TMPGEnc being a particularly useful tool for exactly this kind of thing.

simon

Could it be that the 3D plugin is working at a different fps or that
it is not interpolating things?

First off I'm a audio geek at heart (of 20 years) and have dived into video in the last year to great success thanks to Vegas.

Sonic Foundry Noise Reduction is exactly what you need. Feed it some of the hum or noise and it builds a "noiseprint". It will then remove it from your recording. You can even solo just the noise that is being extracted to make sure you're not removing important stuff. I use it when I transfer LPs to my computer. My B&O turntable has a bad connection somewhere and it's a bit noisey, SF Noise Reduction takes that hum out and still leaves the rest of the frqs. It like magic. It's one of those plugins I have that sent shivers down my spine when I first used it.

good luck
jack

need little more info ..

the orginal clip was shot at 60i or 30p ?

you are now reframing some shots and you are rendering out at 29.97 progressive ? 29,97 interlace , or 24p ?

have you tried using pan/crop instead of the 3d pac to reframe ?

i assume the 16x9 matte was created either in generated media or you have a jpeg/png 16x9 still you are using to create the letterbox THEREFORE it is video track 1

This is what I would do---(It works great)

1. Create a second video track above the video you want to manipulate.

2. Place a 16:9 png event above it (If you want it, I have an excellent one).

3. Go into the event pan and crop tool for the image and move it up or down into position.

4. Parent the upper track with the lower track.

It works perfectly--I do it all the time. IF you want the 16:9 template email me at sligo11@hotmail.com.

Donatello. . .

Original footage is regular 60i, 30 fps interlaced. I found a way to render out at 24fps. The jitter came before I found out how to do this, so it was jittery with 30fps.

Is it looking jittery on your computer monitor? Have you viewed it on something other then your computer monitor? Usually DV viewed at full screen on a computer monitor, with most players, will look like it has the shakes.

No no no. Jittery viewed on a television.

Sorry it took me so long to post back. I'll send you a clip tonight after I get home, let me know what you can do with it. I've got 2 interviews in this "hum" situation. I'll send 2 small samples.
Thanks again!

Michael Botkin

I do this sort of thing all the time using After Effects. Works great for motion graphics such as moving pics around. It also gives you lots of options for FX.

I never have backround space for photo montages. I maintain the aspect ratio but I zoom in to a 4:3 size even if the photo was a vertical dimension originally. I think it looks more professional if the photos fill all of the screen. The client really doesnt notice or care about maintaining the original dimentions of the photo, it's the content they see.

Vegas TTS - Newsletter #5
 

It's time for another issue of Vegas Tips, Tricks, and Scripts. The main focus of this issue is Snapshots - how to take a frame from your video and turn it into a picture. Tips are included for both Vegas Video 3 and Vegas 4. The Beginner's Corner article deals with getting video into the computer. The article assumes the video is being captured via firewire and illustrates many different ways to capture the video.

Issue #5 can be downloaded from http://www.jetdv.com/tts/archive/TTS01-05.pdf. The issue index has also been updated to include issue #5. As always, feel free to send in your questions, tips, articles, or anything else you think I might like to see or add to the newsletter. Your comments, ideas, and thoughts are always welcome.

Sony buys SOFO software (including Vegas)
 

Sony Pictures Digital to Buy Desktop Software Assets of Sonic Foundry

CULVER CITY, Calif. & MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2003--Sony Pictures Digital and Sonic Foundry®, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOFO - News) announced today Sony Pictures Digital has struck an agreement to purchase all of Sonic Foundry's desktop software products and related assets for $18 million cash and assumption of certain trade payables, accrued liabilities and capital leases associated with the desktop software business.

The acquisition of Sonic Foundry's desktop software follows the recent retail release of Sony Pictures Digital's Screenblast® Movie Studio(TM) and Screenblast® Music Studio(TM) video and music-mixing applications created in conjunction with Sonic Foundry's award-winning software team.

