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Why Buy This Book

Reviews

Chapter Summary

 

 I have to admit, I am very impressed at how much research is done. It seems like this book has come across all the issues that came up and had an answer for them. The Visual Quick Start Guide is a must for those who plan on doing anything with Pinnacle Studio 9!!

from www.amazon.com (see below):


Why Buy This Book?

•  It’s task oriented. Where the Studio manual is feature oriented, the Visual QuickStart Guide (VQS) is task oriented, detailing most common operations with rigorous step-by-step instructions and sample screens.

•  It’s the only book on Studio. Most bundled copies of Studio ship without a manual, and this is the only available book on Studio 9.  In addition to being the best option, the VQS may be the only hard copy option for many Studio users.

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

•  The VQS includes a new chapter entitled “Creating Watchable Video,” covering topics like basic shot composition, and how to edit and output “watchable” video. The manual has no similar content.

•  In addition to detailing the operation of Studio 9’s new video and audio filters, the VQS includes sidebars like “Video Rescue 101,” describing how to brighten underexposed video, and About MovingPicture, regarding a third party plug-in that adds pans and zooms to still images (the Ken Burns effect).

•  The manual describes how to produce basic DVDs, while the VQS tackles advanced issues like designing DVDs for optimal navigation and creating custom menus with audio and video backgrounds. The VQS also reveals the compatibility issues surrounding recordable DVDs and describes how to minimize the

•  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.

•  The VQS includes many tips and tricks not included in the manual, like how to create Picture-in-Picture effects within Studio, and how to prepare images from a scanner or digital camera for optimal quality in movies and slide shows.

•  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.


Reviews of The Visual QuickStart for Pinnacle Studio 9

Reviewer: scoobiedotcom (see more about me) from Grayslake, IL United States  5 out of 5 stars

The must have guide to Pinnacle 9, March 2, 2004
I had just purchase Studio 9, after playing with Studio 8 which was offered free with my camcorder. I was doing a comparison between this book and the manual that came with pinnacle. It seems like the guys over at pinnacle just list out what the software can do but never list why you would want to do things.

That's where this book was an amazing help. It actually lists why you would want to do something verses just how to do it. So I figured this was a good time for me to attempt to convert my VHS wedding video to DVD. I had from way back a dazzle component that my VCR hooked up to and converted it from VCR to mpeg on my pc (2 gigs) added menus etc and rendered to dvd. This process took, about 10 hours!! (Pentium 3 800mhz 256 ram Dell) The dvd came out and only played on pc not my home dvd player, plus the audio was like 5 minutes behind my video.

Amazingly the solution was in this book! It said to remove menus, render to avi, and then try again. Well, I did that and it turned a 2gig mpeg, to a 26gig avi, I added the avi to my project, added all the menus back (I had written down the chapter and timecode before converting, this made it 10 times faster when adding them back to avi) and worked like a charm. I have to admit, I am very impressed at how much research is done. It seems like this book has come across all the issues that came up and had an answer for them. The Visual Quick Start Guide is a must for those who plan on doing anything with pinnacle 9!!


5 out of 5 stars Great Project Guide for Studio 9, March 29, 2004
 

  Reviewer: flashmastermike (see more about me) from Grayslake, IL USA

I began reading this book while waiting for Pinnacle Studio 9 to ship, and was thrilled that the first section of the book was an introduction to editing best practices. Once I started a project, I noticed that the book actually followed the same natural progression that a first-time user would take. The Visual QuickStart Guide was so well organized that I never had to skip ahead to the next chapter or look for anything in the index. I also have the product manual that ships with the program, but found it unfriendly. On the other hand, Jan Ozer's conversational style and clear screenshots of every example made it easy to read even when not sitting in front of the computer. I really feel like I can get more value out of Studio 9 with the help of the Visual QuickStart Guide.


5 out of 5 stars If you're using Studio 9, you need this book!, March 24, 2004
 

  Reviewer: Ronald C. Wagner (see more about me) from Manhattan Beach, CA USA

If you're new to video editing, do yourself a favor and buy Mr. Ozer's book. You will not be disappointed.

I started using Studio 8 that came preinstalled on my PC to make "finished productions" of my home movies and stills. I was never particularly satisfied since the only documentation supplied was the on-line help and a simple guided tour. Those were helpful but just were not really adequate. I knew there were features available in the software that I probably wanted, but didn't know how to get at.

Upon upgrading to Studio 9 I resolved to find some other documentation. Studio 9 does come with a manual (the retail version of S8 probably does too, for all I know) but it is complete junk. It's practically just a list of features and menu options. Worse still, and why I feel justified in calling it junk, is that the index printing is mangled. Sub-sections of the index listings are not indented, making it virtually impossible to find what you're looking for. I'm sure that is just a printing error, but nevertheless, the supplied manual is not worth the space on your bookshelf.

Jan Ozer's Visual QuickStart Guide Pinnacle Studio 9 for Windows is great!

To start with, the index is excellent; something that's always important for a book like this. If the index is not useful, you won't use the book. This one works: complete; meaningful entries; and formatted properly.

