I am noob to Video editing and I have made a simple home video and am looking to add a few after effects to it...more like funnier ones. Most importantly, I would like to know how to add a small cartoon figure that I can bring up in the bottom of the screen with some funny moves and pop-up messages. I hope I am able to get the message across...please let me know if I have to be more descriptive. Also, is there is a good place/urls that I could start reading?
you can add an image with transparency on the layer above and key frame the movement around the screen.The captions can be added using the titler and also key framed to move or just placed in any position around the screen.
Using transparency will make everything see through including the character. It is better to use one of the keying effects. It could be luma keying to get rid of a black background as long as black isn't used in the character itself or you could save it with an alpha channel and use that to remove the BG. You haven't said how you intend producing this character, are you an artist or an animator? Or are you going to download something from the Internet? You can do effects like making people and objects appear and disappear using dissolves and still frames of backgrounds and then wiping to them. You can also have split screen effects were for example you can have the same person onscreen having a conversation with themselves or chasing themselves around the garden. Other effects such as playing clips in reverse, ghosting and speeding up or slowing down clips are also possible.
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Better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick any day...
New to Video Editing - How does this work? 
Linear Mode
