hi all, I just recently purchased and downloaded VS x8. I've upgraded to x8.5 and have applied the hotfix and service pack from the Corel site. I am a complete novice when it comes to this type of software.
I have 2 video files that I want to use for a time lapse. I have added both video files and sped them up 1000x. I wish I could get the entire video under 3min, but that's another issue I guess. I have also added a title track. I am trying to use the preview widow but all I can get is a blank screen. Do you see anything I'm doing wrong?
I can't think why you are getting that. Is it the same the whole way along the scrubber line when you drag the scrubber, or only at the beginning? I ask since I suspect your opening clip starts of dark or even black then fades in to the actual image...
What is the format of the video? Right click on the clip in the timeline and copy ALL its Properties here, please, or take a screen grab of the Properties box and upload it as another attachment.
hey Ken, I did use the IMG tags, but sometimes my host is a little flaky. I think if you reload this, it'll popup, but I'll also attach. Thanks for taking the time to look!
The whole project is blank in the preview, from beginning to end. Attached is the properties from one of the files. They are GoPro videos (and again, they are sped up 1000%). I'm not sure if that messed anything up?
It's also blank when I'm trying to edit that title. From videos online, I should be able to click on the title down below, and then edit the text in the preview window? I can't get that to display either.
Yes it did -- that's why I deleted my original words about how to upload an image! Have a look at my new words...
I see in any case that your video is GoPro mp4 which is potentially good since I have a Hero 3 Black Edition which I use quite a lot, and have never had any problems with it in several consecutive versions of Video Studio, including now X8/8.5... But there is one quirk about the GoPro in that it can be set to frame sizes which are not the more standard ones of 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080. So again your exact Properties will be useful. If they are not those standard sizes, then VS will not be able to play them in Project mode -- though in the past, I usually get some sort of error message when I try editing them.
If they are irregular frame sizes, then all I can suggest is that in future you think about setting the GoPro to a more standard frame size. With the current project, though, you might have to use a third party video converter to convert them to a standard frame format. That has worked for me using a free converter called Format Factory. If you install it, however, be very careful to read every page of the installation process as it offers to install things you don't want or need. You might even try GoPro's own Studio program and convert it to .mov format and see if that works -- just try it with one of the clips.
EDIT: I see you have already uploaded the Properties box while I was typing this. And indeed 1920 x 1440 is NOT a standard frame format which VS can handle. So my other comments above now apply.
If your project is that short, can you render it out to its final format and see if everything is still black (though I think it will probably be).
BTW, is there any particular reason you chose a frame rate of 23.976 fps (i.e. 24 fps)? While this is an acceptable frame rate in the cinematic sense, a more usual rate would be 25 fps for PAL or 29.97 (or 30) fps for NTSC...
thanks - that makes sense. Yeah, the camera was pretty new to me on this trip and I really wasn't paying attention to the partcular resolutions.
I'll try converting it, either to .mov or another resolution, and see how that does. I have a lot of these videos, so I'm glad I know this now.
I'm curious though, even know it can't display in the preview menu, if I had saved this project and exported and finish the project, the videos would have worked? I just can't preview them? Or does the odd resolution throw off everything?
I suspect it throws off everything, though as I said above I have usually received error messages, which you haven't (so far!) So I have never been able to experiment with a full render to see if anything comes out or if everything remains black in the final product (which as I say, I suspect it will).
GoPro claim that those frame formats gives you a wider view, and their Studio of course has no trouble processing it. But as you may be aware, Studio is otherwise fairly limited as an editor. It does however do a reasonable job in eliminating the fish-eye effect which is part and parcel of some GoPro footage when the lens is set to extra-wide...
I'm still a little confused on all of these formats. My original GoPro was 3-4GB, when I converted them in Studio to AVI and they're over 8GB each. Then I just finished the project in Studio, just for the heck of it, and its a couple hundred meg.
Anyway, I can now import the AVI's and the final exported version of the video into VideoStudio, so that's good. Thanks again.
And at least Studio should have preserved a lot of the original quality of the GoPro mp4.