When wanting to layer something over something else, you place it on a track ABOVE the background. If you place it on the same track, it will replace the original background. So, set up the project as such:

Track 1: Text Generated Media
Track 2: Video background

Also, when adding the text generated media, pick one with a checkerboard background. That indicates that the background is transparent allowing track 2 to show through.

In the text generated media are many options including the drop shadow option.

I recommend you look through my newsletters at http://www.jetdv.com/tts

ok, im confused now

More Information
 

Thanks, Edward. It worked just fine.

But there is some additional information that I didn't know about.

When I first did what you suggested, it still didn't work right. It showed the background through the letters. So I took a look at the compositing mode, and in my messing around, I had changed the compositing mode to "screen"

There are about 12 different modes that it can be in and I guess "source alpha" is the right mode.

I had also managed to add a "parent overlay mode" which was set on default.

In order to get rid of that, I had to delete the track then start over.

What I'm discovering is that if you are trying to do some, you need to remember to "undo" what you try each time, so that you don't end up with something that just doesn't work.

Thanks again, though. I've got it working now, but I still don't really get all the other options.

Milt Lee

If you have the parent/child mode selected between tracks 1 and 2, the video will show in the LETTERS.

Any good or GREAT Vegas books/guides?
 

Can anyone reccomend any books or guides to help me get to that "next level" in terms of editing with Vegas?

I'm now quite comfortable with synching my multiple video and audio sources and using some different techniques (thanks E.T.!) to switch camera views...

But now I want to get a bit more creative with it. I'd like to crop around a portion of one of my video feeds and track the movment of the object within that crop and then mask the background out and then put some visuualization effects on that background.

I'm not even sure if these types of things are possible within Vegas and for the price I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't.

Any pointers or titles, or websites would be muchos appreciated.

Thanks,
Kevin

Yes, those are possible. You need to get comfortable with masks and keyframes. With a mask, you can easily cut out a small section of a video. With keyframes, you can track the motion of that section.

As for training materials:
My newsletters http://www.jetdv.com/tts
Gary's DVDs http://www.VegasTrainingAndTools.com
Spot's DVDs & book (available at various locations)
VASST training tours http://www.vasst.com
etc...

Thanks guys!

Hydravision runs great and has made things a lot easier!

Artistic color correction. Can be done with the color corrector.

Edward...will Vegas 5 be worth the upgrade?
 

I ask this knowing you are into wedding videography as I am myself. Are any of the new features helpfull for this genre...better yet- $300 helpful?

I see ads now for Vegas+DVD, new additions in Vegas that are touted are:
-3D motion and compositing
-Keyframable bezier masking (???)
-Control surface support (???)
-Evelope automation recording (???)
-Auto-input record monitoring
-Film-style 5.1 surround panning (???)
-Real-time A/V event reverse (wonder if they fixed the problem where you can't reverse spliced clip)
-Media Subclip creation (? Similar to Premiere's Virtual Clips ?)
-Customizable keyboard mapping
-Networked rendering
- and much more ( ???)

i honestly think it will be with the 3d motion and compositing alone...

this is combustion style tools were talkin about.. all in one package...

film style surround is something im also curious about though...

Yes. Look for more information very soon.

Where are the ads you are seeing?

Ad on the back of the May issue of Digital Videomaker.

It's an add for Vegas+DVD "production suite"- which also lists some of the new features in DVD Architect 2:

-End actions (woo hooo!)
-Multiple audio tracks (where's mutliple camera angles!)
-Subtitle support
-24p DVD encoding (that's ALREADY supported?!)
-Elementary Stream Import
-Project overview window (???)
-Real-time external monitor previews (nice!)
-And much more (???)

Good you have it solved. The problem most likely isn't Vegas at
all since I can't see why it would need Terminal services for it
to run. But Vegas is probably using some component of Windows
that does require it to run. So there you have it.

Quote from SonyDennis:

Vegas supports Windows XP "Fast User Switching" and this uses "Terminal Services".

Thanks for that Edward! We learn everyday here <g>

Hi,

I see Glen mentioned a few possible features of DVD Architect..I am a bit of a novice to authoring.. Have done a few with Architect 1.. Can you give an explanation of end actions??And maybe an example of using multiple audio tracks??

thanks,
Mike Moncrief

End Actions allow you to specify what will happen when a process "Ends". For example, right now if you have three small MPG files and make a DVD in DVDA, you will get the first one to play and it will return to the menu. You can play the second one and it will return to the menu. With end actions, you can specify that the first one is to play and then, when it is finished, the second one is to play.

