Hi.

I'm slightly confused at the version you are using. If it is the one you previously posted about (2021) then the zoom bar should still be there assuming you are talking about the size position effect.

That image is from VPX 12 but the function is the same.

If you upgrade to the 2022 version then you are not on the last patched version, but even on the release version the the zoom bar has gone replaced by the following method for the now altered zoom, position, and combined rotation effect. You are correct, it is not documented.

Ray.

I gave the version number as it appears in Help / About. When it starts up, the splash screen says it is Video Deluxe 2021 Plus. I am also getting ads for Video Deluxe 2023 Plus, but I just don't do enough video editing to make that worth my while now.

Both of your screenshots show that you are working with the "Size / Position / Rotation" effect and not with the "Camera / Zoom shot". I am not sure how you missed that I am wondering about a missing toolbar when I zoom a section of video.

David

@DBoydNL

The last version of MEP 2021 was 20.0.1.80. I suspect that your version is missing that "80" patch. Try an update using Help>Update online, but be careful the program doesn't send you down the path of changing to the next version.

I am not sure how you missed that I am wondering about a missing toolbar when I zoom a section of video.

I know a lot about Camera/Zoomshot and even I couldn't figure out what you meant in your first post. What you're (not) missing not a toolbar but the keyframe timeline, your so-called " a bar used to appear above the tracks with "dots" on a sort-of time line. ". It is there in my version 80, as Gid has pointed out in his screenshot (although he has MMS 2023). Make sure you have dragged the bottom of the media pool/effects window down far enough to reveal the keyframe area. And, of course, it won't be visible until you select/highlight an object.

The "zoom" feature works as it has done for some years using Camera/Zoomshot: it only zooms into or out from the section you draw, over the full duration of the clip. If you want to zoom in over a shorter time, then you will have to set up your crop box over the required timeframe to set the keyframes.

I have never used the bottom section of the Camera/Zoomshot effect eg the "2 seconds".

Thanks Gid,

Now I know what that toolbar is called: "Keyframe timeline". And you are correct, it has always appeared as soon as I selected "Camera and Zoom movement" (again: translating my menu from my Dutch version), which is the effect you have selected. It does not appear automatically any more.

I discover that I need to turn it on with a non descript, meaningless symbol (circle at the left), which states: "Show effect overview". At that point a bar appears (yellow arrow) with no indication of what this bar is. As you can see, an orange marker appears to indicate where I "am" in the selected video fragment. The ONLY indication that this bar is what I am hoping for, is that menu of 6 items to the left that has one symbol that is a +◆, which is explained (with a card) as "place new keyframe at current position". Okay, that seems to be what I want. However, no keyframe is placed anywhere. Just to make sure, I created a new project, imported a different mp4, seperated video from audio, made a "cut" at 20 secondes. I made a smaller than full screen cut out and selected zoom to cut out. I moved the selector to the middle or so of the video fragment. I clicked on the "place keyframe" and still no keyframe was placed, no matter how many times and spots I tried. I tried setting the Duration in the Zoom dialog screen to "During the entire fragment", then I placed a keyframe, and that setting was changed to "User defined" but no keyframe was placed in that toolbar.

So did Magix just mess up version 20.0.1.73 or Video Deluxe 2021 Plus? Because obviously you get this to work on your version, which seems a bit different than mine. Who do I contact to have this problem corrected?

By the way, if you are wondering where my video viewing screen is, it is on my second monitor, to the left of my main monitor. That gives me just a bit more "real estate" to work on. Too bad the Play and Stop buttons are not a loose toolbar that I can move back to the screen where I am working. Oh well. Surely, moving the video video viewing scream to second monitor has not caused this?

David

I am not sure how you missed that I am wondering about a missing toolbar when I zoom a section of video.

I know a lot about Camera/Zoomshot and even I couldn't figure out what you meant in your first post.

In my second paragraph, where I begin to describe the problem(s), I mention several times that what I am needing to do is zoom. I guess that's why I don't get how y'all missed what I was doing, or even thought I was positioning and sizing. I guess in the future I need to say that I clicked on the Effect Camera / Zoom motion.

