Please help: can't make a movie

T6IP wrote on 9/11/2003, 1:36 PM
I'm very new at this... and very excited about the potential of what I could do with the program, but... I've looked back over the last 1000 forum subjects looking for help. Some of you out there obviously know A LOT more than me about computers and this program..... maybe you can help me....

I just purchased Sony's MovieStudio off the internet ($69) (program opens as VideoFactory Deluxe 2.0). I put together a 17-minute movie and was very pleasantly suprised how easy it was to do. Then I tried to "Make Movie".... then I had to "render" (learned about that reading a lot of previous forum posts.) But I can't seem to make a movie.

I'm not even sure what info you need to know to help me. All I'm trying to do right now is make a movie, save it onto a CD to send to my parents so they can see a 15-20 minute video of their grandkids by viewing on their computer. (I tried Windows Media viewer but it's all pixels and music isn't right either)

I've got a Dell Dimension 4300 (is that my problem?) with 40 Gig hard drive. Brand new Sony 350 digital video camcorder. And at the moment, just using a USB cable to transfer.

I'm VERY happy with the movie as it plays on my computer.... just can't share it with anyone. I'd greatly appreciate any help. Thanks.

Comments

Steve Grisetti wrote on 9/11/2003, 2:13 PM
One of the shortcomings of the version of MovieStudio/VideoFactory that you're using (but added in version 3.0) is that it doesn't include the ability to encode MPEGs. You can buy the plug-in for an additional $29, however, if you're so inclined. Or, if you have XP, you can download Windows MovieMaker for free. Produce your final movie as an AVI from MovieStudio, then drop that AVI into MovieMaker and output an MPEG.

The biggest challenge: a 20 minute AVI will run about 10 gig which, when added to the size of the AVIs already on your computer, your OS, your programs and some free space that may be needed for a "scratch disk," it just may be a bit much for your little 40 gig drive. Adding a second drive dedicated to video is fairly easy and, ultimately, will solve lots of problems.

All that said, a Windows Media file may still be your best bet if all you're trying to do is produce a CD to share. Try MAKE MOVIE, then SAVE MOVIE TO HARD DRIVE and then WINDOWS MEDIA FILE. You can burn the file it produces onto CD when it's done and, assuming you (and your parents) have the latest version of Media Player, it should play just fine.

Hope that's some help!
T6IP wrote on 9/11/2003, 2:30 PM
Thank you very much. I'll give it a shot, and will probably buy the additional hard drive. Thanks again.