Pinnacle Systems MediaLog - 11.5 User’s Guide

Avid® MediaLog

User’s Guide

™

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; 5,063,448; 5,077,604; 5,245,432; 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,325,200; 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; 5,701,404; 5,715,018; 5,719,570; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,731,819; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,180; 5,754,851; 5,781,188; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,828,678; 5,842,014; 5,852,435; 5,883,670; 5,889,532; 5,892,507; 5,905,841; 5,912,675; 5,929,836; 5,929,942; 5,930,445; 5,930,797; 5,946,445; 5,966,134; 5,977,982; 5,986,584; 5,987,501; 5,995,079; 5,995,115; 5,999,190; 5,999,406; 6,009,507; 6,011,562; 6,014,150; 6,016,152; 6,016,380; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,023,703; 6,031,529; 6,035,367; 6,038,573; 6,052,508; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,072,796; 6,084,569; 6,091,422; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,128,681; 6,130,676; 6,134,379; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,007; 6,141,691; 6,154,221; 6,157,929; 6,160,548; 6,161,115; 6,167,404; 6,174,206; 6,192,388; 6,198,477; 6,208,357; 6,211,869; 6,212,197; 6,215,485; 6,223,211; 6,226,005; 6,226,038; 6,229,576; 6,239,815; 6,249,280; 6,269,195; 6,271,829; 6,301,105; 6,310,621; 6,314,403; 6,317,142; 6,317,153; 6,317,515; D352,278; D372,478; D373,778; D392,267; D392,268; D392,269; D395,291; D396,853; D398,912. Additional U.S. and foreign patents pending. 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 any purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc.

The following disclaimer is required by Apple Computer, Inc.

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

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

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:

Portions of this software are based on work of the Independent JPEG Group.

The following disclaimer is required by Paradigm Matrix:

Portions of this software licensed from Paradigm Matrix.

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

“Install-It” is licensed from Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. End-User is prohibited from taking any action to derive a source code equivalent of “Install-It,” including by reverse assembly or reverse compilation, Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. shall in no event be liable for any damages resulting from reseller’s failure to 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.”

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The following notice is required by Ultimatte Corporation:

Certain real-time compositing capabilities are provided under a license of such technology from Ultimatte Corporation and are subject to copyright protection.

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Trademarks

AirPlay, AudioVision, Avid, Avid Xpress, CamCutter, Digidesign, FieldPak, Film Composer, HIIP, Image Independence, Marquee, Media Composer, Media Recorder, NewsCutter, OMF, OMF Interchange, Open Media Framework, Pro Tools, and Softimage are registered trademarks and 888 I/O, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AutoSync, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, AvidNet, Avid Production Network, AvidProNet, AvidProNet.com, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, AVX, DAE, D-Fi, D-fx, Digidesign Audio Engine, DINR, D-Verb, ExpertRender, FilmScribe, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, MEDIArray, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, MediaShare, Meridien, NaturalMatch, NetReview, OMM, Open Media Management, ProEncode, QuietDrive, R&A, Recti-Fi, Review & Approval, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, Symphony, Trilligent, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video Slave Driver, and VideoSPACE are trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.

iNEWS and Media Browse are trademarks of iNews, LLC.

Aaton is a registered trademark of Aaton S.A. Arri is a registered trademark of the Arri Group. Claris is a registered trademark of Claris Corporation, registered in the U.S.and other countries. FileMaker is a registered trademark of FileMaker, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. FLEx is a registered trademark of GLOBEtrotter Software, Inc. Keykode is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company. Log Producer is a trademark of Image Logic. Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U. S. and other countries. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Sony is a registered trademark of Sony. V-LAN and VLXi are registered trademarks of Videomedia, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Avid MediaLog User’s Guide • May 2002

Using This Guide

Who Should Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Related Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

If You Have Documentation Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

How to Order Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter 1 Understanding MediaLog

