I'm using PSE 6 and PE 4 to build a travelogue slideshow. So far I have made 5 separate 'sub-slideshow' Projects in PSE 6, without narration or music background. I would now like to get these 5 Projects into PE 4, add narration and background music to each of the segments, link them together into one total travel slideshow, and then burn it to a DVD.
It looks like in PSE 6, I can either Save the Project as a .wmv file and then bring it into PE 4 (or convert it to .avi in WMM and bring that into PE 4), or I can 'Send to Premier Elements'. The Help files don't seem to give any indication as to what format that 'Send' is using, so I'm not sure how this process compares with the .wmv process in getting the segments into PE.
Any advice/suggestions, greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,
Stew
From Barb O
I am still running PSE 5 and PRE 3 (which was the first version where you could do the Send Slideshow) but I do think that this comparison will be the same for PSE 6 and PRE 4.
- my results were that the images of my photos on the TV were better quality when I did the Send Slideshow to Premiere Elements then when I made the WMV file from a PSE slideshow and then brought that WMV in to Premiere Elements (as I had done with PSE 4 - PRE 2).
The option that I never did try was WMV => Windows Movie Maker => DV-AVI => Premiere Elements. My reason was that I anticipated that the Send Slideshow would still be the better quality image - because it avoided the intermediate step of creating the highly compressed WMV format.
- So starting with the premise that the Send Slideshow has the potential for the best quality image, here are some considerations on why the Send Slideshow MIGHT not be the best choice for your current project:
Considerations --
1--- you have multiple separate slide shows in Photoshop Elements. As I recollect (but am not sure) I think that the Send Slideshow will always add to the end of the Premiere Elements timeline of the currently open project, if a project is open. So I am guessing that if you do the Send Slide shows in the sequence that you wish the final output to use AND for the second and later Send Slideshows you have that Premiere Elements project OPEN. The multiple PSE slideshows will be positioned as you wish. (summary is that the odds are good that this will work for you if that PRE project is open for the second and later Send Slideshows)
2--- This consideration is either good news or a potential show-stopper.
What is the resolution (the pixel dimensions, not the file size) of the photos that you used in your separate Photoshop Elements slide shows? If you used a current digital camera or scanned photos, the odds are that the resolution is too high for Premiere Elements to convert these down to video resolution on the fly as it encodes: if it fails the result is a hand or crash. . You would have better odds if you made a SEPARATE Premiere Elements project for each of your Photoshop Elements projects, Exported each of those Premiere Elements projects to DV-AVI and then made a totally new PRE project with the 5 Exported DV-AVIs.
3--- There are some cases where the timing of slides and especially transitions will be different after the slide show is over in Premiere Elements. You can most probably fix this difference, but depending on the number of "slides" it can be labor intensive.
I know this probably seems confusing, so if you are still reading and have not given up yet,
I suggest that
a- You post to this thread the photo resolution of your photos (pixel dimensions of a typical photo from a digital camera and a typical scan if you have both types). Also post an estimate of how many photos in each of our 5 PSE slide shows.
b- We might want to broaden this discussion and include more people who have used PSE6 and PRE4 by also discussing your topic on the forums at the http://muvipix.com/home.php site. Its forums are free just like here. Right now, I suggest that you post back to this thread and then we can evaluate using that other forum.
From Stew
Barb, thank you very much for your very comprehensive reply to my query. I've done slideshows just using PSE 4 before, but have basically no experience with using PE, so any advice is greatly appreciated.
In answer to your question re image resolution, it looks like the average resolution, after enhancing etc., is in the 4+ meg range per image, and the 5 individual slideshows average about 40 slides per show. The slideshows also include a few minutes of video clips taken in the 640 x 480 resolution. I hadn't thought about this, but would it be better to reduce the size of the images prior to beginning a slide show project? The slideshows will eventually be played on a wide-screen HD TV. Is there such a thing as an ideal resolution to get the best possible picture with the smallest image size?
In regard to your concern about the ordering of the 5 individual slide shows if they are brought over with the 'Send to ...' command, in PSE 6 --> PE 4, it appears that the Project comes over in a single unit, which can then be broken up into its individual components if required. So it seems like re-ordering them should be OK, if for some reason I don't do it sequentially to begin with.
Again, thank you very much for advice and suggestions.
Stew
From ATR
Stew,
Just some add ons to the dialog that you have in progress with BarbO.
First take a look at this FAQ from the Premiere Elements User to User Forum at Adobe. It is on one of the topics in discussion, Photo Resolution....
http://adobeforums.com/webx/.3bb8822c
Next, at this stage you need to think pixel dimensions of your photos, the height and width in pixels. The pixels dimension of each photo should not exceed 1000 x 750 pixels. See above link. You can check out what you have by taking a photo into Photoshop Elements Editor and going to the Image Size dialog. This is a good guideline whether you go the wmv with profile for DVD NTSC or PAL or "as is" route. When you go the wmv route the profile selected defines the appropriate size. When you send over "as is", the burden falls on Premiere Elements. The "as is" route offers more flexibility in editing in Premiere Elements. The issue of quality needs to be explored.
If it gets to batch resizing of your images, we can supply some suggestions.
I am sure that working together here we can keep your workflow in good shape.
