Pinnacle Systems Interplay Access - 3.1 User’s Guide

Interplay®| Access

User’s Guide

Version 3.1

Legal Notices

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

This product is subject to the terms and conditions of a software license agreement provided with the software. The product may only be used in accordance with the license agreement.

This product may be protected by one or more U.S. and non-U.S patents. Details are available at www.avid.com/patents

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

The following disclaimer is required by Apple Computer, Inc.:

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

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

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

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

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

The following disclaimer is required by the Independent JPEG Group:

This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

This Software may contain components licensed under the following conditions:

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation, advertising materials, and other materials related to such distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed by the University of California, Berkeley. The name of the University may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. This software is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation, and that the name of Daniel Dardailler not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the software without specific, written prior permission. Daniel Dardailler makes no representations about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any purpose without fee is hereby granted, provided that this entire notice is included in all copies of any software which is or includes a copy or modification of this software and in all copies of the supporting documentation for such software.

THIS SOFTWARE IS BEING PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY. IN PARTICULAR, NEITHER THE AUTHOR NOR AT&T MAKES ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THE MERCHANTABILITY OF THIS SOFTWARE OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

This product includes software developed by the University of California, Berkeley and its contributors.

The following disclaimer is required by Nexidia Inc.:

© 2010 Nexidia Inc. All rights reserved, worldwide. Nexidia and the Nexidia logo are trademarks of Nexidia Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All Nexidia materials regardless of form, including without limitation, software applications, documentation and any other information relating to Nexidia Inc., and its products and services are the exclusive property of Nexidia Inc. or its licensors. The Nexidia products and services described in these materials may be covered by Nexidia's United States patents: 7,231,351; 7,263,484; 7,313,521; 7,324,939; 7,406,415, 7,475,065; 7,487,086 and/or other patents pending and may be manufactured under license from the Georgia Tech Research Corporation USA.

The following disclaimer is required by Paradigm Matrix:

Portions of this software licensed from Paradigm Matrix.

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

“Install-It” is licensed from Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. End-User is prohibited from taking any action to derive a source code equivalent of “Install-It,” including by reverse assembly or reverse compilation, Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. shall in no event be liable for any damages resulting from reseller’s failure to perform reseller’s obligation; or any damages arising from use or operation of reseller’s products or the software; or any other damages, including but not limited to, incidental, direct, indirect, special or consequential Damages including lost profits, or damages resulting from loss of use or inability to use reseller’s products or the software for any reason including copyright or patent infringement, or lost data, even if Ray Sauers Associates has been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages.

The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:

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

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

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

The following disclaimer is required by Ultimatte Corporation:

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

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

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

The following disclaimer is required by Interplay Entertainment Corp.:

The “Interplay” name is used with the permission of Interplay Entertainment Corp., which bears no responsibility for Avid products.

This product includes portions of the Alloy Look & Feel software from Incors GmbH.

This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation (http://www.apache.org/).

This product may include the JCifs library, for which the following notice applies:

Avid Interplay contains components licensed from LavanTech. These components may only be used as part of and in connection with Avid Interplay.

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

003, 192 Digital I/O, 192 I/O, 96 I/O, 96i I/O, Adrenaline, AirSpeed, ALEX, Alienbrain, AME, AniMatte, Archive, Archive II, Assistant Station, AudioPages, AudioStation, AutoLoop, AutoSync, Avid, Avid Active, Avid Advanced Response, Avid DNA, Avid DNxcel, Avid DNxHD, Avid DS Assist Station, Avid Ignite, Avid Liquid, Avid Media Engine, Avid Media Processor, Avid MEDIArray, Avid Mojo, Avid Remote Response, Avid Unity, Avid Unity ISIS, Avid VideoRAID, AvidRAID, AvidShare, AVIDstripe, AVX, Beat Detective, Beauty Without The Bandwidth, Beyond Reality, BF Essentials, Bomb Factory, Bruno, C|24, CaptureManager, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, Cineractive Engine, Cineractive Player, Cineractive Viewer, Color Conductor, Command|24, Command|8, Control|24, Cosmonaut Voice, CountDown, d2, d3, DAE, D-Command, D-Control, Deko, DekoCast, D-Fi, D-fx, Digi 002, Digi 003, DigiBase, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Development Partners, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, Digidesign TDM Bus, DigiLink, DigiMeter, DigiPanner, DigiProNet, DigiRack, DigiSerial, DigiSnake, DigiSystem, Digital Choreography, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator, DigiTest, DigiTranslator, DigiWear, DINR, DNxchange, Do More, DPP-1, D-Show, DSP Manager, DS-StorageCalc, DV Toolkit, DVD Complete, D-Verb, Eleven, EM, Euphonix, EUCON, EveryPhase, Expander, ExpertRender, Fader Pack, Fairchild, FastBreak, Fast Track, Film Cutter, FilmScribe, Flexevent, FluidMotion, Frame Chase, FXDeko, HD Core, HD Process, HDpack, Home-to-Hollywood, HYBRID, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, iKnowledge, Image Independence, Impact, Improv, iNEWS, iNEWS Assign, iNEWS ControlAir, InGame, Instantwrite, Instinct, Intelligent Content Management, Intelligent Digital Actor Technology, IntelliRender, Intelli-Sat, Intelli-sat Broadcasting Recording Manager, InterFX, Interplay, inTONE, Intraframe, iS Expander, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, ISIS, IsoSync, LaunchPad, LeaderPlus, LFX, Lightning, Link & Sync, ListSync, LKT-200, Lo-Fi, MachineControl, Magic Mask, Make Anything Hollywood, make manage move | media, Marquee, MassivePack, Massive Pack Pro, Maxim, Mbox, Media Composer, MediaFlow, MediaLog, MediaMix, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaServer, MediaShare, MetaFuze, MetaSync, MIDI I/O, Mix Rack, Moviestar, MultiShell, NaturalMatch, NewsCutter, NewsView, NewsVision, Nitris, NL3D, NLP, NSDOS, NSWIN, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, OnDVD, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, Painterly Effects, Palladium, Personal Q, PET, Podcast Factory, PowerSwap, PRE, ProControl, ProEncode, Profiler, Pro Tools, Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Transfer, QuickPunch, QuietDrive, Realtime Motion Synthesis, Recti-Fi, Reel Tape Delay, Reel Tape Flanger, Reel Tape Saturation, Reprise, Res Rocket Surfer, Reso, RetroLoop, Reverb One, ReVibe, Revolution, rS9, rS18, RTAS, Salesview, Sci-Fi, Scorch, ScriptSync, SecureProductionEnvironment, Serv|GT, Serv|LT, Shape-to-Shape, ShuttleCase, Sibelius, SimulPlay, SimulRecord, Slightly Rude Compressor, Smack!, Soft SampleCell, Soft-Clip Limiter, SoundReplacer, SPACE, SPACEShift, SpectraGraph, SpectraMatte, SteadyGlide, Streamfactory, Streamgenie, StreamRAID, SubCap, Sundance, Sundance Digital, SurroundScope, Symphony, SYNC HD, SYNC I/O, Synchronic, SynchroScope, Syntax, TDM FlexCable, TechFlix, Tel-Ray, Thunder, TimeLiner, Titansync, Titan, TL Aggro, TL AutoPan, TL Drum Rehab, TL Everyphase, TL Fauxlder, TL In Tune, TL MasterMeter, TL Metro, TL Space, TL Utilities, tools for storytellers, Transit, TransJammer, Trillium Lane Labs, TruTouch, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video the Web Way, VideoRAID, VideoSPACE, VTEM, Work-N-Play, Xdeck, X-Form, Xmon and XPAND! are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Footage

Eco Challenge Morocco — Courtesy of Discovery Communications, Inc. News material provided by WFTV Television Inc. Ice Island — Courtesy of Kurtis Productions, Ltd.

Interplay | Access User’s Guide • 0130-07641-05 Rev H • June 2014 • Created 6/20/14 • This document is distributed by Avid in online (electronic) form only, and is not available for purchase in printed form.

Contents

Using This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Viewing Help and Documentation on the Interplay Production Portal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Interplay Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 1 Getting Started with Interplay | Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Interplay | Access Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Supported Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Starting Interplay | Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Setting the Default Working Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Connecting to a Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Changing Your Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Removing a Database from the Tree Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Interplay | Access Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Keyboard Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Context Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Opening Interplay Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Logging Out and Exiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Configuring Interplay | Access Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Configuring Interplay Access Globally (Administrators Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Displaying the Full Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Showing All Hidden Dialog Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Changing Font Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Configuring Asset Types, Commands, and Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Setting the Working Path for a Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Chapter 2 Working with Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Browsing View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Logging View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Shotlist View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Changing Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Viewing and Playing Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Adjusting the Aspect Ratio and Size of the Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Showing and Hiding the Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Displaying the Full-Screen Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Playing Clips During Ingest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Playing Back Offline Segments of Published Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Monitor Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Navigating by Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Monitoring Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Marking and Cueing Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Marking In and Out Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Cueing the Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Displaying Additional Panes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Resizing Panes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Opening an Avid Asset in Interplay | Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Chapter 3 Adding and Organizing Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Interplay Database Default Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Creating New Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Renaming a Folder or Editing the Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Changing Ownership of Folders and Assets (Administrators Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Viewing and Changing Folder Options (Administrators Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Using the Unchecked-In Avid Assets Folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Adding Assets to the Interplay Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Importing Files or Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Resyncing Media Files with Avid Shared-Storage Workspaces (Administrators Only). . 77

Moving Assets into Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Duplicating Avid Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Organizing Assets Using Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Using Shortcuts for Browsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Making Private Shortcuts Public (Administrators Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Renaming an Asset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Changing Text Color (Administrators Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Using Interplay | Access with an Avid Editing Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Transferring Avid Assets to Another Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Copying Assets and Media to Another Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Moving Media to Another Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Chapter 4 Browsing the Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Browsing Databases and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Icons for Avid Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Browsing AMA Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Updating the Media Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Setting the Filters for the Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Referenced Assets and Referenced-Only Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Using the Assets Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Assets Pane Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Default Assets Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Obtaining File Size Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Media Status Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Identifying Assets Playable in the Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Navigating Through Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Changing the Type of Assets Displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Changing the Column Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Changing the Resolution Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Grouping and Sorting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Undoing Assets Pane Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Creating View Presets for the Content and Search Tabs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Applying and Managing View Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Changing to Storyboard or Frame View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Using Extended View Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Using the Object Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Default Tabs in the Object Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Adding Properties to the Object Inspector Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Viewing Media Relatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Viewing Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Configuring the Frame Locators Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Viewing the Location of Media in Avid Shared-Storage Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . 135

Refreshing Referenced Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Showing a Preview of an Item. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Viewing the Status of Assets Across Workgroups (Asset Tracking) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Preserving Ancillary Data in an Interplay Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Working with Multichannel Audio Tracks in Interplay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Emulated Rendered Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Stereoscopic 3D Support in Interplay | Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Support for Group Clips in Interplay | Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Chapter 5 Finding Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Searching for Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Performing a Text-Only Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Using the Search Root and Attributes to Speed Up a Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Simple Searching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Simple Search Attribute Names and Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Extended Searching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Extended Search Attribute Names, Operators, and Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Searching for Published Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Search Option for Rendered Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Example: Finding Assets By Using a Unique Identifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Performing a File-Based Workflow Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Searching for Migrated Workgroup 4 Archived Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Closing Extra Search Tabs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Showing One Representation for Each Asset Found. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Saving Your Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Viewing and Running a Saved Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Searching Across Remote Workgroups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Finding Other Clips from the Same Source Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Finding Shared Clips and Unshared Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Using Third-Party Search Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Installing Third-Party Search Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Configuring a Third-Party Plug-In for Remote Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Using a Third-Party Search Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Chapter 6 Logging Events With Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Understanding Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Adding Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Deleting Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Setting Locator Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Hiding Locator Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Moving to Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Exporting Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Working with Long Locator Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Chapter 7 Working with Shotlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Creating a Shotlist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Playing a Shotlist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Setting the Shotlist Start Timecode for Interplay | Access and Interplay | Assist . . . . . 207

Chapter 8 Working with File Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Workflow for File Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Icons and Indicators for File Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Getting the Latest Version of a File Asset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Changing the Get Latest Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Viewing File Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Checking Out File Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Opening a File for Editing in One Step. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Undoing a Checkout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Changing the Undo Check Out Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Checking Out a Newer Local File After Undo Check Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Checking In File Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Performing a Checkin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Checking In Files With Multiple Checkouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Working with Bundled File Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Updating the Database with Assets That Are Not Checked Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Using Final Cut Pro with Interplay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Checking in a Final Cut Pro Sequence to Interplay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Exporting an Avid Sequence to Final Cut Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Sharing a Final Cut Pro Project Between Final Cut Pro Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Working with QuickTime Reference Movies in an Interplay Environment. . . . . . . . . . . 237

Chapter 9 Deleting Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Protecting Assets from Deletion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Assigning User Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Freezing Folders and Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Setting Reservations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Deleting Avid Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Deleting Avid Assets and Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Deletion, Multiple Links, and Reservations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Using the Orphan Clips Folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Restricted Deletion of Referenced Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Deleting Orphan Clips Created by Resync. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Examples: Using Search with Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Safely Deleting Media When Working with Consolidated Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Deleting Offline File Locations for Avid Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Deleting File Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Using the Deleted Items Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Access Control and Delete Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Chapter 10 Communicating Using the Messenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Opening the Message Browser and Reading Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Writing New Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Deleting Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Replying to a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Forwarding a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Chapter 11 Version History and Archiving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Using Version History Features with Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Viewing the Version History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

History and Label Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Viewing a File Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Comparing Two Versions in the Version History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Comparing the Current Database File and the Local File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Configuring Differencing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Retrieving Older Versions Using Get Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Getting a Version of a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Getting a Version of a Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Undoing Checked In Changes Through Rollback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Rolling Back a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Rolling Back a Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Identifying Milestones and Significant Versions by Setting Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Assigning a Label to an Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Modifying or Removing a Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Archiving from Interplay | Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Chapter 12 Screenshots and Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Creating and Printing a Screenshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Creating and Printing a Print Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Exporting a Screenshot or Print Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Appendix A Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Appendix B Interplay | Access Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Interplay Access Menu (Macintosh Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Locators Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Operations Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

Tools Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Preferences Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Debug Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Help Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Appendix C System Metadata Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Appendix D Valid and Invalid Characters in Interplay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Symbols and Conventions

Using This Guide

Congratulations on your purchase of Interplay®| Production, a powerful system for managing media in a shared storage environment. This guide describes how to use Interplay | Access, an Interplay client application that provides access to the Interplay database.

