Questions? Contact us		6 Easy Steps to Using Each Wizard (click below) . Title Animation Wizard     TitleFX PRO™         Effects Wizards.     AccentFX PRO™ OverlayFX PRO™ PanZoom PRO™ Transitions Wizards.     SpiceMaster PRO™ PerfectPIP PRO™ TranJelly™ 6 Key Concepts About the Wizards 1. Wizards are a separate tool outside of Movie Maker, accessed from your desktop. Use Wizards to create CUSTOM effects, transitions, and title animations for Movie Maker. Wizard items then are exported into Movie Maker, where they are applied to clips just like built-in items. 2. Your custom items will not show up in Movie Maker unless you re-start Movie Maker after exporting. Sorry for that extra step, but it is required due to limitations in Movie Maker's plug-in architecture. The good news is you can keep the Wizards open throughout the process for reference and fine-tuning. 3. Exported Wizard items are not imported into the Collections. They instead automatically end up at the TOP of the Transitions, Effects, or Title Animations lists within Movie Maker... and are applied just like built-in similar items. Thus there is no learning curve to using them. 4. Images in the Wizards preview are just an aid -- for reference -- to help you design your custom item. That's why the preview images are called "Reference Clips." Only the effect, transition, or title animation itself is exported into Movie Maker -- NOT any clip content. (One exception is PanZoom PRO, which can optionally 'attach' high-resolution still-images to the exported effect to produce MUCH sharper output than Movie Maker can.) Likewise, the duration of a Wizard's playback is not exported. It also is just for reference. Set it to any value from .25 second to 30 seconds. 5. Although the Wizard preview can only show still-images (again, just for reference), exported effects and transitions can be applied to ANY clip -- video, animation, or still-image -- in Movie Maker's timeline. To quickly load a reference still-image for a Wizard from a video clip, drag the vertical marker in the Movie Maker timeline over the clip, then choose Tools > Take Picture from Preview. Click the Reference Clip button in the Wizard, then select the saved image. Done! 6. Each Movie Maker project saves all data for each applied Wizard item. For example, when you later use the same Bin -- such as "SpiceMaster 01" -- for a different custom transition in a later project, any "SpiceMASTER 01" transitions in earlier projects will remain unchanged -- unless you intentionally re-apply it in an earlier project. Detailed Help for Wizards . TO... DO THIS... Visual Basics Open the Wizards tool Double-click the Wizards for Movie Maker shortcut on your desktop (shown at right), or choose Start > Program Files > Pixelan > SpiceFX for Movie Maker > Wizards for Movie Maker. Choose a wizard Use the menu at the top of the Wizards window. Choose which item to customize Click the Bin button, then choose from 01 – 40. Show your clip(s) in the preview, for reference. Wizards can show YOUR still-images (not video) instead of its default images -- to aid your customizing. For transition Wizards, click the Reference Clip 1 (and/or 2) button to set the first (and/or second) clip's image. In all other Wizards, click the Clip button. Tip: A quick way to make a reference still-image in Movie Maker from a video clip is to drag the vertical marker in the Movie Maker timeline over the clip, then choose Tools > Take Picture from Preview. Tip: Reference Clip images are only for reference in Wizards – they are NOT part of the exported custom item. To apply your results, apply the exported custom item to the same clip(s) in your Movie Maker timeline.    Prepare a graphic for OverlayFX PRO When preparing a graphic that you intend to overlay with OverlayFX PRO, in your image editing program be sure to save the file as a bitmap (.bmp), PNG (.png), TIFF (.tif) or Targa (.tga) file which includes an alpha channel (thus is a 32-bit file). The alpha channel tells OverlayFX which areas will be transparent. Also, if the graphic is smaller than full-screen, in your image editing program be sure to place the smaller graphic within a full-size canvas. For example, if you intend to have a small logo in the lower right corner of your scene, make a 720x480 graphic (or similar full-size canvas at the size of your intended final output) with the logo much smaller in the lower right corner of that (otherwise empty) canvas.   