Saturday, April 21, 2007

Custom Dreamy Look Title Overlay for Windows Movie Maker

Preview Dreamy Look Title OverlayI've just reworked my prior "Dreamy Look" overlay so it works with either WMM 2.1 (XP) or WMM 6.0. Here's a sample Dreamy Look Video

There are two installers depending on whether you are running on a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows. The installer will put the necessary files into, C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared.
Blaine's Dreamy Look Title (32-bit)
Blaine's Dreamy Look Title (64-bit)
To use the new title
  • Go to 'Tools' > 'Titles and Credits' > 'Title on the selected clip'.

  • Type the text you want to appear below the photo as a caption or, if you don't want any text, type a single space.

  • Click on 'change the title animation'.

  • Under your list of one line titles should be a new one called Dreamy Look

  • Pick 'Dreamy Look', then click 'Done'.

  • Stretch the title so that it extends for the length of your video.

  • You might want to apply the "Fade In From White" and "Fade Out To White" effects to your clip, so that it starts and ends on a full white frame.
  • 33 comments:

    1. Blaine: This site is invaluable! I am working on a newsletter for our subscribers at MyVisualPitch.com, a new site where screenwriters and musicians can upload Visual Pitches of their scripts (or music videos of themselves or their band) to SHOW a project before it gets made.

      The site is marketed and exclusively accessible to industry professionals (except for the Featured Visual Pitches that play on the home page). It's the next step in pitching projects to the entertainment industry, and has struck a chord with artists looking to get their work noticed.

      With your permission, I'd love to reference some of your posts and provide a link back to your site for all users who build their Visual Pitches on a PC (I use Macs, so I'm not very good at offering tips to my Windows people).

      Please email me at pamela@myvisualpitch.com so we can discuss.

      Thanks for this great resource.

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    2. Blaine-
      Like the new look and feature of your site!
      Rich
      "desilucy"

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    3. Blaine;I'm japanese.so,It is not easy to read English.
      But I'm glad to meet this site!

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    4. どういたしまして (douitashi mashite)

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    5. Cool effect!Though there seems to be one problem,I cant seem to drag the rectangle representing the title and make it longer. By the way do you need a special software to make Movie Maker effects? Thanks

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    6. Are you grabbing the righthand side? It works fine for me. Can you provide more info such as whether you are on XP or Vista?

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    7. Well i'm using XP version. I just found something out, it's working for some clips and not for others...

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    8. Anything unusual about the clips that aren't working? For example some incompatible clip types like DivX and XviD can cause weirdness in WMM.

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    9. No nothing unusual that I can think of. Though they were created using Hypercam 2. Sorry for the late reply

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    10. Perhaps there is some incompatibility in whatever codec/filter Hypercam 2 uses to encode the video. Also, if the clip is too big (too high a resolution) perhaps it is too much for your system? Just grasping since I don't have any experience with Hypercam 2.

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    11. Somehow I got it to work =). Thanks for the help and awesome website!

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    12. This is great!
      Is there a way you can get it in black tho?
      (:

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    13. Just take the image in the AddOnTFX folder containing the overlay and edit it to make it black instead of white...

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    14. im sorry to be a pain, but what do i write to make it black. i found this:

      "ShadowColor" value="#7F000000"

      but whats the code for black?

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    15. There's an image in the folder that is used as the overlay. Just edit it to be black instead of white using any editor that can handle transparency.

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    16. Further information: The image file is C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared\AddOnTFX\Dreamy.png and if you bring it into an image editing program (like Paint.Net, GIMP, PhotoShop, etc.) just invert the colors (e.g. Negative) and save it.

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    17. Hiya, I have downloaded and run the file but the effect is not coming up on my movie maker ?! I have the newest version, windows movie maker 2.6? Thanks!

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    18. Hi Blaine... LOVING your work!
      I am having only one problem since downloading WMM via you after hating WLMM.
      I can't upload my purchased music in my itunes library, it's works fine with WLMM.
      Any idea what I can do?
      Cheers Sonya

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    19. @Marknsonya, WMM doesn't handle purchased itunes music well since it is in AAC format. You might see if you can find a converter that will change these into .wma or .wav format. The other choice is .mp3, though that can sometimes cause problems in WMM too.

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    20. @Hannah, this will work in 2.6, but you'll have to manually move all the files from C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared to the corresponding folder for WMM 2.6. WMM 2.6 is one of those strange half-XP/half-Vista versions. It has its own special folder.

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    21. Hi, umm its not doing anything for me :/ I click install and it 'gathers information' then vanishes. I then go into WMM and the effect isn't there, any clue why that is man?

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    22. That means it is done copying; it's quick. Check under the program in C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared\AddOnTFX.

      Also look under Title Animations in the program. If you can't figure it out, tell me the version of Windows and then the version of Movie Maker.

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    23. Windows 7
      WMM 2.6
      I've moved it from the shared file to the Movie maker file, yet it still wont apear :S

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      1. Not sure why you are using WMM 2.6 on Windows 7. WMM 6.0 can be installed instead using the link in the menu above. If you have to stick with the recompiled XP version (2.6) then you need to manually copy all contents (including sub folders) from one Shared folder to the other. But again I'd save all the hassle and use WMM 6.0.

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      2. Have downloaded it, but it still isn't allowing it, even on 6.0 :S any idea what it could be?

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    24. Ok WMM 6.0 downloaded, still cant find it. I tried simply dragging the three files into the open import window, it said I didn't have the correct codec, is that a possibility why it isn't working?

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      1. No copying needed. Just rerun the installer and they go into the correct folder for the program. Then follow the directions in the post for adding a title within WMM 6.0.

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      2. Oh my god its finaly there! I Freakin' love you! I can finally make this prologue intro! Thank you so much!

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    25. My Windows Live Movie Maker is different from the one you are using. There isn't a Tools section or anything. I managed to find a download on the internet, and downloaded it. I have installed the 64bit version of your installer and all, but when I go into 'change title animation' the Dreamy Looks effect isn't there. I went to C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared and found the the stuff that the installer put in, so all of the files are there. I need to use the animation for a project, if you know what the problem could be, please respond.

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      Replies
      1. Did you use a 64-bit install of Windows Movie Maker 6.0? You can find a link at the top of this blog.

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      2. I'm not sure whether or not the wmm that I downloaded was a 64-bit install, but it was from the Microsoft website. To be sure, I installed the 64-bit that is at the top of this blog, though the Dreamy Title still isn't in my one line titles list, or any of my title lists, for that matter. I tried reinstalling the 64-bit Dreamy Title and it still isn't showing. Oh, and yes, I am sure that I have windows 7 64-bit. Is there anything I was supposed to do other than running the installer, letting it do it's thing, and going into Change Title Animation on Windows Movie Maker? Also, if I can't get this working, is there any other way to create the dreamy effect? Your title animation is exactly how I am/was hoping to make it look. Thanks for the help.

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      3. The Microsoft version is only WMM 2.6. Please uninstall that and use WMM 6.0. Confirm by going to Help > About Movie Maker and read the last line.

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      4. When I was uninstalling the Movie Maker, I noticed it was called 6.1, rather than 6.0. I installed the one at the top of the blog again, this time with no Movie Maker already on my pc. (Except the one that came with it) And after it was installed and all, the Dreams Look now shows up. Thank you for your help/time. I probably would have assumed that reinstalling it without another version of it already on my pc wouldn't have made a difference, if you hadn't told me otherwise. Also, the effect looks great, from what little I have seen, yours is the best. I looked all over google for something similar to it (Before I posted the comment requesting help) but the best I've been able to find is where people add a glow or change the lighting. Good job man, and thanks for responding so quickly.

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