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[Watch in HD!] My first ever MEP part I did for bluefakerstudios. Somehow the rule where I needed to pick ONE character slipped me entirely. I am usually thorough when it comes to MEP rules. I guess maybe I was just a bit too eager/excited etc to start the part? In any case, the host excused my mistake and still allowed my part. Which I very much appreciate. The full MEP can be watched on YouTube.

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[Watch in HD!] About a month or so ago, I was asked by a friend to take a part for an old MEP that was originally cancelled. For this part, I just stuck with the editing style that was most commonly used within the Sonic editing community in 2012 (which was when this MEP was originally hosted). I wanted the part to fit in with the rest, and hopefully not look too out of place. The editing style used is also the exact same reason why I took this part in the first place. 2012 editing style is rather low effort for me, and doesn't require much thinking, and was a nice change of pace.

The full MEP can be watched on YouTube.

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[Watch in HD!] A MEP part I made for the collab MEP between @blueblureuphoria and @bluesuperstudio. The full MEP can be watched on YouTube. I was in the middle of watching the last few episodes of Sonic Prime Season 3 when the sign-up for this MEP came out, and instantly I got ideas for this part with Nine. I wanted to tell a story that centred around him, Sonic and Shadow, and that pretty much summarised season 3 of the show at the same time. The song lyrics definitely helped with these ideas. I usually don't do masks in my MEP parts, due to masks in general taking a long time to make, and me eventually just wanting to do something else entirely. However, I felt like this story would feel incomplete without the mask and so I pushed through. The mask took me roughly 2-3 weeks to make. The gradient, fluid background that appears behind Nine was a custom overlay done by me in After Effects! The mask was also done in After Effects. Everything else was made in Magix Vegas Pro. I'd also like to thank @xxbatcountryxx for helping me with suggestions, and also with the mask itself. She finished it up when I basically got sick and tired of doing it lol

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A release trailer for my latest mod. Definitely go check it out. The trailer itself is a recreation trailer of an older Heroes trailer. Check the description of the video on YouTube for more information.

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[Watch in HD!]

A MEP part I did with @xxbatcountryxx This part is for @blueblureuphoria's Closer To The Edge MEP. Fun fact: both of us made this part together in real life during the 2 weeks she stayed at my house (she got the honour of being the first ever internet friend that gets to meet me) and I am so happy to finally have met her irl. We had tons of fun making this together. I placed down a lot of the clips (over half), she placed the rest. I did the Dark Sonic glowing eyes effect, along with some small shakes, while also suggesting text ideas (mainly the end text), and giving input on the part in general/fixing a small portion of it when the part was done. By the way, the zoom transition effect that goes from Night of The Werehog to the Unleashed opening was also my idea. And of course, the she did the coloring. Fun fact 2: I originally decided to base the clips off of the meaning of the song lyrics, that can be found here, as that is personally what I also think of when listening to the song. Overall thoughts on this part: I am actually quite proud of it and not going to lie, this is the most favorite part I have ever made.

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[Watch in HD!] This is my MEP part for @xxbatcountryxx's 2nd birthday MEP! You can watch the full MEP on YouTube. Pretty proud of some transitions and effects in this part. I believe this was my first time using the Vegas Pro Flow plugin as well.

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[Watch in HD!]

This is my MEP part for @xxbatcountryxx's birthday MEP! You can watch the full MEP on YouTube.

I have no comments to make about this part.

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My collab parts for the collab I did with @xxbatcountryxx. The full version of the collab can be viewed on YouTube (I recommend reading the description there, too).

Honestly, I feel a bit "eeeh" about certain aspects of the part I did at around the halfway point. I wish I could have made it better.

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Essential Windows Programs I recommend

Last updated: November 1st, 2023 Header name change: "Programs for debloating, tweaking and making Windows more private." Added: WPD under "Programs for debloating, tweaking and making Windows more private." All programs listed here are free and/or open source. This list will be updated with new software or with better software over time.

Starter pack

PortableApps About: Bring all your favorite programs, bookmarks, and settings everywhere. winstall About: Install Windows apps quickly with Windows Package Manager. It has 5150+ packages and growing. Mailspring or BlueMail About: Both programs are a free mail client. They each have a pro option, but you can use the programs without their pro features. Brave or FireFox About: Both are internet browsers that are focused on protecting your privacy. MediaPlayerClassic (MPC-HC) with K-Lite codec pack About: A better and faster alternative to Windows Media Player. OneCommander About: OneCommander is a modern file manager for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Features include tabs, dual-pane browsers, columns navigation, built-in preview, a theming system, color tags, and much more. It's free for personal use with no ads. NanaZip or 7-Zip About: Both programs deal with file archiving and extracting. ImageGlass About: A better and faster alternative to the default photos app. Has features like a color picker, cropping tool and more.