Thanks for the hint to try the update feature. Unfortunately, my update service has apparently expired. I mentioned earlier, that I just don't do enough video editing to warrant purchasing the new version or paying for the update service when it expires. Every other year or so, I fork over the money to use a special offer to get the newest version. So I guess I am out of luck, because I apparently cannot update to version... 80. However, what I described in my post addressed to Gid, seems like a bug to me. Placing a keyframe (marker) just doesn't work. Bugs should be fixed free of charge, right? Sure...

David

@DBoydNL

Okay, that seems to be what I want.

I don't think so because the main Play marker is hidden, off screen to the left. The play marker of the KF timeline is visible but the main play marker isn't. Move your timeline objects to the right so that you can at least see the main play marker. Or use CTL F to get the whole movie in the window, or does the left end of the timeline go onto the other monitor? Once you can see the main Play marker, then you will be (should be) able to position the crop box and set the first keyframe. After that, MEP/VDL will automatically set a KF whenever you adjust the crop box.

So did Magix just mess up version 20.0.1.73 or Video Deluxe 2021 Plus? Because obviously you get this to work on your version, which seems a bit different than mine. Who do I contact to have this problem corrected?

As I have already said, the latest version of MEP 2021 (I think the same as VDL 2021) is 20.0.1.80. Try doing an update. At this stage, don't accept an "upgrade", because that will cost you.

At that point a bar appears (yellow arrow) with no indication of what this bar is. As you can see, an orange marker appears to indicate where I "am" in the selected video fragment. The ONLY indication that this bar is what I am hoping for, is that menu of 6 items to the left that has one symbol that is a +◆, which is explained (with a card) as "place new keyframe at current position".

David, we're users here. Once you've created one keyframe, that part of the screen will become intuitive. Don't stress about it.

I made a smaller than full screen cut out and selected zoom to cut out. I moved the selector to the middle or so of the video fragment. I clicked on the "place keyframe" and still no keyframe was placed, no matter how many times and spots I tried.

If you're meaning "to section" and "from section", you cannot set any keyframes by definition. You set the crop box to the area you want, then click "to section" or "from section" and the program automatically sets a keyframe at each end of the clip.

 I tried setting the Duration in the Zoom dialog screen to "During the entire fragment", then I placed a keyframe, and that setting was changed to "User defined" but no keyframe was placed in that toolbar.

I've never used this section so will have to brush up on it.

That is exactly what my screenshot (above, way above) is showing, except I don't have a playback / edit screen visable on this monitor, so my Keyframe timeline runs the entire width of the screen (I have a yellow arrow pointing to it). The KF timeline only shows when I press the two "v's" to the right of center, right below the time stamp. I bet if you press that icon / button / marker, your Keyframe timeline will disappear. Mine is just always gone, and I have to turn it on all the time. But... can you place a keyframe at the current location (button), and I don't see a beginning or ending keyframe marker on your KF timeline either (but I don't know how far you are in designating the "Zoom to..." function when you made the screen shot.

@DBoydNL

Hi.

The vertically placed ≪ buttons are expand and collapse symbols.

Visibility should stay in the state it was last left in when the project is saved. This could have been a bug corrected with a newer patch. I can't recall it ever being a problem.

First and last key frames can be inserted at any point from beginning to end of a clip. There is just no alteration to an effect before the first key frame, and the last commands from the last key frame should keep the same settings to the end of the clip. Key frames can also be slid along the timeline of the key frame editor but must remain in the order they are laid down.

Ray.

@DBoydNL

Hi,

That is exactly what my screenshot (above, way above) is showing,

No, you didn't do what I showed. Your keyframe area is hidden because the window is not high enough. Do exactly what I showed you in the video. Did you run the video or just look at the image?

It has nothing to do with having the preview monitor on another screen or how many kf's are there - you can't see the area because the window is not high enough.

John CB

Okay John CB, you are right. I did not notice that your previous post was not a screenshot, but a video. Chalk that up to my frustration, I guess. I was focussed on finding your Keyframe timeline, which was located slightly differently than mine, and looked exactly like what I had. I didn't see the Play "button". Oops.

So I have made the Keyframe timeline "taller" and now see the begin and end keyframe markers, and I can move them. I have manually added a keyframe mark, and that works too. This timeline now takes up so much screen space, that I now understand why they made it collapsable.

