.. Copyright (c) 2008-2016 OpenShot Studios, LLC
(http://www.openshotstudios.com). This file is part of
OpenShot Video Editor (http://www.openshot.org), an open-source project
dedicated to delivering high quality video editing and animation solutions
to the world.
.. OpenShot Video Editor is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
.. OpenShot Video Editor is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
.. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with OpenShot Library. If not, see .
.. _quick_tutorial_ref:
Quick Tutorial
==============
Using OpenShot is very easy, and this tutorial will take you through the basics in
**under 5 minutes**. After this tutorial, you will be able to make a simple photo
slide-show with music.
Basic Terminology
-----------------
To help understand the steps below, here are some definitions of a few basic
terms used in this tutorial.
.. table::
:widths: 15 60
============= ============
Term Description
============= ============
Project A **project** includes references to all the video files and edits (animations, titles, etc...), saved in a single file.
Timeline The **timeline** is an editing user interface that represents edits and clips on a horizontal ruler. Time progresses from left to right.
Track A separate **layer** on the timeline, which can hold clips. A timeline is made up of many tracks, stacked vertically.
Clip A **trimmed** portion of video, audio, or both positioned on a track, and at a specific position in time. When files are dropped on the timeline, they are represented as a Clip.
Transition A method to **blend** two images. Transitions can take many forms, including cuts, dissolves, and wipes.
============= ============
Video Tutorials
---------------
If you prefer to learn by **watching videos** instead of reading, we have many official video tutorials
that cover a wide range of beginner and introductory topics. These videos are a great next step
on your way to master OpenShot Video Editor!
- `Video: Getting Started `_
- `Video: The Basics (Part 1) `_
- `Video: The Basics (Part 2) `_
- `Video: Basic Animation `_
- `Video: Trim, Slice, and Split `_
- `Video: Chroma Key `_
- `Video: Masks & Transitions `_
- `Video: Backup & Recovery `_
Step 1 – Import Photos & Music
------------------------------
Before we can begin making a video, we need to import media files into OpenShot. Most video,
image and music file formats will work. Drag and drop a few videos or images and a music file
from your Desktop to OpenShot. Be sure to drop the files where the
arrow in the illustration is pointing to.
.. image:: images/quick-start-drop-files.jpg
Alternative methods to add files to your projects are described in the section
:ref:`import_files_ref`. The "Show All", "Video", "Audio", "Image" filters above the added files
allows you to only see the file types you are interested in.
Step 2 – Add Photos to Timeline
--------------------------------
Next, drag each video or photo onto a track in the timeline (as seen in the illustration).
The timeline represents your final video, so arrange your photos (i.e. clips) in whatever sequence you want
them to appear in your video. If you overlap two clips, OpenShot will automatically create a
smooth fade between them (only affects the image, and not audio), displayed by blue rounded rectangles
between the clips. Remember, you can rearrange the clips as many times as needed by simply
dragging and dropping them.
You can also shorten or lengthen each clip, by clicking the left or right edge and dragging
your mouse. For example, if you want a photo to last longer than 10 seconds (the default duration),
simply grab the right edge of the photo (on the timeline), and drag it to the right (to increase
the clip's duration on the timeline).
.. image:: images/quick-start-timeline-drop.jpg
Step 3 – Add Music to Timeline
------------------------------
To make our creation more interesting, we need to add some music. Click on the music
file that you imported in step 1, and drag it onto the timeline. If the song is too long, grab
the right edge of your music clip, and resize it smaller (that will make it end earlier). You
could also insert the same file multiple times, if your music is too short.
.. image:: images/quick-start-music.jpg
Step 4 – Preview your Project
-----------------------------
To preview what our video looks & sounds like, click the :guilabel:`Play` button under the preview window.
You can also pause, rewind, and fast-forward your video project by clicking the corresponding
buttons.
.. image:: images/quick-start-play.jpg
Step 5 – Export your Video
---------------------------
Once you have edited your photo slide-show video, the last step is to export
the project. Exporting converts your OpenShot project into a single video output
file. By using the default settings, the video works on most media players
(such as VLC) or websites (such as YouTube, Vimeo, …).
Click on the Export Video icon at the top of the screen (or use the :guilabel:`File→Export Video` menu).
The default values will work fine, so just click the :guilabel:`Export Video` button to render your
new video.
.. image:: images/quick-start-export.jpg
Conclusion
----------
You should now have a basic understanding of how OpenShot works. Importing,
Arranging, Previewing, and Exporting. Hopefully this tutorial took less than
**5 minutes** for you to complete. Please read the rest of this guide for a more
detailed understanding of OpenShot and its advanced features.
If you have any questions after reading this User Guide, please consider joining our
`Reddit User Community `_ to discuss topics, ask
questions, and meet with other OpenShot users.