Pinnacle Systems Media Composer - 7.0 Quick Start Guide

Avid

Media Composer

Getting Started Guide

Release 7.0



tools for storytellers™

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. 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 may be protected by one or more of the following patents: 4,746,994; 4,970,663; 5,045,940; 5,077,604; 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; 5,583,496; 5,584,006; 5,627,765; 5,634,020; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; D352,278; D372,478; D373,778. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for an y purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology , Inc.

APPLE COMPUTER, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ITS MERCHANTABILITY OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMITTED BY SOME ST ATES. THE ABO VE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS W ARRANTY PROVIDES YOU WITH SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. THERE MAY BE OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU MA Y HAVE WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

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

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software [i.e., the TIFF libr ary] 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 [i.e., the JPEG modules] is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

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 warr anties whatsoever, either express or implied, regarding this product, including w arranties 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.”

Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights Legend

U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. Use, duplication or disclosure by the government of the software, documentation and other technical data is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c) of FAR clause 52.227-19, COMMERCIAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE-RESTRICTED RIGHTS or, in the case of the Department of Defense or its contractor, is subject to DFARS 227.7202-3, Rights in Commercial Computer Software or Commercial Computer Software Documentation.

Electromagnetic Compatibility FCC Notice

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Oper ation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device , pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense. Ref: C97029a

Canadian ICES-003

This Class A digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference Causing Equipment Regulations. Cet appareil numérique de class A respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada.

Declaration of Conformity (according to ISO/IEC Guide 22 and EN 45014)

Application of Council Directives: 73/23/EEC, 89/336/EEC. Standards to which Conformity is Declared: EN 60950: 1992 + A1, A2: 1993, IEC950: 1992 + A1, A2: 1993 Mod., CISPR 22:1985 / EN 55022:1988 Class A (1), EN 50082-1, IEC801 -2, -3, -4. Manuf acturer’s Name: Avid Technology Inc., 1925 Andover Street, Tewksbury, MA 01876, USA. European Contact: Nearest Avid Sales and Service Ofﬁce or Avid Technology Int’l B.V., Sandyford Business Center, Unit 3, Dublin 18, Ireland. Type of Equipment: Information Technology Equipment. Product Name: Avid Editing System, PCI Media Composer, MCXpress for Macintosh, Film Composer. Base Model Numbers: 400S, 800, 900, 1000, 4000, 8000, MC Ofﬂine, Media Station. Product Options: All. Year of Manufacture:1997. (1) The product was tested in a typical Avid Media Composer conﬁguration.

I the undersigned, hereby declare that the equipment speciﬁed above conforms to the above Directives and Standards. George R. Smith, Quality Manager Ref: C97029a, C97030a

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Trademarks

AirPlay, AudioVision, Avid, FieldPak, Film Composer, HIIP, Image Independence, Media Composer, MediaMatch, Media Recorder, Media Suite, NewsCutter, OMF, OMF Interchange, Open Media Framework, and the Avid logo, are registered trademarks and Advance, AniMatte, AudioStation, AutoSequence, AutoSync, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, AvidDroid, AvidNet, AVIDstripe, Avid Xpress, Film Cutter, Krypton, MCXpress, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader , MediaServer, and MediaShare, and Tools for Storytellers are trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. Digidesign is a registered trademark and Audiomedia II, Audiomedia III, Pro Tools, Sound Accelerator II, Sound Designer II, Sound Tools II, and Video Slave Driver are trademarks of Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. Elastic Reality and TransJammer are registered trademarks and the Elastic Reality logo is a trademark of Elastic Reality , Inc., a division of Avid Technology, Inc. Matador is a registered trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United Kingdom.

