Welcome to MainActor v5

- Linux Video Editing -

 MainActor v5.2 Linux
In principle, the options and functions in MainActor v5 for Linux are the same as in the
Windows version. Unfortunately, due to the operating system some features are not or not
yet available under Linux in the final version.

Contents
Introduction
Congratulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Overview
What is MainActor v5? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Timeline Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Browser Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The Effects window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The Preview window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Media Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Working with MainActor v5

Adding tracks and clips to the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Using the Scenalyze option in the Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Working with video clips in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Working with audio clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Working with complete Timelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Cutting clips in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Working with the Media Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
How to apply effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Working with the 2D Text engine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
How to use a transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Working with the polydiagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
The Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Useful Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Contents • page 3

Quickstart Tutorial
Quickstart Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Tools
The DV Capture Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Capture Windows
Capturing Video from a DV camcorder or deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Effects, Filters and Transitions

Adding effects, filters, sources and transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Filters and Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Transitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Exporting a project
The Export Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
DV-AVI Type1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
DV-AVI Type1 Multifile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
DV-AVI Type2 (max. 2 GB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
DV-Dif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
MPEG - The MainConcept MPEG Encoder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Tutorial - Exporting a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Glossary
Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Technical Support
MainConcept Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Copyright 2003-2004 MainConcept AG. All rights reserved.
Trademarks are used for informational purposes, and remain
the property of their owners. Depending on the software ver-
sion, screenshots may vary in this manual.
Edition: 12.07.2004

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Contents • page 4

Introduction

Congratulations!
Welcome to MainActor v5! MainActor v5 is a powerful video-editing software for Win-
dows. It enables you to import, edit and produce your videos in professional quality on a
personal computer. The new unique MainConcept program combines video-editing with
compositing.
With the new MainActor v5 you can capture your videos from an analog or a digital cam-
corder, video recorder (VCR) or even a DVD player, and cut as well as edit them to your
heart’s content. The program allows working with the DV and MPEG format. DV (Digital
Video) is used by digital camcorders. In contrast the MPEG format is used for DVDs,
Video CDs (VCDs), Super Video CDs (SVCDs) or other common formats. There are two
different MPEG types: MPEG-1 features a lower but still good quality. MPEG-2 offers an
excellent quality. The DV and MPEG format enable the user to do professional video-edit-
ing in highest quality. Therefore, numerous special effects, transitions and filters are at

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Introduction • page 5

your disposal. Import your video and audio clips in order to organize and edit them in a
project on a track-based interface. The usage of several timelines makes it easy to work
on different projects simultaneously. The diverse modules of MainActor v5 can be
arranged according to you wishes so that you are able to create your individual interface.
With MainActor v5 it is possible to produce your own spectacular films easily.
In the end you can export your project for the most common formats. A multitude of render
settings allow the user output at the highest level. The default settings of the integrated
MainConcept MPEG Encoder for Video CD, Super Video CD and DVD already guarantee
results of extraordinary quality.
The manual is supposed to give you an overview of the general functions of the new
MainConcept program. This manual has been simultaneously developed together with
the software so that some screenshots may differ from the original program. Furthermore,
it is possible that some functions are not implemented yet although they are explained in
this manual. But they will be soon...!
However, we want to wish you a lot of fun with our latest product. If you have any sugges-
tions on how to improve MainActor v5 please send us your feedback to the following email
address: suggestions@mainconcept.com
Throughout the MainActor v5 manual you will be guided by a new character. It signals you
when you have to pay attention or gives you some advice. But it also introduces the little
tutorials in this manual. Here are the different characters and their functions:
When you see this little fellow with the megaphone you have to pay
attention. He gives advice as well as some clever tips and tricks for
working with MainActor v5. But sometimes he signals also a warning
for the user, that some settings should only be changed by profession-
als.

This is the teacher in our MainActor v5 manual. The fellow with his little
pointer introduces the tutorials you find throughout this documentation.
Simply repeat the steps, described in these examples and try for your-
self what interesting features the new MainActor offers. You will see: in
no time at all you create impressive films with our video-editing soft-
ware.

Unfortunately, the guy with the question mark appears only once. Well,
let’s say it is a good thing that he only appears once, and we hope that
you will never need him. He gives you some information on how to
reach the MainConcept support team.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Introduction • page 6

Installation

From time to time, MainConcept will release new versions of MainActor

v5 for Linux containing tweaks and new features. Before you install
MainActor, we highly recommend checking the MainConcept website to
see if a newer version is available for downloading.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Installation • page 7

If you downloaded the software, run the rpm-file that you downloaded in YAST and K-
Package under SuSe. You can install MainActor v5 in the same way as you would do with
other programs. Then follow the prompts on your screen.

Another way to install MainActor v5 is using a command line in the Shell. Simply enter
„rpm -i (name of the file)“ in the panel and press Enter.
It may take a few moments for the installation to start. This is because the installer pro-
gram is decompressing large amounts of data. Then MainActor v5 will be installed on
your Linux distribution.
Depending on the Linux distribution you use, the installation of the soft-
ware and the starting process of the application might vary. Please read
the documentation of your Linux distribution how to install software and
how to launch programs on your system correctly.

MainActor v5 Linux is now installed on your computer. You can launch it from the shortcut
icon that now appears on your desktop (depending on the installed Linux distribution).
You can also start the application from the Shell by entering mactor and pressing the
Enter key.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Installation • page 8

Overview

What is MainActor v5?

MainActor v5 is the successor of the popular MainActor 3.65. The new version of the
video-editing software contains a lot of improved features of the old edition as well as
numerous new functions which make it easy to edit your videos in professional quality.
The powerful MainActor v5 allows you to capture, edit and export your videos with your
computer. Our new software offers innumerable audio and video tracks for working on a
project. You can add transitions and effects to the clips in order to produce professional
videos. The MainConcept product offers the time-saving background rendering as well as
fast rendering and smart rendering for enhancing the productivity. The windows-based
interface helps you to have all the important functions within easy reach. You can arrange
the different windows according to your wishes, i.e. you can create your individual inter-
face.
With the different tools you can edit and arrange your clips easily. The simple drag-and-
drop interface enables you to place clips in a project directly in the timeline. It is possible
to preview the clips in the Media Player before you use them. With the new MainActor

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 9

you can cut your videos to the desired length before you position them in the timeline, e.g.
the user does the basic setup of his clips in a special Media Player and the fine-tuning in
the Timeline later on.
The Timeline offers three different modes for inserting clips. The Fill mode simply places
a clip in the Timeline. When you insert a clip in the Overwrite mode the clip will overwrite
the video which is on the current position in the Timeline. Finally, you have an improved
Insert function here. When you drag and drop a clip onto the Timeline using this mode the
clip will be placed between two videos, and the duration will be defined automatically.
MainActor v5 includes innumerable transitions and special effects for creating impressive
videos. To apply an effect or a transition you simply drag it onto the desired clip in the
Timeline so that it appears on an individual track.
You can adjust further settings by double-clicking on an effect or transition. The settings
are transferred to the Effects window where you can set e.g. the intensity, duration, fre-
quency, opacity etc. This new feature makes it easy to create impressive effects in no time
at all.
Furthermore, MainActor v5 offers several possibilities for editing the sound of a video.
The user can adjust several settings concerning the volume, and add a different audio
track to a clip. It also contains some sound effects for enhancing your videos.
In the following we will show you how to use the new MainActor v5 by introducing the key
parts of the new software so that you get acquainted with them.
The different components of MainActor v5 are:
• The Timeline window
• The Browser window
• The Effects window
• The Preview window
• The Media Player
• The Menus

In the following we only want to give you an overview of the new MainConcept application.
We will explain the different components of the interface in more detail later.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 10

The Timeline Window
The Timeline window gives an overview of your project. In a project you import and edit
your clips, add effects as well as transitions, and finally produce your finished video in a
variety of formats.
In the Timeline window you can edit your imported clips on different video (V1) and audio
(A1) tracks. It is also possible to organize and work with several timelines at the same
time. Click on the tab to change the Timeline pane. The user has different areas for wor-
king with his video and audio data. The upper part of the Timeline window is for the video
stream, and the lower one for the audio stream. Of course, you can change the size of
each area so that you can minimize one part when you do not need it at the moment. You
can also use the up/down and left/right controls in the window to scroll through a project.
The window shows the video as well as audio clips which are used in the current project.
You can also see the length of the individual clips and the whole project. The video clips
are placed on the V1, V2, V3... tracks. Each effect or transition is represented by a sepa-
rate track directly under a clip. They can be identified by their names. You can also
change the duration of both effects and transitions here. A new feature of MainActor v5 is
that you can adjust a lot effect settings in a different window. Here you can also change
the effect parameters by defining different keys, and changing the course of the curve in
a polydiagram. This is called keyframe animation. Depending on the effect or transition
you can adjust a lot of different settings over time.
As we mentioned before, the audio streams are placed on separate audio tracks (A1, A2,
A3...). You can import individual audio files, and add audio effects to the Timeline. You
can also change the settings for the volume (Master volume, Left and Right channel).
It is even possible to change the volume over time. Then you simply define new keys in a
polydiagram and change the course of the curve. If you want a better view of the Timeline
you can hide both the curves of the audio and the video tracks.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 11

Button bar: In the Timeline:

1. Insert mode 13. Rendered area

2. Overwrite mode 14. Transition between two clips
3. Fill mode 15. Effect/filter on complete clip
4. Cut 16. Effect on a clip over a certain time segment
5. Jump to previous/next clip or cut 17. Control for moving around in a project
6. Toggle clip ends on/off 18. Zoom in/out Timeline
7. Change Timeline display 19. Audio clip/stream
8. Sound on/off 20. Lever for extending a clip
9. Background Renderer on/off 21. Audio track
10. Timeline Settings 22. Enable/disable functions for a track
11. Export/Render Timeline 23. 2D Text on clip over a certain period of time
12. Audio level (left and right channel) 24. Video track
25. Video clip/stream
26. Timeline tabs

The numerous buttons, tabs and the drop-down menu on top of the Timeline work area
perform the following functions:
The three buttons on the left activate certain modes for adding clips to the timeline.
The Insert mode is a normal placing function. It allows you to position clips freely
on the timeline wherever you want to. When you add a clip between two videos,
the duration will be defined automatically. The two clips on the left and right are
moved according to the needed space, so that no gaps or blank space occurs in
the timeline.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 12

 The Overwrite mode works like an eraser. If you add a clip to the timeline it over-
writes the space it will need for its size, i.e. it deletes audio and video material
which is placed on the current position.
The Fill mode enables you place a clip in a gap between two clips. In this mode
only the free space will be filled with the clip, so that gaps can possibly occur.
When you add a clip in Fill mode, a separate audio track is generated.
The next four buttons perform the following functions:
This button enables you to cut a clip directly in the timeline. Mark the corre-
sponding clip and move the slider to the desired position. When you press this
button the clip is divided.
By pressing this button you jump to the next cut or the beginning as well as the
end of the next clip in the Timeline. The button also enables you to skip forth from
clip to clip in a project.
By pressing this button you jump to the previous cut or the beginning as well as
the end of the previous clip in the Timeline. The button also enables you to skip
back from clip to clip in a project.
This button toggles the clips’ ends on/off, i.e. when you activate this option it is
possible to shorten as well as in some cases lengthen the clips, effects and
transitions on the timeline. You simply click on the little lever at the beginning or
end of a clip, so that it is highlighted, and drag it to the desired length.
The drop-down menu in this bar allows you to change the Timeline dis-
play. When you click the button a drop-down menu appears. Here you
can choose the preferred display: Frames (F), Seconds (S) and Time-
code (Tc).

The button with the loudspeaker allows you to toggle the sound playback of the
timeline on and off.

The Toggle background rendering on/off button allows you to enable or dis-
able the background renderer. This feature already renders changes in the
Timeline while you are editing your project. This unique time-saving option can
greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to finish a project. When you press
this button while holding the Shift-key, the background rendering for all Time-
lines is disabled.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 13

 The Change timeline settings button enables you to open a window where
you can change a lot of general parameters for your project in the timeline (see
the chapter The Menus for details).
The Export the timeline (or Render) button opens a window where you can
adjust numerous settings for the output file (see the chapter The Menus or
Exporting a Project for details).
The audio level display shows the volume of your
audio stream, i.e. it visualizes the volume of the left and
right audio channel.
The tabs on top of the Timeline window allow you to switch to other timelines if you work
on more than one project simultaneously. Simply click on the desired tab in order to skip
to another project. You can create new timelines by choosing the Create new option in
the Timeline menu. It is even possible to give every timeline an individual name. We will
explain this task to you in detail later on.
The yellow line above the tracks indicates the area which will be rendered.
When you click the right mouse-button in the Timeline window, the following list appears.
Select All clips is self-explanatory. You simply mark
all existing clips in the Timeline.
Select None deselects all chosen clips.
Cut, Copy, Paste and Delete are normal functions for
working with clips in a single Timeline or between dif-
ferent Timelines.
Add video track adds another video track to the cur-
rent project in the timeline.
Add audio track adds another audio track to the cur-
rent project in the timeline.
Delete selected tracks is self-explanatory.
Resync clips allows you to rearrange the audio and
video which has previously been separated so that
they become synchronized again.
Detach video from audio enables you to separate video from audio.
With Show parameters you copy the settings of the selected clips, effect, transition etc.
into the Effects window.
Show/Hide waveform activates the audio stream’s wave for defining the volume in the
Timeline.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 14

The Browser window
The Project pane is the browser of MainActor v5 which enables you to organize media
files as well as effects, transitions and even a 2D-text engine. Clicking the desired tab
enables you to switch through the different categories Project, Effects and Keyword
Search. The drag-and-drop interface allows the user to place video and audio clips
directly on the Timeline. You can use transitions and effects in the same way.

1. Active Project tab 8. Active Detailed view mode button, Icon view,
2. Effects tab and List view
3. Keyword Search tab 9. Detailed clip information on/off
4. Several information about the media files in a 10. Up
folder (type, mark-In/Out, duration...) 11. Add media clips button
5. Thumbnails of media files 12. Timeline icons
6. Information about selected media file 13. Open folder for media files
7. Thumbnail of selected video clip 14. User defined clipboard

Depending on the chose view mode, the Browser gives information about the media clips,
e.g. their names, type, resolution and length. It also displays information about the audio
settings.

When you click the button, the Browser shows some information about the clip, effect,
transition or source at the bottom, such as name, resolution, channels, duration etc. The
small thumbnail on the left displays which file is selected at the moment. If a filter, source
or transition is selected, you a preview and a short description of it.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 15

When you start MainActor v5 for the first time the Project pane is empty. But it is possible
to organize innumerable multimedia clips in this pane. It is advisable to create own clip-
boards (also called bins) and folders for video and audio files, especially when several
users work on different projects. You can add video and audio files to these user defined
clipboards and folders respectively. You can drag-and-drop the clips directly in the Time-
line from there.
The Project pane can also contain clipboards and folders with edited effects, sources,
titles or transitions as well as user defined audio and video clip segments. After you have
changed their parameters in the Effects window, you can drag-and-drop it from there
directly into the Browser window for using them in future projects.
Besides, the icons for bins, folders, video and audio clips the Project pane also includes
a Timeline icon . It contains the contents of a complete Timeline, i.e. all clips, transi-
tions, effects etc. This option is very useful when you want to combine several Timelines.
Simply drag this icon into a new Timeline, and the complete contents is placed to the new
one.
Depending on what item you right-click in the Project pane of the Browser (e.g. bin,
folder, clip, Timeline), a list of different options appears on the screen. In the following we
want to introduce the most important options here in detail. However, most of the settings
are self-explanatory.
A new clipboard can be generated by moving the cursor
into the left area of the Projects pane. Here you have to
press the right mouse button and select New Bin from the
menu’s list. Follow the instructions in the dialog box to
compile it. A MainActor v5 clipboard is saved with the file
extension „mccb“ (MainActor clipboard). Now you can add
media clips or folders to the clipboard. The contents of a
bin is automatically saved when you save the current
project in the Timeline.

The clipboard is automatically loaded when you open the project in MainActor v5 again
which goes with it. When you want to use a bin for another project you have to choose the
option Create link to bin from the list above. In the following window you browse for the
preferred clipboards.
To create a folder you simply select the appropriate clipboard and press the right mouse-
button. Use the New Folder option to add a new folder to the bin. By choosing Rename
after you have marked the folder you give it a desired name. In our example we chose
Video and Audio as names for the folders. Of course, you can create more folders with
different names. You can delete a folder by selecting it and choosing Delete from the list
on the left.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 16

You also find a normal Copy, Cut and Paste functions here for copying and cutting fold-
ers, clips etc. within the Browser.
The Delete option deletes a selected item from a bin or folder in MainActor v5. In doing
so, only the link is removed but not the actual file.
Use the Close (Save) option to close and save the contents of a clipboard.
When a file is selected in a clipboard, and you press the
right mouse button, the following options appear. Most of
them are self-explanatory. So we only explain one of
them.
The Scenalyze... option enables you to apply a scene
detection to a clip in the browser. The clips you obtain dur-
ing this process are added to a special folder in the
Project pane of the Browser. You can run this option on a
DV or an MPEG file.
Place to Timeline adds a clip to the Timeline at the current slider position.
The options Rename, Cut, Copy, Paste and Delete are self-explanatory.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 17

Now you can add media clips to the Video and Audio folders. Use the option Add Media
clip(s)... to insert the desired clips into these folders. It is also possible to press the
button to open the Add Media file(s) window. The appearing window offers also some
additional functions for working with clips.

Preview area: File browser area:

1. Preview area 11. File type

2. Set In/Out points manually, current position 12. Addtional settings for displaying and loading
3. Time display files
4. Set fields mode, Deinterlace video 13. File name
5. Loop 14. Audio and video files
6. Frame foward/backward 15. Current folder location
7. Play/Stop 16. Up
8. Play In/Out segment 17. Hide preview area
9. Set In/Out point
10. Reset In/Out points

In the Add Media file(s) window above you search for and select video as well as audio
files you want to copy into the Clipboard for using them in projects. Mark the desired file
and confirm with OK so that the clip is copied into the Clipboard and into the preferred

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 18

folder. You can also select several clips all at once. When you want to abort the task click
the Cancel button.
You can add or delete multiple files at once. To select multiple consecutive items, hold
down the Shift key, and click on the first and last file in the series you want to choose. The
objects in between will also be selected. To choose multiple non-consecutive items, hold
down the Ctrl key and click on the objects you want to select. In the Add Media file(s)
window, you can also select multiple items by clicking and dragging in the area containing
the items.
The Add Media file(s) window allows you to preview the complete clip, and trim your vid-
eos in advance by setting in points and out points. Use the controls under the preview
area to define the frames. When you confirm with OK only the previously selected frames
are copied to the Clipboard window.

It is also possible to hide the preview area. Simply click the button in order to close the
player. When you click the button again the preview area appears again.

On the left of the window there are also three checkboxes which perform the following
functions:
The Numbered file sequence option is useful when you want to import e.g. a series of
numbered pictures and clips. When the checkbox is ticked the image files are handled as
a single clip. If the checkbox is disabled all these files are displayed, so you can import
them individually.
If the checkbox Use relative path is enabled the imported files are handled using a rela-
tive path.
The Different Icons checkbox enables you to specify whether MainActor v5 should dis-
play only one icon for audio as well as video files, or whether you want to display different
icons for video and audio files.

When you have copied the selected clips to the clipboard, you can use them in your
projects. Simply drag-and-drop them in a video or audio track in the Timeline window.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 19

Beside the Project pane you also find the Effects pane here. You reach it by clicking the
Effects tab. The window contains several folders which include both special effects and
transitions.

1. Project tab 9. List view mode button, and activated Icon

2. Active Effects tab view mode button
3. Keyword Search tab 10. Detailed effect information on/off
4. List of transitions 11. List of transition folders
5. Icon view of effects 12. Audio, Filters and Sources folders
6. Description of the selected effect 13. Up
7. Open effects folder
8. Preview of the selected effect (transition,
source, filter)

When you click a folder its content is displayed on the right side of the Effects pane as
shown in the top image. When you click an effect or a transition in the left part of the win-
dow a preview or icon, and a short description of the chosen item appears in the right part
of the Effects pane (lower image).
You apply an effect by dragging-and-dropping it from the Browser directly on a clip or
under the clip on a different track. The name of the effect appears under the chosen clip
now. When you double-click the effect you copy its settings to the Effects window. In this
window it is possible to change the parameters of the effect (or a transition) but this is
described in detail later on.
A transition is used in a similar way. You have one clip on Track 1 (V1) and a second one
on Track 2 (V2). Now you drag-and-drop a transition on the beginning of the second clip

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 20

so that its name appears under the clip. A double-click on the transitions’ name copies its
settings to the Effects window where you can adjust several parameters.

An additional feature in the Browser window is the Keyword Search panel.

The Keyword Search engine with its quick access buttons allows you to look for certain
items within MainActor v5. You can search for video, audio, transitions, effects, filters and
so on. You can also search for keywords manually. Simply enter the keyword’s letters into
the Search prompt. MainActor v5 gives you helpful suggestions if it finds letters and words
which match with the entered letters. You can drag-and-drop the items from the Keyword
Search pane directly on a track in the Timeline.
It is even possible to create own keyword buttons and edit them. Move the cursor into the
button area of this pane and press the right mouse button. Choose New Keyword but-
ton..., and follow the instructions on the screen. Afterwards, you can edit the new button.
Move the cursor onto the new keyword button and press the right mouse button. Then
choose Edit Keywords... from the appearing list.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 21

The Effects window
The MainActor v5 Effects window offers a lot of settings for effects, sources, transitions,
clips and streams. You can adjust a lot of effect parameters in the effects’ setting windows
in order to fine-tune them. You reach it by double-clicking the desired effect track. After
you have edited an effect, filter, transition etc. you can save it with the new settings in a
clipboard in the Browser’s Project pane for future use.

A. Video effect/filter option button

which opens the polydiagram
B. Polydiagram for editing an effect
over time
C. Video effect parameters
D. Additional checkboxes for editing
an effect
E. Audio source on track
F. Name of audio clip/stream; click the
name to change it
G. User defined keys over time in a
polydiagram (volume)
H. Volume settings for audio source/
stream
I. Name of transition
J. Several transition settings
K. Icon for dragging-and-dropping
user-defined effects, filters, sources
and transitions into the Browser in
order to use them for future projects
L. General transition settings in drop-
down menu
M. Close transition/effects settings
N. Slider for setting a certain effect
value
O. Display button for setting the value
manually
P. Name of the video effect/filter on
track

When you copy an effect or a transition into the Effects window you can change its para-
meters in the relevant settings window. There are various ways to change the parameters
as shown in the screenshots. Simply click the effects’ or transitions’ settings, and perform
the desired changes, e.g. by dragging a slider, choose another option from a drop-down
menu or entering new variables. Each effect has predefined settings which can be used
easily. Settings are available for audio and video effects as well as for transitions.
You can adjust the volume for audio files or audio streams, too. Double-click the audio clip
so that the settings are copied into the Effects window. It is possible to change the audio

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 22

track’s master volume by dragging its slider. You can also turn up or turn down the volume
of both the left and the right speaker separately.
To save an edited effect, source, title, transition or even cut audio and video streams, click
the small FX icon or the thumbnail on the top left in the header and drag it into clipboard
or folder of the Project Browser. You can now use it for future projects as usual.
Click the little X in order to close the effect’s setting window. You find it in each name bar
for the effect, transition, audio stream etc.

The Preview window

MainActor v5 contains a typical Preview window in order to have a look at your project or
clips before you export them. You can change the size of the window and place it on the
screen wherever you like.
Under the preview area you find several buttons which perform different functions for
watching a video or project.

A. Preview area
B. Limit marks (beginning and end of
yellow line)
C. In-point specification, Current frame,
Out-point specification
D. Set In-point, Set Out-point
E. Preview In/Out segment
F. Start/stop preview
G. Display with green slider for moving
through a clip or a project
H. Frame back, Frame forward
I. Loop
J. External Display Plug-ins

In the Preview window you do not only have the opportunity to preview your project or
clips but also to set different in points and out points, so that only certain segments are
played back or used in a project. By using the green slider you move quickly through your
clips and projects. Move the slider to the position where the playback shall start. Then

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 23

press the Set In point button (D). Afterwards, drag the slider to a desired end position of
your project or clip, and press the Set Out point button (D). To preview this segment click
the Play button (F). When you press the button again the playback will be stopped. There
are also some other functions here we will describe in detail later on.
When a clip is dragged from the Media Player into the Preview window, it is placed on a
Track at the current slider position in the Timeline.
When you have a wheel on your mouse and use it while the Preview window is active,
you can scroll one frame or more frames forward as well as backward.
When you press the right mouse-button in the Preview window, a list with different
options appears on the screen. The options perform the following functions:
Fit image fits the picture exactly to the Preview
window’s size.
The option Resize to 1:1 displays the clip in its
original size.
Resize to 1:2 displays the video by half of the
original size.
Zoom In maximizes the preview area.
Zoom Out minimizes the preview area.
If you enable the Safe Frame option, a frame
within the preview area is displayed. It indicates
the area, which will be visible on TV after export-
ing the project. Safe Frame is a useful option
while working with titles.
Limit Marks enables or disables the display
which appears at the beginning or end of a clip
as well as a project.

See Alpha channel makes the alpha channel visible for tweaking some effects which
work with it.
The Export... option open the corresponding window. We will explain the Export window
and its settings in detail later on.
The Settings... option opens the Timeline Settings window where you can change the
current parameters for working in the Timeline. We will explain the various settings of this
window later on.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 24

The External Display Plug-ins button enables you to watch a project on the monitor of a
DV camcorder. It is even possible to play back the Timeline to a DV camcorder by using
this option.
You have also the opportunity to use your TV as control monitor. Most
DV camcorders have a video output that runs parallel to the FireWire®
output. This allows the user to connect the camcorder to a normal TV
which offers a far more larger preview area.
Additionally, the PC monitor can modify the video image, because con-
trast, brightness and colors of the original clip might not be displayed
correctly. You can use the TV as a good supplemental monitor to the
usual PC monitor.
Set your DV camcorder to VCR mode. Then click the
External Display Plug-ins button to open the list
of modules which are connected to your system. At
first, activate the checkbox External DV Display. As
you can see the Settings... button at the bottom of the
window is enabled now. Clicking this button opens
another window where you can adjust the necessary
settings for using your DV camcorder as a control
monitor or playback device.

The External DV Display Settings window

offers two different options for configuring your
DV device:
The drop-down menu Device enables you to
specify the correct DV device which is connected
to your computer. It might be possible that sev-
eral devices are connected to your computer, so
you have to choose the one you want to use for
playback or as a monitor.
Under Video Mode you select the correct video standard of the DV device: PAL or NTSC.
To play back a project from the Timeline to a DV camcorder you have to perform the fol-
lowing steps. You have to use the DV devices own controls to start the playback. At first,
start the preview of your project in the Preview window by clicking its Playback button.
Then press the Record button on your DV camcorder to start the playback session. Now
the Timeline is recorded to the tape in your DV camcorder. To finish the playback, press
the Stop button on your camcorder.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 25

The Media Player
The Media Player allows you to see and/or hear clips in advance before using them in a
project. To watch a clip in advance double-click its name in the Project pane. But it is
much more than a normal Media Player, because it allows you to cut clips before using
them in the actual project.

A. Preview area
B. In-point specification, Current frame position,
Out-point specification
C. Mark In/Out for the whole clip (Reset in/out
points)
D. Set In-point, Set Out-point
E Preview In/Out segment
F. Start/stop preview
G. Slider for moving through a clip
H. Frame back, Frame forward
I. Loop
J. Set fields mode (No fields, Upper field, Lower
field, and three different Deinterlace modes)

It is also possible to drag a clip directly from the clipboard into the Media Player for pre-
viewing it.
When you have a wheel on your mouse and use it while the Media Player is active, you
can scroll one frame or more frames forward as well as backward.
The button with the blue box on the right of the Media Player enables the user to set the
correct field order: No Fields (progressive frames), Upper Field, Lower Field, Deinter-
lace (use upper field, discard lower one), Deinterlace (use lower field, discard
upper one), and Deinterlace (use both fields) (J). This setting should match the field
order of the source video.
The Set In-point and Set Out-point buttons (D) enable you to cut clips in advance, i.e.
before you use them in a project. For example: you have a long clip, you need several
scenes from. Simply specify for every scene mark-in and mark-out points by using the
corresponding buttons. It is even possible to define these points manually. Then drag the
specified segment from the Media Player directly onto a track in the Timeline. And alter-
native way for placing clips on a Track in the Timeline is to drag them into the Preview

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 26

window. Then the clip is added to your project at the current slider position. We will
explain you how to cut clips with the Media Player in detail later on.
When you click the In-point specification, Specify
current frame position or Out-point specifica-
tion buttons (B), you can set the desired position
manually. In the following window you can enter the
Timecode, the Seconds and the Frame when the
clip’s preview will start. You only have to enter the
value for one option here. The rest is adjusted auto-
matically, after you have confirmed the settings.

The time base for PAL is 25 fps, and for NTSC it is 29.97 fps or 30 fps.

Pressing the right mouse-button in the preview area of the Media Player opens a list with
different options:
When you enable the function Process fields during playback, a deinterlacing is
applied to the video in the Media Player.
The option Change sequence frame rate... is useful, when you want to use a series of
still images. The default setting of MainActor v5 is PAL, i.e. 25 fps. When you want to use
a series of still images in NTSC, you have to select the option in the Media Player and set
it to 29.97 fps.
Using the Close media option, removes the current file from the Media Player.
The option Display Aspect Ratio enables you to define the ratio of width to height of the
clip in the Media Player. Here you find settings such as 4:3, 16:9, 5:4 etc.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Overview • page 27

Working with MainActor v5

In this chapter we want to show you how to work with MainActor v5 and especially the
Timeline, i.e. how to add tracks, clips, transitions and effects to your project. The Timeline
consists of video tracks (for video streams) and audio tracks (for audio streams). It is the
place where you arrange and edit your clips after you have captured them. The simple
drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to arrange your clips in the Timeline.
When you use titles, transitions and effects, you are not actually alter-
ing your source files. MainActor v5 uses a non-destructive approach
— it leaves source items intact and renders new frames showing the
effects of any editing operations.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 28

Adding tracks and clips to the Timeline
Before you can add clips to the Timeline you have to insert them to clipboards or folders
in the Browser window. We have already explained you how to create bins and folders.
We assume that you have already created media folders for your clips.
You can drag a clip from the clipboard in the Browser window directly onto the track (V1)
in the Timeline. When you use this method you have to copy the desired clip(s) to the clip-
board before as described earlier in this manual. As you can see the clip contains an
audio stream, too, so that MainActor v5 automatically creates an audio track for the clip
(A1).

