Problems with aving projects and file names

rwboud wrote on 7/31/2012, 2:05 PM

Feeling very frustrated as, after much time spent on editing my project, I saved it and went to check the 'burning' preview.   A message came up with a different file name that what was saved and stated there were no 'markers' which there were!

When I tried to reload project I only got the video that I had cut off from the end of the project!  All the work had gone!    Noticed that the title on the preview screen was also different than what was saved and what had been opened!    To be sure of saving my project I used 'saved as' with slightly diffeerent file names but both have dissappeared!   Have gone to back-up but again only the 'removed video' has been saved.

Any suggestions as to what is going wrong?  I have Windows 7 and am using MEP MX Premium

Roger

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

john-auvil wrote on 7/31/2012, 2:22 PM

I have the same program, but not the problem, so something odd is going on here for sure.

If you press "Y" on your keyboard when inside the Movie Edit Pro MX, that opens the program settings dialog window. In that window, you see where the program is saving the projects, importing the projects should be from the same area. If you use Windows to explore that folder where the projects are being saved, maybe you can see the projects are saved there...

The image above is from my projects folder (pressing "Y" on the keyboard once in Movie Edit Pro)

rwboud wrote on 8/1/2012, 4:27 AM

Hi John

Many thanks for your prompt reaction to my problems.  I've taken your suggestion but unfortunately still cannot find my work.   I think the problem started when I split the movie and worked on the front part until it was ready for burning.  I saved it and also 'save as' with slightly different name (I thought to be on the safe side!).  When I returned to my work and opened this file, I found the front part of the split was missing - only the latter part remained. The same under both file names.  I get the same whenever I find this file name and open it!  According to the 'help' page it should be the front part that is saved.   

It looks like I will have to start from scratch again although I believe it must be there somewhere!

The strange message when I go to 'burning' re there being no markers and a different project name I will leave to try and sort out another day!

I must say I don't find this software very user friendly but people, like you, on this forum, are a great help even if it is to know you are not on your own!

Many thanks

Roger

john-auvil wrote on 8/1/2012, 9:25 AM

I have never edited that way, so I will have to try that out and see if I can replicate the issue. It does seem strange regardless, but I have some questions, if you do not mind.

How are you splitting the movie? Does this mean you are taking a video and using the cut edit tool, thus making two different objects, then you edit the first object... 

The only things I can see that might have caused the file to not have all the content if had at the time of creation would be:

If the material used in the project was moved, or, is simply not in the exact location it was when it was imported into the project. - The program doesn't save the material when you save the project, it saves multiple lists of data. Things such as, where the content of the projects were imported, any edits made to the content, including texts, fades, and effects. so, the project is really just what I call a EDL file, or a Edit Decision List.

When you save a project, and move or remove the original content, you will also lose the project content. There are ways of saving where you can also save the complete project including content, but that is more of a backup, which is found near the bottom of the list under the drop down menu "File".

The reason that the program does this in that way is to save on hard disk space. Imagine if every save produced a duplicate file... even if it was overwriting the original. 

The other idea I had is if the project had used the "Change Current Movie" mode, which is found near the other modes on the Arranger Tool Bar area. It is the icon that looks like film reels. If this was used, then perhaps the only way to see the other content is to switch to it under that icon.

This is something I don't use often, simply because I forget I used it and I am sitting wondering what I did to my project. It requires me to switch from the original content project to an additional content project that I have added. It also shows each project as a chapter in the burn mode. You can see by the illustration below that there are two projects, one is selected. they both have the same name... but one has an additional title to the name.

There was another thing... but it now is eluding my memory. The gist of this message is really to get more of a step-by-step occurrence of your project so I can duplicate it and hopefully find a resolution.

I have been using the Movie Edit Pro software for over a decade now, I have also used other video editors, but I found them clumsy. I know that this program is not for everyone, but I have a lot of faith in it and will always try to share what I know and assist with its usage.

I swear, I didn't set out to write a novel :) but, if your willing, I will continue to search this issue.

John

 

 

gandjcarr wrote on 8/1/2012, 2:56 PM

Hello Roger,

I understand the frustration of loosing a project that you have been working long and hard on as it has happened to me many times before.  I have been editing audio and video for almost 30 years and most of the projects that I have lost were due to errors I made.  I have tried every way I could think of to duplicate the problem that you describe using MEP, and the only way I can "split" a video and only have the end of it is if I save it incorrectly.  There may be hope though.

Have you opened all the backup files you have from around the same date that this problem occured? If you have not done this, definitely try it.  The easiest way to find them is to search your hard disc using the search criteria of "*.mv_"  without the quotations.  Sort the list by "date modified" and open each one you may well get back to an earlier version of your project that has all the information you need to continue.

Failing that do another hard disc search on "*.mvp" minus quotations and sort again by date modified and open every file that is in the range from when the problem occured. 

