Avid ePublisher Start-up Guideresources.avid.com/SupportFiles/attach/047901A.pdf1 Avid ® ePublisher software makes it easy to create synchronized multimedia presentations — combining

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S o ftw a re fo r Win dow s ® 2 0 0 0

Avid ePublisher Start-up Guide

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Copyright and DisclaimerInformation in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc. The software described in this document and accompanying programs are furnished under applicable license agreements. The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms and conditions of the license agreements. It is against the law to copy the software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement. Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States patents: 4,746,994; 4,970,663; 5,045,940; 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,442,378; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,577,190; 5,584,006; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,715,018; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,851; 5,799,150, 5,812,216; 5,852,435; 5,883,670; 5,892,507. Other patents are pending. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc.

© 2000—2001 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed and assembled in the U.S.A.

Attention Government User(s). Restricted Rights LegendThis Software and its documentation are "commercial computer software" or "commercial computer software documentation." In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of the License Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.

Avid Technology, Inc.Avid Technology Park, One Park WestTewksbury, Massachusetts 01876

TrademarksAvid is a registered trademark and Link & Sync is a trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. Microsoft, PowerPoint, Windows, Windows Media, and the Windows logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. QuickTime and the QuickTime logo are trademarks used under license from Apple Computer, Inc. RealSystem technology is provided under license from RealNetworks, Inc., copyright 1995-2000 RealNetworks, Inc. and/or its suppliers. 2601 Elliot Avenue, Suite 1000, Seattle, Washington 98121, U.S.A. All rights reserved. RealNetworks and RealSystem are either registered trademarks or trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. Ligos and the Ligos logo are registered trademarks of Ligos Incorporated in the USA and/or other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Unauthorized Recording Use DisclaimerUnauthorized recording or use of broadcast television programming, videotape, or other copyrighted information might violate copyright laws. Avid Technology, Inc. assumes no responsibility for the illegal duplication, use, or other acts that infringe on the rights of copyright owners.

Avid ePublisher Companion Edition Start-up GuidePart 0130-04790-01 Rev. A April 2001

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Welcome to Avid ePublisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Introducing Avid ePublisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

What can I do with Avid ePublisher? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Installing Avid ePublisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Learning to use Avid ePublisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Starting a new presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Creating Avid ePublisher videos and presentations . . . . . 29

About the creation process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Planning and preparing for a presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Editing video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Creating synchronized presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Publishing videos or presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

C o n t e n t s

Welcome to Avid ePublisher• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Avid® ePublisher software makes it easy to create synchronized multimedia presentations — combining audio, video, images, and Web pages — and lets you deliver them over the Internet and corporate intranets, and on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. This book, together with the Help, Tutorial, and video demonstrations, shows you how to use Avid ePublisher software.

About Avid ePublisher Companion EditionThe Avid ePublisher Companion Edition allows you to import video clips and sequences from other Avid editing systems; additionally, if you have Avid ePublisher installed on the same computer as your editing system, you can transfer video files from your Avid editing system directly into Avid ePublisher. To see if your Avid editing system supports automatic transfer of video files to Avid ePublisher, see your editing system documentation.

Note: The Video Capture tab is not enabled with the Avid ePublisher Companion Edition. To capture video, use your Avid editing system and import the video files into your Avid ePublisher project. If your editing system supports the automatic transfer of files to Avid ePublisher, you can also send clips or sequences to an Avid ePublisher project from your Avid editing system.

We l c o m e t o

A v i d e P u b l i s h e r


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About this bookThe Avid ePublisher Start-up Guide provides an introduction to using Avid ePublisher and includes instructions for installing the software and connecting video equipment to your computer. You can find the following information in this book:

Troubleshooting tipsIf you have a problem setting up or using Avid ePublisher, look at Troubleshooting in the online Help for solutions. Also, check the Avid Technology Customer Support Web site at www.avid.com/support.

Information Section

An introduction to Avid ePublisher. “Introducing Avid ePublisher” on page 7

Instructions for installing and starting Avid ePublisher.

“Installing Avid ePublisher” on page 17

Step-by-step instructions for starting a new video or presentation.

“Starting a new presentation” on page 22

A description of each tab in Avid ePublisher. Discover the powerful features that add impact and excitement to your presentations.

“Creating Avid ePublisher videos and presentations” on page 29


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Read Me fileThe Read Me file contains the latest information and troubleshooting tips to help you have the best possible experience using Avid ePublisher. You can access the Read Me file from the Windows® Start menu.

Getting Started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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G e t t i n g s t a r t e d

Getting Started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Introducing Avid ePublisher• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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I n t r o d u c i n g A v i d e P u b l i s h e r

Welcome to Avid ePublisher, easy-to-use publishing software for creating and distributing high-quality digital videos or synchronized multimedia presentations. With its unique video editing and multimedia authoring features, combined with a rich set of export formats, Avid ePublisher allows you to easily create professional-looking videos or dynamic multimedia presentations for use in Web pages, CD-ROMs, DVDs, or Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations.

If you are publishing video only, you can save your video as MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, AVI and QuickTime™ video, or into your choice of popular streaming media formats — either Microsoft Windows Media™ Technologies (WMT), formerly known as Active Streaming Format (ASF), or RealNetworks® RealSystem™ 8.0 Encoding (RM).

If you are publishing to the Web, Avid ePublisher can encode your video or presentation into WMT or RM formats. Streaming media technology lets your audience view your video or presentation almost immediately on the World Wide Web without having to wait for the entire media file to download first.

