Pinnacle Systems Media Composer - 11.7 Quick Start Guide
Avid® Products
Getting Started Guide
make manage move | media
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Avid
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Copyright © 2003 Avid Technology, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Printed in USA.
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
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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
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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:
Portions of this software are based on work of the Independent JPEG Group.
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
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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 Ultimatte Corporation:
Certain real-time compositing capabilities are provided under a license of such technology from Ultimatte
Corporation and are subject to copyright protection.
The following disclaimer is required by 3Prong.com Inc.:
Certain waveform and vector monitoring capabilities are provided under a license from 3Prong.com Inc.
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FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.
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Footage
Arri — Courtesy of Arri™/Fauer — John Fauer, Inc.
Bell South “Anticipation” — Courtesy of Two Headed Monster — Tucker/Wayne Atlanta/GMS.
Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service/Department of the Interior.
Eco Challenge British Columbia — Courtesy of Eco Challenge Lifestyles, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Eco Challenge Morocco — Courtesy of Discovery Communications, Inc.
It’s Shuttletime — Courtesy of BCP & Canadian Airlines.
Nestlé Coffee Crisp — Courtesy of MacLaren McCann Canada.
Saturn “Calvin Egg” — Courtesy of Cossette Communications.
“Tigers: Tracking a Legend” — Courtesy of www.wildlifeworlds.com.
Windhorse — Courtesy of Paul Wagner Productions.
GOT FOOTAGE?
Editors — Filmmakers — Special Effects Artists — Game Developers — Animators — Educators —
Broadcasters — Content creators of every genre — Just finished an incredible project and want to
share it with the world?
Send us your reels and we may use your footage in our show reel or demo!*
For a copy of our release and Avid’s mailing address, go to www.avid.com/footage.
*Note: Avid cannot guarantee the use of materials submitted.
Avid Products Getting Started Guide • Part 0130-05032-01 • January 2003
Contents
Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Who Should Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Related Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
If You Have Documentation Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Avid Educational Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Using the Tutorial Sections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
What You Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Turning on Your Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Installing the Tutorial Files (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Starting the Avid System (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Starting the Avid System (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Electronic Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
How to Proceed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Using Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Setting Up Your Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Getting Help for Windows and Dialog Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Getting Help for Screen Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Keeping Help Available (Windows Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Restoring Help from the Taskbar (Windows Only). . . . . . . . . . . 38
Resizing the Application (Windows Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Using Alt+Tab (Windows Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Finding Information Within the Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Using the Contents List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Using the Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Using the Search Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Using the Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Printing Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Using Online Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Chapter 2 About the Avid System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
About the Avid System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
About Avid Symphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
About Avid Film Composer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
About 24p Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
About 25p Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Editing Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
About Nonlinear Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Editing Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Project Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Starting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Preparing to Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Editing a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Finishing a Sequence (Symphony Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Generating Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Behind the Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
The Avid Attic Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Chapter 3 Starting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
About Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Copying Project Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Using the Bins Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
About Trash. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Using the Settings Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6
About Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Reviewing Basic Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Customizing Your Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Tutorial: Starting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Starting the Application (Windows). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Starting the Application (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Opening a Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Creating a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Selecting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Chapter 4 Digitizing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Selecting Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
About the Digitize Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
About the Audio Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
About the Video Input Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Digitizing Preparations Check List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
About Digitizing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Digitizing and Logging at the Same Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Batch Digitizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Redigitizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Chapter 5 Getting Ready to Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
About Bin Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Controlling Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Using Position Bars and Position Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Using Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Play Reverse, Play, Pause, Stop, Rewind, and Fast Forward
Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Step Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Using the Tool Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Using the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
J-K-L Keys (Three-Button Play). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Home, End, and Arrow Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Using the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Stepping with the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
7
Shuttling with the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Marking IN and OUT Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Tutorial: Getting Ready to Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Viewing Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Using Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Using Frame View (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Using Frame View (Macintosh). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Playing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Playing Clips in the Source Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Controlling Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Marking Edit Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Marking the planing ms Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Marking the ducks Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Marking the draw knife cu Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Using Timecode to Find a Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Using Frame Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Subclipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Clearing IN Points and OUT Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Closing the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Ending the Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Chapter 6 Editing a Rough Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Viewing Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Navigating in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Using the Position Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Using the Scroll Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Displaying More or Less Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Focusing the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Displaying Source Material in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Using the Track Selector Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Selecting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Monitoring Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Monitoring Video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Auto-Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
