Just when I thought........

[bfisher]

I started my video career last January (2008). Editing was a real chore. I went with Power Director 6 and found that to be a disasterous program. Someone suggested ULead so I got ULead 11.5+. I got along OK with it and learned how do some decent editing, but the program crashes like a drunk driver and skips on the audio likeabunch of girls jumping rope.

Just when I thought I was getting to know what I was doing I just loaded Sony Vegas Platinum 9 w/Pro Pack. Looks like I'll be starting all over again.

 

[Video rookie]

I personally use Sony Vegas Pro 8 and I really like it. I've found it to be very stable even with Vista. I must admit I've never tried any of the programs mentioned above, but I think you will be very happy with that version of Sony Vegas.

 

[robint]

Editing is such a HUGE part of underwater video - and it will make or break the quality of the final video product. It is easy to tell who spent time editing and who didn't. Editing software is an important part of the process - some like Vegas, some like Pinnacle Studio, some like Adobe Premier. Ronscuba, here on SB, uses Vegas so he might be able to give you some help with it.

I had some frustrations in the beginning with Pinnacle Studio v10. I didn't realize that the bigger the file, the more often you must hit save or the program will lock up and crash. I was almost always able to restart the program right where I left off but there were a few times I lost quite a bit of editing. I never had problems with sound though. That could be your processor on your computer more than the program.... Just a guess.
After feeling like Pinnacle wasn't working for me I switched to Vegas, but didn't like the format and thought that Pinnacle was waaay more user friendly. So I went back to Pinnacle Studio. Now I am fanatical about saving every minute or two at the most. It is only 1 click, taking 1 second, and saves me all the frustrations I had before. I plan to upgrade to Pinnacle V.12 which just came out and hope that all the new features will make it even better.


Happy editing!

robin

 

[danpass]

Windows Movie Maker for me lol.

Latest sample: YouTube - Stuart Coves Snorkel Bahamas Shark Freedive


.

 

[ronscuba]

Vegas has been very stable for me. My editing style tends to be very basic. Simple transitions, a little color correction, audio volume, narration overlapping background audio, simple titles, maybe a little picture in picture. I'm not an expert, but feel free to ask me any questions.

I find 2 forum discussion groups very valuable. You can post a question or use the search feature. Most questions have already been asked and answered. One thing that may be confusing is Vegas has many ways to do the same thing, so you will probably see different answers to the same question.

Anyway, here are the 2 forums I like for Vegas:
Sony Creative Software - Forums - Vegas Movie Studio
What Happens in Vegas... - The Digital Video Information Network

 

[Empty V]

If I wasn't on FCP then Vegas would be my next choice, I even like it better than Avid. I think the interface is well laid out and easy to navigate through. Plus it's not all purple and grey. I'd learn the in's and out's because the more you know about the tools you've got, the more capable of an editor you are.

Billy

 

[bfisher]

OK Ronscuba,, just a quick one here. I haven't had much of a chance to work with Veagas yet. At first it would not recognize my HC7 so I had to update my drivers for the camcorder.

I've played a little, inserting some clips from tape used on previous videos (I've made a total of three videos). In ULead during editing there is an "auto white balance" feature in the color correction menu. Clicking on this brings thing so close to what I actually see underwater that very little actual color correction is necessary.

My question is----does Vegas 9 have this feature? If so then how do I access it?
Or is it up to me to do everything freehand, so to speak?

Eventually I'll sit down and work some of this stuff out. I just need to get familar with it. Probably the best way to get anything done is to get some new footage to work with. I guess that means another dive trip, which is only 4 weeks away.

 

[ronscuba]

OK, I'm not an expert, but I'll give a try.

I'm not aware of a single auto white balance button.

To correct color, including white, I use 3 wheel color correction. Highlight the clip you want to correct and select the color correction effects option. A new window will pop up with 3 separate color wheels. Underneath the wheels are 2 eyedroppers. Click the left eye dropper under the righthand wheel, then on your clip in the preview window, click something that is suppossed to be white. You should see a color change and hopefully a good improvement.

I only color correct the clips that need it. To color correct everything on the track, use the same method as above, but start by highlighting the track and clicking the track effects button on the track title instead. Only problem with this method is everything will be color corrected to the same reference point. This will be ok, if all your clips have similar color problems.

Hope that works well for you.

 

[BDSC]

I started my video career last January (2008). Editing was a real chore. I went with Power Director 6 and found that to be a disasterous program. Someone suggested ULead so I got ULead 11.5+. I got along OK with it and learned how do some decent editing, but the program crashes like a drunk driver and skips on the audio likeabunch of girls jumping rope.

Just when I thought I was getting to know what I was doing I just loaded Sony Vegas Platinum 9 w/Pro Pack. Looks like I'll be starting all over again.

Here is another link I found quite helpful when I started out with the Vegas line of products. It gives you a lot of the basics.

Sony Creative Software - Training - Vegas Movie Studio

 

[bfisher]

Ok, thanks to both you guys. I guess I have some learning to do. That's where this thread started. I'm not afraid to play with things. I've already made my movies with ULead. Just that I think another program might give better quality, therefore I have to learn how to use something new.

I do have to admit that using that AWB in ULead was quite handy. Just click on it and it does the changes for you. No need to point to anything white or anything. A great time saver.