If this does not work, there are software applications that can recover files from your hard drive even if the file has been renamed.  Unless you are running really tight on disc space the file data is often still there, it just needs to be recovered.  

I have owned or used almost every consumer video editing software application on the market, and MEP is by far the best, easiest to use and the most stable editing application I have used to date.  Are there more sophisticated applications out there?  Yes, of course there are, but you will need to spend thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars in hardware and software to move to that level.

I hope this helps,

George

 

rwboud wrote on 8/2/2012, 10:50 AM

Hi George & John

Again many thanks for all the trouble you have both gone to in trying to sort out my problems. It is most likely that, as with all things new, it is my lack of understanding rather than the software!    Anyhow, I have found a file that had most of the edited work prior to my splitting the movie but did not contain the background music or markers.  

 I have since put these on and, rather than risk the splitting of the movie, have deleted the last part which I shall use in another project when I have the strength!     I have burned this to DVD OK.      I have also saved this project by going to file and back-up copy to a new folder on my hard drive.  Could I save this final project to a 64g memory stick?  If so how?

To some of your questions.  I split the movie by going to the razorblade icon and going to the bottom 'splt movie'. If I remember rightly the tail end disappeared and I continued editing the front part, adding music and markers. Saved and closed down but not there when I opened the software again.

So I don't get in a pickle again, what is the best way to save my projects as I am working on them?   I went to file and 'save as' named the project and from then on I clicked on the 'save' button at intervals to ensure nothing would be lost.  Not too sure what you mean, John, when you say that if I save a project and remove or move the original content, I'll lose the project content.   All I want to do is to save my work as I progress through the project and come back to that stage at a later date.

I used your method of checking *.mv- and *.mvp files, George, which although I never found the complete edited file (overcome as above) I was surprised at the number of these files were there and many with the same title.  When my finished projects are safely on DVD and or memory stick, I suppose it will be in order to delete most of these?

Anyhow I'm pressing on, as having just done a trip to Hong Kong, New Zealand, Las Vegas and back to the UK, I have a fair amount of footage to put together to bore the family!     My latest frustration is trying to print a DVD lable - but that's a problem for another day!   What a great thing this forum is with people like you around.

Thanks again, Guys, in trying to get this new comer on the right road.

Roger

gandjcarr wrote on 8/2/2012, 12:41 PM

Hey Roger,

I am glad that you got back to an earlier version of your project.  To answer the questions you asked in your last post.  If you want to save your project to a memory stick, you should be able to do that as long as the size of the file does not exceed the capacity of the memory stick.  If you just want to back up the project data, you can save it as a .mvp file to the memory stick, however that file will not play on another computer.  If you want to save it so that you can play it on a different computer, then you just need to "export" the video to the memory stick.  I usually export to MPEG-4 because the file size is smaller and the video quality is still pretty good.  Either way, just make sure the memory stick is plugged in to your computer and select it as the destination for the save.

As for John's comments on moving files, lets say you build your project based on videos that are currently saved in the "My Videos" folder.  Then you decide to re-organize your "My Videos" folder and create new folders.  So you move your New Zealand videos to a new "New Zealand" folder, your Hong Kong videos to a new "Hong Kong" folder, etc.  when you open up your project, I can no longer find those file in the "My Videos" folder, so you will usually get a message saying something like "file cannot be found".  At that point if you want that file in the project, you will need to point MEP to where the file is now located.  As John mentioned, the application is acting as a virtual edit decision list.  What is really great about this is that if it saved your complet project every time you mad an edit, you would very quickly run out of disc space.  The down side of course is that if you move files around, the application does not see them and asks you to "tell it" where they are.

Finally, unlike John I do sometimes use the editing style that you originally described.  I usually only do this on very long project where I would be overwhelmed with both the file sizes and the reduction in editing speed.  So, how do it go about this.  First, I bring in all the material that I would like to include.  Next, I do a very rough edit to get rid of the material that I don't want.  Then I save the project as something like "rough edit xyz project-1"  I also export the video as a MPEG-4 using the same name.  Next, if I want to split the project, I take the original file, set my cursor at the point where I wan to split the video, select all the objects after the split point and delete them.  Now I save the project as something like "rough edit xyz project part 1".  Now I have the first half of my project saved.  I usually export this file as MPEG-4 as well.  Next, I re-open the original file "rough edit xyz project-1" select all the objects before the split point, delete them and move all the remaining objects to the beginning of the track. I now save this one as something like "rough edit XYZ project part 2" as a project file, then export it to a MPEG-4 video.  Note, I have added no effects and no soundtrack yet.  I can now go back and edit the material and save each version as "-2, -3, -4) etc.  One hint is, do not add any sound track until you are at the final phase of production.  Does this approach consume a lot of disc space? Yes it does, but disc is cheap and your time is much more valuable.

This is just what I do because I do this for a living and can't afford to have my projects either dissapeare  or  crash.  Do what works for you and what makes you happy.

Good Luck,

George