Pinnacle Systems MediaLog - 11.7 User’s Guide

Avid® MediaLog

User’s Guide

™

make manage move | media

™

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; 5,883,670; 5,905,841; 5,929,836; 5,929,942; 5,930,445; 5,946,445; 5,987,501; 5,995,115; 6,016,152; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,035,367; 6,038,573; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,130,676; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,007; 6,141,691; 6,157,929; 6,198,477; 6,201,531; 6,211,869; 6,223,211; 6,239,815; 6,249,280; 6,269,195; 6,301,105; 6,317,158; 6,317,515; 6,327,253; 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; 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.”

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 Ultimatte Corporation:

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

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

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

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, AirPlay, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AudioVision, AutoSync, Avid, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, AvidNet, AvidNetwork, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, Avid Xpress, AVoption, AVX, CamCutter, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, DAE, D-Fi, D-fx, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, DigiDrive, DINR, D-Verb, Equinox, ExpertRender, FieldPak, Film Composer, FilmScribe, FluidMotion, HIIP, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, IllusionFX, Image Independence, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Marquee, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, Media Composer, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaShare, Meridien, MetaSync, NaturalMatch, NetReview, NewsCutter, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, ProEncode, Pro Tools, QuietDrive, Recti-Fi, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Softimage, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, Symphony, Trilligent, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video Slave Driver, VideoSPACE, and Xdeck are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

iNEWS, iNEWS ControlAir, and Media Browse are trademarks of iNews, LLC.

Aaton is a registered trademark of Aaton S.A. Arri is a registered trademark of Arri Group. Claris is a trademark of Claris Corporation, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FileMaker is a trademark of FileMaker, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. FLEx is a trademark of Pioneer-Standard Electronics, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. KeyKode is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company. Macintosh and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and Windows XP are either registered trademarks or 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.

Footage

Arri — Courtesy of Arri™/Fauer — John Fauer, Inc. Bell South “Anticipation” — Courtesy of Two Headed Monster — Tucker/Wayne Atlanta/GMS. Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service/Department of the Interior. Eco Challenge British Columbia — Courtesy of Eco Challenge Lifestyles, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Eco Challenge Morocco — Courtesy of Discovery Communications, Inc. It’s Shuttletime — Courtesy of BCP & Canadian Airlines. Nestlé Coffee Crisp — Courtesy of MacLaren McCann Canada. Saturn “Calvin Egg” — Courtesy of Cossette Communications. “Tigers: Tracking a Legend” — Courtesy of www.wildlifeworlds.com. Windhorse — Courtesy of Paul Wagner Productions.

Arizona Images — KNX-TV Production — Courtesy of Granite Broadcasting, Inc., Editor/Producer Bryan Foote. Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service/Department of the Interior. WCAU Fire Story — Courtesy of NBC-10, Philadelphia, PA. Paragliding — Courtesy of Legendary Entertainment, Inc.

GOT FOOTAGE?

Editors — Filmmakers — Special Effects Artists — Game Developers — Animators — Educators — Broadcasters — Content creators of every genre — Just finished an incredible project and want to share it with the world?

Send us your reels and we may use your footage in our show reel or demo!*

For a copy of our release and Avid’s mailing address, go to www.avid.com/footage.

*Note: Avid cannot guarantee the use of materials submitted.

