Pinnacle Systems Symphony Nitris - 1.0 User Manual

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Avid® Symphony™ Nitris

Basics Guide

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Avid

Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc.

The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement. You can obtain a copy of that license by visiting Avid's Web site at www.avid.com. The terms of that license are also available in the product in the same directory as the software. The software may not be reverse assembled and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States Patents: 4,746,994; 4,970,663; 5,045,940; 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,452,378; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,568,275; 5,577,190; 5,584,006; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,715,018; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,851; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,852,435; 5,584,006; 5,905,841; 5,929,836; 5,930,445; 5,946,445; 5,987,501; 6,016,152; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,691; 6,198,477; 6,201,531; 6,223,211; 6,249,280; 6,269,195; 6,317,158; 6,317,515; 6,330,369; 6,351,557; 6,353,862; 6,357,047; 6,392,710; 6,404,435; 6,407,775; 6,417,891; 6,426,778; 6,477,271; 6,489,969; 6,512,522; 6,532,043; 6,546,190; 6,552,731; 6,553,142; 6,570,624; 6,571,255; 6,583,824; 6,618,547; 6,636,869; 6,665,450; 6,678,461; 6,687,407; 6,704,445; 6,747,705; 6,763,134; 6,766,063; 6,791,556; 6,810,157; 6,813,622; 6,847,373; 6,871,003; 6,871,161; 6,901,211; 6,907,191; 6,928,187; 6,933,948; 6,961,801; 7,043,058; 7,081,900; 7,103,231; D392,269; D396,853; D398,912. Other patents are pending.

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Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software [i.e., the TIFF library] and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that (i) the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation, and (ii) the names of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics may not be used in any advertising or publicity relating to the software without the specific, prior written permission of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS-IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL SAM LEFFLER OR SILICON GRAPHICS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

The following disclaimer is required by the Independent JPEG Group:

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

This Software may contain components licensed under the following conditions:

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation, advertising materials, and other materials related to such distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed by the University of California, Berkeley. The name of the University may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. This software is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation, and that the name of Daniel Dardailler not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the software without specific, written prior permission. Daniel Dardailler makes no representations about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any purpose without fee is hereby granted, provided that this entire notice is included in all copies of any software which is or includes a copy or modification of this software and in all copies of the supporting documentation for such software.

THIS SOFTWARE IS BEING PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY. IN PARTICULAR, NEITHER THE AUTHOR NOR AT&T MAKES ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THE MERCHANTABILITY OF THIS SOFTWARE OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

This product includes software developed by the University of California, Berkeley and its contributors.

The following disclaimer is required by Paradigm Matrix:

Portions of this software licensed from Paradigm Matrix.

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

“Install-It” is licensed from Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. End-User is prohibited from taking any action to derive a source code equivalent of “Install-It,” including by reverse assembly or reverse compilation, Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. shall in no event be liable for any damages resulting from reseller’s failure to perform reseller’s obligation; or any damages arising from use or operation of reseller’s products or the software; or any other damages, including but not limited to, incidental, direct, indirect, special or consequential Damages including lost profits, or damages resulting from loss of use or inability to use reseller’s products or the software for any reason including copyright or patent infringement, or lost data, even if Ray Sauers Associates has been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages.

The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:

“Videomedia, Inc. makes no warranties whatsoever, either express or implied, regarding this product, including warranties with respect to its merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose.”

“This software contains V-LAN ver. 3.0 Command Protocols which communicate with V-LAN ver. 3.0 products developed by Videomedia, Inc. and V-LAN ver. 3.0 compatible products developed by third parties under license from Videomedia, Inc. Use of this software will allow “frame accurate” editing control of applicable videotape recorder decks, videodisc recorders/players and the like.”

The following disclaimer is required by Altura Software, Inc. for the use of its Mac2Win software and Sample Source Code:

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

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

The following disclaimer is required by Nexidia Inc.:

The following disclaimer is required by Interplay Entertainment Corp.:

�The “Interplay” name is used with the permission of Interplay Entertainment Corp., which bears no responsibility for Avid

products. This product includes portions of the Alloy Look & Feel software from Incors GmbH.

This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation (http://www.apache.org/).

This product may include the JCifs library, for which the following notice applies:

Avid Interplay contains components licensed from LavanTech. These components may only be used as part of and in connection with Avid Interplay.

Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights Legend

U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. This Software and its documentation are “commercial computer software” or

“commercial computer software documentation.” In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of the License Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.

Trademarks

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Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. DVCPRO HD is a registered trademark of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America.Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Footage

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

GOT FOOTAGE?

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

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

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

Avid Symphony Nitris Basics Guide • 0130-07614-01 • March 2007

Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Related Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Accessing the Online Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Avid Educational Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Chapter 1 Editing Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Editing Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Starting a Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Preparing to Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Editing a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Outputting a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Chapter 2 Starting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Turning on Your Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Working with the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Using the Windows Taskbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Using Shortcut Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Navigating in Dialog Boxes and Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Understanding Mouse Scroll Wheel Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Customizing Mouse Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Starting Your Avid Editing Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Working with Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Understanding the Select Project Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Opening an Existing Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Browsing for a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Opening a Project Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Closing a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Deleting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Ending a Work Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Quitting Your Avid Editing Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Turning Off Your Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Understanding the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Changing Project and User Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Backing Up Your Project Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Saving Your Project Information on a Drive or on Removable Media . . . . . . . . 59

Restoring from a Backup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Working with the Avid Attic Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Understanding the Avid Attic Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Retrieving Files from the Avid Attic Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Using Toolsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Opening Toolsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Customizing Toolsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Linking Toolsets to Other Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Understanding the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Controlling Project Window Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Viewing a List of Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Creating a New Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Renaming a Bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Opening and Closing Bins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Displaying Folders of Bins in the Bins List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Deleting a Bin or Folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Viewing Contents in the Trash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Emptying the Trash in the Bins List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Saving Bins Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Using the Settings Tab in the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Using the Format Tab in the Project Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Chapter 4 Capturing Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Understanding Logging and Shot Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Importing Shot Log Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Preparing the Hardware for Capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Getting Information About Striped Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Selecting the Sync Source for Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Establishing Sync for Audio-Only Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Selecting Settings for Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Understanding Video Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Selecting Video Resolutions and Media Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Setting Drive Filtering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Configuring Decks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Configuring a Deck or Multiple Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Deleting Deck Configuration Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Setting Up the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Opening the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Selecting a Deck in the Capture Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Selecting a Source Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Selecting Source Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Setting the Video and Audio Input in the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Detecting a Valid or Locked Sync Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Setting the Pulldown Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Film Project Pulldown and Transfer Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Capturing Digital Audio in Film Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Selecting a Resolution in the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Selecting a Target Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Selecting the Target Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Targeting a Single Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Targeting Separate Drives for Audio and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Targeting a Drive Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Interpreting the Time-Remaining Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Selecting a Custom Preroll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Preparing for Audio Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Understanding Audio Project Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Selecting the Audio Sample Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Understanding Audio Files and Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Selecting the Audio File Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Performing Audio Sample Rate Conversion During Capture . . . . . . . . . . 110

Selecting the Audio Input Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Understanding the Audio Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Opening and Sizing the Audio Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Adjusting Audio Input Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Preparing for Video Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Opening the Video Input Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Using the Factory Preset Buttons in the Video Input Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Preparing to Calibrate Video Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Calibrating Video Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Capture Preparations Check List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Capturing and Logging at the Same Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Naming Clips and Adding Comments in the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Capturing from a Mark IN to a Mark OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Capturing by Setting Both Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Capturing by Setting Only One Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Capturing On-the-Fly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Preparing to Autocapture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Autocapturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Capturing from a Non-Avid-Controlled Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Capturing with Time-of-Day Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Frame Chase Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Understanding Frame Chase Capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Enabling Frame Chase Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Requirements and Guidelines for Frame Chase Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Batch Capturing from Logged Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Preparing to Batch Capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Batch Capturing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Recapturing Your Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Recapturing Master Clips and Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Recapturing Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Saving Two Versions of a Sequence When Recapturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Using Decompose When Recapturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Recapturing the Sequence Without Using Decompose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Chapter 5 Importing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Preparing to Import Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Creating and Using Import Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Creating a New Import Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Modifying an Existing Import Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Importing Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Importing Audio Files from a Music CD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Using the Drag-and-Drop Method to Import Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Reimporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Using the Batch Import Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Starting the Reimport Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Chapter 6 Working with Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Setting the Bin Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Understanding Object Icons in Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Understanding Bin Highlight Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Bin Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Using Brief View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Using Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Using Frame View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Enlarging or Reducing Frame Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Rearranging Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Realigning Frames in a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Changing the Frame Identifying the Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Using Script View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Adding Text in Script View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Playing Clips in Script View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Rearranging Clips in Script View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Basic Bin Procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Using the Bin Fast Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Selecting Clips and Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Duplicating Clips and Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Moving Clips and Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Copying Clips and Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Deleting Bin Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Changing the Bin Background Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Conserving Screen Real Estate with the SuperBin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Enabling and Disabling the SuperBin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Opening Bins in the SuperBin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Closing the SuperBin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Moving Bins into and out of the SuperBin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Moving Clips and Sequences into and out of the SuperBin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Copying Clips and Sequences into and out of the SuperBin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Deleting a Bin with the SuperBin Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Creating a Storyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Chapter 7 Managing Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Working with Media Files in an Avid Interplay Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Configuring Avid Editing Systems to Work with the

Interplay Engine and Interplay Transfer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Using Avid Editing Systems in an Avid Workgroup Environment . . . . . . . . . . 179

Using Avid Editing Systems in an Avid Unity LANshare Workgroup. . . . . . . . 179

Viewing Media with a 100Base-T Connection to Avid Unity ISIS . . . . . . . . . . 180

Mounting and Unmounting Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Unmounting Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Mounting All Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Using the Media Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Basic Media Tool Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Using the Media Tool in an Avid Interplay Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Opening the Media Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Deleting Media Files with the Media Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Consolidating Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Understanding the Consolidate Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Using the Consolidate Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Consolidate Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Using the Transcode Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Transcode Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Loading the Media Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Refreshing Media Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Deleting Unreferenced Clips and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Backing Up Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Chapter 8 Viewing and Marking Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Viewing Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Customizing the Composer Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Resizing the Composer Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Resizing the Source and Record Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Resizing the Record Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Hiding the Video in a Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Using the 16:9 Display Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Displaying Tracking Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Tracking Format Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Playing Video to the Client Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Selecting the Video Display Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Loading and Clearing Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Loading Clips or Sequences into Monitors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Resizing Pop-up Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Switching Between Loaded Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Clearing Clips from Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Controlling Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Using Position Bars and Position Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Using Buttons to Control Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Stepping Forward and Backward by Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Using the Keyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Playing Footage with the J-K-L Keys (Three-Button Play) . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Navigating with Home, End, and Arrow Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Using the Mouse for Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Optimizing Your Playback Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Marking and Subcataloging Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Marking IN and OUT Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Marking an Entire Clip or Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Creating Subsequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Subclips and Audio Sync for 24p and 25p Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Marking Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Finding Frames, Clips, and Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Using Timecode to Find a Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Searching for a Clip or Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Understanding Match Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Using Match Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Performing a Reverse Match Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Selecting Tracks for Matching Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Finding a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Locating a Master Clip from a Subclip in a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Finding a Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Chapter 9 Creating and Editing Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Entering Source/Record Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Creating a New Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Changing the Name and Timecode for a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Understanding Track Display for a New Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Adding Filler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Making a First Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Creating an Instant Rough Cut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Undoing or Redoing Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Editing Additional Clips into the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Performing an Insert or Splice-in Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Performing an Overwrite Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Performing a Replace Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Single-Mark Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Lifting, Extracting, and Copying Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Lifting Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Extracting Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Copying Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Using the Clipboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Preserving Clipboard Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Recovering Material from the Clipboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Playing Back a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Managing Sync Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Editing to Avoid Sync Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Displaying Sync Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Fixing Sync Breaks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Chapter 10 Using the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Customizing Timeline Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Using the Timeline Fast Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Enlarging and Reducing Timeline Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Moving Timeline Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Highlighting Offline Media Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Highlighting Clips in a Mixed-Format Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Saving a Customized Timeline View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Replacing a Timeline View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Restoring the Default Timeline View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Navigating in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Using the Position Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Using the Timeline Scroll Bar/Position Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Setting the Scroll Option for the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Displaying Detail in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Zooming In and Out in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Focusing the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Controlling Movement in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Using Segment Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Selecting and Deselecting Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Guidelines for Selecting and Lassoing Segments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Performing Segment Mode Edits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Understanding the Four-Frame Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Suppressing Four-Frame Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Maintaining Sync in Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Extracting/Splicing Segments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Lifting/Overwriting Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Deleting Segments in Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Marking Clips and Sequences in Segment Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Working with Multiple Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Understanding the Track Selector Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Selecting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Monitoring and Soloing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Understanding Track Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Patching Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Locking and Sync Locking Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Locking Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Sync Locking Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Adding a Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Deleting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Understanding Backtiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Backtiming Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Chapter 11 Working in Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Understanding Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Small Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Quick Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Big Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Trim Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Entering and Exiting Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Entering Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Switching Between Quick Trim Mode and the Record Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Setting Small Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Exiting Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Using Basic Trim Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Selecting Trim Sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Selecting Video Tracks in Trim Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Audio Solo in Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Selecting Additional Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Performing a Basic Trim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Reviewing Trim Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Reviewing an Edit with the Play Loop Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Reviewing an Edit with the Edit Review Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Trimming On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Dual-Image Playback During Trims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Trimming During a Playback Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Chapter 12 Working with Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Overview of Audio Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Accessing Audio Effect Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Audio Editing Aids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Using Audio Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Understanding Audio Scrub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Selecting Tracks for Audio Scrubbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

