Pinnacle Systems Symphony Nitris - 1.7 User Manual

Avid® Symphony™ Nitris

Conform and Finishing Guide

make manage move | media

™

Avid

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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Footage

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

GOT FOOTAGE?

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

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

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

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

Avid Symphony Nitris Conform and Finishing Guide • 0130-07603-01 • March 2007

Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Related Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Accessing the Online Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Section 1 Conforming and Mastering

Chapter 1 Conforming and Transferring Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Compatibility Between Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Conforming Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Preparing for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Delivery Requirements for Final Masters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Offline Formats for HD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

File Transfer for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

System Compatibility for the Online Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Preparing Graphics for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Preparing Effects for the Online Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Preparing Titles for the Online Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Preparing Audio for the Online Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Step 1: Transfer Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Transferring Project Information Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Transferring Project Files and Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Step 2: Open the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Step 3: Measure the Video Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Step 4: Recapture Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Step 5: Import and Lay in the Final Audio Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Step 6: Batch Import Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Step 7: Re-create Title Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Redefining a Font Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Step 8: Refine Effects and Perform Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Step 9: Render Effects as Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Step 10: Create the Final Masters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Conforming an HDV Sequence on Symphony Nitris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Conforming Sequences with Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Conforming Color Correction Sequences with

Symphony Meridien Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Conforming Color Correction Sequences with Media Composer or

Avid Xpress Pro Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Transferring Color Corrections with Color Correction Templates . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Transferring Project and Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Transferring Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Transferring Sound Designer II Audio Files from

Macintosh Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Working with Sound Designer II Audio Files on

Macintosh Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Transferring a Project Using Shared Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Transferring Project Files and Media Files Using Nonshared Storage . . . . . . . 49

Devices and Methods for Transferring Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Transferring Files Between Windows Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Transferring Files Between Macintosh and Windows Systems . . . . . . . . . 53

Nonshared Storage Issues for Cross-Platform Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Transferring Media Files from Media Composer Version 7.2 or

Avid Xpress Version 2.1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Chapter 2 Working with HD Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

High-Definition Television. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

HDTV Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Film-Based Television Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Video-Based Television Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Broadcast Graphics Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Editing in HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Changing the Project Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Modifying the Format of a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Converting a 24p NTSC Sequence to 1080p/23.976. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Converting a 23.976p NTSC Sequence to 720p/23.976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Mixing SD and HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Displaying Formats in a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Editing at 60 fps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Working with True 24 FPS Timecode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Transcoding HD Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Using HD Universal Mastering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Converting Audio for HD Universal Mastering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Performing a Digital Cut with HD Universal Mastering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Video Color Space for HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Section 2 Finishing Tools

Chapter 3 Motion Tracking and Stabilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Understanding Motion Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Understanding the Tracking Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Uses of Motion Tracking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Motion Tracking and Footage Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Workflow for Motion Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Effects and Effect Parameters That Use Tracking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Understanding the Tracking Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Tracking Controls in the Effect Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Tracking Controls in the Effect Preview Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

The Tracking Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Setting Up an Effect for Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Understanding Video Layers and Motion Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Applying an Effect for Motion Tracking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Making Non-Tracking Parameter Adjustments to an Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Preparing to Generate Tracking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Enabling Tracking in the Effect Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Creating and Mapping Trackers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Understanding Tracker Selectors and Tracker Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Creating and Mapping Trackers Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Enabling, Disabling, and Deleting Trackers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Setting Up Tracking in the Effect Preview Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Displaying Tracking Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Adjusting Tracking Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Guidelines for Positioning Tracking Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Guidelines for Resizing Tracking Boxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Setting Up Tracking in the Tracking Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Choosing a Tracking Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Choosing Background or Foreground Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Understanding Tracking Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Generating Tracking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Offset Tracking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Understanding Offset Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Adding and Deleting Tracker Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Moving to a Tracking Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Performing Offset Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Understanding Generated Tracking Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Tracking Data in the Effect Preview Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Tracking Data in the Tracker Timelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Customizing Tracking Data Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Setting the Reference Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Using SteadyGlide or Smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Modifying Tracking Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Finding a Specific Tracker Data Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Selecting Tracker Data Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Deleting Tracking Data From Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Moving Tracker Data Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Moving Tracker Data Points Outside the Frame Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Stretching a Range of Tracker Data Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Limiting the Effect of Position Tracking Data to a Single Axis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Playback of Effects Using Tracking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Understanding Stabilizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Stabilizing an Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Guidelines for Using Multiple Trackers When Stabilizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Using the Region Stabilize Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Stabilizing an Image with the Region Stabilize Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Making Adjustments to the Region Stabilize Region of Interest. . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Editing Segments That Use Tracking Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Segment Mode Editing with Segments That Use Tracking Data . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Trimming Segments That Use Tracking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Adding Transition Effects to Tracked Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Reusing Existing Tracking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

