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Hi all!
Maybe this one could be put in the "suggestions For PD15" bag, do something about fixing the "cross" transitions so we don't get the freeze at the beginning and end of a transition. I should note though, the problem is not universal, it only seems to affect fades, wipes, threshold and a few others. Still, it's something Cyberlink needs to work on.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Quote:
I got caught on a copyright flag with my parents video. I played "Unchained Melody" on my Yamaha FX-20 organ. So it was me playing and my recording. But because I played music somebody else wrote... I got nailed. And I learned something.
Hi, Jcardana!
How's it goin'? This thing about using music in videos is getting to be fraught with pitfalls! You got caught because the tune you were playing was owned or controlled by the estates of Alex North and Hyrum Zannet, composers of "Unchained Melody". But even if you had performed music you, yourself had composed, it is still highly likely you might be "flagged" for it. For many it is fast becoming a nuisance. Even if you didn't put any music in the video intentionally, but your camera's microphone just happened to unintentionally "pick up" some music playing on a radio or a CD/Tape cassette/phonograph player in the background, you'd still be "pinged" for it. If YouTube doesn't "pull their heads in", they'll have no content to show because their contributors will get fed up with the way they're treated.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hmmmm....
I just looked at two emails telling me replies have come in to my posts, when I clicked on the links, I saw that the "replies" were, in fact, my own follow-ups to other people's posts. What gives here, Moderators?
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hello, Tobari2!
This was what I was getting at! No device no capture! What is required here is a "capture card" device, like Pinnacle's "Dazzle" or K-World's capture device USB2861. This what I was asking about in my first reply to you: "Is it JUST a cable with USB plug on one end and phone(RCA) jacks on the other?" Clearly it is! And as it is, it's clearly not enough to do the job as there's no electronic "box" between those RCA connections and the USB plug that actually "processes" the signal from your video camera to feed it to your computer. These capture cards derive any power they may require through the USB connection, they then process the signal fed into them from a video camera or VCR(be it Beta or VHS) and feed it via the USB plug, into your computer. From there, the software, like Power Director does the rest of the work by converting the signal fed to it(in real-time, an hour-long video off the tape will take that long to feed into the computer to create the "capture", ready for editing). Where do you get such a device? any reputable electroncs retailer should carry stock of various brands of capture card. They are "plug-and-play", so as soon as you've hooked up your camera to the device's input, the instant you plug the USB end to your computer, you'll need to give it a minute or two to be "recognised" by your computer, you'll then get a message in words to the effect that the "USB device is now ready for use". Once you see this message, your Power Director will be ready to accept the signal fed to it from your camera. Hope I've managed to clarify things, not intending to lecture, just clear up a point or two.
Cheers!
Neil.
Ah, Fenman has just jumped in with a useful tip. Thanks Mike! I said these devices are "plug and play", generally they are, but depending on the amount of electronics involved, there may be need for a "device driver" to be installed on your computer(from a CD or DVD). Mike may have some further info here as well. Take it away, Mike! Cheers!.
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Quote:
Why can't I upload a video 8 cassette into the import section of power director 12 ultra and it doesn't show up on the screen? The cable I am using has phone jacks on one end and USB plug on the other. Thanks for your help.
Hello Tobari2!
