An XMAS Intro Tutorial

Version: June 20, 2005

1 – Open XMAS by double clicking on the XMAS Shortcut icon on your computer desktop. Login using your username and password. Be patient and allow it to open completely.

 

2 – Put DVD in your player. If it begins to open in a window outside of XMAS, close that program immediately!

3 – Open a new essay by clicking on the Essay icon . If opening an existing essay, your work is stored in “My Essays” located on the right sidebar of the application: click “My Essays” button and then double-click on the title of an essay. Again, be patient. Sometimes the “Essay” window takes a minute to open.

 

4 – Save your essay (click on Floppy Disc icon ) and name appropriately.

5 – Click “DVDs” button to view list of titles. Double-click appropriate title of the DVD you have in your player. A DVD Display window will then open up within XMAS.

6 – Once the DVD window appears, BE PATIENT. Click the PLAY button and wait for the main menu to appear.

 

7 – Once the DVD begins to play, our controls enable you to move around in the DVD in various ways: Play/Pause/Stop; Fast Forward/Reverse (you can set speed via middle arrow); Step Forward and Back (again, you can set speed – frames/seconds –via middle arrow); or Chapters (the middle arrow provides a complete listing).

 

8 – You can set the “Start/End” points of any clip you desire to capture by clicking the “Set Button” to the right of the Start/End times. (The “Go To” Button here will take you to that point in the Time Code Area.)

9 – You can test any clip by clicking on “Play Clip.”

10 – Once you have designated the clip you intended, click “Save Clip.”

11 – A dialogue box will appear. Check the “Add to Essay” box and designate the appropriately named essay in the pull-down menu to the right of that box. Title your clip in the “Title” box. Once you have done all these things, click “Save.”

 

12 – Your clip will automatically be saved in the essay you already have opened.

 

 

13 – You can add your own prose to your Essay describing the significance of the clip you have inserted and developing an argument about the film in question. Your prose can be formatted using the editing tools available in the Essay window.

14 – Clips can be deleted from your essay just as prose can. You can also click and drag other clips in directly from your “My Clips” list. Even if you erase clips from your Essay, they will stay in “My Clips” so they can be used another time.

To playback clips from the Essay, you have 2 options:

a) Click on the "Edit Mode" button to unhighlight it, which switches you out of edit mode, and click on clip link. (Remember to click on the "Edit Mode" button again to modify essay text or add more clips.)

or

b) First, click on the desired clip in the "Essay Clips" list on the righthand side of the essay window, then right-click on the selected clip in the list and choose "Play" from the popup menu that appears.

15 – Remember to save your essay often. Close the XMAS program then remove the DVD from your player when you are done.