Vegas Video discussions from 2004 (Q3Q4)

Michael Wisniewski · September 29th, 2004, 11:48 PM

For projects with more than two hours of footage, I prefer to edit on paper and then go back to the computer and put everything together.

To do this I create DVDs of the footage with the time code in the corner. That way I can sit comfortably on my couch and use the remote control to scan through and find the best takes. Then I go back to the computer and punch in the timecode for a rough edit and tweak from there.

You'll have to render any small clips into one large .avi in order to get un-interrupted time code, but I think it's a much better way to edit.

In addition, by having the footage on DVD - you can have several people help you edit the movie on a big screen TV. It's all part of the fun, and the people I work with, really look forward to the "edit parties" we have after shooting is finished.

Or if you have a time crunch, you can pass out DVDs to different people and have them edit parts of the movie on paper for you - and they don't even have to know how to use an NLE! Just common sense, and a good eye for story telling.

Rob Lohman · September 30th, 2004, 02:09 AM

Service Pack upgrades usually are no problem. That's why they
are there to begin with. Upgrading from one OS to the other
should always be avoided (Win98 or 2000 to XP for example).

However, if a PC is used very much it is not a bad idea (if you
have the ability in time, experience and knowledge) to start
a fresh installation. Get rid of some of stuff left by installations
that are now gone or other problems like virusses and such.

This is less and less needed these days though. Let's put it
this way. If you really don't have much time to clean everything
out and start from fresh again I would first try just to install SP2
on your current system. Make sure to backup all inmportant
stuff as usual.

If that turns out to not work you can always do a clean re-install
in the end.

Installing a Service Pack "should" not give you problems, usually.

Rob Lohman · September 30th, 2004, 03:49 AM

It depends on project size, for small(er) projects I have directories
like:

1. for my original source footage: "scene <number> <name>" and in those directories files like "take <number> <status>" where status can describe things like "no good" or "fast moving" or "red dress" etc.

2. my project files are in the root directory of the project with names like "20040929 projectname.veg"

3. I have a directory named "audio" for all sound effects and music

4. and I have a directory called "output" for all final rendered files and such

5. I might have a directory "dvd" with a sub-directory "output" for all dvd related stuff

On bigger projects I usually have a directory footage with all
the scenes in them (to not have 100 directories in the main root
directory or so) and a directory for notes.

I also use an excel sheet with all the takes and scenes in it with
my first and second viewing (I review all the takes) notes and
room for notes from other people (sound guy etc.).

So in the end I might end up with:

LadyX\Footage\Scene 1\Take 2b good.avi
LadyX\Output\web 320x240.mov
LadyX\20090929 ladyx.veg

etc.

I sometimes have subfolders like these as well:
- Photos
- Docs
- Music
- Promotion
- Effects
- Tests

Depending on the needs of the project

Peter Jefferson · September 30th, 2004, 06:26 AM

I'm still waiting for DL support.. How hard can it be to add 8.4gb to the project settings..

oh and KILL the auto fit GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Edward Troxel · September 30th, 2004, 07:13 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Peter Jefferson : I'm still waiting for DL support.. How hard can it be to add 8.4gb to the project settings..

oh and KILL the auto fit GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR -->>>

DL support may be harder than you think. I would imagine that YOU would also have to do some additional work in order for it to work seamlessly. You might have to specify which segments go on which layer. I'm sure it will be added at some point.

For many of us, auto fit is not needed. However, it won't be used with a proper size and format MPEG2 file so it's really a non-issue. It is great for the people who want to bring over an AVI file and let DVD-A automatically pick the bitrate to get everything to fit. So it should not be a hinderance to you.

Originally posted by Glen Elliott :
Hmmm Sony...are you listening. Maybe for 2.0b perhaps? :)
I wouldn't expect it then. Maybe a product suggestion for 3??? It's really not overly difficult to just select them all, right-click, and choose "text only" after the fact, though.

Imran Zaidi · September 30th, 2004, 07:39 AM

Agreed. Also, keep in mind that there is no better thing than to just have one install (an XP install that has the service pack embedded). This saves time and makes sure that your install is as clean and light as it can be.

Tom's Hardware has an article where they describe how you can take your own copy of XP, and a separate copy of SP2, and merge them together into one single install CD, in something called "The Slipstream Process".

http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/2...ration-01.html

Jeremy Krakowski · September 30th, 2004, 02:22 PM

I'm actually a little leary of installing Service Pack 2 myself. My mom runs a big corporation, and she doesn't want to have to reformat her computer at this time just incase the SP2 install does wrong stuff to her PC.

I guess, I AM reformatting next week, so i might as well "try" SP2.

---------------------------

About that slipstream thing....would that fix any problems that could occur normally with SP2?

I heard a little something from an IT that SP2 is "Bill Gates Terrorism"....is that true?

Anyways, im still very leary of SP2 and afraid to install it. :I

Edward Troxel · September 30th, 2004, 02:45 PM

My recommendation if you want to try it: Make an image of the drive BEFORE trying it. Then you can simply restore the image and be back where you started.