Multiple audio tracks can be useful when you want to put out a DVD with English and Spanish voices, for example. Or maybe you want the standard sound track and a "commentary" track.

Sweet -- bezier masks, subclips and network rendering. Everything but the kitchen sink, apparently.

I know my pennies are saved :D

- jim

Thanks Edward for the expalantion !!

Mike Moncrief

By the way, check out shareware program Ultramon. It does a better job than the ATI stuff.

It seems to remember windows better and gives you a second taskbar.
http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/

"Everything but the kitchen sink"

i hear they do included the some of the sink !!

Why did you apply a pan/crop tool? If you have your project set
to widescreen and then render out to a widescreen MPEG2 file
and set DVD Architect to a widescreen project all shoot go good.

Edward - isn't there a "ghetto" way around end actions and commentary tracks? For end actions, just edit the three clips together in Vegas and then use that file or edit the files specifically for how you want them to be played? (I guess this only drawback is file size if you're re-using clips a good deal) and with a commentary track - just play the movie and record yourself talking and drop this new audio file onto your original project and output as the "commentary" version? Again, most of us aren't popping out hour long films, so it seems the file size could be possible providing that this is a single feature DVD?

-I'm looking more for possibly faster render times than anything else (i only have one PC right now so network rendering is not of much use to me). I love Vegas, it's my current NLE of choice and I've had extensive time with Premiere and FCP. The only drawback is even though its real time actions are far superior, its final rendering is, as we all know, a good deal slower than its rivals. This I see being Vegas' main drawback and weakness that holds it back from dominating sales wise over Premiere or atleast gaining higher respects than Premiere.

There's 3 work-arounds for end actions:

1) Render to a SINGLE file so they automatically continue on to the next and use chapters for individual sections.
2) Create a MUSIC compilation DVD which will accept video material.
3) Manually edit the VOB menu structure.

The only work-around I know for a commentary track is to actually include the video twice.

Making a video file with an expiration date
 

Does anyone know how to make a video expire after a specific date? I have done a bunch of searches and have found the Microsoft offers Window Media DRM but it's very expensive to use. Does anyone have this product or know of a cheaper one.

I basically want my video to be shown for 30 days then expire.

Any help would be helpfull!

Thanks,

Jon

Before 5 hits a few Vegas 4 questions
 

There are a few things I've never been completly clear on in regards to Vegas 4....some of them may be a bit stupid but I'll list them anyway:

1 What does the envelope edit tool do? Anytime I create an envelope of any sort I never have a problem adding removing or changing points. What's the difference between using the standard edit tool and the envelope edit tool for editing envelopes?

2 What is the "Group w/ Event Attributes" button's use?

3 What exactly is resampling. I understand the difference between it's ativiation settings (smart, forced, disabled) but what does it physically do? I'm assuming if I ctrl+drag a clip to change the speed it will use resampling if it's set for smart- right? Also do I have to choose "reduce interlace flicker" when slowing clips down. Granted I haven't noticed any jerkyness- but I remember back in Premiere I had to ALWAYS chose "reduce interlace flicker" on all slowed clips. I'm not choosing this option in Vegas yet still getting silky smooth slo-mo...why? Resampling?....if so, again, how- what does it do?

4 Supersampling? What's the difference between resampling and supersampling? When would I need supersampling? What are it's advantages- how about disadvantages other than extra time in render?

5 Color correction. I've gotten by, thus far, using color balance to correct my white balance issues, etc. I know the color balance filter is much more robust however I don't quite understand how to use it "well". Is there a good color correction tutorial on the web? How about a tutorial on Secondary Color correction filter?

6 Track motion. Ugh, this has gotten me so many times- I go in there add some animation only to see the clip isn't moving the way it should once I go back to the timeline. The reason: it's a track level adjustment. I seem to forget that the timeline within the dialog box represents the ENTIRE timeline and not just the instance. For this I'd assume it's best to use sync cursor- correct? Why would you NOT use sync cursor to timeline with track motion?

