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Avid® Media Composer

Basics Guide

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Avid

Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc.

The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement. You can obtain a copy of that license by visiting Avid's Web site at www.avid.com. The terms of that license are also available in the product in the same directory as the software. The software may not be reverse assembled and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States Patents: 4,746,994; 4,970,663; 5,045,940; 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,452,378; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,568,275; 5,577,190; 5,584,006; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,715,018; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,851; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,852,435; 5,584,006; 5,905,841; 5,929,836; 5,930,445; 5,946,445; 5,987,501; 6,016,152; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,691; 6,198,477; 6,201,531; 6,223,211; 6,249,280; 6,269,195; 6,317,158; 6,317,515; 6,330,369; 6,351,557; 6,353,862; 6,357,047; 6,392,710; 6,404,435; 6,407,775; 6,417,891; 6,426,778; 6,477,271; 6,489,969; 6,512,522; 6,532,043; 6,546,190; 6,552,731; 6,553,142; 6,570,624; 6,571,255; 6,583,824; 6,618,547; 6,636,869; 6,665,450; 6,678,461; 6,687,407; 6,704,445; 6,747,705; 6,763,134; 6,766,063; 6,791,556; 6,810,157; 6,813,622; 6,847,373; 6,871,003; 6,871,161; 6,901,211; 6,907,191; 6,928,187; 6,933,948; 6,961,801; 7,043,058; 7,081,900; 7,103,231; D392,269; D396,853; D398,912. Other patents are pending.

This document is protected under copyright law. An authorized licensee of Avid Media Composer 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 Avid Media Composer. Reasonable care has been taken in preparing the information it contains. However, this document may contain omissions, technical inaccuracies, or typographical errors. Avid Technology, Inc. does not accept responsibility of any kind for customers’ losses due to the use of this document. Product specifications are subject to change without notice.

The following disclaimer is required by Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics, Inc. for the use of their TIFF library:

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software [i.e., the TIFF library] and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that (i) the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation, and (ii) the names of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics may not be used in any advertising or publicity relating to the software without the specific, prior written permission of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS-IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL SAM LEFFLER OR SILICON GRAPHICS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

The following disclaimer is required by the Independent JPEG Group:

This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

This Software may contain components licensed under the following conditions:

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation, advertising materials, and other materials related to such distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed by the University of California, Berkeley. The name of the University may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. This software is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation, and that the name of Daniel Dardailler not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the software without specific, written prior permission. Daniel Dardailler makes no representations about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any purpose without fee is hereby granted, provided that this entire notice is included in all copies of any software which is or includes a copy or modification of this software and in all copies of the supporting documentation for such software.

THIS SOFTWARE IS BEING PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY. IN PARTICULAR, NEITHER THE AUTHOR NOR AT&T MAKES ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THE MERCHANTABILITY OF THIS SOFTWARE OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

This product includes software developed by the University of California, Berkeley and its contributors.

The following disclaimer is required by Paradigm Matrix:

Portions of this software licensed from Paradigm Matrix.

The following disclaimer is required by Ray Sauers Associates, Inc.:

“Install-It” is licensed from Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. End-User is prohibited from taking any action to derive a source code equivalent of “Install-It,” including by reverse assembly or reverse compilation, Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. shall in no event be liable for any damages resulting from reseller’s failure to perform reseller’s obligation; or any damages arising from use or operation of reseller’s products or the software; or any other damages, including but not limited to, incidental, direct, indirect, special or consequential Damages including lost profits, or damages resulting from loss of use or inability to use reseller’s products or the software for any reason including copyright or patent infringement, or lost data, even if Ray Sauers Associates has been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages.

The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:

“Videomedia, Inc. makes no warranties whatsoever, either express or implied, regarding this product, including warranties with respect to its merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose.”

“This software contains V-LAN ver. 3.0 Command Protocols which communicate with V-LAN ver. 3.0 products developed by Videomedia, Inc. and V-LAN ver. 3.0 compatible products developed by third parties under license from Videomedia, Inc. Use of this software will allow “frame accurate” editing control of applicable videotape recorder decks, videodisc recorders/players and the like.”

The following disclaimer is required by Altura Software, Inc. for the use of its Mac2Win software and Sample Source Code:

The following disclaimer is required by 3Prong.com Inc.:

Certain waveform and vector monitoring capabilities are provided under a license from 3Prong.com Inc.

For additional copyright information, see page 689.

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

888 I/O, Adrenaline, AirPlay, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AirSpeed, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AudioVision, AutoSync, Avid, Avid DNA, Avid DNxcel, Avid DNxHD, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, Avid DS Assist Station, Avid ISIS, Avid Learning Excellerator, Avid Liquid, Avid Mojo, AvidNet, AvidNetwork, Avid Remote Response, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, Avid Unity ISIS, Avid Xpress, AVoption, AVX, CamCutter, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, DAE, Dazzle, Deko, DekoCast, D-Fi, D-fx, DigiDelivery, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, DigiDrive, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator, DigiTranslator, DINR, DNxchange, do more, D-Verb, Equinox, ExpertRender, Face Robot, FACE ROBOT, FieldPak, Film Composer, FilmScribe, FluidMotion, FXDeko, HIIP, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, IllusionFX, Image Independence, iNEWS, iNEWS ControlAir, Instinct, Interplay, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, IsoSync, LaunchPad, Lightning, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Marquee, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, Media Browse, Media Composer, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaShare, MediaStream, Meridien, MetaSync, MissionControl, NaturalMatch, Nearchive, NetReview, NewsCutter, Nitris, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, PCTV, Pinnacle MediaSuite, Pinnacle Studio, Pinnacle Systems, ProEncode, Pro Tools, QuietDrive, Recti-Fi, RetroLoop, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, ScriptSync, SecureProductionEnvironment, Show Center, Softimage, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, SpectraGraph, SpectraMatte, SteadyGlide, Symphony, TARGA, Thunder, Thunder station, Trilligent, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video RAID, Video Slave Driver, VideoSPACE, and Xdeck 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. DVCPRO HD is a registered trademark of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America.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

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, Carol Amore, Executive Producer. "The Big Swell" — Courtesy of Swell Pictures, Inc. 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.

Avid Media Composer Basics Guide • 0130-07599-01 • March 2007

Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Accessing the Online Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Avid Educational Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Chapter 1 Editing Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Editing Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Starting a Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Preparing to Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Editing a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Outputting a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Chapter 2 Starting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Turning on Your Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Working with the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Using the Windows Taskbar (Windows Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Using the Macintosh Dock (Macintosh Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Using Shortcut Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Navigating in Dialog Boxes and Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Understanding Mouse Scroll Wheel Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Customizing Mouse Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Starting Your Avid Editing Application (Windows). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Starting Your Avid Editing Application (Macintosh). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Working with Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Understanding the Select Project Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Opening an Existing Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Opening the Startup Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Browsing for a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Opening a Project Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Closing a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Deleting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Ending a Work Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Quitting Your Avid Editing Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Turning Off Your Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Understanding the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Changing Project and User Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Backing Up Your Project Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Saving Your Project Information on a Drive or on Removable Media . . . . . . . . 65

Restoring from a Backup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Working with the Avid Attic Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Understanding the Avid Attic Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Retrieving Files from the Avid Attic Folder (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Retrieving Files from the Avid Attic Folder (Macintosh). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Using Toolsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Opening Toolsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Customizing Toolsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Linking Toolsets to Other Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Understanding the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Controlling Project Window Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Viewing a List of Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Creating a New Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Renaming a Bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Opening and Closing Bins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Displaying Folders of Bins in the Bins List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Deleting a Bin or Folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Viewing Contents in the Trash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Emptying the Trash in the Bins List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Saving Bins Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Using the Settings Tab in the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Using the Format Tab in the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Chapter 4 Capturing Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Understanding Logging and Shot Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Importing Shot Log Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Preparing the Hardware for Capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Getting Information About Striped Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Establishing Sync for Audio-Only Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Selecting Settings for Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Understanding Video Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Selecting Video Resolutions and Media Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Setting Drive Filtering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Configuring Decks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Configuring a Deck or Multiple Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Deleting Deck Configuration Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Capturing DV Media Directly from a DV Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Connecting a DV Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Selecting a DV Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Capturing DV 25 Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Capturing DV 50, DVCPRO HD, or HDV Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Setting Up the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Opening the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Changing the Power Scheme (Windows Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Selecting a Deck in the Capture Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Selecting a Source Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Selecting Source Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Setting the Video and Audio Input in the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Detecting a Valid or Locked Sync Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Setting the Pulldown Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Film Project Pulldown and Transfer Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Capturing Digital Audio in Film Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Selecting a Resolution in the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Selecting a Target Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Selecting the Target Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Targeting a Single Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Targeting Separate Drives for Audio and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Targeting a Drive Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Interpreting the Time-Remaining Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Selecting a Custom Preroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Preparing for Audio Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Understanding Audio Project Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Selecting the Audio Sample Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Understanding Audio Files and Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Selecting the Audio File Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Selecting the Audio Input Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Configuring the Sound Card (Software-Only Systems). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Sound Card Configuration with Surround Sound Capabilities

(Software-Only Systems) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Understanding the Audio Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Opening and Sizing the Audio Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Adjusting Audio Input Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Preparing for Video Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Opening the Video Input Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Using the Factory Preset Buttons in the Video Input Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Preparing to Calibrate Video Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Calibrating Video Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Capture Preparations Check List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Capturing and Logging at the Same Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Naming Clips and Adding Comments in the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Capturing from a Mark IN to a Mark OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Capturing by Setting Both Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Capturing by Setting Only One Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Capturing On-the-Fly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Preparing to Autocapture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Autocapturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Capturing from a Non-Avid-Controlled Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Capturing with Time-of-Day Timecode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Frame Chase Capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Understanding Frame Chase Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Enabling Frame Chase Capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Requirements and Guidelines for Frame Chase Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Batch Capturing from Logged Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Preparing to Batch Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Batch Capturing Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Recapturing Your Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Recapturing Master Clips and Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Recapturing Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Saving Two Versions of a Sequence When Recapturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Using Decompose When Recapturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Recapturing the Sequence Without Using Decompose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Chapter 5 Importing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Preparing to Import Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Creating and Using Import Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Creating a New Import Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Modifying an Existing Import Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Importing Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Importing Audio Files from a Music CD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Using the Drag-and-Drop Method to Import Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Reimporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Using the Batch Import Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Starting the Reimport Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Chapter 6 Working with Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Setting the Bin Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Understanding Object Icons in Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Understanding Bin Highlight Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Bin Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Using Brief View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Using Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Using Frame View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Enlarging or Reducing Frame Sizes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Rearranging Frames. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Realigning Frames in a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Changing the Frame Identifying the Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Using Script View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Adding Text in Script View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Playing Clips in Script View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Rearranging Clips in Script View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Basic Bin Procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Using the Bin Fast Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Selecting Clips and Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Duplicating Clips and Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Moving Clips and Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Copying Clips and Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Deleting Bin Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Deleting Items from a Bin (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Deleting Items from a Bin (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Changing the Bin Background Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Conserving Screen Real Estate with the SuperBin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Enabling and Disabling the SuperBin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Opening Bins in the SuperBin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Closing the SuperBin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Moving Bins into and out of the SuperBin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Moving Clips and Sequences into and out of the SuperBin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Copying Clips and Sequences into and out of the SuperBin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Deleting a Bin with the SuperBin Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Creating a Storyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Chapter 7 Managing Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Working with Media Files in an Avid Interplay Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Configuring Avid Editing Systems to Work with the

Interplay Engine and Interplay Transfer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Using Avid Editing Systems in an Avid Workgroup Environment . . . . . . . . . . 193

Using Avid Editing Systems in an Avid Unity LANshare Workgroup. . . . . . . . 193

Viewing Media with a 100Base-T Connection to Avid Unity ISIS. . . . . . . . . . . 194