This guide is intended for all Interplay end users who need to work with master clips, sequences, and other assets in an Avid ISIS can be performed only by users with administrative privileges.

Interplay Access is supported on both the Microsoft When necessary, the guide describes platform-specific differences.

The documentation describes the features and hardware of all models. Therefore, your system

might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation.

Limited number of client applications per user per machine: A user can run only one Interplay

Access session and one Interplay Administrator session on one machine. This software does not support terminal/server sessions.

™

workgroup environment. Some tasks described in this guide

Symbols and Conventions

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations, and strong suggestions.

A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to your computer or cause you to lose data.

Windows® and the Mac OS®X platforms.

> This symbol indicates menu commands (and subcommands) in the

A warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm. Follow the guidelines in this document or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.

order you select them. For example, File > Import means to open the File menu and then select the Import command.

This symbol indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

If You Need Help

(Windows), (Windows only), (Macintosh), or (Macintosh only)

Bold font Bold font is primarily used in task instructions to identify user interface

Italic font Italic font is used to emphasize certain words and to indicate variables.

Courier Bold font

Ctrl+key or mouse action Press and hold the first key while you press the last key or perform the

| (pipe character) The pipe character is used in some Avid product names, such as

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using your Avid product:

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

2. Check the latest information that might have become available after the documentation was published. You should always check online for the most up-to-date release notes or ReadMe because the online version is updated whenever new information becomes available. To view these online versions, select ReadMe from the Help menu, or visit the Knowledge Base at

www.avid.com/support.

This text indicates that the information applies only to the specified operating system, either Windows or Macintosh OS X.

items and keyboard sequences.

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

mouse action. For example, Command+Option+C or Ctrl+drag.

Interplay | Production. In this document, the pipe is used in product names when they are in headings or at their first use in text.

3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues.

4. Visit the online Knowledge Base at

www.avid.com/support. Online services are available 24

hours per day, 7 days per week. Search this online Knowledge Base to find answers, to view error messages, to access troubleshooting tips, to download updates, and to read or join online message-board discussions.

Viewing Help and Documentation on the Interplay Production Portal

You can quickly access the Interplay Production Help, links to the PDF versions of the Interplay Production guides, and other useful links by viewing the Interplay Production User Information Center on the Interplay Production Portal. The Interplay Production Portal is a Web site that runs on the Interplay Production Engine.

You can access the Interplay Production User Information Center through a browser from any system in the Interplay Production environment. You can also access it through the Help menu in Interplay | Access and the Interplay | Administrator.

The Interplay Production Help combines information from all Interplay Production guides in one Help system. It includes a combined index and a full-featured search. From the Interplay Production Portal, you can run the Help in a browser or download a compiled (.chm) version for use on other systems, such as a laptop.

To open the Interplay Production User Information Center through a browser:

1. Type the following line in a Web browser:

http://Interplay_Production_Engine_name

For Interplay_Production_Engine_name substitute the name of the computer running the Interplay Production Engine software. For example, the following line opens the portal Web page on a system named docwg:

http://docwg

2. Click the “Interplay Production User Information Center” link to access the Interplay Production User Information Center Web page.

To open the Interplay Production User Information Center from Interplay Access or the Interplay Administrator:

t Select Help > Documentation Website on Server.

Interplay Documentation

The following documents describe how to use Interplay Production:

• Interplay | Production Best Practices — provides an overview of the major Interplay components, shows sample configuration diagrams, and describes several of the key features, such as setting up a user database and using the Interplay Archive Engine.

• Interplay | Production Software Installation and Configuration Guide — describes how to use the Interplay Production installation programs to install and configure software on the various systems that make up a Interplay environment.

• Interplay | Engine Failover Guide — describes how to set up a cluster configuration for the Interplay Engine and the Interplay Archive engine. There are two versions of this guide: one for SR2500 systems and one for AS3000 systems.

• Interplay | Engine and Interplay | Archive Engine Administration Guide — describes how to administer your Interplay Engine or Interplay Archive Engine and Avid Interplay database.

• Interplay | Access User’s Guide — describes how to use Interplay Access to browse, search, and work with assets in the Avid Interplay database.

• Interplay | Assist User’s Guide — describes how to use Interplay Assist for logging, archiving, and sending to Playback material in an Interplay environment.

Interplay Documentation

• Avid Instinct User’s Guide — describes how to use the Avid Instinct application to write iNEWS stories and put together simple audio and video sequences.

• Interplay | Media Services Setup and User’s Guide — Interplay Media Services lets you control and automate Transcode, Archive, and other Interplay Media Services.

• Interplay | Transfer Setup and User’s Guide — describes how to use Interplay Transfer to transfer media to and from another workgroup, send finished sequences to a configured playback device, ingest media from a configured ingest device, and perform standalone transfers between workstations.

• Avid Service Framework User’s Guide — describes how to use the logging, monitoring, and management features of the Avid Service Framework applications.

• Interplay | Capture User’s Guide — describes how to use Interplay Capture, a newsroom ingest tool that enables automated recordings.

• Interplay | Capture Administrator’s Guide — describes administrative concepts, tasks, and reference material for Avid Interplay Capture.

All documents are available in PDF form on the Avid Knowledge Base at

www.avid.com/onlinesupport.

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.

For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and books, please visit 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843).

www.avid.com/support and follow the Training links, or call Avid Sales at

Avid Training Services

1 Getting Started with Interplay | Access

The following topics provide basic information to help you get started using Avid Interplay Access:

Interplay | Access Overview

•

• Supported Platforms

• Starting Interplay | Access

• Connecting to a Database

• Changing Your Password

• Removing a Database from the Tree Structure

• Interplay | Access Views

• Keyboard Shortcuts

• Context Menus

• Opening Interplay Help

• Logging Out and Exiting

• Configuring Interplay | Access Options

Interplay | Access Overview

The Interplay system is the world's leading production asset management system, with hundreds of system installations at the world’s leading broadcasters and content producers. Interplay Access is an Interplay client application that provides access to the Interplay database, as well as interaction with streaming media that is available in certain Interplay configurations.

Interplay Access is designed to run on any standard Windows or Mac OS X computer connected to the Interplay system through either a local-area network (LAN) or a wide-area network (WAN). WAN access requires a 1 megabit/second or higher connection through VPN security. Interplay Access does not require ISIS client software, a particular video card, or connection to Avid-certified network infrastructure.

Interplay | Access Overview

Producers and production staff can use Interplay Access to browse, view, log, and organize assets, such as master clips and sequences, graphic files, and other project-related files such as scripts or spreadsheets. For graphics files, sequences, and other files, Interplay Access provides a powerful version control system, and all data can be archived into libraries for storage or later use.

You can play Avid video and audio clips in the Interplay Access Monitor if the clips are associated with MPEG-4/H.263 or H.264 proxy video media, MPEG1 Layer 2 audio media, or both.

In Interplay v2.4, the Interplay Stream Server was re-engineered to directly play MPEG-4/H.263

and H.264 video media and MPEG1 Layer 2 audio media. There is no longer any need to use the Publishing service or Workflow Engine to create QuickTime reference movies for streaming play. Double-click a clip that uses supported proxy media and the clip plays in the Monitor.

You can also use Interplay Access to add locators and create subclips and shotlists. Locators are editable markers that you can add to clips, sequences, and shotlists in Access. These locators can be displayed in Avid editing applications, and locators that you add in Avid editing applications and check in to Interplay are displayed in Access. Shotlists are essentially Avid sequences. You can set In and Out marks on proxy-media clips, use them to create a shotlist, and then check the shotlist into the Interplay database for further review or playback.

Interplay Access provides search tools that let you to easily find shots, clips, sequences, or other elements defined for the project without knowing file names, and to quickly see the dependencies and relatives involved. You can also use Interplay to manage sequences and other Avid assets whose media is no longer online. You can then search for these assets, view information about them such as the source tape name, obtain the source footage, and recapture it. Interplay Access also provides an internal Messenger service that allows users to communicate in near-realtime with other Access users, and send messages that embed links to Interplay assets for easy reference.

For more information about Interplay concepts and components, see Interplay | Production Best

Practices Guide and the Interplay | Engine and Interplay | Archive Engine Administration Guide.

Interplay | Access Overview

Working with Assets

Assets are files that are stored as entries in an Interplay database. Assets include both the source files (for example, graphics files or Avid media files) and the information about the source files, known as metadata. The source files are usually stored on an Avid shared storage system, while the metadata is stored as a record in the database.

When you use Interplay Access or another Interplay application to work with assets, you are usually working with links to the original asset. You can have multiple links to the same asset, for example, by having the same link in two different folders. Multiple links affect the deletion process. For more information, see

Avid Assets and File Assets

“Deletion, Multiple Links, and Reservations” on page 260.

When you work with Interplay, it’s important to understand the differences between Avid assets and file assets. Avid assets are assets that are created by Avid applications through capture, ingest, import, or transfer. Avid assets include:

• Master clips

•Subclips

• Sequences

•Effects

• Motion effects

• Rendered effects

• Group clips

File assets are any assets that are not created by an Avid application. Any file you can create on

your workstation, through applications such as Adobe Photoshop

or Microsoft Word, can be

added to the Interplay database and managed by Interplay as a file asset.

Some differences are:

• File assets are added to the database through the Interplay Access Import feature. Avid assets are added to the database through an Avid editing application.

• By default, only one user can modify a file asset at one time, through the controlled check-in/check-out process. More than one user can modify an Avid asset at one time.

• Previous versions of file assets and Avid sequences are stored in the database, so you can review or revert back to an older version if necessary. For other Avid assets, the last version checked in becomes the only version stored in the database. For more information about the version control system, see

and Archiving” on page 291

“Working with File Assets” on page 208 and “Version History

Other differences are noted throughout this guide.

Supported Platforms

Using Folders

Folders provide structure to an Interplay database, and managing folders is an important function of Interplay Access. Folders can hold file assets, Avid assets, or both. The Interplay database includes a default set of top-level folders, but you can create new folders that match the requirements of your facility’s organization and workflow. The same folders are visible by other Interplay client applications, such as the Interplay Window and Interplay Assist. For more information, see

Finding Assets by Searching and Browsing

You can use Interplay Access to perform simple text-based or extended searches that can also search across remote workgroups. You typically base a search for assets on their associated attributes. For example, you can search for all assets that have the word “promo” in their names, all assets from a particular source tape, or all assets from a particular tape that have the word “promo” in their names.

After you have found assets that meet your search or browsing criteria, Interplay Access offers multiple views of your results, with metadata columns that resemble those in Avid bins, and provides detailed information about their attributes, including media relatives. For more information, see

“Adding and Organizing Assets” on page 62.

“Browsing the Database” on page 93.

Supported Platforms

Interplay Access is supported on both Windows and Mac OS X. For more specific information about supported platforms, see the Interplay | Production ReadMe.

On the Mac OSX platform, Interplay Access supports all operations relating to file assets and most operations relating to Avid assets, except the following:

• Resyncing the Interplay database with Avid shared-storage workspaces

Operations that involve Avid editing applications on a Macintosh system (for example, checking in and checking out) are supported in the Interplay environment for this release.

Specific notes regarding platform support are listed in and throughout this document.

“Interplay | Access Menus” on page 315

Starting Interplay | Access

How you log in depends on how the administrator has configured Interplay user authentication.

