How-to video: Making a shiny button

[Bob Hahn]

Inspired by an earlier post, I put together a clip showing how to make a shiny button in Xtreme.

Easy to do, and it looks pretty good! If I do say so myself.



-Bob.

[Merlinski]

You're not wrong - it looks great, I love watching the way people go about things and picking up tips.

I might make a few myself in the future. What programs do you use to record?

Also, I made a backdrop for a digital media player a few years back using the way i do buttons like yours, but adapted to be more bubble like. The objects are in a certain place on the screen because that's where information or icons appeared when the media player was in use - it all kinda went together.

Anyway, take a look...

http://www.digitopia.it/scrapbook/backdrop.png

[Bob Hahn]

Originally Posted by Merlinski

You're not wrong - it looks great, I love watching the way people go about things and picking up tips.

I might make a few myself in the future. What programs do you use to record?

Thanks, Merlinski.

I used Windows Media Encoder (it's free.) I recorded at 800x600. What I do though is I have an 800x600 shape as my desktop wallpaper and I resized Xara to cover that 800x600 block. That way, I don't need to change my screen resolution.

I use the Screen Capture wizard in Media Encoder to set things up, but before I start, I go to 'Properties' and to the 'Compression' tab and edit the Video Codec from Video 9 Screen to Video 9.

Then I upload the video as is to YouTube.

-Bob.

[-=Drifter=-]

Bob, what an outstanding tutorial! I just did it step-by-step to your video. I learned a great deal of little things I never thought of. Thank you.

[Soquili]

Bob great video. I had not thought of using clipview for the highlight as you have shown. Thanks.

[ankhor]

Thanks bob, I do it totally different, but your way is great.
I learend a couple of things too I didn`t use or know yet.
Very clear video, thanks for it.

[Bob Hahn]

Thanks!

I know there are other ways of creating the same effect, but this works too and makes it a bit easier to make later edits.

If for example you want to thicken the edge that is highlighted around the button, you'll just need to make the inner circle smaller. Doing so, you'll also need to fix the colouring so the inner circle will blend in again (piece of cake)

It gives the illusion of a ring, without cutting out a shape and forming an actual ring which is harder to edit (well, extra work anyway)

Cutting out the highlight area instead of using ClipView works too, but to reposition it, it's not as easy.

I'm all for having something look good, plus somehow make it easier for edits.

-Bob.

[a4hire]

Great Video Bob
I was wondering how you made it. You said you used windows Media Encoder. And this is free. Where can I get the Windows media encoder ? Is it part of windows? Or do you need to download it somewhere?

[Blobly]

I learnt a few new things in this tutorial. I didn't use to know what Clipview was. Because of this tutorial, I looked it up in the Help System and now I know...

[Bob Hahn]

Originally Posted by a4hire

Great Video Bob
I was wondering how you made it. You said you used windows Media Encoder. And this is free. Where can I get the Windows media encoder ? Is it part of windows? Or do you need to download it somewhere?

It is a download. I have Windows Media Encoder 9 Series it is the second one on the download page. I'm using Windows XP.

Windows Media Encoder



Bloby, good work on the button! You are welcome.

-Bob.