Nationalsolo

Hi "What is weird however is that when opening the "movie" i can actually expand it to full screen in spite of 720X576 pixels- what is not plausible as regards clip though the latter has now the same chracteristic- that is 720X 576" Even though the player may show it full screen, your movie is 720 x 576 with an aspect ratio of 1.25. If you do see it full screen it may be that your player either "stretches" the image to fit your screen from side to side. (I am assuming your screen is similar to mine with AR = 1.5 or that you have a wide screen 16:9) Alternatively you may see full screen if the player enlarges it slightly and then truncates the top and bottom to make it fit. These are the only ways your IMAGE will assume the same SHAPE as your screen. It will fit an old TV monitor though which is 1:2.5 In any event VP will not alter the AR of your film image, If the original is AR 1.25 then the output is AR 1.25. "I am not sure If I understand you well, but as far as I am concerned If I insert HD 720 setting the resolution changes automatically into 720X1020 or sth and consequently I was not able to set HD 720 and 720x576 at the same time." That is correct...but the shape (AR) of the image will not alter. The pixel values you enter when setting up the .avi refer to the the frame shape and size. Your image will be fitted into this by enlarging it or shrinking it. If you set pixel values larger than the resolution of your film, then your film is expanded to fit (and thus will lose some clarity-not much if the values are close) but if the AR you choose doesn't match your film then you will have borders either to the left and right or top and bottom within the screen shape. If you select HD720, this means a frame size of 1280 x 720 pixels. (1.77) Your image is 720 x 576 (1.25) and when fitted by enlarging it leaves a black border to each side. The image will remain the same shape; VP will not stretch the image out. (But you can crop your clips to 16:9 and have a full screen image at the expense of losing parts of the top/botton of the image. I mentioned HD 720 as I find this resolution OK for VHS tape analogue to digital copies which have an AR and resolution the same as yours. If you choose to set a custom resolution of 720x576 (there are no presets that exactly match this) then you will have a full frame image, although when shown on a TV (not an old type) or on your PC you will still have side borders since these screens are not the same shape. Your image will always be AR 1.25 unless you crop it to somthing different in VP. "The movie was converted into avi from cassete recoridng on camera," If it was a standard VHS analogue cassette "grabbed" and converted to a digital copy then that may explain why the quality may be not as good as the original, and the AR. Super VHS or Hi8 come out better but I have never managed to get a copy that matched the original and I have converted hours of tape (and film). If you feel the quality is not good enough however It is possible to enhance your clip using a virtualdub sharpen filter, one of many filters (.vdf files) that can be incorporated into VP. Nat

Hi I have never encountered this effect (happily !!) but I notice you are using version 2.2....I haven't used this version myself, only 2.41 and 3.02. so I can't comment with how you might resolve it. The zoom worked perfectly in V2.41 so if you can get that it may solve the problem. The latest version, 3.02 is a little more complicated overall with some good features but there are serious issues relating to the slow speed of recording editing changes which have yet to be resolved (IMHO). To my mind the zoom in this latest version is not as intuative as 2.41 and seems to judder the borders of the frame as the zoom progresses. Get 2.41 if possible is my advice. Nat

Hi What was the format of the original "Movie" please from which you took the 30 second clip? (That is type of file and frame size e.g. MPEG4 Full HD 1080 ; 1920 x 1080 ; 1280 x 720 etc.) From your post it seems the original was 720 x 576 pixels. If you "expand " this up to 1080 which you seem to have done at first then the result would be more granular than the original since you can't change the original resolution and you are making it larger. Also the aspect ratio of the original would be 1:1.25 (720/576) and as this is less than the VP screen which is 1:1.77. you will not fill the screen from side to side with your format (even your original) without cropping your clip to 16:9 and losing a portion of the top and bottom. It's probably best to export using the same values as the original if possible in this particularcase it would also be considerably faster.to render than selecting 1080. Have a look at the post entitle "Problem with creating a video" and try the settings I have suggested there for rendering an .avi and see what you get. On many occasions I have copied VHS video (analogue to digital) at 720 x 576 pixels and got reasonable results using the HD720 setting. As I said, you won't get full frame if your clips are 720 x 576 pixels. If you want that then you will have to crop your clips beforehand. Best of luck Nat

