Adobe Encore CS5 Course

Hello! My name is Mark Struthers and I have created a number of VTC courses focused on Adobe products such as Premiere Pro CS5. Speaking of Premiere Pro, ordinarily when video editors have finished compiling sequences and solitary movie clips into a finished movie they will require a method of burning the completed project to DVD so that it can be viewed in the order in which it is meant to be played back. Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 users, for example, will require the ability to burn their finished film to DVD but also most of the time will want a program that not only assembles the completed movie in the correct order but also will contain a menu system that enables the user to watch the film in its entirety whilst also offering the ability to flick through scenes. Additionally, the possibility to add extra features such as subtitles and perhaps outtakes would be good news, too and so that's where Adobe's Encore CS5 comes into the frame. I nearly said comes into play there, but I changed my mind. I thought frame was a more filmic-appropriate word. Anyway, Adobe Encore CS5 is the program pretty much all Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 users use when creating DVDs not just because it can do all those things I've just mentioned and not just because it can output to DVD and Blu-ray disk and not just because it can create Flash-driven websites. I expect one of the main reasons Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 users love to use Encore CS5 is because it's free. That's right. It comes as part of the Suite of ancillary programs that run alongside Premiere Pro that include Adobe's Media Encoder, Adobe's Bridge, and Adobe's OnLocation. So, if the fact it's free is not incentive enough then I don't know what is. Remember, it's not always been this way. In earlier incarnations of the program you had to pay for it, so now it's part of the bundle, it's worth getting to know it. I have to say, though, that ostensibly it's not the easiest program to absorb but in a way I think that's part of the charm and my theory is now that Encore CS5 has started to develop into areas it never initially ventured into such as the ability to create Flash-based websites, then I suspect it's only a matter of time before it becomes a paid-for product again. So, what do you get with Encore CS5? Well, in every way it can be described as a professional-level DVD authoring program and in this respect I expect that's why Premiere Pro has now deleted the until recent integration of an authoring program built into it. Incidentally, if you do want a simple authoring program integrated inside Premiere you'll have to go for Premiere Elements. But as you'll probably know, Premiere Elements is not designed for professional use. It's a great program, don't get me wrong, but I've seen recent studies conducted that display rendering speeds, for example, that show Premiere Pro is around 30 percent faster than Premiere Elements. Anyway, all that aside, Premiere Pro doesn't have an authoring facility built into it so Encore is the way to go. It's not the only way. There are other authoring programs on the market but seeing as it's very tightly integrated with Premiere Pro I think it is the way to go, as I say. So, what will you learn during this course? Well, I'm going to look at a variety of authoring avenues and we'll walk down them at a gentle pace so that you'll be able to author your films to DVD in nearly no time at all. Amongst other things I'll look at how using Premiere Pro's Encore marker system works so that the authoring process with Encore is accelerated. I look at what's new with the CS5 version of Encore. I look at optimizing workspaces so that the program looks how you want it to, well within reason. I'll talk through a suggested workflow method as well as project planning, hopefully providing enough background information to reach an understanding of what works best with your Encore use. The bedrock of creating an Encore-driven film, project creation and asset importing will be investigated as will creating menus with Adobe's Photoshop. This is in addition to using the pre-installed library of menu assets. Now, speaking of Adobe programs such as Photoshop, I also want to briefly look at using After Effects, too, so help our menu creation. Additionally, the use of Timelines, a term Premiere Pro users will be familiar with, will get covered as will adding audio. And, along the way, I'll offer tips and tricks to help you get started and develop your Encore experience. Whilst you become increasingly familiar with Encore as this course progresses, I'm going to look at using Adobe's Dynamic Link function to shuttle back and forth with programs such as Adobe Soundbooth, Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator and possibly After Effects where necessary. Now there will be parts of this course that will provide technical information, too, so that you are aware of issues ranging from bit budgeting to video file aspect ratios. I also want to look at transcoding, either before implementing video files into Encore and after, hopefully explaining the advantages and disadvantages of both options. I'll look at creating slideshows, too if, for no other reason but to illustrate other purposes for Encore, I will also look at how planning in advance can help you achieve your goals sooner. And so, by the end of this course you should be proficient in DVD creation and the possibilities of creating web-style menu systems. OK? That's all said. Let's get moving and let's look at what's required to make more of Encore.  

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