If this is a "real time" shoot with no cuts - simply switching back and forth between actors - it might be accomplished in this manner...

Lay each actor's shots on separate video tracks, in sync.

For convenience, consider creating an audio track first. When satisfied with its quality, disable audio.

Video track one will be overridden by video track two.
When you want the actor on track one to be seen simply make splits to actor two's track only, leaving a gap.
During that gap actor one will be seen.

Going back and forth between 2 actors are cuts...I need to go from a master shot and then cut in close up of the talents dialog and or reactions to what is being said.
Does this program have that capability?

I think it can be done.

You would need to add a track using track manager.

You can easily switch between three tracks by using borgus1's suggestion. Three tracks is just as easy as two tracks.

Does this program have that capability?

Simple answer, Yes.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Quote: I shot a scene with two actors. Each actor is shot in their own close up. Now I want to edit the video going back and forth between the actors. Can this be done with Power Director 11? How can it be done? I dont see any tutorials on this subject.
Thanks!!

So I take it you had two cameras set up, one filming each actor? Two different film streams?

Have you tried downloading the trial version of PD 12?
PD 12 has a new feature called "Multicam Designer" see link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOupBf7EL68
See if that suites your needs.
PD 14 Ultimate Suite / Win10 Pro x64
1. Gigabyte Brix PRO / i7-4770R Intel Iris Pro 5200 / 16 GB / 1 TB SSD
2. Lenovo X230T / 8GB / Intel HD4000 + ViDock 4 Plus & ASUS Nvidia 660 Ti / Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZw3GPwKMo&feature=youtu.be

Nope one camera set up. I'm a complete newbie at this. My only editing experience was with Windows Movie maker 2.6 and that was just pulling still pictures into the time line. The Windows program walks the inexperienced editors like me through the basic process. My goal is to shoot a 20 min short film for the film festival circuit. The script I picked out has one location with 4 actors. It's dialog intensive so I will be cutting all over the place for reactions etc. I'll look on line to see if I can find tutorials that even a novice like me can understand.

If you want tutorials:
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/30026.page

Cyberlink Director Zone:
http://directorzone.cyberlink.com/tutorial/pdr/

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Since yesterday Ive looked at lots and lots of video tutorials on this product. I even found a bunch on Youtube. NOT ONE deals with editing a film. This product seems to be to be good for just documenting events and adding lots of bling effects. I'm trying to avoid spending big bucks on Sony Vega Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro but as of now..it appears if I want to edit a film I'll have to bite the bullet.

Hi emmettfitz8394 -

PowerDirector can be used to edit a film, using clips fom many cameras.

RobAC (above) mention MultiCam Designer & Carl & Borgus have confirmed for you that the software does the job you want...

... but you're talking about "biting the bullet" (i.e. buying other software). Did you understand what members wrote? Whatever software you choose, you'll be faced with a learning curve - especially if you dive in at the deep end editing multi-camera shoots.

You only have to search for "multi camera edit" and you'll find many tutorials and ideas on the net, related to a variety of software.

Here are some links related to PowerDirector:
http://www.cyberlink.com/stat/edms/pdr_training/enu/advanced_01.html
(before we had MultiCam Designer) http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/22647.page
MultiCam Tutorial - http://youtu.be/XOupBf7EL68

Cheers - Tony
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Power director 11 can be used for a single shot film that has multiple interviews.

It is more difficult in PD 11 because there is no render a selected section on the timeline. PD 12 does have that feature.

In PD 11, you must cut the individual sections and produce each one by itself. If you have four interviews, that means you have to pre-produce four separate videos.

