Amiga Plus 1996 #5/Amiga Plus CD - 1996 - No. 5.iso/pd/grafik/jacosub/tips.txt

Text File | 1996-04-27 | 7KB | 210 lines

Random tip file
---------------
Put whatever you want here, keeping in mind the following
constraints:

1.  No more than 10 lines per tip.
2.  No more than 640 total characters per tip (for example,
    limit your tips to 10 lines of 64 characters).
3.  All tips must begin with a comment line having # as the
    first character.
4.  The last line in the file must NOT start with #, and must
    be terminated by a carriage return at the end.

No checking is done in the code to ensure that you comply with
these rules -- break them at your own risk.

If you change this file, JACOsub will notice the new timestamp
(assuming your system clock is set properly) and automatically
create a new tips.hsh file (a hash file containing offsets for
each tip so they can be located quickly).  Just to be safe,
DELETE the tips.hsh file every time you change tips.txt.

The random selection of tips will be most evenly distributed
if the total number of tips is a multiple of 16.

Send me your tips for inclusion in the next release! -Alex

The first tip will appear only if no tips.hsh file is found.
Tips.hsh then gets created so that the other tips can be used.

# 1 - "Intro" tip
First time running JACOsub?  These tips will appear
each time you run the program.  You can edit the text
file tips.txt to your liking.  Tips may be disabled
in the General Settings config menu.

Play the demo scripts, study them, and learn.  Read
the documentation, and have a good time.

If you have registered the program by credit card,
please read Register.doc in the documentation drawer!
# 2
When subbing from laserdisc, you can use its pause
control to sync your scripts.

Set your scripts up so that they start the instant you
unpause your player (i.e. - hit play and a key at the
same time).  This will make them extremely consistent,
and easier to start.  This is useful if you have titles
that accurately match the video's credits.
# 3
Don't make your titles appear too low on the screen,
or the bottoms may get cut off on some TV monitors.
# 4
Give it a rest.
# 5
Be sure to choose colours that aren't
too saturated (i.e. keep the RGB levels
lower than 13).  Among other things,
over-saturated colours can exaggerate
dot crawl and colour bleeding.
# 6
Want to load a text file (not a script) into
the editor?  Use the Insert File menu selection.
# 7
Want to make the right mouse button
behave differently when timing a script?
Select "General settings" from the Config
menu, and click on the RBM gadget.
# 8
If you can reasonably do so, set the play screen
to have as few colors as possible (like 4 or 8)
and use the #PALETTE command and CP directive to
switch palettes to simulate more colors.  This allows
titles to be generated faster (requiring less video
buffers), and consumes less memory.

Be sure you switch palettes during a blank time
interval, however.
# 9
Do not fear computers.
Fear the lack of them.
   - Isaac Asimov
# 10
Good literature is about Love and War.
Trash fiction is about Sex and Violence.
# 11
During "live" playing, if you notice a
title staying up too long, you can clear
the screen by pressing the RETURN key.
# 12
Genlocks often shift the screen.  You can center the genlocked
playing display while leaving the editor screen alone.  When
you play a script, pause at the pre-play instructions display,
and use the arrow keys to center the display while genlocked.
Remember to save your configuration settings before you exit
the program, so that your play screen position will be used the
next time you run the program.

(Screen centering works only under AmigaDOS 2.0 and up).
# 13
You can save the size and position of your
editor window for future sessions by selecting
"Save config" from the Config menu.
# 14
Use the #Include command for including into your
script credits or song lyrics that you may use many
times for a multi- episode show.  That way, you have
to time them only once.  The included scripts may
overlap in time -- JACOsub will sort it all out.
# 15
Always smell as nice as possible.
# 16
If you have a particularly rapid sequence of titles which cause
a "video buffer catch-up" problem during script play (where the
program can't generate its title images fast enough to keep up
with the time events), try the following things:
1. Eliminate short blank intervals between the titles.
2. Use a font with built-in outlines, so you don't have to make
   JACOsub generate outlines around text.
3. Reduce the number of colors allocated during play.
4. Increase the number of buffers.
5. Use only color 3 in the rapid sequence (it's faster).
# 17
When using a large font (like JACOsub 36) try
to avoid having more than two subtitle lines
appear on screen simultaneously.  More than
two may intrude to much into the video image.
# 18
Don't go crazy with internally-generated font
outlines and dropshadows, especially when
using large fonts.  They take time to generate
and they look unattractive if made too thick.
# 19
If specifying a font outline or shadow
thickness in a default directive, ensure
that such generation is suppressed
(FO0FS0) when fonts possessing their own
outlines and shadows are used.
# 20
Use the blitter (see the General Settings
menu selection).  But if you see strange font
artifacts for some titles that extend through
multiple time events, disable the blitter on
the offending line with the FB0 directive.
# 21
Make sure you reserve in your
scripts a small amount of time
to initialize your genlock in
advance of performing a fade.
# 22
AmigaDOS 2.0 and above can scale bitmap fonts.
If a script calls for a particular font that
you have, but you don't have the specified size,
try it with the specified size anyway.  It
won't be perfect, but it might be acceptable.
# 23
Hook up an audio speaker to your computer's
audio jacks.  JACOsub will beep if it
encounters a problem during script play
(like failure to load a graphic or allocate
memory for scrolling).

Also, you can use the "beep" option when
playing a script to give yourself audio
cues of timing accuracy.
# 24
Can't figure out how something is done?
Check out the demo scripts demo.js and
its companion idemo.js; also scrldemo.js
and cycldemo.js.  They contain examples
of nearly everything you can do with a
JACOsub script.
# 25
If you change your email address,
be sure to let the author know, so that
you will be informed of future updates.
Write to [e-mail],
or [e-mail].
# 26
Before reporting problems to the author,
make sure your problem is reproducible,
and describe exactly how to reproduce it.
Send your script to the author if needed,
or try to reproduce the problem with one
of the demo scripts.
# 27
If you've never timed a script with JACOsub
before, be sure to read the section of
JACOsub.doc called "How to Time a Script In
Real Time."  JACOsub's timing features are
powerful and easy to use.
#28
JACOsub will load faster if you set most
of the initial font settings the same.
#29
Set your auto-endtime parameters so
that you only have to worry about
producing accurate start times when
timing.  Properly set, the endtimes
should take care of themselves.
#30
If you've been shifting the times during
script play to keep your script in sync,
select View Ramp/Shift from the Timing
menu when the script finishes playing,
to see how much shift you ended up with.
Use this amount to RAMP-correct your
script in the future.