Pinnacle Systems DS Nitris - 8.0 User Manual

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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.

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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

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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

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