THE TRACK PANEL
When a clip is loaded into the Source Monitor or a Sequence is in the Record Monitor, a small panel with purple buttons appears at the left-hand end of the Timeline. It determines which tracks get edited. The left-hand set of buttons belongs to the Source Monitor or pop-up and the right-hand set of buttons belongs to the sequence.
TO TURN THE TRACKS ON AND OFF, click on the track lights with the mouse. For example, to Overwrite only video, make sure that the video track lights are selected on both the source and record sides and then make the edit.
TO DELETE A TRACK, select the track on the sequence side of the timeline and press delete. Then press OK in the new pop up window. Make sure that the only track I want to delete is highlighted.
The Key to avoiding mistakes is to check the track lights on the record side. Only those selected purple will be edited or modified
If you have an Audio Only clip in the Source Monitor and you have all the track lights selected on the record side, filler (black) will be edited on to the video track.
Enable the Sync Locks by clicking in the small boxes between the source and record track lights so you don’t throw the sequence out of sync.
TO ENABLE SYNC LOCK FOR ALL TRACKS, click the box next to the TCI button.
TO TOGGLE BETWEEN SOURCE AND RECORD SIDES with the keyboard, use the Escape key
TO GO TO PREVIOUS OR NEXT EDITS, press the A key for previous or the S key for next edit. Whatever track lights are selected are the edit points it will recognize. This automatically enters you into Trim Mode.
TO MOVE TO ANY CUT POINT, REGARDLESS OF WHAT TRACK LIGHTS ARE ON, is to hold down the Cmd/Ctrl key while clicking and dragging on the mouse along the timeline. The position indicator will snap to the head frames of every cut regardless of the track lights.
TO MOVE THE INDICATOR TO A TAIL FRAME, hold down the Cmd + Option or Ctrl + Alt keys as you drag or click. (This is great if you want to mark an Out on the last frame of a clip.
TO MARK AN ENTIRE CLIP, Press T (Mark Clip). This is dependent on the track lights, UNLESS you hold down the Option/Alt key, in which case an In is set on the nearest downstream cut, regardless of track lights.
TO MOVE AHEAD A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, press + (plus) and then enter an amount. Press – (minus) to move back a certain amount of time.
TO MOVE TO AN EXACT DURATION, set an In point and then type in the amount minus one frame.
TO GO TO AN EXACT TIMECODE, click in the correct monitor window and just type in the timecode and Enter and you’ll go right to it.
REMOVING MATERIAL
LIFT (Z key) - this will lift off the material selected and will leave filler in the sequence
EXTRACT (X key) - this removes the material and closes the gap made in the sequence.
Using LIFT will NOT break snyc, while EXTRACT will. If using Extract, make sure to use Sync Locks!
TO CLOSE A GAP OR SPACE, set an in point and an out point and press the Extract Key (scissors)
TO REMOVE MATERIAL FROM THE HEAD OF A CLIP, park on the frame you’d like to be the new In Frame and press Top (Shift + Y)
TO REMOVE MATERIAL FROM THE TAIL OF A CLIP OF A CLIP, park on the first frame you’d like to remove and press Tail (Shift + U)
To delete frames or seconds off the end of a clip, place the Playhead on the frame and make sure that the correct tracks are selected and press the TAIL KEY (F8). For removing off the head of a clip, press the TOP KEY (F7).
TO EXTEND A CLIP IN THE TIMELINE, go into Trim mode and drag the clip to the right
TO ZOOM OUT, the timeline gets smaller. To Zoom In, the timeline gets Bigger
TO MAGNIFY THE TIMELINE, user the slider or click the Focus Button. When you click the focus button again, it goes back to the size you had it at.
ZOOM IN TO TIMELINE
Use the Focus Button (on the bottom of the timeline) or the H-key. If you press it Once, it’ll focus. If you press it again it’ll go back.
COMMAND M – ALLOWS YOU TO DRAG A UNIQUE CURSOR AROUND A SPECIFIC AREA IN THE TIMELINE WHERE YOU WANT TO ZOOM IN.