Glen Elliott · September 30th, 2004, 03:00 PM

Well what do you know- looks like the 2.0b upgrade just got released. Talk about good timing! Going to see if it fixes the problem with my output to external monitor....it states it's one of the fixes. woo hoooo!

Danny Jones · September 30th, 2004, 03:03 PM

Hello fellow Vegas users I am trying to crop or cut part of video scene. I need to know what tool does this effect. Example: I have wedding shot that the bride was not talking loud enough so she was willing to re-enact the shot for me. Well I want to just cut part of scene out and add the new background. Kinda like chromakey but without green screen shot. Hope I am clear on what I'm trying to do here..

Edward Troxel · September 30th, 2004, 03:04 PM

See.... told ya I wouldn't expect "a way to specify text only when creating the menu entries" in 2.0b!
:-)

Andre Andreev · September 30th, 2004, 05:57 PM

Thank you for the excellent replies, Rob and Michael.

What are your backup strategies?
Do you back up the capured footage?
What media do you use? Tape backup? DVD data discs? Hard disks?

Also, does any of you use the commenting capabilities of Vegas? (comments in the "detailed view" of Media Pool)

Thank you.

-- Andre

Danny Jones · September 30th, 2004, 06:54 PM

Can someone help bro out....Glenn, edward????

Glenn Chan · September 30th, 2004, 07:24 PM

1- You could use the masking tools in V5 to manually mask out the bride. This would be extremely time consuming.

2- You could use a difference key, which compares the video against a clean background image to remove moving objects that have colors different than the background. This may not work.

Vegas doesn't have a difference key filter IIRC.

3- There's Pixeldust, which will come out soon...

http://www.2d3.com/jsp/products/prod...jsp?product=12

That or similar software may be able to handle this.

4- Some combination of 1 and 2.

5- Alternatives. Use music and do a montage sequence for example. Or ADR. Or do a green screen. I am guessing that won't fly though...

Glen Elliott · September 30th, 2004, 07:54 PM

I understand what your trying to do but it's like trying to put a band-aid on a severed leg. In other words...by trying to "recreate" the shot it's going to look horribly unnatural.
Not to mention it's more work that it's probably worth. Why not try and work on the audio...boost the audio and try running noise reduction to clean it up a bit. In other words try and work with what you have.

The *only* shots I "re enact" are the exchange of rings and sometimes the lighting of the unity candle if it's located in an akward position. Good luck with it.

If you want post an MPG of it and I can tell you if it's salvagable.

September 30th, 2004, 02:09 AM	#977
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Service Pack upgrades usually are no problem. That's why they are there to begin with. Upgrading from one OS to the other should always be avoided (Win98 or 2000 to XP for example). However, if a PC is used very much it is not a bad idea (if you have the ability in time, experience and knowledge) to start a fresh installation. Get rid of some of stuff left by installations that are now gone or other problems like virusses and such. This is less and less needed these days though. Let's put it this way. If you really don't have much time to clean everything out and start from fresh again I would first try just to install SP2 on your current system. Make sure to backup all inmportant stuff as usual. If that turns out to not work you can always do a clean re-install in the end. Installing a Service Pack "should" not give you problems, usually. __________________ 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

September 30th, 2004, 03:49 AM	#978
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	It depends on project size, for small(er) projects I have directories like: 1. for my original source footage: "scene <number> <name>" and in those directories files like "take <number> <status>" where status can describe things like "no good" or "fast moving" or "red dress" etc. 2. my project files are in the root directory of the project with names like "20040929 projectname.veg" 3. I have a directory named "audio" for all sound effects and music 4. and I have a directory called "output" for all final rendered files and such 5. I might have a directory "dvd" with a sub-directory "output" for all dvd related stuff On bigger projects I usually have a directory footage with all the scenes in them (to not have 100 directories in the main root directory or so) and a directory for notes. I also use an excel sheet with all the takes and scenes in it with my first and second viewing (I review all the takes) notes and room for notes from other people (sound guy etc.). So in the end I might end up with: LadyX\Footage\Scene 1\Take 2b good.avi LadyX\Output\web 320x240.mov LadyX\20090929 ladyx.veg etc. I sometimes have subfolders like these as well: - Photos - Docs - Music - Promotion - Effects - Tests Depending on the needs of the project __________________ 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

September 30th, 2004, 07:13 AM	#980
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	<<<-- Originally posted by Peter Jefferson : I'm still waiting for DL support.. How hard can it be to add 8.4gb to the project settings.. oh and KILL the auto fit GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR -->>> DL support may be harder than you think. I would imagine that YOU would also have to do some additional work in order for it to work seamlessly. You might have to specify which segments go on which layer. I'm sure it will be added at some point. For many of us, auto fit is not needed. However, it won't be used with a proper size and format MPEG2 file so it's really a non-issue. It is great for the people who want to bring over an AVI file and let DVD-A automatically pick the bitrate to get everything to fit. So it should not be a hinderance to you. Originally posted by Glen Elliott : Hmmm Sony...are you listening. Maybe for 2.0b perhaps? :) I wouldn't expect it then. Maybe a product suggestion for 3??? It's really not overly difficult to just select them all, right-click, and choose "text only" after the fact, though. __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