Mounting and Unmounting Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Unmounting Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Mounting All Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Using the Media Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Basic Media Tool Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Using the Media Tool in an Avid Interplay Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Opening the Media Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Deleting Media Files with the Media Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Consolidating Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Understanding the Consolidate Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Using the Consolidate Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Consolidate Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Using the Transcode Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Transcode Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Loading the Media Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Refreshing Media Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Deleting Unreferenced Clips and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Backing Up Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Chapter 8 Viewing and Marking Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Viewing Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Customizing the Composer Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Resizing the Composer Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Resizing the Source and Record Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Resizing the Record Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Hiding the Video in a Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Using the 16:9 Display Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Displaying Tracking Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Tracking Format Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Playing Video to the Client Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Selecting the Video Display Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Playing Video to a Full-Screen Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Loading and Clearing Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Loading Clips or Sequences into Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Resizing Pop-up Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Switching Between Loaded Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Clearing Clips from Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Controlling Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Using Position Bars and Position Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Using Buttons to Control Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Stepping Forward and Backward by Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Using the Keyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Playing Footage with the J-K-L Keys (Three-Button Play) . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Navigating with Home, End, and Arrow Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Playing Back to a DV Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Optimizing Your Playback Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Understanding Video Quality for Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Setting the Video Quality for Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Marking and Subcataloging Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Marking IN and OUT Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Marking an Entire Clip or Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Creating Subsequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Subclips and Audio Sync for 24p and 25p Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Marking Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Finding Frames, Clips, and Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Using Timecode to Find a Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Searching for a Clip or Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Understanding Match Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Using Match Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Performing a Reverse Match Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Selecting Tracks for Matching Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Finding a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Locating a Master Clip from a Subclip in a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Finding a Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Chapter 9 Creating and Editing Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Entering Source/Record Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Creating a New Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Changing the Name and Timecode for a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Understanding Track Display for a New Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Adding Filler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Making a First Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Creating an Instant Rough Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Undoing or Redoing Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Editing Additional Clips into the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Performing an Insert or Splice-in Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Performing an Overwrite Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Performing a Replace Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Single-Mark Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Lifting, Extracting, and Copying Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Lifting Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Extracting Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Copying Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Using the Clipboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Preserving Clipboard Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Recovering Material from the Clipboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Playing Back a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Managing Sync Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Editing to Avoid Sync Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Displaying Sync Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Fixing Sync Breaks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Chapter 10 Using the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Customizing Timeline Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Using the Timeline Fast Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Enlarging and Reducing Timeline Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Moving Timeline Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Highlighting Offline Media Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Highlighting Clips in a Mixed-Format Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Saving a Customized Timeline View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Replacing a Timeline View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Restoring the Default Timeline View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Navigating in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Using the Position Indicator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Using the Timeline Scroll Bar/Position Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Setting the Scroll Option for the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Displaying Detail in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Zooming In and Out in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Focusing the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Controlling Movement in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Using Segment Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Selecting and Deselecting Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Guidelines for Selecting and Lassoing Segments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Performing Segment Mode Edits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Understanding the Four-Frame Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Suppressing Four-Frame Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Maintaining Sync in Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Extracting/Splicing Segments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Lifting/Overwriting Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Deleting Segments in Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Marking Clips and Sequences in Segment Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Working with Multiple Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Understanding the Track Selector Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Selecting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Monitoring and Soloing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Understanding Track Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Patching Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Locking and Sync Locking Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Locking Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Sync Locking Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Adding a Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Deleting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Understanding Backtiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Backtiming Edits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Chapter 11 Working in Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Understanding Trim Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Small Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Quick Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Big Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Trim Settings Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Entering and Exiting Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Entering Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Switching Between Quick Trim Mode and the Record Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Setting Small Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Exiting Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Using Basic Trim Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Selecting Trim Sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Selecting Video Tracks in Trim Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Audio Solo in Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Selecting Additional Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Performing a Basic Trim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

Reviewing Trim Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Reviewing an Edit with the Play Loop Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Reviewing an Edit with the Edit Review Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Trimming On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

Dual-Image Playback During Trims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Trimming During a Playback Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Chapter 12 Working with Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Overview of Audio Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Accessing Audio Effect Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Audio Editing Aids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Using Audio Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Understanding Audio Scrub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Selecting Tracks for Audio Scrubbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Performing Smooth Audio Scrub. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Understanding Digital Audio Scrub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Adjusting Digital Scrub Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Performing Digital Audio Scrub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Soloing Audio Tracks in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Displaying Waveform Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Using Audio Meters in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Adjusting Volume Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Adjusting Buffer Size (Software-only Models) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Identifying the Sample Rate by Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Muting the Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Using the Audio Mixer Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Accessing the Audio Mixer and Audio Mixer Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Understanding Audio Mixer Tool Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

Resizing the Audio Mixer Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

Selecting Tracks in the Audio Mixer Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Using the Track Solo and Track Mute Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Interpreting Position Indicator Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Using Clip Gain and Pan Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Adjusting Clip Gain and Pan for Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Using the Audio Mixer Fast Menu in Clip Gain and Pan Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Modifying Pan Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

Modifying How the System Interprets Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

Using the Center Pan Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

Using Automation Gain and Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

Using Automation Gain and Pan in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Deleting Automation Gain or Automation Pan Keyframes in the Timeline . . . 358

Understanding Automation Gain and Pan Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Recording Automation Gain or Automation Pan Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

Using the Audio Mixer Tool Sliders for Automation Gain and Pan. . . . . . 360

Using the Audio Mixer Fast Menu in Automation Gain and Pan Mode . . 361

Using Keyboard Shortcuts with Audio Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

Using Live Mix Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

Using an External Controller in Live Mix Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Using Live Mix Mode Without an External Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

Switching Between Live Mix Mode and Other Audio Mixer Modes . . . . . . . . . 367

Using the Audio Mixer Mode Fast Menu in Live Mix Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

Fine-Tuning Audio Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Fading and Dipping Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Fading Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Dipping Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Converting the Audio Sample Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

Changing the Audio Sample Rate for Sequences and Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . 373

Mixing Down Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374

Chapter 13 Working with Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

Types of Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392

Effects Creation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

Real-Time Effects and Non-Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396

Effects and Project Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

AVX Plug-In Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Understanding the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

Displaying and Adjusting the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

Applying Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399

Applying Effects From the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399

Using the Fade Effect Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

Using the Quick Transition Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

Deleting Effects in a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407

Sizing Effects to Fit the Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408

Adjusting Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409

Entering Effect Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409

Understanding Effect Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410

Making Basic Effect Adjustments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411

Moving Through an Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412

Working with Effect Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412

Saving an Effect Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412

Applying an Effect Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413

Working with Keyframes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Understanding Standard Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Adding a Standard Keyframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

Selecting a Standard Keyframe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

Moving a Standard Keyframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

Changing a Standard Keyframe’s Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

Copying and Pasting Standard Keyframe Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Deleting a Standard Keyframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Playing Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Playing an Effect in Effect Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Playing Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

Understanding Render On-the-Fly for Effect Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Using Render On-the-Fly for Effect Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Real-Time Playback of Video Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Understanding Real-Time Effects Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Understanding Real-Time Playback Information in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . 422

Turning Playback Performance Indicators On or Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

Controlling Real-Time Effects Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

Choosing Bit Depth for Effects Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

Prefilling the Video Display Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426

Selecting the OpenGL Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426

Limiting the Number of Real-Time Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Playing Effects Back at Different Video Qualities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428

Basics of Effects Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

Understanding Effects Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

Rendering a Single Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

Rendering Effects at Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431

Rendering Effects Between IN and OUT Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432

Rerendering Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

ExpertRender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Understanding ExpertRender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Using the ExpertRender Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436

Using the ExpertRender Command After a Real-Time

Playback Attempt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

Modifying ExpertRender Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440

Considerations When Using ExpertRender. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442

Chapter 14 Working with Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

Opening the Title Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

Using Marquee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Workflow for Creating Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446

Understanding the Title Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Using the Selection and Text Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

Setting Up the Drawing Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

Previewing Titles with Anti-Aliasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

Displaying Safe Title and Safe Action Guidelines in the Title Tool. . . . . . . . . . 450

Selecting a Background for Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450

Creating Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452

Sizing and Positioning Text Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453

Editing a Text String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454

Formatting Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454

Setting Default Text Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455

Selecting a Font . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455

Changing Point Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456

Making Text Bold or Italic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456

Justifying Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

Understanding Kerning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

Kerning Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458

Adjusting Leading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

Creating Graphic Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

Modifying and Manipulating Title Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

Adding Shadows to Title Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462

Saving Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Saving a Title and Exiting the Title Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

Saving Multiple Titles in a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

Using a Keyboard Shortcut to Save a Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

Using the Fast Save Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466

Revising a Title in a Bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466

Editing with Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467

Title Effect Clips in the Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468

Editing a Title into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

Setting Marks in a Rolling Title or a Crawling Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

Splicing or Overwriting a Title into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

Dragging a Marked Title into a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472

Dragging an Unmarked Title into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

Trimming the Duration of Rolling and Crawling Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

Removing a Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

Replacing a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476

Fading a Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476

Chapter 15 Color Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

How Avid Color Correction Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

Reasons for Making Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478

Color Correction Mode Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Entering and Leaving Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Understanding Color Correction Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480

Monitor Buttons in Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481

The Client Monitor in Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481

Color Correction Tool Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481

Making Basic Color Corrections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482

Correcting Color Automatically Using the Color Correction Effect . . . . . . . . . 482

Correcting Color Automatically in the Hue Offsets Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484

Color Match Corrections in the Curves Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

Safe Color Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486

Managing Safe Color Warnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486

Safe Color Warnings in the Composer Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487

Chapter 16 Exporting Frames, Clips, or Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

Understanding Export. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Preparing to Export a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Exporting Frames, Clips, or Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510

Using the Drag-and-Drop Method for Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514

Using Avid Interplay Media Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514

Customizing Export Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515

Chapter 17 Generating Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517

Preparing for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517

Selecting the Device for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518

Selecting the Sync Source for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

Selecting Sync for HD Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

Using LTC Timecode for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520

Selecting a Video Output Signal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520

Calibrating for Video Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521

Using the Factory Preset Buttons in the Video Output Tool . . . . . . . . . . . 522

Basic Video Output Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522

Adjusting Phase Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525

Crossconverting and Downconverting HD Formats (Adrenaline Only) . . . . . . 525

Preparing for Audio Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527

Setting the Calibration Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528

Calibrating Global Output Levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528

Setting Audio Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531

Preparing Record Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532

Frame-Accurate Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Recording Bars and Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Enabling Assemble-Edit Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

Using ExpertRender to Prepare Effects for a Digital Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

Using the Digital Cut Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536

Selecting a Deck in the Digital Cut Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539

Previewing a Digital Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540

Recording a Digital Cut to Tape (Remote Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541

Crash Recording Through Remote Deck Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543

Recording a Digital Cut to Tape (Local Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544

Chapter 18 Conforming and Transferring Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547

Compatibility Between Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547

Conforming Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548

Preparing for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

Delivery Requirements for Final Masters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

Offline Formats for HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

File Transfer for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550

System Compatibility for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550

Preparing Graphics for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551

Preparing Effects for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553

Preparing Audio for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553

Step 1: Transfer Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

Transferring Project Information Only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

Transferring Project Files and Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

Step 2: Open the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555

Step 3: Measure the Video Signal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556

Step 4: Recapture Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556

Step 5: Import and Lay in the Final Audio Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557

Step 6: Batch Import Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557

Step 7: Re-create Title Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558

Redefining a Font Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559

Step 8: Refine Effects and Perform Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560

Step 9: Render Effects as Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561

Step 10: Create the Final Masters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561

Conforming an HDV Sequence on Symphony Nitris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562

Transferring Project and Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562

Transferring Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563

Transferring Sound Designer II Audio Files from Macintosh Systems . . . 564

Working with Sound Designer II Audio Files on Macintosh Systems . . . . 564

Transferring a Project Using Shared Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564

Transferring Project Files and Media Files Using Nonshared Storage . . . . . . 565

Devices and Methods for Transferring Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

Transferring Files Between Macintosh Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568

Transferring Files Between Windows Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

Transferring Files Between Macintosh and Windows Systems . . . . . . . . 570

Nonshared Storage Issues for Cross-Platform Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572

Transferring Media Files from Media Composer Version 7.2 or Avid Xpress

Version 2.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572

Chapter 19 Working with the Avid Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573

Using Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574

Connecting to the Avid Interplay Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574

Mounting Workspaces on an Avid Unity MediaNetwork System . . . . . . . . . . . 574

Mounting Workspaces on an Avid Unity ISIS System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577

Configuring Interplay Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579

Opening the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581

Managing Remote Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582

Understanding Reservations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583

Understanding Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585

Reviewing Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586

Moving, Copying, and Deleting Avid Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586

Moving and Copying Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586

Deleting Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587

Creating Folders and Shortcuts in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588

Modifying the Display of the Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589

Media Column Headings in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589

Moving and Rearranging Columns in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . 590

Hiding and Showing Columns in the Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590

Adding Columns in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590

Creating New Columns in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

Enlarging or Reducing Column Width in the Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . 592

Renaming Clips in the Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592

Adding Comments in the Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592

Using the Property Merge Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593

Using Custom Layouts for the Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594

Opening Multiple Tabs in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596

Setting the Interplay Window Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596

Editing with Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598

Working with Avid Assets in the Interplay Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598

Checking Avid Assets Out of the Interplay Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599

