PE11: Pan & Zoom Tool, More Than One Photo at a Time

INTRODUCTION

In Premiere Elements 11 workspace, the Pan & Zoom Tool is available in either Expert or Quick view under the Tools Menu which is located at the top of the interface or the Tools Tab at the bottom of the interface. The feature opens to its own workspace where it is a one photo at a time operation in which addition of "focus frames"is a fundamental part of the workflow. The initial two focus frames 1 and 2 are pre-created by the program. See Figure 1.

Figure 1. PE11 Pan and Zoom Tool Workspace. Program's pre-created Focus Frames.

For feature basics, see the Adobe Tech Note "Premiere Elements/Pan and zoom to create video-like effect" (includes a written as well as video tutorial on how to use the tool).

The panned and zoomed photo when returned to the Premiere Elements 11 workspace from the Pan and Zoom Tool workspace is characterized by a duration greater than that before the use of the tool. The feature's settings for Hold Time and Pan Time and the number of focus frames used for the effect influence the extent of the increased duration which can be considerable. The minimum number of focus frames needed to generate some sort of pan and zoom effect with this tool appears to be 2, the two pre-created ones by the feature. If the project still image default duration = 5 seconds and default settings for the tool (Hold Time = 1 second and Pan Time = 5 seconds) are used, that would translate into a minimum of about 7 seconds duration for the panned and zoomed photo back in the Premiere Elements workspace Timeline.

If total Timeline content duration is a consideration and many photos are involved, this increased duration as a consequence of the tool's workflow can be a liability in a feature that offers smooth and professional looking results. An alternative approach is applying a pan and zoom effect in the Premiere Elements workspace using keyframing of the Motion Panel's Scale (for Zoom) and Position (for Pan). The advantage of this choice is a resulting panned and zoomed photo having the same duration  before and after the keyframing to apply this effect to the photo.

However, putting aside increased photo duration for a Pan and Zoom Tool's panned and zoom photo, the question came up

Can this Pan and Zoom Tool's panned and zoomed photo (now with its increased duration) then become the source for applying this same pan and zoom effect to multiple 5 second photos on that same Timeline using a routine Copy/Paste Effects & Adjustments type of scheme?

The answer was found to be no.

ISSUE

In spite of any pros and cons for using this Pan & Zoom Tool,  "Can the Pan and Zoom Tool be used to apply the same pan and zoom effect to more than one photo at a time and, if so, how?" 

SOLUTION

Applying the same Pan and Zoom Tool's pan and zoom effect to more than one photo at a time was achieved by use of a modified Copy/Paste Effects & Adjustment scheme. In this scheme the first photo was panned and zoomed with the Pan and Zoom Tool and then used back at the Premiere Elements workspace Timeline as the source in a Copy/Paste Effects & Adjustments scheme after Time Stretch Tool was used in an all at one time procedure which set the same duration as the source for all other photos.

This modified Copy/Paste Effects & Adjustment scheme works great for 1280 x 720 and 1920 x 1080 photos with a 1080i or 720p project setting. But it is not working with SD photos taken into a 1080i project and scaled to the 1080i size or SD photos taken into a forced NTSC DV Standard or Widescreen project. The same holds true in the technique to be described involving copying of keyframes from the Pan and Zoom Tool's panned and zoomed source photo and pasting them into another photo.

HOW TO EXAMPLE

General

•  Starting with 11 photos sitting side by side on the Premiere Elements 11 Timeline, each with a 5 second duration

• First photo is taken into the Pan and Zoom Tool workspace where a 3 focus frame Pan and Zoom Effect is applied

• The panned and zoomed photo now with a 13* second duration is returned to the Premiere Element 11 workspace to join the other 10 5 second duration photos that are part of this Timeline.

• The decision is made to apply the same Pan and Zoom Effect applied to the first to all.

1.  Determine the panned and zoomed photo's duration. Right click the panned and zoomed photo on the Timeline, select Time Stretch, and, in the Time Stretch dialog, read the photo duration there. For this example, the duration read is 13* seconds. Close out of there. Select all the 10 photos each with the 5 seconds duration. Right click anywhere in the highlight, select Time Stretch, and set the duration for 13* seconds. The Time Stretch dialog's reading for this example should look like 00;00;13;00* (hours; minutes; seconds;frames) for a NTSC setup. PAL used : between the numbers. Close out of there. At this point your total Timeline content duration should be 13 x 11 = 143 seconds.

2. Next, highlight the panned and zoomed source photo, go to Edit Menu and select Copy. Next select all the duration adjusted photos (10 photos in this case), go to Edit Menu and select Paste Effects and Adjustments.

The above scheme works great, except that, for 1800 photos (each with 5 to 3 second durations), there will be a lot of extra Timeline "baggage" in the name of Pan and Zoom. Also, be aware that with Copy/Paste Effects and Adjustments, attributes (effects and such) of the original can be copied and subsequently pasted into the other photos. So, some strategy planning is required on the "when to do".

Copy/Paste Increased Specificity/Loss of More Than One Photo At A Time

If we take the "more than one at a time" factor out of the equation and focus on enhancing the specificity of the modified Copy/Paste Effects and Adjustments scheme described above, one might consider a scheme featuring copying of the Motion Panel's keyframes of the Pan and Zoom Tool's panned and zoomed photo and pasting them into into another photo.

With the 13* second Pan and Zoom Tool's panned and zoomed photo back on the Timeline from the Pan and Zoom workspace

1. Set the duration of one of the 5 second duration photos without any pan and zoom effect to 13* seconds with the Time Stretch Tool.

2. Highlight the Pan and Zoom Tool's panned and zoomed photo on the Timeline. Then go to its Applied Effects Palette/expanded Motion Panel (See Figure 2)

Figure 2. Step 2 details. One Section Expanded Motion Panel.

The click on the "Show/hide keyframe controls" icon to reveal a two section expanded Motion Panel (See Figure 3).

Figure 3. Step 2 details. Two Sections of Expanded Motion Panel.

3. In the area to the right, right click in a clear space, select Select All. Then right click that area again and select Copy.

4. Making sure to have your Timeline Indicator at the start of the photo now with the 13* second duration but without any pan and zoom effect, highlight this photo and go to its Applied Effects Palette/expanded Motion Panel and, in the area to the right of the two section view, right click in that area and select Paste.

5. I see no choice but to go to each of the other photos needing this same Pan and Zoom Effect and to repeat the Motion Panel's keyframe copy/paste technique if we go this approach in the name of specificity.

None of this is a perfect scheme, but the task is doable within limits if one is fixed on using the Pan and Zoom Tool. As a reminder, the Premiere Elements 11 choices for panning and zooming offered by Adobe include:
a. Use of the Pan and Zoom Tool, for pan and zoom within the photo
b. Use of Keyframing Scale (for Zoom) and Position (for Pan) properties for pan and zoom within the photo
c. Use of presets for pan OR zoom within the photo.
The above should apply as well to Premiere Elements 10 which also includes the Pan and Tool Tool feature. But location details may differ from those of version 11 because of the marked changes that Adobe made in the version 11 interface.