When to Reuse Tracking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Copying and Pasting Tracking Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Conforming Symphony Meridien Sequences with Tracking Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Examples of Effects Using Motion Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Example 1: Replacing the License Plate on a Moving Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Example 2: Special Effects Using Targets for Motion Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Chapter 4 Understanding Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

The Composer Window in Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Activating Monitors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Displaying Tracking Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Displaying Images in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Understanding Default Monitor Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Configuring Image Display in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Working with Reference Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Splitting the Image Display in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Hiding the Video in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Displaying 16:9 Video in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Using the Play Loop Button in Color Correction Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Reviewing Color-Corrected Clips with the Edit Review Button . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Controlling Frame Display in the Composer Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

The Color Correction Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Working with Correction Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Understanding Relationship Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Using the Source Clip Name Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Converting Relationship Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Working with the Group and Subdividing Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Displaying a Group Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Displaying a Subdividing Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Associating Group and Subdividing Tabs with Tab Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . 151

Understanding Interaction Between Color Correction Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Working with the Enable Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Turning Controls On or Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Resetting Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Understanding Interaction Between Enable Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Using the Color Correction Tool Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Customizing Color Correction Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

How Color Correction Handles Color Space and Bit Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Adding Comments to Color Correction Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Working with Color Correction Effect Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Understanding How Color Correction Effect Templates Save Settings. . . . . . 163

Using Automatic Effect Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Saving a Color Correction Effect Template to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Saving a Color Correction Effect Template to a Bucket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Clearing Color Correction Effect Templates from Buckets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Applying Color Correction Effect Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Color Correction Effect Templates and Relationship Type Selections . . . . . . 168

Working with Color Correction Effect Templates in the Effect Palette. . . . . . . 169

Displaying Color Correction Information in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Chapter 5 Performing Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

General Workflow for Making Color Corrections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Using Automatic Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Understanding Automatic Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Setting AutoCorrect Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Adjusting Contrast and Balance Automatically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Using the Remove Color Cast Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Considerations When Using Automatic Color Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Using the Color Match Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Making a Correction with the Color Match Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Selecting Match Type Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Understanding NaturalMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Color Match Example Using NaturalMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Saving Custom Colors to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Getting RGB Information Using the Color Match Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

The HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Working with the Controls Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Making Corrections Using the Controls Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Using the HSL Sliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Controls Tab Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Working with the Hue Offsets Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Understanding ChromaWheel Color Wheels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Making Corrections Using the Hue Offsets Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Examples of Hue Offsets Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Working with the Luma Ranges Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Understanding the Luma Ranges Graph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Adjusting Luminance Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Manipulating Luminance Range Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Examples of Three-Tone Previews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

The Channels Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Making Corrections Using the Channels Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Using the Channel Blending Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Considerations When Working with Color Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Examples of Channel Blending Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

The Levels Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Understanding Input and Output Levels Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Examples of Black Point Input and Output Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Examples of Gray Point Input and Output Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Making Corrections Using the Levels Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Working with the Levels Tab Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Understanding Histograms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Using the Histogram Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Using the Text Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Understanding ChromaCurve Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Using the ChromaCurve Graph in the Levels Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Working with the Composite and Luma Tabs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Examples of Levels Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

The Curves Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Making Corrections Using the Curves Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Adjusting Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Curves and the Color Match Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Examples of Curve Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

The Secondary Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Understanding Secondary Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Secondary Color Correction Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Understanding Secondary Color Correction Vectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Standard and Custom Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Vector Display in Color Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Customizing a Vector Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Understanding the Selected Vectors Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Selecting Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Enabling and Disabling Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Resetting Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Adjusting Input Vector Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Repositioning Vectors in the Color Wheel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Using the Input Vector Sliders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Locking Vectors While Adjusting an Input Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Examples of Softness Adjustments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Using the Color Selection Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Defining a Vector with the Syringe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Refining a Vector Definition with the Add to Selection and

Subtract from Selection Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Isolating the Selected Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Adjusting Output Vector Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Using the Color Match Control for Secondary Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Making a Secondary Correction with the