Obsidian / Syncthing About Obsidian: Obsidian is a note-taking program. It has plugins that you can install. This note-taking app automatically saves your work as you type. About Syncthing: Syncthing is a free alternative to syncing your Obsidian notes between devices. 1Clipboard About: A clipboard manager app that saves what you have copied from your Desktop, and lets you search your clipboard history easily. You can even connect your Google account to this app to have clipboard history sync across devices. EarTrumpet About: EarTrumpet is a better alternative to Windows' volume control. FxSound About: This program boosts sound quality, volume, and bass. Also includes an equaliser and effects. Everything About: Locate files and folders on your PC in an instant. It searches through your C drive and all other connected drives. ShareX About: A better way to capture screenshots of your Desktop. Has a lot of features. MusicBee About: MusicBee is a music player. It allows you to export and import playlists. It also has add-ons. LibreOffice, OnlyOffice, or OpenOffice About: All 3 are free alternatives to Microsoft Office. PDFgear or PDF24 About: Both are a PDF reader and editor software.

Programs for debloating, tweaking and making Windows more private.

O&O ShutUp10++ About: This program gives you full control over Windows 10 + 11 settings and functions. O&O App Buster About: Remove unwanted apps from the Windows Store. Winaero Tweaker About: Tweak hidden settings in Windows 10 + 11. WPD About: WPD is the most convenient way to configure various privacy settings in Windows. BloatyNosy About: This is only for Windows 11. It streamlines and houses all the essential settings under one app and allows you to disable and remove unnecessary features.  MSEdgeRedirect About: A tool to redirect news, search, widgets, weather, and more to your default browser.

PowerToys About: PowerToys is an app that adds or change features for Windows 10 + 11 to maximise productivity.

Programs to customise Windows

iTop Easy Desktop About: iTop Easy Desktop is a Stardock Fences alternative. It allows you to organize your apps, folders, and files. Rainmeter About: Rainmeter allows you to display customisable skins on your desktop, from hardware usage meters to fully functional audio visualisers and widgets.

Lively Wallpaper About: Free animated desktop wallpapers with music visualisers, widgets and more. Open Shell About: A collection of utilities bringing back classic features to Windows.

Programs for gamers

NVCleanstall About: This program lets you customise Nvidia GeForce Driver packages by removing components that you don't need or want. Display Driver Uninstall (DDU) About: Completely remove graphics card drivers from your system. It supports both Nvidia and AMD.

Other useful Windows programs

Process Hacker About: An alternative to task manger. A free, powerful, multipurpose tool that helps you monitor system resources, debug software and detect malware. LockHunter About: A tool that helps you find out what is blocking a file from being deleted, and also gives the option to force delete the problematic file.

oceanaudio About: oceanaudio is a simple-to-use audio editor. A better alternative to Audacity. Advanced Renamer About: A program that can easily bulk rename files and extensions. It is free for personal use. File Converter About: A very simple tool which allows you to convert and compress one or several file(s) using the context menu in Windows explorer.

Flow Launcher About: A quick file search and app launcher for Windows. iTopEasy Desktop and PowerToys has a similar feature. Kotatogram About: Based on Telegram Desktop, has all its features, but it also has some more useful and cosmetic features.

Programs for nerds (monitoring, stress testing etc). OCCT About: CPU and GPU stress testing with errors. Supports single and multicores. HeavyLoad About: A free stress test for the CPU and GPU. It also lets you test whether your PC will still run reliably under heavy load.

FurMark About: FurMark is a GPU stress test program. HWiNFO64 About: A hardware analysis and monitoring program. It is most commonly used to monitor the temperatures of your PC components. CPU-Z About: A freeware utility that detects information about your computer processor, motherboard, memory, and graphics card. CrystalDiskInfo About: Shows you the health status and the temperatures of your SSDs and hard drives. CrystalDiskMark About: Test the speeds of your SSDs and hard drives. ThrottleStop About: ThrottleStop can help you lower temperatures, increase performance + battery life on your PC.

My other guides

Go here if you would like to view other guides I have written.

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An explanation as to why I set my gaming videos to private.

Recently, you may have noticed that on my InfiniteValley Sonic gaming channel, all my videos are gone. That is because I have set all my videos to private there, and I will no longer be continuing on with the project. The reason for this is because this project in general takes a lot of my time and energy. Energy which I usually don't have, and could spend doing other stuff I enjoy. As an example, recording a single Sonic stage without mistakes (deaths etc) can take me about 6 hours to an entire day of work. This can easily leave me feeling burnt out as a result as well. In return for this kind of work I do, people normally just tend to take my videos, use them in their edits/projects and not give me credit or recognition for it (unless I ask them to do so). Now, as for the channel itself: will it completely die now? No, not necessarily. I have other project plans for this channel. But the videos themselves may not be released for a good while. You can also expect this channel to go days/weeks or months without uploading.

