Nationalsolo

Hi

"...First of all, for some reason it works only when resizing the right clip... Resizing the left clip's end-point, ALWAYS forces gap-closure! "

This is because when you resize the left clip, that clip is the focus . Pressing the Alt key has no effect. The clip in question shortens and the following clips close the gap. If you resize the right clip that clip has the focus and pressing Alt has the effect of leaving the clip remnant where is is. i.e. the control (the Alt key) only acts on the clip in focus, it doesn't have an effect on other clips.

Shortening the right hand clip  does not leave a gap either but if the Alt key is depressed then a gap is made and the remaining clips stay where they are.

More of a problem is when you try to move a middle clip with the Alt key pressed....This causes the moving clip to overwrite the next clip. (It would be more logical if it simply pushed the sequence along the track(s) ...but see below) **

An end clip can be moved and leave a gap if it is done with the Alt key pressed.Without the Alt key it snaps back.

** If a series of clips are grouped (using the Shift key) then all of those clips can be pushed to the right (when the Shift key is released.) Like a single clip they will all snap back if the Alt key is not pressed. The Alt key followed by dragging will move all the grouped clips and leave a gap.

If upper tracks  are not going to be needed then they could be used for storage but obviously they would need to be moved away from the area being edited.

You could also copy  an edited clip that you stored on a higher track and then drag it to the clip bin for later use.(i.e. Store it in the bin instead of on the timeline) You will see a green triangle pointer when you do this. This removes it from the track. You can then rename that copied clip in the bin or add notes.

Nat

Hi

"...Also, the shadow in the text doesn't render on export. ..."

Shadow not seen in version 8.10 in preview either........

This has been reported.

Note that if you are not trying the latest version then you won't see any improvement. Also, without a demo to check out users on the forum can't report anything specific or offer advice. e.g. How many tracks are you running? How are they arranged? .etc.

Nat

Hi

The newest versions of VP  (8.10 for windows) no longer have that option . The preview resolution is set at a usable value as caching has been improved and the selected resolution generally works OK.. If you use high resolution files then using copy "proxy" files of lower resolution may be an answer.

Nat

Hi C

Microsoft Anna came with Vista and I believe you can install others voices although I have never managed to do this.. She works in some respects but the articulation of the words and other voice inflections (also the accent ) aren't 100% by any stretch of the imagination. Other text to speech engines like Natural Readers produce results that are difficult to distinguish from real people. Worth having a look at. There is a free demo you could download although there are restrictions.

The delay produced by adding "."  to the text isn't extensible  it seems,  as by adding more dots or doubling up the "." group makes no difference to the pause.

Nat

Hi

You can create a pause in the text by typing "..." between words.

Example....

More full stops doesn't seem to make the delay any  bigger. It's probably better to create a new sound clip if there is going to be a delay and adjust the position of the following section on the timeline

Nat

HI

Question 1 is interesting as VP won't save the slide timings except as part of a vpj file but that, of course also would include the names of the files. I can think of a scenario that would do this but it may not be what you want......

Let's say you have 100 slides on the timeline all with different a duration....

1. Name the the slides in some standard way....Slide1.jpg      Slide2.jpg       Slide 3.jpg  etc.
2. Place them in a named folder like "Slideshow"
3. Create your project with them.
4. Save the project as a vpj file in the normal way with any name you like.
5. Export as any normal slide/film
6. Move all the slides to a new folder and give this folder a specific name like "My first Slideshow"  (or whatever) but keep the "Slideshow" folder that you emptied and don't move it to a new location.
7. For your next project add all the new slides to the empty "Slideshow" folder with the same series of names. (Slide1.jpg    Slide 2.jpg etc.
8. Now open the vpj file that you made and it should load all the new files with the original timings.

It's a bit convoluted but it's like using proxy files for the same vpj file.

If you saved a ssa file for the original subtitles you could load this to the new project and edit each subtitle.

