SpiceMaster Help -- Adobe Premiere
Welcome! This help guide holds everything you need to know about Pixelan Software's SpiceMaster. This help guide includes basic info, tutorials, and tips. To access this help while using SpiceMaster, click FxHelp button at the top of the SpiceMaster.
Contents
How to Apply SpiceMaster Plugin
In Adobe Premiere Pro (CC 2017 or later)
1. From the Effects panel (Video Transitions > Pixelan folder) of Premiere Pro, drag SpiceMaster 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. SpiceMaster interface will appear in the Effect Controls panel of Premiere Pro. See below for the basic steps to using this plugin.
How to Apply SpiceMaster as a video effect:
We created the video effect version of SpiceMaster many years ago when it was only possible to apply transitions between two overlapped clips. Today all popular video editors allow you to apply a transition onto the head or tail of a single non-overlapped clip. It is no longer necessary to have a separate video effect version of SpiceMaster. To apply SpiceMaster as a video effect, drag the SpiceMaster transition onto the head or tail of a single clip, then drag the transition's edge to adjust its duration as desired.
Basics Within SpiceMaster
To create a new effect or modify a preset, do the steps below...
(1) Set the transition's progress over time, using the Progress controls. A typical linear transition is 100 to 0 at a layer's head, or 0 to 100 at the tall. To ease-In/out the transition select a handy preset in the Progress menu OR select Via Progress Slider and add the desired keyframes to Progress slider. To hold a transition, set two adjacent keyframes to equal value.
(2) Click Click here to load a preset... to visually choose from hundreds of pre-made transitions (plus saved favorites) in an animated Effects Browser window. Take a look at the SpiceMaster Presets section below to see which presets are most appropriate for clip's HEAD, TAIL or for between 2 clips. Click Recent to quickly load a recently used preset. Click Menu to quickly load an effect via a pop-up menu. Or Open for standard Open dialog box.
(3) Click the large Choose Spice File button to open a Spice Library window and visually choose/compare from 1000+ spices. Choosing a "spice" file is a key step to applying SpiceMaster. Then you can adjust it several ways, such as flipping or reversing the effect, moving it to a new position, or putting it in motion.
(4) If needed, expand other sections of the SpiceMaster plugin to fine-tune further. For detailed help per control, see below on this web page.
COOL TIP: SpiceMaster is more than a transitions tool -- it can organically animate/flow ANY video effect within a SINGLE clip, such as color changes, tonal adjustments, blurs, and even the effects from third-party video effects plugins! Now you can easily reveal or fade effects in a way that relates visually to your scene's content rather than the standard approach of ramping an effect's strength uniformly over an image. The steps are:
1. Sync two copies of the SAME clip in two adjacent tracks of the timeline -- one clip directly above the other clip copy.
2. Apply video effects (built-in video effects or third-party plugin effects) that you want to flow/animate to ONE of the two clip copies.
3. Following the "How to Apply SpiceMaster" steps above, apply SpiceMaster onto the beginning or end of the TOP clip copy. Done!
You’re done! To save the custom SpiceMaster transition you've created for future use in Effects Browser, click the Save button. A
standard Save dialog will appear. We recommend saving in the "My Favorites" subfolder provided. NOTE: Save the presets with a keyframed parameters within Premiere, by selecting SpiceMaster, then choosing Save Preset from the Effect Controls panel menu. The saved presets will apear in Premiere's Effects panel, Presets section.
SpiceMaster has four types of presets -- Effects Browser presets, Spice Library presets, Section presets and Premiere Effect Presets.
Effects Browser presets
This is the most powerful and visual way to access presets and is where HUNDREDS of transition presets are located. Click the Click here to load a preset... button at the top of SpiceMaster to open a wonderful large Effects Browser window to visually choose/compare from over 200 pre-made presets (including those you have made and saved for future re-use). To explore presets, click a folder in the left pane, then click a thumbnail image to see animated preview. Double-click to apply. To save your own custom presets in the Effects Browser, use SpiceMaster controls to set up the desired look, then click the Save button in the main SpiceMaster control area. NOTE: Save the presets with a keyframed parameters as Premiere Effect Presets.
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.
Presets for single-clip transitions:
When SpiceMaster is applied to only one non-overlapped clip some features are not available and some presets will look complete only when applied between two clips. Presets in 'Film Dissolves' folder may not look properly applied at the clip's head.
AnimatedPIPs and 'Basic Presets' are tuned for clip's head or between two clips. If applied at the clip's tail you may need to toggle 'Switch Clips' option and reverse progress. To hold the PIP, set two adjacent keyframes to equal value.
Presets in 'Other" folder are tuned for clip's tail or between two clips. If applied at the clip's head you may need to toggle 'Switch Clips' option and reverse progress. To hold the transition, set two adjacent keyframes to equal value.
Spice Library presets
Each 'spice' is a specially-designed grayscale map that guides SpiceMaster. The SpiceMaster effect will begin where blackest pixels reside (in the spice file's image, not your content), then proceed to where lighter grays reside, and finally end where the whitest pixels exist in the spice image. 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 of SpiceMaster to open a Spice Library window and visually choose/compare from 1000+ 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 a gradient/alpha wipe or black & white matte
you have created.
Shift-click
the Choose Spice button to quickly load a spice via a multi-level menu. Cmd-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, click a thumbnail in the right pane then use arrow keys.
• 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, Control-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), Control-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 Control-click menu.
• To rename a preset that is in the My Favorites folder, Control-click the preset there and choose Rename this preset. To remove a My Favorites preset, Control-click and choose Delete this preset.
• To hide any preset, Control-click the preset and choose Hide this preset. To show all hidden presets in a folder, Control-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.
Section presets
Unlike the Effect Browser presets, these change ONLY the controls in ONE section of SpiceMaster controls. Mixing presets from several sections is a quick and easy way to try hundreds of fresh film transition variations. Within any section (aka "twirly") of controls, choose from the Preset menu.
Premiere Effect Presets
If you prefer, you can save SpiceMaster presets as effect presets in the usual place within Premiere, by selecting SpiceMaster, then choosing Save Preset from the Effect Controls panel menu. The saved presets will apear in Premiere's Effects panel, Presets section.
Detailed SpiceMaster Help and Tutorials
Basic Steps
Advanced Techniques
• Softness
NEW! --