Update (16th of September 2023): Due to a lot of people messaging me that they appreciate my work and the poll I hosted saying that a lot of you would like me to continue, I have decided to eventually resurrect my channel after my break. To be honest, I am a long time depression sufferer. Intrusive thoughts come bundled with it, and said intrusive thoughts can make me feel very down if I dwell on them for a long time (which I have the tendency to do). These thoughts were also part of the reason I was considering giving up my work (not just the energy factor). Kind messages from all of you tend to help me combat these thoughts tho, which I very much appreciate. Thank you ❤

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Why video bitrate matters

A lot of people don't seem to understand the importants of video bitrate when it comes to making videos. I will show you why it is in this guide. Video bitrate is essential for HQ videos. Not setting the right bitrate could leave you with a video in low quality, rather than the desired output. In short: The higher the bitrate, the better quality the video will be in. If the bitrate is low, the quality for the video will decrease. Higher bitrates tend to take up lots of storage space and generally take longer to render, but it is worth the wait. For example, when I record 4k 60fps videos at 90,000mbps or 90mbps (megabits per second), a 1 and a half hour long video can equal up to 55GB or more. If space is a concern for you, I recommend getting either an external HDD or a large capacity internal HDD and a HDD docking station in order to use the internal HDD. (The docking station is only recommended if you are using a laptop/have no more room for HDDs in your PC case). If you need to check what bitrate your video is, I recommend using the program Mediainfo which can be downloaded from here. Mediainfo is only for windows users. You can always check the video bitrate natively in Windows by right clicking the video file, selecting properties and then going into the "Details" tab. Below is a guide of what you should set your bitrate to for various platforms and for the most common resolutions and formats. YouTube

SDR video upload

2160p (4K) with 60 fps: 53-68 Mbps

2160p (4K) with 30 fps: 35-45 Mbps

1440p (2K) with 60 fps:24 Mbps

1440p (2K) with 30 fps: 16 Mbps

1080p (HD) with 60 fps: 12 Mbps

1080p (HD) with 30 fps: 8 Mbps

720p with 60 fps: 7.5 Mbps

720p with 30 fps: 5 Mbps

480p with 60 fps: 4 Mbps

480p with 30 fps: 2.5 Mbps

360p with 60 fps:1.5 Mbps‍

360p with 30 fps: 1 Mbps

HDR video upload

2160p (4K) with 60 fps: 66-85 Mbps

2160p (4K) with 30 fps: 44-56 Mpbs

1440p (2K) with 60 fps: 30 Mbps

1440p (2K) with 30 fps: 20 Mbps

1080p (HD) with 60 fps: 15 Mbps

1080p (HD) with 30 fps: 10 Mbps

720p with 60 fps: 9.5 Mbps

Tip for YouTube: It is highly recommended to upload your videos in HDR 4k to avoid compression on the platform. Twitch

‍1080p (HD) with 60 fps: 6 Mbps‍

1080p (HD) with 30 fps: 4.5 Mbps‍

720p with 60 fps: 4.5 Mbps‍

720p with 30 fps: 3 Mbps

Instagram

3.5 Mbps. 

Twitter/X

5 Mbps Vimeo & Facebook

Both Vimeo and Facebook use YouTube's bitrates. This guide was created on the 4th of September 2023 and will be updated if necessary.

My Other guides

Go here if you would like to know what programs I recommend for making/manipulating videos. Go here if you would like to view other guides I have written.

[enchinebula]

Programs and tools I use to make videos

Hi, today I will share the list of programs and tools I use to make high quality videos. I will also explain what they are, and the settings I personally use (for the programs that need it). This guide is aimed towards Windows users. All programs are free, unless otherwise stated.

Definition of words that will be used in this list:

Codec: Codecs are compression technologies and have two components, an encoder to compress the files, and a decoder to decompress. There are two kinds of codecs; lossless, and lossy.  GUI: Short for “Graphical User Interface.” Converting/converter: Video converters are computer programs that can change the storage format of digital video. Append: Combine two or more videos into one.

Program 1: Media Player Classic with K-Lite codec pack

You can download MPC-HC with the K-Lite codec pack from here. About MPC-HC: It is a better and faster alternative to Windows Media Player. MPC-HC can play all sorts of different video formats with the added K-Lite codec pack. Both MPC-HC and K-Lite codec pack are completely free.

Program 2: AMVtool

You can download AMVtool from here. About AMVtool: AMVtool is a video converter mainly aimed towards AMV creators. It is a GUI for FFmpeg. This program is completely free. The Settings I use for AMVtool The difference between slower (placebo) and faster (ultra fast) presets is the slower ones tend to have better quality, while faster presets convert the video faster, but at the cost of reducing quality.