Avid ePublisher handles all aspects of the authoring process, including:

• Creating a layout for your presentation

• Editing video

• Importing graphics elements, HTML files, and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) to use in your presentation

• Synchronizing HTML text, images, and URLs to video or audio

• Encoding into various output formats

• Publishing to a Web server, CD-ROM, DVD, or other storage medium

With its easy-to-use wizards, intuitive interface, and customizable templates, Avid ePublisher is an ideal solution for both novice and experienced content creators. It is perfect for distance learning and training, sales and marketing presentations, Web publishing, and Internet broadcasting.

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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About synchronized presentationsThe typical Avid ePublisher presentation is centered around video. While the video plays in one area of the screen, supporting text and graphics display nearby. As the presentation unfolds, the text and graphics change in response to events occurring in the video.

The screen is divided into separate regions that display the different elements of the presentation. These regions are known as frames, since the underlying technology involves HTML frames. The video appears in one frame, while supporting text and graphics appear in one or more adjacent frames.

The content displayed in each frame can change as the presentation proceeds, much like a synchronized slide show produced with multiple slide projectors. Each time new content appears in a frame, the change comprises a new “event.” These events are synchronized with the video to appear at specific times relative to the start of the video. Although most events are synchronized to video, events can also be synchronized to the audio parts of a presentation, such as voice-over narration or a musical sound track. The frames that display these events are known as event frames.

The events displayed in each frame can be any valid HTML page or graphic file that your Web browser supports, such as GIF or JPEG format. You can also display PowerPoint slides, which Avid ePublisher converts to JPEG images when they are imported.

To provide your audience with direct access to the information they need, one of the frames in a presentation can serve as a Table of Contents (TOC). Each TOC entry is a clickable link that lets viewers jump directly to a specific part of the presentation.

Introducing Avid ePublisher• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Establishing your Web publishing servicesTo publish your completed projects on the World Wide Web, you or your company must have several services in place, such as a Web site host service, a streaming media host service, and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) access for transferring files. If you are working in a large company, some or all of these services might be available through your IT department. For additional details, see the topic “Establishing your Web publishing services” in the Avid ePublisher Help.

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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W h a t c a n I d o w i t h A v i d e P u b l i s h e r ?

Avid ePublisher guides you through all steps in the content creation process through a series of wizards and tabs. From the initial step of choosing your layout to the final step of publishing to a Web server or burning a CD-ROM, the process is clearly defined for you to follow. The following sections describe these steps in more detail.

What can I do with Avid ePublisher?• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Planning your layoutAvid ePublisher includes a variety of presentation templates, which you can customize to suit your needs. Each template defines the general layout for a presentation, including the number, size, and arrangement of its frames.

When choosing your layout, think ahead to the final output, to the distribution method (hard drive versus server), and to your audience’s viewing environment. The layout should be appropriate not only for the content of the presentation but also for the audience’s needs. For example, your audience will have an easier time viewing a presentation with a single event frame over the World Wide Web than a presentation with three event frames. A presentation with three event frames might be easier to view from a CD-ROM or DVD.

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Editing your videoAvid ePublisher allows you to create professional-looking videos for a variety of uses. You start by importing the video you want to edit or by sending the video files to Avid ePublisher directly from your Avid editing system. You can also import graphics that already exist on your computer or network to use in your presentation.

Avid ePublisher’s intuitive editing features let you trim, split, and rearrange video clips in a visual timeline. You can also apply more than 75 special transition effects and add voice-over narration, music sound tracks, and animated titles.

When you finish editing your video, you can incorporate it into a synchronized Avid ePublisher presentation or save it in a variety of digital formats suitable for use in Web pages, PowerPoint presentations, CD-ROMs, or DVDs.

Importing filesFor the video portion of your project, you can create and import various video, audio, and graphics file types, as well as PowerPoint presentation (.PPT) files.

For synchronized presentations, you can import JPEG, PNG, GIF, and PowerPoint presentation files, as well as HTML pages you prepare in advance. In addition, you can import URLs that allow your audience to jump to various locations on the World Wide Web. You can then use these imported elements to assemble your presentation.


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Assembling and synchronizing your presentationAvid ePublisher uses a visual timeline approach, along with a Viewer display, for assembling and editing video and for synchronizing events to the video or audio. The Avid ePublisher Timeline consists of separate horizontal tracks for video and audio, music, narration, and titles. Up to three additional “Event tracks” are used for synchronizing events to the video or audio. Each event frame in the presentation layout shown in the Viewer is associated with a particular Event track in the Timeline. Individual events appear as diamond-shaped markers in the Timeline.

As you add video, audio, titles, and events to your presentation, they appear in the appropriate tracks of the Timeline and as part of the presentation in the Viewer. You can rearrange elements in the Timeline by using Avid ePublisher’s simple drag-and-drop user interface.

While building your presentation, you can preview the entire presentation or jump directly to any part of it by using the Viewer above the Timeline. As you watch the presentation in the Viewer, a thin, vertical Position bar advances across the Timeline. The bar’s location shows which portion of the video is currently visible in the Viewer. You can pause the Viewer at any point in the presentation to add a new event. The Position bar then shows exactly where to place the event in the Timeline.

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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The Viewer shows the layout of your presentation, including the borders of each frame. You can double-click any frame in the Viewer to see a magnified view of its contents, and you can click the Large Viewer button to see the layout in a default browser or in an enlarged viewer. You can also resize any frame by clicking and dragging its borders.

One of the framesin the presentation

Drag a frame borderto resize the

adjacent frames.

Double-click a frame to further modify its contents.

Timeline

Frames in the Viewer correspond to Event markers in the Timeline.

Viewer

Click to see thepresentation layout in adefault browser or in an

enlarged viewer.


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Publishing your video or presentationWhen you’ve finished creating your video or presentation, Avid ePublisher gives you several options for publishing it. If you are publishing video only, you can save your video in a variety of formats, including MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, AVI, and QuickTime video formats, or streaming media formats such as Microsoft WMT (ASF) or RealNetworks RealSystem 8.0.

