Workflow Advice?

[Bill Spearman]

Thank you - that is exactly the kind of help I was seeking!

[Seth Bloombaum]

I've done a fair amount of editing as Jason describes 2 posts above. Small differences - all tape captures for one project go in one folder, which is named "raw" in my project directory. Other subdirectories would typically be "audio", "graphics", "intermediates", "final renders", and "burn".

For event-oriented projects I capture complete tapes (without scene detection or logging), and, like Jason, I also edit on the timeline. Quick use of the f11 key is your friend when you have lots of tracks! (try it.)

Cutting material that was shot film-style has encouraged me to try other workflows. In this type of production, the action is typically run several times for different camera positions/shots. This is where a workflow that uses scene detection and an off-timeline preview really comes into its own. I've found that learning all the ins and outs of the trimmer is essential to cutting a piece that features interaction between people.

I'd usually cut an interview piece in two stages. The interview audio and video gets cut on the timeline in the first pass. Insert shots/cutaways/b-roll gets cut in from the trimmer on a second pass.

A "storyboard view" workflow relies on thumbnail views of clips in a bin. The "bin" can be a directory in Vegas explorer, a sorted view in Media Manager, or, a windows directory. This is what iMovie and Windows Movie Maker do well, so, many beginners have started here. Vegas can support it, too.

Each of these types of productions has a different type of decision making in the edit. One of the great things about Vegas is that it fully supports multiple workflows with a rich set of tools. This sometimes makes it hard for a beginner, who is both learning Vegas and learning to edit at the same time.