New features in PD 12:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-RbJRp4Tko Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Since I bought PD 11 a few months ago,To have to upgrade to PD 12 just to do what should be a basic function of an editing program makes no sense to me. Again as a beginner, I really have no idea how to get to this editing function to do a simple edit on a film where I used ONE camera and 4 different actors. I shoot an over the shoulder close-up then flip the camera around for the other actors close-up. I have to repeat Im NOT an expert on PD 11! PD Toots I searched all over your site and cant find on tutorial about HOW to edit a film for PD11.
"RobAC (above) mention MultiCam Designer & Carl & Borgus have confirmed for you that the software does the job you want." Sorry but that doesn't confirm anything for me because I have no idea what they are talking about. Carl said above "You would need to add a track using track manager." I looked all over PD 11, I cant find any mention of a Track manager.. Above borgus1 suggestion above "Lay each actor's shots on separate video tracks, in sync.
For convenience, consider creating an audio track first. When satisfied with its quality, disable audio.
Video track one will be overridden by video track two.
When you want the actor on track one to be seen simply make splits to actor two's track only, leaving a gap.
During that gap actor one will be seen. ". I have no idea what he is talking about....where is a tutorial showing exactly how to do this? Sorry guys but I'm frustrated..I bought this program but did not have a chance to really check it out until now when its to late to get my money back.

Hi again -

I understand you're frustrated because members haven't been able to to provide step-by-step instructions that precisely meet your needs, and we may have used terms with which you're not familiar. Please don't forget that all the members in this thread are volunteers.

BUT - I'm still not exactly sure what you have in front of you! I understand that you used only one camera.

Did you:
(a) shoot one scene, one time with one camera including all 4 actors?
(b) shoot the same scene multiple times, with the actors precisely repeating the script & movement?

Whether it was (a) or (b), you've created a challenge for yourself. It seems like you're trying to achieve something that would need a multi-camera shoot.

Could you please clarify, so that members can properly assist?

Cheers - Tony
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Emmett,

From the question of your initial post I was under the mistaken impression that you were looking for an editing software that could do the edits that you want. Now that we know you have PD 11 then the next step is to:

Answer Tony's questions with as much detail as you can and then the users can offer step by step instructions.
Remember to include:

1.) What version of Power Director you have (Ultra, Deluxe, Ultimate)
2.) What format the video file is in (.avi .mov .mpeg)
3.) How many video files you have after you finish shooting (1, 2, 3)
4.) If it is one long continuous shot with no stopping then starting the camera ... just moving from actor to actor as they speak?
5.) Did you use any external microphone recording device or just what's built into the camera?
6.) What type of camera did you use?

These type of details are very important to help us understand how you created your film; and how to get it to look once you finish the editing process.

Rob
PD 14 Ultimate Suite / Win10 Pro x64
1. Gigabyte Brix PRO / i7-4770R Intel Iris Pro 5200 / 16 GB / 1 TB SSD
2. Lenovo X230T / 8GB / Intel HD4000 + ViDock 4 Plus & ASUS Nvidia 660 Ti / Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZw3GPwKMo&feature=youtu.be

Rob/Tony;Thanks I'll see if I can explain more clearly. The best way to describe what I need is to say, look at any movie, any movie at all and you will see the finished film and the type of editing I need which for the most part are straight cuts. With that said;
1) I have PD 11 Ultra
2) Format is Quicktime MOV
3) Not sure what this question means. The amount of files depends on the number of pages in the script. As of now I am just testing with close-ups of four actors talking back and forth. The script is one page. Each actor does their dialog entirely in their take.
4) I'm not shooting a 2 shot. I'm shooting individual actors in close up (ECU). It's a conversation between four actors. I need the camera on the actor who is talking, then in edting cut back to the other actor for the reply.
5) I am using an external microphone that plugs into my camera.
6) Using a Canon Vixia HF R400.
I'm not sure what the relevance of question 5 and 6 to the editing process.
To answer Tonys question, I am using one camera shooting one small scene as a test. Multi cameras are for people with big budgets. Single camera film production is the standard for movie making unless you have deep pockets and can afford another camera and crew. I use standard film technique. My first shot is a long shot (master shot). Second shot is a close-up of each actor doing the same dialog from the master shot. The number of takes depends on how good the actors are at nailing their dialog. So its the same scene shot many times with different camera angles.
Many years ago before computers, editors would splice film by hand. In effect that what Im trying to do. Cut my film/video where I want so I can created a understandable conversation like we can see in any movie out there. This is basic editing, for Tony to say Ive created a challenge using one camera does not make sense to be. Weather I use one camera or 5 cameras..footage is footage and the editing process should be the same. Hopefully Ive explained my editing needs better this time. Thanks for any help.

I think you have not answered the most important question.

