Pinnacle Systems MediaLog - 4.0 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; 5,905,841; 5,929,836; 5,930,445; 5,946,445; 5,987,501; 6,016,152; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,691; 6,198,477; 6,201,531; 6,223,211; 6,249,280; 6,269,195; 6,317,158; 6,317,515; 6,330,369; 6,351,557; 6,353,862; 6,357,047; 6,392,710; 6,404,435; 6,407,775; 6,417,891; 6,426,778; 6,477,271; 6,489,969; 6,512,522; 6,532,043; 6,546,190; 6,552,731; 6,553,142; 6,570,624; 6,571,255; 6,583,824; 6,618,547; 6,636,869; 6,665,450; 6,678,461; D392,269; D396,853; D398,912. Other patents are 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.

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, Adrenaline, AirPlay, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AudioVision, AutoSync, Avid, Avid DNA, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, Avid Mojo, 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, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator, DigiTranslator, 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, Nearchive, NetReview, NewsCutter, Nitris, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, ProEncode, Pro Tools, QuietDrive, Recti-Fi, RetroLoop, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Softimage, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, Symphony, the Avid|DS logo, 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. Final Cut Pro, 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, Carol Amore, Executive Producer. Windhorse — Courtesy of Paul Wagner Productions.

GOT FOOTAGE?

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

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

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

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

Avid MediaLog User’s Guide • 0130-07990-01 • June 2008

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

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Avid Educational Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Chapter 1 Understanding MediaLog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

What Is MediaLog? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

How Does MediaLog Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

What Are the Basic Logging Steps? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter 2 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Setting Up the Hardware (Windows). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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

Supported Decks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Turning On the Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Installing MediaLog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Installing MediaLog on a Windows System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Installing MediaLog on a Mac OS X System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Starting MediaLog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Changing Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Selecting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Selecting a Private Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Selecting a Shared Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Selecting an External Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Browsing for a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Using User Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Creating a User Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Importing a User Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Changing User Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Exporting a User Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Closing a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

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

Saving Your Project Information on a Drive or Floppy Disk . . . . . . . . . 39

Restoring from a Backup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Ending a Work Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

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

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

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

Using Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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

Exploring the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

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

Changing Font and Point Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Working with Bins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Viewing a List of Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Displaying Folders of Bins in the Bins List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Creating a Folder in a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

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

Describing Project Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

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

Defining Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

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

Film Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Bin Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Logging Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Displaying Project Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Working with Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Selecting Another User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Modifying Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Restoring Default Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Using Site Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Viewing Keyboard Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Customizing Your Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Using the Format, Info and Usage Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Using Other Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

About the Avid Calculator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Using the Communications (Serial) Ports Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Using the Console Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Chapter 4 Logging Source Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Understanding Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Configuring Decks and Setting Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Configuring Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Automatic Deck Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Manual Deck Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Deck Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Deleting Deck Configuration Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Setting Deck Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Understanding Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Preparing to Log Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Accessing and Setting Up the Logging Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Accessing the Logging Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Setting Up the Logging Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Guidelines for Naming Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Inserting Source Tapes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Selecting Active Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Selecting the Target Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Selecting the Source Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Identifying the Source Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Setting the Audio Sample Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Logging from a Source Tape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Marking and Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Adding a Memory Mark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Logging On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Pausing a Deck While Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Logging with the Deck Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Adding Clip Names and Comments On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Controlling Decks from the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Logging Film Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Modifying Clip Information After Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Creating Avid Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Importing Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Importing Standard Log Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Compatible Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Importing Log Files into MediaLog Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Transferring Bins from Another MediaLog System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Chapter 5 Organizing with Bins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Preparing to Work with Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Film Scene Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Setting the Bin Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Understanding Bin Display Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Brief View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Bin View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Customizing Bin Views in Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Saving a Custom Bin View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Bin Fast Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Basic Bin Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Selecting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Duplicating Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Moving Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Copying Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Deleting Clips and Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Assigning Colors to Bin Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Adding a Color Column to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Assigning a Source Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Assigning a Custom Source Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Limiting Color Choices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Sifting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Sifting Timecodes or Keycode Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Sifting Within a Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Locking and Unlocking Items in a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Using Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Arranging Bin Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Moving and Rearranging Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Aligning Bin Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Showing and Hiding Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Deleting a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Duplicating a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Adding Customized Columns to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Changing a Custom Column Heading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Managing Clip Information in Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Moving Within Column Cells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Copying Information Between Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Sorting Clips in Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Sorting Clips in Ascending Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Sorting Clips in Descending Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Multilevel Sorting with Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Sorting Clips by Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Displaying Timecodes in a 23.976p, 24p or 25p Project . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Frame Counting for Timecodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Adding Timecode Columns to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Adding Timecode Values to the Timecode Columns . . . . . . . . . . 129

