Pinnacle Systems MediaCentral - 2.0 User’s Guide

Avid MediaCentral | UX
User’s Guide
Version 2.0
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.
This document is protected under copyright law. An authorized licensee of MediaCentral 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 MediaCentral 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.
Copyright © 2014 Avid Technology, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved.
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:
Copyright © 1988–1997 Sam Leffler Copyright © 1991–1997 Silicon Graphics, Inc.
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:
Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
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.
Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 by Jef Poskanzer.
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.
Copyright 1995, Trinity College Computing Center. Written by David Chappell.
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.
.
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Copyright 1996 Daniel Dardailler.
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.
Modifications Copyright 1999 Matt Koss, under the same license as above.
Copyright (c) 1991 by AT&T.
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:
©1993–1998 Altura Software, Inc.
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/
© DevelopMentor
).
This product may include the JCifs library, for which the following notice applies:
JCifs © Copyright 2004, The JCIFS Project, is licensed under LGPL (http://jcifs.samba.org/). See the LGPL.txt file in the Third Party Software directory on the installation CD.
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.
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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.
Portions copyright 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Funded under Grant
P41-RR02188 by the National Institutes of Health.
Portions copyright 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Boutell.Com, Inc.
Portions relating to GD2 format copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Philip Warner.
Portions relating to PNG copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Greg Roelofs.
Portions relating to gdttf.c copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 John Ellson (ellson@lucent.com).
Portions relating to gdft.c copyright 2001, 2002 John Ellson (ellson@lucent.com).
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/)
MediaCentral may use OpenLDAP. Copyright 1999-2003 The OpenLDAP Foundation, Redwood City, California, USA. All Rights Reserved. OpenLDAP is a registered trademark of the OpenLDAP Foundation.
Media | Distribute enables its users to access certain YouTube functionality, as a result of Avid's licensed use of YouTube's API. The charges levied by Avid for use of Media | Distribute are imposed by Avid, not YouTube. YouTube does not charge users for accessing YouTube site functionality through the YouTube APIs.
Media | Distribute uses the bitly API, but is neither developed nor endorsed by bitly.
Android is a trademark of Google Inc.
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
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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.
Footage
Hell’s Kitchen - Courtesy of Upper Ground Enterprises/Hell's Kitchen post team.
Avid MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide • 9329-65179-00 Rev A • June 2014 • Created 6/6/14 • This document is distributed by Avid in online (electronic) form only, and is not available for purchase in printed form.
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Using This Guide

This guide is intended for all users of an Avid MediaCentral | UX system (formerly Interplay Central). This guide describes product features and basic user procedures, such as user settings and story or asset creation.
For initial installation and configuration, see the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services
Installation and Configuration Guide. For administrative information, see the Avid MediaCentral | UX Administration Guide.

Symbols and Conventions

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:
Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action
n
c
w
> 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
| (pipe character) The pipe character is used in some Avid product names, such as
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. 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/support.
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 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.
Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.
mouse action. For example, Command+Option+C or Ctrl+drag.
Interplay | Production. In this document, the pipe is used in product names when they are in headings or at their first use in text.
www.avid.com/support. Online services are available 24

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 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843).
www.avid.com/support and follow the Training links, or call Avid Sales at
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Contents

Using This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 1 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
About MediaCentral | UX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Signing In to MediaCentral | UX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Understanding the Application Layouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Working with Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Working with Areas and Panes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Menu Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
The Launch Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Support for iNEWS Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Viewing MediaCentral | UX Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter 2 Working with Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
The Assets Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Navigating in the Assets Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Working with News Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Navigating the iNEWS Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Working with Media Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Identifying Interplay | Production Systems and Media Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Navigating the Interplay | Production Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Adding or Removing Property Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Resizing Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Moving Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
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Moving or Copying Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Renaming Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Creating a New Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Displaying or Hiding Referenced Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Viewing and Editing Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Viewing Thumbnails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Chapter 3 Working with Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Opening Projects or Facets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
The Project/Story Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Associating Stories with Projects or Facets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Opening a Project or Facet Associated with a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Chapter 4 Building a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
The Queue/Story Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
The Queue/Story Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Script Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Creating a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Segmenting Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Writing Stories in Right-to-Left Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Using Annotation to Dictate a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Editing a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Formatting a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Adding Production Cues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Adding Machine Control Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Adding a Primary Machine Control Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Locking and Unlocking a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Inserting Script Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Inserting MOS Placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Adding Media to a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Copying and Sending iNEWS Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Recovering Automatically Saved Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
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Chapter 5 Using the Sequence Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Displaying the Sequence Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
The Sequence Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Using the Sequence Zoom Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Viewing Sequence Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Creating a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Rules for Creating a Script Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Sequences Associated with Stories in Instinct and NewsCutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Audio-Only and Video-Only Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Saving a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Saving a Version of a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Recovering Automatically Saved Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Opening and Editing an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Opening a Sequence Associated with a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Working with Story Segments and Timing Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Working with Timing Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Editing Media into Timing Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Extending a Segment into Another Timing Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Showing and Hiding Empty Timing Blocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Manually Adjusting Timing Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Editing a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Performing an Insert Edit in a Basic Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Performing an Insert Edit in an Advanced Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Performing an Overwrite Edit in an Advanced Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Performing a Replace Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Enabling an Audio Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Adding Media from a Saved Sequence to a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Undoing and Redoing an Action in the Sequence Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Moving or Deleting Segments in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Adding and Removing Audio Segments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
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Creating an Audio-Only NAT or SOT Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Snapping in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Trimming Segments in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Using L-Cuts in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Splitting a Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Adding Markers to a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced Sequences Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Enabling Audio Scrubbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Chapter 6 Working with Video Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
The Media Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Media Pane: Asset Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Media Pane: Group Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Media Pane: Output Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Playing Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Using the J-K-L Keys for Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Stepping Through Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Playing Recently Viewed Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Selecting the Aspect Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Changing the Maximum Size of the Proxy Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Updating the Media Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Playback of Simple and Complex Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Selecting the Playback Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Adjusting for Playback Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Using the Speedtest Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Working with Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Marking In and Out Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Working with Markers and Restrictions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Using the Timecode Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Working in the Media Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Using the Media Zoom Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Reviewing in the STP Target Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Playing Back at the Highest Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
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Using Match Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Opening an Enclosing Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Transcoding Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Viewing and Editing a Clip During Ingest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Saving a Frame as an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Chapter 7 Using Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
The Audio Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
The Audio Pane in Asset Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
The Audio Pane in Output Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Working with Audio Tracks in Basic Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Adjusting Audio Levels for an Advanced Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Overriding the Default Audio Track Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Setting the Audio Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Audio Monitoring for Assets and Basic Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Recording a Voice-over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Chapter 8 Working with Group Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Group Clips and Multicamera Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Working with Group Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Loading a Group Clip and Changing the Angle View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Working with Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Selecting the Active Angle in Asset Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Playing a Group Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Timecode and Group Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Selecting Audio Monitoring Preferences in Asset Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Markers and Restrictions for Group Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Using Match Frame for Group Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Creating a Basic Sequence with Group Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Adding an Active Angle of a Group Clip to an Advanced Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Sending a Sequence with Group Clips to a Playback Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
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Chapter 9 Searching for Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Search and the Central Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Federated Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Media | Index and Indexed Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
The Search Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
The Search Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Conducting a Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Advanced Search Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Advanced Search Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Chapter 10 Logging and Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Workflows for Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Understanding Markers and Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
The Log Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
The Markers Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Adding, Saving, and Deleting Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Working with Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Understanding Restrictions in MediaCentral | UX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Adding, Saving, and Deleting Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Navigating by Markers in the Log Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Exporting Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Entering Marker Text in Right-to-Left Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Unicode Support for Marker Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Chapter 11 Sharing MediaCentral | UX Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
MediaCentral | UX Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Using the Messages Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Viewing Messages and Linked Media Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Sending Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Configuring E-Mail Forwarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Using E-Mail Forwarding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
13
Chapter 12 iNEWS Messaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Sending Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Viewing and Replying to Received Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Chapter 13 Sending to Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Specifying Send to Playback Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Sending a Sequence to a Playback Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Sending a Mixed-Resolution Long GOP Sequence to a Playback Device . . . . . . . . . . 250
The Progress Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Chapter 14 Delivering Assets and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Understanding MediaCentral Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Delivering Assets and Media to a Remote Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Delivering Assets and Media to a Local Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Chapter 15 MediaCentral | UX Mobile Application for the iPhone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Connection Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
The iPhone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Gestures for the Mobile Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Installing MediaCentral | UX on the iPhone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Starting MediaCentral | UX on the iPhone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
The Sidebar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Buttons of the User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Customizing MediaCentral | UX Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Changing Roles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Accessing the iNEWS Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Viewing Video Associated with a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Editing Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Ways of Saving Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Formatting a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Adding Production Cues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Adding Machine Control Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Working with Links in Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Approving Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Working with Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Working Offline with Cached Queues and Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
14
Caching Queues and Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Viewing Queues and Stories in Offline Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Viewing Media Assets with MediaCentral | UX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Chapter 16 MediaCentral | UX Tablet Application for the iPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Connection Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
The iPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Gestures for the Tablet App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Installing MediaCentral | UX on the iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Starting MediaCentral | UX on the Tablet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
The Sidebar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Buttons of the User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Customizing MediaCentral | UX Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Changing Roles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Accessing the iNEWS Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Viewing Video Associated with a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Editing Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Ways of Saving Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Formatting a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Adding Production Cues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Adding Machine Control Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Working with Links in Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Approving Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Entering Presenter Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Working with Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Working Offline with Cached Queues and Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Caching Queues and Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Viewing Queues and Stories in Offline Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Viewing Media Assets with MediaCentral | UX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
15
Chapter 17 MediaCentral | UX for Android Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Connection Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Android Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Gestures for the Mobile Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Installing MediaCentral | UX on Your Android Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Starting MediaCentral | UX on the Android Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
The Navigation Drawer and Directory Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Buttons of the User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Customizing MediaCentral | UX Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Accessing the iNEWS Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Appendix A User Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Appendix B Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Queue/Story Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Assets Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Media Pane Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Markers Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Sequence Pane Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Appendix C Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Pane Type Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Launch Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Assets Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Media Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Markers Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Progress Pane Icons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Sequence Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Media | Distribute Icons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
MediaCentral Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
16

