We're now going into the Recovery
Phase
We'll start by
Re-Capturing the Source
File...
Let's assume we know the tape it was captured from... even without
notes, you should know that. But we don't know the exact starting point for
the capture... nor do we know the folder or file
name originally used.
We'll start the re-capture about where we think the first tape
capture started, put it any folder on the hard drive, and try the
'Browse for Missing File' to link to the new source file. That
doesn't work... all we get is.
It's
another of those messages that is close to being accurate, but misses the
mark. The file is close enough to the original. It's not in the same
folder, and doesn't have the same name. But most of the frames are the same
and we can get it to work.
To
find the original folder and file name, right click on any of the red-X's and
check the properties. It'll include a reference to the needed
location and file name.
Make a new folder if needed with the same name
Captured Video, and put the new file in it.
That isn't enough. You get the same message when pointing to
the new file with the different name...
Create the folder if you need to. Put the new file in it and
rename it to align with what the project file needs
- Trampoline.avi. You won't have to browse for the
missing file... when Movie Maker is opened, it'll see the file
and replace all the red X's with clip images. If it doesn't, just
touch a clip with the mouse to nudge it along.
Realigning the new file with the project
file
The
next, last and trickiest step is to 'adjust' the new source file
so it aligns with the project file... we don't want to have to do any further
tweaking of the project file, as it was perfect before we lost the source file.
If you try to shift the clips in the project timeline, you would have to do
each one, and many would be too difficult to do right.
Leave the project file alone... use it just to help determine how to
adjust the new source file, not to make any changes.
Preview the project a bit and you'll that the
frame/clip alignment isn't the same as the original, not even
close. We started the re-capture at a different point on the
tape... and Movie Maker assumes the new file starts at the same frame as
the original. That's why it's out of sync.
What we need to do is determine how much it's
out of sync by, and make the needed 'adjustment'.
Find
just one frame, any frame, that needs to align exactly with the
original.... here's one, Kaitlyn was in the air, her legs and hair were
only at this point for one frame, as she was moving pretty quickly. It's
the point that I used to make the freeze-like-overlay image. Previewing the
project with the newly captured file shows that the overlay doesn't start at
that frame, which it should. It's one of the perfect points
to use for the 'adjustment'.... and we only need one point
to realign the whole file. Let's use it.
Note the start time for the clip in the project is
0:01:15.81. The frame isn't there now, so let's look for it.
The
clip name in the project file is 9/17/2005 8:00 PM (2), a subclip
of the original with that name. Looking at the new set of clips from the
re-captured file shows two clips named 9/17/2005 8:00 PM... preview
them and see where that frame is... here it is, at the 0:00:28.95 point in the
new clip.
We
know from the project file that we want that frame to be at 0:01:15:81 point of
the timeline. How far away is it?
Browse the project timeline to find the frame... here it is at
the 0:01:05:93 point... that's 9.88 seconds earlier than it was before.
That means we started the re-capture 9.88 seconds after the
original.
To
make the new file align with the original, we need a 9.88 second
'adjustment'. We need to splice a 9.88 second leader to the beginning of
the file in order to push that frame to the right by that much.
We'll do it by adding a black image (or any still image) of 9.88
seconds to the beginning of the new file, and render it to a new DV-AVI file...
using Movie Maker. In that new file the frame will start that much later, and if
all is well, the re-alignment will be finished.
Import the new clip as a single one without auto clip splitting
> drag it to the timeline of a new project > add a still
picture to the beginning > grab it's trim handle and pull it to the
right to make it 9.88 seconds. 9.87 seconds is what we get... let's
call it close enough.
Render the new 'adjusted' file to a new DV-AVI file. With no
editing or complexity, the rendering is quick.
Once
rendered, put this new 'adjusted' in the same folder and
give it the same file name. It's time to open the project, preview it,
and see if the new file snaps the project back into sync. Every
frame in it should be positioned as it was originally including the
freeze frame, the overlay images, and the project in general.
It
worked great... amazingly, I couldn't tell the difference between the originally
rendered movie from the original file versus a new one made from
the re-captured and adjusted file. The project is ready for further
normal editing and use.
Movie Maker 2 and Photo Story
It'll also be a mini-tutorial about making a
video that includes a freeze frame and a few
freeze-frame-like overlays. These are the things that a
WOW type of effect to the video, but make the 'spot-on' syncing so critical
for the recovery efforts.
Paint is an app I use a lot, more and more lately in
conjunction with IrfanView, when making overlay images such as
those for the video in this newsletter. 
