Two ways to import your time lapse images into Sony Vegas, which one works the best.
I ran into something interesting when importing the time lapse images in to Sony Vegas and I am wondering what others are doing this.
Let me know if there is a better way compared to what I demonstrated here in this video.
One method using “open still image sequence” for some reason looks way too dark. What is up with that? For some reason the method creates the movie clip way too fast for what I think is a really complex task.
I got a response from Sony on this issue:
Hi Dave,
Thank you for contacting Sony Creative Software. This is a known issue and we are currently working on a resolution. We appreciate your understanding while we fix this issue. In the meantime, I would suggest the following workaround: On the track containing the still image sequence, apply the Levels plug-in and set the Gamma to 2.222. You can also work around the issue by changing the Pixel format to 8-bit in the Project Properties dialog.
Nice work on the vlog; very interesting stuff. Keep us updated on your work! You can also connect with us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SonySoftware.
If you still have a follow-up question on this particular incident, please feel free to update it. If you have a completely different question, please create a new incident.
Thanks for this man.
I use the second method to import the images. If I shot in RAW, I would use Adobe Lightroom to edit the image, crop to 16×9 aspect, then export. I’m not sure, but editing colors and cropping in a Sony Project timeline doesn’t always yield nice results.
@Emm I was planning on doing that after I figured out the import method. I love Lightroom it is just amazing what it can do to my photos.
Hey…just wondering… do you use stream clip or neo scene.Love your videos! I, not to long ago filmed a music video.Can you check it out.Go to youtube… type in tomorrow lives the name of the song is let it go.Please tell me what you think of it.I been following your videos.I repect your opinon.
Hi Dave, Love your vids! Anyway, I don’t use Sony Vegas but After Effects has a similar method to import image sequences. When you say it only takes a few seconds, it is because it doesn’t encode a new video file from the images. Rather, it just tells Vegas to to read all the individual images as one continuous file, one frame per image. So it essentially does what you do in the second method for you in one step. One benefit of doing it this way is that you can apply effects to the layer as one file rather than applying them to every image individually.
I’m not sure why the sequence comes out darker though… did you accidentally change the opacity of the file at all? Maybe try putting a flat white layer under it to see if you can see through the layer? Or maybe it’s just darker in the preview and it renders normally. You’ll have to experiment a little with Vegas. Hope this helps!
@Andy I will try your suggestions when I get a chance, thanks for the input.
I dont use Vegas, but when I do timelapse in Final Cut I use a method similar to your second method.
I don’t use Vegas alot anymore, and when I did, I didn’t do timelapses using stills. For timelapses, I’ve been using Quicktime Pro 7 (which perhaps you have a license for ??? )
It basically does what your method 1 does, but within Quicktime. It creates an image sequence, at which point you can save to whatever movie filetype you want. I’ve not had any issues with image darkness (that I know of). If you own a license for your PC, you could give it a try. But I wouldn’t pay the $30 license just for that feature since you already have 2 ways to do it within Vegas for free.
Obviously, #2 is giving you better results, but I’d certainly be wanting to know WHY #1 is giving you what you want since it is clearly the easiest of the two methods.
Hope you get the answer you need. In the meantime, if you DO have a QT Pro license, give it a shot.
@Ed It is a known issue, I updated the post above with their response. Thanks for your help.
Ah – didn’t see that.
Good info. Glad you’re getting answers!
Thats strange.Although the “import stiill image” method is the best method i have come across to import a huge video file in 5k resolution pretty much, (if you are shooting high quality jpegs) in a 1080p timeline ,32 bit floating point does crash the video levels to an obscene amount.It can make day timelapses look like day for night shots, which is interesting in a way but…..Anyway, so Sony says it is a bug right? I have tried it in 9c version but i might roll back to the 8 version to see how that goes.And if they’re willing to fix that maybe they should fix the “out of memory issue” that has been plaguing their software for sometime now.
Dave,
Interesting issue you’re having with your timelapse sequences. I’ve done a fair bit of timelapse in Vegas and haven’t had any issue at all with image brightness. They are as they should be.
Regards
Bob Fisher
@George, Vegas isn’t capable of properly rendering 32 bit images. Curious why you’re trying to import HDR images into Vegas? They need to be tonemapped to be of use.
Great!! Thank you soooo much! It really answered my question! I have Sony Vegas Platinum 9.0 So it should work! Although it can be very overwhelming not knowing what I’m doing! The program has soooo many features, and I feel like i am trying to fly a 747 after being in a VW Rabbit!
Thanks Again, I put you in my favorite listing and might try to find a place for you in my blog…
Glenn
@Glenn great! I am glad you found it useful. I’m still learning, but it’s fun.
I just shot my first time lapse test and this video was super helpful. Thanks, Dave!
@Al, great! Glad I could help.
WHATS WRONG WITH THE AUDIO? ITS VERY LOUD DURING THE TIMELAPSE.
Please don’t ever delete this video or i’m doomed
WONDERFUL instruction
Nice and very helpful video.
Tnx!
Great Video! Just that when I select all my images and drag them into the timeline my Vegas Pro 9.0 is making an empty gap between every 2 pictures! and this really sucks… do you know how I can fix it? What am I doing wrong?
I also import images in a sequence and have a gap every 2 images. Any help appreciated. I’ve scoured the web and many talk about the “Do not quantitize to frames” option – but doesn’t work for me.
Many thanks Dave…Like Shad I tried the second method and ended up with a gap every 2 images so I reverted back to the first method and it works mighty fine..
Hi Dave – I didn’t know about the first method you showed, as I’ve always used the other method to create my timelapse videos. I’ve just bought a new computer & installed Sony Vegas on it, but when I import the stills to the video line, it leaves a gap between every 2nd frame. The gap is equivalent in length to 1 frame, but there are obviously too many gaps to manually edit. Any ideas on what’s causing Vegas to leave a gap every 2nd frame. It doesn’t happen on my laptop, just this new computer !