Illustrator files into Vegas

Renton Maclachlan · March 31st, 2012, 01:35 PM

Sure... :-)

'On the smell of an oily rag' means: to do something at virtually no cost, or for as little cost as possible, or to be extremely economical...

It is a term used in NZ and Aus...

Dennis Vogel · April 4th, 2012, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renton Maclachlan

Sure... :-)

'On the smell of an oily rag' means: to do something at virtually no cost, or for as little cost as possible, or to be extremely economical...

It is a term used in NZ and Aus...

Many thanks.

D

Renton Maclachlan · June 30th, 2012, 05:30 PM

OK...I have Vegas 11, Boris Red, and Adobe CS6...with my Illustrator files from CS2 now in CS6 and ready incorporate onto my Vegas timeline and manipulate.

I have watched the tutorial at Extruded Spline and Extruded EPS in Sony Vegas Pro : Boris FX Tutorial where John Rofrano brings Illustrator files .ai directly into Vegas via BCC.

I have Boris Red which does not (as far as I can see) incorporate the various BCC features in the Vegas FX lists, rather you get at them through the Boris Red UI (User Interface) which opens through Vegas, so unfortunately I can't duplicate what he is doing.

I have not been able to get ai files to open as he did. All I get, as I did before when I tried importing ai files produced in CS2, are some black shapes that are on a couple of my Illustrator layers...(not shapes from all the layers, only two)...and no colours, etc.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. It would be great if I could import the ai graphics...in their layers... straight into Vegas as John does with the ability to manipulate them any way I want.

I can't find a tutorial that does the same thing for Boris Red within a host program as he does with BCC.

Steven Reid · July 2nd, 2012, 06:03 AM

Renton, I can't fully respond and I'm not sitting at my editing computer, but here goes...

1. I'm not sure how BCC7 treats many layers in an AI file (I used RED once, so I can't comment on your travails with that.) Try creating a single layer containing a single path in AI, you can save in CS6 and EPS formats for kicks, then import into the BCC extruded EPS plugin. Does THAT work? If so, you (or BCC7) may have issues with multi-layers. In that case, you might get away with creating a compound path in AI to reduce the number and get more of your splines onto one layer.

2. You mention having CS6. Just AI? More? If you have After Effects, you can work directly with multi-layered AI files in AE. You can even manipulate each layer separately if you set up the AI file right. I know, learning AE is probably not what you have in mind, but it is a 100% guaranteed solution to what you want. I just finished a project doing exactly this, and I can tell you it worked wonderfully.

Post back with results...

Renton Maclachlan · July 2nd, 2012, 01:50 PM

Thanks Steven

I don't have AE so that route is out.

I have discovered, and had confirmed, that to bring vector art into Boris Red you have to save as Illustrator version 8 (1998!!!)

Quote from BorisFX:
'Yes, you should save .ai or eps files as Illustrator V8 files in order to import the vector art into Boris RED.
Text will need to be converted to paths before importing.'

Steven Reid · July 2nd, 2012, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renton Maclachlan

Thanks Steven

I don't have AE so that route is out.

I have discovered, and had confirmed, that to bring vector art into Boris Red you have to save as Illustrator version 8 (1998!!!)

Quote from BorisFX:
'Yes, you should save .ai or eps files as Illustrator V8 files in order to import the vector art into Boris RED.
Text will need to be converted to paths before importing.'

So, problem solved, all layers intact, vector art look sharp in Red/Vegas? My 3D animation application also must use v8 out of AI; sometimes I forget that and can't figure out why I can't import splines.

It occurred to me that you'll probably have to extrude the splines a little in order to see them. Once you do that, maybe you'll enjoy rotating them a bit in 3D (and extruding them further) to give a pleasing effect, perhaps with a light or two, not the "floating postcard" effect of 2D graphics being stuck somewhere in space.

Cheers,
Steve

Renton Maclachlan · July 2nd, 2012, 06:34 PM

Not sure if I'm out of the woods yet...will play around tonight and see what the outcome is and let you know...Thanks

Renton Maclachlan · August 20th, 2012, 03:10 AM

I've been stalled on my project, not really knowing how to deal with the problem of bringing my Illustrator graphic into Vegas, but decided yesterday that I will make individual png files of each of the 80 layers of my Illustrator graphic, and bring them into Vegas and manipulate them individually with Pan and Crop. (It's not clear to me about bringing Vector images in to work with...though I suspect that would be superior.)

However...one thing I feel like I need to confirm before I start this process is the resolution to export them as. It has been suggested that 150 ppi is fine...but so is 300 ppi.

When exporting, Illustrator 6 gives 300 as 'high', 150 as 'medium', and 75 as 'screen'. There are no options above 300 except 'other', which I presume would allow higher resolutions.

