New to Vegas; have questions.
 

Hey, all. I just recently got a copy of Vegas 8.0c, and it's great. I do have a few questions that I'm sure, with time, I could figure out myself... but I have several projects to get done very quickly, so I'll just ask and hope for the best! ...so, here goes!

1. Is there a simple way to fade in/out sound and add dissolve-like transitions to audio tracks? (I use a version of Grass Valley at work where you can add points on the audio line to bring sounds up/down. The result look like a line-plot)

2. Is there a razor-blade tool, or am I just crazy?

That's about it really. If there are any other things you guys may want to add as advice for a Vegas beginner, please feel free. I appreciate the help!

1) yes. click on the audio track header and press V to insert a volume envelope. then just double click on that to install points to fade the audio. You can also press B which will give you a master track and install the envelope there to control all the audio tracks at once. To disolve the tracks (clips, events) simply grab them and drag to the left as far as you need. 29 frames or 29 seconds or more or less.

2) Razor tool. You can use the trimmer OR simply place the clips on the timeline and then put the cursor over the point you want to trim and press S that'll split the clip then you can delete to the right or left. I prefer the timeline to the trimmer but that's just me.

Check out Edward Troxel's newsletters for all kind of help in getting started with Vegas.
Have fun

Don

Let's do #2 first. Put the cursor where you want to "S"plit the clip and press "S". You don't need to change "tools" for that task.

Now for #1. You can add a Volume Envelope to the track and add points just like you're describing. You can also split the clip and add a fade out/in as desired as well. To create a fade, put the cursor at the upper left or right corner (depending on whether it's a fade in or fade out) and it will turn into a quarter circle. Click and drag toward the middle of the clip. The farther you drag, the longer the fade.

To transition between two clips whether they be audio, video, or both, simply overlap them. The farther the overlap, the longer the dissolve/crossfade.

'preciate the quick response! Comforting to know that these options are available... makes me feel a little more at home! Also, I'm shooting with a Canon XH-A1, is there anything I need to keep in mind as far as HDV or 24f goes?

Just shoot and edit. It ought to work fine!

Thanks. I'm glad that Vegas is so easy to use. Thanks for all the needed info!

...and another thing...
 

Just thought of this. Is there a way to split, say, the video track and leave the audio entact?

VIDEO ----------=========
AUDIO-----=============

I'm putting together a news package, and I may want to hear bits of an interview before we actually see them. Is there a simple was to do this?

J and L cuts are pretty much done the same as a straight cut. I may be a bit behind the times but the way I do it is to make 2 cuts and move the video out that I don't need. There's an old script out there somewhere that does J&L cuts really easy but I can't remember where the script is anymore. I think it came out about 3 or 5 years ago.
Anyway, that's how I do it. 2 cuts. To me it's easier than ungrouping the audio and video tracks as it's too easy to move something you don't want to move.

Don

There's a few ways. First, you can simply "U"ngroup them (press "U" to do that) and then the two pieces will act as two separate pieces and you can split only one.

Next, you can click on the "Ignore Event Grouping" button which essentially does the same thing. Just make sure you turn it back off afterwards.

As Don said, this can also be done by scripts so you might want to investigate your various scripting options.

I typically use the second method as that leaves the events grouped allowing them to still show sync issues.