Avid DS_H DS Nitris 8.4 Instruction Manual Ug
User Manual: avid DS Nitris - 8.4 - Instruction Manual Free User Guide for Avid DS Software, Manual
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Avid® DS Nitris User Guides ™ version 8.4 m a k e m a n a g e m ove | m e d i a ™ Avid ® Copyright and Disclaimer Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement. You can obtain a copy of that license by visiting Avid's Web site at www.avid.com. The terms of that license are also available in the product in the same directory as the software. The software may not be reverse assembled and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Avid Technology, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Printed in USA. The Avid DS and Avid DS Nitris application uses JScript and Visual Basic Scripting Edition from Microsoft Corporation. Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights Legend U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. This Software and its documentation are “commercial computer software” or “commercial computer software documentation.” In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of the License Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable. Trademarks 888 I/O, Adrenaline, AirPlay, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AudioVision, AutoSync, Avid, Avid DNA, Avid DNxHD, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, Avid Mojo, AvidNet, AvidNetwork, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, Avid Xpress, AVoption, AVX, CamCutter, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, DAE, D-Fi, D-fx, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, DigiDrive, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator, DigiTranslator, DINR, D-Verb, Equinox, ExpertRender, FieldPak, Film Composer, FilmScribe, FluidMotion, HIIP, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, IllusionFX, Image Independence, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Marquee, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, Media Composer, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaShare, Meridien, MetaSync, NaturalMatch, Nearchive, NetReview, NewsCutter, Nitris, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, ProEncode, Pro Tools, QuietDrive, Recti-Fi, RetroLoop, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Softimage, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, Symphony, the Avid|DS logo, Trilligent, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video Slave Driver, VideoSPACE, and Xdeck are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. iNEWS, iNEWS ControlAir, and Media Browse are trademarks of iNews, LLC. Adaptec is a trademark which may be registered in some jurisdictions. ATTO is a trademark of ATTO Technology, Inc. FireGL is a trademark of ATI Technologies, Inc. HP is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company. Mac OS is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the U.S. and other countries. Wacom is a registered trademark of Wacom Company, Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. GOT FOOTAGE? Editors — Filmmakers — Special Effects Artists — Game Developers — Animators — Educators — Broadcasters — Content creators of every genre — Just finished an incredible project and want to share it with the world? Send us your reels and we may use your footage in our show reel or demo!* For a copy of our release and Avid’s mailing address, go to www.avid.com/footage. *Note: Avid cannot guarantee the use of materials submitted. June 2007 ii Using Help Avid DS Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Accessing the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Understanding the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Finding Information Within Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 New in this Release... New in Avid DS Nitris v8.4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Hardware/Platform Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Software Performance Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Hardware/Platform Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Software Performance Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Other Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Documentation & Support Services Using Avid Support and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Using the Product Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Contacting Avid Customer Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Best Practices Assistant Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Using the Avid DS Assist Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Scenario: Sharing Projects and Media with an Avid DS Assist Station. . . . . . . . . . . 36 Conforming HD Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Conforming HD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Scenario: Conforming HD Sequences from SD Downconvert Sources . . . . . . . . . . 42 Scenario: Conforming HD Projects with DNxHD Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Scenario: Transferring MXF Media from Avid DS Nitris to an Avid Editing System . 48 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 The Digital Intermediate Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 iii Setting up Storage and Media for Film Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Opening a Film-based Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Capturing DPX Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Editing in Film Proxy Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Outputting Film Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Conforming HDV Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 What is HDV Media? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Scenario: Conforming an HDV Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Scenario: Conforming Projects with Avid DS in an Interplay Environment . . . . . . . 92 Getting Started Prerequisites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Before you begin... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Using the Avid DS Training Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Accessing the Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Logging on to Your Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Accessing the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Understanding the Help System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Finding Information Within Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Finding Other Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Contacting Avid Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Starting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 The Digital Post-Production Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Working with Project Files and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Working on the Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Restoring the Default Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Title Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Layouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Using the Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 iv Undoing and Redoing Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Accessing the Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Using the Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Dialog Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Using Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Capturing Source Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Configuring the External Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Capturing from Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Capturing from File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Getting Ready to Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Editing Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Previewing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Creating a First Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 The Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Working with Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Navigating the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Selecting Objects on the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Placing Clips on the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Refining the Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Rearranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Trimming Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Applying Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 The Effects Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Applying Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 The Effects Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Working with Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Editing Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Animating Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Using Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Mix Parameter for Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 v Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Processing Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 Adding Graphics and 2D Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 Starting a Graphics Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Using the Graphics Object View (GOV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 Finishing a Graphics Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 Outputting a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 Outputting to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 Outputting to File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 About Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Compositing Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Creating a Basic Matte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 Simple Track Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 Using Composite Container Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 Conforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 Methods for Conforming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 Conforming a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Installation and Administration Setting up your Avid DS Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311 Installation Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312 Installing New Avid DS Workstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314 Upgrading Existing Avid DS workstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322 Removing Avid DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328 Recovery Procedures for Avid DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 Managing a Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331 Configuring Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 Configuring the Network Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 Microsoft Windows Workgroups: Account Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 Microsoft Windows Domains: Account Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 vi Naming your Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 Sharing Folders and Setting Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 Creating User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345 Installing Avid DS Software and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349 Installing Avid DS Software Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 Installing the Avid DS Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356 Loading Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360 Installing and Removing Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 Installing the Remote Processing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367 Remote Processing Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368 Minimal Requirements for Avid DS RP Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369 Installing Avid DS RP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372 Avid Throttle Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374 The Avid DMS Broker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 About the Avid DMS Broker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Installing Avid DMS Broker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378 Starting the DMS Broker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 Using the DMS Administration Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 Licensing Avid DS Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401 Requesting a License File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402 Installing the Registered License File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403 Managing Your Storage Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405 Planning your Storage Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406 Sharing Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412 Configuring your Storage Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415 Checklist: Installing Avid DS with Avid Unity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422 Establishing the Project Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 Maintaining Disk Space on your Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425 Striping your Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426 Importing Foreign Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 About your Local Storage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430 vii Capture and Output Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437 Workflow: Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438 Preparing to Capture Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439 Logging and Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459 Capturing Material from File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471 Creating Linked Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481 Batch Capturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486 Using Scripts to Capture Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497 Managing Tapes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503 Using Tapeless Archive for Film Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508 Outputting Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 Workflow: Outputting Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514 Preparing for Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515 Outputting Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524 Conform Conforming & Finishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541 Beginning the Conform Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542 Supported Conform Formats for Avid DS Nitris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544 Transferring or Sharing Media between Avid Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550 Conforming with AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553 Workflow: Conforming AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554 Exporting an AFE File from an Avid Editing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556 Importing AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 Conforming with AAF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569 Exporting AAF Files from Avid DS Nitris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570 Conforming with ALE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 Workflow: Conforming an ALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576 Conforming ALE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577 Transferring ALE Files using MediaLog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580 viii Conforming with OMF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581 Conforming OMF Compositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582 Exporting an OMF File from Avid DS Nitris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 Conforming with EDL Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593 Conforming EDLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 Conforming Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607 Exporting and Importing OMF Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608 Capturing Audio as Separate Mono Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609 Appendix: Conforming Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611 Naming Conventions when Conforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612 Notes on Conforming Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613 Notes on Conforming Graphics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619 Notes on Conforming Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620 Notes on Conforming Matte Keys and Alpha Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624 Notes on Conforming Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626 Editing Working with Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629 Starting a Work Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630 Managing Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637 Working with Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648 Viewing Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662 Working with Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667 Workflow: Working with Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668 Opening Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669 Setting Sequence Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675 Working with Media of Different Qualities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679 Saving Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698 Searching for Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700 Deleting Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702 Building a Rough Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703 Workflow: Editing Audio and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704 ix Creating Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707 Marking In and Out-points on the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732 Displaying Timecodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735 Viewing a Sequence as a Hieracharical Tree Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746 Playing Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748 Manipulating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759 Using Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773 Finding Frames, Clips, and Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783 Extracting Parts of a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787 Grabbing Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791 Rippling Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793 Synchronizing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798 Referencing Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 806 Trimming Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809 Workflow: Trimming Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810 Understanding Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811 Methods of Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813 Understanding Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814 Selecting and Breaking Edit Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818 Performing a Basic Trim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822 Creating Overlap Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832 Trimming Container Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 833 Trimming Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834 Understanding Slipping or Sliding Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836 Maintaining Sync While Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 842 Applying Image Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843 Understanding Image Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844 Applying a Dissolve Effect to a Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845 Applying a DVE Effect to a Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 848 Understanding the Morph Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 850 Applying a Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866 Applying Wipe Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869 x Processing Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871 Understanding Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872 Workflow: Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 875 Processing Areas of the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876 Processing a Single Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 878 Setting the Processing Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 882 Creating Caches at Any Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 887 Understanding Processing Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893 Working with Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898 Remote Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 903 Working with Effects and Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 905 Displaying Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906 Applying Effects on the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907 Applying Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908 Nesting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 916 Displaying Effects in a Viewer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925 Processing Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930 Working with Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933 Understanding the Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 934 Applying a 3:2 Contract Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935 Applying a 3:2 Expand Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 937 Applying a Deinterlace Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938 Applying an Interlace Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940 Working with the Timewarp Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941 Animating Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 961 Workflow: Animating Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 962 Creating Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 963 Understanding the Animation Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 981 Editing Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989 Processing Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1016 Mixing Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1017 Workflow: Mixing Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1018 Working in Audio Container Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1019 xi Audio Clips and Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021 Understanding the Mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1023 Using an External Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1033 Building an Audio Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1036 Fine-tuning the Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1043 Animating the Audio Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1047 Audio Media Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1051 Processing the Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1056 Working with Audio Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059 Understanding Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1060 Applying Crossfade Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1061 Applying Dynamics Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062 Working with Equalizer (EQ) Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1063 Applying Fade Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1065 Applying a Gain Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1066 Applying Reverb Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067 Applying a VST Host Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068 Media Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1071 Understanding Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072 Managing Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1075 Archiving Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1093 Restoring Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1105 Moving Projects to Another Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1114 Deleting Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1115 Deleting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1117 Viewing Information about Storage Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1119 Compositing and Graphics Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123 Quick Recap: Compositing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1124 Using the Effects Tree to Composite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1125 Relationship within the Compositing Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127 Working with the Layers View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1129 xii Working with Mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1136 Working with Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1147 Applying Blending Operations in the Layers View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1150 Compositing with Premultiplied Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1153 Working with Layered Photoshop Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1163 Processing Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1167 Using Effects Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171 Applying Effects Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172 Working with the Effects Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1178 Using the Effects Tree to Composite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197 Keying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1217 About Keying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1218 Using the Blue-Green Keyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1219 Spill Subtraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1227 Using the Chroma Keyer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1231 Using the Difference Keyer Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1236 Using the HSL Keyer Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1243 Using the Linear Luma Keyer Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1247 Using the Luma Keyer Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1251 Color Correcting Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1255 Setting Up the Color Correction Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1256 Workflow: Color Correcting Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1257 Color Correction in Avid DS Nitris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1258 Working with Source Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1259 Applying a Color Correction Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1266 Setting the Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1267 Analyzing Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1268 Color Correcting Tonal Ranges in Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1274 Linearizing Film-Based Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1282 Color Correcting a Dark Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1287 Color Correction by Matching Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1292 Correcting Inaccurate or Deficient Color Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1299 Adjusting Curves to Color Correct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1303 xiii Setting Legal Luma, Chroma, and RGB Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1306 Returning to Default Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1307 Transforming Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1311 Applying a DVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1312 Transforming an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1316 Transformation in Layers View and Effects Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1319 Working with Transform Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1324 Corner Pinning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1331 Working with Motion Paths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1332 Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1339 Motion Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1340 Choosing a Tracking Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1342 Using the Trackers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1344 Tracking Composited Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1348 Combining Tracking with Other DVEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1362 Tracking Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1363 Stabilizing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1370 4-Point Corner Pinning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1377 Tracking Difficult Shots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1379 Painting and 2D Titling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1383 Workflow: Painting and 2D Titling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1384 Applying Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1387 Using Presets in Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1393 Setting Drawing Tool Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1397 Defining Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1409 Working with Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1411 Working with Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1439 Manipulating Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1451 Tracking Graphics Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1461 Working in Raster Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1463 Creating Mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1467 Scratch Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1470 Blending Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1472 xiv Blending Graphics Objects or Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1473 Importing Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1474 Importing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1477 Importing Subtitles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478 Processing Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1483 Paint Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1487 Clone Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1488 Color Blend Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1492 Cutout Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1496 Dodge and Burn Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1500 Noise Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1501 Paper Grain Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1504 Reveal Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1507 Stack Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1508 3D DVE and 3D Titling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1511 Workflow: Creating 3D DVEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1512 Workflow: 3D Titling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1513 Working in the 3D World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1514 Setting Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1517 Working with the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1526 About Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1533 Manipulating Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1535 Working with 3D DVEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1548 Working with Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1552 Working with Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1562 Working with Surfaces and Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1588 Working with Lights and Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1601 Importing and Exporting Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1612 Setting the Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1616 Image Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1619 