First steps

Getting started

To acquaint yourself with VSE Animation Maker:

1. Launch the program by double-clicking the helicopter icon. The welcome screen with an animation of the little helicopter appears.
2. Click OK in the welcome screen.

Opening a sample animation

To take a closer look at the main window and learn more about using VSE Animation Maker, open a sample animation:

1. Select File > Open. A dialog box opens, showing you the contents of the Demo-Sets folder.
   
   
2. Double-click VSE Animation Maker-Helicopter to open this animation: “VSE AM Helicopter”. An animation window appears with the first picture from the helicopter animation in the animation frame.
   
   
3. Eight frames comprise the helicopter animation; their names appear in the frames window. The From and To drop-down lists allow you to select the first and last frames of an animation.
   
   
4. To watch the helicopter animation: Click the Play button or press the space bar. Notice, as the animation plays, the software highlights each image name in the frames window as that image appears in the animation.
   
   
5. Select Set > Animate Frame Selection from the menu bar. AM deselects the Animate Frame Selection option and stops the highlighting of each item in the frames window.
   
   
6. Click the Stop button to stop the animation.

Frames window buttons

At the top of the frames window are five buttons that help you work with the animation frame. They are (from left to right):

New

Creates a new animation frame.


Duplicate

Makes a copy of a frame you select in an animation set.


Make Alias

Makes a copy of a frame in an animation set by referring to the original. This takes less memory than duplicating a frame.


Change frame position

Opens the change position dialog box (see chapter 6)


Delete

Removes a frame from an animation set. A double click on a frame name will show you information about that frame.

You learn more about working with each of these buttons in later chapters.