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Known Participant
December 22, 2021
Answered

Is there an easy way to create a "Ken Burns" slideshow?

  • December 22, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 5437 views

I have a series of photos I want to string together into a video slideshow.  I want cross-dissolve transitions between each photo, with each photo panning and/or zooming.  What I've been doing is selecting a photo, creating keyframes at beginning and end with desired position/zoom and dropping them onto a sequence.  I then add the cross dissolve.  The problem is the previous photo stops its pan/zoom at the halfway point and can still be seen.  Likewise, the next photo appears frozen until the halfway point and then commences to pan/zoom.

 

I realize I could add each photo to alternating video tracks and overlap them using a video opacity effect on the overlapping track with keyframes.  But that seems like a lot work.  I figured this is such a common task that there has to be a way to do this easier.  Anyone have a suggestion?

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Correct answer Peru Bob

Add the transitions before adding the pan and zoom.

To get smooth results, make sure that the last motion keyframe of the first clip is beyond the end of the transition and the first motion keyframe of the second clip is before the beginning of the transition.

2 replies

Peru Bob
Community Expert
Peru BobCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
December 31, 2021

Add the transitions before adding the pan and zoom.

To get smooth results, make sure that the last motion keyframe of the first clip is beyond the end of the transition and the first motion keyframe of the second clip is before the beginning of the transition.

Joost van der Hoeven
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 31, 2021

Good call @Peru Bob !

Community Expert
December 31, 2021
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Known Participant
December 31, 2021

Thanks for the link.  It still doesn't do quite what I was looking for.  The "Ease In" and "Ease Out" on the keyframes ramps the effect up/down so that the image is frozen during the transition.  But what I really wanted was the effect to continue *through* the transition.  I really don't think there's a way to do this without dropping overlapping still images on alternating video tracks and manually adjusting the opacity on the second (higher) track with keyframes in the sequence timeline.  Example: