Sony Vegas: Real World Tips

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Originally published at Internet.com

At Web Video Universe, we've presented several articles full of tips for Sony Vegas that were gathered from the Vegas developers themselves. But now we present three favorite tips from a professional video maker who's used Vegas for years.

Perhaps it was Mike Purdy's background in radio and audio editing that made him first choose Vegas. Purdy, a Seattle resident who's edited with Vegas for six years, said that he first appreciated how similar Vegas's interface was to the audio editors he already knew. Getting started wasn't that difficult. It didn't hurt that Vegas was also cheaper than the competition.

Purdy now uses Vegas regularly in his work creating short commercial videos for local clients. He's also created how-to videos on Vegas for Expert Village. Here are three tips he recommends for people just getting started. 1. Double Vision
Vegas works well with a two-monitor setup, Purdy said, and the extra screen makes editing easier. He likes that users can pull windows apart, to arrange the various panels in whatever way is easiest for them. He places his editing controls in his left monitor, and views the resulting work in his right.

2. Stretching for Time
If you need a shot to last a little longer, or if you want to compress an action to make it align with music or a second take, Purdy said stretching or compressing your shots is easy with Vegas. Simply hold down the Control key while sliding the right edge of the track to the left or right. Unlink the audio track first, by clicking on a track while holding down the U key, to make sure you don't distort the sound.

3. Make an Archive
Vegas makes it simple to archive your work when you're done with a project, Purdy said, and it creates archives that you can re-edit later, if you need to re-open a project. First, select the option to clean up the media pool, to delete any unneeded files. Then, select the menu option to save your work, and choose to save it as an archive. Save only the audio and video files. This will only save the material that's actually in the finished project, to conserve disk space. You can also have the program save a second or two beyond the edit points, to give you more room if you need to re-edit later.