Regardless, once again the folks at Magix make a great and affordable product (VDL), and then fail miserably in layout, design and documentation (see CubeAce's comment at 13:28 yesterday). Why is the Keyframe timeline hidden by default (when it never used to be), and why does it first appear too small (insufficiently "high") to show the actual features of the timeline? I could made a list of quite a number of such failures in programming and documentation in VDL. Okay, now I am ranting on the folks at Magix, and they're not even reading this. I have tried telling them directly about similar problems I have encountered, but nothing ever changes; the same issues continue from one version to the next. For instance, in my Dutch version the "Save as..." option is called "Save project in", which makes no linguistic nor computer sense. I alerted Magix to this for version 2019, I now have version 2021 and it still has that mistake.

Thanks for your insight and help.

David

@DBoydNL

Hi

. . . . then fail miserably in layout, design . . . .

You could apply that statement to all video editors when you are working with a single screen/monitor or on a laptop - I would not recommend working with anything less than a 17" screen and definitely not a 4K screen - everything is too small.

Dual screen working is the best for any video editor as you can arrange the interface how you like instead of being constricted to the single screen area.

However back to your other problem of the Camera zoom ie:

. . . . I ended up cutting the video track at 20 seconds, and applied the Zoom over the full length option to that 20 second fragment. That worked, but then I had to resize the following fragment to the exact same dimensions and location where the zoomed fragment left it. I have no idea how to find out exactly what numbers I need to fill in to accomplish a perfect match, so I got as close as I could (in a reasonable amount of time) and just accepted the imperfection at the "joint". This CAN'T be the way this is supposed to be done, . . . .

Can you post a video clip example of the 'imperfect' method you are using so we can see exactly what you are doing - the clip, 1920 x 1080 preferably and up to 20 secs long - upload it directly into a comment.

I too like the others can interprete the requirement from the txt in several different ways.

John EB

@DBoydNL

Hi.

You don't seem to be using the default layout for your projects.

That can be found in the windows settings along the top task bar. You can store your own custom versions there as well. I have made several.

If in the programs movie settings you select to have the settings copied and used as a template for future projects you can save a project with the key frame editor showing.

When anyone creates a new project they have not added any effects and may only need a cut and paste creation or don't need to make an effect dynamic in which case there is no need to see key frames. Having the key frame editor open can remove real estate from the effects box above so I'm assuming that is why the key frame editor is closed by default. It would be good if it were possible to move the key frame editor to another location if needed but at present it is not. Again possibly because the best place for it in most cases would be below the effects box.

You don't have to expand the key frame editor across the screen to divide the key frame points away from each other for easier editing. The key frame editor has a separate time line zoom function with the + - keys on its right hand side where you can zoom in to separate close looking key frames or do what I do and use the left /right arrows to get to the next / previous key frame. That will only go the key frame of the current effect selected. To switch to another effects key frame just double click the effect in the right column to both bring that effect into the effect box above for altering and so the back / forward buttons work for that effect.

I hope this information is useful to you.

Ray.

Well, thanks for the offer, but getting the keyframe timeline to work the way it is supposed to, means that I no longer need to mess around with two seperate sections of the video clip. One 10 or 20 seconds that zooms and another 20 min one that is resized to the exact dimentions and location of the zoom. If anybody understands what I mean by that, I would still like to know how to do that.

There are times that I zoom in on a video section (e.g. of me teaching a class) and then I have to import the next recorded file (the camera breaks the recording up into 4 GB sections). When I place the next video file, I need to start that video out with a duplication of the settings I have zoomed to in the previous one (still with me?). I know I could simply bind the two video fragments to each other, and then reapply the zoom settings to both, but it would be nicer if I could find the numbers of the size of the resulting zoomed in area some where, and simply enter those as the "cut out" numbers on the second file. I have a similar "problem" when I want to zoom out at the end of a video fragment/track. If I am going about this the wrong way, please let me know.

David

Ray,

Thanks for your input.

As I said before, I don't do video editing often enough to have discovered things like "default layout" or "templates". I understand templates from my extensive use of them in Word, but at this pace of using VDL I kinda can't be bothered. I save a previous project as the new project, delete the contents of the tracks and "voila" I am ready to go. I know, a poor man's way to avoid using templates.

