time code display / keyboard shortcuts

[Theo Van laar]

If you go to OPTIONS-CUSTOMIZE KEYBOARD, you may configure the keyboard shortcuts exactly as you like.
Furthermore, I believe that you will be very pleased by the possibilities that are offered by scripts. Especially the Excalibur, Ultimate S and production Assistant are very helpfull in custimizing your workflow.

Theo

[Chris Young]

Chris ~

1. Best way to display source time code on timeline
A. The only two ways I know how to do this is to select ‘tools/scripting/add timecode to all media’. This drops a source TC window in each clip. Not the most elegant but better than no source code. Can be removed with the ‘remove timecode from all media’ under the scripts menu. My preferred method is to right click on the clip/s in the bin and select ‘Media FX’ then choose Sony timecode. I then set TC window size at .5 for both height & width for small TC insert. TC window insert can be removed through right click/Media FX in the bin

2. Keyboard shortcut to move focus to trimmer
A. ALT+2

3. Shortcut to move focus to explorer/bins
A. ALT+1 for Explorer, ALT+5 for Project Media

4. Shortcut to matchframe from timeline (load source footage of
timeline event with in/out selected in trimmer).
A. The only way I know to do this is once you have marked your I/O points on the timeline clip is to double click left button on the shaded area between the I/O points above the ruler bar and then right click on the clip and select ‘open in trimmer’ where the I/O selection will be highlighted. I stress the word ‘marked’ because if you just drag select an I/O selection the double click on the shaded area between the points won’t work. You must mark IN and mark OUT with the I & O keys. If you just require Matchframe right click on your cursor on the timeline and select ‘open in trimmer’. Trimmer cursor is now at matchframe point.

5. Shortcut to clear / unmark In and Out points.
A. Vegas doesn’t appear to have one that I know of. Vegas I/O points work differently to almost any editor I know. Doesn’t hamper my workflow though. Incidentally the ‘backspace’ key will allow you to jump back to five previous I/O selections.

6. Shortcut to select the event the cursor is parked on, marking the
event edges as In and Out.
A. Left mouse button ‘double click’ on an event/clip and its total duration will be selected. Here again the right click ‘open in trimmer’ command can be used again in which case the whole clip will be in the trimmer window.

Vegas is a different world. The established paradigm of ‘Avid methodology’ is not followed here. None the less Vegas has many strengths if you are prepared to learn it well. I know after having delivered around three-hundred programs for television… all done on Vegas.

Chris Young
CYV Productions
Sydney

[John Rofrano]

> Vegas is a different world. The established paradigm of ‘Avid methodology’ is not followed here.

This is an important point. If you are going to try and use Vegas the way you did Avid forget about it and go back to Avid. Vegas doesn’t work that way. Avid follows an paradigm that mimics the real hardware/tape/razor blade solutions it replaces. Vegas frees you from all of that and offers a different approach.

Let me put it another way… if Avid were to create a word processor, you would have to press the RETURN key at the end of every line and it would beep at the 70th character to warn you that you are getting close to the end because that’s what the typewriter that it replaced does. Familiar to a typist, yes… the best way to design a word processor… absolutely not!

Vegas is more like working with clay. You manipulate the clips directly using the mouse. I couldn’t tell you any of the short-cut keys because I edit with one hand on my ShuttlePro2 and the other on my mouse. I push things around on the timeline to see how they feel, trim a little here, extend a little there. It’s a more organic way of working. You have to approach it differently.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[James Wilhelmi]

I agree with jr, everything seems to be a 3-5 step process in Avid where in Vegas, it can be done in 1-2 steps. You can’t even change the opacity of an event or track without applying an effect to it. I feel more comfortable after 6 months with Vegas than 2 years with Avid at my workplace. If I could only get them to see the light!

[Chris Young]

Points well made JR. Vegas must be approached with an open mind. If an editor does that he will find new worlds of flexibility only limited by his/her imagination… and the client… and the budget… and the OS. Well U know what I mean.

Chris Young
Sydney

[Erik Davis]

1. Best way to display source time code on timeline (I want to see
the in and out points for the clips I’m using)

You can see the in/out timecode on the thumbnails on the timeline.
Options>Preferences>Video
Show source frame numbers on event thumbnails as (select Timecode)

4. Shortcut to matchframe from timeline (load source footage of
timeline event with in/out selected in trimmer). I can’t actually
find any way to do this, keyboard shortcut or not.

Simple, map the TrackView.Event.OpeninTrimmer to any key you like on the keyboard. I chose the Esc key as that works perfectly for me. Want to matchframe? With the timeline in focus anywhere you leave the cursor you can matchframe the clip to the trimmer by hitting (in my case) the Esc key. If you select a region on the timeline and hit the Esc key it will matchframe the in and out point in the trimmer. Works perfectly.

5. Shortcut to clear / unmark In and Out points.

There is no way that I know of to clear in/out points but if they are not selected (highlighted) they are not in effect so it is as if they have been cleared. If you must remove them, you can always drag the yellow out point until it meets up with the yellow in point and you will now only have a single mark.

[Chris Young]

Thanks Eric ~

Much more elegant TC solution. Now recall having TC on the timeline clips years back, v4, 5,6 or was it 7 maybe, can’t really recall other than it was a long time back. Clean forgotten about that selection!

Love the ‘Open in Trimmer’ solution, much better than the right click option. Have now done the same as you now with the ‘Esc’ key. Also assigned it to the ‘ (apostrophe key). Works well for me ajacent to the JKL keys, falls right under my little finger. Could of used the : (colon) key but sometimes I hit that when going for the JKL trio.

Just goes to show you are constantly learning. Luv this forum. Thanks again Eric.

Chris Young
CYV Productions
Sydney

[Erik Davis]

Chris, glad to help. Once you get Vegas “tricked out” with all the shortcuts and settings, you have a pretty high performance editor. Agree 100% about learning all the time but if you really want to learn, teach it to someone else like I’ve been doing over the past few weeks and you’ll learn twice as much!

Erik

[Gordon Nicol]

There’s a very simple way to clear IN/OUT points.
Essentially giving them the one, two hit,
simultaneously hit the “I” and the “O” keys
That will do it.