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*The Pan and Zoom Tool's panned and zoomed photo duration was used in this example as 13 seconds for convenience. The actual reading was 12 seconds and 26 frames (00;00;12;26) in an NTSC 30 frames per second system. Windows 7 Professional SP1 64 bit.

PE: ClipMate Copy/Paste Between Projects

INTRODUCTION

Copying and pasting between Premiere Elements Windows* projects (project.prel files) using the 3rd party ClipMate software has a long history of "it does not work" ranging to "it works". In the days of Premiere Elements 8.0/8.0.1, we tried to define the situation, sorting out the facts from the myths with regard to the ClipMate copy/paste of video, audio, transitions from one Premiere Elements project to another.

Premiere Elements 8.0/8.0.1 and later (9.0/9.0.1 and 10) were found to work with ClipMate in contrast to version 7 which did not. Now what about the current version Premiere Elements 11? This current version appears to be falling into the "it does not work" with regard to the transitions in this copy/paste operation.

First let us define the "it works" and "it does not work" and then go into a detailed how to use ClipMate for copy/paste for what does work in this ClipMate copy/paste between two different Premiere Elements projects.

TESTING PROTOCOL

Besides a narration clip in the Narration Track and a soundtrack in the Soundtrack, there were 4 video clips side by side on Premiere Elements Video 1/Audio 1 with a Curtain video transition between first and second clips (Transition Alignment = Center at Cut).

• First Clip (.mov) represented video linked to its audio
• Second Clip (.wmv) represented video linked to its audio
• Third Clip was same as Second Clip except its audio was deleted and that Audio 1 space replaced with a mp3 music file (represented unlinked video audio in this case)
• Fourth Clip was same as First Clip except its video and audio were unlinked
• Narration Clip was .wav created with the Narration feature of Premiere Elements
• Soundtrack Clip was mp3 music file that came with the Windows 7 64 bit operating system

PREMIERE ELEMENTS 7
(It does not work if one is interested in audio and transitions)

• Video 1/Audio 1 content of first project pasted into Video 1/Audio 1 of the second project where all video and audio were found in place but unlinked regardless of how they were in the original project.
• Transition did not appear in the second project.
• Narration went to Audio 2, and Soundtrack went to Audio 3. 
• At this point, all audio could be heard; whereas, once the second project was saved/closed/reopened, there was no sound, and audio displayed without wave form in the Timeline.

PREMIERE ELEMENTS 8.0/8.0.1, 9.0/9.0.1, and 10
(It works)

• Video 1/Audio 1 content of first project pasted into Video 1/Audio1 of the second project where all video and audio were found in place, but linked regardless of how they were in the original project.
• Transition appeared in the second project.
• Narration went to Audio 2 and Soundtrack went to Audio 3.
• All audio could be heard at this point as well as after the save/close/reopen of this second project.

PREMIERE ELEMENTS 11**
(It does not work if one is interested in transitions.)

• Video 1/Audio 1 content of first project pasted into Video 1/Audio 1 of the second project where all video and audio were found in place, but linked regardless of how they were in the original project.
• Transition did not appear in second project.
• Narration went to Audio 2 and Soundtrack went to Audio 3.
• All audio could be heard at this point as well as after the save/close/reopen of this second project.

MISCELLANEOUS

• The ClipMate/Premiere Elements 7 problems cited did not seem to exist when a ClipMate copy/paste was done within a single Premiere Elements project in contrast to the ClipMate copy/paste between two Projects.
• Only difference between ClipMate/Premiere Elements 11 and ClipMate/other versions looked at was version 11 used "PPro AE Exchange" after Capture Special choice; whereas all the rest used "Premiere Elements.OS.Clipboard Format" AND "Premiere AE Exchange"***.
• Preliminary studies suggested that this copy/paste insert operation can support multi tracks as well as going between projects with different project settings.Special consideration needed to be given to copy/paste insert between projects where narration and soundtrack content were involved since their destination for these files in the second project was upper audio track locations, not the Narration Track or Soundtrack.

HOW TO

Download and install the ClipMate  tryout from http://www.thornsoft.com/
(Version 7.5 as of this posting. Version 7.5 seemed to be giving the same results as those from the prior looked at 7.3 version. How to appeared to be same whether ClipMate version 7.3 or 7.5 was used in this study)

1. Open ClipMate from the Desktop icon.
Keep in mind that if the program interface disappears from view, one can click on its icon in the Taskbar when needed for entry into the ClipMate program for the copy/paste procedure.

(a) It is critical that one checks out the ClipMate interface's column to the left where it shows a main category of "My Clips". Expand that category to reveal its subcategories:
Inbox
Safe
Overflow
Saples
Virtual
Trash Can
Search Results
Make sure that the Inbox is selected.

2. Open a Premiere Elements project...select your clips to be copied, then Edit Menu/Copy (if you have your computer speakers on, you should hear a ClipMate noise to indicate that the copy process occurred).

3. Bring up ClipMate, using the Taskbar icon if necessary...you just want it on screen long enough to tell it what to do...

(a) In ClipMate, Edit Menu/Capture Special

(b) For Premiere Elements 8.0/8.0.1, 9.0/9.0.1, or 10, put check mark next to
"Premiere Elements.OS.Clipboard Format" AND  "Premiere AE Exchange". And, click OK.
For Premiere Elements 11, instead put a check mark next to "PPro AE Exchange"***. And, click OK.

(c) Focus on your entry at the top of the ClipMate interface. Ignore anything you see in the large message area at the bottom of the interface. Select the top entry to highlight it and go back to Premiere Elements project where your copy was made. (Keep in mind that the entry in ClipMate should be at the top and have the day's date and time for your action in the program. Make sure you have the correct entry.)

(d) In Premiere Elements project (source of copy), save the original Premiere Elements project,  close out of that, and open the other Premiere Elements project destined for the paste insert.

(e) The paste insert in the second project will go to wherever you have the Timeline Indicator positioned, so for now make sure the Timeline Indicator is in a location without media. You can move the media in place later.

(f) Now the critical details of the paste insert in the second project. With this second Premiere Elements project window and the ClipMate window visible at the same time on the computer monitor screen (cascaded windows), make sure that the ClipMate entry for this copy/paste insert is highlighted, and then, in that second Premiere Elements project, Edit Menu/Paste Insert. Give the procedure a few seconds to complete. Most of the time those straight forward steps do not work. What consistently seems to work is

• make sure correct ClipMate entry is highlighted in the ClipMate interface.
• click once on a blank area in the second project's Video 1 track
• then Edit Menu/Paste Insert, giving Edit Menu opening, the Paste Insert availability, and Paste Insert action a few seconds to be active.