Hi Larry So far so good. Having setup your menu options your videos to burn will be shown as thumbnails along the bottom of the main screen. (and if you have set it up OK you will have images and titles associated with the selection rectangles.) Now click the orange disc icon on the tool bar for "Burn" In the screen that comes up, tick the box for "preview" Note that the radio button "burn" will be active. Don't worry though, as soon as it has done its' work it will stop and allow you to preview your disc before continuing.....In fact you don't need a disc in at this point. Now click "Start" Styler will generate a progress list and a complete DVD preview with menus on your PC and open it in media player so you can run through and check that it all works. After closing the player, Styler, (still open behind the scenes) will prompt you to create a DVD (provided you are happy with the result you have just tested) Click "yes" and with a DVD in the slot it will carry on and complete the burn. It's a pretty useful piece of software and as you have probably found very versatile. Just needs a bit practice. Nat

HI all and Zwills I don't think this crash at 2m39s is a problem related to gaps in the sequence as in V2.41, which I understand Zwills is using, the video track clips automatically joint on and there are no gaps (except the overlay and sound tracks.) I assume that the crash occurs when Zwills is trying to create the .avi on his PC.but also asssume that the complete sequence previews OK within VP. It might be a PC problem?? One possible solution (workaround) might be to cut the sequence just short of the point where it crashes and remove All of the clips to the right of this point. Then save this first section as .avi.(using the settings I mentioned) Reload the project (I understand the .vpj file and clips are still there) and then cut again at the same point, or just before it to provide an overlap, but now remove the clips to the left. Save a second .avi. In short, break up the sequence into smaller sections and save each as a separtae .avi file. Assuming that the .avis create and save OK then close VP, reopen it and then reload them to the media list and sequence line. (May take a short time) and trim off any overlaps between them. Now save the complete sequence again as a new .avi. If it fails this time it has nothing to do with fades/transitions/editing/overlays of the original clips as VP treats these loaded files as a complete, single units. Worth a try. Nat

Hi Following on with trying out 3.02. I have just made a quick test movie (5 mins) of 20 or so short MPEG4 clips. It was just to compare 3.02 to version 2.41 (which works OK on my system.) . I have to say I didn't notice an excessive delays as previews were created (green bar progress) but this seems to be because I was adding each clip one at a time to the end of the sequence and dealt with each clip one at a time, and each was quite short. If I added a huge clip from another source then it was another story. Big clips take an age. I tried to save the test project to DVD (I normally make an .avi and save with another program) It rendered the sequence apparently OK, taking about 10 mins but then it started writing to disc..and never stopped! After 30 mins I eventually stopped it, whereupon VP aborted the procedure and promptly crashed due to an abnormal exception. Anybody else found this?? I think they need to look at it. Nat

Hi Zwills Glad you have got your project back. In another post I have outlined the steps I take and the settings I use to save my finished projects to my PC in a playable form. (.avi). (See "Problem with creating a video") Once this has been done I use a third party DVD creator program to create a menued DVD (DVDStyler mostly) using that .avi. I assume you have your Project .vpj file OK and all your clips/images still on your PC so you can re-create your project without a problem in the event of a crash. Until you sort it out don't empty your cache file. Give the steps I mention in that post a try and let us know how you got on. Nat

Hi Larry If you follow the steps I posted above carefully, you should end up with an .avi file on your PC. You can check that this plays OK before going any further by opening it with either WMP (It should play if you used the MPEG4 (Native) setting I mentioned) or the free VLC player. It should also play in the Irfanview player. If it plays OK then use a third party DVD creator. You can create your DVD using DVDStyler......Sothink DVD creator.......or the Windows DVD creator program that came with the old version of Movie Maker.. All of these will permit you to make menus and allow you to put several projects onto the disc. If your .avi file is OK then you will not need to use VP for the DVD bit as it seems you are not getting it to work. Best of luck Nat

