Showing selected clips

This section of the documentation will teach you to:

Access the DVD from within EFR Aid
- The manner of accessing the DVD in order to define a clip differs from the manner of accessing a DVD in order to simply watch it.
Get into the main title of the DVD
- You must get into the main title of the DVD (which is usually but not always Title 1) in order to start defining clips.
Define a clip
- The controls in EFR Aid allow you to define any section of the film as a clip.
Fine tune the clip
- You may make adjustments to the start and stop points of the clip in order to get it just right.
Add notes to the clip
- Notes can be added and a color may be assigned to the clip. When defining a clip to be played, the default clip color (green) should be used. Clips are only assigned a color other thatn green if you want to skip them.
Save the clip
- Once the clip is ready, you will save it to the cliplist. The clips in the cliplist show up in the clips window but they are also saved to a text file called a segmentation file.
Preview the clip you have saved
- Clips in the cliplist can be previewed in EFR Aid and then fine tuned again if necessary.
Export the cliplist as an EFR file
- In order to be able to create a playlist that can be run in the EFR Video Player, you will need to export your cliplist as an EFR file. An EFR is an xml file that defines all of the clips in your cliplist, the names of the clips, and other important data.
Create a playlist from the EFR file you created
- Using CDL builder, you can compile your EFR file to a playlist that the EFR Video Player can run.
Run the playlist in the EFR Video Player
- The CDL file you create with CDL Builder tells the EFR Video Player which clips of the film will be played leaving the remaining sections of the movie unplayed.

Accessing the DVD

How to access the DVD in order to start defining clips

The method for accessing the DVD in order to define clips is different from accessing a DVD in order to simply watch it.

Insert the DVD into the drive. Windows may ask you what you want to do with the inserted DVD.
Attention: If your DVD automatically starts playing in a program on your computer, exit that program. Only one program has control of the DVD at a time. It is important to exit any other DVD programs so that EFR Aid can take control of the DVD.
Select Take no action.
Open EFR Aid.
Attention: Before starting to define your clip, it is important to check that there are no processor-intensive programs running on your computer. DVD playback (within any program) normally requires all system resources. It is a good idea to only have EFR Aid and your internet browser (to display this documentation) running on your computer while using EFR Aid.
Within EFR Aid, in the Video Source drop-down menu, select your DVD drive.

The DVD is now being controlled by EFR Aid.

Getting into the main title

Before you can define clips, you must get into the main title of the DVD.

If the previews cannot be skipped by pressing the main menu button, use the chapter skip button to get to the main menu.
Note: The domain status is displayed in the navigation panel below the title information. You must be in domain 4 in order to navigate the DVD. Some DVDs are programmed to prohibit the skipping of previews to jump directly to the menu.

Note: You can also drag the slider to the end of the slider bar to access the main menu.
Use the DVD menu options to begin playing the film.
Note: You need to get into the main title (which is often, but not always, title 1) before defining clips. The main title must be in domain 4 in order for clips to be defined.

Defining a clip

The EFR system allows you to decide where the clip will start and where it will end. A clip can be as long or as short as you like. A clip may be more than an hour or just a few seconds long. The chapters and scenes that already exist on the DVD do not limit you as you define clips. Your clips may span the chapters or scenes of the DVD without a problem. Clips are defined in order to tell the system which clips of a film should be played and which clips should not. Defining clips also allows you to attach annotations to specific segments of a film.

Before defining clips, you should have previously viewed the film. Having viewed the whole film, you will be ready to decide what clips you want to define. A good way to make your decision about what you will include in a clip is to rewatch the section of the film you would like to define as a clip. You can look and listen for queues that will help you remember where you would like to start and stop your clip. Looking for such queues will assure that once you actually define the clip, the start and stop points will be close to where you want them and the clip will need less fine-tuning.

Use the buttons in the navigation panel or the slider to get to the point in the film where you want your clip to start.
Press the Set Start button in the clip definition panel.

The start point can also be set manually by entering a frame code in the text box below the Set Start button.
Define the stop point of the clip:
1. Navigate to the point in the film where you want your clip to stop.
2. Set the stop point of the clip using the Set Stop button or the text box below it.
Important: With the start and stop points set, the clip is defined but not saved. The next section of the documentation provides instructions for saving clips and clip lists.

Note: The start and stop points of the clip can be set while the film is playing or while the it is paused. You can play the defined clip with the play button in the Clip Definition panel. Don't worry if your clip is not defined exactly as you would like it. The fine tuning section of this documentation provides instructions for adjusting the start and stop points of a clip.

Saving clips

It is a good idea to save your clip now in order to avoid accidentally changing your start and stop points. This section of the documentation explains how to save your clip to a clip list in the Clips window. You will then learn how to access saved clips in the Clips window in order to modify them.

Save the clip by pressing the Save the current clip button in the Clip Definition panel.

Note: The saved clip will appear a new window called the Clips window. As you continue defining clips in the Clip Definition panel and saving them, they will be added to the Clips window.

Tip: You can fine tune a clip and add notes to it after it has been saved by highlighting selecting the clip and pressing the Edit the selected clip button in the Clips window. After you are done modifying the clip, simply press the Save the current clip button and the clip will be saved to the clip list.
Press the Save clip list button in the Clips window to save the clip to a file.
Note: As you add clips or make changes to existing clips, periodically save them to the file you created.

