Avid MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide Version 2.
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Contents Using This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Resizing Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Moving Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Moving or Copying Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Duplicating Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Renaming Assets . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Segmenting Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Writing Stories in Right-to-Left Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Using Annotation to Dictate a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Editing a Story. . .
Audio-Only and Video-Only Advanced Sequences (Interplay | Production) . . . . . 128 Creating an Interplay | MAM Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Audio-Only Basic Sequences (Interplay | MAM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Saving a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Saving a Version of a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Markers to a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced Sequences Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Enabling Audio Scrubbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Modifying the Start Timecode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Chapter 6 Working with Video Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Opening an Enclosing Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Transcoding Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Viewing and Editing a Clip During Ingest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Saving a Frame as an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Exporting an MP4 File. . . . . .
Sending a Sequence with Group Clips to a Playback Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 Chapter 9 Searching for Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Search and the Central Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Federated Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Media | Index and Indexed Search. . . . . . . . .
Understanding Segmentation Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 Locking a Stratum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319 Working with Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 Creating Segments (Gaps Not Allowed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321 Creating Segment (Gaps Allowed). . . . . .
Reusing Associated Assets in Other Panes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 Switching Between Associated Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 Creating Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 Deleting Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Delivering Assets and Media to a Remote Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394 Delivering Assets and Media to a Local Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396 Chapter 18 Working with Interplay | MAM Processes and Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 Understanding Processes, Tasks, and Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 Creating Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working Offline with Cached Queues and Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438 Caching Queues and Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439 Viewing Queues and Stories in Offline Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 Viewing Media Assets with MediaCentral | UX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Android Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479 Gestures for the Mobile Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479 Installing MediaCentral | UX on Your Android Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480 Starting MediaCentral | UX on the Android Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480 The Navigation Drawer and Directory Panel. . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix C Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525 Pane Type Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525 Launch Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 Assets Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using This Guide This guide is intended for all users of an Avid MediaCentral | UX system (formerly Interplay Central). This guide describes product features and basic user procedures, such as user settings and story or asset creation. For initial installation and configuration, see the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide. For administrative information, see the Avid MediaCentral | UX Administration Guide.
If You Need Help Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action Monospace font Monospace font identifies text that you view and type from the operating system command line. Ctrl+key or mouse action Press and hold the first key while you press the last key or perform the mouse action. For example, Command+Option+C or Ctrl+drag. | (pipe character) The pipe character is used in some Avid product names, such as Interplay | Production.
1 Getting Started The following main topics describe basic user tasks as well as various concepts and features you might encounter when working with MediaCentral | UX. • About MediaCentral | UX • Signing In to MediaCentral | UX • Understanding the Application Layouts • Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration • Support for iNEWS Communities • Viewing MediaCentral | UX Help About MediaCentral | UX MediaCentral UX delivers workflow tools for media professionals through both Web and mobile applications.
Signing In to MediaCentral | UX Interplay | Production The Avid Interplay Production system combines an asset database with workflow management software, both of which are integrated with Avid shared storage and Avid archive solutions. Interplay Production provides tools that let journalists and producers add rich media to stories and send the assembled video sequence to a playout server. Interplay | MAM The Avid Interplay MAM system helps to archive and manage media in a shared storage environment.
Understanding the Application Layouts To sign in to MediaCentral UX: 1. Open a supported browser and type the URL of your MediaCentral server. The URL is the computer name of the server. 2. At the sign-in screen, type your user name and password. 3. Click Sign In, or press Enter or Return (Macintosh). After a few moments, the MediaCentral UX application opens and displays the last layout that you used.
Understanding the Application Layouts Icon Pane Description Refer to... Assets A pane that displays assets. These assets can result from a search or from browsing. Assets are displayed in a folder hierarchy, if applicable to the assets displayed. “The Assets Pane” on page 40 Associations A pane that displays associations between Interplay MAM assets.
Understanding the Application Layouts Icon Pane Description Refer to... Packages A pane for Media Distribute users that you can Avid Media | Distribute User’s use to review and approve packages submitted Guide. for publication. The pane also displays a history of packages ready for publication and already published, which allows you to search all submitted and published packages.
Understanding the Application Layouts Icon Pane Web Story Description Refer to... A pane for Media Distribute that lets you create packages for publication to Web Content Management Systems (CMS). Avid Media | Distribute User’s Guide. In addition to the panes, the application layouts also feature bars that offer additional information, options, and functionality. q q w w e e The following table describes these bars. Bar Description Refer to...
Understanding the Application Layouts The following illustration shows the default layouts available to the Journalist role. The following table lists the layouts and which users have access to them. Layout Description Available To Cut Journalists, media loggers, and editors use this layout to create sequences. By default the Sequence pane is displayed horizontally. All users, based on role.
Understanding the Application Layouts Layout Description Available To Users Administrators use this layout to import, create, and manage MediaCentral UX users. Administrators only For more information, see “Avid MediaCentral | UX User Management” in the Avid MediaCentral | UX Administration Guide. To change to a different predefined layout: t n Choose the layout from the Layout selector.
Understanding the Application Layouts Working with Areas and Panes You can customize MediaCentral UX by adjusting a layout’s areas and panes. A single area can contain one or more panes. When an area contains more than one pane, the panes are displayed in a tabular format, with one pane on top of the others. The following illustration shows a typical Story layout. This layout is composed of six different areas and seven different panes. The area in the lower right contains two panes.
Understanding the Application Layouts 3 1 2 4 You can also move a pane to create a new area. In the following illustration, the Assets pane was moved to the left to create a new area.
Understanding the Application Layouts 4 1 1 2 3 5 If the number of tabbed panes within an area exceeds the area’s space within the browser window, Right and Left Arrow buttons appear next to the Pane Menu button, enabling you to navigate through all of the panes. You can move panes to save screen space and reconfigure panes in a way that best suits your needs. The application saves the last arrangement and displays it the next time you sign in to the application.
Understanding the Application Layouts The drop zone is highlighted in orange to help you identify where the pane will be positioned within the window when you release the mouse button. The following illustrations demonstrate the process of dragging the Media pane to each drop zone. In the illustrations, the Audio pane is already located in the area to which the Media pane is being moved.
Understanding the Application Layouts Drop Zone Position Result Bottom Left Right 33
Understanding the Application Layouts Active Panes An active pane (the pane with user focus) is outlined in orange.This feature helps you to know which keyboard shortcuts are available, because some shortcuts are available only if a pane has focus. For example, pressing the space bar controls playback only when the Media pane has focus. The following illustration shows the Media pane outlined in orange to indicate focus. Some panes have global shortcuts that work if another pane has focus.
Understanding the Application Layouts • Panes This menu lists the panes that you can open in the selected layout. For a list of these main panes, see “Understanding the Application Layouts” on page 23. You are only permitted one instance of some panes within the user interface; however, you can open multiple instances of an Assets pane or Search pane. If a single-instance pane is already opened, the option representing that pane will appear grayed out in the Panes menu.
Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration Icon Description Connected Interplay MAM system Connected iNEWS system Disconnected iNEWS system Project in the iNEWS database iNEWS Project (not started) iNEWS Project (expired) Opening a system, such as an iNEWS newsroom computer system, Interplay MAM system, or Interplay Production system, lets you view the contents of that system’s database in the Assets pane. Opening an iNEWS project from the Launch pane lets you view each project’s contents in the Assets pane.
Support for iNEWS Communities Enabling MOS To use plug-ins, you need to enable MOS in MediaCentral UX. • If you are using a Chrome browser, the first time you sign in to MediaCentral, a dialog box asks if you want to use MOS plug-ins. Click Yes. • If you click No, you can later enable MOS through a user setting. Select Home > User Settings > MOS and then select “MOS enabled.” Installing Plug-Ins For procedures on how to install plug-ins, see the documentation for the plug-in.
Support for iNEWS Communities Any projects listed are associated with your local system. You cannot show projects that are associated with remote systems. In MediaCentral UX, you can perform the following tasks on iNEWS remote systems: n • Browse stories in the Assets pane. • Load queues in the Queue/Story pane. • Display stories in the Queue/Story pane. • Create and edit stories. • Copy production cues from a story on one iNEWS system to a story on another. • Search a selected remote system.
Viewing MediaCentral | UX Help Viewing MediaCentral | UX Help The Help system for MediaCentral UX combines the contents of the following documents: • Avid MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide • Avid MediaCentral | UX Administration Guide • Media | Distribute User’s Guide. You can view help related to a specific pane.
2 Working with Assets The following main topics describe the Assets pane and how you can work with various assets in MediaCentral UX. • The Assets Pane • Working with News Assets • Working with Interplay | Production Assets • Working with Interplay | MAM Assets See also “Working with Remote Assets” on page 201. The Assets Pane Assets are items that are stored in a database, such as stories, scripts, video clips, and audio clips.
The Assets Pane To display assets in an Assets pane: t Double-click an item in the Launch pane. The following illustration shows the Interplay Production database selected in the Launch pane and its contents opened in the Assets pane below. The name of the highlighted system appears in the Asset pane’s tab. To open an additional Assets pane, do one of the following: t Select Panes > Assets. t Right-click an item in the Launch pane and select Open in New Assets Tab.
The Assets Pane Button Description Back button toggles the current view to the previous view in the pane. Forward button toggles the current view to the next view in the pane. Refresh button refreshes the current view in the pane. Close button closes the pane. Pane Menu button opens a menu providing various options, including opening the help content related to the pane. To expand a folder within the current view, do one of the following: t Click the turn-down arrow to the left of a folder.
The Assets Pane To create a shortcut to an asset, folder, or queue: t In the Assets pane or the Search results list, right-click an item and select Create Shortcut. A link to the item is displayed in the Shortcuts section of the Launch pane. To rename the shortcut, do one of the following: t Right-click the shortcut, select Rename Shortcut, type the new name, and press Enter. t Select the shortcut, press F2, type the new name, and press Enter.
Working with News Assets Working with News Assets The following topics describe the iNEWS database as it is displayed in the Assets pane: • Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets • Navigating the iNEWS Database Identifying iNEWS Directories, Queues, Projects, and Facets The iNEWS database is a file structure that is organized by directories that contain subfolders or queues, which in turn contain stories.
Working with News Assets Icon Description Directory or subfolder in the iNEWS database Indexed directory or subfolder Queue Indexed Queue Locked Queue Indexed and Locked Queue Facet Facet (not started) Facet (expired) In addition to facets, each project also contains the following queues in the Assets pane: Icon Description ALL queue - shows all stories associated with the project and its facets. These stories do not actually reside in the ALL queue.
Working with Interplay | Production Assets Navigating the iNEWS Database This topic provides procedures for viewing the database file structure by opening directories and queues. For information about projects and facets, see “Working with Projects” on page 76. The contents of directories are displayed in the Assets pane. The contents of queues are viewed in the Queue/Story pane. For more information, see “The Queue/Story Pane” on page 81.
Working with Interplay | Production Assets • “Viewing Interplay | Production Thumbnails” on page 54 • “Working with Remote Assets” on page 201 Identifying Interplay | Production Systems and Media Assets Different icons are used to identify Interplay Production assets and indicate status in the Assets pane. Icon Description Column Audio asset Name Video asset: master clip.
Working with Interplay | Production Assets Navigating the Interplay | Production Database The contents of folders in an Interplay Production system are displayed in the Assets pane. You can double-click an asset to open it in the Media pane. To open an Interplay Production folder: t Double-click the folder in the Assets pane. This action opens the folder's contents in the same pane. To return to the previous view of the database file structure, click the Back button.
Working with Interplay | Production Assets 2. Select the columns you want to add or deselect the columns you want to remove. You can use the search box to find a particular column. 3. Click the Close box or click anywhere outside the window to save your settings. Resizing Columns You can adjust the column width of any column displayed in the Assets pane. To resize a column: 1. Position your mouse pointer over the dividing line between two columns.
Working with Interplay | Production Assets Moving or Copying Assets You can move or copy assets in the Interplay Production database by using the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands. To move an asset to another folder: 1. Select one or more assets. 2. Right-click and select Cut. 3. Select the folder into which you want to move the asset, right-click, and select Paste. To copy an asset to another folder: 1. Select one or more assets. 2. Right-click and select Copy. 3.
Working with Interplay | Production Assets For more information, see the Interplay | Access User’s Guide or your Interplay Production administrator. To create a new folder in the Interplay Production database: 1. In the Assets tab, navigate into the folder in which you want to create the subfolder. n Selecting a folder does not create a subfolder in the folder. 2. Do one of the following to create the folder: t Click the Pane Menu button and select Create Folder.
Working with Interplay | Production Assets q w q w e e r q t q y q 1 Refresh button 4 Editable text box 2 Save button 5 Non-editable field 3 Pane Menu button 6 Custom property drop-down menu The properties that are displayed in the Metadata pane are determined by settings in the Property Layout view in the Interplay Administrator application.
Working with Interplay | Production Assets Note the following: • You can cut, copy, and paste text between the Metadata pane and other applications. • You can use the Tab key to move to the next editable text box or use Shift+Tab to move to the previous text box. • Text is limited to 32,000 characters. • The following characters are not valid for text in the Metadata pane: - Interplay Production asset names: / \ | Enter - Interplay Production folder names: * ? : / \ " < > | Enter If you try to s
Working with Interplay | Production Assets To update the information displayed: t Click the Refresh button. Viewing Interplay | Production Thumbnails The Thumbnails pane lets you display a series of small images of an asset (thumbnails). Viewing and double-clicking thumbnails can help you navigate through source clips and markers more quickly.
Working with Interplay | Production Assets Note the following: n • You can show thumbnails for master clips and subclips, and sequences when loaded in Asset mode. • You can view thumbnails for video clips, clips with video and audio, and audio-only clips. • The size of the thumbnails depends on the aspect ratio selected in the Media pane. Changing the aspect ratio changes the size of the thumbnails. • You can show thumbnails for group clips.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets Working with Interplay | MAM Assets An Interplay MAM database holds media assets such as video and audio assets, basic sequences, and graphics. The Interplay MAM Workspace allows you to carry out many aspects of day-to-day work with these assets by mapping tasks to a tree structure. The Workspace is displayed as a set of folders that contain references to media assets in the MAM database. For example, you save sequences or references to video assets to a folder.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets Navigating the Interplay | MAM Workspace The contents of released folders in an Interplay MAM Workspace are displayed in the Assets pane. You can double-click an asset to open it in any pane that supports displaying aspects of that asset. To open an Interplay MAM folder: t Double-click the folder in the Assets pane. This action opens the folder's contents in the same pane. To return to the previous view of the Workspace file structure, click the Back button.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets Icon Description Column Episode or Episode Version asset Name Feature or Feature Version asset Name File asset or Default placeholder icon Name Graphics asset Name Image asset Name Season asset Name Sequence asset (audio or video) Name Series asset Name Stock Footage asset Name Trailer asset Name Video or Rushes asset Name Audio asset placeholder icon. Is shown until a specific image Thumbnail is assigned as a thumbnail.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets Icon Description Column Graphics asset placeholder icon. Is shown until a specific image is assigned as a thumbnail. Thumbnail Image asset placeholder icon. Is shown until a specific image Thumbnail is assigned as a thumbnail. Season asset placeholder icon. Is shown until a specific image Thumbnail is assigned as a thumbnail. Series asset placeholder icon. Is shown until a specific image Thumbnail is assigned as a thumbnail. Stock Footage asset placeholder icon.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets 2. Do one of the following: t To create a sibling of the selected folder, click the Pane Menu button and select Create Folder. t To create a subfolder within the selected folder, right-click the folder and select Create Folder. A new folder is created with the name New.Folder. If there is already a folder named New.Folder, .01 is appended to the folder name, and incremented for each unnamed new folder (New.Folder.02, and so on). 3. Rename the folder.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets 3. Release the mouse button. Deleting a Folder You can delete folders from Interplay MAM Workspace in the Assets pane. If you delete a folder, all the references to media assets that it contains will also be deleted. Check whether you need the media asset references contained in a folder before you delete it. Your ability to delete a folder depends on Interplay MAM rules: the folder permissions in Interplay MAM Workspace must allow the deletion of the selected folder.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets The folder expands to show its contents and a green icon indicates if dropping is possible. 4. Release the mouse button. Valid asset references are pasted into the folder. References to assets that are not allowed as contents of the folder are not pasted. If there is already a reference to an asset with the same identifier in the folder, a message is displayed, and the asset is not pasted.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets The rights evaluation starts. During this time a busy indicator is shown in the Rights column. When the rights evaluation is finished the calculated usage right of the basic sequence is indicated by the corresponding Rights Indicator icon. For more information, see “Identifying Interplay | MAM Media Assets” on page 57. Selecting Assets Clicking an item (basic sequence, other asset, or folder) in a folder selects and highlights it.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets To copy an asset to another folder by using drag and drop: 1. Select one or more assets. 2. Drag the selection to the name or icon of the folder into which you want to copy the assets. The folder expands to show its contents and a green icon indicates if dropping is possible. 3. Release the mouse button. Valid assets are pasted into the folder, and assets that are not allowed as contents of the folder are not pasted.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets If your credentials allow deleting assets, the asset references are deleted. If you are not authorized to delete some of the selected assets or any assets, a message is displayed. After closing the message the folders that are released for deletion are deleted. Viewing and Editing Interplay | MAM Metadata The Metadata pane displays properties that are associated with a selected asset in the Interplay MAM database, such as Comments or Creation date.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets The properties that are displayed in the Metadata pane are determined by the configuration of the property and the metadata template of the corresponding asset type in the Interplay MAM Datamodel Administrator application.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets • Compound property: When you edit metadata that is allocated a compound property, you edit several properties that are combined into a single property. For each of these single properties you have several fields in which to enter data, just as you do for multi-value properties. The following illustration shows how three single properties (Broadcaster, Broadcast Time, and Broadcast Date) are combined into the Broadcastings property.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets Display Field type Description Integer Integer fields require figures. Floating-point Floating-point fields require figures and decimal points. Boolean Boolean check boxes differentiate between “applies” and “does not apply.” Legal list Drop-down lists provide the available values of a property. When you open a property of type legal list, the input control initially shows a search box and all values of the property.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets Editing Metadata In the Metadata pane, if a property is editable, a text box, drop-down menu, or other input control is displayed. Depending on the configuration of the asset template in Interplay MAM, the metadata might be distributed in several sections on the Metadata pane. Note the following: • If you are editing an Interplay MAM asset, metadata is locked to prevent other users from editing the metadata at the same time.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets To edit single-value properties of an asset: 1. (Option) If the metadata is grouped in different metadata sections, select the desired section from the Select View menu. 2. Click in a text box and enter text. 3. To edit a legal list property, click in the field and do one of the following: t Double-click the value or check its check box. t Navigate down the list using the Down Arrow key until you reach the desired value and press Enter.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets To discard your changes, click the Refresh button, load a different asset, or close the Metadata pane. To edit multi-value properties of an asset: 1. To add a new value to a multi-value property, click the Plus button. A new value is added at the bottom of the list. 2. Edit the value for each individual field inside a multi-value property as you would for a single-value property. 3.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets 2. Edit every field as you would for a single-value property. 3. Press the Tab key to move to the next property within the compound property or use Shift+Tab to move to the previous property. 4. To change the position of a row, click the drag icon to the left of the row, drag it and drop it between other rows or at the beginning or end of the property’s table. 5. To remove a row, select the row and click the Minus button. 6.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets Note the following: • You can show thumbnails for video assets. • The size of the thumbnails depends on the aspect ratio selected in the Media pane. Changing the aspect ratio changes the size of the thumbnails. • Currently, you cannot adjust the size of the thumbnails. • Click the Refresh button to update the display for changes to the asset, for example, if a user has extracted new thumbnails in Interplay MAM Cataloger.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets To apply a time-based filter: 1. To show only time-based thumbnails, click the Marker button so that it is inactive. 2. Use the slider to select one of the following frequencies: - one frame every 10 seconds (default setting) - one frame every 1 minute - one frame every 5 minutes - one frame every 10 minutes The Thumbnails pane shows the thumbnails that match the selected frequency. This setting persists from one session to another.
Working with Interplay | MAM Assets - High: Shows the thumbnails that are extracted by the Video Analysis only when the image content changed significantly. 4. Click the Close box or click anywhere outside the window to save your settings. The Thumbnails pane shows the thumbnails matching the selected filter. This setting persists from one session to another.
3 Working with Projects The following main topics describe the Project/Story pane and how to use projects and facets in news production: • Opening Projects or Facets • The Project/Story Pane • Associating Stories with Projects or Facets • Opening a Project or Facet Associated with a Story Opening Projects or Facets Using projects is a feature of the iNEWS newsroom computer system that provides a way of categorizing stories by topic so that news teams working on a particular topic can find everything
The Project/Story Pane Every project has an ALL queue that displays in the Queue panel all stories associated with the project and its facets. Any indexed story can be associated with a project or facet. Stories associated with a project retain their original source queue location in the iNEWS database; they do not actually reside in the ALL queue. Stories associated with a project also retain their original source permissions.
The Project/Story Pane The Project/Story pane functions similarly to the Queue/Story pane. It can display either a project’s facet or a news story associated with that project’s facet. It can also display both at the same time, as shown in the following illustration: n The title that appears on the pane’s tab changes based on what is selected in the Project/Story pane. Two buttons, Project and Story, are located at the top of the pane.
Associating Stories with Projects or Facets When only the facet or one of the project’s queues (ALL, QUERY, or BUCKET) is shown, the display is called a grid view. When only the story is shown in the pane, the display is called a story view. And when both are visible, the display is called a split view. You can use the horizontal dividing line between the grid and story sections of the pane to adjust the ratio of the split view display within the pane.
4 Building a Script The following main topics describe the Queue/Story pane and basic techniques of script building.
The Queue/Story Pane The Queue/Story Pane In MediaCentral UX, you can create iNEWS stories, edit them in the Queue/Story pane, and save them on an iNEWS server. The Queue/Story pane can display either an iNEWS queue, such as a show's rundown, or a story in that queue.
The Queue/Story Pane When only the queue is displayed in the pane, the display is called a grid view. When only the story is shown in the pane, the display is called a story view. When both are visible, the display is called a split view. You can use the horizontal dividing line between the queue and story sections of the pane to adjust the ratio of the split view within the pane. When you position your mouse pointer over the dividing line, the mouse pointer changes to a double arrow.
The Queue/Story Pane Display or Control Description 6 Normal Sets text as normal. See “Formatting a Script” on page 91 7 Presenter Sets text as presenter instructions. 8 Closed Caption Sets text as closed-captioning. 9 Template Inserts an iNEWS script template. See “Inserting Script Templates” on page 101 10 Open Sequence Opens the associated sequence. Use this button to create a new script sequence or to open one previously created. See “Adding Media to a Story” on page 102.
The Queue/Story Pane The Script Editor The section of the pane in which the story appears is called the Script Editor. There are three sections of the Script Editor: Story Form, Cue List, and Story. The following illustration identifies these areas.
Creating a Story To show the Story Form: t Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane and select Show Story Form. The Story is the section of the Script Editor in which you write your story or view the text of an existing story. As you type, your text automatically wraps to the next line when you reach the end of the current line. A scroll bar at the right side of this area appears when text extends beyond the bounds of the text area.
