Movie Settings help - what is the best way now to resolve

Xenofex2 wrote on 1/21/2017, 5:31 AM

Am hoping for some advice on how best to correct what are obviously wrong movie settings so that I can export… I choose as a mpeg. (It should run for 4.30mins and will probably be seen just on computer screens to family.)

This is an area I am totally lost in but as you can hopefully see from the screenshot that something is wrong. Can I just ignore? Is there a ‘Movie Settings for Dummies’ book? I was never involved in any aspects
of such technology at work or as a hobby and it has only been in the last few years with the Magix program that I have started to dabble. Because of this ignorance I tend to leave all settings alone and remain with the default ones. It obviously though did not work this time.

In this instance our daughter had sent us a variety of short movie clips (some portrait, some landscape) taken on different phones when daughter with our grandchildren and friends were abroad recently on holiday. I thought I would then try and put together a short video memory of the trip.

Don’t know if relevant but I started with a Magix template and then progressed. So there are quite a few different movie clips, some, four movie clips on the screen at once, titles and edited audio thanks to Magix Audio & Music Lab Premium.

I guess two questions. What is the easiest way now to proceed so that I can export the movie? And two, what should I have done different in the first place?

As a result of my problem, I have just looked at ‘Object Properties’ and from just an initial overview of the first twenty clips or so used I have found …

1920 x 1080  16 x 9  25 frames per sec – 7 clips

1920 x 1080  16 x 9  30 frames per sec – 4 clips

1440 x 1080   4 x 3  16.67 frames per sec – 1 clip

1440 x 1080   4 x 3   30 frames per sec – 11 clips

1440 x 1080   4 x 3   22.48 frames per sec – 1 clip

1280 x 960     4 x 3   14.37 frames per sec – 1 clip

The clips vary from two seconds upwards. Despite all these variations I have just again replayed on full screen on my computer and it seems okay to my eyes. I am using Magix Edit Pro Premium.

George


 

Comments

emmrecs wrote on 1/21/2017, 6:52 AM

George, the sheer variety of frame rates and aspect ratios you list for your clips is the "source" of your problem! MEP (which version?) may well be able to play the different clips without serious problem but it will expect to export at a fixed frame rate and aspect ratio.

I'm not at my desktop computer at the moment so can't check this, but will your new Movavi Video Convertor allow you to standardise on one format, e.g. 1920 x 1080 25 fps by converting the clips to that format?

Jeff

Win 11 Pro 64 bit, Intel i7 14700, 32 GB RAM, NVidia RTX 4060 and Intel UHD770 Graphics, Audient EVO 16 audio interface, VPX, MEP, Music Maker, Vegas Pro, PhotoStory Deluxe, Xara 3D Maker 7, Samplitude Pro X7 Suite, Reaper, Adobe Audition CC, 2 x Canon HG10 cameras, 1 x Canon EOS 600D, Akaso EK7000 Pro Action Cam

Xenofex2 wrote on 1/21/2017, 8:05 AM

Jeff,

And there was I hoping that I could find a magic wand to make it all better.

I am using the latest version, MEP Premium 2017 and have just checked with one clip that was not in the format you suggested, added it to Movavi Video Converter and it seems I was able to convert this to 1920 x 1080 at 25 fps.

So from your answer, it looks like what I need to do is to make a list noting every clip used (and there are lots) within the four minute video, making a note of those that are not in the above format. Then using Movavi, convert them so that they are all the above & same format. This is obviously what you are saying I should do every time I put together a video using clips that have come from different sources.

This of course will mean that I will have to delete the original clip and replace with the converted clip. Two problems I can forsee from this though is that some of the clips used have been edited and cut from the original so is there any way I could get access to the currently used clip within MEP to convert. No doubt there will be other challenges but the second problem I anticipate is that I used a Magix Template and will not now be able to edit anything in that portion of the movie. The only other answer I can see is to start all over again.

George
 

 

johnebaker wrote on 1/21/2017, 9:20 AM

Hi George

. . . . I could find a magic wand to make it all better . . . .