Performing Smooth Audio Scrub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Understanding Digital Audio Scrub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Adjusting Digital Scrub Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Performing Digital Audio Scrub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Soloing Audio Tracks in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Displaying Waveform Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Using Audio Meters in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

Adjusting Volume Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Identifying the Sample Rate by Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

Muting the Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

Using the Audio Mixer Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Accessing the Audio Mixer and Audio Mixer Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Understanding Audio Mixer Tool Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Resizing the Audio Mixer Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Selecting Tracks in the Audio Mixer Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Using the Track Solo and Track Mute Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Interpreting Position Indicator Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Using Clip Gain and Pan Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Adjusting Clip Gain and Pan for Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Using the Audio Mixer Fast Menu in Clip Gain and Pan Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Modifying Pan Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Modifying How the System Interprets Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

Using the Center Pan Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

Using Automation Gain and Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Using Automation Gain and Pan in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Deleting Automation Gain or Automation Pan Keyframes

in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Understanding Automation Gain and Pan Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Recording Automation Gain or Automation Pan Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Using the Audio Mixer Tool Sliders for

Automation Gain and Pan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

Using the Audio Mixer Fast Menu in

Automation Gain and Pan Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Using Keyboard Shortcuts with Audio Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Using Live Mix Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Using an External Controller in Live Mix Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

Using Live Mix Mode Without an External Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Switching Between Live Mix Mode and Other Audio Mixer Modes . . . . . . . . . 349

Using the Audio Mixer Mode Fast Menu in Live Mix Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Fine-Tuning Audio Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Fading and Dipping Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

Fading Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

Dipping Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Converting the Audio Sample Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Changing the Audio Sample Rate for Sequences and Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . 357

Mixing Down Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Chapter 13 Working with Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Types of Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Effects Creation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Real-Time Effects and Non-Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

Effects and Project Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

AVX Plug-In Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

Understanding the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

Displaying and Adjusting the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

Applying Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Applying Effects From the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Using the Fade Effect Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Using the Quick Transition Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

Deleting Effects in a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

Sizing Effects to Fit the Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378

Adjusting Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Entering Effect Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Understanding Effect Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

Making Basic Effect Adjustments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381

Moving Through an Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382

Working with Effect Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382

Saving an Effect Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382

Applying an Effect Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

Working with Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384

Understanding Standard Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

Adding a Standard Keyframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

Selecting a Standard Keyframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

Moving a Standard Keyframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

Changing a Standard Keyframe’s Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

Copying and Pasting Standard Keyframe Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

Deleting a Standard Keyframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

Playing Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388

Playing an Effect in Effect Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388

Playing Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

Understanding Render On-the-Fly for Effect Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

Using Render On-the-Fly for Effect Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

Real-Time Playback of Video Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

Understanding Real-Time Effects Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

Understanding Real-Time Playback Information in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . 392

Turning Playback Performance Indicators On or Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Controlling Real-Time Effects Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394

Choosing Bit Depth for Effects Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

Selecting the OpenGL Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

Limiting the Number of Real-Time Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396

Basics of Effects Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Understanding Effects Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Rendering a Single Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

Rendering Effects at Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399

Rendering Effects Between IN and OUT Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400

Rerendering Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401

ExpertRender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

Understanding ExpertRender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

Using the ExpertRender Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404

Using the ExpertRender Command After a Real-Time

Playback Attempt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406

Modifying ExpertRender Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408

Considerations When Using ExpertRender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410

Chapter 14 Working with Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411

Opening the Title Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412

Using Marquee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413

Workflow for Creating Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Understanding the Title Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

Using the Selection and Text Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

Setting Up the Drawing Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Previewing Titles with Anti-Aliasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Displaying Safe Title and Safe Action Guidelines in the Title Tool. . . . . . . . . . 418

Selecting a Background for Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Creating Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Sizing and Positioning Text Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Editing a Text String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

Formatting Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

Setting Default Text Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

Selecting a Font . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

Changing Point Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

Making Text Bold or Italic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

Justifying Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

Understanding Kerning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

Kerning Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426

Adjusting Leading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Creating Graphic Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428

Modifying and Manipulating Title Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

Adding Shadows to Title Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

Saving Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431

Saving a Title and Exiting the Title Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432

Saving Multiple Titles in a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

Using a Keyboard Shortcut to Save a Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

Using the Fast Save Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Revising a Title in a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

Editing with Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436

Title Effect Clips in the Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436

Editing a Title into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

Setting Marks in a Rolling Title or a Crawling Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

Splicing or Overwriting a Title into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439

Dragging a Marked Title into a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441

Dragging an Unmarked Title into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442

Trimming the Duration of Rolling and Crawling Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

Removing a Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

Replacing a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

Fading a Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

Chapter 15 Color Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

How Symphony Nitris Color Correction Works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Reasons for Making Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

Color Correction Mode Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

Entering and Leaving Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

Understanding Color Correction Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

Switching Between Current and Reference Monitors

Using the Escape Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450

Monitor Buttons in Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

The Client Monitor in Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

Color Correction Tool Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452

Making Basic Automatic Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452

Correcting Color Automatically Using the Color Correction Effect . . . . . . . . . 452

Correcting Color Automatically in the Hue Offsets Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454

Making a Basic Color Match Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455

Making a Manual Primary Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

Making a Basic Secondary Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458

Safe Color Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

Managing Safe Color Warnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

Safe Color Warnings in the Composer Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

Chapter 16 Exporting Frames, Clips, or Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Understanding Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

Preparing to Export a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

Exporting Frames, Clips, or Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466

Using the Drag-and-Drop Method for Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469

Using Avid Interplay Media Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

Customizing Export Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471

Chapter 17 Generating Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473

Preparing for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473

Selecting the Sync Source for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

Selecting Sync for HD Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

Using LTC Timecode for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

Calibrating for Video Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476

Using the Factory Preset Buttons in the Video Output Tool . . . . . . . . . . . 477

Basic Video Output Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

Adjusting Phase Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480

Crossconverting and Downconverting HD Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481

Downconverting 1080p/23.976 Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483

Preparing for Audio Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483

Setting the Calibration Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483

Calibrating Global Output Levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484

Setting Audio Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486

Enabling 16-Channel Audio Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488

Embedded Audio and Output Sample Rate Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488

Preparing Record Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489

Frame-Accurate Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489

Recording Bars and Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490

Enabling Assemble-Edit Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490

Using ExpertRender to Prepare Effects for a Digital Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491

Using the Digital Cut Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492

Selecting a Deck in the Digital Cut Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

Previewing a Digital Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495

Recording a Digital Cut to Tape (Remote Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496

Crash Recording Through Remote Deck Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498

Recording a Digital Cut to Tape (Local Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

Chapter 18 Conforming and Transferring Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501

Compatibility Between Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501

Conforming Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502

Preparing for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

Delivery Requirements for Final Masters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

Offline Formats for HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

File Transfer for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

System Compatibility for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

Preparing Graphics for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

Preparing Effects for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

Preparing Titles for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Preparing Audio for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Step 1: Transfer Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509

Transferring Project Information Only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509

Transferring Project Files and Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509

Step 2: Open the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510

Step 3: Measure the Video Signal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511

Step 4: Recapture Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511

Step 5: Import and Lay in the Final Audio Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512

Step 6: Batch Import Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513

Step 7: Re-create Title Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513

Redefining a Font Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515

Step 8: Refine Effects and Perform Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516

Step 9: Render Effects as Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517

Step 10: Create the Final Masters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518

Conforming an HDV Sequence on Symphony Nitris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518

Conforming Sequences with Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

Conforming Color Correction Sequences with

Symphony Meridien Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

Conforming Color Correction Sequences with Media Composer or

Avid Xpress Pro Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520

Transferring Color Corrections with Color Correction Templates. . . . . . . . . . . 521

Transferring Project and Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522

Transferring Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522

Transferring Sound Designer II Audio Files from

Macintosh Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524

Working with Sound Designer II Audio Files on

Macintosh Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524

Transferring a Project Using Shared Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524

Transferring Project Files and Media Files Using Nonshared Storage . . . . . . 525

Devices and Methods for Transferring Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527

Transferring Files Between Windows Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528

Transferring Files Between Macintosh and Windows Systems. . . . . . . . . 529

Nonshared Storage Issues for Cross-Platform Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

Transferring Media Files from Media Composer Version 7.2 or

Avid Xpress Version 2.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531

Chapter 19 Working with the Avid Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Using Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

Connecting to the Avid Interplay Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

Mounting Workspaces on an Avid Unity MediaNetwork System . . . . . . . . . . . 534

Mounting Workspaces on an Avid Unity ISIS System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536

Configuring Interplay Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538

Opening the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540

Managing Remote Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541

Understanding Reservations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542

Understanding Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544

Reviewing Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545

Moving, Copying, and Deleting Avid Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545

Moving and Copying Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545

Deleting Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546

Creating Folders and Shortcuts in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547

Modifying the Display of the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548

Media Column Headings in the Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548

Moving and Rearranging Columns in the Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . . . 549

Hiding and Showing Columns in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

Adding Columns in the Interplay Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

Creating New Columns in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550

Enlarging or Reducing Column Width in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . 551

Renaming Clips in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551

Adding Comments in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551

Using the Property Merge Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552

Using Custom Layouts for the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553

Opening Multiple Tabs in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555

Setting the Interplay Window Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555

Editing with Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556

Working with Avid Assets in the Interplay Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557

Checking Avid Assets Out of the Interplay Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558

Checking Avid Assets In to the Interplay Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559

Automatically Checking In Avid Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561

Updating Remote Assets in Bins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562

Working with In-Progress Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562

Editing with In-Progress Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563

Limitations When Working With In-Progress Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564

Finding Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565

Overview of Finding Remote Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565

Performing Searches on Interplay Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566

Keeping Search Results in the Interplay Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568

Capturing Media to Interplay Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568

Chapter 20 Using MultiRez and Dynamic Relink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571

Understanding MultiRez and Proxy Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572

Creating Multiple Resolutions of a Master Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573

Batch Capturing Multiple Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573

Batch Importing Multiple Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

Understanding How Clips and Media Are Associated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577

Single Clip, Multiple Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578

Multiple Clips, Multiple Resolutions, and the Affinity Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579

Partial Clips, Multiple Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580

MultiRez Tape Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581

Understanding Dynamic Relink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581

Working with MultiRez and Dynamic Relink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583

Using the Dynamic Relink Settings Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585

Enabling Dynamic Relink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585

Applying Working Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586

Applying Target Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588

Dynamically Relinking to the Target Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590

Dynamic Relink Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

Relinking in Frame Chase Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594

Using the Relink Dialog Box in an Avid Interplay Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . 595

Displaying Whether Media Is Available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596

Using the MultiRez Button to Show Available Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596

Using Clip Coloring to Show Available Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

Examples of MultiRez Clip Coloring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598

MultiRez Button Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

MultiRez Bin Headings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603

Deleting MultiRez Clips and Media from a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605

Working with Partially Online Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608

Consolidating and Transcoding a Portion of a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608

Viewing a Source Clip in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609

Consolidating and Deleting Original Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610

Partially Restoring from an Archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

Using This Guide

Congratulations on your purchase of an Avid editing application. You can use your application to create broadcast-quality output incorporating every possible production element from full-speed, high-resolution footage, to multimedia artwork and animation, to computer-generated effects and titling.