What Is MediaLog? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

How Does MediaLog Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

What Are the Basic Logging Steps? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Chapter 2 Getting Started

Setting Up the Hardware (Windows). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Setting Up the Hardware (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Supported Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Turning On the Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Installing MediaLog (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Installing MediaLog (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Starting MediaLog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Setting Up Project Files and Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Identifying a User. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Creating a New User. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Selecting an Existing User. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Selecting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Setting Film Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Selecting an Existing Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Nesting Projects in Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Opening a Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Closing a Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Backing Up Your Project Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Ending a Work Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Quitting the MediaLog Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Turning Off Your Equipment (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Turning Off Your Equipment (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Using Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Exploring the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Opening and Closing the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Using the Bins Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Displaying Folders of Bins in the Bins List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Creating a Folder in a Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Creating a New Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Renaming a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Opening and Closing a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Opening Selected Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Opening Bins from Other Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Closing a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Deleting a Bin or Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Viewing Contents in the Trash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Emptying the Trash in the Bins List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Managing Folders and Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Saving Bins Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Saving Bins Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Using the Settings Scroll List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Understanding Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Defining Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Reviewing Basic Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Film Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Bin Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Logging Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Displaying Project Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Changing the Settings Scroll List Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Working with Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Selecting Another User. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Modifying Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Restoring Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Using Site Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Using the Info and Usage Displays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Changing Font and Point Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Customizing Your Workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Viewing Keyboard Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Using the Avid Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Using the Serial Ports Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Using the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Chapter 4 Logging Source Material

Understanding Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Configuring Decks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Automatic Deck Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Manual Deck Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Deck Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Deleting Deck Configuration Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Setting Deck Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Understanding Drop-Frame Timecode and Non-Drop-Frame

Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Preparing to Log Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Accessing and Setting Up the Logging Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Accessing the Logging Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Setting Up the Logging Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Guidelines for Naming Tapes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Inserting Source Tapes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Selecting Active Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Selecting the Target Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Selecting the Source Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Identifying the Source Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Setting the Audio Sample Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Logging from a Source Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Marking and Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Adding a Memory Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Logging On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Pausing a Deck While Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Logging with the Deck Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Logging Film Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Modifying Clip Information After Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Creating Avid Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Importing Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Importing Standard Log Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Compatible Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Importing Log Files into MediaLog Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Transferring Bins from Another MediaLog System. . . . . . . . . . 117

Chapter 5 Organizing with Bins

Preparing to Work with Bins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Film Scene Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Setting the Bin Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Understanding Bin Display Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Brief View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Bin Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Customizing Bin Views in Text View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Saving a Custom Bin View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Bin Fast Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Basic Bin Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Selecting Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Duplicating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Moving Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Copying Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Deleting Clips and Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Assigning Colors to Bin Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Adding a Color Column to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Assigning a Source Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Assigning a Custom Source Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Limiting Color Choices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Sifting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Sifting Timecodes or Keycode Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Sifting Within a Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Locking and Unlocking Items in a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Using Text View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Arranging Bin Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Moving and Rearranging Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Aligning Bin Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Showing and Hiding Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Deleting a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Duplicating a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Adding Customized Columns to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Changing a Custom Column Heading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Managing Clip Information in Text View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Moving Within Column Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Modifying Clip Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Copying Information Between Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Copying Information from Another Cell in a

Custom Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Sorting Clips in Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Sorting Clips in Ascending Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Sorting Clips in Descending Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Multilevel Sorting with Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Sorting Clips by Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Displaying Timecodes in a 24p or 25p Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Frame Counting for Timecodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Adding Timecode Columns to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Adding Timecode Values to the Timecode Columns . . . . . 159

Bin Column Headings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Chapter 6 Creating MediaLog Output

Printing Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Exporting Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Transferring Bins to an Avid Editing System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Transferring Projects and Bins Using AFE Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Appendix A Avid Log Specifications

Supported Avid Log Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Understanding Avid Log Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Describing an Avid Log File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Global Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Data Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Sample Avid Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Appendix B Working with a Film Project

Creating a Film Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Film Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Setting the Format and Display of Ink Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Transfer Settings for Film Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Setting the Pulldown Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Logging Film Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Displaying Film Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Entering Pulldown Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Determining the Pulldown Phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Modifying the Pulldown Phase Before Digitizing . . . . . . . . 202

