Pinnacle Systems Liquid - 7.0 User Manual

ID:41005895

Avid Liquid

Liquid for

Pinnacle Studio Users

November 2005 / Pinnacle Systems Documentation, Munich, Germany

liquid.documentation@pinnaclesys.com

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Systems, Inc.

Pinnacle Systems and the Pinnacle Systems logo are registered trademarks of Pinnacle Systems, Inc.

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are logos and trademarks of Pinnacle Systems GmbH and Pinnacle

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CONTENT

Manual

Part 1

Part1

Upgrading to Avid Liquid.................................... 7

1 Avid Liquid: Brief Overview........................... 8

2 Initial Contact with Avid Liquid................... . 10

3 EZ Capture.................................................12

4 Album and Project...................................... 14

5 Collecting, Sorting, Viewing and Finding

Clips............................................................16

6 Importing Clips, Titles, Graphics and Stills.18

7 DVD Menus, Titles and Effects..... ..............20

8 Film Window and Timeline: Basics............. 22

9 Inserting Clips on the Timeline...................24

10 Inserting/Deleting Clips on the Timeline.....26

11 Trimming Clips on the Timeline .................. 28

12 Moving Clips Horizontally and Vertically.....30

13 Effects: Basics.... .................................. ......32

14 Effects: Transitions .......... ... .. ...................... 34

15 Effects: Clip FX (Video Effects) .................. 36

16 Effects: Render or Realtime?.....................38

17 Timeline Settings........................................ 40

18 Audio: Basics............................. .................42

19 Fast Audio Fade-ins and Fade-outs............44

20 Making a Movie: Options............................ 46

21 Recording to DV Tape...... ... ........................ 48

22 Burning Disks / Exporting Files .................. 50

23 The Most Import a nt Set tin g s ......................52

Part2

1 Recording from DV/HDV Video Tapes

(Capture).................................................... 56

2 Comparison of Recording Instruments.......58

3 Recording Clips with Mark-Ins and

Mark-Outs................................................... 60

4 Recording or Logging Clips “on the Fly”.....62

5 Automatic Scene Detection........................ 64

6 Recording Audio: Stereo/Mono and Level.. 66 7 Naming and Numbering Clips while

Recording................................................... 68

8 Recording/Digitizing Tips ........................... 70

9 Scene Detection in the Clip Viewer............ 72

10 Protecting and Muting Tracks..................... 74

11 Trimming with the Trim Editor..................... 76

12 Trimming Video and Audio: Split Editing .... 78

13 Moving Clips Horizontally and Vertically.....80

14 Good to Know.................................... ......... 82

15 Effects: Working with Key Frames.............. 84

16 Audio Scrubbing......................................... 86

17 The Audio Editor......................................... 88

18 Audio Mixer and Volume Lines................... 90

19 Output Mapping.......................................... 92

20 Audio: Settings Tab.................................... 94

21 Recording Voice Over................................. 96

22 Live Mixing of Audio Tracks........................ 98

23 Sound Effects........................ ...................100

24 Surround Sound ....................................... 102

Upgrading to Avid Liquid

This document was written for Pinnacle Studio users who want to upgrade to Avid Liquid and achieve demonstrable results as quickly as possible. We’d like to help you find the functions you already know from Studio in Avid Liquid. In many cases there is no one-to-one correspondence - after all, they are two different programs. But Avid Liquid can do a lot more than Studio, which we assume is why you purchased it.

Wherever practical and possible, we’ve arranged procedures from Studio side-by-side with similar procedures in Avid Liquid and explained the various technical terms. For example, what Studio calls a “scene”, Avid Liquid calls a “clip”. Expressions used in the Avid Liquid user interface are written in italics: Sequence (“Film”). Keys on the keyboard are represented as follows:

This manual has two parts: The first part contains the most important things you need to know for quick startup. The second part describes more advanced functions.

To a large extent, each user can configure his or her own Avid Liquid user interface. For the purposes of this document, however, we assume that the software is still in its “original state” as it was when first installed; for example, the tool buttons are in their original locations and the function keys execute the original commands.

If you click a wrong tool button when working with Avid Liquid, simply use the Undo/Redo buttons, which look like this: , .

When you want to know more about a subject in Avid Liquid, press contains the text of the printed Reference Manual. You can also use the Help index (key icon) to quickly find an explanation of unknown functions or tools.