Under 'Anti-aliasing' (something I've never got a grip of) it gives me the options of 'None', 'Art Optimised (Supersampling), and Type Optimised (Hinted). I don't understand this.

I'm aiming my finished product at being used on TV's and through projectors, and want my graphic to be crisp. Has any one done something like this and viewed the finished product on big screens...which are increasingly the norm? If so what are your thoughts on how the graphic looked? It seems to me the higher resolution the better..within reason, as I'm going to be enlarging the first appearance of each part of the graphic, before down sizing it to fit in its place in the total picture.

Edward Troxel · August 20th, 2012, 06:38 AM

PPI means nothing in video. All that matters is the number of pixels wide by the number of pixels high. If it is at least as big as the video frame, all is fine. So, yes, 150ppi will be fine. 75 probably would be as well. And 300 could work fine but would be over-kill.

Steven Reid · August 20th, 2012, 09:02 AM

Just a quick check, Renton, since I've lost track of your stable of software: did you ever purchase After Effects? I ask because it's a shame (and incredibly laborious) to have to export 80 images for further manipulation, when you could drop a single 80-layer AI file in After Effects and be off to the races lickety-split.

As for anti-aliasing, you might want to experiment with the export options from AI, especially since you're going to resize the PNG's within Vegas. For instance, choosing no anti-aliasing might result in an acceptable original PNG image that then reveals odd edges when reduced in size. (Another hassle that could be avoided by using vector art within AE...)

-Steve

Renton Maclachlan · August 20th, 2012, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Reid

Just a quick check, Renton, since I've lost track of your stable of software: did you ever purchase After Effects? I ask because it's a shame (and incredibly laborious) to have to export 80 images for further manipulation, when you could drop a single 80-layer AI file in After Effects and be off to the races lickety-split.-Steve

Thanks Steve.

I've now got a good stable of software but the version of CS6 I have does not have AE...so I don't have it. I'm feeling somewhat swamped as to how to integrate what I have without having to learn another program.

I don't think it would be too laborious to do what I propose. Not each talk requires every layer so as I'm working each segment there would only be a few layers used. (I put each element into its own layer so it could be used and manipulated independent of all others.)

One 'disappointment' I have is that it appears that I will need to render out my green screen videos with their backgrounds, which means I won't be able to put my graphics between me as the presenter and the background, rather will have to put it over the video track. I'll just have to make sure as I move around, that the graphics are always clear of me. Having four tracks of Green Screen FX (four camera angles) slows up play back so I can't make precise cuts etc, even with my new computer. Or...perhaps I render out most of it, except those parts where I would like the graphic behind me. That would reduce the work the computer has to do. Perhaps I need to do my multicamera track and decide which clips require the graphic behind me and deal with that separately.

Renton Maclachlan · December 10th, 2014, 01:57 AM

Just opening up this thread again after a couple of years (for the possible interest of those who so helpfully contributed to it) in which I've produced the first four of 13 episodes of the project referred to above.

As it turned out the Illustrator file referred to in the thread was not used in the episodes already produced so I was premature in exploring the options for bringing into Vegas back in 2012. However I am now right at the stage it will be used so am now revisiting the whole issue and trying to make sense of the thread so far...and remember what I did back then. I may post up what I find the best/most acceptable way to do it...

I am aiming to move the project along a bit quicker through committing at least a day a week to it...

March 31st, 2012, 01:35 PM	#31
Renton Maclachlan Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,180	Re: Illustrator files into Vegas Sure... :-) 'On the smell of an oily rag' means: to do something at virtually no cost, or for as little cost as possible, or to be extremely economical... It is a term used in NZ and Aus...

June 30th, 2012, 05:30 PM	#33
Renton Maclachlan Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,180	Re: Illustrator files into Vegas OK...I have Vegas 11, Boris Red, and Adobe CS6...with my Illustrator files from CS2 now in CS6 and ready incorporate onto my Vegas timeline and manipulate. I have watched the tutorial at Extruded Spline and Extruded EPS in Sony Vegas Pro : Boris FX Tutorial where John Rofrano brings Illustrator files .ai directly into Vegas via BCC. I have Boris Red which does not (as far as I can see) incorporate the various BCC features in the Vegas FX lists, rather you get at them through the Boris Red UI (User Interface) which opens through Vegas, so unfortunately I can't duplicate what he is doing. I have not been able to get ai files to open as he did. All I get, as I did before when I tried importing ai files produced in CS2, are some black shapes that are on a couple of my Illustrator layers...(not shapes from all the layers, only two)...and no colours, etc. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. It would be great if I could import the ai graphics...in their layers... straight into Vegas as John does with the ability to manipulate them any way I want. I can't find a tutorial that does the same thing for Boris Red within a host program as he does with BCC.

