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Note: The steps in this article are specific to Pinnacle Studio, but they give you a good idea of what the process involves. Read the documentation for the specific software that you are using.
Exporting movies to tape from Pinnacle Studio is a slightly more complex process than what is found in, say, Apple iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. But one of the main reasons for this complexity is that Studio gives you more export options than iMovie — and it exports better-quality video than Movie Maker by far. The next two sections show you how to export your movie to tape from Pinnacle Studio.
Adding black video to your timeline
If you plan to export your Pinnacle Studio movie project to tape in a digital camcorder, you need to add some black video clips to the beginning and end of the timeline. To add a black video clip to the beginning of your project, follow these steps:
1. In the Edit mode, click the Titles tab on the left side of the album.
A selection of titles appears in the album.
2. If any tracks on the timeline are currently locked, click the track headers on the left side of the timeline to unlock them.
 | When a track is locked, a tiny lock icon appears on the track header and a zebra-stripe pattern appears across the track. Unlocking all tracks is an important step because you're going to insert a title clip at the beginning of the timeline. If all tracks are unlocked, they all shift over automatically when you insert the title. This keeps all your narration, music, and title overlays properly synchronized with your video. |
3. Click and drag any title to the beginning of the video track on your timeline.
4. Double-click the title to open the title editor, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Use the title editor to create a clip of black video.
5. Select the text in the title, and press Delete to delete all the title text.
6. Adjust the duration of the title by using the Duration field in the upper-right corner of the title editor.
Use a duration of 30 seconds.
7. Close the title editor.
The blank title appears at the beginning of the timeline.
8. Click the blank title once to select it, and then choose Edit --> Copy.
9. Move the play head to the end of the timeline.
10. Choose Edit --> Paste.
A copy of the blank title now appears at the end of the movie as well.
Exporting the movie
Pinnacle Studio provides the Make Movie mode as your central location for exporting a finished movie project, whether you're exporting to tape, DVD, or the Internet. To open the Make Movie mode, choose View --> Make Movie.
| If any of the clips in your movie were captured at Preview quality, you are prompted to insert the tapes that contain the original source clips at full quality. Make sure that you have those tapes handy, and follow the on-screen instructions to recapture the footage. |
You're ready to start exporting your movie to tape. Follow these steps to do so:
1. In the Make Movie mode, click the Tape button at the left side of the Make Movie window.
Basic video settings appear in the Make Movie window, as well as the estimated file size for the exported file. Studio needs to export the movie as a file before it can be recorded onto tape, and that file is probably going to be big. As shown in Figure 2, the movie is only about 50 seconds long, and yet it will create a file that is over 157MB in size. This is why you should always buy the biggest hard drive that you can afford.
Figure 2: Studio is ready to export my movie to tape.
2. Click the Settings button.
The Make Tape tab of the Pinnacle Studio Setup Options dialog box appears. Make sure that the correct output source is selected in the Video menu.
3. If you're exporting to a DV camcorder, select the Automatically Start and Stop Recording check box.
With this option enabled, Studio automatically controls your camcorder for you, meaning that you won't have to press the Record button on the camcorder. If you're exporting to a video converter such as the Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge, deselect this check box.
If you enable automatic control of your DV camera, you should set the Record Delay Time to 5 seconds. This gives the camcorder's tape mechanism enough time to spool up to the proper speed for recording.
4. Click OK to close the Pinnacle Studio Setup Options dialog box.
5. Back in the Make Movie window, click the Create button at the bottom of the export control.
Studio creates a file for your movie. The process may take several minutes, especially if your movie is long and has a lot of effects and transitions. When the file is created, the export control tells you that your project is ready for output, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: The project is ready for output to tape.
6. Click the Play button under the preview window.
If you chose to give Studio automatic control of your DV camcorder (in Step 3), Studio automatically starts the recording feature on your camcorder, stopping when the movie has been exported.
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