Ulead VIDEOSTUDIO 8 User Manual

User Guide Ulead Systems, Inc. March 2004

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 writ ten p ermission of Ulead Systems, Inc.

Software license

The software described in this document is furnished under a License Agreemen t, which is in cluded with the product. This Agreement specifies the permitted and prohibited uses of the product.

Licenses and trademarks

VideoStudio is a trademark of Ulead Systems, Inc. Intel, Pentium and MMX are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Intel Corporation. Microsoft, Windows, DirectX and/or other Microsoft products referenced herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Adobe, the Adobe logo, and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.

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.

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Welcome to Ulead VideoStudio .................................... 7

How VideoStudio works ......................................... 7

What's new .......................................................... 8

System requirements ...........................................12

Installing and running VideoStudio .........................13

Setting up your computer .......................................... 15

Installing a capture card .......................................15

Connecting a video camera to the computer ............15

DV or Digital 8 camcorder ....................................... 15

Analog video sources .............................................. 19

USB camera .......................................................... 24

Preparation for video capturing and editing .............25

Getting started ........................................................... 26

VideoStudio Movie Wizard .....................................26

Step 1: Add video and images ................................. 26

Step 2: Select a template ....................................... 29

Step 3: Finish ........................................................ 32

VideoStudio Editor ...............................................33

The user interface ................................................. 33

The Step Panel ...................................................... 34

The Menu Bar ..................................................... 35

The Options Panel ................................................. 36

The Navigation Panel .............................................. 36

The project timeline ............................................... 37

The Library ........................................................... 41

Starting a new movie project .................................44

Saving your project ................................................ 45

Setting your preferences ......................................... 46

Setting project properties ....................................... 46

Adding clips .......................................................... 47

Previewing ............................................................ 47

Capture ...................................................................... 49

Seamless DV and MPEG capture ............................49

The Capture Step Options Panel .............................50

Capturing video ...................................................51

Digital Video (DV) .................................................. 53

Analog video ......................................................... 55

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Direct video capturing to MPEG format ......................58

Direct video capturing to Windows Media Video ..........59

Batch Capture .....................................................62

Capturing still images ........................................... 63

Edit .............................................................................64

Adding clips to the Video Track .............................. 64

Video clips .............................................................64

Images .................................................................65

Color clips .............................................................65

The Edit Step Options Panel ..................................66

Split by Scene ..................................................... 67

Trimming a clip ...................................................69

Multi-trim Video .................................................. 71

Saving trimmed clips ............................................73

Playback Speed ...................................................73

Capturing still images in the Edit Step ....................74

Pan & Zoom ........................................................75

Applying video filters ............................................77

Key frame settings .................................................79

Effect .......................................................................... 81

Adding transitions ................................................81

The Effect Step Options Panel ................................82

The Album transition ............................................83

Overlay ....................................................................... 87

Adding clips to the Overlay Track ...........................87

The Overlay Step Options Panel .............................91

Adding decorations ..............................................92

Title ............................................................................94

Adding text .........................................................94

Modifying text attributes .......................................97

The Title Step Options Panel .................................98

Applying animation ..............................................99

Animation effects ...................................................99

Audio ........................................................................ 103

The Audio Step Options Panel .............................. 103

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Adding voiceover narration .................................. 104

Adding background music ................................... 106

Adding audio files ..............................................107

Trimming audio clips ..........................................108

Fading-in/out ...................................................108

Mixing audio tracks ............................................ 109

Using the Clip Volume Control ................................109

Using the Audio Mixing Panel ..................................109

Volume rubber banding .........................................110

Applying audio filters .......................................... 111

Share ........................................................................ 112

The Share Step Options Panel .............................. 112

Creating movie templates ................................... 112

Creating and saving a video file ........................... 114

Burning a DVD, VCD or SVCD ..............................116

Assembling files ....................................................117

Adding/Editing chapters .........................................118

Creating selection menus .......................................120

Previewing ..........................................................122

Burning your project onto a disc .............................122

Project Playback ................................................124

Exporting your movie .........................................126

Exporting videos to Ulead DVD-VR Wizard ................126

Recording back to a DV camcorder ..........................129

Posting your video on a Web page ...........................130

Sending a movie by e-mail .....................................131

Electronic greeting cards ........................................132

Creating an audio file ......................................... 133

Appendix A: Menus and dialog boxes ...................... 134

Menus ..............................................................134

File menu ............................................................134

Edit menu ............................................................135

Clip menu ............................................................136

Tools menu ..........................................................137

Help menu ...........................................................138

Dialog boxes .....................................................139

Audio Save Options ...............................................139

Batch Convert ......................................................140

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Burner Advanced Settings .....................................141

Border/Shadow/Transparency ................................142

Capture Options ...................................................143

Change Capture Plug-in .........................................144

Output Advanced Settings .....................................144

Preferences: File menu ..........................................145

Preferences (Create Disc) .....................................151

Preview Playback Options ......................................152

Project Properties .................................................153

Project Options ....................................................153

Project Settings (Create Disc) ................................154

Preview Files Manager ...........................................155

Select Device Control ............................................156

Video and Audio Capture Property Settings ..............157

Video Color Manager .............................................159

Video Save Options ...............................................160

Appendix B: Shortcuts .............................................166

Menu command shortcuts .................................. 166

Step Panel shortcuts .......................................... 166

Navigation Panel shortcuts .................................. 167

Timeline shortcuts ............................................. 168

Multi-trim Video shortcuts ................................... 168

Others ............................................................. 169

Appendix C: Technology Overview ........................... 170

Analog vs. Digital .............................................. 170

SmartRender Technology .................................... 171

DV SmartPlay .................................................... 171

DVD, VCD, and SVCD ......................................... 172

Appendix D: System tweaks .................................... 173

Enabling DMA for IDE disks ................................. 173

Disabling Write-Behind Caching ........................... 176

Setting the Paging File size ................................. 179

Appendix E. Tips and techniques .............................182

Glossary ................................................................... 184

Index ........................................................................ 194

ULEAD VIDEOSTUDIO USER GUIDE

Welcome to Ulead VideoStudio

Thank you for purchasing VideoStudio, 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 capture videos, edit them, and share your final production on tape, DVD, CD, or the Web.

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.

To make a movie production, first capture footage from a camcorder or another video source. You can then trim the captured videos, arrange their order, apply transitions, and add overlays, animated titles, voiceover narration, and background music. These elements are organized in separate tracks. Changes to one track do not affect other tracks.

Components of a project as displayed in Timeline View

A movie production is in the form of a VideoStudio project file (*.VSP), which contains information on the path location of the clips and how the movie has been put together. After you have finished your movie production, you can burn it to a DVD, VCD or SVCD or record the movie back to your camcorder. You can also output your movie as a video file for playback on the computer.

VideoStudio uses the information in the video project file to combine all the elements in your movie into a video file. This process is called rendering.

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What's new

Take advantage of VideoStudio's latest features and enhancements:

VideoStudio Movie Wizard

The new VideoStudio Movie Wizard helps novice users finish stylish movies in only three steps. Choose from preset styles such as romantic, travel, celebration and more. (See “VideoStudio

Movie Wizard” on page 26).

Batch Convert

Batch Convert your video, audio and image files to other formats and save valuable time. (See “Batch Convert” on page 140).

Shuttle Control

Shuttle Control lets you navigate to exact scenes in your DV camcorder. (See

“Controlling the DV camcorder with the Navigation Panel” on page 54).

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More effects, filters and content

Stylize your videos with objects and frames. (See “Adding

decorations” on page 92).

The Album transition simulates leafing through a book full of memories. (See “The Album transition” on page 83).

Pan and Zoom lets you scan over and gives you a closer view to

add more emphasis to your still images. (See “Pan & Zoom” on

page 75).

The Auto Exposure filter repairs uneven brightness. Amaze your viewers with effects like the Duotone Filter for tints on videos – perfect for creating scene flashbacks – or the Diffuse Glow Filter for a dream-like appearance. Filters are fully adjustable to match your theme. (For information on applying video filters, see

“Applying video filters” on page 77).

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Audio Filters like Audio Normalization, Remove Noise, Amplify, Long Echo and Stadium, can repair tracks or add special effects.

(See “Applying audio filters” on page 111).

Enhanced Overlay Step

VideoStudio gives more flexibility in using video and image overlays. You can now apply filters and special effects on overlays; and also move and resize them directly on the screen. (See “Overlay” on

page 87).

Versatile title design

Easily make informative and eye-catching titles.

• Multiple Text Objects can be placed anywhere on a single title clip, each with its own look and animation, directly on the screen. (See

“Adding text” on page 94).

• Title animations such as

Drop, Swing, and Moving Path give new options in

making text move gracefully on the screen. directly on the screen. (See “Applying animation” on page 99).

•Add Solid and Gradient Bars behind Titles to increase the visibility of text. (See “Modifying text attributes” on page 97).

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Greater audio control

VideoStudio helps you match volume with particular scenes in the movie.

• Audio Mixer is ideal if you want to change the volume of specific points in your audio track or decrease background music during dialogue. (See “Using the Audio Mixing Panel”

on page 109).

• Rubber Banding Timeline lets you visually adjust audio levels at any point simply by clicking and dragging. (See

“Volume rubber banding” on page 110).

• Stereo Panning allows you to mix and balance the volume for left and right audio channels. This can be used to direct sounds to the left or right speaker. For example, make the realistic sound of an object moving from left and right. (See

“Using the Audio Mixing Panel” on page 109).

