No way - I get footage from all sorts of sources and in all sorts of formats.

Stock footage I purchase.
3d renders from other companies.
Firewire from our pro cameras.
SD-Cards from handy cams.

I need multi format import and export.

Would be nice if render could be moved onto a different machine though so I can carry on editing.

I understand where you are coming from but each time you convert you loose quality so if I have to convert before it comes in and then convert on the way out the result will not be as professional as when I only convert on the way out;)

"AlanJames1987 ....... Are you still around?"

I have been gone from this forum and open source software in general for nearly a year. Unfortunately my company started going south a had to be looked after. We are now back up and running well and I am again interested in KDENLIVE. It is good to see that this tread is still being talked about on here.

i dunno but it seems i can't get feed back for my script...

i have made this script that can automatically create a video project for kdenlive 0.7.8 i guess it should be nice for a professional user anyway....if you want see what you can do with it see this

in 2 word the script works for you and creates a presentation of videos with random wipe effect from dolphin or terminal

mmm read this

http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php/akm-video-qt?content=134476

see this one

http://www.kdenlive.org/forum/automatic-script-video

now i am working for the same script but for pictures.. i have to fix multiple istances but it should work as well if you do wha i have writtne here

http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php/akw-qt?content=104980

First of all, thank you for all the good ideas and hints, and thanks to non-professional users for not posting here. Please continue the same way after my post :)

I would like to briefly recap what has been added in the meantime (I do not mean the features to be complete, since everything can always be improved). I intend to occasionally update this post so as not to flood the thread.

• Audio meters have been added to 0.7.9: Spectrogram, Audio Spectrum, and VU (Audio Signal). (@Weevil)


• Color correction or color monitoring is possible since 0.7.8 with Waveform, RGB Parade, Histogram, and Vectorscope. (@Weevil, @MillionMonkeys)


• 3-point-editing is (partially) implemented since quite some time (0.7.5?) already. (@Romuald, @ArtInvent)


• Monitor fullscreen since 0.7.8 or 0.7.7 (@Romuald)


• Effect categories since … did we ever not have them? :) (In 0.8: also for the Effect Stack menu) (@Romuald)


• GUI profiles have been added in 0.7.9 (@Romuald, @gab3d, @GavinBask)


• Select multiple items on the timeline is possible for a few releases (with grouping as well): Shift+Drag. (@interestedindividual)


• Keyboard shortcuts for head/tail trimming, are there. Hopefully to be further improved. (@GavinBask)


• Overmodulation detection will be in 0.7.9, in the audio spectrum prospectively. I've been working on it this evening. Not automatically yet though, you need to play through the whole video. (@divan)

@Romuald, please a drawing for the Trim mode.

Simon

@ Granjow: "...and thanks to non-professional users for not posting here..."

I almost want to ask why would you even post a comment like you did above ?, but, then again, why bother right?
GL.

well dude, start with the BEST Linux distro for kdenlive 1st:

1./ -> UbuntuStudio (it's very powerful, and being based on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian, it's got everything, as long as you got the hardware) -and this is the "easy" way if you're not linux savvy.

And/Or,

2./ -> ARCHLinux/ARCHBang : this one is very close to my BSD/Unix heart, they are blazingly fast, and if you don't mind learning Linux/Unix all over again, the RIGHT way!, then I highly recommend ArchLinux/ArchBang to start again.

And/Or,

3./ -> Kubuntu : make sure it's 10.10 or better yet, 11.04, Kubuntu is much better than it used to be, and of course it is KDE, just like KDEnlive :)

the rest, to me, like openSuse, redFart,... are just platforms for big fat corporate advertizers like Microsoft/IBM.:) -ignore\avoid !

And Yes, of course I also have latest Adobe Priemiere-Pro 64-bit runnin' on similar Win7-64 bit, all on equivalent Raided-Hardware, the 3 of those alone set me back about $7k, and the below, set me back another $20k back then...
But with my Sony EX1 HD-camera. Matrox color-generator hardware, BlackMagic HD capture cards,... I figured I must have that above "Windows"-mentioned software. Well, I was kinda wrong, for my needs.
I am an independent film-maker, so to speak.