3D Studio and Animator Pro are registered trademarks and FLIC is a trademark of Autodesk, Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. Abekas is a registered trademark of Scitex Digital Video, Inc.; Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Type Manager, and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated or its subsidiaries and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Alias and Alias/Wavefront are registered trademarks and Alias Animator and Alias PowerAnimator are trademarks of Alias/ Wavefront; America Online is a registered trademark of America Online, Inc.; AmiLink CIP and AmiLink POST! are trademarks of RGB Computer and Video, Inc.; Ampex is a registered trademark of Ampex Corporation. Apple, AppleShare, AppleTalk, LaserWriter, Mac, Macintosh, Macintosh Quadra, QuickDra w, QuickTime, Po werBook, Power Macintosh, and TrueType are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Balloon Help and Finder are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. AudioFile is trademarked in the United Kingdom by AMS Neve PLC; Boris FX is a trademark of Artel Software, Inc.; Cineon is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company; CLARiiON is a registered trademark of Data General Corporation; Claris and FileMaker are registered trademarks of Claris Corporation; CMX is a trademark of CMX Company; Compaq is a registered trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation; CompuServe is a registered trademark and GIF is a service mark property of CompuServe, Inc.; DOS Mounter is a trademark of Dayna Corporation; Dyaxis II is a trademark of Studer Editech Corp.; FirstClass is a trademark of SoftArc, Inc.; Flame and Flint are trademarks of Discreet Logic, Inc.; FLEx is a trademark of Pioneer-Standard Electronics, Inc.; FLEXlm is a registered trademark of Globetrotter Software, Inc.; Hitachi is a registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd.; IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation; iNFiNiT! is a trademark of Chyron Corporation; Inscriber is a registered trademark of Image North Technologies; Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation; Key-Log is a trademark of Evertz Microsystems, Ltd.; Mackie Mixer is a trademark of Mackie Designs, Inc.; Match-Maker is a trademark of Audio Technologies Inc.; Mediasound is a trademark of TimeLine Vista, Inc.; Micropolis is a registered trademark of Micropolis (S) PTE Ltd.; Microsoft, MS-DOS, and Windows are registered trademarks and Excel is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation; Motorola is a registered trademark of Motorola Corporation; Mylar is a trademark of E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co., Inc.; NuBus is a registered trademark of Texas Instruments, Inc.; NuVista+ is a registered trademark of Truevision, Inc.; Panasonic is a registered trademark of Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Limited; PC Paintbrush is a trademark of Zsoft Corporation; Pr actical Modem is a trademark of Practical Peripherals, Inc.; PyraMix is a trademark of Merging Technologies; RCA is a registered trademark of General Electric Company; Seagate is a registered trademark of Seagate Technology; Silicon Graphics is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc.; Speed of Sound Library is a trademark of Aware, Inc.; Softimage is a registered trademark of Softimage, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, in the United States and/or other countries; Sony is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation; S/Link is a trademark of The Synclavier Company; Still File Storage is a trademark of Leitch Video; Sun is a trademark or registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries; TARGA, TARGA 2000, and Truevision are registered trademarks of Truevision, Inc.; Trans/Port is a trademark of OSC S.A.; Ultimatte is a trademark of Ultimatte Corporation; Vantage is a trademark of Baseline Software, Inc.; Video Explorer is a trademark of Intelligent Resources Integrated Systems; Video Toaster is a trademark of NewTek Inc.; V-LAN and VLXi are registered trademarks of Videomedia, Inc.; WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation; X Window System is a trademark of X Consortium, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

Footage

Bullfrog, Duckhead, and Rain Forest footage was provided courtesy of Fireside Films, Atlanta, GA; Canyonlands and Flowers footage was provided courtesy of the National Park Service, Harpers Ferry, VA; Softrock (Fields of Gold) footage was provided courtesy of SouthPaw Productions Chicago, IL. Peter Hawley-Director, Jim Fiester-Director/Editor.

