Placing and keeping a jpeg logo on screen

[Cameron Poole]

This isn't an easy one to title and because of this I haven't found anything in the YouTube tutorials, but I simply want to know how to place a jpeg logo in the corner of the screen during a project.

Also, is it possible to animate it in Final Cut Pro or do I need to do that in Motion?

[Shaun Roemich]

Easy to do BUT if the logo has transparency a JPG is the wrong output choice... TIFF or PSD are better IF you need transparency...

Never the less:

Place the JPG clip on a video layer higher than your video by dragging from the Browser or by using the drag to Canvas method or however you want to get it there.

Make sure your timeline play bar is over top of the JPG clip on the timeline and double click the clip to load it into the Viewer and use the Motion tab at the top to resize, move or otherwise effect the clip.

The default time for a still image in normally 10 seconds. You should be able to drag the clip length with the Arrow (Direct Selection) tool to make it longer. Copy and Paste the clip several times on the Timeline if you need to. Animate to your heart's content in FCP using keyframes.

Done!

[Cameron Poole]

Many thanks! Incidentally is there a professional term for this method?

Secondly, I also want to animate a map with the red line tracer hitting the destinations - we've all seen it. I assume I would do this also using keyframes and simply take a screenshot of the map from Google Images but can I do a basic animation like this in FCP alone or can it not be done without Motion?

[Dave Partington]

You can also use PNG files with transparency.....

Animating lines etc it best done in Motion (take a big gulp and dive in !)

[Kevin McRoberts]

One term for such an animated logo is a "bug." An exported .mov using the Animation codec will preserve transparency; animate your logo in whatever program, output it as an Animation .mov, and then plop it in like any regular video layer. If it's live video, green screen and chroma-key it.

You can do quick n' dirty travel lines directly in FCP:
1. If the line is straight, create a color solid by going to Effects->Video Generators->Color Solid. If it's jagged or curved, might have to get fancy with multiple color solid layers or garbage mattes - or, just learn Motion.
2. In the Viewer Window Motion controls tab, set the color solid's final size and orientation using crop, scale, distort, and rotation
3. Animate the start and stop points of its reveal via a keyframed crop adjustment or wipe transition
4. Add a heavy blur or edge feather to round it off as desired, or compound it with other effects

Here's a sample I did a few years back using a radial wipe reveal:

Quick n' Dirty FCP Travel Line on Vimeo

Or, you could just learn Motion.