So, how did I jump on the "kdenlive" bandwagon? Well, it's simple, after I saw my friends' Sony Vegas, I thought, holy ****, Sony Vegas appears to be just a "rip-off" of kdenlive, and SONY is just charging people for this $$$hite ??! like wtf?

Is that "professional" enough 'fer 'ya ?

Again, and this is situational, but with "kdenlive" and the right Linux/UNIX distro of your choice you really don't NEED anything else.
-except of course your imagination.
so, my friend, stop searching for your talent and just USE it !

"Professionalism, is ALL just in your IMAGINATION" !
;)

@scjet I wonder if you took your time to read the first post of this thread? And whether you read more than half a sentence of my post?
I don't quite see how your posts are related to this thread.

non-professional = Users who don't work with video on their job.

Romuald nailed all the basic functions that an NLE needs to have.

I don't agree with the general philosophy that Apple and Adobe (and Avid) has that an NLE should be able to do everything in the world. (That is actually the Achilles Heel of proprietary software) I'd focus on editing features, stability and compatibility instead of "cool new features that will sell at the next NAB and get clients hooked in upgrade cycles". After all - the Open Source community is not driven by the lust for the latest and hottest upgrades with the coolest new features that almost works - we're driven and motivated by openness and a sense of freedom.

I'd focus on editing. Get JKL to work. Follow Romualds suggestions.

The one addition I would make is how KDEnlive handles effects on the timeline. There is no points in having effects if you can't render and preview result on the timeline. Going the route of exporting an entire timeline to a video file that you then import or play externally to preview the end result is a non working solution.

I have 20+ years of experience with Avid, FCP, Premiere Pro and a lot of other packages. I'm an Adobe Influencer and used to work for Apple. I run my own production company and have several feature films and hundreds of high end commercials and feature films on my CV. I've worked in every format. 16mm, 35mm, 65mm, 70mm IMAX, DV25 and upwards, RED, CineAlta, Phantom, Arri Alexa and so on. I have years of experience working with post houses and integration between them. I know how important XML/EDL/AAF and intermediates are to them and to me for the daily work that we do.

Focus on the basics. Just my two cents.

Nice script. But in the pro world we hire people to do transitions and editing or we do them ourselfs with the skills we've aquired through years of practice. I think the script is more usable to someone that would just have a quick way to put together some vacation shots.

Now if I could do the thing your doing but from a CMX formated EDL...that would be a completely different thing.

Trying Kdenlive in the workplace.

Just to say that since my post I've kept track of developments. I've now done 4 videos for work with kdenlive in the last 2 weeks. I found it easy and quick to work with and the resulting video was as I imagined it would be. I'm super impressed and basically I'm gonna continue to use it - not for everything but I can only see myself using it more and more. Mainly because it is kinder at handling mpeg2 and flv formatted video which I'm highly dependent on. It works on kde which is my favourite desktop by a long way. After seeing my videos 2 people have asked what I used to make them and can they get it;)

Thanks so much for making such an awesome program!

I'd just like to go over my original list of requests by way of celebrating what is possible and expressing gratitude.

* Drag to insert a clip between two clips
***** Layer modes like dodge, burn, difference etc - work beautifully
***** clip opacity doesn't work for me and I need it - works beautifully
*** hi pass, low pass audio filters - 15 band eq is nearly there (good enough for most stuff)
*** stereo audio tracks should be linked mono tracks. With keyframing for pan, vol - all works but could be easier
***** Sound level meter with peak indicator - works beautifully
*** fully parametric eq - ideally with built in analyser - sweet
***** timecode overlay effect - works

7 out of 8!!!

