Adventures in finding an affordable NLE - Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum Production

P

prexdealer

Well-known member
Hi,

I was given a macbook pro for my birthday and it has inspired me to possibly edit a short that I want to shoot. I thought I had access to a cheap copy of CS5 but was mistaken.

It seems like Sony Vegas doesn't get a lot of love but I am wondering if it would be good for what I want to do. I just want to edit shorts (for now).

I was looking at the Sony Vegas Platinum Suite 11 (not the Pro). I have seen very cheap legit copies. I know I need to buy Windows 7 Professional (I want it anyway for some of my old pc programs).

I get that Suite 11 is 32 bit and can only use 2GB of ram. I also understand there is no masking tool, which would have been nice.

I have been studying youtube tutorials by TemporalParadox1 who has been great explaining the process of editing and using proxy files.

BOTTOM LINE: Is it a good tool to get started with?

Additional Questions:
1) Is proxy editing painful (with all respect to those who edit this way)?
2) Is what I learn from Vegas at all transferrable to other editors?
3) Via this bootcamp route will the GPU be used at all by Sony Vegas Suite 11?
4) This program doesn't use RED footage - is there a way to RED footage on it - do I use a proxy program to make the files usable?

Thanks.
 
Vegas is good, very underrated IMHO. Once you learn Vegas switching to another editor (if you feel the need) will be much easier. You won't need masking for awhile, lots to learn before then.

1) YES proxy editing sucks, I did it for one project and it was a pain in the ass. But then I upgraded my computer (6 core 3.2 gig AMD, lots of ram, fast HD). Now I don't need to.

2) Yes and no, it depends on what the other editors are using. And you can always render clips out to a basically lossless codec like DNxHD, lagarith, Cinaform ETC. But to send an entire project they would probably also need to use Vegas, not to mention it's going to be huge and take days transferring the raw footage.

3) Don't know. But if you have a fast CPU you don't need GPU acceleration. I never use it on my system.

4) It says on the website Vegas Pro can use RED (.r3d) raw files. You have access to a RED camera!?!?

For the Price I don't think Vegas can't be touched, I recommend you buy at least the Platinum or Platinum-suit version for the Customizable render templates. http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiope/compare
 
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Lowlypawn,

Hi and thanks for the reply. I was looking at the Studio mainly.

I live in LA and never know if maybe I will do something with someone who has a red. Just wondering how I could use it on the non Pro version of vegas. I wonder if red footage can be converted to another codec that can be used by Vegas (non pro). Red is 4k so even some loss of resolution would still be pretty good right?

I have a MBP. It has an i7, 4GB RAM (gonna upgrade to 16), 750GB HD (5400-gonna get a faster external hdd), AMD Radeon HD 6770 GPU with 1 GB. So do you think in Vegas Studio I can edit natively?

Which version of Vegas do you have?

Thanks.
 
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I have Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 production suite (I know ridiculously long name). It's been a very good program and taught me a lot about video editing.

I have no idea how to convert Red 4k footage. But I don't think you would want to. The idea with 4K footage is to use the extra resolution to do panning and cropping during the editing phase and not lose any resolution. If you do start working with someone who has a RED camera I recommend you save your nickels and upgrade to Vegas Pro :)

I believe your computer will be more then fast enough to edit 1080 video smoothly.
 
Thanks so much for the info. Excited about not having to use proxy files (I hope :) )

Mainly working with DSLR footage.

Have a great day!
 
Vegas is highly underrated, people always hating for some reason. For what it's worth, I'd recommend just going Vegas Pro with 64bit. The consumer versions tend to limit you a lot and it would be a good idea to get something that you an grow into. No one really uses proxy files anymore, and if your computer can't handle the footage (which I doubt) then you can always go through intermediates (like cineform, which is actually free now).
 
A few suggestions:
1) In case you don't know Vegas Pro can periodically be upgraded via the Sony website to the latest version for about $150. This is usually shortly after a new version is released, but I think the promo also ran about 2 months ago. An old ebay version of Vegas pro, as long as serial no is legit, works.
2) AFAIK there were some rumors about a future Mac version of Vegas. Sony did recently release a new high end audio editor for both Win and Mac, so could be a sign of the future or the rumors were in fact about the audio editor.
3) If you need to transcode Red footage in the future, download RedCine-X at Red.com (free)
 
I picked up a brand new sealed copy of Vegas Pro 8 on Amazon for $200. Keep an eye out and you can find bargains.
 
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