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.

The Video Editing NTSC or PAL Install dialog box appears.

Click Install.

4. To install the tutorial project in the Avid Projects folder on your Macintosh HD (the recommended location), click Install.

The Choose a Folder dialog box appears.

Installing the Tutorial Files (Macintosh)

This allows you to locate or create the OMFI MediaFiles folder on an external drive. The drive must have approximately 1 GB of free space.

It takes approximately 20 minutes to copy the Disk 1 media files to the external drive.

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

locate the folder, select it, and proceed to step 7.

t If there is no OMFI MediaFiles folder on the drive, you will

need to create a folder.

5. Locate the drive where you want to store the media files from the Choose a Folder dialog box.

6. Click New.

The New Folder dialog box appears.

7. Type OMFI MediaFiles in the text box, and click Create.

8. With the OMFI MediaFiles folder selected, click Choose from the Choose a Folder dialog box.

The system installs the media files from Disk 1.

Introduction

When all the media files on Disk 1 are copied to the drive, the system prompts you to insert Disk 2.

9. Remove Disk 1 from the CD-ROM drive and insert Disk 2. The installation of the media files resumes.

When all the media files on Disk 2 are copied to the drive, a message appears informing you the installation was successful.

10. Click Quit. The installation is complete.

Starting the Avid System (Windows)

To start Avid Xpress on a Windows system:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Point to Programs.

3. Point to the Xpress folder.

4. Click Xpress.

To start the application from the desktop, Avid recommends that you create a shortcut and place it there. For more information on making a shortcut, see your Windows documentation.

The application will not start properly if the icon is moved from the Xpress folder. To start the application from a convenient location, Avid recommends that you create an alias and place it in a convenient location.

Starting the Avid System (Macintosh)

For more information on making an alias and using the Apple menu, see your Macintosh documentation.

To start Avid Xpress on a Macintosh system:

1. Open the Avid drive by double-clicking the Avid drive icon.

2. Open the Xpress folder.

3. Double-click the application icon or alias. The Avid splash screen appears.

The Avid Xpress application icon is located in the Xpress folder on the Avid drive. For most users, the desktop or the Apple menu is a more convenient location for starting the application.

Starting the Avid System (Windows)

Electronic Licensing

To accept your Avid Xpress product license electronically:

1. Read the License Agreement, then click the Accept button or the Decline button at the bottom of the screen.

The agreement appears the first several times you start Avid Xpress. After several starts, a new button appears at the bottom of the screen.

2. If you do not want to see the license agreement again, click the Accept and Don’t Show Again button.

A dialog box appears.

3. Enter the name of your organization in the dialog box, and click OK.

After Avid Xpress starts, the Select User and Project dialog box appears, as described in “Opening a Project” on page 60.

How to Proceed

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

• Complete the tutorial sections in this guide before starting a

• Begin learning about basic procedures by using the default

• Instead of using the standard menus to find the command you

Introduction

project.

settings. As your confidence increases, begin to explore additional procedures and settings.

need in a window, try using shortcut menus. Right-clicking (Windows) or pressing Ctrl+Shift and clicking (Macintosh) in a window brings up a shortcut menu that shows the most frequently used commands for that window.

Using Help

• Keep the appropriate quick reference card available during editing

sessions to speed the use of shortcuts and keyboard commands.

• Make a habit of reading Avid’s newsletters, mailings, and other

trade publications.

• Make use of additional training resources provided by Avid

whenever possible, such as classes and instructional videotapes. For more information, contact Avid at 800-867-2843.

• Check the following Avid Web site for listings of courses,

schedules, and locations:

www.avid.com/education

You can get help and background information for tasks, windows, dialog boxes, and screen objects through your Avid Help system. Your Help system is HTML-based and operates in a Web browser. You need Version 4.5 or higher of Microsoft system, Avid recommends Internet Explorer Version 5 or higher.

Internet Explorer. On a Macintosh

Setting Up Your Browser

You must have cookies enabled in your browser to use several capabilities of your Avid Help system. Avid does not retain personal information about you or your system other than your frequently visited Help topics.

To enable cookies:

1. Choose Internet Options from the Internet Explorer Tools menu.

2. Click the Security tab.

3. Click the Custom Level button.

Using Help

4. Scroll down to the Cookies section.

5. Make sure the Enable button is selected.

6. Click OK, and then click OK again.

Getting Help for Windows and Dialog Boxes

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

To get Help for windows and dialog boxes:

1. Make sure the Avid application is active.

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

3. Press the F1 key (Windows) or the Help key (Macintosh) on the keyboard.

If there is no information about a window or dialog box, a Navigation Canceled message appears in the browser. Open the Help and use the Search or Index functions to look for information on that window or dialog box.

Getting Help for Screen Objects

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

To get help for screen objects:

1. Do one of the following:

t (Windows) Using the right mouse button, click the screen

object (for example, a button).

t (Macintosh) Ctrl+Shift+click the screen object (for example, a

button).

Introduction

A pop-up menu appears.

2. Choose What’s This? from the pop-up menu.

A browser window opens that explains how you use the item. Many windows include a link (marked by underlined text) to more information.

(Windows only) For some dialog boxes, such as Import and Print, use the Question Mark button to access What’s This? Help.

Keeping Help Available (Windows Only)

When you access a Help topic and then return to the Avid application, the Help browser disappears behind the Avid system.

To keep Help available, you can use one of the methods in the following topics:

• Restoring Help from the Taskbar (Windows Only)

• Resizing the Application (Windows Only)

• Using Alt+Tab (Windows Only)

• Printing Help Topics

Restoring Help from the Taskbar (Windows Only)

You can restore the Help from the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. All your active applications are represented by buttons on the taskbar.

To restore Help, click the browser button on the taskbar, and the Help reappears.

If you can’t see the taskbar, you might have set a property that hides it.

Using Help

To keep the taskbar on top:

1. Right-click in an area of the taskbar where there are no buttons.

2. Choose Properties from the pop-up menu.

The Taskbar Properties dialog box appears.

3. Select Always on top.

4. Deselect Auto hide.

5. Click OK.

The taskbar remains visible at all times.

If you want the taskbar to appear only when you pass the pointer over the bottom of the screen, select Auto hide along with Always on top.

Resizing the Application (Windows Only)

To resize the application and leave Help available:

1. With Help active, drag the purple Help title bar to the top of the screen.

2. Click in the Avid application.

The Help browser disappears behind the Avid system.

3. Click the Restore button in the top right corner of the application.

The application shrinks slightly and reveals the Help browser behind it.

