9

Pinnacle Studio

Basic Techniques

Overview

This Pinnacle 15 manual will describe how to navigate through Pinnacle studio and will teach users how to:

·  Import video from different sources such as; camcorders, digital cameras, files, VHSs, DVDs.

·  Edit video. Learn how to add titles, voiceovers, trim video clips, and more.

·  Create movies. For example; create a DVD, upload to the internet, and make a compatible file format.

Table of Contents

Movie Maker 1

Overview 2

The Album, Video Preview and Timeline 5

The Album #1 5

The Video Player #2 5

The Timeline #3 6

Timeline Features 6

Move: 6

Lock 7

Mute 7

Hide 7

Importing Video 7

Import From 7

Import To 8

Importing to Real Media Server 8

Mode 9

Scene Detection 9

Filename 9

Importing from a Camcorder 9

Importing From a VHS/DVD Player 9

Importing From a DVD on Computer 10

Importing Media from Files on your Computer 11

Importing from a Digital Camera 11

Editing Imported Video 11

The Video Toolbox 12

To Open the Video Toolbox 12

Add Titles/Credits 12

Add Title: 13

Add Photos 15

To Add a Photo 15

To Delete a Photo 15

Add/Remove Transitions 16

To Add a Transition 16

Add Audio tracks 17

To Add an Audio Track 17

To Record an Audio Track 17

Add a Disc Menu 18

To add a Disc Menu 18

Make Movie 19

Create a DVD 20

To Create: 20

Create a Digital Copy 22

Click save to start the save file process. Upload to the web 22

Summary 23

The Album, Video Preview and Timeline

Let’s start with the essentials of Pinnacle Studio 15.

The Album #1

The Album provides intuitive browsing through different sections of Pinnacle Studio. It lets you quickly locate and preview any desired item. That desired item could be a photo, video file, video effect, etc. The album basically is your library. Clicking any item in the album will generate a preview in the video player to the right of the album.

The Video Player #2

The Player displays a preview of your edited movie, or of the item currently selected in the Album. If you would like to see what a certain video effect does, or preview a clip before adding it to your project, the video player will display it. The standard playback controls are located under the video (play/pause; skip forward/back, loop, master volume). The full screen playback button is located in the top right corner.

The Timeline #3

The Timeline is where you create your edited movie by arranging video and sound clips, and by applying transitions and effects. To start editing your movie, take items in the Album window and drag them to the timeline. The timeline automatically arranges items dragged into your timeline into five horizontal categories. From top to bottom; the first is video, video audio, titles and transitions, audio tracks (voice overs for example) and background audio. The picture below can better illustrate this concept:

Timeline Features

After media and content has been placed in the timeline, it can be manipulated with the use of the move tool.

Move:

  1. Click and drag the selected clip/track/content to freely place it wherever you want. Two green bars will appear in the timeline to indicate where exactly the location of the content will be placed.

Lock

To lock items to the timeline so further editing won’t alter the position of the item, select the clip with one click and then click the lock button at the end of the timeline. To unlock it, simply click lock button again.

Mute

It could be necessary to mute the audio of a video clip for a music video for example. To mute, simply click the volume button at the end of the timeline. To unmute it, click it again.

Hide

To hide a clip from playing in the final video but still keep it in the timeline, click the eye logo at the end of timeline. To unhide, click it again.

Importing Video

Pinnacle studio lets users use many different types of media in their video projects. In order to start your video creation you will need to specify the source of the media you would like to use. Technology allows us to import media using a variety of devices and Pinnacle studio supports almost all of them.

Import From

The first step in Importing is to click the Import tab; this will start the Studio Import Wizard. Next direct your attention to the “Import From” box. This is where you will specify the “source” of the import. The source can be from a(n):

·  DV or HDV video camera. Any device that you would plug a fire wire cable into to import.

·  DVD/Blu-Ray: A type of compact disc able to store large amounts of data, esp. high-resolution audio-visual material

·  Other Devices: All types of auxiliary file-based storage media, including optical drives, memory cards and USB sticks

Import To

The second step to an import is to choose where these video files are going to be stored. The “Import To” box is located directly underneath the “Import From” box. By default, Pinnacle stores your media files into the “Videos” folder in your computer. To specify a different location to store your media files:

  1. Click the folder icon located next to “video” in the Import To box
  2. Specify the folder that you would like Pinnacle to store the import files. You could create a new folder as well by clicking “New Folder.”

Importing to Real Media Server

We recommend that you upload your videos to the campus real media server. Video uploaded to this server can be streamed or embedded from your SacCT or faculty website. The server supports three types of video including: Real Media Video/Real Audio, QuickTime and Window Media Video/Audio. Complete the online Media Server Request Form to set up your account today. Once your account is set up you will need to map the media server on the computer to import directly to your directory/folder on the server:

  1. Right click on the My Computer icon on the desktop and select “Map Network Drive”.
  2. The Map Network Drive window appears. Select any drive letter that is not currently in use from the Drive drop down option.
  3. In the folder field type: //sacfiles2/media1
  4. Click the Finish Button. The server folders will appear.
  5. Click on the “usr” folder and locate your directory/folder name. Your directory will be mainly labeled as your saclink id.
  6. Back in Pinnacle in the Import To area, specify the user folder on the media server to be the area where Pinnacle should store files.

Mode

The mode box is meant for the user to choose whether they want the video imported to be saved in a DV format or a MPEG format. By Default, Pinnacle chooses to leave them as DV files. It is suggested to leave this default on. If you like to change to MPEG, the files could more compatible with Macintosh computers.

Scene Detection

Pinnacle has built in scene detection software, which measures the time from when you press record to when you press stop. It will make clip organization easier but isn’t essential. By default, Pinnacle has this feature on.

