figured it out...
 

Although I had been capturing to my SATA Maxtor 300gb 7200 secondary drive without a problem before, by switching the capture destination to my Raid 0 pair of drives, the dropped frames problem vanished. I assume my secondary drive needs a good defragging. Am I right to assume that I'd rather capture to my secondary drive since all of my editing apps are on my raid array? I also keep my fixed swap file on my secondary drive. Does this seem like a good disk arrangement for vid editing?
Thanks for the quick response, Dion...

Getting there! I finally figured out the interleave issues and was in "Lower filed first". Changed it to Upper Field and it got a whole lot better. I also changed to "constant bitrate at 10mbps". I will try the "two pass" box as well. Thanks for your help. I spent most of my life in audio engineering with Avid and this video stuff is a bit different..

Just a thought but check to see if, during all these uninstall-reinstalls, your SATA drive didn't get switched to PIO mode instead of DMA/UDMA mode somehow. This would definitely cause drop frames.

Adding Filter Packages/Chain/Presets
 

I'm working with some of the filter presets that I downloaded from the VASST site -- cool ones like Another World. However, when I try to add an FX filter chain to a clip, it completely erases all the other FX I've already applied. Is there a way to add a set of FX filter presets (chain or packages or whatever they're called), without erasing the others?

For instance, I have a clip with a chroma key. I then click and add an FX chain. This FX chain is added, but the chroma key FX is erased off (because it's not part of the chain). I'd like to keep the chroma key FX without having to redo it, but add the chain after the chroma key. Is there a way to do this?

(Hopefully, my question made sense. I'm working in HDV, but I think this is a more general question that can apply to DV as well.)

Sorry Mike, but I don't understand what you are trying to do in selecting green in the SCC after the Chroma Key. That green will be keyed out when you re-enable the Chroma Keyer. What's the point?

While it's not a solution to the actual problem, here's a workaround:

Add a dummy event to the timeline (picture, text event, anything). Add the filter chain to that dummy event. Copy the dummy event. Paste Event Attributes to the original event. Delete the dummy event.

Oh yeah I have that actually! Thaz not a bad idea.. I could give it a try... someone else told me I could use AE to get it done as well. Thanks!

There's also a tutorial on this page showing how it can be done.

http://www.debugmode.com/wax/

you're good...
 

Mike, you're damned good, 'cause when I went to defrag my sata drive, Perfect Disk analyzed it as not needing to do it, so I hopped on over to my device manager and, sure enough, my sata disk was in PIO mode...
I guess it's understandable that the bios on my moboard can get confused since I'm running raid ide, udma sata, and udma ide all at the same time. I may be a bit behind the times, but I love my Asus P4P800, very stable and very flexible.
Thanks Mike! If I hadn't checked on it myself first you would have saved the day!
Vin

Color correction
 

I have just purchased and watched the new disk 4 on color correction from Vasst, Spot and Glenn. It answered a lot of questions. I don't want to make color correction simplified but the video showed me a lot of the tools offered in Vegas to color.

I have posted several issues that I have been having with my first professional project and I am going through the learning curve. Thanks for the help from this sight.

My project is a songwriter showcase of studio performance and interviews. It was done in HDCam with 3 cameras. I used Ultimate S to do my sd edit and I wanted to tackle some minor color correction to save me money from subbing it out. Is it good logic to say I could correct say 3 3 minute avi's and then perfor the say 20 cuts per song. There is not much if any change on each camera. One was a stationary pedestal, one was a hand held moving about the room and one was on a dolly with vertical movement.

My concern only is the change from cut to cut. Would it make sense to match each cut or try to balance the three tracks before cutting?

Jeff

Douglas, the point is that sometimes, in spite of a user's best efforts (and the technical limitations of the DV format), there is a fringe around the subject being chroma-keyed. Using the SCC can help to clean up this extra fringing.

Blush :-)

Thanks for the compliment.
After reading about this issue numerous times on various video forums and having the mode change come up as the solution, it was a good guess.
Glad you got it worked out.

