Pinnacle Systems NewsCutter XP Getting Started Guide

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Avid

Getting Started Guide

NewsCutter® XP

Release 1.5

for the Windows NT® Operating System

tools for storytellers™

Avid NewsCutter XP Getting Started Guide for the Windows NT Operating System •

Part 0130-04661-01 Rev. A • August 2000

Chapter 1 Setting Up Your Avid NewsCutter XP System

Check List for Setting Up Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Turning On Your Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Setting Your Screen Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Preparing Your Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Overview of Partitioning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Supported File Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Checking Your Internal Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Creating Primary Partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Formatting Partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Creating a Disk Configuration Floppy Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Testing Drives on Windows NT Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Installing Avid NewsCutter XP Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Installing Avid NewsCutter XP Software and All Components .

Installing Selected Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Performing a Custom Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Modifying, Repairing, or Removing Avid NewsCutter XP . . . 30

Installing AvidNet Transfer Tool Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Installing EDL Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Creating an Emergency Repair Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Installing the Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Turning Off Your Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Chapter 2 About Avid NewsCutter XP

About Digital Video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Nonlinear Editing with Avid NewsCutter XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Avid NewsCutter XP Terms and Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Subclips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

The Attic Folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

The Avid NewsCutter XP File System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Project Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Starting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Preparing to Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Editing a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Generating Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Chapter 3 Learning How to Use Avid NewsCutter XP

Using the Tutorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Using Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Opening and Closing the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Getting Help for Windows and Dialog Boxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Getting Help for Screen Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Printing Help Topics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Using Online Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Tips and Other Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Chapter 4 Starting a Project and Creating a Simple Sequence

Starting Avid NewsCutter XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Using the Open Project Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Creating a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Selecting and Opening a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Creating a Simple Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Closing the Project and Quitting the Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Chapter 5 Playing and Marking Clips

Exploring the Project Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

The Bins Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

The Settings Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

The Info Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Opening a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Viewing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Using Text View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Using Frame View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Switching Between Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Playing Clips in a Source Pop-up Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Using the Keyboard to Play Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Using Buttons and the Position Indicator to Play Clips . . . . . . 80

Marking IN and OUT Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Marking the First Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Marking Another Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Playing a Sequence in a Source Pop-up Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Using Timecode to Find a Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

About Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Using Timecode to Mark IN and OUT Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Using Frame Offset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Clearing IN Points and OUT Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Saving Your Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Chapter 6 Creating a Sequence

Working in the Avid NewsCutter XP Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Minimizing Avid NewsCutter XP Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Default Locations for the Avid NewsCutter XP Windows . . . . 95

Making the First Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Playing a Video Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Dragging a Video Clip and Creating a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Moving and Renaming the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Opening a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Opening and Using the Tool Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Opening and Tearing Off the Tool Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Displaying Button Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Splicing in an Audio Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Using Digital Audio Scrub to Locate a Specific Frame of Audio

102

Playing IN to OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Splicing in the Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Reviewing Your Edits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Exploring the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Displaying More or Less Detail in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Navigating in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Using the Position Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Using the Scroll Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Using the Track Selector Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Selecting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Monitoring Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Splicing in a Video Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Adding Additional Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Splicing in the Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Splicing a Clip into the Middle of a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Moving to the Head of a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Splicing in the Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Undoing an Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Splicing in a Music Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Opening and Marking the Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Patching Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Selecting the Tracks to Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Splicing in the Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Reviewing Your Edits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Confirming the Duration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Chapter 7 Building a Sequence

Storyboard Editing the Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Marking IN and OUT Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Creating the Storyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Editing the Clips into the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Overwriting Clips into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Backtiming an Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Rearranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Overwriting with a Three-Point Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Using Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Changing the Order of Clips in a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Removing Footage from a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Removing Footage and Closing the Resulting Gap . . . . . 126

Removing Footage and Retaining the Resulting Gap . . . 127

Replacing a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Adjusting Both Sides of a Transition (Dual-Roller Trimming) . .

129

Single-Roller Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Adding the Final Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Working with Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Adjusting Audio Pan (Balance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Adjusting Audio Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Chapter 8 Adding Effects

Effects Editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Transition Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Segment Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Dissolving Between Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Creating a Series of Dissolves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Rendering a Series of Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Adding Additional Dissolves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Changing the Position of a Dissolve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Adding a Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Displaying the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Using the Second Video Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Creating the Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Resizing the Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Previewing the Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Adjusting the Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Fading In and Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Rendering the Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Adding a Flop Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Chapter 9 Creating Titles

Creating a New Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Adding a Shadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Positioning and Aligning Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Saving a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Editing the Title into the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Fading a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Editing a Saved Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Changing Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Saving the Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Editing the Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Renaming Your Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Chapter 10 Generating Output

Creating a Movie for the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

About Media Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Preparing the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Exporting with Media Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Exporting a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Using the QuickTime DV Codec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Exporting the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Outputting a Digital Cut to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

About Remote and Local Deck Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Changing the Timecode of the Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Configuring Your Camera or Video Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Recording a Digital Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Chapter 11 Backing Up and Deleting a Project

Backing Up Project Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Backing Up Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Deleting a Project Folder and Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Deleting a Project Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Deleting Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Appendix A Connecting the Hardware and Editing Equipment

Connecting the Keyboard, Mouse and Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Connecting the Application Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Connecting the External SCSI Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Installation Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Placing the Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Cabling the Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Determining the SCSI IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Setting the SCSI IDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Connecting the Editing Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Overview of the Hardware Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Cables Needed to Connect the Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Cables Shipped with the Computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Optional Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Connecting a Digital Video Deck or Camera to the Computer . .

206

Connecting an Analog Video Deck to the Computer. . . . . . . . 209

Controlling an Analog Video Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Problems Viewing Recorded Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Index

Figures

Figure A-1 System Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Figure A-2 Application Key Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Figure A-3 External SCSI Connector Location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Figure A-4 Placing the External SCSI Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Figure A-5 Example of a Chain of SCSI Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Figure A-6 Cable and Terminator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Figure A-7 Connecting the Adapter Cable to the External SCSI. 196

Figure A-8 Connecting the Adapter Cable to the First SCSI Drive .

196

Figure A-9 Connecting the Interconnect Cable Between SCSI Drives

197

Figure A-10 Connecting the LVD Terminator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Figure A-11 Setting the SCSI IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Figure A-12 SCSI ID Switch Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Figure A-13 SCSI ID Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Figure A-14 Computer Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Figure A-15 Connecting the Digital Video Deck or Camera . . . . . 206

Figure A-16 Connecting an Analog Video Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Figure A-17 Analog Video Deck Control Cabling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Figure A-18 Video Display Settings Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Figure A-19 Data Path for Recorded Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Tables

Table 1-1 Check List for Setting Up Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Table 1-2 Custom Installation Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Tab le A- 1 Numbers Associated with

SCSI Switch Letters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Tab le A- 2 Connecting the Digital Video Deck or Camera

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Tab le A- 3 Connecting an Analog Video Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

CHAPTER 1

Setting Up Your Avid NewsCutter XP System

This chapter describes how to set up your Avid NewsCutter XP system. It consists of the following sections:

• Check List for Setting Up Your System

• Turning On Your Equipment

• Preparing Your Drives

• Installing Avid NewsCutter XP Software

• Installing AvidNet Transfer Tool Software

• Installing EDL Manager

• Creating an Emergency Repair Disk

• Installing the Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial Files

• Turning Off Your Equipment

Check List for Setting Up Your System

The check list in Ta bl e 1- 1 lists the tasks you need to complete before you can use your Avid NewsCutter XP system.

Table 1-1 Check List for Setting Up Your System

To See

Set up your computer hardware: computer, monitor, mouse, keyboard

Install the application key and printer Appendix A

Connect your optional external drives Appendix A

Connect your camera or video deck (you can connect these after you install the software if you prefer)

Turn on your equipment “Turning On Your Equipment” on

Prepare your drives “Preparing Your Drives” on page 17

Install Avid NewsCutter XP software “Installing Avid NewsCutter XP

Create an emergency repair disk “Creating an Emergency Repair

Install Avid NewsCutter XP tutorial files (optional)

Appendix A

page 15

Software” on page 25

Disk” on page 35

“Installing the Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial Files” on page 36

Turning On Your Equipment

After you have connected your equipment, turn on the various components. If you have connected external drives, you need to shut down and restart your computer before the computer can detect and use the external drives.

If any part of your system fails to turn on, make sure its electrical cord is plugged snugly into an appropriate electrical outlet or power strip. For more information, see the instructions for setting up your computer hardware.

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

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

Turn on the components in the following order:

1. External media drives: Your system might include one or more external media drives. Turn on the drive or drives before starting the computer. Allow 10 to 15 seconds for the drives to spin up to speed before starting your computer.

2. Other peripheral hardware: Turn on all other peripheral units, such as monitor and speakers. If you have connected a camera, transcoder, or deck, turn them on now.

3. Computer:

a. Turn on your computer.

The computer goes through a self-check routine, and the Windows NT startup screen appears.

b. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and log on.

The Windows NT desktop appears.

To avoid system damage, do not disconnect or turn off the external media drives while the computer is on.

Setting Your Screen Resolution

When running NewsCutter XP, Avid recommends that you set your Windows NT screen resolution as follows:

1. Right-click on the desktop.

2. Choose properties from the shortcut menu.

The Display Properties dialog box appears.

3. Click the Settings tab.

4. Set the Desktop Area to 1024 x 768 pixels.

5. Set the Refresh Frequency to 75 Hertz.

6. Click OK.

Preparing Your Drives

To use Avid NewsCutter XP software on a Windows NT system, you need to partition and format the drives properly. Partitioning divides a drive into sections, and formatting places a file system on each partition.

