The emergence of Studio 9 Plus led to the creation of this tutorial in March 2005 by JFIL. A few years later, do you still know how to trigger an explosion? Let's take things step by step. Note, due to some changes in Studio 12, additional notes are at the bottom (this tutorial works for S9 and above).

For this effect, in addition to Studio 9 Plus or better, you need the following:

• an airplane
• authorized airspace
• a video effect explosion such as those offered for ChromaKey by DETONATION FILMS
• and one explosion sound that you can find in our download page.

Here, we use the video effect « Filthy Fire 02 » (10.5 Mb) downloaded from DETONATION FILMS (NTSC). For people working in PAL 25 ips, you can find the video in our Download page.

Step 1 : Use of Pan & Zoom (P&Z)

Insert the clip on which you would like to add the explosion. Place the scrubber at the desired video frame for zoom. Then click on the tab "Capture an image from the video" (No. 1). Click the "Grab" button (No. 2) and "Add to movie" (No. 3). Add the image at the desired time. Apply the "Pan and Zoom" effect and adjust according to your wishes. Here, the simple zoom end is set at 10.

Step 2 : The Explosion

Insert the clip on the overlay track. Double click the clip to open the editor. Open the video toolbox (No. 1) and then click on "Edit Video Overlay" (No. 2). In "Chroma Key", (No. 3), check the box "Enable chroma keying" (No. 4). Set up your settings, starting with this step will make the positioning of the clip easier in the following steps. Set the transparency to get the opacity you want (in this case, I have made the, explosion slightly transparent). Personally, I use the palette and then make some additional adjustments with the sliders.
Return to the "Picture in Picture" tab and check "Enable PIP". Tighten the frame close to the explosion. To do this, click the button labeled "Crop" and use the settings marked with arrows. Use the scrubber to go to where the explosion is the largest to fit the widest. This operation will reduce any visible traces of the chroma key.
Click the button labeled "Scale" to mark the actual size and exact positioning of the explosion. Use the scrubber to verify the result and progress of the explosion. Re-check the beginning and end with the scrubber so you can refine the size and position in relation to the primary video. Of course, a still image would make the adjustment easier. In my case, I put the explosion at the end of the clip because of the displacement linked to the Pan & Zoom. In the case of a moving image, the base of the explosion remains fixed and it shows. If you want to change the size of the explosion, as for any clip, use the anchor point at the corners to avoid distorting the proportions of the video (unless that is what you are trying to do, of course).

The more complicated part is to adapt the size of the clip and positioning. A good understanding of the "Picture in Picture" and "Overlay video" makes it a bit easier. All that is left is to check the result with the scrubber. In the example shown, I had to add a transition, (the effect did not appear as originally intended...). This sets the ending appearance of the clip as the transition (look carefully). Do not put a transition before the end of the explosion.

It is yours to play with now! Feel free to try with another explosive video provided by DETONATION FILMS.

Note the following for Studio 12:

Step 1: The "Pan and Zoom" effect can be accessed by clicking the video toolbox, Add New Effect and choose the "RTFX Standard" category. Pan & Zoom is in this category. Create the second keyframe with a zoom setting of 10 (this is not done by default in Studio 9).

Step 2: The screenshot of the start of Step 2 is almost identical, only the text designations change slightly. Open the Video Toolbox, then choose edit overlay icon (PIP/chromakey). Choose Chromakey tab. Also ensure that enable chromakeying is checked. In particular the "HD video" becomes "Dynamic Color" in Studio 12.

We will soon show you another example on a video from an airplane which is flying... Great effect. I am waiting the authorisation from the 2 people who are displayed... Stay tuned !

{Thanks to markk655 who translated this tutorial from french to english, Loosecannon who cross-checked it}