Tricks with Photoshop and Premiere

If you happen to have a copy of Adobe Photoshop living somewhere on your hard disk and you're a Premiere user, it's time to take a look at the ease with which these two sister programs can cooperate. Here are a few tips that will help you get the most out of both these powerful software packages.

Moving Photo Highlights
Here's an innovative effect that's really interesting. It presents a still photo to your viewers, but wait -- there's something moving in there! Your imagination can fill in the blanks here, but imagine a still shot of a person waiting to cross the street with cars whizzing by in the foreground. You get the idea.

Keep in mind that one of the best things Photoshop can do is cut out objects and replace them with something else. So, in Photoshop 5.5, select and then cut out the object you'd like to have moving, for example, a full moon. Then, paste it into that same photo, and it'll place it there as a separate layer. Clean things up by using the clone tool to cover up the area where the moon was on the background layer. Be sure to save the photo as a Photoshop .PSD file so you'll be able to use these layers separately in Premiere. Here's where the interoperability of the two packages comes in handy!

In Premiere, import the .PSD file:

1. Open the Premiere project and choose File > Import > File.
2. In the Import dialog box, select the edited Photoshop file and click Import.
3. From the Choose a Layer pop-up menu, select the layer you created in Photoshop and click OK.

If you used the Create Layer command in Photoshop to create a new layer for each effect, repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each layer you want to import. Since Premiere 5.1 names the imported file according to the filename and not the layer name, you may want to rename your layers to avoid confusion. For example, if you import three separate layers from "Filename1.psd," in Premiere's Project window you'll see three files named "Filname1.psd." To rename the files simply click on the filename to select it and enter the new name.

Once this is done, use the motion settings to apply movement to the moon layer only. Once you master this technique, you can do anything -- make lights flicker, create a shooting star or have someone's hand waving at you. Special thanks to our friends at Adobe for this great effect.

Now that we've gotten warmed up with that one, let's take a look at a recipe for a basic but important concept: Placing an Image over Video using Photoshop and Premiere

1. open bmp image in Photoshop

2. select an area using any selection tool

3. Select menu>save selection (makes alpha channel)

4. give name to selection - say oval

5. File>Save a Copy

6. make sure file type PSD selected.

7. Open clip in Premiere and place in V2 or above

8. Right click clip select Video>transparency

9. Select alpha channel as type.

10 Click OK, then render

Another similar method:
But hey, we've forgotten our good friend the Targa file. Here's an example. If you want a portrait-shaped photo to fly in and out, simple make a new file in Photoshop of 720X480. Now take your scanned image and size it so that it will fit on the 720X480 (within safe title). Now select the photo itself with magic wand (select outside the photo then inverse selection) now go to select and click Save Selection. This makes an Alpha channel from your selection. Now flatten and save as a Targa (32 bit). Import to Premiere and place in overlay line.

The best feature of a Targa file is being able to do an Alpha Key in transparency. This is the cleanest key of all. Add your motion..

Lost drop shadows!
Using Premiere for titles built in Photoshop is very clean. But when I add a drop shadow in Photoshop using Layer>effects>drop shadow and resave the title file and reopen in Premiere, only the letters appear over the underlying video. The drop shadow does not appear. What happened?

I'm assuming that this is Photoshop 5.X.

1. Type your text.

2. Add Effects (Drop shadow, glows, etc.)

3. Render the Text layer

4. Right click on the "f" in that text layer and from the context menu select Create Layer. This puts your effect on its own layer.

5. Link the new Layer and your Text Layer.

6. Merge these two linked layers.

7. Now do a Select >> Load Selection >> Layer "__" Transparency. You now have the correct Alpha info for the drop shadow AND your text.

8. Save selection as new Alpha channel 9. Save as TGA, TIFF, whatever 32-bit format you like.

Working Together: Photoshop and Premiere by Charlie White
	If you happen to have a copy of Adobe Photoshop living somewhere on your hard disk and you're a Premiere user, it's time to take a look at the ease with which these two sister programs can cooperate. Here are a few tips that will help you get the most out of both these powerful software packages. Moving Photo Highlights Here's an innovative effect that's really interesting. It presents a still photo to your viewers, but wait -- there's something moving in there! Your imagination can fill in the blanks here, but imagine a still shot of a person waiting to cross the street with cars whizzing by in the foreground. You get the idea. Keep in mind that one of the best things Photoshop can do is cut out objects and replace them with something else. So, in Photoshop 5.5, select and then cut out the object you'd like to have moving, for example, a full moon. Then, paste it into that same photo, and it'll place it there as a separate layer. Clean things up by using the clone tool to cover up the area where the moon was on the background layer. Be sure to save the photo as a Photoshop .PSD file so you'll be able to use these layers separately in Premiere. Here's where the interoperability of the two packages comes in handy! In Premiere, import the .PSD file: 1. Open the Premiere project and choose File > Import > File. 2. In the Import dialog box, select the edited Photoshop file and click Import. 3. From the Choose a Layer pop-up menu, select the layer you created in Photoshop and click OK. If you used the Create Layer command in Photoshop to create a new layer for each effect, repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each layer you want to import. Since Premiere 5.1 names the imported file according to the filename and not the layer name, you may want to rename your layers to avoid confusion. For example, if you import three separate layers from "Filename1.psd," in Premiere's Project window you'll see three files named "Filname1.psd." To rename the files simply click on the filename to select it and enter the new name. Once this is done, use the motion settings to apply movement to the moon layer only. Once you master this technique, you can do anything -- make lights flicker, create a shooting star or have someone's hand waving at you. Special thanks to our friends at Adobe for this great effect. Now that we've gotten warmed up with that one, let's take a look at a recipe for a basic but important concept: Placing an Image over Video using Photoshop and Premiere 1. open bmp image in Photoshop 2. select an area using any selection tool 3. Select menu>save selection (makes alpha channel) 4. give name to selection - say oval 5. File>Save a Copy 6. make sure file type PSD selected. 7. Open clip in Premiere and place in V2 or above 8. Right click clip select Video>transparency 9. Select alpha channel as type. 10 Click OK, then render Another similar method: But hey, we've forgotten our good friend the Targa file. Here's an example. If you want a portrait-shaped photo to fly in and out, simple make a new file in Photoshop of 720X480. Now take your scanned image and size it so that it will fit on the 720X480 (within safe title). Now select the photo itself with magic wand (select outside the photo then inverse selection) now go to select and click Save Selection. This makes an Alpha channel from your selection. Now flatten and save as a Targa (32 bit). Import to Premiere and place in overlay line. The best feature of a Targa file is being able to do an Alpha Key in transparency. This is the cleanest key of all. Add your motion.. Lost drop shadows! Using Premiere for titles built in Photoshop is very clean. But when I add a drop shadow in Photoshop using Layer>effects>drop shadow and resave the title file and reopen in Premiere, only the letters appear over the underlying video. The drop shadow does not appear. What happened? I'm assuming that this is Photoshop 5.X. 1. Type your text. 2. Add Effects (Drop shadow, glows, etc.) 3. Render the Text layer 4. Right click on the "f" in that text layer and from the context menu select Create Layer. This puts your effect on its own layer. 5. Link the new Layer and your Text Layer. 6. Merge these two linked layers. 7. Now do a Select >> Load Selection >> Layer "__" Transparency. You now have the correct Alpha info for the drop shadow AND your text. 8. Save selection as new Alpha channel 9. Save as TGA, TIFF, whatever 32-bit format you like. Have a comment about this article? Discuss it at the DigitalVideoEditing Forum!

Have a comment about this article? Discuss it at the DigitalVideoEditing Forum!