Auto Music Generator

Need background music for a scene? VideoStudio’s Auto Music Generator uses award-winning SmartSound™ technology that provides original tunes to fit perfectly with each scene’s mood and duration. (See “Adding background music” on page 106).

Enhanced DVD authoring wizard

DVDs without Pre-Rendering can be accomplished by sending projects to the DVD Wizard directly from the Timeline.

Choose from a wider choice of DVD menu templates for more variety and customization in layout and design. (For information on creating movie projects on disc, see “Burning a DVD, VCD or SVCD”

on page 116).

Full Screen Preview

Full Screen Preview lets you see your movie on the entire screen with no distortion at any time during the project. (See “Tools

menu” on page 137).

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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, more 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.

The following are the system requirements for VideoStudio:

•Intel

•Microsoft

• 256MB of RAM (512MB or above for editing)

• 600MB of available hard drive space for program installation

• 4 GB+ hard drive space for video capture and editing

• Windows-compatible display with at least 1024x768

• Windows compatible sound card

• CDROM, CD-R/RW or DVD-R/RW

Pentium® III 800 MHz or higher

Windows® 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP

resolution

Real-time features perform best with at least:

• Pentium 4, 2.0 GHz CPU

• 512 MB of RAM

• 7200 rpm IDE hard drive

Input/Output device support

• 1394 FireWire cards for use with DV/D8 camcorders

• Support for OHCI Compliant IEEE-1394 and 1394 Adaptec 8940/8945

• Analog capture cards for analog camcorders (VFW & WDM support)

• USB capture devices and PC Cameras

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• Windows-compatible DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-R/RW

•Sony MicroMV™

Tip: Follow the installation instructions of your hardware components carefully (especially your capture card), and consult the operating manual of your camcorder or capture device.

File format support

• Video: AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MICROMV, WMV, QuickTime, FLC, FLI, GIF, UIS

• Image: BMP, CLP, CUR, DCS, EPS, FPX, GIF, ICO, IFF, IMG, JPG, PCD, PCT, PCX, PIC, PNG, PSD, PXR, RAS, RLE, SCT, SHG, TGA, TIF, WMF

• Audio: AIF, AIFC, AIFF, AU, AVI, MOV, MP3, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, QT, WAV

Output formats

• Disc: DVD, Video CD (VCD), and Super Video CD (SVCD) movie titles

• Video: AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, QuickTime, WMV, FLC, FLI, FLX, UIS, WMV

• Image: BMP, CLP, EPS, FPX, GIF, IFF, IMG, JPG, PCX, PNG, PSD, PXR, RAS, RLE, SCT, TGA, TIF, WMF

• Audio: WAV, MPA, RM, WMA

Installing and running VideoStudio

The VideoStudio CD has an autorun feature that automatically starts up the installation.

Back up your projects and media files first before installing the new version of VideoStudio.

Note: If you have a previous version of Ulead VideoStudio installed

in your system, it is recommended that you uninstall it only after installing Ulead VideoStudio 8. During installation, the Setup Wizard will auto-detect your capture device plug-in and specially supported codecs (such as MPEG-4, AC-3, 3GP, DivX) from the previous VideoStudio version and integrate them onto VideoStudio 8.

However, if you installed Ulead VideoStudio 8 then you uninstalled the older version, program files and fonts that are used by both versions will also be deleted. To install them back to VideoStudio 8, double-click Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Ulead VideoStudio 8, click Change/Remove, then click Repair.

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To install VideoStudio:

1. Insert 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 double-clicking 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.

3. Install also the following applications for playing back video files and for viewing the electronic file of this user guide. The installation program will walk you through the installation.

•QuickTime

• SmartSound

• Windows Media Format

• RealPlayer

Note: Skip this step if you already have newer versions of the above supporting applications installed in your PC.

• Acrobat Reader

•DirectX

• Sony MicroMV

•Indeo

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.

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Setting up your computer

Before you can start making movie projects using your own video footage, you first need to capture video from your video camera into your computer. Your computer needs to be equipped with the proper capture card or interface port for connecting your video camera and for capturing video to your computer. Since capturing and video editing require a lot of computer resources, your computer must also be properly set up to ensure successful capturing and smooth editing of your videos.

Installing a capture card

If your capture card is a PCI-based card, install the card on your computer by inserting it in an available PCI slot on the computer’s motherboard.

Connecting a video camera to the computer

To connect your video camera to your computer, the type of capture card or interface port that you will need depends on the type of video camera you are using.

DV or Digital 8 camcorder

If you are using a DV (Digital Video) or Digital 8 camcorder, you will need an IEEE-1394 interface on your computer. Some newer computers already have built-in IEEE-1394 ports. If you do not have them on your computer, install an IEEE-1394 card.

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6-pin IEEE-1394 ports on a desktop computer

4-pin IEEE-1394 ports on a notebook computer

Connecting the camcorder to the IEEE-1394 interface

Use an IEEE-1394 cable to connect your digital camcorder to the IEEE-1394 port. Before purchasing one, check first the pin connectors used on your camcorder and your computer. Most DV and Digital 8 camcorders have a 4-pin connector, whereas desktop computers that come with IEEE-1394 ports or installed with IEEE1394 cards usually have 6-pin connectors. The IEEE-1394 cable that is required for desktop computers is a 4-pin to 6-pin cable. Most notebook computers have 4-pin connectors which require a 4pin to 4-pin cable.

Connecting the IEEE-1394 cable to the DV camcorder

Connecting a 4-pin to 6-pin IEEE-1394 cable to a desktop computer

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Connecting a 4-pin to 4-pin IEEE-1394 cable to a notebook computer

Checking the hardware setup

After connecting your digital camcorder to the computer, check if the device is detected by your Windows system. If you installed an IEEE-1394 card on your computer, check also if the card is detected.

To check if the IEEE-1394 card and digital camcorder are detected:

1. 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.

2. Open the Control Panel, then open System: Hardware - Device Manager.

3. Make sure the following device names are listed in the Device

Manager.

Under Windows XP or Windows Me:

• 1394 Bus Controller

• <Brand name> DV Camcorder (The brand name depends on

the DV camcorder connected to the IEEE-1394 interface.)

Under Windows 2000 or Windows 98SE:

• 1394 Bus Controller

• Image Device: Microsoft DV Camera and VCR (For Microsoft

DV driver only.)

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• Sound, video and game controllers: 1394 camcorder (For Texas Instruments DV driver only.)

Windows XP: Device Manager Windows 2000: Device Manager

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.

4. If your digital camcorder has been detected properly, it will be listed as a source device in VideoStudio's Options Panel. In VideoStudio, select the Capture Step and check if your camcorder is displayed under the

Source list in the Options Panel.

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Analog video sources

VHS, S-VHS, Video-8, and Hi8 camcorders and VCRs are examples of analog video sources. To capture video from analog sources, you will need to install an analog capture card in your computer. (See

“Installing a capture card” on page 15).

Conventional broadcast television is also an analog source. To capture TV footage, you need to have a TV tuner card installed in your computer.

Note: TV capture cards provide S-Video/Composite inputs and a TV tuner, which can be used to capture both video and TV footage.

Connecting the video device to the analog capture card

To connect your video device to the analog capture card, use either an S-Video or RCA Composite cable depending on your device's video output. If your video device has both types of output, use the S-Video connection for higher video quality captures.

S-Video cable Connecting the S-Video source to the

capture card

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If you want to use the Composite output of your video device, connect the yellow plugs of the Composite cable to the video output of your video device and the video input port of the analog capture card.

Composite cable Connecting the Composite video

source to the capture card

Tip: If your analog capture card provides SVideo input only and you are using a Composite video source, you need a Composite to S-Video adapter to make the connection.

Most higher-end analog capture cards do not have the Composite/ S-Video input ports crowded on the side of the cards. Instead, these cards come with an external breakout box that provide all the video input ports at the front of the box. Video devices can be connected to the capture card more easily through the breakout box.

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Connecting a TV antenna to the tuner card

A tuner card has a TV antenna input just like the regular television monitor. Plug your TV antenna to the TV connector of the tuner card.

TV antenna cable Connecting TV antenna to the tuner card

Note: When purchasing a tuner card, make sure you acquire one that provides the correct TV system (NTSC or PAL) for your region.

Connecting the capture or tuner card to the sound card

Most capture and tuner cards only allow video capture. To preview the audio from your video device or TV and to capture the audio into your computer, you need to connect the audio output of the capture or tuner card to the sound card's Line In port. The required cables for connecting to the sound card are different for each type of video source:

Line-in and audio cables for S-Video

S-Video connection

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Line-in and audio cables for Composite video

Composite video connection

Line-in cable for TV tuner card

Line-in cable for high-end TV capture card

TV tuner connection

High-end TV capture card connection

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Checking the hardware setup

After connecting your analog source to the capture or tuner card, check if the card is detected by your Windows system.

To check if the capture or tuner card is detected:

1. If you are using a video device such as a camcorder as your source, insert your videotape into the video 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.

2. Open the Control Panel, then open System: Hardware - Device Manager.

3. In the Device Manager, doubleclick Sound, video and game controllers. Check if your capture or tuner card is listed in this folder.

4. If your capture or tuner card has been detected properly, it will be listed as a source device in VideoStudio's Options Panel. In VideoStudio, select the Capture Step and check if your capture or tuner card is displayed under the Source list in the Options Panel.