TIMELINE FAST MENU
More Detail – Apple +
Less Detail – Apple –
Zoom In – Apple + M (hold this down & draw a box @ he clip(s)
Zoom Back – Apple + J
TO MOVE IN & OUT POINTS @ WITHOUT HAVING TO MOVE THE PLAYHEAD AND SET THEM, hold the Option/Alt Key and in the Record Monitor you can click on either the in or out point and move them to a different area
TO SNAP TO THE FIRST FRAME OF AN EDIT, hold down the Cmd/Ctl Key and click in the timeline, the blue position bar always snaps to the first frame of any edit on any track and to the marked in and out points (this is good to eliminate flash frames)
TO SNAP TO THE TAIL FRAME OF AN EDIT AS YOU DRAG, hold down the Alt-Ctl or Option-Cmd keys
IF I HOLD DOWN THE ALT OR OPTION KEY WHILE DRAGGING, IT GIVES YOU A FINE DRAGGING CONTROL
SETTING TIMECODE DISPLAYS
Go to Tools – Timecode Window. You can resize it (to be really LARGE for a client to see) from the corner of the window
Click the Timecode pop up menu and choose an option
TO REPLACE A TIMECODE, click and hold the cursor over the timecode you want to replace and choose another timecode
TO DISPLAY MULTIPLE TIMECODES, place the cursor in the Timecode Window and press the mouse button to choose Add Display from the pop up menu. Click the timecode line and choose a timecode option
TO REMOVE A TIMECODE, click the timecode and choose Remove Display from the pop up
TIMECODE DISPLAY OPTIONS
Mas- Displays Master timecode at present location
Dur- Displays total duration of the sequence
I/O- Displays duration between In and Out marks
Abs- Displays duration from the head of the sequence to the position indicator
Rem- Displays duration from position indicator to the end of the sequence
V1-V24- Displays the timecode of the source clip video on the selected track
A1-A24- Displays the timecode of the source clip audio on the selected track
Footage- Displays tracking information as feet and frames
SETTING FONT & POINT SIZE
• Make your Source or Record Window active and choose Edit-Set Font
• Choose a font and a point size and click OK.
• This can also be done in the Timeline, project window and in a Bin.
• AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF YOUR PROJECT, SET THE FONT SIZE OR ELSE YOU’LL HAVE TO DO IT TO EACH WINDOW
BIN EDITING DIRECTLY INTO A TIMELINE
• Method #1: Drag a clip over the source window and while pressing Shift, it’ll Overwrite it and if you press Option it’ll Splice it.
• Good to use on clips that have already been subclipped, such as sound effects
• IN AVID, YOU CANNOT COPY AND PASTE STUFF FROM ONE TRACK TO ANOTHER
• Method #2: Open the Bin Settings and select Enable (Splice, Overwrite) and click OK. Mark and IN and OUT point in the Timeline or park the position indicator at the place where you want the clip to appear. Select one or more clips from the Bin and press V or B to splice or overwrite the clip into the sequence. The entire clip should be edited into the sequence unless you have marked In or Out points.
TO MAKE A PULLDOWN MENU A KEY
1) Open the Keyboard Settings and Command Palette.
2) Click the Menu to Reassignment button.
3) On the Keyboard Setting window, click on the key you want to map (you can also hold the Shift Key down to use all those keys).
4) Choose the menu you like to map from on the pull down chooser (the initials will show up on the keys you make).
5) Save the settings when you are done. Highlight the project window and press Apple + S.
TO DO AUDIO SCRUBBING, use the Shift Key as opposed to keeping the CAPS key held down. The CAPS key uses up a lot of RAMM.
EXTRACTING USING TOP AND TAIL
• These commands are track sensitive and are great when rough cutting stuff
• These commands WON’T work on split edits
• Use the Top button to extract footage from the start of the clip up to the position indicator
• Use the Tail button to extract footage from the position indicator to the end of the clip
• Be care of sync problems with multiple tracks
RESIZING MONITORS
• With Mac, use the Zoom Box (upper right of windows) to shrink any open window.
• You can increase the size of the timeline when working with a bunch of audio tracks
• Make sure the windows don’t fall outside the bounds of the computer monitor
A FAST WAY TO GET DATA IN A BIN IS TO HOLD DOWN THE APPLE KEY AND CLICK ON THE PIC IN THE FRAME VIEW. IT WILL BE DISPLAYED.