The above is the basics for further exploration and experimentation.

________________________________________________________________________________
*ClipMate is not available on Mac.

** UPDATE. Premiere Elements 11 and 12 Windows details and results are the same. See September 24, 2013 blog post Premiere Elements 12 Daily Discoveries item 0015 titled "ClipMate with Premiere Elements 12 to Copy/Paste Insert Between Projects".
UPDATE. Premiere Elements 13 Windows details and results are the same as for 11 and 12. See September 24, 2014 blog post Premiere Elements 13 Daily Discoveries item 0015 titled "ClipMate with Premiere Elements 13 to Copy/Paste Insert Between Projects"
UPDATE. Premiere Elements 14 results are same as for 11, 12/12.1, and 13/13.1 with the following important exceptions: transitions appear in the second project and ClipMate's Edit Menu/Capture Special step uses check mark for "PPro/MZ/Cookie" and "PProAE/Exchange/TrackItem". See September 21, 2015 blog post Premiere Elements 14 Daily Discoveries item 022 titled "ClipMate Works With Premiere Elements 14 For The Copy/Paste Insert Between 14 Projects".

UPDATE. For update regarding Premiere Elements 15 (latest version) in conjunction with ClipMate, see

PE: Copy Paste Opportunities Overview

http://atr935.blogspot.com/2017/05/pe-copy-paste-opportunities-overview.html

***The January 5, 2015 ClipMate tryout listed ProProAE/Exchange/Track Item instead of just ProPro AE Exchange as seen in May 23, 2013 ClipMate tryout.


ATR

PE: Time Stretch - Fast Motion Without Degraded or Distorted Audio

INTRODUCTION

Creation of slow or fast motion video effect with Premiere Elements Time Stretch is often associated with varying degrees of degraded or distorted audio for audio that is linked to the video depending on how much the Time Stretch Speed % is lower and increased from 100%. Use of the "Maintain Audio Pitch" option of the Time Stretch dialog can minimize this type of problem to a certain degree.

ISSUE

Someone posted wanting to speed up a clip by 10 to 15% using Premiere Elements 10 Windows Time Stretch and used the "Maintain Audio Pitch" thinking to avoid problems with the associated audio. He was pleased with the fast motion video effect achieved, but not with the resulting accompanying audio quality. As he put it, although his people did not sound like chipmunks, the overall audio quality was significantly degraded. What to do?

SOLUTION

Fast motion without audio degradation or distortion was achieved by not selecting "Maintaining Audio Pitch" option in Time Stretch dialog and applying the Pitch Shifter audio effect to the clip prior to applying the fast motion effect to the clip via Time Stretch dialog Speed %. The answers for this task in Premiere Elements are in the settings of the Pitch Shifter audio effect.

Initially a Google search did not turn up any articles specific to this Premiere Elements issue. But an online article was found which addressed Maintain Audio Pitch and included a post by someone mentioning success with the audio "Pitch Shifter" in a workflow other than what I sought. But the "Pitch Shifter" idea seed was planted and what I post bloomed.

The How To to be described is for Premiere Elements 10 but works in Premiere Elements 11*, 10, 8.0/8.0.1, 7, and 4 which all have the Pitch Shifter audio effect and a selection of  presets from which to choose. Although Premiere Elements 9.0/9.0.1** does have the Pitch Shifter audio effect, it does not come with the presets. The user would need to figure out the appropriate settings or know the preset parameters from one of the versions that does come with them.

What is described below are details of what worked using Premiere Elements 10 and with the specific Time Stretch Speed % of 150 or 120. Different Pitch Shifter presets may or may not be appropriate for other Time Stretch % values.

HOW TO

Fast Motion - Time Stretch Speed = 150% Specifics

1. To the clip, apply the Audio Effect named Pitch Shifter.

2. In the Properties Palette/Pitch Shifter Panel for clip, look to the far right of the Pitch Shifter Panel to where it has an icon for Presets. Select the Preset = Booo! Refer to Figure 1.

Figure 1. PE10 Time Stretch Speed% 150. Pitch Shifter Preset Booo!

3. Go back to the clip on the Timeline, right click the clip, select Time Stretch, and, in Time Stretch dialog, set Speed (I used 150%). DO NOT PUT A CHECK MARK NEXT TO MAINTAIN AUDIO PITCH.

Fast Motion - Time Stretch Speed = 120% Specifics

1. To the clip, apply the Audio Effect named Pitch Shifter.

2. In the Properties Palette/Pitch Shifter Panel for clip, look to the far right of the Pitch Shifter Panel to where it has an icon for Presets. Select the Preset = Female becomes a secret agent". Refer to Figure 2.

PE10 Time Stretch Speed % 120. Pitch Shifter Preset Female Becomes A Secret Agent.

3. Go back to the clip on the Timeline, right click the clip, select Time Stretch, and, in Time Stretch dialog, set Speed % (I used 120%). DO NOT PUT A CHECK MARK NEXT TO MAINTAIN AUDIO PITCH.

________________________________________________________________________________
*Premiere Elements 11 in which this approach also works has a different interface than Premiere Elements 4 through 10. Consequently, Step 2 "Properties Palette/Pitch Shifter Panel..." would be replaced by "Applied Effect Palette/Pitch Shifter Panel". See Figure 3.

Figure 3. PE11 Time Stretch Speed 150%. Pitch Shifter Preset Booo!

** For Premiere Elements 9.0/9.0.1. Users
Premiere Elements 9.0/9.0.1 Pitch Shifter Panel presents with no presets. Custom and Individual Parameters options can be set by figuring out one's own settings. But the settings for the Pitch Shifter presets used in other versions can be typed in Premiere Elements 9.0/9.0.l Pitch Shifter. Premiere Elements 9.0/9.0.1 with the typed in parameters for Female Becomes Secret Agent and Booo! presets gave the same results when using Time Stretch Speed % 120 or 150 as did the versions that come with these presets.

DEFAULT
Custom
Pitch = +0 semi-t
Fine Tune = + cents
Format Preserve with check mark.
Individual Parameters
Pitch = 0semitone
FineTune = 0cents
FormatPreserve = ON

Settings for Presets used in the other versions....

