PC Slideshow software with Amiga Toaster type effects?

[Nightwing]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I see various software out on the PC for making photo slidshows
but I've yet to see anything to rival some of the transition effects
I'm able to incorporate by using my old Toaster (the puzzle,
pouring water, smoke, the shadow sports figures, not to mention
the photo roll offs rotating globes etc.) Is there anything out there
with something like this?

It sure would nice to find something like this.
Currently in order to pull this off I'm scaning the photos into
my PC, croping, doing color corrections & saving them
in Adobe Photoshop (also streaching them there to compensate
for differant pixal aspect ratio between the PC & Amiga)
Then coping them to floppys to load into my Amiga, where
I must convert the jpgs to framestores via ImageFX, once this
is done I can start up the toaster & send the output to one
of my standalone dvd recorders, then I can rip the file from
the dvd-ram disk on my pc & use Vegas to join the video
& selected audio track & voila a slideshow.

I do 30-35 weddings a yr. where about 65% want the photo
slide show option. So needless to say I'm burning up a lot of
time making them this way, but they are unique I think??

Also still using the old toaster for my credit rolls, I usually
use a photo of my couple for the backdrop (aquired by the
same method as above). Looked at the titler in Vegas but
the toaster seemed much easier for this. Any titling software out
there I might want to look at also?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

"Nightwing" <Nightwing@LuniticFringe.com> wrote in message
news:f8u0a0lsmqgc6tp1fpj2rat83isa5u5g27@4ax.com...
> I see various software out on the PC for making photo slidshows
> but I've yet to see anything to rival some of the transition effects
> I'm able to incorporate by using my old Toaster (the puzzle,
> pouring water, smoke, the shadow sports figures, not to mention
> the photo roll offs rotating globes etc.) Is there anything out there
> with something like this?
>
> It sure would nice to find something like this.
> Currently in order to pull this off I'm scaning the photos into
> my PC, croping, doing color corrections & saving them
> in Adobe Photoshop (also streaching them there to compensate
> for differant pixal aspect ratio between the PC & Amiga)
> Then coping them to floppys to load into my Amiga, where
> I must convert the jpgs to framestores via ImageFX, once this
> is done I can start up the toaster & send the output to one
> of my standalone dvd recorders, then I can rip the file from
> the dvd-ram disk on my pc & use Vegas to join the video
> & selected audio track & voila a slideshow.
>
> I do 30-35 weddings a yr. where about 65% want the photo
> slide show option. So needless to say I'm burning up a lot of
> time making them this way, but they are unique I think??
>
> Also still using the old toaster for my credit rolls, I usually
> use a photo of my couple for the backdrop (aquired by the
> same method as above). Looked at the titler in Vegas but
> the toaster seemed much easier for this. Any titling software out
> there I might want to look at also?

The titler in WMM2 is the easiest I've tried - have a go - it's free. You
may need to convert the AVI file using Canopus DV File Converter. But the
whole process is stress free.

HTH

Margaret

Remove giggling if replying by email

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Nightwing wrote:

> I see various software out on the PC for making photo slidshows
> but I've yet to see anything to rival some of the transition effects
> I'm able to incorporate by using my old Toaster (the puzzle,
> pouring water, smoke, the shadow sports figures, not to mention
> the photo roll offs rotating globes etc.) Is there anything out there
> with something like this?

>>snip<<

I loved the Toaster and used it extensively. I like a lot of the FX that
it has and the fact that it did it all in real time. It could not do 3D
fx and some of the 2D stuff pixelated a lot. But still, I look back on
the videos I did with the Toaster and am amazed. I still have the Amiga
and Toaster, but haven't turned it on in a couple of years. I went NLE
on the PC first with DPS Editbay and then Pinnacle DV500. Now, using
Liquid Edition.
The credit scrolls with the Toaster were just plain simple (as was most
other 'stuff'). Setting up the photo montage with Premiere is faster and
easier, although using different FX (using Hollywood FX Pro). Can use
pan and scan now, not with Toaster. True 3D FX with minimal rendering.
Your customers don't know what soft/hardware you are using. They just
want a nice finished product. I managed to get through the transition
between Amiga to PC. Once I got a taste of NLE and what I could do, the
Toaster just collects dust. I like the transitions you mentioned, and do
have a couple of replacements for them (organic for smoke and do have a
puzzle in HFX). I haven't looked back.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

