Pinnacle Systems DS Nitris - 8.4 Instruction Manual

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Avid® DS Nitris™ User Guides

version 8.4
make manage move | media
Avid
®
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Copyright and Disclaimer
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.
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc.
Copyright © 2007 Avid Technology, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Printed in USA.
The Avid DS and Avid DS Nitris application uses JScript and Visual Basic Scripting Edition from Microsoft Corporation.
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, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AudioVision, AutoSync, Avid, Avid DNA, Avid DNxHD, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, Avid Mojo, AvidNet, AvidNetwork, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, Avid Xpress, AVoption, AVX, CamCutter, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, DAE, D-Fi, D-fx, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, DigiDrive, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator, DigiTranslator, DINR, D-Verb, Equinox, ExpertRender, FieldPak, Film Composer, FilmScribe, FluidMotion, HIIP, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, IllusionFX, Image Independence, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Marquee, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, Media Composer, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaShare, Meridien, MetaSync, NaturalMatch, Nearchive, NetReview, NewsCutter, Nitris, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, ProEncode, Pro Tools, QuietDrive, Recti-Fi, RetroLoop, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Softimage, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, Symphony, the Avid|DS logo, 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.
iNEWS, iNEWS ControlAir, and Media Browse are trademarks of iNews, LLC.
Adaptec is a trademark which may be registered in some jurisdictions. ATTO is a trademark of ATTO Technology, Inc. FireGL is a trademark of ATI Technologies, Inc. HP is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company. Mac OS is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the U.S. and other countries. Wacom is a registered trademark of Wacom Company, Ltd. in the United States and/or 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.
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.
June 2007
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Using Help
Avid DS Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Accessing the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Understanding the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Finding Information Within Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
New in this Release...
New in Avid DS Nitris v8.4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Hardware/Platform Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Software Performance Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Hardware/Platform Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Software Performance Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Other Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Documentation & Support Services
Using Avid Support and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Using the Product Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Contacting Avid Customer Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Best Practices
Assistant Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Using the Avid DS Assist Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Scenario: Sharing Projects and Media with an Avid DS Assist Station. . . . . . . . . . . 36
Conforming HD Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Conforming HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Scenario: Conforming HD Sequences from SD Downconvert Sources . . . . . . . . . . 42
Scenario: Conforming HD Projects with DNxHD Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Scenario: Transferring MXF Media from Avid DS Nitris to an Avid Editing System . 48
Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
The Digital Intermediate Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
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Setting up Storage and Media for Film Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Opening a Film-based Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Capturing DPX Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Editing in Film Proxy Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Outputting Film Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Conforming HDV Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
What is HDV Media? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Scenario: Conforming an HDV Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Scenario: Conforming Projects with Avid DS in an Interplay Environment . . . . . . . 92
Getting Started
Prerequisites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Before you begin... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Using the Avid DS Training Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Accessing the Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Logging on to Your Workstation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Accessing the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Understanding the Help System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Finding Information Within Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Finding Other Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Contacting Avid Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Starting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
The Digital Post-Production Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Working with Project Files and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Working on the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Restoring the Default Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Title Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Layouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Using the Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
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Undoing and Redoing Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Accessing the Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Using the Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Dialog Boxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Using Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Capturing Source Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Configuring the External Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Capturing from Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Capturing from File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Getting Ready to Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Editing Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Previewing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Creating a First Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
The Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Working with Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Navigating the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Selecting Objects on the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Placing Clips on the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Refining the Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Rearranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Trimming Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Applying Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
The Effects Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Applying Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
The Effects Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Working with Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Editing Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Animating Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Using Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Mix Parameter for Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
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Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Processing Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Adding Graphics and 2D Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Starting a Graphics Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Using the Graphics Object View (GOV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Finishing a Graphics Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Outputting a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Outputting to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Outputting to File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
About Compositing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Compositing Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Creating a Basic Matte. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Simple Track Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Using Composite Container Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Conforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Methods for Conforming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Conforming a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Installation and Administration
Setting up your Avid DS Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Installation Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Installing New Avid DS Workstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Upgrading Existing Avid DS workstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Removing Avid DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Recovery Procedures for Avid DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Managing a Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Configuring Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Configuring the Network Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Microsoft Windows Workgroups: Account Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Microsoft Windows Domains: Account Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
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Naming your Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Sharing Folders and Setting Permissions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Creating User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Installing Avid DS Software and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Installing Avid DS Software Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Installing the Avid DS Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Loading Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Installing and Removing Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Installing the Remote Processing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Remote Processing Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Minimal Requirements for Avid DS RP Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Installing Avid DS RP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Avid Throttle Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
The Avid DMS Broker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
About the Avid DMS Broker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Installing Avid DMS Broker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Starting the DMS Broker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Using the DMS Administration Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Licensing Avid DS Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Requesting a License File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Installing the Registered License File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Managing Your Storage Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Planning your Storage Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Sharing Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
Configuring your Storage Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Checklist: Installing Avid DS with Avid Unity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Establishing the Project Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Maintaining Disk Space on your Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Striping your Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Importing Foreign Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
About your Local Storage Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
vii
Page 8
Capture and Output
Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Workflow: Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Preparing to Capture Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Logging and Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Capturing Material from File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
Creating Linked Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Batch Capturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
Using Scripts to Capture Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
Managing Tapes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
Using Tapeless Archive for Film Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
Outputting Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Workflow: Outputting Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514
Preparing for Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
Outputting Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Conform
Conforming & Finishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Beginning the Conform Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Supported Conform Formats for Avid DS Nitris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Transferring or Sharing Media between Avid Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
viii
Conforming with AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
Workflow: Conforming AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
Exporting an AFE File from an Avid Editing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556
Importing AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562
Conforming with AAF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Exporting AAF Files from Avid DS Nitris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570
Conforming with ALE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
Workflow: Conforming an ALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
Conforming ALE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Transferring ALE Files using MediaLog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580
Page 9
Conforming with OMF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
Conforming OMF Compositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582
Exporting an OMF File from Avid DS Nitris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590
Conforming with EDL Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593
Conforming EDLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594
Conforming Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607
Exporting and Importing OMF Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608
Capturing Audio as Separate Mono Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609
Appendix: Conforming Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
Naming Conventions when Conforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612
Notes on Conforming Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
Notes on Conforming Graphics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619
Notes on Conforming Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620
Notes on Conforming Matte Keys and Alpha Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624
Notes on Conforming Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626
Editing
Working with Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
Starting a Work Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630
Managing Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
Working with Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648
Viewing Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662
Working with Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
Workflow: Working with Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668
Opening Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669
Setting Sequence Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675
Working with Media of Different Qualities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679
Saving Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
Searching for Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
Deleting Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
Building a Rough Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
Workflow: Editing Audio and Video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
ix
Page 10
Creating Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
Marking In and Out-points on the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732
Displaying Timecodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
Viewing a Sequence as a Hieracharical Tree Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746
Playing Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
Manipulating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759
Using Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773
Finding Frames, Clips, and Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783
Extracting Parts of a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787
Grabbing Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791
Rippling Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793
Synchronizing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
Referencing Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 806
Trimming Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809
Workflow: Trimming Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810
Understanding Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
Methods of Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813
Understanding Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814
Selecting and Breaking Edit Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
Performing a Basic Trim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822
Creating Overlap Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832
Trimming Container Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 833
Trimming Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834
Understanding Slipping or Sliding Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836
Maintaining Sync While Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 842
Applying Image Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843
Understanding Image Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844
Applying a Dissolve Effect to a Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845
Applying a DVE Effect to a Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 848
Understanding the Morph Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 850
Applying a Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866
Applying Wipe Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869
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Page 11
Processing Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871
Understanding Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872
Workflow: Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 875
Processing Areas of the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876
Processing a Single Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 878
Setting the Processing Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 882
Creating Caches at Any Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 887
Understanding Processing Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893
Working with Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898
Remote Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 903
Working with Effects and Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 905
Displaying Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906
Applying Effects on the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907
Applying Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908
Nesting Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 916
Displaying Effects in a Viewer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925
Processing Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930
Working with Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933
Understanding the Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 934
Applying a 3:2 Contract Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935
Applying a 3:2 Expand Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 937
Applying a Deinterlace Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938
Applying an Interlace Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940
Working with the Timewarp Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941
Animating Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 961
Workflow: Animating Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 962
Creating Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 963
Understanding the Animation Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 981
Editing Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989
Processing Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1016
Mixing Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1017
Workflow: Mixing Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1018
Working in Audio Container Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1019
xi
Page 12
Audio Clips and Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021
Understanding the Mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1023
Using an External Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1033
Building an Audio Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1036
Fine-tuning the Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1043
Animating the Audio Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1047
Audio Media Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1051
Processing the Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1056
Working with Audio Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059
Understanding Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1060
Applying Crossfade Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1061
Applying Dynamics Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
Working with Equalizer (EQ) Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1063
Applying Fade Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1065
Applying a Gain Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1066
Applying Reverb Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067
Applying a VST Host Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068
Media Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1071
Understanding Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072
Managing Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1075
Archiving Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1093
Restoring Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1105
Moving Projects to Another Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1114
Deleting Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1115
Deleting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1117
Viewing Information about Storage Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1119
xii
Compositing and Graphics
Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123
Quick Recap: Compositing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1124
Using the Effects Tree to Composite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1125
Relationship within the Compositing Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127
Working with the Layers View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1129
Page 13
Working with Mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1136
Working with Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1147
Applying Blending Operations in the Layers View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1150
Compositing with Premultiplied Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1153
Working with Layered Photoshop Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1163
Processing Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1167
Using Effects Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171
Applying Effects Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172
Working with the Effects Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1178
Using the Effects Tree to Composite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197
Keying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1217
About Keying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1218
Using the Blue-Green Keyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1219
Spill Subtraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1227
Using the Chroma Keyer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1231
Using the Difference Keyer Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1236
Using the HSL Keyer Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1243
Using the Linear Luma Keyer Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1247
Using the Luma Keyer Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1251
Color Correcting Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1255
Setting Up the Color Correction Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1256
Workflow: Color Correcting Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1257
Color Correction in Avid DS Nitris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1258
Working with Source Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1259
Applying a Color Correction Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1266
Setting the Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1267
Analyzing Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1268
Color Correcting Tonal Ranges in Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1274
Linearizing Film-Based Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1282
Color Correcting a Dark Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1287
Color Correction by Matching Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1292
Correcting Inaccurate or Deficient Color Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1299
Adjusting Curves to Color Correct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1303
xiii
Page 14
Setting Legal Luma, Chroma, and RGB Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1306
Returning to Default Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1307
Transforming Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1311
Applying a DVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1312
Transforming an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1316
Transformation in Layers View and Effects Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1319
Working with Transform Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1324
Corner Pinning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1331
Working with Motion Paths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1332
Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1339
Motion Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1340
Choosing a Tracking Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1342
Using the Trackers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1344
Tracking Composited Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1348
Combining Tracking with Other DVEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1362
Tracking Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1363
Stabilizing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1370
4-Point Corner Pinning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1377
Tracking Difficult Shots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1379
xiv
Painting and 2D Titling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1383
Workflow: Painting and 2D Titling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1384
Applying Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1387
Using Presets in Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1393
Setting Drawing Tool Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1397
Defining Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1409
