Control the length of "Text/Background, Solid Color" in VV3

David_DSS wrote on 1/3/2002, 9:10 PM
Sonic Foundry,

I have discovered what I consider a program bug that you may want to know about.

Using page 253 & 254 in the PDF user's manual I attempted to add a black background event into my project. The problem is in the control of the "length" of this added event.

The simplest method to add a black background event, according to pages 253 & 254 of your manual, is to go to "Text/Background - Solid Color," then drag & drop the black background onto the timeline. If I do this I cannot control the length of the event as described in the manual. Changing the length in the dialog box that pops up only adds looping carrot marks to the event. It does not actually shorten or lengthen the event in the timeline as you would expect it to. Also, adding the solid color event this way always results in a default length of 9:29 (10 seconds) regardless of the setting I've made in "options, preferences, editing, new still image length."

Using a tip from another user, I found that I can get the proper default length (and control over modifying this length) if I create the black background event by using "Insert, Generated Media, Solid Color." But, according to your manual and my personal experience, that is not the simplest way to accomplish this task.

If I'm doing something wrong or mis-interpreting your manual, please correct me. If this is an actual bug in your program, please let me know when a fix is available. If this is the way it's supposed to work then you may want to consider re-wording pages 253 & 254 of the manual to clarify this issue for other new users such as myself.

BTW, your trial version and online forum with friendly, helpful people sold me on this product. Keep up the good work.

David_DSS

Comments

dvstudio wrote on 1/4/2002, 12:01 AM
Since the solid is just that - solid - it really doesn't matter what length it is when you first lay it on the timeline. The real strength of VV, to me, is the freeform style of editing - simply grab either edge and stretch or shrink the file to any size you like. The looping edges don't matter when using a solid. If you need an exact size like 3:22, set the size in the dialog box, the loop edges will be at precisely that size.

You'll find that with many digital tools, there are many ways to get to your final destination. Manuals are usually guides to get you started right, I'm certain as Vegas gains popularity, you'll see books and tutorials to help take your work to the next level.
SonyEPM wrote on 1/4/2002, 9:44 AM
Generated media length can be changed after the fact by adjusting the length field (right-click the event>properties>media>length).

If you make a timeline selection, then right-click>insert generated media, the generated media length will automatically match the selection length.

Control_Z wrote on 1/4/2002, 1:35 PM
No, this does appear to be a bug. I can change the color in the VFX window, but if I type in a new length it's ignored.

Sort of. If I now go to right click>etc., the media properties lists the clip as being what I changed it to, and changing it again has no effect. Actually, the properties window has no effect on length regardless.

Dragging the clip to a new length on the timeline works.
dvstudio wrote on 1/4/2002, 1:53 PM
Changing the time does change the clip time. It will appear at the defualt 9:29 on the timeline, but if you zoom in on the clip you'll see loop marks are now set to the length you specified and you can drag to that length and it will snap to it.

I agree though, inputting a size you automatically change the clip, without touching it.
dvstudio wrote on 1/4/2002, 1:54 PM
Wow! Hadn't tried it, but very nice to know!
David_DSS wrote on 1/5/2002, 1:40 AM
>>Generated media length can be changed after the fact by adjusting the length field (right-click the event>properties>media>length).
This does not work if the generate media in question was placed on the timeline by dragging & dropping the "black slug" from the Text/Backgrounds, Solid Color tab. In this case, instead of changing the length of the generated media, it simply places carrot marks on the timeline with the spacing you selected. Then you have to drag the edge of the event to one of the carrot marks to get the length you designated. This is exactly the "bug" that I defined in my original post.

>>If you make a timeline selection, then right-click>insert generated media, the generated media length will automatically match the selection length.
Thanks for this tip. It's a real time saver!
The more I learn about VV3 the more I like it.

David_DSS
dvstudio wrote on 1/5/2002, 2:51 AM
I think your problem may be better defined as a "feature request"( a good one by the way!) and not a "bug", which would be a problem with basic software functionality.
David_DSS wrote on 1/5/2002, 5:34 PM
Thanks, dvstudio. Perhaps you're correct and I've been going about this from the wrong angle. I thought posting here was the equivalent of making a suggestion for a program change to the SoFo folks. Whether it's considered a bug fix or feature request is not really important to me.

Following your lead, I just went to SoFo's online product suggestion form and submitted my request.

Thanks,
David_DSS