smhontz - you got it in one!

Grazie

I also impressed people with this:

Setup a clip to loop playback. Then, change the audio level, AND IT KEEPS PLAYING. Drop another clip onto it so it can fade, AND IT KEEP PLAYING AND DOES THE FADE. Raise/lower audio levels (on the event, not mixer), AND IT KEEPS PLAYING and THE WAVEFORM CHANGES SHAPE. Open up a 2nd copy of vegas and render one while working in another.

Then let people play with it. :)

APPLY WHILE LOOPING! Ha hHAHA!! - Now that I like. Why on Earth didn't I twig that one? - Hey yer learn something everyday . . . . really . . I hadn't thought of applying while looping! Grief - numbnuzt here or WHAT?! - This means I can just thriow stuff at V4 and truly get an idea. Yes I've been Previewing an Event and seeing how it performs under . . say K/F to K/F . . . do it all the time . . but Looping small sections .. . .

. . . . . Grazie

Changing things while the playback continues to loop is a BIG one. Escpecially if you are also using an external monitor.

Other things to demonstrate might be Pan/Crop, Track Motion, Simplicity of creating dissolves (by overlapping), and SCRIPTS that can automate editing processes.

...and don't forget the Parent/Child demo either. That can produce some really cool effects. Put up some text, and have a video playing on the layer below it and use the P/C mode to make the text take on the video properties. Quick to do and looks really cool.

I'm still learning new things about Vegas every time I use it,...but I'd like to throw something out there too. Take a clip (any clip will do but try closeups of high school football/soccer players running or birds flying, flag waving in front of your high school) and show them how 'stinkingly" easy it is to add a velocity envelope and put the thing in slow motion within seconds!!! People love slow motion. Add a few key frames to show them how you can slow it down,..speed it up,...and YES even REVERSE it. I think the earlier mention of the PIP feature gets people excited too!! I know I still get a bit teary eyed with joy when I create a PIP in seconds too.

Basically,...I just love Vegas because it's so ROCK SOLID!!! I honestly thought all video work was a nightmare (former Premiere 6.5 user) and with the constant crashing and losing work,...I had thrown in the towel until I decided to give Vegas one crack at it. I haven't looked back since. It lets you be a creative artist as opposed to a computer programmer trying to figure out technical gliches etc.

My ¢¢

Look on the Vegas (SoFo) site for the contest winner. That boxing sequence is NICE! You might be able to show them that.

When I first so Vegas 3.0 and saw that I could do a Glow effect and see the results immediately on my slow computer I was mighty impressed. Of course you should then do some keyframing of the effect with looping on so they can see the power of the workflow.

Also I definitely plan out and write down everything you want to demo. Know exactly what media you are going to use and what the final edit should look like. This way you won't get off track when it counts. Especially when they is so much in vegas you could easily leave things out.

Also,

So long as you want people to think favorably of Vegas 4, don't forget that one of Vegas' strength is AUDIO POWER. Here's a couple of tricks to consider:

1. Drop a music track in the timeline.
2. See that plug-in chainer? Click it.
3. There would be 3 default effects.
4. Grab the Compressor and pull it out into its own window.
5. Loop the music track and Play.
6. You'll see horizontal meters dancing! Tell me if that ain't cool!
7. Best of all, they're not just eye-candy. They're there for a solid purpose.
7. Tweak seetings to see their effects real time.
8. Add more audio plug-ins like graphic equalizers and reverb.
9. Tweak the settings and see the effects.
10. Make sure your audience is listening.

One more audio plug-in to try is noise reduction. Select a 3-second area in your timeline (on a track with annoying background noise.) Capture the noise print. Show this to your audience. Then move the noise print up or down and tweak the settings a bit. Loop your track to compare the before and after effect. Check-uncheck (bypass) the noise reduction button so they will hear the difference between an abrasive sound and a soothing one. I think if you pull this out well, your audience will appreciate what a graceful program Vegas is when it comes to audio sweetening (to borrow a phrase.) Try and explore Vegas's audio tools a little more and you'll be amazed by the power in YOUR hands to manipulate audio with ease.