Muting a channel ensures that no audio will be played through that channel. For example, you could mute the center channel if you want to produce a stereo image at the center listening position, or you might want to solo the center channel when you’re working with dialogue.

  1. Double-click the surround panner Vegas Pro smallpanner Surround Panner on the track or bus you want to pan. The Surround Panner window is displayed.

  2. Click the speaker icons to mute or include channels.

Vegas Pro tip Surround PannerHold Ctrl while clicking a speaker icon to solo the channel.

Adjusting track volume

You can adjust track volume using the Vol fader in the track header the same way you do in stereo projects. The fader in the track header can function as a trim control that adjusts the overall volume of the track, or it can adjust track volume automation settings.

The trim level is added to the volume automation settings so your envelope is preserved, but with a boost or cut applied. For example, setting the trim control to -3 dB has the same effect as decreasing every envelope point by 3 dB.

Click the Automation Settings button Vegas Pro b automationtouch Surround Panner in the track header and verify Show Automation Controls is not selected if you want to adjust trim levels, or select Show Automation Controls if you want to adjust volume automation.

Adjusting assignable effects send or bus send levels

You can adjust send levels for busses or assignable effects chains using the multipurpose fader in the track header the same way you do in stereo projects. Click the fader label and choose an assignable effects chain or bus from the menu. The fader in the track header can function as a trim control that adjusts the overall send level of the track, or it can adjust send level automation settings.

Click the Automation Settings button Vegas Pro b automationtouch Surround Panner and verify Show Automation Controls is not selected if you want to adjust trim levels, or select Show Automation Controls if you want to adjust volume automation.

Adjusting channel levels

Use the Surround Master bus control in the Mixer window to adjust the individual levels of the 5.1 channels. The faders in the track bus control can function as trim controls that adjust the overall level of each channel, or you can automate the master volume of the Surround Master bus (individual channel levels cannot be automated).

Click the Automation Settings button Vegas Pro b automationtouch Surround Panner in the bus control or bus track and verify Show Automation Controls is not selected if you want to adjust trim levels, or select Show Automation Controls if you want to adjust volume automation.

Adjusting the volume of the center channel can help emphasize dialogue or balance the mix. You can adjust the center channel volume trim level or automation settings.

The trim level is added to surround panning keyframes so your keyframe settings are preserved, but with a boost or cut applied. For example, setting the trim control to -3 dB has the same effect as decreasing the center channel level by 3 dB in every keyframe.

Adjusting the center channel trim level

  1. Click the Automation Settings button Vegas Pro b automationtouch Surround Panner on the track or bus you want to adjust and verify Show Automation Controls is not selected.

  2. Double-click the surround panner Vegas Pro smallpanner Surround Panner on the track. The Surround Panner window is displayed.

  3. Drag the Center fader to boost or attenuate the volume of the center channel. When the fader is set to 0.0 dB, no gain is applied.

Vegas Pro note Surround PannerThe Center fader is not displayed if the center channel is muted. Click the center channel icon Vegas Pro b centerchannelmute Surround Panner to unmute the channel.

Automating the center channel level with keyframes

  1. Click the Automation Settings button Vegas Pro b automationtouch Surround Panner on the track or bus you want to adjust and select Show Automation Controls.

  2. Double-click the surround panner Vegas Pro smallpanner Surround Panner on the track. The Surround Panner window is displayed.

  3. Select a keyframe to adjust its center channel level or click to position the cursor where you want to create a new keyframe.

  4. Drag the Center fader to boost or attenuate the volume of the center channel. When the fader is set to 0.0 dB, no gain is applied. The fader thumb is displayed as a Vegas Pro b automodethumb Surround Panner in automation mode.

Vegas Pro note Surround PannerThe Center fader is not displayed if the center channel is muted. Click the center channel icon Vegas Pro b centerchannelmute Surround Panner to unmute the channel.

You can perform surround panning in two ways:

  • Pan tracks individually using the Surround Panner window.