Bin Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Chapter 6 Creating MediaLog Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Printing Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Exporting Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Transferring Bins to an Avid Editing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Transferring Projects and Bins Using AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Appendix A Avid Log Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Understanding Avid Log Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Avid Log Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Global Headings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Column Headings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Data Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Sample Avid Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Appendix B Working with a Film Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Film and 24P Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Setting the Film and Edge Type Ink Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Transfer Settings for Film Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Setting the Pulldown Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Logging Film Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Displaying Film Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Entering Pulldown Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Determining the Pulldown Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Modifying the Pulldown Phase Before Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Entering Frames-per-Second Rates for PAL Transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Entering Key Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Tracking 3-Perf Counts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Entering Additional Timecodes (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Entering the Ink Number (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Entering Additional Film Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Using This Guide

This guide provides information about the configuration and operation of

MediaLog™.

Avid

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

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

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.

Symbols and Conventions

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

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.

Using This Guide

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

> This symbol indicates menu commands (and

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

k This symbol represents the Apple or Command key.

Margin tips

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

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

Courier Bold font

Ctrl+key or mouse action k+key or mouse action

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.

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

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

indicate variables.

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

Press and hold the first key while you press the last key or perform the mouse action. For example,

k+Option+C or Ctrl+drag.

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.

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using Avid MediaLog:

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

2. Check for the latest information that might have become available after the documentation was published in one of two locations:

- If release notes are available, they ship with your application.

- If ReadMe files are available, they are supplied in your Avid

If You Need Help

application folder. ReadMe files are also available from Help.

The most up-to-date ReadMe files are available on the Avid Knowledge Base.

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

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

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).

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.

Using This Guide

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 Avid MediaLog

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

This chapter answers the following questions:

• How to Use Avid MediaLog?

• How Does MediaLog Work?

• What Are the Basic Logging Steps?

How to Use Avid MediaLog?

Avid MediaLog is portable; you can install it on a laptop or on desktop computers running the Windows

X operating system. To log shots from a source tape, connect your

OS computer to a deck that uses Sony MediaLog, you control the deck while viewing your source tapes and selecting the shots for your log. You can also log without a deck and manually enter logging information.

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

2000, Windows XP Professional, or Mac

serial deck protocol. With Avid

Chapter 1 Understanding Avid MediaLog

Avid 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 identify the footage.

Once you have created a log, the Avid 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.

You can also use Avid MediaLog to output an AFE file. AFE files are designed to transfer project information between Avid editing systems.

How Does Avid MediaLog Work?

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

Avid 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, Avid 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 that have built-in database capabilities to help you easily find a specific shot.

Sample Bin

How Does Avid MediaLog Work?

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.

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.

Avid 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.

Chapter 1 Understanding Avid MediaLog

As you work on a project, Avid 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

Bin names

What Are the Basic Logging Steps?

To perform a logging session:

1. Start your computer and the Avid MediaLog program.

2. Create a new or open an existing project.

3. Create a new 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 Avid MediaLog application, and (optionally) shut down the computer.

Chapter 2

Getting Started

This chapter describes how to set up the hardware and run Avid MediaLog sessions. It includes the following topics:

• Setting Up the Hardware (Windows)

• Setting Up the Hardware (Macintosh)

• Supported Decks

• Turning On the Hardware

• Installing Avid MediaLog

• Starting Avid MediaLog

• 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 2000 or Windows XP operating system.

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

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

VLXi® connections.

Chapter 2 Getting Started

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

Turn off the computer and the deck when you are connecting the serial cable.

To connect a single deck to your PC:

1. Shut down 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 have to select the port in the Avid software.

Serial adapter

RS-422 connection

To your deck

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

To your computer

Setting Up the Hardware (Macintosh)

Make sure your computer meets the following requirements:

• The computer is running the Mac OS X operating system. See the release notes for the supported version.

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

Avid MediaLog can control a deck that uses Sony serial deck protocol and a timecode reader.

Turn off the computer and the deck 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-serial 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.)

USB hub

USB-to-serial adapter

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

Chapter 2 Getting Started

Adjust the switch on the video deck to Remote mode before using 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 assure 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 are logging clips using a deck, turn on the deck. Set the REMOTE/LOCAL switch on the deck to REMOTE.

3. Start the computer.

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

You can now install the Avid MediaLog software.

Installing Avid MediaLog

This section describes how to install the Avid MediaLog software.

