For small web file quality, nothing yet beats WMV. I've been doing MPEG 4 comparisons all week with various encoders, and at bitrates of lower than 256, nothing at all, compares.

DSE

I didn't do a good job explaining what I meant. Rendering lower thirds and then rendering them again onto film is where I am wondering if I can skip. Rendering lower thirds and other graphics has taken extremely long times. What I am doing is Rendering the graphics multiscreen intros in HD 1080i and on the BEST setting. I leave all the other settings at where Vegas has them. When I render to the best setting. Time goes from 5minutes for one 20 second intro to 5.5 hours. That is along time considering I have two such segments. I have the feeling there is no way to get around it though. I have a fairly fast computer. P4 3.4 HT and ATI 600 graphics card but when it comes to final rendering, Whew!

As far as what I am rendering it to. I am going to render it to a Sony Digital Master 63 Minute Tape via the Sony HVR-Z1. Please tell me this is feasible or my heart will be broken.

One more thing, should I do anything with the blending of fields and those types of buttons?

Thanks,
Capt Ben

Water drop
 

Hi all,

I am trying to accomplish the following. I want to have an event where a water drop makes contact resulting in a water drop ripple effect. After that I want my logo to appear, i.e. fade in.

I'm not sure how or where to get the water drop video from?

I know this is a special effect, any suggestions are appreciated.

check out pixelan Spicemaster . they have organic transitions there, the one u want is ripple. the good thing about spicemaster is that you can change the shape of teh gradient used, being that you can have a BW logo ripple in like water.. once u have it u can add some depth by playing with the bump map filter.

What your wanting is a displacement transition, or u can do this in vegas manually with the displacement map and parent child tracks.

Thanks, I'll see if they have a demo of it. I suppose if anyone has come across the actual water drop video clip and knows of where I can obtain it, that'd be great too.

Ac-3
 

Hi all,

Right now I am using Ulead's MSP8 and when I render a file I can have it use a basic AC-3 so as to have better compatibility with DVD. At least I think it does.

Anyway, when looking at the comparison chart for the different versions of Vegas, it would appear that this can only be done with the Vegas+DVD version.

My question is, how can this be done with either Vegas 6 or Vegas Movie Studio+Platinum?

I am thinking about switching to Vegas and I am trying to decide which version I would want to switch to.

I can use the competitive upgrade, but my budget is limited and the full Vegas+DVD costs too much for me even with the upgrade price.

I am sort of leaning towards Vegas 6 because I am not sure if Vegas Movie Studio+Platinum will meet all of my needs or not.

Whatever of the two versions I choose if any, I need to know if a rendered file can have AC-3 or not and if so, how and how much would it costs if it requires a separate purchase.

I would be using Uleads DVD Workshop2 express for my DVD authoring.

Note: I did a search first but couldn't find the answer I needed.

Thanks in advance,

Danny Fye
www.dannyfye.com

Based on the comparison charts, it does not look like either of the "Movie Studio" versions include AC-3. With the full version of Vegas, you need "Vegas+DVD" to also get the AC-3. It does not come with just Vegas - it's included with DVD Architect.

Here's the comparison:
http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/Pro...FeatureID=8357

AC-3 is on the 5th line down.

Thanks for the reply.

That part I already know and maybe I didn't make it very clear. The question is how can it be done in Vegas 6 and Vegas Movie Studio+Platinum? How much would an encoder cost? Or would I be better off stretching my budget out of shape and just simply get Vegas+DVD?

Thanks,
Danny Fye
www.dannyfye.com

You will be better off just getting Vegas+DVD.

I couldn't find price information on the AC3 encoder on the Sony site but it used to be MORE than the "+DVD". (I'm thinking about $180?)

Thanks.

Inotice that VideoGuys page shows that there is a competitive rebate of $100 for Vegas+DVD and that it expires 1-31-2006.

Would I have to make the purchase today or is the expiration date inclusive so I can make the purchase tomorow?

