Hi everyone,

has anybody tried to make a soundtrack with live 9 or was just able to put a little song under a video?
It doesn`t seem to work for me no matter what settings I use.

It`s no problem to drag the video into the timeline and cut the music accordingly. That actually works like a charm and as an ableton user for quite some time now it`s the simplest solution for me, instead of using final cut or other programs if I want to do specific soundtracks for individual scenes.

But the problems come with exporting. Music exporting works fine, but video not so much...whenever I´m trying to convert the video and audio together my macbook freezes and it wont work. Im not even really sure if it is an ableton problem or some video converting plugin which causes the trouble.
Has anyone experienced the same problem? And maybe even found a solution?
I know there are ways around it, like only exporting the music and importing it to final cut and so forth, but ableton should be able (no pun intended) to do this quite comfortably.

Tipps would be highly appreciated.

 

does it happens with all the different video formats\codecs you choose when exporting?
did you tried to update quicktime?
does it happens with other live video projects? you could try to create a small live video project (30s video&music ) and see if happens the same thing.
do you imported photos or different videos for your project? maybe you have some corrupted files

 

Try Avid video or Sony Vegas these are for video.

 

Thanks for the input. I havent tried them all yet, but the ones that worked for me with other programs. Will try them all and see if theres a problem with compatibility.
I keep all my audio and video codecs up to date, so there shouldn't be a problem.
The size of the video file also doesn`t matter and the video file works fine without the audio and in other programs. Even in ableton... Only exporting the finished file wont work.
Does this work for you without any problems?

Thanks for the reply, but that wasnt my question really. I`m well aware that there are much more suitable programs for video.
Just easier for me to do some of the work in live and I would like to get it to run properly. I like to work with the programs and tools I have as long as they do the job. If I can't get it to work I will look into some other options.

 

Live 8

what i mean was using a different video file(project) in a new project to see if it works,
if it works properly(exports), then there is a problem with your video files,
if doesn´t work, then the problem is other.

try with different codecs first, Photo – JPEG codec

 

Different project or video file didn`t made any difference, although I got some short videos to work with a different codec. Very bad quality though...
Seems to be a codec problem. When I try to get some high quality video exported the whole thing freezes or crashes. I will try to narrow it down and find some settings that will work for reasonable quality. If it doesnt, I have to use another application to put the files together afterwards.

Thank you anyways. Doesnt seem to be a Ableton Live related question anymore.

 

@ Towa22

Yes ok. but call me old fashioned but the time it will take to get live to work properly you could of installed one of the two prog's I mentioned and had the job done.
Plus live9 still a beta

I'm only trying to you save you time.

 

a dedicated video editor will be best, but if you want to do everything in live try this hints that helped me in the past.
.
the-best-codec-for-video-in-ableton-live-on-a-mac

Exporting Video

Ableton video export settings?

did you installed video codec packs in the past? maybe there is some conflict with quicktime.
do you use 30 frames per second?

 

Appreciate it. Timesavers are always welcome.
The thing is I already have a perfectly working solution with Final Cut Pro, I just wanted to know if I´m the only one experiencing it and if I can find a solution to make it work comfortably.
On another note I`m more on the "buy the stuff you use" standpoint, so the prog`s you mentioned are not in my range right now and for short use I try to avoid installing too much stuff and getting into all of them.
Although I´m very eager to try out both of them when I find the time.

 

Thank you for the links. I will try out all the options they found and see if I can get it to work.
I`ve installed a few codec packs and there could be some conflicts. Got to check that, but maybe some of the hints will help me to find a suitable solution.
I´m using 24fps as I`m living in Europe. But that usually shouldn`t be a problem, right? No problem to try other fps though...

 

Exporting the both audio and video with Ableton is a big waste of time. You only need to export the audio, convert it to the destination format (ac-3, aac, mp2, etc.), then remux the new audio with the source video. Re-encoding the video at this point is NOT necessary! (I am assuming it is already .mov or .mp4, since you already can view it within Ableton). If you don't know what remux is or how to do it, you need to stop and learn the basics of video production.

Tips: Remove all extra codec packs you installed. Ableton does not need them and they are likely junk that will only cause problems. You only need itunes/quicktime for Ableton video support. Just make sure those are up to date. Also, never adjust the fps (if it can be avoided) because it can cause sync issues. Changing video fps is accomplished in one of two ways. Either the speed is changed, thus changing the audio pitch (think of it like changing the rpm on turntable). The other method is frame dropping (erasing) and duping (duplicating), which can result in choppy motion or artifacts. I could explain even further (for example, interlaced content), but that should be enough for you to understand why to avoid changing fps.

On a side note, if you are in Germany, wouldn't you be using PAL standard 25fps... Or are you working with a completely digital source? Or is it high definition... You haven't provided enough details for the forum to give you a complete answer.

 

Thank you for your reply. Basically remuxing right out of Ableton would be the perfect option. But well..
I already said, that finding other options is not the problem. I shot a lot of videos and edited quite a few. Only searching for the reason why video exporting in live doesnt work for me.
I gotta go through my codec packs for sure, but I need a few for other programs. So I need to look into the ones I want to remove.
Because I shot all the footage myself I can decide which framerate to use. Most of it is shot in high definition with higher frame rates for timelapse shots. But sure I edit it for my use (Youtube, DVD, NTSC, PAL, etc...)
Thanks again. I narrowed it down to codecs and processing power of high quality videos. So I will stick with my usual workflow, but also try to get a little insight in the exporting problems in ableton.

 

It is good you are using your own video. You have much more quality control.

Yea, keep the codecs you use. What I meant was get rid of any free "super all in one codec packs," because they tend to create problems. You know what I am saying.

Maybe try this: in arrangement view, select all (apple+A or ctrl+A), now try exporting. If that doesn't work, try selecting only the video tracks before you select export. I think I remember with Ableton 8, the video export has some quirks.