two questions
 

1) How do you make the name/title of each clip show up in the timeline on the clip itself?

2) I put a white block from "generate media" to make that flair for transitions. It caused the letterbox to go white. Never had that happen. How do I keep that from happening?

1) View - Active Take Information (Ctrl+Shift+I).

2) Sorry but no idea :-(

#2. put it on a separate track, use track motion to set the size to match your 16:9 ratio.


But the REAL question, why are you seeing a letterbox?

Thanks. Btw, I use Vegas because it's the most intuitive for a technical moron like myself, but, "Active Take Information" sounds like something Babelfish would come up with.

My guess is 'cos there is a mismatch between Project settings and media? Soooo, I guess the prior questions would be to ask - What are your project settings? What is the format of your Media?

I had to look REAL hard to catch that white area?

And, BTW, we do have a flash transition in Vegas? Maybe you've tried it and not liked it? But I thought I'd bring it to your attention.

Grazie

- Yeah, but which ear did you stick it in? Shouldn't matter? BBC Online - Cult - Hitchhiker's - Guide - Babel Fish

Grazie

Thanks, until tonight I'd never ever used a transition in Vegas other that cross dissolve which I accomplish by dragging the clip in the timeline.

Brian, another very nice dissolve to use, but you have to do it manually:

Use the gausian blur at the end of one a clip keyframes. I don't use it much but at times it is very nice.

Overlap the clips and drag one of the the cross effects into the transition, easier than keyframing the gausian blur.

Paul.

Thanks Jeff, looks good, but like all transitions aside from cross dissolve, not sure where I'd use it. What situations do you use it?

Paul, didn't work when I tried that, it just applied the transition to the whole clip, not the overlap.

Eh ?Are you sure you didn't apply an effect to the clip ?
A transition is just that, a transition.

Paul.

Brian, Paul sounds right, sounds like you accidentally applied an FX to a clip instead of a transition. Transitions and FX are two separate panels.

Where to use the blur? I don't know, I use it SO infrequently, but mainly for situations calling for an elegant transition, particularly with photos. I use tons of pro photos mixed in with my wedding videos and that transition works nicely.

Ah I misunderstood, I thought you meant that the Gaussian blur effect dragged onto the overlapping clips on hte timeline would create a gaussian dissolve as it were.

Sorrry Brian...it's more complicated than that. This "blur transition" is not in the transition section. You use keyframes with the Gausian Blur FX to create a transition of your own. If you don't use many transitions, forget about it, it is not that big a deal.

I tested the homemade gaussian blur transition. As you all say, it's a nice look. Still don't know when I'd use it.

Whenever you feel it's right for the piece you're doing.

Thank goodness we've gotten away from using ALL the transitions and effects we have access to all in the same piece.

The amount and variety of transitions they pack into every NLE never cease to astonish.

I use only cuts and plain dissolves 99% of the time, and I use the gausian blur for some photo transitions, but that is about it.

Same here for general footage - less is more, etc, etc . . . overuse of transitions and effects in a video is akin to using fourteen different fonts in a document - nasty!

The two places I do frequently use some of the more whacky transitions (and effects) are for title sequences and for bringing in/taking out lower thirds and other graphics or text overlays.

On the occasional corportate video where I use lower thirds, like you Ian I will use linear wipes, etc., on the lower thirds and the text on them.

Yeah the only time I use transitions other than fades or straight cuts is for lower thirds. Often use the linear wipe for that. I did however use a mix of transitions with solid colours on an intro once. Used some of the 3D ones and it came out quite nice. I dont think you could ever use them with videos though, only graphics.

Cuts, dissolves and fades (whichever is appropriate) IMO they still work the best.

Once in a while if the material calls for it I'll use something else but 99.9% are cut's, dissolves and fades.