Avid NewsCutter ® ® Getting Started Guide Release 2.
© 1998 – 2000 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Avid NewsCutter Getting Started Guide • Part 0130-04672-01 Rev.
Contents Chapter 1 Introduction About NewsCutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 NewsCutter Hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Starting Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Starting NewsCutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Electronic Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 2 About NewsCutter Basic Editing Steps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Understanding the Pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Organizing Your Work with Projects and Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 How Media Is Stored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 The Attic Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recording and Logging at the Same Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Recording On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Recording from an IN Point to an OUT Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Batch Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Rerecording a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Navigating in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Using the Position Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Using the A and S keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Displaying More or Less Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Using the Scroll Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Using the Track Selector Panel . . . . . .
Basic Trim Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Trim Using Top and Tail Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Entering Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Selecting Between Trim Sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Sync Locking Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Performing a Basic Trim. . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding a Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Repositioning the Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Adjusting a Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Dissolving the Picture-in-Picture On and Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Rendering an Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Chapter 9 Creating Titles Working with Titles . . .
Chapter 11 Using the NRCS Tool Opening the NRCS Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Understanding the NRCS Tool Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Opening a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Editing a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Formatting Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Figures Figure 1-1 NewsCutter Hardware Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Figure 2-1 Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Figure 2-2 Bin Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Figure 3-1 Project Window — Bin View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Figure 3-2 Project Window — Settings View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Figure 3-3 Project Window — Info View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Figure 6-2 Record Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Figure 6-3 Pop-up Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Figure 6-4 Timeline Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Figure 6-5 Timeline Track Selector Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Figure 7-1 Trim Mode Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Figure 8-1 Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tables Table 2-1 Common Project Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Table 11-1 NRCS Tool Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Table 11-2 Formatting Toolbar Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER 1 Introduction This chapter provides an overview of the NewsCutter system and the editing process. Understanding how the system organizes tapes, clips, sequences, and other media objects helps you to edit projects more effectively.
About NewsCutter NewsCutter is a nonlinear editing workstation specifically designed for editing news stories. It offers flexibility and speed to create compelling, up-to-the-minute news stories. You can edit a story several different ways and choose the best one, or you can quickly create different versions of a lead story for three different broadcasts.
NewsCutter Hardware The following hardware components make up NewsCutter, as shown in Figure 1-1. n Your components might differ slightly, depending on the options you purchased.
Starting Your System Begin your edit session by turning on the components of your NewsCutter system. If any part of your system fails to turn on, make sure its electrical cord is plugged snugly into an appropriate electrical outlet or power strip. For information on setting up your system, see the Avid NewsCutter Setup Guide. c If you fail to follow the proper sequence for starting up your system, you could damage your computer and storage drives and NewsCutter might not work properly.
Starting NewsCutter To start the NewsCutter application: t Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Avid, and click NewsCutter. Electronic Licensing To accept your NewsCutter product license: 1. Read the License Agreement, and then click Accept or Decline at the bottom of the screen. n If you click Decline, the application will not start. The agreement appears the first several times you start the application.
How to Proceed The following are a few tips for taking full advantage of the NewsCutter documentation and other resources: • Begin learning about basic procedures by using the default settings. As your confidence increases, begin to explore additional procedures and settings. • Instead of using the standard menus to find the command you need in a window, try using shortcut menus.
• Keeping Help Available • Finding Information Within the Help • Creating a Favorites List • Using the Browse Buttons • Printing Help Topics Opening and Closing the Help System To open the Help system: 1. Choose Avid NewsCutter Help from the Help menu. The Help system appears in the default browser for your system. 2. Click the Using Help, Contents, Index, Search, Favorites, and Glossary buttons to access the information you need.
Some topics include a link to additional information about a procedure. The procedure Saving Bins Automatically, for example, includes a link to About Saving Bins Automatically. About links are always at the top of the topic. Some topics include graphics of buttons used in the procedure explained in the topic. These are for illustration only; they do not function if you click them. At the bottom of each topic are links to related topics, which are listed under the heading See Also.
Getting Help for Screen Objects You can use What’s This? Help to find out about buttons and other screen objects. To get help for screen objects: 1. Using the right mouse button, click the screen object (for example, a button). A pop-up menu appears. 2. Choose What’s This? from the pop-up menu. A browser window opens that explains how to use the item. Many windows include a link (marked by underlined text) to more information.
Restoring Help from the Taskbar You can restore the Help from the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. All active applications are represented by buttons on the taskbar. To restore Help: t Click the browser button on the taskbar. The Help reappears. Using Alt+Tab to Restore Help To use Alt+Tab to restore Help: 1. Press and hold the Alt key. 2. Press and release the Tab key, but keep holding the Alt key. A window appears containing icons and names for all the applications currently open on your system.
Using the Contents List The Contents button provides a list of topics covering the entire Help system. To view the Contents list, do one of the following: t From the Help menu, choose Avid NewsCutter Help, and then click the Contents button. t From a Help topic, click the Contents button. To display a topic: t n Click the topic title in the Contents list. The Contents displays only the top-level topics. Many entries link to subtopics with related information or procedures.
Using the Search Feature The Search button lets you search the entire Help system for words or phrases and then lists topics that include those words or phrases. To search for topics by using the Search button: 1. From the Help menu, choose Avid NewsCutter Help and click the Search button, or click the Search button from within a topic. 2. In the text box, type the word or phrase that you want to find. You can type up to three words, not including invalid words like “the” or misspellings. 3.
To search through the glossary (Netscape Navigator only): 1. Follow steps 1 and 2 in the previous procedure. 2. Click in the Glossary to make it active. 3. Choose Find in Frame from the Edit menu. 4. Type the word you want to find in the text box and click the Find Next button. Creating a Favorites List The Favorites button allows you to keep a list of topics you want to go to frequently. To add a favorite topic to your list: 1. Click the Favorites button. 2. Click the Add Current button.
Using the Browse Buttons Each Help topic contains browse buttons to help you navigate forward and backward through related topics. Your browser also includes a Back button and a Forward button. To move forward or backward through related topics: t Click one of the Browse buttons. To retrace your steps backward or forward through topics you visited: t Use the browser Back or Forward buttons.
Using Online Documentation The online version of the books are PDF files. You can view them with the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, which you can install from the CD-ROM.
CHAPTER 2 About NewsCutter This chapter explains the basic concepts and terminology with which you need to be familiar to edit video with NewsCutter.
You create a sequence from raw footage in three simple stages: 1. Record the source video from tape or external feed onto an external drive. You can also record your raw footage while editing the story. This process is called Record to Timeline, as described in “Recording to the Timeline” on page 61. 2. Edit the sequence and fine-tune it by using various NewsCutter features and effects. Use basic editing procedures to create a series of straight cuts.
Understanding the Pieces Use Table 2-1 to identify the icons that you will be working with and to help you work more effectively. Table 2-1 Icon Common Project Icons Name Description Project The job that results in one or more sequences; the Project window organizes all the clips, sequences, effects, bins, and media file pointers for a program or series of programs. Sequence An edited composition that includes audio and video clips and rendered effects.
Table 2-1 Icon Common Project Icons (Continued) Name Description IN and OUT points Starting and ending points of an edit. Subclip Part of a master clip; a subclip references the master clip. Motion effect A file in the bin that references effect media files generated when you create motion effects. Group clip A file in the bin that combines two or more clips based on marks or tracking information synchronization points. Title A clip that references a title that you created.
Project name Figure 2-1 Project Window Then, within the Firefighters project, you can create multiple bins; for example, you could keep all your raw footage in one bin, a short sequence in another bin, and a more in-depth sequence in another bin. Use bins to store and organize master clips, subclips, sequences, and other media objects in a way that works best for your workflow. The bin contains information about each clip, such as name, start timecode, and end timecode (see Figure 2-2).
You can customize Bin views to suit your needs, such as showing more or less information about each media file. You can also sort clips by the information in any field, choosing to view only clips that meet specific criteria, such as a certain interview subject. You can view bins in Frame view, Text view, or Script view. For more information about bin views, see “About Bin Views” on page 43. How Media Is Stored When you record media, NewsCutter creates two types of files: media files and master clips.
The Attic Folder NewsCutter saves copies of your current project and its bins at regular intervals and whenever you save or close a project or bin. These auto-save files are stored in the Attic folder in the NewsCutter application folder. If at any time you lose work due to a power outage or system error, open the Attic folder and look for a project or bin of the same name with the file name extension .bak.xx, where xx is the version number.
CHAPTER 3 Starting Your Project This chapter gets you started with NewsCutter and presents the concept of projects and how you use them to organize your work.
