Adding video effects

There are several methods available for adding effects to video. Video plug-ins can be added to tracks, video events, source media files (via the Project Media window), or to the entire video project.

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  • To apply a preset without displaying the Video FX dialog, hold the Shift key while dragging a preset from the Video FX window to a track header, event, or the Video Preview window. For more information, see The Video FX Window

  • To add effects quickly, you can drag plug-ins from the Plug-In Manager window to events, tracks, and the Video FX or Video Preview windows. For more information, see The Plug-In Manager Window

  • To move faders and sliders in fine increments, hold Ctrl while dragging the control.

  • Double-click the title bar of the Video FX window to resize it for the current plug-in.

Adding video event effects

Video event effects are applied to individual events.

  1. Click the Event FX button on the event in the timeline .

    If there are no effects added to the event, the Plug-In Chooser window appears.

    If there are effects added to the event, the Video Event FX window appears in the window docking area. Click the Plug-In Chain button to open the Plug-In Chooser.

  2. Select each plug-in you want to add and click the Add button.

  3. Click OK to close the Plug-In Chooser.

    The Video Event FX window appears.

  4. Use the settings in the Video Event FX window to enable/bypass effects, edit effect parameters, and add/remove effects from a chain.

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    • To reorder the plug-ins within the chain, drag a plug-in button to a new location.

    • You can also drag an effect from the Video FX window to the event on the timeline. For more information, see The Video FX Window

    • You can also double-click a preset in the Video FX window to apply the effect preset to the selected event.

Adding video track effects

Video track effects are applied to every event on the track.

  1. Click the Track FX button in the track header. For more information, see Video track controls

    If there are no effects added to the track, the Plug-In Chooser window appears.

    If there are effects added to the track, the Video Track FX window appears. Click the Plug-In Chain button to open the Plug-In Chooser.

  2. Select each plug-in you want to add and click the Add button.

  3. Click OK to close the Plug-In Chooser.

    The Video Track FX window appears.

  4. Use the settings in the Video Track FX window to enable/bypass effects, edit effect parameters, and add/remove effects from a chain.

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    • To reorder the plug-ins within the chain, drag a plug-in button to a new location.

    • You can also drag an effect from the Video FX window to the track header in the track list. For more information, see The Video FX Window

    • You can also double-click a preset in the Video FX window to apply the effect preset to the selected track (when no events are selected).

Adding video media effects

Video media effects are applied to every occurrence of the media file in your project. The source media file is not affected.

  1. In the Project Media window, select a file and click the Media FX button . For more information, see Using the Project Media window

    If there are no effects applied to the file, the Plug-In Chooser window appears.

    If there are effects applied to the file, the Media FX window appears. Click the Plug-In Chain button to open the Plug-In Chooser.

    TIP You can access the Media FX also via the More button of a video event, where you also can add a button for it in the event header. The Media FX button in the header also functions as an indicator, whether a Media FX is applied () or not ().

  2. Select each plug-in you want to add and click the Add button.

  3. Click OK to close the Plug-In Chooser.

    The Media FX window appears.

  4. Use the settings in the Media FX window to enable/bypass effects, edit effect parameters, and add/remove effects from a chain.

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    To reorder the plug-ins within the chain, drag a plug-in button to a new location.

    You can click the Save As button in the Plug-In Chooser to create a filter package. A filter package allows you to quickly recall frequently used chains of effects. FX packages retain their chain order and individual plug-in settings.

Adding video output effects

Video output effects are applied to every video event in your project.

  1. Click the Video Output FX button in the Video Preview window. For more information, see Using the Video Preview window

    If there are no effects applied to the project, the Plug-In Chooser window appears.

    If there are effects applied to the project, the Video Output FX window appears. Click the Plug-In Chain button to open the Plug-In Chooser.

  2. Select each plug-in you want to add and click the Add button.

  3. Click OK to close the Plug-In Chooser.

    The Video Output FX window appears.

  4. Use the settings in the Video Output FX window to enable/bypass effects, edit effect parameters, and add/remove effects from a chain.

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    • To reorder the plug-ins within the chain, drag a plug-in button to a new location.

    • You can also drag an effect from the Video FX window to the Video Preview window. For more information, see The Video FX Window

Editing existing video effects

  1. Perform one of the following actions to display the editing window for the type of effect you want to modify:

    • Event effects: Click the Event FX button on the event in the timeline.

    • Track effects: Click the Track FX button in the track header.

    • Media effects: In the Project Media window, select a file and click the Media FX button .

    • Video output effects: Click the Video Output FX button in the Video Preview window.

  2. Select an effect button at the top of the window.

    TIP Clear the checkbox to bypass an effect without removing it from the chain.When you're working with a stereoscopic 3D project, a separate checkbox is displayed for the left- and right-eye video: . By limiting an effect to the left or right eye only, you can use multiple instances of a plug-in with different settings for each eye. For more information, see Stereoscopic 3D editing

  3. Use the controls in the bottom half of the dialog to adjust the effect's settings.

TIP Click the Remove Selected Plug-In button to remove the current plug-in from the chain.

Applying video event effects before or after event panning or cropping

To prevent unwanted blurring, you can choose whether effects are applied to the event before or after any event panning and cropping by dragging the Pan/Crop button in the plug-in chain at the top of the Video Event FX window. For more information, see Panning and cropping video events

Here, the Deform plug-in is applied before the pan/crop and the Glow and Color Curves plug-ins are applied after the pan/crop.

Applying video track effects before or after track compositing

When you add effects to a video track, you can specify whether the effects are applied before or after compositing. For more information, see Compositing and masks

You can choose whether an effect is applied pre- or post-compositing by dragging the Composite button in the plug-in chain at the top of the Video FX window.

Bypassing all video effects

You can use the Split-Screen View button in the Video Preview window to create a split-screen preview that bypasses all video effects (track effects, event effects, media effects, and video output effects) without removing them from your project. For more information, see Split-screen previews

Animating a video effect

If you want to create an animated effect, use the keyframe controller at the bottom of the Video Event FX dialog to establish distinct settings throughout the duration of the effect.

During playback, intermediate frames are interpolated to create smooth motion.

Automating video output effect parameters with the bus track

You can think of VEGAS Pro as having a single video bus: when you have multiple tracks, they are all composited to a single video output.

When you choose Video Bus Track from the View menu, a bus track is displayed for the video output. You can add keyframes to adjust effect parameters over time.

MORE INFORMATION

Keyframe animation

Compositing video

Keyframe animation

Video bus track

Using LUT’s to enhance video

LUT stands for Look Up Table, and is often referred to as a Color Look Up Table. LUTs are commonly used to add a specific color look to your video. Think of them as a universal color preset. LUTs are applied as an OFX plug-in and can be added, like other video effects, to tracks, video events, source media files (via the Project Media window), or to the entire video project using any of the methods described in this chapter. The one difference is that you will have to browse to the LUT, to select it, from the plugin window.

  1. Open the Video effects window and expand the OFX folder

  2. Drag the effect LUT Filter to the desired location (Media, Event, Track, Main output)

  3. In the Video FX window, click the Browse button

  4. Navigate to where you saved the LUT file, select the file, and click Open

  5. Pick an Interpolation; Linear (good) or Tetrahedral (best)

  6. Adjust the Strength slider to achieve the look you prefer

NOTE

  • Linear (good) intepolation is fast and reasonably accurate where as Tetrahedral is more accurate, but slightly slower.

  • The LUT filter produces an image that is a blend of the original image and the color-adjusted image. The Strength slider controls the mix, or the percentage of the color-adjusted image vs. the original image. A setting of 0 would be equal to no LUT being applied.