User manual ULEAD VIDEOSTUDIO7

VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 1 VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 2 First English edition for Ulead VideoStudio version 7.0, January 2003. © 1992-2003 Ulead Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or storing in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form without the express written permission of Ulead Systems, Inc. Software license The software described in this document is furnished under a License Agreement, which is included with the product. This Agreement specifies the permitted and prohibited uses of the product. Licenses and trademarks ICI Library © 1991­1992 C-Cube Microsystems. Ulead Systems, Inc., Ulead, the Ulead logo, and Ulead VideoStudio are trademarks of Ulead Systems, Inc. All other product names and any registered and unregistered trademarks mentioned in this manual are used for identification purposes only and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners. Sample files Files provided as samples on the program CD can be used for personal demonstrations, productions and presentations. No rights are granted for commercial reproduction or redistribution of any sample files. North & South America Ulead Systems Inc. http://www.ulead.com E-mail: info@ulead.com International Ulead Systems, Inc. http://www.ulead.com http://www.asiapac.ulead.com http://www.ulead.com.tw E-mail: info@ulead.com.tw China Ulead Systems, Inc. http://www.ulead.com.cn E-mail: info@ulead.com.cn Japan Ulead Systems Inc. http://www.ulead.co.jp E-mail: info@ulead.co.jp Germany Ulead Systems GmbH http://www.ulead.de E-mail: info@ulead.de VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 3 Table of Contents The big picture ...................................................................... 7 Analog vs. Digital ................................................................................ 7 DVD, VCD, and SVCD ......................................................................... 8 How VideoStudio works ...................................................................... 9 What's New ....................................................................... 10 System requirements ............................................................ 12 Hardware checkup before using VideoStudio ............................... 12 DV IEEE 1394 capture card .............................................................. 13 Analog capture card .......................................................................... 15 USB port ............................................................................................ 15 Installing and running VideoStudio ........................................... 16 Configuring VideoStudio ........................................................ 17 DV (IEEE 1394 capture card) ............................................................ 17 Analog capture card .......................................................................... 18 USB input device ............................................................................... 18 Getting around VideoStudio .................................................... 19 The Options Panel ............................................................................ 20 Capture Settings tab ..................................................... 20 Batch Capture tab ......................................................... 20 Video tab ...................................................................... 21 Filter tab ........................................................................ 22 Edit tab ......................................................................... 23 Motion tab ..................................................................... 23 Edit tab ......................................................................... 24 Animation tab ................................................................ 24 Voiceover tab ................................................................ 25 Music tab ....................................................................... 25 The Navigation Panel ....................................................................... 27 Timeline: The VideoStudio Work Area .............................................. 28 The Library ........................................................................................ 29 VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 4 Getting started ................................................................... 31 The File menu ................................................................................... 31 Creating a new project ...................................................................... 32 Setting your preferences ................................................................... 34 Preferences: General tab ...................................................................... 34 Preferences: Quality & Duration tab ..................................................... 36 Preferences: Capture tab ...................................................................... 37 Preferences: Preview tab ..................................................................... 38 Creating movie templates ................................................................ 39 Steps to create your movie ..................................................... 40 Capture .............................................................................................. 42 Checklist for successful video capture ................................................ 42 Seamless DV and MPEG Capture .......................................................... 43 Capturing DV video ................................................................................ 43 Capturing analog video .......................................................................... 45 Direct video capturing to MPEG Format ................................................ 46 Direct video capturing to Windows Media Video ................................. 47 Video Capture Property Settings dialog box ........................................ 50 Capturing TV footage ............................................................................. 51 Split by Scene ......................................................................................... 52 Batch Capture ......................................................................................... 53 Capturing still images ............................................................................. 54 Edit ..................................................................................................... 55 Storyboard Mode .................................................................................... 55 Timeline Mode ......................................................................................... 56 SmartRender and Play Project/Clip button ............................................ 57 Preview Files Manager .......................................................................... 58 Inserting a clip into the Timeline ............................................................. 58 Trimming a clip ........................................................................................ 59 Split by Scene ......................................................................................... 60 Extract Video .......................................................................................... 61 Saving trimmed clips .............................................................................. 62 Playback Speed ...................................................................................... 63 Capturing still images in the Edit Step .................................................... 63 Using color clips ..................................................................................... 64 Using video filters .................................................................................. 65 Key frame Settings ................................................................................ 66 Effect .................................................................................................. 68 Creating effects ..................................................................................... 68 Customizing effects ............................................................................... 69 Overlay ............................................................................................... 70 Inserting video/image in the Overlay Track ........................................... 70 VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 5 Title .................................................................................................... 72 Creating text titles .................................................................................. 72 Fading in & out ........................................................................................ 74 Other title animation effects .................................................................. 75 Audio .................................................................................................. 76 Creating voiceover narration ................................................................. 76 Adding background music ..................................................................... 77 Inserting audio files ................................................................................ 78 Trimming audio clips ............................................................................... 78 Mixing it together .................................................................................... 79 Fade ........................................................................................................ 79 Share ................................................................................................. 80 Creating and saving a video file ............................................................ 80 Video Save Options ............................................................................... 82 Project Playback ..................................................................................... 86 Creating an audio file ............................................................................. 86 Exporting your movie ............................................................................. 87 Creating disc ........................................................................................... 94 Working with Ulead COOL 3D ................................................. 102 Appendix A. Technology Overview ........................................... 105 SmartRender Technology ............................................................... 105 DV SmartPlay .................................................................................. 105 Appendix B. Tips and techniques ............................................. 106 A. DV camcorder tips ...................................................................... 106 B. Video capture and editing tips ................................................... 106 C. Web video tips ............................................................................ 107 D. Troubleshooting tips .................................................................. 107 Shortcuts ......................................................................... 109 Glossary .......................................................................... 111 Index .............................................................................. 121 VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 6 Thank you for purchasing VideoStudio 7, the video editing software that allows even beginners to come up with professional-looking movies. It provides you with a complete set of tools to cut, mix, run clips, add special effects, and do almost anything digitally possible with your work. This user guide was produced to assist you as you navigate through the program and learn basic operating procedures. It will familiarize you with the program interface and workflow. Most importantly, it will provide you with easy-to-follow procedures for every videoediting task that you need to accomplish. Although little experience in actual video production is required from the user to understand this manual, it may prove useful to acquire relevant information from other sources, including Ulead's tutorials on the basic aspects of video. For details, please visit Ulead's Web site at www.ulead.com. Ulead VideoStudio VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 7 The big picture Digital video editing used to be dominated only by professionals. Advances in technology, however, made it possible for almost anyone to create desktop video productions even at home. Analog vs. Digital With repeated use, the magnetic tape used in High-8, 8 mm, VHS, and S-VHS becomes prone to wear and tear. It gets thinner and thinner until the video could no longer be played. On the other hand, the quality of digital video doesn't diminish over time. You can play DVs countless times and still expect the quality to be as sharp as it originally was. Digitization also extends a video's life span and allows you to enhance its original sound and picture quality. Digitizing analog videos is a breeze with VideoStudio, wherein data captured from an analog device are automatically converted to digital format. Once digitized, you can edit these footage and output them in any disc format of your choice. Footage can be captured from your analog source and digitized for editing in your PC. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 8 DVD, VCD, and SVCD There are several factors to consider in choosing an output format for your project. These include your desired output quality, target playback device, and viewing screen size, among others. Here are the advantages and disadvantages that picking each output format entails: · Video Compact Disc (VCD) is a special version of a CD-ROM that uses the MPEG-1 format. The quality of the exported movie is almost the same, but usually better than VHS tapebased movies. A VCD can be played back on a CD-ROM drive, VCD player, and even on a DVD player. · Super Video CD (SVCD) is commonly described as an enhanced version of VCD. It is based on MPEG-2 technology with Variable Bit Rate (VBR) support. The typical running time of an SVCD is about 30-45 minutes. Although you could extend this to 70 minutes, you will have to compromise sound and image quality. SVCDs can be played back on stand-alone VCD/SVCD players, most DVD players, and all CD-ROM/DVD-ROM with a DVD/SVCD player software. · Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) is popular in video production because of its quality. Not only does it guarantee superb audio and video quality, it can also hold several times more data than VCDs and SVCDs. DVDs make use of the MPEG-2 format, which has a much bigger file size than MPEG-1, and can likewise be produced as single or dual-sided, and single and dual-layered. They can be played on stand-alone DVD players or on the DVDROM drive of your PC. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 9 How VideoStudio works VideoStudio follows a step-by-step paradigm so that editing tasks remain uncomplicated from start to finish. VideoStudio also offers more than a hundred transition effects, professional titling capabilities and simple soundtrack creation tools. Learn in seconds, create in minutes. VideoStudio breaks up your movie into separate tracks, giving you broad creative freedom. Changes to one track do not affect others. After transferring footage from your camcorder, you can arrange scenes, apply special effects, overlay images, add animated titles, sync in a voiceover narration, and use background music from your favorite CDs in formats such as WAV and MP3. All these can be done using drag-and-drop, cut-and-paste, or select-and-apply operations. All the tracks in your movie are then organized into a video project file (*.VSP), which contains all the video and audio information on how your movie is put together. When everything is all set to go, your computer collects all information needed to create your final movie file. This process is called rendering. You can then output and distribute your movie as a DVD/VCD/ SVCD title, streaming Web page video, or an e-mail attachment. You can also record your movie back to your camcorder or VCR. Components of a finished project as displayed in Timeline Mode VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 10 What's New Take advantage of VideoStudio's latest features and enhancements: · Windows Media Format Now you can capture directly from an analog source or DV camcorder straight to Windows Media Video (WMV) format. You can also directly insert Windows Media Format clips into a timeline for editing. (WMA, WMV, WMF) · Seamless MPEG Capture VideoStudio overcomes the 4GB video file limitation in Windows 98 and Me (also in Windows 2000 and XP, if they are installed in FAT 32 formatted drives), letting you capture MPEG, DV Type-1, and DV Type-2 video files as large as your hard drive will allow. · Extract Video Sometimes you have a long scene that you want to edit several parts out (like a TV show you recorded). Rather than repeatedly editing out a bit at a time, this tool lets you select all of the sections you want, then extract these segments all at once. · Offline Scene Change Detection In DV AVI and MPEG video, VideoStudio can detect actual scene changes (such as motion changes, camera shifting or lighting changes) and cut the video into separate files. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 11 · New Video Filters Five new filters are being added to VideoStudio's already huge selection, expanding your ability to give your video a creative flair like (like making your video look like an old movie with the Old Film effect). Also includes Lightning, Lens Flare, Comic and Bubble effects. In addition, video filters are now fully key-frameable. This allows you to customize a video filter at any point in a video clip. · Enhanced Title Animation VideoStudio provides you with more ways to make your titles come alive. Add your favorite captions, subtitles, popup titles, and compose end credits like you find in theatrical films. · DVD Authoring Wizard By integrating a DVD authoring wizard into VideoStudio, you can now create a DVD, SVCD or VCD complete with interactive scene selection menus and background music. · Play Back DV Type-2 Video to DV Camcorder VideoStudio's DV Smart Playback feature now supports DV Type-1 and Type-2 video files. Both types can be played back to a DV camcorder. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 12 System requirements Video demands a lot from your computer. When setting up your system for video editing, the basic factors to consider are the size and speed of your hard drive, RAM, and processor. These determine how much video you can store and how quickly you can process or render your files. If you can afford a bigger hard drive, higher RAM, and faster chip, go with it. Just remember that technology is changing so rapidly and by evaluating first the kind of video editing projects you plan to do, you can better determine the setup that works best for you. Following are the system requirements for setting up VideoStudio: · Microsoft Windows 98 SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP · 800 MHz above CPU speed is recommended · 128 MB of RAM (256 MB or above for editing) · 500 MB of available hard disk space or above; 4 GB is recommended (best results can be achieved with a 30 GB Ultra-DMA/66 7200 rpm. hard disk) · Video for Windows and DirectShow compatible video capture card · Windows compatible sound card · CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive Tip: Follow the installation instructions of your hardware components carefully, particularly your capture card and consult the operating manual of your camcorder or capture device. Hardware checkup before using VideoStudio To ensure that your video production runs smoothly and troublefree, click Control Panel: System - Hardware - Device Manager and check if your devices are working properly in accordance with your Operating System (O/S). VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 13 DV IEEE 1394 capture card The following Windows operating systems support the IEEE 1394 capture card. Always remember to turn on your DV camcorder or VCR connected to the IEEE 1394 interface so that it can be detected as image device or sound, video and game controller. Windows 98 Second Edition / Windows 2000 Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows 2000 include the Microsoft DV driver and still support the Texas Instruments DV driver. Check that the following devices are working properly: · 1394 Bus Controller · Image Device: Microsoft DV Camera and VCR (For Microsoft DV driver only.) · Sound, video and game controllers: 1394 camcorder (For Texas Instruments DV driver only.) Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Windows Me fully supports the IEEE 1394 card. Check that the following devices are working properly: · · · · 1394 Bus Controller 61883 Device Class AVC Device Class (Brand name) DV Camcorder: The brand name depends on the DV camcorder connected to the IEEE interface card. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 14 Windows XP Windows XP fully supports IEEE 1394 and is also the only PC O/S that offers wireless access to cameras and other devices over a network. On a wireless IEEE 802.11 home network, attach an IEEE 1394-enabled laptop to a Windows XP-based PC and instantly access all other connected devices. To run VideoStudio under Windows XP, check that the following devices are working properly: · · · · 1394 Bus Controller 61883 Device Class AVC Device Class (Brand name) DV Camcorder: The brand name depends on the DV camcorder connected to the IEEE interface card. Note: In addition to commonly used Texas Instruments and Microsoft DV drivers, there are other drivers available. Consult your camcorder's manual for suitable drivers. Enabling DMA for IDE disks If you use IDE disks in Windows, enable DMA (Direct Memory Access) for all the hard disks that will be used for capturing video. DMA avoids possible drop frame problems when you are capturing video. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 15 Analog capture card Windows 98, 2000, Me, and XP supports analog capture cards. Remember to turn on the camcorder or VCR and connect it to your computer. Then check that the following devices are working properly: · Sound, video and game controllers USB port The Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector lets you attach a wide array of devices to your computer quickly and easily. These devices include digital cameras, Webcams, and just about every computer peripheral. Since Windows 98, 2000, Me, and XP fully support USB, installing the driver for this device is quick and easy too. Check that the following device is working properly: · Universal serial bus controller VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 16 Installing and running VideoStudio To install VideoStudio: 1. Place the VideoStudio CD into your CD-ROM drive. 2. When the Setup screen appears, follow the instructions to install VideoStudio onto your computer. Note: If the Setup screen does not appear after loading the CD, then you can manually start it by doubleclicking the My Computer icon on your desktop, then double-clicking the icon for the CD-ROM drive. When the CD-ROM window opens, double-click the Setup icon. VideoStudio installation screen Please install also the following applications, because they are very important in making digital video work well on your computer. The installation program will walk you through installing: · · · · QuickTime Windows Media Format RealPlayer Acrobat Reader Note: Skip this step if you already have newer versions of the above supporting applications installed in your PC. To run VideoStudio: · Double-click the VideoStudio icon on your Windows desktop. OR, · Select the VideoStudio icon from the VideoStudio program group on the Windows Start menu. Running VideoStudio from Windows Start menu VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 17 Configuring VideoStudio Camcorders, VCRs, and VCD/DVD players are common sources of video footage. To ensure a smooth interaction between these video sources and your computer, make sure that the settings of VideoStudio are configured properly depending on the capture device you are using. DV (IEEE 1394 capture card) To check the setup of VideoStudio for DV interface: 1. Connect your camcorder to your IEEE 1394 capture card. 2. Insert your video tape into the camcorder and switch it on. Make sure it is in playback mode (usually named VTR or VCR). Check your camcorder's manual for specific instructions. 