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 ? button.

Contents

•How to Apply CreativEase Plugin in CyberLink PowerDirector
•Basics Within CreativEase
•CreativEase Saved Settings and Presets
•Detailed CreativEase Help and Tutorials
•Keyframing in CreativEase

CreativEase Effects:

1. In the FX (Effects Room) tab of PowerDirector, choose Pixelan, then drag-and-drop a CreativEase effect item onto a clip in the PowerDirector timeline (or onto the Fx track).

2. Click the Effect button above the PowerDirector timeline (if the effect is applied on a clip) or click the Modify button (if our effect is in the Fx track).

3. Click the Stand-alone Effect button to open our plugin's main window, as shown below for BlurPro.

CreativEase Transitions:
1. In the Transitions Room tab of PowerDirector, drag-and-drop CreativEase transition from the Pixelan section onto the transition overlap between two video clips in a track of the timeline.

2. Click the Modify button above the timeline (or right-click the transition and choose Modify) -- then click the Stand-Alone effect button in the transition controls panel of PowerDirector -- to open the plugin's main window.

Most CreativEase plugins has two or three types of presets -- Effects Browser presets, Section presets and Spice Library presets (in some plugins only).

• 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.

Preferences Settings

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 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."

Keyframing in CreativEase

To VARY a control over time, use CreativEase's powerful but easy-to-use keyframing. Follow the simple process below.

1. Go to the frame where you want a control's value to BEGIN to vary over time during the effect. There are several ways to do this: use CreativEase's built-in Preview Controls, or enter a frame time in the Current Time/Frame box. Or click the stopwatch icon next to the control to open the Keyframes Window, then drag the blue vertical frame marker left or right.

The Keyframes Window graph vertically shows the control's value plotted over time (horizontally, from 0% to 100% of the effect's duration). In this example, the Progress is linear from 0% to 100%.

2. Adjust the control's value in the main CreativEase window. In the graph, if a keyframe already exists at the current frame, the adjustment will raise or lower that keyframe. If a keyframe doesn't exist, the adjustment will insert a new keyframe in the graph, as shown at right.

Changing the control's value adds a new keyframe, if not already present. TIPS: To hold/freeze the effect's progress, horizontally flatten all or part of the line. To experiment and revert if needed to earlier keyframing, use the Undo/Redo buttons ("B") in the main CreativEase window.

HANDY TIPS: Another way to add a new keyframe is to click ON an empty segment of the keyframe LINE, then drag that new keyframe wherever desired. As you drag, coordinates will appear and the preview will update. To move a keyframe only horizontally or vertically in the graph, Shift-drag it. To fine-tune the position, click the Zoom (+) button in the graph's top-left corner to zoom in, then drag as needed. (Repeat to zoom further.) To precisely position a keyframe, right-click it in the graph and choose Enter coordinates.

3. Use a bezier curve to accelerate or decelerate the control's value over time. Straight keyframe line segments as shown above represent a linear (constant) rate of change in an effect's value. To smoothly accelerate or decelerate it, which can provide a more professional/realistic look, curve the keyframe line by dragging a bezier curve handle.

Attached to any active keyframe are two bezier curve handles (one handle if a start or end keyframe). If the handle(s) are not visible, click the keyframe (or move the blue vertical frame marker near it). To decelerate, create an downward curve (shown). To accelerate, create an upward curve.

To delete a keyframe, right-click it in the graph and choose Delete keyframe. Or click the Delete Key (-) button above the Keyframes window. To delete ALL keyframes for a control, right-click the control's stopwatch icon. To delete ALL keyframes for a control AND revert to the control's default value, right-click in the graph's gray background and choose Revert to default.

More Keyframing Tips

• To hide/show the Keyframes Window, click the Keyframes Window button ("M") below the preview's bottom right corner. Note that each keyframable control has its own keyframes graph. To see the keyframes graph for a particular control, click the stopwatch icon at the left of that control. Or click in the turquoise color bar that is above the keyframes graph.

• To jump to a keyframe, click it in the keyframes graph. But among tightly clustered keyframes, sometimes that can be difficult. Or you may want to activate a keyframe without accidentally changing its position. The solution is to use the button bar above the top right corner of the graph. For example, to activate the next or previous keyframe, click the Next Key or Prior Key button.

• To copy and paste an ENTIRE keyframe line into another control, right-click the Keyframes graph background and choose Copy or Paste. Note that if copied values do not fit within the parameters of the paste location, they will be modified. To match ONE keyframe's value to another keyframe, right-click the keyframe that has the desired value, then choose Copy value. Then right-click the other keyframe and choose Paste value.

• To adjust an ENTIRE complex keyframe line you've created, right-click the graph's background and choose an option to invert or flip the keyframe line, or Scale/Move to scale its peaks larger/smaller or shift its timing ahead/back -- a great timesaver over manual adjustment.

• To customize the Keyframes graph display, right-click the Keyframes graph background to access four Appearance options, such as to show/hide the graph's grid lines or scroll bars. Any change will be remembered. Save window position opens the Keyframes window at a consistent screen location. Attach to main window keeps the Keyframes window attached if you move the main window.

• To move a bezier handle that is on top of a keyframe,click to activate the keyframe that "owns" that handle. Then Ctrl-drag the bezier handle where desired.

• To stay at a frame while adjusting keyframes elsewhere, right-click the graph's gray background and deselect Sync preview. This can be handy, for example, to adjust a bezier curve while seeing how it alters an earlier or later frame's look.

• To snap a keyframe to the vertical playback marker position (when Sync preview is off; see above), position the vertical playback marker where desired, then right-click the keyframe you want to move and choose Snap to Time. If the marker's position is not possible because it is beyond an adjacent keyframe, the command will not be available.

• To make automatic bezier curve adjustments (instead of dragging a handle), right-click the keyframe and choose Convert keyframe to. Then choose an option shown below. To modify ALL keyframes in a graph, right-click the graph's background and choose Convert all keyframes to.

• To zoom in, Alt-drag in the graph where you want to zoom. To zoom in vertically to the range where keyframes exist, right-click the graph's gray background, then choose Fit graph to keyframes. This can help you to fine-tune values in relatively flat keyframe lines. Other ways to zoom in vertically are: drag inward the vertical scroll bar, or Shift-click the Zoom In (+) button. Shift-click the Zoom Out (-) button to vertically zoom out. To bring the blue vertical playback marker into the zoomed region, click in the numerical scale above the graph.