Pinnacle Systems Interplay Assist - 2.2 User’s Guide

Avid® Interplay® Assist

User’s Guide

Version 2.2

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.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States Patents: 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,577,190; 5,584,006; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,851; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,828,678; 5,842,014; 5,852,435; 5,986,584; 5,999,406; 6,038,573; 6,069,668; 6,141,007; 6,211,869; 6,532,043; 6,546,190; 6,596,031; 6,747,705; 6,763,523; 6,766,357; 6,847,373; 7,081,900; 7,403,561; 7,433,519; 7,671,871; 7,684,096; D352,278; D372,478; D373,778; D392,267; D392,268; D392,269; D395,291; D396,853; D398,912. Other patents are pending.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following European Patents: 0506870; 0635188; 0674414; 0752174; 1111910; 1629675. Other patents are pending.

This document is protected under copyright law. An authorized licensee of Interplay Assist 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 Interplay Assist. 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.:

Manufactured under license from the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, U.S.A. Patent Pending.

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 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, Axiom, Beat Detective, Beauty Without The Bandwidth, Beyond Reality, BF Essentials, Bomb Factory, Boom, Bruno, C|24, CaptureManager, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, Cineractive Engine, Cineractive Player, Cineractive Viewer, Color Conductor, Command|24, Command|8, Conectiv, Control|24, Cosmonaut Voice, CountDown, d2, d3, DAE, Dazzle, Dazzle Digital Video Creator, D-Command, D-Control, Deko, DekoCast, D-Fi, D-fx, Digi 003, DigiBase, DigiDelivery, 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, DPP-1, D-Show, DSP Manager, DS-StorageCalc, DV Toolkit, DVD Complete, D-Verb, Eleven, EM, 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, HyperControl, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, iKnowledge, Image Independence, Impact, Improv, iNEWS, iNEWS Assign, iNEWS ControlAir, Instantwrite, Instinct, Intelligent Content Management, Intelligent Digital Actor Technology, IntelliRender, Intelli-Sat, Intelli-sat Broadcasting Recording Manager, InterFX, Interplay, inTONE, Intraframe, iS Expander, ISIS, IsoSync, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, ISIS, IsoSync, KeyRig, KeyStudio, LaunchPad, LeaderPlus, LFX, Lightning, Link & Sync, ListSync, LKT-200, Lo-Fi, Luna, MachineControl, Magic Mask, Make Anything Hollywood, make manage move | media, Marquee, MassivePack, Massive Pack Pro, M-Audio, M-Audio Micro, Maxim, Mbox, Media Composer, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, MediaFlow, MediaLog, MediaMatch, MediaMix, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaServer, MediaShare, MetaFuze, MetaSync, MicroTrack, MIDI I/O, Midiman, Mix Rack, MixLab, Moviebox, Moviestar, MultiShell, NaturalMatch, NewsCutter, NewsView, Nitris, NL3D, NLP, Nova, NRV-10 interFX, NSDOS, NSWIN, Octane, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, OnDVD, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, Ozone, Ozonic, Painterly Effects, Palladium, Personal Q, PET, Pinnacle, Pinnacle DistanTV, Pinnacle GenieBox, Pinnacle HomeMusic, Pinnacle MediaSuite, Pinnacle Mobile Media, Pinnacle Scorefitter, Pinnacle Studio, Pinnacle Studio MovieBoard, Pinnacle Systems, Pinnacle VideoSpin, Podcast Factory, PowerSwap, PRE, ProControl, ProEncode, Profiler, Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Transfer, Pro Tools, 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, Scorefitter, ScriptSync, SecureProductionEnvironment, Serv|LT, Serv|GT, Session, Shape-to-Shape, ShuttleCase, Sibelius,

SIDON, SimulPlay, SimulRecord, Slightly Rude Compressor, Smack!, Soft SampleCell, Soft-Clip Limiter, Solaris, SoundReplacer, SPACE, SPACEShift, SpectraGraph, SpectraMatte, SteadyGlide, Streamfactory, Streamgenie, StreamRAID, Strike, Structure, Studiophile, SubCap, Sundance Digital, Sundance, SurroundScope, Symphony, SYNC HD, Synchronic, SynchroScope, SYNC I/O, Syntax, TDM FlexCable, TechFlix, Tel-Ray, Thunder, 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, Torq, Torq Xponent, Transfuser, Transit, TransJammer, Trigger Finger, Trillium Lane Labs, TruTouch, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Velvet, Video the Web Way, VideoRAID, VideoSPACE, VideoSpin, VTEM, Work-N-Play, Xdeck, X-Form, Xmon, XPAND!, Xponent, X-Session, and X-Session Pro are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Footage

Arri — Courtesy of Arri/Fauer — John Fauer, Inc. Bell South “Anticipation” — Courtesy of Two Headed Monster — Tucker/Wayne Atlanta/GMS. Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service/Department of the Interior. Eco Challenge British Columbia — Courtesy of Eco Challenge Lifestyles, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Eco Challenge Morocco — Courtesy of Discovery Communications, Inc. It’s Shuttletime — Courtesy of BCP & Canadian Airlines. Nestlé Coffee Crisp — Courtesy of MacLaren McCann Canada. Saturn “Calvin Egg” — Courtesy of Cossette Communications. “Tigers: Tracking a Legend” — Courtesy of www.wildlifeworlds.com, Carol Amore, Executive Producer. "The Big Swell" — Courtesy of Swell Pictures, Inc. Windhorse — Courtesy of Paul Wagner Productions.

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

News material provided by WFTV Television Inc.

Avid Interplay Assist User’s Guide • 0130-07606-03B • May 2010

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

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

Viewing Help and Documentation on the Interplay Portal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chapter 1 Getting Started with Avid Interplay Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Uses for Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Basic Interplay Assist Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Starting Interplay Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Disabling Desktop Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Exiting Interplay Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Using Interplay Assist Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Working with MultiRez and Dynamic Relink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Understanding Source Mode and Shotlist Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Understanding Undo and Redo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Undoing and Redoing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Changing the Font. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Printing the Logging Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Setting an Automatic Timeout for Interplay Assist and Avid Instinct . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Chapter 2 Preparing to Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Understanding Asset Markers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Navigating to Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Searching for Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Interplay Assist Search Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Navigating to a Folder That Contains a Selected Asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Organizing Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Moving, Copying, and Duplicating Clips or Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Loading Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Updating the Application Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter 3 Customizing the Research Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Changing the Research Panel and Logging Panel Sizes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Using the Research Panel Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Asset Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Working with Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Modifying Values for a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Selecting Values for a Custom Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Selecting Asset Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Displaying Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Creating New Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Enlarging or Reducing Column Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Working with Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Default Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Opening Multiple Tabs in the Research Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Changing Writable Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Viewing Thumbnail Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Chapter 4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Video Monitor Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Changing the Video Monitor Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Using Large Monitor Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Using Medium Monitor Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Using Small Monitor Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Using Full-Screen Monitor Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Resizing Panels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Selecting Functions from the Video Monitor Context Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Changing the Aspect Ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Playing Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Playing Video Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Using the Position Bar and the Position Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Using the Transport Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Playing Footage with the J-K-L Keys (Three-Button Play) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Using Timecode to Find a Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Displaying Footage at Full or Half Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Enabling Two-Field Video Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Understanding Target Resolution and Working Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Using the Zoom Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Marking and Cueing Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Marking IN and OUT Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Dragging IN Points and OUT Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Cueing the Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Monitoring Audio and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Working with the Local Audio Mixing Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Enabling Local Audio Mixing in the Interplay Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Using the Local Audio Mixing Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Using Match Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Chapter 5 Logging Events With Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Understanding Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Adding Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Setting Locator Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Locator Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Displaying Locator Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Adding Locator Text in Large Monitor Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Restricting Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Marking Restricted Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Creating Subclips of Restricted Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Using Match Frame to Apply a Restriction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Deleting Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Annotating Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Annotating an Existing Locator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Removing an Annotation from a Locator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Defining an Annotation Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Adding Your Own Annotation Icon Graphic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Showing Other Users’ Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Displaying All Locators and Annotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Displaying Locators and Annotations for Particular Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Finding Items in the Logging Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Moving to Locators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Deleting Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Exporting Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Chapter 6 Working with Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Understanding Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Entering Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Working with Metadata Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Displaying Metadata Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Adding a Default Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Adding a New Metadata Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Hiding a Metadata Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Finding Items in Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Chapter 7 Working with Shotlists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Creating a New Shotlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Saving Your Shotlist Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Opening an Existing Shotlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Adding to a Shotlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Adding a Source Clip to a Shotlist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Adding a Shotlist to a Shotlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Moving Through a Shotlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Finding Items in a Shotlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Changing a Shotlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Rearranging Shots in a Shotlist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Removing a Shot from a Shotlist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Changing IN Points and OUT Points in a Shotlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Changing Shotlist Starting Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Setting the Shotlist Start Timecode for Interplay Access and Interplay Assist 136

Entering Metadata for Shotlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Saving a Copy of a Shotlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Chapter 8 Sending Files Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Sending Material to Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Accessing Avid Unity Workspaces for Send to Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Working and Target Audio Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Setting the Working Resolution for Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Sending a Shotlist to Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Sending a Source to Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Sending Clips or Shotlists to the Archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Selecting Interplay Media Services Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Sending a Source to the Archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Managing the Archive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Appendix A Using the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Speeding Your Logging by Mapping Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Assigning Keys to Insert Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Assigning a Key Combination to an Annotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Removing a Key Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Editing Existing Inserted Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Viewing Predefined Key Mappings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Using a Mapped Key Combination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Using Predefined Key Mappings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Using This Guide

Congratulations on your purchase of an Avid® Interplay® Assist application. You can use your application to log, annotate, and archive your work.

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.

Symbols and Conventions

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

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

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

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.

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.

items and keyboard sequences.

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

mouse action. For example, Ctrl+drag.

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:

- If the latest information for your Avid product is provided as printed release notes,

they are shipped with your application and are also available online.

- If the latest information for your Avid product is provided as a ReadMe file, it is

supplied on your Avid installation CD or DVD as a PDF document (README_product.pdf) and is also available online.

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/readme.

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/onlinesupport. 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 Portal

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

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

The Interplay Help combines information from all Interplay guides in one Help system. It includes a combined index and a full-featured search. From the Interplay 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 User Information Center through a browser:

1. Type the following line in a web browser:

http://Interplay_Engine_name

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

http://docwg

2. Click the “Avid Interplay Documentation” link to access the User Information Center web page.

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

t Select Help > Documentation Website on Server.

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.

Avid Training Services

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

1 Getting Started with Avid Interplay

Assist

Avid Interplay Assist provides you with tools to log and archive footage in several ways. You can log captured material and use locators to mark specific points of interest in footage. You can annotate the locators and note a usage restriction on a portion of the footage. You can also work with shotlists containing more than one clip, and you can archive the logs. Assist supports international character input. Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, German, and Spanish are supported.

Video material comes from the Avid Interplay Engine and shared storage. Assist can search and browse the Interplay Engine, and it can access workspaces shared with Avid editing applications.

This chapter helps you get started with Avid Interplay Assist. See the following topics:

• Uses for Logging

• Basic Interplay Assist Workflow

• Starting Interplay Assist

• Disabling Desktop Compositing

• Exiting Interplay Assist

• Using Interplay Assist Help

• Working with MultiRez and Dynamic Relink

• Understanding Source Mode and Shotlist Mode

• Understanding Undo and Redo

• Changing the Font

• Printing the Logging Panel

• Setting an Automatic Timeout for Interplay Assist and Avid Instinct

1 Getting Started with Avid Interplay Assist

Uses for Logging

Avid Interplay Assist offers a range of functions; one person can use it in different ways, or several different users can specialize in particular tasks. The most frequent uses are likely to be:

• Logging ingest or captured material, classifying assets based on where they came from, and entering basic information about the material. For example, a college student might be hired to work from a script and add a basic set of comments (metadata) to every clip that comes in.