1 Getting Started

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

About MediaCentral | UX

Signing In to MediaCentral | UX
Understanding the Application Layouts
Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration
Support for iNEWS Communities
Viewing MediaCentral | UX Help
About MediaCentral | UX
MediaCentral UX delivers workflow tools for media professionals through both Web and mobile applications. With a customizable user interface, MediaCentral UX 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 MediaCentral UX, 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
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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 MediaCentral | UX

Use a supported browser to connect to and sign in to your MediaCentral server. See the Avid MediaCentral ReadMe for a list of supported browsers.
MediaCentral UX 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 MediaCentral UX, you are given the option of using your Interplay Production 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 MediaCentral UX user name and password at future sign-ins.
Signing In to MediaCentral | UX
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
To sign in to MediaCentral UX:
1. Open a supported browser and type the URL of your MediaCentral 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 MediaCentral UX application opens and displays the last layout that you used.
“Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration” on page 30.
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Understanding the Application Layouts

When you sign in to MediaCentral UX, you are automatically signed in to your iNEWS
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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.
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 MediaCentral UX user is assigned one or more roles by the MediaCentral UX
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administrator. Each role is associated with one or more layouts. For more information about available layouts, see “Working with Layouts” on page 22. For more information about roles, see the Avid MediaCentral | UX Administration 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 MediaCentral UX 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. For a list of installed layouts, see
Layouts” on page 22
The following table describes the main panes.
Icon Pane Description Refer to...
Assets A pane that displays assets. These assets can
Audio A pane that displays the controls for adjusting
.
result from a search or from browsing. Assets are displayed in a folder hierarchy, if applicable to the assets displayed.
the audio settings for media assets.
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“The Assets Pane” on page 34
“Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences” on page 171
“Working with
Understanding the Application Layouts
Icon Pane Description Refer to...
Help A pane that displays the help system. “Viewing MediaCentral | UX
Help” on page 33
Launch A pane from which you navigate to various
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.
Media A pane in which you can view and edit media
assets. The controls that are displayed depend on the selected asset.
Messages A pane that allows you to send messages and
media links to other MediaCentral UX users.
Metadata A pane that displays properties that are
associated with a selected asset in the Interplay Production database.
Packages A pane for Media Distribute users that you can
use to review and approve packages submitted for publication. The pane also displays a history of packages ready for publication and already published, which allows you to search all submitted and published packages.
Progress A pane in which you can monitor the progress
of background processes, such as send to playback and sequence mixdowns.
“The Launch Pane” on page 29
“The Markers Pane” on page 220
“The Media Pane” on page 132
Avid Media | Distribute User’s Guide.
“Viewing and Editing Metadata” on page 45
Avid Media | Distribute User’s Guide.
“The Progress Pane” on page 252
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.
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.
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“The Project/Story Pane” on page 50
“The Queue/Story Pane” on page 53
Understanding the Application Layouts
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Icon Pane Description Refer to...
Search A pane from which you can conduct a search.
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.
Social Messages
Speedtest A pane that provides you with a quick way to
Thumbnails A pane that displays small images of an asset
Web Story A pane for Media Distribute that lets you
A pane for Media Distribute users that lets you create packages for publication to social media sites.
check your network connection to the MediaCentral server.
that is loaded in the Asset mode of the Media pane.
create packages for publication to Web Content Management Systems (CMS).
“The Search Pane” on page 201
“The Sequence Pane” on page 75
Avid Media | Distribute User’s Guide.
“Using the Speedtest Pane” on page 147
“Viewing Thumbnails” on page 47
Avid Media | Distribute User’s Guide.
In addition to the panes, the application layouts also feature bars that offer additional information, options, and functionality.
The following table describes these bars.
Bar Description Refer to...
1 Menu A section of the application that provides
numerous menu options.
2 Message A section of the application in which you can
send and receive messages.
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“The Menu Bar” on page 29
“iNEWS Messaging” on page 244
Understanding the Application Layouts
Bar Description Refer to...
3 Search A section of the application from which you can

Working with Layouts

The MediaCentral UX Web application is installed with predefined 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 Search Bar” on page 200
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 layouts and which users have access to them.
Layout Description Available To
Cut Journalists, media loggers, and editors use this layout to
create sequences. By default the Sequence pane is displayed horizontally.
Media | Distribute Advance Journalists and Media Distribute Producers use
this layout to publish media packages to multiple delivery platforms and services. For more information, see the Avid Media | Distribute User’s Guide.
Log Media loggers use this layout to add markers to clips and
to create subclips. For more information, see
and Creating Subclips” on page 213
iNEWS database when you are in Logging view, but you cannot open a queue.
. You can view an
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“Logging
All users, based on role.
All users, based on role, if Media Distribute is installed.
All users, based on role
Understanding the Application Layouts
Layout Description Available To
Rundown Journalists use this layout to edit and create stories. All users, based on
role
Story Journalists use this layout to edit and create stories that
include video and audio. By default the Sequence pane is displayed vertically.
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.
System Settings Administrators use this layout to specify various
configuration settings. For more information, see “Configuring System Settings” in the Avid MediaCentral | UX Administration Guide.
Users Administrators use this layout to import, create, and
manage MediaCentral UX users.
For more information, see “Avid MediaCentral | UX User Management” in the Avid MediaCentral | UX Administration Guide.
To change to a different predefined layout:
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
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when you sign out.
All users, based on role
Administrators only
Administrators only
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
Areas and Panes” on page 24
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.
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“Working with

