Making window dubs ... TC on screen?

[Sam Renkin]

This may be a question with many answers but here goes:

I have a client that likes to get DVD window dubs of raw customer interview footage for (a) transcription and (b) selecting the pieces we'll use when editing. He simply gives me an edit list with the time code in's and out's. I've taken my tapes to an edit/dupe house for window dubs in the past, but it's expensive and inconvenient.

I have a Sony HVR-V1U camera that will only output viewfinder data via the composite (low rez) video connector. I can burn DVDs from this, but they look crummy and I can't use the iLink functionality of the camera and the DVD burner (one touch record is a nice feature).

So I have Vegas Movie Studio 8 Platinum, and I'm wondering if there's a way to pull TC information from the imported video, place it on screen, and output a file to make into a DVD. Is this possible? Is it a colossal waste of hard drive space? Please share your thoughts and recommendations - thanks!

[Jack Zhang]

There's a script to add timecode to all media in Vegas 8 Pro. You can also set in the Media FX area to add a timecode burn that takes the original timecode. I'm not certain if this exists in Movie Studio 8 though.

[Sam Renkin]

Okay, I found where you can put a time code window on screen using Track FX ... but the code displayed is not from the original footage (it begins at "0" in the timeline.

Does anyone know if the time code from the source footage can be displayed?

Again, using Vegas Movie Studio 8 Platinum, not Pro (though I'm starting to wonder if I need that)...

[Mike Kujbida]

Add the TimeCode FX to the clip while it's still in the Project Media bin/tab.
Then add the clip to the timeline and it should show the original TC.
This is the way it works in the full versions of Vegas and, hopefully, it'll work this way in in VMS too.

[Edward Troxel]

This in itself could be a good reason to upgrade to the full version which includes scripting. A couple of scripts included in the full version add and remove the timecode FX to the clips in the media pool where it needs to be to show the original timecode.

[Sam Renkin]

Thanks for the helpful advice guys! I'll give that a try and seriously consider an upgrade as well.

[Sam Renkin]

Well dang. I tried adding timecode to a clip in the media bin and dragging it to the timeline, but it still shows timecode based on the timeline. How does this process differ in Vegas Pro (in other words, what's a script?) Thanks!

Sam

[Mike Kujbida]

Sam, I'm really surprised that trick didn't work as, for a long time, it was the only way to do it in Vegas.
Scripts are kind of like a macro used in Word/Excel or an action in Photoshop.
Basically it's a set of instructions that allow you to automate something that would otherwise take several mouse clicks to accomplish.
Unfortunately for you it's a feature that's available in Vegas Pro only :-(

edit: try a free utility called DVdate and see if it helps you out.

[Sam Renkin]

Mike -

I'll try that, thanks. One more question that relates to scripts: because I'm using a Sony HDV camera, the Vegas transport controls work during image capture. If I want to automate the capture of mulitple clips from a tape based on in/out time code points, can Vegas do this?

[Mike Kujbida]

Sam, it's my understanding that batch capture (what you want to do) currently doesn't work with any HDV camcorder :-(