Sony Vegas 9 Manual

							
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Introduction Chapter 1 
Welcome 
Vegas® Movie Studio™ software from Sony Creative Software Inc. is an 
innovative and advanced multitrack media-editing system. This software 
was designed to create an efficient audio/video production environment 
without sacrificing the quality and processing power that you expect from 
Sony Creative Software Inc. Whether it’s the standard and familiar 
Microsoft® Windows® navigation commands or the clean and uncluttered 
interface, you’ll find Vegas Movie Studio software a pleasure to use. 
System requirements 
In order to use Vegas Movie Studio software, your computer must satisfy 
the following minimum specifications: 
•	Microsoft® Windows® XP SP2 or Windows Vista™ 
•	800 MHz processor (2.8 GHz recommended for HDV or AVCHD in Vegas 
Movie Studio Platinum) 
•	200 MB hard-disk space for program installation 
•	256 MB RAM (512 MB RAM recommended for HDV or AVCHD in Vegas 
Movie Studio Platinum) 
•	OHCI-compatible i.LINK® connector*/IEEE-1394DV card (for DV capture 
and print-to-tape) 
•	Windows-compatible sound card 
•	DVD-ROM drive (for installation from a DVD only) 
•	Supported CD-recordable drive (for CD burning only) 
•	Supported DVD- R/-RW/+R /+RW drive (for DVD burning only) 
•	Supported BD-R/-RE drive (for Blu-ray Disc™ burning only) 
•	Microsoft DirectX® 9.0c or later 
•	Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 (included on application disc) 
Note: You must provide your registration information to Sony Creative 
Software Inc. to activate the software. 
*i.LINK is a registered trademark of Sony Electronics, used only to designate 
that a product contains an IEEE 1394 connector. All products with an IEEE 
1394 connector may not communicate with each other. 
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Technical support 
The Web site at http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/default.asp has 
technical support, reference information, program updates, tips and tricks, user forums, 
and a knowledge base. 
Installing Vegas Movie Studio software 
1.	Insert the DVD-ROM. The setup screen appears (if DVD-ROM AutoPlay is enabled). 
If DVD-ROM AutoPlay is not enabled, click the Start button and choose Run. In the 
Run dialog that appears, type the DVD-ROM drive’s letter and add :\setup.exe. Click 
OK to start the installation. 
2.	Click Install. The installation process begins. 
3.	Follow the on-screen prompts to install the appropriate version of the software for 
your computer. 
Using this manual 
This manual is provided to assist users of Vegas Movie Studio and Vegas Movie Studio 
Platinum software applications. For this reason, product features are identified 
throughout the manual using the following icon: 
Features exclusive to Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 
Getting help 
This Quick Start Manual is intended to help you learn the basic skills you need to create 
a Vegas Movie Studio project. If you need more assistance, we provide two varieties of 
help in the application. 
Online help 
Choose Contents and Index from the Help menu or press F1. The online help window 
has four tabs that you can use to find the information you need. 
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Tabs 
Toolbar 
Information 
pane 
Show Me How tutorials 
You can learn more about many of the features in Vegas Movie Studio and Vegas Movie 
Studio Platinum by using the interactive Show Me How tutorials installed with the 
software. 
By default, Show Me How tutorials appear upon startup of the application. However, 
you can access them at any time from the Help menu by choosing Show Me How. 
Help on the Web 
Additional help and information is available on the Sony Creative Software Web site. 
From the Help menu, choose Sony on the Web to view a listing of Web pages 
pertaining to Vegas Movie Studio software and Sony Creative Software Inc. 
Overview 
The following sections provide a graphical tour of the Vegas Movie Studio workspace. 
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Main window 
The main window appears when you open the software. The work area is divided into 
three primary areas: the track list, the track view (or timeline), and the window docking 
area. You can resize the track list, track view, and window docking area by dragging the 
dividers between them. 
Menu bar 
Transport bar 
Marker bar Toolbar 
Time Ruler display 
Track view Track (timeline)list 
Scrub 
control 
Window 
docking 
area 
Status bar 
Toolbar 
The toolbar allows you to quickly access the most commonly used functions and 
features. From the Options menu, choose Customize Toolbar to specify which buttons 
are displayed.

Create new project 
Open existing project 
Save project 
Open project properties 
Publish project to the Web 
Cut selected events or time 
range 
Copy selected events or time 
range 
Paste items from clipboard 
into project 
Undo 
8 | INTRODUCTION 
Enable automatic crossfades 
Enable automatic ripple 
editing 
Lock envelopes to events 
Ignore event grouping 
Normal edit tool 
Envelope edit tool 
Selection edit tool 
Zoom edit tool 
Make Movie Wizard  
						

