Saving Edited Segments

ADI2000 wrote on 4/2/2002, 6:07 PM
Hello,

I'm not sure if this question has been asked recently or not.. please forgive me if so.
I am in the process of editing footage for an instructional video, which (due in large part to the impatience of the involved crew and cast) requires quite a bit of transitioning to allow for a coherent and comprehensive finished storyline. On this project, I will be assembling many short clips together using simple crossfades, comprising segments, which will eventually string together with many others to complete the video. What is the best way to save these individual edited segments so that I can easily drop them in the final timeline later without loss of quality? I tried rendering a few segments as AVI files, but the "default" template causes a strange jerk-motion effect on playback, and the "DV NTSC" template seems to cause a loss of image quality (apparent aliasing). I am planning to burn DVDs with the finished product and output to VHS tape as well.
Also, (again due to the lack of patience of the cast and crew) I was unable to gather still image shots which would help in explaining the video's content. Is there a way to extract high-quality stills from the video in either the capture or trimming process? I had captured several stills using the "capture stills" button in "capture mode" during playback, but the images were only 163 X 120 pixels. I next unchecked the "save as JPEG" box, but the images are still small and poor in quality.

Thanks in Advance,

Steve M.

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 4/2/2002, 8:10 PM
Saving as AVI with the DV template is the preferred format. The resulting .avi files should be near indistinguishable from the original source material. There are reports of people rendering to this format out to 30 generations with no noticeable degradation. Just use the template as-is without making any custom changes at all.

To get a full size still image, right-mouse-button click on the preview window and select "Display at project size" first. Then the still image will be whatever size the project properties are set for.
ADI2000 wrote on 4/2/2002, 10:21 PM
Chien,

Thanks for the help yet again! The only thing is... the max size I can get is 327x240 still image. I clicked the project size box, then zoom 100% in capture. The max size is 327x240. What can I do??? I need stills desperately!!

Thanks Again!!

Steve M
tserface wrote on 4/2/2002, 10:34 PM
Change the preview window to be project size.

Tom
swarrine wrote on 4/2/2002, 10:45 PM
For stills: What does project size say? Hopefully 720 X 480. The largest still you will get out of that is 655 X 480. (This is the result of a video rectangular pixel vs. a still square pixel difference)

You could also chop up your video then save it to DV tape with no generational quality loss. Leave a few frames of black between the clips, then reimport when ready.
ADI2000 wrote on 4/3/2002, 7:06 AM
<<For stills: What does project size say? Hopefully 720 X 480.>>

Yes, my project is set to 720 X 480. The template I'm using is: NTSC DV (720x480, 29.970 fps).


<<You could also chop up your video then save it to DV tape with no generational quality loss. Leave a few frames of black between the clips, then reimport when ready. >>

How do I extract single frames to "chop up" the video? Can you explain the procedure? Is there a way to convert the "chopped" frames to a bitmap format for editing in a program such as Adobe Photoshop without quality loss within VV3? I'd like to have the flexibility to add such things as indicator arrows, and perhaps text to the stills to assist with explanation. I do have an external "Dazzle" device, which would work for stills, only the image quality is poor because of the analogue conversion issue.
I intend to add these stills to the finished video, and they need to be identical in quality to the moving footage. Any help would be tremendously appreciated!!


Thanks in advance,

Steve M.
DuncanS wrote on 4/3/2002, 9:26 AM
I use a program called ScenalyzerLive (http://www.scenalyzer.com) to capture video. Its still capture is pretty good. I find the program much more powerful than Vegas' capture tool.
ADI2000 wrote on 4/3/2002, 5:16 PM
Duncan,

Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded and installed the program you suggested, though it renders still images of 704 X 528. This image is 16 pixels short widthwise, and 68 too many heightwise. When I drop the still in the timeline, render and playback, the image is resized to fit automatically. It has a large black border, and is not the same scale as the moving images. What now? There has to be a simple way to capture 720 X 480 stills of the footage so that it can blend seamlessly into the video. Anyone know???

Thanks again,

Steve M.
Cheesehole wrote on 4/3/2002, 11:41 PM
I think you were on the right track with dropping the video on the timeline and using the built in Save Stills button. Make sure your video preview is at BEST quality. I have gotten seamless stills at 655x480 out of Vegas that way.

I would be more specific but currently my save stills button is greyed out. I don't know why. it's been this way for weeks.

I wish this process was much easier. I hate the fact that Vegas resizes the stills based on the size of the preview window. it's cheeeeezy! the current method presumes that I have my preview window sized down because I *want* it that way. no, my preview window is sized down for performance reasons and desktop size limitations.
DuncanS wrote on 4/4/2002, 6:09 AM
cheesehole -- you're right, the "Save Timeline Image" is the best way.

Wondering why the save button is greyed out? Try deselecting the "Preview to External Monitor" button. It foxed me for a while :-)
Cheesehole wrote on 4/5/2002, 4:47 AM
LOL! Thanks! :D