Recipients of nine Emmy Awards for technical innovation, Pinnacle products have long been a favorite among professional broadcasters. Now, with Liquid Edition shipping on Alienware Systems new line of notebook computers (and capturing the top engineering award at the National Association of Broadcasters convention), the rest of the world is discovering them, too.

Here to help users get up to speed on it fast is the first guide devoted solely to Pinnacle s advanced editing system. In this book, former Liquid Edition team member Paul Ekert uses simple step-by-step instructions peppered with loads of tips and visual aids to show readers how to streamline their workflows and enhance their creativity with Liquid Edition. With sections devoted to using the timeline, creating special effects, DVD authoring, audio production, titles creation, troubleshooting, and more, experienced editors can go directly to the areas they need help in, while beginning editors can work their way from cover to cover to get a thorough grounding in all aspects of the program.

I first started to use Liquid Edition when I was working in the QA development center for Pinnacle Systems. Because I was an old-school Adobe Premiere user, this "single-track" solution wasn't a working environment I felt comfortable with initially. However, I soon came to appreciate the power of unlimited video layers and saw immediate advantages to using off-the-Timeline DVD authoring and the real-time preview of filters and transitionsespecially because I could access all these features without expensive or difficult-to-install hardware.

Finally I had discovered a way to edit and create DVDs, complete with special effects and titles, from within the one application, Liquid Edition. These features are the reason I now rarely use any other program to create my videos.

Although Liquid Edition offers affordable power and an incredible potential for creativity, you should still realize that no matter what type of video you are producing, you must make sure it is clearly and cleanly presented. Otherwise, your carefully nurtured production looks amateurish, the interest of the audience wanes, and you find you've wasted your time.

The secret to avoiding this painful scenario is simple: You must understand how to get the best from the software you are usingin this case, Pinnacle Liquid Edition 6. Once you know this, you are free to be as creative as you want.