Which mask?

And how do I know whats the right size?

I Can't believe this.
 

I was working on a Vegas project last night and renered the results overnight. When I woke up the render dialouge box was closed but the rendered file did not render any of the changes. Worse yet, all the changes from the timeline were miraculously missing. I was working with a restored.veg file and I did save it. But I can't find it anywhere.
What happend to my project?

Have you checked the sytem file where your restore files are saved? Sorry I don't have a quick answer, just starting at the top. I've heard many interesting Vegas issues and this sounds similar to some of the "restore" issues I've seen. Usually when the restore is done, I close Vegas and re-open my new save.

There should be a .bak file where your veg is. DUplicate that .bak file and cchange the extension to .veg

2- In the video preview window, there's a button thats a white+blue rectangle with a circle inside. Make sure it's not clicked/down.

Hi Ed ,


thank you very much for the script , I copied it in a simple notepad text file and save it as a JS file in the "script menu" directory .

When I try to run it in Vegas I get the following error :

********************
Compilation error on line 18:

Objects of type 'Sony.Vegas.Track' do not have such a member


System.ApplicationException: Failed to compile script: 'E:\Program Files\Sony\Vegas 5.0\Script Menu\compositing.js'
at Sony.Vegas.ScriptHost.RunScript()
********************


Since programming is not my cup of tea I will leave it to you :)

Thank you for your time

Phil

Or, you can crop it in pan/crop but don't stretch to fill output frame.

The script needs Vegas 6 (or better, Vegas 6.0b) in order to run. It won't work in Vegas 5.0x.

Hi Ed ,


I will keep it for when I upgrade then ;)

Thank you for your time.

Phil

And easy as can be, Vegas uses Photoshop format images, so a simple transparent multilayered image in Photoshop will show up as such in Vegas.

And for the little motions, the mini-animations, use the pan/crop. Like for sliding a picture in from the side or something.

Edward, I was interested in this myself. Is there any occasion after the video has been captured to DV that going to uncompressed would be a benefit?

Text with transparent background?
 

I want to create text with a transparent background in After Effects and import into Vegas to be layered over a video track. Can I do this? If so (and for those who work in both programs), how does one export with transparent background in After Effects -- and how do I use that text in Vegas. That is, once I import into Vegas, is there any other step(s)?

Thanks!

James,

Why do it in AE, just do it in Vegas. See pages 246-247 in the Vegas User Manual and see if one of those effects isn't what you are looking for.

In AE, render to uncompressed AVI with Alpha Channel. Import that into Vegas. If the alpha channel is not working, right-click the event, choose Properties, and adjust the alpha channel settings.

Thanks patrick for the reply --

I can do more in after effects with text. Version 6.5 has some pretty cool text effects (not to mention plugs) and I'd like to use them in vegas...

Anyone?

If everything you're using is DV, none that I can think of.

O.K. So the short answer is to just minimize the number of renders. Maybe capture -> 24fps conversion -> colour correction, etc. -> final render...

Or would one do all of the colour correction and editing together, fades and all, then render with the 24fps conversion? If one wanted 24 frames.

But wait...wouldn't working in uncompressed mean you could render as many times as you wanted without degredation?

What kind of effects specifically? I'd like to see if there are ways to do them in Vegas. Just as a comparison.

Edward –

Thanks – you’ve been a great help yet again!

I was already exporting with the alpha channel (from AE), but I didn’t know that I had to adjust the event under its ‘properties.’ Success! ‘Premultiplied’ seems to look best for straight text – sound about right?

BTY -- have used your Excalibur plugin for business events editing and love it. Great plugin. I need to upgrade to the latest version though when I get a chance!

Thanks again --

Good to hear. Yes that sounds about right. Sometimes I get better results with Premultiplied Dirty, though.


Thanks.

Ok, here is a simpler question:

CCing with uncompressed footage will look no better then CCing with DV footage when both originated as DV anyway?

Thanks again!

"Ok, here is a simpler question:

CCing with uncompressed footage will look no better then CCing with DV footage when both originated as DV anyway?"

it depends on how many passes you do..

personally i see no benefit from working uncompressed, unless im outputtin for a generic AVI which i can impport into any other app, like combustion or particle llusion
Also as your talking Vegas, you may be able to get away with skipping Colour correction altogether by using colour balance and secondary colour correction to sort out gamma, curves for a proper colour grading and then whatever else you want to include..

stay away from the Levels filter, as these can get noisy and juice up alot of render time..

How should I do this?
 

I will be converting some 40 hours worth of Super 8 mm movies into DVDs for various persons-each person getting various versions from the many hundreds of scenes involved. Each roll of film is some 24 minutes long and will be captured direct to PC without tape. I would like to break up these big avi files into their component scenes each with it's own file name. Is this possible or the right thing to do or how should I go about this? I have Movie Studio 4.0. I would certainly not want to stop the projector for each scene in the telecine process for obvious reasons.

You could try capturing with Scenalyzer Live which has an optical scene detection option. Otherwise you'll need to split up the clips in post.

Raimo, to expand on Edward's post, there's an old version of Scenalyzer that may work for you. Go to http://www.scenalyzer.com/download.html and click on the "download the old freeware scenalyzer" link.

Mike

So I guess I will stick to DV then. My hard drives and I thank you.