July 2nd, 2012, 06:03 AM	#34
Steven Reid Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Salem, Oregon Posts: 435	Re: Illustrator files into Vegas Renton, I can't fully respond and I'm not sitting at my editing computer, but here goes... 1. I'm not sure how BCC7 treats many layers in an AI file (I used RED once, so I can't comment on your travails with that.) Try creating a single layer containing a single path in AI, you can save in CS6 and EPS formats for kicks, then import into the BCC extruded EPS plugin. Does THAT work? If so, you (or BCC7) may have issues with multi-layers. In that case, you might get away with creating a compound path in AI to reduce the number and get more of your splines onto one layer. 2. You mention having CS6. Just AI? More? If you have After Effects, you can work directly with multi-layered AI files in AE. You can even manipulate each layer separately if you set up the AI file right. I know, learning AE is probably not what you have in mind, but it is a 100% guaranteed solution to what you want. I just finished a project doing exactly this, and I can tell you it worked wonderfully. Post back with results...

July 2nd, 2012, 01:50 PM	#35
Renton Maclachlan Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,180	Re: Illustrator files into Vegas Thanks Steven I don't have AE so that route is out. I have discovered, and had confirmed, that to bring vector art into Boris Red you have to save as Illustrator version 8 (1998!!!) Quote from BorisFX: 'Yes, you should save .ai or eps files as Illustrator V8 files in order to import the vector art into Boris RED. Text will need to be converted to paths before importing.'

July 2nd, 2012, 06:34 PM	#37
Renton Maclachlan Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,180	Re: Illustrator files into Vegas Not sure if I'm out of the woods yet...will play around tonight and see what the outcome is and let you know...Thanks

August 20th, 2012, 03:10 AM	#38
Renton Maclachlan Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,180	Re: Illustrator files into Vegas I've been stalled on my project, not really knowing how to deal with the problem of bringing my Illustrator graphic into Vegas, but decided yesterday that I will make individual png files of each of the 80 layers of my Illustrator graphic, and bring them into Vegas and manipulate them individually with Pan and Crop. (It's not clear to me about bringing Vector images in to work with...though I suspect that would be superior.) However...one thing I feel like I need to confirm before I start this process is the resolution to export them as. It has been suggested that 150 ppi is fine...but so is 300 ppi. When exporting, Illustrator 6 gives 300 as 'high', 150 as 'medium', and 75 as 'screen'. There are no options above 300 except 'other', which I presume would allow higher resolutions. Under 'Anti-aliasing' (something I've never got a grip of) it gives me the options of 'None', 'Art Optimised (Supersampling), and Type Optimised (Hinted). I don't understand this. I'm aiming my finished product at being used on TV's and through projectors, and want my graphic to be crisp. Has any one done something like this and viewed the finished product on big screens...which are increasingly the norm? If so what are your thoughts on how the graphic looked? It seems to me the higher resolution the better..within reason, as I'm going to be enlarging the first appearance of each part of the graphic, before down sizing it to fit in its place in the total picture.

August 20th, 2012, 06:38 AM	#39
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Re: Illustrator files into Vegas PPI means nothing in video. All that matters is the number of pixels wide by the number of pixels high. If it is at least as big as the video frame, all is fine. So, yes, 150ppi will be fine. 75 probably would be as well. And 300 could work fine but would be over-kill. __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

August 20th, 2012, 09:02 AM	#40
Steven Reid Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Salem, Oregon Posts: 435	Re: Illustrator files into Vegas Just a quick check, Renton, since I've lost track of your stable of software: did you ever purchase After Effects? I ask because it's a shame (and incredibly laborious) to have to export 80 images for further manipulation, when you could drop a single 80-layer AI file in After Effects and be off to the races lickety-split. As for anti-aliasing, you might want to experiment with the export options from AI, especially since you're going to resize the PNG's within Vegas. For instance, choosing no anti-aliasing might result in an acceptable original PNG image that then reveals odd edges when reduced in size. (Another hassle that could be avoided by using vector art within AE...) -Steve

December 10th, 2014, 01:57 AM	#42
Renton Maclachlan Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,180	Re: Illustrator files into Vegas Just opening up this thread again after a couple of years (for the possible interest of those who so helpfully contributed to it) in which I've produced the first four of 13 episodes of the project referred to above. As it turned out the Illustrator file referred to in the thread was not used in the episodes already produced so I was premature in exploring the options for bringing into Vegas back in 2012. However I am now right at the stage it will be used so am now revisiting the whole issue and trying to make sense of the thread so far...and remember what I did back then. I may post up what I find the best/most acceptable way to do it... I am aiming to move the project along a bit quicker through committing at least a day a week to it...