Working with Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1411
Working with Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1439
Manipulating Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1451
Tracking Graphics Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1461
Working in Raster Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1463
Creating Mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1467
Scratch Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1470
Blending Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1472
Page 15
Blending Graphics Objects or Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1473
Importing Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1474
Importing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1477
Importing Subtitles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478
Processing Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1483
Paint Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1487
Clone Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1488
Color Blend Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1492
Cutout Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1496
Dodge and Burn Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1500
Noise Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1501
Paper Grain Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1504
Reveal Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1507
Stack Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1508
3D DVE and 3D Titling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1511
Workflow: Creating 3D DVEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1512
Workflow: 3D Titling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1513
Working in the 3D World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1514
Setting Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1517
Working with the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1526
About Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1533
Manipulating Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1535
Working with 3D DVEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1548
Working with Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1552
Working with Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1562
Working with Surfaces and Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1588
Working with Lights and Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1601
Importing and Exporting Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1612
Setting the Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1616
Image Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1619
3D Warp Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1620
AVX Host Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1635
Channel Switcher Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1638
Page 16
Color Space Adjustment Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1639
Defield Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1640
Deflicker Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1641
Depth of Field Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1643
Drop Shadow Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1646
Field Invert Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1649
Fog Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1650
Frame Average Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1652
Graphics Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1653
Optical Glow Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1656
Outsource Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1658
Source Generator Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1661
Warp Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1663
Reference
Desktop Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1681
Using the Mouse, Pen, and Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1682
Property Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1683
Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1707
Command Mapping Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1708
Edit Layout Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1714
Load Preset Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1714
Preference Management Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1714
Save Preset Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1717
User Preferences Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1718
Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1732
Layout Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1733
Slider Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1735
Splitter Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1736
Taskbar Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1736
Text Box Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1737
View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1737
View Switcher Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1738
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Page 17
Viewer Property Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1739
Capture and Output Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1745
AAF/AFE View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1745
ALE (Avid Log Exchange) Import View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1749
Audio Input Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1753
Audio Output Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1754
Capture Error Log Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1754
Capture List Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1755
Capture Settings View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1756
Conform Error Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1764
Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1765
Capture File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1774
Deck Configuration View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1776
EDL View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1782
Explorer Recapture Options Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1789
Export Preferences Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1790
Export to File Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1791
External Controller Setup View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1791
Import Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1792
Insert Tape Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1793
MediaManager Setup View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1796
MediaManager View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1797
OMF (Open Media Framework) View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1798
Output Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1802
Script Editor View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1818
Tape Library View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1821
Tape Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1824
Timeline Recapture Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1829
Editing Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1831
Animation Controls (Global in Status Bar) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1831
Animation Key Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1832
Animation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1833
Animation Editor Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1835
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Animation Editor Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1841
Animation Graph Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1846
Animation Tree Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1850
Edit Animation Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1851
Edit Filter Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1851
Expression Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1853
Insert Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1854
Audio Media Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1861
Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1863
Avid Explorer Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1877
Avid Explorer Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1880
Bin Tools (Top). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1881
Bin Tools (Bottom) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1882
Bin Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1883
Blend Property Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1886
Cache List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1887
Clip Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1888
Clip Activeness Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1890
Clip Property Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1890
Clip Transition Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1893
CmdLine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1894
Container Clip Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1895
Image Transition Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1895
Locator Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1903
Locator Property Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1903
Locator View Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1904
Media Storage Configuration Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1905
Media Storage Information Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1907
Media Options (1/2) Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1908
Media Options (2/2) Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1909
Media Properties Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1910
Mixer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1914
Navigation Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1923
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NLE Tools Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1924
Project Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1929
Slip/Slide Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1932
Surround Panner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1934
Test Pattern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1935
Timecode Display Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1935
Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1936
Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1956
Timeline to MC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972
Timeline to Clip Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1975
Transport Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978
Trim Mode Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984
Video Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986
Viewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1990
Creating Media Archive Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998
New Project Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999
Open Sequence Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2007
New Sequence Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2007
Open Project Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014
Processing Options Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2016
Purge Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2022
Sample Rate Conversion Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2025
Save Sequence Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2026
Save Snapshot Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2027
Sequence Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2027
Sequence View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2035
Throttle Manager Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2036
Cache Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2037
Cache Node Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2039
Cache Processing Property Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2041
Data Management Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2042
Edit View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2042
Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2043
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File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2044
Swift Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2046
Web Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2047
Avid Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2048
Avid DS RP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2051
Paint & Titling Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2053
Graphics Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2053
Graphics Property Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2056
Graphics Combo View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2057
Graphics Object View (GOV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2059
Graphics Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2068
Bas Relief Brush. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2074
Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2074
Chrome Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2075
Clip Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2076
Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2078
Color Blend. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2079
Cutout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2084
Dodge and Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2085
Edit Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2087
Edit Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2091
Ellipse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2091
Erase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2092
Font . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2092
Freehand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2093
Glass Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2094
Graphics Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2095
Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2100
Magic Wand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2100
Masks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2102
Paint Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2103
Polyline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2106
Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2106
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Reshaper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2106
Reveal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2112
Smear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2112
Special Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2113
Stack Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2113
Stroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2114
Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2114
Textured Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2115
Time Span (Graphics) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2116
Titling Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2118
Titling Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2119
Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2121
Color Editor Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2122
Mini Color Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2124
Import Image Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2127
Import Subtitles Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2127
3D DVE and 3D Titling Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2133
3D DVE Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2133
3D DVE Combo View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2141
3D DVE Object View (3D OV). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2142
Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2158
Compositing Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2179
Layers View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2179
Effects Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2197
Compositing Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2205
Image Effects Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2255
3D Warp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2255
Accented Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2260
Angled Strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2260
Bas Relief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2261
Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2262
Bubble. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2264
Chalk and Charcoal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2264
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Page 22
Channel Switcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2265
Charcoal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2267
Chrome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2268
Clouds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2268
Color Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2269
Color Space Adjustment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2271
Colored Pencil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2272
Conte Crayon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2273
Craquelure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2275
Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2275
Crosshatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2275
Custom Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2276
Cutout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2278
Dark Strokes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2279
Defield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2279
Deflicker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2280
Depth of Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2281
Deterministic Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2283
Diffuse Glow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2285
Dip to Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2287
Drop Shadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2288
Dry Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2289
Edge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2289
Emboss Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2290
Field Invert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2291
Film. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2291
Film Grain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2293
Fog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2294
Fractal Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2295
Frame Average. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2300
Fresco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2302
Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2302
Glowing Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2303
xxii
Page 23
Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2304
Granite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2305
Graphic Pen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2306
Halftone Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2307
Impressionist Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2308
Ink Outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2319
Linear Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2320
LogLin Remapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2322
Marble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2326
Morph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2326
Mosaic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2330
Motion Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2331
Negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2332
Neon Glow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2332
Noise/Grain Remover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2334
Note Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2335
Optical Glow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2336
Outsource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2340
Paint Daubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2341
Palette Knife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2342
Patchwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2343
Pattern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2344
Photocopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2345
Picture-in-Picture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2346
Plaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2346
Plastic Wrap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2347
Polar Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2348
Poster Edges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2349
Posterize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2350
Premultiplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2351
Radial Blur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2352
Radial Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2354
Reticulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2356
xxiii
Page 24
Ripple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2357
RGB-YUV Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2358
Rough Pastels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2358
Scatter Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2359
Sharpen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2361
Smudge Stick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2362
Solarize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2363
Solid Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2364
Spatter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2364
Special Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2365
Spherize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2365
Spill Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2366
Sponge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2367
Sprayed Strokes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2368
Stained Glass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2369
Stamp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2370
Sumi-e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2371
Texturizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2372
Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2373
Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2374
Torn Edges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2375
Tracker/Stabilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2376
Twirl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2384
Underpainting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2385
Watercolor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2386
Waterpaper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2387
Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2388
xxiv
Color Correction Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2391
HSL Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2391
Channels Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2402
Levels Property Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2404
Curves Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2407
Page 25
Common Property Pages Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2413
Alpha Property Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2413
Border Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2415
Color Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2415
Color Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2416
Colors Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2419
Crop Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2420
DVE Property Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2421
External Data Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2423
General Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2424
Key Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2426
Key Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2428
Key Values Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2430
Masking Property Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2432
Matte Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2434
Matte Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2436
Options Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2438
Shapes Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2439
Source Property Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2442
Spill Matte 2 Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2443
Spill Replace Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2444
R1–R4 and L1–L4 Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2445
Tracker Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2448
Avid Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2451
Glossary:Numerics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2451
Glossary: A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2452
Glossary: B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2458
Glossary: C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2462
Glossary: D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2471
Glossary: E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2476
Glossary: F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2479
Glossary: G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2482
Glossary: H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2483
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Page 26
Glossary: I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2486
Glossary: J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2488
Glossary: K. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2489
Glossary: L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2490
Glossary: M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2493
Glossary: N. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2498
Glossary: O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2500
Glossary: P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2503
Glossary: Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2509
Glossary: R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2509
Glossary: S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2514
Glossary: T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2524
Glossary: U. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2530
Glossary: V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2531
Glossary: W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2533
Glossary: X. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2535
Glossary: Y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2535
Glossary: Z. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2536
xxvi
Keyboard Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2537
Global. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2537
Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2542
Compositing and Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2546
Graphics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2551
3D DVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2561
Hardware Setup for the Avid Nitris System
Using the Avid Nitris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Site Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Rack Mounting the Avid Nitris Enclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Avid Nitris Front Indicators and Rear Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
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Workstation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Connecting the SCSI Local Storage Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Avid Unity Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Reference Signal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Connecting Audio and Video Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Connecting Serial and MIDI Port Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Installing and Removing the Avid Fan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Regulatory and Safety Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Technical Support Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Avid Nitris Dual Boot System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Install the Second Hard Drive and Power Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Install the Dual-link Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Install the Over-the-Top Fan Assembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Booting the System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Dual Boot Software Installation
for Avid DS and Avid Symphony. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Installing the Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Recovery Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
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Section 1

