Adobe Premiere's motion controls let you move any still image or video clip along a motion path. Here you'll animate an Adobe Photoshop file along a motion path over a clip playing in the background. This effect requires a video clip and a still image containing an alpha channel. You'll start with a project containing a video clip on the Video 1 track.
While this tip shows how to animate a still image, you can also use the same technique to animate video clips along motion paths.
Step 1.
Add the Photoshop still image. Drag the shuttle slider in the Program view of the Monitor window to the time when you want the motion to start. Then drag the still image from the Project window to the Video 2 track, aligning its In point to the edit line in the Timeline.
Step 2.
Adjust the duration of the still image. Move the shuttle slider in the Program view to the time where you want the motion to end. Then, in the Timeline, drag the right edge of the still image to the edit line.
Step 3.
Apply transparency to the still image. Select the still image in the Timeline and choose Clip > Video > Transparency. Choose Alpha Channel for Key Type. Make sure the page peel icon is selected so that you can preview the effect, and click OK to close the dialog box.
In this example, the Photoshop image includes an alpha channel (for transparency), which makes it easy to key out the white background using either the Alpha Channel or White Alpha Matte key type.
Step 4. Apply motion to the still image. With the still image selected in the Timeline, choose Clip > Video > Motion. Make sure the Alpha option under the motion thumbnail is set to Use Clip's, and then select Show All to see a preview of the motion superimposed over the background clip.
Notice the default motion is straight, as represented by the horizontal line in the upper right panel. This line is called the motion path. If you were to click OK without making any changes, the selected clip would move in a horizontal line.
Step 5.
Start adjusting the motion path. Notice that each end of the motion path has a small box, called a motion point, which you can use to adjust the path. Position the pointer on the start point of the motion path (the pointer icon becomes a pointing finger icon).
You can drag the motion points anywhere within the white or gray areas. The gray Visible Area represents the area visible in the Program window. We wanted the image to enter the screen from the lower left corner of the screen, so we positioned the first motion point outside the visible area.
Step 6.
Position the second motion point. In this example, we want the still image to enter from the lower left corner and exit from the upper right corner, so we dragged the last motion point outside the top right corner so that at the end of its motion, the entire image is outside the Visible Area.
Click the Play button by the motion thumbnail to preview the motion.
Step 7.
Add more motion points. Click the motion path about one-third of the way from the start point, and drag the new motion point up to shape the motion path. Then click about two-thirds of the way across the motion path, and drag that resulting point down. The motion path now has a zigzag shape.
Click the Play button by the motion thumbnail to preview the motion. When you're finished viewing, click OK to close the dialog box.
Tip: To move points in space, move them on the motion path. To move points in time, move them on the motion timeline.
Step 8.
Preview the completed animation. Set the time to the beginning of the animation, and then press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you drag the shuttle slider. Pressing Alt or Option previews the transparency as well as the motion.
