How to Use VidMorph PRO

Use the tutorial below to learn how to use VidMorph PRO to create professional morphs on your own computer.

Starting a New Project

When you first start VidMorph PRO, the product launches the New Project Wizard automatically. You can use this wizard to add media (images and video clips) to the project. Follow the instructions presented by the wizard. At any time within the product, you can launch the New Project Wizard by selecting the File menu, and then choosing New Project Wizard. If another project is currently open, the product will prompt you to save the project before proceeding. To start a new, empty project, select the File menu, and then choose New Project. Again, if another project is currently open, the product will prompt you to save the project before proceeding. You are now ready to add images and video clips to the project.

Adding Media to the Project

Once you have started a new project, you are able to add media to it.

At the bottom of the VidMorph PRO window, click the Add Media toolbar icon. The Open dialog box displays, allowing you to select one image or video clip.
You may also right-click in the media strip and choose Add Media, Add Image, or Add Video or choose these options from the Project menu.
Select an image or video clip and click the Open button. If you have selected an image, the image now appears within the product’s media strip as a tile. If you have selected a video clip, the starting frame and ending frame now appear within the product’s media strip as a tile.
Note: the one or two numbers that display below each tile. The number centered below each tile represents the duration of the media clip (images have an initial duration of 2 seconds). The number below and to the right of the tile represents the duration of the morph’s transition.
Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you have loaded all of the media files that you will need for this project.
You may rearrange the order of the media in the product’s media strip by clicking on a tile, dragging the tile to the left or right of other tiles, and releasing the tile. You can also click on a tile and then click either the Move to Left or Move to Right toolbar icons at the bottom of the VidMorph PRO window.
To remove a media tile from the project, right-click on the tile in the media strip and choose Delete. You can also select the tile, and then choose Delete from the Project menu.

You are now ready to configure the project media.

Configuring Image Media

Once you have added image media to the project, you can crop the image and adjust how long the image displays in the video.

Double-click on the image tile in the media strip (or right-click on an image tile and choose Properties). The Crop Image window displays.
Drag the image handles (the boxes that appear around the image) to the position within the image to crop out (the image remaining within the handles will stay).
Click Accept to crop the image.
To extend the duration that the image displays within the final video, click on the number centered below the image tile (or right-click on the image tile and choose Change Show Time, or select the tile and choose this item from the Project menu).
Specify the number of seconds to display the image before morphing to the next media tile and click OK.

Configuring Video Media

Once you have added video media to the project, you can configure various video settings.

Double-click on the video tile in the media strip (or right-click on an video tile and choose Properties). The Video Properties window displays.
Choose the starting and ending video frame by repositioning the sliders above the range bar. Click the Zoom In button to fine tune the position. Click Fit Zoom to see the entire length of the clip in the range bar. Click the Play button to preview the clip using the new starting and ending frames.
The duration of the clip displays in the center (blue portion) of the range bar.
Drag the video handles (the boxes that appear around the video preview) to the position within the video to zoom in on. The overall video clips dimensions remain the same; the image within the video is enlarged.
Click OK when you have finished configuring the video clip.

Defining the Morph

Once you have configured the media, you are ready to define the morph.

Before you begin to define your morph, you should save the project. From the File menu, choose Save Project. Choose a location and file name to which to save the project and click Save. VidMorph PRO projects are saved using a .PMRH2 file extension.
Select a tile within the media strip. The product populates the project workspace with an image of the tile you selected and the next tile in the media strip. In the case of video media, if the next tile is a video clip, the starting frame image displays. If the tile that you selected is a video clip, the ending frame image displays.

Note that a green grid overlays each image in the project’s workspace. Each green dot is a reference point. Hovering over a reference point highlights the same/corresponding point in each image.

The images and reference point grids are proportional to each other. If your two media tiles do not have the same dimensions, the grids may appear to display larger or smaller than each other, however, this is not the case. For example, if your second image is smaller than the first image, its grid may appear larger than the first image’s grid. If you hover over the reference points within the second image, you will notice that each of those points still has a corresponding point within the first image. The first image just has more reference points, since it is larger.
When you click on a reference point, a faint polygon appears below the point, indicating the range or distance in which you can move that reference point. To move a reference point outside of that range, you must first move the reference points adjacent to the current point.

