VS X5: Wish List for Next Version

[pvreditor]

if you want to add a video or picture in the middle of a project - you do not have to move clips to make a space - just drag the video or photo down into the track over a join between two videos (or cut where you want it) and the rest move aside.

This has always been a function of VideoStudio for as long as I can remember.

This feature is a troublesome one for me, as it was with my prior experience with Windows Movie Maker. I am wondering if there is a way to lock clips in place on the timeline despite adding other elements.

My main efforts center on producing music videos which need to have specific photos or videos synch in time with specific lyrics. So if I add a transition or another photo, is there any way to keep the timeline, or at least part of it (maybe everything before the new insertion), constant in timing and placement?

If I understand what you are asking, that is the "ripple" editing feature that comes with VS (versions x3 and x4 for sure). By default, ripple editing is off. It is a tiny dropdown all the way to the left of the timeline. Click on it and then click "enable ripple editing." Then click the dropdown again and click "select all." That locks all the tracks into ripple editing.

With ripple editing, when you edit something into or out of the main track, all the secondary tracks adjust to maintain the proper relationship. This is an absolutely wonderful tool if you have lots of tracks going. Keep in mind that you can keep some tracks in ripple mode and switch others off. Otherwise, you may get an ominous warning that the editor will "delete all related tracks." If you know what the related tracks are, you can de-select them from the ripple function, and everything is happy again. It took me a l-o-n-g time to figure all that out.

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com

[dscoyne]

So if I, in making a music video for a song where I need to have specific images matched up with specific lyrics, once I have them matched up in a particular part of the song, I don't want that relationship to change if I insert something in a different part of the song. To avaid changing that relationship so they do not move away from each other, should I have ripple editing on or off?

[pvreditor]

So if I, in making a music video for a song where I need to have specific images matched up with specific lyrics, once I have them matched up in a particular part of the song, I don't want that relationship to change if I insert something in a different part of the song. To avoid changing that relationship so they do not move away from each other, should I have ripple editing on or off?

Yes, if you have one part of the song synchronized the way you want it, turn on ripple editing and then you can edit the other part of the song. Any changes you make in the second part will not affect the relationship of the items you established for the first part. Ripple editing is a great tool to keep stuff (audio, images, titles, effects, etc.) linked.

You do have to be careful if one of the elements overlaps a section that you want to edit. Then you will get a message saying that the overlapping element (it won't tell you what it is) will be deleted when you change the main track. I finally figured out what that means and how to deal with it.

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com

[dscoyne]

Thanks, Bob. I did not know which way to set it to achieve that stability in the linking. I had previously used Windows Movie Maker, and while I found it very easy to use for a novice, I was going crazy relinking everything whenever I made a change.............Don

[pvreditor]

This came up in another thread, but it's worth mentioning here:

When composing titles, it would be excellent to have the ability to hold down the Shift key and click on multiple title elements to "group" them together. Then you could move this entire group around the screen and have them maintain the same relationship. Bonus points if you can allow the grouped items to be sized together, or even change fonts, kerning, etc. together. However, I would be happy with the ability to move title elements as a group and have them maintain their spacing on the screen.

I use VS x4 and still have issues with random pops and audio stutters when I import cell phone video into the timeline. Most cell phone video causes various audio artifacts when editing... fixing that would be excellent.

Finally, the Flash encoder in VS is terrible. I frequently have to render to Flash (flv) format and the aspect ratio is always wrong. I use an HD camera with 16:9 aspect ratio (Canon Vixia HF-S200) and video rendered as FLV is always squished vertically. Titles placed near the top/bottom of the image end up off the screen when rendered to Flash... terrible! I've tried the options settings and nothing works any better. Give us a better Flash encoder!

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com

[babdi]

X5 - wish list ?
Motion path, 64 bit. I guess I asked for these in wish list X4

[cobo04]

What I'd like is the DVD creator to be a totally separate application, callable from the main editor, my reason is, I have two camera, one SD via Firewire, the other HD via USB. Only X10 sees my SD camera and one X14 sees my HD camera. So need both editors on machine. Now comes the issue, as I had X10 on before X14, X10 hogs the DVd creation, so when using X14, it's DVd creator does'nt work, crashes on access. So I have to Share to a AVI file all my HD footage, bring this into X10 to create the DVd.

I tried to delete both X10 and X14, install X14 then X10, now the DVD creator is owned by X14.

n firther inspection this is a registry issue (the registry only allows one DVD creator to exist). I've seen this before with Nero and another DVD writer, had then to create a little batch file that amended the registry just before each was run up so it worked.

This trick doesn't work with Coral.

Anyone got any ideas on this?

[tochan1983]

A spell checker would be really great to work with titles.

Ability to freeze the width of the text box so that the text would automatically wrap to the next line.

[pvreditor]

I see that there is now an x5 and I am considering getting it. However, here is a feature that I'd really like that is probably not in x5: Automatic audio ducking.

I often do narration/voice-overs with both music and live sound. It would be great for me to identify a narration track has having priority, then have VideoStudio lower the volume of non-priority tracks to some level that I set. For example, when I have a narration track and set it to have priority, it would automatically lower the volume of the audio in other tracks by 18dB. That would save a bunch of editing time going into the audio settings and adjusting them manually.

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com

[Ken Berry]

It's a great idea. But are you aware of any software package which will do that? I know that a top end package like Adobe Premiere CS4 cannot do it -- though I don't know about CS5. But it strikes me as an extremely sophisticated thing you are seeking which would probably require considerable investment which Corel are unlikely to make for a middle of the road program like VS.

[pvreditor]

It's a great idea. But are you aware of any software package which will do that? I know that a top end package like Adobe Premiere CS4 cannot do it -- though I don't know about CS5. But it strikes me as an extremely sophisticated thing you are seeking which would probably require considerable investment which Corel are unlikely to make for a middle of the road program like VS.

Ken, no I'm not aware of any editing package that does audio ducking, but I have really only used a couple of "toy" editing software packages before VS x2. (I now have x4 at home and work.)

But I don't see why this is hard. Create a voice-over clip and drag it to the voice track. Do a right mouse click to say that you want that track to have audio priority and have a setting available to select the amount of reduction of the other audio tracks. The software looks at the in and out points of the narration clip and lowers the other track by that amount. There doesn't need to be any analysis or sophisticated audio mixing -- just reduce all other audio tracks when the priority track starts and allow the audio to increase when the priority track ends.

I dunno... maybe that's more sophisticated than I imagine.

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com

[Pete Waterman]

pvreditor I was thinking the same! ive seen this in (excuse the language) Adobe Premier Elements now if adobe can do it in there cut down version I would think Corel could do it i VS

http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-premier ... ur-movie-/
Im not promoting any other software here just showing a example of this suggestion!

[Ken Berry]

Thanks for bringing that to our attention. Maybe the same feature (SmartMix) also exists in Adobe CS 5... It certainly seems a useful feature, though I am still not sure that you would be able to to use the same audio reduction level for every voiceover, given the different background audio levels. But it would certainly take the drama out of getting VS's rubber band sound control right...

Maybe you should put it in the X6 wishlist...

[pvreditor]

pvreditor I was thinking the same! ive seen this in (excuse the language) Adobe Premier Elements now if adobe can do it in their cut down version I would think Corel could do it it with VS.

http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-premier ... ur-movie-/
I'm not promoting any other software here just showing a example of this suggestion!

Yup, a feature like what Adobe Elements has would be excellent. It could work the way I describe and that would make me happy as well.

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com