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Here I look at the advantage/point of Sony Vegas’s options for exporting the project/timeline/sequence structure.

Rebuild Project:

• Question: Can one export (in some form, possibly partial) a Project (sequence/timeline) from Sony Vegas 10 that can then be imported to other NLEs or versions of Sony Vegas ?
  •  A couple or so years ago (Vegas 9) I determined it was not practical to exchange between Vegas and FCP.  But time has passed, attention has shifted away from FCP to other NLEs (chiefly Adobe Production CS5.5) , and for various reasons, earlier versions of Vegas are more attractive to me than the latest batches.
• Part-Answer:
  •  Yes for [File > SaveAs > EDL] / [File > Open (Same kind of EDL File) ]
  • Can open even in previous versions of Vegas.
  • But not everything gets reinstated - e.g. Project settings, Text, Pan/Crop.

Repair:

• Can repair a project by doing this.
  • In my case, a video pan was “snatching”, not smooth.
  • The process of Opening a Vegas-EDL [.txt] re-created “peaks” sidecar files [.sfk] for each media file.
  • Somehow, the pan played more smoothly after this (possibly due to this or some other effect of the “new project”

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• http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/software/371086/sony-vegas-pro-11

Video-editing on-the-move (e.g. on a train) using a MacBook Pro (laptop) with Sony Vegas 9 (64-bit) as NLE (under Boot Camp / Windows 7), my practical experience was that a GRaid Mini external drive was far, far better than a 5400 rpm Western Digital “Passport” drive.   Consistent with the dual use of the MacBook, I partitioned the drive for both NFTS (Windows) and HFS+ (Mac OS), 50-50%.  Due to Boot Camp limitations (explained below), up till now I only ever used it “tethered” to its own mains-based power supply.  But now I see it can also be used mobile, powered from the MacBook - something that up till now I could only achieve under Mac OS, not under Windows.

When using Boot Camp / Windows on the MacBook, I initially tried the shirtpocket-sized Passport drive because it was small, light and powered from the laptop’s USB port.  While its data throughput wasn’t too bad, at least for single-channel HD editing (especially when only 1280720), when it came to cuts from one video clip (hence, in my case, video file) to another, there was a frustrating delay every time.

I also have a GRaid Mini drive, but it wasn’t obvious at first how to use it mobile when using Windows (on a MacBook).  That drive consists of two 7200  drives in RAID-0 configuation (striped, giving speed but no redundancy), and appears just like any single drive to the computer (no RAID management etc. needed).  The drive has not only a USB (2) port but also FireWire 800 (FW800) and eSATA ports.  While the latter two options work fine with the MacBook under Mac OS, they don’t work under Boot Camp / Windows.  I have tried many times and trawled many forums, no solution is apparent.  Under Mac OS the eSATA drive would ordinarily plug into an ExpressCard adaptor plugged into the laptop’s ExpressCard slot, but under Boot Camp / Windows, the ExpressCard slot doesn’t work, while for the FW800 port under Boot Camp / Windows, it appears to work at first but eventually crashes as a device when it attempts to communicate data (e.g. when copying files).

When connected only by USB to the MacBook under BootCamp / Windows, the GRaid Mini is not powered from that port, hence up till now I have relied on a mains power supply to that drive.  However, I discovered if, after first connecting by USB, you subsequently connect also by the FW800 lead, then the drive takes power from the FW800 yet communicates data via the USB lead.   Hooray!  I can use it on-the-move then!

The order in which the leads are connected is vital.  If by mistake the FW lead was connected first, then the drive would sense that as the data communications route, and subsequently fail in use.  It is vital that the USB connection is made first.  Likewise, on disconnecting the drive (following “ejection” by the computer’s file-system), disconnect the FW drive first.  The rule is FW lead: connect last disconnect first.

My experience of editing with the GRaid Mini is far more fluid hence more pleasurable and efficient.  Totally worth it.  None of the per-cut delay effects of the 5400 rpm Passport drive.  And now it can be used on-the-move, even with Boot Camp / Windows on a MacBook.  I just wish Apple would fix that Boot Camp isue with FireWire and ExpressCard ports!

MXF exists in variants.