As default setting MainActor v5 links the video and audio streams of a video clip, i.e. when
you move a video into the Timeline window its audio changes position as well. You can
unlink the selected video and audio streams by holding the Ctrl key, and click the desired
object in the Timeline. Now you can move them separately.

We want to present you how you create bins and folders for your multimedia clips again.
While explaining this procedure we can also show you how to add a new track to a
project.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 29

Move the cursor into the Timeline window and press
the right mouse-button. An options menu appears on
the screen. Choose Add Video track from the list
(Add Audio track is also possible). A second track
(V2/A2) appears in the Timeline window. You can now
assign a new clip to the track. But before we are able
to do so we have to add new clips to the Browser. For
that reason you have to create a clipboard which con-
tains folders for the clips.

At first, activate the Project tab

by clicking it. We want to cre-
ate a new folder for the bin
where you can store your video
clips. Move the cursor into the
left side of the Project window,
and press the right mouse but-
ton. Choose New Folder from
the list. You can give it a differ-
ent name by selecting it and
pressing the right mouse-but-
ton. Choose Rename from the
appearing list. Now you can
enter a new name for the
folder.
To add a clip or several clips to the new folder you have to select it and press the right
mouse-button. Choose Add Media clip(s)... from the list. Alternatively, you can press the
icon (highlighted by a red circle) in the Project pane to open the Add Media file(s)
window.
In the Add Media file(s) window you can search for the desired clips. It is also possible to
pick more than one clip. You can add or delete multiple items at once. To select multiple
consecutive items, hold down the Shift key and click the first and last item in the series
you want to choose. The objects in between will also be selected. To choose multiple non-
consecutive items, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the objects you want to select.
Confirm your choice by pressing OK button.
You have also the opportunity to choose only selected frames for your project. Use the
controls under the preview area to trim a clip in advance. We have already explained the
functions of the buttons in the paragraphs Preview window and Media Player.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 30

The clips are added to the particular folders. The Project window shows the names as
well as some additional information about the clips. You can choose between two view
modes:
The List view mode button shows media files, effects, transitions etc. in a list but
only displays their name.
The Icon view mode button shows frames or previews of the above mentioned
items. When the Project tab is active you can see the name and the first frame of
the chosen clip. When the Effects pane is visible you can see a preview of the
effect, transition, filter etc.
The Detailed view mode button shows media files, effects, transitions etc. in a list
which contains a lot of additional information, such as Media type, Mark-In, Mark-
Out as well as Duration.
When you have added media clips to a clipboard the Project pane looks like this. The
upper window shows the Detailed view and the lower one the Icon view:

Now you can place the clip on the Timeline as shown before. You can preview your
project any time you want by using the buttons in the Preview window.
If you want to delete a track, simply move the cursor into the Timeline window, and select
the clip you want to remove. Then press the right mouse-button, and choose Delete
selected clips from the list. You can also delete a clip by pressing the Delete key on your
keyboard.
MainActor v5 offers three different modes for inserting a clip in the Timeline: Insert, Over-
write and Fill. When you add a clip in Insert mode, the next video in the Timeline will
move to the right. The result is that the complete new clip is in the corresponding track
now. In Overwrite mode, the added clip deletes parts of the one which has been on the

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 31

track before, i.e. the whole added clip is in the corresponding track now, and the overlap-
ping parts of the previous one are deleted. When you add a clip to the Timeline in Insert
and Overwrite mode, an additional audio track for the corresponding audio streams is not
created, i.e. although the video stream is in track 2 the audio stream is still in track 1.
When you insert a clip in Fill mode only the gap between two video or audio streams is
filled, so that parts of the added clip will not be seen later on. In Fill mode, MainActor v5
automatically creates an additional audio track, and places the video as well as the audio
stream on the chosen track.

Tutorial - How do I organize media clips in MainActor v5?

Especially the novice is thrilled by the numerous features a video-editing
software offers, but some basic functions can only be found by accident.
One thing which belongs to this topic is the organization of multimedia
files. This tutorial will show you how to import and organize your media
clips in MainActor v5. We will explain you how to generate clipboards as
well as folders. Furthermore, we want to show you how to import media
clips and trim them in advance. In the future, organizing media clips will be easy for you!
1. When you launch MainActor v5 for the first time, a predefined clipboard called “Favor-
ites“ is generated. You can use it for storing your files and clips. The advantage is,
that you do not need to load the clips over and over again when you want to use
them. If you work on a project with several users, everyone has his individual bin for
organizing his media files. This makes it easier for you to have a better overall view of
your project. But how do I generate my own clipboard? At first, activate the Project
pane of the Browser, and move the cursor into the left part of it. Press the right
mouse-button, so that a list with different options appears on the screen. In order to
create a new clipboard, choose New Bin.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 32

2. In the following window you can specify the name as well as the destination of the
new clipboard, so that other users have the opportunity to get access to the clips. In
our example, we have named the bin Downtown. Confirm your settings by pressing
the Save button.

As already mentioned above, other users can have access to clip-

boards and their content as well by loading them into the Browser.
Move the cursor into the left part of the Project pane, and press the
right mouse-button. Choose the option Create link to bin from the
appearing list. In the following window you can search for the desired
clipboard(s).

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 33

3. For gaining an even better overview, you should make more subdivisions in order to
organize your media clips. For that reason, we will generate folders for the clips in the
Project pane of the Browser. You can name and organize them according to topics,
events etc. Thus you find the desired files quickly and without any trouble. This
makes working with projects quite easy. To create a folder, move the cursor into the
left part of the Project pane, and select the clipboard, you created a few minutes ago.
Press the right mouse-button and choose New Folder from the options’ list.

As you can see, MainActor v5 automatically creates a folder. You can enter a new
name for the folder in the input prompt at once. In our example we named the folder In
the South.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 34

 You can also rename folders later on. Simply mark the correspon-
ding item you want to rename. Press the right mouse-button, and
choose Rename from the appearing list. Then you can enter the
new name for the folder.

4. Now we want to insert the preferred clips into the previously defined folder. Move the
cursor into the Projects pane and press the small Add Media Clips icon at the bot-
tom-left of the Browser, in order to open the corresponding window.

Alternatively, you can open the window for choosing media files by
selecting the clipboard or folder you want to use for storing your
clips. After you have selected the corresponding bin or folder, press
the right mouse-button, and choose the Add Media Clip(s)... option.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 35

5. In the Add Media file(s) window (sometimes called Select Media window) you can
search for and load the desired files in the highlighted folder. Select the desired clip(s)
you want to use as you are familiar with in other applications. You can start a preview
of the clip in the right part of the window. But we will show you how to do this later on.
In the Add Media file(s) window you can add or delete multiple files at once. To select
multiple consecutive items, hold down the Shift key, and click on the first and last file
in the series you want to choose. The objects in between will also be selected. To
choose multiple non-consecutive items, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the
objects you want to select. In the Add Media file(s) window, you can also select mul-
tiple items by clicking and dragging in the area containing the items. Confirm you
choice with OK.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 36

6. If necessary, you can trim the clips in advance, i.e. before you add them to a folder.
Use the controls under the preview area, in order to find the position you want the clip
to start. After you have found the correct position, press the Set IN-point button (or
the I-key), so that the point will be defined. Repeat the steps for the out-point but
press the Set OUT-point button (or the O-key) instead. After you have defined the in
and out points for the clip, press the OK button for confirmation.

7. Now you can use the desired files for a project. Select a clip in the Project pane, and
drag it into the first video track (V1) in the Timeline window.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 37

 You can also add a clip to a track by dragging-and-dropping its
thumbnail into the Timeline window. The thumbnail is displayed at
the top-right of the Project pane.

8. Now you can generate more clipboards and/or folders, in order to organize your mul-
timedia files. Organizing media clips can be quite easy with MainActor v5!

Using the Scenalyze option in the Browser

The Scenalyze option enables you to apply a kind of scene detection to a DV or MPEG
clip in the Browser. The clip segments created in this process are added to a special
folder in the Project pane, and can be used as individual video clips.
When you use the Scenalyze option, you do not cut the clips on the
disk physically. It only generates In and Out points for the original clips,
so that the source material remains untouched and it won’t require any
additional disk space.

At first, select the clip in the Browser, you want to apply the Scenalyze option to. Then
press the right-mouse button and choose the Scenalyze... function from the list.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 38

In the following dialog you can specify a name
and a number for the clip segments, so that the
individual scenes are numbered consecutively.
Ticking the checkbox Place detected scenes in
a separate subfolder adds the detected seg-
ments to a new generated folder in the Browser.
Confirm your settings by pressing the OK button.

In the following window you can watch the

scenalyzing process. The progress is dis-
played in the corresponding progress bar.
Press the Abort button to cancel the pro-
cess if necessary.

The generated segments are added to the specified subfolder in the Project pane of the
Browser.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 39

Working with video clips in the Timeline
With MainActor v5 you have the opportu-
nity to edit some clips’ parameters
although they are already in the Timeline.
Move the cursor to the desired clip and
double-click it so that its settings are cop-
ied to the Effects window.
Under Media File you can select a differ-
ent video clip for this position in your
project if required. Click the button and fol-
low the instructions in the appearing Add
Media file(s) window on the screen. In this
window it is also possible to trim a clip.
Under Length control you have two options concerning the length of clips: The Trim-
ming (I/O points) function means that the length of the clips always corresponds to the
media footage’s length it represents, i.e. you cannot resize a clip to two seconds if the file
contains only one second of video. In this case you can only shorten the clip. The option
Fitting (freely resizable) lets you freely resize the clips. By using this option you can
extend as well as shorten a clip. In this case the internal clip speed will change, i.e. slow
motion will be activated but only if interpolation is turned on.
The drop-down menu Interpolation offers several options for quality. None (nearest
frame) is the standard setting but can sometimes lead to pixel forming. Mixing neigh-
bour frames colors also pixels by using the color of its surrounding pixels. This results in
a kind of blur effect. SlowMotion vector method is a method for creating slow motion
effects for a video clip. It is important when you lengthen a clip.
Under Resolution you find two settings for previewing a clip. Resize proportionally to
fit enables you to match the resolution to the size of the Preview window. Resize to cur-
rent resolution adjusts the clip’s resolution to the current project settings. This is useful,
when you work with clips which have different resolutions.
In the Timeline you have also the opportunity to move all kinds of clips to a different po-
sition. Click the desired clip and drag it to a different position on the Timeline (or even
track). You can also move transitions, effects and filters in the Timeline.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 40

It is even possible to move several clips (video and/or audio) at the same time. Simply
select the desired clips and place them somewhere else in the Timeline.

Tutorial - How do I create a slow-motion effect with MainActor v5?

The new MainActor v5 offers numerous special effects for enhancing the
quality of your videos. Unfortunately, we have paid little attention to one
very interesting effect so far. MainActor v5 enables you to apply time warp
as well as slow-motion to your clips, which leads to impressive results. The
latter we will present to you in this brief tutorial. But not so fast...!

1. We assume that you have already generated a clipboard and/or a folder for your mul-
timedia files. Now you have to import the desired clip you want the slow-motion effect
apply to. Activate the Project tab in the Browser, and click the Add Media Clips icon
at the bottom left, so that the corresponding window appears on the screen. In the
Add Media file(s) window you can search for the desired file, and add it to the previ-
ously selected bin or folder.

2. The imported video is a long one, but we only want to use a short scene for our slow-
motion project. Therefore, we will briefly explain the functions of the Media Player
again. By using the Media Player you can cut longer clips in shorter segments with-
out complicated cutting and moving videos in the Timeline.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 41

 At first, select the preferred video, and drag it from the Project pane directly into the
Media Player while holding the mouse-button. Use the controls (Playback, Frame
step backward, Frame step forward...) or the green slider under the preview area, in
order to find the position where you want the slow-motion sequence to start. After you
have found the correct position, press the Set IN-point button (or the I-key) to define it.

If you know the exact position of the in-point, i.e. the point where the
clip shall start, you can enter the value for it manually. At first, click the
Specify IN-point manually display on the left directly under the pre-
view area. In the following window you can enter the desired value for
the starting point by using the keyboard. You only have to change one
parameter here. The rest of them are automatically adapted, after you
have confirmed your settings with the OK button.

3. Repeat the above mentioned steps, in order to find the position where you want your
slow-motion clip to end. To define it, simply click the Set OUT-point button or press
the O-key.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 42

4. Now we want to insert the cut sequence into the first track in the Timeline window.
Move the cursor into the preview area of the Media Player and drag the clip segment
into V1 in the Timeline window while holding the mouse-button. Release the mouse-
button, so that the clip is placed on the track.

5. Now we prepare the clip in V1 for the slow-motion effect. For that reason, we have to
separate the video and the audio stream from each other. Move the cursor onto the
video stream in V1 and click it while holding the Ctrl-key. As you can see, the video
stream is highlighted now, but the audio stream remains the same.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 43

6. Double-click the clip’s video stream in V1, so that its settings are copied into the
Effects window. You only have to change two parameters for the clip’s video stream.
In the drop-down menu Length control select the Fitting (freely resizable) option.
In the next menu Interpolation choose SlowMotion Vector method.

According to the processor speed of your computer, you can also

choose Mixing neighbour frames in the drop-down menu Interpola-
tion. This option is much faster than the SlowMotion Vector method,
but might offer less quality.

7. After you have adjusted the parameters, you have to extend the clip in the Timeline
window, in order to reduce the internal clip speed. Move the cursor onto the lever at
the end of the video in V1, and select it while holding the Ctrl-key. As you can see in
the screenshot below, the video stream’s lever is highlighted in grey, so that only this
one will be extended. Now click the lever of the video in V1, and drag to the right
while holding the mouse-button. The longer you pull the clip, the slower the sequence
will be played back later on.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 44

 You can only extend the video stream of a clip. For audio this is not pos-
sible. For that reason, you have to separate the audio and video streams
by using the Ctrl-key.

8. Now you can see the final slow-motion clip in the Preview window. Maybe you try for
yourself, what fascinating sides slowness can offer. Why does everything has to go
so fast these days...?

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 45

Working with audio clips
Normally, a video clip contains a video as well as an audio stream. But sometimes you
have a clip without sound or you want to insert a different audio stream in your video.
There are two possible ways for inserting audio clips.
If you have already an audio file in the Project pane of the Browser simply place it onto
the audio track. Use the same method as for video clips. You can change its duration by
dragging its ends to the desired length.
But there is also an alternative way for doing this. It might be possible to substitute the
audio stream of a clip, which is already in the Timeline. Double-click the audio stream of
the clip, so that its settings are copied into the Effects window. In the audio file’s settings
click the box next to Media file. In the appearing Add Media file(s) window you can
search for and load a new audio file for the corresponding stream. You can load an audio
file using the same method as for loading a video clip. Confirm your choice with OK. Now
the audio stream of your video contains a different sound:

In the Effects window you have the opportunity to turn up/down the volume and even to
influence the left and right channel for the whole clip. Simply drag the sliders under Mas-
ter volume, Left volume and Right volume to the desired position.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 46

You can also enter a certain value for the volume
directly. At first, click on the little box with the current
volume. In the appearing Edit ... value window you
can enter a new volume. The value range is shown
at the bottom of the window. For confirmation press
the OK button, otherwise Cancel.

In the Effects window it is even possible to influence the volume over time, e.g. for fading
in or fading out the sound of a clip slowly. By changing the keys of several curves you can
create impressive sound effects. We will explain how to do this in a moment.

You can change the curves of the audio track easily. At first, you have to double-click the
audio file in the Timeline so that its settings are transferred to the Effects window. You
have also the opportunity to select the audio track, and press the right mouse-button.
Then choose Show parameters from the appearing list. Now the settings are copied to
the Effects window for editing. Here you can click the different volume buttons and
change the parameters for the Master volume, Left volume and Right volume. When
you click the names the audio options the respective volume curves appear in the win-
dow. You can edit the curves directly in the Effects window.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 47

First of all, we show you how to turn up/down the
volume. Move the cursor onto the key in the mid-
dle of the horizontal line. Click the key and move
it up or down in order to change the volume. The
scale on the left displays the level of the volume.
It is also possible to change the volume’s level at
different positions within a single audio file. As
you can see under Master volume we have a
curve which looks like a wave, i.e. the sound is
getting softer and louder. For that reason, you
have to define new keys on the line. Move the
cursor to any point on the line, and press the Shift
key on your keyboard. While holding the Shift
key, press the left mouse-button so that a new
key appears on the line. When you click this key
you can move it up or down, and the line changes
into a curve. For the first key in our example it
means that the volume at the beginning of the clip is high, and then it is getting slowly
lower. Repeat these steps for defining more keys. We recommend playing around with
the keys and the curve to obtain the preferred results.
It is even possible to shift several keys at the
same time, e.g. in order to generate a sine curve.
At first, you have to define some new keys as
described earlier in this manual. Then you have
to select different keys, e.g. every other key by
holding the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click-
ing the desired point on the audio line. Now you
can move all selected keys simultaneously. Sim-
ply click one of these keys and shift it to the
desired position. As you can see, a kind of sine
curve is generated. When you play back the clip
with the player in the Preview window the sound
will get softer and louder over and over again.

During playback you can see the current sound level of the audio stream in the Effects
window. It is displayed in the box next to the volume’s denotation as well as in the graph
to right of it.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 48

It is even possible to the audio volume beyond
the default settings. Click the value box in the
Effects window to open the dialog where you can
enter the volume of an audio stream manually.
Click the small triangle to extend the dialog, so
that an input prompt appears. Under Max you
can enter a new maximum value for the volume.
The result is that the volume is turned up. In the
corresponding polydiagram you can move the
keys to a higher position now, which results in louder sound. This option is also available
for many other effect parameters. You can change the minimum and maximum value for
the function here.

Working with complete Timelines

MainActor v5 allows you to copy complete Timelines with only a few mouse-clicks. This
option enables you to merge the different scenes of a film into one long project. For exam-
ple: you generated the opening credits in Timeline 1, the different scenes in Timeline 2 to
5, and the credits in Timeline 6. Now you have the opportunity to combine all Timelines
with each other, so that you can export them as one video.

When you start a new project, MainActor automatically creates a Timeline icon in the
Project pane of the Browser. This icon enables you to copy the whole contents of a Time-
line, including the effects, transitions etc., to another Timeline. At first, create a new Time-
line as described earlier in this manual. Then simply drag the Timeline icon into the new
Timeline, you have just created.

As you can see in the screenshot above, the different clips of your project, including the
effects, filters, sources and transitions are merged into a single clip.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 49

Now you can add another Timeline to your project by dragging it from the Project
Browser directly behind the last Timeline clip.

Cutting clips in the Timeline

Like every good video-editing software MainActor v5 allows you to cut your clips directly
in the Timeline. Cutting clips in a project is very easy with the new MainActor. First of all,
you have to add the clip you want to shorten to the Timeline. Then select the clip so that
it will be highlighted. Now drag the green slider to the exact position where you want to cut
your video. Finally, press the Cut button in the bar above the Timeline so that the clip is
split into two pieces.

Now the clip is divided into two pieces. You can delete the selected part of the clip by mov-
ing the cursor into the Timeline window, clicking the right mouse-button, and choosing
Delete selected clips option from the list. Or you can move it within your project so that
it appears at another position. Of course, you can repeat the above mentioned steps to
make another cut in your clip.

You see with MainActor v5 cutting clips is no problem at all.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 50

Working with the Media Player
The Media Player is a versatile tool. It not only allows you to preview clips from the
Browser but also to cut clips in advance before you use them in the actual project. The lat-
ter can be very useful when you have longer videos from which you need different shorter
segments, e.g. you have just captured a video tape, and you do not want to use the foot-
age for a new project at once.
At first, you have to place a video in the Media Player by double-clicking it in the Browser
of by dragging it directly into the Media Player. Afterwards, you can specify the segment
you want to add to your project.

Now you can specify mark-in and mark-out

points by using the highlighted buttons.
To preview the selected segment, press the
button. To watch the whole video, click
the button on the right of it.
It is also possible to enter the in/out points
manually. Press one of the time displays, and
enter the desired position for the in/out seg-
ments in the following window. The left dis-
play is for the in-point, the one in the middle
for the current position, and the right one for
the out-point. In the corresponding settings

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 51

window you can specify the in/out points by entering the Timecode, Second(s) or
Frame(s).

The button enables you to reset the mark-in and mark-out points to their original posi-
tion, i.e. back to the length of the whole clip from its beginning to the end.
When you have specified the segment you want to use for the current project(s), simply
drag it from the Media Player directly onto the desired track in the Timeline window.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 52

There is also an alternative way for adding clips to the Timeline which allows an even
more precise positioning of them. Move the slider in the Preview window to the position
where you want to insert the clip, or enter the exact position manually by clicking the cur-
rent frame position display. Then drag the specified clip segment from the Media Player
directly into the Preview window while holding the mouse-button. When you release it in
the Preview window, the clip is placed at the current slider position.

Keep in mind that you choose the appropriate mode for adding you
clips to the Timeline: Fill, Overwrite or Insert. These modes are also
active when you add a clip to a track via the Media Player. Depending
on the selected mode parts of the clip can be erased.

Now you can specify another segment for your video footage, that you want to use for the
project by repeating the steps mentioned above. The Media Player avoids cutting clips
when they are already in the Timeline.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 53

 Tutorial - How do I cut clips with the Media Player?

The Media Player is one of the most important windows in MainActor v5,
because it offers several useful features. In this brief tutorial we will show
you how to use the Media Player and how to cut clips with this tool. It
helps you to use smaller scenes which were extracted from longer video
footage as well as audio clips without complicated movement or cutting of
clips in the Timeline. However, cutting clips in advance with the Media Player is quite
easy!
Imagine you have captured 45 minutes of video footage, you want to use for a project. But
you do not need consecutive scenes, but at first, you want to use a clip which starts after
10 minutes, and after that a clip which starts after 2:30 minutes. Of course, you can create
a second Timeline, add the complete 45 minutes clip to it and cut in fine segments over
and over again. But this would be too complicated and time intensive work. Using the
Media Player makes live much easier.
1. First of all, load the captured video into the Project Browser. Move the cursor to the
clipboard and/or folder where you store your captured videos. We recommend creat-
ing a bin or folder which is only used for captured video footage. We will briefly
explain you how to create such a folder. Move the cursor in the Project pane to the
bin where you want this folder to generate. Press the right mouse-button, and choose
New Folder from the appearing list:

After MainActor v5 has generated a new folder, you can rename it. For our example,
we labelled it Captured Video. Here you can add your captured videos.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 54

2. Now we will import the captured video, which is already stored somewhere on our
computer into the Captured Video folder. Therefore, we select the folder and press
the right mouse-button again. This time, we choose Add Media clip(s)... from the
appearing list. In the Add Media file(s) window you can search for the desired clip.
To add the chosen clips to the folder, confirm with OK.

3. The selected clip(s) are added to the Captured video folder. Now we want to show
you how to work with clips in the Media Player. At first, drag the clip you want to cut
from the Project Browser directly into the Media Player as shown in the screenshot
below. There are two ways of dragging the clip into the Player (or the Timeline and
Preview window). Firstly, click the clip’s name, and drag it directly from the Browser
into the Media Player. Secondly, click the little thumbnail in the Browser and drag it
from there directly into the Media Player. The latter is shown in the screenshot below:

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 55

4. Now the actual cutting of the clip can start. Use
the controls (Play, Frame step forward and
Frame step backward) to scroll through your
video, and watch the scenes you want to add to
your project in advance. Use the Cursor left or
Cursor right key to move one frame backward or
one frame forward. It is also possible to jump ten
frames forward or backward at the same time.
Simply hold the Shift key, and press the preferred
cursor keys. You can use the green slider to scroll
through the clip, too, while holding the mouse-but-
ton.

You see the current frame position in the middle

display directly under the preview area (Hours:
Minutes:Seconds:Frames). When you have finally
found the starting point of the scene you want to
use for your project, click the Set IN-point button.
The mark-in position is indicated by the left display.

5. There is also a different way to specify the In/Out-

points. We will show this by means of defining an
out-point. Assuming you exactly know where you
want to set the mark-out position. Click the Spec-
ify OUT-point manually button. In the following
window you can enter the mark-out position by
using the keyboard. You can define the new value
by Timecode, Seconds or Frame. It is only nec-
essary to enter a new value for one of these three
parameters. The others will automatically be
changed when you confirm your settings with OK.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 56

6. After you have specified the In/Out-points for your first scene, we want to use it for the
project. But how do I copy the cut segment from the Media Player into a track in the
Timeline? It’s quite easy! Move the cursor into the preview area of the Media Player.
Then drag it directly from the Media Player into the video track of the Timeline.

7. We want to use an earlier scene for our project, but use a slightly different way to add
it to the Timeline now. But first of all, we have to generate another video track for our
project. Move the cursor into the Timeline window and press the right mouse-button.
From the appearing list, choose Add video track, and MainActor v5 generates a sec-
ond video track.

8. Now specify the mark-in and mark-out points in the Media Player, as already
described in steps four and five. Use the method which suits you best for defining
these points.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 57

9. Then switch to the Preview window. Specify
the mark-in position in this window where
you want the new segment to start in the
project. Use the green slider and/or the con-
trols to find the exact position.
It is also possible to specify the in-point man-
ually. Click the middle display (Current
Frame position), and enter the value. You
can define the new value by Timecode, Sec-
onds or Frame. It is only necessary to enter
a new value for one of these three parame-
ters. The others will automatically be
changed when you confirm the settings with
OK.

10. Now drag the cut clip segment from the Media Player directly into the Preview win-
dow. As you can see, the clip is inserted exactly at the position, you have specified in
the Preview window.

11. If you have further clip segments you want to use, repeat the steps described above.
Otherwise, drag-and-drop the next long clip into the Media Player for cutting its seg-
ments, in order to use them in your projects.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 58

How to apply effects
MainActor v5 includes a lot of special effects in different categories. They are gathered in
folders under the Effects pane in the Browser window. Click on a folder to see the effects
in each category. There are two ways of applying an effect: you can use it for a whole clip
or only for a part of it.
To apply an effect for a complete clip, drag it from the Effects pane onto the desired video
in the Timeline as shown in the screenshot below. A short description of the effect, inclu-
ding a preview appears in the right part of the pane.

After you have placed the effect on the clip the video track (V1) is split. The upper part
shows the name of the clip, and the lower one the effect name. To change the settings of
a clip double click the effect so that its settings are copied to the Effects window. Now you
can edit the effect parameters as described earlier in this manual.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 59

You can preview the project any time by using the controls in the Preview window.
When you want to apply a special effect or filter only for a short scene or sequence of a
clip you have to use a different method. First of all, place a video clip on track 1. Then add
a second video track to your project as shown earlier in this manual. Activate the Effects
pane and select the desired effect or filter. Now you drag it into track 2 directly under the
position where you want the effect to appear.

When you have placed the effect on the second track you have the opportunity to move
the effect to the exact position and to lengthen it. In order to relocate an effect, select it
and drag it to a different position. To extend an effect you have to click the Toggle clip
ends on/off button and then activate one of the levers which appear at the ends of the
effect in the Timeline. Now you can click and drag the effect to the desired length.
Depending on the complexity of your project it might be possible to change the display
resolution of the Timeline, otherwise you won’t be able to extend certain clips, transitions,
effects etc. Use the control slider under the tracks to change it. You can enlarge the dis-
play by dragging the ends of the slider at the bottom of the Timeline window. Use the
whole slider to scroll through a project. The buttons enable you to maximize and
minimize the Timeline resolution as well.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 60

We have already mentioned that it is possible to edit your effects, filters, sources, titles as
well as transitions by copying their settings into the Effects window. Simply double-click
the object in the Timeline so that the settings are transferred to the Effects window. They
offer innumerous parameters which can be changed by the user. The number of settings
depends on the effect, filter, sources or transition.
But MainActor v5 offers even more: you
have the opportunity to fine-tune your
effects and add them to the Browser so that
you can use them for future projects.
When you have finished editing an effect,
title, source, filter or transition, simply click
the little icon on top of the effect’s parameter
window (marked by the red circle) and drag
it directly into a folder or bin of the Browser’s
Project pane. Now the user-defined object
appears in the folder’s or clipboard’s list,
and you can use it with the saved settings
again later on. You can also do this with clip
segments which are already in the Timeline.
Simply double-click the corresponding clip
in the Timeline, and repeat the steps
described for the effects.

You can now drag-and-drop these user-

defined effects, filters, sources, titles, tran-
sitions and even clip segments from the
Browser directly in the Timeline as
described in previous chapters.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 61

Working with the 2D Text engine
The 2D-Text Engine allows you to insert static or animated texts into your clips so that
your videos assume a professional character. The texts can be used as an overlay or as
individual clips. The option is ideal for credits, inserts, subtitles etc. You find the 2D Text
tool under Filters > Text in the Effects pane. It is used in the same way as other transi-
tions and effects in the folders. But we will explain the use of it in detail in a moment.
In the screenshot you can see that we have already placed a video clip on track 1. We
want to use the text as an overlay so we must add another video track to our project as we
have shown before. Track 2 will include the text for our clip later on.
After you have activated the Effects tab, open the Filters folder. Click the 2D Text tool
under Text and drag it directly into the Timeline.