Color Match Control and the Syringe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Making a Secondary Color Correction with the

Color Match Control Only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Inverting a Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Examples of Inverted and Isolated Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Understanding How Multiple Vectors Interact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Working with the Waveform Monitors and the Vectorscope Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Using the Waveform and Vectorscope Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Using the Color Correction Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

When to Use the Color Correction Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Applying a Color Correction Effect from the Color Correction Tool . . . . . . . . . 276

Chapter 6 Managing Color-Corrected Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Updating Color-Corrected Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Merging Color-Corrected Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Using the Merge Correction Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Color Correction Merging Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Flattening Color-Corrected Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Removing Color Corrections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Chapter 7 Color Correction Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Guiding Principles for Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Goals of Color Correction: Restoration and Adaptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Restoring the Original Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Adapting the Original Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Stages of Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Correcting Tonal Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Neutralizing Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Achieving Shot-to-Shot Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Achieving a Final Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Examples of Color Correction Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Example 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Example 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Example 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Chapter 8 Spot Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Using the Spot Color Correction Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Making Corrections Using the Spot Color Correction Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Using Paint Effect Modes for Color Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Chapter 9 Safe Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Overview of Safe Color Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Understanding Safe Color Settings Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Understanding the Graphical View of Safe Color Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Understanding Safe Color Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Safe Color Warnings in the Color Match Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Making Adjustments to Achieve Safe Color Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Safe Color Limits with Waveform and Vectorscope Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Working with the Safe Color Limiter Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

Understanding the Safe Color Limiter Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Applying the Safe Color Limiter Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Adjusting the Safe Color Limiter Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Using the Safe Color Limiter Analysis Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Tables

Offline Formats for HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Graphics Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Default Folder and File Locations (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Default Folder and File Locations (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Options for Transferring Files Between Windows Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Options for Transferring Files Between Macintosh and Windows Systems . . . . . . . 53

Offline Formats for HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Choices for Modifying Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

HD Universal Mastering Frame Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Effects and Effect Parameters for Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Tracking Window Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Options for Enabling Tracking in the Effect Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Multiple Tracker Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Tracker Timeline Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Tracking Data Point Range Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Source Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Relationship Color Correction Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Correction Mode Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

AutoCorrect Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Automatic Color Correction Buttons in the Curves Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

HSL Group (Controls Tab) Match Type Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

HSL Group (Hue Offsets Tab) Match Type Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Channels Tab Match Type Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Levels Tab Match Type Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Curves Tab Match Type Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Secondary Tab Match Type Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Brightness Subdividing Tabs for the HSL Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Controls Tab Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

ChromaWheel Crosshair Pointers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Component Type Options in the Channels Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Secondary Color Correction Vector Display Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Input Vector Sliders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Waveform and Vectorscope Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Safe Color Settings Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Safe Color Limits in Waveform Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

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, conceptual information, and reference material you need to use the conform and finishing features of your Avid Symphony

system. These features include project transfer, HD support, tracking and

Nitris stabilization parameters, and Symphony Nitris color correction.

This guide is intended for all users who need information for the conform and finishing processes.

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.

™

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

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.

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

Using This Guide

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

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

Courier Bold font

Ctrl+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 Symphony Nitris:

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 application CD or DVD as a PDF document (README_AvidSymphony.pdf) and 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 or join online message-board discussions.

Related Information

The following documents provide more information about Symphony Nitris:

• Avid Symphony Basics 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 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 include 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

Nitris Online Library.

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

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 Symphony Nitris\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 Training 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).

Section 1

Conforming and Mastering

The following chapters contain information to help you conform and master your project:

• Conforming and Transferring Projects

• Working with HD Media

Chapter 1

Conforming and Transferring Projects

Avid offers a range of editing applications for editing film, video, and audio. Within the Avid family of editing and finishing products, you can work at the system most appropriate for your task. When you are ready for the next step in the process, you can easily move your work to another system. For example, you might start your project on a Media Composer offline system and then move it to a Symphony Nitris online system when you are ready for finishing. You can also send audio media to a Digidesign finished audio into the final sequence.

The following sections contain information about conforming and transferring projects.

