University Computing & Communications Services
CREATING MOVIES WITH PINNACLE STUDIO: A STUDENT GUIDE

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

This workshop introduces you to the process of creating a digital movie. You can add transitions, effects, audio and titles to your movie using Pinnacle Studio. After this workshop, you will have a digital video file to show to your friends!

OBJECTIVES

You will learn how to: Add video to your Pinnacle Studio project. Edit your video. Add transitions, effects, audio and title slides. Create a movie from your project.

YOUR GUIDES

This guide contains images that call your attention to key features, additional steps or warnings, as described below.
Danger! You may create more work if you don't heed these warnings.

A key feature or tip.

Additional steps you may take to further your skills.
2004 California State University, Sacramento

4/1/2004

Creating Movies with Pinnacle Studio: A Student Guide
University Computing & Communication Services

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview 3 The Big Picture... 3 Preparing for Production 3 Windows Operating System.. 3 PC Hardware... 3 PC Software... 3 Digital Camcorder / Video Camera.. 3 Firewire Cable... 4 Producing a Movie 4 Storyboarding.. 4 Software Interface.. 4 Creating a Project File.. 5 Transferring Video from Your Camcorder. 5 Adding Video to Your Timeline... 7 Trimming Your Video... 8 Adding Sound Effects.. 9 Adding SmartSound Music.. 10 Adding CD Music.. 11 Adding Transitions.. 12 Adding Titles... 13 Adding Effects... 14 Adding Images or Photos.. 15 Making Your Movie... 16 Copying Your Files to CD-ROM 17

Overview

The Big Picture
The basic steps to produce a digital movie are similar to those used to create Web pages.

Preparing for Production

Creating a digital movie in this workshop requires the following equipment and software:

Windows Operating System

MS Windows 98 2nd Edition, Windows Millennium, Windows 2000 or Windows XP

PC Hardware

Direct X compatible graphics card Direct X compatible sound card 128 MB of RAM (256 recommended) CD-ROM and blank CD-R discs Speakers 300 MB of free disk space

PC Software

RealOne Player or Windows Media Player Pinnacle Studio version 8
Digital Camcorder / Video Camera
You need a camcorder (digital video camera) with a firewire port and a firewire cable to allow Pinnacle Studio to import video. MiniDV camcorders store the video images in a digital format and produce excellent video and audio quality.

Firewire Cable

Get a firewire (IEEE-1394) cable to connect your camcorder to the PC. There is typically a small end that connects to the camcorder and a larger end that connects to your computer.

Connect large end to PC

Connect small end to camcorder

Producing a Movie

Storyboarding
It is important to develop your ideas for the movie before you begin shooting. Create a storyboard that describes the story using hand sketches and notes. Index cards are an easy way to begin the storyboard process. Include a hand sketch, proposed shots and duration.

Software Interface

The key features of the Pinnacle Studio interface include: album tabs, player controls, tracks and the view selector. The image on the next page illustrates these key features.

Album tabs

Player controls

Tracks

View Selector (storyboard or timeline)

Creating a Project File

Each time you create a movie in Pinnacle Studio a project file is created. A project file holds important preference information as well as pointers to your audio, video and image files used to create your digital video file, so DO NOT delete this file. Step 1: From the File menu, select New Project. Step 2: Name and save the file. The default location is the Pinnacle Studio folder within My Documents. Verify that your computer has adequate disk space before you transfer video from the camcorder.

(Minutes of video on MiniDV tape) X 0.22 = Disk Space in GB
For example: 30 minutes x 0.22 = 6.5 GB
Transferring Video from Your Camcorder

Player

Captured video

Timecode

How many minutes can you store?
Start capture Camera controls
Transferring video from your camcorder to Pinnacle Studio is an easy process, as described on the following page.

Start Capture window:

Settings window:
Test your data rate if you problems
Step 1: Click the Capture tab in the upper left corner of the screen. Step 2: Connect the firewire cable to your camcorder and the firewire port on your PC. Step 3: Turn on your camcorder and switch to VTR (video tape recorder) mode, see your camcorder manual for instructions. After switching to VTR mode, the Timecode will appear. Step 4: Use the Camera Control buttons in Pinnacle Studio to locate the video to be captured, or use the controls on your camcorder. Step 5: Click Start Capture. Step 6: At the window prompt enter a name for the video clip and the amount of time to stop capturing. Click Start Capture to enable the video transfer. Step 7: Click the Stop Capture button to stop the transfer of video. Step 8: Repeat this process until you have imported all of your video clips.
Adding Video to Your Timeline

Show video

Storyboard view
If you transferred video from the camcorder, you should see video clips in the Video Album. Now you can begin creating your digital movie. Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Click the Edit tab in the upper left corner of the screen. Click the Show Video button. Be sure the Storyboard View is selected. Drag-n-drop clip(s) from the Video Album to the timeline. If you have your video clips in additional folders, you can find them by clicking the folder button to the right of the name of the video folder; then locate the additional folder. Step 5: To reorder clips in the timeline, drag-n-drop clips in the timeline. Step 6: Continue this process until your clips are in the proper sequence.

