Dreamstudio: Basics

 

To make a new video, click “My Account” and then “Create Video.” You will be brought to the Interface: divided into the Slide Control Box area (upper rectangular area, light brown in color) and the Workspace (grey in color, with blue tabs on the left side).

The actual Slide Control Box would be the peach-colored box on the left side, with the Photo, Movie, and Slide captions. This is where you can add or delete the three to or from your presentation. The small rectangles beside it are actually mini-versions of the slides you have created, so you can go back to these just by clicking on the slide you want if you need to edit anything.

The Workspace area, on the other hand, will be the one handling the brunt of the work. All of the actual creation and editing will be done here, via the tabs.

Let's have have a definition of terms:

Slide: For those who have already made presentations (ex. Microsoft PowerPoint, OpenOffice Presentation, etc.) in the past, this should be familiar to you, as the slides in Dreamstudio work in the same way as in those programs. For those who'll be using slides for the first time, don't worry!

Slides are essentially the area where you will put in and order all the stuff you'll be using in your video. Think of it as your artist's canvas, or if you were a cartoonist, the frames in comic strips. And, continuing the second metaphor, other frames could be added in your presentation too, simply by clicking “Add Slide” on your Slide Control Box. Multiple slides can be used for more complex presentations instead of just using one. A maximum of 99 slides can be created.

Photo: This isn't limited to the pictures you took yourself on your camera.:p Instead, this pertains to all images, including ones you scanned or downloaded over the Internet. DreamStudio supports the following formats: jpg, mjpeg, gif, png, and bmp.

Movie: Like in Photo, Movie does not refer to the ones that appear on the silver screen. These are the video clips that can be included in your presentation. In Dreamstudio, you can use videos with the following formats: avi, mpg, mpeg, mov, and asf. A maximum size of 20 mb may be used for the video.

Notes: Photo and video clips put in slides that are of a different format from the ones mentioned above will not played in the Presentation.

Also, the Slide, Photo, and Video definitions given above pertain to the ones on the Slide Control Box, and not on the tabs of the Workspace.

The Workspace shows the slide you're currently working on. Here, you can add the videos, pictures, and the effects that you want to use. Music can also be added by clicking the “Extra” tab and then “Background music.” You can choose from the set files or you can upload your own MP3. Please remember that the photos and video clips can only be added from the Slide Control Box. By combining these, you can make a music video, a short story, or a jazzed-up album: it's all up to you!

You can try mixing and matching these media and see which combination is according to your taste.

Check the blog again for more tips!