3. Click Capture Step and check if your device is displayed in the Options Panel under Source. Note: When your camcorder is in Record mode (usually named CAMERA or MOVIE), you can still capture real-time video directly in VideoStudio, even if there's no video tape inserted. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 18 Analog capture card To check the setup of VideoStudio for analog interface: 1. Connect your camcorder, VCR, or other video source device to your analog capture card. 2. Insert your videotape into the capture device and switch it on. Make sure it is in the playback mode (usually named VTR or VCR). See your machine's manual for specific instructions. 3. Your Capture plug-in will be detected automatically. 4. Click Capture Step and check if your device is displayed in the Options Panel under Source. Note: If your capture device supports multiple video sources, the Input Source dialog box allows you to select your desired video source such as Composite, Tuner, or S-Video. Likewise, if you have multiple audio sources, this dialog box allows you to select your desired audio source. USB input device To check the setup of VideoStudio for USB interface: 1. Connect your video source device to your USB port using a standard USB cable and switch it on. 2. Your Capture plug-in will automatically be detected. 3. Click Capture Step and check if your device is displayed in the Options Panel under Source. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 19 Getting around VideoStudio The VideoStudio interface has been designed to make the sometimes complicated task of editing movies on your PC intuitive and enjoyable. This illustration shows the major components of the program. The next few pages will detail each component's specific features and functions. Options Panel Contains controls, buttons, and other information that you could use to customize the settings of the selected clip. The contents of this panel change depending on the step you are in. Preview Window Shows the current clip, video filter, effect, or title. Timeline Displays all the clips, titles, and effects included in your project. Select the media track that contains the clip you want to edit. Navigation Panel Use these buttons to go through a selected clip for precision editing or trimming. Library Stores and organizes all of your media clips. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 20 The Options Panel The Options Panel changes depending on the program's mode and the step or track you are working on. The Options Panel may contain one or two tabs. Information in each tab vary, depending on the selected clip. Capture Options Panel Capture Settings tab · Duration: Sets the length of time for the capture. · Source: Displays the detected capture device and lists other capture device drivers installed in your computer. · Format: Where you select a file format for saving your captured video. · Split by Scene: Automatically separates captured video into several files based on changes in recording date and time. (This feature can be used only when capturing video from a DV camcorder.) · Capture folder: Where a copy of your captured file is saved. · Options: Displays a menu allowing you to modify your capture settings. · Capture Video: Transfers video from your source to your hard disk. · Capture Image: Captures the displayed video frame as an image. Batch Capture tab · Capture Video: Begins the batch capturing process. Batch Capturing allows you to choose DV segments from a tape from a DV device, and capture them all in a single session. · Play Selected Tasks: Plays the selected video clip from the list. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 21 · Current mark-in: Displays the selected video clip's mark-in. The Mark-in is the point where you want your clip to begin. · Task list: Displays the mark-in and mark-out of the clips you've selected from your video for batch capturing. · · · Delete the selected task(s): Removes the selected task(s). Deletes all tasks: Removes all tasks on the list. Modify a task: Changes the timecode of either the starting or the ending point. Edit Options Panel Video tab · Duration: Displays the duration of the selected clip in hours:minutes:seconds:frames. You can trim the selected clip by changing the clip duration. · Clip volume: Allows you to adjust the volume of the audio segment of your video. · Mute: Silences the audio segment of your video without deleting it. · Fade In/Out: Gradually increases/decreases the volume of the clip for a smooth transition. Select File: Preferences - Quality & Duration to set the fade in/fade out duration. · Split by Scene: Splits a captured DV AVI file based on the recording date and time, or the changes in video content (i.e., motion change, camera shifting, brightness change, etc.). For an MPEG file, this feature can only split video based on changes in video content. · Extract Video: Allows you to choose desired segments from a video file and extract them. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 22 · Properties: Displays information about the currently selected clip. · Save Trimmed Video: Applies any trimming modifications to a clip and saves it to a new video file. · Save as Still Image: Saves the displayed video frame as an image file (*.jpg or *.bmp). · Export: Provides you with a number of ways to export and share a video file. A video file can be exported to a Web page, converted to an executable greeting card, and sent by e-mail. It can be exported to Ulead DVD-VR Wizard for burning to DVD-RAM. You can also directly output a video file to your DV camcorder and record it onto a DV tape. · Playback Speed: Launches the Playback Speed dialog box where you can adjust the pace of your clip. Filter tab · Applied filters: Displays a list of video filters that have been applied to a clip. · Remove: Deletes previously applied filters from your clip. · Customize Filter: Allows you to specify your preferred settings for your selected filter. Effect Options Panel The contents of the Options Panel under the Effect Step varies with the type of transition effect selected. · Duration: Shows the duration of the applied effect on the selected clip in hours:minutes:seconds:frames. You can adjust the duration by changing the timecode values. · Border: Determines the thickness of the border. Enter 0 to remove the border. · Color: Determines the hue of the transition effect's border or flap. · Soft edge: Specifies how well you want the transition effect to blend with the clips. A Strong soft edge results in a less pronounced transition, thus creating a smooth progression from one clip to another. This option works best for irregular shapes and angles. · Direction: Specifies the direction of a transition effect. (This is only applicable to some of the transition effects.) VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 23 Overlay Options Panel Edit tab · Duration: Displays the duration of the selected clip in hours:minutes:seconds:frames. You can adjust the duration by changing the timecode values. · Clip volume: Allows you to adjust the volume of the audio segment of your video. · Mute: Silences the audio segment of your video without deleting it. · Fade In/Out: Gradually increases/ decreases the volume of the clip for a smooth transition. Select File: Preferences - Quality & Duration to set the fade in/ fade out duration. · Playback Speed: Launches the Playback Speed dialog box where you can adjust the pace of your clip. The higher the speed, the shorter the duration. The lower the speed, the longer the duration. · Properties: Displays the attributes of a selected clip. Motion tab · Direction/Style: Determines the type of movement to be applied to the overlay clip. · Position: Sets the location of the overlay video with reference to the window. · Zoom: Determines the size for the overlay clip. Each magnification size in the list is a percent of the original overlay clip's dimensions. Entering 100 retains its original size. · Transparency: Sets the opacity of the video clip/image. Click the arrow or enter a value to adjust transparency. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 24 Title Options Panel Edit tab · Create/Update Title: What you click to enter a title on an underlying video. · Duration: Displays the duration of the selected clip in hours:minutes:seconds:frames. You can adjust the duration by changing the timecode values. · Title list: Shows the title clips that you created. To modify a title clip, select it from the dropdown list and click on the Preview Window. · Font face: Where you select your desired font style. · Font size: Where you set your desired font size. · Line spacing: Sets the spacing, or leading, between lines of text. · Font style: Bold, italic and underline. · Alignment: Aligns horizontal text to the left, center, or right. Or, aligns vertical text to the top, center, or bottom. · Vertical Title: Makes the orientation of the title vertical or horizontal. · Color: Click on this to specify your preferred font color. · Border/Shadow/Transparency Allows you to add shadow and border as well as adjust the transparency for your title. Animation tab · Type: Where you can select your preferred animation effect for your title. · Start unit: Determines how the title enters the scene. · Start position: Denotes the trail from where the motion of the title will start. · End unit: Determines how the title exits the scene. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 25 · End position: Denotes the trail from where the motion of the title will end. · Pause: Applies a break between the start and end direction of the animation. · Enable Animation: Enables or disables animation on the title clip. Audio Options Panel Voiceover tab · Record Voice: Records audio and creates a new clip to the right of the current position of the Voice Track in the Timeline. This transforms into Stop during the recording process. · Duration: Displays the duration of the recording in hours:minutes:seconds:frames. You can also pre-set the the length of the recording by entering the desired duration. · Clip volume: Allows you to adjust the volume level of your audio. · Fade In: Gradually increases the volume of a clip. · Fade Out: Gradually decreases the volume of a clip. · Properties: Displays the attributes of a selected clip. Music tab · Disc: Where you select the CD drive of the songs to be recorded. · Track: Where you select the particular audio track you'd like to record. · Record Selected Track: Records the selected audio CD track. · Play Selected Track: Plays the selected audio CD track. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 26 · Duration: Displays the duration of the audio track in hours:minutes:seconds:frames. You can also pre-set the length of the recording by entering the desired duration. · Clip volume: Adjusts the volume level of the recorded clip. · Fade In: Gradually increases the volume of the clip. · Fade Out: Gradually decreases the volume of the clip. · Properties: Displays the attributes of a selected clip. Share Options Panel · Create Video File: Creates a video file of your project. · Create Disc: Invokes the DVD authoring wizard and allows you to burn your project in DVD, SVCD or VCD format. · Project Playback: Clears the screen and displays the whole project or a selected segment against a black background. It can also output to a videotape if you have a VGA to a TV converter, camcorder, or a video recorder connected to your system. It also allows you to manually control the output device when recording. · Export: Provides you with a number of ways to export and share a video file. A video file can be exported to a Web page, converted to an executable greeting card, and sent by email. It can be exported to Ulead DVD-VR Wizard for burning to DVD-RAM. You can also directly output a video file to your DV camcorder and record it onto a DV tape. · Create Sound File: Allows you to save the audio segment of your project as a sound file. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 27 The Navigation Panel The Navigation Panel is used to preview and edit the clips used in your project. Use the Navigation Controls to move around a selected clip or your project. Use the Trim Bar and Jog Bar to edit your clips. When capturing video, the set of buttons will differ. Instead of the Navigation Panel, device control buttons will be shown. Use these buttons to control your DV camcorder or any other video device. Home Returns to the starting point of a project, clip, or selected area. Next Moves to the point right after the present point of a project, clip, or selected area. End Moves to the ending point of a project, clip, or selected area. Trim Bar Mark-in / out Use to mark the point where you want a clip to start and end. Used for trimming, editing, and cropping video clips. Timecode Allows you to directly jump to a part of your project or selected clip by specifying the exact timecode. Enlarge Preview Window Click to preview your project or clip on a bigger window. Play mode Select whether you want to preview your entire project or only the selected clip. Play Click to play a VideoStudio project, video or audio clip. Hold down the [Shift] to play only the selected duration (between Mark in and Mark out) on the Trim Bar. During playback, click the button again to stop. Previous Moves to the preceding point of a project, clip, or selected area. System Volume Click and drag the slider to adjust the volume of a clip's audio output or music. This adjusts the volume of your speakers at the same time. Jog Bar Click and drag these controls to scroll through a clip. The position is shown in the Preview Window's content. Split Video Cuts the selected clip into two. Position the Jog Bar to where you want the first clip to end and the second one to start, then click this button. Undo and Redo Any changes you make that you don't like can be instantly fixed or undone by clicking the left button. And if you change your mind, simply click Redo. Repeat Plays a project, clip, or selected area continually. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 28 Timeline: The VideoStudio Work Area This work area allows you to more precisely orchestrate the flow of your movie. It consists of separate tracks for your video, title, music, and voice clips. It likewise has a ruler that shows the current time-scale for determining clip and project length. Time units Selected range Zoom controls Increase or decrease the number of frames displayed in the Timeline. These color bars represent the trimmed or selected part of a clip or project. Represents the timing of the project or clips in hours:minutes: seconds.frames. Storyboard and Timeline Click tabs to switch between Storyboard Mode and Timeline Mode. Insert media files Displays a menu allowing you to place video, audio or image clips directly on the project. Project scroll controls Use the left and right buttons or grab the Scroll Bar to move around your project. Track buttons Each activates a track to edit. Click a button to change the Preview Window and available options accordingly. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 29 The Library The Library is a storage depot for everything you need to create a movie: video clips, video filters, audio clips, still images, transition effects, music files, titles and color clips. These are collectively known as media clips. To add media clips to the Library: 1. Click Load media to open a dialog box for locating the media clip to insert in the Library. 2. Select the desired file. 3. Click Open when you are finished. Note: You can also drag and drop files from Windows Explorer straight to the Library. Load media allows you to locate the clip you want to add to the Library. The type of clip you can insert depends on which track you are working on (such as Title or Audio). Use your mouse to drag and drop single or multiple clips from the Library to its destination. To add clips to your project, you can drag and drop clips from the Library to the Timeline whether you are in Timeline Mode or Storyboard Mode. Right-click a clip in the Library to view the clip's properties as well as copy, delete, or split by scene. Hold [Ctrl] or [Shift] to select multiple clips. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 30 To delete media clips from the Library: 1. Select the clip to remove from the Library. Then, press [Del]. Or, Right-click the clip in the Library and select Delete . 