Novice titling question

[Philip Younger]

I am quite new to Vegas Pro9.0c and trying to perform what I think should be quite simple:
I have a 10sec section of video footage which I want to run for 2seconds then fade in to a still picture overlay i.e. we have video footage still running and now have a photograph in the bottom left corner.

I've got that far no problem......but....

I now want to add a title overlay that will appear on the righthand side of the screen so the sequence goes:

Video, >2seconds Photo fades in, and remains, >2seconds title fades in and remains.

But what is happening is that after 2 seconds the photo appears then the title cross fades in and the photos fades out.

I have on track one the photo2 seconds along the timeline and 8 seconds long with the title (which is selected from 'default Text in media generator) overlapping the photo 2 seconds in for 6 seconds. Track2 has the video event 10 seconds from the start of the track.

I should add that if I put the title sequence on the video track (2) after 4 seconds the screen goes black with just the title text. I can add the crossfade that seems to be all I can add, can bring the title in and fade ther video out - again not wanted. I'm sure I'm going mad, something very basic I am missing???

Any advice welcome (as long as it's easy to follow - Vegas novice alert!!!) :-)

[Edward Troxel]

Track 1 - title
Track 2 - picture
Track 3 - video

[Philip Younger]

Thanks Edward, I'll try that. I did try it the otherway around:
1 Photo
2 Video
3 Title but for some reason that still doesn't seem obvious, it didn't work. It didn't occur to me to try it another way around!

BTW I like your site

[Edward Troxel]

It displays top-down. So you placed the title UNDER the video making it hidden behind the video. You have to put it on TOP so it will be seen.

Think of it like your desk. You have a book on your desk and you can see it. You lay a picture on top of that book and you can see the picture and the part of the book that the picture does not cover. You put a rubber band on top of the picture. Now you can see the rubber band (the title in your case), the part of the picture not covered by the rubber band, and the part of the book not covered by the rubber band or the picture.

If you place the title on the SAME track as the picture, the title will "replace" the picture or you will dissolve from the picture to the title.

[Philip Younger]

Yeah it makes sense when an expert points it all out :-)
I should have realised - or at least tried it that way, I had tried just about every combination I could think of EXCEPT the correct method!

[Jay Massengill]

Also remember that your text could have either a transparent or solid background (or anything in-between for that matter). That will affect how your title covers or reveals the tracks that are beneath it.

[Philip Younger]

Just as a carry on to this particular task....

Everything works as expected (thanks!) but.... I want the photo in the bottom left corner (within the safe area) However, when I try to put it there via the Event Pan/Crop tool the photo image disappears as I slide over to the left (in the preview pane) so I am stuck with having the image just off centre.

I can position the image bop and bottom OK, it's just side to side that's the problem

[Jay Massengill]

If for example your picture to inset is 4:3 ratio and you're placing it on a 16:9 ratio timeline, then it will start to disappear as you attempt to move it to the right or left edge using the Event Pan/Crop UNLESS you widen the ratio of the frame inside Event Pan/Crop.
You can do this manually by deactivating the icon on the left edge of the Event Pan/Crop window that signifies maintain aspect ratio. You leave the source setting for "maintain aspect ratio" intact. Then stretch the frame to be wider (or whatever direction you need), thus allowing you more room to move the picture to the side before the frame starts making it disappear. You'll probably need to zoom out the workspace view inside Event Pan/Crop in order to see a wider view of what you're manipulating.
If a standard ratio will work for you, see Mike's easier method below.

[Mike Kujbida]

Right-click on the image while in Pan/Crop and select "Match Output Aspect".
You'll now be able to move it as desired.

[Jay Massengill]

Hey Mike, I forgot about that shortcut! I got in the habit of stretching the frame manually when I did a lot of projects that needed highly stretched frames that were totally out of ratio (allowing both positioning and cropping in one step).
In either case my method or Mike's, it doesn't result in a change in ratio of the source image, it just changes the amount of room you have to move a picture out to the sides.

[Edward Troxel]

As Mike said, "Match Output Aspect" can be your friend.

In your case, it sounds to be like you need to use the tools for their designed purpose:

1. Use Pan/Crop to select the part of the image you wish to use.
2. Use TRACK MOTION to resize the image smaller and position it into the corner.

[Jay Massengill]

Using Track Motion for more than one picture in a different screen location would also require either adding keyframes for each picture to a single track, or using a unique track and Track Motion setting for each picture that must appear in a different screen location. On the other hand if all the pictures will appear in the same screen location, then Track Motion would be a very fast way to handle them all.
Using Event Pan/Crop for size, cropping and position stays unique to each individual event. So moving an event to a different location on the timeline can be easier since you don't have to worry about whether the keyframes on a track are still how you want them.
For all of these settings you can save your own named presets, that small extra step can pay a lot of dividends if you need to duplicate settings (even months later in a totally new project), add or change keyframes etc. You simply recall your preset rather than having to reposition an item by eye again.
As always there are lots of ways to do something, just depends on the project and the user's comfort level with keyframes as to which method is faster.

[Philip Younger]

You guys are brilliant! Thanks so much..... I am finding it something of a struggle getting used to Vegas, but it looks such a good NLE I am determined to battle on with it.

I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again!!!

[Ian Stark]

Originally Posted by Jay Massengill

For all of these settings you can save your own named presets, that small extra step can pay a lot of dividends if you need to duplicate settings

And let's not forget the very useful 'copy/paste attributes' for ultra fast application of one clip's settings to a selection of other clips.

I use this daily, although I would still dearly love to see a 'copy/paste SELECTED attributes' feature that would enable it to be used on the generated text clips without including the words of the text!