Starting NewsCutter To start the NewsCutter application: t n Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Avid, and click NewsCutter. To start the application from your desktop, create a shortcut and place it in a convenient location. For more information on creating a shortcut, see your Windows NT documentation. Creating a User Before you can start working in NewsCutter, you need to create a user. Once you have started NewsCutter, the Open Project dialog box appears and you can create new users.
When you create a new user, NewsCutter creates a folder for the user and two files within the folder: a user profile file and a user settings file. The folder is stored in the Avid Users folder on your internal drive. If you want to delete a user, you must delete that person’s folder. The default location for the Avid User folder is: C:\Programs\Avid\NewsCutter\Avid Users Creating a Project When you start NewsCutter, the Open Project dialog box appears and from there you can open and create projects.
2. Type the name of the project you want to create. 3. Select NTSC or PAL from the Format pop-up menu. 4. Click OK. The Project name appears in the Avid Projects list. 5. Click OK to open the Project window. When you create a new project, NewsCutter creates a folder for the project and two files within the folder: a project file and a project settings file. The folder is stored in the Avid Projects folder on your internal drive. If you want to delete a project, you must delete its folder.
Understanding the Project Window All your clips, sequences, bins, and subclips in NewsCutter are organized into projects. Once you create your project and open it, you will see the Project window. Within the Project window, there are three buttons for displaying information. They include: • n Bins — Displays all the bins associated with this project; this is the default view as shown in Figure 3-1. The Bins display option is described more fully in “Working with Bins” on page 41.
• Settings — Displays all the settings available for NewsCutter; the Settings scroll list and the Fast menu let you change the settings view to see specific types of settings, for example, Title Styles. To view the Settings scroll list, click the Settings button. For more information, see “Settings” in the Help index or the Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide.
- Hardware — Displays the operating system version and disk usage For more information on the Info display, see “Information Display Menu” in the Help index or the Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide. Settings Fast menu Figure 3-3 Project Window — Info View Working with Bins Within a project, a bin is a way of organizing clips, subclips, and sequences. The concept of a bin comes from the world of film. Editors would store reels of film in bins.
n If you want to keep the current Bin window and Project window attached, select Enable ‘Sticky’ Bins in the Bin Settings dialog box. When you select this option, NewsCutter remembers the position of the bins in the workspace. Creating a Bin Once you have created your project, you can create as many bins as you need to organize your work. To create a bin: 1. With the Project window open, click the New Bin button. A new bin with the project name is created in the Project window. 2.
About Bin Views There are three views for working with clips in a bin: Text view, Frame view, and Script view. You will probably use each of these views as you work with NewsCutter. n In the examples shown in the next three sections, footage has already been recorded and that is why it appears in the bins. When you first start NewsCutter, you will not see anything in your bins until you begin recording footage. For more information, see Chapter 4.
To enter Text view: t Click the Text View button (labeled T) in the lower left corner of the Bin window. (See Figure 3-4.) Bin name Column headings Object icons Bin Fast Menu button Frame View button Script View button Text View button Bin View pop-up menu Figure 3-4 Bin Window — Text View Frame View In Frame view, each clip is represented by a single picture frame, with the name of the clip.
To enter Frame view: t Click the Frame View button (labeled F) in the lower left corner of the Bin window. (See Figure 3-5.) Bin name Frame of media object Object icons Frame View button Figure 3-5 Bin Window — Frame View Script View In Script view, the system combines the features of Text view with Frame view and adds space for typing notes or script. The frames are displayed vertically on the left side of your screen with a text box to the right of each clip.
To add text: t Click in the text box and begin typing. Bin name Frame of media object Text box Object icons Script View button Figure 3-6 Bin Window — Script View Creating a Quick Transition Bin NewsCutter contains a feature called Quick Transition, which allows you to save the parameters of an effect so that you can add the same effect many times in a sequence. You save the parameters in a bin named Quick Transition.
To create the Quick Transition bin and enable this feature: 1. With the Project window open, click the New Bin button. A new bin with the project name is created in the Project window. 2. Type Quick Transition in the text field. n You must name the bin Quick Transition. Otherwise, NewsCutter will not recognize it as a Quick Transition bin. For more information on how to create Quick Transition, see “Creating a Quick Transition” on page 139. About Trash NewsCutter stores deleted bins in the Trash.
Trash icon Fast Menu button To empty the contents of the Trash: c Once you empty the contents of the Trash, bins will not appear in the Trash or on the drive. 1. Click the Trash icon to display its contents. 2. Click the Fast Menu button in the Bin window. 3. Choose Empty Trash. Customizing Your Work Environment NewsCutter lets you customize your work environment so you can work more quickly and more efficiently.
Mapping Keys and Buttons NewsCutter lets you map buttons from the Command palette and menu commands from the NewsCutter main menu to the Tool palette and keys on your keyboard. You can also remap buttons to other buttons. When you start NewsCutter, there are several assigned buttons in the Tool palette; the other blank spaces are available for mapping the buttons you use most frequently. You can also map menu commands that you use frequently to the Tool palette.
Customizing your workspace lets you be prepared when you want to start working on a particular NewsCutter functional area, such as recording or effects editing. For instructions on using and modifying the default workspaces, see “Using Workspaces” on page 78.
CHAPTER 4 Recording This chapter describes recording, the process of converting your analog video and audio to a digital format.
Selecting Settings for Recording A number of settings have a direct bearing on the recording process. Before recording, review the following options for General Settings, Deck Settings, and Record Settings. • c Drive Filtering Based on Resolution causes the system to dim all drives for which speed capabilities are unknown or untested. This setting is selected by default in the General Settings dialog box. NewsCutter does not prevent you from using non-Avid drives, but their reliability cannot be ensured.
The Record Tool The Record tool provides controls for recording your footage. To open the Record tool: t Choose Record Tool from the Tools menu.
The Record tool has the following components: • Audio Input pop-up menu displays the menu of audio source options. • Audio Tool button opens the Audio tool. See “The Audio Tool” on page 56. • Bin pop-up menu lets you choose a target bin as the destination for the master clips created when you record on-the-fly. You can also choose a target bin containing the logged clips you will use to batch record your media.
• Overwrite button lets you record footage directly from tape into a sequence loaded in the Timeline in one step. When you use Overwrite, it replaces what was on the track to which you are recording with the material you just recorded. • Record button begins the recording process. • Record indicator flashes on and off while you are recording. • Record/Log Mode button lets you switch between Record mode and Log mode. • Resolution pop-up menu contains a list of the available resolutions.
The Audio Tool The Audio tool controls parameters for incoming audio. To open the Audio tool: t Choose Audio Tool from the Tools menu. t Click the Audio Tool button in the Record tool. To display the full screen of the Audio tool (as shown in Figure 4-2): t Click the Output, Input, and Setup buttons.
The Audio tool has the following components: • Analog VU scale to the right of the meters displays a fixed range of values that you can conform to the headroom parameters of your source audio. • Channel Selector pop-up menus let you map tracks in the sequence to output channels. • Digital VU scale to the left of the meters displays a fixed range of values from 0 to –90 decibels (dB), according to common digital peak meter standards.
• Output button opens the Output display. • Output display shows a panel that contains controls for raising or lowering global audio output. • Peak Hold pop-up menu allows you to choose options for customizing the meter displays and for setting and playing back the internal calibration tone. • Reset Peak button resets the current maximum peak measurements. It also stops the playback of the internal calibration tone. • Setup button opens the Setup display.
Vectorscope Monitor button Internal Waveform Monitor button Internal Waveform monitor Vectorscope monitor Input pop-up menu Slider Consumer Source button Settings pop-up menu 100% Bars button Preset buttons Figure 4-3 Video Input Tool To expand the Video Input Tool window to include the internal Waveform monitor: t Click the Internal Waveform Monitor button. To expand the Video Input Tool window to include the internal Vectorscope monitor: t Click the Vectorscope Monitor button.
• Internal Waveform monitor lets you adjust luminance values. • Internal Waveform Monitor button opens the internal Waveform monitor. • Preset buttons are highlighted when the factory preset levels are displayed. When you click a lit Preset button, it turns gray and the slider returns to the most recent manual level setting. • Settings pop-up menu lets you save the Site settings for an individual tape each time you calibrate bars. • Sliders let you change the value for each setting.
3. Label each of your external disk drives with a meaningful name. For information on naming drives, see “Naming Drives” in the Help index or the Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide. 4. Insert a tape into the deck and set up the Record tool for track selection, target bin, target drives, source tape, and source deck. 5. Use the Audio Input tool to set the audio input levels. 6. Use the Video Input tool to set the video input levels; save your video settings for future use.