This guide contains the task-oriented instructions and conceptual information you need to use the basic features of your Avid editing application. The Advanced Guide for your Avid editing application, available as a PDF document in the Online Library, is a companion to this guide. The Advanced Guide contains instructions and conceptual information for advanced features of your Avid editing application, as well as reference information. The contents of both guides are available in the Help.

This guide is intended primarily for users who are new to Avid editing products, but also contains information that is important for experienced users.

The documentation describes the features and hardware of all models. Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation.

Symbols and Conventions

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

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

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

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

Using This Guide

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

> This symbol indicates menu commands (and subcommands) in the

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

Italic font Italic font is used to emphasize certain words and to indicate variables.

Courier Bold font

Alt+key or mouse action Press and hold the first key while you press the last key or perform the

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using your Avid product:

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

2. Check for the latest information that might have become available after the documentation was published:

- If the latest information for your Avid product is provided as printed release notes,

they ship with your application and are also available online.

- If the latest information for your Avid product is provided as a ReadMe file, it is

supplied on your Avid installation CD or DVD as a PDF document (README_product.pdf). It is also available online.

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

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

mouse action. For example, Ctrl+drag.

You should always check online for the most up-to-date release notes or ReadMe because the online version is updated whenever new information becomes available. To view these online versions, select ReadMe from the Help menu or visit the

Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/readme.

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

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

Related Information

The following documents provide more information about Symphony Nitris:

• Avid Symphony Nitris Conform and Finishing Guide

• Avid Symphony Nitris Advanced Guide

• Avid Symphony Nitris Advanced Effects Guide

• Using the Avid Nitris

These documents are available in PDF form in the Avid Symphony Nitris Online Library.

All product information is included in the Help system, which you can access from the Avid Symphony Nitris application’s Help menu.

Related Information

For the latest product information, see the Avid Knowledge Base:

www.avid.com/onlinesupport.

Accessing the Online Library

The Online Library for your Avid editing application contains all the product documentation in PDF format, including a Master Glossary of all specialized terminology used in the documentation for Avid products.

Most Avid online libraries also provide access to multimedia content such as tutorials and feature presentations. This multimedia content is an excellent first resource for learning how to use your application or for helping you understand a particular feature or workflow.

The Online Library for your Avid editing application is installed along with the application itself.

You will need Adobe® Reader® to view the PDF documentation online. You can download the latest version from the Adobe web site.

To access the Online Library, do one of the following:

t From your Avid editing application, select Help > Online Library.

t From the Windows

application Online Library.

desktop, select Start > All Programs > Avid > Avid editing

t Browse to the Online Library folder, and then double-click the MainMenu file.

The Online Library folder is in the same location as the application itself, for example: C:\Program Files\Avid\Avid editing application Online Library

Using This Guide

How to Order Documentation

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

Avid Educational Services

Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and convenient. Avid understands that the knowledge you need to differentiate yourself is always changing, and Avid continually updates course content and offers new training delivery methods that accommodate your pressured and competitive work environment.

To learn about Avid's new online learning environment, Avid Learning Excellerator (ALEX), visit http://learn.avid.com.

For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and books, please visit www.avid.com/training or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843).

Chapter 1

Editing Overview

The following sections provide an overview of the editing workflow:

• Editing Workflow

• Starting a Project

• Preparing to Edit

• Editing a Sequence

• Outputting a Sequence

Editing Workflow

Your editing workflow depends on a variety of factors. For example, you might be working on a standard-definition video project, a film project, or an HD project.

The following procedure lists the basic steps for editing a sequence and refers you to sections of the documentation for more information. The structure of this Basics Guide reflects the typical editing workflow.

1. Create or open a project. See “Starting a Project” on page 41.

2. Set the appropriate Project settings and create a bin structure. See “Working with the

Project Window” on page 67.

3. Capture or import the media. See “Capturing Media” on page 79 and “Importing Files”

on page 143.

4. Organize your bins to suit your project’s needs. See “Working with Bins” on page 155.

5. View your clips in advance and mark IN and OUT points, or create subclips based on selected portions of your master clips. See “Viewing and Marking Footage” on

page 201.

6. Build your sequence in Source/Record mode and in the Timeline. See “Creating and

Editing Sequences” on page 239 and “Using the Timeline” on page 263.

Chapter 1 Editing Overview

7. Fine-tune your edits and effects by using functions of the various edit modes, such as Trim mode (see “Working in Trim Mode” on page 297), Effect mode (see “Working

with Effects” on page 361), and Color Correction mode (see “Color Correction” on page 445).

8. Add any titles you need. See “Working with Titles” on page 411.

9. Adjust and mix multiple audio tracks and prepare for final output, using audio tools. See

“Working with Audio” on page 313.

10. Export the sequence or output a digital cut. See “Exporting Frames, Clips, or

Sequences” on page 463 or “Generating Output” on page 473.

If you are working in an offline to online project, see “Conforming and Transferring

Projects” on page 501. For information about HD workflows, see “HDTV Workflows” in the

Help.

Starting a Project

Whenever you start to work on a new project, you follow these basic steps:

1. Turn on your equipment in a prescribed order and start your Avid editing application. See “Turning on Your Equipment” on page 41.

2. Select or create a new project (the job that will result in one or more finished sequences). See “Starting a Project” on page 41.

3. Select the Project settings from the Settings list. See “Working with the Project

Window” on page 67.

4. Create and organize bins. See “Working with Bins” on page 155.

5. Back up your project on a regular basis. See “Starting a Project” on page 41.

1. Turn on your system and start your Avid editing application.

2. Select or create a project.

Starting a Project

3. Select the Project settings.

5. Back up the project.

4. Create and organize bins.

Chapter 1 Editing Overview

Preparing to Edit

When you capture and organize footage before editing, you follow these basic steps:

1. Batch capture, log and capture, or capture on-the-fly your source material into the Avid system. See “Capturing Media” on page 79.

2. Use bins to organize the project items. See “Working with Bins” on page 155.

3. Manage media files by using the Media tool. See “Managing Media Files” on page 177.

4. Use the bins to create storyboards. See “Creating a Storyboard” on page 175.

1. Capture footage, creating master clips and media files.

2. Sort and organize clips in the bins.

Preparing to Edit

3. Manage media files for storage efficiency and backup security.

4. Previsualize with storyboards.

Chapter 1 Editing Overview

Editing a Sequence

When you edit your video and audio, you follow these basic steps:

1. View your clips and mark IN and OUT points, or create subclips based on selected portions of your master clips. See “Viewing and Marking Footage” on page 201.

2. Build your sequence in Source/Record mode, which provides nonlinear editing controls with Source and Record monitors, and in the Timeline. See “Creating and Editing

Sequences” on page 239.

3. Fine-tune your edits and effects by using the various edit modes, such as Segment, Trim, and Effect modes. See “Using the Timeline” on page 263 and “Working in Trim Mode”

on page 297.

4. Adjust and mix multiple audio tracks and prepare for final playback or output by using the Audio tools. See “Working with Audio” on page 313.

5. Return to editing if further adjustments are required. For basic information about working with effects, see the following topics:

- “Working with Effects” on page 361

- “Working with Titles” on page 411

- “Color Correction” on page 445

For complete information about working with effects, see the “Advanced Effects Guide” and “Conform and Finishing Guide” in the Help. This information is also contained in the Avid Symphony Nitris Advanced Effects Guide and the Avid Symphony Nitris Conform and Finishing Guide, which are available in PDF format in the Avid Symphony Nitris Online Library.

1. Screen, mark, and subcatalog footage.

Editing a Sequence

Source monitor

Record monitor

Timeline

2. Edit in Source/Record mode and the Timeline.

3. Fine-tune edits and effects.

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

5. Screen and continue editing as necessary.

Chapter 1 Editing Overview

Outputting a Sequence

When your sequence is finished, you can output it in any of the following ways, depending on the requirements of your project:

t Export as a file or a series of files. See “Exporting Frames, Clips, or Sequences” on

page 463.

t Output a digital cut in one or more formats. See “Generating Output” on page 473. t Generate a cut list through Avid FilmScribe.

the Film Scribe Help

t Generate an EDL through Avid EDL Manager. See the Avid EDL Manager User’s

Guide or the EDL Manager Help.

™

See the Avid Film Scribe User’s Guide or

Finished sequence

Outputting a Sequence

Export a file.

Generate a cut list.

Output to tape

Generate an EDL.

Chapter 1 Editing Overview

Chapter 2

Starting a Project

Your work begins when you turn on your system, start your Avid editing application, and open an existing project or create a new project. The following topics describe these and other procedures for starting your work, as well as several techniques to safeguard and restore your work if necessary:

• Turning on Your Equipment

• Working with the Desktop

• Starting Your Avid Editing Application

• Working with Projects

• Ending a Work Session

• Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

• Backing Up Your Project Information

• Working with the Avid Attic Folder

• Using Toolsets

Turning on Your Equipment

Avid recommends that you turn on your equipment in the following order:

1. Storage devices

2. Peripheral devices (such as monitors and speakers)

3. Computer system

4. Avid Nitris hardware

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Working with the Desktop

This section describes desktop navigation features that you can use to speed your work in your Avid editing application, or customize for your convenience while editing. You can:

• Control how the Windows taskbar appears on the screen.

• Use shortcut menus (also sometimes known as context menus) to quickly access editing commands.

• Use standard operating system keyboard shortcuts to navigate and select options in dialog boxes and menus.

• Use the mouse scroll wheel for navigation and customize mouse button functions.

You also use the desktop for backups and transferring projects, as described in “Backing Up

Your Project Information” on page 58 and “Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders” on page 56.

For information on the Windows XP operating system, such as the desktop and icons, see your Microsoft

Windows XP Help.

Using the Windows Taskbar

By default, the Windows taskbar always appears on the bottom of your screen, on top of your application. You have two other choices:

• Keep the taskbar hidden behind your Avid editing application

• Set the taskbar to appear only when you drag the mouse pointer to it

If you keep the taskbar hidden while running your Avid editing application and you minimize an application such as Help, you do not see the minimized icon in the taskbar.

For more information about the taskbar, see the Windows Help.

n n

The taskbar can also be dragged to the top, bottom, or either side of the monitor.

When working in your Avid editing application, you can minimize windows (such as the Project window and bins). The icons will appear in the application window, not in the taskbar.

To see the taskbar and minimized icons:

t Minimize your Avid editing application.

To change the taskbar settings:

1. Right-click an unused part of the taskbar, and select Properties. The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box opens.

2. Select the options you want: t To keep the taskbar hidden, deselect “Keep the task bar on top of other windows”

and “Auto hide the task bar.”

t To set the taskbar to appear when you want, select “Keep the task bar on top of

other windows” and “Auto hide the task bar.”

3. Click OK.

Using Shortcut Menus

Instead of using the standard menus to find the command you need, try using the shortcut menus. Shortcut menus show the most frequently used commands for a window or a screen object.

Working with the Desktop

Most shortcut menus contain a What’s This? command. Select What’s This? to access Help for the window or the object.

To use a shortcut menu:

t Right-click a window or a screen object.

Navigating in Dialog Boxes and Menus

You can use the keys shown in the following table to navigate in many dialog boxes and menus and to select and deselect options.

Key Function

Page Up or Page Down Moves from tabbed page to tabbed page within a dialog box

Tab Moves from check box to check box or from option to

option in a dialog box

Right Arrow, Left Arrow, space bar Selects or deselects a check box or an option in a dialog box

Up Arrow or Down Arrow Moves up or down through a menu, or increments a numeric

value

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Understanding Mouse Scroll Wheel Functions

You can use the mouse scroll wheel for navigation in your Avid editing application, as described in the following table. You can also set the speed of scrolling with the mouse wheel, and assign functions to three additional mouse buttons, as described in “Customizing

Mouse Functions” on page 44.