Working with Areas and Panes

2
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5
6
1
You can customize MediaCentral UX 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 a typical Story layout. This layout is composed of six different areas and seven different panes. The area in the lower right contains two panes.
Understanding the Application Layouts
24
Understanding the Application Layouts
12
4
3
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.
25
Understanding the Application Layouts
12
5
4
3
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.
26
Do not click the X in the pane’s tab unless you want to close the pane.
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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
27
Drop Zone Position Result
Bottom
Understanding the Application Layouts
Left
Right
28

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 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 344.
“Understanding the Application Layouts” on page 19. You are only permitted one
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 MediaCentral UX system. The Launch pane also includes any iNEWS projects and iNEWS servers that are part of an iNEWS community.
Systems and projects are identified by the following icons.
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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.

Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration

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 34
“Working with Projects” on page 49. For more information about iNEWS communities, see “Support for iNEWS Communities” on page 31.
Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration
MediaCentral UX 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.
These plug-ins are specific to iNEWS workflows.
30
and
The MediaCentral installation program installs only the container needed for Active X controls. You need to install additional software for your browser as described in the Avid MediaCentral Platform Installation and Configuration Guide.
Enabling MOS
To use plug-ins, you need to enable MOS in MediaCentral UX. 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.

Support for iNEWS Communities

MediaCentral UX supports iNEWS communities. The iNEWS Community feature allows customers with multiple iNEWS systems to share content and collaborate on stories. An iNEWS user can work with content stored on any of the iNEWS systems in a community from a single iNEWS Workstation. MediaCentral UX provides similar functionality.
Support for iNEWS Communities
MediaCentral UX requires you to supply credentials to sign in to one iNEWS system. This system is considered your local system. If your local system is configured in an iNEWS community, you are able to automatically sign in to other systems in the community. These systems are considered your remote systems. In the Launch pane, your local iNEWS system is listed first, followed by the remote systems. To connect to a remote system, double-click the system name.
In the following illustration, MUCINEWS is the local system and KIEV-JEN and KIEV-MOB are the remote systems.
31
Support for iNEWS Communities
Any projects listed are associated with your local system. You cannot show projects that are associated with remote systems.
In MediaCentral UX, you can perform the following tasks on iNEWS remote systems:
Browse stories in the Assets pane.
Load queues in the Queue/Story pane.
Display stories in the Queue/Story pane.
Create and edit stories.
Copy production cues from a story on one iNEWS system to a story on another.
Search a selected remote system.
When searching an iNEWS database, you can simultaneously search multiple indexed queues.
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However, you can only choose one non-indexed queue path at a time. Attempts to choose more than one result in an invalid selection error message.
Display and play sequences associated with a story if the sequence is stored in the Interplay Production database configured with the MediaCentral UX system you are signed in to.
In other words, if you load a story from a remote system that is associated with a sequence, then click the Open Sequence button, the associated sequence will open if it is stored in the Interplay Production database listed in the Launch pane. You can then edit and save the sequence.
c
If you load a story from a remote system, but the associated sequence is stored in a different Interplay Production database, you cannot view, play, or edit the sequence. If you click the Open Sequence button, a message tells you that the “mob_id cannot be resolved.” (A mob ID is a software object that identifies the sequence).
Do not edit a story after you receive the message that the mob ID cannot be resolved. There is a risk of data loss if you remove or modify the existing attached mob ID information
Limitation for MOS Placeholder and Project Bucket Features
MediaCentral UX checks if the iNEWS server supports the MOS placeholder and project bucket features. These features were added in iNEWS 4.0.0, but the check only succeeds with iNEWS server versions 4.0.3 and later. For this reason, MediaCentral UX only enables workflows using MOS placeholders and project bucket features in iNEWS 4.0.3 and later.
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Viewing MediaCentral | UX Help

The Help system for MediaCentral UX combines the contents of the following documents:
Avid MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide
Avid MediaCentral | UX Administration Guide
Media | Distribute User’s 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 button to find other information.
To open the Help system to the Contents page:
t Select Panes > Help.
Viewing MediaCentral | UX Help
33

2 Working with Assets

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

The Assets Pane

Working with News Assets
Working with Media Assets
See also “Working with Remote Assets” on page 148.
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 MediaCentral UX, 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 37
“Working with Media Assets” on page 39
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.
n
35

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.
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.
The Assets 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.
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
on page 349
.
36
“Assets Pane Shortcuts”

Working with News Assets

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

Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets

Navigating the iNEWS Database
Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets
The iNEWS database is a file structure that is organized by directories that contain subfolders or queues, which in turn contain stories. Directories contained within other directories are known as subfolders or subdirectories.
Projects are a way of categorizing stories by topic so that news teams working on a particular topic can find everything related to it in a single place, without moving or copying original source information within the database. Fac et s are sub-topics of projects that provide additional granularity. Any stories associated to a facet are automatically associated to that facet’s parent project.
You can view the contents of an iNEWS database by choosing the iNEWS system in the Launch pane. Likewise, Projects can also be opened from the Launch pane. Projects and iNEWS systems are 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.
37
Icon Description
Directory or subfolder in the iNEWS database
Indexed directory or subfolder
Queue
Indexed Queue
Locked Queue
Indexed and Locked Queue
Facet
Facet (not started)
Facet (expired)
Working with News Assets
In addition to facets, each project also contains the following queues in the Assets pane:
Icon Description
ALL queue - shows all stories associated with the project and its facets. These stories do not actually reside in the ALL queue. Instead, they retain their original source queue location and permissions.
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.
BUCKET queue - an indexed queue that acts as a repository for stories that do not exist elsewhere in the iNEWS database. All stories that reside in a project’s BUCKET queue will also appear in its ALL queue.
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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
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
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

“Working with Projects” on page 49.
“The Queue/Story Pane” on page 53.
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 40
“Navigating the Interplay | Production Database” on page 41
“Adding or Removing Property Columns” on page 41
“Resizing Columns” on page 42
“Moving Columns” on page 42
“Moving or Copying Assets” on page 43
“Renaming Assets” on page 43
“Displaying or Hiding Referenced Assets” on page 44
“Viewing and Editing Metadata” on page 45
39
Working with Media Assets
“Viewing Thumbnails” on page 47
“Working with Remote Assets” on page 148

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: master clip. Name
Video asset: subclip Name
Video asset: sequence Name
Video asset: in-progress clip (Edit While Capture) Name
Video asset: group clip Name
Video asset: effect Name
Remote asset: downward-pointing arrow for each asset type Name
Supported State
Reservation State
Restriction State
For information about remote assets, see
“Working with Remote Assets” on page 148.
40

Navigating the Interplay | Production Database

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 folder'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 an asset:
t Double-click the 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
Video Media” on page 131
and “Using the Sequence Pane” on page 74.
Working with Media Assets
“Working with

Adding or Removing Property Columns

A set of property columns is 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.
41
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.
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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.
43
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.
n
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.
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.

