Trouble with WMM and looking for software recommendations.

[dahliablue.livejournal.com]

I've made two and a half vids with WMM and my patience is shot. I have so many problems with crashing and lagging that it's impossible for me to vid properly to a beat. It's like vidding blind. I was initially using Xvid encoded files of tv shows which I learned caused problems. So I saved each episode as a high quality WMV and reimported those. I also added more hard drive space and RAM to my puter. I began a new project today with the faster puter and new WMV files and I'm having the same exact issues as I did before.

So, short story long, I'm looking for new vidding software. Can Ulead handle Xvid codecs or will I have to import them as different files? Will the high quality WMV I saved work in Ulead? Or there other programs I should look into?

Right now, I'm mostly interested in vidding for tv shows that happen to use codecs. If anyone has any suggestions for programs that are kinder to that source material than WMM, I am all ears and eyes. I have way too many ideas for vidding to give up and I see so many of you do it successfully, so I must keep hope alive. Right? Help give me some hope...
Thanks so much in advance.

VirtualDubMod playback is wonky

[kaizoku.livejournal.com]

So, I've been using VirtualDubMod and Avisynth (from the AMVapp package) to make clips of downloaded avi files - which is perhaps redundant, but I've read that the filters from Avisynth are better than the editing program's filters. The problem I'm having is that the playback in VDM looks really bad. If I play the avs file in VDM and then stop it, both the playback and the frame I paused on look like they have a lot of macroblocking and noise. But if I then jog forward or backward a frame or reload (F5) the avisynth script, all the noise disappears. The quality in the original avi's and even in the finished (converted to avi) clips seems to be fine, or at least much better than in VDM.

The frustrating thing about this is that I can't really tell whether the smoothing and sharpening filters I'm using are helping, because the playback quality is so bad in VDM. Is there any way I can get around this? Do I just give up and import the original files directly into my editing program (Pinnacle)? (Also, am I right in thinking that avi files are going to be progressive not interlaced? I'm a bit confused about that.)

Mutant X vid: Mr Brightside

[issuegirls.livejournal.com]

Song: Mr Brightside by The Killers
Vidder: Catlin
Website: Enamoured
Fandom: Mutant X
Pairing: Brennan/Emma, Emma/Tyler
Summary: Brennan's jealousy gets the better of him.
Vid format and size: .rm, 9.1mb

Vid can be found here at the bottom of the page. Right click, save as.

Feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Broken Wings - Cordy/Angel

[zeronephilim.livejournal.com]

( Plugging this vid some more... )

LOST/Sawyer Music Video

[pendora-lass.livejournal.com]

Fandom: LOST
Song/Vid Title: Bad To The Bone
Vidder: pendora_lass
Artist: George Therogood
Summary Sawyer is bad to the very bone, and what he wants, he gets.

(Download and details here)

(no subject)

[fayzalmoonbeam.livejournal.com]

Song: Lifehouse, "Everything"
Fandom: The Watcher (Keanu Reeves andJames Spader, 2000)
Size: 23.3MB
Link: Everything

Summary: The second of my videos based on this film, this one really IS a love story. I couldn't resist the idea that Griffin and Campbell really do exist for no other purpose but to have a twisted love affair, which of course has dire consequences for Griffen's victims. Pure fluff (if it's possible to have such a thing in this film!). Look out for James Spader's half smile when he puts away his mobile phone about halfway through...and tell me he didn't do it just to get the slashers talking! This one also has dialogue from the film in it - which made the sound editing a bit interesting to do. Would love to know what you think :)

(no subject)

[saeva.livejournal.com]

What I've Waited For
Fandom: Numb3rs
Song/Artist: Gorecki by Lamb
Summary: "Don and Charlie Eppes's relationship is complicated by many things -- by work, by friendships, by themselves -- but somehow they always managed to find their way back to each other."
Or, as a non-Numb3rs watching friend described it, "OMG, that it totally a promo for the show." This was intended as a very familial vid but, having watched it and all, you might as well bring your own slash as you will.

Format: WMV
Length: 2m36s
Size: 18MB
Download: Right-click, save as.

Any and all feedback, including constructive criticism, would be very much appreciated.
- Andrea.

Adobe and Pinnacle and Ulead oh my!

[keerawa.livejournal.com]

Hello vidding folks!

I'm working on my first vid, and Windows Movie Maker is already not getting it done for me. I want to spend no more than $100 on a quality piece of video editing software. My goal is to make vids from DVDs that I'm turning into AVI clips thanks to A&E's Technical Guide.

From the research I've done, it sounds like Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 is the most powerful but has a steep learning curve. Photoshop's interface always kind of freaked me out, but if Adobe is THAT much better, I can learn.

Ulead Video Studio 9 is simple to use, but might not have all I need under the hood. And Pinnacle Studio Plus would be a great compromise between the two if it actually worked. Maybe 10.5 is better than 10? Are there any promising software options I'm missing?

Any advice from the vidders here? Accolades? Horror stories?

The effects I know that I want are minor speed ups or downs, the ability to get 3 partial clips or stills on a split screen, non-cheesy color changes, and (if possible) some simple way to run clips backwards. Oh, and if it can display the beats of the music visually, that sounds great.