Hi Larry "How do I save my .vpj file with videopad program? It will only save as a .vpj file to my pc!? " The .vpj file IS saved to your PC (see my P.S.) Nevertheless just to explain........ After you have opened VP and added video clips or images to the timeline you are in the process of creating (or editing) a video. This your PROJECT. As you work with your project, adding further clips, sounds etc., VP creates a file in the background which contains details of these clips, whether they are images, videos or audio; their sizes; thumbnails etc., as well as details of all the manipulations that you have done.with them such as splits and transitions. This called the CACHE file. However this is simply a data file and it can get get quite large as it may also contain the details of other projects you may have worked on. When you close VP at the end of an editing session, the data usually stays in the cache (but you can set VP to delete it - but we won't go into that ) Now, when you reopen VP, the program can't recreate your previous work from these data directly, it requires another file of information to do this. This is your PROJECT FILE. and it is up to you to create and save this before you close VP down, and generally it is a good idea to do this on a regular basis. To create your PROJECT FILE you simply click the Taskbar "File" option at the top left of your screen. (or if you have VP version 3.02, the green tab below it labelled "File") On the contextual menu that drops down select "Save Project File as". Enter a name and then browse to the folder where you want to save it and then click "Save" Your project file will be saved as a .vpj file with your chosen name in your selected folder. It will have an icon depicting a film frame containing a yellow star. THIS is the file that VP uses to reconstruct your work. The .vpj file contains not only the details of the clips etc. used in your project (as found in the cache) but also their addresses on your PC. In the event that you deleted the cache in error, your work will still load from the data held in the .vpj file, but it will simply take longer as in this case, the cache files would have to be rebuilt. Double clicking the project file icon will open VP and reload your work at exactly at the point where you saved it. Alternatively you can open VP first and then select "Open a project" from the menu options mentioned above and then choose it from the folder you saved it in. You can easily save your project regularly as you work by selecting the "Save Project File" option. TYhis overwrites the old one using the same name. If you want to save your project with a new name (keeping the old one to go back to) use "Save Project File as" and enter a new name. Provided you have not moved or deleted any of your clips etc, VP will reload your project from the .vpj file. Hope this helps. Nat PS. If you are getting mixed up between saving your PROJECT as a data file and saving your PROJECT as a movie then let me know.

Hi Routinely I save my project regularly as a .vpj file and when editing is completed I save to my PC as an avi file. (This step takes the time as you have seen). I never use .wmv format BTW. To avoid wasting DVD discs if you encounter problems it's a good idea to use a DVD-RW disc as if it cocks up you haven't wasted anything except your time and the disc can be wiped and re-used. In general I test all my videos on a rewritable disc first. Once you have your project saved in .avi format re-rendering is not required and saving it to DVD is fairly quick by comparison. When satisfied that the .avi runs Ok (I use the free VLC player,) I create my DVD (using the .avi) with another free program DVDStyler. Unlike VP's "Create DVD" option DVDStyler enables the user to create fully customisable menus. The completed DVD plays OK. The settings and steps I use to create the .avi are as follows... Once you have your edited clips finished on the sequence line, save your project. This creates a .vpj file. Click Save Movie on the taskbar Select Computer/Data Enter destination for the resulting rendered video. Preset......Click down arrow and choose HD 720 If you have used the larger format select HD 1080 (The default is Custom) File format .avi This is a common container and will open and play in most programs. But if you are creating a DVD, the DVD creating program you use for this will convert it into another format anyway. (VIDEO VOB, BUP etc.) This file, once created (and working) can be used over and over again for further DVDs Resolution Use 1280 x 720 HD 720p Framerate Set this to 25 (TV PAL) or 29.97 (TV NTSC) depending on your TV system The top box will have reverted back to "Custom" but you can ignore it. Now click the button below the boxes marked "Encoder Options" For Video compressor select the MPEG4 (Native) option from the down arrow drop down menu. Ignore the Video compressor settings button. (Should be 4096 for the bitrate and 8192 for the maximum bitrate as defaults) Note that if you select H246 then you can use a slider to alter the video compressor settings and although changing the default can produce a slightly better image the time for rendering may become exceptionally long. For the Sound compressor option select MP3 (Native) and Sound format to 44100 Hz at 128 Kbs Stereo Click OK Click OK Depending on the length of your film, rendering may take a while. As mentioned above, although you can save your work straight to a DVD with VP it doesn't allow the creation of a menu or an interim saved rendered file in case of problems and you can only save one project per DVD so I prefer to use a free third party program such as DVD Styler. Using the above steps I have always had a usable DVD. and.. Providing I haven't deleted or moved the files used in the project I can re-enable it using the .vpj file (even if the cache has been emptied) and re-edit if required. The saved .avi can be re-used repeatedly on further DVDs along with others films made the same way and also , of course, be stored long-term on a data CD. Hope this helps Nat