Checking Avid Assets In to the Interplay Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600

Automatically Checking In Avid Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602

Updating Remote Assets in Bins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603

Working with In-Progress Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603

Editing with In-Progress Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604

Limitations When Working With In-Progress Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605

Finding Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606

Overview of Finding Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606

Performing Searches on Interplay Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607

Keeping Search Results in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609

Capturing Media to Interplay Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609

Chapter 20 Using MultiRez and Dynamic Relink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

Understanding MultiRez and Proxy Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612

Creating Multiple Resolutions of a Master Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

Batch Capturing Multiple Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

Batch Importing Multiple Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

Understanding How Clips and Media Are Associated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617

Single Clip, Multiple Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618

Multiple Clips, Multiple Resolutions, and the Affinity Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619

Partial Clips, Multiple Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621

MultiRez Tape Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622

Understanding Dynamic Relink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622

Working with MultiRez and Dynamic Relink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625

Using the Dynamic Relink Settings Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626

Enabling Dynamic Relink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627

Applying Working Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627

Applying Target Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630

Dynamically Relinking to the Target Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631

Dynamic Relink Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632

Relinking in Frame Chase Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636

Using the Relink Dialog Box in an Avid Interplay Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . 637

Displaying Whether Media Is Available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638

Using the MultiRez Button to Show Available Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638

Using Clip Coloring to Show Available Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639

Examples of MultiRez Clip Coloring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641

MultiRez Button Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644

MultiRez Bin Headings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646

Deleting MultiRez Clips and Media from a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648

Working with Partially Online Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650

Consolidating and Transcoding a Portion of a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651

Viewing a Source Clip in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652

Consolidating and Deleting Original Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653

Partially Restoring from an Archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655

Tables

DV Connections for Capture, Play, and Digital Cut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Film Project Pulldown and Transfer Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Audio Tool Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Luminance Settings for Video Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Bin Object Icon Descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Consolidate Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Transcode Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Tracking Format Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Playback Control Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Video Qualities for Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Timeline Fast Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Number of Tracks Versus Scrub Speeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Playback Video Qualities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428

HD Sync Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

Luminance Settings for Video Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524

Offline Formats for HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

Graphics Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551

Default Folder and File Locations (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566

Default Folder and File Locations (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566

Options for Transferring Files Between Macintosh Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568

Options for Transferring Files Between Windows Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

Options for Transferring Files Between Macintosh and Windows Systems . . . . . . 570

Media Objects Displayed in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

Interplay Window — Search Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607

Dynamic Relink Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632

Show Mismatches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640

MultiRez Button Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644

Using This Guide

Congratulations on your purchase of an Avid editing application. You can use your application to create broadcast-quality output incorporating every possible production element from full-speed, high-resolution footage, to multimedia artwork and animation, to computer-generated effects and titling.

This guide contains the task-oriented instructions and conceptual information you need to use the basic features of your Avid editing application. The Advanced Guide for your Avid editing application, available as a PDF document in the Online Library, is a companion to this guide. The Advanced Guide contains instructions and conceptual information for advanced features of your Avid editing application, as well as reference information. The contents of both guides are available in the Help.

This guide is intended primarily for users who are new to Avid editing products, but also contains information that is important for experienced users.

Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the Windows Macintosh captured on a Windows XP system, but the information applies to both Windows XP and Mac shots are shown.

OS X operating systems.The majority of screen shots in this document were

OS X systems. Where differences exist, both Windows XP and Mac OS X screen

XP and

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.

Using This Guide

Symbols and Conventions

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

> This symbol indicates menu commands (and subcommands) in the

(Windows), (Windows only), (Macintosh), or (Macintosh only)

Italic font Italic font is used to emphasize certain words and to indicate variables.

Courier Bold font

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 symbol represents the Apple or Command key. Press and hold the Command key and another key to perform a keyboard shortcut.

This text indicates that the information applies only to the specified operating system, either Windows XP or Macintosh OS X.

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

Alt+key or mouse action Option+key or mouse action

Press and hold the first key while you press the last key or perform the mouse action. For example, Option+C or Ctrl+drag.

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 for the latest information that might have become available after the documentation was published:

- If the latest information for your Avid product is provided as printed release notes,

they ship with your application and are also available online.

- If the latest information for your Avid product is provided as a ReadMe file, it is

supplied on your Avid installation CD or DVD as a PDF document (README_product.pdf). It is also available online.

You should always check online for the most up-to-date release notes or ReadMe because the online version is updated whenever new information becomes available. To view these online versions, select ReadMe from the Help menu or visit the

Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/readme.

3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues.

If You Need Help

4. Visit the online Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/onlinesupport. Online services are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Search this online Knowledge Base to find answers, to view error messages, to access troubleshooting tips, to download updates, and to read/join online message-board discussions.

Accessing the Online Library

The Online Library for your Avid editing application contains all the product documentation in PDF format, including a Master Glossary of all specialized terminology used in the documentation for Avid products.

Most Avid online libraries also include multimedia content such as tutorials and feature presentations. This multimedia content is an excellent first resource for learning how to use your application or for helping you understand a particular feature or workflow.

The Online Library for your Avid editing application is installed along with the application itself.

You will need Adobe® Reader® to view the PDF documentation online. You can download the latest version from the Adobe web site.

Using This Guide

To access the Online Library, do one of the following:

t From your Avid editing application, select Help > Online Library. t From the Windows desktop, select Start > Programs > Avid > Avid editing application

Online Library.

t Browse to the Online Library folder, and then double-click the MainMenu file.

The Online Library folder is in the same location as the application itself, for example: C:\Program Files\Avid\Avid editing application Online Library

How to Order Documentation

To order additional copies of this documentation from within the United States, call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843). If you are placing an order from outside the United States, contact your local Avid representative.

Avid Educational 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.

To learn about Avid's new online learning environment, Avid Learning Excellerator (ALEX), visit http://learn.avid.com.

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).

Chapter 1

Editing Overview

The following sections provide an overview of the editing workflow:

• Editing Workflow

• Starting a Project

• Preparing to Edit

• Editing a Sequence

• Outputting a Sequence

Editing Workflow

Your editing workflow depends on a variety of factors. For example, you might be working on a standard-definition video project, a film project, or an HD project.

The following procedure lists the basic steps for editing a sequence and refers you to sections of the documentation for more information. The structure of this Basics Guide reflects the typical editing workflow.

1. Create or open a project. See “Starting a Project” on page 43.

2. Set the appropriate Project settings and create a bin structure. See “Working with the

Project Window” on page 73.

3. Capture or import the media. See “Capturing Media” on page 85 and “Importing Files”

on page 155.

4. Organize your bins to suit your project’s needs. See “Working with Bins” on page 169.

5. View your clips in advance and mark IN and OUT points, or create subclips based on selected portions of your master clips. See “Viewing and Marking Footage” on

page 215.

6. Build your sequence in Source/Record mode and in the Timeline. See “Creating and

Editing Sequences” on page 255 and “Using the Timeline” on page 277.

Chapter 1 Editing Overview

7. Fine-tune your edits and effects by using functions of the various edit modes, such as Trim mode (see “Working in Trim Mode” on page 311), Effect mode (see “Working

with Effects” on page 391), and Color Correction mode (see “Color Correction” on page 477).

8. Add any titles you need. See “Working with Titles” on page 443.

9. Adjust and mix multiple audio tracks and prepare for final output, using audio tools. See

“Working with Audio” on page 329.

10. Export the sequence or output a digital cut. See “Exporting Frames, Clips, or

Sequences” on page 507 or “Generating Output” on page 517.

If you are working in an offline to online project, see “Conforming and Transferring

Projects” on page 547. For information about HD workflows, see “HDTV Workflows” in the

Help.

Starting a Project

Whenever you start to work on a new project, you follow these basic steps:

1. Turn on your equipment in a prescribed order and start your Avid editing application. See “Turning on Your Equipment” on page 43.

2. Select or create a new project (the job that will result in one or more finished sequences). See “Starting a Project” on page 43.

3. Select the Project settings from the Settings list. See “Working with the Project

Window” on page 73.

4. Create and organize bins. See “Working with Bins” on page 169.

5. Back up your project on a regular basis. See “Starting a Project” on page 43.

1. Turn on your system and start your Avid editing application.

2. Select or create a project.

Starting a Project

3. Select the Project settings.

5. Back up the project.

4. Create and organize bins.

Chapter 1 Editing Overview

Preparing to Edit

When you capture and organize footage before editing, you follow these basic steps:

1. Batch capture, log and capture, or capture on-the-fly your source material into the Avid system. See “Capturing Media” on page 85.

2. Use bins to organize the project items. See “Working with Bins” on page 169.

3. Manage media files by using the Media tool. See “Managing Media Files” on page 191.

4. Use the bins to create storyboards. See “Creating a Storyboard” on page 189.

1. Capture footage, creating master clips and media files.

2. Sort and organize clips in the bins.

Preparing to Edit

3. Manage media files for storage efficiency and backup security.

4. Previsualize with storyboards.

Chapter 1 Editing Overview

Editing a Sequence

When you edit your video and audio, you follow these basic steps:

1. View your clips and mark IN and OUT points, or create subclips based on selected portions of your master clips. See “Viewing and Marking Footage” on page 215.

2. Build your sequence in Source/Record mode, which provides nonlinear editing controls with Source and Record monitors, and in the Timeline. See “Creating and Editing

Sequences” on page 255.

3. Fine-tune your edits and effects by using the various edit modes, such as Segment, Trim, and Effect modes. See “Using the Timeline” on page 277 and “Working in Trim Mode”

on page 311.

4. Adjust and mix multiple audio tracks and prepare for final playback or output by using the Audio tools. See “Working with Audio” on page 329.

5. Return to editing if further adjustments are required. For basic information about working with effects, see the following topics:

- “Working with Effects” on page 391

- “Working with Titles” on page 443

- “Color Correction” on page 477

For complete information about working with effects, see the “Advanced Effects Guide” and “Avid Color Correction Guide” in the Help. This information is also contained in the Avid Advanced Effects Guide and the Avid Color Correction Guide, which are available in PDF format in the Online Library for your Avid editing application.

1. Screen, mark, and subcatalog footage.

Editing a Sequence

Source monitor

Record monitor

Timeline

2. Edit in Source/Record mode and the Timeline.

3. Fine-tune edits and effects.

4. Fine-tune audio pan, volume, and EQ.

5. Screen and continue editing as necessary.

Chapter 1 Editing Overview

Outputting a Sequence

When your sequence is finished, you can output it in any of the following ways, depending on the requirements of your project:

t Export as a file or a series of files. See “Exporting Frames, Clips, or Sequences” on

page 507.

t Output a digital cut in one or more formats. See “Generating Output” on page 517. t Generate a cut list through Avid FilmScribe.

the Film Scribe Help

t Generate an EDL through Avid EDL Manager. See the Avid EDL Manager User’s

Guide or the EDL Manager Help.

™

See the Avid Film Scribe User’s Guide or

Finished sequence

Outputting a Sequence

Export a file.

Generate a cut list.

Output to tape

Generate an EDL.

Chapter 1 Editing Overview

Chapter 2

Starting a Project

Your work begins when you turn on your system, start your Avid editing application, and open an existing project or create a new project. The following topics describe these and other procedures for starting your work, as well as several techniques to safeguard and restore your work if necessary:

• Turning on Your Equipment

• Working with the Desktop

• Starting Your Avid Editing Application (Windows)

• Starting Your Avid Editing Application (Macintosh)

• Working with Projects

• Ending a Work Session

• Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

• Backing Up Your Project Information

• Working with the Avid Attic Folder

• Using Toolsets

Turning on Your Equipment

Avid recommends that you turn on your equipment in the following order:

1. Storage devices

2. Peripheral devices (such as monitors and speakers)

3. Computer system

™

4. Avid DNA hardware (Adrenaline

, Avid Mojo®, or Avid Mojo SDI)

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Working with the Desktop

This section describes desktop navigation features that you can use to speed your work in your Avid editing application, or customize for your convenience while editing. You can:

• Control how the Windows taskbar appears on the screen (Windows only).

• Display the Macintosh Dock and use it as a quick way to launch your Avid editing application (Macintosh only).

• Use shortcut menus (also sometimes known as context menus) to quickly access editing commands.

• Use standard operating system keyboard shortcuts to navigate and select options in dialog boxes and menus.