3D Warp Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1620 AVX Host Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1635 Channel Switcher Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1638 xv Color Space Adjustment Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1639 Defield Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1640 Deflicker Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1641 Depth of Field Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1643 Drop Shadow Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1646 Field Invert Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1649 Fog Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1650 Frame Average Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1652 Graphics Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1653 Optical Glow Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1656 Outsource Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1658 Source Generator Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1661 Warp Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1663 Reference Desktop Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1681 Using the Mouse, Pen, and Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1682 Property Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1683 Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1707 Command Mapping Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1708 Edit Layout Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1714 Load Preset Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1714 Preference Management Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1714 Save Preset Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1717 User Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1718 Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1732 Layout Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1733 Slider Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1735 Splitter Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1736 Taskbar Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1736 Text Box Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1737 View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1737 View Switcher Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1738 xvi Viewer Property Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1739 Capture and Output Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1745 AAF/AFE View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1745 ALE (Avid Log Exchange) Import View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1749 Audio Input Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1753 Audio Output Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1754 Capture Error Log Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1754 Capture List Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1755 Capture Settings View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1756 Conform Error Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1764 Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1765 Capture File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1774 Deck Configuration View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1776 EDL View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1782 Explorer Recapture Options Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1789 Export Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1790 Export to File Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1791 External Controller Setup View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1791 Import Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1792 Insert Tape Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1793 MediaManager Setup View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1796 MediaManager View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1797 OMF (Open Media Framework) View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1798 Output Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1802 Script Editor View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1818 Tape Library View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1821 Tape Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1824 Timeline Recapture Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1829 Editing Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1831 Animation Controls (Global in Status Bar) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1831 Animation Key Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1832 Animation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1833 Animation Editor Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1835 xvii Animation Editor Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1841 Animation Graph Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1846 Animation Tree Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1850 Edit Animation Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1851 Edit Filter Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1851 Expression Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1853 Insert Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1854 Audio Media Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1861 Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1863 Avid Explorer Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1877 Avid Explorer Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1880 Bin Tools (Top). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1881 Bin Tools (Bottom) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1882 Bin Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1883 Blend Property Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1886 Cache List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1887 Clip Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1888 Clip Activeness Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1890 Clip Property Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1890 Clip Transition Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1893 CmdLine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1894 Container Clip Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1895 Image Transition Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1895 Locator Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1903 Locator Property Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1903 Locator View Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1904 Media Storage Configuration Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1905 Media Storage Information Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1907 Media Options (1/2) Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1908 Media Options (2/2) Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1909 Media Properties Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1910 Mixer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1914 Navigation Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1923 xviii NLE Tools Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1924 Project Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1929 Slip/Slide Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1932 Surround Panner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1934 Test Pattern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1935 Timecode Display Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1935 Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1936 Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1956 Timeline to MC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972 Timeline to Clip Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1975 Transport Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978 Trim Mode Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984 Video Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 Viewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1990 Creating Media Archive Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 New Project Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 Open Sequence Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2007 New Sequence Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2007 Open Project Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014 Processing Options Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2016 Purge Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2022 Sample Rate Conversion Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2025 Save Sequence Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2026 Save Snapshot Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2027 Sequence Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2027 Sequence View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2035 Throttle Manager Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2036 Cache Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2037 Cache Node Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2039 Cache Processing Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2041 Data Management Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2042 Edit View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2042 Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2043 xix File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2044 Swift Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2046 Web Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2047 Avid Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2048 Avid DS RP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2051 Paint & Titling Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2053 Graphics Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2053 Graphics Property Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2056 Graphics Combo View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2057 Graphics Object View (GOV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2059 Graphics Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2068 Bas Relief Brush. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2074 Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2074 Chrome Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2075 Clip Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2076 Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2078 Color Blend. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2079 Cutout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2084 Dodge and Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2085 Edit Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2087 Edit Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2091 Ellipse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2091 Erase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2092 Font . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2092 Freehand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2093 Glass Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2094 Graphics Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2095 Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2100 Magic Wand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2100 Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2102 Paint Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2103 Polyline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2106 Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2106 xx Reshaper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2106 Reveal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2112 Smear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2112 Special Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2113 Stack Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2113 Stroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2114 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2114 Textured Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2115 Time Span (Graphics) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2116 Titling Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2118 Titling Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2119 Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2121 Color Editor Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2122 Mini Color Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2124 Import Image Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2127 Import Subtitles Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2127 3D DVE and 3D Titling Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2133 3D DVE Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2133 3D DVE Combo View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2141 3D DVE Object View (3D OV). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2142 Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2158 Compositing Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2179 Layers View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2179 Effects Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2197 Compositing Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2205 Image Effects Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2255 3D Warp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2255 Accented Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2260 Angled Strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2260 Bas Relief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2261 Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2262 Bubble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2264 Chalk and Charcoal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2264 xxi Channel Switcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2265 Charcoal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2267 Chrome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2268 Clouds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2268 Color Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2269 Color Space Adjustment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2271 Colored Pencil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2272 Conte Crayon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2273 Craquelure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2275 Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2275 Crosshatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2275 Custom Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2276 Cutout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2278 Dark Strokes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2279 Defield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2279 Deflicker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2280 Depth of Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2281 Deterministic Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2283 Diffuse Glow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2285 Dip to Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2287 Drop Shadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2288 Dry Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2289 Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2289 Emboss Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2290 Field Invert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2291 Film. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2291 Film Grain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2293 Fog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2294 Fractal Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2295 Frame Average. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2300 Fresco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2302 Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2302 Glowing Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2303 xxii Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2304 Granite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2305 Graphic Pen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2306 Halftone Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2307 Impressionist Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2308 Ink Outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2319 Linear Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2320 LogLin Remapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2322 Marble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2326 Morph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2326 Mosaic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2330 Motion Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2331 Negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2332 Neon Glow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2332 Noise/Grain Remover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2334 Note Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2335 Optical Glow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2336 Outsource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2340 Paint Daubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2341 Palette Knife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2342 Patchwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2343 Pattern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2344 Photocopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2345 Picture-in-Picture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2346 Plaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2346 Plastic Wrap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2347 Polar Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2348 Poster Edges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2349 Posterize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2350 Premultiplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2351 Radial Blur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2352 Radial Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2354 Reticulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2356 xxiii Ripple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2357 RGB-YUV Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2358 Rough Pastels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2358 Scatter Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2359 Sharpen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2361 Smudge Stick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2362 Solarize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2363 Solid Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2364 Spatter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2364 Special Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2365 Spherize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2365 Spill Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2366 Sponge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2367 Sprayed Strokes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2368 Stained Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2369 Stamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2370 Sumi-e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2371 Texturizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2372 Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2373 Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2374 Torn Edges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2375 Tracker/Stabilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2376 Twirl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2384 Underpainting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2385 Watercolor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2386 Waterpaper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2387 Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2388 Color Correction Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2391 HSL Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2391 Channels Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2402 Levels Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2404 Curves Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2407 xxiv Common Property Pages Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2413 Alpha Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2413 Border Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2415 Color Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2415 Color Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2416 Colors Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2419 Crop Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2420 DVE Property Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2421 External Data Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2423 General Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2424 Key Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2426 Key Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2428 Key Values Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2430 Masking Property Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2432 Matte Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2434 Matte Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2436 Options Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2438 Shapes Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2439 Source Property Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2442 Spill Matte 2 Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2443 Spill Replace Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2444 R1–R4 and L1–L4 Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2445 Tracker Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2448 Avid Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2451 Glossary:Numerics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2451 Glossary: A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2452 Glossary: B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2458 Glossary: C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2462 Glossary: D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2471 Glossary: E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2476 Glossary: F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2479 Glossary: G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2482 Glossary: H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2483 xxv Glossary: I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2486 Glossary: J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2488 Glossary: K. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2489 Glossary: L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2490 Glossary: M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2493 Glossary: N. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2498 Glossary: O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2500 Glossary: P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2503 Glossary: Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2509 Glossary: R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2509 Glossary: S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2514 Glossary: T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2524 Glossary: U. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2530 Glossary: V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2531 Glossary: W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2533 Glossary: X. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2535 Glossary: Y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2535 Glossary: Z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2536 Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2537 Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2537 Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2542 Compositing and Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2546 Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2551 3D DVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2561 Hardware Setup for the Avid Nitris System Using the Avid Nitris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Site Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Rack Mounting the Avid Nitris Enclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Avid Nitris Front Indicators and Rear Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 xxvi Workstation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Connecting the SCSI Local Storage Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Avid Unity Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Reference Signal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Connecting Audio and Video Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Connecting Serial and MIDI Port Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Installing and Removing the Avid Fan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Regulatory and Safety Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Technical Support Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Avid Nitris Dual Boot System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Install the Second Hard Drive and Power Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Install the Dual-link Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Install the Over-the-Top Fan Assembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Booting the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Dual Boot Software Installation for Avid DS and Avid Symphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Installing the Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Recovery Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 xxvii xxviii Section 1 Using Help You can get comprehensive task-oriented, background, and reference information through your Avid DS Nitris Help system. The following topics provide information that will help you to use Help: • Accessing the Help System • Understanding the Help System • Finding Information Within Help 2 Avid DS Help The following topics provide general information about the help system: • Accessing the Help System • Understanding the Help System • Finding Information Within Help Accessing the Help System Avid DS Nitris comes with a comprehensive help system that contains information on all the interface elements, as well as task information. If you’re looking for information on a particular interface element or property page parameter, or need help performing a task, the online help is the place to look. The following topics explain how to use the Help system: • “Accessing the Help System” on page 3 • “Understanding the Help System” on page 4 • “Finding Information Within Help” on page 6 There are two ways to access the Help system: • From the Help menu • From windows and dialog boxes—see “Getting Context-Sensitive Help” on page 4. To open the Help system: t Select Help > Contents and Index or press F1. The Help window opens, and the Help splash screen displays. Related Topics Getting Context-Sensitive Help Avid DS Help Getting Context-Sensitive Help Help icon or button Tooltips Every view, property page, dialog box, and pop-up menu contains a Help icon or button which displays context-sensitive information when clicked. Avid DS Nitris uses small pop-ups called tooltips to display the name of desktop elements when they have no text label. Position the pointer over an interface element, such as an icon, and pause for a second. A tooltip with the name of the element appears. Avid DS Nitris provides you with a quick way to get Help for many views, dialog boxes, and property pages. Within these context-sensitive topics, you can view specific information about items, such as options and individual buttons, and link to related topics. To get help for a view, dialog box, or property page with a Help button: t Click the Help button (either a question mark or a button labeled Help, or How To...). The context-sensitive Help topic is displayed. Related Topics Understanding the Help System Understanding the Help System The Help system uses the following main display areas: 4 • Help topics open in the right area of the Help window—see “Help Topics” on page 5. • Buttons for controlling the Help display and for printing Help topics appear in the top area of the Help window—see “Top Area Buttons” on page 6. Understanding the Help System • Navigation tools (Contents, Index, Search, and Favorites) open in the left area of the Help window—see “Finding Information Within Help” on page 6. Once the Help window is open, it behaves in much the same way as most other windows. You can resize it and reposition it to suit your screen layout and workflow. Help Topics The information in the Help is displayed in the right area of the Help window. All topics have the following items above the main heading: • Hierarchy links These links display the location of the currently displayed topic within its book and chapter, and let you jump to relevant higher-level topics, including the Main Topics page. • Previous Topic and Next Topic buttons Use these buttons to browse through the topics in the order in which they appear in the Contents. Previous Topic Next Topic Hierarchy links Current topic The Help system includes task-oriented procedures as well as background and reference information. At the bottom of many topics are links to related topics. Showing and Hiding Additional Information Some Help topics include a link labeled “More Information.” Click this link or the turn-down arrow to see conceptual or background information related to the procedure. This information is displayed with a colored border on top and bottom. 5 Avid DS Help To return to the original display, click the link or arrow again. Related Topics Top Area Buttons Top Area Buttons The top area of the Help window contains four buttons that allow you to change the Help display and print Help topics. The following table describes these buttons. Button Illustration Hide/Show Description Click the Hide button to hide the navigation area on the left and reduce the width of the Help window. The button changes to the Show button. Click the Show button to reveal the navigation area on the left and expand the width of the Help window. The button changes to the Hide button. Back and Forward These buttons work like the Back and Forward buttons in an Internet browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. Use the buttons to move among recently visited topics. Print Click this button to print one or more topics. Related Topics Help Topics Finding Information Within Help The left area of the Help window displays the Help system’s main navigation tools within a tabbed interface. For more information, see the following topics: 6 • Using the Contents Tab • Using the Index Tab Finding Information Within Help • Using the Search Tab • Advanced Search Options Using the Contents Tab The Contents tab displays a complete hierarchical list of all topics in the Help system. You can expand and collapse the contents to view the logical organization of the Help system. Click on a topic to display the entry to the right. Related Topics Using the Index Tab Using the Search Tab Advanced Search Options Using the Index Tab The Index tab provides an alphabetized list of entries similar to the index of a printed book. To find an index entry, type the first few letters of a keyword in the text box at the top of the tab. As you type, the index jumps to the range of entries that correspond to the letters you have typed. To view the topic associated with an index entry, either click the index entry and then click Display, or double-click the entry. Related Topics Using the Contents Tab Using the Search Tab Advanced Search Options Using the Search Tab The Search tab lets you search the entire text of the Help system for one or more words and then lists the topics that include those words. The list of results is ranked, placing the topics that the Search feature considers most likely to be relevant at the top of the list. 7 Avid DS Help Advanced Search Options Advanced search options let you control how the Search feature operates. If the Search feature does not produce useful results for a particular topic, you can often find the specific information you need by modifying the search. Search Syntax The following syntax rules control search queries: 8 • Searches are not case-sensitive, so you can type your search in uppercase or lowercase characters. • You can search for any combination of letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9). • Punctuation marks, such as