Vegas Video discussions from 2006 (Q3Q4)

Steve Clee · August 5th, 2006, 09:20 AM

Probably stupid question but here it goes.
I have been using vegas for about 3 years now mostly for making motorcyle
stunt videos. Vegas rocks for sure. All of my video is shot at 30fps and I am looking for a way to give it that "film" look. Getting tired of the way it looks when I watch it on tv.
- Will deinterlacing the footage give me that result ?
- Can Vegas do it out of the box or do I have to fork over the $$ for s/w like Magic Bullet ?
- I have access to After Effects at work and have found a few techniques on the web to do it in AE. Will that give me the look and feel I am looking for ?
- Is it worth the hassle ? I mean will the footage have a better look once its deinterlaced when previewing on a normal TV ?

Of course I am saving up for a camera that will do it, but for now just looking for an alt solution.

Great forum, have learned a ton so far. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

SC

Paul Kepen · August 5th, 2006, 01:01 PM

I have several widescreen SD DV projects from a month ago or so, - saved as .veg files. I recently have been working on a mostly HDV project (it has some widescreen DV clips in it as well). The preview window is set at Best (auto). All of the clips - HDV and DV look normal. However, when I go back to any of the previous DV projects, the preview is EXTREMELY fuzzy and blurry. Checking the project and clip settings, they are both set as they should be - Widescreen DV 720x480, pixel=1.222, 29.970fps. This is with ALL my SD DV projects. If I watch the AVI's in Windows Media player, they look fine-sharp and clear.

Has anyone else experienced this? Any idea what could cause this, or how to fix it? Thanks - PK

Mike McKay · August 5th, 2006, 03:15 PM

Thank you, I will look for those tutorials and appreciate your help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas Spotted Eagle

It's called "Color Pass" because you're inhibiting every color excepting one.
You can pass single or multiple colors, the Secondary Color Corrector is awesome for this. Multiple colors require some compositing, but secondary is a single process.
There is a tutorial on color pass at both the VASST site and JetDV's website

Ian Briscoe · August 5th, 2006, 06:51 PM

Not sure how I've done this. But now, when I call up Event FX, Media FX, etc, the window zooms to the botom of the screen as it opens. I get the normal window allowing me to selet and add an effect, but after that, the wndow which lets me set the properties of the event is somehow hidden. It still has focus (the main Vegas title bar is greyed) but I just can't see it or get to it.

I've launched Vegas with Ctrl+Shift held down and that has reset just about everything, er except this!

Any ideas?

Thanx

Ian

Dennis Murphy · August 5th, 2006, 07:12 PM

I'm thinking of switching to Vegas. I've been using Premiere Pro 2, and there is one effect that comes standard with it that I can't seem to find an equivelent of in Vegas. It's called 'Posterize Time'. For those that use both programs, could you please tell me how/what to do in Vegas to achieve this result.

Taken from the Adobe Help File: "The 'Posterize Time' effect locks a clip to a specific frame rate. Posterize Time is useful on its own as a special effect, but it also has more subtle uses. For example, 60-field video footage can be locked to 24 fps (and then field-rendered at 60 fields per second) to give a film-like look. This effect is sometimes called Strobe in hardware devices."

Cheers,
Dennis.

Kevin Richard · August 5th, 2006, 08:28 PM

I got you covered... not sure if this is the *Vegas* way but this works (and works with lots of things like this).

Open your FX window that ducks out of site... don't click anywhere... at this point hit ALT then Space bar... this has now brought up the window's menu (though you can't see it)... now hit the "M" key.. and now you are in "MOVE" mode... use the arrow keys to move it around... usually you just have to initiate the move then when you move the most it snaps to where the pointer is... if for some reason it doesn't (never seen that before) you could just keep bumping it with the arrow key.

Let me know how it works!

Douglas Spotted Eagle · August 5th, 2006, 11:18 PM

For the effect you're looking for, there are several methods in Vegas, and you don't need to render a 24p file to do this, either.
Just put a 60i clip in a 24p timeline, and then use the Properties to get the strobe you want. Or, you can purchase the CreativEase bundle, and it too, does this, with the posterize color FX as well.
Additionally, you can use Secondary color correction along with several various Vegas plus to give you the traditional posterizer look.

Dennis Murphy · August 6th, 2006, 01:00 AM

Cheers for that Doug!

Mike Costantini · August 6th, 2006, 01:38 AM

Hi, if anyone has any expert advice on the best way to get the images below to look good for use on a DVD that will be viewed by people on both computers and on televisions?
Also, keep in mind that I will use pan/crop to resize the width of the images to fit a 4:3 screen as necessary. I included two to show the different sizes I have to work with from not so wide (4 grids) to very wide (8 grids) that have to appear all at once within the frame. Basically they will be placed under the teacher giving the lesson. I've already gotten some input about blurring the image slightly, changing the black and white to 16 and 235 for NTSC safe color.. Hard for me to tell since this is my first attempt at doing this type of work.. I've found that blurring the image makes it look blurry (obviously) on the computer monitor.. Has anyone here done this before? If so, how did you succeed?

http://www.filelodge.com/files/room22/568910/Image1.png
http://www.filelodge.com/files/room22/568910/Image2.png

Ian Briscoe · August 6th, 2006, 03:17 AM

Kevin

It worked like a charm!!! Really appreciate it.

