NancySue

I'm filming a video, using a condenser mic. When I listen to the sound in Audacity it is excellent with the volume on my speakers turned up about 2/3 full. I have brought the Audacity file into VideoPad, and when I listen to it there, the quality is still fine but I have to turn the volume all the way up and it's still not quite loud enough. I know I can increase the gain in VideoPad, but should that be necessary? Is there something incompatible about the two softwares, or something else wrong? Will it degrade the quality at all if I increase the gain? Thank you!

Thank you, Nat and Borate! It will remain a mystery. It wasn't the mute/unmute icon at the start of the track, and I don't think the icon at the start of the clip because it happened on 2 clips. The slider was all the way to the right and the FX wasn't blue. But I had previously saved the file, while it was working, so I just closed VideoPad, said don't save, and when I reopened the project it was ok. Maybe just needed rebooting? It had been open for a few days. Thank you guys! I'm so grateful that you're there!

I had loaded a video with audio and a second audio track. Everything was working fine, I could mute and unmute the 2 tracks normally. Today I was fooling around with some video effects, but not audio (unless accidentally hit something) but now Audio Track 2 is dead silent. The wave form is still visible on Track 2, and Track 1 still plays. I'm sure I must have done something to silence it, but what might it be?

Oh my god. I don't understand a tenth of what you just said, but it doesn't sound good. I returned to the project in VideoPad--it is a cacophony of voices; in the project I was looking at, a video was visible on the Video track and in the window (slender white "spirit" figures in a jerky animation). I exported the project straight into Google Drive, got a new link, put it into my browser, and played it. The voices were about what I would expect (it is way too loud and must be adjusted); I heard many different voices, I think all the ones I imported. I did not hear a bell at the start. No video was visible. That link is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UKfTYPhmgWvJVWC2F6sjHR5Hw_egz_6P/view?usp=sharing I obtained the voices on Zoom, recording them to my computer: either reading lines myself, or recording passages from YouTube. I took the "audio_only" output and brought those files into VideoPad. I think they are all .m4a. The missing video came from: I photographed a drawing as it evolved: shoot/draw/shoot/draw/shoot, resulting in 28 photographs, which I made negative and put in one folder. I used "Add Images as Video" to make the file which I brought into the Video track. I did the same thing with a different video last month, and it worked beautifully. So. Now what? What should I be doing that I am not?

ok, first, shamefacedly: the "combined tracks" are operator idiocy. Only Track 1 was visible, and I couldn't seem to access any other tracks; but they were in there. Please forget I asked that. Here is the link to a folder, which apparently contains all the versions I have saved of this project. (I couldn't find the capacity of the server, sorry!) Look for "Voices 9 = add video!" (artistic disclaimer: the video is a rough draft; there will be many more images, so that they run 3/second probably) Starts in black.) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19z8y-vorN6-wMbcNupJUOEhQGCCeeZlP?usp=sharing

I'm working on loading up the project, hope to send that soon. My version is 8.99, which you recommended last spring when I was having problems with my previous version. I've never had this problem (no video); I've done 2 major projects and 3 or 4 monologues. Also: I find that when I save this project and re-open it, all 9 audio tracks have been combined into one! I had hoped to be able to tinker with them individually some more! Would they have stayed separate if I had them before I saved the project?

I have finished the first draft of this project and exported it and played it back, with major problems. I have 9 audio tracks and one video (they are overlapping voices, of "spirits", coming closer). In the export the video is not visible. I return to the project in VideoPad, play it, yes I see the video, export it again, same thing. The other thing is that the audio, every track, is extremely louder in the export than when I return to VideoPad and view it there. I'm not clear how to estimate the final volume. The tracks are supposed to start low and increase in volume toward the end. I've dealt variously with the different tracks to make this happen; some I Fade In, some I adjust the Gain or the Volume or turn down the volume bar at the left end of the track. And the voices are added one by one, so the cumulative sound should be greater. Even in VideoPad, it is bonking up against the red microphone bar by the end; I know it has to be softer. In the export, the whole thing is too loud. I didn't have either problem with the other videos I have made (only 2). Can you advise?

Whoa. Ok. Thanks. I may just do these one at a time, as I've already edited them. Next time.

ok...I guess this is working. So I've got like 3 clips on this track: 5 seconds and 8 seconds and 30 seconds. I want the fade-in to start at the beginning of the first clip, and conclude part-way through the 3rd clip. I think that's happening if I say "from the start of the clip, duration 28 seconds". Is that how it's supposed to works, or am I being delusional?