Have fun learning about Avid Liquid!

F7 or SPACEBAR.

F1. This opens Online Help, which

1 Avid Liquid: Brief Overview

First of all, we’d like to introduce the most important modules in Avid Liquid. To the right you see the user interface after a standard installation (single computer monitor).

Timeline

The Timeline is where the Sequence (in Studio: Film) is assembled from the clips (scenes). Any type of clip (video, audio, graphic, title) can be positioned on the Tra c k s . The Timeline appearance, clip display and Audio/Video Playback are all managed in the Track Header area to the left of the Timeli ne.

Project Browser

The Project Browser contains the elements of your film, i.e. the video and audio clips and the effects. It’s functioning is similar to that of the Windows Explorer, with its folders and subfolders.

Source Viewer (Player) or Project Window

The Source Viewer is where you view your source material, meaning the clips (scenes). In terms of an analog tape-based editing suite, this would be your player and monitor. You can drag clips from the Project Browser to the Source Viewer with the mouse. You can also select a screen layout in which the Project window is displayed in this spot (Single Monitor View; see page 14).

Master Viewer (Recorder)

The Master Viewer displays the current image from the Timeline, i.e. it is the master video output for the recorder or for output to DVD, etc. The red Playline identifies the current position.

Toolbars

The To o l b a r s contain the most important tools (buttons) and commands. You can customize these toolbars individually (right-click > Customize).

Menu bar

The most important commands are arranged here in typical Windows style.

Taskbar

The taskbar contains valuable information and functions you need to have on hand while editing, including an audio level, the Render Viewer, the Key Caps icon, etc.

Menu Bar

Project

Browser

Source Viewer

(Player)

Track Header Area

Master Viewer

(Recorder)

Toolbars

Timeline

Taskb ar

2 Initial Contact with Avid Liquid

After installing the program, you’ll find the Avid Liquid icon on your computer’s desktop. Connect your DV or HDV camera to an IEEE-1394 interface (Firewire, DV In) on the computer, switch on the device and insert a tape.

STUDIO

Starting up

Studio is “empty” when you start it up. You can then open an existing project or create a new one.

Saving and backup

Performed manually by selecting: File > Save Project (As).

1-2-3 user interface

Studio distributes the basic video editing operations over three tabs: 1 Capture / 2 Edit / 3 Make Movie.

LIQUID

Starting up

Unless you enter a different user name or are starting the program for the very first time (in which case, a sample or standard Project appears), Avid Liquid opens with the last Project that was worked on.

Select File > New > Project to create a new, “e mp t y” Project.

Saving and backup

Avid Liquid automatically saves each individual operation (Instant Save). Should your computer ever crash, you can retrieve your work (Sequence, “Movie”) from the Sequences Rack.

Modular user interface

In single-monitor mode, Avid Liquid appears either as shown on the right (initial startup) or as it did when you last exited the program.

You can access functional areas such as “1 Capture (= EZ Capture/Logging)” or “3 Make Movie (= Export > Record to Tape)” as needed by means of menus, the keyboard or tool buttons.

All the toolbars are freely configurable and the layout of the user interface can be customized using the Eye icon located at the bottom right on the taskbar.

Project only

Timeline only

Single Monitor View

3 EZ Capture

EZ Capture is a file-based capture tool for recording clips from digital sources (DV, HDV) and analog inputs (if you have a breakout box). You can record to various formats.

STUDIO

Recording a movie

Camcorder control via DV and the recording options are described in the record mode field.

With Avid Liquid, you can also record in “preview quality” (MJPEG) (File > EZ Capture > Set- tings > Codec Settings.

LIQUID

Recording using EZ Capture

First check whether the camcorder is properly connected and switched on.

1 Select File > EZ Capture.

2 In the lower left, enter a name for the clip.

Above it next to the capacity indicator, select a location for storing the data.

3 Start the tape by pressing the Play button,

or directly by clicking the Capture button.

4 The camcorder starts recording.

To stop recording, click the Capture button once again.

 To select a different video input or a par-

ticular recording format, open the Settings dialog box.

 In the Extended Dialog Box, you can

adjust the audio and influence the video (analog input).

You will find your recorded clips in a Project Rack (automatically created or previously selected).