Filename

The file name box is self-explanatory; you can name the files in which you import. Pinnacle won’t let you name two different files the same name without asking you. If you don’t name the file, the file(s) will be named caputure1, capture2, capture3, etc.

Importing from a Camcorder

  1. Turn on your DV or HDV device and put it in play mode
  2. Make sure your destination folder, compression and other options are set up before the import.
  3. Press Start Capture then play to capture the entire tape. If scene detection is enabled, Pinnacle will sort out clips recorded. This allows you to check and uncheck clips that you want to capture.

Importing From a VHS/DVD Player

1.  Click the Import tab

2.  You will need to connect the component cables to the from the DVD player to the Pinnacle video converter box. For the DVD/VHS player, plug in the component cables to the LINE OUT section. Plug in the other end of the component cable to the INPUT of the converter box. On the converter box, one side is clearly labeled Output; the opposite end, which is not labeled, is the INPUT.

3.  Select Pinnacle 710 USB (this is longer way of saying “Pinnacle Converter Box”) in the Import From box.

4.  Make sure your destination folder, compression and other options are set up before the import

5.  Press play on the VHS/DVD player just before the point at which you would like the capture to begin. The video preview will be active. The VHS/DVD player can only be controlled manually. Pinnacle studio can only capture from the device, not control it.

6.  Click the Start Capture button to start recording. After clicked the button will say “Stop Capture”

7.  At the end of each segment click Stop capture and halt the VHS player or let the entire VHS run from start to finish. Then Halt the VHS player.

Importing From a DVD on Computer

NOTE: Copy-protected media cannot be imported!

1.  Insert the disc into one of the disc drives on your computer.

2.  Click the Import tab

3.  Make sure your destination folder, compression and other options are set up before the import

4.  Go to the Import from box and select the drive that you put the disc in (DVD Drive or DVD drive RW)

5.  The Album area will display thumbnails of your DVD movie. In order to preview parts of the DVD that you inserted, click the thumbnails in the Album and press play.

6.  Click Start Capture to begin the Import. “Start Capture” will turn into “Stop Capture” after being clicked.

7.  Click Stop Capture to stop the Import.

Importing Media from Files on your Computer

You may want to import files located on your computer. To import them

  1. Click the Import tab
  2. Select “Other Devices” in the Import From box
  3. This will open your computer’s hierarchical folder tree. Click the folders to open them and locate the media file. The items that are compatible to import will show up in the album view. Simply check and uncheck thumbnail items in the album area to select which files to import. After you’re done selecting your files click “Start Capture”

Importing from a Digital Camera

Like optical disc drives, the media on digital cameras is accessed through the computer’s file system. The

camera may appear on the source list as a removable disk drive. The previewing, selecting and importing

process is the same as for ordinary file-based media (See Importing Media from Files on your Computer section)

Editing Imported Video

Once you have imported video from your video device or computer into Pinnacle, the next step is to edit content as needed. Pinnacle offers several tools to help you in the editing process.

The Video Toolbox

The Video Toolbox is where you can:

·  Trim selected clips

·  Create Montages

·  Add Titles or credits

·  Add an disc menu

·  Add video effects

To Open the Video Toolbox

  1. Click the Edit Tab
  2. Click the camcorder icon above the timeline or double-click the clip in the timeline you would like to edit.
To Close Video Toolbox
  1. Click the X located in the top right corner of the Video Toolbox or click the camcorder again in the timeline.

Add Titles/Credits

You will most likely want to add a title screen and/or credits to your video project. Pinnacle studio gives the creator two different options for titles.

·  Classic Titles are simple text animations. Use these for creating credits or subtitles.

·  Motion titles provide animation for text and are more complex than the classic titles.

Add Title:

  1. Go to the Edit Tab
  2. Click the “Show Titles” button in the drop down which is represented with an upper case T.
  3. Next, choose whether you want to work with “Classic Titles” or “Motion Titles” in the drop menu underneath the “Edit” tab.
  4. You can now browse through all the available titles. Clicking any title will generate a preview in the screen on the right. A double click will place the title in the timeline. Please double click a title to place in the timeline.
  5. Now the title is in the timeline, you’re going to want to put your own text in the title. Double click the title in the timeline to edit the text.
  6. This is the title editor. In this section you can change the font; size, orientation, style, duration and add motion to your title.
  7. First, click “Your text here” and change it to the appropriate title you want. To further edit the style, click the menu on the right to scroll through available text styles. Above the title screen there is also standard text editing tools such as; bold, italic, underline, font styles and font size.
To add a title to a specific clip or photo
  1. Click the Edit tab
  2. Double click the clip you like to add a title, this will open the video toolbox
  3. Click the in the drop down menu
  4. Choose to create either a:

·  Motion Title Overlay: Animated titles over video

·  Classic Title Overlay: Standard titles over video

  1. This will take you to the title editor screen. From here you can create text to go over (overlay) the video, set the duration of how long the text stays on the screen, choose from a variety of fonts, add shapes and more.
To edit text
  1. Click the text box where it says “Text.” Delete “Text” and type your own text.
  2. To position the text box somewhere else in the clip, mouse over the outline of the text box until the cursor turns into then click and drag the text box to the desired location.
  1. To change the font format, go to the menu on the left of the screen.
  1. To bold, change the font size, underline and change text style, go to the bar on the top of the screen. Similar to Microsoft word.
  2. To change the duration of the text, go to the top left corner of the screen.
  3. The current duration of the text is displayed. Use the up and down arrows to change the duration. You can also simply click the seconds and type in the numbers.

Add Photos