Entering Frames-per-Second Rates for PAL Transfers . . . . . . . . 203

Entering Key Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Entering Additional Timecodes (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Entering the Ink Number (Optional). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Entering Additional Film Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Index

Tables

Table 3-1 Settings Scroll List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Table 3-2 Bin Settings Dialog Box Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Table 3-3 Settings Display Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Table 3-4 Changing Font and Point Sizes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Table 4-1 Deck Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Table 4-2 Deck Preferences Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Table 4-3 Import Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Table 5-1 Object Icon Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Table 5-2 Range Menu Items for Explicit Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Table 5-3 Range Menu Items for Implicit Ranges. . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Table 5-4 Modifiable Bin Headings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Table 5-5 Modify Command Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Table 5-6 Timecode Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Table 5-7 Timecode Frame Counts for Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Table 5-8 Bin Column Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Table A-1 Compatible Log Formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Table A-2 Avid Log Global Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Table A-3 Avid Log Column Headings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Table A-4 Avid Log Data Headings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Table B-1 Project Types for Systems That Support 24p and

25p Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Table B-2 Film Setting Dialog Box Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Using This Guide

This guide provides information about the configuration and operation of Avid

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.

MediaLog™.

Who Should Use This Guide

This guide is for video and film editors who wish to log clips before bringing them to an Avid editing system for batch digitizing and editing.

About This Guide

This guide is designed to keep pace with current advances in the Avid system’s logging capabilities by consolidating in one comprehensive resource all the information you will need to take advantage of the many MediaLog options available to you.

This guide includes basic logging information and has the following overall structure:

• Chapter 1, “Understanding MediaLog,” provides an overview of MediaLog.

• Chapter 2, “Getting Started,” describes how to set up the hardware and run MediaLog sessions.

• Chapter 3, “Working with the Project Window,” describes how to structure and view important information in a project.

• Chapter 4, “Logging Source Material,” describes how to use MediaLog to log your clips in preparation for digitizing later when using Avid editing system products.

Using This Guide

• Chapter 5, “Organizing with Bins,” describes how, after creating clips, you can rename, subcatalog, sort, sift, select, duplicate, and delete them. This chapter also describes how you can analyze the clips in a Bin view.

• Chapter 6, “Creating MediaLog Output,” provides information on how you can print the bins to create a paper record of your log, export the bin files for use in a different application, or transfer the bins to an Avid editing system for digitizing and editing the footage.

• The appendixes provide reference information such as specifications for creating an Avid log file and how to log film information.

• Finally, a detailed Index helps you quickly locate specific topics.

Symbols and Conventions

Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the Windows 2000 and Macintosh operating systems. When the text applies to a specific operating system, it is marked as follows:

• (Windows) or (Windows only) means the information applies to

the Windows 2000 operating system.

• (Macintosh) or (Macintosh only) means the information applies to

the Macintosh operating system.

The majority of screen shots in this document were captured on a Windows 2000 system, but the information applies to both Windows 2000 and Macintosh systems. Where differences exist, both Windows 2000 and Macintosh screen shots are shown.

The Avid MediaLog documentation uses the following special symbols and conventions:

1. Numbered lists, when the order of the items 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 secondary items is unimportant.

t One arrow indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a

list indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.

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

In this document, Avid drive refers to the Macintosh system’s internal hard drive. Apple Computer, Inc. names the internal hard drive Macintosh HD. Depending on your system’s setup, the internal hard drive might have a different name.

Symbols and Conventions

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

Look here in the margin for tips.

In the margin, you will find tips that help you perform tasks more easily and efficiently.

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.

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using MediaLog, 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 release notes supplied with your Avid editing system for information on accessing the Avid Web site and the Avid Knowledge Center.

Using This Guide

4. For support services, call Avid Customer Support:

- Broadcast products — call 800-NEWS-DNG (639-7364).

