Cannot Change Video Track Height

[jelnet]

Hi Forum

I'm trying to increase the height of the video track - there is no resizing bar above it as there is above the video track and under the preview window, so I can't see how to increase it's height.

Screenshot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mYE7rqZ7Y7VsZ0gvh_TLo6t52xeemAaI/view

V 7.30

Thanks for any help!

[borate]

Pull down the resizing bar that is above the audio track and the video will enlarge.  Or on the toolbar click HOME, CLIPS or SEQUENCE.

To reset the interface, click the 'hamburger' three-lined button at the top-left of the window, then the VIEW choice.  In the drop-down menu, click Restore Default Layout.

[Nationalsolo]

Hi

".... I'm trying to increase the height of the video track - there is no resizing bar above it as there is above the video track ..."

Were you perhaps referring to the Audio Track??

This can be increased in height by dragging the white bar situated below the Video track upwards........

From the point of view of the Video track......If you just have Video Track 1 with a clip on it, the height of the track can be adjusted from quite narrow to quite large by grabbing and moving the white bar under the Preview Window ,  (marked below)  up or down........

Note that these images are to the same scale.  The white bar is the bar under the preview screen area. This increase in the height of the track is at the expense of the height of the preview windows.

In some instances the height of the track can be very small.....There is a button that will expand or contract the track......

Note the position of the marked chevron. Clicking this will expand the track back to a "normal" height.

If however, you have multiple tracks (2 or more)  there is a limit to the height you can have for each track. Dragging the white bar mentioned previously up will  enlarge then tracks up to a point. After that the grey area above the tracks will enlarge but the tracks will remain at that limit...(Below)... (I would prefer myself that the tracks enlarge to the maximum possible leaving the grey area very narrow.....but.....)

The idea , I presume is to allow as many tracks as possible to be visible before scrolling becomes necessary.. With the white bar set as high as possible and the other white bar below the video tracks set as low as possible this will be 6 tracks........

....any more than this and you will have to scroll them up and down with the scrollbar at the right hand end .   THAT IS  UNLESS you choose to contract the tracks (one or more) with the chevron mentioned above.... In that scenario you can have up to 13 tracks!.......(But that might impinge on your ability to rapidly edit or render your projects...)

Anyway...there are a few hints

Nat

 

 

[jelnet]

Thanks very much for your detailed replies. I've tried pulling down and up the sizing bars but to no avail, please see screenshot:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cBGRLi1MovejlEhWkmn1_7kNpwX339Hg/view?usp=sharing

Also, I'm a bit confused why you'd need multiple video tracks (apart from text overlays), because presumably only the top video is visible in the final video and I assume it's not possible to do transitions between video clips on different lanes, or perhaps I'm missing a technique here?

Thanks again for your help,

Jeremy.

[borate]

True.  What your link displays is the height limitation of the video tracks.  Click the chevron at the top-right of the VP window and file a suggestion.

Overlays can be used for transparencies, picture-in-picture, other effects.  While  transitions normally apply to adjacent clips on the same track, it is possible to transition between tracks..

In this case a fully transparent blank clip was added to the head of the overlay image.  The X in the blank clip was clicked and a heart was chosen for the IN transition.

Then the X in the overlay image was clicked and a heart chosen for the OUT transition.    https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmKCN6jvYsvCoAqQyecx-Or3ccX2?e=5szWcQ

An overlay track can fade in and out.  Click the f at the head of the overlay and specify a duration.  At the end of the overlay click the X and specify a crossfade duration. 

[Nationalsolo]

Hi

To re-enforce Borate's reply.....2 or more tracks (and you have 2 in your image) will be limited in height at a certain point even when the white bars are dragged apart to the maximum. It leaves  the dark grey overlay addition area inordinately wide.

I would much prefer to see the WHOLE video track area used for the tracks that are in use.  i.e. Shared between 2 tracks, shared between 3 tracks etc. The dark grey area each time remaining as just a narrow band sufficiently wide to contain  the text. In this way all tracks will be as large as possible.

In response to your query re the usefulness of multiple tracks.... You are correct when you say the higher tracks are overlays which obscure the lower tracks, but only when they are the same size....The upper clip can be made smaller., As an example, the upper video clip(s) can be scaled down in size which would allow them to be viewed as smaller clips playing as an insert on top of the main track. (Called PIP...Picture in Picture.) Areas in the upper clips can be masked off or rendered transparent by using a Green screen  and animated on top of the main clip. Text, which is generally created automatically with a transparent background is an obvious example).Another use of the upper track clips is in  cut-aways  which are short segments of video placed on an upper track that play and replace sections of the main track video by covering it up. This means the main track remains complete and any audio associated with it is not interrupted.  This device is often used in interview filming or music filming .

In general a couple of upper tracks is generally all that is required for most applications. More than this and it can become somewhat complex. (And can slow things down considerably.)

In the same way as the main track Transitions can be applied to clips on any track but to work the clips must be "touching" However in some instances a transition can be used even when a following overlay clip is not present. e.g. A Fade transition can be added to the end of an overlay clip for example and will have the effect of dissolving the overlay into the main track video.

There are many uses for overlays so experiment with a few clips on a couple of tracks for a start and see what you get. Any problems or questions, come back to the forum. There is generally someone who will reply.

Nat

 

 

[jelnet]

Hi @Nationalsolo and @borate, thanks very much for your help and support that is very helpful information and quite a bit for me to get my head around being quite new to video, but thanks it's great to know there is a lot of help on these forums.

Also I will log a feature request for resizing of the video lanes.

Cheers,

Jeremy