Lesson 12. Working with Markers and Stories
Lesson Files
Lessons > 12_Tiger_start (or the My_Projects > Tiger_DVD project file you created in Lesson 11)
Media
Media > Tiger folder
Time
This lesson takes approximately 45 minutes to complete.
Goals
Create chapter markers in Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro
Export chapter markers in a QuickTime movie
Create, import, and work with markers in DVD Studio Pro
Learn how to use other types of markers
Understand the concept of a story
Create stories
One of the most useful features of DVD authoring is being able to add chapter markers to a video track. Chapter markers allow a viewer to easily and quickly navigate through long movies. You can also use these markers to create stories. Stories are like playlists in iTunes, which allow you to play all or just some of your chapters, in any order. However you decide to use chapter markers, there are a number of ways to create them. Final Cut Pro is one of the most convenient and powerful methods, although you can just as easily import markers from Final Cut Express, iMovie, Compressor, a text file—or just set them in DVD Studio Pro as you did in Lessons 2 and 3. In this lesson, you will learn several different methods for creating and manipulating chapter markers.
Working with Chapter Markers
Chapter markers provide a convenient method for moving around in a video track on a DVD. Once chapter markers have been set, users may jump from one point to the next, either using the chapter keys on their remote controls, or through specific experiences that are defined by menus and stories. For instance, you can create a single video track with chapter markers and then allow users to access different portions of the track using a menu with buttons linked to those chapter markers.
Note
The maximum number of chapter markers in a single track is 99.
The process of creating chapter markers centers on the use of timecode, which allows you to precisely place markers in the video. You may use the timeline near the top of the Track Editor window in DVD Studio Pro to create markers. Or you can add markers in Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, or even iMovie, which will import directly into DVD Studio Pro along with the audio and video. You can also preview your video with Final Cut Pro, QuickTime, or even an analog video editor or tape deck (using tapes with timecode window burn, of course), and log the positions of chapter markers using Apple’s TextEdit by noting the timecode in the window burn as it plays. You can then import these text files directly into your DVD Studio Pro Track Editor, provided they are formatted properly.
A major dilemma in chapter marker creation is the issue of having to place them at I-frames only. If you are working with video that is already encoded into MPEG-2 in DVD Studio Pro, you can only place chapter markers on an I-frame, which occurs at the beginning of a GOP (group of pictures), typically every 15 frames. If the frame you wish to place a chapter marker on happens to fall between I-frames, you will have to settle for the nearest one, which can make for some awkward jumps in the DVD if you need a chapter to start precisely—before a fade-up, for example, and not in the middle of one. To circumvent this issue, you can always add your markers in Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, iMovie, or Compressor before you encode your video. Using this method, you can force an I-frame onto whichever frame you choose.
Note
The main difference between using Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro to add markers is that DVD Studio Pro can only add markers to I-frames. In Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Express, however, you can add a marker to any frame, and it is automatically stamped as an I-frame during export from Final Cut Pro or when encoded using Compressor. The GOP (group of pictures) just before this special I-frame is reduced to compensate for its presence.
Creating Markers in Final Cut Pro
Since most video that is added to a project in DVD Studio Pro originates from an editing application such as Final Cut Pro, it is often easiest to add your chapter markers in your NLE (nonlinear editor) before exporting the video. In this lesson, you will learn how to add markers in Final Cut Pro that can be used to set chapter markers for your DVD. Working in this way simplifies the marker creation process, since your markers are automatically imported into DVD Studio Pro with the clip. Also, the tools you are accustomed to using in Final Cut Pro are often quicker and easier to use for precisely placing markers in a video track.
Note
If you don’t have Final Cut Pro, refer to Lesson 3 to set markers in DVD Studio Pro.
Types of Markers in Final Cut Pro
In Final Cut Pro, you can add three types of markers to a clip or sequence: chapter markers, compression markers, and scoring markers. You create these markers by creating a simple marker and then adding a specific tag to the marker in the Edit Marker window. These markers can then be exported with the video and audio of the clip sequence, and read by another application such as DVD Studio Pro or Soundtrack.
Chapter markers in FCP are identical to those in DVD Studio Pro, except for one major difference. Chapter markers can only occur on I-frames, so adding chapter markers in Final Cut Pro is advantageous because when you click Add Chapter Marker, Final Cut Pro forces an I-frame onto the video when it is compressed to MPEG-2. This allows you to place a chapter marker on the exact frame you want, instead of the nearest I-frame (+ or – 15 frames) as when adding markers in DVD Studio Pro. As stated before, this special I-frame is preceded by a GOP that is smaller than the regular 15 frames for NTSC or 12 for PAL.
