I think I'm not quite clear on what you are doing, so let me see if I can relate what I do. I put all of the video I'm going to use on the timeline, I edit together many videos from the same concert. I actually do this in storyboard mode since the video timeline is too long. I edit the video as I go, piece by piece. Then in between the various clips, once I have reached the end of the song, I add a fade. Once that part is done I sync the video with the audio in the audio track. I would use the best audio from one of the video pieces that I am using.

The only time I really use a PIP would be to insert another piece of video into the main video on the timeline OR overlay one video on the other for added effect.

I have a feeling that I'm not understanding what you are trying to accomplish.

Do you have an example that I can see? I'm interested in seeing what you are doing.

Not exactly, let me try to make it clear:

we take 1 song of let's say 3 minutes as an example.

master clip is 3 minutes. It is recorded with 1 camera but not with a fixed position. move a bit to the left , move a bit closer/ further away etc. So let's say 40 seconds of these 3 minutes is 'bad' footage(moving the camera, getting into position etc.) However I want to use the full 3 minute audio(this wasn't clear in my example i think). And I want audio and video to stay in sync throughout. So i move the video to the PIP layer and then fill the gaps with insert shots.

Cutting out the bad parts on the video layer isn't an option because i would lose sync and/or audio parts.

So that's why i came up with this solution but i figure this is something anyone making videos would come across. If ripple editing could be disabled on the video layer(allowing empty space) all the extra steps would not be needed btw.

You can see a practical example here, this was recorded with 1 camera:

http://www.markelbers.nl/welkom/koninginnedag-2008-2

And a 2 camera example but workflow would be similar

http://www.markelbers.nl/welkom/crazy-little-thing-called-love Current projects: www.doornakkers.tv , www.markelbers.nl and www.onsnet.tv (all in Dutch)

I see what you are doing. You are actually editing the video in the PIP line. You don't have to put fades in etc, you are just splitting the video and inserting the other clips. I see. And since the audio and video match up (audio line to PIP line) its in sync.

I agree that multi trim in PIP would be a great addition AND I would love to be able to move from the timeline to the PIP line. Sometimes I find something in the main video I want to use as a PIP. Even if I split it out on the timeline, I then have to add the video (at the end) and then trim that video in the PIP line, rather than dragging and dropping that already edited piece down.

Thank you for explaining.

Ha funny you mention moving items from video track to PIP track, this was actually one of the first things i tried to do in PD. But it's things like this that i find weird. Programmers keep adding features but seem to forget about basic functions that seem logical and useful to many people. Current projects: www.doornakkers.tv , www.markelbers.nl and www.onsnet.tv (all in Dutch)

One thing that I learned early on, was that the programmers program they don't video edit. That's why this forum is so helpful. The programmers don't even think of some of the things we try to do with the program.

I do think that the Cyberlink people are excellent in their responses to concerns etc (totally imo) I have dealt with other types of software where you never get an answer. This forum too, is extremely helpful there is a lot of experience on here and it looks like you are going to add a lot to the mix. Thank you again.

Well one of the reasons that Editstudio is different from most other editing programs is because the original authors were into video editing themselves and were actually using their own program. And they implemented features based on what the users wanted. The original author is a company called puremotion, a year or so ago they sold ES to mediachance but unfortunately development has ceased it seems. Current projects: www.doornakkers.tv , www.markelbers.nl and www.onsnet.tv (all in Dutch)

That certainly is the ideal BUT as you say, at any point in time that progress on updating can change based on who is offering the program at any given time.

I haven't read everything in this post/topic but here's a suggestion.

Place the video in the Video track (VT) - do what you want.

Place it also as a PiP and marry up your inserts to the video and audio. Just put the Pip in a corner so you can view the Video track.

Use the PD multi- trim tools to edit the VT.

Mute the video track when completed

Shrink the Pip to an off screen position in the Pip track - just drop the video below screen level and then shrink to a dot.

Note - just be careful with the length of the PiP as it'll shrink when you cut the Video Track.

The PiP provides the audio.

I realise the audio can be extracted etc - just this might be easier to marry up and a workaround.

Hope this helps

Dafydd

Hi Everyone,

For what it’s worth, I’ve on several ocassions, used the very same technique that Dafydd described above, and it does work quite well. (great minds must think alike, huh Dafydd? Hahaha.)

Use a PIP track as a reference track. Then once the edits on the other tracks are completed to one’s satisfaction, simply shrink the PIP down to a small dot/square and move/drag it out beyond the viewing pane of that particular PIP. The audio is still there, but the video portion is now off screen. One can do that for a whole video, or just for segments.

As far as sizing PIPs. I open a new pre-production project and assemble all the clips and images that I anticipate that I might use in the PIPs for a project. I then place them in the master track, and then produce to Avi (or whatever).
Then I import that compilation into my main project, and size it in a PIP, to exactly the size I want. Then I right click to make a copy and I paste this “PIP Compilation master” (“PCm”) copy to the far right of any PIP track, past the end of the duration of my production (for instance a 03:00 music video).
Now, using multiple PIP tracks, every time I want a segment for placement in a PIP at any given point, I just go to and make another copy of that “PCm”, and every portion I extract from these “PCm” copies, will always be in the exact same position, and at the exact same size. And you can move these extracted clips between any of the PIPs without it changing anything about the clips.
I probably didn’t explain that very well, but it does work as a way of not having to constantly try to achieve the exact same size when placing a number of clips and images into multiple PIPs.

But yes, being able to drag edits down from the master track, to the PIPs, would be an awesome feature.

Well, just my two cents worth. Of course two cents worth aren’t worth much these days are they?

EDIT: BTW, nice job on those 2 videos Twilite!


Click here PDtoots for a collection of PowerDirector Tutorials and Tips