Pinnacle Systems Xpress - 5.0 Quick Start Guide

Avid Xpress

Getting Started Guide

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; 5,063,448; 5,077,604; 5,245,432; 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,325,200; 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; 5,583,496; 5,584,006; 5,627,765; 5,634,020; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,701,404; 5,715,018; 5,719,570; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,731,819; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,180; 5,754,851; 5,781,188; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,828,678; 5,842,014; 5,852,435; 5,883,670; 5,889,532; 5,892,507; 5,905,841; 5,912,675; 5,929,836; 5,929,942; 5,930,445; 5,930,797; 5,946,445; 5,966,134; 5,977,982; 5,986,584; 5,987,501; 5,995,079; 5,995,115; 5,999,190; 5,999,406; 6,009,507; 6,011,562; 6,014,150; 6,016,152; 6,016,380; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,023,703; 6,031,529; 6,035,367; 6,038,573; 6,052,508; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,072,796; 6,084,569; 6,091,422; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,128,681; 6,130,676; 6,134,379; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,007; 6,141,691; 6,154,221; 6,157,929; 6,160,548; 6,161,115; 6,167,404; 6,174,206; 6,192,388; 6,198,477; 6,208,357; 6,211,869; 6,212,197; 6,215,485; 6,223,211; 6,226,005; 6,226,038; 6,229,576; 6,239,815; 6,249,280; 6,269,195; 6,271,829; 6,301,105; 6,310,621; 6,314,403; 6,317,142; 6,317,153; 6,317,515; D352,278; D372,478; D373,778; D392,267; D392,268; D392,269; D395,291; D396,853; D398,912. Additional U.S. and foreign patents pending. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc.

APPLE COMPUTER, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ITS MERCHANTABILITY OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMITTED BY SOME STATES. THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY PROVIDES YOU WITH SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. THERE MAY BE OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

The following disclaimer is required by Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics, Inc. for the use of their TIFF library:

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

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

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

The following disclaimer is required by the Independent JPEG Group:

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

The following disclaimer is required by Paradigm Matrix:

Portions of this software licensed from Paradigm Matrix.

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

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

The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:

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

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

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

The following notice is required by Ultimatte Corporation:

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

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

AirPlay, AudioVision, Avid, Avid Xpress, CamCutter, Digidesign, FieldPak, Film Composer, HIIP, Image Independence, Marquee, Media Composer, Media Recorder, NewsCutter, OMF, OMF Interchange, Open Media Framework, Pro Tools, and Softimage are registered trademarks and 888 I/O, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AutoSync, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, AvidNet, Avid Production Network, AvidProNet, AvidProNet.com, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, AVX, DAE, D-Fi, D-fx, Digidesign Audio Engine, DINR, D-Verb, ExpertRender, FilmScribe, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, MEDIArray, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, MediaShare, Meridien, NaturalMatch, NetReview, OMM, Open Media Management, ProEncode, QuietDrive, R&A, Recti-Fi, Review & Approval, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, Symphony, Trilligent, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video Slave Driver, and VideoSPACE are trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.

iNEWS and Media Browse are trademarks of iNews, LLC.

Adobe, Acrobat, Photoshop, and Reader are registered 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. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. QuickTime and the QuickTime logo are trademarks used under license from Apple Computer, Inc. The QuickTime logo is registered in the U.S. and other countries. RealMedia is a trademark of Progressive Networks, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Footage

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

Avid Xpress Getting Started Guide • Part 0130-05034-01 Rev. A • April 2002

Using This Guide

Who Should Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Related Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

If You Have Documentation Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

How to Order Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter 1 Introduction

Using the Tutorial Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

What You Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Turning on Your Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Installing the Tutorial Files (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Starting the Avid System (Windows). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Starting the Avid System (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Electronic Licensing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

How to Proceed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Using Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Setting Up Your Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Getting Help for Windows and Dialog Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Getting Help for Screen Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Keeping Help Available (Windows Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Restoring Help from the Taskbar (Windows Only) . . . . . . . . 37

Resizing the Application (Windows Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Using Alt+Tab (Windows Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Finding Information Within the Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Using the Contents List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Using the Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Using the Search Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Using the Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Printing Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Using Online Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Chapter 2 About Avid Xpress

Video Editing with Avid Xpress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Avid Xpress Essentials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Your Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Bins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Your Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

