Setting my project to widescreen...

Hi, I'm using Final Cut Express HD 3.5.1 and I can't for the life of me work out how to set my project to widescreen instead of the default 4:3 format. All my footage is in 16:9, but when I come to import it, it squashes up to fit inside the 4:3 format of the viewer and the canvas. This means that I'm forced to go through each clip and manually alter the aspect ratio in the viewer, which is a bloody pain in the neck! Please, please put me out of my misery and tell me how I can change my project or sequence settings to WIDESCREEEEEEN!
Thank you,
Hartley Woolf

The Easy Setups and select an Anamoprhic setting that matches you footage.
PAL or NTSC.
32 or 48 kHz that matches 12 ro 16 bit respectively.
Al

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What setting is 'DVD quality' widescreen - ie about 3gb per hour?

I have videod (isn't that a such a quaint 20th century word for the podcast age?) a conference and I want to archive the footage to store on a DVD for later reediting.
The "full quality" setting is massive, I only have 90 mins, but a 20 min clip takes up over 10Gb
The 'CD-rom quality' is just not not dvd quality.
(I am using iMovie 06 btw, i will move onto 08 when it is finished)
Ideally, I would just burn the whole lot raw with iDVD and import it again if i need to reedit - but (for copyright as opposed to technical reasons i suppose) we can't just put a dvd in the slot and rip it like we can an audio cd in iTunes. I have tried the workarounds - but none of them worked for me.
Anyway, I digress: What setting is 'DVD quality' widescreen - ie about 3gb per hour?

Hi there.
*Keep the quality*
0nce you have compressed data - you can't get the original quality back - so store as full quality as possible - and in several formats so there is always a backup.
Media
data cds don't hold that much - 700mb - so forget about them for quality productions and archiving
dvd-roms hold much more - 4,700mb (you can get dual layer ones that double it)
*'share' settings*
Now, you have 2 options for saving the movie;
1. as a file on a DVD-Rom (a compact .mov or a massive.dv)
2. as a proper playable DVD (iDVD)
If the "full quality" iM setting is too big a file for a dvd-rom (and you will be lucky to get 10 mins of footage in 4.7gb), then you could 'iDVD' it and that way you will get a good quality movie up to nearly 2 hours on a disc disc that can be played on most machines (and could even be ripped back into an editable form using third party software)
Alternatively, save it using 'expert settings' listed above and you will probably get good enough results for a longer film without having to burn it as a playable (but uneditable) dvd.
Bear in mind that unless you are using a pro camera, you may not notice the much difference with the higher settings.
Good luck - seeing your work on the big screen is a blast!

Convert an existing 4:3 project to widescreen?

I have an existing, completed, 4:3 project which I want to convert to widescreen with the minimum effort (ie not start from scratch again).
I duplicated the iMovie project package then used MPEG Streamclip to convert all the DV files in the Media folder inside the package to pillarboxed 16:9. So all transitions, clips, effects etc, are preserved but just now pillarboxed.
But of course without changing anything else, the iMovie project shows this pillarboxed 16:9 as squished 4:3.
Is there any way of getting iMovie to change the existing project format to 16:9? I'm open to "hacking" files inside the package if that's what it takes.
(curious that iDVD offers this capability as a menu item!)

Hi,
Your method doesn't quite work, but provided the sniff to solve it!
I created a new widescreen project, then placed all the clips in the Media folder from the Finder. But as you noted, the iMovie project file doesn't know about them, so they are put in the iMovie trash when you open the project.
Since I want to preserve the order of the clips (and my project also has timeline audio clips), the whole project needs to be recreated with all the media content relationships intact, but widescreen instead of 4:3.
Replacing the widescreen iMovie project file with the old one reinstates those relationships but also reinstates 4:3. That provided the clue!
Whether a project is widescreen or not must be a key in the iMovie project file, and sure enough, I found it:
<key>videoStandard</key>
<string>DV-PAL</string>
I edited the project file to say:
<key>videoStandard</key>
<string>DV-PAL-WIDE</string>
VOILA! The project now correctly opens as widescreen with all the original timeline and media relationships preseved. Brilliant!
Thanks for sending me on the right direction!

Can I convert an iMovie Standard project to widescreen?

