Quote I'm relatively new at video editing. I'm trying to make a home video. I took several videos on my Iphone. Most were taken horizontally but some clips were taken vertically. Rotating the vertical clip didn't work since the clips on either side are horizontal. I was trying to use Crop and Zoom on vertical clips to get rid of black on top and bottom of frame. Cropping and zooming only worked for previewing. It did not make a permanent change. In the help section, it mentioned using keyframes to limit the effect to just clips. However the keyframe symbols are greyed out in version 16.0 which is free version. I only make home videos 3-4X a year so don't want to invest a lot of money in a video editing program. I usually just use split and trim, that is it. I recently learned how to add titles. Is there any way I can fix this problem with the free version?

Hi,

Can you specify exactly which version of PDR16 you have?
https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/80133.page#post_box_329487

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

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16.0.2524.0 Version Type: Ultra

Quote
Hi,

Can you specify exactly which version of PDR16 you have?
https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/80133.page#post_box_329487

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

First thing I'd do is update your system to the final PD16 release (3424) from Nov 2018. You can download the patch from here.

Quote First thing I'd do is update your system to the final PD16 release (3424) from Nov 2018. You can download the patch from here.

Ignore the last post. I figured out how to update 16 to 3424. However, it didn't make any difference. When I use Powertools crop and zoom, I still can't crop out the black on the top and bottom of the video. Keyframe icons are still greyed out. I can only zoom and then it just shows the only the dogs head initially which would be ok but it only shows half the head in most frames. Same thing happens when I choose Keyframes next to the Tools menu (instead of using power tools-crop and zoom). It makes no difference. If there is a way to do this, I need specific steps or a video to watch. I've done a lot of trial and error and have not had any luck.

Hi,

I'm not quite clear on exactly where the problem lies.

So, you have a mix of clips, some taken in 16:9 aspect ratio and some taken in 9:16 AR, is that correct?

Your main project is set at 16:9 AR but you want to take the 9:16 clips and "fit" them to the main project? Is that correct?

If you could share a problem clip, with a description of exactly what you want to achieve, that would be useful.
Please refer to this post regarding privacy - https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/83642.page

As it happens, I have a copy of PDR16.0.2524.0 Ultimate on my system so I may be able to mimic your issue but I would need one of your clips.

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

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I attached 2 consecutive screenshots that are an example of the problem. I don't know anyhing about ratios. When I started the project, it asked me if I wanted to change it and I said yes. I believe support in the past has told me to agree. I have done trial and error with the horizontal clip in crop and zoom using different ratios including freeform which has had no effect. I took mostly vertical clips which I assume are 9:16. The problem clips mixed in are the horizontal ones which I assume are 16:9. I want to crop out the black on the top and bottom of the clip. The one I attached is Cali-dog, the second in the sequence. I have the crop and zoom open to show you default setting on both clips. Let me know if you need any other screenshots or information.

Quote Hi,

I'm not quite clear on exactly where the problem lies.

So, you have a mix of clips, some taken in 16:9 aspect ratio and some taken in 9:16 AR, is that correct?

Your main project is set at 16:9 AR but you want to take the 9:16 clips and "fit" them to the main project? Is that correct?

If you could share a problem clip, with a description of exactly what you want to achieve, that would be useful.
Please refer to this post regarding privacy - https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/83642.page

As it happens, I have a copy of PDR16.0.2524.0 Ultimate on my system so I may be able to mimic your issue but I would need one of your clips.

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

Quote I don't know anyhing about ratios........

OK, quick refresher just for your issue (as opposed to a full guide). Aspect Ratio is a crucial part of video editing. The AR of the recorded video content is one part, and the AR of the display space (project timeline, screen, projector etc) is the other.

If they are both 16:9 (think TV, monitor etc) all is well, if they are both 9:16 (think smartphones) again all is well.

However, if you put a 16:9 clip into a 9:16 "display space" (cali.jpg) it will be small and horizontally across the display space. If you place it in a 16:9 display space it will fill the screen appropriately.

In your case, you have your project AR set to 9:16 and so Finn.jpg displays perfectly because the clip AR matches, but cali.jpg doesn't work really, it has black bars top and bottom.

If you change your project AR to 16:9 then calli.jpg will be fine, but finn.jpg will display vertically but narrow with vertical black bars on the sides.

Your problem will be - what compromise can you get away with?

Cropping and zooming have two disadvantages:
you crop out and lose some of the content
you zoom in and lose some resolution - less content is available to "fill" the screen, so it's "blown up" so to speak.

Within limits, the result might be acceptable, stray outside the limits and you end up with losing a lot of content and lowering the visual quality.

Personally, purely visually, I'd change the project AR to 16:9. That means all 16:9 clips display correctly on a TV or monitor. and all 9:16 clips display all content but vertically with black side bars, but that's a matter of choice.