You already have the magic wand which can speed things up - assuming two things - all the video clips are in the same folder and they are the same file type eg mp4.

If they are then do the following with MEP closed:

  1. Using Windows Explorer - make a backup copy of the original files to a new folder somewhere out of the way in your Documents folder - this is in case things go wrong
  2. Using Windows Explorer - create a new folder as a subfolder of the one where the original video files are
     
  3. Open MovAvi
     
  4. Drag all the original video files onto MovAvi
     
  5. In MovAvi set the program to overwrite the originals - Settings, Conversion tab
     
  6. In MovAvi set the required output format, framerate and resolution and ensure the destination folder is the the new subfolder created in 2 - you should see they have the same names as the originals
     
  7. Convert the videos
     
  8. Close MovAvi when done successfully
     
  9. Using Windows Explorer move the originals into a new folder
     
  10. Using Windows Explorer move the converted videos from the subfolder created in 2, to the now empty original video folder
  11. Open MEP and the project - it will now reload the video files and they should have any cuts, transitions etc applied. The only thing you may need to fix is if you have used any effect which resizes the original eg zoom or section.
     
  12. Click Save Project as and give it a new name - this way you can go back to the original project and files by moving the original source files back.

HTH

John EB

 

Last changed by johnebaker on 1/21/2017, 9:22 AM, changed a total of 2 times.

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Xenofex2 wrote on 1/21/2017, 11:00 AM

John

Yes I did move all movie clips that I wanted to use into a special Project File with sub folders for any jpegs, audio preparation saves and regular saves as I progressed.

Attached is a screen shot of one of the sub video folders for the final part of my movie but wonder what happens if one splits and deletes some of an original clip. For example one of the videos here, 2334, started out as portrait but during filming it had been turned round and finished the sequence off as landscape. I split that up to include in my movie so a part of this video, in portrait mode.starts the sequence off and my movie ends with that same video now cropped for just the landscape part.


 

Interestingly, as I had always been an admin type person, following Jeff’s comment I started to do an analysis of the object properties of each clip in preparation for what I might have to do.

In the main part of my movie, 29 video clips were used of which 25 are at 1920 x 1080 – 30fps at 16:9 aspect ratio. So the other four were at 4:3, were of a different size and just one at 30 fps. So on that basis I have just got to work on 4?

Within the Magix template though there was a mish mash with just 3 of the 17 clips used at 1920 x 1080 – 30 fps and 16:9. So here 14 to work on? So overall 18 to work on? If I am right then not quite as bad as I thought…. hopefully.

Assuming I am right, then once these 18 clips have been converted, export the final movie as a 1920 x 1080 – 30 fps at 16:9 ratio?   

George 


 

Xenofex2 wrote on 1/22/2017, 4:31 AM

Must thankyou Jeff and John once again. Now resolved with your help.

Having made a note of every clip and could then see which ones were totally different, I then did as John had suggested, created a sub folder and placed in there a copy of the original movie clips. I then used as suggested, my new MovAvi Converter program to adjust these clips to the format used by the majority of my movie clips and placed them, again in a new sub folder. However rather than do as John had suggested, as is normal for me I took the longer method of replacing each clip myself, one at a time.

Had to make a few other adjustments along the timeline but was really pleased that it all came together and was able to export to a mpeg without any further problem. This has been a great learning curve, keeping the grey cells active and a better understanding of movie parameters.

So thankyou once again Jeff and John.

George

 

emmrecs wrote on 1/22/2017, 7:07 AM

George, thank you for taking the time to give feedback. Your comments/appreciation are much appreciated.

Jeff

Win 11 Pro 64 bit, Intel i7 14700, 32 GB RAM, NVidia RTX 4060 and Intel UHD770 Graphics, Audient EVO 16 audio interface, VPX, MEP, Music Maker, Vegas Pro, PhotoStory Deluxe, Xara 3D Maker 7, Samplitude Pro X7 Suite, Reaper, Adobe Audition CC, 2 x Canon HG10 cameras, 1 x Canon EOS 600D, Akaso EK7000 Pro Action Cam