Sonic Foundry VEGAS VIDEO 4 User Manual

After you install Vegas and start it for the first time, the registration wizard appears. This wizard offers easy
steps that enable you to register Vegas online with Sonic Foundry. Alternately, you may register Vegas
online at www.sonicfoundry.com at any time.

Registering your product provides you with exclusive access to a variety of technical support options,
notification of product updates, and special promotions exclusive to registered Vegas users.

Registration assistance

If you do not have access to the Internet, registration assistance is available. Please contact our Customer
Service Department.

Registration assistance is currently available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central
Standard Time (CST) by dialing the following numbers:

Telephone/Fax Country

1-800-577-6642 (toll-free) US, Canada, and Virgin Islands

[phone] (toll-free) Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, UK,

Netherlands, and Japan

[phone] All other countries

1-608-250-1745 (Fax) All countries

Customer service/sales

For a detailed list of customer service options, we encourage you to visit www.sonicfoundry.com. For support
during normal office hours:

Telephone/Fax/E-mail Country

1-800-577-6642 (toll-free) US, Canada, and Virgin Islands

[phone] (toll-free) Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, UK,

Netherlands, and Japan

[phone] All other countries

1-608-250-1745 (Fax) All countries

customerservice@sonicfoundr y.com

Technical support

For a detailed list of technical support options, we encourage you to visit www.sonicfoundry.com/support.

• To listen to your support options, please call 608-256-5555.

• Customers who have purchased the full version of Vegas receive 60 days of complimentary phone support.
The complimentary support begins when the product is registered. (Registration is required to received
this complimentary support.) Please call [phone] if you need assistance with your product.

Sonic Foundry, Inc.

1617 Sherman Avenue
Madison, WI 53704
USA

The information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Sonic Foundry. The software described in this manual is provided under the
terms of a license agreement or non-disclosure agreement. The software license agreement specifies the terms
and conditions for its lawful use. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means for any purpose other than the purchaser’s personal use, without written permission from Sonic
Foundry, Inc.

Sonic Foundry is a registered trademark and Vegas is a trademark of Sonic Foundry, Inc. ASIO is a
trademark and VST is a registered trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies AG. Other brands and
products named here are the trademarks or registered trademarks of Sonic Foundry, its affiliates, or their
respective holders.

© 1999-2003 Sonic Foundry, Inc.

Table of Contents

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Welcome to Sonic Foundry Vegas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Technical support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Installing Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Registration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Using online help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

1

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Main window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Time display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Ruler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Marker bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Command bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

CD layout bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Track list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Track view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Transport bar controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Status bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Scrub control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Window docking area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Keyboard command reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Cursor indications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Audio signal flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Video signal flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Creating projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Setting video properties based on a media file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Saving a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Renaming a project (using Save As) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2

Getting media files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Selecting media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Previewing a media file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Using the Media Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Adding media to the timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Working with events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Understanding files and events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Moving events along the timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Working with tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Using the track view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Using the track list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Viewing playbacks and previews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Using playback in Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Scrubbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Previewing to media player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Prerendering video previews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Rendering a Vegas project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Creating a movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Basic Editing Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Getting around. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Moving the cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Changing focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Making selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Selecting multiple events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Selecting a time range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Looping playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Selecting events and a time range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Editing events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Copying events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Cutting events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Pasting events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Duplicating events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Inserting empty events and time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Trimming events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Splitting events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Slipping and sliding events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Deleting events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Applying post-edit ripples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

Applying a post-edit ripple manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Applying a post-edit ripple automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Shuffling events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Crossfading events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Using automatic crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Manually setting a crossfade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Changing crossfade curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Sliding a crossfade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Using undo and redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Using undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Using redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Clearing the edit history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Adding project markers and regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Working with markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Working with regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Working with command markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Working with CD layout markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Using an external audio editing program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

3

Setting up an audio editing program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Opening an audio editor from Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Advanced Editing Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Snapping events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Turning snapping on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Quantizing to frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Using the event snap offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Snapping to the cursor or a selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Pitch shifting audio events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Time compressing/stretching events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Time compressing/stretching video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Working with takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

Adding takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Selecting takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Previewing and selecting takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Deleting takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Working with take names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4

Using the Trimmer window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Opening a file in the Trimmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Moving frame-by-frame in the Trimmer window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Making selections in the Trimmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Adding selections to the timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Adding and saving regions and markers to a media file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Opening a file in an external audio editor from the Trimmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Using the Edit Details window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Viewing the Edit Details window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Customizing the Edit Details window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Working with Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Managing tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Inserting an empty track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Duplicating a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Deleting a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Naming or renaming a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Organizing tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Reordering tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Changing track color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Changing track height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Using the track list. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Using the volume fader (audio only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Using the multipurpose slider (audio only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Using the composite level slider (video only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Bypassing motion blur envelopes (video only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Using track motion (video only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Phase inverting a track (audio only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Muting a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Muting all audio or video tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Soloing a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Setting default track properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Working with track envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Adding track envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Hiding track envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Removing track envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Using the Envelope Edit tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Locking envelopes to events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Using audio bus tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Adding envelopes to an audio bus track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Adding effects to audio bus tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Muting or soloing an audio bus track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Resizing audio bus tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Using video bus tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Adding keyframes to the video bus track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Adding a fade-to-color envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Adding a motion blur envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Adding a video supersampling envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Adding effects to video bus tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Muting the video output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Bypassing video effects and envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Resizing video bus tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Rendering to a new track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Working with Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Setting event switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

5

Mute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Invert phase (audio only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Normalize (audio only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Maintain aspect ratio (video only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Reduce interlace flicker (video only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Resample (video only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Accessing event properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120

Adjusting audio channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120

Copying and pasting event attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Using audio event envelopes (ASR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Setting an audio event’s volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Setting an event’s fade in and out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122

Using video event envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122

Using opacity envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Using velocity envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

TABLE OF CONTENTS

6

Grouping events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Creating a new group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Adding an event to an existing group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Removing events from a group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Clearing a group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Selecting all members of a group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Suspending grouping temporarily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Adding Audio Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Using audio effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Using plug-in chains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Creating a plug-in chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Adding plug-ins to a plug-in chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Saving customized plug-in presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Arranging the order of plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Bypassing plug-ins on the chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Removing plug-ins from a chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Saving plug-in chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Editing saved plug-in chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Organizing your plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Applying non-real-time event effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Bypassing all audio effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Using the Mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Using the Mixer window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Viewing the Mixer window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Using the Mixer toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Using the Mixer Preview fader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Using busses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Adding busses to a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Deleting busses from a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Routing busses to hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Working with busses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Assigning audio tracks to busses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Using assignable effects chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Assigning audio tracks to assignable effects chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Routing assignable effects chains to busses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Automating busses and assignable effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Viewing bus tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Adding track envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Modifying track envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Recording Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Setting up your equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

Basic setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Setup with mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144

Setup with digital multitrack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Preparing to record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

Arming the track for recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Selecting recording settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Using the metronome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

Recording into an empty track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Recording into a time selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148

Recording into an event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Recording into an event with a time selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149

Triggering from MIDI timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149

Working with multiple recorded takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Specifying where recordings are stored. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

7

Changing where recorded files are stored when arming a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Changing where recorded files are stored when starting to record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Changing where recorded files are stored in the Project Properties dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

Monitoring audio levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Monitoring recording input with track effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Working with 5.1 Surround. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

What is 5.1 surround?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153

Setting up surround hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153

Setting up surround projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154

Routing to hardware in the mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Assigning audio to the LFE channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156

Panning audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156

Panning tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156

Panning mixer controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157

Using the Surround Panner window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Automating panning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Turning on panning keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Adding panning keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Working with keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

Rendering surround projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

Creating a DVD with DVD Architect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164

TABLE OF CONTENTS

8

Using Advanced Video Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Cropping video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Cropping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Rotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Adding animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Working with still images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Creating still images for use in Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Capturing a timeline snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Creating a slide show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Creating titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Creating titles from images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Fading titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Adding closed captioning to Windows Media Video (WMV) files . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Adding closed captioning line-by-line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Adding closed captioning from a script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Displaying closed captioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Resampling video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Using Edit Decision Lists (EDL). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Creating an EDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Opening an EDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Working in DV format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Selecting source media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Setting project properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Selecting templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Eliminating out-of-range colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Modifying video properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Modifying project video properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Modifying media file properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Modifying output properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Using Video FX, Compositing, and Masks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Using video effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Adding a video effects plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Working with video effects plug-in chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Modifying a video effects plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Saving custom plug-in settings as a preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Using keyframe animation with plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Using generated media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Adding a generated media event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Duplicating a generated media event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

Understanding the parent/child track relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Selecting compositing modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Changing the overlay mode for a parent track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192

Creating masks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192

Creating image masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192

Creating video masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Fine-tuning masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Using the Mask Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196

Chromakeying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Adding Video Transitions and Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Understanding basic transitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201

Cuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201

Using transition effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Adding a transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Adding a transition to the end of an event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202

Adding a transition to all selected events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203

Understanding track layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204

Converting a cut to a transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204

Converting a crossfade or transition to a cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Previewing a transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205

Modifying a transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206

Saving custom settings as a preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Using keyframe animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207

9

Understanding the keyframe controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Adding keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Deleting keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208

Navigating in the keyframe controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Modifying keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208

Working with keyframes in track view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Sample uses for keyframe animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211

Animating event panning and cropping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211

Animating video effects plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213

Animating generated text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214

TABLE OF CONTENTS

10

Adding track motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Using the track motion shortcut menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216

Controlling the track motion workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Using keyframes in track motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Creating a picture-in-picture effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Animating the overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Rotating the overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Flipping the overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Previewing and Analyzing Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Understanding the Video Preview window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Using the Video Preview window shortcut menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Optimizing the Video Preview window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Reducing preview quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Prerendering video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Building dynamic RAM previews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Using split-screen previewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Previewing affected and unprocessed video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Showing the video at the cursor position and the contents of the clipboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Changing the selection for displaying split-screen views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Identifying safe areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Viewing the grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Isolating color channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Monitoring video with scopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Displaying chrominance using the vectorscope monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Displaying luminance using the waveform monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Displaying color levels and contrast using the histogram monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Displaying RGB components with RGB parade monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Previewing in a player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Using an external monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Setting up an external monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Configuring an external monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Verifying the external monitor configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233

Saving, Rendering, and Printing Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Saving a project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Creating a copy of a project (using Save As...) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Saving a project with media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Autosaving a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Rendering a project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Selecting a file format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238

More about the MPEG format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

More about the Wave64 and Perfect Clarity Audio formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

More about video formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Customizing the rendering process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240

Customizing the Render As settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Saving custom settings as a template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240

Creating custom rendering settings for AVI files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241

Project tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241

Video tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241

Audio tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Printing with Video Capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243

Printing to DV tape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244

Establishing a connection to the recording device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244

Printing to DV tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245

Burning CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

11

Understanding track-at-once and disc-at-once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Track-at-once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Disc-at-once (Single Session or Red Book) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Understanding tracks and indices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247

Setting up to burn audio CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248

Viewing the ruler and time display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Setting project properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Setting preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248

Importing CD Architect files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248

Creating audio CD layout projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249

Adding media as CD tracks to a new project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249

Marking tracks in an existing project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Working with tracks and indices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251

Navigating to and selecting tracks and indices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251

Moving track and index markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Renaming track and index markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251

Deleting track and index markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251

Editing markers using the Edit Details window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252

Copying a track list from the Edit Details window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252

Burning audio CDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252

Burning single tracks (track-at-once) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Burning a disc (disc-at-once) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253

Burning video CDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254

TABLE OF CONTENTS

12

Creating a multimedia CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Using Scripting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Running a script. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Creating shortcuts for frequently used scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Storing a script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Recalling a stored script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Creating a script. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Editing an existing script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Customizing Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Displaying frame numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Changing the ruler format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Editing the ruler offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Changing grid spacing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Using the Time Display window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Changing the time display settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Changing the time display colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Setting the time display to monitor MIDI timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Working with project properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Video tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Audio tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Ruler tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Summary tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Audio CD tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Using the toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Hiding and displaying the toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Reordering toolbar buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Adding buttons to the toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Removing buttons from the toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Setting Vegas preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

General tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Video tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Video device tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Audio tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Audio Device tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Editing tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

CD Settings tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Sync tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Troubleshooting resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279

Common questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279

Why are some of my DirectX plug-ins not working correctly? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Why do I hear gaps in my audio playback? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279

Why do mono events increase 6 dB when panning a track hard? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280

Why do buffer underruns occur during a test or real write to a CD? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280

Why can’t I work with footage captured using an MJPEG card? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280

Trouble-free video: software solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Trouble-free video: hardware solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281

Video subsystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281

Hard disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282

CPU and RAM (memory) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Audio proxy files (.sfap0) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283

Interlacing and field order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283

Timecode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285

13

SMPTE timecode types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285

Timecode in Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .286

Troubleshooting DV hardware issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

14

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER

Introduction

1

1

Welcome to Sonic Foundry Vegas

Sonic Foundry Vegas™ is an innovative and advanced multitrack media-editing system. Vegas was designed
to create an efficient audio/video production environment without sacrificing the quality and processing
power that you expect from Sonic Foundry. Whether it’s the standard and familiar Windows navigation
commands or the clean and uncluttered interface, you’ll find Vegas to be a tool that will be mastered in
minutes. Beneath the unique and customizable interface, you’ll find a product that is both powerful and
flexible.

System requirements

15

In order to use Vegas, your computer must satisfy the following minimum specifications:

• 400 MHz processor

• Windows-compatible sound card

• Supported CD-R/RW drive (for CD burning)

• 7200 RPM hard-disk drive

• OHCI-compliant IEEE-1394/DV capture card (for DV capture and print-to-tape tools only)

• 24-bit color display recommended

• 128 MB RAM

• 40 MB hard-disk space for program installation

• Microsoft

• Microsoft DirectX

• Internet Explorer 5.0 or later (included on CD-ROM)

• Microsoft .NET Framework (for scripting support only. Available from the Windows Update site. Choose

Windows Update from the menu.)

®

Windows® 98SE, Me, 2000, or XP

®

8 or later (included on CD-ROM)

Technical support

The Web site at http://www.sonicfoundry.com/support has technical support, reference information, program
updates, tips and tricks, user forums, and a knowledge base.

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

16

Installing Vegas

1.

Insert the Vegas CD-ROM. The Vegas 4.0 Setup screen appears (if CD-ROM AutoPlay is enabled).

If CD-ROM AutoPlay is not enabled, click the button and choose
appears, type the CD-ROM drive’s letter and add

2.

Click Install Vegas 4.0. The installation process begins.

3.

Follow the screen prompts and enter the necessary information when required.

4.

At the last screen prompt, click to conclude the installation.

Note:

Vegas uses the Windows Installer for all versions of

:\setup.exe. Click OK to start the installation.

Run. In the Run window that

Windows (e.g., 98SE, Me). Vegas installs the Windows
Installer and then asks you to restart your system.

Registration

The registration dialog that appears when you start Vegas allows you to quickly and easily register:

• Choose

• Choose

connection, but you have another computer that does.

• Choose

• Choose

Follow the instructions in the registration dialog to complete your Vegas registration.

Register online to instantly register the product over the Internet.
Register from another computer if the computer you’ve installed Vegas on does not have an Internet

Register over the phone to call Sonic Foundry to register manually.
Register later to continue using Vegas for a limited time without registering.

Using online help

You can access two varieties of help within Vegas:

• Online help

• What’sThis? help (also referred to as context-sensitive help)

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

Online help

To access online help, choose Contents and Index from the Help menu or press .

