Workaround

It's not a solution but in a way, it's better.

On Friday, I complained about how I had been editing my latest video and complaining about how my software, Pinnacle Studio, was glitchy and had been messing with my ability to produce a video without some glaring errors. Video footage would appear upside down. It would freeze the action while keeping the audio running (I'm thinking of spots in my Korea video, my Tay River kayaking adventure, and my Akumal Bay snorkelling adventure).

In my latest project, everything seemed to run smoothly. As with every video, I run the timeline before I export it to an MP4 format and make minor changes or try to fix any glitch that pops up. This video ran without a hitch so I started the export process.

It wasn't until toward the end that I encountered a problem. I explained my woes in my last blog post. For hours, I tried to determine the cause of the glitch. The source clip was fine. There was nothing else running in any of the other channels that could interfere with it.

I tried rebuilding that section, cut-by-cut, but that didn't work. The error showed up in the same spot.

I showed the problem to DW and told her all of the ways in which I tried to fix the issue, and she had nothing else to offer in way of a solution. She told me that she knows the developer who works on Pinnacle and she could show my issue to him, but that would take time.

I wanted to release my video of Portugal's Douro Valley by the weekend. To that end, I needed a workaround.

At first, I thought my temporary solution was akin to putting a band aid over a blister—it doesn't fix the blister but hides it and keeps it from getting worse. The grey screen with a giant 'replay' logo looked awful, so I needed to cover it up.

The error happened when I was tasting some port wine and describing it. In the video clips that lead up to the glitch, I'm sitting in front of the camera and the point of view doesn't change. So I added some still photos of the wine glasses that are super-imposed over the spoiled footage. I exported the project, and it worked.

No more grey screen.

In a way, the workaround is better than a solution of keeping the camera on me. First, you don't have to look at me for as long. Also, the photos are closeups of the port we were tasting, with vineyards in the background, and the sun setting behind the hills.

They are vertically oriented photos but they beat a grey screen any day.

I've uploaded the final video to YouTube: give yourself a break and have a look.

If you like the video, give it a Thumbs Up and subscribe to my channel. I've finally surpassed 100 subscribers and am now looking to double that number as soon as possible.

Happy Monday!