Sony Vegas 6 Manual

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Assigning audio tracks to busses
If your project contains multiple busses, you can assign a track to a specific bus.
This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.
1.Click the Bus button () in the track list to display a drop-down list of available busses. This button 
appears only if the project contains multiple busses. For more information, see Adding busses to a project on 
page 183.
2.From the drop-down list, choose the bus for the track’s output.
Adjusting bus send levels
When a track is routed to a bus, you can control the level of tracks sent to the bus using the multipurpose 
slider. The multipurpose slider in the track header can function as a trim control that adjusts the overall send 
level of the track, or it can adjust bus send automation settings. For more information, see Adjusting bus 
automation levels on page 159.
1.Click the Automation Settings button  and verify Show Automation Controls is not selected. 
2.Click the label on the multipurpose slider and choose an assignable effects 
chain from the menu. 
3.Drag the FX fader to control the level of the track sent to each of the 
assignable FX chains that you have created. Dragging the fader to the left 
cuts the volume; dragging to the right boosts the volume. 
You can hold  while dragging a fader to adjust the setting in finer 
increments, or double-click the fader to return it to 0 dB.
If multiple tracks are selected, the trim level of all selected tracks is adjusted.
Note: Bus sends are pre-volume by default. To change to 
post-volume, right-click the multipurpose slider and choose 
Post Volume from the shortcut menu.
For more information, see Adjusting a bus send level on page 186 or Assigning audio tracks to assignable effects 
chains on page 188.
Note: Multiple busses and assignable effects are only 
available in the full version of Vegas software.
Select a bus 
for playback
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Adjusting the composite level (video only)
The Level slider in the track header determines the opacity of the video track. The slider can function as a 
trim control that adjusts the overall opacity of the track, or it can adjust track composite level automation 
settings. For more information, see Adjusting the composite level automation settings on page 161.
The trim level is added to the composite level automation settings so your envelope is preserved, but with a 
boost or cut applied. For example, setting the trim control to -3% has the same effect as decreasing every 
envelope point by 3%.
1.Click the Automation Settings button  and verify Show Automation Controls is not selected. 
2.Drag the slider to control the transparency or blending of each track. Left is 
100% transparent and right is 100% opaque. You can also double-click the 
percent to enter a specific value.
Selecting the compositing mode
Click the Parent Overlay Mode or Compositing Mode button and choose a 
mode from the menu to determine how the transparency in a video track is 
generated. Since lower tracks show through higher tracks, it is the 
compositing mode of the higher track that determines how much of the 
lower track shows though. The compositing mode of the lowest video track 
adjusts its transparency against the background.
For more information, see Compositing on page 248.
Bypassing motion blur envelopes (video only)
This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.
If you applied a motion blur envelope to your video bus track (available only in the full version of Vegas 
software), this envelope affects all tracks. You can select specific tracks to bypass this envelope by clicking a 
track’s 
Bypass Motion Blur button (). For more information on motion blur envelopes, see Adding a motion blur 
envelope on page 162.
Using track motion (video only)
Use the Tr a c k  M o t i o n button () to move a video track over another track (i.e., picture-in-picture). For more 
information on adding track motion, see Adding track motion on page 281.
Phase inverting a track (audio only)
This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.
The Invert Track Phase button () inverts the audio track at its baseline, in effect reversing its polarity. 
Inverting a track, while creating little audible difference, is occasionally useful for matching transitions when 
mixing audio on separate tracks or fine-tuning a crossfade. 
You can also phase invert an audio event. If an event on a track is inverted and you invert the track, the 
event is doubly-inverted (restored to its original state). For more information, see Invert phase (audio only) on 
page 172.
Parent Overlay Mode
Compositing Mode 
						

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Muting a track
The Mute button () in the track list temporarily suspends playback of the track so that you can focus on 
another track. When a track is muted, it appears grayed out on the track view. You can mute more than one 
track at a time. The 
Mute button can mute a track or change its mute automation state. For more information, 
see Mute automation (audio and video) on page 156.