Hi Just been playing with V3.02. As far as I can see, the .vpj file contains all the data required to reconstruct the project, as this occurs even if the cache file is emptied before the project is loaded. This process however can be very slow. The presence of the cache files speeds up the loading process considerably. However, files can exist in the cache from previous projects or to deleted files/clips from the current project. Hence the cache can get quite big unless the maxium size is set under Options. By clicking the "Dele unused files" in the Options menu you may decrease the time taken to load a project. (In V2.41 this option would delete ALL the files in the cache) The development of the cache file can easily be followed if it is first emptied and a clip is loaded to VP and then dragged to the sequence. Of the 12 files initially created Nos 3 and 4 (with video clips) are the largest and continue to build up as the green bar develops.This at least initially, prevents editing on the sequence until it finishes. It can take some time which is where the nmain delay is. I suspect these two files are connected with the generation of the thumbnails as there is prompt during this period and their final size is proportional to the clip length. If the test is done with an image and the duration of this varied for each test....5...10...20 seconds etc., the thumbnails can be counted and seem to be about 1 TN per second in each clip when zoomed in and the sequence scanned. (Although this may not be valid with video clips). This means a lot of TNs in a large project. Splitting a clip produces more files in the cache, each of which seem to have to be rebuilt again individually. As WMM loads even long clips quite fast and these have only one thumbnail at the start of each clip, the rest being an emty sequence "box", perhaps less TNs would make loading in VP faster? V4.21 is faster but I haven't looked at the TN count in this version.(yet) Nat

Hi As you load clips to project and your sequence tracks, the cache file gradually grows with the details of what the clips are, their sizes etc, copies them and records the thumbnails and details of the cuts inserts and transitions you make. If you don't clear out the cache after finishing a project those files remain there and any new projects you start continue to build up the file. This can make the cache extremely large and possibly hinder the loading and reconstruction of the newer project (??), although you can limit its' maximum size under "Options". In the earlier version of VP the option was to "Clear the cache" and that removed ALL the files. The option in version 3.02 is to "Remove all unused files". Selecting this removes the cache files that are not related to the current project but leaves the files that are in use. This might speed up loading as NHC suggests. In my experience the sequence fills almost straight away if the cache files are present (compared with a long delay if the cache has been completely emptied and consequently has to be rebuilt) Intialising the files is also faster, but there is still a delay as VP seems to have to run through the sequence updating things. Can't think of a way to really speed it up.(3.02) Nat

Hi Did a test today.. A 16 min .avi file took 8 mins 10 seconds to fully load to VP 3.02. It generated some big files in the cache and during this period editing was impossible with screen messages appearing when one tried. One everything had settled down I split the sequence just once and monitored the cache. The action generated some more big files as the green bar started to progress along each new clip in turn stopping further editing for another 7 mins by then there were 18 files. The same video loaded to the sequence in 4 mins 50 seconds in VP 2.41. but the thumbnails appeared quicker and even though the cache files were still being generated,, one could start to edit. Nat

Hi Andy Obviously your clips and images should be the highest resolution possible. Full HD1920 x 1080 I was (and still am) using VP2.41. Version 3.02 has some speed problems although I like some of the features. The formats and things I mention here are what my VP version 2.41 offers. (Its the free professional version at any rate with some formats inactive but these below work. ) Once you have your edited clips finished on the sequence line, these are the settings I use. The DVD video looks OK on my TV (32") My usual original footage is 1280 x 720 MPEG4 H264 (Sometimes I use1920 x 1080 MPEG4 H264) The clips are converted to MPEG2 though, as MPEG4 on my system shows marked lagging of the video against the sound and this causes editing difficulties. The MPEG2 conversions are fine though. For slideshows or inserted still images I use 12 megapixel images cropped to a 19:6 aspect to fit with the video (and the screen area of VP) Click "Save Movie" on the taskbar Select "Computer/Data" Enter destination for the resulting rendered video. "Preset"......Click down arrow and choose HD 720 If you have used the larger format select HD 1080(The default is Custom) "File format" .avi This is a common container and will play in most programs. But if you are creating a DVD the program you use for this will convert it into another format anyway. (VIDEO VOB, BUP etc.) So I use .avi for mine. "Resolution" Use 1280 x 720 HD 720p.......(I meant film format in my original post not file format. "Framerate" set this to 25 (TV PAL) or 29.97 (TV NTSC) depending on your TV system The top box will have reverted back to "Custom" but you can ignore it. Now click the button below the boxes marked "Encoder Options" Select the "Video compressor MPEG4 (Native)" option from the down arrow drop down menu. Ignore the Video compressor setting button. (Should be 4096 for the bitrate and 8192 for the maximum bitrate as defaults) Select "Sound compressor" option MP3 (Native) Sound format 44100 Hz at 128 Kbs Stereo Click OK Click OK Depending on the length of your film, rendering may take a while. Although you can save your work straight to a DVD with VP it doesn't creat a menu and you can only save one project per DVD. I prefer to use a third party program such as DVD Styler..another reason why I save to my PC first. Hope this helps Nat

