to quickly load an effect via a pop-up menu. Or Open for an Open dialog box. The loaded pre-made effect will instantly configure ALL CONTROLS into a cool effect. Several subfolders are included, organized by style.
To create a new effect or to modify a preset...
(1) To quickly try pre-made settings, click the Choose Section Presets button -- a Pixelan exclusive! Section Presets will instantly configure controls IN THAT SECTION into a powerful combination. Presets are a great way to QUICKLY build USEFUL effects from scratch, or to modify a saved setting. Try a few -- THOUSANDS of combinations are possible!
(2) Adjust the controls in the main effect sections. For detailed help per control, see below on this web page. Since virtually all CreativEase controls are keyframable, you can smoothly vary individual aspects of the effect during a clip, leading to terrific evolving imagery.
(3) If needed, untwirl other sections of the effect to fine-tune further.

Most CreativEase plugins has two or three types of presets -- Effects Browser presets, Section presets and Spice Library presets (in some plugins only). Premiere Pro additionally can create Animation presets in its Effects Control panel.

• Effects Browser presets

This is the most powerful and visual way to access presets and is where HUNDREDS of presets are located. Click the Click here to load a preset... button at the top of CreativEase (as shown by the smiley in the above illustration) to open a wonderful large Effects Browser window to visually choose/compare from many pre-made presets (including those you have made and saved for future re-use) To save your own custom presets in the Effects Browser, use effect controls to set up the desired look, then click the Save button in the main effect control area.

Time-saving tips to load presets faster:
The Effects Browser is fast, but sometimes you may already know which preset you want to use, such as when you are applying the same preset repeatedly in a project. In that situation, selecting a preset by one of the following methods can be faster...

To see recently chosen Effects Browser presets, click the Recent button. For a drop-down menu of Effects Browser presets, click the Menu button. To use a standard Open file dialog box, click the Open button.

• Section presets

Unlike the most Effect Browser presets, these change ONLY some or all controls in ONE section. Mixing presets from several sections is a quick and easy way to try hundreds of fresh effect variations. Click the Section Presets button at the top of any control section to instantly change ONLY the controls in that section via handy presets we have developed. Use this to quickly and easily make hundreds of new effect variations.

• Spice Library presets

Each 'spice' is a specially-designed grayscale map that guides the effect. It's simple in concept but incredibly flexible and organic in its creative possibilities compared to the usual hard-edged, limited-adjustment, standard algorithmic effects.
Click the large Choose Spice File button located in Spice section (if present) to open a Spice Library window and visually choose/compare from 600+ spices.

Click a subfolder in the Library's left pane, as shown below. Thumbnail-size previews of available effects will then play in the right pane so you can visually compare and choose the best effect design for your segment.
Double-click a thumbnail in the Library's right pane to select the effect and close the Library.
To choose a spice but bypass the Library, Alt-click the Choose Spice File button to get a standard Open dialog box. Then navigate to and select the file. This is how you can load an image you have created.
Shift-click the Choose Spice button to quickly load a spice via a multi-level menu. Ctrl-click the Choose Spice button to quickly load a recently used spice.

Handy tips while working within the Effects Browser and Spice Library:
• To scroll through presets in a folder while keeping your eye on the top preview image for comparison, hold the mouse pointer over the right panel then use arrow keys or the mouse wheel.
• To increase/decrease the thumbnail image size, use the Size button at the bottom of the Effects Browser.
• To copy a favorite preset into the My Favorites folder located atop the left column of preset folders, right-click any preset image and choose Copy to My Favorites. To copy the preset into a subfolder within that folder (such as if you want to organize presets per project or per client), right-click the preset and choose Copy to My Favorites >> [new subfolder]. You can then name the subfolder as desired. After the subfolder is created, it will also appear in the right-click menu.
• To rename a preset that is in the My Favorites folder, right-click the preset there and choose Rename this preset. To remove a My Favorites preset, right-click and choose Delete this preset.
• To hide any preset, right-click the preset and choose Hide this preset. To show all hidden presets in a folder, right-click any preset in that folder and choose Restore all hidden presets from this folder. To temporarily view the folder's hidden presets, which can be handy if you just want to momentarily browse them, choose Temporarily show hidden presets.
• To toggle between viewing the source file image and the CreativEase preset, click the top large preview image in the Effects Browser.

• Premiere Pro Animation Presets

In Premiere Pro, to create an Animation Preset, right-click our plugin's name, then choose Save Preset... Then you can drag-and-drop it conveniently from the Presets section of the Effect Controls panel. Cool!

Pixelan Custom Interface

Preferences Settings -- In the Pixelan Custom Interface ONLY

In the Preferences settings, you can customize CreativEase significantly to your video editing system's power and your working style. At right are the default Preferences Settings. Four Preferences options in particular may be handy for you to change (all shown with an adjacent red triangle). If you have very fast video editing hardware, consider turning off "Drop frames to maintain preview pacing." If you also have a high-resolution monitor and are editing with HD or larger footage, consider turning ON "Use largest available preview" which will use the largest preview size in CreativEase that can fit in your monitor while still leaving sufficient room for effects controls. Note that your choice for this setting will appear the next time you open effects window.

After you become more familiar with CreativEase, consider turning off "Show pop-up text and help text." That will leave more vertical space for the section controls and also reduce any distraction from the ever-changing help text. Last but not least, you can easily set a new default effect. Set up the effect control's as desired, then go into the Preferences dialog and choose "Make current effect the default."