I've got a bunch of questions...

[reddPLANET]

I'm new to Vegas and I'm very frustrated.  I apologize for any form of retardation I may present in my lack of understanding of what's going on, but I cannot figure out what the hell is going on and any tips would greatly be appreciated.  Let me try to lay out as many details as possible as to better assist you in assisting me.

I use a dvx100a.  I shot the footage in 24p, which I'm thinking I shoulda shot in 24pa based on some of the stuff I've read on here.  Moving on... I'm using Vegas 4.

- I captured my footage following the instructions in the Help menu for 24p, yet when i'm ediitng my project it says 29.970 in the preview window for both project and preview.
- I get jitters in slomo.  All footage is in 24p.  Didn't do the switch to 60i, and don't forsee myself ever realistically doing that, since I don't know in advance which shots I'm gonna end up putting in slomo.  It doesn't jitter when I do it half speed, but other variations yes, so I just need to stick to half speed?
- Dropped frames?  Would that be the correct term for it?  It looks like a glitch or a jump.  i think it's a dropped frame.  What is doing this???  It's killing me!  How do I prevent it?
- I render it to 24p architect (even though I'm not using architect, that's just what the template is called... that's the way it's supposed to be right?) and freaking it's different every time, and probably half of the time, the audio isn't rendering!  Why not?!  Ahhh... it's so frustrating.  I'll do everything the same, and then all of the sudden the next time i render it, the audio is there, oh but  then something is super jittery... i just can't win  
-reduced interlace flicker... i tried understanding in other posts what exactly this does and when and when not to use it, but i'm still not clear
- when capturing... full resolution rendering quality... what does this mean?  should i always just choose best if everything I'm editing I want the best results?  that seems like an easy, dumb question... sorry...
- audio resample quality... good?  best?  i wanna make the best video i can, so, again, "best" seems like the best choice... am i right?
-motion blur and deinterlaced... the help menu didn't really help me all that much... i don't understand which one to use...
- and has anyone had any success with the film grain video fx

ok, i think that's all that is bothering me right now... i appreciate any help you can give me... oh geez, i just thought of another big important question:

i'm raised on pc, and i love the ease in upgraded and all that stuff... i'm not made of money, but i've been saving up and i want to get a computer that is solely for editing and i'm contemplating on getting the 2.5 g5 and switching to fcp (especially if i don't get these problems solved) aside from the apple/pc debate ****, honestly, does anyone know if fcp truly has better codecs, especially for mpeg2?  mac users obviously tell me this, and my buddy workin for fox searchlight said the same, but are they just biased or is it true?

thank you for viewing and posting... i'm sorry for seeming so retarded, but i've read over so many forums and reread that damn help menu and i'm still lost... and thank you to Barry, Jive and David for being so freaking helpful on these forums... I can't wait to name my children after you...

 

[scharky]

Re: I've got a bunch of questions...

ok, ok, slow down. Most of your questions will be solved in just one simple step.

First, it doesn't matter how you capture your footage, it is all captured at 60i. It also doesn't matter what program you capture your footage in, it is really just like a file transfer. Now, when you want to edit a 24p project as 24p, start a new project. In the project presets choose one of the 24p settings (widescreen or normal). That will get rid if jittery footage, interlaced frames and whatnot.

Dropped frames can occur during the capture process, however, your computer will let you know that it dropped a frame. If it doesn't that means that the camera itself has dropped a frame, and that maybe the heads need a good cleanin.

You only need to choose best if you are going to be doing a lot of resising and or slowing down of your footage, if not, choose good.

You shouldnt have to add any deinterlacing filters, infact, never deinterlace your dvx footage, you will just be throwing away half of the resolution, and ending up with the same motion.

As far as final cut pro goes, I havn't used it a whole lot, but I can tell you that it is much more confusing than vegas. As far as codec quality, I highly doubt that the FCP Mpeg 2 codec is it's own, and that it is any better than the main concept mpeg 2 that vegas/premiere uses. Vegas I have actaully found to have some of the best results as far as clarity and overall quality of the mpeg codec.

Hope this helps
remember, project settings are key, after that everything else should fall into place.