8
Tutorial: Rough Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Making the First Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Using Digital Audio Scrub to Locate a Specific Frame of Audio . . 122
Splicing an Audio Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Playing a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Confirming the Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Splicing Video into the Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Splicing a Clip in a Pop-up Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Playing IN to OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Using the Go to OUT Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Moving to the Head and Tail of a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Using the Splice-in Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Splicing a Clip into the Middle of a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Undoing an Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Using the I/O (IN Point / OUT Point) Tracking Display . . . . . . . . . 131
Chapter 7 Refining the Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Using Segment Mode to Edit in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Editing in Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Distinguishing Between Two Types of Editing Buttons . . . . . . . . . 134
Basic Trim Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Entering Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Exiting Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Switching Between Big and Small Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Selecting Between Trim Sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Performing a Basic Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Using the Command Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Audio Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Adjusting Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Tutorial: Refining Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Overwriting Clips into a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Storyboarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Marking Clips for Storyboarding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Storyboard Editing the Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Rearranging Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
9
Overwriting with the Three-Point Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Changing the Order of Clips in a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Removing Footage from a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Removing Footage and Closing the Resulting Gap . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Removing Footage and Retaining the Resulting Gap . . . . . . . . . . 153
Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Adjusting Both Sides of a Transition (Dual-Roller Trimming) . . . . . 154
Using Dual Rollers to Trim the Outgoing Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Trimming the pan lumber Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Single-Roller Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Adding Synced Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Working with Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Adjusting Audio Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Adjusting Audio Pan (Balance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Chapter 8 Adding Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Effects Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Displaying the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Effect Categories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Effect Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Segment Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Applying Effects to a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Working in Effect Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Rendering an Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Tutorial: Adding Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Adding Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Displaying Editing Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Adding a Dissolve Effect (Fade-In) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Dissolving Between Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Creating a Series of Dissolves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Creating Audio Dissolves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Adding a Fade-to-Black Effect Within the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Adding a Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Using the Second Video Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
10
Creating the Picture-in-Picture Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Repositioning the Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Adjusting a Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Adding Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Adding Background Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Rendering the Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Screening the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Chapter 9 Creating Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Creating New Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Understanding the Title Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Working with Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Text Formatting Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Selecting Colors and Setting Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Adjusting the Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Editing a Title into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Tutorial: Creating Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Adding a Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Creating a New Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Repositioning Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Changing Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Adding a Shadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Saving a Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Editing the Title into the Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Adding Rolling Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Editing an Existing Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Adding a Video Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Viewing the Creation Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Splicing the Title into a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Deleting Excess Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Closing the Title Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
11
Chapter 10 Finishing Your Sequence (Symphony Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Finishing Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Using Finishing Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Selecting and Correcting Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Color Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
About the Paint and AniMatte Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
About the 3D Effects Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
About Nesting Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Tutorial: Finishing Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Removing Red from a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Adding a Blurred Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Chapter 11 Generating Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Preparing for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Digital Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
About Exporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Preparing to Export a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Tutorial: Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Recording a Digital Cut to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
12
Chapter 12 Backing Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
About Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Media Objects and Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Media Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Basic Media Tool Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Freeing Storage Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Consolidating Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
About the Consolidate Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Backing Up Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Backing Up Project Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Tutorial: Backing Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Consolidating the Boat Shop Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Saving Your Work on a Drive or Floppy Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Restoring from a Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Quitting and Shutting Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
13
Figures
Figure 1 Command Palette Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Figure 1 Command Palette Tabs (Continued) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
14
Tables
Table 1 Mark Points for Tutorial Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Table 2 Media Objects and Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220
15
16
Using This Guide
This guide provides information about how to get started using your Avid
system. It presents the essential features of the system; most chapters also
contain hands-on tutorials so you can practice what you learn.
n
The documentation describes the features and hardware of all models.
Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware
that are covered in the documentation.
Who Should Use This Guide
This guide is written for video and film editors who are learning to use an
Avid video-based editing system.
