you got there before me mike ;-)

i've generally found the 1st works well (set to best if appropriate) and saving as png.

Gentlemen... Thank you. These suggestions are valuable.

As I think them through, #1 doesn't appear to save many steps or workflow cycles over my current process (i.e. which includes right-clicking the one-frame clip on the timeline and converting it to a subclip.) In fact, I can see it introducing additional steps as I'd have to change the settings on my preview to Best | Full before taking the snapshot and back to Preview | Auto when I'm done.

Mike... Was it your intention that these steps be automated? If so, I can see this being fairly elegant solution.

With respect to suggestion #2, this is one I've investigated and tried out. No doubt, it improves efficiency on the video end--since creation and placement of velocity envelope points if fairly straightforward to automate via script--but I lose on the audio end as I then have to manually align embedded mouse click SFX with the video--as you're aware there's no velocity automation for audio tracks.

Nonetheless, I appreciate your input, gents. You've given me more to think about. I still feel my current process (or Mike's #1) is a potential script candidate for someone with the right coding chops. I'm curious to know if others have attempted anything similar.

Thanks again.

If only a still at cursor is wanted I use always next:
1. Uncheck Options/Peferences/Editing  "Enable looping on events by default.
2. S(plit) at cursorposition.
3. Select the part left of the split, rightclick and choose "Create subclip".
4. Lenghten that clip with the amount of seconds you want for the still.

In fact, I can see it introducing additional steps as I'd have to change the settings on my preview to Best | Full before taking the snapshot and back to Preview | Auto when I'm done.

What I have found is that the snapshot function in VP12 always uses Best / Full when saving a still if preview is set to any mode: Draft / Preview / Good / Best along with being set to "Auto".

Have you taken a look at Vegasaur's Freeze Frame feature?

To jdw... I just tested that and it appears you're correct. The snapshot was a full HD / 1920x1080 despite my preview being 960x540.

To Marco... I'm a Vegasaur owner but hadn't realized this function existed (there are so many). In testing it just now, Freeze Frame accomplishes Mike's #2 suggestion to a T.

Since my last post on this topic, I borrowed some code from Edward Troxel, modified it to suit my purpose, and got it up and running. But it turns out Vegasaur does this with a single keystroke. Oh well... At least I learned something in the process.

Much thanks, Marco and all.

What I have found is that the snapshot function in VP12 always uses Best / Full when saving a still if preview is set to any mode: Draft / Preview / Good / Best along with being set to "Auto".

This was introducted in VP9. From the release notes:

"Copy Snapshot to Clipboard and Save Snapshot to File now deinterlace interlaced images and operate at Best (Full) resolution if the Video Preview is set to (Auto) size and Good quality if set to Draft or Preview."

Unfortunately those changes never made it to the online help or manual.

David, was interested in having a 1 click script that would do exactly your 6 step (some 20 keystrokes) plus adding a text media over the freeze frame (with fade in and out on the text frame). But would be more than happy with anything that accomplished what you were describing.

I teach sports and am always trying to capture the athlete at an important times during a movement and I may have 10 freeze frames every 2 minutes in a 30 minute workout or 150 total per athlete. I've tried to simplify, as you have mentioned, and seem to have minimized the strokes.

I am presently trying out the Vegasaur and I don't think it will help reduce the number of strokes significantly.

You mentioned something about modifying some Edward Troxel code and I wondered if you might want to share your mods with me?

kind regards, vic borgogno

Vic... I played around with Edward Troxel's code but it didn't get me where I needed to be.

Instead, I've been using the "Freeze Frame" tool in Vegasaur. Whenever I need to freeze, I drop the clip speed to zero, move the envelope points around to suit and I'm done.

Besides the simplicity, the other benefit of this method is that I can also speed the clip up where I need to—and that comes in handy quite often.

I hope this helps.

If you have a Shuttle controller, you might be able to do most of this as a macro.

davidp, i like it! First time I went directly to the 1-click commands and missed the Freeze Frame. That is going to save me several tedious movements, do appreciate!

I try and keep busy analyzing movements for players learning what is called the Split Step.

david-tu, I don't have a Shuttle controller and was hoping for a low cost way to memorize keystrokes on Vegas. In Excel and other Microsoft products one can create Macros and they are really powerful tools; the code can be modified by non-programming types (like me). Wish that Vegas would consider such an approach.

thanks for the feedback

You should film your sport instructions with a higher shutterspeed so that freezed images don't have so much motion blur.

3Point, that I am guilty off. I need to do a slow-mo shot with my JVD HD Professional, but I lose the audio. I guess I could record the audio on my iPhone and combine in Post. Any other thoughts?

david-tu, I don't have a Shuttle controller and was hoping for a low cost way to memorize keystrokes on Vegas. In Excel and other Microsoft products one can create Macros and they are really powerful tools; the code can be modified by non-programming types (like me). Wish that Vegas would consider such an approach.

thanks for the feedback

Gaming keyboards have programmable macro keys.

JN, not familiar with gaming keyboards and how they could be used with Vegas, can you help me understand? Does one OPEN a Macro and then go thru all the editing operations that I want to include, then CLOSE the Macro? Then assign the Macro to a ShortCut Key on the keyboard?

thanks again for any help, vic

3Point, that I am guilty off. I need to do a slow-mo shot with my JVD HD Professional, but I lose the audio. I guess I could record the audio on my iPhone and combine in Post. Any other thoughts?

No, I meant shutterspeed not framespeed.

I am also a bit slow in remembering that I have a manual setup my camera. That shutter speed increase may work with the light levels I normally have on the tennis court. I'm assuming my aperature setting could be a limitation.

Sorry for the 'level of skill', all this is pretty new to me.

The light conditions on a tennis court (outdoor,sunlight) should be more than sufficient to use a shutter speed of 1/250 sec for example. At the moment it looks to me that you used a shutter speed 1/50 sec or even slower. I don't know your camera, probably it has a "sports" exposure setting.

Vic-borgono, yes thats about it, the gaming keyboards have dedicated macro programmable keys from a few to up to 18 (18 hard = 54 soft on one Corsair keyboard), they come with their own software, you can program your email, address, text strings and of course multiple key presses, all to an individual single macro key.

Check out the many YT reviews etc of these keyboards, mostly all "mechanical".

Theo, thanks for the info. I will try it on our next project. When I go to Manual settings, I see the 1/250 sec and assume taking a light meter to check the aperture setting would be the best approach. Again, this is digging way back into some old memory banks.

JN, in thinking about the keystrokes (AND mouse clicks) I began to realize that mouse locations on the screen (i.e. split points, etc) might not work with the gaming keyboard. Have you any thoughts on how one might get around this issue?