Note:

To view online help, Internet Explorer 4.0 or later

F1

must be installed on your system. Internet Explorer 5.0 is
included on the Vegas CD-ROM for your convenience.

The online help window has four tabs that you can use to find the information that you need.

Toolbar
Tabs

Information
pane

Contents tab provides a list of available help topics. Double-click a closed book ( ) to open the pages

The
and then click a topic page ( ).

17

The

Index tab provides a complete listing of the help topics available. Scroll through the list of available

topics or type a word in the

Type in the keyword to find box to quickly locate topics related to that word. Select

the topic and click .

The

Search tab allows you to enter a keyword and display all of the topics in the online help that contain the

keyword you have entered. Type a keyword in the

Type in the word(s) to search for box and click . Select

the topic from the list and click .

Favorites tab allows you to keep topics that you revisit often in a separate folder. To add a topic to your

The
favorites, click on the

Favorites tab.

What’sThis? help

What’sThis? help allows you to view pop-up descriptions of Vegas menus, buttons, and dialog boxes.

1.

Click the What’s This Help button ( ) in the toolbar or the question mark ( ) in the upper-right corner
of a dialog box. Alternately, you can choose

What's This? from the Help menu or press . The

Shift +F1

cursor changes to a question mark icon ( ).

2.

Click an item in the program’s interface. A pop-up description of the item appears.

Help on the Web

Additional Vegas help and information is available on the Sonic Foundry Web site. From the Help menu,
choose

Sonic Foundry on the Web to view a listing of Web pages pertaining to Vegas and Sonic Foundry.

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

18

Overview

Vegas is designed to be an easy-to-use program with many tools that provide power and flexibility when
creating and working with multimedia files. Many Vegas operations, menu items, and shortcut keys are
consistent with other popular Windows software applications.

The following sections provide a graphical tour of the Vegas workspace.

Main window

This is the window that appears when you open Vegas. The work area is subdivided into three primary areas:
the track list, the track view (or timeline), and the window docking area.You can resize the track list, track
view, and window docking area by dragging the dividers between them.

Menu bar

Toolbar

Time display

Track list

Marker bar

Ruler

Track view
(timeline)

Scrub control

Window
docking
area

Status bar

Transport bar

Toolbar

The toolbar allows you to quickly access the most commonly used functions and features in Vegas. From the

Options menu, choose Customize Toolbar to specify which buttons are displayed.

Create new project Enable automatic crossfades

Open existing project Enable automatic ripple editing

Save project Lock envelopes to events

Open project properties Ignore event grouping

Cut selected events or time range Normal edit tool

Copy selected events or time range Envelope edit tool

Paste items from clipboard into
project

Undo Zoom edit tool

Redo What’s This? help

Enable snapping to grid lines

Selection edit tool

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

Time display

The Time Display window reflects the cursor’s position on the timeline and the end point of a time selection.
You can customize time display settings, including what time the window displays and colors are used in the
display. For more information, see Using the Time Display window on page 263.

You can move the Time Display window from its docked position above the track list to float on the Vegas
workspace or dock in the window docking area.

Docked position Floating window Docked in window docking area

Ruler

The ruler is the timeline for your project. You may specify how the ruler measures time: seconds, measures
and beats, frames, etc. For more information, see Changing the ruler format on page 261.

19

Marker bar

The marker bar is the area where you can place, name, and position markers and regions along the project’s
timeline. These informational tags can serve as cues or reminders highlighting important events in your
project. For more information, see Adding project markers and regions on page 77.

Command bar

The command bar displays when you add a command to your project. Commands add metadata to media
files to create effects such as closed captioning. For more information, see Adding project markers and regions on
page 77.

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

20

CD layout bar

The CD layout bar displays tracks and indices in an audio CD layout project for disc-at-once (DAO) CD
burning. For more information, see Burning CDs on page 247.

Track list

This area identifies the track order in your project and contains controls used to determine track
compositing and mixing. For more information, see Using the track list on page 50.

Track minimize
and maximize

Selected track

Parent/child
compositing
control

Track number

Video tracks

Audio track

Track view

All arranging and editing is done in the track view or timeline. This area contains all of a project’s events.

For more information, see Using the track view on page 48.

Transport bar controls

The transport bar contains the playback and cursor positioning buttons frequently used while working on
and previewing your project.

Record into track Pause project playback

Loop playback Stop playback

Play from beginning of project Move cursor to start of project

Play project from cursor position Move cursor to end of project

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

Status bar

The status bar is located at the bottom of the main program window and displays
information about roughly how much space is left on your computer to record audio
(Record Time). During the rendering processes, the left side of the status bar also
contains information about the progress of the render.

The Video Preview window also has its own status bar that displays project specific information. For more

information, see Understanding the Video Preview window on page 221.

Scrub control

21

The scrub control is used to play your project forward or
backward for editing purposes. You may adjust playback speed

Drag either forward or
backward for playback

by setting the speed control marker located beneath the scrub
control. For more information, see Scrubbing on page 53.

Set playback speed

Window docking area

This area allows you to keep frequently used windows available but out of the way while you are working
with a project. To dock a window, drag it to the docking area. Windows can be docked next to each other,
subdividing the docking area, or they can be docked in a stack. When stacked, each window has a tab at the
bottom with its name on it. Click the window’s tab to bring it to the top.

Drag the handle on the left side of a docked window to remove a window from the docking area and float it.

Close window

Expand window

Drag the handle away from the
docking area to float the window.

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

22

Explorer window - Alt+1

The Explorer window is similar to the Windows Explorer. Use the Explorer window to select media files to
drag to the project timeline or add to the Media Pool. You can also use the Explorer to perform common file
management tasks such as creating folders, renaming files and folders, deleting files and folders. Use the

Preview

Trimmer window - Alt+2

() and Auto Preview ( ) buttons to preview files before adding them to the project.

Preview selected
media files before
placing them
in the project.

Select media to place
in the project by dragging
or double-clicking.

Select drive
or folder

Add media to the Media Pool
by right-clicking a file and
choosing Add to Media Pool
from the shortcut menu.

The Trimmer window is a good place to edit any media file. When a media file is placed in the Trimmer
window, you can place portions of the file on separate tracks by dragging and dropping. For more information,

see Using the Trimmer window on page 93.

Start

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

23

Mixer window - Alt+3

The Mixer window gives you access to your project’s audio properties, bus assignments, output levels, and
plug-in chains. For more information, see Using the Mixer window on page 135.

Edit Details window - Alt+4

This window serves as a highly detailed and customizable database of all of the events in a project. The
database can be organized and sorted according to a large number of attributes. For more information, see

Using the Edit Details window on page 97.

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

24

Media Pool - Alt +5

The Media Pool helps you organize the media files you’re using in a project. The information about these
files is displayed in a highly flexible database that can be instantly sorted. You can also use the Media Pool to
apply effects and plug-ins to media files and set the specific properties of these files. For more information, see

Using the Media Pool on page 40.

Video Preview window - Alt+6

This window displays a project’s video during project editing and playback. For more information, see

Previewing and Analyzing Video on page 221.

Video appears during
project playback or as
the cursor is moved
during editing.

Right-click to
change Video
Preview settings

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

25

Transitions window - Alt+7

The Transitions window contains all of the transitions available in Vegas. The thumbnails display animated
examples of each transition. You can drag transitions from this window to replace the crossfade between two
video events or to replace the fade-in or fade-out region of a video event. For more information, see

Understanding basic transitions on page 201.

Video FX window - Alt+8

The Video FX window contains the video effects available in Vegas. The thumbnails display animated
examples of each plug-in preset. You can drag plug-ins from this window to an event, track, or to the Video
Preview window (video output effects). For more information, see Using video effects on page 181.

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

26

Media Generators window - Alt+9

The Media Generators window contains the different media generators provided in Vegas. Media generators
make it easy to create events containing text, credit rolls, test patterns, color gradients, and solid color
backgrounds. You can drag a media generator to the timeline to create a new generated media event. For

more information, see Using generated media on page 187.

Plug-Ins window - Ctrl+Alt+1

This window organizes all of the plug-ins available in Vegas, including video and audio effects, media
generators, and transitions. The plug-ins, which are organized in a folder structure, can be dragged into the
project. For more information, see Using audio effects on page 127 or Using video effects on page 181.

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

Keyboard command reference

Project file commands

Description Keys

Create new project Ctrl+N
Create new project and bypass Project

Properties dialog
Open existing project or media file Ctrl+O
Save project Ctrl+S
Open project’s properties Alt+Enter
Close current project Ctrl+F4
Exit Vegas Alt+F4

Window view commands

Description Keys Description Keys

Focus to track view Alt+0 Media Generators Alt+9
Explorer Alt+1 Plug-ins Ctrl+Alt+1
Trimmer Alt+2 Video Scopes Ctrl+Alt+2
Mixer Alt+3 Surround Panner Ctrl+Alt+3
Edit Details Alt+4 Next window F6 or Ctrl+Tab
Media Pool Alt+5 Previous window Shift+F6 or Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Video Preview Alt+6 Toggle focus between track

Transitions Alt+7 Show/hide audio bus tracks B
Video FX Alt+8 Show/hide video bus track Ctrl+Shift+B

Ctrl+Shift+N

Tab

list and timeline (and bus
track list and timeline if bus
tracks are visible)

27

Playback, recording, and preview commands

Description Keys Description Keys

Start/stop playback Spacebar Scrub playback J/K/L (pg. 54)
Stop playback Esc Build dynamic RAM preview Shift+B (pg. 224)
Looped playback mode Q Preview in player Ctrl+Shift+M
Play/pause Enter Prerender video Shift+M
Record Ctrl+R Generate MIDI timecode F7
Arm track for record Ctrl+Alt+R Generate MIDI clock Shift+F7
Arm for record and set

recording path
Play back from any window Ctrl+Spacebar

Ctrl+Alt+
Shift+R

or F12

Trigger from MIDI timecode Ctrl+F7

Preview cursor position

You can specify the length of time Vegas will
preview using the Cursor preview duration field
on the Editing tab of the Preferences dialog.

Numeric keypad 0

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

28

Edit commands

Description Keys Description Keys

Undo Ctrl+Z or

Alt+Backspace

Redo Ctrl+Shift+Z or

Ctrl+Y

Cut selection Ctrl+X or

Shift+Delete

Copy selection Ctrl+C or

Ctrl+Insert

Paste Ctrl+V or

Shift+Insert

Paste repeat Ctrl+B Open in audio editor Ctrl+E
Paste insert Ctrl+Shift+V Run script 1 to 10 Ctrl+1 to 0
Delete selection Delete Set script number 1 to 10 Ctrl+Shift+1 to 10

Split event(s) S

Trim/crop selected events Ctrl+T

Normal Edit Tool Ctrl+D

Switch to next editing tool D

Switch to previous editing tool Shift+D

Cursor placement commands

Description Keys Description Keys

Go to beginning of selection
or view (if no selection)
Go to end of selection or view
(if no selection)
Go to beginning of project Ctrl+Home or W Move left to event edit

Go to end of project Ctrl+End or E Move right to event edit

Move left by grid marks Page Up Nudge cursor one pixel on

Move right by grid marks Page Down Jump to next audio CD track

Go to Ctrl+G Jump to previous audio CD

Jump to Marker # 0-9 keys (not

Move one frame Alt+Left or Right

Center in View \
Jog left/right (when not in
edge-trimming mode or
during playback)

Home Move left to marker(s) Ctrl+Left Arrow

End Move right to marker(s) Ctrl+Right Arrow

Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow

points including fade edges

Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow

points including fade edges

Left or Right Arrow
timeline (when Quantize to
Frames is turned off)

Period

Comma

Ctrl+Period

Ctrl+Comma

numeric keypad)

Arrow

F3/F9

region or index

track region or index
Jump to next audio CD track

region
Jump to previous audio CD

track region

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

Time selection commands

Many of the preceding cursor placement commands, when
combined with the Shift key, are also selection commands.

Description Keys

Snap select to event edge Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Left or Right Arrow
Select loop region Shift+Q
Recover previous 5 selection areas Backspace

Select left by grid marks Shift+Page Up

Select right by grid marks Shift+Page Down
Mark in/out locations I (in) and O (out)
Create time selection while dragging on an event Ctrl+Shift+drag with mouse
Expand selection one frame Shift+Alt+Left or Right Arrow
Select to next audio CD track marker Shift+. (period)
Select to previous audio CD track marker Shift+, (comma)
Enter location for end of selection Ctrl+Shift+G

View commands

Description Keys Description Keys

Increase track height Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow Zoom in on audio waveforms Shift+Up Arrow
Decrease track height Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow Zoom out on audio waveforms Shift+Down Arrow

Minimize all tracks ` Zoom in Ctrl+Up Arrow

Set track height smaller Shift+` Zoom out Ctrl+Down Arrow
Set track heights to default size Ctrl+` Show/hide window docking area F11 or Alt+`
Zoom in time (incremental) Up Arrow Show/hide track list Shift+F11 or

Zoom in time until each video
thumbnail represents one frame

Zoom out time (incremental) Down Arrow Display all tracks at uniform height ~ (Shift+`)

Alt+Up Arrow Show/hide window docking area

and track list

Shift+Alt+`
Ctrl+F11

29

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

30

Event commands

Description Keys Description Keys

Move or trim selected
event(s) left/right one pixel

Move or trim selected
events one frame left/right

Move selected event(s)
left/right on grid

Move selected event(s)
left/right by the project
frame period

Move selected event(s)
left/right by the first
selected event’s length
Move selected event(s) up/
down one track

Numeric keypad 4/6 Enter edge-trimming mode

Numeric keypad 1/3 Enter edge-trimming mode

Ctrl+numeric keypad
4/6

Alt+Right Arrow
numeric keypad 4/6

Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow
numeric keypad 4/6

Numeric keypad 8/2 Select previous take Shift+T

and select event start;
move to previous event
edge

In this mode, 1, 3, 4, and 6
on the numeric keypad trim
the selected event edge

and select event end; move
to next event edge

In this mode, 1, 3, 4, and 6
on the numeric keypad trim
the selected event edge
Trim left/right (when in
edge-trimming mode
Exit edge-trimming mode Numeric keypad 5

Select next take T

Numeric keypad 7 or
[

Numeric keypad 9 or
]

F3/F9

Event editing commands

Description Keys Description Keys

Slip: move media within
event without moving the
event
Slip Trim: move the media
with the edge as it is
trimmed

Slide: trim both ends of
event simultaneously

Slide Crossfade: move
crossfade

Alt+drag inside the
event

Alt+drag edge of event Stretch (compress) the media

Ctrl+Alt+drag middle
of event

Ctrl+Alt+drag over a
crossfade

Trim Adjacent: trim selected
event and adjacent event
simultaneously

in the event while trimming

Open in audio editor Ctrl+E

Ctrl+Alt+drag edge of
event

Ctrl+drag edge of
event

Event selection commands

Description Keys

Range selection Shift+click range of objects
Multiple selection Ctrl+click individual objects

Select all Ctrl+A

Unselect all Ctrl+Shift+A

Select all events in group Shift+G

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

Track commands

Description Keys Description Keys

New audio track Ctrl+Q Post-edit ripple affected tracks F
New video track Ctrl+Shift+Q Post-edit ripple affected tracks, bus tracks,

markers, and regions

Enable/disable snapping F8 Post-edit ripple all tracks, markers, and

regions

Quantize to frames Alt+F8 Group selected events G
Snap to markers Shift+F8 Remove event(s) from group U
Snap to grid Ctrl+F8 Clear group (without deleting events) Ctrl+U
Ripple edit mode Ctrl+L Insert/show/hide track volume envelope V
Auto crossfade mode Ctrl+Shift+X Remove track volume envelope Shift+V

Normal edit tool Ctrl+D Insert/show/hide track panning envelope P
Next tool D Remove track panning envelope Shift+P
Previous tool Shift+D Insert region R

Mix to new track Ctrl+M Insert marker M
Change the track that has focus Alt+Shift+Up/

Mute selected tracks Z Insert audio CD track region N
Mute selected tracks and remove other
tracks from mute group
Solo selected tracks X Insert transition /, *, - (numeric

Solo selected track and remove other
tracks from solo group
Override snapping Shift+drag Convert crossfade or transition to cut Ctrl+/ (numeric

Down Arrow

Shift+Z Insert audio CD track index Shift+N

Shift+X Insert cut transition Ctrl+*, - (numeric

Insert command marker C

Cycle through effect automation
envelopes

Ctrl+F

Ctrl+Shift+F

keypad)

keypad)

keypad)
E or Shift+E

31

Trimmer commands

Many of the shortcuts that apply to the timeline (e.g., cursor
placement, selection commands, etc.) also work in the
Trimmer.

