Digital technology makes it easy to add different kinds of motion effects to videos. Software that lets you create these effects is widely available to the public, not just to big production companies. Most of these applications will produce the same basic kinds of effects.
Motion Tracking
One of the oldest and most commonly used video motion effects is motion tracking. It allows you to introduce a separate element into the original video so seamlessly that it seems like it was always there. You attach the foreign element to a certain pixel in the video. The element will then seem to be part of the video's world and will stay connected to that particular pixel. So if the camera moves to the left or the right, all of the elements (including the foreign element) will move with it -- it will seem as if the foreign element is naturally a part of the video.
Motion tracking is also used to add an effect to a moving object within a video, such as highlighting a baseball as a pitcher throws it to a catcher.
Replication
This is an effect that reproduces a certain element in a video. For instance, if there is a person walking across the frame in a video and you want to make it appear that that person has a clone following him, you can select the original person and replicate his actions, making it seem as if there were two of him.
Camera Movement
Most of the best video effects software applications can create a 3D environment. Within this 3D environment, the application can create a "camera," which a user can swing around the 3D element. The camera is controlled through the use of keyframes, which can be manipulated by the user of the software. A keyframe is a marker at a point in time of the video. It defines attributes of a certain element. A user places one of these markers on a certain frame and gives it a certain value. So if you want the camera to pan to the right, you create two keyframes -- a start point and an end point. Each keyframe has a different value, so as the video plays, the position of the camera changes. The user can specify where he wants the camera to be in relation to the 3D object. A series of keyframes can be created to make the camera appear to be moving around the object, adding motion.
Titling
A common use of video motion effects is to create title sequences. A user can create text that flies, spins, twists or fades, among many other options, to draw more attention to a title.
Video Effects Software Programs
Two of the most popular video effects software applications are Adobe After Effects and Apple Motion. There are other, more sophisticated programs, such as LightWave, but these are usually used only by experienced professionals.
