There is a flow in video editing and The Roxio Suite is based on that assumption. It is assumed you will think things out ahead of time then:
Edit and Save in VideoWave
Open MyDVD and add those VW Projects
Save and Burn your MyDVD Project
There are some 'Wizards' or Express programs that will do these steps but you will notice none of the Gurus here use them??? They have shortcomings such as a lack of flexibility and features. In the end you will be far better off to just learn to use the main full featured programs before you paint yourself into a corner…
There are 2 programs that will carry the bulk of the workload:
Home app = Video – Movies ~ Edit and Transfer ~ Video – Advanced
VideoWave is your editor. It is the place where you do all of the tricks to your projects. Delete bad parts, lighten/darken segments, add transitions between still pictures, overlays, audio. In short here is where you do all of the things that make a movie or slideshow pleasant and interesting to watch.
Home app = Video – Movies ~ Create ~ Create DVDs - Advanced
MyDVD is an Authoring program. It is where you make the interface to your project that your users will select from and where you will Burn your project. Even if you don't want a Menu, this is still where you assemble a No Menu project. You can set up an Introduction, dazzle users with your awesome menu choices, set the Chapters in a project (with or without chapter menus) and Burn it to a DVD.
Editorial: Don't spill a lot of creative juices in here. People don't remember the Play Button, they remember the contents…
I am going to assume that you are basically aware of how to use these programs… There are other How To postings for that as well as documentation. The focus here is on your workflow and strategy.
There is a great advantage to using VW to do all the editing. If you Save or Save As in VW, your files are saved as Project.dmsm. Rare, will you ever want or need to Output As from VW… It does have its' place but not for making a DVD Movie.
The VW Project.dmsm file is like a series of notes as to what the project will look like. None of the original video clips, pictures or audio clips are actually in that file, nor are they altered in any way…
You can have a 1 hour video clip, and can hack it down to 10 seconds. Save and use it as a Project.dmsm file but your original 1 hour clip will be untouched!
That means you could use parts of the same video clip in several projects through the years because it is never altered.
Downside is that the dmsm file knows where the original clip is, so all of the things used in the project must stay in the same place! Actually you can browse to the new location but it is best to keep things in one place. (There is a Tip on Portability that explains this in more detail) - Here
But if you use a clip, then delete the clip, it is gone forever. It is not saved in the Project.dmsm file!
Once you have your Project file or files just the way you want them, close VW and proceed on to MyDVD.
MyDVD is where we will build a user interface, if we want one, add an Introduction movie, make Menu and Sub-Menu buttons and add chapters…
Recall what I said before about getting too creative here. MyDVD has some shortcomings when it comes to making major edits in a project. In many cases you will find that you cannot change something or it will be easier to scrap the old and start a New project.
Keep in mind, the last few commercial movies you rented. How long did you and family sit in awe watching the menu repeat itself every 20 seconds? People want to see your movie/slides not be subjected to a Video Waterboarding Torture!!!
Now some who make video documentation will be faced with a very complex menu system. For you folks there should defiantly be a whiteboard in your room where you can sketch out everything ahead of time! For the rest of us…
The Project.dmsm file can be added to MyDVD either as an individual Menu Button or multiple dmsm files can be place under the same Menu Button.
Of course you will want to save from time to time which creates a MyDVD Project.dmsd file. Like the VW file this too is a series of notes and locations and does not contain one drop of video or pictures…
From here it is assumed you Burn a disc and everyone goes home happy…
The problems start when you need to go back and rework something in the project.
MyDVD allows you to "edit" and it looks just like VideoWave, but it is not and has serious pitfalls!
Any edits done in MyDVD will not show up in the VW dmsm file! Nor can you save a VW dmsm file while in MyDVD editor. Actually other programs I have used do not even allow any edits when in the Authoring equivalent of MyDVD. They force you to exit and return to the Editor.
Going back to the editor (VW) is a good way to do it but Roxio has a flaw in doing it that way too! After you save a MyDVD dmsd file, any edits made to a VW dmsm file will never show up in MyDVD!!!
Recap: Edit in MyDVD and the edits don't show up in VW project files! Edit in VW and the changes never show up in MyDVD projects!
But there is a way…
It is a backdoor approach to force MyDVD into loading a VW dmsm file that has been edited after the MyDVD project was started. The trouble with any backdoor approach is that some bright programmer may come along and notice that the door is ajar and fix it!
