Tips using Magix PhotoStory on CD & DVD, Issue 1 - Zooming

Hinweis: Du findest die deutsche Version dieses Postings in meinem deutschen Blog.

I like to create photoshows from different events. Recently based on some days vacation on Wangerooge, Germany. Since some years I am using PhotoStory on CD & DVD by Magix. I take nearly every second version step, so the latest were 5, then 7 and this time I updated to 9. It was a great step forward and a major enhancement.

One of the major enhancements – introduced earlier but now near to perfection – is the generation of paths through an image. You can make a picture alive as if it is a video – at least this is the feedback from audience watching my videos who asked: “Is this really only a photo?”

Today I will tell you about zooming images. One of the things you will use most when you generate your paths through the images manually (that is not using the wizard). You can get a picture to zoom with just a few clicks (mind that I use the German version and have to guess how menu entries are called in English):

1. Insert an image into the timeline.
2. Go onto the effects-tab.
3. Open “View & Animation”
4. Go to “Clipping & Zoom”
5. Click on “Zoom In”

That’s all – and you already have a very nice effect. But actually there is a problem when you define a changeover effect like for example fading out: Your zoom will even continue when your image is nearly not visible any longer.

The first simple approach would be to stop zooming before the image fades out. Therefore you just have to move the diamond marker at the end of the zoom just before the dotted line. But: With this you will have a boring freeze image.

The better solution is: Slowing down. This works perfect with Magix PhotoStory on CD & DVD:

1. Find the zoom-timeline on the effects tab.
2. Click on the timeline near the end of the zoom.
3. Move the marker until you see the image section marked (on the right) which is the image section where you would like to slow down.
4. Now create a new waypoint with the icons above the timeline.
5. To slow down: Just move it a little to the left. Of course to speed up: Move it to the right.

Now you can ensure that before the fading starts you have (nearly) the image clipping you wanted to reach – and you still have no boring freeze image while fading.

The following screen shot shows the (German) User Interface of Magix PhotoStory. The blue markers mark the diamonds which control the waypoints. The penultimate waypoint is the one I used for slowing down the zoom. The orange markers mark the time-indices where the crossing over starts/ends. This is automatically shown by Magix Photostory with a dotted line:

Hope you like the tip. And here is the resulting video (with Music from Unheilig “An deiner Seite”):

Example Video for Zooming