4. (Option) You can mark an OUT point based on the following: • If you are recording to the middle of a sequence in the Timeline, mark both IN and OUT points for frame accuracy. • If you are recording at the end of a sequence, you can mark just an IN point and then mark the OUT point later on-the-fly. 5. Click the Splice-in button or the Overwrite button in the Record tool to choose the type of edit. Overwrite Splice-in Splice-in will move everything in the sequence down to make room for the new clip.
Recording On-the-Fly Recording on-the-fly is easier than setting marks, but it is more imprecise. It involves using the deck controls in the lower left corner of the Record tool to cue, play, and stop the source footage manually while recording.
To record on-the-fly: 1. Select the video and audio tracks to which you want to record in the Record tool. 2. Make sure the Record/Log Mode button in the Record tool is set to REC. 3. Use the deck controls in the bottom left corner of the Record tool to locate the position on the tape where you want to start recording. 4. Play the deck and when it gets up-to-speed, click the Record button. n Make sure you have cleared any previous marks so that the deck does not begin cueing to the previous location. 5.
Recording from an IN Point to an OUT Point Recording from an IN point to an OUT point lets you specify the exact timecode location to begin and end recording. You can also specify only an IN point or an OUT point, and enter the other mark on-the-fly.
Recording stops, and the system creates a new clip in the bin when the tape reaches the clip’s OUT point or when you click the Record button again. Batch Recording Once you have imported a log or have manually logged a group of clips to a bin, you can automate the record process by using the batch-recording capabilities of NewsCutter. If your media was analog (not digital) when it was recorded, you will need to reset the color bars in the Video Input tool before you batch record.
5. Click OK. If you have not loaded a tape, the system prompts you to insert the first tape. 6. Insert the tape into the tape deck, and click Mounted. A message box appears. 7. Click OK to confirm the tape and deck entries and to begin the recording process. The system records each clip from the tape, in start timecode order. Rerecording a Sequence Rerecording is the process of capturing previously recorded source footage based on existing clips and sequences.
n To streamline the rerecording process, select “Ask for name when a new tape is seen” in the Record Settings dialog box during the original recording. To rerecord a sequence or clips: 1. Choose Record Tool from the Tools menu. 2. Open or activate the bin that contains the sequence or clips. 3. Select the sequences or clips you want to rerecord. 4. Choose Batch Record from the Bin menu. The Batch Record dialog box appears. 5.
CHAPTER 5 Getting Ready to Edit This chapter describes the tools available to you for editing. It also describes methods for navigating within your clips or sequences and ways of marking your footage for inclusion in a sequence.
map buttons to the Tool palette or to reconfigure the keyboard by using the Keyboard palette. The Menu to Button Reassignment option allows you to map menu commands to various buttons and keys. You can use the buttons directly from the Command palette without mapping them by selecting the Active Palette option at the bottom of the Command palette. The Command palette groups buttons by function. Tabs are displayed for each function, and the buttons that perform those functions are displayed within each tab.
Figure 5-2 Command Palette — Play Tab Figure 5-3 Command Palette — Edit Tab Figure 5-4 Command Palette — Trim Tab 71
Figure 5-5 Command Palette — FX Tab Figure 5-6 Command Palette — Other Tab Figure 5-7 Command Palette — More Tab 72
Using the Tool Palette The Tool palette is located in the Timeline. You can also view the Tool palette by clicking the Fast Menu button under the Source monitor. The default Tool palette, shown in the Figure 5-8, provides buttons for editing and navigating. It has blank buttons where you can map the buttons or menu commands you use most frequently. The default Tool palette displays the buttons without names. Figure 5-8 Default Tool Palette To turn on the display of button names: 1.
Mapping Buttons to the Tool Palette You can map frequently used functions to the Tool palette for easy access. To map a button from the Command palette to the Tool palette: 1. Make sure the Source monitor is active; if it isn’t, click the Source/Record Toggle button to activate it. When the Source monitor is active, it displays “NewsCutter Source” in the title bar. 2. Open the Timeline by choosing Timeline from the Tools menu. 3. Choose Command Palette from the Tools menu. 4.
Mapping Menu Commands to the Tool Palette You can map frequently used functions to the Tool palette for easy access. To map a menu command to the Tool palette: 1. Open the Timeline by choosing Timeline from the Tools menu. 2. Choose Command Palette from the Tools menu. 3. Click Menu to Button Reassignment at the bottom of the Command palette if it’s not already selected. 4. Click the button on the Tool palette where you want the menu command to appear. 5. Find the menu command you want to map and click it.
Using the Keyboard Palette The keyboard has many editing and navigational buttons. For faster editing, you can use the keyboard rather than the mouse. Figure 5-9 shows the default keyboard configuration. Step buttons Play/Step/Shuttle buttons Play button Stop button Figure 5-9 NewsCutter Default Keyboard Settings Mapping Buttons to the Keyboard You can map buttons to the keyboard from the Command palette to help you work more quickly.
4. Double-click Keyboard. The Keyboard palette appears. 5. Find the button you want to remap, click the button, and drag it to the keyboard, placing it on any of the light-colored keys. You can place the button over an existing key, in which case you can’t access the original key, or you can place it over one of the blank keys. To remove the button you mapped: t Drag another button over it. t Drag the blank button over it. The blank button can be found in the Other tab of the Command palette.
6. Find the menu command you want to remap and click it. The menu command appears on the keyboard diagram. You can place the menu command over an existing key, in which case you can’t access the original key, or you can place it over one of the blank keys. To remove the menu command you mapped: t Drag another menu command or button over it. t Drag the blank button over it. The blank button can be found in the Other tab of the Command palette.
To use a workspace: t Press the function key on the keyboard for the workspace you want. Modifying Workspaces You can modify the default workspaces to adapt them to your style of working. n To take advantage of the workspace shortcut buttons, you must remember that NewsCutter sorts the workspaces alphabetically. Therefore, the workspace button assignments might change if you add workspaces.
You can also create four additional workspaces. For information on creating workspaces, see “Workspace” in the Help index or the Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide. Controlling Playback There are several ways to play, view, and cue clips: • Instantly access frames or move through footage by using the position indicator within the position bar under the Source or the Record monitor. • Play, step (jog), or shuttle through footage by using buttons. • Play, step, or shuttle by using keyboard equivalents.
Source monitor position bar Position indicator Figure 5-11 Source Monitor Position Bar • In the Timeline, the position indicator shows your position within the sequence. It is always in the same position as the position indicator in the Record monitor’s position bar and works in the same way: you can click anywhere in the Timeline to relocate the position indicator, or you can drag the position indicator through footage at varying speeds.
The Play Button The Play button is a toggle button. With a clip loaded in a monitor, the Play button plays your footage at a normal speed. When a clip is playing, the arrow on the button is lit. Clicking the Play button while your clip is playing stops play. The space bar also stops play. In the Record monitor, you can play only video and audio tracks that are currently monitored in the Track Selector panel.
Step Buttons You can also use the Step Forward and Step Backward buttons under the monitors to play the clip backward or forward in one-frame increments. You can advance 10 frames forward or 10 frames backward by using the 10-step keys on the keyboard. To step through footage: 1. Load a clip into the Source monitor or a sequence into the Record monitor. 2. Press the appropriate key to step 1 or 10 frames forward or backward.
To shuttle through the footage by using the J-K-L keys on the keyboard: 1. Do one of the following: t Load a clip into the Source monitor or a sequence into the Record monitor. t Select a clip in a bin in Frame view to play through the clip in the bin. 2. Use the following keys to shuttle at varying speeds: Press To L Move forward through the footage at normal speed.
Home, End, and Arrow Keys To move through footage when a clip is loaded in a monitor: Press To Home key Move to the beginning of a clip or sequence. End key Move to the end of a clip or sequence. Left Arrow key Move the footage one frame backward. Right Arrow Move the footage one frame forward. key Using the Mouse You can also use the mouse for one-handed control of playback. You can either step or shuttle by using the mouse. Stepping with the Mouse To step by using the mouse: 1.
3. Move the mouse to the right to step forward or to the left to step backward. To quit stepping with the mouse: t Press the space bar. t Double-click the mouse button. Shuttling with the Mouse To shuttle by using the mouse: 1. Load a clip into the Source monitor or a sequence into the Record monitor. 2. Activate the buttons in the Command palette: Mouse Shuttle button n a. Select Active Palette at the bottom of the palette. b. Click the Mouse Shuttle button in the Play tab of the Command palette.
Marking IN and OUT Points You can mark IN and OUT points for your clips in advance, which provides several advantages: • You can quickly build a sequence by splicing the marked clips into place one after another. • You can use the process of rough-cut or storyboard editing, which allows you to instantly splice several prepared clips into a sequence. • You can play back and mark clips in the bin before loading a single clip, saving several steps.
