Download these files to your system:

Smoke_Essentials_Archive.zip


Images courtesy of: Les Films Stupéfiants & Buzzimage Group
Images are subject to copy right: please read the disclaimer at the end of this tutorial.

You need to download the provided footage to your system in order to complete each of the exercises. Note that this project archive is using images that are soft-imported to the Library. Soft-import is linking to the images location on the system instead of copying these images inside the Library. Normally you would use uncompressed images in a Smoke project, but because of the web download constraints, these are JPEG images.

1. Copy the “Smoke_Essentials_Archive.zip” to your system and make sure you unzip the file before proceeding to the next step.
2. If not done already, start Smoke with the “Smoke_Startup” project you just created in the previous exercise.

There are different ways to acquire footage in the Smoke Library. Smoke supports various image formats and can as well input video from tape. Furthermore, Smoke has a proprietary archive format that maintains the Library structure. In this case we will restore a Smoke Project Archive.

1. Start on the Smoke EditDesk.
The EditDesk is your working environment when you start Smoke.
Because this is a new project, the only available Library is “Default”.
2. Click on the Clip Library Box to access the “Default” Library.
3. In the Library, select the Archive menu.
4. In the Archive menu, click on the location path to access the file browser.
5. Navigate to the directory that contains the archive file.
6. Choose the file “Smoke_Essentials_Archive”.
The archive consists of two parts; make sure you select the file header and not the segment file.
7. Press Open to open the archive.
8. Notice that the Library now states: Archive.
You can expand the Archive folder to see its content.
9. Make sure you select the top folder “Smoke_Essentials_Archive” to include everything underneath.
10. *Important: Change the default Selection option to Project.
We need this option because we want to restore a complete project not just footage’
11. Press Restore.
12. When the restoration process is finished, press Close.

We just restored a Project Archive; but we are still working in our Smoke_Startup project. Now we need to switch and load that new project.

1. Press Exit Library to go back to the EditDesk.
2. Press Preferences to access this menu.
3. In the Project Management section, click on the Project box and choose the “SMOKE_ESSENTIALS” project.
This is the project that was just restored.
4. Press Load to load that project.
There is a little blue LED that indicates which project is loaded.
5. Press Exit Preferences.
6. Click and hold the Clip Library Box and choose the “Smoke_Essentials” Library to access it.

The actual Library footage is full HD resolution. Normally you would use uncompressed images in a Smoke project , but because of the web download constraints, these are JPEG images. In order to accelerate the interactivity inside the application we will generate proxies. A proxy is a lower resolution image that is a copy of the full resolution image. Proxies allow you to switch between full and proxy mode whenever required.

1. Still in the Library, press CTRL+ALT+F6 to access the Preferences.
2. Click on Edit to edit the “SMOKE_ESSENTIALS” project.
3. Change the Proxy Options: choose Proxies On, the default is Proxies Off.
4. Keep the default proxy settings which are Scale 50%.
This means that the proxy size will be 960x540 since the originals are HD 1920.
5. Press Apply Changes.
6. Click Confirm.
The system will start generating the new proxies on the Smoke storage.
This may take a while (one minute maybe); let the process finish.

The proxies are linked to the original files. Have a look inside the Library.

1. When the process is finished, click Exit Preferences, or press CTRL+ALT+F6 on the keyboard.
2. You are back in the Library.
3. Open the folders to see some of the clips.
4. Select one clip, and press ALT.
This display the clip information in the status bar.
5. Notice that the clip resolution is 1020x1080, and also that it has a proxy (P) of 960x540.
6. Press Exit Library.
7. You are now ready to start the next exercise.