Sony Vegas Pro 9 questions. (PLEASE HELP!)

aifilmmaker

aifilmmaker

Active member
Okay, so I guess I'm trying to figure out my editing program (Sony Vegas Pro 9), and I have a couple of (Realtively simple) questions:


First off: If I want to cut to a black screen, how would I do that? I tried getting just an image of blackness, then putting it in he timeline, but I want to know how to make it stay there for a specific amount of time. Anyone Know how to do this?

Getting Text into the timeline: I need help figuring out how to put text nto the footage on the timeline.

Lastly: How do I put Media FX into the footage on the timeline?

Text: How Do I make the text appear for a certain amountof time?

Thanks. I know these question are noob-ish, but I'm new to this
 
I could only find tutorials on one of the things I'm looking for. (the Text, and it still didn't explain how to keep it there for a certain amount of time) I need the rest explained to me.
 
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Hi.. Using text is fairly easy. First INSERT a "Video Track" just for your text usage. You should already have a "Video Track" for your actual video footage. Make the new Video Track active by clicking on it. Then click on INSERT, go down the drop down list and click on TEXT MEDIA. A new window will open and it will have the word "SAMPLE" where the text should be placed. Highlight (drag across) the word SAMPLE and type the text you want to use. Just above the word SAMPLE, you will see the font name (Arial). click on the drop down menu and you can change it to a different type face. The word SAMPLE is 72 points in size. If you have a lot of text, you can reduce the type face size by selecting a smaller number, for example 32. Next you can choose BOLD or IALIC style and then you can choose to have the type with a LEFT margin, Centered or a RIGHT Margin.

Click on PLACEMENT and you can move the entire block of type around . For example, if you want a "lower third" name and title of a head and shoulder background video person, move the type face down. There are guide lines that represent a SAFE AREA to keep the type visable. PROPERTIES will allow you
to select a background color and a TEXT color . THE EFFECTS choice will allow you to add a DROP SHADOW to the text, a complete OUTLINE around your Text... and DEFORMATION will allow you to change the overall appearance of the type... The best way to learn DEFORMATION is make a few selections and PLAY with the results.

TIME DESIGNATIONS are across the top of the work space area. AFTER you INSERT the text, you can manage time elements right on the VIDEO TRACK. If you want the text to stay "on screen" for 15 seconds, place your cursor at the edge of the text block, left click and drag the block out until it is 15 seconds long.
You can click on the center of the text block and move the entire block, left or right along the time line so it begins (appears) in the right place and ends at the correct place. When you "play" the video, the TEXT will suddenly appear on screen, stay on for the length of the text block, and then suddenly disappear.
IF you want the type to "fade in and fade out" place your cursor at the top of the text block at the front edge. The cursor will change from an arrow (normal) to a triangle. Click and hold the cursor and drag it toward the center. You will see a curved line that represents the video signal strength. The front edge, lower left represents zero and as the curve moves up toward the top of the text frame it gets stronger, with the very top representing 100 percent video strength. Do the same (except in reverse) at the trailing end to fade the text out.

Practice and play with the above and it will quickly become a simple operation for you. Good Luck!

aifilmmaker said:
I could only find tutorials on one of the things I'm looking for. (the Text, and it still didn't explain how to keep it there for a certain amount of time) I need the rest explained to me.
Click to expand...
 
I have one more problem:

I tried rendering something I cut together, and when I was done rendering it and tried to play it, it was only the audio, and the video portion of it was just a black screen. I rendered it in .avi . Also, when I tried to open it in quicktime it said It "might need additional add-ons to play the media". I think for some weird reason only the audio got through the render. What's the problem and how can I fix this?
 
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aifilmmaker said:
I have one more problem:

I tried rendering something I cut together, and when I was done rendering it and tried to play it, it was only the audio, and the video portion of it was just a black screen. I rendered it in .avi . Also, when I tried to open it in quicktime it said It "might need additional add-ons to play the media". I think for some weird reason only the audio got through the render. What's the problem and how can I fix this?
Click to expand...

Whatever you used to play the video, didn't have the codec installed for the video. Thus you got audio only. The AVI container can have probably over 100 different video types in it. Quicktime is a Macintosh native player. As such, it's about the poorest choice to play back an AVI (windows native) file you could find. If you want to play back things with Quicktime, I suggest you render to a .MOV container, or .MP4. If you want to continue to render to AVI, you need to learn more about what codec choices you're making, and I'd recommend playing back with Windows Media Player.

I know you're new at this, but really, you're going to need to start learning some very basic concepts or you're just going to beat your head against a wall for a long time. Some basic tutorials should set you on your way though.
 
Thanks. Do you think VLC media player would be a smarter option if I were to just render in .avi and .mov from now on?
 
VLC is certainly a good option. The only caution I will give is that it quite often does not show the colors exactly right. So something may appear brighter or darker than it is in actuality. That said, I use VLC as my default player on my editing machine. I also have quicktime, and windows media player there, and I look at my videos in all three before delivering them.
 
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