• n Make Subclip button: Click the Make Subclip button located in the Edit tab of the Command palette to create the subclip and place it in the active bin by default. If you press the Alt key while you click the Make Subclip button, a dialog box allows you to choose the destination bin for the subclip. You can also create subclips while recording as described in “Subclips, creating on-the-fly” in the Help index or the Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide.
CHAPTER 6 Creating a First Cut This chapter describes how you begin to put your story together.
Viewing Your Clips You can work with clips and sequences in several different ways, depending upon your needs and preferences. Each method has its own uses and advantages, as follows. • Viewing in bins: Frame view shows you pictorial images of the clips in your bins; Text view shows you the clips listed by name; Script view shows you pictorial images and provides a space for you to add text. For more information on displaying clips in bins, see “Working with Bins” on page 41.
• Viewing in the Source monitor: You can load clips and sequences into the Source monitor (see Figure 6-1) to view and mark shots for use in a sequence that you build in the Record monitor. Load a clip into the Source monitor by double-clicking its icon in the bin. Click on the Monitor pop-up menu to view the history clips and sequences you have loaded. Clear the menu or monitor contents by choosing the appropriate command from this menu.
• Viewing in the Record monitor: You can load a sequence into the Record monitor (see Figure 6-2) to view, mark, or modify an existing sequence. You cannot load a clip into the Record monitor. You load a sequence into the Record monitor by double-clicking its icon in the bin. Click on the Monitor pop-up menu to view the history clips and sequences you have loaded. Clear the menu or monitor contents by choosing the appropriate command from this menu.
• Viewing in pop-up monitors: You can load clips into pop-up monitors (see Figure 6-3) to view and mark one or several clips simultaneously in smaller, movable windows. (Enable a pop-up monitor by pressing the Alt key while double-clicking the clip you want to open.) You can have multiple pop-up monitors open at one time.
Navigating in the Timeline The Timeline window (see Figure 6-4) provides various controls for quickly moving through a sequence and adjusting your view of details displayed in the tracks while editing. You can make changes in the Timeline format by using the Timeline Fast menu or by double-clicking Timeline in the Settings scroll list in the Project window.
When you move the position indicator in the Timeline, the smaller position indicator within the Record monitor’s position bar also moves. Using the A and S keys The Go to Previous Edit and Go to Next Edit buttons in the Command palette allow you to quickly move forward and backward through the Timeline. When you click the Go to Previous Edit button (A key on the default keyboard), the position indicator moves to the previous transition point in the sequence, ignoring tracks that are not active.
As the Timeline expands, a second “shadow” position indicator appears next to the position indicator, showing the end of a single frame, and the two continue to move apart as you expand the Timeline. As the Timeline expands, a shadow position indicator appears. The position indicator and its shadow mark the beginning and end of each frame. The solid line is the mark or edit point. You can click either the line or the shadow to move exactly one frame forward or backward.
The Track Selector panel also provides a quick display of track information. You can see which tracks (on the source or the record side) are available, active, patched, monitored, or locked. The configuration shown in Figure 6-5 is just one example. The Track Selector panel might look very different, depending on the nature of the source material or the work under way in the sequence.
Selecting Tracks You can select tracks on either the record side or the source side as follows: • You can edit selected tracks on the source side directly into the sequence, assuming you have selected parallel tracks on the record side. • You cannot edit deselected tracks on the source side into the sequence, regardless of record track selections. • You cannot edit deselected tracks on the record side, regardless of source track selections.
For example, you might select the source and record tracks for V1, A1, and A2 to edit video and audio from the source clip into the sequence. Select only V1 source and record tracks to edit video without sound. Or, select only A1 and A2 to edit the sound without the video. n Selected tracks change color, becoming lighter.
n When you are patching from one video track to another, the Monitor icon moves to the track to which you patch. Be sure to return the icon to the topmost track when necessary to play back and output all video tracks. Monitoring Tracks You determine the monitoring of tracks by clicking the monitor column of either the source-side or record-side tracks to activate or deactivate the Monitor icons.
Making the First Edit As your first edit, lay down an audio clip, which can contain ambient sound, music, narration, or voice-over narration. First, you play the clip. 1. Double-click the audio clip, and play the clip in the Source monitor. The clip displays as black because it is audio only. 2. Go to the head of the clip by pressing the Home key on your keyboard. Now use digital audio scrub to find the specific first frame you want to use in your sequence.
3. Press the Step (jog) keys (1, 2, 3, 4 on the keyboard) to locate the first frame you want, and click the Mark IN button. When you use the Step keys, a frame of music or speech sounds scratchy or buzzlike. You might want to increase the volume of your speakers to hear the first frame of music. 4. Use the Step keys again to find the last frame of audio you want. 5. Click the Mark OUT button. 6. Press the Caps Lock key again to exit digital audio scrub.
Splicing-in or Overwriting an Audio Clip Click the Splice-in button or the Overwrite button under the Source monitor to edit the clip into the Record monitor. To edit the audio clip you marked in “Using Digital Audio Scrub” on page 101 into your sequence: 1. Choose New Sequence from the Clip menu. An untitled sequence appears in the bin, the Record monitor, and the Timeline. 2. Select the track into which you want to edit the audio by clicking the Track Selector button. 3.
To splice or overwrite video into a sequence: 1. From one of your bins, double-click the clip with which you want to start your sequence. Press and hold the Alt key while you double-click the clip to open the clip in a pop-up monitor. Play the whole clip through once first to get a sense of the material. 2. Play through the clip, and decide where you want the clip to begin; mark an IN point. You can use the Mark IN button under the monitor or press the E key on the keyboard.
When you want to bring an open bin or monitor to the foreground, you can click anywhere in it or choose its name from the Windows menu. 6. Do one of the following to move to the head of the sequence: t Press the Home key on the keyboard. t Click the beginning of the Timeline. 7. Click the Play button to play the clip in the sequence. 8. Continue adding clips to your sequence, following the previous steps. Marking Clips for Storyboarding Another way of starting your sequence is to use storyboarding.
4. Choose Fill Window from the Bin menu to arrange the clips in the bin. 5. Arrange the clips in the order in which you want them to appear in two or three rows, from left to right, and top to bottom, to form the storyboard. Make sure you maintain the order of clips. Now you are ready to load the marked clips into the sequence. 6. Select only the record track where you want the clips to go. 7. Select the storyboard clips all at once: a.
9. Move the position indicator to the head of the sequence. 10. Click the Play button under the Record monitor. Using the Go to IN and Go to OUT Buttons NewsCutter provides a number of methods for snapping the position indicator to an IN or an OUT point. To go to an IN point, do one of the following: Go to IN t Click the Go to IN button. t Press the Q key on the default keyboard. t Press and hold the Alt key, and click the Mark IN button under the Record monitor.
To move to the head of a shot: 1. Move the position indicator in the Timeline anywhere to the right of the transition where you want the edit to occur. 2. While pressing and holding the Ctrl key, click the mouse between the transition and the position indicator toward the head of the clip. The position indicator snaps to the first frame of the shot. To move to the tail of a shot: 1. Move the position indicator in the Timeline anywhere to the left of the transition where you want the edit to occur. 2.
To redo an edit: t Choose Redo from the Edit menu. t Press Ctrl+R. Splicing a Shot into the Middle of a Sequence With nonlinear editing, you can splice a shot anywhere in your sequence. To splice a clip at a transition point between two clips: 1. Double-click the clip you want to splice into the sequence. The clip opens in the Source monitor. 2. Mark the IN and OUT points. 3. Make sure the tracks you want to splice the clip into are selected. 4.
CHAPTER 7 Refining the Edit This chapter describes how to refine your story once you have completed your rough cut. Topics include: • Editing in Segment Mode • Overwriting Shots into a Sequence • Basic Trim Procedures • Audio Editing Editing in Segment Mode Segment mode provides editing controls for moving, deleting, marking, and editing entire segments in the Timeline. A segment is a portion of the sequence that includes two or more transitions.
Guidelines for Editing in Segment Mode Observe the following guidelines when editing in Segment mode: • Transition effects on either side of a moved selection are deleted. Transition effects inside the selection are preserved. • You can track the audio while moving segments by pressing the Caps Lock key to enable audio scrub. • When you are finished, Segment mode continues to affect your editing unless you click the active Segment Mode button to deactivate it.