About This Guide
This guide was designed to be used for both the Avid Symphony™ product
and the Avid Media Composer
The Contents that precedes this Using This Guide section lists all topics
included in the guide. They are presented with the following overall
structure:
• Chapter 1 explains how to turn on your system, install the tutorial
media, and use Help and online documentation.
®
or Film Composer® product.
• Chapter 2 presents basic editing concepts and walks you through a
typical workflow scenario.
Using This Guide
• The main body of the guide presents introductory material on various
aspects of your workflow, followed in most chapters by a tutorial
section. Work through the tutorial for guided hands-on experience with
your Avid system.
• A detailed Index helps you quickly locate specific topics.
This guide should get you started with your Avid system. For more
information, see the Help and the Avid Symphony Editing Guide or the
Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Editing Guide.
Symbols and Conventions
When the text applies specifically to the Symphony product, it is marked as
follows:
• (Symphony only) means the information applies to the Avid
Symphony product only.
18
Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the
Windows 2000 and Mac OS X operating systems. When the text applies to
a specific operating system, it is marked as follows:
• (Windows) or (Windows only) means the information applies to the
Windows 2000 operating system.
• (Macintosh) or (Macintosh only) means the information applies to the
Mac OS X operating system.
The majority of screen shots in this document were captured on a
Windows 2000 system, but the information applies to both Windows 2000
and Mac OS X systems. Where differences exist, both Windows 2000 and
Mac OS X screen shots are shown.
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
t
k This symbol represents the Apple or Command key.
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.
subcommands) in the 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.
Press and hold the Command key and another key to
perform a keyboard shortcut.
Margin tips In the margin, you will find tips that help you
perform tasks more easily and efficiently.
Italic font Italic font is used to emphasize certain words and to
indicate variables.
Courier Bold font
Click Quickly press and release the left mouse button
Double-click Click the left mouse button (Windows) or the mouse
Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.
(Windows) or the mouse button (Macintosh).
button (Macintosh) twice rapidly.
19
Using This Guide
Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action
Right-click Quickly press and release the right mouse button
(Windows only).
Drag Press and hold the left mouse button (Windows) or
the mouse button (Macintosh) while you move the
mouse.
Ctrl+key
k+key
If You Need Help
If you are having trouble using your Avid system, you should:
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 release notes supplied with your Avid application for the
latest information that might have become available after the hardcopy
documentation was printed.
3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or
your hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues.
4. Visit the online Knowledge Center at www.avid.com/support. Online
services are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Search this
online Knowledge Center to find answers, to view error messages, to
access troubleshooting tips, to download updates, and to read/join
online message-board discussions.
Press and hold the first key while you press the
second key.
20
5. For Technical Support, please call 800-800-AVID (800-800-2843).
For Broadcast On-Air Sites and Call Letter Stations, call
800-NEWSDNG (800-639-7364).
Related Information
The following documents provide more information about Avid’s
products:
• Avid Symphony Release Notes for the Windows 2000 Operating
System or Avid Symphony Release Notes for the Mac OS X Operating
System or Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Release Notes
for the Windows 2000 Operating System or Avid Media Composer and
Film Composer Release Notes for the Mac OS X Operating System
These release notes include important information you should read
before installing and using the Avid system.
• Avid Symphony and Composer Products Site Preparation Guide for
the Windows 2000 Professional Operating System or Avid Symphony
and Composer Products Site Preparation Guide for the Mac OS X
Operating System
These guides provide electrical, environmental, size, and weight
information for users who are responsible for preparing a site for
installation of the Avid system.
Related Information
• Avid Symphony and Composer Products Setup Guide for the Windows
2000 Professional Operating System or Avid Symphony and Composer
Products Setup Guide for the Mac OS X Operating System
These guides are designed for anyone who is installing an Avid
system, moving a system, or solving problems that can arise with the
system hardware.
• Avid Products Getting Started Guide (this book)
This guide provides a step-by-step tutorial covering the basic features
of the Avid system video projects.
• Avid Symphony Quick Reference for the Windows 2000 Operating
System or Avid Symphony Quick Reference for the Mac OS X
Operating System or Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Quick
Reference for the Windows 2000 Operating System or Avid Media
Composer and Film Composer Quick Reference for the Macintosh
Operating System
These folded cards list convenient keyboard shortcuts for using Avid
products.