• Use the mouse scroll wheel for navigation and customize mouse button functions.

You also use the desktop for backups and transferring projects, as described in “Backing Up

Your Project Information” on page 64 and “Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders” on page 62.

For information on the Windows XP operating system, such as the desktop and icons, see your Microsoft

Windows XP Help.

Using the Windows Taskbar (Windows Only)

By default, the Windows taskbar always appears on the bottom of your screen, on top of your application. You have two other choices:

• Keep the taskbar hidden behind your Avid editing application

• Set the taskbar to appear only when you drag the mouse pointer to it

If you keep the taskbar hidden while running your Avid editing application and you minimize an application such as Help, you do not see the minimized icon in the taskbar.

For more information about the taskbar, see the Windows Help.

n n

The taskbar can also be dragged to the top, bottom, or either side of the monitor.

When working in your Avid editing application, you can minimize windows (such as the Project window and bins). The icons will appear in the application window, not in the taskbar.

To see the taskbar and minimized icons:

t Minimize your Avid editing application.

To change the taskbar settings:

1. Right-click an unused part of the taskbar, and select Properties. The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box opens.

2. Select the options you want: t To keep the taskbar hidden, deselect “Keep the task bar on top of other windows”

and “Auto hide the task bar.”

t To set the taskbar to appear when you want, select “Keep the task bar on top of

other windows” and “Auto hide the task bar.”

3. Click OK.

Using the Macintosh Dock (Macintosh Only)

You can place an application icon alias on the Dock for easy access to your Avid editing application. The Dock is hidden when your Avid editing application is active. For full information on using the Dock, see the Mac OS X documentation.

Working with the Desktop

To display the Dock:

t Move the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen where the Dock is hidden.

Using Shortcut Menus

Instead of using the standard menus to find the command you need, try using the shortcut menus. Shortcut menus show the most frequently used commands for a window or a screen object.

Most shortcut menus contain a What’s This? command. Select What’s This? to access Help for the window or the object.

To use a shortcut menu (Windows):

t Right-click a window or a screen object.

To use a shortcut menu (Macintosh):

t Ctrl+Shift+click a window or a screen object.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Navigating in Dialog Boxes and Menus

You can use the keys shown in the following table to navigate in many dialog boxes and menus and to select and deselect options.

Key Function

Page Up or Page Down Moves from tabbed page to tabbed page within a dialog box

Tab Moves from check box to check box or from option to

option in a dialog box

Right Arrow, Left Arrow, space bar Selects or deselects a check box or an option in a dialog box

Up Arrow or Down Arrow Moves up or down through a menu, or increments a numeric

value

Understanding Mouse Scroll Wheel Functions

You can use the mouse scroll wheel for navigation in your Avid editing application, as described in the following table. You can also set the speed of scrolling with the mouse wheel, and assign functions to three additional mouse buttons, as described in “Customizing

Mouse Functions” on page 47.

Scroll Wheel Function Action Result

In any window or function area with a vertical scroll bar, such as a Bin

In the Timeline t Press (Windows) or Control

In a tool or window containing a slider (for example, the Effect Editor).

This does not apply to

pop-up sliders.

t Press (Windows) or Control

(Macintosh) + scroll wheel

t Press (Windows) or Control

(Macintosh) + (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) + scroll wheel

t Press (Windows) or Control

(Macintosh) + scroll wheel

Scrolls through items.

Moves the position bar one frame at a time.

Moves the position bar 10 frames at a time

Moves the slider one unit at a time.

Scroll Wheel Function Action Result

Working with the Desktop

t Press (Windows) or Control

(Macintosh) + (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) + scroll wheel

Customizing Mouse Functions

Your Avid editing application allows you to set the speed of scrolling with the mouse wheel, and lets you assign functions to three additional mouse buttons. For example, mouse button 3 can have a button function assigned to it. Mouse buttons pressed along with modifer keys can also have additional assigned functions.

When mapping mouse buttons, make certain that the modifier key that you are assigning to the button and command doesn't already have an alternate function.

You cannot assign functions to the standard left and right mouse buttons.

To set the mouse scroll speed:

1. Double-click Mouse in the Settings list of the Project window. The Mouse Settings dialog box opens.

Moves the slider 10 units at a time.

2. Select a speed from the Vertical Scroll Speed menu. Normal is the default setting. Normal scrolls one item at a time. Moderate scrolls two

items at a time, and Fast scrolls four items at a time.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

To assign functions to additional mouse buttons:

1. Double-click Mouse in the Settings list of the Project window. The Mouse Settings dialog box opens.

2. Select Tools > Command Palette. The Command palette opens.

3. Select Button to Button Reassignment at the bottom of the Command palette.

4. Click the tab from which you want to select a user-selectable button.

5. Click the mouse, and drag the button from the Command palette to a button location on the Mouse Settings dialog box.

Starting Your Avid Editing Application (Windows)

Your Avid editing application is located by default in the following folder:

drive:\Program Files\Avid\Avid editing application

The installation process adds a desktop icon and a pointer to your Avid editing application in the Start menu. For most users, these provide the easiest way to start the application.

Your Avid editing application does not start properly if the application file is moved from the Avid editing application folder.

If you install your Avid editing application on a laptop computer, a dialog box might open with a message about incompatible power management schemes. Avid recommends you use the “Always On” power scheme when working with Avid applications. Other power schemes might affect performance of editing functions (for example, capture and digital cuts). For information on changing power schemes, see the Windows documentation.

To start your Avid editing application, do one of the following:

t Click the Start button, and select All Programs > Avid > Avid editing application. t Double-click the Avid editing application desktop icon.

After the application starts, the Select Project dialog box opens. For more information on the Select Project dialog box, see “Working with Projects” on page 49.

Starting Your Avid Editing Application (Macintosh)

Your Avid editing application is in the following location:

Macintosh HD/Applications/Avid Media Composer

For most users, the desktop or Dock is a more convenient location for starting the application. The installation process places a shortcut alias icon for the Avid application on the desktop.

For more information on making an alias and using the Dock, see your Macintosh documentation.

Your Avid editing application does not start properly if the application file is moved from the Avid editing application folder. You can drag it onto the Dock, and an alias is placed on the Dock.

When you start the application, you might see a message box indicating there is no input or output signal. Check to ensure that your Avid DNA hardware (Adrenaline, Avid Mojo, or Avid Mojo SDI) is connected to the system with the cables secured and that it is turned on.

To start your Avid editing application, do one of the following:

t Double-click the Avid application alias icon on the desktop. t Double-click the Avid application alias icon on the Dock. t Select Go > Applications, and then double-click the Avid editing application folder. In

this folder, double-click the Avid editing application file. You might see a license agreement. After the application starts, the Select Project dialog

box opens. For more information on the Select Project dialog box, see “Working with

Projects” on page 49.

Working with Projects

This section describes basic methods for working with projects.You can:

• Create a new project and save it to your choice of folder locations on your system. Some of the available folder locations use your operating system’s security features to limit access to the project.

• Use the Select Project dialog box to find, open, or delete a project.

• Instruct your Avid editing application to automatically open your last project when you start the application.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

• If you have installed the startup project and media, open the startup project.

• Close an open project and return to the Select Project dialog box.

You should also back up your project information regularly to a separate storage device, as described in “Backing Up Your Project Information” on page 64.

For information on the files and folders that your Avid editing application creates as part of a project, see “Understanding the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders” on page 62.

Understanding the Select Project Dialog Box

After you start your Avid editing application, the Select Project dialog box opens. The Select Project dialog box lets you find and open a project, create a new project, or establish user profiles. You can also choose to have your last project open automatically, as described in

“Opening a Project Automatically” on page 58.

User name Folder name

User profile list

Browse button

Project list

Folder buttons

New Project button

Working with Projects

The following table describes the elements of the Select Project dialog box:

Element Description

User

Folder

You cannot type into the User or Folder text boxes.

Browse button

User Profile

Project list

Folder buttons

Displays the login name of the user currently logged into the system. To change to a different user, you need to log out and log in as that user. For more information, see the documentation for your operating system.

Displays the path of the current folder. This path determines which projects appear in the project list and where a new project is created.

Click to navigate to a different folder. The projects in this folder appear in the project list. See “Browsing for a Project” on page 56.

Displays the name associated with the current settings. By default your Avid editing application uses the login name. Click the list button to change profiles or create a new one. For more information, see “Using User Profiles” in the Help.

Displays a list of the Avid projects in the currently selected folder. Double-click a project to open it.

Select a button to set the path for the project folder:

• Click Private to display any projects in the folder for the user logged into the system. Private projects use the security provided by your system’s user login. By default, this path is

(Windows) drive:\Documents and Settings\Windows login name\My Documents\Avid Projects

(Macintosh) Macintosh HD/Users/Mac login name/Documents/Avid Projects

• Click Shared to display any projects in the folder for all users logged into the system. By default, this path is:

(Windows) drive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\Shared Avid Projects

(Macintosh) Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/Avid editing application/Shared Avid Projects

• Click External to display the projects in a folder other than the Private or Shared folder. Set the path for the External folder by using the Browse button.

New Project button

Click this button to open the New Project dialog box and create a new project.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Creating a New Project

To create a new project:

1. Start your Avid editing application. The Select Project dialog box opens.

2. In the Select Project dialog box, select the folder in which you want to create the project: Private, Shared, or External. For more information, see “Understanding the

Select Project Dialog Box” on page 50.

3. Click New Project. The New Project dialog box opens.

4. Type the name of your new project in the text box.

If you plan to move bins and projects from one platform to another, do not use the characters / \ : * ? “ < > | or leading spaces, trailing spaces, or trailing periods, when naming projects, bins, and users. Bin and project names are limited to 27 characters, not including the period and 3-character extension that the system automatically adds to a file name.

(Macintosh only) You can set the Use Windows compatible File Names option in your Avid editing application’s General Settings dialog box to prevent the application from accepting these restricted characters in a bin, project, or user name. If you are using your Avid application as a standalone editor (and don’t plan to move your bins or projects to another platform), you have the option of extending bin and project names to 31 characters using the Allow filenames to exceed 27 characters option in the General Settings dialog box.

5. Click the Format menu, and select a project type based on your source footage and the capabilities of your Avid editing application:

- If your Avid editing application does not include support for 24p projects or 25p

projects, make a selection based on the source footage: NTSC or PAL.

- If your Avid editing application includes support for 24p projects or 25p projects,

make a selection based on the source footage or the type of film-to-tape transfer with which you are working.

Working with Projects

The following table lists the format options available. Depending on the model of your Avid editing application, your format options might not include all items listed here.

Project Type Source Footage Transfer

23.976p NTSC For film-originated or video-originated footage that has been shot at

23.976 fps or film-originated footage transferred on digital videotape (such as Digital Betacam

24p NTSC For film-originated or other 24-fps footage transferred to NTSC

videotape

30i NTSC For NTSC video-originated or other 30-fps footage transferred to

NTSC videotape

24p PAL For film-originated or other 24-fps footage transferred to PAL

videotape at 25 fps

25p PAL For 25-fps film footage transferred to PAL videotape

25i PAL For PAL video-originated footage (25 fps)

720p/23.976 For film-originated material transferred to videotape.

720p/29.97 HDV For video-originated material. Can be directly captured, edited, and

output as HDV.

)

720p/59.94 For video-originated material. Can be directly captured, edited, and

output for HD broadcast.

1080p/23.976 For film-originated footage transferred to videotape.

1080p/24 For film-originated footage transferred to videotape. True 24-fps

editing.

1080p/25 For film-originated footage transferred to videotape.

1080i/50 For video-originated material. Can be directly captured, edited, and

output for HD broadcast.

1080i/50 HDV For video-originated material. Can be directly captured, edited, and

output as HDV.

1080i/59.94 For video-originated material. Can be directly captured, edited, and

output for HD broadcast.

1080i/59.94 HDV For video-originated material. Can be directly captured, edited, and

output as HDV.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

6. Select the following additional options:

- For 23.976p, 24p, 25p, 720p, and 1080p film projects, click the Film button and

select a format for film gauge tracking from the Default Film Type menu.

- For 24p PAL projects, select an audio transfer rate. For information on audio

transfer rates, see “Audio Transfer Options for 24p PAL Projects” in the Help.