The Attic Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

The Avid Xpress File System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Chapter 3 Starting a Project

About Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Using the Bins Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Using the Settings Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

About the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

About Trash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Tutorial: Starting a Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Starting the Application (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Starting the Application (Macintosh). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Opening a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Creating a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Selecting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Chapter 4 Digitizing

Selecting Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

About the Digitize Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

About the Audio Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

About the Video Input Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Digitizing Preparations Check List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

About Digitizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Digitizing and Logging at the Same Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Batch Digitizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Redigitizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Chapter 5 Getting Ready to Edit

About Bin Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Controlling Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Using Position Bars and Position Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Using Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Play Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Step Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Using the Tool Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Using the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

J-K-L Keys (Three-Button Play). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Home, End, and Arrow Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Using the Mouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Stepping with the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Shuttling with the Mouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Marking IN and OUT Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Creating Subclips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Tutorial: Getting Ready to Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Viewing Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Using Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Using Frame View (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Using Frame View (Macintosh). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Playing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Playing Clips in a Source Pop-up Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Controlling Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Marking Edit Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Marking the planing ms Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Marking the ducks Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Marking the draw knife cu Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Using Timecode to Find a Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Using Frame Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Subclipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Clearing IN Points and OUT Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Closing the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Ending the Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Chapter 6 Editing a Rough Cut

Viewing Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Navigating in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Using the Position Indicator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Using the Scroll Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Displaying More or Less Detail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Using the Track Selector Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Selecting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

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

Monitoring Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Tutorial: Rough Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Making the First Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Using Digital Audio Scrub to Locate

a Specific Frame of Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Splicing an Audio Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Playing a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Confirming the Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Splicing Video into the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Splicing a Clip in a Pop-up Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Playing IN to OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Using the Go to OUT Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Moving to the Head and Tail of a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Using the Splice-in Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Splicing a Clip into the Middle of a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Undoing an Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Using the I/O (IN Point / OUT Point) Tracking Display . . . . . 117

Chapter 7 Refining the Edit

Using Segment Mode to Edit in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Editing in Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Distinguishing Between Two Types of Editing Buttons. . . . . . . 121

Basic Trim Procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Entering Trim Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Exiting Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Selecting Between Trim Sides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Performing a Basic Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Using the Command Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Audio Editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Adjusting Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Tutorial: Refining Edits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Overwriting Clips into a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Storyboarding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Marking Clips for Storyboarding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Storyboard Editing the Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Rearranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Overwriting with the Three-Point Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Changing the Order of Clips in a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Removing Footage from a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Removing Footage and Closing the Resulting Gap. . . . . . . . . . . 138

Removing Footage and Retaining the Resulting Gap. . . . . . . . . 138

Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Adjusting Both Sides of a Transition (Dual-Roller Trimming) . 139

Using Dual Rollers to Trim the Outgoing Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Trimming the pan lumber Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Single-Roller Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Adding Synced Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Working with Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Adjusting Audio Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Adjusting Audio Pan (Balance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Chapter 8 Adding Effects

Effects Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Displaying the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Effect Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Effect Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Segment Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Applying Effects to a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Working in Effect Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Rendering an Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Tutorial: Adding Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Adding Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Adding a Dissolve Effect (Fade-In). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Dissolving Between Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Creating a Series of Dissolves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Creating Audio Dissolves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Adding a Fade-to-Black Effect Within the Sequence . . . . . . . . . 158

Adding a Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Using the Second Video Track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Creating the Picture-in-Picture Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Repositioning the Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Adjusting a Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Adding Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Adding Background Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Rendering the Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Screening the Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Chapter 9 Creating Titles

Creating New Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Understanding the Title Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Working with Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Text Formatting Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Selecting Colors and Setting Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Adjusting the Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Editing a Title into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Tutorial: Creating Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Adding a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Creating a New Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Repositioning Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Changing Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Adding a Shadow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Saving a Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Editing the Title into the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Adding Rolling Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Editing an Existing Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Adding a Video Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Viewing the Creation Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Splicing the Title into a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Deleting Excess Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Closing the Title Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Chapter 10 Generating Output

Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Preparing for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Digital Cut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

About Exporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Preparing to Export a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Tutorial: Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Recording a Digital Cut to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Chapter 11 Backing Up

About Media Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Media Objects and Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Media Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Basic Media Tool Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Freeing Storage Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Consolidating Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

About the Consolidate Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Backing Up Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Backing Up Project Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Tutorial: Backing Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Consolidating the Boat Shop Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Saving Your Work on a Drive or Floppy Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Restoring from a Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Quitting and Shutting Down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Glossary

Index

Figures

Figure 7-1 Command Palette Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Figure 7-1 Command Palette Tabs (Continued) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Tables

Table 7-1 Mark Points for Tutorial Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Table 11-1 Media Objects and Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198

Using This Guide

This guide provides information about how to get started using your Avid Xpress most chapters also contain hands-on tutorials so you can practice what you learn.