Hi "The downside unfortunately is that even though you activate the overlay track for splitting up, ALL THE TRACKS including the soundtracks are also split. You have to be careful you don't move any." I Take it all back!! There is the option to single out the number of tracks to be cut in the drop down menu next to the scissors! ........so small I didn't notice it. However my problem now with 3.02 is the abominable delay in generating the thumbnails (particularly with .avi files) and registering insert/splits and writing to the cache file. etc. A 16 minute .avi clip took 5-6 mins to generate and the green bar started all over again when I simply split the clip in two. Nat

Hi Angie The version 3 cache files are all .CACHE type whereas in previous versions of VP the designations were varied, presumably to reflect what the files contained. This is probably why the projects (which use the cache files to generate) are not now interchangable between versions (apparently) as the files are seen as being of a different type. I did see somewhere on the forum however that V3.02 could redesignate the old project files, presumably by changing all the types to .CACHE and so load the project. However, even if this is correct I am pretty certain it doesn't work the other way round for obvious reasons. I have switched back and forth several times between version 2.41 and version 3.02 (which I am trying out but still not sure about despite some useful enhancments,) and have had no problems. If you still have the vpsetup.exe file from both versions saved somewhere, it's just a matter of clearing out all the NCH files and folders from your PC (drop them into the dustbin) and then re-running the particular vpsetup.exe for the version you want. Nat

Hi In the VP "Options" section you can set the location for the Cache file. Note where you have it at present in case you want to move it back, then set it go on the desktop. Depending on how your computer is set up however, the VP cache file may be "Hidden" so if you can't see it on the desktop when you have made this change. If this is the case then you will have to alter the properties of files and folders to show "Hidden" files. Once you see it, you can open it and confirm that you have indeed got data in there. (If you don't like this idea of having all "Hidden" files visible then click the cache folder icon and under properties un-flag "Hidden" and then go back to the Files and Folders properties and reset the general flag. If you are running version 3 then file types in the cache are all .CACHE. In earlier versions the files had different type designations. If you are going to revert to an earlier version of VP then it's best to remove all NCH files and folders (including the cache file) before re-running the vpsetup.exe for the earlier version. Nat

Hi I have to agree with you. VP version 3.02 is extremely slow when it's in the process of generating thumbnails for a first-time loaded clip or re-writing the cache with any changes you have made. However If you don't empty the cache; re-open VP and start again from scratch with a new project, then if you load the same clip and drop it onto the sequence track, it will reload the thumbnails very much faster, (presumably because the data for it is already there,) although other .CACHE files are added to the folder as well. However, when you start to edit it, the rebuilding of the sequence (along with the generation of another set of cache files) takes an age. It would be interesting to know why there is a difference between this version and 2.41 which loaded/saved and updated the data and thumbnail display much faster. To my mind this is a major drawback of this version. Pity as I was begining to like it. Nat