1. Did you stop recording between actors?

In other words, did you move the camera to actor 1, press record, wait for that actor to finish his/her dialogue, that press stop button to stop recording.

Move to the next actor, press record, finish actor2, press stop button, move to next actor, and so on.

OR did you have all four actors sitting in a circle and you moved the camera between each one with out stopping recording?

If you record more than about 15 minutes that Canon camera breaks the recoding into multiple MTS files.
When you import the camera files you get several .MTS files which can be edited separately.

Unless you recorded in the MP4 format. Then you have one continuous video of each recording.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Yes the camera is stopped between each take of an actors dialog, I use a slate to identify each individual shot. What you describe above moving the camera from actor to actor without stopping as they talk is a type of Master or Establishing shot. No film could be just a Master shot and hold an audiences attention. Close-ups must be cut in for dramatic effect.

Quote: Yes the camera is stopped between each take of an actors dialog, I use a slate to identify each individual shot. What you describe above moving the camera from actor to actor without stopping as they talk is a type of Master or Establishing shot. No film could be just a Master shot and hold an audiences attention. Close-ups must be cut in for dramatic effect.

Thank you for the information.

The fact you have stopped the recording between scenes makes the editing easier. You have separate video of each actor.

That puts the How to back to multiple tracks.

One question you asked one time was the how to add more tracks and where is the Track manager.



Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Quote: .....
1) I have PD 11 Ultra
2) Format is Quicktime MOV
3) Not sure what this question means. The amount of files depends on the number of pages in the script. As of now I am just testing with close-ups of four actors talking back and forth. The script is one page. Each actor does their dialog entirely in their take.
4) I'm not shooting a 2 shot. I'm shooting individual actors in close up (ECU). It's a conversation between four actors. I need the camera on the actor who is talking, then in edting cut back to the other actor for the reply.
5) I am using an external microphone that plugs into my camera.
6) Using a Canon Vixia HF R400.
I'm not sure what the relevance of question 5 and 6 to the editing process.
..............
Many years ago before computers, editors would splice film by hand. In effect that what Im trying to do. Cut my film/video where I want so I can created a understandable conversation like we can see in any movie out there. This is basic editing ....

The reason for asking all these questions is to establish what exactly you are working with.

For instance- Question 2 & 4. Your make & model of your camera outputs mp4 in the AVCHD/MPEG-4 format which should be .MTS or .MT2S files according to the specifications- as Carl has mentioned- here are the specs from Canon: http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/camcorders/high_definition_camcorders/vixia_hf_r400#Specifications

Are you sure they are .MOV files ? Or are you planning on converting them to .MOV once you are done editing?

Question 3 - basically how many of these .MOV or .M2TS (or MTS) files do you have after you finish shooting? (How many did you copy over to your computer's hard drive?) This is another way of verifying what it is you are working with. Multiple or single files. You have already answered Carl so we know it's multiple files.

Question 5 - this is to establish if you are using the camcorder itself as opposed to a separate sound recording device which adds another layer to the editing process. Since it is the camcorder alone then that process does not factor in.

"Basic editing" - the process of splitting / splicing "film" is still the same concept and is now done digitally.

Basically import all your video files into Power Director and then drag them to the timeline and start editing.
Here's a quick How To I threw together- only covers some of the basics. Experimentation and above all Patience is needed when learning:



Rob
PD 14 Ultimate Suite / Win10 Pro x64
1. Gigabyte Brix PRO / i7-4770R Intel Iris Pro 5200 / 16 GB / 1 TB SSD
2. Lenovo X230T / 8GB / Intel HD4000 + ViDock 4 Plus & ASUS Nvidia 660 Ti / Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZw3GPwKMo&feature=youtu.be

I actually just gave up. I'll have to learn from someone who can give me step by sept and not talk to me like Im an expert editor...

Quote: I actually just gave up. I'll have to learn from someone who can give me step by sept and not talk to me like Im an expert editor...

In that case you may benefit from these tutorials.
They are the first steps in editing.

First Project part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXG2jDTHyKw

First Project part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccSNU_Z7BRc

They were created in an older Powerdirector, but the same principle applies. Powerdirector has changed only small ways while adding features. The basic functions are the same.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.