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.

system. It presents the essential features of the system;

Who Should Use This Guide

This guide is written for video editors who are learning to use an Avid Xpress system and are learning about digital editing.

About This Guide

The Contents that precedes this Using This Guide section lists all topics included in the guide. They are presented with the following overall structure:

• Chapter 1 explains how to turn on your system, install the tutorial media, and use Help and online documentation.

• Chapter 2 presents basic editing concepts and walks you through a typical workflow scenario.

• The main body of the guide presents introductory material on various aspects of your workflow, followed in most chapters by a tutorial section. Work through the tutorial for guided hands-on experience with your Avid Xpress system.

• A detailed Index helps you quickly locate specific topics.

This guide should get you started with your Avid Xpress system. For more information on using Avid Xpress, choose Avid Xpress Help from the Help menu or see the Avid Xpress User’s Guide.

Symbols and Conventions

Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the Windows 2000 and Macintosh operating systems. When the text applies to a specific operating system, it is marked as follows:

• (Windows) or (Windows only) means the information applies to the Windows 2000 operating system.

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

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

Using This Guide

The Avid Xpress documentation uses the following special symbols and conventions:

1. Numbered lists, when the order of the items is important.

a. Alphabetical lists, when the order of secondary items is

important.

• Bulleted lists, when the order of the items is unimportant.

- Indented dashed lists, when the order of secondary items is unimportant.

t One arrow indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a

list indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.

The k symbol refers to the Apple or Command key. Press and hold the Command key and another key to perform the keyboard equivalent.

In this document, Avid drive refers to the Macintosh system’s internal hard drive. Apple Computer, Inc. names the internal hard drive Macintosh HD. Depending on your system’s setup, the internal hard drive might have a different name.

Look here in the margin for tips.

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

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

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 guide or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.

Symbols and Conventions

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using you Avid system, you should:

1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide.

2. Check the documentation that came with your hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues.

3. Check the release notes supplied with your Avid application for information on accessing the Avid Web site and the Avid Knowledge Center.

4. For support services, call Avid Customer Support:

- Broadcast products — call 800-NEWS-DNG (639-7364).

- Postproduction products — call 800-800-AVID (2843).

Related Information

The following documents provide more information about the Avid Xpress product:

• Avid Xpress Release Notes for the Windows 2000 Operating System or

Avid Xpress Release Notes for the Macintosh Operating System

These release notes include important information you should read before installing and using Avid Xpress.

• Avid Symphony and Composer Products Site Preparation Guide for the

Windows 2000 Professional Operating System or Avid Composer Products Site Preparation Guide for the Macintosh Operating System

These guides provide electrical, environmental, size, and weight information for users who are responsible for preparing a site for installation of an Avid Xpress system.

Using This Guide

• Avid Symphony and Composer Products Setup Guide for the Windows

2000 Professional Operating System or Avid Composer Products Setup Guide for the Macintosh Operating System

These guides are designed for anyone who is installing an Avid Xpress system, moving a system, or solving problems that can arise with the system hardware.

• Avid Xpress Getting Started Guide (this book)

This guide provides a step-by-step tutorial covering the basic features of Avid Xpress.

• Avid Xpress Quick Reference for the Windows 2000 Operating System

or Avid Xpress Quick Reference for the Macintosh Operating System

These folded cards list convenient keyboard shortcuts for using Avid Xpress.

• Avid Xpress User’s Guide

This guide provides complete information on all editing tasks, such as recording footage, viewing and marking footage, editing, trimming, importing, exporting, and generating final output.

• Avid Xpress Effects Guide

This guide describes techniques for using digital video effects, titles, third-party plug-in effects, mattes, keys, and layering options.

• Avid Products Collaboration Guide

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for transferring project files, audio files, and graphics and effects files between various Avid products.

