Computer Graphics Survey

Editing Digital Video

Using Premiere 4.2 on MacOS Computers

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Before beginning the project

Tutorial Goals

• After using Premiere's video recording features in our previous session, we will now use its editing capabilities to assemble a finished movie from the raw footage and other elements. First we verify the program settings, then we proceed to:
  • Create a title card (a full-screen image with type).
  • Import the title and video clips (separate motion picture segments), and combine them on a timeline.
  • Add a transition (a special effect which gradually reveals a new shot) between the title and the opening of the video.
  • Output the edited video as a second QuickTime file with settings appropriate to use on the web.
• The final step is to edit the HTML file for your web page, adding a link to the completed video file.
• As before, you will find familiar features in this program, helping you to guess function and operation. The Title window has many of the standard facilities of drawing programs; the Project window displays a visual list of the elements to be edited (like the Cast window in Director); and the Construction window offers a timeline on which to arrange those same elements (similar to the Score window in Director).

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Initial Setup

• Unlike video recording, which requires special hardware, video editing can be accomplished (for small files) on any reasonably fast computer. You can therefore use any of the computers in the lab. To set up their configuration:
  • Use Apple-->Control Panels-->Extensions Manager, choose the General Use set.
  • Special-->Restart.
  • Use the Control Strip to switch display to thousands of colors.
• Find and re-open the Premiere application.
  • In the New Project Presets dialog, choose 'Presentation - 160x120'.

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Create Title Card

• Use File-->New-->Title to open the Title window.
  
  • This is a drawing program built into Premiere, with features and tools not unlike the ones we saw in other graphics programs (PageMaker, Illustrator, etc.)
  • The dotted boxes at the margin of the blank document are the title-safe and action-safe areas, which are only relevant to work done for TV. The boxes will not appear in the final version, however, and they may be useful to help position your title.
    
• Use Windows-->Title Window Options to bring up the Title Window Options dialog.
  
  • Fill in the frame size (160 W x 120 H)
  • To choose a different background color, click on the box below 'Background' to bring up a color picker dialog.
    
    • Click on the color you want.
      
• Now enter and format the text of your title. Remember to make it legible by using uncomplicated typefaces at the largest size possible.
  • Choose the Type tool ('T') in the toolbox
    
  • Click anywhere in the document area. A white box and a flashing insertion bar will appear. Start entering text at the keyboard.
    
  • To reposition the title block, click inside it with the Arrow tool, then drag it to a new location.
    
  • To resize the title block, click on one of the handles at its edges with the Arrow tool, then drag.
    
  • To format the type, click on it to select it, then:
    • Use the commands in the Title and Font menus. The same formatting applies to all the text in the same block.
      
    • Choose new colors in the color picker, brought up by clicking on the color swatches.
      
    • Change the transparency of the type with the Opacity pop-up sliders.
      • Make the type opaque by dragging the slider up.
        
      • Make the type see-through by dragging the slider down.
        
    • Change gradient direction by clicking on one of the arrowheads surrounding the gradient preview.
      
    • Modify the drop shadow by dragging on the shadow preview ('T' at the bottom of the toolbox).
      
      • You can also change the settings in the Title-->Shadow submenu.
      • A drop shadow is often helpful to increase the separation between the background and the type.
• Optionally, you can explore the simple drawing tools available in the Toolbox to add other elements to the title card besides type.
  • The Polygon tool can be used to crate arbitrary shapes with straight edges. The shaded right half of the tool icon in the toolbox lets you draw filled shapes; the left half is for drawing the outline of the shape only.
    
• While the Title window is still active (in front of other windows), use File-->Save to save your work to a Premiere Title file.
• Close the Title window.

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Import and Sequence Elements

• Make a folder on the hard drive, then copy into it the title file you just created, and the video recording.
  • This is important because Premiere needs plenty of space for temporary files, and plenty of speed--both unavailable on a floppy disk.
• In Premiere, click on the Project window to make it active, then use File-->Save to save your project file to the same folder on the hard drive.
  • The Project file contains information on the whereabouts of all elements, and their placement on the timeline.
• Use File-->Import-->File to open the Title file.
  • Repeat the Import procedure for the video recording file.
  • Both will appear as clips in the Project window.
    