I am bit by bit figuring things out. A question: Is there a distinction between "Amplify" and "Volume" in the FX box? Both say they adjust the volume of the clip; Amplify works with "gain". Also there is the little slider to the left of the tracks. My husband thinks that "gain" will make a permanent change, whereas "volume" will only change what I hear now, but that when the file is exported it will return to full volume. I suppose the idea is that one would adjust the volume during playback; but I'd like to be able to change the volume of one relative to the others. Can I do that? Can I bring multiple clips, which are all on one track, into the window to work on Fade In? I could do them one at a time, but easier to do as one track.

Wow! Both of those actions were things I thought I'd tried and they didn't work. But this time both worked splendidly. What I'm doing is: I'm working on a Halloween play involving seances. At one point there will be spirits gathering--a projection of spirit-like wraiths on a darkened wall--and voices, beginning faint and distant, growing louder, more and more voices, overlapping so none are really intelligible. So I've got like 4 tracks so far, been recording them on Zoom. The first one I did I opened a Zoom video file instead of "audio only", so there is a video accompanying Track 1. It's just black. Will that present a problem at any point? Is there any way to get rid of the video track? For this purpose I won't be using any video, but at some time in future I might want to make a single presentation of it, the "spirits" and the voices. Guess I could just overlay the "spirits" video, without sound, eh? I so much appreciate your guidance! This is really quite a lot of fun--

That went right over my head. I'm sorry; I think I'm using the wrong terms. When I said "crop", I intended to say that I want to cut out/remove a few seconds of a clip. And, sorry again, I shouldn't have said "move a track" but rather "move a clip along its track", by whatever number of seconds. Could we try that again?

Thank you, Borate! Actually in looking at your photo I realized that I wasn't loading it into Track 2 but rather Sequence 2. So now I have 3 Tracks loaded and all is cool. Question: I see how I can amplify an individual track, or can fade it in, via FX. How do I crop a section in an individual clip? I can put it into the upper window, where I have a few options, but can't find a crop. Also, can I move an individual track relative to the others? I highlight it and try to move it with the [ ] 's but nothing happens. Can that be done? Thanks!! nancy

I am working on a project which will be audio only, with multiple tracks overlapping, so that you hear all the voices simultaneously and they eventually become a cacophony of many voices. So far I've only loaded 2 tracks. When I play them back I can only hear one or the other, not both at once. How can I hear them both? Can I make them transparent or something?

Interesting, interesting. --In my case, there will be like 100 "existing clips", is that right? Each image is a "clip"? I'm not clear how I select those I want. I tried moving the cursor over a few and turning them blue, but when I right-clicked on one it gave me the option to Delete/Crop or Export the selected region, or to split all tracks, but not to Change Clip Speed. If I didn't turn them blue with the cursor, I could Change Clip Speed. How do I select more than one? This is all quite fun; I wish I had more time!

Yes! Thank you! I knew there was a way somehow. (Nice to see Alfred E Neuman again.) I plan to be uploading about 100 separate images to make a short animated film. I'll be photographing an evolving drawing. My camera makes images at 16 x 10.64. I'm probably just gonna go with that and accept the black edge, instead of trying to change the aspect ratio on 100 images. I see that there is also a way to change the aspect ratio on the whole sequence as it's playing (I'd been doing it in the Clip Bin) and might try that, BUT it looks like it doesn't stretch the image to fill 16 x 9, but just adds the black stripe along the edge. Would this be helpful in any way? I opened a new topic to ask a question about the animation, but better I should ask you: the images upload into the track at 3 seconds duration. I will probably want them at 0.5 seconds. Is there any way to group them together and change the duration of all at once, rather than one at a time 100 times? Thanks!! I guess that's all for the moment--

I am making a brief animated film. I will download probably 100 images and put them into a sequence. My question is: is there any way to control some or all of them as a group, and give each one a duration of 0.5 seconds, or will I have to change the duration of each of them individually? Thank you!

Thank you for such a thorough response, Nat! But I'm unclear--when I perform Change Clip Aspect Ratio on a 10 x 6.65 image in the Clip Bin, and change it to 16 x 9: then regardless of whether I say "stretch" or "crop" the resulting image fills the 16 x 9 frame, with no checkerboard on any side. In the first case it is a little stretched, in the second, cropped a little top and bottom and then enlarged ever-so-slightly to fill the 16 x 9 format, rather than filling the cropped area with checkerboard. I'm assuming that the checkerboard will always be black (or invisible) in the export. You say this will be the case on Track 1; do you imply that this may not be the case on lower tracks? And my real question is, is it acceptable in a professional presentation, for viewing on computer, to have the band of black on each side? Or had I better stick with the 16 x 9? Incidentally, how do I add a second video track? I think I've had more than one in the past, but can't now figure out how to get a second. Thank you!