I need to know ASAP!

Thanks again,

Danny Fye
www.dannyfye.com

scrolling credits
 

Mike, thanks for the reply. Yes my video track was above my generated media track, but after switching them, the fundamental behavior appeared to be the same. However, after some experimentation, I was able to "lighten" the generated media track and it seems to help. Does a level 1 track take precedence (or not) to the level 3 track?

Paul, I totally missed the line in your first post where you said "Thus, in order to see white text, my video is darkened because my background for the generated media is black". If you mean what I think you mean, you used "Plain Scrolling on Black" instead of "Scrolling on Transparent". Try the Transparent option and it should solve your problem.

Sorry about the mad rush and all but a $100 rebate and the training DVD deal from VideoGuys was too good a deal to miss. The net price is better than what it would have been if I had bought direct from Sony.

So I went ahead and purchased Vegas+DVD. So it looks like I will become a Vegas user in a few days.

I will still have MSP8 to temporarily fall back to while I get up to speed with Vegas.

Danny Fye
www.dannyfye.com

Make sure a watch the training DVD and look through my newsletters (in the Newsletter Archive section on my website). There's also lots of tutorials on the VASST website.

You can easily change the background color. Open the Generated Media FX box, on the right side, go to the "Styles" tab, and look at the bottom of that tab. There you will find a "Background Color" box that is set to black. Click on the background color and then change the "A" setting from 255 to 0. This will make the background transparent.

I do remember someone posting the link to the actual video on Edwards site;

Here's the link

http://thetroxels.com/vegas/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1093

Hope that helps

Underwater Appearance
 

I am attempting to create a scene where I can place potential sponsors names moving and pausing underwater. I have tried to use 3D modeling with the top underwater area having light rays shine through on the bottom and on the sponsors logo from top to bottom. I was wondering if I should try to use animated water or reel water shot. I checked every VASST Veggie I could and everthing places logo on top of water or just in the water with no top or floor. Any and all ideas is greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Capt Ben

The http://www.vasst.com/resource.aspx?i...8-012275582727 file doesn't do it for you? Very easy to make generated water, but if you need something different than the asset listed above, I'd recommend using shots of real water.

re: scrolling credits
 

Mike and Edward,

thanks the excellent suggestions! Making the generated media background transparent should indeed work but for some reason, my white text disappears. (now I know what Styles-> color-> A0 equals). Anyways, what works well is placing the GM on track 1 (foreground) having video on track 2+, and setting the "composting mode" selection for track 1 to "lighten". My composting mode for track/video is source alpha. Mike, your suggestion "scrolling credits on transparent" is excellent and works, however I am using "timed fade on black". I'm sure if there was a timed fade on transparent, that would do the trick. Thanks guys!

Steven,
if you don't need the actual drop to be seen, but just be a representation of it, it's easy to build. Gary Gowman has a great tutorial on Sonar Rings that you can find at http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/ve...owmansonar.htm which can easily be modified to make a drop of water appearance.
If you want to see how you'd do that, http://www.vasst.com/resource.aspx?i...0-2b47a51fa358 has a tutorial and veg file, plus downloadable media. It's a project for Vegas 4, but it's still quite applicable.
If you have Ultimate S, building the drop will take about 5 mins, tops. Without it, about an hour, but it's quite simple. If you can't get it quite there, drop me a note, I'll quickly build it for you.

DSE for some reason when I download that file I don't get any motion. Is there something I am missing?

"I'm sure if there was a timed fade on transparent, that would do the trick."

In a roundabout way, there is. It's just not specifically called that.
To fade titles from or to black (and keep the underlying video intact), use the "Scrolling on Transparent" option. Place your cursor at the top left or right edge of the title segment and you should see it change to a 1/4 circle with the words "Fade offset 00:00:00:00". Drag this forward or backwards to the desired amount. That's it.

http://www.vasst.com/resource.aspx?i...0-2b47a51fa358
contains the entire tutorial, that should get you going. You can also download a free water clip.

