Using Microsoft Producer


After capturing the video elements and copying the still images and PowerPoint presentation to a location that can be accessed by the Producer workstation, the Fabrikam staff can begin building the project. One Producer project is created for each of the four presentations.

The following procedure is an example of how the editor at Fabrikam will assemble and edit a Producer presentation. Before starting this process, the editor will need the following digital media elements:

  • Video of the presenter. Video captured as a digital media file in any of the supported formats, such as WMV or AVI.

  • Existing “Team Building” video.

  • JPEG images of safety teams. These are small JPEG image files that will be edited with the video.

  • PowerPoint presentation. This is the PowerPoint presentation originally used by the presenter to give the training course.

  • HTML page containing contact information. A simple Web page containing a name and e-mail address.

  • Feedback HTML page containing the quiz. Another Web page that provides form elements for completing a short quiz.

Before assembling the presentation, the editor makes sure he is familiar with the script or rundown. Then he follows this process to complete the Producer presentation:

  1. Import. Use the Import command to add the digital media elements to the Producer project:

  2. Add the first Producer template to the timeline. A template defines the layout and appearance of elements on the final presentation Web page. The template will contain pre-defined areas for the video, PowerPoint slides, a table of contents, and a small area for the contact HTML. The Fabrikam project will use the Standard Video (240x180) – Fixed Slides and HTML template provided with Producer, but a custom template could be created.

  3. Add the contact HTML page to the HTML track.

  4. Add the presenter video to the timeline. The video can be edited, if necessary, to remove mistakes and long pauses. Also, the beginning and end of the video can be edited and fade transitions added.

  5. Add the “Team Building” video to the timeline. The editor will split the presenter video at the point where he wants to add “Team Building,” and then drag the clip to that point on the timeline.

  6. Smooth out the edits. Wherever the editor removes a pause or mistake, there will be a noticeable jump in the presenter video. He can smooth out some of the jump-cuts by adding a short fade transition at that point. Figure 21.1 shows a short fade transition on the timeline.

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    Figure 21.1: Adding a short fade transition to the presentation.

    After removing a section of video, drag the incoming clip on the right over the top of the outgoing clip on the left. The area where the two clips overlap is converted into a fade transition by default.

  7. Move audio and add stills. In one part of the video, the editor wants to show four JPEG still images, while the audio track of the presenter continues. To do that, he first moves the audio of the section to the Audio 2 track on the timeline. Then he can add the images to the Video track. Figure 21.2 shows the presenter audio moved to the Audio 2 track and still images added to the timeline. For more details about inserting video only and still images on the timeline, see the Video Inserts in Producer sidebar in this chapter.

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    Figure 21.2: Adding images to the timeline.

  8. After the video has been edited, drag the PowerPoint presentation to the timeline, and then use the Synchronize command to manually add slide-change cues to the Slide track. You can manually adjust the timing directly on the timeline the same way you adjust video edit timing. Figure 21.3 shows the timeline after slides have been synchronized.

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    Figure 21.3: Synchronizing slides and video on the timeline.

  9. At the end of the video, add the quiz Web page. First add a new template to the end of the presentation: Standard Audio – Resizable HTML. Then, add the Web page at the same point on the HTML track. When the video ends, the presentation will switch to the new template, and the quiz page will appear as in figure 21.4, enabling the end user to fill in the form and submit it.

    click to expand
    Figure 21.4: The quiz HTML page in Fabrikam’s training presentation.

  10. When editing is complete, use the Publish Wizard. Producer encodes the final Windows Media files and creates the Web pages and folder. Then it copies the Web pages to the training site, and copies the Windows Media file to the Windows Media server. Figure 21.5 shows all the elements displayed in the finished presentation.

    click to expand
    Figure 21.5: The completed Fabrikam Producer presentation in a Web browser.

If your presentation requires many complex edits, you may want to use an advanced video editing tool, and then import the edited file into Producer to add slides. However, for most business presentations, Producer can save you the extra step. For more details about using Producer, see chapter 19, or the book Creating Dynamic Presentations with Streaming Media (Microsoft Press, 2002).

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Video Inserts in Producer

Producer provides a way for you to cut to a video shot or still image, while continuing the audio track from the previous shot. For example, in the Fabrikam scenario, when the presenter talks about safety violations in the factory, the editor can cut to video shot in the factory that illustrates the point. In video editing, this type of edit—replacing the video, while continuing the audio—is called a “video insert.” Figure 21.6 shows a portion of a timeline with a video-only insert.

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Figure 21.6: A video insert plays video over the audio from another clip.

In this description, we will refer to the video clip of the presenter that contains synchronized video and audio as the sync clip. We will refer to the clip we want to add as the insert clip.

In Producer, you insert content by moving the section of a sync clip that you want to insert video over to the Audio 2 track, and then adding the insert clip to the Video track. When you add video to the Audio 2 track, only the audio portion of the clip plays, but the video remains with the clip. If you move the clip back to the Video track, the video plays again.

To insert a video-only clip, do the following:

  1. Prepare the insert clip. For example, you can add the unedited video to a blank area of the timeline, and use the Split command to edit the clip you want to insert.

  2. Split the sync clip at the point where you want to add the insert clip.

  3. Right-click the portion of the sync clip to the right of the split and drag it to the Audio 2 track. Make sure the beginning of the clip snaps to the end of the previous clip on the Video track. When you drop the clip, select Move.

  4. Add the insert clip to the Video track, making sure that it snaps to the end of the sync clip.

  5. Use the frame locator buttons on the video viewer to locate the last frame of the insert clip.

  6. Select the Audio 2 track, and split the sync clip.

  7. Right-click the portion of the sync clip to the right of the split and drag it back to the Video track. Make sure it snaps to the end of the insert clip. When you drop the clip, select Move.

  8. If the insert clip contains audio you do not want, right-click the clip and click Mute.

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Microsoft Windows Media Resource Kit
Microsoft Windows Media Resource Kit (Pro-Resource Kit)
ISBN: 0735618070
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 258

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