• Adding locators to the previously identified clips. For example, you can mark all the significant plays in a championship sports event with locators and create subclips from the marked locations.

• Marking restrictions on particular clips or portions of clips. For example, you can mark beginning and ending restriction points to indicate the following: material that should not be used, material that can be used only after rights are available on a certain date, material that the organization will need to pay for upon use, material that has copyright requirements or other legal restrictions that limit its use, and so on.

• Providing a detailed description of the video. For example, a more experienced user of Assist might use the application to type a running commentary while watching the previously annotated video, associating words and sentences with specific timecodes and creating locators as a result.

• Searching for clips through the Interplay Engine and the archive that are relevant to a particular production, and annotating and creating new sequences. For example, a production assistant might search for master clips, find specific frames and annotate them for use in the production, find or create new sequences, annotate them with editorial notes, and so on.

• Reviewing clips, subclips, and sequences, marking up specific items with notes for the assistant or the editor, creating a rough cut for a final sequence, and sending the video to playback or to an Avid editing application. For example, the producer would review the material prepared by the production assistant, make changes, assemble the final sequence, mark up the production for last-minute changes, and send it to air.

• Archiving video at the end of the production workflow. For example, the archivist or librarian would review and update the metadata content for every clip, sequence, and shotlist going into the archive, assist others in finding material, define the location and hierarchy of stored video, and do other archival tasks.

Basic Interplay Assist Workflow

Basic use of Interplay Assist might include the following steps:

1. Start Assist.

2. Navigate to the material you want to log or search for clips sharing certain attributes.

3. Load a clip into the Video monitor.

4. Play the material and mark events with locators.

5. Add comments to the locators.

6. Add metadata to the clips.

7. Assemble the clips into a shotlist.

8. Add metadata to the shotlist.

9. Flag restricted material.

10. Save the shotlist.

11. Send the shotlist to play back on a playback device, if appropriate.

Basic Interplay Assist Workflow

Starting Interplay Assist

The Interplay Assist application runs as a client in an Avid Interplay system, which includes a shared storage systems, such as Avid Unity you use Assist, an administrator needs to complete the following requirements:

• Install Assist and other required Interplay applications on your workstation. For installation information, see the Avid Interplay Software Installation and Configuration Guide.

• (Option) If you are running Interplay Assist on Windows Vista or Windows 7, disable desktop compositing. See “Disabling Desktop Compositing” on page 21.

• Create an Interplay user account that you will use to log in to Assist. For more information, see the Avid Interplay Engine and Avid Interplay Archive Engine Administration Guide.

™

MediaNetwork or Avid Unity ISIS®. Before

1 Getting Started with Avid Interplay Assist

• If you need to send material to playback, you need to install Avid Unity MediaNetwork or Avid Unity ISIS client software and create an Avid Unity user account with write privileges to a selected workspace. For more information, see “Accessing Avid Unity

Workspaces for Send to Playback” on page 141.

• Specify site settings in the Interplay Administrator. These settings are stored in the Avid Interplay database and are used by Assist when it is retrieving media objects managed by Avid Interplay. The settings include target and working resolutions, user permissions, and other workgroup settings. For more information, see the Avid Interplay Engine and Avid Interplay Archive Engine Administration Guide.

To start Interplay Assist:

1. Do one of the following:

t Double-click the icon on your desktop.

t Click the Start button, and select All Programs > Avid > Avid Interplay Assist.

The Avid Interplay Assist Login window opens.

2. Type the name of your Avid Interplay Engine in the Asset Manager text box.

3. Type your name in the User Name text box.

4. Type your password in the Password text box.

Interplay Server passwords are case sensitive.

5. Click Login.

The Assist application opens, and you can work with assets in the Interplay database.

Disabling Desktop Compositing

To run Interplay Assist or Avid Instinct on Windows Vista or Windows 7, desktop compositing must be disabled. (Desktop compositing supports Aero desktop themes that include transparent window borders and other effects.)

Interplay Assist and Avid Instinct automatically disable desktop compositing when you launch the application and restore desktop compositing when you close the application. Alternatively, you can select a non-Aero desktop theme or disable desktop compositing through a system setting. These alternative methods prevent a brief flash from appearing when the application disables desktop compositing.

To disable desktop compositing:

1. Access the Control Panel.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click System and Security, then click System.

t In Classic view, double-click System.

1 Getting Started with Avid Interplay Assist

3. Click “Advanced system settings.”

4. In the System Properties window, click the Advanced tab.

5. Under the Performance area, click Settings.

6. Uncheck “Enable desktop composition.”

Exiting Interplay Assist

To exit Interplay Assist:

t Select Exit from the File menu or press Ctrl+Q.

If you exit Interplay Assist, and attempt to open it immediately afterwards, you might get a message that another instance of the application is already running or is still exiting. Wait approximately thirty seconds and start the application again.

Using Interplay Assist Help

Interplay Assist includes a Help system that contains the same information as this guide.

To view the Help:

1. Select Help > Avid Interplay Assist Help.

The Help opens.

2. For more information about using the Help, click the Contents tab and explore the Using Help topic.

Working with MultiRez and Dynamic Relink

MultiRez (a term derived from “multiple resolutions”) allows you to associate a clip with multiple media files of different resolutions. For example, you can associate the same audio clip with both low-resolution MP2 and uncompressed PCM, and the uncompressed files can be associated with more than one sample rate or bit depth. MultiRez works with both audio and video files.

When you work with MultiRez, you can easily switch between the different resolutions. This switching is referred to as dynamic relink. Dynamic relink is useful when you want to work with low-resolution media (working resolution) and create your final output in high-resolution media (target resolution).

Working with MultiRez and Dynamic Relink

Your Interplay administrator sets dynamic relink options in two locations in the Avid Interplay Administrator: in the Editing Settings tab of the Application Database Settings and in the Instinct/Assist User Settings. If dynamic relink is enabled, the following relink options must be changed from the default value (“not set”) before the functionality is applied to a site or a user:

Option Setting Description

Dynamic Relink (Editing Settings tab, Application Database Settings)

Send to playback (Editing Settings tab, Application Database Settings)

Video Settings (Instinct/Assist User Settings)

Audio Settings (Instinct/Assist User Settings)

Enabled or Disabled Enables or disables Dynamic Relink.

Target resolution, primary

Audio Target Resolution

Working Resolution Sets the user’s working video resolution.

Working Resolution Sets the user’s working audio resolution. If

Sets a resolution for output to a playback device. The default is DV 25 411.

Sets an audio resolution for output to a playback device. The default is PCM. Also sets the Sample Rate and Bit Depth of the audio for playback.

the working resolution is set to PCM, you can select a sample rate and a bit depth for audio clips.

When your Avid Interplay administrator enables dynamic relink, Assist or Instinct loads video and audio clips in your working resolution. When you send a sequence to playback, the media clips are automatically relinked to the target resolution. If dynamic relink is disabled, Assist or Instinct loads clips using the resolution the media clips are currently linked to, and Instinct does not relink media when you export it.

For more information on Avid Interplay settings, see the Avid Interplay Engine and Avid Interplay Archive Engine Administration Guide or the Interplay Help.

To check if dynamic relink is enabled:

1. Select Help > About Avid Interplay Assist or Help > About Avid Interplay Instinct.

2. Click the MultiRez tab, and check that the Dynamic Relink Enabled option is set to Yes.

MultiRez Enabled is also displayed and should be set to yes. MultiRez enabled means that the application is capable of using MultiRez and dynamic relink.

3. Click OK.

1 Getting Started with Avid Interplay Assist

Video monitor Source tabs Shotlist tabsSource button Shotlist button

Understanding Source Mode and Shotlist Mode

In Interplay Assist, you work in one of two modes: Source mode or Shotlist mode. You can add locators and metadata to either source clips or shotlists.

Source material comes from capture. To log material, you move through it, mark IN and OUT points, create subclips, and note significant events with locators, annotations, and metadata.

Shotlists are composed of source material. A shotlist can be an ordered set of clips that ends up as a rough cut for a sequence in an Avid editing application, for example. It can also be an unordered set of similar clips from which the best instance is chosen or which is archived as a group. Shotlists can be marked with locators and metadata.

Most of your work, after you find and navigate to clips and shotlists, is done in the Video monitor and the Logging panel. You click the Source button to enter Source mode, and the Shotlist button to enter Shotlist mode.Each mode includes a Metadata tab and a Locator tab, as shown in the following illustration.

You cannot modify a sequence (or shotlist) in Source mode and Shotlist mode at the same

time. For example, if you add a locator to a sequence in Source mode, then load the sequence in a Shotlist tab, you can no longer add locators to the sequence in Source mode. When you drag a sequence or shotlist from the Source monitor to a Shotlist tab, Assist saves the sequence automatically and then prevents further edits to the sequence in Source mode.

If you want to add locators to the sequence in Source mode, clear the shotlist tab by selecting File > New Shotlist, then View > Refresh All.

For more information, see the following topics:

• “Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor” on page 57

• “Logging Events With Locators” on page 95

• “Working with Shotlists” on page 125

• “Working with Metadata” on page 115

Understanding Undo and Redo

You can undo many of the actions you carry out in Interplay Assist. Undoing reverses the last operation you performed.

Understanding Undo and Redo

Also consider the following:

• If you are working on a source clip and then load a new clip, the Undo history starts over. You cannot go back to the first clip and undo your actions.

• If you are working on a shotlist and then create a new shotlist, the Undo history starts over. You cannot go back to the first shotlist and undo actions.

• The Undo history is separate for the Source tabs and the Shotlist tabs. If you are in the Source Locators tab, for example, and then click and work in the Shotlist locators tab, you can still return to the Source Locators tab and undo an action. You don’t lose your Source tab Undo history by working in a Shotlist tab; the reverse is also true.

You can redo an action.

Undoing and Redoing

To undo an action:

t Do one of the following:

- Select Edit > Undo.

- Press Ctrl+Z.

Certain operations cannot be undone. These are noted in the appropriate topics.

1 Getting Started with Avid Interplay Assist

To redo an action:

t Do one of the following:

- Select Edit > Redo.

- Press Ctrl+Y.

Changing the Font

You can change the default fonts and font sizes for the following areas of the Interplay Assist interface using the Fonts menu options:

• Locator and metadata text

• Directory panel

• Research panel

Font changes are saved as user settings and do not affect other Assist systems.

To change the font in Assist:

1. Do one of the following:

t Select Preferences > Fonts > [font option].

t In any panel, right-click and select Set [font option] font.

The Select [font option] font dialog box opens. The dialog box allows you to select and preview options other than Font and Size, but those options do not take effect in the application; you can change only Font and Size. You must have locators displaying in a Locators tab if you want to change the locator text font.

2. Select a font and a size, and then click OK.

Printing the Logging Panel

The font in the Interface area you selected changes.

To restore the default fonts in the Assist interface:

t Select Preferences > Fonts > Reset Fonts to Default.

Printing the Logging Panel

You can print the currently open tab in the Logging panel. You can select a single locator or clip for printing or you can print the entire tab. You can print the contents of any of the tabs.

