Pinnacle Systems Interplay Central - 1.3 User’s Guide

Interplay® Central

User’s Guide

Version 1.3

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; 5,440,348; 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; 8,154,776; 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.

This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit (http://www.openssl.org/)

Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights Legend

U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. This Software and its documentation are “commercial computer software” or “commercial computer software documentation.” In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of the License Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.

Trademarks

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

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

Avid Interplay Central v1.3 User’s Guide • 9329-65178-00 Rev B • November 2012 • Created 11/30/12 • This document is distributed by Avid in online (electronic) form only, and is not available for purchase in printed form.

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

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

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

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

Chapter 1 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

About Interplay Central . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Signing In to Interplay Central. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Understanding the Application Layouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Working with Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Working with Areas and Panes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

The Menu Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

The Launch Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Viewing Interplay Central Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Chapter 2 Working with Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

The Assets Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Navigating in the Assets Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Working with News Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Navigating the iNEWS Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Working with Media Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Identifying Interplay Production Systems and Media Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Navigating the Interplay Production Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Adding or Removing Property Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Resizing Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Moving Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Moving or Copying Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Renaming Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Creating a New Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter 3 Working with Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Opening Projects or Facets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

The Project/Story Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Associating Stories with Projects or Facets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Opening a Project or Facet Associated with a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Chapter 4 Building a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

The Queue/Story Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

The Queue/Story Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

The Script Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Creating a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Segmenting Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Writing Stories in Right-to-Left Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Using Annotation to Dictate a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Editing a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Formatting a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Adding Production Cues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Adding Machine Control Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Adding a Primary Machine Control Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Locking and Unlocking a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Inserting Script Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Inserting MOS Placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Adding Media to a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Copying and Sending iNEWS Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Chapter 5 Using the Sequence Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Displaying the Sequence Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

The Sequence Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Viewing Sequence Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Creating a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Saving a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Opening an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Opening a Sequence Associated with a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Editing a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Adding Media to a Basic Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Adding Media to an Advanced Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Adding Media from a Saved Sequence to a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Moving or Deleting Segments in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Trimming Segments in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Using L-Cuts in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Adding Markers to a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced Sequences Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Chapter 6 Working with Video Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

The Media Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Media Pane: Asset Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Media Pane: Output Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Playing Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Using the J-K-L Keys for Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Stepping Through Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Playing Recently Viewed Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Selecting the Aspect Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Updating the Media Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Playing Simple and Complex Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Selecting the Playback Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Marking In and Out Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Working with Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Using the Timecode Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Working in the Media Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Using the Zoom Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Reviewing for Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Using Match Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Opening an Enclosing Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Mixing Down Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Viewing and Editing a Clip During Ingest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Saving a Frame as an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Chapter 7 Using Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

The Audio Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Working with Audio Tracks in Basic Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Adjusting Audio Levels for an Advanced Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Setting the Audio Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Setting Audio Monitoring Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Overriding the Default Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Recording a Voice-over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Chapter 8 Searching for Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

The Search Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

The Search Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Conducting a Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Chapter 9 Logging and Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Workflows for Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Understanding Markers and Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

The Logging Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

The Markers Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Adding, Saving, and Deleting Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Navigating by Markers in the Logging Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Exporting Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Unicode Support for Marker Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Chapter 10 Messaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Sending Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Viewing and Replying to Received Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Chapter 11 Sending to Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Specifying Send to Playback Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Sending a Sequence to a Playback Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Sending a Mixed-Resolution Long GOP Sequence to a Playback Device . . . . . . . . . . 150

The Progress Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Chapter 12 Transferring Assets and Media to Another Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Chapter 13 Interplay Central Mobile Application for the BlackBerry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Connection Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

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

Starting the Interplay Central Mobile Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Accessing the iNEWS Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Creating a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Editing a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Formatting a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Adding Production Cues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Adding Machine Control Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Working Offline on Local Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Working with Links in Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Chapter 14 Interplay Central Mobile Application for the iPhone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Connection Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

The iPhone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Gestures for the Mobile Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Starting Interplay Central on the iPhone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

The Sidebar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Buttons of the User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Customizing Interplay Central Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Accessing the iNEWS Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Viewing Video Associated with a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Editing Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Ways of Saving Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Formatting a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Adding Production Cues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Adding Machine Control Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Working with Links in Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Approving Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Working with Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Chapter 15 Interplay Central Tablet Application for the iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Connection Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

The iPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Gestures for the Tablet Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Starting Interplay Central on the Tablet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

The Sidebar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Buttons of the User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Customizing Interplay Central Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Accessing the iNEWS Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Viewing Video Associated with a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Editing Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Ways of Saving Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Formatting a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Adding Production Cues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Adding Machine Control Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Working with Links in Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Approving Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Entering Presenter Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Working with Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Appendix A User Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Appendix B Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Queue/Story Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Assets Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Media Pane Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Markers Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Sequence Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Appendix C Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Pane Type Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Launch Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Assets Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Media Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Markers Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Progress Pane Icons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Sequence Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Interplay Central Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

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 Common Services 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/support. Online services are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Search this online Knowledge Base to find answers, to view error messages, to access troubleshooting tips, to download updates, and to read or join online message-board discussions.

Avid Training Services

Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and convenient. Avid understands that the knowledge you need to differentiate yourself is always changing, and Avid continually updates course content and offers new training delivery methods that accommodate your pressured and competitive work environment.

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

Avid Training Services

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.

• About Interplay Central

• Signing In to Interplay Central

• Understanding the Application Layouts

• Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration

• Viewing Interplay Central Help

About Interplay Central

Interplay Central delivers workflow tools for media professionals through both Web and mobile applications. With a customizable user interface, Interplay Central allows individuals in different media production functions to access the tools they need to complete tasks with greater visibility to assets, team collaboration, and workflow agility. Through Interplay Central, users can access Avid iNEWS, Interplay Production, or both.

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 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.

Signing In to Interplay Central

Use a supported browser to connect to and sign in to your Interplay Central server. See the Av id Interplay Central ReadMe for a list of supported browsers.

Interplay Central lets you use a single user name and password to access all Avid systems for which your account is configured. A journalist might have access to both an Avid iNEWS database and an Interplay Production database, while a logger might have access only to an Interplay Production database.

The first time you sign in to Interplay Central, you are given the option of using your Interplay credentials to sign in to iNEWS and Interplay Production or to use different credentials. The credentials you use depend on the user name and password that you can use to sign in to iNEWS or Interplay Production. Supplying these credentials enable you to use only the Interplay Central user name and password at future sign-ins.

Your iNEWS and Interplay Production credentials are set in the iNEWS or Interplay Production sections of the User Settings dialog box, which you access from the Home menu. You can change these credentials at any time.

After you supply your credentials for the first time, a dialog box asks you if you want to use MOS plug-ins. See “Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration” on page 28.

Signing In to Interplay Central

To sign in to Interplay Central:

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

The URL is the computer name of the server.

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

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

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

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

computer system, your Interplay Production system, or both. If, however, the security settings for one of these integrated systems is inaccurate, you might see a warning message that states that the application is unable to authorize the sign-in name or password. If you receive this message, click the link provided and verify your security settings.

Understanding the Application Layouts

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

Left: Sign Out button. Right: Layout selector.

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 20. For more information about roles, see the Interplay Central Administrator’s Guide.

To sign out:

t Click Sign Out in the menu bar.

Understanding the Application Layouts

A layout is a set of panes and other controls that is installed as part of the Interplay Central Web 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 and any production cues. 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.

“The Assets Pane” on page 31

“The Queue/Story Pane” on page 45

“The Project/Story Pane” on page 42

Understanding the Application Layouts

Icon Pane Description Refer to...

Audio A pane that displays the controls for adjusting

the audio settings for media assets.

“Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences” on page 116

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

Help” on page 30

Launch A pane from which you navigate to various

“The Launch Pane” on page 27

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

Markers A pane in which you can view and create

markers. This pane is available in the Video

“The Markers Pane” on

page 134

layout and the Logging layout.

Media A pane in which you can view and edit media

“The Media Pane” on page 88

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

Progress A pane in which you can monitor the progress

of background processes, such as send to

“The Progress Pane” on

page 152

playback and sequence mixdowns.

Search A pane from which you can conduct a search.

“The Search Pane” on page 124

This pane functions similarly to the Search bar but includes criteria for advanced searches.

Sequence A pane that includes the Sequence Timeline

and other controls that let you create and edit a sequence.

“The Sequence Pane” on

page 66

Understanding the Application Layouts

qq ww

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

2 Message A section of the application in which you can

3 Search A section of the application from which you can

Working with Layouts

The Interplay Central Web application is installed with five layouts. Not all available panes are included in each layout, but you can open additional panes when you need them.

You select a layout from the Layout selector, 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.

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

“The Menu Bar” on page 27

numerous menu options.

“Messaging” on page 144

send and receive messages (Basic, Logging, and Video layouts only).

“The Search Bar” on page 123

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

Understanding the Application Layouts

Layout Description Available To

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

cannot view video or audio or add it 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 129.

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 selector.

To change to a different predefined layout:

All users

All users, based on license type

Administrators only

All users, based on license type

t Choose the layout from the Layout selector.

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

Areas and Panes” on page 22.

To reset a layout to its original configuration:

t Select Reset Layout from the Layout selector.

To reset all layouts to their original default configurations:

t Select Reset All Layouts from the Layout selector.

Working with Areas and Panes

You can customize Interplay Central by adjusting a layout’s areas and panes. A single area can contain one or more panes. When an area contains more than one pane, the panes are displayed in a tabular format, with one pane on top of the others.

The following illustration shows the default Video layout. This default layout is composed of six different areas and seven different panes. The area in the lower right contains two panes.

Understanding the Application Layouts

One way to customize this layout is to combine two or more panes into one area, thus reducing the number of areas and allowing more space for the remaining areas. In the following illustration, the layout is composed of four areas and seven panes. The area on the left contains the Queue/Story pane, the Launch pane, and an Assets pane.

Understanding the Application Layouts

You can also move a pane to create a new area. In the following illustration, the Assets pane was moved to the left to create a new area.

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 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 a drop zone.

Do not click the X in the pane’s tab unless you want to 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. In the illustrations, the Audio pane is already located in the area to which the Media pane is being moved. If you drag the Media pane into the center drop zone, the two panes are displayed as tabbed panes, with only one visible at a time. Dragging to the top or bottom drop zones splits the area vertically. Dragging to the left or right drop zones splits the area horizontally.

Drop Zone Position Result

Center

Understanding the Application Layouts

Top

Drop Zone Position Result

Bottom

Understanding the Application Layouts

Left

Right

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 Layouts” on page 18. 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

Understanding the Application Layouts

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

“User Settings” on page 218.

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

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.

Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration

Systems and projects are identified by the following icons.

Icon Description

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 31 and

“Working with Projects” on page 41.

Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration

Interplay Central provides support for MOS 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.

These plug-ins are specific to iNEWS workflows, and they are available only in Basic and Video layouts.

Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration

Setting Up Your Browser

The Chrome browser requires an extension that lets you install MOS plug-ins. The first time you sign in to Interplay Central, a dialog box asks if you want to use MOS plug-ins.

• If you click yes, an installer is downloaded from the Interplay Common Services server. Allow pop-ups from the Interplay Common Services server if you are informed that a pop-up was blocked, and then refresh the page. Double-click the .exe file to install the program.

• If you click no, and later want to install plug-ins, you need to download the Chrome extension. For more information, see the Avid Interplay Common Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Active X plug-ins are not supported in the Safari browser.

Enabling MOS

To use plug-ins, you need to enable MOS in Interplay Central. Select Home > User Settings > MOS and then select “MOS enabled.”

Installing Plug-Ins

For procedures on how to install plug-ins, see the documentation for the plug-in.

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

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

You can view help related to a specific pane. For example, 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. You can also open the Help system to the Contents page and use the Contents, Index, or Search to find specific information.

To access a Help topic related to a specific pane:

1. Click the Pane Menu button.

2. Select Help.

You can click the Contents, Index, or Search in New Browser Tab button to find other information.

To open the Help system to the Contents page:

t Select Panes > Help.

Viewing Interplay Central Help

2 Working with Assets

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

Assets are items that are stored in a database, such as stories, scripts, video clips, and audio clips. From 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.

After you sign in to Interplay Central, an empty pane labeled Assets is displayed in one of the application areas. After you open a system or project, the label of the Assets 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 33

• “Working with Media Assets” on page 36

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 Asset pane’s tab.

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 a previously opened Assets pane.

The Assets Pane

If you closed the last open Assets pane, the new pane is displayed in an existing area.

To close an Assets pane:

t Click the Close button on the Asset pane’s tab.

To ensure the Assets pane has focus, click an item in the pane, not an empty area of the pane.

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.

Button Description

Refresh button refreshes the current view in the pane.

Close button closes the pane.

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

To expand a folder within the current view, do one of the following:

t Click the turn-down arrow to the left of a folder.

t Press the right arrow key.

To collapse a folder within the current view, do one of the following:

t Click the turn-down arrow to the left of a folder.

t Press the left arrow key.

To open a folder in a new view in the existing Assets pane:

t Double-click a folder.

Working with News Assets

To display a view you already displayed:

t Click the Forward button or the Back button.

For a list of all keyboard shortcuts you can use in the Assets pane, see “Assets Pane Shortcuts”

on page 222.

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.

Working with News Assets

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 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 a system in the Launch pane, the database file structure with its directories and queues is displayed in the Assets pane. If you double-click 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, as listed in the following table.

Icon Description

Directory or subfolder in the iNEWS database

Indexed directory or subfolder

Queue

Indexed Queue

Locked Queue

Working with News Assets

Icon Description

Indexed and Locked Queue

Facet

Facet (not started)

Facet (expired)

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 41.

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 45.

To open a directory:

t Double-click the directory in the Assets pane.

This action 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 the turn-down arrow to the left of the directory 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 directory, click the turn-down 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. You can rename assets but you cannot delete them.

The following topics describe working with media assets:

• “Identifying Interplay Production Systems and Media Assets” on page 36

• “Navigating the Interplay Production Database” on page 37

• “Adding or Removing Property Columns” on page 37

• “Resizing Columns” on page 38

• “Moving Columns” on page 38

• “Moving or Copying Assets” on page 39

• “Renaming Assets” on page 39

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

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.

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 action 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:

t Double-click an asset.

The asset opens in the Media pane. If the asset is a sequence and the Sequence pane is open, the asset is loaded in the Sequence Timeline. For more information, see “Working with

Video Media” on page 87 and “Using the Sequence Pane” on page 65.

Working with Media Assets

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

t Select a clip, click the Pane Menu button, and select “Open in Logging Layout.”

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 and select Add or Remove Columns.

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

Working with Media Assets

2. 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.

3. 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 correct 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.

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.

Renaming Assets

You can rename clips and other assets in the Interplay Production database.

