FreeForm video cropping like with images?

philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Solved by

Oct 09, 2014 05:25

Someone might know how to do this.

With images, you have a lot of choices when it comes to cropping. On the left you can select FreeForm. Handy if you want to crop an exact item in the image, let's say a square shape.

Now when it comes to cropping videos the options offered are reduced:

You can only crop the image in the same 16:9 ratio. You can't change it to 4:3 or to FreeForm.

Is there a way to crop a video in a different shape as 16:9?

Using a mask would work but it seems I would have built a mask for every time I crop a video. Are there any other ways of achieving the same thing?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Oct 09. 2014 05:26

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Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Oct 09, 2014 10:50

It can be done using Keyframes.


Filename	Crop using keyframes_740.png	Download
Description	Crop video as Square
Filesize	180 Kbytes
Downloaded:	780 time(s)


Filename	Crop using keyframes.PNG	Download
Description	Large image
Filesize	252 Kbytes
Downloaded:	132 time(s)

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Oct 09. 2014 10:55

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Oct 09, 2014 11:56

Thank you for helping!

Maybe I confuse something but I think that is resizing the image not cropping it.

EDIT: I think I found a solution!

Using a rectangular mask, there is an option to adjust the mask in FreeForm!

This works for me

I'm so happy.

http://i.imgur.com/qalQgwV.png

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at Oct 09. 2014 12:03

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Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Oct 09, 2014 13:38

Quote: Thank you for helping!

Maybe I confuse something but I think that is resizing the image not cropping it.

EDIT: I think I found a solution!

Using a rectangular mask, there is an option to adjust the mask in FreeForm!

This works for me

I'm so happy.

http://i.imgur.com/qalQgwV.png

Maybe the boats video was not a good example, but that video is cropped, Count the number of boats shown vs. the boats Sample video.

Not Cropped:

Cropped:


Filename	Cropped boats_capture.PNG	Download
Description	Cropped
Filesize	397 Kbytes
Downloaded:	715 time(s)


Filename	Not Cropped boats_capture.PNG	Download
Description	Not cropped
Filesize	305 Kbytes
Downloaded:	711 time(s)

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at Oct 09. 2014 13:42

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

ynotfish

Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline

Oct 09, 2014 16:34

Carl -

Clearly, something else not shown in your original screenshot "Crop using Keyframes" has been done to that clip!

In Keyframes > Clip Attributes, unchecking "Maintain Aspect Ratio" and resetting the W scale from 1.000 to 0.568 does not crop the clip. It just distorts it.

Phil - using a modified rectangular mask, as you've found, is the only way to make the video clip appear to be cropped (without distortion).

Cheers - Tony

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Oct 09. 2014 16:35

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philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Oct 09, 2014 17:04

Quote:
Maybe the boats video was not a good example, but that video is cropped, Count the number of boats shown vs. the boats Sample video.

Look at that tower / building in the back. It turns into a pencil on the second image. Everything is horizontally stunted. Website
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Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Oct 09, 2014 18:45

Quote: Carl -

Clearly, something else not shown in your original screenshot "Crop using Keyframes" has been done to that clip!

In Keyframes > Clip Attributes, unchecking "Maintain Aspect Ratio" and resetting the W scale from 1.000 to 0.568 does not crop the clip. It just distorts it.

Cheers - Tony

That by itself does not crop the image, but adjusting the image handles does, they work just like the cropping box in video crop.

When you uncheck maintain aspect radio you can adjust the image handles anyway you wish, which is how I got the square box.

Adjusting the image handles, updates the H & W scale, I adjusted the handles until I got a fairly square box.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Oct 09. 2014 19:05

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

ynotfish

Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline

Oct 09, 2014 20:12

Fair enough Carl -

Your handles must have something mine don't

Here, nothing I do with the handles - white or blue - makes ANY part of the clip disappear. The light poles on each side stay there.

It's got me.

Cheers - Tony

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Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Oct 09, 2014 21:45

Quote: Fair enough Carl -

Your handles must have something mine don't

Here, nothing I do with the handles - white or blue - makes ANY part of the clip disappear. The light poles on each side stay there.

It's got me.

Cheers - Tony

OK, I will try to make a screen capture video on Friday. See if I can duplicate what I did.

What I have right now is a PDS file of the result.
Attached, maybe you can play with it.

Filename	Crop with Keyframes.pds	Download
Description	PD 13 PDS nothing but sample files
Filesize	448 Kbytes
Downloaded:	523 time(s)

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

fkaMikeB

Senior Member Location: Ohio, USA Joined: Aug 09, 2014 23:22 Messages: 217 Offline

Oct 09, 2014 22:42

Have you tried NewBlue Effects (Essentials 1) crop borders fx? I have it in PDR12. It seems to give just a little more control over the dimensions. Mike B.
|>>PowerSpecG311 PC(2014)<<||>>Windows®7Pro 64-bit OS<<|
|MB:AsRock FM2A88X Extreme6+|CPU:AMD A10-7850KQuad 3.7GHz|RAM:8GB DDR3|GPU:MSI Radeon™R7 250 1GD5OC|
|HDD:Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB|HDD:WD Red 2TBx2|RAID:SansDigital TR5M+B 2TBx3|BD-R:LG BE14NU40 Ext|
|Camera:Canon Ultura miniDV|WebCam:Logitech C910|ADVC110 Analog/Digital Converter|
|PowerDirector12Ultra.2930|PhotoDirector5Ultra.5424|AudioDirector4Ultra.3522|Cyberlink MediaSuite10 OEM|

philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Oct 09, 2014 23:15

Quote: Have you tried NewBlue Effects (Essentials 1) crop borders fx? I have it in PDR12. It seems to give just a little more control over the dimensions.

