Xara Photo Story on CD & DVD - 10.0 Instruction Manual

2 Copyright

Copyright

This documentation is protected by law. All rights, especially the right of duplication, circulation, and translation, are reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in the form of copies, microfilms or other processes, or transmitted into a language used for machines, especially data processing machines, without the express written consent of the publisher.

All copyrights reserved.

All other product names are trademarks of the corresponding manufacturers. Errors in and changes to the contents as well as program modifications reserved.

MAGIX is a registered trademark of MAGIX AG.

Other mentioned product names may be registered trademarks of the respective manufacturer.

This product uses MAGIX patent pending technology.

www.magix.com

Preface 3

Preface

With MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 you can teach your photos how to walk – or even better, how to dance! With this software your photos will become the star of an impressive multimedia show, and you're the director!

Enjoy your photos together with your family and friends on TV or on your PC. Play your pictures just like a feature film with great fades and effects as well as narration and subtitles. Add intros and outros or invent your own closing credits. In other words, turn your living room into a cinema!

Create attractive DVD menus that match the format of your slideshow: 4:3 or 16:9 for widesceen TVs or monitors. Burn your slideshow together with a high quality menu onto any current format: a playable DVD, CD-ROM, Video CD, Super Video CD, miniDVD, JPEG disc, TV Showtime DVD, multi-disc, or Blu-ray Disc.

The printed manual is only a brief introduction to the software. You can find detailed documentation as a PDF in the start menu of your MAGIX product. The electronic manual can be opened using "F1" to provide a more detailed explanation of the options, dialog boxes, menus, and program interface. Program help and the PDF manual will even guide you through the format jungle of blank discs, DVDs, Video CDs, High Definition slideshows, etc.

The term slideshow is used in MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10.

Have fun with MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10!

www.magix.com

4 Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Information on special program versions 10

System requirements 10 Serial number 11 More about MAGIX 12

MAGIX News Center 12 MAGIX Online Album 12 MAGIX Blog Service 12 MAGIX Website Maker 12 Catooh – the Online Content Library 13 MAGIX Community 13

Introduction 14

What is MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10? 14 What’s new in MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10? 14 Additional new features of the Deluxe version 16 Properties 17 Overview of the program screen 20 Keyboard shortcuts 21

Quick start 25

Disc projects, slideshows, and photos 25 Create a new slideshow with the wizard 26 Designing slideshows 28 Creating CD/DVD menus 33

Edit Fotoshow 36

Video monitor and transport control 36 Media Pool 39 Toolbar 39 Start and end markers 43 Mute sound 43 Overview mode 43 Storyboard mode 45

www.magix.com

Table of Contents 5

Timeline mode 47

Media Pool 51

Media 52 Fades 58 Title 58 Effects 58

Record 74

Audio recording 74 Connecting the source for recording 76 Adjusting the Signal Level 77 Individual Frame Capture 78

Transitions (fades) 80

Transitions in Storyboard Mode 80 Simple crossfade in Timeline Mode 81 Drag & drop onto a "hard" transition 81 3D transitions 82 3D series 84 Stereo3D transitions (Deluxe version only) 84

Effects 85

Effects in menus 85 Effects from the Media Pool 85 Optimize picture 85 Video Stabilization 85 Slideshow Maker 88 Sound optimization 91 Title editor 96 Tempo and beat recognition 100 Slideshow effects 103

Stereo3D (Deluxe version) 107

3D basics 107 Record 3D 108 Prepare 3D editing 109 Set playback mode for 3D 110 Align videos and pictures for 3D 111 Turn camera movements into 3D videos 112 Create titles for 3D videos 113 Export and burning 3D videos 113

