1 Quick question:

I'm making a movie that's not letterboxed, but then I want to put a letterbox over it for kind of like a Clint Eastwood good bad n Ugly type scene. Is there any way for me to put a letterbox on just one clip?

Sure, several:

A] - External Mask: An Overlay MASK positioned on track above target Event created from within a graphics package having saved the transparent channel.

B] - Internal Mask 1: An Overlay MASK positioned on track above target Event created from Vegas Generated Media > Colour Gradient

C] - Internal Mask 2: 2 Overlay MASKS positioned on 2 tracks above target Event created from Vegas Generated Media > Colour Gradient. Gradient ONE being the TOP bar and Gradient TWO being the lower bar

D] - Pan/Crop: Cropping with Pan/crop. Yeah, well .. not my choice, but it DOES give an immediate fairly little control of its central drift. If you MOVE the "F"rame, then the movie slips up or down. Way of madness!!

E] - BEZIER MASKING!!! - Favourite for me. Loadsa control. No need for extra tracks ( A to C above); Do NOT need to create mask from another package and confirm transparency channel; Does NOT effect position of Event IF you should wish to MOVE the letterbox up or down ( as per D); completely flexible with regard to HOW big or small; you CAN Keyframe the letterbox POSITION in time using the keyframer; you can feather the edge too! What more do you want??

BEZIER MASKING.

#1 - Click on Pan/Crop on THAT Event

#2 - Make sure you CAN see the Pan/Crop KeyFrame Timeline - yes?

#3 - Engage "MASK" by checking the empty box and set Grid Spacing to MAX - 64. This allows for precise ANCHOR positioning later.

#4 - If you DON'T want the Mask, at present, to move, then make sure you disengage the Sync Cursor Icon - as you have just opened this Menu then it should be anyway, but I've had it engaged from a previous session. So just make sure it isn't. And move your Keyframe cursor to the beginning of the timeline.

#5 - Click the anchor creation tool - located up there on the LEFT of the menu. Your Cursor will now become a little Pen nib! Ah bless!!

#6 - Now create 4 points by clicking the NIB somewhere OUTSIDE the actual Event image that correspond to the 4 corners of your LETTERBOX. and finish-off by clicking ON the very first Anchor. You should now have a LETTERBOX! - If you want the edges of the LETTERBOX to show - that is the actual sides too, then position the points WITHIN the image.

#7 - If you now want to tweak, then click on the "Normal Edit Tool" again up there on the left of the Menu, and proceed to "adjust" by selecting each point, grabbing and moving. Use the 64 grid marks to position each of the 4 points accurately. While I'm doing this I mostly check/look at the Preview window while adjusting.

Anyways, Bezier has my vote! Be warned though, if you SHOULD place anything on a lower track to this LETTERBOX then it will be seen as a top and bottom border!! LOL!

Hope this helps,

Grazie

I don't see this empty box... Sorry I'm a noob at this >> I really would like to try beizer though

Sorry for any confusion!

I'll try better . . .

IF you can see the lower Pan/Crop Keyframe Timeline, there are 2 Timeline tracks"

Track 1 - "Position" Track - this is for placing keyframe "diamonds" for changing the position of Pan/Cropping over time.

Track 2 - "Mask" track - Just to the left of this is, by default, an EMPTY unchecked white square box. IF you want "see" your Bezier mask then check it. If you don't want to see the MASK, then uncheck it. Checked=MASK-Visible. Unchecked=MASK-Invisble

Now, if you ALSO want to Synch your Pan/Crop Timeline Cursor to the Mainline Editing Timeline then engage the SYNC Cursor Icon - little Cursor Icon & padlock.

So:

Synch Cursor Padlock ON synchronises the MAIN Timeline Cursor WITH the PAN/CROP Timeline Cursor. OFF and they aren't!

MASK White Box "Enable" - ENABLED (checked) - Mask visible.

MASK White Box "Enable" - DISABLED (unchecked) - Mask invisible.



Oh yeah .. The Bezier Function is truly, TRULY a great creative option and extends anybody's opportunites further than the restricive, but essential Pan/Crop.

I can:

A] - Create Multiple sections within the SAME Frame!

B] - Make separate parts of these multiple Masks move indepentantly of each other.

C] - I HAVEcreated Circles too!!

D] - Using underlying tracks with OTHER Events also with their own MASKs I have had multiple frames appearing and dissapearing.

IMO, the introduiction of Bezier Masking (I think first in Vegas5) announced Vegas even MORE of a major creative tool for editors, graphic artists and "ideas" and content creators.

The Possibilities? The possibilites are endless! !! !

Grazie