[Tim Kurkoski]

That is incorrect. You should use Direct3D over GDI if it is available and works well for you.

Direct3D is not necessarily a gaming technology. Premiere Pro is able to take advantage of acceleration in the video card provided by DirectShow and Direct3D.

I’m not really familiar with all of the internal mechanisms, but here’s the basic difference between GDI and Direct3D: With GDI, Premiere Pro has to do all the work for drawing the images to put in the monitor window. With Direct3D, Premiere Pro can hand off some of the work to the video card drivers.

Using the Direct3D option in Premiere Pro generally results in faster, better quality previews of your timeline. But if your video card is older and doesn’t support the newer versions of Direct3D, or if you are having a system resource issue that is slowing down the video card, using GDI may be a better solution.

[Tim Kurkoski]

Set two position keyframes, identical values, at the start and end of when you want the layer to vibrate. Open the Wiggler (Window > The Wiggler). Select the two keyframes and hit the Apply button in the Wiggler. Adjusting the Frequency and Magnitude will affect how often and how far the layer will vibrate. So if you don’t like it the first time then Undo, adjust, and try again.

For added effect, enable the Motion Blur switches for the layer and the comp.

[Tim Kurkoski]

No. Only Premiere and AE can create FLM files that I know of. (It is a little curious that Photoshop can’t do it, but to construct the files manually would be a tremendous amount of work anyway.) You can always download the demo for AE and use that to make the FLM.

[Tim Kurkoski]

Premiere and After Effects can export video clips as a Filmstrip (.FLM) file. It’s essentially a Photoshop file with the frames split up. Beware that these files get very large very quickly, and that will chew up Photshop’s memory. So if you have a long clip that you’re trying to edit, do the export as several shorter segments.

[Tim Kurkoski]

Transitions in AE don’t work like they do in editing applications (remember that AE is not an editing application, it’s a motion graphics application). Making changes, even as simple as a fade, require setting keyframes for the property you want to animate.

If all you want to do is fade out a clip, set keyframes for opacity. If you want to use one of the Transition effects, you’ll need to set keyframes for the properties of the effect that you want to animate.

If you’re not familiar with keyframes yet, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to learning. There are tons of books (like “Creating Motion Graphics” by Chris and Trish Meyer), videos (from Total Training and other companies), and tutorials. In fact, here’s one that might get you going:
https://creativecalf.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/new_page_wrapper.cgi?forumid=2&page=https://www.creativecow.net/articles/kramer_andrew/aftereffects101/index.html

[Tim Kurkoski]

There’s an option for this in the Preferences. Under General, uncheck “Create Layers at Composition Start Time”.

This appears to be a new option, it wasn’t in 6.5. I actually think the new behavior is an improvement. I usually don’t pay attention to the CTI when I drop items into the timeline, so I often ended up with them starting at a different frame and had to fix it.

There’s also another way to drop your footage in at the CTI, even when the preferences option is on. When you drag the footage into the timeline, drag your cursor into the timebar area. You’ll then get a second CTI that will indicate where the in point of the footage will drop. It snaps to the timeline’s CTI, so you can easily match that point if you want.

[Tim Kurkoski]

No, unfortunately. The Encore-specific options were new to 6.5. AE 6.0 does have the Save Frame As option, but it doesn’t change pre-comped layers into layer sets like 6.5/7.0, it just flattens them.

[Tim Kurkoski]

There are two or three things you really want to do:

1. Calibrate your monitor. Start with Apple’s profile, but since color characteristics of all monitors change over time, you should create a new profile periodically. For best results get a calibration device, but you can eyeball it using the calibration tools in the System Prefs.

2. Install the profiles for your printer. Remember that these only work 100% if you’re using the manufacturer’s ink and paper. (There are devices that will produce profiles from any print sample. They aren’t cheap but there are services that will create the profile for you.)

3. Use the proofing options in Photoshop to preview the colors your printer will produce. If you’ve calibrated correctly and are using the correct printer profiles, you should be able to see a close representation onscreen, and adjust your colors accordingly.

[Tim Kurkoski]

Yes, there’s a known problem with some older Nvidia drivers. I’d suggest you update your video card drivers when you get a chance. No rush, though, you don’t lose anything by running without OpenGL (except OpenGL, of course).

[Tim Kurkoski]

You can create highlights with AE, too. In fact, AE 6.5 (and 7.0) have an Encore specific feature, I think it’s under the Layer menu. What it does is simply pre-comp you layer and name the comp according to the Encore naming convention (there are different options for the different layer functions in Encore). Then you simply save your comp out as a Photoshop file- Comp > Export Frame > Photoshop Layers (I think; I don’t have AE open right now).

Just remember that a button highlight is a simple bitmap image. You can define whatever shape you want using Photoshop, AE, GIMP, or whatever program that can save a PSD. But when you assign that layer as a button highlight by naming it with the (=1) prefix (or =2 or =3; highlights can have up to three colors), Encore will only represent one color in the DVD menu.

Some other notes- remember that Encore can also create a highlight layer for you. If you right-click on a button you can choose Create Subpicture Highlight. (In Encore 1.0, it’s under the Object menu.) It creates the shape based on the object you clicked on. You can also change the highlight color sets in Encore.

Lastly- Aanarav is right that you can use Photoshop Elements, but only to a limited degree. PSE doesn’t allow you to create layer sets, and you can only manipulate them to a limited degree in existing PSD files. You can create your buttons as separate PSD’s and then import them into Encore’s library as buttons, but that’s about it.