I have to click on an area inside the trimmer a few times to get the shortcuts to work again, like the window has lost focus.

Sounds like that's exactly what's happened - the trimmer window has lost focus and you must return focus to it (which you're doing by clicking in it). You could try returning focus to it by pressing ALT-2 instead of clicking.

With the project's pixel aspect ratio set to 1.3333, try right-clicking on the video preview and selecting "simulate device aspect ratio." That should do it. You may begin to see some weird macro blocking in the image when you select this setting, but it's only in the preview and does not actually affect the footage in any way.

Either of the two adjustments you are talking about will actually effect the true aspect ratio of the video files when you render them out. You definitely don't want to do that. "Simulate device aspect ratio" is a preview-only setting, and will not effect render settings.

In the past when encoding for DVD authoring with DVDA, I have rendered from the Vegas timeline to an intermediate .avi and then encoded to MPEG-2 from DVDA. DVDA will allow you to choose the optimum bitrate for your project based on the size of the media.

I've recently decided to switch workflows and render to MPEG directly from the Vegas timeline using the MainConcept encoder and then render audio separately, as with some projects this would seem to cut out a round of encoding by bypassing the DV intermediate altogether, and thus potentially giving better results.

The problem is that when you choose this route, you have no idea if your encoded MPEG-2 file will fit on the disc or not, or likewise, if you could have squeezed in a little more bitrate to improve quality.

Is there some way to optimize the bitrate like in DVDA? Or is it necessary to calculate the optimal bitrate based on some kind of formula? If so, what is that formula?

Is there some way to optimize the bitrate like in DVDA? Or is it necessary to calculate the optimal bitrate based on some kind of formula? If so, what is that formula?

YOU have to figure out the proper bitrate. I have a bitrate chart in vol 1 #7 of my newsletters. There's also several bitrate calculators available for download.

Thanks, Edward. Seems like if Vegas were able to give you the final file size before you encode, you wouldn't have to worry about potentially having to re-render a project because your MPEG-2 was either too big or too small. But I guess there's no way for Vegas to predict the filesize when using variable bit rates. Anyway, the chart will help. I appreciate it.

Mark your calendars!

The next Washington Baltimore Vegas User Group (WBVUG) meeting will be held on Saturday, September 16th 2006, from 1:00pm - 3:00pm at the Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library. The Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library is located 1 1/2 blocks south of Chevy Chase Circle at the Maryland state line in Washington DC, NW near McKinley Street and Connecticut Avenue. We currently have reserved a meeting room that seats 50 people so there is plenty of room for everyone. There is no charge for attending the meeting but come prepared to share "Tips, Tricks and Lessons Learned" while working with Sony Vegas.

So come on out and meet your fellow Sony Vegas video editors located in the Washington, Baltimore and Northern Virginia area!

Thanks and we hope to see you there.

If you have any questions, please contact Mickey Grackin at www.oicproductions.net/wbvug.html.

Tentative Agenda:


1:00 - 1:20 Meet & Greet/Networking
1:20 - 1:40 Introductions/Past & Present Projects
1:40 - 2:20 Presentation? Show and Tell?
2:20 - 3:00 Closing Discussion

Is there a way to use Vegas' Track Motion /3D Track Motion to effectively track camera motion? It seems like the key frames might not be accurate enough, and the tutorials I've found detail how to create an excellent picture-in-picture effect, but nothing for actually tracking the motion of the camera. Perhaps I've missed a tutorial on point?

I'm studying tutorials for Voodoo, Icarus, and others, but I'm hoping there is a way to keep it in Vegas.

The desired effect:

Inserting animated CRT displays into intentionally handheld footage in which the practical CRTs have been covered in green chromakey material.

Thanks for any advice.

Brian

you might be able to get away with 2 ( 2 1/2) D tracking software ..
combustion might do it - it will track the 4 corners of your TV set and then set in the B roll and apply tracking info ( it will bend the corners ) ..
IMO vegas is not really set up for motion tracking ..

here's effect done on FLAME - keying/stabilize/tracking a clear plastic size sceen ( edges of screen are lit so you see edges) with blue screen material on it .. and then keyed with image that gives illusion you can see thru image to back wall..

Excuse my ignorance but I'm trying to target a 100mb file from a 5 minute clip. Is there a formula: time 5 mins = 300 seconds x 256kps = 76.8mb?

I'm trying to max the quality and keep it under 100mb.

Any schooling on the subject is appreciated.