Segmenting Stories To create a new story: 1. Navigate to the row in which you want the new story to be inserted in the queue. 2. Click the Pane Menu button located at the top right corner of the Queue/Story pane. 3. Select Create Story. The existing row is pushed down, and a new row is inserted in the queue at that location. If you are in split view, you can begin writing your story; if not, open the new story by double-clicking on the new row. 4.
Segmenting Stories You can use segments to time the text and integrate it with video, audio, and production cues. See “Adding Media to a Story” on page 102. Multiple timed segments are combined to form the overall story. The following illustration shows the same story as the one in the previous example, but written as a segmented story. You can add or delete segments, split a segment in two, and rearrange segments within a story.
Writing Stories in Right-to-Left Languages To add a segment to a story: t Click in the segment marked NEW located at the bottom of the story and begin typing. See the previous illustration for an example. To split a segment in two: 1. Position the cursor in the story where you want to split the text into two segments. 2. Do one of the following: t Right-click and select Split Segment. t Click the Pane Menu button and select Split Segment. t Press Ctrl+] (Windows) or Command+] (Macintosh).
Using Annotation to Dictate a Story - • Queue grid cells switch to right-to-left and right-aligned if the first character in the cell is a right-to-left character. If the cell is center-aligned by default, it will remain center-aligned regardless of cell content. Manual switching - If focus is in any segment, alignment of all segments will be switched. Reloading the story will return the segment alignment to the default.
Editing a Story 3. Speak clearly. If you want sentence punctuation in your text, you can type it in later, or you can say what punctuation is needed as you speak. For example, if you want the text to be Hello, I’m Jane Doe., then you would need to say, “Hello comma I’m Jane Doe period.” The system punctuates contractions for you. For best results, conduct your dictation in a location without much background noise.
Editing a Story To paste text: t n Select the text and press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Command+V (Macintosh). To immediately undo the previous editing change, press Ctrl+Z. On a Macintosh, press Command+Z. To undo the previous edit, do one of the following: t Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Macintosh). t Right-click and select Undo. t Click the Pane Menu button and select Undo. To redo the previous edit, do one of the following: t Press Ctrl+Y (Windows) or Command+Y (Macintosh).
Editing a Story Closed captioning is most often used for “sound-bite verbatims.” The text for closed captioning appears green in the script and is sent to a closed caption encoder if your station uses such a device to broadcast scripts for the hearing-impaired. Closed captioning text does not appear in the teleprompter, and it is not included in the calculations of a script’s read time. n The default normal text style is sent to both the teleprompter and to any closed caption encoder used at the station.
Editing a Story When selected, the production cue marker is colored orange, and the information in the production cue is visible in the Cue List. You can copy one or more production cues from one story to another. To insert a production cue in a script: 1. Position your cursor in the story where you want to insert the production cue marker. 2. Do one of the following: t Right-click and select Insert Production Cue. t Click the Pane Menu button and select Insert Production Cue.
Editing a Story To copy one or more production cues to another story: 1. Open two stories. 2. Click and hold the mouse and select the production cue or cues, or text that includes the production cues. 3. Press Ctrl+C. 4. Position the insert cursor where you want to insert the production cue or cues. 5. Press Ctrl+V. If necessary, the production cues are renumbered to fit sequentially into the target story. You can also drag and drop the production cues from one story to another.
Deleting or Recovering a Deleted Story Adding a Primary Machine Control Instruction The machine control event associated with the Story Form, by default, takes precedence over other machine control commands put into a script, when the event list is generated by the iNEWS monitor server. If you want the machine control event associated with the Story Form to appear in a position other than first in the event list, you can insert a placeholder in the Story.
Grouping Stories Grouping Stories You can group stories within a queue to link them together. For example, a producer might want to link a presenter’s intro and tag before and after a reporter’s package as a story group within a rundown. When stories in a queue can be grouped, a Story Group column appears as the second column in the Queue panel located next to first column of selector buttons. n You can only create groups from contiguous stories.
Ordering a Queue t If the story you want to add is located in the row directly above or below the group to which you want to add it, select it along with the story group, then right-click and select Create Story Group. To remove a story from a story group, do the following: t Select the story, and then drag it to a new location in the queue. To move a story group: 1. In the Queue/Story panel, click any square within the Story Group column to select the group. 2.
Copying Stories A line indicator shows the intended new order, and the repositioned stories appear in their new place within the queue when you release the mouse pointer. Copying Stories You can copy stories from one location in a queue to another or from one queue to a second queue, including different queues within an iNEWS Community configuration. If you run a search of iNEWS stories, you can copy stories from the search results to an open queue.
Locking and Unlocking a Story another user, you can still navigate to that story and view it, but a warning message appears if you attempt to edit the story. The warning message states: Unable to obtain edit lock. Story is currently locked by another user. Segmented edit locking allows for one user to change Story Form data while another user has a lock on the story’s text and cue list.
Floating Stories n If you click the Unlock button, a confirmation dialog box appears stating the following: Story has been modified. Do you want to save it before unlocking? Choose Yes to save it and then unlock the story, No to unlock the story without saving modifications, or Cancel to return to the story with the edit lock still in place. Navigating between the Story Form section of the Script Editor to the Story or Cue List sections releases any segmented edit lock you have on the Story Form.
Inserting Script Templates 4. To add the story time back to the rundown, click the Float button again or right+click and select Unfloat. Inserting Script Templates Script templates are templates created by an administrator for you to use to quickly insert predefined text and segments into stories.
Inserting MOS Placeholders Inserting MOS Placeholders You can create a placeholder item for a third-party MOS device in an iNEWS story, in either the story form or as a story’s production cue. To add it to the story form, the story form must be capable of including MOS information. n The iNEWS server must be running iNEWS v4.0.3 or later. To insert a MOS object placeholder: 1. Position your cursor in one of the following places: - In a segment in the Story editor. - In any field in the Story form.
Associating a Sequence with a Story n Saving a story does not save a sequence associated with a story. You must save the sequence in the Sequence pane. See “Saving a Sequence” on page 130 Associating a Sequence with a Story In addition to using MediaCentral UX to create a new sequence for a story (see “Creating an Interplay | Production Sequence” on page 124), you can associate an existing sequence with an iNEWS story.
Associating a Sequence with a Story If you associate a sequence with a story that already has a sequence associated with it, you can overwrite the existing association with the new sequence. You can update the timing field for a story when you associate a sequence with it so that the duration of a story matches the duration of the sequence. If you unassociate a sequence from a story, the duration of the story returns to its original value.
Associating a Sequence with a Story 4. To specify how the timing field is updated, click the Timing field menu in the Details pane and select one of the following: AUDIO-TIME This field displays the estimated read time for a story. Unless specified manually, the estimated time is based on the length of the story and presenter’s read rate. If there is also a TAPE-TIME field in the story form, the system adds the TAPE-TIME to the AUDIO-TIME to calculate the story’s total time.
Associating a Sequence with a Story To associate a sequence with a story: 1. Open your story in the Queue/Story pane. 2. Open the sequence in the Interplay database that you want to associate with your story. 3. Drag the sequence from the Media pane, the Asset pane, or the results list in the Search pane, and then drop it on your iNEWS story. n You cannot undo this action. If you want to associate a different sequence with your story, select a new sequence and repeat the procedure.
Creating a Text-Only Story Segment 3. Drag the sequence from the Media pane, the Asset pane, or the results list in the Search pane, and then drop it on your iNEWS story. A dialog box opens and asks if you want to override the existing associated sequence with the new one. 4. Click Yes. The new sequence replaces the old associated sequence. To remove the associated sequence from a story, do one of the following: t Right-click the story in the queue, and then select Unassociate Sequence.
Creating a Text-Only Story Segment The timing block is removed from the sequence. If you extend a video or audio segment into a timing block that was removed, the timing block is displayed. To reconnect text-only story segments: t Click the Sequence Pane menu button and select “Reconnect Story Segments.” This action displays any timing blocks that were previously removed. Any changes you make to the sequence are saved with the sequence.
Copying and Sending iNEWS Links Copying and Sending iNEWS Links You can copy and send links to stories, queues, iNEWS folders, iNEWS facets, and iNEWS projects. These links are in URL format and can be shared through e-mail, wikis, documents, or chat messages. The links are valid as long as the item exists in the iNEWS database. When you click an iNEWS link or paste it into the address bar of a supported browser, MediaCentral UX opens with the correct layout and asset selection.
Recovering Stories Recovering Stories When you work in MediaCentral UX, the state of your story is stored on your local Windows or Macintosh system every 10 seconds. This feature is helpful in case of a disconnection or service failure, or if you close a browser session without saving your work. This feature is also helpful if your administrator sets an automatic session timeout. Edits made during the last ten seconds cannot be recovered.
Recovering Stories If the story includes a script sequence, and the Sequence pane is open, these buttons are displayed on the Sequence pane. You can switch back and forth between versions to compare them, and click the Keep This button when you decide which version to keep. • n n If you close the Auto Recovery dialog box without selecting an asset, you can select Auto-Recovered Assets from the Queue/Story pane menu to display the Auto Recovery dialog.
5 Using the Sequence Pane The following main topics describe the Sequence pane and how to use it: • Displaying the Sequence Pane • The Sequence Pane • Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences • Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline • Using the Sequence Zoom Bar • Viewing Sequence Information • Creating a Sequence • Saving a Sequence • Saving a Version of a Sequence • Recovering Sequences • Opening and Editing an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane • Opening a Sequence Assoc
The Sequence Pane The Sequence Pane The Sequence pane includes the Sequence Timeline and controls that let you edit a sequence. You can work with one of two Sequence Timelines: basic or advanced. See “Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences” on page 116. You can display the Sequence pane with a vertical timeline or a horizontal timeline. The following illustration shows the two timelines and two orientations and identifies the controls.
The Sequence Pane Control Description 4 Overwrite button Performs an overwrite edit. See “Performing an Overwrite Edit in a Basic Sequence” on page 151 and “Performing an Overwrite Edit in an Advanced Sequence” on page 154. 5 Replace button Performs a replace edit. See “Performing a Replace Edit” on page 158. 6 Delete Segment button Deletes the selected segment from the sequence. See “Moving or Deleting Segments in the Timeline” on page 164.
The Sequence Pane Control Description 14 Timing block header (Script sequence only) Displays the duration of the media currently contained in the timing block and the duration of the text in the associated story segment. See “Working with Timing Displays” on page 138. 15 Pane Menu button Provides options for working with sequences. 16 Position indicator Lets you scrub through a clip or sequence.
Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences n Menu Item Description Sequence Mixdown Sends a sequence to mixdown. See “Transcoding Assets” on page 215. Audio Scrubbing Enables or disables audio scrubbing. A check mark shows that audio scrubbing is enabled. See “Enabling Audio Scrubbing” on page 178. Orientation Lets you select the orientation of the timeline and toolbar: horizontal or vertical. See “Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline” on page 118.
Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences A basic sequence consists of cuts only. It is sometimes referred to as a shotlist or a cut list, or, in an Interplay MAM context, as an EDL (Edit Decision List). You cannot add video dissolves or audio dissolves to a basic sequence. All source audio tracks in the clips that compose a sequence are monitored in a single audio meter. You can select which channels are monitored. See “Audio Monitoring for Assets and Basic Sequences” on page 225.
Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline An administrator can rename the audio track labels. An administrator also determines the audio track mapping, which you can change. For information on renaming, mapping, and configuring audio tracks, and adding audio dissolves, see “Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences” on page 228. You can add video dissolves to an advanced sequence. See “Inserting Video Dissolves (Advanced Sequences Only)” on page 176. Audio dissolves are added automatically.
Using the Sequence Zoom Bar Using the Sequence Zoom Bar The Sequence zoom bar is located below the Sequence Timeline for horizontal orientation or to the left of the timeline for vertical orientation. You can use the zoom bar to enlarge a section of the Sequence Timeline so that you can work more easily with long sequences or make precise edit decisions. n The Sequence zoom bar is similar to the Media zoom bar, but the two zoom bars operate independently.
Using the Sequence Zoom Bar The zoom bar includes a position indicator that matches the position indicator in the Sequence Timeline and the Media Timeline. This position indicator is always visible in the zoom bar, which is useful when you are zoomed in to a section of the timeline that does not include the timeline position indicator. Position indicator in zoom bar but not in zoom region. You can click the position indicator in the zoom bar and jump to its counterpart in the timeline.
Using the Sequence Zoom Bar The zoom bar displays colored bars that match the content of the tracks in the sequence. To zoom in to or out from a section of the Sequence Timeline, do one of the following: t Drag a zoom slider handle in or out. The mouse pointer changes to a double-headed arrow when you hover over a zoom slider handle and select it. Zoom slider handles, right handle selected. The zoom region moves in or out symmetrically unless one end reaches the end of the sequence.
Viewing Sequence Information Viewing Sequence Information You can view the sequence name, format, and other details about the sequence loaded in the Sequence pane. To view sequence information: t Move the mouse pointer over the Sequence pane’s tab. The following table describes the information you can view for Interplay Production sequences. Item Description Name The asset name as listed in the Interplay Production database. Format 30i NTSC 25i PAL, 25p PAL 720p/25, 720p/29.97, 720p/50, 720p/59.
Creating a Sequence Item Description Rights Usage right of the sequence: Free for use Not evaluated so far Parts need to be licensed Contains restricted parts The usage right for the entire sequence is determined by the most restrictive usage right for a segment in the sequence. Duration Calculated automatically when you add or remove segments, or change the segment length. No of Segments Calculated automatically when you add or remove segments.
Creating a Sequence • For Interplay Production sequences, the video format is determined by the first clip that you add to the sequence. Any additional clips must match the initial video format. There is a special case when you record a voice-over before adding video. See “Recording a Voice-over” on page 236. • For Interplay MAM sequences, the target frame rate is defined when the basic sequence is created but you can add clips with a differing frame rate.
Creating a Sequence The sequence name is grayed out and in italics until online media is added to the sequence and you save the sequence. You can use this procedure to create a “placeholder” sequence for later editing. 3. Rename the sequence in the Assets pane by doing one of the following: t Select the sequence, click the name of the sequence, and type the new name, t Select the sequence and press F2 (Windows) or Enter (Macintosh).
Creating a Sequence To create an Interplay Production sequence associated with a story, edit it, and save it: 1. Open a story in the Queue/Story pane. 2. Open the Sequence pane. 3. Click the Open Sequence button. The name of the sequence in the Sequence pane tab and in the Media pane displays the name of the opened story. Clicking the Open Sequence button automatically opens the Media pane if it is closed.
Creating a Sequence Rules for Creating a Script Sequence (Interplay | Production) Keep in mind the following rules when creating a sequence that you want to associate with a story (referred to as a script sequence): • When creating a new sequence that you want to associate with a story, first open the Sequence pane, then click the Open Sequence button to associate the sequence with the story.
Creating a Sequence Audio-Only and Video-Only Advanced Sequences (Interplay | Production) You can create and save a video-only advanced sequence (video track and no audio) or an audio-only advanced sequence (VO track and no video). However, send-to-playback and other workflows are not supported for video-only or audio-only sequences.
Creating a Sequence 6. To define the frame rate of the video, do one of the following: t Select a predefined target frame rate from the Frame Rate list. t Type a value greater than 0 in the Frame Rate list field to define a customized frame rate. 7. To define the sample rate of the audio, do one of the following: t Select a predefined sample rate from the Sample Rate list. t Type a value greater than 0 in the Sample Rate list field to define a customized sample rate. 8. Click Save.
Saving a Sequence Note the following: • The sample rate is not evaluated and therefore you can create audio-only basic sequences with mixed sample rates. • You can add segments only from an audio asset to an audio-only basic sequence. • You have the same editing options as for basic sequences with one video and audio track: trim, split, overwrite, replace, and delete. • You can also open and edit audio-only basic sequences in Interplay MAM Desktop.
Saving a Version of a Sequence Saving a Version of a Sequence You can use the Save As feature to create and save a version of a sequence with a different name. You can also save the sequence in a different location. The new sequence is treated as a duplicate in the Interplay Production database, and can be edited independently from the original. n n The Save As feature is not supported for Interplay MAM sequences in MediaCentral UX v2.1.
Recovering Sequences You can recover your sequence in several different ways: • If a disconnection or failure occurs and you remain signed in, the editing functions of the Sequence pane are deactivated, and the Auto Recovery dialog box is displayed, as described below. • If the disconnection or failure results in the need to sign in again, the Auto Recovery dialog box is displayed and lists assets with unsaved changes. Click the name of the asset to open the last saved version.
Opening and Editing an Existing Sequence in the Sequence Pane You can switch back and forth between versions to compare them, and click the Keep This button when you decide which version to keep. • If you close the Auto Recovery dialog box without selecting an asset, you can select Auto-Recovered Assets from the Sequence pane menu to display the Auto Recovery dialog. This option appears only if auto-recovered assets are available.
Opening a Sequence Associated with a Story • If you open a sequence from an Interplay Production database but you do not have a read/write role for the folder that holds the sequence, the sequence opens as read-only. You can play the sequence but you cannot edit or save it. • If you open a sequence from an Interplay MAM database for which you do not have write permission or that represents an external sequence, the sequence opens as read-only. You can play the sequence but you cannot edit or save it.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story 3. Select “Autoload Sequence.” 4. Click Apply. To manually open a script sequence: 1. Open a story in the Queue/Story pane. 2. Open the Sequence pane. 3. Click the Open Sequence button. The associated sequence opens in the Sequence pane and Media pane. n After you associate a script sequence with a story, you cannot disassociate it. However, you can completely revise the sequence and rename it if necessary.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story n The previous illustration shows the Sequence pane in the horizontal orientation. You can change the orientation by clicking the Pane Menu button and selecting from the Orientation submenu. As you edit the text in your script and the media in your sequence, the story segments in the Story pane and the timing blocks in the Sequence pane remain synchronized to help you edit media to match your script.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story Working with Story Segments and Timing Blocks As you work, MediaCentral UX maintains synchronization between the story segments in your script and the timing blocks in your script sequence. As you create new story segments, new timing blocks are created. As you expand your script, or add media, the timing displays are updated. If you change the order of the story segments, the order of the timing blocks is also changed.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story n • If you are working on a script and a sequence together, the same set of Undo/Redo actions applies to both the Story pane and the Sequence pane. If you load a new sequence or close the Sequence pane, the Undo actions are lost in the Story pane. • For some news stories, you might need to create a story segment that is not associated with video in the story. For example, a story might include presenter text before the video starts.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story • If you insert a clip that is 10 seconds long, it fills 10 seconds of the timing block and the timing display changes to 0:10/0:16. Again, the media duration is red, because more media is needed. To fill this 6 second gap, you can lengthen the clip or add another clip.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story • If you insert a clip that is 20 seconds long, it extends the timing block 4 seconds. The timing display changes to 0:20/0:16. The media duration is black, indicating that there is enough media to match the length of the text. However, there is now a 4 second gap at the end of the text. You can either trim the video to 16 seconds, or add some text.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story Adding text or removing text changes the text duration of a story segment, which automatically changes the duration of the timing block to match.You can manually adjust the duration of the timing block. See “Manually Adjusting Timing Blocks” on page 145. Editing Media into Timing Blocks Editing media into a timing block is similar to editing media into the sequence (see “Editing a Sequence” on page 147).
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story Extending a Segment into Another Timing Block By default, video and audio edits do not cross timing block boundaries. If you try to extend a media segment beyond the boundary of a timing block, the timing block enlarges to match the duration of the segment. If you want to extend a segment beyond the timing block, for example, to create an L-cut, you need to use the extend segment feature.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story You can return the extended segments to their original duration by clicking the Extract/Retract button to retract the segment. To extend a segment: 1. Move the position indicator to the location to which you want to extend the video segment. 2. Select the segment. You can select only a video segment and its associated audio segments (if available). Video, NAT, and SOT are selected, but only video and NAT will be extended.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story Showing and Hiding Empty Timing Blocks If a story segment does not contain any text, and its corresponding timing block does not contain media, the timing is displayed as 0:00/0:00. Because the timing block does not contain media, it is considered empty, and by default it is not shown in the sequence.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story Note the following: • If you extend a segment over a hidden timing block and into the next timing block, the hidden timing block is displayed and the segment is extended into it. • If you take any actions to change a timing block, such as manually adjusting its duration, the block will always be shown. • You can create a text-only story segment that does not have a corresponding timing block. See “Creating a Text-Only Story Segment” on page 107.
Editing a Sequence Associated with a Story After you manually adjust a timing block, the timing display (media duration and text duration) will continue to automatically update. However, the size of the timing block will no longer be affected by the text duration. Also, a manually adjusted timing block cannot be hidden. To manually adjust a timing block: 1. Move the mouse pointer to the outside border of a timing block header so that a two-headed arrow appears. 2. Click the border of the header.
Editing a Sequence If you would like to adjust the timing block to a duration that is shorter than a media segment, you must first trim the media to the desired duration. Then drag the border of the timing block to the end of the media segment. Editing a Sequence You can work with one of two sequences: a basic sequence or an advanced sequence (see “Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences” on page 116).
Editing a Sequence Locking a Basic Sequence (Interplay | MAM) If you are editing an Interplay MAM sequence, the sequence is locked to prevent other users from editing the sequence at the same time. The lock is automatically set when you begin editing the sequence. You can manually set a lock before beginning editing by clicking the Lock button.
Editing a Sequence For Interplay Production sequences, the video format is determined by the first clip that you add to the sequence. Any additional clips must match the initial video format. For Interplay MAM sequences, the target frame rate is defined when the basic sequence is created but you can add clips with a differing frame rate. To insert an asset into the timeline for a basic sequence: 1. Click a video or audio asset in the Media viewer in the Media pane. 2.
Editing a Sequence Performing an Insert Edit in an Advanced Sequence The default timeline for an advanced sequence has four tracks: Video, NAT (natural sound), SOT (sound on tape), and VO (voice-over). For information about colors in the timeline and other sequence information, see “Understanding Basic and Advanced Sequences” on page 116 and “Selecting a Horizontal or Vertical Timeline” on page 118.
Editing a Sequence n The examples in this topic use a horizontal timeline. If you are editing a sequence in a vertical timeline, the guideline is also vertical, and the edits are determined by dragging to the left or to the right of the guideline. The video format is determined by the first clip that you add to the sequence. Any additional clips must match the initial video format. To perform an insert edit using drag and drop: 1. Load a clip in the Media pane and mark In and Out points.
Editing a Sequence • Drag a clip from the Media viewer and drop it on the Sequence Timeline. This method is a quick way to build a sequence but has fewer options. - You can overwrite only from the beginning of a video segment. - You can drag only when the Media pane is in Asset mode. The following illustration shows how an overwrite edit is displayed when you drag a clip to the timeline. A thin guideline is displayed through the video track.
Editing a Sequence Note the following: • If you use the drag and drop method, and you drop your clip in the Sequence Timeline before the guideline appears (approximately 0.5 second), you perform an insert edit instead of an overwrite edit. To perform an overwrite edit using the Overwrite button or B key: 1. Load a clip in the Media pane and mark In and Out points. The amount of material that you overwrite is determined by the In-to-Out duration marked on the clip.
