User Manual

Creating Video and Audio Leaders
622
Creating Video and Audio Leaders
Film editors use standard head and tail leaders to cue and sync material. You can use digital
leaders in your Avid editing application to mark the beginning and end of tracks and to help you
maintain sync, as described in “Syncing with Tail Leader” on page 611. You can create your own
leader for video or film. Whatever you choose for specifications, make all your leader clips the
same length, with common sync points.
To create leaders for picture tracks:
1. Create a black screen in the Title tool for tail leader, or a white screen for head leader.
For information on using the Title tool, see “Creating Titles” in the Help.
2. (Option) Type a title onto the screen that says Tail Leader or Head Leader.
3. Name this clip Head Leader or Tail Leader when you save the title.
4. Create a subclip from an appropriate length of the clip, according to your chosen
specifications.
5. (Option) Mark a sync frame in the subclip as follows:
a. Load the clip into the Source monitor.
b. Find an appropriate sync point, and add a marker.
For more information, see “Using Markers” on page 523.
c. (Option) Double-click the marker in the Source monitor to add a sync point notation that
appears on the monitor.
Once you prepare the leader, you can splice the leader while you edit onto the tracks that
you want to keep in sync. You can use the sync points for visually aligning tracks.
To create tail leader for audio tracks:
1. Load a clip that includes a section of captured tone into the Source monitor.
2. Create a subclip according to your chosen specifications.
3. Name this new subclip Head Leader or Tail Leader.
4. Load this subclip into the Source monitor.
5. To prepare the sound levels for leader without a sync point (no audio pop), open the Audio
Mixer tool and bring the audio level all the way down for the entire clip.
6. Prepare the sound levels for leader that include a sync point (audio pop) by doing the
following:
a. Find the appropriate sync point.
Step one frame backward and place an add edit before the sync frame; then step two
frames forward and place an add edit after the sync frame.