Thanks much!

I will get Vegas+DVD tomorow 2-2-2006.

I am looking forward to viewing the training DVD. I've already figured out a number of things when it comes to basic editing. Some of the workflow is a lot like what MSP8 has. I found a bunch of video type tutorials on Sony's site.

Meanwhile, I've been up all night editing and need to get some sleep.

Danny Fye
www.dannyfye.com

Hello

Had the same problem still need another program that is easyer to use


http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=58209

Video codec question
 

Does anyone know where the video codecs for vegas are stored, or where can you find which ones are turned on?

I just installed DivX 6.1 and now none of my .avi files show any video when I drag them into Vegas. I uninstalled 6.1 and reinstalled DivX 5.21 and I still can't see any video on the timeline.

Help please!

Thanks,
Isaac

My shortfilm is soon finished; general questions about audio, 16:9, blacklevels etc.
 

Hello
I have soon finished a 30 min shortfilm and am about to render the final project.
(I have Vegas 6b + architect, footage shot in 4:3 25i (Pd150))
I intend to burn it to dvd.
(I´m from sweden, please excuse my english)

But i have a few questions, hope you can help me.

1. Is there any good way of knowing how to get the picture as dark as possible without risking it to be too dark for some tv:s and/or monitors? I have connected my PD150 to a tv and uses that as an external monitor and have corrected the black and white levels using a colour chart. It looks good on my monitor too, but my friends complain that it is to dark on their monitors. Perhaps their monitors are old and therefore too dark, I dont know, but is there any way of getting a dark image (i want that) without risking it to be to dark, following a "thumbrule" that I don't know of? Or do I have to make it a little brighter then I want to, and by doing that not taking any chances?

2. The film is only 30 min long. Do I need to encode the audio in ac3 or can I render it as PCM? I read somewhere in this forum that the audio might get to low when using ac3, and I thought that if I simply make it PCM I get around that problem? I have never burned a dvd before; can I use an PCM audiofile or does it have to be ac3 when making the dvd? The project is in stereo, not surround. (A sidequestion: what level in the audiometer level should I try to aim for when I´m editing the audio? Should I keep it well below 0db, or always try to keep it as close to the red area as possible, or in the middle? I know that for dramatic events I shoudl increase the volume in order to surprise the viewers, but other then that, what level should I aim for in general?)

3. Might it be a good idea to render the project as avi (and pcm) if I want to keep a sourcesfile on my hd, and then render the avi to mpg2 when making the dvd? I ask that question since I never have worked with mpeg2 files in Vegas and are a little bit afraid that I after the long rendering see something I want to change, and that it´s more complicated to do that with a mpeg2 file.

4. A final question. How should I make it look as good as it can look on a tv? I don't mean " how do I get a film look" with filters and all, only should I choose to render it 25i or 24p and if so do I only have to change that in the settings and Vegas does a good job deinterlacing it? Will different dvdplayers object if I make it 25i or 24p or will they both run fine on any dvd player?

And if I then decide to crop it and render it as 16:9, what should my settings be? Project settings are Pal 25i, 720 * 576. Do you think that I should first render the entire project to 4:3 25i, and after that start a new 16:9 project and import the final file, or is there any easy way of changing that before that? But since I already have som panning on some of the clips, I imagine that there might be a problem if I should add a 16:9 mask over the entire project, or? That was why I was thinking it would be easier to first render it 4:3 and then to 16:9 If I should do that (import the rendered 4:3 file to a new 16:9 project) what should my setting be for the final 16:9 project, "stretch to fill frame" or nor etc. etc?

Grateful for your answers
/ Fredrik

Kind of Confused Tone and color bars
 

When printing to tape in DV I was always given the option of color bars and tone before print. However, HDV print does not mention this. Is it not available? Do I need to manufacture one on my own from a DV tape that already has it on it? Will that even work? I went through preferences and project files but could not find any mention of it.