2. When prompted, verify whether you also want to delete the source file from your hard disk. Note: Deleting source files from your hard disk permanently removes them from your computer. You may not be able to recover them. Library Manager The Library Manager organizes your custom Library folders. These folders help you store and manage all kinds of media files. To use the Library Manager: 1. Click File: Library Manager to launch the Library Manager dialog box. You can also click the Folder arrow and select Library Manager from the drop-down list. 2. Select a media type from the Available custom folders list. 3. Click New to display the New Custom Folder dialog box and create a new folder. Specify a library Folder name and a Description. Click OK. Click Edit to rename or modify the description of a selected custom folder. Click Delete to remove a selected custom folder from the Library. 4. Click Close. The Folder arrow button VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 31 Getting started VideoStudio gives you much room to explore your options and experiment by letting you work with Project files (*.VSP). Since all changes (i.e. cuts, edits, transition effects, etc.) are saved in the project file, you can freely edit the clips in a project without having to worry about ruining your source files. A project file is not the finished movie and can only be opened in VideoStudio. It is also possible to have a number of different projects using the same clips. The actual process of creating a movie from a project file is performed in the Share Step. The File menu The File Menu contains all the settings and commands that you will need to get started. In this menu, you can choose to create a new project, open an existing project, save your project, edit the project properties, and adjust your preferences. You can also access the Make Movie Manager, Preview Files Manager, and Library Manager. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 32 Creating a new project When you run VideoStudio, it automatically opens a new project and lets you start composing your video production. If this is your first time to use VideoStudio, the new project uses VideoStudio's initial default settings. Otherwise, the new project reuses the project settings which you have last used. To check what these settings are, click File: Project Properties. Project settings determine how your video project is rendered when you preview it. Rendering is the process by which VideoStudio converts raw video, titles, sounds, and effects into a continuous stream of data which can be played back in your computer. You can modify the project settings in the Project Properties dialog box. When you capture or insert your first video clip into the project, VideoStudio automatically checks the properties of the clip and your project. If properties such as file format, frame size, etc. are not identical, VideoStudio automatically adjusts the project settings to match the clip's properties. Changing the project settings allows VideoStudio to perform the SmartRender function. See page 57 for more information on SmartRender. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 33 You can also begin by creating an empty project file using New Project. To create a new project using New Project: 1. Click File: New Project or simply press [Ctrl + N]. 2. Click Capture folder under the Capture Settings Tab of the Options Panel to select a working folder where all your captured/project files will be located. This will launch the Browse For Folder dialog box. Click Make New Folder to create a new folder. You can also click File: Preferences [F6] and select from the available folders in the Working folders drop-down list. 3. Click OK. To open an existing project: 1. Click File: Open Project or press [Ctrl + O]. The Open dialog box will appear, showcasing a list of available folders. 2. Select the project file (*.VSP) you want to open. If you are not sure where the file is, click Browse and then click Scan. This finds all *.VSP files under your assigned folder or drive. 3. Click Open. Note: A faster way to open an existing project is to click File then select the project you want to open in the Recent file list. VideoStudio, however, cannot open a project that has been moved or removed. Capture folder VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 34 Setting your preferences The Preferences dialog box is where you can tweak the VideoStudio program to fit your needs. To invoke this, click File: Preferences. Set the playback method, tune the quality of previews, specify your captured image file's format, and more. Preferences: General tab 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 Enable undo allows you to define the maximum number of times you can take back an action. Values range from 0-99. 2 Background color specifies the background color from a group of presets. 3 Enable relink checking automatically performs a crosscheck between the clips in the project and their associated source files, allowing you to relink the source files to the clips. This is important when the file in the Library is moved to another folder location. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 35 4 Show message when inserting first video clip into Timeline enables VideoStudio to prompt a message when it detects that an inserted video clip's properties do not match with the current project settings. When you capture or insert your first video clip into the project, VideoStudio automatically checks the properties of the clip and your project. If properties such as file format, frame size, etc. are not identical, VideoStudio displays a message and gives you the option to have the project settings automatically adjusted to match the clip's properties. Changing the project settings allows VideoStudio to perform SmartRender. 5 Use default transition effect enables Default transition effect. It automatically applies a transition effect to all clips in the project. 6 Default transition effect allows you to choose the transition effect to be applied to your project. 7 Playback method specifies the method to which your project will be played back after editing or trimming. You can view your work without rendering by selecting Instant Playback or you can save and render your project at any time by selecting High Quality Playback. 8 Clip display mode determines the manner to which your video clip will be presented on the Timeline. Select Thumbnail only if you want your clip to be represented by a corresponding thumbnail on the Timeline. Select File name only if you want your clip to be represented by its file name on the Timeline. Or you can select Thumbnail and file name to have your clip represented by its corresponding thumbnail and file name. 9 Working folder allows you to select the folder you want to save your finished projects into. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 36 Preferences: Quality & Duration tab 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Resampling quality specifies the quality for all effects and clips. A higher quality results in better video reproduction but takes longer to render. Choose Best if you are preparing for final output. Choose Fair for fastest operation. 2 Image resampling option selects a method for your image resampling. 3 Fit to Preview window using aspect ratio determines how clips are previewed. Select this option to preview clips using the frame size defined in your project properties. 4 Default inserted image/color clip duration specifies the default clip length for all image clips and colors that will be added in your video project. Unit of time for the duration is in seconds. 5 Default audio fade in/out duration specifies the default duration for fading in and fading out of a video clip's audio. Value entered here will be the amount of time it will take for the volume to reach the normal level for fading in or the base for fading out. 6 Default inserted transition effect duration specifies duration of the transition effect applied to all clips in your video project, in seconds. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 37 Preferences: Capture tab 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Enable press OK to capture allows you to press OK to start capturing. 2 Record directly from CD allows you to record an audio track directly from a CD. 3 Captured still image save format specifies the format to which your captured still image file will be saved as. 4 Image quality determines the display quality of the captured image. The higher the quality, the bigger the file. 5 Image capture deinterlace enables constant image resolution when downloading files, as opposed to the progressive image resolution available with interlaced images. 