To start Interplay Access:

1. Do one of the following:

t Double-click the Interplay Access icon on your desktop.

t (Windows) Click Start and select Programs > Avid > Avid Interplay Access.

t (Macintosh) Click the icon and name in the Dock menu.

t If you are logged on to the Interplay Administrator, select File > Open Interplay Access.

The Interplay Logon dialog box opens.

Starting Interplay | Access

Primary database in the Folders pane

2. Select the server you want to work with by doing one of the following:

t Accept the server that is displayed (the last server connected).

t Click the arrow for the Server list and select the server name from the list.

The first part of the list shows recent servers, the second part of the list shows servers that were added manually (not on a local area network), and the third part shows servers available on your local area network

t Click the arrow for the Server list and select Add Server. Type a new server name or IP

address.

If the server you select does not currently have an active database, a message that states this information is displayed in the Database text box. An administrator might need to activate an existing database or create a new one.

3. Select the database that you want to work with.

Databases available on the selected server are displayed in the Database list. In most cases there will be only one database: AvidWG for an online database or AvidAM for an archive database.

After you log in, the database you select becomes the primary database.

4. Type your username and password, as supplied by the administrator.

The Interplay Access window opens, with the primary database displayed in the Folders pane.

For information about the Interplay Access window, see “Interplay | Access Views” on

Browse button

page 28

Setting the Default Working Folder

The first time you start Interplay Access, the Set Default Working Folder dialog box opens. This is the folder where local copies of file assets (but not Avid assets) are stored when you check them out for editing (see sometimes referred to as the local folder or the default working path.

You can change the working folder after you set it. You can also change the path for an individual folder. For more information, see

To set the default working folder:

“Working with File Assets” on page 208). The working folder is

Starting Interplay | Access

“Setting the Working Path for a Folder” on page 36.

1. Do one of the following:

t Keep the default:

(Windows) C:\Documents and Settings\username\WorkgroupWork

(Macintosh) /Users/username/WorkgroupWork

t Click the Browse (...) button to select another folder.

2. Click OK.

To change the default working folder:

1. Select (Windows) Preferences > Options or (Macintosh) Interplay Access > Preferences.

2. Click the General tab.

3. Type a new path or click the Browse button and navigate to a new folder.

4. Click OK.

Connecting to a Database

To work with Interplay Access, you must connect to an existing database on an Interplay workgroup. Each workgroup includes one of the following databases:

• AvidWG for online databases

• AvidAM for archive databases

An Interplay database always uses one of these names.

The primary database (the database that you logged into) is always listed in the tree structure in the Folders pane. An icon indicates whether or not you are connected to a database, as described in the following table.

Icon Meaning

(Green circle with check mark) Database you are connected to

(Red box with X) Database you are not connected to

Connecting to a Database

You can add other databases to the tree structure. The number of databases you can add is limited only by the license your company has acquired.

To connect to a database listed in the tree structure:

1. Select the database name.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click the triangle next to the database name in the Interplay Access.

t Select File > Logon.

t Double-click the database name.

t Select Logon from the context menu of the database.

The Logon dialog box opens.

Connecting to a Database

Connected databases

3. Type your username and password, as supplied by the administrator.

4. Click OK.

You are now connected to that database. The database is listed in the tree structure with a green circle and check mark.

To connect to a database not listed in the tree structure:

1. Select Databases in the tree structure.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select File > Connect to Database.

t Select Connect to Database from the context menu.

The Connect to Database dialog box opens.

3. Select the server and database you want to work with by doing one of the following:

t Accept the server that is displayed.

t Type the name of the server that you want to log in to. You can also use an IP address.

t Click the arrow for the Server list and select the server name from the list.

Connecting to a Database

t Click the arrow for the Server list and select Add Server. Type a new server name.

The database for the selected server is displayed in the Connect to Database dialog box. AvidWG is an online database and AvidAM is an archive database.

4. Select the name of the database you want to connect to.

5. Click OK.

The Logon dialog box opens.

6. Type the username and password for the database.

If necessary, contact the administrator for the correct username and password.

7. Click OK.

You are now connected to that database. The database is listed in the tree structure with a green circle and check mark.

Changing Your Password

If your account is configured for internal authentication, you can change your password.

If you use Windows, LDAP, or Avid shared-storage authentication methods to log on to Interplay,

this section does not apply.

To change the password for your username:

1. Select the database for which you want to change the password.

2. Select File > Change Password.

The Change Password dialog box opens.

3. Type your current password in the Current Password text box and your new password in the New password text box. Type the new password in the Verify text box.

4. Click OK.

Removing a Database from the Tree Structure

Removing a database from the tree structure does not delete or destroy the database. It only removes the database from your view.

To remove a database from the tree structure:

1. Click the database name.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select File > Remove Database(s).

t Select the database and select Remove Database(s) from the context menu.

Interplay | Access Views

After you log in, the Interplay Access window opens and displays the view that was saved when the last time you logged out. The Interplay Access window displays one of three views:

For information about these views, see

•Browsing view

• Logging view

• Shotlist view

For information about these views, see

“Working with Views” on page 38.

The following illustration shows the default Browsing view.

Keyboard Shortcuts

For some actions in Interplay Access, you can use keyboard shortcuts. How you type shortcuts depends on your platform.

The following table shows which key you must press in combination with the shortcut key on each platform.

Platform Shortcut Key

Windows Ctrl

Mac OS X Command (Apple)

For example, to display the search panel, do one of the following:

• (Windows) Press Ctrl+F.

• (Macintosh) Press Command+F.

Keyboard shortcuts are displayed in the menus and provided throughout this guide. For shortcuts you can use to play and edit media, see “Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 312 and shortcuts, see

Context Menus

For some actions in Interplay Access, you can use a context menu. How you open the context menu depends on your platform. The following table shows the appropriate key and mouse button combination on each platform:

Platform

Windows Right-click

Mac OS X Ctrl+click or right-click

Context Menus

. For menu commands

“Interplay | Access Menus” on page 315.

Button Combinations

Context menu commands are provided throughout this guide.

Opening Interplay Help

The Interplay Help system is installed when you install the Interplay Engine. The Interplay Help system provides all user and administrator information that is contained in the Interplay manuals. The Interplay Access Help menu provides five entry points: one for the Welcome screen and four that correspond to four Interplay applications:

• Interplay Access Help

• Interplay Administration Help

• Interplay Media Services Help

• Interplay Transfer Help

You can access the entire Help system from any of those entry points by clicking the Show Navigation button.

To access Interplay Help:

t Select Help, and then select the desired entry point.

t Select Documentation Website on Server.

The Avid Interplay User Information Center page opens. You can open the Help, PDF versions of the Interplay user guides, and other useful links. See “Viewing Help and

Documentation on the Interplay Production Portal” on page 15

Logging Out and Exiting

When you are finished using Interplay | Access, you can log out of a database or exit the application. Exiting the application logs you out automatically.

To log out, click the database and do one of the following:

t Select File > Logout from Database.

t Select Logout from Database from the context menu.

To exit and close the application:

t Select File > Exit

The state of the tree structure is saved when you log out and is restored the next time you log in to Interplay Access on the same machine.

Logging Out and Exiting

Configuring Interplay | Access Options

The following topics describe various options you can configure in Interplay Access:

“Configuring Interplay Access Globally (Administrators Only)” on page 31

•

• “Displaying the Full Menus” on page 32

• “Showing All Hidden Dialog Boxes” on page 32

• “Changing Font Settings” on page 32

• “Configuring Asset Types, Commands, and Applications” on page 33

• “Setting the Working Path for a Folder” on page 36

Configuring Interplay Access Globally (Administrators Only)

Users with administrator rights have the power to control what the Interplay Access user sees. Administrators can set the access rights for folders, create categories, specify the property layout, and control transfer presets.

This type of configuration is described in detail in the Avid Interplay Engine and Avid Archive Engine Administration Guide. Additional information about user rights management along with

examples is provided in Avid Interplay Best Practices. Also refer to “Access Control and Delete

Matrices” on page 281

Displaying the Full Menus

By default, Interplay Access displays menus that include the most commonly used tasks. You can select the Full Menus setting to display all menus and commands.

The Operations menu is displayed only when you select Full Menus.

To display the all menus and commands or to display only basic menus and commands:

t Select Preferences > Full Menus.

A check mark means all menus and commands are displayed. If a check mark is displayed, click the check box to return to basic menus and commands.

Showing All Hidden Dialog Boxes

Some dialog boxes ask you if you want the dialog box displayed every time you perform an action. If you select “No,” that dialog box becomes hidden. You can return all dialog boxes to the default state of “shown.”

Configuring Interplay | Access Options

To show all dialogs that have been set to be hidden:

1. Select (Windows) Preferences > Options or (Macintosh) Interplay Access > Preferences.

2. Click the Operations tab.

3. Click the Reset Dialogs button.

4. Click OK.

Information about other options in this tab is provided in “Working with File Assets” on

page 208.

Changing Font Settings

To change the font settings:

1. Select (Windows) Preferences > Options or (Macintosh) Interplay Access > Preferences.

2. Click the View Settings tab.

3. Select a number from the Base Font Size list.

4. (Option) Click Revert to defaults to return the base fonts to the standard size (12).

5. Click OK.

Configuring Interplay | Access Options

The fonts are resized after you restart Interplay Access.

Information about the other option in the View Settings tab is provided in “Using Extended View

Mode” on page 126.

Configuring Asset Types, Commands, and Applications

For file assets, you can select the application that is used for viewing the file assets, editing the file assets, and showing differences between file assets. For example, you can specify the graphic application you want to use to view and edit particular types of graphics files.

If you do not set a specific application for an asset, Interplay Access uses the same application that is used by the operating system. For example, on a Windows system, if you have set all .bmp files to open in Paint, Interplay Access also opens a .bmp file in Paint.

You configure commands for asset types in the Asset Types tab of the Options dialog box. Asset types are listed in the top table and commands are listed in the bottom table. Each asset type has a default set of commands. In most cases, keep the default set of commands and do not add commands.

Do not add commands or change settings for Avid assets.

The following table describes the basic commands that you can configure for each asset type. The settings (or command handlers) vary according to command. The Edit Command dialog box provides descriptions and examples for all commands and command handlers, according to your operating system (Windows or Mac OS X).

Application Settings for Commands

Setting (Command

Command

Preview Internal Media Player Displays the headframe of an asset in the

Handler) Description

Interplay Access Monitor. This command (single-click) loads a video or audio asset, and the View command (double-click) plays the asset.

Internal Text Viewer Displays a text file in the internal text

viewer.

Node Viewer Displays the default icon or image for the

selected node in the Interplay Access Monitor. This setting is used for assets that are not video or audio assets.

Configuring Interplay | Access Options

Application Settings for Commands (Continued)

Setting (Command

Command

Handler) Description

View Start in Internal Media

Player

Plays an asset in the Interplay Access Monitor. This command (double-click) plays a video or audio asset, and the Preview command (single-click) loads the asset.

Internal Text Viewer Displays a text file in the internal text

viewer as a separate window.

External Application Plays a video or audio asset or opens any

other asset in an external application.

Edit External application Opens an asset in an external application for

editing.

Difference Internal Image Difference Displays two assets side-by-side in the

Interplay image difference component. See

“Configuring Differencing” on page 295

External Application Displays two assets in an external

application. See

on page 295

“Configuring Differencing”

Merge External Application Uses an external application for merging.

“Checking In Files With Multiple

See

Checkouts” on page 221

Explore External Application Opens the location with an external

application used as a file browser.

Configuring Interplay | Access Options

To configure asset types, commands, and applications:

1. Select (Windows) Preferences > Options or (Macintosh) Interplay Access > Preferences.

2. Click the Asset Types tab.

3. (Option) To add a file extensions for an asset type, click the File Extensions field in the Asset Types table. For multiple file extensions, type the extensions separated by commas.

4. (Option) To configure the behavior for an asset type, first select the asset type to set commands for in the Asset Type table. Then click New/Edit.

The Edit Command dialog box opens.

Configuring Interplay | Access Options

5. Select the command and command handler.

If an external application is used for a command, type the path to the application in the adjacent field or use the Browse button with the folder symbol to browse to an application.

For advanced usage, the External Application command allows entering of a full command line with an arbitrary number of parameters which must be escaped by quotes. The number of parameters is one for viewing and editing, and two for differencing and merging, for example, Difference - External Application - "/usr/bin/opendiff" "{0}” "{1}."

6. Click OK in the Edit Command dialog box.

7. Click OK in the Options dialog box.

Setting the Working Path for a Folder

When setting up a database, the administrator specifies the working path, or local folder (see

“Setting the Default Working Folder” on page 24). This dictates where local copies of file assets

are stored on each client. You might want to change the working path of an individual folder in some cases, such as when the current location is running out of disk space.