- (25i PAL, 30i NTSC, 720p, and 1080i Matchback projects only) Select Matchback,

click the Film button and select a format for film gauge tracking from the Default Film Type menu.

The Matchback item appears only if your Avid editing application includes the Matchback option. For more information about matchback, see “Using the Matchback Option” in the Help.

7. Click OK. Your Avid editing application creates the new project files and folder, and then returns to

the Select Project dialog box. The project name is highlighted in the Projects list.

8. Double-click the project name in the Projects list to open the project. The Project window, the Composer window, and the Timeline open with the User

settings loaded. The title bar of the Project window contains the project name and the user profile selected in the Select Project dialog box.

Project name User name

Close button

Setting Film Preferences

Set film preferences in the Film and 24P Settings dialog box immediately after you create a project to provide the system with important information about the type of film and audio transfer you used for your project.

For information on setting the play rate for Timeline play and setting the format and display of ink numbers, see “Film and 24P Settings” in the Help.

For information about the settings for capturing in a film project, see “Setting Transfer Rates for Film Projects” in the Help.

Opening an Existing Project

To open an existing project:

1. In the Select Project dialog box, select the folder in which the project is located: Private, Shared, or External. For more information, see “Understanding the Select Project

Dialog Box” on page 50.

2. Do one of the following:

t Select a project in the Select Project dialog box, and then click OK. t Double-click a project name in the Projects list.

The Project window, the Composer window, and the Timeline open with the User settings loaded. The title bar of the Project window contains the project name and the user profile selected in the Select Project dialog box.

Opening the Startup Project

If you choose to install the sample startup project and media when you install your Avid editing application, you can open this project from the Select Project dialog box. The startup project, called Avid Boston Project DV25, contains a complete sequence with rendered effects and titles, as well as all the video and audio clips used in the sequence.

Working with Projects

The startup project is particularly useful if you want to start learning how to edit with your Avid editing application right away, before you capture any media of your own. You can explore the sequence in the Timeline to learn how it is assembled, and you can use the clips to practice the viewing and editing techniques described in this guide.

To open the startup project:

1. In the Select Project dialog box, click the Shared folder button.

2. Double-click Avid Boston Project DV25 in the Project list. The Avid Boston Project DV25 project opens.

3. Use the Bins tab of the Project window to open one or both of the bins in the project:

- Boston Seq DV25 contains a complete sequence

- Boston Project source contains all the video and audio clips in the project For more information on opening bins, see “Opening and Closing Bins” on page 77.

The footage in the Avid Boston Project DV25 project is shot in 16:9 aspect ratio. To view the footage correctly in monitors, change the display aspect ratio to 16:9, for example by rightclicking in the Composer window and selecting 16:9 Video.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Browsing for a Project

To browse for a project in a location other than the default Shared and Private folders:

1. Start your Avid editing application. The Select Project dialog box opens.

Browse button

Windows

Working with Projects

2. Click the Browse button. The Browse for Folder (Windows) or Project Directory (Macintosh) dialog box opens.

Macintosh

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

3. Navigate to the folder that contains the project you want.

4. Click OK (Windows) or Choose (Macintosh).

5. Select a Project in the Projects list.

6. Click OK. The Project window, the Composer window, and the Timeline open with the User

settings loaded. The title bar of the Project window contains the project name and the user profile selected in the Select Project dialog box.

The next time you open the Select Project dialog box, the path you selected will be displayed when you click the External button.

Opening a Project Automatically

If you have already created a project, when you enter your Avid editing application you can bypass the Select Project dialog box and have your last project open automatically.

To open a project automatically:

1. Click the Settings tab in the Project window. The Settings list appears.

2. Double-click any Interface setting. The Interface Settings dialog box opens.

3. Click the General tab, select Automatically Launch Last Project at Startup, and then click OK. For more information, see “Interface Settings” in the Help.

The next time you start your Avid editing application, it opens your last project.

To select another project:

1. Deselect Automatically Launch Last Project at Startup, and then click OK.

2. Quit your Avid editing application and restart it. The Select Project dialog box opens.

3. Select a project and click OK. The Project window, the Composer window, and the Timeline open with the User

settings loaded.

Closing a Project

When you close the current project, you return to the Select Project dialog box.

To close the current project, do one of the following:

t With the Project window active, select File > Close Project. t Click the Close button in the Project window.

Deleting a Project

You can delete a project from within your Avid editing application.

Working with Projects

Deleting a project also deletes any bins that are in that project.

Captured media related to a deleted project is not deleted with the project folder. For more information on deleting media files, see “Deleting Bin Items” on page 182 and “Deleting

Media Files with the Media Tool” on page 200.

To delete a project:

1. Start your Avid editing application. The Select Project dialog box opens.

2. Click the project you want to delete.

3. Press the Delete key. You see a message asking if you want to delete the selected project and associated bins,

4. Click OK. The deleted project no longer appears in the Select Project dialog box.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Ending a Work Session

To end the work session, you must first quit your Avid editing application, and then turn off your equipment in the order.

Quitting Your Avid Editing Application

There are two ways to quit your Avid editing application. You can quit directly to the desktop, or you can close the open project and then quit from the Select Project dialog box.

If you are working in an Avid Unity™ environment, your Avid editing application writes a media database file (.mdb) to the workspace in which you were working when you quit. Before quitting your application, make sure that the workspace has approximately 50 MB of storage space available. Ask your Avid Unity administrator to increase the space if you need more storage.

To quit your Avid editing application and leave the application immediately:

t (Windows) Select File > Exit. t (Macintosh) Select Avid Media Composer > Quit Avid Media Composer.

The project closes and your Avid editing application quits, returning to the desktop.

To quit your Avid editing application and view the Select Project dialog box:

1. Click the Close button at the far right (Windows) or at the far left (Macintosh) of the Project Window title bar.

The Select Project dialog box opens.

2. Click Quit. A message box opens.

3. Do one of the following:

t Click Leave to quit your Avid editing application. t Click Cancel to return to the Select Project dialog box and select another project.

To view remaining storage on your media drives:

1. Click the Info tab in the Project window, and then click Hardware. The Hardware tool opens.

2. Click the appropriate drive tab.

For more information, see “Using the Hardware Tool” in the Help.

Turning Off Your Equipment

When you finish using your system and want to turn it off completely, follow these steps to avoid damaging your system or media storage drives. Quit your Avid editing application before turning off your equipment. For more information, see “Quitting Your Avid Editing

Application” on page 60.

To turn off your equipment:

1. Turn off the system by doing the following: For a Windows system: a. Click the Start button, and select Shut Down.

The Shut Down Windows dialog box opens. b. Click the menu, and select Shut down. c. Click OK. For a Macintosh system: t Select Apple P menu > Shut Down.

2. If you have an Avid DNA device (Adrenaline, Avid Mojo, or Avid Mojo SDI) attached to your system, turn it off.

Ending a Work Session

3. Turn off peripheral devices (such as monitors and speakers).

4. Turn off external storage devices.

Never remove media drives from your Avid system when it is turned on. Shut down the computer, and then remove the drives.

5. Turn off all other hardware.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Managing projects, user profiles, and settings involves moving, copying, or deleting files and folders, and changing project or user names. You use the desktop to move projects and user profiles between systems.

Avid Projects and Avid Users folders allow you to move entire projects or selected Project and User settings between systems by copying and moving files on your desktop.

For more information about moving projects, see “Conforming and Transferring Projects” in the Help.

For information about using and transferring site settings, see “Using Site Settings” in the

Help.

Understanding the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

When you create a new project or user profile, your Avid editing application creates files and folders in the Avid Projects and the Avid Users folders.

Locations of Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Two Avid Projects folders are installed by default:

• Private Projects (Windows) — drive:\Documents and Settings\Windows login

name\My Documents\Avid Projects

• Shared Projects (Windows) — drive:\Documents and Settings\

Documents\Shared Avid Projects

• Private Projects (Macintosh) — Macintosh HD/Users/Mac login

name/Documents/Avid Projects

• Shared Projects (Macintosh) — Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/Media

Composer/Shared Avid Projects

For an explanation of the difference between private projects and shared projects, see

“Understanding the Select Project Dialog Box” on page 50.

All Users\Shared

Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

The Avid Users folder is located in the application folder:

•(Windows) drive:\Program Files\Avid\Avid editing application\Avid Users

• (Macintosh) Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/Avid Media Composer/Avid Users

(Windows only) The location of the Avid Users folder depends on the installation path for your Avid editing application.

Files and Folders Created For Projects

When you create a new project, your Avid editing application creates a folder for the project and three files that are stored within the project folder:

• A project file (.avp)

• A project settings file (.avs)

• A bin file (.avb)

The project folder and the three files all use the project name you provide. The project folder is stored in the Avid Projects folder.

Your settings are initially set to the default values. As you work, the files maintain current settings. As you create additional bins for the project (see “Creating a New Bin” on

page 76), additional bin (.avb) files are added to the project folder.

Files and Folders Created For User Profiles

When you create a new user profile, your Avid editing application creates a folder for the user and two files that are stored within the user folder:

• A user profile file (.ave)

• A user settings file (.avs)

The user folder and the two files all use the user profile name you provide. The new folder is stored in the Avid Users folder.

Changing Project and User Names

You cannot change project or user names from within your Avid editing application. You must change the names from your desktop before starting your application. For information about the location of the Avid Projects and Avid Users folders, see “Understanding the Avid

Projects and Avid Users Folders” on page 62.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

When you change a user name or a project name, make sure you change the name of the folder and all the files in the folder that have the old name. Your Avid editing application does not automatically change the names of corresponding files in the folder.

To change a project name or user name:

1. Navigate to the Avid Projects or Avid Users folder, and then double-click the folder to open it.

2. Click the name of the folder you want to change. The name is highlighted for text entry.

3. Type the new name of the folder.

4. Double-click the folder with the new name to open it. The folder contains profile, settings, and project files with the old name.

5. Change the old name of each file to the new name.

Do not change the name of the file MCState.avs in the Avid Users folder.

6. Close the windows, and restart your Avid editing application. The new project name or user name appears in the Select Project dialog box.

Backing Up Your Project Information

Although your Avid editing application automatically saves your bins, projects, and settings, you should back up these items frequently to avoid losing any of your work if your hard drive fails. Because the storage requirements are minimal, you can back up these files to a variety of storage devices, such as:

•USB (thumb) drive

•CD-ROM or DVD-ROM

• Network storage device (such as a file server)

• Mass-storage device

To back up the larger media files created when you capture footage, use a high-capacity storage device. For information on backing up media files, see “Backing Up Media Files”

on page 214.

Backing Up Your Project Information

Saving Your Project Information on a Drive or on Removable Media

To save your work on a drive or on removable media:

1. Mount the drive or insert the storage media (USB drive, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM) as appropriate.

2. (Windows only) From the Windows desktop, double-click the My Computer icon.

3. Double-click the icon for the destination storage drive or storage media to open it. Double-click any additional folders to target the appropriate storage location.

4. Navigate to the folder that contains the project folder or the user folder you want to save. For information about the location of these folders, see “Understanding the Avid

Projects and Avid Users Folders” on page 62.

5. Drag a project folder or a user folder to the targeted storage location.

6. When the system finishes copying the files, unmount the drive or eject the media and store it where appropriate.

Restoring from a Backup

To restore a project or user information from a backup storage device:

1. Mount the drive or insert the removable media that contains the backup copies you want to restore.

2. From the desktop, double-click the icons for the drive or storage media and for the internal hard drive (Windows) or for the Macintosh HD (Macintosh).

3. Drag the copies from the storage device to the appropriate folder on the internal hard drive (Windows) or Macintosh HD/Users/Shared (Macintosh). For information about these folders, see “Understanding the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders” on

page 62.

When you start your Avid editing application, the restored project and user profile appear in the Select Project dialog box.

If you are restoring an individual bin or bins, you must relink them to the project from within the Project window. For more information, see “Opening and Closing Bins” on page 77.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Working with the Avid Attic Folder

Your Avid editing application uses a special folder on your system, the Avid Attic folder, to store backup files of each bin in a project.