Displaying or Hiding Referenced Assets

Referenced assets are assets that are referenced by another asset in the same Interplay Production folder, such as clips that are included in a sequence. You have the option of displaying or hiding referenced assets through a user setting. The default is to hide referenced assets.
Working with Media Assets
To display or hide referenced assets:
1. Select Home > User Settings.
2. Click Interplay Production.
3. In the Referenced Assets section, select “Show referenced assets” to display referenced assets. Clear the check box to hide referenced assets.
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Viewing and Editing Metadata

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The Metadata pane displays properties that are associated with a selected asset in the Interplay Production database, such as Comments or Creation date. Some properties are created automatically and others you can create or edit manually. In the Metadata pane, if a property is editable, a text box or drop-down menu is displayed.
Working with Media Assets
1 Refresh button 4 Editable text box
2 Save button 5 Non-editable field
3 Pane menu button 6 Custom property drop-down menu
The properties that are displayed in the Metadata pane are determined by settings in the Property Layout view in the Interplay Administrator application. An administrator can select both system properties and custom properties as follows:
On the System Properties tab, select items in the Inspector Default column.
On the Custom Metadata tab, select items in the Inspector Default column.
A user must have write permission on an asset to add an identifier to an asset.
45
Working with Media Assets
For information on system and custom properties, and assigning permissions, see the Interplay | Engine and Interplay | Archive Engine Administration Guide.
Note the following:
You can cut, copy, and paste text between the Metadata pane and other applications.
You can use the Tab key to move to the next editable text box or use Shift+Tab to move to the previous text box.
Text is limited to 32,000 characters.
The following characters are not valid for text in the Metadata pane:
- Interplay Production asset names: / \ | Enter
- Interplay Production folder names: * ? : / \ " < > | Enter
If you try to save information that includes an invalid character, an error message is displayed.
You can also display database properties in an Assets tab (see “Adding or Removing Property
n
Columns” on page 41). In an Assets tab, you can display any property from the database, but you
cannot edit a property.
To open the Metadata pane:
t Select Metadata from the Panes menu.
To view properties of an asset:
t Double-click an asset in the Assets pane.
To edit properties of an asset:
1. Click in a text box and enter text, or select an entry from a drop-down list.
If you select from a drop-down list and type a letter, MediaCentral UX filters the list to all properties starting with that letter. As you continue to type, MediaCentral UX continues to filter the list according to the letters you type.
You can insert line breaks in a text box, such as the Comments box. However, line breaks are not supported when viewing metadata in Interplay Access or Media Composer. If the property is saved in Interplay Access, it is saved as a single line and is shown as a single line in MediaCentral UX.
2. Click the Save button, or click the Pane menu and select Save.
To discard your changes, click the Refresh button, load a different asset, or close the Metadata pane.
To update the information displayed:
t Click the Refresh button.
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Viewing Thumbnails

The Thumbnails pane lets you display a series of small images of an asset (thumbnails). Viewing and double-clicking thumbnails can help you navigate through source clips and markers more quickly. You can view thumbnails in the following arrangements:
Time-based: Shows the first frame, a frame every ten seconds, and the last frame. The exact frame displayed depends on the type of timecode (drop-frame, non-drop frame, 24 fps, and so on). Timecodes are displayed beneath each thumbnail, reflecting the timecode display that is set in the Media pane: Master, Absolute, or Remain.
Marker-based: Shows any frame with one or more markers. A frame with a marker is indicated by a marker in the upper right corner of the thumbnail.
Both time-based and marker-based thumbnails.
The following illustrations show each of these arrangements: time-based, marker-based, and both.
Working with Media Assets
Note the following:
You can show thumbnails for master clips and subclips, and sequences when loaded in Asset mode.
You can view thumbnails for video clips, clips with video and audio, and audio-only clips.
The size of the thumbnails depends on the aspect ratio selected in the Media pane. Changing the aspect ratio changes the size of the thumbnails.
You can show thumbnails for group clips. The thumbnails reflect the grid selected in the Media pane: 1x1, 2x2, or 3x3.
Currently, you cannot adjust the frequency of the thumbnails or their size.
47
Working with Media Assets
You can view thumbnails for a clip that is ingesting (edit-while-capture) after it is checked into the Interplay Production database (approximately every two minutes). Click the Refresh button to update the display.
Support for edit-while-capture (EWC) is qualified only for Avid AirSpeed Multi Stream and
n
AS5000 systems.
Click the Refresh button to update the display for changes to the asset, for example, if you add or delete a marker.
To view thumbnails:
1. Select Panes > Thumbnails.
If an asset is already loaded in Asset mode in the Media pane, thumbnails are displayed in the Thumbnails pane.
2. In the Assets pane, do one of the following:
t Double-click a master clip or subclip.
t Right-click a sequence and select Load in Asset Mode.
The asset is loaded in the Media viewer and thumbnails are displayed in the Thumbnail pane, with timecode for each thumbnail below it. If the asset contains markers, a thumbnail is displayed for each marker.
3. To show only time-based thumbnails, click the Marker button so that it is inactive. To show only marker-based thumbnails, click the Time button so that it is inactive.
4. To navigate to a particular frame in the Media pane, double-click a thumbnail.
The position indicator in the Media Timeline jumps to the frame.
If the double-clicked thumbnail has a marker associated with it, the associated marker information is highlighted in the Markers pane. If there is no marker associated with the thumbnail, the nearest marker information is highlighted.
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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 MediaCentral UX, 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, a BUCKET 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 queue location in the iNEWS database; they do not actually reside in the ALL queue. Stories associated with a project also 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
Every project has a BUCKET queue, which is an indexed queue that acts as the repository for stories that don’t exist anywhere else in the iNEWS database. A user can copy, create, and delete stories in the BUCKET queue. All stories in the BUCKET will show up in the ALL queue.
“Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets” on page 37.
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The Project/Story Pane
The BUCKET queue was first introduced in version 4.0 of iNEWS. When an iNEWS database is
n
upgraded to v4.0 from an earlier version, current projects get BUCKET queues; however, these queues are not yet indexed, which is required for all stories associated with projects and/or facets. For more information, see the “iNEWS Projects” chapter of the Avid iNEWS Setup and Configuration Guide.
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 title that appears on the pane’s tab changes based on what is selected in the Project/Story
n
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.
51

Associating Stories with Projects or Facets

You cannot have both the Project and Story buttons toggled off simultaneously. When only one is
n
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, QUERY, or BUCKET) 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.
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.
52

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 Story
Copying and Sending iNEWS Links
Recovering Automatically Saved Stories
The Queue/Story Pane
In MediaCentral UX, 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
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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.
54
The Queue/Story Pane
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The ratio you set is retained when you sign out.
You cannot enter data in the Queue section.
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If you change queue attributes in iNEWS while you are working in MediaCentral UX, you need
n
to sign out of MediaCentral UX and sign in again to view your changes.”

