Easier ways to make split screen videos?

[SixStringSW]

I can't believe this is so hard. I simply want to make a side-by-side (or top/bottom) video, something like this:

Video Track 1: left side of screen (or top)
Video Track 2: right side of screen (or bottom)

Then just drop a series of video clips into each track and zoom/pan each clip as needed.

I have tried several editors and NONE makes this process simple. I have to (for example) drop in each clip, set the left/right/top/bottom, width/height, etc. moving, panning, zooming, cropping each one, both for the left image and the right image. If I'm adding a couple of dozen (or more) clips to each track, it becomes a monstrous task.

I thought VideoStudio 2020 was going to work (even though I might have to add my split screen template to each track), but I can't get clips over 10 seconds to work, and if the clips on an overlay track are different lengths, it all goes to hell.

OpenShot (I use both Windows and Linux) requires all the individual adjustments I mentioned above.

Kdenlive is no easier.

It seems like one should just be able to apply masks to the tracks, then drop in all the videos and be done with it (except for any panning or zooming an individual clip might require). I see videos all the time where people have 2, 3, even 6 or 8 screens at once, whipping in new clips every few seconds (music videos, for example). I can't believe they're using any of the editors I've tried.

Can I get any advice or guidance here? Thanks!

[poisondeathray]

Not sure of the ones you listed, but in some editors (e.g. shotcut, vegas etc..) - you can apply a filter to the track head, and that affects all clips on that track, so you don't have to do it 1 by 1. (You can still apply filters individually to individual clips on that track as well)

Other editors have "nested" timelines, so you can import project as a track with clips and edits as a single clip event. So you can filter/position/resize etc.. on that and it references the previous timeline (again so you don't have to do it 1 by 1)

[Budman1]

If you have avisynth and ffmpeg all of the same resolution and you have a lot of these, I would just use a batch file to create an avisynth file:

v1=directshowsource("c:\test\Instagram.mp4" ++ directshowsource("c:\test\xInstagram.mp4").lanczosresize(640,480)
v2=directshowsource("c:\test\Instagram.mp4" ++ directshowsource("c:\test\xInstagram.mp4").lanczosresize(640,480)
stackhorizontal(v1,v2)

and then use ffmpeg to create your video.:

[Attachment 56803 - Click to enlarge]

If the videos are all different sizes, you would need MediaInfo in your batch file to adjust individual resolutions as shown if the second file of each line .(They are different sizes)
If its a straight drop and create this would be one method but if you need individual crop/zoom/pan/etc for each, its probably not the way to go. You would a windows drag and drop custom Gui

[super8rescue]

If I make a side by side using, for example, two clips in 1440x1080 I create a project that is 2880 x 1080, drop in two videos on two tracks and move each clip left and right in the frame area.

It's so easy. I use DV resolve but any editor should be able to make a custom size project.

The examples below took less than ten minutes to make.

You just need to know the aspect ratio/ frame size of your clips before you begin your project in a video edit.

If the videos are different frame sizes, go with the largest frame size and fit the smaller ones in to the timeline with a zoom or not, as you see fit.

Two side by side examples.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5bSAnatk3w&t

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-QEwuEPifg&t

Or if as you mention, doing it with a mask, in DV Resolve I put two videos on two tracks and in the colour tab of DV Resolve I draw out a mask and in the node panel I add an alpha channel output. This took ten minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wzDM3qQbqk

This example shows how I do the mask in DV Resolve. (skip to 4'55)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKifJUvB0iU

There are a number of masking tutorials for videostudio at youtube, you could almost certainly adapt one of those to your needs.

[SixStringSW]

If you have avisynth and ffmpeg all of the same resolution and you have a lot of these, I would just use a batch file to create an avisynth file:

v1=directshowsource("c:\test\Instagram.mp4" ++ directshowsource("c:\test\xInstagram.mp4").lanczosresize(640,480)
v2=directshowsource("c:\test\Instagram.mp4" ++ directshowsource("c:\test\xInstagram.mp4").lanczosresize(640,480)
stackhorizontal(v1,v2)

and then use ffmpeg to create your video.:

[Attachment 56803 - Click to enlarge]

If the videos are all different sizes, you would need MediaInfo in your batch file to adjust individual resolutions as shown if the second file of each line .(They are different sizes)
If its a straight drop and create this would be one method but if you need individual crop/zoom/pan/etc for each, its probably not the way to go. You would a windows drag and drop custom Gui

I probably should have mentioned that the clips might well be different resolutions, so I do have to move, crop, or zoom them. Thanks for the feedback, though.

[SixStringSW]

If I make a side by side using, for example, two clips in 1440x1080 I create a project that is 2880 x 1080, drop in two videos on two tracks and move each clip left and right in the frame area.

It's so easy. I use DV resolve but any editor should be able to make a custom size project.

The examples below took less than ten minutes to make.

You just need to know the aspect ratio/ frame size of your clips before you begin your project in a video edit.

If the videos are different frame sizes, go with the largest frame size and fit the smaller ones in to the timeline with a zoom or not, as you see fit.

Two side by side examples.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5bSAnatk3w&t

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-QEwuEPifg&t

Or if as you mention, doing it with a mask, in DV Resolve I put two videos on two tracks and in the colour tab of DV Resolve I draw out a mask and in the node panel I add an alpha channel output. This took ten minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wzDM3qQbqk

This example shows how I do the mask in DV Resolve. (skip to 4'55)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKifJUvB0iU

There are a number of masking tutorials for videostudio at youtube, you could almost certainly adapt one of those to your needs.

Funny I've not heard of DaVinci, esp. since it's available for Linux, too. I'll give it a try. Thanks!