Mike

I'd be color correcting the image first; at event level or media pool level. Then when you assemble your master track, all the color corrections are intact on the master track.
Glad to hear you found the DVD useful!

Hi Jeff,
I'm glad you like the DVD.

To answer your question:
From what I understand, you have a multicamera shoot and you're wondering the best approach of tackling the project. One approach that would work well is:
Finish editing first before color correction.
If the three cameras don't match up, then match up their colors like the process I demonstrated on the DVD. Since the cameras are the same, the only thing that would be different between the cameras would be white balance and exposure (unless somebody messed with one camera's settings). It may be possible that some secondary color correction would be useful, but you probably don't need to touch it.

You can apply these effects at the media or trackFX level to just quickly apply the FX to each camera angle. Or if you know that you need to do more detailed color correction, you can apply the filters to each shot. Copy + paste event attributes will quickly copy filters over (copy from one clip, apply that to a group of clips). Paste event attributes will copy over other attributes like pan/crop, so be careful about that.

If you play through your sequence and find that there are some shots that stick out, then go in and color correct those shots (at the event FX level). To recap:
A- Match the camera angles first.
B- Then match shot to shot. This may not be necessary since it was shot in studio.

If you want to apply a look to the entire sequence, apply some FX at the video preview level. i.e. you might want to put in a bit of the color curves + secondary color corrector to make the image pop a little. You can play with the color corrector if you want to add a tint to the image.

If you need to apply a look to a sequence but not others, then you can use nesting.

I hope that answers your question.

You can add an effect to an existing chain, which means you'd want to apply the chain first, and then apply the chromakey, and you can also move the chromakey forward in the chain after applying. It's a drag that Vegas removes plugins from the event when you apply a chain, no doubt.

Ressurecting my own threads now. :)

This is what I'm thinking of doing with the third monitor:

1 PCI nvideo 6800 HDTV card (not sure of brand yet-dvi out)
1 Dell 2005FPW 20" monitor

This setup would be my preview monitor. Right now I have a dual vid nvidia AGP card running two ACER al1912's. I'd use this for workspace and the Dell for preview.

Anyone see any issue with this setup?

Still Phot Question-Newbie
 

Is there a way to know the exact length(time-in seconds) of a photo on the timeline as you stretch it out. I know you can set a preference for the still length in Vegas. In a former life I edited with a DPS Velocity which showed the time of a still if you clicked and dragged the edge out along the timeline.
Tks,
John

Double click it, this creates a selection. Look in the lower right corner of the timeline, you'll see the length indicated there. As you drag it out, you'll see the time indicator climb. Add the value of the indicator to the length of the selection, you'll have the total time.
Another option is to double click to know the length of existing, then in that time window, type in the desired length. The selection will size to that length, and you can drag your image to the end of the selection, giving you an image in place of exact length.

Upgrade
 

I played with the demo of Vegas 6 and decided that there was no way I wanted the limited # of tracks that VMS provides. In just a demo I already had too many layers.

The first NLE I played with was Avid but their demo had the same problems... limiting the number of tracks. But they have to limit the Demo versions some how. I don't know if I like the water mark demos or the functionality limited demos. I think I prefer the watermarked ones. That way I can at least try to do what I think I need to do and get a good idea about what the full version will offer.

jason

template change?
 

as you can see I have been almost ruined by a render issue. I see most of you started with an HDV project..I did not. I think I started with DV widescreen..can I change now that the project is done and still on the timeline? Ive got to try and correct the final image befoe i throw it away...and rebuild...uck

Yes...just change the project settings, undo any pan/cropping you might have going on, and you'll need to resize your titles. Otherwise, it should just fly for you.

Thanks Douglas, This forum ROCKS, compared to the old Velocity forum.
John

[QUOTE=Douglas Spotted Eagle]Yes...just change the project settings, undo any pan/cropping you might have going on, and you'll need to resize your titles. Otherwise, it should just fly for you.[/QUOTE Thanks Man! im trying it now. not sure what pan crop is. I have many stills in the project that I have resized to 16:9???? they are generally under a moving image with the video image as a composite "mask"..?