Your computer contains two internal disk drives. One drive is already partially partitioned and formatted (see “Checking Your Internal

Drives” on page 19). This partition contains the Windows NT

operating system. That’s why the Windows NT operating system appears automatically when you turn on the computer.

This section includes the following information:

• Overview of Partitioning

• Supported File Systems

• Checking Your Internal Drives

• Creating Primary Partitions

• Formatting Partitions

• Creating a Disk Configuration Floppy Disk

• Testing Drives on Windows NT Systems

Overview of Partitioning

Windows NT allows you to create multiple partitions on a single physical drive as a way to manage projects and files. The following are two ways you can partition your drives.

The letters G through J used are examples only.

• You can partition your drive as one primary partition, having the partition represented by a drive letter.

One partition

• You can have up to four primary partitions per drive. Each partition is assigned a drive letter and cannot be further subdivided.

For specific recommendations for partitioning your drives, see

“Creating Primary Partitions” on page 20.

You can also create a partition across more than one drive, which is called striping drives. You do not need to stripe drives when you use Avid NewsCutter XP. See the Windows NT documentation for striping information.

Supported File Systems

Four partitions

Drive G

Drives G – J

Windows NT supports two file systems: the File Allocation Table (FAT) and the New Technology File System (NTFS). FAT is primarily used when backward compatibility is needed on operating systems such as MS-DOS systems should be limited to a 2-GB partition size to maintain this backward compatibility. NTFS affords the user security, compression, and other file recovery features. Drives employing NTFS support partitions of any size. Avid recommends that you choose NTFS when you partition your disk drives.

or other versions of Windows. In general, FAT file

One of your internal disk drives has a partition (designated drive C) that contains the Windows NT operating system stored on a FAT file system. You should not reformat this partition unless you need to rebuild your system disk drive.

Checking Your Internal Drives

Your computer contains two internal disk drives. The first drive has a 2-GB partition that is formatted with a FAT file system. This partition is your system or boot drive, which is designated drive C in the factory default configuration. The remaining portion of this drive needs to be partitioned and formatted before you install Avid NewsCutter XP software.

The second drive is intended to be used as a media drive (see “Media

Files” on page 41). You need to partition and format this drive also.

To check if you need to partition and format these drives:

1. Start Windows NT 4.0 and log in to an account with administrative privileges.

2. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and select Disk Administrator. The Disk Administrator window opens.

3. Look at Disk 0 and Disk 1.

Your Disk 0 should look similar to Disk 0 in the following figure. The figure shows Partition C on Disk 0, with a stripe across the top, with IBM

You should not partition and format the partition that contains the Windows NT operating system. In the factory default configuration, this partition is designated drive C, as shown in the following figure.

Any remaining portion of Disk 0 or Disk 1 that shows Free Space needs to be partitioned and formatted.

Preload and a FAT file system.

9420 MB

Already partitioned and formatted

Needs partitioning and formatting

18428 MB

18 MB

Creating Primary Partitions

To create a primary partition:

1. Start Windows NT 4.0 and log in to an account with administrative privileges. If you do not have administrative privileges, see your system administrator to get privileges.

2. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and select Disk Administrator. The first Disk Administrator window opens.

3. From the Windows NT Disk Administrator, use the pointer to select the portion of the disk on which you are going to create one or more primary partitions.

4. From the Partition menu, choose Create.

The Create Primary Partition dialog box appears.

5. Choose the size of the primary partition by typing a number or by clicking the up or down arrow.

Avid recommends creating a second partition on the first internal drive (Disk 0), using all the remaining space. Avid also recommends creating one large partition on the second internal drive (Disk 1). In both cases, use the maximum size for the partition.

If you want to create multiple partitions, you can divide the maximum size of the partition by the number of partitions (up to

4). Type that number in the Create partition of size text box.

6. Click OK to create the primary partition.

7. If you are formatting multiple partitions, repeat steps 3 through 6 to create up to four primary partitions.

8. From the Partition menu, choose Commit Changes Now.

The first Confirm dialog box appears.

9. Click Yes.

The following Disk Administrator dialog box appears.

10. Click OK.

Formatting Partitions

To format the primary partitions you created:

1. From the Windows NT Disk Administrator, use the pointer to select the primary partition that you are going to format.

2. From the Tools menu, choose Format.

The Format window opens.

3. Choose NTFS File System.

4. Type a Volume Label Name that helps you define that partition.

You can enter up to 14 characters.

5. Select Quick Format.

6. Click Start to begin formatting.

The Format warning dialog box appears.

This warning refers only to the new partition, not previously formatted partitions.

7. Click OK.

The Format Complete dialog box appears after formatting and tells you the total disk space and the total disk space available on the volume.

8. Click OK.

9. Repeat steps 1 through 8 until you have formatted all of the primary partitions you created.

Creating a Disk Configuration Floppy Disk

You should now save the new disk configuration on a floppy disk.

To create a configuration floppy disk:

1. Start Windows NT 4.0 and log in to an account with administrative privileges. If you do not have administrative privileges, see your system administrator to get privileges.

2. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and select Disk Administrator. The first Disk Administrator window opens.

3. Choose Configuration from the Partition menu and select Save.

4. A dialog box appears asking you to insert a floppy disk into the floppy drive.

5. Click Yes.

Store the configuration floppy disk in a safe, dry, static-free location.

Whenever you change your disk configuration, create a new configuration floppy disk.

Testing Drives on Windows NT Systems

The Windows NT operating system contains a disk-checking feature in the Properties section of each drive and a program named CHKDSK. For information about how to use this feature and program, see the Windows NT documentation.

Installing Avid NewsCutter XP Software

This section describes how to install the Avid NewsCutter XP application and its related components from the installation CD-ROM.

In order to install or remove the application software, you need to use an account with administrative privileges.

The following third-party software applications have been modified to work properly with Avid software: LSX-MPEG and QuickTime Downloading newer versions of these applications before they are supported by Avid might cause problems. Avid recommends not updating any of these applications until they are officially supported by Avid. Check the Customer Service section of the Avid Web site at www.avid.com.

Installing Avid NewsCutter XP Software and All Components

To install the Avid NewsCutter XP software and all related components:

1. Quit all Windows NT applications.

2. Insert the Avid NewsCutter XP application CD-ROM into the CDROM drive.

If the installation program doesn’t start automatically:

a. Double-click the My Computer icon.

b. Double-click your CD-ROM drive icon.

c. Double-click the Launch icon.

The opening window of the installer opens.

3. In the opening window, click Installers.

4. Click Install Avid NewsCutter XP.

If you have not partitioned and formatted the second internal disk drive (in addition to drive C) or additional external drives, a message appears. This message informs you that you need at least two partitions to run Avid NewsCutter XP. One partition is the boot drive (drive C), and the other partition is used to store media. For instructions on partitioning and formatting drives, see “Preparing Your Drives” on page 17.

If you have previously installed Avid NewsCutter XP, the Welcome window for the Setup Maintenance program opens. Follow the steps in “Modifying, Repairing, or Removing Avid

NewsCutter XP” on page 30

5. In the Welcome window, click Next.

6. In the License Agreement window, read the agreement, and then click Yes to accept the terms of the agreement.

7. In the Choose Destination Location window, accept the default path for the application folder (on drive C) by clicking Next. The default path is:

C:\Program Files\Avid\Avid NewsCutter XP

8. In the Setup Type window, select an option:

• Select Typical to install all components. This is the

recommended installation.

• Select Custom to select the components you want to install.

See “Performing a Custom Installation” on page 29.

9. After you have selected an option, click Next.

The AVX_Plug-In Location window opens and displays the default destination as:

C:\Program Files\Avid\AVX_Plug-ins

10. Click Next to accept the default path.

11. In the Application Data Location window, indicate a location for the application files (project folders and user folders).

Avid recommends that you install these files on a drive or partition other than drive C.

To change the default path:

a. Click the Browse button.

b. In the Path text box, type:

drive

:\Avid\Avid NewsCutter XP

c. Click OK.

A message asks if you want to create the folder.

d. Click Yes.

12. Click Next.

The installation begins. During the installation, you see installation programs for a series of components. For RealProducer G2, a Welcome window opens.

a. Click Next

b. In the License Agreement window, click Yes.

c. In the RealProducer G2 Setup Complete window, click Finish.

When the Avid NewsCutter XP installation is complete, another Setup Complete window opens and asks if you want to restart the system.

13. Click Yes, and then click Finish.

Installing Selected Components

You can install some Avid NewsCutter XP components separately. These components, which create movies for Internet distribution, include:

• Media Cleaner

• LSX-MPEG

•QuickTime

To install a selected component:

1. Quit all Windows NT applications.

2. Insert the Avid NewsCutter XP Installation CD-ROM into the CDROM drive.

If the installation program doesn't start automatically:

a. Double-click the My Computer icon.

b. Double-click your CD-ROM drive icon.

c. Double-click the Launch icon.

The opening window of the installer opens.

3. In the opening window, click Component Installers.

4. Select the component you want to install and follow the on-screen instructions.

Performing a Custom Installation

You can perform a custom installation to install particular files from the installation CD-ROM. Ta bl e 1 -2 lists the components available when you use the Custom option of the Avid Application Installer.

Table 1-2 Custom Installation Components

Component Description

Avid NewsCutter XP Installs the application and all the necessary

supporting files, except the Help files.

