Vegas Video discussions from 2004 (Q3Q4)

[Glenn Chan]

My RAM usage in Vegas (I'm at work so can't recall what it's called) is set at 64 Mb. Is there a problem with my card? I've heard that rendering is done in OpenGL. Perhaps my card is lacking?

That setting is for RAM previews. You can get RAM previews by hitting Crtl-B (instead of rendering out the video).

There's nothing wrong with your video card for Vegas.

[Glenn Chan]

1- Magic Bullet Editors can do this.

2- In Vegas:
You could duplicate the video onto itself. Right click the video track and select duplicate.

Use the secondary color corrector. Set the range on luminance to only midtones and highlights (i.e. low 90, high 255, smoothness 80; I made these numbers up). Slide alpha down to 0. If you solo the top layer, you see there's only dark things in there.

Apply any blur to the top. De-saturate the top layer if you like. You can also try channel blend to de-saturate instead (channel blend can turn a combination of red, blue, and green into B+W images). You could also change the composite model to something like screen or overlay.

I don't think that's the same as what Magic Bullet does.

[Tony Hall]

Didn't I read something on here about DVD Architect DVDs being region free? So, do I need to make separate DVDs for PAL viewers or will NTSC DVDs work in their players?

[Ralph Morris]

Hi Chris,

Many Sony enthusiasts have been disappointed with the 950 which was the successor to the 900, a very respected camcorder.

Sony's Prosumer camcorders are not known for their sound capabilities. However, I use a VX2000 and get good sound by using a hot mike (Sennheiser) and keeping the VX2000's gain below 50%. This yields a sound quality that is fine for interview situations such as you want to conduct. For better sound right out of the box, the GL2 is probably a better bet than the Sony's.

Also, you should consider using double sound as you often don't get a chance for a retake. MiniDisc recorders or some of the new flash memory recorders can be had at reasonable prices, and will usually stay in sync with camcorder sound for at least 3 minutes, which gives you opportunities to resync if necessary.

Your system is more than adequate for running Vegas. You will need a large second HDD for video files and a firewire card. You may want to take a look at Vegas Studio + DVD as an entry level NLE if you think Vegas is more than you need right now.

As a shameless plug, if you get film (8 or 16mm) to be incorporated into the bios, I can provide transfer services for you. rmorris21942 at yahoo dot com

[Edward Troxel]

Also, have you tried capturing from another program such as Scenalyzer Live to see if the problem is more related to Vegas or more related to the system overall?

[Brian Kennedy]

Thanks very much! I'll try both methods. The video is 16:9 already -- I didn't realize the DVD player would letterbox for me. If it doesn't, I'll letterbox in Vegas and use the mask.

[Edward Troxel]

You set the system to extend your desktop across both monitors and then any element of Vegas can be dragged to the other monitor. You can also save the various layouts (up to 10) in Vegas 5.

Your preview framerate will vary to keep up with real time. In complex areas, the framerate will drop but the effect will continue to be shown in real time. Another factor is the preview quality.

To increase the framerate, use a combination of ram renders, pre-renders, render to new track, and/or full renders.

[Edward Troxel]

All DVDs created by DVD Architect are region free. The only reason you would need to make a separate version for PAL users is if you wanted to truly create a PAL DVD. Odds are high that the NTSC DVD will play fine for them.

[Edward Troxel]

The GL2 and XL1 has served us well. As for your system, look at possibly upgrading to 1Gig of RAM and a LOT more hard drive.

[Edward Troxel]

You might also want to look at the Zenote letterbox tool or, possibly, the WAX plugin by Satish.

http://www.zenote.com
http://www.debugmode.com

[Tony Hall]

Ok thanks for clearing that up. It takes a while to convert NTSC into PAL using cleaner. Glad I don't have to do that with this program.

[Peter Jefferson]

hey all, just wondering who will be attending this??

Im presenting a little demo of Vegas to the masses on behalf of the Australian distributor, My supply company and my own Production company.

It should be fun, but as im targetting a certain mentality, im tryin to keep it informative, but not overly detailed, as some people jsut wont understand the usefulness of certain things such as scripting and multiple envelope tools and external control surfaces.

So what do you think i should include in this??

at the moment my list is

-Setting up Dolby Digital and using surround panning within a project
-Dolby Digital output compression standards based on Dolby Labs TSA
-Multiple Envelope tools, effect automation, timeshifting, pitch shifting, beatmatching, beatmixing, effect panning
err... oh yeah and Dolby surround configuration LOL

for video, im including elements which are found in after effects (to show Vegas all in onenes) compositing, displacement mapping, chromakeying, some parent child compositing (which i really dont want to do) and scripting.
Theres also the velocity tools, as well as transitional velocity, but am i missing something??

I mean im including all teh new HDV options for vegas, but im yet to get any material on that from the distributor here.

any ideas as to how i can add to this??

[Mitch Buss]

I am doing a short nightly news spoof and need to know if I can do titles like the anchors names are. Just titles with boxes around them and just a little something extra. Not just the words.
Thanks

Mitch

[Edward Troxel]

Sure. Just use multiple tracks with generated media to get you the background colors. You can use Track Motion to resize or any other method you prefer. You could also make the background in your paint program using an alpha channel so the video will show through. Then add the text over that background.

[Ian Slessor]

Edward & Glenn,

Thanks for the info. It's been very helpful. I'm about 99% certain that I'll be picking up Vegas 5 + DVD in January.

Edward. Great site you have (your personal one for Vegas). Lots of good info too.

Glenn. I noticed you're only an hour west of me. Any recommendations regarding businesses when it comes to picking up a decent minidv camera in the $1500-$3000 range?

BTW. What about the Bella EZ Keyboards? Is it better to have a separate shuttle/jog with programmable buttons as opposed to the integral shuttle/jog of the Bella keyboards? Or is it simply a matter of personal preference.

Once again.

Thanks for the valuable information.

sincerely,


ian