Adobe Premiere Elements Software Manual • English
Table of Contents 1 2 3 4 5 Starting and Working with Projects 1 2 2 3 3 About working with projects Starting a new project Opening an existing project Locating missing files Working with palettes and windows Capturing Video and Adding Files 4 5 5 6 9 10 Preparing your system for capture Connecting your DV camcorder to your computer Guidelines for connecting other sources Capturing video Troubleshooting DV capture problems File formats you can add to projects Editing Movies 11 12 13 16 22 26 32 About
1 Starting and Working with Projects About working with projects A project is a single Adobe Premiere Elements file that combines everything you need to create a movie, including video, audio, effects, and titles. A project stores only references to the source files that you capture or import, so you’ll want to avoid moving, renaming, or deleting your source files in Windows®.
Starting a new project In most cases, you can start a project simply by selecting New Project from the welcome screen or File menu. The default project settings reflect the standard video format for your region: NTSC for North America and Japan; PAL for Europe. You rarely need to change these settings. If your source footage is in a very unusual format, such as widescreen, you need to change the preset used for new projects.
Locating missing files Adobe Premiere Elements doesn’t store original source files in a project—it references the file name and location of each source file when you import it. If you later move, rename, or delete a source file in Windows, Adobe Premiere Elements opens the Where Is The File dialog box when you next open the project. Note: After you create the final movie, you can delete source files if you do not plan to use them in a project again.
2 Capturing Video and Adding Files Preparing your system for capture Adobe Premiere Elements includes all of the tools necessary to acquire the footage from your DV camcorder so that you can begin assembling your movie. The process, called capturing, is easy; you simply connect your DV camcorder to your computer, and then enable the Capture command in Adobe Premiere Elements. However, before you capture, it is important to make sure that your system is set up appropriately for working with digital video.
Connecting your DV camcorder to your computer To capture DV video, connect your DV camcorder to your computer by using an IEEE 1394 cable and IEEE 1394 ports. If your computer does not have a built-in IEEE 1394 port, you can purchase an IEEE 1394 card separately (see your computer’s documentation for more information). If your DV camcorder does not include an IEEE 1394 cable, you can purchase one at any computer, camera, or consumer electronics outlet. Connecting to the IEEE 1394 (FireWire/i.
Capturing video Use the Capture window to monitor the video and access all of the capture commands. This window includes a video preview area, recording controls, a disk-space indicator, and a timecode display. From the Capture window menu, accessed when you click the More button, you can view and edit your current capture settings. You open the Capture window by clicking the Capture button in the task bar. You can also open it from the welcome screen, which appears when the application opens.
If you are capturing select scenes from the tape, as opposed to capturing the entire tape, capture at least three seconds of additional footage (called handles) at both the beginning and end of the capture to ensure a margin of error during capture. Handles also allow for cleaner transitions and more flexibility when you trim your clips. To capture video: 1 Connect the DV camcorder to your computer by using an IEEE 1394 connection. The connection point on your camcorder may be marked DV IN/OUT, i.
Capturing clips without using device control If you do not have a device that can be controlled by Adobe Premiere Elements, you can capture video manually. You can manually operate both the playback device controls and the Capture window controls in Adobe Premiere Elements. To capture a clip with a noncontrollable device: 1 Make sure that the deck or camcorder is properly connected to your computer. 2 Click the Capture button in the task bar.
Navigating to a specific timecode Timecode represents the location of the frames in a video. Camcorders record timecode onto tape. The timecode is based on the number of frames per second (fps) that the camcorder records and the number of frames per second that the video displays upon playback. Digital video has a standard frame rate that is either 29.97 fps for NTSC video (the U.S. television standard) or 25 fps (the European television standard).
File formats you can add to projects Your choice of footage to include in your movie is not limited to the clips that you capture. You can also use any number of other image, video, or audio files that reside on your computer. You only need to add them to your Adobe Premiere Elements project to begin working with them.
3 Editing Movies About editing a movie Typically when editing a movie, you’ll initially create a rough cut—a complete yet relatively crude version of the movie. You arrange the scenes of your movie in the Timeline window. The Timeline window uses tracks and a time ruler to display the components of your movie and their relationship to each other over time. It contains two default tracks for video and still images, and two default tracks for audio. You can add additional tracks at any time.
Working with the Monitor window You view individual clips or the assembled movie in the Monitor window. The full duration of a clip or movie is represented graphically by the time ruler in the Monitor window. A blue triangle called the current-time indicator marks the location of the current frame within the clip or movie. Depending upon whether you are viewing an individual clip or a movie, the ruler may also display markers and indicate the In and Out points of a clip.