Description Keys Description Keys

Add Media From Cursor A Toggle selected stream: audio/video/both Tab
Add Media to Cursor Shift+A Toggle audio/video stream height Ctrl+Shift+Up/

Down Arrow
Transfer time selection from
timeline to Trimmer after
cursor
Transfer time selection from
timeline to Trimmer before
cursor

T Next media file in Trimmer Ctrl+Tab

Shift+T Previous media file in Trimmer Ctrl+Shift+Tab

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

32

Surround panner commands

For finer, more precise movements on the shortcuts in this section, add the key.

Ctrl

Description Keys

Constrain motion to 45-degree increments

Constrain motion to a constant radius from
the center

Constrain motion to the maximum circle that
will fit in the Surround Panner

Move the pan point forward/back (when the
pan point is selected)

Move the pan point left/right (when the pan
point is selected)
Move the pan point to a corner, edge, or center
of the Surround Panner (when the pan point is
selected)
Move the pan point to a corner on the largest
circle that will fit in the Surround Panner (when
the pan point is selected)

Shift+drag the pan point (only when Move Freely
Alt+drag the pan point (only when Move Freely is selected) or Alt+mouse

wheel

Alt+Shift+drag the pan point (only when Move Freely
Alt+Shift+mouse wheel

Up/down arrow or Page Up/Page Down or mouse wheel

Left/Right Arrow or Shift+Page Up/Page Down or Shift + mouse wheel forward/
back
Numeric Keypad

Ctrl+Numeric Keypad 1,3,7,9

is selected)

is selected) or

Miscellaneous commands

Description Keys Description Keys

Online help F1 Shortcut menu Shift+F10
What’s This? help Shift+F1 Rebuild audio peaks F5
Change relative keyframe

spacing
Make fine fader/slider

adjustments

Alt+drag
keyframes

Ctrl+drag
fader/slider

Move both region markers or audio CD
track region markers

Alt+drag region
marker

Mouse wheel shortcuts

Description Keys

Zoom in/out on timeline Default mouse wheel behavior
Zoom in/out in Event Pan/Crop or Track

Motion windows
Vertical scroll Ctrl+wheel
Horizontal scroll Shift+wheel

Move the cursor in small increments Ctrl+Shift+wheel
Move cursor one frame at a time Ctrl+Shift+Alt+wheel
Auto-scroll Press mouse wheel and move mouse left or right
Move fader/slider Hover over fader and use wheel
Move fader/slider with fine control Ctrl+hover over fader and use wheel

Default mouse wheel behavior

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

Cursor indications

The cursor in Vegas changes depending on which functions are available.

Cursor Indicates Modifier Description

Standard none This is the standard arrow cursor that means events can be

dragged.

33

Trim none Position the cursor over the edge of an event and drag to trim

Slip Trim Alt Position the cursor over the edge of an event, press Alt, and drag to

Stretch Ctrl Position the cursor over the edge of an event, press Ctrl, and

Slip Alt Press Alt and drag on the middle of a clip to move the media

Trim
Adjacent

Slide Ctrl+Alt Position the cursor over the middle of an event, press Ctrl+Alt, and

Slide
Crossfade

Ctrl+Alt Position the cursor over the boundary between two adjacent

Ctrl+Alt Position cursor over a crossfade, press Ctrl+Alt, and drag on a

the event shorter or longer.

trim. The media within the event moves with the edge. This is useful
to preserve the beginning or end of an event while trimming.

drag the edge to stretch or compress it. This makes the media
in the event play slower or faster.

within the event without moving the event itself.

events, press Ctrl+Alt, and drag. Both events are edge
trimmed simultaneously.

drag to simultaneously trim both ends.

crossfade to move it.

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

34

B

B

Audio signal flow

Audio event Normalize event Event ASR

us pre/post volume

Track FX

us send

Track fader

Pan track

Mute track

Bus assignment

Assignable FX
pre/post volume

Assignable FX send

Assignable FX

Input

Output

Bus assignment

Chain

Mute

Bus
Control

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

Master Fader FX Mute

Hardware
output

Master bus

Hardware

Video signal flow

35

Velocity envelope Media interpretation

(field order, frame rate, alpha channel, etc.)

Event FXEvent opacity

Transitions Track FX Track fade to color envelopes

Track motion + composite envelope + compositing

Media FX

Event pan/crop

Video Output FX

Motion Blur Envelope

Video Supersampling Envelope

CHP. 1 INTRODUCTION

36

INTRODUCTION CHP. 1

CHAPTER

Getting Started

2

2

Vegas is a new way of creating multimedia productions. Whether you are an experienced multimedia author
or a budding novice, the powerful features and capabilities of Vegas are organized to increase your creativity
and productivity. The following chapter summarizes the basic functions and operations of Vegas.

Creating projects

The process of creating a multimedia production can be a complicated undertaking, involving hundreds of
shots, takes, voiceovers, music beds, audio tracks, and special effects. Organization is a critical issue in this
process. In Vegas, organization is handled by a small project file (VEG) that saves information about source
file locations, edits, cuts, insertion points, transitions, and special effects. This project file is not a
multimedia file, but is instead used to create (render) the final file when editing is finished.

37

The advantage Vegas offers is not just organization, however, but the fact that Vegas edits a project file and
not the original source files. When you copy, cut, paste, trim, and otherwise edit your project, the process is
nondestructive. You can edit without worrying about corrupting your source files. This not only gives you a
strong sense of security, but it also gives you the freedom to experiment.

1.

From the File menu, choose New. The New Project dialog appears.

Note:

automatically be started for you.

2.

Enter your project settings on the various tabs. For more
information, see Working with project properties on page 265.

• The

• The

• The

• The

• The

The first time you run Vegas, a new project will

Video tab allows you to select the video format and

other video parameters.

Audio tab allows you to set up the basic audio

settings.

Ruler tab allows you to choose the way the ruler is

delineated (beats, seconds, etc.).

Summary tab allows you to enter any relevant

information and reminders about your project.

Audio CD tab allows you to enter information for

burning audio CDs from Vegas.

Tip:

The easiest way to set the often complex properties on the

Video tab is to select a template that matches your media (e.g.,

NTSC DV (720x480, 29.970 fps)).

3.

Click OK.

CHP. 2 GETTING STARTED

38

4.

From the File menu, choose Save. Enter a name, browse for a location, and click Save to save your project
(VEG file).

You can change project settings at any time while working on a project. From the

Properties to change any of these settings.

File menu, choose

Setting video properties based on a media file

You can automatically set your project video properties to match an existing video file.

1.

From the File menu, choose Properties.

2.

On the Video tab of the Project Properties dialog, click the Match Media Settings button ( ).

3.

Browse for a media file that has the settings you wish you use for the project.

4.

Click Open.

Vegas automatically detects the frame size, frame rate, pixel aspect ratio, and field order of this file and sets
the project properties to match.

Tip:

To save this information for future use, enter a name in

Te mp l a te box and click the Save Template button ( ). If

the
your projects typically use these settings, select the

new projects with these settings check box.

5.

Click OK to save the new project properties.

Start all

Saving a project

When you save your work, it is saved in a project file (VEG). Project files are not rendered media files.

1.

From the File menu, choose Save.

The first time you save a project, the Save As dialog appears. In subsequent saves, the dialog is bypassed,
your existing file name is retained, and your project is updated to include any implemented changes.

2.

Select the drive and folder where you want to store the project.

3.

Type the project name in the File Name box.

GETTING STARTED CHP. 2

4.

Click Save.

Tip:

Select the Copy and trim media with project check box to
save both the project file and copies of the media files to a
common location. For more information, see Saving a project

with media on page 236.

Renaming a project (using Save As)

After you have been working with your project, you may use the Save As command in the File menu to save
a copy of a project with a new name. This is useful for backing up different versions of a project. For more

information, see Creating a copy of a project (using Save As...) on page 236.

Getting media files

You can add media from a variety of sources to a Vegas project. You can add audio and video files, record
audio into a track, capture video from a video camera, or extract music from a CD. You can also create media
such as text overlays, backgrounds, and credit rolls from within Vegas. For more information, see Using

generated media on page 187.

Selecting media

39

Vegas supports a wide range of media file types. You may select any of the media file types listed below to add
to your Vegas project.

Format Extension Definition

GIF .gif 256 index color, lossless image and animation format widely used on

JPEG .jpg True color, lossy Internet image format.
Macintosh AIFF File .aif Standard audio format used on Macintosh computers.
MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 .mpg MPEGs, files compressed using a lossy audio/video compression

MPEG Layer 3 .mp3 Highly compressed audio file.
Ogg Vorbis .ogg A patent-free audio encoding and streaming technology.

Photoshop .psd

Portable Network Graphic .png True color or indexed color, lossy or lossless Internet image format.
QuickTime .mov, .qt Quicktime standard audio/video format used on Macintosh computers.
Sonic Foundry Audio .sfa Sonic Foundry proprietary uncompressed format that should only be

Sonic Foundry Perfect
Clarity Audio
Sonic Foundry Wave 64 .w64 Sonic Foundry proprietary Wave64 audio file that does not have a

TARGA .tga True color, lossless image format that supports alpha channel

TIFF .tif Tagged Image File Format, a common bitmap format. You must have

Video for Windows .avi Standard audio/video format used on Windows-based computers.
Wave (Microsoft) .wav Standard audio format used on Windows-based computers.
Wave (Scott Studios) .wav Standard audio format used with Scott Studios systems.
Windows Bitmap .bmp Standard graphic format used on Windows-based computers.
Windows Media Audio .wma The Microsoft audio-only format used to create files for streaming or

Windows Media Format .wmv The Microsoft standard used for streaming audio and video media via

.pca Sonic Foundry proprietary lossless audio compression format.

the Internet.

method, can be used with Vegas.

Adobe Photoshop

used for compatibility with other Sonic Foundry applications.

limited file size (unlike Windows WAV files that are limited to ~2GB).

transparency.

QuickTime installed to use TIFF files in Vegas.

downloading via the Web.

the Web.

®

proprietary image format (flattened).

CHP. 2 GETTING STARTED

40

Previewing a media file

You may preview files before placing them in your project. The Explorer window has a mini-transport bar
with

Play, Stop, and Auto Preview buttons ( ). When you preview a file, its stream is sent to the Mixer

window’s preview bus (for audio files) or to the Video Preview window (for video files).

Tip:

You can use the same mini-transport bar buttons in the

Media Pool window to preview files in the Media Pool.

1.

Select a file in the Explorer window.

2.

Click the Play button ( ) to listen to the file.

3.

Click the Stop button ( ) or select a different file to stop previewing the file.

Tip:

To automatically preview selected files, click the Auto

Preview button ( ) on the Explorer window’s transport bar.

Using the Media Pool

Media files, both video and audio, tend to be the largest
files on your hard drive. It is therefore not always easy
to move them around and impractical to store multiple
copies of these files. You can add media files to the
Media Pool in Vegas to organize them before any
editing begins. Once you begin working on a project, all
files you add to the timeline are automatically included
in the Media Pool. From the

Pool

to open this window if it is not already visible.

View menu, choose Media

Using Media Pool views

You can control the information that is displayed in the
Media Pool by clicking the

Views button ( ) and

selecting a view.

The

Detailed view displays all the properties for each file. The information is presented in a table format. You

can customize the information displayed:

• Reorder columns (fields) by dragging the column label to a new position.

• Hide a column by dragging the column label off of the Media Pool window. To display a hidden column,

right-click the Media Pool, choose

View from the shortcut menu, and choose the column name from the

submenu.

• Sort the files in the Media Pool according to a category by clicking the column label for that category.

• Use the

Comments field to add your own annotations to a file’s entry in the Media Pool. Double-click the

field to enter text. This information is saved with the project and is not saved with the media file itself.

GETTING STARTED CHP. 2

Adding media to the Media Pool

Click the Import Media button ( ) in the Media Pool. The Import Media dialog appears.

1.

41

2.

Navigate to and select a media file to add to the Media Pool. You can use or to select multiple

Ctrl Shift

files.

3.

Click Open.

The media file is added to the Media Pool.

Adding media to the Media Pool from the Explorer window

1.

Navigate to and select a file to add to the Media Pool. You can use or to select multiple media

Ctrl Shift

files.

2.

Right-click the file and choose Add to Media Pool from the shortcut menu.

The selected file is added to the Media Pool.

Replacing media in the Media Pool

You may replace a file in the Media Pool with a different file. When changing the media file that an event
contains, every occurrence of the event on the timeline is updated with the new media file contents.

1.

Right-click a file in the Media Pool.

2.

Choose Replace from the shortcut menu.

3.

In the Replace Media File dialog, browse for and select the file that you want to replace the current file.

4.

Click Open. The selected file replaces the old file in the Media Pool, and any events in the timeline
containing the old file are updated to contain the new media file.

Capturing video

You can use Sonic Foundry’s Video Capture application (installed with Vegas) to capture video clips from
your video camera and add them to the Media Pool window.

Note:

You must have an IEEE-1394/OHCI-compliant

video capture card installed to use Video Capture.

1.

If you have not already done so, connect your video camera to your video capture card using the cable
provided with the card.

2.

In the Media Pool window, click the Open Video Capture button ( ). The Sonic Foundry Video Capture
application starts.

Note:

If your video camera is properly connected, the Video
Preview window in the center of the application area should
display “Device connected.”

3.

Capture your video. For information on capturing video with Sonic Foundry Video Capture, choose

Contents and Index from the Help menu within Video Capture to display Video Capture online help.

Once you have captured your video, Video Capture adds the file(s) to the Media Pool window. If any
captured clips go offline, you can recapture the clips using Video Capture. Right-click an offline file in the
Media Pool and choose

Recapture from the shortcut menu.

CHP. 2 GETTING STARTED

42

Getting images

You can bring images directly into Vegas from your scanner, digital camera, or other TWAIN device. Vegas
adds the images to the Media Pool as JPEG image files.

1.

Make sure your device (scanner or digital camera) is on and connected to your computer.

2.

In the Media Pool window, click the Get Photo button ( ). Vegas starts the software for the device.

3.

Use the device software to get an image and send it to Vegas.
Once the image has been sent, the Scanned Files dialog
appears.

• Click

Rename to give the new image a more meaningful

name.

• Click

4.

Click Done. Vegas adds the new JPEG file to the Media Pool.

Extracting audio from a CD

Delete to cancel the process of adding the image.

You can extract tracks from a CD and add them to the Media Pool
window as WAV files.

1.

Insert the audio CD.

2.

In the Media Pool window, click the Extract Audio from

CD

button ( ). The Extract Audio from CD dialog

appears.

3.

From the Action drop-down list, choose the method you
want Vegas to use for extracting the CD audio:

• Read by track - Use this option to choose the tracks
you want to extract from the CD.

• Read entire disc - Use this option to automatically
extract all tracks on the disc. The entire CD is
extracted into one new file in the Media Pool.

• Read by range - Use this option to extract audio from
a specified range of time.

4.

If you chose either the Read by track or Read by range
option, specify the track(s) or range to extract:

• For

Read by track, click the track(s) you want to extract in the Tracks to read list. Use the or

Ctrl Shift

keys to select more than one track. Each track is extracted into a separate file in the Media Pool.

