Question about Vegas - clip size / project size / system load

[P195]

Hi all

I have some large MP4 files of which I am only using certain small sections of in my project. Initially I started using Avidemux to save these sections that I want to use as new files.

If I were to instead use the full original clips and crop just the relatively small areas that I want to use from it in the timeline, does this cause my project to be much larger than neccessary (due to the unused sections of the clips), and/or cause a heavier load on the system?

I'm finding it much quicker and easier to edit within Vegas rather than creating the subclips using Avidemux but was unsure about the effect on the project size and system....

I noticed one downside to be that creating proxy files takes much longer when using the full clips.

Many Thanks

Paul

P.S If it would be better to create new files for the sections that I want to use, is Avidemux the best tool for this purpose ?

[_Al_]

I would not worry. Vegas just creates help sfk files after loading, so it might take a bit longer after dropping it on timeline if it is really long. Then you just cut it on timeline.

[johnmeyer]

Vegas (and most other NLEs) does its editing by creating pointers to the edit points within the video. It never loads the entire video into memory and does not actually rearrange the video. Therefore, it makes no difference if you are dealing with a large MP4 video file or a small one.

It you want to cut the video into smaller pieces, you make your cuts and then select "Render As" from the Vegas File menu.

I don't use the latest versions, but up through version 13, Vegas did NOT "smart render" MP4, meaning that when you saved the results of a "cuts-only" edit (i.e., no fX applied) Vegas insisted on re-rendering the whole thing, which takes lots of time and degrades the video. Hopefully the version you have can now do this.