Vegas as a Pro Tool

decrink wrote on 5/6/2003, 9:47 AM

With all the talk of Sony this and Sony that, I just wanted to say that I love Vegas. After resolving a small issue by speaking with M-audio tech support and emailing SF (I'm now completely asio drivers), I have completed moving from V3 to V4 right in the middle of three major projects:

I finished a 15 minute film with many edits and old footage that was transferred from 8mm. 6 vid tracks and 5 sound tracks for a work related project.

I finished a major CD release for a local storyteller complete with original music, tracks composed in Acid and multiple tracks and edits.

I'm currently mixing an 8 tune children's CD with 30 solo tracks and 18 busses and plenty of effects, SF and third party. Everything except live group tracks done in Vegas, Sound Forge and Acid. Once you set up Vegas to mix with color coded tracks, track bussing, automated FX and so much more, its really a breeze to work with to compliment the great editing.

All on an Athlon 1000 with 512 DDR, Matrox dual card, Delta i/o's, and Sonic Foundry mojo.

I'm not tooting my own horn but honking for Sonic Foundry. No matter what happens to SF through the Sony deal I will continue to use their products because they are doing what they need to do NOW to complete professional projects.

Who needs Pro Tools when I already have all the pro tools I need.

I'd like to hear other success stories as well.

Cross posted in Audio/Video for those that don't go both ways.
Bill Briare

Comments

MZ wrote on 5/6/2003, 10:24 AM

Ditto on all sides. In my personal opinion, I think the Sony thing could be great for Vegas. I work in a university media lab, where we have Vegas 3.0 installed side-by-side with Premiere 6 and Pinnacle. Premiere/Pinnacle has been NOTHING but problematic (locking up, frustrated students, etc.). I tell them to bring the AVI's they captured with Pinnacle into Vegas and they are simply amazed how easy it is to use.

Everyone knows Premiere because that's the buzz word, but when I say, "Why not try Vegas?" They're usually like, "What is Vegas?" But when they try it, they're hooked. If Sony can do anything to help get Vegas out there and in the public's mind, be it as Vegas or whatever they may call it in future, I'm all for it. I've been a loyal Vegas user for a while now. I'm a student at UW-Oshkosh and when it was time to create an NLE for my own use, I tried Vegas cause I had used Vegas Audio in a student radio station. Learning curve was so easy and I started using Vegas 3. Now I'm a proud Vegas 4+DVD user.

I've done a ton of projects with Vegas. I took my university projects home and did them on Vegas, rather than futz with Adobe or Avid. I multi-tracked some radio pieces I did for the campus radio station. I've done a couple weddings. I'm finishing up a 50th anniversary project for a high school. I'm finishing up a short subject documentary on professional hockey. In a few months, I'm going to be cutting a feature film shot on DV and doing my whole 5.1 sound mix, all in the cozy confines of my basement. I'll probably also be doing a soundtrack / score for said film and self-distributing it, all done with SF apps.

And all that was within the price range of a poor student limping slowly through his fifth year in college.

What's not to love about that?

PDB wrote on 5/7/2003, 4:39 AM

Just a quick question related to the issue with M-Audio...did you have a problem with the drivers? I just installed the revolution 7.1 and there is a known issue with this card and Vegas 4. (I can't scrub anymore...) Is your problem similar? Do you know of a fix?

Thanks in advance and congrats on your projects!

Paul.

decrink wrote on 5/7/2003, 10:06 AM

I had setup issues. I tried different drivers and settled on the beta 29. Then some changes in system and control panel did the trick. I've heard the 7.1 driver is on the way and that the card is very cool but with different converters? I haven't seen the specs on that yet.

PDB wrote on 5/7/2003, 10:36 AM

I confess I'm a total ignorant on audio issues let alone card specs!! The reason I chose it over other options in same price range was mainly because it is made by a professional audio co and Earl Foote highly recommended it over at the COW. Now all I need is the new driver!

Thanks for the reply!

Paul.

