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Putting it all together – ‘Project Stonehenge ‘
Overview
Putting it all together: Stonehenge project
Creative theme: Video editing
Software used: Vegas Pro
User level: BEGINNER
This is part 5 of 5 in this series
This series includes:
- Create a project, import video clips and save the project
- Sequence video clips and render an mp4 file
- Trim video clips, add fades and cross-fades
- Add text and music
- Putting it all together: Project Stonehenge!
The Software
This series of beginner explainers uses Vegas Pro. You can download a free 30 day demo version from the Vegas Website.
The Vegas website refers to ‘Vegas Edit, Vegas Pro and Vegas Post’. These are three different software ‘bundles’ / subscription levels, with Vegas Pro and Vegas Post including additional functionality and plug-ins. The core editing program used in these explainers, Vegas Pro, is included in all three options.
If you decide to purchase Vegas Pro, please review the subscription options in full first, bearing in mind different the different bundles and pricing plans available.
This month we’re also running an explainer series for Premiere Pro (which requires a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud) and a single full-workflow explainer for Premiere Rush (which is FREE on mobile devices and part of a paid subscription which includes access to the desktop version).
The project brief
For this fifth and final entry in the Vegas Pro series, it’s over to you as we go exploring at the World’s most famous stone circle – Stonehenge! We supply the video clips and you supply the video editing skills! Here’s how your final short video could look…
Use the video resources in the section below to create a one minute marketing video or documentary video about Stonehenge, just as we have above!
Your final video should include:
- Appropriate introductory / title text
- Appropriate informational text
- A single background soundtrack
- Fades and transitions
Stretch goal: Record your own audio voiceover and add it to the sequence!
Your final file should be rendered in FULL HD (1080p) with a framerate of 24 FPS.
Project resources
Here are the Stonehenge video clips for you to work with. Download them individually then import them into a new Vegas project. For help with importing please see Vegas Pro explainer one. These files may only be used for your own personal projects and must not be redistributed or sold.
For your soundtrack, you can search for an appropriate audio file at freemusicarchive. Try the ‘instrumental’ or ‘historic’ music sections to get started. Download the file and import it into your Vegas project:
Here are three commentary/narration paragraphs to get you started with recording your own voiceover:
Stonehenge is an ancient monument located in Wiltshire, England. It is believed to date back to the Neolithic period of around 3000 BC, with the stones being set in place in the late Neolithic to early Bronze Age period. The purpose of Stonehenge is still unknown, although it has been speculated that it could have been an ancient astronomical calendar or a temple to honour the dead.
The origins of the stones used to build Stonehenge are still largely a mystery. Some of the stones are believed to have come from the Preseli Hills in Welsh Wales, which are about 150 miles away from Stonehenge. It is thought that the stones were brought to the site using a type of sled and then erected in place using a combination of rope, levers and wooden frames.
Visitors to Stonehenge are able to explore the ancient monument and nearby visitor centre, which offers interactive displays and artefacts. There is also a cafe and gift shop at the site, as well as an audio tour which guides visitors through the history and mythology of Stonehenge. For those wanting to experience Stonehenge in a more unique way, there are also a number of special events and tours which take place throughout the year, such as sunrise and sunset tours and full moon ceremonies.
Where to next?
Here are three useful workflows to help improve your Stonehenge video:
Add video stabilisation
The video clips we’ve supplied are stabilised but you may notice more ‘wobble’ than you’d like. To add basic stabilisation to a clip in Vegas Pro, follow this process:
1: Select the appropriate clip in the timeline. In the Video FX tab, select ‘Video Stabilisation’:
2: Drag and drop the ‘eye thumbnail’ (labelled ‘default’) onto the clip in the timeline. The ‘Video Event FX’ dialog box opens:
3: Check the ‘User View’ field in the Video Event FX dialog shows ‘Basic’ stabilisation mode is selected. (There are more complex stabilisation options built into Vegas that we’re not looking at in this beginners series). Click the Stabilise button to start the stabilisation process!:
4: Play back the stabilised clip to see the improvement. If your preview window is small or you’re using a low-powered laptop, you may need to render the clip and watch it full-screen to confirm you’re happy with the changes.
Adjust Colours
It’s easy to make quick colour adjustments in Vegas Pro. Start here:
1: Select the clip in the timeline. Select the ‘Video FX’ tab immediately above the timeline. Select the ‘Color’ tab. As you can see, there are various options including brightness & contrast, saturation etc. Here’ we select ‘Brightness & Contrast’:
2: Drag and drop an ‘eye thumbnail’ (E.g. ‘Brighter, more contrast’) onto the clip in the timeline. The ‘Video Event FX’ dialog box opens. Use the sliders in the dialog box for brightness, contrast and contrast center to adjust the colour in real-time. We’ve (overly) boosted the contrast to make our Stonehenge clip acid-green!
Add AI narration (Text to speech)
If you have the subscription version of Vegas Pro, you have access to high quality TEXT TO SPEECH. This can help when trying out narration timings or you may leave the synthesised speech in! To get started with the text to speech functionality:
1: Click on the Tools menu and select ‘Text to Speech’:
2: The Text to Speech dialog opens. Select a voice in the ‘Voice’ field. We’re going to try Clara from Canada:
3: Type the text for Clara to speak into the text box. You could use one of the narration examples from above as we have:
4: Press the PLAY button to hear the narration read aloud! Here’s how Clara sounds with the default settings above:
5: If you’re happy, click the Insert button to add the narration to an audio track in your current sequence. If not, audition the other voices as needed!
Prefer to use Adobe Premiere Pro to learn video editing? Our introductory series using Adobe Premiere Pro starts next!
Notes and updates
There are no notes or advisories at this time. This video explainer was last updated in March 2023. This page was last updated in March 2023.
We at pixels.cool are not responsible for the content of any external webpages or software downloaded from third party sites. Links are included in good faith at the time of writing. All explainer content is compiled in good faith using processes and methods used by the team. Modern software gives users many ways in which to accomplish the same task, and for reasons of clarity we choose not to reference multiple options. All computer users should run up to date virus / security software at all times to minimise risk.
If you’d like to follow our explainers using the actual assets demonstrated, you can download them using the link below. Not only do you receive the logos and images used in this series – You also gain access to versions of the videos without the background music. Nice!
This is number 5 of 10 explainer videos for video editing month. Make sure you check out the others!