My layout of screens within the VDL program has been dictated by me having a second monitor (24" HD, same brand and size as the first monitor). Mostly I have pulled the Video viewing and editing screen off to the second monitor and made it a big bigger. This results in a layout of my previous screen shot. This is also why my Keyframe timeline is the width of the screen (same width as the tracks), I am pretty sure that's just how it works, once you re-size the subwindows.

Currently, when I open VDL, either load a project or start a new one, import a video file, select Zoom & camera movement, the unexpanded keyframe timeline shows (even if I closed the program with it expanded). When I expand it, it now shows the entire height of the timeline, including the keyframe markers, which were not visible before JohnCB solved my problem for me. I already acknowldged that now that I see how tall the keyframe timeline has become, I understand why Magix decided to present it collapsed / unexpanded. It indeed does use too much "real estate".

David

John,

My point in "failures in layout and design" is just that: Magix's VDL fails to describe properly, document properly, place in logical places, and makes layout decisions (to change layout) without documenting the changes, so incidental users like myself, are left to wonder: what happened to such and such a feature. I have previously stated that I am working with two monitors, so I'm not sure why you are pointing out a shortage of real estate when working with one monitor, let alone on a laptop screen and advising me to go with dual monitors. As it happens, my computer is a Gaming laptop, with lots of memory, excellent video card, and a large SSD. At my desk, I have the laptop's screen turned off and have two 24" identical monitors running side by side.

As I said earlier to somebody else, my problem is solved now. If my question about zooming and copying that zoom level to the next video fragment cannot be understood, then so be it.

David

@DBoydNL

If my question about zooming and copying that zoom level to the next video fragment cannot be understood, then so be it.

David, easily done: on the end of the first object, in Camera/Zoomshot, place a keyframe (actually, it will need to be two frames from the end, because the last frame is hidden/off the screen to the right=bug? Yes, it is a bug in 2021. It's fixed in 2023: you can set a keyframe on the last frame in 2023). Copy that keyframe with the copy button in the KF control panel.

Add your next object and but it up against the first. Put the Play marker one frame from the start of the second object then hit Paste (in the KF control panel). The previous keyframe, with it's zoom, will be pasted and you'll have a matching zoom at the join.

@DBoydNL

The Keyframe area is at the bottom of the Media Pool. It is the width of the Media Pool, not the width of the Timeline (or Project Window as Magix calls it). This is documented in the manual. Resizing the keyframe area is not documented, or at least I can't find it.

If my question about zooming and copying that zoom level to the next video fragment cannot be understood, then so be it.

To copy/paste effects, right click the object, Video Effects, Copy Video Effects (shortcut - ) and a box pops up allowing you to select the effects that you want to copy. Continue. Select the destination object, right click the object, Video Effects, Paste Video Effects (shortcut Shift plus - ). Done. You can also save the effect(s) for later use in the same or other projects.

Look at all options under right-click menus to familiarize youself with the features available.

my computer is a Gaming laptop, with lots of memory, excellent video card, and a large SSD.

That is totally subjective and tells us next to nothing. I have the same, but I'll bet that my configuration is quite different from yours. Check my siginature. You should put your similar details in your signature.

John CB

@browj2

John, David is trying to match zoom levels between the end of object 1 and the start of object 2: copying and pasting the "video effects" won't achieve that unless the exact zoom level required also exist at the start of the first object. Copying only the keyframe will achieve what he wants.

@AAProds

Hi Al,

You're right (too much detail to read so I just picked the last general complaint about "zooming and copying that zoom level"). When I have that problem, then I do one of two things, copy/paste the kf or copy/paste the effect. In the latter case, I just delete or move the kf's to suit. For me, it's faster as I have - and Shift+- programmed on my ShuttlePro.

As for the other thing that he mentioned about

...it would be nicer if I could find the numbers of the size of the resulting zoomed in area some where, and simply enter those as the "cut out" numbers on the second file.

This is shown under Size/Position. Just click on the keyframe and the numbers are there. After all, Camera/Zoom just uses the Size/Position effect. He also sill has the Zoom slider with values that he can use.

John CB