Thanx

Ian

Ian Briscoe · August 6th, 2006, 05:08 AM

Bit of a long shot this one.

But i have some footage from an unmanned camera (Z1E) and at some point the tripod was knocked meaning the shot isn't level - it slopes slightly left to right.

I shot in HDV format but will be delivering in SD format. I was wondering if there's anything I can do to fix this by taking advantage of the higher res of HDV. Something like - capturing HDV - than rotating the picture - then cropping it so the frame is rectangular again - then scaling down to 720 x 576 (PAL) - then rendering as DV then wishing on a star....

Any thoughts?

Ian

Edward Troxel · August 6th, 2006, 05:15 AM

Yes, you can definitely do that. Just capture as HDV, zoom in slightly and crop and rotate as needed with Pan/Crop.

Lamar Lamb · August 6th, 2006, 05:15 AM

I've done a few scripts in Vegas 5 to help me with some frequent and repetitive tasks but it took a while to figure out. Is there a complete object model reference somewhere for the Sony.Vegas namespace? I have yet to find one.

Edward Troxel · August 6th, 2006, 05:21 AM

There's the API. Look here to download the Vegas 6 API:
http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/dow...p2.asp?DID=635
That should get you headed in the right direction.

Lamar Lamb · August 6th, 2006, 05:26 AM

Here's what I did. Go get DV Film Maker at www.dvfilm.com to deinterlace. It works great and you can chose between 24P or 60i deinterlaced output. Then for the "Film Look" you can play with these plugins that come with Vegas;
Color Corrector, Brightness & Contrast, HSL, Film Effects. I mix and match with these to give a great film look for only the cost of DV Film Maker (about $150). A Magic Bullet plugin came with Vegas. It has a few "looks" but it will bring you system to its knees when it come time to render and I get the same results using the 1st method.

August 5th, 2006, 09:20 AM	#406
Steve Clee Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 29	Film look in Vegas - Deinterlacing ? Probably stupid question but here it goes. I have been using vegas for about 3 years now mostly for making motorcyle stunt videos. Vegas rocks for sure. All of my video is shot at 30fps and I am looking for a way to give it that "film" look. Getting tired of the way it looks when I watch it on tv. - Will deinterlacing the footage give me that result ? - Can Vegas do it out of the box or do I have to fork over the $$ for s/w like Magic Bullet ? - I have access to After Effects at work and have found a few techniques on the web to do it in AE. Will that give me the look and feel I am looking for ? - Is it worth the hassle ? I mean will the footage have a better look once its deinterlaced when previewing on a normal TV ? Of course I am saving up for a camera that will do it, but for now just looking for an alt solution. Great forum, have learned a ton so far. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks SC

August 5th, 2006, 01:01 PM	#407
Paul Kepen Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Minneapolis Minnesota Posts: 347	Extremely Blurry Preview? I have several widescreen SD DV projects from a month ago or so, - saved as .veg files. I recently have been working on a mostly HDV project (it has some widescreen DV clips in it as well). The preview window is set at Best (auto). All of the clips - HDV and DV look normal. However, when I go back to any of the previous DV projects, the preview is EXTREMELY fuzzy and blurry. Checking the project and clip settings, they are both set as they should be - Widescreen DV 720x480, pixel=1.222, 29.970fps. This is with ALL my SD DV projects. If I watch the AVI's in Windows Media player, they look fine-sharp and clear. Has anyone else experienced this? Any idea what could cause this, or how to fix it? Thanks - PK

August 5th, 2006, 06:51 PM	#409
Ian Briscoe Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Southport - UK Posts: 208	Lost FX Window Not sure how I've done this. But now, when I call up Event FX, Media FX, etc, the window zooms to the botom of the screen as it opens. I get the normal window allowing me to selet and add an effect, but after that, the wndow which lets me set the properties of the event is somehow hidden. It still has focus (the main Vegas title bar is greyed) but I just can't see it or get to it. I've launched Vegas with Ctrl+Shift held down and that has reset just about everything, er except this! Any ideas? Thanx Ian

August 5th, 2006, 07:12 PM	#410
Dennis Murphy Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Whangarei, New Zealand Posts: 396	Posterise Time. I'm thinking of switching to Vegas. I've been using Premiere Pro 2, and there is one effect that comes standard with it that I can't seem to find an equivelent of in Vegas. It's called 'Posterize Time'. For those that use both programs, could you please tell me how/what to do in Vegas to achieve this result. Taken from the Adobe Help File: "The 'Posterize Time' effect locks a clip to a specific frame rate. Posterize Time is useful on its own as a special effect, but it also has more subtle uses. For example, 60-field video footage can be locked to 24 fps (and then field-rendered at 60 fields per second) to give a film-like look. This effect is sometimes called Strobe in hardware devices." Cheers, Dennis. __________________ http://www.dmvideostuff.co.nz