Avid Media Composer Getting Started Guide• Part 0130-00994-01 Rev. A • 2/98

Preface

Who Should Use This Manual About This Manual

Symbols and Conventions If You Need Help Related Information If You Have Documentation Comments

Chapter 1 Introduction

Using this Guide Using the Tutorial What You Need Turning on Your Equipment Installing the Media Composer Tutorial Files

Installing AVR 3s Tutorial Files

Installing AVR 70 Tutorial Files Launching the Media Composer Application

Specifying Audio Hardware

Electronic Licensing How to Proceed Using Online Help

Three Ways of Finding Topics in Help

Finding Topics with the Index Searching with the Find Feature

Using Online Documentation

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Chapter 2 About Media Composer

About Media Composer Editing Basics

About Nonlinear Editing

Editing Components Project Workßow

Starting a Project

Preparing to Edit

Editing a Sequence

Generating Output

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Chapter 3 Starting a Project

About Composer Projects and Avid Users Folders Using the Bins Display Using the Settings Display

About Settings

Reviewing Basic Settings Using the Info Display

About Projects and Memory

Viewing Memory Tutorial: Starting a Project Starting the Application Opening a Project

Creating a User

Selecting a Project

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Chapter 4 Digitizing

Selecting Settings About the Digitize Tool About the Audio Tool About the Video Input Tool Digitize Preparations Check List Digitizing

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Digitizing and Logging at the Same Time

Batch Digitizing

Redigitizing

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Chapter 5

Getting Ready to Edit

About Bin Display Modes About Bin Views Controlling Playback

Using Position Bars and Position Indicators

Using Buttons

Play, Pause, Stop, Fast Forward, and Rewind Buttons Step Buttons

Using the Keyboard

J-K-L Keys (Three-Button Play) Home, End, and Arrow Keys

Using the Mouse

Stepping with the Mouse

Shuttling with the Mouse Marking IN and OUT Points Creating Subclips Tutorial: Getting Ready to Edit Viewing Clips Playing Clips

Playing Clips in the Source Monitor Controlling Playback

Marking Edit Points

Marking the Marking the Marking the Using Timecode to Find a Frame Using Frame Offset

Subclipping

Clearing IN Points and OUT Points

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planing ms

ducks

draw knife cu

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Clip

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Clip

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Clip

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Closing the Project Ending the Session

Chapter 6 Editing a Rough Cut

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Viewing Methods Navigating in the Timeline

Using the Position Indicator Using the Timeline Scroll Bar Displaying More or Less Detail

Focusing the Timeline Displaying Source Material in the Timeline Using the T

Selecting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Monitoring Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Tutorial: Rough Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Making the First Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Using Digital Audio Scrub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Splicing an Audio Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Playing a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

ConÞrming the Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Splicing Video into the Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Splicing a Clip in a Pop-up Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Playing IN to OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Using the Go to IN and OUT Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Moving to the Head and Tail of a Shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Using the Splice-in Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Splicing a Shot into the Middle of a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Undoing an Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Using the I/O (IN Point / OUT Point) Tracking Display . . . . . 110

rack Selector Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Monitoring Video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

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Chapter 7 Refining the Edit

Using Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

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Editing in Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Distinguishing Two Types of Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Basic Trim Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Entering Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Exiting Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Toggling Between Big and Small Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Selecting Between Trim Sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Performing a Basic Trim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Using the Command Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Audio Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Adjusting Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

utorial: ReÞning Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Overwriting Shots into a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Marking Clips for Storyboarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Storyboard Editing the Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Rearranging Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Overwriting with the Three-Point Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Rearranging Footage with Extract/Splice-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Removing Footage from a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Removing Footage with Extract/Splice-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Removing Footage with Lift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Dual-Roller Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Using Dual Rollers to Trim the Outgoing Shot. . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Trim Shot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Single-Roller Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Adding Synced Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Working with Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Adjusting Audio Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Adjusting Audio Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Chapter 8 Adding Effects

Effects Editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Displaying the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Effect Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Effect Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Transition Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Segment Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Applying Effects to a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Working in Effect Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Rendering an Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Tutorial: Adding Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Adding Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Displaying Editing Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Adding Fade In

Dissolving Between Shots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Creating a Series of Dissolves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Creating Audio Dissolves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Adding a Fade Within the Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Adding a Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Using the Second Video Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Creating the Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Repositioning the Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Adjusting a Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Adding Key Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Adding Background Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Rendering the Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Screening the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Chapter 9 Creating Titles

