�Index


[1 - Introduction]
     [1.1 - Requirements]
     [1.2 - Using the Help System]
     [1.3 - Printing the Manual]
[2 - The Screensaver]
     [2.1 - Extendosave Module]
     [2.2 - Standalone Screensaver]
[3 - The Construction Set]
     [3.1 - Loading Degas Pictures]
     [3.2 - Loading .MOV Animations]
     [3.3 - Loading .SEQ Cyberpaint Animations]
     [3.4 - Changing the Movie Title]
     [3.5 - Changing the Authors Name]
     [3.6 - Setting Playback Speed]
     [3.7 - Previewing the Movie]
     [3.8 - Saving Degas Pictures]
     [3.9 - Saving .MOV Animations]
[4 - Movies at Night File Format]
     [4.1 - Movie Header]
     [4.2 - Movie Data]
[5 - Program History]


�1 - Introduction
~[Requirements] [Using the Help System] [Printing the Manual]

  Movies at Night is a unique screensaver system that plays animated 'movies'
when you are not using your computer. The system is composed of two parts; A
screensaver utility, and a movie construction set. 

  If this is your first time to use Movies at Night, click on the "Using
Help" button to obtain more information on the help system.

  The Movies at Night screensaver module and construction set are Copyright
1994 by Anthony Watson. Any unauthorized duplication of the program(s) or
documentation is a violation of federal copyright laws!

 Movies at Night is SHAREWARE. If you use these programs, please send $10 to:

                        Mountain Software
                        6911 NE Livingston Road
                        Camas, Washington  98607   USA

Shipping is FREE in the US and Canada. Please add $5 for foreign orders.

�1.1 - Requirements
~[Introduction]

  The Movies at Night screensaver module will work in ST Low or ST Medium
graphics modes only. The construction set operates only in ST Medium.

  Memory requirements depend on the animation you are loading. However, a
minimum of 1 Meg is recommended.

  You must have Warp 9 version 3.70 or later to use Movies at Night as an
Extendosave module.

�1.2 - Using the Help System
~[Introduction] [Printing the Manual]

  The Movies at Night Construction Set features a built in help system. Press
the 'HELP' key at any time to get assistance with the program.

  Text is scrolled using the cursor keys or the left and right mouse buttons.
Clicking the left mouse button over the manual text will scroll UP through the
manual. Clicking the right mouse button over the manual text will scroll DOWN
through the manual. To scroll by page hold down the CONTROL key when
scrolling.

  Chapter and Section headings are displayed in inverse text. Clicking on any
heading will immediately take you back to the index.

  Below each heading, and in the index, are a series of keywords or phrases
signified by brackets, "]" and "[". Clicking on these keywords will
immediately take you to the section of the manual pertaining to that phrase.

�1.3 - Printing the Manual
~[Introduction] [Using the Help System]

  To provide the highest quality possible from the manual printouts, and to
maintain compatibility with all printers, GDOS is required by the manual print
functions.

  The "Print Manual" button at the top of the Help menu is used to print the
entire manual.

  The "Print Section" button is used to print the current section of the
manual. The current section is always displayed at the top of the help menu.
If the current section is a Chapter Heading, all subsections in that chapter
will be printed also.

  Once a print option is selected, a small menu will appear for font
selection. Click on the desired font display to select a new font for that
item.

  If you are using Speedo-GDOS we recommend "Bitstream Cooper Black" for
chapter titles, "VAG Rounded" for section Titles, and "Bitstream Charter" for
text. Font sizes are automatically scaled to the resolution of your printer.

  If you are using an older bitmap GDOS, we recommend "Swiss" for chapter and
section titles, and "Dutch" for text. 24 point fonts are used for chapter
titles, 18 point fonts are used for section titles, and 12 point fonts are
used for the text. If you do not have the appropriate point sizes, the next
lower point sizes will be used.

  Click on "Print" to begin printing. Pressing any key will abort the printout
when the current page is finished.

�2 - The Screensaver
~[Extendosave Module] [Standalone Screensaver]

  The screensaver utility will work as an Extendosave module for Warp 9
(Version 3.70 or later), or as a standalone screensaver, depending on how it
is installed.

�2.1 - Warp 9 Extendosave Module
~[The Screensaver] [Standalone Screensaver]

  Rename the screensaver utility (MOVIES_1.PRG) to MOVIES.EXT, then place the
utility in the directory of your choice.

  Place your desired movie(s) in the same directory as MOVIES.EXT. If a single
movie is placed in the directory, it will be used every time you reboot. If
multiple movies are placed in the directory, the screensaver utility will
randomly select a movie each time the module is loaded (Up to 255 movies are
supported for random selection).

  Using the Warp 9 Control Panel accessory, load the MOVIE.EXT module. Set the
desired screensaver delay in the Warp 9 Control Panel, then save your setup
from the Warp 9 Control Panel.

