Vegas 5 Editing Workshop (DV Expert Series) (Paperback)

by Douglas Spotted Eagle (Author) "Installing Vegas 5 is no different from loading any application, but certain settings, steps, and habits can make operating Vegas more pleasant and efficient..." (more)
Key Phrases: track control pane, compositing envelope, track motion dialog, Color Plate, Mackie Control, Sound Forge (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...an exhaustive, richly detailed resource that no Vegas user should be without. Highly recommended!" --Jeffrey P. Fisher, music/audio/video producer and writer --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
Master Vegas®5 by learning inside tips and techniques from an award-winning professional. Setting a new standard for multimedia production, Vegas 5 is the professional choice for video editing, audio production, mixing, and surround sound production on the PC platform. This book teaches the novice the basics of Vegas 5, while providing the more experienced user with real-world examples for working more efficiently and making better media. Woven into this Editing Workshop are hands-on tutorials covering a complete range of essential tasks from installing the application to outputting. You’ll gain valuable insights about initial hardware setup, as well the basic tools you’ll use after software installation. Packed with all the necessary materials, including raw video footage, sequences, and detailed instructions you’ll gain a working knowledge of Vegas 5 including its exceptional audio features and the DVD Architect toolset.

Better expert advice simply can’t be found. Key features include: • Capturing video from the camera to your hard drive • Using important editing tools, transitions, and filters • Recording audio, editing audio, and using audio plug-ins • Compositing in Vegas, including tutorial files and projects • Using 3D and Bezier tools • Using color correction and manipulation tools • Creating high-quality streaming media • Setting up a project with DVD Architect • Outputting your projects to a variety of formats

The DVD included with this book includes companion video project (or VEG) files and test media.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 476 pages
• Publisher: CMP Books; 2 edition (January 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578202574
• ISBN-13: 978-1578202577
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #782,923 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Useless for a beginner, December 4, 2005

By	Industrial Bob - See all my reviews

I was disappointed by Vegas 5 Editing Workshop - because I was expecting so much.

This isn't a bad book; but it's a bad book if you're a beginner and want to be led through Vegas 5 with lots of excercises and drills like a 'Sams Teach Yourself *** in 24 Hours' computer book.

For a novice there's nothing better than being given spoon-fed examples just to get you going, and leaving the advanced stuff for later.

Douglas Spotted Eagle, who is a well known Vegas expert, seems to be talking to people who are either a) video editing savy b) Vegas savy or c) both.

He uses the whole book to tell you about all the amazing things you CAN do with Vegas, instead of actually showing you HOW you could do those things with 1-2-3 examples.

After a few chapters you'll become increasingly frustrated as you look for guidance and tuition. You won't find it here.

This book is a good reference for people who have already got their feet wet using Vegas, but for beginners, forget it.

A much better beginners Vegas is 'Naked Vegas 5' by Doug Sahlin, or 'Instant Vegas 5' by the same Douglas Spotted Eagle.

These books give you real life examples, explanations, and detailed How-To's.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I'll give it three stars, April 2, 2006

By	Tony Hall "If the movie stinks, just don't go!" (the internet) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Vegas 6 Editing Workshop (Paperback)

I'll give it three because it is the only real book on Vegas 6 out there. It looses points for costing so much and it looses points for the horrible editing job on the book. You'd think people who work on Hollywood movies wouldn't slop together a book like this without proof reading it.

Nearly every page has an error and I'm not talking about just a misspelled word. I'm talking about just parts where the letters are jumbled like this: poiqwen mv poiqwen fjmoiew mkpwe. Was he drunk? Why didn't anyone actually read the book before going to press? There are wrong images to go with some of the captions as well.

I have learned from using this book. Someone said it's like having a guru sitting beside you. I wouldn't go that far. It's like having someone rewrite the user manual in a more coherent form. There are also little tips here and there that wouldn't be in a manual.

I was also pretty familiar with Vegas before picking this book up, so it may be damn near impossible for a newbie to get through this thing. Someone ought to write a Vegas 6 for Dummies.

Bottom line: worth a read, not worth the money, bigger than necessary (too many unnecessary screen shots and a bit wordy).

EDIT: After thinking about it a little more, I'd say that this book is probably worth buying. You may want to get a used copy. It's an excellent reference and the DVD that comes with it is packed full of resources.

One warning though: don't expect to sit down and read this book. It's huge and wordy, boring, and not really structured. Just a bunch of information compiled in a book. Your best bet is to use this book as a reference and look up topics using the TOC and index. Of course, if you want to know Vegas inside and out, read the whole book with Vegas in front of you... but that will take time.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Authors Comments, August 16, 2007

By	DSE "DSE" (Stockton, Utah, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vegas 6 Editing Workshop (Paperback)

I am the author of this book, and as some of the reviews indicate, I'm horribly embarassed by the quality of editing that this book received. I assure you that the manuscripts turned in are not what ended up on paper.
This is the reason I chose to not write a Vegas 7 Editing Workshop book, because of how this book was treated.
Please note that the majority of the reviews found here are regarding typographical errors, and at least one of the reviews here is significantly exaggerated, in my opinion.
My apologies to those that felt slighted by the typographical errors in the book. Although the publisher hired an editor to edit the book (which I did not see in galley or blue-line form), I am solely responsible for any errors, typographical or factual.