Trimming Your Video

Splitter

Timeline view

Scrubber
Click on right end and drag to trim
With your video clips in the timeline, you can now remove any extraneous frames. Play the movie and look for areas of improvement. After you find one, follow these steps to edit frames. Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: Step 6: Click the Timeline View button. Select a clip in the timeline by clicking it. Drag the scrubber through the video clip, looking for the frames to remove. If the frames to be removed are at the end, drag the Right End to the left. If the frames to be removed are at the beginning, drag the Left End to the right. If the frames are in the middle of the clip, move the scrubber to the beginning of the segment to be removed and click the Splitter button. Use the scrubber to locate the end of the segment to be removed and then click the Splitter button. Select the segment and click Delete on your keyboard. If you trim a clip by mistake, click the Edit menu and select Undo.

Adding Sound Effects

Sound effects
Pinnacle Studio makes adding sound easy by using a built-in sound effects library. Step 1: Click the Timeline View button. Step 2: Click the Sound Effects button. To see more sounds, click the folder button to the right of the name of the current sounds folder; then locate the additional sounds folder. Step 3: Click a sound to hear the effect. Step 4: To add a sound, simply drag-n-drop an effect to the timeline. You can edit the starting and ending points of your sound file by clicking either end of the sound file in the timeline and dragging it to the left or right. If you wish to edit the volume of the sound file, click the blue line in the middle of the audio scale and drag it up or down. You can do this multiple times to create different sound volumes at different points in the sound file.

Adding SmartSound Music

Background music

Audio toolbox

Add to Movie or Accept Changes
Pinnacle Studio includes a built-in background music generator, called SmartSound. Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: Step 6: Step 7: Click the Audio Toolbox button at the top of the Timeline View. Click the Background Music button. Select the clips in the timeline where you want the background music to play. Select a Style. Select a Song. Select a Version. Click Preview and then click Add to Movie. You can edit the starting and ending points of your sound file by clicking either end of the sound file in the timeline and dragging it to the left or right. If you wish to edit the volume of the sound file, click the blue line in the middle of the audio scale and drag it up or down. You can do this multiple times to create different sound volumes at different points in the sound file.

Adding CD Music

Choose CD track
Add background music from CD
Add to movie buttons appear here
Here is another method to add background music using an audio CD. Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: Insert your CD into your computers CD-ROM. Click the Audio Toolbox button. Click the Add Background Music from CD button. Choose a track from the dropbox. Click Add to Movie. You can edit the starting and ending points of your sound file by clicking either end of the sound file in the timeline and dragging it to the left or right. If you wish to edit the volume of the sound file, click the blue line in the middle of the audio scale and drag it up or down. You can do this multiple times to create different sound volumes at different points in the sound file.

Adding Transitions

Choose transitions from library

Transitions

A transition helps to move a story from one scene to another. Step 1: Click the Transitions button. Step 2: Select a transition to see a preview. Step 3: Drag the transition to where you want to insert it in the Storyboard View or the Timeline View. To change an existing transition, select the transition and drag the new transition over the old one.

Adding Titles

Titles help to tell your story by describing what is coming next. Here is the three-step process for adding a title. -1 Insert a title

Show titles

Step 1: Click the Show Titles button. Step 2: Choose a title. Step 3: Drag a title to the timeline.

Choose a title

Select your title to edit

Title overlay Edit title

Step 1: Double-click the title in the timeline to open the Edit window. Or Step 1: Select the title in the timeline. Step 2: Click the Video toolbox button. Step 3: Click the Title Overlay button. Step 4: Click the Edit Title button.
Video toolbox Click title

Edit your title

Choose font
Step 1: Click the title and enter your title text. Step 2: Highlight all the text. Step 3: Select a font and size from the drop-down boxes. Step 4: Choose a style. Step 5: Click OK.

Choose style

Adding Effects

Choose color type

Adjust color, add visual effect

Video toolbox

Effects can give a stylized look to a digital video. Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: Select the clip(s) to be modified in the Storyboard View or Timeline View. Click the Video Toolbox button. Click the Visual Effect button. Select a Color Type, if desired. Adjust the settings to your preference.

