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I needed some explanatory material written in English, not Geek-speak, with enough illustrations to visualize what they were talking about. The solution was Peachpit's Visual Quick Start for Pinnacle Studio 8, by Jan Ozer. This $21.99 book turned on the lights and brought an end to my frustration.

from www.epinions.com (see below):

Why Buy This Book?

• It's task oriented. The Studio manual provides an overview of Studio's features and program operation. However, where the manual is feature oriented, the Visual QuickStart Guide is task oriented, detailing most common operations with rigorous step-by-step instructions and sample screen shots.

• It goes far beyond the manual. In many key areas, the VQS goes far beyond what's available in the manual. For example:

• Although the manual describes how to create and link DVD menus and burn the DVD projects to DVD-R, the VQS describes how to design DVD titles for optimal navigation, how to create and use custom menu templates as well as audio and motion menus. The VQS identifies the potential compatibility issues surrounding recordable DVDs and how to minimize them.

• Although the manual describes how to build a slide show, the VQS defines key terms like resolution and aspect ratio, and details how to prepare images captured with a digital camera for optimal presentation within the slide show.

• Although the manual describes how to rip audio tracks from a CD, the VQS identifies Studio's weaknesses in this area, points the reader to other programs that perform the task much more efficiently, and describes how to ensure that files ripped with these programs are compatible with Studio.

Reader Interviews

Thornhill College

An interview with Robert Thompson, an art teacher at Thornhill College in Northern Ireland (www.thornhillart.net)

Doceo: What is Thornhill College?

Robert Thompson: Thornhill College is a grammar (In the UK, this means selective based on a test given at age 10) school for girls aged 11-18 in Derry, Northern ireland - Derry is almost at the northernmost tip of Ireland.

Doceo: How is the school using Pinnacle Studio?

Robert Thompson: We have a lively Art & Design Department and since September of this year, I have been piloting a course called AS Moving Image Arts. (In the UK, Students take GCSE's at 16, AS Levels at 17 and A2 levels at 18 then on to University). if this year's pilot in six schools is successful, the course will become a nationally standard qualification next year.

The course covers the study of Film language (genre, editing, narrative, narration, mise-en-scene, sound, etc.) and a production element where short film-making exercises culminate in a short film and is supported by our local film-making centre, The Nerve centre.

Doceo: How did you choose Pinnacle Studio?:

Robert Thompson: After testing out various packages such as Adobe Premiere, which I gave up on in despair, I found Studio to be the perfect one for my students. The simple division of tasks into capture, edit and make movie are evidence that the developers of this package had simplicity in mind all along - This is exactly what I need to allow me to concentrate on teaching film language without constant technical worries.

Doceo: How has the Visual Quick Start for Pinnacle Studio helped?

Robert Thompson: Although one could nearly learn Studio just by 'clicking around', the Visual Quick Start Guide breaks the interface and operation into manageable 'chunks' of about the right length for a one hour lesson. This makes the book a valuable resource ideal for classroom use.

Reviews of The Visual QuickStart for Pinnacle Studio 8

milosdad from Austin, Texas United States Don't hesitate to buy, December 31, 2003

This book tries to sell itself on the photos of the GUI that you will be using. The photos are a bit small, but good enough when you really need them, which is rare, because the author does a wonderful job of explaining how Pinnacle works. I recieved the software with no documentation and within a few minutes of opening this book I was well on my way to creating DVDs out of some digital movies. The author does a great job explaining both the simple and the complex parts of the software. And refreshingly, the author actually offers opinions on better ways to do some tasks. This is a good buy for anyone using this software.

Tim J. Kramer, Amazon.com, October 12, 2003 (5 of 5 stars)

Studio 8 ships with a 258 page manual right out of the box, which is somewhat amazing for a piece of software like this, but admittedly, the manual is very remedial. This book, from the earliest pages, delves into some seriously useful components within Studio. I've had this book for less than a day and it's already paid for itself.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0321186532/qid=1052530513/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9902443-7484040?v=glance&s=books

A reviewer, A reviewer, December 23, 2003,
Definitely worth the purchase price
If a book is to be judged by whether or not it's worth the purchase price, this one gets 5 stars. In just a few minutes of reading I found an answer to a problem I had been struggling with for hours. I purchased the book based on that alone, but have since found many more useful tips. My only complaint would be that the images are too small for my tired old eyes.

A reviewer (ldisco@erols.com), May 27, 2003, (4 of 5 stars)

Written in simple language and peppered with the author's own home editing experiences, this book has helped me discover the strengths and weaknesses of Pinnacle Studio 8. Possibly influenced by the 'For Dummys' series Ozer plain-talks through what could be a technical jungle. The author emphasizes the positive aspects of Studio 8 and if there is a weakness in the book, glosses over the program's shortcomings. Nevertheless, if you want your digital home videos to have a professional look and sound, I'd recommend this book. (As a producer/director I've worked with professional editors for 25 years. I recently got into editing my home videos and find it involving and fun.)

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=2VYQJLVK0Z&isbn=0321186532&itm=1

October, 2003

A great resource for users of one of the most popular Windows-based DV editing programs on the market today.

William Hunsicker, PC Alamode, September 2003

Studio 8 is easy to use, but having this book would have saved me substantial time during the editing of my first few videos. Thank You, Larry; it will save me even more time on my next video projects. If you use Studio 8, then, I believe, Pinnacle Studio 8 for Windows should be on your desk next to your work area. It's that good!

http://www.alamopc.org/pcalamode/reviews/current/R20030911.shtml

By Andrew Allentuck, September 9, 2003

Author Jan Ozer has been in digital video almost from its birth. He helped develp fractal-based video compression and has been a contributing editor of PC Magazine and The Digital Studio Magazine. This is really a text and reference manual on digital video production. For the ambitious reader, there's a lot to absorb. For the professional already in the field, the extensive list of tips and problem solving suggestions are invaluable. For the price, the book is a steal.

http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030909.gtbooksep9/BNStory/einsider

Lucie30, Epinions, July 10, 2003

I dutifully tried to read the manuals, and that is where my troubles became apparent. Basically, I did not understand the jargon and it seemed as if the details of the steps were missing. It was quite frustrating; I am just not a videophile. I needed some explanatory material written in English, not Geek-speak, with enough illustrations to visualize what they were talking about. The solution was Peachpit Press' Pinnacle Studio 8 for Windows, by Jan Ozer. This $21.99 book turned on the lights and brought an end to my frustration.

http://www.epinions.com/content_105670545028