Where does MS 3.0 save to?

vwcrusher wrote on 11/12/2003, 10:12 AM

When editing an MPEG2 video clip that can be 800MB, why is it that the saved MS file only 17MB? There must be an actual video file saved elsewhere...yes?

Comments

Former user wrote on 11/12/2003, 10:43 AM

Yhave several files involved. You have a project file, a video file and a Sound Waveform file.

You only get a video file when you Render (or Make Movie or File). The 17mb file is probably the Project File which contains the edit information. The sound waveform file is the graphic display of the audio.

Dave T2

vwcrusher wrote on 11/13/2003, 5:36 PM

Thanks, but it seems that I see two files: A BAK file of 17K and a MS file, also 17K. I am not done editing so I have not created a video file.

Still, doesn't that seem small?
I started out with a 800MB MPEG2 file.....

Allen

Chienworks wrote on 11/13/2003, 6:49 PM

The .ms file that you've saved doesn't include any of the source files for your project. Think of it as a recipe. It contains all the instructions that Movie Studio will use to assemble your finished video, but none of the ingredients. All the editing work you have done, placing the clips, trimming them, adding transitions and effects, titles, etc. are stored in this file, but not the video itself. This information is very small compared to the size of the video file. When you open up this file in Movie Studio again it will remember all the work you've done, but it also needs the original video file to apply all this work to.

SonySCS wrote on 11/13/2003, 6:55 PM

Dave T2 is right. The .vf is the project file and contains information such as effects parameters, edit history, layout,...all the information to setup your project -- except the actual video. The video remains where you originally had it and .vf stores the location info.

It you move, delete or change the name of the mpeg, you'd get an error saying that the "File could not be found at the specified location" and some options to find it again. (Try this on a bogus project with expendible media)

Lots of people find it handy to have all the media in one place especially if a project is composed of lots of audio and video files. If you want all your files together in the same directory as the .vf, check off "Copy all media with project" when you use File> Save Project As.

Hope this helps,

Suzan

SonySCS wrote on 11/13/2003, 6:58 PM

Chienworks said it better. My only question: is there such a thing as a ms file? All I find are .vf's. MAybe I'm not looking in the right place?

-S

Chienworks wrote on 11/13/2003, 8:53 PM

Suzan, i'm just guessing 'cause i don't have Movie Studio, i've only got Video Factory. Is it possible that Movie Studio's default extension for it's project files is .ms to reflect it's new name?

vwcrusher wrote on 11/14/2003, 6:34 AM

Thanks very much...that makes a lot more sense...I will take your advice and copy everything to a single directory (which I can back up)

Former user wrote on 11/14/2003, 7:57 AM

The BAK file is the backup file. This is the standard extension used in Windows for backup files.

Dave T2

djcc wrote on 11/14/2003, 8:42 AM

I think the reference to a "ms file" was merely an abbreviation for movie studio - not a file extension designation. My version 3.0 of SBMS saves projects with the .vf extension.

SonySCS wrote on 11/14/2003, 11:10 AM

Thanks.
-S