• http://mxf4mac.com/quicktime-plug-ins
  • Examples:
    • Sony XDCAM (OP1a)
    • Panasonic P2 (OP-Atom)
    • Avid (OP-Atom)
  • MXF Import QT (one of mxf4mac’s products) is a MXF reader, importer, interpreter and file access plug-in for the QuickTime system framework. It allows to natively open and access a broad range of MXF variations without converting or referencing to the QuickTime movie format. The unique integration enables Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server and other solutions to directly work with native MXF media.
    • £462 from one UK supplier I just checked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv5splGvXoU

• Also shows:
  • Batch file for multiple files to be converted
  • Audio processing graph editor in VirtualDub
  • “Rename folder” kludge for Sony Vegas to relink Offline to Online.

BorisFX’s BCC can be used as plug-in to various NLE’s, where it can be used for motion-tracking (among other things).

• From Sony Vegas 10
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvQ_s5EEOZQ
    • BCC 7 with Vegas 10.
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNciAPlwb0k
    • In this video you will learn how to properly motion track in Sony Vegas Pro 10 with the third-party compositing mode plug-in called Match Move available here:
      • Boris FX Continuum Complete (Get the free trial or buy it):
        • http://www.borisfx.com/sony/bccsvp/
    • Remember Sony Vegas Pro 10 is not made for motion tracking. Try using after effects
• From Avid Media Composer
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-V_tdjw2Mw
    • Most Boris Continuum Complete (BCC) filters include a built-in motion tracker which can be used to control the position of the PixelChooser mask or matte or to position the light source of a Light effect. For example, you can attach a light to a moving object in one easy step. In addition, BCC includes powerful, specialized filters that allow you to recover motion data from a clip and then use the data to apply effects. For example, BCC Witness Protection allows you to track a person’s face and apply a mosaic effect to obscure it; BCC Match Move locks the movement of one image clip to another image clip; and BCC Corner Pin allows you to map media to a specific area on a moving object in a media file.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNciAPlwb0k

•  Using BorisFX’s BCC Match Move.  Plugin to Vegas

The tutorial videos for FirstLight (linked in my previous post) made it look very simple.  And indeed it pretty-much is, but Sony Vegas introduces a “bijou problemette” (franglais) in teh form of its Video Preview cache, which lacks a corresponding “Clear Cache” button.  As a result, when I first tried using FirstLight with Vegas (10e), adjustments in FirstLight did not always show up in Vegas.  The possible solutions are:

• In Vegas, set “Dynamic RAM preview (max) MB” to zero.  Then on each FirstLight change, just wiggle Vegas’s timeline cursor (playhead) at least couple of frames either way (moving it by just one frame is not sufficient).
• Alternatively, if ”Dynamic RAM preview (max) MB” is not set to zero,  then on the Preview window, try flipping between settings, like from Good/Half (my usual setting) to Good/Full.  It’s no good doing an open/close of that window or indeed changing its scale - these seem to have no effect on the cache.

I just discovered multiple Sony Vegas written tutorials by Gary Rebholz.  These are really great, the website ought to draw more attention to them.  They are highly informative and would help new users get up to speed more quickly not only on realising what is possible in Sony Vegas but also a better grounding/understanding on the concepts and tools behind the “magic”, both fundamental ones and obscure (but handy) ones.

• http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/news/article.asp?type=11
  • Examples:
    • …
    • 20 techniques for organizing your Vegas Pro workspace (part 1)
    • Utilizing the DVD Architect Properties window
    • Seven Steps to Getting the Most Out of Your Personal Video Camera
    • Incorporating RAW images Into Your Vegas Pro projects
    • Understanding Video Compositing
    • Displaying your closed captions in Windows Media Player
    • Improved multicamera tools in Vegas Pro 10 software
    • …
• Also one can obtain different kinds of articles by altering the number after “type=”

Sony Vegas allows chains of effects (”FX”) to be built up, which can optionally be exported or imported as FX Presets.  Some generous people on the web have offered their own FX Presets to achieve “Movie Looks” (dramatic looks) of various kinds.  These are more about emphasizing different kinds of mood than achieving clinically pure or film-grainy image quality.  Further details below…

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