For a VERY subtle, non animated CRT effect, take a look at this .veg sample posted at the Sundance site.

http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/help/kb/kb_download.asp?id=219

I had a brief look at it this morning and it seems quite good (but I'll say it again, VERY subtle). Not sure what the missing .png files were supposed to be for, though, and whether they add something to the party.

You can vary the aperture by playing with the height setting on the checkerboard.

The included text works very well and I tried it over a still with reasonable results.

Ian . . .

What's NAMM?

That's weird. What you might want to try is to select the template,
then hit custom and change the rate to something like 300 kbps
or 250. See what that does.

The International Music Products Association ... I guess

Well, actually it is the National Association of Musical Merchants.

hmm.. ive always used blended fields, and sometimes on extreme slow mos it DOES give me combing distortions even in avi...

now i havet really used interpolation due to the fact that im working strictly with DV, and fel taht using the same routine would give me the rawest image...

now im of two minds as interpolation offers a nicer blend (for still anywyas (apart from progressive) now i have tried this an di really dont have the time to make test recordings to see which i prefer..

what do YOU prefer??

what do u think would offer the best moving blended field image with zero artifacts?

thanks in advance for any responmse

Zero artifacts is a pipe dream, simply by nature of 4;1;1 footage. Blended provides a better deinterlace, there is quite a thread on this in the film look forum.
But it's all opinion. Build a 20 second clip of fast motion, slow motion, stills, and normal DV, and run it in both. It will take all of 5 minutes. Then you'll have your own experience and thus your own informed opinion.

It's a Music Merchants show, NAB for the music industry. It's similar in size to NAB, with a lot more people. It's also a lot crazier. I've only been doing NAB for 10 years, so can't comment on it's growth or changes. NAMM, I've got photos of from every year.
Anyway, it's just great seeing music videos being edited in AE, FCP, etc. Apple and Pinnacle have 2 of the largest booths on the show floor. Of course, so did Logic and Steinberg, which is where both apple and pinnacle have taken over. Apple is also really pushing the hell out of Garage Band, which is the same as Acid Style, a 69.00 app.

This gets weirder, Rob.

I just got another segment finished (which I wanted to do before I spent too much time experimenting with the original problem project).

I thought that I would do a first render at 100Kbps as that was safe on the previous project. But NO! As I speak it has been sitting there at 99% for about five minutes. The time remaining indicator is at zero.

How very strange.

I had a quick look in Task Manager and the vegas process has 99% of the CPU. Cancelling the render seems to do nothing and the only exit is by terminating the process.

So, my problem is not limited to one template.

STOP PRESS : I just tried rendering it at 256 and it worked fine.

I'm confused! And of course now I wonder if there is something amiss with my pc.

I'm using the cookie cutter on a track of video which has a talking head (mine). I want just the mouth to remain and this is then laid over stills of an Action Man doll to give the impression that it's talking. (In case anyone is vaguely interested in why on earth I would want to do this, I am making a spoof internal training video for a customer, set in an imaginary badly run business, with action dolls as employees. Work with me on this . . .)

OK, I've had some success so far and the results are pretty funny (I used Photoshop to create various facial expressions on the Action Man - eyebrows raised, eyes closed etc).

The problem is that the talking head I'm using for the mouth keeps moving around the frame. So, I've worked with cookie cutter keyframes and with track motion and the end result is (mostly) OK; ie the mouth stays where it should on the dolls face.

However, it is taking the best part of half a day just getting the keyframes right on each 90 second segment and I can't really afford to spend that much time.

So, my question is am I going about this the right and most efficient way? Is there a better way in Vegas? Or are there any other tools I could use.

I'm not entirely clear on anything beyond basic masks, but is there any way to create a dynamic mask that follows the shape of the mouth based on it's colour? I'm quite willing to wear bright lipstick if that will help (although my wife may be concerned. Again.)

Thanks in advance of any suggestions.

Ian . . .

Does anyone know if you can add web links to a DVD menu in DVD architecht?

Michael Estepp

I've done WM9 in Vegas 4 at various bitrates, including those you mention. I have not encountered a lockup, although my source material has always been DV25 AVI files.

for faster results ( as long as it takes to play clip) ) you would use a track motion tool. you put a mark on the mouth and hit play and it tracks the mouth . now you can either steady it ( so it doesn't move around the frame ) or you can apply the movement to another clip/layer/object so it has the same tracking ... commotion and combustion i know will track it .. maybe boris red 3?

instead of putting on lipstick ..
why don't you just keep your head STILL ..
seeing how you only need MOUTH .. have somebody hold your head with their hands so your head doesn't move ...