When you have placed the 2D Text on the Timeline, double-click it to transfer its settings
to the Effects window. In this window you can enter the text and adjust some settings for
displaying the text in your project. The settings can be changed in polydiagrams and/or
dialog boxes. In the polydiagram each parameter is indicated by a differently colored line.
In addition, you define keys and turn the lines into curves. These curves can be shaped by
the user by dragging their keys so that the parameters are changed over time.
You define a new key by holding the Shift key and clicking somewhere on the line. When
you click the key and hold the mouse-button, you can drag it so that the line turns into a
curve. We will show you the results of such a procedure on the basis of the 2D Text
option.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 62

You can also enter a new parameter by opening
a dialog box. Therefore, you press the small box
next to the name of the 2D Text settings (high
lighted by the blue box) so that a settings win-
dow appears. Here you enter the new value for
the function and confirm with OK.
In this small window you can also change the
minimum and maximum value for an effect. This
might be necessary for individual effect parame-
ters, in order to adjust the function correctly and achieve the desired result. An example
for an animated text would be to increase the maximum value so that the title disappears
completely from the screen. Afterwards, you can shift the keys in the polydiagram to a
higher position. Click the small triangle so that the input prompts for Min and Max become
available.

The 2D Text settings window offers a lot of different parameters for the user in order to
give your videos a professional touch.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 63

When you click the Color button the polydiagram for this setting becomes visible so that
you can change the font color over time. The result is e.g. that the text changes its color
every 2 seconds. It depends on the number of keys you generate and how you define the
different curves what the font color is in your clip or project at a certain time.

We recommend playing around with the polydiagrams and their parameters in order to
get used to them. The polydiagram allows you to fine-tune the parameters which leads to
impressive results.
To define a permanent font color for a clip or project, press the color bar and choose the
desired color in the following window.
Opacity defines the value for the text’s opacity. When the value tends to zero the title
becomes more and more invisible. By defining new keys you have the opportunity to fade
texts in and out. You can also use the slider to change the value for the opacity.
Size lets you adjust the text size. When you define more keys you can change the title’s
size during your project at a certain time. Thus you gain the impression that the text
moves towards and away from the audience as shown in the screenshot of the settings
window above. Of course, you can use the slider and the dialog box for defining the text
size value.
X Pos defines the position of the text on an imaginary x-axis. This option useful for creat-
ing animated titles.
Y Pos defines the position of the text on an imaginary y-axis. This option is useful for cre-
ating animated titles.

The option Skew allows you to bend the letters to the left or the right.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 64

Under Text you find different parameters
for editing your text. In this part of the win-
dow you also enter your desired text for
your project.
The drop-down menu Font offers you a lot
of different font types. The available fonts
depend on the installed fonts on your sys-
tem.

Under Size you can define the preferred font size for your title.
The next three buttons let you choose the text alignment: Align Left, Align Center and
Align Right.
Spacing enables you to define the line spacing of your text.

Unfortunately, you cannot see the final ver-

sion of our animated title. We tried to
include different functions of the 2D Text
engine for our clip, e.g. the text fades in
and out, it changes its color from time to
time, it moves through the picture as well
as changes its size etc.
With a little practice you can easily produce
impressive text effects.
It is even possible to save your text settings
for future projects as described in the previ-
ous chapter. Simply click the 2D Text’s
header icon in the Effects window, and
drag it into a folder or bin in the Project
pane.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 65

How to use a transition
You use a transitions and effects in a similar way. At first, choose a transition from one of
the folders. Then drag a transition from the Browser directly in the Timeline on the clip’s
beginning in the second video track.

As you can see, MainActor v5 automatically adds a transition between the audio streams
as well. The result is that the sound of the first clip is faded out, and the audio stream of
the second video is faded in. But you have also the opportunity to maintain the original
volume.
When you hold the Alt key when adding a video transition to the Time-
line, it is placed there without an additional audio transition. This is use-
ful when you want to maintain the original volume of two consecutive
clips.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 66

Now you have a transition between the two clips in your project. Normally the transition
automatically fits in the overlapping part of the two clips. However, in the Timeline you
have the opportunity to change the duration of the transition. Simply click one of the levers
at the ends of the transition and drag it to the desired length. We recommend extending
the transition to such a degree that the end of the first clip corresponds with the end of the
transition in the Timeline.

It is even possible to extend both the video and the audio transition
simultaneously. For that reason, select the levers of the video as well
as the audio transition while holding the Ctrl key. Then drag one of
them to the desired length. As you can see, the other one follows auto-
matically.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 67

It is also possible to use a transition between two clips, that are on the same video track.
Then you have too insert the transition directly between these clips as shown in the
screenshot below.

It might be possible that the following window

appears on the screen. In this window you spec-
ify whether you want to move the first clip or the
second one for applying the transition properly. It
doesn’t matter which clip you move. Try for your-
self which option offers the best results.
In this case, an audio transition is added to the audio streams as well, although the two
clips are one a single track. Simply repeat the steps mentioned above and below to
extend the audio and the video transition.
When you hold the Alt key when adding a video transition to the Time-
line, it is placed there without an additional audio transition. This is use-
ful when you want to maintain the original volume of two consecutive
clips.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 68

Now you have a transition between two clips in a single track. You have the opportunity to
change the duration of the transition here as well. Simply click one of the levers at the
ends of the transition and drag it to the desired length. Depending on the direction you
have moved the clip, you are able to drag it to the left or to the right. In our example, we
pulled it to the left.

With MainActor v5 it is possible to fine-tune not

only effects but also transitions by changing se-
veral parameters. At first you have to double-
click the transition so that its parameters are
copied to the Effects window. Depending on the
chosen transition the parameters vary. Of
course, you can save the transition’s settings for
later usage by dragging-and-dropping the final
version to the Browser.
In the example on the right, you have the oppor-
tunity to change, among other things, the direction the two clips change from one to the
other. It is also possible to define the pen color and thickness. They are visible during the
transient process. MainActor v5 even allows the user to change the color of the pens over
time. You achieve the desired effect by defining new keys in a polydiagram. With these
additional keys you create curves which lead to a modification of the pen’s colors.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 69

MainActor v5 also offers an audio transition for placing it between two clips which contain
audio. After you have placed the desired clips in the Timeline, you have to switch to the
Effects pane of the Browser. Then open the Audio folder and click the Transitions
folder. Now drag the Audio Transition from the Effects pane directly on the clip’s begin-
ning in the second audio track if you have two of them.

When you hold the Alt key when adding an audio transition to the Time-
line, it is placed there without an additional video transition. This is use-
ful when you want to use another video transition than the default one
between two consecutive clips.

As you can see, a video transition has been added between the video streams as well.
Now you can drag the video and/or audio transition to the desired length. We have
already explained how to do so above.
If you have only one track for the audio streams, you have to extend the
video and audio transitions individually. In this case activate the corre-
sponding transition’s lever and pull it to the desired length. Repeat this
task for the other transitions between these videos if necessary.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 70

If necessary you can modify the Audio Transi-
tion. When you double-click the transition
between the video stream in the Timeline, you
can see that it is a simple Mix transition, i.e. that
the first video is faded out, and the second one is
slowly faded in. The polydiagram allows you to
edit the transition if necessary. Double-clicking
the audio transition in the corresponding track,
copies its settings to the Effects window. The
options enable you to accept the default settings,
i.e. to fade out and fade in the audio, or to maintain the volume of the original clip.
We recommend to play around with the transitions and their usage to get used to it. Keep
in mind that the usage highly depends on the insert mode you have enabled before.

Working with the polydiagrams

You have already read a lot about the polydiagrams and the keys, e.g. how to add keys,
change the curves etc. In this little chapter we will summarize the most important aspects
again and give also some more information about how to work with keys and polydia-
grams. Most effects, filters, sources and transitions include settings which contain polydi-
agrams. The user can define the particular value of a key at a certain point in time, i.e. an
exact editing of parameters will be possible. Working with these functionalities makes it
easy to fine-tune and animate your effects, transitions etc. Depending on the chosen
option in a polydiagram each parameter is indicated by a different colored line.
You have the opportunity to turn the lines
into curves which can be shaped to make
parameters change over time. To turn a line
into a curve, add a point by holding down
the Shift key and clicking on the desired
position on the line or curve. These points are called keys. You can generate the curves
by clicking and dragging the keys. To select certain keys, hold the Ctrl key and click the
desired keys; to select all keys, hold the Ctrl key and click somewhere or the curve/line.
Now you can move all selected keys at once.
A polydiagram’s length corresponds to the active time segment of the project and the clip
resp. The vertical green line is the current time cursor. The current time location can be
changed by moving the green slider in the Timeline window. Alternatively, you can move
it in the polydiagram while holding the Alt-key.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 71

We want to explain you briefly some additional options while working with the polydia-
grams. Click the name of the setting so that the polydiagram becomes visible. When you
edit keys of an audio clip, effect, transition or filter you have a special menu with further
commands. Simply select a key as shown in the previous paragraphs and press the right
mouse-button so that a list appears.
Add key (Alt + A) enables you to
define a new key in the corresponding
polydiagram.
Delete erases a selected key from
the polydiagram.
Edit... lets you define a value for a
selected key manually. Simply enter
the desired value in the window which
appears on the screen after you have
chosen this option.
The Reset Curve option resets the
edited curve and all keys to its default
settings.
Corner creates a sharp transition
from the selected key to the neighbor-
ing keys.
Smooth generates a smooth transi-
tion from the selected key to the
neighboring keys.
Smooth-Corner enables you to cre-
ate a sharp transition towards a key, and it smoothes it towards the next one.
Corner-Smooth is simply the opposite of the previous option.
H lock allows you to lock a selected key on its imaginary horizontal axis. Now you can
move the particular key only up and down at the current position.
V lock enables you to lock a selected key on its imaginary vertical axis. Now you can
move the particular key only to the left and to the right at the current position.
Under Grid you find the option Vertical Scale which allows you to turn on and off a dis-
play on the left side of the polydiagram. When the scale is shown it helps you to work with
the keys more precisely.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Working with MainActor v5 • page 72

The Menus

The menus include commands for working with MainActor v5 project files, general set-
tings, setting interface options and accessing help resources.

On the File menu:

The File menu contains several options for working with
MainActor project files (file extension “mapf“).
New creates a new, empty MainActor v5 project.
Load... enables you to choose and load a MainActor
project that you have already created and saved.
Save enables you to save the current project. The first
time you save a project, you will be prompted to name it
and choose the location where you want to save it.
MainActor project files are saved with the “mapf“ exten-
sion, e.g. “Happy Birthday.mapf“.
Save As... lets you save a copy of the current project under a different name.
With Import... you load projects which were produced with MainActor v3.65.
The Missing media... option displays the missing files of an incomplete project, where
clips have been removed or deleted, and enables you to search for them on your com-
puter. If you choose this option when there is an incomplete project in the Timeline, the
following window appears:

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Menus • page 73

 Normally, the window appears automatically when you load an incom-
plete project. But if you open such a project anyway, use the Missing
media... option to look for the missing clips and/or streams later on.

The Correct paths for missing media files window shows the correct file names and
destinations of the missing audio and/or video streams. When you right-click one of the
missing clips, you can select the Browse... option. Simply follow the instructions in the fol-
lowing window to search for and specify the correct file for the project. After you have
found all necessary files, press the Close button in order to return to the current project.

Recent files gives you a list of previous opened project files. Choose a project from the
list in order to load it into the Timeline of MainActor v5.
Quit exits the program.

On the Edit menu:

The Undo command lets you reverse the result
of your previous action.
The Redo command reverses the result of an
undo action.
Cut is a normal extract function.
Copy enables you to copy clips or other objects.
Paste is the common insert command.
Delete removes a selected clip or object.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Menus • page 74

Under Preferences... you can change a lot of general and interface settings, e.g. the
duration of the waveforms, the render options, the number of Undo-steps, fonts, colors
etc. You can also change the language of the online texts here.

Here are some remarks on the most important options in the Preferences dialog:
Under Background rendering directory you specify the directory where the files for
background rendering are swapped out temporarily.
The Default still frame length option allows you to specify the duration of still images
you want to import and add to the Timeline.
Under Language you change the language of the program texts.
The option Maximum waveform length enables you to specify the time, MainActor v5
shall pre-calculate the audio wave of a clip while adding it to the Timeline.
The above described options are only some examples for preferences in MainActor v5.
The are many more options e.g. under Windows which specify colors, fonts and so on.

Click the Apply, and then the OK button so that the changes will be assigned to your
project. Otherwise press the Cancel button. If you want to reset MainActor v5 to its origi-
nal settings, press the Default... button.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Menus • page 75

 On the Timeline menu:
Create new generates further timelines. You can
switch through the timelines by using the tabs on the
bottom of the Timeline window. This option allows you
to work on several projects at the same time.

With Rename... you change the name of a timeline.

Enter the preferred name of the timeline in the appearing
window, and confirm with OK. Now you see its in the
chosen tab you use to switch through the different time-
lines.
The Export... option opens a dialog box where you can adjust a lot of settings for render-
ing your project in a file. Pressing the Export the Timeline Button above the Timeline
opens this window as well. Here you set the parameters for exporting a project into a
video. You can render a single frame, several frames or the whole project. There are a lot
of different file formats available for the user. We will explain you the most important
parameters of the project right away.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Menus • page 76

The Export dialog box is divided into three parts: Settings for Video and Audio, and
some general settings for the output file.
The general settings offer several options for naming the rendered output file, and defin-
ing where it will be exported to.
Under Export to you give your video a name and choose the path where it will be stored.
The Browse... button with the folder enables you to search for a desired location and
folder.
In the first drop-down menu Format you
choose if only the Video stream, the Audio
stream or video and audio (Video + Audio)
will be exported. As an additional option
you find Files sequence here. If you select
this option, you have the opportunity to
choose a file type for exporting your project as a series of images, e.g. as JPEGs, BMPs
or any other of the numerous formats available here. These will be displayed in the next
drop-down menu. In the second menu you specify the preferred video and image format
for the output file, e.g. MPEG, DirectShow, DV AVI etc. You gain access to further settings
by clicking the Format Options... button. In the following window you can change differ-
ent parameters, e.g. selecting a specific codec. The parameters vary depending on the
selected format. After you have chosen a certain format, its file extension (e.g. *.avi) is
shown in the little box in the Export to line.
Under Video and Audio you adjust several parameters for video and audio streams.
Depending on the chosen format or settings above some options could be disabled so
that you cannot change them. If you choose File sequence under Format the Video
parameters are enabled.
In the Video area the user has the possibility to
change the Resolution (WxH) of a project. You can
enter the width and height of your video manually. The
buttons on the right enable you to set the value, too.
Under Frame Rate you select the number of frames
per second (fps). This may be determined by your
hardware, so we recommend following the hardware
manufacturer’s instructions for details.
Under Pixel Aspect Ratio you define the ratio of
width to height of a frame.
The option Image Aspect ratio allows you to adjust the aspect ratio, e.g. 4:3 is the stan-
dard TV format, 16:9 is the widescreen format, and you find some more parameters here
as well.
The Frame Step option lets you specify whether MainActor v5 shall render all frames
(represented by the parameter one), or skip frames. This option is useful for quickly pro-

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Menus • page 77

ducing test render output by deliberately skipping frames. It is even possible to enter ne-
gative values here to enable backward rendering.
The option Digits in filename offers specifications for exporting multiple files. For exam-
ple, when you define 3 here, the files will be exported as “vacations001“, “vacations002“,
“vacations003“ and so on. If you choose 0 here, MainActor v5 generates files like “City1“,
“City2“, “City3“ etc. It is useful when you do not want to change the filename each time.
The drop-down menu Fields with the blue box enables the user to set the correct field
order: No Fields, Upper Field first, Lower Field first, and Deinterlace. This setting
should match the field order of the source video.
The drop-down menu Custom Settings offers a lot of presets for exporting your project.
For example, you work on a project in the Timeline with a resolution of 640x480, but you
want to export it in a resolution of 720x576, MainActor v5 offers a lot of presets so that you
do not need to adjust many parameters manually. Depending on your hardware you might
select a particular setting, e.g. for PAL or NTSC. Simply choose the desired setting from
the list.

The options under Audio allow you to change several

parameters for the audio stream.
Choose Rate to change the frequency of the audio stream.
The Channels option lets you choose between Mono (1)
and Stereo (2).
Under Bits/Sample you can define the desired audio
bitrate.

The Options section offers several checkboxes which include more functions for export-
ing your clips:
The checkbox Export yellow I/O segment only enables you to render only the segments
specified by the yellow line over the tracks in the Timeline window. The line’s beginning
indicates the in-point and its end the out-point. You can change the length of the line by
clicking and dragging it to the desired position. It is also possible to remove the yellow
line. Simply click in its middle area, and move it to the left or right while holding the mouse-
button.
The checkbox Import exported clip to Browser specifies whether the exported file will
automatically be imported into the browser of MainActor v5 or not.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Menus • page 78

Using the option All audio channels are mixed (the same) allows you to mix all audio
channels to one channel. This particular channel distributes the audio to all output chan-
nels. If there is only one output channel nothing happens at all.
When you enable the checkbox Separate .wav file for audio automatically generates an
additional audio file as well.
Ticking the checkbox Do not use Smart Rendering disables smart rendering, so that it is
not used for exporting a project.
The two buttons Profile and Save... enable you to save your user defined video and
audio settings for the output file so that you can use them in future projects. Press the
Save... box, and enter a name for them in the appearing window. The next time you open
the Export window you can choose the previous saved settings from the Profile drop-
down menu.
You can save the current render settings
within a project by pressing the Close but-
ton, or quit the dialog box by using the Can-
cel button.
If all settings are correct, start the rendering
process by clicking the Export button. In
the following window an indicator shows
the rendering progress. It also gives some
information about the output file. To stop
the rendering process click the Stop but-
ton. If MainActor v5 uses Smart Rendering,
there will be no preview available.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Menus • page 79

Back in the Timeline menu:
Delete removes the currently active timeline from the Timeline window.
Settings... opens a dialog box which includes a lot of general settings of the current
project in the timeline. You can also reach this window by clicking the Change Timeline
settings button in the Timeline window. It contains similar options for Video and Audio
you have already met in the Export window. You also find many Custom Settings here.

Under Video you find the following options:

The drop-down menu Custom Settings offers a lot of presets for creating a new project
in the timeline. It is also important for the intended use of a project. Depending on your
hardware you might select a particular setting, e.g. for PAL or NTSC. Simply choose the
desired setting from the list, and the parameters are changed automatically.
Under Frame Rate you select the number of frames per second (fps). This may be deter-
mined by your hardware, so we recommend following the hardware manufacturer’s
instructions for details.
Under Pixel Aspect Ratio you define the ratio of width to height of a frame.
The option Image Aspect Ratio allows the user to define the ratio of width to height of a
picture (e.g. the common parameters 4:3 or 16:9).
The drop-down menu Time alignment enables you to define the frame steps size you
move forward and backward when using the cursor keys in the Timeline. The available
parameters are Frames and 1/2 Frames (Fields).

The options under Audio are the same as in the Export window:
The option Rate enables you to change the frequency of the audio stream.
Channels let you choose between Mono (1) and Stereo (2).

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Menus • page 80

Under Bits/Sample you can define the preferred audio bitrate.
Cancel exits the Timeline Settings window without confirming the parameters for the
project.
When you click the OK button the settings are confirmed for the current project.

On the Tools menu:

The Tools menu contains one option right now.
The DV Capture... tool enables you to import
videos from a DV camcorder. We will explain the
functions later on.

On the Windows menu:

This pull-down menu offers various options
for arranging as well as organizing the dif-
ferent work areas and windows of MainAc-
tor v5 on the screen. You have the
opportunity to move and place the different
windows anywhere you like on the screen
so you can simply use the windows you
really need, and hide the others. When you
need the other work windows they are just a
mouse-click away. It is even possible to
change their size. The result is that you can
design an individual interface which suits
you best. When there is a tick in front of the
name the option is activated.
The options Media working Layout and Editing Layout are two default interface layouts
for MainActor v5. In the screenshot you see also a layout called My Layout which is a
user defined layout.
The option Save current layout... enables you to save your personal interface. With
MainActor v5 you can arrange the work windows wherever you like them and save their
position as an individual setting. This is useful if more than one user works with MainAc-
tor, i.e. every user has his individual interface for working on a project. Simply give the lay-
out a name, and in the future it appears in the Windows’ menu list so you can select it
every time you start the program.
Delete current layout erases the layout which is active at the moment.
Timeline lets you toggle on/off the Timeline window.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Menus • page 81

The option Clipboard toggles on/off the Browser window.
Preview lets the corresponding window appear or disappear.
Media Player toggles on/off this window. The Media Player window is deactivated here.
The Effects window appears or disappears when you choose the corresponding option.
With Arrange windows you reset all window to their original position, in case they have
been extended beyond the screen’s borders and cannot be manually resized again.
The Log window shows all the past commands and steps the user has performed during
a project session, and even since he has started MainActor v5.

In the Help menu:

MainActor Manual... opens this documentation as a
PDF-file.

The Enter serial number... option enables you to

unlock MainActor v5. In the appearing window, simply
enter a valid key you purchased in the appropriate
input prompt to remove the watermark. You have to
restart the application before the serial number can
take effect.
When you choose the About MainActor... option a splash screen appears which shows
you the current version of MainActor v5. A mouse-click on the window closes it again.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Menus • page 82

Useful Keyboard Shortcuts

MainActor v5 includes innumerable keyboard shortcuts for the most important functions
of the software. In the following we want to present you these useful shortcuts which
make video-editing much easier.

Start/Shutdown:
Alt + F4 or Ctrl + q closes MainActor v5.
Ctrl + o loads a MainActor v5 project of your choice.
Ctrl + i lets you import an old MainActor v3.65 project.
Ctrl + n creates a new project.
Ctrl + s saves the current project in the Timeline.
Ctrl + Shift + s enables you to save the current project under a different name.

Copying/Pasting/Extracting:
Ctrl + c is a usual copy function. It copies selected item to the clipboard.
Ctrl + x is an extract function. You can move items to the clipboard with it.
Ctrl + v is a normal paste function.

Undo/Redo:
Ctrl + z is a undo function which reverses the last command.
Ctrl + y is a redo function.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux• Keyboard Shortcuts • page 83

Media Player/Preview:
When you want to use these functions you have to ensure that the Media Player and the
Preview window are the active windows, otherwise the shortcut would come into conflict
with the Timeline keyboard functions.
The key i or sets an in-point.
The key o sets an out-point.
The key u resets the in/out marks to the clips starting and end point.

Pos1 lets you jump to the starting point of a clip.

End jumps to the end point of a clip.
Shift + i or Page up jumps to the mark-in point.
Shift + o or Page down jumps to the mark-out point.

With Space you can start the playback. If you press this key again the playback will stop.
The key p starts as well as stops a playback for the In/Out segment.

Left arrow moves one frame backward.

Right arrow moves one frame forward.
Shift + Right arrow jumps ten frames forward.
Shift + Left arrow jumps ten frames backward.

Switching the Timeline modes:

The key 1 activates the Insert mode.
The key 2 activates the Overwrite mode.
The key 3 activates the Fill mode.
There are also some functions for placing clips directly in the Timeline by using these
modes:
Ctrl + 1 adds a clip in the Insert mode directly to the Timeline.
Ctrl + 2 adds a clip in the Overwrite mode directly to the Timeline.
Ctrl + 3 adds a clip in the Fill mode directly to the Timeline.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux• Keyboard Shortcuts • page 84

Working with clips in the Timeline:
Ctrl + Left arrow jumps to the previous cut point.
Ctrl + Right arrow jumps to the next cut point.

The , key (comma) moves the selected clip one frame backward.
The . key (dot) moves the selected clip one frame forward.
Ctrl + , (comma) moves the selected clip ten frames backward.
Ctrl + . (dot) moves the selected clip ten frames forward.

Ctrl + a allows you to select all clips in the Timeline or the Browser.
Del or Backspace deletes a selected item in the Timeline and the Browser.
The k key cuts a selected clip at the current slider position.

The + or z key zooms in items in the Timeline in order to maximize them.

The - or x key zooms out objects in the Timeline in order to minimize them.

Exporting:
Ctrl + e exports the current project in the Timeline.

Sound:
You can hold down the Alt key while changing the current time in the Preview or Timeline
window to hear the audio frames at the current position.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux• Keyboard Shortcuts • page 85

Quickstart Tutorial

Quickstart Tutorial
In the following we want to present you a brief tutorial on how to produce a project with
MainActor v5.
1. Start MainActor v5 if it is not already running. The different work windows appear on
the screen.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 86

2 Assuming that we did not add any clips to the clipboard before, we have to import the
multimedia files we want to use in our project.
First of all, we have to create a folder for our multimedia clips. Activate the Project tab
and select the Favorites clipboard in the left part of the window. Press the right mouse
button and create a new folder as described before. Now change the name of the
folder by highlighting the New Folder writing and pressing the right mouse button.
Choose Rename from the appearing list and enter the new name for the folder.

Now you can assign a video clip to the folder. It is possible to create as many folders
as you like. If you have already added some clips to the bin you can drag-and-drop the
desired video from the Browser directly into the Timeline.
3 In order to add multimedia clips to your folders you have to select one of them. Then
press the right mouse button, and choose Add Media clip(s)... from the appearing
list. Alternatively, you can press the small button highlighted by the red circle.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 87

 In the following Add Media file(s) window you can search for the desired video and
audio clips for your project. When you have finally found the correct clip, mark it and
confirm with OK, so that the clip is assigned to the folder.
The Add Media file(s) window offers the opportunity to trim multimedia clips in
advance, i.e. removing unwanted portions from the beginning and ends of clips by set-
ting an in point and out point for each of them. Material before the in point and after the
out point does not appear in the project. We show you how to use this function later on
when we add a second video to our project.

4 Now we want to add a video to track 1. For that reason, click the desired clip in your
bin and drag it directly into the Timeline.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 88

5 We want to add a special effect to our clip in track 1. First of all, we activate the
Effects pane by clicking the corresponding tab. Choose a folder which contains an
effects that suits you. To apply an effect, we drag it from the pane directly onto the
preferred clip in the Timeline. The chosen effect appears on track V1 now.

To see a preview of the clip and its effect you can press the Play button in the Preview
window.
It is possible to fine-tune effects with MainActor v5. Simply double-click the name of
the effect in the Timeline in order to copy its settings to the Effects window.
For our example, we chose a very simple effect
called Aged Film (Filters > Special). When you
apply it to a video, it looks like an old black and
white movie with interferences. This effect is not
very complex. We recommend to play around with
the parameters until you find a good result. As you
can see in the polydiagram, we changed them
over time. Of course, you can choose any other
effect here.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 89

6 Now we want to add a second track to our
project. Move the cursor into the Timeline
window and press the right mouse-button.
From the appearing list, choose the option
Add video track. A new track (V2) appears
in the Timeline window.

7 Add a new clip to your project now. At first, repeat the steps under paragraph 4. You
should position the new clip that it slightly overlaps with the clip in V1. We explain the
reason for it to you later on.

8 When we start the preview we will see that the clip in track 1 suddenly changes to the
second clip in Track 2. That does not look very attractive for a video. We want to have
a smooth and movie-like transition. For that reason we activate the Effects tab and
click the Transitions folder in the Browser. Open one of the subfolders to choose a
suitable transition. When you select a transition its preview is shown on the right side
of the Effects pane.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 90

To use a transition you simply click the desired item, and drag it from the Browser
directly on the clip’s beginning in Track 2. The transition automatically fits in the over-
lapping space of the two clips, so that you do not normally need to change the length.
Here we choose the transition Band Push from the Push folder. Of course, you can
use any other transition here as well.

If necessary, you can extend the transition. At first, we activate the Toggle clips ends
on/off button (if it is disabled). When you click on the little lever at the beginning or end
of the transition you can drag it to the desired length.
You have to pay attention that the end of the transition matches the
end of the first clip, i.e. it is useful to drag the transition to this posi-
tion if it is not already there.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 91

9 We will add a new clip to track 1. This time we trim the clip we want to add to our
project. Drag the clip on V1 so that it slightly overlaps with the last clip on track 2 (V2).
Double-click the new clip in order to copy its settings to the Effects window. Click the
box next Media file so that the Add Media file(s) window appears. Select the desired
clip if it is not already active. You can see the first frame of it in the preview area on
the right.

For trimming a clip we use the controls under the preview area. To define an in point
you can drag the green slider or use the Play button and the Frame forward/back-
ward buttons until you find the desired frame where you want your clip to start in the
project. If you have finally found the exact frame, click the Set IN-point button (labeled
with the tool-tip here). The position of the in point is shown in the display directly under
the preview area (highlighted by the red frame). For a preview of the trimmed
sequence click the Play IN-OUT segment button. In this case only the user defined
segment will be played back. Press the OK button for confirmation so that the clip is
assigned to track 2 (V2).
Of course, you can trim the clip with the Media Player, but we want
to show you a different method here.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 92

 Of course, it is possible to define a different out point for a clip. Drag the slider to the
desired frame, and click the Set OUT-point button. The exact position is displayed on
the right. In our example we only defined an in-point.

10 As you can see, the trimmed clip is in V1 now. Now we will insert a transition between
clip two (track 2) and clip three (track 1). For that reason, we activate the Effects
pane in the Browser window, and open the transition folder. Choose a transition, and
drag it onto the second clip in V2.

The clip shows the name of the transition now.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 93

11 When you want to edit a transition,
double-click its name in the Timeline in
order to copy the transition’s parame-
ters to the Effects window. Depending
on the transition you can adjust several
settings, e.g. the direction, number of
boards etc. of it. We recommend to
play around with the settings so that
you become accustomed to its use. It
is also possible to change the duration
of the transition. Click on the little
boxes at the beginning or end of the
transition, and drag it to the desired
length.
You can start a preview of your project
any time in order to have a look at your
results. Simply press the Play button in
the Preview window.

Of course, you can add more clips, effects as well as transitions, and even tracks to
your projects. Simply repeat the steps in the paragraphs which deal with the corre-
sponding topic.

12 Now we want to add a different audio stream to the third clip of our project in track 1
(V1). Move the cursor to the clip’s audio stream and double-click it so that the settings
are copied to the Effects window.
Should your clip contain audio you have the opportunity to add a dif-
ferent audio stream to your project. Select the audio clips you want
to delete while holding the Ctrl-key, and press the right mouse-but-
ton. Choose Delete selected clips from the list or press the Delete
key in order remove the audio from the Timeline. Then you can drag
the desired audio clip from your clipboard directly on the audio track
in the Timeline. In this case you have to adapt its length in the Time-
line window.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 94

In the Effects window, move the cursor to the box next to Media file and click the
name of the audio stream. In the following Add Media file(s) window you can search
for the desired audio clip for this track as we have already described for video clips ear-
lier in this manual.

