So, I've been trying to create a countdown video using 0.9.2. On layer Video 3 I plan to have a background video, then have an imported project on Video 2 that has an empty .png (1920x1080) with the dynamic text effect displaying the timecode. I want the timecode to display in the mm:ss format, so I thought I could use the crop effect to trim off the frames, hours, and minute segnments of the timecode, then just scale and pan it to where I want.

The problem comes when I try to use the crop effect (by Dan Dennedy). I made a desktop video of the issue, which you can watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y0Hx3R8B7U&feature=youtu.be (the specific details of the issue are in the details below the video).

Is this the way the effect is supposed to work, or am I doing something wrong? I tried the crop effect on a plain video file, and - to the way I understand a crop effect should work - it doesn't even do that right (video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaK41B7Txow&feature=youtu.be).

Is this a bug? Is there another way to crop videos/imported projects and have their position remain stationary?

Thanks in advance.

(running Kdenlive on Ubuntu 12.10 64-bit)

you could try pan and zoom effect

Thanks, ttguy. That seemed to do the trick! I still think the crop effect needs to be improved, though. Hope the dev's take a look at it by the next big release. Cropping is one of those basic - yet integral - needs.

Well I guess we could suggest that the Crop effect be removed from Kdenlive. These effects come out of the frie0r and Melt projects and are created by various individuals and then the make it into Kdenlive. It is probably unlikely that more development would go into the crop effect if the pan and zoom one does the same job and does it better.

In Kdenlive 0.9.3 the crop effect has gone and is now called Crop, Scale and Position. Works fine with this new version of the effect. Just looked and there is also an Edge Crop effect.

I investigated this and it appears to me that the effect formerly called "Scale and Tilt" (ver <=0.9.2) is now called "Crop, Scale and Position" (ver >=0.9.3)
and the
effect formerly called "Crop" (ver <=0.9.2) is "Edge Crop" (ver >=0.9.3)

You can see how the Kdnelive names link to mlt effect names by reading the .xml files found

/usr/share/kde4/apps/kdenlive/effects/

eg frei0r_scale0tilt.xml

Crop, Scale and Position

Ah, I see now. Thanks for that. Guess I should have noticed this as it still says "Tilt" in the interface instead of "Position".

I had a look at Edge Crop and TravLR is right, it's real weird. If I crop the left of an image, it crops ok but it seems to centralize all the time. If I crop the top it zooms in, the bigger the crop the bigger the zoom. I just don't understand that. I'll stick with Crop, Scale and Position which works fine for me.

kdenlive 0.9.3+git20130126.9c55a767-0ubuntu0~sunab~precise1
mlt 0.8.8-0ubuntu0~sunab~precise1

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I just upgraded to version 0.9.4 stable, and the Crop, Scale and Position effect is brilliant! Does exactly what I needed. Can't thank the developers enough for their hard work.

Consider this problem solved. :)