Editing a Sequence Performing an Overwrite Edit in an Advanced Sequence If you are editing an advanced sequence, you can use the Overwrite feature to replace a portion of the sequence with a clip that is loaded in Asset mode. There are two ways to perform an overwrite edit: • Click the Overwrite button or press the B key. This method provides you with more options: - You can use the position indicator as an In point for the overwrite.
Editing a Sequence The following illustration shows how a video and NAT overwrite edit is displayed when you drag a clip to the timeline. The NAT track indicator is enabled. n The examples in this topic use a horizontal timeline. If you are editing a sequence in a vertical timeline, the guideline is also vertical, and the edits are determined by dragging to the left or to the right of the guideline.
Editing a Sequence For more information, see “Performing an Insert Edit in an Advanced Sequence” on page 150. Note the following: • You can perform an overwrite edit only in an advanced sequence. • If you use the drag and drop method, and you drop your clip in the Sequence Timeline before the guideline appears (approximately 0.5 second), you perform an insert edit instead of an overwrite edit. To perform an overwrite edit using the Overwrite button or B key: 1.
Editing a Sequence n Do not release the mouse button before the guideline appears (approximately 0.5 second) or you perform an insert edit instead of an overwrite edit. 4. Release the mouse button. The selected material overwrites the material in the timeline and the position indicator moves to the first frame of the next segment.
Editing a Sequence If the edited segment is the last segment in the sequence, the position indicator is set on an empty frame. This final frame is shown by black on the right side of the Media viewer. The only other way to access this frame is by clicking the Next Frame button or pressing the right arrow key when the position indicator is at the end of the last segment in a sequence.
Editing a Sequence starts 10 frames before the video, there must be 10 frames of source audio available before the In point. If the NAT extends 10 frames beyond the video, there must be sufficient source audio after the In point. • If a group clip is loaded (advanced sequences only), the active angle of the group clip is used as the source material. • A replace edit preserves any dissolves in the sequence. MediaCentral UX includes the necessary media handles when determining if the edit is possible.
Editing a Sequence To replace only video in an advanced sequence: 1. Load a clip in Asset mode and mark an IN point. 2. In the sequence, select the segment that you want to replace. To replace video only, make sure the NAT and SOT track buttons are not selected. 3. Click the Replace button. The selected video is replaced. In the following illustration, the replaced video segment is colored dark blue to indicate there is no corresponding audio in the sequence. The NAT video remains green.
Editing a Sequence In the following illustration, both the NAT track and the SOT track are selected. After the edit the video segment and SOT audio segment are colored light blue, to indicate video plus SOT. Light blue is also used for video plus NAT and SOT. To replace voice-over audio in an advanced sequence: 1. Load a clip in Asset mode and mark an IN point. 2. In the sequence, select the voice-over audio segment you want to replace. 3. Click the VO button. 4. Click the Replace button.
Editing a Sequence The selected audio is replaced. Enabling an Audio Track When editing an advanced sequence, you can enable audio tracks in the following combinations: • Video and NAT track • Video and SOT track • Video and NAT and SOT tracks • VO track Enabling an audio track provides options for the following operations: • Splitting a segment. See “Splitting a Segment” on page 174. • Performing an insert edit. See “Performing an Insert Edit in an Advanced Sequence” on page 150.
Editing a Sequence Note the following: - Enabling the VO track disables NAT and SOT tracks. - Enabling either the NAT or the SOT track disables the VO track - If both the NAT and SOT tracks are enabled, Alt-click a track to disable both tracks. - If both the NAT or SOT track are disabled, Alt-click a track to enable both tracks.
Editing a Sequence Undoing and Redoing an Action in the Sequence Pane You can undo or redo an action in the Sequence pane, such as restoring a clip that you deleted. You can undo or redo up to 100 actions. The undo/redo list is not saved after you sign out of a session. If an action affects a marker (Interplay Production assets only), the change is also shown in the Logging pane.
Editing a Sequence To move a segment in a sequence: 1. Click the segment you want to move. 2. Drag the segment and drop it in a new location in the timeline. In a long sequence, moving a segment to the viewable edge of the sequence (top or bottom for a vertical timeline, left or right for a horizontal timeline) scrolls the sequence in that direction. To delete a segment from a sequence, do one of the following: t Right-click the segment you want to delete and select Delete.
Editing a Sequence This feature applies only to the segment you select. It does not affect the audio in other segments of the sequence. n Enabling the track selector for NAT or SOT does not affect this feature. To add a NAT or SOT segment: t Right-click a segment in the Sequence pane and select one of the following: - Add audio segment > NAT - Add audio segment > SOT A check mark indicates if an audio segment is included in the sequence.
Editing a Sequence If you enable both NAT and SOT for a segment (as described in “Adding and Removing Audio Segments” on page 165), you can overwrite the original video and keep both NAT and SOT segments.The following illustration shows NAT and SOT tracks that are not associated with a video segment. The video segment above the selected NAT track is colored purple to indicate there is no associated audio.
Editing a Sequence If an edit can be made to any timecode location, snap points can help you accurately align your edit. This can be particularly useful when aligning audio and video.
Editing a Sequence The following topics describe trimming segments: • “Trimming a Basic Sequence” on page 169 • “Trimming an Advanced Sequence” on page 170 • “Trimming from the Top or the Tail of a Segment” on page 171 • “Using Double-Sided Trim” on page 172 Trimming a Basic Sequence When trimming a basic sequence, video and audio are trimmed together. You cannot trim only video or only audio.
Editing a Sequence Trimming an Advanced Sequence For an advanced sequence, you can trim the video track, the audio track, or both video and audio. To trim a segment using the mouse, do one of the following: t To trim both video and audio, click one end of the video segment and drag the trim indicator. The following illustration shows both video and audio segments that can be trimmed from the end of the segment. t To trim only audio, click one end of the audio segment and drag the trim indicator.
Editing a Sequence Trimming from the Top or the Tail of a Segment You can use a command or keyboard shortcut to trim a segment from the beginning (top) or end (tail) to the current position of the position indicator. To trim from the beginning of a segment: 1. Position the position indicator on the frame to which you want to trim. You can trim a selected segment or segments that overlap at the position indicator. To trim overlapping segments, do not select any segments.
Editing a Sequence Using Double-Sided Trim Double-sided trim refers to a trimming operation in which one video segment is extended into another video segment and overwrites the material in the trimmed segment. (This feature is referred to as dual-roller trim in Media Composer and NewsCutter.) The combined duration of both clips remains the same. • In a basic sequence, double-sided trim applies to video and to the synced audio track. • In an advanced sequence, double-sided trim applies to video only.
Editing a Sequence The following illustration shows an L-cut near the 20-second mark in the timeline. The SOT segment in the sequence (light blue) extends beyond its corresponding video. To create an L-cut: 1. Select the video segment you want to edit, positioning the mouse pointer near the end you want to adjust. A trim indicator is displayed in the segment’s video track, audio track, or both. 2.
Editing a Sequence Splitting a Segment You can use a button, a menu item, or a shortcut key to split segments at a selected timecode location, and then use the resulting split to edit the sequence. For example, you can split a video segment and its related audio, then delete one of the new segments. This feature is similar to the Avid editing system “Add Edit” feature.
Editing a Sequence To split one or more segments: 1. Move the position indicator to the location where you want to split the segment. 2. For an advanced sequence, enable the audio tracks that include segments that you want to split. 3. Do one of the following: t Click the Split button. t Press Ctrl+E (Windows) or Command+E (Macintosh). t Position the mouse pointer on the timecode bar, right-click the timecode bar, and select Split. t Select Split from the Sequence pane menu.
Editing a Sequence Adding a clip that contains markers: Any markers that are contained within the In and Out marks are copied to the sequence when you edit the clip into the sequence. Copying markers with a clip is a “one-time copy.” If you lengthen a clip by trimming, markers that are included in the added part of the clip are not copied. If you shorten a clip by trimming, you remove any markers that are included in the trimmed portion. They are not restored if you lengthen the clip.
Editing a Sequence t Press the Backslash key (\). t Click the Pane Menu button and select Insert Dissolve. The following illustration shows a dissolve between the two segments of a sequence, which is indicated by the square Dissolve icon located just to the right of the position indicator. n The icon is a static size and does not change with dissolves of varying durations. 3.
Editing a Sequence If altered, any new dissolve added to the sequence afterwards will have the altered setting for its duration. n You can change the default duration by changing the Dissolve Duration in the Sequence User Settings. 4. You can view the dissolve by positioning the position indicator in the Sequence Timeline at any point in the leading segment and then playing the output in the viewer of the Media pane.
Editing a Sequence To restore the original digits of the timecode, press the Backspace key or the Delete key. 4. Click OK. To switch between drop-frame and non-drop frame for NTSC sequences: t Type a semicolon (;) or colon (:) at any time.
6 Working with Video Media The following main topics describe how to work with the Media pane to view and edit your video assets: • The Media Pane • Playing Assets • Working with Remote Assets • Marking In and Out Points • Working with Markers and Restrictions • Displaying Captions and Segments • Using the Timecode Displays • Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame • Working in the Media Timeline • Using the Media Zoom Bar • Reviewing in the STP Target Resolution • Playing Back at the Highes
The Media Pane The Media Pane The Media pane provides you with the controls you need to play, cue, and mark video clips as you build your story. You can set the Media pane to one of two modes: • Click the Asset button to work in Asset mode. Use Asset mode to view master clips, subclips, and sequences, and to edit media into your sequence. You can also send a sequence to a playback device or add a MAM asset to a process.
The Media Pane Media Pane: Asset Mode The following illustration shows the Media pane in Asset mode. Displays and controls are described in the accompanying table. q w e i o r 1) t y u 1! Display or Control Description 1 Title Displays the name of an asset loaded from the Interplay Production database or the title of an asset loaded from the Interplay MAM database. The title of an Interplay MAM asset might not match the name in the Assets pane.
The Media Pane 3 4 Display or Control Description Video format display Displays the tracks associated with the asset. If the display is red, the asset does not have online media that matches the target resolution of the selected Send to Playback profile. If you move the mouse pointer over the display, you see what video and audio formats are associated with the asset, in addition to the tracks.
The Media Pane Display or Control Description 8 Pane Menu button Provides options for controlling the display and sending to playback. For more information, see “Media Pane Menu Options (Asset Mode)” on page 184. 9 Timecode displays Provides timecode information for the loaded asset or sequence. For more information, see “Using the Timecode Displays” on page 206. 10 Marker overlay Captions overlay Displays the contents of a selected marker for a loaded Interplay Production asset.
The Media Pane Menu Option Description Captions See “Displaying Captions and Segments” on page 205. Interplay MAM only Closed Captions Displays closed captions as overlays. See “Working with Closed Captions in MediaCentral | UX” on page 351. Safe Areas Displays two outlined boxes: the safe title area (inner box) and the safe action area (outer box). Titles and closed captions should remain within the inner box. The outer box is the safe action area for video display.
The Media Pane Menu Option Description Help Displays information about the audio pane. Use the Help control buttons to access other Help topics. Media Pane: Group Clip When a group clip is loaded in the Media pane, two additional buttons are displayed. qq q w 1 2 Control Description Multi-Angle View button Determines whether the clip is displayed in multi-angle view: Active Angle button • Single-angle • 2x2 • 3x3 Displays the active angle.
The Media Pane Media Pane: Output Mode The following illustration shows the Media pane in Output mode. Displays and controls are described in the accompanying table. i o q w e r t y u 1) 1! Display or Control Description 1 Title Displays the name of a sequence loaded from the Interplay Production database or the title of a sequence loaded from the Interplay MAM database. The title of an Interplay MAM sequence might not match the name in the Assets pane.
The Media Pane 3 Display or Control Description Video format display Displays the target resolution of the selected Send to Playback profile. Move your mouse pointer over the display to see the complete label for the target resolution. STP button Click this button to send the loaded sequence to a playback device. For more information, see “Sending a Sequence to a Playback Device” on page 384. For Interplay Production sequences only.
The Media Pane Display or Control 11 Review for Playback button MultiRez button Description Enables play of media in the send-to-playback target resolution. For more information, see “Reviewing in the STP Target Resolution” on page 211. If this option is enabled, the button also lets you choose to play back at the highest resolution. See “Playing Back at the Highest Resolution” on page 213. For Interplay Production sequences only.
The Media Pane Menu Option Description Send to Playback (profile name) See “Sending to Playback” on page 381. Interplay Production only Send to Playback Settings See “Specifying Send to Playback Settings” on page 381. Interplay Production only Actions See “Creating Processes” on page 399. Interplay MAM only Deliver to Me See “Delivering Assets and Media to a Local Workgroup” on page 396. Interplay Production only Deliver To See “Delivering Assets and Media to a Remote Workgroup” on page 394.
Playing Assets Playing Assets You can play a video asset or audio asset in the Media pane. The following illustration shows the play buttons in the Media pane. q w 1 Play In to Out 2 Play/Pause e 3 Review Out You can also use keyboard controls, including the J, K, and L keys. For more information, see “Using the J-K-L Keys for Playback” on page 192. For information about stepping through media, see “Stepping Through Assets” on page 193.
Playing Assets To play to an Out point: t In the Media pane, click the Review Out button. The position indicator moves to three seconds before the Out point and plays to the Out point. Using the J-K-L Keys for Playback The J-K-L keys on the keyboard allow you to play and shuttle through media at varying speeds. This feature, also referred to as three-button play or variable-speed play, allows you to use three fingers to manipulate the speed of playback for greater control.
Playing Assets t Press the J key to move backward at the same shuttle speed increments. t Press the K key to stop playback. t Press the K and L keys together for slow forward at ¼ times normal speed. t Press the K and J keys together for slow backward at ¼ times normal speed. t Press and hold the K key and tap the L key or the J key to step through footage one frame at a time.
Playing Assets You can also step through by In and Out points, markers, or timecode. See “Marking In and Out Points” on page 202, “Working with Markers and Restrictions” on page 204, and “Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame” on page 207. To step through an asset or sequence, do one of the following: t Click the 10 Seconds Back button. t Click the 1 Second Back button. t Click the 1 Frame Back button or press the left arrow key. t Click the 1 Frame Forward button or press the right arrow key.
Playing Assets Changing the Maximum Size of the Proxy Video An administrator can change the default pixel dimensions of the image displayed in the Media viewer. This is especially useful if you want to work with a large Media viewer. The default pixel width is 480. As you enlarge the Media viewer, the pixel size of the image enlarges up to the maximum size specified in the MediaCentral System Settings. For more information, see the Media | Central Administration Guide.
Playing Assets Simple Sequences and Complex Sequences MediaCentral UX can play simple sequences that are checked into the Interplay Production database or the Interplay MAM database. Simple sequences are defined as: • Shotlists created in Avid editing applications (NewsCutter, Media Composer, and Symphony) and Interplay Assist that consist of cuts only, with no effects.
Playing Assets Selecting the Playback Quality When you play media in MediaCentral UX, you are viewing media that is compressed for optimum viewing over a network. Instead of viewing source media in its native format, the media server compresses it on demand for network-based playback. You have the option of playing media using one of three quality options: good, better, best. Your choice is usually based on the network connection between you and the server.
Playing Assets Selecting Frame-Based Playback or File-Based Playback Earlier versions of MediaCentral UX used only frame-based playback. Starting with v2.1, MediaCentral UX includes an option to use file-based playback. The following sections compare the two types of playback and provide recommendations for when to use them. • Frame-based playback: Media is encoded as a series of JPEG files that are streamed directly from the server for playback.
Playing Assets If you select file-based playback, you have an option for how to scrub an asset in the Media viewer: n • Server: This setting is a frame-by-frame scrub that retrieves additional media from the server. It provides a complete scrub by allowing you to accurately drag the position indicator to every frame of a video. However, this type of scrub might not work well in low-bandwidth situations.
Playing Assets • - No progress bar or line indicates a portion of the asset that has not yet begun to load. This might happen if you are editing, and media in a sequence before or after the position indicator does not need to be loaded. If you click or drag in the unloaded area, loading begins. - Breaks in the green line indicate segment boundaries in a sequence (the start and end points of clips in the timeline). You might need to zoom in to see them.
Working with Remote Assets To select the scrubbing mode: 1. Click the Media Pane Menu button and highlight File Scrubbing Mode. The option shows that either Server or Local is selected. 2. To change the scrubbing mode, select either Server or Local from the sub-menu. Working with Remote Assets If you are working in a multi-zone MediaCentral environment, you can search for assets in any of the systems that are configured to work with the system you signed into.
Marking In and Out Points Note the following: • If you do not have the appropriate access permissions on the asset in the Interplay Production database, you cannot play the asset. Access permissions are checked based on the shared user identity in the MediaCentral User Management system. A users needs to have credentials linked to an Interplay Production user for any Media Central UX systems the user accesses. • You can play a remote asset, but you cannot add it to a sequence or create subclips.
Marking In and Out Points t Press I or E on the keyboard. The In point is moved to the frame you marked. If the clip is playing, marking an In point does not stop playback. You can change an In point’s location by dragging it along the Media Timeline. To mark an Out point: 1. Load a clip in the Media pane and navigate to the location where you want to set the Out point. 2. Do one of the following: t Click the Mark Out button. t Press O or R on the keyboard.
Working with Markers and Restrictions Working with Markers and Restrictions Markers are frame-specific indicators that a user can add when logging media with MediaCentral UX, Interplay Assist, or Interplay Access. A MediaCentral UX user can add markers in the Logging pane. For more information about adding markers, see “Logging Interplay | Production Assets and Creating Subclips” on page 282. n In Media Composer v6.0, Avid Symphony v6.0, and NewsCutter v10.
Displaying Captions and Segments For more information, see “Understanding Markers and Restrictions” on page 284. Displaying Captions and Segments A stratum allows you to view a media object from a specific perspective to consider its visual or editorial content. Strata are annotation layers that build the basis for logging Interplay MAM assets: each stratum can be segmented, each segment is defined by an In and Out mark, and then these segments can be annotated.
Using the Timecode Displays 3. Click the Pane Menu button, select Captions and select the stratum from which annotation shall be displayed as captions. If the stratum contains sub-properties of type “text”, select the desired sub-property. The Media viewer shows the annotation of the current segment as an overlay. The Media Timeline shows all segments of the stratum as alternating orange and blue sections. 4. Navigate through the asset.
Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame Display Description 2 Timecode display menu button Displays the options for displaying master, absolute, or remain timecode. 3 In point (Asset mode only) Displays timecode for the In point. The timecode displayed depends on your selection: Master, Absolute, or Remain. 4 Out point (Asset mode only) Displays timecode for the Out point. The timecode displayed depends on your selection: master, absolute, or remain.
Entering Timecode to Cue a Frame If you type a timecode that is earlier than the beginning of a clip or sequence, the first frame of the clip or sequence is displayed. If you type a timecode that is later than the end of the clip or sequence, the last frame of the clip or sequence is displayed. While you are entering timecode, you can type a plus sign (+) or a minus sign (-) to switch to offset mode. Any numbers you type are preserved. To cue to a frame based on a frame-offset value: 1.
Working in the Media Timeline Working in the Media Timeline The Media Timeline is a graphical representation of the length and time spans of an asset or sequence. The Media Timeline includes timing marks, a position indicator, and other controls. The following illustration shows the Media Timeline and controls in Asset mode.
Using the Media Zoom Bar These timing marks are intended for general navigation, not navigation to a specific timecode. For information about working with timecode, see “Using the Timecode Displays” on page 206. Using the Media Zoom Bar The Media zoom bar is located below the Media Timeline. You can use the zoom bar to enlarge a section of the Media Timeline so that you can work more easily with long clips. By default, the zoom bar is set to display the entire clip in the Media Timeline.
Reviewing in the STP Target Resolution To zoom in to or out from a section of the Media Timeline, do one of the following: t Drag a zoom bar handle in to zoom in or out to zoom out. t Press the Down Arrow key to zoom in by 50 percent or press the Up Arrow key to zoom out by 50 percent. t Press Shift+Up Arrow to reset the zoom level to show the entire sequence.
Reviewing in the STP Target Resolution For more information about the multi-function button, see “Playing Back at the Highest Resolution” on page 213. Reviewing in the STP target resolution is a temporary setting and applies only to the currently loaded sequence. To review a sequence in the STP target resolution (single-function button): 1. In Output mode, click the MultiRez button. The button turns orange. The top half of the icon is black. A tool tip shows the target resolution. 2. Play the sequence.
Playing Back at the Highest Resolution To return to normal playback, click the MultiRez button again. Playing Back at the Highest Resolution When you play media in MediaCentral UX in a multi-resolution environment, the media server plays the most compressed available media. You can choose to play back video at the highest available resolution. If video is available only in one resolution, the video is displayed in that resolution.
Using Match Frame 2. Play the asset. To return to normal playback, click the MultiRez button again. n You can select STP Target Resolution from the same button. See “Reviewing in the STP Target Resolution” on page 211. Using Match Frame The Match Frame feature lets you load a master clip that contains a specific frame of a sequence. This clip is called the source clip. You can use Match Frame to quickly load a clip from a sequence or subclip for additional editing.
Transcoding Assets If the asset is stored in only one folder, the folder opens in a new Assets pane, with the selected asset highlighted. If the asset is stored in more than one folder, the Open Enclosing Folder window opens and displays a list of folders that contain the asset. Double-click one of the listed folders and the folder opens in a new Assets pane, with the selected asset highlighted.
Transcoding Assets The Transcode service provides media operations through the following modes. Some modes are available only for particular media types. Mode Description Available for... WHOLE Transcodes an entire clip.
Transcoding Assets To transcode a sequence: 1. Do one of the following: t In the Assets pane or a Search pane, select an Interplay Production asset, right-click, and select Transcode. t In the Assets pane, select an Interplay Production asset and select Transcode from the Assets Pane menu. t With an asset loaded in the Media pane, click the Pane Menu button and select Transcode. The Transcode dialog box opens. 2. Select a mode from the Mode menu. 3. Select a Transcode profile from the Name menu.
Viewing and Editing a Clip During Ingest To cancel the process, click the x icon. If the process was successful, the Progress pane displays the name of the new master clip or the transcoded master clip. Click the Monitor icon to play the clip in the Media pane. The new master clip is created in the same Interplay Production folder as the original sequence. Click the blue link to open the folder in the Asset pane. Media for the new master clip is stored in the workspace specified in the Transcode profile.
Saving a Frame as an Image Saving a Frame as an Image From the Media pane, you can select a frame of video and save it as an image in either the PNG or JPG format. If a clip is associated with multiple resolutions, the image is saved in the highest available resolution. To save a frame as an image: 1. Open a video asset in the Media pane. 2. Navigate to the frame of video you want to save. 3. Click the Pane Menu button and select Save As Image. 4.
7 Using Audio The following main topics describe how to add audio to the Sequence Timeline and adjust audio levels to produce your final story: • The Audio Pane • Working with Audio Tracks in Basic Sequences • Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences • Setting the Audio Mix • Setting the Reference Level • Recording a Voice-over The Audio Pane The Audio pane provides you with controls for monitoring and adjusting audio levels. The Audio pane is displayed in the Cut, Log, and Story layouts.
