Online Workshop: Scene-4

Getting Started Scene 1: Create a slide show with transitions and music Scene 2: Create a video with music and text Scene 3: Create an object animation with music and text Create a Menu that Links the Scenes Together

Content: Workshop Content/Menu and Photos folder

1. From Author's main menu, select Scene>New (CTRL/COM-F). The default name is Scene-4.

2. Locate and open the Workshop Content/Menu folder, click and drag Wood.jpg onto the Project window.

3. Hold the CTRL/COM key and drag in the file named "Button.pct." By holding the CTRL/COM key when dragging in a picture turns it into a Button object.

4. With the Button object still highlighted, select Object>Attributes. This opens the Button Attributes dialog.

5. Check the following options in the Button Attributed dialog: Sound Effect, Extend to End, Type = Normal, Depressed Effect = Invert. Click OK. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Button Attributes dialog

6. Reposition the button to the center right of the Scene.

7. With the button still highlighted, select Edit>Copy Button, Edit>Paste Button. A duplicate button appears on top of the previous button. Reposition this new button 1/2 inch below the first button.

8. With the 2nd button still highlighted, again select Edit>Copy Button, Edit>Paste Button. Another copy of the button is created. Reposition the 3rd button 1/2 inch below the second button.

9. Drag in the file named Labels.txt. Or use the Object>Import>Text option. A new Text object appears.

10. Set the font size to 24 points using the Text>Format menu option(s). Apply a shadow if desired (Text>Shadow).

11. Use the corner handlebars to position the Text object to the right of the buttons.

12. Straighten up the Buttons with the alignment options.

Tip! You can Shift-Click the Button objects (multiple object selection) and select Object>Alignment to align objects to a desired axis (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Object Alignment Menu Option

13. Click the Text tool on the Main Tools palette.

14. Enter a title for your menu (e.g. "Edison Project"), adjust the font size (e.g. Arial Black, 36 points) and reposition the title to top center of the Scene.

We can add interest to the menu by importing an image from the Photos folder.

15. Select Object>Import>Picture, navigate to and open the Workshop Content/Photos folder, choose edison01.jpg and click Open.

The imported image fills the entire Scene. We just want a portion of this image.

16. Highlight the edison01.jpg image and select Object>Open Editor. This opens the image in MediaWorks Paint. With Paint, you can edit existing images or create your own.

17. Click on the Square Selection tool (Figure 3).

Figure 3 - MediaWorks Paint Square Selection Tool

18. Click and drag a selection just around Thomas Edison's portrait.

19. From Paint's main menu, select Edit>Crop.

20. From Paint's main menu, select Options>Flip Horizontal (the image must still be selected to take effect).

21. From Paint's main menu, select File>Send To>Author. This places the object into the Scene and quits the Paint program.

22. Resize and reposition as desired or just drag the Picture object to the left side of the Scene.

Tip! Every object in a Scene resides in it's own layer. If other objects are being covered, highlight the object and select Object>Send Backward until the other objects are no longer covered up. Conversely, you can highlight an object and choose Object>Brint Forward to bring it up a layer.

23. Open the Sequencer window, Select Edit>Select All, and click the Snap to End button. This ensures very quickly all objects remain visible for the length of the Scene.

With our menu layout complete, can now link up our buttons to the other Scenes.

24. Highlight the first button (next to "Slide Show") and select Object>Links. This opens the Object Links dialog.

25. In the Object Links dialog, click the Scene button and then use the dropdown menu to choose Scene-1 (the slide show scene), and click OK.

26. Highlight the second button (next to "Video") and select Object>Links. This opens the Object Links dialog again.

27. In the Object Links dialog, click the Scene button and then use the dropdown menu to choose Scene-2 (the video scene), and click OK.

28. Highlight the third button (next to "Animation") and select Object>Links.

29. In the Object Links dialog, click the Scene button and then use the dropdown menu to choose Scene-3 (the video scene), and click OK.

If you run this Scene now, the buttons will link to the various Scenes, however, there is currently nothing that gets you back to the menu scene. So, we need to link the other 3 Scenes back to the menu scene.

30. Use the Scene Navigation menu to switch to Scene-1 (lower right corner of the Sequencer window, Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Scene Navigation menu

31. Open the Workshop Content/Menu folder, hold the CTRL/COM key and drag in the image named "Back.pct." This image is now a button in Scene-1.

32. Set the Button Attributes as in Step 6 and reposition the Button object where ever you like in the Scene.

33. With the Button still highlighted, (a) select Object>Links, (b) click the Scene button, (c) use the Scene Links dropdown menu to choose Scene-4 (the menu scene), and (d) click OK.

34. With the Button still highlighted, select Edit>Copy Button.

35. Use the Scene Navigation menu to switch to Scene-2.

36. Select Edit>Paste Button.

37. Highlight the new Button and select Object>Links, and complete step 33(b) - (d).

38. Use the Scene Navigation menu to switch to Scene-3.

This time, instead of adding a Button object, we'll use a Scene Link. Scene Links work like invisible buttons that run when the end of a Scene is reached.

39. From Author's main menu, select Scene>Links, click the Scene button, choose Scene-4 from the dropdown menu (Figure 5), and click OK.

Figure 5 - Add Scene Link dialog

Your Scenes are now all linked together. For the menu to appear as the first Scene when run, we need to set Scene-4 to be the first Scene.

40. Use the Scene Navigation menu to switch to Scene-4.

41. From Author's main menu, select Scene>Set First. This makes the current Scene to become the first Scene in the project.

42. Save your Project (File>Save or CTRL/COM-S).

We can now prepare our Project for distribution by creating a MediaWorks Player document. If you have a CD writer, go the Scene-4 - Making a CD. Otherwise, use the steps below to create a Player document you can share on any other portable media or as a web download.

43. From Author's main menu, select File>Make Player.

44. In the Save As dialog, choose the desktop, give your Player Document a name and click Save.

In a few moments, a file with the extension .plr is created on your desktop.

To run a Player Document, double-click its icon or drag a .plr file onto the Player.exe icon. You can also launch the Player first and select File>Open, then navigate to and select a .plr file.

To exit your Player Document, press ALT-F4 (Win) or COMMAND-Q (Mac) to exit the Player.

Tip! a Quit button can be added to any scene. For example, in Scene-4 we imported the Quit.pct image (Menu folder) as a button, reposition to the corner, and set the Button Attributes being sure to check Quit for the Button Type.

Optional Challenge! Make an Autorun CD

Completed Windows Project: EdisonProjectWin.zip (14 MB) Requires WinZip to decompress and MediaWorks 6.0 for Windows to open. Completed Player Document for Windows: EdisonPlayer.zip (14 MB).

Completed Macintosh Project: EdisonProjectMac.sit (14 MB) Requires StuffIt Expander to decompress and MediaWorks 6.0 for Mac 8/9 or Mac OS X to open. Completed Player Document for Macintosh: EdisonPlayer.sit (14 MB).

If you've discovered any discrepencies or are having technical difficulties, please use the Support form.
Thanks for taking the MediaWorks Online Workshop. Your suggestions are highly valued.