I created a project using iMovie HD6 and didn't realize that it was set to Standard DV video format. It is complete but I need it to be widescreen format. My intention is to use iDVD to burn it. Am I stuck or is there anyway to change video format at this point? Can I import the saved project into a NEW iMovie project set for widescreen? Anything?

Was the original footage shot in 16:9 widescreen, but imported into a 4:3 DV project instead of a 16:9 DV Widescreen project?
If that is the case you have two choices:
import the footage again into a new project set as DV Widescreen, or
Change the project to 16:9 widescreen after passing it on to iDVD, but before burning it to a DVD:
First go to http://www.mydvdedit.com/index.php?lang=english and download myDVDedit. This is shareware although the download is free. Send the guy a few dollars/euros, he deserves it. While you are there, read all about it. Now install it in your Applications Folder. You will need it later.
You have finished your iMovie project with music, transitions and so on, and saved it to you Movies Folder
Open iDVD. Give the project a name, and save it as Widescreen. Now import the iMovie project into iDVD, choose a theme (any theme you like, even if it prefers to stay at 4:3) and save the project. Do what you would normally do to the theme and its drop zones. Save the project.
Now save as Disk Image on your desktop. Leave it there for the moment when it has finished/appeared.
Open your Movies Folder. Create a new folder. Name it PROJECTNAME – TS FILES (where ‘projectname’ is the name of your project!). Close the folder. You can of course call it anything you like, but this aids identification.
Now double-click the disk image on your desktop. It contains two folders: AUDIO_TS (which is empty, but please pretend that it isn’t) and VIDEO_TS. Drag and drop these to the folder you created in your Movies Folder. (This takes a moment).
Click on the AUDIO_TS folder and go to Get Info in the file menu. Right down the bottom is where you have to change the permissions. Under ‘Ownership & Permissions’ change this from Read Only to Read & Write. Click the small triangle next to Details, scroll down and click on ‘Apply to enclosed items’. You will be asked for your root password. Close the get info window, and now click on the VIDEO_TS folder and do the same. Close the Projectname-TS Files folder. You have now allowed yourself to change the properties of the contents of those folders, which leads us to the next all-important step.
Open myDVDedit. Go to File and open the projectname TS Files folder. By all means stare at it shock and awe, but don’t bother finding out what it can do, except for the following:
Top left you fill see a list of files. Lower centre you have a large window. On the vertical menu to the left of that, click te middle one (VTS or VMG).
In the window at the top left, ignore ‘First Play’ (if there was anything to correct in that, myDVDedit will have done so and told you).
Click on VMG Menu en (English). Now the whole thing springs to life.
Set Coding Mode to MPEG-2 (if it isn’t already)
Set Standard to PAL (or NTSC if that is what you want)
Set Aspect to 16:9 (not any of the other options)
Now save the file.
Click on VTS Menu 1 en (English) and repeat as above.
Click on VTS Menu 2 and repeat as above.
You have now permanently ‘fixed’ the entire contents of the TS folder (the disk image) in 16:9 aspect. Close myDVDedit – you won’t need it again until the next project!
If you have Toast 7 Titanium, open it. ‘Select DVD-Video from VIDEO_TS’. Choose Select from the main Toast window and select your projectname-TS Files folder. You are now ready to burn! You can set the burn speed (2x recommended) before the burn commences. Allow Toast to verify the burn before you eject the DVD-R disk.
If you don’t have Toast 7, then I assume you can burn the projectname-TS Files folder (disk image) via Disk Utility. I say ‘assume’ only because I have never tried it that way.

Best practices for setting up projects

We recently adopted using Captivate for our WBT modules.
As a former Flash and Director user, I can say it’s
fast and does some great things. Doesn’t play so nice with
others on different occasions, but I’m learning. This forum
has been a great source for search and read on specific topics.
I’m trying to understand best practices for using this
product. We’ve had some problems with file size and
incorporating audio and video into our projects. Fortunately, the
forum has helped a lot with that. What I haven’t found a lot
of information on is good or better ways to set up individual
files, use multiple files and publish projects. We’ve decided
to go the route of putting standalones on our Intranet. My gut says
yuck, but for our situation I have yet to find a better way.
My question for discussion, then is: what are some best
practices for setting up individual files, using multiple files and
publishing projects? Any references or input on this would be
appreciated.