Yeah, it seems now that they've given us an inch we try to stretch it out ot a mile... The keyframing in all the NLE's are a nice BONUS but they are no replacement for things like After Effects and such in any serious keyframe/motion tracking work. These things CAN be done in Vegas but they are rediculously tedious and less than ideal.

5 minutes = 300 seconds
100 MB = 800 Mb (8 bits per byte)
800/300 = 2.667 Mbps

Thanks Guy.

Here is the simple calculator I use
http://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm

Vegas could provide an estimate of file size - doesn't matter if it is variable rate; for variable rate you specify an average rate, and that can be used in the calculation. It would need to do the same for the audio (as generally these are rendered separately). But it doesn't....

I'm not sure which version is actually correct.Since the pixel aspect ratios are different the clips will never match full frame. What you need to do is open Event Pan/Crop on the M2T file, Right-click on the frame and select Match Output Aspect. This will crop out the black so that the HDV footage matches the PAL DV Widescreen project aspect.

~jr

Oh. Oops. I misread the original post and then misunderstood the question. John's right.

Thanks, Mark. That calculator will be very handy.

Vegas 6, Scene Detection Box Checked, sometimes gives me 2 or three files (out of many record start stops on the tape), generally doesnt. In v5 it sould give me a seperate scene for each time record was started and stopped. I'd like 6 to do the same. Any ideas? Thanks!

Is the clock set in the camera? Scenes are detected via jumps in the date/time code. If the clock is not set, scene detection will not work.

Brian, have you tried SynthEyes?
If not here is the link to their main page.

http://www.ssontech.com/

The clock was not set, thanks for the great information (again)!!

Two more questions for today =)

The first, is there a way to get more than 300% velocity on video?

The second (I have done this before, but it was two years ago and have since forgotten) is how do I put a border around a track I have reduced in size?

Thanks guys!

1) Yes there is. Also set the playback rate (i.e. hold down the CTRL key and resize the event smaller) and you can get up to 12x.

2) Look to the left of the word "Border" for the small triangle. Click it. (It's the "pre/post" flag).

Edward, is this check box in the pan/crop menu?

Edward's probably having dinner so I'll take a shot at it.
Apply the Border FX and then look for that triangle.
It makes a major difference to the FX which way it faces.

Ahhhh, I have to add an effect....I'll check that out after this prerender finishes

Actually, I probably was having dinner! :-)

Yes, you have to add the border effect. Then look to the left of the word "Border" at the bottom of the FX dialog box (left of the keyframe timeline). That little triangle is one of the best kept secrets of Vegas!

That little triangle is one of the best kept secrets of Vegas!

Sincere thanks to people like you who discover these "secrets" and then share them with the rest of us.

Thanks guys, this little project is turning out great. I feel like I should add posters names to the associate editors credits on every project ;)

Joe,

Thanks. From a cursory glance, it looks like SynthEyes is a great program, but may represent a substantial overkill for the modest needs of my project.

As I mentioned, there are a number of worthy programs out there which we are evaluating, but I was hoping Vegas would prove to be up to the task.

Brian

When I make videos for the Web, I halve the frame rate to 14.985fps to keep the file sizes reasonable. Obviously, this makes the motion jerky. My question is whether Vegas is capable of obtaining a convincing motion blur? I have tried fiddling with the motion blur length and type but in the end I still have an unconvincing sequence of superimposed frames. I am looking for streaking like you would get by increasing the exposure time.

I already know about RevisionFX's motion blur plug-in for After Effects, but I do not have the time to render the project once more just to run it through After Effects.

I've noticed vegas 6 is selling for 99 bucks. It includes the cineform codec I think but not the associated softed "connect hd". So generally, how does one use the codec without the software?

V6 comes with the codec ... so you would capture HDV thru V6 .. then you would drop mt2 clip in TL and render out using cineform codec ...

if you had connect HD - you could use it to capture HDV and at same time convert mt2 to cineform .. you have choice to keep both files or just keep the cineform ...

also connect HD can be used to convert any mt2 to cineform file .. i believe connect HD uses VFW which makes playback a little easier on processor & provided other benefits ( check cineform site)

Hi,

I'd like to train someone who has no experience in editing to use Vegas and I remember seeeing a simple very basic online free video tutorial that I thought was done by Sony but I haven't been able to find it since after a couple of days of searching.

Does anyone know where it might be? It was about 10-12 pages and covered just the real basics of Vegas editing.