Help files Installs the appropriate Help files.

To perform a custom installation:

1. Follow steps 1 through 7 in the procedure “Installing Avid

NewsCutter XP Software and All Components” on page 25.

2. In the Setup Type window, click Custom and then click Next.

3. In the Select Components window, click the check boxes next to the components you want to install. A check mark indicates the component is selected.

4. After you have selected the components to install, click Next.

5. In the Application Data Location window, indicate a location for the application files (project folders and user folders).

Avid recommends that you install these files on a drive or partition other than drive C.

To change the default path:

a. Click the Browse button.

b. In the Path text box, type:

drive

:\Avid\Avid NewsCutter XP

c. Click OK.

A message asks if you want to create the folder.

d. Click Yes.

6. Click Next.

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

7. Click Yes, and then click Finish.

Modifying, Repairing, or Removing Avid NewsCutter XP

If you have installed Avid NewsCutter XP and need to reinstall or remove it, you use the Setup Maintenance program.

To modify, repair, or remove Avid NewsCutter XP:

1. Quit all Windows NT applications.

2. Insert the Avid NewsCutter XP application CD-ROM into the CDROM drive.

If the installation program doesn’t start automatically:

a. Double-click the My Computer icon.

b. Double-click your CD-ROM drive icon.

c. Double-click the Launch icon.

The opening window of the installer opens.

3. In the opening window, click Installers.

4. Click Install Avid NewsCutter XP.

The Welcome window for the Setup Maintenance program opens. It presents three options:

• Modify: Select this option to add new program components or

remove currently installed components.

If you choose to remove currently installed components, this option does not remove registry entries or icons in the Start menu. To fully uninstall Avid NewsCutter XP, select the Remove option.

If you want to remove Avid AVI Codec, LSX-MPEG (Ligos), or QuickTime, use the Add/Remove Programs dialog box. To access Add/Remove programs, click the Start menu, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.

• Repair: Select this option to reinstall the components that you

previously installed.

• Remove: Select this option to completely uninstall all

components of Avid NewsCutter XP.

5. Select one of the three options and click Next.

• If you selected Modify, the Select Components window opens.

Components that are already installed are selected. Select the new components you want to install. The installation proceeds, as described in steps 12 and 13 in “Installing Avid

NewsCutter XP Software” on page 25.

If you deselect an installed component, the installation program will remove the component from the Avid NewsCutter XP system.

• If you selected Repair, the installation proceeds, as described

in steps 12 and 13 in “Installing Avid NewsCutter XP

Software” on page 25.

• If you selected Remove, a message box asks you to confirm

that you want to delete the files. Click OK. When the Maintenance Complete window opens, click Finish. Click Exit to quit the installation program.

Installing AvidNet Transfer Tool Software

The AvidNet™ Transfer Tool is an application that allows you to transfer media and files over a network. For information on using the AvidNet Transfer Tool, see the AvidNet Transfer Tool User’s Guide, available on the Avid NewsCutter XP Online Publications CD-ROM, and the Avid NewsCutter XP Release Notes.

Before installing the AvidNet Transfer Tool, you should first install Avid NewsCutter XP. The installer can find media drives already configured on the system only if you install the AvidNet Transfer Tool after you install Avid NewsCutter XP.

To install the AvidNet Transfer Tool software:

1. Quit all Windows NT applications.

2. Insert the Avid NewsCutter XP application CD-ROM into the CDROM drive.

3. If the installation program doesn’t start automatically:

a. Double-click the My Computer icon.

b. Double-click your CD-ROM drive icon.

c. Double-click the Launch icon.

The opening window of the installer opens.

4. In the opening window, click Installers.

5. Click Install AvidNet.

6. In the Welcome window, click Next.

7. In the License Agreement window, read the agreement, and then click Yes to accept the terms of the agreement.

8. In the Choose Destination Location window, accept the default path for the application folder (on drive C) by clicking Next. The default path is:

C:\Program Files\Avid\AvidNet

If you have installed the AvidNet Transfer Tool previously, a dialog box asks you if you want to uninstall files. Click Yes, and then follow the on-screen instructions.

9. Select a media drive for Incoming Media Files and click Next.

10. Select a destination location for Incoming Files and click Next.

If you select a location on drive C, a message tells you that you need to select an NTFS drive for compatibility with Macintosh files. For compatibility, click No, select a drive other than drive C, and click Next.

11. Select a destination location for Incoming Compositions and click Next.

12. Select a directory in which to place the AvidNet log file and click Next.

13. In the Enter Information window, leave the selection as No BWM Server and click Next.

14. In the Start Copying Files window, review the current settings. If you agree with those settings, click Next to copy the files.

15. Click Yes to view the ReadMe file when prompted in the Question window, or click No to complete the setup.

16. In the Setup Complete window, click Yes to restart the computer, and then click Finish.

Installing EDL Manager

EDL Manager is an application that allows you to generate EDLs (edit decision lists) from sequences exported from any Avid video-based editing product. For information on using EDL Manager, see the

Avid EDL Manager User’s Guide, available on the Avid NewsCutter XP Online Publications CD-ROM.

You can install EDL Manager on another computer. For example, you might want to install EDL Manager on a portable computer that you can take with you to an online suite, or on a computer located at the online suite.

To install EDL Manager:

1. Quit all Windows NT applications.

2. Insert the Avid NewsCutter XP application CD-ROM into the CDROM drive.

3. If the installation program doesn’t start automatically:

a. Double-click the My Computer icon.

b. Double-click your CD-ROM drive icon.

c. Double-click the Launch icon.

The opening window of the installer opens.

4. In the opening window, click Installers.

5. Click Install EDL Manager.

If you have previously installed EDL Manager, the Setup Maintenance Program window opens. Follow the steps in

“Modifying, Repairing, or Removing Avid NewsCutter XP” on page 30.

6. In the Welcome window, click Next.

7. In the License Agreement window, read the agreement, and then click Yes to accept the terms of the agreement.

8. In the Choose Destination Location window, accept the default path for the application folder (on drive C) by clicking Next. The default path is:

C:\Program Files\Avid\EDL Manager

9. In the Setup Type window, select Typical and click Next.

The installation proceeds and the Setup Complete window opens.

10. Do one of the following:

• To quit the installation procedure and start EDL Manager,

select Launch EDL Manager Now, and click Finish.

• To quit the installation procedure without starting

EDL Manager, deselect Launch EDL Manager Now, and click Finish.

Creating an Emergency Repair Disk

Avid recommends that you update the emergency repair disk (ERD) each time you add or change hardware or software to your system. The ERD is a floppy disk that contains the latest information about your system configuration. It is needed in case your system is damaged and you need to rebuild your system from scratch. If you have a problem, search for Emergency Repair Disk in the Windows NT Help.

To create a repair disk:

1. Start Windows NT 4.0 and log in to an account with administrative privileges. If you do not have administrative privileges, see your system administrator to get privileges.

2. Click the Start button and select Run. The Run window opens.

3. Type rdisk /s and press the Enter key.

4. Follow the instructions to create a repair disk.

Store the emergency repair disk in a safe, dry, static-free location.

Installing the Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial Files

The Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial CD-ROMs contain all the files you need for the tutorial chapters of this guide, including DV media that is ready for you to use. The tutorial files are shipped on two CD-ROMs, in either NTSC or PAL format.

You will need approximately 1 GB of free space available on a media drive. It takes approximately 10 minutes to complete the installation program.

To install the tutorial files:

1. Quit all Windows NT applications.

2. Insert Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial CD 1 into the CD-ROM drive.

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

a. Double-click the My Computer icon.

b. Double-click the CD-ROM to open it.

c. Double-click the Launch icon to start the installer.

The opening window of the installer opens.

3. In the opening window, click Installers.

4. Click Install Tutorial.

5. In the Welcome window, click Next.

6. In the Choose Destination Location window, accept the default path and click Next.

This path should add the Avid Projects folder to the path you selected for application data when you installed Avid NewsCutter XP. See “Installing Avid NewsCutter XP Software” on page 25.

7. In the Select a Drive window, select a drive for the tutorial media and click Next.

The installation begins. When the installation is finished for CD 1, a message asks you to insert Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial CD 2 into the CD-ROM drive.

8. Insert CD 2 into the CD-ROM drive and click OK.

9. When the installation is complete, the Setup Complete window opens. Click Finish.

10. Click Exit to quit the installation program.

The installation program copies the following folders to your system:

• Introducing Avid folder: This folder contains the project and bins you need for the tutorial and is copied into the Avid Projects folder on your hard drive.

• OMFI MediaFiles folder: This folder contains the media files you need for the tutorial and is copied to a media drive.

Turning Off Your Equipment

When you are finished using your system and want to turn it off completely, follow these steps to avoid damaging your computer or media storage drives. Make sure to quit Avid NewsCutter XP before turning off your equipment. See “Closing the Project and Quitting

the Application” on page 69.

To turn off your equipment:

1. Choose Shut Down from the Start menu.The Shut Down Windows dialog box appears.

2. Select the Shut down the computer option and click Yes.

3. When the system displays a message telling you it is safe to turn off your computer, press the Power button on the computer.

4. Turn off your speakers and monitors.

5. Turn off each external media drive.

6. Turn off all other hardware.

Never remove external media drives from your Avid NewsCutter XP system when it is turned on. Shut down the computer before you move drives.

