For many assignments inclusion of relevant pictorial illustrations is likely to be an advantage. 'Production values' matter just as much for essays as for film/video/drama productions. These brief notes refer to capturing still images from moving image sources. Where your subject matter includes films, television programmes and commercials it is highly likely that the inclusion of particular shots, or sequences of shots to accompany a shot-by-shot summary, may be valuable.

• The easiest way to capture images is to press the PrtScrn (Print Screen) button. This works, for instance, if you are replaying a clip on Windows Media Player. However, this does not work in all circumstances, which is why there are more suggestions below.
• If you have material on video then one way is to use the video editing facilities (if you are a film/TV/media student in the department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies). However, there is also video capture software available if you have a TV capture card. If you are using freeware such as 'Thugs at Bay' software, here's a checklist:
  • Ensure SCART lead is plugged into VCR.
  • Ensure set for 'Composite Video' (rather than, for example, Tuner).
  • Ensure set to PAL.
• If you have the material on DVD the best way is to use a DVD player such as PowerDVD which comes free with some PCs (maybe a friend has a copy of a computer-based DVD player than includes a stills capture option).
• With material from online the method depends on the format of the material and the software to which you have access. Note that usually it's not possible to use ordinary image-capture software (in graphics packages such as L-View Pro or PaintShop Pro) because moving audio-visual images will appear to shift around the screen when you try to capture them. It is possible to capture such images with software such as Adobe Premiere. You may also be able to do this on your own PC if you temporarily turn off 'Hardware Acceleration'.
• At the time of writing there was an 'image grabber' called the 'Capturex Image Grabber' at: http://www.cliprex.com/, downloadable from: http://www.cliprex.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=docclick&bid=8. You could install this on your own PC if you have one.
• Occasionally you may be able to find some ready-made stills on the Web, but they may not be exactly the ones you would like. Unfortunately only very rarely will you find a whole sequence of suitable stills online - though these do exist, for instance on the Commercial Closet (gay-interest commercials) website. Even if you do find a ready-made sequence of stills it may force you to choose a film, programme or commercial that isn't necessarily what you'd have chosen and that may not be ideal for your purposes.
• If all else fails consider using storyboard-style images instead of actual stills.