Working with Media Assets

To rename an asset, do one of the following:

t Select the asset, click the name of the asset, and type the new name.

t Select the asset, press F2 (Windows) or Enter (Macintosh), and type the new name.

Creating a New Folder

You can create a new folder in the Interplay Production database. Your ability to create a new folder depends on Interplay Production rules. For example, the credentials you use to sign in to the Interplay Production database must allow creation of folders.

For more information, see the Interplay Access User’s Guide or your Interplay Production administrator.

To create a new folder in the Interplay Production database:

1. In the Assets tab, navigate into the folder in which you want to create the subfolder.

Selecting a folder does not create a subfolder in the folder.

2. Do one of the following to create the folder:

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Create Folder.

t Right-click an item and select Create Folder.

Working with Media Assets

A new folder is created with the name New.Folder. If there is already a folder named New.Folder, .01 is appended to the folder name, and incremented for each unnamed new folder (New.Folder.02, and so on).

3. Do one of the following to rename the folder:

t Select the folder, click the name of the folder, and type the new name.

t Select the folder, press F2 (Windows) or Enter (Macintosh), and type the new name.

3 Working with Projects

The following main topics describe the Project/Story pane 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 a Project or Facet Associated with a Story

Opening Projects or Facets

Using 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.

In Interplay Central, iNEWS projects are listed in the Launch pane. Open a project from the Launch pane to view each project’s contents in the Assets pane. You open facets and the project’s queues from the Assets pane.

To open a project:

t Double-click the project in the Launch pane.

The project’s contents open in the Assets pane.

To open a facet:

t Double-click 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 example, the following illustration shows the Hurricane Earl project has facets for topics like Damage and Evacuation.

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. For example, 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 33.

The Project/Story pane functions similarly 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 Project/Story Pane

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. Use these buttons to toggle on or off the display of the project or a story. When toggled on the buttons appear orange.

For example, 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.

You cannot have both the Project and Story buttons toggled off simultaneously. When only one is

on and the you click that button, the system automatically toggles it off and toggles the other button on.

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

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

Associating Stories with Projects or Facets

You can use the horizontal dividing line between the grid and story sections of the pane to adjust the ratio of the split view display within the pane. When you position your mouse pointer over the dividing line, 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 to use this technique to 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 the story in the Queue/Story pane and select Associate Story to Project.

3. In the dialog box, select the projects or facets to which you want the story associated.

4. Click Apply.

Opening a Project or Facet Associated with a Story

In the Project/Story pane, you can open a project that is associated with a story or facet.

To open a project associated with a story:

1. Select a story in the queue section of the Project/Story pane.

2. Click the Pane Menu button and select Projects and the project or facet you want to open.

The project opens in a new Project/Story pane.

4 Building a Script

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

• The Queue/Story Pane

• Creating a Story

• Segmenting Stories

• Writing Stories in Right-to-Left Languages

• Using Annotation to Dictate a Story

• Editing a Story

• Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story

• Locking and Unlocking a Story

• Inserting Script Templates

• Inserting MOS Placeholders

• Adding Media to a Script

• Copying and Sending iNEWS Links

The Queue/Story Pane

In Interplay Central, you can create iNEWS stories, edit them in the Queue/Story pane, and save them on an iNEWS server.

The Queue/Story pane can display either an iNEWS queue, such as a show’s rundown, or a story in that queue. The Queue/Story pane can also display both a queue and a story in that queue, as shown in the following illustration:

The Queue/Story Pane

1 The Queue section

2 The Story section, also called the Script Editor

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

When only the queue is displayed in the pane, the display is called a grid view. When only the story is shown in the pane, the display is called a story view. When both are visible, the display is called a split view.

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

The Queue/Story Pane

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The ratio you set is retained when you sign out.

The Queue/Story Toolbar

The Queue/Story pane includes a toolbar that has buttons that toggle the display within the pane and provide functions for editing your story.

Display or Control Description

1 Queue Toggles display of the queue on or off. When toggled on the button is colored

orange.

2 Story Toggles display of the Story editor on or off. When toggled on the button is

colored orange.

You cannot have both the Queue and Story buttons simultaneously

toggled off. When only one is on and you click that button, the system automatically toggles that display off and the other display on.

3 Bold Marks text as bold. See “Editing a Story” on page 54.

4 Italic Marks text as italic.

5 Underline Marks text as underline.

6 Normal Sets text as normal. See “Formatting a Script” on page 55

7 Presenter Sets text as presenter instructions.

8 Closed Caption Sets text as closed-captioning.

9 Template Inserts an iNEWS script. See “Inserting Script Templates” on page 61

10 Open Sequence Opens the associated sequence. Use this button to create a new script

sequence or to open one previously created. See “Adding Media to a Script”

on page 63.

11 Refresh Refreshes the queue.

12 Lock Locks the story. See “Locking and Unlocking a Story” on page 59

13 Annotation Dictate text. See “Using Annotation to Dictate a Story” on page 53.

Although the toolbar always appears at the top of the pane, even when only the queue is shown in

the grid view, most of the buttons are used for editing stories, not for modifying the queue.

The Script Editor

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

The Queue/Story Pane

1 Story Form 3 Story (text area)

2 Cue List

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 example, a form can contain the story’s title (slug), page number, and status. Wire queues usually show different fields than rundown queues.

You cannot enter data in the queue view.

You can use the horizontal dividing line between the Story Form and the rest of the sections 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 sections of the Script Editor.

To hide the Story Form, do one of the following:

t Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane and

select Hide Story Form.

t Right-click in the Story Form and select Hide Story Form.

Creating a Story

To show the Story Form:

t Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane and

select Show Story Form.

The Story is the 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 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.

Creating a Story

You can create a story in Interplay Central or edit a story previously created in Interplay Central or iNEWS. For more information on how to edit existing stories, see “Editing a Story” on

page 54.

When connected to an iNEWS server version 4.0 or higher, you can create a new story in a queue or a facet. When you create a story in a facet, the story will be associated with that facet and will live in a special “project bucket.”

You can add an external link to a story, such as a Web URL.

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.

Creating a Story

3. Select Create Story.

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

If you are in split view, you can begin writing your story; if not, open the new story by double-clicking on the new row.

4. Enter the name of your story in the Title 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 automatically saves any changes made to the story, as

does closing the tab or pane.

Saving a story does not save a sequence associated with a story. You must save the sequence in

the Sequence pane. See “Saving a Sequence” on page 73

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 story view:

t Double-click 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.

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. See “Adding Media to a Script” on page 63. 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.

Writing Stories in Right-to-Left Languages

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 and 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.

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

are also moved and renumbered as needed.

To delete a segment and the text in the 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.

Deleting the segment also deletes the text in the segment.

Writing Stories in Right-to-Left Languages

The script editor lets you write stories in right-to-left languages (for example, Arabic and Hebrew). Alignment of the text changes based on the following rules:

• Automatic switching to right-to-left alignment:

- Story segments switch to right-to-left if more than 50 percent of the text consists of

right-to-left characters. To apply the new alignment to a segment, reload the story.

- Production cues switch to right-to-left if more than 50 percent of the text in the

production cue body consists of right-to-left characters.

Using Annotation to Dictate a Story

- Queue grid cells switch to right-to-left and right-aligned if the first character in the cell

is a right-to-left character. If the cell is center-aligned by default, it will remain center-aligned regardless of cell content.

• Manual switching

- If focus is in any segment, alignment of all segments will be switched. Reloading the

story will return the segment alignment to the default.