This might be a stupid question but it begs asking: Is it JUST a cable with USB plug on one end and phone(RCA) jacks on the other? or is there a device lurking somewhere between the two sets of connections, referred to as a "capture card"? Sorry to be facetious but it was the way you described the connection as if there was nothing in between them. When you've made all your connections(and for the moment I'll assume the camera delivers stereo audio, red and white audio, yellow video) to the device and plugged the USB connection to your computer, opening PD12, you'll see three options, Capture, Edit, Produce. You don't use import, that's for video files derived from digital cameras where they're stored on SD cards(more on that later). You're working with an analogue source here. Click on "Capture" you'll see an icon that looks like a TV(other Icons will be greyed out), hold your cursor to it, you'll see the words "capture from a TV signal" Just prior, you'll have see a brief window where it says, "Detecting device". It matters not, that PD will call the input from your device a "TV signal", the point is, when you press play on your camera(set to playback mode), the video will appear in the capture screen., back your tape up to the start and click on the red "record" icon to "capture" your content. Click on that icon(becomes a black square) again to end the capture. It's that easy. Just to check something out for myself, I looked at the capture function in both PD8 and PD14, they both use the same icon for the source to capture from, only variance is, in PD8, appears in white when active, in PD14 appears in Blue when active. When you've captured your video, you'll be prompted to give it a file name(default name is "Capture" Subsequent files will be "Capture0", "Capture1", etc. Naming the file is up to you, they're pre-edit captures anyway. Just before I finish, re: digital cameras. early digital cameras recorded to Mini DV tapes, we wont worry about them, more modern digital cameras record to SD cards, these cameras connect directly via USB connection to a computer and behave like an external hard-drive, a few clicks and you copy and paste the card's contents into a folder on your computer, and from there you "import" the files to PD12 for editing. That's where the "media import" icon comes into play.. Hope that's of help to you.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Gee, jcardana, you sound like an Aussie! ha-ha! As you're probably aware, we just celebrated our national day two days ago(our time).
Australia Day, 26th January! We tend to celebrate our day in an understated fashion. Not too much hype. Because it's mid-Summer here, a lot of people will head to the beach, or local pool(gives one some ideas for videos with comic effects, video in reverse comes into its own here.... kid dives into a pool, split at the point just before he/she jumps, split again at the point, one second on, where he/she enters the water, copy and paste the sequence 3, 5 or 7 times, needs to be an odd number because the even-numbered pastes will have the reverse effect applied, the odd-numbered run forwards with the last to mesh with the rest of the clip, view the result and have a good ol' laugh).
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, jcardana!
The version of PD14 Ultra I'm using is directly as it came off the installation disc. Got my fingers burned once before with upgrade builds(had PD7, off the installation disc it performed exactly as it should, then I got onto the internet and, whilst on, I had PD7 opened, a pop-up appeared with an upgrade prompt, I bit, and regretted it afterward because, with the "upgrade(?)" in place, PD7 kept crashing. A complete uninstall, then reinstall from the disc cured the problem. Ever since then I've been somewhat wary of upgrade builds, though, admittedly the one upgrade I used for PD8 hasn't given me any real grief so far, nonetheless I'm still wary.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Jcardana!(Joe)
I take absolutely no offence, and sincerely apologise if I offended you in any way. In answering another post from a newbie asking about viewing effects, whilst writing the post, I found myself experimenting with the very effects he/she was asking about. I realised there's still a lot to learn about what can and cannot be done in PD14. Guess I've got some experimenting to do, ay!
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, everyone!
Jcardana looks to have found a workable solution. See if it works for any one of you, Kyle or LA1N(abbreviated for ease of writing) and let jcardana know via this forum or, if he invites you, by PM. And jcardana, sincerely, well done!
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, Nickyb1982!
You can preview an effect without dropping it onto the timeline, for instance, in the PiP objects room you can view the superimpose effects before you add them to your video, just choose any one by clicking on it in the media library and watch how it behaves. If it souts your needs and the "mood" of your video, you simply pull it down onto the Video 2 track. Below that is the Particle room, again, click on the one you think might suit your video and view it whilst it's in the media library, if you like it, pull it onto the video 1 or video 2 track. these are not able to be made transparent, but there is an opacity setting you could attempt to set(I've not been able to get it to work, myself). I admit, I've not yet used any in my videos until I've had a chance to experiment with them. Above these is the effects room, these can also be viewed before inserting on the Effect(fx) track or superimpose directly onto the video clip on Video 1, 2 or other video tracks you can call up. If applied directly onto the video track, it will effect the entire duration of the clip(or highlighted portion) on any of the video tracks, but if inserted on the fx track, will only apply for the length of time you determine, and only apply to the Video 1 timeline. There's quite a bit of experimentation ahead for both of us, it seems. There are a lot of things I'm still learning about in PD14, but what I've told you here, is knowledge I've gained from experimentation done for the purpose of writing this post.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hello, jcardana!
