Problem using video timeline

[gunner]

Hi folks! I'm brand new here and also to VS 2018 Ultimate. I'm upgrading (I *hope* it's upgrading!) from Vegas Pro. I've been able to get the first 3 minutes of my project done; title, intro, credits. As soon as I went to add a video clip to start at the 3:00 mark BOOM! The clip attaches itself to the 00:00 point and I haven't been able to pry it loose from there. I was thinking about trying a crowbar but thought I'd ask here first. I found a work around by placing the clip in the overlay track but??? What am I doing wrong that I can't place video clips on the video track where I want them?

This is only the first of what I am sure will be dozens if not hundreds of questions... so far I just haven't found my groove with VS. I"ve tried to clear my mind of the "old way" but I feel like a fish out of water. I'm hoping this is only a temporary condition..

Many thanks!

-= Gunner =-
-= St. Johns, FL =-

[weaver]

You are very new to VS.
The first track in VS starts always at 0:00 ie the first clip placed to the first track will be added to the 0,00, the second clip to the end of the first without any gap. The first track in VS must have continous video clips without gaps, or you have to fill the gaps with dummy clips. This is different on other video editors.
If you want to place your clip somewhere else, you can add a black ( or any color) dummy clip to the first track, adjust its length, and add your first video clip to the end of the dummy black clip.

[lata]

Hi gunner
And welcome to the forums
It is a feature of video studio that all clips placed on the top track shuffle left to fill all gaps, it is something you will have to get used to, a little different to your usual approach.
You can place a colour clip on the top track from the Graphics library (the flower icon on vertical tool bar.) think of it as a buffer
Choose black, you can increase the duration of the clip by dragging the yellow trim handle, or double click the clip to open options panel, modify the digital clock, then add your clips to the top track.
As you have found using the overlay tracks is another option.

Once you get used to the new approach it does work ok
and i know what you mean" I"ve tried to clear my mind of the "old way" but I feel like a fish out of water" when i try out different editors?

[Ken Berry]

Or you can continue what you think of as a work-around, and essentially forget the top track, and put all your various tracks in overlay tracks. That will work the same as Vegas.

[BrianCee]

Just ignore the top track completely if you don't like the way it works - there are no rules saying that you must use it - you can add up to 20 overlay tracks so use those instead - you can place clips where ever you want in them


...

[lata]

Hi

We have always found it best to match our project settings to our video files properties.
This sets the timeline to use the same frame size and frame rate.
When we add the first video to the top timeline we are usually prompted to change the project to match. ( Preferences F6 Show Messages)
Using the overlay track does not use this feature.
So you may be best to add at least one clip to the top track, match the settings then you can remove the clip if that is your preference.

When working with overlays yes we can place clips anywhere we like, this of course may create gaps. Those gaps would have to be filled manually by dragging the clips along the tracks. there is no option to automatically fill the gap.

It’s a learning curve and you should choose the editing options that you find best.
I prefer my main video on the top track using the overlays for additional effects.

[canuck]

Hi folks! I'm brand new here and also to VS 2018 Ultimate. I'm upgrading (I *hope* it's upgrading!) from Vegas Pro. I've been able to get the first 3 minutes of my project done; title, intro, credits. As soon as I went to add a video clip to start at the 3:00 mark BOOM! The clip attaches itself to the 00:00 point and I haven't been able to pry it loose from there. I was thinking about trying a crowbar but thought I'd ask here first. I found a work around by placing the clip in the overlay track but??? What am I doing wrong that I can't place video clips on the video track where I want them?

This is only the first of what I am sure will be dozens if not hundreds of questions... so far I just haven't found my groove with VS. I"ve tried to clear my mind of the "old way" but I feel like a fish out of water. I'm hoping this is only a temporary condition..

Many thanks!

-= Gunner =-
-= St. Johns, FL =-

So what happened to the first 3 minutes of your project? Did you remove them from the timeline? Did you make the first 3 minutes a separate project? It is not quite clear what you are doing.
If the first 3 minutes are still on the timeline, then adding any video to the main timeline will place it at the end of the first 3 minutes, ie it will place it at the 3:00 mark.

[gunner]

Wow! Many thanks for the solutions. I'm not only impressed with the speed and quality of the responses but the geographic dispersal of the members! This brings to mind the early days of online communities when I had several flight simulator related forums on CompuServe and then when Microsoft finally caught up to the online explosion I added one on MSN.

I have tried each of the various solutions offered and each one works for me. I sincerely appreciate all the help. Didn't take but a couple of seconds to find the solid color (colour?) blocks. For this project one of them is just about perfect. In the online help it says I can import to the assorted libraries. At this point please let me explain I'm an old guy (74 at the end of this month <g>) and while I've imported plenty of graphics from assorted sources through the years I have no idea where I would find solid colors. Any guidance there would be appreciated and will save me a lot of time chasing around on the web.


I hope everyone has a great weekend in progress!

-= Gunner =-
-= St. Johns, FL =-

[lata]

Hi

The Graphics library ( Flower Icon) among other things contains a Color clips, these are only used by the program although they do look like a jpeg image.
If you drag any color to the timeline, double click the clip will open the options panels.
The Color tab shows a color picker which can be used to select a custom color.
The timeline clip can then be dragged back to the Color Library to create a copy, can then be used in other projects
In addition the Color Library has a “+” add option at the top, this can be used to add a color.

You can of course use any image, create a jpeg using an image editor, 16:9 ratio, 1920 x 1080 would be ok, fill the image with your preferred color.
Import the image to the Media library or use the Graphics Backgrounds, again the "+" Add

hope that helps