While reading my Custom Transition Using Generated Media tutorial, a reader noticed some similarities between the resulting video and an effect she’d seen and has been trying to duplicate. The general idea of the effect is to start out with a video in black and white; have a tinted area “move” across the screen; and for that tinted area to act as a “swipe” that turns the footage to color as it passes over. The visitor does not know what program was used to create the video she saw, but asked if I knew how to achieve a similar effect in Vegas. It took a bit of experimenting, but I believe I’ve got it pretty figured out.
I’ll start out by showing the end result so you know what you’re aiming for.
I was just toying around in Sony Vegas and created a simple but, I think, nice animated background. It uses just two pieces of generated media, the Bump Map composting mode to give it some depth, and a transition I probably wouldn’t use under most circumstances. The end result is something like a pool of melted Crayons or plastic, though you can change settings along the way to get something different.
In the world of hand-drawn animation, an artist would begin a project by drawing several key frames — single images to represent a change in direction or appearance. Once this rough sketch was approved, he (or more often an assistant) would “fill in the rest” — drawing each individual frame needed to get from Point A to Point B. And now we have programs like Vegas which will also “assist” us in filling in from Point A to Point B through the use of keyframes.
Someone in your documentary is wearing a t-shirt with a logo for a product you don’t really feel comfortable advertising. Or some random person walked into your shot but won’t sign a release form for you to use their likeness. Or maybe you just want to obscure a rude gesture.
Blur it. Or pixelate it. Easy enough, but how do you censor just part of a video in Sony Vegas while leaving the rest of it clear as day? Let’s find out.
Okay, so you want your DVD menu to have an icon that moves as the viewer navigates between items. You’ve looked and looked in the DVD Architect manual, and all you can find is stuff about color sets, subpictures, and highlights — nothing about how to move an image around the screen. I’ve got good news and bad news for you.
This tutorial is part of a series on creating custom transitions in Sony Vegas. In part one, created a transition that “closes” an image over one clip and then opens to reveal a new clip. And in part two, we used Vegas generated media to create an animated mask. Here in part three, we’ll do something that is a cross between the two: With the help of a third-party plug-in, we’ll create an image and use that as the basis for an animated mask. Curious? Then let’s get started!
In part one of this series on creating custom transitions in Sony Vegas, we used Bezier masking and standard transitions to “close” a still image over one clip and then open it again to reveal a new clip. In part two, we’re going to use Vegas generated media, compositing, and parent/child relationships to create a transition that resembles smoke or fog. Sony Vegas Movie Studio does not have all of the necessary tools for this method, so you will need Sony Vegas Pro.
The transition I want to achieve is similar to a linear wipe. But while a linear wipe in Vegas can have a soft edge, it’s still rather tidy. I want a deeper and more random blend between the two clips — something that resembles fog or smoke. For this, I’m going to combine two types of generated media, a standard Vegas transition, and some parent-child track relationships.
So, you’re tired of the standard Vegas transitions. Linear wipe, push, clock wipe — too boring. Page peel, barn door, swap — too cheesy. 3D blinds, 3D cascade, 3D shuffle — too 3D. And yet, a straight cut just doesn’t suit your piece? Then make your own transition.
This is the beginning of a series on creating your own custom transitions in Vegas. In part one, we’re going to use a still image to cover up our cut and animate that still using Bezier masking and Vegas’ native transitions.
They say the grass is always greener on the other side. Today, we’re going to prove them wrong. Or right. At any rate, we’re going to change the color of grass. And we’re going to do it with Sony Vegas’ Secondary Color Corrector. Whereas the main Color Corrector FX operates on the Highlight, Midtone, and Shadow areas of video, the Secondary Color corrector can be used to isolate a specific color or range of colors to adjust. This leads to a number of possibilities from basic color correction to some very interesting effects. In this example, I’m going to edit a fishing scene so that the grass in the background is no longer green but rather a brownish color you’d see in the fall or winter. (Depending on where you live, of course.) The clip I’m using is from Stock Footage For Free. Feel free to download it from there (as of this writing, registration and downloads are free), use your own footage with green grass in it, or any footage that has a color you want to change. Understand that if you use different footage, the steps will be the same, but exact settings will probably be different.
Lower thirds are those graphics you see near the bottom of videos. They usually consist of a static or animated background and some information such as the name of the person speaking if you’re watching the news or a documentary, or statistics if you’re watching sports.
Often, Sony Vegas users create their lower thirds in other programs or buy pre-made ones, but we’re going to make one entirely in Sony Vegas. It won’t be the flashiest lower third you’ve ever seen, but it will be attractive and functional. So, here we go.
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