how to create a 'shadow' effect?

[clang]

Vegas's Text Media Generator has a 'shadow' option for adding shadows to text. I'd like to be able to do something similar for any video event or track, so that a object in one track will cast a shadow on lower tracks. (I'm talking about objects with transparent areas due to alpha channel information.)

I can't see any filter/effect that will do this, so I'm thinking I'd need to: create an additional track, copy the main track content, then somehow turn the second track into a solid black 'shadow' version of the first (this is the bit I can't work out), before offsetting the second track and lowering its transparency? Or perhaps there's some better way...

Has anyone done this or something similar? I'm using Vegas 11, if that makes any difference.

 

[El Director]

Might be time to add After Effects to your toolset. It'd be super easy to do there, and you can import your Vegas timeline directly into it without rendering using an EDL =)

 

[clang]

I think I've worked it out myself - create the shadow layer using the 'black silhouette' method as per http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?206098-black-silhouette-creation&highlight=silhouette . It's a little clumsy, but works well enough.

 

[David Jimerson]

You can also simply duplicate the layer underneath the original, use CC or Levels or something to turn it all black, lower the opacity, and then use Track Motion or 3D Track Motion to move it into place. You say it already has an alpha channel, so you should be able to do this.