Delivering content to a Web server

For Web delivery, Avid ePublisher can encode both videos and synchronized presentations into either of these popular streaming media formats:

• Microsoft Windows Media Technologies (WMT) format, formerly known as Active Streaming Format (ASF)

• RealNetworks RealSystem 8.0 format (RM)

Avid ePublisher also supports multiple bit-rate encoding with various streaming formats, so you can create streaming videos and presentations that automatically adapt to the amount of bandwidth available to each user. Simply put, each member of your audience experiences uninterrupted audio and video, whether accessing your presentation via a 28K dial-up modem, a high-speed cable modem, or a corporate local area network (LAN) connection.

Avid ePublisher includes a number of predefined publishing profiles to streamline the entire publishing process. Each profile contains all the configuration settings necessary to encode, review, and post a video or presentation to a streaming media Web server. There are several different profiles to fit a variety of publishing scenarios. You can use one of Avid ePublisher’s predefined profiles, modify one to suit your needs, or create and save your own profiles to use over and over again.

After encoding your video or presentation, you can review the encoded version in a Web browser of your choice as a final quality check before the software posts it to a streaming media Web server on the Internet or your corporate intranet.

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Creating CD-ROM and DVD titles

Avid ePublisher is a true cross-media publishing tool, allowing you to create video for use on the Web as well as on disc. You can publish your entire presentation or you can output just the video portion. Whichever method you choose, your audience can view the presentation directly from a hard drive or from a CD-ROM, Video CD, DVD-ROM, or DVD-Video.

Installing Avid ePublisher• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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I n s t a l l i n g A v i d e P u b l i s h e r

To install Avid ePublisher1. Insert the Avid ePublisher CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive.

2. In the CD-ROM introduction window, click Install Avid ePublisher.

If the CD-ROM introduction window does not appear, either double-click the Setup program on the Avid ePublisher CD-ROM, or choose Run from the Start menu, type d:\setup (where d: is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive), and click OK.

3. Follow the steps in the Avid ePublisher Setup program.

The Setup program guides you through the installation steps and installs all the components required by Avid ePublisher software: Microsoft Windows Media Technologies 7.0 and QuickTime 4.1.2.

Note: You must allow the Setup program to install all the required components. During installation, choose the default option for each component.

4. Restart your computer when Setup is complete.

Testing your system compatibilityWhen you restart your computer, the Avid ePublisher System Compatibility wizard checks your system configuration to ensure that it meets the minimum system requirements for optimal performance.

Follow the step-by-step instructions to adjust and set up your computer for the best display of Avid ePublisher videos and presentations.

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Online registration

Once the System Compatibility wizard completes all the tests, the wizard gives you the the opportunity to register your copy of Avid ePublisher online by clicking the Online Registration button. If you choose to register at a later time, you can register by choosing Register ePublisher from the Help menu.

Note: The Avid ePublisher System Compatibility wizard is available to you at all times from your Windows Start menu. Each time you install or upgrade hardware for your computer, use this wizard to help tune your system for optimal video playback.

Installing Avid ePublisher• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Uninstalling or reinstalling Avid ePublisherIf you need to uninstall or reinstall Avid ePublisher, perform a full uninstall as follows:

1. From the Start menu, point to Settings and click Control Panel.

2. Double click Add/Remove Programs, and follow the directions in the

Add/Remove Program Properties dialog box.

Important: If you plan to reinstall Avid ePublisher, do not remove the folders that remain in the Avid ePublisher application folder on your system. These folders contain any customized templates and profiles you created using Avid ePublisher.

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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L e a r n i n g t o u s e A v i d e P u b l i s h e r

There are several ways to learn about Avid ePublisher. Choose the approach that best suits your learning style.

Take a trial run To get “hands-on” online training, either click Tutorial in the Welcome window or choose ePublisher tutorial from the Help menu. Learn how to create dynamic presentations by using the sample video, audio, and HTML files provided with Avid ePublisher.

Use the online HelpWhen you’re ready to create your own presentation, use the online Help to get step-by-step instructions for everything you can do with Avid ePublisher. The Avid ePublisher online Help gives you quick answers to your questions about using Avid ePublisher, including:

• Video demonstrations showing the key features of each tab

• Step-by-step instructions for using Avid ePublisher

• Definitions of terms used in the product

• Troubleshooting hints

Learning to use Avid ePublisher• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Get quick information on the current tab

To get help on the current tab:

• Press F1 on your keyboard.

– or –

• Choose Help on this tab on the menu bar or on the Help menu.

– or –

• Choose the question mark (?) icon on the Toolbar.

Find specific Help topics

For access to online Help through a visual map, index, or search tool:

1. From the Help menu, choose Help System map.

2. Choose any Help category in the Help site map.

– or –

Select the Index or Search tab in the navigation pane. If the navigation pane is hidden, click the Show button.

Watch the animated demonstrations

To further enhance your learning experience, the online Help includes several animated demonstrations. Each demonstration shows how to use various features of Avid ePublisher. To see a demo for the tab you’re currently using, click the question mark (?) icon on the Toolbar. You can also find the demonstrations by clicking the Exploring ePublisher category in the Help site map.

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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S t a r t i n g a n e w p r e s e n t a t i o n

You can start a new presentation either by importing video files into Avid ePublisher or by sending files from your Avid editing system, providing that you have your Avid editing system on the same computer.

Starting a new presentation by importing video filesWhen you’re ready to start a new presentation, Avid ePublisher’s New Presentation wizard provides easy-to-follow instructions to guide you through the process. Simply click New in the Welcome window to get your project off and running.