- If focus is in the production cue body, only the current cue body alignment will be

switched. Reopening the production cue returns cue body alignment to the default.

- If focus is in a story form field, only the current story form field alignment will be

switched. Reloading the same story form keeps the current field alignment. Reloading a different story form returns the field to the default.

To manually switch alignment of the segment that has focus, do one of the following:

t Press Ctrl+Shift.

t Select “Switch to RTL” from the Queue/Story Pane menu. If the story is RTL, select “Switch

to LTR.”

t Right-click and select “Switch to RTL.” If the story is RTL, select “Switch to LTR.”

Using Annotation to Dictate a Story

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

This feature requires 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.

A speech bubble appears below the button, instructing you to begin speaking. The speech bubble also displays an audio level bar and a Cancel button.

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 as you speak. For example, if you want the text to be

Jane Doe.

punctuates contractions for you.

For best results, conduct your dictation in a location without 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 and

click the Annotate button.

4. After your text is displayed in the Script Editor, you can edit the text as needed.

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

Editing a Story

When you modify a story, changes you make in Interplay Central are automatically updated in the iNEWS newsroom computer system. The reverse is also true: changes made to a story at an iNEWS workstation are automatically updated if you open the story 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.

Editing a Story

Hello, I’m

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

Production cues cannot be copied and pasted 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 circled in red in the following illustration.

To cut text:

t Select the text and press Ctrl+X (Windows) or Command+X (Macintosh).

To copy text:

t Select the text and press Ctrl+C (Windows) or Command+C (Macintosh).

To paste text:

t Select the text and press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Command+V (Macintosh).

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

Command+Z.

To undo the previous edit, do one of the following:

t Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Macintosh).

t Right-click and select Undo.

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Undo.

To redo the previous edit, do one of the following:

t Press Ctrl+Y (WIndows) or Command+Y (Macintosh).

t Right-click and select Redo.

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Undo.

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 (Windows) or Command+B (Macintosh).

Editing a Story

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 (Windows) or Command+I (Macintosh).

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 (Windows) or Command+U (Macintosh).

Formatting a Script

When you write a story, the text appears in the normal, the default text style. When you format a story as a script for a news broadcast, you might need to mark certain text, such as instructions for presenters or closed captioning.

Presenter instructions are most often used as brief 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, and it is not 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 circled in red in the following illustration.

To mark text as a normal text:

t Select the text and click the N button or press Ctrl+Alt+N (Windows).

To mark text as a presenter instruction:

t Select the text and click the P button or press Ctrl+Alt+P (Windows).

To mark text as a closed captioning text:

Editing a Story

t Select the text and click the CC button or press Ctrl+Alt+C (Windows).

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. Production cues provide important information to technical staff as well as machine control commands for devices, such as character generators.

Production cues are added to scripts from the Story area and edited in the Cue List area of the Script Editor. Each production cue you add is given a numerical value. This number appears in a black box 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.

Editing a Story

When selected, the production cue marker is colored 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. Do one of the following:

t Right-click and select Insert Production Cue.

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Insert Production Cue.

t Press Alt+Insert (Windows).

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 someplace else in the story.

To move a production cue in a script:

t Click 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

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.

Editing a Story

Your CG machine control instruction will appear in blue font.

Adding a Primary Machine Control Instruction

The machine control event associated with the Story Form, by default, takes precedence over other machine control commands put into a script, when the event list is generated by the iNEWS monitor server. If you want the machine control event associated with the Story Form to appear in a position other than first in the event list, you can insert a placeholder in the Story. The system then inserts the Story Form machine control event at that location in the event list. You can insert one primary machine control instruction cue. Only one is allowed in any given story.

Like other machine control instructions, the instructions you type 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.

Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story

To insert a primary production cue:

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

2. Do one of the following:

t Right-click and select Insert Primary Cue.

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Insert Primary Cue.

A production cue labeled *Primary is created.

Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story

When an iNEWS story is deleted, it is sent to a folder labeled Dead (the Dead queue), from which an administrator can retrieve it for a limited amount of time. This 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.

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.

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 section of the Script Editor while a reporter is still working on the body of the story itself.

Easy locks and key locks can 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

Unable to obtain edit lock.

Locking and Unlocking 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.

System administrators cannot supersede the edit lock of another user from Interplay Central. However, neither the easy locking feature nor the key locking feature apply to iNEWS system administrators. They can access any easy- or key-locked story in the iNEWS database at any time.

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 in the toolbar. An edit lock is manually applied to the story

body.

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

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 has been modified. Do you want to save it before unlocking?

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 section of the Script Editor to the Story or Cue List sections releases any segmented edit lock you have on the Story Form. The reverse does the same for any edit 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.

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 example, 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.

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

To insert a script template:

1. 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.

t Press Ctrl+Shift+I.

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

Inserting Script Templates

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

and press Enter.

Inserting MOS Placeholders

You can create a placeholder item for a third-party MOS device in an iNEWS story, in either the story form or as a story’s production cue. To add it to the story form, the story form must be capable of including MOS information.

The iNEWS server must be running iNEWS v4.0 or later.

To insert a MOS object placeholder:

1. Position your cursor in one of the following places:

- In a segment in the Story editor.

- In any field in the Story form.

2. Click the Pane Menu button and select Insert Placeholder.

The Create MOS Object Placeholder dialog box opens.

3. Select a device name and enter a title. Optionally, enter a description.

4. Press OK.

The new MOS object placeholder appears as a production cue in the Story editor and the Cue List, or in the MOS-Title field.

Inserting MOS Placeholders

The MOS device user can later update the placeholder with a real ID and object by turning on or loading the monitor server. The MOS Gateway will then return data back to iNEWS and Interplay Central in the production cue.

Adding Media to a Script

If you want to add media to your story, you need to create a video sequence that is associated with the story. To create a sequence, click the Open Sequence button in the Queue/Story pane toolbar. You also use this button to open a sequence that you already associated with a story. You edit the sequence in the Sequence pane.

You can set an option to automatically load a sequence associated with a story. Select Home > User Settings > iNEWS > Autoload Sequence.

The following illustration shows the Open Sequence button and a sequence that is associated with a story.

Adding Media to a Script

For more information about creating a sequence, see “Using the Sequence Pane” on page 65.

Story segments are used to help estimate the timing of the text in scripts. In Interplay Central, yellow horizontal lines with small flags, called timing taglines, are displayed in the Sequence Timeline to show the estimated time for each segment in the script. For example, the story in the previous illustration has two segments; the first is 12 seconds long, and the second is 10 seconds long. The second timing tagline shows the total time of 22 seconds.

This timing is based on the read rate that is set in Avid iNEWS.

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.

Saving a story does not save a sequence associated with a story. You must save the sequence in

the Sequence pane. See “Saving a Sequence” on page 73

Copying and Sending iNEWS Links

You can copy and send links to stories, queues, iNEWS folders, iNEWS facets, and iNEWS projects. These links are in URL format and can be shared through e-mail, wikis, documents, or chat messages. The links are valid as long as the item exists in the iNEWS database.

When you click an iNEWS link or paste it into the address bar of a supported browser, Interplay Central opens with the correct layout and asset selection. If you are not signed in, the sign-in screen is displayed. After signing in, the link target is displayed.

You can select Copy Link or Copy Container Link. Copy Link creates a link to the selected item, and Copy Container Link creates a link to the item that holds the selected item.

