[Kdenlive-devel] critique of 0.7.2.1

[aia8v]

im not sure if this kind of feedback is wanted or if this is the right 
place to deliver it, but here are my thoughts on the newest version of 
kdenlive.


*Background*

I am a linux user who has been waiting for a decent video editor, 
comparable to final cut and premier, for a long time. kdenlive is, in my 
opinion, the only editor for linux which comes close.

the 0.7.2.1 release shows awesome improvement, but a few very essential 
features are missing/removed from kdenlive. because i enjoy this 
software so much i thought i would give some feedback to the developers. 
most of my editing needs are short clips put to audio/music and put on 
the web, basically the average youtube user.

*
*

*Problems/suggestions*

    from my experience editing the multi-track frame is where all the 
work is done, and this part of the editor is vital for the program to be 
useful. the general multi-track editing is similar in all track -editing 
programs, but there are a few essential features which i think have been 
left out of kdenlive which really hurt its usability. The most common 
operations should have functional precedence and from my experience, 
volume control and fading are the two most common operations. i find 
these very hard to do in kdenlive.

volume control and fading
    -the way kdenlive adjusts clip volume is painful. i expect most 
people want to adjust the volume of an entire clip.
     this should be easy, like just dragging up and down on the clip 
with a modifier key maybe.
    - adjusting brightness,(luminosity)  is basically the same function 
to video as volume is to sound and should be
       done in a similar way. (like a modifier key and drag to move the 
brightness level for the whole clip. and if
       more soffisticated curve is needed have a pen tool (double click 
to make points) much like final cut or premier.


group selection
    -the group clip select seems to be left out. The drag box over 
multiple clips or shift left-click feature is essential.
     it seems to be replaced by the spacer tool, which i think is a bad 
decision and makes it much slower to use.


multitrack editor zooming
    -the multitrack frame could use hot-key zooming in both x-axis(time) 
and y-axis(track height). this is really
     useful when lining up transitions to audio waveforms and detail in 
the waveform needed, or when using  a
    pen tool to make a complicated curve for volume or some effect.


features/tools
    -I would prefer all features, or most all features, with hot-key 
modifies in one tool. (and maybe have other
      tools for specific functions for those who want it.)


the new version is extremely slow when rendering.
       -even with no effect my clips play with some chop 
(720x640 at 30fps), i am using the automatic video driver (could
        there be a gl driver like mplayer has?)
       -also, the render-out functionality i thought was like in final 
cut or premier, to render transitions and what not to a
        cache so playback is smooth.


video effects
       - i think simple video effects (flip, color(enhance,adjust), 
slow-mo, crop/resize) should be easier to get to than the other ones.
       also premier has an awesome function that all settings on all 
effects are animatable(adjust with time). i dont know
       how easy this would be to impliment but its very powerful.


render out
    -the render out interface is awesome, but most of the videos it 
rendered did not work (couldnet even play in mplayer) i know
    this is a complex issue and needs to be troubleshot before i can 
give you useful feedback. right now i just use uncrompressed
    output and compress with ffmpeg.



conclusion
    kdenlive is awesome, and i love using it. unfortanatly there are 
some features which are very hard to use and these happen to
be the most important features, at least for me. common  features in 
both  other major editors(finalcut and premier) are probably
good ones that most people like and i would like to see them implemented 
in kdenlive.
 i hope you all continue to improve kdenlive and my suggestions are 
helpful.

thanks a lot for all your efforts!

alex
  


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