I'm looking for some advice on workflow in Vegas. Right now I have one track for my video and this includes all scenes within the project. Now when it comes time to color correct each scene, I have to do each cut one by one and so on down the timeline. Does anyone, when they edit, have each scene on it's own track and then color correct the track itself? Seems like it would be an easier way of color correcting each scene but then would take away from adding FX to the entire project.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what others are doing. Thanks.

Everyone has a different workflow... the beauty of Vegas!

Having each scene on its own track and colour correcting the entire track is fine, but I’d still look at each shot in that scene and tweak as needed. I’ve done this but it only works well with shots that are already closely matched.

I just CC’d a scene that had three set ups on three different days. Two set ups were dawn and dusk, had very similar light. And one set up was shot just after noon. Well the dawn / dusk footage responded very well to the same CC, and each shot needed just a little extra care - but the after noon footage needed to treated in a completely different way. It all depends on the each shot.

If you want to add FX to the entire timeline you can. You can add project FX either on your Video Preview window “Video Output FX” icon or press ctrl + shift + b to get the Video Bus Track “Video Output FX” icon… they’re the same just in two different locations.

I generally do CC to the clip while it's still in the Media bin.
This way, I can drag it to the timeline, split it up however I want and it still retains it's CC setting.

On another note, just viewed part I of End Result. Well done, really!!

How are you colour correcting this one? In fact when I viewed it the first time I viewed with a critical eye, sorry, and of course I can say you “should do this” and “that”, and “the other”. So I’ll say three things: sometimes the whites seemed blown out and focus, at times, was a little soft. Lastly the hero’s dialogue was a bit low in level. ... blah blah blah…you don’t need me to be a back seat producer.

But watching it, solely as a viewer, and its fine!! Really kept me engaged. The editing was tight, no fat. The framing was perfect. Great handheld camera work. The dialogue audio on the villain was articulate and dynamic. The acting never ever said “amateur”. Good colour palette….

And it passed my “Girlfriend Test”...she asked if it was 24!

mike

Mike K

Interesting, a few question though:

First, how do you preview real time adjustments from the bins?

Secondly, it seems the entire bin is affected? Is there a way to be selective about what which clip is affected?

Thanks
mike

Mike C, I was a bit misleading in my answer so I'll attempt to clarify the way I do things.
I edited a 5-camera 1 hr. concert shoot recently that needed CC'ing as well as other FX applied to the various cameras.
Each camera segment (the full hour) got dragged to the timeline, one at a time.
I went through it looking for what I had to do to it (CC, FX or both), figured out what I wanted done to it and saved the preset(s).
Delete camera 1 from the timeline, drag camera 2 up, repeat, etc.
After the multicam edit was done, I went to each segment in the Media bin and applied the necessary preset(s).
This way, I didn't have to go through the edited master and apply things on a shot by shot basis.
I hope this makes sense.

On another note, just viewed part I of End Result. Well done, really!!

How are you colour correcting this one? In fact when I viewed it the first time I viewed with a critical eye, sorry, and of course I can say you “should do this” and “that”, and “the other”. So I’ll say three things: sometimes the whites seemed blown out and focus, at times, was a little soft. Lastly the hero’s dialogue was a bit low in level. ... blah blah blah…you don’t need me to be a back seat producer.

But watching it, solely as a viewer, and its fine!! Really kept me engaged. The editing was tight, no fat. The framing was perfect. Great handheld camera work. The dialogue audio on the villain was articulate and dynamic. The acting never ever said “amateur”. Good colour palette….

And it passed my “Girlfriend Test”...she asked if it was 24!

mike

Wow. Thank you for the kind words about it. I look at it now wiht a very critical eye, even tho I love it and am very proud of it. It was the first time I ran my own camera for anything, but I've learned so much since that shoot. I'm now editing Part 2 and it's coming out even better than I could have hoped. I was blessed with a really amazing cast and crew for this project. :)

I generally do CC to the clip while it's still in the Media bin.
This way, I can drag it to the timeline, split it up however I want and it still retains it's CC setting.

Wow. I never even thought of doing this. Thanks for pointing that out. I have my new computer parts coming today for the new editing computer so I can run V.9, so when I have the rig back up and running, I'm definietely going to give this a shot. Thank you.

Where you color correct (or, in general, apply effects) really depends on what you are doing. For example, if you're using the built-in multi-cam in Vegas, you're pretty much forced to color correct in the Project Media.

When using scripts (like Excalibur and Ultimate S) to do multi-cam, using the Project Media also works fine but you can also color correct at the EVENT level as well and those corrections will be copied to the Master track.

If you know only that footage will be on a particular track, applying the effect to the track can work. Using a track level effect will NOT work with multi-cam, though.