Adding Images or Photos

Choose image folder

Show photos

If you want a still image or photo in your digital video, follow these instructions. Step 1: Click the Show Photos button. Step 2: To select another directory, click the Choose Folder button. Step 3: Drag the image(s) or photo(s) to the Storyboard View or the Timeline View where you want them inserted. If you want a slideshow instead of a movie, just drag multiple images to the timeline.

Making Your Movie

After you completely finish editing your digital movie, you are ready to create your digital movie into one or more formats.

Make movie

Available hard drive space

Type of video

Create
Step 1: Click the Make Movie tab. Step 2: Select the type of video you want to create from your project (MPEG works well). The example image illustrates the Stream format (for streaming a video over the Internet). Step 3: Click the Settings button to customize the correct settings for your format. Enter any information necessary for that format. a. Click OK to accept your changes and close the Setup Options window. Step 4: Click the Create button. When naming your file, use lowercase characters and no spaces. Step 5: Click OK. Step 6: After the file is created, test the newly created digital video to be sure the quality is acceptable. You can do this by locating the file from Windows Explorer (or My Computer) and double-clicking on it. Remember that your computer needs to have the correct video player to view the digital video. Different settings may create different quality video, so you may need to experiment by performing all of the above steps, then go back and change the settings to create another video file in a different format.

Copying Your Files to CD-ROM
It is good practice to copy all of your Pinnacle Studio files to one or more CD-ROMs so you have a backup of your data. This allows you to edit your digital video project later without having to transfer your video again and re-create your project. Step 1: Exit Pinnacle Studio. Step 2: Insert your blank CD-R disc into the writable CD drive in your computer. Step 3: Follow the directions for your computers CD writing software to copy your files to the blank CD-ROM. a. Locate your files in the Pinnacle Studio folder within the My Documents folder. Copy the entire Pinnacle Studio folder and subfolders to your CD-ROM. b. Write the files to your CD-ROM. Note: If you open your project file directly from your CD-ROM, Pinnacle Studio may ask you to re-define the pointers to your video files. If so, browse your CD-ROM to the Captured Video folder and click on the first video file. This should correct the pointers within your project file.

Pinnacle Studio 14 Trial Installation Guide
Where to download Studio 14 Trial:

Download Trial

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/StudioTrial
Save the file (PinnacleStudio14Trial.exe) to your hard disk. Important information regarding the trial:

Learn More

http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/ search.jsp?DocId=292123

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Double-click on the downloaded file PinnacleStudio14Trial.exe to start the installation (if asked, please permit the temporary file Pin****.tmp to proceed). Setup files will be automatically extracted (this can take a moment).
Note: If you finally decide to purchase an activation to unlock your Studio 14 Trial, we recommend you to backup the downloaded file, if you need to reinstall your software. The installation files are available from C:\ProgramData\Studio14Trial

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Our Installer Welcome screen automatically opens after the extraction process. Click Studio 14 to initialize the installation of Pinnacle Studio 14 Trial. Note: In case the installer does not detect all required Windows updates on your computer, it will request to install these updates (this process can take a couple of minutes) - please follow the on-screen instructions.

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Select your language.

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You have to register your version of Studio 14 Trial. Just enter your first and last name and a valid e-mail address. You can also check the option to receive e-mails from Pinnacle/Avid as special offers. Click on Register Now to send your data (internet connection necessary).

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After registration, the installation will continue with the License Agreement. You have to accept the License Agreement to continue the installation.

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Select the destination folders to install the software. We recommend you to keep the default folders. Then you need to specify the users of the application (its recommended to select Anyone).

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After the Pinnacle Studio Trial installation is completed, you will be prompted to continue with the installation of the free plug-ins included with the Studio 14 Trial.

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Select your language to start the plug-in installation.

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Continue the installation with the License Agreement and the Setup of the application.

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Start the Application Double-click on the Pinnacle Studio 14 icon from the Desktop.
A splash screen will show the number of remaining days. Studio 14 Trial will expire after 15 days. Click the Upgrade Now link to purchase an activation key to unlock the software.

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Purchase an Activation key to unlock the software. You can either click from the Upgrade Splash screen when launching the software, or from the Help menu of Studio (Upgrade to Studio Ultimate), to unlock the software.

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Now enjoy the ultimate software for making great HD movies at home: Pinnacle Studio Ultimate!
2009 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid and Pinnacle Studio are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Made in United States. Respect Copyright. This product is intended for use with content that you own, license or obtain from the public domain. You are not licensed to use this product to violate any law, including copyright laws. Please respect the rights of copyright owners when using this product.

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