Produce panorama pictures 114

Select pictures for panorama 114

www.magix.com

6 Table of Contents

Invert image sequence for panorama image 114

Calculating the panorama image 114 Finished panorama (2 images) 115

MAGIX Soundtrack Maker 115

Choose music style 115 Set mood change 116 Generate background music 116

General settings 117

Playback 117 Paths 118 Options 119 Display 121

Project- and slideshow-relevant settings 123

New project - Settings 123 Movie properties 124

Burn disc 124

Preview and editing 125 Menu 126 Menu templates 127 Edit disc menu 128 Edit DVD menus featuring MAGIX Photo & Graphic Designer 6 139 Burn dialog for DVD player 146 Burn WMV HD 149 Burn JPEG disc 149 Create PC show 149 Create webDVD 149

Export 150

Save slideshow as video on your computer 150 Export as 3D video (Deluxe version only) 151 Publish directly on the Internet. 152 Publish via MAGIX Online Album 153 Export for mobile device - export video/audio 154

Menus 155

File Menu 155 Edit Menu 169 Effects Menu (FX) 171 Online menu 175 Tasks menu 175 Help Menu 175

www.magix.com

Table of Contents 7

Activate additional functions 178

Free activation (MPEG 2 codec) 178 Fee-based activation (MPEG-4) 179 Activation problems 180

Problems and solutions 181

File will not load 181 Choppy or uneven playback 181 Activation problems 181

Encoder 183

Appendix: MPEG Encoder Settings 183 MPEG-4 encoder settings 187 MPEG glossary 201

Annex: Digital Video and Data Storage 208

Video Editing on the PC 208 HDTV 208 MPEG Compression 209 General notes on AVI videos 209 Capacity and quality of different disc formats 210

MAGIX services in detail 217

MAGIX Online Album 217 MAGIX Community 218 MAGIX Blog Service 219 Catooh – the Online Content Library 219 Youtube / Flickr 220

If You Still Have Questions 221

Task assistant 221 Tips for program help 221

Glossary 222 Index 237

www.magix.com

8 Support

Support

Dear MAGIX customer,

Our aim is to provide convenient, fast and solution-focused support at all times. To this end, we offer a wide range of services:

 Unlimited web support:

As a registered MAGIX customer, you have unlimited access to web support offered via the convenient MAGIX service portal on http://support.magix.net, including an intelligent help assistant, high-quality FAQs, patches and user reports that are constantly updated. The only requirement for use is product registration on www.magix.com

 The online community - on-the-spot support and a platform for exchange:

MAGIX customers have free and unlimited access to the online community at www.magix.info, which includes approx. 100,000 members and offers the opportunity to ask members questions concerning MAGIX products as well as use the search function to search for specific topics or answers. In addition to questions & answers, the knowledge pool includes a glossary, video tutorials and a discussion forum. The multiple experts, found round-the-clock on www.magix.info guarantee quick answers, which sometimes come within minutes of a question being posted.

 Email support for MAGIX products:

8 (eight) weeks of free email customer service (starting from the purchase date) is automatically included with the purchase of any new MAGIX product. MAGIX guarantees fast processing of your request and an immediate reply. Premium email support: If you experience problems after the 8 weeks of free email support have expired, you can purchase a Premium email support ticket in the MAGIX Shop for USD 12.99 | CAD 13.99 | GBP 9.99 | AUD 18.99 | ZAR 120.00 | EUR

12.99 | SEK 119.00 | NOK 99.00 | DKK 99.00. This ticket applies to a specific problem and is valid until it is solved; it is therefore not restricted to one email. Reporting evident program errors is exempt from this regulation.

Please note: To be able to use the Premium email support and free product email support via the Internet, you have to register your MAGIX product using the serial number provided. This can be found on the CD case of your installation CD or on the inside of the DVD box.

