Nope, just makes the dots invisible.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

Ray,
Are you talking about three round PIPs? Are you on Vegas 4 or 5? There sems to be a difference in how the compositing is handled. I'm still on 4.
Tor

Yea, basicly what I'm going for. And yes, things are different and hence my confusion. ; )

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

ok ,how about multiply,To reproduce the Vegas 4.0 parent/child masking behavior, set the compositing mode of the parent track to Multiply, and then apply the Mask Generator plug-in as a track effect on the parent track.

Nope, just makes most everything black.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

sorry thats all I got without seeing your mask layer
good luck

Three Video Tracks.
1.Three dots
2. Video for white portions of Track 1.
3. Video for black portions of Track 1.

Click "Make Compositing Child" on Track 2.
Click "Compositing Mode" on Track 1 and chose "Multiply (Mask)." You should now see the Track 2 video through white portions of Track 1.
Open Video FX and select "Mask Generator." Drag the "Luminance Mask" preset to the Track 1 HEADER. You should now see Track 3 video through black portions on Track 1.

That should do it, without actually seeing what you've got. HTH, Darryl

" Click "Compositing Mode" on Track 1 and chose "Multiply (Mask)." You should now see the Track 2 video through white portions of Track 1 "

... I see track three.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

At my wits friggen ends with masking and parent/child tracks. Never had a problem till this version of Vegas. Hade no problems before and have no probs doing it in Photoshop ... but here I am after THREE HOURS of switching,swapping, and troubleshooting. I've dug through the help files and what they say just aint doing what its supposed to, I simply cannot get anything more than seeing one track through the black and white mask. I've inverted the mask in Photoshop and tried every friggin combination of parent/child and masking ... every one, that is, except the one that works.

How is something so easy so damn hard ?

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

Under Help>Parent Overlay Mode>Learn more about parent and child tracks. It shows how to do exactly what I need to do. I have done it verbatim umpteen million times and tried every conceivable combination and variation thereof.

To go back to basics : New project, add a video layer with the Checkerboard > Large Tiles to the first layer. On the second layer I add an image. If I click on the " Make Compositing Child " arrow on layer two, shouldn't half of the checkers now be the image on layer two ? For me what appears to be a simple thing just doesn't work. All I continue to see is the checkerboard.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

I agree this is much more complex in V5 without much "helpful" help in the manual.

I just got what you're after, I think, Ray - basically the same as Darryl said above, but I'll describe what I did:

T1 - Checkerboard
T2 - Solid Red
T3 - Solid Green

T1 - Change Compositing Mode to Muliply (Mask)
Apply Mask Generator to Track FX - Luminance Setting

T2 - Leave Compositing mode at Source Alpha
Click Right Hand downward pointing arrow to make Compositing Child

T3 - Do nothing, except check Compositing Mode is Source Alpha

This gives me a red and green chequerboard.

Good luck.

God bless your lil heart. Though I have yet to shake off the last flakes of frustration at least its working. Can't imagine why they would take something that was once so silmple and comlicate the hell out of it.

Thanks a bunch guys, Peter, ya nailed it.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

I know, I have experienced just the same. The UP side is that the new parent/nesting/3D track motion open up vast new possibilities for us. I'm persitent and determined, I'm going back throught the whole "Learn to use the new features" manual. It gets better. This is my 3rd time through. Darryl

Ray - it's 7:00am on a beautiful London morning here. Just read the thread and yes .. what little hair I had on my head was removed sometime back at trying to remember which and what way to go with this type of "feature" .. . been there .. done that too! If you don't do these effects often it does not come naturally. NOW I keep my own Grazie Folder of really useful veggies, honest really simple stuff, just to keep me up on the Game - yeah?

Might I suggest those that have helped a colleague might wanna upload their "treatment" to
Kelly's "Chienworks" Veggie Sharing site? . Then everybody gets to use the solution too! A real teaching aid.

Grazie

Glad it worked for you Ray.

I would find it a lot easier to learn these routines if I understood, in simple terms, what each setting is actually doing. It anyone can complete the following sentences, I and perhaps a few others would be very grateful.

e.g.
The Mask needs to be on the top track because .......... (? because it's going to be a parent?)

The Compositing Mode of this track has to be Multiply (Mask) because .....

This track needs the Mask Generator FX applied because ........

The Mask needs to be set to luminance because ......... (? it's going to use black and white differences to hide or reveal different underlying images)

Track 2 has to be Source Alpha because .......

Track 2 has to be made Compositing Child because ......

Track 3 needs nothing doing to it, because ...... ( ? It is the background showing through the transparent areas created by the two tracks above)

Peter

Peter what a most EXCELLENT post!

Now this has to be answered by some of the more advanced users so that we can have an "agreed" Testament to Function.

What we are also getting "close" to is a very simple BUT instructive Glossary as to what these terms actually mean and the function they perform.

Sometimes in the online and hard copy manuals it will say what something IS - I already KNOW what it is, thank you very much! - I WANT to know WHAT it does and WHY it does it a particular way!

The way you have formatted the "Function-List" for a "Noun" function [ eg "The Mask" ] to be then described is spot on - I like your thinking.

Lets get towards a Vegas Philosophy/Understanding of terms and their relevance - got my vote!

Grazie

Socrates was a Mask.
All Masks are Parent-Composite Multiply Modes-Mask Lumin FX.
Therefore, Socrates drank poison.

A whole new way to think about NLEs. Darryl

Hmmm, why'd I have to try this? Peter do you mean you literally get a checkerboard with green squares and red squares? I don't, I get a mud (green & red mixed) squares and black squares.

I'm sure I followed your steps correctly, I've checked and deca-checked by now.

MJ

Go to here:

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/products/default.asp?channel=T

and download the "Vegas 5 - Learn to Use the New Features" pdf. This exact procedure begins on page 19.

HTH Darryl

Yes - I used the "Large Tiles" preset from Media Generator > Checkerboard - something with clear black and white.

And yes, I definitely get a checkerboard with green and red squares - I just did it again from scratch.

OK, I'm using Vegas 4, It seems as though the "black" squares are doing as they should, masking the child track "red" and the "green" track then combining the red and green with the mask "black" squares masking everything.

BTW to the above poster, I love manuals, I read them for recreation.

Is this a V4 to V5 issue? I'm quit sure I followed the steps correctly and read the "compositing" sections many times.

Seems odd that the "black" squares will become transparent and display the third track but I'd love to learn how I'm wrong.

MJ