Sale of the desktop software assets includes Sonic Foundry's popular, industry-leading ACID®, Sound Forge® and Vegas® series of software products, as well as other related assets. Sony anticipates maintaining the group's Madison, Wis. base. The Board of Directors of Sonic Foundry has approved the transaction and certain shareholders have agreed to vote their shares in
favor of the sale. Approval of the agreement may be subject to Sonic Foundry shareholder approval and other various conditions (see details below).

"During the past three years, we have come to recognize and admire Sonic Foundry's engineering expertise and value their software applications. We are excited to integrate this world-class team and their products into our ongoing efforts to produce and deliver

the next generation of consumer entertainment services," said Patrick Kennedy, executive vice president of Sony Pictures Digital.

"The sale of our music and video digital software products is a key
milestone in Sonic Foundry's history," said Rimas Buinevicius, chairman and CEO of Sonic Foundry. "We couldn't pick a better partner than Sony Pictures Digital to carry on the same passion and success we've achieved over the past 12 years," he said. "Consummation of this agreement will give us the cash we need to pay our debt and allow us to focus our attention in writing the next successful chapter of Sonic Foundry's story - rich media - and building upon the early success we've already achieved with our Web presentation solution, Media Site Live(TM)."

Sony Pictures Digital oversees the digital production and online assets of Sony Pictures Entertainment and leads its efforts to develop and provide new forms of online content, games, interactive programming, open-access video-on-demand and wireless entertainment. Screenblast, which first debuted in September 2001, gives the consumer the ability to create, enhance and share their digital videos, music and photos with a combination of a powerful software suite and an easy-to-use online service for sharing and personalizing consumers' media. Screenblast Movie Studio and Screenblast Music Studio software have been available through retail outlets since October 2002.

Sonic Foundry will file a proxy statement shortly with the SEC and mail to investors of record as of April 25 detailing the proposed transaction up for possible approval at its June meeting in Madison, Wis. The company expects to close the transaction within a few days following the shareholder meeting.

The signed agreement marks a major milestone in Sonic Foundry's longer-term strategy to concentrate on markets where rich media solutions are being embraced. The company will use the proceeds to pay off debt and fund its operations for its Web-based rich media communications product, MediaSite Live and related offerings.

About Sony Pictures Digital

Sony Pictures Digital oversees the digital production and online assets of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and consists of four key operating business units: Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Online Entertainment and Sony Pictures Digital Networks which includes SoapCity, Screenblast, Sony Pictures mobile and wireless services, the studio's online promotional arm SPiN, and the UK interactive television service GoPlayTV. By making information and entertainment available anywhere, anytime on any connected device, Sony Pictures Digital is exploring new technology that links hardware with software in ways that advance the current boundaries of the entertainment landscape. For more information, please visit www.sonypictures.com.

Well the recent financials were definitely pointing to something like this.

Sony may have been the perfect acquirer for SF. I think it complements a lot of their consumer product line (audio, CD/DVD burners, DV cameras, etc., PC gear).

Price of the deal is very very cheap.

Only time will tell, but I have a feeling that this may be good for all the Vegas users at least in the development area. Time will also tell if support areas hold current levels.

This is so frustrating. . .
 

Why is it that really good audio software companies keep on getting bought out by bigger companies?!?!?

Again, I'm going to take a "wait and see" attitude. Hopefully product support and upgrades will remain intact for the SOFO products.

This will be my third audio (video) software product who's company changed hands. I felt the painful sting when Apple purchased Emagic. (Can't upgrade anymore because I'm PC based and I don't have any plans to purchase an Apple computer in the near future. . . or any computer, for that matter.) I had just purchased Steinberg's SX program (also own Wavelab, Halion, Master Effects, and the two Guitar Plug-ins) when Pinnicle bought out that company. (So far, there's been no noticable changes, thank goodness!) And now SONY has purchased SOFO.

ARGGGHHHH!

I do hope that this will benefit us software owners of Sonic Foundry products. I own Vegas (3 & 4), Sound Forge, Noise Reduction and even purchased the effects package a couple of years ago. I like and use these products a lot. Especially Vegas 4.0.

I'm no business person by any stretch of the imagination. With this in mind, I ask. . . "Why are really good audio/video software companies being bought out???" Why can't SOFO just remain SOFO. . . and Emagic just remained Emagic and Steinberg. . . . . etc., etc. . . .