Note: If your capture device supports multiple video sources, the Video and Audio Capture Property Settings 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. (See “Video and

Audio Capture Property Settings” on page 157).

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USB camera

To capture live video and still images from a USB camera, connect the camera to an available USB port on your computer.

USB ports

Connecting a USB camera

USB cameras may require installation of a device driver, depending on the Windows version you are using. For information on how to install your USB camera, refer to its accompanying manual.

After properly installing your USB camera, check if it is detected by your Windows system.

To check if the USB camera is detected:

1. Open the Control Panel, then open System: Hardware - Device Manager.

2. In the Device Manager, doubleclick Imaging devices. Check if your USB camera is listed in this folder.

3. If your USB camera has been detected properly, it will be listed as a source device in VideoStudio's Options Panel. In VideoStudio, select the Capture Step and check if your USB camera is displayed under the Source list in the Options Panel.

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Preparation for video capturing and editing

Capturing and video editing are tasks that require a lot of computer resources. Your computer must be properly set up to ensure successful capturing and smooth video editing. Below are some tips on how to prepare your digital camcorder and optimize your computer for capturing and editing.

• For better workability 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.

• It is recommended that you close all other applications when working with VideoStudio. You should also turn off any automatically-launched software like screen savers to avoid possible interruptions while capturing.

• If you have two hard drives in your system, it is recommended that you install VideoStudio to your system drive (usually C:) and store captured videos in your other drive (usually D:).

The choice of what hard disk to use is also crucial. Using a dedicated video hard drive, preferably with Ultra-DMA/66 7200 rpm and 30GB free space, is recommended.

•Make sure DMA is enabled for your hard disk. (See “Enabling

DMA for IDE disks” on page 173).

• Disable Write-Behind Caching on the hard drive used for video capture. (See “Disabling Write-Behind Caching” on

page 176).

• Increase the Paging File (Swap File) size to twice your amount of RAM. (See “Setting the Paging File size” on page 179).

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Getting started

When you run VideoStudio, a startup screen appears which allows you to choose between two modes of video editing:

• VideoStudio Movie Wizard is ideal for users who are new to video editing. It guides you through the movie production process in three quick, easy steps.

• VideoStudio Editor gives you the full editing features of VideoStudio. It provides you total control over the movie production process, from adding clips, titles, effects, overlays, and music to making the final movie on disc or other medium.

VideoStudio Movie Wizard

If you are new to video editing or you want to quickly make a movie, you can use the VideoStudio Movie Wizard to assemble video clips and images, add background music and titles, then output the final movie as a video file, burn it onto a disc, or further edit the movie in VideoStudio Editor.

Step 1: Add video and images

Assemble your video and images into a movie.

To add video and images:

1. If you have not captured any video footage or images into your computer yet, click the Capture tab and capture. (See “To

capture video and images:” on page 28).

2. Use these buttons to collect video and images for your movie.

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Click Insert Video to add video files of different formats such as AVI, MPEG, and, WMV.

Click Insert Image to add still images. (You can create a photo slideshow if you choose to only add images.)

Click Insert DVD/DVD-VR to add video from a DVDVideo or DVD-VR formatted disc.

Tip: Click Library to open the media library that contains media clips that come with VideoStudio. To import your own video or image files to the

Library, click .

3. If you selected multiple clips, the Change Clip Sequence dialog box will appear where you can arrange the order of the clips.

Drag the clips to the desired sequence then click OK.

4. The video and image clips that you selected for your movie will be added to the Media Clip List.

Tip: You can also arrange clips in the Media Clip List by dragging

them to the desired sequence.

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5. To preview the clips, select each clip in the Media Clip List and use the Jog Bar and Navigation Panel buttons. When trimming a clip, drag the Mark-in and Mark-out handles on the Trim Bar to select the desired start and end points of the clip.

6. Click Auto Edit Options. In the Auto Edit Options dialog box, select Split by scene to automatically split lengthy video clips into smaller clips based on their shooting dates and times.

Select Auto-trim each clip if you want the wizard to analyze individual clips based on video properties such as color and lighting, and automatically remove poorly-shot scenes. Clips that have long audio pauses in between scenes (such as pauses in between dialogues) will also be segmented into smaller clips so that they can be blended smoothly to the background music's beat and tempo. This option is only available when Split by scene is selected.

7. Click Next.

To capture video and images:

1. Connect your camcorder to your computer and turn on the device. Set it to Play (or VTR / VCR) mode.

2. Check if your camcorder is selected in the Source list.

3. Click the Capture tab in the VideoStudio Movie Wizard.

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4. Select the video file format to use for saving captured video files from the

Format list. Specify the Capture folder in which to save the files.

Note: Click Options to customize

capture settings specific to your video device. For details, see

“Capturing video” on page 51.

5. Play the videotape in your camcorder, and position the tape on the part of the video where to start capturing.

Tip: If you are capturing video from a DV camcorder, use the Navigation Panel to play your videotape.

6. Click Capture Video to start capturing. Click Stop Capture or press [Esc] to stop capturing.

7. To capture a still image from the video footage, pause the video on the desired image then click Capture Image.

Step 2: Select a template

Select a style template to apply to your movie. Each template provides a different theme which comes with preset start and ending video clips, transitions, title and background music.

To apply a style template:

1. Select a template from the Style template list.

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2. To customize the overall length of your movie, click . In the Duration dialog box, select how you want the movie duration to be adjusted:

• Fit to video duration: Keeps

the current movie duration.

• Fit to background music:

Adjusts the movie duration to fit into the length of the background music. (The background music is added to your movie in the second step of the Movie Wizard.)

• Specify duration: Lets you

define a custom duration for the whole movie.

3. Click to view more options.

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4. To replace the background music, click . Locate and select the desired music file.

Note: Make sure that your background music is 30 seconds or longer if you want to fit the video to the music. If the music duration is less than 30 seconds, the music will not be looped leaving the remaining video without any background music.

5. Use the Volume slider to adjust the volume of the background music with respect to the video's audio. Dragging the slider to the left increases the volume of the background music and decreases the volume of the video's audio.

6. To replace the title, first select the preset title from the Title list. Double-click the preset text in the Preview Window, then type in your text.

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7. Click to change text formatting.

In the Text Properties dialog box, select a font type, size and color for the text, and set the desired shadow color and transparency.

8. Click Next.

Note: If you opened the VideoStudio Wizard within VideoStudio Editor, clicking Next will skip the last step and directly insert the clips onto the Timeline in the VideoStudio Editor.

Step 3: Finish

Select how to output the final movie:

Click Create Video File to output your movie as a video file that can be played back on the computer.

Click Create Disc to burn your movie onto a disc. (For details, see “Burning a DVD, VCD or SVCD” on page 116).

Click Edit in Ulead VideoStudio Editor to make further edits to your movie using VideoStudio Editor.

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VideoStudio Editor

VideoStudio Editor provides a step-by-step workflow that makes creating movies simple and easy.

This section introduces you to the VideoStudio Editor interface and briefly explains the steps involved in creating a movie. Refer to the succeeding chapters for more in-depth information on each step.

The user interface

1 Step Panel

Contains buttons that correspond to the different steps in video editing.

2 Menu Bar

Contains menus that provide different set of commands.

3 Options Panel

Contains controls, buttons, and other information that you can use to customize the settings of the selected clip. The contents of this panel change depending on the step you are in.

4Preview Window

Shows the current clip, video filter, effect, or title.

5 Navigation Panel

Provides buttons for playback and for precision trimming of clips. In the

Capture Step, this also acts as the device control for the DV camcorder.

6Library

Stores and organizes all of your media clips.

7Timeline

Displays all the clips, titles, and effects included in your project.

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The Step Panel

VideoStudio simplifies the process of creating movies into seven simple steps. Click the buttons in the Step Panel to switch between steps.

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 capture video and still images. (See “Capture”

on page 49).

The Effect Step lets you add transitions between video clips in your project. Choose from the variety of transition effects in the Library. (See “Effect” on

page 81).

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 “Edit” on page 64).

The Overlay Step allows you to superimpose one clip over another to create a picture-inpicture effect. (See “Overlay”

on page 87).

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No movie would be complete without opening titles, captions and closing credits. In the Title Step, you can create animated text titles or choose from various presets in the Library. (See

“Title” on page 94).

Background music sets the mood of your movie. The Audio Step 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 “Audio” on

page 103).

When your movie is complete, you can create a video file for sharing on the Web or output the movie on tape, DVD, or CD in the Share Step. (See “Share” on

page 112).

Note: These steps do not necessarily need to be followed in the order that they are presented.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar provides various commands for customizing VideoStudio, opening and saving movie projects, working with individual clips, and more. For details on each command, see

“Appendix A: Menus and dialog boxes” on page 134.

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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. The controls and options in each tab vary, depending on the selected clip.

See the Options Panel sections in the succeeding chapters for details.

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 from a DV camcorder, the Navigation Controls are used for device control. Use these buttons to control your DV camcorder or any other DV device. (See “Controlling the

DV camcorder with the Navigation Panel” on page 54).

1Play Mode

Select whether you want to preview your project or only the selected clip.

2Play

Plays, pauses or resumes the current project or a selected clip.

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3Home

Returns to the starting frame.

5Next

Moves to the next frame.

7 Repeat

Loops playback.

9Timecode

Allows you to directly jump to a part of your project or selected clip by specifying the exact timecode.

11 Trim Bar

Allows you to set a preview range in the project or trim a clip.

13 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.

4Previous

Moves to the previous frame.