Installing Avid MediaLog

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

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

Installing Avid MediaLog on a Windows System

You can install Avid MediaLog on the following Windows operating systems:

• Windows 2000

• Windows XP Professional

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

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

To install Avid MediaLog software on a Windows system:

1. Quit all Windows applications.

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

If the installer does not 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 Avid MediaLog Installer CD-ROM window opens.

Chapter 2 Getting Started

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 Avid MediaLog application).

Installing Avid MediaLog on a Mac OS X System

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

The Macintosh version of Avid MediaLog v11.7 and later runs only on the Mac OS X operating system. See the Avid MediaLog ReadMe file for more information.

To install Avid 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 Avid MediaLog CD-ROM into your computer’s CD-ROM drive.

4. Double-click the Avid MediaLog Installer icon. Follow the online instructions to install the software.

Starting Avid MediaLog

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

To start Avid MediaLog:

1. Turn on the video deck.

2. If you are using a deck, set the REMOTE/LOCAL switch on the deck to REMOTE.

3. Turn on the computer.

Starting Avid MediaLog

Do not run any other Avid editing application on the computer at the same time as the Avid MediaLog application. The two applications 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 Avid MediaLog folder to open it and

then double-click the Avid MediaLog application icon to start Avid MediaLog.

The Select Project dialog box appears.

Changing Users

Your login name is selected as the user. You can change users by logging in through a different name. You can also establish user profiles.

To change users:

1. Quit the Avid application.

2. Do one of the following:

t (Windows) Select Start > Log Off, and then log in as a different user. t (Macintosh) Select Apple P menu > Log Out, click Log Out, and

then click a new user.

Chapter 2 Getting Started

(Macintosh only) You have to create a new user before you can change to that user. See your Macintosh documentation or the Macintosh Help.

Selecting a Project

You can select a project from a private folder, a shared folder, or a folder anywhere on your system. You can also create a project in any of these folders. The path of the folder appears in the Folder text box in the Select Project dialog box.

3. Start the Avid application. Your current login name appears as the User in the Select Project dialog

box.

Folder path

Folder options

The following table lists the default folder locations for each folder option:

Folder Option Folder Path

Private (Windows) C:\Program Files\Avid\Avid MediaLog\Avid

Shared (Windows) C:\Program Files\Avid\Avid MediaLog\Avid Projects

External Last folder opened through Browse button.

Creating a New Project

To create a new project:

Starting Avid MediaLog

Projects\login name (Macintosh) Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/MediaLog/Avid

Projects/login name

(Macintosh) Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/MediaLog/Avid Projects

1. In the Select Project dialog box, select the folder in which you want to create the project: private, shared, or external.

2. Click New Project. The New Project dialog box opens.

3. Type the name of your new project in the text box.

If you plan to move bins and projects from one platform to another, do not use the characters / \ : * ? “ < > | or leading spaces, trailing spaces, or trailing periods, when naming projects, bins, and users. Bin and project names are limited to 27 characters, not including the period and 3-character extension that the system automatically adds to a file name.

(Macintosh only) You can set the Use Windows compatible File Names option in the Avid application’s General Settings dialog box to prevent the system from accepting these restricted characters in a bin, project, or user name. If you are using your Avid application as a standalone editor (and do not plan to move your bins or projects to another platform), you have the option of extending bin and project names to 31 characters using the Allow filenames to exceed 27 characters option in the General Settings dialog box.

Chapter 2 Getting Started

4. Click the Format pop-up menu and select a project type based on your source footage.

The following table lists the available format options.

References to 24p projects include 23.976p projects unless otherwise noted.

Project Type Source Footage Transfer

23.976p NTSC For film-originated or video-originated footage that has been shot at 23.976 fps or film-originated footage transferred on digital videotape (such as Digital Betacam

24p NTSC For film-originated or other 24-fps footage

transferred to NTSC videotape

30i NTSC For NTSC video-originated or other 30-fps footage

transferred to NTSC videotape

24p PAL For film-originated or other 24-fps footage

transferred to PAL videotape at 25 fps

25p PAL For 25-fps film footage transferred to PAL videotape

25i PAL For PAL video-originated footage (25 fps)

720p/59.94 HD broadcast. For video-originated footage

transferred to this format

1080p/23.976 HD online. For film-originated footage transferred to

this format

)

1080p/25 HD online. For film-originated footage transferred to

this format

1080i/50 HD broadcast. For video-originated footage

transferred to this format

1080i/59.94 HD broadcast. For video-originated footage

transferred to this format

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