Pinnacle Systems DS Nitris - 8.0 User Manual

Download

™

Avid® DS Nitris

Getting Started Guide

make manage move | media

™

Avid

Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc.

The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement. You can obtain a copy of that license by visiting Avid's Web site at www.avid.com. The terms of that license are also available in the product in the same directory as the software. The software may not be reverse assembled and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States Patents: 4,746,994; 4,970,663; 5,045,940; 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,452,378; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,568,275; 5,577,190; 5,584,006; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,715,018; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,851; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,852,435; 5,905,841; 5,929,836; 5,930,445; 5,946,445; 5,987,501; 6,016,152; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,691; 6,198,477; 6,201,531; 6,223,211; 6,249,280; 6,269,195; 6,317,158; 6,317,515; 6,330,369; 6,351,557; 6,353,862; 6,357,047; 6,392,710; 6,404,435; 6,407,775; 6,417,891; 6,426,778; 6,477,271; 6,489,969; 6,512,522; 6,532,043; 6,546,190; 6,552,731; 6,553,142; 6,570,624; 6,571,255; 6,583,824; 6,618,547; 6,636,869; 6,665,450; 6,678,461; 6,687,407; 6,704,445; D392,269; D396,853; D398,912. Other patents are pending.

This document is protected under copyright law. An authorized licensee of Avid Pro Tools LE may reproduce this publication for the licensee’s own use in learning how to use the software. This document may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or in part, for commercial purposes, such as selling copies of this document or providing support or educational services to others. This document is supplied as a guide for Avid Pro Tools LE. Reasonable care has been taken in preparing the information it contains. However, this document may contain omissions, technical inaccuracies, or typographical errors. Avid Technology, Inc. does not accept responsibility of any kind for customers’ losses due to the use of this document. Product specifications are subject to change without notice.

The Avid DS and Avid DS Nitris application uses JScript and Visual Basic Scripting Edition from Microsoft Corporation.

The following disclaimer is required by Apple Computer, Inc.

APPLE COMPUTER, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ITS MERCHANTABILITY OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMITTED BY SOME STATES. THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY PROVIDES YOU WITH SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. THERE MAY BE OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

The following disclaimer is required by Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics, Inc. for the use of their TIFF library:

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software [i.e., the TIFF library] and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that (i) the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation, and (ii) the names of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics may not be used in any advertising or publicity relating to the software without the specific, prior written permission of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS-IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL SAM LEFFLER OR SILICON GRAPHICS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

The following disclaimer is required by the Independent JPEG Group:

Portions of this software are based on work of the Independent JPEG Group.

The following disclaimer is required by Paradigm Matrix:

Portions of this software licensed from Paradigm Matrix.

The following disclaimer is required by Ray Sauers Associates, Inc.:

“Install-It” is licensed from Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. End-User is prohibited from taking any action to derive a source code equivalent of “Install-It,” including by reverse assembly or reverse compilation, Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. shall in no event be

liable for any damages resulting from reseller’s failure to perform reseller’s obligation; or any damages arising from use or operation of reseller’s products or the software; or any other damages, including but not limited to, incidental, direct, indirect, special or consequential Damages including lost profits, or damages resulting from loss of use or inability to use reseller’s products or the software for any reason including copyright or patent infringement, or lost data, even if Ray Sauers Associates has been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages.

The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:

“Videomedia, Inc. makes no warranties whatsoever, either express or implied, regarding this product, including warranties with respect to its merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose.”

“This software contains V-LAN ver. 3.0 Command Protocols which communicate with V-LAN ver. 3.0 products developed by Videomedia, Inc. and V-LAN ver. 3.0 compatible products developed by third parties under license from Videomedia, Inc. Use of this software will allow “frame accurate” editing control of applicable videotape recorder decks, videodisc recorders/players and the like.”

The following disclaimer is required by Altura Software, Inc. for the use of its Mac2Win software and Sample Source Code:

The following disclaimer is required by Ultimatte Corporation:

Certain real-time compositing capabilities are provided under a license of such technology from Ultimatte Corporation and are subject to copyright protection.

The following disclaimer is required by 3Prong.com Inc.:

Certain waveform and vector monitoring capabilities are provided under a license from 3Prong.com Inc.

Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights Legend

U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. This Software and its documentation are “commercial computer software” or “commercial computer software documentation.” In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of the License Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.

Trademarks

888 I/O, Adrenaline, AirPlay, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AirSpeed, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AudioVision, AutoSync, Avid, Avid DNA, Avid DNxcel, Avid DNxHD, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, Avid Learning Excellerator, Avid Liquid, Avid Mojo, AvidNet, AvidNetwork, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, Avid Unity ISIS, Avid Xpress, AVoption, AVX, CamCutter, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, DAE, Dazzle, Deko, DekoCast, D-Fi, D-fx, DigiDelivery, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, DigiDrive, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator, DigiTranslator, DINR, DNxchange, D-Verb, Equinox, ExpertRender, FieldPak, Film Composer, FilmScribe, FluidMotion, HIIP, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, IllusionFX, Image Independence, iNEWS, iNEWS ControlAir, Instinct, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, LaunchPad, Lightning, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Marquee, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, Media Browse, Media Composer, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaShare, MediaStream, Meridien, MetaSync, MissionControl, NaturalMatch, Nearchive, NetReview, NewsCutter, Nitris, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, PCTV, Pinnacle MediaSuite, Pinnacle Studio, Pinnacle Systems, ProEncode, Pro Tools, QuietDrive, Recti-Fi, RetroLoop, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Show Center, Softimage, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, SpectraGraph, SpectraMatte, SteadyGlide, Symphony, TARGA, Thunder, Trilligent, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video Slave Driver, VideoSPACE, and Xdeck are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

NEWS, iNEWS ControlAir, and Media Browse are trademarks of iNews, LLC. VocALign® is a registered trademark of Synchro Arts Limited. Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Footage

Arri — Courtesy of Arri/Fauer — John Fauer, Inc. Bell South “Anticipation” — Courtesy of Two Headed Monster — Tucker/Wayne Atlanta/GMS. Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service/Department of the Interior. Eco Challenge British Columbia — Courtesy of Eco Challenge Lifestyles, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Eco Challenge Morocco — Courtesy of Discovery Communications, Inc. It’s Shuttletime — Courtesy of BCP & Canadian Airlines. Nestlé Coffee Crisp — Courtesy of MacLaren McCann Canada. Saturn “Calvin Egg” — Courtesy of Cossette Communications.

“Tigers: Tracking a Legend” — Courtesy of www.wildlifeworlds.com, Carol Amore, Executive Producer. "The Big Swell" — Courtesy of Swell Pictures, Inc. Windhorse — Courtesy of Paul Wagner Productions.

Arizona Images — KNTV Production — Courtesy of Granite Broadcasting, Inc., Editor/Producer Bryan Foote. Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service/Department of the Interior. Tornados + Belle Isle footage — Courtesy of KWTV News 9. WCAU Fire Story — Courtesy of NBC-10, Philadelphia, PA. Women in Sports – Paragliding — Courtesy of Legendary Entertainment, Inc.

GOT FOOTAGE?

Editors — Filmmakers — Special Effects Artists — Game Developers — Animators — Educators — Broadcasters — Content creators of every genre — Just finished an incredible project and want to share it with the world?

Send us your reels and we may use your footage in our show reel or demo!* For a copy of our release and Avid’s mailing address, go to www.avid.com/footage.

*Note: Avid cannot guarantee the use of materials submitted.

Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide • 0130-07674-01. May 2006.

Contents

Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Before you begin... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Installing the DivX Codec and QuickTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Using the Avid DS Training Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Accessing the Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Logging on to Your Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Accessing the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Getting Context-Sensitive Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Understanding the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Top Area Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Finding Information Within Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Using the Contents Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Using the Index Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Using the Search Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Using the Favorites Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Printing Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Finding Other Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Contacting Avid Customer Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

E-mail Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Web Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Upload Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Avid Community Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 1 Starting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

The Digital Post-Production Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Working with Project Files and Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

What is a Project? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Chapter 2 Working on the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Restoring the Default Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Title Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Layouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Accessing the Default Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Using the Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Status Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Accessing the Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Combo Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Using the Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Dialog Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Entering Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Using Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Chapter 3 Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Capturing Source Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Avid Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Organizing your Project Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Changing the View Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Identifying File Types in a Folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Configuring the External Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Capturing from Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Capturing from File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Chapter 4 Getting Ready to Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Editing Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Previewing Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Using J-K-L Keys for Three-Button Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Marking In and Out-Points in the Source Viewer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Changing the Thumbnail of a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Chapter 5 Creating a First Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

The Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Working with Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Selecting Tracks and Regions of Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Adding, Reordering and Deleting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Setting the Track Height. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Muting Audio and Video Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Setting Tracks to Solo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Navigating the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Using the Scale and Scroll Bars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Selecting Objects on the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Placing Clips on the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Dragging and Dropping Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Inserting Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Overwriting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Replacing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Chapter 6 Refining the Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Rearranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Copying Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Removing Clips from the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Trimming Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Using the Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Using Ripple Mode When Trimming Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Chapter 7 Applying Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

The Effects Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Effect Bar Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Applying Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Applying Effects to Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Using the Property Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Applying Effects to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Applying Transition Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Applying Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Creating a Stack of Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

The Effects Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Using the Viewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Chapter 8 Working with Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Editing Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Opening an Effect’s Property Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Bypassing Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Saving Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Substituting Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Animating Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Chapter 9 Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Processing Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Chapter 10 Adding Graphics and 2D Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Starting a Graphics Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Displaying the Safe Action/Title Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

The Graphics Combo View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

The Graphics Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Graphics Property Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Defining Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Creating Graphics and Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Using the Graphics Object View (GOV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Changing the Properties of Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Finishing a Graphics Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Chapter 11 Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

About Compositing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Compositing Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Creating a Basic Matte. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Viewing the Alpha Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Keying out the Blue Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Simple Track Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Using Composite Container Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

The Layers View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Applying Effects to Layers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Viewing the Results of Composited Layers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Chapter 12 Outputting a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Outputting to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Outputting to File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Chapter 13 Conforming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Methods for Conforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Conforming a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Defining Your Storages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Conforming the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Prerequisites

The Avid DS Nitris system lets you create broadcast-quality output, incorporating every possible production element—from full-speed, high-resolution footage, to multimedia artwork and animation, to computer-generated effects and titling.

The Avid DS Nitris documentation describes the features and hardware of all models. Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation.

The Getting Started Guide consists of 13 chapters of the basic information you’ll need to get working in Avid DS Nitris. The following table lists the approximate amount of time needed to complete each chapter.

Chapter Time to complete

Chapter 1: Starting a Project 15 minutes

Chapter 2: Working on the Desktop 30 minutes

Chapter 3: Capturing Material 60 minutes

Chapter 4: Getting Ready to Edit 30 minutes

Chapter 5: Creating a First Cut 45 minutes

Chapter 6: Refining the Edit 30 minutes

Chapter 7: Applying Effects 90 minutes

Chapter 8: Working with Effects 30 minutes

Chapter 9: Processing 15 minutes

Chapter 10: Adding Graphics and 2D Titles 30 minutes

Prerequisites

Chapter Time to complete

Chapter 11: Compositing 60 minutes

Chapter 12: Outputting a Sequence 20 minutes

Chapter 13: Conforming 45 minutes

Before you begin...

Before using the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide, your Avid DS Nitris system should be properly configured with the appropriate hardware. You should also have a working knowledge of your computer and its operating system. You must know how to use the mouse or pen, standard menus and commands, as well as how to open, save, and close files. If you need to review these techniques, refer to Windows online help.

Installing the DivX Codec and QuickTime

Before you can view or capture the media files for this guide, you will need to install the DivX codec and Apple QuickTime (if you do not already have them).

• DivX codec: Install the free standard codec from: www.divx.com/divx/

• QuickTime: Install the latest version of QuickTime from www.apple.com/quicktime/

Using the Avid DS Training Edition

If you are using the software-only Avid DS Training Edition, you should know that although it functions just like the software running on Avid DS Nitris systems, there are some notable exceptions:

• A license or hardware key (dongle) is not needed to run the Avid DS Training Edition.

• You won’t be able to output to tape or file, nor export OMF

• There are no indexing services.

• Any archives created within Avid DS Training Edition can only be used on other Avid DS Training Editions.

• Archiving is limited to project data (media cannot be included).

• Remote processing is not available.

• Captured and processed media, sequences, clips, and presets use a different format than the standard Avid DS Nitris software.

, EDL, or AAF files.

Accessing the Media

The media files that you’ll be using in this guide were installed along with the Avid DS Nitris software. You can find the media in the C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_vX\Media_GetStarted folder. In addition, you’ll need a videotape with some material on it to practice capturing material from tape and outputting to tape.

Logging on to Your Workstation

Before you start Avid DS Nitris, you must log on to your workstation with your Windows user name and password. Since many users can work on the same workstation at different times, Windows gives you security and a unique user profile, so as not to conflict with the settings of other users.

Your Avid DS Nitris environment can be customized. If you set any personal or project preferences while logged on, Avid DS Nitris saves them to your user profile. The next time you log on to that workstation, it recalls your previous settings.

To log on to your workstation:

1. When the Welcome to Windows dialog box is displayed, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

Accessing the Media

2. In the Log On to Windows dialog box, enter your user name and password.

3. Click OK.

Once you have logged on to Windows, you can access your applications and files.

To start Avid DS Nitris, do one of the following:

t Double-click the Avid DS vX icon on the Windows desktop.

t Select Start > Programs > Avid Products > Avid DS vX> Avid DS vX.

The Open Project dialog box displays.

Later on, when you have created a project, here’s how you can exit Avid DS Nitris. For now, do not exit Avid DS Nitris.

To exit Avid DS Nitris, do one of the following:

t Select File > Exit. t Click the X (close) button at the top-right corner of the title bar. t Press Alt+F4.

Prerequisites

When you exit Avid DS Nitris, any changes that you made to the desktop layout or user preferences are saved with your user profile and recalled the next time you log on to the workstation.

Accessing the Help System

Avid DS Nitris comes with a comprehensive help system that contains information on all the interface elements, as well as task information. If you’re looking for information on a particular interface element or property page parameter, or need help performing a task, the online help is the place to look.

The following topics explain how to use the Help system:

• “Understanding the Help System” on page 15

• “Finding Information Within Help” on page 16

• “Printing Help Topics” on page 18

There are two ways to access the Help system:

• From the Help menu

• From windows and dialog boxes—see “Getting Context-Sensitive Help” on page 14.

To open the Help system:

t Select Help > Contents and Index or press F1.

The Help window opens, and the Help splash screen displays.

Getting Context-Sensitive Help

Help icon or button

Every view, property page, dialog box, and pop-up menu

contains a Help icon or button which displays context-sensitive information when clicked.

Too ltip s

Avid DS Nitris uses small pop-ups called tooltips to display the name of desktop elements when they have no text label.

Position the pointer over an interface element, such as an icon, and pause for a second. A tooltip with the name of the element appears.

Avid DS Nitris provides you with a quick way to get Help for many views, dialog boxes, and property pages. Within these context-sensitive topics, you can view specific information about items, such as options and individual buttons, and link to related topics.

To get help for a view, dialog box, or property page with a Help button:

t Click the Help button (either a question mark or a button labeled Help, or How To...).

The context-sensitive Help topic is displayed.

Understanding the Help System

The Help system uses the following main display areas:

• Help topics open in the right area of the Help window—see “Help Topics” on page 15.

• Buttons for controlling the Help display and for printing Help topics appear in the top area of the Help window—see “Top Area Buttons” on page 16.

• Navigation tools (Contents, Index, Search, and Favorites) open in the left area of the Help window—see “Finding Information Within Help” on page 16.

Once the Help window is open, it behaves in much the same way as most other windows. You can resize it and reposition it to suit your screen layout and workflow.

Understanding the Help System

Help Topics

The information in the Help is displayed in the right area of the Help window. All topics have the following items above the main heading:

• Hierarchy links These links display the location of the currently displayed topic within its book and

chapter, and let you jump to relevant higher-level topics, including the Main Topics page.

• Previous Topic and Next Topic buttons Use these buttons to browse through the topics in the order in which they appear in the

Contents.

Hierarchy links

Current topic

Previous Topic

Next Topic

Prerequisites

The Help system includes task-oriented procedures as well as background and reference information. At the bottom of many topics are links to related topics.

Showing and Hiding Additional Information

Some Help topics include a link labeled “More Information.” Click this link or the turndown arrow to see conceptual or background information related to the procedure. This information is displayed with a colored border on top and bottom.

To return to the original display, click the link or arrow again.

Top Area Buttons

The top area of the Help window contains four buttons that allow you to change the Help display and print Help topics. The following table describes these buttons.

Finding Information Within Help

Button Illustration Description

Hide/Show Click the Hide button to hide the navigation area on the left and reduce the

width of the Help window. The button changes to the Show button. Click the Show button to reveal the navigation area on the left and expand

the width of the Help window. The button changes to the Hide button.

Back and Forward

Print Click this button to print one or more topics—see “Printing Help Topics”

These buttons work like the Back and Forward buttons in an Internet browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. Use the buttons to move among recently visited topics.

on page 18.

The left area of the Help window displays the Help system’s main navigation tools within a tabbed interface.

Using the Contents Tab

The Contents tab displays a complete hierarchical list of all topics in the Help system. You can expand and collapse the contents to view the logical organization of the Help system. Click on a topic to display the entry to the right.

Using the Index Tab

The Index tab provides an alphabetized list of entries similar to the index of a printed book.

To find an index entry, type the first few letters of a keyword in the text box at the top of the tab. As you type, the index jumps to the range of entries that correspond to the letters you have typed.

To view the topic associated with an index entry, either click the index entry and then click Display, or double-click the entry.

Using the Search Tab

The Search tab lets you search the entire text of the Help system for one or more words and then lists the topics that include those words. The list of results is ranked, placing the topics that the Search feature considers most likely to be relevant at the top of the list.

Finding Information Within Help

Advanced Search Options

Advanced search options let you control how the Search feature operates. If the Search feature does not produce useful results for a particular topic, you can often find the specific information you need by modifying the search.

Search Syntax

The following syntax rules control search queries:

• Searches are not case-sensitive, so you can type your search in uppercase or lowercase characters.

• You can search for any combination of letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9).

• Punctuation marks, such as period, colon, semicolon, comma, and hyphen are ignored.

• Search for a literal phrase by using quotation marks.

• If you are searching for a filename with an extension, you should group the entire string in double quotes (“filename.ext"). Otherwise, the search will treat the period as an OR operator.

Prerequisites

• You can use wildcards such as ? or *.

• You can use Boolean operators of AND, OR, and NOT.

Searching Within Previous Search Results

To narrow down a search that has produced too many results, select Search previous results to limit a search to the results of the previous search.

Including Similar Words in Searches

By default, searches include words similar to those you have typed. For example, if you type “light,” the search will also look for occurrences of the word “lights.” You can narrow a search by deselecting this option.

Searching Topic Titles Only

To limit your search to the words in topic titles only, select Search titles only.

Using the Favorites Tab

The Favorites tab allows you to keep a list of topics you want to access frequently.

To add the currently displayed topic to your list:

t Click Add.

The topic name appears in the Topics list.

To display a favorite topic, do one of the following:

t In the Topics list, click the name of the topic, and then click Display. t In the Topics list, double-click the name of the topic.

The topic appears in the right area of the Help window.

To remove a topic from the list of favorites:

t In the Topics list, click the name of the topic, and then click Remove.

Printing Help Topics

The Help system gives you the option of printing either the currently displayed topic or all of the topics within the current chapter.

Finding Other Resources

To print the currently displayed topic:

1. In the top button area, click Print.

2. In the Print Topics dialog box, select Print the selected topic, and then click OK.

3. In the Print dialog box, select any print options you want, and then click Print.

The printed version of the topic shows only the text that is currently displayed on screen. If the topic includes additional information and you want that information to appear in the printed version, make sure that the additional information appears onscreen.

To print all topics in the current chapter:

1. In the top button area, click Print.

2. In the Print Topics dialog box, select Print the selected heading and all subtopics, and then click OK.

3. In the Print dialog box, select any print options you want, and then click Print.

Topics that you print from the Help have limited page layout and formatting features. For a higher quality version of the information, print from the PDF version of the manuals included on the Avid DS Nitris Software and Drivers DVD.

Finding Other Resources

The Help is your one-stop source for answers to your questions. There are web links to the Avid DS community forums, training resources, Customer Service, and the Knowledge Center.