Changing the working path for a folder is recommended only for advanced users and only under

special circumstances. When changing working paths, remember that a tree structure on the hard disk that matches the database is very helpful for users as well as administrators.

Configuring Interplay | Access Options

To change the working path of a folder:

1. Select a database folder.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click Operations > Advanced and Set Working Path.

t Select Advanced > Set Working Path from the context menu.

The Set Working Path dialog box opens and you are asked to specify the new location.

3. Do one of the following:

t Select “Inherit from parent folder” to reset the working path to the preset default.

t Select “Set the working path to” and type the new path, or click the Browse button and

browse through the hard disk to a new location.

4. Click OK.

If you plan to use any of the Interplay Integrations, such as the Photoshop or Microsoft Office plug-ins, do not set the working path for more than one Interplay folder to the same local path, even if the Interplay folders are in different databases. The integrations do not function correctly with files that are saved in this local path. Furthermore, Avid suggests that you do not set the working path for an Interplay folder below a location that is already managed (that is, where one of its parents is already the working path for an Interplay folder).

2 Working with Views

Interplay Access provides you with three different views:

•Browsing View

• Logging View

• Shotlist View

The following topics describe these views, additional panes you can display, and related tasks:

Browsing View

•

• Logging View

• Shotlist View

• Changing Views

• Viewing and Playing Assets

• Creating Subclips

• Displaying Additional Panes

• Resizing Panes

• Displaying the Full-Screen Monitor

• Opening an Avid Asset in Interplay | Assist

Browsing View

Use Browsing view when you want to search, display, and view assets from one or more databases. You also use Browsing view to add and edit metadata by using the Object Inspector. The Object Inspector is not displayed by default, but you can add it to the view by selecting View > Show Object Inspector Pane.

Browsing View

Browsing View has three main sections:

• The Monitor, which displays headframes of assets and lets you play video

• The Folders pane, which displays the folder structure of any databases to which you are connected.

• The Assets pane, which displays the assets for a selected folder in one tab, and search criteria and results in another tab.

These three panes are included in all views.

The following illustration shows these three panes. In this illustration, the Monitor displays the headframe of an asset selected in a folder named “Ice Island Part 1.”

Browsing View

The following illustration shows the Browsing view with the search tab displayed in the Assets pane.

You can add other panes to this view (see “Displaying Additional Panes” on page 59

Logging View

Use Logging view when you want to add locators to a clip or view existing locators.

Logging view includes the three panes that are displayed in Browsing view:

• The Monitor

• The Folders pane

• The Assets pane

It contains an additional pane:

• The Logging pane, which displays locators for the selected clip or shotlist.

The following illustration shows these four panes. The Logging pane displays the locators for the selected asset.

Logging View

You can add other panes to this view (see

“Displaying Additional Panes” on page 59).

Shotlist View

Use Shotlist view to create shotlists.

Shotlist view includes the three panes that are displayed in Browsing view:

• The Monitor

• The Folders pane

• The Assets pane

It contains an additional pane:

• The Shotlist pane, which displays the currently loaded shotlist.

The following illustration shows the two clips for a new shotlist in the Shotlist pane. The second clip includes locators.

Shotlist View

You can add other panes to this view (see

“Displaying Additional Panes” on page 59).

Changing Views

Browsing view

Logging view

Shotlist view

To change views, do one of the following:

t Click the button for the view you want to see. The buttons are located on the right side of the

toolbar.

t Select or type the command for the view you want to see.

-View > Browsing

- View > Logging

- View > Shotlist

t Press the keyboard shortcut for the view you want to see:

- For Browsing, press Ctrl+1 (Windows) or Command+1 (Macintosh)

Changing Views

- For Logging, press Ctrl+2 (Windows) or Command+2 (Macintosh)

- For Shotlist, press Ctrl+3 (Windows) or Command+3 (Macintosh)

Interplay Access maintains a separate layout for each view, so each view remains the same when you switch from one view to another, or when you log out and log back in.

Viewing and Playing Assets

You can view and play assets in the Monitor in any of the three views (Browsing, Logging, and Shotlist). The Monitor shows a headframe or icon for the asset, depending on the type of asset you are viewing.

You can play Avid video and audio clips in the Interplay Access Monitor if the clips are associated with MPEG-4/H.263 or H.264 video media, MPEG1 Layer 2 audio media, or both.

In Interplay v2.4, the Interplay Stream Server was re-engineered to directly play MPEG-4/H.263

and H.264 video media and MPEG1 Layer 2 audio media. There is no longer any need to use the Publishing service or Workflow Engine to create QuickTime reference movies for streaming play. Double-click a clip that uses proxy media supported for streaming and the clip plays in the Monitor.

Viewing and Playing Assets

All checked-in Avid video assets display a headframe in the Monitor, but you can play only clips

associated with proxy media supported for streaming.

You can play video file assets (for example, QuickTime movies) or audio file assets (for example WAV or AIFF files) in the Monitor. However, you must install QuickTime version 7 or later to play these file assets in the Monitor. Interplay Access supports any video or audio formats supported by QuickTime.

To play streaming media, the computer on which you are running Interplay Access must have an audio device, such as an audio card or other audio hardware.

Interplay v2.7 and later supports both H.264 800 Kbps and H.264 2 Mbps media. If a clip has

both 800 Kbps and 2Mbps proxies, Access plays the 800 Kbps version.

To load an asset in the Monitor:

t Click an asset that is displayed in the Assets pane (in either the Content tab or the Search

tab).

Assets can be displayed by opening a folder in the Content tab or by running a search in the Search tab.

To play an Avid asset that is associated with proxy media supported for streaming, do one of the following:

t Double-click the asset.

t Click the asset to load it in the Monitor. then click the Play button or press the space bar.

To stop or pause playback, click the Play button or press the space bar again.

To play a video or audio file asset, do one of the following:

t Double-click the asset.

The asset opens in both the Monitor and the external application that is configured for the asset (for example, the QuickTime player for QuickTime movies). You can use either the Monitor or the external player for playback.

t Click the asset to load it in the Monitor, then click the Play button or press the space bar.

To stop or pause playback, click the Play button or press the space bar again.

For information about the transport controls, see keyboard shortcuts, see

Files of the following formats do not play correctly in the Interplay Access monitor: m3u, asf,

avi, and wmv.

“Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 312.

“Monitor Controls” on page 48. For additional

Adjusting the Aspect Ratio and Size of the Monitor

Sizing control

Interplay Access supports streaming media in 4:3, 16:9, and other aspect ratios. You can specify a default aspect ratio, and you can change the aspect ratio on-the-fly for streaming media that you play in the Monitor.

You can also adjust the dimensions of the Monitor to your preference.

To set the default aspect ratio:

1. Select (Windows) Preferences > Options or (Macintosh) Interplay Access > Preferences.

2. Click the View Settings tab.

3. In the Monitor Aspect Ratio area, select the aspect ratio you want to use as the default. The installed default setting is Automatic, which automatically adjusts the aspect ratio of the Monitor to the aspect ratio of the selected clip.

4. Click OK.

To change the aspect ratio for media in the Monitor:

t Right-click in the Monitor, select Aspect Ratio, and select the aspect ratio you want to

switch to.

Viewing and Playing Assets

The aspect ratio changes immediately. You can also change the aspect ratio while the clip is playing. The next clip you load will use the default aspect ratio again.

To change the dimensions of the Monitor:

1. Load a clip or image.

2. Do one of the following to change the dimensions of the Monitor:

t Drag the left or bottom border.

t Drag the sizing control in the lower right of the Monitor.

Showing and Hiding the Monitor

By default the Monitor is displayed in Browsing view, Logging view, and Shotlist view. If you do not need to use the Monitor, you can hide it and use the extra space to expand other panes in the Interplay Access window, such as the Folders pane.

Note the following:

• When you start Interplay Access, it uses the most recent setting. For example, if you hide the Monitor and close Access, the Monitor will be hidden the next time you open Access.

• If the Monitor is not displayed, and you select (single-click) an asset, data needed to play back the video is not loaded and locators are not shown in the Logging pane. If you then show the Monitor, you need to select or double-click the asset again to load the video resources and the locators.

• The Monitor is automatically displayed if you select View > Full-Screen Monitor. If you go back to normal view, the Monitor remains displayed.

• The Monitor is automatically displayed if you double-click a playable asset or if you start playback in the Shotlist pane.

To show or hide the Monitor:

t Select View > Show Monitor Pane.

Viewing and Playing Assets

A check mark means the Monitor is displayed. To hide the Monitor, select the menu command so that a check mark is not displayed. To show the Monitor again, select the menu command again.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+F5 (Windows) or Shift+Command+F5 (Macintosh).

Displaying the Full-Screen Monitor

You can enlarge the Monitor so that it fills the current Interplay Access window. You can enlarge the window to fill your computer monitor screen.

Enlarging the Monitor can result in a less sharp, more blocky display.

To display the full-screen Monitor or return to a view, do one of the following:

t Select View > Full-Screen Monitor.

A check mark means the full-screen Monitor is displayed. If a check mark is displayed, click the check box to return to a view.

t Press Ctrl+4.

t Double-click the Monitor title bar.

Playing Clips During Ingest

Overlay indicating new duration and In and Out duration

Orange area indicating clip is being ingested

Partial clip icon and orange triangle indicating a clip being intested.

You can load and play a clip while it is being ingested (recorded) if the clip is associated with MPEG-4/H.263 or H.264 proxy video media, MPEG1 Layer 2 audio media, or both. A clip that is being ingested is indicated by a partial clip icon and an orange triangle on the clip’s thumbnail in the Interplay Access Assets pane and in the Monitor title bar. (Playable clips are indicated by a green triangle.) When you load the clip, the portion of the clip currently ingested is displayed in the timeline and the end of the timeline is colored orange.

As more material becomes available, the monitor is automatically updated. Periodically an overlay displays the new duration and the timeline expands to include the new material.

When the ingest is completed, the end of the timeline returns to gray, the orange triangle changes to green, and the partial clip icon is replaced by a clip icon.

Viewing and Playing Assets

Playing Back Offline Segments of Published Clips

The Monitor can play clips whose proxy (streamable) media is shorter than the clip length. This could occur in a dual-ingest workflow if the high-resolution media is longer than the low-resolution media. Parts of the clip that do not have proxy media on the server are marked in red on the timeline. If you play these parts of the clip, the text “Proxy Media Offline” is displayed in the Monitor. You can view and set locators in the offline areas, and include the offline areas in subclips.

Monitor Controls

The Monitor includes the following:

• In the title bar, an icon for the asset, the name of the asset, and the timecode of the selected frame.

• A timeline that includes a position indicator and any locator indicators included in the clip.

• Transport controls, mark clip controls, and buttons for logging, editing, and adjusting audio.

Monitor controls are active only when the currently loaded asset is playable. Some controls are active only when you can use them with the currently loaded asset. If you load an unplayable clip, all controls are grayed out. Playable clips are associated with MPEG-4/H.263 or H.264 proxy video media, MPEG1 Layer 2 audio media, or both.

The following illustration and table describe the Monitor controls.

Asset icon

Timecode display

Duration

Position bar

Transport controls Mark clip controls

Add Locator button

Audio Level button

Audio Mix button

Create Subclip button

Add to Shotlist button

Mark In

Position indicator

Clip name

Mark Out

Sizing control

Monitor Controls

Interplay Access Video Monitor Controls

Control Description

Asset icon An icon for the type of asset that is displayed in the Monitor. The following icons are

used most often:

Master clip

Sequence or shotlist

Subclip

Clip name The name of the asset that is displayed in the Monitor.

Timecode display The hour, minute, second, and frame number of the current frame.

Monitor Controls

Interplay Access Video Monitor Controls (Continued)

Control Description

Duration Displays the length (hours:minutes:seconds) of the material between the In and Out

points.

Position bar Displays a graphical representation of the clip or sequence length and contains the

position indicator. You can move the position indicator to a specific point in a clip or drag it to scrub through a clip.

Mark In, Mark Out Indicates the In point and Out point. You can drag the handles to set an In point or

Out point.

Position indicator Determines the image that is displayed in the Monitor.

Transport controls Allows you to step or move through a clip or a sequence. Controls include:

• Step Backward 1 frame

• Step Forward 1 frame

• Fast Backward 300 frames

• Fast Forward 300 frames

• Play from In to Out

•Play

Mark Clip controls Allow you to mark In and Out points and move to those points.

Add Locator button Adds a locator.

Audio Level button Opens controls that let you adjust the volume of all audio in a clip, or to mute all

audio in a clip.For more information, see “Monitoring Audio” on page 53

Audio Mix button Opens controls that let you enable or disable audio tracks, and to adjust the pan and

volume for each track of a clip. For more information, see

page 53

Sizing control Drag this control to change the size of monitor. See

Size of the Monitor” on page 45

“Monitoring Audio” on

“Adjusting the Aspect Ratio and

Add to Shotlist button Adds to a shotlist the region of the clip marked by In and Out points.

