Re: video editing for ProShow content
Wed Nov 12, 2014 11:20 pm
From a quick scan of the link, it looks like they are using Photoshop, not Photoshop Elements - quite different beasts. Do a Google search on "photoshop cs6 video editing" and you will find LOTS of links showing how to edit video in Photoshop (apparently it has been part of it since CS3). Basically, you are treating each frame like an individual image in a stack (like you would create in your DSLR for a time lapse sequence). While Elements *may* be able to do it, none of the links I saw indicated it could - not saying it can't, just I didn't see it in a quick search.
mikey
mikey
Re: video editing for ProShow content
Fri Nov 14, 2014 5:30 pm
Windows Movie Maker a free download will accept your file. You may want to see if it could satisfy the editing you have in mind.
Don
Don
Re: video editing for ProShow content
Fri Nov 14, 2014 7:43 pm
Thanks for the Windows Movie Maker suggestion. As far as I can tell, just about everything that can be done to a video there can be done inside of ProShow itself.
What ProShow video editing lacks is, for example, the "lighten shadows" function of PhotoShop for still photos, which does a great job of lightening shadowed areas of a photo without distorting the color and contrast of the rest of the photo. PhotoShop video editing has a "brighten" function, but it brightens the entire video. I have, for example, a video in which the foreground is a river and the background is a blue sky, and in between is a row of trees. The row of trees looks almost black in the video, because the video is dominated by the brightness of the river and the sky. If I "brighten" the video, the trees are still black, but the video as a whole just brightens up some.
So I am looking for a simple way to do basic color, contrast, etc. editing of a video. It needs to accept .mts files (because that's what my camera creates) and it needs to generate a format that PhotoShop will accept. It may not exist. I may be playing Don Quixote. But the only applications I've found that might be able to do this, such as Photoshop Premiere, are far too complicated for what I want, and far too hard to use.
Thanks.
What ProShow video editing lacks is, for example, the "lighten shadows" function of PhotoShop for still photos, which does a great job of lightening shadowed areas of a photo without distorting the color and contrast of the rest of the photo. PhotoShop video editing has a "brighten" function, but it brightens the entire video. I have, for example, a video in which the foreground is a river and the background is a blue sky, and in between is a row of trees. The row of trees looks almost black in the video, because the video is dominated by the brightness of the river and the sky. If I "brighten" the video, the trees are still black, but the video as a whole just brightens up some.
So I am looking for a simple way to do basic color, contrast, etc. editing of a video. It needs to accept .mts files (because that's what my camera creates) and it needs to generate a format that PhotoShop will accept. It may not exist. I may be playing Don Quixote. But the only applications I've found that might be able to do this, such as Photoshop Premiere, are far too complicated for what I want, and far too hard to use.
Thanks.
Re: video editing for ProShow content
Sat Nov 15, 2014 4:36 am
The original link I posted was in reference to Photoshop not Elements. I believe (but am not certain) that this level of feature has been around in all Photoshop versions after CS5.
The original article explains how Photoshop can be used almost immediately by anyone with Photoshop skills on video files. So layers, Adjustment layers, levels, filters etc can all be used. These skills are readily known to existing Photoshop users. The gist of the article is that if you have at least basic photoshop skills, you can "learn" the video editing skills with minimal additional effort, as the program and its features are already well known to you.
I have Photoshop 2014, and my version lets me open MTS files quite happily. The link below shows the list of supported file formats - this link is from Adobe's help site.
http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/supported-file-formats-photoshop-cs6.html
As you will see, MTS is listed there, and the asterisk against it simply adds that the support for this format was introduced in CS6.
So if you have CS6 or later, according to Adobe, the MTS file should be capable of use. I suspect however that MTS file formats however do vary by camera manufacturer - BUT Adobe do NOT list any caveats angainst the MTS format. I do seem to recall that Sony MTS format may have had issues, but I may have this wrong.
Worth checking that you are using Photoshop with all updates (and not elements), and then try Adobe's help sites if you are still struggling
The original article explains how Photoshop can be used almost immediately by anyone with Photoshop skills on video files. So layers, Adjustment layers, levels, filters etc can all be used. These skills are readily known to existing Photoshop users. The gist of the article is that if you have at least basic photoshop skills, you can "learn" the video editing skills with minimal additional effort, as the program and its features are already well known to you.
I have Photoshop 2014, and my version lets me open MTS files quite happily. The link below shows the list of supported file formats - this link is from Adobe's help site.
http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/supported-file-formats-photoshop-cs6.html
As you will see, MTS is listed there, and the asterisk against it simply adds that the support for this format was introduced in CS6.
So if you have CS6 or later, according to Adobe, the MTS file should be capable of use. I suspect however that MTS file formats however do vary by camera manufacturer - BUT Adobe do NOT list any caveats angainst the MTS format. I do seem to recall that Sony MTS format may have had issues, but I may have this wrong.
Worth checking that you are using Photoshop with all updates (and not elements), and then try Adobe's help sites if you are still struggling
Re: video editing for ProShow content
Sat Nov 15, 2014 7:47 am
Not sure if this will help at all, but sometimes masking with changes to the video in the same way one can do to a still image in ProShow can work.
So, using a duplicate clip layer with linear gradient mask, try adjusting the brightness slider. If your row of trees is in one horizontal area in the middle, that's the area of the mask to have white, with black on top and bottom of the rest of the mask with grading between the areas to blend.
This would mean having two of the same clip inserted in the slide of course, but it's doable. It may not produce the perfect result but might get you closer to what you want without Photoshop.
It's not a perfect science since every image or clip is different so it will take some experimenting to finesse the mask and masked image layer.
1 Linear Gradient Mask
2 - - - >Dupe of Clip (masked and brightness adjusted)
3 Clip (unaltered)
Hope that makes sense.
So, using a duplicate clip layer with linear gradient mask, try adjusting the brightness slider. If your row of trees is in one horizontal area in the middle, that's the area of the mask to have white, with black on top and bottom of the rest of the mask with grading between the areas to blend.
This would mean having two of the same clip inserted in the slide of course, but it's doable. It may not produce the perfect result but might get you closer to what you want without Photoshop.
It's not a perfect science since every image or clip is different so it will take some experimenting to finesse the mask and masked image layer.
1 Linear Gradient Mask
2 - - - >Dupe of Clip (masked and brightness adjusted)
3 Clip (unaltered)
Hope that makes sense.
Re: video editing for ProShow content
Sat Nov 15, 2014 9:47 am
I recently upgraded my Adobe Elements to version 13. Premiere Elements can accept your files and has "Quick" "Guided" and "Expert" editing. It will correct the entire clip automatically and then permit manual adjustment. There is little learning required. If you are interested you can download free and try it.
Don
Don
Re: video editing for ProShow content
Mon Nov 17, 2014 7:41 am
I used to use Video Pad, but my free trial expired so I went to Windows Movie Maker, which is only basic. However I recently discovered I could download another free "Video Pad", but make sure you get it from http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html or you may get asked to buy it. It is a great programme, however you have to buy it to edit HD.
Stearman65
Stearman65