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There are so many things to like about PD (compared to Sony Studio / Adobe Premier), but there are many mostly simple things that could improve it further..
Here are my suggestions (that may be repeats of the comments above):
Ability to have multiple projects open at the same time (multiple instances of PD)!
Control/Keypress Options:
> more control over the forward backward movement, some user options between the frame / 1 second / 1 minute /clip jump points please.
> the space does start/pause - but like Sony Studio, i want another option to pause but return to point where i started the play.
> Keypress preferences - you can save them to a named set. But you cant 'select' a set to overwrite/delete etc. Would be handy to have predefined sets that are similar to other edit products.
> To un-split a video (with warning if that would change duration)! And re-link video with its sound.
> Keypresses to change the In/Out clip points (duration) frame by frame on the timeline.
> Keypress consistency - all modules (PIP/Trim/Audio Director/Wave edit/ etc.) to use the same keypresses for start/pause/zoom/etc as set for the main edit / timeline view.
Auto-Ripple/Auto-Crossfade modes
> when changing clip duration or anything that changes its duration (like speeding up) then i need the system to auto 'ripple' the following clips. In many cases it truncates the following clip without warning.
> ability to 'reposition/slip' a clip from its underlying source in the timeline (ctrl+drag)
> view the offest time and ability to re-set the sound back to match the video - when you extend the sound so it is longer that the video, it is quite easy to offset it from the video.
> Audio: Fade shape - when fading music it can be useful to set the prefered curve for that fade (again - see Sony Studio).
Transition 'extention' Mode when using Overlap?
> When changing a transition from A-then-B to Overlap, the clips move - causing a gap in the timeline. (see auto-ripple).
.. so could we have a way to EXTEND the two clips with ether a static frame or set of frames (like slow-mo) over the transition, so the overall duration does not change!
..though if the clips are in the middle of a longer 'source' then the overlap could simply move the in/out points of the clip instead.
Playback
> Do not return to the start when playing finishes at the end - a real pain when you are focussed on making small refinements to the end of a video.
> Playback speed - to be able to playback at a faster/slower speed for quick review (with sound up to 2x speed).
Flatten the Action Menu!
> There may be many things you can do to a clip but i find it tedious that some things are under sub-menus (magic things / tools). Would prefer all clip options to be in one single list, if screen space allows, and only sub-menu if screen is small.
Gain / Opacity control or 'mode'
> The system has nice capability to alter the gain (audio track) or opacity (video, if fade in/out has been chosen).
> But it would be really nice to be able to set 'guide points' so you can set these only at set gains/opacity levels. It is very easy to make a mess of these tiny control points!
> And/Or to auto enlarge the track when in Gain/Opacity edit 'mode' to make the settings more accurate.
Effects
> Ability to apply effects 'slowly' - like fade-in and fade-out - but for the effect.
Modify Clip
> It needs to many 'clicks' to set Fade-In/Out (one for the fades option, then which you want - in or out). Why not just tick in/out?
In/Out points on the Time-Line edit..
> these are hardly used - and always seem to 'snap' back together. But they should be useful for:
> setting a playback 'loop' (rather than just clip or movie)
> setting a section to copy / render / produce / trim
> setting a section to 'zoom' into
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I notice that effects are applied to a clip or to the FX track (to apply it to several clips and anything else that is above it - like particles). And also, effects are either ON or OFF. You can use the Keyframe feature to alter aspects of the effect over time - but you cannot make the fx slowly 'take effect' in many cases.
This is nice and flexible. I did rather expect FX that apply to a clip to appear as tracks in the PIP (Clip Modify) so you could control / add / delete / layer them in a consistent way. Perhaps next year!
But what i wanted was a way to 'fade in' / 'fade out' an effect on a clip. I was using the "Color Painting" effect, but did not want this to suddenly jump into effect. The only solution was to copy the video clip, then sandwich the effect between the two copies. Now i trim the lower (no effect) copy and apply fade-out. like this:
Track 1: Full original video
FX Track: the effect!
Track 2: Trimmed copy of original, with fade out/in as needed
Now while Track 2 has video, you see the normal view. But as it fades, it reveal the same video but with the effect applied.
YAY - but would'nt it be really nice if Effects themselves had a 'fade-in' 'fade-out' feature - so their effect on the underlying tracks can be applied/removed slowly?
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