Create Subclip button Creates a subclip from the region of the clip marked by In and Out points. This

button is grayed out until you specify an In or Out point other than the default first and last frames.

Navigating by Timecode

In Interplay Access v2.4, you can cue a loaded clip or sequence to a specific frame by typing a timecode value. (The clip or sequence needs to be playable in the Monitor). You can also cue backward or forward from the current location in the clip or sequence by a specified number of hours, minutes, seconds, or frames by using positive or negative frame-offset values.

To cue to a frame based on a known timecode:

1. Using the standard number keys or the numeric keypad, type the timecode for the frame you want to display. If you are using a numeric keypad, make sure the Num Lock key is on.

When you begin typing, the timecode overlay is displayed in the middle of the Monitor and shows the current timecode. To find a timecode that starts at the same hour, minute, or second as the current timecode, type only the last digits. For example, if the current timecode is 22;31;25;27 and you type 3000, the system finds the frame at 22;31;30:00.

Navigating by Timecode

To clear the overlay without cueing, press the Esc key.

2. Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh).

The frame that corresponds to the timecode you typed is displayed in the Monitor.

If you type a timecode that is earlier than the beginning of a clip or sequence, the first frame of the clip or sequence is displayed. If you type a timecode that is later than the end of the clip or sequence, the last frame of the clip or sequence is displayed.

Navigating by Timecode

To cue to a frame based on a frame-offset value:

1. Using the standard number keys or the numeric keypad, type a plus sign (+) to move forward or a minus sign (-) to move backward. If you are using a numeric keypad, make sure the Num Lock key is on.

The timecode overlay is displayed in the middle of the Monitor.

To clear the overlay without cueing, press the Esc key.

2. Type the number of hours, minutes, seconds, or frames you want the position indicator to move.

Use the following formats:

- Type 1 through 99 to specify a number of frames forward or backward. For example,

type –42 to move backward 42 frames.

- Type 100 or greater to move forward or backward a specified number of hours, minutes,

seconds, and frames. For example, type +500 to move forward five seconds.

3. Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh).

The frame that corresponds to the offset you typed is displayed in the Monitor.

If you type a number that is beyond the limit of the clip or sequence, the first or last frame of the clip or sequence is displayed.

You can click the timecode display above the monitor to display the timecode overlay. The

display uses the format of your last action. If you typed a timecode, the current timecode is displayed. If you typed a plus frame-offset value, a plus frame-offset value of 00:00:00:00 is displayed.

Interplay Access automatically uses drop or non-drop frame timecode, depending on the

Audio Level button

Audio Level slider

Mute button

Audio Mixer button

Enable/Disable Track buttons

Pan controls

Volume sliders

timecode format of the clip or sequence.

Monitoring Audio

The Monitor controls include two controls for audio:

• Audio Level control. Use this control to adjust the volume of all audio in a clip, or to mute all audio in a clip.

• Audio Mixer controls. Use these controls to enable or disable audio tracks, and to adjust the pan and volume for each track of a clip.

Monitoring Audio

These audio controls apply only when you are playing a clip in the Monitor. They are not saved with a clip in the Interplay database.

An administrator can specify default settings for the Audio Mixer feature for a database in the Application Database Settings in the Interplay Administrator. Individual users can use these defaults or set their own defaults as a preference in Interplay Access. You can override these defaults for a loaded clip, but the defaults will apply to the next clip you load.

Interplay Access can play up to 16 tracks of audio (16 mono tracks, 8 stereo tracks, or a combination that totals 16 tracks).

Monitoring Audio

To set audio mixer defaults in Interplay Access:

1. Select (Windows) Preferences > Options or (Macintosh) Interplay Access > Preferences and click the Audio Settings tab.

2. Select whether you want to use global audio mixing defaults (as set in the Interplay Administrator) or local audio mixing defaults.

If you select “Use local audio mixing defaults” the controls become active. The default setting is all tracks enabled and left-right alternating pan.

3. Click a track button to disable (mute) or enable a track. Enabled tracks have a green icon.

4. For each track, select Left, Center, or Right to assign the track to an output channel (pan setting).

5. Click OK to save your settings as the default.

To adjust volume for all audio or to mute all audio:

1. Click the Audio Level button.

2. To increase the volume, drag the slider up. To decrease the volume, drag the slider down.

Marking and Cueing Footage

Mute buttons showing audio muted

3. To mute the audio, click one of the Mute buttons, so that a red x is displayed.

A red x is also displayed on the Audio Level button. To enable audio, click one of the Mute buttons again.

To adjust the audio mix:

1. Click the Audio Mixer button.

2. To enable or disable a track, click the Enable/Disable Track button. A green button indicates an enabled track, and a gray button indicates a disabled track.

3. To adjust the pan for a track, click the left speaker, the center mark, or the right speaker. A green icon indicates the selected pan.

4. To increase the volume, drag a slider to the right. To decrease the volume, drag the slider to the left.

Marking and Cueing Footage

You can mark clips with In and Out points and cue the footage. See the following topics:

“Marking In and Out Points” on page 55

•

• “Cueing the Footage” on page 56

Marking In and Out Points

You can mark In and Out points for your source clips, and then use the edited clips to build a shotlist or to create subclips. You cannot mark In and Out points on clips in a shotlist; you must mark them on source clips.

By default, an In point is set at the first frame of a clip and an Out point is set at the last frame of a clip.

The In point frame and the Out point frame are included when you drag the clip into a shotlist or create a subclip from the clip.

Marking and Cueing Footage

If you do not have write permissions for an asset, you can set In and Out marks to create a

subclip or shotlist, but they are temporarily set and are not saved in the database. You need to save the subclip or shotlist in a folder for which you have write permissions.

To mark In points and Out points:

1. Load a source clip into the Monitor.

2. Play or scrub through the material.

3. When you find the appropriate frame, mark an In point by doing one of the following:

t Click the Mark In button under the Monitor.

t Press Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows) or Option+Command+I (Macintosh).

Both the In point and the Out point are placed on the frame. If the clip is playing, marking an In point does not stop playback.

4. Continue playing or scrubbing through the video clip.

5. Mark an Out point by doing one of the following:

t Click the Mark Out button under the Monitor.

t Press Ctrl+Shift+O (Windows) or Option+Command+O (Macintosh)

If the clip is playing, marking an Out point does not stop playback.

6. (Option) Reposition the In point or Out point by dragging it to the desired frame. The position indicator moves with the In point or Out point, and displays the appropriate frame in the monitor.

To clear an In point or an Out point, do the following:

t Use the preceding procedure to set the In point to the beginning of the clip or the Out point

to the end of the clip.

Cueing the Footage

You can cue the footage in the Monitor to the marked edit points by using the Go to In and Go to Out buttons. This allows you to move quickly to the In point and the Out point. You can use the Play In to Out button to play the clip from the marked In point to the Out point.

To cue footage to an In point or an Out point:

1. Load a clip into the Monitor.

2. Set an In point or an Out point. For information on marking video clips, see

Out Points” on page 55

“Marking In and

Creating Subclips

Go to In button

Go to Out button

3. Do one of the following:

t Click the Go to In button or press Ctrl+Shift+Q (Windows) or Option+Command+Q

(Macintosh).

t Click the Go to Out button or press Ctrl+Shift+W (Windows) or Option+Command+W

(Macintosh).

To play footage from an In point to an Out point:

1. Load a clip into the Monitor and set the In and Out points.

2. Click the Play from In to Out button or press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) or Option+Command+P (Macintosh).

To stop playing footage:

t Click the Play In to Out button or the Play button.

Creating Subclips

You can create subclips from a master clip that is associated with proxy media supported for streaming (MPEG-4/H.263 or H.264 proxy video media and MPEG1 Layer 2 audio media). You can create subclips to break a long master clip into more manageable pieces. A subclip creates a new asset, but it also contains metadata that associates it with the original master clip.

Interplay Access allows you to save different subclips with the same name. It does not warn you that a previous subclip exists with that name, and it does not overwrite the previous subclip. Make sure the name you type is unique unless you want two different subclips that have the same name.

To create a subclip:

1. Load a master clip associated with media supported for streaming in a monitor and mark In and Out points.

2. Do one of the following:

Create subclip button

t Click the Create Subclip button.

t Press Ctrl+Shift+S (Windows) or Option+Command+S (Macintosh)

The Select Location dialog box opens.

Creating Subclips

3. Select a folder and click OK.

The Subclip name dialog box opens.

4. Type a name for the subclip and click OK.

The subclip is saved and checked into the Interplay database.

Displaying Additional Panes

There are four additional panes you can display in a view:

• Shortcuts pane, which displays files and folders that you selected for quick access.

• Categories pane, which displays groups of assets assigned to categories that were created in the Interplay Administrator.

• Saved Searches pane (available in Browsing view only), which displays the name of a set of search criteria that you saved.

• Object Inspector pane (available in Browsing view only), which displays information about any asset that you select.

Interplay Access maintains a separate layout for each view, so any panes that you display in a view remain in a view when you switch from one view to another, or when you log out and log back in.

To add or remove an additional pane:

Displaying Additional Panes

t Click the View menu and select the name of the pane you want to add or remove.

A check mark means the pane is displayed. If a check mark is displayed, click the check box to remove the pane from the display. The following illustration shows the Shortcuts pane selected for display.

Resizing Panes

Double-headed arrow for resizing panes

You can resize panes in a view by dragging the vertical border between the panes. In addition, you can change the size of the Monitor by using a sizing control (see

and Size of the Monitor” on page 45

To resize panes in a view:

t Move the mouse to the border of a pane until you see a double-headed arrow. Then click the

border and drag it to the size you want.

Resizing Panes

“Adjusting the Aspect Ratio

Opening an Avid Asset in Interplay | Assist

If Interplay Assist and Interplay Access are installed on the same computer, you can open and play an Avid asset (such as a clip, subclip, or sequence) in Interplay Assist. This could be useful if you want to view a clip that is not associated with proxy media supported for streaming, or the high-resolution version of a clip associated with proxy media.

To open an Avid asset in Interplay Assist, do one of the following:

t In the Content tab, select an Avid asset and then select Tools > Open in Interplay Assist.

t In the Content tab, right-click an Avid asset and Open in Interplay Assist.

t In Extended View mode, select an Avid asset and then select Open in Interplay Assist from

the Actions menu.

Interplay Assist opens (if it is not already open) with the selected Avid asset loaded in the Video monitor.

3 Adding and Organizing Assets

The following topics explain how to add assets to the Interplay database and how to organize assets so that users can easily locate and access them:

Interplay Database Default Folders

•

• Creating New Folders

• Using the Unchecked-In Avid Assets Folder

• Adding Assets to the Interplay Database

• Importing Files or Folders

• Resyncing Media Files with Avid Shared-Storage Workspaces (Administrators Only)

• Moving Assets into Folders

• Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Assets

• Duplicating Avid Assets

• Organizing Assets Using Categories

• Using Shortcuts for Browsing

• Renaming an Asset

• Changing Text Color (Administrators Only)

• Using Interplay | Access with an Avid Editing Application

• Transferring Avid Assets to Another Workgroup

• Copying Assets and Media to Another Workgroup

• Moving Media to Another Workspace

Interplay Database Default Folders

The Interplay database structure usually has a default set of folders, depending on how the administrator set up the database and what operations and transfers are typically necessary. These folders have names appropriate for the type of work you are doing. They can be configured to send the folder content to playback devices, to another workgroup, to archive, or to another folder. A database that is set up well can make your workflow more efficient.

Interplay Database Default Folders

Database name

Default folders

Database name

Default folders

The Interplay Engine and the Interplay Archive Engine have different default folders, as shown in the following illustrations. The folder icons are also different.

If the database has been set up using the default Interplay structure, you cannot delete or move the top-level folders, and you cannot add other top level folders or assets unless an administrator changes this setting. For more information, see “Freezing Folders and Content” on page 248

The following table describes the folders created in the default database structure:

Folders in the Default Database Structure

Folder Possible Uses

Catalogs (Interplay Engine only)

Incoming Media Incoming Media folders hold transferred and ingested materials,

You can use catalogs for any purpose. For example, you can create folders for media belonging to specified groups, such as “Presidential visit” or “Hurricane damage.”

organized by Avid shared-storage workspace names. The system automatically creates folders in the Incoming Media folder that match the names of the workspaces that you use for workgroup transfers and ingests from AirSpeed

. The system does not create the workspace folder until you perform the first transfer or ingest to that workspace. You can then move assets from the Incoming Media folder to another folder.