This allows you to click back and forth between the application and the Help browser without significantly reducing the size of the Avid application.

Introduction

Using Alt+Tab (Windows Only)

To use Alt +Tab:

1. Press and hold the Alt key.

2. Press and release the Tab key.

A window opens containing icons and names for all the applications currently started on your system. A box surrounds the active application.

3. Continue to hold the Alt key and press and release the Tab key until the box surrounds the Help browser icon, and then release both keys.

Finding Information Within the Help

You see the Help browser when you open Help from the Help menu. The left frame of the Help browser includes a Contents list and buttons for several other methods of finding information.

Using the Contents List

The Contents button provides a list of topics covering the entire Help system.

To view the Contents list by using the Contents button, do one of the following:

t From the Help menu, choose Avid Xpress Help, and then click the

t From a Help topic, click the Contents button.

To display a topic, double-click the topic title in the Contents list.

The Contents displays only the top-level topics. Many entries link to subtopics with related information or procedures.

Contents button.

Using Help

Using the Index

The Index button provides an alphabetized list of entries, like the index of a printed book.

To find topics by using the Index button:

1. From the Help menu, choose Avid Xpress Help, and then click the Index button (or click the Index button from a Help topic).

2. From the alphabet at the top, select the letter that begins the topic you want to find (for example, click A to jump to index entries listed under audio).

3. Scroll through the topics beginning with that letter until you find the topic you want.

4. Click the number to the right of the index entry. The number indicates how many topics that index entry has associated with it.

The topic opens in the right frame of the browser.

Using the Search Feature

The Search button lets you search the entire Help system for words or phrases, and then lists topics that include those words or phrases.

To search for topics by using the Search button:

1. From the Help menu, choose Avid Xpress Help, and then click the Search button (or click the Search button from a Help topic).

2. In the text box, type the word or phrase that you want to find. You can type up to three words, not including invalid words like “the” or misspellings.

3. Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh) or click the Search button.

A list shows topics that contain the word or words for which you searched.

Introduction

Do not type quotation marks or asterisks in the text box.

4. Click a topic in the list.

The topic opens in the right frame of the browser.

Using the Glossary

The Glossary defines and explains many terms common to the industry. Some entries might not apply to your particular system.

To use the Glossary:

1. Click the Glossary button.

2. Click the letter that begins the term or concept for which you are searching.

3. Scroll through the section to find your term.

4. Click links to see related information.

Printing Help Topics

You can print a Help topic if you need to refer to it during a complicated procedure or for reference later.

To print a Help topic:

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

2. Choose Print from the browser File menu, or click the Print button in the browser toolbar.

3. Select the print options.

4. Click OK (Windows) or Print (Macintosh).

(Windows only) You can print a topic by clicking the right mouse button and choosing Print from the pop-up menu.

Using Help

Using Online Documentation

The Avid Xpress Online Publications CD-ROM includes:

• Avid Xpress User’s Guide

• Avid Xpress Effects Guide

• Avid Xpress Getting Started Guide (this book)

• Avid Xpress Help system

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

The online version of the books enables you to:

• Navigate through books by using bookmarks and hyperlinks.

• Speed up information retrieval by performing keyword searches.

• Annotate the books with your own notes.

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

• Print any or all pages.

• View the books with full-color graphics.

• View movies that illustrate Avid Xpress effects.

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

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

Introduction

CHAPTER 2

About Avid Xpress

Welcome to the world of nonlinear digital video editing, in which you can create professional-quality video programs from your desktop. The Avid system allows you to change any part of your video program at any time, until you create your final program on tape. With Avid Xpress, you can be as flexible and as creative as possible when editing your video programs.

This chapter explains the basic concepts and terminology that you need to be familiar with to edit video with Avid Xpress.

This chapter contains the following sections:

• Video Editing with Avid Xpress

• Avid Xpress Essentials

• The Avid Xpress File System

Video Editing with Avid Xpress

In traditional video editing, you electronically copy video from a source tape to an edit master tape. The process is tedious, and it is difficult to make changes to your work.

By contrast, when you edit with Avid Xpress, you don’t have to dub footage onto a master videotape. Instead, you manipulate Avid Xpress “clips” that reference your digitized audio and video material. This allows you to experiment with every edit you make through multiple generations. You can trim, move, delete, duplicate, or modify individual frames or entire segments, and immediately see the results.

When you play back your work, the system accesses and plays the appropriate portions of the digitized video and audio.

The following is a summary of the Avid Xpress editing process:

1. Collect source material for your project.

About Avid Xpress

Collect your source video and audio. You can start with any video format — Beta SP, 3/4 inch, 8mm, Hi-8, VHS, S-VHS, or any other. You can also incorporate still images or other computer-generated files, including computer graphics, still-image files, animations, sound effects, or AVI movies.

2. Digitize your source material.

Play your source videotapes on a video deck, and digitize them right onto your hard disk. Import computer-generated files into your project — graphics, still images, animations, sound effects, synthesized music, AVI movies, and special effects.

3. Create a rough cut of your video.

Play your digitized source material in Avid Xpress. Organize your sources, and lay out a storyboard, using representative clip frames. Mark sections of your digitized sources, and edit them together. Reorder your material, cut and paste sections, and trim the transitions between clips. Immediately view each change you make. Save the changes that you like; easily undo the changes that you don’t like.

4. Refine your edits.

Use Avid Xpress to enhance your program with special effects, such as dissolves, wipes, filters, and video overlays. Add graphics and animations, CD-quality sound, and a voice-over. Incorporate titles and credits.

5. Record your finished program.

Record your final program from Avid Xpress onto videotape. Save a copy of your program in AVI format for CD-ROM or network distribution. Modify and record a new version of your program at any time.

Video Editing with Avid Xpress

Avid Xpress Essentials

This section explains the terms and concepts that you will need to know in order to understand the Avid Xpress editing process.

Media Files

Material is stored in media files.

When you digitize source material from a video or audio deck, or when you import computer graphic files into your Avid Xpress project, the material is saved in media files on your system’s external media drive. One media file is created for each track of video or audio. Three media files — for one track of video and two tracks of audio — are created for a video with a stereo sound track.

OMFI

Video deck

Media drive

Master cli

MediaFiles

About Avid Xpress

Clips

Clips point to media files.

Subclips

Subclips are sections that you mark within clips.

You do not manipulate media files directly. Avid Xpress creates another file, called a master clip, on your system’s internal drive when you digitize media. The master clip is simply a pointer to its corresponding media file.

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

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

Subclips are specific sections of clips that you want to use in your program. You create a subclip by marking IN and OUT points in a clip and then dragging this material to the bin. The subclip is composed of the material between the IN and OUT points.