Avid MediaLog User’s Guide • Part 0130-05439-01 • February 2003

Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Who Should Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Related Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

If You Have Documentation Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Avid Educational Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Chapter 1 Understanding MediaLog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

What Is MediaLog?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

How Does MediaLog Work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

What Are the Basic Logging Steps?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Chapter 2 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Setting Up the Hardware (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Setting Up the Hardware (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Supported Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Turning On the Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Installing MediaLog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Installing MediaLog on a Windows System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Installing MediaLog on a Mac OS X System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Starting MediaLog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Setting Up Project Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Identifying a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Creating a New User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Selecting an Existing User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Selecting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Setting Film Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Selecting an Existing Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Nesting Projects in Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Opening a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Closing a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Backing Up Your Project Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Ending a Work Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Quitting the MediaLog Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Turning Off Your Equipment (Windows). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Turning Off Your Equipment (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Using Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Exploring the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Opening and Closing the Project Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Using the Bins Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Displaying Folders of Bins in the Bins List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Creating a Folder in a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Creating a New Bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Renaming a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Opening and Closing a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Opening Selected Bins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Opening Bins from Other Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Closing a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Deleting a Bin or Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Viewing Contents in the Trash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Emptying the Trash in the Bins List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Managing Folders and Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Saving Bins Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Saving Bins Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Using the Settings Scroll List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Understanding Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Defining Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Reviewing Basic Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Film Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Bin Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Logging Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Displaying Project Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Changing the Settings Scroll List Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Working with Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Selecting Another User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Modifying Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Restoring Default Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Using Site Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Using the Info and Usage Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Changing Font and Point Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Customizing Your Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Viewing Keyboard Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Using the Avid Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Using the Communications (Serial) Ports Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Using the Console Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Chapter 4 Logging Source Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Understanding Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Configuring Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Automatic Deck Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Manual Deck Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Deck Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Deleting Deck Configuration Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Setting Deck Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Understanding Drop-Frame Timecode and

Non-Drop-Frame Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Preparing to Log Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Accessing and Setting Up the Logging Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Accessing the Logging Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Setting Up the Logging Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Guidelines for Naming Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Inserting Source Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Selecting Active Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Selecting the Target Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Selecting the Source Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Identifying the Source Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Setting the Audio Sample Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Logging from a Source Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Marking and Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Adding a Memory Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Logging On-the-Fly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Pausing a Deck While Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Logging with the Deck Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Logging Film Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Modifying Clip Information After Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Creating Avid Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Importing Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Importing Standard Log Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Compatible Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Importing Log Files into MediaLog Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Transferring Bins from Another MediaLog System. . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Chapter 5 Organizing with Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Preparing to Work with Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Film Scene Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Setting the Bin Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Understanding Bin Display Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Brief View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Bin Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Customizing Bin Views in Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Saving a Custom Bin View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Bin Fast Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Basic Bin Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Selecting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Duplicating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Moving Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Copying Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Deleting Clips and Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Assigning Colors to Bin Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Adding a Color Column to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Assigning a Source Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Assigning a Custom Source Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Limiting Color Choices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Sifting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Sifting Timecodes or Keycode Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Sifting Within a Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Locking and Unlocking Items in a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Using Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Arranging Bin Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Moving and Rearranging Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Aligning Bin Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Showing and Hiding Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Deleting a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Duplicating a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Adding Customized Columns to a Bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Changing a Custom Column Heading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Managing Clip Information in Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Moving Within Column Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Modifying Clip Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Copying Information Between Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Sorting Clips in Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Sorting Clips in Ascending Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Sorting Clips in Descending Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Multilevel Sorting with Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Sorting Clips by Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Displaying Timecodes in a 23p, 24p or 25p Project. . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Frame Counting for Timecodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Adding Timecode Columns to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Adding Timecode Values to the Timecode Columns. . . . . . . . 140

Bin Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Chapter 6 Creating MediaLog Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Printing Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Exporting Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Transferring Bins to an Avid Editing System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Transferring Projects and Bins Using AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Appendix A Avid Log Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Understanding Avid Log Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Avid Log Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Global Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Data Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Sample Avid Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Appendix B Working with a Film Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Creating a Film Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Film Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Setting the Format and Display of Ink Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Transfer Settings for Film Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Setting the Pulldown Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Logging Film Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Displaying Film Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Entering Pulldown Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Determining the Pulldown Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Modifying the Pulldown Phase Before Digitizing . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Entering Frames-per-Second Rates for PAL Transfers . . . . . . . . . 180

Entering Key Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Entering Additional Timecodes (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Entering the Ink Number (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Entering Additional Film Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Tables

Table 1 Settings Scroll List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Table 2 Bin Settings Dialog Box Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Table 3 Settings Display Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Table 4 Window Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