CHAPTER 2

About Avid NewsCutter XP

This chapter explains the basic concepts and terminology that you need to be familiar with to edit video with Avid NewsCutter XP. These concepts include:

• About Digital Video

• Nonlinear Editing with Avid NewsCutter XP

• Avid NewsCutter XP Terms and Concepts

• The Avid NewsCutter XP File System

• Project Workflow

About Digital Video

With Avid NewsCutter XP lets you edit digital video, specifically, digital video that is transferred through equipment conforming to IEEE Standard 1394. This equipment (cameras, video and audio decks, cables, connectors, and processing boards) is sometimes referred to as FireWire (both video and audio) directly from a DV camera to a digital, nonlinear editing system with no conversion losses. DV technology simplifies the process of bringing footage from your camera into your Avid NewsCutter XP system, and gives you high-quality video at low cost.

or I-Link™. DV connections let you transfer digital data

Nonlinear Editing with Avid NewsCutter XP

In traditional video editing, you electronically copy (dub) video and audio footage from a source tape to a master tape. This process is tedious, however, and it is difficult to make changes to your work.

By contrast, when you edit with Avid NewsCutter XP, you don’t have to dub footage onto a master tape. Instead, you manipulate Avid NewsCutter XP clips, which are segments of the media that contain pointers to your digital audio and video files. Avid NewsCutter XP allows you to experiment with every edit you make. You can trim, move, delete, duplicate, or modify individual frames or entire segments, and immediately see the results. This type of editing is called nonlinear because you are not limited by the traditional video editing need to dub one shot after another.

Avid NewsCutter XP Terms and Concepts

This section explains the following terms and concepts to help you understand the Avid NewsCutter XP editing process:

• Media Files

• Clips

• Subclips

• Sequences

• Bins

• Projects

• The Attic Folder

• Programs

Media Files

Media files store source material.

When you record source material from a camera or deck, or when you import computer graphic files into your Avid NewsCutter XP project, the material is saved in media files on your system’s media drive or drives. One media file is created for each track of video or audio. For a video with a stereo sound track, three media files are created: one track of video and two tracks of audio. Media files are stored in the OMFI MediaFiles folder; and each media drive has its own OMFI MediaFiles folder.

Even though your media files contain the actual source material for the program, you never manipulate the media files directly. Instead, you move, copy, and edit clips, subclips, and sequences, which are pointers to the media files.

Clips

Clips point to media files.

When you record media, Avid NewsCutter XP creates another file, called a master clip, on your system’s internal drive. The master clip is

simply a pointer to its corresponding media file, which is located in the OMFI MediaFiles folder on a media drive. A media drive can be inside the computer (an internal media drive) or outside the computer (an external media drive).

Master clip

OMFI MediaFiles

Media drive

Video deck

While editing your video, you create other clips, such as graphic clips and effects clips. You make your edits by modifying clips, and the corresponding media files remain unchanged. This feature allows you to easily create and undo edits without destroying your original material.

Subclips

Subclips are sections that you mark within clips.

Because you work with clips instead of media files, you can create virtually unlimited versions of a program without creating multiple copies of the source material, which is stored in extremely large files.

Subclips are sections of clips that you want to use in your program. You create a subclip by marking IN (start) and OUT (end) points in a clip, pressing and holding the Alt key, and dragging the clip to the bin. The subclip is composed of the material between the IN and OUT points.

Sequences

A subclip points to a media file’s master clip. You must not delete the master clip from which a subclip was created. If you delete the master clip, you will lose the information in the subclip.

Master clip

Subclip

A sequence is a program created from one or more clips and subclips.

Subclip

You can join different clips and subclips to create a sequence. A sequence can include edited material from master clips and subclips, new clips created when you add effects during the editing process, and material from other sequences.

IN point OUT point

Handle

Master clip

Sequence

Handle

Sequence

A sequence is composed of marked material from clips, subclips, and other sequences. The material outside the IN and OUT points remains

in the media file’s master clip. These segments of material are called handles. Handles are important; you need them to trim cuts and create transition effects between segments. For more information about trimming cuts, see “Trimming” on page 128. For more information

about transition effects, see “Effects Editing” on page 138.

Like clips and subclips, a sequence contains pointers to media files, which are stored in the OMFI MediaFiles folder. If you delete a clip used to create a sequence, the sequence still displays the media, because the sequence contains its own pointers to the media files.

Sequence

Bins

You organize your footage in bins.

Projects

A project consists of one or more bins.You edit within a project.

Clip

Subclip

OMFI MediaFiles

Clips, subclips, and sequences are organized and stored in bins. Traditionally, a bin is a place where film editors store reels of film. In Avid NewsCutter XP, bins represent a database for organizing the material for a project.

You gather the material you need to create a program in a project. Each project contains information about bins, clips, subclips, sequences, and the program in the Timeline. You might have several projects on your system, but you can work on only one project at a time.

The Attic Folder

For a complete description of retriev ing bins from the Attic folder, see the Avid

NewsCutter XP User’s Guide or Help.

Programs

Avid NewsCutter XP saves copies of your current project and its bins at regular intervals and whenever you save or close a project or bin. These auto-save files are stored in the Attic folder at the top level of the internal hard drive. If you lose work due to a power outage or system error, open the Attic folder and look for a project or bin of the same name with the file name extension.bakxx, where xx is the version number. For example, the first backup file for the bin Rough Cut would be named Rough Cut.bak01. Later versions would be named Rough Cut.bak02, Rough Cut.bak03, and so on.

A program consists of one or more sequences. You can use clips, subclips, and sequences to build a program. A program is your final creation; you can output your program to tape, CD-ROM, or the Web when you are finished.

The Avid NewsCutter XP File System

The following illustration shows the different kinds of Avid NewsCutter XP files and where they are stored. The Avid NewsCutter

XP application folder is stored on your computer’s internal hard drive. The Avid Projects folder is also stored on an internal drive; the location varies, depending on your installation. An OMFI MediaFiles folder is stored on each media drive. Media files must be stored on a separate, Avid-approved media drive that is guaranteed to be fast enough to support video playback.

For complete information about folders and files, see the

Avid NewsCutter XP

User’s Guide or Help.

Media drive

OMFI

MediaFiles

Avid NewsCutter XP

Avid NewsCutter XPSettings

Help

Avid

Projects

Project

Bin A Bin B

Supporting

Files

Project Workflow

The following sections illustrate the four stages of a typical Avid NewsCutter XP project: starting a project, preparing to edit, editing a sequence, and generating output.

Complete procedures for each stage are included in the printed manuals, online books, and Help.

Starting a Project

Starting a project involves the following steps:

1. Turn on your equipment in the correct order and start the software. (Speakers and external media drives are optional.)

2. Select or create a new user and project: the job that will result in one or more finished sequences.

1. Turn on and start your Avid system.

2. Select or create a user and project.

3. Create and organize bins.

4. Back up your project on a regular basis.

3. Create and organize bins.

4. Back up the project.

Preparing to Edit

1. (Optional) Import your log files into the bins, or log the material manually.

2. Record your DV footage, creating media files and master clips.

3. Work with bins and clips to organize your source material for easy access during editing.

Preparing to edit involves the following steps:

1. (Option) Import shot logs into the bin.

2. Record footage, creating master clips and media files.

4. (Optional) Build a storyboard to begin previsualizing your final cut before editing.

3. Sort and organize clips in the bins.

Editing a Sequence

Editing a sequence involves the following steps:

1. View your clips in advance and mark IN points and OUT points, or create subclips based on selected portions of your master clips.

1. Screen, mark, and subcatalog footage.

5. Screen and continue editing as necessary.

2. Build your sequence using editing controls with the Timeline, Source pop-up monitors, and the Composer monitor.

3. Fine-tune your edits and effects by using functions of the various edit modes, such as Segment mode, Trim mode, and Effect mode.

4. Adjust and mix multiple audio tracks and prepare for final playback or output, using the Audio tool and Audio Mix tool.

5. Return to editing if further adjustments are required.

Composer monitor

2. Edit with Timeline and monitors.

3. Fine-tune edits and effects.

Source pop-up monitor

Timeline

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

Generating Output

Generating various forms of output based on your sequence involves selecting among several options:

Export material for audio sweetening or graphics enhancement in a third-party application, for incorporating into a multimedia project, or for publishing on the Internet.

Export material for additional processing, for incorporating into a multimedia project, or for publishing on the Internet.

Record the final sequence to tape as a digital cut.

Generate an EDL for online videotape editing.

Record a digital cut directly to tape.

Generate an EDL for online videotape editing.

CHAPTER 3

Learning How to Use Avid NewsCutter XP

This chapter explains the different resources that can help you learn how to use your Avid NewsCutter XP system. This chapter contains the following sections:

• Using the Tutorial

• Using Help

• Using Online Documentation

• Tips and Other Resources

Using the Tutorial

The self-paced tutorial chapters in this guide are designed as guided Avid editing sessions, using the basic features of the Avid system. In

this tutorial, you’re going to edit a 1-minute sequence about Avid Technology, Inc. This sequence is typical of a short piece you might create for your own organization. You can publish the sequence on tape or CD-ROM, or stream it across the Internet.

The footage for the sequence is supplied on the Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial CD-ROMs that came with your system. This footage is DV media that has already been recorded and is ready for you to use. Footage is supplied in either NTSC or PAL format, which is indicated on the CD-ROMs.

