Step 1: Build a Custom Preset Filter
The first thing we need to do is build a custom preset filter that will create the effect we need in order to make the whites "glow" a little. I achieve this by adding the Chrominance filter to a clip. Begin by opening the Filter information dialog so we can put the filter to work. Figure 1 (left) shows the Chrominance Filter settings.

Next, activate the eyedropper tool along the left side of the settings box. With the eyedropper active, double-click somewhere in your image on some whites. In our example, we used the bride's dress. One trick to use when tweaking the setting in this filter is to use the Show Key selection box on the bottom of the filter. It will show in white everything your eyedropper selection has activated.

You can use this look to help tweak the settings within the Chrominance filter.

Step 2: Adjust Chroma, Luma, and Soft Focus Settings
If you click on the Color/Luminance tab along the right of the filter, you can adjust the Chroma and Luma settings to get the amount of color selection you want. When you have it tweaked to your liking, click back on the Effect tab of the filter and don't forget to uncheck your Show Key selection box.

For the Inside filter, select Soft Focus. Use Setup to tweak the Soft Focus so you are getting the look you want in your clip. The dress should be glowing nicely now, as shown in Figure 2 (left). Generally, the settings are pushed to the right. Note the changes you make are being shown in the main preview monitor of the Timeline. When finished, click OK on the dialogs until you are back to the main window of the application.

Now that you have created this filter, you can save it as a user preset so that you won't have to re-create it everytime you need it. To save it, right-click on the Chrominance filter in the Information palette and select Save as User Preset. Your preset will now be added to the bottom of your effects palette. Rename it something you will remember. I renamed it "Dress Glow" so I will know what it does.

Step 3: Create a Custom "Brighten White" Filter
The next thing we need to do is create a preset that will take that glowing dress and "blow it out" a little more. To do this, drag the Matrix filter to the same clip that has our Dress Glow filter on it. Open the Matrix filter dialog box, change the center number to 2, and uncheck the Normalize box. Your image will now look like the one in Figure 3 (left). Now create a custom preset from this filter, give it a name you will remember, and save it. I called mine "Brighten White."

You'll notice in the Timeline Monitor screen that all the other colors beside white have gotten very "hot" as well. Let's put a Monotone filter on the clip to blow out the whites and make everything else less noticeable. We now have the basics to build our Shine filter. We could save all three of these filters as one custom preset, but it would make tweaking the keyframe more difficult every time we use it. I had you add the Monotone filter so you could see the result of the filter on the image. It will make more sense later.

Step 4: Add a Dissolve
The next step is to put a transition between the two clips that we want the Shine transition to work on. Place the dissolve in the Timeline and set your dissolve length so it is timed to start and stop where you want it to in relation to the music. The beginning and ending of the transition are going to be the beginning and ending of the keyframes for our custom filter.

Now, delete the filters we have added to the clip in the building the custom preset. We were just using those for the prep work. We are going to start the build of the main Shine filter now. Place the Blend Filter effect on the clip and open the Blend Filters Information dialog box. You should now see something like what is shown in Figure 4 (left). Initially, the Keyframe box will not be checked. When you check it, your keyframe functionality becomes active. Now the fun starts.

Step 5: Combine Filters
You will notice there is a Filter 1 and a Filter 2. We are going to use the white line across the middle to keyframe the ramping-up to our Shine look so it happens smoothly instead of abruptly. For now, pull both ends of that keyframe line to the bottom of the filter. Since no filter is needed at the beginning, we will leave Filter 1 at nothing.

For Filter 2, open the selection drop-down box. Select the Combine Filters effect and open the Setup dialog box. You will now see the Combine Filters setup screen as shown in Figure 5 (left). You have the ability to combine up to five filters and apply them all at once. You can also stack multiple filters on top of each other. We are going to use this to our advantage. Any set of filters you apply take priority from top down, meaning that the second filter will be working off the look created by the first filter.

For the first filter, use the top drop-down selector and choose Blur. Click on the setup button and set the Blur amount to 20. For the second filter, select the Custom Preset we created above called Dress Glow. For the third filter, select the Custom Preset we created above called Brighten White. For the fourth (and final) filter, select Monotone. Your Combine Filters screen will look like the one shown in Figure 5 (left). Click the OK button to return to the Blend Filters setup screen.

Step 6: Place Keyframes
The first thing we need to do is build a custom preset filter that will create the effect we need in order to make the whites "glow" a little. I achieve this by adding the Chrominance filter to a clip. Begin by opening the Filter information dialog so we can put the filter to work. Figure 1 shows the Chrominance Filter settings.