Scroll Wheel Function Action Result

In any window or function area with a vertical scroll bar, such as a Bin

In the Timeline t Press Ctrl + scroll wheel Moves the position bar one frame at a time.

In a tool or window containing a slider (for example, the Effect Editor).

This does not apply to

pop-up sliders.

t Press Ctrl + scroll wheel Scrolls through items.

t Press Ctrl + Alt + scroll wheel Moves the position bar 10 frames at a time

t Press Ctrl + scroll wheel Moves the slider one unit at a time.

t PressCtrl + Alt + scroll wheel Moves the slider 10 units at a time.

Customizing Mouse Functions

Your Avid editing application allows you to set the speed of scrolling with the mouse wheel, and lets you assign functions to three additional mouse buttons. For example, mouse button 3 can have a button function assigned to it. Mouse buttons pressed along with modifer keys can also have additional assigned functions.

When mapping mouse buttons, make certain that the modifier key that you are assigning to the button and command doesn't already have an alternate function.

You cannot assign functions to the standard left and right mouse buttons.

Working with the Desktop

To set the mouse scroll speed:

1. Double-click Mouse in the Settings list of the Project window. The Mouse Settings dialog box opens.

2. Select a speed from the Vertical Scroll Speed menu. Normal is the default setting. Normal scrolls one item at a time. Moderate scrolls two

items at a time, and Fast scrolls four items at a time.

To assign functions to additional mouse buttons:

1. Double-click Mouse in the Settings list of the Project window. The Mouse Settings dialog box opens.

2. Select Tools > Command Palette. The Command palette opens.

3. Select Button to Button Reassignment at the bottom of the Command palette.

4. Click the tab from which you want to select a user-selectable button.

5. Click the mouse, and drag the button from the Command palette to a button location on the Mouse Settings dialog box.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Starting Your Avid Editing Application

Your Avid editing application is located by default in the following folder:

drive:\Program Files\Avid\Avid editing application

The installation process adds a desktop icon and a pointer to your Avid editing application in the Start menu. For most users, these provide the easiest way to start the application.

Your Avid editing application does not start properly if the application file is moved from the Avid editing application folder.

If you install your Avid editing application on a laptop computer, a dialog box might open with a message about incompatible power management schemes. Avid recommends you use the “Always On” power scheme when working with Avid applications. Other power schemes might affect performance of editing functions (for example, capture and digital cuts). For information on changing power schemes, see the Windows documentation.

To start your Avid editing application, do one of the following:

t Click the Start button, and select All Programs > Avid > Avid editing application. t Double-click the Avid editing application desktop icon.

After the application starts, the Select Project dialog box opens. For more information on the Select Project dialog box, see “Working with Projects” on page 46.

Working with Projects

This section describes basic methods for working with projects.You can:

• Create a new project and save it to your choice of folder locations on your system. Some of the available folder locations use your operating system’s security features to limit access to the project.

• Use the Select Project dialog box to find, open, or delete a project.

• Instruct your Avid editing application to automatically open your last project when you start the application.

• Close an open project and return to the Select Project dialog box.

You should also back up your project information regularly to a separate storage device, as described in “Backing Up Your Project Information” on page 58.

For information on the files and folders that your Avid editing application creates as part of a project, see “Understanding the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders” on page 56.

Understanding the Select Project Dialog Box

After you start your Avid editing application, the Select Project dialog box opens. The Select Project dialog box lets you find and open a project, create a new project, or establish user profiles. You can also choose to have your last project open automatically, as described in

“Opening a Project Automatically” on page 53.

User name Folder name

User profile list

Project list

Working with Projects

Browse button

Folder buttons

New Project button

The following table describes the elements of the Select Project dialog box:

Element Description

User

Folder

You cannot type into the User or Folder text boxes.

Browse button

User Profile

Displays the login name of the user currently logged into the system. To change to a different user, you need to log out and log in as that user. For more information, see the documentation for your operating system.

Displays the path of the current folder. This path determines which projects appear in the project list and where a new project is created.

Click to navigate to a different folder. The projects in this folder appear in the project list. See “Browsing for a Project” on page 52.

Displays the name associated with the current settings. By default your Avid editing application uses the login name. Click the list button to change profiles or create a new one. For more information, see “Using User Profiles” in the Help.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Element Description

Project list

Folder buttons

New Project button

Displays a list of the Avid projects in the currently selected folder. Double-click a project to open it.

Select a button to set the path for the project folder:

• Click Private to display any projects in the folder for the user logged into the system. Private projects use the security provided by your system’s user login. By default, this path is

drive:\Documents and Settings\Windows login name\My Documents\Avid Projects

• Click Shared to display any projects in the folder for all users logged into the system. By default, this path is:

drive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\Shared Avid Projects

• Click External to display the projects in a folder other than the Private or Shared folder. Set the path for the External folder by using the Browse button.

Click this button to open the New Project dialog box and create a new project.

Creating a New Project

To create a new project:

1. Start your Avid editing application.

The Select Project dialog box opens.

2. In the Select Project dialog box, select the folder in which you want to create the project: Private, Shared, or External. For more information, see “Understanding the

Select Project Dialog Box” on page 47.

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

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

Working with Projects

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

5. Click the Format menu and select a project type. For film projects, make a selection based on the source footage or the type of film-to-tape transfer with which you are working.

The following table lists the format options available. Depending on the model of your Avid editing application, your format options might not include all items listed here.

Project Type Source Footage Transfer

23.976p NTSC For film-originated or video-originated footage that has been shot at

23.976 fps or film-originated footage transferred on digital videotape (such as Digital Betacam

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

videotape

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

NTSC videotape

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

videotape at 25 fps

)

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

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

720p/23.976 For film-originated material transferred to videotape.

720p/59.94 For video-originated material. Can be directly captured, edited, and

output for HD broadcast.

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

1080p/24 For film-originated footage transferred to videotape. True 24-fps

editing.

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

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Project Type Source Footage Transfer

1080p/29.97 For film-originated footage transferred to videotape.

1080i/50 For video-originated material. Can be directly captured, edited, and

1080i/59.94 For video-originated material. Can be directly captured, edited, and

6. Select the following additional options:

- For 23.976p, 24p, 25p, 720p, and 1080p film projects, click the Film button and select a format for film gauge tracking from the Default Film Type menu.

- For 24p PAL projects, select an audio transfer rate. For information on audio transfer rates, see “Audio Transfer Options for 24p PAL Projects” in the Help.

- (25i PAL, 30i NTSC, 720p, and 1080i Matchback projects only) Select Matchback, click the Film button and select a format for film gauge tracking from the Default Film Type menu.

The Matchback item appears only if your Avid editing application includes the Matchback option. For more information about matchback, see “Using the Matchback Option” in the Help.

output for HD broadcast.

7. Click OK. Your Avid editing application creates the new project files and folder, and then returns to

the Select Project dialog box. The project name is highlighted in the Projects list.

8. Double-click the project name in the Projects list to open the project. The Project window, the Composer window, and the Timeline open with the User

settings loaded. The title bar of the Project window contains the project name and the user profile selected in the Select Project dialog box.

Project name User name

Close button

Setting Film Preferences

Set film preferences in the Film and 24P Settings dialog box immediately after you create a project to provide the system with important information about the type of film and audio transfer you used for your project.

For information on setting the play rate for Timeline play and setting the format and display of ink numbers, see “Film and 24P Settings” in the Help.

For information about the settings for capturing in a film project, see “Setting Transfer Rates for Film Projects” in the Help.

Opening an Existing Project

To open an existing project:

1. In the Select Project dialog box, select the folder in which the project is located: Private, Shared, or External. For more information, see “Understanding the Select Project

Dialog Box” on page 47.

2. Do one of the following: t Select a project in the Select Project dialog box, and then click OK.

Working with Projects

t Double-click a project name in the Projects list. The Project window, the Composer window, and the Timeline open with the User

settings loaded. The title bar of the Project window contains the project name and the user profile selected in the Select Project dialog box.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Browsing for a Project

To browse for a project in a location other than the default Shared and Private folders:

1. Start your Avid editing application. The Select Project dialog box opens.

Browse button

2. Click the Browse button. The Browse for Folder dialog box opens.

3. Navigate to the folder that contains the project you want.

4. Click OK.

5. Select a Project in the Projects list.

6. Click OK. The Project window, the Composer window, and the Timeline open with the User

settings loaded. The title bar of the Project window contains the project name and the user profile selected in the Select Project dialog box.

The next time you open the Select Project dialog box, the path you selected will be displayed when you click the External button.

Opening a Project Automatically

If you have already created a project, when you enter your Avid editing application you can bypass the Select Project dialog box and have your last project open automatically.

To open a project automatically:

1. Click the Settings tab in the Project window. The Settings list appears.

2. Double-click any Interface setting. The Interface Settings dialog box opens.

3. Click the General tab, select Automatically Launch Last Project at Startup, and then click OK. For more information, see “Interface Settings” in the Help.

The next time you start your Avid editing application, it opens your last project.

To select another project:

1. Deselect Automatically Launch Last Project at Startup, and then click OK.

2. Quit your Avid editing application and restart it. The Select Project dialog box opens.

Working with Projects

3. Select a project and click OK. The Project window, the Composer window, and the Timeline open with the User

settings loaded.

Closing a Project

When you close the current project, you return to the Select Project dialog box.

To close the current project, do one of the following:

t With the Project window active, select File > Close Project. t Click the Close button in the Project window.

Deleting a Project

You can delete a project from within your Avid editing application.

Deleting a project also deletes any bins that are in that project.

Captured media related to a deleted project is not deleted with the project folder. For more information on deleting media files, see “Deleting Bin Items” on page 168 and “Deleting

Media Files with the Media Tool” on page 185.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

To delete a project:

1. Start your Avid editing application. The Select Project dialog box opens.

2. Click the project you want to delete.

3. Press the Delete key. You see a message asking if you want to delete the selected project and associated bins,

4. Click OK. The deleted project no longer appears in the Select Project dialog box.

Ending a Work Session

To end the work session, you must first quit your Avid editing application, and then turn off your equipment in the order.

Quitting Your Avid Editing Application

There are two ways to quit your Avid editing application. You can quit directly to the desktop, or you can close the open project and then quit from the Select Project dialog box.

If you are working in an Avid Unity™ environment, your Avid editing application writes a media database file (.mdb) to the workspace in which you were working when you quit. Before quitting your application, make sure that the workspace has approximately 50 MB of storage space available. Ask your Avid Unity administrator to increase the space if you need more storage.

To quit your Avid editing application and leave the application immediately:

t Select File > Exit.

The project closes and your Avid editing application quits, returning to the desktop.

To quit your Avid editing application and view the Select Project dialog box:

1. Click the Close button at the far right of the Project Window title bar. The Select Project dialog box opens.

2. Click Quit. A message box opens.

3. Do one of the following:

t Click Leave to quit your Avid editing application. t Click Cancel to return to the Select Project dialog box and select another project.

To view remaining storage on your media drives:

1. Click the Info tab in the Project window, and then click Hardware. The Hardware tool opens.

2. Click the appropriate drive tab.

For more information, see “Using the Hardware Tool” in the Help.

Turning Off Your Equipment

When you finish using your system and want to turn it off completely, follow these steps to avoid damaging your system or media storage drives. Quit your Avid editing application before turning off your equipment. For more information, see “Quitting Your Avid Editing

Application” on page 54.

To turn off your equipment:

1. Turn off the system by doing the following: a. Click the Start button, and select Shut Down.

The Shut Down Windows dialog box opens.

b. Click the menu, and select Shut down.

Ending a Work Session

c. Click OK.

2. Turn off the Avid Nitris device.

3. Turn off peripheral devices (such as monitors and speakers).

4. Turn off external storage devices.

Never remove media drives from your Avid system when it is turned on. Shut down the computer, and then remove the drives.

5. Turn off all other hardware.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Managing projects, user profiles, and settings involves moving, copying, or deleting files and folders, and changing project or user names. You use the desktop to move projects and user profiles between systems.

