Ripple edit does a good job of snapping the next piece up to the cut. BE SURE TO TURN IT OFF WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH RIPPLE EDIT. It can totally screw you up if you forget.
You can drag 'em over, one at a time too. (not from edge, but inwards further) You can overlap the ends to create fades. You can also increase or decrease the section by going to the end you want to change, hover your mouse and when you see a 'square' icon, drag the video edge to either make it longer or shorter. It's all there. You can drag the entire video out of the smallest piece.

Thanks biys.

Will try and let u know..

Bit

Just dragged the remainign strips to left - thanks.

How do I turn Edit ripple on/off?

I see a little box tope left of my mouse cursor - what is this box and do i remove it?

Also, instead of moving scenes, why can't i simply delete the empty timeline section created when cutting the scenes out?

Bit

Above the timeline, you'll see some Icons. Hover your mouse over the see what they are. About the 8th Icon from the right, is 'Auto Ripple' (same as Edit Ripple-push in to turn on, push out to turn off) When this is engaged, when you make your 'splits' and then 'cut' it out, the next scene will jump up to where the cut is. You should do it when you're ready to make the cuts and this is the one you have to turn off when thru, or you'll screw something up later.
Little box next to cursor, is your 'Selection Edit Tool' (3rd Icon from right), choose 5th Icon from right to get 'Normal Edit Tool'.

There are nearly always several ways of achieving something in Vegas. Ripple, whether set at auto or post edit (manual) is designed to maintain the relative positions of everything to the right of the alteration, and move them all "as a block".

I always use the manual (post-edit ripple). If you have a gap, double click in that gap to create a loop region, hit the Delete button, then Ctrl/Shift F to Ripple - the gap is now an ex-gap.

How do I turn Edit ripple on/off?

Press CTRL L to toggle ripple edit on and off.

Thanks - I ahve done this - very interesting..

Now, when I want to save this 'firsct cut' - it only saves as a 67kb veg file. WHy?

I have at least 18GB worth of fottage for this particular exercise.

Bit

The veg file, which is what you Save, is simply a list of instructions detailing how you have arranged the media and what you have done in the project. It is NOT the media itself.

If you want to make a new clip out of your edited project, use Render as.

Also, I have about 9 secs for each segment.

Inbetween each segment is a break (thick line). THis thickness varies sometimes - why?

Am I able to start the counter at time = 0 every time I pick a scene start ? Reason is I am trying to limit my scenes to no more than 20 secs.

Thanks

can i render as many times as i like without affecting quality?

Farss - name of script and where to get it from?

If a scene takes more time than I want (say 20secs) - how do I end that scene @ 20 secs and start a new scene?

Bit

Wow, lots and lots of questions.

Every time you render your project you're starting with the original material referenced on the timeline. So, each render is "fresh". Your 100,000,000th render will still have all the quality of the 1st, providing your hard drives are still alive and spinning by then.

No, you can't start the counter over at 0:00 for each event on the timeline. However, if you double-click an event, in the right corner just below the timeline you'll see three sets of timecodes. The are, respectively, the start of the highlighted event, the end of that event, and the duration of it. That third box wil tell you how long it is.

The simplest way to shorten a scene is to drag the right edge to the left. This trims the event as far as you drag it. If you go to far, simply drag it back to the right. If you do this with ripple editing on then you won't get any gaps or overlaps as you drag. Vegas will move all the events farther down the timeline for you automatically.

Despite all the doom-crying over auto-ripple, it's actually a very useful feature. I almost always have it on. Generally, if you keep in mind what it's doing, it won't cause you any trouble.

Thanks Chien.

I just spent cutting 50mins as a first cut - on my first real vegas experience.

Re: your way of shortening the scene - Won't you lose footage without previewing it first if you drag from right to left?


Any hints of making good renders?

Bit

Also, I have about 9 secs for each segment.

Inbetween each event is a break (thick line).

This event end line thickness varies sometimes - why?

How do I retain equal spaces in between each event - does it matter?

How do I create new shorter scenes from existing scenes?

Bit

Thanks

I want to merge events - how do i do this?

What are some tips on knowing when to start cutting and when to end - on certain scenes?

I am interested on best way to retain subject's spontanety, colour, etc..

Buit

Re: your way of shortening the scene - Won't you lose footage without previewing it first if you drag from right to left?

You never lose anything. It's still there. Just drag back out and you'll see it reappear. And of course, you should always preview what you have before you edit. That way you'll know what edits you want to make.

Any hints of making good renders?

Depends on the format you're rendering to. If you're rendering to DV .avi then you're probably already getting about the best render you can. What file type are you rendering to and how will the finished output be viewed?

Also, I have about 9 secs for each segment.

I'm not sure what you mean by a break. Is it empty space between the events? If so, you can drag each event over to butt up against the one before it. You probably don't want any space between the events ... unless you do want space between them. Does it matter if you have equal spaces? Only if you want it to. These are the sort of edit decisions you have to make.

How do I create new shorter scenes from existing scenes?

By editing them. You've already asked this question in one way or another in almost every post and we've anwered it almost every time.

I want to merge events - how do i do this?

Vegas doesn't really have a merge function. By placing two events next to each other on the timeline they will play one after the other. Generally there isn't a need to merge them. You could group them by selecting both and pressing the G key. This will tie them together so that if you move one, the other goes along with it. It's not really a merge though.

What are some tips on knowing when to start cutting and when to end - on certain scenes?

This question is WAY beyond the scope of basic cutting. Much of it is very subjective, much of it depends on what material you have to work with, and much of it depends on the output goal you have in mind. It can also depend heavily on such contraints as limits on how long the final result has to be, the audience you're creating it for, the needs of the client (which may be you). And probably the biggest consideration is the speed of the flow of action and continuity. While some folks may be able to give you general guidelines, there's no guarantee that these guidelines will apply in your situation. And since we know absolutely nothing about the project you're working on, we'd just be guessing in the dark anyway.

"How do I create new shorter scenes from existing scenes?"

You are asking how to "split" scenes, in Sony parlance. Use the "S" key.

Chien.

I have screen snapshot of what I refer to when I talk about gaps between events.

PLease advise how I can post it on this thread. (small 95kb jpg)

Bit

Chien,

I do not have empty space between events as each event is butted against the one before it.

However, I do have irregular spaces between each image on screen. I do not know thi slingo yet.

But the footage still is displayed in bottom right corner as cursor goes through this space. This image does not show up on timeline (as it is a white bar of different thickness).

If I could somehow post this screen snapshot, it will all become clearer - thanks for perservering with me.

Bit.

If you want to email it to me i'll get it posted for you and take a look at it too.

chien at chienworks dot com

Thansk Chien.

Email sent