The Audio Pane it ut t o qw q we e r r Control t r r y Description 1 Solo and Mute buttons Click the S (Solo) button to monitor only the selected track or tracks. Click the M (mute) button to mute the selected track or tracks. Gray M buttons indicate audio is enabled. See “Audio Monitoring for Assets and Basic Sequences” on page 225. 2 Track identifiers Identifies 24 audio tracks, numbered A01 to A24. Use the scroll bar to display tracks not currently displayed.
The Audio Pane Control Description 8 Audio meters Display the audio level for the mix of all tracks in the clip or sequence. There are two meters. For stereo output, each meter displays a separate level. For mono output, both meters display the same level. See “Setting the Audio Mix” on page 235. 9 Pane Menu button Provides the following options: • Mix Mode: Select Stereo or Mono to specify the audio output. See “Setting the Audio Mix” on page 235.
The Audio Pane yt t ut i q w e r t Control Description 1 Panning knob Controls the panning for each track. Click the green tip of the indicator and drag it left or right so that the indicator points to the desired level of panning. Dragging the indicator all the way to the L or the R pans all audio to the left or right channels. Double-click a knob for center panning. See “Panning for Advanced Sequences” on page 234. Panning is active only if Mix Mode is set for Stereo.
Working with Audio Tracks in Basic Sequences Control 5 Track identifier Description Identifies the track associated with the audio controls. By default, mono tracks are labeled NAT, SOT, and VO. For stereo tracks, labels by default are NAT 1, NAT 2, SOT 1, and SOT 2. The identifier for the master slider shows which tracks are currently monitored.
Working with Audio Tracks in Basic Sequences You can perform the following tasks to edit audio for clips, subclips, or a basic sequence: • You can select which tracks to monitor. See “Audio Monitoring for Assets and Basic Sequences” on page 225. • You can override the default panning for each track. See “Panning for Assets and Basic Sequences” on page 227. • You can set the mix as mono or stereo. See “Setting the Audio Mix” on page 235.
Working with Audio Tracks in Basic Sequences The following illustration shows the Audio pane for a master clip (left) and a basic sequence (right). These displays are very similar. For a master clip, audio tracks are labeled with the name of the master clip (in this example, Cam1_A1A14). For a sequence, audio tracks are labeled with the name of the sequence (in this example, Basic Sequence). The label beneath the audio meters shows which mode is selected in the Media pane.
Working with Audio Tracks in Basic Sequences To mute or enable all but a selected track: t Alt+click an M button for a specific track. If one track is muted (the M button is colored orange), Alt-click the button to enable the track and mute all other tracks. To mute the single track again and enable all other tracks, Alt+click the M button again. To solo a track: t Click the S button. M buttons for other tracks are automatically colored dull orange. You can solo more than one track.
Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences If Mix Mode is set for Mono, panning is ignored and all tracks are mixed into a single track, which is played back in both output monitors (left and right). This setting applies only to sequences played in MediaCentral UX and is not saved with the sequence. Default panning is used for mixdown and send to playback (STP). To override the default panning: t Click the panning drop-down list for the track that you want to set and select L, C, or R.
Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences An Interplay Production administrator can change the labels that identify each track by changing the settings in the Interplay Administrator Application Database Settings. The Interplay Administrator Application Database view also includes settings for specifying the number of channels to use for NAT and SOT and how to patch source and output tracks.
Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences An Interplay Production administrator can change the amount of ducking by changing the setting in the Interplay Administrator Application Database Settings. The default level is 12 dB. Automatic Creation of Audio Dissolves By default, MediaCentral UX creates an audio dissolve between each clip in your sequence.
Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences The button turns orange. Audio controls for the track are grayed out and the track identifier under the audio meters does not show the muted tracked. Overriding the Default Audio Track Patching An Interplay Production administrator sets the default source patching for NAT, SOT, and Voice audio on the Editing Settings tab of the Application Database Settings view.
Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences To override the default source audio patching: 1. Right-click an audio clip in the Sequence pane and select the track you want to change. The menu shows the currently selected audio patching. The following illustration shows a clip with two audio tracks that uses the default mapping. A check mark shows the selected source track. Bold text indicates the default audio patching. 2. From the submenu, select the source track you want to use.
Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences Adjusting Audio Levels for Advanced Sequences You can adjust audio levels for segments in each track in an advanced sequence. These adjustments are saved with the sequence and preserved when sending to playback. You can also adjust the master volume for the overall audio mix. Master volume adjustments are not saved. To adjust audio levels for a track in a sequence: t Drag the audio slider for the track you want to adjust.
Working with Audio Tracks in Advanced Sequences To set the volume at the default level for a track or the entire sequence: t n Double-click the slider. You can change the default reference level for the master volume. See “Setting the Reference Level” on page 216. Panning for Advanced Sequences MediaCentral UX uses panning for advanced sequences as it is set in the Interplay Administrator. • NAT and SOT tracks: Mapped as odd tracks=left, even tracks=right.
Setting the Audio Mix n For a procedure to override these defaults by using the application.properties file, see the Avid MediaCentral Platform ReadMe. This override is global and applies to all Interplay folders. n Complex (uneditable) sequences created in Media Composer use panning as set in Media Composer. Setting the Audio Mix You can set the audio mix for an asset or for a sequence. For an asset, up to 24 tracks are monitored. You can select which tracks to monitor.
Recording a Voice-over Recording a Voice-over You can use special audio controls in the Media pane to record a voice-over for your story. You can record the voice-over while the video is playing. You can record a voice-over only for advanced sequences. MediaCentral UX uses the recording function of the Adobe Flash Player to determine the input device used for the voice-over.
Recording a Voice-over For more information, see “Configuring Settings in the Interplay | Production Administrator” in the Avid MediaCentral | UX Administrator’s Guide. To record a voice-over: 1. Click the Output button to load the sequence into the Media pane. With the Output button selected, the Voice-over button is displayed in the lower right of the Media pane. 2. Click the Voice-over button. The voice-over controls are displayed. 3.
Recording a Voice-over When you record a voice-over, the new audio clip is named sequence_name.VO.nn. Voice-overs are checked into Interplay Production in the same folder as the sequence they are recorded into. 8. To exit the voice-over controls, click the Voice-over button.
8 Working with Group Clips The following topics describe working with group clips and multicamera workflows in MediaCentral UX: n • Group Clips and Multicamera Workflows • Working with Group Clips • Creating a Basic Sequence with Group Clips • Sending a Sequence with Group Clips to a Playback Device Subclips created from group clips, group clips composed of subclips, and multigroup clips are not currently supported by MediaCentral UX.
Group Clips and Multicamera Workflows Avid Editing Applications MediaCentral UX is qualified with group clips created by the following Avid editing applications: • Media Composer v5.0 and later • Avid Symphony v5.0 and later • NewsCutter v9.0 and later MediaCentral UX supports editing of sequences created in these applications that contain group clips, if the sequence consists of cuts only (for example, a shotlist).
Working with Group Clips n Subclips created from group clips, group clips composed of subclips, and multigroup clips are not currently supported by Interplay Transfer or Interplay Production Services. Working with Group Clips You open a group clip in the same way you open other assets: select the group clip in the Assets pane, load it in the Media Pane, and the clip opens in Asset mode.
Working with Group Clips Control Description 1 Active angle indicator An orange bounding box that indicates which master clip in a group clip is active. 2 Swap banks overlay arrows Switches the display from one group of multiple angles to another. If a group clip has more angles than fill a single grid (either 2x2 or 3x3), the angles are displayed in banks.
Working with Group Clips The following illustration shows the same group clip in a 2x2 grid and in a 3x3 grid. In both cases, angle 2 is selected as the active angle. In multi-angle view, if the last bank of a group clip contains fewer than the number of angles in the grid, the remaining angles are displayed as empty slots. Black filler is used as padding in master clips that have different start or end points from other master clips in the group clip.
Working with Group Clips You can create an image from a group clip displayed in single-angle view or multi-angle view. In multi-angle view, all angles are combined as a single image. For more information, see “Saving a Frame as an Image” on page 219. n n You cannot currently create a subclip from a group clip. MediaCentral UX supports group clips that include audio-only source clips (angles). However, at least one source clip must include video.
Working with Group Clips Loading a Group Clip and Changing the Angle View When you load a group clip, the Media viewer displays it in single-angle view. You can also display angles of the group clip in either a 2x2 grid or a 3x3 grid. You can use the 2x2 grid for a group clip with more than four angles; the additional angles are displayed in additional banks. You can use the same controls in either grid layout. To load a group clip: 1. In the Assets pane, navigate to the group clip you want to open.
Working with Group Clips To change the bank displayed, do one of the following: t For the next bank, press the right Swap Banks overlay arrow. t For the previous bank, press the left Swap Banks overlay arrow. t For the next bank, press Alt+. (period). t For the previous bank, press Alt+, (comma). t Select an active angle that is in a bank not currently displayed, for example, by typing Alt+number. The Media viewer changes to the bank that contains the new active angle.
Working with Group Clips To change the active angle displayed in Asset mode, do one of the following: t Click the Active Angle button and select an angle from the menu. The following illustration shows angle 1 selected from the 10 angles that make up the group clip. In this example, the group clip is displayed in a 2x2 grid, so lines divide the list into two banks of four angles and one bank of two angles. For a 3x3 grid, the list is divided into banks of nine angles.
Working with Group Clips Playing a Group Clip You can play a single angle of a group clip in single-angle view, or multiple angles in multi-angle view. In multi-angle view, all angles play simultaneously. You can change the active angle while the clip is playing and the clip continues to play. To play a single-angle of a group clip, do one of the following: t In single-angle view, click the Play button.
Working with Group Clips Selecting Audio Monitoring Preferences in Asset Mode The Audio pane includes special controls for audio monitoring of group clips. When you load a group clip in the Media pane and select Asset mode, the Audio pane displays audio tracks for the group clip and controls to set your monitoring preferences. The following controls are displayed only for group clips: • A track selector for each track in the group clip.
Working with Group Clips Audio Follows Video In the previous illustration, angle 1 is the active angle for the group clip. The master clip for this angle is named “0209U11 Kitchen RED,” which matches the names of the audio tracks that are selected. This is an example of “audio follows video,” which is indicated by the link icon on the track selector drop-down menu. Enabling and Disabling Tracks By default, all tracks are enabled for monitoring, as shown by gray S (solo) and M (mute) icons.
Working with Group Clips Mapping From Other Clips You can use the drop-down menu for each audio track to select audio from the corresponding audio track in any other clip in the group clip. The following illustration shows that Audio Follows Video is set for track A01, with a choice of audio from all angles in the group clip. n The order of the angles in the drop-down menu matches the order of the group clip as it was created in the Avid editing application.
Working with Group Clips The monitoring selections that you set are retained when you switch angles in the master clip. Custom monitoring is a user setting that is retained from session to session. Markers and Restrictions for Group Clips Markers and restrictions are supported for each master clip in a group clip. When you load a group clip in Asset mode, the Logging pane displays any markers or restrictions for master clips in the group clip.
Working with Group Clips You can edit existing markers and restrictions or you can add new ones. You can add a new marker or restriction to a master clip by selecting it as the active angle, either in single-angle view or multi-angle view. Master clips and group clips are linked, so that restrictions added or changed in a master clip are added or changed in the group clip. You cannot add a restriction to a group clip itself.
Creating a Basic Sequence with Group Clips Creating a Basic Sequence with Group Clips Complete editing support for group clips is available only in basic sequences. You can create a basic sequence exclusively of group clips, or combine group clips with master clips. You can select the camera angle and audio mapping for group clips in the sequence.
Creating a Basic Sequence with Group Clips You can change the active angle while the sequence is playing. - If you use the mouse to select the angle, playback stops. - If you use keyboard shortcuts to select the angle, playback continues. To change the audio selected for a group clip in a sequence: t Right-click the group clip or segment of a group clip, select Audio Mapping, select the audio track you want to map, and select the angle for the audio.
Adding an Active Angle of a Group Clip to an Advanced Sequence Adding an Active Angle of a Group Clip to an Advanced Sequence Complete editing support for group clips is available only in basic sequences. However, you can now add the active angle of a group clip to an advanced sequence. The result is that the original master clip is used in the sequence, along with its original audio tracks.
9 Searching for Assets The following main topics describe how to use the Search feature with Interplay Production, Interplay MAM, and iNEWS databases: • Search and the Central Index • The Search Bar • The Search Pane • Conducting a Search • The Search Results List Search and the Central Index MediaCentral UX provides two methods of searching your asset database.
Search and the Central Index There currently are some limitations in using an indexed search with iNEWS: • You cannot use the indexed search with iNEWS in a multi-zone environment. If your configuration includes multiple zones, the indexed search works only on the iNEWS system connected to the local zone. • You cannot search the content of any custom fields of your iNEWS stories. Media Index cannot search fields that have customized field names.
Search and the Central Index Indexed search maps Interplay Production properties to Media Index criterion fields.
The Search Bar If your MediaCentral Platform configuration includes Media Index, federated search is the default search method. You can change this by selecting indexed search from the Pane Menu. The search type selection persists for each user. The Search Bar The Search bar in the top right corner of the application window has a menu that you use to select the type of asset, a text field in which you can enter search criteria, and a Search button you click to conduct the search.
The Search Pane After you perform a search, you can display the results in a Search pane, and then use the advanced search criteria to refine and speed up your search. To display search results in a pane, do one of the following: t Click the Detach Search icon and drag the bar into any area in the MediaCentral UX window. t Click the Pane Menu button and select Detach Search.
The Search Pane The following illustration identifies the elements in the Search pane used for a federated search. y u i o q w e r t 1 Assets menu 6 Pane Menu button 2 Advanced Criteria (Modified Date selected) 7 Search text field 3 Add Criteria button 8 Minus button to remove search criteria 4 Sort arrow 9 Search button 5 Search results To open a Search pane: t Select Panes > Search. This opens a blank Search pane in which you can conduct your search.
Conducting a Search Conducting a Search You can search for assets by using the Search bar or the Search pane, using either the indexed search or the federated search. The Search pane provides advanced search criteria that let you conduct a more precise and faster search. You can also add filter criteria to your search to narrow your search results. n Indexed search requires Media Index to be installed and configured in your MediaCentral Platform environment.
Conducting a Search n • Boolean prefixes — You can use a plus (+) or a minus (-) sign as a prefix to force the search to either include or exclude a term. For example, typing quick brown +fox -news causes the search to return results that must contain “fox” and must exclude “news.” In this example, “quick” and “brown” are optional, but their presence improves the relevance of the result.
Conducting a Search n Your MediaCentral administrator can limit the number of languages to use for the indexed search during the Media Index configuration. Your administrator can also set default languages for search across multiple zones if you work with a multi-zone configuration. Your indexed search can also return assets containing timecode-based metadata, such as assets where the text within markers matches your search query.
Conducting a Search q w e r 1 Shortcut date buttons 3 Scope menu 2 Date slider 4 Date picker 7. If you want to define a date range, click the Scope menu and select one of the following to define your search: - Between - After - Before - Not restricted 8. To specify a date range, do the following: n t Click one of the shortcut date buttons to set your search for one of the common time spans. The shortcut date buttons indicate the time from the present.
Conducting a Search 10. To view the results found in a time-based metadata text field — for example, in marker text — click the Display Type menu and select Card, and then expand the Time-Based Metadata section. The results list displays a summary of the text found to match the search query and provides a timecode link to the location in the asset where the metadata occurs. To conduct a federated search: 1. Click the Pane Menu button and select Federated Search. 2.
Conducting a Search - For an Interplay Production search, typing White House returns items containing that exact phrase. - For an Interplay MAM search, typing White House returns items containing “White” and “House” in a single metadata field, or “White” in one metadata field and “House” in a different metadata field, but the results do not feature items with only “White” or “House.
Conducting a Search Advanced Search Filters In addition to the basic criteria described in “Conducting a Search” on page 263, you can select from the criteria filters listed in the following tables. The filters available depend on whether you select the indexed search or the federated search. Advanced Search with Media Index Indexed search uses metadata categories set up by your MediaCentral administrator when Media Index is configured.
Conducting a Search Search Criterion Description Tags Searches any tags added as metadata for media assets. Start Searches for the starting timecode. Duration Searches for the duration of media assets, measured as a timecode value. End Searches for the ending timecode. [system] Searches a specified MediaCentral server. If you select a server, all other server names are inactive in the search filters list.
Conducting a Search • Multiple values: You can select multiple values for some options. • Removing a value: Click the x on the value. Advanced Search with the Federated Search Option You do not need to include text in your search criteria for Modified Date, Reg. Date & Time, Video Resolution, Category, Type, Asset Type, or Rights. Using advanced search filters in the Search pane results in a faster and more precise search.
Conducting a Search Search Criterion Description Folder (Interplay Production, iNEWS only) Searches only the selected folders and their subfolders. Click Browse to navigate to and select a folder. To select multiple locations for your search, hold the Control key (Windows) or Command key (Macintosh) down while clicking the locations in which you want to conduct your search. If your local iNEWS system is part of an iNEWS community, you can select a folder in any available iNEWS server.
Conducting a Search Search Criterion Description Type (Interplay Production only) Searches the Interplay Production database for assets of a particular object type. Click the field and a list appears. Select one or more objects from the list. Asset Type (Interplay MAM only) Searches the Interplay MAM database for assets of a particular asset or basic sequence type. In Interplay MAM asset types are referred to as “object classes” and “EDL classes”. Click the field and a list appears.
Conducting a Search Indexed Search Examples The Media Index search engine uses language analysis and fuzzy matching to help find content even if the actual text is slightly different. This allows you to find words with incorrect spelling and word variations. n Indexed search requires Media Index to be installed and configured in your MediaCentral Platform environment.
Conducting a Search Operator Search expression Matches Does not match Fuzzy (~) quick~ quic, quakc, quick, quite uid, kik n quick~3 kwic, black quantum qui* quit, quick, quiz quack, kick qui? quit, quiz quick ?ick tick, sick quick “quick fox”~1 “quick brown fox” “quick and clever fox” By default the fuzzy operator allows for two different characters in a word, but you can specify more.
Conducting a Search Wild Card Characters and Operators Supported for Federated Searches in Interplay | MAM Databases In addition to the basic criteria described in “Conducting a Search” on page 263, you can use different wild cards and operators to specify your query when conducting a federated search in Interplay MAM databases. Option Example Result Single character I Returns assets that contain the single search character “i” in one of their metadata fields.
The Search Results List Option Example Result Brackets () and Operators (house AND (white OR blair)) NOT visitors If you create complex search queries — queries that use more than one Boolean operator — consider the priorities with which the operators are processed: NOT takes priority over AND, and AND takes priority over OR. In addition, you can use brackets in complex search queries to give structure to your query. In this case, the innermost bracket takes priority over the next bracket, and so on.
The Search Results List The search result list shows metadata for all found items in an overview table with configurable columns. Depending on the type of item (iNEWS, Media, or MAM asset) you can select items in the result list and open them in other panes for subsequent editing. You can also drag items that represent media stored in the local Interplay Production server from the search results list to a folder in the Assets pane.
The Search Results List Search results displayed in Grid view Indexed search results using criteria that include time-based values display a timestamp for the default time zone selected in the System Settings and appended by a Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) offset. For example, a timestamp of 04:30:00 AM -4:00 appearing in the search results list on a New York City system indicates that the time zone difference between New York (EDT) and UTC is four hours.
The Search Results List An arrow appears in the column. How the column sorts the results depends on the content of the column. For example, the Name column sorts results alphabetically, starting from the lowest number and the first letter or the reverse. To reverse the sorting order in Grid view or for federated searches: t Click the heading of the column again. To view additional items in Grid view or for federated searches: t Click the Show More Results button.
The Search Results List The asset opens in the Media pane. If the asset is a sequence and the Sequence pane is open, the asset is loaded in the Sequence Timeline. If the asset is an Interplay MAM asset and the panes are open, the asset opens also in the Logging, Metadata, and Thumbnails pane and its associations are shown in the Associations pane. For more information, see “Working with Video Media” on page 180 and “Using the Sequence Pane” on page 112.
10 Logging Interplay | Production Assets and Creating Subclips The following main topics describe features you use when logging your material.
Workflows for Logging MediaCentral UX enables fast, flexible logging. A special layout for logging, called the Log layout, provides a Logging pane for viewing and editing markers. Keyboard shortcuts give you a quick way to work with markers while controlling media playback. Example Workflows Following are three typical logging workflows. • Logging a video feed: A media logger logs content at the same time that the media is being ingested.
Understanding Markers and Restrictions Multiple Loggers Working on the Same Sequence Two or more media loggers can add markers to the same sequence. However, the loggers must limit their edits to the Logging pane and make sure no one else is editing the sequence. Any edits to the sequence (such as L cuts or trims) that are saved and checked in will overwrite the previously checked-in sequence, including markers not included in the edited sequence. Closing the Sequence pane can help avoid this problem.
Understanding Markers and Restrictions Markers and Avid Applications Users can add, view, and edit markers in several different Avid applications: • Avid Media Composer, including NewsCutter and Symphony options • Interplay Assist • Interplay Access • MediaCentral UX Markers added in any of these products can be viewed and edited by any of the other products in an Interplay Production environment. n In Media Composer v6.0, Avid Symphony v6.0, and NewsCutter v10.
Understanding Markers and Restrictions Setting Description Can create locators Create markers (formerly called “locators” in Avid editing products) Can modify locators Modify and delete markers Can create restrictions Create restrictions Can modify restrictions Modify and delete restrictions If a user does not have these permissions, the Create Marker button or the Create Restriction button is grayed out and a tool tip states that the user does not have permission to create a marker or restrictio
The Log Layout The Log Layout The Log layout provides you with an arrangement of panes defined for use in logging, which you can customize. The following illustration shows the Launch pane, the Media pane, and the Logging pane. The Logging pane tab displays the name of the loaded clip or sequence.
The Logging Pane for Interplay | Production Assets The Logging Pane for Interplay | Production Assets You create and view markers and marker text in the Logging pane. You can also view restrictions, if the clip or sequence contains them. n Prior to MediaCentral v2.1, this pane was called the Markers pane. The following illustration shows a series of markers in the Logging pane. Displays and controls are described in the accompanying table.
The Logging Pane for Interplay | Production Assets Display or Control Description 3 Create Marker button Click to create a new marker at the timecode selected in the Media pane. You can also create a new marker by pressing Ctrl+M (Windows and Macintosh) or Command + M (Macintosh). You can create a new marker of a specific color by pressing Ctrl plus a key on the numeric keypad.
The Logging Pane for Interplay | Production Assets 10 Display or Control Description Pane Menu button The Pane menu for the Logging pane contains options for both Interplay Production and Interplay MAM assets. The following options are available for Interplay Production: • Add or Remove Columns. Select the columns you want to display. • Delete. Functions the same as the Delete key (Windows), Backspace (Macintosh), or fn+Backspace (MacBook). • Help.
Adding, Saving, and Deleting Markers 14 Display or Control Description Restriction A restriction is displayed in several ways: • The restriction is displayed at the timecode where it starts. The IN and OUT column shows the span of the restriction. The far left column is colored dark orange. • A warning icon is displayed in the Color column.