The Logging panel must be visible to print it. If you are in Large Monitor mode and are

viewing the Video monitor, you need to click the Display button to return to the panels view. See “Using Large Monitor Mode” on page 61.

To print the contents of a tab:

1. (Option) Select File > Page Setup, select options in the Page Setup dialog box, and click OK.

1 Getting Started with Avid Interplay Assist

2. Do one of the following:

t Select File > Print [printable item] Preview, then preview the item and click Print.

t Select File > Print [printable item].

t Right-click in a locator or a clip and select Print. (Do not right-click in the header

area.)

A standard Print dialog box opens.

3. Select one of the following:

t All: the entire tab prints.

t Selection: the currently selected locator or clip prints.

t Pages: specify which pages you want to print. In general, it is more effective to

select All or Selection.

4. Select other options and then click Print.

Headframes that are not visible on the screen might not be fully loaded when you decide to

print. The print function waits for the headframes to load; after a certain period of time, you might see a message box asking you if you want to wait longer.

The contents of the tab print. The header information from the tab, such as user name, working resolution, and so on, does not print. A default header prints, however, containing the name of the clip or shotlist, the name of the tab, and the date and time. If you print more than one page, the pages break at locator or metadata boundaries.

5. (Option) If the Logging panel is too wide and the right-hand edges of the locators print onto a second page, do one of the following and then repeat the printing procedure:

t In the Print dialog box, click Preferences, select Landscape, and then click OK.

t Click the right-hand edge of the application and drag it to the left to resize

application to a more narrow width.

Setting an Automatic Timeout for Interplay Assist and Avid Instinct

An Interplay administrator has the option of letting Interplay Assist and Avid Instinct automatically time out after a specified period of inactivity. This feature helps in license management, because it enables an unused license to be freed up without the administrator manually finding and closing inactive applications on user desktops.

If a timeout period is set, and the application does not detect any activity during that period, the application displays a message that asks if you want to quit. Click Yes to quit, or click No to keep the application open. If you do not click Yes or No, the application quits in twenty seconds.

The default setting is one hour. This setting applies to the entire database.

To set the timeout period:

1. Start Interplay Administrator and log on to the database for which you want to set the automatic timeout.

2. In the Application Settings section of the Interplay Administrator, click the Application Database Settings icon.

3. Click the Application Defaults tab.

4. Select the database (AvidWG).

5. In the Assist/Instinct - Defaults section, enter a value in hours for the Automatic Timeout option. Decimal values are allowed. For example, for a timeout period of one and a half hours, enter:

1.5

If you do not want a timeout period, enter 0 (zero).

6. Click Apply.

The timeout period begins the next time you launch the application.

1 Getting Started with Avid Interplay Assist

2 Preparing to Log

Reservation marker

Before you can log your material, you need to find, organize, and load the clips you need.

See the following topics:

• Understanding Asset Markers

• Navigating to Assets

• Searching for Assets

• Interplay Assist Search Options

• Organizing Folders

• Loading Clips

• Updating the Application Display

Understanding Asset Markers

Assets can carry two different kinds of markers:

• Reservations: Reservations protect assets from deletion and moving. Assets protected by a reservation are marked by a circular red icon. You cannot set reservations in Interplay Assist. Shotlists you create in Assist might have reservations automatically placed on them depending on how your administrator has configured your Interplay system. For more information about reservations, see the Avid Interplay Access User’s Guide.

2 Preparing to Log

Restriction locator marker

DIrectory panel

Research panel

• Restriction locators: Restrictions mark limitation warnings on the use of assets. Assets that include a restriction locator are marked by a triangular red icon. For more information about restrictions, see “Restricting Material” on page 100.

Navigating to Assets

Before you load assets for logging, you need to navigate to their location in the Interplay database using the Directory panel. You can use the hierarchical display of folders to navigate, or you can search for particular assets (see “Searching for Assets” on page 33).

In Interplay Access, an administrator can set the text color of the names of folders and assets (the default is black). Any colored text is also visible in Interplay Assist.

You can navigate from a selected asset to a folder that holds the asset. See “Navigating to a

Folder That Contains a Selected Asset” on page 36.

To navigate through folders:

t In the Directory panel, navigate to the asset you want to log and click the folder.

The navigation results appear in the Research panel.

Searching for Assets

Search functions area

You use the Media Search tab in the Research panel to search for assets that meet the criteria you specify. For the best response times for your search, make it as specific as you can.

To search for media assets:

1. Do one of the following:

t Select File > Search Media.

t In the Directory panel, right-click and select Search.

The Media Search tab appears in the Research panel, and the Search functions area opens.

Searching for Assets

2. Type the text you want to search for in the Text text box and then select options to further refine the scope of your search:

t Click the arrow to open the Text Fields area, and select the kinds of text fields to

search in.

t Click the arrow to open the Search In area, and select a folder to search in.

t Click the arrow to open the Types menu, and select a type of asset.

t Click the arrow to open the Category menu, and select one or more categories of

assets.

2 Preparing to Log

Search text

Double arrow

Number of items found

Pin button

t Select a range of creation times or modification times during which you want to

See “Interplay Assist Search Options” on page 35 for more detailed descriptions of the search options. For the best response times for your search, make it as specific as you can. The search options you select are saved as a user setting and appear the next time you start Assist and run a search.

3. Click Search.

The results of the search appear in the Results tab of the Research panel. As the search progresses, the number of items found appear at the top right corner. The number increments while the search is ongoing, and then reports the total number found when the search is finished. The search finds up to the first 2500 assets that meet your search criteria. A subsequent search replaces the previous results. If you want to keep more than one set of search results open at a time, you can “pin” the results display to preserve it as a tab in the Research panel and then open new search results as a separate tab. This way, you can keep multiple search results open at once.

search.

4. To return to the Search functions area, click the double arrow.

5. To keep the results of the search open as a tab, click the Pin button.

The search is preserved as a tab in the Research panel.

After you preserve several searches, you might not be able to see tabs for all of them. This depends on your screen size. You can close tabs you opened earlier to see newly preserved searches.

Interplay Assist Search Options

The following table describes options you can select when performing a search for assets in the Interplay database. For more information, see “Searching for Assets” on page 33.

Search Category Options Description

Text User-supplied text Allows you to search all text-based entries, for example, Name,

Tape, Video ID, Comments, and so on.

Text Fields • Any system

property or custom metadata containing a text field

• Select All

• Clear All

Search In Allows you to search in any Interplay folder in the database.

Types Master Clip

Subclip Sequence

Category Local News

Politics International Sports Weather

Time All dates and times

Last 10 minutes Last hour Last 24 hours Last week Last month Last year

Allows you to search in any text field you select; Name is selected by default.

Allows you to specify the type of asset for your search (you must select at least one type for each search).

Allows you to specify which category to search. The specific categories are defined by the system administrator.

Allows you to set a time parameter for your search (time parameters refer to the date the media object was last modified).

2 Preparing to Log

Navigating to a Folder That Contains a Selected Asset

You can use a command to navigate (go to) to a folder that contains a selected asset.

To navigate to a folder that contains a selected asset:

1. Right-click one of the following and select Open Enclosing Folder:

- An image in the Video monitor (Source mode or Shotlist mode)

- A clip in the Source Locators tab, the Source Metadata tab, the Shotlist Locators tab, or the Shotlist Metadata tab

- The metadata area of the Shotlist Metadata tab

- An asset in the Research panel (a folder tab or a search tab).

The Open Enclosing Folder dialog box opens and displays a list of folders that contain the asset.

2. Select a folder and click OK.

The folder is selected in the directory tree and the contents of the folder are displayed in a tab in the Research panel, with the selected asset highlighted.

Organizing Folders

To organize your folders, you might want to create new folders in which to store material, create a shortcut to a folder, or remove a folder. You should create a folder in which to store your shotlists, for example. You create new folders in the Directory panel.

It is possible to create a new folder, load a clip in the Video monitor, open the new folder in the Research panel, select Source mode in the Video monitor, and click the clip and drag it to the Research panel. If you then click the same clip and drag it to the new folder in the Directory panel, it appears and now exists twice in the same folder with the same name. If you do this, make sure you change the clip’s name to something unique.

You can also copy, move, and duplicate clips. See “Moving, Copying, and Duplicating Clips

or Sequences” on page 38.

To create a new folder:

1. Navigate to the folder in the Directory panel.

2. Right-click the icon for the folder, and select Create Folder.

The Create Folder dialog box opens.

3. Type the folder name in the Name of Folder text box, and click OK.

Shortcut

The new folder appears.

To delete a folder:

1. In Interplay Access, delete the contents of the folder.

You cannot delete the contents of the folder from within Assist.

2. In Assist, navigate to the folder in the Directory panel.

3. Right-click the icon for the folder, and select Delete Folder.

The folder is deleted.

To create a shortcut to a project or folder:

1. Navigate to the project or folder in the Directory panel.

2. Right-click the icon for the project or folder, and select Create Shortcut.

The shortcut appears in italic above the server name in the Directory panel.

Organizing Folders

To rename a shortcut:

t Right-click the shortcut name, and select Rename Shortcut.

To remove a shortcut to a project or folder:

t Right-click the shortcut name, and select Delete Shortcut.

The shortcut is removed.

You can move or copy clips and shotlists to other folders in the Directory panel in order to group and organize various types of material based on project needs.

2 Preparing to Log

Moving, Copying, and Duplicating Clips or Sequences

To move clips or sequences from one folder to another:

1. In the Research panel, select the clip or sequence that you want to move.

2. Drag the clip or sequence to the destination folder in the Directory panel, and release the mouse button.

To copy clips or sequences from one folder to another:

1. In the Research panel, select the clip or sequence that you want to copy.

2. Press and hold Ctrl as you drag the clip or sequence to the destination in the Directory panel, and release the mouse button. This creates a link to the original clip, and hence a copy of the asset within the new folder.

When you copy clips from one folder to another, any custom columns that you created in the first folder are also copied to the second folder. The custom columns appear in the order in which you created them.

To duplicate a clip:

t Right-click the clip or sequence and select Duplicate.

A new copy of the clip or sequence with a new Creation date is created. Assist appends a number such as .01 to the end of the name, creating a new name.

The duplicated clip refers to the original media; the media can be deleted accidentally when

the duplicated clip is deleted.

Loading Clips

When you load a clip into the Video monitor, the head frame is displayed. Locators for that clip that were defined by the current user are shown in the Source Locators tab. Locators created by other users are not visible unless you choose to show them. For more information about showing locators, see “Displaying All Locators and Annotations” on page 109 or

“Displaying Locators and Annotations for Particular Users” on page 110.

To load a clip into the Video monitor:

t Click the head frame of a clip in the Research panel.

You cannot undo this operation. Click the head frame of another clip to replace a clip in the Video monitor.

Updating the Application Display

Existing locators

Video monitor

Head frame of clip

Research panel

Timecode

Clip Name

Updating the Application Display

If material is ingesting as you are working or other people are working in the same project, you might need to update the application display to see the latest content.

To update the application display, do one of the following:

t Select View > Refresh all.

t Press F5.

The Directory panel, the Research panel, the Source tabs, and the Video monitor update to the latest content. In the Research panel, this includes only the tab in front if you have more than one tab. Tabs that are behind the active tab don’t update. If you try to update before a previous update operation has completed, Assist ignores the second attempt. Search result tabs are also not updated.

