I just wish there was evidence of more people around here. The number of posts has been steadily diminishing the past two years.

> The number of posts has been steadily diminishing the past two years.

To post here one needs to have a Product with a serial number (yes?) - now you do the logical conclusion from that, John?

And yes - FRESH BLOOD!!!

Grazie

I also agree with the OP - this forum seems to be the proper balance between over-moderated dvinfo, and those "wild" public fora one sometimes stumbles upon...

What makes it stand out is that it's self-mitigating.

Oh, and most important thing: this is the only forum I know that contains actually more answers and help attempts than inquires!

I'd say the age of many of the posters (50ish plus from viewing the What do you look like in 2010?, thread) has a lot to do with the quality and tone of the forum. Perhaps younger users have a totally different paradigm for editing compared to those of us that came up on linear. Or worse, maybe we're a dying breed.

I've viewed some youtube Vegas tutorials that sounded like they were made by 12 year olds -- more power to them.

Finally, even though I don't post often, I've edited on Vegas since V.3 and visit the forum often and highly appreciate the knowledge imparted and the social interaction.

Speaking from the lower end (kooks), I'm impressed by the intelligence found here, and the quality of the information.

It seems to me that you have to be quite intelligent to pursue Vegas to the pro level, and frankly, the last couple generations are not deep thinkers, it seems.

I know I make some outrageous posts, and come across as a troll or the other euphemisms MusicVid threw out above, but I actually like it here, all of it, and I secretly take in the good wisdom while defending a ludicrous position.

As far as "old fart", New Skool, Old School, $1000 or $10 mics, we're all a part of the most powerful communication tool ever conceived, and from Alfred Steiglitz to Alfred Hitchcock to YouTube, we're participating in the evolution of the human brain.

And evolution depends on kooks, vagrants, hippys, crooks, rastamen, freaks, weirdos, etc. Without the mutants, all we'd get is more of the same.

I was probably amongst the last few to learn about linear editing (in the early 90s when component was all the rage). I worked mainly with C format tape, a little with Quad (mainly transfer for archive purposes), U-matic for fun, lots of Betacam, and a smattering of D1 (might have been D2).

It strikes me that of the Pro NLEs, Vegas seems to be the only one that does NOT stick to the old paradigm of having a preview (trimmer) and output screen. I know it can be set up that way, and 9.x is configured that way. But there really is no need for it.

It's one of those features that puts me off the likes of Premiere.

And, yes, these forums are incredibly helpful. I visit daily, and usually I'll learn something new.

"I just wish there was evidence of more people around here. The number of posts has been steadily diminishing the past two years."

That's probably due to most of us knowing all the answers by now....;>)

"What makes it stand out is that it's self-mitigating."

I like that analysis. Also your reference to dvinfo and "wild" forums (I assume Doom9 would qualify?) on both ends.

It's the user base that makes it work here, with some occasional regressions.
The only advantage those other places have over the SCS forums is that they all use phpBB !

...evolution depends on kooks, vagrants, hippys, crooks, rastamen, freaks, weirdos, etc. Without the mutants, all we'd get is more of the same.

(cue celestial choir) Amen and amen.

You know it's funny. I left Premiere years ago (at 6.5) and the move to Vegas gave me so much freedom. But as I started to do bigger and bigger projects, it just got unwieldy.

My demo of Avid was eye opening. The idea of the trimmer smacked me in the head like a gold bar. I was able to cut FAR faster than I had been in Vegas. When I moved back to Vegas, I started using the trimmer again for larger projects, and I am really happy. Trimming everything on the timeline just is fraught with problems for me on bigger projects.

To each their own I guess, but there is certainly room for both paradigms in editing.

"I just wish there was evidence of more people around here. The number of posts has been steadily diminishing the past two years."

My guess is that fewer and fewer people are buying Vegas. And those of us who've been with Vegas for years are probably falling off the radar due to attrition or by switching NLE's.

a. it's like family here - even the little ones who need the occasional slap wrist...

b. it's VERY knowledgeable around here, and not just about vegas

c. i've been booted off a peer forum where, just out of sheer anger, i suggested the op RTFM. i mean really....

d. new blood generally asks basic questions, whose answers are easily found searching this group (i know a few of my students regularly scour this forum for answers - though they don't necessarily own a copy of vegas - or they have a cracked version - and YES, i point out the error of their ways!!!)

e. i like people with beards* (serena - i'll make an exception for you).

leslie

*i find (generally) people with beards have better things to do than waste 5 minutes every morning looking at their own face - they usually prefer someone else's on the tl......