6 Stop DV tape when capturing stops enables the DV camcorder to automatically stop the tape playback after a video capture process is complete. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 38 Preferences: Preview tab 1 2 1 Specify additional folders for preview files indicates which folder Ulead VideoStudio can use to save preview files. The folder shown is the folder specified in the SET TEMP statement of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Specify other folders if you have additional drives or a partitioned drive. If you only have one drive, leave the other boxes empty. 2 Limit hard disk usage to specifies how much memory you want to allocate just for the Ulead VideoStudio's program. If you are only using Ulead VideoStudio and want to optimize the performance, select the maximum amount possible. If you are using other programs in the background, you may want to limit this to half of the maximum file size. If left cleared, Ulead VideoStudio uses your systems memory management to control the use and distribution of memory. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 39 Creating movie templates Movie templates contain settings which define how to create the final movie file. By using the preset movie templates provided by Ulead VideoStudio, or by creating your own templates in the Make Movie Manager, you can have multiple variations of your final movie. For instance, you can use movie templates that provide High quality outputs for videotape recording and CD-ROMs, and also set up movie templates that give lower quality but acceptable outputs for different purposes, such as Web streaming, e-mail distribution, and more. To create a movie template: 1. Select File: Make Movie Manager. 2. Click New then type in a Template name. Also select a File format to use for creating movie files. 3. Click Edit to open the Template Options dialog box where you can specify your preferred settings for the new template. For instance, you can select a video frame size, codec for compressing video files, audio quality, and more. Notes: · Movie templates will appear in a selection menu when you click Create Video File in the Share Step. If you do not want to use a movie template, you can select Custom from the pop-up menu. This allows you to choose your own settings for creating the final movie or simply use the current project settings. · To modify the settings of a movie template, click the Edit button in the Make Movie Manager dialog box. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 40 Steps to create your movie VideoStudio is laid out in a step-by-step format, following the items on the Menu Bar at the top of the program, from left to right. Click a step on the Menu Bar to move directly to it. The step you are currently in is highlighted in yellow. It is not necessary to work through every step every time, but these steps can serve as a guide to creating a complete movie. These steps do not necessarily need to be followed in the order that they are presented. Once a project is opened in VideoStudio, video can be recorded directly to your computer's hard disk in the Capture Step. Footage from a videotape can be captured as a single file or automatically divided into multiple files. This step allows you to record video files and still images. See page 42. The Edit Step and the Timeline are the heart of VideoStudio. This is where you arrange, edit, and trim your video clips. Video filters can also be applied to your video clips in this step. See page 55. Transition effects between scenes are fun and easy. Thumbnail animations and drag-and-drop operations put dozens of cool effects at your fingertips. See page 68. This feature allows you to superimpose one clip over another as an added effect to your movie. On top of what you can do using Effects, you can use Overlay feature to add a professional touch to your work. See page 70. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 41 No movie would be complete without opening and closing titles. You can design and animate your text title in any Windows True Type font, color and size, or choose from various presets in the Library. See page 72. Background music sets the mood of your movie. VideoStudio lets you select and record music files from one or several CD-ROM drives attached to your computer. You can also dub over your video in this step. See page 76. The final cuts have been made and the music has been synchronized with care. Now it's time to put it all together and make a master copy of your newest movie. See page 80. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 42 Capture The process of transferring video from your camcorder or other video sources to your computer is called capturing. When everything is ready to go, the video feed from your source device should be visible in the Preview Window. If your card supports a television monitor, you should also be able to watch your video on it. Once launched, VideoStudio immediately detects the capture settings. If no capture driver is present, you will be led to the Edit step automatically. You need not switch from capture mode to playback mode anymore. Checklist for successful video capture Capturing video is one of the most demanding tasks you will ever ask of your computer. It involves high data rates and requires huge amounts of disk space. Here are a few things you can do to ensure success: · Shut down ALL other programs that are running except Windows Explorer and VideoStudio. Remove the Screen Saver to avoid possible interruption. · Best results can be achieved by using a dedicated video hard disk, preferably with the capabilities of at least Ultra-DMA/66, 7200 rpm and more than 30GB space. · For better manipulation of batch capture and camcorder device control, correct timecode on the DV tape is a must. To do this, before shooting your video, use the standard playback (SP) mode and shoot a blank video (for example, leaving the lens cover on while recording) without interruption from start to end of a tape. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 43 Seamless DV and MPEG Capture VideoStudio runs on Windows operating systems and is subject to limitations in file size when capturing or rendering video. VideoStudio automatically performs seamless capture, saving video into a new file every time the maximum allowable file size for a single video file has been reached. Seamless capture will be performed only when capturing DV Type1 or DV Type-2 (from DV camcorder), or when capturing MPEG video (from DV camcorder or analog capture device). The maximum captured file size per video file is 4 GB in Windows operating systems (such as Windows 98 SE and Me) that use the FAT 32 partition file system. Captured video data in excess of 4 GB are automatically saved to a new file. In Windows 2000, which uses the NTFS file system, there is no limit in the captured file size. Seamless capture is not available in VFW (Video For Windows) capture. Note: VideoStudio automatically detects your file system and performs seamless capture only in a FAT 32 partition file system. The NTFS system does not have the 4GB limitation. Capturing DV video VideoStudio increases your video-editing freedom by not only allowing you to capture digital video, but by giving you the option to save them as DV Type-1 or Type-2 files as well. Now it is very important that you know the differences between the two: DV Type-1 and DV Type-2 DV captured by FireWire (IEEE-1394 capture card) is automatically stored as AVI files (that is, if you did not previously specify a plug-in that will directly capture your digital video to MPEG format). An AVI file usually contains two streams, one video and one audio. DV is a data stream that itself contains video and audio. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 44 In a Type-1 AVI, the whole DV stream is stored unmodified as one AVI stream. In a Type-2 AVI, on the other hand, the DV stream is split into separate video and audio data, which are stored as two streams in the AVI. The advantage of Type-1 is that the DV data does not need to be processed, and is stored in its exact original format. The advantage of Type-2 is that it is compatible with video software that is not specially written to recognize and process Type-1 files. To capture DV video: 1. Connect your camcorder to the IEEE-1394 capture card. Turn it on and set it to Play (or VTR / VCR) mode. Check your device manual for specific instructions. 