Avid Projects and Avid Users folders allow you to move entire projects or selected Project and User settings between systems by copying and moving files on your desktop.

For more information about moving projects, see “Conforming and Transferring Projects” in the Help.

For information about using and transferring site settings, see “Using Site Settings” in the

Help.

Understanding the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

When you create a new project or user profile, your Avid editing application creates files and folders in the Avid Projects and the Avid Users folders.

Locations of Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Two Avid Projects folders are installed by default:

• Private Projects — drive:\Documents and Settings\Windows login name\My

Documents\Avid Projects

• Shared Projects — drive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\Shared

Avid Projects

For an explanation of the difference between private projects and shared projects, see

“Understanding the Select Project Dialog Box” on page 47.

The Avid Users folder is located in the application folder:

• drive:\Program Files\Avid\Avid editing application\Avid Users

The location of the Avid Users folder depends on the installation path for your Avid editing application.

Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Files and Folders Created For Projects

When you create a new project, your Avid editing application creates a folder for the project and three files that are stored within the project folder:

• A project file (.avp)

• A project settings file (.avs)

• A bin file (.avb)

The project folder and the three files all use the project name you provide. The project folder is stored in the Avid Projects folder.

Your settings are initially set to the default values. As you work, the files maintain current settings. As you create additional bins for the project (see “Creating a New Bin” on

page 70), additional bin (.avb) files are added to the project folder.

Files and Folders Created For User Profiles

When you create a new user profile, your Avid editing application creates a folder for the user and two files that are stored within the user folder:

• A user profile file (.ave)

• A user settings file (.avs)

The user folder and the two files all use the user profile name you provide. The new folder is stored in the Avid Users folder.

Changing Project and User Names

You cannot change project or user names from within your Avid editing application. You must change the names from your desktop before starting your application. For information about the location of the Avid Projects and Avid Users folders, see “Understanding the Avid

Projects and Avid Users Folders” on page 56.

When you change a user name or a project name, make sure you change the name of the folder and all the files in the folder that have the old name. Your Avid editing application does not automatically change the names of corresponding files in the folder.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

To change a project name or user name:

1. Navigate to the Avid Projects or Avid Users folder, and then double-click the folder to open it.

2. Click the name of the folder you want to change. The name is highlighted for text entry.

3. Type the new name of the folder.

4. Double-click the folder with the new name to open it. The folder contains profile, settings, and project files with the old name.

5. Change the old name of each file to the new name.

Do not change the name of the file MCState.avs in the Avid Users folder.

6. Close the windows, and restart your Avid editing application. The new project name or user name appears in the Select Project dialog box.

Backing Up Your Project Information

Although your Avid editing application automatically saves your bins, projects, and settings, you should back up these items frequently to avoid losing any of your work if your hard drive fails. Because the storage requirements are minimal, you can back up these files to a variety of storage devices, such as:

•USB (thumb) drive

•CD-ROM or DVD-ROM

• Network storage device (such as a file server)

• Mass-storage device

To back up the larger media files created when you capture footage, use a high-capacity storage device. For information on backing up media files, see “Backing Up Media Files”

on page 199.

Backing Up Your Project Information

Saving Your Project Information on a Drive or on Removable Media

To save your work on a drive or on removable media:

1. Mount the drive or insert the storage media (USB drive, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM) as appropriate.

2. From the Windows desktop, double-click the My Computer icon.

3. Double-click the icon for the destination storage drive or storage media to open it. Double-click any additional folders to target the appropriate storage location.

4. Navigate to the folder that contains the project folder or the user folder you want to save. For information about the location of these folders, see “Understanding the Avid

Projects and Avid Users Folders” on page 56.

5. Drag a project folder or a user folder to the targeted storage location.

6. When the system finishes copying the files, unmount the drive or eject the media and store it where appropriate.

Restoring from a Backup

To restore a project or user information from a backup storage device:

1. Mount the drive or insert the removable media that contains the backup copies you want to restore.

2. Double-click the icons for the drive or media and for the internal hard drive.

3. Drag the copies from the storage device to the appropriate folder on the internal hard drive.For information about these folders, see “Understanding the Avid Projects and

Avid Users Folders” on page 56.

When you start your Avid editing application, the restored project and user profile appear in the Select Project dialog box.

If you are restoring an individual bin or bins, you must relink them to the project from within the Project window. For more information, see “Opening and Closing Bins” on page 71.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Working with the Avid Attic Folder

Your Avid editing application uses a special folder on your system, the Avid Attic folder, to store backup files of each bin in a project.

You can use settings to control how your application saves backups, and you can retrieve files from the Attic folder in the following circumstances:

• When you want to replace current changes to a sequence or clip with a previous version

• When the current bin file becomes corrupted

Understanding the Avid Attic Folder

The Avid Attic folder contains backup files of each bin in a project. You retrieve files from the Avid Attic folder in the following circumstances:

• When you want to replace current changes to a sequence or clip with a previous version

• When the current bin file becomes corrupted

For information on setting automatic save features, see “Saving Bins Automatically” in the Help.

The Avid Attic folder contains a folder for each project. Each project folder contains a Bins folder. When a bin is saved, a folder with the bin’s name is created in the Bins folder and a copy of the bin file is stored in the folder with the bin name. The system adds the file name extension .bak plus a version number to the bin’s file name. The bin file with the highest version number represents the latest copy of the bin file.

When you view a bin folder in Details view, you can also identify the most recent backup file based on the timestamp of creation displayed in the Modified column.

The oldest backup file is overwritten only if the second-oldest backup file is more than 2 hours old.

Retrieving Files from the Avid Attic Folder

To retrieve a file from the Avid Attic folder:

1. Minimize your Avid editing application. For information on minimizing, see the Windows documentation.

2. From the desktop, double-click the Avid Attic folder, located in drive:\Program Files\Avid\Avid editing application.

Working with the Avid Attic Folder

The Avid Attic folder is usually located in the same folder as your Avid editing application.

The Avid Attic folder opens and displays a folder for each project.

3. Double-click a project folder, and then double-click the Bins folder. The Bins folder opens and displays a folder for each bin in the project.

4. Double-click the folder for the bin you want to retrieve.

5. If the bin folder is not already in the Details view, Select View > Details. The bin folder displays the backup bin files and their creation dates. A backup bin file

has the same name as the bin, with a number appended. For example, a bin named Source Clips might have backup bin files named Source Clips.1 and Source Clips.2.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

6. Select the backup bin file or files you want to retrieve.

7. Ctrl+drag the selected backup bin files to the desktop. This makes a copy of the files, leaving the original files in the Avid Attic folder.

To copy backup files to a new bin:

1. Click the taskbar item for your Avid editing application to restore it.

If the taskbar is hidden, see “Using the Windows Taskbar” on page 42.

2. Click the Project window to activate it, and click the Bins tab to display the Bins list.

3. Select File > Open Bin.

4. From the Files of Type list, select All Files (*.*).

5. Navigate to the desktop, select one of the backup bin files you copied, and click Open. The backup bin opens.When you open a backup bin, a link to the backup bin on the

desktop is created in the Other Bins folder.

Your Avid editing application does not allow a bin and a copy of a bin to be open at the same time. You must keep all other bins closed and open the backup bins one at a time.

6. Create a new bin. For example, if you are retrieving clips from a backup bin called Source Clips.2, you can call the new bin Source Clips New.

7. Select the material you want to keep from the backup bin, and drag the files to the new bin.

8. Repeat steps 3 through 7 for any other backup bin files you copied to the desktop.

9. Select and delete the backup bins in the Other Bins folder.

10. Drag the backup bin files on the desktop to the Recycle Bin.

Using Toolsets

You can use predesigned work environments (toolsets) that are suited to your most common tasks:

• Color Correction

• Source/Record Editing

• Effects Editing

• Audio Editing

•Capture

The Toolset menu provides you with several environments, or special-purpose workspaces, that include the following:

Using Toolsets

• Tools appropriate for the task

• A screen optimized for the task, screen resolution, and number of monitors

• A neatly organized workspace without overlapping windows

You can change the toolset workspace, restore it to the default arrangement, or link it to other settings. For example, you might want each toolset to appear with a different color scheme.

Opening Toolsets

To open a toolset:

t Select Toolset > toolset.

Any open tools close, and the screen changes to display windows appropriate to the toolset task.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Customizing Toolsets

To customize the toolset workspace:

1. For the toolset you want to customize, select Toolset > toolset).

2. Open other tools with which you want to work, and position them where you want them.

3. Select Toolset > Save Current. The next time you select the customized toolset, it appears with your changes.

To remove your customizations:

t Select Toolset > Restore Current to Default.

Linking Toolsets to Other Settings

You can link the current toolset to custom User settings.

To link a toolset to another setting:

1. For the toolset you want to link, select Toolset > toolset.

2. Select Toolset > Link Current to. The Link Toolset dialog box opens.

3. Click the Links to Current Toolset menu, and select Link to Named Settings.

4. Type the name of the other setting to which you want to link the toolset. For more information about creating and naming custom settings, see “Working with Settings” in the Help.

You can link toolsets only to User settings.

5. Click OK. The active toolset is linked to the custom setting you specified.

You might want to link several toolsets to named settings but leave the other toolsets linked to a default, unnamed setting.

Using Toolsets

To link a toolset to an unnamed setting:

1. For the toolset you want to link, select Toolset > toolset.

2. Select Toolset > Link Current to. The Link Toolset dialog box opens.

3. Click the Links to Current Toolset menu, and select Link to Unnamed Settings.

4. Click OK. The active toolset is linked to all the unnamed settings in the Settings list.

Chapter 2 Starting a Project

Chapter 3

Working with the Project Window

The Project window provides controls for structuring and viewing important information about your current project. You can also modify User, Project, and Site settings from the Project window and display a list of effects. The following topics provide basic information about the Project window:

• Understanding the Project Window

• Controlling Project Window Display

• Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

• Using the Settings Tab in the Project Window

• Using the Format Tab in the Project Window

For advanced information about the Project window, see “Working with the Project Window: Advanced” in the Help or in the Advanced Guide for your Avid editing application.

This chapter refers to the installation default directory path for the various Avid folders. If you chose a different directory path during the installation, you must substitute that path when using this chapter.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Understanding the Project Window

The Project window is a central location for important information and tools that you need as you work on your project.

Project window information is organized in tabs.The following table describes the display tabs available in the Project window:

Tab Function

Bins Allows you to create and open bins. See “Using the Bins Tab in the Project

Window” on page 69.

Settings Allows you to view and modify settings. See “Using the Settings Tab in the Project

Window” on page 76.

Effects Allows you to access a library of effects. See “Working with Effects” on page 361.

Format Allows you to view information about the format of the project. See “Using the

Format Tab in the Project Window” on page 77.

Usage Allows you to view information about the work session usage. See “Displaying

Usage Information” in the Help.

Info Allows you to view information about system memory usage and system hardware

configuration. See “Using the Info Display” in the Help.

Controlling Project Window Display

The Project window opens automatically when you select a project in the Select Project dialog box. For more information, see “Working with Projects” on page 46. You can use the Project window’s tab to change the display of information in the window.

The Project window remains open the entire time you are working in a project; however, it might become hidden behind open bins or tools. If this occurs, you can redisplay the Project window.

When you close the Project window, you return to the Select Project dialog box.

To change the information display in the Project window:

t Click one of the tabs.

To locate and redisplay the Project window, do one of the following:

t Select Tools > Project. t Click in an unobstructed area of the Project window to bring it forward.

To close the Project window, do one of the following:

t With the Project window active, select File > Close Project. t Click the Close button in the Project window.

The Select Project dialog box opens.

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

When you create a project, your Avid editing application automatically creates a bin with the name of the new project, which is displayed in the Bins tab of the Project window. You can rename this bin and create additional bins as you work in your project.