The start time for all slides is 0 as they are still images and not video clip per se and will always start at 0 even if trimmed but this is not so for clips which can be shortened using the red start bracket or blue end bracket and the figure shown if adjusted from the clip bin, will be shown both on the timeline and the bin clip as the it is the BIN CLIP which has been shortened, but if the clip is shortened on the timeline then the bin will still show 0 as the start, but the timeline clip will show the time IT starts.  A bit confusing. It's not a bug...... Changes made ti the bin clip affect the bin clip but timeline changes don't. If you always make changes to the timeline the bin clip remains untouched and can be used again.

Haven't tried Text to voice in VP as for other apps I HATE Microsoft Anna PS don't use full stops- She goes dotty!

I'll check it out.....

Nat

Hi DrumJunkie

OK. As you don't have the brackets on your popup; (seems Mac version doesn't) just use the scissors. Try these steps ...You won't need blue brackets or sequences either...

1. Load your video clip to the timeline
2. Move the cursor to the end of your  selection point
3. Click the scissors to split the timeline
4. Right click on the section to the right and Cut. (if you don't have Cut on the menu then use Delete.) This will leave your selection on the timeline.
5. Export your the selection selection
6. Click the Redo arrow on the top toolbar. This will restore the timeline with your split
7. Right click on the left section (your last selection) and Cut. (if you don't have Cut on the menu then use Delete.but close the gap)
8. Repeat from step 2 until all your selections have been exported.

As mentioned before the original video clip remains unaltered.

Works OK in Windows version here.

Nat

Hi

  Just run the 8.10 Beta exe file again  ......Now I have the horizontal version!  

      Good innit!         I'll try best out of 10!

Nat

Hi

Thanks. Very odd I still get the old ones. I'll try a reinstall and see if that makes a difference.. I remember that the hamburger used to change every time the exe file was rerun....perhaps it's the same.

Nat

Hi Borate

Interesting..What version are you using?  Mine says 8.10 licensed professional but the popup is as it was..(but I have seen it with horizontal brackets following  a suggestion  to NCH ) but I don't get export or dustbin icons.

.

Nat

4 minutes ago, Nationalsolo said:

 

Nothing actually...caught the button with a finger!!  

Hi

There are various ways using sequences etc but .....Try this ...No sequences involved...

1. Place your video on the timeline
2. Move the red cursor to the end of the your first selection
3. As you release the cursor use the popup scissors to Split the video
4. Click the cursor again to get the popup back and then the click the blue bracket to remove the right hand section of the timeline leaving your selection.
5. Export your first selection
6. Click the Redo arrow on the toolbar at the top to return the whole of the previous timeline
7. Right click the exported selection which has returned and then choose Cut. from the menu. This removes it and closes the gap. The remainder of your project is now ready for your next selection.
8. Set the cursor to the end of your next selection......and so on...
9. Repeat the steps from (3) until you have exported all of your selections as individual videos.

Note that your original video clip remains uncut and if you cock it up you can clear everything and try again.

Best of luck

Nat

Hi

1. Use the >II or the II< button under the Sequence preview window to move the cursor to the join where the new clip is to be inserted.
2. Right click the new clip in the clip bin and select Place on Sequence at Cursor.

The selected clip will be inserted at the cursor position between the clips on the timeline. Clips to the right will be pushed along by the correct distance.

Example....Timeline with three clips....

Cursor moved to the insert point using ........>II.

New clip from bin Placed on Sequence at Cursor.......

Note all clips (in this case 2)  have moved along to the right allowing the insertion of the new clip and have retained their original duration.  (This is using VP 8.10)

Further...If you move the cursor to any point within a clip, insertion takes place in the same way . The clip being split to accommodate the new one.

Note that nothing has been deleted. The overall length remains the same as inserting at a join. (44.5 seconds)

Nat

Hi

There is no automatic synchronization  in the way you are after so it will have to be a manual procedure. It's not that complicated. With only 25 images it shouldn't take that long.