You can shorten or extend the audio track in the Timeline if required by dragging its
ends.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 95

13 Finally, we want to insert a text into our project so that in the middle of the third clip
(track 1) a text appears and fades in as well as fades out. At first, we drag the 2D
Text option (under Text) from the Effects pane in track 2 somewhere under the
desired clip. If necessary, you can extend the clip as shown in previous paragraphs
for other clips, effects or transitions.

14 In order to enter and edit the text you have to copy the 2D Text settings to the Effects
window. Move the green slider approximately to the center of the 2D Text object in the
Timeline so that you can see your results in the Preview window.
For this tutorial we want to adjust only a
few parameters for the text. We
changed the font color, let it fade in and
out as well as let it getting smaller and
bigger over time. Of course, you can
play around with the parameters to get
different results.
First of all, enter the new text in the box
at the bottom of the window. Remove
the old “MainConcept“ text, and enter a
new one. In the drop-down menu Font
you can also select a different font type.
We changed the color of the text by
clicking the colored box. In the appear-
ing window we chose another font color.
Under Opacity you can adjust if a text is
faded in and out. Click the word Opacity

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 96

 so that the polydiagram becomes visible. Now we define three new keys (two in the
middle and one at the end of the line) by clicking the preferred position on the red line
while holding the Shift key. Then we select the first and the last key. Simply hold the
Ctrl key and mark the two keys. You can move both keys with your mouse at the same
time now. Afterwards, set the two keys in the middle to a high position so that they will
roughly look like a line. During this period of time, the text is completely visible.
We want our text to become bigger and smaller while moving through the picture from
the left to the right. For that reason, we have to activate the polydiagram by clicking
Size. Now we can define more keys as described above and generate a curve.
We leave the option X Pos at its default settings so that the text moves through the
screen from left to right. We slightly changed the position of the title on the y-axis by
using the Y Pos slider.
If you like, you can change the settings for the rest of the options. It is possible to start
a preview of the current project by using the player in the Preview window.
You can see the results in the Preview window when you move the slider or start a pre-
view from there. You can extend the duration the 2D Text will appear on the screen by
dragging the end of the clip to the desired length.

15 Finally, we want to export our small project. First of all, you have to define the area in
the Timeline which will be exported. For that reason, click the little box at the end of
the yellow line above the Timeline and pull it to the end of the last clip until it snaps
automatically. The yellow line marks the area which will be rendered during the
exporting process.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 97

16 Now we can export our project as a DirectShow AVI file. Click the Export Timeline
button on the top right of the Timeline.

In the following window you must adjust several settings for the output file. As we said
before, we want to generate a DirectShow (or Windows) AVI file. We will explain the
parameters you have to change in a moment.
After changing the settings the Export window should look like this:

First of all, you should activate the Export yellow I/O segment only checkbox so that
only the objects under this line will be rendered.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 98

Under Browse... you give your AVI file a name and search for a desired location. Sim-
ply follow the instructions in the Browse... window.
In the first drop-down menu under For-
mat you have to choose Video +
Audio. In the second one select
DirectShow Video. When you click
the Format Options... button a win-
dow appears where you can adjust fur-
ther settings. Under Video Codecs
choose the correct codec, e.g. the
MainConcept MJPEG Codec. This
depends on your system requirements.
In the drop-down menu Audio Codec
select the appropriate codec as you
can see in the screenshot above. This
setting also depends on your system
requirements. We left the rest of the
parameters at their default settings.

You should leave the rest of the settings

as they are. Click the Export button to
start the render process. You can watch
the export in a preview window. When
rendering is finished the window closes
automatically.

Congratulations! You produced your first small project with MainActor v5.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Quickstart Tutorial • page 99

Tools

In this chapter we want to introduce a useful tool which is included in MainActor v5. It
allows you to capture video footage from a digital device.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Tools • page 100

The DV Capture Tool
The DV Capture option allows you to import video footage from a digital camcorder to
your computer. We will explain the different settings of this module in a moment.

At first, you should change the Capture Settings on the right.

The drop-down menu Capture Driver allows you to choose the desired driver for captur-
ing video footage. The available options are Raw1394 or DV1394.
The drop-down menu Capture Device enables you to select the desired digital video
source for capturing your videos. It is possible to connect several devices to your com-
puter. A digital video device is for example your DV camcorder.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Tools • page 101

The large button Capture Settings opens a window which offers several options for
adjusting the FireWire port as well as preview behaviour. In the Capture Settings window
you find two different panes: IEEE1394 and Preview. We will explain their settings in a
moment.
The IEEE1394 pane:
Under IEEE1394 you specify the correct port for your
capture device. For example: If your FireWire card
offers more than one port you can select the desired
one by using the spinbox.
The Channel (0-63) spinbox enables you to select the
appropriate FireWire channel for capturing. Please do
not change the option.
We recommend to let the Polling interval (ms) option
at its default settings as well.

If the checkbox Play on Capture is ticked, MainActor v5 automatically starts the tape
when clicking the Record button.
When enabling the Stop on Close checkbox the capture process is automatically
stopped when closing the capture window.
The AVC1394 Required option is a requirement for the device control.

The Preview pane:

The drop-down menu Video Driver enables you to
specify whether your video driver should work in an
acclerated mode or not.
The drop-down menu Deinterlace allows you to set the
correct field order. Using this option MainActor v5 only
shows one frame instead of two fields. This is some-
times useful during video playback to remove stripes in
the preview. The available parameters are none, top
field and bottom field.
The Audio Driver option specifies the appropriate
audio driver for capturing video. The available parame-
ters are e.g. dma, dsp, alsa, artsc and csd.
You can confirm the parameters in the Capture Settings window by clicking the OK but-
ton. Otherwise, click Cancel.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Tools • page 102

Back in the main window of the DV Capture tool, you can enter the filename for the video
you want to record under Capture File. Use the button on the right to search for the
desired location for storing your captured videos.
You can use the same name for multiple consecutive captures. MainAc-
tor v5 automatically numbers additional recordings, for example
“Surfing0001”, “Surfing0002”, etc.

Under Time (h:m:s) you set the desired capture time in hours, minutes and seconds. Use
the up/down arrows or enter a value manually in order to specify the record time.

The File Format option enables you to specify the desired AVI format for capturing from
a DV camcorder. The available file formats are: AVI Type 1 and DV Raw.
The drop-down menu File Split Size enables you to specify the size of segments that will
be created during long video captures. MainActor v5 automatically splits data into multiple
sequences to bypass file size limitations that are imposed by certain Windows configura-
tions. If you plan to archive captured video after completing a project, you might want to
choose a split size that will fit on the type of disc you plan to use for archiving, for example
700-megabyte CD-ROMs.

The option Scene Detection enabled enables you to activate the automatic detection of
diverse scenes for capturing your videos. The different scenes of your DV tapes will be
saved as individual AVI-files. It allows an easier usage and management of the imported
scenes.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Tools • page 103

The checkbox Preview during capture enables you to toggle the preview during the
recording process on and off.

Under Capture Statistics you find several information about the current capture session,
such as the number of captured frames, the number of dropped frames, the file size etc.

Under the preview area of the DV Capture tool window you find
several controls. If you are capturing prerecorded video from
your DV camcorder, use the VCR-style buttons to control the
device and find the point where you want to start capturing. You
can also control the device manually by using its physical but-
tons, however it might be necessary to click the Play button in
MainActor to open the video data path.
The buttons on the top left perform the following functions (in order, top row from left to
right): Pause, Stop, Play, Fast forward, Rewind, Frame forward and Frame back-
ward.
Use these controls to find the exact position on your video tape where you want to start
with the capturing process.
The bar under the preview area contains two buttons for starting and stopping the capture
process.

The two button on the left and right perform the following functions:
The red Record button starts the capturing process.

The Stop Record button stops the capturing process.

The display between these two controls shows the current Capture Time during the
recording process.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Tools • page 104

If you have done all the settings and are ready to start capturing, press the red Record
button.

When you are done capturing, click the Stop Record button, and the recorded video foot-
age is added to the previously specified folder on your system, and to a Captured folder
in the Project pane of the Browser, which is generated by MainActor v5.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Tools • page 105

Capture Windows

MainActor v5 contains a window which allows you to capture video footage from a digital
device, so that you are able to edit the clips on your computer later on. On the one hand,
you can easily import video from a DV camcorder or deck connected via a 1394 connec-
tion (also known as FireWire® and i.LINK®) or any other supporting device. Connect the
devices as shown in the documentation of your hardware. In the following we will show
you how to capture video from a digital video device.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Capture Windows • page 106

Capturing Video from a DV Camcorder or Deck
With MainActor v5, you can capture directly from a DV device over an OHCI-compliant
1394 connection. Most affordable 1394 cards are OHCI-compliant.

To capture:
1. Make sure that your 1394 device is working properly. Also make sure that the DV
device is connected and turned on. Launch MainActor v5 (if it is not already running),
and activate the DV Capture window in the Tools menu. The DV Capture window
appears on the screen.

If you want to capture live video from a camcorder, set the camcorder
to Camera mode. If you want to capture prerecorded video from a
camcorder, set it to VTR (Video Tape Recorder) mode.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Capture Windows • page 107

2. In the Drop-down menu Capture Device you specify the correct device for capturing
video footage from a DV camcorder.

The DV device’s name may vary depending on the device and the distribution of Linux
you are using. Furthermore, the list may show any other video device(s) that are con-
nected to your computer.

3. In the drop-down menu Capture Driver you specify the appropriate driver for captur-
ing DV footage. In our example, we chose Raw1394:

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Capture Windows • page 108

 MainActor v5 automatically sets the name that video will be captured under (capture
0001), and it alerts you if material already exists with that name.

4. If you want to overwrite the existing video, click Yes. Otherwise, click No. A dialog
box will remind you that you can avoid overwriting files by setting a new name and/or
destination.

Click OK to dismiss that dialog.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Capture Windows • page 109

5. To change the capture filename, click the browse button under Capture File to
choose a new name and/or directory. Press the button, and follow the instructions in
the appearing window. In the example shown below, we have changed the capture
filename to “Holiday”.

You can use the same name for multiple consecutive captures.
MainActor automatically numbers additional captures, for example
“Holiday0001”, “Holiday0002”, etc.

6. If you want to, you can adjust the timer under Time (h:m:s) to the maximum capture
length. In this example, there was not enough hard disk space to hold the default set-
ting of two hours, so we changed the setting to 20 minutes.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Capture Windows • page 110

7. Use the drop-down menu File Format to specify the desired DV AVI format. In our
example, we have selected AVI Type 1 for the capture file. Of course, you can
choose any other format here as well.

Ticking the checkbox Preview during capture lets you watch the cap-
ture process on the screen.

8. If you like, you can also activate the Scene Detection enabled option by ticking the
small checkbox. Then MainActor v5 automatically creates smaller clip segments.
Alternatively, you can specify the size for the segments which will be captured. Use
the drop-down menu File Split Size in order to specify a proper file size.

9. If you are capturing prerecorded video from your DV camcorder or deck, use the
VCR-style buttons (e.g. Rewind, Fast forward, Play...) to control the device and find
the point where you want to start capturing. You can also control the device manually
by using its physical controls, however it might be necessary to click the Play button
in MainActor to open the video data path.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Capture Windows • page 111

10. When you are ready to start capturing, click the red Record button at the top left.

11. When you are done capturing, click the Stop Record button.

The capture filename will advance automatically, and the captured video clip will be
added to the previously specified folder. Additionally, MainActor v5 generates a Cap-
tured folder in the Project pane of the Browser which includes the recorded clips as
well.

12. Repeat steps 9 through 11 as necessary to capture additional material.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • The Capture Windows • page 112

Effects, Filters and Transitions

The Effects pane of the Browser offers numerable filters, effects, sources, transitions
and a title generator in order to enhance your videos. In this chapter we will explain how
to apply transitions as well as effects, and introduce some of them in a brief example.
Some of these items offer only a few settings but others are rather complex. We recom-
mend playing around with their settings to get satisfying results. Many effects and filters
are heavily dependent on the source material you use, and that is always different.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 113

Adding effects, filters, sources and transitions
There are two ways of applying an effect, a source or a filter: you can apply it for the whole
clip or only for a user-defined clip segment. It is even possible to apply an effect to a clip
which already contains another effect, i.e. you can combine different effects to create new
ones. You see a preview as well as a brief description of every effect, filter or transition in
the right part of the Browser window.
When you want to apply an effect, a source or a filter to a whole clip simply drag-and-drop
it directly from the Browser on the desired clip as shown in the screenshot below. It is
also possible to drag-and-drop the animated preview of the effect on the clip.

In this case the effect’s name is shown directly underneath the clip. Both the effect and
the clip are part of the track here. To add another effect to the clip, simply repeat the steps
described before. You can delete an effect or a filter by clicking its part on the track so that
it is highlighted. Then press the Delete key, or move the cursor to the selected area, press
the right mouse-button and choose Delete selected clips from the appearing list.
It is also possible to apply an effect or filter only to a certain clip segment. You need a sec-
ond video track for applying this kind of effect. Simply add another video track to your
project as shown in previous chapters.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 114

In track 1 you place the clip you want the effect or filter apply to. Then drag-and-drop the
desired effect into the second track (V2) as described earlier in this chapter.

After you have placed the effect on V2 you can change the position as well as the length
of the effect. When you want to extend the effect, click one of the effect’s levers and drag
it to the desired duration (top). For changing its position simply select the whole effect,
and move it to the preferred position in the Timeline (bottom).

Now the effect or filter is only applied to the user-defined clip segment. You can always
watch your project in the Preview window in advance.
In the Effects pane of the Browser window you also find a Transitions folder which con-
tains several subfolders. A preview of every transition is shown in the right part of the

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 115

Browser. Applying transitions seems to be a bit different at first sight, but once you are
familiar with its use, it offers interesting possibilities for combining clips.
First of all, place a clip on track 1 (V1). Then add a second track to your project (V2). Now
place a second clip on V2 so that it slightly overlaps with the end of the clip in V1. To place
a transition between the two clips, you have to drag-and-drop it directly from a folder on
the beginning of the second clip on track V2. The white box indicates that you can drop
the transition here. Release the mouse-button so that the transition is placed between the
two clips.

In general, the transition automatically fits in the overlapping segments

between two clips. If required, you have the opportunity to change its
duration afterwards by clicking the transition’s end and drag it to the
desired length while holding the mouse-button.

As you can see MainActor v5 automatically adds an audio transition between the audio
streams in the Timeline. The result is that the sound of the first clip is slowly fade out and
the sound of the second clip is faded in. This enables you create smooth transitions. To
extend both the video and audio transition, select the lever of the video as well as the
audio transition while holding the Ctrl key. Afterwards, you can extend both transitions at
the same time.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 116

 When you hold the Alt key when adding a video transition to the Time-
line, it is placed there without an additional audio transition. This is use-
ful when you want to maintain the original volume of two consecutive
clips.

You can zoom in and out the Timeline view by pressing the minus and the plus buttons.
This can be necessary to change the transition’s duration. You extend transitions in the
same way as clips and effects. Activate the right lever and drag it to the desired length as
shown in the screenshot below.

We recommend pulling the transition so far until it corresponds with the end of the clip on
the previous track. You see an example in the little picture in the screenshot above. Now
clip 1 smoothly changes to clip 2.
If you add a third clip to your project you place it on track V1 so that it slightly overlaps with
the end of the clip in track V2. If you want to insert a transition between the two clips, place
the transition at the end of the second clip in V2. Repeat the steps mentioned before to
extend it.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 117

There is also a different way of using transitions, we have already mentioned earlier in this
manual. It is possible to apply a transition to clips which are on the same track. Put a clip
on track V1 and another one directly behind it. Switch to the Effects pane, and select a
transition from one of the different folders. Then drag-and-drop it from the Browser
between the two clips into the single track V1. As shown in the screenshot below, the area
for inserting the transition is highlighted by a white vertical line.

It might be possible that the following window

appears on the screen when you release the
transition between the two clips. In this window
you specify whether you want to move the first
clip or the second one for applying the transition
properly. It doesn’t matter which clip you move.
Try for yourself which option offers the best results.
As already described earlier, an audio transition is added to the audio track here as well.
Use the same method to extend both the audio and the video transition.
When you hold the Alt key when adding a video transition to the Time-
line, it is placed there without an additional audio transition. This is use-
ful when you want to maintain the original volume of two consecutive
clips.

Now you can lengthen the transition in the Timeline as described in previous paragraphs.
Activate one of the levers, and drag it to the desired duration and direction.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 118

Of course, you can edit the transitions in the Effects window as shown earlier in this
chapter. Double-click the transition in the Timeline so that its settings are copied into the
Effects window. After you have edited the transition, you can save it for future projects by
dragging it from the Effects window into a clipboard or folder in the Project pane of the
Browser.

MainActor v5 offers an separate audio transition for inserting it between two clips which
contain audio. After you have placed the desired clips in the Timeline, you have to click
the Effects tab of the Browser. Open the Audio folder and then click the Transitions
folder. Now place the Audio Transition directly on the clip’s beginning in the second
audio track if you have two of them.

When you hold the Alt key while adding an audio transition to the Time-
line, it is placed there without an additional video transition. This is use-
ful when you want to use another video transition than the default one
between two consecutive clips.

As shown in the screenshot, a video transition has been placed between the video
streams as well. Now you can drag the video and/or audio transition to the preferred
length. We have already explained this in previous paragraphs.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 119

 If you have only one track for the audio streams, you have to extend the
video and audio transitions individually. In this case activate the corre-
sponding transition’s lever and pull it to the desired length. Repeat this
task for the other transitions between these videos if necessary.

As mentioned earlier in this manual, it is possible to save effects, filters, sources and tran-
sitions which have already been edited, so that you can use them for future projects. And
this is quite simple!
At first, double-click the effect in the Timeline, so that its settings are copied into the
Effects window. Then you can start changing the different effect parameters. After you
have finished adjusting the effect settings, switch to the Projects pane of the Browser.
In the Effects window, simply click the little effect, filter or transition icon in the header of
the corresponding item, and drag it into a bin or folder in the Projects pane, as shown in
the screenshot below.

We recommend creating an individual folder (or even a clipboard) for

user defined effects, filters, sources and/or transitions in the Projects
pane of the Browser. It makes it easier for you to manage the many dif-
ferent items.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 120

You apply user defined effects, sources and transitions the same way as the normal ones.
Open the folder or clipboard in the Projects pane which includes the corresponding fil-
ters, and drag them directly on or under a clip in the Timeline, as shown in the screenshot
below. It is even possible to drag the effect’s thumbnail from the Projects pane on a clip
in the Timeline. Now the clip includes the user defined effect or filter from a previous
project.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 121

Filters and Effects
In the following paragraph we will introduce the filters as well as effects of MainActor v5
and explain their settings in detail. We also present you a brief example for several effects
so you become familiar with their parameters. You can edit the settings of the filters and
effects by double-clicking them so that their settings are copied to the Effects window.
Under Filters you find several subfolders which contain both effects and filters you can
apply to your projects.

2D Warp

Glue:
When you use the Glue effect your clip looks like it is pulled apart like glue, i.e. the picture
is distorted and smeared.
You can adjust several parameters for the effect:
Under Intensity you set the intensity the picture
will be distorted. The value can be entered manu-
ally, by using the slider or by defining new keys in
a polydiagram. The latter allows you to change
the effect over time.
Pull Direction allows you to specify the direction
the picture will be smeared. The options Horizon-
tal, Vertical and Both are available here.
Under Pull progress you set the correct order you want the effect to be applied to a clip.
Original > Effect means that the original clip smoothly turns into a glue-like picture.
Effect > Original is the reverse. When you activate setting Original > Effect > Original
the clips starts in its original shape, turns smoothly into a distorted picture and back again
to its original shape.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 122

Ripple:
The Ripple effect turns your clips into a kind of wave as if someone has thrown a stone
into water, and the waves are heading from the center towards the shoreline.
The effect’s parameters dialog box offers the fol-
lowing settings:
When you press Intensity a polydiagram
appears where you can create new keys in order
to change the waves’ intensity over time. It is also
possible to enter a constant value for the intensity
by clicking the box next to the parameter’s name.
In the appearing window you can edit the value
for the intensity manually. A further alternative is
to move the option’s slider to the desired value.
Flow Direction enables you to specify the direction of the waves starting from the center
of the picture. The settings Circle, Horizontal and Vertical are available here.
The option Progress offers two parameters: Continuous and Natural. When you choose
Continuous the waves appear in the whole picture at once. In contrast, when you select
Natural the waves start in the middle of the picture and they are slowly getting bigger and
bigger, and they also slowly disappear out of it (like real waves).
The two checkboxes Waves starting flat and Waves ending flat are self-explanatory.

Swirl:
The Swirl effect distorts your clip like a whirlpool.
It offers the following options:
Under Intensity you adjust the swirl’s strength.
When you press this term a polydiagram
appears where you can create new keys in
order to change the whirlpool’s intensity over
time. It is also possible to enter a constant
value here by clicking the box next to the
parameter’s name. In the appearing window
you can edit the value for the intensity manu-
ally. A further alternative is to move the option’s
slider to the desired value.
With the two sliders under Focus X and Focus
Y you can define the center of the whirlpool on
the screen. You can also enter the values for these settings manually as described above.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 123

In the polydiagrams for these two options you can change the focus over time so that the
swirl moves over the screen like a kind of hurricane.
Swirl Direction enables you to adjust in which direction the whirlpool will flow: Left or
Right.
The option Progress offers three parameters: Original > Effect, Effect > Original and
Original > Effect > Original. Original > Effect means that the original clip smoothly
turns into swirl. Effect > Original is the reverse. When you activate setting Original >
Effect > Original the clips starts in its original shape, turns smoothly into a distorted pic-
ture, i.e. a whirlpool, and back again to its original shape.

3D Warp

Deflate:
The Deflate effect looks like as if the picture contracts in the middle of the screen.
This effect offers only two options:
Intensity defines the strength of the deflation. You
enter the value manually or change it in the polydia-
gram over time.
The drop-down menu under Progress offers three
options: Forward, Backward and Cycle. When you
select Forward, the contraction starts at the top and
bottom of the screen; when you choose Backward
the deflation begins in the middle of the picture. Cycle
starts the effect and resets to the original clip again later.

Inflate:
The Inflate effect looks like as if the picture is expanded in the middle of the screen.
This effect offers also two options:
Intensity defines the strength of the inflation. You
enter the value manually or change it in the polydia-
gram over time.
The drop-down menu under Progress offers three
options: Forward, Backward and Cycle. When you
select Forward, the expansion starts at the top and

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 124

bottom of the screen; when you choose Backward the inflation begins in the center of the
picture. Cycle starts the effect and resets to the original clip again later.

Color

Recolor:
This module is an advanced color correction tool. Imagine you have a great clip or a nice
picture but somehow the colors are too pale or do not come out as they should. Maybe the
light is too dim or everything looks a bit hazy. You can use the Recolor filter for enhancing
or refresh the colors of a clip in the Timeline. You can apply it for adapting consecutive
scenes. Or you can produce some interesting effects by changing the color over time as
well as colorize the clip in an unusual way.
The Recolor effect is very complex with many different settings. We recommend playing
around with the polydiagrams and their parameters until you achieve the desired results.
You cannot give clearly defined guidelines for the filter settings here. The parameters
depend on your source material, and that is always different from each other.
The Recolor filter offers the following settings:
In the Equalize Group mode you can adjust the
R (Red), G (Green), B (Blue) and A (Alpha)
components individually. The option is not visi-
ble when you copy the Recolor settings to the
Effects window. Press the box Equalize Group
to open them. Now you can edit the individual
channels. As shown in the previous para-
graphs, you can enter the values manually as
well as by using the slider. In the polydiagrams
you have the opportunity to define new keys to
influence the different channels. You can toggle
the Equalize Group‘s settings on/off by using
the On checkbox. This can be useful when you
work with other modes in this menu and want to
edit the different parameters separately.
In the middle you find some general settings for
color correction: Spectre, Brightness, Contrast and Saturation. You can activate the
individual parameters by clicking the On checkbox. You can also change the option’s
parameters over time in corresponding polydiagrams.
At the bottom you have access to the Tint mode for changing the color of the picture. It
contains two parameters: Tint Hue and Tint Power.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 125

 Tutorial - Recolor:
In this tutorial we want to show you how to freshen up your videos. Some-
times the colors and image properties of a video have not the quality you
want them to have. Maybe there was a dim light or it was a bit hazy the
day you made the picture or film. With the Recolor effect you are able to
refresh and enhance their colors to a certain degree.

1. Before we start with the actual project, add the clip you want to freshen up to the clip-
board. We have already explained this in previous chapters. Press the small icon
in the Project Browser, and follow the instructions on the screen.

After you have added the desired clip to a folder in the clipboard, drag it from the
Browser into track V1 of the Timeline window. You see the first frame of the clip in the
Preview window.

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2. We will apply the Recolor effect to the clip in a moment. For that reason, switch to the
Effects pane, and open the Filters folder. Under Color you select the Recolor effect,
and place it directly on the clip in V1, because we want to use the effect for the whole
clip.

3. Now we want to freshen up the colors of the clip. Therefore, we double-click the
Recolor effect in V1, so that its parameters are copied to the Effects window.

We have already explained the functions of the individual parameters before, so we

recommend playing around with the polydiagrams and their settings until you achieve
the desired results. You cannot give clearly defined guidelines for the project settings
here. The parameters depend on your source material, and that is always different
from each other.

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 After changing the Recolor settings for our clip, the parameters in the Effects window
looked like this:

As you can see in the screenshot above, we generated an additional key for the Sat-
uration option. We turned the line into a curve. The result is, that the clips starts in
black and white, and then suddenly the refreshed colors appear in the clip.

4. With a little practice you can achieve impressive results in your video clips and pic-
tures by using this effect for color correction. Devote some time and patience for get-
ting acquainted with the particular parameters. And soon your videos will appear in a
different light...!

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Threshold:
This effect sets animated thresholds for each color channel (R, G and B), i.e. it generates
thresholds for each channel. It is useful for high-contrasting colored images.
Every channel (Red, Green and Blue) offers a start-
ing as well as an end value for its Low and High
threshold. You can specify each of these parame-
ters individually. The value range for the different
parameters is 0 ... 255. You reach the next option by
pressing the Tab-key. You can use the small controls
on the right to change the value for the effect or enter
the new value manually.

Color Adjust

Brightness & Contrast:

This option enables you to adjust brightness and contrast of a video clip or still image.
The option Brightness is self-explanatory. Use
the slider for changing the value or enter it man-
ually by clicking the value box. It is even possible
to generate keys so that you can change the
brightness of the picture over time.
The parameter Contrast is self-explanatory, too.
You have the same setting options as mentioned
under Brightness.
The option Gamma enables you to measure the
brightness of midtone values produced by a
device. This is often a computer monitor. You
have the same setting options here as men-
tioned earlier in this paragraph.
The Red Gain, Green Gain and Blue Gain settings enable you to set the gain for the R,
G and B channels. You can enter a constant value or change them over time.
The Red Offset, Green Offset and Blue Offset settings enable you to adjust the offset
for the R, G and B channels. You can enter a constant value or change them over time.

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Colorize:
The Colorize filter lets you influence the different RGB channels. It is useful to enhance
the colors of a clip, or to adapt the colors for consecutive scenes.
The option Red enables you to change the set-
tings for the corresponding channel.
Green adjusts the parameters for the blue chan-
nel over time.
Blue changes the spectre for the blue channel.
Use the slider or press the value box to change
the parameters. You can also add new keys in
the polydiagram to generate a curve and change
the color over time.

XOR Color:
This effect is a color effect which is based on the Boole’s XOR operation.
You can adjust the parameters for the R, G and
B channels. You have the opportunity to change
the settings for Red, Green and Blue over time
by generating new keys.

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Fade

Chaotic Fade:
This filter fades the clip against a user-defined color.
If the checkbox under Dither in is selected the
clip slowly appears. If this option is disabled, the
clip is faded out and the chosen color appears.
Contrast Color enables you to select a color for
the dither effect. Simply click the box and choose
a color in the appearing dialog box. It is possible
to change the color over time by defining new
keys in a polydiagram.
The option Opacity specifies the transparency of
the contrast color. The higher the value the more
you see of the color. It is even possible to change the value for the opacity over time.

Dither:
This effect dithers the clip against a specified color.
If the checkbox under Dither in is ticked the clip
slowly appears. If this option is disabled, the clip
is faded out so that the chosen color appears.
Contrast Color enables you to select a color for
the dither effect. Simply click the box and choose
a color in the appearing dialog box. It is possible
to change the color over time by defining new
keys in a polydiagram.
The option Opacity specifies the transparency
of the contrast color. The higher the value the
more you can see of the color. It is even possible
to change the value for the opacity over time.
The checkboxes under Red Channel, Green Channel and Blue Channel allow you to
enable and disable the individual R, G and B channels.

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Fade:
This effect fades a video clip against a particular color.
If the checkbox under Fade in is activated the
clip slowly appears. If this option is disabled, the
clip is faded out and the chosen color becomes
visible.
Contrast Color enables you to select a color for
the fade in effect. Simply click the box and
choose a color in the appearing dialog box. It is
possible to change the color over time by gener-
ating new keys in a polydiagram.
The option Opacity specifies the transparency
of the contrast color. The higher the value the
more you can see of the fading color. It is even possible to change the value for the opac-
ity over time.
The checkboxes under Red Channel, Green Channel and Blue Channel allow you to
enable and disable the individual R, G and B channels.