Hi,
Here are some of my suggestions:
1) Set up a style guide for all your standard slides. Eg.
Title slide, Index slide, chapter slide, end slide, screen capture,
non-screen capture, quizzes etc. This makes life a lot easier.
2) Create your own buttons and captions. The standard ones
are pretty ordinary, and it's hard to get a slick looking style
happening with the standard captions. They are pretty easy to
create (search for add print button to learn how to create
buttons). There should instructions on how to customise captions
somewhere on this forum. Customising means that you can also use
words, symbols, colours unique to your organisation.
3) Google elearning providers. Most use captivate and will
allow you to open samples or temporarily view selected modules.
This will give you great insight on what not to do and some good
ideas on what works well.
4) Timings: Using the above research, I got others to
complete the sample modules to get a feel for timings. The results
were clear, 10 mins good, 15 mins okay, 20 mins kind of okay, 30
mins bad, bad, bad. It's truly better to have a learner complete
2-3 short modules in 30 mins than one big monster. The other
benefit is that shorter files equal smaller size.
5) Narration: It's best to narrate each slide individually
(particularly for screen capture slides). You are more likely to
get it right on the first take, it's easier to edit and you don't
have to re-record the whole thing if you need to update it in
future. To get a slicker effect, use at least two voices: one male,
one female and use slightly different accents.
6) Screen capture slides: If you are recording filling out
long window based databse pages where the compulsory fields are
marked (eg. with a red asterisk) - you don't need to show how to
fill out every field. It's much easier for the learner (and you) to
show how to fill out the first few fields, then fade the screen
capture out, fade the end of the form in with the instructions on
what to do next. This will reduce your file size. In one of my
forms, this meant the removal of about 18 slides!
7) Auto captions: they are verbose (eg. 'Click on Print
Button' instead of 'Click Print'; 'Select the Print Preview item'
instead of 'Select Print Preview'). You have to edit them.
8) PC training syntax: Buttons and hyperlinks should normally
be 'click'; selections from drop down boxes or file lists are
normally 'select': Captivate sometimes mixes them up. Instructions
should always be written in the correct order: eg. Good: Click
'File', Select 'Print Preview'; Bad: Select 'Print Preview' from
the 'File Menu'. Button names, hyperlinks, selections are normally
written in bold
9) Instruction syntax: should always be written in an active
voice: eg. 'Click Options to open the printer menu' instead of
'When the Options button is clicked on, the printer menu will open'
10) Break all modules into chapters. Frame each chapter with
a chapter slide. It's also a good idea to show the Index page
before each chapter slide with a progress indicator (I use an
animated arrow to flash next to the name of the next chapter), I
use a start button rather a 'next' button for the start of each
chapter. You should always have a module overview with the purpose
of the course and a summary slide which states what was covered and
they have complete the module.
11) Put a transparent click button somewhere on each slide.
Set the properties of the click box to take the learner back to the
start of the current chapter by pressing F2. This allows them to
jump back to the start of their chapter at any time. You can also
do a similar thing on the index pages which jumps them to another
chapter.
12) Recording video capture: best to do it at normal speed
and be concious of where your mouse is. Minimise your clicks. Most
people (until they start working with captivate) are sloppy with
their mouse and you end up with lots of unnecessarily slides that
you have to delete out. The speed will default to how you recorded
it and this will reduce the amount of time you spend on changing
timings.
13) Captions: My rule of thumb is minimum of 4 seconds - and
longer depending on the amount of words. Eg. Click 'Print Preview'
is 4 seconds, a paragraph is longer. If you creating knowledge
based modules, make the timing long (eg. 2-3 minutes) and put in a
next button so that the learner can click when they are ready.
Also, narration means the slides will normally be slightly longer.
14) Be creative: Capitvate is desk bound. There are some
learners that just don't respond no matter how interactive
Captivate can be. Incorporate non-captivate and desk free
activities. Eg. As part of our OHS module, there is an activity
where the learner has to print off the floor plan, and then wander
around the floor marking on th emap key items such as: fire exits;
first aid kit, broom and mop cupboard, stationary cupboard, etc.
Good luck!