21
Using This Guide
• Avid Symphony Editing Guide or Avid Media Composer and Film
Composer Editing Guide
These guides provide complete information on all editing tasks, such
as viewing and marking footage, editing, and trimming transitions.
• Avid Symphony Effects Guide or Avid Media Composer and Film
Composer Effects Guide
These guides describe techniques for using digital video effects, titles,
third-party plug-in effects, mattes, keys, and layering options.
• Avid Symphony Input and Output Guide or Avid Media Composer and
Film Composer Input and Output Guide
These guides provide instructions for creating input (logging
digitizing, importing) and generating output (digital cuts, exporting). It
also includes conceptual information on workflows and film-to-tape
transfer.
• Avid Symphony Color Correction Guide or Avid Color Correction
User’s Guide
These guides provide complete information on the advanced color
correction features, including Color Correction mode, Safe Color
limiting and warning, and Spot Color Correction.
22
• Avid Symphony Online Publications CD-ROM or Avid Medi a
Composer and Film Composer Online Publications CD-ROM
These online collections provide electronic versions of most
documents listed in this section, as well as documents for related Avid
applications. You can view these PDF documents with Adobe
®
Acrobat® Reader®, which you can install from the CD-ROM.
• Avid Symphony Help or Avid Media Composer and Film Composer
Help
These Help systems provide all the information included in the editing
guides, the input and output guides, the effects guides, and the color
correction guides supplied with your system. The Help operates in a
Web browser. To open the Help, select Help > Symphony Help in the
Symphony application or select Help > Media Composer Help or
Help > Film Composer Help in the Media Composer or
Film Composer application. For information on using Help, click the
Using Help button in the Contents list in the Help browser.
If You Have Documentation Comments
n
References to the above documentation are noted throughout this guide.
The specific names of the documents will not be used and you should use
the appropriate document that applies to your particular system. For
example, when the text states: “See the appropriate effects guide for more
information on this feature,” you should see the Avid Symphony Effects
Guide or the Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Effects Guide
depending on which system you have.
If You Have Documentation Comments
Avid Technology continuously seeks to improve its documentation. We
value your comments about this guide, the Help, the Online Publications
CD-ROM, and other Avid-supplied documentation.
Simply e-mail your documentation comments to Avid Technology at
TechPubs@avid.com
Please include the title of the document, its part number, and the specific
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To order additional copies of this documentation from within the United
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For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications,
courseware, and books, please visit www.avid.com/training or call
Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843).
23
Using This Guide
24
Chapter 1
Introduction
This chapter sets you up to use this guide and explains how to work
through the tutorial sections that teach you the basics of your Avid system.
This chapter contains the following sections:
• Using the Tutorial Sections
• What You Need
• Turning on Your Equipment
• Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows)
• Installing the Tutorial Files (Macintosh)
• Starting the Avid System (Windows)
• Starting the Avid System (Macintosh)
• Electronic Licensing
• How to Proceed
• Using Help
• Using Online Documentation
Chapter 1 Introduction
Using the Tutorial Sections
The self-paced tutorial sections included in this guide are designed as
guided Avid editing sessions, using the basic features of the system. In the
tutorial sections, you’re going to edit a 1-minute sequence about a
company in Amesbury, Massachusetts that makes small fishing boats
called dories.
The footage for the sequence is on the Tutorial CD-ROMs that came with
your system. The CD-ROMs contain digitized media that is ready for you
to use.
The instructions in the tutorial take you through each step of the editing
process. The steps are:
• Starting a project (in Chapter 3)
• Getting ready to edit (in Chapter 5)
• Editing a rough cut (in Chapter 6)
• Refining the edit (in Chapter 7)
26
• Adding effects and titles to the sequence (in Chapter 8 and
Chapter 9)
• (Symphony only) Finishing mode adds the finishing touches to your
effects (in Chapter 10)
• Preparing output (in Chapter 11)
• Backing up (in Chapter 12)
To complete this tutorial, you need a basic familiarity with the
Windows
used a Windows or Macintosh system, refer to the Windows or the Apple
®
operating system or Macintosh® computer. If you have never
®
Macintosh manuals.