Creating New Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Understanding the Title Tool Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Working with Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Text Formatting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Choosing Colors and Setting Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Adjusting the Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Saving Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Editing a Title into a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Tutorial: Creating Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Adding a Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Creating a New Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Repositioning Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Changing Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Adding a Shadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Saving a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Closing the Title Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Editing the Title into the Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Adding Rolling Credits

Editing an Existing Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Adding a Video Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Viewing the Creation Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Editing a Title into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Deleting Excess Footage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Exiting the Title Tool After Creating a New Title. . . . . . . . . . . 176

Chapter 10 Output

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Output Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Preparing for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Digital Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Supported File Types for Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Preparing to Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Tutorial: Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Recording a Digital Cut to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Chapter 11 Backing Up

About Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Media Objects and Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Media Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Basic Media Tool Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Freeing Storage Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Consolidating Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

About the Consolidate Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Backing Up Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Backing Up Project Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Tutorial: Backing Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Using the Consolidate Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Saving Your Work on a Disk or Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Restoring from a Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Quitting and Shutting Down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

xii

Tables

Table 1-1 Choosing Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Table 6-1 Starting the Tutorial: Rough Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Table 7-1 Starting the Tutorial: Refining Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Table 7-2 Mark Points for Boat Shop Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Table 8-1 Starting the Tutorial: Adding Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Table 9-1 Starting the Tutorial: Creating Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Table 10-1 Starting the Tutorial: Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Table 11-1 Media Objects and Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Table 11-2 Starting the Tutorial: Backing Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

xiii

Preface

This guide provides information about how to get started using your Avid¨ Media Composer¨ system.

Who Should Use This Manual

This guide is written for video and Þlm editors who are learning to use an Avid Composer system.

About This Manual

The Table of Contents that precedes this preface lists all topics included in the book. They are presented with the following overall structure:

¥ Chapter 1 explains how to turn on your system, install the tutorial

media, and use the online help and online documentation.

¥ Chapter 2 presents basic editing concepts and walks you through

a typical workßow scenario.

¥ The main body of the guide presents introductory material on var-

ious aspects of your work, followed in most chapters by a tutorial

xiv

section. Step through the tutorial for guided hands-on experience

with your Media Composer system.

¥ A detailed Index helps you quickly locate speciÞc topics.

This guide should get you started. For more information, see the online help and the Avid Media Composer UserÕs Guide.

Symbols and Conventions

The Media Composer documentation uses the following special symbols and conventions:

1. Numbered lists, when order is important.

a. Alphabetical lists, when the order of secondary items is

important.

¥ Bulleted lists, when the order of the items is unimportant.

- Indented dashed lists, when the order of subtopics is unimportant.

k This symbol refers to the Apple or Command key. Hold down the Command key and another key to perform the desired keyboard equivalent.

Look here in the margin for tips.

In the margin you will Þnd tips that help you perform tasks more easily and efÞciently.

A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations, and strong suggestions.

A caution means that a speciÞc 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 the manual or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.

If You Need Help

If youÕre having trouble using Media Composer, you should:

1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide.

2. Check the documentation that came with your hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues.

3. Check the Services & Support section of the Avid web site at http://www.avid.com for the latest FAQs, Tips & Techniques, Avid Answers, and other Avid online offerings.

4. Check the Avid Bulletin Board, ÒAvid Online,Ó for information on product and user conferences. If you do not Þnd the solution to your problem, you can exchange information with other Avid customers and Customer Support representatives.

5. Contact Avid Customer Support at 800-800-AVID (2843).

Related Information

The following documents provide more information about Media Composer:

¥ Avid Media Composer UserÕs Guide

¥ Avid Media Composer Products Reference

¥ Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Effects Guide

¥ Avid Media Composer Products Site Preparation

¥ Avid Media Composer Products WhatÕs New for Release 7.0

¥ Avid Media Composer Products Quick Reference

¥ Avid Media Composer Products Online Documentation

You can get help while you use your Composer system from the online help.

xvi

If You Have Documentation Comments

Avid Technology continuously seeks to improve its documentation. We value your comments about this manual or other Avid-supplied documentation.

