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Solved video clips are black

video clips are black was created by amyraph

Posted 10 Aug 2016 14:31 #1
Hi Derek. I have emailed you recently. I am putting together a movie tribute for my sister's 50th birthday. I have over 50 people that have sent me video clips of them wishing her a happy birthday - it's so great! I am putting it all together and sometimes ALL the video clips show up, and some times they don't!!! Audio is there, but video is black. I'm not sure if it is an important thing in the rendering process, but it would be nice to be able to see it in preview window so I can put some effects on perhaps. Not sure why it only happens sometimes :( Amy :?
by amyraph

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Replied by DoctorZen on topic video clips are black

Posted 10 Aug 2016 18:31 #2
Hi Amy

I am guessing most of these videos were recorded with Phones.
Video from mobile phones is notorious for causing problems, because each manufacturer often uses its own weird codecs/formats.
Non-standard video codecs will often not work properly at all inside of Video Editing programs.

The No.1 solution to this problem, is to convert these videos into a Sony friendly format, using a Video Conversion program.
Converting to H.264 .mp4 is normally the best choice for the average user.
There seems to be literally 100's of different video conversion programs available on the Internet.
You may already have one installed on your computer.

The free program I use the most is Any Video Converter "free edition".
www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/

If you download this, go very slowly when using the installer.
It sometimes tries to install an extra free program, which you do not need.
Free programs always try to do this, because they are trying to make some money.
Just un-tick the box if it appears and only the Video Converter will be installed.

I need to make a new tutorial on this topic, because my existing tutorial is now out of date.

Convert your videos and then import into your Movie Studio project.

Regards
Derek.
ℹ️ Remember to turn everything off at least once a week, including your brain, then sit somewhere quiet and just chill out.
Unplugging is the best way to find solutions to your problems. If you would like to share some love, post a customer testimonial or make a donation.
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Replied by vkmast on topic video clips are black

Posted 10 Aug 2016 19:18 #3
In addition, you might read the Sony/SCS explanation of why it may happen: AVI, mp4, or MOV file is missing the video and/or audio stream .
by vkmast
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Replied by amyraph on topic video clips are black

Posted 11 Aug 2016 13:35 #4
Hi Derek = thank you so much for getting back to me. I will try those things and let you know how it goes!
by amyraph
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Replied by amyraph on topic video clips are black

Posted 12 Aug 2016 01:31 #5
So the worst that could happen, happened. I've lost my entire movie :angry: Yesterday, I downloaded the video converter software that you recommended and didn't see any change, in fact the movie kept skipping more audio and video in random places that it didn't before. So I decided to uninstall it, and just cut out the clips that were black and put them back in - as that has worked for me in the past. I went to save the movie last night and it wouldn't save. It said there is an error, cannot save this file. So I decided to trust this computer program and shut off my computer, knowing that my movie would "mostly" be saved except for the bit of work I did on it yesterday. Today, my movie does not exist. It's 30 minutes long with many hours already put in to it. Please offer any suggestions to find it again, or I have to start from square one. :(
by amyraph

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Replied by amyraph on topic Lost movie

Posted 12 Aug 2016 04:03 #6
I started to make my movie again and went to save it. This is what happened last night, and I can't get it back. What is happening?? :?

Last Edit:12 Aug 2016 08:19 by amyraph
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Replied by DoctorZen on topic Lost movie

Posted 12 Aug 2016 08:41 #7
When working on large projects you should always be saving progressive versions of the project, so that if something goes wrong, you can re-open a slightly older version that does work. I often have 10 to 20 different versions saved of each big project.

Example: myproject_101.vf, myproject_102.vf, myproject_103.vf, ...

I spoke about this earlier on this year here:
Sony Vegas Zen Tips #8: Saving Different Versions of Your Projects

The fact that you made BIG file changes to the project but did not save different file versions (by the sounds of it), has probably caused the problem.
Any Video Converter would have had nothing to do with this problem.

