HitFilm integration tricks and work-arounds

Tech Diver wrote on 1/18/2013, 11:19 AM
Recently, while working with HitFilm 2 Ultimate in VP12, I developed some procedures that make this tool more versatile by making use of it's method of integration.

Observation
I noticed that when invoking HitFilm from Vegas by right-clicking a video clip and selecting "Add HitFilm Effect", HitFilm immediately modifies your timeline by replacing the video portion of your clip (say Foo.mp4 for example) by a HitFilm project (Foo_0000.hfp in this case) that it stores in the same directory as your original clip. The new HitFilm project merely consists of a trimmed reference to your original video clip. I immediately realized that ANY HitFilm project can be dropped onto your timeline just as you would drop any video clip.

Advantages
There are currently a number of limitations in the VP12 integration as implemented by the HitFilm developers. Of note, you cannot add HitFilm to either a generated or empty Vegas event, which means that you can't directly generate a HitFilm effect with a transparent/alpha background. By having ready-made HitFilm projects that you drop on your timeline this restriction is circumvented. Be sure to set the in-out points in the HitFilm timeline otherwise your project will have a 5 min duration when added to Vegas.

I hope someone finds this useful and that I have not stated the obvious.

Peter

Edit: Fixed some spelling errors

Comments

dimipapa wrote on 1/19/2013, 1:20 AM
Still wish it worked with text and images
Tech Diver wrote on 1/19/2013, 8:35 AM
I agree.

Note that the text issue is a limitation, while the still-image issue is a bug that will eventually be fixed (I presume). The work-around for the still image bug is to create a minimal HitFilm project that you drop in your Vegas timeline. Then within HitFilm you have to import your still media. At least that's how I do it.

Peter
Lovelight wrote on 2/26/2013, 9:46 PM
Does the still image problem still exist? I like Hitfilm a lot but I work with lots of stills in Vegas, so its a big concern of mine.
Tech Diver wrote on 2/27/2013, 11:32 AM
Yes, it's still there. I wish they would create a release with at least some bug-fixes soon. The current release is several months old, though still an excellent product in my opinion.

Peter
Lovelight wrote on 2/27/2013, 4:26 PM
Yes, the product has great potential. I hope it is realized soon. Thank you for your honest response.