Sony Vegas 4.0 and DVD Architect 1.0 The Aquarium
Basic Video Editing and DVD Creation Reference Sheet
- Start Project (Vegas 4.0)
- FILE: NEW. Use NTSC DV (720x480, 29.970 fps) Template.
- Obtain Media
- Import computer files (AVI, MPEG, MOV, WAV, MP3, JPEG, etc) FILE: IMPORT MEDIA: <Select File(s)> Imported Media goes to Media Pool.
- Capture video (VHS Tape, DV Tape)
- FILE: CAPTURE VIDEO: <Turn Tape Deck On>
- OPTIONS: PREFERENCES
- For DV Tape: Check ENABLE DV DEVICE CONTROL under GENERAL TAB
- For VHS Tape: Uncheck ENABLE DV DEVICE CONTROL under GENERAL TAB
- DISK MANAGEMENT TAB
- Deselect ALL Folders under PATH
- ADD FOLDER: <Select Your Capture Folder>
- CAPTURE TAB (Not Advanced Capture) <Set Tape Deck to Start Tape Location>: CAPTURE VIDEO: <Push Play on Tape Deck>: STOP when done. Repeat until complete. Close Capture Window. Captured Media goes to Media Pool
- Edit Media
- Bring Media to Timeline
- MEDIA POOL TAB: ALL MEDIA. All your video/audio/still clips should be here. Put Media in Bins for Organization (Right click MEDIA BINS: CREATE NEW BIN)
- Drag Media from Media Pool to Timeline.
- Right click Media in Media Pool: OPEN IN TRIMMER. Select Region in Trimmer and drag to Timeline.
- Using the Toolbar
- For normal uses, buttons 1, 2, 3, 4, & 6 should be the only buttons selected.
- 1) Enable Snapping: Video/Audio snap to demarcations on timeline and cursor. Usually ON.
- 2) Automatic Crossfades: Inserts fades between overlapping events Usually ON.
- 3) Auto Ripple: Moves all affected media when a video event is moved. Usually ON or OFF (User pref)
- 4) Lock Envelopes to Events: Locks any envelopes to the event so they remain in place when event is moved Usually ON.
- 5) Ignore Event Grouping: Unlinks Audio from Video. Turn on with CAUTION. Usually OFF.
- 6) Normal Edit Tool. Default Tool.
- 7) Envelope Edit Tool: Easy editing of envelopes.
- 8) Selection Edit Tool: Allows selection of many events quickly.
- 9) Zoom Edit Tool: Zooms to selected area on Timeline.
- 10) Help Button. Also, F1 brings up normal help. USE IT. Vegas Help is excellent.
- Manipulating Media
- Drag events around, overlap for crossfades. To split events at the cursor, type S. Lowest Video Track has priority, that is, Track 1 is displayed on top of Track 2, etc.
- Space Bar: PLAY/STOP
- Enter: PAUSE
- Right click on event: SWITCHES: LOCK locks event in place.
- Using Transitions
- Right click on overlapping media: TRANSITION: <Pick Transition Type>. Note: for professional looking video, use mostly cuts, and the occasional crossfade. Use other transitions SPARINGLY.
- TRANSITIONS TAB: Find Transition and drag it onto overlapping clips.
- Using Media Generators
- MEDIA GENERATORS TAB. For Text, click TEXT, drag desired icon to timeline. Insert desired text. Also useful is Credit Roll.
- Using Pan/Crop
- Right click event: VIDEO EVENT PAN/CROP Use to resize or rotate events or create zoom
effects.
- Using Video FX
- VIDEO FX TAB. Drag desired effect to event. Adjust settings. Use keyframes to change level of effect.
- Insert Markers
- Markers are useful for finding places in large files. Markers also translate into DVD Chapters. Type M to insert a marker at the cursor.
- Export Media
- When project is finished, FILE: RENDER AS Choose codec and click SAV*E to render. Ensure that *RENDER LOOPED REGION ONLY is off.
- For DVD, export VIDEO as MainConcept MPEG-2, using the DVD Architect NTSC video stream Template. If you have more than 1.5 hours of video to put on a single DVD, you must do some math. Find the total time of your movie in minutes, and use the following formula: (34400 / (Time*60)) * 900,000. This result is the average bit rate you should use to fit the video on a single DVD and leave 400 Mbytes free for the audio and menu. Click CUSTOM: VIDEO. and type this number under Variable bit rate: Average (bps). Now render.
- For DVD, export AUDIO as Dolby Digital AC-3. Give the audio file the same name as the video file.
- Create DVD Menu (DVD Architect 1.0)
- Import File
- MEDIA EXPLORER TAB: <Find Video File>. Drag onto menu. F2 allows you to rename video.
- Select button and click OBJECT TAB to modify button.
- Modify Menu
- Use PAGE TAB to adjust background, background music, etc. OPTIONS: SHOW TITLE SAFE AREA shows area where text can safely be. OPTIONS: SHOW ACTION SAVE AREA shows area where buttons can safely be.
- Use INSERT TEXT and INSERT GRAPHIC to insert menu items.
- Preview
- Press F9 to preview your project. What you see in preview is what you get on the DVD.
- Optimize
- FILE: OPTIMIZE DVD. Estimated size should be less than 4,700 Mbytes for a 4.7 Gbyte disk
(standard). If the video portion is too large, recompress using lower bit rate (see 4). If menu is too large, eliminate animated thumbnails, etc.
- Make DVD
- Prepare DVD files
- FILE: MAKE DVD. Click PREPARE DVD. Follow steps. This will create the VIDEO_TS and
AUDIO_TS files which comprise the DVD.
- When complete, insert 4.7 Gbyte DVD+R disk. FILE: MAKE DVD: BURN DVD. That's all.
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