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

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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

+ 224 hidden pages