Working with the Timeline window You arrange the clips of your movie in the Timeline window. Adobe Premiere Elements lets you customize the Timeline window for your project. You can zoom in and out of the Timeline window, change how the clips appear in the tracks, and resize the tracks and the header area. Moving through a movie in the Timeline window The Timeline window’s current-time indicator , a blue triangle in the time ruler, corresponds with the frame displayed in the Monitor window’s Timeline view.
Adjusting the zoom level of the Timeline window The zoom controls in the Timeline window let you change the scale of the time ruler and view the tracks in more or less detail. A B C Timeline window zoom controls A Zoom-Out button B Zoom slider C Zoom-In button To display the Timeline window in more detail: Drag the Zoom slider to the right, or click the Zoom In button . To display more of the movie in the Timeline window: Drag the Zoom slider to the left, or click the Zoom Out button .
Displaying thumbnail images across the duration of the clip gives you a sense of the progression of the clip. However, do not confuse the boundary between thumbnails as the actual boundary between frames. Think of the thumbnails as a storyboard or sketch of the clip’s content. To select a track’s display style: Click the Set Display Style (video) or (audio) button at the left corner of the track. Each time you click, the track’s display style toggles to a different view.
Adding clips to a movie By default, when you capture video, Adobe Premiere Elements adds the video automatically to the Timeline window. You can also drag video, still images, or audio clips from the Media window directly to the desired track and location in the Timeline window, or you can use the Create Slideshow command to place a group of clips into a movie. You place video and still images on the video tracks and audio clips on audio tracks.
Clips after default insertion (top), and after Alt-drag insertion to target track (bottom). Notice second audio track unaffected by Alt-drag insertion. To insert a clip into a movie, shifting all tracks: Do one of the following: • Drag the clip from the Media window or Clip view of the Monitor window to the desired location in the Timeline window. When the pointer changes to the Insert icon , release the mouse.
To overlay a clip in the movie: Do one of the following: • Ctrl-drag the clip from the Media window or Clip view of the Monitor window to the first frame you want to overlay. When the pointer changes to the Overlay icon , release the mouse. • Move the current-time indicator to the first frame you want to overlay, select the clip in the Media window, then choose Clip > Overlay.
To add clips using Create Slideshow: 1 (Optional) If you want the media placed at specific points in the movie, add unnumbered markers to the Timeline window. 2 (Optional) In the Media window, open the folder containing the clips or images, click the Icon button at the bottom of the Media window, and then arrange the media in the order you want it to appear in the movie or slideshow. 3 Select the clips you want to add to the movie either by Ctrl-clicking them or by dragging a selection marquee around them.
Apply Default Transition Places the default transition (initially set to Cross Dissolve) at each edit (cut). Transition Duration Specifies the duration of the transitions when Apply Default Transition is selected. A pop-up menu lets you set the units to frames or seconds. Changing the default transition used for Create Slideshow command The Create Slideshow command optionally applies transitions between each clip it places.
3 Add the clip to the movie by using one of the following techniques: • To insert a clip into a movie, shifting aside clips on other tracks as well, drag the clip to the desired location in the Timeline window. • To insert the clip, shifting clips only in the target and linked tracks, Alt-drag the clip to the desired location in the Timeline window. • To overlay a clip in the movie, Ctrl-drag the clip to the first frame you want to overlay.
Trimming frames from a clip There are several ways to build a movie, but all of them involve selecting the portions of source clips you want to include. You rarely use an entire clip. In and Out points define the first and last frame of the clip. Setting In and Out points does not actually delete frames, but instead marks what portion of the clip you want included in the movie. They serve as a window over the entire clip. You can move them as needed and regain the frames you trim.
Timeline window during (above) and after (below) trimming. Gray triangle in corner of clip disappears when you trim. For linked clips (video that includes a soundtrack), dragging the edge of one, changes the In or Out points of both clips. Sometimes you want to trim linked clips independently in order to create split edits (also known as L-cuts and J-cuts). Pressing Alt when you trim allows you set the In and Out points of the video and audio separately.
Trimming frames from linked audio and video separately At times, you may want the audio to begin before the video or to extend after the video into the next clip (or vice versa). Trimming linked audio and video separately is called a split edit. Usually, when you split edit one clip, it requires that you split edit the adjacent clip so they don’t overlap each other. You can create two kinds of split edits: • A J-cut, or audio lead, in which audio starts before linked video.