Issue using a distant client to set a project on owb server

Hi,
I'm new to OWB, and I'm facing a problem using a client - server installation.
I've designed a project on a computer (win2k), tested it and so on, following the online course to help me. Once the test phase succesfull, I wanted to deploy the project to the prod server (Linux), based in an other town. I've exported the project, logged to the distant OWB server with the client installed on my machine, imported the project and set the locations to the prod's database. Here's my problem. All my sources are flat files, and when I try to edit the flat file location into the project imported on the distant sevrer, I can only choose a path on the win2k machine (where the client is installed), whereas my flat files will be put on the linux server.
I think the solution is to use the owb client installed on the linux server, but the vpn's rate doesn't allow me to use an X11 client ..
Is there a way to avoid the trip to the server's location ?
(sry for spelling / grammar errors, english isn't my mother language).
Thanks,
shz

Hi
There is a metadata location and a data location. The data location will be used at runtime for actual data movement. The metadata location is the location which is used during the design phase - flat file sampling, metadata import from db etc.. So for a location that is going to be used for a data location you can just type the expected remote path name. I take it you hit the browse button or something and seen the location directory system, if so just type the path to the remote system.
Cheers
David

Can you set a project wide time limit?

I know that you can set a time limit for each question, can you set a time limit for the entire project?

That variable has really no sense. First of all, you have to create it and it will just be toggled when time is over. I think it is just taken over from the former Timer widget (Timer widget... to stress your learners - Captivate blog) where it had sense, because it didn't have the same functionality of jumping to a slide when time was over. Beware: the timing is not very accurate, it will start with a delay of about 1 second if you put it on the first slide (display for rest of project), and when time is over the message (you cannot escape from it) will display for 2 seconds. Had planned to blog about Timing/Hourglass interactions, but have too many plans that I didn't realize.

Which size to set up project for video?

I have a file that's 720 x 480. Which size should I use when setting up a project? 16:9 or 4:3 - thanks for the help.

Hi,
Name of Setup table.
MC11V_0SCLSETUP
Not sure why do you need name of setup table to fill it up.
Delete the setup table first before filling up, other which alrady available data will append.
hope it helps
Regards
Vikash

Str Loc Mandatory Setting for Project System PR

Hi
How can i make mandatory setting for a PR getting generated by project system thro the trans CJ20N.
Since its not an mandatory field the PR s from project based are not hv str loc in PR.
Also we are not able to edit the same. All the fileds are in PR in ME52N in grey colour whr the PR s from project based.
Vijay

if your material is not inventory managed, then you cannot have a storage location in the PR.
If it is inventory managed, then you can set the defautl storage location in material master MRP view field Storage location EP

WIDESCREEN MOTION PROJECT NOT WIDESCREEN IN FINDER PREVIEW (HENCE IN DVDSP)

Howdy folks,
This seems like an easy one but I haven't been able to figure it out after a long time of trying and internet searching.
I have a Motion project with the following "project properties":- Preset: 1080i50; Width 1440; Height: 1080; Pixel aspect ratio: (HD 960*720, 1440*1080).
This is a widesreen project and looks so in the Motion canvas window. However, when I find the file in Finder and click on it once to get the little preview, it is not in widescreen and in fact looks distorted to my eye (squashed).
I get the same playback if I open the file using Quicktime. More pertinently, I get the same plackback when I import the file directly into DVD Studio Pro, which is what I want to do.
I hope you folks can help.
Cheers,
Grateful Bob

On my system, a Motion project @ 1440x1080 plays back thin in the Finder but correctly in DVD SP. If it's wrong in DVD SP, make it into a Track, then force that Track to be 16:9 Letterbox with the Inspector. This will only apply to an HD-DVD, of course; for SD you'll need to be downconverting.
In SD, the problem is slightly different (and this applies to the other poster here): you want to tick the "anamorphic" checkbox in the FCP browser to make sure your assets are interpreted correctly.
The behind-the-scenes 1440x1080-to-1920x1080 trickery that many codecs use is very much like the anamorphic trickery in SD, but we don't need to know much about it because all the HD resolutions should be interpreted as 16:9.

How do you set the PROJECT END limit?