2. Select only the track on which you want to rearrange clips. 3. Drag the selected clip to its new location and release the mouse. 4. Click the Extract/Splice-in button again to deactivate it. 5. Click the Timeline in front of the two shots, and play the sequence to see how it looks now. To revert to the original sequence: t Press Ctrl+Z. t Choose Undo from the Edit menu. Removing Footage with Extract/Splice-in Mode To remove a clip from the sequence and close up the sequence: 1.
To remove a clip from the sequence: 1. Click the red Segment Mode (Lift/Overwrite) button under the Timeline. 2. Click anywhere in the clip you want to remove, and then Shift+click any other track you want to remove as well. The clip is highlighted on all tracks you selected. 3. Press the Delete key on the keyboard. The selected shot is eliminated, and the surrounding shots stay where they were. You now have a gap the length of the clip you just removed. 4.
5. Mark IN and OUT points in the clip. 6. Click the Overwrite button under the Source monitor, or press the B key on the keyboard. The shot overwrites the existing clip for the duration that you set with your IN and OUT points. Rearranging Shots You can rearrange shots by overwriting material, lifting material, or removing material. Overwriting material doesn’t change the length of the sequence. Lifting material leaves filler and does not affect the length of the sequence.
3. Click the Mark Clip button under the Record monitor, or press the T key on the keyboard. The IN and OUT points appear at the head and tail of the clip in the TC1 track in the Timeline; the marked segment changes to purple. The IN and OUT points also appear in the Record monitor’s position bar. 4. Open the clip you want to edit into the sequence and mark an IN point where you want the edit to begin. 5. Clear any OUT marks. 6.
To remove footage by using Lift: 1. Select only the track where you want to lift a clip. 2. Mark an IN point in the sequence where you want the lift to begin. 3. Mark an OUT point where you want the lift to end. You must mark IN and OUT points in the sequence. 4. Click the Lift button in the Command palette, or press the Lift key (Z key) on the keyboard to remove the segment. The selected segment lifts out and leaves black filler in its place.
To quickly trim footage from the beginning of a clip: 1. Move the position indicator to where you want the clip to start. 2. Press the Y key on the keyboard, or click the Top button. The footage from the position indicator to the beginning of the clip is trimmed. To quickly trim footage from the end of a clip: 1. Move the position indicator to where you want the clip to end. 2. Press the U key on the keyboard, or click the Tail button.
n You can map the Trim Mode button to the Tool palette for easier access. Transition selected for trimming When you deselect one or more tracks in the Track Selector panel, by default only the transitions in the highlighted tracks are selected for trimming. If the transitions are not straight cuts (overlap cuts or L-edits), the system highlights the topmost track nearest the position indicator. • Using the Play Loop button in the Play tab of the Command palette.
Preroll and Post-roll for Play Loop button Transition effect placement and duration Outgoing video Incoming video A-side frame counter B-side frame counter Play Loop button Figure 7-1 Trim Frame buttons Trim Mode Window Selecting Between Trim Sides To select sides of a transition to trim: t Click the outgoing (A-side) or incoming (B-side) monitor to define which side of the transition to trim.
A-side The selected parts of the transition are highlighted, and the corresponding rollers appear in the Timeline. Also, one or both of the frame counter indicators under the monitors are highlighted to reflect the active trim sides: A-side, B-side, or both. The number indicates how many frames have been added or subtracted (–) from the transition.
Performing a Basic Trim With your transitions and trim sides selected, you can perform a basic trim by using one of the following procedures: • Use the Trim buttons to trim forward or backward by 1-frame or 10-frame increments.
• Use controls in the Timeline by clicking a roller at the selected transition and dragging forward or backward in the sequence. Click the roller and drag it to perform your trim. As you trim, all selected transitions in the Timeline move in unison. The frame counter displays the frame count backward or forward for one or both trim sides, and the monitors display the new incoming or outgoing frames.
4. To stop the playback loop, click the Play Loop button again. 5. If you’re trimming an audio track, press the Caps Lock key on the keyboard so you can hear the audio as you trim. n To use digital audio scrub, make sure the Speaker icon for the record track you want to trim is hollow. Alt+click the Speaker icon to change it to hollow. Increase the speaker volume if necessary. 6.
3. If you’re trimming an audio track, press the Caps Lock key on the keyboard so you can hear the audio as you trim. n To use digital audio scrub, make sure the Speaker icon for the record track you want to trim is hollow. Alt+click the Speaker icon to change it to hollow. Increase the speaker volume if necessary. 4. Perform your trim by using one of the following methods: t Use the Trim buttons to trim forward or backward by 1- frame or 10-frame increments.
Audio Editing NewsCutter provides audio scrub features and waveform plots specifically designed for frame-accurate cueing, marking, and editing of audio. You can use these features at any time during editing or while making adjustments with the audio tools. Adjusting Audio Level You can make the audio in a clip louder or softer as needed. To make the audio clip on A2 louder: 1. Select record track A2, and deselect track A1. 2. Move the position indicator anywhere on the audio clip you want to adjust. 3.
Play Loop button Render Effect button Fast Menu button Bypass Clip Gain button Volume Level display box Volume Level display 5. Play a portion of the shot, or use the Play Loop button in the Audio Mix tool. 6. If the volume is still too low, activate the Audio Mix tool by clicking in it, and move the slider up, trying level +10. Continue to adjust the level until it sounds right.
2. Select record tracks A1 and A2. 3. Click the Timeline’s position indicator at a point that has audio on track A1. 4. Choose Audio Mix from the Tools menu. 5. Click tracks A1 and A2 6. Click in the Pan Value display for track A1 to open the Pan slider. Pan Value display Pan slider 7. Drag the Pan slider to the middle of the scale until it reads MID. To make the slider snap to MID, press and hold the Alt key and click the Pan slider. 8.
CHAPTER 8 Adding Effects Adding an effect to a clip enhances your sequence by fading in or out of a scene or adding video or a graphic on top of a clip. The effects that are available for your NewsCutter system depend on the model and options that you purchased.
Effects Editing NewsCutter offers many effects that you can apply to your sequences. This chapter explains how to create motion effects and how to apply effects from the Effect Palette to transitions or segments (clips) in your sequence. After you have selected and applied the effect, you can adjust the effect parameters to meet your requirements. Effects, with the exception of some motion effects, are not real time, which means you must render them before you play them.
Creating Motion Effects A motion effect controls the rate at which NewsCutter plays the video channel and is applied to clips in the Source monitor. When you use a motion effect to slow down a clip, the effect is real time. When you speed up a clip, however, you must render the effect. Motion effects include: • Freeze Frame • Variable Speed and Strobe Motion Creating Freeze Frame Effects When you create a Freeze Frame effect, NewsCutter creates a new clip in the Source monitor and in the current bin.
Creating Variable Speed and Strobe Motion Effects As with Freeze Frame effects, when you create Variable Speed and Strobe Motion effects, NewsCutter creates a new clip in the Source monitor and in the current bin. The new clip has the same name as the original clip but is followed by the frame rate in parentheses. A Motion Effect icon appears next to the clip in the bin. To create a Variable Speed or Strobe Motion effect: 1. Load the clip into the Source monitor. 2. Mark the IN and OUT points.
Figure 8-1 Effect Palette The left panel of the Effects Palette window lists the effects category. The right panel lists the effects within the category. Effect Types There are two primary types of effects that are defined by where you use them in a sequence: • Transition effects • Segment effects (single-layer and multilayer) Transition Effects A transition is the point where two clips meet. You apply a transition effect to the cut point between two clips on the same video track.
n You can save transition effects as Quick Transition to speed up the editing process. For more information, see “Creating a Quick Transition” on page 139. Segment Effects You apply a segment effect to an entire clip or a group of clips. There are two types of segment effects: • A single-layer segment effect, such as a Mask effect, is applied to a segment on one video track.
Working in Effect Mode After you have created an effect and have applied it to a transition or segment in your sequence, you can adjust its appearance and operation by changing its effect parameters in the Effect Editor. To open the Effect Editor: t Choose Effect Editor from the Tools menu. Not all effect parameters apply to all effects. Parameters that do not apply to an effect do not appear in the Effect Editor. The Effect Editor is shown in Figure 8-2.
Adding Transition Effects Transition effects are added between two clips. Effects you can use include: Blend, Box Wipe, Conceal, Edge Wipe, Image, Key, L-Conceal, Matrix Wipe, Peel, Push, Sawtooth Wipe, Shape Wipe, Spin, and Squeeze. Adding Fade In To add a fade-in effect to a transition: 1. Select the record track where you want the fade in. 2. Move the position indicator to where you want the effect. 3. Click the Quick Transition button in the Source monitor Tool palette.