Choose a presentation template

The first step in creating a new presentation is to choose a template for your project. A template defines the general layout of your presentation and serves as its overall framework.

Starting a new presentation• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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The New Presentation wizard offers a variety of templates from which to choose. Which one you choose depends on the number and type of frames you need, how you want them arranged, and where the video should appear. You can use any of the supplied templates or modify one to suit your needs.

Most templates are designed for frame-based presentations, but if your project involves only video, you can select the Video Only template. After you import video, use Avid ePublisher’s intuitive editing features and save it in a variety of formats suitable for use in existing Web pages or PowerPoint presentations.

When you are choosing a presentation template, don’t forget about your audience’s viewing environment and your delivery method (hard drive or Web server). A presentation with three event frames will probably be easier to view if it is running on a hard drive than it would be to view the same presentation over the Internet.

Select apresentation

template here.

View the layout of frames in the template here.

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Once you select a presentation template, Avid ePublisher must associate certain frames in your template with specific tracks in the Timeline. These associations are required for the video and TOC frames as well as any event frames — frames whose contents will change throughout the presentation.

All templates supplied with Avid ePublisher have default associations. For most users, the default associations work just fine and there’s no need to change them. However, if you want to change the associations, you can do so at any time by creating a template. Any custom templates you create will appear in the Custom tab of the New Presentation wizard.


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Review your video settings

Before you begin working with video, you should check the video settings for your project. Click Change Video Settings to specify:

• The format of the video by country

• The format of the video (NTSC or PAL)

• The audio format (12- or 16-bit Audio)

Avid ePublisher provides default video settings that are based on the type of video you import and the country where you purchased the software. In most cases, the default settings work best, but check them anyway to make sure the settings are ideal for your purposes. Once you begin a video-based project, you cannot change its video settings.

Video settings

Click to changevideo settings.

Available space on the hard drive

Project name

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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For a detailed explanation of the various video settings, click Help on the pertinent New Presentation wizard screen.

If you decide to change the video settings for your project, your new settings become the default settings the next time you start a new project.

Check available disk space

To ensure that there is enough disk space to store your video, check the Space Available gauge in the New Presentation wizard. This gauge checks the space available on the drive you selected as your media drive during installation. The gauge shows how many minutes of video you can store on the drive, based on the current video settings.

Choose a video storyboard (optional)

You can make your videos more interesting and effective by using storyboards to plan them. A storyboard is a detailed outline for a video. It describes the individual shots to include in the video and specifies where to add music, narration, sound effects, titles, and special video effects.

Avid ePublisher contains several storyboard templates designed for a variety of business and educational applications. You can choose one of the supplied storyboards and modify it to suit your needs or create a new storyboard from scratch. You can also skip storyboarding altogether and begin importing video right away.

What’s next

When you’re satisfied with the new project settings, click Finish to save your settings and exit the New Presentation wizard. What happens next depends on the selection you made in the wizard’s final screen:

• If you chose to import existing media, the wizard takes you to the Link & SyncTM tab so you can import existing video, audio, HTML, PowerPoint files, and graphics files into your project.

• If you selected Edit video, create effects and titles, the New Presentation wizard takes you to the Edit Video tab where you can add effects, titles, and sound and can edit imported video clips.


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• If you selected a video storyboard, the New Presentation wizard takes you to the Storyboard tab to start planning your video.

Avid ePublisher uses a series of tabs designed to lead you through the process of creating a video or synchronized presentation. The main tabs arranged across the top of the screen represent the five main stages of the process.

The next chapter, “Creating Avid ePublisher videos and presentations,” provides an introduction to each of the Avid ePublisher tabs and the various stages of the creation process.

Creating a presentation by sending video files from your Avid editing systemYou can create a presentation by sending video files from your Avid editing system. When you send files to Avid ePublisher, and the format of the video you send matches the video format of the Avid ePublisher project, the video files are imported by reference; otherwise, the system converts the files to a format supported by Avid ePublisher and stores it in the project folder.

Note: If you want the video files to reside with your Avid ePublisher project, create a project by following the instructions in “Starting a new presentation by importing video files” on page 22, and choose Import by copy from the Import menu.

Sending files to Avid ePublisher

You can send video files to Avid ePublisher from your Avid editing system whether or not Avid ePublisher is currently running on your system. Depending on whether Avid ePublisher is currently running on your system, the files are handled in one of two ways.

If Avid ePublisher is currently running on your system

If Avid ePublisher is currently running on your system and you have already opened a project, Avid ePublisher imports the video files into the current project and adds the clip or sequence to the library.

Getting started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Note: This method of sending video files to Avid ePublisher allows you to select the folder where you want to save the project before sending the files. Therefore, Avid recommends that you create a project before sending clips and sequences to Avid ePublisher.

If Avid ePublisher is not currently running on your system

Avid ePublisher starts automatically and checks to see if you have already created a project with the same file name as the clip or sequence you’re sending; one of the following occurs:

• If a project with the same name doesn’t exist, Avid ePublisher creates a project and adds the clip or sequence to the library. The project and all the associated files are saved to the default folder you selected when you installed Avid ePublisher, for example, C:\My Projects. The project name is assigned by using the name of the clip or sequence.

• If you have already created a project with the same file name, Avid ePublisher allows you to use the same project and replace the video track or to create a new project.

Reediting video in the Avid editing system

If you want to reedit your video clips while you’re working in Avid ePublisher, reedit your video clip in the Avid editing system and resend the video clips to Avid ePublisher. The new clip will be added to the library.