I will check it out thank you! Website
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ynotfish

Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline

Oct 10, 2014 02:10

Carl -

Thanks for uploading the project file. It showed a couple of things, but I still don't know where you put those lamp posts

Looking through the settings in PiP Designer & Keyframe settings, I could find no clues about how you arrived at that result.

1. When I copied the keyframe attributes from the clip in question to the other "Boats" clip, the result was distorted but not cropped. See attached screenshot.

2. Right clicking on the two clips revealed a different set of Properties for each - even though they are both PD sample files. See other attached image.

Anyway - Phil has resolved his issue & now has (possibly) another option with NBFX Crop Borders.

Cheers - Tony


Filename	Carl Project Properties.png	Download
Description
Filesize	232 Kbytes
Downloaded:	98 time(s)


Filename	Carl Project Preview.png	Download
Description
Filesize	817 Kbytes
Downloaded:	107 time(s)

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Oct 10. 2014 02:21

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1Nina

Senior Contributor Location: Norway, 50km southwest of Oslo Joined: Oct 08, 2008 04:12 Messages: 1070 Offline

Oct 10, 2014 02:43

If you set the value in NBFX Crop Borders in transparent mode to full 200
you get a little cropping. ( can't set the values higher)
The other modes just mess with AR it seems.
Seems like it's just that: crop borders.
Just something.
https://www.petitpoisvideo.com

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Oct 10, 2014 11:19

Quote: Carl -

Thanks for uploading the project file. It showed a couple of things, but I still don't know where you put those lamp posts

Looking through the settings in PiP Designer & Keyframe settings, I could find no clues about how you arrived at that result.

1. When I copied the keyframe attributes from the clip in question to the other "Boats" clip, the result was distorted but not cropped. See attached screenshot.

2. Right clicking on the two clips revealed a different set of Properties for each - even though they are both PD sample files. See other attached image.

Anyway - Phil has resolved his issue & now has (possibly) another option with NBFX Crop Borders.

Cheers - Tony

Tony, I am going to eat my words.

You asked what happened with the lamp posts. I cropped them out in the Power Tools Video Crop.

It turns out after playing with what I thought I did, I am just distorting the image with Keyframes after video crop.
I am making a square image, but it is a distorted crop. It would be very easy to spot in another video that is not so many boats side by side.

I can upload the screen capture, but it is no use. Cropping is not happening. except in Video Crop.

I am wrong, it looks OK on the boats, but not a real crop.
Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Oct 10, 2014 12:38

Made a video about this. During making another video, I had to use the mask to crop a video, so I though: Why not make a quick video and share it with the PD fans

PowerDirector Freeform Video Crop Website
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Cmax

Newbie Joined: Oct 18, 2014 18:52 Messages: 31 Offline

Oct 24, 2014 08:15

Hi everyone, I am new to Video....filming and editing. I know digital photography very well. I have been reading all I can about cropping video with powerdirector 13. I am very confused, It seems that it has a crop feature that does not crop. I am looking for cropping clips similar to photos. To trim off excess, useless frame and make subject matter stand out more..... at this point I am lost......can you or can you not crop clips similar to photos? if not why is that?
thanks for your help from a newb......Cmax

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Oct 24, 2014 08:40

Quote: Hi everyone, I am new to Video....filming and editing. I know digital photography very well. I have been reading all I can about cropping video with powerdirector 13. I am very confused, It seems that it has a crop feature that does not crop. I am looking for cropping clips similar to photos. To trim off excess, useless frame and make subject matter stand out more..... at this point I am lost......can you or can you not crop clips similar to photos? if not why is that?
thanks for your help from a newb......Cmax

Powerdirector does have a video cropping function.

1. Select the video clip on the timeline.
2. Click Power Tools.
3. Put check mark at Video Crop, Click Crop Video button.
4. Adjust the cropping area. (You can drag and resize the cropping box). Click OK.

The problem with the Video Crop in Powerdirector is you can only crop video at the project Aspect Ratio.

This thread was about trying to crop video with a different aspect ratio. Powerdirector does not have a freeform video crop.

It turns out after several of the editors tried using Keyframes, we just ended up distorting the video without actually cropping except what was done in Power Tools > Video Crop.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Oct 24. 2014 08:43

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

1Nina

Senior Contributor Location: Norway, 50km southwest of Oslo Joined: Oct 08, 2008 04:12 Messages: 1070 Offline

Oct 24, 2014 09:04

Hi Cmax

Some converters have built in cropping, but I have not come across one with free form.
I sometimes use the cropping ability in converters, though.

I have another, more expensive video editor which has the "freeform" cropping.
Still, the freeform there is within squares of all kinds.
Stills are still. Basically you can do anything you want with them.
Video is moving, and the frames are moving at fast speed.
Even keyframing on a mask is a bit of work!

Nina

Just something.
https://www.petitpoisvideo.com

Cmax

Newbie Joined: Oct 18, 2014 18:52 Messages: 31 Offline

Oct 24, 2014 09:38

Wow, that was quick... Thanks Carl & Nina. I sure I will have many more questions.
Thanks Cmax

philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Oct 24, 2014 09:44

I've been using masks now for a while with great success! In some videos I record music from old MIDI devices on old PCs.

I use a webcam to record the LCD display of the music device.

PD 13 can sync the two videos through audio and then I use a rectangular mask to crop the video showing the LCD display

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