We’re always looking for ways to provide you with better information. The Customer Service website has a feedback form, where you can send us requests for more information.

Contacting Avid Customer Support

Avid DS Customer Support offers assistance by phone, email, and the web. You are invited to send your support requests to any of these channels. For urgent issues that require immediate assistance, use your local phone support channel.

If you are having trouble using your system:

Prerequisites

1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide. It is especially important to check each step of your workflow.

2. Check the Avid DS Support Center at http://www.softimage.com/avidds for the latest information that might have become available.

E-mail Support

The e-mail address for Avid DS Customer Support is: dssupport@avid.com. You can use it for sending bug reports, usability questions, and avidds.cab audit reports for system analysis. All e-mails are logged in the support database and assigned a case number. Send one support request per e-mail.

It is mandatory that you include your SID number in the body of your email message for verification of your maintenance contract and case logging. Otherwise, response will be delayed.

Web Support

The Avid DS Support Center at http://www.softimage.com/avidds provides quick access to a wide range of resources from the Avid DS team—online documentation, tutorials, known limitations and other late-breaking information.

All software and driver updates can be downloaded from the Avid Download Center http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/index.asp.

Upload Utility

For troubleshooting purposes, you can upload your files for Avid Customer Support personnel to examine. You can upload a project's archive, media files, or other necessary data. Simply zip the files that you need to upload and use a short name (for easy retrieval), such as archive.zip or Case274877.zip.

To upload your files:

1. Go to the Avid web site at http://www.softimage.com/avidds.

2. Select Support and Upload Tool from the left menu.

Avid Community Forum

Although the Avid DS community forum is frequently monitored by Avid employees, it is not part of the official support channels.

The forum has proven to be quite useful for users, and there is a constant stream of new subscribers.

To subscribe, join the Avid community forums on the Avid web site at http://www.avid.com. Select Support > Forums.

Avid Training Services

Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and convenient. Avid understands that the knowledge that you need to differentiate yourself is always changing, and Avid continually updates course content and offers new training delivery methods that accommodate your pressured and competitive work environment.

Contacting Avid Customer Support

To learn more about Avid’s new online learning environment, Avid Learning Excellerator

(ALEX)

, visit http://learn.avid.com.

For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and books, please visit www.avid.com/training or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843).

Prerequisites

Chapter 1

Starting a Project

This chapter introduces you to the Avid DS Nitris post-production process. You will learn how to create a project in Avid DS Nitris.

This chapter takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Chapter 1 Starting a Project

The Digital Post-Production Process

The Avid DS Nitris system is a digital post-production environment. Once you’ve acquired your footage in a digital format and put it on a storage device, Avid DS Nitris gives you complete, random access to the media with instant retrieval of clips and sequences. You also have quick, nonlinear access to any part of your sequence, as well as the ability to apply a wide variety of digital effects at any stage of your production.

You can use the different tools and techniques available in Avid DS Nitris to complete your projects. You can build a production from start to finish, or you can import sequences “offlined” on other systems and proceed with your finishing tasks in Avid DS Nitris.

After a project is complete, you can archive the media and files, making space for your next project. If you need to go back and re-edit a project, you can restore it at any time.

The following illustration gives you an overview of the Avid DS Nitris production cycle.

“Offline” edit

Create a rough cut of clips and decide on timing of cuts and transitions.

If offlined externally, load *AAF, AFE, OMF files or EDLs, and digitize material from file, tape, or audio.

The Digital Post-Production Process

Redigitize source material in full, uncompressed resolution from file or tape.

Capture material

Digitize source material at low resolution directly from file or tape.

Archive the project

- Archive project and/or media to tape.

- Project and media can be restored at

any time.

Output media

Output sequence to tape or file, such as .avi.

Fine-tune edit

Fine-tune timing of cuts, transitions, and other effects.

Apply effects

- Create composites.

- Add 2D and 3D effects.

- Mix and sweeten audio.

- Add titles and graphics.

- Perform dust/scratch removal and color correction.

Repeat if necessary

Process

Process all effects applied to clips and create new media files (source media remains untouched).

*AAF: Advanced Authoring Format, AFE: Avid File Exchange, OMF: Open Media Framework, and EDL: Edit Decision List.

Chapter 1 Starting a Project

Working with Project Files and Media

It is important to understand how Avid DS Nitris handles your data, so that you can work efficiently when using large sizes of digitized video and audio files.

When you capture material, the digitized media is placed on an external storage device, and the project files representing this media are stored in the DS Projects folder on your workstation’s local disk drive. The project files point Avid DS Nitris to the location of the corresponding digitized media on the storage device.

Source material

Captured video and/or audio are

represented as master clips in

Avid DS Nitris.

Clips refer to

media on

storage

device.

Actual digitized material

(media) is on storage device.

What is a Project?

A project contains all the clips and sequences required for your work in Avid DS Nitris. In Avid Explorer, which is a file browser similar to Windows Explorer, a project is represented as a folder that can contain many subfolders to organize all the elements related to your project.

Projects contain

master clips,

sequences, and any

special presets and/or

scripts you create.

Sequences contain

information about the

edit decisions,

composites, and

effects you’ve applied

to your clips.

Working with Project Files and Media

Master clips are representations of the digitized source media.

Master clips can be shared between sequences in the same project.

A project also links and tracks master clips and sequences with their associated media, making file management easier.

When you place clips on the timeline to build your sequence, they maintain pointers to the source media on the storage device. Any edits or effects that you apply to the clips are noted in the sequence when you save it. Clips, sequences, and presets (a customized set of properties saved for reuse on other projects) are all considered project files, and must be stored in the project folder. That way, you can easily archive, restore, and/or purge all files related to a project.

When you archive a project, a copy of the media is saved to tape or disk and the project files are saved in the DS Archives folder on your local workstation. With the archived project files and associated media, you can reconstruct everything in your project when necessary.

Chapter 1 Starting a Project

Creating a New Project

As soon as you start Avid DS Nitris, you are prompted to open or create a project and sequence. When you create a project, you define the format for each sequence that you create in that particular project.

You can change the video and audio quality settings during the course of your work according to the amount of storage space available. For example, if you want to conserve disk space, do a rough cut on material captured at low resolution or in compressed form. When the sequence is ready for finishing, redigitize the material you need, so you can work at the quality at which you will be outputting.

To change the default location of your project, select Add Project Root and follow the onscreen prompts.

Media Composer comparison: All sequences in a Media Composer project must use the same format. In Avid DS Nitris, a project can contain sequences with different formats.

To create a project:

When you start Avid DS Nitris, the Open Project dialog box displays.

Select the Local Projects Only option at the bottom-left.

Click the New Project button.

Give your project a name. We named ours My First Project.

Creating a New Project

Select the

NTSC 4/3 video format.

The frame details are usually set automatically.

Save project preferences.

A new sequence is opened and the Editing layout is displayed for you to start building a sequence.

Select File > Save. In the Save Sequence dialog

box, name it Sequence1 and click OK.

Set the

resolution, bit depth, and compression for capturing the video media.

Set the sample

rate and bit depth for the audio media.

Get more information on each

setting in this dialog box.

Chapter 1 Starting a Project

Chapter 2

Working on the Desktop

In this chapter, you will be familiarizing yourself with some of the basic elements in Avid DS Nitris, such as the layouts, toolbars, dialog boxes, and menus.

This chapter takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Chapter 2 Working on the Desktop

Restoring the Default Layout

If your system was previously used by a different user, then you might not be viewing the default Editing layout. Before you start exploring the Avid DS Nitris desktop, you should restore the layout to its defaults.

To restore the layout:

1. Select Layout > Restore Default Layout.

A message window displays.

2. Click OK.

3. Close and restart Avid DS Nitris. In the Open Project dialog box, the name of your project is already highlighted.

4. Select Sequence1 and click the Open Sequence button on the right side of the dialog box.

Name of last opened

project is highlighted.

Sequences available

in this project.

The layout is restored to its default settings. For more information, see “Layouts” on page 34 to see how the Editing layout should display.

Title Bar

The title bar at the top of the Avid DS Nitris window displays the name of the project and sequence, sequence video format, and buttons for minimizing, maximizing and closing the application window.

Title Bar

Project name Sequence name Sequence settings

Close/exit window

Minimize window

Maximize window

Chapter 2 Working on the Desktop

Layouts

A layout contains tools for performing specialized tasks. Whether you’re digitizing media, editing, compositing, painting, or titling, there’s a corresponding layout for the job. The default layouts in Avid DS Nitris include: Editing, Effects, Graphics, Compositing, and 3D DVE.

Menu bar contains commands, such as opening and saving projects and sequences, editing layouts, and accessing online help.

Taskbar is a navigational aid for moving between layouts: Editing, Effects, Graphics, Compositing, and 3D DVE.

View is an area that contains a group of tools that are specific to the tasks you’ll perform in a layout. The Editing layout below shows the Avid Explorer view, a file management tool that is useful when handling files and editing.

View switcher lets you access different views within a particular layout.

Layouts

Media Composer comparison: Layouts are similar to Toolsets and Workspaces in Media Composer. Layouts contain views; some views are similar to tools, but others are collections of tools with options for customization.

Accessing the Default Layouts

Switching between the different layouts lets you access tools for particular tasks, such as editing, creating effects and graphics, compositing, and adding 3D DVE elements. When you click one of these buttons in the taskbar, its corresponding layout, views, and tools are displayed.

Too lbar contains commonly used commands grouped together to make certain tasks quicker and easier. All toolbars can be customized.

Tip: If you hover over active buttons on the desktop, such as the taskbar or transport controls, tooltips will appear to help you identify icons and provide keyboard shortcuts.

Viewers display the output of your sequence at the position indicator. During a graphics session, it serves as an area to create and arrange titles and graphics objects.

Status bar displays the timecodes of selected objects on the timeline, and shows toolbar, warning, error, and active command information, as well as the global animation controls.

Transport controls let you preview media in the viewer or play sequences that have been edited on the timeline.

Timeline is where you place and edit clips to build a sequence. It graphically displays the position of video and audio clips, transitions, and effects over time.

Chapter 2 Working on the Desktop

Editing layout

Taskbar

To switch layouts:

1. In the taskbar, click the Compositing button. The Compositing layout displays. Notice that the timeline and view have changed. You

are now in a nested clip called a composite container clip. You’ll learn more about this later in “Compositing” on page 135.

