"Handles" on Batch Capture

bcollier wrote on 12/26/2003, 8:14 AM

Just beginning to appreciate the power of scripts. Using Excalibur a lot and the Batch Render GUI regularly and appreciate everyone's efforts.

I have used Final Cut Pro since it first came out and Premiere for about 4 years. Don't really miss them except for one feature that I use a lot: the ability to set In/Out points for clips and have the program capture a handle ( a selectable amount of time, usually 2-3 seconds, that is available on the beginning and end of each captured clip). When capturing 50-60 clips (or many more) that handle has really proven to be a time saver for me. My In/Out points are set to drag to the timeline, but if the client or I want to make a minor change, say start the 30th clip a second sooner, it's no problem-I have that already captured in the handle portion of the clip. No need to recapture.

In Vegas, as far as I can tell, I cannot create a handle. Without scripting, all I can do is capture more than I need on each end of the clip, then go in and set the region I actually want to use with my In/Out points. That becomes very time consuming ( as does recapturing a clip if I need to extend it a second).

With scripting, could something like this be done? Create a standard list of clips to be captured with my preliminary In/Out points. Run a script that resets that batch's In points X seconds earlier and that batch's Out points X seconds later. After capture, run a second script that takes a batch of clips and creates a region in each clip that begins X seconds into the clip and ends X seconds before the end of the script.

Now the captured events have a region that can be dragged to the timeline with my exact "In/Out" points and they also have an X second "handle" on each end in case I or my client decide the clip needs to start a bit sooner or end a bit later.

There's probably a more elegant way to do this, but this is the first time it's entered my brain that scripting might be the way to solve my problem.

Sorry for being longwinded, but handles are a real time saver for me. If I see a potential need for them I'm swayed back to FCP or Premiere for that project. Otherwise, it's always Vegas.

Any thoughts/comments? I'd love for someone to feel this is a problem worth solving. I'm not a programmer (nor have I played one on TV) .Or maybe it's already been solved and if you could point me to the right spot.

Thanks,
Bob

Comments

jetdv wrote on 12/26/2003, 9:27 AM

Scripting currently does not work in the capture program. In fact, I know of no method of entering the batch capture times than manually typing or selecting each start/stop time. When you type it in, why not just modify it a little at the time of entry?

bcollier wrote on 12/26/2003, 10:34 AM

Thanks for the response.

I used to be a CPA in a previous life so I can fly on a number pad. Even the light mental gymnastics of subtracting 2 seconds from the in point and adding 2 seconds to the out point slows me down. But my concern is that it's fraught with error potential when doing 60-80 clips. Did I add 2 seconds or subtract 2 seconds to the beginning of clip 47?

At least it sounds as if it might be possible to do the above manually, then, after capture run a script to put a region in each clip that would be Start Point plus X frames and End Point minus X frames. That way I don't have to manually set regions in 60-80 clips.

It may sound trivial, but in FCP or Premiere, I create a batch of 60 clips (8 minutes), tell it to capture, drag to timeline, review in/outs (30 minutes), done.

In Vegas, create batch with added time on start/stops (12 minutes), tell it to capture, trim every clip manually (20 minutes), drag to timeline (6 minutes-now I have to select each clip in Explorer, then select the region, can't drag a group of clips), review in/outs (30 minutes), done. 38 minutes vs. 68 minutes - if I'm really smokin' through the clips and don't make any errors, I've still added an extra half hour time to the job. If it's an employee, I've added an hour or more to the job.

I guess that's the bean counter still coming out in me.

Again, thanks for responding,

Bob

jetdv wrote on 12/26/2003, 12:35 PM

If you manually capture with the extra 2 seconds head and tail, you COULD write a script for Vegas that would automatically cut off the beginning and ending 2 seconds from each clip on the timeline. It could even automatically remove the 4 second gaps this would create. So, trimming the head and tail would take a few seconds instead of many minutes.

bcollier wrote on 12/26/2003, 2:15 PM

Another way to "skin the cat" - in the timeline. Good idea!

Would there be an easy way to look at beg/end timecode of each clip? In addition to a visual review of the beg/end of each clip, it's nice to see that timecode, too. I know, I know, kinda paranoid, but I get a bit scatter-brained with several projects going at the same time.
Thanks,
Bob

jetdv wrote on 12/26/2003, 7:46 PM

You may be able to find that information on the Edit Details screen

bcollier wrote on 12/31/2003, 1:49 PM

Great point. I have limited screen real estate so I usually have Edit Details turned off. Then I forget about it. Then it takes a reminder, such as yours, to help me remember what a useful tool it is.