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I am getting quite a bit every time I go to the demo DVD, but in the Akaba section, I hear him mention layering. I don't get a real good idea of how to layer. I think the explanation for how to set up a layer is not very well done. It gets mentioned near the end, but I never quite "get it". Any ideas?

Hello Videojim,

I'm a Jim also. The term layering in Casablanca is used two ways depending on if you are using Smart Edit or CB Paint.
In Smart Edit you create an image and then make a "Scene" of it. This locks everything into one layer...or in other terms it takes two video streams and createsa single stream that is now in one piece. Meaning that before, if you had a title or a piece of music rendered in place ....if you moved anything the title or the music would come unrendered and you would have to do it again to put it back together. Making a "SCENE" of it locks everything into one video stream. and moving things won't unrender it at that point. So making the "Scene" is the key to layering in Smart Edit.

Then you may start to add layers to this "Scene" by putting in other things and then creating a "Scene" of that layer. I have done as many a 17 layers using this method of putting things together by making scenes and then adding new layers on top of them. Each time you create a scene you make a layer. Then you can add what you want on top of that layer.

In CBPaint you have an entirely different editing system which allows you to work in layers all at once. Each layer is visable at the editing stage and you can turn on or off each layer. You may have five layers but you may access each one by itself to alter or change just that portion of your stack of layers.

In smart edit, if you have created a stack of scenes and change your mind you need to go back and start over again as you don't have access to each layer by itself like you have in CB PAINT. CBPaint is a great program but it costs a lot more and has a longer learning curve than Smart Edit.

I hope this makes sense and is the answer you were looking for.

Well, teh inquiry does specifically mention Akaba. I need to understand how layering in Akaba is done. Going to be awhle before I get to CBPaint or other stuff. Having the demos on BB Blue Box and Akaba, I am trying to get a grasp of how to work with them. Will keep this info handy, tho. Looks like I will need it. Thanks. Akaba layering, anyone?

Actually Jim answered your question in that layering in AKABA requires rendering scene# 1...IMPORTING back to AKABA that scene which becomes scene #2....then adding another Akaba effect to scene #2..... importing that scene#2....adding another effect etc.
Granted you can STAMP down a cut-out of a scene in AKABA but that is not true layering as the finished/rendered scene must be retrieved again from the scene bin to add more effects or changes.

CB PAINT is true timeline layering where you work in multiple VISIBLE alpha channels-stacked one atop the other.. There are no visble ALPHA CHANNELS in AKABA that can be observed in the aforementioned timeline layering method.


I still think that CB PAINT is the BEST software....well almost after Twixtor......but CB PAINT requires a somewhat intense learning curve.

Hopefully we will see more training videos from the developers of CB PAINT.

Ok, thanks. I don't have enough experience in all of this to recognize an answer when its given. Have a LOT of growing and learning to do. Know about layering in still photo work, and was glad to see its done here in video, too.

Video Jim: You got the concept as CB PAINT is like PhotoShop CS. Work with video layers but the same concept as a jpeg-well almost. Akaba, as Jim pointed out, requires multi-layering by constant importing and exporting back and forth between the AKABA (or any effect) and the scene bin.

HOWEVER, I forgot to mention an excellent feature----BOGART SE 2.0 and SE 8 have an exciting new concept where EFFECTS can be stacked together in a seperate bin thus an entire group of effects can render a clip all at once. They can then be ARCHIVED for future use. This produces a pristine one-pass render.

videojim wrote:Ok, thanks. I don't have enough experience in all of this to recognize an answer when its given. Have a LOT of growing and learning to do. Know about layering in still photo work, and was glad to see its done here in video, too.

Don't know when I will be able to get v8 just now. Was too poor for Photoshop, so I use PaintShop Pro, v7. Works very well for what I do with pictures.

Video Jim

In reality, if you are working with a Casablanca Smart Edit software .....all layering is the same no matter which program you are using. It works the same in AKABA as it does in Blue Box World, or PIP Studio or Photo Studio 1 or 2....layering is layering.

You create one scene or layer and render it so that it stays together. Then you add something new to it and render it again which creates a new scene that was made up of two separate layers. Then you may add another layer of information and render that into one scene which is really three layers.

In my previous answer, I mentioned that I had done one that contained 17 layers......just to see just how far I could go with it in the Smart Edit system.

Yes, you can layer when working with AKABA and you can add items from BBW and PIP Studio and then more AKABA. The process is just the same no matter what program you are working in. You use the program to add the new layer to your existing scenes.

Just sit down and try some basic tests with simple videos or stills to find out how it actually works and you will find that layering on the Casablanca System is easy and straight forward. Learning AKABA is harder to learn than learning the basics of Layering using the "Scene" function to add each new layer to what's already there.

Give it a try with out AKABA first and then mix in the features of AKABA into your layering tests. You'll find that it is one of the most used methods of video editing no matter if you are using a Cassie or CBPaint or AVID or Final Cut Pro or any other system. Layering is a key component to video editing basics.

Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

jimmeeker wrote:Video Jim

In reality, if you are working with a Casablanca Smart Edit software .....all layering is the same no matter which program you are using. It works the same in AKABA as it does in Blue Box World, or PIP Studio or Photo Studio 1 or 2....layering is layering.

You create one scene or layer and render it so that it stays together. Then you add something new to it and render it again which creates a new scene that was made up of two separate layers. Then you may add another layer of information and render that into one scene which is really three layers.

In my previous answer, I mentioned that I had done one that contained 17 layers......just to see just how far I could go with it in the Smart Edit system.

Yes, you can layer when working with AKABA and you can add items from BBW and PIP Studio and then more AKABA. The process is just the same no matter what program you are working in. You use the program to add the new layer to your existing scenes.

Just sit down and try some basic tests with simple videos or stills to find out how it actually works and you will find that layering on the Casablanca System is easy and straight forward. Learning AKABA is harder to learn than learning the basics of Layering using the "Scene" function to add each new layer to what's already there.

Give it a try with out AKABA first and then mix in the features of AKABA into your layering tests. You'll find that it is one of the most used methods of video editing no matter if you are using a Cassie or CBPaint or AVID or Final Cut Pro or any other system. Layering is a key component to video editing basics.

Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

You create one scene or layer and render it so that it stays together. How's THAT done?

Scene, Range, set the In and Out points so it includes everything you want.