 Additional telephone service:

Besides the large number of free customer service offers, we also offer a fee-based telephone customer service.

www.magix.com

Support 9

Here you can find a summary of our technical support telephone numbers: http://support.magix.net/

Mail (Europe): MAGIX Development Support, P.O. Box 20 09 14, 01194 Dresden, Germany

Mail (North America): MAGIX Customer Service, 1105 Terminal Way #302, Reno, NV 89502, USA

Please make sure you have the following information at hand:

 Program version  Configuration details (operating system, processor, memory, hard drive, etc.),

sound card configuration (type, driver)

 Information regarding other audio software installed

MAGIX Sales Department

You can reach the MAGIX Sales Department workdays for help with the following questions and problems:

 Orders  Product consulting (pre-purchase)  Upgrade requests  Returns

Europe

Monday -

Friday, 09:00-16:00 GMT

U.K.: 0203 3189218 Denmark: 699 18149 Sweden: 0852500858 Finland: 09 31581630 Norway: 0210 30665

North America

to 4 pm EST Mon-Fri

9 am Phone: 1-305-722-5810

www.magix.com

10 System requirements

Information on special program versions

This documentation describes the full functionality of MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 Deluxe. If you are using the classic version of MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10, some special features may not be available.

System requirements

 For Microsoft® Windows® XPTM I Vista

I 7TM

Minimum configuration:

 Int

Pentium® or AMD® Athlon® 1 Ghz or higher (512 MB RAM)

 500 MB for program files, min. 1 GB for video files (5 GB recommended)  SVGA graphics card (with min. 32 MB RAM, min. resolution 1024 x 600,

16-bit high-color)

 DVD drive, 16-bit sound card, Microsoft  Creates CDs with SCSI or IDE CD-R(W) burners, DVDs with DVD-/+R(W)

burners and Blu-ray Discs

with Blu-ray burners.

 Online Services and travel route animation (uses map material from

OpenStreetMap) via Internet connection and Microsoft

compatible mouse

www.magix.com

Serial number 11

Serial number

A serial number is included with each product, and although it is not required for the installation of the software, it does enable access to additional bonus services. Please store this number in a safe place.

What can a serial number do?

A serial number ensures that your copy of MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 is clearly assigned to you and only you, and it makes improved and more targeted customer service possible. Abuse of the software can be prevented with a serial number, since it ensures that the optimum price/performance ratio continues to be offered by MAGIX.

Where can the serial number be found?

The serial number can be found on the reverse side of your CD/DVD case. If your product, for example, is packed in a DVD box, then you'll find the serial number on the inside.

For versions that have been especially optimized for the Internet (download versions), you'll receive your serial number for activating the software directly after purchasing the product via email.

When will you need the serial number?

The serial number is required when you start or register MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 for the first time.

Note: We explicitly recommend registering your product, since only then are you entitled to get program updates and contact MAGIX Support. Entering the serial number is also required for activating codecs.

www.magix.com

12 More about MAGIX

More about MAGIX

MAGIX News Center

The MAGIX News Center features links to current online tutorials and tips & tricks on the software application examples. The "News" is indicated by color according to content:

 Green indicates practical tips & tricks for the software  Yellow reports the availability of new patches and updates  Red for special offers, contests and questionnaires

If no new messages are present, the button will appear gray. When the MAGIX News Center is clicked, all of the available information will be displayed. Click the messages to reach the corresponding website.

MAGIX Online Album

MAGIX Online Album is your personal multimedia album on the Internet. If you want to present slideshows or videos online, then MAGIX Online Album is the perfect service.

MAGIX Blog Service

With MAGIX Blog Service, YOU make the news! Share your thoughts, experiences, and news with a worldwide audience in no time using your own interactive online multimedia journal. Invite family, friends, and acquaintances to join in and enter their comments! A free MAGIX Online Album belongs to the MAGIX Blog Service so that you always have full control over your contributions.

MAGIX Website Maker

MAGIX Website Maker helps you create a personal Internet showcase with a professional design in just a few mouse clicks – without prior knowledge, including your own chosen domain and email address. Publish slideshows and videos and accessorize your site with music and various effects – anything from a simple business card to a fireworks display of effects, professional or private – show your best side!

www.magix.com

More about MAGIX 13

Catooh – the Online Content Library

If your project is missing pictures, videos, DVD menus, sounds, or samples, then you should have a look at the huge selection available at Catooh. There you'll be able to buy media in excellent quality for low prices: DVD menus, Slideshow Maker styles, decorative elements, 3D power effects, 3D transition series, MAGIX Soundpools, songs, ringtones... Perfectly suited to all MAGIX photo, video, and music projects.

