After the successful release of VEGAS Pro 14, VEGAS Creative Software will soon release a new version of the popular NLE Movie Studio in late February. The new Movie Studio will boast VEGAS’ essentials with an optimized workflow perfect for an editor of any experience level. We’re very excited about this release and have asked Gary Rebholz to give us a sneak peak at just a few of the many improvements and new features of VEGAS Movie Studio 14.
Can you summarize the philosophy behind VEGAS Movie Studio and its role in the VEGAS portfolio?
The VEGAS Movie Studio line plays a critical role in the VEGAS portfolio. For many customers, this is the starting place in their journey as video and audio editors. The philosophy is that we should provide a product that works for every user, from beginner, to experienced novice, to serious amateur video makers and YouTubers, right up to the people who edit professionally.
A user who has little video editing experience can comfortably start with the basic VEGAS Movie Studio and create surprisingly sophisticated videos. Then, once that user gains experience and confidence, VEGAS Movie Studio Platinum is a great next step, which introduces pro-level features and techniques users can use to take their productions to the next level. Both products use exactly the same core technology and fundamental editing approach—one simply offers more features than the other.
The Movie Studio line really covers a lot of ground. If you’re editing for fun or just learning, VEGAS Movie Studio is the perfect tool. If you’re more serious and want to get into editing with pro-level features without the pro-level investment, then VEGAS Movie Studio Platinum will suit you very well.
There are many powerful video editing programs in the price range of VEGAS Movie Studio,
how does the new version stand out?
The fact that VEGAS Movie Studio shares the same core technology as our pro product, VEGAS Pro, means that the user doesn’t give up power and flexibility just because they’re starting with a consumer-level product. Most of the competing offerings are designed with consumers in mind under the assumption that consumers can’t understand sophisticated tools.
VEGAS Movie Studio evolved from the opposite direction. Instead of starting with hand-picked “dummy proof” tools and techniques, we started with professional-level editing and simply removed or limited some of the more advanced and complex tools.
Finally, the click-and-drag approach to editing that VEGAS is famous for was light years ahead of its time, and still provides a superior editing workflow than even those competing products that have tried to copy these techniques.
Besides the price, what is the difference between VEGAS Movie Studio 14 and VEGAS Pro?
The key point to remember is that every product in the VEGAS line is built upon the same powerful core technology that creates the magic in VEGAS Pro. Which one users should start with depends to some extent on budget of course, but more importantly, upon their level of expertise with powerful software and their aspirations as filmmakers. In the end, no matter which one you start with, you’ll be up and running quickly because of the logical, easy-to-learn workflow.
Can you already reveal some of the new features?
I’m most excited that VEGAS Movie Studio 14 Platinum will have a powerful multicam editing workflow. That’s a critical feature for a lot of people creating things like wedding videos, corporate event videos, or sporting events where three or four cameras are simultaneously shooting the same thing. The popular hover scrub feature that we introduced to VEGAS Pro 14 will also now appear in VEGAS Movie Studio Platinum. Finally, I want to mention the new user interface we’ll introduce across the VEGAS Movie Studio line. We’ve worked carefully with our graphics experts to build a modern user interface that makes working with the software over long periods much easier on the eyes and brain while giving the user a more realistic view of critical color content. We also worked hard to maintain the familiarity of older versions, so if you’re moving from a previous version to version 14, you’ll still know just where to find all of your favorite tools.
Do you have some secret tip about the software, like a great shortcut no one knew about or a hidden function?
I tend to edit to the beat of the music in my project, so I change the timeline ruler format to measures and beats and then set the tempo in the Ruler tab of the Project Properties box. It then becomes so easy to cut video to the beat of the music that it feels like cheating!
Another indispensable feature in all of the VEGAS Movie Studio products is the ability to overlap timeline events. Boom–instant crossfade transition and you don’t even have to work for it! Honestly, this approach makes so much logical sense that I can’t believe every other editor on the market hasn’t copied it, but I guess they haven’t figured out how to pull it off yet.
Finally, I’ll give you one of the most unknown features in the application. In all versions of VEGAS, you can add automation envelopes. For instance, you can add an envelope to an audio track that turns the output volume of that track up and down over time. In VEGAS Movie Studio Platinum, you can point to it with the mouse, hold down your Shift key, and then click-and-drag across the envelope. This puts you into Envelope drawing mode and you can quickly draw the shape you want for your envelope automation.
With all of the intuitive and useful features, VEGAS Movie Studio is a perfect tool for video editors or all experience levels. We’re excited to release this new version coming up at the end of February!
To find out more information about VEGAS Movie Studio, click here.