Extend dialog boxSelect directoryRecording format

Enter clip name Player control buttons Start/stop recording

Settings for

EZ Capture

4 Album and Project

The Album and Project serve the same purpose: To manage all the elements necessary for making a film and keep them within easy reach. Avid Liquid does this in the Project window.

STUDIO

Album

Here you can page through your existing material. The tabs on the side separate the areas into video scenes, effects, etc.

LIQUID

Project and Tabs

Click the Eye icon ( , bottom right on the taskbar) and select the view with the large Project Window : . The Project includes all the elements of your work and, more importantly, the actual work you’ve already done: the edited Sequences (=Films). You can create and output any number of Sequences from a Project’s clips.

The Project Window has five tabs for organizing the objects, several tools for copying, pasting, etc., and a simple search window for ferreting out clips. Like any other window, it can be resized and moved.

When you delete objects from a Project, they are placed in the Tra s h on the Liquid desktop (and can be retrieved from there).

Project Browser

Click the button to the left of the Timeline header to show/hide the Project Browser. This is a miniature version of the larger window.

Single Monitor View

In place of the Source Viewer, you can also display the Project window. Click the button to select this Single Monitor View.

Trash

Tabs

Project Window

Desktop

Click here to show/hide the Project Browser. Drag the separating lines to resize the fields.

Single Monitor View

(Project window in place

of the Source Viewer)

5 Collecting, Sorting, Viewing and Finding Clips

Even ver y large Projects with thousands of objects (clips, etc.) can be effectively managed in Avid Liquid. The following are the most important tools:

STUDIO

Windows folders

The Studio Album displays the contents of Windows folders, i.e. it directly accesses your computer’s directories.

Scene or Comment View

A miniature image is displayed with or without the scene name and scene length.

Player

The player provides a quick preview of image and sound.

Selecting a scene by name

Searches the current directory in the Album.

LIQUID

Racks and folders

The Racks in Avid Liquid ser ve as “cont ainers” for clips. You can combine Racks in Rack Folders and move or copy clips from Rack to Rack. When you click a Rack in the Rack/Folder Area, its contents are displayed on the right.

Picon View or Detail View

Detail View displays a detailed, editable list. Picon View displays miniature images with

their names.

Sorting

If Detail View is activated, you can sort and display the clips in the Rack in alphanumeric order. Click (repeatedly) the header of the column you want to sort by.

Viewing clips in the Clip Viewer

To o pen th e Clip Viewer, double-click a graphics/ video/audio clip.

Quick clip finder

Enter the name of the clip you’re looking for and click . This searches all the Racks.

The left-hand

area contains the

Racks and Rack

folders. The right-hand area shows the

contents of the

current Rack

(here in Detail

View)

To sort the list

alphanumerically,

click the header

of the

relevant column.

Below is a Rack in Picon View. Double-click a clip to view it in the Clip Viewer.

Quick Finder

6 Importing Clips, Titles, Graphics and Stills

Avid Liquid lets you import clips in a variety of formats. You can use Racks to organize your Project: Title Rack, Audio Rack, Sound Track Rack, Video Rack, etc.

STUDIO

Select tab, open directory

In Studio, you first select the relevant tab and then display the Open dialog box from Windows.

With Avid Liquid, you can fill any Rack with any clips. You alone determine the structure.

Displaying audio files

Studio has a separate Album tab for audio files. Avid Liquid has no such tab but you can, of course, create Racks specifically for audio files as described on the right.

LIQUID

Creating Racks

Clips or All tab: Right-click in the left-hand area of the Project Window to display the shortcut menu and select New Rack. Naturally, you can also use an existing Rack (see “Importing objects” below).

Naming Racks

You can immediately name the newly created

Rack, or right-click an existing Rack and select Rename.

Importing objects

Menu bar > File > Import > Media. The possible formats are listed in the File Type list box. Now select the files you want to import. The clips then appear in the currently selected (flashing) Rack.

Linking, copying and moving

These are three types of import. Copy creates a copy of the media file in Avid Liquid’s media directory (recommended).

Right-click here:

You can open sev-

eral Racks simulta-

neously: Drag them

from the Rack area

to the desktop and

double-click.

Importing objects: Right-click to open the Rack’s shortcut menu.

Select an import type: Link, Move or Copy.

Or use the menu bar File > Import > Media command.

7 DVD Menus, Titles and Effects

Video clips aren’t the only design elements of a film. The following is an overview of the options available from Avid Liquid; for more detailed information, see the next section.

