Manual
This Manual describes every menu item, tool, button, and option in Korsakow 5.0. See also the Quick Start guide, the FAQs, and the basic video Tutorials.
NOTE
In this Manual, the ‘user’ is the person using the Korsakow System to make a Korsakow Film. The ‘viewer’ is the person viewing the completed Korsakow Film in a web browser such as Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer.
Contents
1.0 Top Level Menus
NB The Top Level Menus appear at the top of the Korsakow application main window.
Korsakow application main window
This is the central project window through which all Korsakow Films are organized and assembled, prior to Export. The main window lists all the media assets assembled (via drag-and-drop) for a Korsakow project, and provides access to the SNU Editor and the Interface Editor. The main window can be resized by dragging the bottom righthand corner.
The list of media assets can be organized in several different ways by clicking on the column headers (eg Name, Type, Lives, etc). For example, since the default order is alphabetical, descending, clicking on the header at the top of the ‘Name’ column will reorganize the entire list alphabetically, ascending. Click on the header again to reverse the order. Click on the ‘Type’ header to organize everything according to the type of media, and so on. The columns can also be rearranged by clicking and dragging any header to a new position on the left or right of its current position.
For a larger project, folders can be created and nested to help organize all the media assets. To create a new folder, click on the New Folder icon in the bottom righthand corner of the main window.
Double-clicking on any media asset except an interface or a sound file will open up the SNU Editor for that media file. Double-clicking on an interface will open up the Interface Editor.
1.1 FILE
File > New
Begin a new Korsakow project. NB A new Korsakow project (.krw) file is only created on first Save.
File > Open
Open an existing Korsakow project (.krw file)
File > Recent
A shortcut to open a Korsakow project (.krw file) that you have recently worked on
File > Save
Save all changes made to a Korsakow project (.krw file). If this is a new project, the first Save actually creates the .krw file. Makes an audible confirmation when used. Use this regularly to avoid losing work. (NB There is no Autosave function as yet.)
File > Save As
Save a Korsakow project (.krw file) with a new name and/or in a new location.
File > Import > Version 3 Project
Import a Korsakow project created in Version 3. Navigate to, and then select, the database.txt file for that project.
File > Import > Shared Interface
Korsakow Interfaces are the layouts of Main Media and Preview widgets visible during the playing of a Korsakow film. (The Default Interface is three small Preview widgets evenly spaced under one large Main Media widget.) Use this menu option to import an existing Interface (.kif file) that is not already in the current project – perhaps designed by you for another project or shared with you by another Korsakow film maker.
File > Export > For Web
Export the current Korsakow project for playing in a web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari). Projects designed to be viewed online must be uploaded to a web server using a regular FTP client (e.g. WS_FTP, Fetch, Transmit) after Exporting. Projects can also be viewed offline by opening the index.html file in the Export folder using any web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari).
File > Export > Shared Interface
Any Interface that has been created using the Interface Editor (accessible by double-clicking on any existing interface file in the Korsakow application main window, or clicking on the ‘New Interface’ icon in the bottom right corner of the
File > Project Settings. See below:
1.1.1 The Project Settings Dialog
The Project Settings dialog box (File > Project Settings) offers several settings, and is divided between two tabs, Movie and Export, as follows:
Movie tab
Name
This is the Project name. It will appear in the Korsakow application main window and, once exported, in the title bar of any web browser that plays the Korsakow film.
Movie Size
The overall dimensions of the Main Media widget in the web browser. If the video files are larger than these dimensions, Korsakow will automatically resize them on Export.
Click Sound
Optional. The audio cue heard by the viewer when clicking on a Preview widget. The sound file providing this cue must be dragged and dropped into the Korsakow application main window before it will appear in the Click Sound pulldown menu. The sound file should be in .wav or .mp3 format, although other formats may work. To the right of the pulldown menu is a volume control for the Click Sound.
Background Sound
Optional. The audio heard by the viewer during the entire Korsakow film. Can be turned off for a particular SNU during SNUifying.
Background Image
Optional. The image seen in the background of the browser window. The default is a plain black background. (This colour can be changed by editing the Exported index.html file.)
Start Screen
Optional. The initial static image that appears at the beginning of a Korsakow film. Often used for the title, production credits, etc. The viewer can click on the Start Screen to dismiss it and start the rest of the film; otherwise, it dismisses itself after about five seconds.
Maximum Links
Advanced setting. Optional. Defines the maximum number of links a search of a keyword-line can trigger. This project setting can be overwritten by each keyword-line individually.
Random Link
Advanced setting. Optional. If Korsakow is not able to find any links based on keywords, Random Link offers up a random SNU – but only if there are still some SNUs left to play (ie SNUs with one or more lives left).
