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30/07/2014 17:30:49

JudyJohnson
JudyJohnson
Posts: 44 		It's me again with another rendering issue. So, I have to use 1280x720. Most of the clips I'm needing to record are about 1.5 minutes long. If I render in .avi format, it is my understanding that I'll only be able to do 20 second clips at a time. However, when I tried to do this, I got one video to render out (it was 20 seconds) but now I tried to do more, and it gets about halfway through the render and just quits. I go to view the file in the folder I saved it, and it's 0 bytes as if nothing is there. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm trying veryyyy hard to not be frustrated. Can someone please offer insight?
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30/07/2014 18:41:21

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Ah, codecs, dontcha just hate them? Okay, so at 1280x720 uncompressed AVI output you have a maximum clip time of 1 minute (actually around 58 and a bit seconds, but let's not get all pedantic about it ). If you use anyting else other than uncompressed, then you will be able to create longer clips, but then you're relying on the decoder to create the movie file - this can cause problems in other ways (there's a million posts on this forum regards codecs and the various ways they don't work).


I would recommend you make your output TGA image sequence, rather than a movie *. This is what myself and quite a few others do - there's no codecs, no file size or time limits (other than the usual 20 minute limit within Muvizu itself), and the output is exactly the same quality as uncompressed. And it always works




* One caveat about TGA sequences - they do need a folder for each shot, to store all the hundreds/thousands of image files. And you need a video editor to put the sequence back into a video... but it's worth it.
edited by ziggy72 on 30/07/2014
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30/07/2014 20:45:40

JudyJohnson
JudyJohnson
Posts: 44 		ziggy72 wrote:
Ah, codecs, dontcha just hate them? Okay, so at 1280x720 uncompressed AVI output you have a maximum clip time of 1 minute (actually around 58 and a bit seconds, but let's not get all pedantic about it ). If you use anyting else other than uncompressed, then you will be able to create longer clips, but then you're relying on the decoder to create the movie file - this can cause problems in other ways (there's a million posts on this forum regards codecs and the various ways they don't work).


I would recommend you make your output TGA image sequence, rather than a movie *. This is what myself and quite a few others do - there's no codecs, no file size or time limits (other than the usual 20 minute limit within Muvizu itself), and the output is exactly the same quality as uncompressed. And it always works




* One caveat about TGA sequences - they do need a folder for each shot, to store all the hundreds/thousands of image files. And you need a video editor to put the sequence back into a video... but it's worth it.
edited by ziggy72 on 30/07/2014



OK, ziggy. I'm most likely going to take your advice about the TGA; however, I have a few questions. Can you explain exactly what I need to create folder wise, etc. in order for this to work. (Basically if I'm in the "Make Movie" window in Muvizu, after I change to TGA, what do I need to do.) Also, is the render time longer for TGA?
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30/07/2014 22:32:26

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		When outputting a movie using TGA sequence, you first Create a folder, (let's say it's called Closeup01 for example), and then name the movie as usual. When you hit Save, the TGA sequence will be created in that folder - when you want to create another movie, it causes nothing but problems to put the next TGA sequence in the same folder, so create another new one (Closeup02, for example) and use that instead. Trust me, each sequence needs it's own folder or you'll end up with TGAs everywhere.


It takes same amount of time to render TGAs as it does uncompressed AVIs. Also, it creates the audio as a separate WAV file for the sequence (and saves it in the folder along with the TGAs). Hope this helps
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31/07/2014 05:57:47

oziabla
oziabla
Posts: 59 		I'll echo what Ziggy said about using TGA's - they are far superior to any video file format. Also the advice about exporting to a unique folder each time is spot on.

Just make sure your video software can import TGA file-sets. Obviously the pro software like Premiere and Final Cut Pro can do this, and so can a lot of other (payment required) editors like Corel Videostudio.

However quite a few don't such as Windows Movie Maker, Pinnacle and Cyberlink Power Director. (Apple's iMovie can though).

If you want a good quality, free video editor that can read TGA, get Lightworks. They have a pro version, but the free version will suit most people here.
http://www.lwks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=98&Itemid=209

Another good tip - don't do any camera cuts inside Muvizu. Export each camera as a separate TGA file set, and then do your cuts within your video editor. You'll have far more control, you can use dissolves and other transitions, plus you can change your mind much more easily.
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31/07/2014 13:23:28

JudyJohnson
JudyJohnson
Posts: 44 		OK, doesn't sound too bad! I do have After Effects, which is what I plan on using. Thanks for the advice about the camera cuts as well! Ziggy, you've been extremely helpful. Thank you so much! I'll be sure to show everyone the end product! (There are about 14 videos in the series...But they should all be done by the end of August. Although not nearly as impressive as your all's, I'm excited to finish them!)
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31/07/2014 20:34:49

JudyJohnson
JudyJohnson
Posts: 44 		I've got the hang of TGA rendering, but now there is an issue. When taken into AE as a targa sequence, the lip syching does not work for the whole video. The character just gets stuck in one or two facial expressions and stays there rather than syching as they did in the Muvizu set. Any suggestions?
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31/07/2014 21:14:25

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Not sure what you mean - does the whole image freeze, or is it just the character that stops?
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01/08/2014 03:00:39

oziabla
oziabla
Posts: 59 		If you are on a Mac, try importing the TGA set into iMovie. If on Windows, try a compatible program if you have one.