4. Create a dissolve (fade in): a. Choose Dissolve from the Add pop-up menu. b. Choose Starting at Cut from the Position pop-up menu. c. Type the duration of the dissolve in the Duration text box. For example, typing 30 creates a 30-frame fade in. 5. Choose the drive on which the effect media file should be stored from the Target Drive pop-up menu. The default drive is Effect Source Drive. 6. Click Add and Render to render the effect.
b. Type the duration of the dissolve in the Duration text box. c. Choose Centered on Cut from the Position pop-up menu. 5. Choose the disk drive on which the effect media file should be stored. 6. Click Add and Render. 7. Play the effect. To stop playback: t Press the space bar. You can continue to add Dissolve effects to transitions where you want them throughout the sequence.
Creating Audio Dissolves It is just as easy to add audio dissolves, and the procedure is the same as for adding video dissolves. Be sure to select only the audio track and deselect other tracks. Adding a Fade Within the Sequence To create a fade to black within a sequence: 1. Select only the track where you want the fade to occur. 2. Move the position indicator to where you want the fade to black to occur. 3. Without moving the position indicator, mark both an IN point and an OUT point on that frame.
Creating a Quick Transition If you plan to use a particular transition effect many times in a sequence, you can save it as a Quick Transition, which allows you to quickly add the effect to your sequence. To create a Quick Transition: 1. Create a bin named Quick Transition in the current Project window. For more information, see “Creating a Quick Transition Bin” on page 46. n If you want to use a Quick Transition in multiple projects, you must copy the bin to each project. 2.
Adding Keyframes You can add keyframes to an effect, giving you more control over the effect’s parameters. At each keyframe, you can change parameters for things like position, opacity, or border softness. Adding keyframes lets you create a motion path for an effect by changing the effect’s position at each keyframe. To add keyframes: 1. Apply an effect where you want one to occur. 2. Move the position indicator to the location within the Effect Preview monitor position bar where you want the keyframe. 3.
To create the Picture-in-Picture effect: 1. Select track V2 and its monitor. 2. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu. The Blend effects, including Picture-in-Picture, are displayed in a list on the right side of the Effect Palette. 3. Move the position indicator to the clip where you want the Picture-in-Picture effect. Effect icon 4. Click the Picture-in-Picture Effect icon in the Effect Palette, and drag it to the clip.
Background filler (V1) Foreground image (V2) Figure 8-3 Picture-in-Picture Effect 142
Repositioning the Image You can move Picture-in-Picture images anywhere on the screen. To move a Picture-in-Picture image: 1. Click the Effect Mode button in the Other tab of the Command palette, or choose Effect Editor from the Tools menu to enter Effect mode. Parameters for the Picture-in-Picture effect appear in the Effect Editor. 2. In the Timeline, move the position indicator directly over the effect icon. 3. Make sure the track with the effect is selected. 4.
Adjusting a Parameter There are many parameters you can use to adjust the way an effect appears. For example, you can add a border, soften the edges, and adjust opacity. To soften the edges of the Picture-in-Picture image so that it blends into the background image, adjust the softness: 1. Click the Soft slider in the Border parameter category in the Effect Editor. 2. Drag the Soft slider to the right, or enter a numeric value by using the keypad.
4. Render the effect when you are finished adjusting parameters. See “Rendering an Effect” on page 147. Figure 8-4 shows the same image as Figure 8-3 on page 142 but with the edges softened and the position slightly changed. Figure 8-4 Picture-in-Picture Effect with Softness Dissolving the Picture-in-Picture On and Off You can create the effect of having the Picture-in-Picture dissolve on and off by adding keyframes. These let the system know where the dissolve should start and end.
To dissolve the Picture-in-Picture on and off: 1. In the Timeline, move the position indicator directly over the effect icon. 2. Click the Effect Mode button if you are not already in Effect mode. The Effects Mode button is in the Other tab of the Command palette or choose Effect editor from the Tools menu. 3. In the Record monitor, click the first keyframe so it is the only keyframe highlighted. 4. Drag the Level slider in the Effect Editor all the way to the left to display 0. 5.
Rendering an Effect You must render a non-real-time effect before it can be played. When an effect is rendered, the system stores the effect and its media file as a precomputed master clip (often referred to as a precompute). The system uses the precompute to play the effect at its normal speed. To render an effect: 1. Move the position indicator to the effect icon. 2. Select the track where the effect is located. 3. Click the Render Effect button in the Tool palette. The Render Effect dialog box appears.
CHAPTER 9 Creating Titles You can create a new title with the Title tool and save the title in a bin, or add a new video track to the Timeline if you want the title to appear over video.
Working with Titles You can create a new title with or without a sequence in the Timeline. However, if you want to create a title with a video background, you can load a video clip into the Source monitor to use as a reference frame while you create the title. The video reference frame you select appears in the background of the Title tool while you create the title.
n The procedures described in this section use a video reference frame to create a title. Understanding the Title Tool Window It is helpful to understand the components of the Title tool so you know what options you have for working with text, graphic objects, color, and shadows. To open the Title tool: t Choose New Title from the Clip menu.
Safe action area Safe title area Title Toolbar Figure 9-1 Title Tool Window Adding Text By default, the Text tool is active when you open the Title tool. Click in the Title tool at the position where you want to begin entering text.
To use the Text tool at any other time: 1. Click the Text Tool button. 2. Click anywhere within the title frame, and begin typing. A blinking vertical bar indicates your cursor position in the frame. The Text tool remains selected until you select another tool. n If you press the Alt key and click anywhere in the Title tool, you switch between the Selection tool and the Text tool. Formatting Text in the Title Tool The text formatting tools control the appearance of text.
This section describes how to change these characteristics on a text string basis. You can also change these attributes on a character-bycharacter basis by editing the text string. For more information, see “Text for titles, working with” in the Help index or the Avid NewsCutter Effects Guide. You can also modify the following text attributes on a text string basis: • Color • Transparency • Drop and depth shadows • Outlines surrounding text While you type text, only the text color is apparent.
Choosing Colors and Setting Transparency You can select the color and transparency for objects, shadows, and borders. The following illustration shows the boxes associated with color and transparency. Color and Transparency Blend tools Color Selection boxes Transparency Level boxes • The Color Selection boxes control the fill (Fill), shadow (Shad), and border (Bord) colors. • The Transparency Level boxes control the fill, shadow, and border transparency.
Selecting a Color To select a color from the Title Tool Color Picker, do one of the following: t Use the eyedropper to select a color from any open application on your computer. t Use the Color dialog box to select a color. All these features are available through the Title Tool Color Picker (see Figure 9-2).
Creating a New Title Once you create and add a title to your sequence, you can reposition it, change the text color, adjust the font and point size, add a shadow or border, adjust levels and kerning, and make it bold or italic. To create a new title: 1. In the Record monitor, move the position indicator to a clip in the sequence you want to use as a background. You don’t have to use a video background; you can create your title over a color background. 2. Choose New Title from the Clip menu.
Working with Title Templates A template is useful for setting up text and graphics that you use regularly in many titles. You can set up the position, font, and color and then save that as a template. When you want to use the template, you can just edit the text and your title is finished. Templates pop-up menu Creating a Title Template To create a title template: 1. Choose New Title from the Clip menu to open the Title tool. 2.
Using a Title Template When you use a title template, you can edit the text, but you cannot change the colors, shadows, or graphics. n You can change the position of the template elements by choosing Moveable Templates from the Templates pop-up menu. To use a title template: 1. Choose New Title from the Clip menu to open the Title tool. 2. Click Templates in the toolbar. 3. Choose Include Template. The Open dialog box appears. 4. Select the template you want to use. 5. Click Open.
5. Make your changes. 6. Choose Save Template. The default is to save the template in the Title_Templates folder, but you can save it somewhere else if needed. 7. Close the Title tool, selecting Don’t Save from the Save Title dialog box. Removing a Title Template You can remove a title template from a title if you no longer need it. To remove a title template: 1. With the title open, click Templates in the toolbar. 2. Choose Remove Template.
Applying a Color To apply a color to text or objects: 1. Select the text or object to which you want to apply color by using the Selection tool. 2. Click and hold the Fill Color Selection box. The Title Tool Color Picker appears. From here you can pick a color from the color bar, use the eyedropper to select a color from the video, or open the Color dialog box and select a color from there. See Figure 9-2 on page 155. 3. Click a color. The color is applied to the title.
5. Drag the shadow in the Shadow Depth and Direction button to the position you want. You can also change the size by dragging the shadow further away from the white center. 6. Click the Shadow Color Selection box to open the Title Tool Color Picker to add a color to the shadow. For a description of the Title Tool Color Picker, see “Selecting a Color” on page 155. Saving a Title To save your title: 1. Choose Save Title from the File menu. The Save Title dialog box appears. 2.