Ted

This really doesn't sound good to me. Sony isn't a software company.

I think it makes sense to get its hands on Video Factory and add DVD authoring. That could replace the mishmash of stuff currently shipped with Vaio Digital Studio models and make them even more attractive.

But Vegas? I shudder at the thought. Hard to imagine Sony eating Adobe's or Avid's or Pinnacle's or Apple's lunch.

Maybe I'll change my tune when I see what happens to my SoFo stock. The market seems to have liked the news today -- SoFo hit $0.59.

Small companies usually do 1 of 2 things.

1. Become big companies

2. Get bought by a big company

That's just the way it works.

SOFO was a dot on the map compared to the others in their space.

Everybody chill----Dr. Dropout of Sony Foundry (LOL) posted over in the manure field that two things should happen very shortly.

1. Next week there should be another update to DVD Architect and Vegas--

2. An announcement as to what the future will bring and it looks damn good---

Now if it was anybody else but the reliable Dr. Dropout then I would be upset---But this guy is right in the heart of Sony Foundry and has always been very reliable---.

I would be willing to wager that the development team stays intact (they must be relieved that a financially solvent company now pays them) and that improvements and evolution will speed up---. THe idiot CEO is gone and I think this is a very positive development.

NOTHING is ever free, david. For all that financial support, their soul has been sold to the devil. There will be a price to be paid...and I'm not talking $$$$. Been there, myself. It's always possible that things can get better, but, so's world peace. Chance of it happening...nil. Customer support will eventually go away, as will listening to their marketplace. Which by the way, is the small Indie maker and home pro. Sony will cast its eyes on bigger fish. I'm just a small one.

Agreement here--this does not bode well for the development of the Sonic Foundry product line.

A shame all around.

What--couldn't we have scraped together $18 mil and bought Sonic Foundry ourselves?

Sony bought Assets, not Company
 

Just to clarify, Sony paid $18 million cash and assumed some liabilities (value unknown) to acquire the software, not the company. SoFo goes its own way. Sony owns Vegas et al.

From what I've read so far, the same software team will be involved going forward. Who knows for how long, but I guess the "chill" advice is warranted for at least the near future.

How can you say that Sony doesn't care for what consumers want---Have you ever heard of the Walkman, the Wega, the Handy Cam, the Vaio---what about the Playstation, the whole line of DV camcorders etc------

I think it best that people wait and see what Sony does with this gem they have purchased.

VV users should count their blessings. Sonic could not have continued very much longer. It's losses were mounting and in a slow economy few companies are buying. If another software/video company had bought VV it would have been absorbed into their present software (Premiere). Apple, who is cash rich (4+ billion) could have bought them and promptly discontinue windows support and merge it into existing products.

Sony may be the lesser of the evils. It could use a product like VV and may support continued expansion of the product line (VV lite). Apple has a three tier product line (iMovie, FC Express, FCP) that is proving very successful strategy. Sony may try to emulate Apple's success and i wish them well.

well, it's a good fortune for Sofo, for the time being. Unfortunately, I suspect the market niche that V4 occupies is not the niche Sony has planned. So, while the technology will live on, I'm afraid that the current user will lose out. We may see a good product thru the next upgrade, but, I betcha it will begin a major evolution away from its current market niche after that. And that makes me disappointed to lose an app that works the way it's supposed to.

I agree with Alex that Sony sells products in spite of itself. Memory Stick is my favorite example, a standard in Sony's eyes but in no other that ends up marring great products like the Clie.

On the other hand, it's hard to challenge David's point when I have a house full of Sony stuff. I eventually bought a Vaio for my wife's digital photography. I have high praise for Vaio support. When I was ready to move the Vaio to Windows XP, Sony had everything ready on its Web site to make that transition smooth.

So why do I agree with Alex? Because that XP transition was generic support, done (i.e., manufactured) once for all Vaios. Trying to get any kind of individualized support out of Sony is like pulling teeth. My Sony DRU-120A DVD writer is a good product, but I've had some troubles with it. Sony's help was pretty much limited to telling me to reinstall software (all third-party) and use only the versions specified on its Web site, that it could not be responsible for writing failures from other software, and then when I'd exhausted their patience with repeated calls, an offer to replace the device even though it wasn't clear that there was a hardware problem (in other words, getting me to go away).