ATR
From Barb O
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgitlin View Post
In answer to your question re image resolution, it looks like the average resolution, after enhancing etc., is in the 4+ meg range per image, and the 5 individual slideshows average about 40 slides per show. The slideshows also include a few minutes of video clips taken in the 640 x 480 resolution. I hadn't thought about this, but would it be better to reduce the size of the images prior to beginning a slide show project? The slideshows will eventually be played on a wide-screen HD TV. Is there such a thing as an ideal resolution to get the best possible picture with the smallest image size?
Stew
1- At 4 megapixels and 40 slides in a show, you have a chance of being OK in Premier Elements - this will depend somewhat on your system specs. I successfully did about 25 where most were 5 MP photos: in contrast people who attempt to 200 or more at one time often can not do it. Personally, I think I would try it and then if it fails pursue the possible alternatives. In the future, yes, making a copy of your photo file at a reduced resolution (perhaps about 1000x750 for standard definition DVDs) is a good practice. The dilemma of trying to do these decreased resolution photos after you have already created a slide show is the amount of rework on the slide show.
2- I have not done multiple separate "shows" being sent from PSE to PRE at the same time, so I can't comment. Not a big worry though because if it does not give you the desired results, you do have the option of doing 5 Sends in sequence - OR- sending each to a separate project, then Exporting each project to DV-AVI and make a final project with the 5 DV-AVIs.
3- You said you have 640x480 video - is this digital still camera video and is it from a Canon digital still camera? This MIGHT have some special considerations over in PRE, but nothing that we can't solve. Personally, I have been adding my video clips directly in Premiere Elements but I did at least once add a Canon Motion JPEG video back in Photoshop Elements.
4- Since HD TV and widescreen is a factor in your plan, I definitely think that this discussion will benefit from being moved over to the muvipix forums. It has a subforum for Slideshows and I think that is the most effective place to post this discussion - but I will continue to monitor this thread until I know you have switched to the muvipix forum.
In closing - hang in there: this will be somewhat complicated the first time through - but after the initial steep learning curve it will be better.
From Stew
ATR and Barb, thanks again for the additional information. ATR, that link you mentioned -
First take a look at this FAQ from the Premiere Elements User to User Forum at Adobe. It is on one of the topics in discussion, Photo Resolution....
http://adobeforums.com/webx/.3bb8822c
was just what I was looking for to answer the resolution question. I'll definitely resize the images in future slideshows before beginning the project, and might do it for this project if it turns out that the large size images are taxing the system.
Barb, in #3 from your previous post, the video clips were taken with a Panasonic Lumix camera in 640 x 480 .avi format.
In regard to your #4 item, anything that broadens the discussion and brings in more thinking would definitely be a help. Is there a way to bring the whole discussion across?
Thanks again,
Stew
From ATR
Stew
I saw your reply including the mention of “viewing widescreen HD TV” after I posted my add on comments. I was thinking Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements as standard video with a DVD-VIDEO output, including pixel resolution not exceeding 1000 x 750 pixels with the aspect ratio of 4:3.
Had you thought ahead to Output from Premiere Elements onto your DVD or a BluRay Disc?
Here are just some thoughts about that with regard to DVD disc.
1. Before you import your project into Premiere Elements, you are going to need to set up Premiere Elements ahead of time. Your choices might include:
(a) Widescreen, aspect ratio 16:9, with its 720 x 480 pixels sizing
(b) HD setting of 720p or 1080i. The “p” stands for progressive, and the “i” stands for interlaced. It is my understanding that Premiere Elements 4 supports 1080i but not necessarily 1080p. So, you may end up with better resolution with the 720 p setting than with the 1080i set.
The pixel dimensions involved are 720p = 1280 x 720 pixels; 1080i = 1920 x 1080 pixels. Both would give you the aspect ratio = 16:9.
2. Once you decide the best settings for your purposes, then, if necessary, you can decide how to resize to minimize the work for Premiere Elements. Since I am not sure of the new profiles, if any, offered by Photoshop Elements 6 for the writing of the wmv, I would suggest the “as is” route from Photoshop Elements.
3. You say that you have 640 x 480 video (that = aspect ration 4:3). I would need to think out the consequences of the above 16:9 aspect ratio choices above.
That my thoughts for now.
ATR
add ons to the add ons
1. If you resize, keep the aspect ratio.
2. To see what all this is going to translate into, why not try this on a mini mini scale, using each of the above options and throwing in a "the standard preset" to see how it all fares quality-wise with your widescreen HD TV.
From Stew
ATR, I was thinking the same thing about trying a few settings with a short demo slide show just to see how it would play in different settings. Although I have an HD TV, I don't (yet) have an HD DVD player, so I'll probably just be interested in setting it up for standard definition at a 16:9 aspect ratio. I can also change the TV's aspect ratio to conform to whatever output ratio I use in PE.
A related question. Once I have selected the settings for the project in PE, and have done some work on the project in PE (e.g., add narration, etc.) can I then get back to the Preference dialog back and make changes at that time, or am I locked in to whatever I chose at the beginning of the PE project?
Stew
From ATR
Stew,
Until proven otherwise, it is my belief that, once you set up a project in the Splash Screen (standard, widescreen, etc), that is it. If you change your mind, I believe that you would have to start a new project.
ATR
Premiere Elements 2
