clip duration question

[J_Barnes]

Hey guys, forgive my ignorance, but I've been a FCP user for the past few years. I'm currently learning vegas by using it, and there are still a few problems I'm having leaping over to a PC editor.

Is there an obvious way to change a clips duration? Of course I understand that by dragging the end of the clip, I can change the duration but I find this to be tedious and imprecise as I am used to editing entirely from a keyboard. Is there a dialog box to change the duration of elements without timestretching?

Example: I have a text element and I want to change it from 4 seconds to 10 seconds. Run time doesn't affect the clip either way, but I'm having difficulty finding the best and obvious way to perform this type of time-based edit.

WHile I'm thinking of it, is there a way to lock the position of clips on tracks and still edit their ins and outs? This would be useful for editing multicamera stuff with each camera on a different video track. Locking the position/slip of each clip would allow rapid and reliable edits of camera switching.

any help would be appreciated.

[David Jimerson]

I don't have it front of me right now, but I believe you can change the clip's duration from the keyboard. I'll check when I get home.

As for "locking" the clip, I'm not sure what you mean. A clip will stay put unless you move it or unless you have ripple editing engaged. Have you experienced otherwise?

[J_Barnes]

Ahh, david...the Sage of Vegas.

WHat I was looking for is something to prevent me from being able to actually move the clip while allowing me to change the durations. *Similar to a ripple trim edit in FCP.

Specifically this will be an edit of a live event with mutiple cameras running throughout the event. *I was planning to put each camera on a seperate track in the edit, and once all of the video tracks are synched, I don't want the individual tracks to lose sync because I'll be using a single constant audio track of the event. *

I'd like to be able to change the ins and outs of individual video tracks without moving them in the timeline so that I'm effectively doing an edited "live to tape" cut.

[David Jimerson]

I'm pretty sure you can, but not having it in front of me, I'll have to check later (unless someone else answers before that). It's probably fairly simple, just different from what you're used to.

[David Jimerson]

I didn't get a whole lot of chance to look at it last night, but I didn't immediately see a way to do what you want.

But as for locking the clip in place, I think you're overthinking it. *Like I said, it will stay put as long as you don't move it, and if you happen to accidentally move it, an undo will put it back. *Once you have it set to the length you want, you can right-click and choose "switches," and check "lock." *Then you can't move or change it as long as the lock is on.

Will continue to look for the typed-in duration, though. *Seems to me it's in there somewhere.