Finally, Exporting Your Project

Tired of all these options? Most are holdovers from the days of slower computers. With the exception of videos running on the Web over dial-up connections, you want to aim for high-quality output. We'll start with the obviousDV. Here's the process:

1. Connect your DV camcorder to your computer, just as you did when you captured video. Set it to VTR.

   At this point you could go directly to Export Timeline, Export to Tape. If everything is in order, Premiere immediately renders your project's unrendered transitions and effects, puts your camcorder in Record mode (after a couple button clicks on your part), and exports your project to DV tape. Simple.

   But before doing that, it's a good idea to make sure everything is in order.

   Each time you start Premiere, you click through the Load Project Settings dialog box. You probably select the same setting each time. Although more than a dozen presets (and even more if you have a video capture card) and uncountable options are available, the bottom line is that there are only three video output formats: DV, Video for Windows, and QuickTime.

2. To check up on your output settings, select Project, Project Settings, General from the main menu. This opens the Project Settings dialog box, shown in Figure 19.13.

   Figure 19.13. The Project Settings, General dialog box displays your overall capture/output values. Click the Playback Settings button to adjust the output to your camcorder.

   

   

   Here is another of those potentially confusing Premiere-isms. If you move through the various Project Settings dialog boxesVideo, Audio, and Keyframe and Renderingyou'll see some familiar screens. Although it's good to be able to access settings like this in various ways, the inconsistent dialog box names Project Settings, Export Movie Settings, and Export Audio Settingscreate confusion, especially because they all do the same thing.

   
   

3. Open the Editing Mode drop-down menu. It displays the preset you selected at startup: DV Playback, Video for Windows, or QuickTime. If you're using a Mac and working with DV, then QuickTime's DV mode should be visible.

4. Click the Playback Settings button highlighted in Figure 19.13. For Windows users, this displays the dialog box shown in Figure 19.14. Mac users have a QuickTime DV dialog box with similar options.

   Figure 19.14. Use the DV Playback Options dialog box to select whether Premiere displays video on your computer and camcorder.

   

In either case you can choose where you'll see video playback during editing and exporting. If while recording to your camcorder frames are lost, uncheck both the Playback on Desktop box and the Play Audio on Desktop while Scrubbing box.

Export to Tape

Now, finally, follow these steps to export to tape:

1. Make sure your work area bar covers your entire project and does not include any virtual clips.

   

   To give your project a little breathing room on your DV tape, add black video to the beginning of your project. You know the drill: Right/Option-click in the Project window, select New, Black Video. Drag that to the start of your project and give it a duration of around five seconds (right/Option-click the clip in the timeline, select Duration, and give it a time).

   If you're going to have a postproduction studio duplicate of your tapes, add 30 seconds of "bars and tone" to the beginning so they can set up their gear. Same drill as black video: Right/Option-click the Project window, select New, Bars and Tone. Drag it to the beginning of your project and change its duration to 30 seconds.

   
   

2. Select File, Export Timeline, Export to Tape. Premiere should pop up a display like the one in Figure 19.15 to note that it's building a preview. If you have already rendered all transitions and effects, Premiere may skip this step.

   Figure 19.15. Premiere first builds a preview before exporting to your camcorder.

   

   Once Premiere completes rendering your project, it pops up the Export to Tape Settings dialog box, shown in Figure 19.16.

   Figure 19.16. The Export to Tape Settings dialog box lets you fine-tune the export process before starting to record your project to your DV device.

   

   Most times you'll accept the default settings. In case you need an extra level of control for your export process, here's an explanation of each value:

   • Select Activate recording deck to let Premiere control your deck.

   • Assemble at time code lets you specify where on the tape to begin recording. If you don't select this option, recording begins at the current tape location.

   • Movie start delay may not apply to you. Some camcorders need a delay between the time they receive the record command and the time the movie starts playing from the computer.

   • Preroll lets your deck back up to "get up to speed" before recording begins. Again, with newer camcorders you don't need to use this.

   

   To experiment, try recording a short clip (place the work area bar over only a few seconds of your project) and record with no preroll. Go back and see whether your camcorder captured all the frames. If so, don't sweat the Preroll option.

   
   

3. Click OK. Premiere should start your camcorder and record your project to it. Somehow, I think there should be a drum roll with a cymbal crash here.

If you have an analog recorder with Device Controlthis typically is an expensive broadcast-quality deviceyou follow basically the same process with one additional step. Because it's analog, you need a video capture card. Also, you need to use its analog output settings. Select them by going to Edit, Preferences, Scratch Disks and Device Control and selecting your device control plug-in from the Device list. Then go to File, Export Timeline, Export to Tape.

Print to Video

This is the non-Device Control recording method. Technically, you can use this for a DV device, but you might as well stick with Export to Tape for that.

Because this is intended for recording to analog devices, you need a video capture card with Analog Out plugs. Here are the steps to follow:

1. In the timeline, place the work area bar over the entire project or segment you want to record. Render it by pressing Enter or Shift+Enter, depending on whether you have Real-time Preview enabled or not. You should see the preview playing in your recorder's monitor.

2. Select File, Export Timeline, Print to Video. You should see the dialog box in Figure 19.17.

   Figure 19.17. The Print to Video dialog box lets you add color bars and black to the beginning of your project.

   

   This dialog box offers a couple nifty little extras: color bars and black video. No need to create them and place them in the timeline because Print to Video takes care of that for you.

3. Start your recorder and then click OK. You should see your project playing in your recorder's monitor.

Print to Video is a nifty way to see your project in full-screen mode without actually recording it. Simply go through the regular Print to Video steps, selecting Full Screen (Windows) or Zoom Screen (Mac). No need to turn on a recorder. Simply click OK and watch. Select Loop Playback to watch it over and over and over.

Task: Export a Movie

This task covers all other export modes, with the exception of Frames (a very simple process). Because you've already waded through all the file types and options, I'll just take you through one export process. Any other one would be very similar. In this case, you'll export (create a new file) your project using QuickTime.

You know the drill:

1. Select File, Export Timeline, Movie. Click Settings to open the Export Movie Settings dialog box.

2. Select QuickTime from the File Type drop-down menu.

3. Select Work Area or Entire Project, depending on your needs.

4. You can choose to export only audio or only video by unchecking the appropriate box. Check or uncheck Beep When Finished and Open When Finished.

5. Click Next or use the drop-down menu to move on to the Export Movie Settings, Video dialog box. There, select a codecIntel Indeo, Sorenson, or Cinepak (all will work fine). Make any adjustments to Frame Size, Frame Rate, and Quality that suit you.

6. Move on to Export Movie Settings, Audio and make any adjustments there.

7. Check to see that No Fields is selected in the Keyframe and Rendering window.

8. Click OK. Navigate to an appropriate file folder, give your project a name , and click Save. Premiere will go into a render mode, applying the codec and other elements you selected in the Export Movie Settings dialog box. When done, it'll save the file and, if you checked Open When Finished, will open a clip window to allow you to play this newly created file.

The process is nearly the same for Frame Sequences and Animations. In those cases, just about the only adjustments you'll need to make are to the Frame Size and Frame Rate.

If you want to create still frames, use Export Timeline, Frame and then select a graphic type and frame size.