You can use settings to control how your application saves backups, and you can retrieve files from the Attic folder in the following circumstances:

• When you want to replace current changes to a sequence or clip with a previous version

• When the current bin file becomes corrupted

Understanding the Avid Attic Folder

The Avid Attic folder contains backup files of each bin in a project. You retrieve files from the Avid Attic folder in the following circumstances:

• When you want to replace current changes to a sequence or clip with a previous version

• When the current bin file becomes corrupted

For information on setting automatic save features, see “Saving Bins Automatically” in the Help.

(Macintosh only) If you deselected the “Allow filenames to exceed 27 characters” option in the General Settings dialog box, you cannot retrieve a backup file with a file name larger than the 27-character limit. You must rename the file before retrieving it.

The Avid Attic folder contains a folder for each project. Each project folder contains a Bins folder. When a bin is saved, a folder with the bin’s name is created in the Bins folder and a copy of the bin file is stored in the folder with the bin name. The system adds the file name extension .bak plus a version number to the bin’s file name. The bin file with the highest version number represents the latest copy of the bin file.

When you view a bin folder in Details view (Windows) or List view (Macintosh), you can also identify the most recent backup file based on the timestamp of creation displayed in the Modified column (Windows) or Date Modified column (Macintosh).

The oldest backup file is overwritten only if the second-oldest backup file is more than 2 hours old.

Working with the Avid Attic Folder

Retrieving Files from the Avid Attic Folder (Windows)

To retrieve a file from the Avid Attic folder:

1. Minimize your Avid editing application. For information on minimizing, see the Windows documentation.

2. From the desktop, double-click the Avid Attic folder, located in drive:\Program Files\Avid\Avid editing application.

The Avid Attic folder is usually located in the same folder as your Avid editing application.

The Avid Attic folder opens and displays a folder for each project.

3. Double-click a project folder, and then double-click the Bins folder. The Bins folder opens and displays a folder for each bin in the project.

4. Double-click the folder for the bin you want to retrieve.

5. If the bin folder is not already in the Details view, Select View > Details. The bin folder displays the backup bin files and their creation dates. A backup bin file

has the same name as the bin, with a number appended. For example, a bin named Source Clips might have backup bin files named Source Clips.1 and Source Clips.2.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

6. Select the backup bin file or files you want to retrieve.

7. Ctrl+drag the selected backup bin files to the desktop. This makes a copy of the files, leaving the original files in the Avid Attic folder.

To copy backup files to a new bin:

1. Click the taskbar item for your Avid editing application to restore it.

If the taskbar is hidden, see “Using the Windows Taskbar (Windows Only)” on page 44.

2. Click the Project window to activate it, and click the Bins tab to display the Bins list.

3. Select File > Open Bin.

4. From the Files of Type list, select All Files (*.*).

5. Navigate to the desktop, select one of the backup bin files you copied, and click Open. The backup bin opens.When you open a backup bin, a link to the backup bin on the

desktop is created in the Other Bins folder.

Your Avid editing application does not allow a bin and a copy of a bin to be open at the same time. You must keep all other bins closed and open the backup bins one at a time.

6. Create a new bin. For example, if you are retrieving clips from a backup bin called Source Clips.2, you can call the new bin Source Clips New.

7. Select the material you want to keep from the backup bin, and drag the files to the new bin.

8. Repeat steps 3 through 7 for any other backup bin files you copied to the desktop.

Working with the Avid Attic Folder

9. Select and delete the backup bins in the Other Bins folder.

10. Drag the backup bin files on the desktop to the Recycle Bin.

Retrieving Files from the Avid Attic Folder (Macintosh)

To retrieve a file from the Avid Attic folder:

1. Minimize your Avid editing application. For information on minimizing, see the Macintosh documentation.

2. From the desktop, double-click the Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/Avid Attic folder. The Avid Attic folder opens and displays a folder for each project.

3. Double-click a project folder, and then double-click the Bins folder. The Bins folder opens and displays a folder for each bin in the project.

4. Double-click the folder for the bin you want to retrieve.

5. Select View > as List, if the bin folder is not already in the List view. The bin folder displays the backup bin files and their creation dates. A backup bin file

has the same name as the bin, with a number appended. For example, a bin named Source Clips might have backup bin files named Source Clips.1 and Source Clips.2.

6. k+click the files you want to retrieve.

7. Option+drag the selected backup bin files to the desktop. This makes a copy of the files, leaving the original files in the Avid Attic folder.

To copy backup files to a new bin:

1. Click the icon for your Avid editing application on the Dock to activate the application.

2. Click the Project window to activate it, and click Bins to display the Bins list.

3. Select File > Open Bin.

4. Navigate to the desktop, select one of the backup bin files you copied, and click Open. The backup bin opens.When you open a backup bin, a link to the backup bin on the

desktop is created in the Other Bins folder.

Your Avid editing application does not allow a bin and copy of a bin to be open at the same time. You must keep all other bins closed and open the backup bins one at a time.

5. Create a new bin. For example, if you are retrieving clips from a backup bin called Source Clips.2, you can call the new bin Source Clips New.

6. Open the new bin and open the backup bin in the Other Bins folder.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

7. Select the material you want to keep from the backup bin, and drag the files to the new bin.

8. Repeat steps 3 through 7 for any other backup bin files you copied to the desktop.

9. Select and delete the backup bins in the Other Bins folder.

10. Drag the backup bin files on the desktop to the Trash.

Using Toolsets

You can use predesigned work environments (toolsets) that are suited to your most common tasks:

• Color Correction

• Source/Record Editing

• Effects Editing

• Audio Editing

•Capture

The Toolset menu provides you with several environments, or special-purpose workspaces, that include the following:

• Tools appropriate for the task

• A screen optimized for the task, screen resolution, and number of monitors

• A neatly organized workspace without overlapping windows

You can change the toolset workspace, restore it to the default arrangement, or link it to other settings. For example, you might want each toolset to appear with a different color scheme.

Opening Toolsets

To open a toolset:

t Select Toolset > toolset.

Any open tools close, and the screen changes to display windows appropriate to the toolset task.

Customizing Toolsets

To customize the toolset workspace:

1. For the toolset you want to customize, select Toolset > toolset.

2. Open other tools with which you want to work, and position them where you want them.

3. Select Toolset > Save Current. The next time you select the customized toolset, it appears with your changes.

To remove your customizations:

t Select Toolset > Restore Current to Default.

Linking Toolsets to Other Settings

You can link the current toolset to custom User settings.

To link a toolset to another setting:

1. For the toolset you want to link, select Toolset > toolset.

2. Select Toolset > Link Current to. The Link Toolset dialog box opens.

Using Toolsets

3. Click the Links to Current Toolset menu, and select Link to Named Settings.

4. Type the name of the other setting to which you want to link the toolset. For more information about creating and naming custom settings, see “Working with Settings” in the Help.

You can link toolsets only to User settings.

5. Click OK. The active toolset is linked to the custom setting you specified.

You might want to link several toolsets to named settings but leave the other toolsets linked to a default, unnamed setting.

To link a toolset to an unnamed setting:

1. For the toolset you want to link, select Toolset > toolset.

2. Select Toolset > Link Current to. The Link Toolset dialog box opens.

3. Click the Links to Current Toolset menu, and select Link to Unnamed Settings.

4. Click OK. The active toolset is linked to all the unnamed settings in the Settings list.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Chapter 3

Working with the Project Window

The Project window provides controls for structuring and viewing important information about your current project. You can also modify User, Project, and Site settings from the Project window and display a list of effects. The following topics provide basic information about the Project window:

• Understanding the Project Window

• Controlling Project Window Display

• Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

• Using the Settings Tab in the Project Window

• Using the Format Tab in the Project Window

For advanced information about the Project window, see “Working with the Project Window: Advanced” in the Help or in the Advanced Guide for your Avid editing application.

(Windows only) This chapter refers to the installation default directory path for the various Avid folders. If you chose a different directory path during the installation, you must substitute that path when using this chapter.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Understanding the Project Window

The Project window is a central location for important information and tools that you need as you work on your project.

Project window information is organized in tabs.The following table describes the display tabs available in the Project window:

Tab Function

Bins Allows you to create and open bins. See “Using the Bins Tab in the Project

Window” on page 75.

Settings Allows you to view and modify settings. See “Using the Settings Tab in the Project

Window” on page 82.

Effects Allows you to access a library of effects. See “Working with Effects” on page 391.

Format Allows you to view information about the format of the project. See “Using the

Format Tab in the Project Window” on page 83.

Usage Allows you to view information about the work session usage. See “Displaying

Usage Information” in the Help.

Info Allows you to view information about system memory usage and system hardware

configuration. See “Using the Info Display” in the Help.

Controlling Project Window Display

The Project window opens automatically when you select a project in the Select Project dialog box. For more information, see “Working with Projects” on page 49. You can use the Project window’s tab to change the display of information in the window.

The Project window remains open the entire time you are working in a project; however, it might become hidden behind open bins or tools. If this occurs, you can redisplay the Project window.

When you close the Project window, you return to the Select Project dialog box.

To change the information display in the Project window:

t Click one of the tabs.

To locate and redisplay the Project window, do one of the following:

t Select Tools > Project. t Click in an unobstructed area of the Project window to bring it forward.

To close the Project window, do one of the following:

t With the Project window active, select File > Close Project. t Click the Close button in the Project window.

The Select Project dialog box opens.

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

When you create a project, your Avid editing application automatically creates a bin with the name of the new project, which is displayed in the Bins tab of the Project window. You can rename this bin and create additional bins as you work in your project.

The word bin is a movie industry term that refers to a container that holds pieces of film. In your Avid editing application, bins contain master clips that are created when you capture source material. Bins also contain the sequences, subclips, group clips, and effect clips that you create during a project. From the Project window, you can view a list of bins associated with the project, and open, close, and create bins. You can also open bins created for another project.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Viewing a List of Bins

You can view a list of bins in the Project window. From the Bins list, you can examine the number, names, sizes, and location of the bins. Bins from other projects appear in the Project window in italic.

For more information on working with bins, see “Working with Bins” on page 169.

To view a list of bins associated with the project:

t Click the Bins tab in the Project window.

Bins tab Fast Menu

button

Bin icon

Creating a New Bin

To create a new bin from the Project window:

1. Do one of the following:

t Select File > New Bin. t Click the New Bin button in the Project window.

A new (empty) bin opens and is given the name of the project as displayed in the title bar of the Project window. The new bin appears in the Bins list in the Project window with a default name highlighted and a number appended to it. A corresponding file is placed in the project folder in the Avid Projects folder, and a backup copy is placed in the Avid Attic folder. For more information, see “Understanding the Avid Projects and

Avid Users Folders” on page 62 and “Working with the Avid Attic Folder” on page 66.

2. Type the name of the new bin, and press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh). For more information, see “Renaming a Bin” on page 77.

To place a bin in a folder:

Bins list

t Drag the bin to the folder icon.

Renaming a Bin

Each new bin that you create takes the name of the project that appears in the title bar of the Project window and is numbered incrementally.

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

(Macintosh only) You can set the Use Windows compatible File Names option in your Avid editing application’s General Settings dialog box to prevent the application from accepting these restricted characters in a bin, project, or user name. If you are using your Avid application as a standalone editing application (and don’t plan to move your bins or projects to another platform), you have the option of extending bin and project names to 31 characters.

To change the name of a bin:

1. Click the bin name in the Bins list in the Project window.

2. Type a new name.

Project name

Default bin name

Opening and Closing Bins

You can open a single bin from the Project window, or open multiple bins at once. You can also open a bin from another project.

If you have the SuperBin enabled, see “Opening Bins in the SuperBin” on page 187.

Never open a bin that is stored on a removable disk or equivalent device; otherwise, your Avid editing application cannot save your work. Always copy the bin to a project folder on the system drive before you open it.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

To open a bin directly:

1. Click the Bins tab in the Project window.

2. Double-click the Bin icon next to the bin name. The bin opens in a separate window. The Bin icon appears dimmed in the Bins list,

indicating the bin is open.

To open several bins at once from the Project window:

1. Click a Bin icon in the Bins list.

2. Ctrl+click (Windows) or Shift+click (Macintosh) each additional bin you want to open.

3. Select File > Open Selected Bins.

To open a bin from another project:

1. Select File > Open Bin. The Open a Bin dialog box opens.

2. Find and select the bin you want. Bins have the file name extension .avb.

3. Click Open.

The bin appears in the Bins list in the Project window in a folder called Other Bins. The name Other Bins appears in italic. You can rename this folder. This option is useful when you want to open a bin not currently displayed in the Project window.

