Boris does not integrate well with Vegas at all. Your better off using Boris in the stand alone mode.

"Boris does not integrate well with Vegas at all. Your better off using Boris in the stand alone mode."

VERY frustrating, that. Sort of my biggest gripe against Boris/Vegas.

i agree....i had such high hopes and found the Boris experience very very laborious

Could someone please expand in detail upon what you mean by "does not integrate well". I am strongly considering purchasing the Boris FX + Graffiti package for $300. Would this be a mistake? Also, if Boris is bad, what other product(s) would you recommend?

In my mind, Boris was just a temporary solution for the constant complaints about the titling feature in Vegas---Perhaps, in version 7.0 they will actually address the issue.

Boris works great for titling...3d with lights, etc. Fantastic results. But it DOES NOT work well as a "plug in"...it really works well on its own, or, stand alone.
The learning curve is as steep as Vegas but once you get the hang of it it produces some really terrific titles and effects.
I would be very suprised if Vegas ever developed into a titling app..that's not it's forte and titling is specialized. Anything added to Vegas will probably not be the quality you can get from Boris, After Effetcs, etc. IMHO.

What specifically do you mean by "it does not work well as a plug-in"? Is it awkward? Does it not produce correct results? Do you only have access to some of the features?

I really would like to know this before I spend $300 on the FX + Graffiti combo.

Tech,

It works in Vegas, but it is somewhat limited compared to how plugins work in other host NLEs. Basically, you only get one frame showing up in RED (everything for RED applies to Graffiti, too) when you apply a transition, text or a filter. It will not supply all the frames from an event to play in RED. That is not a big problem unless you need to abuild an FX synced to the video or audio changing over time. The other thing is you have to manually enter the duration of you event in RED becuase Vegas is not handing that number off to RED. Not that big a problem either. If you want a 3 second transition for RED to make, then enter 3:00 in the duration box in RED when it opens. You can easily double click an event in Vegas and Vegas's duration box will tell you what that time will be so you can enter it in RED.

RED and Graffiti are great apps and I like it better than After Effects, which doesn't plug in at all to Vegas. It also is not hard to learn. People who say it's hard usually don't like reading manuals or spending time trying out the tutuorials to learn a new app. If a new app is easy to use without having to spend some time to learn anything, then it will not do to much overall the longer you have it. Most of us spent a lifetime learning our skills and becoming good at what we do and now we have gernerations who think they are pros wanting apps that allow one button results with automatic success in their careers. :-) Try spendibg at least five years learning to become a pro in this business if you want all the success and money to follow. Not specifically you, Tech, but new people in general.

Have fun, learn and be creative,
GG

Thanks GG for the details. Your response was very helpful.

I found the Boris Graf3.0 manual both opaque and confusing. On the other hand I found Vegas as easy as pie – I really did.

I keep hearing and reading that BG3 is referred to as a plug-in and IMHO it isn't.

It requires me to reduce my RAM allocation in Vegas to allow it to work. I need to change my Vegas set up, for a “plugin” to work? Really?

I hear people saying that it is better to run it as a standalone.

I cannot creatively - note that word GG - "synch" audio from my main Vegas project to it. I cannot easily "see" what I'm doing in Vegas and have it reflected back in real time within BG3. I therefore cannot make "creative" edit decisions in real-time. As to spending time with BG3 and wishing to improve my skills base for it - I have attempted to read and re-read the 651 page tome and been beaten; I spotted some crucial page reference errors within its pages; noted that the potentially valuable online “assistant” was NOT part of BG3, when it clearly states that it is!; educated myself in the use of Satish's Frameserver to get something akin to real time previewing within and to and from Vegas<>BG3 - so I had got that far.

So, GG, at this point I started to loose the will to live and assigned both BG3 and my purchase of it to the same place that my DICONIX Kodak printer is now gently fossilising.

I took to Vegas very, very fast. And I too feel, IMHO, the manuals often barely disclose the more valuable "creative" options - just note the PRE/POST toggle thread some 2 weeks back. Manuals mostly tell us what the software is designed to do - tutorials enlighten us as to what I COULD do with it.

I shy away from the more enthusiastic "Manual-Thumping" I hear and read. I do know I have a healthy scepticism of not only the way they are written but also the input that the software developers have in their construction and final proofing. Having a programmer looking over their shoulders, wherever possible, manuals SHOULD be written by Users – period! And they should be accompanied by DVD tutorials. And yes, and for the reasons above, I don't like reading manuals but prefer "seeing" a real person DOING via a DVD or downloading a tutorial. Generally I have a very low opinion of manuals and only defer/refer to them in abject extremis. I find this Forum and other forums and now SKYPE conferencing, a far more productive and immediate educative experience. When I want to learn, I want it now. I really don't mind that the "now" might take time, but when I do take the time out I want to be rewarded with success - not confused and confusing results.

“Have fun, learn and be creative” I intend to. But sometimes, just sometimes, software developers, writers of manuals and companies in an excited “rush” to market and in a frenetic frenzy to augment their products, need to take a long hard cool look at just what it has resulted in. Almost that they should learn from reading the "The Users Learning Experience Manual" ! This IS a 2-way street - yeah?

And as to spending time learning and improving a skills base? I totally agree and I have done much of this with BG3. And should this allow me the means to making better, more emotionally engaging and relevant videos - I’ll have more of it.

However it is NOT purley in the unravelling of software to allow me to get to that creativity. Call me old fashioned, but when something is hurting this bad, then it aint that good to do it. But there again, that is only my opinion.

Because I found Vegas easy to get going and get along with, I expect and expected all the “plug-ins” to have been sheep-dipped in the same way. Got that wrong – didn’t I?

On a personal note, I worked with a Senior Registration Officer for the UK in the development, for the first time, of a staff training manual for the registration service here in the UK. This was essentially influenced by users of that service and updated by staff and user surveys. Huh! I almost forgot to tell you that.

Best regards,

Grazie

Grazie,

There are many tutorials that are easy to use and you learn a lot about the app while actually creating something. Manuals can be useful to quickly look up something you forgot and need to learn. Use the Table of Contents, Index and Glossary to quickjly get to what you need in a book. It's up to everyone to make their own decision on how much they want work at learning. Ther are two roads... easy lane and hard avenue. I learned the the hard avenue paid off a hundred times more.

I will always try to steer people to working hard and learning instead of just getting by for the moment. Imagine if all the children in the world went to school and told their teachers they don't want to read the books they don't have the time. :-)

Yes, have fun, be creative and learn something new each day becuase you can eventually reach a point where it is not work anymore.

Best regards,
GG

No worries GG - it didn't take me that long. I can bash this kinda thing out quite quickly.

Anyway, just who is this person you are referring to, can't be me - surely? "I can't believe someone can take the time to write a long post about how they don't want to read books or work at learning something to increase their skills and intelligence. That time could have spent for personal benefit by reading through a chapter or trying a new tutorial."

Now where DID I leave my bucket and spade and clean diapers?

Regards,

Grazie