FEMALE BECOMES SECRET AGENT
Custom
Pitch = -2 semi-t
Fine Tune = -50 cents
Format Preserve with NO check mark
Individual Parameters
Pitch = -2semitone
FineTune = -50cents
FormatPreserve = OFF

CARTOON MOUSE
Custom
Pitch = +12 semitone
Fine Tune = +0 cents
Format Preserve with NO check mark
Individual Parameters
Pitch = 12semitone
FineTune = 0cents
FormatPreserve = OFF

BOOO!
Custom
Pitch = -12 semitone
Fine Tune = +0 cents
Format Preserve with NO check mark
Indivdual Parameters
Pitch = -12semitone
FineTune = 0cents
FormatPreserve = OFF

SORE THROAT
Custom
Pitch = -12 semitone
Fine Tune = +0 cents
Format Preserve with check mark
Individual Parameters
Pitch = -12semitone
FineTune = 0cents
FormatPreserve = ON

A THIRD HIGHER
Custom
Pitch = +4 semitone
Fine Tune = +0 cents
Format Preserve with check mark
Individual Parameters
Pitch = 4semitone
FineTune = 0cents
FormatPreserve = ON

BREATHLESS
Custom
Pitch = +12 semitone
Fine Tune = +0 cents
Format Preserve with check mark
Individual Parameters
Pitch = 12semitone
FineTune = 0cents
FormatPreserve = ON

SLIGHTLY DETUNED
Custom
Pitch = +0 semitone
Fine Tune = +32 cents
Format Preserve with check mark
Individual Parameters
Pitch = 0semitone
FineTune = 32cents
FormatPreserve = ON

A QUINT UP
Custom
Pitch = +7 semitone
Fine Tune = +0 cents
Format Preserve with check mark
Individual Parameters
Pitch = 7semitone
FineTune = 0cents
FormatPreserve = ON

A QUINT DOWN
Custom
Pitch = -7 semitone
Fine Tune = +0 cents
Format Preserve with check mark
Indivdual Parameters
Pitch = -7semitone
FineTune = 0cents
FormatPreserve = ON

PE11: Blu-ray Burn Dialog "Fit Content to Available Space" Choice

INTRODUCTION

In Premiere Elements 11, as in version 10, Blu-ray burn dialog does not have a Quality Slider associated with the "Fit Content to Available Space" option. For version 11, as well as 10, the error message "Adobe Media Encoder Property Data Invalid" can pop up along with Space Required and Bitrate considerations depending on
a. Blu-ray disc capacity (actual)
b. Space Required for Timeline content as shown in the burn dialog
and
b. "Fit Content to Available Space" option considerations, checked versus unchecked in the burn dialog

ISSUE

The issue is what to make of the "Adobe Media Encoder Property Data Invalid" and "Insufficient disc space for burning" messages that might be encountered outside and inside the burn dialog of Premiere Elements burn to Blu-ray disc format on Blu-ray disc. The "Adobe Media Encoder Properties Data Invalid" presents in the left lower bottom corner of the interface as a small yellow triangle with a black exclamation mark in its middle. See Figure 1. When that triangle is clicked on, an Event dialog opens from which the error details can be read. See Figure 2. The "Insufficient disc space for burning" error message presents in the burn dialog Status field. No Figure shown.

Figure 1. Adobe Media Encoder Error Notification Location

Figure 2. Adobe Media Encode Error Event Details

SOLUTION

First the bottom lines and then the results in support of the bottom lines.

A. To avoid the "Adobe Media Encoder Error", do not put a check mark next to "Fit Content to Available Space" in the Blu-ray burn dialog if the Space Required shown in the burn dialog is 23 GB or less. See examples below.

B. To avoid surprises of Status = "Insufficient disc space for burning" put a check mark next to "Fit Content to Available Space" when the Space Required exceeds the actual disc capacity and the program is not being instructed to lower the Bitrate in order to make the fit. See examples below.

 The examples below will demonstrate these points when the Blu-ray disc = Verbatim BD-RE 25 GB 2X (results repeatable if BD-R 25 GB 6X disc used instead) 
(BD disc 25 GB is reported to be actually 23.28 GB)*

EXAMPLES

Basic Setup: Premiere Elements 11 Timeline consisting of four video clips (.m2ts, 1440 x 1080 HD anamorphic 16:9) each with a file size of 7.14 GB and Bitrate about 14 Mbps (megabits per second)

Case 1

With 4 of these 7.14 GB video clips in the Timeline (duration = 04;36;00;18)
(Note: the 28.56 GB size based on 4 x 7.14 versus Space Required = 47.25 GB displayed in burn dialog - explainable on basis of 14 Mbps Bitrate of original versus 20.19 Mbps Bitrate of preset to be used for the burn to Blu-ray)

Fit Content to Available Space (unchecked): Space Required 47.25 GB and Bitrate 20.19 Mbps.
No Adobe Media Encoder Error; however Status Error "Insufficient disc space for burning"

Fit Content to Available Space (checked): Space Required 22.55 GB Bitrate 9.64 Mbps.
No Adobe Media Encoder Error; and, Status = Ready.

Case 2

With 3 of these 7.14 GB video clips in the Timeline (duration = 03;27;00;14)
(Note: the 21.42 GB size based on 3 x 7.14 versus the Space Required = 35.44 GB displayed in burn dialog)

Fit Content to Available Space (unchecked): Space Required 35.44 GB and Bitrate = 20.19 Mbps
No Adobe Media Encoder Error; however Status Error "Insufficient disc space for burning"

Fit Content to Available Space (checked): Space required 22.55 GB and Bitrate = 12.85 Mbps
No Adobe Media Encoder Error; and, Status = Ready

Case 3

With 2 of these 7.14 GB video clips (duration = 02;18;00;19)
(Note: 14.28 GB size based on 2 x 7.14 versus the Space Required = 23.62 GB displayed in burn dialog)

Fit Content to Available Space (unchecked): Space Required 23.62 GB and Bitrate 20.19 Mbps
No Adobe Media Encoder Error; however Status Error "Insufficient disc space for burning"
(Note: Reports that the actual capacity of BD 25 GB disc = 23.3 GB as pointed out earlier)

Fit Content to Available Space (checked): Space Required 22.55 GB and Bitrate 19.27 Mbps
No Adobe Media Encoder Error; and, Status = Ready.

Case 4

With only 1 of these 7.14 GB video clips (duration = 01;09;00;06)
(Note: 7.14 size based on 1 x 7.14 versus the Space Required = 11.81 GB displayed in burn dialog)

Fit Content to Available Space (unchecked): Space Required 11.81 GB and Bitrate 20.19 Mbps
No Adobe Media Encoder Error; and, Status = Ready


Fit Content to Available Space (checked): Space Required 14.04 GB and Bitrate 24.00 Mbps
Adobe Media Encoder Error; and Status = Ready

Lots more to be discussed and sorted out with regard to these observations, interpretation, and what is actually happening with regard to the above examples. For now this is just an introductory look into some factors related to Premiere Elements' burn to Blu-ray disc format on Blu-ray disc.



_________________________________________________________________________________

*Related trivia from various online sources more or less agree on actual disc capacity for:
Blu-ray Disk 25 GB, actual 23.28 GB
Blu-ray Disk 50 GB, actual 46.56 GB
DVD Disk 4.7 GB, actual 4.38 GB
DVD Double Layer (Single Sided) 8.5 GB, actual 7.95 GB
**Probably not needed to include in the writeup, but a just in case note - remember to put the Blu-ray disc in the Blu-ray burner tray in order to get the appropriate readouts when evaluating the pre-burn situation.