Retrieving trimmed frames When you trim frames from a clip, you’re actually just setting an In or Out point, which indicates the portion of the original clip that you want in the movie. All trimmed frames remain available. You can regain any frames you trim by resetting the In or Out points again in either the Timeline window or the Clip view of the Monitor window. It is important to note that when a clip is already placed in a movie, you cannot move the In or Out point past the edge of an adjacent clip.
To remove In and Out points from a source clip: 1 Double-click the source clip in the Media window to open it in the Monitor window. 2 Choose Marker > Clear Clip Marker, and choose an option in the submenu: • In and Out resets both the In and Out point. • In resets the In point only.
Selecting a range of clips by dragging a marquee Rearranging clips in the Timeline window You can easily rearrange clips in the Timeline window by dragging. By using the same techniques you use to add a clip, you can choose to insert or overlay clips when you move them. To move a clip and insert it so all tracks shift after insertion: In the Timeline window, drag the clip to the desired location. When the pointer changes to the Insert icon , release the mouse.
To copy and paste one or more clips: 1 Select one or more clips in the movie, or to select only the audio or video of linked clips, Alt-click the desired clip. 2 Choose Edit > Copy. 3 In the Timeline window, position the current-time indicator at the point you want to paste. 4 Do one of the following: • To overlay the clips and replace existing footage on the track, choose Edit > Paste. • To insert the pasted clips and shift existing footage, choose Edit > Paste Insert.
To view the total duration of selected clips: 1 Make sure that the Info palette is visible. If not visible, choose Window > Info. 2 In either the Media window or Timeline window, select the desired clips. The Info palette displays the number of items selected and the total duration of those items. You can view the duration of a single clip in a tool tip by positioning the cursor over a clip in the Timeline window.
To remove a clip and close the resulting gap (ripple delete): To remove entire clips, select one or more clips in the movie, and choose Edit > Ripple Delete, or press the Backspace key. To delete a single clip of a linked pair, Alt-select the clip you want to delete, and then choose Edit > Ripple Delete, or press the Backspace key. To remove clips and leave a gap: To remove entire clips, select one or more clips in the movie, and choose Edit > Clear.
To split a single clip or multiple clips: 1 In the Timeline window, click the Razor tool , and then do one of the following: • To split a single clip or linked clips, click the point in the track where you want to split the clip or clips. • To split only the video or audio portion of a linked clip, Alt-click the point in the track where you want to split the clip. • To split the clips across all tracks, Shift-click the point in the track where you want to split the clips.
To automatically synchronize clips that were moved out of sync: 1 In the Timeline window, right-click the offset number of the clip you want to move or adjust. 2 Choose either Move Into Sync or Slip Into Sync from the context menu that appears. The clip you right-click moves or adjusts to align with the other clip, which remains in place.
4 Drag the edge of the clip, increasing its length to slow it down, or shortening it to speed it up. (When slowing down a clip, you cannot stretch it past the edge of an adjacent clip.) Changing clip speed by using the Time Stretch tool Because you cannot stretch a clip past the edge of an adjacent clip, it is sometimes easier to drag the clip to the end of the movie and adjust it there. When you are satisfied with its speed, simply drag it back into position in the movie.
4 Creating DVDs About creating DVDs DVDs are a great way to share your video with family and friends. You can create auto-play DVDs or menu-based DVDs in Adobe Premiere Elements. Auto-play DVDs begin playing when inserted into a DVD player, where as menu-based DVDs initially display a menu, so your viewers can select what they want to view. Menu-based DVDs let you break long videos into either scenes or separate movies.
Working with DVD markers Once you have finished editing your movie, you can add DVD markers to mark movies, chapters, scenes, and stop points in the DVD. Adobe Premiere Elements creates the DVD menus based on the DVD markers. Note: Do not confuse DVD markers with clip markers and timeline markers. Although they all mark locations within the clip or movie, Adobe Premiere Elements uses DVD markers to link buttons on DVD menus. Clip markers and timeline markers help you position and trim clips.
Understanding DVD Main Menu Markers You manually place DVD Main Menu Markers to indicate the beginning of each movie that you want listed on the main menu of your DVD. If the Main Menu template you select contains extra buttons (buttons other than the Play Movie or Scenes buttons), those buttons will link to the Main Menu Markers and play from each marker until reaching a Stop Marker or the end of the media in the Timeline window.
Adding Scene Markers automatically The Auto-Generate DVD Markers command places DVD Scene Markers for you. It gives you three placement options: at each scene, at a specified interval, or at an interval determined by the number of markers you specify. When placing at each scene, the command sets a Scene Marker at the edit point (cut) between each clip on the Video 1 track. You get the best results when each scene in your movie is a separate clip, and all the clips you want marked are on the Video 1 track.