I would also guess that you probably had little knowledge on how to use Any Video Converter correctly and probably did not convert the videos to the correct Frame Rate. This would mean that it did not improve your problem and most likely made it worse. Like all software, it takes time to learn how to use things properly. Please note that I am not having a go at you - just trying to give an explanation.

Your original project file would not have just disappeared of your computer.
If you have been saving to the correct location on your computer, it should be living in Documents/Movie Studio Platinum 12 Projects/YourProject/yourproject.vf
Many times I see people not checking the output folder location before the use Save As and end up saving the file in the wrong location on your computer - normally an older project file location. You can use Windows Search function to look for missing files.

If you can't save any projects now, I suggest you do a full reset of the program.
This will clean the cache and restore all settings to default values.
It will NOT delete any of your saved projects!
Instructions here: www.moviestudiozen.com/doctor-zen-faq/573-how-to-reset-sony-software-to-default-settings

Everyone has lost projects at some point in time and I mean everyone !
It has happened to myself.
You need to treat it as a learning experience.

Start fresh and save progressive versions from now on.

I will be making an updated tutorial about how to convert video very soon.
ℹ️ Remember to turn everything off at least once a week, including your brain, then sit somewhere quiet and just chill out.
Unplugging is the best way to find solutions to your problems. If you would like to share some love, post a customer testimonial or make a donation.
The following user(s) said Thank You: amyraph

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Replied by amyraph on topic video clips are black

Posted 12 Aug 2016 12:41 #8
Thank you so much. I just now watched your tutorial on this problem, and I am your classic screw up on this! I did find my file, and I will now go back and save in bits every time I do work on it! Thank you!!!
Amy
by amyraph
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Replied by huskereurocat on topic video clips are black

Posted 14 Aug 2016 10:53 #9
I have had close to the same problem as you are amyraph. Out of a 20 minute video I might get 2-3 video clips that have the same issue as you are having. A black video screen after rendering, but the sound is still there. The only difference is that all the clips are from the same source. At first I thought that it was happening just because I was trying to utilize my very weak graphics engine to render with, which may be an issue unto itself, but I just tried to render a video with just my CPU and I had one of the clips do that same thing to me. It may be that I have made too many adjustments in my preferences with the bitrate and such when doing my rendering, but I'm not sure. It may be that I just have a weak system and it is having an issue assimilating that much data. Not looking to hijack a thread here but merely to increase the depth of knowledge. Maybe my issue is related to yours or may be not.
Derek, I may try resetting MSP13 the way that your tutorial states because it would seem that my quality is not as good as before when I was rendering in vanilla or default mode. Maybe with the system that I have it is the best that I am going to get and I should stop playing around with the settings.
What are your thoughts?!!
Ryzen 5 3600x / x570 motherboard / 32GB G Skill Ripjaws RAM / RX 6700XT 12GB / Crucial P1 M.2 1TB OS drive/Samsung 960 EVO M.2 250GB with multiple SSD's and HDD's

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Replied by DoctorZen on topic video clips are black

Posted 14 Aug 2016 13:35 #10

huskereurocat wrote: Derek, I may try resetting MSP13 the way that your tutorial states because it would seem that my quality is not as good as before when I was rendering in vanilla or default mode. Maybe with the system that I have it is the best that I am going to get and I should stop playing around with the settings. What are your thoughts?!!


Personally I am notorious for mucking around with the controls for everything I touch and then completely causing a cluster f#$% :!:
I've spent days and weeks frigging around until I exhaust my own sanity.
In the end I always go back to simplicity and the basics.

If you have good quality original source videos, that counts for everything.
If you have a dogs breakfast of multiple formats, shot from multiple devices, this is when it gets tricky.
The more filters and settings you change/apply with this type of project, the more likely you are to generate problems.

In my experience, using Graphics Cards to render certain types of video, is what often causes bad renders.
This is why CPU rendering only is normally the safest and best option, even if it is slower.
ℹ️ Remember to turn everything off at least once a week, including your brain, then sit somewhere quiet and just chill out.
Unplugging is the best way to find solutions to your problems. If you would like to share some love, post a customer testimonial or make a donation.
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