STUDIO

DVD menus

The DVD menus are located in the Album. You can either use standard menus and edit them or load additional menus.

Creating titles

Select a template from the Album and transfer it to the film window. Then open the Title Editor. In Avid Liquid, the order is reversed.

Effects

In Avid Liquid, video effects are called Clip FX.

LIQUID

DVD menus

In the Project Window or Browser, select the Library tab. The menus are located in the DVD Menus Rack.

When you drag a DVD menu from the Rack to the Timelin e, a special DVD Tra c k is automatically configured. Double-click a DVD menu on the Tim eline to open the DVD E ditor. This is where the DVD’s menu structure is created, including chapters, jump markers, animated buttons, etc. The DVD menus themselves can be edited using the same tool as in Studio.

Creating titles

Activate a Rack (which is where the finished title is stored) and select Tools > CG Editor (or press F2). The Title Editor is very similar to the one in Studio. When you’re finished, select CG Editor File > Save as new in Liquid. The title clip is now located in the previously selected Rack.

Effects

All the effects supplied with the product are stored on the Library tab of the Project Window/ Browser.

DVD menus are located

on the Lib(rary) tab in

the DVD Menus Rack.

Drag a menu to the

Timeline. The “DVD”

Track is automatically

configured at the very

The new titles are

stored in the current

Rack. The frame on

which the playline is

currently positioned (Timeline) serves as

the background in the

top.

Title Editor.

8 Film Window and Timeline: Basics

This section provides the most important information on the Avid Liquid Timeline and on creating a film.

STUDIO

Film window

In Studio, the film window can appear in three forms: Storyboard, Timeline and List. Specific tracks are reserved for certain types of scene.

Edit line and edit mode

You can move this line only by means of the slider above the film window. With Avid Liquid in Scrub Mode (the button is not highlighted), you can use the mouse pointer to move the Play- line across the Time line; the mouse pointer then looks like this: . In Edit Mode ( highlighted), you can click on clips.

LIQUID

Timeline

The Timelin e is the “foundation” for Sequences (Avid Liquid’s term for films). The Timelin e comprises any number of horizontal Tra c k s on which the clips are positioned. The Tr ac k s are all the same; there are no specific “au dio Tr a c k s ” or “title Tra c k s ”. To the left of the Timeline is the header area. Right-click this area to perform a number of customizations and disable video and/or mute the audio.

From top to bottom

In Avid Liquid, higher Tr a c k s have priority over lower Tra c k s , i.e. a video clip on a Tra c k overrides a video clip on the Tra c k below it. The same does not apply to audio clips.

Playline

The vertical red line indicates the current edit position in the Sequence and the current frame in the Master Viewer. The Position Bar is located below the Timeline; the current Timecode is specified to the left and below the Trac k He a de r area.

Edit Mode

is enabled

Track Header

Video and

audio

playback

Zoom (Timeline scale)

Example of a complex Timeline

Playline

Track

Track Track

Timecode bar

9 Inserting Clips on the Timeline

Basically, this function works the same in Avid Liquid and Studio: Drag a clip from the Album/Project to the Timeline.

STUDIO

Assembling scenes

As soon as a scene is dragged to the Timeline, the clip dimensions are indicated by green start and end markers.

Inserting a clip between two other clips

Simply position the scene with its beginning between two other clips. The subsequent clips and their synchronous audio will be shifted.

LIQUID

Assembling clips

Click to select a screen layout in which you can view the Project (Browser), Timeline and Source/Master Viewer.

1 As in Studio, drag a video clip to the

Time line and drop it on the Tr a c k labelled V.

2 Drag another clip close to the end of the

first clip. It is “magnetically” attracted. Repeat this several times.

Inserting a clip between two other clips

First check the Edit Style. An icon between the Source and Master Viewers indicates the current

status: Avid Liquid recognizes Overwrite Style () and Film (Insert) Style ( ). To insert a clip, Film Style must be activated.

1 Drag a video clip to the point between

two clips on the Timeline.

2 The clip is inserted and all subsequent

clips are shifted to the right.

These are the “slices”

- each edit is assigned a consecutive number.

The clip’s audio is

automatically posi-

tioned on a Track

below the video clip.

Make sure Film Style is

activated

(yellow icon).

Click the icon to

change the style.

The clips following the

inserted clip are

shifted to the right.

