Manual
From PiTiViWiKi
Contents |
Quick start guide for Pitivi 0.11
A word about encoding
Some formats, like MPEG, are oriented towards playback only, and do not compress each frame independently. While it is the goal of PiTiVi to support working with these files, certain operations (like rapid seeking) will not perform as well as they would with frame-independent compressed video (such as MJPEG or DV).
Starting a new project /Opening an existing project
Each time PiTiVi is opened, a new blank project is already created for you. If you currently have an active project and wish to start another go to File > New Project or use the short cut command Crtl N.
To open a past project go to File > Open Project or use the short-cut command Crtl O
Video Sources
The 'sources' window gives quick and easy access to video files and enables drag-and-drop functionality with other elements such as the timeline. Each video added to the sources window displays a thumbnail view as well as information about the video; i.e. the name of the file, video dimensions and length.
To import a video go to File > Import sources or you can click the Add button under the sources window. A new window will appear allowing you to browse your system for the file or you can explicitly state the path. If you prefer, you can also drag/drop files from your file manager onto the sources window.
To remove a video, select the video and click the remove button under the sources window.
Still Image Sources
Pitivi does not yet support still images. This feature is planned for future releases.
Media window
The media window allows you to playback videos located in your sources window as well as the finished project video. It is used in co-junction with the time line to display the current frame and to sample various filters and effects before you add them to your video /timeline. The media window is where you will see all video output.
The media window provides 'player functionality', i.e. you can:
- Stop
- Play /Pause
- Rewind /fast forward
- Skip to start / End.
- "Record"
To play a video from your sources, simply double click on the video thumbnail.
Simple View
Adding Sources
Simply drag a source from the sources window to the appropriate position in the timeline.
Adding Effects
Effects are supported by gstreamer, but have not yet been implemented within Pitivi. This is planned for a future release
Adding Transitions
Transitions are a special case of effects, supported by gstreamer. They have not yet been implemented in Pitivi. This is planned for a future release
Editing Sources (Summer of Code branch only)
Click the "edit" button on the source. The editing widget appears. The editin widget contains two groups of controls, the editing slider, the trimming bar, and finally the Done and Cancel buttons.
- The left group of controls adjusts the start point, the right group of controls adjusts the end point.
Each group of controls contains:
- Edit point adjustments (these are the two arrows). These move the edit point forward or backward by a second
- Trim buttons. These set the edit point to wherever the slider happens to be
- A seek button
- Press the "Start" button to go to the start point in the source
- Press the "End" button to go to the end point in the source
Whenever you make a change to one of the edit points, the appropriate thumbnail updates.
When you have finished editing, click "Done" to finalize the changes, or click "Cancel" to discard them.
Removing Sources
Click the "X" button in the upper right-hand corner of the clip.
Advanced View
The advanced view allows users to edit videos in a more professional and precise manner. The advance view displays a more comprehensive time line allowing users to edit videos and audio in a frame by frame manner, this is particularly useful for slicing video an audio up.
Enabling the advance view go to view > advanced view or via the advance view button locate in the top bar, to the very right.
The Timeline
The timeline is the core of PiTiVi, it allows us to add video and audio clips into what will be the finished video in a very productive manner and allows for one of the easiest methods of editing. Like the name suggest, the time line is in fact a time line.
The timeline in PiTiVi has two viewing modes, a simple and an advanced viewing mode. In advanced viewing mode, the timeline in PiTiVi is composed of three parts:
- The Scale
- The Video track
- The Audio track.
The scale is rather simple, it's the time line to our final video. Measured in seconds, this scale sits onto of the video and audio layers to give a visual representation of time for our final video. To aid productivity, the scale also incorporates visual elements such as:-
- A red line to designate the current position /frame being viewed
- A lighter background to designate the start and end points of the final video.
- A alternative colour to designate the start and end points of a selection ? *hint developers*
The video track is where we add our video clips to have them included in the final video. The video track itself can have multiple layers and each layer can have one or more video clips.
A video clip is represented by a pink box and the size of this pink box depends on the length of the video clip in question. If we had a 30 second clip then our pink box will span from the 0s location to the 30s location on our scale. The position of this box also depends on where you want it to be, so a 30second video clip can start at the 20s location and end at the 50s location.
The audio track Exactly the same as the video track but works with audio instead!
To add a video or audio clip simply drag and drop it from our sources window into our timeline. Dropping it on top of the video /audio track bar will create a new layer, dropping it on top of an already excising layer will append it to that layer. When appending you you can insert the clip in-between other clips on that layer even if there is no space, PiTiVi will make space for you by pushing everything up.
Deleting clips is simple, right-click on the clip ans select remove from the pop-up.
