The New Features of Vegas Pro 10
Can you manipulate the 3D positioning of video tracks in 3D space?
You can do this in a couple of different ways in Vegas Pro 10. First, you can use the 3D track and parent compositing tools that have been included in Vegas Pro for several versions. These tools enable you to create 3D perspective and manipulate tracks on three-dimensional planes.
Now, with the new stereoscopic 3D editing tools, you can also adjust and add 3D depth to your projects. You can use the Stereoscopic 3D Adjust filter to change the horizontal offset of your stereoscopic clips and subclips to bring the 3D image closer to or farther away from the plane of the viewing screen. You can use the same filter to create 3D depth on the text and other 2D elements in your 3D project. These elements will still be flat (since they're two dimensional), but you can use the same tools to place them in front of or behind the screen plane.
Finally, you can use the new Stereoscopic 3D Camera tools in the Track and Parent Motion windows to adjust the depth of tracks that you have placed in 3D space with the 3D compositing tools mentioned above.
Will it be possible to author 3D DVDs or Blu-Ray discs in DVD Architect using video that you created in Vegas?
Yes. Since you can render your 3D projects out in any of the supported render formats, you can render them for import into DVD Architect and then burn them to DVD or Blu-ray disc. However, the current version of DVD Architect does not create 3D Blu-ray discs (3D BD) for Hi-definition 3D on Blu-ray. So, while yes you can burn a Blu-ray disc that contains 3D content, you cannot yet use DVD Architect to create a hi-definition 3D BD disc.
Would it be possible to create a simulated 3D from a standard AVI?
You can use the Stereoscopic 3D adjust filter to create horizontal offset on a 2D clip. This enables you to move the clip back and forth from the screen plane. In some cases, depending upon the nature of the footage you're using, this may create an acceptable 3D effect, but there is no tool in Vegas Pro 10 for "turning 2D into 3D."
Does Vegas 10 use a motion tracker?
There is no built-in motion tracker in Vegas Pro 10. However, there are third-party motion tracking tools that work as plug-ins to Vegas Pro. For instance, the new Boris Continuum Complete 7 plug-in from Boris FX works great with Vegas Pro 10 and does a very robust job of motion tracking.
Does Vegas Pro 10 support the Cineform Neo3D codec?
Yes. Vegas Pro 10 can open Neo3D with the free NeoPlayer, or with NeoHD, Neo4K, or Neo3D installed. You can render Neo3D with any of NeoHD, Neo4K, or Neo3D installed.
Can you set up Vegas to always use Stereo 3D when you open a new project?
Yes. In the Video tab of the Project Properties dialog box, set your properties the way you want them. Then, select the Start all new projects with these settings checkbox and click OK. Now every time you start a new project, it will start with the property settings you specified.
Does Vegas Pro 10 support using the NVidia 3D cards as a Secondary Windows Display? Will there be support for Nvidia 3D Vision or Quadbuffer OpenGL for 3D preview?
At this time, we support nVIDIA 3D Vision Pro or 3D Vision for Quadro setups.
How can I render a 3D project with two separate video streams for left and right?
If you want to render your 3D project to two separate files (one for Left-eye and one for Right-eye), then (in the Render As dialog box) click the Custom button. In the Custom Settings dialog box, click the Project tab. Now, select ‘Left only’ from the Stereoscopic 3D mode drop-down list. Next, repeat these steps and in the Project tab of the Custom Settings dialog, select Right only from the Stereoscopic 3D mode drop-down list.
If you’ll frequently need to override your project property settings with this setting in the future, create a custom template with these settings so that you don’t have to perform this customization step every time. When you’re done, click OK to dismiss the Custom Settings dialog box and continue your render as normal.
Do the new stereoscopic 3D tools in Vegas work with generated media or text? For example, can I create a lower third in Stereo 3D?
Yes. You can apply the new Stereoscopic 3D Adjust filter to a 2D image (including generated text and graphic media) and adjust the Horizontal Offset value to move the image in front of or behind the screen plane. You can also use the new Stereoscopic 3D Camera properties on a track that you've set into 3D compositing mode (with either the Track or Parent Motion tools) to move your 3D tracks closer or further away.
In a stereoscopic 3D project, does the Stereoscopic 3D Adjust plug-in filter have tools to make adjustments to parallax?
Yes. You can use the Horizontal Offset slider to move the two images closer together or further apart (thus adjusting the parallax). This moves the resulting 3D image closer to or further from the screen plane (both above and below screen level).
Does Vegas 10 pro support 3D compositing through layering?