The word bin is a movie industry term that refers to a container that holds pieces of film. In your Avid editing application, bins contain master clips that are created when you capture source material. Bins also contain the sequences, subclips, group clips, and effect clips that you create during a project. From the Project window, you can view a list of bins associated with the project, and open, close, and create bins. You can also open bins created for another project.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Viewing a List of Bins

You can view a list of bins in the Project window. From the Bins list, you can examine the number, names, sizes, and location of the bins. Bins from other projects appear in the Project window in italic.

For more information on working with bins, see “Working with Bins” on page 155.

To view a list of bins associated with the project:

t Click the Bins tab in the Project window.

Bins tab Fast Menu

button

Bin icon

Creating a New Bin

To create a new bin from the Project window:

1. Do one of the following:

t Select File > New Bin. t Click the New Bin button in the Project window.

A new (empty) bin opens and is given the name of the project as displayed in the title bar of the Project window. The new bin appears in the Bins list in the Project window with a default name highlighted and a number appended to it. A corresponding file is placed in the project folder in the Avid Projects folder, and a backup copy is placed in the Avid Attic folder. For more information, see “Understanding the Avid Projects and

Avid Users Folders” on page 56 and “Working with the Avid Attic Folder” on page 60.

2. Type the name of the new bin, and press Enter. For more information, see “Renaming a Bin” on page 71.

To place a bin in a folder:

Bins list

t Drag the bin to the folder icon.

Renaming a Bin

Each new bin that you create takes the name of the project that appears in the title bar of the Project window and is numbered incrementally.

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

Default bin name

Bin and project names are limited to 27 characters, not including the period and 3-character extension that the system automatically adds to a file name.

To change the name of a bin:

1. Click the bin name in the Bins list in the Project window.

2. Type a new name.

Project name

Opening and Closing Bins

You can open a single bin from the Project window, or open multiple bins at once. You can also open a bin from another project.

If you have the SuperBin enabled, see “Opening Bins in the SuperBin” on page 172.

Never open a bin that is stored on a removable disk or equivalent device; otherwise, your Avid editing application cannot save your work. Always copy the bin to a project folder on the system drive before you open it.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

To open a bin directly:

1. Click the Bins tab in the Project window.

2. Double-click the Bin icon next to the bin name. The bin opens in a separate window. The Bin icon appears dimmed in the Bins list,

indicating the bin is open.

To open several bins at once from the Project window:

1. Click a Bin icon in the Bins list.

2. Ctrl+click each additional bin you want to open.

3. Select File > Open Selected Bins.

To open a bin from another project:

1. Select File > Open Bin. The Open a Bin dialog box opens.

2. Find and select the bin you want. Bins have the file name extension .avb.

3. Click Open.

The bin appears in the Bins list in the Project window in a folder called Other Bins. The name Other Bins appears in italic. You can rename this folder. This option is useful when you want to open a bin not currently displayed in the Project window.

The Other Bins folder disappears from the Bins list when you delete all the bins in the Other Bins folder. Deleting bins from the Other Bins folder does not remove the bins from the drive; only the pointers to the bins are removed.

To close a bin, do one of the following:

t Click the Close button. t Select File > Close Bin.

Displaying Folders of Bins in the Bins List

You can add folders to the Bins list in the Project window to help organize your project. You can drag bins into folders or drag folders into folders. For more information, see “Managing Folders and Bins” in the Help.

Fast menu button

Arrow

Folders

Tr as h icon

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

To create a folder in a project:

1. Click the Fast menu button, and select New Folder. A new untitled folder appears.

2. Click the untitled folder name in the Bins list and rename it.

To show or hide the folder’s contents in the Bins list in the Project window:

t Click the arrow next to a folder icon.

To view a list of only the folder contents and not the folders:

t Click the Fast Menu button, and select Flat View.

The Trash icon and its contents disappear until Flat View is deselected.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Deleting a Bin or Folder

You can delete bins and folders along with their contents from the Bins list in the Project window. Deleted bins and folders are moved to a Trash folder in the Bins list until you empty the Trash. If you need a deleted bin or folder, you can retrieve it from the Trash. For more information, see “Viewing Contents in the Trash” on page 74.

Only bins and folders appear in the Trash. If you select a clip, subclip, or effect directly in a bin and press the Delete key, the item is permanently deleted and does not appear in the Trash.

To delete a bin or folder from the Project window:

t Select the bin or the folder you want to delete in the Bins list of the Project window, and

do one of the following:

- If the SuperBin is not enabled, press the Delete key.

- If the SuperBin is enabled, right-click the bin name and select Delete Selected Bins from the shortcut menu. For more information on using the Superbin feature, see

“Opening Bins in the SuperBin” on page 172.

A Trash icon appears in the Bins list in the Project window. The Trash contains the deleted item. The deleted item is stored in the Trash until you empty it.

The Trash is not visible in the Project window until you delete your first item.

Viewing Contents in the Trash

If you need to view the contents in the Trash or decide you do not want to delete those items in the Trash, you must first move the bins and folders from the Trash.

To view items in the Trash:

1. Click the arrow next to the Trash icon in the Bins list.

2. Click the bins or folders you want to keep (or view), and drag them from the Trash to the Bins list in the Project window.

3. Double-click the bin or folder to view it.

Emptying the Trash in the Bins List

You can empty the contents of the Trash that is located in the Bins list.

Emptying the trash permanently removes the bins or folders from the drive.

If you change the name of the Trash icon, you cannot empty the Trash.

To empty the Trash in the Bins list:

1. Click the Fast Menu button, and select Empty Trash. A message box opens.

2. Click Empty Trash to delete the bins or folders from the Trash and from your internal hard drive.

Saving Bins Manually

You can manually save a specific bin, selected bins, or all bins. You might want to do this immediately after performing an important edit.

To save a specific bin:

1. Click the bin to activate it.

2. Select File > Save Bin.

To save selected bins:

1. In the Bins tab of the Project window, click a Bin icon to select it, and then Ctrl+click any additional bins.

2. Select File > Save All.

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

The system saves all the selected bins.

The Save Bin command appears dimmed if there were no changes since the last time the active bin was saved.

To save all the bins:

1. Click the Bins tab in the Project window to activate it.

2. Select File > Save All. The system saves all the bins for the project.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Using the Settings Tab in the Project Window

From the Settings tab in the Project window, you can view, select, open, and alter various User, Project, and Site settings. Each setting includes Help that you can access directly from the setting dialog box.

Before working in your project, review the basic system settings described in the following table:

Setting Description

Bin Sets parameters for auto-save interval and other bin procedures. See “Bin Settings” in

the Help.

Film and 24p Sets parameters for edit play rate, ink number format, and transfer rate. See “Film and

24P Settings” in the Help.

General Defines default values such as the default starting timecode. See “General Settings”

in the Help.

Interface Defines the appearance and function of the applications windows and buttons.See

“Interface Settings” in the Help.

Settings tab

Settings list

Keyboard Defines how commands are mapped to the keyboard. See “Using the Keyboard” on

page 220.

To view the Settings list:

t Click the Settings tab in the Project window.

Settings type

Using the Format Tab in the Project Window

To open a setting:

t Double-click the setting in the Settings list.

To view Help for a setting:

t Open a setting and press the F1 key.

Using the Format Tab in the Project Window

The Format tab in the Project window allows you to view basic project information, such as the video format (NTSC, for example). The displayed information lists the options you selected in the New Project dialog box when you created the project.

For some project formats, the Project Type list lets you change the format of the project to another format that shares the same frame rate. For example, if you are working in a 1080i/59.94 HD project, you can change the project format to 30i NTSC. For more information, see “Changing the Project Format” in the Help.

For 24p PAL projects, the Format tab shows the audio transfer rate you selected when you created the project. The actual audio transfer rate might be different from the display if you used the Film and 24P Settings dialog box to change the audio transfer rate. For more information, see “Settings for Film and 24p Projects” in the Help.

To open the Format tab:

t Click the Format tab in the Project window.

Chapter 3 Working with the Project Window

Chapter 4

Capturing Media

Capturing is the process of creating digital media from video or audio input.When you capture, you convert source material into master clips that contain reference information and media files that contain the digital audio and video. The basic procedures you need to capture media are described in the following sections:

• Understanding Logging and Shot Logs

• Importing Shot Log Files

• Preparing the Hardware for Capture

• Selecting Settings for Capture

• Configuring Decks

• Setting Up the Capture Tool

• Preparing for Audio Input

• Preparing for Video Input

• Capture Preparations Check List

• Capturing and Logging at the Same Time

• Frame Chase Capture

• Batch Capturing from Logged Clips

• Recapturing Your Material

For advanced information about logging and capturing media, see “Capturing Media: Advanced” in the Help or in the Advanced Guide for your Avid editing application.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

Understanding Logging and Shot Logs

Logging is the process of entering information about source material into bins at the beginning of the editing workflow. A shot log is a text file that lists information about a roll of film or a videotape, usually in chronological order.

You can get information into your bins either by importing a shot log file or by entering the information directly. Logging can be done automatically or manually, before capturing or at the same time as capturing.

When you import shot log files or log directly into a bin, you provide your Avid editing application with frame-accurate clip information (such as starting and ending timecodes). Your application uses this information to capture the source footage, and the information forms the foundation for organizing, tracking, storing, retrieving, and generating lists of edit information throughout your project.

You can import any shot log created or converted to meet Avid log specifications. You can also combine or merge events while importing a log so that fewer master tapes require capturing. The system imports any additional information logged with each clip. For more information, see “Understanding Avid Log Specifications” in the Help.

For film projects, most telecine and other film-to-tape transfer systems generate a log you can import directly to the bin, after you convert it to .ale format by using the Avid Log Exchange (ALE) utility. Even if the telecine facility supplies you with an .ale file, you should process it through the ALE utility, using the Clean function. For more information, see “Preparing Log Files for Import” in the Help.

You can also import an EDL to a bin for use in capturing. For more information, see the Avid EDL Manager Help.

For information on how to import a shot log file, see “Importing Shot Log Files” on page 81.

For information about logging into a bin, see “Logging Directly into a Bin” in the Help.

For information about logging and capturing at the same time, see “Capturing and Logging

at the Same Time” on page 121.

Importing Shot Log Files

You can import a shot log file into a bin to make clip information such as start and end timecode available to your Avid editing application. For more information on logging and shot logs, see “Understanding Logging and Shot Logs” on page 80.

To import shot log files into a bin:

1. If you have created Import settings for importing shot log files, select the Import setting you want to use from the Settings list. For more information, see “Creating and Using

Import Settings” on page 144.

2. Do one of the following to identify the bin in which you want to store the imported files: t Open a bin from the Project window.

For more information, see “Opening and Closing Bins” on page 71.

t Click anywhere in an open bin to select it. t Create a new bin.

For more information, see “Creating a New Bin” on page 70.

3. Select File > Import. The Select Files to Import dialog box opens.

Importing Shot Log Files

Look in menu

Source file list

Files of type menu

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

4. (Option) If you want to select options for combining events on import, click the Options button to open the Import Settings dialog box, After selecting the appropriate options from the Shot Log tab, click OK to close the Import Settings dialog box and return to the Select Files to Import dialog box.

For information on Import settings, see “Import Settings” in the Help. You can also view this information by clicking the dialog box and pressing the F1 key.

5. Do one of the following:

t If you are importing an .ale file, click the Files of type menu and select Shot Log. t If you are importing a text file, click the Files of type menu and select All Files.

When batch importing multiple files and file types, you should establish global Import settings in advance. See “Creating and Using Import Settings” on page 144.

6. Use the Look in menu to locate the folder containing the source file.

7. Select the source file from the list and click the Open button. When the system finishes importing the file, the clips appear in the selected bin.

Preparing the Hardware for Capture

Your source material can originate from a videotape, a digital audiotape (DAT), a compact disc (CD), an in-house router, a tuner, or straight off-the-air, with the proper hardware configuration.

For information on connecting your equipment, see “Using the Avid Nitris” in the Help.

You should check the items described in the following table before capturing:

Item Description

Sync source

Avid Symphony Nitris requires that the deck and the Avid Nitris hardware be genlocked to the same timing source when capturing or outputting a digital cut. For more information, see “Selecting the Sync Source for Capture” on

page 84.

