Entertainment Technology News

New Version of Exclusive Production Tool Provides 10 New Batch Processing Features, Hands-free Media Card Process and Workflow Enhancements to Automate Production Pipelines

(Amsterdam) [IBC Trade Show Stand 12.A10] – Sony Creative Software, a leading provider of professional video and audio editing applications, announced the Vegas™ Pro Production Assistant 2 software plug-in. Designed to complement Sony's award-winning Vegas Pro 10 and Vegas Pro 9 non-linear editing software, the Vegas Pro Production Assistant 2 plug-in expands the capabilities of Vegas Pro to expedite common repetitive production procedures and make editing significantly more efficient.

Upgraded from the original Vegas Pro Production Assistant application which launched in May 2009 and developed in partnership with leading Sony Vegas Pro training tools and software developers VASST, this new version of Sony Vegas Pro Production Assistant plug-in now offers additional batch processing tools, a hands-free media card processes and numerous workflow enhancements, such as auto trim and lower third management, to dramatically increase pipeline efficiency for broadcast and creative video editing professionals.

"Many production houses, especially broadcast studios, often need to create additional custom scripts or small software applets to perform routine, tedious tasks, which wastes time and creates extra work for teams already facing limited budgets and tight deadlines," Dave Chaimson, vice president of global marketing for Sony Creative Software. "Sony Vegas Pro Production Assistant 2 used with Vegas Pro provides a much faster and more seamless software solution by automating many of these common editing tasks. Using Vegas Pro Production Assistant 2, editors can cut project time in half by having the software handle tasks such as processing footage directly from the camera media card, outputting a single source-file to any social media site, disc, or mobile device in various aspect ratios and bitrates; and automatically controlling other procedures such as trims, slugs, cataloging and lower thirds."

New Vegas Pro Production Assistant 2 Feature Highlights

Hands-Free Media Card Workflow
Using the Hands-Free Media Card Workflow, editors can automate the entire import, edit and render process using custom templates and rely on the software to automate final output delivery. By allowing a project to be completely hands-free from card insertion to project delivery, this new tool provides exceptional benefits for production trucks and field editors.

Additional Batch Processes
Hundreds of batch processes are now available to streamline editing and delivery workflow with the Batch Process tool. Editors can now automate the process of preparing content for multiple destinations such as social media sites, discs or mobile devices in various aspect ratios and bitrates from a single source. Several key batch processes in Vegas Pro Production Assistant include:

o Process Using Audio or Video Effects: Quickly apply frequently used audio and video effects to a single file or selection of files through batch processing.
o Add Video Bumpers: By auto-inserting "opening/closing files" as a batch process, editors can create an automated workflow to ensure timestamps, broadcast loops and bars/tone are consistently used for every project.
o Render: Perform tasks like rendering with and without a network bug, or rendering before and after FX or other batch processing is completed to make multiple versions of videos.

Template Creation Assistant
The template creation assistant offers editors more control over creating rich templates by streamlining tasks such as repeating slugs, inserting, generating, removing slugs and closing the gaps or expanding the size of slugs to match the media.

Auto-Trim
This new feature provides users with additional editing speed by automatically trimming pre- and post- roll from selected events on the timeline, helping to eliminate time wasted on the tedious but often necessary process.

Annotated Slugs
Annotated slugs automatically label each piece of media for easy identification and organization providing a unique solution for editing workflows that are sharing the same system.

Automated File-Based Catalog Transfers
Automated transfer ensures that your file-based media moves quickly and seamlessly from memory card to hard drive.

Lower Third Insertion
Rather than relying on presets, editors can create and manage custom lower thirds, saving time and enabling greater project personalization.

Resources:

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com