ATR

PE11: No Content Disc - Content Downloads from Adobe

Premiere Elements 11 Content (Clip Arts, DVD Templates, Movie Themes, Title Templates)

INTRODUCTION

Premiere Elements Content (versions 7, 8, 9, and 10) has always been available online as free download for the user who opted to purchase Premiere Elements program as a download from Adobe. That Content download is subject to the liabilities of Internet Access and Internet Speeds as well as Adobe Server status. In addition this process is not automatic in that the downloaded folders and files do need extra step to get them into their Premiere Elements home on the hard drive.
http://www.adobe.com/special/premiereel/downloads/
One of the perks of the box packaging purchase was that it came with a Content disc which made the Content installation quick and easy. There is no longer a Content disc that comes with the box packaging purchase of Premiere Elements 11, leaving all with a labored process of getting all the Content downloaded with an automatic install from within the opened project.

Affected areas in the program interface include Graphics Tab for Clip Arts,Tools Menu or Tools Tab /Movie Menu for DVD Templates, the Instant Movie Tab for Movie Themes, and the Titles & Text Tab for Titles Templates . Each location has thumbnails for its choices, each having a blue bar at the top right corner of the thumbnail, indicating that the essential files for the choice need to be downloaded from Adobe to the computer hard drive home in order for the asset to be available and functional.The user is supposed to right click the thumbnail and select "Download Now" (for a particular thumbnail) or "Download All" - All representing all for the particular area that the user is in, either Graphics, Tools/Movie Menu, Instant Movie, or Titles & Text.) Can take a long time.

This type of downloaded Content has a unique home location on the hard drive. In Window 7  or 8 64 bit, the path is:

Local Disk C
Program Data
Adobe
Premiere Elements
11.0
Online
and the Online Folder contains the folders for Clips Arts, DVD Templates, Movie Themes, and Title Templates.

As one example of the situation, the "DVD Templates" at installation of version 11 has all, except one DVD Template, in the Program Data location cited above. In the Program Data location before a particular Content download, each theme folder is incomplete, including a bunch of .png files for the theme plus a previously not seen in prior version metadata.xml file. After the Content download from Adobe, this folder then completes, including the .psd file, file named Downloaded.txt, and those other assets required for use of the disc menu.

The only exception to this DVD Template situation is in the Disc Menu category Slideshows for its theme Pan and Zoom. That comes ready to go in another location. No downloading required. Adobe location for this is:

Local Disk C
Program Files
Adobe
Adobe Premiere Elements 11
DVD Templates
Common
and in the Common Folder is the Slideshow category folder which contains the Pan and Zoom theme Folder which contains the assets for the Pan and Zoom theme

As an aside for user customizing an existing DVD Template or creating new one from scratch for Premiere Elements 11, the Common Folder in the above Program Files path would be the folder in which to place a new category folder/new theme folder/ with new theme folder containing the new theme's required files.

ISSUE

The question is how best to deal with this forced Premiere Elements 11 Content download from Adobe process, especially in a situation involving program plus Content installation on a second computer or the program plus Content installation after an uninstall from a computer.

SOLUTION

The suggested solution is to do the Content download from Adobe from within Premiere Elements for first program install and then replace the incomplete Online Folder of the second program install with the completed Online Folder of the first program install.

HOW TO

The "Online Folder (complete)" is expected to have about a 6 GB file size, so, if All is wanted (Clips Arts, DVD Templates, Movie Themes, and Title Templates), a 8 GB USB 2.0 or 3.0 Flash Drive is recommended for storage and transfer of a copy of the "Online Folder (complete)".

Then it becomes a matter of replacing the "Online Folder (incomplete)" of the second program install with the "Online Folder (complete)" of the first program install.


ATR

PE11: Changing Project Settings Without Starting A New Project

INTRODUCTION

The Adobe party line has always been that the Premiere Elements user cannot change the project settings once the project preset in the New Project Dialog has been set. To the contrary, it was found that this could be done in certain instances by editing the Notepad document of the saved project file (project.prel) for versions earlier than Premiere Elements 11 Windows.

A new twist has been added to this story with the arrival of Premiere Elements 11 where the program takes control of setting the project preset in the New Project Dialog, in some cases appropriately and in other cases inappropriately. Please refer to April 2013's blog post here titled "PE11: Accuracy of Automatic Project Preset (New Project Dialog) Setting".

ISSUE

The issue presented here revolved around a Premiere Elements 11 Windows user who brought his PAL DV Widescreen into a new project and found himself with this source media in a Premiere Elements 11 project set by the program for PAL AVCHD Full HD1080i25 (the program's default for a program installed for PAL). The questions became "How to correct the project's settings without starting a new project so that the project settings looked like those in Figure 2 instead of those in Figure 1?" and "Was it possible to do this using the Editing of the Notepad document of the saved project.prel approach sometimes used in earlier versions?".

Figure 1. PAL AVCHD Full HD1080i25 Project Settings

Figure 2. PAL DV Widescreen Project Settings

SOLUTION

The Editing of the Notepad document of the saved project.prel approach was found to resolve the issue presented above. Although the How To described next is specific for the PAL AVCHD Full HD1080i25 to PAL DV Widescreen project settings change, the approach is applicable in principle to other project preset settings, NTSC or PAL. Whether or not the project could have survived without changing project settings in this case is not addressed. Only the How To is given if needed.

HOW TO

Example Used: PAL AVCHD Full HD1080i25 Project Settings to PAL DV Widescreen Project Settings

Starting with PAL DV Widescreen imported in a Premiere Elements 11 Windows project with program set project settings of PAL AVCHD Full HD1080i25

1. Save/close the project.prel with the incorrect PAL AVCHD Full HD1080i25 project settings.

2. At its hard drive save location, right click the project.prel file, select Open With, and then select Notepad to open the PAL AVCHD Full HD1080i25 document.

3. In the Notepad document, go to Edit Menu/Find. In the "Find What" of the Find dialog

A. Type PixelAspect. Go through the document with the "Find Next" and make the following changes for each instance:

From:
<PixelAspectRatio>1,1</PixelAspectRatio>
<FrameRect>0,0,1920,1080</FrameRect>

To:
<PixelAspectRatio>1024,702</PixelAspectRatio>

<FrameRect>0,0,720,576</FrameRect>

It is important that changes are made ONLY if the From: line above is exactly as described. There should be about 6 of the above changes in the document.