Things that would be great...
* syncing up camera angles and easy jumping between them. Like the multicam interfaces in other pro NLE packages.
* fluid speed scaling. I set key frames in the video and link them to keyframes in the sound track. The program alters the speed of the video track to line up those keyframes. Ie my video can beat to the music more easily.
***** Clip properties like position, cropping, distorts, opacity. I'd like to be able to interact with the preview window as if it was a drawing canvas with keyframes too. - Works beautifully
* I don't want to see clip names on the timeline unless I look at the properties - visual clutter
***** I'd like to have left click drag selection to select multiple items on the timeline. - works with shift
***** I'd like an interface for importing clips from sdhc or hd based cameras. I'd want it to be able to handle fixing the aspect ratio of mod/moi files ie. turn them into proper mpeg2 files with a completed header. - aspect ratios can easily be fixed now!
***** A media/clip library with simple tagging and searching - backend on a media server? A separate but integrated app - KDE now has this built in for all files.
***** Would be great to set up a client/server rendering model so that the rendering can actually happen on a separate pc. A separated but integrated app. eg add batch conversions, I can use it without a project just to convert a file? etc. - possible with render scripts

5 out of 8!!!!

Having used it these are the things I find myself thinking...
What type of audio effects are used? Can I download more effects? For example I often like to use effects which are in audacity to clean out background noise and also I'd love a compressor? The audio spectrograph is gorgeous I reckon it would help newer users to understand what they are doing if the eq controls were live over the top of it perhaps with a curve displayed and 6 band parametric eq would meet most needs? For examples Roland m400 mixer or eq plugin for garageband. Is there a way to sync up the timeline with Jack and route my audio through other jack enabled software at render time? Maybe this is all already possible?

I have an idea for a way of handling the speed of a clip. Maybe this is to specific for making music videos however. I'd love to insert markers into a video track numbered 1,2,3 etc and then insert markers into a corresponding audio track 1,2,3 etc. Then have the program adjust the speeds of the clips to line up my markers. Then my video would beat to the music. This is obviously already possible with regular editing operations but I wonder if there is mileage in my idea for making it simpler?

Finally after a long post... THANKS SO MUCH!!!!

Cheers,

John

<<>>MillionMonkeys I just took a look at the video you posted showing Red Giants color correction software. It looks to be very nice software, but does it support multiple shots? I like that Apple Color can import an entire sequence and keep each shot separate in the timeline.

Check out a demo of the interface.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cw1_h3YjWw

I will need confirmation of this but could MLT be made to support more advance color correction? If so could a new program with a new interface be made to take full advantage of all the new color correction features built into MLT, basically KDENLIVE without any editing controls and a lot of GUI modifications. If this is possible it seems to be the best way to get a good integrated color correction software for Linux.
<<>>

hello alanjames1987 has write for color correct
i have same problem, i was hard to fix color on video bad color, but it's not easy to fix, to arrive perfect same color of other video...

i wrote open topic but maybe they are not undy..my topic:
http://www.kdenlive.org/forum/copy-valuecolorlightbilance-clip-clip-b

i did show to example site from eyeon but it's not work site eyeon

but alanjames has to show other example similar eyeon...
then i need this features 'automatic color correct' like copy parameter from video original or image original to video project...

i'm very lose big time job for correct color..
thank you to alan for to show an exmple link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cw1_h3YjWw
this is for professionals NLE

I might not a video-editor, but my I've been working in the field of long-term audio/video preservation the last few years, therefore dealing with national A/V archives and broadcasters.

Currently, my main focus is establishing Free Software within the professional video archiving domain. A major factor of acceptance of a tool which is available under a Free License (like the GPL) are not only its features, but mainly its perception as being "professional".

As a short lightning-talk on this year's FOSDEM, titled "FOSS in Broadcast" [1] emphasizes some important aspects:

a) "professional" must be perceived as "non-consumer".
Example: VLC is used these days by many professionals, but it is not recognized as a possibly professional tool, because everyone has it.

b) Many professionals still think: "If it's from vendor X and costs an insane amount of money, *then* it's professional" (quote: "They want Shinystuff(tm)!").

