Hi everyone,
I've been reading the feedback and I wanted to clarify how this plugin is designed to work, and explain the new features I've added to give you more flexibility.
1. How a "Real" Bumper Works
Technically, a classic broadcast bumper follows a strict rule: Start Transparent -> Fully Cover Screen at 50% -> End Transparent.
Because the screen is fully covered at the halfway point, the system can perform a "hard cut" between your two background sources (Camera A to Camera B) right at that 50% mark. Nobody sees the switch because the bumper is hiding it. This is the default behavior of the plugin.
2. The "Rule Breakers" (New Update)
I saw this question from a @exelbonsai who is using the plugin differently:
"Now I have the following question.
I deliberately didn't extend the borders of some videos to the entire screen, some only to the top right, and one video, for example, moved from left to right.
Unfortunately, this also reveals the hard switch between clips (cameras) in the background.
Is there still a way to add a fade-out and fade-in between the cameras?"
Technically, if the clip doesn't cover the screen, itβs not really a "bumper" anymoreβit's more of an overlay transition. But let's not get hung up on terminology; let's make it work for you!
I have updated the plugin to accommodate these creative uses:
Start Fade Slider:
- At 0.5 (Default): Keeps the classic bumper behavior (Hard switch at 50%).
- At 0.0 (Smooth Fade): The background layers will ignore the hard cut and instead perform a perfect 100% crossfade from the very start. This solves the issue for clips that don't cover the full screen.
Blend Modes: Since you might now be fading instead of switching, I added a picker so you can choose the Blend Mode (Add, Screen, Multiply, etc.) for that background fade.
3. Important Timing Tips
Just a reminder that the bumper movie always plays at the speed of your transition duration.
If you load a 10-second movie but set the transition to 1 second, the movie will speed up massively to fit that 1 second.
Pro Tip: If you load multiple bumpers, try to keep their original lengths similar so playback speed stays consistent.
4. Auto Mask
Finally, if your clips have a black or white background instead of alpha transparency, you don't need to re-render. Use the built-in Auto Mask function to key out the background automatically.
Have fun and use it however you see fit!