Apply the FX to the events themselves -- or the track by using keyframes within the lanes of the FX -- that way you have control according to how you set up each one. I.e. let's just take a simple Sony Color Correction example:

-- First, choose/click the "Animate" button (in Vegas 10--and I assume 11 and 12) so that the FX keyframe lanes appear under its settings.

-- If I have a color clip where I want to start it out in a black & white then slowly progress up to its actual full color version at midway through the clip, the first keyframe in the Color Corrector lane will have Saturation set to 0; the second one midway will be at 1.000.

Now, let's add another FX - Color Curves and we want that one to be really high contrast during the black-&-white to color transition:

--- I set the curves in it in an S-ish shape (very bright lights, very dark darks) in the first keyframe; and if I wanted no Color Curves to affect the clip by the midway keyframe, I would chose that keyframe's properties as "Set to None" (which zeroes out the curve to its default straight diagonal line).

One can do this kind of detailed keyframing with every FX. If you do this on a track level, markers would definitely help so you can locate the keyframes across events.

Molto Grazie Soniclight e Grazie
I really appreciate both of the very helpful comments. I will go away and study them,.
I had never realised that animation would be relevant to this problem. Can you tell me how may frames the key frame control can span? The video was taken under adverse conditions with a huge backlight problem in one direction, and the inability to use supplemental lighting. This prevents a one size fits all approach.
Once again thanks to both of you
tgc

Here's an interesting Keyframeing tutorial I think you'll find useful:

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tgc - Sei benvenuto e... the video abve posted by sodbuster-ca shows you this simple principle of keyframes even better. (My Italian is very rusty but grew up in part in Rome in the 1960s -- used to go to mass once in a while at the Vatican and had my First Communion in the local Roman basilica :)

If I understand tgc correctly he wants to apply a fx to the track and then keyframe this over multiple events thinking that this is an efficient way to do it when in fact this will be a disaster, that is to say he is visualizing multiple events as one event as in audio that is why he is making reference to the audio track whereas some types of fx like color correction and exposure corection should rather be applied to the individual event as the lighting may differ from shot to shot = one event to next event on the timeline.
Tgc multiple events can be graded on the track as you want to get an overall look to the entire clip but you should apply the fx directly to the event.

To save time place all your clips/events on the timeline then select them all and while selected add fx say curves this will apply the curves to every event on the timeline then go and set the amount on each individual image

The other approach which may help here is to apply FXs to the media.

Bob.

Yes Bob the bonus in applying the fx to media you can do it in the media bin directly after import on all media one shot so if you have set up a workflow chain white balance+curves+color correct+secd color correct select chain bang done after dumping on the timeline all you have to do is tweak each media saves time especially if you have used the same media more than once in that sequence any changes will be across the board on all those instances everything saves time somewhere down the line.

"The other approach which may help here is to apply FXs to the media." Bob.

Yah, that's what I suggested to him too in my simple example, though one can also keyframe tracks the same way as we all know. The advantage of applying to media or events is that when I copy out or steal one from one project to put in an other (i.e. when I have to instances of Vegas going for such a thing), all the FX come with it. Kind of like a self-contained video Lego block with all its own characteristics :)

Hi everyone. I am amazed by all of the help you have given. You have shown me many ways to think through the problem, and what I need to learn. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and insight.
tgc