Interplay Database Default Folders

Folders in the Default Database Structure (Continued)

Folder Possible Uses

Orphan clips If an Avid asset is deleted from a folder (metadata only), and there are

no more references to that asset from any other folder, the last reference is moved to this holding area until the asset and media are deleted. By default, only administrators can view this folder. For more information, see “Using the Orphan Clips Folder” on page 261

Projects (Interplay Engine only)

Sent to Playback (Interplay Engine only)

Unchecked-in Avid Assets (Interplay Engine only)

Project folders are used to structure and collect media that composes a unit of work, for example, an episode in a series or an hourly news show. The system does not automatically create folders within the Projects folder. You can create the folders within Interplay Access and then use them to organize your projects in the Avid editing applications.

You can create a folder and associate it with a playback device. When you are performing a send to playback, the folder fills with clips of the media that was successfully transferred to the playback device. For configuration information on associating a playback device with a folder, see “Configuring an Ingest Device Catalog” in the Interplay | Transfer Setup and User’s Guide.

This folder holds assets that were created on shared storage but are not yet checked in to the Interplay database. For example, if you capture to a bin in an Avid editing application and your target drive is a shared storage workspace, the system automatically creates a folder with your username in the Unchecked-in Avid Assets folder. Interplay creates assets for the clips you capture and places the assets in this folder. If you then drag the clip from the bin to a different folder in the Interplay Window (check in the clip), the system moves the asset to the specified folder.

You can view your own assets in the Unchecked-in Avid Assets folder but only an administrator can see all of the assets in the folder. For more information, see

page 71

“Using the Unchecked-In Avid Assets Folder” on

Deleted Items This folder holds items that are pending deletion. Logged-on users see

only items they deleted. Administrators see all deleted items. The folder is created the first time you delete an asset. For more information, see

“Using the Deleted Items Folder” on page 279.

Creating New Folders

If you have the appropriate rights, you can add folders to the database to help organize your assets. You might set up a folder for a particular project or a folder that holds one type of graphics. For more information about planning and managing a folder structure, see Interplay | Production Best Practices.

By default, a new folder has the following properties:

• Users (with appropriate rights) can move, rename, and delete this folder. The administrator can deselect an option so that the folder cannot be moved, renamed, or deleted. See

“Renaming a Folder or Editing the Description” on page 67, and “Viewing and Changing Folder Options (Administrators Only)” on page 68

• The owner is the user who created it. An administrator or the owner can change the ownership later. See

page 68

folder is the owner of the parent folder. Administrators can change this behavior in the Ownership Behavior view in the Interplay Administrator. For more information, see “Setting the Ownership for New Database Folders” in the Interplay | Engine and Interplay | Archive Engine Administration Guide.

• The folder is public (all others can see the folder).

. Administrators can also change the default behavior so that the owner of the new

“Changing Ownership of Folders and Assets (Administrators Only)” on

Creating New Folders

• Users (with appropriate rights) can create subfolders.

• Users (with appropriate rights) can place reservations on the folder. See

Reservations” on page 251

• Users (with appropriate rights) can add and remove items from this folder. The administrator can deselect an option so that no items can be added to the folder and the folder contents cannot be deleted.

• There are special restrictions for deleting folders. See

Folders that you create under the Catalogs heading in the tree are typically called catalogs.

To create a new folder in the database:

1. Select a parent folder in the tree structure in the Folders pane. This can be in the root directory if you have the appropriate rights.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select File > New Folder.

t Select New Folder from the context menu.

t Press (Windows) Ctrl+N or (Macintosh) Shift+Command+N.

The New Folder dialog box opens.

for details on reservations.

“Deleting Assets” on page 244.

“Setting

Creating New Folders

3. Type a name for your folder and add a comment. Make sure that this comment is meaningful for later use.

4. (All users) Do the following:

- The owner of the folder is by default the user logged on. To change the owner

assignment, click Advanced. Select an individual user from the Owner list. Only an administrator can change the owner after the folder is created.

- To make the folder visible only to you, click Advanced and then select “Folder is

private” (default is public).

5. (Administrators only) Click Advanced and select or deselect the following options:

- Allow users to create reservations (default is allowed).

- Allow moving and renaming of this folder (default is allowed).

- Allow adding and removing of items directly in this folder (default is allowed).

- Allow users to create subfolders (default is allowed).

After a folder is created, only an administrator can change these options. See “Viewing and

Changing Folder Options (Administrators Only)” on page 68 Content” on page 248

6. Click OK to create the folder.

Renaming a Folder or Editing the Description

Creating New Folders

and “Freezing Folders and

Renaming a folder is allowed only if the setting “Allow moving and renaming of this folder” is selected for the folder. Administrators can select or deselect this option when first creating a folder (see

“Creating New Folders” on page 65). After a folder is created, administrators can

change this setting through the Security dialog box.

To rename a folder:

1. Select the folder.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select Rename from the context menu.

t Select Edit > Rename.

t Press F2.

The Rename dialog box opens.

3. Change the name or description of the folder.

4. Click OK.

The folder is saved with the new name.

Creating New Folders

Changing Ownership of Folders and Assets (Administrators Only)

By default, the owner of a folder is the user who created it. The owner of an Avid asset is the user who created it; the owner of a file asset is the user who imported it.

After an item is created, only the owner or an administrator can change the owner.

Administrators can change the default behavior so that the new folder is owned by the owner of the parent folder. Administrators can change this behavior in the Ownership Behavior view in the Interplay Administrator. For more information, see “Setting the Ownership for New Database Folders” in the Interplay | Engine and Interplay | Archive Engine Administration Guide.

To change the owner of a folder or asset:

1. Do one of the following:

t Select the folder in the tree structure, then select Operations > Security.

t Select Security from the context menu.

The Security dialog box opens.

2. Click the down arrow button and select a different user from the Owner list.

3. Click Apply, and then click Exit.

Viewing and Changing Folder Options (Administrators Only)

By default, a new folder has the following properties:

• The owner is the user who created it.

• The folder is public (all others can see the folder).

• Users (with appropriate rights) can create subfolders.

• Users (with appropriate rights) can place reservations on the folder. See

Reservations” on page 251

• Users (with appropriate rights) can move, rename, and delete this folder. The administrator can deselect an option so that the folder cannot be moved, renamed, or deleted.

After a folder is created, only an administrator can change these folder options, as described in the following procedure. See also

For a summary of user rights and access control, see

page 281

for details on reservations.

“Freezing Folders and Content” on page 248.

“Access Control and Delete Matrices” on

“Setting

To change folder options:

1. Select the folder in the tree structure.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click Operations > Security.

t Select Security from the context menu.

The Security dialog box opens.

Creating New Folders

3. Select or deselect the desired options.

4. Click Apply.

5. When you are finished, click Close.

Changing User Roles on Folders (Administrators Only)

The global user roles for each database are set in Interplay Administrator’s User Management view, and can be fine-tuned to restrict (or allow) rights on specific folders in the Manage Database Roles view. See the Interplay Engine and Avid Interplay Archive Engine Administration Guide for details. Administrators can, however, also change user rights for an item in Interplay Access.

After a folder is created, only an administrator can change the user roles.

Creating New Folders

For a summary of user rights and access control, see “Access Control and Delete Matrices” on

page 281

To change the rights for a folder:

1. Select the folder in the tree structure.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select Operations > Security.

t Select Security from the context menu.

The Security dialog box opens.

3. In the Roles section, click the down arrow and select the user for which you want to change the user role for the selected item.

4. Select the role you want to grant the selected user for the selected item.

5. Click Apply.

It is important that you understand the way that user roles work, especially if security is crucial. See the User Management section of the Interplay | Engine and Interplay | Archive Engine Administration Guide for details.

Using the Unchecked-In Avid Assets Folder

By default the Interplay database includes an Unchecked-in Avid Assets folder. This folder serves as a temporary folder for Avid assets that are automatically checked in by an Avid editing application or by another application such as CaptureManager. For example, if you set your Media Creation tool in an Avid editing application to shared storage and then capture media to a bin or render effects, the Avid editing application automatically checks the newly created assets into the Interplay database and places them in the Unchecked-in Avid Assets folder.

After you drag the asset from the bin to a folder in the Interplay window, Interplay automatically moves the asset link from the Unchecked-in Avid Assets folder to your designated folder.

Administrators can view all of the assets in the Unchecked in Avid Assets folder. Users that create media from local bins can only view their own assets in the Unchecked-in Avid Assets folder.

To view the contents of the Unchecked-in Avid Assets folder:

t Double-click the Unchecked-in Avid Assets folder in the tree structure in the Folders pane.

Adding Assets to the Interplay Database

There are different ways of adding assets to the Interplay database:

• To add Avid assets, you need to check them in through an Avid editing application or through an Interplay application. Avid assets can be created by Avid applications through capture, ingest, import, or transfer. Any media created on Avid shared-storage, such as capturing or rendering, is automatically checked in (autocataloged) to the Interplay database.

For information about checking in Avid assets from an editing application, see the documentation for the editing application. For information about automatic check-in through an Interplay application, see Interplay | Production Best Practices Guide.

• To add file assets, you need to import them though Interplay Access. For more information,

“Importing Files or Folders” on page 72.

see

Importing Files or Folders

File assets can include any file type, including graphics files, Microsoft Office documents, and desktop movies such as QuickTime files. Importing files adds them as file assets to the Interplay database and makes them accessible to other users of Interplay.

Importing Files or Folders

It’s most efficient to work with file assets that are created on your working path (see

Default Working Folder” on page 24

check out a file, the latest version is copied to the corresponding folder in your working path. Thus, to avoid having duplicate files on your local system, it’s a good idea to create new files in a folder in your working path and then import the files or folder. You can use the following methods to import one file, multiple files, one folder, or multiple folders:

• Select an item and drag it to a folder in Interplay Access

• Use the Import dialog box, which offers three different tabs for accessing files:

- Unimported Files: This tab displays any unimported files in your working path. For

information about the working path, see

page 36

- My Computer: This tab displays a tree that corresponds to the folder structure on your

computer.

- Home Directory: This tab displays the home folder for the user that is currently logged

in.

To import files or folders by dragging and dropping:

1. On your system desktop, select a file, multiple files, a folder, or multiple folders.

2. Drag the selection to a folder in Interplay Access.

The Import dialog box opens.

). You can import files from any location, but when you

“Setting the Working Path for a Folder” on

“Setting the

3. Type a comment.

4. (Option) If you don’t want a copy of the files in your local working directory, select Advanced and select “Don’t get local copy.”

Importing Files or Folders

5. Click OK.

The selected files and folders are imported.

To import files or folders from the working path:

1. Select a folder in the tree structure in the Folders pane.

2. Open the Import dialog box by doing one of the following:

t Select Import from the context menu

t Select Operations > Import.

t Press (Windows) Ctrl+M or (Macintosh) Shift+Command+M.

3. Click the Unimported Files Tab to browse through your data in the working path of the folder selected.

Importing Files or Folders

Click arrow to expand filters

4. (Option) Click the arrow to display the file filter options.

5. Make your filter selections.

6. (Option) Restore Defaults clears the filters you have selected and makes all files and folders you originally chose available for import.

7. To mark files or folders for import, select them and do one of the following:

t Press the space bar.

t Click the check box.

If you click a folder, all files and subfolders are automatically marked for import.

8. Click OK.

The Import dialog box opens.

Importing Files or Folders

9. Type a comment.

10. (Option) If you don’t want a copy of the files in your local working directory, select Advanced and select “Don’t get local copy.”

11. Click OK.

The selected files and folders are imported. If you selected files and folders in other tabs in the Import dialog box, those files and folders are also imported.

To import files or folders from other locations on your disk:

1. In the tree structure in the Folders pane, select a folder into which you want to import the files or folders.

2. Open the Import dialog box by doing one of the following:

t Select Import from the context menu.

t Select Operations > Import.

t Press (Windows) Ctrl+M or (Macintosh) Shift+Command+M.

3. Click the My Computer tab.

4. Add files or folders to the import list by selecting them in the top view and clicking Add.

5. (Option) Remove added files or folders from the import list by selecting them in the bottom view and selecting Remove or Remove All.

6. Click OK.

The Import dialog box opens.

7. Type a comment.

Importing Files or Folders

8. (Option) If you don’t want a copy of the files in your local working directory, click Advanced and select “Don’t get local copy.”

9. Click OK.

The selected files and folders are imported. If you selected files and folders in other tabs in the Import dialog box, those files and folders are also imported.

To import files or folders from your Home Directory:

1. In the tree structure in the Folders pane, select a folder into which you want to import the files or folders.

2. Open the Import dialog box doing one of the following:

t Select Import from the context menu.

t Click Operations > Import.

t Press (Windows) Ctrl+M or (Macintosh) Shift+Command +M.

3. Click the Home Directory tab.

4. Add files or folders to the import list by selecting them in the top view and clicking Add.

5. (Option). Remove added files or folders from the import list by selecting them in the bottom view and selecting Remove or Remove All.

6. Click OK.

The Import dialog box opens.

