Windows Movie Maker Sucks

[thelibraniniquity]

Yeah, ok, I know I've been screaming saying this ever since I downloaded the second version, but it's true. And because it's true, it's worth repeating enough times that somebody else might never be sucked into the hellish hole of error messages, anal programming, random freezes bypass it completely and use a different program.

I'm trying to make a House/Wilson vid at the moment. I can't use Pinnacle for this, unfortunately, because of a whole other issue involving different apsect ratios on the R2 releases, and frame rates with the other DVD rips I downloaded and the like. So I'm back with WMM.

At the moment, I have:
-- 46 episodes in the library
-- A 3 minute song on the timeline
-- TWO CLIPS on the timeline

...and still playback didn't work for ages.

Updates
14:43: WMM has just crashed completely, taking the vid-in-progress. Reopened the program; it's opening a "recovered file" right now. 
14:54: The whole thing's been recovered *phew*

15:19: ARRRRRRRRGH!!! It's there. The saved file is there. Only the sodding PROGRAM won't stay open for more than a few seconds without an error message popping up, promptly closing the whole thing down again.

Just for good measure: ARRRRRRRRGH!!!

Comments

[housepiglet.livejournal.com]

Hello :) I came via T_Eyla's LJ to see your Wilsie Hug icon (I like it :) and noticed your vidding post. I share your pain! Vidding can be so incredibly frustrating!

Have you tried Ulead VideoStudio 10 at all? I'm using the free trial, and it seems to work well.

Well, bfn :)

[thelibraniniquity]

Hi there :)

Oh believe me, I'm not using WMM out of choice. I actually have Pinnacle Studio 9 point-something-or-other on here, and I love it to bits. The only problem with making House vids in it is that the Region 2 season boxset releases come in two different aspect ratios (fullscreen for season 1, and widescreen for season 2), which makes for distorted vids, which makes for shite vids ;), and I haven't been able to figure out how to rip the widescreen episodes to fullscreen yet. Pinnacle also doesn't like the frame rate of the TV/downloaded DVD rips I have, so... yeah. I have no other option but to use WMM if I'm going to give in to the H/W vidbunnies breeding in my head (and there are quite a few of them!) ;)

The only issue I have with WMM (aside from the error messages, and the repeated crashing, not just of the program but also my laptop ;) is that I've now spent four days on this particular vid, and all I have to show for it is 38 seconds of footage. 38 good seconds, if you believe my friends, but still nowhere near the finished article.

I'll get there though ;)

(btw, love the bathroom icon!)

[housepiglet.livejournal.com]

That aspect ratio discrepancy sounds extremely annoying. I've not run into that problem yet, possibly because I've only made a few and I'm not sure I've used any S1 stuff yet. Drat... sounds like problems to come.

It's very annoying to have spent so long producing 38 seconds' worth of good vid, but I bet it's great stuff :) I hope you're going to post it when it's finished?

Thanks re: the bathroom icon. Makes me laugh :)

[thelibraniniquity]

Until I can figure out how to rip my S2 DVDs to fullscreen aspect, I think I'm stuck using WMM. Which isn't actually that bad a prospect, since over the last few days I've figured out ways around the constant crashes and error messages, and T'eyla very helpfully pointed out a couple of things about the program I didn't know existed!
I don't know what Ulead's stance on different frame rates is (Pinnacle won't play anything that isn't 25fps (is anything not R2 DVD rips) for example), though I can always e-mail you some kind of tutorial once I have got things sussed out for myself :)

I hope you're going to post it when it's finished?
Absolutely. After everything I've gone through (so far), I'm planning on sharing this thing with as many people as I can!!

(And as of this evening, I'm up to 58 seconds, with a edited version of the rest of the song to work with ;)

[housepiglet.livejournal.com]

I don't know what Ulead's stance on different frame rates is (Pinnacle won't play anything that isn't 25fps (is anything not R2 DVD rips) for example),

I'm still very new to this and so I'm not absolutely sure, but it will make .wmv files at 30fps - and play them - so presumably it's okay with that. Hang on - I'll check the Help file. Hmmm... I've checked and there are several references, but nothing that suggests that there's any sort of issue. It might just be worth d/loading the trial version for a quick play. I've got 3 vids out of it so far, and still have a fortnight left :) It's here (http://www.ulead.com/vs/runme.htm), if you'd like to take a look. (I had to register with an email addy in order to d/load, but that was all.)

(And as of this evening, I'm up to 58 seconds, with a edited version of the rest of the song to work with ;)

Excellent news!

When you say 'edited verison of the rest of the song', do you mean you edited it yourself? I'm curious because the tune I used for my last vid was 3 minutes long, and it might as well have been 3 hours for all the hope I had of filling it up. I used to record guitar to PC and used a free programme called Cool Edit - I'm not sure that it's still available - and I was able to whip a whole minute out of the middle. I was very happy with how it came out - I can't hear the join. (I reckon I was lucky, but still.) Is that what you've done too?

[thelibraniniquity]

I'm sticking with Pinnacle :). It's only because the House DVDs come in different aspect ratios that I'm even using WMM (again) to begin with. WMM has the decency to play the 23fps that all my downloaded eps come as, but that's about the only good thing about the program ;)

The song I'm making the House/Wilson vid to at the moment has snippets of spoken dialogue mid-way through and at the end of the song, and I cut them out on WMM's audio timeline because I couldn't be bothered to find 'talking head' scenes to go with them. It's just singing and the occasional musical interlude for the two minutes I have remaining ;)
For more... detailed audio stuff, I have a freeware program called "Audacity" that lets you alter volumes and basslines, and splice and cut, and a whole slew of other things that I haven't tried because I've only really used the program once. But it's a good one :)

3 minutes long, and it might as well have been 3 hours for all the hope I had of filling it up
The first music vid I ever made was for a friend's birthday a couple of years ago, and came out utterly shite at nearly 7 minutes long. Never gone near that length since, though ;)

[housepiglet.livejournal.com]

Hmmm! I'll go and look up this Pinnacle :)

Ahaa - ISWYM about the song. 'Audacity' sounds useful.

came out utterly shite LOL! :)

at nearly 7 minutes long

OMG.... *has to go and lie down at that idea*