SpiceMaster Help -- Cyberlink PowerDirector
Welcome! This help guide holds everything you need to know about Pixelan Software's SpiceMaster 3 Pro. Although SpiceMaster is powerful, it does not have a steep learning curve -- a key benefit. Thus there is no need for a thick manual or training tape, or a large time investment by you to use it effectively. The easy, enjoyable way to learn is to step through this concise guide with SpiceMaster visible on your screen.
How to Use This Help System
This help guide includes basic info, tutorials, and tips. To access this help while using SpiceMaster, Alt-click the ? button at the top of the SpiceMaster window.
Contents
How to Apply SpiceMaster Plugin in Cyberlink PowerDirector
In Cyberlink PowerDirector (64-bit, version 14 or later):
1. In the Transitions Room tab of PowerDirector, drag-and-drop SpiceMaster 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 SpiceMaster main window. Then see the Basics Within SpiceMaster section below.
NOTE: Cyberlink PowerDirector currently does not allow transitions to be applied directly to titles in its Title track. One way to solve this is to create your titles as a .png file with an alpha channel — in an external program, such as Photoshop Elements. After that title image is imported, SpiceMaster can be applied directly to it in your PowerDirector timeline. However, there is also another method that can be faster for simple titles but doesn’t always produce correct output (due to current PowerDirector plugin architecture limitations): Drag your PowerDirector title into a Video track instead of the Title track. Then apply SpiceMaster directly to it.
How to Apply SpiceMaster as a video effect:
To apply SpiceMaster as a video effect, drag the SpiceMaster transition onto a the head or tail of a single clip, then drag the transition's edge to adjust its duration as desired.
Basics Within SpiceMaster
SpiceMaster Easy Steps
Choose from hundreds of professional presets (plus your saved favorites) via a large animated
Effects Browser window. Or Alt-click for a standard Open dialog.To create a new effect or to modify a preset...
(1) 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.
(2) If needed, untwirl other sections of the SpiceMaster plugin to fine-tune further. For detailed help per control, see below on this web page.
(3) Set the transitions’s ease-in/ease-out, holds, or other timing as desired. You’re done! To save your new/modified look in our large visual Effects Browser for easy future re-use, click the Save button.
Basics Within SpiceMaster
(A) Load a Recent Effect. Click “Recent” to instantly access a submenu of your recently applied effects, saving time.
(B) Undo/Redo. Click the green arrows to undo or redo your prior steps – great for experimenting with new looks/variations.
(C) Serial/Version Info. Click the Pixelan logo to access this info.
(D) Help. Click the blue ? button to access SpiceMaster help.
(E) Preferences. Click the asterik to adjust preferences for preview playback size and speed, time units, help text visibility, setting the default SpiceMaster effect, etc. (See below on this webpage for more info.)
(F) Save an Effect. Click the disk to save a favorite effect as a preset you can re-load instantly.
(G) Clear Settings. Click the minus sign to clear current settings.
(H) Apply. Click the green check mark to apply the effect & close the window. To exit without changes, click the X in the top right corner.
(I) Section Presets. Click an FX folder icon 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.
(J) Expand/Collapse Sections. To expand or collapse a section, use the “twirly” at the left of a control section.
(K) Keyframing. Click the stopwatch icon to vary the control over time. A separate Keyframes window will open (see additional Keyframing help below.) Right-click a stopwatch to clear keyframing.
(L) Context-Sensitive Help/Tips. Hover your cursor over any control or area to see extensive context-sensitive help and tips. After you become more familiar with SpiceMaster, in the Preferences you can turn this off.
(M) Keyframes Window. Click to open/ close the Keyframes window. See below on this page for tutorial help about the Keyframes window.
(N) Preview Controls. Use these standard playback buttons to preview your effect. Note you can play the preview while making adjustments! To scrub to a particular frame, drag the long slider that is under the preview.
Duration Indicator shows the transition’s total duration, as set in your timeline.
Current Time/Frame shows the current preview frame, relative to the effect’s entire duration in the timeline.
SpiceMaster Saved Settings and Presets
SpiceMaster has three types of presets -- Effects Browser presets, Spice Library presets and Section 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 (as shown by the smiley in the above illustration) 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 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.
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, right-click the Click here to load a preset... button. To use a standard Open file dialog box, Alt-click the Click here to load a preset... button.
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.
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 SpiceMaster preset, click the top large preview image in the Effects Browser.
Section presets
Unlike the most Effect Browser presets, these change ONLY some or all controls in ONE section of SpiceMaster. Mixing presets from several sections is a quick and easy way to try hundreds of fresh transition variations. Click a blue FX folder icon at the right side of a SpiceMaster control section ("I" in the above illustration) 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.
SpiceMaster Preferences Settings
In the Preferences settings, you can customize SpiceMaster 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 SpiceMaster that can fit in your monitor while still leaving sufficient room for SpiceMaster's controls. Note that your choice for this setting will appear the next time you open SpiceMaster's window.
After you become more familiar with SpiceMaster, 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 transition anytime within SpiceMaster. Set up the transition control's as desired, then go into the Preferences dialog and choose "Make current effect the default."
Detailed SpiceMaster Help and Tutorials
Keyframing in SpiceMaster
To VARY a control over time, use SpiceMaster's powerful but easy-to-use keyframing. First make sure the transition's duration is set to what you want in Premiere's timeline. Then follow the simple process below. Letters shown in quotes refer to the illustration in the Basics Within SpiceMaster section above.
1. Go to the frame where you want a control's value to BEGIN to vary over time during the transition. There are several ways to do this: use SpiceMaster's built-in Preview Controls ("N"), or enter a frame time in the Current Time/Frame box ("P"). Or click the stopwatch icon ("K") 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 transition's duration). In this example, the transition's Progress is linear from 0% to 100%.
2. Adjust the control's value in the main SpiceMaster 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 transition'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 SpiceMaster window. Note you can adjust keyframing while previewing plays.
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 quickly chose from several handy keyframe presets for the Progress control, click the small Presets button to the right of that control.
• 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.
Linear -- remove all curves in the keyframe
Smooth -- decelerate before & accelerate after
Bounce -- accelerate before & decelerate after (opposite of smooth)
|
Smooth In -- decelerate before
Smooth Out -- accelerate after
Bounce In -- accelerate before
Bounce Out -- decelerate after |
• 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 nu
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