Adding, Saving, and Deleting Markers You can select which color you want to use for the marker icon. This can be useful if you want to establish particular meanings for particular colors — for example, red for restrictions or blue for audio. The Marker Color button indicates the currently selected color for the marker icon. To change the color, click the button and select a different color. Changing the color affects only the next marker you set. Existing markers are not changed.
Working with Restrictions t Use the mouse to select a different marker. t Add a new marker. If you are adding markers to a sequence in Output mode, saving markers in the Logging pane also saves the sequence, including markers. Similarly, saving a sequence in Output mode also saves the markers in the sequence. To delete a marker, select one or more markers and do one of the following: t Press the Delete key (Windows), Backspace (Macintosh), or fn+Backspace (MacBook). t Right-click and select Delete.
Working with Restrictions Note the following: • The restriction is displayed at the timecode where it starts. The far left column is colored dark orange. The IN and OUT columns show the span of the restriction. If the position indicator is within a restriction, the restriction is displayed in bold. • A warning icon is displayed in the Color column.
Working with Restrictions Text for the restriction is shown on top of the Media viewer, preceded by a red triangle that indicates a restriction. • If there are overlapping restrictions, text for the first restriction is displayed until the start of the second restriction • If one restriction encloses another, text for the enclosing restriction is displayed. The following illustration shows the Logging pane and the Media pane for a clip named “Discovery Straight On.new.01.
Working with Restrictions This icon is also displayed in the DRM column, if the column is selected for display. Requirements To create and modify restrictions, a MediaCentral UX user’s Interplay Production account must be configured with the following permissions: • Can create restrictions • Can modify restrictions If a user does not have these permissions, the Create Restriction button is grayed out and a tool tip states that the user does not have permission to create a restriction.
Working with Restrictions You can add a new restriction to a master clip by selecting it as the active angle, either in single-angle view or multi-angle view. Master clips and group clips are linked, so that restrictions added or changed in a master clip are added or changed in the group clip. You cannot add a restriction to a group clip itself. Restrictions are shown in the Media viewer for the master clip that is selected as the active angle, in both Asset mode and Output mode.
Working with Restrictions Adding, Saving, and Deleting Restrictions If your Interplay Production account includes the proper permissions (see “Understanding Restrictions in MediaCentral | UX” on page 293), you can add, modify, save, and delete restrictions in MediaCentral UX. To add a restriction to a master clip or subclip: 1. Load a master clip or subclip in the Media pane. If you add a restriction to a subclip, the restriction is also added to the source master clip. 2.
Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Text n You cannot edit the start and end of a restriction. To change the start or end point, delete the restriction and create it again. To save restriction text, do one of the following: t Click the Save button. Text is saved and you exit edit mode. t Press Ctrl+S. Text is saved and you remain in edit mode. t Press Ctrl+Enter to exit edit mode. t Use the mouse to select a different restriction or a marker. t Add a new restriction or marker.
Navigating by Markers in the Log Layout For a complete list of keyboard shortcuts, see “Logging Pane (Interplay | Production) Shortcuts” on page 515. Navigating by Markers in the Log Layout You can use the mouse or keyboard to navigate by marker through a clip or sequence. A marker selected in the timeline is also selected in the Logging pane. When you select a marker in the Logging pane, the same marker is selected in the timeline and the Media viewer displays the corresponding frame.
Exporting Markers To filter the markers list: 1. Click the down arrow in the Filter Criteria list. 2. Select the criteria you want to use. You can select any of the available users or colors. This list is determined by the markers in the loaded asset. The criteria are displayed as buttons in the Filter Criteria list, the Filter button turns orange, and the list is filtered. After you set the criteria, you can turn filtering off by clicking the Filter button so that it turns gray.
Exporting Markers You can also export a list of markers as a formatted Microsoft Excel file. Select one or more Interplay Production assets in the Assets pane or in Search results (federated or indexed search), right-click, and select Export Logs. A spreadsheet named logs.xlsx is created and downloaded to your browser's default download location. For multiple assets, each log is written on its own worksheet tab. This feature applies to master clips, subclips, group clips, and sequences.
Entering Marker Text in Right-to-Left Languages To copy one or more markers as text to the clipboard: t Select one or more markers and press Ctrl+C. You can use the mouse or keyboard to select multiple markers: - Select a marker, then press Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow to select a range. - Select a marker, then press Shift+click to select a range or Ctrl+click to select individual markers. You can then use Ctrl+V to paste the timecode and text to another document or application.
Unicode Support for Marker Text n Overlay text in the Media viewer is displayed only as left-to-right. To manually change text direction for all marker text: t Press Ctrl+Shift+D If the direction is left-to-right, pressing the keyboard shortcut changes direction to right-to-left. If the direction is right-to-left, pressing the keyboard shortcut changes direction to left-to-right. Unicode Support for Marker Text MediaCentral UX v1.
Creating Subclips To create a subclip by dragging and dropping: 1. Set an In point and an Out point for a clip that is loaded in Asset mode. 2. In the Assets pane, display the folder in which you want to store the subclip. 3. Click anywhere in the Media viewer and drag the thumbnail from the Media pane to the folder, or to the line in the Assets pane that holds the folder. Use the mouse pointer to precisely indicate the target location. If you hover over a folder, the folder opens.
Creating Subclips The subclip is added to the database, with the extension .Sub.01 added to the clip name. Any other subclips you create from the same clip include an incremented extension, for example, .Sub.02. 3. Select the folder or subfolder in which you want to save the subclip. By default, the folder that holds the master clip is selected. 4. A default name is supplied, with the extension .Sub added to the clip name.
11 Logging Interplay | MAM Assets The following main topics describe features you use when logging Interplay MAM assets.
Understanding Strata Interplay MAM and MediaCentral allow you to layer any number of such annotations on top of the timeline, where each layer is dedicated to annotations of a specific kind. These layers are called strata. Strata Types Interplay MAM provides three types of strata that can be displayed and edited in MediaCentral UX. These differ from each other as follows: • Simple strata: Simple strata have only one property assigned to them.
Logging Overview (Interplay | MAM Assets) Logging Overview (Interplay | MAM Assets) In MediaCentral UX, logging Interplay MAM assets refers to the process of segmenting strata and adding information to them. This information includes text and other properties, which you can use for reference during story creation and media editing. MediaCentral UX enables fast, flexible logging. Keyboard shortcuts give you a quick way to create segments and controlling media playback while logging.
The Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) An Interplay MAM administrator defines expressions and sets permissions on the property level in Interplay MAM Datamodel Administrator and sets permissions on the strata level in the Interplay MAM User Manager. For more information, see the Interplay | MAM Datamodel Administrator User’s Guide and the Interplay | MAM User Manager User’s Guide. Configuration Logging can be processed in two modes: Gaps Allowed and Gaps Not Allowed.
The Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) q q w e w e y rr r tr u r i r o r a r 1! r Display or Control Description 1 Strata list Contains the strata and strata groups configured for editing. The name of the selected stratum or strata group is shown on the collapsed list. 2 New Segment control Is shown when logging is configured to allow gaps and for strata that allow overlapping segments.
The Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) 4 Display or Control Description Refresh button Updates the display of segments saved for the selected stratum. This control is especially useful when you switch to a stratum that is currently edited by another user who is adding segments to the same clip. If the focus is in the Logging pane, you can also press F5 to update the display. 5 Lock button Locks or unlocks the selected stratum and indicates if the stratum is already locked for editing.
The Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) 8 Display or Control Description Pane Menu button The Pane menu for the Logging pane contains the following options. • Undo. Undoes segment operations. • Redo. Redoes segment operations. • Add Or Remove Columns. Shows or hides columns in the Segment List area. • Split at current playhead position. Splits the current segment into two adjacent segments. The timecode selected in the Media pane is set as the In mark of the new segment.
The Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) 9 Display or Control Description Segment List columns The Logging pane shows the following columns: • Start: Displays the start timecode of the segment. • End: Displays the end timecode of the segment. • Text (“Comment” in the illustration): Displays the text associated with the segment. A separate column is shown for each property of type “text” assigned to the selected stratum or strata group. You can cut, copy, and paste this text.
Understanding Segmentation Principles Understanding Segmentation Principles In Interplay MAM an entire video clip is considered one segment. A segment can be any size, from one frame to all frames of a video. You can create segments in all available strata. For all strata types, Interplay MAM can be customized to allow or exclude gaps between segments. The default setting excludes gaps between segments. Segments can be created or changed in a stratum, but not deleted.
Understanding Segmentation Principles Segmentation - Gaps Allowed Interplay MAM by default does not allow gaps between segments. The Out mark and In mark of adjacent segments are always adjacent frames. When the setting is changed to allow gaps between segments, you can still segment in a stratum as if gaps were not allowed, but the major purpose is to be able to create segments with gaps between them.
Understanding Segmentation Principles The Logging pane provides the following segmentation functions when gaps are allowed. You can apply them to simple strata and structured strata: • Creating segments: You can use the “New Segment” control to create a new segment. See “Creating Segment (Gaps Allowed)” on page 322. • Resizing segments: You can use the “Set In” function to move the start of a segment to the left or right; the Out mark of the previous segment is not affected.
Understanding Segmentation Principles Overlapping Segmentation Independently from Gaps Allowed and Gaps Not Allowed mode, each stratum can be configured individually to allow “overlapping segments” — segments that share one or more frames in a stratum. When such a stratum is selected in the Logging pane, gaps are automatically allowed. This means that the “overlapping segments” setting overwrites the Gaps Not Allowed configuration mode.
Locking a Stratum Segmenting in Strata Groups In the Logging pane, you segment in a strata group the same way you segment in a single stratum. If strata are pooled in a group, the Strata selection list lets you select the strata group but not the individual strata of the group. Example: You have a strata group Stratagroup_Demo containing two strata SG_Subtitle and SG_Description. Then the Strata selection list will only offer Stratagroup_Demo for selection.
Working with Segments The stratum remains locked until you do one of the following: • Select another stratum • Load another asset in the Logging pane • Close the Logging pane • Log off from MediaCentral UX. To manually lock a stratum: t Click the Lock button. When the stratum is locked, the Lock button turns orange. You can manually unlock the stratum by clicking the Lock button. If you make an edit, the lock is automatically set again.
Working with Segments Creating Segments (Gaps Not Allowed) Since only splitting segments from the very beginning is possible in No Gaps Allowed mode, a virtual segment that spans the entire stratum is created when you start editing a stratum for the first time. To create segments: 1. Load an asset in the Logging pane and Media pane. 2. In the Logging pane, select the stratum in which you want to segment. 3. In the Media pane, select the same stratum to be displayed on the Media Timeline. 4.
Working with Segments n Currently you must reload the asset to make a new segment visible on the Media Timeline. 6. (Option) Annotate the segment. For more information, see “Annotating Text Fields” on page 330 and “Annotating Using Tags” on page 331. 7. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to create new segments by applying the split function. Creating Segment (Gaps Allowed) In Gaps Allowed mode you can explicitly define In and Out marks of new segments.
Working with Segments The stratum is locked. A segment is created with the given In and Out marks and shown in the Logging pane’s Segment List. n Currently you must reload the asset to make a new segment visible on the Media Timeline. 6. (Option) Annotate the segment. For more information, see “Annotating Text Fields” on page 330 and “Annotating Using Tags” on page 331. 7. In the Media pane, navigate through the asset and stop at a position where you want to start a new segment. 8.
Working with Segments To resize a segment: 1. Load an asset in the Logging pane and Media pane. 2. In the Logging pane, select the stratum in which you want to resize segments. 3. In the Media pane, select the same stratum to be displayed on the Media Timeline. 4. Select the segment to be resized. The segment is highlighted in the Logging pane. In the Media pane the position indicator is set to the first frame of the segment. 5. Set the position indicator within the segment. 6.
Working with Segments 7. To move the segment’s Out mark, select the segment to be resized and set the position indicator either within the segment or in the gap after the segment. 8. In the Logging pane, do one of the following: t Right-click the segment and select Set Out. t Click the Pane Menu and select Set Out. The segment’s Out mark is moved to the current position.
Working with Segments 6. In the Logging pane, do one of the following: t Right-click the segment and select Set In. t Click the Pane Menu and select Set In. The segment’s In mark is moved to the current position. 7. To move the segment’s Out mark, select the segment in the Logging pane and and set the position indicator to the desired position in the Media pane. 8. In the Logging pane, do one of the following: t Right-click the segment and select Set Out. t Click the Pane Menu and select Set Out.
Working with Segments To split within a segment: 1. Load an asset in the Logging pane and Media pane. 2. In the Logging pane, select the stratum in which you want to segment. 3. In the Media pane, select the same stratum to be displayed on the Media Timeline. 4. In the Logging pane, select the segment which you want to split. 5. Move through the segment in the Media pane to select the frame at which you want to split the segment. 6.
Working with Segments Deleting Segments Any segment in a stratum can be deleted if logging is configured to Gaps Allowed mode. Depending on the position of the segment you want to delete, you will have different results: • If the segment starts at the beginning of the video and has an adjacent segment, you create a gap the size of the deleted segment. • If the segment starts at the beginning of the video and is followed by a gap, the gap is resized and starts at the first frame of the video.
Navigating by Segments You can edit a clip while being captured in the Logging pane. You can apply all features that are also available for ingested MAM assets: creating, resizing, merging, splitting, and deleting segments, depending on the configured segmenting mode (Gaps Allowed, No Gaps Allowed, and Overlapping segments). The following illustrations show two examples for segments on the Media Timeline created in edit while capture mode: overlapping segments and segments with gaps.
Annotating Text Fields Annotating Text Fields When editing text fields of a segment, most common features of text editing tools are available, such as inserting text at a selected position, marking text you want to overwrite, copying, pasting, and deleting, and so on. You can use standard keyboard shortcuts to cut text or copy text to the system clipboard, or paste text from the system clipboard.
Entering Segment Text in Right-to-Left Languages Entering Segment Text in Right-to-Left Languages You can enter, display, and edit segment text in right-to-left languages (for example, Arabic or Hebrew). MediaCentral UX recognizes right-to-left characters (RTL).
Annotating Using Tags Adding, Replacing, and Deleting Tags You can add, replace, and delete tags from a segment at any time. Note that you can only add one tag of the same type to a segment at a given time; adding a second tag of the same type replaces the original tag. When you work with segments of a strata group, you can add a tag of the same type for each stratum pooled in the group.
Annotating Using Tags To add a tag to several segments at the same time: 1. To select several segments, done of the following: t Click a segment and use the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to select a series of segments. t Shift+click the two segments that begin and end the series of segments you want to select. t Ctrl+click the segments you want to select, regardless of order or arrangement. t Press Ctrl+A to select all segments. 2. Open the Tags selector window. 3.
Annotating Using Tags Editing Integer or Floating Point Values Figures are the only values that can be entered into integer fields. Figures and decimal points can be entered into floating point fields. When these fields are preformatted, the periods (such as in 2.3) are set automatically. To enter an integer or floating point value: t Type the figures, and if necessary, the decimal point. t Press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to increase or decrease the figures.
Annotating Using Tags Editing Time Values By default, the time fields are preformatted. The display format depends on the locale of your account. To enter a time: t Highlight the figures you want to change and type in the new figures. Editing Date and Date/Time Values By default, the Date and Date/Time fields are preformatted. The display format depends on the locale of your account. You can enter the entire Date or Date/Time values manually, or select the date value from a calender tool.
Annotating Using Tags t Click the Today button. t Press the spacebar. The Calendar control is closed and the current date is entered in the date or date/time field. To assign another date using the calendar control: 1. Open the Calendar control. 2. To select a year: t Press Ctrl+Up key (previous year) or Ctrl+Down key (next year). t Click the calendar’s Month/Year indicator, select the year, and click OK. 3. To select a month: t Press Ctrl+Left key (previous month) or Ctrl+Right key (next month).
Annotating Using Tags t Navigate down the list using the Down Arrow key until you reach the desired value and press Enter. t Start typing the name of the value in the search box to filter the list, select the value, and press Enter. Assigning a Master Data Value Master data, for example, data records about producers, actors, and so on, consist of multiple distinct values. These multiple values are represented by one master data value, when used for annotation.
Annotating Using Tags To assign a thesaurus term: 1. Do one of the following: t Navigate the thesaurus using the Arrow keys: Press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to move up and down, press the Right Arrow or Left Arrow key to expand or collapse a node. t Start typing the name of the term in the search box. MediaCentral UX searches the terms starting with that letter. As you continue to type, MediaCentral UX continues to filter the list according to the letter you type.
Defining Merge Rules for Annotated Segments Defining Merge Rules for Annotated Segments The Logging pane provides rules to deal with annotation when you merge annotated segments. These rules apply to the properties provided in a Merge Rules dialog box. The Use Left and Use Right rules are the same for all property types: • When you select Use Left, the annotation of the left segment is assigned to the merged segment.
Exporting Strata Property type Rule Result DateTime Use Earlier The earlier/later date is assigned to the merged segment. Use Later Is also applied to Timecode properties. Numbers User Lower The lower/higher number is assigned to the merged segment. User Higher To define merge rules: 1. Click the Pane menu and select Merge Rules. The Merge Rules dialog box opens. 2. Select the merge rule for each property type you want to change. 3.
Exporting Strata 3. Select the export format: Normal AXF Export or Localized AXF Export. 4. Type a file name. You do not need to add an extension. 5. Click Download. The file is saved to your default download folder. The dialog box remembers the format you selected. This format is automatically selected the next time you open the dialog box.
12 Working with Associations (Interplay | MAM) The following main topics provide information about working with associations between Interplay MAM assets in MediaCentral UX: • Understanding Associations • The Associations Pane • Working in the Associations Pane • Viewing Associated Assets • Opening Associated Assets in Other Panes • Reusing Associated Assets in Other Panes • Switching Between Associated Assets • Creating Associations • Deleting Associations Understanding Associations Assoc
The Associations Pane The Interplay MAM default data model generally supports associations between assets of the same class (for example, between two videos) and between different classes (for example, between video and audio, or between video and basic sequence). The classes associated are determined by the underlying data model. The data model also determines the icons and labels that are used for the associations.
The Associations Pane 1 Display or Control Description Back and Next buttons Back button toggles the current view to the previous view in the pane. Next button toggles the current view to the next view in the pane. 2 Refresh button Refreshes the current view in the pane. 3 Pin Asset button Toggles pinning of the current asset on or off. When pinning is toggled on, the button is colored orange. Pinning prevents the current asset from being replaced by an asset from another pane.
Working in the Associations Pane 9 Display or Control Description Associations Each associated asset (“association”) is shown as an asset card. For each association, the following are shown: • A header frame or placeholder icon. Double-click the header frame to open the asset in another pane. See “Opening Associated Assets in Other Panes” on page 346. • The asset name. Click the asset name link to open the asset in the Associations pane. See “Switching Between Associated Assets” on page 348.
Viewing Associated Assets To select several associations: t Ctrl+click the associations you want to select, regardless of order or arrangement. t Click an association and then Shift+click the association that ends the series of associations you want to select. t Shift+click an association above or below the highlighted selection. To remove the selection, click the Refresh button or collapse the association type that includes selected associations.
Reusing Associated Assets in Other Panes To open associated assets in other panes: 1. (Option) Open all panes you want to use for the associated asset. For example, for a video asset, open the Media pane and Thumbnails pane. 2. Open the asset for which you want to see the associations in the Associations pane. 3. Expand the association types in the Associations List. 4. Double-click the header frame of the association.
Switching Between Associated Assets A head frame of the video asset or a clip icon of an audio asset is displayed in the message, along with metadata describing the asset. Switching Between Associated Assets You can use the Associations pane to switch between the source asset and an associated asset directly within the Associations pane. Pinning the source asset has no effect on whether it is replaced by the associated asset. To navigate using associations: 1.
Creating Associations t Open the asset in the Media pane. t Open the Tasks pane and display the attachments of a task. t Open the Messages pane. 5. Do one of the following: t Click one or several assets in the Assets pane and drag them to the associations of the desired association type in the Associations pane. t Click one or several assets in the Search pane and drag them to the associations of the desired association type in the Associations pane.
Deleting Associations Deleting Associations You can delete associations if you have the proper permissions in Interplay MAM. If deleting associations is not allowed, the assets cards do not show a Delete button. To delete associations: 1. Open the asset from which you want to delete an association in the Associations pane. 2. Expand the association types in the Associations List. 3. Click the Delete button of the association you want to delete. The association is deleted.
Basics of Closed Captioning 13 Working with Closed Captions in MediaCentral | UX The following main topics describe working with closed captions: • Basics of Closed Captioning • Closed-Captioning Workflows for MediaCentral | UX • How the CCCS Works with Closed-Caption Files • Creating and Editing Closed Captions Basics of Closed Captioning MediaCentral UX provides controls for viewing, creating, editing, and outputting closed captions.
Basics of Closed Captioning The term “closed captions” indicates that the captions are not visible until they are turned on by the viewer, usually through a remote control or menu option. “Open captions” are “burned in” (visible to all viewers) and cannot be turned off. n In the United States and Canada, “subtitles” are distinguished from closed captions by using subtitles to refer specifically to translation of dialog.
Basics of Closed Captioning The standard closed caption display can use up to four lines, but typically three or fewer lines are used. Each line can have a maximum of 32 characters, including spaces. To comply with EIA-608 standards, a space before and after italicized or underscored words is required. A space is also required before the first word in the sentence, but not at the end of a sentence.
Closed-Captioning Workflows for MediaCentral | UX • Currently, only Avid AirSpeed is supported as a playback device. • Currently, only SCC (Scenarist Closed Caption) files are supported for import. SCC and TTML files are supported for export. Closed Captioning Support in Interplay | Access Interplay Access and Interplay Engine v3.3 include features to identify sequences that include closed captions created or edited in MediaCentral UX.
Closed-Captioning Workflows for MediaCentral | UX The following sections provide more details. Specific instructions for working with closed captions are included in “Creating and Editing Closed Captions” on page 360. c To avoid problems with another user editing a sequence, add closed captions only after all video, audio, and effects editing are completed. Also, the sequence must be dynamically relinked in Media Composer and must be checked into the Interplay Production database.
Closed-Captioning Workflows for MediaCentral | UX After editing is complete, several options are possible: • Close the Closed Captioning pane. This action saves any edits you made. The TTML data remains associated with the sequence in the Interplay Production database and can be edited as needed. • Repackage the edited closed captions with the sequence. See “Repackage Edited Closed Captions with an Interplay Production Sequence” on page 358. • Export the edited closed captions as an SCC file.
Closed-Captioning Workflows for MediaCentral | UX After editing is complete, several options are possible: • Close the Closed Captioning pane. This action saves any edits you made. The TTML data remains associated with the sequence in the Interplay Production database and can be opened and edited as needed. • Repackage the edited closed captions with the sequence. See “Repackage Edited Closed Captions with an Interplay Production Sequence” on page 358.
Closed-Captioning Workflows for MediaCentral | UX Repackage Edited Closed Captions with an Interplay Production Sequence Repackaging integrates edited closed captions into a new D track MXF file. Before repackaging, the sequence was associated with a D track file for each clip. Repackaging creates a single D track file for the sequence. The following steps describe a possible workflow: 1.
