Sigh... so again no option of track priority? (and other sad issues)

Alessandro de Sica

Member Joined: May 24, 2013 19:23 Messages: 72 Offline

Solved by

Sep 19, 2015 09:13

Apart from all the new fancy stuff in PD 14, most of which I don't care about (screen capture?), I tested the editing, which is what this program should be all about. And apparently there is still no option for a track that is above another to take priority, it only goes in the "down" direction towards higher track numbers, which means I'll create like 50 new tracks and continue this nonsense of constantly "going down" when doing cuts especially in dialogue scenes when you cut back and forth between two persons but while one is talking you already cut to the other a fraction of an second before the line is finished and the second person replies to that line.

Or am I mistaken here? Anyone have a solution? Otherwise that's the end for me with PD (and no, I don't need another "wedding special" effects etc. package, I'd like to have a good editor).

And the "Breaking News" title still can't scroll a given text as a loop at the bottom of the screen, which is the point of a news ticker??? Please say it isn't so. This can't be.

I could go on and on, it's so incredibly sad...: So we have a "Las Vegas Sign" in the PiP section. Wow, so whenever I do one of them swingin' Las Vegas movies, which are ever so popular with millions of users, I have the famous sign right at my fingers. Are you freaking kidding me? Well, if you could alter the text THEN we would be talking! Then it would actually be usable. But alas... it's history repeating for me since I had the same things to say one year ago with PD 13.

Oh, BTW, I almost forgot: There are some 5000 new incredibly fancy transitions - which nobody actually needs. Hey, why don't you call your product "Transition Master"?

Deja vu. Well, Cyberlink, I guess it's time to say goodbye. I don't need a toy, I need an editor.

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at Sep 19. 2015 11:02

Russell1967

Senior Member Location: Kissimmee, Fl USA Joined: Aug 10, 2013 23:35 Messages: 165 Offline

Sep 22, 2015 12:58

Yeah, CL PD is one of the few editors out there that does the counter-intuitive "top is the bottom and bottom is the top" for video priority. I and others have complained about this many times, but it appears to be here to stay. Shame, really. A simple option in the "preferences" would be fairly easy to implement I would think.

I'm pondering whether this upgrade is worth it for me, as PD13 does what I want. Do "srt" subtitle files still take WAAAAAAAAY too long to load (like several minutes on a 90 minutes clip)? In fact, just about everything relating to subtitles is EXTREMEMLY slow. Like, Commodore 64 slow. Other programs that specialize in creating and editing subtitles, many totally free, load them instantaneously. And "srt" support is incomplete anyway because tags like for italics are rendered exactly as-is instead of in italics, so hello gets rendered as "hello" instead of hello.

If they fixed the subtitle room and added freeform masking (instead of just pre-made shapes), I would totally upgrade in a second!

I might wait for PD15. Who knows?

Russell1967 System specs: Windows 7 Professional x64; Gigabyte Z77-DS3H motherboard with i5-3579K 3.8Ghz processor with 32GB RAM; Zotac GTX 760 w/4GB; 1xWestern Digital 1TB 10,000RPM HD; 1x Samsung 840 Pro SSD System Drive

Alessandro de Sica

Member Joined: May 24, 2013 19:23 Messages: 72 Offline

Sep 22, 2015 14:39

See? That's what I'm saying: This prog could be so much better, so §$%&/ much better with just a few programming tweaks - I simply do not get it why they don't implement these things. It's not that they had to reinvent the wheel for that or redesign the program from scratch, is it?

Russell1967

Senior Member Location: Kissimmee, Fl USA Joined: Aug 10, 2013 23:35 Messages: 165 Offline

Sep 22, 2015 15:31

To be honest, the minor tweaks we're asking for could easily be released in a program patch rather than the next full version upgrade. And the users would be very grateful.

Russell1967 System specs: Windows 7 Professional x64; Gigabyte Z77-DS3H motherboard with i5-3579K 3.8Ghz processor with 32GB RAM; Zotac GTX 760 w/4GB; 1xWestern Digital 1TB 10,000RPM HD; 1x Samsung 840 Pro SSD System Drive

Alessandro de Sica

Member Joined: May 24, 2013 19:23 Messages: 72 Offline

Sep 22, 2015 16:48

Cyberlink, are you reading this.....?

Russell1967

Senior Member Location: Kissimmee, Fl USA Joined: Aug 10, 2013 23:35 Messages: 165 Offline

Sep 22, 2015 19:17

Now don't get me wrong. Overall, PD is excellent in almost every way and I tend to use it more than the other options I have at my disposal (which shall remain nameless). I wish the forum had an official "Feature Request" section that the powers that be at Cyberlink actually looked at. We could even vote on the ones that the people want the most. Talk about giving your clients what they want! And, as we've pointed out here, a large number of the features we're looking for are relatively minor tweaks.