This tutorial does not cover the process of recording video and audio from a camera or video deck. You can find instructions for recording in the Avid NewsCutter XP User’s Guide and Help.

Before you begin, make sure you have installed the tutorial media and project files (see “Installing the Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial Files”

on page 36).

Depending on your level of expertise in editing on Avid systems, you can choose to work through the tutorial in either of two ways:

• If you have no experience with Avid NewsCutter XP or other Avid systems, you should go through the entire tutorial.

• If you have used other Avid systems, you might want to read certain chapters to understand the specific features of Avid NewsCutter XP and complete the tutorial tasks in that chapter. For most chapters, you can load a sequence that includes the work done up to that point.

You can create a short sequence in 5 minutes (see “Creating a Simple

Sequence” on page 63). Completing the entire tutorial can take from

3 to 4 hours.

Using Help

Avid NewsCutter XP has a comprehensive Help system that includes all information contained in the Avid NewsCutter XP User’s Guide, and most of the information contained in the Avid NewsCutter XP Effects Guide. In addition, you can get information on windows, dialog boxes, and screen objects by pressing the F1 key or clicking the right mouse button.

Opening and Closing the Help System

The Help system is also included on the

Avid NewsCutter XP Online Publications CD-

ROM.

To open the Help system, choose Avid NewsCutter XP Help from the Help menu. The Help Topics dialog box appears. Use the Contents, Index, and Find tabs to access the information you need.

These tabs work the same way as most Windows Help systems. For

more information, see the section “Using Help” in the Help system or click the Question Mark button in the title bar of the Help Topics dialog box.

To close the Help system, click the Close button in each Help window. The Help system automatically closes when you close the last open Help window.

Getting Help for Windows and Dialog Boxes

The Help system provides you with context-sensitive Help for windows and dialog boxes, such as tools and settings.

To get Help for windows and dialog boxes:

1. Make sure the Avid application is active.

2. Position the mouse pointer in the window or dialog box for which you want Help.

3. Press the F1 key on the keyboard.

If there is no information about a window or dialog box, the Help Topics dialog box appears.

Getting Help for Screen Objects

You can use What’s This? Help to find out about buttons and other screen objects.

To get Help for screen objects:

1. Using the right mouse button, click on the screen object (for example, a button).

A pop-up menu appears.

2. Choose What’s This? from the menu.

A pop-up window opens with an explanation of how you use the item.

If you press the F1 key when the mouse pointer is on a button or other screen object, you get Help for the window or dialog box, not for the button or other screen object.

Printing Help Topics

You can print a single Help topic or a group of topics listed in the Contents.

To print a Help topic:

1. Open or click the topic to make it active.

2. Click the Print button in the topic window.

3. Select the print options.

4. Click OK.

To print a Help topic from the Contents tab:

1. Select the topic you want to print.

2. Click the Print button at the bottom of the tab.

To print a book of related topics from the Contents tab:

1. Select the book you want to print.

2. Click the Print button.

If you select a book, all topics within that book, and all topics in other books contained in that book, will be printed. The system sends each topic as a separate print job to the printer; therefore, printing can take a long time. You can more easily print large sections of user information from the Avid NewsCutter XP Online Publications CD- ROM.

You can print a pop-up window by clicking the right mouse button and selecting Print.

Using Online Documentation

The Avid NewsCutter XP Online Publications CD-ROM includes:

• Avid NewsCutter XP User’s Guide

• Avid NewsCutter XP Effects Guide

• Avid NewsCutter XP Getting Started Guide (this book)

• Avid NewsCutter XP Help

The books are PDF files. You can view them with the Adobe Acrobat

These online books enable you to:

• Navigate by using bookmarks and hyperlinks.

Reader, which you can install from the CD-ROM.

• Speed up information retrieval by performing keyword searches.

• Annotate the books with your own notes.

• Zoom in on a page, enabling closer review of text and images.

• Print any or all pages.

• View the books with full-color graphics.

• View movies that illustrate Avid NewsCutter XP effects.

Avid gives you permission to print up to three complete copies of each book.

Tips and Other Resources

The following are a few tips for taking full advantage of the Avid NewsCutter XP documentation and other resources:

• Complete the tutorial chapters in this guide before starting a project.

• Begin learning about basic procedures by using the default settings. As your confidence increases, explore additional procedures and settings.

• Instead of using the standard menus to find the command you need in a window, try using shortcut menus. Using the right mouse button, click on a window to open a shortcut menu that shows the most frequently used commands for that window.

• Keep the Avid NewsCutter XP Quick Reference available during editing sessions.

• Read Avid’s newsletters, mailings, and other trade publications.

• Make use of additional training resources provided by Avid whenever possible, such as classes and instructional videotapes. For more information, contact Avid at 800-867-2843.

• Check the following Avid Web site for listings of courses, schedules, and locations:

www.avid.com/services/training/training.html

CHAPTER 4

Starting a Project and Creating a Simple Sequence

This chapter begins the tutorial section of this guide. In this chapter

you’ll practice the following tasks:

• Starting Avid NewsCutter XP

• Using the Open Project Dialog Box

• Creating a Simple Sequence

• Closing the Project and Quitting the Application

Before starting this chapter, make sure you have installed the tutorial files (see “Installing the Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial Files” on

page 36).

Starting Avid NewsCutter XP

You can create a shortcut on the desktop and start the application by doubleclicking the icon. See your Windows NT documentation.

You start the Avid NewsCutter XP application the same way you start most Windows applications.

To start NewsCutter XP:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Point to Programs, point to Avid, and select Avid NewsCutter XP.

The first few times you start Avid NewsCutter XP, a window opens that contains the License Agreement.

3. To accept your Avid NewsCutter XP product license electronically:

a. Read the License Agreement, and then click the Accept button

or the Decline button at the bottom of the screen.

The agreement appears the first several times you start Avid NewsCutter XP. After several starts, a new button

appears at the bottom of the screen labeled Accept and Don’t Show Again.

b. If you don’t want to see the License Agreement again, click the

Accept and Don’t Show Again button.

A dialog box appears.

c. Enter the name of your organization in the dialog box, and

click OK.

After you accept the License Agreement, the Open Project dialog box appears. If you are the first user on the system, the Open Project dialog box appears as shown in the following illustration.

For this tutorial, you will use the project called either Introducing Avid (NTSC) or Introducing Avid (PAL).

Using the Open Project Dialog Box

To open a project, you select a user and a project from the Open Project dialog box. You also use this dialog box to create a new user or a new project.

Creating a User

For this tutorial, create a new user.

1. Click the New User button in the Open Project dialog box.

The New User dialog box appears.

By default, the Windows NT login name appears.

2. Delete the default name, type your name, and click OK.

The Open Project dialog box reappears with your name highlighted in the list of Avid Users.

Selecting and Opening a Project

For this tutorial, we’ve already created a project for you.

1. Select Introducing Avid (NTSC) or Introducing Avid (PAL) from the Avid Projects list.

2. Click OK.

The Project window opens.

Look at the title bar of the window. It contains the name of the project and the name of the user. In this example, the user is named Editor. Your project window will contain your user name.

Two other windows appear: the Composer window and the Timeline

window. You’ll learn about these windows in Chapter 6.

Creating a Simple Sequence

Before continuing further in the tutorial, you can create a simple sequence right away. A sequence is a program made up of one or more clips (see “Sequences” on page 43). These steps will get you started quickly; you’ll find more thorough instructions and explanations later in the tutorial.

The sequence uses footage from the Introducing Avid project that you just opened. The following illustration shows the Project window.

Source Clips bin

Follow these steps to create a sequence:

1. In the Project window, open the Source Clips bin by doubleclicking the bin icon.

Editor at keyboard clip

The Source Clips Bin window opens and displays a list of clips.

2. From the list of clips, double-click the icon for the Editor at keyboard clip.

The Editor at keyboard clip opens in a window. This window is known as a Source pop-up monitor.

Mark Clip button

3. Click the Mark Clip button, which is located at the bottom of the Source pop-up monitor.

IN and OUT points appear at the beginning and end of the clip, which indicate that the entire clip will be edited into the sequence.

IN point

OUT point

4. Click the image area of the Source pop-up monitor and drag it anywhere in the Timeline window.

If you have more than one bin open, a dialog box appears and asks you to select a bin in which to store the sequence. Select Source Clips.

Congratulations! You’ve just created your first sequence. The clip appears in the Timeline and in the Composer monitor.

Position indicator

Notice the vertical blue line at the end of the Timeline. This line is called the position indicator. The position indicator is parked on the

last frame of the sequence, so this frame is the one displayed in the Composer monitor.

5. Now add some music to the sequence.

a. In the Source Clips bin, double-click the icon for the Music

track clip.

The clip opens in a Source pop-up monitor. There is no image because the clip has only audio.

b. Click the image area and drag the clip to audio track A1 in the

Timeline. Drag the clip so that the A1 track is outlined, as shown in the following illustration, and then release the mouse button.

If you make a mistake, choose Undo from the Edit menu to undo your last action.

Drag the position indicator here.

6. In the Timeline, make sure the position indicator is at the beginning of the sequence. If not, drag the position indicator as far as you can to the left.

7. Click the Play button below the Composer monitor to review your sequence.

Play button

Press the Play button again to stop playing the sequence at any time.

Now look in the Source Clips bin. The sequence is saved in the bin with the name Untitled Sequence.01. Delete the sequence. You’ll

create a new one in Chapter 6.