B. Type EditingMode. Go through the document with the "Find Next" and make the following changes when you see the following:

From:

<EditingModeID>d10b5335-ce74-4031-bc7c-79e8b73582ee</EditingModeID>

and

<MZ.Sequence.EditingModeGUID>d10b5335-ce74-4031-bc7c-79e8b73582ee</MZ.Sequence.EditingModeGUID>

To:

<EditingModeID>e2e6d6b0-7e3d-4455-bf93-0d9c3c791e4e</EditingModeID>

and

<MZ.Sequence.EditingModeGUID>e2e6d6b0-7e3d-4455-bf93-0d9c3c791e4e</MZ.Sequence.EditingModeGUID>

C. Type field. Go through the document with the "Find Next" and make the following change for each instance:

From: 

<VideoFieldType>1</VideoFieldType>

To:   

<VideoFieldType>2</VideoFieldType>

Again, it is important that changes are made ONLY if the From: line above is exactly as described. There should be about 4 of the above changes in the document.

D. Save the Notepad document with its changes. Open the project.prel to find the changes made in Notepad reflected in the project settings of the Premiere Elements 11 workspace Edit Menu/Project Settings.

ATR

 

 

PE11: Difference Matte As Substitute for Green or Blue Screen Key

INTRODUCTION

Premiere Elements 11 Windows and Mac are much alike in their video editing offerings but there are some features that are Windows Only. Among the items missing in the Mac version as compared to the Windows version are Video Effects/Keying tools of Blue Screen Key, Green Screen Key, and Chroma Key. Not so long ago, someone asked me a question about this situation, writing:

The Mac APE11 does not have "Green Screen Key", but does have Difference Matte, which the Amazon description for APE11 shows as a green screen tool. I have never needed to green screen before, but perhaps Mac folk that want this feature will still be able to do it.

As a result of that comment, I decided to explore the question "Can the Difference Matte be used as a substitute for Green or Blue Screen Key in Premiere Elements 11".

I have seen Amazon description for Videomerge in its listing for Premiere Elements 11 Mac, but I have not seen Amazon mention the keying effect "Difference Matte" as a Green Screen Key tool substitute. Assuming that there were no fundamental differences between the Difference Matte in the Mac and Windows version, I decided to look at the question using Premiere Elements 11 Windows which I have. If the assumption is correct, then my findings would be of benefit to users of the program on either operating system.

SOLUTION

The answer to the question appears to be Yes, as confirmed by the Mac user asking the question and working through the How To that I offered at the time.The bottom lines to the story are:

(a) The Premiere Elements 11 fx Effects/Keying/Difference Matte is a marked change in dialog and setup as compared to Premiere Elements 10's Video Effects/Keying/Difference Matte.

(b) In Premiere Elements 11 Windows, it was possible to use Difference Matte as a substitute for Blue or Green Screen Key under the conditions to be described. By comparison, it was only possible to do the same only for Blue Screen Key model when using the Difference Matte in a Premiere Elements 10 project.

HOW TO

Premiere Elements 11 Windows 7 64 bit 
Replacing Background of Green or Blue Screen Photo Using Difference Matte
Default Project Preset Used...NTSC AVCHD Full 1080i30

1. Expert View


(a) Add Media/Files and Folders

 just green screen.jpeg (1920 x 1080)

 angel on green screen.jpeg (1920 x 1080)

 replacement background.jpeg (1920 x 1080)

(b) From the Project Assets

Drag replacement background.jpeg to Video 1
Drag angel on green screen.jpeg to Video 2 and place it directly above the content of Video 1
Drag just green screen.jpeg to Video 3 and place it directly above the content of Video 2

(c) Individually select and apply a Difference Matte to each of Video 2 (angel on green screen.jpeg) and Video 3 (just green screen.jpeg)

(d) Highlight the Video 2 (angel on green screen.jpeg), click Applied Effects, and open the Difference Matte Panel there. The Difference Matte Panel options are:

• View: Final Out
•  Difference Layer Video 2 IMPORTANT CHANGE THAT TO VIDEO 3
•  The Matching Tolerance may or may not require very little adjustment (in this specific exercise being described setting was changed from 15.0 to 27.3%), and Match Softness and Blur Before Difference were left at 0.0%.

No changes in the Difference Matte dialog settings that were associated with the just green screen.jpeg on Video 3 were needed. The required "Difference Layer Video 3" was already in place in the dialog. If Video 2, 3, and 4 had been used in this exercise instead of Video 1, 2, and 3, then Difference Matte dialog for Video 4 and Video 3 Difference Layer needed to read the same, in that case "Difference Layer Video 4".

(e) Seen below is the result of this exercise (angel with new background.jpeg) which is the export of the Timeline, using Premiere Elements 11/Publish+Share/Computer/Image/JPEG - HD 1920 x 1080.

angel with new background.jpeg

Using the Difference Matte in Premiere Elements 10 Windows was successful as a replacement for the Blue, but not the Green, Screen Key for this exercise and all such exercises with other source media. Because the significant differences in the "how to use" details of the Difference Matte of Premiere Elements 10 versus 11, the Premiere Elements 10 How To for this is presented below.

HOW TO

Premiere Elements 10 Windows 7 64 bit
Replacing Background for Blue Screen Photo Using Difference Matte
Project Preset set at...NTSC AVCHD Full HD1080i30

1. Timeline View

(a) Get Media/Files and Folders
                                   angel with blue screen.jpeg (1920 x 1080)
                                   replacement background.jpeg (1920 x 1080)

(b) From Project Media

Drag replacement background.jpeg to Video 1
Drag angel with blue screen.jpeg to Video 2

(c) Apply Difference Matte via Edit Header/Video Effects/Keying/Difference Matte to the selected angel with blue screen.jpeg on Video 2. Via Edit Effects, go to the Difference Matte Panel in the angel with blue screen.jpeg Property Palette and click on its Setup button to bring up the "Select a Difference Matte Image" dialog from which to browse to and select the just blue screen.jpeg from a hard drive save location. The just blue screen.jpeg image goes directly into the Video 2 image, no Video 3 involved in version 10.

(d) At this point, the Edit Mode Monitor display probably is white here with the Difference Matte dialog settings for any adjustments being:
Similarity at 49.5%
Smoothing at Low
Reverse, with check mark next to it
Drop Shadow, with check mark next to it
Mask Only, with check mark next to it

Removal of the check mark next to Mask only and increasing the Similarity % results in the angel on the replacement background.

________________________________________________________________________________
January 14, 2015 Update. Quick look....Difference Matte is working for Premiere Elements 13 on Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 64 bit the same as described for Premiere Elements 11 in this 2013 blog post.

ATR

PE: One Page 14 Scene Buttons DVD Menu

INTRODUCTION

The question came up "How can I make a one page DVD widescreen menu with 14 scene buttons from the existing Premiere Elements 10 DVD Template named Family Memories for use for Premiere Elements authored DVD-VIDEO Widescreen on DVD disc?". There is no problem customizing the existing main menu or scene menu for this purpose or creating the main menu from scratch with Photoshop CS or later; however, a problem exists in being able to author to DVD-VIDEO widescreen from a project using a menu with more than 11 scene buttons per page. This situation occurs for Premiere Elements 10 burn to DVD or burn to folder followed by the burn to DVD with ImgBurn.

