Effects keep disappearing

valuenyc

I've lost a dozen fades a couple of times. So I'm paying attention. It just happened again when I split one clip of about a half dozen. Is there a way to lock in the effects I've applied? Why should anything make my fades disappear?

Many thanks for any help.

VideoPad 8.35

Windows 8.1

borate

Not seeing that behavior, using the latest version, which you may want to test. For licensed users upgrades are free for up to six months from purchase date. After that, VP will continue to fully function but a fee will be required in order to register the newest. Retain your old install file and registration info.

Perhaps you can record a short screen-capture video of this occurring and post a link to it here.

Here's how... http://nch.invisionzone.com/topic/23659-tips-for-getting-help-on-this-forum/

valuenyc

Wow. I upgraded to 8.35 only a month ago. But this is so bizarre it does seem like a bug that may have been corrected.

It will be hard to report definitively in the negative, but I do thank you for testing it. I can move forward feeling a bit more confident. Honestly, the first time it happened, I really got concerned about my memory.

Many thanks.

valuenyc

Yup. Upgraded. Put in a few fades. Tried to split the last clip and all my fades disappeared.

Ver. 8.55.

I captured my maneuvers but I'm embarrassed to say I don't see how to upload the *.avi file. I've done this in other forums, but I'm not seeing it here.

Anyway, the *.avi shows a few fades at the start of the sequence, and when I split the last clip, they disappear. Then when I do CONTROL+Z, the fades come back.

borate

To upload the file follow the instructions in the above link: upload the file to a free server, get a shareable link from that server (make it public) and paste that link here.

valuenyc

Watch the three fades at the beginning of the sequence:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zq2b11pj9p9fmef/disappearing.avi?dl=0

Thanks for your interest.

borate

It's unclear just what's going on there. Upload the PORTABLE project, just as you have it on the timeline prior to the last-clip split. See the instructions in the link above.

Be sure to SAVE PORTABLE PROJECT AS (not Save Project), and upload that folder. Get a shareable link and post it here. Someone will check it out.

valuenyc

Well thanks very much. The folder is here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/phdl5fjjxsidkt5/AAA-_bnAa3929p6t0yzYWZQIa?dl=0

borate

There are no transitions programmed in your project and but one effect - a transparency for the clip that's second to the last.

What you appear to be seeing is the timeline being moved to make room for the new split. Expand the timeline and horizontally scroll it to see earlier clips.

Use the slider, bottom-right...

If you do add transitions between clips, such as Fade Thru Black, program their length as 0.250 or perhaps 0.500 to create a short dip between the clips.

[deleted]

Hi valuenyc

What I am seeing here is a fade-in to the cover image with zoom that jumps to the narrator. (perhaps a short fade through black transition might ease that jump. The discussion follows fine up to 4:29 when something odd happens. There is a very short clip zoom_2.mp4 which seems to serve no useful purpose and could be removed.. This is followed by a fade in and out set up with the Opacity effect. You have unfortunately started this off at 50% Opacity instead of 0% . The fade out (using Opacity is not too bad.

I would suggest that you remove entirely the snippet of clip at 4.29. (zoom in with the scroll wheel to widen it, delete it and close the gap. On the next clip remove the transparency effect entirely and end with a short crossfade into the image but don't select to overlap use the freeze frame option. If you can extend the clip (assuming there is a little more trimmed off) the transition will be smoother.

Overall it seems to work OK. BTW I enjoiyed your discussion and MOF is one of my favourites. !

Nat

and then a

borate

You can add the .250 or .500 transition to all clips in one action by choosing APPLY TO ALL in the transition menu drop-down - at the bottom of the box.

There were several errors in the project, including what Nat mentions. Superfluous very short clips appeared at cut points making transitions impossible. Switching to Storyboard mode can spot these snippets which can be deleted.

valuenyc

Borate (and Nat too),

I was having difficulty with accidentally leaving some fragment when I had to excise a fragment. (Such anomalies!) So I have been enlarging and correcting those. Any special trick? Or should I just max the magnification as much as possible as I am now doing? (I needed to split a few clips just to mute an annoying click in the audio. Unpleasant surprise.)

I've been choosing FADE IN from the list of video effects, and I see that you used FADE THROUGH BLACK instead. So here comes the dumb question: Can you explain the difference? And why the different behavior? Because, I'll tell you, I just chose FADE IN and placed it at the beginning of another clip with the talking head. (I don't really need it at the very beginning, tho it's nice.) I saved and even took the precaution of SAVE AS. It disappeared and I promise, it's not a case of the insufficient magnification on the timeline.

Omigosh... I'll leave the last para to paint the complete picture. But I just realized that you, Borate, mentioned using that symbol that only exists at the beginning of a sequence (top left). Does this mean that the program allows me to FADE IN in the middle of the sequence and displays a symbol to reassure me, but (surprise!) the effect will disappear sooner or later? Is that why you all(?) think I have no effects in there?

Wow, did that cost me.