Pan/crop is likely what you used to set the 16:9 images in your stills... Look on the media, you'll see a little crop icon, or right click and choose "Pan/Crop from those settings.

I have an m-audio MobilePre USB interface that is just fine. Does it sell for $150? It did. It opens up the world of xlr and phantom-powered mics, I think it's similar to what they include with the podcasting bundle.

The least expensive approach is the Samson CO1U, about $80, it's a large diaphram mic with an internal USB converter.

Can't confirm this, but from one pic I saw, I think in BSW's catalog the software included with the Podcast factory, the screenshot in the ad looks a lot like the freeware Audacity.

if so, you might be better off purchasing a slighlty better mic and getting the software free.

Yes your right...i did use that a bunch...is this problematic?

Can I mix 60i and CF30
 

Vegas 6, FX1....can I mix 60i and CF30 in same project? Anyone do this, how does it look as mpeg2?

Absolutely. Looks fine, especially at SD resolutions. You'll notice a softening of the CF 30 compared to the 60i in HD resolutions, but some folks really like that look, me being one of them.

It might look like old BBC TV drama and comedy productions. Pre 1990s, interiors were recorded on VT in a multi camera studio, and exteriors filmed single camera on 16mm.

In the 90s this approach fell out of favour, and shows were shot all video (as high quality video became more portable) or all film (for prestige productions more likely to be sold to the US).

The look will be different, so you should have some scheme as to what would be 60i and what CF30. What's the rational between swapping between them?

The Podcast Factory sells for $150. The description indicates it comes with a professional quality microphone.

Upgrade From Studio Platunum to Vegas
 

Is this the correct Vegas 6.0 with DVD? Quite a bit cheaper than what Sony is offering. Sony is $575 for "upgrade from Platinum".

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=Gy44Jy6PpH!-1063885234?O=cart&A=details&Q=&sku=381028&is=REG

It looks the same to me, and I assume this is the "Pro" version with all the bells and whistles my Platinum does not have.

Thanks,

Jamie

That indeed is the pro version. It may be that Sony is trying to not be too competitive with their dealers, therefore having the higher price.

Thanks Douglas,

I had not checked pricing from other dealers and didn't realize it would be that much cheaper. Glad I saw the ad.

By the way, your book "HDV: What You NEED to Know" was included with Platinum and I enjoyed it.

Jamie

Jamie,

Sony offered me an upgrade direct for $260.00ish. Try the following link:
http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/pro...code=3028-1011

Thanks guys, good to know. Not too worried about it for corporate stuff, but some documentary footage may benefit from switching to CF30 look, especially in low light situations where you gain a stop or so.

Don't forget that if you have kids or attending school, you can but software at academic prices.

You can get the full version of Sony Vegas 6 + DVD for around $300 at the academic price.

Just another option.

From the Sonymediasoftware.com site, check the academic prices link which shows the sites selling it.

Thanks For The Help
 

Finally spit out a clean render!!! Many issues with the template and the HC1 does not like a bright background with a darker moving object...I brought the contrast down on the vid track even slightly below scope and wammo! Dont run two tracks of titling, keep it all on one line. Clean and tight! My custom template was as follows.

Mpeg2
HDV1080
best quality (good did not work)
8mbps-h
7mbps-m
4mbps-l
top field first (bottom is unwatchable)
no second pass
192 for audio
3hours 15 minutes for 32 minute project.

We have been doing high motion off road stuff lately and will be doing a high def Gray Wolf doc this weekend..should be nice.

Help - Vegas 6 is +DVD needed?
 

Hi,
I can get Vegas 6 academic at a good price. What will +dvd do for me. I am not shooting or doing any HD right now and probably won't ...just bought a GL-2. I have been using Studio 10 and Liquid 5.5 and not real happy with the hang-ups.

If you don't plan to do any DVD, you don't have need for the +DVD version... +DVD will give you DVD Architech, a really good DVD authoring software.