Sony Vegas 5 Manual

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1.Click the Event Pan/Crop button ( ) on the event.
2.Drag the handles (small boxes) located around the perimeter of the selection area to change the size.
3.Move the mouse to middle of the selection area until the cursor changes to a move icon ( ). Drag the 
selection area to reposition it.
Be aware of the following as you crop a video event: 
To keep the selection area centered as you resize, select the 
Size About Center button ( ).
To maintain the proportion of the selection area, select the 
Lock Aspect Ratio button ( ).
To prevent distortion of the source media file, ensure that 
Maintain aspect ratio is is set to Ye s.
To restore the selection area to full frame, right-click the image and choose 
Restore from the shortcut 
menu.
To set the selection area to a standard aspect ratio proportion, choose a preset from the 
Preset drop-down 
list.
When using photographs or other media that is not the same frame aspect as your video, youll see black 
bars on the sides or above and below the image.  To create a crop rectangle that matches the project frame 
aspect, right-click the image and choose 
Match Output Aspect from the shortcut menu.
The cropping occurs instantly and the results are updated in the Video Preview window. Cropping applies to 
the entire event and can be animated with keyframes. For more information, see Using keyframe animation on 
page 237. 
Bézier masks
Use the controls in the Path heading on the left side of the Event Pan/Crop dialog to create masks using 
Bézier curves. Each event can contain multiple Bézier masks.
When you use a single setting for the duration of an event, you are masking the contents of the event. You 
can add keyframes to change the shape, size, or position of the mask to create an animated effect.
Creating a Bézier mask
1.
From the To o l s menu, choose Video, and choose Video Event Pan/Crop (or click the Event Pan/Crop button 
( ) on the event). The Event Pan/Crop window is displayed.
2.Select the Mask row in the keyframe controller. When the Mask row is selected, Bézier curve-drawing 
tools are displayed so you can create your mask. 
3.Select the Mask check box to apply the mask so you can see the results of your masking in the Video 
Preview window, or clear the check box to bypass the mask.
Tracks Mask Output 
						

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4.Select the anchor creation tool ( ) on the left side of the Event Pan/Crop window and click in the 
workspace to create a mask. See the following table for a description of the tools behavior.
Tip: Right-click the curve, choose Initialize Tangents, and 
choose a command from the submenu to smooth the path (or 
portions of the path) to help you get started with your editing.
Editing the path
Use the tools on the left edge of the Event Pan/Crop window to edit your mask.
Icon Tool Description
Normal Edit Use to select and edit control points and tangents.
Click a point to select it, or drag to move the point.
Hold   while clicking to select/deselect multiple points.
Hold   and click a segment to select all points on the path. The pointer is displayed as a . 
Hold  +  while clicking an anchor point to invert the selection state of each anchor on the path. The 
pointer is displayed as a  .
Drag a segment between two anchor points to modify the tangents on each side of the segment. The pointer is 
displayed as a  .
Hold   while clicking an existing point in a closed path to show or hide the tangents. The pointer is 
displayed as a  .
Drag a tangent control to manipulate the curve. Both sides of the tangent control move about the anchor point. 
The pointer is displayed as a  .
Hold   while dragging a tangent control to split the halves of the control and adjust them independently or 
join the two halves of the control if the tangent was previously split.
Anchor 
CreationUse to create control points.
Click to create an anchor point. Drag before releasing the mouse button to modify the tangents of the new 
point.
Click the first or last point of an open path to close the path. The tool is displayed as a  . Drag before 
releasing the mouse button to move the entire path.
Click between two anchor points to create a new point. The tool is displayed as a  .
If all paths are closed, click to create a new path.
Anchor 
DeletionUse to remove control points.
Split 
TangentUse to adjust control point tangents. 
Click a point to display tangent controls, or click the center of a tangent control to reset it.
Drag center of the tangent control to manipulate the curve. Both sides of the tangent control move about the 
anchor point. The pointer is displayed as a  .
Drag the point at either end of the tangent control to manipulate that half of the curve. The pointer is displayed 
as a  . 
Hold   while dragging a tangent control to split the halves of the control and adjust them independently or 
join the two halves of the control if the tangent was previously split.
Ctrl
Alt
AltShift
Ctrl
Ctrl
Shift 
						

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Setting path options
1.
Select a path with the Normal Edit tool  .
2.Expand the Path heading on the left side of the window to set options for the selected path.
3.Choose a setting from the Mode drop-down list to choose the selected paths masking behavior. 

