Been using Movie Studio since v14. Just bought today v2022 and I am very confused with the new interface 😒. Also a bit disappointed to notice the "BPM" timeline looks to have disappeared. Hoping to learn new ways of using this powerful software.
Hi and welcome to the forum,
Music Studio 2022 is the same as Movie Edit Pro 2022 so you can watch tutorials on that to understand how it works.
I suggest that you start by watching the tutorials indicated in this thread. You can skip Getting Started Part 1, since the program is already installed.
You should also watch my 2 tutorials on Everything Audio, since you asked about the BPM grid and thus would be interested in the audio/music capabilities of the program, and I see that you are a guitar player. There is no BPM grid option. It's an interesting concept but there are other things that would probably work better, like getting snap markers on transients. Perhaps you can tell us how you used the BPM grid in Vegas MS and we can discuss options further.
John CB
@browj2 I have MEP Platinum & Vegas Pro.
I've read a couple of times about people not too happy about their upgrade to the new Movie Studio, when i Google pics it looks like Vegas Pro, but the new one looks more like MEP Pro..
was the old one more like Vegas in that it was OFX plugins, Pan/Crop with a masking tool, Project notes etc..
MEP walks all over Vegas as far as performance & Export is concerned but I'm not sure i'd be too happy to 'upgrade' if the change to the main page & what it offers was so drastic,
@Former user
Hi,
Vegas Movie Studio 17 (VMS) was a subset of Vegas Pro. Vegas dropped it at that point to concentrate on Vegas Pro. The quickest solution for Magix was to try to get VMS users to go to MEP and created a version of MEP that could import just the objects from a .vf file. They named it Magix Movie Studio 18 (MMS) and called it an upgrade without indicating that it was a whole new program for VMS users. The latest version is 2022 and since MEP2022 can now import vf files, it looks like the difference seems to be in name only (and a patch behind).
I call it a major upgrade because I have VMS16 and what we have with MEP far exceeds anything that I see in VMS. VMS has a few features that are not in MEP, but so far, I have only seen some minor things and nothing that cannot be done in MEP one way or another.
What do VMS users get? Multiple movies (multiple timelines) - a wet dream for Vegas Pro users - much more in the way of templates for just about everything including 3D titles, looks, transitions, collages, PiP, design objects, movie templates (with music), music (slideshow and Soundtrack Maker), BPM Wizard, Travel Maps, and more.
Travel Maps alone is worth the price of entry. Some Vegas users struggle to find something like it but can't find anything that comes even close (Vasco da Gama excluded but it's very costly - I have and use it). Of course, they dismiss Travel Maps because if it comes from Magix it can't be any good. Little do they know.
MEP also comes with its own external photo editor (Photo Designer 7) and external audio editor (Music Editor 3) - Vegas Pro does not unless one gets Vegas Post. Both editors can be changed for other products. I use either Xara (Designer Pro X or Photo & Graphics Designer) or PaintShop Pro (I use PSP as the bitmap editor for Xara). I use Magix Sound Forge Audio Cleaning Lab 3 but SF Audio Studio, which often comes bundled with Magix products, can also be used, as can Magix Samplitude Pro X.
MEP comes with builtin DVD/BR creation capability, including templates.
MEP comes with the ability to send the video clip to Xara for rotoscoping or for creating static or animated graphics. Vegas Pro has nothing like this.
I mentioned 3D Titles. MEP/MMS and Video Pro X come with Xara/Magix 3D Maker embedded. MEP is limited to only changing the template titles, whereas VPX comes with the full version allowing one to create and modify 3D titles. Of course, 3D Maker is available for purchasing on the Magix site. I obtained it for a dollar with a Humble Bundle.
A good addon is Music Maker. I did a tutorial on using Music Maker with MEP a long time ago. Unfortunately, Magix has removed the Share capability from Music Maker 2022 (I have complained). However, it's still a good product for creating and adding music to videos in MEP.
Enough said!
John CB
@browj2 Thanks for that, I keep MEP up to date & am well impressed with the recent performance upgrades over the last couple of yrs, I've had it for 18yrs-ish now & like it so much when a friend wanted to get into making videos i bought him MEP Premium last yr, 😁👍 as far as i can tell all my plugins show in MEP but they don't all work without some issue, if they did i would prob be tempted to drop Vegas.
Thanks for the replies. Totally hate the new interface and work flow. Ah well, lesson learned, I should have tried the trial before paying. As it kept popping up each time I started v17, I thought it would be the same.
@JB.Aubry Yeah swings n roundabouts for me, MEP exported a 25min 4k project in 5mins, Vegas Pro took 14mins to render the same project, MEP's tracks are upside down, the item on the top track should be at the front on the screen, but it's not 😂😕 Vegas works all my plugins but MEP doesn't, MEP plays the clips & transitions fluently, Vegas doesn't, For the price MEP is a good program 👍 & for the price i think Vegas could be a lot better,
May be I need to invest more time in it... I'll give it some more time tomorrow. I don't care about the rendering as I do small projects but will give it a go again. Thanks for your support.
@Former user
Hi,
Which plugins don't work - audio?
MEP's tracks are upside down
I look at it the other way. The background is on the lowest track. Which is the lowest track in MEP? Track 1, and it's always track 1. I learned in elementary school that 1 was the lowest number. The lowest track in Vegas? Can be anything, but definitely not 1 if there is an overlay or title. You have to keep inserting tracks above, moving the background to a higher numbered track, so the background could be on track 69, 30, 15 and, yes, even 1, all in the same project. In MEP, you don't do this; you always put and leave the background on track 1. Now which one is upside down?
Please don't answer with the position on the screen. Even in Vegas, 1 is at the top of the screen. Just like writing 1 to 10 at the left side of a sheet of paper, you start from the top and go down. And, 1 is still the lowest number, even though it's at the top of the page.
Getting a handle on a new and different video editor can be a challenge. I came to MEP from Pinnacle Studio and I kept looking for hidden windows to do things (there was a separate edit window interface for effects at the time). It took me a while to realize that everything was right in front of me one way or another. Almost everything is done on the Timeline, in the Preview Monitor and in using the Media Pool. You'll quickly catch on.
In MEP/MMS, a track is a track and you can put whatever you want on it. There are no reserved video, audio, composite or whatever else kind of tracks that some programs use; there are just tracks and there is no need for other types. That doesn't mean that you should mix types on the same track, but you can.
John CB