MAGIX Community

MAGIX Community is the place to exchange photos, videos, and music with friends and the world. As soon as you have registered for free, you can use all of its great features.

www.magix.com

14 Introduction

Introduction

What is MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10?

The name says it all: MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 puts your photos and movies onto a CD or DVD as a slideshow that can then be viewed on your PC screen or TV – Just like a movie.

The typical scenario: The hard disk is overflowing with photos from your digital camera and camera phone, more holiday, family or birthday pictures are scattered around in envelopes waiting for a scan. What to do with all those digital photos? MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 will tidy everything up, put it together, add fades, music or effects to create an exciting slideshow.

What's so special? A personal slideshow is created, perfectly arranged just like a feature film. Then you can burn it onto DVD, if desired together with other slideshows. What's so special you ask? The CD or DVD can then be played on a DVD player and viewed on TV. There are also many further possibilities to export slideshows as movie files or present them directly online.

Information on special program versions

What’s new in MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10?

New Title Editor

Titles, text, opening and end credits are now written directly in the preview monitor so that you can see exactly where your titles will be positioned right away. Click the "Title" button in the Media Pool, select a template and place it onto the track via drag & drop. You may now edit your titles in the preview window.

Completely reworked Slideshow Maker

Slideshow Maker has been heavily revised. Effects and fades can now be set and adjusted in detail. This program is accessible via "File-> Wizards -> Slideshow Maker".

www.magix.com

Creation of custom color spaces

Introduction 15

You can embed custom c

olor spaces in your slideshow. These are especially practical as chapter separators with some text. You will find the color screens in the Media Pool in the "Effects" tab under "Design => Backgrounds => Color swatches" or by pressing the wrench symbol in the toolbar.

Revised DVD menu design

The DVD menu design function has been generally revised. You can access this option directly via the "Burn" button.

Lots of new templates

Thanks to many new templates for 3D titles, DVD menus and background music, your slideshows can receive a completely new dimension. The 3-D title templates are found in the Media Pool in the "Titles" tab, and the DVD menu templates and background music in the "Burn" tab in the "Edit" view.

MAGIX Photo Manager

MAGIX Photo Manager is the perfect companion for managing your photos. Create digital photo albums and add new images with ease. MAGIX Photo Manager can be found under "File -> Supplementary programs".

Creating backgrounds

The Media Pool features useful templates for various applications. For example, there are professional backgrounds for measurements, but there are also special templates with more creative freedom and adjustable color schemes.

www.magix.com

16 Introduction

Additional new features of the Deluxe version

Even more custom design options in menu design

In the "Burn" screen you will find even more design option in the "Edit" view. Create custom menu pages and add your own menu entries.

Travel route animation

Ideal for vacation slideshows: You can display the locations of your trip on a map and connect them with a line. The travel route may then be saved as an image and integrated into the slideshow. You will find the travel route animation in the "File" menu under the "Wizards" entry.

RAW support

Many digital cameras deliver photos in uncompressed, high-resolution RAW data format. MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 supports import and editing of many RAW files. For an updated list of all compatible camera models, see www.magix.com

Optional AVCHD support

Using optional AVCHD support you can import and burn high-resolution videos incl. AC3 sound. This option has to be activated for a fee before the first use. When you import a AVCHD video into MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10, the activation process will start automatically. The burn function can be found in the "Disc selection" dialog in the "Burn" screen.

MAGIX Music Editor

MAGIX Music Editor is a full WAV editor with all necessary cutting, editing & effect functions as well as numerous import/export functions. You can open audio objects from MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 with a mouse click in the MAGIX Music Editor. There you'll be able to take advantage of lots of additional powerful tools, for example, a function for freehand drawing of waveforms. This can be used to fix the most stubborn distortions that cannot be eliminated completely using the MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 DeClicker.

www.magix.com

Properties

Importieren

Introduction 17

 Photo: JPG, BMP, GIF, TIF, PSD, MPO (3D Stereo) and much more; imports

from Kodak

Photo-CD (PCD); use animated web graphics as decorative

elements (animated GIF import)

 Video: MOV, AVI, WMV 9, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, high-resolution

AVCHD videos incl. AC3 sound and much more.