I'm trying to create an effect where the footage is in b&w with only an animated strip that slides across the screen revealing the same footage in color.
I'm duplicating the clip, making the bottom one b&w, then adding a cookie cutter to the top clip to mask out all but the selection, then animating it with keyframes. It all seems to work pretty good.

I would, however, like to know if there is any way to modify the cookie cutter. I know you can choose circle or rectangle, etc etc. But is there a way I can click and drag out the shape of the rectangle. Similar to the way you can define the "show effects" area in the monitor view?
If not you can create a custom shape in Photoshop to act as the cookie cutter, or mask. How is that done exactly. Do you need to create a document at 720x480 with an alpha channel that has the mask. When you import it into Vegas all you have to do is choose the correct compositing mode to extract the alpha channel and use it as a mask?
Also what about animating the mask? I don't mean animating the "shape" of it but the location rather- just as I would the cookie cutter. Can that be done? I ask because I'd assume once the mask is over far enough to the left or right it'll effectively be off the frame thus not making all that it should beings the end of the mask is bleeding into the screen. Any/all of that make sense?

Glen, you may be better off if you create the mask some other way such as in Photoshop or using a black and white generated media with Pan/Crop to adjust the size. Then you'll have more flexibility than with the cookie cutter.

much appreciated, i just thought someone may have a definitive answer to this question..

I'll give it a shot sometime next week

I'm not sure what happened to the dates there. On my system, they show Jan 15, 2004. New scripts from others went up there today.

Aha - looks like the "date added" date is based on the local system date. I looked at the Sundance downloads again this morning from a different pc and the date was correct. I guess the system date on my other pc is a little bit out. Like three years!!

Looking forward to digging through the new stuff!

Ian . . .

I agree that it would be very useful to alter the shape of the masks created in cookie cutter. Even if it was just to change the proportions of, say, the rectangle, or the "flatness" of the oval. That would have been a great help with my "mouth" masks that I mentioned in another thread.

The cookie cutter is such an easy way of creating a quick and dirty mask that it seems a shame it's limited to those few (fixed proportion) shapes - many of which aren't particularly usable IMO.

As Edward says, I suppose the most flexible method is DIY with Photoshop. I really must learn how to do that . . .

Does the video and photo album have to be on the same disk? If you put a DVD or CD with files of jpg images the playe should have the option to show them auto or interactive.

Web links can be added in Vegas. Not sure if the carry through in DVDA.

My guess would be this is a problem in your Windows Media
stuff. I'd suggest trying to (re)install the latest Windows Media
Player from Microsoft and reinstalling Vegas. See what that does.
Sounds like something is buggy in your installation.

How do you add Links in Vegas?

When creating a mask in photoshop what dimensions should I start with...the standard 720x480? Also what do I do create an all white/black image to be used as the mask...or do I actually have to create an alpha channel? How about animating a mask like this?

The mask only needs to be black and white. If you make it 655x480, it will fill the screen correctly. However, If you are going to be moving it around, you may want it larger to make sure you cover the edges at all times. Use Pan/Crop to move and size it.

Put the timeline cursor at the proper location and press "C"

That will create a "Command Marker" which can place commands in a WMV file.

Square pixel (i.e. computer images) that are 654X480 or 720X534 in dimensions will look the same in Vegas (no stretching or stuff cropped off). That's because DV pixels are rectangular, not square.

Aw, but I wanna . . .

For future segments I'll make sure my head is still (I've got a kids basketball hoop on an extendable pole which I thought I could jam my head into, although I think my wife would more unnerved at the sight of that than me wearing her lipstick).

Unfortunately, I had already shot a load of footage which was originally going to be used as a straight talking head PinP until we came up with the action man idea. As I have started down the road with the original footage I kinda didn't want to have to reshoot it all again as I would then have to re-edit the already completed segments.

However, your advice is sound!

I'll take a look at some of the solutions you mentioned but I don't really have the budget right now . . . maybe later in the year.

I've heard it's best to create the graphic at 720x534 then resize back to 720x480 before importing. Thats for graphics not masks though. I probably would have to create the graphic much larger than 720x534 to accomidate any motion I want to add with key-frames.

So I *don't* have to create an alpha channel- just a simple black and white image and Vegas can use that information (black=mask, white=no mask).

Does Vegas support the LITEON LDW-811S drive? I know it is not on the list of supported drives, but I am hoping it still will work.

I'm not sure, but you can try out the demo of DVD Architect to
see if it works?