...even if a Free Software solution might do the job better than proprietary stuff: film/broadcast/studio is a domain where people want to feel "elite".

There's even more:

c) Many businesses providing tools for broadcasters, film-editors, etc. are unfamiliar with business-models behind Free Software. Therefore they are afraid to pick-up existing solutions, or even support Free Software tools (with resources or good references).

d) Material eXchange Format (MXF):
As already mentioned by user "Weevil" in an earlier comment on this thread [2], support for MXF is highly demanded these days. Most "professional" video/film equipment used today uses MXF as container. Legacy-fallback number one is MOV (Quicktime)
Interoperability with "considered-to-be-professional" equipment and tools is a must, if one wants to play within that league.

Short:
There are some features required for a tool to be useful in professional environments (color-space handling, timecode, "professional" containers (MXF, MOV), multi-track audio capture, SDI in/out, waveform, vectorscope, etc), but even if kdenlive would provide all these, its still a long way until it's accepted for usage by "professionals".

If kdenlive tries to support consumers *and* professionals, it might be hard to satisfy both, without becoming a "jack of all trades - master of none".

Taking "Ardour" vs "Audacity" for example:
Ardour is a high-level, professional DAW. Audacity isn't. For many users, Audacity is the better choice, as it might be easier for "consumer" tasks and has features like: "Load audio from almost any filetype".
Ardour on the other hand can only handle filetypes common in audio-engineering environments. And that's good, because then it stays focused on what is actually needed.


== References:
[1] http://video.fosdem.org/2012/lightningtalks/FOSS_in_Broadcast.webm
[2] http://www.kdenlive.org/forum/professionals-video-editors-only-please#comment-4356

nowardev: Wow!! This is really a great script :) Thanks man..

I'm a semi-professional video editor. I have a Certificate III and IV in Screen and Media (have no idea if that means anything outside Australia!)

Anyway, until Lumiera is usable (if that ever happens), KDenLive seems to be the best NLE available free for Linux. And yes, that includes Cinelerra (don't even get me started). Blender is about the only other one that might be better, but it's a bit inpenetrable and I've yet to work it out.
In some ways KDEnlive is fantastic - I love the UI and general workflow and a lot of the features, but like so many open-source alternatives to commercial products there are some really obvious gaps in features etc.

While there are certainly more than the following, these are some missing features I would most immediately find indespensable:

-Snapping for tools, especially the Razor. As it is I have to zoom in until I can see each frame so that I can make a cut in the right place. I'd much rather be able to move the playhead to the right spot and simply snap-cut.

-Sound for scrolling/scanning timeline. If I haven't hit the play button, I still want to be able to hear the sound at the position of the playhead as I move it back and forth. While we're at it, sound should also play for fast forward and rewind. This and the last suggestion are absolutely imperative for the kind of pin-point editing required of professionals.

-More versatile text function. I need to be able to preview how my text will look in the video, and I need to be able to change it after it is created. C'mon guys, this is just not good enough.

-Reverse clip feature. Maybe not necessary for most projects, but it's still such a basic feature that I'm puzzled it's not here.

-Multiple sequences per project. I know I can import other projects as clips, but that's incredibly clunky and time consuming, especially when I have to jump between the two projects to edit each one individually.

-More powerful chroma-key function. The one included, with it's one pathetic slider, is next to useless. There really needs to be a LOT more options and variables. Come to think of it, more options and versatility for alpha manipulation in general would not go amiss.

If I wanted to nit-pick I could probably find a lot more places for improvement, but these are the main ones I can think of, and really the biggest problems letting KDenlive down. I guess I wouldn't mind a more powerful keyframing system - one that's universal and a feature of the timeline rather than being individually inputted into each effect, but I realize that would be quite difficult to implement, and not quite such a big deal because the current system is usable.

Even after these criticisms, I would still like to point out that KDEnlive still feels very nice to use. It's certainly a more pleasant experience than Final Cut!

*edit* One more thing - you need to be able to render the project not just to a file but for viewing in the preview window.