Program always stops working when i make a mask layer inside the subeditor

Hi, mgeorgieva ,

So just to confirm, when you are adding the element (video/photo) to the mask, the program crashes?
First question; what version of PS are you using?

Now I'm using PS26 and I believe I was able to successfully replicate what I think you are trying to do. As a general rule to myself, whenever I'm doing something complex in PS, I'll do it in stages. What I have found is if you edit for too long or complex, the system will start to lag and even crash. So out of habit I frequently save my project and I even restart the program to "refresh it."

So If I was doing your project, I would do the following (this is an extreme example to make a point)

Create the split screen and add the initial elements (video/photos)
 - Let it render. Save the project. Restart PS
Add Keyframes for movement
 - Let it render. Save the project. Restart PS
Create the mask
 - Let it render. Save the project. Restart PS
Add element to mask
 - Let it render. Save the project. Restart PS

Like I said this is an extreme example but you get the general idea. Try it to see if it works. If you are still having issues, we'll dig deeper.

Oh no, I'm not sure what you did? This has never happened to me. It sounds like you accidentally overwritten both projects but I'm not sure how you did it? If the projects had different names they should not have been overwritten. It shouldn't have mattered if they were in the same folder

As part of my process, I typically make version numbers of my project so that I don't overwrite the previous project. For example, I might not like the changes I made in the new project so its easy just to go back to the previous project. eg. hiking_trip_01, hiking_trip_02, hiking_trip_03 etc. Also, in each version I use the project notes to list what changes I made. For a typical project I usually have at least 5 versions. Once the project is exported into a movie I'll keep the last version and delete the earlier ones.

Unless other forum members have a suggestion, you may need to start over. Look on the bright side - good practice!

Hi mgeorgieva ,
Since you are having problems with Pinnacle Studio my advice would be to seek a refund; for a number of reasons. And the following is my own personal opinion.

Typically I would recommend another program called Videostudio 2023 Ultimate. In fact you can get a 30 day trial of Videostudio Ultimate and this version is currently cheaper than Pinnacle Studio (in my location). It is Pinnacle's little brother and more consumer oriented. I learned video editing on Videostudio before using Pinnacle Studio. I own both programs. In some cases it shares the same features as Pinnacle Studio such as split screen which you are currently using. Since you know how to use split screen in Pinnacle, you will know how to use it in Videostudio.

You mentioned Studio Backlot. I subscribe to this service for its stock footage, overlays, sounds and projects. More importantly it has excellent video training in both Pinnacle Studio and Video Studio. Its a great resource and I highly recommend  it.

But here is the problem. Alludo, the company that owns both Pinnacle Studio and Videostudio recently closed down the company sponsored User Forums. This forum and the Videostudio forum have been created by the users so that we can still communicate and help each other. Here is the link to the Videostudio Forum:

Paintshop Pro and Videostudio Forum 

It appears, and this is my personal opinion, that Alludo will no longer be developing these two video editors going forward along with some other programs. Videostudio 2024 should have been released last February but it wasn't. What this means is no further enhancements, features or optimisation to the software. There may be minor bug fixes but that's about it.

Things may change, but at this point of time, the future looks bleak. You can still buy the software, just understand that it may not be further developed or supported in the future so I am reluctant to recommend these products to new users.

I along with many other members on this forum, are trialing different editors in light of Alludo's actions. I am currently trialing Vegas as an alternative editor. Its more of a professional editor and I must say it has a unique editing methodology which you have to get use to but once you get the hang of it, you should be fine. Can it do what you are trying to achieve with split screen and masks, I personally don't have the experience to answer that question. I'm just a beginner. The best person to ask on this forum is tonyp who is a Vegas Pro experienced user. Tony may chime in on this post. Also, the members on the Vegas Pro forum are very helpful.

Vegas Pro Forum

But unfortunately you are entering into this video editing arena at a very interesting time. The company that owns Vegas Pro; Magix, has just recently gone into self administration; meaning that its broke. So the future of Vegas Pro and the other video/audio products owned by Magix is in question at this stage. The link below covers our discussion regarding Magix. I also update the members on my current activity of reviewing different video editors which you may find informative.

pinnaclesystems.freeforums.net/thread/100/magix-neverending-story-consumer-death

In light of these facts there may be other video editors you may want to consider. But if you do decide to go with Alludo or Magix offerings, be sure there will be volunteers on the user forums to help you. 

Corel did not sell their products, nor was not acquired by another company.
It's simply a rebranding of the company. Its new name is Alludo.
They kept the old names of their products portfolios: Corel, Pinnacle, ...
The fact that it is likely that they are letting some of them die slowly is another thing.

Hello, tonyp,
thank you for the reply. I'm making slideshows. I don't have many other videos than those from the Backlot site, mainly.
The audio recordings are made with Audacity (and edited with it). I've had such issues with another program and converting the MP3 with another program seemed a nice workaround. I contacted support and they asked me to do an audit of the system. After i sent it, they didn't answer. It seems that they may have closed the ticket before. Now the audio and visuals are synced, no problem with that. The problem was in VideoStudio. The problem here is the constant crashing. The processor is not overloaded, neither is the graphic card. I have an Intel i-5 processor (11th generation), 2 GB NVidia graphic card, 24 GB RAM (ddr4), and it's an SSD drive. Windows 10. The system requirements are far less. Though the program does not use them. Sometimes it crashes when it uses only 1.5 GB of RAM. If it could use more, i guess, it would not crash so much, or? I've tried with/without hardware acceleration and with/without additional codecs. And the hardware acceleration allows the program to use just a little bit more RAM (sometimes up to 2.5 GB) but it still crashes. I don't want to leave it. But the thing with the overwriting of the projects is also hard to swallow. So, any advice would be appreciated.

mgeorgieva, thanks for the reply and clarification. Have you tried exporting as a WAV file in Audacity? As for your computer specs, i5 11th gen is really no information. CPU make/model is,like in my computer specs at the bottom. Are you graphics drivers up to date? The minimum specs to use the software to me, has always been underplayed by Corel. Sure, the software will load and run, but how smooth will it be? Also, a lot depends also on what other software you have installed on your computer. Where do you have your Storage location?
A photo slideshow should be easy to do. And if you have Videostudio Pro installed, you get Fastflix (or something like that), where you can set things up for a photo slide show. Also, in Pinnacle, there is Smartmovie. Have you tried that?

As for what appears to be no further support for the products, that doesn't make the product any less useful. I am still using Microsoft Office 2003.

Hi mgeorgieva,

If you go into Control Panel/Project Settings you can change the field for Auto saving your project. Mine is set for every 5 minutes. 

As a personal rule, when you open an old project and you want to make changes, before doing any editing, save the project under a different name or version. Then start editing. That guarantees you will not save over your previous project.