More like "GreenFlow" now...
I've been a long-time user of Screenflow since the very early days because it's historically been a very stable and reliable way to edit video. That has changed unfortunately. The current version has a slew of minor bells & whistles feature enhancements but at the expense of the core editing functionality which is completely unstable now.
I get green screens and frozen screens all the time when editing now and this is something that has never happened. Whereas before editing was snappy and painless, these days I get the Mac beachball every time I move a clip even slightly. It's almost to the point of being unusable. I just want the old screenflow back- is it possible to downgrade?
My questions for Screenflow product team: "Was there no Q&A done on this version of the product? How could the core stability and functionality be allowed to suffer so badly just for the sake of minor feature enhancements?"
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Sean Tierney said:
I get green screens and frozen screensI'd like to help but I'd need specific.
Have you updated to ScreenFlow 8.2.2 specifically?
OS 10.13.6 or 10.14.3?
Are these green screens imported files? If so what is the source? -
Craig I'm running Version 8.0 (31269) on Mac OS 10.14.3
These clips are all excerpts of one single .mp4 file - some of them are frozen green screens while others work (no apparent pattern). You can see it here: https://pagely.com/?p=17718&preview=1&_ppp=70f1b54d5c
I just installed the latest update so i'm now running Version 8.2.2 (31335). The problem persists but maybe that's because the clips are already damaged from the editing in the older version and I need to redo the clips on the new version... I'll test and report back here.
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Craig, upgrading and trying to redo the clip didn't fix the issue. Here is exactly what I'm seeing: https://www.useloom.com/share/3801dc0a93e244a384aac49ca175d2ff
Let me know what the troubleshooting steps are from here. Those clips are all extracted from a single .mp4 so not sure why some work fine and others are problematic. This never happened under the old version of the software so at this point unless you have a suggestion for resolving I'm inclined either to find a way to downgrade to a previous version or switch to a different editing application and request a refund. thanks
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I had to go back to Screenflow 7 myself and had my team do the same. Screenflow 8 has been the worst regression in performance and reliability I've seen since starting to use the product.
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Sean Tierney said:
hose clips are all extracted from a single .mp4 so not sure why some work fine and others are problematic.What does the original source look like?
I'd need to look at the source clip itself to test.
The method of extraction may have had an impact. -
Joseph Todaro Did you report your issues to support? That's the only way they can fix. If our testing is good then we need to see why other systems are having issues.
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CraigS I've posted both the original zoom session export as well as the Screenflow project file for this movie. It would be ideal to get some direction from you as we are trying to go live with this case study on Monday and I am completely baffled why some of the clips from the same source video are problematic while others work just fine. The entire zoom session plays without issue in Quicktime on its own. thanks
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Joseph Todaro how did you downgrade? Agreed SF 8 has been excruciating to work with and I just want the old application back. Happy to part with any/all new features in SF8 for the sake of having a reliable editing environment again that doesn't trash my work consistently.
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Sean Tierney BTW as for the "method of extraction" the source file itself is just downloaded from Zoom and is what you get when you record a call. In terms of how I extracted each clip within the video, I just do what I always do with Shift-T to split the clip then move it where it needs to be. Some work and some don't. No idea why.
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Sean Tierney Your Zoom file may not be compatible. You may well find the same issue in ScreenFlow 7.x
This is an issue with Zoom recording. That's why they have Optimize for 3rd party video editor. The issue isn't specific to ScreenFlow which is why they have the setting on their end. The lack of I frames will result in green pictures because NLEs need the I frames as a reference to redraw the image.
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Sean Tierney See our KBase on this. And if you search there's information listed on Zoom's own KBase instructions as well.
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CraigS thanks. I've ticked that box for future recordings and good to know about that setting but surely there must be something I can do with this source file (either re-exporting it via Quicktime or otherwise manipulating it via something like Handbreak) to produce a usable file here?
My question is: Why is it that the unadulterated source file plays just fine all the way through in Screenflow but once I start chopping it up half of the resultant clips are afflicted with this issue? And why did this never once happen before in previous editions of Screenflow yet it's a daily occurrence now in Screenflow 8? I have to agree with Joseph Todaro here that version 8 was a huge step backwards in terms of reliability. Whatever fundamentally changed under the hood I wish you guys would revert it.
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Sean Tierney said:
Why is it that the unadulterated source file plays just fine all the way through in Screenflow but once I start chopping it up half of the resultant clips are afflicted with this issue?That can happen depending on where the decoder has to look for the referenced IFrame.
Sean Tierney said:
nd why did this never once happen before in previous editions of ScreenflowPerhaps you didn't run into it but it was most certainly there in ScreenFlow 7. The issue with Zoom files is not specific to any version of ScreenFlow nor even ScreenFlow itself. It may affect other Editors as well.
It could all be coincidental since it's hit or miss depending on finding the IFrame to decode. It doesn't necessarily happen immediately with any Zoom file (although it can). It can be fine for a bit and then it turns green. -
CraigS good news I was able to "launder" the source file via Handbreak and it cleared up this issue. I just brought in the downloaded zoom capture to Handbreak Mac app then exported it using its standard 1080p setting and that produced a movie that is not afflicted with this greenscreen issue. Final version here: https://pagely.com/blog/video-case-study-1-obsev-and-devrix/
Lesson learned for future captures re: the "optimize for 3rd party apps" setting you showed above. And for anyone who needs to salvage material already subject to this issue, try the Handbreak app for sanitizing it as it worked for me.
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Sean Tierney said:
was able to "launder" the source file via HandbreakSometimes it can be cleaned up in Finder.
HandBrake will give you more control and smaller file sizes.