Yes. While Vegas has supported 3D compositing for some time, the new dimension added in Vegas Pro 10 is the addition of a stereoscopic 3D camera for 3D track compositing. What this means is that Vegas will compute the 3D track compositing from two different virtual camera positions, creating true stereoscopic 3D output based on the positions and depths of your elements in 3D space.
What software creates these to begin with or is it used with a stereoscopic rig?
There are three stereoscopic 3D scenarios. First, you could have a single file with two streams of video. These files could be created by a single video camera that has two lenses (there are a few of these on the market already). Each lens shoots the image from a slightly different angle and the video from each is stored on separate streams in the resulting video file.
Second, you may have a single file with a single stream of video. The left and right video material is somehow separated in these files, for instance side by side or one above the other. Some cameras shoot this type of file and they can also be created with software tools.
The third scenario — and perhaps most common at this time for Vegas Pro users — is where you have two separate files that were shot on two separate cameras which were mounted next to each other on some sort of 3D camera rig. Vegas Pro 10 supports all of these scenarios.
Can I preview on a professional external monitor while editing a 3D project in Vegas Pro?
Absolutely! You can use the Preview on External Device tools to send your output to your 3D monitor. You can also set your Preview Device preferences to use either the project stereoscopic 3D mode that you established when you set your project up as 3D, or override the project settings and use whatever stereoscopic 3D mode your professional external monitor supports, even if that mode is different than the mode you're using to preview your project in the Vegas Pro Video Preview window.
Is this 3D technology the old type where you have to wear the blue and red lens glasses to see it, or the new technology for creating it?
Vegas Pro 10 supports both "old" and "new" technologies. The "old blue and red lens type" you're referring to is anaglyphic 3D technology and Vegas Pro supports red/cyan, green/magenta, and amber/blue anaglyphic modes (red/cyan is the most common and likely the one that you refer to in your question).
In addition, Vegas Pro supports stereoscopic 3D modes that require polarized 3D glasses and even the sophisticated active-shutter glasses that (arguably) give the best-quality 3D viewing experience.
Can you explain the differences between 3D glasses? For example, why are their red and blue glasses and what's different between these and the ones they use at movie theaters? Are there other types of 3D glasses?
There are three common types of 3D glasses in use now. Each of these glasses do the same basic thing: they filter video information before it reaches your eyes so that your left eye sees something different than your right eye does, thus causing your brain to perceive the image in 3D.
The “red and blue” glasses that you mention are actually red and cyan and they come from a class of stereoscopic 3D called anaglyphic. These glasses work by filtering out specific colors from the video so that the left eye sees a differently colored image than the right eye does.
Another type of 3D glasses uses polarized lenses to filter the video information before it reaches your eyes. These require a special display that polarizes certain pixels for one eye and certain pixels for the other eye.
A third type is called active shutter. These glasses (the most sophisticated of the bunch because they can support high-definition 3D) have lenses that actually open and close extremely rapidly in alternating succession. You use them to watch a video monitor that sends the left and right eye information in an alternating succession that exactly matches that of the glasses so that when the monitor sends out the right eye image, only the right shutter on your glasses is open, so only your right eye sees the image. Then both monitor and glasses switch to the left eye, then back to the right. Of course, this all happens so rapidly that you don’t perceive it and you see a cohesive 3D image.
You can deliver format-agnostic content (like side by side) that can be watched using different technologies. For example, YouTube 3D takes side by side but the playback viewer can reformat it for different monitor technologies. Side by side on a BD or DVD can be watched on a passive polarized monitor or on an active glasses monitor. Vegas Pro 10 enables you to render files that will work with any of these types of glasses.
If a Stereoscopic 3D video is shot with two cameras, can these be any regular cameras?
Yes. There doesn't have to be anything special about the individual cameras. However, you'll get the best results if you use the identical model camera for both and use identical settings on the cameras so that the images they shoot will be as closely matched as possible.
You'll also want to make sure that the cameras are mounted together in a very specific manner so that you don't have alignment problems. Vegas Pro 10 features the new Stereoscopic 3D Adjust filter to solve many alignment problems, but it's best not to have the problems to begin with!
Does Vegas 10 import and export 3D-avi files as generated by the Fujifilm W3 camera? Can these be edited on a single timeline and then exported as 3D-avi or side-by-side and individual left & right files. What levels of compression are available?
Vegas Pro 10 supports files from the Fuljifilm W3. These files can be edited on the timeline just like any other files. You can create the side-by-side and individual left & right files. However, Vegas does not render to the 2-stream AVI files. The level of compression is based on the format and template selected.
More information:
Editing Stereoscopic 3D in Vegas Pro 10
Another video tutorial about Sony Vegas Pro 10 (3D part: 08:40 -> 20:30).
Source: Sony Creative Software