Some of the layouts can’t be accessed unless a clip is selected on the timeline.

2. Return to the main timeline by clicking the Go to Top Timeline button at the lower end of the taskbar.

A clip called Composite is created on the B1 background track on the timeline. This clip was automatically created when you switched to the Compositing layout. Background tracks are usually used for compositing.

Effects layout

Graphics layout

Compositing layout

3D DVE layout

3. Switch back to the Editing layout when you’re done.

Using the Menus

Menus appear in different places to make it easy for you to access commands.

• The menu bar is displayed across the top of the desktop directly below the title bar. The commands in the menu bar include general operations related to opening and saving projects, as well as setting project preferences, customizing layouts, and accessing Help.

When you open a menu, you will notice keyboard shortcuts to the right of some commands. Instead of opening a menu, you can use the keyboard shortcut. For example, to save a sequence, press Ctrl+S on the keyboard.

Status Bar

Arrows indicate that additional commands are available.

Keyboard shortcut

• Pop-up menus are displayed by right-clicking individual elements or specific areas of the interface, such as the timeline, viewers, or tracks. These menus provide commands that are specific to the particular interface element you’ve chosen.

Right-click an area of the desktop, such as the timeline. A pop-up menu displays with a list of commands that are related to that area.

Click the Help button for detailed information on each command on this menu.

Status Bar

The status bar at the bottom-right of the desktop displays the timecodes of selected objects on the timeline and provides status, warning, error, toolbar, and active command information, as well as the global animation controls.

Avid DS Nitris Workgroup Status indicator shows

the workgroup to which your workstation belongs.

Timecode boxes display the timecodes of selected objects on the timeline.

Hardware Sync Status indicator shows when external video and audio devices are synced.

Audio Scrubbing

button turns audio output on/off while scrubbing timeline.

Viewer

button turns

viewer on/off.

Global animation controls for

recording keyframes and navigating between keyframes.

Chapter 2 Working on the Desktop

Accessing the Views

Views contain groups of tools for creating, managing, and editing media. Clicking a button on the view switcher at the bottom-center of the desktop lets you switch to the different toolsets within a layout. In the Editing layout, Avid Explorer is the main view displayed on the left side of the desktop.

To switch views:

1. Click any of the buttons in the view switcher to see each view.

2. Switch back to Avid Explorer view when you’re done.

Combo Views

View switcher

A combo view contains a group of tools for a particular task, such as the Graphics combo view. Unlike the fixed layouts, you can move the combo views around on the desktop.

To open a combo view:

1. Select View > Default Combo Views > Graphics from the menu bar at the top of the

application. The Graphics combo view displays.

Using the Toolbars

This may be different than what you see in your version of Avid DS Nitris. It depends on what was last displayed.

2. Some of the tools in the Graphics combo view are dimmed for the moment. For now, move the combo view around on the desktop by dragging it by the title bar.

3. Close the combo view by clicking the close (X) button at the top-right corner. Later, you’ll learn more about the tools in this view—see “Adding Graphics and 2D Titles” on page 121.

Using the Toolbars

The toolbars contain commonly used tools and effects. The buttons on the toolbar let you activate tools or commands, and apply effects.

Chapter 2 Working on the Desktop

NLE Tools toolbar

Click a button to see additional commands.

Presets let you preserve definitions for effects, transitions, graphics tools, etc. for later use. The default presets shipped with Avid DS are stored in the \DSPresets folder. Avid DS also creates a \DSPresets folder within each project folder, which lets you store presets specific to a particular project.

Dialog Boxes

A dialog box lets you set options and parameters. When you selct a command in Avid DS Nitris, it often opens a dialog box, requiring you to provide input before the command can be executed. You cannot proceed with further operations while a dialog box is open.

To open a dialog box:

1. Select File > User Preferences.

To apply any changes you made in this dialog box, click OK.

Dialog Boxes

To exit without applying changes, select the Cancel button or the close (X) button, or press the Esc or Alt+F4 keys.

The changes you made are cancelled and the dialog box is closed.

2. Keep the dialog box open for the next section on entering values.

Entering Values

The following example serves to illustrate one of several ways to enter numerical values in text boxes. You can choose the method that is the most convenient for you. There are also keyboard shortcuts available that let you quickly enter values and timecodes.

To enter values in a text box:

(The following example shows how to set the number of undo levels and the auto-save frequency.)

1. In the User Preferences dialog box (General property page), click in the Number of Undo Levels text box.

The contents of the text box is highlighted in blue.

2. Type in a new value for the number of times you can undo a task in Avid DS Nitris. The default is 50 and the maximum is 1000.

Chapter 2 Working on the Desktop

3. In the Autosave box, enter a new length of time to automatically save your sequence at regular intervals.

4. Click the Help button for detailed information on each parameter. You’ll find Help buttons or Help icons on all dialog boxes and property editors.

5. Click OK to apply the values and close the User Preferences dialog box.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts let you quickly execute commands and access tools and views using a key or combination of keys on your keyboard. In Avid DS Nitris, you can define your own keyboard shortcuts.

To customize keyboard shortcuts:

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Select File > Command Mapping.

In the Command Mapping dialog box, click

the New button.

Select an item,

depending on the shortcut you want to customize.

Select the

command whose keyboard shortcut you want to change. Drag the command to a key on the onscreen keyboard. The key that you highlight will be your new shortcut.

Tip: Press the Shift, Ctrl, or Alt keys to use them in a shortcut.

Click the Help button for detailed information on keyboard shortcuts.

Click OK when you’re done.

Enter a name for the new template.

A copy of the existing template is created and saved under the new name. You can customize it to optimize your work.

Chapter 2 Working on the Desktop

Chapter 3

Capturing Material

Capturing material is the process of creating media files from video or audio source material. This chapter describes how to capture material from different sources, such as videotape and file.

This chapter takes approximately 60 minutes to complete.

Chapter 3 Capturing Material

Capturing Source Material

Source material is the original, unaltered material from videotapes or digital recordings. This source material may come from a variety of sources, such as video, audio, animated sequences, graphics, and still images. When you capture material with Avid DS Nitris, you digitally transfer the source material to a format and storage disk that Avid DS Nitris can work with.

During capture, Avid DS Nitris creates media files (in the form of master clips) based on parameters you set, such as in-points, out-points, and compression. Master clips contain information about the location of the media on your storage disk, the source data’s tape name, and the original in and out timecodes. With this information, you can recapture the material at any time. Master clips also include information about the video format, resolution, compression, audio format, and so on.

Avid Explorer

Avid Explorer displays the hierarchical structure of files, folders, and drives on your workstation. When you select a project folder in Avid Explorer, it displays the related project files (clips, sequences, effects) in a window. This window is similar to the bin view in other Avid products like Media Composer

and Film Composer®.

From Avid Explorer, you can capture clips, as well as organize sequences, clips and effects within your project.

To access a bin:

1. Use the view switcher to switch to Avid Explorer if you are in a different view.

2. In the Project panel, double-click your project folder named My First Project. The contents of the folder are displayed on the right.

Panels display the

contents of your system in a tree

structure. Each panel

can display one of

three views: My

System, Project, or

Shortcuts.

Avid Explorer tools let you control the content and arrangement of the folders and windows, and perform tasks.

Capturing Source Material

Windows display the contents of folders. You can display multiple windows. When a project is selected, this window displays master clips, sequences, and other project files.

View modes include large icons, list,

details, thumbnail, and script views.

Folders usually contain source clips and other objects for use in your sequence. At the moment, the folders are empty because nothing has been captured. Avid Explorer tools let you navigate through and manage the contents of folders.

The tools at the top of Avid Explorer let you navigate to different folders and change the display of information in a window.

Show/Hide Panel 1

Cascade

Capture Settings

HelpPathShow/Hide Panel 2 Tile

For more information about the Avid Explorer, click the Help button.

Chapter 3 Capturing Material

Organizing your Project Files

Before capturing any material, you will create additional folders in your project folder to hold master clips. You may want to create separate folders for your video clips, audio clips, still images, and even one for custom presets. By organizing your project using a system of folders, you can locate files quickly and easily.

To create a folder:

1. Make sure your project folder is selected in Avid Explorer.

2. Right-click an empty area of the window on the right and select New > Folder. A new folder is created within the project folder.

3. Type in a new name and press Enter. We created a folder called Master Clips for storing the master clips.

4. Continue adding as many folders as you need. You can create additional folders inside the new folders.

Although it’s not necessary right now, here’s how you can delete any extra folders that are not needed.

To delete a folder:

t Right-click a folder and select Delete.

Changing the View Mode

In a window, there are several views to help you locate clips for a sequence. The tools at the bottom of the window let you change the way the contents of the window are displayed. Go ahead and click any of the icons to see the various views.

Details view displays

clips as a list with details.

For more information, see “Working with Bins” in the Help.

Large Icons view displays clips as large icons.

List view displays clips as a list without details.

List lets you select a

customized view.

Script view displays both pictorial icons and clip information.

Thumbnail view displays clips with pictorial icons.

Identifying File Types in a Folder

Avid DS Nitris media files have their own icons, which appear on or beside clips. When an icon is highlighted in red, it means that Avid DS Nitris could not find any media associated with a clip. This clip must be recaptured before you can work with it.

Icon File type Icon File type

Audio clip Background or composite

Video clip Sequence

Combined audio and video clip Still image

Audio container clip Linked still image

You may find it useful to see the extensions of file names.

Capturing Source Material

container clip

To see file name extensions on your system:

1. Open Windows Explorer.

2. Select Tools > Folder Options.

3. Select the View tab.

Deselect this option.

4. Deselect the Hide extensions for known file types option and click OK.

Chapter 3 Capturing Material

Configuring the External Device

You’ll probably capture material from videotape or audiotape most of time. First, you’ll need to configure the device from which you will be capturing. To specify the settings for an external device, such as a videotape recorder (VTR) or deck, you’ll be using the Deck Configuration view.

Media Composer comparison: The Deck Configuration view combines the Deck Configuration and Deck Preference settings.

Avid DS Nitris includes templates for many different types of devices. You can use the settings in the templates, or adjust them to suit your own requirements.

You can also save the settings for your device as a preset, so that you don’t have to reconfigure the device each time you use it for capture or output. A preset is a customized set of properties that you save for reuse later on or for other projects.

For the following procedure, you will need access to videotape material and a deck.