- Postproduction products — call 800-800-AVID (2843).

Related Information

This guide frequently refers to other Avid manuals for additional information. The following table shows the references and the related manuals.

Avid Editing System References Related Manual

Avid Symphony™ editing guide

input and output guide

Avid Media Composer® and Avid Film Composer

Avid Xpress

Avid Ne w sCutter

editing guide

input and output guide

user’s guide

Avid Xpress and Avid NewsCutter systems do not have input and output guides. All relevant information is included in the user’s guide for these products.

In this guide, the term Avid system is a generic term that refers to any Avid application, including MediaLog. The term Avid editing system refers to one of the Avid video editing applications such as Avid Symphony, Avid Media Composer, Avid Film Composer, Avid Xpress, or Avid NewsCutter.

Avid Symphony Editing Guide

Avid Symphony Input and Output Guide

Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Editing Guide

Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Input and Output Guide

Avid Xpress User’s Guide

Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide

Related Information

If You Have Documentation Comments

Avid Technology continuously seeks to improve its documentation. We value your comments about this guide, the Help, the Online Publications CD-ROM, and other Avid-supplied documentation.

Simply e-mail your documentation comments to Avid Technology at

TechPubs@avid.com

Please include the title of the document, its part number, revision, and the specific section you are commenting on in all correspondence.

How to Order Documentation

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

Using This Guide

CHAPTER 1

Understanding MediaLog

MediaLog is a tool that helps you select and log footage before your edit session. Although you can log footage with Avid editing system products, using MediaLog can free up your Avid editing system for editing rather than for logging footage. After logging shots (for example, on a laptop), you can use your Avid editing system to digitize and edit the footage. In addition, you can transfer film to National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) or Phase Alternating Line (PAL) video, use MediaLog to log the material, and then transfer the logged shots (also known as clips) to an Avid editing system for digitizing and editing.

This chapter answers the following questions:

• What Is MediaLog?

• How Does MediaLog Work?

• What Are the Basic Logging Steps?

What Is MediaLog?

MediaLog is portable; you can install it on a laptop and on most desktop computers that are running the Windows NT Windows

98, Windows 2000, or Windows Me operating system. To

, Macintosh®,

log shots from a source tape, your computer must be connected to a deck that uses Sony

serial deck protocol. MediaLog allows you to control the deck while viewing your source tapes and selecting the shots for your log. You can also log without a deck and enter the logging information by hand.

For each shot that you log, MediaLog saves the start and end timecodes, duration, tracks selected, and tape name.

MediaLog also lets you add new categories of information to your log, so you can record the scene, take, location, or any other comments that can help you to identify the footage.

Once you have created a log, the MediaLog Sort command orders your shots according to criteria you specify. The Sift command uses your criteria to pick out specific footage, such as all the product shots or all shots from a certain location.

Understanding MediaLog

How Does MediaLog Work?

The MediaLog system uses clips, bins, and projects to organize your work.

MediaLog clips and bins are a lot like their film counterparts. Just as film editors pull clips from their raw footage and store the clips in bins for the editing session, MediaLog lets you select shots from your tapes and store information about the shots in electronic bins.

A clip corresponds to a shot you select from a tape. Clips contain information about your footage such as the start and end timecodes and the number of video and audio tracks. Clips are stored in electronic bins, which have built-in database capabilities to help you easily find a specific shot.

Each time you log clips, you open a bin and use Logging Tool controls to play your tapes, mark the shots, and add the clips to the open bin.

Sample bin

A bin is open while you log clips to it.

Deck and log controls are in the Logging tool.

How Does MediaLog Work?

Deck controls

Bin names

Log controls

If you have a log sheet, you can log clips without using a deck. You type the start and end timecodes for each clip, and then add them to the bin.

MediaLog uses a project file to organize all the work you do on a single job. You must always create a new project or open an existing project before you can open a bin and log your shots.

As you work on a project, MediaLog remembers the name of each bin you open and displays a list of bin names in the Project window. The list is useful for helping you to quickly access bins.

