Basic editing of XAVC video?

[Rachael Padman]

I was taking (still) photos of red kites today, when I realised that a video might be more appropriate, so pressed the red button and ended up with a few minutes of XAVC 4k video, which appears as .mp4 files. I was hoping it would be easy just to trim out the bits I didn't need, and extract a few stills, but the Windows Photos app dies whenever you ask it to edit (it plays them perfectly well).

Is there any easy (and preferably, not too high cost) to do what I want? Or is it a case of "you shouldn't have started from there"? (with 4k). But without 4k, I doubt the exercise would be worth it in the first place.

 

[Charles Jones]

I found the Windows Photo app often acts buggy during video edits. It may be due to your computer graphics card or even the file codec. Videos recorded with h.264/h.265 and Sony's XAVC are compressed, developed to capture information into a smaller file size. Computers are efficient at "unpacking" the information so it works great in media players and websites. Though when it comes to editing those files decompression can occur multiples times resulting in choppy playback and taxing the application used.

You can transcode the file into an uncompressed (less compressed?) format like DNxHD, or maybe use a different program. The former is a pain and I'm unsure if Windows Photo will recognize the new codec. Free video editors like ShotCut are easy to learn. I use Davinci Resolve which is also free. Both programs have a useful "optimize media" feature that creates lower resolution proxy files for editing, then renders with the original full quality 4k files. I personally couldn't deal with 4k video otherwise.

 

[Rachael Padman]

I found the Windows Photo app often acts buggy during video edits. It may be due to your computer graphics card or even the file codec. Videos recorded with h.264/h.265 and Sony's XAVC are compressed, developed to capture information into a smaller file size. Computers are efficient at "unpacking" the information so it works great in media players and websites. Though when it comes to editing those files decompression can occur multiples times resulting in choppy playback and taxing the application used.

You can transcode the file into an uncompressed (less compressed?) format like DNxHD, or maybe use a different program. The former is a pain and I'm unsure if Windows Photo will recognize the new codec. Free video editors like ShotCut are easy to learn. I use Davinci Resolve which is also free. Both programs have a useful "optimize media" feature that creates lower resolution proxy files for editing, then renders with the original full quality 4k files. I personally couldn't deal with 4k video otherwise.

Thanks very much Chuck, that is really helpful. I've downloaded DaVinci resolve and will try it over the weekend.
I did discover that Windows MovieMaker works pretty well, and can save 4k files if you fudge the configuration a little bit (instructions from the web -- I'll post here if I can find them again). VNC was also suggested, but I did not get along with that very well.

One of these days I will get to grips with codecs. But life is short...

 

[Rachael Padman]

I found the Windows Photo app often acts buggy during video edits. It may be due to your computer graphics card or even the file codec. Videos recorded with h.264/h.265 and Sony's XAVC are compressed, developed to capture information into a smaller file size. Computers are efficient at "unpacking" the information so it works great in media players and websites. Though when it comes to editing those files decompression can occur multiples times resulting in choppy playback and taxing the application used.

You can transcode the file into an uncompressed (less compressed?) format like DNxHD, or maybe use a different program. The former is a pain and I'm unsure if Windows Photo will recognize the new codec. Free video editors like ShotCut are easy to learn. I use Davinci Resolve which is also free. Both programs have a useful "optimize media" feature that creates lower resolution proxy files for editing, then renders with the original full quality 4k files. I personally couldn't deal with 4k video otherwise.

Just to follow up my last reply: I've started playing with DaVinci Resolve. I can't believe it's really free. It will take me a while to work out how to use it effectively, but it seems to be amazingly flexible. So thanks again for that tip.

 

[Jeff A]

DaVinci Resolve is a very popular choice on the drone forum I am on. Lots of good comments on it but I understand the learning curve may be a bit steep, although I can't speak from personal experience. What I can tell you is that I am the happy purchaser of CyberLink PowerDirector 18. I paid $130.00 US for a lifetime license. Here is the Link to my first video project.

 

[garuda]

DaVinci Resolve is a very popular choice on the drone forum I am on. Lots of good comments on it but I understand the learning curve may be a bit steep, although I can't speak from personal experience. What I can tell you is that I am the happy purchaser of CyberLink PowerDirector 18. I paid $130.00 US for a lifetime license. Here is the Link to my first video project.

Nice vid, Jeff.

 

[Jeff A]

Nice vid, Jeff.

Thank you, Sir!

 

[Rachael Padman]

DaVinci Resolve is a very popular choice on the drone forum I am on. Lots of good comments on it but I understand the learning curve may be a bit steep, although I can't speak from personal experience. What I can tell you is that I am the happy purchaser of CyberLink PowerDirector 18. I paid $130.00 US for a lifetime license. Here is the Link to my first video project.

Thanks for this Jeff. I'll add it to my list of possibilities....

 

[Charles Jones]

Just to follow up my last reply: I've started playing with DaVinci Resolve. I can't believe it's really free. It will take me a while to work out how to use it effectively, but it seems to be amazingly flexible. So thanks again for that tip.

Glad you like it so far. There are many tutorials on YouTube to get you up and running. They're useful if focusing on the Cut and Edit pages, but I often got lost in videos on color grading and audio. I'm taking the official training course route because I learn best when working with the same source material. You can find it in the Training section on the DaVinci Resolve page. It's free, completely comprehensive and project files are included for all lessons so you can work along.

I think it's cool footage and assets come from films created with Resolve. There's a cooking show, the documentary Living In The Age Of Airplanes, and then later scenes from the short film Hyperlight by Second Tomorrow Studios for special effects. All that is just in the beginner's guide. The lessons are a bit academic so it's not for everyone. You can check it out so you know the resource is there.