2. Open a new project. 3. In the Capture Step, click Options in the Options Panel then select DV Type. 4. In the DV Type dialog box, select the type you prefer and click OK. 5. Click Play in the Navigation Panel. 6. When you get to the part of the video you want to record, click Capture Video on the Capture Settings Tab in the Options Panel. 7. Click Stop Capture or press [Esc] to stop capturing. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 45 Capturing analog video To capture video using an analog capture card with audio/video jacks or S-video: 1. Connect your video source device to your capture card. On some cards, you may also need to connect the audio cables. 2. Open a project and click the Capture Step. 3. Select a capture file format (DV, MPEG or AVI) from the Format list. 4. Scan your video to search the part to capture. 5. When you get to the point you want to record, click Capture Video on the Capture Settings Tab in the Options Panel. 6. Click Stop Capture or press [Esc] to stop capturing. If a confirmation dialog box appears, click OK to start the capture process. To disable this, click File: Preferences. In the Preferences dialog box, click the Capture Tab and clear Enable press OK to capture. Tips: · A delay in capture may be due to the confirmation dialog box or connection between devices. It is better to rewind your tape to an earlier point before capturing and just trim the video later. · The normal number of dropped frames is zero. If any frames are dropped, check if the DMA setting is enabled. See page 14. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 46 Direct video capturing to MPEG Format Capturing video directly from your camcorder straight to MPEG format is one of the most exciting developments in computer video. Capture straight to MPEG-1 or MPEG-2, depending on your needs and skip the task of having to capture in other formats only to convert it later. And with the much smaller size of MPEG files, you save on hard disk space. With this version of VideoStudio, you can now capture video from an analog device or DV camcorder straight to MPEG. To capture video in MPEG format: 1. Connect your camcorder or VCR to your capture card. Switch it on and set it to Play (or VTR / VCR) mode. Check your device manual for specific instructions. 2. In the Capture Step, select MPEG from the Format list. 3. Ulead DSW MPEG Capture Plug-in will be detected automatically. Use this capture plug-in when capturing MPEG from a DV camcorder. Otherwise, if you have a USB camera or analog capture device which does not support this capture plug-in, click File: Change Capture Plug-in and choose Ulead DSW MPEG Capture Plug-in. 4. Click Options and select Video Capture Property Settings. In the dialog box launched, click Advanced. Choose the type of MPEG you would like to VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 47 capture in the MPEG Settings dialog box and set other attributes. If you are capturing from a USB device or analog source, also select Video Capture Property Settings from the Options menu to specify the desired frame size. 5. Click Capture Video to start capturing. 6. Click Stop Capture again or press [Esc] to stop capturing. Direct video capturing to Windows Media Video Now you can capture directly from an analog source or DV camcorder straight to Windows Media Video (WMV). WMV is an extensible file format that handles synchronized multimedia data and supports "live content" transmission over a wide array of networks. Selecting this will automatically convert your video to a WMV file. To directly capture to WMV format: 1. Connect your DV camcorder to your IEEE-1394 capture card. 2. Turn your camcorder on and set it to Play mode. 3. In the Capture Step, select WMV from the Format list. 4. Click the Capture folder button and browse for the location where you want your captured video to be saved. Note: When acquiring video from an analog source, be sure that the analog capture card you are using supports RGB or YUV capture. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 48 5. Go to the Navigator and click Play. Click Capture Video to begin recording. 6. Click Stop Capture or press [Esc] to stop capturing. Selecting a profile Note: You also have the option to select a different profile to use for capturing DV video into WMV. See the next section for details. The quality of a WMV file depends on the profile it is using. A Profile covers various attributes for a Windows Media Format file such as bit rate, number and type of streams, compression quality, frame size and so on. When capturing a video directly to WMV format, VideoStudio uses the default profile to complete the capturing process. You also have the option to select other profiles to attain preferred captured file quality. To select a profile: 1. Connect your DV camcorder to your IEEE-1394 capture card. 2. Turn your camcorder on and set it to Play mode. 3. In the Capture Step, select WMV from the Format list. 4. Click Options: Video Capture Property Settings. In the dialog box, click Select to open Select Profile. 5. Select the profile you want to use for capturing. The generated WMV file will depend on the profile that you pick. Click OK. Note: When acquiring video from an analog source, be sure that the analog capture card you are using supports RGB or YUV capture. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 49 Editing and customizing a video profile Profile Selection lists all the profiles available in your system. You can use the Manage Profile to edit, create, remove, and duplicate a profile. System-defined profiles cannot be edited. However, You can create a customized one base from it. A Custom profile can be edited by clicking Edit and changing specific profile attributes. You can also create a new profile by clicking New. This will launch a task wizard that will guide you in creating your profile. To edit and customize a profile: 1. Connect your DV camcorder to your IEEE1394 capture card. 2. Turn your camcorder on and set it to Play mode. 3. In the Capture Step, select WMV from the Format list. 4. Click Options: Video Capture Property Settings. In the dialog box, click Select to open Select Profile. 5. Under Select Profile, click Customize. 6. Manage Profiles lists all the available profiles installed in your computer. The profiles are categorized into two types: System defined profiles and Custom profiles. Simply click Edit to modify attributes of a Custom profile. Note: System-defined profiles cannot be edited directly. You must create a copy before editing the corresponding attributes. To do this, select a system defined profile and then click Copy. Select the created copy of the profile and then click Edit to modify the attributes. Clicking Edit invokes Edit Profile. It will guide you in specifying your preferred attributes. Note: When acquiring video from an analog source, be sure that the analog capture card you are using supports RGB or YUV capture. VIDEOSTUDIO HELP Table of Contents | Index Back 50 7. Under General Information, specify a reference name for the created or edited profile in Name of Profile. 8. Select the media types supported by the profile in Media types. 9. Under Output, you may choose to allow the profile to compress the video file or not. Enter a brief description of the profile under Description. Click Next. Video Capture Property Settings dialog box · TV system is where you specify whether you like to use NTSC or PAL, depending on your region. NTSC is predominant in North America and many Asian countries. PAL is the television standard in Europe and South Pacific. · Input Source determines where your data comes from. Select Video Composite if you have a video input jack and one (Mono) or two (Stereo) audio input jacks. Select Video Tuner for TV input and Video Svideo for S-video input. · Use software compression is only applicable to files in AVI format. Check this if you have a specific compression requirement. Click Advanced to specify your preferred software compression.