But, there are some interesting twists and turns to this story. Success or failure to author the DVD-VIDEO on DVD disc using a 14 scene buttons widescreen menu was dependent on the choice of preset:

Under Share/Disc/DVD/Disc (authoring to DVD-VIDEO on DVD disc with menu)
(a) NTSC_Widescreen_Dolby DVD. Does not work - burn fails.
(b) NTSC_Dolby DVD. Works - burn succeeds.

Under Share/Disc/Blu-ray/ (authoring to Blu-ray disc format on Blu-ray disc with menu)
(a) H.264 1920 x 1080i NTSC Dolby. Works - burn succeeds.

Under Share/webDVD (which is export to a flash file with menu)
(a) HD NTSC. Works - export success.
(b) SD High Quality NTSC. Works - export success.

SOLUTION

The solution choices become:

(a) If you want a DVD-VIDEO on DVD with one page menu with 14 scene buttons, then go for burn to DVD-VIDEO Standard on DVD disc instead of burn to DVD-VIDEO Widescreen on DVD disc.
or
(b) Create a one page menu page with 11 scene buttons or less, instead of 14, and let the additional scenes spill over to an automatically generated page 2 menu page (copy of first), and forget about the one page menu scheme at DVD-VIDEO playback.

This type of problem is not unique to Premiere Elements 10. It can be seen back to at least 2010 and Premiere Elements 8.0/8.0.1. And, the solutions and how tos here should be applicable to Premiere Elements versions other than just 10.

There are several possibilities for the 14 scene buttons one page menu, that is,  menu with text buttons (with highlight being text or shape) as well as thumbnail buttons (with text or shape highlights). Below is described a how to for 14 scenes-text type buttons one page menu with text highlights, derived from the Adobe Family Memories scene menu .psd switched into a main menu .psd. Consequently, main menu markers are placed on the Premiere Elements Timeline.

HOW TO

For Solution 

(a) If you want a DVD-VIDEO on DVD with one page menu with 14 scene buttons, then go for burn to DVD-VIDEO Standard on DVD disc instead of burn to DVD-VIDEO Widescreen on DVD disc.

1. LOCATING ORIGINAL ADOBE MAIN MENU AND SCENE MENU .PSD FILES**

(Given Windows 7 or 8 64 bit computer operating system and Premiere Elements 10 and the Adobe DVD Template named Family Memories) and Photoshop Elements 10 used as the .psd editor***)

A. In Premiere Elements Program Files (x86) locate the Family Memories Folder which contains the Family Memories DVD Template assets. In Windows 7 and 8 64 bit, the path is:
Local Disc C
Program Files
Adobe
Premiere Elements 10
DVD Templates
Common
Memories
Family Memories
and in the Family Memories Folder are the .psd files sought. Since this exercise is targeted at NTSC DVD-VIDEO Widescreen on DVD disc, the following widescreen version of the .psd files are copied there and pasted to the computer desktop.

(a) memories_pal_w_mm.psd
This file name is changed to familyevent2_pal_sm.psd so that it becomes the scene menu, not the main menu, of the set.

(b) memories_pal_w_sm.psd
This file name is changed to familyevent2_pal_mm.psd so that it becomes the main menu, not the scene menu, of the set. This is the working file for this exercise. Accordingly, all menu markers placed on the Timeline of a project using it will be main menu markers.

In doing this, the set has own name (not to be confused with the original) and switching menu designation permits for starting with a menu with more assets.

B. Finishing touches at this stage include:

(a) creating a new desktop folder named family event 2 and placing the two renamed .psd files in it.

(b) creating a new folder named My Special Themes and placing it in the Common Folder in the Windows 7 or 8 64 bit path shown at the onset. The family event 2 Folder with the finalized modified .psd file will be placed in that My Special Themes Folder.

2. EDITING THE FAMILY EVENT 2_PAL_W_MM.PSD FILE

A. SETUP

(a) Right click the familyevent2_pal_w_mm.psd file, select Open With, select Photoshop Elements 10.

(b) This main menu .psd typically opens with expanded Layer Sets. First order of business is to close all the Layer Sets so that only the panels representing the original 10 Layer Sets present:

title
(+^) main
(+<) previous
(+>) next
(+) scene five
(+) scene four
(+) scene three
(+) scene two
(+) scene one
background

Each panel contains  the assets for the counterpart button that is seen on the screen, and those five scene buttons are linked to corresponding main menu markers placed on the project's Timeline. See Figure 1.

Figure 1. Photoshop Elements .PSD Editor. Screen (left) and Layers Palette (left) with 10 original closed Layer Sets

B. SCENE ONE BUTTON AND ITS CORRESPONDING (+) SCENE ONE LAYER SET

(a) Cleaning Up The Clutter.

Delete the major Layer Sets named main, previous, and next. They are not need for a one page menu.
Do not delete these Layer Sets if this is an 11 or less scene buttons per page menu in preparation and the project's Timeline main menu markers exceed 11. In this case, the main, previous, and next
buttons will be needed for viewer navigation to and from additional pages automatically generated due to scenes spill over. 

Next, open scene one Layer Set. Note that this Layer Set is structured to contain a subLayer Set named (^^) in which is found the Text Layer for the scene one menu button. The code for the English Text Layer = (en_US(-)) scene one. The (^^) subLayer Set also has Text Layers for various languages. Assuming the language to be used is English, delete all the other Text Layers in the (^^) subLayer Set.

In the scene one Layer Set, not its (^^) subLayer Set with the Text Layer, are 3 Layers related to a thumbnail type button. A scene - text type button with text highlight is to be used here, so delete these 3 layers that are named respectively (=1), slide, and (%) video layer.

(b). Setting Up the Text Button for Text Highlight

To set up the text highlight for the text "scene one", duplicate the (^^) subLayer Set.
Important: The duplicate (^^) subLayer typically presents with the incorrect title of (^) instead of (^^). So correct duplicate subLayer Set title from (^) to (^^).

The top (^^) subLayer Set stays at original white looking color, and the name of that Text Layer should be (en_US(-)) scene one. Click on the Text Layer of the second (^^) subLayer Set below and change the name of that layer to (en_US(=1)) highlight and change the color of the text for this Text Layer.

Link the two Text Layers (white Text Layer and different colored Text Layer) in the two (^^) subLayerSets of scene one Layer Set.

Tips: Color #d44d6f for Color Picker Foreground color. With (en_US(=1)) highlight Text Layer selected, Alt Backspace. The color of the (en_US(-)) scene one text appears to be an off shade of white, probably #dcedfb. Text font in both (^^) subLayer Sets was changed to Gouty Stout Regular 14 pt. Essential is type setting of Left Align Text.