WORKING WITH TRACKS
TO ADJUST THE TRACK HEIGHT, hold down the Ctrl or Option key and move the cursor to the bottom edge of the track selector for the track you want to resize until it appears as a bar with a vertical up and down arrow and then click and drag up or down
TO REPOSITION A TRACK, hold down the Ctrl or Option key and drag the track selector to its new position (the cursor will change from an arrow to a hand). This is helpful when doing intensive sound effects layering. You can create a track arrangement that places SFX tracks just below the video tracks and save the view to use in subsequent sessions
TO RENAME A TRACK BY ADDING A CUSTOM NAME TO IT, right-click or on a Mac, Ctrl + Shift + Click the Track Selector button and select Rename Track. Type the name and click OK.
TO REMOVE A CUSTOM TRACK NAME, right-click or on a Mac, Ctrl + Shift + Click the Track Selector button and select Rename Track and click Remove
TO SEPARATE THE AUDIO & VIDEO TRACKS IN THE TIMELINE, Click on TCI and pres Option and drag up
THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO SELECT OR DESELECT MULTIPLE TRACKS IN THE TIMELINE:
• Shift + drag across the track lights in the Track Selector panel to turn on and off multiple tracks.
• Drag a Lasso starting above the Track Selector panel across the track lights to reverse the selection (turn off those tracks that were on, and turn on those that were off)
• Alt + drag or Ctrl + drag a lasso from anywhere in the Track Selector panel across the track lights to do a reverse selection (turning off those tracks that were on, and turning on those that were off)
• Press Ctrl +A or Apple + A to select all tracks when the Timeline window is active
• Press Shift + Ctrl + A or Shift + Apple +A to deselect all tracks when the Timeline window is active
COLOR-CODING CLIPS
• Source colors are colors assigned to master clips in a bin
• Local colors are colors assigned to clips in the timeline
• Go to Fast Menu in the timeline and choose Clip Color
TO CHOOSE A COLOR FOR A CLIP OR ANOTHER ITEM IN A BIN, select the clip and choose Edit – Set Clip Color – Choose the color
TO ADD A COLOR COLUMN TO A BIN, go into the Text View and choose the Bin Fast Menu – Headings. Select the color from the Headings scroll list and OK
TO DISPLAY COLORS IN THE TIMELINE, choose the Timeline Fast Menu – Clip Color and then choose one of the following options:
• Source – the colors assigned to clips in the bin appear in the timeline
• Offline- assigns the color red to any offline media in the timeline
• Local – displays local clip colors in the Timeline. To use this option:
• Choose Clip Color submenu – Local
• Click one of the segment mode buttons and select one or more clips
• Choose Edit – Set Local Clip Color – a color
• Deselect the Segment Mode button and the clips change color
TO SELECT A TIMELINE COLOR, click the track selector for the track you want to paint and to select the color, choose the Timeline Fast Menu – Track Color and pick a color. To continue to color another track, deselect the track you just painted and select another track and repeat the process
*** DO NOT CHOOSE PURPLE. Clips are changed to purple when they are segment selected.
• It is good to use one color for Video Tracks and another color for Audio Tracks (this way you can see the break between them in the timeline at a glance)
SELECT A THRID COLOR FOR THE TCI TRACK AND REPOSITION IT BETWEEN THE VIDEO AND AUDIO TRACKS
TO SELECT A SPECIFIC BACKGROUND COLOR FOR THE TIMELINE, deselect all record track selectors and click the Timeline Fast Menu. All the track color selection is now Background Color. Move the cursor up the menu and pick a color from the default palette or hold Alt or Option before opening the menu and select a background color from the color picker.
USING LOCATORS
TO ADD A LOCATOR, place the indicator on the frame, turn on the track you want the locator to appear (by default it goes to the highest track) and click the Add Locator button (put a button on the monitor and map it to a key) MAP IT TO THE F3 BUTTON SINCE F3 IS USED TO ADD A LOCATOR WHEN CAPTURING
Using the Locator window allows you to go quickly to any locator in the current sequence and add or modify comments and search using a word from the comment. You can also sort and delete one or more locators at once.
To view locators in the window, open the window by either going to Tools – Locators or Alt + click or Option + click the Add Locator Button to create a locator and open the locator window or just double click a locator in the position bar or single-click the oval-shaped mark in the source or record monitor.