8. In the Source Clips bin, click the Untitled Sequence.01 icon and press the Delete key on the keyboard.

The Delete dialog box appears.

9. Click OK.

Close button

You’ve deleted the sequence, but not the source footage.

10. Close the Source Clips bin by clicking the Close button in the upper right corner of the window.

Next Steps

You’ve finished this chapter of the tutorial. You can either:

• Close the project and application and continue the tutorial at a later time.

• Continue on to the next chapter.

Closing the Project and Quitting the Application

To close the project and quit the application immediately, choose Exit from the File menu or click the Close button in the Avid NewsCutter XP title bar.

If you want to close the project and quit the application:

1. Click the Project window to activate it, and then click the Close button.

The system saves and closes the project. The Open Project dialog box appears.

2. Click Quit.

A dialog box appears and asks if you want to quit the application.

3. Click Leave.

The application quits and you see the Windows NT desktop.

The next time you open the project, choose your user name and project name, and resume the tutorial with the next section.

CHAPTER 5

Playing and Marking Clips

In Chapter 4 you learned how to start a project. In this chapter you’ll

practice the following tasks:

• Exploring the Project Window

• Opening a Bin

• Viewing Clips

• Playing Clips in a Source Pop-up Monitor

• Marking IN and OUT Points

• Playing a Sequence in a Source Pop-up Monitor

• Using Timecode to Find a Frame

• Creating Subclips

• Clearing IN Points and OUT Points

• Saving Your Work

If you have worked on the previous chapters but have quit

Avid NewsCutter XP — Start the application, choose your user name and the Introducing Avid project, and then click OK.

If you have not worked on the previous chapters — Start the application, create a new user, choose the Introducing Avid project, and then click OK.

Exploring the Project Window

Click in the Project window and press the F1 key to open Help for the Project window.

The Project window must remain open whenever you are working in Avid NewsCutter XP. Depending on the button you click, the Project window displays a list of bins, a list of settings, or information about your system.

If the Project window becomes hidden by other windows, bring it forward by choosing Project from the Tools menu.

The Bins Display

The Bins display lists the bins, or storage areas, created to hold your

clips and sequences (you’ll learn more about bins later in this chapter). For the Introducing Avid project, we’ve supplied you with three bins:

• QuickTime Movies

• Sequences

• Source Clips

The Settings Display

Click the Settings button at the top of the Project window. A list of settings appears. This list is called the Settings scroll list. Settings are groups of options you can select, depending on your needs and preferences.

The right column displays the type of setting. User settings are associated with the current user, and Project settings are associated with the project. For more information, see the Avid NewsCutter XP User’s Guide or press F1 for Help.

Especially important for Avid NewsCutter XP are the Video Display settings. Check the settings now.

1. Scroll down the list of settings and double-click Video Display.

The Video Display Settings dialog box appears.

For information on connecting a camera and Client monitor, see

Appendix A.

The top part of the dialog box gives you a choice for how to display video on your desktop.

2. If you have a Client monitor (a separate monitor that displays NTSC or PAL video) and camera attached to your system, select the following options:

• DV camera supports digital video input

• External video (client monitor enabled)

• External Video Source (S-Video or Composite, depending on

the connection between your camera and the capture board.

The Info Display

Fast Menu button

To learn more about these options, see the Avid NewsCutter XP User’s Guide or press the F1 key for Help. All Settings dialog boxes have context-sensitive Help.

3. Click OK to close the Video Display Settings dialog box.

Click the Info button at the top of the Project window. You see the format of the project (NTSC or PAL). You can get information about your system by clicking the Fast Menu button in the lower left corner of the screen, and then choosing Profile, Memory, or Hardware from the pop-up menu.

Click the Bins button to return to the Bins display.

Opening a Bin

The term bin comes from film editing and refers to a container for holding film clips (see “Bins” on page 44).

Let’s open a bin now. In the list of bins in the Project window, double-click the Source Clips icon. The Source Clips bin opens.

Most of the clips you’ll use in your sequence are displayed in this bin.

Name heading

Frame View button

Viewing Clips

Using Text View

Text View

button

You can view the information in a bin in two different ways:

• Text view displays columns of information about your clips.

• Frame view displays each clip as a single representative image.

Let’s look at Text view.

1. Click the Text View button (T) in the lower left corner of the bin.

If the button is highlighted, you are already in Text view.

The bin displays columns of information about each clip. For explanations of these columns, see the Avid NewsCutter XP User’s

Guide or press the F1 key for Help.

2. Click the Name heading in the bin.

3. Choose Sort from the Bin menu.

Using Frame View

Now let’s look at Frame view.

1. Click the Frame View button (F) in the lower left corner to see a

You can rearrange the clips in the bin by sorting on a particular

column. Let’s sort alphabetically by clip name.

The clip names are rearranged in alphabetical order.

picture-frame representation of each clip in the bin.

The order of clips is different from the order in Text view. You can rearrange clips in either view independently of the other.

You can change the size of the frames if you want.

2. Choose Reduce Frame or Enlarge Frame from the Edit menu.

To change frame size at the keyboard, you can also press Ctrl+K (Reduce Frame) and Ctrl+L (Enlarge Frame).

3. Choose Fill Window from the Bin menu.

The clips are arranged in neat rows and columns in the bin.

4. If some clips are now off the screen, click and drag the window corner in the lower right corner of the Source Clips bin.

Switching Between Views

It’s easy to switch between views: click the T button for Text view and the F button for Frame view. For this tutorial, you can use whichever view you prefer, except when performing a storyboard edit (see

“Storyboard Editing the Clips” on page 118).

Playing Clips in a Source Pop-up Monitor

A Source pop-up monitor is a window in which you play the clips for your project. You can play clips in three different ways:

• Using the keyboard

• Using the buttons on the screen, below the Source pop-up monitor

• Using the blue position indicator (the “blue bar”)

In this section you’ll try different ways to play clips. As you edit, use the ones you prefer.

Using the Keyboard to Play Clips

Your system is shipped with a set of labels that you can place on the keys of your keyboard.

The keyboard for your Avid system includes many special control keys, as shown in the following illustration.

Stop key

Play/Step/Shuttle keysStep keys

End key

Home key

This illustration shows the U.S. English keyboard. For layouts of other keyboards, choose Keyboard from the Settings scroll list.

In this section you’ll experiment with different ways to play clips.

1. In the Source Clips bin, open the clip named Editor at keyboard by double-clicking the icon (in Text view) or anywhere in the image (in Frame view).

The Editor at keyboard clip appears in a Source pop-up monitor.

2. Press the Home key (between the main keyboard and the numeric keypad) to move the position indicator to the start of the clip.

3. Press the End key, just below the Home key, to go to the end of the clip. The blue position indicator moves to match your directions.

4. Press the Home key again to go to the start of the clip.

5. Press the L key (Play) on the keyboard to play the clip forward at normal speed.

There is no audio for the Editor at keyboard clip.

The small size of the Source pop-up monitor might cause the footage to look jerky. The footage will look smoother in the Composer monitor and the Client monitor.

6. Press the space bar on the keyboard to stop playback at any point.

7. Press the L key again to play the clip forward at normal speed. Press the key repeatedly to play the clip forward at 60, 90, 150, and 240 frames per second (NTSC) or 50, 75, 125, and 200 frames per second (PAL).

8. Press the J key (Reverse Play) on the keyboard to play the clip backward at normal speed. Press the key repeatedly to play the clip backward at 60, 90, 150, and 240 frames per second (NTSC) or 50, 75, 125, and 200 frames per second (PAL).

9. Press the K key (Pause) on the keyboard to pause playback.

10. To move forward or backward at slow speed, press and hold the K key while you press and hold the L or J keys.

11. Use the 1, 2, 3, and 4 keys to step through the footage forward or backward in 1-frame or 10-frame increments.

Step 1

Frame Backward

Step 1 Frame Forward

Step 10 Frames Backward

Step 10 Frames Forward

Using Buttons and the Position Indicator to Play Clips

Two additional ways to play clips are:

• Clicking buttons that appear under a Source pop-up monitor

• Dragging the blue position indicator through the position bar to scroll through a clip

Position indicator

Position bar

Step Step Backward Forward

Now play through the Editor at keyboard clip by using buttons and the position indicator.

1. Click the Play button under the Source pop-up monitor.

Play

To step forward or backward 10 frames, hold the Alt key while you click the Step Forward or Step Backward button.

2. Click the Play button again to stop playback at any point.

3. Step through the footage forward or backward in 1-frame increments by using the Step Forward and Step Backward buttons under the Source pop-up monitor.

4. Locate the blue position indicator in the position bar in the Source pop-up monitor.

To step several frames forward, click just to the right of the position indicator.

5. Click to the left of the position indicator to step several frames back in the clip.

6. Step through the clip by clicking different spots in the position bar.

7. Drag the position indicator to the left, then to the right, to scroll through the clip.

Marking IN and OUT Points

Before you start to create your sequence, you need to mark the

segments of the clips you want to use. In this section you’ll mark IN and OUT points for some clips you’ll use later to build your sequence. You’ll also learn how to use timecode and frame offset to locate IN and OUT points.

The instructions in this section use the keyboard to mark IN and OUT points, but you can also click the equivalent buttons below the Source pop-up monitor.

Marking the First Clip

Let’s mark IN and OUT points for the Editor at keyboard clip.