Positive — The area inside the path is visible in your video output.

Negative — The area outside the path is visible in your video output. The area inside the path is 
transparent.

Disabled — The path is bypassed.
4.Select the Anti alias box and choose Ye s or No from the drop-down list to indicate whether you want to 
apply an anti alias filter to smooth the edges of the path.
5.Select the Opacity box and type a value in the box (or click the   to display a slider) to set the opacity of 
the area inside the path.
6.Select the Feather type box and choose a setting from the drop-down list to fade the edges of the path. 

In — Feathering is applied to the inside edge of the path.

Out — Feathering is applied to the outside edge of the path.

Both — Feathering is applied to both sides of the path.

None — No feathering is applied.
7.Select the Feather % box and type a value in the box (or click the   to display a slider) to set the amount 
of feathering that is applied to the path. 
Rotating
You can also rotate the selection area in the Event Pan/Crop 
window. If you rotate the entire frame, the background 
behind the video shows through. Position, size, and rotation 
can all be animated with keyframes. For more information, see 
Using keyframe animation on page 237.
1.Click the Event Pan/Crop button ( ) on the event.
2.Resize and move the selection area as desired. For more 
information, see Cropping on page 188.
3.Move the mouse outside the selection area until it 
becomes a rotate icon ( ). Drag to rotate the selection 
area. Alternately, you may enter precise rotation values in 
the 
Angle (degrees) box. 
						

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Adding animation
Keyframe animation dramatically increases the variety of panning, zooming, and rotating effects you can 
create using the Event Pan/Crop window. A later chapter provides examples of zooming in on a still image 
and using pan-and-scan techniques. For more information, see Animating event panning and cropping on page 
241.
Working with still images
You can use still images for a number of purposes including slide shows, overlay graphics, and titles. You can 
insert still images into projects just like any other media files. The default length for a still image event when 
it is first added to a track is five seconds (this is an adjustable preference), but this duration can be modified 
by dragging the edges to create a still image event of any length. Images cannot be looped, but share many 
characteristics with video files, including transparency. In addition, you can use many of the same tools on 
image events that you can on video events, such as track motion, panning and cropping, and video effects 
plug-ins. For more information, see Zooming in on a still image on page 241.
Creating still images for use in Vegas software
Many image formats can be imported: BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF (requires QuickTime), PSD (flattened), 
and TGA. If you have the option to create PNG files in your graphics software, this is the recommended file 
type. PNG files use lossless compression and can also include alpha channel information, which is one of the 
cleanest methods of creating transparency for overlays. an alpha channel can automatically be detected, if 
present, in PNG files. 
Note: The alpha channel may not be automatically detected 
in TGA images. Right-click a TGA image in the Media Pool 
or an event on the timeline and choose 
Properties. Then, in 
the Media Properties dialog, select the type of alpha channel 
from the list.
If you know your media file has an alpha channel and it is not detected properly, right-click the media file in 
the Media Pool or an event on the timeline and choose 
Properties from the shortcut menu. Then, in the 
Media tab, select the appropriate alpha channel type from the Alpha channel drop-down list. Premultiplied is 
the recommended setting. You can save this setting so that the alpha channel is properly detected on other 
media files with the same properties. For more information, see Setting custom stream properties on page 205. 
						