Random Fade:
This effect dithers the clip randomly against a specified color.
If the checkbox under Dither in is ticked the clip
appears. If this option is disabled, the video is
faded out so that the chosen color slowly
appears.
Contrast Color enables you to select a color for
the random dither effect. It is possible to change
the color over time by defining new keys in a
polydiagram or you select a single color by click-
ing the color bar, and choosing a color in the
appearing dialog box.
The option Opacity specifies the transparency of the contrast color. The higher the value
the more you can see of the randomly dithering color. It is even possible to change the
value for the opacity over time.
The checkboxes under Red Channel, Green Channel and Blue Channel allow you to
enable and disable the individual R, G and B channels.

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Paint

News Print:
When you use this effect lets your clip looks like an image which is printed in an newspa-
per. It adds a very coarse-grained resolution in black and white to your clips.
Brightness and Contrast are self-explanatory.
As shown in the previous paragraphs, you can
enter the values manually as well as by using the
slider. The screenshot on the left shows a win-
dow where you can enter the value for Contrast
manually. In the polydiagrams you have the
opportunity to define new keys in order to
change the parameters over time.
The option Sampling Rate enables you to adjust
the resolution for the effect. It defines how many
black pixels occur in one line. The range is 0 ...
100 here.
Dot Type offers two different parameters: Uni-
form and Non-Uniform. It refers to the appear-
ance and the distribution of the dots which
alienate the image.

Oil Paint:
By applying this effect your clip looks like an oil painting.
The Oil Paint effect offers only one setting:
You can change the Intensity of the effect.
The result is that the picture looks like it is
painted in oil. To sum it up, the effect paints
the picture with a thick brush. The effect can
be changed over time as well.

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Roman Mosaic:
This effect converts a clip into an animated roman mosaic or tile pattern. The pattern’s
lines are distorted during playback.
Under Resolution you define the grid’s resolution,
i.e. of how many tiles the picture is made of. The
range is 1 ... 100, although a value larger than 25 is
useless because it only gives an idea of the original
clip.
The option Space enables you to define the width of the pattern’s lines. The value’s range
is 1 ... 10.
Turbulence allows you to animate the roman mosaic. By adjusting this option you can
influence the speed of the movement. The range is 0 ... 10 here.

Special

Aged Film:
This effect turns your clip into an old film with lots of spots as well as in black and white
color.
Under Amount of Particles you define the num-
ber of spots and fluff which will appear in the clip.
The result is that it looks like an old spool of film
which is played back by an old film projector.
The option Size of Particles lets you specify the
size of the different spots and fluff.
You can change the settings by using the slider or
define new keys in the polydiagram.

Flip:
This effect simply flips the picture so that it is the wrong way around or upside down.
In the drop-down menu under Direction you find three
options. Horizontal mixes up left and right in the clip;
Vertical turns the clip upside down. Both combines
the previously mentioned options.

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Frame:
This effect puts an animated frame around your clip.
Appearance specifies the visible area of your clip.
The higher the value, the less you see the original
clip, i.e. the frame gets larger. You can use the slider
to change the value or enter it manually. It is also pos-
sible to generate new keys, and turn the line into a
curve in order to animate the frame.
Under First Color and Second Color you select two
frame colors. To produce a single colored frame, you
have to adjust two equal colors. When you want to
choose different colors or change the color over time
here, repeat the steps mentioned earlier.
Under Variation you select a different frame type. The value range is 1 ... 5000.

Incognito:
This effect enables you to make certain areas in your clips unrecognizable. You can
define the area and its size where the Incognito effect will be applied to. The effect is
useful for disguising people’s faces in a film.
The option Intensity enables you to adjust the
size of the individual pixel. The more you extend
the value the more you enlarge the size of the
pixels, i.e. you reduce the resolution of the spec-
ified area.
Under Noise you can add an animated noise to
the effect area. This parameter generates a ran-
dom pixel color for the specified area.
The parameters Focus X and Focus Y allow
you to specify the exact position of the effect
area on the x- and y-axis. You can change the
values with the slider or change the position over
time by creating new keys in the polydiagram. The latter option enables you to follow
objects you want to disguise.
Under Size X and Size Y you define width and height of the effect area. It is also possible
to change the area’s size over time by defining new keys and generating a curve.
Activating the Oval checkbox enables you to change the general shape from rectangular
to oval.

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 Tutorial - Incognito:
You know this effect for sure when you often watch TV. Sometimes there
are television programs which present people whose faces are made
unrecognizable. With the Incognito effect you can hide the faces or some-
thing else in a clip by maximizing the pixel size many times over. You are
able to distort them at a user-defined position and with a user-defined size,
so that you cannot identify the person anymore.
1. We assume that you have already added the necessary source clip to a clipboard or
folder in the Project pane. Then drag the video from the Project Browser directly into
track V1 in the Timeline window.

2. Generate a second track (V2), because we do not want the effect to last the whole
clip time. Move the cursor into the Timeline window, and press the right mouse-but-
ton. Choose the Add video track option in the appearing window, so that a new
video track is added to your project.

3. Now we will add the Incognito effect to our project. Switch to the Effects pane, and
open the Filters folder. Under Special choose the Incognito effect, and drag it from
the Browser directly into track V2 in the Timeline window.

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4. As you can see, the Incognito effect has not the desired duration in V2. For that rea-
son, we have to extend it. Click the lever at the end of the effect, and drag it to the
desired length while holding the mouse-button, i.e. you have to drag it to the position,
where you want the face’s distortion to end. If necessary, you can move the complete
Incognito effect in V2. Simply select the effect so that it is highlighted, and move it to
the exact start or end point while holding the mouse-button.

5. The Incognito effect has finally the correct length, and we can edit it for our clip now.
Therefore, double-click the effect, so that its settings are copied to the Effects win-
dow. First of all, move the green slider, which indicates the current position in your
project, to the first frame where the Incognito effect is applied to the clip.

At first, you should decide, whether the distorted area will be shaped as an oval or a
rectangle. If the checkbox Oval is ticked, this area is shaped, of course, as an oval.
For our tutorial, we activated the checkbox.
We recommend editing the parameters for Focus X/Focus Y and the Size X/Size Y at
first. Focus X/Focus Y specifies the exact position of the distorted area on the screen.
You can change it over time by defining new keys in the corresponding polydiagram.
The result is that you can create a path, the Incognito effect will follow while a person
walks through the clip. Size X/Size Y defines the size of the shape for hiding the per-
son. It is possible to customize the size of the distorted area, so you can hide smaller
as well as larger objects in your clips.
We slightly changed the size of the individual pixels by using the slider under Inten-
sity.
We also added some animated Noise to the effect area. This option generates a ran-
dom pixel color for the specified area.

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 After changing the parameters, the Incognito effect settings and the Preview for our
project looked as shown in the screenshot below:

6. Congratulations! You have applied the Incognito effect successfully. Maybe you try
to hide another object next time.

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Perspective:
This option allows you to create 3D clip effects, picture-in-the-picture effects or use it in
combination with titles. You can create paths with the Perspective effect, the clip will fol-
low. It is very complex but we will explain you the different settings in a moment.
When you click Position three different options
appear which enable you to define the clips
position on the X-, Y- and Z-axis. You can enter
a constant value for every parameter or change
them over time in different polydiagrams. The
latter allows you to create a path the clip will fol-
low.
When you click Rotation three different para-
meters appear: RX, RY and RZ. RX rotates the
clip on the x-axis, RY on the y-axis, and RZ on
the z-axis. Use the dialer to set the value or cre-
ate new keys in a polydiagram.
Scale offers two options: SX and SY. SX defines
the size of the picture on the x-axis, and SY on
the y-axis. Use the slider to define the value or
open the polydiagram in order to create new
keys so that the size is changed over time.
Pivot offers two options as well: PX and PY. It
defines the axis for rotation. PX defines the pivot
on the x-axis, and PY on the y-axis. Use the slider to define the value or open the polydi-
agram in order to create new keys in a polydiagram so that the pivot is changed over time.
The option FOV (= Field over time) defines the angle of the picture as seen from the spec-
tator’s position. Use the slider to specify a constant value or create new keys in the corre-
sponding polydiagram in order to animate the picture.
The Opacity option is self-explanatory. It has the same function as in other effects.
The drop-down menu Filtering offers three different options for applying to the effect: No
image filtering, 2x2 smoothing (fast), and Maximal smoothing (slow). The parame-
ters allow you to increase the quality of the picture by using pixel anti-aliasing.
The last option is Composing. The corresponding drop-down menu offers several
parameters for working with a clip: Opaque, Alpha, Intensity, R, G and B.

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 Tutorial - Perspective:
The Perspective effect enables you to generate 2D and 3D motion paths
for your clips, to rotate them and even to create picture-within-the-picture
effects. In this tutorial we want to introduce the Perspective effect with its
numerous parameters, so that you have even more fun editing your videos
in the future. But this is enough for now, let’s start...!

1. We assume that you have already imported all clips you want to use in this project,
and added them to a bin and/or folder in the Project pane of the Browser. We
showed you how to do this in previous examples.

2. Drag the first clip from the Project pane right to the beginning of track V1 in the Time-
line window. Afterwards, click the Effects tab in the Browser, because we want to use
Perspective effect for the whole clip. Open the Filters as well as the Special folder.
Choose the Perspective effect, and place it on the video in V1 while holding the
mouse-button, as shown in the screenshot below.

3. At the beginning of the project several clips shall move across the screen all over the
place. Therefore, we have to generate different 2D motion paths with the Perspec-
tive effect for every video. Double-click the Perspective effect in V1, so that its set-
tings are copied into the Effects window.
At first, you have to specify the size of the first clip, because there will be several clips
on the screen simultaneously later on. And, of course, you should see all of them.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 140

 Open the Perspective effect’s Scale settings by clicking them. SX defines the width of
the clip, and SY its height. Use the sliders under SX and SY to specify the desired size
of your video.

4. Now we create a path, the minimized clip will follow later on. Click the Position
option, so that the parameters for axes X, Y and Z become visible. At first, open the
polydiagram for the x-axis by clicking the X letter under Position. Generate new keys
in the polydiagram by clicking on the red line while holding the Shift-key. Repeat
these steps to create more keys. After you have generated enough keys, select one
key or several keys, and shift them upwards or downwards. You can watch the results
in the Preview window when you move the green slider in this window or in the Time-
line to the left or right. In a polydiagram you can move the green slider while holding
the Alt-key. Select and shift other keys until you have generated the desired path.

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Afterwards, open the polydiagram for the y-axis (Y). Add new keys here as well, and
shift them, in order to create a corresponding path. This is also valid for the final
parameter under Position for shifting the clip on the z-axis (Z). Adjusting this option
moves the video in space. In our example we haven’t generated any additional keys,
and left the parameters at their constant default settings.

We recommend playing around with the settings and motion paths

until you achieve the preferred results. There are so many different
possibilities for creating motion paths, so that explaining only some
of them would go beyond the scope of this tutorial. For that reason,
here the motto is: Learning by doing!

Have a look at your project up to now. Make sure that the green slider in the Preview
window is at the project’s front position, and press the Playback button.

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5. As we have mentioned at the beginning of this tutorial, we want several clips to move
over the screen. But the second video will start a bit later. Therefore, drag it from the
Projects pane of the Browser into V2 in the Timeline slightly behind the starting point
of the clip in V1.

6. Afterwards, place the Perspective effect onto the clip in V2. Then repeat the steps
mentioned in paragraph 2.

7. Double-click the Perspective clip in V2, so that its settings are copied into the
Effects window. Now you can start with the actual editing process. At first, adjust
clips’ size, as shown earlier in this tutorial. As you can see, after minimizing the clip in
V2, the one in V1 becomes visible.

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8. Under Position generate a path, the clip will follow later on. We have already
explained how to do this. Simply use the keys in the polydiagrams to create a differ-
ent path, so that the second video moves over the screen, e.g. in the opposite direc-
tion.

9. If you like to edit more clips in the same way, you have to generate additional video
tracks at first. Move the cursor into the Timeline window and press the right mouse-
button. Choose Add video track from the appearing list. Repeat the above men-
tioned steps to add more videos and create motion paths for them. After editing four
clips containing the Perspective effect our project looked as follows:

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10. We add another clip to our project now, because we will create a 3D motion path for it
in a minute. Place the video in the Timeline window where you want it to appear. As
you can see in the screenshot below, you can drag-and-drop the clip by using its
thumbnail in the Project pane. Drag the thumbnail from the Browser directly in track
V1.

After you have added the clip to the Timeline, place the Perspective effect on the new
clip in V1, as shown earlier in this tutorial.

11. Double-click the Perspective clip, so that its settings are copied into the Effects win-
dow. First of all, set the size of the video, and press the Scale option in order to open
the corresponding controls. Use the slider SX and SY to specify the width and height
of the clip in V1. We have already explained the necessary steps in previous para-
graphs of this tutorial.

12. We want to create a 3D motion path for our clip now. Click the Position option to
make the necessary controls visible. Then open the polydiagrams for the x-, y- and z-
axis (X, Y and Z). Generate new keys in the desired polydiagrams, and turn the lines
into curves to specify a motion path for the video. The new aspect here is that we cre-
ate a path on the z-axis, too, so that the clip will move in space as well.

We don’t want the clip to appear on the screen suddenly, so we changed the para-
meter for another option as well. Under FOV you specify the distance of the image
from the spectator’s viewpoint. Generate another key in the corresponding polydia-
gram. Using this key we have created a constantly rising line. The result is that the

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 145

 video moves towards the audience. At the same time, it is getting bigger and bigger
until it achieves the previously defined size. Unfortunately, in the screenshot you can-
not see what the actual animation looks like. But the settings and the Preview window
looked like this:

13. Now we add an additional clip which will rotate later on. Add another video to V2 and
place the Perspective effect on it, as you have already done before several times.
Make sure that the new clip in V2 slightly overlaps with the one in V1, so that the col-
lage-like impression of the film is preserved.

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14. Copy the Perspective settings in the Effects window by double-clicking the clip. We
want the video, which is coming from the background, to move towards the audience
until it has automatically reached its previously defined size. During the animation the
clip will also rotate around its own axis.

First of all, adjust the width and height of the clip by using the two sliders under Scale.
Then define another key in the FOV polydiagram, and create a similar curve, as the
one already described in paragraph 12. If necessary, generate a steeper curve, so that
the video achieves its full size even faster.

15. We return to the previous video for a while, and you will see why we are doing this in
a moment. When you play back the project in the Preview window you will see, that
the clips suddenly disappear from the screen. That doesn’t look very good! For that
reason, we want to fade out the preceding video. Open the Perspective settings for
the second clip in V1 and its Opacity option. Move the green slider, which shows the
current position in the project, to the end of the clip. Generate a new key at the green
line’s and polydiagram line’s point of intersection, by clicking the desired position
while holding the Shift-key. Select the key, and pull it downwards, so that the video is
slowly faded out. Repeat these steps for the rest of the Perspective effects in your
project.

After you have edited the Opacity option(s), close the settings for the Perspective
effect(s) by clicking the small x in its (their) header.

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16. We return to the next clip in V2 and its Perspective effect settings. In paragraph 14,
we have already changed the parameters for Scale and FOV. Now click on Rotation,
in order to rotate the video. Three different options appear on the screen: RX, RY and
RZ. RX rotates the clip around its x-axis, RY around its y-axis, and RZ around its z-
axis. To specify a constant value, use the corresponding dialer. For our tutorial, we
want to animate the film. Therefore, open the polydiagrams for RX, RY and RZ. We
recommend generating some keys for every option, and turn the lines into curves by
shifting them. Use your imagination and try for yourself what amazing effects you can
create here. In the Preview window you can watch the results for every step you
have made so far.

While fine-tuning the keys in a polydiagram it can be rather difficult

to search for the current position with the green slider in the Pre-
view window or the Timeline. It is also possible to change the cur-
rent position by using the green slider directly in the Effects
window. Simply click the green slider in the desired polydiagram
while holding the Alt-key and move it to the left or right.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 148

17. Finally, we want to adjust the pivot for the rotating clip. The result is that the rotary
motion of the clip looks even wilder and uncontrolled. Click the Pivot option and open
its polydiagrams PX and PY. The parameter PX defines the pivot for x-axis and PY for
the y-axis. We recommend generating additional keys and turning the lines into
curves. In the end, the Effects window and the Preview window for our project
looked as follows. Unfortunately, the screenshot only gives an idea of the clip’s ani-
mation.

To enhance the video’s quality when using the Perspective effect,

you can select Maximal smoothing (slow) in the Filtering drop-
down menu. This results in a quality improvement, but also requires
more system power. Normally, the standard setting No image filter-
ing already offers good results.

18. Congratulations! You have just finished your first Perspective tutorial successfully.
We recommend continuing to play around with the different options and settings. With
a little patience and practice you can create numerous impressive 2D and 3D effects
with MainActor v5. We wish you a lot of fun with your future projects!

Rewind:
When you assign the Rewind effect to a clip it is played back backward. There are no
additional settings for it.

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Rotate:
This effect rotates the picture around fixed points.
Under Angle you select the desired rotating
angle. The predefined settings are 0, 90, 180 and
270 degree.
The Clockwise checkbox specifies whether the
picture will rotate clockwise or counterclockwise.

Spread:
This option blurs an input image along user defined directions.
Under Length you adjust the width and expan-
sion of the blurriness.
The option Direction specifies the angle and
direction of the blur. You can use the polydia-
gram for changing the direction over time. You
have also the opportunity to set the angle by
using the dialer.
Under Opacity Weight you set the value for the
opacity.
The drop-down menu under Method offers four
options: Linear, Additive, Manual and Manual
Additive. These options enable you to use dif-
ferent methods for blurring the picture, i.e. they
define the mixing ratio. For example, Linear
mixes the effect uniformly, and Additive uses
additive mixing, meaning that the resulting opac-
ity cannot be less than the original. The Manual and Manual Additive modes enable you
to choose the mixing ratio.

Standard

Bluescreen:
The Bluescreen effect is a famous filter for compositing bluescreened and green-
screened images onto a background. With this special effect it is possible to key a picture
or a clip with an object, which was recorded in front of a blue background, on another clip
so that you can conjure your actors to the most unusual places without any difficulty. You

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 150

only shoot an object or a person in front of a blue surface, area or wall. After that, you key
out the blue color with MainActor. The result is that you have combined both clips. In the
end the person or the object appears in front of the preferred scenery in your video.
Although it is easy to learn, the results can be quite impressive. The effect is an important
part of today’s film and movie business. There is hardly any Hollywood movie without a
bluescreen effect in it.
For applying the Bluescreen effect you need at least two video tracks. In the first track,
insert the clip which should be the background of your bluescreen sequence. Then add a
second track to your project which contains the bluescreen clip, i.e. the scene you
recorded in front of a blue surface. Now you have to combine the two clips by placing the
Bluescreen effect on your bluescreen or greenscreen video in the second track. It is also
possible to apply the effect only for a certain time. Therefore, you have to add a further
track to your project and place the Bluescreen effect wherever you like. You can extend
it according to your wishes.
The Bluescreen effect offers various parame-
ters which can be changed manually or by defin-
ing new keys in a polydiagram.
The two options Delta 1 and Delta 2 enable you
to set the tolerance for the color thresholds.
The option Shrink smoothes the edges.
Depending on the direction, the original object
or the object, which is keyed, will be enlarged.
Noiseclean simply removes noise from the
bluescreen image or clip.
With Opacity you adjust the transparency of the
area. This is almost always set to one because
the entire reason for using this effect is to make the color blue or green transparent.
Keymode specifies whether you want to use a Bluescreen or Greenscreen method for
keying.
It might be possible that the final result shows some “errors“ or uneven-
ness. This depends on the quality of your blue- or greenscreen video. We
have already mentioned this problem in the introduction. You can correct
smaller defects to a certain degree by using the controls in the polydia-
gram. Simply play around with the parameters in order to obtain the ade-
quate finetuning.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 151

 Tutorial - Bluescreen:
In this tutorial we want to show you how to apply the Bluescreen effect in
a project. As we have already mentioned you need a video which is
recorded in front of a blue (or green) surface, the so called bluescreen
video. But where do you get such a large blue surface? Here are a few
ideas: first and foremost, colored cardboards and posters are a very good
possibility for recording bluescreen scenes. Unfortunately, you can often
get some problems with their size because they are a bit small. An alternative is blue plas-
tic film, e.g. for ponds. The advantage of a plastic film is its size. But keep in mind, that the
blue surface has to be smooth and flat, i.e. there should be no waves or bumps. The avail-
able bluescreen sequence in this tutorial we have produced with a blue plastic film for
ponds. Of course, you can use any other blue or green area for such shootings which are
at your disposal. While you are shooting the video you only have to consider the size of
the objects in front of a bluescreen and the background you want to include into your clip
later on. But let’s start now!

1. Before we start with the actual project, add the bluescreen clip and the clip, which will
be the background, to the clipboard. We have already explained this in previous
chapters. Press the small icon in the Project Browser, and follow the instructions
on the screen.

After you have added the background clip to the desired folder in the bin, drag it from
the Browser into track V1 of the Timeline window. You see the first frame of the clip in
the Preview window.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 152

2. Now we have to generate a second video track (V2) for our project, which will contain
our bluescreen clip later on. Move the cursor into the Timeline window. Press the
right mouse-button, and choose Add video track from the appearing list.

After you have generated the second video track, drag your bluescreen clip from the
Projects Browser into V2, directly under the first clip in the Timeline window. As
shown in the screenshot below, it is also possible to drag-and-drop the thumbnail of a
clip into the Timeline in order to add it to a track.

3. As you can see, the two clips in the Timeline window have different lengths. For that
reason we have to shorten our background clip in V1, so that it matches our blue-
screen video in V2. Click the lever at the end of the background clip and drag it to the
left while holding the mouse-button until it corresponds to the final frame of the blue-
screen video.

Afterwards, you can shorten the yellow line above the tracks so that it corresponds
with the end of the clips. The yellow line indicates that only this segment will be ren-
dered.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 153

4. We add the Bluescreen effect to our project now. Therefore, switch to the Effects
pane, and open the Filters folder. Under Standard choose the Bluescreen effect,
and drag it from the Effects pane directly on the bluescreen clip in V2.

You see a first result of the two clips’ combination with the Bluescreen effect in the
Preview window.

5. Depending on your clips resolution you have

to adapt the desired clips, so that they have
the same resolution. In the screenshot
above you can see, that the bluescreen
image does not fit the background’s clip res-
olution (parts of the bluescreen clip are in
the black bar under the clip in V1). Double-
click both clips, so that their settings are
transferred into the Effects pane. In the
drop-down menu Resolution select the
Resize to current resolution option. Now
the two clips’ resolution should correspond with each other.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 154

6. After applying the Bluescreen effect, you can fine-tune it, in order to improve the
result. Double-click the Bluescreen effect in V2, so that its settings are copied to the
Effects window. It is impossible to explain the individual settings in detail because the
quality of your video is highly dependent on the quality of the source clip. And this is
always different. After we have finished changing the parameters, the Bluescreen
settings window looked like this, and our final video looked like this:

Depending on the quality of your bluescreen source, it might be pos-

sible that your final bluescreen video shows some noise or uneven-
ness. We have already mentioned this in the introduction to this
tutorial. You can correct smaller defects to a certain degree by using
the controls in the polydiagram. Simply play around with the param-
eters in order to obtain the best possible results.

7. Now your bluescreen video is finished, and you can start a preview in the correspond-
ing player. Maybe you play around with the parameters and try something else next
time.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 155

Blur:
This effect is a simple Gaussian blur applied to the input source.
The only option here is Blurriness. You can use
it to adjust the intensity of the effect.

Color Keyer:
The Color Keyer is a basic tool for creating bluescreen, greenscreen and similar effects.
The great advantage is that you can choose a user-defined color, i.e. you are not only
restricted to blue or green but can select any color you like.
Under Color choose a color you wish to key out.
Click the color bar, and select the preferred color
in the following window. It is even possible to
change the color in a polydiagram over time.
The two options Threshold1 and Threshold2
enable you to control the upper and lower thresh-
old. These parameters help you to fine-tune your
project. We will give you some brief examples to
illustrate this: A higher upper threshold will result
in higher transparence of the whole image. In
contrast, a higher lower threshold will result in
lower transparence.
Opacity controls the areas which are not keyed.
Normally, the value is set to the maximum.
Depending on the desired effect the value can be lowered, in order to give the object a
ghost-like appearance.
When you use the Color Keyer, we recommend playing around with
the settings and their results. The achieved results are highly depen-
dent on your source material, and that is always different. So keep on
trying...!

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 156

 Tutorial - Color Keyer:
In this tutorial we want to show you how to use the Color Keyer in Main-
Actor v5. In our project we will place the image of a person onto the wall of
a building, so that the pixel color of the wall is replaced by the person’s pic-
ture. Stay tuned, we will start in a moment!

1. After you have imported the two clips or images you want to combine, add the image,
you want to place onto the wall, to V1 in the Timeline window. In this tutorial we use
a JPEG image of a person. Simply drag-and-drop the image from the Project pane
into V1.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 157

2. Now you have to create a new track for your background video, which shows the wall
of the house. For that reason, move the cursor into the Timeline window and press
the right mouse-button. Choose Add video track from the list so that a second track
will be created.

Afterwards, select the background clip in the Project pane, and place it right at the
beginning of V2 in the Timeline window. Our background video is an AVI file.

3. As you can see, the JPEG in V1 and the AVI file in V2 have not the same length. For
that reason, we will extend the picture in V1, so that it corresponds with the back-
ground clip. Click on the lever of the JPEG, and drag it to the right while holding the
mouse-button until the two clips in the Timeline window have the same duration.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 158

4. Now we will add the actual Color Keyer effect to our project in order to combine both
clips. Switch to the Effects pane and open the Filters folder. Under Standard choose
the Color Keyer effect, and drag it directly onto the background clip in V2.

5. Now double-click the Color Keyer filter in V2, so that its settings are copied into the
Effects window. It would be useless to explain all the settings we have done in detail,
because they are highly dependent on the source material which is always different
from each other. We want to make some notes on how to choose the color, you want
to key out later on. In general, you have the opportunity to select every color in an
image or video you like. With the help of the integrated pipette it is no problem any-
more, and you can do it in no time at all. But you will have to do some fine tuning later
on, so that the corresponding effect will display adequate results.

At first, click the color bar among the effect settings, so that the appropriate dialog box
appears on the screen. In the Choose color window, press the button with the pipette
on the right. Afterwards, select the color you want to key out in the Preview window.
As you can see, MainActor v5 displays every color you move the cursor over. Click the
desired area, after you have found the color you want to key out. The chosen color is
displayed in the dialog box. To disable the pipette, move the cursor on the correspond-

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 159

 ing button again, and press it by using the right mouse-button. Confirm you choice by
pressing the OK button in the Choose color window.

6. For our project, the Color Keyer settings window and the Preview window finally
looked like as shown in the following screenshot:

7. As you can see, in no time at all we have created an impressive compositing effect
with the Color Keyer. Maybe next time you try a different color with this useful tool!

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 160

Crop:
This option enables you to crop the top, bottom, left as well as right margin of the picture.
Left Indent crops the left margin of the picture.
Space Above crops the top margin of the picture.
Right Indent crops the right margin of the picture.
Space Below crops the bottom margin of the pic-
ture.
The Bounds option offers three parameters: Fill
edging, Scale image, and Scale image propor-
tional. Fill edging enables you to fill the margin
with a user defined color. Scale image scales only the cropped area of the picture.
Finally, Scale image proportionally allows you to fit the picture to the preview area, so
that the aspect ratio is maintained.
Under Color you specify a color for filling the cropped area of a picture. It is possible to
define a single color or to change the color over time by generating new keys in a polydi-
agram.

Deinterlace:
This filter helps you when grabbing an image from high-quality video that is interlaced.
With interlaced video, each frame is made up of two fields. This approach provides
smooth motion on a TV screen, but does not offer ideal results when a frame is captured
as a snapshot. When the Deinterlace filter is applied to a clip, still images will be created
by combining both fields of the selected frame. This method will produce much better
results in most cases.
Threshold smoothes the noisy pixels of the pic-
ture. The value range is 0 ... 50.
Edge Detection sets a threshold for detecting
edges in the picture. Sometimes horizontal
edges in a picture are wrongly interpreted as a
field shift such as lines which need to be deinter-
laced. The value range is 0 ... 180.
If the Blending checkbox is ticked, field one and field two lay on top of each other. Nor-
mally, the fields are telescoped up.

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Deinterlace Basic:
This function is similar to the previous one, but it only offers some basic parameters for
working with deinterlace.
Method specifies which field will be used. There
are two options available: Use upper field, dis-
card lower one, and Use lower field, discard
upper one.

Denoise:
This effect removes noise from the input video clip.
You can only change the Intensity of the Denoise
effect. Use the arrow buttons to define a new value.
The value range for the filter is 1...11.

Drop Shadow:
This effect drops a shadow from the foreground onto the background. It includes a variety
of parameters for generating unusual effects. For example, you can use it for texts which
cast a shadow on the background.
The Drop Shadow effect contains several
parameter which can be changed manually, by
using a slider or by adding new keys in a polydi-
agram. Open the corresponding polydiagrams
by clicking the options’ names.
Under Shadow Opacity you define the opacity
of the shadow, i.e. its visibility.
The option Shadow Offset defines the
shadow’s distance from the original object.
Shadow Direction enables you to define the
shadow’s angle and direction from its source.
Use the dialer or the polydiagram to specify the desired angle. It is also possible to enter
the number of Turns and the Value manually by clicking the value display under this
option.
Shadow Blur adds a kind of blur effect to the shadow so that it looks more real.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 162

Color opens a dialog box where you can select your favorite shadow color. You have also
the opportunity to change the color over time by defining new keys and generating a curve
in the polydiagram.
If the Invert Shadow Opacity checkbox is enabled, the shadow area will stay clear but
the rest of the background will be covered.

Tutorial - Drop Shadow:

This effect enables you to drop a shadow from the foreground onto the
background. In this tutorial we want to show you how to use the Drop
Shadow effect together with the 2D Text, so that the title will drop a
shadow onto the background clip.

1. We assume, that you have already added a clip to track V1. After that, we have to
generate a second track for our 2D Text, because we do not want the title to last the
whole clip. Move the cursor into the Timeline window, and press the right mouse-but-
ton. Choose the option Add video track from the appearing list.

2. Now we have to add the 2D Text to V2. Open the Filters folder, and drag the 2D Text
option from the Text folder into track V2 as shown in the screenshot below.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 163

 Now you have the opportunity to extend the 2D Text clip in V2. Activate one of the
levers, and drag it to the desired length while holding the mouse-button. If necessary,
you can move the complete title clip to another position after you have selected it.

3. Double click the 2D Text clip in V2, so that its settings are transferred into the Effects
window. We will only adjust the most important settings for the 2D Text because in
this tutorial the Drop Shadow effect is the center of attention.

At first, delete the MainConcept writing,

and enter the desired title in the input
area of the 2D Text settings. For our
example, we decided that Sunset... is a
nice title for our clip.
Now we have a look at the actual
parameters of the 2D Text. Under Color
we chose white for our text because it
can be seen very well on the red and
yellow background.
Use the slider under Size to define the
desired text size.
We want to create a static title. For that
reason, it might be necessary to delete
a key in the X Pos polydiagram. Select one of the keys and press the right mouse-but-
ton. Choose the Delete command from the list so that the key disappears. Use the
slider under X Pos and Y Pos to define a static position for your title. You see the
results of your changes directly in the Preview window of MainActor v5.
If you like, you can also change the settings for the Skew option. For our example, we
left the settings at that!

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 164

4. Now we add the Drop Shadow effect to our title. Therefore, open the Filters and the
Standard folder. Choose the Drop Shadow effect, and drag it directly onto the 2D
Text clip in V2. In this example, we applied the effect by dragging its preview icon in
the Browser onto our title clip.

5. We will edit the Drop Shadow effect in a moment. At first, close the 2D Text settings
in the Effects window because we do not need them anymore. Simply click the x at
the top right in order to close them. Then double-click the Drop Shadow effect in V2
so that its settings are copied to the Effects window instead.

In the following we want to explain briefly the parameters we changed for the Drop
Shadow effect. We recommend testing yourself what other options this effect offers.
We move the Shadow Opacity slider to
a middle position so that is the title’s
shadow is not completely visible.
For our tutorial, we have animated the
shadow. At the beginning the 2D Text
title and its shadow are at the same posi-
tion. Then the Drop Shadow slowly
moves away from the original text, and
becomes visible. Therefore, we gener-
ated another key in the Shadow offset
polydiagram. At the beginning the offset
value is zero. After a few seconds it has the offset 0.16 from the title.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 165

 We used the dialer under Offset direction to specify the shadow’s angle from the
original 2D Text.
We slightly increased the value for the Shadow blur option in order to let the text
shadow appear more genuine.
Under Color we chose yellow for the shadow. For our tutorial we only selected a sin-
gle color. If you like you can also change the shadow color over time.
We left the rest of the parameters at their default settings.
In the end our Drop Shadow project looked like this:

6. Congratulations! You have just produced your first Drop Shadow project. We recom-
mend to try something else next time. Maybe you animate the colors or fade in and
out the shadow. Use your imagination!

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 166

Edge Detection:
This effect tries to find edges in an image, and it outlines the borders within the image or
a clip. The Edge Detection effect is based on the difference between neighboring colors.
The option Intensity is self-explanatory. You can
enter a constant value here or change the parame-
ters in a polydiagram over time.
Under Filter Type you find two different filters for
edge detection: Sobel and Laplace.

Emboss:
This option embosses an image or clip against the background. The Emboss effect gene-
rates a kind of relief on the background.
The option Intensity is self-explanatory. You can
enter a constant value here or change the parameters
in a polydiagram over time.
Under Direction you can specify the relief’s direction.
You find eight different parameters here.

Histogram:
This effect is simply an auto contrast enhancement. It leads to better grey scale distribu-
tion.
Clicking the Valid Range button opens two settings:
Lowest Grey Value enables you to adjust the lowest
value within the grey scale. The value range is 0 ...
128.
Highest Grey Value allows you to adjust the highest
value within the grey scale. The value range is 128 ... 255.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 167

Maximize:
This effect replaces each pixel color with the maximum in its region.
The option Intensity is self-explanatory. You can
enter a constant value here or change the
parameters in a polydiagram over time.

Minimize:
This effect replaces each pixel color with the minimum in its region.
The option Intensity is self-explanatory. You
can enter a constant value here or change the
parameters in a polydiagram over time.

Overlay:
This effect lays an foreground image on the background by using a specific method. If
your foreground source material contains an alpha channel, the Overlay filter can be a
powerful alternative to keying.
You have to insert your background image or clip in track 1, and the foreground source in
track 2. To use the Overlay effect for the whole source, place it on the second clip, or gen-
erate another track for using it over time. Afterwards, you can add this filter to the third
track and define its duration.
We will present an example for using the Overlay effect in the Noise tutorial later on.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 168

 Opacity specifies the transparency of the area.
This parameter defines the percentage rate for
the opacity, i.e. which image is dominant.
The drop-down menu Opacity Source offers
various methods for specifying the opacity rate
for the source. The options included are R, G, B,
Alpha, Intensity and Opaque.
The drop-down menu Opacity Method contains
three options: Normal, Premultiplied and
Inverted.
Under Blending Mode you find several different
operations you can apply to a clip. The various
options are: Normal, Multiply, Screen,
Lighten, Darken, Difference, Test6, Combine,
Heavy, SubScreen, Test7 and Overlay. We
recommend playing around with the different
methods and have a look for yourself what exciting effects you can create here.

Sharpen:
This effect removes sharpness from the image or clip in the Timeline.
The Intensity option is self-explanatory. The value
range is 1 ... 5.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 169

Text
2D Text:
This feature is a 2D text generator for creating credits, titles and other kinds of texts for
your projects. You can use the texts as overlays or as individual clips. We have already
explained you the general settings of the 2D Text engine in a previous chapter. We will
now explain its function in detail.
You can place a 2D text directly on or under a clip. In both cases it is used as an overlay.
If you add it to track V1 without a appropriate video source the title is used as an individual
clip, so that you can select a desired color for the background of your text clip.
In the Timeline you have the opportunity to change the title’s duration. Simply select the
levers at the clip ends. Hold the mouse-button, and drag the text to the desired length.
You can enter the text in the area at the bottom of the 2D Text settings window. Move the
cursor into the text field and press the mouse-button. Now you can enter the desired text.
The 2D Text engine offers various settings for
editing titles.
Under Color you define the text color for your
title. Click the colored box in order to choose the
desired color. In the following window you select
it. You have also the opportunity to change the
title’s color over time. Open the polydiagram, and
generate new keys. After you have generated
new keys, you can turn the line into a curve. You
see the generated color gradient in the colored
box, i.e. it displays which colors the text will have
over time.
The option Opacity specifies the transparency of
the title. This parameter defines the percentage
rate for the opacity, i.e. if the text is completely
visible, if it is hardly visible etc. If the value tends to zero the text becomes more and more
transparent. You can enter a constant value manually or use the slider here. It is even
possible to fade in and fade out a text. Therefore, you have to generate new keys as
described in earlier chapters. Select the desired keys and turn the line into a curve. A high
key means that the text is visible, and a low one that it is transparent.
The option Size enables you to adjust the size of your title. You can change the text size
in the polydiagram over time by defining new keys. For example, you produce a text ani-
mation which is getting larger and smaller over and over again. Thus you gain the impres-
sion of a 3D effect, i.e. the text moves towards and away from the audience. To specify a
constant value for the text size use the slider or enter the value manually by clicking the
value box.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 170

With X Pos and Y Pos you specify the title’s position on the screen. The first option deter-
mines the text position on an imaginary x-axis, and the second one on an imaginary y-
axis. It is possible to create static as well as animated texts.
To set the text position use the slider or enter it
manually. For that reason, click the X Pos or Y
Pos value button. In the appearing window you
can enter the value for the position now. When
you click the icon, two additional parameters
appear. Here you can define a different minimum
or maximum value user range for this option if
necessary. Confirm the settings by pressing the
OK button.

When you want to create animated text, which moves across the screen, you have to gen-
erate new keys. We have already explained how to work with polydiagrams. We want to
give you some brief examples what animations you can create by showing you two com-
mon text animations.
1. A very common setting for films is that the text moves from the top to the bottom of
the screen as in the credits of most Hollywood movies. At first, open the polydiagram
for both the X Pos and the Y Pos option.
Depending on the default settings and the desired position on the x-axis you have to
edit some keys in the X Pos polydiagram. In our example, we have placed the title in
the middle of the x-axis and the screen.
Now move the green slider in the Timeline window to the beginning of the 2D Text
source. In the Effects window, open the polydiagram for the y-axis (Y Pos). Drag the
slider until the title disappears from the top of the screen. The key must correspond
with the green line in the polydiagram. Afterwards, move the green slider in the Time-
line window to the end of the 2D Text source. Then add a new key at the end of the
line in the Effects window by holding the Shift key, and clicking the mouse button at
the end position of the line. Select the new key and move it downwards until the title
disappears from the bottom of the screen. When you start the preview now, the text
moves from the top to the bottom of the screen.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 171

 For our example, the polydiagrams for X Pos and Y Pos looked like this:

When you want to change the animation’s direction, i.e. that the text moves from the
bottom to the top, you have to reverse the keys’ position in the polydiagrams, so under
Y Pos the first key has to be at the bottom, and the second key on the top.

2. There is also the possibility that the text moves from the left to the right. These anima-
tion settings are similar. At first, open the polydiagram for the Y Pos option. Move the
slider to the position where you want the title to appear on the y-axis.
Now move the green slider in the Timeline window to the beginning of the 2D Text
clip. Afterwards, open the polydiagram for the X Pos option. You have to add a new
key here because we want to animate the text so that it moves from the left to the right.
Select the first key, and move the slider (or the selected key) downwards until the title
disappears from the screen on the left.
In the Timeline window, move the green slider to the end of the 2D Text clip. Now
select the second key which correspond with the green horizontal line, and use the
slider (or the selected second key) until the title disappears on the right.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 172

 For our example, the polydiagrams for X Pos and Y Pos looked like this:

When you want to change the animation’s direction, i.e. that the text moves from the
right to the left, you have to reverse the keys’ position in the polydiagrams, so under X
Pos the first key has to be at the bottom, and the second key on the top.

The option Skew enables you to specify the title’s slope. It is possible to tilt the text to the
right as well as to the left by using the slider. Applying this option can produce a 3D effect.
You have also the opportunity to edit this option over time so that you are able to animate
a text. Simply open the polydiagram and generate new keys as mentioned earlier in this
chapter.

In the Text area you enter the text. It also

offers some additional text functions.
Under Font you select the font type for your
title. MainActor v5 offers innumerable dif-
ferent fonts. This option depends on your
system requirements, i.e. which fonts are
installed on your computer.
Under Size you choose the font size in the
text field. This parameter has nothing to do with the title’s size in your video. You define
this parameter under the Size option mentioned earlier in this paragraph.
The three buttons in the middle of the bar specify the title’s alignment: Align Left, Align
Center and Align Right. Mark the lines you want to change the alignment for, and click
the desired button.
Under Spacing you set the space between the lines. Mark the lines where you want to
change the spacing, and choose the desired value from the drop-down menu.
In the text field below the parameter bar you enter the desired text.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 173

 Tutorial - 2D Text
In this tutorial we want to create an animated title which will move through
the picture, and will be faded in as well as out again. In our example, we
used the text as an overlay.

1. At first, create a new project by choosing the New option in the File menu. Then drag
a video clip directly from the Project Browser into track V1 in the Timeline window.

After you have inserted the clip into V1, we must create a second video track because
we do not want the title to last the whole video clip. Move the cursor into the Timeline
window, and press the right mouse-button. Choose Add video track from the appear-
ing list, so that track V2 is added to your project.
2. Switch to the Effects pane. Open the Filters folder, and drag the 2D Text option
under Text directly from the Effects pane into track V2 in the Timeline.

Now you have the opportunity to move the 2D Text to the exact position where you
want it to appear. It is even possible to change the duration of the title. To move the
effect in the Timeline, select it and move it to the desired position while holding the
mouse-button.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 174

 It is also possible to extend or shorten the 2D Text clip in the Timeline. Click one of the
small levers at the left or right end of the clip. Afterwards, drag it to the desired length
while holding the mouse-button.

3. After you have placed the clip at the exact position, and defined its duration, double-
click the 2D Text clip in the Timeline, so that its settings are copied into the Effects
window.

4. We will animate our title for the project in a moment. We want the text to move
through he picture, let it fade in and out, and also adjust some more settings, such as
font color, size etc. Move the green slider to the beginning of the 2D Text clip, so that
you see the title in the Preview window.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 175

 At first, change the color of the text. We want the title to have a single color. It is also
possible to change the text color over time by generating new keys in the correspond-
ing polydiagram. But we will work with the polydiagram while editing another parame-
ter. However, click the color bar under Color, and choose the desired color in the
following Select Color window. Confirm your choice with OK.

5. Before we continue changing the different text parameters, we will enter the desired
title for our clip in the input area. At first, delete the MainConcept writing in the text
input area. Then choose a font type for your text in the drop-down menu under Font.
Then you can enter the desired text. In this tutorial we chose the title On the Beach.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 176

6. As we said before, we want the title to be faded in and out. Therefore, we open the
polydiagram for the Opacity option by clicking its name. Make sure that the green
slider is at the beginning of the 2D Text clip. Now generate three new keys on the
Opacity line. We need them in order to turn the line into a curve for creating the fade
in and out effect.

7. To create a new key, you have to move the

cursor onto the line in the polydiagram. Then
press the mouse-button while holding the
Shift-key. Repeat this step two more times.
The screenshot on the right shows the poly-
diagram after creating the new keys.
Now we have to change the position of the
keys to fade the title in and out. The higher the
value in the polydiagram, the higher is the
opacity of it, i.e. the better your can see the
title. We want the title to be visible in the mid-
dle of the 2D Text clip. Therefore, select the second and the third key by clicking both
while holding the Ctrl-key. Then click one of them, and drag it to the top of the polydi-
agram, as shown in the screenshot on the left. The other keys will follow automatically.
At the beginning and at the end the text can-
not be seen on the screen. For that reason,
we have to drag the first and last key to the
bottom of the polydiagram. Select the two
keys as described above and drag them to
the position of the polydiagram. As you can
see, we generated a curve, that lets the text
fade in and out again.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 177

8. We will also change the text size because it is a bit small for our tutorial. We do not
change the text size over time, i.e. we do not add any keys in the polydiagram here.
Use the slider under Size to specify the desired text size. You see the results of the
changes in the Preview window. However, it might be necessary to move the green
slider in the Timeline, so that the text will be visible again.

9. Now we will animate our title. As we said before, we want the text to move across the
screen. Open the polydiagrams for the X Pos and Y Pos options. With X Pos you
define the titles position on the x-axis, and with Y Pos on the y-axis. We recommend
generating a few new keys, and playing around with the polydiagrams in order to get
used to them. Simply generate a path you want the title to follow.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 178

10. Under Skew you can specify the title’s slope. We only made slight modifications to
this option, otherwise the 2D Text would be overornated. Use the slider to set it to the
desired value. You can see the result in the Preview window.

11. Now your animated title is finished, and you can start a preview in the corresponding
player. Maybe you play around with the parameters and try something else next time.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 179

Weather

Fire:
This filter alters your clip as if you watch your video through a fire. You can define what-
ever color you like for the fire.
Under Velocity you set the strength of the fire’s
motion. You can set a constant value or change
it in the polydiagram over time.
Under Color of Fire there are two options for
changing the flame’s color(s) by using the color
bar as well as the polydiagram. The First Color
and Second Color options enable you to
choose a single color by clicking the colored
box. In the following window you can select the
desired color. You have also the opportunity to
change the colors for the flames over time by
defining new keys in a polydiagram and creating a curve.

Fireworks:
This effect simply adds a fireworks simulation to your clip.
Under Number of Bangs you set the frequency of fire-
works explosions. The option’s value range is 1 ... 30.
Living Time of Bangs enables you to adjust the dura-
tion the fireworks explosions will be visible. The value
range is 1 ... 9 here.
Under Variation you specify the appearance of the explosions, i.e. their starting points
and color. The value range is 1 ... 999 here.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 180

Flying Object:
This effect generates an object which looks like a comet with a tail.
Under X-Coordinate and Y-Coordinate you set
the current position of the object on the x- and y-
axis. When you generate new keys, and turn the
line into a curve you are able to create a path the
comet will follow. We recommend playing around
with the settings to get used to them.
The flying object consists of two colors: white and
an Additional color you can select under the
corresponding heading. Simply click the color
bar, and choose you desired color in the following
window. It is even possible to change the color
over time. You only have to generate new keys in
the polydiagram and turn the line into the desired
curve.
The Smooth option enables you to blur the flying object and its tail. The value range for
this parameter is 1 ... 5.

LightningBolt:
This effect generates lightnings that appear randomly or user defined on the screen.
Appearance of Lightning specifies the lightning’s
frequency. You can set this parameter to a con-
stant value or change it over time by generating a
curve in the polydiagram.
Under Lightning Color you select the desired
color for your lightnings. It is also possible to
change the color over time.
Under Variation you choose a different appear-
ance for the lightnings.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 181

Rain:
This effect adds rain to your still image or clip.
The option Intensity of Rain is self-explanatory. It is
possible to set a constant value or edit new keys in a
polydiagram.
Drop Angle specifies the raindrop’s angle in your clip.
Use the dialer to set the desired angle, or click the
value box and enter the Turns as well as the Value
manually. It is even possible to change this option over
time in a polydiagram.
The option Visibility enables you to adjust the
appearance and visibility of the individual raindrops.
The higher the value, the denser or heavier is the rain.

Rustle:
This effect adds noise to a clip or an image, as if there is a monitor or TV interference.
The option Intensity is self-explanatory. You can
use the slider to set the value for the effect. It is
also possible to change the intensity of the effect
over time by defining new keys in the polydia-
gram.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 182

Snow:
This effect generates snowflakes which turn your clip into a winter landscape.
Color lets you choose a color for the
snowflakes. Click the colored box to
select the preferred color. You can also
open a polydiagram by clicking the
Color heading. Generate new keys
and create a curve for changing the
snowflakes’ color over time.
Intensity is self-explanatory. It is pos-
sible to enter a constant value or
change the parameters over time.
Under Velocity you set the strength of
the snowflakes’ motion. The option’s
value can also be changed over time
by generating new keys in a polydia-
gram. It is even possible to enter a
constant value here.
Volume is self-explanatory, too. It simply specifies the snowflakes’ size and volume. You
have the same options as mentioned for the previous settings.
Snow Angle defines the snowflakes’ angle in your clip. Use the dialer to set the desired
angle, or click the value box and enter the Turns as well as the Value manually. It is even
possible to change this option over time in a polydiagram.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 183

 Tutorial - Snow:
When you want to shoot a film, unfortunately, you cannot choose the
weather you like. Or that day there isn’t the weather you need for your
recordings. MainActor v5 offers several effects which can create different
weather conditions, e.g. rain and snow. We want to introduce the latter in
this brief tutorial. The Snow effect enables you to add snowflakes to your
clip, so that it looks like cold winter. In combination with the Recolor effect
you can produce impressive results.
1. We assume that you have already added the necessary source clip to a clipboard or
folder in the Project pane. We will show you a different way to add clips to the Time-
line this time. At first, drag the clip from the Project Browser into the Media Player of
MainActor. If you like, you can specify In/Out-points in the Media Player, if you do not
want to use the whole clip.

Before you add the clip to track V1, move the green slider in the Timeline window to
the position where you want to insert the clip. Then drag the clip from the Media
Player directly into the Preview window, as shown in the screenshot below. As you
can see, the clip is placed on the previously defined slider position.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 184

2. We will apply the Recolor effect to the clip because we want to create a winter land-
scape, so we have to add a bit of grey and brightness. The clip has to visualize the
cold atmosphere. For that reason, switch to the Effects pane, and open the Filters
folder. Under Color you select the Recolor effect, and place it directly on the clip in
V1, because we want to use the effect for the whole clip.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 185

3. In order to fine-tune the Recolor effect, double-click it, so that its settings are copied
into the Effects window. Now you can edit the effect, and remove the color from the
clip. After you turned the picture into black and white, you have established the basis
for a winter landscape. As we said before, it is difficult to present default values for
the different options, because the settings are highly dependent on your source mate-
rial. For our example, the Effects window and the preview looked like in the screen-
shots below:

4. Generate a second video track for the Snow effect, because we do not want the
whole clip in V1 to look like a snowstorm. Generate a new video track (V2) by press-
ing the right mouse-button in the Timeline window. Choose the Add video track
option from the list.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 186

5. Switch to the Effects pane, and open the Filters folder. Select the Snow effect under
Weather and drag it in track V2.

We want to extend the Snow effect in V2. For that reason, activate the effect’s lever,
and drag it to the desired length, as shown in previous tutorials.

6. As you can see in the Preview window, we

have to adapt the clip to the correct Timeline
resolution, because the video shows black
bars at the top and at the bottom of the pic-
ture. Therefore, double-click the video
stream in V1, so that its settings are trans-
ferred into the Effects window. Under Reso-
lution choose the option Resize to current
resolution. You can see the step’s result in
the Preview window.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 187

7. We want to edit the Snow effect now. Double-click the effect in V2, in order to copy its
settings into the Effects window. Adjust the preferred settings until you achieve a sat-
isfactory result. For our example the Snow effect parameters and the Preview win-
dow looked like as follows:

8. Congratulations! You have finished another project. Maybe you try a video on a rainy
day with the Rain effect next time.

Stars:
This effect generates stars or starfields for your still images or video clips.
Under Color you define a single color for the
stars, or you change their color over time as
shown in the screenshot on the right.
Intensity enables you to specify the stars’ fre-
quency in your source material. The value can
be changed over time, but it is also possible to
set a constant value.
Under Velocity you set the strength of the stars’
motion. You have the same options for adjusting
this parameter as mentioned above.
Shape of Stars specifies the appearance of the
stars. The value range is 1 ... 9.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 188

The Moving Stars checkbox allows you to animate the stars. If the checkbox is ticked the
stars will move.

Wind:
This effect lets the picture look like as if it is put into a wind tunnel.
You only have one parameter here. The option
Intensity is self-explanatory. It specifies the
range of distortion. Use the slider to set the value
for the effect or enter it manually. It is also possi-
ble to change the intensity of the effect over time
by defining new keys in the polydiagram.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 189

Sources
In the following paragraph we will introduce several sources of MainActor v5 and explain
their settings in detail. The sources are used as individual clips, i.e. they do not require
any input source. We also present you a brief example for some of the sources so you
become familiar with its parameters. You can edit their settings by double-clicking them so
that the individual options are copied to the Effects window.

Clouds Generator:
This source generates a sky with clouds. It requires no input source.
Color A and Color B specify the two colors of
the sky as well as the clouds. It is possible to
select a single color, and to change the colors for
the sky and the clouds over time.
Opacity A and Opacity B specifies the transpar-
ency of the clouds and the sky. For example:
when you place this effect on a video and set the
slider to a lower value, you can see parts of the
clip as well as the cloudy sky. You can define a
constant value here, or change the value for the
opacity over time.
Mesh Size enables you to determine the quality
of the effect. Adjusting the parameters results in
a clouds’ change in number, volume and size.
The value range is 1 ... 9.
The option Random Seed is an easy-to-use generator which allows you to change the
appearance of the sky and the clouds at random. Simply enter a number or use the arrow
controls on the right of the value box to generate a different cloud style.
The option Dimension tunes the dimension and mesh size. By using the slider you spec-
ify the clouds’ level of detail. This option has an influence on both the number and the vol-
ume of the clouds, too. You can specify a constant value or generate new keys for
changing the effect over time.
The Power option controls the power of the background. Higher settings increase the
background strength, and weaken the clouds at the same time. You can specify a con-
stant value or generate new keys for changing the effect over time.
The Number of Periods control enables you to set the number of motion cycles the
clouds will go through. It has also an influence on the speed of the clouds.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 190

Flame:
This source generates a flame in the middle of the screen.
Under Opacity you specify the transparency of
the flame. It is possible to enter or adjust a con-
stant value, or change the value for the source
over time by generating new keys and editing
them.
Turbulence enables you to determine the
flame’s movement and animation speed. Use the
controls to specify the value or enter it manually.
Granularity determines the quality of the flame.
A higher setting creates a more detailed flame.
You can define a constant value or change it over
time.
The option Slope determines the height of the flame. A side effect is the increase of color
and volume. You can define a constant value for this parameter or change it over time.
Under Velocity you set the strength of the flame’s motion. It is possible to define a con-
stant value here as well as to generate new keys so that the source will be changed over
time.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 191

Gradient:
This source generates a two-color gradient defined by the user. This process can also be
done over an input image. The Gradient source displays a transition between two colors.
It offers a lot of different parameters.
You can enter a constant value for nearly every
option here. It is also possible to change the
source the parameters over time by defining new
keys and generating curves.
Angle defines the gradient’s angle and direction.
Use the dialer or the polydiagram to specify the
desired angle. It is also possible to enter the
number of Turns and the Value manually by
clicking the value display under this option.
Color1 and Color2 let you specify two gradient
colors.
The options Alpha1 and Alpha2 allow you to set
the alpha channels for the previously chosen colors.
Transition controls the gradient’s transition strength. The higher you set the value for this
option, the larger the gradient appears on the screen.
The option Offset determines the gradient’s distance from the center of the picture.
When you click the value box of this option, the Edit
’Offset’ value dialog box appears. Here you can
change the minimum and maximum value for this
option. The default setting only allows you to move the
gradient to the right. If you enter the value -1.00 for
Min it is also possible to move it to the left. Enter a neg-
ative value manually or use the slider to place the gra-
dient on the left.

The drop-down menu Type allows you to choose a specific gradient type. The option
offers four different types: Linear, Mirrored, Radial and Circular.
Under Rotation you animate the gradient by generating new keys and turning the line into
a curve. A constant value defines the gradient’s position in the clip.
The Scale option controls the surface area of the gradient.
The Dither checkbox controls the quality of the gradient.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 192

Noise:
When you place this source on a track, you see only noise on the screen as if there is no
TV channel available or as if there is an interference right now. The Noise source offers
one additional setting.
The Opacity option enables you to work with the
alpha channel. You can enter a constant value
here or change it over time.

Tutorial - Noise:
In this brief tutorial we want to show you how to add an artificial noise to a
video. The result is that your clip looks like your TV has an interference and
the channel is hardly visible.

1. We assume, that you have already added a clip to track V1. After that, we have to
generate a second track, because we don’t want the interference effect to last the
whole clip. Move the cursor into the Timeline window, and press the right mouse-but-
ton. Choose the option Add video track from the appearing list.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 193

2. Now switch to the Effects pane of the Browser. Open the Sources folder and drag-
and-drop the Noise effect directly in V2 under your first clip in the Timeline.

Now you have the opportunity to extend the Noise source in V2. Activate one of the
levers, and drag the source to the desired length while holding the mouse-button. If
necessary, you can move the complete clip to another position after you have selected
it.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 194

3. As we said in the introduction to this tutorial, we want to see our clip through a televi-
sion interference. For that reason, we need an additional effect: the Overlay filter.
Switch to the Effects pane and open the Filters folder. Place the Overlay effect from
the Standard folder directly on the Noise clip in V2 as shown in the screenshot
below.

4. Double-click the Overlay effect in V2, so that its settings are copied into the Effects
window. We want to fade in and fade out the interference. We will explain the neces-
sary settings in a moment.

At first, open the polydiagram for the

Opacity option by clicking the corres-
ponding heading. We have to generate
three more key because we want to edit
this setting over time. Therefore, move
the cursor onto the line and press the
mouse-button while holding the Shift-
key. Repeat this task two more times.
Now you have to drag the first and the
fourth key to the bottom position at the
beginning and end of the line. Now select the two keys in the middle of the line by
clicking them while holding the Ctrl key. As you can see in the screenshot, both keys
are selected. Now you can drag both keys upwards at the same time. The higher the
value, the less you can see from the original clip. We recommend playing around with
this parameter until you obtain a satisfying result.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 195

 For our Noise tutorial the interface looked like this:

Plasma:
This source produces a plasma effect. The Plasma is animated and in constant move-
ment.
Velocity sets the plasma’s movement speed. You
can enter a constant value here or change it over
time.
The plasma field consists of three colors. Under First
Color, Second Color and Third Color you can
select the preferred colors for your source. It is pos-
sible to choose a single color or to change the colors
for the different options over time by generating new
keys.
The option Variation enables you to choose a spe-
cific plasma type. Use the controls to set a plasma
type. The value range is 1 ... 5000.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 196

Sine Audio Generator
Using this generator you produce a sine audio sound. It is possible to change the fre-
quency and the volume here.
The option Frequency (Hz) enables you to
change the frequency of the sound. You can
enter a constant value here or edit it in a polydia-
gram over time.
The Volume function is self-explanatory. You can
enter a constant value or edit it in a polydiagram
over time, too.

Solid Color:
This source simply creates a single colored clip. It is also possible to change the color of
the background over time.
Color enables you to select the desired color for
the source. Click the color bar, and choose your
favorite color in the appearing window. In the
polydiagram you have the opportunity to change
the color over time.
The option Alpha lets you adjust the alpha chan-
nel. It controls the different levels of transparency
so that you can specify to what degree the back-
ground will be visible.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 197

Test Pattern Generator:
The Test Pattern Generator source creates pictures, which look like TV test pattern.
The drop-down menu Test Pattern offers several
default test pictures you can add to your own vid-
eos.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 198

Transitions
MainActor v5 offers numerous transitions. It would be useless to introduce every transi-
tion and explain all their different settings in detail. In this chapter we want to give you a
general survey of the program’s transitions and their parameters. We will explain you the
common settings of a transition on the basis of three examples. Most of the parameters
are self-explanatory in fact, and the transition’s preview gives you a first impression of it.
The main folder Transitions contains several subfolders which include the actual transi-
tions you can use for combining clips. The different folders are: 3D, Dissolve, Iris, Push,
Slide, Special, Stretch, Wipe and Zoom. We recommend to have a look at the different
transitions and to play around with them.
1. The first transition is Origami Unfold. We have taken it from the 3D transitions folder.
It offers numerous parameters which are typical for a lot of transitions.

