Vegas Pro 17 Edit: Can I apply Color Grading to full track, not media?

claire-rousseau wrote on 6/4/2020, 7:54 AM

I'm trying out the Colour Grading console that's new on Vegas Pro 17 (just upgraded from 15 to 17 last week) and it looks like you can't apply the colour grading to the whole track using Track FX, instead it goes on the media itself by default. This is a problem because I need to be able to toggle colour grading on and off easily for my whole project. Also, some portion of the video are darker footage and will need different grading - I was planning on using two different video tracks with different effects as I've done in the past in 15.

I'm colour grading this footage before editing it, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to render the final video with the colour grading on - I would like to have the colour correction, but when I tried to render videos in 15 with track or media FX, it slowed the render so much that I often ended up turning off all effects so I could render my video in a reasonable time and not tie off my computer for ages.

Is there a way to apply colour grading from the Alt+G colour grading console to the whole track so I can easily turn it on and off?

Thanks!
Claire

Comments

set wrote on 6/4/2020, 8:07 AM

Here's the trick: grade one of it, then open EventFX, now save that as preset.

Then go to TrackFX, then apply manually Vegas Color Grading FX, then choose that preset

Cons: You can't directly access the color grading panel tool setting in TrackFX..., but you can turn on / off just like any other FX.

claire-rousseau wrote on 6/4/2020, 8:11 AM

Oh thanks, that will work as a short term fix at least. :)

If anyone has other ideas where I can still access to colour grading poanel, I'm all ears though!

Dexcon wrote on 6/4/2020, 8:17 AM

Basic color grading in VP15 using VEGAS FX shouldn't drastically slow down render times unless there are heaps and heaps of FX added to an event. It would be good if you could post your computer specs so that the computer experts on the forum can comment about whether or not your computer might be the problem rather than Vegas Pro.

Unfortunately. it doesn't seem that color grading can be added at track level because selecting color grading from the track level FX icon results in the advice that the color grading FX can only be added via the Tools menu, and there doesn't seem to be a way to access the Tools menu at the track level.

diverG wrote on 6/4/2020, 1:12 PM

Could the grade not be saved (exported) as a LUT. Then apply LUT to track?

Help suggests this might well work.

michael-harrison wrote on 6/4/2020, 1:38 PM

@diverG yes, saving and applying a lut works just fine

Jessariah67 wrote on 7/4/2020, 10:50 AM

I've been working with applying to the entire track, but something seems to be happening where my Color Grading "saved preset" resets if I turn the effect off, then back on - which you have to do if you've applied it to the entire track, but want to tweak it - which requires you to disable on the track, because you can only adjust it on an individual clip. Then when you go to turn it back on at the track level and reapply the preset (in effect, "refreshing it"), the preset is basically back to the default levels. Not sure why this is happening like that.

michael-harrison wrote on 7/4/2020, 1:07 PM

@Jessariah67 Have you tried exporting and using a LUT on the track rather than a preset?

Jessariah67 wrote on 7/5/2020, 6:57 AM

From what I can see, you can only apply a preset at the track level - everything in the Color Grading panel is "greyed out" unless you actually click a clip, and then it's only applied to that clip. I think, in this case, a preset vs. a LUT is the same difference - it's just the "tweaking" that is still very cumbersome.

Dexcon wrote on 7/5/2020, 7:16 AM

@Jessariah67 ... as the Color Grading function is added as an 'Event FX', that of itself implies that the FX is for an event only. Yes it can be added at track level as a LUT, and yes that is cumbersome. But it would be so, so, so much better if the Color Grading function could also be used as a track level FX or even as a project level FX in the same way as the long existing Color Correction FX can be.

Jessariah67 wrote on 7/5/2020, 11:38 AM

I agree, Dex. It's cumbersome either way as it currently functions, but my "duct-taped approach" is to apply it to all the clips on the track for a scene (one camera's covereage), then slectively apply to the other clips if I do any tweaking - that way there is no "turning off/on" at different levels, and risking a reset or unwanted change (I think that has something to do with the actual FX window being opened when switching from one clip to the other.)

I really DO love the new color grading panel - especially the control over individual RBG, which you cant do with color correction. RG's Colorista is available via Looks, but that opens only one clip at a time - you really can't do "quick" A/Bs.