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
n
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 62.
4 Italic Marks text as italic.
5 Underline Marks text as underline.
6 Normal Sets text as normal. See
7 Presenter Sets text as presenter instructions.
8 Closed Caption Sets text as closed-captioning.
9 Template Inserts an iNEWS script template. See
page 69
10 Open Sequence Opens the associated sequence. Use this button to create a new script
sequence or to open one previously created. See
on page 70
.
55
“Formatting a Script” on page 63
“Inserting Script Templates” on
“Adding Media to a Story”
Display or Control Description
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er
11 Refresh Refreshes the queue.
The Queue/Story Pane
12 Lock Locks the story. See
13 Annotation Dictate text. See “Using Annotation to Dictate a Story” on page 61.
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.
“Locking and Unlocking a Story” on page 67

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.
1 Story Form 3 Story (text area)
2 Cue List 4 Timing display
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 can edit fields in the Story Form, depending how they are configured by the iNEWS system administrator.
56
The Queue/Story Pane
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.
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 timing display on the right side of the story segment header shows the duration of the text in the story segment. The duration of the text is based on the read rate that is set in Avid iNEWS. This number is useful if you create a sequence to accompany your story. See “Editing a
Sequence Associated with a Story” on page 93
.
The Cue List is the section of the Script Editor in which you 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.
57

Creating a Story

You can create a story in MediaCentral UX or edit a story previously created in MediaCentral UX or iNEWS. For more information on how to edit existing stories, see
a Story” on page 62
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.
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.
.
Creating a Story
“Editing
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
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does closing the tab or pane.
Saving a story does not save a sequence associated with a story. You must save the sequence in
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the Sequence pane. See “Saving a Sequence” on page 88
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.
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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 Story” on page 70. 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.
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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. Do one of the following:
t Right-click and select Split Segment.
t Click the Pane Menu button and select Split Segment.
t Press Ctrl+] (Windows) or Command+] (Macintosh).
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
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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.
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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.
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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 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
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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.
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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
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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 MediaCentral UX 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 MediaCentral UX.
The standard editing features found in MediaCentral UX 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.
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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 co py text :
t Select the text and press Ctrl+C (Windows) or Command+C (Macintosh).
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
You can copy one or more production cues from one story to another.
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,
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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.
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To copy one or more production cues to another story:
1. Open two stories.
2. Click and hold the mouse and select the production cue or cues, or text that includes the production cues.
3. Press Ctrl+C.
4. Position the insert cursor where you want to insert the production cue or cues.
5. Press Ctrl+V.
If necessary, the production cues are renumbered to fit sequentially into the target story.
You can also drag and drop the production cues from one story to another.

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.
Editing a Story
In the following procedure, a machine control instruction for a 2-line character generator graphic is used as an example.
To add machine control instructions for a CG event:
1. Insert a production cue in the script.
2. In the production cue text box (in the Cue List), type *CG 2line and press Enter.
3. Type the first line of text that should appear on the 2-line CG graphic, such as Mayor Joe Smith. Press Enter.
4. Type the second line of text that should appear on the 2-line CG graphic, such as Pleasantville.
Your CG machine control instruction will appear in blue font.
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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.
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

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.
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Unable to obtain edit lock.
Locking and Unlocking a Story
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 MediaCentral UX. 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 MediaCentral UX, they will be denied viewing or editing access to the story. Likewise, an iNEWS user key locks a story by applying a password so that only those who know the password can view or edit the story. If a MediaCentral UX user attempts to open a key-locked story, the system will prompt that user for the password.
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System administrators cannot supersede the edit lock of another user from MediaCentral UX. 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.
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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 MediaCentral UX 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:
Inserting Script Templates
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.
If you already know the name of the template you want, you can also type it in the Search field
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and press Enter.
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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 v4.0.3 or later.
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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 MediaCentral UX in the production cue.

Adding Media to a Story

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 then edit the sequence in the Sequence pane. For more information, see
Pane” on page 74
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.
and “Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story” on page 93.
“Using the Sequence
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Copying and Sending iNEWS Links

Saving a story does not save a sequence associated with a story. You must save the sequence in
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the Sequence pane. See “Saving a Sequence” on page 88
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, MediaCentral UX 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.
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Recovering Automatically Saved Stories

To create a URL for an iNEWS link from the Queue/Story pane or the Project/Story 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 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.
Recovering Automatically Saved Stories
When you work in MediaCentral UX, sequences and stories are automatically saved on your local Windows or Macintosh system every 60 seconds. This auto-save feature is helpful in case of a disconnection or service failure, or if you close a browser session without saving your work. This feature is also helpful if your administrator sets an automatic session timeout.
You can recover your unsaved changes in several different ways:
If a disconnection or failure occurs and you remain signed in, the editing functions of the Queue/Story pane are deactivated, and the Auto Recovery dialog box is displayed, as described below.
If the disconnection or failure results in the need to sign in again, a dialog box is displayed that lists assets with unsaved changes.
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Recovering Automatically Saved Stories
Click the name of the asset to open the last saved version. If the asset is a story, the Queue/Story pane displays three additional buttons:
- Recovered: Click this button to open the recovery file (from the local system).
- Last Saved: Click this button to open the last saved file (from the Interplay Production
database).
- Keep This: Click this button to save the version that you display and delete the other
version.
If the story includes a script sequence, and the Sequence pane is open, these buttons are displayed on the Sequence pane.
You can switch back and forth between versions to compare them, and click the Keep This button when you decide which version to keep.
If you close the Auto Recovery dialog box without selecting an asset, you can select Auto-Recovered Assets from the Queue/Story pane menu to display the Auto Recovery dialog. This option appears only if auto-recovered assets are available.
This feature works similarly for stories and sequences. For specific information about auto-save
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for sequences, see “Recovering Automatically Saved Sequences” on page 89.
If your browser crashes, but the MediaCentral UX session and iNEWS session are still active,
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iNEWS stories are locked for five minutes. You will not be able to edit or restore the story unless the lock is released or the MediaCentral UX and iNEWS sessions end. You can ask your MediaCentral UX administrator to end the MediaCentral UX session, which will release the lock.
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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
Using the Sequence Zoom Bar
Viewing Sequence Information
Creating a Sequence
Saving a Sequence
Saving a Version of a Sequence
Recovering Automatically Saved Sequences
Opening and Editing an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane
Opening a Sequence Associated with a Story
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story
Editing a Sequence
Displaying the Sequence Pane
The Sequence pane is displayed in the default Cut, Log, and Story layouts. It is displayed with a horizontal timeline in the Cut and Log layouts, and with a vertical timeline in the Story layout. You can change the orientation if you prefer (see
on page 80
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.
“Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline”

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
Basic and Advanced Sequences” on page 78
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
“Understanding
.
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 Split button Divides one or more segments into two at the
information about the sequence. See
Sequence Information” on page 83
“Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced
See
Sequences Only)” on page 128
position indicator. See
page 126
.
“Splitting a Segment” on
.
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“Viewing
The Sequence Pane
Control Description
4 Overwrite button Performs an overwrite edit. See “Performing an
Overwrite Edit in an Advanced Sequence” on page 107
5 Replace button Performs a replace edit. See “Performing a Replace
Edit” on page 111
.
6 Delete Segment button Deletes the selected segment from the sequence.
7 Audio pane button Opens the Audio pane or brings it to the front.
8 Save button Saves the sequence in the Interplay Production
database. See
“Saving a Sequence” on page 88.
9 Extend/Retract button (Script sequence only) Extends a segment beyond
the boundary of a timing block or retracts it. See
“Extending a Segment into Another Timing Block” on page 99
.
10 Show/Hide Empty Timing Blocks (Script sequence only) Shows or hides empty timing
blocks. See
Blocks” on page 101
“Showing and Hiding Empty Timing
.
11 Sequence zoom bar Lets you enlarge a section of the timeline. See
“Using the Sequence Zoom Bar” on page 80.
12 Track selectors Lets you select the track for an insert edit, an
overwrite edit, or a split segment operation. See
“Performing an Insert Edit in an Advanced
Sequence” on page 106
“Performing an Overwrite Edit in an Advanced
Sequence” on page 107
“Splitting a Segment” on page 126
13 Timecode bar Displays timing for the sequence in hours, minutes,
and seconds, depending on the length of the loaded asset. Click in the timecode bar to drag the position indicator, Right-click in the timecode bar to access certain commands.
14 Timing block header (Script sequence only) Displays the duration of the
media currently contained in the timing block and the duration of the text in the associated story segment. See
page 95
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“Working with Timing Displays” on
.
The Sequence Pane
Control Description
15 Pane Menu button Provides options for working with sequences.
16 Position indicator Lets you scrub through a clip or sequence
The following table describes the items in the Pane menu.
Menu Item Description
Undo Undoes the previous edit. See “Undoing and
Redoing an Action in the Sequence Pane” on page 116
Redo Redoes the next previously undone edit.
Save As Lets you rename and save a sequence in a different
location. See
page 89
Save Sequence Saves the sequence in its current location in the
Interplay Production database. See
Sequence” on page 88
.
“Saving a Version of a Sequence” on
.
“Saving a
.
Insert Dissolve Inserts a video dissolve (advanced sequence only).
“Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced
See
Sequences Only)” on page 128
.
Split Divides one or more segments into two at the
position indicator. See
page 126
.
“Splitting a Segment” on
Delete Deletes the selected item (segment or effect).
Hide/Show Empty Timing Blocks (Script segment only) Shows or hides empty timing
blocks. See
Blocks” on page 101
Sequence Mixdown Sends a sequence to mixdown. See
Assets” on page 161
Turn Audio Scrubbing On/Off Enables or disables audio scrubbing. See
Audio Scrubbing” on page 130
“Showing and Hiding Empty Timing
.
“Transcoding
.
“Enabling
.
Orientation Lets you select the orientation of the timeline and
toolbar: horizontal or vertical. See
Horizontal or Vertical Timeline” on page 80
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“Selecting a
.

Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences

Menu Item Description
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.
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You cannot add clips to the timeline until you have created or loaded a sequence. See “Creating a
Sequence” on page 84
.
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 portion of media that is contained on a track in a sequence is called a segment.
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
Basic Sequences” on page 175
•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. You can create a sequence that is associated with an iNEWS story, or you can create and edit an independent sequence.
.
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“Audio Monitoring for Assets and
Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences
Different colors for segments in the timeline indicate relationships between the segments:
- Video without associated audio: dark blue
- Video with associated NAT, or NAT only: green
- Video with associated SOT, Video with associated NAT and SOT, or SOT only: light
blue
-VO: purple
The following illustration shows, from left to right, Video with NAT and SOT, VO, Video with NAT, and Video only.
An administrator can rename the audio track labels. An administrator also determines the audio track mapping, which you can change. For information on renaming, mapping, and configuring audio tracks, and adding audio dissolves, see “Working with Audio Tracks in
Advanced Sequences” on page 171
You can add video dissolves to an advanced sequence. See
(Advanced Sequences Only)” on page 128 “Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences” on page 171.
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
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basic sequence.
The ability to create advanced sequences depends on the role you are assigned, and the license
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assigned to that role. Contact your MediaCentral UX administrator for more information.
.
“Inserting Video Dissolves
. Audio dissolves are added automatically. See
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Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline

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.

Using the Sequence Zoom Bar

The Sequence zoom bar is located below the Sequence Timeline for horizontal orientation or to the right of the timeline for vertical orientation. You can use the zoom bar to enlarge a section of the Sequence Timeline so that you can work more easily with long sequences or make precise edit decisions.
The Sequence zoom bar is similar to the Media zoom bar, but the two zoom bars operate
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independently. The Media zoom bar is available to loggers who do not have access to the Sequence pane.
In the following illustration, the top timeline shows a basic sequence with the zoom bar set to show the entire sequence. The bottom timeline shows the sequence zoomed in to the middle portion of the sequence.
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Using the Sequence Zoom Bar
qq
ee
rr
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rt
1 Zoom bar 4 Zoom slider
2 Zoom region 5 Position indicator
3 Edit points
The visible area of the timeline is referred to as the zoom region and is represented by the zoom slider. You can drag the zoom slider along the zoom bar to display a different zoom region
anywhere in the sequence. The zoom region remains the same size as you drag the slider.
If a basic sequence is loaded in the Sequence pane, the zoom bar displays tick marks for edit points between segments.
The zoom bar includes a position indicator that matches the position indicator in the Sequence Timeline and the Media Timeline. This position indicator is always visible in the zoom bar, which is useful when you are zoomed in to a section of the timeline that does not include the timeline position indicator.
Position indicator in zoom bar but not in zoom region.
You can click the position indicator in the zoom bar and jump to its counterpart in the timeline. The zoom region moves to and enlarges the section of the timeline that includes the position indicator.
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Using the Sequence Zoom Bar
Position indicator in the zoom bar and in the zoom region.
You can click anywhere in the zoom bar to move the zoom region left or right. In this way you can page through the sequence.
With an advanced sequence loaded, the zoom bar displays a representation of the sequence as a set of colored bars. This representation is a “mini-map” that matches the content of the video and audio tracks of the sequence. These colored bars can help you navigate through the sequence.
The zoom bar displays colored bars that match the content of the tracks in the sequence.
To zoom in to or out from a section of the Sequence Timeline, do one of the following:
t Drag a zoom slider handle in or out. The mouse pointer changes to a double-headed arrow
when you hover over a zoom slider handle and select it.
Zoom slider handles, right handle selected.
The zoom region moves in or out symmetrically unless one end reaches the end of the sequence. If you want to drag only one end, Alt+click the handle and drag it.
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t With the Sequence pane active, press the down arrow key to zoom in by 50 percent or press
the up arrow key to zoom out by 50 percent.

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.
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
Viewing Sequence Information
Aspect ratio 4:3
16:9
Raster Dimensions: 720x486
720x592
1280x720
1920x1080
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Creating a Sequence

You can create a sequence in MediaCentral UX and save it as an asset in the Interplay Production 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 and Editing an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane” on page 91.
Sequences you create in MediaCentral UX 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 MediaCentral UX administrator for more information.
There are several ways to create a sequence:
Creating 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.
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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.
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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.
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3. Click the Assets Pane Menu button and 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).
Creating a 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.
“Editing a Sequence” on page 104.
See
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.
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Creating a Sequence
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 104
After you add the first clip to the sequence, a message box informs you that a new sequence is being created. MediaCentral UX obtains an iNEWS edit lock, creates and saves the sequence in the script sequence location, and saves the sequence identifier with the story.
A MediaCentral UX administrator sets the location for storing a script sequence in the Interplay
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Production section of the MediaCentral UX 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.
.
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Rules for Creating a Script Sequence

Keep in mind the following rules when creating a sequence that you want to associate with a story (referred to as a script sequence):
When creating a new sequence that you want to associate with a story, first open the Sequence pane, then click the Open Sequence button to associate the sequence with the story.
If a story does not have a sequence associated with it, and the Sequence pane is not displayed, clicking the Open Sequence button opens the Sequence pane. The pane is labeled “Sequence.” To create a sequence associated with a story, click the Open Sequence button again. The Sequence pane is labeled with the title of the story.
You cannot create a sequence for a story unless the story has a title (labeled Slug).
If the Autoload Sequence option is enabled, you can create a sequence by opening the Sequence pane and either clicking the Open Sequence button or navigating to a story that already has a title.
Creating a Sequence
If the Autoload Sequence option is disabled, you must create a sequence by opening the Sequence pane and clicking the Open Sequence button.
The sequence is not created in the Interplay Production database until you drag the first clip into the Sequence pane.
You cannot send a sequence to playback until a video ID is present.