In the Locator Window, if you double click a locator in a Bin, it’ll go to that point in the timeline
Locator comments will appear in an EDL if you select Comments in the EDL options
TO DISPLAY A LOCATOR BY A COLOR, choose Timeline Fast Menu – Show Locators and choose an option from the submenu
TO REMOVE A LOCATOR, activate the composer window and move to the frame containing the locator by clicking it in the position bar or using the FF/REW keys if Snap to Locator has been turned on in the Composer settings and press the Delete key (you can delete locators from the Locators Window the same way you delete clips from a bin)
TO GET THE INDICATOR TO STOP AT NEXT/PREVIOUS LOCATORS, it is a good idea to duplicate a setting in a Bin by going to Composer – FF Stops at Head or Composer – FF stops at Locator. Then you can select which one you want active
CUSTOMIZING BUTTONS AND KEYS
TO REMOVE A BUTTON, drag a blank button from the Other Command palette on top of the button
TO ACCESS SECOND LEVEL, open the keyboard settings and hold down the Shift Key and continue to hold down the shift key and drag and drop buttons from the Command Palette
USING A MULTIFUNCTION SPACE BAR
• Open the Keyboard Settings
• Open the Command Palette and click the Play Tab
• Select the Button to Button reassignment box
• Drag the Play button (not the Play Forward button) onto the Space Bar
• Shift + Drag the Source/Record Mode button from the Other Tab of the Command Palette onto the space bar
• The space bar will now: (Play or Stop in Source/Record mode; Play Loop in Trim Mode; Shift + Space Bar will take you from either Effects Mode or Trim Mode to Source/Record Mode)
VIDEO AND AUDIO TRACKS (smart things to do)
• You should map your video track keys (V1-V8) to the (F1-F8) keys and the (A1-A8) to the Shift + (F1-F8) keys.
MATCH FRAME
To maintain the clip’s original IN & OUT points, Alt/Option & click on the Match Frame Button
To Match frame a Slo-Mo’d effect, hit the Match frame button twice
Match frame matches the highest active track
REVERSE MATCH FRAME
The system will locate the current displayed frame in the Source monitor and display it in the sequence. THIS IS A FAST WAY TO DETERMINE IF YOU HAVE USED A SPECIFIC FRAME SOMEWHERE ELSE IN YOUR SEQUENCE
TO QUICKLY SEE THE CLIP IN THE TIMELINE, ADD A COLOR TO THE CLIP IN THE BIN AND TURN ON SOURCE COLORS IN THE TIMELINE
TO PERFORM A REVERSE MATCH FRAME, move to the frame in Source Monitor you want to match and press the button (or map the button to a key)
FAST MATCH FRAME
In the sequence move to the frame you want to match and right click on the track you want to match and choose Match Frame Track
FIND BIN
TO FIND THE BIN FOR A CLIP IN THE SOURCE MONITOR, load the clip into the Source Monitor or load the sequence into the Record Monitor and with either monitor active, choose Find Bin from the monitor’s unscrewing buttons
TO FIND THE BIN FOR A SPECIFIC CLIP IN THE SEQUENCE, Place the indicator on the clip in the timeline and turn on the appropriate track and hold down the Alt/Option key and select Find Bin from the Record Monitor
COMMAND PALETTE
It’s possible to put menu items on to buttons. This is useful to rapidly access functions that are hidden away or have no keyboard shortcuts. To do this, select Menu to Button reassignment
SUBCLIPS
Subclips are good to use for long interviews (ie. for each question or answer) or for entire tapes that have been digitized in one long clip.
TO MAKE A SUBCLIP, load a master clip into the Source monitor, mark and In and an Out point, set the track lights, then Option/Alt + Click on the center of the monitor and drag the clip into a bin. The subclip is made and ready to be named. You can also click and drag on the icon next to the clip name and drag it into the bin.
It is possible to trim beyond the end of a subclip into material from the original master clip
You can map a Make Subclip button onto a key if you wish to make many subclips.
Subclips can also be used in conjunction with the Consolidate command offering a simple way of clearing unwanted media from your drives.
USING THE CLIPBOARD
When you do an Apple + C to copy something, it is placed in Avid’s clipboard. To see the clipboard contents, go to Tools – Clipboard and it will appear in the form of a pop up monitor. All or part of the elements can be edited into a sequence.