4. Click Save. 5. Click the Close button in the Title tool. The title appears in the Source monitor and in the bin where you chose to save it. Editing the Title into the Sequence After you have created a title with the Title tool, use one of the following two methods to edit the title into your sequence: • Method 1: Add a new video track, load the title into the Source monitor, mark an IN point and an OUT point, and splice/overwrite the title into the sequence.
5. Click the Overwrite button under the Source monitor. This adds the title to track V2. 6. Render the title by moving the position indicator to the effect and clicking the Render Effect button in the Tool palette. 7. Play the sequence to see your title. Editing an Existing Title To edit an existing title: 1. In the bin, press and hold the Ctrl key and double-click the title clip to open it in the Title tool. 2. Make whatever edits you want. 3. Save your title.
CHAPTER 10 Output NewsCutter provides tools for generating output for individual tracks or entire sequences to various videotape or audiotape formats. You can also use VTR emulation for direct playback of sequences by using an edit controller in an analog editing suite.
• Calibrate and adjust audio output levels (see “Audio output, preparing for” in the Help index or the Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide). • Decide whether you want to generate stereo or mono audio. • Mix down multiple audio tracks if necessary. Systems equipped with a two-channel audio board can generate a maximum of two channels. For more information on mixing down audio tracks, see “Audio tracks, mixing down” in the Help index or the Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide.
To perform assemble edit recording: t n Record black with timecode onto the tape. Include the necessary preroll prior to the IN point plus at least 10 seconds (partially striped tape). Select “Allow assemble edit for digital cut” in the Deck Preferences dialog box. To access the Deck Preferences dialog box, double-click Deck Preferences in the Project window’s Settings scroll list.
Play Digital Cut button Halt Digital Cut button Preview Digital Cut button Video track Audio tracks Mix Mode Selection button Deck Control area Deck controls 2. In the Deck Control area, select Local. 3. Select the With Countdown option to use the default computer-generated countdown containing the Avid logo.
4. Select the With Countdown and Custom Screen options to preview or use a customized countdown screen. See “Creating a Custom Countdown Display” in the Help index or the Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide. 5. Select the audio and video tracks you want represented in the digital cut preview. The display of tracks in the Digital Cut tool varies according to the tracks existing in the sequence. Only those tracks beside the Speaker icon and the Monitor icon in the Timeline, are included in the digital cut. 6.
To record a digital cut to tape: 1. Load a sequence into the Record monitor. (You cannot access digital cut options without a sequence loaded.) 2. Choose Digital Cut from the Clip menu. The Digital Cut tool opens. 3. In the Deck Control area, select Remote. 4. Use the deck controls in the Digital Cut tool to cue and control the record tape during digital cut recording. 5.
6. (Option) Choose either Insert Edit or Assemble Edit from the pop-up menu. This menu appears only if you selected “Allow assemble edit for digital cut” in the Deck Preferences dialog box. See “Enabling Assemble-Edit Recording” in the Help index or the Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide. 7. Choose a command from the Sequence Time pop-up menu as follows: Choose To Sequence Time Start the recording at a timecode existing on tape that matches the start timecode of the sequence.
10. Click the Play Digital Cut button. The system cues the record deck and then plays and records the digital cut. The playback appears in the Playback monitor. To stop the playback: n n t Press the space bar. t Click the Halt Digital Cut button. After assemble-edit recording, a freeze frame is usually added after the OUT point for 1 second or more, depending upon the record deck model. This provides several frames of overlap for the next IN point, before control track and timecode break up.
VTR play emulation allows you to control the sequence with the edit controller as follows: • You can shuttle, step (jog), play, cue, and mark points based on master sequence timecode for editing onto another master. • Your control of the NewsCutter system is for play only. For example, you cannot apply IN and OUT points, arm tracks, or send record commands to the NewsCutter system itself. • Smooth audio scrub is enabled by default, emulating analog audio scrub on a VTR.
CHAPTER 11 Using the NRCS Tool You use the NRCS tool to connect to an iNEWS server (formally Avstar server), to access stories from the server, and to edit stories on your NewsCutter. When you open a story in the NRCS tool, you can make formatting and content changes to the story instead of opening an iNEWS workstation to do the editing. After you have made changes to the story, you can save the changes, which will be available to others using the same server.
n Your iNEWS user permissions define how many of these procedures you can perform. If you are unsure of your permissions, consult your system administrator. Opening the NRCS Tool The first time you open the NRCS tool, the NRCS Settings dialog box appears. You must configure the NRCS settings before you can connect to the iNEWS server. To configure the NRCS settings and to connect to the server: 1. Choose NRCS Tool from the Tools menu. The NRCS Settings dialog box appears (see Figure 11-1).
3. (Option) Select “Logout when NRCS Tool is closed” if you want to terminate the connection to the server every time you close the NRCS tool. 4. Click the iNEWS tab to make additional changes to the NRCS settings (see Figure 11-2). Figure 11-2 NRCS Settings Dialog Box — iNEWS Tab 5. Configure the Message-of-the-Day (MOTD) settings and Mail Directory as follows: c • If you want the MOTD to have a different file name, type the new name in the Message-of-the-Day Directory text box.
6. Click OK to accept the NRCS settings. The NRCS Login dialog box appears (see Figure 11-3). iNEWS server name appears here. Figure 11-3 NRCS Tool — Login Dialog Box 7. Type a log-in name if you did not set a default name in the NRCS Settings dialog box. 8. Type the password. 9. Click OK. The NRCS tool connects to the iNEWS server. When the connection is established, the list of directories appears in the Directory panel.
To connect to the iNEWS server: 1. Choose NRCS tool from the Tools menu. The NRCS Tool window opens. 2. Click Connect. 3. Log in as previously described. Understanding the NRCS Tool Window Figure 11-4 identifies the NRCS tool components. You must select a story in the Directory panel before information appears in the text boxes and Story panel.
Story form Disconnect Send Mail button button Build Formatting Sequence toolbar button Save Story button Edit Mode button WPM rate Story name Read time Directory panel Production Cue text box Story panel Figure 11-4 NRCS Tool Window Table 11-1 provides a brief description of each component. Table 11-1 NRCS Tool Components Component Description Disconnect button Releases the connection to the iNEWS server. Send Mail button Opens a dialog box for sending mail to others.
Table 11-1 NRCS Tool Components (Continued) Component Description Story form Contains summary information about the story in predefined headings. You can alter the information if it does not have a gray background. Appears in Edit mode only. Story name Shows the directory path and name of the story. Formatting toolbar Contains buttons used to change the appearance of story text. Build Sequence button Builds a sequence in NewsCutter by using the tape time of the story.
Opening a Story After establishing a connection to the iNEWS server, the Story panel remains blank until you open a story. To open a story: 1. Navigate through the directories, and find the file you want to open. In the Directory panel (see Figure 11-5), all triangles point right when you first log in, which indicates closed directories. Triangles that point down indicate open directories. Directories or files within a directory are indented below that directory.
Editing a Story You can perform basic editing functions on your stories by using the NRCS tool, eliminating the need to do the work on the iNEWS workstation and saving valuable time in the editing process. To access the Formatting toolbar: t Click the Edit Mode button (see Figure 11-4). Table 11-2 describes the Formatting Toolbar buttons and functions. Table 11-2 Button Formatting Toolbar Buttons Function Description Bold Changes the highlighted text to bold.
Formatting Text You use a combination of the formatting buttons and the shortcut menu to change the format of story text. To edit the text: 1. Open a story as described in “Opening a Story” on page 180. The story appears in the Story panel. 2. Click the Edit Mode button. The Formatting toolbar appears. n You can change the text in a story without entering Edit mode. Right-click in the Story panel and choose a command from the pop-up menu. 3. Highlight the text. 4.
The text changes to black, indicating that the text contains no formatting. Adding a Production Cue Production cues are playback instructions for devices such as video machines, still stores, and character generators. When you insert production cues, they appear in the area to the left of the text in the Story panel. In addition, a production cue marker appears in the story text to indicate where the production cue belongs in the story (see Figure 11-6).
A blue production cue anchor appears within the Story panel, and a blank box appears in the left side of the Story panel. 3. Type the cue information in the text box. 4. (Option) Highlight the text and mark as Machine Control, bold, italic, or underlined by using the Formatting toolbar. Calculating the Read Time of a Story One of the unique features of the NRCS tool is its ability to determine the read time of a story.