2 Preparing to Log

Refresh button

To refresh the tabs that are behind the active tab:

1. Click the tab you want to update to bring it to the front.

2. Select View > Refresh all.

The tab updates to the latest content.

To refresh just the Research panel:

t Click the Refresh button.

To update a search result tab:

t Execute the search again.

3 Customizing the Research Panel

Resize bar

You can modify how the Research panel displays information about the assets stored on the Interplay Engine. You can also specify the information you want to view about each asset by customizing column headings and column displays.

For more information, see the following topics:

• Changing the Research Panel and Logging Panel Sizes

• Using the Research Panel Display

• Opening Multiple Tabs in the Research Panel

• Changing Writable Properties

• Viewing Thumbnail Images

Changing the Research Panel and Logging Panel Sizes

You can adjust the sizes of the Research panel and the Logging panel to maximize the display area of the panel you need for your work. The Research panel and the Logging panel sizes are connected: when you make one larger, the other becomes smaller.

To change the Research panel and Logging panel sizes:

1. Move the mouse over the Resize bar at the top of the Research panel.

3 Customizing the Research Panel

The cursor displays arrows pointing up and down.

2. Click the Resize bar and drag it up or down to resize the panel.

The Logging panel can enlarge to show only the maximum number of entries in a particular tab. For example, if you drag the Resize bar down, the Source Locators tab in the Logging panel enlarges only to the extent that it contains locators.

Using the Research Panel Display

The Research panel provides you with information on all Avid assets stored on the Interplay Engine, including audio and video clips, graphics, and text files. See the following topics:

• “Asset Icons” on page 42

• “Working with Column Headings” on page 43

• “Selecting Values for a Custom Property” on page 46

• “Selecting Asset Types” on page 49

• “Displaying Resolutions” on page 50

• “Creating New Columns” on page 50

• “Enlarging or Reducing Column Size” on page 51

• “Working with Layouts” on page 51

• “Default Column Headings” on page 52

Asset Icons

An icon identifies the type of asset for each asset, as summarized in the following table.

Asset Type Icon Object Description

Master clip A clip that references audio and video media files formed from

Subclip A clip that references a selected portion of a master clip

Shotlist or Sequence A media element, partial or complete, that you create from individual

Audio clip A clip that references audio media files formed from captured sound or

Restricted clip A clip containing restricted material.

captured footage or imported files

clips

imported audio files

Asset Type Icon Object Description

Column headings

Frame column

In-progress master clip A clip in the process of being captured; when the capture is complete,

the icon updates to the standard master clip icon.

In-progress audio clip An audio clip in the process of being captured; when the capture is

complete, the icon updates to the standard audio clip icon.

Working with Column Headings

You can select individual or multiple column headings that you can display or hide in the Research panel. Columns in the Research panel display metadata for assets in the Interplay database. Metadata is also displayed in the Source Metadata and Shotlist Metadata tabs (see

“Working with Metadata” on page 115).

Using the Research Panel Display

Your Interplay administrator needs to set your user privileges in the Instinct/Assist User Settings view in the Interplay Administrator so you can modify column headings or create new column headings. If you are having problems, see your Interplay administrator.

“Default Column Headings” on page 52 describes the default column headings. For

information about displaying resolution columns, see “Displaying Resolutions” on page 50.

You can sort the information in all of the columns except the Frame column. The Type column sorts alphabetically depending on the type of object (audio clip, master clip, sequence, subclip). Date columns sort chronologically.

To sort information in columns:

t Click the column heading. To reverse the sort order, click the column heading again.

To move a column in the Research panel:

1. Click the heading of the column that you want to move.

The entire column is highlighted.

3 Customizing the Research Panel

2. Drag the column to the position you want, and release the mouse button.

The column appears in the new position, and columns to the right are moved to make room.

To hide a column:

t Right-click the column heading and select Hide this Column.

When you hide columns, they are listed on the menu below the Hide this Column option. You cannot hide the Frame column.

To display a hidden column:

t Right-click a column heading and select Show heading.

To select a working set of columns:

1. Right-click a column heading and select Select Working Set of Columns.

The Select Working Set of Columns dialog box opens. The dialog box displays three sections of properties as defined in the Interplay Administrator, separated by dotted lines: System, Custom, and Resolutions.

Using the Research Panel Display

2. Select the columns you want to show in the Research panel.

3. (Option) To clear the selection and start over, click Clear Selection.

4. Click OK.

The columns you selected appear in the Research panel.

Modifying Values for a Column

Columns in the Research panel display metadata for assets in the Interplay database. You typically enter metadata for properties on the Metadata tab or Shotlist tab in the Logging panel (see “Entering Metadata” on page 116). You can also enter or edit values for properties displayed in columns in the Research panel. To modify column properties, your Interplay administrator needs to set a permission in the Instinct/Assist User Settings view in the Interplay Administrator.

You cannot type information in all columns. Some properties are set as read-only by your system administrator or by the system (such as Created By) and cannot be changed.

To enter a value or modify a value in a column:

t Click the cell for an asset and type or edit a value.

3 Customizing the Research Panel

Selecting Values for a Custom Property

You can select a property value from a list for a custom property rather than typing it in. You can select this value from a column in the Research Panel or from a field in the Source Metadata or Shotlist Metadata tab. Your system administrator needs to first create a custom property in Interplay Administrator and then import an XML file containing the values into Interplay Administrator. For more information, see “Adding a Custom Property” in the Avid Interplay Engine and Interplay Archive Engine Administration Guide.

For example, you might want to specify the status of a particular asset. The XML file might contain status values such as Opened, Approved, and so on. In the Research panel, you can click the Status column cell for an asset and select a value rather than typing it in each time.

To select a value for a custom property in the Research panel:

1. Make sure your Administrator has set up the custom property and imported the list of values.

2. Right-click a column heading and select Select Working Set of Columns.

3. Navigate to the new custom column heading, select it, and click OK.

Using the Research Panel Display

4. Locate the custom column in the Research panel and click it in the cell for the asset you want to label.

The list of values for the property appears.

5. Select a value.

The value appears in the cell.

6. Select values for additional assets.

3 Customizing the Research Panel

To select a value for a custom property in a Metadata tab:

1. Make sure your Administrator has set up the custom property and imported the list of values.

2. Load a source clip or a shotlist and click the Source Metadata tab or the Shotlist Metadata tab.

3. Select Metadata > Modify Metadata Fields.

The Metadata Field Editor dialog box opens.

4. Select the custom property in the Field Dictionary and click Show.

The property is displayed in the Displayed Fields list.

5. (Option) If you want the field to appear in all clips or shotlists, select the property and select Important Field.

6. Click OK.

The custom property appears in the metadata for the source clip or shotlist.

7. Click the custom field.

The list of values for the property appears.

8. Select a value.

The value appears in the cell.

Selecting Asset Types

Using the Research Panel Display

To select asset types and reference clips to display:

1. Right-click the Type column heading in the Research panel and select Set Type Filter.

You need to right-click the column heading. If you right-click elsewhere in the column, the

option does not appear in the context menu.

The Set Type Filter dialog box opens.

2. Select the asset types you want to display.

3. (Option) Select “Show reference clips” to display objects that are referenced by sequences.

4. Click OK.

5. (Option) Save the layout if you want to preserve your type filter settings.

3 Customizing the Research Panel

Online resolution

Partially online resolution

Offline or not availalble resolution

Displaying Resolutions

Among the column headings you can show are the resolutions associated with the clip, subclip, or sequence (see “Working with Column Headings” on page 43). The information in the resolution column describes the resolution status of the clip, subclip, or sequence as shown in the following illustration.

The circles indicate the following:

• Filled circle: online

• Empty circle: offline or not available

• Half-filled circle: partially online

You must click the clip, subclip, or sequence in the Research panel to accurately display the resolution status. When you click the item, the system retrieves the latest resolution status. The status might not be correct if you are viewing an unselected subclip or sequence.

For more information about resolution status, see “Viewing Media Status” in the Avid Interplay Access User’s Guide.

Creating New Columns

You can create new column headings in the Research panel, if you have the user privileges set in the Instinct/Assist User Settings view in the Interplay Administrator. When you create a new column heading, it also appears in the list of system properties in the Field Dictionary of the Metadata Field Editor, however, you must exit Interplay Assist and log in again for the new property to appear. For more information about the Metadata Field Editor, see

“Working with Metadata Fields” on page 117.

You cannot create two headings with the same name. If the new heading has the same name as a system property or a user property — for example, FPS (frames per second) — the new column displays the properties for the heading already in the database.

Using the Research Panel Display

Check your heading name carefully. If it is incorrect, click Cancel or change it. Once you click OK, you cannot undo the action, change the name, or remove it from the list of column headings. You can hide any heading (see “Working with Column Headings”

on page 43).

To create a new column:

1. Right-click a column heading and select New Column.

The Add New Column dialog box opens.

2. Type a name for the new column, and then click OK.

The new column appears to the left of the selected column in the Research panel.

3. Type information in the new column for at least one clip or shotlist.

Enlarging or Reducing Column Size

You can reduce the column size to conserve screen real estate, or enlarge it to better view the head frames or the information in a column. If you change the column in which the head frames are displayed, the size of the frame changes. You cannot change the size of an individual frame; you must enlarge or reduce all cells in the column together. When you enlarge or reduce the head frame column, the frames enlarge or reduce in height and width. Other columns only widen or narrow.

To enlarge or to reduce the column size:

1. Move the mouse over one of the borders of a column heading in the Research panel.

The cursor displays arrows pointing outward.

2. Click the cursor and drag it to the right or the left to resize the column.

The column enlarges or reduces.

Working with Layouts

Any time you modify a column, the Research panel maintains the custom layout for the individual folder during your current work session even if you switch projects or folders. When you quit your session, the customized layout is lost unless you save it. You can apply saved layouts to any asset display in the Research panel. The Default layout includes the columns listed in “Default Column Headings” on page 52. You cannot modify or delete the Default layout.

To save a layout:

1. Open a project and select a folder.

2. Modify the columns according to your preference.

3 Customizing the Research Panel

Layout menu

3. Click the Layout menu, and select Save Layout As.

The Enter Column Layout Name dialog box opens.

4. Type a name for the custom view, and click OK.

The layout is saved and added to the list of layouts in the Layout menu. You can select any of the saved layouts from the Layout menu.

5. (Option) If you want to save changes to an existing layout, click Save Layout.

To open a saved layout:

t Click the Layout menu, and select a saved menu from the menu list.

To delete the current layout:

1. Click the Layout menu, and select Delete Current Layout.

A message box appears asking if you want to permanently delete the layout.

2. Click OK.

Default Column Headings

The following table lists the column headings that are displayed by default.

Heading Description

[Frame] For video clips, displays a thumbnail of the clip. This might be the first frame of a clip

(also called a head frame), or if the clip was checked in from an Avid editing application, it might be some other representative frame. For audio clips, displays a standardized waveform.

Type Type of clip information for each media file.

Opening Multiple Tabs in the Research Panel

Multiple Media tabs Close button

Heading Description

Name Name of the clip or sequence.

Creation Date Date and time the clip or sequence was created.

Modified Date Date and time a sequence was last changed.

Tracks All tracks used by this media object.

Duration length of the clip.

Video ID Identification number created to track a clip in a broadcast environment.

Tape Source tape name.

Comments Any comments added as metadata to the media file when it was originally captured.