1. Go to the head (start) of the clip by pressing the Home key. Then use the Step Forward and Step Backward (3 and 4) keys to locate the frame where the letter A begins to appear on the monitor screen.

Your clip might already have IN and OUT points. Your new edit points will overwrite the old edit points.

2. Mark an IN point by pressing the Mark IN (I) key.

A white sawtooth pattern appears on the left edge of the frame.

3. Drag the position indicator toward the end of the clip, where the explosion appears on two monitors, and before it fades away.

4. Mark an OUT point by pressing the Mark OUT (O) key.

A white sawtooth pattern appears on the right edge of the frame.

The system saves your IN and OUT points until you change them.

5. Close the Editor at keyboard clip by clicking the Close button.

The system automatically saves your IN and OUT points.

Marking Another Clip

Now mark the IN and OUT points for the Eyeball clip. This time, instead of using the Step keys, use the J-K-L keys to play the clip.

1. Open the Eyeball clip.

In this tutorial, “open a clip” means to double-click its icon in a bin, so that it opens in a Source pop-up monitor.

2. Locate the frame where the letter A of the word Avid appears in the pupil of the eyeball (after the second blink). Press and hold the K key and press the L key to go forward or the J key to go backward in slow motion.

Use the 3 and 4 keys to locate the precise frame.

3. Mark an IN point by pressing the I key.

4. Step forward a few frames after the D appears.

5. Mark an OUT point by pressing the O key.

6. Close the Eyeball clip.

Playing a Sequence in a Source Pop-up Monitor

So far you have played clips in Source pop-up monitors. You can also play a sequence (a program made up of one or more clips) in a Source pop-up monitor.

You might be curious to see what your final sequence will look like. We have supplied a finished sequence for you. To play it:

1. Click the Project window to display and activate it.

The Project window might be hidden behind the Source Clips bin. You can choose Project from the Tools menu to bring the window forward.

2. Open the Sequences bin.

3. Open the Introducing Avid sequence.

4. Press the Home key to go to the beginning of the sequence. Play the sequence in the Source pop-up monitor, using the keyboard or buttons, or a combination of both.

5. Close the Introducing Avid sequence.

6. Close the Sequences bin.

Using Timecode to Find a Frame

Your Avid NewsCutter XP system uses timecode to identify each frame of a clip.

About Timecode

Timecode is an electronic indexing method that denotes hours, minutes, seconds, and frames that have elapsed on a videotape. For example, a timecode of 01:03:30:10 denotes a frame that is marked at 1 hour, 3 minutes, 30 seconds, and 10 frames.

NTSC video (the video format used mainly in the United States) uses one of two formats: drop-frame timecode and non-drop-frame timecode.

Drop-frame timecode is designed to match the NTSC scan rate of 29.97 frames per second (fps). Two frames of timecode are dropped every minute except for the tenth minute. No video frames are actually dropped. Drop-frame timecode is indicated by semicolons between the digits; for example, 01;00;00;00. DV cameras that use the NTSC format use drop-frame timecode.

Non-drop-frame timecode tracks NTSC video at a rate of 30 fps and is indicated by colons between the digits; for example, 01:00:00:00. Nondrop-frame timecode can be easier to work with, but does not provide accurate timing for NTSC broadcast.

PAL video (the video format used in many countries other than the United States) uses a scan rate of 25 fps. Timecode is indicated by colons. There is no need for drop-frame timecode in PAL video.

You can change the starting timecode of a sequence or, for NTSC projects, the type of timecode. See “Changing the Timecode of the

Sequence” on page 173 and the Avid NewsCutter XP User’s Guide.

Using Timecode to Mark IN and OUT Points

You can mark IN and OUT points by using timecode as your reference point. If you know the timecode for the frame you want to mark, you can go to that frame instantly by typing it on the numeric keypad.

In this section, you’ll use timecode to reach a specific location. First, you need to display the appropriate timecode information in the Tracking Information display.

1. Open the Hand and keyboard clip.

2. Place the pointer in the gray title bar area over the Tracking Information display, until the pointer changes to a downward arrow.

Tracking Information display

3. When the pointer changes to a downward arrow, click to display the Tracking Information pop-up menu, and then choose TC, V1 (timecode for track Video 1) from the menu. A check mark means it is selected.

For information about the other choices in the Tracking Information menu, see the

Avid NewsCutter XP

User’s Guide or place the pointer over the Tracking Information display, click the right mouse button, and

choose What’s This?

Timecode shows the following: Hours Minutes Seconds

Frames

The timecode refers to the frame displayed in the Source pop-up monitor.

After you change the display for one Source pop-up monitor, all subsequent Source pop-up monitors you open use the same display.

4. Use the Play and Step buttons to locate the frame with the timecode 01:08:14:18 (NTSC) or 00:01:42:23 (PAL). Look for the number in the Tracking Information display.

5. Click the Mark IN button.

6. Let’s use 2 seconds of this clip. You can determine the OUT point

by adding 2 seconds to the timecode of the IN point, as shown in the following examples:

01:08:14:18 (NTSC)

+ 2:00

01:08:16:18

00:01:42:23 (PAL)

+ 2:00

00:01:44:23

Because Avid NewsCutter XP counts the frame it is parked on, you will actually mark one frame more than 2 seconds.

7. Type 01:08:16:18 (NTSC) or 00:01:44:23 (PAL) on the numeric keypad.

You don’t need to type zeros that start the timecode. In addition, the system inserts the colons for you. So you only need to type 1081618 14423 (PAL). This guide provides the complete timecode, but you can use these shortcuts to type the numbers.

As you start typing, a window opens in the middle of the Source pop-up monitor, showing the numbers you type.

(NTSC) or

Tracking Information display

Timecode entered

8. Press the Enter key on the numeric keypad. The position indicator locates the specified frame.

The Timecode window displays the current number.

To locate frames by using timecode and the numeric keypad, you must show timecode in the Tracking Information display. For example, the display must show track V1 to go to a specific frame on the V1 track.

9. Click the Mark OUT button.

10. Close the Hand and keyboard clip.

Using Frame Offset

Whenever you use the numeric keypad, you must press the Enter key on the numeric keypad after typing the number.

If you want to move back a certain number of frames, type a minus sign (–) instead of a plus sign (+) in front of the number.

You can also use the numeric keypad to move the position indicator forward or backward a specified number of frames. This technique is called frame offset. Let’s mark an IN point for the Editor at keyboard 3

clip and then use frame offset to locate the OUT point.

1. Open the Editor at keyboard 3 clip.

2. Use the numeric keypad to type 01:23:24:02 (NTSC) or 00:03:07:15 (PAL), and then press the Enter key.

3. Click the Mark IN button.

4. Advance 29 frames (NTSC) or 24 frames (PAL) by typing +29 or +24 on the numeric keypad and pressing the Enter key.

Advancing 29 or 24 frames is the equivalent of advancing 1 second, because Avid NewsCutter XP counts the frame it is parked on.

5. Advance 2 more seconds by typing +129 (NTSC) or +124 (PAL) and pressing Enter. The system inserts the colons for you.

6. Mark that frame as the OUT point by clicking the Mark OUT button.

7. Close the Editor at keyboard 3 clip.

Creating Subclips

Now you’ll copy portions of one clip into shorter clips, called subclips (see “Subclips” on page 42). Subclipping is a great way to organize

your footage into manageable units.

1. Open the Lab clip.

2. Go to the start of the clip.

3. Review the clip by clicking the Play button or by dragging the

blue position indicator. There are two parts of the clip that you’ll copy into separate subclips.

4. Use the numeric keypad to type 01:24:53:19 (NTSC) or 00:04:10:22 (PAL), and then press the Enter key.

5. Mark an IN point.

6. Type 01:24:57:16 (NTSC) or 00:04:14:20 (PAL).

7. Mark an OUT point.

8. Press and hold the Alt key, click the image area of the clip, and drag it from the Source pop-up monitor to the Source Clips bin.

As you begin dragging, the pointer changes to a hand attached to a small box.

The subclip has the name of the original clip, followed by Sub.n, where n is the number of times the master clip has been cataloged to that bin.

A new item called Lab.Sub.01 appears in the Source Clips bin. The name is highlighted.

9. Delete the name Lab.Sub.01 and rename the subclip Lab 1A.

Clearing IN Points and OUT Points

Now you’ll clear previous IN and OUT points, mark new IN and OUT points, and create a new subclip.

1. Bring the Lab clip forward by choosing Lab from the Windows menu.

2. Press the Clear IN key (D) and Clear OUT key (F).

You can also click the corresponding buttons beneath the monitor.

3. Mark an IN point at 01:25:00:11 (NTSC) or 00:04:17:03 (PAL).

4. Mark an OUT point at 01:25:07:16 (NTSC) or 00:04:25:12 (PAL).

5. Press and hold the Alt key, click the image area of the clip, and drag it from the Source pop-up monitor to the Source Clips bin.

The clip name is highlighted in the Source Clips bin.

6. Delete the name Lab.Sub.02 and rename the subclip Lab 1B.

7. Close the Lab clip.

8. Close the Source Clips bin.

Saving Your Work

By default, Avid NewsCutter XP includes an Auto-save function set at 15 minutes. You can view or change this setting in the Bin settings box, which you access from the Settings scroll list in the Project window.

Next Steps

You’ve done a lot of work marking clips. Saving your bins and other project information would be a good idea.