To mute a track, click the Automation Settings button  and verify Show Automation Controls is not 
selected. Next, click the 
Mute button. 
To mute several tracks, select the tracks and click the Mute button on any of the selected tracks. Click the 
Mute button again to restore the track(s).
Tip: Press  and click the Mute button to mute only the 
selected track (and restore any other muted tracks). If the 
selected track is already muted, press 
 and click the Mute 
button to restore all tracks.
When you have multiple levels of parent and child tracks, clicking the Mute 
button on a parent track mutes the parent track and its compositing children.
In the sample track list, muting track 1 will mute tracks 1 through 6. Muting 
track 4 will mute tracks 4 through 6.
Muting all audio or video tracks
You may mute either all audio or all video tracks in a project. From the Options 
menu, choose 
Mute All Audio or Mute All Video.
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Soloing a track
The Solo button () in the track list isolates a track’s events for playback. This allows you to focus on a track’s 
contents without the distraction of other tracks. You can solo more than one track at a time.
To solo a track, click the Solo button on that track. To solo several tracks, select 
the tracks and click the 
Solo button on any of the selected tracks. Click the Solo 
button again to restore the track(s) for playback.
Tip: Press  and click the Solo button to solo only the 
selected track (and restore any other soloed tracks). If the 
selected track is already soloed, press 
 and click the Solo 
button to restore all tracks.
When you have multiple levels of parent and child tracks, clicking the Solo 
button on a parent track solos the parent track and its compositing children. 
Other nonsoloed tracks at the same compositing level are bypassed.
In the sample track list, soloing track 1 will solo tracks 1 through 6.
Soloing track 4 will solo tracks 4 through 6. Tracks 2 and 3 are bypassed, and tracks 1 and 7 play normally.
Setting default track properties
You can use the settings of a selected track to determine the 
default settings for all new tracks in your project. Properties 
that can be set appear in the Set Default Track Properties 
dialog.
1.Set up a track in your project with the properties to use as 
default settings for new tracks.
2.Right-click the track number and choose Set Default Track 
Properties
. The Set Default Track Properties dialog 
appears. 
3.Select the check boxes that you want to set as defaults.
4.Click OK.
Any new tracks created in the project will have these defaults. To return to the original settings for new 
tracks, select the 
Restore original defaults check box in the Set Default Track Properties dialog.
Track automation envelopes
Track automation envelopes allow you to control volume, audio panning, opacity, and fade to color effects of 
a particular track over time. For more information, see Working with track envelopes on page 163.
Note: Automation recording is available only in the full 
version of Vegas software. In Vegas Movie Studio and Vegas 
movie Studio Platinum software, you can insert volume, 
mute, and panning envelopes and edit the envelopes in the 
timeline.
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Using audio bus tracks
This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.
From the View menu, choose Audio Bus Tracks to toggle the display of audio bus tracks at the bottom of the 
track view. An audio bus track exists for each bus or assignable effects chain in your project and serves as a 
timeline representation of each bus or assignable effects chain.
You can use bus tracks to automate volume, panning, and effect parameters using envelopes. For more 
information, see Bus automation (audio only) on page 158.
Adding envelopes to an audio bus track
Adding volume, panning, and effect automation envelopes to a bus track is just like adding an envelope to a 
standard track. For more information, see Composite level automation (video only) on page 161.
Adding effects to audio bus tracks
Click the Bus FX button () in the bus track header to add or edit bus effects. If there are no effects on the 
bus, clicking this button displays the Plug-In Chooser. If an audio bus already has effects assigned, clicking 
this button displays the Audio Plug-In window.
Clicking this button has the same effect as clicking the button on a bus control in the Mixer window or the 
Video Preview window.
If the bus effects chain includes plug-ins with automatable parameters, the Bus FX button is displayed as a 
.
Muting or soloing an audio bus track
Click the Mute () or Solo () button in the bus track header to mute or solo a bus.
Clicking these buttons on a bus track has the same effect as clicking the buttons on a bus control in the 
Mixer window.