That's my $.02

Russell1967 System specs: Windows 7 Professional x64; Gigabyte Z77-DS3H motherboard with i5-3579K 3.8Ghz processor with 32GB RAM; Zotac GTX 760 w/4GB; 1xWestern Digital 1TB 10,000RPM HD; 1x Samsung 840 Pro SSD System Drive

Aldoxide

Member Joined: Mar 10, 2015 00:15 Messages: 51 Offline

Sep 22, 2015 20:10

Quote: Apart from all the new fancy stuff in PD 14, most of which I don't care about (screen capture?), I tested the editing, which is what this program should be all about. And apparently there is still no option for a track that is above another to take priority, it only goes in the "down" direction towards higher track numbers, which means I'll create like 50 new tracks and continue this nonsense of constantly "going down" when doing cuts especially in dialogue scenes when you cut back and forth between two persons but while one is talking you already cut to the other a fraction of an second before the line is finished and the second person replies to that line.

Or am I mistaken here? Anyone have a solution? Otherwise that's the end for me with PD (and no, I don't need another "wedding special" effects etc. package, I'd like to have a good editor).

And the "Breaking News" title still can't scroll a given text as a loop at the bottom of the screen, which is the point of a news ticker??? Please say it isn't so. This can't be.

I could go on and on, it's so incredibly sad...: So we have a "Las Vegas Sign" in the PiP section. Wow, so whenever I do one of them swingin' Las Vegas movies, which are ever so popular with millions of users, I have the famous sign right at my fingers. Are you freaking kidding me? Well, if you could alter the text THEN we would be talking! Then it would actually be usable. But alas... it's history repeating for me since I had the same things to say one year ago with PD 13.

Oh, BTW, I almost forgot: There are some 5000 new incredibly fancy transitions - which nobody actually needs. Hey, why don't you call your product "Transition Master"?

Deja vu. Well, Cyberlink, I guess it's time to say goodbye. I don't need a toy, I need an editor.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out... j/k . I know your frustration. My main complain with PD is stability and reliability... but oh my God does it have potential... the single thing that keeps me struggling. Unfortunately... treatening to quit the software doesn't get issues resolved.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at Sep 23. 2015 04:15

4790K / Asus Z97i-Plus / 16gb (2-8gb)crucial @1866 Mhz / Samsung ssd 840 pro 250gb / Samsung 850 evo 250gb M.2 / 2-4tb HGST 7200rpm raid 1 / Nvidia GTX 1070 founders) / corsair RM650 PS / LG BD-RE

Dafydd B

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 26, 2006 08:20 Messages: 11973 Offline

Sep 23, 2015 04:27

Hi Alessandro de Sica ,
Please provide a screenshot of the project you've been trying to edit, it would be helpful to see the method you're using.

Why are you not using MultiCam for a the conversation edit?

What are the cameras you are using, frame rates/distance from subject, play a crucial part in effective audio editing?

I know I have experienced a multiple track event (PDR13) where one camera's footage was split into many many small clips, spread over a very large number of tracks and I'm wondering if you're having the same happen.

I wonder why you're using so many tracks just for a conversation with overlayed audio scenes?

Dafydd

Alessandro de Sica

Member Joined: May 24, 2013 19:23 Messages: 72 Offline

Sep 23, 2015 04:57

It's not one audio track, I use one camera and record each person separately of course and edit the best takes together. As soon as I find the time to make a screen shot of the project (I hope I still have it since it's finished already) I'll post it here.

But just tell me: Why can't you just right-click a track and choose: "This track takes priority" instead of having only one direction, which is towards higher track numbers? Then in a typical dialog scene it would be just alternating between two tracks.

Dafydd B

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 26, 2006 08:20 Messages: 11973 Offline

Sep 23, 2015 06:40

Hi Alessandro de Sica,
The "right click" option you want isn't something I would feel worthwhile. I'd consider it "lazy editing" and would be easy to create problems (for editors who'd use logic/numerically based positioning as a norm). It would mean no track above or below being the top one and would totally screw with a sensible styled layout.
You can move tracks up or down the positions manually now.

My opinion is based on the assumption you want the track as the dominating one and not individual clips in different positions in multiple tracks. Clip domination option is different.
Just my opinion..

I look forward to seeing the screenshot.
Dafydd

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at Sep 23. 2015 06:54

Alessandro de Sica

Member Joined: May 24, 2013 19:23 Messages: 72 Offline

Sep 23, 2015 09:54

Sorry I already deleted the files since it was finished quite some time ago but I made an example to make you see what I mean (the clips used are just placeholder examples!!).

Remember: Here, I want to cut to person B while person A still ends his/her line (fraction of a second), giving the scene a much smoother flow, rather than having person A end his/her line completely and only then cutting to B, which looks and feels very clumsy when done constantly.