Thanks.

Tony

That sounds familiar...

Did you check the download pages for the older versions of Vegas? I'm thinking V3 or V4.

Seth was right. It was Vegas 3. The tutorials (24.3 MB) are at http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/download/step2.asp?DID=375
There's also some Vegas 5 stuff (taken from the Vegas 5 and DVD Architect 2 Seminar Series) at http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/support/trainingvids.asp?prod=vegas5

Thanks very much, guys!

I am having a real problem here. I can record sound through my microphone (Videomic) but there is a tremendous amount of hiss and the voice levels are quite low. I have searched this and other forums in search for help without success.

I have a Realtek AC97 sound card which I understand isn't great. I don't need professional results but I am looking for something decent which I am not getting.

I am using the Mic Boost in the advance settings. The hiss disappears when it is not selected but so does the recording sound.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Curt

I am discovering the delights of nested projects while cutting a trailer. A small problem I have run into is how to select events in the nested project. Say I have multiple sound tracks and I only want to copy some of them. What is the easiest way to get to the event in the nested file from the timeline containing the trailer?

There is a very long and technical answer why you're getting all the hiss by using the mic jack on your sound card but it won't come from me because I don't know. I have a vague idea why but it's not enough to warrant me posting about it with any authority.

What I do have is a work around.

Cheap and quick work around: Talking with your team mates while playing those on-line games is a necessity. Manufacturers have made headphones with built in mics. If you want to capture just the voice audio these work, not professional but do-able. My Altec Lansing AHS515 cost $40. Test it with boost on and off but I've always had my boost on. I use it to do BTS commentary for the movies my team makes with me. Sound has always been fine for that.

Expensive and kind of worth of it: On the low end you can buy an mp3 recorder (think iRiver T30 series $150 USD) and record to that. More expensive is Sony's MZ-M100 recorder (I bought one of these and like it a lot $400 USD). Sound is only going to be as good as your microphone though. There is another one but it's more expensive than the Sony. I don't remember the name of it but I've seen pro audio guys talk about it being the best solution. The nice thing about this set up is that it's totally portable. Set it up in a studio controlled environment (think moving blankets and quiet room) or take it on location.

Hope this helps some.

Tony, you might also have him check out the "Beginner's Corner" series in my newsletters.

Hope this does not break any forum rules. I have an instructional DVD project that I need to get finished. I just don't have time to do it and need to hire a pro.

TIA,

Konrad

Right-click it and choose "Edit Source Project"?

That does not select the event; it takes you to the beginning of the timeline, so you have to search the nested file for the particular event.

I was attempting to download some themes from the Sony website. Following directions, I downloaded them to the DVDArchitect\Themes folder. When I started DVDA, the new themes were not showing, but the old ones were all there. I used the explorer window in DVDA to look at the themes folder for the new ones, but they were not there. I then used "my computer" to look in the folder and the new ones were listed. When I went back to Architect the Theme, Button, and Background tabs all were empty with text "No Themes(buttons,backgrounds) Available."

Is there anyway to get them back, short of re-installing DVDA? Thanks - PK

I have a clip and want it to go from black and white to normal color. Can vegas 5 do that? what are the steps?

Hi Brian,

My method would be to use an instance of the Sony Black & White plugin on the video track or clip you want to affect.

At the beginning of your clip you'll want a FX keyframe with the plugin level at 100% (ie 100% b&w) and at the end of the clip add a second keyframe with the value set to 0% (ie off, or full colour).

Ian . . .

I have a USB shuttle, but no luck, the problem still persists... perhaps it is solved with the new Vegas 7?

Besides, I only have the problem with HD files, SD-files work fine. If it was a constantly outputted keystroke, SD would suffer the same problem...

I also use Vegas 6.0d and I have not noticed this problem.

Tonight I will load an HDV take into the trimmer and play it.

Do you have trouble on the actual timeline? I am not having any of your symptoms on the timeline.

Yes, since the problem does not appear with SD takes then it probably is not a random keystroke. However, just for a test, remove your USB Shuttle.

DVD A has two themes folders: "themes" which has a series of "thm" files and "_Themes" which has a series of folders (one for every "thm" file in the other folder). You need the "thm" files in the "themes" folder and they automatically populate the "_Themes" folder.

Indeed, i failed to mention the most important part: When i take the file out of the trimmer and onto the timeline, the problem is gone... i.e., the problem is only when playing back from the trimmer...