That's bizarre. Are you saying that the GenMed Length is NOT reflected as the Event Length on the Timeline?

I can enter numbers and the Length of the GenMed "takes" the new numbers. But the Event stays at its orginal size? And I can't drag it to the new length? Isn't this counter to what we successfully do with non-GenMed stuff?

Grazie

OK,
both my Vegas system were tied up, one free now. Just wanted to double check this before I said anything more.

The media generators generate a piece of media. The length of the piece of media is determined by the "Length" value. Say it's 5 seconds. If I extend that piece of media on the T/L to 10 seconds you should see that you have an event 10 seconds long and the media is copied twice. There'll be a little triangle divet at the 5 second mark.
If you go into the media generator and change the media length to 20 seconds the triangle disappears but the event stays at 10 seconds. If you extend the event to 30 seconds you'll see the triangle at the 20 second mark now.

In the last example what you have on the time line is the one piece of media for the whole of its 20 seconds and then it repeats the first 10 seconds. For most gen media you don't really notice this much and it doesn't matter because it stays the same. One exception is the credit roll generator.

What does seem to be broken is I cannot save the length of the media as a preset, the values for say legal black do get saved in the preset but not the length.

IF that's all a bit messy, think of it another way. You captured 10 seconds of tape. You can trim that on the T/L but the media is still 10 seconds long. You're only changing the length of the event. If you extend the event beyond 10 seconds it repeats (loops). The media generators create a piece of media much the same as if it was captured from tape.

Having said all that I have noticed that sometimes things go wrong. I just tried exactly what you did, copy and paste the T/C from a looped region and it worked OK but at times with the credit roll I've had the length get messed up.

Bob.

"OK but at times with the credit roll I've had the length get messed up."

So, after all you wrote, where does that leave us? You told me what you CAN and CAN'T achieve and now you are saying "sometimes" it is also crook? OK .. ?

I am talking TEXT GenMed using a Text Placement Feature to "ROLL" the text across the bottom of the screen, lower third.

Grazie

Just tried your specific issue.
Created text gen media 10s long.
Keyframes at 0 and 10s to move text across bottom of screen.
Changed media length from 10s to 5 secs.
Does what I'd expect. Event is still 10secs long, text crawls twice as there's now 2 copies of the media in the event.
Trimed event back to length of media (5secs).
Now changed length of media to 10s. Event stays at 5 secs, text crawls halfway across screen by the time it gets to end of event.
Extend event to length of media to 10 secs i.e. same lenght as media. Text now goes from LH side to RH side over the lenght of event as I'd expect.

The key is the difference between a piece of media (or clip) and an event. The two words are used interchangeably but they are not the same thing at all.

A clip is a fixed thing, captured from tape to a file or a media file.
An event is a pointer (or instance, or reference) to that media. What's on the timeline isn't media, it's an event.

The media generators create media. Note when you copy a gen media event it asks you Do you want to "Create a new copy of the source media" OR "Create a reference to the source media".
If you select the first option you add a piece of media to the project. If you take the second you don't, much like having the same piece of footage twice on the T/L.

Hope that helps.

Bob.

So, Bob, what should I be doing? - G

Make the event to the length you need.
Then change the length of the media itself in the Gen Media.
That way the speed the text crawls at will adjust to suit the length of the event.
Hopefully this gives you what you want.

Bob.

Ah-HAH! - So what ARE the numbers that the GenMed takes onboard? The GenMed Length reflects 7 so why wont the Event reflect the same? If I pull out the length of the GenMed it loops at 6? The same GenMed has 7 in it but the Event stays with 6?

Grazie

The media generators do what the name says, they generate a piece of media. No different to if you rendered out a piece of media or captured a piece of media from your camera. The piece of media has a duration. The numbers in the media generator determine the duration of the media.

Put a piece of media 7 seconds duration in a 6 second event, it has to be one second shorter, no? Just like when you trim a piece of media from your camera.

When you first put a piece of media onto the T/L the event is made the same duration as the media. Trim the event. The media doesn't change, the length of the event on the T/L does. Now replace the media (in Project Media) with a longer piece of media. Same thing happens as with gen media. The event stays the same length.

Bob.

PS I'd Skype you but Skype PC doing loooong render.

Arggghh ...

I just put a 10 sec GenMed on the timeline. It is 10seconds long - it IS an Event 10 seconds long. I can go into its properties and CHANGE its Length to 5 seconds. I come back to the GenMed Event and i can see a repeat NOTCH at 5seconds. I can then fold back this 10 second "lump" to its 5 seconds DONE!!! i know that. What I am saying is that when I take a COPIED Event of some length greater than what I want and PASTE 7 seconds into it it reduces to "takes 7 seconds, BUT with a notch AT 6 seconds - NOT 7 seconds!!!!!!

Now, in all that is "Platonic Logic", what is wrong with

A] My working of this?

B] My Inductive Logic?

Could it be worth making a little video of what you're dong/getting. Following (I think) what you're saying, I get expected results.
I create text object, say 15s long. I copy this object, and paste making a new new copy, and not reference. I make a selection of, say 7sec, double click and copy the selection length tag (so clipbaord now stores 00:00:07:00)
I go to object2, and edit the gen.media length, and paste clipboard length (7sec). Hit enter and close window. Little indentations appear at 7sec intervals as expected.

Just not getting any 6sec thingmy anywhere..

[edit: not to confuse - but you haven't altered playback rate at all have you? - that WOULD throw the little indents out of place]

"What I am saying is that when I take a COPIED Event of some length greater than what I want and PASTE 7 seconds into it it reduces to "takes 7 seconds, BUT with a notch AT 6 seconds - NOT 7 seconds!!!!!!"

OK, I can repo this.

If I take 10 sec gen media. Trim one sec of the start of the event. Change gen media duration to 8 secs I get notch at 7 secs not 8secs.

Makes sense. I've set an in point at 1;00 for the event. Media is 8 secs long minus 1 sec due to in point = 7 secs.

If I extend the duration of my gen media event then the next notch is 8 secs from the previous.

An event on the T/L has TC for start, in point and duration. Replace the media with something longer. In point stays the same, duration stays the same.

Bob @ 2AM.

Grazie, can you reproduce this in a brand new project? My first thought is that Kennymusicman is onto something about the playback rate -- that or there is some other property or setting throwing a wrench into the gears. Any envelopes on the track? Or, as Bob alluded, has the start of the event been trimmed at all? If you drag the start outwards, do you hit a notch right away or are you able to drag for a bit first?

Rob

I've been bitten by this weird behavior myself. Changing the length of the generated media after the fact results in mondo bizarro effects. However, when I do my homework and set the proper length of the generated media BEFORE anything else, the results are what one would expect.