The first point to note is that VP uses the default still image duration value as set up in Menu/Tools/Options/Media for the duration of all your 25 images. So using this means all images at the start will have the same duration. This is perhaps not what you want. I am assuming then, that each sound clip will have a different duration.

One way to proceed is as follows.

1. Alter the default image duration in the Menu/Tools/Options/Media to a suitable initial value  Say, 5 seconds
2. Load all the clips to their respective bins.
3. Place the audio clips in order onto Audio Track 1.(If you loaded them to the bin in order they can be all grabbed at once and dropped to the timeline and they will remain in order.) Adjust their lengths if required.
4. Place cursor at the start of the timeline
5. Select the first image in the bin and using the menu option Place on the sequence  at the Start. (or at the cursor)
6. Step through the timeline using >II button under the Sequence preview screen until the cursor is at the end of the first audio clip. (two clicks)
7. Grab the right end of the first image clip and drag it out to the cursor. It will latch on when you get there. The first image is now the same duration as the first audio clip.
8. Select the second image and using the menu Place  on the sequence  at the cursor position
9. Again, step along  the timeline using >II button under the Sequence preview screen until the cursor is at the end of the second audio clip.(This will be two clicks.)
10. Drag the right  end of the second clip along to the cursor as before.
11. Continue to do this until all 25 image clips are on the timeline. Each image will now have the same duration as their respective audio clip.

See how this works for you. You could also add crossfade transitions (or similar) to each each pair of images without any problems since images never use the overlap method .

Nat

Hi

Sounds like things are a bit mixed up.

Open VP and check the Menu/Tools/Options/Export and note where your files are being exported to. Close VP and then open the indicated folder. You should be able now to simply drag anything present in that folder to the dustbin and it should delete. You should also be able to delete the Videos folder. I can't see why there is a loading bar here unless something has got corrupted. If you still cant delete the file uninstall VP and try again.

I tend to set all the Options save folders (including the cache file) to the desktop where I can easily get at them but that's just me. It means that the VP generated "videos" folder is actually always empty.

Nat

Hiall

Example downloaded and played correctly here in Version 8.06 on a Vista PC. I notice that the audio file icon in the bin does not seemed to have changed from the quaver "Processing" icon wiuth the eggtimer to the "Waveform" icon. When the audio was loading for the first time was there a "processing file" pop-up?  It seems to suggest that the mp3 was not fully converted.

Nat

Hi UncleD

You can already rename a clip in the clip bin.

1. Select it and right click.
2. Pick Rename from the menu. The name/Text you enter  then appears in the bin and also in the info pop-up that appears when you hover over the same clip on the sequence.. Annotation text is not available per se but  you could add notes regarding the selected clip following the new name. e.g. New name in upper case and annotated notes in lower case. e.g.....

The box provided for entering the  Rename will accommodate quite lengthy texts all of which will all appear when the clip is hovered over but will appear truncated in the clip bin until you hover over it.

Try this and see it it useful to you.

Nat.

Hi

Animating Text...e.g. Making it move diagonally

1. Create your text. (leave it centered if you like)
2. Go into Menu/Tools/Options/Display and tick Show Dual Previews.(This makes it easier to view the effect setup)
3. 
4. Click the FX box on the timeline text clip,
5. Click the green +  and select the Position effect from the list This opens the Effects screen with the Position Effects options and a graph on its right. It also places a white dotted rectangle around the Clip Preview window.
6. Now drag the rectangle to position the text at the top left of the window The Sequence Preview window shows the full effect....In this example there is a video clip on Track 1 placed beneath the text clip which is on Track 2......That's why dual previews are useful.....
7. 
8. Slide the preview window red cursor line to the left (or slide the effects graph cursor line to the left) which is the start of the Text clip
9. Create a Keyframe by clicking the Small green + with the red line at the top of the effects graph screen.
10. 
11. This marks the text position at the start of the clip and draws a position line on the graph....
12. 
13. Now slide the effects window cursor line to the far right.(The end of the text clip)
14. Drag the text down to the bottom right of the Preview screen....Monitor the position in the Sequence Preview window as before.
15. Create a second keyframe by clicking the small green + with the red line as in step 9 This fixes the new position of the text at the end of the clip....
16. 
17. Close the Effects window

