video editing for ProShow content

Discuss which third party applications you use to help create your slide shows using ProShow Producer. This is not a forum to promote other slide show software programs.
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video editing for ProShow content

Postby hcajones » Thu Oct 30, 2014 9:16 pm

Mostly, I make DVDs or Blu Rays following long vacations taken by my wife and me. (I also do a lot of historical family discs, but those seldom involve video.) I have started to take more video now that I can get HD video on the same compact camera I'm using for still photos. Using video in ProShow slow slows down the production process considerably, so I don't use a lot, but I do like to use some.

However, the video editing function ("Adjustments") within ProShow is not very good with regard to improving the quality of the video. I run all still photos through Photoshop editing before using them in a ProShow show, and Photoshop does a good job with eliminating shadows, color adjustment, etc.

But I do not use Photoshop (Premier) for video edting because it is far too complicated for what I am trying to do: fix color, shadows, etc. If I need to trim or change sound or zoom or basic saturation, I can do all that inside ProShow. But the color adjusting aspects of ProShow video edting, apart from saturation level, are really weak. The "hue" adjustment, for example, seems unable to generate shades of red and brown that I really need.

Does anyone know of a simple, basic, video editing appication that does a good job with color adjustment, shadows, etc., and doesn't require months to figure out and have a million other bells and whistles I don't need?

I've Googled this, but I find conflicting information and reviews, so I am particulalry interested in hearing from anyone who edits vides for basics (again, color and shadows and the like) for video to be used in ProShow.

Thanks.

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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby gpsmikey » Thu Oct 30, 2014 10:16 pm

Unfortunately, video is a very complex creature so most of the video editors out there (I use Sony Vegas) all have quite a bit of a learning curve to them. I would suggest looking at some tutorials for one of them either the Sony Vegas Products or Adobe Permiere - there are some good tutorials out there as well as a number of good user forums. Almost as soon as you start talking video editors, people want to be able to rotate the image slightly, separate the audio and video tracks, add sound or any number of other things which is why most video editors out there have a pretty good learning curve on them. They are very powerful tools, but not, in general, "intuitively obvious" as they used to tell us in school :twisted:

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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby bonalymac » Fri Oct 31, 2014 4:15 am

Photoshop! That could be the answer!

Have a look at this short (9 min) video.

http://scottkelby.com/2014/how-photographers-can-turn-their-dslr-videos-clips-into-movies-in-just-5-minutes-using-believe-it-not-just-photoshop/

Much of this relates to creating a video show, but it also makes it clear how you do other tasks in prepping your video clips. So stick with it to the end (or just watch the last couple of minutes)

I think this is available from CS6 onwards, but I'm not certain
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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby hcajones » Sat Nov 01, 2014 3:55 pm

Thanks for the help and advice.

I looked at the clip about doing the video editing through Photoshop, and it looks promising. However, before I start sinking much time into this, do you know if the finished product (the video edited this way in Photoshop) will work inside a ProShow show? Sometimes, for reasons I don't understand, Photoshop will save something it has edited only with a .xxx that is apparently proprietary to PhotoShop and won't work in ProShow.

Thanks.

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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby bonalymac » Sun Nov 02, 2014 1:26 am

However, before I start sinking much time into this, do you know if the finished product (the video edited this way in Photoshop) will work inside a ProShow show?


Absolutely. But try a quick test to convince yourself. Load a short clip, make a simple edit levels or similar, then export under a new file name (important) and test it.

Sometimes, for reasons I don't understand, Photoshop will save something it has edited only with a .xxx that is apparently proprietary to PhotoShop and won't work in ProShow.


As I understand it, when editing within ProShow, it is using Non-Destructive editing. So ProSHow is not actually creating a new video, it is just taking a note of what edits you have set up! So there is nothing to test in this way.
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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby hcajones » Sun Nov 09, 2014 3:11 pm

Sometimes I hate to post when it shows how little I know. But here I go.

I am trying to edit video in Photoshop following the instructions at the web video link provided by bonalymac: http://scottkelby.com/2014/how-photogra ... photoshop/

The first step is to import the video file into Photoshop. The videos I want to edit were taken with a digital camera and have been downloaded into files on my computer. They are all .MTS files. Photoshop refuses to import them because they are in the "wrong" format. Is there some way I can convert an .MTS file into a file Photoshop likes, or am I just missing some other obvious solution?

Thanks.

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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby im42n8 » Sun Nov 09, 2014 6:54 pm

The only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask when you have the opportunity and you need an answer.

We've all been in the position where we knew nothing about the program ... and when I started with it, there was precious little out there. The manual simply told you what the functions were and what they did. As for how to put together a slide show or how to use the functions, nada. It was places like this Forum and the two yahoo forums that formed the core of folks trying to figure the darned thing out and sharing their discoveries.

We all sound "dumb" about the program now and then. Sometimes it's because we've been up wayyyyyy to long and we're rummy (our minds shutting down for being so tired). Sometimes it's because a cold or flu is interfering with our senses or maybe because we're simply not running on all cylinders. Sometimes, however, it's simply because we don't KNOW and we've been knocking our heads against the wall for too long before we asked the question. It's not dumb (the question) ... generally ... except with the benefit of hindsight and 2nd guessing!