period, colon, semicolon, comma, and hyphen are ignored. • Search for a literal phrase by using quotation marks. • If you are searching for a filename with an extension, you should group the entire string in double quotes (“filename.ext"). Otherwise, the search will treat the period as an OR operator. New in this Release... This section describes enhancements in Avid DS Nitris v8.4 and v8.0. New in Avid DS Nitris v8.4 New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0 10 New in Avid DS Nitris v8.4 The following new features are available in Avid DS Nitris v8.4. Hardware/Platform Enhancements Dual-Link Implementations Dual-Boot Systems with Avid Symphony Nitris Avid DS Assist Station Avid MediaNet 5.0 Compatibility Licensing New HP xw8400 Workstation Avid has qualified the HP xw8400 workstation with the NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 3500 graphics board to be used with the Avid Nitris. Featuring quad-core Intel Core2 processors, the xw8400 workstation has doubled its processing power since the last-released Avid Nitris hardware platform. Your Avid® DS NitrisTM DNATM workstation comes pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition operating system, Service Pack 2, approved Windows Security Updates and all required Avid DS drivers. Dual-Link Implementations • In addition to offering native 64-bit capability, the Avid DS Nitris v8.4 comes with an integrated dual-link HD SDI I/O card for capturing HD material from HD RGB sources (e.g., HDCAM-SR). New in Avid DS Nitris v8.4 • The Dual-Link card is offered as an option for current users of the HP xw8200 who upgrade to the 64-bit version. It supports 8 channels of AES, or embedded audio. • The Dual-Link card is also supported on the Avid DS Assist Station for realtime viewing of media—see Avid DS Assist Station. Dual-Boot Systems with Avid Symphony Nitris Avid DS Nitris v8.4 comes bundled with Avid Symphony Nitris dual-boot software, so you can easily configure your system to run Avid DS Nitris or Avid Symphony Nitris based on the project at hand. Refer to the documentation on the Avid DS Support Center web site, for instructions on configuring a dual-boot system. Avid DS Assist Station The Avid DS Assist Station now has the option to add HD-SDI and analog RGB monitoring output which allows you to connect a broadcast monitor to your station. This allows you to preview your media in realtime, from full resolution up to dual-link 10bit RGB (if using a Xena 2Ke card from AJA Video Systems). The Xena 2Ke or LHe card can be purchased directly from your AJA reseller. Please refer to the Avid DS Assist Station system specifications on the Avid DS Support Center web site. If you already have an Avid DS Assist Station license and you want to add this monitoring capability, please contact technical support to get an updated license. Avid MediaNet 5.0 Compatibility Avid DS Nitris v8.0 and v8.4 (32-bit only) are now supported on Avid MediaNet 5.0. The number of streams and clients supported depends on your MediaNet 5.0 configuration. Refer to the storage table on the Avid DS Support Center web site. 12 Software Performance Enhancements Licensing If you are upgrading from a version prior to Avid DS v8.0, then you should note that a new licensing scheme has been implemented for version 8.0 and above. Dongles are no longer required, but you will be required to obtain a new license key before installing the application. You need a separate license for each of your Avid DS and Avid DS RP workstations. Refer to http://www.softimage.com/avidds to obtain your license. Software Performance Enhancements The following enhancements have been made to this version of Avid DS: • Reliability of capture on shared storage has improved. • There has been a data alias name change in the software that may invalidate some of your media caches. Simply reprocess any media that has a red highlight on your timeline ribbon. • Customer Support tools—Version Info Extractor and DS Project Manager—have been updated. These updates are automatically installed with the Avid DS software. • For a list of other software fixes, go to http://www.softimage.com/avidds. 13 New in Avid DS Nitris v8.4 14 New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0 The following new features are available in Avid DS Nitris v8 and subsequent QFEs. Hardware/Platform Enhancements New HP xw9300 Workstation Avid has qualified the HP® xw9300 dual-core Opteron workstation with the NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 3450 graphics board to be used with the Avid Nitris DNA. Featuring two dual-core AMD Opteron processors, the xw9300 workstation provides twice the CPU power for the fastest processing of HD-RGB and filebased 2K and 4K material. 64-bit Support Avid DS Nitris now has a 64-bit version available for the xw8200 and xw9300 workstations. This gives you significantly more memory to facilitate HD-RGB and high-resolutions file-based 2K and 4K workflows; or make more complex and larger sequences on SD projects. Dual-Link Implementations • In addition to offering native 64-bit capability, the new Avid DS Nitris v8.0 comes with an integrated dual-link HD SDI I/O card for capturing HD material from HD RGB sources (e.g., HDCAM-SR). New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0 The Dual-Link card is offered in all new Avid DS v8.0 systems (HP xw9300 or HP xw8200, 64-bits), or as an option for current users of the HP xw8200 who upgrade to the 64-bit version. It supports 8 channels of AES, or embedded audio. • Alpha archive implementation for HD RGB hardware. • Conversion from 10-bit 4:4:4 HD to 10-bit 4:2:2 HD. • The HD-RGB workflow has been optimized for an ITU-709 (gamma 2.2) colorspace. • Enable 10/16-bit depth for 4K sequences in 64-bit. • Processing 4:4:4 material in 4:2:2 DNxHD 220 for proxy preview. • Dual-Link driver detection and installation in the Avid Nitris DNA installer. • Added support for HD RGB 10:10:10 in MXF. • Added support for Dual-Link audio. • Added support for Big/Little Endian DPX file. Dual-Boot Systems with Avid Symphony Nitris The new Avid DS Nitris v8.0 comes bundled with Avid Symphony Nitris dual boot software, so you can easily configure your system to run Avid DS Nitris or Avid Symphony Nitris based on the project at hand. Avid VideoRAID Line Launched Avid DS Nitris now supports the 10-drive RTR320X Avid VideoRAID disk arrays. The Avid VideoRAID line provides redundancy for media asset protection as well as performance for high-bandwidth workflows. The Avid VideoRAID arrays provide guaranteed real-time access for multistream SD and HD workflows, supporting up to dual stream 1:1 10-bit HD. They support hardware parity RAID operation and provide continuous data protection and full performance, even in the event of a drive failure or during a drive rebuild. The arrays are available with 250GB or 500GB drives. For Avid DS, you need a minimum of 20 drives. 16 Hardware/Platform Enhancements For more information, check out the Avid VideoRAID product pages on Avid.com. Go to www.avid.com/products/videoRAID. Avid DS Assist Station Meet the latest addition to the Avid DS Nitris family! The Avid DS Assist Station is a new software application that can run on any standard system with a minimal specification of: • Dual Intel Xeon or Opteron single core CPU or single dual core Intel or AMD CPUs • 1 GB of memory • A supported OGL card such as the Nvidia QuadroFX 3400 or FX3450 (sRefer to the Avid web site for a list of additional supported cards). The new Avid DS Assist Station delivers the complete effect, editing and compositing toolsets that are found in the Avid DS Nitris configuration. The Avid DS Assist station is designed to work in a shared workgroup environment with Avid DS Nitris and, therefore, doesn’t have any I/O capabilities of its own for signal-based video and audio. You can, however, capture and output from file. Since it is also capable of full realtime playback and processing, you can use it offline for all your graphics and effects work. This is an extremely economical way to grade and finish features that are captured onto your central storage. n Processing of effects is done by the software whose capabilities are only limited by the underlying hardware and an adequate disk subsystem on the workstation where it is installed. Avid DS (automatic SD to HD upgrade) All Avid DS Equinox SD systems will automatically be upgraded to the full HD version. New Licensing Scheme A new licensing scheme has been implemented for this version of Avid DS. Dongles are no longer required, but you will be required to obtain a new license key before installing the application. 17 New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0 You need a separate license for each of your Avid DS and Avid DS RP workstations. Support for Avid DMS Broker v5.0 If you are in an Avid workgroup, you MUST upgrade to version 5.0 of the Avid DMS Broker. Note that this option is not automatically selected. To install the broker, you need to run the DS Setup program. Under Main Workgroups Components, select Avid DMS Broker. Avid Unity ISIS Support Avid DS Nitris now supports Avid Unity ISIS 1.1, the latest advanced media network from Avid which delivers enterprise-level reliability, availability, and scalability. Avid strongly recommends that you use the 64-bit version of Avid DS Nitris for best performance with ISIS. Refer to the Avid DS Support Center web site for a list of supported configurations. AVX Plug-in Effects The AVX1.0 host has been enhanced to support optional inputs—input naming and 64-bit AVX 1.0 effects when run in 64-bit. See http://www.avid.com/thirdparty/viewdeveloper.aspx?Type=1 for a list of supported third-party effects. Panasonic AJ-HD1200A Deck Template Added Panasonic AJ-HD1200A deck template added to the supported Machine Templates. 18 Software Performance Enhancements Software Performance Enhancements Over 350 fixes have been made to this version of Avid DS! Here are some of the highlights. Sub-Titling Tool The Sub-titling tool is now a real-time effect. Timeline Enhancements Improvements in v8.0 include improved sequence loading and timeline performance for long form editing. Timeline to MC Provides the ability to quickly generate an AAF and MXF file of a timeline selection that can be later imported directly into Media Composer. 3:2 Contract and Expand Time Effects A new option has been added in both the 3:2 Expand and 3:2 Contract time effects: • New Mode dropdown list option • Allow you to select the pull-down phase • Standard: 5 options • Advanced: 5 options 3:2 Expand The phase selected represents the 3:2 pull-down cadence generated by the effect, with respect to the origin of the created container. Available choices are: 19 New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0 Standard: AA BB BC CD DD Standard: BB BC CD DD AA Standard: BC CD DD AA BB Standard: CD DD AA BB BC Standard: DD AA BB BC CD Advanced: AA BB BC CC DD Advanced: BB BC CC DD AA Advanced: BC CC DD AA BB Advanced: CC DD AA BB BC Advanced: DD AA BB BC CC 3:2 Contract The phase selected represents the 3:2 pull-down cadence of the source material, on which the 3:2 pull-down is removed. The phase is specified with respect to the origin of the source material. Note that the phase is automatically determined by positioning the play cursor on the frame (or first frame of two) containing 3:2 pull-down artifacts prior to apply the 3:2 Contract. In case of an incorrect play cursor position, this new option can be used to select the proper phase after the 3:2 Contract effect is applied. Available choices are: Standard: AA BB BC CD DD Standard: BB BC CD DD AA Standard: BC CD DD AA BB Standard: CD DD AA BB BC Standard: DD AA BB BC CD Advanced: AA BB BC CC DD Advanced: BB BC CC DD AA Advanced: BC CC DD AA BB Advanced: CC DD AA BB BC Advanced: DD AA BB BC CC Tiling of YUV Effects YUV processing has been enhanced to take advantage of the hardware capabilities of your workstation. On the new xw9300 workstation, processing speed is doubled. 20 Software Performance Enhancements Optimizing File Sources The Data Management menu has a new command called Optimize File Sources, which updates the size of the source model file. When you reload the project, the source model file will be much smaller. DVE Translation When translating an image (in either X or Y), the limit has been raised to 100,000 pixels so that the image no longer gets clipped. Also, the DS world space in 64-bit has been extended to 12K x 12K. Importing Subtitles The Import Subtitles tool now generates Graphics On Black clips on a new track instead of creating Graphics timeline effects. Expressions & Source Side Effects Support for the Expressions feature has been enhanced and is now more robust and easier to use. Several fixes and enhancements to Source Side effects have also been done. Source Viewer You can now successfully load a clip in the Source viewer and recapture it. This was a known problem in v7.5. Viewing Locators When viewing locators in the meta curve region of the animation editor, you can switch the display between the selected function curve and all function curves by pressing the button beside the meta curve region. When displaying the locators of selected function curves, the button appears pressed. 21 New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0 Other Features Optimization and Performance Improvements • Performance improvement when saving and exiting a sequence. • Optimization when using DPX linked files. • Performance optimization when stepping in or out of containers. • Performance optimization when copy/pasting objects in the timeline. • SSE2 - Optimize 10-bit alpha encoding/decoding to/from RGBA. • 64-bit interactive cache size optimizing. • User preferences option added to process or skip missing media or effects. • Audio improvement: Apple QuickTime v7.0.4 is now support. You can get QuickTime v7.0.4 from http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/quicktime704.html. New Formats Supported The following is a list of new formats supported in this version of Avid DS Nitris. If there is no HW support, then you will see a dot in the front of the format name in the New Sequence and New Project dialog boxes—see a format is not A dot is seen in from of the format name in the tilte bar and UI control(in new seq dlg and seq pref dlg) to indicate that there is no HW support Format Description 720p50 HD format. There is also support of additional cross-conversion to 1080i50. DNxHD 36 Very low bit rate DNX-HD resolutions for HD offline editing are available in 1080psf projects. DNX-TR (thin raster) Support for MXF media (link, import, conform from MC). n 22 720P 24/25/30 is not supported. Other Features Format Description DNxHD-TR for Avid DS This light-weight Avid compression codec is now available for Avid DS when outputting material to file. Once outputted, you can post it online or burn it on a DVD. An advantage is that its size does not compromise the HD quality of the material. DVCPRO HD DVCPro-HD/P2 format media in MXF format captured on Adrenaline and Avid Xpress Pro systems may be relinked via the AFE conform process in Avid DS Nitris. DV 100 When working 720p or 1080i formats, you can now output material to MXF and Gen files using the DV 100 compression codec. The file may be relinked and played back in real-time. n It cannot be captured or used to create sequences. DCI 2K Film formats. DCI 4K DCI 2K is hardware supported at 24fps. 720p 23.98 fps HD formats not HW supported. 720p 24fps 720p 25fps 720p 29.97fps 720p 30fps Super 35mm 3 Perf (2K) Film formats. Super 35mm 3 Perf (4K) Non Hardware Support Formats Indicator If the format you select is not hardware supported, it will have a dot in front of the name—see “New Project Dialog Box” in the Help. DigiDesign ProTools Import/Export • OMF audio export to Avid ProTools has been rewritten and now only exports the media effectively used in the timeline. 23 New in Avid DS Nitris v8.0 • 24 AAF/MXF import: Avid DS Nitris can now conform AAF/MXF sequences from Avid ProTools v7.2. Documentation & Support Services The following topics provide general information about documentation and support services: n • Using the Product Documentation • Contacting Avid Customer Support • Avid Training Services The Avid DS Nitris documentation describes the features and hardware of all models within the Avid DS family. Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation. 26 Chapter 1 Using Avid Support and Services The following topics provide general information about documentation and support services: • Using the Product Documentation • Contacting Avid Customer Support • Avid Training Services Using the Product Documentation The Avid DS Nitris documentation describes the features and hardware of all models within the Avid DS family. Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation. Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the Windows XP operating system. Follow these conventions for mouse or pen usage: This Term Means This with a Mouse Means This with a Pen Click Quickly click and release the left mouse button. Always use the left mouse button unless otherwise stated. Tap the tablet once with the tip of the pen, or touch the pen to the tablet with enough pressure to click. Double-click Click the left mouse button twice rapidly. Quickly tap the tablet twice in the same screen pixel or press the F5 key to go from single to doubleclick. Right-click Quickly click and release the right mouse button. Press the top portion of the switch on the side of the pen or press the F6 key to go from left to right-click. Drag Click and hold the left mouse button or the wheel while you move the mouse. Press the pen to the tablet while moving the pen. 1 Using Avid Support and Services This Term Means This with a Mouse Means This with a Pen Alt+key, Ctrl+key, Shift+key, etc. Press and hold the first key while you press the second key. For example, “Press Alt+F1” means to press and hold the Alt key while you press the F1 key. Avid DS Online Library The Online Library contains the Avid DS Nitris documentation in a single PDF file. This allows you to easily search through the file and print sections that you require. If the online library was installed on your system, you can access it from the Help menu in Avid DS Nitris. You can also access it directly from the Avid DS Software and Drivers DVD, or download the most up-to-date PDF from the Avid DS Support Center web site at http://www.softimage.com/avidds. n The PDF versions of Avid DS documentation require Adobe Reader 4.0 or later. If you need to install Adobe Reader, you can download a free installer from Adobe's web page at www.adobe.com. To access the Online Library: t In Avid DS Nitris, select Help > Online Library, or t Insert the Avid DS Software and Drivers DVD into your drive, and select Online Library from the main menu. How to Order Documentation To order additional copies of the printed documentation from within the United States, call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843). If you are placing an order from outside the United States, contact your local Avid representative. You can also download printable PDF versions of the documentation from the Avid DS Support Center web site at http://www.softimage.com/avidds. Contacting Avid Customer Support Avid DS Customer Support offers assistance by phone, email, and the web. You are invited to send your support requests to any of these channels. For urgent issues taht require immediate assistance, use your local phone support channel. If you are having trouble using your system: 28 Contacting Avid Customer Support 1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide. It is especially important to check each step of your workflow. Check the Avid DS Support Center at http://www.softimage.com/avidds for the latest information that might have become available. E-mail Support The e-mail address for Avid DS Customer Support is: dssupport@avid.com. You can use it for sending bug reports, usability questions, and avidds.cab audit reports for system analysis. All e-mails are logged in the support database and assigned a case number. Send one support request per e-mail. n It is mandatory that you include your SID number in the body of your e-mail message for verification of your maintenance contract and case logging. Otherwise, response will be delayed. Web Support The Avid DS Support Center at http://www.softimage.com/avidds provides quick access to a wide range of resources from the Avid DS team—online documentation, tutorials, known limitiations and other late-breaking information. All software and driver updates can be downloaded from the Avid Download Center http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/index.asp. Upload Utility For troubleshooting purposes, you can upload your files for Avid Customer Support personnel to examine. You can upload a project's archive, media files, or other necessary data. Simply zip the files that you need to upload and use a short name (for easy retrieval), such as archive.zip or Case274877.zip. To upload your files: 1. Go to the Avid web site at http://www.softimage.com/avidds. 2. Select Support and Upload Tool from the left menu. Avid Community Forum Although the Avid DS community forum is frequently monitored by Avid employees, it is not part of the official support channels. The forum has proven to be quite useful for users, and there is a constant stream of new subscribers. To subscribe, join the Avid community forums on the Avid web site at http://www.avid.com. Select Support > Forums. 29 1 Using Avid Support and Services Avid Training Services Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and convenient. Avid understands that the knowledge you need to differentiate yourself is always changing, and Avid continually updates course content and offers new training delivery methods that accommodate your pressured and competitive work environment. To learn about Avid's new online learning environment, Avid Learning Excellerator (ALEX), visit http://learn.avid.com. For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and books, visit www.avid.com/training or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843). 30 Best Practices This section provides information about capturing media, conforming sequences created on other systems, and outputting material. • Assistant Editing • Conforming HD Sequences • Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects • Conforming HDV Media • Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment 32 Chapter 1 Assistant Editing This chapter describes how to set up the Avid DS Assist station in a shared workgroup environment: • Using the Avid DS Assist Station Chapter 1 Assistant Editing Using the Avid DS Assist Station Avid DS Assist Station offers the full software feature set of Avid DS Nitris in a software-only application that can be used to off-load tasks from the heavyduty editing stations—tasks such as conform checks, rotoscoping, graphics, effects, and compositing. The Avid DS Assist Station is designed to work in a shared workgroup environment with Avid DS Nitris, so it doesn’t have any I/O capabilities of its own for signal-based video and audio. You can, however, capture and output from file. The Avid DS Assist Station is capable of full realtime playback and processing, so you can use it offline for all your graphics and effects work. This is an extremely economical way to grade and finish features that are captured onto your central storage. n Processing of effects is all done by the software. These capabilities are only limited by the underlying hardware and an adequate disk subsystem on the workstation where it is installed. System Requirements The Avid DS Assist Station can be run on any standard desktop system with minimal specifications of: • Dual Intel Xeon or Opteron single core CPU or single dual core Intel or AMD CPUs • 1 GB of memory • A supported OGL card such as the Nvidia QuadroFX 3400 or FX3450 (Refer to the Avid web site for a list of other supported cards). The Avid DS Assist Station is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit. The only difference is that the 64-bit version offers better overall performance. Projects and media from both versions can be used on either Avid DS Nitris 32-bit or 64-bit workstations. For storage, the Avid DS Assist Station can connect to Avid Unity ISIS or Avid Unity MediaNetwork. However, if you plan on using DNxHD media on Avid Unity ISIS, you must use the Avid DS Assist Station 64-bit version. 34 Using the Avid DS Assist Station The Avid DS Assist Station can also use a local storage drive for work that does not require large amounts of storage. e.g. creating graphics or titles. Subtopics t Scenario: Sharing Projects and Media with an Avid DS Assist Station 35 Chapter 1 Assistant Editing Scenario: Sharing Projects and Media with an Avid DS Assist Station The Avid DS Assist Station is designed to work in a shared workgroup environment with Avid DS Nitris. Since it doesn’t have any I/O capabilities of its own for signal-based video and audio, the media needs to be captured by a Nitris workstation and stored in a shared folder that can be accessed by the Avid DS Assist Station. You can, however, capture and output from file which is useful for importing graphics and images for compositing and effects work. n Projects cannot be opened simultaneously. As with all Avid DS projects, you must first close the project on one workstation before being able to open it on another. To work with projects on an Avid DS Assist Station, follow this basic workflow: ; Step Refer to Install the Avid DS Assist station on a workstation that will be used by an assistant editor. “Installing Avid DS Software Components” in the Help. Start Avid DS Assist Station, and open a project from “Opening an Existing Project” the workgroup where it was created. in the Help. Check the storage configuration. You will need to add a storage area to your configuration that is also used by other workstations in the workgroup. n 36 “Configuring the Media Indexing Service on your Workstation” in the Help. If you’re conforming a sequence from Avid “Configuring Storages for Media Composer, and will be using media MXF Files” in the Help. created by Media Composer, then you need to configure your storage to point to the folder where that media is located. Open a sequence that you need to edit. Do the necessary edits to the sequence. “Opening Sequences” in the Help Scenario: Sharing Projects and Media with an Avid DS Assist Station ; Step Refer to Process effects that require processing. “Processing Effects” see the Help. n The processed media caches are saved to the common storage where any other workstations in the workgroup can also see them. Save the sequence and close the project. 37 Chapter 1 Assistant Editing 38 Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences This chapter describes typical scenarios for conforming HD projects. • Conforming HD • Scenario: Conforming HD Sequences from SD Downconvert Sources • Scenario: Conforming HD Projects with DNxHD Media • Scenario: Transferring MXF Media from Avid DS Nitris to an Avid Editing System Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences Conforming HD Conforming is the process of bringing a project from an offline environment into Avid DS Nitris, so that you can continue and finish the editing process. This section describes how to work specifically with HD sequences. It will explain how to load an Avid File Exchange (AFE) file into Avid DS Nitris and recreate a sequence on which you can apply further edits and effects. n In this information, the general term “Avid editing system” refers to Avid applications other than Avid DS Nitris, such as Symphony™, Media Composer®, Film Composer®, Avid Xpress®, and NewsCutter®. Subtopics Converting HD Formats Converting HD Formats When down-converting HD sequences, you must make sure that the aspect ratio is respected. Maintaining the proper aspect ratio ensures that all effects, especially those that rely on X,Y locations are preserved during the downconversion and eventually, the conforming process. HD uses the aspect ratio of 16:9. Avid editing systems such as Media Composer or Symphony work with 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios. Avid DS Nitris also supports both these ratios. There are three ways 16:9 HD material can be down-converted for offline editing sessions. • 16:9 Anamorphic • 16:9 Letterbox • 4:3 Centre Extraction 16:9 Anamorphic The entire NTSC frame is used to store the 16:9 HD image that will appear to be stretched vertically when viewed in an Avid editing system. In your settings, select the Composer window to 16:9 Video to view the image in its correct ratio. You will need to select the 16:9 setting on your client monitor. Also, you will have to convert the 16:9 anamorphic images to a 4:3 aspect ratio on output to tape for client screening copies. You can use the Pan & Scan tool, an external device or order conversion as part of the dub process. 40 Conforming HD 16:9 Anamorphic is the preferred format if you will be creating complex effects and composites in offline, because effects and repositions will translate correctly in the Avid DS Nitris online. Related Topics 16:9 Letterbox 4:3 Centre Extraction 16:9 Letterbox The 16:9 HD image is placed in the center of the 4:3 NTSC frame and black bars are added top & bottom of the image. 16:9 Letterbox is a common method for delivering HD material on an NTSC tape to offline. The black matte can be used to contain timecode and other “burnt in” information. This format is fine if the program contains cuts and occasional transition effects, but effects such as repositions and composites will not translate correctly in the HD conform. These problems may result in added expensive because the effects will have to be adjusted in the HD online. Related Topics 16:9 Anamorphic 4:3 Centre Extraction 4:3 Centre Extraction The center of the 16:9 HD image is extracted and recorded on the NTSC tape for offline. 4:3 Center Extraction is the least preferred option for offline because the editor does not see the entire frame that will be visible in the HD master. As a result, edit timings may not be correct when the sequence is conformed in HD because entrances and exits will not be the same in the 16:9 master. Also, the editor may not see undesirable action cut off in the 4:3 frame that will still be visible in the 16:9 HD online master. Effects such as repositions and composites will not translate correctly in the HD conform. Related Topics 16:9 Anamorphic 16:9 Letterbox 41 Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences Scenario: Conforming HD Sequences from SD Downconvert Sources Postproduction house are often faced with this scenario. An editor has completed an HD project on an Avid editing system such as Media Composer and has passed it on to a colorist, for example, who must now complete and finish the project at high quality HD standards on Avid DS Nitris. Downconverting the HD sequence to SD avoids high production costs and also allows you to work more efficiently with a light-weight project. To conform an HD project that was offlined on an Avid editing system, the offline sequence must be edited at the proper frame rate. The following table lists the required Avid editing project types for different HD formats and frame rates. HD format Avid DS Nitris project type Avid editing project type 1080i 50 fields/sec (25 fps) 25i PAL 1080i 60 fields/sec (30 fps) or 59.94 fields/sec (29.97 fps) 30i NTSC 1080PsF 23.97 fps 24p NTSC 23.976p NTSC a 1080PsF 24 fps 24p NTSC or 24p PAL 1080PsF 25 fps 25i PAL 1080PsF 30 fps or 29.97 fps 30i NTSC 720p 60 fps or 59.94 fps 30i NTSC a. Requires Symphony 4.5 or later, Media Composer or Film Composer 11.5 or later, Media Composer Adrenaline 1.0 or later, Avid Xpress 5.5 or later, or Avid Xpress Pro 4.0 or later. 