 Text: You can easily enter longer texts such as credits with any text

processing program and then save them in the universal .rtf text format . Loading such a text into MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 creates a text object.

 Audio: Imports camera sound, non-copy-protected CD tracks, MP3, OGG,

WAV, etc.; sound recording

Hint: MPEG3, AVCHD and AC-4 codecs can be used after a fee-based activation.

Exporting

Slideshows can be exported in the following formats as video files: MXV (MAGIX Video), AVI, MPEG-1/-2, Windows Media 9, Quicktime (*.MOV) and MPEG-4 (must be activated for a fee).

Please note: The MPEG-2 encoder required for the MPEG-2 export has not yet been activated. Please have your product serial number (view page 10) at hand for a free activation.

Three views

MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 provides three specialized views for especially easy editing:

 Storyboard mode (view page 44) lists several photos in sequence. Every

hoto is displayed with a preview picture in the storyboard. Choose how you

want to fade between photos from many different transition options.

 Timeline mode (view page 46) chronologically displays your photos with text

d sound elements over four tracks. The longer the representative object

an remains in the track, the longer the corresponding photo will be displayed during playback. In total, you have four tracks to arrange your photos with titles, movie sequences, and music.

www.magix.com

18 Introduction

 Overview mode (view page 43) displays all photos in multiple rows. The zoom

nction makes sure that the number of photos you want to view can be

fu viewed at the same time. Photos or photo groups can be deleted, or their order in the list can be changed.

Concentrated multimedia power

MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 provides a large number of multimedia functions that help you really get the best out of your photos and make fascinating slideshows from good photos. For example:

 Image optimization: Typical errors (exposure, color, redeye, etc.) can be

easily fixed using the "1 click" effect. Picture size and position can be corrected, for example, by increasing the size, by rotating, clipping, levelling the horizon, etc. Each editing step is non-destructive, i.e. the original photos remain the same.

 Transitions: Besides the many variations for "simple transitions" (e.g. soft

fades, black fades, page turn, wave, etc.), there are also complex transitions like picture-in-picture fades or thematic 3D fade series (gallery, photo table, notice board, etc.).

 3D effect templates to reshape subjects and have them fly through the

picture.

 1-click animations for transforming photos into videos (jumping, mosaic,

kaleidescope, etc.).

 Titles & texts: You can enter text in various fonts and colors and position

them wherever you want in the picture. Dynamic movement of the titles and texts are also possible (for opening and closing credits, for example).

 Zooms & camera movements: Zoom into picture sections, pan across the

picture!

 Decorative elements and superimposed videos with cartoons, speech

bubbles, costume accessories, frames, etc.

 Multimedia opening and closing credits with video templates including

sound, personal texts, and motifs.

 Dubbing: Theme-related background music for every occasion is included.

You can import your own CDs and MP3s directly. The integrated MAGIX Soundtrack Maker is used for quickly composing your own background music from musical templates. The recording functions enable individual spoken commentary via microphone. Multiple options for sound optimization enhance and unify all sound elements in one coherent audio track.

www.magix.com

Present & share

Introduction 19

MAGIX

PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 provides very flexible options for

presenting and sharing your slideshows. For example:

 Burn a disc: All standard disc types for playback on DVD players and PCs can

be created: Video DVD, (S)VCD, miniDVD, TV-JPEG disc.

 DVD menus: Interactive DVD menus are created automatically. Uniquely

customizable templates with intros, animated buttons, 3D titles, and music are included. When designing the menu you can directly access the motifs of your slideshow.

 TV formats: All TV formats are supported: standard (4:3), widescreen (16:9),

PAL, NTSC.

 Data archiving: Original photos and project backups can be archived to CD or

DVD, including playback software which can play the data archive immediately on any PC.