The Other Bins folder disappears from the Bins list when you delete all the bins in the Other Bins folder. Deleting bins from the Other Bins folder does not remove the bins from the drive; only the pointers to the bins are removed.

To close a bin, do one of the following:

t Click the Close button. t Select File > Close Bin.

Displaying Folders of Bins in the Bins List

You can add folders to the Bins list in the Project window to help organize your project. You can drag bins into folders or drag folders into folders. For more information, see “Managing Folders and Bins” in the Help.

Fast menu button

Arrow

Folders

Tr as h icon

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

To create a folder in a project:

1. Click the Fast menu button, and select New Folder. A new untitled folder appears.

2. Click the untitled folder name in the Bins list and rename it.

To show or hide the folder’s contents in the Bins list in the Project window:

t Click the arrow next to a folder icon.

To view a list of only the folder contents and not the folders:

t Click the Fast Menu button, and select Flat View.

The Trash icon and its contents disappear until Flat View is deselected.

Deleting a Bin or Folder

You can delete bins and folders along with their contents from the Bins list in the Project window. Deleted bins and folders are moved to a Trash folder in the Bins list until you empty the Trash. If you need a deleted bin or folder, you can retrieve it from the Trash. For more information, see “Viewing Contents in the Trash” on page 80.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Only bins and folders appear in the Trash. If you select a clip, subclip, or effect directly in a bin and press the Delete key, the item is permanently deleted and does not appear in the Trash.

To delete a bin or folder from the Project window:

t Select the bin or the folder you want to delete in the Bins list of the Project window, and

do one of the following:

- If the SuperBin is not enabled, press the Delete key.

- If the SuperBin is enabled, right-click the bin name and select Delete Selected Bins from the shortcut menu. For more information on using the Superbin feature, see

“Opening Bins in the SuperBin” on page 187.

A Trash icon appears in the Bins list in the Project window. The Trash contains the deleted item. The deleted item is stored in the Trash until you empty it.

The Trash is not visible in the Project window until you delete your first item.

Viewing Contents in the Trash

If you need to view the contents in the Trash or decide you do not want to delete those items in the Trash, you must first move the bins and folders from the Trash.

To view items in the Trash:

1. Click the arrow next to the Trash icon in the Bins list.

2. Click the bins or folders you want to keep (or view), and drag them from the Trash to the Bins list in the Project window.

3. Double-click the bin or folder to view it.

Emptying the Trash in the Bins List

You can empty the contents of the Trash that is located in the Bins list.

Emptying the trash permanently removes the bins or folders from the drive.

If you change the name of the Trash icon, you cannot empty the Trash.

To empty the Trash in the Bins list:

1. Click the Fast Menu button, and select Empty Trash. A message box opens.

2. Click Empty Trash to delete the bins or folders from the Trash and from your internal hard drive.

Saving Bins Manually

You can manually save a specific bin, selected bins, or all bins. You might want to do this immediately after performing an important edit.

To save a specific bin:

1. Click the bin to activate it.

2. Select File > Save Bin.

To save selected bins:

1. In the Bins tab of the Project window, click a Bin icon to select it, and then Ctrl+click any additional bins.

2. Select File > Save All. The system saves all the selected bins.

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

The Save Bin command appears dimmed if there were no changes since the last time the active bin was saved.

To save all the bins:

1. Click the Bins tab in the Project window to activate it.

2. Select File > Save All. The system saves all the bins for the project.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Using the Settings Tab in the Project Window

From the Settings tab in the Project window, you can view, select, open, and alter various User, Project, and Site settings. Each setting includes Help that you can access directly from the setting dialog box.

Before working in your project, review the basic system settings described in the following table:

Setting Description

Bin Sets parameters for auto-save interval and other bin procedures. See “Bin Settings” in

the Help.

Film and 24p Sets parameters for edit play rate, ink number format, and transfer rate. See “Film and

24P Settings” in the Help.

General Defines default values such as the default starting timecode. See “General Settings”

in the Help.

Interface Defines the appearance and function of the applications windows and buttons.See

“Interface Settings” in the Help.

Settings tab

Settings list

Keyboard Defines how commands are mapped to the keyboard. See “Using the Keyboard” on

page 235.

To view the Settings list:

t Click the Settings tab in the Project window.

Settings type

Using the Format Tab in the Project Window

To open a setting:

t Double-click the setting in the Settings list.

To view Help for a setting:

t Open a setting and press the F1 key (Windows) or the Help key (Macintosh).

Using the Format Tab in the Project Window

The Format tab in the Project window allows you to view basic project information, such as the video format (NTSC, for example). The displayed information lists the options you selected in the New Project dialog box when you created the project.

For some project formats, the Project Type list lets you change the format of the project to another format that shares the same frame rate. For example, if you are working in a 1080i/59.94 HD project, you can change the project format to 30i NTSC. For more information, see “Changing the Project Format” in the Help.

For 24p PAL projects, the Format tab shows the audio transfer rate you selected when you created the project. The actual audio transfer rate might be different from the display if you used the Film and 24P Settings dialog box to change the audio transfer rate.. For more information, see “Settings for Film and 24p Projects” in the Help.

To open the Format tab:

t Click the Format tab in the Project window.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Chapter 4

Capturing Media

Capturing is the process of creating digital media from video or audio input.When you capture, you convert source material into master clips that contain reference information and media files that contain the digital audio and video. The basic procedures you need to capture media are described in the following sections:

• Understanding Logging and Shot Logs

• Importing Shot Log Files

• Preparing the Hardware for Capture

• Selecting Settings for Capture

• Configuring Decks

• Capturing DV Media Directly from a DV Device

• Setting Up the Capture Tool

• Preparing for Audio Input

• Preparing for Video Input

• Capture Preparations Check List

• Capturing and Logging at the Same Time

• Frame Chase Capture

• Batch Capturing from Logged Clips

• Recapturing Your Material

For advanced information about logging and capturing media, see “Capturing Media: Advanced” in the Help or in the Advanced Guide for your Avid editing application.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

Understanding Logging and Shot Logs

Logging is the process of entering information about source material into bins at the beginning of the editing workflow. A shot log is a text file that lists information about a roll of film or a videotape, usually in chronological order.

You can get information into your bins either by importing a shot log file or by entering the information directly. Logging can be done automatically or manually, before capturing or at the same time as capturing.

When you import shot log files or log directly into a bin, you provide your Avid editing application with frame-accurate clip information (such as starting and ending timecodes). Your application uses this information to capture the source footage, and the information forms the foundation for organizing, tracking, storing, retrieving, and generating lists of edit information throughout your project.

You can import any shot log created or converted to meet Avid log specifications. You can also combine or merge events while importing a log so that fewer master tapes require capturing. The system imports any additional information logged with each clip. For more information, see “Understanding Avid Log Specifications” in the Help.

For film projects, most telecine and other film-to-tape transfer systems generate a log you can import directly to the bin, after you convert it to .ale format by using the Avid Log Exchange (ALE) utility. Even if the telecine facility supplies you with an .ale file, you should process it through the ALE utility, using the Clean function. For more information, see “Preparing Log Files for Import” in the Help.

You can also import an EDL to a bin for use in capturing. For more information, see the Avid EDL Manager Help.

For information on how to import a shot log file, see “Importing Shot Log Files” on page 87.

For information about logging into a bin, see “Logging Directly into a Bin” in the Help.

For information about logging and capturing at the same time, see “Capturing and Logging

at the Same Time” on page 133.

Importing Shot Log Files

You can import a shot log file into a bin to make clip information such as start and end timecode available to your Avid editing application. For more information on logging and shot logs, see “Understanding Logging and Shot Logs” on page 86.

To import shot log files into a bin:

1. If you have created Import settings for importing shot log files, select the Import setting you want to use from the Settings list. For more information, see “Creating and Using

Import Settings” on page 156.

2. Do one of the following to identify the bin in which you want to store the imported files: t Open a bin from the Project window.

For more information, see “Opening and Closing Bins” on page 77.

t Click anywhere in an open bin to select it. t Create a new bin.

For more information, see “Creating a New Bin” on page 76.

3. Select File > Import. The Select Files to Import dialog box opens.

Importing Shot Log Files

Windows

Look in menu

Files of type menu

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

Macintosh

Enable menu

From menu

4. (Option) If you want to select options for combining events on import, click the Options button to open the Import Settings dialog box, After selecting the appropriate options from the Shot Log tab, click OK to close the Import Settings dialog box and return to the Select Files to Import dialog box.

For information on Import settings, see “Import Settings” in the Help. You can also view this information by clicking the dialog box and pressing the F1 key (Windows) or the Help key (Macintosh).

5. Do one of the following: t If you are importing an .ale file, click the Files of type menu and select Shot Log

(Windows), or click the Enable menu and select Shot Log Documents (Macintosh).

t If you are importing a text file or batch importing multiple file types, click the Files

of type menu and select All Files (Windows), or click the Enable menu and select Any Documents (Macintosh).

When batch importing multiple files and file types, you should establish global Import settings in advance. See “Creating and Using Import Settings” on page 156.

Preparing the Hardware for Capture

6. Use the Look in menu (Windows) or From menu (Macintosh) to locate the folder containing the source file.

7. Select the source file from the list and click the Open button. When the system finishes importing the file, the clips appear in the selected bin.

Preparing the Hardware for Capture

Your source material can originate from a videotape, a digital audiotape (DAT), a compact disc (CD), an in-house router, a tuner, or straight off-the-air, with the proper hardware configuration.

For information on connecting your equipment, see one of the following topics in the Help:

• Using the Avid Adrenaline

• Using the Avid Mojo

• Using the Avid Mojo SDI

• Setting Up Your Software-Only Avid Editing System

You should check the items described in the following table before capturing:

Item Description

Sync source

Audio-only input

Client monitor

16:9 format

An external sync source is not required for capturing video or audio with video. Avid recommends using an external sync source for output. For more information, see “Selecting the Sync Source for Output” on page 519.

Sync is needed for audio-only input. For more information, see “Establishing

Sync for Audio-Only Input” on page 90.

Before you begin capturing and editing, set up your NTSC or PAL Client monitor by using a color-bar generator (or house pattern) and lock in those settings, if you have not done so already. See “Connecting a Client Monitor” and “Playing Video to the Client Monitor” in the Help.

You can edit with video in the 16:9 aspect ratio for display of wide-screen images used in the high-definition television (HDTV) format. To view the footage on a Client monitor, you must have a 16:9-compatible Client monitor. For more information on the 16:9 format option, see “Using the 16:9 Display Format” in the Help.

Remote switch

The deck control switch on the front of the source deck must be set to Remote rather than Local to control the deck with the Capture tool.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

Item Description

DAT (digital audiotape)

Striped drives

When capturing from DAT, you might need to select an appropriate sync setting. For more information, see “Establishing Sync for Audio-Only Input”

on page 90.

If you are capturing media at high resolution, you must use striped drives.

Getting Information About Striped Drives

Avid maintains a set of tables containing information about striping drives, which is available through Avid online support.

For more information, see “Formatting and Striping Media Drives” in the Help.

To get information about striped drives:

1. Go to www.avid.com/onlinesupport.

2. Search for “Drive Striping Tables.”

Establishing Sync for Audio-Only Input

When you capture audio with video, the video input signal provides the timing reference for digitizing analog audio. This ensures that the audio and video remain in synchronization.

When you capture audio only, the audio timing reference is taken from the same source as the video output timing. You set the sync source for capture and output timing through the Video Output tool. For more information about connecting a reference signal, see “Selecting

the Sync Source for Output” on page 519.

If you are capturing audio only, and the material being captured must be resynchronized with video, you must make sure that the audio captured remains synchronized with the associated video. There are several cases to consider:

• Analog audio input (XLR and RCA)

• Digital audio input (ADAT, AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and SDI Embedded Audio)

Selecting Settings for Capture

Analog Audio Input

If you are capturing audio-only from an analog source, sync is taken from the sync source, either black burst or tri-level, as selected in the Video Output tool. If no sync source is connected, sync is generated from internal timing.