When the timeline is now played the text will move smoothly diagonally across the screen from Top Left > Bottom Right. The speed of the animation is altered by lengthening or shortening the text image by dragging the sides out along the timeline . You can use numerous keyframes to animate more complex movements with the Position effect but all the Motion Effects are capable of being used in this way and very complex movements can be animated. The same is true for all the effects in fact. They work for video clips as well as images. Have a play and you will see.

Nat

Hi

A number of graphics are available within VP that can be added to the project that you may find useful......

Right click the clip bin and select Add Images From the NCH Clipart Library

Nat

Hi

The Tinkerbell clip is a complete clip so unless there IS a blank frame(s) actually present in that clip I can't see how VP can put one in. I can't see one, even zoomed in and moving a frame at a time. This is with VP 8.06.

Uninstalled this version and loaded VP 7.51 (unlicensed demo for this version). Cleared the cache and loaded your vpj file. It all played (previewed) absolutely fine in this version. No missing/black frame noticed when zoomed in at the "BUG" position.........

Bit of a mystery.  (Without looking up the license key for the demo version it won't export.)

What are your export parameters? Could this be a hardware problem????

Nat

Hi

Yes. you may have tiny gap between the fading clip/image and the next clip/image. If you are, as you say fading from nothing to an image and using the Fade transition you should see the transition bar equally divided between the clips (For "nothing I am using a blank clip) The join will look something like this......

If you have a small gap between the clips it may not be visible if the timeline is zoomed out but in this case the transition bar will only be present on the first clip.........

As Borate suggests switch to Storyboard mode and any gap will become visible.e.g. In this example....

If you see this right click on it and select Close the Gap then  click the X and insert a new transition.

As an alternative to a transition, switch back in timeline mode you could simply click the F box on the clip and use Fade-in

Normally a gap between clips would be a black flash in the playback ,but using a black frame as the first clip this would not be seen and the following clip would cut in immediately.

It would be useful to see the exact layout of the timeline to see what might be the problem but the above may be of some help.

Nat

Hi

Just checked this out with VP 8.06  and Vista PC

Cleared the cache and loaded the vpj file. In preview The Tinkerbell section played with no apparent bugs. The tiny "BUG" text showed nothing untoward at that point and even frame by frame I didn't see anything odd. She flies off to the right and the clip fades into some flowers.....

There are no cuts  so I have to assume there is nothing wrong here. No hangups or jerky playback.

The next clip, the Zoomed clip looked identical in resolution to the Scaled clip. (There was a slight misalignment as the scales were not absolutely identical

Zoomed.......

Scaled.....

As mentioned the whole sequence played in preview from end to end exactly as expected with no apparent bugs.

Exported as a 2560 x 1440 mp4 clip  @ 45 fps the sequence played absolutely perfectly in VLC from end to end. No bugs, stutters or blanks etc.

It may be due to your version of VP.

Nat

Hi

Version 8.06    No difference here either....

Original..

Zoom on left and Scale on right...

Nat

Hi again...V 8.06

A 30 min project (91 clips with XFades on Track 1 only) was exited while still loading.....It flashed a loading bar screen (may have been about stopping threads) and VP closed. No delay.

Fully loaded the same program closed in less than 1 second.

Nat

Hi

It's difficult to see what might be missing and the reason for it from the examples you posted. Best if you Save Portable Project As and send the dated folder containing all the clip/images and a vpj file to Dropbox or a similar hosting site. Post a link to it here and someone will reconstruct it and have a look.

I note your pan and zoom are producing borders. It might be better to use just Zoom and keyframes with a fixed AR instead

Nat