Last, I finally realized how I got two dialogs for EFFECTS: one when clicking on VIDEO EFFECTS in the main menu vs. another when clicking the little X icon between two clips. And it took a while, but I think I understand why. If these two dialogs ONLY had titles, I'm sure I would have gotten in a lot less trouble and maybe even resolved my own problems. I'll call the little X "transitions" and the larger "effects." Aha! those are the words you, Borate, used in your message-before-last, and they meant nothing to me. (After all, FADES are listed among EFFECTS, eh?) Titling anything is always a good idea, and documentation would help a lot. And error trapping when someone tries to FADE IN wrongly, would be highly desirable.

So among TRANSITIONS, FADE and FADE THROUGH BLACK look like they are the same. Yes? I see how they are both nicer than FADE IN, by the way. I have been troubled with how abrupt (un-smooth) that looks.

Any further comments will be appreciated. But you've already done a lot. I am really really grateful. I can finish this today, I think.

Jeanne

(I would change my display name, but I don't see a way. Well, I'll remember to sign posts.)

borate

valuenyc wrote: I was having difficulty with accidentally leaving some fragment when I had to excise a fragment...any trick?

Storyboard mode is good for revealing fragments, as long as they are on track one.

Can you explain the difference between fade in and fade through black?

Fade in brings up a clip from zero opacity to 100%. Fade through takes clip one from 100% to zero, then fades up clip two from zero to 100%. It's a dip between clips. Duration can be set. .500 looks reasonable good, but you may opt for a full second: 1.000.

The f appears only on the first clip - meant to fade up at the head of the project. But if there's a gap between clips, it also will be available on the first clip after a gap.

The EFFECTS choices do include Fade IN/OUT and cross fade - for convenience. There are esentially the same as the X transitions, though Fade OUT there doesn't offer a duration box.

No matter how they are accessed, Video effects and Transitions are two different things. Video effects are applied to a clip. Transitions are made between clips.

[deleted]

Hi valuenyc

Most of this I am sure you are familiar with but just to make the fade concept clear..

Here are three contiguous video clips on the timeline......

Notice that only the First video clip has a fade f button. Clicking this and setting a duration will fade -in that clip and that clip only for the duration you set This is marked on the timeline by a blue bar appearing at the top of that first clip. The length of that bar is proportional to the duration time you set. If you see that f button on any other clip on the same track, it means there is gap, (even if that gap is too small to see.) Any gap however small will be easily seen if you scroll all the way in, or switch into Storyboard mode.

Now....In the left corner of each clip is an FX box. Selecting this and clicking on the large green + will open a list of Effects. that you can add to the selected clip. Among these you will see another selection of Fades......

In general Ignore these ....as Cross Fade and Fade Out are actually Transitions and Fade In has the same action as the f button

That leaves the X between all the clips and at the right hand end of the last clip. Clicking one of these opens a list of Transitions that allow one clip to change in some way into the following clip. Most of these are logical. You will however now see that there are some more Fade options.... Let's look at each one in turn....

Cross Fade. Selecting this will smoothly merge the end of one clip into the start of the next clip. The duration for all the transitions is initially globally set in VP Options/Editing but a box at the bottom of the Transition window will allow you to change this value. (There are other controls which aren't in this discussion.) Prior to implementing the transition, VP will offer the option of overlapping the clips , which will shorten the timeline but keep the action throughout the merge making it smoother, or using a still image (freeze frame) from each clip to transition over. That choice is up to you. Preview the transition to see if it works as you would like. If used on the last clip of a sequence or a clip situated before a gap (however small) the clip will simply fade out.
Fade. This simply fades out the first clip to black and then fades in the next clip. If this transition is used on the last clip of the sequence, or on a clip situated before a gap (however small) , the clip simply fades out to black. (It's the equivalent to the f button but acts as a fade out at the end of a sequence.) If the gap is very small the next clip will immediately appear which can be puzzling until one realizes that there might be a tiny gap present. (The blue bar won't extend into the following clip if there is a gap which may be an additional clue)
Fade through Black. This behaves exactly like Fade in that the first clip fades out into black and the next clip fades in from black. If used on the last clip of a sequence, the clip simply fades out...A smooth way of finishing a section.
Fade through Color. Selecting this offers choice of duration and fade color. The first clip simply fades out into the selected color and the second clip fades in from the selected color. If used on a clip at the end of a sequence the clip will fade into the selected color and then into black. (The black is simply the empty timeline color)
Fade through White. This does exactly the same as fade through Black (or color) but uses white.

It might be logical to ask why NCH didn't just use Fade through a Color for them all as the user could pick a color including Black and White from the color card :mellow:

There are ways of fading a clip in and out using the Transparency effect but this requires a bit of practice and is usually reserved for transitioning between Tracks. It uses keyframes.

For general clip editing use the fade choices set out here.

Nat.

borate

Nat points out that the transitions FADE and FADE THRU BLACK are the same. True, but IMO FADE should simply fade down to black and not fade up the next clip (a dip).

About the only practical way to accomplish that fade down | pop on action is to animate the transparency effect.

Or a very small unlinked video gap can be created at the end of the first clip. But this seems needlessly complex.

valuenyc

Apologies for not saying thank you sooner. I haven't been able to come up for air and I'm still not out of the woods. I came back to post a different question.

But really, thank you so much. This is so robust, I'll have to print it out and study it.

Jeanne