Where to start

Pinnacle Studio v.12 is simple to use and very powerful. Once you master the basics, the package offers you a high level of control over your movies and slideshows.

However, if you want to hit the ground running, Studio also offers a set of tools that will get you from recorded footage to an edited movie in just a few minutes without having to learn any editing skills at all.

The fastest way to make a movie

1. Capture your footage
If you're using a DV or HDV camcorder, plug it into your computer and select Studio's Capture tab. This allows you to transfer video from the camcorder to your hard disk. If you're using a different video source, choose "import media from device" from the File menu.

2. drag it to the timeline
Your footage should automatically have been cut into shots, and each is presented in the album at the top of the screen. Ctrl-click to pick the shots you want in your finished movie, and drag them to the timeline at the bottom of the screen.

3. Open SmartMovie
Select Create SmartMovie from the toolbox menu. A box appears allowing you to select the style of movie you want to create. This choice defines the speed and type of cuts Studio will put into your production. You can also add a title and credit text by simply typing it into the box provided.

4. Add music
Your movie will be cut in time to music, so click the link at the bottom left of the SmartMovie box to load in a piece of music. The system works best if your raw video footage is at least twice as long as your audio track, so if you need to, you can drag in more clips now.

5. Create your movie
Click Create SmartMovie and Studio will cut your clips, add titles and effects and produce a finished film which you can play back using the controls under the monitor at the right of the screen.

Once you've created your film, you can turn it into a DVD or upload it to the web using the Make Movie tab at the top of the screen.

It's as simple as that.

Pinnacle Montage

Pinnacle montage is Studio's great new tool for creating quick and easy photo albums and multi-track videos (shots in which several video clips are playing on the screen at the same time).

Simply import the pictures and videos you want to use, then choose the Montage Themes tab (from the list of icons at the very left of the screen). You can then pick a theme and drag any of the animations from that theme to the timeline.

The animations simply arrange several video clips or still images on the screen and as soon as you add one to the timeline, you can pick which shots you want to place within the animation simply by dragging them from the album into the boxes provided.

Each theme contains several animations which are designed to work together, but you can use them in any combination you like to create video slideshows, and other sophisticated looking effects in minutes.