The book as a whole is well laid out. Mr. Ozer starts with useful information on shooting good video to start with (composition) and then goes through each of the steps to your finished product. Important and useful tips are given throughout the text, without wasting a lot of time on trivial information. Techniques are demonstrated in step by step form with USEFULL screen shots (zoomed in to demonstrate what is being discussed in the text), complete with call-outs where needed. And to top it off, what's shown in the book actually matches the software!

The book is loaded with practical examples and solutions to common problems. The author also explains some of the add-on software available from Pinnacle, such as the Plus and Pro packs, how to use some of those features, and why you might want to use them.

Since getting this book, I've seen numerous articles by Jan Ozer in PC Magazine. He obviously knows the subject well and it comes across in this book. This is also my first experience with any of the Visual QuickStart series, and it has been very positive.

Highly recommended. Buy this book! If you're using Studio 9, you need this book.


Chapter Summary:

Introduction

 Part 1:             Getting Started

 1.         Producing Watchable Video

Optimizing Camera Settings

Shooting Basics

Framing the Shot

Handling Motion

Types of Shots and When to Use Them

Coverage 

2.         Introduction to Studio 9  

What’s New in Studio 9

The Guided Tour

Edit Mode

Capture Window

Make Movie Mode

Undo/Redo

Saving Your Projects

Online Help

Setting and Testing Your Capture Drive

Testing Your Capture Drive

Setting Default Durations

Setting Auxiliary File Locations

Part 2:             Gathering Your Assets 

3.         Capturing From Your DV Camcorder 

The DV Capture Interface

About 16x9 Video

Working with 16x9 Video

Connecting for DV Capture Entering DV Capture Mode

Capturing DV Video

Choosing Your Capture Format

Capturing DV Video to MPEG Format

Adding Scene Comments

Viewing Your Captured Video 

4.         Capturing From Your Analog Camera or VCR 

The Analog Capture Interface

Connecting for Analog Capture

Choosing Your Analog Capture Parameters

Tuning the Incoming Video Signal

Adjusting the Incoming Volume

Capturing Analog Video

Adding Scene Comments

Viewing Your Captured Video 

5.         Working with Still Images

Capturing Still Images

Editing Still Images 

6.         Collecting Assets in the Album 

Opening the Album to Video Scenes

Loading Video Files

Playing Videos

Combining Scenes

Splitting Scenes

Working with the Album’s View and Tools

Working with Scene Comments

Working in the Still Images Tab

Working it the Sound Effects Tab 

Part 3.                         Editing 

7.         To the Movie Window 

Looking at Movie Window Views

Working in the Storyboard

Getting Videos to the Timeline

Customizing Your Timeline View

Common Tasks in Storyboard and Timeline Views

Trimming with the Clip Properties Tool

Trimming a Clip on the Timeline

Trimming Multiple Clips on the Timeline

Advanced Timeline Editing

The Art of Insert Editing

Producing Split Edits

Working with Still Images in the Movie Window

Adding Motion to Still Images

Working with Audio Files in the Movie Window 

8.         Transitions 

Looking in the Box

Understanding Transitions

Using Transitions

Customizing Transitions

Working with Hollywood FX Transitions

Ripple Transitions for Slide Shows 

9.         Special Effects 

Fixing Problems with Your Videos

Applying Automatic Color Correction

Applying Image Stabilization

Applying Noise Reduction

Applying Artistic Effects

Applying Time Effects

Applying Color Effects

Applying Artistic Video Effects

Applying Visual Effects over Time

Reversing Visual Effects

Creating a Music Video with Smart Movie
 

10:  Designing Titles and Menus

Opening the Title Editor

Looking at the Title Editor

Adding and Editing Text

Using Studio’s Styles

Resizing and Justifying Text

Managing Word Wrapping

Kerning and Leading Text

Rotating and Skewing Text

Using Full-Screen Titles

Adding Logos to Video

Creating and Editing Title Objects

Working with Buttons

Working with Multiple Objects

Creating DVD Menu Templates

Creating Rolls and Crawls 

11.        Working with Audio 

About Audio Tracks and Workflow

Setting Recording Options

Ripping CD Audio

Creating Background Tracks with SmartSound

Recording Narrations

Editing Audio Clips

Using the Volume tool

Adjusting Volume on the Timeline

Adjusting Audio Balance

Creating Surround Sound Audio

About Studio’s New Audio Filters

Applying the Noise Reduction Filter

Applying Other VST Effects

Pro Pack Must Have Effects 

12.        DVD Authoring 

About DVD Authoring

Using Menu Templates

Using Custom Templates

Previewing Your DVD

Creating Audio Menus

Creating Video Menus

Burning a DVD Title 

Part 4:             Other Output 

13.        Writing to Tape 

Setting Up Your Hardware

Writing to Tape

Writing Disk Files to Tape 

14.        Outputting Digital Files 

Decoding Compression Parameters

Producing AVI Files

Producing MPEG Files

Producing RealVideo Files

Producing Windows Media Video Files 

15.        Using StudioOnline 

Uploading Videos to StudioOnline

Sending Videos from StudioOnline

Managing Videos on StudioOnline 

Appendix I – Keyboard Shortcuts 

Main Studio Interface

Title Editor 

Appendix II – Troubleshooting

 


Note:  The Visual QuickStart Guide for Pinnacle Studio 9 contains a chart with incorrect information about Studio 9's new filters and effects. You can view and print the updated chart by clicking here.  You will need the Adobe Reader available here.