Keep Links
Advanced setting. Optional. If Korsakow is not able to find any links based on keywords, Keep Links displays the links of the previously played SNU, minus the last one clicked – but only if there are still some SNUs left to play (ie SNUs with one or more lives left).
Export tab
Controls the method for Exporting the video components of a Korsakow film. Currently offers two different compression ‘codecs’ (FLV and H.264), each with four different levels of quality. This is often a personal choice, and there are few hard-and-fast rules about choosing a particular codec. Generally speaking, if a smaller file size is paramount, use one of the H.264 settings. If speed of Export is paramount (eg when viewing a quick draft version of a K-Film in progress) use FLV Low.
As a very rough comparative guide, here are the results of one of our recent benchtests to give an idea about what you can expect with each setting. In this example, we exported the same trivial K-Film eight times, ie once for each setting. (The content was a follows: 5 SNUs, dimensions 640×480; duration between 90 and 180 secs; file size of .movs between 150 and 350MB, or very approximately 100MB per minute.) NB Image and sound quality varies greatly depending on the quality and type of internet connection, computer, and browser. Again, this is a very rough guide.
| Type | Time to Export (mins) | Filesize (MB) | Image Quality | Sound quality |
| FLV Low | 2.5 | 29 | Major artifacts | Crisp |
| FLV Med | 2.5 | 30 | Minor artifacts | Crisp |
| FLV High | 2.5 | 38 | Minor artifacts | Crisp |
| FLV Max | 3.0 | 90 | No artifacts | Crisp |
| H264 Low | 38.0 | 46 | No artifacts | Slightly muffled |
| H264 Med | 56.0 | 48 | No artifacts | Slightly muffled |
| H264 High | 68.0 | 48 | No artifacts | Slightly muffled |
| H264 Max | 90.0 | 56 | No artifacts | Crisp |
Misc. tab
Advanced feature. Provides four options for saving project files as relative or absolute paths.
1.2 EDIT
Edit > Duplicate
Makes an exact copy of any media asset, SNU, interface, etc, that has first been highlighted in the Korsakow application main window.
Edit > Delete
Deletes any media asset, SNU, interface, etc, that has first been highlighted in the Korsakow application main window. (See also the Delete button in the bottom righthand corner of the Korsakow application main window.)
NB The icons at the bottom right corner of the Korsakow application main window provide some Editing functionality:
New SNU
Click to create a new SNU from an existing media asset listed in the Korsakow application main window. The media asset must be selected first. Opens up the SNU editor. (Double-clicking on a media asset in the Korsakow application main window will also open up the SNU editor.
New Interface
Opens the Interface Editor. Double-clicking on an existing interface listed in the Korsakow application main window will also open the Interface Editor.
New Folder
Creates a ‘virtual’ folder allowing the user to organize any number of items in the Korsakow application main window. Using these folders does not actually move any of the files on the user’s harddrive. There is no limit to the number of folders, and folders can be nested inside one another. Double-click on a Folder’s icon in the Korsakow application main window to open it and examine its contents. Double-click it again to close it.
Rename
Allows the user to name or rename a virtual folder.
Delete
Highlighting any single item in the Korsakow application main window and pressing Delete will remove it from the current project. To select more than one item use the Command key or Shift key. Deleted SNUs and interfaces will be lost forever. Media assets will be removed from the project but not deleted from the user’s harddrive. Note that there is currently no ‘Undo’ function in Korsakow, so use this feature very carefully! (If you do accidentally delete the wrong thing, try quitting Korsakow without saving changes and reopening it. NB This will lead to the loss of all unsaved changes!)
1.3 TOOLS
All of the Tools are floating windows providing extra information about the Korsakow film being made. They do not need to be open for Korsakow to work.
Tools > All Keywords
All Keywords Tool
Lists all Keywords in the current project. Keywords are used when SNUifying. Each Keyword has a score, shown to its left, indicating how many times it has been used as an ‘in’ (i.e. "I am…") Keyword and as an ‘Out’ (i.e. "I am looking for…") Keyword. These are indicated using a red cube (In) and a blue cube (Out). These icons can also be seen in the SNU Editor. Double-clicking on a Keyword in the All Keywords Tool window while SNUifying will add that Keyword to the In and Out fields of the SNU. (Note that more than one SNU Editor can be open at once but only one can be selected at a time; this change only applies to the one that has been selected). Clicking on just the ‘In’ column of the Keyword in the All Keywords Tool window will add that Keyword only to the In field of that SNU. Clicking on just the ‘Out’ column of the Keyword in the All Keywords Tool window will add that Keyword only to the Out field of that SNU. This shortcut means that the user only has to type in each Keyword once for the entire project. Clicking on the small black triangle to the right of the Keyword reveals exactly which SNUs are using the Keyword and in what way.