• For

Read by range, enter a time in the Range start field and either the Range end or Range length fields. The

range of audio is extracted into one new file in the Media Pool.

Note:

choose
your tracks, and then choose

If you want to extract multiple tracks to a single file,

Read by track from the Action drop-down list to select

Read by range from the Action

drop-down list. Vegas will automatically insert the
appropriate time range for the tracks you selected and extract
the time range to a single file.

5.

From the Drive drop-down list, choose the drive containing the audio CD from which you want to extract.

GETTING STARTED CHP. 2

43

6.

From the Speed drop-down list, choose the speed at which you want to extract the audio. If you
experience any problems extracting audio, you can try decreasing the selected speed, or you can click

Configure to adjust the Audio extract optimization setting.

Note:

To eject the CD at any time prior to beginning the

extraction process, click the Eject button.

7.

Click OK. The Save As dialog appears.

8.

Select a name and location for the new WAV file.

9.

Click Save to begin extracting the audio.

Vegas extracts the track and displays a progress meter to indicate the percent complete. Once extraction is
complete, the new WAV file appears in the Media Pool.

Vegas provides the option of automatically naming extracted tracks for you. To enable this option, choose

Preferences from the Options menu, and on the CD Settings tab, select the Autoname extracted tracks check

box. For more information, see CD Settings tab on page 276.

Adding a still-image sequence

If you’ve exported a video clip as a still-image sequence using another application (a 3D-rendering
application, for example), Vegas can add the sequence to the Media Pool as a single event. Each image in the
sequence will be displayed for one frame in the event.

1.

Click the Import Media button ( ) in the Media Pool
window. The Import Media dialog appears.

2.

Choose the folder where the sequence you want to open
is stored.

3.

Select the first image in the sequence (or the image you
want to start the event).

4.

Select the Open still-image sequence check box.

5.

In the Range field, enter the number of the last image you
want to open. For example, if you'd selected
AnimationOne_00001.tga in step 3, you could enter 120
in this box to create a new event using
AnimationOne_00001.tga to
AnimationOne_00120.tga.

6.

Click Open. Vegas adds the still-image sequence to the
Media Pool.

CHP. 2 GETTING STARTED

44

Sorting media with bins

The detailed view of the Media Pool window helps you sort your media files using their attributes, but for
more control, you can create bins. Bins are folders within projects that you can use to organize your media
files.

Media bins are virtual folders that are saved with your project. They do not affect the way media is saved on
your computer.

Creating bins

Right-click the parent bin where you want to create a new bin and choose

Create New Bin from the shortcut

menu.

Adding media to a bin

1.

Browse your existing bins to find the media file you want to move. The All Media Folder contains all
media files in your project.

2.

Drag a file from the right-hand pane to a bin.

Searching media bins

1.

Right-click in the Media Pool window and choose Search Media Bins from the shortcut menu. The Search
Media Bins dialog is displayed.

2.

Use the drop-down lists in the Search Media Bins dialog to set your search conditions and click the Search
button. Vegas will search the selected bin and all sub-bins.

3.

Click the Search Results icon to view the matching files.

Hint:

Right-click the Search Results icon and choose Save as

Bin

from the shortcut menu to save the results of your search

as a new media bin.

Automatically adding recorded files to a media bin

Select a media bin if you want Vegas to automatically add your recorded audio to a media bin.

Deleting media from a bin

1.

Select a media file.

2.

3.

4.

Delete

Press on your keyboard.

If the All Media Folder is selected, the file will be removed from your project.

If a media bin is selected, the file is removed from the bin, but remains part of your project. The file is still
available in the

All Media Folder.

Adding media to the timeline

Media files may be added to your project from the Explorer or Media Pool by double-clicking them or by
dragging them. Either method places the media file in an event in its entirety in the timeline.

Dragging a media file to the timeline

You can create a new track by dragging a media file to a blank area on the timeline and dropping it in place.
Vegas tracks can contain multiple events, so you can place different events next to each other on a track.

Note:

track.

GETTING STARTED CHP. 2

Video and audio events cannot be placed on the same

1.

Locate a media file in the Explorer or Media Pool.

2.

Drag the media file to the timeline.

An event for the media file appears where you released the mouse.

Dragging multiple media files to the timeline

Select multiple media files in the Explorer or Media Pool. Select a range of adjacent media files by

1.

pressing and clicking the first and last files in the range or select files that are not adjacent by
pressing and clicking individual files.

2.

Right-click and drag the files to the track view (timeline).

3.

When you release the mouse, a shortcut menu appears. Select a placement option from the menu.

• Add Across Time

• Add Across Tracks

Shift

Ctrl

45

• Add As Takes

You will see one event on the track.
The other events are listed at takes “beneath” the

the topmost event.

For more information, see Working with takes on page 91.

•

Video Only and Audio Only allow you to isolate either the video or audio, and add that stream from a

multimedia file either across tracks, across time, or as takes.

Tip:

A left-click drag-and-drop automatically inserts files
across time. However, you can cycle through placement
modes by right-clicking (without releasing the left mouse
button) while performing the drag-and-drop operation.

Double-clicking a media file

This method places the event at the cursor’s position in the selected track. If the selected track is a video
track, and you double-click an audio event (or vice versa), Vegas creates a new track for the event. Once an
event is placed, you can move it from one track to another or change its position on the timeline.

CHP. 2 GETTING STARTED

46

Inserting a video file with associated audio

Media files with video frequently include associated audio. When you insert a media file into the timeline,
the associated audio is automatically inserted into a separate audio track below the video track. The two
associated events are grouped together and behave as a single unit when moved or otherwise edited. You can
ungroup the events to move them independently. For more information, see Clearing a group on page 126.

Two events that contain the video (top)
and audio (bottom) streams from a single
multimedia video file; each event is
inserted on a separate track.

Automatically crossfading inserted events

When inserting multiple events across time, the events (both video and audio) may be set to automatically
crossfade. Two options must be enabled in order to create crossfades automatically when adding multiple
events. First, verify that a check mark appears next to
from the

selected media when added

Options menu, choose Preferences, and on the Editing tab, select Automatically overlap multiple

. For more information, see Using automatic crossfades on page 74.

Automatic Crossfades in the Options menu. Second,

Working with events

Events are the most basic objects in a project in Vegas. An event is something that happens in time, has a
specific duration, and can be video or audio.

Understanding files and events

The objects you work with in Vegas are referred to as media files and events.

• Files are objects that are stored on your hard disk. In Vegas, you will work with media files, such as music
and video files. Vegas neither operates on nor changes these files. You can access files from the Vegas
Explorer window.

• Events are periods of time on the timeline in Vegas that act as windows into media files, either whole or
in part. When you drag a media file onto the timeline, you automatically create an event that contains
that file’s contents. An event can contain video, audio, still images, or generated media. The event
window may contain only a small portion of a much larger media file. A single media file can be used
repeatedly to create any number of different events, since each event can be trimmed independently.

The original media file.

An event trimmed from the original media file.

The event as it appears in Vegas.

Audio events are created from audio files on your computer (e.g., WAV, MP3) or can be a part of a video
file (e.g., AVI). You can change many characteristics of an audio event, such as speed, volume, and
equalization. Audio events can be mixed with other audio events.

GETTING STARTED CHP. 2

Video events are created from video files captured to your computer (typically AVI, MOV, QT) or
images (BMP, JPEG, PNG, or TGA). You can change many characteristics of a video event, such as
speed, color, and size. Video events can overlay other video events and are visual elements that appear on
top of a background video, image, or color.

Moving events along the timeline

You can move events along the timeline individually or as a group. Events may overlap each other or be
placed on top of each other. You can crossfade overlapping events automatically or with envelopes.

Moving an event

You can move an event along the timeline within a track or move it to a different track.

1.

Drag the event along the timeline.

If you move the event along the original track’s timeline, the event’s appearance (color) remains the
same.

However, you may move the event to a different track. When you do, the event appears as a simple
outline and you will see its original track and position on the timeline. Once you release the mouse, the
event assumes the new timeline position and track color.

47

Original track position

New track and position

2.

Release the mouse to place the event.

Moving multiple events

You can move multiple events along the timeline within a track or move them to a different track. Selected
events do not need to be within the same track. Use the key, the key, or the

Ctrl Shift

Selection Edit Tool ()

to select multiple events and drag them. To select all events on the track after a given event, right-click the
event and choose

Moving events by small increments

Select Events to End. For more information, see Selecting multiple events on page 58.

To move an event more precisely, click the event and press 4 or 6 on the numeric keypad to nudge it by small
increments. The amount of movement caused by each nudge is determined by how far the timeline is
zoomed in or out. You can also click the event and press 1 or 3 on the numeric keypad to nudge the event by
frames.

Moving grouped events

Groups allow you to move multiple events within their tracks as a single unit. While you can create your
own groups as needed, Vegas automatically creates groups for you when video files with associated audio
(e.g., AVI) are added to a project. When you add these video files, the audio portion of the video file is
inserted into the timeline as a separate audio event. The video and audio events are grouped and can be
moved as a single unit within their respective tracks.

To move grouped events, drag any event in the group to a new position. For more information, see Grouping

events on page 125.

CHP. 2 GETTING STARTED

48

Working with tracks

A project consists of multiple audio and video tracks. The track view is the timeline in which all events
appear. The track list provides information about the track and contains controls that affect all events in the
track.

Using the track view

Vegas provides numerous options for viewing and navigating in track view.

Scrolling and zooming

There are several ways to scroll and zoom in the track view.

• Click the scroll bar arrows or drag the scroll bars to move up and down the tracks or to move forward and
back along the timeline.

• Click the

• Drag the edge of the scroll box, found on the scroll bar, to zoom.

• Press and to zoom in and out along the timeline.

• Click the

Editing Tool and then choose Zoom. In this mode, drag on the

timeline to draw a rectangle that defines the zoom region.

Zoom buttons ( ) to reveal more or less of the timeline.

Zoom Edit Tool ( ) button or, from the Edit menu, choose

Tip:

You can also access the Zoom Edit Tool from the lower-

Scroll box

Zoom
tools

right corner of the track view ( ).

Vegas also supports mouse wheel control. The default behavior of the wheel is to zoom horizontally.

Shift

• +wheel scrolls horizontally (through time).

Ctrl

• +wheel scrolls vertically.

Ctrl Shift

• + +wheel moves the cursor in small increments.

Ctrl Shift

• + + +wheel moves the cursor in one-frame increments.

Alt

• Clicking the mouse wheel turns auto-panning on and off.

Zooming directly controls the accuracy of your editing. Each video event has thumbnail representations of
the frames within the event. Depending on how far you have zoomed in on a video event, a thumbnail can
represent the entire event or a single frame in the event.

Tip:

You can choose to display frame numbers, time, or
timecode on video event thumbnails. For more information,
see Displaying frame numbers on page 261.

GETTING STARTED CHP. 2

49

Changing track height

You can change the height of individual tracks by dragging their borders in the track list. In the example
below, the main video track is fairly large to show the details of the scene while the two tracks above it,
which are overlays, have been resized to a shorter height. For more information, see Changing track height on
page 103.

CHP. 2 GETTING STARTED

50

Using the track list

This section describes the different controls in the track header of each track. Some controls are specific to
either video or audio tracks.

Video track header

Button or
Control

Name Description

Make
compositing
child

Track number,
type, and color

Minimize track
height

Maximize track
height

Restore track
height

Expand track
layers

Expand track
keyframes

Bypass motion
blur

Track motion Track motion is used to move a video track across a background. Picture-in-picture

Track FX Adds track effects plug-ins. For more information, see Using video effects on page 181.

Mute Temporarily suspends playback of the track so that you can focus on other tracks. For

Solo Isolates a track for playback by muting the other tracks. For more information, see

Track name
(scribble strip)

Composite
level slider

Compositing
mode

Creates a parent/child compositing relationship with the track above. Used when creating
masks. For more information, see Understanding the parent/child track relationship on
page 188.

The icon identifies whether this is an audio track or video track. Track numbers and
colors help organize a multitrack project. For more information, see Managing tracks on
page 101.

Minimizes track height. For more information, see Changing track height on page 103.

Maximizes track height. For more information, see Changing track height on page 103.

Restores track height. For more information, see Changing track height on page 103.

Displays the A/B roll. For more information, see Understanding track layers on page 204.

Displays track keyframes on the timeline. For more information, see Working with

keyframes in track view on page 210.

Bypasses motion blur envelope for a track. For more information, see Using video bus

tracks on page 113.

effects and scrolling title sequences are two simple cases where this tool is important. For
more information, see Adding track motion on page 215.

more information, see Muting a track on page 106.

Soloing a track on page 106.

Allows you name a track. To name a track, double-click the scribble strip and type the
track’s name. For more information, see Naming or renaming a track on page 102.

Determines the opacity/transparency of the video track. Drag the slider to control the
transparency or blending of the track. Left is 100% transparent and right is 100%
opaque. You can also double-click the label to enter a specific numeric percentage.

Determines how the transparency in a video track is generated. For more information,
see Selecting compositing modes on page 189.

GETTING STARTED CHP. 2

Audio track header

Button or Control Name Description

Track number,
type, and color

Minimize track
height

Maximize track
height

Restore track
height

Track name
(scribble strip)

Arm for record Prepares a track for recording. You may record directly into audio tracks. A track is

Bus assignment Assigns an audio track to a specific output bus. This option is available for projects

Invert Track
Phase

Track FX Adds track effects plug-ins. For more information, see Using audio effects on page

Mute Temporarily mutes playback of the track so that you can focus on other tracks. For

Solo Isolates a track for playback by muting the other tracks. For more information, see

Volume fader Controls the audio track volume relative to the other tracks. Drag the fader left or

Multipurpose
slider

The icon identifies whether this is an audio track or video track. Track numbers and
colors help organize a multitrack project. For more information, see Managing tracks
on page 101.

Minimizes track height. For more information, see Changing track height on page

103.

Maximizes track height. For more information, see Changing track height on page

103.

Restores track height. For more information, see Changing track height on page 103.

Allows you name a track. To name a track, double-click the scribble strip and type the
track’s name. For more information, see Naming or renaming a track on page 102.

ready when you see the recording meter appear on it. For more information, see

Arming the track for recording on page 145.

being mixed for multiple stereo busses. For more information, see Assigning audio

tracks to busses on page 140.

Inverts the audio track at its baseline, in effect reversing its polarity. For more
information, see Phase inverting a track (audio only) on page 106.

127.

more information, see Muting a track on page 106.

Soloing a track on page 106.

right to adjust the volume. For more information, see Using the volume fader (audio

only) on page 104.

Controls several features, including track panning, bus send levels, and assignable
effects send levels. Select what the slider controls by clicking the label. Each item’s
slider position is independent from the others. For more information, see Using the

multipurpose slider (audio only) on page 104.

51

CHP. 2 GETTING STARTED

52

Viewing playbacks and previews

Vegas allows you to play back your project in two ways: directly from the timeline from within Vegas or by
mixing the entire project to a preview file.

Using playback in Vegas

The transport bar allows you to play back your entire project or portions of your project based on a time
selection or the current cursor position.

If your project includes video, make sure the Video Preview window is displayed for playback: from the
menu, choose

Playing an entire project

Click the Play From Start button ( ) to begin playback at the beginning of the project.

1.

2.

Click the Stop button ( ) to stop playback.

Video Preview or press .

Alt +6

View

Most of the time, you will only want to preview a small portion of the project to perfect a section. You can do
this by creating a time selection.

Playing a time selection

Place the mouse pointer above the ruler on the marker bar. The

1.

Loop bar

mouse pointer changes to include a left/right arrow cursor ( ).

2.

Drag to select the time region. To increase or decrease the time
selection, drag its start and end points. The time selection is
highlighted and the loop bar appears above the ruler on the
timeline.

3.

Click the Play button ( ) to begin playback. Only the non-muted
tracks and events within the time selection play back.