							
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Create new project Enable automatic crossfades 
Redo Show Me How tutorials 
Enable snapping to grid lines What’s This Help 
Time display 
The Time Display window reflects the cursor’s position on the timeline and the end 
point of a time selection. You can customize time display settings, including what time 
the window displays and which colors are used in the display. 
You can move the Time Display window from its docked position above the track list to 
float on the workspace or dock in the window docking area. 
Docked position Floating window Docked in window docking area 
Ruler 
The ruler is the timeline for your project. You may specify how the ruler measures time: 
seconds, measures and beats, frames, etc. 
Marker bar 
The marker bar is the area where you can place, name, and position markers and 
regions along the project’s timeline. These informational tags can serve as cues or 
reminders highlighting important events in your project. 
Command bar 
The command bar is displayed when you add a command to your project. Commands 
add metadata to media files to create effects such as closed captioning. For more 
information, see Adding project markers and regions on page 46. 
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CD layout bar 
The CD layout bar is displayed for tracks and indexes in an audio CD layout project for 
disc-at-once (DAO) CD burning. 
Track list 
This area identifies the track order in your project and contains controls used to 
determine track compositing and mixing. For more information, see Using the track list 
on page 27. 
Track 
minimize and Selected 
Video tracks 
Parent/ 
child 
Track number 
Audio track 
Timeline 
All arranging and editing is done in the timeline or track view. This area contains all of a 
project’s events. For more information, see Using the track view on page 26. 
Transport bar controls 
The transport bar contains the playback and cursor positioning buttons frequently 
used while working on and previewing your project. 
Record into track Pause project playback 
Loop playback Stop playback 
Play from beginning of project Move cursor to start of 
project 
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Record into track Pause project playback 
Play project from cursor Move cursor to end of 
position project 
Status bar 
The status bar is located at the bottom of the main program 
window and displays information about roughly how much 
space is left on your computer to record audio (Record Time). 
During the rendering processes, the left side of the status bar also contains information 
about the progress of the render. 
The Video Preview window also has its own status bar that displays project specific 
information. For more information, see Playing your project on page 29. 
Scrub control 
The scrub control is used to play your 
project forward or backward for editing 
purposes. You may adjust playback speed 
by setting the speed control marker 
located beneath the scrub control. For 
more information, see Scrubbing on page 30. 
Window docking area and floating window docks 
This area allows you to keep frequently used windows available but out of the way. 
Windows can be docked next to each other, in a stack in the window docking area, or in 
a separate floating docking window. When stacked, each window has a tab at the 
bottom with its name on it. Click the window’s tab to bring it to the top. 
Drag either 
forward or 
backward for 
playback Set playback speed 
Drag the handle away 
from the docking area to 
float the window. 
Close window 
Expand window 
•	To dock a window, drag it to the docking area. 
•	To remove a window from the docking area and float it, drag the handle on the left 
side of a docked window. 
•	To prevent a window from docking when you drag it, hold the Ctrl key. 
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•	To expand a docked window so it fills the docking area, click the Maximize button 
( ). Click again to restore the window to its previous size. 
•	To remove a window from the docking area or a floating dock, click the Close 
button ( ). 
Explorer window - Alt+1 
The Explorer window is similar to the Microsoft Windows Explorer. Use the Explorer 
window to select media files to drag to the project timeline or add to the Project Media 
list. You can also use the Explorer to perform common file management tasks such as 
creating folders, renaming files and folders, deleting files and folders. Use the Start 
Preview () and Auto Preview ( ) buttons to preview files before adding them to 
the project. 
Preview selected Select media files before drive or placing them in the folder project. 
Select media to place in 
the project by dragging 
and dropping or 
double-clicking. 
Trimmer window - Alt+2 
The Trimmer window is a good place to edit any media file. When a media file is placed 
in the Trimmer window, you can place portions of the file on separate tracks by 
dragging and dropping. 
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Mixer window - Alt+3 
The Mixer window gives you access to your project’s audio properties and output 
levels. 
Video Preview window - Alt+4 
The Video Preview window displays a project’s video during project editing and 
playback. For more information, see Playing your project on page 29. 
Video appears during 
project playback or 
as the cursor is 
moved during 
editing. 
Right-click to change 
Video Preview 
settings. 
Project Media window - Alt+5 
The Project Media window helps you organize the media files you’re using in a project. 
The information about these files is displayed in a highly flexible database that can be 
instantly sorted. You can also use the Project Media window to apply effects and plug-
ins to media files and set the specific properties of these files. For more information, see 
Using the Project Media window on page 17. 
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Transitions window - Alt+7 
The Transitions window contains all of the effects you can use to transition between 
video clips. The thumbnails display animated examples of each transition. You can drag 
transitions from this window to replace the crossfade between two video events or to 
replace the fade-in or fade-out region of a video event. 
Video FX window - Alt+8 
The Video FX window contains the video effects available. The thumbnails display 
animated examples of each plug-in preset. You can drag plug-ins from this window to 
an event, track, or to the Video Preview window (video output effects). 
Media Generators window - Alt+9 
The Media Generators window contains the different media generators provided. 
Media generators make it easy to create events containing text, credit rolls, test 
patterns, color gradients, and solid color backgrounds. You can drag a media generator 
to the timeline to create a new generated media event. 
14 | INTRODUCTION