Blossom on the Tree

[linaewen]

A GIP above and below, as requested, for Ada -- and anyone else who thinks these might be worth anything. ;-)

Comments

[lin4gondor.livejournal.com]

Bet you could handle it. I use a program like Corel Draw or Photoshop. It's not all that tricky, though it takes a few tries to figure out how to get the size right and the pixels right. From the sound of what you are doing with your mathom project, you probably have an artistic eye enough to select and cut the picture where you want to in order to get the right effect. It took me awhile to figure out how to change the color and the brightness, but I got it eventually.

I can't figure out how to write on them, though. Supposedly my Photoshop Elements is capable of that, but I can't manage it. :-/

[aragornlover.livejournal.com]

Oh I totally know how to use Photoshop. I guess what my comment was implying was that I wish I could do a screencap. Is that how you got the pic? By doing a screen capture from the DVD? But yeah...I've been trained in Photoshop...3 full semesters of it...so no problems there. You can add text by using the text bar. If the layer is locked though, you can't add one to it, so you have to make sure the layer is unlocked. Then you should be able to add a text bar. Hope that helps!

[lin4gondor.livejournal.com]

That does help, actually. Thanks for the tip!

I suspected you knew about Photoshop, judging from your comments about your training in Graphic Design. Sorry I misread your comment, hehe, even knowing all that.

Yes, I do screen caps when I can, because I can get the shot the way I want with a higher quality than searching on the web for the same picture -- but that works, too. I use PowerDVD to do the screen caps.

[aragornlover.livejournal.com]

See...my problem is, I have PowerDVD, and boriel has tried to explain it to me, but apparently I have an older version or something and I've never been able to figure it out. My computer is nearly 2 years old. Not quite, but almost. So that means my software is that old as well. Do you think that might be my problem?

[lin4gondor.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, two years old shouldn't be a problem, but I do remember boriel had trouble with an older version of PowerDVD, one that didn't have the screen cap feature. Mine is PowerDVD XP for Windows XP, possibly version 4?

Let me know your version, maybe we can still figure something out.

[aragornlover.livejournal.com]

The version I have is PowerDVD 4.0 for Windows XP as well. Think maybe you can help me figure it out now? :o)

[lin4gondor.livejournal.com]

Okay, here goes...

Open the program and find the button on the player that looks like a little hammer (or hit Ctrl C) to bring up the Configuration panel; there are several tabbed panels for general, skin, video, audio settings, etc. On the General panel, click on the button for Advanced. Click on the Capture tab, and choose Capture to File, then browse to enter the folder where you want your screen caps to go. If you don't have this option, then that is a problem! But you should, if you have 4.0 for XP.

Once you have selected that, you should be good to go. Choose whether you want your caps to be original video source size or current video window size. There is a difference! To capture a scene, just click on the button on the player that looks like a camera, or hit C on your keyboard. I find it helpful to pause and step forward or backward until I get just the exact shot I want. The screen caps are large BMP files, but they can be saved as something else when you are working with them.

You can change the brightness of the picture by choosing the Video tab in the configuration panel, and choosing either Original, Vivid, Bright or Theater. I find I prefer Bright and Theater for the best picture.

Hope this helps and I pray it works for you! I have loads of fun with this, and have filled up my computer with pictures of Boromir, hehe!

[aragornlover.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for your help. Unfortunately my 4.0 version does not have the advanced settings. *pout* I even reinstalled the software to make sure it was installed correctly and fully. Thanks again though. Hopefully when I get my next computer, I'll have screen cap capability. Unless...you can burn me a copy of your version! *wink* Just kiddin'.

[lin4gondor.livejournal.com]

Here's my email addy -- send me an email and we can discuss this further. I'm not home at my own computer at the moment, but I'll see if there is something more I can suggest before we give up here. ;-)

linpak2000@yahoo dot com