Sample Project window

Understanding MediaLog

What Are the Basic Logging Steps?

To perform a logging session:

1. Start your computer and the MediaLog program.

2. Create a new project, or open an existing project.

3. Create a new bin, or open an existing bin.

4. Prepare to log:

a. Select a video format.

b. Enter Logging mode.

c. Select a source name.

5. Select the tracks you want to log from the tape.

6. Log the clips.

7. Save and organize the bin.

8. Quit the MediaLog application, and (optionally) shut down the computer.

What Are the Basic Logging Steps?

Understanding MediaLog

CHAPTER 2

Getting Started

This chapter describes how to set up the hardware and run MediaLog sessions.

This chapter covers the following topics:

• Setting Up the Hardware (Windows)

• Setting Up the Hardware (Macintosh)

• Supported Decks

• Turning On the Hardware

• Installing MediaLog (Windows)

• Installing MediaLog (Macintosh)

• Starting MediaLog

• Setting Up Project Files and Folders

• Backing Up Your Project Information

• Ending a Work Session

• Using Help

Setting Up the Hardware (Windows)

Make sure your computer meets the following requirements:

• The computer must be running the Windows NT, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows Me operating system.

• The computer includes at least 32 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM).

MediaLog can control a deck that uses Sony serial deck protocol and a timecode reader. You can control a single deck by connecting an RS-232 to RS-422 serial adapter kit to the serial port of your computer. MediaLog can also control a deck through V-LAN connections.

VLXi®

If you need to connect and control more than one video deck, see the setup guide for your Avid editing system.

A direct serial video deck connection requires a serial adapter kit that contains these items (see the following figure):

• An RS-232 to RS-422 serial adapter

• Two serial cables; male 9-pin connectors at both ends

The computer and the deck must be off when you are connecting the serial cable.

To connect a single deck to your PC:

1. Turn off the computer and the deck.

2. Attach one end of the first 9-pin cable to the end of the serial adapter labeled RS-232.

3. Attach the other end of the first 9-pin cable to the serial port of your computer.

When you attach the cable to the serial port on the computer, note if it is port 1 or port 2. You will have to select the port in the Avid software.

Getting Started

Serial adapter

To your deck

RS-422 connection

4. Attach one end of the second 9-pin cable to the end of the serial adapter labeled RS-422.

5. Attach the other end of the second 9-pin cable to the remote serial port of the deck.

Set the deck to Remote mode before you attempt to control the deck using the software.

For more information about connecting decks, see the setup guide for your Avid editing system.

RS-232 connection

Setting Up the Hardware (Macintosh)

To your computer

Make sure your computer meets the following requirements:

• The computer must be running the Macintosh operating system Version 9.1 (or later).

• At least 12 MB of RAM must be available to run MediaLog (20 MB or more is preferred when working with large bins).

MediaLog can control a deck that uses Sony serial deck protocol and a timecode reader. You can connect a single deck to your system using the serial board located in the G4 system or using a USB-to-serial adapter connected directly to the USB hub, and then connecting a direct serial cable with a round 8-pin DIN connector at one end and a 9-pin D connector at the other end.

Setting Up the Hardware (Macintosh)

If you need to connect and control more than one video deck, see the setup guide for your Avid editing system.

The computer and the deck must be off when you are connecting the serial cable.

To connect a single deck to your system:

1. Locate a serial cable.

2. Do one of the following:

t Attach the round 8-pin DIN connector to a serial port

connector on the serial board.

t Attach the USB-to-serial adapter to the USB hub.

(See the following figure.)

1 2

USB hub

Getting Started

Serial port

USB-to-serial adapter

3. Attach the 9-pin D connector to the remote serial connector on the back of the deck.

You might have to place the video deck in Remote mode by turning a switch before attempting to control the video deck using the software.

For more information about connecting decks, see the setup guide for your Avid editing system.

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