The clipboard contents can be loaded into the Source Monitor by clicking on the current clip name and selecting Clipboard Contents from the monitor menu (this menu is revealed by clicking and holding on the clip name above the Source or Record monitor.
If you immediately wish to re-edit the material you removed or copy from your sequence, then hold down the Option/Alt key as you cut, lift or copy and the section will be automatically loaded into the Source Monitor.
IF I OPTION + DRAG A FILE INTO A NEW FOLDER, IT WILL COPY IT
WORKSPACES
You can save a snap shot of the windows on the monitor and allow the user to return to this setup later. For example when digitizing, the Digitize Tool, the Audio Tool and the Video Input tool will all be needed and it would be useful not to have the project window obscured by the Digitize Tool.
TO CONFIGURE A WORKSPACE, click Settings in the Project window and scroll to the bottom of the list. There will be a setting called Workspace. Duplicate this (Apple + D). Now you have 2 workspace settings and you can name one of them Digitize. Make sure that the small tick (including the active setting) is next to the new Digitize Workspace setting. Now you’d open and arrange the tools and windows you’ll need for digitizing. Then you can click next to the other workspace and name it “Edit” and rearrange the windows and tools as you’d like them for normal editing. You can make more workspaces if you wish.
TO SWAP WORKSPACES, it is faster to have buttons or keyboard keys programmed. Open the Command Palette and in the Other tab are a number of workspace buttoms (W1, W2, W3, etc). These can be mapped as desired. The workspace buttons automatically assign themselves to the workspaces you’ve created in alpha or numeric order.
DUPLICATE SETTINGS
Click on a setting in the project window to select it and then Apple + D. This is useful if there are two variations of a setting you’d like to use regularly. Modify one of the settings and name it. To switch settings, simply click to the left of the setting of choice and a tick appears.
FIND BIN
Pressing Find Bin with the Source Monitor active will open the bin containing the current source clip and highlight the clip in the bin. If the Option/Alt button is held down when pressing Find Bin on the Record side, the actual clip at the current position, on the highest active track, rather than the sequence, will be highlighted in its bin.
FIND FRAME
Pressing this loads the user to load the tape related to the current frame in the Source or Record monitor. Once loaded into the VTR, Avid will go through the tape and cue up the frame.
REPLACE EDIT
Allows you to replace a clip in the timeline without having to set any marks. It syncs the position of the playhead in the Source Monitor with the Record Position Indicator
Great for synchronizing music beats or sound effects with action
Also works with segments of different lengths on different tracks (if more than one track light is on, they’ll all be replaced).
Can also be used to Overwrite a marked section on the record side, instead of replacing an entire clip.
SYNC POINT EDITING
Takes the idea of Replace further
You can turn it on in the Composer Window & Special Menu
You can set marks on either the Source or Record side and synchronize the frames where the position indicators are set. A total of two marks is needed, either both on the source side, both on the record side or one mark on each side.
When this is activated, a black box under the Overwrite button in the Composer Window shows an orange indicator
Turn it off when you are finished
EDITING WITH GANGED POP UPS
TO SEE ALL CAMERA ANGELS, load one clip into the Source Monitor and the other clips into the pop-up monitors.
TO FORCE A CLIP TO LOAD INTO A POP-UP MONITOR, hold down the Option/Alt Key when double clicking the clip in the bin.
On a Mac, the pop-ups will only play on the Edit Monitor
TO SYNC THE CLIPS, move to a common frame on each pop-up and the source monitor. This can be done by timecode. Now lock all the pop-ups, the Source monitor and the Record monitor together by using the Gang button or Icon. Simply click the gang button on the record side and the Source monitor will be ganged. Then click the gang icon on each pop up and all are locked together.
Only one monitor will play in real time, but all will catch up when you stop.
TO IMORT FOOTAGE OFF OF A UNITY SYSTEM
• Minimize Media Composer
• Double click on My Computer
• Go to Back Up on Unity
• Find the correct folder and open it
• Open the Project Folder
• Click on the Icon I’m looking for and Copy it
• Put it on the Desktop – Shortcut to Avid Projects – then my folder and Paste it.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESOLUTIONS
• Single Field Resolutions (2:1s, 4:1s, 15:1s)
• Two-Field Interlaced Resolutions (2:1, 3:1, 10:1, 20:1)
• Multi-cam Resolutions (4:1m, 10:1m)
• Uncompressed Interlaced (2-field) : (1:1)
Resolutions can be mixed within each family, but not between families. For example: 2:1s and 15:1s can be mixed in one sequence but 2:1s and 20:1 cannot.
