Workflow for edit-down and export

Help & Support
1

Greetings. Im a novice thrilled with the stability of Cinelerra Infinity GG (built Oct 31 2020, on Ubuntu 64bit/8GB RAM).

For my task at hand, I just havent found a good/best workflow. Im learning the hotkeys and have watched many tutorials.

Task is cutting down from a high-res source mp4 (2560 x 1920, 18fps, H-264, no audio) to clips, slo-mo effect on some clips, then joining clips all together and exporting or rendering a finished edited-down file.

Source mp4 are scanned very old 16mm home movies, so frame accurate clip start/stop edit points are important. Therefore I cant Shift-LMB and swipe cursor to select, I must use either In-Out or Label markers. Both In/Out markers or Label markers work to select the source area to turn into a Clip with the (i) button. Im using the In-Out markers for this now. (I was Rendering those clips then, that was unnecessary).

(O)pening the source mp4 is fine, the resolution (2560 x 1920) is set to that source input. This sits in the Video 1 track.

Selecting the areas to be clipped is OK, I use the In/Out markers and (i) convert to Clip. These appear in Resources Clips.

Im less confident on joining these Clips and outputting to a resultant mp4. Yes, I can add Effect (like ReframeRT) to individual Clips, with enough space either side of the Clips.

My question is; as I must pull these Clips down onto a new Video 2 track, add effects and remove the spaces, what do I do with the source on the Video 1 track? Presently I am simply deleting that Track 1 and concentrating on the Clips on Track 2. Can I disable Track 1?

A 2nd question is; do I need to Render this new Track 2 video out, as its all the same (2560 x 1920) resolution? This is what Ive been doing. Im guessing Render out (at as high a quality (lossless) as possible) is unavoidable. I can downsize the result later as need be with ffmpeg, to, say, a (very lossy) 720 or whatever. My question is, can I export those joined effected Clips without Rendering? I guess not.

2

@adam4567

Can I disable Track 1?
In the main program window on the left hand side is the Patchbay. The second button from the left is the Arm track icon (which is the default that looks like a padlock). Click on this and the track name turns the color red. Now nothing will change on Track 1 while editing Track 2.

can I export those joined effected Clips without Rendering?
To save them, you should render them as you have already guessed. But you can render them as a good 720 if you choose the right render options. BUT you might want to not do this because you lose the 2560x1920 resolution quality.

Your methodology with the In/Out pointers is working well for you. An alternative would be:

  1. use the x shortcut on the first video track where you want the cuts to be (saving you from having to make clips) for the entire track

  2. then disarm track 1 and add a new video track

  3. switch from cut and paste mode to drag and drop mode - on the program window transport bar after the arrow keys on the left (mouse over the icons and a tooltip comes up so you can see it)

  4. now mouse drag your cuts to the new video track where you want them

NOTE: it takes some getting used to switching from cut&paste to drag&drop, but you can always go back.

3

Thank you. Cutting with the x and drag and drop may be simpler. I will try that approach.

Using my In-Out points create clip method, I have found it easier to add the source to Resources, view and set the In-Out point using the Viewer window.

I think I am making progress. Thank you again.

4

@adam4567

  1. Yes, you can delete track 1 or disable it with the buttons in the patchbay: Play Track; Arm; Dont send to Output. This way it wont affect playback and rendering.

  2. The project consists of an EDL (xml file). This can only be opened in CinGG; so to get a video to export to a player or something, you have to render it.
    Once you have brought sections of the timeline as clips into Resorces window, you can use the OpenEDL and Nested Clip features. See an example workflow in appendix D1 of the manual:
    https://cinelerra-gg.org/download/CinelerraGG_Manual/Workflow_with_OpenEDL_Neste.html

Nested clips are also convenient when using ReframeRT. After getting the slowmotion/timelapse, we have to render the clip (edit) with the effect and replace it in the timeline instead of the original edit. We can postpone rendering to the final stage of the workflow by simply turning the ReframeRT edit into a nested clip and replacing it with the original.

Note: Yes, I can add Effect (like ReframeRT) to individual Clips, with enough space either side of the Clips. Why do you keep the edits separated by enough space?