Using Help

You can get comprehensive task-oriented, background, and reference information through your Avid DS Nitris Help system.
The following topics provide information that will help you to use Help:
Accessing the Help System
Understanding the Help System
Finding Information Within Help
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Avid DS Help

The following topics provide general information about the help system:
Accessing the Help System
Understanding the Help System
Finding Information Within Help

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:
“Accessing the Help System” on page 3
“Understanding the Help System” on page 4
“Finding Information Within Help” on page 6
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 4.
To open the Help system:
t Select Help > Contents and Index or press F1.
The Help window opens, and the Help splash screen displays.
Related Topics
Getting Context-Sensitive Help
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Avid DS 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.
Getting Context-Sensitive Help
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.
Related Topics

Understanding the Help System

Understanding the Help System
4
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 5.
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 6.
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Help Topics
Previous Topic
Hierarchy links
Current topic
Next Topic
Understanding the Help System
Navigation tools (Contents, Index, Search, and Favorites) open in the left area of the Help window—see “Finding Information Within Help” on
page 6.
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.
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.
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 turn-down arrow to see conceptual or background information related to the procedure. This information is displayed with a colored border on top and bottom.
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Avid DS Help
To return to the original display, click the link or arrow again.
Related Topics
Top Area Buttons
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.
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.
Related 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.
Help Topics

Finding Information Within Help

The left area of the Help window displays the Help system’s main navigation tools within a tabbed interface.
For more information, see the following topics:
Using the Contents Tab
Using the Index Tab
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Using the Search Tab
Advanced Search Options
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.
Related Topics
Using the Index Tab Using the Search Tab Advanced Search Options
Using the Index Tab
The Index tab provides an alphabetized list of entries similar to the index of a printed book.
Finding Information Within Help
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.
Related Topics
Using the Contents Tab Using the Search Tab Advanced Search Options
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.
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Avid DS 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.
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New in this Release...

This section describes enhancements in Avid DS Nitris v8.4 and v8.0.
New in Avid DS Nitris v8.4
New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0
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New in Avid DS Nitris v8.4

The following new features are available in Avid DS Nitris v8.4.

Hardware/Platform Enhancements

Dual-Link Implementations Dual-Boot Systems with Avid Symphony Nitris Avid DS Assist Station Avid MediaNet 5.0 Compatibility Licensing
New HP xw8400 Workstation
Avid has qualified the HP xw8400 workstation with the NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 3500 graphics board to be used with the Avid Nitris.
Featuring quad-core Intel Core2 processors, the xw8400 workstation has doubled its processing power since the last-released Avid Nitris hardware platform.
®
Your Avid Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition operating system, Service Pack 2, approved Windows Security Updates and all required Avid DS drivers.
DS NitrisTM DNATM workstation comes pre-installed with the
Dual-Link Implementations
In addition to offering native 64-bit capability, the Avid DS Nitris v8.4 comes with an integrated dual-link HD SDI I/O card for capturing HD material from HD RGB sources (e.g., HDCAM-SR).
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New in Avid DS Nitris v8.4
The Dual-Link card is offered as an option for current users of the HP xw8200 who upgrade to the 64-bit version. It supports 8 channels of AES, or embedded audio.
The Dual-Link card is also supported on the Avid DS Assist Station for realtime viewing of media—see Avid DS Assist Station.
Dual-Boot Systems with Avid Symphony Nitris
Avid DS Nitris v8.4 comes bundled with Avid Symphony Nitris dual-boot software, so you can easily configure your system to run Avid DS Nitris or Avid Symphony Nitris based on the project at hand. Refer to the documentation on the Avid DS Support Center web site, for instructions on configuring a dual-boot system.
Avid DS Assist Station
The Avid DS Assist Station now has the option to add HD-SDI and analog RGB monitoring output which allows you to connect a broadcast monitor to your station. This allows you to preview your media in realtime, from full resolution up to dual-link 10bit RGB (if using a Xena 2Ke card from AJA Video Systems).
The Xena 2Ke or LHe card can be purchased directly from your AJA reseller. Please refer to the Avid DS Assist Station system specifications on the Avid DS Support Center web site.
If you already have an Avid DS Assist Station license and you want to add this monitoring capability, please contact technical support to get an updated license.
Avid MediaNet 5.0 Compatibility
Avid DS Nitris v8.0 and v8.4 (32-bit only) are now supported on Avid MediaNet 5.0.
The number of streams and clients supported depends on your MediaNet 5.0 configuration. Refer to the storage table on the Avid DS Support Center web site.
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Software Performance Enhancements

Licensing
If you are upgrading from a version prior to Avid DS v8.0, then you should note that a new licensing scheme has been implemented for version 8.0 and above. Dongles are no longer required, but you will be required to obtain a new license key before installing the application.
You need a separate license for each of your Avid DS and Avid DS RP workstations. Refer to http://www.softimage.com/avidds to obtain your license.
Software Performance Enhancements
The following enhancements have been made to this version of Avid DS:
Reliability of capture on shared storage has improved.
There has been a data alias name change in the software that may invalidate some of your media caches. Simply reprocess any media that has a red highlight on your timeline ribbon.
Customer Support tools—Version Info Extractor and DS Project Manager—have been updated. These updates are automatically installed with the Avid DS software.
For a list of other software fixes, go to http://www.softimage.com/avidds.
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New in Avid DS Nitris v8.4
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New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0

The following new features are available in Avid DS Nitris v8 and subsequent QFEs.

Hardware/Platform Enhancements

New HP xw9300 Workstation
Avid has qualified the HP® xw9300 dual-core Opteron workstation with the NVIDIA DNA.
Featuring two dual-core AMD Opteron processors, the xw9300 workstation provides twice the CPU power for the fastest processing of HD-RGB and file­based 2K and 4K material.
®
Quadro® FX 3450 graphics board to be used with the Avid Nitris
64-bit Support
Avid DS Nitris now has a 64-bit version available for the xw8200 and xw9300 workstations. This gives you significantly more memory to facilitate HD-RGB and high-resolutions file-based 2K and 4K workflows; or make more complex and larger sequences on SD projects.
Dual-Link Implementations
In addition to offering native 64-bit capability, the new Avid DS Nitris v8.0 comes with an integrated dual-link HD SDI I/O card for capturing HD material from HD RGB sources (e.g., HDCAM-SR).
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New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0
The Dual-Link card is offered in all new Avid DS v8.0 systems (HP xw9300 or HP xw8200, 64-bits), or as an option for current users of the HP xw8200 who upgrade to the 64-bit version. It supports 8 channels of AES, or embedded audio.
Alpha archive implementation for HD RGB hardware.
Conversion from 10-bit 4:4:4 HD to 10-bit 4:2:2 HD.
The HD-RGB workflow has been optimized for an ITU-709 (gamma 2.2) colorspace.
Enable 10/16-bit depth for 4K sequences in 64-bit.
Processing 4:4:4 material in 4:2:2 DNxHD 220 for proxy preview.
Dual-Link driver detection and installation in the Avid Nitris DNA installer.
Added support for HD RGB 10:10:10 in MXF.
Added support for Dual-Link audio.
Added support for Big/Little Endian DPX file.
Dual-Boot Systems with Avid Symphony Nitris
The new Avid DS Nitris v8.0 comes bundled with Avid Symphony Nitris dual boot software, so you can easily configure your system to run Avid DS Nitris or Avid Symphony Nitris based on the project at hand.
Avid VideoRAID Line Launched
Avid DS Nitris now supports the 10-drive RTR320X Avid VideoRAID disk arrays. The Avid VideoRAID line provides redundancy for media asset protection as well as performance for high-bandwidth workflows.
The Avid VideoRAID arrays provide guaranteed real-time access for multi­stream SD and HD workflows, supporting up to dual stream 1:1 10-bit HD. They support hardware parity RAID operation and provide continuous data protection and full performance, even in the event of a drive failure or during a drive rebuild. The arrays are available with 250GB or 500GB drives.
For Avid DS, you need a minimum of 20 drives.
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For more information, check out the Avid VideoRAID product pages on Avid.com. Go to www.avid.com/products/videoRAID.
Avid DS Assist Station
Meet the latest addition to the Avid DS Nitris family! The Avid DS Assist Station is a new software application that can run on any standard system with a minimal specification of:
Dual Intel Xeon or Opteron single core CPU or single dual core Intel or AMD CPUs
1 GB of memory
A supported OGL card such as the Nvidia QuadroFX 3400 or FX3450 (sRefer to the Avid web site for a list of additional supported cards).
The new Avid DS Assist Station delivers the complete effect, editing and compositing toolsets that are found in the Avid DS Nitris configuration. The Avid DS Assist station is designed to work in a shared workgroup environment with Avid DS Nitris and, therefore, doesn’t have any I/O capabilities of its own for signal-based video and audio.
Hardware/Platform Enhancements
You can, however, capture and output from file. Since it is also capable of full realtime playback and processing, you can use it offline for all your graphics and effects work. This is an extremely economical way to grade and finish features that are captured onto your central storage.
n
Processing of effects is done by the software whose capabilities are only limited by the underlying hardware and an adequate disk subsystem on the workstation where it is installed.
Avid DS (automatic SD to HD upgrade)
All Avid DS Equinox SD systems will automatically be upgraded to the full HD version.
New Licensing Scheme
A new licensing scheme has been implemented for this version of Avid DS. Dongles are no longer required, but you will be required to obtain a new license key before installing the application.
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New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0
You need a separate license for each of your Avid DS and Avid DS RP workstations.
Support for Avid DMS Broker v5.0
If you are in an Avid workgroup, you MUST upgrade to version 5.0 of the Avid DMS Broker. Note that this option is not automatically selected. To install the broker, you need to run the DS Setup program. Under Main Workgroups Components, select Avid DMS Broker.
Avid Unity ISIS Support
Avid DS Nitris now supports Avid Unity ISIS 1.1, the latest advanced media network from Avid which delivers enterprise-level reliability, availability, and scalability.
Avid strongly recommends that you use the 64-bit version of Avid DS Nitris for best performance with ISIS.
Refer to the Avid DS Support Center web site for a list of supported configurations.
AVX Plug-in Effects
The AVX1.0 host has been enhanced to support optional inputs—input naming and 64-bit AVX 1.0 effects when run in 64-bit.
See http://www.avid.com/thirdparty/viewdeveloper.aspx?Type=1 for a list of supported third-party effects.
Panasonic AJ-HD1200A Deck Template Added
Panasonic AJ-HD1200A deck template added to the supported Machine Templates.
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Software Performance Enhancements