If you need to synchronize audio with video clips captured separately, Avid recommends that you connect a sync source to both the Avid DNA device and the audio deck. Otherwise you might experience drifting of the audio during editing.

Digital Audio Input

Digital audio inputs (ADAT, AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and SDI Embedded Audio) provide their own timing reference. No other connections are required to achieve sync, so long as the source deck is genlocked.

When using the AES/EBU inputs, the lowest numbered channel that is enabled for input in either the Capture tool or the Audio tool is used as the timing reference. It is important that all AES/EBU inputs that are used simultaneously be locked to the same timing reference.

Selecting Settings for Capture

Several settings directly affect the capturing process. This section includes information on Media Creation settings. For other settings, see the following topics in the Help:

• Capture Settings

• Capturing Across Timecode Breaks

• General Settings

• Settings for Film and 24p Projects

• Advanced Capture Settings

For information about locating and modifying settings, see “Using the Settings List” in the Help.

You can also view information about settings by clicking a window or dialog box and pressing the F1 key (Windows) or the Help key (Macintosh).

In the MXF Media Type tab or the OMF Media Type tab of the Capture Settings dialog box, review the setting for “Maximum (default) capture time.” This setting limits the length of capture-on-the-fly and capture from an IN point without an OUT point. The default setting is 30 minutes. For more information, see “Capture Settings” in the Help.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

Understanding Video Resolutions

Video resolution refers to the dimensions and the amount of compression in a video media file. The resolutions you can select depend on your project format.

• For 25-fps and 30-fps projects, the Video Resolution list shows single-field resolutions, two-field interlaced resolutions, and DV.

• For 24p and 25p projects, the list shows progressive, full-frame resolutions. Select 1:1 for uncompressed media.

• For HD projects, the list shows 1:1 (not available for capture), Avid DNxHD resolutions, and DVCPRO HD, depending on your video input. For more information, see “Capturing DV Media Directly from a DV Device” on page 101.

• For HDV projects, no video resolutions are available for capture, because your Avid editing application automatically selects the correct resolution. For 720p HDV projects, Avid DNxHD and DVCPRO HD resolutions are listed for other media creation. For 1080 HDV projects, DNxHD-TR resolutions are available for other media creation.

Resolutions use either the OMF or the MXF media format. For more information, see “File Format Specifications” in the Help.

DNxHD resolutions are available in 10-bit and 8-bit versions. 10-bit compressions are indicated by an X, such as DNxHD 220 X. DNxHD resolutions use the MXF media format. JFIF, MPEG, DV 25, and DV 50 resolutions are not available in HD projects.

™

For more information about resolutions, see “Resolution Specifications” in the Help.

If you are using Avid Unity LANshare or Avid Unity PortServer Pro, make sure to specify a supported resolution. For information on supported resolutions, see the LANshare or PortServer Pro documentation.

Selecting Video Resolutions and Media Drives

The Media Creation dialog box allows you to set the video resolution and to select drives for capturing, creating titles and motion effects, importing, and performing audio and video mixdowns.

For more information on video resolutions, see “Understanding Video Resolutions” on

page 92.

You can also select a video resolution and select drives directly in the Capture tool, the Save Title dialog box, the Select Files to Import dialog box, the Audio Mixdown dialog box, and the Video Mixdown dialog box. The Media Creation settings automatically change to the resolution and drives you select.

Selecting Settings for Capture

To select a video resolution and media drives:

1. Do one of the following:

t Double-click Media Creation in the Settings list. t Select Tools > Media Creation.

The Media Creation dialog box opens.

2. Click the Media Type tab, and select either OMF or MXF file format.

If your project uses an HD resolution, you cannot select OMF as a file format. MXF is selected by default.

3. Click the Capture tab.

Video Resolution menu

4. Click the Video Resolution menu, and select a video resolution. The Video Resolution menu contains a list in the available resolutions.

Clicking Apply to All sets your selected video resolution for all applicable tabs in the Media Creation dialog box. Your settings are not saved until you click OK.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

5. Select a video drive and an audio drive. To select the same drive for both video and audio, click the Single/Dual Drives Mode button until only a single drive menu opens.

The drive that appears in boldface type has the most available space.

6. (Option) You can select drives and create a drive group. Click the Target Drive menu, and select Change Group. For more information on selecting a drive group, see

“Targeting a Drive Group” on page 116.

Because there is no audio associated with titles or motion effects, you can select only a video drive in the Titles or the Motion Effects tab of the Media Creation dialog box.

7. To apply your drive selection to all the Media Creation tabs and the rest of the application, click Apply to All.

This sets your selected video and audio drives for all the Media Creation tabs. It also sets them for any place in the application where you select drives.

Your settings are not saved until you click OK.

8. Click OK to save your settings.

For more information about options, see “Media Creation Settings” in the Help. You can also view this information by clicking the dialog box and pressing the F1 key (Windows) or the Help key (Macintosh).

Setting Drive Filtering

Your Avid editing application lets you select any drive on your system to use for media storage. However, high-quality resolutions require striped drives.For more information, see

“Getting Information About Striped Drives” on page 90.

Because media files are very large, you can remove from the list of available drives the drive where the operating system is located, the drive where your Avid editing application is located, and network drives that do not support the resolution you select. Filtering drives in this way provides you with a convenient way to store media only on drives with sufficient space.

Your Avid editing application does not prevent you from using non-Avid drives, but their reliability cannot be assured.

Selecting Settings for Capture

If you are working in a network environment, see “Drive Filtering in Networked Workflows” in the Help.

To set drive filtering in the Media Creation dialog box:

1. Do one of the following:

t Double-click Media Creation in the Settings list. t Select Tools > Media Creation.

The Media Creation dialog box opens.

2. (Option) Click the Drive Filtering & Indexing tab.

Options for indexing local drives apply only in an Avid Interplay™ environment. For more information, see the Avid Interplay Software Installation Guide.

3. Select a drive to filter out: t Select Filter Network Drives Based on Resolution to remove those network drives

that cannot support the selected resolution, or cannot handle playback of the selected resolution.

t Select Filter Out System Drive to remove from the list the drive on which the

operating system resides.

t Select Filter Out Launch Drive to remove from the list the drive on which the Avid

editing system resides.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

The drive or drives you filter out do not appear in the other Media Creation tabs as possible locations where you can store media. They also do not appear in other drive selection menus in the application except for the Import, Export, and Relink dialog boxes.

Your settings are not saved until you click OK.

4. Click OK to save your settings.

Configuring Decks

Deck Configuration settings allow you to establish deck control parameters for a single deck or for multiple decks. As with all settings, you can create multiple versions, allowing you to select among them for frequent changes in hardware configurations.

Deck Configuration settings and global deck control preferences appear as separate items in the Settings list in the Project window.

Deck control settings

For information on setting Deck Preferences, see “Deck Preferences Settings” in the Help. You can also view this information by clicking the dialog box and pressing the F1 key (Windows) or the Help key (Macintosh).

Configuring a Deck or Multiple Decks

Configuring Decks

You must manually configure the appropriate hardware connections before Deck Configuration settings can take effect.

To configure a deck or multiple decks:

1. Double-click Deck Configuration in the Settings list in the Project window. The Deck Configuration dialog box opens.

2. Click the Add Channel button to add a new channel box on the left side of the Deck Configuration dialog box and to automatically open a Channel dialog box.

Channel refers to the signal path for deck control, whether directly through a serial port, through a V-LAN connection. A direct serial port or FireWire connection allows one deck for each channel, while a V-LAN VLXi system allows multiple decks.

VLXi system connected to a serial port, or through a FireWire®

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

3. Click the Channel Type menu, and select one of the following items, depending upon your system configuration:

- FireWire if you are controlling a DV camera or deck through a FireWire

connection.

- Direct if you are controlling a deck through an RS-422 connection to the serial port.

- VLAN VLX if you are controlling decks through a V-LAN/VLXi connection.

4. Click the Port menu, and select one of the following items:

- Avid DNA or OHCI if you selected FireWire for the channel. Avid DNA refers to

the FireWire (IEEE-1394) connection on the Avid Adrenaline, Avid Mojo, or Avid Mojo SDI hardware. OHCI refers to a FireWire connection on the computer.

- COM1 or COM2 if you selected Direct or VLAN VLX for the channel.

If you are not sure which COM port to select, check the 9-pin serial port connectors on the back of the system. If the ports are not labeled, see the manufacturer’s documentation supplied with your system.

5. Click OK to close the Channel dialog box. A dialog box opens with a question asking if you want to automatically configure the

channel now.

Configuring Decks

6. Click Yes if you want to automatically configure the channel. A new channel appears in the display area of the Deck Configuration dialog box, along

with the autoconfigured deck.

Channel boxes appear on the left side

Do not autoconfigure a DV camera or deck. Not all DV devices respond to the Autoconfigure command. Due to this limitation, Auto-configure selects only a generic device template. When a digital camera is attached to your system, click the Deck Type menu, and select the proper device (described later in this procedure). When a deck is attached, click the Deck Type menu, and select the applicable deck.

Decks appear on the right side

You can reopen the Channel settings to change the options at any time by double-clicking the channel box in the Deck Configuration dialog box.

7. If you did not autoconfigure the deck, click the channel box to select it.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

8. Click the Add Deck button to open the Deck Settings dialog box.

With a deck already connected to the system, you can click the Auto-configure button to bypass the Deck Settings dialog box and automatically configure a deck with the default settings.

100

9. Select the manufacturer and model number of your deck or other device. Selecting a model opens a template of settings for the device you selected. You can change these settings based on your device.

For more information, see “Deck Settings” in the Help. You can also view this information by clicking the dialog box and pressing the F1 key (Windows) or the Help key (Macintosh).

10. Click OK to close the Deck Settings dialog box and return to the Deck Configuration dialog box.

You can reopen the Deck Settings dialog box to change the options at any time by double-clicking the deck box in the Deck Configuration dialog box.

11. Repeat the channel and deck setup process for each additional channel or deck you want to configure.

Pinnacle Systems Media Composer - 2.7, Media Composer - 3.0, Media Composer - 2.5 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Tables

Using This Guide

Symbols and Conventions

If You Need Help

Accessing the Online Library

How to Order Documentation

Avid Educational Services

Editing Overview

Editing Workflow

Starting a Project

Preparing to Edit

Editing a Sequence

Outputting a Sequence

Starting a Project

Turning on Your Equipment

Working with the Desktop

Using the Windows Taskbar (Windows Only)

Using the Macintosh Dock (Macintosh Only)

Using Shortcut Menus

Navigating in Dialog Boxes and Menus

Understanding Mouse Scroll Wheel Functions

Customizing Mouse Functions

Starting Your Avid Editing Application (Windows)

Starting Your Avid Editing Application (Macintosh)

Working with Projects

Understanding the Select Project Dialog Box

Creating a New Project

Opening an Existing Project

Opening the Startup Project

Browsing for a Project

Opening a Project Automatically

Closing a Project

Deleting a Project

Ending a Work Session

Quitting Your Avid Editing Application

Turning Off Your Equipment

Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Understanding the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Changing Project and User Names

Backing Up Your Project Information

Saving Your Project Information on a Drive or on Removable Media

Restoring from a Backup

Working with the Avid Attic Folder

Understanding the Avid Attic Folder

Retrieving Files from the Avid Attic Folder (Windows)

Retrieving Files from the Avid Attic Folder (Macintosh)

Using Toolsets

Opening Toolsets

Customizing Toolsets

Linking Toolsets to Other Settings

Working with the Project Window

Understanding the Project Window

Controlling Project Window Display

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

Viewing a List of Bins

Creating a New Bin

Renaming a Bin

Opening and Closing Bins

Displaying Folders of Bins in the Bins List

Deleting a Bin or Folder

Viewing Contents in the Trash

Emptying the Trash in the Bins List

Saving Bins Manually

Using the Settings Tab in the Project Window

Using the Format Tab in the Project Window

Capturing Media

Understanding Logging and Shot Logs

Importing Shot Log Files

Preparing the Hardware for Capture

Getting Information About Striped Drives

Establishing Sync for Audio-Only Input

Selecting Settings for Capture

Understanding Video Resolutions

Selecting Video Resolutions and Media Drives

Setting Drive Filtering