How the CCCS Works with Closed-Caption Files Export an SCC File or TTML file from MediaCentral You can export closed captions from various sources as an SCC file or a TTML file. The following steps describe a possible workflow: 1. Load closed captions into the Closed Captioning window in one of the following ways: - Open a sequence with closed captions already edited in MediaCentral UX. - Extract closed captions from D tracks in the sequence. - Import an SCC file. - Create new closed captions 2.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions The edited sequence points to new standalone D track. Closed caption information is not written back to the D tracks of the master clips that compose the sequence.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions Display or Control Description 2 Extract button Click this button to extract closed captions from an Interplay Production sequence and display them in the Closed Captioning pane. 3 Repackage button Click this button to combine the edited closed captions with the Interplay Production sequence. 4 Import button Click this button to import closed captions from a SCC file and display them in the Closed Captioning pane.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions 9 Display or Control Description Pane Menu button The following options are available: • Add or Remove Columns. Select the columns you want to display. • Split at Current Playhead position. Divides a closed-caption segment into two, based on the location of the position indicator. The complete text for the segment is copied to the new segment, and you need to edit the text as desired. You can also use Ctrl+E or right-click a selected segment.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions Display or Control 10 Description (From left to right) Create Segment button Creates a closed-caption segment. Use the drop-down menu to set how you want to create the segment: through In to Out points or by the location of the position indicator (playhead). See “Creating Closed-Caption Segments” on page 365. Italics button Changes the selected text to italics. Underscore button Adds underscoring to selected text.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions The SCC file is converted, and the Closed Captioning pane displays timecode, text, and alignment for the closed-caption segments. To export a closed-caption file: 1. Click Export. The Export dialog box is displayed. 2. Select SCC or TTML, accept the default file name (the name of the Interplay Production sequence) or provide a new one, and click Download. The closed-caption data is converted and saved as an SCC file or a TTML file.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions 3. Click Extract. The data is extracted and the Closed Captioning pane displays timecode, text, and alignment for the closed-caption segments. If the sequence is edited after you have extracted the closed captions, you need to extract the closed captions again. To repackage closed captions with an Interplay Production sequence: t Click the Repackage button. During the repackaging process, the button is grayed out. It becomes active again when the process is completed.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions 3. Do one of the following: t Set an In point and an Out point in the Media pane, set the Create Segment button to In and Out mode, then click the button. If focus is in the Closed Captioning pane, press Ctrl+. (period). A closed-caption segment is created. You can add text and set alignment now or edit the segment later.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions The Text field turns white and you can type the text. Use the Italic button and the Underscore button to format the text. Click the musical note button to add a musical note. Press the Enter key to start a new line. MediaCentral UX limits the display to four lines, with of 32 characters per line, including spaces. A space is also required before the first word in the sentence, but not at the end of a sentence.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions You can select multiple closed-caption segments and change the alignment for all of them with the same selection. 2. Select a position from the grid. MediaCentral UX aligns the caption or captions according to your selection. Captions are aligned within the standard video safe area. You can view safe area grids in the Media viewer by clicking the Media Pane menu button and selecting Safe Areas.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions To save closed-caption segments: t Click the Save button. The save status message changes from “Unsaved Changes” to “All Changes Saved.” Changes are automatically saved whenever you exit edit mode or perform other edits, such as changing alignment or deleting a closed-caption segment. Editing the Timing of Closed Captions When you edit closed captions, you might need to change the timing, as described in the following procedures.
Creating and Editing Closed Captions To change the start timecode of the first closed-caption segment: 1. Click the Closed Captioning Pane menu button and select Modify Start Timecode. The Modify Start Timecode dialog box is displayed. 2. Enter the desired format for the start timecode by typing the first digit and continue typing until you have typed 8 digits. For example, a sequence might start with 01:00:00:00, but the first closed caption starts with 00:00:00:00. In this case, type 01:00:00:00.
14 Sharing MediaCentral | UX Messages The following topics describe how to use the Messages pane to send messages to MediaCentral UX users and how to send messages to users logged in to MediaCentral UX and using an Avid editing application.
Using the Messages Pane Messages sent by you display in the message list with a blue background, while messages received by you display with a green background. Messages pane (top to bottom): address text box, asset area, message text box, Send button, message list To display the Messages pane and read messages, do the following: t Select Panes > Messages. The Messages pane opens in the mode and orientation in which it was set when you signed out of the application.
Using the Messages Pane Viewing Messages and Linked Assets When you receive messages sent by other MediaCentral UX users, the Messages pane displays a notification at the top of the message list indicating unread messages. Clicking the notification or scrolling up loads the messages, with the most recent ones at the top of the message list. To view messages: 1. Open the Messages pane. 2. If you received messages since the last time you logged in to MediaCentral UX, click the notification bar or scroll up.
Using the Messages Pane Left to right: Asset pane with the linked clip highlighted, head frame of the linked clip in the asset area of the message, and the linked clip viewed in the Media pane. If you open the asset in an enclosing folder, a new Asset pane opens and highlights the asset. n You must have the appropriate privileges to view media checked in to Interplay Production or Interplay MAM. 4.
Using the Messages Pane If you open the Messages pane, an address text box appears at the top of the pane. If you just want to share an asset, an address text box opens. 2. In the address text box, start typing the name of the recipient for your message. A list of MediaCentral UX users displays as you type. n If you type an invalid name, the name changes to red and you receive an error message. You can only send messages to recipients on the MediaCentral UX user list. 3.
Using the Messages Pane The message is sent to the MediaCentral UX users listed in the address test box and displays as a sent message at the top of your message list. Messages sent by you display with a blue background. To reply to a message: 1. Position the mouse pointer over the address line of the message to which you want to reply. The Reply button displays on the right side of the address line. 2. Click Reply.
Configuring E-Mail Forwarding Configuring E-Mail Forwarding E-mail forwarding requires an administrator to enable e-mail forwarding and to assign a valid SMTP server. When your MediaCentral UX administrator enables e-mail forwarding in the System Settings, you can then use the User settings to enable e-mail forwarding for your account and specify an e-mail address to which you want your messages sent when you are not logged in to MediaCentral UX.
Using E-Mail Forwarding 3. Select Enabled. 4. In the Email Address text box, type the e-mail address from which you want your e-mails forwarded. 5. Click Apply. Using E-Mail Forwarding If e-mail forwarding has been enabled for your workgroup and you have enabled e-mail forwarding to your personal e-mail account, you can receive messages sent from MediaCentral UX users when you are not logged in to MediaCentral UX.
15 iNEWS Messaging The following main topics describe how to use the iNEWS messaging feature. • Sending Messages • Viewing and Replying to Received Messages Sending Messages MediaCentral UX provides you with two messaging features for communicating with other users working on iNEWS and MediaCentral UX. You can use the Messages pane to send messages and media assets to other MediaCentral UX users and to Avid editing applications connected to MediaCentral UX.
Viewing and Replying to Received Messages 3. Click Send. After the message is sent, the bar turns pale blue. Viewing and Replying to Received Messages When messages are received, the Message bar turns a pale green, and a numerical value appears near the right end of the bar to show you how many unread messages you have. The following illustration shows 10 unread messages.
16 Sending to Playback The following main topics provide information about sending a sequence to a playback device: • Specifying Send to Playback Settings • Sending a Sequence to a Playback Device • The Progress Pane • Interplay Services in the Media Services and Transfer Status Tool Specifying Send to Playback Settings When you are finished editing a sequence, you can transfer it to a playback device or playout server for broadcast. This process is called send to playback, or STP.
Specifying Send to Playback Settings To specify send-to-playback settings: 1. Click the Pane Menu button and select Send to Playback Settings. 2. Supply the following information: Setting Description Name Automatically supplied when you select a sequence for send to playback. Video ID Required to send a sequence to playback. • Script sequences: Automatically supplied when you select a script sequence if the video ID is already assigned to the story.
Specifying Send to Playback Settings Setting Description Overwrite (Optional) Select Overwrite if you want to automatically overwrite any sequence with the same Tape ID already sent to the playback device. n High Priority n If you try to send a sequence with the same Tape ID as one already sent to the playback device, you receive an error message. Select the Overwrite option only if you are sure you want to overwrite any sequences with the same Tape ID.
Sending a Sequence to a Playback Device The selected profile is also displayed in the Send to Playback option in the Media Pane menu. Sending a Sequence to a Playback Device You can send a sequence to a playback device if the sequence fulfills the following requirements: • The media format of the sequence must match the media format specified in the selected send-to-playback profile. The format for the currently selected STP profile is displayed in the Video Format display.
Sending a Sequence to a Playback Device If the media format of the sequence does not match the media format specified in the profile, the Video Format display is red. To send the sequence to playback, select a different profile or replace the media in the sequence. For more information, see “Specifying Send to Playback Settings” on page 381. You can preview a sequence before sending it to playback. For more information, see “Reviewing in the STP Target Resolution” on page 211.
Sending a Mixed-Resolution Long GOP Sequence to a Playback Device Sending a Mixed-Resolution Long GOP Sequence to a Playback Device There are limitations on the types of media you can add to a sequence for a successful send-to-playback operation. In most cases, all media used in the sequence must be available in the target resolution to start an STP operation. However, when you select a Long GOP resolution as a target resolution, you can mix media of different resolutions if the frame rates match.
The Progress Pane c For target resolutions other than Long GOP, all objects in the sequence must be available in the target resolution before an STP operation can begin. The Progress Pane The Progress pane is used to monitor sequence mixdowns and send to playback processes as they happen. If necessary, you can also cancel a process that is underway or restart a job directly from the pane.
The Progress Pane In the case a problem occurs, the Details link displays the error message that is reported from the MediaCentral UX system. In case of Sequence Mixdown, this is the same error message displayed for the failed transcode job in the Interplay Production Services and Transfer Status tool. For send to playback (STP) this is the error message that is passed by the MediaCentral Distribution Service.
Interplay Services in the Media Services and Transfer Status Tool Interplay Services in the Media Services and Transfer Status Tool A Send to Playback (STP) job might use Interplay Transcode and STP Encode to prepare the STP job for transfer. When this occurs, the Transcode and STP Encode jobs are listed in the Media Services and Transfer Status Tool while processing, but are removed from the jobs list after processing is complete.
17 Delivering Assets and Media The following main topics describe how to deliver assets and media from one Interplay Production workgroup to another: • Understanding MediaCentral Delivery • Delivering Assets and Media to a Remote Workgroup • Delivering Assets and Media to a Local Workgroup Understanding MediaCentral Delivery MediaCentral UX has two options for delivering assets and media: • Deliver to a remote workgroup.
Understanding MediaCentral Delivery Interplay Delivery Service and Delivery Receiver Service MediaCentral UX uses the Interplay Delivery service to perform workgroup-to-workgroup transfers of master clips, subclips, cuts-only sequences, and their media files. The Interplay Delivery Receiver service must be running on a server in the workgroup to which you are delivering the assets and media. These services are installed and configured as Interplay Production Services in an Interplay Production workgroup.
Understanding MediaCentral Delivery The following illustration shows the Deliver To dialog box, with parameters taken from the Delivery profile and the Consolidate profile.
Understanding MediaCentral Delivery n For more information on creating profiles for Interplay Consolidate, see the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide. Deliver from Mark In to Mark Out Workflows If you select “Deliver from Mark In to Mark Out,” the Consolidate service creates new clips and new assets, using information in the Consolidate profile. The following table describes several different workflows.
Delivering Assets and Media to a Remote Workgroup Delivery Profile Media Status The Delivery profile does not Media exists in the resolution include a specific Target Video specified in the Consolidate Quality (for example, it uses “all” profile. or “highest”). Media does not exist in the resolution specified in the Consolidate profile. Consolidate Output Consolidate creates a new asset and new media of the specified length.
Delivering Assets and Media to a Remote Workgroup The Deliver To dialog box opens and displays the parameters of the selected profile. 4. From the Name list, select the Delivery profile that you want to use for the transfer. Profiles are created by an Interplay Production administrator. The video format that will be delivered is displayed as Target Video Quality at the bottom of the dialog box. 5. (Optional) To deliver part of a clip, select Deliver from Mark In to Mark Out.
Delivering Assets and Media to a Local Workgroup Profiles are created by an Interplay Production administrator. The video format that will be delivered is displayed as Target Video Quality at the bottom of the dialog box. 4. Click Deliver To. The job is submitted. To view the status of the delivery: t n In the Progress pane, click the Pane Menu button and select Show Job Groups > Delivery.
Delivering Assets and Media to a Local Workgroup 5. From the Name list, select the Delivery profile that you want to use for the transfer. Profiles are created by an Interplay Production administrator. The video format that will be delivered is displayed as Target Video Quality at the bottom of the dialog box. 6. (Optional) To deliver part of a clip, select Deliver from Mark In to Mark Out. If you use this option, the Target Video Quality is taken from the Consolidate profile.
Delivering Assets and Media to a Local Workgroup 4. From the Name list, select the Delivery profile that you want to use for the transfer. Profiles are created by an Interplay Production administrator. The video format that will be delivered is displayed as Target Video Quality at the bottom of the dialog box. 5. Click Deliver To Me. The job is submitted. To view the status of the delivery t n In the Progress pane, click the Pane Menu button and select Show Job Groups > Deliver To Me.
18 Working with Interplay | MAM Processes and Tasks The following main topics provide information about working with processes that you created in Interplay MAM Desktop or MediaCentral UX and the individual user tasks that are part of MAM processes: • Understanding Processes, Tasks, and Actions • Creating Processes • Monitoring Processes in the Progress Pane • Working with Tasks Understanding Processes, Tasks, and Actions Processes allow flexible user activities and automated workflows to be used in
Creating Processes When you create a process, you select the process type, which was created in Interplay MAM. You automatically attach the asset that is open (Media pane) or selected (Assets pane, Search pane) to the process. Use the Tasks pane if you want to create a process without attachments. You can monitor the status of your processes in the Progress pane and track if additional user tasks resulted from processes in the Tasks pane.
Monitoring Processes in the Progress Pane To create a process from the Media pane: 1. Load an asset in Asset mode or a or basic sequence in Output mode. 2. Click the Pane Menu button, select Actions and select the process type. 3. (Option) If the process type provides a sub-menu, select the desired menu item; for example, select an export target for an export process. 4. Supply the required information in the process dialog box and click OK. The process is created and shown in the Progress pane.
Monitoring Processes in the Progress Pane n If your user account also allows you to work with Interplay Production processes, such as Sequence Mixdown and Send To Playback, Interplay MAM and Interplay Production processes can be displayed in the Progress pane at the same time. For more information, see “The Progress Pane” on page 387. Processes are grouped according to the group property set in Interplay MAM Desktop.
Working with Tasks To filter the displayed job groups: t Select Panes > Show Job Groups and click the job group name. The pane hides all processes of the selected job group or displays them again if you click an inactive (non-checked) job group name. To cancel a process underway: t Click the Cancel button located to the right of the active process. The Cancel button is removed. A process cancel request is send to Interplay MAM Desktop.
Working with Tasks The Tasks Pane The Tasks pane is used to show you all user tasks that require you to complete an action. You can review and filter the displayed tasks and review the details of a selected task. If necessary, you can also edit task data and attachments or delegate tasks directly to other users and groups or apply other actions directly from the pane. The following illustration shows several examples of what you might encounter when editing tasks with the Tasks pane.
Working with Tasks Display or Control Description You are currently editing the task and it is therefore locked for other users. As soon as you start editing a task it is locked and the Lock Indicator icon is colored orange. The task cannot be edited because it is already locked — for example, because another user is already editing the task. In this case you see a message when you hover the mouse pointer over the Lock Indicator icon.
Working with Tasks 6 Display or Control Description Task List Displays active and finished tasks in an overview table, depending on the filter applied to the pane. The Task List has six columns by default: • Name: Displays the name of the task. • Process Name: Displays the name of the process the task belongs to. • Process Type: Displays the type of the process the task belongs to. • Task Start: Displays the date and time when the task was started.
Working with Tasks 11 Display or Control Description Task Attachments Displays the attachments of the task as asset cards. For each attachment, the following are shown: • A header frame or clip icon • The asset name and type • A remove button (optional) Provides controls to delete attachments from and add new attachments to an active task; allows you to open attachments of active and completed tasks. See “Adding and Editing User Task Attachments” on page 411.
Working with Tasks You can use the search box to find a particular column. 3. Click the Close box or click anywhere outside the window to save your settings. To sort the Task List: 1. Click the heading of the column you want to sort by. An arrow appears in the column. How the column sorts the results depends on the content of the column. For example, the Name column sorts results alphabetically, starting from the lowest number and the first letter or the reverse. 2.
Working with Tasks To delegate tasks: 1. Select one or several tasks in the Task List. 2. Click the Pane Menu button. 3. Select Delegate To. The list shows all users and groups to which the selected tasks can be delegated. 4. Select the user or group to which you want to delegate the task. After the delegation is successfully completed for at least one task, the Task List is refreshed. Depending on the process configuration, delegated tasks are still displayed in or removed from the Task List.
Working with Tasks While the action is applied, the task is locked and all action controls are disabled. After the action is successfully applied, the lock is released and the Task List and Task Details areas are refreshed. Depending on the filter applied to the Tasks pane and the process configuration, the task might be removed from the Task List or a new user task might be created and shown. Displaying and Editing User Task Data You can view and edit task metadata in the Task Details area.
Working with Tasks 3. To save your changes, do one of the following: t Click the Save button. t Press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Cmd+S (Macintosh). t Click outside the metadata field. If you do not save your changes and apply an action or delegate the task, select another task, close the Tasks pane, or log off, a message is displayed that asks you to save the changes. Adding and Editing User Task Attachments When you create a process, you attach at least one asset to it.
Working with Tasks 2. If want to view an media asset attached to the task, double-click the head frame in the asset area. The asset (video or audio clip, or basic sequence) opens in the Media pane. 3. If you want to add a media asset to the task, do one of the following: t Click one or several assets in the Assets pane and drag them to the asset area of the task. t Click one or several assets in the Search pane and drag them to the asset area of the task.
19 MediaCentral | UX Mobile Application for the iPhone The MediaCentral UX mobile app provides a native user interface designed to run on your iPhone and enable direct, secure access to your station’s iNEWS newsroom computer system and the Interplay Production database. The following main topics describe basic user information about the device and mobile app.
Connection Basics n • Navigate the Interplay Production directory. • View and play media assets from the Interplay Production database. If your MediaCentral UX system is licensed for an iNEWS- only configuration, you cannot preview or play sequences or other media assets. The MediaCentral UX iPhone application uses one of several connection options, including Wi-Fi or carrier-specific cellular service (such as 4G).
Installing MediaCentral | UX on the iPhone Location Gesture Description Sidebar Tap stars (while in edit mode) Selects or deselects items as Favorites. Launch pane Tap name of a Favorite item (while in edit mode) Lets you modify the item’s name as it appears in the Favorites list. Sidebar Tap and hold the story title (while in edit mode) Lets you modify the story’s title (slug) as it appears in the queue. Script Editor Swipe Left Displays the Cue List.
Starting MediaCentral | UX on the iPhone Starting MediaCentral | UX on the iPhone When you install MediaCentral UX, an icon representing the application displays on your iPhone’s home screen. If you previously set your Interplay Production account, you can connect to MediaCentral UX by selecting the MediaCentral icon on your device. To browse iNEWS or Interplay Production assets, you can sign in with your MediaCentral UX credentials. MediaCentral UX supports iNEWS communities.
Starting MediaCentral | UX on the iPhone 2. Type the MediaCentral UX Server name. 3. Type your MediaCentral UX user name and password. 4. Do one of the following: t Tap the Sign In button. After you sign in, MediaCentral UX connects to the selected Interplay Production server or iNEWS system. All servers display in the Sidebar.
The Sidebar To exit the application: 1. Press the Home button. 2. Select Close. The Sidebar After you sign in to the MediaCentral UX mobile application on an iPhone, you can view the sidebar, located along the left side of the screen when displayed. This allows you to navigate various systems integrated with MediaCentral UX, such as an iNEWS newsroom computer system or an Interplay Production database The Launch pane also includes any iNEWS projects and iNEWS servers that are part of an iNEWS community.
Buttons of the User Interface Button Description Tap this button to display a list of available roles and to select a different role from the menu. Tap this button to display the sidebar. Tap this button to hide the sidebar. Tap the Refresh button to refresh the list of queues, stories, and media assets. You can use the Refresh button to update the queues and stories displayed in the iNEWS database or the media assets displayed in the Interplay Production database by clicking the Refresh button.
Customizing MediaCentral | UX Settings Button Description The Actions button opens a menu of options that include: Reload, Send Log, Help, and Sign Out. The Send Log option displays only if you enable logging in the MediaCentral UX settings. For more information, see “Customizing MediaCentral | UX Settings” on page 420. Customizing MediaCentral | UX Settings You can modify some settings in MediaCentral UX. To modify MediaCentral UX mobile application settings on the iPhone: 1. Start MediaCentral UX. 2.
Changing Roles The following table provides information about the settings for editing. Editing Settings Description Autosave Stories If set to On, MediaCentral UX automatically saves a story if you navigate away from the modified story to other assets in the system. If set to Off, MediaCentral UX prompts you to save your modifications. The default setting is On. To send log files to Avid: 1. Connect your device to a Macintosh computer. 2. Open iTunes and navigate to Device > Apps. 3.
Accessing the iNEWS Database Accessing the iNEWS Database The iNEWS database is the backbone of your iNEWS system. You save the data created in your newsroom — stories, scripts, and rundowns — in the database on the iNEWS Server. Queues contain stories, and directories (also known as folders) store the queues. When viewed with the mobile application, available iNEWS systems appear in the sidebar, along with any of their directories and queues. For MediaCentral UX v1.
Accessing the iNEWS Database The application uses different icons to distinguish between directories, queues, and stories. Icon Description Directories hold queues or other subdirectories. Unlike queues, directories do not directly contain stories. For example, the Wires folder contains queues with incoming wire stories. Queues let you organize stories in detailed categories. A show’s rundown is one example of a queue.
Accessing the iNEWS Database You can open directories, queues, and stories from the MediaCentral UX mobile application. Directories and queues open within the sidebar. Stories open to the right of the sidebar in the Script Editor. n If you want to open an iNEWS story that has a key lock applied to it, you must type in the appropriate password for the story. To open a directory: 1. Navigate to the directory. 2. Tap a folder on screen to open it.
Accessing the iNEWS Database To open a queue: 1. Navigate to the queue inside a directory. 2. Tap the queue to open it. The following illustration shows an example of a rundown queue. To open an existing story: 1. Navigate to the story in a queue. n A story icon with a check mark indicates that the story has been “approved.” You can approve stories from an iNEWS workstation or from MediaCentral UX. 2. Tap the story to open it.
Accessing the iNEWS Database - The Story, which contains the text of the story, any presenter instructions, and production cue markers. - The Cue List, which contains any production cues or machine control instructions. The following illustration shows the Script Editor open with the Story section displayed containing a story with production cue markers identified numerically. Presenter instructions appear as red text in the body of the story. 3.
