Starting Out

[Charles French]

Hello all, I've been lurking around for awhile trying to soak up some knowledge on filming and editing. To say I'm green would be an under-statement. I bought a VX2K bout a year ago not realizing all the $ccessories I would need. But, that's a subject all in itself.

To get to the point. Since I'm still scratching my head over the ULead editing software that came with my capture card. How difficult is it to get pass the learning curve of Vegas? Taking into consideration my Total lack of knowledge of the editing process.

I probably know the answer. Like saying, "I don't know how to play the violin and have no musical talent BUT how long do think it would take for me to be a concert violinist"?

tks, charles

[Jim Quinlan]

BUT how long do think it would take for me to be a concert violinist"?

It depends on your level of compulsion. I printed the Vegas PDF Manual and took it to lunch every day for a few months because my time was limited ... I have one free hour every day to learn something.

The learning curve is definately worth it and it doesn't take long before the lights turn on.

Learn what ripple edit does first, then learn the keyboard shortcuts ... s=split etc. The Vegas PDF which you can find on their website is excellent as well as the book by Douglas Spotted Eagle who frequents this forum.

[Dennis Vogel]

<<<-- Originally posted by Charles French : ... How difficult is it to get pass the learning curve of Vegas? -->>> As a former newbie (I started in video about a year and a half ago with no prior video experience), I can say the learning curve to do basic things is almost trivial. If you have a modicum of PC experience you can be doing things like cutting out sections of video, adding titles, adding some simple transitions, rendering, capturing, etc. in 15 minutes.

Learning the more complicated things will take you many months. The good thing is you don't need a lot of those complicated things for a while.

There are lots of tutorials and beginners guides on the web that will help you get started. I think the software comes with a quick start guide that does the same thing.

If you have experience with other editing software I'd venture that unlearning might be a bigger issue.

Good luck.

Dennis Vogel

[Edward Troxel]

To start editing, I thought the learning curve was VERY small. However, the program has so much depth that I'm still learning more every day!

[David Jasany]

I was faced with a similar decision about 1 year ago. I wanted to get into video editing as a hobby, but I didn't want to limit myself with low-budget consumer oriented software with limited features and no future. I had editing software that came with my Canon MiniDV camera, but the software was discontinued with no support.

As others have said, you can quickly perform basic editing and create a DVD (if you buy Vegas +DVD). But the program is so feature rich that learning it does take a good deal of time. I made the investment knowing I didn't need nearly all of what Vegas offered, but I knew that over time I would learn many of its tools and be glad I have them.

If you don't intend to really get into video editing as a hobby or profession, there are probably easier and less expensive ways to start off. Sony also offers a limited product called ScreenBlast Movie Studeio. This is basically a consumer-hobbyist type of program and you can find it at Best Buy.

What's really great about Vegas, besides its power, is its rock solid software. I was willing to pay the price just to have software that wasn't bug ridden.

There are many sources of education for Vegas, including this forum, several other forums including the Sony Vegas forum, a great book by Douglas Spotted Eagle, and several DVDs.

Checkout the Sony forums at http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/forums/default.asp and you'll get a feeling for how people feel about Vegas, DVD Architect, and Screenblast Movie Studio.

[Andy Shrimpton]

Charles:

I'm a relative newbie myself.

I bought Vegas for one main reason: To sync up Audio recorded on minidisk, with DV recorded on a DV Cam.

Prior to getting vegas I struggled with cheaper programs like MyDVD (this came bundled with the PC) and Roxio Video Wave Power Edition.

After downloading the Vegas 4 demo, I accomplished more in 15mins than I did with the other two programs in 3 months.

Everything I ask of Vegas, it does. If you get DVDA as well, this also does what you ask.

I keep my stuff fairly simply at the moment, but I know when I get fancy, Vegas will be able to handle it.

There is some talk of having to 'unlearn' stuff when coming from other NLEs, but I didn't fing that.

Starting from scratch is a breeze. Very easy to pick up this program. AND you get the guys here to help with the difficult stuff.

So dive in, start swimming! You'll be off to the NLE olympics in no time!

Andy

[Charles French]

Thanks everyone for the encourgement to jump in. My daughter is majoring in graphic design. I might buy Vegas academic, since she's in college.

It always seems that when I buy something, like my camera for instance. I needs tons of accessories to make it fully functional.