Perfect!! Thank you!!

Thank you! Really, what I was concerned about was whether it would HAVE to be 16:9 to look professional, so you've answered that question. A variation on the question: I have a sequence of photos: the first one I trimmed myself to slightly taller than 16:10; it presents with a narrow black band on the sides. The second I trimmed via Change Clip Aspect Ratio to 16:10; it presents with the checkerboard. The third I trimmed myself. I'm trying to add a crossfade between each. The second, 16:10 to my own ratio, is no problem. The first, however, from my ratio to 16:10, will not permit a "crossfade" of longer than 0.056 seconds. I tried deleting the clip and re-entering it, same thing. Any thoughts on that?

Ok...I see that Change Clip Aspect Ratio offers 3 convenient ways to attain a specific aspect ratio. But WHICH aspect ratio should I aim for, when I am making new art? The 16:10 is close to what I was using before; I assume that this would leave a narrow strip of black on each side of my video. Is this acceptable in what should be a fairly professional 2-minute video, to be viewed on computer? Thank you, Borate!!

I am making a video which will incorporate still photos of original art. The photos have a ratio of 10:6.65; when I add them I see the checkerboard area on each side indicating that they do not fill the screen horizontally. I cropped one to a ratio of 16:9. No checkerboard areas, but when I put it into the video with the other photos and played it back it did not fill the screen VERTICALLY, but left a black band at top and bottom. Would this appear in the export? I will be making a few additional drawings and want to make them to suit the ratio. What ratio should I use? I find the 10:6.65 more visually pleasing; is that acceptable? Is 16:9 preferable? The video will (probably) only ever be viewed on a computer. Thank you! I have a deadline of under a week, so hope I may hear back soon--

It just occurred to me that I made that first video, “Everybody,” during my free trial. When I exported it, I purchased the software (9.04). That could explain why that first video did not have a noise problem, and everything subsequent did. Just wanted to pass that on lest it might be useful knowledge in future— Thanks for everything!!

So for some reason, I get a 1/2 second sync error and a tremendous lot of noise (except no noise on that first project!!), although you do not. --Also, the Audio tab -> Audio Effects->Noise Removal slider/FX icon on audio track does not make any change in the noise, whether I position it at 0 or -40. Might that be a clue of some sort as to what is wrong? I have re-booted; no difference.--I will try the new version. I so appreciate your help and suggestions, and the time you have taken for me! -0-0- Oh! That's Version 8.97. Is that preferable to 9.07, which NCH suggests? -0-0- Yay!!! I downloaded 8.97 and have perfect sync and normal noise! And the Noise Removal slider works. WHATEVER was wrong with 9.04, and why the noise problem only occurred belatedly, I have NO idea, but it looks good now! (not compatible with Windows 7?) Thank you so much for all your help!!

Borate, thank you; you are amazing! This is exactly what I needed! Can you tell me the steps you followed? What I did was: unlink the video-audio tracks and drag the audio where I want it. But then I right-click on audio track, click Restore Linked Video, and the video snaps forward to meet the audio track. Or if I right-click on video track and click Restore Linked Clip, the audio snaps back to meet the video. I have tried holding down “ALT” or “SHIFT” while dragging; same thing. The same thing happens if I go to “Clip Preview” and click “Relink”. I finally figured out that if I highlight both tracks on all clips and click Menu > Sequence > Group Selected Clips, it will stay put, but I don't think that's how it should work. Various other insanity was occurring, like the video snapping to beyond the audio track, but I expect that if I know the proper procedure I won't have that problem. Re the noise--I am puzzled. When I play the two "Everybody"s that I attached above, in the 2nd one the speaker definitely begins with "NOW, ..." rather than "And now ...". And if you listen at minute 00:18, the actor says "What is that laughter and to whom does it belong?" followed by a loud rumble in the 2nd version, which is not there in the first. The extra noise continues throughout, for me, but that is an easy place to spot it. I do have version 9.04. I am using Windows 7; will the version you recommend work on it? I forgot: you had inquired about the original Zoom recording. I will attach here the one I used for the first of the video, through minute 03:25, and again from 04:21-07:52. Other than that I used pieces of other recordings. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y1Byhc77E3VmQgjbpQXC2fiH9AqZtulV/view?usp=sharing