A Media Prof

Closed Captions in Vegas Pro 10a, Part 1

Here is part one of three about how to deal with closed captions in Vegas Pro 10a. Version 10a adds a comprehensive set of tools for captioning videos.  Section 508 now requires all video programs for government use must be captioned.  Broadcast in the US is also under mandates from other laws and policies to include captioning.  Producers can no longer ignore it.  With Vegas Pro the process is really quite quick and painless.

Your comments on the subject or the video are welcome.

Stereo 3D Test

This is just a short clip in RED/CYAN Anaglyphic format. Pull out your old paper glasses and take a look.

Stereo 3D video is becoming easier to produce.  Companies are releasing 3D camera rigs, 3D camcorders, 3D monitors and TV’s, and now Sony has stepped up and with Vegas Pro 10, releasing a fabulous suite of functions for post production.

Zi6's make a stereo rig

This clip was shot with my ghetto stereo side by side rig; two Kodak Zi6′s screwed to a piece of strap metal.

It was then combined in Vegas Pro 9.oe, and output as an AVC file.

The original is in HD and actually looks a lot better. Stereo 3D does not survive compression for the web very well.  Yuck.

Vertical alignment is the biggest pain, as well as no way to preview convergence in the field.  I was just guessing and some worked and some didn’t.

Besides vertical alignment problems, a ghetto rig like this does not have synchronized shutters.  That means the left and right eyes can be as much as 1/2 a frame out of sync.  That only becomes a problem during heavy movement.  For the cost and effort … ?

The Zi6′s are not the greatest for making a ghetto stereo rig.  The tripod mount wiggles in the camera.  The Zi8 has a firmer mount so I will probably try a build with them

My new computer system’s noise level

I have just completed building and perfecting a very powerful PC to run Vegas Pro.  So far it is as fast as I have found anywhere.  The Core i7 980X processor is overclocked to 4.27GHz and the 12 Gb of memory are Overclocked to 1600MHz.  That creates a lot of heat and therefore the need for a lot of cooling.  I have been asked how loud the noise from this system is and can it be used for doing tutorials in Camtasia.

The following video is a demonstration of the noise from the system.  It is actually recorded with the computer sitting right next to me without anything blocking the noise from it.  That is the worst case scenario.  Take a listen.

Another Element

Continuing on with the sports highlight videos, a sample was shown of a glinting arrow and box.  Rather than creating these in a .gif builder, it is easy to build similar items in Vegas Pro.  Here is a veggie to demonstrate.  Decompress the archive and double click on the demonstration veggie.  It will show nested veggies in use as well as the animation rendered to a Quick Time animation with Alpha channel.

Download Below:

Redneck Golf Sample

WHY

On the Sony Creative Software forums, it was asked how to make or work with the elements used in football highlight videos. Specifically, these are things like darkening the whole image except for a circle surrounding a player and following him around. Also, it was asked about how to add arrows and lines and such to point out things. The fact is, these are all very easy because Vegas Pro allows you to key frame almost everything at many different levels.

I could write pages and pages about how to do these things in Vegas Pro. Instead of writing a book , I thought it would be easier for folks to understand if I just made a tongue in cheek video sample and provided the veggie file for folks to open up and explore how it was done.

Download the archive by clicking on the link below. (Warning, it is 80 mb in size)

WHAT

The veggie file, the video, the graphics, and audio, are all in a single zip archive for you to download. Download the archive and extract it into a folder. Double click on the veggie file, and if you have Vegas Pro 9 installed correctly, it will open up ready for you to explore.

The archive has the line, arrow, and circle graphics in it. They are just .PNG files with transparency that I made in Photoshop Elements.

The project demonstrates using a cookie cutter on a solid color media, with keyframes to highlight a moving item in the video. It also demonstrates using a circle and an arrow graphic to identify things. It demonstrates using 3D source alpha track motion to place a line in the image with perspective. Finally it uses some child/parent tracks to create an element with several tracks but maneuver them all with one parent track to keep the complete element intact. (that is the sign graphic) Oh, I also change the color of one of the arrows, just by using the Sepia video fx.

I hope you enjoy it.

Return from Vacation

I just returned from a wonderful week in North Georgia.  Along the way I tested the GoPro HD Hero cam for POV shots and for situations when you need your hands free.  Here is a quick clip from the trip.  I just strapped it to my chest and ignored it while I played. I will post more later.

Favorite Scripts for Vegas Pro

UPDATE:  I found an error in two of the download archives in this post.   I have fixed the archives and they are ready for you to download.

One of the things that I love about Sony’s Vegas Pro software is the scripting API that they have provided.  This allows Vegas Pro to quickly add many time saving functions quickly and easily.  Chances are that if you have a repetitive set of tasks that you need to be easier, there is a script to take care of you.  If not, there are some great folks in the Vegas community who are good with C# or JS who just might whip up a script to solve your needs.

Two of the great script and extension writers, Edwards Troxel and John Rofrano have each delivered script solutions large and small.  John’s Ultimate S Pro and  Edward’s Excaliber are tool kits full of time saving functions. (I personally use Ultimate S Pro for many things.)  They also continue to contributed a wealth of free scripts to the community. Read more…

Plug In Chain Demo

For CoolDraft,

Here is a visual demonstration of creating and adding a plug in chain of FX in Vegas Pro.  This is the way to copy a bunch of FX settings to other events.

Using DJ animations now easier in Vegas Pro

UPDATE:  I found an error in the download archive.  The script was named incorrectly.  I have fixed the archive and it is ready for you to download.

Using Digital Juice animations that have transparency just got easier in Vegas Pro thanks to master programmer and script writer John Rofrano. John is the great one behind the likes of Ultimate S and Production Assistant.

The inconvenience of using Digital Juice animations with transparency in Vegas Pro has come for the necessity of having to set the Alpha Channel type of each clip.  That meant right clicking the event, choosing properties, then the media tab, and finally setting the Alpha Channel type.  This new script ends that forever.  Now all you do is place the animations on the timeline, select the events, and press the new button on the toolbar.

The script is in a small zip file here: SetAlphaChannel Script for Vegas Pro (409)

Happy editing …