To configure your tape deck:

Open the Deck Configuration view by selecting

View > Multi-Instance Views > Deck Configuration.

Capturing from Tape

Click the Fast

Menu button and select Add New Deck Preset. Give the new preset a name.

Set the options

5 8

for your device.

Select the

Thumbnails view.

Double-click the preset you created.

A green checkmark indicates that it’s active.

Click the Help button

for details on each parameter.

Click the Check

Machine button. Click the Save button to

save your deck preset.

Close the Deck

Configuration view.

For more information, see “Configuring the External Device” in the Help.

Capturing from Tape

Although there are several ways to capture from tape, you’ll be using the Capture Tool to log and capture clips, so that you can later recapture them using frame-accurate timecode.

Chapter 3 Capturing Material

To log and capture clips:

1 Open the Capture view by selecting View > Single-Instance Views > Capture Tool.

Click the Tap e button.

Select your deck

preset and click the Check button.

Select a tape or

name a new one.

Click the Target

button and select a folder to hold the captured clips. If you created a folder for master clips, set this as the target folder.

Set a compression

Specify a storage

location.

level.

Set the Log/Capture button to Capture.

Enter number of extra

frames to record before the in-point and after the out-point.

Select the channels you

want to capture.

Enter a base clip

name to prefix all captured clips.

Click the Capture

Settings button.

The capture settings are displayed. Set the relevant options for your system. Do the same for the other four settings:

Input

Monitor

Audio

Input

Video

Input

Sync

Source

Capturing from File

On the transport controls in the Capture Tool, click the Play button to play the source material.

Mark In

In timecode

Click the Mark In button at the point at which you want to start the capture.

The timecode of the in-point you selected is displayed in the In timecode box.

Use the transport controls in the Capture Tool to play or shuttle the tape to advance to the point

at which you want to end the capture and click the Mark Out button.

Tip: If you already know the in and out timecodes, you can type them in the In or Out timecode boxes. You can also enter a value for the duration and Avid DS Nitris will calculate the out-point, which is displayed in the Out timecode box. The Duration timecode box displays the length of material to be captured.

Click the Start Capture button in the upper-right corner of the Capture Tool.

The clip appears in the folder you specified, according to the in and out times you set. Continue to capture clips.

In the Project panel of Avid Explorer, double-click your project name. A bin opens and displays

its contents.

Double-click a clip in the bin. Click the Play button under the Source viewer (left side).

Out timecode

Duration timecode

Play

Mark Out

Position indicator timecode

The clip plays in the viewer, but is not loaded on the timeline.

Close the Capture Tool.

For more information, see “Logging and Capturing Material” and “Capture Tool” in the Help.

Capturing from File

Avid DS Nitris lets you capture various file formats. Besides video, you can capture still and animated graphics files, and audio files. To capture from file, you will be using Avid Explorer in Avid DS Nitris.

Chapter 3 Capturing Material

Logging and capturing from file is like capturing material from tape. That is, you can log the material without capturing, or log and capture at the same time. Logging creates information about the source material and in/out timecodes in a clip, so that you can perform a batch capture later on. Before you capture the files, you’ll need to specify the capture settings.

To log and capture from file:

At the top of Avid Explorer, click the Capture Settings button.

Media Composer comparison: The

Capture Settings view is similar to Import Options. There is no Import or Batch Import dialog box.

Set the video quality at

which you want to capture material. You can choose a lower resolution, or use compression to save space on your storage device while you do a rough cut.

Click the Help button for

more information on each parameter.

Select the storage folder for

the media.

Keep the default setting for

the audio quality.

Select the storage folder for

the audio media.

Click the browse button

(it has three dots) to select a folder to hold the master clips. We selected the Master Clips folder we created earlier.

Keep the default conversion

settings.

Keep the default settings for

the source files.

Close the Capture Settings

view.

After choosing your setup, go to Avid Explorer to capture the files.

In Avid Explorer, both Show/Hide Panel buttons should be highlighted. If

they’re not, click both to make sure the two panels are displayed.

Click the arrow next to

the first Show/Hide Panel button and select My System. The panel updates to display the folders on your system.

Click the arrow next to the second Show/Hide Panel button and set the second

panel to Project. The Project panel updates to display the folders for the factory presets and the project folder.

Slect your project folder to open the project bin

Type the following in the Address line: C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_vX\Media_GetStarted.

Make sure to type in the exact path.

Capturing from File

The contents of the folder is displayed.

Click the Details button to see the details of the files.

Press Ctrl and select these file types: PICT images (.pic files), QuickTime movies (.mov files), .avi files and TIFF images (.tif files). Do not select the MXF folder or the Avid File Exchange (.afe) file.

Chapter 3 Capturing Material

Right-click one of the selected files and select Capture.

A progress bar appears to show you the status of the capture. Captured files are placed in the folder you specified in the Capture Settings view.

Repeat step 16 and capture the .wav file.

In the Project panel, click the name of your project: My First Project. Then click

the folder that you created for the master clips.

The clips you captured are displayed in the bin.

Chapter 4

Getting Ready to Edit

Before starting an editing session, it’s important to understand how to organize and manipulate your clips.

This chapter takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Chapter 4 Getting Ready to Edit

Editing Layout

The Editing layout is where you perform most editing tasks. Once you place clips on the timeline, you can apply transitions and effects, trim, move, slide, slip, and synchronize clips.

The Editing layout consists of the Source and Record viewers, transport controls, timeline, NLE Tools toolbar, and timeline navigation bar. The buttons in the view switcher let you access Avid Explorer and several other views that are handy in the Editing layout.

To access the Editing layout:

t If you are not in the Editing layout, click the Editing button in the taskbar.

Avid Explorer lets you

explore and organize

clips, sequences, and

custom effects.

View switcher lets you access

different toolsets or views within

a particular layout.

Previewing Clips

The Source viewer lets you view and mark source clips before including them in your sequence. With a clip loaded in the Source viewer, you can review the clip to find and mark footage for use in your sequence. You can move through the clip using the navigation keys on the keyboard or use the transport controls below the Source viewer.

Previewing Clips

Media Composer comparison: If you are using the Media Composer keyboard template, you will not be able to move the video and audio separately. You must break the sync lock by pressing the Editing > Sync Lock button on the NLE Tools toolbar.

NLE Tools toolbar lets you perform general editing tasks, apply transitions and effects, find and add locators, navigate the timeline, work with container clips and reference clips, and process and purge material from the timeline.

Source Viewer displays the current source clip.

Record Viewer displays the frame of the sequence at the current location of the position indicator.

Transport controls let you mark in/out-points, add locators, and control playback of sequences.

Status bar displays the timecode of selected objects on the timeline and provides status, warning, error, toolbar, and active command information, as well as the global animation controls.

Timeline lets you build and edit a sequence.

Timeline navigation bar lets

you pan the timeline, zoom in

you pan the timeline, zoom in and out on the timeline, step

and out on the timeline, step into and out of container clips,

into and out of container clips, switch between the Source

switch between the Source and Record timelines, select

and Record timelines, select modes (Source/Record, Color

modes (Source/Record, Color Correction, Trim, or Slip/Slide).

Correction, Trim, or Slip/Slide).

Chapter 4 Getting Ready to Edit

To preview clips:

1. Drag the Man_Front clip from the bin to the Source viewer (left).

2. Drag the green position indicator under the Source viewer back and forth to preview the clip.

Position indicator

3. Press Enter to begin playing the clip.

4. Press Enter again to stop playback.

Tip: Go to the start of the clip or sequence by pressing the Home key.

You can use the Home, End, and arrow keys on the keyboard to move through footage when a clip is loaded in a viewer.

Press this key To

Home Go the beginning of a clip or sequence.

End Go to the end of a sequence.

Left Arrow Move the footage one frame backward.

Right Arrow Move the footage one frame forward.

Use the Step buttons under the viewer to play the clip backward or forward in 1-frame or 10frame increments.

1 frame backward 1 frame forward

10 frames backward 10 frames forward

For more information, see “Transport Controls” in the Help.

Using J-K-L Keys for Three-Button Play

The J-K-L keys on the keyboard let you play, step, and shuttle through footage at varying speeds. This feature, also referred to as three-button or variable-speed play, lets you use three fingers to manipulate the speed of playback for greater control.

To shuttle through footage using the J-K-L keys:

1. Use the following keys to shuttle at varying speeds:

- Press the L key to move forward through the footage at normal speed.

Previewing Clips

Press the L

key

2 times 2x normal speed 60 fps 50 fps 48 fps

3 times 3x normal speed 90 fps 75 fps 72 fps

4 times 5x normal speed 150 fps 125 fps 120 fps

5 times 8x normal speed 240 fps 200 fps 192 fps

To play footage at NTSC rate PAL rate 24p rate

- Press the J key to move backward at the same shuttle speed increments as the L key.

- Hold down the K+L keys for slow forward.

- Hold down the J+K keys for slow backward.

2. To stop shuttling, press the space bar.

Marking In and Out-Points in the Source Viewer

Marking the in and out-points of clips in the Source viewer gives you several advantages:

• You can play back and mark clips in the bin before loading a single clip, saving several steps.

• You can quickly build a sequence by splicing the marked clips into place one after another.

Chapter 4 Getting Ready to Edit

• You can use the process of rough-cut or storyboard editing, which allows you to instantly splice several prepared clips into a sequence.

Even if your marks are not accurate now, you can later trim the edit points and fine-tune the sequence on the timeline.

Use the transport controls under the Source viewer to mark your clips:

To mark a clip for use in your sequence:

1. Move the green position indicator under the Source viewer to the desired in-point.

2. Click the Mark In button.

3. An alternate method to move the position indicator to the desired out-point is by entering the timecode in the P (position) timecode box.

4. Click the Mark Out button. An in-point and out-point appear in the position bar. If you need to adjust these points,

simply drag them to a new location.

Creating Subclips

Position bar Mark Out

In-point

Out-point

timecode

Mark In

Out

timecode

Duration

timecode

Position indicator (green)

Position

timecode

Subclips break up longer master clips into smaller segments of selected footage. When you mark footage with in and out-points, you can either save over the existing clip along with the new marks, or you can create new subclips between the in and out-points that you set. The master clip maintains its original in and out-points.

Unlike master clips, subclips do not directly reference the original media. Subclips remain linked to the master clips from which they were created.