Adding DVD markers manually When you manually add markers, you can name them as you place them. The name you choose appears as the label for a button in the main menu or scenes menu. On some templates, the menu buttons include thumbnail images of the video to which they are linked. By default, the thumbnail displays the frame visible at the position of the marker. However, the default frame does not necessarily represent the best frame for a button.
6 Click OK. Adobe Premiere Elements adds the marker to the Timeline window underneath the time ruler. A Main Menu Marker is blue; a Scene Marker is green. To add a Stop Marker: 1 In the Timeline window, move the current-time indicator to the end of the video or scene. 2 Click the Set DVD Marker button (just left of the time ruler). 3 In the DVD Marker dialog box, select Stop Marker from the Marker Type menu and click OK.
Deleting DVD markers You can delete individual DVD markers or clear all markers from the Timeline window at once. If you have edited your movie since you first selected DVD menu templates, you may find it is easier to delete all the markers at once, rather than drag them to new positions. Note: If you have already selected a DVD template, deleting a DVD marker also deletes the button associated with the marker from the main menu or scenes submenu.
Choosing menu templates for the DVD Once you have set the DVD markers for your DVD, you are ready to select the DVD menu template. When choosing a template, don’t worry if the menu doesn’t have enough menu buttons to match each DVD marker in the movie. Adobe Premiere Elements creates additional menus as needed. Once you select a template, the button text on the menus changes to the names you’ve given the DVD markers.
8 (Optional) After you choose a template in the DVD Layout window, you can customize the menu, preview the DVD, or burn the DVD. Customizing the menu template for your project You can change the menu titles, the button text, and the button thumbnail in the DVD Layout window. When you change button text, you change the name of the DVD marker to which it is linked as well. It is important to not make the button text or title text too long, otherwise the buttons could overlap.
Deleting a button on a menu After you select the DVD template, you can delete any of the Main Marker or Scene buttons. Because the buttons are tied directly to the DVD markers, deleting a button requires deleting the marker that generated it. You can access the DVD Marker dialog box directly from the menu, which allows you to delete the marker and button at the same time. Once you delete the marker, Adobe Premiere Elements removes the button from the menu.
Switching to different DVD menu templates If you decide you do not like your choice of DVD menu, you can easily change to a different template. While you will lose any changes you made to the menu titles, changes you made to button text is not lost. (When you edit button text, you actually change the name of the DVD marker, and the new marker name is used when generating the new menus.
Creating an auto-play DVD An auto-play DVD contains no menus. Instead, it plays automatically when you insert the DVD into a DVD player. Although it has no menus, you can set DVD markers so that the Next and Previous buttons on the DVD remote control jump to specific points in the movie. Because an auto-play DVD does not distinguish between Main Menu Markers and Scene Markers, you can add either for use by the Next and Previous buttons. Note: Auto-play DVDs ignore Stop Markers.
About burning a DVD If a compatible DVD burner is connected to your computer, you can create a DVD directly from Adobe Premiere Elements. You can play the DVDs that you create in either a TV DVD player or a computer DVD player. Adobe Premiere Elements creates DVDs that conform to DVD-video format. (It does not create data or audio DVDs.) Supported media Adobe Premiere Elements supports single-layer, 4.7 GB discs of the following type: DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, and DVD-RW.
Burning a DVD Once you have previewed your DVD and are satisfied that it is complete, you are ready to burn the project to a DVD disc. Make sure that the DVD disc you’ve selected is compatible with both your DVD burner and with the DVD player in which you plan to play the DVD. Also, be aware that you must have enough available hard disk space to accommodate the complete compressed DVD files, as well as any scratch files created during export.
5 Exporting Movies Recording your movie to videotape You can record your edited movie onto tape from directly within Adobe Premiere Elements. If you are recording to a DV camcorder, you can conveniently and precisely control your camcorder’s record functionality directly from your computer by using device control, which is built in to Adobe Premiere Elements.
5 Click and hold the Export button in the task bar, and then choose To Tape. 6 In the Export to Tape dialog box, select options as desired. For information on available options, see “Export To Tape options” on page 218. 7 Do one of the following to begin recording: • If you are using a DV camcorder or other device that Adobe Premiere Elements can control, click Record.
Exporting video for hard disk playback The video you edit in the Timeline window is not available as an independent video file until you export it. After export, you can play it in other video playback or editing programs and move it to other disks or platforms. You can also export from the Monitor window, and you can specify a range of frames to export.
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