Steve,
I'm still spinning my wheels with PE7. I'm closer than before, thanks
to you and your book, but I'm still hung up on so many dinky problems...all
keeping me from getting to the meat of my plans.
Question: When I click the SAVE options, what format is it saved in?
I bring it in as a VOB file....
Question: Will the saved file be readable in any other programs except PE7?
I edited one old movie I had some success. I haven't been able to duplicate it in any other movies though. Frustrating !!!
Also, i removed some frames from the very beginning of the old movie. I
saved it. But when I brought it back up later, it was just like it was
before I worked on it. Spinning my wheels again.
More later.
Ken
Saving files
When you use the SAVE functions under the File menu, it is saving project information and that is not readable in any program other than PE. It does not save a video file in a format that can be given to someone else or that you can play. It does not modify the original video file that you brought in to Premiere Elements.
If you look under the Share tab, there are various choices of how to ''output'' a video so it can be given/shared to someone else or play on your TV from a video DVD.
%26gt;Also, i removed some frames from the very beginning of the old movie. I saved it. But when I brought it back up later, it was just like it was before I worked on it.
I suggest that you describe more detail on what you mean by ''brought it up later''. For example, if you have tried to play your original video file outside of Premiere Elements, then no it would not be changed for the frames that you removed during PSE editing. However, if you had reopened a Premiere Elements project that you had previously saved (file menu command in PE) and then played from the Timeline of Premiere Elements and your changes were missing, then I would be puzzled. Perhaps someone else would have a suggestion.
Saving files
Ken,
For a bit of discussion ''saving'' Projects, you might get some insight from: http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.59b728f2/0
I also did a full article on Save vs Save_As vs Save_As_a_Copy.
BarbO sums it up nicely, but there are also reasons to do one of the above 3 above mentioned methods, just for the
b PROJECT
files, not anything that any other program (except for Premiere Pro with restrictions) can even use, let alone play.
When I find the link to that other article, I'll post it too.
Hunt
Ken,
Could not find the link (not sure why Search did not bring it up), but here is the article:
From time to time, confusion often arises, as to what one needs to do to work within Premiere Elements (PE) and how to get their files out of it, while preserving the ability to do more editing, and not losing the work put into it.
For the purpose of this article, lets assume a few things:
1.) That you have already Imported your Assets into PE. Ideally, they will be DV-AVI files, that were Captured over a FireWire (IEEE-1394, often also called an iLink) connection from your miniDV tape camera *, and that you have located your PE Scratch Disks with the location of this Project on your hard drive (HDD), in PEs Project file format, .prel. This file is ONLY your Project and does not contain any of your Assets. It is only usable by PE **. Your Assets are where you stored them and are separate. The .prel file is only a reference for PE, giving it some info about your settings and the location(s) of all of the Assets. You cannot play it. It only exists for PE.
2.) The Project settings, that you have chosen match your Captured footage something like NTSC 4:3 DV, with 48KHz 16-bit Audio.
3.) All of your still images have been sized appropriately for what you plan on doing in this Project***
Importing is complete and you are about to start to edit. What should you do next?
This is a good place to do a Save (File%26gt;Save, or Ctrl-s), but what does that do and why? You see a few more options under File. Why not use one of the others?
1.) Save this will Save your Project, as it stands now. Reason that I mentioned it, is you have already done the Capture and Importing, and do not want to loose that work, should something happen.
2.) Save_As sounds almost like Save, but it has one major difference. It will Save your Project with a new name, that you will be prompted to type in. However, if you check the open Project, you will find that you are now working on a Project with that new name. Your original Project will now be a different file, and will not be open any longer. Any changes that you make from this point on will be included if you do a Save, but would not appear in your original Project file only the new one, with the new name. Why would you want to do this? If you are experimenting with new Effects, or techniques, or are branching off in a new direction from your original Project, this is often good to do. You have both your original Project untouched on your HDD, plus your new version of it. Just remember, any editing that you do will ONLY show up in this new Project. Save_As (and the next iteration) can be useful if you wish to use only some of the Assets in a new Project. If you do a Save_As, you can safely delete anything that you do not want, as your original Project will still be intact, with its original name.