Sequences Associated with Stories in Instinct and NewsCutter

MediaCentral UX supports viewing and editing sequences that were associated with a story in Avid Instinct. Sequences edited in MediaCentral UX cannot be displayed in Avid Instinct after they are edited.
MediaCentral UX does not support viewing and editing sequences associated with a story in the News Cutter NRCS tool. The sequence is displayed as a production cue, but does not open in the Sequence pane. You can open the sequence from the Interplay Production database in the Assets pane and edit it like other sequences created in Avid editing applications, according to the same rules (see
“Opening and Editing an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane” on page 91).
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Audio-Only and Video-Only Sequences

You can create and save a video-only advanced sequence (video track and no audio) or an audio-only advanced sequence (VO track and no video). However, send-to-playback and other workflows are not supported for video-only or audio-only sequences. The process fails with the following error message: “Remote STP process failed: Audio resolution selected but not found (in "wait mixdown" phase)”
To send the sequence to playback, add a blank audio track or blank video track to the sequence.

Saving a Sequence

If you save a sequence that is not associated with a story, the sequence is saved in the location you selected when you created the sequence in the Assets pane. To save another version of the sequence with a different name or in a different location, use the Save As feature. See
Version of a Sequence” on page 89
If you are working with a sequence associated with a story, you must save the story and save the sequence separately. A MediaCentral UX administrator sets the location for storing a script sequence in the Interplay Production section of the MediaCentral UX System Settings. The default path is Projects/iNEWSsequences/date.
.
Saving a Sequence
“Saving a
Saving a sequence automatically saves the markers contained in the sequence.
You can move or copy a sequence in the Assets pane by using the Cut, Copy, and Paste
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commands.
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.
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Saving a Version of a Sequence

You can use the Save As feature to create and save a version of a sequence with a different name. You can also save the sequence in a different location. The new sequence is treated as a duplicate in the Interplay Production database, and can be edited independently from the original.
You can move or copy a sequence in the Assets pane by using the Cut, Copy, and Paste
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commands.
To save a version of a sequence:
1. In the Sequence pane, click the Pane Menu button and select Save As.
The Select Interplay Folder dialog box opens.
2. Select the folder in which you want to save the sequence.
3. Rename the sequence.
If the sequence has the same name as a sequence in the selected folder, the Save button is grayed out. You need to rename the sequence or save it to a different folder.
4. Click Save.
The sequence is saved with the new name. This name is associated with the open sequence, and the next time you save the sequence, it will be saved with the new name.
Saving a Version of a Sequence
To edit and save the sequence with its original name, you need to open the original sequence and save it with its original name. You cannot use the Save As feature to overwrite an already saved sequence.

Recovering Automatically Saved Sequences

When you work in MediaCentral UX, sequences and stories are automatically saved on your local Windows or Macintosh system every 60 seconds. This auto-save feature is helpful in case of a disconnection or service failure, or if you close a browser session without saving your work. This feature is also helpful if your administrator sets an automatic session timeout.
You can recover your unsaved changes in several different ways:
If a disconnection or failure occurs and you remain signed in, the editing functions of the Sequence pane are deactivated, and the Auto Recovery dialog box is displayed, as described below.
If the disconnection or failure results in the need to sign in again, the Auto Recovery dialog box is displayed and lists assets with unsaved changes.
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Recovering Automatically Saved Sequences
Click the name of the asset to open the last saved version. If the asset is a sequence, the Sequence pane displays three additional buttons:
- Recovered: Click this button to open the recovery file (from the local system).
- Last Saved: Click this button to open the last saved file (from the Interplay Production
database).
- Keep This: Click this button to save the version that you display and delete the other
version.
You can switch back and forth between versions to compare them, and click the Keep This button when you decide which version to keep.
If you close the Auto Recovery dialog box without selecting an asset, you can select Auto-Recovered Assets from the Sequence pane menu to display the Auto Recovery dialog. This option appears only if auto-recovered assets are available.
This feature works similarly for stories and sequences. For specific information about auto-save
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for stories, see “Recovering Automatically Saved Stories” on page 72.
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Opening and Editing an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane

Opening and Editing an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane
MediaCentral UX lets you open and edit sequences that you created in MediaCentral UX, 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 (for example, a shotlist), it opens in the Media pane for playback and you can edit it in the Sequence pane. You can select the camera angle and audio mapping for group clips in a cuts-only sequence. For more information, see
with Group Clips” on page 180
If the sequence contains effects that the playback service supports (such as video and audio dissolves) but was created in an application other than MediaCentral UX, it opens in the Media pane for playback. The sequence also opens in the Sequence pane, but you cannot edit it. The video track is colored dark red to indicate that it is uneditable.
.
“Working
If the sequence contains unrendered effects the player does not support, the player displays an error message. The sequence opens in the Sequence pane as uneditable.
If all effects are rendered, the sequence opens in the Media pane for playback. The sequence opens in the Sequence pane as uneditable.
You cannot create subclips from an uneditable sequence.
You can add markers to an uneditable sequence, edit marker text, and save the markers with the sequence, with the proper permissions. See
on page 215
If you open a sequence from an Interplay Production database but you do not have a read/write role for the folder that holds the sequence, the sequence opens as read-only. You can play the sequence but you cannot edit or save it.
For more information about playback of sequences, see
Sequences” on page 144
.
.
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“Understanding Markers and Restrictions”
“Playback of Simple and Complex

Opening a Sequence Associated with a Story

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
page 84
You can select a user setting to automatically open a script sequence when you open the associated story.
To automatically open a script sequence with a story:
).
1. Select Home > Settings.
2. Select iNEWS.
3. Select “Autoload Sequence.”
“Creating a Sequence” on
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
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completely revise the sequence and rename it if necessary.
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Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story

Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story
If you are a journalist working on a sequence associated with a story (a script sequence), you need to edit the clips in your sequence to match the script in your story. In MediaCentral UX, both the story segments and the Sequence pane include timing information to help you edit your script and your sequence.
In the Story pane, a script is divided into story segments. Each story segment has a timed length based on the read rate that is set in Avid iNEWS. In the Sequence pane, a sequence associated with a story is divided into timing blocks.
Each story segment is associated with a timing block. Both the story segment and the timing block show the same timing information: the duration of the media in the timing block and the duration of the text in the story segment. For example, 0:00/0:16 indicates that there is no media for a story segment that is 16 seconds long.
The following illustration shows a story with four story segments (including the default New segment) and a sequence with four corresponding timing blocks. The sequence does not yet contain any media, which is shown as 0:00 in the timing displays.
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Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story
The previous illustration shows the Sequence pane in the horizontal orientation. You can change
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the orientation by clicking the Pane Menu button and selecting from the Orientation submenu.
As you edit the text in your script and the media in your sequence, the story segments in the Story pane and the timing blocks in the Sequence pane remain synchronized to help you edit media to match your script. See the following topics for more information:
“Working with Story Segments and Timing Blocks” on page 94
“Working with Timing Displays” on page 95
“Editing Media into Timing Blocks” on page 98
“Extending a Segment into Another Timing Block” on page 99
“Showing and Hiding Empty Timing Blocks” on page 101
“Manually Adjusting Timing Blocks” on page 102
Timing blocks are shown only for sequences associated with a story.
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Working with Story Segments and Timing Blocks