 Presentation on a free website: MAGIX Online Album and MAGIX Community

provide comprehensive options for presenting your works to the public online or just to your friends. And all of it comes for free on your own website which can be created and designed with just a few clicks.

 Integration into your own website: If you already have a website, then you

can also integrate your slideshow into it. To do so, there are a number of video formats available (e.g. WMV or Flash

Also in the Deluxe version

 More elements and templates: Transition variations, 3D fade series, 3D

effects, 1-click animations, decorative elements, opening and closing credits, movieshow themes.

 3D design & 3D animation: Freely reshape or rotate photos in front of various

backgrounds, have pictures spin through space or distort them.

 Single frame capture for video camcorders and webcams (e.g. for cartoons).  MAGIX Music Editor for detailed sound editing.  MAGIX Print Studio for CD/DVD cases, labels, photo calendars, and much

more.

 MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 for detailed image editing.  Thematic background music and dubbing sounds.  Picture-in-picture animations: Create breathtaking collages.  Interactive, high-resolution PC slideshows: Present your slideshows with

menus directly on your PC.

 Automatic volume reduction during voice-overs and speech.  Blu-ray Disc support.  and much more

www.magix.com

20 Introduction

Overview of the program screen

After starting MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 you'll see the following display:

Menu Bar (view page 154)

"Slideshow" interface (view page 36) for creating and editing your

slideshows. "Burn" interface for burning slideshows to disc.

Use "Output" dialog for all other slideshow uses.

Media Pool for navigating through the folders of your computer.

Video monitor with universal preview function so that you always see what

the effects and settings do. Video monitor transport bar

Buttons for quickly toggling between the three screens: Overview mode (view page 43), Timeline mode (view page 46), and Storyboard mode (view page 44). Arranger (Storyboard mode): All the pictures of your slideshow are shown here including preview photos.

www.magix.com

Information on special program versions

Introduction 21

This docume

ntation describes the full functionality of MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 Deluxe. If you are using the classic version of MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10, some special features may not be available.

Keyboard shortcuts

Media Pool

Delete file Del Copy file Ctrl + Ins Insert file Shift + Ins Rename file Alt + R New folder Ctrl + P Options P Help F1

Select files:

Select multiple pictures listed in sequence:

Select multiple images individually: Select all pictures in the folder: Ctrl + A

Slideshow

"Shift" + click on the first file and then click the last file in the list to be selected.

"Ctrl" + click on the corresponding pictures

Load/Save project

New project Alt + Ctrl + N Load project Ctrl + Alt + O Save project Ctrl + Alt + S Save project as... Alt + Shift + S Delete project Alt + Shift + O New slideshow Ctrl + N Load slideshow Ctrl + O Load restoration slideshow Alt + O Save slideshow Ctrl + S Save slideshow as... Shift + S Close slideshow Shift + O Delete slideshow Shift + I Burn backup copy to disc Alt + Shift + R

www.magix.com

22 Introduction

Recording

Audio recording R

Tools

Select all (not in Storyboard mode) Ctrl + A Cut Ctrl + X Copy Ctrl + C Insert Ctrl + V Undo Ctrl + Z Restore Ctrl + Y Delete Del Photo overview O

Slideshow Maker W Optimize photo Shift + X Audio cleaning Shift + W

Cut

Split object T Remove object beginning Ctrl + T Remove object end Shift + T Split slideshow Alt + T

Effects

Edit photo Shift + Y Zoom 2 Ctrl + Alt + 1 Zoom 3 Ctrl + Alt + 2 Free zoom selection Ctrl + Alt + 3 Fix image proportions Ctrl + Alt + 4 Reset cropping Ctrl + Alt + 5

Pan left -> right Ctrl + Shift + A Pan right -> left Ctrl + Shift + B Pan top -> bottom Ctrl + Alt + V Pan bottom -> top Ctrl + Shift + D

Zoom out Ctrl + Shift + E Zoom in Ctrl + Shift + F Reset movement Ctrl + Shift + G