Getting Started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Creating Avid ePublisher videos and presentations

Getting Started• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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About the creation process• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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A b o u t t h e c r e a t i o n p r o c e s s

Avid ePublisher guides you through every step of the creative process, from the initial planning to the final publishing stages. This chapter’s preview of Avid ePublisher gives you an idea of the product’s capabilities. As you use Avid ePublisher to plan and edit videos and to assemble synchronized multimedia presentations, you will discover many more powerful features that add impact and excitement to everything you create.

Avid ePublisher uses a series of tabs designed to lead you through the process of creating a video or synchronized presentation. No HTML editing experience is necessary to create a complete presentation.

The main tabs arranged across the top of the screen represent the five main stages of the creation process:

1. Planning and preparing for a presentation.

2. Capturing video — the Capture Video tab is not enabled with the Avid ePublisher Companion Edition. To capture video and send files directly to Avid ePublisher, use your Avid editing system, or import video files.

3. Editing video.

4. Creating synchronized presentations.

5. Publishing videos or presentations.

Creating Avid ePublisher videos and presentations• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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P l a n n i n g a n d p r e p a r i n g f o r a

p r e s e n t a t i o n

Avid ePublisher brings a completely new paradigm to the creation of presentations. Beyond the march of slides in a slideshow, the flow of images on a television, or the display of text on a Web page, Avid ePublisher allows you to bring every corner of the screen alive with content that comes and goes with precision. You can plan and prepare in advance to take full advantage of these unique capabilities.

Structuring your presentation: Unlike a conventional presentation, whether live or on tape, Avid ePublisher presentations incorporate interactivity that allows the audience to navigate freely. Rather than forcing your audience to sit and watch a speech unfold, for example, you can structure your Avid ePublisher presentation to allow your audience to jump instantly from topic to topic, scene to scene. This makes it possible for you to actually improve upon the experience of a real-world presentation.

Planning your layout: Whatever presentation template you choose, you can plan and create graphics, HTML files, and source video in advance to make effective use of the layout and save time during production.

Use the Storyboard tab: You can make your videos more interesting and effective by using storyboards to plan them. A storyboard is a shot-by-shot outline for a video. All professional directors use storyboards to plan their shots, special effects, and use of narration and music. A storyboard provides suggestions for the subject of each shot, distance of the camera from the subject, viewing angle, and shot durations. It might also specify where to add music, narration, titles, and effects.

Planning tips• Each shot in your video

should have a purpose related to the story you want to tell.

• Plan a variety of wide, medium, and close-up shots.

• Change the camera angle or distance from the subject for each shot.

• Hold a shot longer for subjects that take a longer time to understand and shorter for those that can be understood quickly.

• End a shot when you have captured what you want.

• Make sure the subject is well lit.

• When filming a special event, plan the shots, shoot plenty of close-ups, and catch the spontaneous events that make the occasion special.

Planning and preparing for a presentation• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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The Storyboard tab helps you plan the shots that make up a video. Avid ePublisher contains several templates designed for a variety of business and educational applications. These storyboards describe the various shots in your video and include helpful tips. You choose one of the predefined storyboard templates or create one of your own, then edit, save, and print any storyboard to take on location when filming your video.

Creating Avid ePublisher videos and presentations• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Sample storyboard

Suggested or actual shot length

Click to inserta new shot.

Shot number

Type filming or editing tips here.

Type the shot name here.

View filming or editing tips for each shot.

Project name

Editing video• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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E d i t i n g v i d e o

Once you import your video clips, you are ready to begin the editing process, which includes everything you can do to transform your collection of clips into an interesting video. Editing involves organizing and adjusting clips, as well as adding special effects, titles, graphics, music, narration, and sound effects. Avid ePublisher provides a set of tabs to lead you through each part of the editing process.

Viewer tab On the Viewer tab, you can play back and organize the shots you import. You can name your clips, copy and paste clips, and split clips. You can also adjust the beginning and ending of clips, a process called trimming.

Effects tab The Effects tab lets you create special effects to smooth transitions from one video clip to another. You can choose from a list of effects, adjust effect duration, and preview.

Titles tab On the Titles tab, you can superimpose text over your video, including scrolling text, such as the credits. You can also format your text by selecting a color, font, and size.

Sound tab The Sound tab lets you record narration over your video, import tracks from a music CD, add a sound file, adjust the volume of any clip, or fade in or out of a sound clip.

Library tab On the Library tab, you can see a list of all the video, audio, and graphics clips currently available for use in your project. You can preview your clips in a special Viewer; drag clips into the Timeline; and import video, photos, graphics, and other digital media into your project.


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Organizing and trimming clipsA good way to begin editing is by laying a solid foundation for your video. You can create a natural visual experience by viewing the video clips, moving them into the correct order, and then adjusting the beginning and ending of each clip.

The Viewer tab and all other Edit Video tabs let you:

• See the duration of your video.

• Play the video or pause it to see any individual frame of the video.

• Rearrange clips in the Timeline by dragging them to new locations.

• Cut or copy a clip from the Timeline to the Clipboard, and then paste it in a new location.

• Remove a clip (without copying it to the Clipboard for pasting).

• Adjust the amount of footage showing at the beginning and end of a clip; this is called trimming.

• Split a clip in two so you can trim frames from the middle of it.

• Insert black or silence in your video.

• Remove the sound from a video clip.

• Zoom into or out of the Timeline.

• Scroll the Timeline horizontally or vertically.

Organizing tips • Make sure your clips are

in the right order in the Timeline. You can drag them into the correct order.

• Adjust the amount of footage showing at the beginning and end of each clip to create smooth transitions from one to the next.

• Follow the 30–3 rule of video editing: keep your shots under 30 seconds and your scenes under 3 minutes. This helps to set a fast pace and keeps your audience interested.

Editing video• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Viewer tab at a glance

Video track

Titles track

Audio tracks

Project name

Click to zoom in to or out of the Timeline.