In "clip1" it's what it is now and in "clip2" it's what it would be if I could just set priority to clips, so every clip takes priority of the one before it (2 over 1, 3 over 2 and 4 over 3). That way, long dialog scenes could be edited much easier because I have the whole dialog scene in only two tracks and don't have to use so many extra tracks just for just one line of dialog.

If I edit the scene like "clip2" (as PD works now) then clip 2 would end completely and only then it would switch to clip 3, without the chance of hearing the last bit of dialog of clip 2 while already seeing clip 3 (person A's reaction).

So am I getting this right about your mentioning "clip priority" vs "track priority"? Yeah, I guess then I want clip priority! ;-)

http://www.nefkom.info/miscellaneous/clip1.jpg
http://www.nefkom.info/miscellaneous/clip2.jpg


Filename	clip1.jpg	Download
Description
Filesize	72 Kbytes
Downloaded:	120 time(s)


Filename	clip2.jpg	Download
Description
Filesize	64 Kbytes
Downloaded:	116 time(s)

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at Sep 23. 2015 10:05

Dafydd B

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 26, 2006 08:20 Messages: 11973 Offline

Sep 23, 2015 11:21

Hi Alessandro de Sica, Thank you for the attachments. Yep, clip priority/selection/domination is definitely what you want. I agree with how you've laid out clip2, as it displays exactly what would make an editor's task easier.
Dafydd

Alessandro de Sica

Member Joined: May 24, 2013 19:23 Messages: 72 Offline

Sep 23, 2015 16:40

Thank you for your kind answers and suggestions.

So... if you agree with me that it would make the editor's job easier (hey, isn't that the whole point of this software?)... any chance this little but important and most useful (and fairly easy programming-wise, I presume) tweak will be implemented in PD 15?

Alessandro de Sica

Member Joined: May 24, 2013 19:23 Messages: 72 Offline

Sep 23, 2015 16:48

And while we're at it, what about the "Breaking News" title?

1. You can't loop a text at the bottom -- which alone makes this totally useless!

2. Secondly, the whole thing just fades out after a certain amount of time! If I want to have a 10 minute news clip it's impossible to have it visible the whole time (which is the whole freaking point of that particular title!!!) since it constantly fades out and comes back in!

Any breaking news on that...? ;-)

Bananacy

Newbie Joined: Sep 16, 2015 07:38 Messages: 29 Offline

Sep 23, 2015 17:10

The most annoying for me, is when i press Stop on Movie mode and it send me right back to the start! so i have to scroll all the way back to the right to find my spot again.

Stop means stop. Add another icon to go to the beginning. :

ynotfish

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

Sep 23, 2015 18:18

Hi Alessandro de Sica -

I'm not sure about how easy it might be to set clip priority, as you've described, but I see your point about using less tracks. If it's a multi-cam shoot, L cuts are much nicer to watch... agreed.

About the animation for the News title. The problem is, it is an animation and it doesn't loop (that's why it fades out & starts again). It's designed as a Title, to be played as an intro, rather than as a news ticker. If you want something that stays as long as you want, just drop a non-animated graphic in a separate track... and overlay some scrolling text - just repeat it for a looped news ticker.

Bananacy - what's wrong with "Pause"? or hitting the space bar?

Cheers - Tony
Visit PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials, tips, free resources & more. Subscribe!
Full linked Tutorial Catalog PDtoots happily supports fellow PowerDirector users!

Bananacy

Newbie Joined: Sep 16, 2015 07:38 Messages: 29 Offline

Sep 24, 2015 03:50

hitting pause won't let you do some edits, the video must be stopped. but i want to keep working on that clip. Might just be me...

Dafydd B

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 26, 2006 08:20 Messages: 11973 Offline

Sep 24, 2015 04:12

Hi Allessandro,
The clip priority suggestion has been passed onto CyberLink for consideration and is being looked into.

Hi Bananacy ,
If you have any questions, issues or problems the "form" is to start your own new topic. Please start your own new topic, this is Alessandro's thread for his points and questions.

Members are always willing to assist with new posts.

Dafydd

Alessandro de Sica

Member Joined: May 24, 2013 19:23 Messages: 72 Offline

Sep 24, 2015 13:13

Thanks very much, Dafydd!!!!

Now if you could also think about the ability of altering titles and PiPs as mentioned you would make me even happier. ;

Thanks again for your kindness, it is very much appreciated.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sep 25. 2015 04:52

Alessandro de Sica

Member Joined: May 24, 2013 19:23 Messages: 72 Offline

Sep 24, 2015 15:38

@Bananacy: Oh, you're not alone. One other tweak which would be absolutely necessary is to just stop the time marker at the end of the last clip of a project without jumping back to the start. This is so annoying I can't tell you.
I always put a black picture insert behind as a workaround but this is also something that HAS to be changed. It would be just a checkbox in preferences, nothing more!