Trimming Less than One Second

Jimco wrote on 10/9/2011, 7:55 AM
I'm using version 10 to edit video shot with a Canon HF M30. The video files are AVCHD files pulled from an SD card.

Because the maximum file size is 2GB, my video is comprised of multiple files. There is a very small (perhaps 1/4 second) space at the end of each file where the video pauses and there's no audio. (A by-product of the time the camera needed to create the next file, I suppose.) I need to remove that small space, but VMS will only allow me to split/resize the take in one second increments. I can't remove that 1/4 second bit using any method.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can deal with this?

Thanks!

Jim

Comments

Steve Grisetti wrote on 10/9/2011, 8:38 AM
There shouldn't be a file size limitation in the camcorder. If there is a file size limit on your hard drive, it's because it's still formatted FAT32, as they come from the factory. Formatting your drive as NTFS will remove that file size limitation -- and you can do it without losing any of the data currently on the drive.

That said, if you use the Device Explorer (under the View menu) in Vegas Movie Studio, you should be able to move the video from the camcorder into your project without breaking it into little pieces. Is that how you got the video from the cam into your computer?
TOG62 wrote on 10/9/2011, 9:18 AM
There shouldn't be a file size limitation in the camcorder.

I think that almost all camcorders that use hard drives or SD cards use FAT32, although the size limit is 4GB less 1 byte.
OhMyGosh wrote on 10/9/2011, 9:57 AM
'VMS will only allow me to split/resize the take in one second increments'

If you expand the timeline, you can work with your project one frame at a time. That will make your 1/4 second take up the whole screen. Let us know. Cin
Chienworks wrote on 10/9/2011, 1:27 PM
I find it very helpful to move the cursor to the spot where i want to trim first, then drag the end of the clip to the cursor. It will "snap" at the cursor position regardless of any other zooming or snapping considerations. And yes, you can trim in single-frame increments.

However, it's better to fix the files first rather than cutting out the gaps afterward. You can splice the pieces into one seamless file with a simple DOS command. From a command prompt type in something like ...

copy /b file0001.mts + file0002.mts + file0003.mts + file004.mts wholevideo.mts

All of the files will be combined into one large file which you can place on the timeline with no gaps to deal with.
richard-amirault wrote on 10/9/2011, 3:06 PM
I thought there were/was a program(s) that would "stitch" those files together and remove the "blank" portions. I don't have that type of camcorder so I didn't pay too much attention,sorry. Maybe someone else can tell you.
B Mark wrote on 10/9/2011, 7:01 PM
You're using a Canon product, so yes there is a program to automatically stitch takes bigger than 2 GB. Pixela was included with my Canon HF-S100 for editing videos. Though I don't use the software for editing, it does have a good media file downloader. You set the base folder for the downloaded files and it creates subfolders based on the date the file was recorded and also renames the files from a sequential number filename (e.g. 00001.mts) to DateTimeSecond.mts (e.g. 201110091623.mts, Oct 11th 2011 @ 4:23 PM). It will only save files that haven't been copied before.

Another feature of the download operation is to automatically join files bigger than 2 GB. For these takes (>2GB) it doesn't store them in the same folder as the other files for that day. Instead, it places them under the folder "C:\Users\[PCUserAccountForCurrentLogin]\Videos\IMXLibrary\Combine\[DateTaken]\[DateTimeTaken].mts". Unfortunately, there isn't a setting to change this location, only the base folder to which you want to save the regular downloaded files to.

To sync files on your video cam to your PC, you will need to first plug in the usb (cam to PC) and power cables. Start play mode, you should see "Creating thumbnails" in the lcd screen. The thumbnails are copied over as well. Start Pixela Imagemaker (not the player one) and select "Save Files to PC". Under "Settings" set the base filder for the saved files. The "volume to read" should indicate the drive for the Canon card memory. Make sure "Import the videos which have not been saved in the computer" is selected and click "OK" to start the file downloads.