Encore CS4
DVD authoring. While it can be fun to design the overall look of your menus, it can also be very time consuming to get all your data where it needs to go. Export from here...open it here...save it as this...open it in your authoring software...etc.
The dynamic link between Premiere Pro and Encore makes this much simpler. Drag your timeline from Premiere Pro into Encore (or import the timeline from the Premiere Pro file it originated from within Encore). Now, while this makes DVD creation amazingly simpler, you still have to wait a bit for the final product (yes it still has to render before it can complete the DVD). But hey, now it is only one simple click and drag for you, instead of multiple steps.
With the new Blu-Ray technology finally getting to its hot and heavy stage now that Sony finally has a win in a format war (hopefully wiping away the last of the humiliation from the Beta/VHS boondoggle), Blu-Ray authoring is becoming more and more important. Eventually it will, of course, become essential. New to the Blu-Ray authoring features of Encore is CS4's ability to allow you to create “pop-up” menus, just like the big boys do. These “Pop-up” menus will overaly on top of your film when a viewer presses the appropriate button, without stopping playback.
While many no/low budget filmmakers may not be able to afford the cost of manufacturing Blu-Rays at this time in their evolutionary cycle, the day will eventually come when we look at DVDs the way we now look at VHS. So, this is a great tool to have at your disposal, although you may not have need for it just yet.
The last big improvement in Encore is the improved options for Flash export. It rocked the world when it came out in CS3, as folks could now create Flash websites without knowing complex Flash scripting (or even opening Flash at all). However, the fact that the Flash export was limited to SD, 640 pixel by 480 pixel sizes was an issue for most folks. Well, now, you can export your HD-sized DVD as an HD-sized Flash file. You can also choose to have any background you like for the website the Flash content will rest in. (Of course, almost anyone is going to redesign the background HTML in Dreamweaver or some other web editing program, but if you need to kick something out in a hurry, it’s pretty nice.) Unfortunately, one issue that I’ve had since I saw sites created with Encore CS3 came out still remains: no scrub bar. The Flash creation Encore generates completely replicates a DVD experience, if the DVD had no Fast Forward or Rewind Features. The simple inclusion of the scrub bar that is standard on most Flash video sites would make things much easier to navigate. However, maybe in CS5.
Despite the Blu-Ray tools, dynamic link, and even the Flash export, this is, by far, the least attractive part of this package for me. Why? Well, as an FCP user, I didn't find Encore to be as simple to use as DVD Studio Pro. Even though DVD Studio Pro doesn't yet give you the option to author Blu-Ray discs (it will do HD DVD) or allow you to export Flash sites, I just find it more intuitive to use.
Allow me to explain. I'm a picture guy...if I can see how something connects, I understand it a lot better than if I get an explanation of how it connects. In DVD Studio I can view my project as a very clear-sighted flowchart, tell it which assets I want connected to this menu or that button, and I can see all the arrows connecting the little pictures. I can even draw the arrows if I want to and they all make sense. Encore has a similar feature (they even call it the “flowchart”), but it simply wasn’t as easy to navigate. For me, that led to me being not as impressed with Encore as I was with the other pieces to this otherwise magnificent bundle.