Opening Multiple Tabs in the Research Panel

When you open a new folder, it replaces the current folder in the Research panel. If you want to keep the contents of more than one folder open at a time, you can “pin” the folder display to preserve it as a tab in the Research panel and then open a new folder as a separate tab. This way, you can keep multiple project folders open at once.

To open multiple project folders in the Research panel:

1. Click the tab you want to preserve in the Research panel, and then click the Pin button.

The folder is preserved as a tab.

2. In the Directory panel, click a different project folder.

The folder opens as a new Media tab in the Research panel, and the pinned tab remains in the panel but becomes inactive.

3. Click an inactive tab to open it.

The active tab becomes inactive. After you pin several project folder tabs, you might not be able to see all of them. This depends on your screen size. You can close tabs you opened earlier to see newly opened tabs.

3 Customizing the Research Panel

To close a tab in the Research panel:

t Click the tab you want to close, and then click the Close button.

Changing Writable Properties

If you have write privileges in your Interplay environment, you can change several of the properties associated with assets, for example, Comments or Name. These are called writable properties. If you try to change a writable property that another user modified after you accessed the asset, the Property Merge dialog box opens.

For example, someone else who accessed a clip in Interplay Access after you loaded the same clip in the Research panel might have changed the name of the clip on the server; when you then try to rename that clip, the Property Merge dialog box opens. The change could have been made in any Interplay application, including Assist, Instinct, Interplay Access, or the Interplay Window in an Avid editing application.

You can view the original status of the writable property, your change, and the current status of the property on the server, and you can choose to update the asset on the server or to update the asset on your system. You can update the asset on the server by merging the changes; you can also can create the text of the change.

To update your asset with the change from the server:

t In the Property Merge dialog box, select Update from Server.

The asset is updated with the change from the server.

To update the server with your change:

1. In the Property Merge dialog box, select the version of the property you want to see in the Merged Value text box:

- Original - the state of the asset before you accessed it

- Your change - this version is selected by default

- Current (on server)

You can select any combination of the versions. The versions appear in the Merged Value text box in the order in which you select them.

2. (Option) Edit the text in the Merged Value text box to create the change you want.

3. Select Submit to Server.

The asset is updated with the text in the Merged Value text box.

Viewing Thumbnail Images

You can choose to display thumbnail images of a master clip or a subclip that is loaded in the Video monitor. Thumbnail images of a clip are time-based and are displayed every ten seconds. You can also choose to display thumbnail images of locators in a clip. You have the option of showing only thumbnails, only locator thumbnails, or both. If you click a thumbnail, the position indicator moves to that location in the Video monitor.

Viewing Thumbnail Images

You can choose to view the thumbnails in a Research Panel tab or in a separate window. Viewing in a window might be useful when you have a wide monitor or a second monitor.

During Frame Chase capture, additional thumbnails are added to the view.

To display thumbnails:

1. Load a clip or a subclip into the Video monitor.

2. Select one of the following:

t Preferences > Thumbnail Viewer > Show in tab.

t Preferences > Thumbnail Viewer > Show in window.

3. Select one or both of the following:

t Preferences > Thumbnail Viewer > Show thumbnail every ten seconds.

t Preferences > Thumbnail Viewer > Show frame locator thumbnails.

4. Select View > Show Thumbnail Viewer.

3 Customizing the Research Panel

The thumbnails are displayed in a separate window or in a tab in the Research panel (click the tab to view the thumbnails). Thumbnails are displayed in a grid, with the timecode of each thumbnail below it. Locator thumbnails display an icon to the right of the timecode; time-based thumbnails do not display an icon.

If the media is ingesting, additional thumbnails appear at the bottom of the grid approximately every 10 seconds.

5. (Option) Click a thumbnail image.

The position indicator in the Video monitor goes to the frame corresponding to the thumbnail.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video

Monitor

The Video monitor provides you with the controls you need to play, cue, and mark video clips as you log material.

See the following topics:

• Video Monitor Controls

• Changing the Video Monitor Size

• Selecting Functions from the Video Monitor Context Menu

• Changing the Aspect Ratio

• Playing Video

• Using the Zoom Bar

• Marking and Cueing Footage

• Monitoring Audio and Video

• Creating Subclips

• Using Match Frames

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Preview area

Duration

Mark Clip controlsTransport controls

Go to Start button

Timecode display

Clip title

Create Subclip button

Add Locator button

Display mode buttons

Position bar Zoom bar

Video Monitor Controls

The following illustration and table describe the video monitor controls:

Interplay Assist Video Monitor Controls

Control Description

Timecode display Describes the hours, minutes, seconds, and frame number of the current frame. The

default start timecode is 01.00.00.00. You can also click the Timecode display and use the numeric keypad to go to a specific timecode. See “Using Timecode to Find a

Frame” on page 72.

Clip title In Source mode, displays the name of the active source.

In Shotlist mode, displays the name of the active shotlist.

Video Monitor Controls

Interplay Assist Video Monitor Controls (Continued)

Control Description

Display mode buttons Indicates which clip or shotlist is displayed in the Video monitor:

• Source — source clip most recently selected in the Research panel

• Shotlist — active shotlist currently loaded

Preview area Displays the video for the selected clip or sequence.

Duration Displays the length (hours:minutes:seconds) of the material between the Mark IN

and Mark OUT points.

Go to Start button Moves the position indicator to the start of the clip or the sequence.

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

position indicator. See “Using the Position Bar and the Position Indicator” on

page 69.

Zoom bar Lets you zoom in on a section of the position bar so that you can more easily work

with long clips and sequences. See “Using the Zoom Bar” on page 74.

Transport controls Allows you to step or move through a clip or a sequence. For keyboard shortcuts, see

“Using the Keyboard” on page 149.

Mark Clip controls Allow you to mark IN and OUT points and move to those points. For keyboard

shortcuts, see “Using the Keyboard” on page 149.

Create Subclip button Creates a subclip from the marked region. See “Creating Subclips” on page 89.

Add Locator button Adds a locator. See “Logging Events With Locators” on page 95.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Changing the Video Monitor Size

You might want to work with the Video monitor and the other panels in different sizes. Several monitor modes are available: Large Monitor mode, Medium Monitor mode, Small Monitor mode, and Full-Screen Monitor mode. The application opens by default in Small Monitor mode.

The next time you open the application, it opens in the same mode it was in when you closed it.

You select the Video monitor size from the View menu.

Display button

Previous Locator

Next Locator

Locator Editor

Changing the Video Monitor Size

Using Large Monitor Mode

In Large Monitor mode, you have the option of displaying only the Video monitor. This might help you as you log footage. You can switch the display when you want to use the other three panels. You can resize these panels; see “Resizing Panels” on page 65.

To use Large Monitor mode:

1. Select View > Large Monitor.

The application displays either the Video monitor or the other three panels. The Video monitor includes a Locator Editor in the bottom right corner, Next Locator and Previous locator buttons, and a large timecode display to the left of the controls. When you add locators, you can type and edit the locator text in the Locator editor so you don’t have to leave the Video monitor workspace. See “Adding Locator Text in Large Monitor Mode”

on page 99.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

2. If the Video monitor is open, click the Display button to see the other panels.

The rest of the application is displayed.

3. To see the Video monitor again, click the Display button.

Using Medium Monitor Mode

In Medium Monitor mode, the Video monitor is displayed with the other three panels. The Logging panel occupies the entire right side, allowing you to work more effectively with shotlists. You can resize the Directory panel and the Research panel; see “Resizing Panels”

on page 65.

To use Medium Monitor mode:

t Select View > Medium Monitor.

All four panels are displayed, with a large timecode display to the left of the Video monitor controls.

Changing the Video Monitor Size

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Using Small Monitor Mode

In Small Monitor mode, the Video monitor is displayed with the other three panels. The Logging panel shares the right side with the Research panel. This mode might be helpful when you are searching for media and setting up custom layouts in the Research panel. You can resize the Logging panel and the Research panel; see “Resizing Panels” on page 65.

To use Small Monitor mode:

t Select View > Small Monitor.

Each panel is displayed in its own quadrant, with the timecode display in the upper left corner of the Video monitor.

Using Full-Screen Monitor Mode

In Full-Screen Monitor mode, the Video Monitor completely fills the screen of the computer monitor. If you have a dual-monitor system, the Video Monitor fills the screen of the computer monitor that is not displaying the Assist application window. This feature is especially useful if you use a large monitor for playing and reviewing your material.

When you use Full-Screen Monitor mode, the Video Monitor in the Assist application window becomes inactive. All controls for playing media remain active. If you are using Full-Screen Monitor mode with a single computer monitor, you are not able to see the video and playback controls at the same time, but you can use the keyboard shortcuts (such the space bar or J-K-L play) to control playback.

To switch to Full-Screen Monitor mode:

t Select View > Full Screen Monitor or press Ctrl+Shift+8.

To leave Full-Screen Monitor mode, do one of the following:

t With focus on the Full-Screen Monitor, press Esc or Ctrl+Shift+8 to switch to Small

Monitor mode.

t Use a menu command or keyboard shortcut to switch to another mode. For example,

press Ctrl+9 to switch to Medium Monitor mode.

Changing the Video Monitor Size

Resizing Panels

In the different monitor modes, you can adjust the sizes of the panels to maximize the display area of the panel you need for your work. The panel sizes are connected: when you make one larger, the other becomes smaller.

In Small Monitor mode and Large Monitor mode, you can vertically resize the Logging panel and the Research panel. In Medium Monitor mode, you can horizontally resize the Directory panel and the Research panel. In Large Monitor mode, you can horizontally resize the Directory panel and the Logging and Research panels.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Resize bar

To change panel sizes:

1. Move the mouse over the Resize bar.

The cursor displays arrows pointing up and down for vertical resizing or left and right for horizontal resizing.

2. Click the Resize bar and drag it to resize the panel.

Selecting Functions from the Video Monitor Context Menu

You can select several functions from a context menu in the Video monitor.

To select a function from the Video Monitor context menu:

t Right-click in the Video monitor and select a function.

Changing the Aspect Ratio

For more information on these functions, see the following topics:

• “Adding Locators” on page 96

• “Marking Restricted Material” on page 101

• “Displaying Locator Indicators” on page 99

• “Displaying Footage at Full or Half Resolution” on page 73

• “Changing the Aspect Ratio” on page 67

• “Using Match Frame to Apply a Restriction” on page 102

Changing the Aspect Ratio

You can change the aspect ratio for the current source clip. Changing aspect ratio resizes the video and the monitor.

To change the aspect ratio:

t Select Preferences > Change Aspect Ratio > aspect ratio.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

16 x 9 aspect ratio

The video changes to the aspect ratio you selected. You cannot undo this operation.

Repeat the procedure to restore your original aspect ratio.

Playing Video

You can play video in several ways. You can do the following:

• Play using the Play button; see “Playing Video Clips” on page 69.

• Instantly access frames or move through footage using the position indicator within the position bar under the Video monitor (scrub). See “Using the Position Bar and the

Position Indicator” on page 69.

• Play or step through the footage using the Transport controls. See “Using the Transport

Controls” on page 70.

• Use the J-K-L keys for three-finger play. See “Playing Footage with the J-K-L Keys

(Three-Button Play)” on page 71.

• Move to a particular timecode with the Timecode display. See “Using Timecode to Find

a Frame” on page 72.

• Play or step using keyboard equivalents. For keyboard shortcuts, see “Using the

Keyboard” on page 149.

For information about what resolutions you can play, see the following topics:.