4.

Click the Loop Playback button ( ) to continually play back the events within the time selection. Click
the button again to toggle this feature off.

5.

Click the Stop button ( ) to stop playback.

By looping the playback, you can repeatedly watch the same section of the project over and over as you make
changes to filters and effects in real time. You can define selection areas automatically, depending on what
you would like to preview. For more information, see Selecting a time range on page 59 and Time selection

commands on page 29.

GETTING STARTED CHP. 2

53

Playback reference

The following table describes all the transport bar buttons and their keyboard equivalents. You may use these
playback functions at any time while working in your project.

Note:

Vegas also supports the use of many multimedia

keyboards for controlling playback.

Button Keyboard Function

Ctrl +R

Q

Shift +Space

Space

Enter

Space Esc

or

Ctrl +Home

Ctrl +End

Tip:

You can use the spacebar to stop or pause playback,

Begin recording into record-enabled tracks

Turn on/off loop playback during time selection playback

Begin playback from the start of the project

Begin playback from cursor position

Pause playback, cursor stops and holds at pause position

Stop playback, cursor stops and returns to prior cursor position

Place cursor at the beginning of project

Place cursor at the end of the project

depending on your preference. From the
choose

Preferences, and on the General tab, select Make

spacebar and F12 Play/Pause instead of Play/Stop

the setting.

Scrubbing

Options menu,

to change

Scrubbing is a type of timeline playback that gives you precise control over the speed and direction of
playback. Vegas allows for both linear and logarithmic scale scrubbing. For more information, see General tab

on page 270.

Vegas supports the use of multimedia controllers for scrubbing. For more information on using Vegas with
multimedia controllers, please see the Vegas online help. To access help, choose

Help menu.

Tip:

Choose a setting from the JKL / shuttle speed drop-down

list on the

Editing tab of the Preferences dialog to control the

Contents and Index from the

scrub speed and range when using the keyboard or multimedia
controllers.

Vegas provides three methods of scrubbing.

Scrubbing with the scrub control slider

The scrub control slider can be dragged back and forth. The farther from
the center that the slider is dragged, the faster the playback, both forward
and in reverse. Below the slider is a small yellow marker that can be used to

Scrub control slider

set the normal rate playback speed. This is the speed at which the project
plays when you click the

Play button on the transport bar.

CHP. 2 GETTING STARTED

54

Scrubbing on the timeline

The second way that a project can be scrubbed is by positioning the
mouse pointer over the timeline cursor at a location that is not over
any events and pressing . The cursor changes to a speaker icon.

Ctrl

Now, when you left-click, the cursor icon changes again to a pan/
scrub icon. Drag the mouse left or right to scrub the timeline.

Tip:

You can also choose to enable timeline scrubbing when
the mouse is positioned over events. From the
menu, choose

style scrub over events on the General tab.

Scrubbing with the keyboard

Preferences, and select Allow Ctrl+drag cursor

Options

Vegas uses three letters (JKL) as a keyboard scrub control.

Press Ctrl over
timeline cursor

Keyboard scrub letters

Left-click and
drag to scrub

Note:

down list on the
the scrub speed and range.

Press for reverse and for forward playback. Press to pause

Choose a setting from the JKL / shuttle speed drop-

Editing tab of the Preferences dialog to control

J L K

JK

Reverse

Pause

L

Forward

playback.

There are several ways to adjust playback speed:

• Adjust the

• Press and hold while pressing or to emulate a shuttle knob mode. Press to turn the knob

to the left or to turn the knob to the left. Press again or

JKL / shuttle speed selection on the Editing tab of the Preferences dialog.

K J L K +J

K +L K

Space

to return to normal mode.

Previewing to media player

Vegas can preview a project in a media player by mixing and rendering the project according to the project’s
properties and playing back using the media player associated with the file type you select.

1.

From the Tools menu, choose Preview in Player. The Preview dialog appears.

2.

Select the file type from the drop-down list.

3.

Click OK to begin the mixing and rendering process. A progress dialog appears indicating the percent
complete of the new file.

Note:

button on the status bar.

You may cancel the preview by clicking the Cancel

When mixing is completed, the associated media player opens and begins playback.

Prerendering video previews

Playing a project using the transport controls can instantly show how a project is progressing, but it does not
actually render your project as it will appear in its final form. The preview you see in the Video Preview
window may be different from your final project in a number of ways: frame size, frame rate, and quality. In
most cases, the Video Preview is all you need for checking the timing of events in your project. Eventually,
however, you may need to output a full-quality preview of a section of your project. To do this, from the

Tools menu, choose Selectively Prerender Video. For more information, see Prerendering video on page 223.

GETTING STARTED CHP. 2

Rendering a Vegas project

Rendering refers to the process of creating a new media file from a Vegas project. The project file is not
affected (overwritten, deleted, or altered) during the rendering process. You may return to the original
project to make edits or adjustments and render it again. The following table describes the formats available
for rendering your Vegas project:

Format Name Extension Definition

Audio Interchange File Format .aif The standard audio file format used on Macintosh computers.
MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 .mpg Vegas supports MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 file creation through the use of

MPEG Layer 3 .mp3 Compressed audio format. You may render up to 20 .mp3 files without

OggVorbis .ogg A patent-free audio encoding and streaming technology.
QuickTime .mov Apple QuickTime multimedia format.
RealMedia .rm The RealNetworks standard for streaming media via the Web. This option

Scott Studios Wave .wav Standard audio format used with Scott Studios systems.
Sonic Foundry AC-3 .ac3 Encoded Dolby Digital surround sound format. This option creates six mono

Sonic Foundry Perfect Clarity
Audio

Sonic Foundry Wave64 .w64 A Sonic Foundry proprietary format that allows wave files that are

Video for Windows .avi The standard video file format used on Windows-based computers. This

Wave (Microsoft) .wav The standard audio file format used on Windows-based computers.
Windows Media Audio .wma The Microsoft audio-only format used to create files for streaming or

Windows Media Format .wmv The Microsoft standard used for streaming audio and video media via the

.pca A Sonic Foundry proprietary format that is compressed and completely

MainConcept MPEG technology.

registering the optional plug-in.

renders both audio and video into one file.

files (WAV or AIFF) that your authoring application can use to create DVD­Video or 5.1-channel music projects.

lossless.

(practically) unrestricted by file size.

option renders both audio and video into one file.

downloading via the Web.

Web.

55

More detailed instructions for rendering to a specific format appear later in this manual. For more
information, see Saving, Rendering, and Printing Projects on page 235.

Creating a movie

To create a movie, you render the Vegas project into an appropriate media file output. The final output
format depends on the destination of the new media file. Some examples are AVI, MOV, and WMV.

1.

From the File menu, choose Render As.

2.

In the Render As dialog box, choose the appropriate option from the Save as type drop-down list.

3.

Click Custom to select custom compression settings. The default compression options are set
automatically according to your project’s properties. For more information, see Customizing the rendering

process on page 240.

4.

Enter a name and browse for a destination for your file.

5.

Click OK.

CHP. 2 GETTING STARTED

56

GETTING STARTED CHP. 2

CHAPTER

Basic Editing
Te ch n i qu e s

3

3

Vegas projects are multitrack compilations of events that occur over time. The events in your project are
references (pointers) to source media files. Vegas is a nondestructive editor, so editing events in your project
does not alter the source media files in any way.

Getting around

When editing and playing back the project, the cursor identifies where you are along the project’s timeline.

Moving the cursor

Use the following keyboard commands to move the cursor in the Vegas timeline.

57

Description Keys Description Keys

Go to beginning of project

Go to end of project

Go to beginning of selection
or view (if no selection)

Go to end of selection or view
(if no selection)
Move right by grid marks

Move left by grid marks Page Up Move left/right one frame Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Mouse

Go to Ctrl+G Center in view

Event edit point cursor jumps

Ctrl+Home
or W
Ctrl+End
or E
Home

End

Page Down

Move left/right to marker(s)

Move to marker #

Move left/right to event edit points
including fade edges (see figure below)
Nudge cursor on timeline

Move left/right one frame Alt+Left/Right Arrow

Ctrl+Left/Right Arrow

0-9 keys (not numeric
keypad)
Ctrl+Alt+Left/Right
Arrow
Left or Right Arrow

wheel

\

Changing focus

Focus is used to describe which objects have the attention of a program. For example, when you click a file in
the Media Pool, the Media Pool window has focus. To instantly switch the program’s focus to the track view
(timeline), press or, from the

In Vegas, it matters which track has focus when you perform a task. For example, when you double-click a
media file in the Explorer, Vegas inserts it into the track that has focus. You can click a track on its track
number to make it the focus track. A blinking white line under the track number and shading in the track
list indicates a track has focus.

Alt +0

View menu, choose Focus to Track View.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

58

Making selections

Vegas gives you the flexibility to select one or more events, a time range, or events and a time range. All
selection options can apply to a single track or to multiple tracks.

To select an event, click it.

Selecting multiple events

You can select multiple events in your project using several methods.

Tip:

Once you have selected multiple events, you can group
them together. For more information, see Grouping events on
page 125.

Note:

You can select multiple video events, multiple audio
events, or a combination of both video and audio events.
However, you can only use commands and operations that
apply to both types of events for selections composed of both
audio and video events.

Selecting nonadjacent events

Hold the key.

1.

2.

Select the events by clicking them.

Ctrl

To deselect an event, simply click it again to
toggle the event selection on or off.

Selecting a range of events

Hold the key.

1.

2.

Click the first event that you want to select.

3.

Click the last event that you want to select.

Shift

All events between the first and last selected
events are highlighted and selected.

Selecting a block of events

Click the Selection Edit Tool button ( ).

1.

Selected events

Selected events

2.

Position the cursor in a corner of the area that you want to select.

3.

Click and hold the left mouse button.

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

4.

Drag the cursor to the opposite corner of the area you want to select. A rectangle is drawn on the
workspace. All events within this rectangle are selected.

Hold the left mouse button and right-click to toggle through the three types of selection boxes: free,
vertical, or horizontal.

Tip:

You may include or exclude events from a selection area

by pressing and clicking an event. To deselect all events,

Ctrl

click anywhere in the workspace outside of the selected
events.

Selecting all events to the end of the track

Right-click an event. A shortcut menu appears.

1.

2.

From the shortcut menu, choose Select Events to End. All events on the track after the selected event are
selected.

Tip:

To move large blocks of events, you can use Select

Events to End

Ctrl

and click to select events on different tracks, and then

with events selected on different tracks. Press

right-click to access the shortcut menu.

59

Selecting all events that refer to a specific media file

Right-click a file in the Media Pool and choose Select Timeline Events from the shortcut menu. All events
that use the selected media file in the active take are selected.

Ctrl Shift

Hold or while choosing

Select Timeline Events from the shortcut menu to add the events to the

current selection.

Selecting a time range

Time selections are indicated by a shaded box and a bar that
appears on the top of the timeline. You can use the time
selection bar for playing back a smaller portion of your project or
to apply cross-track edits.

Note:

Unless an event is locked, a selected time range
affects all events, or portions of events, that occur within the
range.

Dragging to select a time range

Position the mouse pointer above the ruler (on the marker bar). The mouse pointer changes to a left/right

1.

arrow cursor ( ).

2.

Drag to select a region. All events, or portions of events within the region are highlighted.

Time selection

Only the events within
the time selection are
affected by edits or
played back.

3.

Drag the yellow handles on either end of the time selection to increase or decrease your time range
selection.

Tip:

You can move the entire selection range by dragging the

time selection bar.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

60

Selecting a time range during playback

Click the Play () or the Play From Start ( ) button to begin playback.

1.

2.

3.

4.

I

Press where you want the time selection to begin.

O

Press where you want the time selection to end.

Click the Stop button ( ) to stop playback.

Using shortcuts for time selections

These shortcuts can speed up the process of making precise time selections.

Description Shortcut

Set time selection duration equal to an
event’s duration

Extend selection to the end of the
currently selected event edge

Extend selection to the beginning of the
currently selected event edge

Drag a time selection on an event without
selecting/deselecting the event

Tip:

Backspace

Press to recall the last five time selection

Double-click the event

Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Right Arrow

Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Left Arrow

Ctrl+Shift+drag on the event

areas.

Looping playback

If you want to play back the time range, click Play ( ) to play only the events within the time range. Click

Loop Playback button ( ) or press to toggle loop playback on and off. Vegas continually plays back the

the

Q

portion of the timeline within the time selection when loop playback is toggled on.

Selecting events and a time range

Selecting a time range does not automatically
select events. Excluding locked events, all items
within the time range play back and are affected by

Edit menu commands. However, you may select

specific events to edit, and then select a time
range.

1.

Select the events you wish to edit. For more
information, see Selecting multiple events on page

58.

2.

Place the mouse pointer above the ruler (on the
marker bar). The mouse pointer changes to a
left/right arrow cursor ( ).

3.

Drag to select the region. Notice that events
that were not initially selected in step 1 remain
unselected (not highlighted).

Selected

event

Unselected

event

Selected

event

Time selection

Unselected
event

Selected
event

Unselected
event

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

Editing events

Copying events

Vegas allows you to copy events, or portions of events, to the Clipboard and paste them into your project.
You may copy a single event or multiple events. Copying preserves the original event information, edits, and
other modifications.

1.

Select the events to be copied. For more information, see Selecting multiple events on page 58.

2.

Select a time range, if applicable.

3.

Click the Copy button ( ).

Copying selected events

When copied, selected events are reproduced and placed on the Clipboard. Time information is also placed
on the Clipboard.

Events before copy Clipboard contents Events after copy

The original events are not
affected and do not
change.

61

Copying a time selection

Events within the time selection and across all tracks are reproduced and placed on the Clipboard. Time
information is also placed on the Clipboard.

Events before copy Clipboard contents Events after copy

The original events are not
affected and do not
change.

Copying a time selection and events

Events and portions of selected events within the time selection are reproduced and placed on the
Clipboard. Time information is also placed on the Clipboard.

Events before copy Clipboard contents Events after copy

The original events are not
affected and do not
change.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

62

Cutting events

Cutting events removes them from their respective tracks, but places the cut information (events and time)
on the Clipboard. Once on the Clipboard, you may paste the information into your project.

Tip:

You can apply a ripple edit after cutting. For more

information, see Applying post-edit ripples on page 72.

1.

Select events or a time range. For more information, see Making selections on page 58.

2.

Click the Cut button ( ).

Cutting selected events

When cut, selected events are reproduced and placed on the Clipboard. Time information is also placed on
the Clipboard. When cutting selected events, ripple edit mode has no effect on later events.

Events before cut Clipboard contents Events after cut Events after cut in

post-edit ripple mode

Cutting a time selection

Events within the time selection are reproduced and placed on the Clipboard. Time information is also
placed on the Clipboard. When cutting a time selection, ripple edit mode affects the position of material on
all tracks or affected tracks after the cut.

Events before cut Clipboard contents Events after cut Events after cut in

post-edit ripple mode

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

Cutting a time selection and events

Events and portions of selected events within the time selection are reproduced and placed on the
Clipboard. Time information is also placed on the Clipboard. When cutting a combination of time selection
and event selection, post-edit ripple mode affects the position of material on all tracks or the tracks of
selected events after the cut.

Events before cut Clipboard contents Events after cut Events after cut in

post-edit ripple mode

Pasting events

Once information is copied to the Clipboard, you may choose a variety of ways to paste the Clipboard items.
Vegas always pastes from the cursor’s position along the timeline.

When post-edit ripple mode is enabled, Vegas pushes material down the track to make room for pasted
material. The exact behavior of the ripple depends on what is being pasted, and the type of ripple edit you
chose to perform. If one or more events are pasted, only those tracks where pasted material appears are ripple
edited.

63

Tip:

You can apply a ripple edit after pasting. For more

information, see Applying post-edit ripples on page 72.

1.

Move the cursor to the desired location on the timeline.

2.