Rotate left Ctrl + Alt + F

www.magix.com

Rotate right Ctrl + Alt + G Rotate 180 degrees Ctrl + Alt + H

Transition (length) Alt + l Apply transition to all Alt + A Random transition Alt + Z

Introduction 23

Mirror horizontally Ctrl + Alt + A Mirror vertically Ctrl + Alt + B Horizontal symmetry Ctrl + Alt + C

Vertical symmetry Ctrl + Alt + D Kaleidoscope Ctrl + Alt + E

Color shift 1/2/3 Shift + 1/2/3 Title Editor Alt + Shift + T

Reset video effects Ctrl + C Object properties Ctrl + E

Arrangement display

Switch Storyboard/Timeline mode Tab Optimize grid view Shift + B Zoom 1 frame Ctrl + 1 Zoom 5 frames Ctrl + 2 Zoom 1 sec Ctrl + 3 Zoom 10 sec Ctrl + 4 Zoom 1 min Ctrl + 5 Zoom 10 min Ctrl + 6 Zoom range from start to end marker Ctrl + 7 Zoom the entire slideshow Ctrl + 8

www.magix.com

24 Introduction

Playback and marker placement

Start/Stop playback Space bar, ↑ Stop at position (stop playback, move start marker to current position) Move start marker to the beginning Home Move end marker to the end end Slow wind left Left

Slow wind right Right Fast wind left Ctrl + Left Fast wind right Ctrl + Right Full screen playback Alt + Enter

Escape, ↓, 0 on the number pad

www.magix.com

Quick start 25

Quick start

Disc projects, slideshows, and photos

MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 allows you to work with disc projects, slideshows, and photos. In order to work quickly and intuitively, it is important to know the differences between these three hierarchically-ordered terms.

Project

A project includes everything that you want to put on your CD and DVD. This normally contains one or more slideshows and includes a menu structure/menu design which allows you to choose a slideshow later on the CD or DVD. Projects can be saved as "<Pojektdatei>" files on your hard drive and can be loaded later, e.g. to edit individual slideshows.

Slideshow

A slideshow is a multimedia presentation of photos which is played like a film. Enjoy it on a PC or TV, since it offers maximum multimedia entertainment value from your photos, videos, music, title texts, transition effects, and much more.

Any slideshow can be exported individually as a video. The "project" can be considered a type of drawer into which you can put multiple slideshows for burning to CD or DVD later.

Easily

Photos are the main component of a slideshow! Integrate photos and videos into your slideshow (provided that the corresponding video codec is installed on your system). Besides photos and videos, a slideshow also includes plenty of other elements: image titles, transitions, decorative elements, music, spoken commentary, and so on.

Summary: "Projects" contain slideshows, and slideshows contain photos. A project's slideshows appear as menu entries, photos (and videos) appear later on the CD or DVD as selectable menu entries.

www.magix.com

26 Quick start

Create a new slideshow with the wizard

The wizard helps you quickly and easily create great slideshows.

The wizard will now lead you through the steps required for creating a new project.

Note: The slideshow wizard can be opened via "File (view page 155)" in the "Wizards" submenu.

Start MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 and select "Create new project with wizard". Then confirm the selection with "OK".

Basic settings

Specify the ratio for the project. You can also determine how MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 should behave with photos that do not match the project's formatting.

t to fit screen automatically: Images that do not correspond to the project's

ratio are adjusted automatically. The zoom factor is set in such a way that there are no black bars to the left or right or top to bottom.

Project name:Give your disc project a name. This name will be used as a preset title for the disc you are going to burn. The slideshows will also be given this name.

www.magix.com

Quick start 27

Disc forma

t (capacity display): Set the disc type you prefer here. MAGIX

PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 estimates how much space a disc project will occupy on a corresponding blank disc. This display can be found below the slideshow.

Load photos

Select photos via "Load files..." that should be added to the project. "Delete" removes the selected photos from the list. The sequence of photos can be specified via drag & drop.

Display time for each photo (seconds): By default, photos are displayed for the time entered here. Of course, you can later change the time each photo is displayed.

