Renaming and saving avi files

[TJ]

I am using MSP v8.

As a fairly new user of MSP, I have made the mistake of capturing maybe an hours footage in a single capture. What I should have done, was capture each seperate part (each 'scene' as it will be in the finished movie) seperately, so that they were named appropriately. (This way I could identify them both on the hard drive when browsing and in the project when working).

So now I am snipping each scene out of the whole capture .. but on the timeline, they all have the same name as the original capture.

Is there any way that I can rename each snipped clip? I think I could then 'smart package' them to have them saved as seperate avi files for easier identification.

[Gorf]

I think you may be missing the point of "non-linear" "non-destructive" editing, here, but nevermind.

You may have done too much work on this to want to do what I propose:
Start a new project, dump the AVI on the timeline, and select it. Right click it, and select "split by scene". If the breaks on the tape are not already highlighted, you're either not using DV video, or it's DV captured outside of MSP. No worry, just adjust the settings and click "scan". If "open scenes as multiple clips in the timeline" is checked, you'll automatically get a breakdown of the AVI based on either the timecode on tape or the change in scene content.


I always capture the entire tape and do my chopping up in MSP. Stopping and starting the camera may cause more wear and tear than leaving it running for the whole tape, and may result in missing the recording of something that happens unexpectedly. Editing "in camera" removes the need for PC editing, to a greater extent.

[TJ]

Thanks very much for the prompt reply, sincerely appreciated.

It was captured outside of MSP as I have had problems capturing, Movie Maker ironically seems to give me a perfectly stable capture every time - so I stuck with it.

Although I may have done a little too much editing to do so this time, I will certainly do this next time. I did read this in the Charlie Hills pdf, but had already gone too far to want to start from scratch. I thought if there was any way to rename the individual clips - it would save time. I may just plod on this time and use it as a learning experience.

Thanks again!

[heinz-oz]

I usually capture my footage in automatic split by scene mode. I don't know what Gorf is filming, but my style doesn't lend itself to let the camera run for the duration of the tape. I would have a couple of hundred hours of tapes that need to be clipped down to a few hours after I come back from my holidays. Too much mucking about and running through a few hours of tape that you don't need in the end can't be all that great for camera wear either. Unless you are taping an event like a wedding, a game of whatever sports you like or a concert etc. I can't see a usefull way of letting the camera run.

[Gorf]

Thanks very much for the prompt reply, sincerely appreciated.

No problem. It's why we're all here. When you're a veteran editor, you may want to do the same.

It was captured outside of MSP as I have had problems capturing, Movie Maker ironically seems to give me a perfectly stable capture every time - so I stuck with it.

That's what I do, most of the time. MSP's video capture routine balks at unrecorded areas of tape, so it's better to use WMM and capture the entire tape - it doesn't save data for areas with nothing recorded on them.

Don't forget, DV capture is really more of a transfer, so it should not matter what you use. WMM does seem to be more stable, but MSP notes the scene changes "on the fly", so you don't have to scan the tape for the timecode for scenes once you've captured.

Having said that, when you've performed the scan just once, MSP saves the scene times somewhere, so if you use the AVI in another project, you don't need to perform the scan again.

I didn't know that until I used the feature just now to make sure I had the right wordage for my earlier post.

Although I may have done a little too much editing to do so this time, I will certainly do this next time. I did read this in the Charlie Hills pdf, but had already gone too far to want to start from scratch. I thought if there was any way to rename the individual clips - it would save time.

"Smart trim" will split up your source AVI into multiple AVIs (with the option to delete the source) depending on what's in use in the project.

In a nutshell, you can capture the entire file, use "split by scene", then use "smart trim", and each time the camera starts and stops, you get a new AVI.

...I don't know what Gorf is filming, but my style doesn't lend itself to let the camera run for the duration of the tape.

Weddings. Avoiding start/stop also means that for two-camera shoots, you only need to synchronise once per tape.

I would have a couple of hundred hours of tapes

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Actually, when working on a single-camera shoot of any description (e.g. Holidays), I usually start/stop; but even when the second camera is not being used at the wedding, I still let the tape run on the main camera. It avoids the possibility that I miss that unexpected hug or kiss.

At our very first paid wedding, the Best Man was heckled by his wife. We were able to cut back and forward between this double act with ease. Six months later, she was deteriorating rapidly in hospital with an unknown disease. Norman (the BM) watched the wedding video every night to help him through the difficult time. She made a full recovery, but it was close for a while.

Tape is not like film, which can only be exposed once. If you record your shoes for 20 minutes waiting for something worthwhile to happen, that's no bad thing. It's not like you're paying for the wastage. Practical issues like the amount of tape you can carry, and the battery life you have available, will affect what you record, but "wasting tape" should not.