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

Clip

Subclip

Avid Xpress Essentials

Sequences

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

You can join different clips and subclips to create a sequence. A sequence can include edited material from source clips and subclips, new clips created when you add effects during the editing process, and material from other sequences. Your final program will be composed of one or more sequences, depending on how it’s most convenient for you to work.

A sequence is composed of marked material from clips, subclips, and other sequences. The material outside the IN and OUT points remains in the media file’s master clip. This material is very important; you need it to trim cuts and create transition effects between segments. For more information about trimming cuts, see “Trimming” on page 139. For more information about transition effects, see the Avid Xpress Effects Guide.

Like a clip, a sequence contains pointers to media files. If you delete one of the clips used to create a sequence, the sequence still works because the sequence contains its own pointers to the media files.

Sequence

About Avid Xpress

Clip

Subclip

OMFI MediaFiles

Your Program

The program is your final video creation.

Bins

You organize your footage in bins.

Your Project

You edit within a project. A project consists of one or more bins, normally containing footage for a specific program.

A program consists of one or more sequences. You use clips, subclips, and sequences to build a program. Your program is represented by the Timeline. A program is your final creation; you can output your program to tape when you are finished.

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

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

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

The Attic Folder

For a complete description of retrieving bins from the Attic folder, see “Attic folder: retrieving bins from” in the Help index.

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

Avid Xpress Essentials

The Avid Xpress File System

The following illustration shows the different kinds of Avid Xpress files and where they are stored. The Avid Xpress application folder is stored on your internal hard drive (Windows) or Avid drive (Macintosh). The Avid Projects folder is stored on the same disk as the Avid Xpress application folder. Media files must be stored on a separate, Avid-approved media drive, which is guaranteed to be fast enough to support real-time video playback.

Media drive

OMFI MediaFiles

About Avid Xpress

Settings

Attic

Avid Xpress

(application folder)

Avid Xpress

Supporting

Files

Bin A

Avid Projects

Project subfolder

Project

Bin B

CHAPTER 3

Starting a Project

The Project window provides controls in four different display modes for structuring and viewing important information about your current project. These include a display of bins and folders associated with the project, a list of all settings, types of effects, and basic information about the format of the project and use of system memory and hardware.

Starting a project is described in the following sections:

• About Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

• Using the Bins Display

• Using the Settings Display

• About the Effect Palette

• About Trash

Tutorial: Starting a Project contains the following sections:

• Starting the Application (Windows)

• Starting the Application (Macintosh)

• Opening a Project

About Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Avid Projects and Avid Users folders allow you to move whole projects or selected project and user settings between systems by copying and moving files on your desktop.

Starting a Project

When you create a new project or user, the system creates the following files and folders:

• When you create a new user, the system creates three items: a user profile file, a User settings file, and a user folder containing the two. Each item is given the user name you provide. This new folder is stored in the Avid Users folder on your internal hard drive in \Program Files\Avid\Avid Xpress (Windows), or on the Avid drive (Macintosh).

• When you create a new project, the system creates three items: a project file, a Project settings file, and a folder containing the two, each of which is given the project name you provide. This new folder is stored in the Avid Projects folder on your internal hard drive in \Program Files\Avid\Avid Xpress (Windows), or on the Avid drive (Macintosh).

Your settings are initially set to the default values. As you work, the files maintain current settings or are adjusted to your use, while the project folder fills with bin files.

Using the Bins Display

Bins are windows that contain titles, thumbnails (small pictures that represent clips), and information about the material you digitize. These editable files are called master clips. They refer to the actual media files created when you digitize source material. While the physical media are stored on external hard drives, the master clips that refer to that media reside in the bin. Bins also store the sequences, subclips, group clips, and effects clips that you create during a project. The Project window allows you to make a new bin, close it, reopen it, and move clips among these bins. You can also open bins created for different projects.

Bins tab

Open bin

After you select a user and project in the Select User and Project dialog box, the Project window opens. To view a complete list of bins associated with the project, click the Bins tab in the Project window. A list of bins appears.

Using the Bins Display

From the Bins list you can examine the number, names, size, and location of bins, and you can also open bins. Dotted bin icons next to bin names indicate bins that are currently open; solid icons indicate closed bins.

Using the Settings Display

From the Settings display, you can view, select, open, and alter various User, Project, and Site settings, as described in this section.

To view the Settings display, click the Settings tab in the Project window. The Settings scroll list appears.

Settings tab

Starting a Project

Settings type

Three types of settings are displayed in the Settings scroll list:

• User settings are specific to a particular editor. User settings

reflect individual preferences for adjusting the way you view the Avid Xpress system. Individual User settings are stored in each user folder within the Avid Users folder on your internal hard drive in \Program Files\Avid\Avid Xpress (Windows) or on the Avid drive (Macintosh).

• Project settings are directly related to individual projects. When a

Project setting is changed, it affects all editors working on the project. Specific Project settings are stored in each project folder within the Avid Projects folder on your internal hard drive in \Program Files\Avid\Avid Xpress (Windows) or on the Avid drive (Macintosh).

For a complete description of all settings and their options, see “Settings:described” in the Help index.

• Site settings establish default parameters for all new users and

projects on a particular system. These can apply to particular configurations of equipment installed at the site, for example, specifications and node settings for an external switcher. They can also include other User or Project settings that you copy into the Site Settings window. Site settings are stored in a separate Settings folder in the Avid Xpress folder on your internal hard drive in \Program Files\Avid\Avid Xpress (Windows) or on the Avid drive (Macintosh).

Using the Settings Display

About the Effect Palette

Click the Effect Icon tab in the Project window to view the Effect Palette. This window displays all the effects available for your system.

Effect Icon tab

Starting a Project

For more information about working with effects, see “Basics of Effects Editing” in the Avid Xpres s Effects Guide.

About Trash

Avid stores deleted bins in the Trash. The Trash icon is located in the Project window and only appears when you delete a bin. You can use the Trash to retrieve bins you deleted in error, or empty the Trash to create more disk space.

To empty the contents of the Trash:

1. Click the Trash icon to display its contents.

2. Click the Bin Fast Menu button on the top of the Bin window.

3. Choose Empty Trash.

Bin Fast Menu button

Trash icon with file in trash

Clips, subclips, and effects that are in a bin appear in the Trash after you delete the bin. However, if you select a clip, subclip, or effect directly and press the Delete key, the item does not appear in the Tr as h .