• “Displaying Footage at Full or Half Resolution” on page 73

• “Enabling Two-Field Video Playback” on page 73

• “Understanding Target Resolution and Working Resolution” on page 74

Playing Video Clips

When you are in Source mode, you play source clips. When you are in Shotlist mode, you play clips in the shotlist. You can also play sequences and shotlists in Source mode.

To play the video clip:

1. Load a clip into the Video monitor. For information on loading video clips, see

“Loading Clips” on page 38.

2. Do one of the following:

Playing Video

t Click the Play button.

t Press Ctrl+space bar.

For more additional keyboard shortcuts, see “Using Predefined Key Mappings” on

page 157.

To stop or pause playback:

t Click the Play button or press Ctrl+space bar again.

Using the Position Bar and the Position Indicator

You can use the position indicator that appears in the position bar under the Video monitor to move to a specific point in a clip or sequence. This allows you to scrub through the video clip to locate the frame you want to cue or mark.

Timing marks are displayed in the position bar at five-minute intervals.

The zoom bar is located below the position bar. You can use the zoom bar to zoom in on a section of the position bar so that you can more easily work with long clips and sequences. For more information, see “Using the Zoom Bar” on page 74.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Position indicatorPosition bar

Play buttonFast Forward button

Rewind button

Step Back One Frame button

Step Forward One Frame button Play IN to OUT button

To access frames within a clip in the Video monitor or to move through the footage:

1. Move the position indicator within the position bar under the monitor by clicking anywhere in the position bar or by dragging the position indicator to the left or right. The speed with which you drag the position indicator determines the speed at which you move through the footage.

2. (Option) Alt+drag the position indicator to fine-tune its movement as you scrub through the video clip.

Using the Transport Controls

You can use the Transport Control buttons that appear under the Video monitor to play and step through your footage. You can also use the keyboard to manipulate footage. See “Using

Predefined Key Mappings” on page 157.

To play the clip:

t Do one of the following:

- Click the Play button.

- Click the Play IN to OUT button.

To play the clip backward or forward in one-frame increments:

t Do one of the following:

- Click the Step Back One Frame button.

- Click the Step Forward One Frame button.

To play backward or forward at double speed:

t Do one of the following:

- Click the Rewind button.

- Click the Fast Forward button.

Playing Footage with the J-K-L Keys (Three-Button Play)

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

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

1. Do one of the following:

t Load a clip or sequence into the Source or Record monitor.Load a clip or sequence

into the Source/Record monitor.

t Open a pop-up monitor.

t Select a clip in a bin in Frame view.

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

Playing Video

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

t Press the L key multiple times to move forward through the footage at faster speeds,

as described in the following table:

Press the L Key To Play Footage at NTSC Rate PAL Rate 24p Rate

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

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

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

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

t Press the J key to move backward at the same shuttle speed increments.

t Press the K and L keys together for slow forward (8 fps for NTSC, 6 fps for PAL,

and 6 fps for 24p projects).

t Press the K and J keys together for slow backward.

t Press and hold the K key and tap the L key or the J key to step through footage one

frame at a time.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

0-1x-2x-3x-5x-8x 1x 2x 3x 5x 8x

To slow or change play direction one speed at a time:

t Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) while you tap the J or L key.

Play slows or changes direction one speed at a time from the speed at which you are currently playing.

For example, you are shuttling backward with the J key at 2x normal speed. Press and hold Alt and tap the L key once. Play slows to backward at normal speed (1x speed). Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) and tap L once again. Play stops. Continue to hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) and tap L once again. Play goes forward at normal speed. Continue to hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) and tap L once again. Play goes forward at 2x normal speed. Continue to hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) and tap L once again; play goes forward at 3x normal speed. Release the keys to continue playing forward at 3x normal speed.

To pause shuttling:

t Press the K key.

To stop shuttling:

t Press the space bar.

Using Timecode to Find a Frame

You can type timecode values by using the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard to cue a loaded clip or sequence to a specific frame. Typing a number overwrites timecode from right to left, which allows you to move to a frame near the current timecode by modifying only the timecode values on the right of the timecode display. The default start timecode is 01.00.00.00.

To cue to a frame based on timecode:

1. Click in the Video monitor to make it active.

2. Make sure the keyboard NumLock function is enabled.

3. Type the timecode for the frame on the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard.

The new numbers appear in the timecode display as bold text, while existing numbers appear dimmed. You can delete the new numbers by pressing the Delete key on the numeric keyboard. You can cancel the timecode change by pressing the Escape key or by clicking outside the Video monitor.

4. Press Enter on the numeric keypad.

The Video monitor displays the frame at the specified timecode.

Displaying Footage at Full or Half Resolution

The Assist application displays footage at full or half resolution, depending on the size of the Video monitor. Large Monitor mode and Full-Screen Monitor mode display footage at full resolution. Displaying at full resolution might negatively affect system performance. You can select an option to always display footage at half resolution to conserve resources.

To display footage at half resolution in Large Monitor mode and Full-Screen Monitor mode:

t Do one of the following:

- Select Preferences > Allow Full Resolution Video so it does not display a check mark.

Playing Video

- Right-click in the Video monitor and select Allow Full Resolution Video so it does not display a check mark.

To display footage at full resolution in Large Monitor mode and Full-Screen Monitor mode:

t Do one of the following:

- Select Preferences > Allow Full Resolution Video so it displays a check mark.

- Right-click in the Video monitor and select Allow Full Resolution Video so it displays a check mark.

Enabling Two-Field Video Playback

By default, if you are playing back interlaced media, Interplay Assist displays only one video field in order to achieve the best results on your computer monitor. In most cases, you should not need to change this setting. However, if desired, you can select an option to display both fields when playing interlaced media in Full-Screen Monitor mode.

To enable two-field video playback:

1. Select Preferences > Allow Two-Field Video so that the option displays a check mark.

2. Switch to Full-Screen Monitor mode (select View > Full Screen Monitor or press Ctrl+Shift+8).

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

To disable two-field playback:

t Select Preferences > Allow Two-Field Video so that the option does not display a check

mark.

Understanding Target Resolution and Working Resolution

Your Interplay administrator sets the target resolution for playback in the and the working resolution for all users in the Interplay Administrator. Target resolution for playback is set in the Editing Settings tab of the Application Database Settings view, and working resolution is set in the Instinct/Assist User Settings view.

To work with footage, your working resolution must be at least equal to the resolution of the video clip you want to use, or you must have user permission settings that allow you to work with the necessary resolution.

Your working resolution and your target resolution are displayed at the top of all tabs in the Logging panel. For more information, see “Sending Material to Playback” on page 139.

Using the Zoom Bar

The zoom bar is located below the position bar. You can use the zoom bar to zoom in on a section of the position bar so that you can more easily work with long clips and sequences. For example, in a two-hour clip, you can use the zoom bar to expand the position bar to show only a few minutes of the clip.

When you open a clip, the entire position bar is displayed and the zoom control fills the zoom bar. As you adjust the amount of zoom, the zoom control becomes narrower.

The following illustrations show a two-hour clip and the same clip zoomed in to a duration of slightly more than five minutes. The clip includes two locators that are marked a few seconds apart. In the first illustration, both locators are represented by a single locator mark, which is shown by a white cross on the locator mark. In the second illustration, both locators are visible.

Using the Zoom Bar

Position bar for a two-hour clip (marks every 5 minutes)

Zoom bar with the zoom control filling the zoom bar

Position bar for the same clip, zoomed in

You can drag the zoom control to another part of the position bar, while keeping the same amount of zoom (the zoom factor). This action does not affect the position indicator, so the image in the monitor does not change until you move the position indicator (for example, by clicking in the position bar).

To zoom in or out on a particular area of the position bar:

1. Drag the position bar or the zoom control to an area you want to focus on.

2. Change the zoom by doing one of the following:

t Click and drag either end of the zoom control. Drag in to zoom in and drag out to

zoom out.

t With the mouse pointer over or near the position bar and zoom bar, rotate the mouse

wheel forward to zoom in and backward to zoom out.

t Select View > Position Bar Zoom In or View > Position Bar Zoom Out.

t Press Ctrl++ to zoom in or Ctrl+- to zoom out.

In all cases except clicking and dragging, the position indicator scrolls into view if needed and stays in view throughout the zoom.

To zoom in on an area marked by IN and OUT points:

t Select View > Zoom In on Marks.

The application zooms and scrolls so that the IN point is visible near the left end of the position bar and the OUT point is visible near the right end. (Instinct only) In trim mode, as you select clips to trim, this function is performed automatically.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Note the following features:

• Position indicator and auto-scroll: If you play while zoomed in, the position bar maintains the amount of zoom and scrolls to keep the position indicator visible (auto-scroll). If you drag the position indicator or IN and OUT points while zoomed in, the position bar also maintains the amount of zoom and auto-scrolls. The further you move the mouse pointer from the end of the position bar, the faster the auto-scroll.

If the position indicator is not visible in the position bar when you start to play a clip, the position bar automatically scrolls so that the position indicator comes into view.

You can zoom in or out or drag the zoom control while playing. If you make the position indicator visible by zooming or scrolling, auto-scroll resumes when needed.

The position bar also scrolls if you move to a specific point in the clip, for example, by using the Go to IN or Go to OUT buttons, or by jumping to a locator.

• Frame-chase editing: If you zoom in on an in-progress clip, the zoom bar automatically zooms and the position bar scrolls so that your view of the position bar remains consistent as more material becomes available. Auto-scrolling keeps the position indicator visible when playing. For example, if you zoom in to view the last 10 minutes of a clip and play near the end, you continue to see the last 10 minutes of the available media for the entire capture operation.

• Maximum zoom in: The maximum zoom in expands the position bar enough so that you can see locators on adjacent frames. You might not be able to zoom in for clips less than ten seconds long; the exact duration depends on the width of the monitor.

Marking and Cueing Footage

You can mark clips with IN and OUT points and cue the footage to specific timecodes. See the following topics:

• “Marking IN and OUT Points” on page 76

• “Dragging IN Points and OUT Points” on page 79

• “Cueing the Footage” on page 79

Marking IN and OUT Points

You can mark IN and OUT points for your source clips, which allows you to build a shotlist quickly by splicing the marked clips into place one after another. You cannot mark IN and OUT points on clips in a shotlist; you must mark them on source clips. You cannot undo marking IN and OUT points. The Mark IN point frame and the Mark OUT point frame are included when you create a subclip from the clip or drag the clip into a shotlist.

Marking and Cueing Footage

To mark IN points and OUT points before adding them to a shotlist:

1. Load a source clip into the Video monitor. For information on loading video clips, see

“Loading Clips” on page 38.

2. Make sure you are in Source mode.

3. Play or step through the material.

4. 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 Alt+I.

For more additional keyboard shortcuts, see “Using Predefined Key Mappings” on

page 157.

If the clip is playing, marking an IN point does not stop playback. If you entered Shotlist mode by clicking the Shotlist button, the Mark IN and Mark OUT buttons are not available. You must be in Source mode. The Mark IN point moves to the selected point to indicate the Mark IN frame.

5. (Option) Use the Mark IN point to scrub through the clip to set an IN point.

This stops playback. For more information, see “Dragging IN Points and OUT Points”

on page 79.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Mark IN point

Mark OUT button

Mark IN button

Mark OUT point

6. Continue playing or stepping through the video clip.

7. Mark an OUT point by doing one of the following:

t Click the Mark OUT button under the monitor.

t Press Alt+O.

If the clip is playing, marking an OUT point does not stop playback. The Mark OUT point moves to the selected point to indicate the Mark OUT frame.

8. (Option) Use the Mark OUT point to scrub through the position bar to set an OUT point. This stops playback. For more information, see “Dragging IN Points and OUT Points”

on page 79.

To clear an IN point or an OUT point, do the following:

t Use the preceding procedure to set the Mark IN point to the beginning of the clip or the

Mark OUT point to the end of the clip.

Dragging IN Points and OUT Points

You cannot undo this operation.

To position IN points and OUT points based on visual feedback, do one of the following:

t Click the Mark IN point or the Mark OUT point, and then drag it to a new location.

The clip in the Video monitor plays forward or backward as you move the IN or OUT points.

t Click the Mark IN point, drag it against the Mark OUT point, pushing the Mark OUT to

where you want it, and then drag the Mark IN point back to where you want it.

Cueing the Footage

You can cue the footage in the Video 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. For keyboard shortcuts, see “Using Predefined Key Mappings” on page 157.

If you entered Shotlist mode by clicking the Shotlist button, the Go to IN and Go to OUT buttons are not available. You must be in Source mode.

Marking and Cueing Footage

To cue footage to an IN point or an OUT point:

1. Load a clip into the Video monitor. For information on loading video clips, see

“Loading Clips” on page 38.

2. Make sure you are in Source mode. If you are not sure, click the Source button.

3. Set an IN point or an OUT point. For information on marking video clips, see “Marking

and Cueing Footage” on page 76.

4. Do one of the following:

t Click the Go to IN button.

t Click the Go to OUT button.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Go to OUT button

Go to IN button

To play footage from an IN point to an OUT point:

1. Load a clip into the Video monitor. For information on loading video clips, see

“Loading Clips” on page 38.

2. Set an IN point or an OUT point. For information on marking video clips, see “Marking

and Cueing Footage” on page 76.

3. Click the Play IN to OUT button.

To stop playing footage:

t Click the Play IN to OUT button or the Play button.

Monitoring Audio and Video

You can monitor audio and video in several ways. You can disable tracks so you play none of your video tracks and only selected audio tracks. You can play all or none of your video tracks and up to 16 audio tracks (source clips and sequences can include up to 24 tracks of audio; you can play only 16 at a time). Media from disabled tracks does not use bandwidth to play over the network. You can also select an audio monitoring mix mode. You can set these options in the Audio/Video Monitoring dialog box.

You can also use the Local Audio Mixing controls as an alternative to the Audio/Video Monitoring controls. See “Working with the Local Audio Mixing Controls” on page 83.

Disabling tracks is only for playing in the Video monitor. Your actual media is not affected, and the tracks are not disabled when, for example, you send a shotlist to playback.

Monitoring Audio and Video

If video tracks are disabled, the words “Video Disabled” appear in a blank Video monitor.

To set up audio and video monitoring:

1. Do one of the following:

t Select Preferences > Audio/Video Monitoring.

t Press Ctrl+M.

The Audio/Video Monitoring Preferences dialog box opens.

2. Click the button in the “Video tracks enabled” area to select All or None.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

3. Do one of the following:

t Click the Audio track buttons for the audio tracks that you want to play. You can

select up to 16 tracks to play, and you can select discontiguous tracks.

t Click Disable All to disable all audio tracks.

t Click Enable First 16 Tracks to enable the first 16 audio tracks.

4. Select an Audio Monitoring Mix Mode option as described in the following table.

Option Description

Mono Maps to a center pan, which creates a mono mixdown of all audio tracks and outputs the

resulting track to two channels. This results in two identical channels of audio, each containing the original audio tracks.

Stereo Maps to a left/right alternating pan (odd tracks on one channel, even tracks on the other

channel), creates a stereo mixdown of all audio tracks, and outputs the resulting two tracks to two channels. This results in two different channels of audio.

Direct Out Does not combine audio in any way; all audio tracks remain as they are in the source

media and play back through separate output channels.

If you are playing back from the Video monitor through two-channel output such as

headphones or two speakers, you might not be able to detect that all audio tracks are playing. However, the source media maintains all audio tracks.

An administrator sets one of these options for mixdown and send to playback in the Editor

Settings tab of the Application Database Settings view in the Interplay Administrator. See

“Sending Material to Playback” on page 139.

5. Click OK.

When you disable a track, it stays disabled for every clip and sequence you load as long as the Assist application is open. The next time you start Assist, all tracks are enabled again.

Working with the Local Audio Mixing Controls

Local Audio Mixing controls for a clip with four audio tracks.

Working with the Local Audio Mixing Controls

The Local Audio Mixing controls let you adjust audio settings for clips or subclips that you load in the Video monitor. These controls are designed for the Assist user only; any audio adjustments you make apply only to audio tracks that you play in Assist.

You can use these controls to enable or disable individual audio tracks, and to set their pan and volume. One way to use these controls is to monitor only selected tracks. For example, if a clip has two tracks recorded by a camera microphone, and two tracks recorded by an attached microphone, you can disable the tracks recorded by the camera microphone, and monitor the tracks recorded by the attached microphone.

The following illustration shows the Local Audio Mixing controls for a clip with four audio tracks. The controls are displayed in the upper left corner of the Monitor. The number of tracks displayed depends on the number of audio tracks in the clip or subclip.

These controls are available for clips and subclips but not for sequences. For more information about how to use the controls, see “Using the Local Audio Mixing Controls” on

page 86.

Enabling the Controls and Setting Default Values

The Local Audio Mixing controls are enabled as a site setting in the Interplay Administrator. An administrator can also set default values. See “Enabling Local Audio Mixing in the

Interplay Administrator” on page 84.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Working with Shotlists

As you add clips and subclips into a shotlist, your source audio settings are carried over to the shotlist. However, while you are working in Shotlist mode, you cannot adjust audio for individual clips. In Shotlist mode, you can control whether or not you hear your changes by clicking the Ignore/Respect Local Audio Mix button.

How Audio Settings Are Saved

The values that you set using the Local Audio Mixing controls apply locally — that is, they apply only to audio tracks that you play in Interplay Assist. Values are saved as follows:

• Values that you set for clips or subclips are only temporary. They are not saved with the clips and apply only for the current session.

• Values for clips or subclips that you add to a shotlist are saved with the shotlist, and apply anytime you play the shotlist in Assist. However, they do not apply to other applications. For example, an editor who plays a clip or shotlist in Media Composer will not hear the adjustments you make in Interplay Assist.

• Values for clips, subclips, or shotlists do not apply when you send to playback. Audio mix when sending to playback is controlled by settings in the Editor Settings tab of the Application Database Settings view in the Interplay Administrator.

Enabling Local Audio Mixing in the Interplay Administrator

An Interplay administrator uses the Application Defaults tab in the Interplay Administrator to enable and set default values for the Local Audio Mixing controls in Interplay Assist (see

“Working with the Local Audio Mixing Controls” on page 83).

These controls also apply to audio monitoring in Interplay Access.

The following illustration shows audio tracks 1 through 16 enabled, with left/right alternating pan (the initial default setting). Buttons for enabled tracks display a green icon.

Working with the Local Audio Mixing Controls

To enable local audio mixing and set the default values:

1. Open the Interplay Administrator.

2. In the Application Settings section, click the Application Database Settings icon.

3. Click the Application Defaults tab.

4. Select the Enable Audio Mixing Defaults option so that a green check mark is displayed.

5. For each track, click the corresponding button to enable the track, so that the button has a green icon.

6. For each track, select Left, Mono, or Right to assign the track to an output channel.

7. Click Apply.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Using the Local Audio Mixing Controls

The Local Audio Mixing controls let you adjust audio settings for clips and subclips that you load in the Monitor (see “Working with the Local Audio Mixing Controls” on page 83).

An administrator can enable the Local Audio Mixing controls in the Interplay Administrator (see “Enabling Local Audio Mixing in the Interplay Administrator” on page 84). Default values are also set in the Interplay Administrator.

If Local Audio Mixing is enabled in the Administrator, a user can disable the controls (and enable them again) in the Audio/Video Monitoring Preferences dialog box in Interplay Assist.

To enable or disable Local Audio Mixing in Interplay Assist:

1. In Interplay Assist, select Preferences > Audio/Video Monitoring.

The Audio/Video Monitoring Preferences dialog box opens.

2. To enable Local Audio Mixing, select the “Enable Local Audio Mixing” check box.

If Local Audio Mixing is enabled in the Interplay Administrator, the “Enable Local Audio Mixing” check box is already selected. To disable it, deselect the check box.

If Local Audio Mixing is enabled, the selected Audio Monitoring Mix Mode option (Mono, Stereo, or Direct Out) and the track enable buttons do not apply to clips or subclips, or to shotlists that you create using these clips. However, the selected mix

Working with the Local Audio Mixing Controls

Controls for a clip with four audio tracks

Enabled tracks

Disabled tracks

option and the track enable buttons do apply to sequences and to shotlists that are not created with Local Audio Mixing. The selected mix option and track enable buttons also apply to shotlists when Local Audio Mixing is disabled.

3. Click OK.

To use the Local Audio Mixing controls:

1. Load a clip or a subclip into the monitor.

A small vertical window appears for a few seconds in the upper left corner of the monitor. This window displays the video tracks of the loaded clip or subclip. Enabled tracks are marked by a green indicator, and disabled (muted) tracks are marked by a gray indicator.

If this is the first clip you loaded in an editing session, it uses the default audio values as set in the Interplay Administrator. If you adjust the default values and then load another clip, the new clip uses the values that you selected for the previous clip.

2. To display the full window, click anywhere in the small vertical window. If the small vertical window is not displayed, move the mouse pointer over the upper left corner of the Monitor.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Enable/Disable Track indicators

Pan indicators

Vol ume sliders

3. Do one or more of the following:

t To enable a track, click the corresponding indicator so that it turns green.

t To disable or mute a track, click the corresponding indicator so that it turns gray.

You can enable or disable multiple adjacent tracks by clicking an indicator and dragging the mouse over the other appropriate indicators.

t To solo a track, Ctrl+click the indicator for the track.

t To adjust the pan for a track, click the indicator for L (left), C (center), or R (right),

or click and drag to the desired indicator.

t To adjust the volume, drag the slider. The volume increases as you drag the slider to

the right, and decreases as you drag the slider to the left.

t To return to the default values as set in the Interplay Administrator, click Default.

4. To close the controls, move the mouse away from the controls or click in the Video monitor.

To add a clip with adjusted audio to a shotlist:

t Click one of the Shotlist tabs and drag the clip into a new or existing shotlist.

Audio for the shotlist plays with local audio adjustments. To return to the unadjusted audio levels of the clips in the shotlist, click the Ignore/Respect Local Audio Mix button so that a red line appears through it.

If you load and play a shotlist that was not created with Local Audio Mixing, the

Ignore/Respect Local Audio Mix button enabled to play with local audio adjustments

Ignore/Respect Local Audio Mix button disabled to play with unadjusted audio.

Ignore/Respect Local Audio Mix button is inactive.

The audio settings are saved with the shotlist, but apply only when you play the shotlist in Assist.

Creating Subclips

You can create subclips from the master clip. You might want to enter a portion of a clip into a shotlist instead of the entire master clip or you might want to break a long master clip into more manageable pieces. Use only standard characters when you type subclip names. You cannot use the following special characters: \ / : * < > | % , “ ? ’. You also cannot use a period or a double period (..) as a name, and you cannot end a name with a period.

Creating Subclips

Interplay Assist allows you to save multiple 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. Mark IN and OUT points on a master clip.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select File > New Subclip.

t Click the Create Subclip button.

The Save Subclip As dialog box opens.

3. Select a location from the Save In menu.

Avid Interplay Assist provides you with a Default folder, but it is a better practice to set up a folder that is named appropriately and that makes sense to you. You cannot select the top-level folder as a location for saving subclips.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

Icon column Name column sortedIcon column Name column sorted

4. (Option) Sort the items in the destination folder to check for a previously named item by doing one of the following:

t Click the arrow above the Name column to sort in alphabetical order. Click the

arrow again to sort in reverse alphabetical order.

t Click the Icon column, and then click the arrow to sort by type: folder, clip, subclip,

or shotlist.

5. Do one of the following in the Save As text box:

t Accept the unique default name that appears.

t Type a subclip name.

6. Click Save.

7. Wait until the Save Subclip As dialog box closes before you click the Create Subclip button again.

Using Match Frames

The Match Frame feature lets you load the master clip for a specific frame of a shotlist or sequence. This is useful if you are working with a shotlist or sequence, and you want to add a restriction or locator to a master clip (see “Using Match Frame to Apply a Restriction” on

page 102). You can also use this feature to match the frame of a subclip with its master clip.

To load a source clip for a specific frame of a shotlist or sequence:

1. With a shotlist or sequence loaded in the Video monitor, move the position indicator to the frame for which you want to load the master clip.

2. Right-click and select Match Frame.

Using Match Frames

The master clip that contains the frame is loaded in the monitor, with the matching frame displayed, and replaces the current shotlist or sequence. If you were working in Shotlist mode, the application enters Source mode.

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

The master clip loaded matches the frame for the top-most non-filler video track of the shotlist or sequence. If no video track is present at that location, or if the video tracks contain only filler, the master clip for the first non-filler audio track is loaded.

To return to your shotlist after finding the master clip frame:

1. Click the title above the Video monitor.

Up to the last 10 items you loaded into the Video monitor appear.

2. Select the item you want to return to.

Using Match Frames

4 Playing and Marking in the Video Monitor

5 Logging Events With Locators

You can log events by adding markers called locators to master clips, subclips, or shotlists. The system automatically saves your clips with the locators. See the following topics:

• Adding Locators

• Setting Locator Color

• Locator Indicators

• Restricting Material

• Annotating Locators

• Showing Other Users’ Locators

• Finding Items in the Logging Panel

• Moving to Locators

• Deleting Locators

• Exporting Locators

Understanding Locators

A locator functions as an electronic bookmark that you use to identify specific frames. You can add locators to source clips, subclips, sequences, and shotlists in the Source Locators tab, and you can add locators to sequences and shotlists in the Shotlist Locators tab. Locators that you add to a sequence or shotlist are displayed and saved only with the sequence or shotlist. They are not automatically added to the corresponding source clip.

You can add locators while video is playing or paused, or while it is being captured.

Your system administrator needs to set your user privileges in the Avid Interplay Administrator so you can add locators. If you are having problems adding or modifying locators, see your system administrator.

5 Logging Events With Locators

You can label a locators with the following additional kinds of information:

• Color: Specify a color for a particular locator or a particular type of locator. See “Setting

Locator Color” on page 98.

• Annotation: Add a marker to identify a particular attribute. See “Annotating Locators”

on page 105.

You can also set flags on a marked portion of a clip and use them to describe a restriction on their use. See “Restricting Material” on page 100.

Locators that you add to clips, sequences, and shotlists in Interplay Assist are displayed in

Avid editing applications. Locators that you add in Avid editing systems, and check in to Interplay, are displayed in Interplay Assist. Similarly, edits that you make to locator text in Interplay Assist are displayed in Avid editing applications, and edits that you make to locator text in Avid editing systems and check in are displayed in Interplay Assist.

Adding Locators

To add a locator to a source clip or subclip:

1. Load a source clip or a subclip into the Video monitor. For more information, see

“Loading Clips” on page 38.

2. Move through the material by dragging the position indicator or using the Transport controls. See “Marking and Cueing Footage” on page 76.

3. When you see an event of interest, click the Source Locators tab and do one of the following:

t Click the Add Locator button.

t Select Locators > Add Locator.

t Press the Tab key.

A new locator headframe labelled with the timecode and user name appears in the Source Locators tab. The locator appears in the list in timecode order. The icon is accompanied by an empty text box. A locator indicator is displayed in the Video monitor (see “Locator Indicators” on page 98).

If you add a locator while the clip is playing, you see the message “Loading” instead of the head frame. The head frame does not appear in the Logging panel until the clip stops playing.

Adding Locators

New locator head frame

Comment text box

User name

Timecode

4. Type text in the Comment text box. You can type as much as you want to. Pressing the Enter key creates a new line.

5. Press the Tab key to create a new locator and a new text box.

The locator displays the timecode of the frame shown when you pressed the Tab key. You can add more than one locator with the same timecode. Your work is saved as you go along. If you already created locators for this clip and press Tab, your new locator might appear after an existing locator, not directly after the one you were in when you pressed Tab.

To add a locators to a sequence or shotlist:

1. Load a sequence or shotlist.

You can review the sequence or shotlist in Source mode, or drag it from the Video monitor to the Shotlist Locators tab.

2. Click the Source Locators tab or the Shotlist Locators tab and add a locator as described in the previous procedure.

Locators are added as follows:

- To the V1 track, if one exists

- To the lowest-numbered video track, if one exists

- To the lowest-numbered audio track, if no video tracks exist

After you add or make a change to a locator, the Source or Shotlist Modified indicator (an asterisk, *) appears to indicate that you need to save your changes.

5 Logging Events With Locators

3. Select File > Save Source and Shotlist.

You cannot modify a sequence or shotlist in Source mode and Shotlist mode at the same time. For example, if you add a locator to a sequence in Source mode, then load the sequence in a Shotlist tab, you can no longer add locators to the sequence in Source mode. When you drag a sequence or shotlist from the Source monitor to a Shotlist tab, Interplay Assist saves the sequence automatically and then prevents further edits to the sequence in Source mode.

If you want to add locators to the sequence in Source mode, clear the shotlist tab by selecting File > New Shotlist, then View > Refresh All.

Setting Locator Color

To set a default color for locators:

t Do one of the following:

- Select Locators > Set Default Color > color.

- Right-click the Add Locator button, and select Change Default Color > color.

All new locators are created with the color you select.

To change the color for a specific locator:

1. Right-click the locator in the Source Locators tab or the Shotlist Locators tab, outside of the text box.

2. Select Change Color > color.

The color is set for that locator.

Locator Indicators

The Video monitor displays locator indicators. Locator indicators appear in the position bar and also in the Video display. A locator selection indicator appears above the currently selected locator indicator. Text for the selected locator is displayed in the video monitor. If one or more locators are covered by another locator (for example, if two locators are on the same frame, or on adjacent frames), a cross is displayed on the top locator.

You can choose to show or hide the locator indicators.

Locator indicator

Locator Selection indicator

Position indicator and locator indicator

Multiple locator indicators

Displaying Locator Indicators

To hide locator indicators:

t Do one of the following:

- Select Preferences > Hide locators in monitor.

- Right-click in the monitor and select Hide locators in monitor.

Locator Indicators

The locator indicators disappear from the monitor and the menu option changes to Show locators in monitor.

To show locator indicators:

t Do one of the following:

- Select Preferences > Show locators in monitor.

- Right-click in the monitor and select Show locators in monitor.

The locator indicators appear in the monitor and the menu option changes to Hide locators in monitor.

Adding Locator Text in Large Monitor Mode

In Large monitor mode, you can add and edit locator text in editing mode. You can also manipulate the locator indicators. For more information about Large Monitor mode, see

“Using Large Monitor Mode” on page 61.

To add locator text in Large Monitor mode:

1. Enter Large Monitor mode.

5 Logging Events With Locators

Locator editor

2. Do one of the following:

t Add a locator. A locator indicator appears.

t Click a locator indicator in the position bar.

t Click a locator indicator in the Video display.

The Locator editor is active for that locator. You are now in editing mode.

3. Type your locator text into the Locator editor.

As long as the Locator editor is active, you can use the transport controls to move around in the monitor display, and you can use the Next Locator button to step forward or the Previous Locator button to step backward to other locators.

4. (Option) Add additional text or edit the text you have.

5. To leave editing mode, do one of the following:

t Press Enter to save the text.

t Press ESC to cancel the changes.

The Locator editor is no longer active and focus is elsewhere in the Video monitor.

Restricting Material

You can mark a section of a clip with a restriction locator. Examples of restrictions include the following:

• Material that should not be used.

• Material that can be used only after rights are available on a certain date.

• Material that the organization will need to pay for upon use.

• Material that has copyright requirements or other legal restrictions that limit its use.

100

Pinnacle Systems Interplay Assist - 2.2 User’s Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Symbols and Conventions

If You Need Help

Viewing Help and Documentation on the Interplay Portal

Avid Training Services

Uses for Logging

Basic Interplay Assist Workflow

Starting Interplay Assist

Disabling Desktop Compositing

Exiting Interplay Assist

Using Interplay Assist Help

Working with MultiRez and Dynamic Relink

Understanding Source Mode and Shotlist Mode

Understanding Undo and Redo

Undoing and Redoing

Changing the Font

Printing the Logging Panel

Setting an Automatic Timeout for Interplay Assist and Avid Instinct

2 Preparing to Log

Understanding Asset Markers

Navigating to Assets

Searching for Assets

Interplay Assist Search Options

Navigating to a Folder That Contains a Selected Asset

Organizing Folders

Moving, Copying, and Duplicating Clips or Sequences

Loading Clips

Updating the Application Display

3 Customizing the Research Panel

Changing the Research Panel and Logging Panel Sizes

Using the Research Panel Display

Asset Icons

Working with Column Headings

Modifying Values for a Column

Selecting Values for a Custom Property

Selecting Asset Types

Displaying Resolutions

Creating New Columns

Enlarging or Reducing Column Size

Working with Layouts

Default Column Headings

Opening Multiple Tabs in the Research Panel

Changing Writable Properties

Viewing Thumbnail Images

Video Monitor Controls

Changing the Video Monitor Size

Using Large Monitor Mode

Using Medium Monitor Mode

Using Small Monitor Mode

Using Full-Screen Monitor Mode

Resizing Panels

Selecting Functions from the Video Monitor Context Menu

Changing the Aspect Ratio

Playing Video

Playing Video Clips

Using the Position Bar and the Position Indicator

Using the Transport Controls

Playing Footage with the J-K-L Keys (Three-Button Play)

Using Timecode to Find a Frame

Displaying Footage at Full or Half Resolution

Enabling Two-Field Video Playback

Understanding Target Resolution and Working Resolution

Using the Zoom Bar

Marking and Cueing Footage

Marking IN and OUT Points

Dragging IN Points and OUT Points

Cueing the Footage

Monitoring Audio and Video

Working with the Local Audio Mixing Controls

Enabling Local Audio Mixing in the Interplay Administrator

Using the Local Audio Mixing Controls

Creating Subclips

Using Match Frames

5 Logging Events With Locators

Understanding Locators

Adding Locators