To create a URL for an iNEWS link from the Asset pane, do one of the following:

t In an iNEWS list, right-click an item and select Copy Link.

t In an iNEWS list, select an item, click the Pane Menu button, and select Copy Link or Copy

Container Link.

To create a URL for an iNEWS link from the Queue/Story pane or the Project/Story pane, do one of the following:

Copying and Sending iNEWS Links

t Right-click an item and select Copy Link.

t Select an item, click the Pane Menu button, and select Copy Link or Copy Container Link.

To create a URL for an iNEWS project link from the Launch pane, do one of the following.

t Right-click an item and select Copy Link.

t Select an item, click the Pane Menu button, and select Copy Link.

In all cases, a popup dialog box opens with a URL that is already selected for copying. Press Ctrl+C (Windows) or Command+C (Macintosh) to copy the link, then use Ctrl+V (Windows) or Command+V (Macintosh) to paste the link.

5 Using the Sequence Pane

The following main topics describe the Sequence pane and how to use it:

• Displaying the Sequence Pane

• The Sequence Pane

• Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences

• Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline

• Viewing Sequence Information

• Creating a Sequence

• Saving a Sequence

• Opening an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane

• Opening a Sequence Associated with a Story

• Editing a Sequence

Displaying the Sequence Pane

The Sequence pane is displayed in the default Video layout. It is available in the Logging layout but is not included in the default layout.

In Interplay Central v1.2 and earlier, the Sequence Timeline was a section of the Queue/Story

pane.

To display the Sequence pane:

t Select Panes > Sequence.

The Sequence pane opens in the mode and orientation in which it was set when you signed out of the application.

The Sequence Pane

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The Sequence pane includes the Sequence Timeline and controls that let you edit a sequence. You can work with one of two Sequence Timelines: basic or advanced. See “Understanding

Basic and Advanced Sequences” on page 68.

You can display the Sequence pane with a vertical timeline or a horizontal timeline.

The following illustration shows the two timelines and two orientations and identifies the controls.

The Sequence Pane

Left: Vertical timeline for an advanced sequence. Right: Horizontal timeline for a basic sequence.

Control Description

1 Sequence Pane tab Move the mouse pointer over the tab to display

2 Add Video Dissolve button Adds a video dissolve (advanced sequence only).

3 Delete Segment button Deletes the selected segment from the sequence.

4 Save button Saves the sequence in the Interplay Production

5 Pane Menu button Provides options for working with sequences.

information about the sequence. See “Viewing

Sequence Information” on page 69.

See “Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced

Sequences Only)” on page 85

database. See “Saving a Sequence” on page 73.

The Sequence Pane

The following table describes the items in the Pane menu.

Menu Item Description

Save Sequence Saves the sequence in its current location in the

Interplay Production database. See “Saving a

Sequence” on page 73.

Insert Video Dissolve Inserts a video dissolve (advanced sequence only).

See “Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced

Sequences Only)” on page 85.

Delete Deletes the selected item (segment or effect).

Sequence Mixdown Sends to mixdown. See “Mixing Down Sequences”

on page 109.

Orientation Lets you select the orientation of the timeline and

toolbar: horizontal or vertical. See “Selecting a

Horizontal or Vertical Timeline” on page 69.

Help Opens a Help topic that describes the Sequence

pane and its functions.

The Sequence pane does not include commands to create a new sequence.

You cannot add clips to the timeline until you have created or loaded a sequence. See “Creating a

Sequence” on page 70.

Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences

When you create a sequence from the Assets pane, you can choose whether to create a basic sequence or an advanced sequence.

•A basic sequence includes a timeline with one video track and one audio track. The single audio track represents all source audio tracks.

A basic sequence consists of cuts only. It is sometimes referred to as a shotlist or a cut list. You cannot add video dissolves or audio dissolves.

All source audio tracks in the clips that compose a sequence are monitored in a single audio meter. You can select which channels are monitored. See “Setting Audio Monitoring

Preferences” on page 119.

•An advanced sequence includes a timeline with one video track. By default it includes three audio tracks, named NAT (natural sound), SOT (sound on tape), and VO (voice-over) for use with iNEWS stories. However, you can rename these and use the sequence independently from an iNEWS story.

Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline

You can map one source audio track to the VO track and one or two source audio tracks to the NAT and SOT tracks, for a maximum of five tracks. For information on renaming, mapping, and configuring audio tracks, and adding audio dissolves, see “Working with

Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences” on page 116.

You can add video dissolves to an advanced sequence. See “Inserting Video Dissolves

(Advanced Sequences Only)” on page 85. Audio dissolves are added automatically. See “Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences” on page 116.

When you create a sequence from the Queue/Story pane, the sequence is automatically created as an advanced sequence.

You cannot convert a basic sequence to an advanced sequence, or an advanced sequence to a

basic sequence.

The ability to create advanced sequences depends on the role you are assigned, and the license

assigned to that role. Contact your Interplay Central administrator for more information.

Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline

You can display the Sequence pane with a vertical timeline or a horizontal timeline. You can change the orientation to your preference and the selection will be saved until you change it or reset your layout.

You can select Auto to have the orientation determined by the dimensions of the Timeline area of the Sequence pane:

• If the horizontal size is larger than the vertical size, the Sequence pane is displayed with a horizontal timeline.

• If the vertical size is larger than the horizontal size, the Sequence pane is displayed with a vertical timeline.

To select the orientation of the timeline:

t Click the Sequence Pane Menu button, select Orientation, and select Auto, Horizontal, or

Ve r ti c a l.

Viewing Sequence Information

You can view the sequence name, format, and other details about the sequence loaded in the Sequence pane.

To view sequence information:

t Move the mouse pointer over the Sequence pane’s tab.

Creating a Sequence

The following table describes the information you can view.

Item Description

Name The asset name as listed in the Interplay Production

database.

Format 30i NTSC

25i PAL, 25p PAL

720p/25, 720p/29.97, 720p/50, 720p/59.94

1080i/59.94, 1080i/50

1080p/25, 1080p/29.97

Aspect ratio 4:3

16:9

Raster Dimensions: 720x486

720x592

1280x720

1920x1080

Creating a Sequence

You can create a sequence in Interplay Central and save it as an asset in the Interplay database. You can also create a sequence and associate it with an iNews story. In this case the sequence is referred to as a script sequence.

Note the following:

• You must create a sequence and load it into the Sequence pane before you can add clips to the Sequence Timeline.

• You can open and edit some types of sequences created in another Avid application. See

“Opening an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane” on page 74.

• Sequences you create in Interplay Central can be opened and edited in Avid Symphony, Media Composer, and NewsCutter. Basic sequences (shotlists) can be opened and edited in Interplay Assist.

• The ability to create advanced sequences depends on the role you are assigned, and the license assigned to that role. Contact your Interplay Central administrator for more information.

Creating a Sequence

There are several ways to create a sequence:

• Create a sequence in the Interplay Production database without loading it in the Sequence pane, or with the Sequence pane closed. Use this procedure to create a “placeholder” sequence for later editing.

• Create a sequence, edit it in the Sequence pane, and save it. Use this procedure to create a sequence independently from an iNEWS story.

• Create a sequence that is associated with an iNEWS story, edit it in the Sequence pane, and save it.

To create a sequence in the Interplay Production database:

1. In the Assets tab, navigate into the folder in which you want to create the sequence.

Selecting a folder does not create a sequence in the folder.