3.) Save_a_Copy this one sounds about like Save_As, as you will be prompted for a new file name. Why would you ever use this one? The biggest reason for it, and its difference from Save_As, is that it will do exactly what it states, which is Save a Copy of your Project, but you will still be working on your Project (under its original name). Many people use this to basically take a snapshot of their Project at that moment in time. It is the manual equivalent of PEs AutoSave function, except that you can invoke it, when you wish, locate this Copy where you wish and with the name that you choose.
4.) While were here, lets talk about AutoSave. This is ON, by default, and will automatically Save_a_Copy of your Project to a subfolder within your Projects hierarchy. The subfolder will be named Adobe Premiere Elements Auto-Save, and the copies of your Projects .prel files will be [Project Name] - 1'' thru [Project Name] - 5,'' if you did not change the default settings in Edit%26gt;Preferences. This is done every five (5) minutes of editing and is automatic, unless you change the settings. If you loose power, or something bad happens, just navigate to your Project folder, and look for the AutoSave files. They can save you a lot of re-do. The first thing that one needs to do, should a Project fail to open, or one gets an error message, that the Project is corrupt, is to go to the AutoSave folder and try to open those, instead. Check the dates of the AutoSave files, and start with the most recent one. To do this, you need to be in View%26gt;Details mode from My Computer, or Windows Explorer.
Much misunderstanding occurs around the Project files (those .prel files). What happens if you delete your assets from your system? Can PE use the .prel files to get them back? No. Only a link to where those files were and what the files were named, exists. If you restore your Assets to your system, but in another location, PE will try to use the .prel file to open your Project, but the links to the location of the Assets will be wrong. The program will prompt you to help it locate these files, in their new location. If your Assets are under the same folder name, but just on a different HDD, PE will smartly pick up on all Assets for that type in that new folder and link to all that it finds and needs for this particular Project. If you have your Assets in different folders, i.e. Video files in a Video folder, and Audio files in an Audio folder, youll have to navigate to those different folders to help PE re-link. Also, if you change the files names, the links will also be broken.
Now, you have completed your editing, and everything is just as you want it. You hit Save (or Save_As, or Save_a_Copy) and are done, right? You can send the .prel file out to someone to view, right? No. Your Project can be re-opened, provided you do not remove, move or rename your Assets (see above), but you do not yet have a movie file. Remember, only PE can work with a .prel file. You cannot play it on anything, except by opening it back in PE. You have NOT made a movie yet.
Well, Ive done my Captures, my editing and have used Save. Wheres my movie? It does not exist yet. Now is the time to decide what you want to do with your movie. Do you want to burn it to a DVD? Do you want to upload it to a Web page? Do you want to upload it to your iPod? These are just some of the choices that you have available. The decision is now yours, and should be based on how you wish to deliver your movie.
[Next Step: How do I make my movie?]
* The FAQs (look at all versions, not just the version that you are using, for the info) cover how to work with many other file types from other sources. Check them out, if you do not have a mini-DV (tape) camera, from which to Capture.
** For practical purposes. It can be opened in programs, like Excel and also in a text file reader, like Notepad, but all it has are bits of information for PE. Editing this file would be a subject for another article, and only done by someone who understands XML.
*** The FAQs give information on sizing any still images, so that they work best in PE.
Yep, I think the short answer, Ken, is that when you save, you're just saving the Premiere Elements project file. It's not a movie. It's just the document that tells Premiere Elements where all your editing cues go. And, no, no other program can read it.
If you want to output a movie (whether it be an AVI, MOV, WMV, MP4 or even DVD) you should use the Share tab features. I walk you through how to do all that in the last chapter of the book.
