Techniques for dreams or flashbacks in PP2?

WesW · Post by **WesW** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:26 pm

I would like to know what techniques are best to demonstrate either dream or flashback sequences.
I have tried the Blur In and Out effects, which seem to work pretty well, but I would like an effect that has gray around the edges of the screen, or some type of sepia-tone effect like Vlad used in his Catastrophe video.
I have tried the Roughen Edges effect, but I can't get the gray to appear unless I blacken the outer edges.
Any suggestions?

JaddziaDax · Post by **JaddziaDax** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:03 am

blacken out the edges (or cut them out)
and put your grayness on a line below the clip with the border cut out..

other flash back effects:
white border (or very light gray or pink..)
cloudy border
blurred border
B&W
Saturation 50%

Autraya · Post by **Autraya** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:47 pm

Some ideas:

you could try to zoom into someone's eye (or even thought bubles) and have clips after that washed out or add some msfire effects (film age, vingarette lighting, flicker etc)
maybe use a track matte to have a gradient style fade around the edges and have billowing fog there.

I sometimes combine a tweaked anarchist edge with black and white and a few blurs or change the colour completely ... maybe put a light glow and colour overlay on it.

Black & white combined with noise and blurs might also halp

WesW · Post by **WesW** » Sun May 11, 2008 9:03 am

Thanks so much for the suggestions, guys (gals).

I looked at those two vids you suggested, Autraya. The alkamper one seems like one that could be done in Premiere, and I'll keep it in mind. Zooming in on someone's face as a lead-in is a good idea, too, that I hadn't thought of.
I had tried using noise and flicker and B&W on the Revy vid, but none of them really seemed to work. However, I just tried using B&W on the Claymore vid, and it seemed to do the trick.
I'd like to have that track matte technique, though the only pic editor I'm at all familiar with is PSP. I'll crack open my copy and see if it has anything I can use.

Btw, if anyone has an image that is just a foggy border and blank inside, I would be eternally grateful if you would email it to me. If I could just get that initial image (frame), I'm sure I could use PSP for any needed alterations and import it into Premiere somehow.

SQ · Post by SQ » Sun May 11, 2008 10:19 am

I'm not sure about earlier versions, but in Premiere CS3 there's a feather effect you can apply straight to your video clips, if you want a feathered edge.

So you could skip a step in PSP and do this effect straight in Premiere if you wanted.

Autraya · Post by **Autraya** » Sun May 11, 2008 8:25 pm

SQ wrote:I'm not sure about earlier versions, but in Premiere CS3 there's a feather effect you can apply straight to your video clips, if you want a feathered edge.

yeah most versions of premiere have that standard plug-in and it looks fuggin horrible, all the edges are square. I made my own version in photoshop as a png that I just resize in premeiere as it suits the video.
It's a good idea SQ which i completely forgot about XD, I'll upload the png version and link WesW to it.

I find Track Matte works really well if you have Photoshop and some good brushes, although it's also effective for 'masking' from photoshop instead of ae (comes in handy when cutting out bishies with all that damn hair) and splitting the screen with allot of feather.

if you ever get on aim I can walk you through it >.>

SQ · Post by SQ » Sun May 11, 2008 8:33 pm

I haven't done it in a while but I was pretty sure you could round out the edges or make your own shapes by just applying a garbage matte before the feather.

I could be wrong, though.

But if it gets down to that point then track matte + photoshop might be easier.