• Compatibility Between Applications

• Conforming Workflow

• Conforming an HDV Sequence on Symphony Nitris

• Conforming Sequences with Color Correction

• Transferring Project and Media Files

Pro Tools® system and edit the

Compatibility Between Applications

Avid editing products are designed so you can easily move projects and media from one system to another and preserve your edits and effects. In a typical offline-to-online workflow, you create a program on one Avid editing system — choosing the footage, making edits, adding effects — and then transfer your program to another Avid system for final finishing. This re-creation of the offline project on an online system is called conforming, and Avid’s solution is called Total Conform. Finishing might involve recapturing in a final resolution, making color corrections, adjusting effects, and outputting the final master.

Alternatively, you can use the same media for offline and online editing. You can access the media in several ways, such as sharing media in an Avid Unity transferring removable drives from one system to another. The clips and sequences automatically link to the media, and you can complete the final finishing.

™

environment, or

Chapter 1 Conforming and Transferring Projects

Specific information for transferring projects to Avid DS is contained in the Avid DS Conform Guide, which is available from the Avid DS Support Center or the Avid Customer

Support Knowledge Base. To access the Knowledge Base, go to

www.avid.com/onlinesupport.

If you are moving from one Avid editing product to another in the current release, or from a product in a previous release to a product in the current release, you can move project files and media without losing any of your work.

However, when you move projects from a product in the current release to a product in the previous release, some effects that have been created with features that are new for a particular release do not appear, or appear as unknown effects.

All capturing into Symphony Nitris is done through the Avid Nitris, which does not contain a 1394 connection. DV 25 and DV 50 sources can be captured through a baseband 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 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.

Conforming Workflow

Pro or Avid Media Composer product can be used to

The following sections provide information to help you transfer projects from one Avid editing system to another and conform the sequence to create one or more finished masters. These steps are based on an offline-to-online workflow that uses Symphony Nitris as the online system.

• Preparing for the Online Session

• Step 1: Transfer Files

• Step 2: Open the Project

• Step 3: Measure the Video Signal

• Step 4: Recapture Media

• Step 5: Import and Lay in the Final Audio Mix

• Step 6: Batch Import Graphics

• Step 7: Re-create Title Media

• Step 8: Refine Effects and Perform Color Correction

Conforming Workflow

• Step 9: Render Effects as Needed

• Step 10: Create the Final Masters

For specific information about HD workflows, see “Working with HD Media” on page 57. For specific information about film-based workflows, see “Working in a Film Project” in the Help.

If you are transferring projects and media but not performing an online edit, refer to

“Transferring Project and Media Files” on page 46.

Preparing for the Online Session

If possible, work with the offline editor to plan the online edit. Planning the online edit makes the online session easier and more efficient.

Review the following information before you begin the online session.

Delivery Requirements for Final Masters

The requirements for your final masters determine factors such as the project type used during the offline edit. Ideally, the offline edit is done with the online edit in mind.

The most important delivery requirements are the formats and frame rates. A broadcast network might require a range of formats: NTSC, PAL, and HD, at 4:3 and 16:9. Avid’s Universal Mastering provides you with the ability to output multiple versions from the same source file—see “Step 10: Create the Final Masters” on page 42. Make sure that the offline edit is done at the same frame rate, or a compatible frame rate, as the online edit.

If you are delivering an HD project, and the offline will be done in SD, consider how the SD media will be downconverted. If the project requires complex effects, use an anamorphic downconvert, rather than center-cut or letterbox, to reduce the adjustments required in the final conform.

Chapter 1 Conforming and Transferring Projects

Offline Formats for HD

If your project requires final mastering in HD, use the corresponding SD project for offline editing, as listed in the following table.

Offline Formats for HD

HD Online SD Offline

720p/23.976 23.976p NTSC

720p/59.94 30i NTSC

1080p/23.976 23.976p NTSC or 24p NTSC

24p NTSC sequences require additional conversion. See “Converting a 24p

NTSC Sequence to 1080p/23.976” on page 70.

1080p/24 24p NTSC or 24p PAL

1080p/25 25p PAL

1080p/29.97 30i NTSC

1080i/50 25i PAL

1080i/59.94 30i NTSC

When you start the online session, you can create a new project in the final format, or use the original project and change the project format. See “Changing the Project Format” on

page 66.

File Transfer for the Online Session

Before you begin moving project files between Avid editing applications, consider the following.

• What files will you transfer? Determine if you need to transfer project information,

video media, audio media, or all three. See “Step 1: Transfer Files” on page 33.

• How will you transfer the files? Determine the most appropriate method for

transferring your project files. See “Devices and Methods for Transferring Files” on

page 51.