�2.2 - Standalone Screensaver
~[The Screensaver] [Extendosave Module]

  Place the program MOVIES_1.PRG in the AUTO folder on your boot drive. Set
the screensaver delay by renaming the program file. This delay may be set from
1 to 9 minutes by changing the number in the filename (i.e. Rename the file to
MOVIES_5.PRG to delay 5 minutes before kicking in).

  Create a folder titled "MOVIES" in the root directory of your boot drive
(i.e. C:\MOVIES\ or A:\MOVIES\). Place your desired movie(s) in this folder.
If only one movie is placed in this folder it will be used everytime you
reboot. If additional movies are placed in this folder, Movies at Night will
select one at random each time you reboot.

  Reboot to activate the screensaver.

�3 - The Construction Set
~[Loading Degas] [Loading .MOV] [Loading .SEQ] [Title] [Author] [Speed]
~[Previewing] [Saving Degas] [Saving .MOV]

  The Construction Set allows users to create their own screensaver animations
from a series of Degas picture files, or to convert Cyberpaint animations for
use as screensaver animations. In addition, the Construction Set allows users
to view and modify .MOV animation files.

�3.1 - Loading Degas Pictures
~[Construction Set]

  A series of uncompressed degas pictures (.PI1 format) may be loaded by
clicking on the ".PI1" button under the "Load" category. A file selector will
appear allowing you to locate your degas pictures. You may click on any frame
in the series to start the loading process.

  Once all frames have been loaded you will have the option of deleting the
original Degas series of pictures.

  The various frames may be named anything you like as long as all frames have
the same name, and are numbered sequentially. Up to 999 individual frames are
supported, and they may begin with any number you wish.

Examples of acceptable frame titles:

     NAME001.PI1    FRAME0.PI1     TITLE1.PI1
     NAME002.PI1    FRAME2.PI1     TITLE002.PI1
     NAME003.PI1    FRAME4.PI1     TITLE__3.PI1
     NAME004.PI1    FRAME6.PI1     TITLE04.PI1
     NAME005.PI1    FRAME8.PI1     TITLE5.PI1

Note that frame numbers do not require leading zeros, can skip numbers if
needed, and may vary in format in the same list. The only "trick" is to click
on the frame that best describes the other frames. For example, you would not
want to click on TITLE__3.PI1 in the third list above, as the Construction Set
would start searching for other frames starting with "TITLE__".

�3.2 - Loading .MOV Animation Files
~[Construction Set]

  .MOV files are "Movies at Night" animation files. The Construction Set
allows you to load them for viewing without Warp 9, or to modify playback
speed or other movie parameters.

  To load a .MOV file click on the ".MOV" button in the "Load" category. A
file selector will appear allowing you to locate and select your desired .MOV
file.

�3.3 - Loading .SEQ CyberPaint Animations
~[Construction Set]

  .SEQ files are Cyberpaint animation files. While this format provides better
compression than the "Movies at Night" .MOV format, it has the drawback of
requiring decompression time.

  To load a .SEQ file click on the ".SEQ" button in the "Load" category. A
file selector will appear allowing you to locate and select your desired .SEQ
file.

  Loading .SEQ files can take a while as the file is decompressed and
converted to .MOV format as it is loaded.

�3.4 - Changing the Movie Title
~[Construction Set]

  To change the movie title, click on the "Title" button. A small dialog box
will appear allowing you to enter or modify the movie title. Press the return
key when you are finished.

�3.5 - Changing the Authors Name
~[Construction Set]

  To change the author name, click on the "Author" button. A small dialog box
will appear allowing you to enter or modify the movie title. Press the return
key when you are finished.

  Please respect the original creators of .MOV animation files and do not
alter the author name of an animation file!

�3.6 - Setting Playback Speed
~[Construction Set]

  As with the movie title and author name, the playback speed of the animation
is stored within the animation file itself. Since playback speeds can vary
from one animation to the next, it is not convenient to set playback speed
through the screensaver. Also, configuring playback speed in the construction
set simplifies the screensaver utility.

  To change the playback speed click on the appropriate 'arrow' key to 
increase or decrease playback speed. Values of 10 to 20 are common for most
animations.

�3.7 - Previewing the Movie
~[Construction Set]

  If you would like to preview the animation click on the 'Play' button.
Clicking the mouse or pressing any key will return you to the main menu.

�3.8 - Saving Degas Pictures
~[Construction Set]

  Each frame of an animation may be saved as an individual Degas .PI1 picture.
Most often this would be used for "touching up" an animation in an art
program, though it could also be used for loading animations into other
programs.

 To save an animation as a series of Degas files click on the ".PI1" button in
the "Save" category. A file selector will appear. Locate the directory you
wish to save the files in, but DO NOT select a file.