1. Click the Project window to activate it.

2. Choose Save All from the File menu.

You’ve prepared some clips that you’ll use in your sequence. In the next chapter you’ll start to edit your sequence. You can continue to the next chapter, or quit this session (see “Closing the Project and

Quitting the Application” on page 69). The next time you open the

project, the windows will be in the same position.

CHAPTER 6

Creating a Sequence

In this chapter, you begin editing the Introducing Avid sequence by completing the following tasks:

• Working in the Avid NewsCutter XP Window

• Making the First Edit

• Opening a Sequence

• Opening and Using the Tool Palette

• Splicing in an Audio Clip

• Exploring the Timeline

• Splicing in a Video Clip

• Splicing a Clip into the Middle of a Sequence

• Undoing an Edit

• Splicing in a Music Track

If you have worked on the previous chapters but have quit

Avid NewsCutter XP— Start the application, choose your user name and the Introducing Avid project, and then click OK.

If you have not worked on the previous chapters — Start the application, create a new user, choose the Introducing Avid project, and then click OK.

Working in the Avid NewsCutter XP Window

Minimize

Maximize

You’ve been working in a single large window, labeled Avid NewsCutter XP. Like other Windows NT windows, you can minimize it, maximize it, and close it by using the buttons on the right side of the title bar.

Within the Avid NewsCutter XP window, you can manage the Timeline, bins, and Source pop-up monitors in the same way. The difference is that, when you reduce or resize these windows, they remain within the Avid NewsCutter XP window, rather than appearing on the Windows desktop.

You cannot minimize the Composer window.

Minimizing Avid NewsCutter XP Windows

To get more space below the Timeline, right-click the Windows toolbar, choose Properties from the pop-up menu, and deselect the Always on Top check box.

Try minimizing some windows now.

1. Open the Source Clips bin.

2. Click the Minimize button on the Source Clips window and the Timeline. The windows shrink to small title bars at the bottom of the Avid NewsCutter XP window.

Restore button

3. Close the Source Clips bin by clicking the Close button.

4. Return the Timeline to full size by clicking the Restore button.

Managing your Avid NewsCutter XP windows will become more important as your projects become larger.

Default Locations for the Av id NewsCutter XP Windows

The Composer, Timeline, and Project windows have default sizes and locations to maximize the available space on your desktop, as shown in “Dragging a Video Clip and Creating a Sequence” on page 96.

If you want to return these windows to the default locations, click the window and choose Home from the Windows menu.

Making the First Edit

In this section, you’ll make your first edit and create a sequence by completing the following tasks:

• Playing a Video Clip

• Dragging a Video Clip and Creating a Sequence

• Moving and Renaming the Sequence

Playing a Video Clip

Let’s start by playing the clip that will begin the sequence.

1. In the Project window, open the QuickTime Movies bin.

2. Double-click the Opening logo.mov clip to display it in a Source pop-up monitor. Play the clip through.

Notice the .mov file name extension. This indicates that the clip is a QuickTime program. You can import a QuickTime movie into Avid NewsCutter XP, which changes the QuickTime movie to a DV clip. We’ve already imported the movie for you.

movie that was created by using a special effects

Dragging a Video Clip and Creating a Sequence

Now edit the clip to create a sequence.

1. Make sure the Timeline is open and visible. If it is not, choose Timeline from the Tools menu.

2. Click the Source pop-up monitor that contains the Opening

logo.mov clip. If the monitor is not visible, open it from the QuickTime Movies bin.

3. Click the Mark Clip button on the Source pop-up monitor.

The Mark Clip button marks IN and OUT points at the beginning and end of the clip, so that the entire clip is edited into the sequence.

4. Click the image area of the clip and drag it to the Timeline window.

You’ve just created a sequence.

If you have more than one bin open, a dialog box appears and asks you to select a bin in which to store the sequence. Select QuickTime Movies.

Look at the Timeline. You should see the Opening logo.mov clip in track V1. The first frame is the IN point you marked in the clip; the last frame is the OUT point you marked. The position indicator rests on the last frame of the clip, as shown in the following illustration.

Right angle and vertical line

Position indicator

The sequence also appears in the Composer monitor. The image is black because the last frame of the clip is black. Notice the right angle and vertical line in the lower right corner of the Composer monitor. The right angle indicates the end of a cut and the vertical line indicates the end of the sequence.

When you want to bring an open bin or monitor to the foreground, you can click anywhere in it or choose its name from the Windows menu.

5. Click anywhere in the Composer monitor to activate it.

6. Press the Home key to move to the head of the sequence.

7. Click the Play button at the bottom of the Composer monitor to play the clip in the sequence.

8. Close the Opening logo.mov clip.

Moving and Renaming the Sequence

You can create a new sequence by choosing New Sequence from the Clip menu.

Because the QuickTime Movies bin was the only bin open, the sequence appears in that bin. By default, Avid NewsCutter XP names the sequence Untitled Sequence.01. Now let’s move the sequence to

the Sequences bin and change its name.

1. In the Project window, click the Bins button.

2. Open the Sequences bin.

3. In the QuickTime Movies bin, click the icon in front of the name Untitled Sequence.01 and drag it to the Sequences bin.

4. Click the name Untitled Sequence.01 to select it.

The name is highlighted.

5. Type Rough Cut and press the Enter key.

This is the sequence you’ll be working with for this tutorial. The sequences Rough Cut 1, Rough Cut 2, and Rough Cut 3 are supplied for those who prefer not to build their own sequence (see the notes at the beginning of each chapter).

6. Close the QuickTime Movies bin.

7. Close the Sequences bin.

By closing the Sequences bin, you also close the sequence.

Opening a Sequence

In Chapter 5 you opened a sequence in a Source pop-up monitor (see

“Playing a Sequence in a Source Pop-up Monitor” on page 85). To

open a sequence for editing, you need to drag it into the Composer monitor or the Timeline.

1. Open the Sequences bin.

2. Drag your Rough Cut sequence to the Composer monitor.

The sequence appears in the Composer monitor and the Timeline.

You need to keep the Sequences bin open to continue working on your sequence. You can minimize the bin to save workspace on your desktop.

Opening and Using the Tool Palette

Before you continue with your editing, familiarize yourself with the Tool palette. So far you have been using buttons that appear below the Source pop-up monitor or keyboard equivalents. The Tool palette provides you with additional buttons for navigating and editing.

Opening and Tearing Off the Tool Palette

You can also open the Tool palette from the Fast Menu button on a Source pop-up monitor.

Open the Tool palette by clicking the Fast Menu button under the Composer monitor.

Fast Menu button

To use a button on the Tool palette, just click it. You can also “tear off” the palette and drag it to a different location.

1. If the Tool palette is not open, click the Fast Menu button.

2. Drag the pointer over the buttons and then outside the border of the Tool palette. You should see a dotted line outline. Drag the outline to another location. You see the complete Tool palette, with a title bar and Close button.

All buttons in Avid NewsCutter XP have ToolTips.

You can drag the Tool palette to a different location; just click and hold anywhere on the Tool palette and drag it wherever you want. You can also resize it to a square or a single row, to suit the way you want to work.

To view the name of each button, slowly drag the pointer across each button. You should see a small yellow window pop up with the name of each tool. You’ve probably seen these pop-ups in other Windows applications; they’re called ToolTips.

100

Pinnacle Systems NewsCutter XP Getting Started Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Figures

Tables

Check List for Setting Up Your System

Turning On Your Equipment

Setting Your Screen Resolution

Preparing Your Drives

Overview of Partitioning

Supported File Systems

Checking Your Internal Drives

Creating Primary Partitions

Formatting Partitions

Creating a Disk Configuration Floppy Disk

Testing Drives on Windows NT Systems

Installing Avid NewsCutter XP Software

Installing Avid NewsCutter XP Software and All Components

Installing Selected Components

Performing a Custom Installation

Modifying, Repairing, or Removing Avid NewsCutter XP

Installing AvidNet Transfer Tool Software

Installing EDL Manager

Creating an Emergency Repair Disk

Installing the Avid NewsCutter XP Tutorial Files

Turning Off Your Equipment

About Avid NewsCutter XP

About Digital Video

Nonlinear Editing with Avid NewsCutter XP

Avid NewsCutter XP Terms and Concepts

Media Files

Clips

Subclips

Sequences

Bins

Projects

The Attic Folder

Programs

The Avid NewsCutter XP File System

Project Workflow

Starting a Project

Preparing to Edit

Editing a Sequence

Generating Output

Using the Tutorial

Using Help

Opening and Closing the Help System

Getting Help for Windows and Dialog Boxes

Getting Help for Screen Objects

Printing Help Topics

Using Online Documentation

Tips and Other Resources

Starting a Project and Creating a Simple Sequence

Starting Avid NewsCutter XP

Using the Open Project Dialog Box

Creating a User

Selecting and Opening a Project

Creating a Simple Sequence

Next Steps

Closing the Project and Quitting the Application

Playing and Marking Clips

Exploring the Project Window

The Bins Display

The Settings Display

The Info Display

Opening a Bin

Viewing Clips

Using Text View

Using Frame View

Switching Between Views

Playing Clips in a Source Pop-up Monitor

Using the Keyboard to Play Clips

Using Buttons and the Position Indicator to Play Clips

Marking IN and OUT Points

Marking the First Clip

Marking Another Clip

Playing a Sequence in a Source Pop-up Monitor

Using Timecode to Find a Frame