Transition specifies from which image (clip) you

want to change to the other: Image 1 > Image 2
or Image 2 > Image 1.
X-division and Y-division enables you to split
particular transitions on the x- and/or y-axis so
that the effect can be seen on the screen several
times. An example is that instead the original two
vertical doors six appear on the screen now. You
find this option often in the 3D, Slide and Wipe
folder very often.
Pen color specifies the color of the outlines that surround certain elements, items and
objects of a transition. You can define a constant color or change it over time by defin-
ing new keys in a polydiagram. You find this option especially in the 3D, Slide and
Wipe folders. Sometimes you can also define the color of the background.
With Pen thickness you specify the thickness of the above mentioned outlines.
The checkbox Unfold allows you to specify whether the picture of the next clip unfolds
or folds.
The checkbox Anti-aliasing activates the anti-aliasing for better quality.
A lot of transitions offer different checkboxes which enable the user to activate and dis-
able additional options, e.g. if the transition is applied clockwise or counterclockwise,
if the picture gets dark or light, if a door open or closes etc.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 199

2. The second transition is Corner Zoom taken from the Zoom folder. You find some
typical settings here as well.

The options Transition, Pen color and Pen

thickness we have already explained above.
The drop-down menu under Zoom specifies
whether the next clip is Zoomed in or
Zoomed out.
The drop-down menu under Corner speci-
fies the direction from where the new clip is
zoomed in or out. The options are top left,
top right, bottom left and bottom right. For
some transitions this option is called Direction.

3. The final transition is Fractal taken from the Dissolve folder. Here you can adjust
most parameters using keys in different polydiagrams.

We have already explained the meaning of the

Transition option above.
Under Opacity you set the transparency rate of
the fractals. It is possible to enter or adjust a
constant value, or change the value for the
source over time by generating new keys and
editing them.
Roughness specifies the granularity of the
whole fractal. If defines whether the fractals are
smooth or coarse-grained. You can create
curves with new keys here to change the option
over time.
Spectrum defines the strength of the gradient at
the fractal’s borders. You are able to adjust smooth and hard borders here. In the poly-
diagram it is possible to change the parameters over time.
Under Zero Line you can specify the visibility of clips connected by the transition. It is
possible to compare the functioning of this option with a mountain. The higher the vol-
ume the more you see from the next clip, i.e. as if you would only see different peaks
of several mountains, and the rest would be covered in mist.
With Variation you specify different types of fractals, i.e. you choose another appear-
ance for them here.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 200

Audio Effects
In this chapter we want to introduce the different audio effects which come with MainActor
v5. They can be directly applied to a complete audio stream/clip or to parts of a audio clip/
stream. In general, audio effects are treated like video effects.

Delay

Chorus:
The Chorus effect is a non-recursive echo which also allows the modulation on the indi-
vidual echoes.
In the drop-down menu Preset you find three
settings which modify the audio effect: Open
Room, Cathedral, and the default parameter
Use Custom Settings.
Under Output Gain you specify the gain value of
the output audio.
The Wetness option makes the audio of a clip
shaky.
The Lowpass Frequency option is self-explana-
tory.
Under Number of Echoes you define the num-
ber of echoes which will be heard in the clip.
Under Tap1-5 you have the opportunity to modify the individual echoes:
The Delay option specifies the delay of the echo.
The Decay option specifies the decay of the echo.
The drop-down menu Modulation Type allows you to choose a particular modulation.
The available options are: none, sine, triangle and square.
The Modulation Depth option defines the depth of the previously specified modulation.
The Modulation Speed option defines the speed of the previously specified modulation.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 201

Echo:
The Echo effect creates an audio delay and adds depth as well as atmosphere to the
audio.
In the drop-down menu Preset you find four set-
tings which modify the audio effect: Metal Tube,
Large Hall, Small Cave, and the default param-
eter Use Custom Settings.
Under Output Gain you specify the gain value of
the output audio.
The Wetness option makes the audio of a clip
shaky.
The Lowpass Frequency option is self-explana-
tory.
Under Number of Echoes you define the num-
ber of echoes which will be heard in the clip.
Under Tap1-5 you have the opportunity to modify the individual echoes:
The Delay option specifies the delay of the echo.
The Decay option specifies the decay of the echo.

Phaser:
The Phaser effect is a recursive echo which allows modulation of the individual echoes.
In the drop-down menu Preset you find three set-
tings which modify the audio effect: Wobbly,
Phased Transmition, and the default parameter
Use Custom Settings.
Under Output Gain you specify the gain value of
the output audio.
The Wetness option makes the audio of a clip
shaky.
The Lowpass Frequency option is self-explana-
tory.
The Reverb Delay specifies the audio’s reverb
time.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 202

Under Number of Echoes you define the number of echoes which will be heard in the
clip.
Under Tap1-5 you have the opportunity to modify the individual echoes:
The Delay option specifies the delay of the echo.
The Decay option specifies the decay of the echo.
The drop-down menu Modulation Type allows you to choose an particular modulation.
The available options are: none, sine, triangle and square.
The Modulation Depth option defines the depth of the previously specified modulation.
The Modulation Speed option defines the speed of the previously specified modulation.

Reverb:
Reverb is an recursive echo. The output created by the effect is fed back to the input with
a certain delay.
In the drop-down menu Preset you find four set-
tings which modify the audio effect: Medium
Size Room, Little Alps, Robo, and the default
parameter Use Custom Settings.
Under Output Gain you specify the gain value of
the output audio.
The Wetness option makes the audio of a clip
shaky.
The Lowpass Frequency option is self-explana-
tory.
The Reverb Delay specifies the audio’s reverb
time.
Under Number of Echoes you define the number of echoes which will be heard in the
clip.
Under Tap1-5 you have the opportunity to modify the individual echoes:
The Delay option specifies the delay of the echo.
The Decay option specifies the decay of the echo.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 203

Filter

Band-Pass:
The Band-Pass filter enables you to remove all frequencies not inside the defined range
from the audio clip.
In the drop-down menu Preset you find different
options which range will be preserved.
The drop-down menu Quality enables to specify
the quality of the audio effect. The higher the
quality setting, the more accurate is the cut in the
frequency range. The available parameters are:
Medium, Good and Very Good.
The Start Frequency option specifies the lower frequency range.
The End Frequency option specifies the upper frequency range.

Band-Stop:
The Band-Stop filter removes all frequencies within the defined range from the audio clip.
In the drop-down menu Preset you find different
options which range will be removed.
The drop-down menu Quality enables to specify
the quality of the audio effect. The higher the
quality setting, the more accurate is the cut in the
frequency range. The available parameters are:
Medium, Good and Very Good.
The Start Frequency option specifies the lower frequency range.
The End Frequency option specifies the upper frequency range.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 204

High-Pass:
The High-Pass filter removes all frequencies below the defined range from the audio clip.
In the drop-down menu Preset you find different
options which parts of the audio will be removed.
The available presets are Remove Humming,
Remove Bass, Remove Vocals and below,
Leave only clangor, and the default parameter
Use Custom Settings.
The drop-down menu Quality enables to specify the quality of the audio effect. The
higher the quality setting, the more accurate is the cut in the frequency range. The avail-
able parameters are: Medium, Good and Very Good.
The Cut Frequency option allows you to specify the boundary of the audio’s frequency.

Low-Pass:
The Low-Pass filter removes all frequencies above the defined range from the audio clip.
In the drop-down menu Preset you find different
options which parts of the audio will be left. The
available presets are Leave only Humming,
Leave only Bass, Leave Vocals, Remove
clangor, and the default parameter Use Custom
Settings.
The drop-down menu Quality enables to specify the quality of the audio effect. The
higher the quality setting, the more accurate is the cut in the frequency range. The avail-
able parameters are: Medium, Good and Very Good.
The Cut Frequency option allows you to specify the boundary of the audio’s frequency.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 205

Notch:
The Notch filter removes certain frequencies from the audio clip. It cuts small holes into
the audio spectrum.
Under Preset you find different options which fre-
quencies will be removed from the audio. The
available presets are Remove 50 Hz Humming,
Remove 60 Hz Humming, and the default
parameter Use Custom Settings.
The Pole Radius option specifies the sharpness
of the filter.
Under Number of Frequencies you define the
number of frequencies which can be modified.
The ten Frequency controls allow you to change
the value for the individual frequencies.

Simple Audio Switcher:

This audio effect enables you to change, combine or disable the left and right input audio
channels. It offers two options.
The drop-down menu First output channel
allows you to specify the left channel for the
audio stream. The available options are Off,
Input 1, Input 2 and Mix of all inputs.
The drop-down menu Second output channel
allows you to specify the right channel for the
audio stream. The available options are Off,
Input 1, Input 2 and Mix of all inputs.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 206

Transitions

Audio Transition:
The Audio Transition is placed between audio streams, but it also contains some
options for modifying the video stream. The audio as well as the video stream offer a sim-
ple fade in and fade out option.
For the video stream you have only the Mix tran-
sition. The polydiagram under Transition
enables you to slowly fade out and fade in the
video. This is also the default setting.
For the audio stream the Audio Transition offers
two options:
Fade out enables you to fade out the audio of a
clip slowly. Alternatively, you can maintain the
original clip volume. The available options are Linear fade out and Off (as is).
Fade in enables you to fade in the audio of a clip slowly. Alternatively, you can maintain
the original clip volume. The available options here are Linear fade in and Off (as is) as
well.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Effects, Filters and Transitions • page 207

Exporting a Project

After you have finished a project you can export it from the Timeline, i.e. you merge the
current project into a single video clip (e.g. an MPEG-2 file for DVD). There are various
ways for exporting a project: you can output existing clips to a DV camcorder or another
device. An alternative way for exporting clips is to produce an output file in MPEG-1/2 for
the common formats VCD, SVCD and DVD.
In this chapter we want to explain the various ways for exporting a project and the neces-
sary tools which enable the user to create such output files with MainActor v5. We will
also introduce the different formats for producing videos.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 208

The Export Window
We have already explained the various settings and options of the Export window in pre-
vious chapters. For that reason, we only want to summarize the main aspects for render-
ing a project with MainActor v5.
Under Export to you specify the destination and the filename of the project you want to
render. Use the Browse button to search for the desired location on your computer.

The drop-down menu Format offers four options: Video + Audio, Video, Audio and
Files sequence. Here you specify if only the video stream, only the audio stream or if
both streams will be exported. The latter is the normal case, because when using the
Video + Audio option, picture as well as sound will be exported. The fourth option Files
sequence enables you to export your project as a series of images.
Depending on the selected parameter the formats in the second drop-down menu vary. If
you choose Files sequence, you can specify an image format for exporting your project.
MainActor v5 offers a lot of different formats here, such as JPEG, BMP, Tiff and many
more. If you choose Video, Audio or Video + Audio there are several different formats
available as well. We will explain them later on.
According to the chosen Format settings the Format Options... button is enabled. It
leads to additional menus and windows we will explain in detail later on. Here you can
fine-tune the settings for the output files in order to improve their quality even more.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 209

In the middle of the Export window you find a lot of settings for Video and Audio.
Depending on the chosen format, these options are hidden.
Video:
The pop-up menu Custom Settings offers
a lot of default settings for rendering a
project in PAL, NTSC, HDTC etc. Simply
select a setting and the rest of the parame-
ters will be changed according to the cho-
sen option.
Resolution (WxH) specifies the width and
height of the picture.
The drop-down menu Frame rate enables
you to define the correct frame rate for your
project. This may be determined by your
hardware, so we recommend reading the
hardware manufacturer’s documentation
for further information. The standard setting
for PAL is 25 fps (frames per second), and
for NTSC 29.97 fps.
Pixel Aspect Ratio defines the ratio of width and height of a frame.
The option Image Aspect Ratio allows you to specify the aspect ratio, e.g. 4:3 is the stan-
dard TV format, 16:9 is widescreen format. You also find some more parameters here.
Frame step indicates whether MainActor shall render all frames (represented by the
parameter one), or skip frames. This option is useful for quickly producing test render out-
put by deliberately skipping frames.
The option Digits in filename offers specifications for exporting multiple files. For exam-
ple, when you choose four here, the files will be exported as “animal0001“, “animal0002“,
“animal0003“ and so on. If you choose zero here, MainActor v5 generates files like “Wed-
ding1“, “Wedding2“, “Wedding3“ etc. It is useful when you do not want to change the file-
name each time.
The blue button next to Fields allows the user to set the correct field order: No Fields,
Upper Field first, Lower Field first and Deinterlace. This setting should match the field
order of the source video.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 210

Audio:
The drop-down menu Rate enables you to change the
frequency of the audio stream.
Under Channels you specify whether your project will
be exported in Mono (1) or Stereo (2).
In the drop-down menu Bits/Sample you can select
the desired audio bitrate.

The Options section offers several checkboxes which include more functions for export-
ing your clips:
In the Timeline window, use the yellow line for specifying the segment of your project, you
want to render. It is possible to change the yellow line’s length as well as its position
above the Timeline, so that only parts of your project will be rendered.

When you enable the checkbox Export yellow I/O segment only in the Export window,
only the part of your project which is covered by the yellow line will be rendered. Other-
wise, the complete Timeline will be exported.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 211

The checkbox Import exported clip to Browser specifies whether the exported file will
automatically be imported into the browser of MainActor v5 or not.
Using the option All audio channels are mixed (the same) allows you to mix all audio
channels to one channel. This particular channel distributes the audio to all output chan-
nels. If there is only one output channel nothing happens at all.
When you enable the checkbox Separate .wav file for audio automatically generates an
additional audio file as well.
Ticking the checkbox Do not use Smart Rendering disables smart rendering, so that it is
not used for exporting a project.
The two buttons at the bottom of the Export win-
dow enable you to save and load user defined
presets. After you have created a user defined
setting, press the Save button so that it is added
to the Profiles’ list. In the following window you
can enter a new name for this setting or accept
the default one (see screenshot on the right).
Confirm with OK. When you want to use this setting in the future, simply choose it from
the Profiles pop-up menu.

When you export a project, sometimes the source material might be corrupted or another
problem can occur, so that MainActor v5 aborts the export process. In this case, the fol-
lowing window appears on the screen:

Here you can decide what MainActor should do when an error occurs:
Replicate uses the previous frame instead of the corrupted one, i.e. the program uses the
last frame which is okay.
Black inserts a black frame for the corrupted one.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 212

Cancel stops the export at the current position where the error has occurred.
Ticking the checkbox applies the selected options for further errors as well, so that you do
not need to remain at the computer.

DV AVI Type 1
When you choose the format DV AVI Type 1 there are further format options available as
well. The corresponding button is enabled when you chose the above mentioned format.
Under Video Mode you specify the appro-
priate video standard for the DV output file:
PAL or NTSC.
The Fields option allows you to define the
correct field order. The available options are
No fields (progressive), Upper field first
or Lower field first.

The drop-down menu Audio Sampling Rate enables you to choose the appropriate
audio frequency for your output file.

DV AVI Type 1 Multifile

This option allows you to create DV AVIs Type 1 as multifiles. Simply select DV AVI Type
1 Multifile under Format. It is useful for specifying the size of segments that will be cre-
ated during long video exports. MainActor v5 automatically splits the AVIs into multiple
sequences to bypass file size limitations that are imposed by certain Windows configura-
tions. If you plan to archive the produced video after completing a project, you might want
to choose a split size that will fit on the type of disc you plan to use for archiving, for exam-
ple 700-megabyte CD-ROMs.
Under Video Mode you specify the appro-
priate video standard for the DV output file:
PAL or NTSC.
The Fields option allows you to define the
correct field order. The available options
are No fields (progressive), Upper field
first or Lower field first.
The drop-down menu Audio Sampling
Rate enables you to choose the appropriate audio frequency for your output file.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 213

Under Split Size you can freely specify the desired file size for the export process. Use
the arrow up/down buttons to define the desired value. You can enter a value between 1
MB and 2000 MB.

DV AVI Type 2 (max. 2 GB)

When you choose the format DV AVI Type 2 there are the same format options available
as for Type 1. The corresponding button is enabled when you chose the above mentioned
format. The format DV AVI Type 2 is not used very often and is rather seldom in video
editing.
Under Video Mode you specify the appro-
priate video standard for the DV output file:
PAL or NTSC.
The Fields option allows you to define the
correct field order. The available options are
No fields (progressive), Upper field first
or Lower field first.
The drop-down menu Audio Sampling
Rate enables you to choose the appropriate audio frequency for your output file.
When you export a project with this DV AVI Type 2 option, the render
process will stop when 2 GBs are achieved, i.e. the rest of the project
will not appear in the exported video.

DV Dif
A further format for exporting your projects is DV Dif. DV Dif is a raw format, i.e. all frames
in your video are connected one after the other without any information (in contrast to DV
AVI).
When you press the Format Options...
button, a window appears which offers a
Compression type option. The drop-down
menu includes two parameters: Standard
and DVCPRO. The first one is the normal
standard type for compression.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 214

MPEG - The MainConcept MPEG Encoder
With MainActor v5 you can export your projects in MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 for the common
formats VCD, SVCD and DVD, i.e. you can merge a project into a single clip. When you
choose MPEG in the second Drop-down menu under Format, and press the Format
options... button, then the following window appears on the screen. It allows you to adjust
some general MPEG settings for the output file.

The drop-down menu MPEG Type offers five options: MPEG-1, VCD, SVCD, MPEG-2
and DVD. Here you specify the desired output format for you MPEG file.
Video Mode defines the correct video standard: PAL or NTSC.
The option Frame Size lets you specify the appropriate size of the frames. Depending on
the selected MPEG type you choose predefined settings from a drop-down menu or enter
the value for the frame size manually as shown in the screenshot above.
Under Fields you set the correct field order: No fields, Upper first and Lower first.
The drop-down menu Audio Sampling Rate enables you to select the appropriate audio
frequency.
Clicking the Advanced Settings... button, opens the advanced settings for the integrated
MPEG encoder. We will explain the different panes of it soon.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 215

When you confirm your settings in the Format options window, the parameters are sum-
marized in the normal Export window, so that you can check them.

We have included the advanced settings of the MainConcept MPEG Encoder in our
video-editing software MainActor v5, in order to increase the quality of your output files.
This advanced interface offers even more settings, primarily for professional users in
highly specialized environments.
The advanced window includes four panes: Video Settings, Advanced Video Settings,
Audio Settings and Multiplexer Settings. Some options are only available when certain
parameters are in effect. You can save the settings for future projects by using the Save
button in the Export window. To load a previously saved MPEG setting use the Profile
drop-down menu.
The default settings in the Format options window for MPEG generally
offer the correct settings for high-quality results. We recommend that you
only change the advanced settings if you are familiar with them and have
a specific need to do so. Incorrect adjustments of these parameters can
result in non-compliant MPEG files.

Before we explain the most important advanced settings in detail here some general
remarks before. As mentioned above we recommend that only experienced users should
modify these settings. Some of the advanced settings may be restricted by the settings

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 216

selected in previous dialogs. When encoding in the VCD, SVCD or DVD formats, it is pos-
sible to make changes to these settings such that the resulting file is not compliant for the
chosen format.

The Video Settings Pane

In this window you can change the settings for Frame rate, Aspect ratio and GOP
(Group of Pictures) structure. You can also make various adjustments to the bitrate.

Under Aspect ratio you have different options:

Square Pels: Square resolution (used for PC monitors)
4:3: Standard format (TV)
16:9: Widescreen format (16:9 TV, cinema)
2.21:1: Aspect ratio

Pulldown:
The parameters under Pulldown convert 23.976 fps (frames per second) to 29.97 fps, or
24 fps to 30 fps, and it is supposed to be done only on progressive frame video (like film).
The movie studios slow their films from 24 fps to 23.987 and then encode using pulldown
to display at 29.97 fps. The video encoder manipulates the Top Field First (tff) and Repeat
First Field (rff) flags to convert 4 frames (8 fields) to 5 frames (10 fields) like this:

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 217

(T = top field, B = bottom field)
frame 1: tff = 1, rff = 0 fields displayed: TB
frame 2: tff = 1, rff = 1 fields displayed: TBT
frame 3: tff = 0, rff = 0 fields displayed: BT
frame 4: tff = 0, rff = 1 fields displayed: BTB

So you get the sequence of fields: TB TBT BT BTB or grouped as frames: TB TB TB TB

TB. The above would be considered 2:3 pulldown as it is 2 fields, 3 fields, 2 fields etc.
3:2 is the reverse:
frame 1: tff = 1, rff = 0 fields displayed: TBT
frame 2: tff = 0, rff = 1 fields displayed: BT
frame 3: tff = 0, rff = 0 fields displayed: BTB
frame 4: tff = 1, rff = 1 fields displayed: TB

In this case you get the sequence of fields: TBT BT BTB TB or grouped as frames: TB TB
TB TB TB.

Start Time (seconds):

This option specifies the starting value of the timecode in the video stream. It is com-
pletely arbitrary; as an example one could encode 1 hour of video with the start time set
to zero, then encode another hour of video with the start time set to 3600 seconds. Then
when the two videos are played one after the other the timecode will be continuos
between the two files.

GOP (Group of Pictures) structure:

I frames: These frames are also called Key Frames. All GOPs start with an I frame. I
frames contain information for a complete picture, and can be decoded independent of
any other frame. I frames are the largest (and least compressed) frames.
P frames: P frames are encoded using information from the previous I or P frame, and
can only be decoded correctly if the previous I / P frame is available. P frames are smaller
than I frames.
B frames: B frames are usually encoded using information from the previous I or P frame
and the next I or P frame. In this case, B frames can only be decoded correctly if the pre-
vious and the next I / P frames are available. B frames are smaller than P frames. In addi-
tion, B frames can be encoded using only information from the next I / P frame but then
they are larger than if they were encoded using both the previous and next frame informa-
tion.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 218

As a general rule for practical settings: The GOP size (in frames) is specified with the I
frame setting and it must be a multiple of the P frame setting. When I frame is set to 1, all
frames in the video will be I frames. When I frame is larger than 1, it specifies the size of
the GOP, and the P frame setting specifies how often P frames occur in the GOP. If P
frame is set to 1, the video will consist of only I and P frames. If P frame is larger than 1,
B frames are placed between the P frames and the video will consist of I, P and B frames.
Larger GOPs will yield greater compression but will possibly cause a loss of quality. We
recommend using the default settings.
Auto Gop: This function always starts a new GOP when there is a scene change, i.e. the
encoder sets an I frame. If you choose None from the drop-down menu, there will not be
a scene detection. The Fast option is a quick method of scene detection where no VCSD
happens. During the motion search the application checks, if a scene change occurs,
and - if yes - the P frame is encoded as an I frame. Then the encoder starts a new GOP.
VCSD is the abbreviation for Visual Content Scene Detection, which is a better way of
doing scene detection. At first, the VCSD is carried out, i.e. the analysis of the frames,
and then the GOP planning. It will yield a slightly slower encoding.

Closed GOP every: This value specifies how often the GOPs should be closed and is
only of importance if there are B frames present in the GOPs. A value of 0 means do not
close any of the GOPs, a value of 1 means close every GOP and a value of 2 means
close every other GOP etc. If a GOP is closed, it can be decoded by itself. If a GOP is not
closed, the first few B frames of the GOP will be dependent on the last P frame of the pre-
vious GOP and cannot be decoded correctly without decoding the previous GOP first.
When a GOP is closed, the first few frames of a GOP are encoded so they only depend
on the I frame in the GOP (the previous GOP is not required). This can be useful for set-
ting “chapter“ points so a player can jump to these GOPs and can start decoding immedi-
ately without having to read the previous GOP (or discarding the first few B frames).

Bitrate type:
Constant: Fixed bitrate (the relevant input prompt will be enabled if selected)
Variable: The minimum and maximum values define the bitrate range the encoder should
stay within while encoding. The average value is the desired average bitrate of the video
stream. The relevant input prompts will be enabled if selected.

Rate Control Mode:

Fast: An older mode, not normally used anymore.
Mode 1: Standard mode (recommended)
Mode 128: Experimental (will probably cause problems; it should only be used for testing)

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 219

Variable Bitrate:
The Constant quality affects the macroblock quantization value, sort of the “compres-
sion“ of the macroblocks. Lower numbers yield better quality and larger files (larger bitrate
results in less compression). The range is 1 ... 31; 1 is probably excessive in that the qua-
lity does not improve much but the file size increases quite a bit. A range is probably 3 ...
15 for constant quality operation. In normal VBR/CBR modes, the encoder changes the
macroblock quantization value to adjust the bitrate; in constant quality mode it does not.
You have to set the average bitrate to zero in order to make the Constant quality option
active.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 220

The Advanced Video Settings Pane
This pane offers professional settings which should not be changed if you are creating
MPEG streams for VCD, SVCD or DVD. These adjustments are designed for specific,
highly technical environments.

The box on the right side of this pane contains

many more parameters for professional users. If
you click on an option, details are listed under
the box.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 221

 We highly recommend that these changes are only performed by pro-
fessional users.

Here are the Advanced Video Settings in detail:

Profile ID:
You have three different options here: High Profile, Main Profile (standard setting) and
Simple Profile.

Level ID:
You can choose between High Level, High 1440 Level, Main Level (standard setting)
and Low Level.
The MPEG-2 spec (specification) allows for a large number of variations in the settings,
e.g. the frame resolution can theoretically be as large as 214 x 214. The Profiles and Le-
vels just set limits on what the values of some of the other settings can be; so if a speci-
fication (like the DVD spec) says only Main Profile/Main or Low Level is allowed, the
decoders can safely assume what the bounds of some settings are going to be. A DVD
player does not have to account for the resolution being 214 x 214 because the DVD spec
only allows a maximum of Main Profile/Main Level which only enables for a maximum
frame resolution of 720x576.
Noise Sensitivity:
This option specifies how sensitive the video encoder is to noise in the source video; it
does not reduce the noise in the source video at all. It sets a motion search threshold at
which point the encoder will stop the search for matching blocks of pixels from one frame
to another. Higher values mean low sensitivity (faster search times, less quality), while
lower values mean higher sensitivity (longer search times, better quality). Typically this
option is set in the 1 ... 14 range as follows:
1 ... 5 - Computer animation, VCD from DV-Source, after a line-filter or noise reducing fil-
ter (virtually no noise in the source video)
3 ... 7 - Digital video, DV-quality, Hi8-quality etc.
5 - 14 - Analog captured video, Video 8, Hi8, broadcast TV

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 222

Motion Search Mode:
The Motion Search Mode defines which method is used to search for pixel movement in
the video stream. A higher value specifies a better method and will normally yield better
quality. The practical range is 3 to 11.

User Quantization Matrices:

Each 8x8 block of pixels in the image is run through a DCT (Discrete Cosine Transforma-
tion) function which yields an 8x8 block of DCT coefficients. These coefficients are
arranged in the 8x8 array with the lower frequencies in the upper left corner of the array
and the lower frequencies in the lower right corner. The numbers of these 8x8 blocks are
the results of mathematical functions performed by the encoder to represent the video in
a smaller number of bits.
The quantization matrices determine the divider used by the quantization function for
each DCT coefficient. Lower numbers mean the coefficient will be quantized less (better
quality, closer to the original DCT value but more bits are needed), while higher numbers
mean the coefficients are quantized more (lower quality but less bits are needed). The
default intra matrix values are biased towards the low frequency coefficients; they are rep-
resented better while the high frequency coefficients are not represented as well. The
numbers on the top left handle the low frequency regions, and the numbers on the bottom
right handle the high frequency regions. The human eye is less sensitive to the high fre-
quencies, so that region can be compressed to a higher degree; this is why the values are
higher there. If the whole matrix consists of 1, there would be virtually no compression at
all (but a very large number of bits). If you set all numbers of the matrix to 255, you will
obtain a very bad picture because it has been compressed to such a degree that it will
lead to a significant loss of quality.
When you activate the checkbox you can
click the Edit button in order to adjust the
parameters for Matrix for Intra Block and
Matrix for non-Intra Block. In the following
window you can change these settings.
These values must be in the range 16 ...
256, with the exception that the first entry in
the intra block matrix must be 8. Intra blocks
are macroblocks coded using only informa-
tion from the current picture (I frames), non-
intra blocks are macroblocks coded using
information from the current picture and
other pictures (B and P frames). If the bitrate is high you should not change the parame-
ters. Ultimately, these values depend on the source material. If the bitrate is low you can
change the parameters to get better results.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 223

Do half-pel Search:
When this option is activated the Motion Search operation also looks for pixels that move
only 1/2 of a pixel from one frame to the next (a subpixel search). This should usually be
enabled and should only be disabled if speed is desired above quality.

Set motion search areas from pixel movement:

These settings specify the maximum movement of a pixel from one frame to the next.
They are used to calculate the Motion Search Areas, the maximum area the encoder will
search in an attempt to find a match for a block of pixels from one frame to the next. If the
video has quite a bit of movement, it is useful to raise these values. Unfortunately, this
also extends the encoding time.
These settings are an easy way to manipulate the Motion Search vectors. The motion
search vectors can also be manually manipulated in the Motion Estimation section of the
Additional Settings tree. The motion search vectors are different and optimized for the
different frames and frame types.

Additional Settings Tree:

Now we want to introduce the different parameters in the Additional Settings tree. The
different options are displayed in the tree. You can change the settings by using the Value
parameter box. Depending on the setting you have to adjust the appropriate option in the
corresponding tree. A short definition of the selected option is offered under the display.
Under Sequence Header you find the following option:
VBV Buffer size: This value specifies the size of the Video Buffering Verifier (VBV) buffer
in KB (1024 bytes). Decoders can use this value to determine the largest buffer needed
to decode the video stream. Set it to zero to have the encoder compute a value based on
the video bitrate. VCD specifies 40 KB, SVCD and DVD specify 224 KB. Use the Value
prompt in order to change the parameters. See ISO/IEC 13818-2 section 6.3.3 or ISO/IEC
11171-2 section 2.4.3.2 for more information.