Sony makes a lot of hardware and this kind of support is the result. What will happen when Sony is a software vendor?

Gentlemen gentlemen gentlemen and ladies too. Calm down. Just because a BIG guy bought out a little guy that many of us like and use doesn't mean doom and death to the little guy, at least not as yet. If Sony hadn't bought SoFo, or at least the line of product they did, did they, SoFo, have the resources to continue in the marketplace as a viable company for the next 5-10 years? Maybe, maybe not. The point is as someone said earlier, the big buy the little. That's called life in business. They would not have bought them if the product line was trash and nobody used it, but, with the customer base of the various products and the profitability that can be there, it to me is a great business move. Will customer support go the way of smoke signals, perhaps, but Vegas products have some of the most active and informative forums around. Will customer support go away tomorrow, a big NO. I don't see any reason to panic nor do I see any reason to rush out and buy something else. Hell, United Airlines went BK and they're still flying and will continue to do so for a very long time, so what's the difference?
Why the support could even be better, they might give us an even better program, they could give us all free beer and donuts with our next purchase (that's for you Harry:)) or they could close the doors.
In any case there really is nothing we can do about it so why sweat it? Life is far too short to worry about whether or not the company that manufactured my NLE will be around in the next 3 years, I would like to think we all have better things to worry about and concern ourselves with, so lets get on with editing with a good tool from SoFo. BTW, if they closed today, would your Vegas Video or any other software from SoFo suddenly stop working?
'nuff said :)

I think the first most likely scenario, is for Sony to bundle the software with their hardware, to enhance sales. Look for that to happen within the month.

a simplistic view, at best, Don. With HD editting on the very near horizon, the needs of pro-sumer users like myself will be changing very soon. This means that V4 will quickly become outdated and unable to match the capabilities of other NLE products. Now, I don't doubt that Sony will maintain the capabilities, but, at what price? The cost point may well go up, the ability of Sony to read the pro-sumer (as opposed to the fast buck consumer) market and provide what we need, is subject to question. In terms of keeping my own business competitive with a product that keeps me producing with a minimum of hassle and with professional features at a price that doesn't overburden my overhead costs, I'm worried about what application I will turn to. Maybe it will continue to be Vegas, maybe not. As a business owner, I can't afford to bury my head in the sand and pretend that everything is hunky dory in Oz.

Bill,
I'm not suggesting anyone do that. (put their head in the sand)Actually, I'm a little concerned as well as I just recently converted to V4 and like the product a lot, BUT, perhaps I look at things a little differently. 1) I can't change anything any company big or small is going to do so I can't worry about what they do decide to do 2) If they closed today, I along with all other users will still have a working viable product to use until we found something else 3)For myself and only for myself, I'm not worried about 24P or HD or anything else all I need is an NLE that will allow me to continue to edit the 40 or 50 weddings a year that I do, in the style that my clients want and to produce the corporate work that my clients desire and hire me to do.
I've been around business far too long to get upset when this company buys that one and so on down the line.
Perhaps it's because I know that in about 1 or 2 more years I will be hanging up the hat so to speak BUT in any case, can you or I change what SONY might or might not do, especially since we have no idea what they're going to do and I for one hate to ASS/U/ME anything.

Instead of everyone looking on the dark side of all of this, maybe, as Jeff suggested, Sony is going to have a shot at providing a decent PC based prosumer editing system. We all know the Sony XPRI high end NLE and maybe SOny is trying to offer something for the little guy. VV4 has proved to be a sucessful and popular NLE with a great easy to use interface, this bundled with some dedicated SOny hardware could be a godsend to the guys without the bucks for the XPRI.

You can all sit back and say I'm naive, maybe I am, but lets just wait and see before casting our stones.

Side by side pictures in Vegas?
 