Fine tuning

As you are reviewing your clip, you may notice that it starts or stops at a different point in the film than you had intended. Fine tuning the clip is easy with EFR Aid. It should be noted however that because of the limitations of DVD decoders (external to the EFR system), your start and stop points may be slightly different than desired and very minute changes are impossible. This is because the DVD decoders are not able to take the film to a specific frame code in the film. The decoders are only able to take the film to the closest I-frame of the film and therefore making minute changes of a few frame codes may not make a difference in where the clip begins or ends. Differences in start or stop points of a clip are only noticeable once the frame code you have entered has become closer to a different I-frame and the clip starts or stops there. If you change a frame code and no difference in the clip is apparent, try changing the frame code in small increments until the clip has a noticeable change.

Select the clip you want to fine tune in the Clipswindow.
Press the Edit the selected clip button in the Clips window.

The clip information will appear in the Clip Definition panel. The clip is now ready to be fine tuned. If the Edit the selected clipbutton is grayed out (cannot be pressed), the clip is already ready to be edited in the Clip Definition panel.
Play the clip by pressing the play button in the Clip Definition panel (not in the Navigation panel where you would normally press play).
Pay close attention to the start and stop points of the clip as you are reviewing the clip and decide if they need to be adjusted to come earlier or later in the film.
Note: The start or stop point may be a little bit off. This section of the documentation will teach you how to adjust the start point of the clip to be earlier in the film but the manner of fine tuning a clip is the same for making the start point later or the stop point earlier/later in the film.
Press the down arrow next to the frame code in the Set Start box.
Note:
This will change the frame code in the Set Start box by a certain increment in order to make the clip start earlier.

You may change the increment for the arrow button frame code changes by going to File > Options... > Navigation and adjusting the Slider Nudge Increment. When changing the increment, remember the DVD decoder limitations noted at the beginning of this section of the documentation (if the increment is small, the arrow button may need to be pressed several times before a change in the clip can be seen).

Important: In addition to using the arrow buttons to adjust the frame code in the Set Start or Set Stop boxes, you can also adjust the frame code manually by typing in a new number or highlighting the last few digits and replacing them.
Play the clip by pressing the play button in the Clip Definition panel.
Continue making adjustments to the clip until you are satisfied with the start and stop points.
Note: When fine tuning the stop point of a clip, you may find the From text box useful. If you enter 100 in the From text box, and press the play button in the Clip Definition panel, EFR Aid will start playing 100 frames from the end point of the clip. This helps when you are trying to fine tune the stop point of a lengthy clip and you don't want to keep watching the entire clip to see the difference in where the clip stops.

Adding notes

Various notes can be added to each clip. None of these notes are necessary. They do however add valuable functionality and versatility to the EFR system. Some of these notes are relavant only to clips that will be skipped.

Name the clip in the clip name text box.
In the Color drop-down menu, leave the color of the clip green. Green is used for clips you want the EFR system to play.
Note: An explanation for the reason a clip was assigned the color can be recorded. In this case, the value of the Reason for Color field can be left as unspecified because the clip is the default color.
In this case, the value of the Relevance drop-down menu can be left at Nonebecause it does not apply to clips that will be played.
Note: This menu is used to indicate whether the audio or video content of a skipped clip was relevant to the plot of the film.
Use the Annotations field to add any desired annotations to the clip.
Note: These annotations are the simple kind that show up at the bottom of the screen as a playlist is played. The method for creating more advanced annotations is covered in the Materials Developers and Tech Support sections of this documentation.
Press the Save the current clip button in the Clip Definitionpanel to resave the clip (with your newly added notes) to the cliplist.

Previewing customizations

Select the first clip in the window and press the play cliplist from this clip onwards button.

Note: If the clips need to be adjusted refer to fine-tuning a clip.

The clips which you defined will be played while all the parts of the film that you did not define as clips will be skipped.

Exporting EFRs

Exporting EFR files enables you to open the list of defined clips in the CDL Builder.

Before exporting your clips as an EFR file, always save the cliplist. Saving the cliplist allows you to come back and make adjustments to the clips if necessary. After the necessary adjustments are made the cliplist can be exported once again as an EFR file.
When you are finished defining your group of clips for a film, select File > Export Cliplist > Export as EFR (see EFRs and CDLs).

Creating playlists

Using CDL Builder to create playlists

Open CDL Builder.
Select Open EFR file from the file menu. Once you have opened your EFR file, three check boxes and a plus symbol will appear in the left box.
Click the expand button (the plus symbol next to the first clip) to expand the list and see all of the clips you have defined. In the expanded list view, each of the clips will appear with a checkbox next to it. This view allows you to select which clips you would like to include in your cliplist.
Check the box next to the first clip to select all of the clips in the list.
Note: This shortcut prevents you from having to select each clip individually.
In the File menu, select Save VCL and CDL files.
Save the file in the data folder within the EFRUser folder.
Note: The data folder should already be the default location for the CDL files.
Your playlist is now saved and ready to use in the EFR VideoPlayer.

Running playlists

How to run playlists

Open the EFR VideoPlayer.
Select your DVD drive in the video source drop-down menu.
Use the menu button, skip button, or slider bar to get into the main title.
Pause the film once you are in the main title.
Select Open Playlist from the file menu.
Note: This should open your data folder within the EFRUser folder. If it doesn't open the data folder:
1. Select Set Playlist Folder; from the file menu. Navigate to your EFRUser folder and select the data folder within EFRUser. Now when you select Open Playlist from the file menu, you will see the CDL files in your data folder.
Select your CDL file. The EFR VideoPlayer will start playing the film from the first green clip in your CDL file and continue through the playing list, playing each of the clips you defined. The clip information will appear next to the domain information in the lower panel. You can navigate through the film by using the regular navigation buttons. The jump button allows you to jump to any clip in the playlist. The replay button allows you to replay the current clip.