Custom format/profile not working?

[cricri]

Hello all,

I shot a video with a Samsung tablet, which I want to finalise in VideoStudio. When I first looked at the video, which I shot holding the tablet vertically, it imported sideways in After Effects. I used After Effects purely to use a ProDad stabiliser (perhaps I should have done it directly in VideoStudio: your advice is very welcome). Because it imported sideways, I had to rotate the video and alter the workspace (so it is now something like 720x1280 instead of 1280x720). The rendered result looks fine. I just wanted to add titles and effects in VideoStudio. It imports vertically into VideiStudio, which is good, and displays fully in the preview window, but when I play the clip, it is all squashed up. I figured I had to initialise the project with a 720x1280 res but I didn't know how. So I went to Settings | Movie Profiles Manager to create a new 70x1280 profile. Unfortunately, the User-Defined checkbox is greyed out, so I can't create a profile to match my video.

My questions are:

- Has anyone dealt with importing video shot vertically with a tablet and, if so, what is the proper workflow?
- Is there a way to fit the "worspace" to imported video of change the size of the workspace on the fly within VideoStudio?
- Generally, can I resize and/or rotate media files inside VideoStudio (I will need to import a photo for the title and it is far bigger than the video: resizing outside video studio would be hit and miss)?
- Am I really stupid and is there a far easier way to sort this out when I first import the video?

I realise that is many questions at once but I would be very grateful for some partial answers.

Thank you for your help

c

[BrianCee]

If you have filmed vertically (portrait as it is more normally known) then you have two options if you want to fill a wide screen view without distortion.

one is to have the video standing and fitting from top to bottom of the screen but with very wide (maybe black) spaces at each side.

The second is to crop the video to wide screen but then you will lose quite a bit of the image at top and/or the bottom.

You cannot make a portrait video or photo fit a wide screen and not use either of those two options without distorting the video.

If you want to distort a video clip in the top timeline then click on it and open the Options panel - along the top of the options panel change to the "Attributes" tab then click to put a tick in the little box next to "Distort clip"

OR put the video/photo in one of the overlay tracks where you will have the option to drag it to any size or shape in the preview window.

The movie template manager is to make OUTPUT templates it does not change the view in VideoStudio - to change what you view while editing go to "settings >> project properties"

You could have stabilised the video in VideoStudio using one of the FX filters or if you have the Ultimate version by using the Mercalli "Rock steady camera" option - you could have also rotated it

if you put large images into the timeline you can choose whether they should fit the screen or other options - no need to resize before inserting.

[cricri]

Thank you very much for this comprehensive reply. It sounds like it isn't possible to retain the vertical format in full, though I don't want it as a landscape widescreen. I have to think about that.

Incidentally: when I play the video in VLC or such like, It does display in full (i.e; tall and skinny but not distorted). So it is not possible to reproduce that when editing I guess?

Thanks a lot.

c

[BrianCee]

If you look at your computer screen - or your TV screen it is wider than it is tall - that even applies to the old 4:3 format although not to the same extent - so when playing a portrait video if it fits from top to bottom then it MUST have spaces each side - now in VideoStudio you can put whatever you want in those spaces , colour/image/video - but to play on a TV you need to fill the screen - or your TV will do it for you and distort the image.

My i-pad screen is 4 x 3 format so just look at the images below - the blue rectangle is 4 x 3 and represents your video from your pad - the first black area is a 4 x 3 TV screen and the second is a 16 x 9 widescreen TV - see how you cannot fill the screen without distortion or loss of some of the image

4 x 3 portrait in 4 x 3 screen

4 x 3 portrait in a 16 x 9 widescreen

[cricri]

Yep, that makes sense. My media player cleverly disguises it but the space is there, just indistinguishable from the rest of the space.

Thanks Brian. I have just subscribed to your YouTube channel so I can learn more before asking questions. I forgot to say: I don't have Ultimate but I will bear it in mind for a future purchase, having looked at the spec just now.