Total length of slideshow: The approximate total length of the slideshow created is shown here. It adjusts to reflect any changes that are made.

Note: If you load more than 100 photos, the wizard will suggest creating more than one slideshow. Then, the photos will sorted according to creation date using so-called EXIF files, if present. Otherwise, the file date will be used.

Specify effects

Simply select one of the styles that best suits the theme of your slideshow. If you don't want any effects, then select the entry marked "No effects".

More information about effects settings can be found in "Slideshow Maker".

Select background music

You can select between the suggested pieces of music or one of your own by importing it into the list via "Load file(s)". If the slideshow is long enough, then all of the pieces contained in the list will be loaded into the photo one after the other. The sequence of songs can be specified via drag & drop.

Play: This button provides a preview of the selected song.

www.magix.com

28 Quick start

Remove: This deletes the selected song from the list.

Finishing a new slideshow

One click on "Finish" is enough for the wizard to create the slideshow. You now have the option to watch your slideshow before you accept it.

Manually edited slideshow: The slideshow created can be edited further however you want.

Add a DVD menu to the slideshow and burn it: MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 now switches to the "Burn" screen. The slideshow can be fitted with a DVD menu and burned to DVD.

You can now select how you would like to continue and then end the wizard.

Designing slideshows

Sorting Photos

You should also sort the slideshows correctly. A good slideshow needs a good story that develops along the image sequence including a middle section and an end as well as a dramatic tension that forms the frame for these parts.

That's easy with a holiday photo slideshow. The tension is already there. It starts with pictures of the departure and then shows pictures of your arrival at the hotel and then the first adventures ...

A good vacation comes with a natural drama that results from the chronological order of the events. This is not necessarily the case for other slideshows; in this case you should consider the order in which you would like to present the photos. The problem with sorting also depends on the purpose for which you have created your slideshow.

Sorting the photos is easy:

 Drag each photo from the photo bar and drop it on the correct position.

You can't select several photos and sort them simultaneously in the Storyboard. You should switch to Overview mode.

www.magix.com

Quick start 29

In Overview mode you can use the whole screen to sort your photos.

 Click on the top switch in the bottom left corner to open Overview

mode.

 You should maximize the overview to get the best possible overview.

 If not all photos fit into the list you can use the zoom to reduce the size of the

display:

Overview mode is the ideal view mode to arrange all photos perfectly for a slideshow. You also may select multiple photos and move them at once.

Start and end markers

The section

between the start (S) and end marker (E) above the storyboard or

the first track of the timeline will be played back in your show each time.

The start and end markers can be moved in different ways by using the mouse. You can move them to any position with drag & drop or directly with a mouse click: Left clicking in the timeline moves the start marker, and right clicking moves the end marker.

The cursor is a red vertical line which moves from left to right during playback to show the current playback position.

www.magix.com

30 Quick start

If you

want to see play back your show, press the space bar or start the

slideshow via the transport console below the preview window.

Editing slideshows

MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10 provides many different editing functions. Let's start with Storyboard mode:

Set display time: By double-clicking on the time display below the preview image you can access the input dialog where you can manually enter the display digitally or by using the slide control.

Add title and text: Titles (subtitles, opening/closing credits, for example) easily can be added to every photo by clicking on this button. Fades: The transition (fade) buttons are situated between the photos. You can now preview the available fades, try them out and see the result immediately in on the preview monitor. Picture editing: Press the "FX" button on the photo box to access the effects and image processing tools which can be used separately on each photo, e.g. optimizing image quality. Rotation: If a photo is on its side or upside down, then click on the symbol with the rotating arrow. The photo will rotate 90 degrees. You can check the effects directly on the Video Monitor.

Each preview photo has several settings for duration, fades, effects, and text.

Tip: For editing complete photo folders (as preparation for import into MAGIX PhotoStory on CD & DVD 10), we recommend MAGIX Photo Manager. This program is also installed automatically and can be used for quickly previewing and easily managing files in your database, besides image optimization.

www.magix.com

+ 222 hidden pages