You don’t need any previous experience with the Avid system. The terms
and techniques needed for each tutorial section are in each chapter.
However, it will help to read Chapter 2 of this guide before starting any of
the tutorial sections. You can also use the Help system (see “Using Help”
on page 36) and online books (see “Using Online Documentation” on
page 42) for more information.
This tutorial takes approximately 4 hours. Before you begin, you need:
• An installed Avid system
• The Boat Shop media and project files on the Avid Video Editing
What You Need
The Tutorial CD-ROMs packaged with your Avid system include all files
necessary to complete this tutorial. They are:
• OMFI MediaFiles folder — contains the digitized files you need for
• Avid Projects folder — contains the project and bins you need for the
What You Need
If you have not yet set up your system, see the appropriate setup guide.
If you need to install the software, see the appropriate release notes.
Tutorial CD-ROM
the tutorial. You need to copy the OMFI MediaFiles folder to your
external media drive.
tutorial. You need to copy the project folder to the following location:
\Program Files\Avid\Avid product\Avid Projects (Windows)
Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/Avid Projects (Macintosh).
Turning on Your Equipment
Begin your edit session by turning on the components of your Avid system.
If any part of your system fails to turn on, make sure its electrical cord is
plugged snugly into an appropriate electrical outlet or power strip. For
information on setting up your system, see the appropriate setup guide.
c
If you fail to follow the proper sequence for starting up your system,
you could damage your computer or storage drives.
27
Chapter 1 Introduction
Always turn on the devices in the following order:
1. Fixed-storage drives: Turn on fixed-storage drives before starting the
computer. Allow 10 to 15 seconds for the drives to spin up to speed
before starting your PC or Macintosh.
2. Other peripheral hardware: Turn on all other peripheral units except
the PC or Macintosh. These include:
- Monitors and speakers
- Tape decks and additional autoassembly configurations (switcher,
time-base corrector, and so on) if you plan to digitize or conduct an
autoassembly
- Meridien
™
I/O box
- Black burst generator (to maintain proper sync between audio and
video while digitizing and editing)
3. The PC or Macintosh:
Windows:
For information on
your Windows features,
such as the desktop and
icons, see your
Windows
documentation.
a. Turn on your PC.
The computer goes through a self-check routine, and the
Windows startup screen opens.
b. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and log on.
The Windows desktop opens.
28
Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows)
Macintosh:
Press the Power On key located on your computer.
When you start the Macintosh:
- You hear a tone that means the hardware is operational.
- The computer goes through a self-check routine. If the
Macintosh passes all of its internal logic tests, the smiling
Macintosh icon appears.
For information on
Macintosh features,
such as the desktop and
icons, see your
Macintosh
documentation.
c
- The Mac OS X startup screen opens and the initialization process
begins.
- Select a user and type the password, and then click Log In.
- The Macintosh desktop opens.
Macintosh HD
(internal)
Media drives
(external)
To avoid system damage, do not disconnect or turn off external drives
while the PC or Macintosh is on.
Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows)
The Tutorial CD-ROMs contain all the files you need for the tutorial
sections of this guide. The CD-ROMs contain an NTSC version and a PAL
version of the tutorial media files digitized at a 20:1 resolution. The tutorial
files require three CD-ROMs for NTSC and three for PAL. The installation
procedure is the same for installing either type.
29
Chapter 1 Introduction
Each CD-ROM has its own installation program and is installed
independently of the other CD-ROM. You will need approximately
1 GB of free space available on your external media drive.
It takes approximately 30 minutes to install the media files from the
CD-ROMs to the external media drive.
To install the Avid Video Editing tutorial on a Windows system:
1. Insert the Avid Video Editing (NTSC or PAL) Tutorial Disc 1 of 3 into
the CD-ROM drive. The Avid Video Editing Tutorial screen opens.
2. Click Install Avid Video Editing Tutorial.
The Welcome to Avid Video Editing Tutorial (NTSC or PAL) Setup
dialog box opens.
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