Table 5 Deck Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

Table 6 Deck Preferences Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

Table 7 Compatible Log Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100

Table 8 Import Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Table 9 Object Icon Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Table 10 Range Menu Items for Explicit Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Table 11 Range Menu Items for Implicit Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Table 12 Modifiable Bin Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131

Table 13 Modify Command Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

Table 14 Timecode Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138

Table 15 Timecode Frame Counts for Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139

Table 16 Bin Column Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Table 17 Avid Log Global Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Table 18 Avid Log Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Table 19 Avid Log Data Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159

Table 20 Project Types for Systems That Support 23p, 24p and

25p Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166

Table 21 Film Setting Dialog Box Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169

Using This Guide

This guide provides information about the configuration and operation of

MediaLog™.

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.

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.

Using This Guide

• 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.

• 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, Windows® XP and Mac OS® X operating systems. When

the text applies to a specific operating system, it is marked as follows:

• (Windows) or (Windows only) means the information applies to the Windows operating system.

• (Macintosh) or (Macintosh only) means the information applies to the Mac OS X operating system.

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

Symbols and Conventions

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

> This symbol indicates menu commands (and

k This symbol represents the Apple or Command key.

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

A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to your computer or cause you to lose data.

A warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm. Follow the guidelines in this document or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.

subcommands) in the order you select them. For example, File > Import means to open the File menu and then select the Import command.

This symbol indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.

Press and hold the Command key and another key to perform a keyboard shortcut.

Margin tips In the margin, you will find tips that help you

perform tasks more easily and efficiently.

Italic font Italic font is used to emphasize certain words and to

indicate variables.

Courier Bold font

Click Quickly press and release the left mouse button

Double-click Click the left mouse button (Windows) or the mouse

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

(Windows) or the mouse button (Macintosh).

button (Macintosh) twice rapidly.

Using This Guide

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

Right-click Quickly press and release the right mouse button

(Windows only).

Drag Press and hold the left mouse button (Windows) or

the mouse button (Macintosh) while you move the mouse.

Ctrl+key

k+key

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using MediaLog, you should:

1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide. It is especially important to check each step of your workflow.

2. Check the release notes supplied with your Avid application for the latest information that might have become available after the hardcopy documentation was printed.

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

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

Press and hold the first key while you press the second key.

5. For Technical Support, please call 800-800-AVID (800-800-2843).

For Broadcast On-Air Sites and Call Letter Stations, call 800-NEWSDNG (800-639-7364).

Related Information

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 Avid Symphony Editing Guide

Related Information

Avid Media Composer and Avid Film Composer

Avid Xpr ess

Avid NewsCutter

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.

input and output guide

editing guide Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Editing

input and output guide

user’s guide Avid Xpress User’s Guide

user’s guide Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide

Avid Symphony Input and Output Guide

Guide

Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Input and Output Guide

Using This Guide

If You Have Documentation Comments

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

Simply e-mail your documentation comments to Avid Technology at

TechPubs@avid.com

Please include the title of the document, its part number, and the specific 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 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

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

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

, Mac OS® X, Windows 98,

98,Windows 2000, or Windows XP operating system. To log

serial deck protocol. MediaLog allows you to control the deck

Chapter 1 Understanding MediaLog

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.

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.

A bin is open while you log clips to it.

Sample Bin

How Does MediaLog Work?

Deck and log controls are in the Logging tool.

Deck controls

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.

Chapter 1 Understanding MediaLog

Bin names

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.

Sample Project window

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.

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

• 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 XP operating system.

Chapter 2 Getting Started

• The computer includes at least 32 megabytes (MB) of random-access

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

memory (RAM).

VLXi® connections.

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.

To your deck

RS-422 connection

Serial adapter

RS-232 connection

To your computer

Setting Up the Hardware (Macintosh)

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.