August 5th, 2006, 11:18 PM	#412
Douglas Spotted Eagle VASST Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Stockton, UT Posts: 5,648	For the effect you're looking for, there are several methods in Vegas, and you don't need to render a 24p file to do this, either. Just put a 60i clip in a 24p timeline, and then use the Properties to get the strobe you want. Or, you can purchase the CreativEase bundle, and it too, does this, with the posterize color FX as well. Additionally, you can use Secondary color correction along with several various Vegas plus to give you the traditional posterizer look. __________________ Douglas Spotted Eagle/Spot Author, producer, composer Certified Sony Vegas Trainer http://www.vasst.com

August 5th, 2006, 08:28 PM	#411
Kevin Richard Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lafayette, LA Posts: 270	I got you covered... not sure if this is the Vegas way but this works (and works with lots of things like this). Open your FX window that ducks out of site... don't click anywhere... at this point hit ALT then Space bar... this has now brought up the window's menu (though you can't see it)... now hit the "M" key.. and now you are in "MOVE" mode... use the arrow keys to move it around... usually you just have to initiate the move then when you move the most it snaps to where the pointer is... if for some reason it doesn't (never seen that before) you could just keep bumping it with the arrow key. Let me know how it works!

August 6th, 2006, 01:00 AM	#413
Dennis Murphy Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Whangarei, New Zealand Posts: 396	Cheers for that Doug! __________________ http://www.dmvideostuff.co.nz

August 6th, 2006, 01:38 AM	#414
Mike Costantini Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 154	Music notation images on screen for both TV and computer monitor? Hi, if anyone has any expert advice on the best way to get the images below to look good for use on a DVD that will be viewed by people on both computers and on televisions? Also, keep in mind that I will use pan/crop to resize the width of the images to fit a 4:3 screen as necessary. I included two to show the different sizes I have to work with from not so wide (4 grids) to very wide (8 grids) that have to appear all at once within the frame. Basically they will be placed under the teacher giving the lesson. I've already gotten some input about blurring the image slightly, changing the black and white to 16 and 235 for NTSC safe color.. Hard for me to tell since this is my first attempt at doing this type of work.. I've found that blurring the image makes it look blurry (obviously) on the computer monitor.. Has anyone here done this before? If so, how did you succeed? http://www.filelodge.com/files/room22/568910/Image1.png http://www.filelodge.com/files/room22/568910/Image2.png

August 6th, 2006, 03:17 AM	#415
Ian Briscoe Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Southport - UK Posts: 208	Kevin It worked like a charm!!! Really appreciate it. Thanx Ian

August 6th, 2006, 05:08 AM	#416
Ian Briscoe Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Southport - UK Posts: 208	Can HDV format save me here???? Bit of a long shot this one. But i have some footage from an unmanned camera (Z1E) and at some point the tripod was knocked meaning the shot isn't level - it slopes slightly left to right. I shot in HDV format but will be delivering in SD format. I was wondering if there's anything I can do to fix this by taking advantage of the higher res of HDV. Something like - capturing HDV - than rotating the picture - then cropping it so the frame is rectangular again - then scaling down to 720 x 576 (PAL) - then rendering as DV then wishing on a star.... Any thoughts? Ian

August 6th, 2006, 05:15 AM	#417
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Yes, you can definitely do that. Just capture as HDV, zoom in slightly and crop and rotate as needed with Pan/Crop. __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

August 6th, 2006, 05:15 AM	#418
Lamar Lamb Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Baxley, Georgia Posts: 103	Vegas 5 Object Model Reference I've done a few scripts in Vegas 5 to help me with some frequent and repetitive tasks but it took a while to figure out. Is there a complete object model reference somewhere for the Sony.Vegas namespace? I have yet to find one. __________________ Lamar

August 6th, 2006, 05:21 AM	#419
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	There's the API. Look here to download the Vegas 6 API: http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/dow...p2.asp?DID=635 That should get you headed in the right direction. __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

August 6th, 2006, 05:26 AM	#420
Lamar Lamb Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Baxley, Georgia Posts: 103	Here's what I did. Go get DV Film Maker at www.dvfilm.com to deinterlace. It works great and you can chose between 24P or 60i deinterlaced output. Then for the "Film Look" you can play with these plugins that come with Vegas; Color Corrector, Brightness & Contrast, HSL, Film Effects. I mix and match with these to give a great film look for only the cost of DV Film Maker (about $150). A Magic Bullet plugin came with Vegas. It has a few "looks" but it will bring you system to its knees when it come time to render and I get the same results using the 1st method. __________________ Lamar