We will go through a project to demonstrate these concepts and show you the backdoor.
The project will consist of 2 slideshows with 3 pictures in each and one movie consisting of 2 short video clips.
We will build this in VW then MyDVD. Then we will realize that we want to add 3 more slides into the first slideshow! It is a very big complex project (use your imagination here) and trashing it to start over is not an option.
First thing I will do is create a Folder on my C:\ called Flow
Within it I have added 2 more folders, Pictures and Video. In those sub-folders I will place all of the video clips and pictures that I am going to use in this project. (since I may want to use them in other projects, I copied them to this location)
I create my first slideshow in VideoWave and save it as Slides One.dmsm:
Then I create my the second slideshow, Slides Two.dmsm:
Lastly I create my the video clip and save it as Video One.dmsm:
Now my project folder is showing the 3 dmsm files:
I close VideoWave and open MyDVD. Using the Add/New Movie button 3 times, I add the VW dmsm files in the order I want them to be presented:
Of course I am saving the MyDVD project along the way as Flow.dmsd:
Now I burn my DVDs and present them to family and friends and I am proud as a peacock!!! Then I am crushed to learn that I have left out 3 very important pictures in the first slideshow!
I open VideoWave with the Slides One.dmsm and painlessly add the missing slides, save and exit:
Start MyDVD open the Flow.dmsd project. Right Click on the Slides One menu button and select Edit Movie.
Of course nothing has changed here still only 3 pictures present. Now for the Backdoor! I delete the 3 pictures and select the Add Photo/Video button. I browse my way to Flow folder if necessary and type in the full filename, Slides One.dmsm. It must be the full name including extension to work.
It forces MyDVD to use the new VW dmsm file but it will look funny in either Timeline
or Storyline view.
At this point select the Back to MyDVD button and save the MyDVD project. It will now use the modified Slides One.dmsm whenever you open it.
One of the last thing I do in a MyDVD project is set chapters. If you are not doing chapter menus it works better, in my opinion, if you wait until you have everything set the way you want it.
I will leave this post Open for a time so that there may be discussion. However this area is not for troubleshooting problems and posts that are not in line with this subject matter will be moved to another area.
Question
Jim_Hardin
Video Workflow Strategy
There is a flow in video editing and The Roxio Suite is based on that assumption. It is assumed you will think things out ahead of time then:
There are some 'Wizards' or Express programs that will do these steps but you will notice none of the Gurus here use them??? They have shortcomings such as a lack of flexibility and features. In the end you will be far better off to just learn to use the main full featured programs before you paint yourself into a corner…
There are 2 programs that will carry the bulk of the workload:
Home app = Video – Movies ~ Edit and Transfer ~ Video – Advanced
VideoWave is your editor. It is the place where you do all of the tricks to your projects. Delete bad parts, lighten/darken segments, add transitions between still pictures, overlays, audio. In short here is where you do all of the things that make a movie or slideshow pleasant and interesting to watch.
Home app = Video – Movies ~ Create ~ Create DVDs - Advanced
MyDVD is an Authoring program. It is where you make the interface to your project that your users will select from and where you will Burn your project. Even if you don't want a Menu, this is still where you assemble a No Menu project. You can set up an Introduction, dazzle users with your awesome menu choices, set the Chapters in a project (with or without chapter menus) and Burn it to a DVD.
Editorial: Don't spill a lot of creative juices in here. People don't remember the Play Button, they remember the contents…
I am going to assume that you are basically aware of how to use these programs… There are other How To postings for that as well as documentation. The focus here is on your workflow and strategy.
There is a great advantage to using VW to do all the editing. If you Save or Save As in VW, your files are saved as Project.dmsm. Rare, will you ever want or need to Output As from VW… It does have its' place but not for making a DVD Movie.
The VW Project.dmsm file is like a series of notes as to what the project will look like. None of the original video clips, pictures or audio clips are actually in that file, nor are they altered in any way…
You can have a 1 hour video clip, and can hack it down to 10 seconds. Save and use it as a Project.dmsm file but your original 1 hour clip will be untouched!
That means you could use parts of the same video clip in several projects through the years because it is never altered.
Downside is that the dmsm file knows where the original clip is, so all of the things used in the project must stay in the same place! Actually you can browse to the new location but it is best to keep things in one place. (There is a Tip on Portability that explains this in more detail) - Here
But if you use a clip, then delete the clip, it is gone forever. It is not saved in the Project.dmsm file!