About Trash

Tutorial: Starting a Project

In this tutorial, you start Avid Xpress, create a user, and select a project. Before starting this procedure, make sure you have installed the Tutorial files (see “Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows)” on

page 6 or “Installing the Tutorial Files (Macintosh)” on page 10).

Starting the Application (Windows)

To start Avid Xpress on a Windows system:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Point to Programs.

3. Point to the Xpress folder.

4. Click Xpress.

Starting a Project

After a few moments, the Select User and Project dialog box appears.

To start the application from the desktop, Avid recommends that you create a shortcut and place it there.

If the license agreement window opens, click either Accept or Accept and Don’t Show Again.

For this tutorial, you will use the Boat Shop NTSC or Boat Shop PAL project (along with its settings file) that you installed into the Avid Projects folder in “Installing the Tutorial Files (Windows)” on page 6.

Starting the Application (Macintosh)

To start Avid Xpress on a Macintosh system:

1. Double-click the desktop alias of the Xpress folder icon to open the folder.

2. Double click the Avid Xpress application icon to start the program.

After a few moments, the Select User and Project dialog box appears.

Starting the Application (Macintosh)

If the license agreement window opens, click either Accept or Accept and Don’t Show Again.

page 10.

Opening a Project

To open a project, you create a new user and select an existing project.

Creating a User

To create a new user:

1. Click the New User button in the Select User and Project dialog box.

The New User dialog box appears.

Starting a Project

2. Type your name and click OK.

The Select User and Project dialog box reappears with your name highlighted in the list of users.

Selecting a Project

To select a pro jec t:

Click on the Project window and press the F1 key (Windows) or press Ctrl+Shift and click (Macintosh) to bring up the contextsensitive Help for the Project window.

1. Select Boat Shop NTSC or Boat Shop PAL from the Avid Projects list and click OK.

The Project window opens. It lists the bins, or storage areas, created to hold the clips and sequences you will need for this tutorial.

2. Double-click the icon to the left of Source Clips to open the bin.

This bin contains the clips of the source footage you will use to begin to build the Tutorial sequence.

You’ve finished this tutorial. The next tutorial is “Tutorial: Getting

Ready to Edit” on page 88. Be sure to read Chapter 4 and the

introductory material in Chapter 5 before continuing the tutorial.

Opening a Project

Starting a Project

CHAPTER 4

Digitizing

This chapter discusses the digitizing process and related tools.

Digitizing is described in the following sections:

• Selecting Settings

• About the Digitize Tool

• About the Audio Tool

• About the Video Input Tool

• Digitizing Preparations Check List

• About Digitizing

Selecting Settings

For more information on the selecting settings, see “Digitizing: settings for” in the Help index.

A number of settings have a direct bearing on the digitizing process. Before digitizing, review the following options for General Settings, Deck Settings, and Digitize Settings:

• Drive Filtering Based on Resolution causes the system to dim all drives for which speed capabilities are unknown or untested in a particular video resolution. This setting is selected by default in the General Settings dialog box.

The Avid system does not prevent you from using non-Avid drives, but their reliability cannot be assured.

• Deck Configuration Settings allow you to establish deck control parameters.

• Deck Preferences include various options for source deck, sync mode, preroll, drop/non-drop-frame preference, and deck control.

• Digitize Settings include essential options for digitizing and batch digitizing, including general parameters for capture of the source material, and special conditions such as digitizing across timecode breaks or capturing a single video frame.

Digitizing

About the Digitize Tool

For more information on the Digitize tool, see “Digitize tool” in the Help index.

Record

Channel Selection

Video Input

Message bar

Clip name and comment

Bin

Target Drive Single/Dual Drives

Deck controls

The Digitize tool provides controls for digitizing your footage.

To open the Digitize tool, choose Digitize from the Tools menu. The Digitize tool opens.

Digitize indicator

Trash

Digitize/Log Mode

Toggle Source

Video Input Tool

Audio Tool

Enable Timecode

Audio Input

Resolution

Color/Monochrome Selection button

Drive time

available

Sets specific timecode for digitizing

Deck Selection Source Tape

display

Custom Preroll

The Digitize tool has the following options:

• Audio Input pop-up menu allows you to choose Analog, AES/EBU, or S/PDIF.

• Audio Tool button opens the Audio tool.

About the Digitize Tool

• Bin pop-up menu lets you choose a target bin as the destination for the master clips created when you digitize on-the-fly. You can also choose a target bin containing the logged clips you will use to batch digitize your media.

• Channel Selection panel lets you select which video and audio tracks you want to digitize from the source tape and whether you want to record timecode.

• Clip name and comment allows you to enter a clip name and any other information about the clip.

• Color/Monochrome Selection button allows you to filter out all of the color from each frame of video when digitizing.

• Custom Preroll check box allows you to select a preroll of 1 to 30 seconds.

• Deck controls operate the deck.

• Deck Selection pop-up menu lets you choose the deck you want to play from. It also lets you check and reset serial port connections to decks.

Digitizing

• Digitize indicator flashes on and off while you are digitizing.

• Digitize/Log Mode button lets you switch between Digitize mode and Log mode.

• Drive time available is displayed after you select a video resolution and target a drive or drives for the digitized media.

• Enable Timecode button allows the system to digitize timecode from the source tape. If this is deselected, the system digitizes the time-of-day timecode.

• Message bar displays information on the current status of the tool.

• Record to Timeline allows you to digitize footage directly from tape into a sequence loaded in the Timeline in one step. Recording to the Timeline works best when you are digitizing on-the-fly.

• Red Record button begins the digitizing process.

• Resolution pop-up menu next to the Bin pop-up menu lets you

choose a video resolution.

• Single/Dual Drives button lets you target a single or separate

media drives for digitizing the audio and video for each clip.

• Source Tape display shows the name of the source tape.

• Target Drive pop-up menu lets you choose the target drive.

• Toggle Source button switches the deck online or displays the

External Timecode icon, which allows you to select LTC (longitudinal or linear timecode).

• Trash button stops the digitizing process and deletes the digitized

media.

• Video Input pop-up menu allows you to choose Composite,

Component, or S-Video.

• Video Input Tool button opens the Video Input tool.

About the Digitize Tool

About the Audio Tool

For more information on the Audio tool, see “Audio tool” in the Help index.

In/Out

Reset Peak

Track

Digital VU scale

The Audio tool controls parameters for audio input and output.

To open the Audio tool, choose Audio Tool from the Tools menu or click the Audio Tool button in the Digitize tool. The Audio tool opens. Click the Output and Setup buttons to fully open the Audio tool.