So to the keyframes in the Crop and Zoom window.
On my system, the keyframes will only become active at intervals which appear to depend on project frame rate. Test it by advancing the scrubber by a frame at a time. Move the scrubber to say 2:00 and then place a keyframe, and move on one frame at a time. The next keyframe becomes available after 4 frames with the timeline @30fps.

Does that help at all?

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

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Quote

OK, quick refresher just for your issue (as opposed to a full guide). Aspect Ratio is a crucial part of video editing. The AR of the recorded video content is one part, and the AR of the display space (project timeline, screen, projector etc) is the other.

If they are both 16:9 (think TV, monitor etc) all is well, if they are both 9:16 (think smartphones) again all is well.

However, if you put a 16:9 clip into a 9:16 "display space" (cali.jpg) it will be small and horizontally across the display space. If you place it in a 16:9 display space it will fill the screen appropriately.

In your case, you have your project AR set to 9:16 and so Finn.jpg displays perfectly because the clip AR matches, but cali.jpg doesn't work really, it has black bars top and bottom.

If you change your project AR to 16:9 then calli.jpg will be fine, but finn.jpg will display vertically but narrow with vertical black bars on the sides.

Your problem will be - what compromise can you get away with?

Cropping and zooming have two disadvantages:
you crop out and lose some of the content
you zoom in and lose some resolution - less content is available to "fill" the screen, so it's "blown up" so to speak.

Within limits, the result might be acceptable, stray outside the limits and you end up with losing a lot of content and lowering the visual quality.

Personally, purely visually, I'd change the project AR to 16:9. That means all 16:9 clips display correctly on a TV or monitor. and all 9:16 clips display all content but vertically with black side bars, but that's a matter of choice.

So to the keyframes in the Crop and Zoom window.
On my system, the keyframes will only become active at intervals which appear to depend on project frame rate. Test it by advancing the scrubber by a frame at a time. Move the scrubber to say 2:00 and then place a keyframe, and move on one frame at a time. The next keyframe becomes available after 4 frames with the timeline @30fps.

Does that help at all?

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

So there is no way to crop out just the black part on Cali and similar clips without losing other content, correct? As far as zoom, I don't want the resolution for these clips to be noticeably different on a TV or computer monitor than the other clips.

If that is the case, I don't need to understand keyframes. I just need to change the project AR to 16:9. I am done editing other than this. How do I change the AR now?
Also, is there a way to preset AR so that it is the default? I'm asking, because in order to take screenshots for you, I started a new project using just these 2 clips and it didn't ask me about AR. So I don't know what the new "fake" project is set at. Is that because it recognized these 2 clips from my larger project?

I realize appreciate your help and patience with me!

Quote
So there is no way to crop out just the black part on Cali and similar clips without losing other content, correct? As far as zoom, I don't want the resolution for these clips to be noticeably different on a TV or computer monitor than the other clips.

If that is the case, I don't need to understand keyframes. I just need to change the project AR to 16:9. I am done editing other than this. How do I change the AR now?
Also, is there a way to preset AR so that it is the default? I'm asking, because in order to take screenshots for you, I started a new project using just these 2 clips and it didn't ask me about AR. So I don't know what the new "fake" project is set at. Is that because it recognized these 2 clips from my larger project?

I realize appreciate your help and patience with me!

Hi,
Some of this will be trial and error for the best compromise.

There is no online User Guide for PDR16 so I can't send links. The PDF version is here:
https://assist.cyberlink.com/pc-doc/user_guide/powerdirector/16/PowerDirector_16_UG-ENU.pdf

However, if you call up the help from inside PDR using [F1], then search for Aspect, the first 4 results will help you figure out some options:
Setting Project Aspect Ratio
Adjusting Video Clip Aspect Ratio
Stretching Images
Cropping Images

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

For customer support related issues, please contact:
- Customer service: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/customer-services.do
- Technical support: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/service/technical-support.do

Quote
Hi,
Some of this will be trial and error for the best compromise.

There is no online User Guide for PDR16 so I can't send links. The PDF version is here:
https://assist.cyberlink.com/pc-doc/user_guide/powerdirector/16/PowerDirector_16_UG-ENU.pdf

However, if you call up the help from inside PDR using [F1], then search for Aspect, the first 4 results will help you figure out some options:
Setting Project Aspect Ratio
Adjusting Video Clip Aspect Ratio
Stretching Images
Cropping Images

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

Thanks for the pdf. Adjusting Video Clip Aspect Ratio was the info. I couldn't find in the online help section. I used the following procedure:

·if you are not sure what the aspect ratio of the original video clip is,
click the Detect and Suggest button. CyberLink PowerDirector will select one of the above
options for you.

