Proposal: Program that simplifies AMVs

AbsoluteDestiny · Post by **AbsoluteDestiny** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 2:54 pm

um I know how to use dvddecrypter... but you aren't listening. The program is flawed in its usefulness NOT JUST its functionality.

kthulhu · Post by **kthulhu** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 3:05 pm

In simple marketing speech: it's a shitty concept.

trythil · Post by **trythil** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 4:32 pm

danielwang wrote: (hopefully most apps have commandline access and scripthooks).

Most Windows applications accept only very simple command lines or have their own proprietary scripting system, neither of which will suffice. There are some Windows applications that can (indeed, sometimes, must) be configured through the command line -- BeSweet comes to mind -- but not many exist.

One click. One hour. That's all it shoudl take to rip an entire DVD. It's just making it n00b friendly, right? They want to skip the director interviews, rip with sound, rip only a certain portion, etc? Use the ripper directly.

The problem is that you're assuming too much.

Take anamorphic source and inverse telecine as examples.

Personally, I work with anamorphic source as it is until I really have to resize it down due to some technical limitation (i.e. output cards that only work correctly with 4:3 video), because (1) it's easier, (2) it looks great, (3) on a computer there's no reason to modify it, and (4) I lose nothing by working with anamorphic source in its widescreen ratio.

People can do that, or they can IVTC/deinterlace + resize beforehand, or they can deinterlace+resize afterwards if they really need to. All are perfectly valid methods, and sometimes don't work. For example, if you can't inverse telecine a source, then you're going to just have to bite the bullet, do all your work with the telecined source, and then deinterlace and resize. Or deinterlace and resize, and then do your editing work.

And so on and so forth. There's just so many ways to do things, and it's all situation-dependent.

To compensate for this, your script would either have to

(1) provide the configurability to allow the n00b to make the decision about what she or he wanted to do with such DVDs, in which case your method is no better than what we have now, or

(2) make all the decisions for the n00b, which wouldn't help said n00b advance at all, and would in some cases produce video output that could have been better had the n00b had finer-grained control over the process. Congratulations, you've created a hinderance.

If I'm wrong, describe just how your program will manage to avoid these problems. Don't go off on some tangent about how this program will hypothetically work. Rebuke.

danielwang · Post by **danielwang** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 4:41 pm

I agree completely. Each production process is, indeed, situation dependent, and you must understand them to effectively create AMVs.

Learning the tools is not difficult, and it is indeed a must. But for those n00bs that don't want to bother, I'd allow them to create an AMV without thinking too much. That's not good, but it works.

As for the tools themselves, back to the original reason why I made this thread: they're too confusing to people who don't bother to learn all of the latest DV buzzwords. What are we supposed to do when the n00b discovers the Quantize Matrix area and changes it, or edits the MPEG encoding sequence to read "IBBBBBBBBBBBPPPPPPPPPPPP"?

I knew I should have ditched this point long ago.

But then, I guess nobody gets it that ripping is too damn tedious... image coming up:

trythil · Post by **trythil** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 5:11 pm

danielwang wrote: But for those n00bs that don't want to bother, I'd allow them to create an AMV without thinking too much.

Someone who doesn't want to bother shouldn't make an AMV.

danielwang wrote: As for the tools themselves, back to the original reason why I made this thread: they're too confusing to people who don't bother to learn all of the latest DV buzzwords. What are we supposed to do when the n00b discovers the Quantize Matrix area and changes it, or edits the MPEG encoding sequence to read "IBBBBBBBBBBBPPPPPPPPPPPP"?

Nothing, because a different quantizer matrix won't break compatibility, and, more importantly, editing the quantizer matrix is usually under a button marked "ADVANCED OPTIONS" or whatever, which most people don't press until they think they know what they're doing. Same with GOP sequences and basically anything that involves low-level changes to the MPEG file.

The current way allows newbies to get started with default settings (which are usually pretty good anyway) and then tweak things later if they wish. I see no problem with that. Your script would either contribute nothing in the way of usability or limit the options available to a beginner.

But then, I guess nobody gets it that ripping is too damn tedious...

It's not tedious; it's flexible.

kearlywi · Post by **kearlywi** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 5:13 pm

image coming up:

oops. bummer.

As a fellow colorado resident, I can understand your frustration. Finding video editing experts has been an impossible endevour and eventually I had to take the responsibility of learning this complex process into my own hands. Needless to say it took months of trial and error, dozens of posts, about half a dozen screaming lunatics yelling at me in the FORUMS and a lot of patience.

I wouldnt have it any other way. If I could have just jumped in and made an AMV without learning the process, it would have been an ultracrappy play-music-to-the-opening-credits type AMV. AND WHO WANTS TO WATCH THAT?

I do think it would be nice if someone were to compile the most frequent hang-ups for the video editing process at each phase, to help compliment the very thorough and useful EADFAG.

danielwang · Post by **danielwang** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 5:27 pm

Ok, image works.

This is sorta close to the original concept I had planned - selective easy DVD ripping...

Shun · Post by **Shun** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 9:49 pm

Teach a "noob" this way and they will never learn how to do it the hard way. And if they are unwilling to do it that way then they shouldnt attempt to make an amv in the first place.

I somewhat understand what you are trying to do, but i disagree with the concept.

post-it · Post by **post-it** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:40 am

trythil wrote:I hope you mean "non-linear"

erps >_<

trythil wrote:
Post-It wrote: ? have you seen this editor anywhere in the world yet ????
Cinelerra does (1), (2), and (3), and (4) is not hard to do with external tools

this may take some getting used to ^^

but now DarkWing is confusing me . . Code's to put-together a video !?
T_T . . too complicated!