Tools > All SNUs
Lists all SNUs in the current project. Clicking on the black triangle on the righthand side reveals the In and Out Keywords being used in that SNU.
Tools > All Links
Lists all SNUs in the current project. Shows the other SNUs linked to each SNU. SNUs are linked to one another via shared Keywords.
Tools > Unused Media
Lists the Media that have not been used as SNUs. Also includes Previews.
1.4 LANGUAGE
The application was built in English, but users are encouraged to help us expand Korsakow’s accessibility by providing different language translations. So far we have French and Portuguese. Select the preferred translation and restart Korsakow to activate it. This can be done as often as the user likes.
1.5 HELP
Help > Load Example
To help new users understand how Korsakow works, it includes a simple, but complete, Korsakow film called Circle of Life. New users should try loading this project, exploring the way it was made (especially the SNUs and the Interface), and then exporting it. We recommend doing this without making any changes, at least on the first try. After that, make one change at a time to see how it affects the Exported film.
Help > Show Log
If Korsakow goes wrong, it automatically creates an error log. The error log is an invisible plain text file called ‘korsakow.log’. It can be retrieved and viewed by selecting ‘Show Log’. This feature is especially useful if we are attempting to help you sort out what went wrong with a project.
Help > Korsakow Homepage
A direct link to the Korsakow project website. Selecting this option will open your default browser and point it to www.korsakow.org
2.0 SNU Editor
SNU Editor
The SNU Editor allows the user to SNUify their media assets. The SNU Editor can be opened in two ways: either double-click on a media asset (except an interface or a sound file) in the Korsakow application main window, or highlight a media asset (except an interface or a sound file) and then click on the ‘New SNU’ icon in the bottom righthand corner of the main window. From top to bottom:
SNU Name
The textbox at the top is where the user names (or renames) the SNU. The default name matches the name of the media asset. Giving the SNU a new name will not change the name of the associated media asset in the Korsakow application main window or on the user’s harddrive.
Media Player
Below the textbox is a window for previewing the media asset that is being SNUified. This includes a play/pause button and a timeline scrubber which can be dragged back and forth.
Settings
Start-film
One or more SNUs can be selected as the first SNU to play. If there is more than one, a start-film will be chosen at random.
End-film
One or more SNUs can be selected as the last SNU to play.
Loop
Optional. If this box is checked, the SNU will keep playing over and over until the viewer clicks on the preview for another SNU. While the media itself loops, the keyword rules are only triggered the first time through.
Insert text
Optional. Any text placed here will appear in the Insert Text widget.
Lives
Controls how many times the SNU can appear during one viewing. For no restrictions, select ‘infinite’.
Interface
Select the interface design to be used when this SNU plays. By default the Default Interface is selected.
Background sound
Optional. Sound(s) to be played during the SNU. Any audio files already in the Korsakow application main window will appear here in the pulldown menu. Only one file can be selected as the background sound for any given SNU.
SNU Rating
Advanced feature. Optional. The chances of a SNU being selected, assuming there are more available in a given moment than the number of Preview widgets will allow. Can be altered or weighted using the SNU Rating slider. This feature adds an intentional bias into otherwise random selections. Can be left at 1.00.
Keywords (see also Tools > All Keywords)
Keywords are the DNA of a Korsakow Project. ‘IN’ Keywords (indicated by the red cube icon) describe the content and/or the meaning at any given moment in the SNU being edited in the SNU Editor, and can be thought of as "I am…" statements. ‘OUT’ Keywords (indicated by the blue cube icon) tell Korsakow how to find SNUs with matching ‘IN’ Keywords while the Korsakow is playing, and can be thought of as "I am looking for…" statements. Korsakow can also be told when to activate its OUT (ie "Looking for…") Keywords using the Time column in conjunction with the video scrubber.
- IN Keywords can be added by typing in the textbox, and using commas to separate each one. We recommend not using spaces or unusual characters for your keywords. NB Spaces at the beginning or end of keywords are automatically removed.
- OUT Keywords can be added by typing in the window marked ‘Code’. We recommend not using spaces or unusual characters for your keywords. NB Spaces at the beginning or end of keywords are automatically removed. The Time associated with each OUT Keyword (shown in seconds and milliseconds) is the point at which it is triggered during the playing of the SNU. The default is 0.00 secs, meaning that as soon as the SNU starts playing, Korsakow goes looking for SNUs with matching IN keywords to show as Previews. The Time can be changed by clicking once in the appropriate row in the OUT Keywords, and then moving the scrubber to another point in the media asset’s timeline. The Time can also be manually edited by double clicking it.
- Korsakow automatically re-organizes the rows of OUT Keywords according to their associated Time setting. Assuming they share the same Time setting, OUT Keywords can also be typed on one line, separated by commas and single spaces.
- Use the SNU Editor in conjunction with the All Keywords Tool (see Tool > All Keywords) to speed up the SNUifying process considerably.