Drag either Position bar to view any image.

Click the Play button to play clips in the Viewer.

View your video in the Viewer. Video length

Click to control the volume of your entire video.

Move and trim clips in these tracks.

Click to see a full-screen display of the video.

Project format


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Adding special effectsYou can use special effects to create seamless transitions from one video clip to the next. Effects also can be used to help communicate the message of your video and to add interest. Avid ePublisher includes more than 75 special effects from which you can choose.

The Effects tab lets you:

• Create a transition effect between two video clips.

• See how each type of effect works before you apply it.

• Set the duration of an effect from 1 to 6 seconds.

• See what kind of effect you have by placing the Position bar on it.

• Remove or replace an effect.

Special Effect tips • Do not overuse effects.

You do not want the audience to be distracted by the effects, diluting the message that you are trying to convey.

• If you intend to encode your video in a streaming video format, avoid using too many effects. Drastic changes from frame to frame reduce the ability to stream video smoothly.

Editing video• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Effects tab at a glance

Drag the handles of the Effects slider to adjust the effect duration.

Choose an effect from this list.

Click to apply or remove the effect.

Tip: When you drag the Position bar over an effect marker, the effect type is displayed here.

An effect marker shows where you applied the effect.

Watch a preview of the effect here.


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Adding titlesAfter you lay the foundation for your video, create the titles you want. Depending on the type of video, you might want opening titles, captions, or closing credits.

The Titles tab lets you:

• Superimpose text over video or over black.

• Make the text scroll vertically or horizontally.

• Position text at the top, middle, or bottom of the screen.

• Align the text to the left, center, or right of the screen.

• Change the font.

• Change the size.

• Adjust the color.

• Make the text bold, italic, or underlined.

• Change the duration or scroll speed of the text by trimming or extending it.

Titling tips Adding titles

• Choose a color for your title that contrasts with the video playing behind it.

• Make the text large and bold enough to read on screen. Although sizes vary for different fonts, 36-point size usually works well.

• Leave a title on the screen long enough for the audience to read it twice.

Editing video• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Titles tab at a glance

Use these buttons to scroll your title or to change the font, size, or color.

Organize and trim title clips in the Titles track.

Type your title here, and then click and drag to move the title box where you want it.

Use to make text bold, italic, or underlined.

Use these buttons to align text.


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Adding narration and musicYou can transform a good video into a riveting one by editing the video’s audio tracks. Music and sound effects add a professional finish to your video. Music can enhance your video’s message by setting the mood or adding excitement. Sound effects can also add impact or humor to your video.

After you import music and sound effects into your video, you can trim these clips to add just the right polish. On the Sound tab, you can add music to set the mood and pace, you can record narration to add clarity as in a training film, or you can place sound effects in key spots to add impact. You can strip out all the sound recorded with your video and rely entirely on sound that you add to the two audio tracks.

The different types of sound files that you can import include Windows Waveform Sound (WAV), CD Audio Track (CDA), UNIX® sound files (AU), and Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF).

The Sound tab lets you:

• Record narration or other sound through the microphone on your computer.

• Record music from a CD playing in your computer’s CD-ROM drive.

• Record music or special sound effects from an audiocassette player, VCR, or CD player (through the Line In port on your computer).

• Record sound from a videotape into an audio track, instead of into the video track.

• Import music CD tracks or sound files.

• Adjust the volume of individual audio clips.

• Fade the volume of audio clips.

The way you bring in sound — whether by recording or importing — determines the track where the sound is added. This can affect how many sounds your video can play at a time.

Audio tips • Sounds that you

record through your computer’s CD-ROM drive or microphone are added to the Audio 1 track.

• Sound files that you import are added to the Audio 2 track.

• You can record music playing in your computer’s CD-ROM drive or import an entire music track from your CD.

• You can connect audio equipment, such as an audiocassette deck, to your computer’s Line In port and record music into the Audio 1 track.

Editing video• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Sound tab at a glance

Click to start and stop recording sound.

Shows the level of the sound coming in

Audio 1 track where recorded sound appears

Click to import a CD track or a sound file from a drive on your PC.

Click to select your sound source when you are recording sound.

Audio 2 track where imported sound appears

Adjust the sound level before recording.

Drag sliders to adjust the volume of individual clips.

Click to fade sound in a video or audio clip.

Use the Volume button to change the volume of your entire video.


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Using the Library tabThe Library tab helps you manage all the clips that you import or record for your video. The library contains all the clips available to your project, including:

• Audio clips you import through the Sound tab

• Audio clips you create by recording narration or other sounds in the Sound tab

• Any clips you import in the Library tab

The library also contains any HTML files, URLs, or Web-supported files such as JPEG or GIF images that you import in the Library tab under the Edit Video tab (or the Link & Sync tab) to use as events in a synchronized presentation. The same library is available on both the Library and Link & Sync tabs.

The Library tab lets you:

• Browse an alphabetized list of the clips in your project and sort the list by name, file size, or various dates.

• Get detailed information about any clip in the library and preview it in a special Viewer.

• Import video, audio, HTML, PowerPoint presentation, or graphics files that already exist on your computer, network, or the Internet.

• Import URLs that you can add into your presentation for linking to locations on the Web.

• Drag clips from the library and drop them into the video and audio tracks in the Timeline.

• Reuse any clip in your video by dragging it from the library to a new location in the Timeline.

• Rename any clip in the library. Delete clips you are not using in your video from both the library and your computer’s hard disk.

Library tips• Any file that you import

(video, graphics, or sound) takes up space on your hard disk, so bring in only what you’ll use.

• Any photo or graphic you import in the Library tab becomes a 15-second video clip once you drag it into the Video track. You can trim it back in the Timeline if you want a shorter clip or lengthen it if you want a longer one.