7. Type a comment.

Resyncing Media Files with Avid Shared-Storage Workspaces (Administrators Only)

8. (Option) If you don’t want a copy of the files in your local working directory, click Advanced and select “Don’t get local copy.”

9. Click OK.

The selected files and folders are imported. If you selected files and folders in other tabs in the Import dialog box, those files and folders are also imported.

Resyncing Media Files with Avid Shared-Storage Workspaces (Administrators Only)

Resyncing is a feature that administrators use to resynchronize the Interplay database with media stored on Avid shared-storage workspaces. Resyncing ensures that all the media on Avid shared storage is checked into the Interplay database. The resync process works with the Media Indexer service to review all Avid media files on Avid shared-storage workspaces and check if a corresponding Avid asset exists in the Interplay database. If not, the resync process creates metadata for the media, checks the asset into the database, and displays the asset in the Resync catalog.

Only media clips such as master clips and rendered effects are checked in by the resync process. Sequences and subclips must be checked in again from the editing application.

If the resync process cannot locate the complete set of media files for a clip (video files, audio files, or both), the media cannot be resynced.

You should resync the Interplay database with Avid shared storage:

• When media files are copied into a shared storage environment manually and resyncing is necessary to make the compositional metadata (the clips associated with those media files) appear in Interplay.

• When the Interplay Engine is offline, such as for maintenance or a system crash, and media files are added to or created on Avid shared storage.

Resyncing should not be used more than necessary as it effects the performance of the entire database.

This functionality is not available on Mac OS X.

To resync the Interplay database with Avid shared-storage workspaces:

1. Select the Resync option from the database’s context menu.

The Resynchronize Media dialog box opens and lists all the workspaces indexed on the Media Indexer.

Resyncing Media Files with Avid Shared-Storage Workspaces (Administrators Only)

Starting with Interplay Access v2.6, the name of the workspace includess the hostname of the

shared-storage server. This path is also displayed in the Resync catalog.

2. Select the workspaces with which you want to resync.

3. Click OK.

A dialog box displays the progress.

4. When the resync is complete, click OK.

New Avid assets created during resync are checked in and added to the Resync catalog.

5. (Option) Move the assets to a different folder.

Not all attributes are created. The Name, Tape name, Creation date, Audio, Audio format,

Tracks, Drive, End, and Start attributes are created. All other attributes are left blank.

To purge unwanted Avid assets from the Resync catalog:

1. Select the items in the catalog that you want to delete.

2. Press the Delete key.

The Delete dialog box opens.

3. Select the asset and the associated media files.

4. Click OK.

The selected Avid assets are permanently deleted from the Interplay database, and the media files are deleted from Avid ISIS shared storage. For more information about deleting, see

“Deleting Assets” on page 244

Moving Assets into Folders

Folders are useful for organizing your assets (both file assets and Avid assets). Folders can also make searches faster by limiting the number of records through which the database has to search. You can organize your assets by moving them from one folder into another. You can also cut, copy, or paste assets (see sequences keep their version histories when you move them.

Moving assets into folders is allowed only if the Security setting “Adding and removing of items directly in this folder” is checked for the folder. Only Administrators can change this setting through the Security dialog, available through the context menu of the folder. If the database has been set up using the default Interplay structure, you cannot delete or move the top-level folders, and you cannot add other top-level folders or assets unless an administrator changes this setting.

When you move a sequence, any referenced assets are also moved.

If you move a sequence or subclip to another folder, right-click the original folder and select

Refresh Referenced Clips. This ensures that any referenced clips associated with the moved link are removed. See “Refreshing Referenced Clips” on page 135. Some clips might remain because a clip can be both referenced and non-referenced. See “Setting the Filters for the Display” on

page 98.

“Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Assets” on page 80). File assets and

Moving Assets into Folders

To move assets into a folder:

1. Perform a search or browse operation that returns the assets that you want to add to a folder.

“Browsing Databases and Folders” on page 93 and “Finding Assets” on page 158.

See

2. Select the desired items.

3. Do one of the following:

t Drag the items into the target folder in the tree view. The items are moved.

t From the context menu of the items, select Move to.

The Move to dialog box opens.

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Assets

t Select Edit menu > Move to.

The Move to dialog box opens.

4. Select the folder to which you want to move the items. Click the Browser tab to select a

folder. Click the Shortcuts tab to move the item into the folder the shortcut points to.

5. Click OK.

The items are moved to the selected folder.

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Assets

Cutting removes the link to an asset in a folder. No assets are actually deleted.

Cutting and pasting moves the link to an asset from one folder to another. No assets are actually deleted. All of the metadata for the asset is preserved.

Copying and pasting adds another link to the asset without consuming extra space. All of the metadata for the asset is preserved.

To cut and paste an asset from one folder to another:

1. Select the item you want to copy.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select Edit > Cut.

t Select Cut from the context menu.

t Press (Windows) Ctrl+X or (Macintosh) Shift+Command+X.

3. Click the location where you want to copy the asset to

4. Do one of the following:

t Select Edit > Paste.

t Select Paste from the context menu.

t Press (Windows) Ctrl+V or (Macintosh) Shift+Command+V.

To copy and paste an asset from one folder to another:

1. Select the item you want to copy.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select Edit > Copy.

t Select Copy from the context menu.

t Press (Windows) Ctrl+C or (Macintosh) Shift+Command+C.

3. Click the location where you want to copy the asset to.

4. Do one of the following:

t Select Edit > Paste.

t Select Paste from the context menu.

t Press (Windows) Ctrl+V or (Macintosh) Shift+Command+V.

Duplicating Avid Assets

Duplicating a clip, subclip, or sequence makes a copy of the Avid asset with all of the same metadata (relatives, properties, and so on). The duplicated asset is a new asset. _Dup_ and an ID are added as a suffix to the original name.

To duplicate a clip, subclip, or sequence, do one of the following:

t Select the item and select Duplicate from the context menu.

t Select the item and select Tools > Duplicate.

The media status of the duplicated asset is the same as that of the original asset, but you might need to select Tools > Update Status from Media Indexer to refresh the icon.

Organizing Assets Using Categories

Categories are a way to organize or sort your assets. Categories provide a grouping mechanism or description for the data that is stored in a database. You can assign these categories to database items and use them in an Extended Search.

Organizing Assets Using Categories

The categories available are configured by an administrator through the Interplay Administrator. They are visible in the Categories pane and the Categories tab in the Object Inspector. Use the Categories pane to perform a simple search. Use the Categories tab to assign an asset to a category.

The Categories pane and the Object Inspector are not displayed in the default views. You can display them by choosing Views > Categories Pane or Views > Object Inspector.

To assign an asset to one or more categories:

1. If the Categories pane is not displayed, select View > Show Categories Pane.

2. Select the asset.

3. Select the Categories tab in the Object Inspector.

4. Select the appropriate category or categories.

5. Click Apply.

To search for items belonging to a specified category:

1. If the Object Inspector is not displayed, select View > Show Object Inspector Pane.

2. In the Categories pane, double-click the desired category.

The items assigned to the category are displayed in the Search Results pane.

Using Shortcuts for Browsing

Shortcuts pane

Lock icons

To avoid having to click through the tree structure of the Folders pane for an item that you work with frequently, you can create a shortcut and then just click the shortcut to open the item in the Content tab. Shortcuts are stored per database, meaning you do not see the same shortcuts if you switch to another database, and they are private by default, meaning other users do not see your shortcuts. Administrators can create shortcuts as public, meaning other users can see them. For more information, see

The Shortcuts pane is not displayed in the default views.

To create a shortcut:

1. If the Shortcuts pane is not displayed, select View > Show Shortcuts Pane.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click the item and drag it to the Shortcuts pane. The shortcut is created as private, or

local-only.

t Select Edit > Create Shortcut.

t Select Create Shortcut from the context menu of the item.

The Create Shortcut dialog box opens.

“Making Private Shortcuts Public (Administrators Only)” on page 84.

Using Shortcuts for Browsing

3. (Option) Change the name of the shortcut by typing new text in the text box.

4. (Administrators only) To create the shortcut for public use, double-click the lock icon (see

“Making Private Shortcuts Public (Administrators Only)” on page 84.

5. Click OK.

The shortcut appears in the Shortcuts pane.

A closed lock icon indicates that the shortcut is private, meaning not visible on other users’ workstations. An open lock indicates a public shortcut. Private is the default, and is the only option available to non-Administrators.

To change the name of a shortcut:

1. Select Edit from the context menu of the shortcut.

2. Type new text in the text box.

3. Click OK.

To delete a shortcut you have created:

1. Select the shortcut.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select Delete from the context menu.

t Press the Delete key.

Making Private Shortcuts Public (Administrators Only)

To make a shortcut visible to other database users:

Using Shortcuts for Browsing

1. In the Shortcuts pane, do one of the following:

t Double-click the closed lock icon of the shortcut.

t Select Edit from the context menu of the shortcut.

The Create Shortcut dialog box opens.

2. Click the lock icon or the label “Private Resource.”

The icon changes to an open lock and the label changes to “Public Resource.”

3. Click OK.

The lock icon changes to an open lock in the Shortcuts pane.

To make a public shortcut private:

1. In the Shortcuts pane, do one of the following:

t Double-click the open lock icon of the shortcut.

t Select Edit from the context menu of the shortcut.

The Create Shortcut dialog box opens.

2. Click the label “Public Resource.”

The icon change to a lock icon and the label changes to “Private Resource.”

3. Click OK.

Renaming an Asset

Users with write access on an asset can rename the asset. Each asset needs to have a name. No empty names are allowed. If an empty name is entered for a file asset, the Rename dialog does not allow you to continue. For an Avid asset, if an empty name is entered, the internally used file name appears as the name instead (a long string of numbers and letters).

To rename an asset:

Renaming an Asset

1. Select the asset.

2. Do one of the following:

t Press F2.

t Select Rename from the context menu.

t Select Edit > Rename.

3. Type the new name.

4. (Option) Press ESC to cancel the rename.

5. Press Enter to apply the changes.

Changing Text Color (Administrators Only)

Changing the text color of the metadata display of a file or folder color is a global change, meaning all other users can see the change right after it is performed. Only Administrators can change the text color. The Change Color command affects only the folder name and the asset name.

All users can change the font size. See “Changing Font Settings” on page 32.

Using Interplay | Access with an Avid Editing Application

To change the text color:

1. Select the item for which you want to change the color.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select Operations > Advanced > Change Asset Color.

t Select Advanced > Change Asset Color from the context menu.

3. Select the color you want to display.

Using Interplay | Access with an Avid Editing Application

In the Interplay environment, Avid assets include Avid files such as master clips, subclips, effects, and sequences. If you are working with an Avid editing application, you might want to use the advanced search in Interplay Access to look for particular Avid assets. After finding the assets, you can drag them from Interplay Access into a bin, which creates local copies of the assets (but not the media). This process of copying assets is called checking out.

If you then modify the asset and want to save the changes in the database, you must use the Avid editing application to check the asset back in to the database. The process of adding Avid files to an Interplay database is known as checking in. Users can check files in manually through an Avid editing application or automatically through one of several Interplay configurations. For information about checking in through an Avid editing application, see your editing application documentation.

Avid assets on the database are sometimes referred to as remote assets.

You use the Interplay Access Import feature for file assets only.

Interplay Access maintains version control for sequences (see “Version History and Archiving”

on page 291).

To check Avid assets out of the Interplay database:

1. Start the Avid editing application, and either create a new project or open a bin in an existing

project.

2. Log on to the Interplay database, as described in the editing application documentation.

3. Open Interplay Access and browse or search for the assets you want.

4. Select the assets you want to use and drag them to a bin.

The Avid assets are checked out from the Interplay database. A link is created to the asset, and the bin displays the assets you checked out.

Transferring Avid Assets to Another Workgroup

If you are working in a facility that includes more than one Avid workgroup, you can transfer Avid assets (both metadata and media) from one workgroup to another. Workgroup transfers require the Interplay Transfer application. In a workgroup transfer, the metadata and media is copied to the remote workgroup while the original metadata and media remains in the local workgroup.

For information about workgroup transfers and creating destination presets, see the

Interplay | Transfer Setup and User’s Guide.

You can also use the Copy service to copy assets and media to another workgroup. See “Copying

Assets and Media to Another Workgroup” on page 88.

To send the media and metadata to another workgroup:

1. In the Content view, right-click an Avid asset.

2. Select Send to Workgroup.

The Send to Workgroup dialog box opens.

Copying Assets and Media to Another Workgroup

3. Select a location that is preconfigured by the database administrator.

Users with administrative rights can change the location.

4. (Option) If you want to monitor the transfer, select “Launch Interplay Transfer Status

window”.

5. Click OK.

Copying Assets and Media to Another Workgroup

You can use the Interplay Copy service to copy assets (metadata) and their media files from one workgroup to another. For example, if your facility uses a specified workgroup for low-resolution media, you might need to copy clips and their low-resolution media files to the low-resolution workgroup and copy them back again.