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Correcting images for DV pixel aspect ratios
For best results when importing still images, create images that account for the pixel aspect ratio of your 
desired output format. Vegas software does a good job stretching images to fit the output format, but some 
distortion occurs if the pixel aspect ratio for the source format does not match the destination format. 
To calculate pixel aspect ratio correction, use this formula:
Output frame pixel width 
X Output format pixel aspect ratio = Still image pixel width
For example, this is the formula for NTSC DV format:
720 (DV screen frame pixel width) 
X .9091 (DV pixel aspect ratio)= 655 (pixel width)
Use these figures as a guide when creating images:
Full frame, pixel-aspect-corrected still images for use in NTSC DV projects are 655x480.
Full frame, pixel-aspect-corrected still images for use in PAL DV projects are 787x576.
Capturing a timeline snapshot
You can create still images of a single frame of your project. Once saved, the snapshot can be used just like 
any other still image.
1.Position the cursor on the frame of the project you wish to capture as a still image.
2.Click the Save Snapshot to File button ( ) on the Video Preview window. The Image Filename dialog 
appears.
3.Select a file format (JPEG or PNG) and enter a name for the new still image file.
4.Click Save. The image is added to the Media Pool.  
						

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Creating a slide show
A slide show composed of still images and an accompanying soundtrack can be an excellent way to show off 
your pictures. You can insert multiple images to instantly create a slide show, complete with crossfades. 
Importing high-resolution still images and using panning, cropping, and track motion tools can add interest 
to an otherwise static slide show. For more information, see Cropping video on page 187 and Adding track motion 
on page 245.
1.In the Options menu, verify that Automatic Crossfades is selected.
2.From the Options menu, choose Preferences. Adjust the following settings on the Editing tab:
Enter the length for the still images in the 
New still image length box.
Select 
Automatically overlap multiple selected media when added. 
Enter the length of the automatic overlap in the 
Amount box in the Cut-to-overlap conversion section of 
the dialog.
3.Click OK. The Preferences dialog closes.
4.Select all of the images you want to use in the Explorer.
5.Right-click and drag these files to the timeline.
6.From the shortcut menu, choose Add Across Time.
If you want, you can replace the crossfades between images by dragging transitions to the crossfade regions at 
a later time. For more information, see Using transition effects on page 231.
Note: When using photographs or other media that is not the 
same frame aspect as your video, youll see black bars on the 
sides or above and below the image.  To create a crop 
rectangle that matches the project frame aspect, right-click the 
image and choose 
Match Output Aspect from the shortcut 
menu.
Creating titles
Most video projects include titles and credits. There are two ways to add text to your project. You can use the 
titling engine (text generator) or you can use an external image-editing program to create titles. For more 
information, see Using generated media on page 213. 
						

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Creating titles from images
While every software application is slightly different, the general procedure for creating titles with a 
transparent background is as follows.
1.Start your image-editing application.
2.From the File menu, choose New. Set the dimensions of the new image to be the same as the frame size for 
the project. For more information, see Correcting images for DV pixel aspect ratios on page 193. Make the 
default canvas (background) color a solid color. The background will be transparent in the final image, so 
any solid color works.
3.Select the Text tool and enter the text for your title.
Note: Size and position your titles carefully to fit within the 
Title Safe Area or the titles may extend beyond the edges of 
your television. For more information, see Identifying safe 
areas on page 258.
4.From the File menu, choose Save As.
5.From the Save as type drop-down list, choose TGA, PNG, PSD or BMP (PNG is recommended). Make 
sure that you save the alpha channel information (for TGA and PNG), which is used for transparency.
6.Enter a name and click Save.
7.Insert the image in a track just above the one with the video that will be in the background. 
8.Click the Compositing Mode button ( ) on the title track and choose Source Alpha if your image has an 
alpha channel associated with it. If it does not, you may need to add a chroma key filter to the image and 
key out the background. For more information, see Chroma keying on page 228.
The alpha channel is saved as a selection area in some 
programs. If you cannot save the alpha channel, use a black 
background and a mask will be created from the background. 
The alpha channel of TGA images may not be detected 
automatically. For more information, see Modifying media 
file properties on page 204. 
						