BASIC EDITING AND TRANSITIONS
To copy a clip from one bin to another, select the clip(s) and hold down Alt/Option and drag the clip to the other Bin. It’s good to leave the clips in their original Bins (which are named after their tape name).
Holding down the Ctrl/Apple Key while scrubbing through the timeline will snap to the edit point
In the Edit pulldown, there's an Undo List that I can go to a certain one instead of hitting Apple + Z eight times, I can go right to that command.
Hold down Apple Key or Ctrl Key with PC to make sure snapping is on.
The Yellow arrow at the bottom of the timeline will take whatever clip i select and it'll move it to where I want it to go and then it'll close the gap. If I select a video clip, I will also have to select the audio part of it too. Or I can click on the yellow botton arrow and then click outiside of the timeline area and drag a lasso around the clip and it'll select it with the yellow arrow chosen.
I can do the same thing with the red bottom arrow, except it'll do an overwirte an not an insert.
If I want to Extract a shot out of my timeline, make sure the audio and video are both selected or stuff may get out of sync.
ADDING A DISSOLVE
If I want to fade up from black on my first clip, put the blue indicator at the first frame and press the Backslash key (or the Quick Transition button). I would choose the far right of the 3 transition alignments to start up from black. Click Add and make sure it's going to the correct Drive.
If I set an in and out point over a few transitions, I can choose the Apply to all Transitions (In to Out)
TO CHANGE THE DURATION OF A TRANSITION, click a Transition in the timeline with the right track selected and while in Effects Mode, open the Effects Editor and in the bottom type in the new duration.
TO REMOVE A TRANSITION, park over it with the track selected and go into Effects Mode and press Delete
TO GET RID OF AN EFFECT, park over it and select the right track and press or click on the Stop Sign icon
ADVANCED TECHNIQUES WHEN WORKING WITH MONTAGES
For example, I have a music bed with 3 shots and I want to add a shot to it. Pick a shot and set an in and out point. and then either set my playhead where I want it and/or set an in point by holding down the Ctrl/Apple key to snap to the edit point. Select the tracks only that I want to affect and splice-in my shot (this should not affect my music bed track). If it seems abrupt, I can either Slip or Slide the edit/shot.
SLIPPING
Go into the Trim Mode and Lasso the entire clip from right to left (not just the edit point). I am not changing the length of the clip, I'm just changing the first and last frame by moving around inside the clip. This also does not affect where the clip in the sequence lies, it doesn't move the clip, just what's inside of it).
• Affects the Head and Tail frame of a clip
• Helps to make a Video and Audio event happen at a better point in time
• Add a Locator on the video clip and then fine the audio point you like and add a Locator on the audio track
• To get into Slip Mode, drag a Lasso from Right to Left over the clip in the timeline. Four Frames will show up in the windows
• Using Slipping will NOT change the duration of the shot
• You can also Slip by using the < or > keys.
• You can only slip one shot at a time
• You can slip on the fly while looping
SLIDING A SHOT
The material and length stays the same but the clips moves throughout the sequence depending, one side will get shorter while the other side of the clip I'm sliding gets longer. To slide a clip, be in the Trim Mode and hold down the Alt/Option Key and double-click on the clip I want to slide or Alt/Option and drag a lasso around the whole clip from right to left. Make sure that the tracks I want to move are highlighted. When I click on the trim buttons, the clip will move in that direction throughout the sequence. If I'm click to the left, my left or outgoing clip will become shorter while the clip on the right or incoming clip will get longer and the clip I have highlighted will stay exactly the same.
• Hold down Option/Alt and Lasso from Right to Left over the clip and it’ll go into Slide Mode
• If you drag Left, the outgoing clip (A clip) will get shorter and the clip after that clip will get longer. The clip’s duration will not change, it just changes its position in the timeline
• You can slide a bunch of clips at a time
• You can slide on the fly while looping