The difference in the position of a reference point in the first image as compared with the second image defines the path of the morph. The portion of the image or video controlled by that reference point in the first image will slide towards the corresponding portion of the image or video in the second image.

If you were morphing people or animals, for example, you might ensure that the reference points on or around the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth of the first image correspond to their appropriate parts on the second image.
You can add more reference points to grid, if needed. To add a new horizontal line of reference points, right-click on a reference point on a horizontal line above where the new line should appear and choose Add Horiz Line. To add a new vertical line of reference points, right-click on a reference point on a vertical line to the left of where the new line should appear and choose Add Vert Line. The new reference point lines are added to both images.
You can also remove lines of reference points. Right-click on a reference point, and choose either Remove Horiz Line or Remove Vert Line. This removes the horizontal or vertical line of the reference point you selected.
Other options are available for you to use while you define the morph. These options appear in the toolbars below each image in the project’s workspace. Click the Zoom In icon to enlarge the view of the image. Click the Zoom Out icon to reduce the view of the image. Click the Zoom to Fit icon to fit the image to the current size of the workspace. It is important to note that these zoom features only affect the images displaying in the project’s workspace, not the final video.

Click the Crop image icon to crop the image or zoom in on the video (just as you could do when you configured the media tile). Click the Toggle Grid icon to hide or show the reference point grid for the current image. Click the Toggle Grid Lines icon to hide or show the reference point grid lines for the current image. The reference points will still display.
To preview the morph for the current images in the project’s workspace, click the Toggle Preview toolbar icon or choose this option from the View menu. The Preview window displays. Click Play to view the morph.

You can leave this window open while you modify the position of the reference points. To preview your new changes, click the Update button on the Preview window, and then click the Play button.
To adjust how long a morph should take, click on the number below and to the right of the tile. The Transition Time dialog box displays. Enter the time in seconds and click OK.
Save your changes to the project.
Repeat steps 1-8 for each transition/media tile.

Note that the status bar at the bottom of the window indicates the duration (show time) for current media tile as well as the project’s overall duration (project time).

Adding a Soundtrack to the Video

VidMorph PRO allows you to add a sound track to your final video. The sound track can be a pure audio file, or the product will extract the audio track from a video file.

From the File menu, choose Add Audio File (you can also click the Add Audio File icon just above the toolbar at the bottom of the window). The Audio Wizard displays.
Click the button to browse for the audio file.
Select the media file containing the audio you would like to use and click the Open button.
Click the Finish button. The product adds the audio track to the project.
To preview the audio, click the Play button on the right side of the audio portion of the window.
Save your changes to the project.

Rendering the Final Video

VidMorph PRO allows you to render the final video to a variety of popular digital video formats.

From the Project menu, choose Export Project to Video (you can also click the toolbar icon). The Publish Project wizard displays.
On the Parameters panel, specify the desired Height and Width of the final video. To preserve the original height to width ratio, select the Preserve Ratio check box and then choose a Background Color to use in case the actual video size is smaller that the height/width you specified. You can also adjust the framerate and length/duration of the final video. Click Next to continue.
On the Select Format panel, choose the file format to which you want to generate the final video. Supported formats include: 3GP (for third generation mobile devices), AVI (audio/video interleave), FLV (Flash), MP4 (Moving Picture Experts Group), SWF (Shockwave Flash), and WMV (Windows Media Video). Click Next to continue.
On the Quality panel, which differs depending on the format you chose, specify the level of quality to use to generate the final video. Click Next to continue.
On the Specify Output File panel, enter (or browse to) the path and file name where the product should generate the final video. Click Finish.
Once the product has generated the final video, it will prompt you with “Would you like to open output file?”. Click Yes to view the generated video or No to cancel. If you choose “Yes”, the video will play using the default program associated with the video’s file type.