The option Sequence Extension offers two settings:

Progressive Sequence: If set to 1 all frames in the video are progressive, if set to 0 both
progressive and interlaced frames can appear in the video. See ISO/IEC 13818-2 section
6.3.5 for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2.
Chroma Format: Specify whether to use the 4:2:0 or 4:2:2 (high profile only) chroma
format for the encoded video. See ISO/IEC 13818-2 section 6.3.5 for more information.
Only the 4:2:0 and 4:2:2 formats are supported. This option is only valid for MPEG-2.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 224

Under Sequence Display Extension you can edit several options:
Enable Sequence Display Extension: If set to 1, sequence display extension headers
are placed in the video stream after the sequence extension headers. If set to 0, the Video
format, Color Primaries, Transfer characteristics, Matrix coefficients and Display Size
settings are not used or present in the video stream. Some SVCD players can have
problems if sequence display extensions are present, for DVD the sequence display
extension may or may not be present. See ISO/IEC 13818-2 section 6.3.6 for more
information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2.
Video Format: This setting is just a flag in the bitstream to inform the decoder how the
pictures were represented before encoding. If the sequence display header is not
present, the decoder will assume "Unspecified video format". This setting does not affect
the encoding process at all. It is part of the sequence display extension and is only used
when the Sequence display extension setting is 1. See ISO/IEC 13818-2 section 6.3.6 for
more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2.
Color Primaries: This field specifies the x, y chromaticity coordinates of the source
picture primaries. It is strictly an informative flag to the video decoder and does not affect
the video encoding at all. DVD specifies a value of 2 (ITU-R BT.470-2 System M) or 4
(SMTPE 170M) for NTSC or 3 (ITU-R BT.470-2 System B,G) for PAL. See ISO/IEC
13818-2 section 6.3.6 for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2.
Transfer Characteristics: This field specifies the opto-electronic transfer characteristics
of the source picture. It is strictly an informative flag to the video decoder and does not
affect the video encoding at all. DVD specifies a value of 2 (ITU-R BT.470-2 System M) or
4 (SMTPE 170M) for NTSC or 3 (ITU-R BT.470-2 System B,G) for PAL. See ISO/IEC
13818-2 section 6.3.6 for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2.
Matrix Coefficients: This field specifies the matrix coefficients used in deriving
luminance and chrominance signals from the green, blue, and red primaries when RGB-
>YUV conversion (if any) is done. DVD specifies a value of 3 (ITU-R Rec. 624-4 System
B, G) for both NTSC and PAL. Currently only a value 3 is supported regardless of the
setting of this field. See ISO/IEC 13818-2 section 6.3.6 for more information. This option
is only valid for MPEG-2.
Display Size: These values specify a rectangle which may be used by decoders as their
active display area. MPEG itself does not define what these values are actually used for,
so it is up to the decoders to handle as they see fit. DVD does define uses for these
values, and the values should be 720x480 (NTSC) or 720x576 (PAL). These settings are
part of the sequence display extension and are only used when the Sequence display
extension setting is 1. Use the options Horizontal and Vertical to specify the exact value.
See ISO/IEC 13818-2 section 6.3.6 for more information. This option is only valid for
MPEG-2.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 225

Under Picture Header the encoder offers one more setting:
Force VBV Delay: Set to 1 to have the et to 1 to have the VBV delay in the picture
headers fixed to a value of 0xFFFF. Normally this is 1 when doing VBR encoding and 0
when doing CBR encoding. When the VBV delay is 0xFFFF a different method is used to
input data to the VBV than if VBV delay is not fixed to 0xFFFF. See ISO/IEC 13818-2
section 6.3.9 or ISO/IEC 11172-2 section 2.4.3.4 for more information.

The option Picture Coding Extension offers several additional settings:

Intra DC Precision: Specifies the effective precision of the DC coefficients in intra coded
macroblocks. 10-bits usually achieves quality saturation, 11-bits can be used if the
quantization is very low (the bitrate is quite high compared to the frame size/rate). See
ISO/IEC 13818-2 section 6.3.10 for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-
2.
Use Frame Prediction and Frame DCT: Set to 1 to have the motion estimation and DCT
(Discrete Cosine Transformation) computations done on both fields of a frame in the
same pass, set to 0 to have them done on each field independently. Normally this should
be 0 for interlaced frames and 1 for progressive frames. Setting this field to 1 will result in
slight faster encoding but will yield less quality in interlaced frames. This setting can be
specified independently for each frame type (I, B and P). See ISO/IEC 13818-2 section
6.3.10 for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2.
Quantization Scale Type: Specifies which mapping to use between the encoded
quantization scale factor and the quantizer scale applied in the inverse quantization
arithmetic. Set to 0 to specify a linear mapping or 1 to specify a non-linear mapping. This
setting can be specified independently for each frame type (I, B and P). See ISO/IEC
13818-2 section 6.3.10 for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2.
Intra VLC Format: VLC is the acronym for Variable Length Coding. This option specifies
one of two MPEG defined variable length coding tables used for intra coded blocks. Table
1 is considered to be statistically optimized for Intra coded pictures coded within the sweet
spot range (e.g. 0.3 to 0.6 bit/pixel) of MPEG-2. Normally set to 1 for MPEG-2 video, this
setting can be specified independently for each frame type (I, B and P). See ISO/IEC
13818-2 section 6.3.10 for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2.
Use Alternate Scanning Pattern: Specify one of two entropy scanning patterns which
define the order in which quantized DCT coefficients are run-length coded. Set to 1 for the
alternate scanning pattern or 0 for the zig-zag scanning pattern. The alternate scanning
pattern is considered to be better suited for interlaced video where sophisticated forward
quantization is not enabled. This setting can be specified independently for each frame
type (I, B and P). See ISO/IEC 13818-2 section 6.3.10 for more information. This option is
only valid for MPEG-2.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 226

The General option offers two more parameters you can change:
Sequence End Code: If set to 1 a sequence end code is written at the end of the video
stream (it terminates the stream). Normally this is set to 1, set to 0 if you intend to
concatenate video streams together after encoding. See ISO/IEC 13818-2 section 6.3.2
or ISO/IEC 11172-2 section 2.4.3.1 for more information.
Embed SVCD User Blocks: If set to 1, user data blocks are placed in the bitstream to
reserve space for the SVCD scan information data. The multiplexer then fills in the correct
values when the video stream is muxed. Should only be enabled for SVCD video, disable
for non-standard SVCD video.

Under Rate Control you find the following options:

The options Reaction Parameter, Initial Average Activity, Initial Global Complexity
Measure and Initial Virtual Buffer Fullness are very complex as well as highly mathe-
matical. These values are default to 0 and should not be changed unless advised to do
so by MainConcept support.
Minimum Frame Percentage: Unused, this setting will be removed in the next version.
Pad Frame Percentage: Unused, this setting will be removed in the next version.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 227

Motion Estimation offers the following options:
• P Frame Motion Vector
• Forward Search Width
• Forward Search Height

• B Frame Motion Vectors

• Forward Search Width
• Forward Search Height
• Backward Search Width
• Backward Search Height

The search width and height settings set the (half) width of the windows used for motion
estimation. Here is an example of how to set these values, assuming a maximum motion
of 10 pixels per frame in horizontal direction and 5 pixels per frame in the vertical direction
and M = 3 (I B1 B2 P).
Table 1: Search Width and Height values

forward horizontal vertical backward horizontal vertical

I => B1 10 5 B1 <= P 20 10
I => B2 20 10 B2 <= P 10 5
I => P 30 15

The search window settings are +/- values, for instance if a search window value is 10,
the actual search for a matching pixel is done from (x + 10, y) to (x - 10, y) for each pixel
(x, y).
These values are usually set automatically by either the Video encoder quality sliders
(Search method and Search range) or the Motion search pixel movement settings but
can be set manually here.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 228

The Audio Settings Pane
This pane offers professional adjustments for audio exporting.

The Audio Settings include the following options and parameters:

Audio type:
None: If you do not want to encode audio, select none here.
MPEG-1 Layer 1: Normally not used
MPEG-1 Layer 2: Used for VCD, SVCD and PAL DVD
PCM: Used for NTSC DVD

NTSC DVDs use LPCM (Linear PCM) audio (or AC3) as the standard audio type instead
of MPEG Layer2. LPCM is an uncompressed audio format, which offers higher quality but
it also uses far more of the total bitrate (consequently less bitrate is available for the video
stream). PCM is only available for MPEG-2 type streams, and is seldom used for PAL
DVDs.

MPEG:
Under De-Emphasis you find three options: None, 50/15 uS and citt. j 17.

This is a flag to the player specifying what kind of de-emphasis to perform on the audio.
DVD and SVCD specify None, VCD can be either None or 50/15 uS.

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Mode:
Stereo: Standard stereo
Joint Stereo: This option can convert the sound to mono in the lower frequency range
(which can hardly be perceived by the human ear). This results in an enhancement of the
stereo quality in the median and higher frequency ranges. The setting is useful if the audio
bitrate is below 200 Kbps.
Dual Channel: In this case both audio channels are output separately as mono channels;
it is normally used for two-channel sound. The compression of the channels takes place
separately.
Single Channel: Another expression for mono audio.

Audio Bitrate (Kbps):

32-384: This specifies the bitrate of the audio stream. Depending on the MPEG type
selected, some values may not be available. Increasing the bitrate will yield better sound
quality and result in larger files, or if the total bitrate is limited it will mean less of the total
bitrate is available for the video.
Set private bit: Just a spare bit in the audio headers, which is user defined. DVD speci-
fies it shall be 0.
Set copyright bit: Specifies whether the audio is copyrighted or not, this setting is com-
pletely arbitrary; it has no effect whatsoever.
Set original bit: Specifies whether the audio is a copy or an original, this setting is com-
pletely arbitrary; it has no effect whatsoever.
Enable CRC: Specifies whether a CRC is embedded in each audio frame, both SVCD
and DVD specify enabled.

Psycho-acoustic model:
Two different models (1 and 2) specified by MPEG to compute the "just noticeable noise-
level".
PCM:
Mute flag: Flag to the player whether to mute or not when all samples in an audio frame
are zero.
Emphasis (48 KHz only): Flag to the player whether emphasis is to be applied to all
audio samples from the start of the audio stream.

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Dynamic range control: The option is a recommended gain value which can be applied
to all audio samples decoded from the first access unit. Ticking the checkbox enables the
the Dynamic range control. The setting does not affect the encoding of the audio at all.
It is simply a value decoders may use when playing the audio.
Gain (dB): The Gain value (X and Y) is a recommended gain value to be applied to all
audio samples by the player, where: Gain = 24.082 - 6.0206 * X - 0.2007 * Y.

The Multiplexer Settings Pane

In this pane you can control whether your exported MPEG files will be multiplexed (also
referred to as “muxed”). Multiplexed output means that the video and audio are exported
in a single file. This pane also offers several professional settings for muxing.

In general, the basic settings for this pane and the other advanced panes are set by the
options in the Output format section of the main window.
Here are the Multiplexer Settings in detail:

Variable Bitrate:
This option sets the muxing mode to variable or constant bitrate. If it is turned off (constant
bitrate), the output data stream will contain padding packets (if needed) to maintain the
constant bitrate. In variable bitrate muxing no padding packets are added.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 231

Multiplexing Type:
The drop-down menu offers the options MPEG-1, VCD, MPEG-2, SVCD, DVD, TS (trans-
port stream) and None. The settings are usually defined by the parameters of the MPEG
Encoder.

Pack Options:
Under this heading you find the options Size (bytes) and Packets/Pack. Pack size is the
number of bytes in each pack (or sector); VCD and SVCD use 2324 bytes, DVD uses
2048 and general MPEG-1/2 can use up to 4096 bytes (4096 is our limit, not MPEG's
limit). The muxed bitstream is broken up into these 'packs' with a pack header starting
each one and they contain 1 or more PES (Program Elementary Stream) packets (chunks
of the video or audio stream). The Packets/Pack setting specifies the number of PES
packets that are placed in each pack. VCD, SVCD and DVD always want 1 PES packet
per pack.

Startup delays (ms):

The Pack value specifies the starting timecode of the muxed stream (this can be different
than the starting timecode of the video stream). It is arbitrary as well.
The Video, Audio1 and Audio2 delays actually specify the starting time of the respective
stream (relative to the pack delay). If these settings do not match the streams will start at
different times. Normally they are the same, but say you had a video stream and an audio
stream where you know the audio actually starts 500ms after the video, you would set the
video delay to some value and set the Audio1 delay to video delay + 500, this would then
synchronize the two streams when played.

Split File Options:

Max. file size: You enter the value (in MB) here, from which a further file shall be written.
Reset clocks: If Reset clocks is enabled, the SCR, PTS and DTS clocks are reset to the
'startup delay' values (the starting values) when starting a new file. This would make the
timecodes in each of the files start with the same values. If disabled, the clocks are not
reset and the timecodes would be continuous from one file to the next.
Set broken link flag in GOP: This has to do with the way MPEG compresses frames.
Usually a GOP consists of 1 I frame and several B and P frames. I frames are not depen-
dent on any other frames, P frames are normally dependent on the preceding P or I
frame, and B frames are normally dependent on the preceding and successive I or P
frames.

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A standard GOP (the default settings) are 15 (maybe 18) frames long and they look like
this (in the order the frames are displayed):
B B I B B P B B P B B P B B P, B B I B B P B B P B B P B B P, ...
Here the first two B frames are dependent on both the I frame after them and the last P
frame of the previous GOP. The Broken link flag in the GOP header is there to inform
decoders that some kind of action was taken such that the preceding P frame is not
present and the first 2 B frames cannot be decoded correctly (the decoder may then
ignore them). When splitting files, the files are split on a GOP boundary so that the pre-
vious P frame of the first few B frames is not present in the new file (it is in the previous
file). If the files are played one after another, and the last P frame of the first file is kept by
the decoder, the decoder can correctly decode the first few B frames of the second file.
The Set broken link setting just allows one to specify whether the Broken link flag is set or
not, and it depends on whether you intend to play the files one after another or separately.
Write sequence/program end codes: When enabled, sequence and program end
codes are written to the old file when switching to a new file. If the files are meant to be
played one after another, the streams should not be terminated. This option only applies
to the files that are split; it does not apply to the last (or only) file generated.

Pulldown:
This option contains three parameters: 2:3, 3:2 and Auto. When pulldown is present in
the video stream, the multiplexer must adjust the PTS/DTS timestamps to account for the
extra fields displayed. This option should be set to the same value as the video pulldown
setting (or to Auto).

Timestamps:
You find All frames, I & P frames and I frames in this menu. Here you can choose which
frames in the stream have a timestamp attached. The timestamps are needed for syn-
chronization of video and audio. In general, it is enough to set this option to I-Frame. For
particular formats the values are clearly defined.

Pad VCD Audio: Some VCD burning programs require this flag to be set and some do
not. VCD video packs are 2324 bytes long, but the audio packs are only 2304 bytes long.
When the data is written to a VCD disk, the audio packs are put in normal 2324 byte sec-
tors. Some VCD burning programs deal with the extra 20 bytes themselves, while others
require the extra 20 bytes to be present. When this setting is enabled, the audio packs are
padded with 20 zero bytes so they are 2324 bytes long, if not enabled the audio packs are
only 2304 bytes long. This setting is only meaningful VCD.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 233

Write program end code: When enabled, a program end code is written at the end of the
file. This setting only applies to the last file if the splitting option is enabled, or if there is
only one file generated.

Align sequence headers: When enabled, the sequence headers present in the video
stream are placed at the beginning of a PES packet, this makes it easier to find the
sequence headers and the start of a GOP. When a sequence header is aligned, it is pos-
sible that the previous video PES packet will need to be padded to make it the correct
size, so this option can consume a little of the total bitrate. This option is required for
SVCD and DVD.

Add SVCD scan offset: SVCD defines some navigation information that is put into the
video stream to help players jump back and forth or skip ahead easily. The info is called
scan offsets, this option is normally required for SVCD. This option also consumes a little
of the video bitrate.
This option will be ignored if the user mux rate is set higher than
allowed for SVCD.

Video Buffer Size and Audio Buffer Size:

These settings specify the size of the buffers needed to decode the video and audio. If it
is too low, you will get buffer overflows, which could show up as stuttering video and/or
audio. Usually it is set to the same size as the video VBV buffer (although the VBV units
are half these units), DVD specifies 232 for the video buffer. Software decoders usually
ignore the buffer sizes, but most hardware players will have problems if the buffer size is
not correct.
VBV is the abbreviation of Video Buffering Verifier. It is a hypothetical decoder with a
buffer whose size is specified by the Video Buffer Size. Encoded pictures from the MPEG
stream are placed into the buffer (hypothetically) and removed from the buffer at regular
intervals. The MPEG video stream is supposed to be constructed by varying the size of
the encoded frames such that the buffer does not underflow (i.e. becomes empty where
there are no frames in the buffer when it is time to decode one) or overflow (i.e. becomes
full where no space is available for more encoded pictures).

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 234

 Tutorial - Exporting a project
In this brief tutorial we want to show you, how to export a project as an
MPEG-2 file for DVD. In the Export window you can easily merge the cur-
rent project into a single video clip.
To merge a project into a single clip, open the project (if it is not already
open) and perform these steps:
1. At first, make sure that the yellow line above the Timeline corresponds with the whole
project. It might be necessary to extend or move the yellow line, so that it spans the
complete project. The result is that only these parts will be exported.

2. After you have set the yellow line to the desired position as well as length, click the
Export button in the Timeline to open the corresponding window:

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 235

3. First of all, you have to make some general settings for your output file. Tick the
Export yellow I/O segment only checkbox, so that only this part will be rendered.
Under Export to you can specify the desired location and name for the output file.
Click the Browse button to search for a destination directory on your system, and
enter a filename.

4. As we want to export an MPEG-2 file for DVD, we have to render the video as well as
the audio stream. Therefore, we have to select Video + Audio in the first drop-down
menu under Format.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 236

5. We want to render our project as an MPEG-2 file for creating a DVD later on. For that
reason, we have to choose MPEG in the drop-down menu under Export format.

6. After you have chosen MPEG in the drop-down menu, the Format Options button is
enabled. When you click the button, a window which includes the basic settings for
the MPEG output file. We restrict ourselves only to the important settings because
most of them are done automatically after you have select one of the default output
templates. In the drop-down menu MPEG Type chose DVD because we want to
export an output file for creating a DVD. Of course, you can choose any other format
here. Under Frame Size select 720x576 because this is the standard resolution for a
PAL DVD. Confirm your settings with OK.

The default settings in the Format option’s MPEG window generally

offer the correct settings for high-quality results. We recommend that
you only change the advanced settings if you are familiar with them
and have a specific need to do so. Incorrect adjustments of these
parameters can result in non-compliant MPEG files.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 237

7. In the middle MainActor v5 Export window you see a summary of the MPEG settings
you have just made, so that you can check them before you start to render the actual
project.

8. If you like, you can save the your personal MPEG settings for future use. Click the
Save Button at the bottom of the Export window. You can accept the default settings
or enter an own name for them. Confirm your choice with OK. In the future, simply
select the user defined MPEG settings from the Profiles... drop-down menu.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 238

9. When you want to start the rendering process, press the Export button. MainActor v5
will produce your project, and the finished clip will appear automatically in the speci-
fied folder.

Congratulations! You have just exported your first MainActor v5 project. Now you can edit
the MPEG-2 PAL output file with a DVD authoring program, in order to burn it on a DVD
later on. Then you can watch it on a normal standalone DVD player, too.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Exporting a project • page 239

Glossary
In this glossary we want to explain the most important terms in the area of video editing as
well as in this manual in detail. The list does not make a claim to completeness because
there are so many different terms and expressions that it would be a never-ending task to
include all of them in here. But the glossary is good enough to give you a fundamental
overview of the topic.

Alpha Channel
This is a special channel type of an RGB image, which is responsible for its transparency.
The alpha channel is important while working with overlay.

Analog
An analog signal consists of continuous values.

Anti-Aliasing
A kind of edge-smoothing for objects, texts or other elements, in order to avoid artefacts
and aliasing.

AVI
AVI is the abbreviation of Audio Video Interleaved. A simple but widespread container for-
mat, in which video and audio data are combined. AVI files require different codecs.

Background Rendering
If Background Rendering is used, the changes in the video footage are computed in the
background while editing clips in the timeline. The result is that the export and the ren-
dering process for the project is faster in the end.

Bit
Abbreviation for Binary Digit. Smallest unit for displaying data. It will be displayed as a
binary numerical value 0 and 1.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Glossary • page 240

Bitmap
A Bitmap (BMP) is a special image format for computers. In a Bitmap the image consists
of individual pixels.

Bitrate
A measure for the data transfer rate. Here the number of bits per seconds is measured.
The higher the bitrate the higher is the quality of the video.

Camcorder
A combination of video camera and -recorder.

Capture
When you are capturing you transfer video and audio data to your computer. You can cap-
ture digital as well as analog video footage.

Codec
Codec is the abbreviation of COmpressor/DECompressor. These are software drivers
which compress video data while capturing, and decompress it again during playback.
This process is based on complex algorithms.

Composite Video
Composite Video is an older but still common interface for analog recordings. Using this
interface, a single video signal combines luminance and chrominance. Composite Video
is very popular on the professional market, but it also receives more and more attention
among private areas.

Compositing
This is a particular technique for combining images and videos. You create a new video
by combining different clips and objects. A well-known compositing effect is, for example,
the bluescreen effect or keying.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Glossary • page 241

Deinterlace
Using this method removes artefacts, which has been caused by the two field phenome-
non (see also Interlace).

Decompression
Restoring of compressed video data by using codecs. A codec decompresses the com-
pressed AVI files, and offers the video hardware of the computer a readable format.

DirectX
A technology developed by Microsoft which offers accelerated playback of animated pic-
tures under Windows, such as in videos or games. Using DirectX, the programs directly
access the graphics card’s memory and therefore relieve the computer processor.

DivX
This is a video compression format for AVI files, which compresses digital video footage
to a high degree. The DivX codec enables you to save films in MPEG-4 format. Using the
DivX MPEFG-4 format can reduce the contents of a DVD up to twelve times, and achieve
a better quality than a VHS tape. For example, it is possible to reduce a two hours film of
6 GB to 700 MB easily, in order to save it on a normal CD.

DV
Abbreviation of digital video, i.e. video footage which has been recorded by a digital cam-
corder.

DVD
DVD (known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a kind of disc that can hold
high-quality MPEG-2 video as well as any kind of data. For example, DVD-RAM is a high-
volume storage format, but cannot be played like a DVD video disc.
DVD Video discs can also include MPEG-1 content, however MPEG-2 is generally used
because it offers higher quality. DVDs are the size of Compact Discs, and they can be
played in standalone DVD players and on suitably equipped computers.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Glossary • page 242

Export
When you export a project, it will be rendered, and the software creates, for example, an
AVI or MPEG file. Depending on the format the files can be played back on a digital cam-
corder, burned on a VCD, SVCD or DVD etc. While exporting or rendering a project the
video data is computed anew.

Fields
A frame consists of two fields. They are denoted Field A and Field B, or Upper field and
Lower field. Using the Interlace method the frames (i.e. the complete picture) is divided
into two fields.

FireWire
A term which has been introduced by Apple, and refers to the IEEE-1394 interface. Using
this interface, video data is transferred from a digital source to a computer. The FireWire
interface is also know by the term i.LINK.

fps
This is the abbreviation of frames per second. It defines the playback speed of a video. In
the USA it is 29.97 fps and 30 fps resp., and in Europe 25 fps.

Frame
A single picture of a video. PAL plays back the film with 25 fps, and NTSC with 30 fps. A
frame consists of two fields.

Gradient
A slow and gradual transition from one color to another.

Interlace
Analog and digital video footage can be interlaced or non-interlaced. In a video with inter-
lace a frame consists of two fields, an upper and a lower one. The even lines generate
the first field, and the uneven ones the second field. Every field alternately contains a hori-
zontal line of a frame. The lines of the picture are projected onto the screen with such a
high speed that the human eye sees the two fields only as one picture.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Glossary • page 243

During playback and export it is important that the specified field order corresponds with
the one of the output system, in order to avoid interruptions in the objects’ motion
sequence, artefacts as well as the comb-like appearance of the picture.

JPEG
Acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group, which is also known as JPG. It is a file for-
mat for compressing images to a high degree but with low quality loss. The advantage of
the JPEG format is that you can define the level of compression yourself.

Keying
One of the most impressive special effects in movie business is keying. In this case you
can hide or key out a pixel color. It will be replaced by the background color so that you
can finally see a different, inserted picture or video instead of the pixel color here.

Key Frame Animation

It is a technique for creating and choreographing animations over time. You define keys at
particular points. It is possible to connect the keys in order to generate a path the objects
will follow later on. These key frames are fixed positions over time, and they will animate
the corresponding object. An example: you have an object which is at position x. After two
seconds the object is at position y, where you have generated a new key before. After five
seconds it moves to point z, where you have defined a new key before, too. In the end,
the object moves in five seconds from point x via point y to point z.

Compression
Compression of video data by using codecs during capturing. In this case the data is
stored and transferred with fewer bits.

MJPEG
MJPEG or Motion-JPEG is a file format which is normally based on hardware. Motion
JPEG is a further development of the JPEG standard for image and graphics files.

MP3
The term MP3 stands for MPEG-1 Audio Layer III. It is not a new format but a part of the
MPEG-1 video format. In MP3 the audio files are compressed to a high degree by using
special algorithms. It ignores audio data which cannot be heard by the human ear.

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MPEG
MPEG is a method for compression audio-visual data. The aim is to achieve high quality
and low file size by using complex algorithms. MPEG is an acronym for Motion Picture
Expert Group. It is the name of the group who developed this format.

Multiplexing
Multiplexing is also known as Muxing. This method enables you to merge video and audio
streams into a single file. Here is an example: you have an AVI file and you add a MP3 file
as well as a voice over to it, in order to create a single MPEG-1 file.

NTSC
Abbreviation of National Television Systems Committee. It is an American TV format
which has been introduced by this committee as a standard. Using NTSC the video is
played back with 29.97 or sometimes with 30 frames per second. The resolution is
720x480 here.

Overlay
An overlay enables you to combine two or more images or elements of a picture. For
example it is possible to maximize the transparency of one picture so that both of them
can be seen. You can also use an overlay for text inserts, such as for credits. Afterwards
the different elements are combined to create a video.

PAL
Abbreviation of Phase Alternating Line. In Europe and other countries this is another TV
standard beside NTSC. But the two formats are not compatible. Using PAL, the video is
played back with 25 frames per second. The resolution is 720x576.

PCM
PCM is the abbreviation of Pulse Code Modulation. It is an uncompressed and loss-free
encoding method for audio. The audio signals are displayed as digital data here. Further-
more, it is used as a sampling method for the digital transfer of analog data streams.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Glossary • page 245

Pixel
A pixel is a single point in an image. It adapts a specific color value.

Quick Time
An alternative to the Windows AVI format, which has been developed by the Apple com-
pany. Quick Time videos can be played back both on a PC and a Macintosh if the corre-
sponding software is installed on the system.

RGB
Acronym for the three primary colors red, green and blue. They are the basis for additive
color mixture, i.e. every color is mixed using red, green and blue.

Rendering
During the render process, the edited video is computed anew, i.e. during this process
effects, transitions, additional audio etc. is merged into one file (see also Export).

SECAM
Abbreviation of French Séquential couleur avec mémoire. A color TV standard which has
been developed and applied in France. It is also used in the Middle East, in Russia and in
other Eastern European countries. SECAM plays back the videos with the same frame
rate as PAL, i.e. 25 frames per second.

Smart Rendering
Smart Rendering is a kind of intelligent rendering. In this case only changes in a video
are computed anew. This feature saves a lot of time while producing the final version of
your film. It also guarantees that video footage, which has not been edited, maintains its
original quality.

Streaming
Streaming is the process in which videos are distributed via the internet or other network
areas. Using this method the data need not to be downloaded completely in order to start
the playback. The rest of the video data is downloaded in the background.

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SVCD
A Super Video CD is an ordinary Compact Disc containing MPEG-2 video that can be
played on many standalone DVD players and on computers. The primary advantage of
SVCD is that CD burners and media are less expensive than DVD burners and media.
The primary disadvantage of SVCD is quality, which is significantly lower than that of DVD
because in order to have any length in the video and support the drive speeds, the video
is generally made at a lower bitrate and smaller frame size than DVD video.
Note that in SVCD (like VCD), the quality is not limited by the quality of the media (the
recordable disc) itself, but by the type of video format that enables a significant amount of
data to be stored on the disc. In other words, to fit enough video on the disc, quality has
to be sacrificed.

S-Video
Abbreviation of Super-Video. This technology offers the best possible video playback on
a corresponding recorder. Using this method the film is divided into its luminance and
chrominance components, which are transferred separately.

Timeline
The timeline is the place where you edit your videos. It contains different video and audio
tracks. You add the corresponding video and audio streams to these tracks.

VCD
A Video CD is an ordinary Compact Disc containing MPEG-1 video that can be played on
standalone VCD players, many standalone DVD players, and on computers. The primary
advantage of VCD is that CD burners and media are less expensive than DVD burners
and media.The primary disadvantage of VCD is quality, which is significantly lower than
that of DVD because in order to have any length in the video and support the drive
speeds, the video is generally made at half the frame size of full screen video and the
blown up for playback.
Note that in VCD, the quality is not limited by the quality of the media (the recordable disc)
itself, but by the type of video format that enables a significant amount of data to be stored
on the disc. In other words, to fit enough video on the disc, quality has to be sacrificed.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Glossary • page 247

Voice Over
This method is used to edit the sound of a video. In addition to the audio track for sound
you generate another audio track for a narrator. In practice you encounter this phenome-
non in documentaries, the news etc.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Glossary • page 248

Technical Support
MainConcept Technical Support

If you need assistance with MainActor v5 for Linux, visit the MainConcept website at
www.mainconcept.com for troubleshooting advice, tips and tricks, discussion forums,
and information on how to contact our support staff.
We hope that you have a lot of fun with our latest product. If you have any suggestions on
how to improve the MainActor v5 Linux please send us your feedback to the following
email address: info@mainconcept.com

Depending on your location, charges may apply for telephone technical

support.

Manual MainActor v5 Linux • Technical Support • page 249