I've tried to do things that I didn't know were impossible. I tried all kinds of stuff. Some of the time I spent trying to do the impossible could have been prevented if only I'd asked long before I did. Yes, there is some of that "impossible" stuff I tried that wasn't impossible ... it was just exceedingly difficult because I lacked the expertise with the program. Once you've acquired the expertise, some of that impossible stuff just become difficult and the difficult becomes easier. But, asking the questions early on saves time and effort ... and helps build that expertise.

All of us folks who've been here since early on in the Forum's existence have been there ... and we've all asked "dumb" questions. Also, we've all demonstrated, at one time or another, how little we know (or knew at the time) about the program.

Anyway, you can get a converter to convert the video files into another format. Do a quick search on the internet for MTS converter. There are a number of free versions out there. One I use is called SUPER. I've used it a number of times in the past ... not recently. Danged site is difficult to navigate but the program is great! Converting your MTS files sounds like the best option for you right now ... you can go the freebie route or you can buy a commercial product (freebie works for me! :D )

Good luck!

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What's New: Tools for ProShow: v11.42a Access ProShow capabilities Photodex doesn't provide (For PSG & PSP).
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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby hcajones » Sun Nov 09, 2014 8:05 pm

Thanks!

I'll try this approach and report back in a few days.

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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby hcajones » Sun Nov 09, 2014 9:52 pm

Another question: is there a particular format (file extension) that is most versatile or most useful when I convert videos from MTS into something I can use in ProShow?

Thanks again.

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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby gpsmikey » Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:20 am

Almost all video formats are "lossy" and as such, any time you convert formats (codec, frame rate etc.) you lose detail. The best format is the one that comes the closest to what your final format will be. If you are going to be rendering to mp4 720p for example, that would be the best format for the video you are importing. Recognize also that the file name extension is NOT necessarily a valid indicator of what the video format is inside that file. the .avi format is a "container" much like a .zip file is and can have many different actual video file types in it (which is why some .avi files may play fine on your computer and others you get from somewhere else will not play)

mikey
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby hcajones » Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:50 pm

"The best format is the one that comes the closest to what your final format will be."

So, to, again, reveal my ignorance, if I am converting MTS to another format to use in ProShow, what is the best formal to convert to? I usually burn to Blu Ray and choose the highest quality settings for everything, if that makes a difference.

Thanks.

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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby gpsmikey » Mon Nov 10, 2014 11:54 pm

It looks like BlueRay supports several different formats - see the FAQ here: http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/ I don't know which one Photodex uses since I don't even have a BD burner. I have found that mp4 on a flash drive (720p) works for most of what I'm doing these days and as such have not bothered to jump on the BD bandwagon. According to the FAQ, players are required to handle 3 different encoding methods including mpeg2, mpeg4 and another one I was not familiar with. I'm sure you will get good results if you transcode (convert to another format) as long as you use the high quality settings, but it is important to understand lossy compression and that each time you decompress/recompress to convert formats, you will lose some information (unlike lossless compression formats like .zip files where you get back exactly what you compressed when you decompress a file).

mikey
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
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Lots of PIC and Arduino microprocessor stuff too !!

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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby hcajones » Wed Nov 12, 2014 2:31 pm

The issue I'm having is not so much related to ProShow as to Photoshop. Bonalymac posted a link to a very good video which shows how to use Photoshop PHOTO editing tools as a device for editing VIDEOS. I want to use that process to edit videos to include in ProShow shows. But Photoshop will not accept .mts files, which is the format used by the camera with which I take the videos. So I went to an .mts converter site qw suggested by one of you, and converted the video to Mp4, but Photoshop still rejects it as a "wrong" file type.

So I guess my question is (perhaps mostly for Bonalymac): to what format can I convert .mts videos so that I can use the Photoshop video editing process shown in the link posted by Bonalymac?

Thanks.

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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby gpsmikey » Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:22 pm

Do a search on Adobe Photoshop video file formats? I don't use Photoshop for video so I have not experimented along those lines. A google search should turn up the information you are looking for fairly quickly though.

mikey
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
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Re: video editing for ProShow content

Postby hcajones » Wed Nov 12, 2014 10:09 pm

The problem is that this search leads to Photoshop Premiere, which is Photoshop's official video editing software. Been there, done that, and hated it. The people with the video at the link provided by Bonalymac have found a way to do basic video editing in Photoshop Elements, even though it's really designed for still photos, which looks as though it's exactly what I've been looking for, especially since that's what I use to edit photos before they go into a ProShow show. But they never say what file format they're using to do this, and the obvious ones don't seem to work. It could be that Photoshop has changed something since their video such that this can't be done any more.

I am going to try a few more formats but I'm not optimistic since I've already tried the obvious ones. I was just hoping that somebody might have done this or might otherwise somehow know what format(s) will work. But as the guys in the video say themselves, this is something very few people know about.

Thanks again.

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