Output

Meters

Setup

Peak/Hold

Analog VU scale

Output display

Setup display

Channel Selectors

The Audio tool has the following options:

Digitizing

• Analog VU scale on the right displays a fixed range of values that you can conform to the headroom parameters of your source audio.

• Channel Selector pop-up menus let you map tracks in the sequence to output channels.

• Digital VU scale on the left displays a fixed range of values from 0 to –90 decibels (dB), according to common digital peak meter standards.

• In/Out buttons switch the meter displays for each channel between input levels from a source device, and output levels to the

speakers and record devices. I indicates Input and O indicates Output.

• Meters dynamically track audio levels for each channel as

follows:

- Meters show green below the target reference level (the default reference level is –14 dB on the digital scale).

- Meters show yellow for the normal headroom range, above the reference level to approximately –3 dB.

- Meters show red for peaks approaching overload, between –3 dB and 0 dB.

- Thin green lines at the bottom indicate signals below the display range.

• Output button displays the Output display.

• Output display contains a single slider control for raising or lowering global audio output.

• Peak/Hold button allows you to select options for customizing the meter displays, and setting and playing back the internal calibration tone.

• Reset Peak button resets the current maximum peak measurements. It also stops the playback of the internal calibration tone.

• Setup button displays the Setup display.

• Setup display contains information and controls for adjusting various audio hardware parameters.

• Track indicator displays the audio track number.

About the Audio Tool

About the Video Input Tool

For more information on the Video Input tool, see “Calibrating:video input” in the Help index.

Input

Waveform Monitor button

The Video Input tool controls parameters for incoming video.

To open the Video Input tool, choose Video Input Tool from the Tools menu or click the Video Input Tool button in the Digitize tool. The Video Input tool opens. Click the Internal Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope Monitor buttons to fully open the Video Input tool.

Vectorscope VectorscopeInternal

Monitor button

Internal Waveform monitor

monitor

Settings

Preset buttons

Digitizing

Consumer Source and 100% Bars

The Video Input tool has the following options:

• 100% Bars is used if the source displays 100% bars for calibration.

• Consumer Source is selected if you are using a consumer-grade

• Input pop-up menu lets you choose either Composite,

Slider

video deck (VCR), or a deck that has no built-in time-based corrector.

Component, or S-Video input source.

• Internal Waveform Monitor button lets you adjust luminance values.

• Preset buttons are lit when the factory preset levels are displayed. When you click a lit Preset button, it dims and the slider returns to the most recent manual level setting.

• Settings pop-up menu lets you save the Site settings for an individual tape each time you calibrate bars.

• Sliders let you change the value for Black, Y Gain, Saturation, and Hue.

• Vectorscope Monitor button lets you adjust hue and saturation.

Digitizing Preparations Check List

1. Consider striping your drives in advance according to the appropriate setup guide if you are working on a complex project with multiple streams of video and high-resolution images.

2. Consider labeling each of your external drives. If there are no labels, you can add a specific name to help identify the information on the drive, for example, Boat Shop (G:). When digitizing audio, you must keep the audio files on a separate external drive from the uncompressed video files. To keep both the audio and video on separate drives, label your drives, for example: Audio (F:) and Media (G:).

3. Check your hardware configurations: power switches, cable connections, and remote switch on the source deck for deck control (for hardware configurations, see the appropriate setup guide).

Digitizing Preparations Check List

4. In the Project Settings scroll list, make sure you have selected the options you want in the General Settings, Deck Settings, Deck Preferences, Deck Configuration, and Digitize Settings dialog boxes.

5. Insert a tape into the deck and set up the Digitize tool for track selection, target bin, target drives, source tape, and source deck.

6. Use the Audio tool to set the audio input levels.

7. Use the Video Input tool to set the video input levels; save your video settings for future use.

About Digitizing

You can digitize your source material in one of the following ways:

t Digitize and log at the same time

t Batch digitize

t Redigitize

Digitizing and Logging at the Same Time

When you digitize without entering log information in a bin ahead of time, the system creates clips and associated media files while you digitize. Digitizing in this manner involves manually cueing source footage with an Avid-controlled deck, using the deck controls in the Digitize tool.

For more information on digitizing, see “Digitizing” in the Help index.

Digitizing

There are several ways to digitize and log at the same time. They are:

• Digitizing from a mark IN to a mark OUT. This method lets you specify the exact timecode location to begin and end digitizing. You can also specify only a mark IN or mark OUT, and enter the other mark on-the-fly.

Batch Digitizing

• Digitizing on-the-fly. This method is easier than setting marks,

but it is less precise. It involves using the deck controls in the lower left corner of the Digitize tool to cue, play, and stop the source footage manually while digitizing.

• Autodigitizing. This method requires the least amount of

supervision and effort, but usually calls for more digitizing time and disk storage space. It involves playing each source tape from a cue point near the beginning and letting the system digitize the entire tape, automatically naming and entering each clip into the bin.

For more information and procedures, see “Batch digitizing” in the Help index.

Redigitizing

For more information and procedures, see “Redigitizing” in the Help index.

Once you have imported a log or manually logged a group of clips into a bin, you can automate the digitize process by using the Avid Xpress batch-digitizing capabilities. To batch digitize, source tapes must have timecode.

Redigitizing is the process of capturing previously digitized source footage based on existing clips and sequences. Redigitizing uses the batch-digitize process and does not require extra logging time because the clip information for such things as source tracks, timecodes, and resolution settings already exists in the bin.

About Digitizing

Digitizing

CHAPTER 5

Getting Ready to Edit

Before starting an editing session, you need to understand how to organize and manipulate your clips.

Preparing to edit is described in the following sections:

• About Bin Views

• Controlling Playback

• Marking IN and OUT Points

• Creating Subclips

Tutorial: Getting Ready to Edit contains the following sections:

• Viewing Clips

• Playing Clips

• Marking Edit Points

• Subclipping

• Clearing IN Points and OUT Points

About Bin Views

You can use four views for working with clips in a bin: Brief view, Text view, Frame view, and Script view.

The Bin Fast menu displays the same menu as the Bin menu on the toolbar along the top of your screen.

Brief tab

Column headings

Object icons

Bin Fast

Menu button

•In Brief view, clips are displayed in a database text format that uses columns and rows, with icons representing the various objects. Brief view displays only five standard columns of information about your clips and sequences.

To enter Brief view, click the Brief tab.

Getting Ready to Edit

Text tab

•In Text view, clips are displayed in a database text format that uses

columns and rows, with icons representing the various objects. You can save various arrangements of columns, text, and objects as customized views by using the Bins settings in the Project window and the Bin Fast menu.