C. SCENE TWO, THREE, FOUR, AND FIVE BUTTONS

Repeat the routine of "Clearing Away The Clutter" and "Setting Up the Text Button for Text Highlight" as for scene one described above. See Figure 2 for view of scene one's (+) scene one Layer Set and its (^^) subLayer Set structure which is the same for scene buttons 1 through 14.

Figure 2. Layers Palette with (+) scene one Layer Set Structure Revealed

D. SCENE SIX BUTTON

(a) Duplicate scene five Layer Set and change the name of the duplicate to (+) scene six.

(b) Open the (+) scene six Layer Set and make sure that the subLayer Sets are named correctly to (^^). If (^) is seen, correct to (^^).

(c) Make sure that the top (^^) subLayer Set's Text Layer is correctly named (en_US(-)) scene six and the bottom (^^) subLayer Set's Text Layer is correctly named (en_US(=1)) highlight.

(d) Because of the duplication of five to give six, all that is seen at this point is scene five on the screen. The scene five Layer Set duplicate is sitting on top of scene five Layer Set original, so separation of the two is required. Move Tool selected, click on Text Layer, Ctrl+T, and use the down arrow key to drag the duplicate away from the original. Then change the type so that it reads scene six for the Text Layer of top and bottom (^^) subLayer Sets.

E. SCENE SEVEN TO FOURTEEN BUTTONS

Repeat the scene six drill, changing the name et al appropriately to reflect the numbering.

F. CREATION OF A PLAY ALL BUTTON

(a) Duplicate (+) scene one Layer Set and change name of the duplicate (+) scene one Layer Set to (+-) play all.

(b) Open the (+-) play all Layer Set and make sure that the subLayer Sets are correctly named as (^^). Assure that the Text Layer of the top (^^) subLayer Set is named (en_US(-)) play all and that the Text Layer of the bottom (^^) subLayer Set is named (en_US(=1)) highlight. Change the text of each of the Text Layers to play all.

(c) Because of the duplication using (+) scene one Layer Set, the scene one Layer Set duplicate is sitting on top of the scene one Layer Set original, so separation of the two is required. Move Tool selected, click on Text Layer, Ctrl+T, and use the down arrow key to drag the duplicate away from the original. Then change the type so that its reads play all for the Text Layer of top and bottom (^^) subLayer Sets..

Tip: To get rid of play all button from menu page in the Disc Menu section of a Premiere Elements project, double click play all button, highlight the play all text in the Change Text dialog that opens, press the Enter Key of the computer main keyboard, and then click OK. The play all button is gone.

G. FINALIZATION


(a) Close all the Layer Sets so that only the panel for each is displayed.

(b) Move Tool selected, Layer Set corresponding to button to be moved/positioned selected, Ctrl+T, then mouse cursor or arrow keys to move and position the buttons.

Tip: Use of View/Grid is highly recommended for this purpose

(c) To be avoided is button overlap as well as text running into something if user opts to replace the default text of scene one, scene two, etc.with a longer button name in the Disc Menus section of the program. Remember this is editable text.
 
(d) In the Layers Palette, the Layer Set panel arrangement (from bottom to top of the Layers Palette) is: background, play all, scene one, scene two, scene three, scene four, scene five, scene six, scene seven, scene eight, scene nine, scene ten, scene eleven, scene twelve, scene thirteen, scene fourteen, title. See Figure 3 for view of finalized one page 14 scene buttons DVD menu.

Figure 3. Finalized one page 14 scene buttons DVD menu

HOW TO

for Solution

(b) Create a one page menu page with 11 scene buttons or less, instead of 14, and having the additional scenes spill over to an automatically generated page 2 menu page (copy of first), and forget about the one page menu scheme at DVD-VIDEO playback.

The How To for Solution (b) is the same as for Solution (a) with the exceptions:

(a) 11 or less scene buttons, not 14, are used on this one menu page for this Timeline that has 14 main menu markers

(b) Since this is now a two page menu when scene spill over occurs, instead of one page, provision needs to be made for menu buttons for navigation between page one and page two. For this the main, previous, and next Layer Sets are needed. One answer is not to delete these Layer Sets in the Solution (a) instructions "Cleaning Up The Clutter" and use the original Layer Sets for main, next, and previous, positioning them accordingly.

But if you opt to make the main, previous, and next Layers Sets yourself, here is the how to suggestion.

(+^) main Layer Set, (+<) previous Layer Set, and (+>) next Layer Set are created with those names and coding, using the same principles used for the play all button creation. The text for the Text Layer is main, <, and > respectively. The font size for < and > was 48 pt. The More was added to the next Layer Set with the intent of avoiding the chances of the viewer mistakenly hitting play all instead of > to get to page 2. Note that the More Text Layer is in the (+>) next Layer Set, not in the (^^) subLayer Set of the (+>) next Layer Set. See Figure 4 for Layer Set and subLayer Set structure.

                     Figure 4. Layers Palette with (+>) next, (+<) previous, and (+^) main Layer Set Structure Revealed

(c) In the Layers Palette, the Layer Set panel arrangement (from bottom to top of the Layers Palette) is: background, play all, scene one, scene two, scene three, scene four, scene five, scene six, scene seven, next, previous, main, and title.

A DVD-VIDEO playback of this 7 scene buttons per page menu with a page 2 automatically generated due to scene spill over looked liked this after finalization. See Figures 5 and 6.

                                Figure 5. Page 1 for 7 scene buttons per page menu with 14 Timeline main menu markers
                                  

                Figure 6. Page 2 spill over page for 7 scene buttons per page menu with 14 Timeline main markers

 

*This study started out related to a Premiere Elements 10 DVD widescreen menu for a Premiere Elements 10 DVD-VIDEO widescreen on DVD project and 14 scenes buttons on one page menu. Therefore the widescreen version of the Family Memory .psd files was used as source starting materials. All findings were made as this study progressed from that starting point.
**The Adobe Family Memories DVD Template does offer the choice of HD version and SD version of this theme as well as the widescreen version used here. HD version sizing as per Photoshop Elements 10 Image Size dialog: 1440 x 1080 pixels @ 72 pixels per inches and SD and Widescreen version sizing: 720 x 576 pixels @ 72 pixels per inch.
***Editing of the .psd files of the menus is dependent upon the .psd editor being able to open the Layer Sets of these .psd files. Photoshop CS or later is a sure thing with regard to being able to do this type of edit or creation of a menu from scratch. Photoshop Elements (any version) may not always open these Layer Sets, although Photoshop Elements 10 on Windows 7 64 bit did in this specific study.

September 03 2014 Add On
Also see blog post
PE: Disc Menu Folders/Files Locations 
http://atr935.blogspot.com/2014/09/pe-disc-menu-foldersfiles-locations.html