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Fading titles
Another common technique is to fade a still title in and out. You can create this effect by using an opacity 
envelope on a title event. For more information, see Using opacity envelopes on page 139.
You can also create multiple title images and then use crossfades or custom transitions between them. For 
more information, see Using transition effects on page 231.
Adding closed captioning to Windows Media Video (WMV) files
Closed captioning makes your final video accessible to a wider audience. You can use text commands to add 
captions line-by-line to a Windows Media
® Video (WMV) file, or for longer projects, you can add 
captioning from a script.
Adding closed captioning line-by-line
1.Position the cursor where you want the closed captioning 
text to appear.
2.From the Insert menu, choose Command. The Command 
Properties dialog appears.
3.From the Command drop-down list, choose Te x t.
4.In the Parameter box, enter the closed captioning text you 
want to display.
5.Click OK.
6.Repeat steps 1-5 for each line of closed captioning text you want to add.
7.Render your file in Windows Media Video format. For more information, see Rendering a project on page 271.
Tip: Take steps to ensure that the closed captioning displays 
when the video is played. For more information, see 
Displaying closed captioning on page 198.
Adding closed captioning from a script
Using a script to generate closed captioning involves several steps. First, you must copy and paste the lines 
from the script into a spreadsheet. You can create the spreadsheet from scratch (using the steps that follow) 
or use the sample shell (Vegas Captioning Shell.txt) provided in the Samples folder on the Vegas software 
CD. You can open this tab-delimited shell with a spreadsheet application or, in the absence of a spreadsheet 
application, any text editor.
Once the spreadsheet is complete, you can copy and paste the lines into the Edit Details window. You can 
set the position for each line of closed captioning during playback. 
						

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Creating a script spreadsheet
1.
Create a four-column, tab-delimited spreadsheet.
2.In the first column, enter 00:00:00:00 in each of the cells as a placeholder. You will set the actual position 
of each line during playback.
3.In the second column, enter TEXT in each of the cells to specify the command type.
4.In the third column, enter the text that you want to display as a closed caption. Enter each line in its own 
cell.
Tip: If you have a script, you can copy and paste individual 
lines into the cells.
5.In the fourth column, enter a label to identify your captions. An entry such as Line 001 can help you sort 
the captions once you paste them into your Vegas project.
Note: The final caption displays in the Microsoft® Windows 
Media
® Player until the end of the video. To clear the final 
caption sooner, add a final command with no text (as shown 
above). 
						

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Copying and pasting captions into Vegas software
1.
Select the cells in the spreadsheet and copy them.
2.Switch to Vegas software and choose Edit Details from the View menu. The Edit Details window appears.
3.From the Show drop-down list, choose Commands.
4.Right-click the gray box in the upper-left corner and choose Paste from the shortcut menu. The 
spreadsheet data is pasted into the Edit Details window.
5.Click the column header for the Comments column. This sorts the captions by line number.
Setting closed captioning timing
1.
Position the cursor shortly before where you want the first caption to occur.
2.Select the row for the first caption in the Edit Details window.
3.Click the Play button ( ) to start playback.
4.When playback reaches the place where the first caption should 
occur, press  . The first caption is inserted at the cursor 
position, updates the 
Po s i t i o n setting in the Edit Details window, 
and selects the next caption.
5.Press   to insert each subsequent caption.
6.Render your file in Windows Media Video format. For more information, see Rendering a project on page 271.
Displaying closed captioning
You may use one of two methods for displaying the closed captioning when the video is played:
Instruct your audience to turn on captioning. In Windows Media Player 7 and 8, choose 
Now Playing 
Tools
 from the View menu and choose Captions from the submenu.
Create an HTML page with the Windows Media Player embedded in it. See the online help for a 
sample HTML page.
Click the Comments column header
to sort the captions by line number.Right-click to paste the spreadsheet
contents into the Edit Details window.
Ctrl+K
Ctrl
+K