Instead of placing the marked clip on the timeline, you can first create a subclip from it. This leaves the original length of the master clip untouched, while a copy of the original clip with new in and out-points is saved.

Previewing Clips

Update Thumbnail

Create Subclip

To create a subclip:

1. After you’ve previewed a clip in the Source viewer and marked the in and out-points, click the Create Subclip button.

2. In the Create Subclip dialog box, type a name for the subclip.

You can use the default name, which is the original clip name appended with a number, such as Man_Front - 001.

3. Click OK. The new clip is created and saved in the same folder as the original clip.

For more information, see “Media Capture Settings” in the Help.

Changing the Thumbnail of a Clip

It is easier to identify clips in Avid Explorer if you set the thumbnail to display a particular frame in that clip.

To change a clip’s thumbnail frame in the bin:

1. At the bottom of the bin in Avid Explorer, click the Thumbnails button to display your files as thumbnails.

2. Move the green position indicator to the frame you want to display as the thumbnail frame.

3. Under the Source viewer, click the Update Thumbnail button to change the thumbnail frame of the clip.

The thumbnail view of the master clip in the bin updates.

4. Save your sequence. Select File > Save.

Chapter 4 Getting Ready to Edit

Chapter 5

Creating a First Cut

There are several ways to build a sequence. This chapter describes how to place clips on the timeline to create a sequence.

This chapter takes approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Chapter 5 Creating a First Cut

The Timeline

The timeline is where you place and edit clips to build your sequence. The timeline displays all the elements that make up your sequence, such as video and audio clips, transitions, and effects. For more information, see “The Timeline” in the Help.

Timeline ribbon

displays locators,

in/out-points, and

loop markers.

Tracks contain the components of the

sequence.

Media Composer comparison: The concept of activeness is unique to Avid DS Nitris. Activeness refers to the sections of a clip used in the final sequence. Active frames are indicated by an activeness bar below a clip.

In-point indicates the

starting point when adding

clips to a sequence.

Timeline navigation bar lets you pan the timeline, zoom in and out on the timeline, step into and out of container clips, switch between the Source and Record timelines, and select modes (Source/Record, Color Correction, Trim, or Slip/Slide).

Clip indicates the

location of a clip in the

sequence.

Out-point indicates the ending point when adding clips to a sequence.

Activeness bar indicates the sections of the clip that will be used in the final sequence.

Edit point lets you trim the clip.

Position indicator (blue) shows your

place in the sequence.

Working with Tracks

There are three types of tracks on the timeline:

• Audio tracks contain the audio clips and audio container clips of a sequence.

• Video tracks contain the video clips and container clips that are composited over clips

on the video and background tracks.

Working with Tracks

• Background tracks contain the video clips and background/composite container clips

of a sequence.

Timeline controls

Tr ac k

selector

Tr ac k

button

Audio track

Overview area: The white bar (called visible time

span) can be shortened, lengthened, or moved.

Ruler Timeline ribbon

Timeline effect track

Video track

Background track

While working with multiple tracks, you can use the Track selector to select, manipulate, delete, ripple, and patch tracks, as well as scroll and adjust the heights of tracks. You can use multiple tracks to layer audio effects and sound, or to add video titles and other effects.

Media Composer comparison: The ripple feature is unique to Avid DS Nitris. You’ll learn more about it later on when trimming clips.

You can change track properties, such as the track name or the level of detail at which the clips are displayed on a track. By default, tracks are numbered sequentially (V1, V2, A1, A2, and so on) as they are created on the timeline.

To show or hide the Track selector:

1. Right-click the overview area and select Display > Display Control Area. The Track selector is hidden.

2. Make sure to turn the display of the Track selector back on.

For more information, see “Track Selector” in the Help.

Chapter 5 Creating a First Cut

Selecting Tracks and Regions of Tracks

You can select one or more tracks at the same time. When you select a track, you can perform editing operations on the entire track. For example, you can select two tracks and apply a track-based effect by clicking Video Effect from the NLE Tools toolbar and choosing an effect from the pop-up menu. This effect will be applied over all the clips on the selected tracks. When you select a region, you can apply edits to a portion of a track.

To select a track:

t Click the Track button of a track.

The Track button for the selected track is highlighted.

To deselect a track:

t Click the Track button of a selected track.

The unselected track button is dimmed.

To select a region on a single track:

t On a video or audio track, drag right or left to select a region.

Selected region is highlighted

To select a region on multiple tracks:

1. Drag over a section of the track to select a region.

2. Hold down the Ctrl key and click another track. The region is highlighted on all selected tracks.

Adding, Reordering and Deleting Tracks

You can add any number of audio, video, or background tracks to the timeline. Video tracks are grouped at the top of the timeline, and audio tracks are grouped at the bottom of the timeline. Background tracks are inserted between the audio and video tracks.

You can change the order of the video, audio, and background tracks. You cannot, however, place a video track below a background track. Also, you can delete any tracks that are no longer required in the sequence.

Working with Tracks

To insert a track on the timeline:

t Right-click the overview area and select Create Video Track, Create Background

Trac k, or Create Audio Track.

An empty track is added to the timeline.

Tip: You can automatically insert a track when dragging a clip from the viewer or Avid Explorer to the timeline. Simply drag the clip to the timeline ribbon.

Timeline ribbon

To reorder tracks:

t Drag one Track button over another Track button.

To remove a track from the timeline:

t Right-click an empty area of a track and select Delete Track.

The selected track is deleted from the timeline.

Setting the Track Height

You can enlarge or reduce the height of the tracks to improve visibility and display more information within the tracks. You can reduce the track height if you need more space on the timeline to view other tracks. Increasing the height of the video tracks lets you see larger thumbnails of your clips.

Reducing the track height may hide any effects you have applied on the timeline.

To enlarge or reduce the height of tracks:

t Press Ctrl and drag the bottom of a Track button to change the height of the track.

Chapter 5 Creating a First Cut

Place pointer here

Muting Audio and Video Tracks

If there are several tracks on the timeline and you need to exclude clips from the preview, you can turn off the audio on selected audio tracks or turn off the video on a selected video track. When the sequence is played, any video or audio on the tracks that are ‘muted’ are not displayed or heard.

The settings of the Mute and Solo buttons on each track are saved along with the sequence.

Muted tracks do not contribute to the final sequence.

To mute a track:

t Click the Mute button on an audio track to turn off the audio. t Click the Mute button on a video track to turn off the video.

The Mute button turns red.

Setting Tracks to Solo

When you solo a track, it plays the contents of that track during the preview. Both active and inactive video clips are displayed in the viewer. With video, you can only solo one track at a time. With audio, however, you can solo more than one track. Any tracks that do not have the Solo button activated are not displayed or heard.

To solo a track:

t Click the Solo button of the tracks that you want to preview.

The Solo button turns green.

Navigating the Timeline

The timeline has various controls to quickly move through a sequence and adjust your view of the tracks while editing. The position indicator (the vertical blue line) in the timeline shows your place in the sequence. Also, the Record viewer displays the frame of the sequence on which the position indicator is parked.

To view the timecode of a clip:

1. To select items on the timeline, you must be in Selection mode. Click the Selection Mode button just above the status bar. The button should be highlighted.

2. Drag the Composite clip towards the right on the timeline. Let go of the clip. The Start and End timecodes boxes on the status bar update.

Navigating the Timeline

Position indicator

In timecode

Out timecode

Duration between

in and out

Start

End

Duration

3. Right-click the Track button of the background track (B1) and select Delete Track.

Track button

Chapter 5 Creating a First Cut

Using the Scale and Scroll Bars

Depending on the length of your sequence, you might not be able to see the entire sequence on your timeline. Using the scale and scroll bars at the bottom of the timeline, you can pan the timeline, or zoom in and out to view the entire timeline.

To scale or scroll the timeline:

Drag the scale bar to zoom in and

1 2

out around the position indicator on the timeline.

Click the arrows or drag the timeline scroll bar to pan back and forth along the timeline.

Selecting Objects on the Timeline

By selecting objects on the timeline, you can move clips to different tracks, view the properties of a clip, and select a region of a track. The objects you can select include: clips, effect bars, edit points, regions, markers, and more. But before you can select anything from the timeline, you must be in Selection mode. If you’re not already in Selection mode, make sure to turn it on now.

To turn on the Selection mode:

t Click the Selection Mode button on the timeline navigation bar.

The button is highlighted to indicate that you’re in Selection mode.

Placing Clips on the Timeline

You can build a rough cut of your sequence by dragging, inserting, overwriting, and replacing clips on the timeline. You can only place video clips on video or background tracks, and audio clips on audio tracks.

Dragging and Dropping Clips

An easy way to place create a rough cut of your sequence is to simply drag clips from the Source viewer and drop them on an open area in a track on the timeline. If you drop a clip on the ribbon area, a new track is automatically created to accommodate the clip.

To drag and drop a clip to the timeline:

From Avid Explorer, select the Basket clip and drag it to the Source viewer for

previewing.

Mark appropriate in-point and out-points on the clip.

Drag the Basket clip from the Source viewer to the V1 video track on the timeline,

and drop it at the beginning of the timeline.

Name of clip

Repeat steps 1 to 3 using the Smell clip. Place the Smell clip beside the Basket

clip on the timeline.

From the Most Recently Used Items list in the upper-left corner of the Source viewer,

select the Man_Front clip. The clip is displayed in the Source viewer. Mark the in and out-points and then place the clip on the timeline.

Placing Clips on the Timeline

Edit pointActiveness bar

Most Recently-Used Items list

Recent clips

Visible time span (white area)

Drag the right edge of the visible time span

towards the right to display more of the timeline.

Chapter 5 Creating a First Cut

Inserting Clips

You can also insert clips on the timeline between other clips. When you insert clips, it pushes forward any existing clips on the timeline.

To insert a clip:

1. Make sure that none of the clips are selected. If one or more clips are selected, a red border surrounds each clip. Click an empty area of the track to deselect clips on the video track.

2. Drag the Wake-Up clip to the Source viewer.

3. On the timeline, place the pointer over the ruler and drag the position indicator over the Smell clip.

4. Using the transport controls under the Record viewer (right), click the Mark In button or press I to set an in-point.

An in-point maker is displayed on the timeline ribbon.