Click either the track number or within the track where you want to paste the event. This track is the
focus track; there can be only one focus track at a time.

Note:

If you are pasting multiple events from different
tracks, Vegas automatically creates new tracks as needed.

3.

Click the Paste button ( ).

Clipboard events are pasted at the cursor position on the track. Existing track events can be overlapped
with newly pasted information.

Using paste repeat

Use paste repeat to specify how many times Clipboard events are pasted at the cursor position on the
selected track and to specify the space between pasted events.

1.

Copy a selection to the Clipboard.

2.

From the Edit menu, choose Paste Repeat. The Paste Repeat
dialog appears.

3.

Specify the number of times to paste the Clipboard contents
and the space between successive copies.

4.

Click OK.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

64

Using paste insert

When using paste insert, Clipboard events are placed at the cursor position on the selected track and
existing events on all tracks are moved further down the timeline by the total length of pasted information.
This action differs from post-edit ripple mode because pasting in post-edit ripple mode affects only the tracks
in which material is pasted, while paste insert affects all tracks in the project.

1.

Copy a selection to the Clipboard.

2.

From the Edit menu, choose Paste Insert

Clipboard contents Events before paste insert Events after paste insert

Events on all tracks (not just tracks with
pasted material) are pushed down the timeline.

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

65

Punching-in and crossfading events

You can insert events into the middle of (on top of) existing events without altering the timing of the
project. When the inserted event ends, the original event continues playing as if it had never stopped.

You can choose the duration of crossfades for punched-in audio events.

1.

From the Options menu, choose Preferences. The
Preferences dialog appears.

2.

Click the Editing tab.

3.

Select Quick fade length of audio events. Specify a duration
for each transition.

Events that have previously been inserted or punched-in are not affected by this change. The concept of
punching in and out only applies when you are inserting an event that is shorter than the event that it is
being inserted into. In the following illustration, every frame is numbered so that you can see how the
original event continues after the inserted event ends, as if it continued to play underneath the original.

Punched-in event

Duplicating events

Duplicating is a combination of copying and pasting in one action. The process is like moving the event to a
new position while leaving a copy behind.

1.

2.

Ctrl

Press .

Drag the event you want to duplicate to the place where you want the new event to be positioned.

Inserting empty events and time

You can insert events into the timeline that do not have any contents and are not references to any media
files. Empty events are useful as placeholders in the timeline that can be filled with media or recorded into at
a later time. In either case, the new media is added to the empty event as a take. For more information, see

Working with takes on page 91. To add an empty event to a track, from the

You can also make space in a project by inserting a length of time across all tracks. To insert a period of time
into the timeline, from the

Insert menu, choose Time.

Insert menu, choose Empty Event.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

66

Trimming events

This section describes simple ways to trim events. You can also use the Trimmer window to trim events. For
more information, see Using the Trimmer window on page 93.

Tip:

You can apply a ripple edit after trimming an event. For

more information, see Applying post-edit ripples on page 72.

Trimming an event

During the trimming process for a video event, both the last thumbnail image on the event and the Video
Preview window show the last frame in the event, allowing you to edit events very accurately.

1.

Move the cursor over the edge of the event. The cursor changes
when properly positioned ( ).

2.

Drag the edge of the event to trim it.

Since a multimedia file often has both a video and an audio
component, both events are trimmed (or extended) as a group unless
you ungroup them or temporarily suspend grouping by clicking the

Ignore Event Grouping button ( ). For more information, see Grouping

Trimming
grouped events
at the same time

events on page 125.

Trimming an event beyond its end

You can trim an event beyond its end, extending it as a result. Once extended, the event loops as a default. A
notch indicates where the looped event repeats.

Alternately, you can turn looping off and make the last frame of a video event repeat (a freeze frame) for the
remaining duration. A notch appears at the point in the event where the video ends and the freeze frame
begins. For more information, see Loop on page 117.

Trimming adjacent events

You can trim adjacent events simultaneously. Press while dragging the common edge between two

Ctrl +Alt

adjacent events. The trim adjacent cursor appears ( ).

Press Ctrl+Alt over the
boundary between two events...

...and drag left... ...or right to trim both events at once.

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

67

Trimming a time selection

Trimming events removes all media outside the time selection. The removed information is not placed on the
Clipboard. Trimming is different from cutting in that the events within the time selection are preserved.

1.

Select a time range. For more information, see Selecting a time range on page 59.

2.

Ctrl +T

Press or, from the Edit menu, choose Tri m.

The material outside the time selection (across all tracks) is removed from the project. However, the time
information (space) between events is not removed.

Events before trim Clipboard contents Events after trim

Trimmed information is not
placed on the Clipboard.

Trimming a time and event selection

Select the events to be trimmed.

1.

2.

Select a time range. For more information, see Selecting events and a time range on page 60.

3.

Ctrl +T

Press or, from the Edit menu, choose Tri m.

Only the portion of selected events outside the time selection is trimmed. Unselected events remain. The
time information (space) between events is not removed.

Events before trim Clipboard contents Events after trim

Trimmed information is not
placed on the Clipboard.

Edge trimming events using the keyboard

With this method, you can quickly jump through your project and adjust cuts until they're perfectly
synchronized. If you have an external multimedia controller, it's even easier.

1.

If you want downstream events to ripple as you trim, click the Auto Ripple button ( ) to turn on Auto
Ripple mode.

2.

Select the event you want to trim.

3.

Press 7 or 9 on the numeric keypad to move the cursor to the event edge you want to trim. 7 selects the
beginning of an event or moves to the previous event edge. 9 selects the end of the event or moves to the
next event edge. Vegas displays a red bracket to indicate which event edge will be trimmed.

Note:

You can also perform this step using the [ or ] keys.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

68

t

4.

Use the 1, 3 and 4, 6 keys on the numeric keypad to trim the current event edge:

• Press 1 to trim one video frame left, or press 3 to trim one video frame right (or hold + +

Ctrl Shift

while rolling the mouse wheel).

• Press 4 to trim one pixel left, or press 6 to trim one pixel right (or hold + while rolling the

Ctrl Shift

mouse wheel). Depending on the current zoom level, the trim duration will vary.

Note:

Pressing 5 on the numeric keypad exits edge-trimming
mode. If you are not in edge-trimming mode, 1, 3, 4, and 6
on the numeric keypad to nudge events on the timeline by
frame (1 and 3) or by pixel (4 and 6).

5.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 as necessary.

Splitting events

Vegas allows you to create multiple, independently functioning events from a single event by splitting it.
Splitting creates a new ending point for the original event and creates a starting point for the newly created
event.

Splitting an event does not alter the original media. The
original media file’s information is there, but is omitted for
playback based on where the event’s starting or ending point
occurs on the timeline.

When split, the two new events are flush against one another.
The two events can be moved independently.

One event

Split position

Two events after spli

Alt

Splitting an event

Select the event(s) to be split. For more information, see

1.

Making selections on page 58.

2.

Place the cursor at the timeline position where the split will

The two new events
can be moved
independently.

occur.

3.

From the Edit menu, choose Split, or press .

Splitting all events at the cursor

S

All events are split at the cursor’s position (unless an event is locked). The split occurs across all tracks (if no
events are selected).

Events before splitting Events after splitting

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

Splitting selected events

Only the selected events are split at the cursor’s position.

Events before splitting Events after splitting

Splitting a time selection

Unless locked, all events within the time selection are split at the starting and ending points of the time
range, meaning that two splits are made. The split occurs across all tracks.

Events before splitting Events after splitting

69

Splitting a time selection across selected events

Only selected events within the time selection are split at the starting and ending points of the time range.

Events before splitting Events after splitting

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

70

Slipping and sliding events

To help you picture what happens when you slip and slide events, think of an event as a window to a media
file. The window can display the entire media file or a small section. When the window displays only a
portion of the media file, you can move either the window or the underlying media to adjust the media that
is played by an event:

• When you slip an event, your event maintains its place on the timeline, but the media file moves in the
direction you drag.

• When you slide an event, the media file maintains its place on the timeline, but the event moves in the
direction you drag.

Tip:

You can also slip or slide grouped events (at the same
time) or slide a crossfade between two events. For more
information, see Grouping events on page 125 or Sliding a

crossfade on page 75.

Shifting the contents of (slipping) an event

Alt

Press while dragging an event. The slip cursor appears ( ).

As you drag the event, the contents of the event shift, but the event does not move. You can use this
technique when you want to maintain an event’s length and position, but have the event play a different
section of the source media file.

Slip-trimming an event

Alt

Press while dragging the right or left edge of an event. The slip-trim cursor appears ( ).

As you drag the event edge, the media moves with the event edge.

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

71

Sliding an event

Ctrl +Alt

Press while dragging an event. The slide cursor appears ( ).

As you drag, the relative position of the media remains fixed on the track, and the event position changes.
You can use this technique when you want to maintain an event’s length, but have the event play a different
section of the source media file at a different point in your project.

Tip:

You can apply a ripple edit after slip-trimming or sliding
an event. For more information, see Applying post-edit

ripples on page 72.

The original
media file.

The event on the timeline
with original frames.

Slipping the event two
frames to the right.

Slip-trimming the event
two frames to the right.

Sliding the event two
frames to the right.

Deleting events

Deleting an event removes it from its track. Multiple events can be deleted and time selections can be used
to modify the process. Ripple editing also applies to delete actions. Deleting operates exactly like a cutting
operation, but the removed information is not placed on the Clipboard. For more information, see Cutting

events on page 62.

1.

Select the events to be deleted.

2.

Delete

Press .

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

72

Applying post-edit ripples

You can apply a post-edit ripple that affects either the edited track(s), the track(s) and certain project
elements, or everything in the timeline. The power lies in the fact that you can apply this post-edit ripple to
a wide variety of editing tasks, such as trimming, crossfading, cutting, pasting, and deleting events. You can
also choose to apply your ripple edits manually or automatically.

You can ripple the contents of the timeline following an edit after performing these tasks:

• trimming (pg. 66), slip-trimming (pg. 70), and sliding (pg. 71) events

• time compressing/stretching events (pg. 90)

• cutting events (pg. 62)

• pasting events (pg. 63)

• deleting events (pg. 71)

Ripple editing also affects how Vegas adds material from the Trimmer window. For more information, see Using

the Trimmer window on page 93.

The original four events

Trimming the second event

After applying a post-edit ripple, the third and fourth events close the gap

Vegas also provides a quick and easy method for shuffling a sequence of events on a track. Decide that the
third event in a series should really be the second instead? You can drag the event to a new position and
instruct Vegas to shuffle the events into their new order.

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

Applying a post-edit ripple manually

1.

Perform one of edits discussed above. Above the timeline, an arrow indicates
where the post-edit ripple will occur and the direction the affected events will
move.

2.

From the Edit menu, choose Post-Edit Ripple, and choose a command from the submenu:

•

Affected Tracks ripples only the track(s) where you performed the edit.
Affected Tracks, Bus Tracks, Markers, and Regions ripples the track(s) where you performed the edit and

•

ripples any keyframes or envelopes on those tracks. This command also ripples any markers, regions, CD
layout markers, and command markers in the project.

•

All Tracks, Markers, and Regions ripples all tracks and all keyframes and envelopes on those tracks. This

command also ripples any markers, regions, CD layout markers, and command markers in the project.

Vegas ripples the timeline after the edit according to the option you choose.

73

Tip:

You can press after an edit to ripple the affected

tracks, or you can press to ripple markers,

F

Ctrl +F

keyframes, and envelopes too. To ripple everything after an

Ctrl

edit, press .

+Shift+F

Applying a post-edit ripple automatically

1.

Click the arrow button next to the Auto Ripple button ( ) and choose a ripple type:

•

Affected Tracks ripples only the track(s) where you performed the edit.
Affected Tracks, Bus Tracks, Markers, and Regions ripples the track(s) where you performed the edit and

•

ripples any keyframes or envelopes on those tracks. This command also ripples any markers, regions, CD
layout markers, and command markers in the project.

•

All Tracks, Markers, and Regions ripples all tracks and all keyframes and envelopes on those tracks. This

command also ripples any markers, regions, CD layout markers, and command markers in the project.

2.

Perform one of edits discussed above. Above the timeline, an arrow indicates
where the post-edit ripple will occur and the direction the affected events will
move.

3.

Vegas ripples the timeline after the edit according to the ripple type you choose.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

74

Shuffling events

Vegas provides a quick way to change the order of a sequence of events in a track. Right-click and drag an
event to a new location in the track and choose
shuffles the events into the new order.

The original four events

Right-click and drag event three between events one and two

The four events after the shuffle

Shuffle Events from the shortcut menu that appears. Vegas

Crossfading events

Vegas allows you to crossfade between two events on the same
track. For audio events, crossfading fades out one audio event’s
volume while another event’s volume fades in. For video
events, crossfading creates a transition between two events, one
fading out while the other fades in. Lines appear indicating how
and when the event’s volume or transparency is being affected.

Using automatic crossfades

The automatic crossfade feature turns the overlapping portions of two events into a smooth crossfade. This
feature is turned on as a default. Click the

Automatic Crossfades button ( ) or press + + to turn

automatic crossfades on and off.

Events before crossfade Events after crossfade

Drag one event to
overlap the other

Vegas also provides an option for creating automatic crossfades when you add multiple media files to a track.

For more information, see Automatically crossfading inserted events on page 46.

Ctrl Shift

Fade in
volume line

Fade out
volume line

X

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

Manually setting a crossfade

Vegas does not insert an automatic crossfade if a shorter event is placed on top of and within the same time
frame of a longer event. In this case, the longer event begins playing, then the shorter event plays, and then
the longer event resumes playing at the timeline position. You can manually create a crossfade to fade in and
out of the shorter event.

1.

Place the mouse pointer on one of the shorter event’s handles. The envelope cursor appears ( ).

2.

Drag the handle to the desired position.

75

Events without crossfade

Events with manual crossfade

This is a fast and effective method of inserting a voiceover on top of a background music track (although the
music fades out completely) or to replace a bad section of audio. For more information, see Punching-in and

crossfading events on page 65.

Changing crossfade curves

You can change the crossfade curves that Vegas uses to fade in and out between two events.

Right-click a crossfade to
choose a different crossfade curve.

1.

Right-click anywhere in the crossfade region to display a shortcut menu.

2.

From the shortcut menu, choose Fade Type, and choose the desired fade type from the submenu.

Tip:

If you use the same crossfade curve frequently, you can
set it as a default for all new audio or video crossfades. For
more information, see Editing tab on page 275.

Sliding a crossfade

You can slide a crossfade between two events without affecting the total length of the two overlapping
events. This process is similar to sliding and slipping events. For more information, see Slipping and sliding

events on page 70.

Ctrl

Press while dragging the overlapping area between two events. The slide crossfade cursor appears
().

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

+Alt

76

As you drag, the relative position of the media remains fixed on the track, and the crossfade position
changes, effectively trimming the edge of the event in the direction you drag. You can use this technique
when you want to maintain the length of two combined events but want the transition to occur earlier or
later.

Two events with a
crossfade.

Sliding the crossfade
to the left...

...and to the right.

Using undo and redo

Vegas gives you unlimited undo and redo functionality while working on your project, even to the extent of
being able to undo changes made before the last time a project was saved (but not closed). While you are
working with a project, Vegas creates an undo history of the changes that you have performed. Each time you
undo something, that change is placed in the redo history.

When you close the project or exit Vegas, both the undo and redo histories are cleared.

Using undo

Ctrl

Pressing or clicking the Undo button ( ) reverses the last edit performed. Repeatedly using the
keyboard command or toolbar button continues undoing edits in reverse order, from most recent to oldest. In
addition, you may undo the last edit by choosing it from the

Undoing a series of edits

You can undo a series of edits by using the drop-down list on the Undo button.

1.

Click the arrow to the right of the Undo button ( ).

2.

From the drop-down list, choose the edit that you want to undo. Items above it (subsequent edits) are
selected automatically. Vegas restores your project to the state prior to those edits.

