"Rendering" in general computer terms means "compiling" an output. *

*See Disclaimer

You might want to take a look at the recent webinar that Sony put on - 10 Vegas Pro techniques for power editing–Live! - http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro9webinar .

It quickly walks you through the screen layout, and then IMO does a good job at hitting several key editing techniques. I'm fairly new to Vegas but coming from a more advanced editing system than Roxio (Aivd Liqud), and I found the seminar really helpful.

I have been spending time recently looking at various Vegas training options that I could find and not have to pay a lot of $$'s for. My goal was to develop the best work flow to use in editing an fairly involved project. Things like time stretch, panning / cropping, ungrouping, titles, multiple sequences (aka - containers/sequences), track motion keyframing - stuff like that, and it's been a challenge.

There's lots of material out there for leaning - it's just that it takes time to go through each, and, for me, each does good jobs on some things, but lack in others. Now I am talking about the program’s "help" menu - which just doesn't quite fulfill my inquisitiveness – the PDF manual that can be downloaded, books (main ones being Vegas Pro 8 Editing Workshop & Vegas Home Companion), and you tube video trainings.

I did look at the free sony vegas training at http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/trainingvids-stroud.asp with Les Stroud and as I recall, they are good (and free). I really should view them again since I might pick up a lot more now. Digital juice has a couple of good training TV shows on Vegas by Erik Franks that gives you a real feel for Vegas's power - and let's you know there's a learning curve ahead. Erik gives great explanations - but doesn't stop for basics - so if you don't know what he says, you know you need to do research. Haven't paid the $90 - 300+ or so asking price for some the DVD training modules yet - there appears to be at least 2 good ones out there, maybe more. Maybe purchasing one would be worthwhile - it's just which one. Then there are the script or add on tools that I think are designed to work around some of Vegas's shortcomings - but you need to know the basics to really bring out their power (I think). Right now I am working through a lot of the veg program files that are on the DVD disk that came with Vegas Pro 8 Editing Workshop, and seeing if I can figure out what was done by looking at all the effect and track settings on all clips. It seems to help me learn the interface, which I think is helpful, and for me I keep finding there are eidting secrets of vegas - it's just understanding how to find them sometimes is a challenge,

The cool thing is, when you find something that helps, you go – wow, this program is kinda fun.

Anyway, probably too long of a post – sorry – just thought it might help or evoke some comments on hints on learning vegas. It would be neat if they were all together in one spot.:)

Rendering is when you take whatever you have done to your video on the timeline (trimmed, added titles, effects, transitions, stills, music etc ...) and from that you create a new single file, in whatever format you choose (avi, mpg2, mp4 etc.)

The usual way is to create a loop region containing the part you want to render, then clicking on File / Render as ....

Now, to confuse with the facts. You render AVI files, but you encode MPG and MP4 files, notwithstanding that the encode commands are in the "render as" menu.

There's a lot of help available on YouTube (some of it very good, some of it unbelievably amateurish in its presentation).

For me I render when I've finished the editing process and am ready to transfer the project to DVDA for burning to a DVD (and creating any menus I might need). I create a Region (R on the keyboard) in the Vegas project, go to File - Render As and do two renders, one to MPEG2 and the other to AC3 (don't forget to tick the render region box). Give them both the same file name (but keep their original extensions) and you only need to drag one from Explorer into the blue window in DVDA and the other will follow automatically.

Richard

Edward Troxel's free newsletters are another great Vegas resource.
While some of the articles are written for older versions, the underlying principles remain the same.

Mike

BudWzr wrote:

"Rendering" just means generating. It is not necessarily the final product.

Yes, you are absolutely correct. I was just planning to change it when I saw your comment.

I did mean it in relative terms, but certainly a render could be brought back in and composited into another "final product".

I was thinking a better description might be "flatten", but that would limit the meaning to "layered" source material.

"Compiling" is another word for render. Maybe that's closer to a pure meaning.

====================================================
"Rendering" in computer terms means producing the final product.

"Rendering" just means generating. It is not necessarily the final product.

In Vegas, to render a file means to encode it to whatever the desired output format is.