Official reply from Sony on Vegas and Dual Core and Hyperthreading
 

I recently, several weeks ago wrote Sony asking them if Vegas took advantage of dual core and hyperthreading. Below is the entire exchange. (Read from the bottom up)

From: Sony Media Software Customer Support
Date: 08/01/05 18:08:54
To: info@droptodesign.com
Subject: I am building and need two opinions [Incident: 050718-000011]


Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------
I am building and need two opinions


Discussion Thread
---------------------------------------------------------------
Response (Kathryn) - 08/01/2005 05:08 PM
Dear Mr. Davis,
Hello,

Thanks for writing. First off, allow me to apologize on behalf of the Media Software support department. The length of time it has taken to get this reply to you is simply unacceptable, and we take full responsibility for it. You see, our email communication system runs on a database, and a flaw in what is called a "workflow rule" caused your request for help to sit unassigned to an agent.
Now, on to the question at hand.
Yes, Vegas will allow you to take full advantage of hyperthreading and dual core technology.There is no difference between using Professional and Home XP.
Thank you for waiting.
You can either update this incident or give us a call to further discuss your questions. We are available from 9 AM to 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM to 5 PM Central Time, Monday-Friday: 1-800-577-6642.

Sincerely,

Katy T.
Customer Service Assistant
Sony Media Software
1617 Sherman Ave.
Madison, WI 53704
http://www.sony.com/mediasoftware
http://www.acidplanet.com

Response (Kathryn) - 07/18/2005 02:10 PM
Dear Mr. Davis,
Thank you for writing. Sony Pictures Digital has a company policy of not recommending specific hardware. We have business relationships with many different manufacturers and cannot show favoritism. For advice on hardware, we suggest you contact a Sony Pictures Digital dealer, many of whom also deal in pro audio/video hardware. If you need a referral to a dealer in your area, you can find a full list of domestic dealers and distributors here: http://www.mediasoftware.sonypicture...te/dealers.asp
As for the 64 bit system, Sony Media Software is not yet compatible with this system. I am sorry. Here is a list of minimum system requirements for you:

System Requirements
*******deleted this part for space**********

Thank you.
You can either update this incident or give us a call to further discuss your questions. We are available from 9 AM to 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM to 5 PM Central Time, Monday-Friday: 1-800-577-6642.

Sincerely,

Katy T.
Customer Service Assistant
Sony Media Software
1617 Sherman Ave.
Madison, WI 53704
http://www.sony.com/mediasoftware
http://www.acidplanet.com

Message Acknowledgement - 07/18/2005 07:28 AM
Thank you for contacting Sony Media Software Support.

This message acknowledges receipt of your request for help. We will reply as soon as possible.


Customer (Steven Davis) - 07/18/2005 07:28 AM
First: I am considering the Matrox Millennium P650 PCIe 128 and wanted to know if this has been tested with Sony, is this a good match.

Second: I wanted to know if Vegas 5 or 6 would benefit from a dual core 64 bit system. And if the benchmarks for Vegas were better on the Intel child or the AMD 64bit x2. Since this machine will be for video editing only, I want to know what is best for Vegas 5 or 6, preferably I want to get the new Vegas suite.

Sincerely

Steven Davis

Thank you gentlemen. Does a higher version of Vegas (That is to say, from Movie Studio 4.0 ) have these scene detection features I need for my telecine work?

No version of Vegas has optical scene detection.

Hey Edward
 

I downloaded your filmlook script and now when I try to open Vegas my computer pops up my install wizard for the script. I can't open Vegas at all at this point...any idea what's going on????

Sounds like you've somehow changed your shortcut to point to the script install instead of Vegas. First of all, go to your Program Files\Sony\Vegas 6.0 folder and verify your Vegas60.exe file is still there. Assuming it is, make sure your shortcut points to that file. If, by chance, it is NOT there, just reinstall Vegas.

If you’re interested in Film Looks you might also want to check out Celluloid from VASST. It’s not free but its only $24.99 with a collection of 21 different film looks. It can render your footage to 24p, Convert 4:3 projects to 16:9 Widescreen, and can be expanded by adding new Film Look collections called ReelPaks by David Jimerson. There are a total 79 film looks in all 5 Reelpaks.

There is a 15-day fully functional free trial so you can try it on a project and see if you like it.

~jr

I tired all these suggestions, nothing worked so I just did the work over again. Thanks for the suggestions though.

purple flickering line......
 

So when I rendered a project at 24p I get a flickering purple line at the bottom of the image (but at the top of the 16x9 letterbox).
Is this a camera problem or a render problem?

Still frames into video using Vegas 5
 

I'm wondering if there is any way to mass import still photos into a Vegas timeline as single frames.
Example - the following thread is about a video shot on a Canon 20d at 5fps then turned into video, using Vegas 5. I want to know if there is a fast way of doing this, or did the guy have to go frame by frame?

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...5&page=1&pp=15

Thanks!

File
Import Media
In the dialog box, look at the bottom. Import as image sequence.

OR

programs like RAD video tools and Quicktime Pro can convert between image sequences and video formats.

OR

I think there's a way to set default still length to 1 frame. But maybe not.

If they're all numbered such as pic001, pic002, pic003 etc... the answer is YES. Just go to File - Import Media, choose the first image, and then check the box that says "Open still image sequence".

What is the source? What camera type. Also, is it captured through firewire or is in an analog capture? Only time I've seen a flickering line like that is through an analog capture.

Can you post a sample? That would probably get you an answer instantly.

DJ

Thanks Ed, figured it out...and love the script by the way!

Transitions
 

Are there any transitions out there there to be purchased for Vegas 6?
I am interested particularly on wedding transitions.
Thanks.