WPM rate Read time Figure 11-7 NRCS Tool — Read Time n The NRCS tool does not include closed-captioned text or presenter instructions in the read time. Only text marked as Normal (including bold, italic, or underlined) is calculated. Adding the Story to a Sequence The NRCS tool allows you to use the story in a NewsCutter sequence. This feature makes it easy to edit in video and to create a video sequence to match the duration of the story.
Saving Changes to a Story After you edit a story, you can save the changes by modifying the original story or by creating a new story. Remember, however, that when you modify a story in the NRCS tool, the story also changes on the iNEWS server. Therefore, use caution when you save a story because you cannot undo the changes once you have modified the story. If more than one person accesses a story at the same time, only the first person to access the story will be able to save changes to the story.
Disconnecting from the Server When you have finished using the NRCS tool, disconnect from the iNEWS server. To disconnect from the iNEWS server: t n n Click the Disconnect button. If you selected the “Logout when NRCS Tool is closed” option in the NRCS Settings dialog box, simply close the NRCS tool. The NRCS tool automatically disconnects from the server. You can also disconnect from the server by switching to a workspace that does not contain the NRCS tool.
Index ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWZ A input and output levels, switching between (Audio tool) 57 Input display, accessing 57 input menu (Record tool) 54 Input, adjusting 57 internal calibration tone, setting 58 locating specific frame of 101 making louder or softer 125 maximum peak measurements, resetting 58 meter displays, customizing 58 opening Audio tool 56 Output display, accessing 58 Output, adjusting 58 scrubbing 101 setting up 58 Setup display, accessing 58 tracking levels 57 Audio Mix tool adjusting pa
Output button 56, 58 Output display 58 Peak Hold pop-up menu, described 58 Reset Peak button 58 Setup button 56, 58 Setup display 56, 58 switching between input and output levels in 57 tracking audio levels in 57 Audio Track Monitor buttons (Track Selector panel) 82 Audio tracks mapping to output channels 57 monitoring 100 Avid Projects folder 38 Avid Users folder 37 Avstar server See iNEWS server viewing clips in 90 working with 41 Black, fading to in a sequence 138 Blue bar See Position indicator Borders
remapping 77 Reset Peak (Audio tool) 58 Save Story (NRCS tool) 178 Script view (Bin window) 45 Search (Help system) 24 Send Mail (NRCS tool) 178 Setup (Audio tool) 58 Single/Dual Drives (Record tool) 55 Splice-in (Record tool) 55 Splice-in (Source Monitor) 103 Step 83 Subclip (Source monitor) 88 Text View (Bin window) 43 Tool palette 73 Trash (Record tool) 55 Trim Mode (Command palette) 117 using to control playback 81 Vectorscope Monitor (Video Input tool) 60 Video Track Monitor (Track Selector panel) mov
More tab 72 Mouse Shuttle button 86 Move tab 70 Other tab 72 Play Loop button 118 Play tab 71 removing buttons, mapped from keyboard Deck Selection pop-up menu (Record tool) 54 Decks adding channels 52 Auto-configure option 52 choosing (Record tool) 54 configuration settings 52 configuring multiple 52 configuring single 52 controlling (Record tool) 54, 62 setting preferences for recording 52 Deleting recorded media 55 Digital audio scrub 123 Digital cuts defined 31 preparing frame-accurate tapes with 165 p
Drop-frame, setting preference for recording 52 Dual-roller trim 122 dissolving between shots 136 editing, overview 129 fading to black 138 list of available 135 Mask effect 133 opacity, adjusting with keyframes 140 Picture-in-Picture effect 133, 140 position of, adjusting with keyframes 140 Quick Transition, creating bin for 46 Quick Transition, described 129 rendering 147 resolving insufficient footage error 137 saving parameters in Quick Transition bin E Edit mode, entering (NRCS tool) 181, 182 Editing
Fixed-storage drive, turning on 16 Folders Avid Projects 38 Avid Users 37 settings 38 Font, changing (NRCS tool) 182 Footage insufficient source for effects 137 marking IN and OUT points 87 marking subclips 87 moving through with position indicator 80 rearranging 111 stepping through 83 viewing and playing 80 to 86 Formatting text in titles 152 Frame view button (Bin window) 45 in bins 90 Frame-accurate recording, preparing for 165 Frames capturing during recording 52 locating with digital audio scrub 101 s
License agreement, accepting 17 Lift button (Command palette) 115 Lift, described for Segment mode 110 Lift/Overwrite button (Segment mode) 112 Locating audio frames 101 Logging and recording at once 62 controlling during record 54 Luminance, adjusting 60 Insert edit preparing for 165 recording 170 Internal Waveform monitor (Video Input tool) 60 J J-K-L keys (three-button play) 83 Jogging See Stepping through footage M Mail configuring directory for NRCS tool 175 Mapping buttons to keyboard 76 buttons t
understanding the NRCS tool 177 WPM rate 184 NTSC format 37 Monitors pop-up 93 Record 92 Source 91 viewing in 91 to 93 Motion effects creating Freeze Frame effects 130 creating Strobe Motion effects 131 creating Variable Speed effects 131 Motion path, monitoring with keyframes 140 Mouse buttons Jog (Command palette) 85 Shuttle (Command palette) 86 Multiple layer effects, defined 133 O Objects applying color to (Title tool) 160 applying shadows to (Title tool) 160 Online Help See Help system Online Publica
for video output 164 to record 60 Preroll option (Record Tool), customizing for recording 54 Presenter Instructions, marking text as (NRCS tool) 181 Previewing digital cuts 166 Printing Help topics 26 Production cues adding (NRCS tool) 183 Profile, displaying in Project window 40 Project window Bin view 39 creating new bin from 42 enabling Sticky Bins option 41 Info view 40 Settings view 40 understanding 39 Projects creating 37 defined 31 opening existing 38 organizing, with bins 41 understanding Project wi
Single/Dual Drives button 55 Splice-in button 55 Target drive pop-up menu 55 Toggle Source button 55 Video Input Tool button 55 Video Input Tool pop-up menu 55 Record/Log Mode button (Record tool) 55 Recording and logging at once 62 assemble edits 166 batch 66 choosing target bins for 54 digital cuts 168 directly to the Timeline 55, 61 file size limit for 63 from compact disc player 63 from DAT player 63 from IN point to OUT point 65 insert edits 165 marking IN and OUT points before 54 message bar display 5
Repositioning title text 159 Rerecording described 67 setting handle length for 68 Reset Peak button (Audio tool) 58 Resolution pop-up menu (Record tool) 55 Right Arrow key, navigating through footage using 85 Rollers See Trim mode rearranging clips 110 removing footage 112 using 110 Selecting all tracks 98 color for titles 155 tracks for recording 54 tracks in the Timeline 98 transitions for trimming 117 trim sides 119 Video Input tool from Record tool 55 Selecting a custom preroll 54 Sequences adding sho
for recording 52 General 52 Interface 73 Keyboard 76 NRCS tool 174 opening, in Project window 40 Record 52, 55 Settings Fast menu, using 40 Settings pop-up menu (Video Input tool) 60 Setup display (Audio tool) 58 Shadows adjusting depth of 160 adjusting direction of 160 applying to text or objects (Title tool) 160 choosing color for (Title tool) 154 controlling transparency of (Title tool) 154 selecting color for objects 155 Shots, dissolving between 136 Shuttling controlling playback speed during 86 throug
segment editing of titles in 162 selecting tracks in 98 showing position in 81 showing shadow position indicator in 96 Track Selector panel 96 using position indicator in 81, 94 using scale bar in 95 using the scroll bar in 96 viewing individual tracks in 90 zooming in and out of 95 Title tool See also Titles applying color to text and objects in 160 applying shadows to text or objects in 160 choosing colors in 154 Color Picker 155 creating templates in 157 described 150 editing existing titles with 163 edi
creating templates for 157 editing existing 163 editing, into a sequence 162 editing, templates for 158 eliminating unused space within 156 italic text 152 justifying text of 152 overview 149 removing templates from 159 repositioning 156 repositioning text in 159 saving 161 selecting color for 155 selecting objects and text for 153 setting transparency of 154 using templates on 158 working with 149 working with templates for 157 Toggle Source button (Record tool) 55 Tool palette displaying button names in 7
performing basic 121 selecting sides for 119 single-roller 123 using Top and Tail 116 with sync lock 120 Turning on the system 16 in bins 90 in monitors 91 in pop-up monitors 93 in Record monitor 92 Viewing source tape name (Record tool) 55 VTR Play Emulation defined 171 enabling 172 VU scale analog 57 digital 57 U UI monitor 15 Undoing an edit 108 Users, creating 36 W What’s This? Help 21 Workspaces customizing 49 described 49 enabling Sticky Bins option 79 modifying default 79 setting up 49 using defau