E-mail your documentation comments to Avid Technology at

TechPubs@avid.com

Please include the title of the document, its part number, revision, and the speciÞc section youÕre commenting on in all correspondence.

xvii

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

This chapter sets you up to use this guide and work through the tutorial sections that teach you the basics of your Avid Composer system. This chapter contains the following sections:

¥ Using this Guide

¥ Using the Tutorial

¥ What You Need

¥ Turning on Your Equipment

¥ Installing the Media Composer Tutorial Files

¥ Launching the Media Composer Application

¥ How to Proceed

¥ Using Online Help

¥ Using Online Documentation

Using this Guide

This guide introduces you to Media Composer. It presents the essential features of the system; most chapters also contain hands-on tutorial sections so you can practice what you learn.

Using the Tutorial

The self-paced tutorial sections included in this guide are designed as guided Avid edit sessions using the basic features of the Media Composer system. In the tutorial sections, youÕre going to edit a oneminute sequence about a company in Amesbury, Massachusetts that makes small Þshing boats called dories.

The footage for the sequence is on the Media Composer Tutorial CDROMs that came with your system. They contain digitized media that is ready for you to use.

The instructions in this tutorial take you through each step of the edit process:

¥ Starting a project (in Chapter 3

¥ Getting ready to edit (in Chapter 5)

¥ Editing a rough draft (in Chapter 6)

¥ ReÞning the edit (in Chapter 7)

¥ Adding effects, titles, and other Þnishing touches to the sequence

(in Chapter 8 and Chapter 9)

¥ Preparing output (in Chapter 10)

¥ Backing up (in Chapter 11)

This tutorial assumes a basic familiarity with the Macintosh¨ computer. If you have never used a Macintosh system, please refer to the Macintosh Getting Started tutorial.

You donÕt need any previous experience with the Avid Composer system. The terms and techniques needed for each tutorial section are in each chapter. However, it will help to read Chapter 2 of this manual before starting any of the tutorial sections. You can also use the Avid Composer Help (see ÒUsing Online HelpÓ on page 31) and online books (see ÒUsing Online DocumentationÓ on page 33) for more information.

)

This tutorial takes approximately four hours. Before you begin, you need:

¥ An installed Avid Media Composer system

See the Avid Media Composer Products Setup Guide if you have not yet set up your Media Composer system. See the Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Release 7.0 Release Notes if you need to install the Media Composer software.

¥ The Boat Shop media and project Þles on the Media Composer

CD-ROMs

Depending on your level of expertise in editing on Avid systems, you may choose to go through the tutorial in either of two ways.

¥ If you have no experience with Media Composer or other Avid

systems, you should go through the entire tutorial.

¥ If you have used other Avid systems, you may want to read cer-

tain lessons to understand the speciÞc features of Media Composer, and complete the tutorials for other lessons.

You can do this tutorial in one or several sessions. Each section is selfcontained.

What You Need

The CD-ROMs packaged with your Media Composer system include all Þles necessary to do this tutorial:

¥ Read Me First Þle Ñ contains the installation instructions for each

of the Þles on the CD-ROMs. These instructions also appear in

ÒInstalling the Media Composer Tutorial FilesÓ on page 25.

¥ MediaFiles folder Ñ contains the digitized Þles you need for the

tutorial. You need to copy these Þles onto your external media drive.

¥ Composer Projects folder Ñ contains the project and bins you

need for the tutorial. You need to copy these Þles onto your Avid drive.

Turning on Your Equipment

Begin your edit session by turning on the components of your Media Composer system. If any part of your system fails to turn on, make sure its electrical cord is plugged snugly into an appropriate electrical outlet or power strip. See the Avid Media Composer Products Setup Guide for information on setting up your system.

If you fail to follow the proper sequence for starting up your system, you could damage your Macintosh computer and/or storage drives.

Always turn on the devices as follows:

1. Fixed-storage drives: Turn on Þxed-storage drives before starting the computer. Allow 10 to 15 seconds for the drives to spin up to speed before starting the Macintosh.