6End

Moves to the end frame.

8 System Volume

Click and drag the slider to adjust the volume of your computer's speakers.

10 Mark-in/out

Use these buttons to set a preview range in the project, or to mark the start and end points where to trim a clip.

12 Jog Bar

Allows you to scrub through the project or clip.

14 Enlarge Preview Window

Click to increase the size of the Preview Window. You can only preview, not edit, your clips when the Preview Window is enlarged.

The project timeline

The project timeline at the lower part of the VideoStudio Editor window is where you assemble your movie project.

There are three types of views for displaying the project timeline: Storyboard, Timeline, and Audio View. Click the buttons at the left side of the project timeline to switch between different views.

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Storyboard View

Storyboard View is the fastest and simplest way to add video clips to your movie. Each thumbnail in the storyboard represents an event in your movie, an event being a video clip or a transition. Thumbnails show at a glance the chronological order of events in your project. The duration of each clip is shown at the bottom of each thumbnail.

You can drag and drop video clips to insert and arrange them. Transition effects can be inserted between video clips. A selected video clip can be trimmed in the Preview Window. (See “Trimming a

clip” on page 69).

Click Enlarge to maximi ze the s toryb oard di splay . With a large r workspace, you can arrange video clips and apply transitions more easily. Furthermore, there is a small screen at the bottom of the window where you can preview clips.

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Timeline View

Timeline View gives you the most comprehensive display of the elements in your movie project. It divides a project into separate tracks for video, overlay, title, voice, and music. Timeline View allows you to perform frame-accurate editing of your clips.

1 Track buttons

Click the buttons to switch between the different tracks.

3 Overlay Track

Contains overlay clips, which can be video, image or color clips.

5Voice Track

Contains voiceover clips.

7Insert media files

Displays a menu allowing you to place video, audio or image clips directly on the project.

9 Timeline ruler

Displays the project's timecode increments in hours:minutes: seconds.frames, which helps you determine clip and project length

2 Video Track

Contains video/image/color clips and transitions.

4 Title Track

Contains title clips.

6 Music Track

Contains music clips recorded from audio CDs or acquired from Auto Music's Library.

8 Project scroll controls

Use the left and right buttons or drag the Scroll Bar to move around your project.

10 Selected range

This color bar represents the trimmed or selected part of a clip or project.

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11 Zoom controls

Increase or decrease the number of frames displayed in the Timeline.

13 Zoom to

Allows you to change the timecode increments in the Timeline ruler.

12 Fit project in Timeline window

Fits the whole project within the Timeline window.

To switch to different tracks:

• Click a Step button in the Step Panel that corresponds to the track.

• Click the Track buttons.

• Double-click the desired track, or click a clip on the track.

Tip: If you have a wheel mouse, its scroll wheel can be used to scroll through the Timeline.

Audio View

Audio View allows you to visually adjust the volume levels of video, voice and music clips.

Clips that contain audio are displayed with a volume rubber band that you can click and drag to adjust their volume. For details, see

“Volume rubber banding” on page 110.

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In Audio View, the Options Panel also displays the Audio Mixing Panel that can be used to adjust the volume levels of the Video, Overlay, Voice, and Music Tracks. For details, see “Using the Audio Mixing

Panel” on page 109.

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.

Load media allows you to locate the clip you want to add to 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.

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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.

To delete media clips from the Library:

1. Select the clip to remove from the Library, then press [Delete].

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.

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Sorting clips in the Library

To arrange clips in the Library, click in the Library to open the Options menu,

then select Sort by Name or Sort by Date.

The way video clips are sorted by date depends on the file format. DV AVI files (i.e., AVI files captured from DV camcorders) will be arranged by order of the shooting date and time of the footage. Other video file formats will be sorted by order of file date.

Notes:

• You can also right-click on the Library then select the desired sorting type in the Sort By submenu.

• To toggle between ascending and descending order, select Sort by Name or Sort by Date again.

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 Tools: 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.

The Folder arrow button

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.

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Starting a new movie project

When you run VideoStudio, it automatically opens a new project and lets you start composing your movie production. A new project always uses VideoStudio's default settings. To check what these settings are, click File: Project Properties.

Project settings determine how your movie 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. For details, see “Project Properties” on

page 153.

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

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not identical, VideoStudio automatically adjusts the project settings to match the clip's properties. Changing the project settings to conform with clip properties allows VideoStudio to perform the SmartRender function. For information on SmartRender, see

“SmartRender Technology” on page 171.

Tip:

To toggle between displaying or not displaying the above message box, select or clear Show message when inserting first video clip into the Timeline in the Preferences dialog box.

Saving your project

While composing your movie project, select File: Save [Ctrl + S] to frequently save your project and avoid accidental loss of your work. VideoStudio project files are saved in .VSP file format.

To open an existing project, select File: Open Project [Ctrl + O]. To create a new project again, select File:

New Project [Ctrl + N].

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Setting your preferences

Customize the program's working environment through the Preferences dialog box. You can specify a working folder for saving files, set undo levels, choose preferred settings for program behavior, and more. To open the Preferences dialog box, select File: Preferences [F6]. For details, see “Preferences: File menu”

on page 145.

Setting project properties

Project Properties serve as your template for previewing your movie projects. The project settings in the Project Properties dialog box determine the appearance and quality of a project when it is previewed on-screen. To customize project settings, select File: Project Properties.

When customizing project settings, it is recommended that you make the settings the same as the attributes of the video footage that will be captured to avoid distorting the video images and have smooth playback without jumping frames.

When you customize project properties to be the same as the desired output settings for your project (for instance, setting project properties to DVD settings if you will output the project to a DVD disc), you can have more accurate previews of your final movie.

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Adding clips

There are three ways you can do to add clips to your project:

• Capture video clips from a video source. The video clips will be inserted onto the Video Track.

• Drag clips from the Library onto the correct tracks.

• Click to directly insert media files to the different tracks.

Previewing

The Play button in the Navigation Panel serves two purposes: for playback of your entire project or a selected clip. To play back, click Project or Clip, then click Play.

While working on your project, you will want to preview your work frequently to see how your project is progressing. VideoStudio offers you two preview options: Instant Playback and High Quality Playback. Select File: Preferences - General, then choose the preview method that you prefer.

Instant Playback allows you to quickly preview changes in your

project without the need to create a temporary preview file, however, playback may be jerky depending on your computer resources. High Quality Playback renders your project as a temporary preview file then plays this preview file. Playback is smoother in High Quality Playback mode, but rendering your project for the first time in this mode may take a long time to complete depending on the size of your project and computer resources.

Note: When Perform non-square pixel rendering is selected in

the Project Options dialog box (opened from Project Properties dialog box), Instant Playback performance may be affected if computer resources are insufficient.

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In High Quality Playback mode, VideoStudio uses SmartRender technology which renders only the changes you made such as transitions, titles and effects, and eliminates re-rendering the entire project. SmartRender saves time when generating previews.

Setting a preview range

For faster previews, you may choose to play only a part of your project. The selected range of frames to preview is referred to as the preview range, and it is marked as a red bar in the Ruler Panel.

To play the preview area only:

1. Use the Trim Bar or the Mark-in/out buttons to select the preview range.

The Preview range mark-in and Preview range mark-out timecodes will then be displayed in the Options Panel.

2. To preview the selected range of frames, hold [Shift], select what you want to preview (Project or Clip), then click Play.

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Capture

The bulk of video work involves working with raw footage. Transferring footage from a source device to the computer involves a process called capturing.

When capturing, video data is transferred from a source (usually a video camera) through a capture card to the computer’s hard drive.

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 Type-1 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 and Windows XP which can use the NTFS file system, there is no limit in the captured file size.

Seamless capture is not available in VFW (Video For Windows) capture.

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Note: VideoStudio automatically detects your file system and performs seamless capture only in a FAT 32 partition file system.

The Capture Step Options Panel

The Capture Step Options Panel consists of two tabs. The Capture Settings tab allows you to switch between video sources to

capture from, customize capture settings, and capture video or still images. The Batch Capture tab allows you to select segments of video from a digital camcorder then capture them all at once.

Capture Settings tab

• Duration: Sets the length of time for the capture.

• Source: Displays the detected capture device and lists other capture devices 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 shooting 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.

• Enable Audio Preview: Allows you to preview audio on the computer while capturing DV. If the audio sounds choppy, there may be a problem with previewing audio on your computer during DV capture. This does not affect the audio capture quality. If this happens, click Disable Audio Preview to mute the audio while capturing.

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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.

• 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 footage 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.

Capturing video

VideoStudio lets you capture video from DV camcorders, analog camcorders, VCRs, and television. The steps on how to capture is similar for all types of video sources except for the available capture settings in the Options Panel that can be selected for each type of source.

Note: If you have not yet prepared your video device and computer

for capturing, see “Setting up your computer” on page 15 for guidelines on how to set them up.

To capture video:

1. Click the Capture Step.

2. The Change Field Order dialog box will appear. If you will be capturing video for playback on the computer, set the field order to Frame-based. Otherwise, choose either Upper Field First or Lower Field First depending on your video source.

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3. To specify a capture duration, enter the values in the Duration box in the Capture Settings tab of the Options Panel.

4. Select your capture device from the Source list.

5. Select a file format to use for saving your captured video from the Format list.

6. Specify a Capture folder in which to save video files.

7. Click Options to open a menu for customizing more capture settings.

8. Scan your video to search the part to capture.

9. When you get to the part of the video that you want to capture, click Capture Video to start capturing.

10.If you specified a capture duration, wait for the capture to complete. Otherwise, click Stop Capture or press [Esc] to stop capturing.