Change the look of the transition/effect Click a button such as Shape or Softness or Timing, then move the cursor over the palette that will appear next to the button. For all except Timing, the preview image will update to whatever choice your cursor is over. Click on your final choice. Choose a custom color for Border, Glow, etc. Click the pink triangle in corner of the Border button (or other buttons), then choose a color from the color picker that will appear. Tip: The color picker allows you to set the border or shadow/glow color to match or complement colors in your clip. Change the timing/pace or direction Use the Timing button palette to make a desired choice. You can accelerate/decelerate a SpiceMaster PRO transition, for example, by choosing a "curved line" item in the Timing palette. Make a transition play inverted Choose the downward sloped line in the Timing palette of SpiceMaster PRO, PerfectPIP PRO, or TranJelly, as shown at right. Move the position of a transition or effect Drag the center 'handle' in the preview window. Tip: This gives you the power move the transition, title, or effect EXACTLY where desired for your subject or action! A HUGE advantage compared to other Movie Maker transitions or effects! Scale larger or smaller Drag the edge of the frame within the preview of any Wizard that shows such a frame. In PanZoom PRO, the frame will define the Start or End of the effect. In TitleFX PRO, the frame will define the area where text will appear, not scale the text. Precisely position or size In any Wizards except TitleFX, right-click in the preview, then choose "Coordinates...". The dialog shown at right will then appear. In PanZoom PRO, instead right-click in the right window to set the values for whichever frame is active. Create a complex pan/zoom move by keyframing in PanZoom PRO To create a complex pan or zoom within one clip: (1) Drag the blue (and red) frames to a desired start (and end) look. (2) View a desired intermediate point between the start or end, using the Play button or other controls under the Preview in the main window. (3) Click the Add Keyframe '+' button (shown at right) to add an intermediate keyframe. Note that the segment in front of the keyframe will then appear green (active) in the keyframe line, with blue and red markers in the line corresponding to the blue and red frames. (4) Now the Start and End frames shown will be just for that active segment. Drag the blue Start frame to adjust the position or zoom of the new keyframe. (5) Repeat steps 2-4 as desired for additional keyframes (as many as 8 in total). Tip: To revise any segment, click the keyframe line in that portion of the duration. Then drag either frame as desired. Also, any keyframe marker in the line can be dragged left or right anytime to revise its timing. Create a complex accent move by keyframing in AccentFX PRO Keyframing a moving highlight to follow a moving subject in a scene, for example, requires slightly different steps than described above: (1) Click the triangle in the lower corner of the Timing button in AccentFX PRO to show the Keyframes window. (2) Click '+' button in the Keyframes window to add a second keyframe -- at the end. (3) Drag the blue (and red) frames to a desired start (and end) look. Done, unless you need more complex movement: (4) View a desired intermediate point between the start or end, using the Play button or other controls under the Preview in the main window. (5) Click the Add Keyframe '+' button (shown at right) to add an intermediate keyframe. Note that the segment in front of the keyframe will then appear green (active) in the keyframe line, with blue and red markers in the line corresponding to the blue and red frames. (6) Now the Start and End frames shown will be just for that active segment, thus the middle keyframe to the ending keyframe. Drag the blue Start frame to adjust the position or zoom of the middle keyframe. (7) Repeat steps 4-6 as desired for additional keyframes (as many as 8 in total). Append the item's name as a reminder Enter text in the Add to Name box as a reminder of the intent of the effect you are creating. Up to 16 characters can be added. Typing "sunset iris " for Transition 01 of SpiceMaster will result in a transition icon named "SpiceMaster 1 sunset iris" in Movie Maker. Undo/redo changes Click the Undo (or Redo) button at the top right of the Wizard's window. 100+ undo/redo's are available, a great way to experiment without risk! Save/load a favorite item for later re-use To save the currently displayed item, click the blue Save Favorite button. Optionally, save a set of all custom items in the active Wizard. To load either later into the Wizard, such as for a later project, click the adjacent Load Favorite button and choose the saved file. Note that there is no need to save unless you intend to use the item in a future project, because each Movie Maker project file holds all Wizards info that you applied in the project. That remains true even if you later use the same Bin to make a new custom item for a different project. Tip: To share a custom effect/transition, send to other PRO Wizard users the file created by the Save Favorite button. Clear items Click the yellow Clear button, then choose from the three options that will appear. You can clear only the currently displayed effect in the Wizard, all effects in the Wizard, or all exported items in Movie Maker from the Wizard.       Click here for help about previewing, integrating the results with Movie Maker, additional PanZoom PRO help, and more.