I think you've counted more steps that I actually detailed. I said three steps because I'll perform two or three tasks within one step. For instance, in Step 1, all the wanted content is imported to the media library then pulled down onto the timeline, trimmed down(I snip off any extra frames beyond a full second(25 frames, working in PAL system), I add my transitions, there's my base video, rendered it's ready for Step 2, adding titles and inlay images, plus captions where needed, render this then move to final step, Step 3, adding narration and music, a final render and the job's done. Granted a few tasks are done, but it's all within one step, each step performed separately with whichever task involved completed within that step. Hope that makes sense.
Cheers!
Neil.
P.S. If I appeared rude or critical, that wasn't my intention. Sorry.
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Hi, Kyle & John!
Tell me if you've seen this one. If I add a simple fade, or a wipe, or a threshold using crossfade behaviour, I get a momentary freeze-frame at the beginning and sometimes at the end of the transition as well. But if I set at overlap, I get a smooth transition. Only trouble with overlap is, it shortens the overall length of the video by the duration of the transition multiplied by the number of times the transition is used(10 transitions at 5 seconds each equals 50 seconds snipped off your video's length).
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, jcardana !
Whew! I got tired and exhausted just reading about your steps!
A recent video I produced was done in just three steps.
1) after the initial shoot(a visit to a tramway museum), with all the clips imported to PD14's media library, assemble-edit a base version(with colour board[black] at start and end) with all transitions in place and any over-long sequences trimmed down. Produce(render).
2) Import produced version, add any extra overlays(titles, captions, still-images), Use Transition effects on PiP track for added impact. Produce(render).
3) Import new produced version, add narration(recorded separately in third-party software). Narration track can be split so that relevant info can be placed where required on the timeline(listen for end of comment, split - cut) move to next section where narration required, paste, listen for end of comment, split - cut) repeat step until all narration comments are in place. Add any music that you're intending to use(be wary here, though, if uploading to YouTube, they'll "flag" anything they think might becopyright-protected). Produce(render). Job done!
Cheers!
Neil.
P.S. If image quality reduction is an issue, I've not noted any significant degradation. The raw video started as MP4 from my camera, each render was in MPEG2, DVD-SP profile.
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Hello, John!
I just had a thought. You say you don't use the audio from the camera's microphone, but from (obviously) a second device, and sync the audio and video together with some type of cue(clap of a hand, or whichever method). Before editing your clips, produce a raw version with just the video and audio synchronised together. This clip will be the version used for editing later. If you've done more than one clip, with its own separately-recorded audio, this first clip will be your "template" for what to do with your other clips.(just by way of interest, what are you using to record the audio?) If you have shot (for example) 10 minutes of video, and recorded 10 minutes of audio to correspond, link the two together using your audio and video cue, then produce(render) that clip. That rendered clip will become your raw version. You can then edit it any which-way you like without losing the synchronising of the audio. By the way, did you know the "clapper-board" used in film to sync picture and sound was an Australian invention? Australia's film industry in the 1930s and 1940s came up with its own method of getting sound onto film quite independent of, and with no help from the Americans. The clapper-board, adopted by America(but without any due credit to Australia for its invention, until many years later) was used here first, to help with picture and sound synchronisation. Just thought I'd throw that tit-bit of trivia into the mix.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, LosAngeles1Native, Terminal and TotalFluke!
Firstly to LA1N, The transitions, as they are in PD11 to 14, some can be modified, others cannot, I think this may also apply in PD9. Where a transition can be modified, I might've "tinkered" with it for experiment, but dissatisfaction with the result has me taking out the "tinkered" version and puttting back the "untinkered" version. Since then I just used them as they came.
Terminal and TotalFluke, Fades working backwards? (fingers crossed)I've not come across that one! Guess I've been lucky there. Thus far the transitions are working as they should for me.
I create my own title graphics in Bitmap and superimpose them on my videos, overlaid on a PiP track white background chroma-keyed out. I put a(usually white) colour board ahead of, and behind the title graphic and chroma-key it so it's invisible, then I apply a transition onto the PiP track, some transitions don't lend themselves to this practice but others do, with spectacular results! When you get your transition problems resolved, there's a bit of interesting experimentation for you to try, if you're interested.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, Kyle!