Before you copy assets and media files to another workgroup, make sure that your installation meets the requirements described in the Interplay | Media Services Setup and User’s Guide.

Moving Media to Another Workspace

You can use the Interplay Move service to move media files from one Avid ISIS workspace to another. For example, if one of your workspaces is getting close to capacity, you can use the Move service to move selected media files to a workspace that has more free space.

Before you move media files, make sure your workgroup meets the requirements described in the Interplay | Media Services Setup and User’s Guide.

Moving Media to Another Workspace

The selected clip has two video files and four audio files on workspace1.

To move media files to another workspace using Interplay Access:

1. In Interplay Access, select the assets whose media files you want to move.

You can select one asset, multiple assets, a subfolder, or multiple subfolders. The following illustration shows the clip “divers” selected. The File Locations tab in the Object Inspector shows that the clip is associated with two video media files and four audio media files (two different sets of resolutions), all on workspace1.

When selecting a folder, do not select a top-level folder, such as AvidWG/Catalogs or

AvidWG/Projects. You can only select subfolders, such as AvidWG/Catalogs/subfolder. All media files contained in the selected subfolder and its subfolders are moved to the destination workspace.

Moving Media to Another Workspace

2. Do one of the following:

t Select Tools > Move...

t Right-click and select Move...(Do not select Move to, which moves metadata from one

folder to another.)

The Move dialog box opens.

3. Select a profile from the Use Profile menu. If there are no profiles available, or you do not

want to use a profile, select the following options:

a. Use Profile: None.

b. Destination: Select the workspace to which you want to move the media.

c. Resolution: Select which video resolution you want to move. You can select All,

Highest, Lowest, or a specific resolution. If you select All, the media for all associated resolutions must be online. If any media is offline, the job will fail. You can override the default failure reporting setting using the Avid Service Configuration tool.

d. Include Audio: Select this option if you want to move audio that is associated with the

clips whose video media you are moving. Selecting this option also moves any audio-only clips.

4. (Option) Select “Launch Interplay Media Services status window” to view the status of the

operation after it begins.

5. (Option) Click the Details button to view the number of files and their size. Their size

indicates how much disk space will be freed up after the move.

Moving Media to Another Workspace

6. Click OK.

The system starts the Move operation. If you selected the option “Launch Interplay Media Services status window,” the window opens and shows you the progress of the job, as well as other information about it. For information about the status window, click the Help button.

7. (Option) When the operation is complete, select the clip and click the File Locations tab in

the Object Inspector to view the new workspace location.

Moving Media to Another Workspace

One video file and two audio files remain on workspace1. One video file and two audio files were moved to workspace2.

The following illustration shows one video file and two audio files are now stored on workspace2, while one video file and two audio files remain on workspace1.

4 Browsing the Database

You can use Interplay Access to find assets by browsing the database. The following topics describe how to use Interplay Access to find and display assets:

Browsing Databases and Folders

•

• Icons for Avid Assets

• Updating the Media Status

• Browsing AMA Clips

• Setting the Filters for the Display

• Using the Assets Pane

• Using the Object Inspector

• Showing a Preview of an Item

• Viewing the Status of Assets Across Workgroups (Asset Tracking)

• Preserving Ancillary Data in an Interplay Environment

• Working with Multichannel Audio Tracks in Interplay

• Emulated Rendered Effects

• Stereoscopic 3D Support in Interplay | Access

• Support for Group Clips in Interplay | Access

Browsing Databases and Folders

When you are connected to a database, the folders in the database are displayed in a tree view in the Folders pane. The item you select in the tree view is displayed in the Content tab in the Assets pane. The tab is labeled with the name of the folder.

Browsing Databases and Folders

Selected item displayed in Content tab.

A downward arrow-shaped pointer indicates that the sub-tree is open and a pointer towards the folder shows that the sub-tree is closed. Clicking a pointer opens or closes the respective level of the structure.

Folders for Interplay Synced Projects are indicated by a synced project icon. Media assets in these folders update as users modify the projects in Media Composer and NewsCutter. For more information, see “Interplay Synced Projects” in the Help for your Avid editing application.

Synced project asset folders in Avid Access, with the synced project icon

To browse databases and folders:

1. In the Folders pane, click the arrow-shaped pointer next to a database name.

The top-level folders for the database are displayed.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click a folder to select it.

t Type the first letter of the folder name. The navigation starts from where the focus is in

the tree.

t Click a pointer to open a folder until you can select the folder you want to view.

The Content tab displays the assets for the folder you selected.

Icons for Avid Assets

Avid assets have their own set of icons, as shown in the following table. These icons are displayed in the second column of the Content tab and in the title bar of the Monitor.

Avid Asset Icons

Icons for Avid Assets

Master clip

Stereoscopic clip

Stereoscopic subclip

Sequence

Subclip

Group

Motion effect

Effect

Rendered effect

Reserved asset (normal asset icon with red dot)

For information about icons for file assets, see “Icons and Indicators for File Assets” on

page 209.

Browsing AMA Clips

Gray Icons for Referenced-Only Assets

Assets are considered referenced assets when they are displayed in the same Interplay folder as the asset that references them. For example, master clips and rendered effects that are contained in a sequence are referenced assets when they are displayed in the same folder as the sequence.

In Interplay Access, icons for referenced assets are displayed in two different ways:

• Icons for assets that are explicitly checked in or copied to an Interplay folder are indicated by standard black icons.

• Starting with Interplay v2.3, icons for assets that are not explicitly checked in or copied to an Interplay folder are indicated by gray icons. These assets are referred to as “referenced-only assets.”

For more information, see

“Referenced Assets and Referenced-Only Assets” on page 100

Links to rendered effects are not included in the Interplay database but are still visible in client applications as simulated or emulated links with gray versions of the corresponding icons. See

“Emulated Rendered Effects” on page 151.

Browsing AMA Clips

Interplay v3.0 and later supports checkin and dynamic relink of AMA (Avid Media Access) material. The following information describes how AMA material is displayed in Interplay Access.

• There is a metadata property named AMA Media Status that is displayed as a column in the Assets view and in other locations. The column displays one of the values described in the following table.

Value Description

has AMA media linked The clip is linked to both AMA media and native Avid media

has only AMA media linked The clip is linked to AMA media, but is not linked to native Avid

no AMA media linked The clip is not linked to AMA media.

media.

Browsing AMA Clips

The following illustration shows an example of each value.

• In the Media Status column, an asset that has only AMA material is shown with a purple circle, as shown in the following illustration.

• There are several search criteria you can use for an extended search, as described in the following table.

Criterion Description

has AMA media linked Search for clips linked to AMA media. These clips can include only

AMA media or both AMA media and native Avid media.

has only AMA media linked Search for clips that are linked to AMA media but not to native Avid

media.

has native Media linked Search for clips that are linked to both AMA media and native Avid

media.

• For clips that have only AMA media, there are no entries in the File Locations for the Object

Media Status Update button

Inspector.

For information about deleting AMA material, and additional AMA information, see “Using AMA Material in Interplay” in the Interplay | Production Best Practices Guide.

Updating the Media Status

To make sure that your view reflects the most recent changes to the database, you can update (or refresh) the media status of Avid assets. Updating the media status uses information from the Media Indexer, an Interplay service. For more information about the Media Indexer, see Avid Interplay | Production Best Practices Guide and the Avid Service Framework User’s Guide.

Updating the Media Status

Do not update the media status too often as it can take a long time, especially for a large database with many users.

You can update the media status on an Avid editing system by right-clicking a clip in a bin and

selecting Reset Offline Info.

To update the media status for an Avid asset or for every Avid asset in a folder:

1. Select the item (an asset or a folder).

2. Do one of the following:

t Select Update Status from Media Indexer from the context menu.

t Select Tools > Update Status from Media Indexer.

t Click the Media Status Update button on the Content tab.

While the view is fetching content, the Media Status Update button is disabled. The processing is indicated by the animated spinning icon in the button. If you repeat this step again while processing, the operation ends. Selecting another tab, such as Search, also ends the processing.

Setting the Filters for the Display

Interplay allows you to set filtering options for what types of Avid assets should be displayed in your folders. All asset types are displayed by default.If you are only concerned with certain asset types, you can use the filters to make the display results less cluttered.

Setting the Filters for the Display

Referenced assets are displayed by default. Referenced assets are assets that are referenced by another asset in the same Interplay folder. If a referenced asset is not explicitly checked in or copied to the folder that holds the sequence, the asset is considered a referenced-only asset. Referenced-only assets are displayed with gray versions of the corresponding icons for non-referenced assets. For more information, see “Referenced Assets and Referenced-Only

Assets” on page 100

The Filter Settings tab also includes the Search Results Filter. This option filters the results of a search to show only one representation for each asset found. For more information, see

“Showing One Representation for Each Asset Found” on page 179.

To change the filter settings:

1. Select (Windows) Preferences > Options or (Macintosh) Interplay Access > Preferences.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. Click the Filter Settings tab.

3. Select the additional options you want to be displayed in the folder, or deselect the boxes for asset types you want filtered out.

4. Click OK.

The next time you access a folder, the display reflects your changes.

Referenced Assets and Referenced-Only Assets

This topic presents definitions for the following terms:

• Referenced Assets

• Referenced-Only Assets

• Explicit Checkin

• Emulated Rendered Effects

This information is important when planning a deletion workflow.

Referenced Assets

In simplest terms, referenced assets are assets that are used by another asset. For example, master clips and rendered effects that are contained in a sequence are referenced assets. However, for database management purposes, links are considered referenced assets when they are displayed

in the same Interplay folder as the asset that references them.

To display referenced assets in Interplay Access, select Preferences > Options > Filter Settings

and select the Referenced Assets check box.

Referenced-Only Assets

The Interplay Engine makes a distinction between referenced assets and referenced-only assets. Referenced-only assets are assets that are displayed in the same folder as the asset that references them, but were not explicitly checked in to or copied to that folder. For example, referenced-only assets can be created when a sequence is checked in but its clips are not in the same editing application bin, and are not explicitly checked in to the same folder as the sequence. In this case, the clips are displayed in the sequence’s folder as referenced-only assets. If you deselect the filter setting for referenced assets, the referenced-only assets are not displayed in the folder.

Starting with Interplay v2.3, referenced-only assets are displayed with gray icons.

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Pinnacle Systems Interplay Access - 3.1 User’s Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Symbols and Conventions

Using This Guide

If You Need Help

Viewing Help and Documentation on the Interplay Production Portal

Interplay Documentation

Avid Training Services

1 Getting Started with Interplay | Access

Interplay | Access Overview

Supported Platforms

Starting Interplay | Access

Setting the Default Working Folder

Connecting to a Database

Changing Your Password

Removing a Database from the Tree Structure

Interplay | Access Views

Keyboard Shortcuts

Context Menus

Opening Interplay Help

Logging Out and Exiting

Configuring Interplay | Access Options

Configuring Interplay Access Globally (Administrators Only)

Displaying the Full Menus

Showing All Hidden Dialog Boxes

Changing Font Settings

Configuring Asset Types, Commands, and Applications

Setting the Working Path for a Folder

2 Working with Views

Browsing View

Logging View

Shotlist View

Changing Views

Viewing and Playing Assets

Adjusting the Aspect Ratio and Size of the Monitor

Showing and Hiding the Monitor

Displaying the Full-Screen Monitor

Playing Clips During Ingest

Playing Back Offline Segments of Published Clips

Monitor Controls

Navigating by Timecode

Monitoring Audio

Marking and Cueing Footage

Marking In and Out Points

Cueing the Footage

Creating Subclips

Displaying Additional Panes

Resizing Panes

Opening an Avid Asset in Interplay | Assist

3 Adding and Organizing Assets

Interplay Database Default Folders

Creating New Folders

Renaming a Folder or Editing the Description

Changing Ownership of Folders and Assets (Administrators Only)

Viewing and Changing Folder Options (Administrators Only)

Using the Unchecked-In Avid Assets Folder

Adding Assets to the Interplay Database

Importing Files or Folders

Resyncing Media Files with Avid Shared-Storage Workspaces (Administrators Only)

Moving Assets into Folders

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Assets

Duplicating Avid Assets

Organizing Assets Using Categories

Using Shortcuts for Browsing

Making Private Shortcuts Public (Administrators Only)

Renaming an Asset

Changing Text Color (Administrators Only)

Using Interplay | Access with an Avid Editing Application

Transferring Avid Assets to Another Workgroup

Copying Assets and Media to Another Workgroup

Moving Media to Another Workspace

4 Browsing the Database

Browsing Databases and Folders

Icons for Avid Assets

Browsing AMA Clips

Updating the Media Status

Setting the Filters for the Display

Referenced Assets and Referenced-Only Assets