The most recent update of the Avid Products Collaboration Guide is provided online. Check the release notes supplied with your Avid application for information on accessing online documentation.

• Avid Xpress Online Publications CD-ROM

This online collection provides electronic versions of most documents listed in this section, as well as documents for related

Related Information

Avid applications. You can view these documents with Adobe Acrobat® Reader®, which you can install from the CD-ROM.

• Avid Xpress Help

The Help system provides all the information included in the Avid Xpress User’s Guide and the Avid Xpress Effects Guide supplied with your system. The Help operates in a Web browser. To open the Help, choose Avid Xpress Help from the Help menu in the Avid Xpress application. For information on using Help, click the Using Help button in the Help system.

If You Have Documentation Comments

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

Simply e-mail your documentation comments to Avid Technology at

TechPubs@avid.com

Please include the title of the document, its part number, revision, and the specific section you are commenting on in all correspondence.

How to Order Documentation

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

Using This Guide

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

This chapter sets you up to use this guide and explains how to work through the tutorial sections that teach you the basics of your Avid system.

This chapter contains the following sections:

• Using the Tutorial Sections

• What You Need

• Turning on Your Equipment

• Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows)

• Installing the Tutorial Files (Macintosh)

• Starting the Avid System (Windows)

• Starting the Avid System (Macintosh)

• Electronic Licensing

• How to Proceed

• Using Help

• Using Online Documentation

Using the Tutorial Sections

The self-paced tutorial sections included in this guide are designed as guided Avid editing sessions, using the basic features of the system. In the tutorial sections, you’re going to edit a 1-minute sequence about a company in Amesbury, Massachusetts that makes small fishing boats called dories.

The footage for the sequence is on the Avid Xpress Tutorial CD-ROMs that came with your system. The CD-ROMs contain digitized media that is ready for you to use.

The instructions in the tutorial take you through each step of the editing process. The steps are:

• Starting a project (in Chapter 3)

• Getting ready to edit (in Chapter 5)

• Editing a rough cut (in Chapter 6)

Introduction

• Refining the edit (in Chapter 7)

• Adding effects and titles to the sequence (in Chapter 8 and Chapter 9)

• Preparing output (in Chapter 10)

• Backing up (in Chapter 11)

To complete this tutorial, you need a basic familiarity with the Windows

operating system or Macintosh® computer. If you have never used a Windows or Macintosh system, refer to the Windows or the Apple

Macintosh manuals.

You don’t need any previous experience with the Avid system. The terms and techniques needed for each tutorial section are in each chapter. However, it will help to read Chapter 2 of this guide before starting any of the tutorial sections. You can also use the Avid Xpress Help (see “Using Help” on page 15) and online books (see “Using

Online Documentation” on page 22) for more information.

This tutorial takes approximately 4 hours. Before you begin, you need:

• An installed Avid system

• The Boat Shop media and project files on the Avid Xpress Tutorial

What You Need

The Tutorial CD-ROMs packaged with your Avid system include all files necessary to complete this tutorial. They are:

• OMFI MediaFiles folder — contains the digitized files you need

If you have not yet set up your system, see the appropriate setup guide. If you need to install the Avid Xpress software, see the appropriate release notes.

CD-ROM

for the tutorial. You need to copy these files to your external media drive.

• Avid Projects folder — contains the project and bins you need for the tutorial. You need to copy these files into \Program Files\Avid\Avid Xpress on your internal hard drive (Windows) or to your Avid drive (Macintosh).

What You Need

Turning on Your Equipment

Begin your edit session by turning on the components of your Avid system. If any part of your system fails to turn on, make sure its electrical cord is plugged snugly into an appropriate electrical outlet or power strip. For more information on setting up your system, see the appropriate setup guide.

For information on your Windows features, su ch as the desktop and icons, see your Windows documentation.

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

Always turn on the devices in the following order:

1. Fixed-storage drives: Turn on fixed-storage drives before starting the computer. Allow 10 to 15 seconds for the drives to spin up to speed before starting your PC or Macintosh.

2. Other peripheral hardware: Turn on all other peripheral units except the PC or Macintosh. These include:

- Monitors and speakers

-Meridien

- Tape decks and additional autoassembly configurations

(switcher, time-base corrector, and so on) if you plan to digitize or conduct an autoassembly

- Black burst generator (to maintain proper sync between audio

and video while digitizing and editing)

3. The PC or Macintosh

Windows:

a. Turn on your PC.