Notes:

• When your camcorder is in Record mode (usually named CAMERA or MOVIE), you can capture live video.

• The available settings in the Video and Audio Capture Property Settings dialog box vary, depending on the capture file format that you have chosen. (See “Video and Audio Capture Property

Settings” on page 157).

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Digital Video (DV)

To capture Digital Video (DV) in its native format, select DV from the Format list in the Options Panel. This saves the captured video as a DV AVI file (.AVI).

DV AVI type-1 and type-2

When capturing DV, click Options in the Options Panel to open a menu, then select DV Type in the menu and choose whether to capture DV as DV type-1 or DV type-2.

DV is a data stream that itself contains video and audio. With DV type-1, the video and audio channels are stored unmodified as a single, interleaved stream in the AVI file. With DV type-2 (which is the default), the video and audio channels are stored as two separate streams in the AVI file.

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.

Note: To preview audio on the computer while capturing DV, click

Enable Audio Preview in the Options Panel.

If the audio sounds choppy, there may be a problem with previewing audio on your computer during DV capture. This does not affect the

audio capture quality. If this happens, click Disable Audio

Preview to mute the audio.

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Split by scene

It often happens that a single DV tape contains several footage that were shot at different times. VideoStudio saves you the hassle of having to capture the segments one by one then save them as separate files. The Split by scene feature will do that job for you.

To use Split by scene option in Capture Step:

1. Select the Split by scene option in the Capture Settings tab in the Capture Step.

2. Click Capture Video. VideoStudio will automatically look for the scenes according to their shooting date and time and capture them as separate files.

Controlling the DV camcorder with the Navigation Panel

When capturing from a DV camcorder, use the Navigation Panel to scan your footage and locate the scenes you want to capture.

1 Shuttle Control

Drag the Shuttle Control to move forward and back through the footage at variable speeds. This is a quick way to find scenes you are looking for in your video.

3Stop

Stops playing the DV tape.

5Preview Frame

Moves one frame back.

7Forward

Fast forwards the DV tape.

2Play

Plays/Pauses the DV tape.

4Rewind

Rewinds the DV tape.

6Next Frame

Advances one frame forward.

8 System Volume

Click and drag the slider to adjust the volume of your computer speakers.

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Analog video

When footage is captured from analog sources such as VHS, S-VHS, Video-8, or Hi8 camcorders/VCRs, it is converted to a digital format that can be read and stored by the computer. Before capturing, choose the desired file format to use for saving the captured video in the Options Panel’s Format list.

Click Options then select Capture Options to choose how you want footage to be captured. (See “Capture Options” on page 143).

To specify the type of video source you are capturing from, click

Options then select Video and Audio Capture Property Settings. In the dialog box that opens, you can customize the

following capture settings:

•In the Source tab, choose whether you are capturing NTSC or PAL video and select the Input source (S-video or composite).

•In the Color tab, you can fine tune the video source to ensure good quality captures.

•In the Capture tab, set the dimensions and compression method to use for saving the captured video.

For more information on the dialog box, see “Video and Audio

Capture Property Settings” on page 157.

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Adjusting source volume

VideoStudio has a Source Volume Panel that allows you to adjust the sound volume of the analog source during capture. To use this panel, click Options, select Capture Options, then select Display

Source Volume Panel while capturing.

Note: The Source Volume Panel is not available when you are

capturing from an analog device that has no audio source or a DV device.

To ensure that the sound volume of captured videos is clear, test capturing a short video first and use the Source Volume Panel to adjust the volume level of the analog source while capturing.

After fine tuning the volume, you can start capturing footage from your analog device. Use the controls on your analog device to scan your videotape and locate the footage that you want to capture.

Tip: 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 the actual footage you want to capture and just trim the video later.

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Capturing TV footage

VideoStudio allows you to capture TV footage through a TV tuner. Capture a segment of your favorite television show on regular TV or cable then save it in your hard drive in AVI, MPEG, or Windows Media Format.

Before capturing, you need to choose the following settings in the Capture Settings tab:

1. Select your TV tuner device from the Source drop-down list.

2. In the TV channel box, specify the channel number from which to capture.

3. Click Options: Video and Audio Capture Property Settings to open the Video and Audio Capture Property Settings dialog box. Check if the Video Input source, TV system, and Audio Input source are set correctly. If not, adjust the settings accordingly.

Click the Channel tab to choose Antenna or Cable TV, scan available channels in your region, and more.

For details on this dialog box, see “Video and Audio Capture

Property Settings” on page 157.

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Direct video capturing to MPEG format

VideoStudio supports real-time capturing from DV, analog, or any video source to MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 formats. Capturing straight to MPEG saves hard drive space as its file size is smaller compared with DV AVI.

To capture video in MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 format:

•In the Capture Settings tab, select MPEG from the Format list to

capture MPEG files that are intended for playback on the computer or for sharing on the Web.

You can also capture VCD, SVCD or DVD-ready MPEG files that can be burnt onto disc by selecting one of these formats from the Format list.

Note: The Ulead DSW MPEG Capture Plug-in will be automatically detected. If your capture device does not support this plug-in, you need to manually select this plug-in in the Change Capture Plug-in dialog box. (See “Change Capture

Plug-in” on page 144).

• Click Options and select Video and Audio Capture

Property Settings. In the dialog box that opens, click the Capture tab then click Advanced. The MPEG Settings

dialog box then appears in which you can customize attributes for the MPEG file.

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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. To directly capture to WMV format, select WMV from the Format list.

Selecting a profile

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. Click Options: Video and Audio Capture Property Settings. In the dialog box, click Select to open Select Profile.

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2. Select the profile you want to use for capturing. Click OK.

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. Click Options: Video and Audio Capture Property Settings. In the dialog box, click Select to open Select Profile.

2. Under Select Profile, click Customize.

3. Manage Profiles lists all the available profiles installed in your computer. The profiles are categorized into two types: System

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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.

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4. Under General Information, specify a reference name for the created or edited profile in Name of Profile.

5. Select the media types supported by the profile in Media types.

6. 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.

Batch Capture

If you have a controllable DV/D8 camcorder and video footage recorded with timecode, you can choose which video segments you want from the tape, and then capture them all in a single session. This is called batch capturing. You can mark the starting and end timecodes of each segment by logging them into a capture tasks list. After you have marked all the portions that you want, simply click a button to start capturing the video clips specified in the list.

Press [F3] and [F4] for all the other video segments to mark for capturing.

Note: Batch capturing can be achieved only when you are using a DV tape and the IEEE-1394 card for computer connection.

To use Batch Capture:

1. In the Capture Step, click the Batch Capture tab in the Options Panel.

Note: The videotape automatically plays once you click the Batch Capture tab. Rewind or fast forward

your videotape first to cue it.

2. Mark video segments for capturing. Press [F3] to mark the start of a desired segment and [F4] to mark the end of the segment.

3. Continue to play the video, and then repeat step 2 as needed.

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4. Click Play Selected Tasks to view the selected segments

on tape. Click Modify a task to change a marked segment.

You can also double-click a task and enter a new timecode.

5. Click Capture Video.

6. Batch capture then starts. The process stops when the last segment in the task list is captured. A report is displayed for your reference.

Capturing still images

In addition to video, VideoStudio also allows you to capture still images. The image format can be BMP or JPEG, and the size depends on its source video. To choose your image format, click

File: Preferences. In the Preferences dialog box click the Capture tab and set the format.

To capture still images:

1. If you are capturing from a DV camcorder, click Play in the Navigation Panel to play your videotape.

If you are capturing from an analog device, press the Play button on your device to play your videotape.

2. When you see the image you want to capture, click Capture Image in the

Capture Settings tab.

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Edit

The Edit Step is where you arrange, edit and trim the video clips used in your project. In this step, you can apply fade-in/fade-out effects to the existing audio of a video clip, multi-trim or split video, and adjust a clip's playback speed. You can also choose from a wide selection of video filters to apply to your clips.

Adding clips to the Video Track

You only work on the Video Track when you are in the Edit Step. On the Video Track, you can insert three types of clips: video, image and color clips.

Video clips

There are three alternative ways of inserting video clips to the Video Track:

• Select a clip in the Library and drag and drop it to the Video Track. Multiple clips can be selected by pressing [Shift] or [Ctrl].

• Select one or more video files in Windows Explorer then drag and drop to the Video Track.

• To insert a clip from a file folder directly to the Video Track,

click Insert Media Files located to the left of the

Timeline.

Notes:

• Aside from video files, you can also add video from DVD or DVD-VR formatted discs.

•Use the Fade-in/out buttons to make the audio of the video clips in your project smoothly fade from one clip to the next.

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Images

The ways of adding still images to the Video Track are the same as when adding video clips. (See “Video clips” on page 64).

Before you start adding images to your project, determine first the image size that you want for all your images. By default, VideoStudio adjusts the size to keep the image’s aspect ratio. To make the size of all inserted images the same as your project’s frame size, select

change the Image resampling option default to Fit to project size.

File: Preferences - Quality & Duration then

Color clips

Color clips are solid colored backgrounds that are useful for titles. For example, insert a black color clip as background for end credits. You can use the preset color clips or create new color clips in the Library.

To create a color clip in the Color Library:

1. Select Color from the Library drop-down menu.

Click Load color to open the New Color Clip dialog box. Here, click the color box to select a color either from the Ulead

Color Picker or the Windows Color Picker

2. .Adjust the RGB values.