You can also add a compression marker without adding a chapter marker. Forcing an I-frame has other applications besides adding chapter markers. I-frames are the least compressed frames of a GOP, and placing them on important edit points (particularly those that occur on transitions or contain a lot of motion) ensures that they maintain the highest quality when encoded to MPEG-2.
Scoring markers, like chapter markers, can be embedded in video and read by another application, such as Soundtrack, which is included with Final Cut Pro and also sold separately. Scoring markers can mark important moments in a movie where music needs to be particularly loud or soft, or of a certain tempo or feeling. In Soundtrack, these markers create snapping points and thumbnails, which aid in the placement of Apple Loops in Soundtrack. However, scoring markers are not used by DVD Studio Pro.
Creating Chapter Markers in FCP for DVD Studio Pro
In this exercise, you are going to create four chapter/compression markers in Final Cut Pro that are going to be used for two stories. We will use these stories later on in this project for a random play script.
1. Launch Final Cut Pro by clicking its icon in the Dock.
If you haven’t added it to your Dock, locate the Final Cut Pro icon in the Applications folder on your hard drive and drag it to your Dock.
2. Choose File > Import > Files.
3. Select Media > TigerBasic > TigerBasic_Assets > Tiger_Video > TigerMovie1, and click Choose to bring it into Final Cut Pro.
The video TigerMovie1 now appears in the Browser window.
4. Drag the video file from the Browser window onto the Timeline window.
You can also drag the file onto the Canvas window and choose Overwrite from the menu that appears.
For this project, you will set four chapter/compression markers at precise spots, which you will use to build a story later on.
Note
Stories use chapter markers to mark a specific section of a video track (such as a chapter’s beginning and end). Because you are going to create a story in a later exercise, you should choose a start and end point for each chapter or section you intend to use in the story, or it will not play properly. A chapter in a story starts at one chapter marker and plays until the next chapter marker (the end marker) is reached.
5. Navigate to 01:00:27;04 by typing this timecode into the timecode field in the upper-left corner of the Timeline window and pressing Return.
Entering a timecode will move the playhead to an exact location.
Note
There are several methods for moving the playhead in Final Cut Pro. You can drag it across the Timeline window by using the mouse; use the J, K, and L keys to move forward and backward through the video; or press the left and right arrow keys to precisely position the playhead one frame at a time. If you know the exact timecode where you want to place the marker, however, entering the timecode value is the fastest.
6. Once you have located a point for your marker, press the M key twice.
The first M automatically places a marker at this particular timecode, and the second M brings up the Edit Marker window, where you can choose more options for the marker you are placing. You can also view or change the timecode of the exact frame that the marker is placed on, add comments about it, and place a few different types of markers, depending on your needs (as discussed in the next few steps).
7. Type Dance Start into the Name field of the Edit Marker window to name the marker.
Note
You might decide to keep the markers named in the order you create them (Marker 1, Marker 2, and so on), although this doesn’t tell you anything about the contents of the video at that point. A more precise name—even if it is simply Introduction, Dance Start, Dance End, and so on—is often a better way to name your markers because you can easily refer to these names when you build your stories. Also, if you were to place a new marker between existing markers (for example, a new marker between Marker 1 and Marker 2), it would appear to be out of order, since markers are numbered in the order they were created, not by their relative positions in the Timeline.
8. Click the Add Chapter Marker button in the Edit Marker window.
This button automatically adds a text tag in the Comment field, which, once exported, will inform any other QuickTime-aware application that both a compression marker and a chapter marker should be set for this frame.
Note
You can automatically create a chapter index in DVD Studio Pro by using a track with chapter markers added in Final Cut Pro.
9. Click OK when you are finished editing your marker.
10. Repeat steps 5 through 9 to create the following additional chapter markers in your TigerMovie1 video clip:
01:00:34;23 Dance End
01:00:39;06 Jeep Start
01:01:10;08 Jeep End
11. Practice navigating between your markers by holding down the Shift key and pressing the up arrow key to move to the next marker or the down arrow to move to the previous marker.
Tip
You can also Ctrl-click in the ruler section of the Timeline and choose to jump to a specific chapter marker in the shortcut menu.
12. Choose File > Export > QuickTime Movie when you are ready to export your video.
You can also choose to export this movie using Compressor. For this exercise, you are simply learning how to add and export a video with markers. You can import the video you create here into DVD Studio Pro as a QuickTime file and encode it from within that application. You may even encode it in the background while you author a project (depending on your settings in the Encoding pane of Preferences), in case you need to save time and quickly finish a project.
13. Choose DVD Studio Pro Markers from the Markers pop-up at the bottom of the Export dialog.
This will ensure that the tags placed on your markers in the Timeline will be embedded in the resulting QuickTime file.
