Premiere® Elements 8 For Dummies®

Chapter 12. Adding Special Effects to Your Movies

In This Chapter

• Having (and making) a great effect

• Taking an inventory of your effects arsenal

• Distorting video images

• Putting a picture in a picture

Adobe Premiere was first released in 1993, making it one of the first video-editing programs for desktop computers. Many competitors have come onto the market over the years — Adobe Premiere Elements now shares the stage with other affordable moviemaking programs like Pinnacle Studio, Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, and others.

Not all video-editing programs are created equal, however. Many programs offer special effects, but few offer the quality and variety available with Adobe Premiere Elements — over 90 professional-grade effects. And you can add even more effects available from third-party vendors. What's more, each effect in Premiere Elements is fully customizable, giving you full creative control over the intensity and timing of each effect.

Effects can help you improve video quality or add special touches that amaze and astound your audience. Effects can be added to any video clip, and the changes they make aren't permanent so you can remove them if you change your mind. Although this book can't cover all 90 effects in detail, this chapter does show you the basics of using effects — including the brass-tacks specifics of using several common effects.

Surveying Effects

Adobe Premiere Elements comes with more than 90 effects. Some effects may not seem immediately useful, but you may be ...