Arks wrote on 5/7/2003, 10:37 AM

Nice post =)
This story sounds just like mine in many ways. I went to UW-Milwaukee and graduated a year ago with a BFA in Film/Video. The school was all AVID/FCP based, and I stuck to my Vegas because I could bring my projects home and work on them whenever I wanted and MUCH faster as well. When I mention Vegas, all the other students had no idea what I was talking about. Its pretty sad how "buzz" words like AVID and Premiere and Final Cut Pro get burned into these peoples minds (you'd think, some of them being very very open minded art students, they would try a new software program..lol). Anyway, My vegas 3.0 edited senior thesis/independent study was shown on PBS this past february and it was one of the biggest things for the film department in that college. Thanks to Vegas, I was able to do what I wanted with it. I currently started a digital video/web design business with a friend and we are slowly but surely gaining some clients. ALong with Vegas+DVD and my DVX100... I am ready to go (god I love DV, vegas, and computers...you can do anything...viva la technological revolution~! or should i say evolution)

Brian Artka
influx media LLC
www.influx-media.com
Digital Video/Web Design

"Servicing Small Businesses and Individuals of Milwaukee and Beyond..."

fanningp wrote on 5/8/2003, 6:48 AM

Hey Brian....congrats on graduating from UWM...my step-daughter graduates this month from UWM and is moving to San Diego. Sorry to hear it took awhile for UWM to learn about Vegas :)

I kinda stumbled across it one day and have been hooked, mostly as a hobby, doing stuff for friends. I'm a net admin by day over at MATC. Hope your business does well...

Pete

Arks wrote on 5/8/2003, 8:47 AM

Thanks! What is your step daughter graduating with? I am confident my business will do well. I tried for the past 6-8 months to get a job as a video editor in the Milwaukee area working on AVID and their media composers. etc... then I realized that all the post houses around here were just people like me that started one up, so I decided to start my own and start out small (I gave them a chance to hire me, but none of them were). I figure I have a huge advantage, I know my technology, I'm business like, I have a creative mind (I am left handed.. lol..) AND I don't own a 40,000 dollar AVID Media Composer that is hindering my ability to realize that a software based NLE on a PC can do what it can for 3/4 less the price. BTW, I also work as a computer specialist at Bell Ambulance here in the Milwaukee area (need to earn some constant cash flow for now to pay off that college degree ).

BRian

bakerja wrote on 5/8/2003, 1:34 PM

"Who needs Pro Tools when I already have all the pro tools I need."

While vegas is an extremely powerful tool, it will not edit audio on the sample level. I routinely have to export vegas audio to another audio editing tool to get the accuracy needed for finite edits.

JAB

decrink wrote on 5/8/2003, 3:10 PM

Of course, if you read my post you see I use Sound Forge. And I used 'tools' as in plural not singular.

MZ wrote on 5/8/2003, 11:48 PM

There are some of my radio and video pieces I've done during my stay at UW Oshkosh (at home on Vegas 3 / 4, of course) on my website (www.boundtocomearound.com; in the Sight & Sound Gallery).

I don't know if I mentioned it in my previous post, but I'm currently working on a Green Bay Gamblers documentary on Vegas 4. We shot it at the Resch Center in Green Bay with two Digital 8's and a Hi8. I bring over my crew from UWO to cut and you should have seen their jaws DROP when I was so easily editing together what would have taken three times as long on a Premiere or Avid Express system at school. We recorded two external mics separately on Minidisc, and we've been setting up a kick-ass Dolby 5.1 mix on it (interview dialogue in the center; ambient arena sound in the Front/Rear L/R; sounds AMAZING). We're screening our first cut in the UWO theatre (which has a sweet Dolby Digital setup) next week and I'm hoping it raises a few eyebrows among the purists.

I would like to see the students I'm teaching Vegas to at UW-Fox Valley go on to UWO or UWM and lobby them to get Vegas setups eventually. We need all the support we can; hopefully Sony can give Vegas that.

--Mark

Arks wrote on 5/9/2003, 8:29 AM

I agree on the Vegas thing being pushed for educational use. I have a pretty strong hand in the UWM film department, and I could do some talking this weekend and see if this could possibly happen...the only thing that might be bad is that the school in general is suffering from the WI budget cuts (go figure) and I doubt they can get any more money to spend on anything...