Accessing the iNEWS Database The numerical production cue markers within the story align with production cues and machine control instructions displayed in the Cue List to the right of the story. Black text indicates production cues. Blue text indicates machine control instructions (if any). n Because of limited screen size on the iPhone, the mobile application does not display the sidebar with the Script Editor.
Editing Stories Button Description The Open Sequence button opens the viewer to full screen. You can view video sequences created in the following way: n • You created and modified the sequence in MediaCentral UX. • You created the sequence in MediaCentral UX and modified it in NewsCutter or Media Composer. In this case, you might not see some effects in the media viewer. • You created the sequence in Instinct and modified it in MediaCentral UX.
Editing Stories MediaCentral UX supports the standard editing features found in most text editing applications, including cut, copy, and paste. You can use cut, copy, and paste to move text around within a single story or from one story to another. When cutting or copying text, the system stores the text in the clipboard. The clipboard stores only one block of text at a time, so whenever you cut or copy something new, the clipboard overwrites the previously stored text. To edit an existing story: 1.
Editing Stories To edit text: 1. Tap and hold in the story, and then tap either Select or Select All. 2. Select one of the following: t Select Cut. t Select Copy. t Select Paste. To add a new story: 1. Tap the Edit button in the sidebar. 2. Tap the Add Story button, located at the bottom of the sidebar. n The Add Story button only appears in the sidebar after you tap the Edit button in the sidebar. A blank story is added to the current queue with edit mode already activated for the story.
Editing Stories Ways of Saving Stories You can save newly created stories or change existing stories by tapping the Edit Story button after modifying a story while in edit mode. A message appears asking you to confirm whether to save the changes. You can choose to save the story or exit edit mode without saving your changes. Your story also is saved when the following occurs: • You change to another app or send MediaCentral UX to the background by pressing the Home button.
Editing Stories In the mobile application, a menu provides buttons that let you modify the format of the text into bold text, italicized text, and underlined text, and lets you format text specialized for broadcast scripts. To format text, select the appropriate text and do one of the following: n t To bold text, tap and hold. and then select the B button. t To italicize test, tap and hold, and then select the I button. t To underline text, tap and hold, and then select the U button.
Editing Stories To insert a production cue into a script: 1. Position your cursor in the story where you want to insert the production cue marker. 2. Tap and hold, and then select the Plus button. MediaCentral UX adds a production cue marker with a number into the story at the cursor position. The marker corresponds to the production cue with the same number located in the Cue List 3. Swipe left to view the Cue List and edit the production cue. 4.
Editing Stories You should precede these instructions with an asterisk (*) and write them in a format that begins with a command for a device — for example, CG for a character generator. After the command the format specifies a particular item or template, such as 2line for a template that contains two lines for fulfillment data. Additional information or comments follow on succeeding lines in the same production cue text box.
Approving Stories To call a phone number from a story: 1. Tap and hold on a phone number in the story. A dialog box appears. 2. Tap the number to dial the number. You can also select Add to Contacts to add the number to your phone’s directory, and you can copy and paste the number into another document. To e-mail a contact from a story: 1. Tap the e-mail address in the story. The application opens an e-mail window, using your device’s default e-mail application. 2. Write your e-mail. 3. Tap Send.
Working with Favorites To remove approval for a story from the mobile application: 1. Open the story for which you want to remove approval. 2. Tap the Approve Story button and then tap Unapprove. Working with Favorites To make navigation easier, you can designate certain locations in the newsroom system or Interplay Production as Favorites, which appear in a list on the Launch pane.
Working with Favorites From the mobile application, you can use your Favorites list to navigate quickly to your most often used assets, directories, queues, or stories. You can edit your Favorites list by creating new ones, editing their names, or deleting existing ones from the list. To create a Favorite: 1. Tap the Edit button. 2. Tap the gray star next to the directory, asset, queue, or story you want to designate as a favorite destination.
Working Offline with Cached Queues and Stories 3. Tap the Done button. Working Offline with Cached Queues and Stories You can use the MediaCentral UX mobile application to view queues and stories cached locally to your mobile device without being connected to your station’s iNEWS newsroom computer system. The Launch panel displays cached queues and stories in the Favorites list when you work in offline mode.
Working Offline with Cached Queues and Stories Caching Queues and Stories To view queues and stories in offline mode, you must set them as Favorites before they can be cached locally and viewed when you do not have a connection to server (see “Working with Favorites” on page 436). You can delete a cache for a queue or story by deleting the item from the Favorites list. To cache a queue or story in the Favorites list: 1.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production The queue or story is removed from the Favorites list and the cache is deleted. Viewing Queues and Stories in Offline Mode When you lose your connection to MediaCentral UX, you can choose to work offline. This allows you to view queues and stories that have been cached on your mobile device. To view cached queues and stories after your lose your connection to MediaCentral UX: 1. In the Connection Failure dialog box, tap Work Offline.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production Icon Description A subclip references a selected portion of a master clip. A sequence represents an edited program, partial or complete, that you create from other clips. An effect clip references an unrendered effect that you create. You cannot preview an effect clip in the Media viewer. A group clip contains two or more grouped clips, strung together sequentially according to common timecodes.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production Asset list and Media viewer — left screen: selected directory, Show/Hide button, selected asset; right screen: Action button, Media player, media controls To open a directory: 1. Navigate to the directory. 2. Tap a folder on screen to open it. n As you navigate the system’s directory structure, the application displays your path or location within the database at the top of the screen.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production The following illustration shows the Scuba Diver directory opened to view one subdirectory and multiple media assets. Scuba Diver directory on the Interplay Production server, with the back button at the top of the list indicating the parent directory To back out of a directory: t n Tap the Back button. The Back button does not display the word “Back” on it, but rather the name on the button changes as a user navigates further into the directory.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production To open and play a media asset: 1. Navigate to the asset in a directory. 2. Tap the video or audio asset. The asset opens in the Media viewer, which replaces the asset list in the sidebar. Media controls: Play button, position indicator, Full Screen button 3. Tap the Play button to play the asset. 4.
20 MediaCentral | UX Tablet Application for the iPad The MediaCentral UX tablet app provides a native user interface designed to run on your iPad tablet and enable direct, secure access to your station’s iNEWS newsroom computer system and the Interplay Production database. The following main topics describe basic user information about the device and tablet app.
Connection Basics n • Play video sequences associated with scripts. • View a show's scripts in presenter mode while signed in to your station’s iNEWS newsroom computer system. • Navigate the Interplay Production directory. • View and play media assets from the Interplay Production database. If your MediaCentral UX system is licensed for an iNEWS- only configuration, you cannot preview or play sequences or other media assets.
Connection Basics Gestures for the Tablet App Apps for touchscreen tablets let users accomplish certain tasks utilizing various gestures like fingertip swipes or taps. What these gestures do can differ from one app to another. The following table describes what certain gestures do depending on where you use the gesture within the MediaCentral UX mobile app. Location Gesture Description Sidebar Two Finger Swipe to the Right Displays or hides the sidebar.
Installing MediaCentral | UX on the iPad Location Gesture Description Media Viewer Pinch in on full screen viewer Minimizes viewer back to original size and position within the Script Editor. Presenter Mode Swipe left or tap on right edge Navigates to next page. of screen Presenter Mode Swipe right or tap on left edge Navigates to previous page. of screen Presenter Mode Pinch in on full screen Exits full screen presenter mode.
Starting MediaCentral | UX on the Tablet For more information on iNEWS Community, see “Support for iNEWS Communities” on page 37. If you lose your connection to MediaCentral UX after you have signed in, a dialog box asks you if you want to reconnect to the server, to sign out of MediaCentral UX, or to work offline. If you want to work offline, you can view cached queues or stories listed in the Favorites list. For more detail, see “Working Offline with Cached Queues and Stories” on page 471.
The Sidebar n If your MediaCentral UX credentials are incorrect or missing in your MediaCentral UX account, you receive a message: “Authentication Failed: The user name or password you entered is incorrect.” When you click OK, the sign-in screen appears and allows you to enter valid credentials. t Tap the Work Offline button. MediaCentral UX uses the credentials you used the last time you signed in, and it displays any cached queues and stories in the Favorites list. To view the help system: 1.
Buttons of the User Interface From the Launch pane, you can navigate through the file structure and open assets. You can hide the sidebar at any time to increase the screen real estate for viewing assets on the tablet. You can also use the Show/Hide button to toggle the display of the sidebar. n The look of this button changes depending on the display status of the sidebar. Button Description Tap this button to display a list of available roles and to select a different role from the menu.
Customizing MediaCentral | UX Settings Button Description The Edit Story button enables editing of an opened story by displaying the Edit toolbar and a virtual keyboard. n The Edit Story button’s icon appears orange when you activate edit mode and white if you do not activate Edit mode. The Open Sequence button opens the sequence for viewing in full-screen size. The button becomes enabled when a video sequence has been associated with a script.
Customizing MediaCentral | UX Settings General Settings Description Request Timeout Options are intervals of 10, 20, or 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 2 minutes. Keep me signed in Set to On if you want MediaCentral UX to keep you signed in after you first sign in. The following table provides information about the settings for editing.
Changing Roles Changing Roles Depending on your MediaCentral UX configuration and license, you might have more than one role with which you can work on your project. Each role has a set of layouts and permissions associated with it. If you have multiple roles available, you can change your current role from the Roles button in the Launch pane. For more information about roles, see the Avid MediaCentral | UX Administrator’s Guide.
Accessing the iNEWS Database n If the queue contains more than 1000 stories, it might take some time for MediaCentral UX to receive and display them. You might need to increase the Request Timeout value in the MediaCentral UX settings. For more information, see “Customizing MediaCentral | UX Settings” on page 452. The app uses different icons to distinguish between directories, queues, and stories. Icon Description Directories hold queues or other subdirectories.
Accessing the iNEWS Database You can open directories, queues, and stories from MediaCentral UX. Directories and queues open within the sidebar. Stories open to the right of the sidebar in the Script Editor. n If you want to open an iNEWS story that has a key lock applied to it, you must type in the appropriate password for the story. To open a directory: 1. Navigate to the directory. 2. Tap a folder on screen to open it.
Accessing the iNEWS Database To open a queue: 1. Navigate to the queue inside a directory. 2. Tap the queue to open it. The following illustration shows an example of a rundown queue. To open an existing story: 1. Navigate to the story in a queue. n A story icon with a check mark indicates that the story has been “approved.” You can approve stories from an iNEWS workstation or from MediaCentral UX. 2. Tap the story to open it.
Accessing the iNEWS Database - The Cue List, located on the left side, which contains any production cues or machine control instructions. - The Story, located on the right side, which contains the text of the story, any presenter instructions, and production cue markers. You can hide the sidebar to expand the view and show only the Script Editor. The following illustration shows the Script Editor with a story containing production cue markers identified numerically.
Accessing the iNEWS Database To reload a story: 1. Tap the Actions button. 2. Tap Reload. To add a new story: 1. Tap the Edit button in the sidebar. 2. Tap the story in the queue below which you want to insert the new story. 3. Tap the Add Story button, located at the bottom of the sidebar. 4. Modify the story title in the sidebar. For more information, see the procedure for editing the story title in “Editing Stories” on page 461. 5. Tap Done.
Accessing the iNEWS Database You can view video sequences created in the following way: n • You created and modified the sequence in MediaCentral UX. • You created the sequence in MediaCentral UX and modified it in Avid NewsCutter or Avid Media Composer. In this case, you might not see some effects in the media viewer. • You created the sequence in Instinct and modified it in MediaCentral UX.
Editing Stories To regenerate the sequence video proxy for playback: 1. Tap the Actions button. 2. Tap Reload. Editing Stories Using the tablet app, you can create a new story or edit an existing one. You can also change the title of story. The system obtains an edit lock when you edit a story, which prevents other users from altering a story while you work on it.
Editing Stories To edit text: 1. Tap and hold in the story, and then tap either Select or Select All. 2. Select one of the following: t Select Cut. t Select Copy. t Select Paste. To add a new story: 1. Tap the Edit button in the sidebar. 2. Tap the Add Story button, located at the bottom of the sidebar. n The Add Story button only appears in the sidebar after you tap the Edit button in the sidebar. A blank story is added to the current queue with edit mode already activated for the story.
Editing Stories 4. (Optional) Enter any production cues or machine control instructions. 5. Save the story. For more information, see “Ways of Saving Stories” on page 463. To edit the title (slug) of a story: 1. Tap the Edit button in the sidebar. 2. From the queue in the sidebar, tap and hold the story title you want to edit. 3. When cursor appears, you can change the name of the story. And edit lock on the story form in iNEWS prevents others from changing the story title while you edit. 4. Tap Done.
Editing Stories • The app automatically saves a modified story when you change your role from Launch pane. • The app automatically saves a modified story when you sign out of the app. Formatting a Script When you write a story, text appears in the default text style. However, you can alter the look of the text, such as changing the default font to bold.
Editing Stories n t To mark text as a closed captioning text, tap and hold, and then select CC for closed captioned. t To mark text as a normal text, tap and hold, and then select N for normal. You can choose the format before typing your text as well. Any new text you type appears in the format you selected. To change the format of the text you type at any time, select another format.
Editing Stories n The app automatically saves information in the newly inserted production cue when you navigate elsewhere within the app. If you attempt to sign out or close the app, a message appears prompting you to either save or discard your changes. To move a production cue in a script: t Select the production cue marker, and then cut it and paste it in another location within the script.
Editing Stories n Typing an asterisk (*) automatically switches the text you type from Normal to Machine Control format, which appears as blue font. 3. Type your machine control command — for example, *CG 2line — and then press Return. 4. Type the first line of text that should appear on the 2-line CG graphic — for example, John Smith — and then press Return. 5. Type the second line of text for the 2-line CG graphic — for example, Pleasantville, USA.
Approving Stories Approving Stories Endorsing or approving stories allows news producers to identify which scripts in a show have been reviewed prior to broadcast. You can approve stories from an iNEWS workstation or from the MediaCentral UX app on an iPad or an iPhone. n The ability to approve stories requires write access to the queue for the selected story. To approve a story from the tablet app: 1. Open the story you want to approve. 2.
Working with Favorites Presenter mode opens on the story selected by the user in the sidebar. The app displays a progress dialog as it loads the rest of the stories in the rundown in order to cache them locally on your device. When the cache operation completes, the progress dialog closes. Stories load in the following order: - Load the previous story — the one before the selected story in the rundown. - Load the next story — the one after the selected story in the rundown.
Working with Favorites From the tablet app, you can use your Favorites list to navigate quickly to your most often used assets, directories, queues, or stories. You can edit your Favorites list by creating new ones, editing their names, or deleting existing ones from the list. To create a Favorite: 1. Tap the Edit button. 2. Tap the gray star next to the directory, asset, queue, or story you want to designate as a favorite destination. Gold stars indicate chosen destinations; gray stars are not chosen.
Working Offline with Cached Queues and Stories For example, if you plan to have multiple rundown queues in your Favorites list, some might share the same queue name. You can edit each one in the list to distinguish which rundown applies to the morning show, midday show, and evening newscast. 4. Tap the Done button. The name of the Favorite changes. This does not affect the name of the asset, story, queue, or rundown in iNEWS or Interplay Production. To delete a Favorite: 1. Tap the Edit button. 2.
Working Offline with Cached Queues and Stories • If an error occurs while caching stories — for example, if you lose your connection to the server or if you lock your device — the cache operation is interrupted. • MediaCentral UX updates the cache contents only in the case of an successful operation. If you have cached the same queue or story before, you can still access the old cache.
Working Offline with Cached Queues and Stories To remove a cache from your device: 1. In the Launch pane, tap the Edit button, and then select the queue or story in the Favorites list you want to delete. The queue or story displays a check mark next to the title. 2. Tap the Trash button. The queue or story is removed from the Favorites list and the cache is deleted. Viewing Queues and Stories in Offline Mode When you lose your connection to MediaCentral UX, you can choose to work offline.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production You can access media assets stored in an Interplay Production database, such as video clips, audio clips, and graphics. When viewed with the tablet app, available Interplay Production systems appear in the sidebar, along with any of their directories and media assets. Different icons are used to identify Interplay Production assets: Icon Description Directories hold media assets or other subdirectories.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production Viewing Media Assets with MediaCentral | UX You can open directories and media assets stored in the Interplay Production database using MediaCentral UX. Directories and a list of assets open within the sidebar. You can view and play assets in the Media viewer. Media viewer — top: selected directory, Show/Hide button, Action button; middle: selected asset, Media player; bottom: Media controls To open a directory: 1. Navigate to the directory. 2.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production The following illustration shows the Scuba Diver directory opened to view one subdirectory and multiple media assets. Scuba Diver directory on the Interplay Production server, with the back button at the top of the list indicating the parent directory To back out of a directory: t n Tap the Back button. The Back button does not display the word “Back” on it, but rather the name on the button changes as a user navigates further into the directory.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production To open and play a media asset: 1. Navigate to the asset in a directory. 2. Tap the video or audio asset. The asset opens in the Media viewer. Media controls: Play button, position indicator, Full Screen button 3. Tap the Play button to play the asset. 4. If you want to scrub through the media asset, or if you want to jump to a specific position in the clip, tap and hold the position indicator and drag it to a new location. 5.
21 MediaCentral | UX for Android Devices MediaCentral UX provides a native user interface designed to run on your Android device and enable direct, secure access to your station’s iNEWS newsroom computer system. The following main topics describe basic user information about the device and mobile application.
Connection Basics The MediaCentral Android application uses one of several connection options, including Wi-Fi or carrier-specific cellular service (such as 4G). n The application automatically selects the first available connection from the list of options according to the priority shown in the list. Android Devices Android devices usually include very few exterior buttons. You navigate content with touch gestures — for example, tapping an icon to start an application.
Installing MediaCentral | UX on Your Android Device Location Gesture Description Body or Production Cues tab Tap the Up button. Displays the navigation drawer. You can swipe left to hide the navigation drawer. Navigation drawer Tap the Back button on your Android device. Closes the MediaCentral mobile app. Script Editor Swipe Left Displays the Cue List. Script Editor Tap and hold Selects the word you tap and allows you to select text and modify text formats.
Starting MediaCentral | UX on the Android Device MediaCentral UX supports iNEWS communities. The iNEWS Community feature allows customers with multiple iNEWS systems to share content and collaborate on stories. The MediaCentral mobile application requires you to supply credentials to sign in to one iNEWS system. This system is considered your local system. If your local system is configured in an iNEWS community, you are able to automatically sign in to other systems in the community.
The Navigation Drawer and Directory Panel n If your MediaCentral credentials are incorrect or missing in your MediaCentral account, you receive a message: “Authentication Failed: The user name or password you entered is incorrect.” When you click OK, the sign-in screen appears and allows you to enter valid credentials.
The Navigation Drawer and Directory Panel The navigation drawer with the Up button, the Action overflow button, and the Android Back button From the navigation drawer, you can open the Directory panel to navigate through the directory structure and open assets. After opening assets, you can view the navigation drawer at any time by swiping your finger across the screen to the right or by tapping the Up button.
Buttons of the User Interface Buttons of the User Interface The MediaCentral mobile application provides buttons in the user interface that allow you to access the features of the app. The following table describes the buttons and their uses. Button Description The Up button lets users return to the navigation drawer when browsing the iNEWS or Interplay Production database. It also lets users show the navigation drawer when a queue, story, or asset is open.
Customizing MediaCentral | UX Settings 3. Select the appropriate settings option. The following table provides information about general settings. General Settings Description Version For display purposes only, this value shows the currently installed version of the mobile application. Keep me signed in Set to On if you want MediaCentral UX to keep you signed in once you first sign in to MediaCentral.
Accessing the iNEWS Database Accessing the iNEWS Database The iNEWS database is the backbone of your iNEWS system. You save the data created in your newsroom — stories, scripts, and rundowns — in the database on the iNEWS server. Queues contain stories, and directories (also known as folders) store the queues. When viewed with the mobile application, available iNEWS systems appear in the navigation drawer. Tapping the name of a server opens the Directory panel, which displays directories and queues.
Accessing the iNEWS Database The following illustration shows an example of the iNEWS Directory panel with queues and folders displayed. n While viewing an iNEWS system directory in the Directory panel, you can tap the Up button to display to the navigation drawer. You can also tap the Back button to navigate back through the directory. You can open directories, queues, and stories from the MediaCentral mobile application. Directories and queues open within the Directory panel.
Accessing the iNEWS Database To open a directory: 1. Navigate to the directory. 2. Tap a folder on screen to open it. The following illustration shows the Wires directory opened to view numerous queues containing incoming wire stories. To back out of a directory or queue: t Tap the Back button on your Android device.
Accessing the iNEWS Database To open a queue: 1. Navigate to the queue inside a directory. 2. Tap the queue to open it. The following illustration shows an example of a rundown queue. To open an existing story: 1. Navigate to the story in a queue. n A story icon with a check mark indicates that the story has been “approved.” You can approve stories from an iNEWS workstation.
Accessing the iNEWS Database 2. Tap the story to open it. The story opens in Story view in the Body tab. The following illustration shows the Body tab containing a story with production cue markers identified numerically. Presenter instructions appear as red text in the body of the story.
Accessing the iNEWS Database 3. While viewing the story, do one of the following to view the Production Cues tab. t Tap the Production Cues tab. t Swipe Left. The numerical production cue markers within the story align with production cues and machine control instructions displayed in the Production Cues tab. Black text indicates production cues. Blue text indicates machine control instructions (if any).
Viewing Video Associated with a Script Viewing Video Associated with a Script When sequences have been associated with stories in the MediaCentral UX Web application, you can preview the stories in the media viewer in the MediaCentral Android application. n If your MediaCentral system is licensed for an iNEWS- only configuration, you cannot preview or play sequences or other media assets.
Viewing Video Associated with a Script Button Description The Maximize button expands the viewer to full screen. You can view video sequences created in the following way: n • A sequence created and modified the sequence in MediaCentral UX. • A sequence created in MediaCentral UX and modified it in NewsCutter or Media Composer. In this case, you might not see some effects in the media viewer. • A sequence created in Instinct and modified it in MediaCentral UX.
Working with Stories 2. Tap the Play button. The sequence plays in the viewer. You can rotate your Android device to view the video in landscape or portrait mode. The viewer controls do not display after 3 seconds of play. The controls display when you tap the device screen or pause playback. 3. (Optional) If you expand the viewer, the orientation adjusts to display the video in landscape mode.
Working with Stories 3. Tap in the story to begin editing the text. 4. If you want to cut, copy, or paste text, do the following: a. Tap and hold in the story where you want to edit the text. The selection arrows and the edit toolbar display. Edit mode, with the edit toolbar with Select All, Cut, Copy, and Paste buttons.
Working with Stories b. Tap and hold the selection arrows, and then drag them to highlight the text you want to edit or to place them at the location in the text where you want to perform an edit. You can cut, copy, and paste any text in the story, including production cues and segment breaks. c. Tap the appropriate button in the edit toolbar. 5. After you complete your modifications, tap the Edit Story button to save the story. For more information, see “Ways of Saving Stories” on page 497.