Software Performance Enhancements
Over 350 fixes have been made to this version of Avid DS! Here are some of the highlights.
Sub-Titling Tool
The Sub-titling tool is now a real-time effect.
Timeline Enhancements
Improvements in v8.0 include improved sequence loading and timeline performance for long form editing.
Timeline to MC
Provides the ability to quickly generate an AAF and MXF file of a timeline selection that can be later imported directly into Media Composer.
3:2 Contract and Expand Time Effects
A new option has been added in both the 3:2 Expand and 3:2 Contract time effects:
•New Mode dropdown list option
Allow you to select the pull-down phase
Standard: 5 options
Advanced: 5 options
3:2 Expand
The phase selected represents the 3:2 pull-down cadence generated by the effect, with respect to the origin of the created container.
Available choices are:
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New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0
Standard: AA BB BC CD DD Standard: BB BC CD DD AA Standard: BC CD DD AA BB Standard: CD DD AA BB BC Standard: DD AA BB BC CD Advanced: AA BB BC CC DD Advanced: BB BC CC DD AA Advanced: BC CC DD AA BB Advanced: CC DD AA BB BC
Advanced: DD AA BB BC CC
3:2 Contract
The phase selected represents the 3:2 pull-down cadence of the source material, on which the 3:2 pull-down is removed. The phase is specified with respect to the origin of the source material.
Note that the phase is automatically determined by positioning the play cursor on the frame (or first frame of two) containing 3:2 pull-down artifacts prior to apply the 3:2 Contract. In case of an incorrect play cursor position, this new option can be used to select the proper phase after the 3:2 Contract effect is applied.
Available choices are:
Standard: AA BB BC CD DD Standard: BB BC CD DD AA Standard: BC CD DD AA BB Standard: CD DD AA BB BC Standard: DD AA BB BC CD Advanced: AA BB BC CC DD Advanced: BB BC CC DD AA Advanced: BC CC DD AA BB Advanced: CC DD AA BB BC Advanced: DD AA BB BC CC
Tiling of YUV Effects
YUV processing has been enhanced to take advantage of the hardware capabilities of your workstation. On the new xw9300 workstation, processing speed is doubled.
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Optimizing File Sources
The Data Management menu has a new command called Optimize File Sources, which updates the size of the source model file. When you reload the project, the source model file will be much smaller.
DVE Translation
When translating an image (in either X or Y), the limit has been raised to 100,000 pixels so that the image no longer gets clipped.
Also, the DS world space in 64-bit has been extended to 12K x 12K.
Importing Subtitles
The Import Subtitles tool now generates Graphics On Black clips on a new track instead of creating Graphics timeline effects.
Expressions & Source Side Effects
Software Performance Enhancements
Source Viewer
Viewing Locators
Support for the Expressions feature has been enhanced and is now more robust and easier to use.
Several fixes and enhancements to Source Side effects have also been done.
You can now successfully load a clip in the Source viewer and recapture it. This was a known problem in v7.5.
When viewing locators in the meta curve region of the animation editor, you can switch the display between the selected function curve and all function curves by pressing the button beside the meta curve region. When displaying the locators of selected function curves, the button appears pressed.
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New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0

Other Features

Optimization and Performance Improvements
Performance improvement when saving and exiting a sequence.
Optimization when using DPX linked files.
Performance optimization when stepping in or out of containers.
Performance optimization when copy/pasting objects in the timeline.
SSE2 - Optimize 10-bit alpha encoding/decoding to/from RGBA.
64-bit interactive cache size optimizing.
User preferences option added to process or skip missing media or effects.
Audio improvement: Apple QuickTime v7.0.4 is now support. You can get QuickTime v7.0.4 from
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/quicktime704.html.
New Formats Supported
The following is a list of new formats supported in this version of Avid DS Nitris.
If there is no HW support, then you will see a dot in the front of the format name in the New Sequence and New Project dialog boxes—see a format is not A dot is seen in from of the format name in the tilte bar and UI control(in new seq dlg and seq pref dlg) to indicate that there is no HW support
Format Description
720p50 HD format.
DNxHD 36 Very low bit rate DNX-HD resolutions for HD offline editing are
DNX-TR (thin raster) Support for MXF media (link, import, conform from MC).
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There is also support of additional cross-conversion to 1080i50.
available in 1080psf projects
720P 24/25/30 is not supported.
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Other Features
Format Description
DNxHD-TR for Avid DSThis light-weight Avid compression codec is now available for Avid DS
when outputting material to file. Once outputted, you can post it online or burn it on a DVD.
An advantage is that its size does not compromise the HD quality of the material.
DVCPRO HD DVCPro-HD/P2 format media in MXF format captured on Adrenaline
and Avid Xpress Pro systems may be relinked via the AFE conform process in Avid DS Nitris.
DV 100 When working 720p or 1080i formats, you can now output material to
MXF and Gen files using the DV 100 compression codec. The file may be relinked and played back in real-time.
It cannot be captured or used to create sequences.
n
DCI 2K DCI 4K
Film formats. DCI 2K is hardware supported at 24fps.
720p 23.98 fps 720p 24fps 720p 25fps 720p 29.97fps 720p 30fps
Super 35mm 3 Perf (2K)
Super 35mm 3 Perf (4K)
HD formats not HW supported.
Film formats.
Non Hardware Support Formats Indicator
If the format you select is not hardware supported, it will have a dot in front of the name—see “New Project Dialog Box”
DigiDesign ProTools Import/Export
OMF audio export to Avid ProTools has been rewritten and now only exports the media effectively used in the timeline.
in the Help.
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New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0
AAF/MXF import: Avid DS Nitris can now conform AAF/MXF sequences from Avid ProTools v7.2.
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Documentation & Support Services

The following topics provide general information about documentation and support services:
Using the Product Documentation
Contacting Avid Customer Support
Avid Training Services
n
The Avid DS Nitris documentation describes the features and hardware of all models within the Avid DS family. Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation.
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Chapter 1

Using Avid Support and Services

The following topics provide general information about documentation and support services:
Using the Product Documentation
Contacting Avid Customer Support
Avid Training Services

Using the Product Documentation

The Avid DS Nitris documentation describes the features and hardware of all models within the Avid DS family. Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation.
Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the Windows XP operating system.
Follow these conventions for mouse or pen usage:
This Term Means This with a Mouse Means This with a Pen
Click Quickly click and release the
left mouse button. Always use the left mouse button unless otherwise stated.
Double-click Click the left mouse button
twice rapidly.
Right-click Quickly click and release the
right mouse button.
Drag Click and hold the left mouse
button or the wheel while you move the mouse.
Tap the tablet once with the tip of the pen, or touch the pen to the tablet with enough pressure to click.
Quickly tap the tablet twice in the same screen pixel or press the F5 key to go from single to double­click.
Press the top portion of the switch on the side of the pen or press the F6 key to go from left to right-click.
Press the pen to the tablet while moving the pen.
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1 Using Avid Support and Services
This Term Means This with a Mouse Means This with a Pen
Alt+key, Ctrl+key, Shift+key, etc.
Avid DS Online Library
The Online Library contains the Avid DS Nitris documentation in a single PDF file. This allows you to easily search through the file and print sections that you require.
If the online library was installed on your system, you can access it from the Help menu in Avid DS Nitris. You can also access it directly from the Avid DS Software and Drivers DVD, or download the most up-to-date PDF from the Avid DS Support Center web site at
http://www.softimage.com/avidds.
Press and hold the first key while you press the second key. For example, “Press Alt+F1” means to press and hold the Alt key while you press the F1 key.
n
The PDF versions of Avid DS documentation require Adobe Reader 4.0 or later. If you need to install Adobe Reader, you can download a free installer from Adobe's web page at
www.adobe.com.
To access the Online Library:
t In Avid DS Nitris, select Help > Online Library,
or
t Insert the Avid DS Software and Drivers DVD into your drive, and select Online
Library from the main menu.
How to Order Documentation
To order additional copies of the printed documentation from within the United States, call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843). If you are placing an order from outside the United States, contact your local Avid representative.
You can also download printable PDF versions of the documentation from the Avid DS Support Center web site at http://www.softimage.com/avidds.