2. Other peripheral hardware: Turn on all other peripheral units except the Macintosh. This includes:

¥ Monitors and speakers.

¥ Tape decks and/or additional autoassembly conÞgurations

(switcher, time-base corrector, and so on) if you plan to digitize or conduct an autoassembly.

¥ Digidesign¨ audio interface hardware, if your system

includes these. Turn on the Digidesign hardware and black burst generator in order to maintain proper sync between audio and video while digitizing and editing.

For information on Macintosh features, such as the desktop and icons, see your Macintosh documentation.

The black burst generator that accompanies the Digidesign hardware should already be turned on if it is connected to an active power strip.

3. The Macintosh: Press the Power On key located at the upper right corner of the keyboard.

When you start the Macintosh:

¥ You hear a tone that means the hardware is operational.

¥ The computer goes through a self-check routine. If the

Macintosh passes all of its internal logic tests, the smiling Macintosh icon appears.

¥ The Avid startup screen appears and the initialization process

begins.

¥ The Macintosh desktop appears.

Avid drive (internal)

Media

drives

(external)

To avoid damage, do not disconnect or turn off hard disks or individual disk drives while the Macintosh is on.

Installing the Media Composer Tutorial Files

The Media Composer Tutorial CD-ROMs contain all of the Þles you need for the tutorial sections of this guide. It takes about 30 minutes to copy the media Þles from the CD-ROM to the external hard drive.

The CD-ROMs contain several versions of the tutorial media Þles digitized at different Avid Video Resolutions (AVRs). You must select the appropriate AVR for your Media Composer product model. Table 1-1 shows the correct tutorial media for your product. You also need to have enough free space on your external hard drive to accommodate the media sizes listed in the table.

Table 1-1 Choosing Media

If you have: Use: On the CD-ROM named: Media Size

Media Composer Ofßine AVR 3s Avid Media Composer Products

Ofßine Tutorial (PAL and NTSC)

Media Composer online models with striped drives

Media Composer online models without striped drives

AVR 70 Avid Media Composer Products

Online Tutorial (PAL) Disks 1 and 2

Avid Media Composer Products Online Tutorial (NTSC) Disks 1 and 2

AVR 3s Avid Media Composer Products

Ofßine Tutorial (PAL and NTSC)

260 MB

1100 MB

970 MB

260 MB

Installing AVR 3s Tutorial Files

To install the tutorial Þles for AVR 3s:

1. Insert the Avid Media Composer Products Ofßine Tutorial (PAL and NTSC) and double-click its icon.

2. Double-click the folder at the top level of the CD-ROM.

3. The AVR 3s CD-ROM has two top-level folders. Choose NTSC or PAL.

You should see two folders labeled Composer Projects and OMFI MediaFiles.

4. Do one of the following:

¥ If there is an existing OMFI MediaFiles folder on the external

media drive, open the OMFI MediaFiles folder on the CDROM, choose Select All from the Edit menu, and drag the contents to the OMFI MediaFiles folder on the external media drive.

¥ If there is no OMFI MediaFiles folder on the external media

drive, drag the OMFI MediaFiles folder from the CD-ROM to the external media drive.

The Þles are loaded on the drive.

5. Do one of the following:

¥ If there is a Composer Projects folder on the Avid drive, open

the Composer Projects folder on the CD-ROM and drag the Boat Shop folder to the Composer Projects folder on the Avid drive.

¥ If there is no existing Composer Projects folder on the drive,

drag the Composer Projects folder on the CD-ROM to the Avid drive.

Installing AVR 70 Tutorial Files

The tutorial Þles for AVR 70 require two CD-ROMs for NTSC and two for PAL. The procedure is the same for installing either type.

To install the tutorial Þles for AVR 70:

1. Insert the CD-ROM labeled Avid Media Composer Products Online Tutorial (PAL) Disk 1 or Avid Media Composer Products Online Tutorial (NTSC) Disk 1 and double-click its icon.