10 Inserting/Deleting Clips on the Timeline

In contrast to Studio, Avid Liquid has two methods for inserting clips on the Timeline: One method overwrites clips and gaps and the other shifts whatever follows it.

STUDIO

Razor (insert edit with audio)

To insert one scene into another, you must first create an edit with the razor tool. The scene is then inserted and subsequent scenes are shifted to the right.

Deleting a clip

Select the clip and press DEL (or use the trash icon). All subsequent clips are shifted to the left.

LIQUID

Inserting

You don’t need the Razor, but the Edit Style does matter:

 Film (Insert) Style () -

Drag a clip to the Timeline clip. The existing clip is cut at the insert point (Play- line), the new clip is inserted and the rest of the clip is shifted to the right along with all subsequent clips.

 Overwrite Style () -

The existing clip is cut at the insert point but everything else on the Tr a c k is overwritten for the length of the inserted clips.

Razor (Add Edit)

This tool is also available in Avid Liquid: . It’s generally used to cut an area out of a clip or divide a clip so that a gap can be created.

Deleting a clip

Select the clip and press DEL. In Overwrite Style, a gap is opened up; in Film Style, the clips shift to close the gap.

Insertion in Film Style: The inserted clip cuts the existing clip and shifts the remainder of this clip to the right.

Insertion in Overwrite Style: The overall length remains the same; the inserted clip overwrites the center portion

of the existing clip.

Gap

The razor tool cuts the clips at the playline position.

A deleted clip (in Overwrite Style) leaves a gap.

11 Trimming Clips on the Timeline

The most important work of the editor is to trim the edits between clips: Each frame counts.

STUDIO

Trimming on the Timeline

First click the clip you want to trim. When the mouse pointer nears the edit, it turns into an arrow. You can now change the length of the clip. Any gaps produced are immediately closed.

LIQUID

Activating Edit Mode

Make sure that the Edit Mode icon ( ) is yellow and that the mouse pointer looks like this: (on a clip) or this: (on an empty area of the Time- line).

Trimming on the Timeline

1 Example: Position the mouse pointer on

the mark-in for a clip. Its shape changes to: .

2 Left-click. The clip now has a red edge

(handle) if the Overwrite Style is acti- vated or a yellow edge if the Film Style is activated.

3 Drag the handle to the left or right. The

following happens:

 In Overwrite Style , this simply length-

ens or shortens the clip. Either a gap opens up or other clips are overwritten.

 In Film Style , subsequent clips are

shifted. When you drag the mark-in, it remains at its Timeline position. Careful: the synchronicity of video and audio clips can easily be lost. Make sure that a video clip and its original audio clip(s) all have yellow handles before you trim.

Edit Style

Trimming in Edit Style = Overwrite:

Red “handle”

Trimming in Edit Style = Overwrite:

The clip is shortened. Its mark-in shifts to the right.

Trimming in Edit Style = Film:

The clip is shortened but its mark-in remains at the master position and the mark-out shifts to the left.

Trimming in Edit Style = Film:

Yellow “handle”

12 Moving Clips Horizontally and Vertically

Even when clips are already positioned on the Time line, they can be moved to new positions.

STUDIO

Swapping positions

When you move clips, the gaps created are closed automatically.

Avid Liquid: Active tracks?

Click a Tra c k ’s Name field. If it’s highlighted, the Tr a c k is “active”, i.e. certain actions are applied to

this Tra c k , such as the selection command described on the right. This is especially important when working with the Insert Arrow (three-point editing; see the Reference Manual).

LIQUID

Selecting a clip or clips

This is the first step in moving one or more clips. Activate Edit mode ( must glow yellow) and, if necessary, (de)activate linked mode ( ) so that you can select the video and audio clips together or separately. The Overwrite Style must also be activated.

Click a clip to select it (hold down the

CTRL or

SHIFT key to select multiple clips).

You can also drag a lasso around the relevant clips. Another practical method it is to use the Select

after playline ( ) command. All clips on active Tr ac k s (- see also page 74) at and to the right of

the Playline are selected. This is an easy way to create a gap in the Sequence.

Moving a clip or clips

Once you’ve selected a clip or clips, drag them while holding down the left mouse button. To move clips vertically, we recommend the following procedure: Select the clips and press and the UP/DOWN ARROW key. The clip then retains its exact same TC position on the Timeline.

CTRL

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