Hi Seashell ASPECT RATIO This is the ratio of WIDTH of image/HEIGHT of image. For example: Old VHS video was compatible with old TV screens which was a ratio of 4:3 = 1.333 35 mm images (slides) if you use them, are 36:24 = 1.5 HD video can be 1920x1080 or 1280 x 720 which a ratio of 16:9 = 1.777 There are other ratios in use also The screen shape in VP is 16:9 Clips and images that you use are made to fit to the VP screen, but they are NOT stretched or shrunk to change their inherent aspect ratio. This means that if you use for example, digital copies of VHS tapes ("Save those cherished memories") they will fit top to bottom but are not wide enough to fit side to side so the VP screen will have black borders on each side. Digital copies of 35mm slides will also have borders to each side but these will be narrower. HD digital video will fill the VP screen without borders. The "Crop" command will allow you to change the aspect ratio of your images/clips, either to eliminate any borders if 16:9 is selected or to create borders (if you want them). Let's say you have a digital copy of some "Cherished memories" originally on VHS tape. Being ratio 4:3 these would play with a border on the left and right as mentioned. By selecting the "Crop" effect you will have the choice of cropping to any ratio you want, freehand, 4:3 or 16:9. with the aid of the adjustable red rectangle By selecting 16:9 button, the red rectangle you see will assume this ratio and you may then resize it but it will remain the selected ratio. Note that you will lose some image at top and bottom of the frame when you make it as large as possible..It's up to you to place it at a suitable height so what you lose is not too important....THAT'S the downside...BUT the resulting image will now fit the VP screen with no borders as it has the same aspect ratio. Even if you reduce the red rectangle in size, what appears within it will always fill the final VP frame with no borders. Crop is also used to "magnify" an area in the clip. "Zoom" is similar to "Crop" but you will now see two images with the red rectangles. On the top one you may set the start position and size of the red rectangle and in the lower image the final position and size for the red rectangle. (You are in effect setting two keyframes between which VP will create a smooth progression. Following what I wrote above, you will have selected the aspect ratio to give image shape you want. As with "Crop" the rectangles will adjust to this ratio. 16:9 will therefore be full frame throughout the zoom. Hope this explantion helps a bit THose BLACK BARS Hmmm. THAT does seem a puzzle. I have no idea why there are vertical black bars on your sequence line clip.What does the sequence line look like with just the clip on it and no zoom, and what format of clip are you using? When you zoom in on the sequence do the bars remain on the thumbnails? Note that the images here are only thumbnails generated from the clip and the bars may simply be an artifact created by the VP software as the zoom is processed for the thumbnails but I have no idea only that I have never noted this in Version 2.41 or (so far) V3.02 Do they appear in the preview in the right hand pane as the zoom progresses? If they don't then I wouldn't worry too much as its probably a bug. I would try a later version of the software. Nat

Hi Dougie Further to my post.... As we, (Borate and I) said, the main track stays in synch as the insert plays over top of it and the cut-away of, say, spectators is fairly easy to implement. You may have a problem though if your insert also has to synch with the sound shown in the main track (e.g. performers playing the thing you are hearing) and what if you need to add several cut-aways of this type? I recently completed a video of a local orchestra (I play violin with them ) It had numerous cutaways to the players, conductor etc.. (I wasn't playing for this bit as I was using the roaming camera !) I used two cameras, one fixed for a general view and I roamed around during the performance with the other, shooting closeups etc. Each video recorded the complete performance so each had a full identical sound track. Editing In VP 2.41 was very time consuming as it meant sectioning the cut-away video to create numerous short clips and then inserting these into gaps created in the main video after unlinking the soundtrack (to keep it complete,) and matching the insert duration to the duration of the portions cut out and at the same time matching up the audio (muted) with the unlinked main track audio. A PAIN but a useful exercise. I thought 3.02 might be easier as it would simply mean placing the cut-away video over the main video on the overlay track and then, after matching up the sound tracks accurately, muting the overlay track and then cutting it where required and removing the unwanted sections. This works brilliantly! The gaps left remain in place and each insert stays accurately registered with the main track. The downside unfortunately is that even though you activate the overlay track for splitting up, ALL THE TRACKS including the soundtracks are also split. You have to be careful you don't move any. I think this is a design fault as one should be able to split individual tracks independantly. So beware. The way round this is to link (group) all the separate bits that have to remain together, like the main soundtrack and your overlay track inserts. Nat

Hi Put your video clip/image onto the sequence line. Click the clip to select it and then open the effects pane. Select "Zoom" On the left you should see two frames from the clip, each with a red rectangle. You should select the aspect ratio for the zoom to match the aspect ratio of your clip. e.g. 16:9 In the top image drag and resize the rectangle to match where you want the zoom to start. In the lower image drag and resize the rectangle to match the end position for your zoom. You can preview the effect and readjust if necessary. Click OK and wait for the effect to be generated. The zoom will play for the full length of the clip. You could download 2.41 or the latest...3.02 versions of VP Nat