Mike

:) I'm a country girl, but now with animals we farm and build farm equipment, thank you for all your help. I do have one more probly really stupid question. Before I started playing with the editing I wanted to make sure I knew how to burn a DVD. So I already had my files on the computer that i had caputured with roxio. I draged them on this program. I didn't edit them yet and I wanted to try to burn to DVD. The only place I can see to burn when i went to the help menu, it told me to go to Tools, Burn Disc, Vide CD. I tried doing that several times and when it tries to burn it gives me an error from my DVD burner. It says an internal error has occurred:

'SFMMCX'-(17)
''-(255)
-'SONY DVD RW DRU-840A SS01'-(255)
Module Line 0
The operation is not supported by this drive.

Status: 00000000
Command:
Sense: 00 00 00
Info: 00 00 00 00
Specific: 00 00 00
Extra:

Its a Sony externdal dvd burner that is brand spankin new. I don't understand this error. Does it have anything to do with the fact that I chose the option to burn a Video "CD." I don't see an option to burn a DVD. Am I picking the wrong option?

Burning a Video CD is the wrong option.
You didn't say what kind of files you already have but making a DVD from Vegas requires an MPEG-2 file and the corresponding AC-3 file for video and audio respectively.
Take a look at Vol. 1 Issue #7 in the newsletters I linked to above as he spells out the correct steps to do this.
Let us know if you have any more questions after going through the newsletter.

Mike

So I still can't figure out how to make a DVD in Vegas Pro. I opened up the Architect and put a picture as the menu and added media. I still can't figure out how to edit the media that i add in architect. Can anyone help me with this?

My dvd burned successfully with the menu all i need to do now is find out how to edit each media i added.

You do your editing in Vegas and your authoring in DVDA. So basically you create your video for dvd in Vegas and you "build" your dvd in DVD Architect.

j razz

ok got it, thanx j razz. so its like roxio and my dvd. i capture and do it all in roxio then send to my dvd to make menu and burn dvd. sweet!!!! ok so my next question. in vegas i found out how to split. just go where i want to spilit and hit "s" so nice and easy. then i can delete the previous scene i split from. Now my problem is. How do i move that scene i want to keep forward. i don't think i explained that right, let me try again. so i captured the video and i want to edit out the first 5 seconds. i can hit "s" where i want to split then i deleted the first 5 seconds and then i tried dragging what was left to the start and it brings back what i deleted. i need to somehow keep the start settings of that scene and drag it forward. what button does that?

Wow this sounds like some deep meditation lingo. How do i click, "within" the media? Maybe i need to sleep next to my computer tonight so we can connect again :)

I hope you all know i am so teaseing thank you all for your help.

The challenge for me ( and I expect others) as I explore new areas of Vegas is knowing what something is called. Searching for what you think something is called can prove frustrating!

Auto Ripple was one of those for me. Since I'm not (by a longshot) a pro, I would have never ever searched for a term like that! Then months later when I needed to do it again, I couldn't remember what it was called.

It might be good to have a section in the forum called "what do you call..." If you know what it's called, you can find it in help or on the forums!

Rather than just learning about Auto Ripple, you'll get a much better understanding by first learning about Ripple ..... then go on to the two ways of applying Ripple:

Auto Ripple
Post Edit Ripple

I hardly ever use Auto Ripple. Post Edit Ripple gives me full control over when I use it.

If you know what it's called, you can find it in help or on the forums!

Exactly right. It's a learning curve. I shorted up the curve by buying Spot's book . But I'm still learning! What's amazing is how much you can do with Vegas without even knowing all the right terms (what ever that means) for the things you are doing.

Countrygirl, you may find the following enlightening:

[url=http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro9webinar]
It's a bit advanced, but still very good.

There are also the free training videos at Sony creative software.
[url=http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/trainingvids.asp?prod=vegaspro]
Is a set of "Vegas Pro basics" tutorial videos.

And there are the Les Stroud series, though he's not actually voicing the tutorial parts.
[url=http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/trainingvids-stroud.asp]

That at least should give you a place to start :)

Edit: I just noticed that DaveM2 already posted the Webinar and Les Stroud links.

Maybe the Vegas manual is a good place to start. You need to understand the interface and general principles.

Interesting how helpful all the men are when a new user posts under the name "countrygirl." If someone named "videodude" had asked what rendering was, he would have been brusquely told to read his manual. Just sayin.......