Andy Prada
Forum Replies Created
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Curious to say the least!
When you save a project does it actually update itself ie DATE MODIFIED info and SIZE? (Check in File manager) If it does not then you have a problem with that particular project. It’s probably corrupted. Also check whether it is auto saving.
If the project is not updating try SAVING AS another project (this probably will not work if the original file is not saving).
You could try re-setting preferences to see if there is an issue there – hold down the Shift and Ctrl keys while you launch Premiere and you will have reset your preferences to default.
An alternative that has worked for me in the past is to open your existing project timeline sequence(s). Use select all to copy everything in it. (This puts your data into clipboard)
Close the project, open a new one using the same parameters as your old and paste into a new timeline. Then try and save. If this is successful repeat with any other sequences.
Your project media and decisions should easily transpose across. Any corruption in the original config should be left behind.
This might not solve your problem but is worth a try.
Perhaps in your reply you might indicate what size of project you are working on, formats, any third party plug-ins etc
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Can you tell us what format you are using to edit?
Making DV videos shouldn’t tax your system too much – even though it is at the lightweight end of the hardware requirement spectrum.
But trying to edit HD or one of the more exotic interim camera formats may well be a task too far.
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I’m afraid you are correct. CS5 seems unable to trim mpeg. This is the same for the Black Magic SD MJEG codec also. I no longer use it for that reason – I convert to DV. I have yet to try and trim a cineform project in either SD or HD.
Unfortunately I don’t know of any third party utility that will take a PPro project and mimic the actions of the project manager.
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You aren’t by any chance only looking at one field as opposed to two? Click on your playback settings in the Programme Monitor. Make sure you a viewing Hi Resolution / Full Screen / Both fields
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Undoubtedly some fonts appear clearer than others on the timeline.
But have you noticed that some text, particularly in DV projects, seems to collect artifacts or pixelation when rendered, but looks quite clean in preview mode?
The compression setting of the sequence reflects the amount of bandwidth available for text clarity. Uncompressed SD sequences should generate no pixelation because, at 20Mb per second or so, they are not trying to compensate for lack of bandwidth. DV operates at 3.6Mb per second so cramming in all those little drop shadows and outlines is a tall order.
HDV is more robust – even though the Mb bandwidth is similar to DV.
If I’m doing complex titles or text that needs absolute clarity I tend to create an un-compressed sequence which I then export to a DV timeline as a composite.
FWIW I noticed that CS4 rendered text with less clarity than CS3. That might be a function of Media Encoder because a direct export was not available from the timeline in the former. Just my opinion.
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Having the dropped frames indicator switched on in Premiere might alert you to possible problems but will not always solve them.
Another is discontinuous timecode, something I have been banging on about for years now as a Premiere limitation.
When a tape stop/starts during recording it should have contiguous timecode. The end code of a shot/scene becomes the beginning of the next with a continuous uninterrupted code. Occasionally it fouls up and, when capturing, you get a mismatch in what a file says its duration should be and what it actually is. It might actually be as little as one frame (you can’t always see this when playing back the tape) but this is enough to cause problems.
It might cause the image to try and catch up within the file. Sometimes it results in a corrupt file as the maths don’t add up – you then get an unplayable file. The frustration is that it might not always do this – hence you have managed to successfully capture material that you previously thought was in error.
The solution is not so simple. Your problem might be something more akin to sticky tape – as others have referred to. But if it is caused by my possible suggestion the only alternative is to re-stripe your tape with fresh timecode or be quite fastidious in logging your tape before capture to pre empt potential timecode breaks. This last option is time-consuming but will lead to less hair loss down the line.
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Different workflow..not necessarily better or worse.
Premiere uses a different geography more akin to FCP which you may either love or hate. I work with Avid and indeed FCP frequently and I often have to stop for a nano second and think how to translate the choices I need. Here are possible answers to your questions in numeric order:
1. Mark an in and out point in Premiere. To clear the area simply keystroke semicolon (;) To ripple delete keystroke a single inverted comma (‘) The tracks you lift or delete depend on what you have selected – just like Avid. It’s worth experimenting!
2. You can do this in two ways – one is using the make caption a template option in the title tool. The other is, in my opinion equally simple. First off – don’t try and simply copy and paste the title from and to the timeline. Any changes you make will change the original file. In the Project box copy your title (Ctrl C) and paste it (ctrl V). It will appear as a copy of the original caption. You can now amend this without messing up the original. Do this and then add to the timeline.
3. Positioning the cursor in an area you want to zoom in on and press dash (-) or equal (=) to zoom in or out around the curser – much more flexible than Avid.
4.Not sure what you mean here. Adding a transition is constant whether between clips or fading up and down on an individual clip. It depends on the default duration selected in PREFERENCES.
5.You can’t colour correct an empty layer. To make a uniform look, add a colour correction filter to the first clip you want to alter. Set your parameters. You can then either save this preset to the USER presets in the effects library (and then simply drag it to any other clip(s) you wish to change OR click on the effect in the effect control panel, copy it (ctrl c) click on another clip and then paste (ctrl v). Hey presto your effect is copied over. In CS4 you can lassoo multiple clips and paste one or more effects into them in this way. Because CC may vary considerably between shots it’s not really a good policy to do global nested or mixdown correction.
To reiterate, Premiere is slightly different in some respects – you simply need to get used to it. I find Avid quite slow and clunky now – but that’s my opinion.
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It’s little brother is the Intensity Pro Shuttle – again designed for X58 chipset computers. This is considerably cheaper. Check it out on the same website.
I think you’re going to have to recognize that, if you want to edit HD on a pro basis, you’re going to have to invest in the necessary hardware. “You don’t get out for nout” as they say in Yorkshire,UK
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Can you tell us what Motherboard you have? Is it X58 Chipset based or P55?
The reason I ask is that many (not all) X58 based boards will not work with Blackmagic internal PCI-e capture cards, most notably the Intensity Pro card. The P55 Mobos seem to be much more compatible.
However, if you have an X58 board the news is good as BM have or are just about to launch the Ultra Studio Pro – an external bit of kit that is designed to work with X58 Mobos. Check out their website for the latest news. https://www.decklink.com/products/ultrastudiopro/
I still use a standard Decklink PCI SD card in my secondary PC – fantastically well engineered – for laying back to Digibeta. I was one of the unlucky numbers who could not get an Intensity pro card to work with X58 but I would still recommend them as a hardware provider and I am in the market for the new Ultra Studio Pro when it ships.
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Matt, I think the consensus seems to be that file formats that manufacturers use to record video are not necessarily the best for editing. Premiere makes a very good stab at being able to edit most formats natively which is probably the holy grail really. However, how many of us would really own up to working with only one format?
Neoscene is very robust as an intermediate editing codec although it can be HDD hungry. The advantage of this kind of solution though is that it can convert pretty much any camera format thrown at it. (The camera you have at the moment might not always be the camera that supplies you with video rushes!) I think, for $130, it’s very good value and I use it for my HDV stuff even though my computer can handle native HDV without problems.