AVS Video Editor Playback and Sound Issues

I made a video celebrating Lauren's high school graduation, from video clips of her friends, family and teachers since preschool reciting the text from Dr. Seuss's Oh the Places You'll Go! It turned out very cool, and I'm so grateful to all the people who participated in it!

My video editing software, AVS Video Editor, worked very, very well... until I got a few too many clips into the project. The finished project has approximately 60 video clips and 60 still frames and 120 transitions. I'm not sure where I was in the process when I started having issues, but it was somewhere around 3/4 of the way through- so maybe 45 clips.

First the editing playback stopped working altogether. I could sometimes exit and restart the program and get the playback functionality, but usually I had to either wait a few hours or reboot my computer. Often I would edit completely blind for a while, without playback, just using the timeline and hoping for the best. When the playback randomly returned, I would take the opportunity to tweak everything. Eventually, the video looked great.

Next was sound editing. Oy.

Still dealing with the playback issue, which AVS Support tells everyone can be fixed with a reinstall (it can't), I began adjusting sound levels on the clips that were too loud or too quiet. These clips came from all over the world, from iPhones and Blackberries (the worst) and webcams and goodness-knows-what. The sound was just very different among them.

I could never get the levels right. I thought I had them, and then the next playback they would be back to where they were when I started. In the end, all the audio levels, while appearing on the project view to be adjusted, were at their original, varying volumes and still containing whatever background noise I had removed.

Last came the music. Where I had to join clips of a song for a nine-minute video, I wanted to fade back just a tad and fade into the next clip during a noisy-ish part of the talking. Turns out AVS Video Editor also has a known issue of injecting a really loud, momentary jump in volume when fading sound. Fade, fade... LOUD... next clip. Ohmigosh. Annoying. I tried to end every sound clip at a silent spot, but that didn't work either.

So I can recommend AVS Video Editor for projects under ten minutes, involving a few clips and absolutely no fading audio overlay. Otherwise, use something else. Because after a couple of months of working on a project, you can't just switch to Movie Maker or Pinnacle (both of which have their own issues as well, in my experience, which is the reason I have AVS at all) without starting over from frame one.

I'm not a computer person, but I can report that I'm using a PC with Windows 7 and plenty of speed and memory to handle a video editing project.

The vid is SO fun!! It's totally about the people and not the couple of weird sound transitions. Although the sound thing still makes the editor cringe. :)


Sunday Stealing: The Imaginary Meme, Part Six

101. Name 4 things you always have with you.
iPhone (most of the time! don't start with me, people...), wedding ring, credit card, driver's license

102. How many SERIOUS exes do you have?
Two

103. What causes you to admire people?
I admire people who are intelligent and also those who are notably kind to others.

104. Do you like sports?
Yeah!

105. Would you have sex after marriage? Why or why not?
After? Yes. I don't think many people would sign up if there were no sex afterwards.

106. What is your favorite male name?
Ethan

107. Do animals go to Heaven?
I don't think so, but I defer to my clergy members for the definitive answer on that.

108. Last time you had a great time with your dad?
About two years ago. It was the last time we were together in person before my recent trip to New York. He stopped over during the day, while on a business trip to Fort Hood. (His company made simulators for many industries, including some for military training.) Jeff was at work and Lauren was at school. Dad and I just chatted and hung out on the back porch all afternoon. It was so nice.

109. What is your favorite hair style?
For me? Longer, with some curl to it. Everyone else seems to prefer it pretty straight, so that's how I usually wear it.

110. Do you like your name?
Yep. 

111. When was the last time that you quit your job?
November 1993. I was about to give birth to my baby girl and wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. :)

112. When you wake up, what is the first thing you think?
What time is it? I usually wake up before dawn and have to decide whether or not I'm just going to get up or try to go back to sleep.

113. Have you ever pulled an all-niter?
A few times.

114. What is the perfect day for you?
A morning hike, afternoon time at home to shower and re-energize, out to dinner and a concert with friends, drinks on the patio at someone's house.

115. Last time you cleaned the bathroom?
Wednesday

116. Have you ever failed a grade? Why?
Nope

117. Have you met anyone online?
Quite a few people.

118. Have you ever smoked?
Very few individual puffs here and there of a cigarette, clove cigarette, a cigar... but I've never been a regular smoker.

119. Do you like celebrities?
I've always been into celebrity news and stuff. I wouldn't say I like or dislike them as a group. 

120. Do you like traveling? 
Love it.