Hi You don't need to cut anything now in V3.0 and you don't have to unlink the sound as you had to do with the earlier version. As Borate says. Just put your main video onto the sequence line (Track 1) Place you insert clip onto track 2 mute it and move it to where you want it to drop in.. That's all you need to do.. The insert clip will play over the main clip but the main clip sound will continue to play. The main clip will reappear when the insert ends. (It continues to play behind the insert and so always remains in synch. Nat

Hi Borate .....Yup! Now that's a proper zoom. Nat

Hi Borate "Use the MOTION|SCALE effect in the same way that you would opacity. Draw the blue line from bottom-left to top-right and you'll see an image that starts small and smoothly zooms in to maximum." This control is, indeed, a "zoom" as your quite excellent demo shows, But "Scale" simply changes the IMAGE from big to small or small to big within the full frame leaving a black border when the image reaches a certain size. It's NOT a normal zoom in the cine telephoto sense. where the image is kept full frame the whole time with its contents getting larger or smaller. In the previous version we had both crop and zoom that used red rectangles for showing the contents of the full image frame, and in the case of the zoom two frames for the control of adjustable rectangles for start and finish positions. Easy and quick to use. The only control now to obtain this effect is the "crop" feature. where the contents of the full frame, represented by the red rectangle ( now only using one image and one rectangle) is manipulated with the key frame markers on the blue "effect line" to obtain the start and finish positions and size of the frame. But the borders do seem to jump about. However I am beginning to think this may be due to the fact I am viewing it in the preview window because a rendered avi does look smoother. But what is happening to the options for forcing 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios? It seems that if I select "Crop" from the "More effects" option in the drop down menu associated with the "Effects" button on the top toolbar these options don't appear. But if I select "Crop" from the drop down menu associated with the video effects window which appears when I click the yellow star and then add it, they DO appear! Is there a reason for this or is it a bug? Nat

Hi Dougie In V3.02 this does work. Just try it with two clips with something moving on each clip. Switch into Timeline mode. Drag clip 1 to the sequence line and expand the sequence so you can see the thumbnails. Drag and drop clip 2 onto the overlay track. That's video track 2 Arrange it so it overlaps the end of clip 1 by 3 seconds. (Refer to the times above the tracks.) If you play the sequence it this point clip 2 will cut in and overide clip 1 Now- Click the yellow star at the start of clip 2 This will open up the effects control panel. Slide the "Opacity" control slider to the left. This renders all of clip 2 transparent...That is 0% opacity. On the right of this section you will see the blue horizontal opacity level line move down to the bottom of its box. Now-Left click the insersection of the blue level line and the red cursor line.i.e. the extreme left end of the blue line. This will place a small red square at that point and "fix" the opacity for the start of clip 2 to 0% and anchor the line. Now move the cursor along click and hold the blue line some way to the right. Another red box will appear at that point. Drag this marker up to the top of the graph box and position it about 3 seconds to the right of your first marker, but of course at the top of the box. Use the seconds marked along the top of the box to estimate this. Now release the marker. It will turn to a green box and fix the opacity for the rest of clip 2 to 100% So, you should now see the opacity line starting at the bottom of the box at the first red marker and rising diagonally up to the top of the box at the second (green) marker about 3 seconds along and then continuing along the top of the box to the end of the clip. Click "Close" and wait a few seconds for the effect to be registered. On the sequence timeline you will see the start of clip 2 represented by a chequred area and this should overlap clip 1. Zoom in with the mouse scroll wheel if necessary to check the length of the effect. If it is a bit short, simply click the star again and readjust the position of the green marker. Being a little short is OK though. When you now play the sequence, clip 1 will continue to play as clip 2 dissolves in and takes over. Both will be movie clips and there will be no still images. Note that that if clip 1 can still be seen and finishes before clip 2 fully takes over then there will be a partial fade-in of the combination as clip 2, at less than 100% will be playing over a black background. If you see this then you will need to shorten the opacity effect (or the overlap.) It works best if clip 2 is fully opaque before the end of clip1 is reached. Of course you can also adjust the dissolve effect by overlapping clip 2 more or less without altering the duration of the opacity change. Give it a try....certainly a bit phaffy but it works. (Unlike zoom ) Nat