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 taht require immediate assistance, use your local phone support channel.
28
If you are having trouble using your system:
Page 57
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.
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.
Contacting Avid Customer Support
n
It is mandatory that you include your SID number in the body of your e-mail 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 limitiations 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.
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1 Using Avid Support and Services

Avid Training Services

Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and convenient. Avid understands that the knowledge 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.
To learn 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, visit www.avid.com/training or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843).
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Best Practices

This section provides information about capturing media, conforming sequences created on other systems, and outputting material.
Assistant Editing
Conforming HD Sequences
Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects
Conforming HDV Media
Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment
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Chapter 1

Assistant Editing

This chapter describes how to set up the Avid DS Assist station in a shared workgroup environment:
Using the Avid DS Assist Station
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Chapter 1 Assistant Editing

Using the Avid DS Assist Station

Avid DS Assist Station offers the full software feature set of Avid DS Nitris in a software-only application that can be used to off-load tasks from the heavy­duty editing stations—tasks such as conform checks, rotoscoping, graphics, effects, and compositing.
The Avid DS Assist Station is designed to work in a shared workgroup environment with Avid DS Nitris, so it doesn’t have any I/O capabilities of its own for signal-based video and audio. You can, however, capture and output from file.
The Avid DS Assist Station is capable of full realtime playback and processing, so you can use it offline for all your graphics and effects work. This is an extremely economical way to grade and finish features that are captured onto your central storage.
n
Processing of effects is all done by the software. These capabilities are only limited by the underlying hardware and an adequate disk subsystem on the workstation where it is installed.
System Requirements
The Avid DS Assist Station can be run on any standard desktop system with minimal specifications of:
Dual Intel Xeon or Opteron single core CPU or single dual core Intel or AMD CPUs
•1 GB of memory
A supported OGL card such as the Nvidia QuadroFX 3400 or FX3450 (Refer to the Avid web site for a list of other supported cards).
The Avid DS Assist Station is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit. The only difference is that the 64-bit version offers better overall performance. Projects and media from both versions can be used on either Avid DS Nitris 32-bit or 64-bit workstations.
For storage, the Avid DS Assist Station can connect to Avid Unity ISIS or Avid Unity MediaNetwork. However, if you plan on using DNxHD media on Avid Unity ISIS, you must use the Avid DS Assist Station 64-bit version.
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Using the Avid DS Assist Station
The Avid DS Assist Station can also use a local storage drive for work that does not require large amounts of storage. e.g. creating graphics or titles.
Subtopics
t Scenario: Sharing Projects and Media with an Avid DS Assist Station
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Chapter 1 Assistant Editing

Scenario: Sharing Projects and Media with an Avid DS Assist Station

The Avid DS Assist Station is designed to work in a shared workgroup environment with Avid DS Nitris.
Since it doesn’t have any I/O capabilities of its own for signal-based video and audio, the media needs to be captured by a Nitris workstation and stored in a shared folder that can be accessed by the Avid DS Assist Station.
You can, however, capture and output from file which is useful for importing graphics and images for compositing and effects work.
n
;
Projects cannot be opened simultaneously. As with all Avid DS projects, you must first close the project on one workstation before being able to open it on another.
To work with projects on an Avid DS Assist Station, follow this basic workflow:
Step Refer to
Install the Avid DS Assist station on a workstation that will be used by an assistant editor.
Start Avid DS Assist Station, and open a project from the workgroup where it was created.
Check the storage configuration. You will need to add a storage area to your
configuration that is also used by other workstations in the workgroup.
If you’re conforming a sequence from Avid
n
Media Composer, and will be using media created by Media Composer, then you need to configure your storage to point to the folder where that media is located.
“Installing Avid DS Software Components” in the Help.
“Opening an Existing Project”
in the Help.
“Configuring the Media Indexing Service on your Workstation” in the Help.
“Configuring Storages for MXF Files” in the Help.
36
Open a sequence that you need to edit. “Opening Sequences” in the
Do the necessary edits to the sequence.
Help
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Scenario: Sharing Projects and Media with an Avid DS Assist Station
;
Step Refer to
Process effects that require processing.
The processed media caches are saved to the
n
common storage where any other workstations in the workgroup can also see them.
Save the sequence and close the project.
“Processing Effects” see the
Help.
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Chapter 1 Assistant Editing
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Chapter 2

Conforming HD Sequences

This chapter describes typical scenarios for conforming HD projects.
Conforming HD
Scenario: Conforming HD Sequences from SD Downconvert Sources
Scenario: Conforming HD Projects with DNxHD Media
Scenario: Transferring MXF Media from Avid DS Nitris to an Avid
Editing System
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Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences

Conforming HD

Conforming is the process of bringing a project from an offline environment into Avid DS Nitris, so that you can continue and finish the editing process. This section describes how to work specifically with HD sequences. It will explain how to load an Avid File Exchange (AFE) file into Avid DS Nitris and recreate a sequence on which you can apply further edits and effects.
n
In this information, the general term “Avid editing system” refers to Avid applications other than Avid DS Nitris, such as Symphony Media Composer
Subtopics
Converting HD Formats
Converting HD Formats
When down-converting HD sequences, you must make sure that the aspect ratio is respected. Maintaining the proper aspect ratio ensures that all effects, especially those that rely on X,Y locations are preserved during the down­conversion and eventually, the conforming process.
HD uses the aspect ratio of 16:9. Avid editing systems such as Media Composer or Symphony work with 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios. Avid DS Nitris also supports both these ratios. There are three ways 16:9 HD material can be down-converted for offline editing sessions.
16:9 Anamorphic
16:9 Letterbox
4:3 Centre Extraction
®
, Film Composer®, Avid Xpress®, and NewsCutter®.
,
16:9 Anamorphic
40
The entire NTSC frame is used to store the 16:9 HD image that will appear to be stretched vertically when viewed in an Avid editing system. In your settings, select the Composer window to 16:9 Video to view the image in its correct ratio. You will need to select the 16:9 setting on your client monitor. Also, you will have to convert the 16:9 anamorphic images to a 4:3 aspect ratio on output to tape for client screening copies. You can use the Pan & Scan tool, an external device or order conversion as part of the dub process.
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16:9 Letterbox
Conforming HD
16:9 Anamorphic is the preferred format if you will be creating complex effects and composites in offline, because effects and repositions will translate correctly in the Avid DS Nitris online.
Related Topics
16:9 Letterbox 4:3 Centre Extraction
The 16:9 HD image is placed in the center of the 4:3 NTSC frame and black bars are added top & bottom of the image.
16:9 Letterbox is a common method for delivering HD material on an NTSC tape to offline. The black matte can be used to contain timecode and other “burnt in” information. This format is fine if the program contains cuts and occasional transition effects, but effects such as repositions and composites will not translate correctly in the HD conform. These problems may result in added expensive because the effects will have to be adjusted in the HD online.
4:3 Centre Extraction
Related Topics
16:9 Anamorphic 4:3 Centre Extraction
The center of the 16:9 HD image is extracted and recorded on the NTSC tape for offline.
4:3 Center Extraction is the least preferred option for offline because the editor does not see the entire frame that will be visible in the HD master. As a result, edit timings may not be correct when the sequence is conformed in HD because entrances and exits will not be the same in the 16:9 master. Also, the editor may not see undesirable action cut off in the 4:3 frame that will still be visible in the 16:9 HD online master. Effects such as repositions and composites will not translate correctly in the HD conform.
Related Topics
16:9 Anamorphic 16:9 Letterbox
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Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences

Scenario: Conforming HD Sequences from SD Downconvert Sources

Postproduction house are often faced with this scenario. An editor has completed an HD project on an Avid editing system such as Media Composer and has passed it on to a colorist, for example, who must now complete and finish the project at high quality HD standards on Avid DS Nitris. Downconverting the HD sequence to SD avoids high production costs and also allows you to work more efficiently with a light-weight project.
To conform an HD project that was offlined on an Avid editing system, the offline sequence must be edited at the proper frame rate. The following table lists the required Avid editing project types for different HD formats and frame rates.
HD format Avid DS Nitris project type Avid editing project type
1080i 50 fields/sec (25 fps) 25i PAL
42
1080i 60 fields/sec (30 fps) or 59.94 fields/sec (29.97 fps)
1080PsF 23.97 fps 24p NTSC
1080PsF 24 fps 24p NTSC or 24p PAL
1080PsF 25 fps 25i PAL
1080PsF 30 fps or 29.97 fps 30i NTSC
720p 60 fps or 59.94 fps 30i NTSC
a. Requires Symphony 4.5 or later, Media Composer or Film Composer 11.5 or
later, Media Composer Adrenaline 1.0 or later, Avid Xpress 5.5 or later, or Avid Xpress Pro 4.0 or later.
30i NTSC
23.976p NTSC
a
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Scenario: Conforming HD Sequences from SD Downconvert Sources
To conform an HD project from SD downconvert sources, follow this basic workflow:
;
Step Refer to
Downconvert the HD source tapes to SD (standard-definition) tapes, using the 16:9 anamorphic aspect ratio.
For 24p sources, make sure the conversion uses non-drop-frame timecode and 2:3 pull­down, with the A frame at :00 or any frame that ends in 0 or 5 (:05, :10, :15, and so on).
If you need to convert the timecode of a
n
sequence (for example, from 30 fps to 24 fps, you can use the EDL Processor.
On an Avid editing system:
Create an offline project with the proper frame rate.
Capture the SD source tapes using an offline resolution
Build the sequence.
Duplicate the finished sequence, copy the
duplicate into a new bin, and decompose the duplicate.
The Avid editing system creates new master clips that use only the media in the sequence, plus any handles you specify. These new clips are not linked to media, but are intended for recapture.
Except for grouped clips, you can delete
n
the decomposed clips from the bin, because Avid DS Nitris recreates the clips during the conform process.
“Conforming and Transferring Projects” in the Avid Media Composer Help.
“Conforming Workflow” in the Avid Media Composer Help.
“Using Decompose when Recapturing” in the Avid Media Composer Help.
Export as an AFE file so that you can recreate the sequence or project on Avid DS Nitris.
Depending on the version of your Avid editing system, you can also export through MediaLog
.
“Exporting Frames, Clips, and Sequences” in the Avid Media Composer Help.
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Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences
;
Step Refer to
On the Avid DS Nitris system:
Create a sequence with a frame rate that matches that of the source tapes.
Import the AFE file. “Importing AFE Files” in the Help.
Open the AFE file from DS Explorer and drag the sequence or master clips to the timeline.
If you are sharing media, then Avid DS will relink to the SD media. (This is the case ONLY for MXF files.)
If you are not sharing media, then recapture the HD media from the source tapes into Avid DS Nitris.
Depending on the number and types of effects, you may need to process or recreate effects.
Refer to the AAF/AFE Conform Log as you review the sequence.
Finish and output the project. “Outputting Media” in the Help.
“Create a Sequence and Master Clips
from an Imported AFE File” in the
Help.
“Create a Sequence and Master Clips
from an Imported AFE File” in the
Help.
“Sharing Media” in the Help.
“AFE Effects Support Table” for a list of supported effects in the Help.
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Scenario: Conforming HD Projects with DNxHD Media

