CS 325: Adobe Encore

Highlights of this lab: Introduction to Encore Getting Started With Encore Assignment

Please download these files which we will be using as a basis for the lab today.

:: Introduction to Encore ::

Encore is a Media navigation authoring tool originally designed to simplify DVD-video authoring. Since it was first release it has been expanded to allow creation of Flash media sites and Blu-ray discs. It offers direct integration with Premiere, After-Effects, and Photoshop. While you are editing in Premiere, simply add chapter markers to your sequences and then export them to your project.

Encore offers a variety of templates to accelerate the design process. Dozens of Adobe designed menu templates allow you to create DVDs quickly for a wide variety of occasions. These can be customized or you can start from scratch and design your own templates or import images as backgrounds, etc. 

Making slideshows and matching them up to music is a breeze in Encore. Simply import some pictures, create a slideshow object and drag and drop. Then you can add transitions, sync them to music, and add randomized motion with a click of a button.

:: Getting Started With Encore ::

Attend the lab seminar for a demonstration with the lab materials, or watch these tutorial videos and try to build your own:

Note: these videos are for CS4, but still apply to CS6.

• Overview
• New Project
• Menus
• Timelines
• Slideshows
• Navigation
• Exporting/Burning a DVD

In the Lab...

• Create folder for the project in on the local machine
• Extract lab materials to that folder.
• Create a new project for lab demo as DVD for NTSC region
• Look at the various panels... identify the Project panel
• Add Roundand1939_256kb.mp4 to the Project
• Make a timeline based on clip
• Go through timeline and add bookmarks for chapters you skip to with remote
• Preview DVD. This is the simplest DVD and is great for making quick video project demos
• Observe that a movie edited in Premiere can be Dynamically linked directly into Encore, and Premiere can be used to add bookkmarks
• Add Tranceformers.mp3 to the Project
• double click to preview in the tiny icon
• drag and drop it to the timeline on a new audio track. It is now an alternate audio track - like a language. You can set what language it is supposed to be in Encore so that DVD Players can default to something appropriate
• Preview DVD and switch to Audio 2 track.
• Cool!
• Create a Transformers slideshow
• add pictures in Transformers folder to project by using shift click
• select all Transformers pictures and icon of page with curled corner and choose to create slideshow
• Can preview directly
• Drag Tranceformers into Audio playlist
• Check off Fit Slideshow to Audio Duration
• Preview again. Cool!
• Would be nice if we could choose to view slideshow or movie. We need a menu
• Add Menu.psd to the Project
• This photoshop file describes a menu. There are special folders of layers inside that represent buttons. Everything else is for show
•  A folder with a name that starts with (+) is a Button Folder
• The layer inside that folder that starts with (=1) is the Select Highlight.  It can only be one colour.
• Double click Menu.psd
• See the text buttons. You can click on them and drag them around. DON'T! I carefully centered them and you'll ruin m hard work. Boo hoo. ;*)
• How do we link the menu to stuff?
• click a button and drag a line from it's link property (to the right) to the timeline or slideshow as appropriate.
• For the second one select flowchart tab (right tab, middle frame)
• Have to put menu in project! Notice CD picture? It points at the timeline. Click and drag from right side to Menu in tray at bottom.
• Now see menu buttons listed below menu. One doesn't point at anything. Click and drag from it to appropriate item in tray at bottom.
• These items should have an action at the end too. Click and drag from end of timeline and slideshow to Menu. Now have complete loop!
• How about a chapter menu?
• In the lab we will use a prebuilt video menu.
• We will then place chapter markers into the video menu.
• Discussion on animate buttons
• What about exporting the project?
• Using the Build Panel, chose:
• Format : Flash
• Location : Your local machine (Desktop or Documents)
• Name : Give it a name, which includes your name (this will be the name of the folder)
• Format : F4V
• Preset : F4V 640x480 29.97fps Standard Medium Quality
• Click on "Build"
• Navigate to your folder name and double click on the index.html file to view your export

:: Assignment ::

For this assignment I would like you to play around with Encore and develop a "functional" DVD interface for your favorite TV show. Google for images and create a masterpiece! Use what we did in the lab to guide you. Have a custom menu that links to a slideshow describing the different characters, add sounds, etc. Please also add a short video with chapters. If you don't have one for your show, use the one supplied in the lab materials.

• Marking scheme:
  • The usual. Please submit a functional menu system, and be creative.

Submit a "flash build". Make sure that the directory contains all the sounds, images, and clips you used. To double-check the flash build, double click on the index.html. Avoid full quality movie clips, as I may not have enough storage for them.

Details:

• Your slideshow will use at least seven images and one sound
• You will have two menus:
  • A main menu
  • A menu that links to chapters in the video

..:: Online Source(s) ::..

• Encore Tutorials
• Adobe Encore Help