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The World’s Top Tips for

Pinnacle Studio Video Editing software

(with some Avid Liquid snippets)












EDITION 5.5 TUTORIAL

MIND MELD - Paul Mitton's superb DVD Tutorials for Liquid Edition 5.5

wp58fb302f.jpg I have to admit, when I first heard about these DVD tutorials I was a little sceptical - I'm more used to interactive tutorials, where you learn, do - perhaps interactively, then progress to the next stage. I didn't think that I'd learn much by watching a movie (or to be more precise, a series of movies) that are, in effect, live demonstrations of hands-on lectures.

Oh boy, was I wrong!   I mean really wrong!

Within just a few minutes of starting the first DVD, I was learning valuable, time-saving tricks, tricks that would have taken a lifetime to discover even with an intensive read through the manuals. From the start, I was totally captivated not only by Paul's warm, friendly, easy and often amusing style, but also by the wealth of information being imparted. Paul takes you gently by the hand and works steadily through Liquid Edition's powerful features and working methods in a very logical sequence, giving tips and hints all the way. The real beauty of it is, Paul often does things the way a new user would do them - that is, carry out an action expecting a specific result, only to find that the expected result doesn't happen.  Don't misunderstand - this is a deliberate ploy by Paul. The reasons why things didn't happen as expected are then explained and worked through quite clearly. I found this very refreshing - especially as some of these 'why didn't it work' eventualities reflected my own mistakes - mistakes that had sent me scurrying for the manual in a bid to find out what I'd done wrong. For example, whilst dealing with the sound tracks, at one point Paul comments (I'm paraphrasing here) ... "I can scrub through the sound track and hear the sound ... ah, no sound. OK, the loudspeaker picon at the end here should be hollow, not solid ... that can be changed by holding down the shift key and clicking ... still no sound ... OK, we need to click the Scroll Lock key ... " , and so on, taking the 'student' through mistakes he or she is likely to make (and in many instances, I did make) whilst learning. If I'd have watched the DVDs before starting, I'd have saved myself a load of time thumbing through the Reference Guide, that's for sure. 

The DVDs are laced with humour - but it is not overdone - and they also have a good sprinkling of 'Grandma's tricks, hints and wrinkles' that are truly worth noting. The pace is right, and the basics are well covered (with occasional references to Studio's way of doing things, which I'm sure Studio users will find of value if and when they make the change). The 'more complicated' stuff (from the  beginners' viewpoint), such as using the dynamic time warp and the new colour correction features, are covered in sufficient detail to get the newcomer started using these advanced and perhaps more complex features.  The DVD authoring section answered a lot of my own questions - I had figured that the Studio DVD authoring was more comprehensive, more versatile and easier, and so have been switching the edit to Studio for the final DVD authoring phase. Wrong!  After watching this part of Paul's tutorial, I now feel confident enough to tackle DVDs with renewed vigour in Liquid Edition - and get better results into the bargain. 

Liquid Edition is an extremely feature rich editor, packed with versatility and flexibility. No single set of videos can cover the entire spectrum of capabilities - but in Mind Meld's three DVDs, Paul manages to open most if not all of the doors and show the way. Tricky concepts for newcomers are well explained. Paul also covers the pitfalls that can occur  and offers methods or techniques for avoiding these pitfalls. For example, when creating a keyframe effect, he shows how creating a keyframe for one parameter can make it difficult to then keyframe another parameter without upsetting the first, and of course, he offers the solution. I thought I knew most, if not all about keyframing and creating effects - but, without question, I learned a few sweet tricks from these tutorials. Once the door is opened, as it were, walking the path to further discovery is fairly easy. 

Would I recommend anyone to buy these? You've probably guessed the answer already. Unquestionably -  particularly those who are fairly new to the program. These tutorials would have cut my own learning curve down considerably - and would have made it an exciting voyage of discovery, instead of a heavy going manual thumbing exercise.  I still consider myself to be a learner - though now, after viewing these DVDs, much less so (and I will be watching them again, and again). I feel I now have some of the 'pro' methods and techniques well and truly under my belt.  Paul intimates towards the end of the tutorials that more will be forthcoming, covering the more complex subjects in greater detail. They're already on my shopping list.  I just know they're going to contain another wealth of information and host of invaluable techniques to make my editing even more pleasurable.

OK, you're busting to know - what do the DVDs cover. Here you go -

DVD 1   - This covers the initial setting up of Liquid Edition -  an introduction to the editor, and to customising it to look and work the way you want, customising the keyboard, creating user profiles, templates, and changing system settings, and introduces the use of the logging tool.

DVD 2    This starts off by showing analogue capturing and DV capturing, shows logging clips on the fly, batch capturing and batch listing, and is followed by an introduction to editing, with the editing basics and desktop storyboarding.

DVD 3 This covers more editing, a collection of unmissable tips and tricks from Grandma's collection (wise lady!), invaluable techniques for using multiple camcorders when editing (typically) a wedding (I don't think you'll find this in any of the manuals),  an introduction to the colour correction and time warp features, shows the variety of ways to create different outputs, and demonstrates the authoring of a DVD.

I said three DVDs, but there are in fact four - the fourth being a walk-through of how Paul created some of the graphics used throughout the other three DVDs. For the newcomer to Liquid Edition, and possibly someone who has been tinkering around with it under there own steam for a few months or so, this set of tutorials would be an invaluable asset.  I rather suspect that hardened, long-time professional users would be better off to wait for Paul's next set of Tutorials which, hopefully, will cover the more nitty gritty topics in his inimitable, easy to follow style.

To find out more, visit Paul's website - here