Note:
for best results when changing a clip's aspect ratio, select the CLPV option.
CLPV (CyberLink Pano Vision) is video stretching technology from CyberLink
that produces minimal distortion in the center of the picture. ( I couldn't find this)

3. Select the Apply to all video clips option if you want to apply the current setting
to all the video clips on the same track.

4.Click OK to set your changes.

It is telling me that my project is set to 9:16. However, it says that both the Cali clip with black on top and bottom and the Finn clip without black are both 16:9 ratio which is different than what you told me. It asks me if I want to change them to 9:16. That totally confuses me as I thought the clips that had black on top and bottom were taken with my Iphone vertically and the ones without black were taken horizontally or vice-versa. Now I don't know why some have black frames and some don't or how to prevent that from happening again.

Quote

Thanks for the pdf. Adjusting Video Clip Aspect Ratio was the info. I couldn't find in the online help section. I used the following procedure:

·if you are not sure what the aspect ratio of the original video clip is,
click the Detect and Suggest button. CyberLink PowerDirector will select one of the above
options for you.

Note:
for best results when changing a clip's aspect ratio, select the CLPV option.
CLPV (CyberLink Pano Vision) is video stretching technology from CyberLink
that produces minimal distortion in the center of the picture. ( I couldn't find this)

3. Select the Apply to all video clips option if you want to apply the current setting
to all the video clips on the same track.

4.Click OK to set your changes.

It is telling me that my project is set to 9:16. However, it says that both the Cali clip with black on top and bottom and the Finn clip without black are both 16:9 ratio which is different than what you told me. It asks me if I want to change them to 9:16. That totally confuses me as I thought the clips that had black on top and bottom were taken with my Iphone vertically and the ones without black were taken horizontally or vice-versa. Now I don't know why some have black frames and some don't or how to prevent that from happening again.

This runs a danger of becoming complicated.
I was interpreting the images you attached, but they are screen captures not the original clips. The only way to make sure is to either
Share the original clips so that we can check their attributes
or
use Mediainfo (https://mediaarea.net/MediaInfoOnline) to analyse the clips' attributes and attach a txt file of the results. Please do not copy and paste the results into a post - it is far too long.

This will show the aspect ratio of the clips as shot and also any Orientation Flag that is applied to the clip.

Orientation Flags may not be interpreted or implemented correctly in differing circumstances and this has been known to cause issues in the past. Do a forum search for Orientation Flag and you will find a dozen or so historical posts on orientation issues.

I realise this is getting a bit deep, but there are problems when phones, or cameras, are used to shoot video clips in both horizontal and vertical modes (and therefore often in two aspect ratios) and then mixed in a project, which has to have a single aspect ratio.

My advice would probably be to shoot some sample clips in both modes and then test and experiment in PDR to see the effects, and what might be the best compromise for your tastes.

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

For customer support related issues, please contact:
- Customer service: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/customer-services.do
- Technical support: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/service/technical-support.do

Quote

This runs a danger of becoming complicated.
I was interpreting the images you attached, but they are screen captures not the original clips. The only way to make sure is to either
Share the original clips so that we can check their attributes
or
use Mediainfo (https://mediaarea.net/MediaInfoOnline) to analyse the clips' attributes and attach a txt file of the results. Please do not copy and paste the results into a post - it is far too long.

This will show the aspect ratio of the clips as shot and also any Orientation Flag that is applied to the clip.

Orientation Flags may not be interpreted or implemented correctly in differing circumstances and this has been known to cause issues in the past. Do a forum search for Orientation Flag and you will find a dozen or so historical posts on orientation issues.

I realise this is getting a bit deep, but there are problems when phones, or cameras, are used to shoot video clips in both horizontal and vertical modes (and therefore often in two aspect ratios) and then mixed in a project, which has to have a single aspect ratio.

My advice would probably be to shoot some sample clips in both modes and then test and experiment in PDR to see the effects, and what might be the best compromise for your tastes.

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

You are right. It is way too complicated for my limited skills/experience, interest, and time right now. Thanks for the info. anyway. I will save it in case I decide in the future to expand my skills. I could tell from the raw clips that there were 42 clips shot vertically, 14 shot horizontally.

So I produced the original 9:16 AR project and then changed the project AR to 16:9 and produced it again. When in full screen on my monitor, I measured the vertical and horizontal images in both videos. There was very little difference between the two. They showed the same content. The vertical images were very big in both with 16: 9 being slightly larger. The horizontal clips were much smaller in both with black frame at the top and bottom. The 9:16 horizontal clips were slightly larger with 1.5" less black frame showing on top and bottom and .5" less showing on sides. Based on that, I am thinking about keeping the 9:16 video. Does this make sense? Is it a good way to compare them?
One other thing I noticed: When I hover my mouse over the two mp4 videos, the 9:16 mp4 looks like it takes more storage space at 1.62 GB vs 542 MB for 16:9 mp4. Storage space isn't a huge issue for me since they get backed up to an external hard drive. But I would like for you to verify anyway (do those numbers make sense to you?)

