Making Animated Wallpapers using DreamMaker
A Guided Tour of Stardock DreamMaker
WinCustomize Forums
Many people have asked how to make .Dreams, so it's obviously time for a guided tour of DreamMaker. Dreams are animated wallpapers that run on Windows Vista Ultimate using Stardock DeskScapes. DeskScapes is an enhancement to Windows DreamScene that adds features such as dynamic dreams, triggered dreams based on conditions such as the time of day, and much more.
To create and use your Dreams, you will need a few things. First, you will need Windows Vista Ultimate, and DreamScene which is available through Windows Update. Next, you will need to download Stardock DeskScapes and DreamMaker (both free) from Dream.WinCustomize.Com.
In this first tutorial we are going to create a simple looped video Dream using DreamMaker. The next item you will need is content. Alex Kipman from Microsoft posted a series of tips on how to create animated wallpapers. I would suggest giving that a good read before you start making your content. Now your content can come from a variety of sources. Some people render animations using 3D programs such as 3DS Max and Maya, and some record video using HD cameras, and some use applications such as Adobe After Effects. There are many ways to create content, and that will be your decision on how you pursue that.
For this tutorial we want either a .wmv or .mpg file. Preferably a .mpg as .wmv files can be more CPU intensive.
Once you have your video file, start DreamMaker.
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Dream Information tab |
In the "Dream Information" tab you will enter the name of your Dream, along
with it's description. Then you will need to add your thumbnail image,
usually a shot of what your Dream looks like.
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Dream Contents tab |
Moving on you should now select the "Dream Contents" tab. You will
see three options for single video file, triggered video, and dynamic
content. Selecting triggered video will bring up an option to add
videos that will trigger at a certain time of day. For this
tutorial we will stick to a single video file. Click browse and
select your video file you want to use as a Dream.
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Author Information tab |
The Author Information tab is where we will enter our name, website,
copyright info, and any other relevant information. Once all
that is entered click "Create Dream", and your Dream will be created
and DreamMaker will take you to the folder it's located in.
You have completed your first Dream, not too hard was it?
Now you will want to head over to WinCustomize and
upload your
creation to the Dream gallery for the world to see.
[digg]http://digg.com/software/Making_Animated_Wallpapers_using_DreamMaker[/digg]
