Exporting a Single Frame

The real beauty of film is that it captures a whole range of events in motion; this is something only an experienced cameraperson can do with a normal photograph. But with video, you have the option of isolating one specific frame from a whole range and using that to create a photograph, either to include in your video project, or to place on the cover of the DVD case.

To export a single frame

1.	Scrub through the Timeline until you find the frame you want to export.
2.	Press the I key and then the O key on the keyboard without moving the timeline cursor to place the mark-in and mark-out points one frame apart (Figure 13.13). Figure 13.13. Defining a mark-in and mark-out point that is one frame long.
3.	Click File > Export and then select Sequence to open the Export Sequence interface.
4.	Select from the image formats at the bottom of the list (Bitmap, TARGA, and TIFF) as shown in Figure 13.14, and then select the frame size and decide whether or not to use the interpolated or the interlaced option. Figure 13.14. The picture format options are at the bottom of the drop-down list. Using the Snapshot Function A very quick way to export a single frame bitmap is to use the Snapshot button . This simply creates a bitmap out of whatever frame is currently in the Master Viewer and then places it in the current Rack. While this appears to be an easier method than the contorted method described above, it should be noted that this will only create a bitmap inside the current Media folder. If you want to export it to a program like Photoshop, then you are going to have to spend time hunting it down. Not impossible, but not exactly a timesaving method either. You'll probably find that the contorted method produces usable snapshots of your video into a directory you can easily find in the future.
5.	Click the check mark and browse the folder to which you want to export this file. Once you click the Save button, a single frame suitable for use inside applications like Paint Shop Pro is exported.