Hello followers, welcome to this guide! Let's discover the newest CyberLink
PowerDirector 18 and see everything you need to know to start using it!
Please visit our YouTube channel and our website to get additional tips,
extras, templates and take part to our exclusive giveaways!
CyberLink PowerDirector is one of the best video editing products offering
loads of templates, particles, effects, transitions and amazing titles.
It comes in two versions: one for home video editors called Ultra and
another for professional users called Ultimate. In this video we will show
the complete Ultimate version.
PowerDirector opens on a dialog window with several options to start
your new video project. On top select its aspect ratio between HD 16:9,
the old 4:3 or the new 1:1, most suitable for Instagram and Facebook.
At the bottom, choose the way to realize your video. You can compose your
slideshow or video project from ready-made templates and music samples with
the Slideshow Creator and Auto Mode. Whereas, if you prefer to have full
control and make your video on your own you can click on Storyboard Mode or
Full Mode. Both of these open the main interface, where just the Timeline
view changes, going from sequences of media in Storyboard Mode to
professional Tracks in Full Mode. In this video we will work in Full Mode
only.
The main interface is made by four different workspaces, listed on top.
Capture is used to record from webcams, microphones or directly from
your screen with CyberLink Screen Recorder; Edit is the main place to
import, edit media and create your own video; Produce is where you render
and upload your project and Create Disc is where you create DVD menus,
chapters and subtitles.
In this short guide, let's see how to make a great video with Edit and
Produce.
The Edit workspace is composed by the Navigation panel on the left,
collecting all the samples and templates available inside PowerDirector,
the Video Preview on the right and the Project Timeline at the bottom,
where you edit and realize your project.
To start working you have to import all the pictures, videos and sound
files first. You can drag and drop several samples and backgrounds from the
Media Room section into the timeline or simply drag your own files from
your computer folders. From this version you can also import .mov, .mxf
and also 10bit HDR videos without any conversion.
All the files added on the timeline are shown as blocks called clips, with
thumbnails and sound waves available. You can check these better by
zooming in with your mouse wheel and holding down the CTRL key.
All visual clips are collected inside rows called Video Tracks and all
sound files inside Audio Tracks. You also have several auxiliary Tracks
dedicated to effects or text.
You can move clips in time or in other Tracks by clicking and dragging
these. Video frames and audio parts are always moved together, unless you
make these independent by right-clicking on these and going to Link/Unlink
Video and Audio.
In case clips overlap in time, the ones within the bottom Tracks are always
shown in front of all the other clips placed on higher Tracks.
To adjust clips in duration just drag from their edges. This cuts part of
their content. You can also drag while holding down the CTRL key to change
their duration by acting on their speed rate, making these slower or faster
in time without affecting their content.
To cut, copy and paste a clip, just click on it to select it and use
CTRL+X, CTRL+C and CTRL+V. To split, place the playhead on the interested
point and use the Split button. To undo any action, use CTRL+Z.
On the left side you have several options to manage each Track. Use the
Enable button to hide or mute the content of the interested Track and use
the lock button to block any modification on its clips inside.
To add or remove Tracks, just right-click on these.
The Video Preview is very useful to playback and edit the content of each
clip. This can work in Movie mode and in Clip mode.
When you playback the project with the player, the Preview works in Movie
mode, showing the Timeline content where the red playhead is.
PowerDirector has improved HDR video compatibility and GPU hardware
acceleration, offering a smoother preview in respect to previous versions.
You can also right-click on the Preview and adjust its Quality up to the 4K
Ultra HD resolution.
You can also check singular frames by clicking on the timeline and placing
the main playhead in time. You can also drag it in time to check the
frames sequentially, including audio content.
When selecting any clip, the Preview switches to Clip mode, allowing basic
modifications on the clip itself. Click and drag to move, use its nodes
to resize and skew and click from its blue circle to rotate. This is
very useful to create the Picture-in-Picture effect, placing a smaller clip
over another. You can customize this effect by double-clicking on the clip
in front, using the PiP Designer window to apply corrections, borders and
any shadow, reflection or motion.
In case of pictures you can also enable the Crop tool to crop it and to show
what you like most from it.
To apply advanced adjustments on the clip appearance and its colors, just
select it and click on Fix/Enhance, checking the Preview meanwhile.
With PowerDirector you can also add text and titles into your project by
using the Title Room section of the Navigation panel. Here you find 2D,
3D and 360° text templates you can drag and drop into the Timeline directly.
These create a text clip with any Video or Title Track showing text over
a transparent background. Just make sure not to get text covered by other
visual clips placed on lower Tracks.
To edit the text content and appearance, double-click on the text clip and
open the Title Designer window. You can click within text to type in and
place, resize and rotate it as you need on the preview. On the left, adjust
the text font, size, color and its distribution and also apply effects,
such as borders, shadow, reflection and backdrop, used to add any
background with solid color, gradient or cropped image. Consider that
many of these modifications are applied just on the piece of text selected
from the preview.
Moreover, if you switch to Advanced mode on top, you can also apply
effects to introduce or end text, add motion or other independent objects
inside the same text clip, such as other pieces of text, particles and
images you can place and edit.
PowerDirector 18 also includes Motion Graphic titles, which are pieces of
text including special motion effects on it. Check them out!
Inside your project you can also import extra objects like particles,
shapes and drawings.
From the Particle Room you can add particle objects to change the way to
see all the clips below it. You can also double-click on it to open the
Particle Designer and edit the overall particle effect, including its
placement, its inclination and fades.
If the particle templates available are insufficient, you can download
others for free from the official DirectorZone website. You can visit its
link inside our video description.
Inside Video Overlay Room you can add several dialogs and geometrical
shapes including pieces of text, very useful for YouTubers. In case you
add shapes, you can use the Shape Designer to customize their appearance,
placement, inclination and text properties.
You can also make your own drawings by using the Pencil button above the
Video Overlay Room panel and clicking and dragging on the preview inside
the Paint Designer window. On the left side, you can adjust the brush
style, width and color.
Once you click on OK, a new drawing template is made, saving your overall
drawing progress through time. You can import as a new clip on the
timeline and you can move and edit it on the Preview as other clips.
With PowerDirector you can also apply amazing effects and transitions to
your media clips. Inside the Effect Room you can find all the effects
available that you can drop directly onto your clips. You can also use the
Effect button to manage and adjust the properties of all the effects
applied on the selected clip.
Transitions are special effects to introduce or end visual clips, all
collected inside the Transition Room. You can apply these to the edges of the
clip or between two adjacent clips. The transition is represented with its
icon and gets slower as much as it is extended in time.
To save your project, go to File and then to Save Project As.... .psd files
save everything inside the Timeline, including properties and options.
Whereas if you want to render your project into a final video, just switch
to the Produce workspace. On the left side set the render options,
choosing any template for 3D videos, devices such as smartphones and
consoles or ready-to-use options for YouTube, Dailymotion and Vimeo,
including 4K Ultra HD solutions. If you want to define custom settings,
you can choose Standard 2D above and set the file format, the resolution
and the frame rate to use at the bottom.
On the right, make a final check on the video and set where to save it.
Then render it by going to Start.
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