2. From the Assets pane tab, select Create Basic Sequence or Create Advanced Sequence.

When the process is finished, a sequence named New.Sequence is displayed in the Assets pane and highlighted in orange. (You might need to scroll down to see it.) If there is already a sequence named New.Sequence, .01 is appended to the sequence name, and incremented for each unnamed new sequence (New.Sequence.02, and so on).

The sequence name is grayed out and in italics until online media is added to the sequence and you save the sequence.

You can use this procedure to create a “placeholder” sequence for later editing.

3. Rename the sequence in the Assets pane by doing one of the following:

t Select the sequence, click the name of the sequence, and type the new name,

t Select the sequence and press F2 (Windows) or Enter (Macintosh).

You can later edit the sequence by opening the Sequence pane and double-clicking the sequence.

To create a sequence, edit it, and save it:

1. Select Panes > Sequence to open the Sequence pane.

2. In the Assets tab, navigate to the folder in which you want to create the sequence.

Selecting a folder does not create a sequence in the folder.

Creating a Sequence

3. Click the Assets Pane Menu button and select Create Basic Sequence or Create Advanced Sequence.

The sequence name is grayed out and in italics until online media is added to the sequence and you save the sequence.

4. Rename the sequence in the Assets pane by doing one of the following:

t Select the sequence, click the name of the sequence, and type the new name,

t Select the sequence, press F2 (Windows) or Enter (Macintosh), and type the new name.

5. Edit the sequence.

See “Editing a Sequence” on page 75.

6. Save the sequence by doing one of the following:

t Click the Save button in the Sequence pane toolbar.

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Save Sequence.

t With focus in the Sequence pane, press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Command+S (Macintosh)

You need to click the Refresh button in the Assets pane to see the grayed out, italicized sequence name change to the standard font.

To create a sequence associated with a story, edit it, and save it:

1. Open a story in the Queue/Story pane.

2. Open the Sequence pane.

3. Click the Open Sequence button.

The name of the sequence in the Sequence pane tab and in the Media pane displays the name of the opened story.

Clicking the Open Sequence button automatically opens the Media pane if it is closed.

If you later change the name of the story and you want to change the name of the sequence, you must rename the sequence in the Assets pane. To quickly access the sequence in the Assets pane, make sure the sequence is loaded in the Media pane, click the Pane Menu button, and select Open Enclosing Folder.

4. Edit the sequence.

See “Editing a Sequence” on page 75.

After you add the first clip to the sequence, a message box informs you that a new sequence is being created. The Interplay Central application obtains an iNEWS edit lock, creates and saves the sequence in the script sequence location, and saves the sequence identifier with the story.

An Interplay Central administrator sets the location for storing a script sequence in the Interplay

Production section of the Interplay Central System Settings.

5. Save the sequence by doing one of the following:

t Click the Save button in the Sequence pane toolbar.

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Save Sequence.

t With focus in the Sequence pane, press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Command+S (Macintosh)

The sequence is saved in the script sequence location.

You might need to click the Refresh button to see the sequence in the Assets pane.

Saving a Sequence

If you save a sequence that is not associated with a story, the sequence is saved in its current location. There is no Save As option. To move a sequence to a different location, cut and copy the sequence to a different location in the Assets pane.

If you are working with a sequence associated with a story, you must save the story and save the sequence separately. An Interplay Central administrator sets the location for storing a script sequence in the Interplay Production section of the Interplay Central System Settings. The default path is Projects/iNEWSsequences/date.

Saving a sequence automatically saves the markers contained in the sequence.

To save a sequence, do one of the following:

t Click the Save button in the Sequence pane toolbar.

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Save Sequence.

t With focus in the Sequence pane, press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Command+S (Macintosh)

If you try to close a modified sequence without saving it, the Save Changes dialog box opens and asks if you want to save your changes.

Opening an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane

Interplay Central lets you open and edit sequences that you created in Interplay Central, Avid editing applications, Interplay Assist, and Avid Instinct.

You are limited in the types of sequences you can play and edit. Following are some rules for editing and playback:

• If the sequence contains only cuts, it opens in the Media pane for playback and you can edit it in the Sequence pane

• If the sequence contains effects that the playback service supports (such as video and audio dissolves) but was created in an application other than Interplay Central, it opens in the Media pane for playback. The sequence also opens in the Sequence pane, but you cannot edit it. The sequence is colored dark red for read-only.

• If the sequence contains unrendered effects the player does not support, the player displays an error message. The sequence also opens in the Sequence pane, but you cannot edit it. The sequence is colored dark red for read-only.

• If all effects are rendered, the sequence opens in the Media pane for playback. The sequence also opens in the Sequence pane, but you cannot edit it. The sequence is colored dark red for read-only.

• You cannot create subclips from a read-only sequence.

• For more information about playback of sequences, see “Playing Simple and Complex

Sequences” on page 98.

To open an existing sequence in the Sequence pane:

t Double-click a sequence in the Assets pane, the Search pane, or the Quick Search pane.

The sequence is loaded into the Media pane and into the timeline in the Sequence pane.The Sequence pane automatically loads the sequence as basic or advanced.

Opening a Sequence Associated with a Story

If you create a sequence through the Open Sequence button in the Queue/Story pane, the sequence is associated with the opened story as a script sequence (see “Creating a Sequence” on

page 70).

You can select a user setting to automatically open a script sequence when you open the associated story.

Editing a Sequence

To automatically open a script sequence with a story:

1. Select Home > Settings.

2. Select iNEWS.

3. Select “Autoload Sequence.”

4. Click Apply.

To manually open a script sequence:

1. Open a story in the Queue/Story pane.

2. Open the Sequence pane.

3. Click the Open Sequence button.

The associated sequence opens in the Sequence pane and Media pane.

After you associate a script sequence with a story, you cannot disassociate it. However, you can

completely revise the sequence and rename it if necessary.

Editing a Sequence

You can work with one of two sequences: a basic sequence or an advanced sequence (see

“Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences” on page 68). The following topics describe

how to work with basic sequences and advanced sequences:

• “Adding Media to a Basic Sequence” on page 76

• “Adding Media to an Advanced Sequence” on page 77

• “Adding Media from a Saved Sequence to a Sequence” on page 79

• “Moving or Deleting Segments in the Timeline” on page 80

• “Trimming Segments in the Timeline” on page 81

• “Using L-Cuts in the Timeline” on page 83

• “Adding Markers to a Sequence” on page 84

• “Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced Sequences Only)” on page 85

Ancillary data that is contained in a clip is preserved when you edit the clip into a sequence.

Adding Media to a Basic Sequence

The timeline for a simple sequence has two tracks: video (V) and audio (A). A basic sequence uses green for video and audio, as shown in the following illustration.

An advanced sequence uses additional colors (see “Adding Media to an Advanced Sequence” on

page 77).

The orange bar is called the sightline and acts as a position indicator or playhead when you play a sequence in the Media pane. When you trim a segment, the sightline automatically moves to that position in the sequence, and the frame to which the segment was trimmed is displayed in the viewer of the Media pane.

Editing a Sequence

You can set the Sequence pane for horizontal or vertical orientation. See “Selecting a Horizontal

or Vertical Timeline” on page 69.

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 an asset into the timeline for a basic sequence:

1. Click a video or audio asset in the Media viewer in the Media pane.

2. Drag the asset from the Media viewer to the timeline until your pointer is over the V or A track, as shown in the following illustration.

As you drag the segment to where you want it, the V and A tracks appear highlighted in orange to show you where the asset will be inserted when you release the mouse button.

