Sony Creative Software Upgrades Vegas Editing Technology

Sony Creative Software, a global provider of professional editing and authoring applications, announced the latest upgrade to its Vegas editing technology. Vegas Pro 12 adds dozens of substantial feature enhancements, performance improvements, and workflow innovations to the award-winning NLE, significantly expanding the creative toolkit for editors and content creators at every level of the postproduction market. Combining a familiar track-based editing interface with a fluid, interactive approach to media production, Vegas Pro 12 is the perfect choice for a new generation of creative professionals looking for a no-compromise, cost-effective, and straightforward way to express their artistic vision without the complexities and learning curve typically associated with other solutions.

Workflow improvements in Vegas Pro 12 include Project Interchange with editing platforms including Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, Avid Pro Tools 10, and Apple Final Cut Pro 7; Expanded Edit mode, for fine-tuning the timing of a project using an interactive “A-B roll” paradigm; Color Match, for quickly matching the color characteristics of different video clips; and Smart Proxy editing, which automatically and dynamically replaces clips on the timeline with high-quality, edit-friendly HD proxies.

On the format front, Vegas Pro 12 can now ingest Panasonic P2 DVCPRO and AVC-Intra content, and encode to the highly versatile HDCAM SR mastering format, at bit rates up to 880 Mb/s. In addition, there are new Masking Tools in Vegas Pro 12, including Effects Masking for quickly obscuring a face or logo. Updates to the Vegas Pro Explorer and Project Media windows dramatically improve the ability to find and organize content, thanks to a redesigned Thumbnail View along with optimized Media Tagging capabilities and automated Smart Bin search tools.

To meet the needs of the broadest range of customers, Vegas Pro 12 will be available in two configurations. The Vegas Pro 12 collection follows previous versions by including the Vegas Pro 12 editing application along with DVD Architect Pro 5.2 and Dolby Digital Professional Encoder, for DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring. Vegas Pro 12 Edit is a new, lower cost package featuring all of the editing capabilities of Vegas Pro 12, without DVD Architect and the Dolby Encoder software.

“Broadcasters, indie filmmakers and video professionals worldwide have embraced Vegas Pro not only for its forward-thinking approach to content creation, but also for its undeniable value proposition,” said Dave Chaimson, vice president of global marketing for Sony Creative Software. “Vegas Pro 12 Edit continues that tradition and sets the new price-performance standard for professional content creation software, with its rich feature set and unmatched return on investment.”

For Sony PMW-F3, F23, F35 and F65 shooters looking to maintain the full dynamic range of their images in post, Vegas Pro 12 uses OpenColorIO technology from Sony Pictures Imageworks and the Academy Color Encoding Specification (ACES) color space standard to build a comprehensive S-Log workflow solution. Vegas Pro 12 editors can apply the appropriate LUT (Look-up Table) to the S-Log source material from a list of built-in templates during the post-production process. The finished project can be encoded to a wide range of formats using the ACES color space standard as well as other popular non-ACES standards.

“Many cinematographers are acquiring in S-Log to maximize the dynamic range and tonal reproduction of their images, but up until now their post-production options have been limited,” said Chaimson. “Vegas Pro 12 opens the door for content creators to enjoy the benefits and flexibility of an integrated, end-to-end S-Log production pipeline with minimal effort and no additional plug-ins to purchase”

Vegas Pro 12 and Vegas Pro 12 Edit will be available for purchase at retailers worldwide and online at www.sonycreativesoftware.com. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for Vegas Pro 12 software is $699 USD, and Vegas Pro 12 Edit is $499 USD. Upgrades from previous versions of Vegas Pro to Vegas Pro 12 will be available for $199 USD from www.sonycreativesoftware.com. Localized French, German, Spanish, and Japanese versions will also be available.