42 Scenario: Conforming HD Sequences from SD Downconvert Sources To conform an HD project from SD downconvert sources, follow this basic workflow: ; Step Refer to Downconvert the HD source tapes to SD (standard-definition) tapes, using the 16:9 anamorphic aspect ratio. “Conforming and Transferring Projects” in the Avid Media Composer Help. For 24p sources, make sure the conversion uses non-drop-frame timecode and 2:3 pulldown, with the A frame at :00 or any frame that ends in 0 or 5 (:05, :10, :15, and so on). n If you need to convert the timecode of a sequence (for example, from 30 fps to 24 fps, you can use the EDL Processor. On an Avid editing system: Create an offline project with the proper frame “Conforming Workflow” in the Avid rate. Media Composer Help. Capture the SD source tapes using an offline resolution Build the sequence. Duplicate the finished sequence, copy the duplicate into a new bin, and decompose the duplicate. “Using Decompose when Recapturing” in the Avid Media Composer Help. The Avid editing system creates new master clips that use only the media in the sequence, plus any handles you specify. These new clips are not linked to media, but are intended for recapture. n Except for grouped clips, you can delete the decomposed clips from the bin, because Avid DS Nitris recreates the clips during the conform process. Export as an AFE file so that you can recreate “Exporting Frames, Clips, and the sequence or project on Avid DS Nitris. Sequences” in the Avid Media Composer Help. Depending on the version of your Avid editing system, you can also export through MediaLog™. 43 Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences ; Step Refer to On the Avid DS Nitris system: Create a sequence with a frame rate that matches that of the source tapes. “Create a Sequence and Master Clips from an Imported AFE File” in the Help. Import the AFE file. “Importing AFE Files” in the Help. Open the AFE file from DS Explorer and drag “Create a Sequence and Master Clips the sequence or master clips to the timeline. from an Imported AFE File” in the Help. If you are sharing media, then Avid DS will relink to the SD media. (This is the case ONLY for MXF files.) “Sharing Media” in the Help. If you are not sharing media, then recapture the HD media from the source tapes into Avid DS Nitris. Depending on the number and types of effects, “AFE Effects Support Table” for a you may need to process or recreate effects. list of supported effects in the Help. Refer to the AAF/AFE Conform Log as you review the sequence. 44 Finish and output the project. “Outputting Media” in the Help. Scenario: Conforming HD Projects with DNxHD Media Scenario: Conforming HD Projects with DNxHD Media To conform an HDTV project that was offlined on an Avid HD editing system with HD media, make sure the offline sequence is edited at the proper format and frame rate. Media Composer Adrenaline HD and Avid Xpress Pro HD support the HD project formats described in the following table. This table also lists their equivalents in Avid DS Nitris. HD format Avid editing project type HD format Avid DS Nitris project type 720p/59.94 720p 59.94 fps 1080p/25 1080PsF 25 fps 1080p/23.976 1080PsF 23.97 fps 1080i/50 1080i 50 fields/sec 1080i/59.94 1080i 59.94 fields/sec For a list of shared DNxHD resolutions, see Avid DNxHD Compressions. To conform an HD project from HD sources, follow this basic workflow: ; Step On an Avid editing system, create an offline “Conforming Workflow” in project with the proper frame rate. the Avid Media Composer Help. Refer to “Working with HD Media Capture the HD source tapes into the Avid editing system using an uncompressed DNxHD resolution. “Video-based Television Workflow” in the Avid Media Composer Help. Build the sequence. “Editing in HD” in the Avid Media Composer Help. 45 Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences ; Step (Optional if sharing media) On the Avid “Conforming Workflow” in editing system, duplicate the finished the Avid Media Composer sequence, copy the duplicate into a new bin, Help. and decompose the duplicate. Refer to The Avid editing system creates new master clips that use only the media in the sequence, plus any handles you specify. These new clips are not linked to media, but are intended for recapture. You can delete the decomposed clips from the bin, because Avid DS Nitris recreates the clips during the conform process. Export as an AFE file so that you can recreate the sequence or project on the Avid DS Nitris system. “Exporting an AFE File from an Avid Editing System” in the Help. “Exporting AFE Files Using Depending on the version of your Avid editing system, you can also export through MediaLog” in the Help. MediaLog. On the Avid DS Nitris system: Import the AFE file. “Importing AFE Files” in the Help. Build your sequence from the imported clips. “Create a Sequence and Master Clips from an Imported AFE File” in the Help. If sharing media, make sure the HD media “Sharing Media” and “Sharing is placed in the appropriate folders on your MXF Media” in the Help. storage device. in the Help. Configure the storage areas so that Avid DS “Configuring Storages for can index the media. MXF Files” If you are not sharing media, then recapture the HD material from source. 46 in the Help. Scenario: Conforming HD Projects with DNxHD Media ; Step Depending on the number and types of “AFE Effects Support Table” effects, you may need to process or recreate for a list of supported effects in effects. Refer to the AAF/AFE Conform the Help. Log as you review the sequence. Finish and output the project. Refer to “Outputting Media” in the Help. 47 Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences Scenario: Transferring MXF Media from Avid DS Nitris to an Avid Editing System You can share MXF master clips captured on Avid DS Nitris with other Avid editing systems. You can share MXF HD (DNxHD) media only with other systems that support MXF HD media. To share MXF master clips created on Avid DS Nitris, follow this basic workflow: 1. Make sure any storage devices or Avid Unity workspaces are configured correctly—see “Configuring Storages for MXF Files” in the Help. 2. On the Avid DS Nitris system: a. n Create a project. In the New Sequence dialog box, select the proper capture settings: MXF storages (one for audio and one for video), desired compression, and so on. MXF storage can be shared (in an Avid Unity environment) or local (and later transferred). If you are going to capture audio from a multi-stream file, make sure to select the option “Import audio into separate audio tracks” in the New Sequence dialog box. b. Capture and edit the media. c. Export an AAF file—see “Exporting AAF Files from Avid DS Nitris” in the Help. 3. If you are transferring media to the Avid editing system, rather than sharing in an Avid Unity environment, do one of the following: - If you are transferring media over a network, copy the MXF audio storage and the MXF video storage to the local drive. - If you are transferring media on a removable drive, connect the drive. 4. On the Avid editing system, open a project with a matching frame rate. 5. Import one or more AAF files. The Avid editing system creates a master clip for each AAF file. 6. Select the new master clips and select Clip > Relink. The Relink dialog box opens. 48 Scenario: Transferring MXF Media from Avid DS Nitris to an Avid Editing System 7. Deselect the option “Relink only to media from the current project,” accept the other defaults, and click OK. The master clips are relinked with the MXF media. n n You can use the Media Tool to create master clips, but this method does not always work, for example, when a clip from Avid DS Nitris includes alpha. Media Composer Macintosh systems, and other Macintosh-based Avid editors, cannot use MXF media created by Avid DS Nitris, due to a 31-character file name limit. This situation occurs when an Avid DS Nitris system creates a storage on a Unity volume to share with other Avid editing systems. This problem does not affect Windows systems. 49 Chapter 2 Conforming HD Sequences 50 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects This chapter describes how to work with film: • The Digital Intermediate Process • Setting up Storage and Media for Film Projects • Opening a Film-based Project • Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE • Capturing DPX Files • Editing in Film Proxy Mode • Outputting Film Sequences Checklists • Scenario: Using HDCAM-SR Tape for Film-Originated Projects • Scenario: Using DPX Scans for Film-Originated Projects Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects The Digital Intermediate Process The main stages of film production are image capture, offline editing, finishing, and image output and distribution. Traditionally, the intermediate stage was done manually by the film lab. This involved the cutting and splicing of the film negatives, adding special optical effects, and then printing of the final copy for distribution. Advances in technology now allow the intermediate stage to be handled digitally. It is a cleaner and more flexible alternative to the traditional approach. It provides an easy and cost-effective way to create masters at different resolutions and formats, and also allows more flexibility for screening at various stages. 1 2 OFFLINE EDITING (optional) 3 FILM CAPTURE INTERMEDIATE EDITING Avid Film Composer or Media Composer Workstation EDL/ALE TAPE TELECINE EDL/ALE FILM Rough edit produces final ALE, EDL and film pull list IMAGE OUTPUT & DISTRIBUTION HD 4:4:4 HD 4:2:2 NTSC PAL QuickTime HD 4:4:4 Film Pull List 4 Avid DS Workstation TAPE EDL EDL FILE Film Pull List EDL/ALE SCANNER EDL EDL FILE DPX/ EDL/ALE DPX CINEON (2K, 4K) DPX (2K, 4K) Source material is normally shot on Super 35mm or Super 16mm 3-perf film. The film can either be scanned to 2K or 4K DPX files, or transferred through Telecine onto tape in a recommended digital HD format. (Note that, with the latest digital film cameras, material can also be shot directly in HD RGB 4:4:4.) When the source material is in digitized form it is referred to as the digital master. This digital master in either 2K, 4K, or HD-RGB 4:4:4 format is of superior image quality that is preserved for a much longer term than the traditional tape format. This master can be offlined in an Avid Media Composer system or edited directly in Avid DS Nitris. 52 The Digital Intermediate Process The digital intermediate workflow in Avid DS Nitris allows you to either capture the digital master into the Avid DS Nitris system, or in the case of DPX format, simply link to the files. The process is started by building a sequence directly in Avid DS Nitris; or by conforming a sequence via an EDL/ALE into Avid DS Nitris. There is no need to worry about matching source timecode or tape names during the transfer since the common denominator is the KeyKodeTM information on the original camera negative. Each frame of picture and sound carries with it one or more pieces of frame-based metadata (timecode, KeyKode, etc.), as well as overall metadata such as shoot date, camera roll, scene, take, etc. In Avid DS Nitris, the film sequence can be digitally enhanced through the process of editing, visual effects, and color correction. Avid DS Nitris has comprehensive HD and SD finishing capabilities, with a range of film and video editing tools. The system’s special effects and compositing engine handle special effects and last minute fixes easily and cost-efficiently. Here are some of the ways in which Avid DS Nitris expedites the workflow: • An external video monitor can be used to view (in real-time) your sequence in the format and resolution closely matching your final distribution format. • Your Nitris workstation will instantly let you play back (in real-time) any edits and effects applied to your sequence. • Look-up tables (LUTs) can be applied to simulate the look of projected film. • You can perform color correction on file-based media the same way as with traditional video. • You can read timecode from, and output timecode to, media files. The timecode tracking display is based on the conventional time-oriented techniques of video postproduction. • You can add a timecode view if you want to view the timecode of your sequence at a different frame rate. The timecode view can display multiple frame rates at a time. Avid DS Nitris supports output mastering to tape for any of the original transfer formats; and in the case of a film out, it is possible to output a final series of DPX or Cineon images for a film recorder. 53 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects Important Considerations when Working on Film-based Projects Before starting your project, here are some points to consider when working on a film-quality production. • Know your original film format (e.g. Full Aperture, Cineon, Academy, Super 16mm/35mm). • Know the quality at which your film master was scanned or transferred. The most popular is the 10-bit format and the most frequently used resolution is 2K. • Know the frame rate (fps) at which your film master was scanned or transferred. • Use a limit of 8 characters for your tape/reel names as some 3rd-party EDL converters truncate reel names over 8 characters long, and as a result will not create the proper associations between key numbers and timecodes. • Ensure that you have storage that is large and fast enough for high throughput. (Typically, 2K data takes up over 1 TB per hour of footage.) Also, to get realtime playback of your media, the digitized media must reside on your local storage that is connected directly to your Avid DS Nitris workstation. • If you are offlining your sequences on Avid Film Composer, set up your storage so that you can share the media footage with Avid DS Nitris. This is explained later in this section. In Avid DS Nitris there are two ways to import film-originated media—by capturing from HDCAM-SR tape, or by linking to DPX files. Topics 54 • Scenario: Using HDCAM-SR Tape for Film-Originated Projects • Scenario: Using DPX Scans for Film-Originated Projects The Digital Intermediate Process Scenario: Using HDCAM-SR Tape for Film-Originated Projects HD resolutions are now used more and more for film work, especially in 4:4:4 RGB color space. Although this method does not support resolutions as high as film-scanned DPX files (2K, 4K), HDCAM-SR does allow for fairly high quality resolution (upto 1920 x 1080 HD). Also, Telecines now perform highquality transfer directly to HD in real-time, which is much faster and economical than a typical film scanner. There are two possible workflows when using HDCAM tape. You can create your rough cut offline with an Avid Media Composer or Film Composer system and then finish online with Avid DS Nitris or—you can do all the editing from start to finish directly in Avid DS Nitris. For either workflow, the film is first scanned through a telecine (one-light pass) to generate one or more dub tapes in HD, DVCAM, or SD format. Topics • Offline Film Workflow with Avid Media Composer or Film Composer • Online Editing and Finishing in Avid DS Nitris Offline Film Workflow with Avid Media Composer or Film Composer In the workflow shown here, film is run through a Telecine to create work tapes that will be used for the offline edit on an Avid Media Composer Adrenaline HD or Film Composer. n If you have a Media Composer Adrenaline HD system, you can do your offline editing with an HD work tape. If you don’t have an HD offline system, then you need to convert your master tape to a lower-quality SD work tape. 55 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects 1 OFFLINE EDITING (OPTIONAL) FILM 2 TELECINE ONLINE EDITING Film Pull list used to transfer only necessary material to HDCAM tape TAPE HDCAM SR 4:4:4 Transfer all material to dub tape Produce final ALE, EDL and film pull list TAPE Media captured/ conformed via ALE Batch capture via ALE file HD 4:4:4 Rough-edit on Avid Film Composer or Media Composer Workstation Avid DS Nitris Workstation Avid Film Composer/Media Composer uses an ALE (also produced during the Telecine transfer) to capture source video from the dub tape. After the rough edit is done, the process ends with the production of an EDL of the sequence, an ALE, and a film pull list. The film transfer facility uses the film pull list to do a final, high-quality pass through the telecine. This transfers only the necessary material to tape. This minimizes costs in the telecine room and also makes for a more efficient final online edit and finish in Avid DS Nitris. To offline your sequence on Avid Media Composer or Avid Film Composer, follow this basic workflow: You should follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to a topic within a Step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. (When viewing this document online, use the Previous View button in your Help browser or Adobe Reader to return to the previous link). 