Mr. Hunt,
Steve,
I'll have to print out and re read what you guys have sent me.
I'll read it a few more time....
I do a lot of teaching of computers, but all basic...save, save as,
copy/paste, Word, Excel, PP etc..
What you guys write reminds me of my third semester French classes at
Missouri U. 100 years ago !!!!
All I want to do is bring some old old movies that are on DVDs
per VOB format, clean them up a little, put a narrative on them
and save them so my family can look at them in years to come..
Probably 90% of what is in PE7 is not for me. I have to sort through
and eventually get it done... thanks to you guys and Steve's book.
After I digest what you guys have suggested, I'll be back.
Ken
Steve, Ed, Barb,
I'm back.
I've read everything you guys sent. I'm not sure I understand everything. I'll read it again.
I did read the last chapter in your book, Steve, and was able
to burn a small movie/video to a DVD and then played it back ok.
It was badly in need of editing, so I'll go back to that frustration.
Minor question: When looking at the VE7 menu, the print is a bit small...
Is there a simple way to enlarge an area like you do on the www with
hold down ctrl and hit the + or - keys. You mentioned that in your book, but I didn't think it related to the major menu page.
Ken
Unfortunately, no, Ken. Not that I'm aware of.
Steve,
I know that much of the detail of the PE Menus and those that I use in Encore is different, but the basic structure (Button Layer Sets) is the same. Can one use PSE to modify the font size?
If so, a caveat to Ken would be to be careful, when doing this, as the active area of the Button will also increase and one cannot have any overlap of Buttons - absolutely zero.
I don't want to launch off on a ''how to do this in PS,'' as it might be all wrong for PE adn PSE suite. This assumes that Ken has access to PSE, or PS (full).
Ken, there are also quite a few PE Menus on the Muvipix site. You will need to subscribe/purchase for most/all of that content. You might want to look around at www.muvipix.com and see if any Menus there suit you better.
Just curious,
Hunt
Steve,Ed Hunt, Barb, Robert.....
I feel a little better. I brought a movie clip, VOB format, into PE7, did a little editing...what I wanted to do, Saved
AS, then went to Shared (after reading the last chapter of your book)
and burnt it to a DVD. I could play it in my pc and my dvd/vcr recorder/player !!!!
Question: Some of the ''clips'', ''slide'', ''frames'' are fuzzy, or dark
etc... faded... Will PE7 clean that up ? And if so, is it real
complicated?...for me, not you guys !
Next project right now, will be to put a running commentary/narrative
on the movie. I'll see what your book says, Steve.
Going to the high school now. We're helping folks work with graphics so that can improve their jpg's etc.. It should be fun.
The AVERAGE age is the folks is about 65. I'm not telling you my age.!
Ken
%26gt;Question: Some of the ''clips'', ''slide'', ''frames'' are fuzzy, or dark
etc... faded... Will PE7 clean that up ? And if so, is it real
complicated?...for me, not you guys !
Where do they appear fuzzy or dark, Ken? In the final DVD or in Premiere Elements?
If in Premiere Elements, look to see if there is a red line above the clips on the timeline. This means the clips need to be rendered.
To do this, press Enter and let the program do its thing. The red line will turn green and you'll see a better representation of what your output will look like.
Steve,
I got your response ref to bad film, but can't find it on this
chat site.
These are 8 mm movies from 50 years ago. The cameras were ok, but
inside pictures were awful...lighting was a problem.....
...so, the pictures are fuzzy, etc.. from the original filming.
No big deal, but I wondered if PE would do anything for that..automatically !!! or at least in bulk areas.
Ken
Monday Morning, 2/15/09
I'm on PE7
I've got Steve Grisetti's book on PE7. Good book.
Lots of little questions that bug me.
One:
It seems I have three different files:
*.prel I understand that one
*.MACC Does it hold basic info for each *.prel file?
*.log What does this do?
Ken Clayton
Well, log files generally provide error reports when some process fails.
