AVID EDITING NOTES
CAPTURING & DIGITIZING
BEFORE DIGITIZING
• BEFORE DIGITIZING ALWAYS, make sure to go to Settings – Audio Project and make sure the sample rate is at 48 Khz.
• Make sure the tone is set to (-20 db). Skim through the tape to make sure the audio matches the tone
• Also before digitizing, select the Video Input Tool from the pop up in the Digitize Tool, select the video Input Format (ie, Serial Digital/Composite). Then Click on the small Waveform & Vector icons.
• Cue up the tape to the Color Bars and make sure the TBC controls on your VTR are preset
• The SMPTE color bars on the NTSC tapes are not full field, so the line adjuster needs to be set appropriately
o To read Luminance, set the slider somewhere between line 203 and line 262. Play the tape and adjust the black level so it is on the 7.5 IRE line
o Adjust the Y-gain (Luminance) until the white level sits no higher than 100 IRE
• Once the Input levels have been adjusted, you can save the settings by clicking in the box at the bottom of the video tool. The setting name offered will match the tape name. Accept this and the video tool will return to this setting next time that this tape is used. (This only makes sense if you use the same VTR and that the deck’s TBC controls are on preset.
• In the Finishing Stage, an alternative method is to leave the input tool set to default (click on all the down pointing arrows so they turn green) and use the TBC controls on the deck to adjust levels. An external waveform monitor should be used for finishing.
• Click DIG and the Pencil to write it (ESC to end). Highlight all the clips to be digitized and then do a Batch Digitize.
• In the Digitize Tool, if you click the small disk icon on the left of the digitize window, it will change to show two disk icons, allowing the user to target different media volumes with the audio and video. ***Leave this set to a single volume unless you are sending the audio to a different physical hard drive
• If you are using Uncompressed video, send the audio to a drive other than the striped set used for video.
Make sure that my video and audio are selected if that’s what I want. From the drop down V & A choose what I want. Then choose which Bin I want it to go in and what Resolution I want to bring it in at. Then choose which drive I want the media to go to. Avid will put the drive with the most space in BOLD.
If I want to, I can have my audio go to one drive and my video to another by clicking on the Single/Dual Drive Media Mode button. Under the Play button is where it tells me if I have a deck selected that the Avid recognizes.
I should then create a Tape Name. Highlight the tape name and click OK. The tape name should then show up underneath the deck name in the Capture Tool.
Click PLAY and set an In Point and Out Point and then I can name my clip. Then to capture it, click the Red Record Button (make sure the Video and Audio channels are selected).
AUDIO PREPARATION
• Go to Settings – Audio Project. Open the Audio Tool. (-18db on the left hand (digital) scale in the Audio Tool is equivalent to the 4 on a normal UK PPM meter.
• Go throughout the tape and check that peek levels don’t exceed –10db digital. DO NOT let levels approach the 0db mark or you will get distortion
DIGITIZING
• On The Fly- you can start by clicking on the BIG Red Button on the Digitize Tool.
• To STOP digitizing, click the Big Red Button again or press ESC. An error message may appear. Ignore this and click the “Keep Media” box.
• On some systems, the B-key or the F-4 key will start digitizing.
• The default name of the clip is the Bin Name with a number such as Interview.09. A clip name may be typed during digitizing; press TAB and you can type a comment
• Another way is to mark In and Out points and click the Red Button
• The deck pre-roll can be adjusted in the Deck settings in the Deck Configuration.
CAPTURING ON THE FLY
I can also click on Play and press the Red Record button and just capture on the fly. To stop recording click on the button again or press the Space Bar or Esc Key. The clip will show up in the Bin and I can then go in and change the name of the clip. When capturing, name the Bin based on the tape name. Later on, I can move clips around.
LOGGING CLIPS
• To log a clip, click on the DIG and the tool switches to logging mode. The media drive selectors vanish and the Red Record Button now toggles between Mark In and Mark Out and Log.
• Go through the tape and set in and out points and log the clip to the bin. You can name the clip now or later
• There is an option in Batch Digitize settings to “Log errors to the console and continue.” The Console is a window showing info about rhe system. SET THIS. If I don’t select this, when Batch Digitizing, it will halt at the first error.
• If my In Point is right after a timecode break, there is an option in the Digitize settings called, “Use Control Track instead of Timecode for Pre-roll.” Make sure to leave a note for the online editor that this was done!
• It’s better to log carefully or digitize on the fly to get the footage immediately after a timecode break.
LOGGING AND BATCH CAPTURING
Go to the top of the Capture Tool and click on the CAP icon (Capturing/Logging Media Tool). It will then turn into the Log Mode. This will allow me to move through the material and mark an in point and then an out point. Then where the Red Record button was is now a Pencil Icon. Click on it and then name the clip in the Bin and hit Enter and then continue the same process throughout the tape. See if there’s a Log Clip Button shortcut.