If the same problem occurs, then there is an export issue in Muvizu. (Although I have never had a problem).

If the fileset works fine elsewhere, there is some configuration or interpretation problem in After Effects.

I haven't yet tried taking a TGA fileset into AE (I've been using Premiere), but there may be some trick to it - there certainly is for Premiere.

I'll try an import into AE and see what happens, and if I learn any useful tricks I'll let you know (won't get to this for at least 8 hours sorry).
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04/08/2014 13:55:02

JudyJohnson
JudyJohnson
Posts: 44 		Ziggy- The whole image does not freeze. The character's hand motions, movements, etc still work; it is just that the lip syncing doesn't work. She begins to talk at the very beginning, but after about a second her mouth just quits moving.

Oziabla- I will try a different program and see what happens.


I re-rendered out of Muvizu and redid the process, it seems to be working fine now. The only issue is that the character is moving/speaking a little too fast, so the audio that I lip synced her to is not matching up. The video duration (rendered from Media Encoder in h264 format) is about 20 seconds and the audio is 24ish (which is what I had everything set to in the Muvizu timeline.) I'm thinking maybe the frame rate setting is wrong in Media Encoder? When I render in Muvizu, what is that frame rate?
edited by JudyJohnson on 04/08/2014
Alas, it's not fixed. I think there is a glitch...It is working fine when I render the video from Camera 2. But When I render from the view of Camera 1, the final video product is back to her mouth freezing and not moving.
edited by JudyJohnson on 04/08/2014
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04/08/2014 18:40:02

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		That is a strange problem - if they lip sync in one camera they should do it for all. The frame rate for Muvizu is always 25 fps (unless you change it in your codec settings, but since you're using TGA sequences that isn't relevant). Also, have you tried deleting camera 1 and recreating it? It would be interesting to see if that makes any difference. A lot of problems with Muvizu can be resolved by deleting the thing that's giving you trouble and redoing it. In this case its probably the audio track, which you would then re-import and put back to the same start point, or perhaps its the talk/shush points, or maybe the actions...? Tricky to know. Good luck
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04/08/2014 18:54:55

JudyJohnson
JudyJohnson
Posts: 44 		It is strange indeed. What I ended up doing (before I saw your reply) was deleting and recreating and redirecting camera cuts. After that I think it worked fine... (I say I think because I tried various things and I'm not for sure if that was what worked or not! :P) But regardless, I believe it's all sorted out now! I will post the working video soon so you all can see it!

Thanks for all your help!
edited by JudyJohnson on 04/08/2014
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06/08/2014 00:01:04

oziabla
oziabla
Posts: 59 		Check what version of DirectX you are running. (Go to File >> Options and check the "Rendering" option). If the rendering menu gives you the option for a higher version, select that and restart Muvizu.

It might help, might not. But I've run into problems where a lower version of DirectX was in effect, and it caused me all sorts of rendering problems.
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07/08/2014 16:11:04

JudyJohnson
JudyJohnson
Posts: 44 		Thanks for your help Oziabla.

One more issue has come up... I think I had this issue on the video I got completed, but cannot remember how I resolved it.
For the TGA files, I'm using Media Encoder to turn them into an .mp4 file. Once I do that though, the video is shorter than the audio file that was exported from Muvizu with the TGA render. It's as if everything is sped up! How do I fix that?
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07/08/2014 21:57:05

oziabla
oziabla
Posts: 59 		Check the Frame rate you are using in Media Encoder.

Muvizu is 25 frames per second (FPS). If you have a higher frame rate in Media Encoder (eg 30 FPS) then it will speed things up.
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08/08/2014 13:29:47

JudyJohnson
JudyJohnson
Posts: 44 		Hmmm... I tried that. I will try it again, though.
Nope, didn't fix it Oziabla.
edited by JudyJohnson on 08/08/2014
I think I figured out a way to get around it - increase the duration of the video clip within Premiere Pro to the same length as the audio clip. This still doesn't answer the question of why they aren't the same in the first place, but oh well... It works, I suppose.
edited by JudyJohnson on 08/08/2014
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