September 30th, 2004, 02:22 PM	#982
Jeremy Krakowski New Boot Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Traverse City, Michigan Posts: 16	I'm actually a little leary of installing Service Pack 2 myself. My mom runs a big corporation, and she doesn't want to have to reformat her computer at this time just incase the SP2 install does wrong stuff to her PC. I guess, I AM reformatting next week, so i might as well "try" SP2. --------------------------- About that slipstream thing....would that fix any problems that could occur normally with SP2? I heard a little something from an IT that SP2 is "Bill Gates Terrorism"....is that true? Anyways, im still very leary of SP2 and afraid to install it. :I __________________ Jeremy Krakowski - CCFilms Watch Armed Conflict, the winner of BEST YOUNG VIDEOMAKER 2004 in VIDEOMAKER MAGAZINE!

September 30th, 2004, 02:45 PM	#983
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	My recommendation if you want to try it: Make an image of the drive BEFORE trying it. Then you can simply restore the image and be back where you started. __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

September 29th, 2004, 11:48 PM	#976
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	For projects with more than two hours of footage, I prefer to edit on paper and then go back to the computer and put everything together. To do this I create DVDs of the footage with the time code in the corner. That way I can sit comfortably on my couch and use the remote control to scan through and find the best takes. Then I go back to the computer and punch in the timecode for a rough edit and tweak from there. You'll have to render any small clips into one large .avi in order to get un-interrupted time code, but I think it's a much better way to edit. In addition, by having the footage on DVD - you can have several people help you edit the movie on a big screen TV. It's all part of the fun, and the people I work with, really look forward to the "edit parties" we have after shooting is finished. Or if you have a time crunch, you can pass out DVDs to different people and have them edit parts of the movie on paper for you - and they don't even have to know how to use an NLE! Just common sense, and a good eye for story telling.

September 30th, 2004, 06:26 AM	#979
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	I'm still waiting for DL support.. How hard can it be to add 8.4gb to the project settings.. oh and KILL the auto fit GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR

September 30th, 2004, 07:39 AM	#981
Imran Zaidi Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 1,315	Agreed. Also, keep in mind that there is no better thing than to just have one install (an XP install that has the service pack embedded). This saves time and makes sure that your install is as clean and light as it can be. Tom's Hardware has an article where they describe how you can take your own copy of XP, and a separate copy of SP2, and merge them together into one single install CD, in something called "The Slipstream Process". http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/2...ration-01.html

September 30th, 2004, 03:00 PM	#984
Glen Elliott Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,898	Well what do you know- looks like the 2.0b upgrade just got released. Talk about good timing! Going to see if it fixes the problem with my output to external monitor....it states it's one of the fixes. woo hoooo!

September 30th, 2004, 03:03 PM	#985
Danny Jones Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 58	How do I cut part of video scene I do not need? Hello fellow Vegas users I am trying to crop or cut part of video scene. I need to know what tool does this effect. Example: I have wedding shot that the bride was not talking loud enough so she was willing to re-enact the shot for me. Well I want to just cut part of scene out and add the new background. Kinda like chromakey but without green screen shot. Hope I am clear on what I'm trying to do here..

September 30th, 2004, 03:04 PM	#986
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	See.... told ya I wouldn't expect "a way to specify text only when creating the menu entries" in 2.0b! :-) __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

September 30th, 2004, 05:57 PM	#987
Andre Andreev Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 98	Thank you Thank you for the excellent replies, Rob and Michael. What are your backup strategies? Do you back up the capured footage? What media do you use? Tape backup? DVD data discs? Hard disks? Also, does any of you use the commenting capabilities of Vegas? (comments in the "detailed view" of Media Pool) Thank you. -- Andre __________________ It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. -- Seneca

September 30th, 2004, 06:54 PM	#988
Danny Jones Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 58	Can someone help bro out....Glenn, edward????

September 30th, 2004, 07:24 PM	#989
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	1- You could use the masking tools in V5 to manually mask out the bride. This would be extremely time consuming. 2- You could use a difference key, which compares the video against a clean background image to remove moving objects that have colors different than the background. This may not work. Vegas doesn't have a difference key filter IIRC. 3- There's Pixeldust, which will come out soon... http://www.2d3.com/jsp/products/prod...jsp?product=12 That or similar software may be able to handle this. 4- Some combination of 1 and 2. 5- Alternatives. Use music and do a montage sequence for example. Or ADR. Or do a green screen. I am guessing that won't fly though...

September 30th, 2004, 07:54 PM	#990
Glen Elliott Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,898	I understand what your trying to do but it's like trying to put a band-aid on a severed leg. In other words...by trying to "recreate" the shot it's going to look horribly unnatural. Not to mention it's more work that it's probably worth. Why not try and work on the audio...boost the audio and try running noise reduction to clean it up a bit. In other words try and work with what you have. The only shots I "re enact" are the exchange of rings and sometimes the lighting of the unity candle if it's located in an akward position. Good luck with it. If you want post an MPG of it and I can tell you if it's salvagable.