3. Click OK.

Once a color clip has been created in the Library, you can drag it to the Video Track to add it into your movie project. Set the Duration of the color clip in the Options Panel.

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The Edit Step Options Panel

The Edit Step Options Panel allows you to edit the video, image and color clips that you added to the Video Track. Video filters that you applied to your clips can be fine tuned in the Filter tab.

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 - Edit to set the fade-in/ out duration.

• Split by Scene: Split s a cap tured DV AVI file bas ed on t he sho ot ing da te 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.

• Multi-trim Video: Allows you to choose desired segments from a video file and extract them.

• Playback Speed: Launches the Playback Speed dialog box where you can adjust the pace of your clip.

Image tab

• Duration: Sets the duration of the selected image clip.

• Rotate: Rotates the image clip.

• Resampling option: Sets how image size is adjusted. There are two options: Keep aspect ratio maintains the relative width and height of the current image; Fit to project size makes the size of the current image the same as the project’s frame size.

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• Pan & Zoom: Applies the Pan & Zoom effect to the current image. (See

“Pan & Zoom” on page 75).

• Presets: Provides various Pan & Zoom presets. Choose a preset from the drop-down list.

• Customize Pan & Zoom: Allows you to define how to pan and zoom the current image.

Color tab

• Duration: Sets the duration of the selected color clip.

• Color: Click the color box to adjust the color.

Filter tab

• Replace last filter: Allows the last filter applied to a clip to be replaced when you drag a new filter onto the clip. Clear this option if you want to add multiple filters to your clips.

• Applied filters: Lists the video filters that were applied to a clip. Click or

to arrange the order of the filters;

click to remove a filter.

• Presets: Provides various filter presets. Choose a preset from the drop-down list.

• Customize Filter: Allows you to define how a filter transitions throughout the clip.

Split by Scene

Use the Split by Scene feature in the Edit Step to detect different scenes in a video file and automatically break it down into several clip files.

The way VideoStudio detects scenes depends on the type of video file. In a captured DVI AVI file, scenes can be detected in two ways:

• DV Recording Time detects scenes according to their

shooting date and time.

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• Frame Content detects content changes, such as motion change, camera shifting, brightness change, etc., and splits them into separate video files.

In an MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 file, scenes can only be detected based on content changes (i.e., by Frame Content).

To use Split by Scene on a DV AVI or MPEG file:

1. Go to the Edit Step and select a captured DV AVI file or an MPEG file in the Timeline.

2. Click Split by Scene in the Options Panel. This will open the Scenes dialog box.

3. Choose your preferred scan method (DV Recording Time or Frame Content).

4. Click Options. In the Scene Scanning Sensitivity dialog box, drag the slider to set the Sensitivity level. A higher value means more precision in the scene detection.

Click OK.

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5. Click Scan. VideoStudio then scans through the video file and lists all the detected scenes.

6. You may merge some of the detected scenes into a single clip. Simply select all the scenes that you want to join together then click Join. The plus sign (+) and a number indicates how many scenes are merged into that particular clip. Click Split to undo any Join actions that you have done.

7. Click OK to split the video.

Trimming a clip

The best part of editing your movie on your computer is the ease with which you can snip and trim your work with frame by frame accuracy. There are three ways of trimming a clip:

To split a clip into two:

1. Select the clip you want to split on the Storyboard or Timeline.

2. Drag the Jog Bar to the point where you want to cut the clip.

Also, click or to locate the cutting point more precisely.

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3. Click Split Video to cut the clip into two clips.

To remove one of these clips, select the unwanted clip and press

[Delete].

To trim a clip with the Trim Bar:

1. Select a clip on the Storyboard or Timeline.

2. Click and drag the Trim handles on the Trim Bar to to set the Mark-in/Mark-out points on the clip.

For more precise trimming, click on a Trim handle, hold it, and use the left or right arrow keys on your keyboard to trim one frame at a time. The Mark-in/Mark-out points can also be set by pressing [F3] and [F4], respectively.

3. Hold down [Shift] and click Play Clip to preview only the trimmed portion of the clip.

Tip: You can also use Zoom controls to display each frame of your video in the Timeline and trim one frame at a time. The Scroll Bar makes navigating through your project quicker and easier. A wheel mouse can also be used to scroll, and to zoom by pressing [Ctrl].

To trim a clip directly on the Timeline:

1. Click a clip in the Timeline to select it.

2. Drag the yellow Trim handles on either side of the clip to change its length. The Preview Window reflects the position of the Trim handle in the clip.

Or, click the timecode in the Duration box in the Options Panel and enter the desired clip length.

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3. Other clips in your project automatically reposition themselves according to changes made.

Note: Changes made in the video Duration box only affect the Mark-out point. The Mark-in point remains unchanged.

Multi-trim Video

The Multi-trim Video feature is another method for breaking down a clip into multiple segments. While Split by Scene is automatically done by the program, Multi-trim Video gives you complete control over the clips you wish to extract, making it even easier for you to manage your project.

To trim a video file into multiple clips:

1. Go to the Edit Step and click Multi-trim Video in the Options Panel.

2. In the Multi-trim Video dialog box, view the whole clip first by

clicking to determine how you want to mark segments. If

you want to mark segments to retain, click Selection Mode then select Retain selection. Otherwise, select Delete

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selection if you prefer to mark segments that you want taken out from the clip.

3. Drag the Jog Bar until you get to the part of the video that you want to use as the beginning frame of the first segment. Click

Start.

Drag the Jog Bar again, this time, to the point where you want

the segment to end. Click End.

4. Do steps 3 and 4 repeatedly until you have marked all the segments you want kept or removed.

Tip: To mark segments, you can also press [F3] and [F4] while playing the video.

5. Click OK when finished. The video segments that you kept are then inserted onto the Timeline.

Navigation controls in the Multi-trim Video dialog box:

Reverses or advances through the video in fixed

[F5][F6]

increments. By default, these buttons move up or down through the video in increments of 25 seconds. To change this, set the Go back/forward button duration [F7] to the desired increment value.

Drag the Shuttle Control to quickly reverse or advance through the video.

Plays the trimmed segments.

Plays the whole video.

Moves to the start or end frame of a trimmed segment.

Moves to the previous/next frame in the video.

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Saving trimmed clips

Frequently, when you make changes (i.e., after auto-splitting clips using Split by Scene, extracting clips using Multi-trim Video, or manually trimming clips), you may wish to make a permanent change to the clip and save the edited file. VideoStudio gives you a margin of safety in that it saves the trimmed video to a new file and does not alter the original file.

To save, select a trimmed clip in the Storyboard, Timeline or the Library and select Clip: Save Trimmed Video.

Playback Speed

You can modify the playback speed of your videos. Set your video in slow motion to emphasize a movement, or set it to play at lightning speed and give your movie a comical air. Simply adjust the speed attributes for your video clip by clicking Playback Speed under the Options Panel of the Edit Step. Drag the slider according to your preferences (i.e., slow, normal or fast), or enter a value. The higher the value you set, the faster the playback of your clip. (Values range from 10-1000%). Click Preview to view the results of your settings then click OK when finished.

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Capturing still images in the Edit Step

A still image can be captured in the Edit Step by selecting a specific frame in the Timeline and saving it as an image file. In this manner, possible distortions are avoided since the image is not acquired from a running video, unlike in the Capture Step.

To capture still images:

1. Select File: Preferences Capture. Choose Bitmap or JPEG as the Captured still image save format. If you selected JPEG, also set the Image quality.

2. Select a video clip in your project.

3. Drag the Jog Bar to the frame you want to capture.

4. Switch to an image folder in the Library. The folder can be the default Image folder, or the one created by yourself.

5. Select Clip: Save as Still Image. The new image file is saved to the hard disk and is represented as a thumbnail in the image folder you assigned.

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Pan & Zoom

Pan & Zoom is applied to still images, and it emulates the pan and zoom effect of a video camera. To apply this effect to an image, select an image clip in the Timeline, then select Pan & Zoom and click Customize Pan & Zoom.

Note: Pan & Zoom cannot be applied to masked images.

In the Pan & Zoom dialog box, the Start, Middle and End tabs

and the crosshairs in the Image Window represent the three points (or key frames) in the image clip where settings can be

customized to produce the pan and zoom effect. When customizing each key frame, use the Image Window to focus on an area or to pan the image; use the tab settings to customize the zooming effect.

The procedure below shows an example of how to first zoom in on a subject, then pan and zoom out to show the whole image.

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To apply Pan & Zoom:

1. Drag the Start key frame, represented by the left crosshair in the Image Window, to the subject you want to focus.

2. Zoom in on the subject by minimizing the marquee box or by increasing the Zoom ratio.

3. Set the Pause time to the amount of time to stay on the subject before panning and zooming out.

4. Click the End tab. Drag the End key frame, represented by the right crosshair in the Image Window, to the center of the image. Zoom out to show the whole image by enlarging the marquee box or by setting the Zoom ratio to the lowest value.

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5. Click to preview the effect.

6. Click OK to apply the effect to the image.

Tips:

• Click the Anchor boxes to move the marquee box at fixed positions in the Image Window.

• To zoom in or out of a fixed area without panning the image, select No panning.

• To include a fade-in/out effect, increase the Transparency. The image will fade to the Background color. Click the color box to

choose a background color, or click to select a color on the Image Window.