Quote

One other thing I noticed: When I hover my mouse over the two mp4 videos, the 9:16 mp4 looks like it takes more storage space at 1.62 GB vs 542 MB for 16:9 mp4. Storage space isn't a huge issue for me since they get backed up to an external hard drive. But I would like for you to verify anyway (do those numbers make sense to you?)

Hi,

I'm not sure about such a large difference - were both projects produced to the same profile?

I have just produced a project with a 9:16 clip of duration 1:50 and a 16:9 clip of the same duration and a standard .mp4 profile of 1080x1920 13Mbps.

With a project AR of 9:16 I get a produced file of 309MB
With a project AR of 16:9 I get a produced file of 397MB

As to the final choice of project AR, I think it's a matter of final viewing hardware and personal choice as to which is most effective, attractive, interesting etc.

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

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I don't care about storage space and am sorry I mentioned it.
I tried attaching the raw video clips you requested instead of screenshots so you can work with them but they were too big to attach. I started a new project and am sending you the pds instead. I hope that works. If not, what is the Max that I can attach? I can cut the clips down drastically and send if needed.
Tell me what I need to do so that the horizontal photos like Cali fill the monitor screen instead of being small rectangles with a huge frame around them, regardless of AR project setting. I'm sure its possible to do, I just don't know how. I'm ok with the vertical photos having a frame on both sides. Finn is plenty large enough to see. I just don't like the huge discrepancy in size between the 2 types of clips since I have many of them in this video. This is just one example. Lesson learned too late as I have 1 more video with vertical footage in it to work on and one with just horizontal and mostly photos. I just got way behind on my ediitng so am anxious to get this one produced.


Sorry so slow to respond. They were produced to the same profile. I didn' t change any thing. What I don't understand is why the horizontal clips are not filling up the screen on my monitor regardless of AR.

Quote
Hi,

I'm not sure about such a large difference - were both projects produced to the same profile?

I have just produced a project with a 9:16 clip of duration 1:50 and a 16:9 clip of the same duration and a standard .mp4 profile of 1080x1920 13Mbps.

With a project AR of 9:16 I get a produced file of 309MB
With a project AR of 16:9 I get a produced file of 397MB

As to the final choice of project AR, I think it's a matter of final viewing hardware and personal choice as to which is most effective, attractive, interesting etc.

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

Fixed it. Not sure what happened but I produced it again with the same settings I always use with AR 16:9. It is 2.48GB and 46:40 minutes long. I'm attaching a screenshot of my settings to see if they are the ones you would choose for showing on a monitor or TV. I'm open to suggestions regarding that.

I understand now that if I produced it with AR 9:16, my only options for producing are Apple or Android, which is not what I want in this case. I may make a very short clip in future to put on my Iphone and share. I assume I should use Apple setting if I do that. What profile quality would you recommend?

Quote I don't care about storage space and am sorry I mentioned it.
I tried attaching the raw video clips you requested instead of screenshots so you can work with them but they were too big to attach. I started a new project and am sending you the pds instead. I hope that works. If not, what is the Max that I can attach? I can cut the clips down drastically and send if needed.
Tell me what I need to do so that the horizontal photos like Cali fill the monitor screen instead of being small rectangles with a huge frame around them, regardless of AR project setting. I'm sure its possible to do, I just don't know how. I'm ok with the vertical photos having a frame on both sides. Finn is plenty large enough to see. I just don't like the huge discrepancy in size between the 2 types of clips since I have many of them in this video. This is just one example. Lesson learned too late as I have 1 more video with vertical footage in it to work on and one with just horizontal and mostly photos. I just got way behind on my ediitng so am anxious to get this one produced.


Sorry so slow to respond. They were produced to the same profile. I didn' t change any thing. What I don't understand is why the horizontal clips are not filling up the screen on my monitor regardless of AR.

Quote Fixed it. Not sure what happened but I produced it again with the same settings I always use with AR 16:9. It is 2.48GB and 46:40 minutes long. I'm attaching a screenshot of my settings to see if they are the ones you would choose for showing on a monitor or TV. I'm open to suggestions regarding that.

I understand now that if I produced it with AR 9:16, my only options for producing are Apple or Android, which is not what I want in this case. I may make a very short clip in future to put on my Iphone and share. I assume I should use Apple setting if I do that. What profile quality would you recommend?

Hi,
Please see my PM on production profiles.

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

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- Customer service: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/customer-services.do
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