Frames will be titled FRAME001.PI1, FRAME002.PI1, FRAME003.PI1, etc... Note
that individual frames of the animation can use a LOT of disk space!!! Be
prepared...

�3.9 - Saving .MOV Animations
~[Construction Set]

  The .MOV animation format is used by the "Movies at Night" Extendosave
module. Converted animations should be saved in this format.

  To save an animation in this format, click on the ".MOV" button in the
"Save" category. A file selector will appear. Locate the directory you wish to
save the file in and enter the desired title in the file selector.


�4 - Movies at Night File Format
~[Header] [Data]

  The .MOV format is a custom animation format that was developed specifically
for use in screensavers. It involves a form of delta compression, whereby only
the 'changes' between frames are saved. While other animation formats provide
somewhat better compression, the .MOV format has the advantage of instant
playback without decompression time.

  The .MOV format assumes a screen size of 32000 bytes, and simply ignores any
bitplane information. Screens are simply viewed as 32000 byte 'memory blocks'
and only the changes between these 'blocks' are stored. While the basic format
could easily be adapted to other graphics modes, the only mode currently
supported is ST Low.

  Changes are stored as 'offsets' from the top of the screen memory. Using an
offset allows the full screen to be addressed using only a WORD size, and
allows for screen memory to be located anywhere in memory. An offset of '0'
would be the upper left corner of the screen and is the same address as the
start of screen memory. An offset of '32000' would be the lower right corner
of the screen and is the last word of screen memory.  Since a WORD allows
65536 variations and the screen only uses 32000 variations, certain 'offset'
values have been defined as 'Control' Words and denote special functions.

�4.1 - Movie Header
~[Format] [Data]

Every Movie begins with 25 Words, which tell about the movie:

24 bytes - Movie Title (pad with spaces if necessary, last byte must be 0!)
24 bytes - Movie Author (pad with spaces, last byte must be 0!)
 1 byte  - Currently unused (provided only to maintain WORD boundaries)
 1 byte  - Playback speed (0-255, Number of 200hz 'ticks', This is usually 10)

�4.2 - Movie Data
~[Format] [Header]

The actual movie data consists of a 'control' Word followed by any number of
data words. The Control Words are defined as follows...

+--------+
|  FFFF  | - END OF MOVIE
+--------+

  A Control Word of 'FFFF' signals the end of the movie. When this word is
detected, the movie should begin again at the SECOND frame.

The first frame stores changes from a 'blank' screen.
The last frame stores changes to the SECOND frame.


+--------+
|  FFFE  | - END OF FRAME
+--------+

  A Control Word of 'FFFE' signals the end of the current frame. The viewer
program should display all changes in a frame until this word is detected.
Then it may pause as long as necessary between frames to achieve the desired
playback speed.


+--------+----------------+
|  FFFD  |  16 Words...   | - SET NEW PALETTE 
+--------+----------------+

  A Control Word of 'FFFD' signals a new palette. 16 Words follow the Control
word and contain the palette information.


+--------+--------+-------+-------+
|  FFFC  | Offset | Count | Value | - REPEAT VALUE
+--------+--------+-------+-------+

  A Control Word of 'FFFC' is a signal to repeat a value. The first word that
follows is the offset value and is the number of words from the top of screen
memory to the start of the changes. The next word is the 'count' value and is
added to the Offset word to define the end address. The 'Value' word is then
stored from the start to the end address.

***  Every movie should begin with a Control Word of 'FFFC', an OFFSET of 0, a
COUNT of 32000, and a value of 0. This clears the screen without requiring
extra screen clearing code in the viewer.


+--------+--------+-------+---------------+
|  FFFB  | Offset | Count | Data Words... | - DATA FOLLOWS
+--------+--------+-------+---------------+

  A Control Word of 'FFFB' signals that a series of data words follows. The
first word is the offset value and is the number of words from the top of
screen memory to the start of the changes. The next word is the 'Count' value
and is added to the Offset word to determine the end address. The following
words are then placed between the start and end addresses.


+--------+--------+
| OFFSET | VALUE  | - DEFAULT
+--------+--------+

  If the Control Word does not match one of the above specifiers, it is an
'offset' value and is the number of words from the top of screen memory to the
start of the changes. The value word is then stored at that screen address.
(This is the most common situation!)

�5 - Program History


Screensaver:
------------
Version 1.1 (December 3, 1993)  - Added random movie selection
Version 1.2 (July 22, 1994)     - Screensaver now works as a standalone saver

Construction Set:
-----------------
Version 1.0 (February 10, 1994) - Original Version
Version 1.1 (July 22, 1994)     - New Interface Code
                                - Added online Help system
                                - Fixed bugs in resolution change routines
                                - Improved animation compression