When you undo an edit or a series of edits, they are added to the redo history. This feature allows you to
restore your project to a previous state.

+Z

Use the mouse
to select

a series of edits.

Edit menu.

Tip:

From the Edit menu, choose Undo All to undo all edits
in the history. All edits are undone and added to the redo
history.

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

Using redo

77

Pressing or clicking the Redo button ( ) redoes the last undo performed. Repeatedly using

Ctrl +Shift +Z

the keyboard command or toolbar button continues redoing undos in reverse order, from most recent to
oldest. In addition, you may redo the last edit by choosing it from the

Redoing a series of edits

Edit menu.

You can view the redo history by clicking the arrow on the right side of the Redo button ( ). The top item
in the list that appears is the most recent undo edit. If you redo a specific edit that appears farther down the
list, all subsequent edits above it are redone as well.

When you redo an edit or a series of edits, they are added to the undo history again. The redo history is
cleared when a new edit is performed.

Clearing the edit history

You can clear both undo and redo histories without closing your project or exiting Vegas. Once the histories
have been cleared, Vegas begins creating a new edit history as you continue working on the project. While
clearing the edit history is not usually necessary, it can free up disk space. To clear the edit history, choose

Clear Edit History from the Edit menu.

Adding project markers and regions

Vegas provides several types of project markers that identify parts of your project, serve as cues, and provide
additional functionality:

• Markers are points that you mark along the project’s timeline. They are typically used to mark locations
in the project for later reference or to mark timing cues.

• Regions are ranges of time that you mark along the timeline. Regions identify ranges of time for your
reference and can function as permanent time selections.

• Command markers are markers that enable metadata in streaming media files. These markers can be used
to display headlines or closed captions, link to Web sites, or perform any other function you define. For

more information, see Adding closed captioning to Windows Media Video (WMV) files on page 172. In addition,

these markers can be used to embed Scott Studios data information, which is used extensively in
broadcasting. The Sonic Foundry Web site (
metadata examples complete with source code.

• CD layout markers are markers that indicate tracks and indices for an audio CD layout. Vegas uses these
marks to create tracks and index points when burning an audio CD. For more information, see

Understanding tracks and indices on page 247.

http://www.sonicfoundry.com) has a number of

Tip:

You can use ripple editing to automatically move
markers and regions as you edit in the timeline. For more
information, see Applying post-edit ripples on page 72.

Working with markers

Markers are useful for identifying and navigating to specific locations in longer projects. As you place
markers in your project, Vegas automatically numbers them in the order that they are placed. Markers appear
as orange tags above the ruler. You may name them and reposition them along the project’s timeline.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

78

Markers

Marker
bar

Right-click the marker bar

Inserting a marker at the cursor

Position the cursor where you want to place the marker.

1.

2.

From the Insert menu, choose Marker, or press .

3.

Type a name for the marker and press . If you do not want to name the marker, simply press .

Enter Enter

M

Inserting a marker during playback

During playback, press . The marker appears on the marker bar. You may name the marker after it has been

M

set.

Naming (or renaming) a marker

Place the mouse pointer on the marker you want to name or rename. The pointer changes to a hand icon

1.

().

2.

Right-click to display a shortcut menu.

3.

From the shortcut menu, choose Rename. A text box opens next to the
marker.

4.

Type the marker name.

5.

Enter

Press to set the marker’s name.

You can also double-click an existing name or double-click the space just to the right of a marker to rename
it.

Moving markers

You can reposition a marker by dragging it on the marker bar.

Navigating to markers

You can jump the cursor to any marker on the timeline by clicking the marker. You can also jump to a marker
by pressing the number keys along the top of the keyboard (not the numeric keypad).

Tip:

Jump the cursor to the next or previous marker by

pressing or .

Ctrl + Ctrl +

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

Deleting markers

Regi

d Righ

Place the mouse pointer on the marker that you want to delete. The pointer changes to a hand ( ).

1.

2.

Right-click to display a shortcut menu.

3.

From the shortcut menu, choose Delete. The marker is removed from your project.

Vegas does not renumber the tags as you remove them. For example, if you have five markers in your project
and delete markers 3 and 4, the remaining markers will be listed as 1, 2 and 5. However, as you add markers
again, Vegas begins numbering the missing sequence first, in this case 3 and 4, then 6, 7, 8, etc.

Deleting all markers and regions

Right-click the marker bar.

1.

2.

From the shortcut menu, choose Markers/Regions, and choose Delete All from the submenu.

Working with regions

Regions identify ranges of time and provide a way to subdivide your project. A region is defined as the area
between two region markers that share the same number. Regions can function as semi-permanent time
selections. You can view region information in the Explorer by clicking the arrow next to the

( ) and selecting

Region View.

View button

79

Inserting regions

Make a time selection. For more information, see Selecting a time range on page 59.

1.

2.

From the Insert menu, choose Region, or press .

3.

Type a name for the region and press . If you do not want to name the region, simply press .

Enter Enter

R

Region markers display at the beginning and end points of a time selection.

Region start

on en

Marker
bar

Moving regions

Drag a region marker to reposition it. To move both region markers (start and end markers) at once, hold

t-click the marker bar

Alt

while dragging a region marker.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

80

Naming regions

Place the mouse pointer on the left region marker you want to name or rename. The pointer changes to a

1.

hand icon ( ).

2.

Right-click to display a shortcut menu.

3.

From the shortcut menu, choose Rename. A text box appears next to the region
marker.

4.

Type the region’s name.

5.

Selecting regions

Enter

Press or click anywhere in the track view to set the name.

You may select the events, across all tracks, within the region for editing or playing back.

1.

Right-click one of the region markers to display a shortcut menu.

Selected region

2.

From the shortcut menu, choose Select Region.

Tip:

You can also select a region by pressing a number on
your keyboard (not the numeric keypad) or by double-clicking
a region marker.

Navigating to regions

You can move the cursor to the start or end of a region by clicking either region marker. You may press

Ctrl

+ Ctrl +

or to move the cursor to the next or previous region markers.

Right-click a region marker to display a shortcut menu that allows you to navigate to the beginning (

Start)

or the end (Go to End) of a region.

Deleting regions

Place the mouse pointer on the region marker’s starting or ending point. The pointer changes to a hand

1.

Go to

icon ( ).

2.

Right-click to display a shortcut menu.

3.

From the shortcut menu, choose Delete. The region is removed from your project.

Vegas does not renumber the tags as you remove them. For example, if you have five regions in your project
and delete region 3 and 4, the remaining regions are listed at 1, 2 and 5. However, as you add regions again,
Vegas begins numbering the missing sequence first, in this case 3 and 4, and then 6, 7, 8, etc.

Deleting all regions and markers

Right-click the marker bar.

1.

2.

From the shortcut menu, choose Markers/Regions, and choose Delete All from the submenu.

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

Working with command markers

Command markers add interactivity to a multimedia
presentation streamed over the Internet by inserting
metadata into streaming media files. As your video plays,
any number of other actions can be programmed to occur.
These commands are a part of the Microsoft Windows
Media and RealMedia streaming formats. Most frequently,
these actions add text or open a related Web site where the
viewer can find more information about the topic at hand.
The specific commands available vary depending on the
final format of your project.

81

Note:

commands unless the
check box is selected on the

Windows Media Player 9 will ignore metadata

Run script commands when present

Security tab of the player's

Preferences dialog. Be sure to instruct your audience to select
this check box before playing your file.

You can use command markers to add closed captions to your project. For more information, see Adding closed

captioning to Windows Media Video (WMV) files on page 172.

Command markers can also indicate when an instruction (function) will occur in a WAV file being used in a
radio broadcast environment (Scott Studios data). The following two sections define the markers for both
streaming media and Scott Studios files.

Note:

While streaming media files can be played on any
hard drive or CD-ROM, they require a special streaming
media server (provided by your Internet service provider) to
stream properly across the Internet.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

82

Defining streaming media commands

In a streaming media file, command markers can be used to display headlines, show captions, link to Web
sites, or any other function you define. Vegas includes several command types that you may add to a
streaming media file. Some command types are exclusive to either the Windows Media (WMV) or the
RealMedia (RM) player.

Command Player type Description

URL Windows Media

and RealMedia

Tex t Windows Media Displays text in the captioning area of the Windows Media Player located below the

WMClosedCaption Windows Media Displays the entered text in the captioning window that is defined by an HTML layout

WMTextBodyText Window Media Displays the entered text in the text window that is defined by an HTML layout file.
WMTextHeadline Windows Media Displays the entered text in the headline window that is defined by an HTML layout file.
Title Windows Media

and RealMedia

Author Windows Media

and RealMedia

Copyright Windows Media

and RealMedia

HotSpotPlay* RealMedia Displays the RealMedia file specified in the Parameter box when users click the

HotSpotBrowse* RealMedia Displays the Web page specified in the Parameter box when users click the RealPlayer

HotSpotSeek* RealMedia Jumps to the time specified in the Parameter box when users click the RealPlayer

Indicates when an instruction is sent to the user’s internet browser to change the
content being displayed. With this command, you enter the URL that displays at a
specific time during the rendered project’s playback.

video display area. You enter the text that will display during playback.

file.

Displays the entered text on the RealPlayer’s title bar.

Displays the entered text (Author’s name) when a user selects About This
Presentation from the RealPlayer’s shortcut menu.

Displays the entered copyright information when a user selects About This
Presentation from the RealPlayer’s shortcut menu.

RealPlayer video display.

video display.

video display.

Defining Scott Studios data commands

For WAV files using Scott Studios data, command markers can be used to define information about the WAV
file.

Command Description

SCOTT EOM Calculates when the next queued clip starts playing in a Scott Studios system. For more information,

SCOTT Cue In Set the beginning of a file in a Scott Studios System without performing destructive editing. For more

please refer to your Scott Studios documentation.

information, please refer to your Scott Studios documentation.

Inserting command markers

Command markers appear as blue tags on the command bar, which is above the marker bar.

Right-click to place a command marker
on the command bar

Command bar

Marker bar

1.

Position the cursor where you want to place the command marker.

2.

From the Insert menu, choose Command, or press .

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

C

3.

Complete the Command Properties dialog:

83

• If desired, choose a custom template from the

Te mp l a te drop-

down list. For more information, see Saving command properties

as a custom template on page 83.

• Choose the type of command from the

Command drop-down

list.

• In the

Parameter box, enter parameters to define the behavior

of the command.

• Enter your own notes or comments in the

• Specify the timing of the command in the

Comments box.

Position box.

Otherwise, command markers are automatically set to the
current cursor position.

4.

Click OK. The new command marker appears on the command bar.

Editing command properties

Double-click any command marker to open the Command Properties dialog and edit its contents. You can
also right-click a command marker and choose

Saving command properties as a custom template

Edit from the shortcut menu.

If you plan to use a command more than once, you can save command properties as a template. You can then
reuse the command properties by choosing the template from the

1.

Create a command and complete the Command Properties dialog.

2.

Enter a name for the template in the Te m pl at e box.

Te mp l a te drop-down list.

3.

Click the Save Template button ( ).

Note:

Vegas saves your metadata command templates in the
cmdtemp.xml file in the Vegas program folder. You can edit
this file directly to modify your templates.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

84

Deleting command markers

Place the mouse pointer on the command marker. The pointer changes to a hand icon ( ).

1.

2.

Right-click to display a shortcut menu.

3.

From the shortcut menu, choose Delete. The command marker is removed from your project.

Working with CD layout markers

Markers on the CD layout bar indicate the locations of tracks and indices in an audio CD layout project.
These markers are discussed in a later chapter. For more information, see Understanding tracks and indices on
page 247.

Using an external audio editing program

Vegas is a nondestructive editing environment, which means that the original source files remain unchanged
by any editing done in Vegas. Destructive (constructive) edits that modify the actual source media file may
be done in a separate application such as Sonic Foundry’s Sound Forge®. By setting up a separate audio
editor, you can quickly access the program from Vegas via the

Tools menu or by pressing .

Setting up an audio editing program

If you already have Sound Forge loaded on your computer when you installed Vegas, the installation should
have detected it and made it your default audio editing program. However, if you do not have Sound Forge or
want to specify a different audio editor, you may do so in the Preferences dialog.

Ctrl +E

1.

From the Options menu, choose Preferences. The
Preferences dialog appears.

2.

In the Preferences dialog, click the Audio tab.

3.

Click the Browse button to the right of the Preferred

audio editor

box. The Preferred Audio Editor dialog

appears.

4.

From this dialog, navigate to the application to use for
editing audio files.

5.

Select the application’s executable icon (.exe) and
click

Open to set the application as your default audio

editor.

The application’s path displays in the

editor

box.

Preferred audio

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

Opening an audio editor from Vegas

All events in your Vegas project are references to media files on a storage device. When you edit an audio
event in an audio editor, you can choose to open the original media file or a copy of the file.

Opening a file in an audio editor

You can directly edit the media file to which an audio event is referenced. Any changes you make and save
in the audio editor are permanent and are reflected in the event in your Vegas project.

1.

Select the event to be edited.

2.

From the Tool s menu, choose Audio, and choose Open in Audio Editor from the submenu.

Your selected audio editing application opens the event’s referenced media file. Make the necessary changes
and save the file in the audio editor. If you keep the media file’s name and location the same, its event is
updated immediately in your Vegas project. However, if you change the media file’s name or location (by
using Save As), you must import the edited (new) file into Vegas.

Opening a copy of a file in an audio editor

You can also create a copy of an audio file and open it in an audio editor. Opening a copy of a file has the
advantage of preserving the original file unchanged. The modified copy is inserted into the event as a take
and is automatically added to the Media Pool.

1.

Select the event to be edited.

85

2.

From the Tool s menu, choose Audio, and choose Open Copy in Audio Editor from the submenu.

When you are finished editing, save the file. Vegas adds “Ta ke X” to the end of the filename to distinguish it
from the original and adds it to the project as a take. If you save it to a new file (by using Save As), you must
manually add it as a take into the project. For more information, see Working with takes on page 91.

CHP. 3 BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES

86

BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 3

CHAPTER

Advanced Editing
Te ch n i qu e s

4

4

This chapter builds on the techniques that were introduced in the last chapter. Ripple editing, pitch shifting,
and takes are just three of the more advanced editing topics that are covered in this chapter.

Snapping events

Vegas is preset to snap events into place as you drag them. Events can snap
to another event’s edges, to the cursor position, or to a time selection.
Vegas also allows events to snap to grid lines and markers. As you move an
event along the timeline, its edge automatically aligns to designated snap
points. At the highest level, all features in Vegas can quantize to individual
frames.

87

Snap points

Turning snapping on and off

You can quickly turn snapping on and off by clicking the Enable Snapping button ( ). Vegas also allows you
to selectively turn snapping options on and off in the

•

Enable Snapping controls all snapping behavior except quantizing to

frames.

•

Snap To Grid controls snapping to grid markers. Vegas provides a

variety of grid measurements. For more information, see Changing grid

spacing on page 263.

•

Snap To Markers controls snapping to markers. This command

applies to markers, regions, command markers, and CD layout
markers. For more information, see Adding project markers and regions

on page 77.

Quantizing to frames

The Quantize To Frames command in the Options menu takes snapping one step further. With this feature
enabled, everything snaps to the starting edge of individual project frames. Quantizing affects how you can
move events, place markers, make selections, and position the cursor.

Quantizing to frames means that
the position of markers, regions,
events, and the cursor are limited
to the start of an individual video frame.

Options menu:

All enabled

Track zoomed
in so that one
thumbnail = one frame

CHP. 4 ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES

88

Using the event snap offset

Each event in your project has a snap offset flag that can be moved along the length of the event. The flag is
the white triangle that is located in the lower-left corner of each event. This flag allows you to designate
where snapping occurs. This is useful if you need to align the snap with a beat in the event instead of the
edge.

Snap offset flag

1.