  • Route tracks to mixer controls (busses
    or assignable effect chains) and pan the mixer controls using the Surround Panner window. From the View menu, choose Show Bus Tracks to display bus tracks at the bottom of the track view.

    When a track is routed to a bus other than the surround master, you can use the Pan slider on the track header to adjust the stereo track’s contribution to the surround panner on the bus.

The surround panner can function as a trim control that adjusts the overall panning of the track, or it can adjust track panning automation settings. Click the Automation Settings button Vegas Pro b automationtouch Surround Panner in the track or bus and select Show Automation Controls to adjust surround panning keyframes, or deselect the command to adjust trim levels.

The trim level is added to the pan automation settings so your keyframes are preserved, but with a boost or cut applied. For example, setting the trim control to -9% left has the same effect as moving every keyframe 9% to the left.

Vegas Pro warning Surround PannerPanning controls can adjust automation (dynamic) settings, or they can function as trim (nonautomated) controls. If your automation is not behaving as expected, you may have applied a trim value that is offsetting your automation settings.

When the surround panner is set to adjust trim levels, it is displayed as a Vegas Pro pannerthumbtrim Surround Panner. When it is set to adjust automation levels, it is displayed as a Vegas Pro pannerthumbauto Surround Panner.

Adjusting panning trim levels

  1. Click the Automation Settings button Vegas Pro b automationtouch Surround Panner in the track or bus and verify Show Automation Controls is not selected.

  2. Double-click the surround panner Vegas Pro smallpanner Surround Panner on the track or bus to display the Surround Panner window:

Vegas Pro surroundpannertrim Surround Panner

  1. Drag the pan point in the Surround Panner window to position the sound within the sound field. Shading is drawn to indicate the output from each channel.

  • Double-click the pan point to reset it to the front-center listening position.

  • Double-click in the Surround Panner window to move the pan point to the point you click.

  • To constrain the motion of the pan point, click the Vegas Pro b movefreely Surround Panner button to toggle through Move freely Vegas Pro b movefreely Surround Panner, Move left/right only Vegas Pro b movehorizonly Surround Panner and Move front/back only Vegas Pro b moveverticalonly Surround Panner modes.

Vegas Pro tip Surround PannerYou can also use the track surround panner in the track header to pan your track. Keyboard and mouse shortcuts can help you position the pan point quickly and accurately. For more information, click here.

Automate panning with keyframes

You can automate panning by adding keyframes. Keyframes are similar to envelope points in that they mark specific locations in the track where settings change. However, unlike envelope points, keyframes are displayed below a track:

Vegas Pro trackkeyframes Surround Panner

Vegas Pro note Surround PannerNotes:

  • Use bus tracks to add panning keyframes to busses. From the View menu, choose Show Bus Tracks to display bus tracks at the bottom of the track view.

  • Center-channel gain cannot be automated.

  • Muting and soloing channels cannot be automated.

  1. Select the track (or bus track) you want to pan.

  2. Click the Automation Settings Vegas Pro b automationtouch Surround Panner button on the track (or bus track) and select Show Automation Controls.

  3. From the Insert menu, choose Audio Envelopes, and then choose Surround Pan Keyframes from the submenu. An additional row appears below the track with a single keyframe positioned at the beginning of the project. This keyframe represents the current panning settings for the track.

Vegas Pro tip Surround PannerTo hide panning keyframes without removing them from your project, choose Show Audio Envelopes from the View menu, and then choose Surround Pan Keyframes from the submenu.

  1. Click to position the cursor where you want to begin panning the track.

  2. Pan your track:

a. Double-click the surround panner Vegas Pro smallpanner Surround Panner on the track or bus to display the Surround Panner window:

Vegas Pro surroundpannerwindow trackw Surround Panner

b. Drag the pan point in the Surround Panner window to position the sound within the sound field. Shading is drawn to indicate the output from each channel, and a keyframe is added below the track.

  • Double-click the pan point to reset it to the front-center listening position.

  • Double-click in the Surround Panner window to move the pan point to the point you click.