Scenario: Conforming HD Projects with DNxHD Media
To conform an HDTV project that was offlined on an Avid HD editing system with HD media, make sure the offline sequence is edited at the proper format and frame rate. Media Composer Adrenaline HD and Avid Xpress Pro HD support the HD project formats described in the following table. This table also lists their equivalents in Avid DS Nitris.
HD format Avid editing project type
720p/59.94 720p 59.94 fps
1080p/25 1080PsF 25 fps
1080p/23.976 1080PsF 23.97 fps
1080i/50 1080i 50 fields/sec
1080i/59.94 1080i 59.94 fields/sec
HD format Avid DS Nitris project type
For a list of shared DNxHD resolutions, see Avid DNxHD Compressions.
To conform an HD project from HD sources, follow this basic workflow:
;
Step Refer to
On an Avid editing system, create an offline project with the proper frame rate.
“Conforming Workflow” in the Avid Media Composer Help.
“Working with HD Media
Capture the HD source tapes into the Avid editing system using an uncompressed DNxHD resolution.
Build the sequence. “Editing in HD” in the Avid
“Video-based Television Workflow” in the Avid Media Composer Help.
Media Composer Help.
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Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences
;
Step Refer to
(Optional if sharing media) On the Avid editing system, duplicate the finished sequence, copy the duplicate into a new bin, and decompose the duplicate.
The Avid editing system creates new master clips that use only the media in the sequence, plus any handles you specify. These new clips are not linked to media, but are intended for recapture. You can delete the decomposed clips from the bin, because Avid DS Nitris recreates the clips during the conform process.
Export as an AFE file so that you can recreate the sequence or project on the Avid DS Nitris system.
Depending on the version of your Avid editing system, you can also export through MediaLog.
On the Avid DS Nitris system:
Import the AFE file. “Importing AFE Files” in the
“Conforming Workflow” in the Avid Media Composer Help.
“Exporting an AFE File from an Avid Editing System” in the
Help.
“Exporting AFE Files Using MediaLog” in the Help.
Help.
46
Build your sequence from the imported clips.
If sharing media, make sure the HD media is placed in the appropriate folders on your storage device.
Configure the storage areas so that Avid DS can index the media.
If you are not sharing media, then recapture the HD material from source.
“Create a Sequence and Master Clips from an Imported AFE File” in the Help.
“Sharing Media” and “Sharing MXF Media” in the Help.
in the Help.
“Configuring Storages for MXF Files”
in the Help.
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Scenario: Conforming HD Projects with DNxHD Media
;
Step Refer to
Depending on the number and types of effects, you may need to process or recreate effects. Refer to the AAF/AFE Conform Log as you review the sequence.
Finish and output the project. “Outputting Media” in the
“AFE Effects Support Table”
for a list of supported effects in the Help.
Help.
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Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences

Scenario: Transferring MXF Media from Avid DS Nitris to an Avid Editing System

You can share MXF master clips captured on Avid DS Nitris with other Avid editing systems. You can share MXF HD (DNxHD) media only with other systems that support MXF HD media.
To share MXF master clips created on Avid DS Nitris, follow this basic workflow:
1. Make sure any storage devices or Avid Unity workspaces are configured correctly—see “Configuring Storages for MXF Files” in the Help.
2. On the Avid DS Nitris system: a. Create a project. In the New Sequence dialog box, select the proper
capture settings: MXF storages (one for audio and one for video), desired compression, and so on. MXF storage can be shared (in an Avid Unity environment) or local (and later transferred).
n
If you are going to capture audio from a multi-stream file, make sure to select the option “Import audio into separate audio tracks” in the New Sequence dialog box.
b. Capture and edit the media. c. Export an AAF file—see “Exporting AAF Files from Avid DS Nitris”
in the Help.
3. If you are transferring media to the Avid editing system, rather than sharing in an Avid Unity environment, do one of the following:
- If you are transferring media over a network, copy the MXF audio
storage and the MXF video storage to the local drive.
- If you are transferring media on a removable drive, connect the drive.
4. On the Avid editing system, open a project with a matching frame rate.
5. Import one or more AAF files. The Avid editing system creates a master clip for each AAF file.
6. Select the new master clips and select Clip > Relink. The Relink dialog box opens.
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Scenario: Transferring MXF Media from Avid DS Nitris to an Avid Editing System
n
n
7. Deselect the option “Relink only to media from the current project,”
accept the other defaults, and click OK. The master clips are relinked with the MXF media.
You can use the Media Tool to create master clips, but this method does not always work, for example, when a clip from Avid DS Nitris includes alpha.
Media Composer Macintosh systems, and other Macintosh-based Avid editors, cannot use MXF media created by Avid DS Nitris, due to a 31-character file name limit. This situation occurs when an Avid DS Nitris system creates a storage on a Unity volume to share with other Avid editing systems. This problem does not affect Windows systems.
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Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences
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Chapter 3

Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects

This chapter describes how to work with film:
The Digital Intermediate Process
Setting up Storage and Media for Film Projects
Opening a Film-based Project
Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE
Capturing DPX Files
Editing in Film Proxy Mode
Outputting Film Sequences
Checklists
Scenario: Using HDCAM-SR Tape for Film-Originated Projects
Scenario: Using DPX Scans for Film-Originated Projects
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Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects

The Digital Intermediate Process

The main stages of film production are image capture, offline editing, finishing, and image output and distribution.
Traditionally, the intermediate stage was done manually by the film lab. This involved the cutting and splicing of the film negatives, adding special optical effects, and then printing of the final copy for distribution.
Advances in technology now allow the intermediate stage to be handled digitally. It is a cleaner and more flexible alternative to the traditional approach. It provides an easy and cost-effective way to create masters at different resolutions and formats, and also allows more flexibility for screening at various stages.
1 3 42
OFFLINE EDITING
(optional)
FILM
Film Pull List
Film
Pull List
Avid Film Composer
or Media Composer
Workstation
Rough edit produces final ALE, EDL and film pull list
Source material is normally shot on Super 35mm or Super 16mm 3-perf film. The film can either be scanned to 2K or 4K DPX files, or transferred through Telecine onto tape in a recommended digital HD format. (Note that, with the latest digital film cameras, material can also be shot directly in HD RGB 4:4:4.)
When the source material is in digitized form it is referred to as the digital master. This digital master in either 2K, 4K, or HD-RGB 4:4:4 format is of superior image quality that is preserved for a much longer term than the traditional tape format. This master can be offlined in an Avid Media Composer system or edited directly in Avid DS Nitris.
FILM CAPTURE INTERMEDIATE EDITING IMAGE OUTPUT
HD 4:4:4
TELECINE
SCANNER
EDL/ALE
EDL/ALE
TAP E
EDL
EDL
DPX (2K, 4K)
FILE
EDL/ALE
DPX/
EDL/ALE
Avid DS Workstation
& DISTRIBUTION
HD 4:4:4 HD 4:2:2 NTSC PAL QuickTime
TAP E
EDL
EDL
FILE
DPX CINEON (2K, 4K)
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The Digital Intermediate Process
The digital intermediate workflow in Avid DS Nitris allows you to either capture the digital master into the Avid DS Nitris system, or in the case of DPX format, simply link to the files. The process is started by building a sequence directly in Avid DS Nitris; or by conforming a sequence via an EDL/ALE into Avid DS Nitris.
There is no need to worry about matching source timecode or tape names
TM
during the transfer since the common denominator is the KeyKode information on the original camera negative. Each frame of picture and sound carries with it one or more pieces of frame-based metadata (timecode, KeyKode, etc.), as well as overall metadata such as shoot date, camera roll, scene, take, etc.
In Avid DS Nitris, the film sequence can be digitally enhanced through the process of editing, visual effects, and color correction. Avid DS Nitris has comprehensive HD and SD finishing capabilities, with a range of film and video editing tools. The system’s special effects and compositing engine handle special effects and last minute fixes easily and cost-efficiently. Here are some of the ways in which Avid DS Nitris expedites the workflow:
An external video monitor can be used to view (in real-time) your sequence in the format and resolution closely matching your final distribution format.
Your Nitris workstation will instantly let you play back (in real-time) any edits and effects applied to your sequence.
Look-up tables (LUTs) can be applied to simulate the look of projected film.
You can perform color correction on file-based media the same way as with traditional video.
You can read timecode from, and output timecode to, media files. The timecode tracking display is based on the conventional time-oriented techniques of video postproduction.
You can add a timecode view if you want to view the timecode of your sequence at a different frame rate. The timecode view can display multiple frame rates at a time.
Avid DS Nitris supports output mastering to tape for any of the original transfer formats; and in the case of a film out, it is possible to output a final series of DPX or Cineon images for a film recorder.
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Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects
Important Considerations when Working on Film-based Projects
Before starting your project, here are some points to consider when working on a film-quality production.
Know your original film format (e.g. Full Aperture, Cineon, Academy, Super 16mm/35mm).
Know the quality at which your film master was scanned or transferred. The most popular is the 10-bit format and the most frequently used resolution is 2K.
Know the frame rate (fps) at which your film master was scanned or transferred.
Use a limit of 8 characters for your tape/reel names as some 3rd-party EDL converters truncate reel names over 8 characters long, and as a result will not create the proper associations between key numbers and timecodes.
Ensure that you have storage that is large and fast enough for high throughput. (Typically, 2K data takes up over 1 TB per hour of footage.) Also, to get realtime playback of your media, the digitized media must reside on your local storage that is connected directly to your Avid DS Nitris workstation.
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If you are offlining your sequences on Avid Film Composer, set up your storage so that you can share the media footage with Avid DS Nitris. This is explained later in this section.
In Avid DS Nitris there are two ways to import film-originated media—by capturing from HDCAM-SR tape, or by linking to DPX files.
Topi cs
Scenario: Using HDCAM-SR Tape for Film-Originated Projects
Scenario: Using DPX Scans for Film-Originated Projects
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Scenario: Using HDCAM-SR Tape for Film-Originated Projects
HD resolutions are now used more and more for film work, especially in 4:4:4 RGB color space. Although this method does not support resolutions as high as film-scanned DPX files (2K, 4K), HDCAM-SR does allow for fairly high quality resolution (upto 1920 x 1080 HD). Also, Telecines now perform high­quality transfer directly to HD in real-time, which is much faster and economical than a typical film scanner.
There are two possible workflows when using HDCAM tape. You can create your rough cut offline with an Avid Media Composer or Film Composer system and then finish online with Avid DS Nitris or—you can do all the editing from start to finish directly in Avid DS Nitris.
For either workflow, the film is first scanned through a telecine (one-light pass) to generate one or more dub tapes in HD, DVCAM, or SD format.
Topi cs
Offline Film Workflow with Avid Media Composer or Film Composer
Online Editing and Finishing in Avid DS Nitris
Offline Film Workflow with Avid Media Composer or Film Composer
In the workflow shown here, film is run through a Telecine to create work tapes that will be used for the offline edit on an Avid Media Composer Adrenaline HD or Film Composer.
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If you have a Media Composer Adrenaline HD system, you can do your offline editing with an HD work tape. If you don’t have an HD offline system, then you need to convert your master tape to a lower-quality SD work tape.
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OFFLINE EDITING
1
(OPTIONAL)
FILM
TELECINE
Transfer all material
to dub tape
2
ONLINE EDITING
Film Pull list used to transfer only necessary material to HDCAM tape
TAP E
HDCAM SR 4:4:4
Produce final ALE, EDL and film pull list
TAP E
Batch capture
via ALE file
Rough-edit on Avid Film Composer or Media Composer
Workstation
Media captured/ conformed via ALE
Avid DS Nitris
Workstation
HD 4:4:4
Avid Film Composer/Media Composer uses an ALE (also produced during the Telecine transfer) to capture source video from the dub tape. After the rough edit is done, the process ends with the production of an EDL of the sequence, an ALE, and a film pull list.
The film transfer facility uses the film pull list to do a final, high-quality pass through the telecine. This transfers only the necessary material to tape. This minimizes costs in the telecine room and also makes for a more efficient final online edit and finish in Avid DS Nitris.
To offline your sequence on Avid Media Composer or Avid Film Composer, follow this basic workflow:
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You should follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to a topic within a Step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. (When viewing this document online, use the Previous View button in your Help browser or Adobe Reader to return to the previous link).
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;
Step Refer to this section
Using Avid Film or Media Composer,
import the film transfer files (FLEx, Evertz,
Aaton, ALE) into the project bins, and log the necessary clips from the dub tape using the ALE file.
Batch capture the footage from the dub tapes.
Capture the audio directly in Avid Media Composer/Film Composer via file-based audio recorders using BWF.
Create your sequence on the timeline, and synchronize the audio with video.
Once the rough edit is complete, generate a film pull list (cut list) of the final cut.
Avid FilmScribe generates many
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types of lists; Scan is the list type to facilitate a file-based or tape-based workflow.
Export your sequence to an EDL file.
“Importing Shot Log Files” in the Media Composer Help.
See also “Working in a Film Project” in the Media Composer Help.
“Batch Capturing from Logged Clips” in the Media Composer Help.
“BWF Files” in the Media Composer Help.
“Preparing to Edit” in the Media Composer Help.
“Creating a Cut List with Previsualization Marker Information” in the Media Composer Help.
Export your sequence to an ALE file if you need to associate your film information (metadata) with the tape information in the EDL
Rescan or retransfer the source material using the film pull list. Media footage will only be pulled once, regardless of how many times it was used in the final sequence.
You can now take the EDL and/or ALE into Avid DS Nitris to do your online editing
.
“Online Editing and Finishing in Avid DS Nitris”
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Online Editing and Finishing in Avid DS Nitris
Once you have transferred your film media onto the final HDCAM-SR tape, you can use the ALE to edit or conform the project into Avid DS Nitris.
OFFLINE EDITING
1
(OPTIONAL)
FILM
TELECINE
Transfer all material
to dub tape
2
ONLINE EDITING
Film Pull list used to transfer only necessary material to HDCAM tape
TAP E
HDCAM SR 4:4:4
Produce final ALE, EDL and film pull list
TAP E
Batch capture
via ALE file
Rough-edit on Avid Film Composer or Media Composer
Workstation
Media captured/ conformed via ALE
Avid DS Nitris
Workstation
HD 4:4:4
For the final finishing, you will require:
Your film transferred to tape. To ensure the highest quality of the master tape, transfer to HD format in
4:4:4, which offers the best uncompressed color quality currently available on video. The 4:4:4 refers to an encoding technique that holds onto all of the image’s red, green, and blue color data for superior color fidelity, unlike the traditional 4:2:2 YUV mode, which discards half of the color data.
It is recommended that the film be transferred as 16:9 anamorphic so that the conform process will not only be frame-accurate, but also pixel­accurate in the sense that the effects will match the same aspect ratio (titles, shapes, etc.).
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Audio tapes/data
ALE file containing the tape-film source correspondences. An ALE file is provided along with the tapes to match the original Key Numbers on the film with the timecode on tape.
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To edit and finish your film project in Avid DS Nitris, follow these steps:
You should follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to a topic within a Step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. (When viewing this document online, use the Previous View button in your Help browser or Adobe Reader to return to the previous link).
;
Step Refer to this section
Determine where your media will be stored. “Setting up Storage and Media
for Film Projects”
Ensure that your workgroup storage areas have been configured accordingly.
In Avid DS Nitris, open a project and set the appropriate project preferences.
If you are conforming an offline project, use the EDL/ALE to import your sequence.
Edit your sequence. “Editing in Film Proxy Mode”
Recapture the media in full resolution HD format with full 4:4:4 RGB color depth. (Avid DS Nitris can capture an HDCAM tape in either HD 4:4:4 RGB or HD 4:2:2 YCrCB.)
To capture HDCAM RGB 4:4:4, you require
n
an Avid DS Nitris workstation equipped with the dual-link card.
Add special effects and do the necessary color correction.
“Configuring your Storage Locations”
“Opening a Film-based Project”
“Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE”
“Batch Capturing”
Refer to the Compositing & Graphics section for relevant topics.
Output your final sequence. “Outputting Film Sequences”
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Scenario: Using DPX Scans for Film-Originated Projects
To preserve your 2K or 4K film resolution, it is best to have your film scanned to DPX files. DPX (Digital Picture eXchange) is a bitmap file format used to store a single motion picture frame to a file.
During the scanning process, metadata is inserted into the DPX file such as KeyKode and timecode, as well as Tape Name if desired. DPX files played in a sequential manner can be viewed in real time in Avid DS Nitris under certain circumstances.
DPX files are unique in many ways. Their color space is RGB, they have more bit-depth, and they also have the possibility of using log space for representing a wider dynamic range on the negative. This allows for the use of Look-Up Tables in the import process. The film house where your film master was scanned will provide you with an LUT file to use when importing your DPX.
2
ONLINE EDITING
1
OFFLINE EDITING
Pull list/
EDL/ALE
FILM
SCANNER
TELECINE
Transfer all material
to low-quality
Film Pull list used to scan only necessary material to DPX
dub tape
DPX (2K, 4K)
Copy DPX files
to storage device
Avid DS Nitris
Workstation
Conform of ALE and EDL
automatically links DPX files
into project sequences
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Produce final ALE, EDL and film pull list
TAPE
Batch capture
via ALE file
Rough-edit on Avid Film Composer or Media Composer
Workstation
During the conform, the workstations need to know where to find the DPX frames, and whether there was a LUT applied to any set of frames. Once this has been done, the KeyKode to DPX file relationships allow the conform process.
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From the Avid DS timeline, simply select “link to file” and the sequence will look to the DPX files. You can playback a single stream of 2K or 4K in real time in the viewer. Using the proxy mode, you can add effects in real time for multiple streams, and process and view the results in HD 4:2:2.
The optimal workflow when using DPX files is to create your rough cut offline with an Avid Media Composer or Film Composer system, and then finish online with Avid DS Nitris.
To scan your source material to DPX files, follow these steps:
Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to a topic within a Step, come back to the checklist after completing the procedure. (Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous link).
;
Step Refer to this section
Offline your project in Avid Media Composer or Film Composer.
You can also start your project directly in
n
Avid DS Nitris if you already have all the final DPX files.
Determine where your media will be stored. “Setting up Storage and Media
Copy your DPX files to your high-capacity storage. “Placing your DPX Files on
Ensure that your workgroup storage areas have been configured accordingly.
In Avid DS Nitris, open a project and set the appropriate project preferences.
If you are conforming an offline project, use the EDL/ALE to import your sequence.
Link to your DPX files. “Conforming Sequences that
“Offline Film Workflow with Avid Media Composer or Film Composer”
for Film Projects”
the Storage Device”
“Configuring your Storage Locations”
“Opening a Film-based Project”
“Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE”
use DPX Files”
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;
Step Refer to this section
If you are using a shared storage, or if you cannot playback your media in realtime, then capture your DPX files into Avid DS Nitris.
Edit your sequence. “Editing in Film Proxy Mode”
Add special effects and do the necessary color correction.
Output your final sequence. “Outputting Film Sequences”
“Capturing DPX Files”
“Linearizing Film-Based Material”, and also the
Compositing & Graphic section for relevant topics.
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Setting up Storage and Media for Film Projects