7 Velocity envelopes. Another feature that can get tricky. Let me get this straight- it's IMPOSSIBLE to "reverse" a clip that is cut. ...Let me explain, my workflow entails I capture each DV tape as a single 1hour DV file. I lay it on the timeline and splice it up....sometimes I see a clip I want reversed yet it doesn't allow me. This is, I'm assuming, because it's not a complete file but only a spliced section of it. So the only way around this would be to import the whole 1 hour file, reverse that, THEN resize it so it only shows the portion I need reversed?!
Also, correct me if I'm wrong but you have to make your splices BEFORE you run a velocity envelope. I'll slow a clip down, find the exact point I want to splice it...yet the clip to the left will be out of whack ....it won't be contiguous to the clip on the right the way it was prior to splicing. I remember Edward mentioning his method for using velocity envelopes and splicing on MANY occasions- you'd think I would have actually absorbed it once. NOPE. :)

So if any of you care to take a stab at all/some of these I'd greatly appreciate it. If I haven't explained any of the issue correctly please let me know- I can get caught up in my propensity to over write. Thanks in advance.

Man, where do we start? :-)

1) The Envelope Tool will let you select multiple envelope points and move them en-masse.

2) Never seen a "Group w/ Event Attributes" button

3/4) I'll defer to here http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.co...ies=107&Page=0

5) The best color correction tutorials I know are by BillyBoy http://www.wideopenwest.com/%7ewvg/tutorial-menu.htm

6) Yes, you must make sure you are in the same timeframe as the event. Sync Cursor is a good means of doing that. I don't like the Sync Cursor when using Pan/Crop and very infrequently use Track Motion in such a way that the entire track cannot be modified. Remember, the Track Motion keyframes also appear in a small bar below the picons.

7) No, it's not impossible. You're just approaching it wrong. You have to START AT THE END. Make your FIRST cut at the end of the clip. Now make a second cut somewhere to the right. Add the velocity envelope, reverse it, and then resize as needed to find the new "ending" point.

I have simplified the process of reversing a clip using Excalibur. In this case, you CAN do your workflow and it will properly adjust the position of the clip so it reverses what you really wanted.

set the project properties to widescreen

then use the pan/crop 16x9 preset ...

when you render be sure to check the box " stretch video to fill frame do NOT letterbox...

I don't think anything exists for that. And even if it did, it would
propably be very easy to work around. Normally you show less
of a full movie, or in a bad quality or with some notifcations on it.

To the best of my knowledge time limit stuff doesn't exist.
Hollywood has been experimenting with DVD's that are sealed
from air and when exposed to it (by opening the case) they will
go "dark" within 48 hours. But that's still more than enough time
to copy them for example.

A full End Action facility will allow you to specify a range of things to happen at the end of a clip - e.g. go to sub-menu X etc., as well as simply play another clip.

They used to have something in Mission Impossible about "this message will self - destruct in 10 seconds" -I wonder how they did that ;)

If we told you then we'd have to kill you. Mission Impossible you know!

:-)

Don

cross fade help
 

I cant delet a cross fades can you help. I zoom in on the timeline right click on the crossfade and delet, but no luck I still see a blue curve line ??

Thanks Vince

Multiple machine use
 

If I have Vegas on my machine now, and I buy a new computer, will I be able to install the program on the new machine as well?

You can install Vegas on multiple machines. However, you can only use that singly licensed Vegas installation on one machine at a time. If you want to run Vegas on more than one machine at the same time, you need to purchase another license.

Thanks... I read a bunch about the dvd expiration after 2 days and it costs too much.

I am really not interested in an expensive solution but a cheaper one. I am also not interested in the people who will be able to get around the protection. I just wanted the general amount of people to have it expire after 30 days.

After researching it, a movie encoded in Windows Media Player with Digital Rights Manager will give it many rights. For example, date to expire, times to play, times to burn to CD and more. This file would only work on a computer connected to the internet.

Another solution is to save it flash and give it an expiration date.

Both methods are easy to get around. Just reset your clock to a non expired date.

Thanks,

Jon

Shorten one of the events until the crossfade disappears. Otherwise you could MOVE one of them until the crossfade disappears. The two clips are physically overlapping and you need to remove the overlap - not "delete the crossfade".

There is an option on the tool bar to turn off auto crossfades. If you turn that on and overlap clips, you still won't get a crossfade.

<<<-- Originally posted by Peter Wright : A full End Action facility will allow you to specify a range of things to happen at the end of a clip - e.g. go to sub-menu X etc., as well as simply play another clip. -->>>

Agreed. I definitely would not claim the work-arounds are a substitute for end actions. However, they ARE work-arounds for specific problems that could be solved by end actions.