TO BATCH CAPTURE
Get out of the Log Mode by pressing the button and then go into the Bin and select all the clips that need to be captured by pressing Shift & Click on each one. Then go up to Bin – Batch Capture and press Ok when the window opens.
QUICK CAPTURE
When using DV and a DV camera as my deck. Rewind the tape to the begging and press play and then Record the whole tape. Before doing so, go to Settings Tab and Capture. Go to DV Options. Turn on DV Scene Extraction and select Both. What this will do is every time the Camera is shut off or paused, it will create a new sub-clip and it will put a Locator in the timeline if I drop the whole clip in there.
MODIFYING CLIP INFO
• Info about a logged Master Clip can be altered after logging a clip, but prior to digitizing, most clip info can be changed. To do this, select the clip in the bin and go to Clip – Modify. Here you can alter the tracks logged, the timecode in and out and the source. This is great in case you chose an incorrect tape name but take care – the clips source goes with it. Through the EDL and the online or redigitize.
• In and Out timecodes can be altered directly in the Bin display (text view) by clicking on the timecode, entering a new value and pressing enter. If a new In timecode is given, the Out timecode alters to match and the clip’s duration and remains the same. If you want to lengthen or shorten the duration, you must alter the Out timecode too.
• To find out the duration of your selected clips to digitize, go to File – Get Bin Info.
CAPTURING SOURCES WITHOUT TIMECODE
• This is for clips you cannot control using the Digitize Tool. Click on the “Toggle Source” button and it will change to show a large Red Oval and Bar. A second click will switch to an external timecode mode and if you click again it will get you back to normal.
• When in “No Timecode” mode, video and audio can be digitized from a CD, microphone or a VHS tape. A source still needs to be selected and named (ie. Mic or CD123). Start your source playing and click the Red Digitize Button. The Avid will apply timecode to the new clip based on the time-of-day from the computer’s internal clock
CAPTURE ACROSS TIMECODE BREAKS
• Works with best available control track selected (use this when a …..to have every frame). Not a good feature when Upresing, try not to use.
• Check Capture Across TC Breaks
• If there’s a lot of TC Breaks, transfer the tape to another tape so it’ll be smooth and I’ll know which TC is which.
OMF- Media Limit is 2 GB
FOR A LONG CAPTURE, go to Media Files Tab and choose Capture to Multiple Files and change the capture time to, for example 60. There will then be only one 60 minute clip in my bin, but it’ll actually reference five 2 GB files. ALWAYS leave this set.
DV OPTIONS TAB- If I check this, every time the tape starts and stops, I can set it to add a Locator or make a Subclip.
USING MEDIA CREATION TOOL (pg 131). Apple + 5 or Tools Pulldown or Settings-Media Creation
Capture Tab- leave at OMF, MXF is newer and not compatible with older systems
When logging, if I select all the clips and press Apple + I, it’ll tell me how long the clips are
Using Console, capture in Stereo L & R on the Mixing Board
After Capturing Clips and you decide that you want them to be Mono, highlight the clips in the Bin and go to Center Pan – can change them back to Default Pan
The Audio Sample Rate of a clip can be changed. Highlight the clip and go to Clip – Change Sample Rate and choose. I can delete the original media when done
CD is 44.1 khz and most projects should be 48 khz
IMPORTING A SHOT LOG
Insert a floppy, CD-rom or Flash drive and select the Bin in which the logged clips will go into and choose File – Import. Navigate to the Desktop and double click your source til you find the file and click Add. Click Done and the Bin fills with the logged clips.
CAPTURING TIPS AND TRICKS
Insert Tape and type Apple + N to type in the new tape name and hit enter
I can set the Custom Pre-roll at the bottom of the Digitize/Capture Tool. Set to 3 seconds
TO CREATE A SUBCLIP WHILE CAPTURING, start capturing as usual (with or without marked IN and OUT points. To begin the sub clip, press the F1 key. This highlights the subclip IN mark in the Capture tool. I can press the F1 key again if I want to change or update the start point of the subclip. Then type a name for the subclip (the name will not appear in the bin until I complete the capturing). When I want to close of end the subclip press F2. This will highlight the subclip OUT mark in the Capture Tool. A clip’s IN point remains open to change until you press F2.
ADVANCED CAPTURE OPTIONS
With the Capture Tool open. I may have some problems trying to control my deck. If so, do an Auto Configure. This will try to find a preset setting of the deck I'm using and it will ask me to name my tape if I already haven't. If the Avid doesn't recognize the deck it will name it with Generic in the title. I would then need to go to Adjust Deck and rename it with the preset that matches the deck.
