Cropping Subtitles
Ever had the problem of not being able to get a raw, and only have a subbed video file? Well here's a trick that's been used for sometime on how emulate a raw look.
First you will need Virtual Dub, and to open your video file in it.
Then you go to the video menu and choose Filters.
Next in the filters window, you'll want to click add and go down and choose Null Transform and click okay. The filter will then be added to the Filters window. Why you have to use this or any filter in order to create a crop is really beyond me, but the cropping option is not available until you've placed a filter on the video. I suggest this filter though since it has no noticeable change when added.
Off to the side of the filters winow, click the word cropping (now available). Last you'll want to click the margins in the new window and drag them around till you've cropped what you wish (note: you can't always crop everything; some subs may still remain). You can also press the arrows/change the numbers in the offset boxes to fine tune the margin settings.
When satisfied with you're cropping hit okay in both windows, and then proceed on with your project.
Cropping a video segment
Virtual dub is also great for cutting small portions of video. Say if you don't want to dub an entire episode (which most don't) and only wish to cut a certain section out, then here's an easy way to do so.
Example: You want the scene that starts at about 4:22 (in Virtual Dub, it'll look like this: 0:04:22.000). To cut that portion out and work on it, move the cursor on the bar to the start of the scene (4:22), and can fine tune with the double arrow icons. Next you should see two buttons at the bottom that look like thin black half arrow-like icon. The one going to the left is the one you click to tell the program where the selection of the scene will start. The program will make a mark telling you that's where you've placed a marker.
Then, say the clip ends at 6:15. So you'll want to move the cursor to that time and then click the other half-arrow (same as before) to place the ending point.
You then go to the Edit menu and click Cut. Next, go to back to Edit and hit Select all. Then go to Edit and Delete. Finally, go to Edit once again and choose "Paste". This process will remove the rest of the video and re-insert the portion that you cut out before. Then you can proceed to render it out or whatever else you feel like doing (of course, be sure check the compression settings or you could windup with a huge file).
