Operation Manual

128 Pinnacle Studio 9
Video: The Transparency slider lets the main video
show through the PIP overlay to any desired degree.
Border: The parameters in this group are equivalent to
the Border settings on the PIP tool, allowing you to set
the overlay border’s color, thickness, transparency and
edge softness, and to select the rounded corners option
if desired. One bonus of the effect interface is that there
are separate Width and Height controls to control the
border thickness, rather than the single setting provided
by the tool.
Shadow: As with the Border group, these parameters
are essentially the same as those on the PIP tool, except
that the Horizontal offset and Vertical offset parameters
afford slightly more flexibility in positioning the
shadow than the tool’s Distance and Angle settings.
The Chroma key tool
Chroma key is a widely-used technique that allows
foreground objects to appear in a video scene even
though they were not present – and often could not
have been present – when the scene was shot. When an
action star tumbles into a volcano, or battles a giant
cockroach, or saves the crew with a daring space-walk,
the chances are that chroma key or a related technology
was involved in the scene.
Chroma key effects are often called “blue-screen” or
“green-screen” effects because the foreground action is
shot in front of a uniform blue or green background.
The background is then electronically removed, leaving
only the foreground action to be superimposed on the
actual background of the final scene, which has been
separately prepared.