MACC files are part of the media cache. I can't pretend to be an expert there, Ken. But I do know it keeps record of ''peak'' files (a map your audio that it makes when you first import a clip into a project). It probably stores other media info too.
About all I know about media cache files is that, if they get too overwhelming and start to bog down a project, you can delete them by going to Edit/Preferences/Media Cache. But then, when you next open your project, the program will need to recreate them.
Although, now that I've opened a few log files, I see they also record some editing actions.
Hmm. Just goes to show you can drive a car for years and never bother to learn where the fuel pump is! Not that you need to know in order to drive...
So I guess, even after some 5 years with this program, there are still some functional things I haven't poked around with.
Steve,
Thanks for responding. I've been blocked out of this site. A
John helped, but I still have to get in through the ''back door''...
I have lots of dinky questions yet...
If I am NOT in PE7 and go to the *.prel file and change it's
name, it will not be available when I bring it in from PE7?
If I wish to change the name, I should use the ''Save as''...
*******************************
Also, on page 63 of your book, Effects, how do I ''mark''
the frames I want to work on?
Ken Clayton
Ken, if you've got a lot of questions about the Muvipix.com guide, why not post them over at http://muvipix.com/phpBB3/
That way you can have the benefit of the whole Muvipix team of experts instead of having to wait for me to come back online.
Steve, (Ed, Barb)
I went to Muvipix.com as you suggesed, and got no where. I'd be in ''the lounge'', write a note, but never got an answer. I'm not
sure where the answer was suppose to be posted.
I''m doing real well. I''ve digested your book, but I can't find
an answer to a simple problem: (answer ?? page 97, 53, 48)
PE7: I bring up a video. I drag it to the timeline, I click on
Edit. I have about five frames at each end of the video that I want
removed/deleted. I move the CTI to where I want to delete the frames (left end), go to the scissors icon, bring it to the video's
left end where the CTI line is.
But the scissors's brackets point right, not left. Same for the
right end of the video.. the brackets point to the left. I can easily
delete the entire video, leaving what I want deleted showing !
It seems if I'm in the middle of the video the scissors gives me
choices, the brackets going left and right.
Page 48, 53, 97 instructs about this, but it I'm still not solving
the problem.
Ken Clayton
I'm not sure what's up, Ken, but no post goes unanswered at Muvipix!
Are you sure you're logged in every time you visit?
As for the slice tool (the scissors) as it says in the book, all you've got to do is select a clip on your timeline, place the CTI where you want to cut and then just click on the scissors icon on the monitor panel. That's it! It's cut.
Then you have to click on the portion of the clip you want to remove in order to select it and press your Delete key. Poof! it's gone.
Ken,
Do you see a ''black line'' form in your Clip at the CTI, when you hit Sissors? Might have to zoom the view of the Timeline in a bit.
Steve,
So the name changed to ''Sissors'' in PE7? Wasn't it ''Razor'' before? I know that Pinnacle, back in S-7 through 9, called it ''Sissors.'' Learn something new every day.
Hunt
It's a razor in Premiere Pro/CS, Hunt. But in Premiere Elements, the icon is a pair of scissors. The tool is merely called the slice tool.
Steve and Ed,
Steve, your second short paragraph answered my frustrating little
problem. the Sissor's brackets only pointed one way and i thought that was my only delete option. When I click on the opposite directions of the backets, as you said,
it worked. Now I go back through about 10 video and clean them up.
Ref to the Lounge you sent me to... i click there, no requests for
signin, just ''Ken Clayton has signed in at 3:30 a.m'' I type a note,
and, as before, and that's it. I have a full sized blue screen on the
left and two split (half up,half down) on the right with a flashing
bar on the lower right blue screen where I type my question.
I love your answers, Steve, but I presume you have a few other things
in you life to do rather than answer my dumb questions !
