Bob,

I must not be fully understanding what you want to do, because I think it is trivial, and I'm sure you know how to do it.

1. Before you burn your timecode, convert the time ruler to time, rather than time and frames. This makes the next steps MUCH easier.

2. When you receive the spreadsheet from the translator, arrange it so that time is in one column, and the subtitles are in the column immediately to the right.

3. Make sure Vegas is still set to time, rather than time and frames. Copy the two Excel columns (the time and the subtitle), but don't include any header column.

4. Open Edit Details, and change to markers.

5. Click on the little gray square at the intersection of the row and column header in the Vegas Edit Detail Markers view. This will select all rows and columns in the empty marker field. Press Ctrl-V to paste all the markers.

6. Use the Markers to Regions script (I have copied my own version below) to covert the markers to regions.

7. Use the "Export Regions as Subtitles" script. You can then open the resulting file in DVDA to create your subtitles.

This will give you subtitles that stay on until the next subtitle arrives. If you want to stop the subtitle display during long periods of silence, then either you or the translator will have to provide an "out" timecode for each subtitle. If you do get an "in" and "out" for each subtitle, you can copy/paste directly into the Region section of the Edit Details box.

I assume you can create your own spreadsheet logic to convert from source timecode to project timecode.

videoITguy:

The camera is a Sony EX1, I have TC generator set to TOD, Vegas does read that correctly and creating a preview video with burnt in source TC is not an issue using the existing TC FX.

Bob.

John Meyer,
you're right I do know how to do that!

What I need though are bunt in subtitles and probably like Closed Captions as there's a lot of talking in this epic drama.

Bob.

Bob, you kind of assume something - that I may have missed the point AND that is NOT true. You must read my initial post again.

It's all about extracting the timecode to a text track which VegasPro alone cannot do.

TGW from Vegasaur is the only tool that can create text events from multiple sources, including markers/regions and subtitle files. Markers tool can convert markers/regions to closed captions and vice versa.

[I]"It's all about extracting the timecode to a text track which VegasPro alone cannot do."[/I]

What use is having the timecode on a text track to me?
I want the text from a column in an Excel spreadhseet on a text track at the position defined by the event's source timecode.

Bob.

huh?

altarivc,
thanks, that could be exactly the missing link. I can create markers from the TC data in the spreadsheet and then use TGW to put the text at the markers.

Bob.

VideoITguy said:

[I]"huh?"[/I]

Did you read the OP carefully?
I thought I was pretty clear about what I'm trying to achieve.
Maybe the thread title is a little obscure, my bad perhaps but I was trying to keep it short.

Bob.

What I need though are burnt in subtitles and probably like Closed Captions as there's a lot of talking in this epic drama.Ah, I thought you wanted DVD subtitles that can be turned on & off.

The Vegasur approach sounds like the best idea so far. If that doesn't work, you could try this kludge:

1. Follow my original workflow above.
2. Create a DVD with subtitles, but don't put any video in the DVD. Set the DVD to play with subtitles always on. Burn this to a DVD re-writeable.
3. Capture the results of that DVD and put it back on the timeline in your original, edited project. Use the mask tool to make the subtitles appear on top of your video. Render the result and you will have permanent, burned-in subtitles.

Like I said, it is a kludge.

Good heavens here we go again. I answered the question fully to Bob's OP without giving a formula of how to do it steps, because I trust Bob to be smart enough to figure it out.
Then because it appears to not conform to a "vision" we go around and around with this - showing how everyone seems to want to take a different approach to using timecode in Vegas. Yes, there is more than way to skin a cat.

Bob, just use Vegasaur Version 2 with Vegas Pro 13.

You may want to check Excalibur. I don't know if it will fit in with what you're doing Bob, but Excalibur has "QUICK LABELS" which has the ability to automatically create an overlay track, insert the name of each clip in that overlay, and then top it off with region markers at the boundaries of each clip. It literally takes seconds to create an overlay track for 3000 clips, complete with region markers, ready for the "export regions as subtitles" extension.

I was thinking that if you split your video up into clips (each clip being the in/out markings of your subtitles) and then have your producer name each clip with the actual subtitle you wish to install on a given clip. Then use Excalibur's 'quick labels to put it all together for you on the time line in seconds.

The only problem you may have with that is veges reorganizing the order of your clips on import.

Anyway... just an idea that may or may not be helpful to you.