Video won't load on project on waveform

[mickel4190]

So I'm basically doing a short film and trying to make the genre change for some scenes, but the video won't load for some reason. Whenever I try loading a video to the project, the good 'ol "No movie open" appears. Anyone knows how to fix this?

[jabe]

I've not tried using the video option for ages. It might be that there isn't an appropriate codex installed on your computer for the video format your file is in. I vaguely recall someone adding a link to a package of codexes some years ago. It might be worth your time to do some general searches for related subjects on the Tracktion-Waveform board.

[Peter Widdicombe]

I also don't normally do videos, but tried a short .AVI file from an old Canon A70 - but this did play easily in both VLC and Windows media player as well. Just load the video file, although I didn't see how to potentially add multiple chunks or to have it located anywhere but the start of the Waveform project (i.e. if you have an artificially delayed start so you can have a lead-in). That would have to be done in MovieMaker or equivalent prior to loading into Waveform.

When moving the Waveform pointer, the video showed the image that would be present at that time, until the video ended and you'd get a big X in the video window.

[TWfriend]

@mickel4190, can you list your computer OS and which version of Waveform you are using? I find this helps figure out solutions easier.

This morning, I have tried loading in a movie file. I am going to list out the process I used to open a video in Waveform:
1. Open up the Properties menu at the bottom.
2. Click Video-> Keep video window on top
3. Click Video-> Load video file...
4. Find a video to load up from your computer (I used a home video file (.mp4 video)), and select Open.
5. Waveform will ask to "Copy Movie", select "yes"
6. The video should appear using xjadeo to open the video.
7. Click into the edit (at the start) of the track and press spacebar to start playing the video from the beginning.

note: the sound from my video (the audio from the source video file) did not play while the video is playing. If I want to include the audio from the source video file, I loaded up the video into VLC and extracted the audio. I then dragged in the extracted audio into Waveform track in the edit. Now, I am able to hear the audio from the video. Next, I will select a track to write music on and that is the process I used this morning.

I haven't tried using other video formats to see if it works with xJadeo. With xjadeo, you can display the time counter at the bottom or top of the video to keep track of specific times when writing music to the video. If you use the "Standard video player" that Waveform also gives as an option, the time counter does not display in the video.

I am using Waveform V12 Pro on a Mac running Catalina, 8GB ram.

Hopefully, this has helped a little. I don't normally write music to video, but now that I have been able to open up a video in Waveform, I am starting to enjoy writing music (starting with background music to home movies).

[Dark Lane]

Just in case anyone needs some encouragement, after a few failed attempts in the past I've managed to get the video window to work i.e. playback in sync with my audio.

My default MP4 file I imported didn't work; I got the 'No movie open' message in the window although, annoyingly, in the project folder I was able to view it by selecting the item and clicking on the 'View Movie' button. (This opens in an external viewer which is no doubt why it works)

I converted the file to .AVI format and imported that as well. When I tried now, a second window opened but didn't display until I changed the window size from 'quarter size' to 'half size' or 'normal size'. (In fact anything other than the default size). Then my video appeared as I wanted and seems to sync correctly with my audio.

FYI I'm using Waveform 11.5.18 Pro on Windows 10. I've not installed any specific CODECS so I assume it's happily using the built in Windows ones.

Good luck. I'm afraid it's a case of trial and error until you find a way that works for you

[UnionS8]

Simply put, Waveform isn't ready for any score production. Period.
(I've tried several times and gave up every time.)

[fde101]

I've messed with it a bit before, and it sort of works, but it is quite primitive and certainly not an ideal solution if you are doing this sort of work frequently. In a pinch, if stereo is sufficient, it can be OK for occasional work, but if you are doing scoring work with any frequency, I would push for you to use a more suitable DAW for that purpose. Logic, Cubase Pro/Nuendo and Digital Performer are the most optimal choices for video work due to their proper surround sound support and notation features.

[whyterabbyt]

Logic, Cubase Pro/Nuendo and Digital Performer are the most optimal choices for video work due to their proper surround sound support and notation features.

Maybe for music. But ProTools needs to be included in that list if you're doing postproduction sound, including effects and dialog.

[fde101]

Maybe for music. But ProTools needs to be included in that list if you're doing postproduction sound, including effects and dialog.

I never include ProTools in a list of things I recommend because I don't like it myself and won't likely ever bother trying to use it again. If you are not doing music, you could add the Fairlight page of Resolve to the list as well. Not particularly good for music production (no MIDI/instrument support) but for taking pre-recorded sounds and aligning them to video, it can certainly do the job.

[whyterabbyt]

I never include ProTools in a list of things I recommend because I don't like it myself

That's irrelevant to whether its suitable for the job, though. And it is.

If you're only going to tell other people that software is suitable for a specific purpose based on whether you like that software personally, please be honest and make it clear that you actually mean software you like that is suitable for that purpose.

[fde101]

If you're only going to tell other people that software is suitable for a specific purpose based on whether you like that software personally, please be honest and make it clear that you actually mean software you like that is suitable for that purpose.

Ok, to be clear, there are plenty of DAWs out there I know nothing about and there could easily be others which have not been mentioned here which are even more suitable than any of those we have named.

I had tried ProTools in the past (looking at it more from a music production context) several times and each time gave up on it quickly enough that I honestly don't know how suitable it would be for the task at hand, so it is hard to include it in a list of suggested products which are suitable for a task when I have no idea how suitable it actually would be. Others can chime in with those suggestions, as you clearly did. With Avid's push toward a subscription model, my general dislike of the product, and its relatively high pricing for something that I perceive as having little to offer over other available solutions, I have little interest in going back to review it myself.

I like Reason (not for this, but for other things), but with the push to get people on a subscription for that, I may wind up abandoning it too in the future. If they go to a 100% subscription model, I am unlikely to ever list it as suitable for anything - from my perspective, any locally-executed productivity software of any kind which is subscription only no longer exists. The only way they get away with that is if it is web-based.

I didn't leave Pro Tools out because I consider it unsuitable, and I don't consider it unsuitable due to the fact that I dislike it. I left it out because I personally don't know that it is suitable.

[UnionS8]

Cubase is OK too.