Linking projects/movies is not working as I need in Movie Studio 2025

Eric-Elliott wrote on 8/10/2024, 1:06 PM

I wanted to start a new thread to keep it clean instead of add to the previous thread which is a mess now.
I think there is some misunderstanding in what I am trying to do, likely due to my poor English.

I want to link "projects" together or is it "movies"? to make one "project" or "movie" where I hit "Play" and it plays all the way through the 4 or 5 movies/projects or what have you together, one right after the other. I'm so confused. I don't understand the words "project" and "movie". Let me try again.

I want to make one "project" (I think) with more than one movie in it so one flows to the next in one video that I can save as an MP4. I'm not adding pictures. I am adding projects with everything picture sound and all that.
I tried following the instructions you all gave: opening the first project I want and then open the next one and both movies appear, but they are not in the same project. I can't get them to play. Only the movie I am on plays.

I then tried creating a new project and opened the first project and did the same as above. I then saved that new project, but got the same result as before, the movies are there but not linked. The second movie doesn't start after the first movie ends it just keeps repeating the first movie in a loop.

I must be missing something. I don't want to use "MERGE" unless I have to because I fear I will mess it up and delete everything I need.
I can't follow the instructions for "MERGE" you provided John because:
1) I don't have test projects unless I spent a week creating them. I want to use what I already have (if it ends up getting sacrificed I will just move on to the next completed projects or whatever. I want to get something done with this crap! I have spent far too long just trying to get the program up and running. It takes me about 1.5 to 2 hours to make a one minute project!
2) I'm not putting photos on the timeline and I am not importing videos. I want to work with what I have. I'm trying to put completed projects on the timeline to put them together so that the whole thing plays as one video or project I can save as an MP4 video or whatever.

I have not downloaded any of the extra stuff it keeps asking about. I keep clicking "later". I wonder, is there something I need to download to make this work?
I'm wondering if Movie Studio 2025 Platinum can't handle this? (I did it in Video Easy just fine). I don't know what to think. I'm so far behind now I may give up everything. I was supposed to start filming live one take stuff in September, I don't see that happening now. I can't do anything else until I get this working. The only alternative is to give up sharing and talking about my CD library and just stick with my vinyl record library and start filming that as live one takes. (I hope it is easier than what I am attempting now). It looked simple on paper.

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 8/10/2024, 2:01 PM

@Eric-Elliott

Hi Eric

. . . . I must be missing something. I don't want to use "MERGE" unless I have to . . .

The merge option is the second of 2 methods that you can use to bring all the individual projects together into one.

The other method is the one I suggested in the first reply to your first post here - export each of the individual projects to a Magix Video file (MXV) format, and import these into a new project. Trimming where necessary, adding transitions, etc and then export to MP4 for upload to Youtube.

John EB

Eric-Elliott wrote on 8/10/2024, 2:09 PM

@Eric-Elliott

Hi Eric

. . . . I must be missing something. I don't want to use "MERGE" unless I have to . . .

The merge option is the second of 2 methods that you can use to bring all the individual projects together into one.

The other method is the one I suggested in the first reply to your first post here - export each of the individual projects to a Magix Video file (MXV) format, and import these into a new project. Trimming where necessary, adding transitions, etc and then export to MP4 for upload to Youtube.

John EB

Ah, I just tried the Merge thing and it did work! I also saw much to my relief that the movie I added is still intact in my library or whatever that is called, NOTHING lost! I played it right after I merged and it worked except it cut off the first word I said in the audio portion of the second video, but I can't afford to care about that right now.
I am now going to try this second way of exporting the projects to the MXV format.
I assume the projects will remain intact in the "project" format that I can use later if I want. All I'm doing in exporting is creating the same thing in a different format. Correct?
This way will likely be easier for linking or merging more than two movies so I am not dealing with trying to keep track of what is happening to the previous one and so on.

Eric-Elliott wrote on 8/10/2024, 2:42 PM

Ok, John, I just tried doing the second idea with the exporting projects to MXV and it not only worked, but I did not have to try to move stuff around and such! That said I do not like the way it shows in Timeline mode, it is impossible for me to do anything further with it such as put in transitions or edit anything, but I think that has to do with the format of the file and not the timeline mode. If I want to use is this file to put in transitions I simply switch to Storybook mode and that makes it easier.

So here is how I will do the order of operations:
1) Create projects and export them to MXV format. (I will then have both project format and MXV format. Project format for editing and MXV for linking/merging and putting in transitions.

2) To link movies together:
A) Create new project
B) Import each MXV movie I want in said project
C) Switch to Storybook mode and do any transitions needed
D) Save As: Both Project file and export to MP4 if satisfied. In this way I can then go back to the project file and do whatever I want, such as editing something later.

Am I thinking correctly there?

johnebaker wrote on 8/10/2024, 3:24 PM

@Eric-Elliott

Hi Eric

. . . . Am I thinking correctly there? . . . .

You are correct.

John EB

Eric-Elliott wrote on 8/10/2024, 3:59 PM

@Eric-Elliott

Hi Eric

. . . . Am I thinking correctly there? . . . .

You are correct.

John EB

Wow! Finally! It took months just to get to this point. With any luck, I might be ready to create a channel by end of year (one year too late, but oh well). Just need to do all of this more of course and practice transitions and learn live one take video editing (hopefully easier) and then I'll have the basics, which is as far as I will go.

Eric-Elliott wrote on 8/11/2024, 3:04 PM

YES!!! Finally! I did it! I just made two complete projects/movies/videos or whatever they are called all linked with transitions and everything!!
Both are cringe level of course: The first one reveals that I did not give enough space at the end of each section so the transitions bleed, awful, but I'm not fixing it!
The second one is better as far as that goes, but my voice is real bad. I thin kit is because I made the individual projects in the morning around 9am and my voice apparently was not warmed up so I sound like I have gravel in my mouth. I also think the mic settings may be a bit off, not sure. I also don't care, I'm not fixing it!
I'm just going with the fact that I finally have movement and success or whatever that was.

Ok, next weekend time to move forward and keep going, the more projects I do the better.....I hope.