I'm sorry, but I just got vegas, got some video up there and have added separate audio, but cannot seem to figure out how to fade the audio independently (before the end of the song) Do I have to do it in Acid or Sonor ( I have them )
thanks for any help,

Dave

That's very easy and is done in the same way on the video track.
At the end and beginning of an event (whether it's video or audio)
you can see a small triangle in the upper corner. If you hover
your mouse over it, it will turn into a triangle with two straight
edges and one round. It also has a double sided arrow and
displays a text regarding the gain (audio) or opacity (video).

Now hold the left mouse button and drag it either left (end of
the event) or right (beginning of the vent) to fade out/in.

An event is a single media item in a track. If you have multiple
files (scenes for example) on a track you have multiple events
(one for each). Audio and video are seperate events (entities)
in Vegas.

If you need to fade in/out during the event, you have two options.
You can either split the event at the cursor position (with the S
key. If you only want to split one track instead of all, just select
the event you want to split [by clicking on it] and then hit the
S key. If you moved the position bar you can get it back without
losing the event selection by using the cursor keys). Once the
event is split you have two triangles on either side of the split
and you can just follow the example above.

The second way is to add envelopes (with key frames). Right
click on the track (can be audio or video) OUTSIDE any events.
Now go down the "Insert/Remove envelope" menu and select
"Volume" (Shift+V) for audio tracks and "Fade To Color" for
video tracks. A line will be added in the middle of the track
and you can right click on any part of the line and choose
"Add Point". If you make two you can drag one of them down
to change the opacity/volume from that point on. You can also
drag points to the left or right to change when the change
begins or ends, or you can set a specific value by choosing "Set To"

Thanks Rob, That was extremely easy, but I sure couldn't get that out of the manual.
Dave

ASR [ Attack, Sustain, Release ] - Page 121 Manual "Using Audio Event Envelopes"

The Triangle Thingy - page 122 Manual "Setting An Event's Fade in and Out"


Loads of stuff there . .

Grazie

I only have 99 pages in my manual

Dave

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/download/step2.asp?DID=447

This'll get you to the Monster 300+ page V4 Manual. Great stuff . . .

Enjoy!

Grazie

The 99 page manual is more of a "quick start guide".

Download the full manual from the link Grazie gave you AND press the F1 key - the help file is a tremendous asset.

I am editing a short film I made in Vegas 3. In one of the shots, a character is looking through a pair of binoculars. I want to put a mask over the shot to show this. I tried using paint, but the mask looked more like looking through a periscope than binoculars. Is there a way to create the mask in Vegas? If not, is there anyplace I would be able to obtain the mask?

Thanks

Thank you, Ian and DSE for replying to this.

I looked at both the vegas file and the hologram tutorial.

I achieved the tv signal artifacts I wanted by scripting the TV simulator properties in adjacent frames.

For the film I added the TV simulator with no aperture grille nor interlacing so that I could use the sync properties to simulate "skipping" of the film (the frame moving up or down, off the center of the "film projector".

What I noticed though is that it takes a lot of keys on the timeline and was wondering if there is a script which randomizes the parameters given minimum and maximum boundary.

Thanks,
-- Andre

My first short is available at http://weeklydv.com/short.php?id=125

create it in photoshop ...or get a black piece of paper - cut out the shape you want .. shoot it with white in b/g or scan it ( should be white background from scanner lid - if not white then use white paper together with black cut out) ...
then drop it on track above .. use the chroma key fx on the WHITE .

ask friends if they know anyone that has tracking software - some of the upper AVIDS have it , FCP maybe ? , some pinnicale NLE software comes with commotion ... boris red 3 tracks ...
maybe friend is going to college that has it in edit lab ??

You don't need to use Chroma Key for the mask. Just Parent/child the tracks. (make sure the mask is black and white!

Zenote has a randomizer plug-in.

The film look/effect filter in Vegas4 does the same thing. Set it to jitter, and turn the other options off.

My first short is available at http://weeklydv.com/short.php?id=125 <-- wow. That's a great short film.

Ok lets say i want to slow down my footage via velocity envelope to 50%...how do i go about synching the audio to that speed as well? Thanks!

hit control and drag the audio for a time stretch :)

What about feathering the edges of the "eyepieces" so they appear slightly out of focus.

Thank you so much!

Dave

You would need to do that in photoshop. Just use varying shades of gray.

You cannot control the speed of audio with a velocity envelope. So, your options are:

1) Use CTRL-Drag to change the speed of the clip
2) Adjust the audio in an external program (such as sound forge)
3) Split the clip at relevant points and only adjust the speed of the sub-clips (assuming you can adjust the audio in some other method).