While MediaStudio Pro is squarely aimed at the editor who wants total control over everything, quite often (especially under a tight deadline) it's nice to sit back and just use something off the shelf. The trouble is, many "canned goods" don't give you much control over the content. SmartCompositor is the best of both worlds. You can think of it as stock video which you can freely customize (or not!) to meet your own project's needs. Let's take a look.
You access SmartCompositor the same way you insert a title clip: by clicking on the timeline's integrated toolbar:
This opens up the SmartCompositor window:
On the left you'll find a set of categorized composites for various needs (Sports, Documentaries, Romantic). Each category displays a set of thumbnails for each composite. Click a thumbnail and the project is loaded into the player on the right. You can then play it in the large preview window. If it works for you right out of the box, click Insert and you're done. If, on the other hand, you'd like to customize it, click the Next button. Doing so will display this:
What you see here is almost like a mini Video Editor. All the clips that make up the composite are displayed in the track view at the bottom. They are grouped by type (media clips, titles, etc.) for clear access. Clicking on a track will open up the Production Library in the upper left, as shown here:
At this point you can drag and drop your own clips to either replace existing clips or even append to what's already there. Titles can be edited and background music can be changed. Once your customizations are complete, click insert. Are you ready for the best part? The SmartCompositor clip is nothing but a virtual clip:
You'll see it on the timeline just like any other virtual clip. And -- just like any other virtual clip -- you can double-click it to decompose it into its component parts in a new timeline:
And many of these SmartCompositor components themselves are virtual clips, which can subsequently be opened. (There's no pre-determined limit to the amount of nesting like this.)
That's why this is the best part. Even though you have some basic customizations available to you within the SmartCompositor dialog box, once it's on the timeline, anything goes. It not only gives you as much customization as you'd ever want, it's also a great way to learn how to make complex, layered composites. It's like being able to "View Source" and peer into the inner workings of the effect.
You may alreay be wondering, "Is there a way to make my own SmartCompositor projects from scratch?" The answer is, "not yet." Hopefully we'll see something soon. I can't say much more than that.
Well, I hope you like it!
