Solitaite Insert Editing

[bvolcjak]

Is is possible to go back into overlapping insert edited material and make changes? I took a talking head and essentially insert edited appropriate video. Once finished, I decided to go back and make some changes but noticed that my Solitaire would not let me insert or add between the overlapping inserts.

[chetdavis]

Bill,

Yes - you can go back into a previously added Insert edit (applied to the Storyboard usig the 'Insert' button) by selecting that inserted scene in your SB and clicking on the Range buton. Now you can modify it's position (make sure the mode says 'Position') or you can trim the length of the Inserted scene while
- monitoring/viewing the base scene with 'Trim' selected as the mode
or
- monitoring/viewing the inserted scene with 'Trim E' selected as the mode (E = Eisert in German language = Insert English)

It you have two inserts butted up against each other you would have to make a scene of that section of your SB to add additional scnenes, etc.

Hope that helps!

Regards,
Chet
(from my LIberty Plus in Chicago Midway Airport)

[JPaul]

Bill, I'm not sure what you mean by overlapping inserts unless you are talking about inserts with transitions.

Inserts without transitions can be ranged (positioned/trimmed) like Chet mentioned. You can also replace them with a different scene as long as it fits the space - the software will not allow for one insert to "overlap" with another insert. If you replace an insert (using replace) then the newly inserted scene will start exactly where the previous insert started. Of course, you may want to simply remove the insert.

Inserts that abut each other may have transitions, but this will cause the 2nd of the pair to "move" left as the transition shortens the length of both inserts. A two second transition will cause two additional seconds of space after the 2nd transition. If you have to go back and make changes, it is much more complicated but can be done. Removing/replacing/ranging either insert associated with a transition will cause the transition to be removed and the original inserts will not revert to their original length.

[bvolcjak]

Chet / Paul,

Not sure I understand. Are you saying that one can go back and insert edit in between overlapping insert edited material or not? I essentially have a talking head at the begining of a 4 min. presentation with a long series of insert edited video "clips" until the very end which has a talking head giving a 30 second ending.

My intention was to go back into the main body and tweak things up by insert editing some more appropriate video. Paul, what I'm trying to describe is that all the edits in between the talking head at the begining and end are over lapping insert edits. I guess you could call them a continuation of insert edits. Its possible that I chose the incorrect path to "make" the presentation. The process went well as I continued to insert the video over top of the talking head. But when all was said and done and I wanted to make some last minute enhancements, I met a road block. I know, I probably can't see "the forest thru the trees either......." I do appreciate your kind feed back though.

[TimKennelly]

I am still not truly clear on what you have done and what you want to do, but you can always Remove an insert, Replace an insert, change the Transition type.

Directly changing the Transition duration or Insert duration of a Insert in the middle of a sequence of Inserts will not work.

Work arounds would be to make a Scene of the Storyboard and then Insert/Range from there or Add the Scenes involved and the new Inserts at the End of the Storyboard and make a total Scene of that section to Replace several Inserts (total durations would have to be the same).

[JPaul]

OK, if I understand correctly you have the main video showing only at the start and end of the entire segment. You have inserted clips that are adjacent - no spaces allowing for the main video (talking head) to show. Now you want to go back and change some of your inserts. That should not be a problem. But if you don't want your main video to show except start & finish, then you will have to make sure all your inserts abut - no spaces. That means if you remove a 10 s clip, you must put in a total of 10 s. Otherwise, your talking head will show up. You cannot put more than 10s without removing another clip or sliding all of the other clips that follow over using range. But you have to do that one at a time and start with the last insert - very tedious. If you mostly want to replace what you've done with new inserts, you should just start over.

To help you further it would be helpful if we knew what type of inserts you have, i.e. stills, motion video - and if they are at all connected with transitions or not. There exist some other solutions that no one has yet mentioned, but better we know more about what you want to accomplish.

[jimmeeker]

Hey guys,

We are making this way too complicated. Just make a scene of the entire story board.....then your editing and your audio are locked in place and then you can go back and drop in any amount of inserted images that you want, without all this tedious moving of all the inserts. You could make your changes in a couple of minutes easy.

I think where all the confusion comes from is using the term "overlapping inserts." Yes the insert covers up the base scene but the word overlapping shouldn't be used here as it means something entirely different to us. Inserts can not overlap unless you create a scene which takes the two streams of video.....combines them and creates a single stream of video of them. This new single stream of video can then be used to insert new video information over it.
A much much simpler and faster process.

[bvolcjak]

Jim,

I've never made a scene of the entire story board but it sounds like a good fix. Could you please explain how that is done? Oh gosh, I apologize for being so needy.....The overall length of of my program is just a little under three and one half minutes long.

Incidentally JPaul, the inserts are just motion video without transitions. Once again, I can't tell you all how comforting it is to have your feedback. This forum is just fantastic. Hopefully, some day, I'll possess enough savy to assist someone else.

[JPaul]

Bill, you can do as Jim mentioned, create a scene of the entire storyboard. You can do this from an effects screen such as title or transitions. Select "Scene" and range it from start to finish using "In" and "Out". After you finish, click OK and your scene will be in the scene bin.

This allows you to proceed from wherever you were - only drawback is that your new starting point includes the previously entered inserts. So, if your intention was to show some more of the main scene, you would be better off just removing all the inserts and starting fresh.

As you build your inserted scene, take care to check frequently as you proceed to avoid having to undo it. Having said that, when your creative juices call for a radical alteration, you have to go with that as well.

[bvolcjak]

OK Paul,

I'll give this some thought and act on it a little later. My problem is that I work in a busy environment and have difficulty blocking out time to experiment. Consequently, I'll "dive" into my Solitaire, gain some insight then lose it due to interruptions. Sort of like 10 steps forward then 9 back. Although I've had my Solitaire for a while, I've never had formal training. Even worse is the fact that I'm a "hands on" type person and not a reader. I have looked at the literature but ultimately just sort of dive into the system. I really appreciate all the feedback. I'll keep you posted and thanks again.