If I need to change the Pre-roll, I can do it. Select the tape name, if I've already named it. If I want to shorten or lengthen the pre-roll, check Custom Pre-roll and then select one.
AUDIO OUT OF SYNC PROBLEMS WHEN CAPTURING
If my audio is out of sync with my video, for example I'm capturing VHS through a digital converter. I may want to Delay the Audio 1 or 2 frames test it out before I continue to capture the tape.
I may notice that the In Point that I select may be off by a few frames or more when I watch what I just captured. This happens with some decks. If I can figure out what the offset is, I can change the DV CApture Offset. A good way to test this is to have Timecode burned into the clip.
The DV Capture Offset is in the User Settings - Deck Preferences.
When capturing I can add info that will help me later.
I can mark an In Point and click on the Record Button. I can then enter the name of my clip and also add a comment while it is capturing. When I want to stop capturing the clip, press the Esc Key.
If I'm looking through footage and i see a great shot but I don't want to capture it at the moment and i wan to remember it and go back to it later. I can go down to the bottom of the capture window and the bottom button under the Mark Clip, click on it and it'll be kept in the Capture Tool's memory and i can continue to digitize other clips and then I can click on the Go To Memory button, which is on the other side of the Timecode area from the Memory Button.
Try to avoid marking an outpoint after a Timecode Break.
When logging, make sure the system knows what kind of a tape it is. There are 2 kinds of timecode in NTSC.
1). Drop Frame - mostly shot by broadcasters. It's better at recording an accurate time of day
2). Non-drop frame
I don't want to be logging a tape at Drop Frame when it's Non-drop frame because there will be problems Batch Digitizing.
Go to User Settings - Deck Preferences - Log As and choose either.
REDIGIZING ORIGINAL MASTER CLIPS
Sometimes some media may have been deleted for storage space or a project may need to be put on one side for a period before editing resumes. In most cases, the original clips may well be digitized as they were logged. This means that if media is ever deleted, it is good practice to keep a copy of the original binds and clips; this does not take up much space and will save much time later.
If most of the material for a project needs to be redigitized, open the bins and batch digitize the master clips. If a sequence needs major re-editing, it is useful to discover exactly which master clips were used. This can be done easily by going into the bin containing the sequence, click on the fast menu and choose Set Bin Display. Now choose Show Reference Clips and click OK. The Bin will now fill with all the original master clips in that sequence and digitizing can begin.
REDIGIZING SEQUENCES
A program will be offlined and the online or finishing my be done on the same or different Avid. In this case, the only media needed will be just that required to play the sequence and no more. If redigitizing is to be done at 2:1 or 1:1 (uncompressed), storage space may be tight, so it’s best to only digitize what material is needed.
Before redigitzing a sequence, Duplicate the sequence (so there will be an original copy of it that will still link to the master clips).
First name the new sequence something like “Offline Final” and duplicate it to give me a new sequence called “Offline Final copy.01” Rename this new copy something like”Ready for High Res” and move this new sequence to a new bin and close the bin containing the original offline sequence
The First Method is to select the sequence in its bin, choose Batch Digitize and force the system to redigitize the material required for the sequence. Decide here if I’m going to keep the audio used for the offline. If a lot of mixing and balancing has been done, and particularly if much audio has been imported or digitized without timecode, then this is a good plan.
If the Offline was done on a different Avid, consider consolidating an audio-only subsequence of my offline and moving the audio clips to the online with an external harddrive.
Copy the media files into one of the OMFI MediaFiles on the finishing system at the Desktop level, then launch Avid. The media should link to the audio subsequence I brought from the offline.
If I’m on a Avid for the offline and I want to delete the low-resolution video media, then go ahead and do it. Open the Media Tool and display the master clips from my project. Select all the clips and press Delete. Take the next step slowly and Deselect the check boxes next to the entries “Delete xxx audio files?” so that when I press OK, I will only delete the video. If I do this wrong, I will have a lot of extra work. When done, close the Media Tool.
Next, move to the bin containing my new sequence and open the Digitize Tool. Choose the New Resolution, select the sequence, choose Batch Digitize and make sure that I leave “Digitize only those clips for which media is unavailable” selected. The system will now detect that audio media exists and only digitize new video. If I didn’t delete any original media, then no new media will be created as the system detects media that will link with the sequence and thinks that the job is finished (the resolution is ignored). If I deselect “Digitize only…”, new media will be created regardless, both audio and video.
During the digitizing process new clips will be created to go with the new media. If I have used an original clip called “djfdj” several times in the edit, then I’ll end up with new clips called “djfdj.new.01” and “djfdj.new.02” and so on.
RETURN TO BIOGRAPHY