2. Double-click the folder at the top level.

You should see two folders labeled Composer Projects and OMFI MediaFiles.

3. Do one of the following:

¥ If there is an existing OMFI MediaFiles folder on the external

media drive, open the OMFI MediaFiles folder on the CDROM, choose Select All from the Edit menu, and drag the contents to the OMFI MediaFiles folder on the external media drive.

¥ If there is no existing OMFI MediaFiles folder on the external

media drive, drag the OMFI MediaFiles folder from the CDROM to the external media drive.

The Þles are loaded on the drive.

4. Do one of the following:

¥ If there is an existing Composer Projects folder on the Avid

drive, open the Composer Projects folder on the CD-ROM and drag the Boat Shop folder to the Composer Projects folder on the Avid drive.

¥ If there is no existing Composer Projects folder on the Avid

drive, copy the Composer Projects folder on the CD-ROM to the Avid drive.

5. Eject the CD-ROM in the drive.

6. Insert the CD-ROM labeled Avid Media Composer Products Online Tutorial Disk 2 and double-click its icon.

7. Double-click the top folder.

You should see a folder labeled OMFI MediaFiles-2.

8. Choose Select All from the Edit menu, and drag the contents to the OMFI MediaFiles folder on the external media drive.

Launching the Media Composer Application

The Media Composer application icon is located in the Media Composer folder on the Avid drive. For most users, the desktop or the Apple menu is a more convenient location for launching the application.

For more information on making an alias and using the Apple menu, see your Macintosh documentation.

The application will not launch properly if the icon is moved out of the Media Composer folder. To launch the application from a convenient location, Avid recommends that you create an alias and place it in a convenient location.

To launch the application, double-click the application icon or alias, or choose it from the Apple menu. The Avid splash screen appears.

Specifying Audio Hardware

The Þrst time you launch the application, a dialog box appears.

Check your audio hardware conÞguration, then do one of the following:

¥ If your audio hardware is labeled Audio Interface, click Digide-

sign 442 in the dialog box.

¥ If your audio hardware is labeled 8 Channel Audio Converter,

click Digidesign 888.

The Avid splash screen returns, then the License Agreement dialog box appears.

Electronic Licensing

To accept your Avid Composer product license electronically:

1. Read the License Agreement, then click the Accept button or the Decline button at the bottom of the screen.

The agreement appears the Þrst several times you launch the application. After several launches, a new button appears at the bottom of the screen.

2. If you do not want to see the license agreement again, click the Accept and DonÕt Show Again button.

A dialog box appears.

3. Enter the name of your organization in the dialog box, and click OK.

After the application starts, the Project Selection dialog box appears, as described in ÒOpening a ProjectÓ on page

51.

How to Proceed

The following are a few tips for taking full advantage of Media Composer documentation and other resources:

¥ Complete the tutorial sections in this book before starting a

¥ Begin learning about basic procedures by using the default set-

project.

tings. As your conÞdence builds, begin to explore additional procedures and settings.

¥ Keep the Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Quick Reference on

hand during sessions to speed the use of functions, shortcuts, keyboard commands, menus, and icons.

¥ Make a habit of reading AvidÕs newsletters, mailings, and other

trade publications.

¥ Make use of additional training resources provided by Avid when-

ever possible, such as classes and instructional videotapes. For more information, contact Avid at 800-867-2843.

¥ Check the Avid web site at www.avid.com/services/training/

training.html for listings of courses, schedules, and locations.

Using Online Help

This release supports online help for your Avid Composer system. The online help is automatically installed with the application.

You can access online help in two ways:

¥ From the question mark menu in the upper right corner of your

screen, choose Composer Help.

¥ As context-sensitive help:

a. Position the cursor on the window for which you want help.

b. Make sure your Avid Composer system is active.

c. Press the Help key on the keyboard.

A window appears representing the tool or feature for which you want help.

d. Click on different aspects of the tool or feature to see pop-up

help.

If no speciÞc help for the window exists, the Topics window appears.

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