Resizing audio bus tracks
You can drag the horizontal splitter between the track list and bus tracks to increase or decrease the space 
allocated to bus tracks. Perform any of the following actions to resize individual bus tracks:
 Drag a bus tracks bottom border to set its height.
 Click Minimize () to minimize a track vertically.
 Click Maximize () to zoom in vertically so a bus track fills the lower portion of the timeline.
 After minimizing or maximizing a bus track, click either button again to return a bus track to its previous 
height.
 Press ++/ when the bus track area has focus to resize all bus tracks at once.CtrlShift 
						

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Using video bus tracks
This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.
From the View menu, choose Video Bus Track to toggle the display of the video bus track at the bottom of the 
track view. A single bus track exists as a timeline representation of the main video output.
You can use bus tracks to animate video output effects using keyframes, add motion blur envelopes, or video 
supersampling envelopes.
Adding keyframes to the video bus track
Adding keyframes to the video bus track is just like working with any other video track. Use video bus track 
keyframes to animate video output effects. For information on adding keyframes, see Using keyframe animation 
on page 273.
Adding envelopes to the video bus track
You can add fade-to-color, motion blur amount, and video supersampling envelopes to the video bus track to 
affect your video output. For more information, see Working with track envelopes on page 163.
Adding effects to video bus tracks
Click the Video Output FX button () in the bus track header to add or edit video output effects. If there are 
no video output effects, clicking this button displays the Plug-In Chooser. If youve already set up video 
output effects, clicking the button displays the Video Output FX window.
Muting the video output
Click the Mute button () in the bus track header to mute all video output. 
Bypassing video effects and envelopes
Click the Bypass FX and Envelopes button () in the bus track header to bypass all video output effects and 
bus track envelopes.
Resizing video bus tracks
You can drag the horizontal splitter between the track list and bus tracks to increase or decrease the space 
allocated to bus tracks. Perform any of the following actions to resize individual bus tracks:
 Drag a bus tracks bottom border to set its height.
Click Minimize () to minimize a track vertically.
Click Maximize () to zoom in vertically so a bus track fills the lower portion of the timeline.
 After minimizing or maximizing a bus track, click either the Minimize or Maximize button again to restore a 
bus track to its previous height.
 Press ++/ when the bus track area has focus to resize all bus tracks at once.CtrlShift 
						

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Rendering to a new track
Rendering or mixing multiple tracks to a single track can be a good method of decreasing the complexity of 
a project and speeding up future renders. The original tracks and their events are unaffected when you render 
(mix) to a single track.
Typically, you would use this feature when you are finished refining a few tracks and want to combine them. 
When you render multiple tracks, any envelope or track effects that you have applied are rendered into the 
new track. The original source files remain unaffected and the new track(s) are saved to a new file.
When working with DV files, select a DV template to avoid any loss of quality. For more information, see 
Working in DV format on page 234.
Note: Every video render that uses compression results in a 
loss of quality from the original source material. To minimize 
loss of quality, minimize the number of video renders that use 
compression.
1.Click the Solo button () for the tracks that you want to mix down. If no tracks are soloed, the rendered 
track will match the Master Bus output. Create a time selection if you want to mix down a portion of your 
project.
Video tracks will be rendered into a single video track, and audio tracks will be rendered into a single 
stereo audio track.
2.From the To o l s menu, choose Render to New Track or press . The Render to New Track dialog 
appears.
3.Complete the dialog as follows:
From the Save in drop-down list, select the drive or folder to save the new media file.
 Type a file name in the File name box.
From the Save as type drop-down list, choose the file format (e.g., .wav for audio or .avi for video).
From the Te m p l a t e drop-down list, choose a format from the template list. Alternately, click Custom to 
set custom rendering settings. For more information, see Customizing the rendering process on page 311.
 Select Render loop region only if you only want to render the time selection area.
 Select Stretch video to fill output frame size (do not letterbox) to adjust the aspect ratio so the output frame is 
filled on all edges. When the check box is cleared, the current aspect ratio is maintained and black 
borders are added to fill the extra frame area (letterboxing).