Working with Stories 4. Edit the story title, and then tap OK. n You can also edit the story title while in Edit mode. Ways of Saving Stories You can save newly created stories or change existing stories by tapping the Back button or the Up button after modifying a story while in edit mode. You can also save your story when you change to another app or send the MediaCentral mobile application to the background by pressing the Home button.
Working with Stories If you enable Autosave Stories in the MediaCentral UX Settings, you can save newly created stories or change existing stories in multiple ways: • The application automatically saves a modified story when you tap the Edit Story button or the Back button. • The application automatically saves a modified story when you change to another app or send the MediaCentral mobile application to the background by pressing the Home button.
Working with Stories To format text, tap and hold to select the appropriate text and do one of the following: n t To bold text, and then select the B button. t To italicize test, and then select the I button. t To underline text, and then select the U button. t To mark text as a normal text, and then select N for normal. t To mark text as a presenter instruction, and then select P for presenter. t To mark text as a closed captioning text, and then select CC for closed captioned.
Working with Stories 4. Enter the production cue information — for example, Take VO, On Camera, Take SOT, or Take Live. The application automatically saves information in the newly inserted production cue when you navigate elsewhere within the application. If you attempt to sign out or close the application, a message appears prompting you to either save or discard your changes.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production Working with Links in Stories A story can contain more than simple text. It can contain a URL to a Web page. When Web links are included in stories, they become dynamic links. You can use them to open your device’s browser. n You cannot add a link to a Web page using the MediaCentral mobile app. To open a Web link from a story: t Tap the link in the story. The device’s Web browser opens and loads the Web page.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production Icon Description An effect clip that references an unrendered effect that you create, including motion effects. You cannot preview an effect clip in the Media viewer. A group clip contains two or more grouped clips, strung together sequentially according to common timecodes. You cannot preview a group clip in the Media viewer. A graphics clip references an image imported from a graphics file. You cannot preview a graphics clip in the Media viewer.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production Viewing Media Assets with MediaCentral | UX You can open directories and media assets stored in the Interplay Production database using MediaCentral UX. Directories and a list of assets open within the Directory panel. You can view and play assets in the Media viewer.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production To open a directory: 1. Navigate to the directory. 2. Tap a folder on screen to open it. The following illustration shows the Workflows directory opened to view multiple subdirectories and media assets. To back out of a directory: t Tap the Back button on your Android device.
MediaCentral | UX and Interplay | Production To open and play a media asset: 1. Navigate to the asset in a directory. 2. Tap the video or audio asset. The asset opens in the Media viewer. Media controls: Play button, position indicator, Full Screen button 3. Tap the Play button to play the asset. 4. If you want to scrub through the media asset, or if you want to jump to a specific position in the clip, tap and hold the position indicator and drag it to a new location. 5.
A User Settings You can access and modify user settings in the User Settings dialog box. To open the User Settings dialog box, select Home > User Settings.After you change a user setting, click Apply to save your changes. The following table describes these user settings. Settings Group Setting Description General Language Controls the language used for the Web application user interface. Select the language you want from the drop-down menu.
Settings Group Setting Description Time Zone Controls the display of dates and times. This setting is used by the indexed search in MediaCentral UX to display dates and other formatted data according to your selection. Select the time zone you want from the drop-down menu. n Date Format Works with the time zone setting to display dates and times according to your selection. Select the format you want from the drop-down menu.
Settings Group Setting Description Search Result Filter: Show only one representation for each asset found Sets that only one representation (link) for an asset should be shown in the Interplay Production search results. Selecting this option can improve the search response time. Search Criteria: Time Range Sets the time range for an asset’s created or modified date when you perform a search of the Interplay Production database. The default setting is “Last 14 days.
B Keyboard Shortcuts The following main topics provide information about keyboard shortcuts: n n • Queue/Story Pane Shortcuts • Assets Pane Shortcuts • Media Pane Shortcuts • Logging Pane (Interplay | Production) Shortcuts • Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) Shortcuts • Sequence Pane Shortcuts • Closed Captioning Pane Shortcuts These keyboard shortcuts can be used on Windows systems or Macintosh systems, unless otherwise noted.
Queue/Story Pane Shortcuts Queue/Story Pane Shortcuts Keyboard shortcuts available when working in the Queue/Story pane are listed in the following table. Some keystroke combinations only work when the cursor is located in a certain section of the pane; the Focus column in the table specifies the section of the pane when that is the case. For more information on the pane and its sections, see “The Queue/Story Pane” on page 81.
Assets Pane Shortcuts Shortcut Description Focus Ctrl+Alt+G Create a Story Group Queue/Story pane Ctrl+Alt+V Dissolve a Story Group Queue/Story pane Tab Move to next form field Story Form Shift+Tab Move to previous form field Story Form Assets Pane Shortcuts Keyboard shortcuts available when working with the Assets pane are listed in the following table. For more information on the pane and its sections, see “Working with Assets” on page 40.
Media Pane Shortcuts Media Pane Shortcuts Shortcuts with Focus in the Media Pane The following table lists shortcuts you can use when the focus is in the Media pane. Shortcut Description Focus Space bar Play or pause play. Media pane Home fn+Left Arrow (MacBook) Move to the beginning of a clip or sequence. Media pane End Move to the end of a clip or sequence. fn+ Right Arrow (MacBook) Media pane I E Insert an In point. Media pane O R Insert an Out point.
Media Pane Shortcuts Shortcut Description Focus Enter (Windows) Return (Macintosh) Select the timecode display to enable keyboard entries. Media pane S Open the Select Folder for Subclip dialog box. Media pane Select the active angle of a group clip. These keystrokes apply only to camera angles 1 through 9. Media pane Group clip shortcuts Alt+1 through Alt+9 n In a multi-angle view, camera angles are numbered from upper left and left to right.
Media Pane Shortcuts Shortcut Description Focus Ctrl+O Insert an Out point. Global Ctrl+Left Arrow Move 1 frame back Global n n Ctrl+Right Arrow On Macintosh systems, to use Ctrl+Left Arrow or Ctrl+Right Arrow to move 1 frame, you need to deselect the Mission Control option in System Settings > Keyboard. By default, Ctrl+ arrow key will switch you one space in the direction of the arrow key selected. This shortcut does not work when you are typing text into a marker (edit mode).
Logging Pane (Interplay | Production) Shortcuts Logging Pane (Interplay | Production) Shortcuts For shortcuts that you can use to control playback while logging, see “Shortcuts with Focus Outside the Media Pane” on page 513. Shortcuts for Working with Markers Some of the following keystroke combinations work when the cursor is anywhere in the application and others work only when the cursor is located in the Logging pane.
Logging Pane (Interplay | Production) Shortcuts Shortcut Description Focus Right Arrow Move right one column and then down to next marker Logging pane Enter Enter edit mode Logging pane Ctrl+Enter (Windows and Macintosh) Exit edit mode and save Command+Enter (Macintosh) Logging pane Esc Exit edit mode without saving Logging pane Ctrl+S (Windows and Macintosh) Command+S (Macintosh) Save markers and text without exiting edit mode Logging pane F5 Reload the content of the Logging pane Loggin
Logging Pane (Interplay | Production) Shortcuts Shortcut Description Focus Ctrl+Shift+Home (Windows) Ctrl+Shift+Pos1 (Windows) Command+Shift+Up Arrow (Macintosh) Select text from the beginning to the current position Logging pane Ctrl+Shift+End (Windows) Command+Shift+Down Arrow (Macintosh) Select text from the current position to the end Logging pane Shift+Left Arrow Select text one character at a time moving backward Logging pane Shift+Right Arrow Select text one character at a time moving f
Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) Shortcuts Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) Shortcuts For shortcuts that you can use to control playback while logging, see “Media Pane Shortcuts” on page 512. Shortcuts for Working with Segments Some of the following keystroke combinations work when the cursor is anywhere in the application and others work only when the cursor is located in the Logging pane. The Focus column in the table describes the focus required for each keystroke combination.
Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) Shortcuts Shortcut Description Focus Left Arrow If the segment contains several properties, move Logging pane to the previous property field If the segment contains only one property field, move to and select previous segment Right Arrow If the segment contains several properties, move Logging pane to the next property field If the segment contains only one property field, move to and select next segment Enter Enter edit mode (text field) or open Tags selector Logging
Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) Shortcuts Shortcut Description Focus Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow (Windows) Alt+Shift+Up Arrow (Macintosh) Select previous paragraph Logging pane Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow (Windows) Alt+Shift+Down Arrow (Macintosh) Select next paragraph Logging pane Ctrl+Shift+Home (Windows) Ctrl+Shift+Pos1 (Windows) Command+Shift+Up Arrow (Macintosh) Select text from the beginning to the current position Logging pane Ctrl+Shift+End (Windows) Command+Shift+Down Arrow (Macintosh) Select text f
Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) Shortcuts Shortcuts for Working with Segment Tags The following table lists keyboard shortcuts that you use while working with segment tags.
Logging Pane (Interplay | MAM) Shortcuts Shortcut Description Focus Spacebar Insert current day Calendar Ctrl+Up Arrow Go to previous year Calendar Ctrl+Down Arrow Go to next year Calendar Ctrl+Left Arrow Go to previous month Calendar Ctrl+Right Arrow Go to next month Calendar Up Arrow Select the highlighted day a week ago Calendar Down Arrow Select the highlighted day next week Calendar Left Arrow Select previous day Calendar Right Arrow Select next day Calendar Up Arrow Inc
Sequence Pane Shortcuts Sequence Pane Shortcuts Keyboard shortcuts available when working with the Sequence pane are listed in the following table. For more information on the pane and its sections, see “Using the Sequence Pane” on page 112. Shortcut Description Focus Ctrl+S (Windows) Command+S (Macintosh) Save the sequence. Sequence pane Delete Backspace (Windows) Delete the selected segment. Sequence pane backslash (\) Insert a video dissolve.
Closed Captioning Pane Shortcuts Shortcut Description Focus comma (,) Trim the segment’s selected end one frame earlier. Sequence pane period (.) Trim the segment’s selected end one frame later. Sequence pane slash (/) Trim the segment’s selected end 10 frames later. Sequence pane Shift+[ Trim from start of segment to the position indicator (trim top). Sequence pane Shift+] Trim from the position indicator to the end of a segment (trim tail).
C Icons This topic provides a quick reference guide to icons or buttons you might encounter when using MediaCentral UX.
Pane Type Icons Icon Description Help pane Launch pane Logging pane Media pane Messages pane Metadata pane Progress pane Project/Story pane Queue/Story pane Search pane Sequence pane Social Messages pane (Media Distribute) Tasks pane Thumbnails pane Web Story pane (Media Distribute) 526
Launch Pane Icons Launch Pane Icons The following icons are used in the Launch pane. Icon Description Connected Interplay Production system Disconnected Interplay Production system Connected Interplay MAM system Connected iNEWS system Disconnected iNEWS system Project in the iNEWS database iNEWS Project (not started) iNEWS Project (expired) Assets Pane Icons Various icons are used distinguish between the different types of assets accessible via MediaCentral UX.
Assets Pane Icons Icon Description Column Video asset: sequence Name Video asset: in-progress clip (Edit While Capture) Name Video asset: group clip Name Video asset: effect Name Remote asset: downward-pointing arrow for each asset type Name Supported State Reservation State Restriction State iNEWS Assets All icons for iNEWS assets appear in the Name column.
Assets Pane Icons Icon Description Facet (expired) QUERY Search Queue Interplay | MAM Assets Icons for Interplay MAM assets appear in the Name, Thumbnail, and Rights columns.
Assets Pane Icons Icon Description Column Basic Sequence asset placeholder icon. Thumbnail Commercial or Commercial Version asset placeholder icon. Is Thumbnail shown until a specific image is assigned as a thumbnail. Document asset placeholder icon. Is shown until a specific image is assigned as a thumbnail. Thumbnail Episode or Episode Version asset placeholder icon. Is shown until a specific image is assigned as a thumbnail. Thumbnail Feature or Feature Version asset placeholder icon.
Associations Pane Icons Icon Description Column Usage right “Parts need to be licensed” Rights Usage right “Contains restricted parts” Rights Associations Pane Icons The following icons are used in the Associations pane. Icon Description The Back and Next buttons toggle the current view to the previous view and next view in the pane. Refreshes the current view in the pane. Toggles pinning of the current asset on or off. When pinning is toggled on the button is colored orange.
Media Pane Icons Buttons Description Marks an In point. Marks an Out point Moves the position indicator to the Out point. Plays the last three seconds before the Out point. Steps back 10 seconds.
Logging Pane Icons (Interplay | Production Assets) Logging Pane Icons (Interplay | Production Assets) The following icons are used in the Logging pane. Icon Description Insert Marker and Select Marker Color Add Restriction Refresh Cancel Logging Pane Icons (Interplay | MAM Assets) The following icons are used in the Logging pane.
Progress Pane Icons Progress Pane Icons The following icons are used in the Progress pane. Icon Description Open in Media pane Cancel Resend/Retry Sequence Pane Icons The following icons are used in the Sequence pane. Icon Description Adds a dissolve Divides a segment into two segments at the position indicator. Performs an Overwrite edit. Performs a Replace edit. Deletes the segment Shows Audio pane Saves the sequence Extends or retracts a segment.
Tasks Pane Icons Tasks Pane Icons The following icons are used in the Tasks pane. Icon Description Toggles display of the Task List and Task Details on or off. The Lock Indicator icon indicates if the selected task is currently locked for editing. If a task is free for editing, the icon shown in the table is displayed. If a task is locked by you, the Lock Indicator icon is colored orange. If a task is locked by another user, the Lock Indicator icon is grayed out.
MediaCentral Glossary A Administrators group A default group used for MediaCentral UX user management that contains users with administrative privileges. active angle In a group clip, the camera angle selected for single-angle view and the angle displayed when you add the clip to a sequence. advanced sequence A sequence you create in MediaCentral UX that includes a timeline with one video track and user-specified audio tracks.
Assets pane A pane in the client application that displays assets. These assets can result from a search or from browsing. Assets are displayed in a folder hierarchy, if applicable to the assets displayed. associations Relations between assets that help structure your Interplay MAM assets. Associations also allow easy and quick navigation (without searching) between assets. The associations available are determined by the underlying Interplay MAM data model.
Contacts list In the Message bar, a list of iNEWS users from which you can select a recipient of a message. Cue List The area in the Script Editor in which the journalist adds or edits production cues and machine control events, such as those for a character generator (CG). D Details pane A pane in the Users layout and the System Settings layout that displays information and settings for a selected item. drop zone The part of an area into which you can move a pane.
file-based playback Playback mode where media is downloaded to your workstation for playback. File-based playback provides good quality in low-bandwidth situations. frame-based playback Playback mode where media is streamed directly from the server for playback. Frame-based playback provides high quality but requires a higher bandwidth than file-based playback. Frame Chase editing A feature that lets you view and edit media while it is being captured from a line feed or ingest device.
L Launch pane A pane in the client application from which you navigate to various locations. This pane displays remote file systems, local files systems, and other locations for assets. Layout A collection of panes designed for a specific purpose, such as a layout for journalists or a layout for administrators. Layout selector A list from which you select the layout that you want to work in.
M marker An indicator added to a selected frame to mark a particular location in a clip, subclip, or sequence. Markers can be different colors and can be associated with user-defined text. Markers are displayed in the Media Timeline and marker text is displayed as an overlay in the Media viewer. Formerly called locator. master clip A media object that contains pointers to media files in which the actual digital video and audio data is stored.
Media Distribute layout A layout that displays different options for publishing to multiple platforms. The layout includes the Social Message, Web Story, and Packages panes used for publishing media packages. Media controls In the Media pane, controls that let you play and move through an asset and edit an asset for use in creating a sequence. Which controls are displayed depends on the selected asset.
Messages pane A pane in the client application that displays a message box for sending both text messages and media asset links to other MediaCentral UX users. It also lists all received messages. metadata Data that describes an asset. Metadata includes properties, reservations, restrictions, and other information. Metadata pane A pane that displays properties that are associated with a selected asset in an Interplay MAM or Interplay Production database, such as Start Timecode or Comments.
Packages pane A pane in the client application that displays a history of packages ready for publication and already published. The pane also allows you to review and approve packages submitted for publication. pagination A system setting the specifies the maximum number of items listed in the Queue/Story pane or the Project/Story pane. pane A section of the MediaCentral UX Web application. An area contains one or more panes.
Progress pane A pane in the client application that displays the progress and status of MediaCentral UX processes such as sequence mixdown and send to playback. Project/Story pane A pane in the client application that displays the contents of a project, its facets, and any associated stories. project An iNEWS term for a group of stories categorized by topic so that news teams working on a particular topic can find everything related to it in a single place. See also facet.
role A set of features, privileges, and layouts that are assigned to a user by a MediaCentral UX administrator. An administrator can create MediaCentral UX roles based on roles within an organization. rundown A lineup or timed list of scripts indicating the order in which they will be aired during a news program. Rundown layout A layout that a journalist uses to edit and create stories. S script The text that is read on air. Also the content for organizing a feature.
Send button In the Message bar, the button you click to send a message. segment 1. In a rundown, a portion of the show aired between commercial breaks. 2. A portion of the story body/text. A journalist uses segments to time the text and integrate it with video, audio, and production cues. Multiple timed segments are combined to form the overall story. 3. In a sequence, a portion of media contained on a track. 4. In a stratum, a portion of media defined by an In and Out mark.
shuttle To view media at speeds slower or faster than real time. In MediaCentral UX you can use the J, K, and L keys to shuttle through a clip or sequence. sidebar A feature of the MediaCentral UX mobile application from which you can navigate various systems integrated with MediaCentral UX, such as an iNEWS newsroom computer system simple sequence See basic sequence.
strata Annotation layers that build the basis for logging Interplay MAM assets. Each stratum allows you to view information about an asset from a specific perspective. subclip A clip created by marking IN and OUT points in a master clip and saving the frames between the points. The subclip does not contain pointers to media files. The subclip references the master clip, which contains pointers to the media files.
trim indicator In the Sequence Timeline, a mark that appears at the beginning or end of a clip in the video column or audio column when hovering over that area with the mouse pointer. You can trim video and audio together, or you can trim them separately to create an L-cut. U Unassigned group A default group used for MediaCentral UX user management that includes users that were removed from a group but are not members of any other groups.
W Web Story pane A pane in the client application that allows you to create packages for publication to Web Content Management Systems. window The primary user interface element of the application. Z zoom bar See Media zoom bar and Sequence zoom bar.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Index A About menu option 34 Actions applying to tasks 409 Active-X plug-ins 36 Adding attachments to tasks 411 Advanced sequence described 116 group clips 256 Android application for MediaCentral UX 478 Annotating segments 330 segments using tags 332 Annotation speech-to-text 89 Applying actions to tasks 409 Approve stories MediaCentral mobile app 468 MediaCentral UX mobile app 435 Areas 29 Aspect ratio 194 Asset mode described 181 displays and controls 182 Assets adding to fol
Index ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Audio dissolves automatic creation 228 Audio gain adjusting 228 adjusting for advanced sequence 233 automatic adjustment 228 Audio levels setting 228 Audio mix 235 Audio monitoring setting preferences 225 Audio pane described 220 Audio track enabling 162 Audio-only segment 166 Audio-only sequences 128, 129 Auto-Save sequences 131 stories 110 Avid online support 20 training services 20 Avid Central adding machine control instructions 500 adding production cues 499 formattin
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Double-sided trim 172 Drop zones described 29 Dual-roller trim 172 Ducking for audio tracks 228 E Easy locks 98 Edit locks 98 Edit while capture (EWC) in-progress clips 218 logging clips 328 Editing attachments of tasks 411 data of tasks 410 Interplay MAM metadata 65, 69 E-mail forwarding configuring for messages 377 using with messages 378 Exporting markers 301 MP4 video 219 strata 340 F Facet associating story with 79 described 44 opening 76 opening a facet associated with a s
Index ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ In point marking 202 Indexed search 258 iNEWS database 44 described 21 MediaCentral mobile app on a tablet 454 MediaCentral UX mobile application for Android devices 486 MediaCentral UX on an iPhone 422 navigating database 46 project 76 script templates 101 support for communities 37 user settings 506 iNEWS links creating and sending 109 In-progress clips 218 Instinct associated sequences 127 Interplay | MAM asset types 57 moving and copying assets 63 moving and copying fo
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ right-to-left languages 303, 331 workflows 282 Logging Interplay MAM assets keyboard shortcuts 518 Logging pane (Interplay MAM) described 310 keyboard shortcuts 518 list of icons 533 Logging pane (Interplay Production) 288 described 288 keyboard shortcuts 515 list of icons 533 LTR (left to right) 88 M Machine control instructions adding 94 adding in Avid Central 500 adding in the MediaCentral mobile app 466 adding in the MediaCentral UX mobile app 433 Markers adding 291 adding to
Index ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ accessing media assets 440 adding machine control instructions 433 adding production cues 432 approving stories from iPhone 435 buttons 419 caching queues and stories 439 connection basics 413 custom settings 420 favorites 436 formatting a script 431 gestures 414 installing on a iPad 415 saving stories 431 starting 416 the sidebar 418 view video sequences 427 viewing queues and stories offline 440 working offline 438 working with links 434 MediaCentral UX mobile applicatio
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Ordering a Queue 97 Out point marking 202 Output mode described 181 displays and controls 187 Overwrite edit Advanced sequences 154 P Panes Asset 40 Associations 343 Audio 220 Launch 35 list of 23 list of icons 525 Logging (Interplay MAM) 310 Media 181 Metadata 51, 65 Progress 401 Project/Story 76 Queue/Story 81 Search 261 Tasks 404 Thumbnail 54, 72 working with 29 Panning for advanced sequences 234 for assets and basic sequences 227 Playback frame-based and file-based 198 simple
Index ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Remote assets working with 201 Replace edit 158 Resizing overlapping segments 325 segments 323, 324 Resolution highest for playback 213 Restrictions adding 298 defined 293 deleting 298 described 284 group clips 252 overview 293 saving 298 Reusing associated assets 347 Reviewing for playback 211 Right-to-Left languages entering marker text 303 entering segment text 331 RTL (right-to-left) 88 Rundowns creating story groups in 96 S SCC file importing and exporting closed cap
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ creating 123 creating Interplay MAM 128 creating Interplay Production 124 editing 147 enabling audio tracks 162 horizontal and vertical 118 inserting dissolves 176 opening existing sequence 133 opening sequence associated with story 134 playing 191 recovering 131 saving 130 saving a copy 131 script sequences 127 simple and complex 195 splitting segments 174 stepping through 193 transcoding and mixing down 215 trimming clips 168 trimming segments 168 user settings 506 video-only 12
Index ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ T U Tab key in browser window 509 Tags using for annotation 332 Tasks adding and editing attachments 411 applying actions 409 delegating 408 editing data 410 understanding 399 Tasks pane described 404 list of icons 535 working in 407 Templates, for scripts 101 Thumbnails pane 54, 72 Timecode groups clips 248 modifying start 178 using to cue a frame 207 Timecode displays 206 Timing blocks editing media into 141 extending segment into 142 manually adjusting 145 overview 13
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