5. On the transport controls, click the yellow Insert Clip button. The Wake_Up clip is inserted on the timeline at the location of the in-point marker.

n n

Tip: Adjust the visible time span or use the scale and scroll bars at the bottom of the desktop to adjust your view of the clips on the video track.

Tip: To undo an insert or any other operation, press Ctrl+Z.

The main Ripple button is deactivated by default. For more information, see “Rippling Clips” in the Help.

Overwriting Clips

You can place a clip on the timeline and overwrite a portion of an existing clip on the timeline using the Overwrite Clip button. This method is more precise than dragging and dropping clips on the timeline.

Inserted clip In-point

To overwrite a clip on the timeline:

1. On the timeline, drag the in-point marker to the middle of the Man_Front clip.

2. Click the red Overwrite Clip button to place the clip at the in-point and overwrite any existing clips over the section that it covers.

A section of the Man_Front clip is overwritten by the Wake-Up clip.

Replacing Clips

Replacing is a way to place a clip on the timeline and delete a selected clip at the same time.

Placing Clips on the Timeline

In-point

Wake-Up clip

overwrites a portion of

the Man_Front clip.

To replace a clip on the timeline:

1. Drag the Clouds clip to the Source viewer.

2. On the timeline, select the first Wake-Up clip. A red border surrounds the clip.

3. Click the blue Replace Clip button to overwrite the selected clip with the one that is currently in the Source viewer.

A gap is left because the Clouds clip is

shorter than the clip it replaced.

Clouds clip replaces Wake-Up clip.

4. Delete the Wake-Up clip as it is not needed.

5. Select File > Save to save your sequence.

Chapter 5 Creating a First Cut

Chapter 6

Refining the Edit

After you create a rough sequence on the timeline, you can refine your edits to sharpen the look and improve the relationship between pictures and sound. This chapter describes how to rearrange, overwrite, and remove material in a sequence. You can also trim the edit points between clips to fine-tune transitions.

This chapter takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Chapter 6 Refining the Edit

Rearranging Clips

After selecting one or more clips, you can rearrange them on the timeline by moving them along the same track or to a different track. When you move a clip to a new location, blank space or silence remains in the previous position.

To rearrange clips on the same track:

1. Open Sequence1 if it is not already open.

2. Select the Clouds clip on the timeline. Drag it above the other clips on the timeline and

drop it into its new position between the two Man_Front clips. You should see a gray shadow representing the clip as you move it.

The Clouds clip is moved

further in time on the

same track.

3. To close the gap between the clips, select the second Smell clip, and drag left until the

gap is closed. Do the same for the remaining clips.

4. Save your sequence.

If Ripple mode is active on the track before you move the clip, then the selected clip is removed from its previous position and the gap is closed. For more information, see “Rippling Clips” in the Help.

Synchronized video and audio clips always move together. If you need to move them independently, you must unlock them first. For more information, see “Synchronizing Clips” in the Help.

Copying Clips

You can easily make copies of clips on the timeline. When you copy a clip, you do not duplicate the media on the storage device. Both clips refer to the original media.

To copy a clip:

1. Select one or more clips to copy.

2. Right-click one of the selected clips and select Copy Clip.

3. On the same track, move the position indicator to where you want to paste the clips. Right-click the track and select Paste.

A copy of the clip appears at the location of the position indicator. The name of the copy is prefixed by “Copy of...”.

4. To paste the clips on a different track, right-click the desired track and select Paste.

5. To rename the clip, right-click the clip and select Properties. A property editor displays the properties of the clip.

6. In the Name text box, enter a new name for the clip and close the property editor by clicking the Close (X) button at the top-right corner.

Trimming Clips

You can use the standard cut (Ctrl+X), copy (Ctrl+C), and paste (Ctrl+V) shortcuts in Avid DS Nitris.

Removing Clips from the Timeline

You can remove any clip on the timeline. The master clip in Avid Explorer and its media are not deleted.

To remove a clip:

t Select one or more clips and press Delete.

The clip(s) are removed from the timeline.

Trimming Clips

Trimming is the process of fine-tuning the move from one clip to another. Each clip has two elements that you can select and edit: the trim handles and the edit points. Edit points are located at the ends of the activeness bar of a clip, or where it transitions to another clip.

There are two ways to trim clips: by directly manipulating the clips on the timeline or by using the Trim mode.

Chapter 6 Refining the Edit

To trim a clip on the timeline:

1. Select the edit point between two clips on the timeline.

2. Select a trim handle and drag left or right. The clip is trimmed.

3. Select and then drag an edit point left or right to see the difference between showing the trim handle versus its edit point.

The trim handles affect only the selected clip. The edit points affect the point of transition between the two clips. In either case, you cannot extend the trim or edit points beyond the length of the actual clip.

Using the Trim Mode

Trim-out handle

changes the outgoing

frame on clip A

Trim-in handle

changes the incoming frame on clip B

Activeness bar

Edit points

change edit time without moving clips

The Trim mode provides a close-up view of a clip, so you can trim the clip on a frame-byframe basis. The results are the same as if you were dragging the clip’s trim handles or edit points on the timeline, except there are more tools to work with in Trim mode.

To enter Trim mode:

1. Select an edit point between two clips. If you do not select an edit point before entering Trim mode, the edit point closest to the position indicator is selected for trimming.

2. On the timeline navigation bar at the bottom of the timeline, click the Trim Mode button.

The Source/Record viewers are replaced with the Outgoing and Incoming viewers and trim controls.

Outgoing frame Incoming frame

Trimming Clips

Transition buttonsTrim Nudge buttons Transport controls

Frame Offset countersTransition buttons

Transition Duration timecode boxTransition Alignment button

To trim the edit point of a clip:

t With the edit point selected, use the trim nudge buttons to move the edit point forward or

backward, and trim frames at the selected edit point. As you trim the edit point, the frames of the clip are hidden or revealed to reflect the new incoming or outgoing frame.

Nudge left 10 frames

Nudge right 10 frames

Nudge right 1 frame Nudge left 1 frame

These buttons appear dimmed when there are no more frames available at the head or tail of the clip.

To review the most recent trim edit:

t Click the Play Preview button below the Outgoing frame.

A playback loop begins playing in the Incoming viewer. The loop begins several frames before the transition and ends several frames after, pausing briefly before beginning playback again.

3. Click the Play Preview button again to stop playing.

Chapter 6 Refining the Edit

To exit the Trim mode:

t Click the Trim Mode button again.

For more information, see “Understanding Trim Mode” in the Help.

Using Ripple Mode When Trimming Clips

The Ripple mode lets you preserve the integrity of previous edits on the timeline as you continue making other edits. As you trim clips on the timeline, the Ripple mode allows clips that follow the edit point to move to accommodate the change.

The following illustrations show how clips are affected when you trim an in-point with and without the Ripple mode.

Trimming an in-point to the left

Before

Trimming to the left

Ripple mode off

After

Edit point remains

fixed on timeline

Ripple mode on

The following clip(s) ripple

Edit point moves

When trimming a clip with the trim handles, to preserve the integrity of edit points on subsequent clips, activate the Ripple mode on the timeline.

To enter the Ripple mode:

Ripple button

Click the Ripple button to activate the Ripple mode.

The main Ripple button and the Ripple buttons for each track are activated. You can deactivate the Ripple mode on individual tracks that you do not want to be affected.

Select an edit point to trim.

Trimming Clips

Drag the trim handle to the right

or left to trim the clip.

The trim handle can only be moved as far as there is extra material available on the clip.

Turn the Ripple mode off.

Do NOT save this sequence.

For more information, see “Rippling Clips” and “Trimming with the Trim Handles” in the Help.

Chapter 6 Refining the Edit

Chapter 7

Applying Effects

Avid DS Nitris offers a wide variety of effects that you can apply to media. This chapter describes the effects library, the different ways to apply effects, the Effects layout, and property editors.

This chapter takes approximately 90 minutes to complete.

Chapter 7 Applying Effects

The Effects Library

The term effect refers to a range of filters, DVEs, keyers, and transitions. Each effect has several properties that allow for unlimited variations. You can save custom property settings and use them on other projects.

The effects are grouped into these categories:

Effect categories Description

3D DVE Effects that let you create 2D/3D titles, as well as 3D

Audio Effects that let you adjust the output signal of your

DVE Effects that are either a transition from one clip to

DVEs. You can apply these effects to clips, or tracks.

audio clip. You can apply these effects to audio clips, tracks, or mixer strips in the Mixer view.

another clip or a 3D transformation between layers in a composite. You can apply these effects to clips, tracks, or layers.

Effect Bar Colors

When you apply an effect, an effect bar appears on the timeline in various colors depending on the type of effect. This makes it easy to identify the different types of effects on the timeline.

Image filter Effects with single inputs that encompass a wide

variety of effects that you can apply to video clips, tracks, and layers. These include blur, fade-in, fadeout, and noise, to name a few.

Image transition Effects with two inputs that let you transition from

one clip to another, such as the dissolve, wipe, fade, DVE, or crossfade effects. You can apply these effects between two clips.

Source generator Effects that create a clip for you, such as solid or

gradient colors, 3D Warp effects, or patterns. This new clip is useful as the background for a compositing session or to create a fade-to-color transition.

These are the colors you’ll see on the effect bars:

Color Effect

Blue Keyer

Gray Color Correction Classic

Green Edge and Blur

Light blue Fade

Light green Color Correction

Orange AVX Host

Purple Graphics

Red Image and audio

Yellow DVE and Picture-in-Picture

Applying Effects

There are basically two ways to apply effects:

• On the timeline: All effects applied on the timeline are based on what you’ve currently

selected, including clips, tracks, or portions of the timeline (called regions), transitions between clips, as well as the layers in the Compositing layout.

• In the Effects layout: By switching to the Effects layout, you can begin an effects

session with all the tools available in this layout. Although this layout is optimized for color correction, you can use it for all kinds of video effects.

Chapter 7 Applying Effects

The following illustration shows the timeline with different effects on clips:

Process button Track effects

After applying or creating effects, you might have to process an effect to play it in real time. When the Process button on the timeline turns red, it means that one or more effects on a section of the timeline require processing. The region that requires processing is highlighted on the timeline ribbon. For more information, see “Processing Overview” on page 116.

Applying Effects to Clips

Effects applied to individual clips are called clip effects. They are useful when you want to apply an effect only to one clip on the timeline. Clip effects are attached to the clip, so when you move or edit it, the effects travel with it.