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

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

™

I/O box

Introduction

The Windows desktop appears.

Macintosh:

Press the Power On key located at the upper right corner of the keyboard.

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

When you start the Macintosh:

• You hear a tone that means the hardware is operational.

• The computer goes through a self-check routine. If the Macintosh passes all of its internal logic tests, the smiling Macintosh icon appears.

• The Avid startup screen appears and the initialization process begins.

• The Macintosh desktop appears.

Turning on Your Equipment

Avid drive (internal)

Media

drives

(external)

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

Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows)

The Tutorial CD-ROMs contain all the files you need for the tutorial sections of this guide. The CD-ROMs contain an NTSC version and a PAL version of the tutorial media files digitized at a 20:1 resolution. The tutorial files require three CD-ROMs for NTSC and three for PAL. The installation procedure is the same for installing either type.

The first CD-ROM has its own installation program and also installs the project folder. The second and third CD-ROMs install the media files. You will need approximately 1 GB of free space available on your external media drive.

It takes approximately 30 minutes to install the media files from the CD-ROMs to the external media drive.

Introduction

To install the Avid Video Editing tutorial on a Windows system:

1. Insert the Avid Xpress (NTSC or PAL) Tutorial Disc 1 of 3 into the CD-ROM drive. The Avid Video Editing Tutorial screen appears.

2. Click Install Avid Video Editing Tutorial.

The Welcome to Avid Video Editing Tutorial (NTSC or PAL) Setup dialog box appears.

Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows)

3. Click Next.

The Choose Destination Location dialog box appears. This allows you to place the Boat Shop project files in the Avid Projects folder. If an Avid Projects folder is not already created, the installation will create one for you.

Introduction

4. Select the destination location for the project files, and then click Next.

The Select a Drive dialog box appears. This allows you to select the drive where you want to store the media files. The media files take up approximately 1 GB. Select a drive with adequate space.

5. Click the appropriate drive, and then click Next.

t If an OMFI MediaFiles folder already exists on the drive, the

media files are copied into that folder.

t If there is no OMFI MediaFiles folder on the drive, a message

appears asking if you want to create an OMFI MediaFiles folder on the drive. Click Yes. The folder is created and the media files are copied to the external drive.

The Setup Needs Another Disk dialog box appears. The system prompts you to insert Tutorial CD 2.

6. Eject the Avid Video Editing Tutorial (NTSC or PAL) Disc 1 of 3 from the CD-ROM drive.

7. Insert the Avid Video Editing Tutorial (NTSC or PAL) Disc 2 of 3 into the CD-ROM drive.

8. Click OK.

The system installs the tutorial media files.

When the media files on Disc 2 are copied to the drive, the system prompts you to insert Tutorial CD 3.

9. Eject the Avid Video Editing Tutorial (NTSC or PAL) Disc 2 of 3 from the CD-ROM drive.

10. Insert the Avid Video Editing Tutorial (NTSC or PAL) Disc 3 of 3 into the CD-ROM drive.

11. Click OK.

A final dialog box appears informing you the installation is complete.

12. Click Finish, and then click Exit to close the Avid Video Editing Tutorial screen.

13. The installation is complete.

Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows)

Installing the Tutorial Files (Macintosh)

The Tutorial CD-ROMs contain all the files you need for the tutorial sections of this guide. The CD-ROMs contain an NTSC version and a PAL version of the tutorial media files digitized at a 20:1 resolution. The tutorial files require two CD-ROMs for NTSC and two for PAL. The installation procedure is the same for installing either type.

You will need approximately 1 GB of free space available on your external media drive.

It takes approximately 30 minutes to install the media files from the CD-ROMs to the external media drive.

To install the Video Editing tutorial on a Macintosh system:

1. Insert the Avid Xpress (NTSC or PAL) Tutorial Disk 1 of 2 into the CD-ROM drive.

2. Double-click the Video Editing NTSC or PAL Disk 1 icon on your desktop.

Introduction

A window opens displaying the contents of Disk 1.

Video Editing Install icon

3. Double-click the Video Editing NTSC or PAL Install icon.

+ 246 hidden pages