14. Make sure that the Make Movie Self-Contained check box is not checked.
Note
The Make Movie Self-Contained option is important to understand. When its box is checked, the resulting QuickTime file will have all video frames and audio samples packed into a new, large file, which is perfect for loading onto a FireWire drive and handing over to a collaborator or a client. These QuickTime files are called self-contained, simply because they contain all the content needed for playback within themselves. When the box is not checked, the QuickTime file is called a reference movie. These movies are much smaller and contain links to the proper video files, but they’re relatively useless when moved to another computer, because the links they contain will be broken.
The simple rule for deciding whether to make a movie self-contained is this: If it’s staying on this machine, the box is unchecked. If it’s leaving the machine, the box is checked.
15. Click Save to export your Final Cut Pro movie to your Desktop and name it TigerMovie2.mov.
A status window will appear, estimating the time until export is complete.
Working with Markers in DVD Studio Pro
Once you have an exported QuickTime movie with embedded markers, you can easily import it into DVD Studio Pro just as you would any other video asset. Once the movie is imported into a DVD Studio Pro project, you can add more chapter markers and even edit the existing markers in an imported file. However, there is one other difference between adding markers in DVD Studio Pro and Final Cut Pro. As noted in the previous section, DVD Studio Pro can only place markers on existing I-frames in encoded video, which occur at the beginning of a GOP (group of pictures). Since most NTSC GOPs are 15 frames long, this means that you can only place a marker every 15 frames (depending on how the video was encoded). Also, the markers you add in DVD Studio Pro are a part of your project file only, and not embedded into the imported file, like the markers you added in Final Cut Pro. If you decided to export an MPEG from DVD Studio Pro, these new markers will not be embedded into it.
However, with the addition of a new timeline and the Track Editor, creating markers in DVD Studio Pro 4 is much easier than it was in previous versions of the software.
For this exercise, you will be importing a video clip and setting chapter markers in DVD Studio Pro using a list of timecodes in a text file. These chapter markers will then be used in the creation of stories.
1. Launch DVD Studio Pro and open the My_Projects > Tiger_DVD file you created in Lesson 11. If you didn’t create the file, open Lessons > 12_Tiger_start and relink the media, if necessary.
2. Press F11 to get to your Desktop, and select TigerMovie2.mov and hold down the mouse button.
3. Press F11 again and drag TigerMovie2.mov onto the Track1 tile in the Graphical tab.
Tip
If you have disabled or reassigned the keys for Exposé, you can import this file using any of the import methods we described earlier in the book, and then drag it from the Assets tab onto the Track1 tile in Graphical tab.
You can now see TigerMovie2.mov in your Track tab with all the markers you have just set in Final Cut Pro.
4. In the Graphical tab, select TigerMovie2 and press Delete to remove TigerMovie2 from your project.
To complete the next exercise, we will use TigerMovie.m2v with the same chapter markers you set for TigerMovie2.mov in the last exercise.
5. From the Assets tab, find the Tiger Assets > Tracks >TigerMovie.m2v asset, then drag and drop it into an empty spot on the Graphical tab.
A new track tile will form in the Graphical tab.
6. Below, in the Track Editor, Ctrl-click in the marker area above the timeline and choose Import Marker List from the shortcut menu.
Note
You can also choose File > Import > Marker List to import a marker list for a selected track.
7. Select the text file called Tiger_Markers.txt, located in the Media > Tiger > Tiger_Docs folder, and click Choose.
DVD Studio Pro provides a message that states how many markers were imported. Your new markers should appear automatically in the timeline.
Note
If the markers that are added from a text file do not fall on an I-frame, they will be moved to the next available I-frame. You can set which GOP will be chosen (Previous GOP, Next GOP, Nearest GOP) by changing your settings in the Track pane of Preferences.
Using Stories as Playlists
A story is simply a way to rearrange the playback of track segments defined by the chapter markers. You may want to create a version of a track that skips some objectionable content, or you may want to use a short piece of the track as a preview. You can create up to 98 stories for each track.
With stories, you can create several different versions of a movie or video program without reusing material or creating additional video tracks that take up valuable space on a disc. A story offers a simple way to rearrange the playback of the track cells defined by the chapter markers in a playlist. A story has access to the entire track, but it does not have to include it all. You can choose which chapter markers to include and in what order—you can even play a marker’s video more than once. Additionally, you can exclude specific subtitle and audio streams from a story. By excluding selected streams, you can force the DVD player to play the alternate audio and subtitle streams.
In this exercise, you will build four stories that will play four sections of a short piece of the track as a preview. You will also create stories to make the main menu more interactive. These stories will be part of a random play script that randomly plays one of the stories after the menu has looped twice.
Note
The actual playback of a story is not strictly seamless, since a jump must occur at each new marker (similar to skipping chapters using the Next and Previous buttons on your remote control).
