I have Vegas 5, but is it really enough?

Norm Sanders

Norm Sanders

Script Wrangler
Sheesh, I am SO over whelmed by all the choices out there ... I'm also a sucker for advertising, so I put a LOT of weight into forums such as these to get field experience feedback vs. some college educated marketing guy who's skilled at getting into my psyche.

I've got Vegas 5 & DVD Architect 2. I also have just purchased the DVX100A. I want to buy everything I see, but I still need to learn how to use what I have more proficiently ... I've self taught myself from scratch, and have never watched anyone else (no mentor, training, etc.), so I'm sure I've got a long way to go. However, with that said, I'm a living testament to how user friendly Vegas is as I edited a 60 second movie teaser that's rec'd raves from hollywood producers & editing houses alike (trust me, total luck).

Now that you've heard a little bit of back ground & whining, what does everyone think of SERIOUS MAGIC's software such as DVRACK, ULTRA, etc. I've head Vegas has a good chroma keyer, but can it do what ULTRA claims? Has anyone used DVRACK?

What about some of ULead's products? I've heard some people say it's better than Architect's for flexibility. I'm really looking to create DVD's like the pros do that you see on the DVD menus you rent from Blockbuster, etc., and am not convinced I can do that on Architect ... or can it even be done on a consumer PC/Software? I also know ULead has a pretty impressive 3D program that's very inexpensive & easy to use.

Are there great add-ons to Vegas that can give it some of the great 3D or pre-packaged effects/transitions that come with Pinnacle Liquid & some of the other prosumer editing packages? I love Vegas ... just want to have as much ability for professional broadcast level looks as possible.

I wish I had a professional shopper that could just pick out what I needed for that "best bang for the buck" package(s).

If anyone's curious to see that movie teaser I spoke of, it's at www.discordthemovie.com ... we're nearing pre-production, and looking to shoot Feb '05. It was my 3rd editing attempt/project ever.

Thanks for any feedback/help, and sorry my bit's so stinkin' long!
 
Re: I have Vegas 5, but is it really enough?

Slow down there fella...why don't you wait until Vegas proves to be insufficient before you go spending any more money.

I'm looking into the DVrack stuff myself, and I really like the idea of it, but I'm not buying it yet because I don't have a legitimate financial reason to do so.

Every piece of hardware or software that you put into your edit system robs a dollar from your production budget. Your broadcast level look comes much more from how you shoot things then how you edit or process them, and if you're really getting rave reviews...you're doing something right already.

I just watched your trailer...so let me ask, in the editing of it...where did you find deficiencies in your post workflow or capabilities? If there were any, were they significant enough to justify changing your procedures or tools?

Honestly, it looks pretty good to me, so I suspect you're just feeling anxious about your abilites in post. I'd say that you should wait until your needs really justify spending more. If you're going to be doing extensive chroma keying, perhaps you should do some screen tests to see if vegas can do what you need.

See if ULTRA has a trial version that you can test out. Hell, might as well enter the contest over at serious magic while you're at it.
 
Re: I have Vegas 5, but is it really enough?

I've used Vegas' keyer as compared to Ultra, and Ultra's pretty good but Vegas is completely adequate for most uses.

DVD Architect 2 can do amazing things, including animated movie menu transitions just like the Hollywood movies do.

As for DV Rack, DV Rack is the bomb, and if you're considering buying it, buy it NOW because they have a $200 rebate on it! So it's $295 after rebate, which is absurdly cheap for all that it does!
 
Re: I have Vegas 5, but is it really enough?

Barry, correct me if I'm wrong, but the DVRACK is really only going to be helpful when shooting, right? I don't have a laptop that's nice enough to run the program on, so it's likely a ways out in the future before being able to find out about its benefits personally.

Thanks J_Barnes, you're right about knowing how to use what I have being the most important ... one of the reason's I've ordered Barry's DVX book. I've always considered I have great instincts for editing, but have always felt lacking in image acquisitions ... hopefully, that's something I can become proficient at soon.

I'm probably like a lot of you. After I've created something, I think it's great & want to show the world. Then, after veiwing it multiple times I begin to doubt myself, see things I wish I had done differently, eventually not really that happy with it at all. It's just the perfectionist in me, and competetive nature as well ... always wanting to do better. It also causes me to doubt the stuff I have, and think the newer toys will produce better results.

Broadcast quality graphics, and wanting to make things look like they do on ESPN, or the football stats is what I really want to work on ... probably have to learn Adobe Aftereffects for that?
 
Re: I have Vegas 5, but is it really enough?

Well, AE is definitely better-suited to flashy visual effects, yes. But Vegas really is the little editor that could.
 
Re: Envisions web site

Re: Envisions web site

he-he I could play in the water all day.

Cool Java site.
 
Re: I have Vegas 5, but is it really enough?

I also have Vegas 5 and DVDA 2 and I can say that MOST things that I need to create can be created easily in these two programs. Especially now that Vegas has the new 3D "compositing" track keyframing WITH child behaviour (man, I've never tried to describe that functionality in one sentence!) Also, as Barry said, the Vegas keyer is quite adequate for most situations. The only reason I would use Combustion/AE would be for the motion tracking and and particle effects.

In another thought, you could also try WAX if you want a little more functionality. It has a VERY limited 3D capability and is a little hard to figure out, but it 's free.

Here's the link:

http://www.debugmode.com/
 
Re: I have Vegas 5, but is it really enough?

[quote author=Envision link=board=Vegas;num=1099985284;start=0#3 date=11/10/04 at 16:43:46]Barry, correct me if I'm wrong, but the DVRACK is really only going to be helpful when shooting, right? [/quote]
Right. DV Rack is really only useful for shooting. You can use it to view your files through the waveform and vectorscope in post, but by then it's a little too late.
 
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