posted
I just got Sony Vegas 7 platinum. It was about $120. I want to use it to take little short clips I recorded in my digital camera and make 30 sec - 90 sec "shorts" for my blog and family.
I want to start experimenting with video editing. I have a computer that is plenty powerful.
Yesterday I took a bunch of different shots of my 2 year old in his samurai kimono jumping off the couch and doing somersaults and the like.
I am going to edit them into a 90 second clip set to Mortal Combat music which I have already prepared in audacity.
Here is the problem: My camera records raw data in AVI 1. Apparently Sony Vegas doesn't like AVI1. When I import the media into Sony Vegas, it only accepts the audio.
I have spent all day reading forums and help books. I have installed codecs, divx, et cetera. My filess play just fine in divx and windows media player 10. I finally came across a site that says Sony Vegas doesn't like AVI 1. I need to get it in AVI 2 or some other format.
I can't import into Sony because it only imports firewire and my camera is USB. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Did I just waste $120? Are there any good programs that can convert my AVI1 files?
posted
Are you sure your camera only dumps via usb? What medium does it record on?
At the very least, you should be able to use whatever bonus software came with your camera (or even Windows Movie Maker) to capture your video and export/render it as DV-AVI or something Vegas likes.
Posts: 353 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
It is a Casio EX-Z500 5 MegaPixel camera. It has a 1GB standard camera card. It can only export via a docking station. It only has the thin output that connects to the station.
The docking station has a USB outlet and, now that I am looking at it, an av outlet. I don't have an AV cord--nor do I know what an AV cord is.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Ah ha. Okay, so your camera being a still-photo camera first and foremost, it's not surprising that Vegas doesn't like the camera's native video format. Have you tried importing your footage into Windows Movie Maker? It should be able to spit it out as DV-AVI, which Vegas will take. There will probably be a black border around your footage, since your camera doesn't shoot video in NTSC resolution (720x480px).
Windows Movie Maker can be found under Programs> Accessories> Windows Movie Maker
posted
Windows movie maker did work. Thank you so much. I am kind of mad at Sony. This is probably a novice sentiment, but I think if you pay $120 dollars for a reputable video editing program, then it should be able to edit the same types of files as a free program that is shipped with windows...grrr
The nature of what I want to do involves editing lots of small videos--converting all of them in Windows Movie Maker will be a hassle. I probably would have been better off just using that.
Anyway, here is my request ticket I sent to Sony Vegas.
quote:I use a digital camera to capture short videos. It has a cradle that plugs into my computer via usb. I save the files into a folder on my hard drive for editing. When I put them into Vegas Studio platinum, it only shows the audio section of the video. I installed the codecs via Divx. The video plays in both divx player and windows media player 10.
I think part of the problem is the camera saves in AVI 1 format. I used gspot to capture the video properties for you to preview. Is there a patch, codec, download that I can install so I can use these files? Is there a program that can convert them in batch if vegas can't edit them?
If Sony can't utilize my files and I have to use windows movie maker to convert the file type, I feel like I have wasted $120. Surely a commercial version of Vegas can edit the same files a free Microsoft product can. Plus microsoft movie maker can only change one clip at a time and I have multiple clips.
The whole purpose of buying the program is so I can take multiple 10-30 second clips and editing them for a family blog--and to practice video editing.
posted
I'm glad you got it to work with Movie Maker. Is it possible to streamline the process by importing all your clips into Movie Maker, stringing them together a one long file, then hacking them back up in Vegas? Just a suggestion.
As for this being an issue with Vegas - I doubt you'll get much sympathy from Sony. All the big Non-Linear Editors (Premier, Avid, Vegas, Final Cut, etc.) are geared towards use with dedicated digital video equipment - not interoperability with a digital still camera that happens to have a video feature tacked on.
I wouldn't call your purchase a waste, though, since you now have the opportunity to learn a piece of pretty high-end software. Sure, Windows Movie Maker can do basic cuts and transitions, but Vegas will let you fool around with all sorts of stuff you might not appreciate until you get into it.
Oh, and I think your concept of creating a bunch of short clips for family/friends is fantastic. Most people try to start learning video editing by doing horribly long family reunion or wedding videos. Starting with short clips that you can experiment a ton with is a great idea.
Posts: 353 | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Is it possible to streamline the process by importing all your clips into Movie Maker, stringing them together a one long file, then hacking them back up in Vegas? Just a suggestion.
That is a great idea. I will try that.
quote: All the big Non-Linear Editors (Premier, Avid, Vegas, Final Cut, etc.) are geared towards use with dedicated digital video equipment - not interoperability with a digital still camera that happens to have a video feature tacked on.
I figured that. I knew it was a "novice" concern, but it was worth a try. Plus, at least you were able to help me!
quote: Starting with short clips that you can experiment a ton with is a great idea.
posted
Download SUPER. It'll convert video and audio from almost any format to almost any other format. It is a godsend.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
You might have been best off getting Vegas Movie Studio+DVD 6 instead of Platinum 7. That's what I use and it looks to me like it would have imported what you're working with. If you'd like, you're welcome to email me a clip and I'll try it.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
I actually have to do pretty much the same thing when I'm editing video taken from my Canon PowerShot G6. It's a non-standard frame rate and resolution, and tends to throw my copy of Pinnacle out of sync with the audio if I insert special effects or audio. So I wind up pulling a single long video of raw footage from the PowerShot into AVI, and then using the AVI as a source for integration with video shot with my DV recorder.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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I tired both links. The codecs in the first link cost $20. In the second link they cost $39. I tried the first link and it worked beautifully!! The trial is for 60 days, so barring any introduction to free motion j-peg codecs, I am going to buy it in a week or so.
For now the trial is working and I am happy!
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I just wanted to update everyone and thank you all for the help.
I finished my first video. I had a lot of trouble with transitions and effects. Some of them I wanted to make longer, but I never figured out how. Some of them never showed up!--but that was towards the front of the video where I was still learning the fundamentals.
Each time I edited it I saw more mistakes or things I didn't' like. Last night I decided that it wasn't so bad for a first attempt and decided to call it finished.
The second text of credits goes by way too fast to read. Does anyone know how I can slow it down so my family will have time to read it?
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
That was awesome, lem, I loved it! Great idea!
For slowing down the credits, open up the generated media window for the clip. At the top, there is a frame size and length value. The length value defaults to 00:00:10;00, which is too short for a credit roll, in my opinion. Try changing it to 00:00:20;00. Or a larger number if you want it even slower.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
For free conversion, I would recommend looking in the VirtualDub forums. VirtualDub is a very powerful freeware program that processes video, adds filter fx, converts framerates, recompresses, etc etc etc.
If any program will successfully convert from AVI1 to whatever, it's VDub (with combinations of Avisynth perhaps).
Again, check around in the Vdub forums, I'm sure the issue has come up, and if not, you can post it! Posts: 1236 | Registered: Mar 2002
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quote: Try changing it to 00:00:20;00. Or a larger number if you want it even slower.
I did see that, but my fear is that the first title, "A Daddy Production," would go to slow. I want that part to go fast because it has little text, and then I want the main credits to linger an extra few seconds. Is that possible to do?
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Do them as two seperate clips. You might also want to put them on seperate tracks as well, just to make them easier to manage.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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