Max Links
Optional. Advanced feature. Defines the maximum number of links a search of a keyword-line can trigger. This project setting can be overwritten by each keyword-line individually.
Preview
Select the media asset that will be used as the SNU’s Preview using the pulldown menu. A small Preview pane helps identify the correct media asset.
Preview text
Optional. Any text placed here will appear on top of (ie superimposed on) the associated Preview.
Save
Make sure to click on Save after SNUifying!
Cancel
Clicking on Cancel will delete all current changes.
3.0 Interface Editor
Interface Editor
Korsakow Interfaces are the layouts of Main Media and Preview widgets visible during the playing of a Korsakow film. It is not necessary to use the Interface Editor to create a Korsakow film. Instead, the Default Interface (three small Preview widgets evenly spaced under one large Main Media widget) can be used. However, more advanced Korsakow filmmakers will likely want to use the Interface Editor to create visual variety or to make the appearance of their Korsakow films an integral part of their storytelling. Indeed, a single Korsakow film can have many different interfaces. These are assigned while SNUifying: simply select the appropriate interface using the pulldown menu in the SNU Editor. Remember that interfaces can be shared with other Korsakow users via File > Import > Shared Interface and File > Export > Shared Interface.
The Interface Editor can be accessed in two ways: either double-click on an existing Interface in the Korsakow application main window (this is good for editing an existing interface); or, click on the ‘New Interface’ icon in the bottom righthand corner of the Korsakow application main window.
The Interface Editor consists of a stage or canvas with an adjustable grid, and a righthand column with two tabs: Tools and Settings. The stage simulates a browser window. Items that appear on the stage are Widgets. These can be dragged onto the stage from the Widgets palette in the Tools tab. Widgets placed and arranged here will appear in the browser window in the same arrangement, once the project has been Exported and the index.html file has been double-clicked. (Note that the background grid is only for guidance and is never Exported.)
- Unwanted Widgets can be highlighted with a single click and then deleted using the Delete key on the keyboard, or the red Delete button in the Tools tab.
- Widgets can be moved around by clicking and dragging anywhere inside them. These will snap to the grid. Snapping can be temporarily disabled by holding the ‘ALT’ key (Windows) or Option key (Mac) while dragging.
- Widgets can be resized by clicking and dragging their corners. These will snap to the grid. Snapping can be temporarily disabled by holding the ‘ALT’ key (Windows) or Option key (Mac) while resizing.
- By default, resizing enforces the aspect ratio the widget had before you started resizing. This can also be disabled while resizing by holding the SHIFT key (Mac and Windows).
- All the widgets on the stage can be selected together by using CTRL+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac).
Tools Tab
Info
Shows the size and position of any widget on the stage, after it has been selected (ie clicked once). All measurements are in pixels. The position of a widget, in x and y values, is measured from the top lefthand corner of the widget. Following the usual convention for screens, where the x-axis is horizontal and the y-axis is vertical, x=0 and y=0 is at the top lefthand corner of the design area.
Properties
Shows the adjustable features for any widget selected on the stage, in addition to its size and position. The available features depend on the kind of widget. For example, the Properties associated with the SNU Auto Link and Subtitles widgets include font information such as colour, weight, and size.
Widgets
A list of available widgets. To use a widget in an interface design, click on its name and drag it to the stage. Currently available widgets are as follows:
- Main Media: The main window where SNUs play. At least one is required.
- Preview: Default preview windows. There is no limit to the number of previews.
- Preview (Multi Link): Advanced. Preview window where the available SNUs are specified in a scrollable list.
- Preview (Fixed Link): Advanced. Preview window for a single, predetermined SNU.
- Master Volume: Optional. Adds a volume control to the Korsakow Film.
- Media Area: Optional. Any media can be dragged directly onto this Widget, or selected via the dropdown menu in its Properties, and will behave independently of the SNUified media when the Korsakow Film plays. (Dragging media directly onto the stage will also generate this widget, preconfigured for that media.)
- History: Optional. Shows a graphic bar to indicate dynamically the path taken by the viewer when viewing the K-Film.
- Get History: Optional. Allows the viewer to download information on the path they have taken when viewing the K-Film.
- Insert Text: Required if any Insert Text has been created during SNUifying.
- Subtitles: Required if Subtitles have been created.
Settings Tab
Name
The name of the interface as it appears in the Korsakow application main window.
Keywords
Currently redundant feature.
Grid
Controls the size of the grid squares on the stage. Widgets will snap to this grid unless overrides are used (see above). Measured in pixels.
Click sound
Optional. Selects the sound file to be played when the viewer clicks on something in the K-Film. (The sound file must be dragged and dropped into the Korsakow application main window before it will show up here.) Its volume can also be set here using the slider.
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