Thanks for the help.

1- See my article on setting levels properly:

http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/ar...s_part_one.htm

Some consumer monitors intentionally make the image really bright. This may explain why your friends say the image is dark.

You can try the following to lower the overall brightness of an image:
Add the Color Corrector filter, lower the gamma. Set it to something like 0.592.

Add the color corrector (secondary). Use settings like:
saturation = 0.827 (this setting affects chroma, not saturation)
This brings down chroma so everything looks normal. The gamma setting above actually changes the luma values of the signal. While doing this, it doesn't change the chroma values accordingly. So saturation will look wrong.
Do play with the "saturation" setting.

Limit luminance low = 0.0
High = 118.6
Smooth = 255.0

you can put your own bars/tones at the head of your file.
Leave a 65 second blank spot at the head of your project.
Insert 60 seconds of generated media/test patterns at the head of the file. then you'll have 5 seconds of black
to get a tone, there is a collection of tones on the home page of the VASST site. They're free.

DSE you don't realize how much your posts mean to me. I run back and forth from rendering from one computer to the other just to see if someone has responded and you have quickly everytime. I really appreciate it. I will do that. I guess HDV does not have the same test patter as DV. I am surprised.

Thanks,
Capt Ben

Codecs live in their respective program folders or in the Windows drivers folders, I believe. Vegas simply enumerates them when it loads. (I'm not entirely positive on this one, but fairly certain this is how it operates)
In other words, Vegas is looking for the codecs you have loaded when you open the app.

DivX has some codec constraints, it might be that they are no longer VFW friendly. I don't use DivX, so can't help much there.

It's a different colorspace. It might be that Sony hasn't licensed the bars from SMPTE at this point. But you can make your own using the generated media.

I am glad it was not my lack of knowledge. I did what you said and everything is in place. The show is rendering and printing to tape now for a test run. If everything comes out well then I will put the final master on a second brand new unused tape. I just wanted to let you know I put VASST's name in the Special Thanks section of the pilot. My last question is how would I record to channel two from Vegas? The was explicitly pointed out in the Pilot submission form. I can't find where it gives me an option to put audio on one channel for the other.

Once again Thanks for all the help.

Regards,
Capt Ben

Thanks Glenn. But the things is, my footage is mostly already dark. I tried your recommendation on a daylight clip, and then it was nice!

I have Divx 6.0 and it works fine in Vegas.

There are various bundles of Divx and other codecs with players etc. that are pretty messy. Did you make sure to uninstall everything that was installed in the same time? Was there a system restore point created before the problem?

1)Firewire from PC to camcorder is the only cable that will work for preview on external monitor/TV (this is from vegas manual).USB cables will not work. Though USB2.0 is touted to be faster than firewire, when you do the reverse way of capturing signal firewire is the only way. Learnt it after 3 days of research.
2)Important point-only video will be transmitted to TV.No Audio-Vegas manual tells you to use speakers on PC.
3)Press external monitor button above preview area in Vegas
4)My setup is (pc-firewire-camcorder-3 pin cable-TV)-working fine.

Thanks
Madhav Yerella

DSE how would I go about rendering audio on Channel 2? Is there a certain setting I need to use?

That one, I can't help you with. Everything we deliver is stereo or 5.1. I've never heard a demand for mono audio on channel two.
You could send all your audio to "left" and that would be channel 2 output on a stereo output, but that makes absolutely zero sense.
If you want to post their *exact* wording, I might be able to help.

problems with playback/recording audio/video from Vegas 6
 

Anybody also having problems with recording audio/video from direct playback from Vegas 6? My setup consists of an ordinary firewire card connected to a Canon XL2. I try to record a 16:9 24p edited short film to the Canon XL2 hoping to get the same aspect ratio and speed, but all I get oftentimes is stuttering video and audio or "blocky" audio (eg. audio disappearing at parts of the film). Is it a Vegas 6 bug or Canon XL2's fault?

to quote too: