Pinnacle Systems Interplay Central - 1.2 User’s Guide

Interplay® Central

User’s Guide

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: 5,309,528; 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; 5,959,610, 5,986,584; 5,999,406; 6,038,573; 6,057,829, 6,069,668; 6,141,007; 6,211,869; 6,336,093, 6,532,043; 6,546,190; 6,596,031;6,728,682, 6,747,705; 6,763,523; 6,766,357; 6,847,373; 7,081,900; 7,403,561; 7,433,519; 7,441,193, 7,671,871; 7,684,096; 7,836,389 and 7,916,363; 7,930,624; 8,023,568; 8,082,226; 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; 0811290; 0811292; 0811293; 1050048; 1111910; 1629675, and 0972256. Other patents are pending.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States Patents: 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; 6,141,007; 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; 7,555,557; 7,562,099; 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 Central 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 Central. 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 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 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.

This product includes FFmpeg, which is covered by the GNU Lesser General Public License.

This product includes software that is based in part of the work of the FreeType Team.

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

This product includes libjpeg-turbo, which is covered by the wxWindows Library License, Version 3.1.

P41-RR02188 by the National Institutes of Health.

Portions relating to JPEG and to color quantization copyright 2000, 2001, 2002, Doug Becker and copyright (C) 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, Thomas G. Lane. This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group. See the file README-JPEG.TXT for more information. Portions relating to WBMP copyright 2000, 2001, 2002 Maurice Szmurlo and Johan Van den Brande.

Permission has been granted to copy, distribute and modify gd in any context without fee, including a commercial application, provided that this notice is present in user-accessible supporting documentation.

This does not affect your ownership of the derived work itself, and the intent is to assure proper credit for the authors of gd, not to interfere with your productive use of gd. If you have questions, ask. "Derived works" includes all programs that utilize the library. Credit must be given in user-accessible documentation.

This software is provided "AS IS." The copyright holders disclaim all warranties, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to this code and accompanying documentation.

Although their code does not appear in gd, the authors wish to thank David Koblas, David Rowley, and Hutchison Avenue Software Corporation for their prior contributions.

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, Euphonix, EUCON, EveryPhase, Expander, ExpertRender, Fader Pack, Fairchild, FastBreak, Fast Track, Film Cutter, FilmScribe, Flexevent, FluidMotion, Frame Chase, FXDeko, HD Core, HD Process, HDPack, Home-to-Hollywood, HYBRID, 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, 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 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.

Avid Interplay Central v1.2 User’s Guide • 9329-65178-00 Rev A • April 2012 • This document is distributed by Avid in online (electronic) form only, and is not available for purchase in printed form.

Using This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chapter 1 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

The Newsroom Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Signing In to Interplay Central. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Understanding the Application Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Working with Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Working with Panes and Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

The Menu Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

The Launch Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Plug-ins and MOS Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Viewing Interplay Central Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Chapter 2 Working with Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

The Assets Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Navigating in the Assets Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Working with News Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Navigating the iNEWS Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Working with Media Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Identifying Interplay Production Systems and Media Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Navigating the Interplay Production Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Adding or Removing Property Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Resizing Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Moving Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Moving or Copying Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Chapter 3 Working with Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Opening Projects or Facets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

The Project/Story Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Associating Stories with Projects or Facets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter 4 Script Building Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

The Queue/Story Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

The Script Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Creating a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Segmenting Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Taking Dictation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Editing a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Formatting a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Adding Production Cues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Adding Machine Control Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Timing the Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Locking and Unlocking a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Adding Media to a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Moving or Deleting Clips in the Sequence Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Trimming Clips in the Sequence Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Using L-Cuts in the Sequence Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Inserting Dissolves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Inserting Script Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Chapter 5 Working with Video Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

The Media Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Media Pane: Asset Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Media Pane: Output Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Playing Assets and Script Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Using the J-K-L Keys for Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Stepping Through Assets or Script Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Playing Recently Viewed Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Selecting the Aspect Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Updating the Media Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Playing Simple and Complex Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Selecting the Playback Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Marking In and Out Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Working with Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Using the Timecode Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Working in the Media Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Using the Zoom Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Reviewing for Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Using Match Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Opening an Enclosing Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Mixing Down Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Viewing and Editing a Clip During Ingest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Saving a Frame as an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Chapter 6 Using Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Working with Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

The Audio Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Adjusting Audio Levels for a Script Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Setting the Audio Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Setting Audio Monitoring Preferences for Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Overriding the Default Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Recording a Voice-over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Chapter 7 Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

The Search Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

The Search Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Conducting a Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Chapter 8 Logging and Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Workflows for Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Understanding Markers and Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

The Logging Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

The Markers Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Adding, Saving, and Deleting Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Navigating by Markers in the Logging Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Exporting Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Unicode Support for Marker Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Chapter 9 Messaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Sending Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Viewing and Replying to Received Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Chapter 10 Sending to Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Specifying Send to Playback Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Sending a Script Sequence to a Playback Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Sending a Stored Sequence to a Playback Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Sending a Mixed-Resolution Long GOP Sequence to a Playback Device . . . . . . . . . . 128

The Progress Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Chapter 11 User Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

General Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

iNEWS Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Interplay Production Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

MOS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Chapter 12 Interplay Central Tablet Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Connection Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

The iPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Gestures for the Tablet Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Starting Interplay Central on the Tablet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

The Sidebar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Buttons of the User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Customizing Interplay Central Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Accessing the iNEWS Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Working with Links in Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Viewing Video Associated with a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Entering Presenter Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Working with Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Chapter 13 Interplay Central Mobile Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Connection Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

The BlackBerry Smart Phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Starting the Interplay Central mobile application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Accessing the iNEWS Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Creating a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Editing a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Formatting a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Adding Production Cues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Adding Machine Control Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Working Offline on Local Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Working with Links in Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Appendix A Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Queue/Story Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Assets Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Media Pane Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Markers Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Appendix B Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Pane Type Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Launch Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Assets Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Media Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Markers Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Progress Pane Icons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Using This Guide

This guide is intended for all users of an Avid Interplay Central system. This guide describes product features and basic user procedures, such as Interplay Central user settings and story or asset creation.

For initial installation and configuration, see the Avid Interplay Central Installation and

Configuration Guide. For administrative information, see the Avid Interplay Central Administration Guide.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

items and keyboard sequences.

If You Need Help

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

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

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 media 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.

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

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

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.

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

The following main topics describe basic user tasks as well as various concepts and features you might encounter when working with Interplay Central.

• The Newsroom Environment

• Signing In to Interplay Central

• Understanding the Application Layout

• Plug-ins and MOS Integration

• Viewing Interplay Central Help

The Newsroom Environment

This topic describes the basic systems in the newsroom environment:

• Avid iNEWS newsroom computer system

• Avid Interplay Production

• Avid Interplay Central

Avid iNEWS

The Avid iNEWS newsroom computer system provides journalists, producers, directors, and various technical personnel in the newsroom with an array of tools to make their job easier. It is primarily made up of iNEWS Workstations, linked together via a local or wide area network, and the iNEWS Server, which manages all the day-to-day activities of the newsroom.

Although referred to as a singular unit, the iNEWS Server typically consists of two or more

computers running the iNEWS Server software. Each one acts as a backup for the other to protect the overall stability of the network. For redundancy, the iNEWS system mirrors its database across these servers for redundancy.

Interplay Production

The Newsroom Environment

The Avid Interplay Production system combines an asset database with workflow management software, both of which are integrated with Avid shared storage and Avid archive solutions. Interplay Production provides tools that let journalists and producers add rich media to stories and send the assembled video sequence to a playout server.

Interplay Central

Interplay Central extends access to your assets to journalists working inside and outside the newsroom, whether they are using standard desktop workstations, laptops, or even smart phones. Scripts, video, and graphics can be viewed and edited through the web-based application running in a standard browser, while iNEWS content can be viewed and edited using supported phones. Journalists can create, modify, and review all their story content more quickly than ever before, without switching between multiple tools.

Signing In to Interplay Central

Use a supported browser, such as Google Chrome, to connect to and sign in to your Interplay Central server.

When you first sign in to Interplay Central, you are asked to confirm or supply the user name and password of an Avid iNEWS account and an Interplay Production account. These credentials provide you with the appropriate access and rights to the iNEWS and Interplay Production databases, enabling you to supply only the Interplay Central user name and password at future sign-ins.

To sign in to the application:

1. Open a supported browser and type the URL of your Interplay Central server.

The URL is the computer name of the Interplay Central middleware server.

2. At the sign-in screen, type your user name and password.

3. Click Sign In, or press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh).

After a few moments, the Interplay Central application opens and displays the last layout that you used.

Signing In to Interplay Central

When you sign in to Interplay Central, you are automatically signed in to your iNEWS newsroom

computer system and Interplay Production system. If, however, the security settings for one of these integrated systems is inaccurate, you might see a warning similar to this:

If you get a message like this, click the link provided and verify your security settings.

4. (Optional) If the layout you want is not displayed, select the one you want from the Layouts menu.

Each Interplay Central user is assigned one or more roles by the Interplay Central

Administrator. Each role is associated with one or more layouts. For more information about available layouts, see “Working with Layouts” on page 18. For more information about roles, see the Interplay Central Administrator’s Guide.

To sign out of the application:

t Click Sign Out in the application menu.

Understanding the Application Layout

A layout is a set of panes and other controls that is installed as part of the Interplay Central web-based application. The size and location of the panes are set by default in each layout. Not all available panes are displayed in each layout, but users can customize which panes are displayed, their sizes, and where they are located in the window.

The following table describes the main panes.

Icon Pane Description Refer to...

Assets A pane that displays assets. These assets can

result from a search or from browsing. Assets are displayed in a folder hierarchy, if applicable to the assets displayed.

Queue/Story A pane that displays the contents of a queue

with the contents of a selected story in the queue, including the story form, any production cues, and sequences. It can only be opened from the Assets pane, and is therefore not listed as part of the Panes menu.

Project/Story A pane that displays the contents of a project,

its facets, and any associated stories. It can only be opened from the Assets pane, and is therefore not listed as part of the Panes menu.

Audio A pane that displays the controls for adjusting

the audio settings for media assets.

Help A pane that displays the help system. “Viewing Interplay Central

Launch A pane from which you navigate to various

locations. This pane displays remote file systems, local file systems, and other locations for assets.

“The Assets Pane” on page 28

“The Queue/Story Pane” on page 41

“The Project/Story Pane” on page 37

“Working with Audio Tracks” on page 92

Help” on page 25

“The Launch Pane” on page 24

Markers A pane in which you can view and create

markers. This pane is available in the Video layout and the Logging layout.

Media A pane in which you can view and edit media

assets. The controls that are displayed depend on the selected asset.

“The Markers Pane” on page 110

“The Media Pane” on page 66

Understanding the Application Layout

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Icon Pane Description Refer to...

Progress A pane in which you can monitor the progress

of background processes, such as send to playback, deletions, and sequence mixdowns.

Search A pane from which you can conduct a search.

This pane functions the same as the Search bar.

“The Progress Pane” on page 129

“The Search Pane” on page 102

In addition to the panes, the application layouts also feature bars that offer additional information, options, and functionality.

The following table describes these bars.

Bar Description Refer to...

1 Menu A section of the application that provides

numerous menu options.

2 Message A section of the application in which you can

send and receive messages.

3 Search A section of the application from which you can

conduct a search. The results of a search can be dragged from the bar and placed in an area as a pane for better viewing.

“The Menu Bar” on page 23

“Messaging” on page 119

“The Search Bar” on page 101

Working with Layouts

The Interplay Central rich web-based application is installed with five layouts. Not all available panes are visible in each layout, but you can open additional panes if necessary.

You select a layout from the Layout drop-down menu, located near the upper right corner of the window. The menu shows the name of the layout that is currently displayed. If you click the menu, it shows the name of the role or roles for the signed-in user, along with the layouts that are available for that role. You can select any layout that is displayed.

Understanding the Application Layout

The following illustration shows the default layouts available to the Journalist role.

The following table lists the five predefined layouts and which users have access to them.

Layout Description Available To

Basic Journalists use this layout to edit and create stories. You

can view media in this layout but you cannot add video or audio to the story.

Logging Media loggers use this layout to add markers to clips and

to create subclips. For more information, see “Logging

and Creating Subclips” on page 105.

System Settings Administrators use this layout to specify various

configuration settings. For more information, see “Configuring System Settings” in the Interplay Central Administration Guide.

Users Administrators use this layout to import, create, and

manage Interplay Central users.

For more information, see “Interplay Central User Management” in the Interplay Central Administration Guide.

Video Journalists use this layout to edit and create stories that

include video and audio.

This layout is displayed the first time a user signs in. You can switch to another layout at any time by selecting it from the Layout menu.

To change to a different predefined layout:

All users, based on license type

Administrators only

All users, based on license type

t Choose the layout from the Layout drop-down menu.

Changes that you make to a predefined layout are saved when you change to a different layout or

when you sign out.

To close a pane:

t Click the X on the pane’s tab.

To open additional panes:

1. Select the Panes menu.

2. Select the menu option corresponding to the pane you want to open.

The pane you select opens in the active area. For more information, see “Working with

Panes and Areas” on page 20.

To reset a layout to its original configuration:

t Select Reset Layout from the Layout drop-down menu.

To reset all layouts to their original default configurations:

t Select Reset All Layouts from the Layout drop-down menu.

Working with Panes and Areas

The Interplay Central user interface is very customizable because of the multiple areas in which panes may be moved. Any single area can contain one or more panes, and when multiple panes are positioned into a single area, the panes appear in a tabular format with one pane on top of the others.

Understanding the Application Layout

If the number of tabbed panes within an area exceeds the area’s space within the browser window, Right and Left Arrow buttons appear next to the Pane Menu button, enabling you to navigate through all of the panes.

You can move panes around to save screen space and reconfigure panes in a way that best suits your needs. The application saves the last arrangement and displays it the next time you sign in to the application.

You move panes into what are called drop zones within an area. Each area has five drop zones: center, top, bottom, left, and right.

To move a pane:

t Click the pane’s tab and drag it to your preferred drop zone.

Do not click the X in the pane’s tab, as that will close the pane.

The drop zone is highlighted in orange to help you identify where the pane will be positioned within the window when you release the mouse button.

The following illustrations demonstrate the process of dragging the Media pane to each drop zone.

Understanding the Application Layout

In the illustrations, the Audio pane is already located in the area to which the Media pane is being moved. So if a user drags the Media pane into the center drop zone, the two panes would appear as tabbed panes, with only one on top and therefore visible at a time. Dragging to the other drop zones in an area splits the area into two, either horizontally or vertically.

Drop Zone Illustration

Center

Top

Drop Zone Illustration

Bottom

Left

Understanding the Application Layout

Drop Zone Illustration

Right

Understanding the Application Layout

The Menu Bar

The application’s menu bar includes the following menus:

•Home

Option Description

User Settings Opens the Settings dialog box with configuration options available for

About Opens a screen with information about the product

•Panes

This menu lists the panes that you can open in the selected layout. For a list of these main panes, see “Understanding the Application Layout” on page 17. You are only permitted one instance of some panes within the user interface; however, you can open multiple instances of an Assets pane or Search pane. If a single-instance pane is already opened, the option representing that pane will appear grayed out in the Panes menu.

•Sign Out

Select Sign Out to leave the application and return to the sign-in screen.

modification to non-administrative users. For more information, see

“User Settings” on page 131.

The Launch Pane

The Launch pane lists the iNEWS system and Interplay Production system that are available on the Interplay Central system. The Launch pane also includes any iNEWS projects.

Systems and projects are easily identified by the following icons.

Icon Description

Understanding the Application Layout

Connected Interplay Production system

Disconnected Interplay Production system

Connected iNEWS system

Disconnected iNEWS system

Project in the iNEWS database

iNEWS Project (not started)

iNEWS Project (expired)

Opening a system, such as an iNEWS newsroom computer system or Interplay Production system, lets you view the contents of that system’s database in the Assets pane. Opening an iNEWS project from the Launch pane lets you view each project’s contents in the Assets pane.

To open a system or project from the Launch pane, do one of the following:

t Double-click the item you want to open.

t Right-click the item and select “Open in New Assets Tab.”

For more information about assets and projects, see “Working with Assets” on page 27 and

“Working with Projects” on page 36.

Plug-ins and MOS Integration

Interplay Central provides support for Active-X plug-ins. For example, Deko Select is a plug-in for a newsroom computer system’s interface that allows a user, such as a reporter, to drag and drop graphic templates directly into the story, as well as alter replaceable text or graphics in the selected template. You can also use the Avid Deko Select plug-in to add graphics to the video for a story sequence. Other plug-ins are available through third-party manufacturers, such as the Assignment List by Aurora.

For procedures on how to install plug-ins, see the documentation for the plug-in. For more information on configuring Interplay Central to work with plug-ins, see “MOS Settings” on

page 136. After installation and configuration, plug-ins are listed at the bottom of the Pane menu.

For more information about using a plug-in, see the documentation for the plug-in, such as the Avid Deko Select Installation and User’s Guide.

Plug-ins and MOS Integration

Viewing Interplay Central Help

The Help system for Interplay Central combines the contents of the following documents:

• Interplay Central User’s Guide

• Interplay Central Administration Guide

Help information is provided in two ways, depending on whether you want to review information specific to a certain feature of Interplay Central, or view the entire help system.

For instance, if you want to know more about the Media pane and the controls available within the pane, you can view that information by opening that portion of the Help system through the Pane Menu button.

To access a Help topic related to a certain pane:

1. Click the Pane Menu button.

2. Select Help.

The help topic will open as a tabbed pane within the Web-based application.

Viewing Interplay Central Help

To open the entire help system:

t Select Pane > Help.

You can open the full Help system in a separate browser tab by clicking the “Search in New

Browser Tab” button.

2 Working with Assets

Assets are items that are stored in a database, such as stories, scripts, video clips, and audio clips. From a pane called the Assets pane, you can view assets for items that are contained in the Launch pane. For example, if you double-click the name of an iNEWS system in the Launch pane, the Assets pane displays the contents of the iNEWS database.

The following main topics describe the Assets pane and how you can work with various assets in Interplay Central.

• The Assets Pane

• Working with News Assets

• Working with Media Assets

The Assets Pane

After you sign in to Interplay Central, an empty pane labeled Assets is displayed in one of the application areas. You use the Assets pane to view the contents of an item that you open from the Launch pane, such as an iNEWS system or project, or an Interplay Production system. After you open a system or project, the label of the Asset pane changes to reflect your selection, and you can browse the database or work with the assets that are displayed. You can also open multiple Assets panes, which appear as multiple tabbed panes within an application area.

The options you have for working with assets depends on the type of asset you select.

The following topics describe working with different types of assets:

• “Working with News Assets” on page 30

• “Working with Media Assets” on page 32

To display assets in an Assets pane:

t Double click an item in the Launch pane.

The following illustration shows the Interplay Production database selected in the Launch pane and its contents opened in the Assets pane below. The name of the highlighted system appears in the tab at the top of the Assets pane.

The Assets Pane

To open an additional Assets pane, do one of the following:

t Select Panes > Assets.

t Right-click an item in the Launch pane and select “Open in New Assets Tab.”

The new pane is displayed next to another Asset pane that has the focus.

To ensure the Asset pane has the focus, click an item in that pane, not just somewhere in the area.

If you closed the last open Asset pane, the aforementioned command displays a new pane in an existing area.

To close an Assets pane:

t Click the Close button.

Navigating in the Assets Pane

As you browse through a database, the history of your navigation is retained in views, and you can go backward and forward to display those views. The name that appears in the Assets pane’s tab also changes to reflect your location within the database you are viewing.

The following table lists the navigation buttons in the Assets pane.

Button Description

Back button toggles the current view to the previous view in the pane.

Forward button toggles the current view to the next view in the pane.

The Assets Pane

Refresh button refreshes the current view in the pane.

Close button closes the pane.

Pane Menu button opens a context menu providing various options, including opening the help content related to the pane.

To navigate the Assets pane:

t Click a turn-down arrow to the left of a folder. This will expand the directory within the

current view.

Clicking the arrow next to an open directory closes that directory within the current view.

t Double-click on a folder to open the directory in a new full-pane view within the Assets

pane.

To display a view you already displayed:

t Click the Forward button or the Back button.

Working with News Assets

The following topics describe the iNEWS database as it is displayed in the Assets pane:

• Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets

• Navigating the iNEWS Database

Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets

The iNEWS database is a file structure that is organized by directories that contain subfolders or queues, which in turn contain stories. Directories contained within other directories are known as subfolders or subdirectories.

Projects are a way of categorizing stories by topic so that news teams working on a particular topic can find everything related to it in a single place, without moving or copying original source information within the database. Fac et s are sub-topics of projects that provide additional granularity. Any stories associated to a facet are automatically associated to that facet’s parent project.

You can view the contents of an iNEWS database by choosing the iNEWS system in the Launch pane. Likewise, Projects can also be opened from the Launch pane. Projects and iNEWS systems are easily identified by the following icons.

Icon Description

Connected iNEWS system

Disconnected iNEWS system

Project in the iNEWS database

iNEWS Project (not started)

iNEWS Project (expired)

After you double click on a chosen system in the Launch pane, the database file structure with its directories and queues are displayed in the Assets pane. If you double click on a project, any facets of the chosen project are displayed in the Assets pane.

Different icons are used to identify queues, directories and facets in the Assets pane.

Icon Description

Directory or subfolder in the iNEWS database

Indexed directory or subfolder

Queue

Indexed Queue

Locked Queue

Indexed and Locked Queue

Facet

Facet (not started)

Facet (expired)

Working with News Assets

In addition to facets, each project also contains the following queues in the Assets pane:

Icon Description

ALL queue - shows all stories associated with the project and its facets.

QUERY Search Queue - shows results of a search conducted with criteria pre-defined for the project in iNEWS. Each project can have only one search queue.

Navigating the iNEWS Database

This topic provides procedures for viewing the database file structure by opening directories and queues. For information about projects, and facets, see “Working with Projects” on page 36.

The contents of directories are displayed in the Assets pane. The contents of queues are viewed in the Queue/Story pane. For more information, see “The Queue/Story Pane” on page 41.

To open a directory:

t Double click the directory in the Assets pane.

This opens the directory’s contents in the same pane. To return to the previous view of the database file structure, click the Back button.

t Click on the small, turn-down arrow to the left of the directory in the Assets pane.

This expands the directory to show its contents while still retaining a view of the rest of the database file structure. To close the directory, click the small arrow again.

To open a queue:

t Double click the queue in the Assets pane.

The queue’s contents open in the Queue/Story pane.

Working with Media Assets

An Interplay Production database holds media assets such as clips, subclips, sequences, and graphics. You can browse the database in the Assets pane and display a media asset in the Media pane.

Working with Media Assets

The following topics describe working with media assets:

• “Identifying Interplay Production Systems and Media Assets” on page 32

• “Navigating the Interplay Production Database” on page 33

• “Adding or Removing Property Columns” on page 34

• “Resizing Columns” on page 34

• “Moving Columns” on page 35

• “Moving or Copying Assets” on page 35

Identifying Interplay Production Systems and Media Assets

Different icons are used to identify Interplay Production assets and indicate status in the Assets pane.

Icon Description Column

Audio asset Name

Video asset: a master clip. Name

Icon Description Column

Video asset: a subclip Name

Video asset: a sequence Name

Video asset: an in-progress clip (Edit While Capture) Name

Supported State

Reservation State

Restriction State

Navigating the Interplay Production Database

This topic provides procedures for viewing the Interplay Product database file structure by opening Interplay folders.

Working with Media Assets

The contents of folders in an Interplay Production system are displayed in the Assets pane. You can double-click an asset to open it in the Media pane.

To open an Interplay Production folder:

t Double-click the folder in the Assets pane.

This opens the folders’s contents in the same pane. To return to the previous view of the database file structure, click the Back button.

t Click the turn-down arrow to the left of the folder in the Assets pane.

This action expands the directory to show its contents while still retaining a view of the rest of the database file structure. To close the folder, click the turn-down arrow again.

To open a video asset, do one of the following:

t Double-click an asset.

t Select an asset and press the Enter key.

The asset opens in the Media pane. For more information, see “Working with Video Media”

on page 65.

To open a video asset and the Logging layout from an Assets tab, do one of the following:

t Select a clip and select “Open in Logging Layout” from the Assets pane tab.

t Right-click a clip and select “Open in Logging Layout.”

Adding or Removing Property Columns

A set of property columns are shown when viewing media assets in the Assets pane. These columns display metadata that is associated with assets in the Interplay Production database. You can select other property columns to display. The columns that are available depend on the columns that are available in a particular Interplay Production database.

To add or remove property columns:

1. Click the Pane menu button in the top right corner of the Assets pane.

2. Select the Add or Remove Columns option.

The Add Or Remove Columns window opens. The list is divided in System properties, User (custom) properties, and Resolutions.

Working with Media Assets

3. Select the columns you want to add or deselect the columns you want to remove.

You can use the search box to find a particular column.

4. Click the Close box or click anywhere outside the window to save your settings.

Resizing Columns

You can adjust the column width of any column displayed in the Assets pane.

To resize a column:

1. Position your mouse pointer over the dividing line between two columns.

The pointer changes to a bi-directional arrow when it hovers over the right location.

2. Click and drag it right or left to adjust column width.

Moving Columns

You can rearrange the order of columns displayed in the Assets pane.

To move a column:

1. Click the header of the column you want to move.

2. Drag it right or left and release the mouse button when it is repositioned where you want it.

An orange line appears as a guide during the drag-and-drop process.

Moving or Copying Assets

You can move or copy assets in the Interplay Production database by using the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands.

To move an asset to another folder:

1. Select one or more assets.

2. Right-click and select Cut.

3. Select the folder into which you want to move the asset, right-click, and select Paste.

Working with Media Assets

To copy an asset to another folder:

1. Select one or more assets.

2. Right-click and select Copy.

3. Select the folder into which you want to move the asset, right-click, and select Paste.

3 Working with Projects

Projects is a feature of the iNEWS newsroom computer system that provides a way of categorizing stories by topic so that news teams working on a particular topic can find everything related to it in a single place, without moving or copying the original source information from its current location in the iNEWS database. Facets are sub-topics, providing additional granularity to projects.

The following main topics describe panes and how to use projects and facets in news production:

• Opening Projects or Facets

• The Project/Story Pane

• Associating Stories with Projects or Facets

Opening Projects or Facets

In Interplay Central, projects appear listed in the Launch pane. Opening an iNEWS project from the Launch pane lets you view each project’s contents in the Assets pane. Facets and the project’s queues are opened from the Assets pane.

To open a project:

t Double click on the project in the Launch pane.

The project’s contents open in the Assets pane.

To open a facet:

t Double click on the facet in the Assets pane.

The facet’s contents open in the Project/Story pane.

The Project/Story Pane

The contents of a project include an ALL queue, a QUERY queue, and any sub-topics, known as facets. For instance, the following illustration shows the Hurricane Earl project has facets for topics like Damage and Evacuation.

Opening Projects or Facets

The Project/Story Pane

Every project has an ALL queue that displays in the Queue panel all stories associated with the project and its facets. Any indexed story can be associated with a project or facet.

Stories associated with a project retain their original source permissions; therefore, a user without read access to a story’s source queue will not be able to see that story in a project to which its associated even if the user has read access to the project.

Every project has a QUERY queue—identified by the magnifying glass icon—which is the search queue that runs the project’s query. For more information on the icons used to identify projects and facets, see “Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets” on

page 30.

The Project/Story pane functions similar to the Queue/Story pane. It can display either a project’s facet, or a news story associated with that project’s facet. It can also display both at the same time, as shown in the following illustration:

The title that appears on the pane’s tab changes based on what is selected in the Project/Story

pane.

Two buttons, Project and Story, are located at the top of the pane and may be used to toggle on or off the display of the project or a story. When toggled on the buttons appear orange.

Associating Stories with Projects or Facets

For instance, while viewing a project’s contents, clicking the Story button splits the pane’s display space to show the project’s contents on the top half and the selected story associated with that project or facet on the bottom half of the pane. Clicking the Story button again hides the story and displays only the project’s facet or queue once more.

A user cannot have both the Project and Story buttons simultaneously toggled off. When only one

is on and the user clicks that button, the system will automatically toggle it off and the other one on.

The name on the tab of a Project/Story pane changes based on the story you have selected in the pane. You can mouse over the tab to view the entire path name.

When only the facet or one of the project’s queues (ALL or QUERY) is displayed, this is known as the grid view. Likewise, when only the story is shown in the pane, the display is known as the story view. And when both are visible, the display is called a split view.

The horizontal dividing line between the grid and story sections of the pane may be used to adjust the ratio of the split view display within the pane. When you position your mouse pointer over it, the pointer changes to a double arrow, letting you click and drag it up or down to adjust the space allocated to each section of the pane. However, it is not recommended that this technique be used to try and hide one section of the pane or the other.

The ratio you set is retained when you sign out.

Associating Stories with Projects or Facets

Any indexed story can be associated with a project or facet.

To associate an indexed story with a project or facet.

1. Navigate to and open the indexed queue in which the story resides.

2. Right-click on the story in the Queue/Story pane and select Associate story with a project.

3. In the dialog box, select the project(s) or facet(s) to which you want the story associated.

4. Click Apply.

4 Script Building Basics

When you create new stories or edit existing ones, you can save them to the iNEWS Server for future review by you or others. The basics of editing stories includes: creating a story, opening existing stories, navigating through stories, editing and formatting scripts, and adding media. In Interplay Central, stories are created and edited in the Queue/Story pane.

The following main topics describe the Queue/Story pane and basic techniques of script building.

• The Queue/Story Pane

• Creating a Story

• Segmenting Stories

• Taking Dictation

• Editing a Story

• Timing the Text

• Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story

• Locking and Unlocking a Story

• Adding Media to a Script

• Moving or Deleting Clips in the Sequence Timeline

• Trimming Clips in the Sequence Timeline

• Using L-Cuts in the Sequence Timeline

• Inserting Dissolves

• Inserting Script Templates

The Queue/Story Pane

The Queue/Story pane can display either an iNEWS queue, such as a show’s rundown or a wire feed, or a news story in that queue. It can also display both a queue and one of its news stories at the same time, as shown in the following illustration:

The Queue/Story Pane

1 The Queue section

2 The Story section, also called the Script Editor

The Queue/Story Pane

The name on the tab of a Queue/Story pane changes based on the story you have selected in the pane. You can mouse over the tab to view the entire path name.

When only the queue is displayed in the pane, this is known as the grid view. Likewise, when only the story is shown in the pane, the display is known as the story view. And when both are visible, the display is called a split view.

The horizontal dividing line between the queue and story sections of the pane may be used to adjust the ratio of the split view display within the pane. When you position your mouse pointer over it, the pointer changes to a double arrow, letting you click and drag it up or down to adjust the space allocated to each section of the pane. However, it is not recommended that this technique be used to try and hide one section of the pane or the other.

The ratio you set is retained when you sign out.

The Queue/Story Toolbar

The Queue/Story pane offers a unique toolbar that has buttons that toggle the display within the pane as well as provide key story editing functionality.

Two buttons, Queue and Story, on the toolbar may be used to toggle on or off the display of the queue or a story. When toggled on the buttons appear orange.

For instance, while viewing a rundown, clicking the Story button splits the pane’s display space to show the queue on the top half and the selected story in that queue on the bottom half of the pane. Clicking the Story button again hides the story and displays only the queue once more.

A user cannot have both the Queue and Story buttons simultaneously toggled off. When only one

is on and the user clicks that button, the system will automatically toggle it off and the other one on.

The toolbar also provides a Refresh button, which can be used to refresh the queue view.

The Annotation button—the one with the microphone icon on it—is described in “Taking

Dictation” on page 48.

Although the toolbar appears at the top of the pane all of the time, even when only the queue is shown in the grid view, most of the buttons are used for editing stories and therefore, are not used to modify the queue. The buttons associated with editing are explained further in “Editing a

Story” on page 49.

The Script Editor

The section of the pane in which the story appears is called the Script Editor. There are four distinct sub-sections of the Script Editor: Story Form, Cue List, Story, and Sequence Timeline. The following illustration identifies these areas.

The Queue/Story Pane

1 Story Form 3 Story (text area)

2 Cue List 4 Sequence Timeline

At the top of every story is the Story Form, which provides story information in fields that are predetermined by the iNEWS system administrator for each queue in the database. For instance, a form may contain the story’s title (slug), length, and status, among other things. Wire queues usually show different fields than rundown queues.

If any specific field located in the Story Form is also displayed in the queue, then data that you

enter in that field will appear in both locations no matter which one you choose to enter the information.

The horizontal dividing line between the Story Form and rest of the sub-sections may be used to adjust the ratio of the Script Editor display within the pane. You can also choose to hide the Story Form while still viewing the other sub-sections of the Script Editor.

To hide the Story Form:

1. Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane.

2. Select Hide Story Form.

The Queue/Story Pane

To show the Story Form:

1. Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane.

2. Select Show Story Form.

The Story is the sub-section of the Script Editor in which you write your story or view the text of an existing story. As you type, your text automatically wraps to the next line when you reach the end of the current line. A scroll bar at the right side of this area appears when text extends beyond the bounds of the text area.

The Cue List is the sub-section of the Script Editor in which you add or edit production cues and machine control events, such as those for a character generator (CG). Each cue is numbered within a story, beginning with one (1). If cues are rearranged in the story, the system renumbers the cues automatically. The following illustration shows an example of a cue containing a CG event.

The Sequence Timeline is the sub-section of the Script Editor in which you add, rearrange, or remove video and audio clips associated with the story. The columns in the timeline represent seconds, video, natural sound (NAT), sound on tape (SOT), and voice over audio (VO). Colors are also used to show the various types of media in the Sequence Timeline:

• Green for video with natural sound

• Blue for video with sound on tape

• Purple for voice over audio

When selected, however, the color of the media in the Sequence Timeline changes to orange.

The horizontal orange bar is called the sightline and acts as a position indicator when playing a script sequence in the Media pane.

Creating a Story

You can create a story by writing it from scratch or by utilizing information from other resources, such as wire stories. For more information on how to edit existing stories, see “Editing a Story”

on page 49. While working with stories, you can view them in split mode with the queue shown

on top and the story shown in the bottom half of the Queue/Story pane or you can view them in full view mode, so that the story fills the entire pane, in which case the queue is not displayed.

To view an existing story:

t Select the story in the queue you want to view and click the Story button to display the story

in the bottom half of the Queue/Story pane.

To open an existing story to full view:

t Double click on a story in the queue.

t Select the story in the queue and click the Queue button.

This toggles off the display of the queue in the Queue/Story pane and displays the story within the entire pane’s space.

To create a new story:

1. Navigate to the row in which you want the new story to be inserted in the queue.

2. Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane.

3. Select Create Story.

The existing row is pushed down, and a new row is inserted in the queue at that location.

So long as you are in split view, you can now begin writing your story; otherwise, open the new blank story by double-clicking on the new row.

4. Enter the name of your story in the Title (a.k.a. Slug) field of the Story Form.

5. Enter the text of your story in the first available segment.

6. Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane.

7. Select Save Story to save your changes.

Navigating away from a story in the queue will also result in any changes made to the story

being saved regardless of whether you manually saved the story.

Segmenting Stories

You can write a story in a single segment or divide it into multiple segments. The following illustration shows a story in a single segment.

Segmenting Stories

You can use segments to time the text and integrate it with video, audio, and production cues. Multiple timed segments are combined to form the overall story. The following illustration shows the same story as the one in the previous example, but written as a segmented story.

Segmenting Stories

In Interplay Central, timing taglines appear in the Sequence Timeline to mark the length of each segment in the story, such as 00:10 seconds and 00:28 seconds in the previous illustration. For more information, see “Timing the Text” on page 53.

You can add or delete segments, split a segment in two, and rearrange segments within a story.

To add a segment to a story:

t Click in the segment marked NEW located at the bottom of the story and begin typing. See

the previous illustration for an example.

To split a segment in two:

1. Position the cursor in the story where you want to split the text into two segments.

2. Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane.

3. Select Split Segment.

To rearrange segments in a story:

t Click the header bar of the segment you want to move and drag it up or down into its new

location.

Whenever you rearrange segments, any production cues or machine control events in those

segments are moved as well, and renumbered accordingly.

To delete a segment:

1. Select the segment.

2. Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane.

3. Select Delete Segment.

Taking Dictation

The Interplay Central Annotation feature allows users to dictate their stories, using the Chrome browser's Speech-to-Text technology.

This feature does require a connection to the Internet, and it is only available on Windows-based

computers with Google Chrome, not Apple computers with the Safari browser.

To use the Annotation feature to write stories:

1. Open a blank story and place your cursor in a segment.

2. Click the Annotate button.

Taking Dictation

A speech bubble will appear below the button, instructing you to begin speaking. It also displays an audio level bar for your information and a Cancel button should you want to stop dictation.

3. Speak clearly.

If you want sentence punctuation in your text, you can type it in later, or you can say what punctuation is needed where as you speak. For instance, if you want the text to be

I’m Jane Doe.

system punctuates contractions for you.

For best results, conduct your dictation in a location free from too much background noise. When you finish talking, the system transfers your speech into text starting at your cursor position.

A pause in your speech can stop the annotation. To continue, click to position your cursor once

more and then click the Annotate button again.

, then you would need to say, “Hello comma I’m Jane Doe period.” The

Hello,

4. After your text appears in the Script Editor, you can correct any capitalization or punctuation issues in the story as needed.

Editing a Story

When modifying a news story, changes made in Interplay Central are automatically updated in the iNEWS newsroom computer system. The reverse is also true, so if changes are made to a story at an iNEWS workstation, those changes will appear if the story is opened in Interplay Central.

The standard editing features found in Interplay Central are the same as those for most word processing software applications. You can cut, copy, or paste text as you work on a story. When cutting or copying text, the system stores the text in a temporary storage spot known as a clipboard; only one block of text can be stored at a time, so whenever you cut or copy something new, it replaces whatever was previously stored on the clipboard.

You can use cut, copy, and paste to move text within a single story or from one story to another.

You can also change text to a bold or italicized font, and underline selected text within a story, using keystroke combinations or the toolbar buttons highlighted in red in the following illustration.

Editing a Story

To cut text:

t Select the text and press Ctrl+X.

t (Macintosh) Select the text and press Cmd+X.

To copy text:

t Select the text and press Ctrl+C.

t (Macintosh) Select the text and press Cmd+C.

To paste text:

t Select the text and press Ctrl+V.

To immediately undo the previous editing change, press Ctrl+Z. On a Macintosh, press Cmd+Z.

t (Macintosh) Select the text and press Cmd+V.

To redo the previous edit:

t Select the text and press Ctrl+Y.

t (Macintosh) Select the text and press Cmd+Y.

To set text to bold, do one of the following:

t Select the text and click the B button.

t Select the text and press Ctrl+B.

t (Macintosh) Select the text and press Cmd+B.

To italicize text, do one of the following:

t Select the text and click the I button.

t Select the text and press Ctrl+I.

t (Macintosh) Select the text and press Cmd+I.

To underline text, do one of the following:

t Select the text and click the U button.

t Select the text and press Ctrl+U.

t (Macintosh) Select the text and press Cmd+U.

To immediately undo the last change in the font, or a previous editing change, press Ctrl+Z. On

a Macintosh, press Cmd+Z.

Editing a Story

Formatting a Script

When you write a story, the text appears in the default normal text style. However, when formatting a story as a script for a news broadcast, it is often necessary to distinguish certain text from others using various styles of text, such as instructions for presenters or closed captioning.

Presenter instructions are most often used as brief, special instructions to news presenters (also called news anchors). The text for presenter instructions appears red in the script, in reverse video on the teleprompter, and is not included in the text used by the system to calculate the read time.

Closed captioning is most often used for sound-bite verbatims. The text for closed captioning appears green in the script and is sent to a closed caption encoder if your station uses such a device to broadcast scripts for the hearing-impaired. Closed captioning text does not appear in the teleprompter, nor is it included in the calculations of a script’s read time.

The default normal text style is sent to both the teleprompter and to any closed caption encoder

used at the station.

The following procedures use the toolbar buttons highlighted in red in the following illustration.

To mark text as a presenter instruction:

t Select the text and click the P button.

To mark text as a closed captioning text:

t Select the text and click the CC button.

To mark text as a normal text:

t Select the text and click the N button.

You can click the N, P, or CC buttons before typing your text as well. Any new text you type will

appear in the format you selected. To change the format of the text you type at any time, select another format.

Adding Production Cues

When you format a story as a script for a news broadcast, you might need to add production cues that provide important information to technical staff as well as machine control commands for devices, such as character generators.

Editing a Story

Production cues are added to scripts from the Story area and edited in the Cue List area of the Script Editor. When added to a script, each production cue is given a numerical value. That number in a black box appears as a production cue marker in the script, which corresponds to the insertion location of that production cue’s text box in the Cue List.

When selected, the production cue marker appears orange, and the information in the production cue is visible in the Cue List.

To insert a production cue in a script:

1. Position your cursor in the story where you want to insert the production cue marker.

2. (Windows) Press Alt+Insert. (Macintosh) Press Option+Insert.

3. Enter the production cue information, such as Take VO, On Camera, Take SOT, or Take Live. The information is automatically saved when you click elsewhere within the story.

To move a production cue in a script:

t Click on the production cue’s marker and drag it to another location within the script.

When production cues are rearranged in a script, the system automatically renumbers them,

beginning with one (1). The same renumbering occurs if new production cues are added or existing ones are deleted.

To delete a production cue from a script:

t Select the production cue and press the Delete key.

Adding Machine Control Instructions

Editing a Story

If your station integrates with a broadcast control system, such as iNEWS Command, the production cues might include machine control instructions.

These instructions must be preceded by an asterisk (*) and written in a special format, beginning with a command for the type of device the instruction is for, such as CG for a character generator. After the command the format specifies a particular item or template, such as 2line for a template that contains two lines for fulfillment data. If additional comments or information is required it would follow on succeeding lines in the same production cue text box.

In the following procedure, a machine control instruction for a 2-line character generator graphic is used as an example.

To add machine control instructions for a CG event:

1. Insert a production cue in the script.

2. In the production cue text box (in the Cue List), type *CG 2line and press Enter.

3. Type the first line of text that should appear on the 2-line CG graphic, such as Mayor Joe Smith. Press Enter.

4. Type the second line of text that should appear on the 2-line CG graphic, such as Pleasantville.

Your CG machine control instruction will appear in blue font.

Timing the Text

With Interplay Central, segments are used to help estimate the timing of the text in scripts. Pale yellow, horizontal lines with little flags, called timing taglines, are displayed in the Sequence Timeline to show the estimated time for each segment in the script. For example, the following story has two segments; the first is 10 seconds long, and the second is 28 seconds long.

Timing the Text

When Run times are added into production cues, these times are added to the overall time of the

script as well as the time shown for the segment in which the production cue resides.

Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story

When an iNEWS story is deleted, it is sent to a folder called the Dead queue, from which it may be retrieved for limited amount of time. That time frame is pre-determined based on a purge interval set for that queue by each site’s system administrator.

To delete a story:

1. Select the story.

2. Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane.

3. Select Delete Story.

To retrieve a deleted story from the Dead queue:

1. Navigate to the Dead queue in the iNEWS database and locate the story.

2. Copy the story.

3. Navigate to the queue in which you want to put the story and paste it there.

Locking and Unlocking a Story

The iNEWS newsroom computer system has multiple types of locks, such as edit locks, segmented edit locks, easy locks and key locks. Locking a story makes it impossible for another unauthorized person to change a story while you are working in it. If a story is edit locked by another user, you can still navigate to that story and view it, but a warning message appears if you attempt to edit the story. The warning message states:

Story is currently locked by another user.

Locking and Unlocking a Story

Unable to obtain edit lock.

Segmented edit locking allows for one user to change Story Form data while another user has a lock on the story’s text and cue list. This is beneficial for producers who might need to make modifications in the Story Form sub-section of the Script Editor while a reporter is still working on the body of the story itself.

Easy locks and key locks may only be applied to a story from an iNEWS workstation, but the security measures are honored within Interplay Central. With easy lock, an iNEWS user locks the story to his or her user name, so that only that user or an iNEWS system administrator can access it. If any other user attempts to open an easy-locked story from Interplay Central, they will be denied viewing or editing access to the story. Likewise, an iNEWS user key locks a story by applying a password so that only those who know the password can view or edit the story. If an Interplay Central user attempts to open a key-locked story, the system will prompt that user for the password.

None of locking features apply to iNEWS system administrators. They can access any story in the iNEWS database at any time regardless of the type of lock applied to a story.

To lock a story, do one of the following:

t Begin typing in the body of the story. An edit lock is automatically applied to the story body.

t Click the Lock/Unlock button. An edit lock is manually applied to the story body.

When you have a story locked, the Lock/Unlock button appears orange.

Adding Media to a Script

To lock the Story Form, do the following:

t Begin typing in any field in the Story Form of a story. The segmented edit lock is

automatically applied.

To unlock a story, do one of the following:

t Navigate to another story in the queue. The story you edited is automatically saved and

unlocked.

t Click the Lock/Unlock button.

If you click the Unlock button, a confirmation dialog box appears stating the following:

Story may have been modified. Would you like to save it?

Choose Yes to save it and then unlock the story, No to unlock the story without saving modifications, or Cancel to return to the story with the edit lock still in place.

Navigating between the Story Form sub-section of the Script Editor to the Story or Cue List sub-sections releases any segmented edit lock you have on the Story Form. The reverse does the same for any easy lock you might have on the story body. All changes you made while having either lock are saved by the system before the locks are released.

Adding Media to a Script

The Sequence Timeline is the area of the Script Editor in which you add, rearrange, or remove media assets associated with the story. The columns in the timeline represent from left to right: seconds, video, natural sound (NAT), sound on tape (SOT), and voice over audio (V).

Adding Media to a Script

Different colors are used for each type of media asset in the timeline: green for video with NAT sound, blue for video with SOT sound, and purple for VO sound.

The horizontal orange bar is called the sightline and acts as a position indicator when playing a

script’s sequence in the Media pane. Whenever a user trims a clip, the sightline automatically moves to that position in the sequence, and the frame to which the clip was trimmed is displayed in the viewer of the Media pane.

You can easily drag and drop a media asset from the Media pane into the Sequence Timeline, but when doing so, it is important to consider the position of your mouse pointer, type of asset, and where you want to put the asset. For instance, keep in mind the following:

• When inserting video with natural sound (NAT), position your mouse pointer over the N or video columns before releasing the mouse button.

• When inserting audio only for a voice over (VO), position your mouse pointer over the V column before releasing the mouse button.

• When inserting video with sound on tape (SOT), position your mouse pointer over the S column before releasing the mouse button.

The system displays highlights in each column during a drag and drop process to help guide you.

The sequence of video and audio that you create is called the script sequence. The the video format is determined by the first clip that you add to the sequence. Any additional clips must match the initial video format.

To insert a video asset with a NAT audio track into the script:

1. Click on a video clip with natural sound in the Media pane.

2. Drag it to the Sequence Timeline in the Script Editor until your pointer is over the N or Video column, as shown in the following illustration.

Moving or Deleting Clips in the Sequence Timeline

As you drag the clip to where you want it, the Video and N columns appear highlighted to show you where the asset will be inserted when you release the mouse button.

To insert a video asset with a SOT audio track into the script:

1. Click on a video clip with sound on tape in the Media pane.

2. Drag it to the Sequence Timeline in the Script Editor until your pointer is over the S column, as shown in the following illustration.

As you drag the clip to where you want it, the Video and S columns appear highlighted to show you where the asset will be inserted when you release the mouse button.

To insert an audio asset such as a VO track into the script:

1. Select the VO track from the Media pane.

2. Drag it to the Sequence Timeline in the Script Editor until the V column is highlighted, as shown:

As you drag the asset to where you want it, the V column appears highlighted to show you where the asset will be inserted when you release the mouse button.

Moving or Deleting Clips in the Sequence Timeline

After assets are added to a script sequence, they can be rearranged in the timeline.

Trimming Clips in the Sequence Timeline

After you have added a clip to the timeline, it cannot be switched to a different column. For instance, if you drag and drop a clip into the timeline as a SOT, you cannot then select that clip in the timeline and drag it to the other audio columns. If the clip has audio on a channel that is not mapped to the audio column in which you insert it, you will not hear the audio when the sequence is played.

If an insertion is made to the wrong column, you can use the Match Frame option (in the Media

player’s Pane menu) to reload the clip into the player, then delete the clip from the Sequence Timeline, and redo the insertion by dragging it from the player to the timeline again.

To move a clip in a sequence:

1. Click on the clip you want to move.

2. Drag it up or down in the Sequence Timeline to reposition it.

As you drag the clip, other assets in the sequence will adjust accordingly.

To delete a clip from a sequence:

1. Right-click on the clip you want to delete.

2. Select Delete Clip.

Deleting a clip from the Sequence Timeline does not remove the original source media from the server.

Trimming Clips in the Sequence Timeline

After a media clip is added to a script sequence, you can trim the clip from either end, lengthening or shortening the clip frame-by-frame as needed.

To trim a clip, both audio and video together, using your mouse:

1. Select the video clip you want to trim, positioning your mouse pointer near the end you want to adjust.

A trim indicator will appear in the clip’s video column and any corresponding audio column, as shown in the following illustration.

Trimming Clips in the Sequence Timeline

2. Click and drag the trim indicator in the video column to adjust the clip.

You can only lengthen a clip to the maximum length of its original source media.

Whenever you trim a clip, the sightline automatically moves to the new position in the sequence and the frame at that position is displayed in the viewer of the Media pane so the user can see the exact frame to which the clip was trimmed.

To trim a clip, using your keyboard:

1. With your mouse, click the video clip you want to trim.

2. Do one of the following:

t To trim from the start of the clip, select that end by pressing the Left Arrow key.

t To trim from the end of the clip, select that end by pressing the Right Arrow key.

3. Do one of the following:

t Press the M key to trim the clip’s chosen end10 frames earlier.

t Press the comma (,) key to trim the clip’s chosen end one frame earlier.

t Press the period (.) key to trim the clip’s chosen end one frame later.

t Press the slash (/) key to trim the clip’s chosen end 10 frames later.

The sightline will automatically move to the trim location.

Using L-Cuts in the Sequence Timeline

An L-cut is a split edit between two clips in which the video transition does not occur simultaneously with the audio transition. In some cases, the audio transition happens before the video, while in other cases the reverse is true.

The following illustration shows two examples of L-cuts near the forty second mark in the timeline. One L-cut is the NAT clip (green) in which the video ends before the natural sound. The other L-cut is the second SOT clip in the sequence (blue) in which the sound on tape is introduced slightly before the corresponding video.

In Interplay Central, you can create, modify, or remove L-cuts in the Sequence Timeline of the Script Editor.

Using L-Cuts in the Sequence Timeline

To create an L-cut:

1. Select the video clip you want to edit, positioning your mouse pointer near the end you want to adjust.

A trim indicator will appear in the clip’s video column and/or any corresponding audio column.

2. Do one of the following:

t Hold the Ctrl key down, click the video trim indicator, and drag it to a different position.

t Click the audio trim indicator and drag it to a different position.

This separates the video transition from the audio transition, letting you modify one without altering the other. You can click either indicator to modify each one independently.

To remove an L-cut:

t Click and drag the trim indicator for audio back into alignment with the video, or vice versa.

You do not have to be exact; close is near enough for the system to realign the video and audio transitions.

Moving a clip with an L-cut to a new location in the sequence will also remove the L-cut and

realign the video and audio transitions.

When audio segments overlap, Interplay Central automatically adjusts the audio levels. See

“Working with Audio Tracks” on page 92.

Inserting Dissolves

In addition to using straight or split edits between clips, you can insert a dissolve to transition on center between clips. Dissolves can be set to transition from 2 to 300 frames—even numbers only—with half of the frames used in the leading clip and the other half in the trailing clip.

Dissolves cannot be placed at the start of the first clip or the end of the last clip in a sequence.

For any dissolve, you must ensure the source material has sufficient media to allow for the dissolve before Mark In or after Mark Out points. Also, the trailing half of one dissolve cannot overlap the leading portion of the next dissolve. In all of these cases, the system will issue messages indicating that a dissolve is not possible.

To insert a dissolve between two clips:

1. Position the sightline within two seconds of the cut between two clips in the Sequence Timeline.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click the Dissolve button in the toolbar.

t Press the Backslash key (\).

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Insert Dissolve.

Inserting Dissolves

The following illustration shows a dissolve between the two clips of a sequence as indicated by the square Dissolve icon located just below the sightline.

The icon is a static size and does not change with dissolves of varying durations.

3. By default the duration of dissolves is set to 20 frames—divided evenly at 10 frames in the leading clip and 10 frames in the trailing clip. This can be changed, however, by double-clicking on the Dissolve icon or by right-clicking on the icon and selecting Modify Duration.

Inserting Script Templates

If altered, any new dissolve added to the sequence afterwards will have the altered setting for its duration.

The default duration can be modified by changing the Dissolve Duration for Effects in User

Settings. See “iNEWS Settings” on page 133 for more information.

4. You can view the dissolve by positioning the sightline in the Sequence Timeline at any point in the leading clip and then playing the output in the viewer of the Media pane.

Dissolves are associated with the leading clip, so if the leading clip is moved to the end of the sequence, the associated dissolve is automatically deleted.

To delete a dissolve:

t Right-click on the Dissolve icon and select Delete Dissolve.

Inserting Script Templates

Script templates are templates created by an administrator for you to use to quickly insert predefined text and segments into stories. For instance, if a daily weather story in a show has a standard set of production cues and presenter instructions that are always the same, an administrator can create a script template that contains this information. The template can then be made available to Interplay Central users to insert within new stories they write for subsequent shows.

Inserting Script Templates

Script templates are inserted at the current cursor position of an opened story.

To insert a script template:

1. Open or create a new story and position your cursor in the story body where you want to insert the template information.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click the Template button in the toolbar.

t Right-click and select Insert Script Template.

3. Select the template you want to use from the list by double-clicking on it.

If you already know the name of the template you want, you can also type it in the Search field

and press Enter.

5 Working with Video Media

The following main topics describe how to work with the Media pane to view and edit your video assets:

• The Media Pane

• Playing Assets and Script Sequences

• Marking In and Out Points

• Wo rkin g with M a rkers

• Using the Timecode Displays

• Working in the Media Timeline

• Using the Zoom Bar

• Reviewing for Playback

• Opening an Enclosing Folder

• Using Match Frame

• Mixing Down Sequences

• Viewing and Editing a Clip During Ingest

• Saving a Frame as an Image

The Media Pane

The Media pane provides you with the controls you need to play, cue, and mark video clips as you build your story. You can set the Media pane to one of two modes:

• Click the Asset button to work in Asset mode.

Use Asset mode to view master clips, subclips, and sequences, and to edit media into your script sequence. You can also send a sequence from an Interplay Production database to a playback device. For a description of the controls in Asset mode, see “Media Pane: Asset

Mode” on page 66.

• Click the Output button to work in Output mode.

Use Output mode to view your script sequence, add a voice over, and send the sequence to a playback device. For a description of the controls in Output mode, see “Media Pane: Output

Mode” on page 69.

The Media Pane

The view in the Media pane automatically switches to Asset mode when you open an asset in the Asset pane by double-clicking the asset or by dragging the asset from the Asset list and dropping it on the Media pane. The view automatically switches to Output mode when you open a story that includes a script sequence or when you move the sightline in the Sequence Timeline of a script sequence.

Media Pane: Asset Mode

The following illustration shows the Media pane in Asset mode. Displays and controls are described in the accompanying table.

The Media Pane

q w

t y

Display or Control Description

1 Title Displays the name of an asset loaded from the Interplay Production database.

2 Asset and Output buttons Lets you switch views between an asset loaded from the Interplay Production

database (Asset mode) and the script sequence for the story loaded in the Script Editor (Output mode).

The Media Pane

Display or Control Description

3 Video format display Displays the tracks associated with the asset. If the display is red, the asset does

not have online media that matches the target resolution of the selected Send to Playback profile. If you move the mouse pointer over the display, you see what video and audio formats are associated with the asset, in addition to the tracks.

STP button Click this button to send a playable sequence loaded from an Interplay database

to a playback device. In Asset mode, this button is active only if you load a sequence. For more information, see “Sending a Stored Sequence to a Playback

Device” on page 127.

4 Media viewer Displays video for a loaded asset, including master clips, sequences, and

subclips.

Text for a marker that you select in the Media Timeline is displayed as a overlay at the bottom of the Media viewer. Error messages concerning media appear at the top of the Media viewer. The speed display for J-K-L play is shown in the upper right. For more information, see “Using the J-K-L Keys for

Playback” on page 73.

5 Media Timeline and zoom bar • The Media Timeline is a graphical representation of the length and time

span of an asset or script sequence. The Media Timeline includes timing marks, a position indicator, and other controls. For more information, see

“Working in the Media Timeline” on page 82.

• The zoom bar lets you enlarge a section of the Media Timeline. For more information, see “Using the Zoom Bar” on page 83.

6 Media controls Let you play, pause, step through, and mark in and out points. For more

information, see “Playing Assets and Script Sequences” on page 72 and

“Marking In and Out Points” on page 77.

The Media Pane

Display or Control Description

7 Pane Menu button Provides options for controlling the display and sending to playback. For more

information, see the appropriate topic:

• Recently Viewed Assets. See “Playing Recently Viewed Assets” on

page 75.

• Update Media Status. See “Updating the Media Status” on page 75.

• Aspect Ratio. See “Selecting the Aspect Ratio” on page 75.

• Playback Quality. See “Selecting the Playback Quality” on page 77.

• Playback Statistics. Provides performance information about the media playback.

• Send to Playback (profile name). See “Sending to Playback” on page 122.

• Send to Playback Settings. See “Specifying Send to Playback Settings” on

page 123.

• Sequence Mixdown. See “Mixing Down Sequences” on page 87.

• Help. Displays information about the audio pane. Use the Help control buttons to access other Help topics.

8 Timecode displays Provides timecode information for the loaded asset or script sequence. For

more information, see “Using the Timecode Displays” on page 80.

9 Marker overlay Displays the contents of a marker, if the position indicator is parked on the

marker. For more information, see “Working with Markers” on page 79.

Media Pane: Output Mode

The following illustration shows the Media pane in Output mode. Displays and controls are described in the accompanying table.

The Media Pane

q w e

t y

u i

Display or Control Description

1 Title Displays the name of the story loaded in the script editor.

2 Asset and Output buttons Lets you switch views between an asset loaded from the Interplay Production

database (Asset mode) and the script sequence for the story loaded in the Script Editor (Output mode).

3 Video format display Displays the target resolution of the selected Send to Playback profile. Move

your mouse pointer over the display to see the complete label for the target resolution.

STP button Click this button to send the loaded script sequence to a playback device. For

more information, see “Sending a Script Sequence to a Playback Device” on

page 125.

4 Media viewer Displays and plays media for the script sequence loaded in the script editor.

Error messages concerning media appear at the top of the Media viewer. The speed display for J-K-L play is shown in the upper right. For more information, see “Using the J-K-L Keys for Playback” on page 73.

The Media Pane

Display or Control Description

5 Media Timeline and zoom bar • The Media Timeline is a graphical representation of the length and time

span of an asset or script sequence. The Media Timeline includes timing marks, a position indicator, and other controls. For more information, see

“Working in the Media Timeline” on page 82.

• The zoom bar lets you enlarge a section of the Media Timeline. For more information, see “Using the Zoom Bar” on page 83.

6 Media controls Let you play, pause, and step through the sequence. For more information, see

“Playing Assets and Script Sequences” on page 72. Controls for working with

In points and Out points are disabled in Output mode.

7 Pane Menu button Provides options for controlling the display and sending to playback. For more

information, see the appropriate topic:

• Match Frame. See “Using Match Frame” on page 85.

• Update Media Status. See “Updating the Media Status” on page 75.

• Aspect Ratio. See “Selecting the Aspect Ratio” on page 75.

• Playback Quality. See “Selecting the Playback Quality” on page 77.

• Playback Statistics. Provides performance information about the media playback.

• Send to Playback (profile name). See “Specifying Send to Playback

Settings” on page 123.

• Send to Playback Settings. See “Specifying Send to Playback Settings” on

page 123.

• Input Source. With the voice-over controls active, specifies the audio device for recording. See “Recording a Voice-over” on page 98.

• Help. Displays information about the Media pane. Use the Help control buttons to access other Help topics.

8 Timecode displays Provides timecode information for the loaded script sequence. For more

information, see “Using the Timecode Displays” on page 80.

9 Voice-over button Displays the controls for creating a voice over. For more information, see

“Recording a Voice-over” on page 98.

10 Review for Playback button Enables play of media in the send-to-playback target resolution. For more

information, see “Reviewing for Playback” on page 84.

Playing Assets and Script Sequences

You can play a video asset or audio asset in the Media pane.

The following illustration shows the play buttons in the Media pane.

1 Play In to Out 3 Review Out

2 Play/Pause

You can also use keyboard controls, including the J, K, and L keys. For more information, see

“Using the J-K-L Keys for Playback” on page 73. For information about stepping through media,

see “Stepping Through Assets or Script Sequences” on page 74.

For information about playing sequences in Interplay Central, see “Playing Simple and Complex

Sequences” on page 76.

To view or play a video asset:

1. Do one of the following:

t In the Assets pane, double-click the asset you want to view or play.

t Drag an asset from the Assets pane and drop it on the Media viewer.

If the Media pane is in Output mode, it automatically switches to Asset mode.

2. To play video or audio, do one of the following:

t In the Media pane, click the Play/Pause button. While video or audio is playing, the

Pause icon is displayed. To pause play, click the Play/Pause button again.

t On your keyboard, press the L key or the space bar. To pause play, press the K key or

press the space bar again.

To play a script sequence:

1. Open a story that includes a script sequence.

If the Media pane is in Asset mode, it automatically switches to Output mode.

2. To play video or audio, do one of the following:

t In the Media pane, click the Play/Pause button. While video or audio is playing, the

Pause icon is displayed. To pause play, click the Play/Pause button again.

t On your keyboard, press the L key or the space bar. To pause play, press the K key or

press the space bar again.

To play from an In point to an Out point, do one of the following:

t In the Media pane, click the Play In to Out button.

To play to an Out point:

t In the Media pane, click the Review Out button.

The position indicator moves to three seconds before the Out point and plays to the Out point.

Using the J-K-L Keys for Playback

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

The playback speed is displayed in the upper right corner of the monitor. For backward play, the display includes a left-pointing arrow. For forward play, the display includes a right-pointing arrow.

Playing Assets and Script Sequences

To play or shuttle through the media using the J-K-L keys on the keyboard:

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 Media At

2 times 2x normal speed

3 times 3x normal speed

4 times 4x normal speed

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

t Press the K key to stop playback.

t Press the K and L keys together for slow forward at ¼ times normal speed.

t Press the K and J keys together for slow backward at ¼ times normal speed.

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

0-1x-2x-3x-4x 1x 2x 3x 4x

qwe rt

a time.

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 and tap L once again. Play stops. Continue to hold Alt and tap L once again. Play goes forward at normal speed.

Stepping Through Assets or Script Sequences

Playing Assets and Script Sequences

You can use various controls to step through an asset or script sequence. The following illustration shows the buttons in the Media pane that you use to step forward or back.

1 10 Seconds Back 4 1 Frame Forward

2 1 Second Back 5 1 Second Forward

3 1 Frame Back 6 10 Seconds Forward

You can also step through by In and Out points, markers, or timecode. See “Marking In and Out

Points” on page 77, “Working with Markers” on page 79, and “Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame” on page 80.

To step through an asset or script sequence, do one of the following:

t Click the 10 Seconds Back button.

t Click the 1 Second Back button.

t Click the 1 Frame Back button or press the left arrow key.

t Click the 1 Frame Forward button or press the right arrow key.

t Click the 1 Second Forward button.

t Click the 10 Seconds Forward button.

t Press the Home key to move to the beginning of a clip.

t Press the End key to move to the end of a clip.

Playing Recently Viewed Assets

Interplay Central keeps a history of the last 10 assets that you loaded in the Media pane. You select any of these assets to play, rather than selecting them from the Interplay Production database tree.

To play one of the last 10 assets loaded in the Media pane.

1. Click the Pane Menu button.

2. Click Recently Viewed Assets > asset_name.

Selecting the Aspect Ratio

Interplay Central automatically sizes the Media viewer for the asset you select to play. If necessary, you can change the aspect ratio.

Playing Assets and Script Sequences

To select the aspect ratio of the Media viewer:

1. Click the Pane Menu button.

2. Click Aspect Ratio > 4x3 or Aspect Ratio > 16x9.

Updating the Media Status

At times you might load an asset or sequence and see a message “Media Offline.” This situation could occur for several reasons, for example, if a shared-storage workspace is not currently available. If the workspace becomes available, and the media comes back online, the media might not be automatically loaded. You can use a menu option to force the media player to search for the media again and load it if it is available.

To update the media status:

1. Click the Pane Menu button.

2. Click Update Media Status.

Playing Simple and Complex Sequences

You can play sequences that are stored in an Interplay Production database, but some sequences require additional preparation to be completely playable. Sequences that include non-real-time effects created in an Avid editing system need to be rendered in the editing system before you can play them correctly in Interplay Central. Sequences that are fully supported for playback in Interplay Central are marked by a green triangle in the State column in the Assets tab. These sequences play as the editor intended, with all effects rendered.

The State column is not displayed by default. For information about how to display it, see

“Adding or Removing Property Columns” on page 34.

Simple Sequences and Complex Sequences

Interplay Central can play simple sequences that are checked into the Interplay Production database. Simple sequences are defined as:

Playing Assets and Script Sequences

• Shotlists created in Avid editing applications (NewsCutter, Media Composer, and Symphony) and Interplay Assist that consist of cuts only, with no effects.

• Sequences created in Avid Instinct and Interplay Central that consist of cuts, L-cuts, audio pan/volume effects, audio dissolve effects, video dissolve effects, and no more than one video track.

Interplay Central can also play complex sequences. Complex sequences are sequences created in Avid editing applications that have multiple video tracks and various kinds of effects. If you load a complex sequence in Interplay Central, the Interplay Central playback server attempts to play the sequence. If the sequence has unrendered effects or is very complex, it might play without effects or it might not play at all. To assure correct playback, a sequence must have all effects rendered.

An editor working in a multi-resolution workgroup can take the following approach to prepare a complex sequence for review in Interplay Central:

1. Make a copy of the sequence.

2. Change the Dynamic Relink settings as desired.

3. Render the copy of the sequence.

4. Check the copy in to an Interplay folder.

5. Restore the Dynamic Relink working resolution settings.

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6. Continue working on the original sequence.

Mixing Down Complex Sequences

If a sequence is too complex to play in the Media viewer, and you do not want to render it, you can use the Interplay Central Mixdown feature to create a playable master clip. See “Mixing

Down Sequences” on page 87.

Selecting the Playback Quality

When you play media in Interplay Central, you are viewing media that is compressed for optimum viewing over a network. Instead of viewing source media in its native format, the media server compresses it on demand for network-based playback.

You have the option of playing media using one of three quality options: good, better, best. Your choice is usually based on the network connection between you and the server. If your computer is connected to the Interplay Central playback server on a local network, you can choose best quality. If your computer is connected to the Interplay Central playback server over a WAN connection, you might need to choose good quality. Good quality consumes less bandwidth at the expense of image quality.

Marking In and Out Points

To select the playback quality of the compressed media:

t Click the Pane Menu button, select Playback Quality, and select the level you want.

The numbers associated with each level indicate the amount of JPEG compression. An administrator can adjust these levels. See the Interplay Central Installation and Configuration Guide.

Marking In and Out Points

If you want to use only a portion of a clip, you can set an In and Out point in the clip, and then add the edited clip to the sequence that accompanies your story. By default, In and Out points are set at the first frame and last frame of a clip. You can mark In and Out points only in Asset mode.

The following illustration shows the buttons in the Media pane that you use with In and Out points

Marking In and Out Points

1 Play In to Out 4 Mark Out

2 Go to In 5 Go to Out

3 Mark In 6 Review Out

To mark an In point:

1. Load a clip in the Media pane and navigate to the frame where you want to set the In point.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click the Mark In button.

t Press I on the keyboard.

The In point is moved to the frame you marked. If the clip is playing, marking an In point does not stop playback.

You can change an In point’s location by dragging it along the Media Timeline.

To mark an Out point:

1. Load a clip in the Media pane and navigate to the location where you want to set the Out point.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click the Mark Out button.

t Press O on the keyboard.

The Out point is moved to the location you marked. If the clip is playing, marking an Out point does not stop playback.

You can change the Out point’s location by dragging it along the Media Timeline.

To navigate to an In or Out point:

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

To play from an In point to an Out point:

t Click the Play In to Out button.

To play to an Out point from any previous frame:

t Click the Review Out button.

The position indicator moves to three seconds before the Out point and plays to the Out point.

Working with Markers

Markers are frame-specific markers that a user can add when logging media with Interplay Central, Interplay Assist, or Interplay Access. An Interplay Central user can add markers in the Logging layout or in the Video layout. For more information about adding markers, see

“Logging and Creating Subclips” on page 105.

In Media Composer v6.0, Avid Symphony v6.0, and NewsCutter v10.0, the term “locators” was

changed to “markers” in both the user interface and the documentation.

Marker icons are displayed in the Media timeline. If you park the position indicator on a marker that includes text, the text is displayed as an overlay in the Media viewer. You can click a marker to jump to it and display its text.

Working with Markers

1 Marker indicators in the Media Timeline

2 Marker indicator and marker text

You can use keyboard shortcuts to step to the next marker or to the previous marker.

If you are creating a script sequence in the Video layout and add a clip that includes markers to

a script sequence, the markers are not added to the script sequence.

To step to the next marker:

t Press Shift+right-arrow key.

To step to the previous marker:

t Press Shift+left-arrow key.

Using the Timecode Displays

ert

Using the Timecode Displays

There are four timecode displays in the top-right corner of the Media pane. The information displayed depends on whether you are in Asset mode or Output mode, and the options you select.

Display Description

1 Master, Absolute, or Remain Master: In Asset mode, displays timecode for the selected frame that

corresponds to the original timecode for the asset. In Output mode, displays timecode for the selected frame that corresponds to the timecode of the script sequence.

Absolute: Displays timecode for the selected frame that is offset from the first frame of the asset or script sequence (time elapsed).

Remain: Displays timecode for the selected frame that is offset from the last frame of the asset or script sequence (time remaining).

2 Timecode display menu button Displays the options for displaying master, absolute, or remain timecode.

3 In point (Asset mode only) Displays timecode for the In point. The timecode displayed

depends on your selection: Master, Absolute, or Remain.

4 Out point (Asset mode only) Displays timecode for the Out point. The timecode

displayed depends on your selection: master, absolute, or remain.

5 Duration In Asset mode, shows timecode for the duration from In point to Out point.

In Output mode, shows timecode for the duration of the script sequence.

Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame

You can cue a loaded, playable clip or sequence to a specific frame by typing a timecode value, referred to as direct-entry mode. You can also cue backward or forward from the current location by a specified number of hours, minutes, seconds, or frames by using positive or negative frame-offset values. This is referred to as offset mode.

Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame

To cue to a frame based on a known timecode:

1. Do one of the following:

t Click the main timecode display.

t With focus in the Media pane, press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh).

The timecode is displayed with a green background.

2. Using the standard number keys or the numeric keypad, type the timecode for the frame you want to display, then press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh). If you are using a numeric keypad, make sure the Num Lock key is on. You can use the period key (.) as a shortcut for entering 00.

To find a timecode that starts at the same hour, minute, or second as the current timecode, type only the last digits. For example, if the current timecode is 11:56:24:00 and you type 3000, the system finds the frame at 11:56:30:00.

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

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

While you are entering timecode, you can type a plus sign (+) or a minus sign (-) to switch to offset mode. Any numbers you type are preserved.

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

1. Using the standard number keys or the numeric keypad, type a plus sign (+) to move forward or a minus sign (-) to move backward. If you are using a numeric keypad, make sure the Num Lock key is on. You can use the period key (.) as a shortcut for entering 00.

A plus sign or minus sign is displayed with an empty green field.

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

- Type 1 through 99 to specify a number of frames forward or backward. Then press Enter

(Windows) or Return (Macintosh). For example, type –47 to move backward 47 frames.

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

qw e r

seconds, and frames. Then press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh). For example, type +500 to move forward five seconds.

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

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

While you are entering a forward value, you can type a plus sign (+) again to switch to direct-entry mode. While you are entering a backward value, you can type a minus sign (-) to switch to direct-entry mode. Any numbers you type are preserved.

Working in the Media Timeline

The Media Timeline is a graphical representation of the length and time spans of an asset or script sequence. The Media Timeline includes timing marks, a position indicator, and other controls. The following illustration shows the Media Timeline and controls in Asset mode.

Working in the Media Timeline

1 Position indicator 4 Marker indicators

2 In mark 5 Zoom bar

3 Out mark

In Output mode, the Media Timeline does not include In and Out markers or markers.

The position indicator functions as a playhead: media for the frame marked by the position indicator is displayed in the Media viewer. You can drag the position indicator to scrub through a clip or sequence. You can click on a location in the Media Timeline to move the position indicator and display a specific frame. In Output mode, movement of the position indicator matches movement of the sightline in the Sequence Timeline.

Marks in the Media Timeline indicate various time spans. The time spans indicated depend on the length of the asset or script sequence and the settings in the zoom bar. Timing marks indicate the following:

•1 second

• 10 seconds

• 1 minute (60 seconds)

• 5 minutes (300 seconds)

• 1 hour (3600 seconds)

These timing marks are intended for general navigation, not navigation to a specific timecode. For information about working with timecode, see “Using the Timecode Displays” on page 80.

Using the Zoom Bar

The zoom bar is located below the Media Timeline. You can use the zoom bar to enlarge a section of the Media Timeline so that you can work more easily with long clips. By default, the zoom bar is set to display the entire clip in the Media Timeline.

Using the Zoom Bar

The zoom bar includes a position indicator that matches the position indicator in the Media Timeline and is always visible, which is useful when you are zoomed in to a section of the timeline that does not include the timeline position indicator.

The following illustration shows the zoom bar set for an entire 10-minute clip.

The following illustration shows the zoom bar set so that the timeline shows two minutes. This is referred to as the zoom region. Notice that the position indicator is displayed in the zoom bar, but is not visible in the timeline.

You can drag the zoom bar through the clip to select any two-minute region.

You can click the position indicator in the zoom bar and jump to the position indicator in the timeline. The zoom region moves to include both position indicators and to enlarge the section of the timeline that includes the position indicator.

Reviewing for Playback

If you drag the position indicator in the timeline, or if you play the loaded clip or sequence, the zoom bar and its position indicator match the movement in the timeline.

To zoom in to or out from a section of the Media Timeline, do one of the following:

t Drag a zoom bar handle in to zoom in or out to zoom out.

t Press the down arrow key to zoom in by 50 percent or press the up arrow key to zoom out by

50 percent.

The following illustration shows the timeline for a twenty minute clip, with the zoom bar set to display the entire clip. In and Out points mark a one-minute segment.

The next illustration shows the timeline zoomed in to show the one-minute segment. Timing marks are displayed at one-second intervals.

Reviewing for Playback

When you play media in Interplay Central in a multi-resolution environment, the media server plays the most compressed available media. For a send-to-playback operation, the send-to-playback profile specifies a high-resolution target resolution. You can select an option to play the media in the target resolution.

Reviewing media for playback is a way of testing if all media is available for the script sequence, checking for black frames, and checking if edits are frame-accurate. It is not a way to check the quality of the resolution. This relink is made only to the specific target resolution and if the resolution is not available the Media Offline display will be shown.

Reviewing media for playback is a temporary setting and applies only to the currently loaded script sequence.

To review a script sequence in the send-to-playback target resolution:

1. In Output mode, click the Review for Playback button.

The button turns orange. A tool tip shows the target resolution.

2. Play the script sequence.

Using Match Frame

The Match Frame feature lets you load a master clip that contains a specific frame of a script sequence. This clip is called the source clip. You can use Match Frame to quickly load a clip from your sequence for additional editing.

Match Frame is available only in Output mode. You cannot use it in Asset mode for sequences loaded from an Interplay Production database.

Using Match Frame

To load a source clip for a specific frame of a script sequence:

1. Click the Output button to display the current script sequence.

2. Navigate to the frame for which you want to load the master clip.

3. Click Pane Menu button and select Match Frame.

The master clip that contains the frame is loaded in the Media pane, with the matching frame displayed. In and Out marks are set to match the clip segment in the script.

Opening an Enclosing Folder

You can use the “Open Enclosing Folder” command to open an Assets pane for a folder that contains a selected asset. For example, you might want to locate a folder that holds master clips captured at the same time as the clip currently loaded in the Media pane. You can use this command for an asset loaded in the Media pane, for an asset you select in an Assets pane, or for an asset selected in a Search pane.

To open the enclosing folder for an asset loaded in the Media pane:

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Open Enclosing Folder.

Opening an Enclosing Folder

If the asset is stored in only one folder, the folder opens in a new Assets pane, with the selected asset highlighted.

If the asset is stored in more than one folder, the Open Enclosing Folder window opens and displays a list of folders that contain the asset. Double-click one of the listed folders and the folder opens in a new Assets pane, with the selected asset highlighted. You can use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to navigate through the list, and the Enter key to open the enclosing folder for a selected clip. Use the Esc key to cancel and close the window.

To open the enclosing folder for an asset selected in an Assets pane:

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Open Enclosing Folder, or right-click and select

Open Enclosing Folder.

The results are the same as when you select the command for an asset loaded in the Media pane.

To open the enclosing folder for an asset selected in a Search pane:

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Open Enclosing Folder, or right-click and select

Open Enclosing Folder.

The folder for the selected asset, as shown in the Path column, directly opens in a new Assets pane, with the selected asset highlighted.

If the setting “Show only one representation for each asset found” is enabled in the Interplay Production User Settings, the results are the same as when you select the command for an asset loaded in the Media pane.

If the asset is contained in a folder that contains more objects than can be displayed in an Assets

tab, and the asset is not displayed in the first group, it is not highlighted.

Mixing Down Sequences

You can use the Interplay Central Mixdown feature for two purposes:

• Creating a master clip that is playable in the Media viewer. If a sequence created in an Avid editing system is too complex to play correctly in the Media pane, you can use the Mixdown feature to create a new master clip. All master clips are playable. After mixing down the sequence, you can load the new master clip, mark In and Out points, and add the segment to your script sequence.

For information about playing sequences, see “Playing Simple and Complex Sequences” on

page 76.

• Creating a script sequence that matches the send-to-playback resolution. If you want to send a script sequence to a playback device, the resolution of the sequence must match the resolution specified for the playback device. Interplay Central warns you if the sequence does not match the send-to-playback resolution, and you can use the Mixdown feature to create a script sequence with the required resolution.

Interplay Central Mixdown uses the Interplay Production system’s Media Services Transcode service to perform the mixdown. An Interplay Production administrator needs to create a Transcode profile that uses Mixdown mode. An Interplay Central user selects the profile in the Settings dialog box.

Mixing Down Sequences

Because Interplay Central displays all available Transcode profiles, the Interplay Production administrator should name the profile in a meaningful way. For example, include the word “mixdown” and the resolution in the name of the profile. For more information, see the Interplay Media Services documentation.

To select a Transcode profile for mixing down a sequence:

1. Select Home > Settings.

2. In the Name section, select Interplay Production.

3. In the Sequence Mixdown Settings section, select a profile from the Profile list.

Mixing Down Sequences

4. Click Apply and close the Settings dialog box.

To mix down a sequence, do one of the following:

t In the Asset pane or a Search pane, select an Interplay Production sequence, right-click, and

select Sequence Mixdown.

t In the Asset pane, select an Interplay Production sequence and select Sequence Mixdown

from the Assets Pane menu.

t With a sequence loaded in the Media pane, click the Pane Menu button and select Sequence

Mixdown.

t With a story loaded in the Queue/Story pane, select Sequence Mixdown from the

Queue/Story Pane menu.

The Sequence Mixdown process uses the selected Transcode profile and begins the mixdown. You can view the progress in the Progress pane.

To cancel the process, click the x icon. If the process was successful, the Progress pane displays the name of the new master clip. Click the Monitor icon to play the clip in the Media pane.

Viewing and Editing a Clip During Ingest

The new master clip is created in the same Interplay Production folder as the original sequence. Click the blue link to open the folder in the Asset pane.

Media for the new master clip is stored in the workspace specified in the Transcode profile.

Viewing and Editing a Clip During Ingest

Interplay Central lets you view and edit a master clip while it is still being captured through an ingest device. These clips are called in-progress clips, and the process of working with them is called Frame Chase editing or edit while capture (EWC). You can add an in-progress clip to a script sequence and send the sequence to playback before the capture is complete. For more information about Frame Chase editing, see the Avid Interplay Transfer documentation.

In-progress clips are indicated by the following icons in the Interplay Production database tree:

In-progress master clip In-progress audio clip

If you view an in-progress clip in the Media pane, the ends of the Media Timeline pulse with a purple glow while the capture is in progress.

During the capture, the visible region of the Media Timeline (the zoom region) remains constant to make the viewing and editing easier. The zoom bar shrinks as the duration of the clip grows. You can use the zoom bar to change the zoom region during the capture.

You can reduce the zoom region and view new material as it becomes available. For example, if you zoom in to view the last 5 minutes of a clip and play near the end, the visible region of the timeline displays the last 5 minutes of the available media during the entire capture operation.

Saving a Frame as an Image

From the Media pane, you can select a frame of video and save it as an image in either the PNG or JPG format. If a clip is associated with multiple resolutions, the image is saved in the highest resolution.

To save a frame as an image:

1. Double-click the video asset to open it in the Media pane.

2. Navigate to the frame of video you want to save.

3. Click the Pane Menu button and select Save As Image.

4. When the dialog box appears, select the image format: PNG or JPG.

5. (Optional) Click in the Filename text field to change default name of the image.

6. Click Download.

The image is saved to the default download folder on your computer, as specified by your browser. For instance, in Google Chrome, you can view or change the download location of this folder by clicking the Wrench icon, selecting Options, selecting Under the Hood, and reviewing the setting called Downloads.

Saving a Frame as an Image

6 Using Audio

The following main topics describe how to add audio to the Sequence Timeline and adjust audio levels to produce your final story:

• Working with Audio Tracks

• Recording a Voice-over

Working with Audio Tracks

The Sequence Timeline in the Script Editor includes three different types of audio tracks:

• Natural sound (NAT): Audio recorded at the same time as the video clip by the microphone built-in to the video camera. Interplay Central supports single-channel or dual-channel NAT tracks.

• Sound-on-Tape (SOT): Audio recorded at the same time as the video clip, usually with a microphone separate from the one built in to the video camera, which records the natural sound. Interplay Central supports single-channel or dual-channel SOT tracks.

• Voice: Audio recorded through an audio device connected to your system or an audio-only media file opened from the Interplay Production database. Interplay Central supports single-channel Voice tracks.

Working with Audio Tracks

Each audio track is identified in the Sequence Timeline:

• N indicates the NAT track. Media in the NAT track and its associated video track is colored green.

• S indicates the SOT track. Media in the SOT track and its associated video track is colored blue.

• V indicates Voice track. Media in the Voice track is colored purple.

An Interplay Production administrator can change the labels that identify each track by changing the settings in the Interplay Production Application Database Settings. For more information, see the Interplay Central Administration Guide.

Working with Audio Tracks

Automatic Adjustment of Audio Gain Levels

The application automatically sets audio gain levels to ensure the clearest sound for the master audio track of your story. This provides default volume levels for separate tracks so that you do not need to manually adjust audio gain levels. Audio gain levels are set according to the following parameters:

• If a Voice track is present, the application lowers (or “ducks”) the audio level on any other tracks (NAT track, SOT track, or both) running at the same point in the Sequence Timeline.

• If no Voice track is present, and a SOT track is present, the application ducks the audio level on the NAT track running at the same point in the Sequence Timeline.

• If no Voice or SOT tracks are present, NAT sound remains at full volume.

An Interplay Production administrator can change the amount of ducking by changing the setting in the Interplay Administrator Application Database Settings. For more information, see the Avid Interplay Engine and Avid Interplay Archive Engine Administration Guide. The default level is 12 dB.

Automatic Creation of Audio Dissolves

By default, Interplay Central creates an audio dissolve between each clip in your sequence. Because the dissolve requires at least one frame to fade out or fade in, you should not mark your In point at the first frame of your clip or your Out point at the last frame of your clip. Instead, use the Video monitor controls to step in a few frames from the beginning or end of your clip before marking your In and Out points.

An Interplay Production administrator can change the number of frames used for the dissolve by changing the setting in the Interplay Administrator Application Database Settings. For more information, see the Avid Interplay Engine and Avid Interplay Archive Engine Administration Guide.The default number of frames is 2.

The Audio Pane

The Audio pane provides you with the controls you need to adjust audio levels for the script sequence and monitor output.

In the Video layout, the Audio pane is positioned directly below the Media pane. You can drag the Audio pane to a different area if you prefer. If the Audio pane is not displayed, select Panes > Audio to open it.

The following illustration identifies controls in the Audio pane when the Media pane is in Output mode. In Asset mode, only the Audio meters are active. You can monitor the audio level of an asset, but you cannot change it.

Working with Audio Tracks

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The border color of each set of controls matches the colors of the tracks in the script sequence: green for NAT, blue for SOT, and purple for Voice. For more information, see “Working with

Audio Tracks” on page 92.

Control Description

1 Balance knob Controls the balance for stereo tracks. Click the green tip of the indicator and

drag it left or right so that the indicator points to the desired level of mixing. Dragging the indicator all the way to the L or the R selects only the content of the left or right channels. Double-click a balance knob to center it.

The balance knobs are active only if there are two tracks for NAT or SOT audio.

2 Solo and Mute buttons Click the S (Solo) button to monitor only the selected mono or stereo track. All

other tracks are muted. Click the M (mute) button to mute only the selected mono or stereo track.

3 Volume slider Click and drag the slider to adjust the volume level for an audio clip. The level

applies only to the segment of a clip, not to the entire clip or the entire track.

4 Volume level display Displays the level selected by the volume slider.

5 Track identifier Identifies the track associated with the audio controls. Tracks are identified as

mono or stereo. For example, NAT 1, 2 indicates a stereo NAT track, using tracks 1 and 2.

An Interplay Central administrator can change the labels that identify each track by changing the settings in the Interplay Production Application Database Settings. For more information, see the Interplay Central Administration Guide.

Working with Audio Tracks

Control Description

6 Pane Menu button Provides options for controlling audio editing:

• Mix Mode: Select Stereo or Mono to specify the audio output. See “Setting

the Audio Mix” on page 96.

• Help: Displays information about the audio pane. Use the Help control buttons to access other Help topics.

7 Audio meters Displays the audio level for the asset, the selected tracks of the script sequence,

or the overall mix of the script sequence. There are two meters. For stereo output, each meter displays a separate level. For mono output, both meters display the same level. All tracks are mapped to stereo or mono. See “Setting

the Audio Mix” on page 96.

8 Audio monitoring preferences (Asset mode only) Selects the audio output for the asset. By default, output is

stereo or mono. You can create a custom setting. See “Setting Audio

Monitoring Preferences for Assets” on page 97.

The NAT, SOT, and Voice controls are enabled or disabled depending on the position of the sightline. In the following illustration, the sightline is positioned across both NAT and Voice clips., and the NAT and Voice controls are activated.

Adjusting Audio Levels for a Script Sequence

To adjust audio levels for a script sequence:

1. If the Audio pane is not open, select Panes > Audio.

The Audio pane opens and displays the audio controls.

2. Drag the audio slider for the track you want to adjust.

Working with Audio Tracks

The change in audio level is shown in the audio meter. The following illustration shows adjustment of the level for a NAT track.

For more information about audio controls, see “The Audio Pane” on page 93.

Setting the Audio Mix

You can set the audio mix for an asset or for a script sequence. For an asset, up to 16 tracks are monitored. You can select which tracks to monitor. For more information, see “Setting Audio

Monitoring Preferences for Assets” on page 97.

To set the audio mix, do one of the following:

t Select Mix Mode > Mono from the Audio Pane menu.

Interplay Central maps all audio tracks to a center pan, which creates a mono mixdown of all tracks. It outputs the resulting track to two identical channels.

t Select Mix Mode > Stereo

In Asset mode, Interplay Central maps all audio tracks to a left/right alternating pan, with odd tracks on one channel and even tracks on the other channel, which creates a stereo mixdown of all tracks. It outputs the resulting two tracks to two channels.

In Output mode, this setting applies only to dual-channel tracks. You can use the balance knob to adjust the mix for NAT1 and NAT2, and SOT1 and SOT2. An administrator specifies how tracks are mapped in the Editor Database Settings view in the Interplay Administrator. For more information, see the Interplay Central Administration Guide.

Setting Audio Monitoring Preferences for Assets

In Asset mode, by default, all audio tracks in an asset are monitored, up to 16 tracks. You can create a custom setting for which tracks to monitor. Source clips and sequences can include up to 24 tracks of audio but you can play only 16 at a time.

To set custom audio monitoring:

1. In the Audio pane, click the Custom button.

The Audio Monitoring Preferences window is displayed.

Working with Audio Tracks

2. Select or deselect the tracks you want to monitor. You can click the Disable All and Enable First 16 Tracks buttons to make selection easier.

3. Click the Close button or click anywhere outside the window.

4. In the Audio pane, click the speaker button next to the Custom button.

The speaker button turns green, and the track identifier shows which tracks are selected.

Overriding the Default Audio Tracks

An Interplay administrator sets the default tracks for NAT, SOT, and Voice audio. By default, track A1 is mapped to NAT audio, A2 is mapped to SOT audio, and A3 is mapped to Voice. (If dual-channel support is enabled, A1 and A4 are mapped to NAT audio, and A2 and A5 are mapped to SOT audio).

For information about setting the default tracks, see the Avid Interplay Central Administration

Guide.

You might need to change these mappings. For example, the NAT audio and the SOT audio might become reversed if a reporter’s microphone is recorded on the wrong track. When this happens, the NAT sound takes the place of the SOT track, and if you disable the NAT track the SOT is disabled instead. You can change (or swap) the NAT and SOT tracks to compensate for this problem.

When you override the default NAT or SOT tracks in a clip, only the active clip in the Sequence Timeline is modified. Other clips that you added to the Sequence Timeline from the same source clip remain unchanged.

To override the default audio tracks:

Recording a Voice-over

1. Do one of the following:

t Right-click the audio portion of a clip in the Sequence Timeline and select Audio

Mapping.

t Select the audio portion of a clip in the Sequence Timeline and select Audio Mapping

from the Queue/Story Pane menu or the Project/Story Pane menu.

2. Select the track you want to use for the selected audio.

Recording a Voice-over

You can use special audio controls in the Media pane to record a voice-over for your story. You can record the voice-over while the video is playing.

To record a voice-over:

1. Click the Output button to load the script sequence into the Media pane.

With the Output button selected, the Voice-over button is displayed in the lower right of the Media pane.

Recording a Voice-over

2. Click the Voice-over button.

The first time you click the voice-over controls during a session, you might see a message from the Adobe Flash Player asking for permission to let the Interplay Central server access your camera and microphone. Click Allow.

The voice-over controls are displayed.

3. Click the Media Pane Menu button, select Input Source, and select the device you want to use for recording.

4. Turn the power on the recording device, if necessary, and use the volume slider to set the desired volume level.

5. Set the start point for the recording by doing one of the following:

t Drag the position indicator in the timeline.

t Drag the sightline in the script editor.

t Clicking the Play/Pause, 1 Frame Back, or 1 Frame Forward buttons in the voice-over

controls.

6. When you are ready to record, press the Record button.

A three-second countdown is displayed in the viewer, audio pops mark each second, and the Record button flashes red. At the end of the countdown, the Record button remains red and you can begin recording.

You can monitor the recording level in the audio meter and adjust it as needed while recording.

Click Cancel to stop recording without saving the file.

7. When you are finished the recording, press the Record button again.

The voice-over is added to the script sequence, in the V column. You can review the recording by playing the script sequence.

8. To exit the voice-over controls, click the Voice-over button.

7 Search

Interplay Central offers search capability through a Search bar or Search pane, which let you search for text and media assets in the integrated systems listed in the Launch pane. You can have multiple Search panes open at the same time.

This chapter contains the following main topics:

• The Search Bar

• The Search Pane

• Conducting a Search

Pinnacle Systems Interplay Central - 1.2 User’s Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Using This Guide

Symbols and Conventions

If You Need Help

Avid Training Services

1 Getting Started

The Newsroom Environment

Signing In to Interplay Central

Understanding the Application Layout

Working with Layouts

Working with Panes and Areas

The Menu Bar

The Launch Pane

Plug-ins and MOS Integration

Viewing Interplay Central Help

2 Working with Assets

The Assets Pane

Navigating in the Assets Pane

Working with News Assets

Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets

Navigating the iNEWS Database

Working with Media Assets

Identifying Interplay Production Systems and Media Assets

Navigating the Interplay Production Database

Adding or Removing Property Columns

Resizing Columns

Moving Columns

Moving or Copying Assets

3 Working with Projects

Opening Projects or Facets

The Project/Story Pane

Associating Stories with Projects or Facets

4 Script Building Basics

The Queue/Story Pane

The Script Editor

Creating a Story

Segmenting Stories

Taking Dictation

Editing a Story

Formatting a Script

Adding Production Cues

Adding Machine Control Instructions

Timing the Text

Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story

Locking and Unlocking a Story

Adding Media to a Script

Moving or Deleting Clips in the Sequence Timeline

Trimming Clips in the Sequence Timeline

Using L-Cuts in the Sequence Timeline

Inserting Dissolves

Inserting Script Templates

5 Working with Video Media

The Media Pane

Media Pane: Asset Mode

Media Pane: Output Mode

Playing Assets and Script Sequences

Using the J-K-L Keys for Playback

Stepping Through Assets or Script Sequences

Playing Recently Viewed Assets

Selecting the Aspect Ratio

Updating the Media Status

Playing Simple and Complex Sequences

Selecting the Playback Quality

Marking In and Out Points

Working with Markers

Using the Timecode Displays

Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame

Working in the Media Timeline

Using the Zoom Bar

Reviewing for Playback

Using Match Frame

Opening an Enclosing Folder

Mixing Down Sequences

Viewing and Editing a Clip During Ingest

Saving a Frame as an Image

6 Using Audio