Adding Media to an Advanced Sequence

The default timeline for an advanced sequence has four tracks: video (Video), natural sound (NAT), sound on tape (SOT), and voice-over audio (V). You can rename audio tracks and add two more. For more information, see “Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences” on

page 68.

Different colors indicate different types of media assets in the timeline: dark blue for video only, green for video with NAT sound, light blue for video with SOT sound, and purple for VO sound.

Editing a Sequence

You can set the Sequence pane for horizontal or vertical orientation. See “Selecting a Horizontal

or Vertical Timeline” on page 69.

Editing a Sequence

You edit a sequence by dragging and dropping a media asset from the Media pane into the Sequence Timeline. Where you drop the asset determines its function in the timeline:

• To insert video only, position your mouse pointer over the Video track before releasing the mouse button.

• To insert video with natural sound (NAT), position your mouse pointer over the NAT track before releasing the mouse button.

• To insert video with sound on tape (SOT), position your mouse pointer over the SOT track before releasing the mouse button.

• To insert audio only for a voice-over (VO), position your mouse pointer over the VO track before releasing the mouse button.

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

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 into an advanced sequence

1. Click a video clip in the Media viewer in the Media pane.

2. Drag the clip from the Media viewer to the timeline until the mouse pointer is over the Video track.

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

To insert a video asset with a NAT audio track into an advanced sequence:

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

2. Drag the clip from the Media viewer to the timeline until the mouse pointer is over the NAT track.

Editing a Sequence

As you drag the clip to where you want it, the Video and NAT tracks 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 an advanced sequence:

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

2. Drag the clip from the Media viewer to the timeline until the mouse pointer is over the SOT track.

As you drag the clip to where you want it, the Video and SOT tracks 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 an advanced sequence:

1. Click a clip with audio in the Media viewer in the Media pane.

2. Drag the clip from the Media viewer to the timeline until the VO track is highlighted.

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

You can also record a voice-over directly to the timeline. See “Recording a Voice-over” on

page 121

Adding Media from a Saved Sequence to a Sequence

You can load a sequence from the Interplay Production database into Asset mode in the Media pane, but you cannot mark In and Out points and edit the selected media into a sequence. However, you can use the Match Frame feature to open the source clip for a particular frame and then select media from the source clip.

To add media from a saved sequence to a sequence:

1. In an Assets pane, do one of the following:

t Right-click a sequence and select Open in Asset Mode.

t Select a sequence, click the Pane Menu button, and select Open in Asset Mode.

The sequence opens in Asset mode in the Media pane.

2. Navigate to a frame in the material that you want to add to a sequence.

3. Click the 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 segment used in the sequence.

4. Edit the material you want into your sequence.

Moving or Deleting Segments in the Timeline

After you add assets to a sequence, you can rearrange them in the timeline. A portion of media that is contained on a track in a sequence is called a segment.

For an advanced sequence, after you have added a segment to the timeline, you cannot switch it to a different track. For example, if you drag and drop a clip into the timeline as a SOT, you cannot then select that segment in the timeline and drag it to another audio track. If the clip has audio on a channel that is not mapped to the audio track in which you insert it, you will not hear the audio when the sequence is played.

If you want to change the track into which audio was inserted, you can use the Match Frame

option (in the Media Pane menu) to reload the clip into the player. Then delete the segment from the timeline, and redo the insertion by dragging it from the player to the timeline again.

Editing a Sequence

To move a segment in a sequence:

1. Click the segment you want to move.

2. Drag the segment and drop it in a new location in the timeline.

In a long sequence, moving a segment to the viewable edge of the sequence (top or bottom for a vertical timeline, left or right for a horizontal timeline) scrolls the sequence in that direction.

To delete a segment from a sequence, do one of the following:

t Right-click the segment you want to delete and select Delete.

t Click the segment you want to delete and click the Delete button in the Sequence pane

toolbar.

t Click the segment you want to delete and press Backspace (Windows) or Delete

(Macintosh).

Deleting a segment from the sequence does not remove the original source media from the server.

Trimming Segments in the Timeline

You can trim a segment from either end, lengthening or shortening the segment frame-by-frame.

After you trim a segment, 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 you can see the exact frame to which the segment was trimmed.

To trim a segment using the mouse, do one of the following:

t To trim both video and audio, click one end of the video segment and drag the trim indicator.

The following illustration shows both video and audio segments that can be trimmed from the end of the segment.

Editing a Sequence

If the video and audio have different edit points, trimming the video segment automatically syncs the audio edit to the video edit. The following illustration shows a sequence before you begin trimming on the left, and the same sequence after you begin trimming on the right.

Editing a Sequence

t To trim only audio, click one end of the audio segment and drag the trim indicator.

t To trim only video if the sequence includes audio from the same source, hold down the Ctrl

key, click one end of the video segment, and drag the trim indicator. Use this technique to create an L-cut. See “Using L-Cuts in the Timeline” on page 83.

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

To trim a segment using keyboard shortcuts:

1. With your mouse, click the end of the video segment you want to trim.

2. Do one of the following:

t Press the M key to trim the segment’s selected end10 frames earlier.

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

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

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

The sightline automatically moves to the trim location.

To trim from the beginning of a segment:

1. Position the sightline on the frame to which you want to trim.

2. Do one of the following:

t Right-click and select Trim Top.

t Press Shift+[.

To trim from the end of a segment:

1. Position the sightline on the frame to which you want to trim.

2. Do one of the following:

t Right-click and select Trim Tail.

t Press Shift+].

Using L-Cuts in the Timeline

An L-cut is a split edit between two segments 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 an L-cut near the 20-second mark in the timeline. The SOT segment in the sequence (light blue) begins before the corresponding video.

Editing a Sequence

To create an L-cut:

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

A trim indicator is displayed in the segment’s video track, audio track, or both.

2. Do one of the following:

t Hold down the Ctrl key, 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 and lets you edit one without editing the other. You can click either indicator to modify each segment independently.

If you do not hold down the Ctrl key, trimming the video segment automatically syncs the audio edit to the video edit.

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; the application will automatically realign the video and audio transitions.

Moving a segment 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 in Advanced Sequences” on page 116.

Adding Markers to a Sequence

There are two ways to add markers to a sequence:

• Add a clip or a portion of a clip that contains markers.

• Add markers directly to the sequence.

For complete information about working with markers, see “Logging and Creating Subclips” on

page 129.

Adding a clip that contains markers: Any markers that are contained within the In and Out marks are copied to the sequence when you edit the clip into the sequence. Copying markers with a clip is a “one-time copy.” If you lengthen a clip by trimming, markers that are included in the added part of the clip are not copied. If you shorten a clip by trimming, you remove any markers that are included in the trimmed portion. They are not restored if you lengthen the clip. To restore the markers, redo the edit. You can use Match Frame from the sequence to locate the original clip. See “Using Match Frame” on page 108.

Editing a Sequence

Markers in audio-only clips: Markers are not added for audio-only clips, such as voice-overs. You can copy markers only from a clip that includes a video track.

Moving segments with markers: When you move a segment of a sequence that contains markers, the markers are also moved.

Adding markers in Output mode: If you are adding markers to a sequence in Output mode, saving in the Markers pane or saving in the Sequence pane saves both the sequence and the markers.

Switching modes in the Media pane: If you switch from Output mode to Asset mode, or from Asset mode to Output mode, the Markers pane switches to match the media that is loaded in the Media pane.

Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced Sequences Only)

You can insert a video dissolve to transition on center between segments in an advanced sequence. Dissolves can be set to transition from 2 to 300 frames, using even numbers only, with half of the frames used in the leading segment and the other half in the trailing segment.

Dissolves cannot be placed at the start of the first segment or the end of the last segment 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 video dissolve between two segments:

1. Position the sightline within two seconds of the cut between two segments in the timeline.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click the Add Video Dissolve button in the Sequence pane toolbar.

Editing a Sequence

t Click the Pane Menu button and select Insert Dissolve.

The following illustration shows a dissolve between the two segments of a sequence, which is indicated by the square Dissolve icon located just to the right of the sightline.

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

Editing a Sequence

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

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

You can change the default duration by changing the Dissolve Duration in the Sequence User

Settings.

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

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

To delete a dissolve:

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

6 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

• Marking In and Out Points

• Wor king w ith M a r kers

• 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 sequence. You can also send a sequence to a playback device. For a description of the controls in Asset mode, see “Media Pane: Asset Mode” on page 89.

• Click the Output button to work in Output mode.

Use Output mode to view a 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 92.

The Media Pane

The view in the Media pane automatically switches to Asset mode or Output mode, depending on the asset you load.

• In the Assets pane, double-click a clip or subclip, or drag it to the Media pane. The clip or subclip opens in Asset mode.

• In the Assets pane, double-click a sequence, or drag it to the Media pane. The sequence opens in Output mode.

• In the Assets pane, right-click a sequence and select Open in Asset Mode. The sequence opens in Asset mode.

• In the Queue/Story pane, click the Open Sequence button. The associated sequence opens in Output mode.

Media Pane: Asset Mode

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

The Media Pane

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 in Asset mode and a sequence

loaded in 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 Sequence to a Playback

Device” on page 149.

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 95.

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

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

in the Media Timeline” on page 105.

• The zoom bar lets you enlarge a section of the Media Timeline. For more information, see “Using the Zoom Bar” on page 106.

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

information, see “Playing Assets” on page 94, “Stepping Through Assets” on

page 96, and “Marking In and Out Points” on page 100.

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:

• Match Frame. See “Using Match Frame” on page 108.

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

page 97.

• Open Enclosing Folder. See “Opening an Enclosing Folder” on page 108.

• Update Media Status. See “Updating the Media Status” on page 97.

• Aspect Ratio. See “Selecting the Aspect Ratio” on page 97.

• Playback Quality. See “Selecting the Playback Quality” on page 99.

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

• Send to Playback (profile name). See “Sending to Playback” on page 146.

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

page 146.

• Deliver To. See “Transferring Assets and Media to Another Workgroup” on

page 154.

• Sequence Mixdown. See “Mixing Down Sequences” on page 109.

• Save as Image. See “Saving a Frame as an Image” on page 112

• 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 sequence. For more

information, see “Using the Timecode Displays” on page 102.

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 101.

Media Pane: Output Mode

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

The Media Pane

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 in Asset mode and a sequence

loaded in 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 sequence to a playback device. For more

information, see “Sending a Sequence to a Playback Device” on page 149.

4 Media viewer Displays and plays media for the 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 95.

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 sequence. The Media Timeline includes timing marks, a position indicator, and other controls. For more information, see “Working

in the Media Timeline” on page 105.

• The zoom bar lets you enlarge a section of the Media Timeline. For more information, see “Using the Zoom Bar” on page 106.

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

“Playing Assets” on page 94 and “Stepping Through Assets” on page 96.

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 108.

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

page 97.

• Open Enclosing Folder. See “Opening an Enclosing Folder” on page 108.

• Update Media Status. See “Updating the Media Status” on page 97.

• Aspect Ratio. See “Selecting the Aspect Ratio” on page 97.

• Playback Quality. See “Selecting the Playback Quality” on page 99.

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

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

Settings” on page 146.

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

page 146.

• Deliver To. See “Transferring Assets and Media to Another Workgroup” on

page 154.

• Sequence Mixdown. See “Mixing Down Sequences” on page 109

• Save As Image. See “Saving a Frame as an Image” on page 112

• Input Source. With the voice-over controls active, specifies the audio device for recording. See “Recording a Voice-over” on page 121.

• 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 sequence. For more information,

see “Using the Timecode Displays” on page 102.

Playing Assets

Display or Control Description

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

“Recording a Voice-over” on page 121.

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 107.

Playing Assets

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 95. For information about stepping through media,

see “Stepping Through Assets” on page 96.

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

Sequences” on page 98.

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 In the Assets pane, right-click a sequence and select Open in Asset Mode.

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

t In the Queue/Story pane, click the Open Sequence button.

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.

Playing Assets

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

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.

Playing Assets

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

qwe rt

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

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

You can use various controls to step through a clip, subclip, or 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 100, “Working with Markers” on page 101, and “Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame” on page 103.

To step through an asset or 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 Asset mode of 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 Asset mode:

1. Click the Pane Menu button.

Playing Assets

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.

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 created in Avid editing systems that include effects other than dissolves must be rendered in the editing system. You then need to check them into Interplay 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 pane. These sequences play as the editor intended, with all effects rendered.

Playing Assets

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

“Adding or Removing Property Columns” on page 37.

Simple Sequences and Complex Sequences

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

• 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.

Sequences that you create in Interplay Central are considered simple sequences. See “Using the

Sequence Pane” on page 65.

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 it will not play. To assure correct playback, a sequence must have all effects rendered and must be checked in again when the rendering is done.

If you render only high-resolution effects, the Interplay Common Playback Services server plays

back effects as high-resolution and plays back other segments as the proxy resolution.

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.

6. Continue working on the original sequence.

Mixing Down Complex Sequences

If a sequence is not playable 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 109.

Playing Assets

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.

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 Avid Interplay Common Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Marking In and Out Points

e r

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

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:

Marking In and Out Points

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.

100

Pinnacle Systems Interplay Central - 1.3 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

About Interplay Central

Signing In to Interplay Central

Understanding the Application Layouts

Working with Layouts

Working with Areas and Panes

The Menu Bar

The Launch Pane

Using 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

Renaming Assets

Creating a New Folder

3 Working with Projects

Opening Projects or Facets

The Project/Story Pane

Associating Stories with Projects or Facets

Opening a Project or Facet Associated with a Story

4 Building a Script

The Queue/Story Pane

The Queue/Story Toolbar

The Script Editor

Creating a Story

Segmenting Stories

Writing Stories in Right-to-Left Languages

Using Annotation to Dictate a Story

Editing a Story

Formatting a Script

Adding Production Cues

Adding Machine Control Instructions

Adding a Primary Machine Control Instruction

Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story

Locking and Unlocking a Story

Inserting Script Templates

Inserting MOS Placeholders

Adding Media to a Script

Copying and Sending iNEWS Links

5 Using the Sequence Pane

Displaying the Sequence Pane

The Sequence Pane

Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences

Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline

Viewing Sequence Information

Creating a Sequence

Saving a Sequence

Opening an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane

Opening a Sequence Associated with a Story

Editing a Sequence

Adding Media to a Basic Sequence

Adding Media to an Advanced Sequence

Adding Media from a Saved Sequence to a Sequence

Moving or Deleting Segments in the Timeline

Trimming Segments in the Timeline

Using L-Cuts in the Timeline

Adding Markers to a Sequence

Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced Sequences Only)

6 Working with Video Media

The Media Pane

Media Pane: Asset Mode