Digital Panning

[FilmUnited]

This question refers to Avid Xpress version 4.1.0

I am having trouble doing a digital pan on a stationary shot.

The original shot is completely still, the camera was on a tripod. A character walks in at the top of the frame and looks down at something that is at the bottom of the frame. The shot is over 15 seconds long and a bit boring, I think it would really benefit from the pan.

The film is being matted for 1:85 aspect ratio so I would like to use that negative space to create a smooth, slow pan from top to bottom.

I have attempted to do this by putting a Resize effect on the shot and then, in the effect editor, keyframing the first and last frames. However, when this is rendered, the move is smooth but the shot appears to pop in and out of focus. The focus problem is not terribly noticable now but the film is slated to play in festivals on big screens and it would look terrible. People that I have shown it to seem to think it is probably a problem with the Avid settings but I cannot figure out which setting. Any info on how to do a smooth, focused pan without having to export to a program like After Effects or Combustion would be appreciated.

Corey

PS It should be noted that I am using non interlaced 24fps images.

 

[Kim Welch]

I apologize for the delay in responding, and thank you for posting. Using the matte space to add a slow pan is a smart way to save a long static shot. The focus popping usually comes from how the effect resamples the image as it moves, especially when it's scaled.

In Avid, try the Pan & Zoom effect instead of Resize, since it has better filtering for slow moves, and render at the highest quality setting. Keep the scale as close to 100 percent as possible, because enlarging the image softens it. For more help, our Editing & Post-production forum is a great place to ask. Good luck at the festivals!