Applying video filters

Video filters are effects that you can apply to clips in order to change their style or appearance. For example, you can improve the color balance of a clip, or make it look like a painting.

To apply a video filter to a clip (video or image) in the Video Track:

1. Select a clip in the Timeline.

2. Click the Filter tab in the Options Panel.

3. Choose a video filter from the Video Filter folder in the Library to apply to your clip (by clicking the thumbnail).

4. Drag and drop the video filter onto your clip in the Video Track.

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Note: By default, the filter applied to a clip is always replaced with the new filter dragged onto the clip. Clear Replace last filter to apply multiple filters to a single clip. VideoStudio allows you to apply a maximum of five filters to a single clip.

5. Click Customize Filter in the Options Panel to customize the attributes of the video filter. Available options depend on the selected filter.

6. Preview how your clip looks with the video filter applied to it using the Navigator.

Notes: When there is more than one video filter applied to a clip, you can change the order of filters by clicking or . Changing the order of the video filters will have drastic effects on your clip.

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Key frame settings

VideoStudio allows you to customize video filters in a variety of ways. One way is by adding key frames to your clips. Key frames are frames in a clip where you can specify a different attribute or behavior for your video filter. This gives you the flexibility to determine how your video filter will look like at any point in a clip.

To set key frames for your clips:

1. Drag and drop a video filter from the Library onto a clip in the Timeline.

2. Click Customize Filter. The dialog box for the video filter opens.

Note: Settings available in the dialog box are different for each video filter.

3. In the Original Window, drag the Jog Bar or use the arrows to go to the frame where you'd like to change the attributes of your video filter.

4. Click Add key frame to set that frame as a key frame in the clip. You can adjust the video filter settings for that particular frame.

Note: A diamond-shaped mark on the Timeline Control bar will appear. This indicates the frame is a key frame in the clip.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to add more key frames to your clip.

6. Use the Timeline controls to edit or to go to a key frame in the clip.

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• To delete a key frame, click Remove key frame .

• Click Reverse to reverse the sequence of key frames in the Timeline such that the sequence starts with the last key frame and ends with the first key frame.

• To move to the succeeding key frame, click Next key frame

• To move to the key frame prior to the one selected, click

Previous key frame .

7. Adjust the video filter settings according to your preferences.

8. Preview the changes you've made by clicking Play in the Preview Window of the dialog box.

9. Click OK when finished.

Tips:

•If the Lock icon is at a lock position, clicking Play will play the original clip and the clip with the video filter applied to it

simultaneously.

• You can preview the clip with applied video filter on VideoStudio’s Preview Window or an external device such as a TV monitor or DV camcorder.

Click , then click to open the Preview Playback Options dialog box where you can choose the display medium. (See

“Preview Playback Options” on page 152).

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Effect

Transition effects make your movie smoothly change from one scene to the next. They are applied between clips in the Video Track and their attributes can be modified in the Options Panel. Effective use of this feature can add a professional touch to your movie.

Adding transitions

The Library provides a wide range of preset transitions from crossfades to explosions that you can add to your project.

You can add transitions either in Storyboard View or Timeline View.

Note: By default, you need to manually add transitions to your

project. If you want VideoStudio to automatically add transitions between clips when you add clips to the Video Track, select File: Preferences - General then select Use default transition effect. This saves you time in selecting transitions, especially when you are creating a slideshow project that contains images only, since transitions are randomly chosen from the Library and automatically added between images.

To add a transition:

1. Click the Effect Step, then select one of the categories of transitions from the Folders list.

2. Scroll through the effects thumbnails in the Library. Select and drag an effect to the Timeline, roughly between two video clips.

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Drop your effect and it will snap into place. You can only drag and drop one clip at a time.

Tip: Double-clicking a transition in the Library automatically inserts it into the first empty transition slot between two clips. Repeating this process will insert a transition into the next empty transition slot.

To replace a transition in your project, drag the new transition from the Library onto the transition thumbnail to be replaced on the Storyboard or Timeline.

The Effect Step Options Panel

VideoStudio pretty much takes care of all the details to make your transitions smooth and professional. You can, however, further customize your transitions after adding them to your project. The Effect Step Options Panel displays the settings of your selected transition so that you can change their various parameters. This gives you complete control of exactly how your transitions will behave in your movie.

Note: The attributes in the Options Panel vary depending on the type of transition effect that is selected and applied to your project.

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• 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.)

The Album transition

One of the transitions you will find in the Library is the Album transition. Album simulates the turning pages similar to that of flipping photo album pages. You can choose from a variety of album layouts, change the album cover, background, size, and position, and more.

To apply the Album transition:

1. Click the Effect Step then select Album from the Library.

Apply one of the preset transitions by dragging a transition thumbnail in between two clips on the Video Track.

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2. Click Customize to open the Flip-Album dialog box.

3. In the Layout section, choose the desired look for the album.

4. In the Album tab, set the album’s Size, Position and Orientation.

To change the album cover, select a preset from Album cover templates, or select Custom album cover then import your own cover image.

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5. Click the Background and Shadow tab.

To change the background of the album, select a preset from Background templates, or select Custom background then import your own background image.

To add a shadow, select Shadow. Set the shadow position by adjusting the X-offset and Y-offset values. To make the shadow look softer, increase Soft edge.

Note: To change the shadow color, click the color box and choose the desired color.

6. Click the Page A tab. Customize the first page of the album.

To change the image on the page, select a preset from Album page templates, or select Custom album page then import your own image.

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To adjust the size and position of the clip on the page, adjust the Size, X, and Y values.

7. Click the Page B tab. Customize the second page of the album.

Follow step 6 to make adjustments.

8. Use the slider and buttons below the Preview Window in the dialog box to preview the results.

9. Click OK to apply the adjustments.

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Overlay

The Overlay Step allows you to add overlay clips to combine with your videos in the Video Track. Use an overlay clip to create a picture-in-picture effect or add a lower-third graphic to create more professional-looking movie productions.

Adding clips to the Overlay Track

Drag media files to the Overlay Track on the Timeline to add them as overlay clips for your project.

To add a clip to the Overlay Track:

1. In the Library, select the media folder that contains the overlay clip that you want to add to your project.

Tip: To load media files into the Library, click

. In the dialog box that opens, locate the

media file and click Open.

2. Drag the media file from the Library to the Overlay Track on the Timeline.

Tips:

• To insert a media file directly to the Overlay Track, right-click the Overlay Track and select the type of file you want to add. The file will not be added into the Library.

• You can also use color clips as overlay clips.

3. Customize the overlay clip using the options available in the Edit tab. (See “Edit tab” on page 91).

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4. Click the Motion & Filter tab. The overlay clip is then resized to a preset size and positioned at the center. Use the options in the Motion & Filter tab to apply motion to the overlay clip, add filters, resize and reposition the clip, and more. (See “Motion & Filter

tab” on page 91).

Tip: To make overlay clips with transparent backgrounds, you can create a 32-bit alpha channel AVI video file or an image file with an alpha channel. You can use an animation program such as Ulead COOL 3D Production Studio or an image editing program such as Ulead PhotoImpact to create these video and image files.

To apply motion to the current overlay clip:

In the Motion & Filter tab, click the Direction/Style box then select a motion to apply.

Tip: Mouseover a preset to find out what type of motion it will apply to the overlay clip.

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To apply transparency to the current overlay clip:

In the Motion & Filter tab, enter a value in Transparency. The higher the value the more transparent the overlay clip.

Note: Transparency cannot be applied to an overlay clip that has fade-in/out type of motion.

To add a border around the current overlay clip:

In the Motion & Filter tab, enter the thickness value in Border and click the Color box to select the color for the border. The higher the border value, the thicker the border.

To resize the current overlay clip:

In the Motion & Filter tab, drag a handle on the overlay clip on the Preview Window to resize it. If you a drag a corner handle, it will keep the aspect ratio when you resize the clip. In the Options Panel, click Fit to Screen to resize the overlay clip to the size of the project frame size.

It is recommended that you keep the overlay clip within the title safe area.

(See “General tab” on page 145).

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You can also right-click the overlay clip on the Preview Window to open a menu where you can resize the the overlay clip to keep the aspect ratio, revert it to the default size or use the original size of the overlay clip.

The Keep Aspect Ratio option resizes the overlay clip based on the width or height, depending on which is shorter in length, of the overlay clip.

To reposition the current overlay clip:

In the Motion & Filter tab, drag the overlay clip to the desired area on the Preview Window.

You can also right-click the overlay clip on the Preview Window to open a menu where you can automatically place the overlay clip in a preset position on the video. It is recommended that you keep the overlay clip within the title safe area.

To apply a filter to the current overlay clip:

You can apply video filters to your overlay clips. To learn how to apply, see “Applying video filters” on page 77.

To use the same attributes for different overlay clips:

You can use the attributes (size and position) of one overlay clip and apply it to a different overlay clip on your movie project. To apply the same attributes, first right-click the source overlay clip then select Copy Attributes. Next, right-click the target overlay clip then select Paste Attributes.

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The Overlay Step Options Panel

There are two tabs in the Overlay Step Options Panel: Edit tab and Motion & Filter tab.

Edit tab

The Edit tab allows you to customize properties such as clip duration, playback speed, and audio properties of the overlay clip. The available options in this tab will depend on the selected overlay clip. (See “The Edit Step Options Panel” on page 66).

Video

Image/Decoration

Color

Motion & Filter tab

The Motion & Filter tab allows you to apply motion, transparency, filters and border to the overlay clip.