Setting Up the Hardware (Macintosh)

Make sure your computer meets the following requirements:

• The computer must be running the Mac OS X operating system.

• 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.

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. Attach the round 8-pin DIN connector to a USB-to-serial adapter.

3. Connect the USB-to-seral adapter to one of the following:

t A USB connector on the rear of your Macintosh G4 system

t A USB hub (See the following figure.)

Chapter 2 Getting Started

USB hub

USB-to-serial adapter

4. 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 use the software to control the video deck.

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

Supported Decks

For a list of supported decks, search for “Supported Decks” in the Avid Customer Support Knowledge Center on www.avid.com. For instructions on how to access the Knowledge Center, see the Avid editing application release notes.

Turning On the Hardware

To be sure that the computer detects all the attached hardware and to avoid damage to any component, turn on the hardware in the following order:

1. If your computer has media drives, turn on each drive.

Wait 15 to 30 seconds for the drives to spin up before you turn on the computer system; otherwise, the computer will not communicate with the storage devices successfully.

2. If you will be logging clips using a deck, turn on the deck.

Set the REMOTE/LOCAL switch on the deck to REMOTE.

3. Turn on the computer.

Turning On the Hardware

Do not disconnect or turn off individual drives while the computer is on.

You can now install the MediaLog software.

Chapter 2 Getting Started

Installing MediaLog

This section describes how to install the MediaLog software.

Do not install the MediaLog application on disks where you store media.

If you install MediaLog on an Avid editing system, make sure the MediaLog application is in a folder separate from the Avid editing application. Each application has its own preferences.

Installing MediaLog on a Windows System

You can install MediaLog on the following Windows operating systems:

•Windows NT

• Windows 98

• Windows 2000

•Windows XP

MediaLog software is shipped on the MediaLog CD-ROM and the Avid editing application CD-ROM.

For information on installing MediaLog from the Avid editing application CD-ROM, see the release notes for your Avid editing system.

To install MediaLog software on a Windows system:

1. Quit all Windows applications.

2. Insert the MediaLog CD-ROM into your computer’s CD-ROM drive.

If the installer doesn't run automatically after you insert the application CD-ROM, do the following:

a. Double-click the My Computer icon.

b. Double-click the CD-ROM icon.

c. Double-click Launch.exe to run the installer.

The MediaLog Installer CD-ROM window opens.

3. Click Install Avid MediaLog.

Follow the online instructions to install the software.

When the installation is complete, a message asks if you want to restart the system.

4. Restart the computer now or later (before you start the MediaLog application).

Installing MediaLog on a Mac OS X System

For Macintosh systems, MediaLog software is shipped only on the MediaLog CD-ROM.

Starting MediaLog

The Macintosh version of MediaLog v11.7 and later runs only on the Mac OS X operating system.

To install MediaLog software on a Mac OS X system:

1. Restart your Macintosh system.

2. Quit any applications that run automatically at startup.

3. Insert the MediaLog CD-ROM into your computer’s CD-ROM drive.

4. Double-click the MediaLog Installer icon.

Follow the online instructions to install the software.

Starting MediaLog

After you install MediaLog, you are ready to start the application.

To start MediaLog:

1. Turn on the video deck.

2. Set the REMOTE/LOCAL switch on the deck to REMOTE.

3. Turn on the computer.

Chapter 2 Getting Started

User folders

Do not run any other Avid editing application on the computer at the same time as the MediaLog application. The two applications will conflict with each other.

4. Do one of the following:

t (Windows) Click the Start button, and select Programs > Avid >

MediaLog.

t (Macintosh) Double-click the MediaLog folder to open it, and then

double-click the MediaLog application icon to start MediaLog.

The Select User and Project dialog box opens.

MediaLog project folders are stored in the Avid Projects folder.

Project folder

5. Select an existing user and project, or create new ones, as described in

“Setting Up Project Files and Folders” on page 31.

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