Once you have your Project file or files just the way you want them, close VW and proceed on to MyDVD.
MyDVD is where we will build a user interface, if we want one, add an Introduction movie, make Menu and Sub-Menu buttons and add chapters…
Recall what I said before about getting too creative here. MyDVD has some shortcomings when it comes to making major edits in a project. In many cases you will find that you cannot change something or it will be easier to scrap the old and start a New project.
Keep in mind, the last few commercial movies you rented. How long did you and family sit in awe watching the menu repeat itself every 20 seconds? People want to see your movie/slides not be subjected to a Video Waterboarding Torture!!!
Now some who make video documentation will be faced with a very complex menu system. For you folks there should defiantly be a whiteboard in your room where you can sketch out everything ahead of time! For the rest of us…
The Project.dmsm file can be added to MyDVD either as an individual Menu Button or multiple dmsm files can be place under the same Menu Button.
Of course you will want to save from time to time which creates a MyDVD Project.dmsd file. Like the VW file this too is a series of notes and locations and does not contain one drop of video or pictures…
From here it is assumed you Burn a disc and everyone goes home happy…
The problems start when you need to go back and rework something in the project.
MyDVD allows you to "edit" and it looks just like VideoWave, but it is not and has serious pitfalls!
Any edits done in MyDVD will not show up in the VW dmsm file! Nor can you save a VW dmsm file while in MyDVD editor. Actually other programs I have used do not even allow any edits when in the Authoring equivalent of MyDVD. They force you to exit and return to the Editor.
Going back to the editor (VW) is a good way to do it but Roxio has a flaw in doing it that way too! After you save a MyDVD dmsd file, any edits made to a VW dmsm file will never show up in MyDVD!!!
Recap: Edit in MyDVD and the edits don't show up in VW project files! Edit in VW and the changes never show up in MyDVD projects!
But there is a way…
It is a backdoor approach to force MyDVD into loading a VW dmsm file that has been edited after the MyDVD project was started. The trouble with any backdoor approach is that some bright programmer may come along and notice that the door is ajar and fix it!
We will go through a project to demonstrate these concepts and show you the backdoor.
The project will consist of 2 slideshows with 3 pictures in each and one movie consisting of 2 short video clips.
We will build this in VW then MyDVD. Then we will realize that we want to add 3 more slides into the first slideshow! It is a very big complex project (use your imagination here) and trashing it to start over is not an option.
First thing I will do is create a Folder on my C:\ called Flow
Within it I have added 2 more folders, Pictures and Video. In those sub-folders I will place all of the video clips and pictures that I am going to use in this project. (since I may want to use them in other projects, I copied them to this location)
I create my first slideshow in VideoWave and save it as Slides One.dmsm:
Then I create my the second slideshow, Slides Two.dmsm:
Lastly I create my the video clip and save it as Video One.dmsm:
Now my project folder is showing the 3 dmsm files:
I close VideoWave and open MyDVD. Using the Add/New Movie button 3 times, I add the VW dmsm files in the order I want them to be presented:
Of course I am saving the MyDVD project along the way as Flow.dmsd:
Now I burn my DVDs and present them to family and friends and I am proud as a peacock!!! Then I am crushed to learn that I have left out 3 very important pictures in the first slideshow!
I open VideoWave with the Slides One.dmsm and painlessly add the missing slides, save and exit:
Start MyDVD open the Flow.dmsd project. Right Click on the Slides One menu button and select Edit Movie.
Of course nothing has changed here still only 3 pictures present. Now for the Backdoor! I delete the 3 pictures and select the Add Photo/Video button. I browse my way to Flow folder if necessary and type in the full filename, Slides One.dmsm. It must be the full name including extension to work.
It forces MyDVD to use the new VW dmsm file but it will look funny in either Timeline
or Storyline view.
At this point select the Back to MyDVD button and save the MyDVD project. It will now use the modified Slides One.dmsm whenever you open it.
One of the last thing I do in a MyDVD project is set chapters. If you are not doing chapter menus it works better, in my opinion, if you wait until you have everything set the way you want it.
I will leave this post Open for a time so that there may be discussion. However this area is not for troubleshooting problems and posts that are not in line with this subject matter will be moved to another area.
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