Mike K, I got it… I’ve never done multi cam editing but if I do I’ll always remember this. Tks

Heath, no thanks needed, you don’t need me to tell you it’s good. I was actually a little disappointed that part II wasn’t available!!

I’ve been doing non-fiction work for such a long time that watching your webisode actually got me started on a short script to shoot.

So in fact - I should thank you!

Mike K, I got it… I’ve never done multi cam editing but if I do I’ll always remember this. Tks

Heath, no thanks needed, you don’t need me to tell you it’s good. I was actually a little disappointed that part II wasn’t available!!

I’ve been doing non-fiction work for such a long time that watching your webisode actually got me started on a short script to shoot.

So in fact - I should thank you!

Mike. That's awesome. Keep me in the loop on how your project goes. My email is on the site. And check back on June 1st and Part 2 will be there. There's some great shocking stuff going on with it. :)

My grading workflow is as follows:

# I edit my project.
# I apply global FX to the entire project like S-Curves to bring out contrast.
# If I see that I'm going to apply a certain look to the majority of my project I create a track with that FX, drag & drop the clips I want graded to that look.
# Before I render I colour grade every single clip relying on Video Scopes for accurate colour information.

I have always seen grading projects as a lot of work however the time consuming part was not being able to make up my mind on a certain look, once that is out of the way grading is quick. Grading each clip does not take very long if you get into it, I use Color Curves primarily, AAV ColorLabs is a free plugin that will fix white balance with an eye dropper, lastly I use Magic Bullet Looks. I created FX presets for mundane tasks like lowering exposure by one stop, etc.

For example, if you're using the built-in multi-cam in Vegas, you're pretty much forced to color correct in the Project Media. When using scripts (like Excalibur and Ultimate S) to do multi-cam, using the Project Media also works fine but you can also color correct at the EVENT level as well and those corrections will be copied to the Master track.

That was it. I was trying to remember why I got so annoyed at Vegas built in multi-cam that I quit using it and purchased a script pack.... and THIS was the reason. No wonder. Destroying my CC, or having to apply my CC to every other clip was a royal PITA.

Looking for help on workflow from a different perspective, please. I am midway through a trial of Vegas Pro 9, but get the sense that I am not making the workflow as simple as it could be. I will have a number of things which I will need to refer back to often (intro's, menu's etc,) for an ongoing series of commercial work, and then there is the "other stuff" which is 1 time deals.
1. I am just capturing things into different Windows folders named for reference. Is there a better way?
2. Is there a simple, good way to edit the raw data down to useable, dump the raw capture and keep just the useable stuff?

Thank you in advance. I have looked at a lot of references, but I guess my questions at this point are perhaps too basic, I have not seen a "best practices" list for the beginner.

Looking for help on workflow from a different perspective,.....

Ok here is how "I do it"

Capture each tape to its own folder under the project directory (which is a unique folder for that project).

Put each tape's clips into a folder under a master "video" folder in the project media window.

Then I put each tape's worth of footage on the timeline on its own set of tracks.

Then I move the clips around so that each "major event" in the production is on its own track (a separate set of tracks from the source media organized by tape).

Eventually all the clips are either moved from the source tracks to the "event level" tracks or else the clips are just deleted from the timeline (not deleted from the HDD).

Then I edit away, keeping each section on its own set of tracks so I can see where I am in the project. Granted, this puts me in the mid 20s for the number of tracks on a project. I have had some go up to 50 tracks, but that is unusual.

Thank you - that is exactly the kind of help I was seeking!

I've done a fair amount of editing as Jason describes 2 posts above. Small differences - all tape captures for one project go in one folder, which is named "raw" in my project directory. Other subdirectories would typically be "audio", "graphics", "intermediates", "final renders", and "burn".

For event-oriented projects I capture complete tapes (without scene detection or logging), and, like Jason, I also edit on the timeline. Quick use of the f11 key is your friend when you have lots of tracks! (try it.)

Cutting material that was shot film-style has encouraged me to try other workflows. In this type of production, the action is typically run several times for different camera positions/shots. This is where a workflow that uses scene detection and an off-timeline preview really comes into its own. I've found that learning all the ins and outs of the trimmer is essential to cutting a piece that features interaction between people.

I'd usually cut an interview piece in two stages. The interview audio and video gets cut on the timeline in the first pass. Insert shots/cutaways/b-roll gets cut in from the trimmer on a second pass.

A "storyboard view" workflow relies on thumbnail views of clips in a bin. The "bin" can be a directory in Vegas explorer, a sorted view in Media Manager, or, a windows directory. This is what iMovie and Windows Movie Maker do well, so, many beginners have started here. Vegas can support it, too.

Each of these types of productions has a different type of decision making in the edit. One of the great things about Vegas is that it fully supports multiple workflows with a rich set of tools. This sometimes makes it hard for a beginner, who is both learning Vegas and learning to edit at the same time.