• Premiere needs to know when, and for how long, each element will appear in the final video. This is indicated by dragging each item from the Project window to an appropriate location in the Construction window.
  • Drag the title from the project window to the first Video channel (the shaded band at the top of the Construction window), and position it so that its thumbnail is flush with the left edge of the window.
  • Drag the video recording to the second Video channel (the second shaded band from the top), positioned some distance away from the left edge (look at the ruler at the top of the window to position its first thumbnail approximately at the 1 second mark).
    • Because of the delays in web playback, there is no need for a long 'hold' on the title card.
  • Extend the duration of the title so it overlaps by about one second the beginning of the video recording:
    
    • Make sure the Arrow tool at the bottom-left of the window is selected.
    • Point to the right edge of the title's thumbnail. The cursor shape will change to a bar with two horizontal arrows.
    • Click and drag to stretch the title to the appropriate length.
• You have now assembled a simple video. A Preview window lets you see what your work looks like so far.
  • Extend the yellow band at the top of the window (the preview area) to encompass all your elements.
  • Use Project-->Preview to start playback.

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Add a Transition

• Transitions let you replace the abrupt change from title to video (a jump cut) with a visual effect (such as a wipe).
• Click on the Transitions window to activate it.
  • The thumbnails for each effect will animate, previewing the result of using that transition to go from image A to image B.
• Scroll to find the transition you prefer, for instance Zoom.
  • Drag the transition thumbnail to the Transition channel (the one between the two shaded Video channels) in the Construction window, positioning it right where title and video recording overlap.
    
    • Premiere will automatically size the duration of the transition to match the amount of overlap.
• Use Project-->Preview again (or press the Enter key on the numeric keypad) to see the revised version of your video.

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Output Edited Video

• Save your edited project (you will need it again for any modifications): File-->Save.
• Use Make-->Movie to generate the final version of your edited video.
  • In the dialog box that appears, enter the filename in the format:
    sample_s.mov
    using your last name and first name initial. Click in turn on the two buttons at the bottom of the dialog to display the settings dialogs.
    • Output Options: output entire project as QuickTime movie. Video (checked): size 160 x 120, full-size frame. Audio (checked): rate 11 kHz, 8 bit mono, 1/2 second blocks. Check 'Optimize Stills' and 'Flatten'. Click 'OK'.
    • Compression: match the settings used for recording (Cinepak, Millions of Colors, 10 frames per second). Set the quality slider to High (you may need to repeat the process with a lower quality setting if the finished movie turns out to be too large). Click 'OK'.
    • When done with all the settings, click 'OK' in the Save Movie dialog to start outputting the file that you will use in your web page.

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Edit HTML to Link to Video

• In your .html file, add the following link link so viewers can call up your video:
  <A HREF="sample_s.mov">Click here to see my video</A>
  replacing sample_s.mov with the actual name of your .mov file, and Click here to see my video with whatever text you want viewers to click on.
• Before leaving, make sure to use File-->Save to update your project, then quit Premiere and dispose appropriately of your files:
  • The Premiere project and your source files (the original video recording and the title card) are needed if you want to make changes to your edits at a later time.
  • The .mov file and the revised .html file can be posted on the web.
  • The folder of preview files that Premiere creates can be tossed out.

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Notes

External Link

• We are creating a hyperlink that will bring up the movie separately from our main web page.
• While it is possible to embed the movie in the web page, it is best to avoid having multiple plugins loaded for the same page. Our main page already requires the Shockwave plugin to display the animation, while the video requires a separate QuickTime plugin.

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On ACG Lab computers, the program Premiere is on the hard drive, inside the Video folder.

After completing this step of the project, follow the instructions from previous sessions to log on to the file server 'ACG' and to locate the drop folder in the class folder. Drag both the updated version of your HTML file and your output video file (.mov) to the drop folder. Before leaving, make sure to copy your Premiere project and title files back to your floppy disks.

The complete manual for Premiere, in Acrobat format, is available on the 'GX' lab file server, in the Manuals folder inside GX.SYS.

The Art Computer Graphics program of Fullerton College offers a class covering video in detail, ACG66-Multimedia Video. Look it up in the class schedule.

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