I've tinkered with Vegas in the past, but have never had to create anything that really mattered. But now I have to put together a marketing video for work, and I want to get some input before I start. First, I'm using Vegas 8 Pro. If there is any important reason why upgrading to 11 would be beneficial, I could probably get them to buy it for me. But let's assume I'm working with 8 Pro for now.
The video will be just a sequence of videos and photos, overlaid with information in text format. No complex video effects. Plus an audio track that will be a co-worker narrating everything. Before I get started, I want to be assured that the following will not be an issue:
1. The final product will be on DVD-R, but I should have access to full HD video and high res photos to use in its creation, so my assumption is that the smart thing to do is to create it at 1920x1080 and then render the end product down to 720x480 for the DVD. Correct?
2. I've been playing around refreshing my memory on how to accomplish some of the effects I'll be using. I took one of the high-res photos I'll be using and applied a pan and slight zoom effect. If I render it in HD, it looks great (although 21 seconds = 4 GB!). But when I render it to 720x480 (even at the highest quality), the movement is ridiculously choppy. Unwatchable choppy. Is this going to be a problem for me, or am I doing something wrong? Does Vegas 11 offer any rendering advantages?
I need to get started on this, but want to be confident that there will be no obstacles to getting a nice-looking DVD in the end.