5
  1. Im getting used to the Patchbay. The CinGG Comprehensive User Manual in PDF is dated April 4 2020, and refers to 5 attributes in Figure 5.1, whereas its 6 attributes now. So I am using the html Manual at //cinelerra-gg.org/download/CinelerraGG_Manual/

Patchbay attribute Dont Send to Output confuses me. For my Muted track I want that enabled (not sent to output), which is surely a Green surround (pink line at bottom of frames) not the toggled Black surround (pink line at top of frames) which WOULD send to output. I think that is right. To mute a track, I click both Play Track (to the black surround) and Arm Track (to locked with black surround). Then I drag clips and compose them onto a new track.

  1. The EDL (xml file) seems to work very well. I have rendered my effected clips, deleted the source clip and re-imported the rendered clip. Nested Clips and the workflow described at Workflow with OpenEDL and Nested Clips is taking me time to digest. Will re-read and keep at it. I notice I sometimes need to Edit → Paste Silence into blank spots of my composing track, otherwise a ghost clip may appear there on playback or render, (I noticed that once with the ReframeRT clip re-appearing from an otherwise blank area of timeline).

My space around the clips, I thought was for adjusting, lengthening the clip after the ReframeRT effect. However I am rendering the effect and importing the resultant effected clip now.

Off-Topic: I notice with these 16mm home movies, the very first frame of each new scene is over-exposed, and this is clearly the camera mechanism getting up to speed when it was filmed. As some of the source can be under-exposed, these well-exposed single frames take on a new importance. Im trying now to drop them out from the MKV, but stretching or holding a single frame in CinGG (rendering a single frame to several seconds) would be great. Perhaps thats possible in CinGG, however I can do it externally with ffmpeg.

Thank you folks.

6

@adam4567

  1. The manual has frequent updates, so its worth downloading it at least once a month. The base is always the pdf (so for sure its the most updated) but its difficult for the html version to be left behind.
    Dont send to Output is really the Mute that applies to the entire track (I would change the name!). With the mute curve you can act on regions of the track. Using Play Track and Arm makes it unnecessary to use mute button, but by now Im used to unchecking this button too…
  2. Sometimes clips move into unwanted areas for me too. More often it happens to me with the effects bars. But I think they are always caused by my mistakes.

OT: Im not sure I understand correctly. From within CinGG there is the Freeze Frame plugin to stretch a single frame into a desired interval. Or you can get a snapshot of the frame and then insert it in the timeline and stretch the duration as long as you want. Or you can render a single frame (setting the desired parameters and thus obtaining a higher quality of the snapshot, which is a png) and then import it into the timeline.

7

The CinGG Comprehensive User Manual in PDF is dated April 4 2020,
Download the latest (May 31, 2021) PDF version of the manual at:

8

How to Load a file, into the media bin, without using the O for opening a new project?

The situation is, I have opened a project using O and those video files are available to drag and drop.

My problem is, I wish to add a different audio file later, but how to Load that to Drag and Drop.

I apologize if this is a simple question, I just have not found any such Load command in the manual.

9

@adam4567

And I hope this is not just a simple answer.

Use the File pulldown in the main window and then the option Load files… choose the file you want to load.

The important part now is on the bottom of that menu is Load Strategy which you should change to the last icon which is Create new resources only. Click + and then that file will be in the Media bin.

10

o is used to load an existing project or additional mediafiles. For a new project n is used instead.
When you have already loaded a project you can add other mediafiles with o choosing as option Create new resources only; in this way the mediafile will be added to the Media bin in the Resources window, where are the other mediafiles of the project, and we can drag them to the timeline as we like (or open them in the Viewer window where we can choose the segment to insert in the timeline). See the following videos:

and also:

and more:

11

Thank You. I am making progress.

Arming the track, before dragging a clip there, was interesting.

Ill keep at it. Thank you again.

12

The AppImage works great. Had a system failure, re-installed, and latest Cinelerra installs well.

My editing is coming along. I just completed my first 444 experimental film. A learning experience.

Many questions, so should I tack them on this thread here, or ask only a couple at a time under Beginner, Novice or Editing forums?

Thank you folks, good luck to all.

13

Hi @adam4567,
I think it doesnt matter if the questions are for Beginner or Advanced(?).
I think that it is more important the posts title, so other users can see and find it at first glance.
Moderators @andreapaz and @phylsmith2004 can say more.

In all cases if you need answers (suggestions), it is better you write everywhere. :wink:

14

@adam4567

Dont bring any problems in asking questions, we are here to discuss and help each other!
Then if you produce any non-private videos, you can put a link in the Look at Me section so we can see and discuss them.