Program 3: MKVToolNix

You can download MKVToolNix from here. About MKVToolNIX: Is a small collection of tools that allow you to manipulate MKV video files. This program is completely free. What I mainly use it for: I find this program very useful for appending many video files into one. Here is a visual guide on how to do that. You need to have at least one video added on the list before you can append videos. To get the option, right click on the video you have added. The neat thing about this software is that it allows you to select multiple videos to append at one time, rather than one video at a time. Be aware that all video files need to be in the same file format and codec in order to be appended properly without any visual errors. The program will save your final video as MKV. You will need to convert it if you want it in a different format.

Program 4: Avidemux

You can download Avidemux from here. About Avidemux: A free and open-source program for non-linear video editing and transcoding multimedia files. What I mainly use it for: Trimming/splitting videos should they need it. This method is so much faster than re-rendering the entire video in a video editing software like Vegas Pro or After Effects. Here is a visual guide on how to trim videos. Be sure to change the video, audio, and output settings before saving (if you need to). Splitting a video is similar. Just only set one marker instead of both.

Program 5: Media Downloader

You can download Media Downloader from here. This program also has extensions which you can get from here. About Media Downloader: A program that can losslessly download videos from YouTube and other places (depending on what extensions you have installed). It is also a GUI for yt-dlp. yt-dlp is considered the best way to download videos. Extensions I use: gallery-dl, wget, and you-get. Both the program and extensions are completely free.

Program 6: FFmpeg/FFmpeg Batch AV Converter

FFmpeg can be downloaded from here. Go here if you require a guide to install FFmpeg. FFmpeg Batch AV Converter can be downloaded from here. About FFmpeg: A tool consisting of a suite of libraries and programs for handling video, audio, and other multimedia files and streams. It is a powerful tool with many options, but has a bit of a learning curve. FFmpeg is mostly for advanced users. About FFmpeg Batch AV Converter: A GUI for FFmpeg and the easiest way to use FFmpeg. Both programs are completely free.

Codec 1: Lagarith Lossless Video Codec

This codec is not included in the K-Lite pack. I highly recommend downloading it. You can download it from here. If any other codecs are mentioned from here on out, they are not included in the K-Lite pack and need to be downloaded separately.

Tool 1: Voukoder

Voukoder can be downloaded from here. (Instructions are included). About Voukoder: Voukoder is a system-wide video and audio encoding service for Windows. This tool can be used on various editing software. It improves the render quality. Here are the settings I use. Warning: File sizes for the videos can drastically increase with this tool + these settings. Render times may also increase.

Notable mentions:

DaVinci Resolve. The program can be downloaded from here. About DaVinci Resolve: It is one of the best free video editors. There is a paid version, but that is optional.

This guide was created on the 29th of August 2023 and will be updated if necessary.

My Other guides

Go here if you would like to know why video bitrate is important and what bitrate to use for your videos. Go here if you would like to view other guides I have written.

[enchinebula]

[Watch in HD!]

This part was for @blueblureuphoria's Live Your Story MEP. The full MEP can be watched here (YouTube). I am very pleased with how this part turned out. I had lots of ideas here, and they all turned out the way I imagined. Most of this was edited in Vegas Pro, the only thing that was made in After Effects was the animated pink text. Edit: I just realised near the end of the part (with the Forces & 06 split screen effect), the Forces clip isn't covering the entire screen. fml 🙃

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[Watch in HD!] This part was for Re:Set's Dark Purple Sky MEP. The full MEP can be watched here (YouTube). Not much I have to say about this part, other than that I am happy with the Sonic 06 moon transition I made. Oh, and I was inspired by MinekoNyanAMVs uwu

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[Watch in HD!] This part was for SonicFan140's Undefeatable MEP. The full MEP can be watched here (YouTube). A lot of work went into this, as I ended up recording the Frontiers clips myself. I felt like I could have done better with certain effects, tho I am happy with the beginning of my part.

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[Watch in HD!]

This MEP part was a birthday gift for: AeroRush! The full MEP can be viewed here (YouTube). Part of the rules required me to use a sunset-like coloring, which is why I mainly used orange tones here. Also, this is the first MEP part where I used my own Sonic X Japanese blu-ray encodes! I am extremely pleased with how these encodes turned out.

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This is my Celestial part that I made with RockOnRatchet95 for @blueblureuphoria. Pretty much all the effects were done by RockOnRatchet except for the color changing effect at 0:05 which was my idea. RockOnRatchet and I both added clips for this part. I greatly appreciate their help, as I couldn’t have finished this part without them. You can watch the full MEP/project on YouTube.