• For importing music or sound effects, using the Sound tab is more convenient than the Library tab. On the Sound tab, the imported item goes directly into your video, and a copy of it is placed in the library.

Editing video• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Library tab at a glance

Click to play the chosen file in a small viewer.

Click to browse the items with thumbnail images.

Click to add a video, audio, or graphics file or URL to the library for use in Avid ePublisher.

Sorted list of items you import or record

Click to browse the items as a tabular list. Use this view to sort items.


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C r e a t i n g s y n c h r o n i z e d

p r e s e n t a t i o n s

You assemble your presentation in the Link & Sync tab, using the Timeline to add events and synchronize them to the audio or video. An event is any valid HTML page, URL, or Web-supported graphic that you intend to display in one of the frames of your presentation.

Use the Event tracks in the Timeline to synchronize events to the video or audio. Each event frame in your presentation is associated with a particular Event track in the Timeline. As you add events to your presentation, they appear as diamond-shaped markers in the Event tracks. You can rearrange these events in the Timeline using a simple drag-and-drop technique.

While building your presentation, you can preview the entire presentation or jump directly to any part of it by using the Viewer above the Timeline. The Viewer shows the actual layout of your presentation, including the borders of each frame. You can double-click any frame in the Viewer to enlarge its contents. Click the Main button on the Link & Sync tab to return to the original view. You can also resize any frame by dragging its borders.

As you watch the presentation in the Viewer, a thin, vertical Position bar advances across the Timeline. The bar’s location shows which portion of the Timeline is currently visible in the Viewer. You can pause the Viewer at any point in the presentation to add a new event. The Position bar then shows exactly where to place the event in the Timeline.

The library in the Link & Sync tab lets you:

• Import video clips, HTML files, URLs, or Web-supported files such as GIF or JPEG images that you can use as synchronized events in your presentation.

• Add an event to your presentation by dragging any item from the library into an Event track in the Timeline.

• Browse the library’s contents and sort the list by name, file size, or various dates.

• Get detailed information about any library item and preview it in a special Viewer.

• Rename or delete items in the library.

Presentation tips Using the Link & Sync tab

• Use the Viewer to pause your presentation at the point where you want to add a new event. Then drag an item from the library to the event frame where you want it to appear. A new event marker appears in the corresponding Event track, at the Position bar’s current location in the Timeline.

• Avoid placing events with large file sizes too close together in a presentation, as this might cause slow download times and lost synchronization.

Creating synchronized presentations• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Link & Sync tab at a glance

Choose background colors for borders.

Turn frame borders on or off.

Choose browser display dimensions.

Library (see “Library tab at a glance” on page 45)

Event tracks where synchronized events are indicated

Event markers that trigger the display of elements in the frames

Table of Contents and TOC markers indicating location in the video

Click to see a magnified view of the presentation layout.


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Using the Event tracks in the Timeline you can:

• Add, remove, replace, or rename events in the Timeline.

• Move an event marker by dragging it to a new location in the track or dropping it into a different Event track.

• Add event placeholders in the Timeline that represent events to be added later.

Using the Viewer in the Link & Sync tab you can:

• Preview your presentation in a special Viewer that shows the actual presentation layout and all synchronized events as they happen.

• View your presentation at various screen resolutions to see how well it fits into a maximized browser at the selected screen resolution.

• Double-click any frame to see an enlarged view of its contents.

• Reassign an Event track to a different frame, so that all the events in that track get displayed in the new frame.

• Resize any frame or change its background color.

• Hide or change the color of frame borders.

• Choose whether to show or hide the video player controls in your presentation.

With the Link & Sync tab you can also:

• Create Table of Contents (TOC) entries for your presentation — clickable links that let your audience jump directly to specific parts of the presentation.

• Add, delete, and move TOC markers in a special TOC track of the Timeline.

• Change the name, font, size, color, and bullet style of the TOC entries appearing in the TOC frame of your presentation.

Presentation tips Using the Link & Sync tab

• You can adjust the layout of your presentation and save a new template for future use based on the open project.

• Avid ePublisher maintains links to files that you import by reference. As you update or replace these files using the same file name, the new files automatically appear in place in your presentation.

• For general use on the World Wide Web, keep the size of graphics files as small as possible in your presentations, so that users with slower modems won’t experience delays in presentation events as the files download.

Creating synchronized presentations• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Link & Sync tab closer up

Format the font, font color, background color, and bullet style for the Table of Contents.

Library items displayed as a list

Individual frames in the template layout can be displayed in an expanded view.


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P u b l i s h i n g v i d e o s o r

p r e s e n t a t i o n s

When you finish creating your video or presentation, you have several options for publishing it. You can use the Publish tab to preview your video on screen or to save it in a variety of file formats for distribution via the Internet, intranet, CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, or for incorporation into a PowerPoint presentation.

For synchronized presentations, the Publish tab is where you encode your presentation into a streaming media format, review the encoded results, and post the entire presentation to a streaming media Web server.

Did you know?

The online Help contains a Publishing Information Form that you can give to your server administrator, Internet Service Provider (ISP), or other Information Technology (IT) representative. This form contains slots for all the information you’ll need to publish to a server using Avid ePublisher. For quick access to the form, find the index entry “Publishing Information Form” in the Avid ePublisher online Help.

Publishing videos or presentations• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Publishing overview

Publishing tips• Before taking the final

steps to publish your video, preview it on screen to make sure your work is exactly what you want.

• Depending on the length of your video or presentation, encoding might take a while. Before encoding, review your video or presentation carefully to catch any mistakes.

• Remember that your audience’s viewing environment may be different than yours. When publishing, make choices that will ensure the best viewing quality for the majority of your audience.