To ent er Te xt view, c lick the Text tab.

Bin View pop-up menu

About Bin Views

•In Frame view, each clip is represented by a single picture frame, with the name of the clip. You can play back the footage in each frame, change the size of frames, and rearrange frames in any order within the bin.

To enter Frame view, click the Frame tab.

Getting Ready to Edit

•In Script view, the Avid system combines the features of Text view

with Frame view, and adds space for typing notes or script. The frames are displayed vertically on the left side of your screen with a text box to the right of each clip. Clip data is displayed above the text box.

To enter Script view, click the Script tab.

To the right of the Bin Fast Menu button in Text view, is a pop-up menu of titles for different Bin views. Bins have the following default views that are automatically loaded:

• Statistics view uses the standard statistical column headings

derived from information established during capture, such as Start and End timecodes, Duration, Resolution, and so on.

• Custom view allows you to create and save customized views.

The only required heading is the clip name, displayed by default. You can customize the view by adding, hiding, or rearranging column headings.

About Bin Views

Controlling Playback

There are several ways to play, view, and cue clips. You can:

• Instantly access frames or move through footage by using the position indicator within the position bar under the Composer and Source pop-up monitors

• Play, step (jog), or shuttle through footage by using the buttons that appear below the Composer and Source pop-up monitors

• Play, step, or shuttle by using keyboard equivalents

Using Position Bars and Position Indicators

You can quickly access frames within a clip that’s been loaded into a monitor, or move through the footage by using the position indicators that appear in the position bars under the Composer or Source pop-up monitors and in the Timeline when you are viewing a sequence.

Position bar

Getting Ready to Edit

• You can move the position indicator within the position bar under the Composer or Source pop-up monitors by clicking anywhere in the position bar, or by dragging the position indicator to the left or right. The speed with which you drag the position indicator determines the speed at which you move through the footage.

Position indicator

• In the Timeline, the position indicator shows your position within the sequence. It is always in the same position as the position indicator in the Composer monitor’s position bar, and works in the same way. You can click anywhere in the Timeline to relocate the position indicator, or you can drag the position indicator through footage at varying speeds.

Position indicator in Timeline

Using Buttons

Play Button

• You can go directly to the beginning or end of a clip or sequence

by clicking at the far left or far right of the clip or sequence.

You can use the buttons that appear below the Composer and Source pop-up monitors to play and step through your footage. You can also use the keyboard to manipulate footage.

The Play button works much like the Play button on a VCR. With a clip loaded in a monitor, the Play button plays your footage at a normal rate. During playback, the Play button acts as a Pause button.

For more information on using the Play button, see “Play Button:using” in the Help index.

The Play button appears by default in the buttons below the Composer and Source pop-up monitors.

When viewing sequences in the Composer monitor, you can play only video and audio tracks that are currently monitored in the Track Selector panel.

Controlling Playback

Step Buttons

You can also use the Step buttons under either monitor to jog or play the clip backward or forward in 1-frame increments.

If you press the Alt key (Windows) or the Option key (Macintosh) while clicking either button, you can advance 10 frames forward and 10 frames backward.

Using the Tool Palette

The Tool palette provides additional buttons for editing and navigating.

Tool palette without text

Tool palette with text

You can view the Tool palette by clicking the Fast Menu button under the Composer or Source pop-up monitors. Click the Tool palette and drag it to any other location on the screen for easy access. If necessary, resize the Tool palette so that it displays both rows of buttons.

To view the Tool palette with text, make sure the Show Labels in Tool Palette option is selected in the Interface Settings dialog box.

Getting Ready to Edit

Using the Keyboard

The default keyboard contains all of the buttons discussed so far as well as several additional ones. To access the keyboard, choose Keyboard from the Project Window Settings scroll list.

Play button

Pause button

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

The J-K-L keys on the keyboard allow you to play, step, and shuttle through footage at varying speeds. This feature, also referred to as three-button or variable-speed play, allows you to use three fingers to manipulate the speed of playback for greater control.

To shuttle through the footage by using the J-K-L keys on the keyboard:

1. Load a clip or sequence into the Composer or Source pop-up monitors.

Play/Step/Shuttle buttonsStep buttons

End key

Home key

2. Use the following keys to shuttle at varying speeds:

- Press the L key to move forward through the footage at

normal speed. Press once to increase the forward speed 2 times, twice to increase it 4 times, and three times to increase it 8 times normal speed, as desired.

- Press the J key to move backward at the same shuttle speed

increments.

Controlling Playback

- Press and hold the K and L keys together for slow forward.

- Press and hold the K and J keys together for slow backward.

3. To pause the shuttling, press the K key or press the space bar.

Home, End, and Arrow Keys

You can use the Home, End, and arrow keys on the keyboard to move through footage when a clip is loaded in a monitor.

• The Home key takes you to the beginning of a clip or sequence.

• The End key takes you to the end of a sequence.

• The Left Arrow key moves the footage one frame forward.

• The Right Arrow key moves the footage one frame backward.

Using the Mouse

You can use the mouse for one-handed control of playback. You can either step or shuttle by using the mouse.

Stepping with the Mouse

To step by using the mouse:

1. Do one of the following:

2. Do one of the following:

Mouse Jog button

Getting Ready to Edit

t Load a clip into the Source monitor or a sequence into the

Record monitor.

t Select a clip in a bin in Frame view.

t Press the N key to activate mouse control for stepping.

t Activate the buttons on the Command palette by selecting

Active Palette at the bottom of the Command palette. Then click the Mouse Jog button, which appears on the Play tab of the Command palette. This button can be mapped to any

3. Move the mouse to the right to step forward, or to the left to step backward.

4. To quit stepping with the mouse, press the space bar.

Shuttling with the Mouse

To shuttle by using the mouse:

1. Do one of the following:

t Load a clip or sequence into the Source or Record monitor.

t Select a clip in a bin in Frame view.

2. Do one of the following:

t Press the semicolon (;) key to activate mouse control for

button under the Record monitor by selecting the Button to Button Reassignment option (see “Using the Command

Palette” on page 125).

shuttling.

Mouse Shuttle button

t Activate the buttons on the Command palette by selecting

Active Palette at the bottom of the Command palette. Then click the Mouse Shuttle button, which appears on the Play tab of the Command palette. This button can be mapped to any button under the Record monitor by selecting the Button to Button Reassignment option (see “Using the Command

Palette” on page 125).