As you work, MediaCentral UX maintains synchronization between the story segments in your script and the timing blocks in your script sequence. As you create new story segments, new timing blocks are created. As you expand your script, or add media, the timing displays are updated. If you change the order of the story segments, the order of the timing blocks is also changed.
This synchronization gives you the flexibility to focus on the script, the sequence, or both together. Following are two approaches you can take:
For a current news story, you might start by drafting a script. As you write, you can break the script into segments, which creates associated timing blocks in the sequence. Later, you can fill in the timing blocks with media that comes in from the field, and use the timing displays to fine-tune the script and the sequence before recording a voice-over.
For a feature story, you might start by opening a new story, and creating a rough cut using clips from a media library. By dragging clips to the end of the default “New” timing block, you create both a new timing block and a new story segment (see
Timing Blocks” on page 98
timing blocks to help you match the script to the media.
The following list describes the basic functions when working with story segments and timing blocks:
When you highlight a story segment, the corresponding timing block is highlighted. When you highlight a timing block, the corresponding story segment is highlighted.
If you add a story segment to a script, a corresponding timing block is added to the sequence.
). You can then work on the script, using the timing displays and
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“Editing Media into
If you reorder story segments, the corresponding timing blocks are automatically reordered and media segments are moved with their timing blocks.
If you split a story segment, a new timing block is inserted after the selected timing block. Any media remains in the selected timing block.
Presenter instructions (red) and closed-captioning text (green) do not affect how iNEWS calculates the text duration. If a story segment contains only presenter text or only closed-caption text, the text duration is shown as 0:00. A corresponding timing block is created, but you have the option of hiding it. See “Showing and Hiding Empty Timing
Blocks” on page 101
If you are working on a script and a sequence together, the same set of Undo/Redo actions applies to both the Story pane and the Sequence pane. If you load a new sequence or close the Sequence pane, the Undo actions are lost in the Story pane.
Saving a sequence does not save a story associated with the sequence, and saving a story does
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not save the associated sequence. You must save a story and a sequence separately. If you close the story but do not save the sequence, a message asks you if you want to save the sequence.
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Working with Timing Displays

The header of a story segment and the header of the corresponding timing block show the same set of two numbers:
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story
The first number shows the duration of the media currently contained in the timing block.
The second number shows the duration of the text in the story segment. The duration of the text is based on the read rate that is set in Avid iNEWS.
Frames are not shown for the media duration. The duration is rounded up or down to the nearest
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second, with the midpoint rounded up. For example, a 24 fps clip with a duration of 00;00;30;12 is rounded up to 0:31.
The following examples show the results of adding media to a story segment that is 16 seconds long. In the following illustration, there is no media associated with the story segment, so the timing display is 0:00/0:16. The media duration is red, indicating that more media is needed to match the text duration in the story segment and eliminate any video gaps.
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Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story
If you insert a clip that is 10 seconds long, it fills 10 seconds of the timing block and the timing display changes to 0:10/0:16. Again, the media duration is red, because more media is needed. To fill this 6 second gap, you can lengthen the clip or add another clip.
If you insert a clip that is 20 seconds long, it extends the timing block 4 seconds. The timing display changes to 0:20/0:16. The media duration is black, indicating that there is enough media to match the length of the text. However, there is now a 4 second gap at the end of the text. You can either trim the video to 16 seconds, or add some text.
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Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story
If you insert a clip that is 16 seconds long, or you trim a clip to 16 seconds, the text duration and the media duration match. The timing display changes to 0:16/0:16.
Adding text or removing text changes the text duration of a story segment, which automatically changes the duration of the timing block to match.You can manually adjust the duration of the timing block. See “Manually Adjusting Timing Blocks” on page 102
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.

Editing Media into Timing Blocks

Editing media into a timing block is similar to editing media into the sequence (see “Editing a
Sequence” on page 104
segments, and so on. For example, you can insert a video clip into a timing block simply by dragging the clip from the Media viewer to a timing block.
The following actions are specific to editing media into timing blocks:
Edits respect the boundaries of the timing block. In other words, a media segment shorter than the duration of the timing block results in a gap in the timing block, and a media segment longer than the duration of the timing block extends the timing block. To extend a segment beyond a timing block boundary, use the extend segment feature. See
Segment into Another Timing Block” on page 99
duration of the timing block. See
You can edit media into timing blocks independently. That is, you can edit media into timing block A, then edit media into timing block C, leaving timing block B empty. This leaves a gap (or “black hole”) in a sequence. You can use these gaps as placeholders as you work on the sequence, but in most cases you need to fill them before sending a sequence to playback.
Similarly, a timing block can include gaps in which video media does not completely fill the timing block.
). You can perform insert edits or overwrite edits, trim segments, split
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story
“Extending a
. You can also manually change the
“Manually Adjusting Timing Blocks” on page 102.
An empty timing block displays a length of three seconds by default. You can hide empty timing blocks. See
“Showing and Hiding Empty Timing Blocks” on page 101.
You can drag segments from one timing block to another.
You can create an L-cut within a timing block using the standard procedure for creating an L cut (see block boundary, you need to use the extend segment feature. See
Another Timing Block” on page 99
“Using L-Cuts in the Timeline” on page 125). To create an L-cut beyond a timing
“Extending a Segment into
.
You can create a new timing block and corresponding story segment by dragging a clip to the “New” timing block or past it. A timing block is added to the end of the existing blocks, just before the “New” block. A corresponding story segment is added to the script.
Recording a voice-over increases the length of a timing block, because audio segments cannot cross timing block boundaries. After you finish the recording, you can split the audio segment to edit the audio appropriately.
You can manually expand or contract the length of a timing block. See
Timing Blocks” on page 102
.
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“Manually Adjusting
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story

Extending a Segment into Another Timing Block

By default, video and audio edits do not cross timing block boundaries. If you try to extend a media segment beyond the boundary of a timing block, the timing block enlarges to match the duration of the segment. If you want to extend a segment beyond the timing block, for example, to create an L-cut, you need to use the extend segment feature.
A common L-cut involves replacing some of the video in a segment while keeping its audio. The extend segment feature allows you to extend video (and NAT if available) beyond the boundary of a timing block without affecting the SOT track and the VO track. Use the position indicator to specify the end point of the extended segment.
The following illustration shows a selected segment (Video plus NAT plus SOT) in the first timing block. The position indicator is in the middle of the second timing block, which is the location into which you want to extend the segment. The tool tip for the Extend/Retract button displays “Extend.”
After you click the Extend/Retract button, the video and NAT for the selected segment extend into the second timing block. The selected video and NAT overwrite the video and NAT in the second timing block, without affecting the SOT. The Extend/Retract button turns orange and its tool tip changes to “Retract.” This indicates that the selected segment is extended and you can click the button to retract it to its original position, as shown in the following illustration.
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Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story
You can return the extended segments to their original duration by clicking the Extract/Retract button to retract the segment.
To extend a segment:
1. Move the position indicator to the location to which you want to extend the video segment.
2. Select the segment.
You can select only a video segment and its associated audio segments (if available). Video, NAT, and SOT are selected, but only video and NAT will be extended. You cannot select or extend an audio-only track.
3. Do one of the following:
t Click the Extend/Retract button.
t Right-click and select Extend.
t Press Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows) or Command+Shift+X (Macintosh).
The Extend/Retract button turns orange to indicate that the segment is extended into the next timing block. The tool tip for the button changes to Retract.
If you extend a segment over a hidden timing block, the timing block is displayed. See “Showing
n
and Hiding Empty Timing Blocks” on page 101.
To retract a segment:
1. Select the segment.
2. Do one of the following:
t Click the Extend/Retract button.
t Right-click and select Retract.
The Extend/Retract button turns gray to indicate that the segment is retracted to the original timing block. The tool tip for the button changes to Extend.
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