Ken
Steve,
Thanks for that clarification. Obviously, I have not read your entire book yet. Maybe on my next flight. That is where I do much of my technical reading - there, and on the ''throne... ''
Appreciated,
Hunt
I consider it a privilege to be able to help, Ken. That's why Muvipix and the book are all about.
I'm still not quite sure what you're seeing on the Muvipix forum though, Ken. But I hope you'll work through it. There are so many wonderful, helpful people there that no question goes unanswered for long!
Steve,Bill,
I still can't get any info in the site you gave me. I sign in with
name and password. I can put in
the question, but get no response. Am I to go to a different ''Louge''
to get an answer?
Question: I've done a lot of work on my first set of videos. I
want to back them up on a external HD. Is it best to completely
save it as a *.avi or *.wmf file to a DVD. Ready to read on other PCs. If I ''save as'' from to a EHD, will that work...???
Ken
Ken, I'm not able to find you listed as a registered member at Muvipix listed as either Ken Clayton or Clayton Ken. Would you e-mail the logon you're using there (steve at muvipix.com) and I'll see if I can figure out what's going on.
Your questions would be ideal for the forum at http://muvipix.com/phpBB3/
Steve,
Here is where I went...
http://muvipix.com/phpBB3/chat/flashchat.php
From the site you gave above, this isn't where you wanted me
to go.
I'll try the above site and let you know.
Ken
Oh, that explains it, Ken! You went into the chat room and no one else was there.
Naturally, if you go to a chat room and post a question and there's nobody there to answer it, your question won't still be there when you return.
The forum I directed you to is a standard forum, where you post questions and get answers.
Steve, ( %26amp; Hunt),....
I've gone into the site you advised, Muvipic Community. Where do
I go from there to get into a chat/help room? I've tried a dozen
places, even left a post, but two hours later it said I hadn't left
a post.
Please be specific as to what I click on. I've had as much trouble
trying to get help (well, you were great, Steve) now, as I did figuring out the PE7.
I have several questions I need answering. I've done four videos (100 to go) and they are saved on a thumb drive and they looked great on my desktop, but it was a pain !
Ken
Ken, you don't want to go into a chat room. That's where you were!
The link I posted above gets you directly to the forum. Just scroll down the page, find a sub-forum you want (Premiere Elements 7, for instance) enter it and post your question(s).
Ken,
As Steve points out, the Chat Room is for semi-live banter and is volitile, in that it is for here and now, not later. It's like having something in the RAM of your computer and then you shut it off. Everything in RAM goes away, when the power is cut. Think of the Chat Room as a telephone call - it exists in space for a very limited time and is immediately gone. I won't get into the science of telephone conversations beaming through out the universe. In practicality, we cannot retrieve them.
The Community (basically the forums) is non-volitile, in that you post to that, and your post remains, essentially forever. This is like having something on the hard drive in your computer. You cut the power, and it still remians. All you have to do is go back to Community (like navigating to that folder on the hard drive with Windows Explorer), and your post is still there, plus the replies that follow it. This can be like a telephone conversation (with long pauses for replies) that is recorded. You can revisit them at any time. This is where you need to (and want to) post your questions.
One last concept to throw out. This forum and others, like Muvipix, serve two purposes: they usually provide the OP (Original Post/Poster) with information and solutions. Next, they provide others with that info later on, if only they search for it. Most errors and problems have been discussed before, many with solutions. That is why it's good form to always close a thread (a topic in a forum), with a final report of what worked, and what did not. Then, a new user hits the same problem a year later, and does a search. They see the OP's question/problem, the replies to that question, and finally the OP's closing reply to the thread with ''thanks, turning off Video Acceleration solved my problem... '' or similar. The new user sees the question, the replies and knows exactly worked for the OP. They then know where to start to solve their own problem. All too often the OP never comes back, so a new user is left never knowing what worked, or did not. This is not directed to you, or to your problem, but is a very general statement that all posters, with a problem, should think about.
See 'ya on Muvipix!
Hunt