I'm concerned that if I were to really get involved in editing that I would need another computer primarily for editing. I understand video takes a lot of space.

I have a Dell Dimention 8100 with only 256MB RAM. One drive with about 60gig left and about 20gig left on the second drive. I have never been satisfied with the performance of this computer. One reason I'm sure is the ME OS piece of junk that came with it. I just don't know how it will perform with Vegas. Ideally, I'd love to have a computer for editing.

[Andy Shrimpton]

I won't comment on the peformance, but I will give you some insight on what I've experienced thus far regarding hard drive space.

At approx 13GB per hour of DV (avi) footage, you've more than enough space to store and edit.

I ran into problems where if I wanted to start on a new project before one was completed i.e. I had 3 -4 hours of DV on the PC, I quickly ran out of space.

So frustrated was I that I invested in a 160GB HD and I haven't been happier. I can have 2 or 3 projects on the go without stessing about whether I'll have enough space to render or not.

Hope this helps.

[Rob Lohman]

If you go with Vegas then check out this thread for a PDF with
keyboard shortcuts and other handy little bits of information.
There is also a link to Edwards great and free PDF newsletter
on everything Vegas and DVD Architect.

Good luck!

[Graham Bernard]

VideoWave nearly STOPPED my NLE interest . . I thought ALL NLEs had to be this silly . . really!

Vegas just does it . . and it has enough in reserve to keep this editor very happy.

1 - Extra hard drives are good for the reasons above . . . .

2 - .. there aint no 2!

Just buy it and start making movies,

Grazie

[Kevin Kimmell]

I know it's a little late since everyone has pounced on this topic but I'll throw my $0.02 in too...

I knew that I needed to learn an editor and was open minded about what to use. I got trials or tried friends copies of Pinnacle, Premiere, Avid, Final Cut, Vegas, and one other who's name escapes me.

I took a few clips into each one and without reading anything just saw what I could figure out. Keep in mind that I am a computer professional so my level of comfort with software in general is a bit above the norm...

Without a doubt, hands down, no questions asked, and whatever other phrases you can think of, I was able to figure out some simple cool tricks more quickly in Vegas.

This forum is an excellent resource for vegas and these forums in general are great for figuring stuff out.

So good luck and welcome to the fold whether you choose to use Vegas or not.

-Kevin

[Emre Safak]

I encourage you to stick with Vegas; it is the most intuitive application in its range. I bet your problem is not with Vegas itself -- because it is ridiculously simple -- the editing process itself. Do you find yourself daunted by all the footage, and not knowing what should abut what? I was like that for almost a year, but when I got a hold of the rope, there was no stopping me!

My sincere advice is to take any DVD you like, and watch your favorite scene over and over. What kind of transitions do they use? What is the pacing like? Are they trying to maintain continuity? Now do the same for the audio. Repeat with another scene.

When the time comes to making your own clip, I would recommend using only the basic transitions (cut, cross-fade, dissolves, and wipes) to begin with--less is more.

[Charles French]

Is Vegas compatible with "ME" OS? If so is there a trial version available? I found a trial but it says windows 2000 or XP required.

[Edward Troxel]

Vegas 5 is Win2K and WinXP only.

Vegas 4 can be used on Win98SE, WinME, Win2K, and WinXP


Also remember that Premiere Pro is WinXP only.

[Dennis Vogel]

<<<-- Originally posted by David Jasany : What's really great about Vegas, besides its power, is its rock solid software. I was willing to pay the price just to have software that wasn't bug ridden. -->>>

This cannot be emphasized too much. When I first started I struggled getting repeatability in making DVDs. Some failed to burn, some burned but failed to play, some played in one player but not others.

I was trying out all kinds of freeware, shareware and stuff that came with my external hard drive and DVD burner. I bought Studio 8 after giving up on all the other crap and after it did many of the same things the other jumble did and refusing to download all the patches and do the reinstalls that were recommended I switched to Movie Factory, a relabeled version of Movie Studio.

Everything worked! What a concept! Then I upgraded to Vegas + DVD for the growth potential and the ease of making DVDs. Never looked back. There is something to be said for peace of mind. And, even though it may be a hobby, your time is definitely worth something. You should be making videos rather than administering a PC.

Good luck.

Dennis Vogel