So whether you want to allow viewers to see the “director’s cut” of your movie without the happy ending the studio made you tack on, or show the movie with the scenes that were left on the cutting room floor put back in, or even provide a random play timeout action for a motion menu, stories will do the job without creating so much as a kilobyte of new media.
Note
You can include up to 99 tracks, slideshows, and stories in a single project. But please note, this is the total number of tracks, stories and slideshows combined.
Chapter markers in stories may be thought of as aliases that point to the original material—in this case, points in a video track. These markers can be placed in any order you want. Buttons may link to these stories and activate a series of chapter markers.
Working with the Story Editor
In this exercise, you will learn how to create four stories from the markers you have already created by placing the markers in the Story Editor window. Initially, you are going to link these stories to another menu. In the next lesson, these stories will be used as a timeout action in a random play script.
1. In the Graphical tab, click the TigerMovie track tile.
2. In the toolbar, click the Add Story button.
Tip
You can also Ctrl-click the track in the Graphical or Outline tab and choose Add > Story from the shortcut menu.
3. Double-click the new story (Story 1) tile to open the Story tab.
The left side of the Story Editor window contains all of the markers from the track you have selected (the source list). On the right side of the window is the list where you can arrange these markers to create a story (the entry list).
4. Drag the marker called Dance Start from the source list on the left to the entry list on the right.
By dragging markers from your track marker list on the left to the story marker list on the right, you are creating entries for your story.
5. Click the Play button in your viewer window to watch the story.
The story will play for 7 seconds until it hits the Dance End marker, then stops.
The Dance End marker indicates the end of this story. Don’t drag it to your entry list; otherwise, it will play the Tiger End marker as well and stop at the next marker, which is Jeep Start. In order to have stories play just the part of the track we want them to play, we create these “End” chapter markers to stop the playback at a specific point.
Tip
To change the order of markers in the entry list, simply drag the markers to new positions in the list, just as you would slides in a slideshow.
6. In the Graphical tab, double-click the name field of the Story 1 tile.
7. Type Dance Story to rename the story.
8. Click the TigerMovie track tile.
9. In the Inspector, set this track’s End Jump to Menus > TigerMainMenu > [Menu].
The End Jump for the stories is set to Same as Track as a default. Therefore, all stories will jump back to the same place as the main track (in this case, TigerMainMenu) once they are finished.
10. Repeat steps 1 through 7, using the TigerMovie track, to create three new stories for Jeep, Water, and Tiger Mother.
Tip
To delete a marker in the entry list, select it and press the Delete key.
11. In the Story tab, choose Dance Story from the View pop-up menu to get back to the Dance Story.
12. Ctrl-click the empty space to the right of the Story tab, and choose Simulate Story from the shortcut menu to simulate the story.
Dance Story should now play for 7 seconds and then jump back to the TigerMainMenu. You may also want to simulate the Jeep, Water, and Tiger Mother stories.
You have now created four stories that are going to be used in a random play script to make the Tiger menu more interactive.
Creating a Story with Multiple Markers
Stories are not only easy to create, but they are also flexible. You can add markers from the source list to the entry list multiple times to replay part of a track. (Each new appearance of the marker is given another number at the end of its name.) You can also put markers into any order you want, even after adding them to the story.
1. In the toolbar, click Add Story.
2. In the Inspector, rename this story Tiger Playlist.
3. Move the markers Dance Start, Water Start, and Dance Start from the source list on the left to the entry list on the right.
4. Choose File > Save to save your Tiger_DVD project.
When the Tiger Playlist story is activated, all of its markers will play in the order in which they appear in the list you created, until the last marker has finished playing. As you can see, you can even play the same markers twice.
Lesson Review
1. What is the maximum number of chapter markers you can add to a single track?
2. Can you set markers frame accurately (on an exact frame) inside DVD Studio Pro itself?
3. What is the process for setting chapter markers inside Final Cut Pro?
4. How many stories can you include in a project?
5. True or false: To create a story you must first select the track the story will be assigned to and then add the story to the project.
6. Can a story play chapters from two different tracks?
Answers
1. 99. Or 98 new chapter markers in addition to the default chapter marker that gets placed at the first frame of each track (this marker cannot be moved or altered).
2. No. To set markers frame accurately, you must set them in Final Cut Pro (or Compressor) before encoding the MPEG-2 stream.
3. Park the playhead on the frame you want to tag with a marker, then press the M key twice to set a marker and then open the Edit Marker window. Next, click the “add Chapter Marker” button to turn the marker into a Chapter Marker.
4. That depends upon how many tracks and slideshows the project has. You can have a maximum of 99 tracks, slideshows, and stories in a single project.
5. True. DVD Studio Pro needs to know which track the story belongs to, so you must select the track first in either the Graphical or Outline view.
6. No. Stories can play only chapters from the track they are assigned to.