• Direction/Style: Determines the type of movement to be applied to the overlay clip.

• Transparency: Sets the opacity of the clip. Drag the slider or enter a value to adjust the transparency.

• Border: Enter a value to set the thickness of the border. Click the Color box to select the border color.

• Fit to Screen: Click to resize the overlay clip to fit the project frame size.

• Replace last filter: Allows the last filter applied to a clip to be replaced when you drag a new filter onto the clip. Clear this option if you want to add multiple filters to your clips.

• Applied filters: Lists the video filters that were applied to a clip. Click or to arrange the order of the filters; click to remove a filter.

• Delete selected filter: Removes the selected filter from the overlay clip.

• Presets: Opens a menu where you can select a preset for the selected filter to apply to the overlay clip.

• Customize Filter: Opens a dialog box where you can define settings and options for the selected filter.

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Adding decorations

Add decorative objects or frames for your videos as overlay clips.

To add an object or frame:

1. In the Library, select Decoration: Object/Frame in the Folder list.

2. Select an object/frame then drag it onto the Overlay Track on the Timeline.

3. Click the Motion & Filter tab to resize and reposition the object/ frame.

Object Frame

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To customize the current object or frame:

Use the various options available in the Edit and Motion & Filter tabs to customize your object and frame. You can add animation, apply transparency, resize the object or frame, and more. (See

“The Overlay Step Options Panel” on page 91).

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Title

While a picture may be worth a thousand words, the text in your video production (i.e., subtitles, opening and closing credits, etc.) adds to the clarity and comprehensibility of your movie. In VideoStudio's Title Step, create professional-looking titles, complete with special effects, in minutes.

Adding text

Ulead VideoStudio allows you to add text either in multiple text boxes or in a single text box. Using multiple text boxes gives you the flexibility to position the different words of your text anywhere on the video frame and allows you to arrange the stacking order of the text. Use a single text box when you are creating opening titles and end credits for your projects.

To add multiple titles:

1. In the Options Panel, select Multiple titles.

2. Use the buttons in the Navigation Panel to scan your movie and select the frame where you want to add the title.

3. Double-click the Preview Window and type in your text.

Click outside the text when you are done typing. To add another set of text, double-click again on the Preview Window.

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4. Repeat step 3 to add more sets of text. When you are done, click the Timeline to add all the entered text to your project.

If you switch to Single title before adding to the Timeline the multiple text that you entered, only the selected text or the first text that you typed in (when no text box is selected) will be retained. The other text boxes will be removed and the Text

backdrop option will be disabled.

To add a single title:

1. In the Options Panel, select Single title.

2. Use the buttons in the Navigation Panel to scan your movie and select the frame where you want to add the title.

Double-click the Preview Window and type in your text.

3. In the Options Panel, set the Line spacing.

4. When you are done typing the text, click the Timeline to add the text to your project.

It is recommended to keep your text within the title safe area. The title safe area is the rectangular box on the Preview Window. By keeping the text within the bounds of the title safe area, the whole text will not be truncated when viewed on a TV screen. You can display or hide the title safe area by selecting File: Preferences -

General tab - Display title safe area in Preview Window.

ULEAD VIDEOSTUDIO USER GUIDE

To edit the text:

• For single titles, select the title clip on the Title Track and click the Preview Window.

• For multiple titles, select the title clip on the Title Track and click the Preview Window then click the text that you want to edit.

Notes:

• Once a title clip has been inserted onto the Timeline, you can adjust its duration by either dragging the handles of the clip, or entering a Duration value in the Options Panel.

• To see how the title appears on the underlying video clip, select the title clip and then click Play Clip or drag the Jog Bar.

Tip: When you are creating multiple title clips that share the same attributes such as font type and style, it is a good rule of thumb to store one copy of your title clip in the Library. (Just drag and drop the title clip from the Timeline into the Library.) This way, you can easily duplicate the title clip (by dragging it from the Library back onto the Title Track) and then change the title.

To add preset text to your project:

The Library contains various preset text that you can use for your projects. To use these preset text, select Title in the Library Folder list then drag the preset text onto the Title Track.

ULEAD VIDEOSTUDIO USER GUIDE

Modifying text attributes

Modify the attributes of your text, such as font face, style, size, and more, by using the available settings in the Options Panel. (See

“The Title Step Options Panel” on page 98).

Click More options to access more options you can use to modify your text attributes. These options allow you to set the style and alignment, apply a Border, Transparency and Shadow and add a Text backdrop to your text.

A text backdrop superimposes your text on a horizontal color bar

that stretches across the video frame. Click to open the Text Backdrop dialog box to select whether to use a solid or gradient color and to set the transparency of the text backdrop.

To rearrange the stacking order for multiple titles:

In the Preview Window, click the text box you want to rearrange. After selecting, right-click it then on the menu that opens, select how you want to restack the text.

To reposition a text in a multiple-title clip:

Drag the text box to the new position.

ULEAD VIDEOSTUDIO USER GUIDE

The Title Step Options Panel

The Title Step Options Panel allows you to modify text properties such as font, size, and color.

• Duration: Displays the duration of the selected clip in hours:minutes:seconds:frames. You can adjust the duration by changing the timecode values.

• Font face: Where you select your desired font style.

• Font size: Where you set your desired font size.

• Color: Click on this to specify your preferred font color.

• Mulitple titles: Select to use multiple text boxes for your text.

• Single title: Select to use a single text box for your text. This is automatically selected when opening a project file from older versions of VideoStudio.

• Line spacing: Sets the spacing, or leading, between lines of text.

• Vertical text: Makes the orientation of the title vertical.

• Animation: Enables or disables animation of the title clip.

• Type: Where you can select your preferred animation effect for your title.

• Presets: Select a preset for the selected animation type to apply to your text.

• More options: Toggles between showing and hiding more options.

More options

• Font style: Set the text as bold, italic and/ or underlined.

• Alignment: Aligns horizontal text to the left, center, or right. Or, aligns vertical text to the top, center, or bottom.

• Border/Shadow/Transparency: Allows you to add shadow and border as well as adjust the transparency for your title.

• Text backdrop: Select to superimpose your text on a color bar. Modify the attributes of the text backdrop, such as color and transparency by

clicking .

ULEAD VIDEOSTUDIO USER GUIDE

Applying animation

Apply motion to your text with VideoStudio’s text animation tools such as Fade, Moving Path, and Drop.

To apply animation to the current text:

1. In the Options Panel, select Animation.

2. Click the Type arrow then select the desired animation effect.

3. Click to open a dialog box where you can set how the animation will be applied to your text.(See “Animation effects”

on page 99).

Tip: You can also click the Presets arrow to select a preset to apply to your text.

4. Click OK to apply the animation effect.

Animation effects

Drop dialog box

• Accelerate: Select to start animating the next unit of the title clip before the current unit exits the screen.

• Unit: Determines how the title appears in the scene:

Text: The whole title appears in the scene. Character: The title appears in the scene one character at a time. Word: The title appears in the scene one word at a time. Line: A line of text appears in the scene one at a time.

Fade dialog box

100

• Unit: Determines how the title appears in the scene: Text: The whole title appears in the scene. Character: The title appears in the scene one character at a time. Word: The title appears in the scene one word at a time. Line: A line of text appears in the scene one at a time.

• Pause Applies a break in between the start and end direction of the animation. Select No Pause to make the animation run seamlessly.

• Fade style:

Fade-in: Makes the title gradually appear. Fade-out: Makes the title gradually disappear. Cross-fade: Makes the title gradually appear when it enters the scene

and disappear as it exits the scene.

ULEAD VIDEOSTUDIO USER GUIDE

Fly dialog box

• Accelerate: Select to start animating the next unit of the title clip before the current unit exits the screen.

• Start/End unit: Determines how the title appears in the scene:

• Pause Applies a break in between the start and end direction of the animation. Select No Pause to make the animation run seamlessly.

• Enter/Exit: Denotes the trail from where the motion of the title will start and end. Click the center button to make the title static.

Moving Path

Ulead VIDEOSTUDIO 8 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Welcome to Ulead VideoStudio

How VideoStudio works

What's new

System requirements

Installing and running VideoStudio

Setting up your computer

Installing a capture card

Connecting a video camera to the computer

DV or Digital 8 camcorder

Analog video sources

USB camera

Preparation for video capturing and editing

Getting started

VideoStudio Movie Wizard

Step 1: Add video and images

Step 2: Select a template

Step 3: Finish

VideoStudio Editor

The user interface

The Step Panel

The Menu Bar

The Options Panel

The Navigation Panel

The project timeline

The Library

Starting a new movie project

Saving your project

Setting your preferences

Setting project properties

Adding clips

Previewing

Capture

Seamless DV and MPEG capture

The Capture Step Options Panel

Capturing video

Digital Video (DV)

Analog video

Direct video capturing to MPEG format

Direct video capturing to Windows Media Video

Batch Capture

Capturing still images

Edit

Adding clips to the Video Track

Video clips

Images

Color clips

The Edit Step Options Panel

Split by Scene

Trimming a clip

Multi-trim Video

Saving trimmed clips

Playback Speed

Capturing still images in the Edit Step

Pan & Zoom

Applying video filters

Key frame settings

Effect

Adding transitions

The Effect Step Options Panel

The Album transition

Overlay

Adding clips to the Overlay Track

The Overlay Step Options Panel

Adding decorations

Title

Adding text

Modifying text attributes

The Title Step Options Panel

Applying animation

Animation effects