How goes it? As you said, you're going to, as a movie title suggests, "Carry On Regardless"! I just finished replying to a new post by Eric Matyas. At the end of that post I said it should be YouTube's obligation to sort this mess out themselves, not dump it on their contributors. But that's exactly what YouTube is doing... dumping their problem(mess, debacle, whatever you'd like to call it) onto YT's contributoing videographers, like yourself, when someone like you should not have to be burdened by this problem. The organisation you named, must be new, I've not heard of it until your mention. I'm familiar with NCB(National Copyright Board), i have several British-made 45s in my record collection, and those letters appear next to the publishing credits on nearly all of them. There was also PPL(Phonogramphic Performances Ltd.) a music copyright clearance organisation referred to on a number of British-made LPs I also have. Here in Australia it's APRA(Australian Performing Rights Association) and AMCO(Australian Mechanical Copyright Organization) In the last decade or so these two had joined forces while still looking after their part of the copyright situation. APRA looks after the performing side of the equasion, the singers and composers, while AMCO looks after the physical recording side, EMI, Polygram, Warner, Festival, BMG, Sony and others who produce the CDs we buy to listen to it all. These are the organizations who'll jump on you if you use any material they look after if you breach their sacred mantra..."Unauthorised public performance, broadcasting or copying of this record(or CD) prohibited".
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, Eric!
In your case it seems like "so far, so good". You haven't yet been "flagged" for copyright infringement.
From what's been said so far in this thread, it seems YouTube's automatic detection does not discriminate between "commercial"(Bert Kaempfert, Henry Mancini, James Last, etc.), "generic"(Smartsound music) or "self-created"(such as yours or anyone else's music). That's where the problem lies. Even if you were to insert text on your video detailing the origins of the music you've used, I'd suspect you may get "flagged" at some time or other, and the burden would be on your shoulders to prove the source was either your own work or from Smartsound.
As I said, for you, up to this point, it's been "so far, so good" and for your sake I hope it stays that way, but the potential is still there for you to be "flagged" when you put rven one of your own compositions into a clip for YouTube. By rights it should be YouTube's obligation to sort out this problem itself, not dump it on its contributors.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Quote:
Hi Angela -
In your screenshot, you have Character Presets open. If you close that & open Font Type you'll see the Line Spacing option, right under font size.
Cheers - Tony
Hi, Angela!
Just adding to Tony's post, when you open "Font Type" and see the line spacing option, if you scroll upwards, you'll have the choice of -5, -8 and -10. -8 is a good intermediate setting as it closes the gap between two lines of text without those two(or more) lines appearing to overlap each other.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, all!
Reading all the posts as they came in, I'm sure glad I avoided all the hassle of uploading anything to YouTube. YouTube are causing a great deal of unnecessary grief to their contributors, it's a wonder anyone bothers to upload to them at all. Within the last week I shot, edited and produced a video about the Sydney Tramway Museum. It will go straight to DVD. It used a "Smartsound" track called "Hoedown" and I duly credited Smartsound in a closing credit scroll, along with crediting Cyberlink PD14 Ultra as the editing software among other things. At the moment I'm watching the situation with Community TV in my country and the disgraceful and unconscionable way it's being treated by this country's federal government. If and when this situation is resolved in favour of the Community TV sector, and a local operator I know of, can get his licence to operate his station on a free-to-air channel, I'll submit my video to his station. Sure as hell it ain't goin' to YouTube!
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, Eric!
The "problem", if or when it arises, is when YouTube detects music in the soundtrack of a clip uploaded to it. YT "assumes" the music to be subject to copyright and "flags" it as such(often incorrectly), thus challenging the video's creator to prove that the music was:
A) their own composition(such as your music, Eric),
B) sourced from "Smartsound"(copyright cleared for such purpose),
C) extraneously "picked up" by the camera's microphone from a music source playing somewhere nearby(could be a radio or a stereo system).
Such challenges are frustrating for the creator of a video as he/she has to go through a huge legal process to try to prove any or all of the above. It results in frustration all round. I suspect many video creators would be leaving music out of any material submitted to YouTube because of this situation. If they've been "bitten" once, they're not going to be "bitten" again.
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Hello, HeavyTiger!
If you have a disc copying software on your computer, just use that. The retail versions of Power Director come on DVD so simply make yourself a back-up copy using Roxio or Nero or any other disc copying software you may have.
Cheers!
Neil.
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