3. Move the mouse to the right to increase the shuttle speed, or to the left to decrease the shuttle speed.

4. To quit shuttling with the mouse, press the space bar or double-click the mouse button.

You can also use the keyboard in conjunction with the mouse to control shuttling. For example, if you are shuttling with the mouse and you press the L key, the playback speeds up to the next normal play rate (30, 60, 90, 150, or 240 fps for NTSC; 25, 50, 75, 125, or 200 fps for

Controlling Playback

PAL). You can continue to change the shuttle speed and direction with the mouse.

Marking IN and OUT Points

You can mark IN and OUT points for your clips in advance, which provides several advantages:

• You can quickly build a sequence by splicing the marked clips into place one after another.

• You can use the process of rough-cut or storyboard editing, which allows you to instantly splice several prepared clips into a sequence (see “Storyboarding” on page 131).

• You can play back and mark clips in the bin before loading a single clip, saving several steps.

Even if your marks are not accurate now, the Avid system allows you to trim the edit points and fine-tune the sequence later without reediting the material.

Creating Subclips

When you mark footage with IN and OUT points, you can either save the entire clip along with the new marks, or you can create subclips based on the marks you set to break up longer master clips into smaller segments of selected footage.

Unlike master clips, subclips do not directly reference the original media. Subclips remain linked to the master clips from which they are created, and the master clips in turn reference the digitized media files located on your storage drives. As a result, none of the original footage is lost.

Getting Ready to Edit

You can create subclips directly from the marked section of material in the monitors by using the following methods:

• Alt key (Windows) or the Option key (Macintosh): Press and

hold the Alt key (Windows) or the Option key (Macintosh), then click the picture and drag it from the monitor to the bin in which you want to store the subclip.

• Make Subclip button: Click the Make Subclip button located in

the Tool palette to create the subclip and place it into the active bin by default. If you press and hold the Alt key (Windows) or the Option key (Macintosh) while you click the Make Subclip button, the Bin Selection dialog box appears, enabling you to select the destination bin for the subclip.

For more information on trimming, see “Trim edits” in the Help index.

A new subclip as referenced in Text view

The new subclip is listed in the bin, preceded by a Subclip icon and identified with a numbered .Sub file name extension, as shown in the following illustration.

Subclips do not limit your access to the original, digitized master clip material when trimming. Therefore, if you must trim beyond the marked IN to OUT boundaries of the subclip to make it longer or shorter, your system does accommodate the boundary adjustments during the trim.

Creating Subclips

Tutorial: Getting Ready to Edit

This tutorial takes you through the early stages of editing.

Viewing Clips

If you need more information, be sure to read the preceding overview sections of this chapter before you start this tutorial.

1. If Avid Xpress is not already running, start it by double-clicking the Avid Xpress icon.

2. Select your user name and your Boat Shop NTSC or Boat Shop PAL project and click OK.

3. From the Project window, double-click the Source Clips bin.

The clips are displayed in the bin.

The information in a bin can be viewed in the following ways:

• Brief view displays only five standard columns of information about your clips and sequences.

• Text view displays multiple columns of information about your clips and sequences.

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

Getting Ready to Edit

• Script view displays each clip with an image and an area in which to enter text as part of a storyboard.

Bin Fast Menu button

Using Text View

Text view

Frame view

Let’s look at Text view.

1. Click the Text tab to view information about clips in the Source Clips bin.

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

You can rearrange the clips in the bin by sorting on a particular column. Let’s sort by clip name so we can easily locate any clip.

2. Click the Name heading in the bin.

3. Choose Sort from the Bin menu along the top of the screen.

The clip names are rearranged in alphabetical order.

Viewing Clips

Using Frame View (Windows)

Now let’s look at Frame view.

1. Click the Frame tab to see a picture-frame representation of each clip in the bin.

The sorted order of clips does not carry over to Frame view.

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

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

If some clips are now off screen, do one of the following:

t Choose Fill Window from the Bin menu.

t Click and drag the window corner in the lower right corner of

the bin window.

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

Using Frame View (Macintosh)

Now let’s look at Frame view.

1. Click the Frame tab to see a picture-frame representation of each clip in the bin.

The sorted order of clips does not carry over to Frame view.

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

Getting Ready to Edit

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

If some clips are now off screen, do one of the following:

t Click the zoom box in the upper right corner of the bin

window.

t Choose Fill Window from the Bin menu.

t Click and drag the size box in the lower right corner of the bin

window.

3. Click the zoom box in the upper right corner of the bin window labeled Source Clips.

The bin zooms out to enclose all the clips. However, they might be scattered randomly in the bin window. Let’s fix that.

4. Choose Fill Window from the Bin menu.

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

Now you can adjust frame size so the clips are “readable” but not so large that they won’t fit in the bin window.

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

Playing Clips

Your Avid system offers a variety of ways to play clips. The more you practice the various methods, the more control you will have over the editing process.

Playing Clips in a Source Pop-up Monitor

A Source pop-up monitor is a window in which you can play clips.

1. In the Source Clips bin, open the clip named bridge by double-clicking anywhere in the frame.

Playing Clips

The bridge clip appears in a Source pop-up monitor.

Getting Ready to Edit

2. Press the Home key on the keyboard (between the main keyboard and the numeric keypad) to go to the start of the clip.

The End key, just below the Home key, moves the position indicator to the end of the clip.

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

4. Press the Play (5) key again (or press the space bar on the keyboard) to pause playback at any point.

5. Press the L key (Play) on the keyboard to play the clip forward at normal speed. Press the key repeatedly to play the clip forward at 60, 90, 150, and 240 frames per second (fps).

6. Press the J key (Reverse Play) on the keyboard to play the clip backward at normal speed. Press the key repeatedly to play the clip backward at 30, 60, 90, 150, and 240 frames per second (fps).

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

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

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

Step 10 Frames Backward

Controlling Playback

In a Source pop-up monitor, you can use:

• Playback control keys

• Equivalent buttons under a Source pop-up monitor

• Blue position indicator to go to a specific position or scroll (move) through a clip

Position bar

Step 1

Frame Backward

Step 10 Frames Forward

Step 1 Frame Forward

Position indicator

Step Backward

Step Forward

Play

To play throug h the clip:

1. Double-click the tools clip to open it.

The tools clip appears in a Source pop-up monitor.

Playing Clips

You can also press the Play (5) key on the keyboard to play.

2. Click the Play button.

3. Click the Play button again (or press the space bar on the keyboard) to pause playback at any point.

4. Step through the footage forward or backward in 1-frame and 10-frame increments by using the Step Forward and Step Backward buttons under the Source pop-up monitor. You can also use the 4, 3, 2, and 1 keys on your keyboard.

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

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

Press the End key to go to the end of the clip.