Audio-only input

Client monitor

Sync is needed for audio-only input. For more information, see “Establishing

Sync for Audio-Only Input” on page 84.

Before you begin capturing and editing, set up your NTSC or PAL Client monitor by using a color-bar generator (or house pattern) and lock in those settings, if you have not done so already. See “Connecting a Client Monitor” and “Playing Video to the Client Monitor” in the Help.

Item Description

Preparing the Hardware for Capture

16:9 format

Remote switch

DAT (digital audiotape)

Striped drives

All capture into Symphony Nitris is done through the Avid Nitris hardware, which does not contain a 1394 connection. DV 25 and DV 50 sources can be captured through a baseband

You can edit with video in the 16:9 aspect ratio for display of wide-screen images used in the high-definition television (HDTV) format. To view the footage on a Client monitor, you must have a 16:9-compatible Client monitor. For more information on the 16:9 format option, see “Using the 16:9 Display Format” in the Help.

The deck control switch on the front of the source deck must be set to Remote rather than Local to control the deck with the Capture tool.

When capturing from DAT, you might need to select an appropriate sync setting. For more information, see “Establishing Sync for Audio-Only Input”

on page 84.

If you are capturing media at high resolution, you must use striped drives.

connection to either the SDI or analog inputs on the Avid Nitris (Symphony Nitris does not support capture of DVCPRO HD through a baseband connection). Alternatively, another

Avid product such as an Avid Xpress

Pro or Avid Media Composer® product can be used to capture native DV 25, DV 50, or DVCPRO HD media over IEEE-1394. You can then share, play, edit, and render the media within Symphony Nitris. You can also transcode to these resolutions; available resolutions depend on the format of the source media.

Getting Information About Striped Drives

Avid maintains a set of tables containing information about striping drives, which is available through Avid online support.

For more information, see “Formatting and Striping Media Drives” in the Help.

To get information about striped drives:

1. Go to www.avid.com/onlinesupport.

2. Search for “Drive Striping Tables.”

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

Selecting the Sync Source for Capture

Avid Symphony Nitris requires that the deck and the Avid Nitris hardware be genlocked to the same timing source when capturing. You can use one of the following sources as sync, depending on your project format:

• Black burst or house sync through the reference input (REF) of the Nitris hardware

• Tri-level sync through the HD TRILEVEL SYNC input of the Nitris hardware

If the source you select is not correctly connected, or if the sync generator is set to an incorrect frame rate, the application might end the capture with an error message. Also, the start frame might be inaccurate when capturing using serial deck control and the resulting clip will be off by one frame.

For a list of sync options for each format, see “Selecting Sync for HD Formats” on page 475.

To select the sync source:

1. Select Tools > Video Output Tool.

2. Select the sync source from the Sync Lock menu: Reference or Tri-Level. The Tri-Level option appears only if you are working in an HD project.

To check the sync source, do one or both of the following:

1. Check the lights on the front of the Avid Nitris. If the Avid Nitris is locked to a valid sync signal, the Lock light and either the HD REF or SD REF light will be constantly on. For more information, see “Front Panel” in the Help.

2. Check the Video Lock icon or the Ref Lock icon in the Capture tool. For more information, see “Setting the Video and Audio Input in the Capture Tool” on page 101.

Establishing Sync for Audio-Only Input

When you capture audio with video, the video input signal provides the timing reference for digitizing analog audio.The video input signal also provides the reference for the retiming of digital audio inputs when you apply sample rate conversion. This ensures that the audio and video remain in synchronization.

When you capture audio only, the audio timing reference is taken from the same source as the video output timing. You set the sync source for capture and output timing through the Video Output tool. For more information about connecting a reference signal, see “Selecting

the Sync Source for Capture” on page 84.

Preparing the Hardware for Capture

If you are capturing audio only, and the material being captured must be resynchronized with video, you must make sure that the audio captured remains synchronized with the associated video. There are several cases to consider:

• Analog audio input (Analog and Microphone)

• Digital audio input (ADAT, AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and SDI Embedded Audio) without sample rate conversion

• Digital audio input (ADAT, AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and SDI Embedded Audio) with sample rate conversion (including capturing digital sources with film pulldown)

Analog Audio Input

If you are capturing audio-only from an analog source, sync is taken from the sync source, either black burst or tri-level, as selected in the Video Output tool. If no sync source is connected, sync is generated from internal timing. You can view the selected sync source in the Hardware tab of the Audio Project settings dialog box, in the Sync Mode field. To be sure you see the correct sync source, view the Audio Project settings with the Capture tool active, or with channels armed for passthrough in the Audio tool.

If you need to synchronize audio with video clips captured separately, Avid recommends that you connect a sync source to both the Avid Nitris and the audio deck. Otherwise you might experience drifting of the audio during editing.

Digital Audio Input

Digital audio inputs (ADAT, AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and SDI Embedded Audio) provide their own timing reference. If sample rate conversion is not allowed (by selecting “Never” in the Input tab of the Audio Project settings), no other connections are required to achieve sync, so long as the source deck is genlocked.

When using the AES/EBU inputs, the lowest numbered channel that is enabled for input in either the Capture tool or the Audio tool is used as the timing reference. When sample rate conversion is not in use, it is important that all AES/EBU inputs that are used simultaneously be locked to the same timing reference.

If the digital media sample rate is different from the project sample rate, and if sample rate conversion is allowed (by selecting “When Needed” in the Input tab of the Audio Project settings), then sample rate conversion is running in the Avid Nitris. In this case, the output of the sample rate conversion uses a sync source under the same rules as analog capture, as described above.

If you need to synchronize audio with video clips captured separately, Avid recommends that you connect a sync source to both the Avid Nitris and the audio deck to prevent drifting of the audio during editing, even when capturing digitally. This will ensure synchronization even if sample rate conversion is required.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

The background color of the I (IN) button in the Audio Tool informs you of the status of each digital input. If the background color is yellow, the input is not connected (no valid clock was detected). If the background is blue, the input is valid and no sample rate conversion is in use. If the background is green, the input is valid but a sample rate converter is in use. (Pausing the mouse cursor over the I button pops up a reminder of how to interpret the color.)

For more information about sample rate conversion, see “Performing Audio Sample Rate

Conversion During Capture” on page 110 and “Converting the Audio Sample Rate” on page 356.

When using the AES/EBU inputs, there is a special case applied: if channels 1 and 2 do not require sample rate conversion, none of the other inputs will have sample rate conversion applied. However, if channels 1 and 2 are not in use, higher numbered channels can be converted to match the rate of the lowest numbered channel, if sample rate conversion is allowed by the Audio Project settings.

Selecting Settings for Capture

Several settings directly affect the capturing process. This section includes information on Media Creation settings. For other settings, see the following topics in the Help:

• Capture Settings

• Capturing Across Timecode Breaks

• General Settings

• Settings for Film and 24p Projects

• Advanced Capture Settings

For information about locating and modifying settings, see “Using the Settings List” in the Help.

You can also view information about settings by clicking a window or dialog box and pressing the F1 key.

In the MXF Media Type tab or the OMF Media Type tab of the Capture Settings dialog box, review the setting for “Maximum (default) capture time.” This setting limits the length of capture-on-the-fly and capture from an IN point without an OUT point. The default setting is 30 minutes. For more information, see “Capture Settings” in the Help.

Understanding Video Resolutions

Video resolution refers to the dimensions and the amount of compression in a video media file. The resolutions you can select depend on your project format.

• For 25-fps and 30-fps projects, the Video Resolution list shows two-field interlaced resolutions and DV.

• For 24p and 25p projects, the list shows progressive, full-frame resolutions. Select 1:1 for uncompressed media.

• For HD projects, the list shows 1:1 or Avid DNxHD resolutions.

Resolutions use either the OMF or the MXF media format. For more information, see “File Format Specifications” in the Help.

DNxHD resolutions are available in 10-bit and 8-bit versions. 10-bit compressions are indicated by an X, such as DNxHD 220 X. DNxHD resolutions use the MXF media format. JFIF, MPEG, DV 25, and DV 50 resolutions are not available in HD projects.

For more information about resolutions, see “Resolution Specifications” in the Help.

Selecting Settings for Capture

If you are using Avid Unity LANshare, make sure to specify a supported resolution. For information on supported resolutions, see the LANshare documentation.

Selecting Video Resolutions and Media Drives

The Media Creation dialog box allows you to set the video resolution and to select drives for capturing, creating titles and motion effects, importing, and performing audio and video mixdowns.

For more information on video resolutions, see “Understanding Video Resolutions” on

page 87.

You can also select a video resolution and select drives directly in the Capture tool, the Save Title dialog box, the Select Files to Import dialog box, the Audio Mixdown dialog box, and the Video Mixdown dialog box. The Media Creation settings automatically change to the resolution and drives you select.

If you are using Avid Unity LANshare, make sure to specify a supported resolution. For information on supported resolutions, see the LANshare documentation.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

To select a video resolution and media drives:

1. Do one of the following:

t Double-click Media Creation in the Settings list. t Select Tools > Media Creation.

The Media Creation dialog box opens.

2. Click the Media Type tab, and select either OMF or MXF file format.

If your project uses an HD resolution, you cannot select OMF as a file format. MXF is selected by default.

The performance of Symphony Nitris is substantially better when using MXF 1:1 video instead of OMF 1:1. This improved performance occurs because the video format used in MXF 1:1 video files is the same as the native format used by the Nitris hardware, which allows the system to play more streams of video and render effects faster.

3. Click the Capture tab.

Video Resolution menu

4. Click the Video Resolution menu, and select a video resolution. The Video Resolution menu contains a list in the available resolutions.

Clicking Apply to All sets your selected video resolution for all applicable tabs in the Media Creation dialog box. Your settings are not saved until you click OK.

Selecting Settings for Capture

5. Select a video drive and an audio drive. To select the same drive for both video and audio, click the Single/Dual Drives Mode button until only a single drive menu opens.

The drive that appears in boldface type has the most available space.

6. (Option) You can select drives and create a drive group. Click the Target Drive menu, and select Change Group. For more information on selecting a drive group, see

“Targeting a Drive Group” on page 106.

Because there is no audio associated with titles or motion effects, you can select only a video drive in the Titles or the Motion Effects tab of the Media Creation dialog box.

7. To apply your drive selection to all the Media Creation tabs and the rest of the application, click Apply to All.

This sets your selected video and audio drives for all the Media Creation tabs. It also sets them for any place in the application where you select drives.

Your settings are not saved until you click OK.

8. Click OK to save your settings.

For more information about options, see “Media Creation Settings” in the Help. You can also view this information by clicking the dialog box and pressing the F1 key.

Setting Drive Filtering

Your Avid editing application lets you select any drive on your system to use for media storage. However, high-quality resolutions require striped drives.For more information, see

“Getting Information About Striped Drives” on page 83 and “Formatting and Striping Media

Drives” in the Help.

Because media files are very large, you can remove from the list of available drives the drive where the operating system is located, the drive where your Avid editing application is located, and network drives that do not support the resolution you select. Filtering drives in this way provides you with a convenient way to store media only on drives with sufficient space.

Your Avid editing application does not prevent you from using non-Avid drives, but their reliability cannot be assured.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

If you are working in a network environment, see “Drive Filtering in Networked Workflows” in the Help.

To set drive filtering in the Media Creation dialog box:

1. Do one of the following:

t Double-click Media Creation in the Settings list. t Select Tools > Media Creation.

The Media Creation dialog box opens.

2. (Option) Click the Drive Filtering & Indexing tab.

Options for indexing local drives apply only in an Avid Interplay™ environment. For more information, see the Avid Interplay Software Installation Guide.

Configuring Decks

3. Select a drive to filter out: t Select Filter Network Drives Based on Resolution to remove those network drives

that cannot support the selected resolution, or cannot handle playback of the selected resolution.

t Select Filter Out System Drive to remove from the list the drive on which the

operating system resides.

t Select Filter Out Launch Drive to remove from the list the drive on which the Avid

editing system resides.