4.Click Save to render to a new track.
As the tracks are being rendered (mixed down), a small dialog appears displaying the progress of the 
render. A status bar also appears in the lower-left portion.
Tip: You can cancel the rendering process by clicking the 
Cancel button on the status bar.
After the new track is rendered, it appears at the top of the track view. If you render the entire project, 
you may delete (or mute) the other tracks from the project, since they are all contained on the new track.
Ctrl+M 
						

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							CHP. 7USING AUTOMATION
CHAPTER155
Using Automation
Automation allows you to control audio and video levels, panning, and effect parameter automation over 
time. You can create fades, apply stereo panning, and vary effect parameters throughout your project. 
Automation is represented on the Vegas® timeline as an envelope or set of keyframes. You can create 
automation by adding envelopes or keyframes to your tracks (including bus tracks), or you can record 
automation parameters by adjusting controls in the Vegas interface (or on a control surface) during 
playback.
Automation recording is available only in the full version of Vegas software. In Vegas Movie Studio and Vegas Movie 
Studio Platinum software, you can insert volume, mute, and panning envelopes and edit the envelopes in the 
timeline.
Showing or hiding automation controls
The controls in the track list can function as trim controls or automation controls for track volume, 
panning, assignable effects send, and bus send levels. Adjusting the trim control affects the level of the entire 
track.
To display trim controls in the track header, click the Automation Settings button  and select Show 
Automation Controls
.
Tr a ck  a u t o m a t i o n
Track automation will always affect all events on the track. This means that any event envelopes will be 
calculated after the track automation. For more information, see Using audio event envelopes (ASR) on page 
175. 
Tip: Choose a fade type from the Audio default drop-down 
list on the Editing tab of the Preferences dialog to set the 
default fade type that will be used when you add volume and 
panning envelopes. This setting is used only when you create 
new envelopes—when you add a point to an existing 
envelope, the new point always uses the same fade type as the 
preceding envelope point. Also, this setting is not used for 
event envelopes.
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Mute automation (audio and video)
This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.
Mute automation changes a track’s mute state throughout your project. Mute automation is either on or off 
with no fade between. If you want to use fades, apply volume automation.
When you apply mute automation to a track, it’s possible to have a track that is muted and soloed 
simultaneously. The mute state overrides the solo state:
 If a track’s Solo button is selected, the track is included in the solo group, but it will be muted whenever 
the mute automation is set to mute the track.
 If the track’s Mute button is selected, the track is muted regardless of the mute automation settings.
Adding or removing mute automation
1.Select a track.
2.From the Insert menu, choose Audio Envelopes or Video Envelopes, or right-click in the track list and 
choose 
Insert/Remove Envelope from the shortcut menu. 
3.From the submenu, choose Mute. A check mark is displayed next to the command, and an envelope is 
added to the timeline. 
4.You can adjust the automation by editing the envelope in the timeline or by using the Mute button  in 
the track header when 
Show Automation Controls is selected. 
Adjusting mute automation settings 
1.Click the Automation Settings button  and select Show Automation Controls. The Mute button is 
displayed as 
.
2.Click the Mute button to change the tracks mute automation state.
The button behaves differently depending on the track automation recording mode:
 When the track automation mode is set to Off, the button mutes the entire track.
 When the track has a mute envelope and the track automation mode is set to Read, the button changes 
state to reflect the envelope setting during playback but cannot be adjusted.
 When the track has a mute envelope and the track automation mode is set to To u c h or Latch, the button 
edits the envelope setting at the cursor position.
If you click the Mute button  during playback, the behavior varies depending on the selected 
automation recording mode. For more information, see Automating 5.1 surround projects on page 167.
Volume or pan automation (audio only)
You can change a track’s volume or position in the stereo field throughout a project using automation 
envelopes. 
Adding or removing volume or pan automation
1.Select an audio track.
2.From the Insert menu, choose Audio Envelopes, or right-click in the track list and choose Insert/Remove 
Envelope
 from the shortcut menu.