System Compatibility for the Online Session

Make sure that files transfer correctly between editing systems, and that both systems include the necessary applications. Consider the following:

• Frame rates: Make sure both editing systems support the same frame rates. For

example, some offline systems support 24p projects and some do not. You might require a 24p project to deliver multiple output formats.

• File naming: To make it easier to move files between products and across platforms,

use the following guidelines when naming files:

- Do not use the following characters in project, bin, or other file names: / \ : * ? ” < > | The Windows system does not recognize these characters in file names and

substitutes other characters, possibly making the file name unrecognizable.

Conforming Workflow

You can use these characters in bin names if you are sharing bins between Symphony Nitris, Media Composer, Avid Xpress, or NewsCutter

products. You cannot use these characters in

bins you share with Avid DS or Pro Tools.

- Do not add spaces at the beginning or end of a file name. The Windows system displays such files but might be unable to open them.

- Do not use a period at the end of a file name. The Windows system displays such files but might be unable to open them.

®®

- On Macintosh

systems, beginning with v7.2, you can enable a setting in the Avid application that prevents you from using restricted characters in file names. This setting automatically adds the correct file name extensions to files for your project. The Use Windows Compatible File Names setting in the General Settings dialog box is selected by default. With this setting selected, the file name extension .avp is added to project files and .avb is added to bin files when they are saved. These file name extensions are also attached to existing files.

• Title fonts: If the project includes titles and you are moving between Macintosh and

Windows systems, make sure you have the same font with exactly the same name (preferably from the same supplier) on both the Macintosh and Windows systems. Check the font carefully because the same font can have slightly different names. For example, Times New Roman on the Macintosh system is named Times New Roman Regular on the Windows system.

If you open a title on the online system that does not have a matching font, a dialog box opens that allows you to substitute the font in the title with a font that exists on your system.

For best results, use OpenType

fonts, which reduce problems when transferring

projects from one platform to another.

Chapter 1 Conforming and Transferring Projects

• AV X™ plug-ins: If your project contains AVX plug-in effects and you are moving

across platforms, make sure the same plug-ins are available on both the Macintosh and Windows systems. If the same AVX plug-in effect is not available, you can mix down or render the effect to a high-quality resolution and then transfer it using an OMFI or an AAF file. However, you cannot change the parameters of the effect.

Preparing Graphics for the Online Session

The most critical step when preparing graphics for online is to make sure that the elements you are going to import are created correctly. The following table summarizes various requirements.

Graphics Requirements

Aspect Requirement Notes

Frame size (4:3)

Frame size (16:9)

Alpha channel White foreground

Color mode RGB

File format Various The Avid application accepts many file formats for input.

Square pixels: 648 x 486 (NTSC) 640 x480 (NTSC DV) 768 x 576 (PAL)

Square pixels: 864 x 486 (NTSC anamorphic) 1024 x 576 (PAL anamorphic) 1280 x 720 (HD) 1920 x 1080 (HD)

(transparent), black background (opaque)

ITU-R 601 ITU-R 709

These are the preferred sizes for NTSC and PAL. 720 x 540 can also be used, in some situations, for both NTSC and PAL. These are stored by the application as non-square pixels. For more information, see “Preparing Graphics Files for Import” in the Help.

Preferred sizes. SD media is stored by the application as non-square pixels.

This is the standard used by graphics, animation, and compositing packages. The graphics need to have the alpha channel inverted on import.

Other formats, including CMYK, can cause import errors. ITU-R 601 is used for SD and ITU-R 709 is used for HD. In HD projects, the Avid application automatically converts the media.

TIFF (.tif) and PICT (.pct) are commonly used formats. See “Import Specifications for Supported Graphics File Formats” in the Help.

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Pinnacle Systems Symphony Nitris - 1.7 User Manual

Contents

Using This Guide

Symbols and Conventions

If You Need Help

Related Information

Accessing the Online Library

How to Order Documentation

Avid Training Services

Conforming and Mastering

Conforming and Transferring Projects

Compatibility Between Applications

Conforming Workflow

Preparing for the Online Session

Delivery Requirements for Final Masters

Offline Formats for HD

File Transfer for the Online Session

System Compatibility for the Online Session

Preparing Graphics for the Online Session