Batch conversion of clip properties
 

Hello all,

I'm looking to convert the pixel aspect ratio of about 150 clips.

I've tried selecting them all on the timeline and changing the properties; I've tried selecting them all in the media pool and changing the properties; I've tried changing the properties of just one clip on the timeline, copying it and pasting the event attributes to the rest.

In all cases I've been unsuccessful.

Am I doing something wrong or is there no way to batch convert the properties of a large number of clips?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

Ian . . .

I usually leave rippling turned OFF and, instead, use "Post Ripple Editing." In this case, you delete the pieces you need to delete and then you can:

Post-edit ripple affect tracks: F
Post-edit ripple affected tracks, bus tracks, markers, and regions: CTRL+F
Post-edit ripple ALL tracks, markers, and regions: CTRL+SHIFT+F

Frequently I'll also manually move the events as needed. For example, I'll use a script to select all events after the cursor and then move them to the new location.

I suppose another option would be scripting. Were you changing it under a right-click, properties, and then the Pixel Aspect Ratio setting? If yes, I'm not sure how to do multiple events without scripting. I know Excalibur can change that particular setting on multiple events but am unsure about how many other scripts work with that particular setting.

Now, if you're changing things using Pan/Crop, the copy/paste event attributes should have worked.

How exactly were you making your change?

Hmmm. I started with HDV and rendered to SD Widescreen simply by creating the project in a HDV 60i timeline and then when I rendered I selected the DVD Architect Widescreen template. What this does is create an anamorphic image for playback in widescreen for DVD on a 16x9 monitor. Also, what this does is create a flag that will automatically crop the image for a 4:3 tv monitor - I think although I actually didn't try that but that's what I understand. I'm not sure why you would need to force the cropping or import the HDV into a 4:3 timeline. ph

There are several scripts on the VASST site that will accomplish this for you.
http://www.vasst.com/search.aspx?text=Aspect

If you have Ultimate S 1 or 2, they also have in the Audit tab, a switch that will accomplish this for you. but the above scripts are free. Look at Dithermaster's, and John Rofrano's.

XP sp1 will operate sony HDV camera BUT the 1st time you will have to manually set it up to see it ... the 1st time XP will ?? it when you plug in the 1394 .. go to device manager and look for the yellow ? then install new driver - you want XP to give you a selection to choose from - look under sony then choose ( i think it gives you 2 choices ) AV/C device ...

and of couse when you capture with vegas you must choose internal "HDV capture device " when you open V capture utility

XP w/SP 2 usually will reconize the sony HDV and install the sony driver ..

Take me through it step by step.
 

i don't have the XL H1, but i'll be renting one for a friend's wedding @end of the month. while i'm familiar with DV, i haven't touched HDV yet. can ya'll check the following steps to see if i still need to buy/upgrade any plugins so i can edit HDV effectively?

1. connect XL H1 to my wxpp computer via 1394a firewire. my computer should recognize it immediately right? no special drivers since it's based on OHCI? i currently have no means of testing it. but since you guys have done it. are there any surprises?

2. open up vegas 6c's "internal HDV" video capture and start recording of the footages. what format will they be? m2t? .avi? i couldn't quite figure it out.

3. after capturing, i'm going to assume it's m2t. in which case i need to either conver to cf codec and put it into .avi container (which will eat up lots of HD space) or use gearshift's $50 plugin. if i had to choose, i think i'll probably go with the gearshift plugin.

4. after editing, render to mpeg2 and then have DVD Architect make a DVD out of it or render to .wmv-HD.

5. i can also print edited footages back to tape, right?

6. now, how does gearshift's DV proxy work? i've downloaded those clips that Mr. Ito&Charles made. i'd like to join all those together. i haven't bought the plugin yet, is there a how-to somewhere?

1. It will connect, should be recognized and if it's not, it's very easy to get it to be recognized.

2. Vegas will capture the files as m2t files. All HDV capture tools do this, unless you're using something that converts on the fly, and even then, most tools allow you to keep the .m2t. (this is what is on the camera/tape)

3. I might have missed a question?

4. You're correct in your comment, or was there a question there?

5. Yes, you can print edited footage back to HDV tape, no problem. You'll just need an HDV deck or camcorder to do so.

6. On the GearShift page of the VASST website, there is a video tutorial as well as a printable text tutorial that explains all steps.

Thanks to both of you for your usual speedy and helpful responses! I'll start investigating!

I'm not talking about 704x480 letterbox. I'm talking about 704x480 anamorphic. I find it strange that no-one else is complaining about the slight difference between the rectangular shapes of 16:9 SD and 16:9 HDV. 16:9 anamorphic 720x480 video is a little wider than 16:9 1080i HDV video. 704x480 SD video is a better match.

Terry,

I understand about multitracking, but as for loops, think of it this way. Let's say you are doing a project with ambient sound, voice over narration, and a music bed. Vegas will be a great app for mixing the multiple tracks. However, to get that song for the music bed, you turn to loops but you need an application that is designed to work with multiple loop tracks(ie: drums, bass, guitar, horns, strings, synth, etc). You then create a finished tune which is put onto your music bed track in the Vegas timeline to be 'multitracked' with the dialog and other sound. Make sense? In essence, when you start to work with loops, you are composing music and need a dedicated application for that.

Maybe DSE will help with this answer since he uses Vegas and is also familiar with musical composition.

-gb-

FWIW, I use Vegas for "short" compositions or ambient scapes quite regularly. In Vegas 5, Sony added the ability to read ACID loop tempos, but I suspect few people actually use the feature.
You need to go into Properties/Audio, and enable "import audio at project tempo" in order to accomplish this.
For short compositions that are not complex, Vegas is great for this. But for anything that requires many pitch changes, tempo changes, etc....you really need ACID, Sonar, or something similar. While you *can* do it in Vegas, it's a lot more hassle than it's worth.

ACID is the bomb if you aren't a musician and need to create some sweet tracks.

Velocity Envelope - any way to shorten duration to match speedup?
 

Well, the title says it all. When I change velocity (speed up in this case) using Velocity Envelope, as you all know, the clip either loops (if I have that checkbox checked), or freezes on the last frame. Either way it's footage I don't want, and I have to go in by hand using trial and error to trim it just to the point at which the loop would begin.

Is there a cleaner solution to this?

P.S. - I'm aware of (and sometimes using) CTRL-drag to change the playback rate so I really do specifically mean changing the length of velocity envelopes to play only the original footage, not the original length.

. . er . . if I'm getting you right, and you don't want to "trim" post veloenvel, how about doing the "trim" preparation prior to VeloEnvel. How about creating a Subclip from Trimmer? OR highlight the area on the t/l event; open in trimmer; create subclip that way. Put Subclip onto t/l insert VeloEnvel and reduce to the first repeat notch - done!

This gives you your exact "trim" and an option to add the VeloEnvel 2 ways. Any good?

. . hey, there is gonna be others with further solutions . .. love Vegas!

Grazie

Sorry Edward, in reply to your question, I was selecting multiple events either on the timeline or in the media pool then right clicking/properties/pixel aspect ratio.

From experience of changing the properties of multiple audio clips with various audio editing tools I guessed (wrongly!) that this would work.

Thanks again for your advice.

Ian . . .