Next, activate the eyedropper tool along the left side of the settings box. With the eyedropper active, double-click somewhere in your image on some whites. In our example, we used the bride's dress. One trick to use when tweaking the setting in this filter is to use the Show Key selection box on the bottom of the filter. It will show in white everything your eyedropper selection has activated. You can use this look to help tweak the settings within the Chrominance filter.

Now, while the Blend Filters box is still displayed, you can position the Timeline cursor to where you want to start ramping up the new Shine filter. When you have positioned the Timeline cursor where you want it (probably at the beginning of your transition), you will see that the Blend Filter box has a red line in the middle. This is where your Timeline cursor is in relation to the total length of your clip. Click on the keyframe white line where it intersects with the red Timeline cursor indicator and a little box, or node, will appear. This is our first keyframe.

Next, go to the end of the keyframe line and slide the ending node up to the very top. This tells the Blend Filter to ramp up the clip using the Combine Filters setting we just configured. I like to add another node to the keyframe line near the end and slide it toward the top. Adding this node gives the ramping up a little more of a curve instead of being linear. Now if you slide the Timeline cursor to the end of the keyframe box (slide on the Timeline, not the Blend Filter box), you can see what the filter is going to do to your footage. Figure 6 (left) shows what the footage looks like and how my Blend Filter settings are configured.

When you use this filter on other projects, you'll need only to open the Combine Filters effect and reselect your whites for the effect if needed. Often, it works fine with no additional tweaking. You will also need to set the keyframe using the red Timeline cursor indicator each time you use the filter in your projects, but you won't have to go through all these steps each time. Now click OK and close the Blend Filter effect.

Before you go on, save this filter in your Information Palette as a custom preset. This allows you to use it any time you want, just like any other filter. Right-click on the Blend Filter you just created and save it as a custom preset. Give it a name that means something to you. I called mine "ShineOut" because applies the Shine effect on the way out of a clip.

Step 7: Smooth the In and Out
We're almost done now. If you were to scrub your Timeline over the transition you placed, you would see the footage on your first clip "blow out" and transition into the second clip. The problem is, your second clip just looks plain by comparison. Shouldn't it be "blown out" to start and then ease into the normal (unfiltered) look of the clip? Let's make it happen.

We could re-create a Combine Filter and build a new Blend Filter preset. That would take some time. Why not just use our ShineOut preset we just created and simply reverse the points where the keyframes stop and start?

First, set your Timeline cursor to the end of the transition between the two clips so you know where the keyframes should end. Next, drop your ShineOut preset onto the second clip and open the Blend Filter dialog box. You will notice the red Timeline cursor indicator is toward the beginning of the clip. Click on the keyframe line where the Timeline cursor indicator intersects it and create a new node. This is where our keyframing will end.

Now, slide the beginning keyframe node up to the top of the filter so the clip will start "blown out" and then ramp down to normal. Again, I like to put an extra node near the beginning to give it a little more of a curve. Remember to remove the extra nodes at the end from our previous configuration and move the ending node down to the bottom otherwise your clip will ramp back up on the end. Your Blend Filter dialog box will now look like the one in Figure 7 (left). Click OK to close the dialog box. Now we just need to save this preset with the new implementation of the ShineOut filter. I called mine "ShineIn."/eventdv/Editors/ArticleEditor.aspx?ArticleID=38024

Now, when you play the Timeline through this section, you will see a transition closely mimicking the look of the popular Shine transition.

Additional Notes
There is one last trick I stumbled upon that enhances the look of the transition: the use of a different transition. Instead of the default Dissolve transition, I uncovered an Xplode EDIUS Alpha Vapor Wipe. This transition can be found in the Transitions section of the effects palette. To apply it, place the Vapor Wipe over the dissolve. It will replace the dissolve but keep all the in- and out-points of your transition intact. What you have now is a nice transition more closely mimicking the popular Shine transition.

One word of warning: EDIUS has real-time capability, but it is all relative to the power of your processor and the amount of processor-intensive effects you layer onto your video. These presets put a pretty heavy load on your CPU, so you may have to render that small section if your computer is not up to the task.

If you learn to use the Blend Filter and Combine Filter effects, there are nearly unlimited combinations and effects you can build. These are very powerful features of EDIUS and can save you lots of time in your workflow if utilized to their full potential. If you have a set of filters or tasks you do frequently, those are perfect candidates for a Blend Filter preset. You can create presets with keyers and other effects as well. I have one set up for different Picture-in-Picture functions I use on a regular basis. Just drag the preset to the clip, and it works every time.

Philip Hinkle of Frogman Productions is an award-winning videographer based in the Madison, Wisconsin area. Co-founder and president of the Wisconsin Digital Media Group, he was a speaker at the 4EVER Group's Vidoe 07 conference, and a Diamond award winner at the 2006 Artistic Achievement Awards.