Setting up Storage and Media for Film Projects
Since film-based media is large and requires high bandwidth and fast disk access, you should place your digital master on a storage drive that is connected directly to your workstation. This allows you to view your sequence in realtime.
Before you begin, plan out your storage solutions carefully:
For a complete list of storages supported for film-based media, refer to the Avid DS Support Center web site.
“Planning your Storage Locations”, provides different scenarios depending on whether you are building your project on a single system, or if you plan on using multiple systems where you may want to share media.
n
You can share and store file-based media for offline-to-online production between Avid systems. Sequences offlined in Avid Media Composer Adrenaline HD can be previewed directly in Avid DS Nitris using the real-time proxy resolution (film proxy mode).
Topi cs
Configuring your Storage Locations
Placing your DPX Files on the Storage Device
Placing your DPX Files on the Storage Device
Your DPX files should be placed onto a fast, high-capacity storage device connected to your workstation. This allows you to link to the master and still get realtime playback in Avid DS Nitris for any DPX files.
n
You can also place your master on a shared storage, such as Avid Unity, however you will have to capture the file into Avid DS Nitris to get realtime playback—see “Capturing DPX Files”.
t Place your DPX files in an appropriate folder under the \VideoStorage
folder on the storage device. For example, D:\VideoStorage\DPX\Commercial\...
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Opening a Film-based Project

Avid DS Nitris offers HD and 2K/4K digital intermediate capabilities, including a large number of preset sequence types for various film resolutions and aspect ratio.
To create a film-based project:
1. In the Open Project dialog box that displays when you start
Avid DS Nitris, click the New Project button.
2. In the New Project dialog box, give your project a name.
3. There are a number of film resolutions and apertures that you can choose from. Select the film format at which your material was scanned or transferred. Click the Help button to see which film formats are available.
When you select the format, the frame details are set automatically.
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Opening a Film-based Project
4. Set the Processing Precision to a bit-depth that will give you the best
quality for your processed effects. To preserve the quality of the bit-depth of 10-bit material, choose 16-bit. For more information on bit depth, see
“About Video Quality” and “About Bit Depth”.
c
Although Avid DS Nitris can support higher bit depths during processing, the caches may be stored at a lower bit depth depending on your resolution and color space settings. Note that, using a higher precision bit depth generates smoother effects during processing, and still produces better quality output for lower bit depth outputs.
Optionally, you could set the Precision bit depth to the same setting as the Storage bit-depth. Then, if you want to process a specific effect at a higher-quality bit depth, you can change the Precision bit depth within the Processing dialog box.
5. For the Storage Settings:
- Set the Resolution for capturing/linking video media to Full.
- Set the Color Space to RGB 4:4:4.
- Set the Bit Depth to the format at which the film was scanned
(typically 10-bit).
6. Select Use the closest media available, to allow Avid DS Nitris to
display media of mixed resolutions and frame rates in your sequence.
7. For the Audio Settings, set the Sample Rate and Bit Depth at which you
will output your audio media.
8. Leave the Downconversion settings at default.
9. Click OK to save project preferences.
Avid DS Nitris displays the timeline where you can now begin working on a sequence.
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Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE

Typically, the digital intermediate is created by conforming a sequence via an EDL into Avid DS Nitris. The EDL and/or ALE files are used to create the necessary source associations between the original tapes and final digital master. (The ALE file actually contains the film source to tape source correspondence.) Hence, there is no need to worry about matching source timecode or tape names during the transfer since the common denominator is the KeyKode
When conforming your EDL, you have the choice of logging the events in the Avid Explorer, recreating the list of events on the timeline, or both. As the files are logged, the media files are automatically linked in Avid DS Nitris. You can capture the media at any time from either the Avid Explorer or the timeline.
During the capture process, the HDCAM tape frames or the DPX frames are transferred to the Avid DS Nitris’ local storage. When the conform is complete, the clips point automatically point to the HD 4:4:4 media on your local storage.
TM
information on the original camera negative.
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Before conforming your EDL, you should check if there are any layers to be composited. Offline editors often create multiple EDLs because the convention is to put separate layers into separate EDLs. Any audio or video events in the list are automatically loaded onto the appropriate tracks.
During the conform process, you can set up the appropriate heads and tails values for each clip. This is important if you need additional material at the beginning and end of each clip to do minor changes during the final stage of the edit. You can also configure the audio channel patching for each tape.
If you recreate your sequence on the timeline, you may want to process a rough cut and proof it against the original EDL. You can do this by reloading the rough cut onto a new video track, adding a fade or crop effect to the video track and processing it, and then playing the sequence to make sure that the cuts and transitions on the two tracks occur in sync.
If the proofing session is successful, you can then remove the video track you added and continue to add effects and finishing touches to the original sequence.
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Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE
Record in-point
Conform EDL
To open an EDL:
1. In the view switcher, click the EDL button.
2. In the EDL view, click the Load EDL button to load a new EDL.
3. In the Open dialog box, select an EDL. If you know the system from which the EDL was generated, select the appropriate file type.
4. Click the Open button. The selected EDL is displayed in the EDL view. The EDL view lets you
import an EDL file produced on any external system, and capture material based on the edits in that EDL. For more information about the EDL view, click the Help button or see EDL View.
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If you selected the wrong file type, you are prompted to convert the file to the appropriate type.
5. Click the Conform EDL button.
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6. In the EDL Conform dialog box, select whether you want to create Logs and/or Timeline Clips.
7. If your digital master is in DPX file format, select Use Alternate Video Sources, and see “Conforming Sequences that use DPX Files”.
If your master is in HDCAM-SR tape format, then continue with this procedure.
8. If all the necessary information is contained in your EDL, click the Conform button. The clips are logged in the Explorer or on the timeline for you to capture—see “Batch Capturing”. After the clips are captured, they automatically point to the HD 4:4:4 media on your local storage.
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Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE
Conforming Sequences that use DPX Files
Once you have loaded your EDL (as described in “Conforming the Film
Sequence from EDL and ALE”), you can proceed with the following steps to
link to your DPX files.
1. In the EDL Conform dialog, click on the Configure button.
The Choose Alternate Video Sources dialog displays.
2. In the Image Files Root Folder, enter the path for your DPX files.
Once the folder is selected, it is immediately scanned. This process scans each DPX file on the video storage, collecting the
metadata that it contains, so that Avid DS Nitris can associate each DPX file to each “tape” frame referenced in the EDL.
In addition, the appropriate correspondence is made between the DPX­tape frames so that the tape name, timecodes and/or key numbers are retained.
n
When trying to associate the EDL tape frames to the DPX frames, the following situations may occur:
the DPX files contain the tape source information (i.e. tape name and timecode). In this case a direct association can be made between the DPX files and the EDL tapes.
the DPX files only contain film source info (i.e. key number). In this case, you must also specify an ALE file to allow Avid DS Nitris to create the association between the DPX files and the EDL tapes, going through the ALE film sources.
the DPX files only contain timecodes. In this case, the folder in which the DPX file is located is used as the EDL “tape name”.
After the scan is complete, the source information associated to each image file is displayed.
If at least one file has a reference to a film source, the ALE File field is activated.
3. If you are conforming DPX files from a filmhouse (i.e. digitized from a Telecine), then you will need the corresponding ALE file to associate the DPX frames to timecodes.
Under ALE File, enter the path where the ALE file is located.
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In the example shown above, you will notice that there is an * before the name ROGER. This is to indicate that the folder name is being used as the tape name.
4. Click the Match with EDL button.
The bottom view will display a mapping of DPX frames to tape and corresponding timecode.
5. To view any missing/unmatched DPX frames, select Only View Missing Frames.
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Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE
Shows missing frames
If the bottom view is empty, then all frames in the EDL were found. If not, locate the necessary DPX files, place them in the same folder, and click Match with EDL again.
This process scans each DPX file, collecting the metadata that it contains, so that the software can associate each DPX file to each “tape” frame referenced in the EDL. In addition, the appropriate correspondence is made between the DPX tape frames so that the tape name, timecodes, and/or key numbers are retained.
6. Click OK to return to the Conform dialog.
7. Click the Conform button.
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The log files are created with the appropriate links to the DPX files.
Audio is ignored when digitizing DPX files from HDCAM-SR.
If your DPX files are on a storage device connected to your Avid DS Nitris workstation, you will get realtime playback simply by being linked to the files.
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If your files are on a shared storage, such as Avid Unity, you will have to capture the file into Avid DS Nitris to get realtime playback—see “Capturing
DPX Files”.
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