Compositing and Translucency now available for Vista Movie Maker

One of the most popular custom transitions in Windows Movie Maker (XP) is one called "Comp A add B" that allows you to composite two clips together. For example, if you had a clip of a firework or an explosion, you could composite that on top of another clip. Rather than explain it further, take a look at this sample compositing clip of an explosive bear

Until now, there was no easy way to have this same "Comp A add B" transition under Vista Movie Maker. It took a little bit of work, 2 DLLs, an .FX and .XML file, but I finally got it to work.

While I was at it, I added the translucency transitions that allow you to play two clips simultaneously, but blended together. There is also a *bonus* camera jiggle effect. If you watch to the end of the video, you'll see the whole image shake as the explosion hits. That was done with the 'Camera Jiggle' effect.

Note: These transitions reimplement existing custom transitions available for Windows Movie Maker for XP so if you have XP, instead go to the Windows Movie Makers forums and search for 'comp a add b' or 'translucency' When I get a chance, I might republish an XP version, just so you can get my pretty icons.

Instructions for installing:
If you don't already have the Visual Studio 2005 SP1 Redistributable Files installed, run that installer first.
You will also need to have the latest version of DirectX End User Runtimes (Aug 2007) installed.
Next, click on the icon above which will download the custom compositing and translucency transitions. Run the installer and it will install the custom code you'll need for Vista Movie Maker.

After installing, you'll have these new transitions:

Compositing (A add B) - for best results, one clip should be on a black background. Things like explosions, flames, snow fall, raindrops, etc. work best.

Show A, Show B - these just show clip A or clip B respectively. These are useful when you want to cut away to another clip without affecting the overall timing of your main clip.

Translucency 10% through 90% - these blend the two clips so you can see both at the same time.

You'll also have the bonus effect:

Camera Jiggle - causes the picture to shake slightly as if the camera was jostled.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the original forum post that inspired these transitions.

Windows Movie Maker - Transition Icons

If you are creating custom transitions in Windows Movie Maker, you need to specify an icon number. Rather than guessing, you can use the following images to figure out which of the standard 92 icons (0 through 91) you want to use. Click on a thumbnail to see the full image.
Transition Icons 0-11
Transition Icons 12-23
Transition Icons 24-35
Transition Icons 36-47
Transition Icons 48-59
Transition Icons 60-71
Transition Icons 72-83
Transition Icons 84-91