At one point, I owned two Casablanca editing systems...

http://www.macrosystem.us/

Their system forums consisted of two versions - a UK version and a US version ...
much the same as here ... many advocates and beta testers were die-hard fans; others were newcomers who couldn't figure out why the designers, programmers, and testers couldn't get anything right the first time around... many new products and software products released before the problems of the previous model and version were completely fixed and stable...
However, the bragging point that always came up about them is that the president of the company (a German businessman) was also a member of the forum - so he often read every complaint (he knew of them anyhow), and in times of extreme criticism, would come online with a word or two about what is coming up next and what they're doing to make things right. . .
* * *
I relate this experience to confirm (to those who may not know it yet), no single program will do everything a professional video editor will need - in fact, one of the members on the forum there introduced me to Vegas around the V4.0 era... I've liked Vegas so much, I gave up the Casablanca tail-chasing completely.
* * *
I'm now a full-time Vegas user and supporter ... with my new machine and its satisfactory recent speed tests, I'm happier than ever with Vegas ... and the NewBlue guys (and others) offer so many excellent, and fun, add-ons ... I'm not going anywhere any time soon.
* * *
As far as the voices and comments provided here ... well, oftentimes, the very vocal shut down the middle-of-the-roaders, and they just quit trying to have any meaningful interactions; they revert to lurker status to keep up with the software improvements and enhancements and prefer to sit on the sidelines. My point being that just because we don't hear from as many as before, that isn't any reason to interpret that the membership is shrinking... without any real figures, determining the growth or loss of the membership is pure speculation.
* * *
As for Sony, I don't expect that the president of the company will come to comment any time soon ... it might be nice - IF the Sony programming division would at least provide a list of the items they expect to fix, improve, and/or introduce with the next release... just to give the users a bit of a heads up on the priorities the company is focusing on for the next release... that would be enough for me... maybe for a few others as well . . .
I know it would go a long way for their PR without really giving anything away or getting directly in contact with hundreds of users - which they appear to have an aversion for... (grin)
* * *
So, please be encouraged ...
an old company commander of mine had a black velvet image (it was a 70s thing) with this inscription:

We're ain't what we oughta be,

Until that time... Earl J.

Yes indeed Earl J .. I agree.

"Until that time, Eustice, until that time..."

I've liked Vegas so much, I gave up the Casablanca tail-chasing completely.

I think everybody gave up on Casablanca. Do they even make anything anymore? They were relevant when they needed to be, but were soon passed up by better and cheaper computers.

In the early Nineties, I was shooting and editing Super VHS. and in the editing suite, using an Amiga 500, with an amazing free Magazine giveaway program called Scala to do the titles.

The Casablanca system used Amiga technology. so we were all set to buy a Casablanca .... then a new product from Germany, an MJPEG Capture Card - the Miro DC30, then the DC30+ which I still have, arrived, packaged with Premiere 4.2.

I know John Cline was also a DC30+ user, and in fact it was his post in a dc30 forum that led to me purchasing Vegas 3. I'm still happy about that, and this Forum has added immensely to the quality of the experience.

>>>My point being that just because we don't hear from as many as before, that isn't any reason to interpret that the membership is shrinking<<<

Or it could be there aren't nearly as many problems with Vegas as some would like us to believe. people usually turn to forums when they need help or have issues with bugs.

I've never needed help with either one, so what's left is basically posting when I'm bored and that usually includes nonsense like Mac vs PC threads.

What's there to talk about Vegas? I't's been working fine since version 2 ( when I started using it ). It's easy enough to pick up, and it is stable, so most people would not need much help with anything regarding Vegas. Unlike Macs and those 2-3 apps they have over there ( wow, a world of choices ) Vegas actually does just work, as a NLE and as a DAW.

I think everybody gave up on Casablanca. Do they even make anything anymore?

Yes, they do still make them, and there are a few people at the filmmakers' club I attend who swear by it, and refuse to entertain the idea of a software-only package. I think it a shame they won't even look at giving a sub £100 program a try. What is there to lose other than less than £100?

Magix Movie Edit Pro would be a good start, as it has a storyboard mode, an overview mode (so very useful for juggling the clips into a rough order), and a timeline mode.

Or, of course, Vegas Movie Studio.

An older version of Premiere Elements...

I should add that the people using Casablanca machines HATE DVDs, swearing that they are an unreliable and generally horrible medium; they refuse to film in widescreen, and think there is no future for high definition. Why on earth they moved to digital is wonder!

I really like this forum because the average intelligence factor and working knowledge are far above mine. My grandfather told me that you can learn more in five minutes from someone who knows how it works than five years from someone who doesn't.
JJK

"Soldier In The Rain" ... Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen ... a couple of my all-time favorite actors...

Until that time... Earl J.

I really like how this forum is moderated.

A- There is no anti-competitive BS like other forums which I no longer post on. You can talk about the pros and cons of competing products and forums. This is the only forum I post on now (though I don't post much nowadays).

B- Where things get out of hand from personal attacks, the moderators quickly step in.

Pardon me, but what does the "Eustice" comment refer to? Is that from a Kathy Bates movie? It rings a dim bell somewhere.