Vegas Video discussions from 2004 (Q1Q2)

Edward Troxel · April 27th, 2004, 07:52 AM

Yes but you'll need to purchase it through a reseller. If you already own 4, it may be cheaper to simply upgrade.

Edward Troxel · April 27th, 2004, 07:55 AM

Yep. I "stuck" the upgrade information up top (temporarily) so that it would remain on the main screen.

Edward Troxel · April 27th, 2004, 07:58 AM

First of all, it's best to use a green screen (as that's the "4" component). Secondly, it is VERY important to use good lighting. You want an even amount of light over the backdrop. Vegas does a wonderful job of keying.

(Remember, you can also use the other color correcting tools to help get a better key when lighting is less than perfect.)

Edward Troxel · April 27th, 2004, 08:01 AM

External preview is done via firewire. Connect your camera/deck/convertor via firewire and then connect the TV/monitor to the camera via RCA or S-Video. Make sure the proper settings are chosen in the camera to allow pass-thru and you will see the image on the external monitor.

(NOTE: your camera MUST support pass-thru for this to work. If it does not, you may look at something like the Canopus ADVC-100 convertor.)

Kim Kinser · April 27th, 2004, 08:22 AM

I thought it was June 7 and now I see it is June 9th. What is the truth?

Thanks,

KIM

Kim Kinser · April 27th, 2004, 08:23 AM

Thanks Edward. Do I just plug the Canopus thing into firewire and then connect it to a tv and I am done? If so, that sounds like a no brainer.

Kim Kinser · April 27th, 2004, 08:29 AM

Yes - GREEN is the right color. Photoflex Flexdrop2 or a westcott background seem to be good choices. You will want the talent far enough from the green backround that they don't cast shadows on it (consider 4 feet or more) and you don't want the green to spill onto the talent.

Light that background sperately from the talent. You can use flourescent lights to cover the backround - they are cheap and they wont heat up your room.

Also, make sure your camera has all the auto stuff turned off.

Jean-Philippe Archibald · April 27th, 2004, 08:44 AM

Try www.studica.com

Michael Estepp · April 27th, 2004, 08:59 AM

Hey Folks,
There is a procedure, and I can't remember what it's called. When you capture in AVID or FCP, you can capture at low res, edit your piece, then tell the programe to go recapture only the footage on the time line at high resolution. Do you know if Vegas 5 has this feature? What it's called? And how to work it?

Michael Estepp

Edward Troxel · April 27th, 2004, 09:21 AM

Vegas 5 currently does not have this feature. You could capture at full rez, render at low rez, and then recapture at the end.

Edward Troxel · April 27th, 2004, 09:22 AM

Yes.

Edward Troxel · April 27th, 2004, 09:23 AM

The dates seem to be moving. The Atlanta date was 5/13 but now appears to be in June. I've asked Spot for some more information.

Rob Lohman · April 27th, 2004, 09:38 AM

Kim: perhaps you'd better tell us first what camera you have
before you go and buy something else. We might be able to
tell if it should work with your camera or not.

Nick Jushchyshyn · April 27th, 2004, 10:12 AM

Green is only the "right" color for the screen if you are shooting relatively dark foreground objects. If your subject has blond hair or lots of bright colors (whites/yellows) a bluescreen is the better backdrop.
More details here.

Most workarounds for DV video work by either bluring the Blue & Red channels prior to keying, or mixing Luma keying calculations with color difference keying. "Color Difference" keying is the most common technique for profressional compositing. This is not the same as the Chroma Keying calculation.

DvGarage has a product called DVMattePro that is simply the hands-down, best DV keyer anywhere, and it's only $200. Unfortunately, it's only available as a plugin for either AE or FCP.

Another company, CSB-Digital, puts out a product called Chromanator. I've never used this, but the existing users (mostly young, amateur movie makers) are downright fanatical about it. It's designed to be used as a stand alone application next to Premiere or Vegas, sells for under $100 and includes some of the most critical compositing calculations including a color difference keyer, garbage matting and spill suppression.

The ULTRA Key product really has nothing revolutionary in terms of the compositing calculation itself. It is good, but the keyer is no more advanced than what is in the two products above. What it DOES have that is above and beyond ANYTHING else is that it is bundled with automated, moving, virtual sets. These allow you to easliy place your subject into one of several preset environments and the ULTRA product automatically moves the subject in sync with the set as the camera "moves" along a pre-determined path. You can't really edit the sets or create your own (as far as I know) but if one of the sets fits your needs, it's basically a plug-'n-play operation.

I'm not a Vegas user, so I'm sorry that I can't address any questions specifically relates to keying in Vegas, but hopefully some of this information will be useful.
Have fun.

Michael Estepp · April 27th, 2004, 10:21 AM

If I capture at high res and render at low, why would I need to recapture at high res

April 27th, 2004, 08:22 AM	#1460
Kim Kinser Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Voorhees, NJ Posts: 82	DID The VASST Tour Date for NYC Change???? I thought it was June 7 and now I see it is June 9th. What is the truth? Thanks, KIM

April 27th, 2004, 08:44 AM	#1463
Jean-Philippe Archibald Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Saguenay, Québec, Canada Posts: 1,051	Try www.studica.com __________________ Jean-Philippe Archibald http://www.jparchibald.com - http://www.vimeo.com/jparchib

April 27th, 2004, 08:59 AM	#1464
Michael Estepp Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 95	Vegas 5 Capture Hey Folks, There is a procedure, and I can't remember what it's called. When you capture in AVID or FCP, you can capture at low res, edit your piece, then tell the programe to go recapture only the footage on the time line at high resolution. Do you know if Vegas 5 has this feature? What it's called? And how to work it? Michael Estepp

April 27th, 2004, 09:38 AM	#1468
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Kim: perhaps you'd better tell us first what camera you have before you go and buy something else. We might be able to tell if it should work with your camera or not. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

April 27th, 2004, 07:52 AM	#1456
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Yes but you'll need to purchase it through a reseller. If you already own 4, it may be cheaper to simply upgrade.

April 27th, 2004, 07:55 AM	#1457
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Yep. I "stuck" the upgrade information up top (temporarily) so that it would remain on the main screen.

April 27th, 2004, 07:58 AM	#1458
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	First of all, it's best to use a green screen (as that's the "4" component). Secondly, it is VERY important to use good lighting. You want an even amount of light over the backdrop. Vegas does a wonderful job of keying. (Remember, you can also use the other color correcting tools to help get a better key when lighting is less than perfect.)

April 27th, 2004, 08:01 AM	#1459
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	External preview is done via firewire. Connect your camera/deck/convertor via firewire and then connect the TV/monitor to the camera via RCA or S-Video. Make sure the proper settings are chosen in the camera to allow pass-thru and you will see the image on the external monitor. (NOTE: your camera MUST support pass-thru for this to work. If it does not, you may look at something like the Canopus ADVC-100 convertor.)

April 27th, 2004, 08:23 AM	#1461
Kim Kinser Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Voorhees, NJ Posts: 82	Thanks Edward. Do I just plug the Canopus thing into firewire and then connect it to a tv and I am done? If so, that sounds like a no brainer.

April 27th, 2004, 08:29 AM	#1462
Kim Kinser Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Voorhees, NJ Posts: 82	Yes - GREEN is the right color. Photoflex Flexdrop2 or a westcott background seem to be good choices. You will want the talent far enough from the green backround that they don't cast shadows on it (consider 4 feet or more) and you don't want the green to spill onto the talent. Light that background sperately from the talent. You can use flourescent lights to cover the backround - they are cheap and they wont heat up your room. Also, make sure your camera has all the auto stuff turned off.

April 27th, 2004, 09:21 AM	#1465
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Vegas 5 currently does not have this feature. You could capture at full rez, render at low rez, and then recapture at the end.

April 27th, 2004, 09:22 AM	#1466
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Yes.

April 27th, 2004, 09:23 AM	#1467
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	The dates seem to be moving. The Atlanta date was 5/13 but now appears to be in June. I've asked Spot for some more information.

April 27th, 2004, 10:12 AM	#1469
Nick Jushchyshyn Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA Posts: 548	Green is only the "right" color for the screen if you are shooting relatively dark foreground objects. If your subject has blond hair or lots of bright colors (whites/yellows) a bluescreen is the better backdrop. More details here. Most workarounds for DV video work by either bluring the Blue & Red channels prior to keying, or mixing Luma keying calculations with color difference keying. "Color Difference" keying is the most common technique for profressional compositing. This is not the same as the Chroma Keying calculation. DvGarage has a product called DVMattePro that is simply the hands-down, best DV keyer anywhere, and it's only $200. Unfortunately, it's only available as a plugin for either AE or FCP. Another company, CSB-Digital, puts out a product called Chromanator. I've never used this, but the existing users (mostly young, amateur movie makers) are downright fanatical about it. It's designed to be used as a stand alone application next to Premiere or Vegas, sells for under $100 and includes some of the most critical compositing calculations including a color difference keyer, garbage matting and spill suppression. The ULTRA Key product really has nothing revolutionary in terms of the compositing calculation itself. It is good, but the keyer is no more advanced than what is in the two products above. What it DOES have that is above and beyond ANYTHING else is that it is bundled with automated, moving, virtual sets. These allow you to easliy place your subject into one of several preset environments and the ULTRA product automatically moves the subject in sync with the set as the camera "moves" along a pre-determined path. You can't really edit the sets or create your own (as far as I know) but if one of the sets fits your needs, it's basically a plug-'n-play operation. I'm not a Vegas user, so I'm sorry that I can't address any questions specifically relates to keying in Vegas, but hopefully some of this information will be useful. Have fun.

April 27th, 2004, 10:21 AM	#1470
Michael Estepp Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 95	If I capture at high res and render at low, why would I need to recapture at high res