Using the Theme Editor tool

Each theme template has its own set of slots for video and photo content, represented by “drop zones” in the Theme Editor. Most templates have at least one of these; the maximum is six. Some also provide text captions and other parameters as required to customize special features.

The Theme Editor is split down the middle into two parts. On the left, a mini-Album provides access to your video and still image libraries; on the right is a customization panel. Here are the drop zones for your video and images, along with any text fields or other controls required by template parameters.

Pinnacle Studio image001 Using the Theme Editor tool

The left side of the Theme Editor tool contains a mini-Album with tabs for Videos and Photos only. The right side contains the theme clip’s drop zones, and controls for setting its parameters. Drag video or image clips onto a drop zone from either the mini-Album or the Movie Window. If necessary to create a longer subclip, you can also select multiple clips of contiguous video and drag them to the zone as a unit.

Working with drop zones

Clearing drop zones: To delete a subclip from its drop zone, right-click the zone and select Delete from the pop-up menu.

Copying subclips to the Movie Window: To copy a subclip from a drop zone in the Theme Editor to the Timeline (or other Movie Window view), right-click the zone and select Add to Timeline from the menu. This is normally used to add or modify an effect on the subclip before dragging it back into the theme clip.

Muting subclip audio: Some drop zones are marked with an audio symbol Pinnacle Studio 176 theme template audio on Using the Theme Editor tool, indicating that the audio portion of any video in that zone will be included in the theme clip’s audio. If you don’t want the audio to be used, click the audio symbol to mute Pinnacle Studio 176 theme template audio off Using the Theme Editor tool the subclip.

Aligning subclips: Video in a drop zone can be positioned relative to the zone’s time window with the mouse. When the mouse pointer enters a drop zone with excess video available, it changes into a double-headed arrow. Click and hold  the left mouse button now to control the start of clip slider below the zone. Move the mouse back and forth to set the starting frame of the subclip.

Pinnacle Studio image004 Using the Theme Editor tool

To set the start frame of a subclip, hold down the left mouse button while the pointer is over the drop zone, then drag horizontally. To allow fine trimming, the amount of change produced by a given mouse movement is at first small then becomes rapidly greater with increasing distance. A relatively large mouse gesture may therefore be required to get the desired adjustment.

As you scroll the start of clip slider, the icon in the drop zone is updated to show the new starting frame. At the same time, the Player shows the frame at the current scrubber position. If the drop zone you are working with is active at that time index, the preview will reflect any changes to the start frame. When you are fine tuning the start frame of a subclip, it’s a good idea to set the scrubber position to the location where the Player preview will be of the greatest assistance.

Using the start of clip slider changes neither the position of the subclip within the theme clip, nor its duration. Rather you are only choosing which excerpt of the subclip is used. The Theme Editor does not allow you to set the start of the subclip so late that the video would run out while the drop zone is still active. For example, if you drop a six-second segment onto a drop zone requiring five seconds of video, you will be able to set the start point no further than one second into the subclip.

If the subclip is actually shorter than the drop zone’s duration, or of equal length, no adjustment of its start frame is possible. When the theme clip displays, the last frame of the subclip is frozen if necessary to fill the time allocated to its drop zone.

Adding effects within drop zones

It is not possible to apply video or audio effects to a subclip within the Theme Editor itself. Instead, right-click the drop zone and select Add to Timeline from the pop-up menu. Locate the clip on the Timeline (at the scrubber position). From this point in, it’s just another clip: trim it to taste, and add or edit effects in the usual way. Finally, drag it back to the drop zone, overwriting the previous contents. The copy of the clip on the Timeline can now be deleted.

Using the Theme Editor tool