• It is a good idea to preview your encoded video or presentation prior to posting it to a Web server.


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The Publish tab lets you:

• Preview the video or presentation encoded in streaming media formats in a Web browser prior to posting it to its ultimate destination.

• Save your video in MPEG-1, MPEG-2, AVI, or QuickTime file formats.

• Encode the entire presentation or just the video into Microsoft WMT (ASF) or RealNetworks RealSystem 8.0 streaming media format.

• Encode for multiple bit rates in a single streaming media file, allowing media to stream at the optimum data rate for each user’s available bandwidth.

• Post your entire encoded presentation or video to a streaming media Web server on the Internet or to your corporate intranet. You must first enter required information about the servers in the publishing profile.

• Use Avid ePublisher’s predefined publishing profiles to test how your audience will view your presentation over a streaming media server.

• Create and save your own profiles to use over and over again.

Gathering information needed to publish

Before you publish, you should gather information that the system needs to post the presentation, such as server locations and FTP information. For additional details, see the topic “Establishing your Web publishing services” in the Avid ePublisher Help system.


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Publish tab — Settings window at a glance

Setup allows you to streamline the publishing process.

Finish takes you through the final encoding and transferring of project files.

The History button opens a log of your publishing activities.

Options settings allow you to embed identification information and keywords for use in search engines.

Profiles are preconfigured settings for quickly publishing your video or presentation.

Subfolder lets you specify a folder for your presentation at the destination specified in your selected profile.

Creating Avid ePublisher videos and presentations• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Publish tab — Authoring Information window at a glance

Informationspecified here

becomes embeddedin your presentation.


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Publish tab — Finish window at a glance

Audit the project for any problems.

Preview thepresentation

beforetransferring.

Choose thebrowser you

want to use topreview the

presentation.

Choose the browser you want to use to view the final presentation.

View the transferred video or presentation.

View a log describing the transfer.

Start the encoding procedure.

Preview the presentation or video.

Start the transfer.

Credits• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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C r e d i t s

Communication and Design

Jeff Almasol, Terri Autieri, Marianne Burnham, Cris Carter, Pam Erickson, Geoff George, Rebecca Hannula, Allen Hemberger, Ray Laurencelle, Thomas Lewis, Mary McGuire, Curtis Poole, Kim Seward, Diana Sherlock, Chris Tilden

Engineering

Ronny Ashar, Win Crofton, Jim Dolan, Brett Granger, Michael Jefferson, Dewey Harris, Ian Kezsbom, Jay Lasoff, Jean Lee, Glenn McElhoe, Thomas Purcell, Terry Skotz, Mike Travisano, Tina Van Roggen, Brian Williams

Quality Assurance

Jeff Andrews, Josh Calvi, Tom D’Amore, Joe Estee, Jamie MacLauchlan, Jay Odachowski, Jock Pereira, Stacey Smith, Joan Veilleux, Tony Venditti

Management Team

Pete Balkus, Doris Hathaway, Terry Nuzzolo, Marlene Steger

Product Marketing

Linda Croson, Deb Eichten, Doug Hansel, Alan Hoff, Charles Russell, Dana Ruzicka, Chad Stalker

Special Thanks

Paul D’Alelio, Kristen Denison, John Loomis, Donna McNulty, Bud Samiljan, Paula Stalker, Elaine Welch

First Frame, Inc., Ligos Technology, Lyric Design Inc., Microsoft Windows Media Technologies, Real Networks Inc., Robby Naish

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Aaudio

equipment, importing from 42levels, displaying 43

Avid ePublisherRead Me 3Start-up Guide 2troubleshooting 2

Bbutton for volume 43

CCD, importing music from 35, 42, 43clips

adjusting volume of 37, 43arranging 36, 37copying 35list of 35music 43naming 35narration 43organizing 36pasting 35playing 37, 45previewing 35splitting 35trimming 35, 36, 37viewing 37

Ddisk space, conserving 44

Eeffects

adding 38duration of 39inserting 39list of 39marker 39previewing 39removing 39using 35

Effects tab 35, 39features 38

Ffiles

formats for saving 50importing 44, 45

filming video 32

LLibrary tab 35, 44, 45

Mmicrophone, recording from 42movie-making

editingadding effects 38

I n d e x

Index• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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adding music 42adding narration 42adding titles (text) 40organizing clips 36tips 36, 38, 40trimming clips 36

filming tips 32planning 32publishing 50tips 32, 42

movieschanging volume 43outputting 50previewing 50transition effects 38viewing 37

musicimporting from CD 43importing sound files 42, 43

Music track 37, 43

Nnarration 42

PPlay button 37Position bar 37Publish tab 52, 53

RRead Me file 3

Ssound

adjusting volume 43choosing source of 43fading 43files 42, 43recording 43source 43tips for using 42using 35

Sound tab 35, 42, 43Storyboard tab 32storyboards

defined 26, 32example 34templates 26, 33

Ttabs

Edit Video 37Effects 35, 39Library 35, 45Link & Sync 47Publish 53Sound 35, 43Storyboard 32Titles 35, 41Viewer 35, 37

tipsediting 36, 38filming 32importing files 44publishing movies 51

Index• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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sound 42titles 40

titlesaligning text 41bold, italic, underlined 41changing font, size, color 41entering text 41organizing 41scrolling 41trimming 41using 35

Titles tab 35, 40, 41Titles track 37troubleshooting 2

VVideo track 37Viewer tab

described 35, 37features 36

Voice track 37, 42, 43Volume button 43

Documents

Avid ePublisher Start-up Guideresources.avid.com/SupportFiles/attach/047901A.pdf1 Avid ® ePublisher software makes it easy to create synchronized multimedia presentations — combining