Hi there,
I know you can drag the right 'bracket' on the bar ruler or you can type in a value in the transport under the tempo. But on my system, I can only get it to bar 21601 and no further.
You may be thinking, what am I doing? Composing a 13 hour song?
I just have some files with time stamps on them and a few say they go beyond my project end. I'm hoping there's a setting where I can extend the limit.
Thanks,
Saki

skaskas wrote:
I'm hoping there's a setting where I can extend the limit.
I'm afraid there is not such a setting but you can try next..
If you need to increase this length as a time length,just halve the tempo. You can achieve the same result by using 4/8 time instead of 4/4 time, and treating quarter notes as eighth notes.A 4/8 song at a tempo of 60bpm (equivalent to 4/4 at a tempo of 120)etc.
!http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4967/aglogo45.gif!

Setting in Project Properties for PAL 1920 x 1080

Hi there,
I have been using LiveType in Std Def without problem.
Now I have switched to HD, my FCE4 is editing in PAL 1920 x 1080.
What setting is FILE > Project Properties shall I set in LiveType because I see the canvas has gone too big & not managable !!
HELP HELP HELP
Thanks

Nick Holmes wrote:
Pick any of the 1080 presets -it doesn't matter which, although you might have to adjust the frame rate to suit.
Another way to automatically adjust the properties is to simply drop in a small piece of video in the required format via the Place Background Movie command in the File menu. Save the setting and then delete the video.
I see the canvas has gone too big & not managable !!
Click the percentage button at the bottom left of the Viewer. Set it to "Fit to Screen".
Thanks Nick.
But how do fix the size of all the various windows.
After I adjust until all the 4 windows are to my liking, I work on it.
But when I close Live Type and I fired up Live Type on the next time, all the 4 windows go haywire in size again. How do I fixed (and save) the size of the 4 windows once & for all ?
Thanks

Can I customize the browser tab text - set to Project Title by default

Hello there,
I am using RH 7.03, generating WebHelp
I am creating branded Help and would like to customize the name that displays on the browser tab. It is set via the Project Title property in Project Settings. Can this be changed dynamically via an ssl?
Many thanks.
Pat

Hi Pat
To expound on what Colum offered, that setting will only have any effect under one of a couple of conditions.
You are working with Context Sensitive Help and are using Map IDs and the WebHelp API to establish the linking.
You are working with WebHelp or FlashHelp Pro output.
Aside from either of those conditions, the Window you were pointed to will be simply ignored.
Cheers... Rick
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Setting up projects

I am new to Spaces. Is it possible to associate an application with certain documents in particular spaces. For instance, I am working on one project with Word files and I want it assigned to Space 1. I have another project with Word files that I want in Spaces 2. Right now, every time I switch to Word, it brings up all of my documents. I want to be able to have Word running in separate spaces with separate documents.

as you said, iMHD5 is mainly meant for imports from camcorders..
those devices us 'dv-stream' as codec, so iM's 'native' codec is dv.
mpeg4/iSight is just .. toy.
widescreen is for 16:9 footage..
the HD settings are for High Definition, material with 1900x1080 (or lil' less) resolution... I assume that is way over the top of your devices..
so, 'DV' would be my choice in your case...

My source content is in different resolutions, what settings do I use to set my project up?

I have 3 types of input:
1) H.264 720x568 25fps AAC 48kHz Stereo (though for some reason it says "NTSC 1080p in the info panel for these clips)
2) H.264 1440x1080 25fps
3) Motion projects, which I can obviously set up at whatever resolution I need to
The final exported footage once the project is complete will be used in a variety of formats:
- streamed online
- viewed on a Mac in Quicktime (on a standard monitor, and then via secondary screen onto HD TV)
- iPad
Please could someone advise on how I'm best to go about choosing a project setting (resolution, frames etc) so I can create the project at the correct resolution in FCP Pro X, and also in Motion 5
Thanks in advance
Rob

Thanks Tom
Majority will be the HD, so presuming you're going to tell me to set it up in HD format and then just drop the standard def stuff into that and suffer the degredation? Are the options either to stretch it or zoom & crop
Wasn't sure what you meant about converting AAC to 48k audio... how do I do that? I think I'm getting confused because inspector tells me Codecs: H264 and AAC, but audio sample rate tells me 48kHz (for the same clip?).
Also, what's the best way to get Motion stuff into FCP? Would ProRes 4444 be best?
Thanks again
Rob

Setting my project to widescreen...

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