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

7. Press the Home key to go to the beginning of the clip.

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

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

Marking Edit Points

Getting Ready to Edit

Before making your first edit, you can mark the segments of the clips you want to use in your sequence. You can mark clips in a Source pop-up monitor.

In this section, you will:

• Mark IN and OUT points in a Source pop-up monitor.

• Locate IN and OUT points by timecode in a Source pop-up monitor.

Marking the planing ms Clip

Let’s first display clips in a Source pop-up monitor, and then mark a couple of clips you will use when you edit the sequence.

1. Activate the Source Clips bin by clicking anywhere in it or by choosing Source Clips from the Windows menu.

The bar above the active window changes to purple.

2. Double-click the planing ms clip to open it.

The clip name is highlighted and the clip appears in the Source pop-up monitor.

3. Play the clip from the head by pressing the Home key and then the Play (5) key, and find the approximate place where the boatbuilder begins to plane. Then use the Step Forward and Step Backward (3 and 4) keys to locate the frame where he starts the first planing stroke.

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

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

Marking Edit Points

5. Step forward two full strokes of the plane.

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

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

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

Marking the ducks Clip

Now mark the IN and OUT points for the ducks clip. This time, instead of using the Play (5) key, use the J-K-L keys to play the clip.

1. Double-click the ducks clip to open it.

2. Locate the frame where the second duck enters the right edge of the frame behind the duck swimming in the foreground.

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

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

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

4. Step forward to locate the first frame where the same duck flies beyond the left edge of the screen.

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

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

Marking the draw knife cu Clip

Let’s mark another clip we’ll use in the sequence.

1. Double-click the draw knife cu clip to open it.

When you edit the sequence, you want to show just three strokes of the knife.

Getting Ready to Edit

2. Place the position indicator near the midpoint of the clip, and play forward until just after the first fairly large wood chip falls off.

Use the Play button (or J-K-L keys) to get close to the frame, and then use the Step buttons to locate the frame you want to use as your IN point.

3. Mark an IN point by clicking the Mark IN button under the monitor.

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

4. Step forward and locate a frame just after three strokes of the knife.

5. Mark an OUT point by clicking the Mark OUT button under the monitor.

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

Using Timecode to Find a Frame

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

In this section, you will use visual cues to mark an IN point, and then locate a specific timecode. First, you need to display the appropriate timecode information.

1. Double-click the chiseling clip to open it.

2. Place the pointer in the gray title bar area over the timecode information displayed above the Source pop-up monitor.

Marking Edit Points

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

Timecode shows the following: Hours Minutes Seconds Frames

One second holds 30 frames.

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

4. Use the Play and Step buttons to locate the frame where the boatbuilder begins one of the first strokes of the chisel.

Getting Ready to Edit

5. Click the Mark IN button.

6. Read the timecode in the Timecode display at the IN point. Add 15 frames (13 frames PAL) to the timecode number. (Remember, there are 30 frames in a second.)

For example, if the timecode is 04:11:34:15, adding 15 frames gives you a result of 04:11:35:00.

7. Type the resulting number on the numeric keypad and press the Enter key on the numeric keypad. The system inserts the colons for you.

As you start typing, a window opens in the middle of the Source pop-up monitor, showing the numbers you type. When you press the Enter key, the position indicator locates the specified frame.

The Timecode window displays the current number.

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

Timecode display

Timecode entered

8. Click the Mark OUT button.

Using Frame Offset

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

You can also use the numeric keypad to move the position indicator forward or backward a specified number of frames, with the frame offset feature. Let’s mark an IN point for the planing cu clip and then use frame offset to locate the OUT point.

1. Double-click the planing cu clip to open it.

2. Use the Play and Step buttons to locate the frame where the

3. Click the Mark IN button.

boatbuilder begins making the first stroke of the plane.

Marking Edit Points

100

4. To advance 2 seconds, type +129 (+124 PAL) on the numeri c keypad and press the Enter key on the numeric keypad. The system inserts the colons for you.

Since Avid Xpress counts the frame it is parked on, you type one frame fewer than 2 seconds.

When using frame offset, type one frame fewer than the number of frames you want to advance.

Subclipping

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

5. Mark that frame as the OUT point.

Now you will copy portions of one clip into shorter clips, called subclips. Subclipping is a great way to organize your footage into manageable units.

1. Double-click the tools clip to open it.

2. Press the Home key to go to the start of the clip.

3. Scroll through the clip by clicking the Play button or by dragging the blue position indicator. There are two separate actions that can be copied into separate subclips.

4. Mark an IN point when the boatbuilder begins turning the auger drill.

5. Mark an OUT point 14 seconds later by typing +1400 on the numeric keypad and pressing the Enter key on the numeric keypad.

Getting Ready to Edit

Actually, you have marked an OUT point after 14 seconds and 1 frame, but that’s acceptable because you need not be so precise here.

6. Press and hold the Alt key (Windows) or the Option key (Macintosh), click the clip, and drag it from the Source pop-up monitor to the Source Clips bin.

Pinnacle Systems Xpress - 5.0 Quick Start Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Figures

Tables

Using This Guide

Introduction

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

Setting Up Your Browser

Getting Help for Windows and Dialog Boxes

Getting Help for Screen Objects

Keeping Help Available (Windows Only)

Restoring Help from the Taskbar (Windows Only)

Resizing the Application (Windows Only)

Using Alt+Tab (Windows Only)

Finding Information Within the Help

Using the Contents List

Using the Index

Using the Search Feature

Using the Glossary

Printing Help Topics

Using Online Documentation

About Avid Xpress

Video Editing with Avid Xpress

Avid Xpress Essentials

Media Files

Clips

Subclips

Sequences

Your Program

Bins

Your Project

The Attic Folder

The Avid Xpress File System

Starting a Project

About Avid Projects and Avid Users Folders

Using the Bins Display

Using the Settings Display

About the Effect Palette

About Trash

Tutorial: Starting a Project

Starting the Application (Windows)

Starting the Application (Macintosh)

Opening a Project

Creating a User

Selecting a Project

Digitizing

Selecting Settings

About the Digitize Tool

About the Audio Tool

About the Video Input Tool

Digitizing Preparations Check List

About Digitizing

Digitizing and Logging at the Same Time

Batch Digitizing

Redigitizing

Getting Ready to Edit

About Bin Views

Controlling Playback

Using Position Bars and Position Indicators

Using Buttons

Play Button

Step Buttons

Using the Tool Palette

Using the Keyboard

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

Home, End, and Arrow Keys

Using the Mouse

Stepping with the Mouse