For a video I am making I would like to have two separate videos playing side by side (like for a taping a telephone conversation). Does anyone know how to do this in Vegas 4? I tried cropping and track motion but I can only change the overall size of the events which leaves blank spaces at the top and bottom. I want them side by side filling the entire screen (kind of like what it looks like during a squeeze transition).

Any advice?

Dan,
use track motion but UNLOCK the icon to keep the aspect ratio the same. Then you can adjust the size to get exactly the area you want. If you don't care that the images will be squeezed a little bit. That's the only way I know how to do that effect, AAMOF, I'm working on a wedding video right now that I'm doing that with.

Yes, either Pan/Crop OR Track Motion can do what you want. Just turn OFF the Lock Aspect Ratio button OR hold down the CTRL key while resizing the box. Then move the box to get it positioned on the proper side.

Suppose one did not want the squeeze effect but rather to create a side-by-side effect by taking half the screen width of one clip, half the width of another, and placing them left and right?

Did I miss something about Vegas? Is it the case that crop always crops equally on all sides? With an image editor, of course, the crop can be any size, perhaps nothing removed top and bottom but something removed from both sides.

Nope. With the Pan and Crop OR the track motion you can LOCK or UNLOCK the aspect ratio for sizing. With a little keyframing on either one of those you can get some very very cool effects.
Oh yeah, there are also some free plugins that work really great as well.

Also, if you sqeeze only the left/right sides, you can move the "F" window left and right to move it ot the left or right side of the frame.

If you want the left half of one video clip and the right have of another video clip, there are even more options available. For example, you could use the cookie cutter, generated media with luminence, or any other of the tools that will block sections of video.

Very cool. That works great. Thanks everyone.

Thanks for the tips. I'll give it a try.

GL2 Frame mode ->DVD w/ Vegas
 

Hi all,

I was wondering if I have the correct process for burning
30p DVDs.

I did all of my taping using my GL2 set to Frame mode.

I created a new template in Vegas by modifying only
one thing in the current NTSC DV default template. Instead
of choosing between lower and upper fields, I set it to none-progressive.

I captured footage, edited away, and then rendered as
an mpeg 2 file. I modified the DVD NTSC template and simply
chose progressive again.

I am now ready to burn...or am I? Did I miss anything?
Will this play correctly on a progressive scan DVD player with 2-2 pulldown?

Thanks,
Cesar

Excalibur Add-on for Vegas
 

Announcing the official release of Excalibur : Tools to slice through your editing tasks.

Excalibur was created by Edward Troxel and Gary Kleiner and includes 12 Wizards (tools) that are designed to speed you through many editing tasks, and are accessed through a pop-up interface that integrates seamlessly with Vegas.


Excalibur Wizards:


· Sync Wizard: Makes it a snap to synchronize any combination of video and audio events.

· Mutlicam Wizard: Instantly creates a finished edit with cuts and dissolves according to your instructions. Has to be seen to be believed!

· Gap Wizard: Automatically deletes spaces between timeline events with optional dissolves. Perfect for creating photo or video montages faster than you ever have before.

· Voice-Over Wizard: Takes less than a second to place volume envelopes to raise and lower the volume of an audio track based on wherever you have placed your narration.

· Orphan Wizard: Instantly places missing audio or video events back in your timeline in sync with their video or audio "parents."

· Unsplit Wizard returns events that have numerous splits to their original state.

· Velocity Wizard allows to you easily set a playback speed for your clip and automatically lengthens the event in the timeline to match the new duration.

· Marker Wizard automatically places markers at intervals or at the beginning of each clip. Perfect for making chapter stops for DVDs.

· Randomize Wizard shuffles clips in random order.

· Solo Wizard turns Solo on for selected track, and off for all other tracks.

· Align A/V Wizard restores sync to Video/Audio pairs.

· Fade Wizard allows you to set and apply specific fade lengths or fade to current cursor position. Also allows you to apply fades with a simple keystroke!


Pricing is:
CD with printed manual $36.00 USD
Direct E-mail with .pdf manual $29.50 USD
Order together with Vegas Video Editing instructional video and get $10 off!


For more information and link to an online demo, visit http://www.VegasTrainingAndTools.com

Excalibur requires Vegas 4.0b or above