Clip effect

Generated effectTransition effect

You can apply an unlimited number of clip effects to a clip; this is called a stack of effects. You can build complex effects by editing and stacking simple effects. As effects are added, effect bars are placed on top of one another on the timeline. The effect at the bottom is processed first, followed by each effect directly above it.

To apply a clip effect:

1. Open Sequence1.

2. Select the first Man_Front clip on the timeline. You should still be in Selection mode. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button so you can select objects on the timeline.

3. From the NLE Tools toolbar beside the timeline, click Video Effects > Wipe.

Media Composer comparison: When applying effects in Media Composer, you must use the Effects Palette. In Avid DS Nitris, you can apply effects from different places, such as the toolbars, pop-up menus, or Avid Explorer.

The Wipe effect is applied to the clip you selected, an effect bar appears over the entire length of the clip, and the property editor displays.

Global controls

Property pages contain

additional properties.

Dimmed options

are not available.

Applying Effects

List of options.

Click to turn an option on. If the box is already checked, click to turn it off.

Animate a specific

parameter.

Text b ox

Using the Property Editors

Whenever you use an effect, you’ll encounter its property editor. The property editor displays the properties of a selected object or tool, and can have one or more pages of properties. You can adjust these properties to achieve a desired effect using the text boxes, lists, options, and sliders. Any values that you change are immediately applied.

Click to display the calculator.

Drag the scroll bars to view additional parameters on the property page.

Slider area

Chapter 7 Applying Effects

There are also global controls for loading, saving, and viewing presets, processing, animating properties, and previewing clips. Different property editors have different global controls.

To edit the effect:

1. To see how the Wipe effect looks on your clip, drag the position indicator slowly back and forth (scrub) on the timeline.

2. In the property editor, adjust the values of the effect by doing any of the following: t Click anywhere in the slider area and drag to the right to increase values, or to the

left to decrease them.

t Press Shift and drag the slider to adjust values slowly. t Press Ctrl and drag the slider to adjust values quickly. t Click in a numerical text box and circle clockwise with your mouse to increase

values or circle counterclockwise to decrease values.

Drag clockwise or counterclockwise to increase or decrease values.

3. Click the calculator next to a slider to make calculations.

4. Go ahead and adjust any of the parameters. Click the Help button for detailed information on each parameter. When you’re done, close the property editor to save the settings.

5. Save your sequence.

For more information, see “Property Editors” in the Help.

Applying Effects to Tracks

Effects applied to tracks on the timeline, such as the video and audio tracks, are known as track effects. Track effects are useful when you want to apply the same effect to several clips on the same track.

You can apply effects to one or more tracks, or to a specific area of a track called a region. The region of the track that you select can be empty or it can contain one or more clips.

Like clip effects, you can apply an unlimited number of track effects to a track or build a stack of effects one on top of another to create more complex effects.

Applying Effects

To apply an effect to a track:

1. Make sure that no clips are selected on the timeline.

2. Right-click the upper area of the V1 video track. The entire track is highlighted.

3. Select Add Track Effect from the menu.

Upper area of track

The Load Preset dialog box displays the effects in the \Image Effects folder.

4. Select any effect, such as Blur, and click OK. The effect, in this case Blur, is applied to all the clips on the track and its property editor

displays.

Track effect

5. Close the property editor.

Tip: As you add multiple effects, you can insert a cache bar at any point. This lets you process all effects below the cache bar, so you don’t have to reprocess them as you add more effects. For more information, see “Creating Caches at Any Level” in the Help.

Tip: When you want to change an effect within a stack of effects, be sure to bypass the effects that are above the effect on which you want to work. This will ensure that the changes are added before the other effects are applied. For more information, see “Bypassing Effects” in the Help.

Chapter 7 Applying Effects

To apply an effect to a portion (region) of a track:

1. Hold down the left mouse button and drag towards the right to select the region of the track on which you want the effect to be placed.

2. Do one of the following:

t From the NLE Tools toolbar beside the timeline, click Video Effects > any effect. t Right-click the white selected region and select Add Track Effect. In the Load

Preset dialog box, select an effect and click OK. An effect bar is applied to the region and its property editor displays.

elected region

Effect applied to region

3. Close the property editor and save your sequence.

Applying Effects to the Timeline Effect Track

The timeline effect track is a track that appears above all the other tracks on the timeline; this track can only accept track effects. When you apply an effect to the timeline effect track, it modifies the clips on all the tracks below it. This lets you, for example, place a graphics effect (such as a title) on the timeline effect track, so that it will be displayed over the resulting video sequence. You can apply effects to the timeline effect track in the same way that you apply track effects.

Track effects

FX track

Applying Effects

To apply an effect on the timeline effect track:

1. On the timeline effect track, drag to select a region.

Region highlighted for effect

Timeline effect track

2. Do one of the following:

t From the toolbar, click Video Effects > effect. t Drag an effect from a toolbar to the selected region. t Drag an effect from the Avid Explorer to the selected region. t Right-click the timeline effect track and select Add Timeline Effect. In the Load

Preset dialog box, browse through the folders and select an effect.

The effect is applied to the selected region. The effect’s property editor is displayed for you to make any adjustments.

Effect bar

Tip: If you want the effect to move with the clips below it, click the Ripple button on the timeline effect track. For more information, see “Rippling Clips” in the Help.

Chapter 7 Applying Effects

Creating Clips with Source Generator Effects

You can create new clips based on a selected region of a track. When you create a new clip, you can choose from a list of effects (called source generator effects), such as the Solid Color or Wood Grain effect. These types of clips are useful as the background for a compositing session or to create a fade-to-color transition.

To create a clip with effects:

1. Add a new video track to the timeline by right-clicking the overview area (directly above the ruler) and selecting Create Video Track.

Overview area

A new track, labeled V2, appears above the V1 track.

2. On the new track, drag to select a region at the end of the sequence.

Selected region

3. From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Generate > Source Generator Clip. The Load Preset dialog box displays the available source generator effects.

4. Select an effect. We chose the Marble effect for our example.

A clip is created on the track and given the name of the effect, which is appended with the term “Generated”. The effect’s property editor displays.

5. Close the property editor.

6. Save your sequence.

Applying Transition Effects

Transition effects include dissolves, wipes, fades, Digital Video Effects (DVEs), or cuts that you can apply to or between clips on the timeline. You can apply transitions to the beginning or end of a single clip, or between two clips. For more information, see “Applying Transitions” in the Help.

Applying Effects

A clip created with the Marble effect.

Transitions on the timeline can be created only when there is extra material available on one of the clips to accommodate the transition.

To apply a transition effect between two clips:

1. Start a new sequence by selecting File > New > DS Sequence.

2. Drag the Basket and Clouds clips to the video track on the timeline. Leave some space

between the clips.

Tip: Use the overview area at the top of the timeline or the scroll bar at the bottom of the timeline to adjust the view of your clips.

Edit point

3. Select the edit point at the end of the Basket clip.

Chapter 7 Applying Effects

4. Drag the trim-out handle left to trim in by a few frames. Now you’ll have extra material for the transition.

5. Move the Clouds clip beside the Basket clip.

6. Select the edit point between the two clips.

7. From the NLE Tools toolbar, select Transition Effects > effect. We chose the Wipe effect.

The transition’s property editor displays. The transition is represented as a gradient below the clip.

Trim-out handle

Edit point

8. Close the property editor.

9. Drag the position indicator back and forth (scrub) on the timeline to preview the transition.

Applying Audio Effects

There is a range of audio effects that you can apply to clips or tracks on the timeline, as well as on the mixer input strips in the Mixer view.

To apply an audio effect on the timeline:

1. Place the FinalMix clip on the audio track.

2. From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Audio Effects > effect. The Dynamics effect is a good one to try.

Transition

Applying Effects

3. To view the effect’s waveform, place the pointer at the bottom of the Track button and press Ctrl. The pointer should now look like a double-pointed arrow. Drag downwards. The farther you drag, the larger the waveform becomes. It will take a second or two for Avid DS Nitris to generate the waveform.

Applying Audio Effects in the Mixer

Tip: You can also Ctrl-drag on the video tracks to see thumbnails of your clips.

Place pointer here

4. Scrub the timeline or click the Play button to hear the result.

5. Close the property editor.

The mixer combines the audio signals coming from the audio tracks and routes them to the mixer output strips. You can assign the channels of an audio track to a specific output strip. When you add an effect to a mixer input strip, the effect is applied to an entire audio track. For more information, see “Mixer” in the Help.

The clip’s waveform

Chapter 7 Applying Effects

Master Mute button

Solo indicator

Routing View button

Standard View button

Mixer Configuration

Animation controls

Mixer input strips

control volume

from audio tracks.

Mixer output strips

control volume of

sound being output.

To access the mixer:

t From the view switcher, click the Mixer button.

To add an effect to a mixer input strip:

1. Right-click the effects box of a mixer input strip and select Add Effect.

The Load Preset dialog box displays.

Effects box

2. Select an effect from the \Audio Effects folder, such as the Reverb effect. The effect is applied to the input strip.

3. Double-click on the effect to open the property editor and experiment with the properties. Play the clip to hear the result. You can also add more audio effects. Click the Help button for details on all the parameters.

4. Close the property editor when you’re done.

5. Switch back to the viewer by clicking its button on the view switcher.

6. Save your sequence as Sequence2.

Creating a Stack of Effects

A stack of effects is simply one effect piled on top of another, which altogether creates a more complex effect. You can apply an unlimited number of effects to individual clips, the timeline effect track, and regions on the timeline. Simply keep adding effects and experimenting with them until you’re satisfied. In the example below, there are stacks of effects on the video clip and audio clip, as well as on the timeline effect track and on regions of the video track.

Applying Effects

Stacks of effects on:

Video and audio clips

Regions of timeline

Audio track

Timeline effect track

Chapter 7 Applying Effects

The Effects Layout

The Effects layout provides an efficient way of working with video effects. This layout is optimized for color correction and will automatically load the Color Correction effect when you first switch to the layout. You can easily change the Color Correction effect for another effect.

Avid Explorer lets you explore and

organize clips, sequences, and custom

effects within a hierarchy of folders.

100

View switcher lets you access different

toolsets and views.

Pinnacle Systems DS Nitris - 8.0 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual