What's the best training material for Vegas?

Edward Troxel · February 28th, 2006, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Coleman

TI'm also going to take a look at Edward's newsletters (I haven't figured out where to find them yet, but I'll look around on my own before I ask that question).

The link is in my signature :-)
Glad you found them and hope they're useful to you.

Daniel Runyon · March 2nd, 2006, 07:05 PM

Vegas Editing Workshop was a godsend for me...I am not exagerating when I tell you that it changed my life for the better! Very well put together and will take you far enough in to allow you to discover the rest (more or less) on your own.

Ron Coleman · March 3rd, 2006, 08:15 PM

Thanks for the input. My copy of "Vegas 6 Editing Workshop" is on its way - I'm looking forward to reading it and learning the program. In the meantime, I have printed out Edward's newsletters. Looks like there's a lot of good material in them.

Edward Troxel · March 4th, 2006, 07:13 AM

Ron, I think you'll learn a lot from the book and the newsletters. Feel free to ask questions here as well.

Ron Coleman · March 12th, 2006, 06:12 PM

I'm about halfway through the second chapter of "Vegas 6 Editing Workshop". So far, it's mostly just explanations of different menus options and features, similar to what can be found in the manual. That really isn't what I consider "step-by-step tutorials".

Daniel Runyon · March 12th, 2006, 06:38 PM

Dude, you've barely cracked the cover.

Mike Kujbida · March 12th, 2006, 07:07 PM

If you've got a (really) high speed connection, Sony has some (219 MB.!!) sample projects on their site at http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/dow...p2.asp?DID=583

Mike

Douglas Spotted Eagle · March 12th, 2006, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Coleman

I'm about halfway through the second chapter of "Vegas 6 Editing Workshop". So far, it's mostly just explanations of different menus options and features, similar to what can be found in the manual. That really isn't what I consider "step-by-step tutorials".

There are nearly 100 tutorial veg files, with roughly 3 dozen of them specifically referenced in the book. The first part of the book is getting Vegas set up correctly, understanding digital video, and understanding the computer part of editing. The chapters about specific tools all reference veg files, and there are specific tutorials as well. If you want JUST tutorials with no background as to why things happen the way they happen, then Instant Vegas would have been a better and cheaper choice. It just covers "to achieve this, do this" and doesn't explain anything at all about the "why" that you're doing what you're doing.
Additionally, on the DVD in the back of the book, there are a lot of tutorials not found in the print segments of the book. As mentioned in the foreward, the book had a paper budget, and there was a lot more I wanted to say. So, there are many tutorials on the DVD as well.

sorry to hear you're not necessarily happy with the book, Ron. Send it back to whomever you purchased it from, and ask for a refund. In all honesty, you're the first I've ever heard of unhappy with the book. I'm sure there are a few others, but you'd be the first I've heard from.

Ron Coleman · March 12th, 2006, 08:38 PM

No need to be defensive about it, Douglas. I'm reserving judgement until I get farther into the book. It's too early to say whether I'm happy or unhappy with it.

I realize there are some sample videos on the DVD - I copied them onto my hard drive when I got started - but so far nothing in the book has called for using them. Maybe that will change as I get farther into the book - I guess I'll find out. It would just be a lot more helpful if you explained the features of the program in the context of actual examples that were tied to the sample files on the DVD - something along the lines of the "Classroom in a Book" series.

Brian Mitchell Warshawsky · March 12th, 2006, 09:26 PM

Ron wrote:

>>>>I'm reserving judgment until I get farther into the book. It's too early to say whether I'm happy or unhappy with it.>>>>

Please consider a page by page update. The anticipation is just too great.

Seriously though, the benefits from any resource, be they DVInfo, Vegas 6 Editing Workshop, or anything else available is only what you yourself make of it.

If need be, try the index near the front of the book and go to a specific section of interest. Claiming this comprehensive treatise is not "Classroom in a Book" is almost like criticizing Vegas for not handling spreadsheets as well as Excel.

Brian

Ron Coleman · March 14th, 2006, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Mitchell Warshawsky

Claiming this comprehensive treatise is not "Classroom in a Book" is almost like criticizing Vegas for not handling spreadsheets as well as Excel.
Brian

Maybe that's the problem - I'm looking for training material, not a treatise. I didn't say it was a bad book; it just doesn't have as much hands-on training (i.e., actual exercises I can use to learn the program) as I was looking for.

What I'm looking for is really pretty simple - a book that is structured like a class, where I get to actually practice what I'm learning, not just read about it. Something like Adobe's "Classroom in a Book" series.

Randy Stewart · March 14th, 2006, 01:18 PM

Ron,
I think you're right, your looking for more than a "self teach" reference. Spot mentioned his task oriented book (Instant Vegas 5) above as an alternative. I agree, you might be happier with that. However, consider the DVD's as they are more along the lines of "demonstration - performance" oriented and may be more helpful for those who like to learn by doing. Spot's books do have lots of "try this" exercises embedded in them but you do have to stop, load up the exercise .veg file, and follow along. Having tried much of the available training materials out there for Vegas (and Video Factory/Vegas Movie Studio), there is no better resource than the VASST site with their hundreds of tutorials, veg files, and top notch training materials. There are other sites that have good stuff on them too such as Spot mentioned in his earlier post. However, it's been my experience that I always end up coming back to VASST when I can't find how to do that bezier mask thing or how to use the parent/child techniques that I don't use that often. Of course, if I can't find it after doing my research, there's always these forum's. The Vegas users are the best resource in the world for support bar none! They are always there and someone has the answer or will actually do the work to help you find it. These are amazing people. The pro's who moderate these forums and author wonderful reference material are the best too. Imagine, being able to ask and have a conversation with a Grammy award winning musician, pro videographer, and world reknowned author about his work in real time. Nowhere but the Vegas community. I'd say that's pretty cool.
Happy editing.
Randy

Ron Coleman · March 14th, 2006, 06:33 PM

There's no question that this forum is a great source of information. I'll be sure to check out the VASST material when I get through with the book. I'm about a third of the way through it now - at the point where I'm starting to see some of those exercises that use the material on the DVD.

Ron Coleman · March 19th, 2006, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randy Stewart

Having tried much of the available training materials out there for Vegas (and Video Factory/Vegas Movie Studio), there is no better resource than the VASST site with their hundreds of tutorials, veg files, and top notch training materials.

Spot's books do have lots of "try this" exercises embedded in them but you do have to stop, load up the exercise .veg file, and follow along.

Randy,
What about the "Vegas 6 Class on Demand" - can you give me any specifics about the contents? Also, what about the Sony Seminar material? What I'm trying to find out before I buy any of these packages is exactly what's in them - i.e., do they have lessons where I get to actually do something instead of just watching someone demonstrate it? What little I've been able to find in the way of demos for those packages doesn't tell whether there are any sample files to practice the material in the lessons.

I've asked these questions previously, but the answers I get are always something like "Class on Demand is good" or "You won't go wrong with..." instead of specifics about what's in them.

I can assure you I have the DVD from the "Vegas 6 Editing Workshop" loaded on my PC and I'm using the sample files as the book calls for them. However, most of the material is NOT tied to the DVD - I was about a third of the way through the book (p145 - a demo on keyframes) before I had the opportunity to use anything from the DVD. There are also a ton of mistakes - unfinished sections of material (see p161, which ends with "Neverless," and doesn't continue on the next page), exercises that don't match up with the DVD files (the "Compositing Envelope.veg" project referenced on p168).

Edward Troxel · March 19th, 2006, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Coleman

What about the "Vegas 6 Class on Demand" - can you give me any specifics about the contents? Also, what about the Sony Seminar material?

For details on the COD set, you can look here:
http://www.classondemand.net/classon...ompletev6.aspx
That page shows a complete list of topics covered on the DVD set.

Here's specific information on the seminar series:
http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/pro...D=993&SPID=373

March 4th, 2006, 07:13 AM	#19
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Ron, I think you'll learn a lot from the book and the newsletters. Feel free to ask questions here as well. __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

March 2nd, 2006, 07:05 PM	#17
Daniel Runyon Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: The Deep South Posts: 168	Vegas Editing Workshop was a godsend for me...I am not exagerating when I tell you that it changed my life for the better! Very well put together and will take you far enough in to allow you to discover the rest (more or less) on your own.

March 3rd, 2006, 08:15 PM	#18
Ron Coleman Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 58	Thanks for the input. My copy of "Vegas 6 Editing Workshop" is on its way - I'm looking forward to reading it and learning the program. In the meantime, I have printed out Edward's newsletters. Looks like there's a lot of good material in them.

March 12th, 2006, 06:12 PM	#20
Ron Coleman Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 58	I'm about halfway through the second chapter of "Vegas 6 Editing Workshop". So far, it's mostly just explanations of different menus options and features, similar to what can be found in the manual. That really isn't what I consider "step-by-step tutorials".

March 12th, 2006, 06:38 PM	#21
Daniel Runyon Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: The Deep South Posts: 168	Dude, you've barely cracked the cover.

March 12th, 2006, 07:07 PM	#22
Mike Kujbida Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Windsor, ON Canada Posts: 2,770	If you've got a (really) high speed connection, Sony has some (219 MB.!!) sample projects on their site at http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/dow...p2.asp?DID=583 Mike

March 12th, 2006, 08:38 PM	#24
Ron Coleman Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 58	No need to be defensive about it, Douglas. I'm reserving judgement until I get farther into the book. It's too early to say whether I'm happy or unhappy with it. I realize there are some sample videos on the DVD - I copied them onto my hard drive when I got started - but so far nothing in the book has called for using them. Maybe that will change as I get farther into the book - I guess I'll find out. It would just be a lot more helpful if you explained the features of the program in the context of actual examples that were tied to the sample files on the DVD - something along the lines of the "Classroom in a Book" series.

March 12th, 2006, 09:26 PM	#25
Brian Mitchell Warshawsky Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Bay Area Posts: 216	Ron wrote: >>>>I'm reserving judgment until I get farther into the book. It's too early to say whether I'm happy or unhappy with it.>>>> Please consider a page by page update. The anticipation is just too great. Seriously though, the benefits from any resource, be they DVInfo, Vegas 6 Editing Workshop, or anything else available is only what you yourself make of it. If need be, try the index near the front of the book and go to a specific section of interest. Claiming this comprehensive treatise is not "Classroom in a Book" is almost like criticizing Vegas for not handling spreadsheets as well as Excel. Brian

March 14th, 2006, 01:18 PM	#27
Randy Stewart Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hooper, UT Posts: 177	Ron, I think you're right, your looking for more than a "self teach" reference. Spot mentioned his task oriented book (Instant Vegas 5) above as an alternative. I agree, you might be happier with that. However, consider the DVD's as they are more along the lines of "demonstration - performance" oriented and may be more helpful for those who like to learn by doing. Spot's books do have lots of "try this" exercises embedded in them but you do have to stop, load up the exercise .veg file, and follow along. Having tried much of the available training materials out there for Vegas (and Video Factory/Vegas Movie Studio), there is no better resource than the VASST site with their hundreds of tutorials, veg files, and top notch training materials. There are other sites that have good stuff on them too such as Spot mentioned in his earlier post. However, it's been my experience that I always end up coming back to VASST when I can't find how to do that bezier mask thing or how to use the parent/child techniques that I don't use that often. Of course, if I can't find it after doing my research, there's always these forum's. The Vegas users are the best resource in the world for support bar none! They are always there and someone has the answer or will actually do the work to help you find it. These are amazing people. The pro's who moderate these forums and author wonderful reference material are the best too. Imagine, being able to ask and have a conversation with a Grammy award winning musician, pro videographer, and world reknowned author about his work in real time. Nowhere but the Vegas community. I'd say that's pretty cool. Happy editing. Randy

March 14th, 2006, 06:33 PM	#28
Ron Coleman Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 58	There's no question that this forum is a great source of information. I'll be sure to check out the VASST material when I get through with the book. I'm about a third of the way through it now - at the point where I'm starting to see some of those exercises that use the material on the DVD.