The drive or drives you filter out do not appear in the other Media Creation tabs as possible locations where you can store media. They also do not appear in other drive selection menus in the application except for the Import, Export, and Relink dialog boxes.

Your settings are not saved until you click OK.

4. Click OK to save your settings.

For more information about options, see “Media Creation Settings” in the Help. You can also view this information by clicking the dialog box and pressing the F1 key.

Configuring Decks

Deck Configuration settings allow you to establish deck control parameters for a single deck or for multiple decks. As with all settings, you can create multiple versions, allowing you to select among them for frequent changes in hardware configurations.

Deck Configuration settings and global deck control preferences appear as separate items in the Settings list in the Project window.

Deck control settings

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

For information on setting Deck Preferences, see “Deck Preferences Settings” in the Help. You can also view this information by clicking the dialog box and pressing the F1 key.

Configuring a Deck or Multiple Decks

You must manually configure the appropriate hardware connections before Deck Configuration settings can take effect. For more information, see “Using the Avid Nitris” in the Help.

To configure a deck or multiple decks:

1. Double-click Deck Configuration in the Settings list in the Project window. The Deck Configuration dialog box opens.

2. Click the Add Channel button to add a new channel box on the left side of the Deck Configuration dialog box and to automatically open a Channel dialog box.

Configuring Decks

Channel refers to the signal path for deck control, whether directly through a serial port or through a V-LAN allows one deck for each channel, while a V-LAN VLXi system provides multiple decks.

3. Click the Channel Type menu, and select one of the following items, depending upon your system configuration:

- Direct if you are controlling a deck through an RS-422 connection to the serial port.

- VLAN VLX if you are controlling decks through a V-LAN/VLXi connection.

4. Click the Port menu, and select COM1 or COM2.

If you are not sure which COM port to select, check the 9-pin serial port connectors on the back of the system. If the ports are not labeled, see the manufacturer’s documentation supplied with your system.

5. Click OK to close the Channel dialog box. A dialog box opens with a question asking if you want to automatically configure the

channel now.

6. Click Yes if you want to automatically configure the channel. A new channel appears in the display area of the Deck Configuration dialog box, along

with the autoconfigured deck.

VLXi system connected to a serial port. Direct serial port connection

Decks appear on the right side

Channel boxes appear on the left side

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

You can reopen the Channel settings to change the options at any time by double-clicking the channel box in the Deck Configuration dialog box.

7. If you did not autoconfigure the deck, click the channel box to select it.

8. Click the Add Deck button to open the Deck Settings dialog box.

With a deck already connected to the system, you can click the Auto-configure button to bypass the Deck Settings dialog box and automatically configure a deck with the default settings.

9. Select the manufacturer and model number of your deck or other device. Selecting a model opens a template of settings for the device you selected. You can change these settings based on your device.

For more information, see “Deck Settings” in the Help. You can also view this information by clicking the dialog box and pressing the F1 key.

Configuring Decks

10. Click OK to close the Deck Settings dialog box and return to the Deck Configuration dialog box.

You can reopen the Deck Settings dialog box to change the options at any time by double-clicking the deck box in the Deck Configuration dialog box.

11. Repeat the channel and deck setup process for each additional channel or deck you want to configure.

12. (Option) If you want the system to check the deck configuration against the decks physically connected to the system, select “Verify configuration against actual decks.”

The system checks the deck configuration after you click the Apply button in the Deck Configuration dialog box and when you start your Avid editing application. A message box warns you if the configuration does not match the deck.

13. Type a name in the Configuration name text box to name the deck configuration. The new deck configuration appears in the Settings list in the Project window.

14. Click the Apply button to complete the configurations and close the Deck Configuration dialog box.

15. Double-click Deck Preferences in the Settings list in the Project window to review and if necessary adjust global deck control options.

For information about these controls, see “Deck Preferences Settings” in the Help. You can also view this information by clicking the dialog box and pressing the F1 key.

Deleting Deck Configuration Elements

You can delete deck configuration elements to remove or replace them.

To delete deck configuration elements:

1. Double-click Deck Configuration in the Settings list in the Project window. The Deck Configuration dialog box opens.

2. Click a channel box, a deck box, or the entire configuration to select it.

3. Click the Delete button.

4. Click the Apply button to complete the changes and close the dialog box.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

Setting Up the Capture Tool

The Capture tool provides controls for cueing, marking, and logging footage, and specifies capturing parameters such as source and target locations.

In Capture mode, the Client monitor displays the playback footage whenever the video track is selected in the Capture tool.

The following illustration shows the Capture tool for an HD project.

Capture/Log Mode button

Record button Channel Selection

buttons

Message bar

Clip Name text box Clip Comment text

box

Single/Dual Drive Mode button

Capture indicator

Tr as h

Toggle Source button

Video tool

Audio tool

Passthrough Mix tool

Edit to Timeline buttons (optional)

Video and Audio Input menus

Subclip status indicator

Ref lock icon

Video lock icon

Resolution menu

Time remaining on target drives

Deck controls Deck Selection

menu Source Tape

Display buttons

When you are working in a 24p NTSC project, the Capture tool includes a pulldown button. For more information, see “Setting the Pulldown Switch” on page 101.

When you are working in an Avid Interplay environment, the Capture tool includes a selection for Local Bins or Remote Bins. See “Selecting a Target Bin” on page 104.

Setting Up the Capture Tool

When you are ready to capture, you need to open the Capture tool and set the Capture tool up by using the following procedures:

• Opening the Capture Tool

• Selecting a Deck in the Capture Tool

• Selecting a Source Tape

• Selecting Source Tracks

• Setting the Video and Audio Input in the Capture Tool

• Detecting a Valid or Locked Sync Signal

• Setting the Pulldown Switch

• Selecting a Resolution in the Capture Tool

• Selecting a Target Bin

• Selecting the Target Drives

• Interpreting the Time-Remaining Display

• Selecting a Custom Preroll

For advanced information, such as capturing to the Timeline, see “Capturing Media: Advanced” in the Help.

Opening the Capture Tool

To open the Capture tool:

1. Make sure the deck or other playback device is properly connected to the system and is turned on.

2. Do one of the following:

t Click a bin to activate it and select Bin > Go To Capture Mode. t Select Tools > Capture. t Select Toolset > Capture.

3. Make sure you are in Capture mode. If the Capture tool is in Log mode, click the Capture/Log Mode button until the CAP icon appears.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

Selecting a Deck in the Capture Tool

The Deck Selection menu in the Capture tool contains a list of any decks that were connected to the system, powered up, and initialized when you entered Capture mode.

Device templates from Avid Symphony Meridien systems (v5.x or earlier) are not compatible with Symphony Nitris systems. Do not copy Meridien templates to Symphony Nitris systems, and do not copy Symphony Nitris templates to Meridien systems.

The Deck Selection menu also lists three commands:

• Adjust Deck opens the Deck Settings dialog box. Changes you make apply to the

selected deck. For information on Deck settings, see “Deck Settings” in the Help.

• Auto-configure allows you to automatically configure the selected deck with the default

deck settings for that deck.

• Check Decks helps to reestablish deck control if the power to your decks was turned off

or the decks were disconnected when you first entered Capture mode.

If the words “No Deck” appear in the Deck Selection menu, you need to configure a deck in the Deck Configuration dialog box. See “Configuring Decks” on page 91.

If a deck name appears in italics in the Deck Selection menu, the deck has lost power or has been disconnected. Click the menu, and select Check Decks to reestablish deck control.

After deck control has been properly initialized, it remains active for all deck controllers throughout the session until you quit the application.

You must have V-LAN VLXi hardware to manage more than one deck at a time. For more information on V-LAN equipment, contact your Avid sales representative.

To activate playback from an available deck:

t Click the Deck Selection menu, and select the deck.

Selecting a Source Tape

To select a source tape:

1. Do one of the following: t If a tape is already in the deck, click the Source Tape Display button in the Capture

tool. t If there is no tape in the deck, insert a tape into the deck. The Select Tape dialog box opens.

Setting Up the Capture Tool

2. If you are working in an NTSC project, play the tape for a few seconds so the system can detect the timecode format of the tape (drop-frame or non-drop-frame). Otherwise, the system maintains the timecode format set in the Deck Preferences dialog box, regardless of the format on the tape, and you might receive a message indicating a wrong tape.

Drop-frame timecode appears in the Timecode indicator with semicolons between hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. Non-drop-frame timecode appears with colons. For more information, see “Understanding Drop-Frame Timecode and Non-Drop-Frame Timecode” in the Help.

Chapter 4 Capturing Media

3. Provide the system with a tape name in one of the following ways:

t Select the name of the tape from the list in the Select Tape dialog box and click OK. t Expand the list by selecting the “Show other projects” option or by clicking the

Scan for tapes button.

t Click New if the tape is not in the list. A new tape name line appears in the dialog

box. Type the new name, press Enter and click OK.

For information on tape naming conventions, see “Naming Tapes” in the Help. If you are working with MultiRez in an Avid Interplay environment, see “MultiRez Tape Management”

on page 581.

Selecting Source Tracks

You can select the tracks to capture from the source tape.

To select only those tracks you want to capture:

t Click the Channel Selection buttons in the Capture tool.

Channel Selection buttons

When you use an Avid-controlled deck, the TC (timecode) track is selected by default, and the system captures the timecode from the source tape. If you deselect the TC button, the system captures with time-of-day timecode. For more information, see “Capturing with

Time-of-Day Timecode” on page 129.

If you are not seeing the source video or hearing source audio in Capture mode, click the Channel Selection buttons to make sure they are not the cause.

100

When batch capturing, if the tracks are already logged into the bin, this selection will be made automatically, unless you deselect the option “Capture the tracks logged for each clip” in the Batch tab of the Capture Settings dialog box. For more information on Batch Capture settings, see “Batch Capturing Clips” on page 135.

Pinnacle Systems Symphony Nitris - 1.0 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Using This Guide

Symbols and Conventions

If You Need Help

Related Information

Accessing the Online Library

How to Order Documentation

Avid Educational Services

Editing Overview

Editing Workflow

Starting a Project

Preparing to Edit

Editing a Sequence

Outputting a Sequence

Starting a Project

Turning on Your Equipment

Working with the Desktop

Using the Windows Taskbar

Using Shortcut Menus

Navigating in Dialog Boxes and Menus

Understanding Mouse Scroll Wheel Functions

Customizing Mouse Functions

Starting Your Avid Editing Application

Working with Projects

Understanding the Select Project Dialog Box

Creating a New Project

Opening an Existing Project

Browsing for a Project

Opening a Project Automatically

Closing a Project

Deleting a Project

Ending a Work Session

Quitting Your Avid Editing Application

Turning Off Your Equipment

Managing the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Understanding the Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Changing Project and User Names

Backing Up Your Project Information

Saving Your Project Information on a Drive or on Removable Media

Restoring from a Backup

Working with the Avid Attic Folder

Understanding the Avid Attic Folder

Retrieving Files from the Avid Attic Folder

Using Toolsets

Opening Toolsets

Customizing Toolsets

Linking Toolsets to Other Settings

Working with the Project Window

Understanding the Project Window

Controlling Project Window Display

Using the Bins Tab in the Project Window

Viewing a List of Bins

Creating a New Bin

Renaming a Bin

Opening and Closing Bins

Displaying Folders of Bins in the Bins List

Deleting a Bin or Folder

Viewing Contents in the Trash

Emptying the Trash in the Bins List

Saving Bins Manually

Using the Settings Tab in the Project Window

Using the Format Tab in the Project Window

Capturing Media

Understanding Logging and Shot Logs

Importing Shot Log Files

Preparing the Hardware for Capture

Getting Information About Striped Drives

Selecting the Sync Source for Capture

Establishing Sync for Audio-Only Input

Selecting Settings for Capture

Understanding Video Resolutions

Selecting Video Resolutions and Media Drives

Setting Drive Filtering

Configuring Decks

Configuring a Deck or Multiple Decks

Deleting Deck Configuration Elements