Place the mouse pointer on the snap offset triangle. The pointer changes to a hand icon ( ).

2.

Drag the snap offset flag to the new position in the event. As the flag moves, a time display appears. This
time display indicates where the snap offset flag occurs in time in the event.

3.

Release the mouse to set the snap offset flag.

Snapping to the cursor or a selection

You can snap two clips in the same track end-to-end, but how can you snap two events on separate tracks?
You can easily snap to specific event boundaries in any track by making a time selection for the event.

1.

Double-click the event you want to snap to. The time selection area on the
ruler sets to the length of the event.

2.

Drag another clip in a different track near the end of the first clip. It snaps
into position.

In this example, Vegas snaps the second event to the edge of the time
selection. Because events also snap to the cursor, you could accomplish the
same task by pressing or to position the cursor on

Ctrl +Alt+ Ctrl +Alt+

the edge of the first event. Once the cursor is on the event edge, you can snap
the second event to the cursor.

ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 4

Pitch shifting audio events

A pitch shift is a way to raise or lower the pitch of an audio event. Vegas provides three ways to pitch shift:

89

• The

• The

• The

Change Length, Preserve Pitch method shifts the length without altering the pitch of the event.
Change Pitch, Preserve Length method shifts the pitch without altering the length of the event.
Change Length and Pitch method speeds up or slows down the audio and changes the pitch at the

same time. You can shorten the event duration and raise the pitch, or lengthen the event duration and
lower the pitch.

The semitone range in Vegas is -24 to 24. Twelve semitones equal one octave, so you may increase or
decrease the pitch of an event within a two-octave range. Within each semitone is a finer pitch adjustment
called cents. There are one hundred cents in one semitone.

Change length and pitch

Original event

Event with pitch shift
of 12 or one octave speeds up

Event with pitch shift
of -12 or one octave slows down

1.

Right-click an audio event to display a shortcut menu.

2.

From the shortcut menu, choose Properties.

3.

From the Method list, select Change Length, Preserve Pitch, or

Change Pitch, Preserve Length, or Change Length and Pitch.

4.

Adjust the pitch shift in the Semitone, Cents, or both by using
the arrows or by typing the desired value.

5.

Select the desired crossfade mode from the Crossfade drop-
down list.

6.

Click OK to set the pitch shift for the event.

CHP. 4 ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES

90

Time compressing/stretching events

Time stretching and compressing events is the process of using the same amount of source media to fill a
shorter or longer event. While this can be done to both video and audio events, the two cases are
fundamentally different.

Ctrl

Press and drag the edge of the event toward the center of the event to compress (shorten) it or drag the
edge out away from the center to stretch (lengthen) it.

You can see the results of the time compression or stretching by viewing the properties of the event. Right­click the event and choose
affects the

Playback rate setting.

Tip:

Time stretch/pitch shift settings, while Time compressing/stretching a video event affects the

You can time compress/stretch several events at once by
grouping them first. You can also apply a ripple edit after time
compressing or stretching events. For more information, see

Grouping events on page 125 or Applying post-edit ripples on

page 72.

Time compressing/stretching video

Time stretching video allows you to fill a given duration with a set amount of actual video, sometimes called
fit-to-fill. For example, if you have a five-second video event and you want this event to fill an eight-second
slot, press and drag the edge of the event to eight seconds. The resulting video is in slow motion, but the
contents (footage) remain the same. If you had used a velocity envelope to slow the video to the same rate,
the event would also be in slow motion, but its duration would remain unchanged at five seconds. Stretched
video has a zigzag line between thumbnails. Video can also be compressed (sped up and shortened in length)
by using this method.

Ctrl

Properties from the shortcut menu. Time compressing/stretching an audio event

When stretching video events or slowing video down, a set number of frames are extended across a period of
time. For example, if you take source footage at 30 frames in a second and slow it so that only 15 source
frames run during that same second, an additional 15 frames must be created to maintain the project’s 30 fps
frame rate. Simply duplicating frames is the easiest way to do this. A more sophisticated method is to
resample the frames of an event, allowing Vegas to interpolate and redraw these intervening frames. For more

information, see Resample (video only) on page 119 and Resampling video on page 175.

ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 4

Working with takes

A take is a version of a scene or audio recording, as in “Scene 10, Take 7”, which means the seventh time
that scene number ten has been shot. Vegas allows you to include a number of takes in the same location
(event) of the project. You can then rapidly switch between these separate takes to see which one fits into
the project the best. Although this is what takes are designed for, you can actually use any media files you
want as a take, even completely different sounds or scenes. Since an event is just a container of a specific
length and at a specific location, the actual content (media file) is easily changed.

Adding takes

You can add multiple media files to the timeline at the same time to a single event as takes. You can also add
regions within media files as takes. For more information, see Adding regions as takes on page 96.

Adding media files to the timeline as takes

Locate the media files that you want to insert as takes in the Explorer and select them. Select a range by

1.

pressing and clicking the first and last file in the range, or select nonadjacent files by pressing
and clicking the various clips individually.

2.

Right-click and drag one of the selected clips in the group to the timeline.

3.

From the shortcut menu, choose Add as Takes.

Shift Ctrl

91

Tip:

To add either just the audio or just the video portions of

files as takes, choose

Only: Add Audio as Takes from the shortcut menu.

Adding takes to existing events

Video Only: Add Video as Takes or Audio

You can add media files to existing events as takes.

1.

Right-click a media file in the Explorer and drag it to an existing event.

2.

From the shortcut menu, choose Add as Takes.

Selecting takes

When you add an event with multiple takes, a single event is inserted into a track. Vegas sets the length of
the event according to the last clip that was selected. This last clip is set as the active take.

1.

Right-click an event with multiple takes.

2.

From the shortcut menu, choose Tak e , and choose Next Take or Previous Take from the submenu.
Alternately, choose the name of the take from the list at the bottom of the submenu.

Tip:

Click an event and press to select the next take or

Shift +T

to select the previous take.

T

CHP. 4 ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES

92

Previewing and selecting takes

Vegas allows you to preview the takes for a given event.

1.

Select an event containing multiple takes.

2.

Right-click to display a shortcut menu or, from the Edit menu, choose Tak e to display a submenu.

3.

Choose Choose Active... from the submenu. The Take Chooser
dialog appears.

4.

Select the take that you want to preview and use the Play ()
and

Stop ( ) buttons within the dialog.

5.

To use a take, select it and click OK. The selected take is now the
active take.

Deleting takes

You can delete individual takes from an event at any time.

1.

Right-click an event with multiple takes.

2.

From the shortcut menu, choose Tak e , and choose Delete Active from the submenu to immediately remove
the active take. Alternately, choose
event.

Delete to open a dialog with a list of all of the takes contained in this

Working with take names

Displaying take names on events

Take names may be displayed on the events in the timeline.

1.

From the Options menu, choose Preferences. The Preferences dialog
appears.

2.

On the General tab, select the Show active take name in events check
box.

3.

Click OK.

Changing take names

Changing the name of a take does not affect the source media file in any way. Typically, you may want to
change an event’s name after recording multiple takes into a track or event. For more information, see Working

with multiple recorded takes on page 150.

1.

Select the take to be renamed. For more information, see Selecting takes on page 91.

2.

Right-click the event to display a shortcut menu.

3.

From the shortcut menu, choose Properties. The Properties dialog opens.

4.

Type the new name in the Active take name box.

5.

Click OK to set the new take name.

Without take name With take name

ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 4

Using the Trimmer window

The Trimmer allows you to work with and edit one media file at a time. The entire file is opened into the
Trimmer, in contrast to events on the timeline that may only contain a portion of the actual source file.

The main function of the Trimmer window is to allow you to trim a media file and place portions of it on a
track. You can also add regions and markers to a file, preview the media file, or open it in an external audio
editing program.

93

Marker

Media file

Trimmer

history

Region

PlaybackLoop Add mediaCursor

Sort Trimmer

navigationcontrols from cursor up to cursor

Clear Trimmer

History

Add media

Remove Current Media From
Trimmer HistoryHistory

Save Markers/Regions

Open in

Audio Editor

Loop region or
Selection area

Zoom controls

You can open any number of files in the Trimmer at the same time, selecting the one you currently want to
work on from the

From the

View menu, choose Trim mer or press to display the Trimmer window, if it is not already

Trimmer histor y drop-down list.

Alt +2

visible. You can dock the Trimmer window in the window docking area or float it over the work area. For
more information, see Window docking area on page 21.

Opening a file in the Trimmer

1.

Right-click an event. A shortcut menu appears.

2.

Choose Open in Trimmer.

You can also drag files to the Trimmer from the Explorer or the Media Pool.

Double-clicking a file to open it in the Trimmer

You can set Vegas to open a file in the Trimmer when you double-click the file in the Media Pool or Explorer
windows.

1.

From the Options menu, choose Preferences.

2.

Click the General tab.

3.

Choose Double click on media file loads into Trimmer instead of tracks.

CHP. 4 ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES

94

Moving frame-by-frame in the Trimmer window

As you navigate through a video file in the Trimmer, the exact frame that the cursor is over in time is
displayed as in a thumbnail image under the cursor. When using the left and right arrow keys, this allows you
to edit with frame accuracy. Make sure

Animate video frames in Trimmer is selected in the Preferences dialog to

use this feature.

Making selections in the Trimmer

After you have opened a media file in the Trimmer, you may select a segment of it and place it in your
project. Make a time selection to select a segment in the Trimmer in the same way you do in the project
timeline. For more information, see Selecting a time range on page 59.

[

You can make a selection during playback by using the keyboard. Press or to mark the start of the

]

selection, and press or to mark the end.

O

If you know the exact timecode of the point where you want to begin and end a time selection, you can enter
it into the boxes at the lower right corner of the Trimmer window.

I

Double-click to enter a value.

Tip:

Backspace

Press to recall the last five time selection

Selection Selection Selection

LengthEndStart

areas in the Trimmer.

Adding selections to the timeline

You can use the Trimmer window to do traditional three-point and two-point editing. These editing
techniques allow you to add smaller sections of files to the timeline.

Post-edit ripple mode affects how a selection is added to the timeline from the Trimmer. When the

Ripple button ( ) is selected, adding a selection from the Trimmer selection affects the position of later

events on the track. When Vegas is not in post-edit ripple mode, adding a selection from the Trimmer has no
effect on the position of other events. For more information, see Editing events on page 61.

Auto

ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 4

Adding selections at the cursor

Open a media file in the Trimmer.

1.

2.

Make a time selection in the Trimmer.

3.

Select the track in the timeline where the selection will be added.

4.

Position the cursor in the timeline at either the start or end point where you want to add the selection.

5.

Add the selection to the timeline in one of the following ways:

95

• Click the

• Click the

Add Media from Cursor button ( ) or press to insert the event after the cursor.
Add Media up to Cursor button ( ) or press to insert the event before the cursor.

Alternately, you can drag the selection from the Trimmer to the
timeline

Note:

Post-edit rippling (if enabled) applies to clips inserted

A

Shift +A

Drag from the
Trimmer...

...to a project
track

from the Trimmer. For more information, see Editing events
on page 61.

Filling a time selection on the timeline

You can select a range of time on the project timeline and then fill it with the same length selection from the
Trimmer.

1.

Create a time selection in the timeline where you want to add the event. This sets the duration and
position of the event that you will create.

2.

Open the media file you want to use to fill the time selection in the Trimmer window.

3.

Right-click the file in the Trimmer window and choose Sync Track View Selection Time from Cursor or Sync

Track View Selection Time

up to Cursor from the shortcut menu. Vegas creates a time selection in the file in

the Trimmer window to match the time selection in the timeline.

4.

Adjust the location of the time selection in the Trimmer as needed by dragging the time selection (the
area between the yellow triangles) on the Trimmer marker bar.

5.

Drag the event from the Trimmer to the timeline and allow it to snap into place within the time selection.

Adding selections from a media file with audio and video

You can open a file in the Trimmer that has both audio and video streams (e.g., AVI). When you add a
selection from this type of file to the timeline, both streams are added:

• If you select a video track before adding the selection, Vegas adds the video to the selected track and adds
the associated audio to the track below it.

• If you select an audio track before adding the selection, Vegas adds the audio to the selected track and
adds the associated video to the track above it.

Vegas creates new tracks for the added media if necessary.

CHP. 4 ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES

96

Adding and saving regions and markers to a media file

The Trimmer allows you to add markers and regions to a media file in the same way that you add them to
your project. Media file markers and regions are different from project markers and regions. The difference
between the two is that project markers and regions affect a project, while media file markers and regions are
embedded in, and saved with, a media file. For more information, see Adding project markers and regions on page

77.

The markers and regions you add in the Trimmer are only temporary. You must save them by clicking the

Save button ( ) in the Trimmer window if you want to use them again after you close the project. After the

markers and regions are added and saved to the media file, they are available when you open the media file in
an audio editor program or in the Trimmer.

Note:

You cannot save markers to read-only media files.
Change a file’s properties to make the file writable before
saving markers.

Automatically saving Trimmer markers and
regions with media files

From the Options menu, choose Preferences.

1.

2.

On the General tab, select Automatically save

trimmer markers and regions with media file.

Adding regions as takes

Marker

Region

Once regions are saved with a media file, either in the Trimmer window or in another application, you can
add the regions as takes to the timeline from the Explorer window. In the Explorer window, click the arrow
next to the

View button and select Region View from the drop-down list. A single media file may contain a

number of separate regions. You can select these regions individually or as groups and insert them as takes
into the timeline. This is especially useful when loop-recording numerous takes to a single file. For more

information, see Working with takes on page 91.

ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 4

97

Viewing media markers and regions in events

From the View menu, choose Event Media Markers to toggle the display markers and regions that are saved in
a media file. These markers are displayed in the timeline in events that refer to the media file.

Media markers and regions cannot be edited within the event. However, when you edit the markers in
markers and regions in the Trimmer window or in an external audio editor, the event will reflect your
changes.

Media markers in Trimmer

Tip:

When media markers are displayed, you can use them

Media markers in event

as snap points for positioning the cursor and for edge­trimming if

Snap to Markers is selected on the Options

menu. If a media file's frame rate does not match your project
frame rate, frame quantization will occur after the snap if

Quantize to Frames is selected on the Options menu.

Opening a file in an external audio editor from the Trimmer

The Trimmer allows you to open your selected audio editing application (e.g., Sound Forge) to perform
permanent edits to the media file. After you make the necessary changes and save the file in the audio
editor, Vegas automatically updates the event. Make sure that the media file’s name and location remain the
same. For more information, see Using an external audio editing program on page 84.

To open the audio editor from the Trimmer, click the

Open in Audio Editor button ( ).

Using the Edit Details window

The Edit Details window displays a database for all of the media in your project. It shows information about
how the files are being used and allows you to modify many of those properties. You may sort, add or change
information, rearrange columns, and edit items in the project.

This window provides an alternate method for working with events, audio CD track list items, command
markers, markers, and regions after they are placed in your project.

You can dock the Edit Details window in the window docking area or float it on the workspace. For more

information, see Window docking area on page 21.

CHP. 4 ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES

98

Viewing the Edit Details window

To view the Edit Details window, choose Edit Details from the View menu or press . The Show drop-

Alt +4

down list allows you to view categorized project information. You can edit most entries by double-clicking
them or by right-clicking them to display a shortcut menu.

Right-click an
entry to display
a shortcut menu,
or double-click
an entry to edit it.

Use the scroll bar to view other columns in the window.

Audio CD track list

The Audio CD track list category displays information about the track and index markers placed on the CD
layout bar. Vegas uses this information to burn audio CDs. For more information, see Understanding tracks and

indices on page 247.

Commands

The Commands category displays information about commands that are placed along the project’s timeline.
This category displays four columns: the command’s position along the timeline, the command type, its
parameters, and any comments that were entered when the command marker was placed in your project.
Right-click a command entry to display a shortcut menu. For more information, see Working with command

markers on page 81.

ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES CHP. 4