A Media Prof

Closed Captions in Vegas Pro 10a, Part 2

Here is the second episode of how to work with closed captions in Sony’s Vegas Pro 10a. This time we look at exporting the captions.

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.

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…

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 …

Excellent educational audio articles/booklets

I suggest the following location for some good explanations of audio principals and applications. They are written for everyday folks to understand. While they are publications by Shure, the principals are universal. I personally use a number of Shure products so that is not an issue for me. Shure mics and mixers tend to be rugged workhorse products.

Audio for Video http://www.shure.com/idc/groups/public/documents/webcontent/us_pro_audiovideoproduction_ea.pdf

Other audio applications and topics Shure Eduational Articles