  • To constrain the motion of the pan point, click the Vegas Pro b movefreely Surround Panner button to toggle through Move freely Vegas Pro b movefreely Surround Panner, Move left/right only Vegas Pro b movehorizonly Surround Panner and Move front/back only Vegas Pro b moveverticalonly Surround Panner modes.

Vegas Pro tip Surround PannerYou can also use the surround panner in the track header to pan your track. Keyboard and mouse shortcuts can help you position the pan point quickly and accurately. For more information, click here.

  1. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to add as many panning keyframes as necessary. The Surround Panner window draws the panning path:

    Vegas Pro surroundpanner window withpath Surround Panner

  1. If you have two or more keyframes, you can drag the Smoothness slider to adjust the interpolation curve between them. Adjusting the curve affects perceived motion of sound within the sound field: a setting of 0 produces linear motion from one keyframe to the next. Increasing the setting produces a curved path.

    If you want to adjust temporal interpolation how the pan occurs over time right-click a keyframe and choose a new keyframe type from the shortcut menu.

If you automated panning for a track or bus, a keyframe is displayed in the timeline (directly below the track) for each pan setting. You can move, copy, and change fade types from the timeline.

Vegas Pro warning Surround PannerPanning controls can adjust automation (dynamic) settings, or they can function as trim (nonautomated) controls. If your automation is not behaving as expected, you may have applied a trim value that is offsetting your automation settings.

When the surround panner is set to adjust trim levels, it is displayed as a Vegas Pro pannerthumbtrim Surround Panner. When it is set to adjust automation levels, it is displayed as a Vegas Pro pannerthumbauto Surround Panner.

Editing a keyframe

  1. Double-click a keyframe to open the Surround Panner window.

  2. Drag the pan point to position the sound within the sound field.

  3. Adjust the Smoothness slider as necessary to adjust the curve between keyframes.

Vegas Pro tip Surround PannerYou can also edit a keyframe by selecting the keyframe and dragging the pan point in the track or bus surround panner.

Adding keyframes

Double-click in the keyframe bar to add a keyframe to the track view. The new keyframe will use the same settings and interpolation curve as the previous keyframe.

Deleting keyframes

Right-click a keyframe and choose Delete from the shortcut menu.

Moving keyframes

Drag the keyframe to a new position on the timeline.

Copy keyframes

Hold Ctrl while dragging a keyframe to copy it.

Change the fade curve between keyframes

If you want to adjust temporal interpolation how the pan occurs over time right-click a keyframe and choose a new keyframe type from the shortcut menu.

If you want to adjust the perceived motion of sound within the sound field, drag the Smoothness slider to adjust the interpolation curve between keyframes. a Smoothness setting of 0 simulates linear motion from one keyframe to the next. Increasing the setting produces a curved path.

Command

Description

Looks Like

Linear
Vegas Pro keyframe linear Surround Panner

Panning is interpolated in a linear path.

Vegas Pro linearkeyframe Surround Panner

Fast
Vegas Pro keyframe fast Surround Panner

Panning is interpolated in a fast logarithmic path.

Vegas Pro  Surround Panner spro/en/source/fastkeyframe.gif" style="width:63px;height:28px" width="63" height="28" border="0" class="hcp2">

Slow
Vegas Pro keyframe slow Surround Panner

Panning is interpolated in a slow logarithmic path.

Vegas Pro slowkeyframe Surround Panner

Smooth
Vegas Pro keyframe smooth Surround Panner

Panning is interpolated along a smooth, natural curve.

Vegas Pro smoothkeyframe Surround Panner

Sharp
Vegas Pro keyframe sharp Surround Panner

Panning is interpolated along a sharp curve.

Vegas Pro sharpkeyframe Surround Panner

Hold
Vegas Pro keyframe hold Surround Panner

No interpolation will take place. The keyframe’s settings will be maintained until the next keyframe.

Vegas Pro holdkeyframe Surround Panner

Perform either of the following actions to send audio to the low-frequency effects (LFE) channel:

  • Click the Vegas Pro b lfemode Surround Panner button in the Surround Panner window to switch to LFE mode.

or

  • Right-click the surround panner Vegas Pro smallpanner Surround Panner on the track or mixer control and choose LFE Only from the shortcut menu.

To return to normal surround panning, click the Vegas Pro b lfemode Surround Panner button in the Surround Panner window again or right-click the surround panner and choose Surround Pan from the shortcut menu.

Vegas Pro tip Surround PannerSelect the Enable low-pass filter on LFE check box on the Audio tab of the Project Properties dialog if you want to apply a low-pass filter to each track or bus that is assigned to the LFE channel. Enter a frequency in the Cutoff frequency for low-pass filter box to set the frequency above which audio will be ignored by the LFE channel, and choose a setting from the Low-pass filter quality drop-down list to determine the sharpness of filter’s rolloff curve. Best produces the sharpest curve.

Applying a low-pass filter approximates the bass-management system in a 5.1 decoder and ensures that you’re sending only low-frequency audio to the LFE channel.

Vegas Pro warning Surround PannerBefore rendering your surround project, check your surround authoring application’s documentation to determine its required audio format. Some encoders require a specific low-pass filter cutoff frequency and rolloff, and your encoder may require that no filter be applied before encoding.

Right-click within the Surround Panner window (or right-click a surround panner Vegas Pro smallpanner Surround Panner on a track or bus), choose Pan Type from the shortcut menu, and then choose a pan type from the submenu. For more information about panning modes, click here.

Vegas Pro note Surround PannerThe selected panning mode is also used for surround panning keyframes.

The grid in the Surround Panner window provides a visual indication of how your panning will sound. The grid spacing changes to match the current panning mode.

The vertical lines represent the points where the left-to-right signal ratio is 6 dB, 0 dB, and -6 dB respectively: at the far-left line, the left channel is 6.0 dB louder than the right channel.

The horizontal lines represent the points where the front-to-rear signal ratio is 6 dB, 0 dB, and -6 dB respectively. As you adjust the Center fader, the lines will move forward or back to compensate for the center-channel gain.

Vegas Pro note Surround PannerThe grid assumes that you’re using a correctly set-up surround system (matched speakers and ideal positioning). Variations in your monitoring system will cause inconsistencies between the graph and perceived output.

5.1 Surround Panning and Mixing

Ctrl+Alt+3

View Menu

After you’ve set up your project for 5.1 surround mixing, the track headers and mixer switch to 5.1 surround mode, and you’re ready to start panning.

From the View menu, choose Surround Panner to toggle the display of the Surround Panner window. Use the Surround Panner window to pan tracks, busses, and assignable effects chains.

If you have a joystick, you can use it to control surround panning. A force-feedback joystick such as the Microsoft® SideWinder® Force Feedback 2 joystick can add a tactile element to your editing sessions.

Vegas Pro note Surround PannerOnly the Surround Master bus accepts 5.1 channel inputs. If you assign a track to another bus, the mixer will send a stereo output to the bus, and you can perform surround panning at the bus level.

Vegas Pro tip Surround PannerWhen you apply effects to a 5.1 surround project, you can use distinct plug-in settings for each channel (separate EQ settings for the front and surround speakers, for example) using effect automation. Add multiple instances of the plug-in to the track effects chain and select the Enable check boxes in the FX Automation Chooser for the channels you want each instance of the plug-in to affect.

Vegas Pro warning Surround Panner Surround panning is not available for tracks or busses that are routed to a hardware output.


What do you want to do?

Vegas Pro arrowdn Surround Panner Mute or solo channels

Vegas Pro arrowdn Surround Panner Adjust volume and send levels

Vegas Pro arrowdn Surround Panner Adjust the center channel volume

Vegas Pro arrowdn Surround Panner Pan a track or bus

Vegas Pro arrowdn Surround Panner Adjust panning keyframes

Vegas Pro arrowdn Surround Panner Routing audio to the low-frequency effects (LFE) channel

Vegas Pro arrowdn Surround Panner Change the pan mode

Vegas Pro arrowdn Surround Panner Use the grid to monitor panning

Vegas Pro btnshowall Surround Panner

Surround Panner