Chapter 25: Video Editing Basics 823 FIGURE 25.37 Lifting the work area deletes the video layer inside the work area, but leaves a gap where the video used to be. Performing Slip Edits Performing a slip edit is simply a matter of dragging video footage through a trim, gap, or extrac- tion in that video footage. For example, I have created a gap in my footage by lifting the work area. Now I want to add another video file to fill the gap. I add the file and trim the ends to fill the gap perfectly, as shown in Figure 25.39. After I trimmed the new video clip, I realized that I wanted a slightly different section of video. Without the capability of a slip edit, changing this clip would be a multistep process: I would have to drag the ends of my video to the portion of the clip I wanted and then drag that section back into place to fill the gap. A slip edit can do all this in just one easy step. 36_584743-ch25.indd 82336_584743-ch25.indd 823 5/3/10 10:48 AM5/3/10 10:48 AM Part VIII: Working with Video and Animation 824 FIGURE 25.38 Extracting the work area deletes the video layer inside the work area and closes the gap. To perform a slip edit, simply grab the light green area at either side of the video clip and push it into the visible content. The content stays in the same place, but the video contained inside the content changes. It’s lots of fun to watch and difficult to show you with the still images in a book, but you can see in Figure 25.40 that the content has changed in relation to the current time indicator. When you are trying to slip edit, be sure you click the light green area to drag your video content. If you click the dark green area, you drag the active video segment through the timeline rather than moving the video content through the active segment, as indicated in Figure 25.41. 36_584743-ch25.indd 82436_584743-ch25.indd 824 5/3/10 10:48 AM5/3/10 10:48 AM Chapter 25: Video Editing Basics 825 FIGURE 25.39 After trimming this video clip, I realized that I want the clip to start later, so I perform a slip edit. Adding Still Shots or Other Elements to a Video Project Adding still images or other elements, such as text layers or a 3D model, is very similar to adding video files. These kinds of files look different from a video file in the timeline as well as the Layers panel, however, so I show you some of the things that distinguish these files. You can add still image layers to your video project in several ways. When I say still image, I’m lumping together all the different kinds of images that can be manipulated in Photoshop—photos, paint, vector images, and text. So it makes sense that you can add them in so many ways, from cre- ating a new layer to placing a separate file. 36_584743-ch25.indd 82536_584743-ch25.indd 825 5/3/10 10:48 AM5/3/10 10:48 AM Part VIII: Working with Video and Animation 826 FIGURE 25.40 Use the light green area in the layer duration bar to push the content through the active video segment. Adding a blank layer If you are building an image rather than importing it, you want to create a new layer for the image, especially if your other layers consist of video files. To add a blank layer, simply click the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. You also can choose Layer ➪ New ➪ Layer or press the keyboard combo Shift+Ctrl+N. A new layer is created in both the Layers panel and the time- line, as shown in Figure 25.42. Change the name of your layer immediately. You can move your layer up and down in the layer hierarchy by dragging and placing it in the right spot in the Layers panel. An empty layer is a blank canvas waiting for you to create whatever you want. Adding a text layer Adding a text layer is as simple as choosing the Text tool from the Toolbox, clicking your docu- ment, and typing text. A separate text layer is automatically created, which allows you to move and edit the text separately from the rest of the file. 36_584743-ch25.indd 82636_584743-ch25.indd 826 5/3/10 10:48 AM5/3/10 10:48 AM Chapter 25: Video Editing Basics 827 FIGURE 25.41 Clicking the dark green, or active, segment of the layer moves the segment through the timeline. Creating a title for a video project is the perfect example of optimizing the Photoshop tools to cre- ate the best results for your video project. You can create a title for a video file in Photoshop, or you can create a title separately to import into a video project being created in a different applica- tion. Either way, the tools in Photoshop make it easy to create a custom, classy title. Adding or placing an image file If you have a photo or an image that is a separate file, you need to add it to your video file for it to be part of your project. This is easily done by choosing File ➪ Place and browsing to the file you want to add. The file is added to the video file in a bounding box that you can scale and rotate to place the file just how you want it inside your video project. You also can drag a new file in by clicking the layer containing the still image and dragging it into the window of your video file. You also can copy and paste all or part of an image file. 36_584743-ch25.indd 82736_584743-ch25.indd 827 5/3/10 10:48 AM5/3/10 10:48 AM Part VIII: Working with Video and Animation 828 FIGURE 25.42 Adding a new layer is as easy as clicking the New Layer icon in the Layers panel. Placing or dragging an image into your video file creates a new layer in your video containing the new image file. If you copy and paste an image, be sure to create a blank layer to paste it into. However you bring an image in, make sure the layer is labeled well and placed in the hierarchy where it needs to be. Note When you add blank layers, text, images, or 3D objects to your video, they are placed so the layers are active throughout the duration of the video. If you are creating a title or placing a short image clip, you want it to be shorter. This gives you the perfect opportunity to practice your newfound video editing skills. n Adding or placing a 3D model You can add or place a 3D model in the same way you add a still image: Simply choose File ➪ Place, or drag the object into your file. You also can choose 3D ➪ New Layer From 3D File. This option adds the object as if it has been dragged in, not giving you a bounding box to change your placement options. If you drag a 3D object from its own file or create a new layer from a 3D file, the 3D object is brought in as a 3D layer. You can transform the 3D object directly from the file it has been placed in. 36_584743-ch25.indd 82836_584743-ch25.indd 828 5/3/10 10:48 AM5/3/10 10:48 AM Chapter 25: Video Editing Basics 829 When you use the Place command to place a 3D object in any other type of file, the 3D object becomes a Smart Object. You can still edit it and transform it, but you have to open the originating file to do so. This creates an extra few steps in the editing process. A 3D object is distinguished in the Layers panel by the 3D icon in the corner of the layer thumb- nail. A Smart Object has a different icon, as you can see in Figure 25.43. FIGURE 25.43 Placing a 3D object creates a Smart Object; dragging it in leaves it as a 3D object. Summary This chapter covered the basics of working with video in Photoshop. The Animation (Timeline) panel has several features and menus, and you should now be familiar with what they are and how they work. You should also know how to do these things in Photoshop: l Open and place video files l Trim video footage l Move video layers l Split video clips l Lift and extract unwanted video clips l Slip edit video footage l Add images and 3D files to a video project 36_584743-ch25.indd 82936_584743-ch25.indd 829 5/3/10 10:48 AM5/3/10 10:48 AM . is the perfect example of optimizing the Photoshop tools to cre- ate the best results for your video project. You can create a title for a video file in Photoshop, or you can create a title separately. that is a separate file, you need to add it to your video file for it to be part of your project. This is easily done by choosing File ➪ Place and browsing to the file you want to add. The file. also can drag a new file in by clicking the layer containing the still image and dragging it into the window of your video file. You also can copy and paste all or part of an image file. 36_584743-ch25.indd