On Wed, 12 May 2004 12:34:41 GMT, TonyP <arpierre@hooptonline.net>
wrote:

>
>
>Nightwing wrote:
>
>> I see various software out on the PC for making photo slidshows
>> but I've yet to see anything to rival some of the transition effects
>> I'm able to incorporate by using my old Toaster (the puzzle,
>> pouring water, smoke, the shadow sports figures, not to mention
>> the photo roll offs rotating globes etc.) Is there anything out there
>> with something like this?
>
> >>snip<<
>
>I loved the Toaster and used it extensively. I like a lot of the FX that
>it has and the fact that it did it all in real time. It could not do 3D
>fx and some of the 2D stuff pixelated a lot. But still, I look back on
>the videos I did with the Toaster and am amazed. I still have the Amiga
>and Toaster, but haven't turned it on in a couple of years. I went NLE
>on the PC first with DPS Editbay and then Pinnacle DV500. Now, using
>Liquid Edition.

Anything the Toaster can do can be done on the PC, but I've found
that a lot of the common Toaster sorts of effects aren't quickly and
easily set up.

The Toaster couldn't do "real" 3D, but it faked it pretty well by
using pre-programmed pixel mapping on its 3D effects. You could do
easy fly-away titles and picture transitions, plus some really flashy
things like the exploding sphere (picture turns into sphere and
explodes into lots of pieces).

What I haven't found in neat, easy packages are the class of
animated alpha channel transitions -- the sports figures, the falling
sheep, the photo-flashes, etc. They are logically doable -- you can
do them with a bunch of apps -- but they aren't easily done as a
simple push the button preset.

The Toaster remains a great tool when all you need is a simple title
sequence with transitions -- it is a wonderful linear title tagger
(drop credits at start and end of the show). Put all your photos into
a folder, then open it and drop it on the storyboard, putting
transitions in between as you like. No rendering time, that is always
nice -- and the CG does a nice job.

>The credit scrolls with the Toaster were just plain simple (as was most
>other 'stuff'). Setting up the photo montage with Premiere is faster and
>easier, although using different FX (using Hollywood FX Pro). Can use
>pan and scan now, not with Toaster. True 3D FX with minimal rendering.
>Your customers don't know what soft/hardware you are using. They just
>want a nice finished product. I managed to get through the transition
>between Amiga to PC. Once I got a taste of NLE and what I could do, the
>Toaster just collects dust. I like the transitions you mentioned, and do
>have a couple of replacements for them (organic for smoke and do have a
>puzzle in HFX). I haven't looked back.

NLE is more powerful, but I do miss some of the stuff. HFX is a
good place to look for transitions to start with, as it has a lot of
cool ones -- but nowhere near as many as the Toaster presets.

While a lot of them were of limited use, most customers wouldn't
have seen them before, and used in the right place they work nice.
You can always overuse effects, but slideshows are a place tailor-made
for effect use.

Still, is there a package which includes a good set of animated full
color/motion wipes and overlays? Stuff like the effects used on Home
Improvement (all of which are pretty much custom Aftereffects
travelling matte animations, not anything automated).

(BTW, though it was a pain to make, you could use Lightwave to
generate animated matte transitions for the Toaster. It was never
simple, so it was easier to find transition sets made by other people,
which was another of the Toaster's cool bits -- tons of 3rd party
support).
--
*-__Jeffery Jones__________| *Starfire* |____________________-*
** Muskego WI Access Channel 14/25 <http://www.execpc.com/~jeffsj/mach7/>
*Starfire Design Studio* <http://www.starfiredesign.com/>