56 The Digital Intermediate Process ; Step Refer to this section Using Avid Film or Media Composer, import the film transfer files (FLEx, Evertz, Aaton, ALE) into the project bins, and log the necessary clips from the dub tape using the ALE file. “Importing Shot Log Files” in the Media Composer Help. Batch capture the footage from the dub tapes. “Batch Capturing from Logged Clips” in the Media Composer Help. Capture the audio directly in Avid Media Composer/Film Composer via file-based audio recorders using BWF. “BWF Files” in the Media Composer Help. Create your sequence on the timeline, and synchronize the audio with video. “Preparing to Edit” in the Media Composer Help. Once the rough edit is complete, generate a “Creating a Cut List with film pull list (cut list) of the final cut. Previsualization Marker Information” in the Media Avid FilmScribe generates many Composer Help. types of lists; Scan is the list type to facilitate a file-based or tape-based workflow. See also “Working in a Film Project” in the Media Composer Help. n Export your sequence to an EDL file. Export your sequence to an ALE file if you need to associate your film information (metadata) with the tape information in the EDL Rescan or retransfer the source material using the film pull list. Media footage will only be pulled once, regardless of how many times it was used in the final sequence. You can now take the EDL and/or ALE into “Online Editing and Finishing Avid DS Nitris to do your online editing. in Avid DS Nitris” 57 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects Online Editing and Finishing in Avid DS Nitris Once you have transferred your film media onto the final HDCAM-SR tape, you can use the ALE to edit or conform the project into Avid DS Nitris. 1 OFFLINE EDITING (OPTIONAL) 2 FILM TELECINE ONLINE EDITING Film Pull list used to transfer only necessary material to HDCAM tape TAPE HDCAM SR 4:4:4 Transfer all material to dub tape TAPE Produce final ALE, EDL and film pull list Media captured/ conformed via ALE Batch capture via ALE file HD 4:4:4 Rough-edit on Avid Film Composer or Media Composer Workstation Avid DS Nitris Workstation For the final finishing, you will require: • Your film transferred to tape. To ensure the highest quality of the master tape, transfer to HD format in 4:4:4, which offers the best uncompressed color quality currently available on video. The 4:4:4 refers to an encoding technique that holds onto all of the image’s red, green, and blue color data for superior color fidelity, unlike the traditional 4:2:2 YUV mode, which discards half of the color data. It is recommended that the film be transferred as 16:9 anamorphic so that the conform process will not only be frame-accurate, but also pixelaccurate in the sense that the effects will match the same aspect ratio (titles, shapes, etc.). 58 • Audio tapes/data • ALE file containing the tape-film source correspondences. An ALE file is provided along with the tapes to match the original Key Numbers on the film with the timecode on tape. The Digital Intermediate Process To edit and finish your film project in Avid DS Nitris, follow these steps: You should follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to a topic within a Step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. (When viewing this document online, use the Previous View button in your Help browser or Adobe Reader to return to the previous link). ; Step Refer to this section Determine where your media will be stored. “Setting up Storage and Media for Film Projects” Ensure that your workgroup storage areas have been “Configuring your Storage configured accordingly. Locations” In Avid DS Nitris, open a project and set the appropriate project preferences. “Opening a Film-based Project” If you are conforming an offline project, use the EDL/ALE to import your sequence. “Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE” Edit your sequence. “Editing in Film Proxy Mode” Recapture the media in full resolution HD format “Batch Capturing” with full 4:4:4 RGB color depth. (Avid DS Nitris can capture an HDCAM tape in either HD 4:4:4 RGB or HD 4:2:2 YCrCB.) n To capture HDCAM RGB 4:4:4, you require an Avid DS Nitris workstation equipped with the dual-link card. Add special effects and do the necessary color correction. Refer to the Compositing & Graphics section for relevant topics. Output your final sequence. “Outputting Film Sequences” 59 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects Scenario: Using DPX Scans for Film-Originated Projects To preserve your 2K or 4K film resolution, it is best to have your film scanned to DPX files. DPX (Digital Picture eXchange) is a bitmap file format used to store a single motion picture frame to a file. During the scanning process, metadata is inserted into the DPX file such as KeyKode and timecode, as well as Tape Name if desired. DPX files played in a sequential manner can be viewed in real time in Avid DS Nitris under certain circumstances. DPX files are unique in many ways. Their color space is RGB, they have more bit-depth, and they also have the possibility of using log space for representing a wider dynamic range on the negative. This allows for the use of Look-Up Tables in the import process. The film house where your film master was scanned will provide you with an LUT file to use when importing your DPX. 2 Pull list/ EDL/ALE 1 OFFLINE EDITING FILM ONLINE EDITING SCANNER Film Pull list used to scan only necessary material to DPX TELECINE Avid DS Nitris Workstation DPX (2K, 4K) Copy DPX files to storage device Conform of ALE and EDL automatically links DPX files into project sequences Transfer all material to low-quality dub tape Produce final ALE, EDL and film pull list TAPE Batch capture via ALE file Rough-edit on Avid Film Composer or Media Composer Workstation During the conform, the workstations need to know where to find the DPX frames, and whether there was a LUT applied to any set of frames. Once this has been done, the KeyKode to DPX file relationships allow the conform process. 60 The Digital Intermediate Process From the Avid DS timeline, simply select “link to file” and the sequence will look to the DPX files. You can playback a single stream of 2K or 4K in real time in the viewer. Using the proxy mode, you can add effects in real time for multiple streams, and process and view the results in HD 4:2:2. The optimal workflow when using DPX files is to create your rough cut offline with an Avid Media Composer or Film Composer system, and then finish online with Avid DS Nitris. To scan your source material to DPX files, follow these steps: Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to a topic within a Step, come back to the checklist after completing the procedure. (Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous link). ; Step Refer to this section Offline your project in Avid Media Composer or Film Composer. “Offline Film Workflow with Avid Media Composer or Film Composer” n You can also start your project directly in Avid DS Nitris if you already have all the final DPX files. Determine where your media will be stored. “Setting up Storage and Media for Film Projects” Copy your DPX files to your high-capacity storage. “Placing your DPX Files on the Storage Device” Ensure that your workgroup storage areas have been “Configuring your Storage configured accordingly. Locations” In Avid DS Nitris, open a project and set the appropriate project preferences. “Opening a Film-based Project” If you are conforming an offline project, use the EDL/ALE to import your sequence. “Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE” Link to your DPX files. “Conforming Sequences that use DPX Files” 61 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects 62 ; Step Refer to this section If you are using a shared storage, or if you cannot playback your media in realtime, then capture your DPX files into Avid DS Nitris. “Capturing DPX Files” Edit your sequence. “Editing in Film Proxy Mode” Add special effects and do the necessary color correction. “Linearizing Film-Based Material”, and also the Compositing & Graphic section for relevant topics. Output your final sequence. “Outputting Film Sequences” Setting up Storage and Media for Film Projects Setting up Storage and Media for Film Projects Since film-based media is large and requires high bandwidth and fast disk access, you should place your digital master on a storage drive that is connected directly to your workstation. This allows you to view your sequence in realtime. Before you begin, plan out your storage solutions carefully: n • For a complete list of storages supported for film-based media, refer to the Avid DS Support Center web site. • “Planning your Storage Locations”, provides different scenarios depending on whether you are building your project on a single system, or if you plan on using multiple systems where you may want to share media. You can share and store file-based media for offline-to-online production between Avid systems. Sequences offlined in Avid Media Composer Adrenaline HD can be previewed directly in Avid DS Nitris using the real-time proxy resolution (film proxy mode). Topics • Configuring your Storage Locations • Placing your DPX Files on the Storage Device Placing your DPX Files on the Storage Device Your DPX files should be placed onto a fast, high-capacity storage device connected to your workstation. This allows you to link to the master and still get realtime playback in Avid DS Nitris for any DPX files. n You can also place your master on a shared storage, such as Avid Unity, however you will have to capture the file into Avid DS Nitris to get realtime playback—see “Capturing DPX Files”. t Place your DPX files in an appropriate folder under the \VideoStorage folder on the storage device. For example, D:\VideoStorage\DPX\Commercial\... 63 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects Opening a Film-based Project Avid DS Nitris offers HD and 2K/4K digital intermediate capabilities, including a large number of preset sequence types for various film resolutions and aspect ratio. To create a film-based project: 1. In the Open Project dialog box that displays when you start Avid DS Nitris, click the New Project button. 2. In the New Project dialog box, give your project a name. 3. There are a number of film resolutions and apertures that you can choose from. Select the film format at which your material was scanned or transferred. Click the Help button to see which film formats are available. When you select the format, the frame details are set automatically. 64 Opening a Film-based Project 4. Set the Processing Precision to a bit-depth that will give you the best quality for your processed effects. To preserve the quality of the bit-depth of 10-bit material, choose 16-bit. For more information on bit depth, see “About Video Quality” and “About Bit Depth”. c Although Avid DS Nitris can support higher bit depths during processing, the caches may be stored at a lower bit depth depending on your resolution and color space settings. Note that, using a higher precision bit depth generates smoother effects during processing, and still produces better quality output for lower bit depth outputs. Optionally, you could set the Precision bit depth to the same setting as the Storage bit-depth. Then, if you want to process a specific effect at a higher-quality bit depth, you can change the Precision bit depth within the Processing dialog box. 5. For the Storage Settings: - Set the Resolution for capturing/linking video media to Full. - Set the Color Space to RGB 4:4:4. - Set the Bit Depth to the format at which the film was scanned (typically 10-bit). 6. Select Use the closest media available, to allow Avid DS Nitris to display media of mixed resolutions and frame rates in your sequence. 7. For the Audio Settings, set the Sample Rate and Bit Depth at which you will output your audio media. 8. Leave the Downconversion settings at default. 9. Click OK to save project preferences. Avid DS Nitris displays the timeline where you can now begin working on a sequence. 65 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE Typically, the digital intermediate is created by conforming a sequence via an EDL into Avid DS Nitris. The EDL and/or ALE files are used to create the necessary source associations between the original tapes and final digital master. (The ALE file actually contains the film source to tape source correspondence.) Hence, there is no need to worry about matching source timecode or tape names during the transfer since the common denominator is the KeyKodeTM information on the original camera negative. When conforming your EDL, you have the choice of logging the events in the Avid Explorer, recreating the list of events on the timeline, or both. As the files are logged, the media files are automatically linked in Avid DS Nitris. You can capture the media at any time from either the Avid Explorer or the timeline. During the capture process, the HDCAM tape frames or the DPX frames are transferred to the Avid DS Nitris’ local storage. When the conform is complete, the clips point automatically point to the HD 4:4:4 media on your local storage. Before conforming your EDL, you should check if there are any layers to be composited. Offline editors often create multiple EDLs because the convention is to put separate layers into separate EDLs. Any audio or video events in the list are automatically loaded onto the appropriate tracks. During the conform process, you can set up the appropriate heads and tails values for each clip. This is important if you need additional material at the beginning and end of each clip to do minor changes during the final stage of the edit. You can also configure the audio channel patching for each tape. If you recreate your sequence on the timeline, you may want to process a rough cut and proof it against the original EDL. You can do this by reloading the rough cut onto a new video track, adding a fade or crop effect to the video track and processing it, and then playing the sequence to make sure that the cuts and transitions on the two tracks occur in sync. If the proofing session is successful, you can then remove the video track you added and continue to add effects and finishing touches to the original sequence. 66 Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE To open an EDL: 1. In the view switcher, click the EDL button. 2. In the EDL view, click the Load EDL button to load a new EDL. 3. In the Open dialog box, select an EDL. If you know the system from which the EDL was generated, select the appropriate file type. 4. Click the Open button. The selected EDL is displayed in the EDL view. The EDL view lets you import an EDL file produced on any external system, and capture material based on the edits in that EDL. For more information about the EDL view, click the Help button or see EDL View. Conform EDL Record in-point 67 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects If you selected the wrong file type, you are prompted to convert the file to the appropriate type. 5. Click the Conform EDL button. 6. In the EDL Conform dialog box, select whether you want to create Logs and/or Timeline Clips. 7. If your digital master is in DPX file format, select Use Alternate Video Sources, and see “Conforming Sequences that use DPX Files”. If your master is in HDCAM-SR tape format, then continue with this procedure. 8. If all the necessary information is contained in your EDL, click the Conform button. The clips are logged in the Explorer or on the timeline for you to capture—see “Batch Capturing”. After the clips are captured, they automatically point to the HD 4:4:4 media on your local storage. 68 Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE Conforming Sequences that use DPX Files Once you have loaded your EDL (as described in “Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE”), you can proceed with the following steps to link to your DPX files. 1. In the EDL Conform dialog, click on the Configure button. The Choose Alternate Video Sources dialog displays. 2. In the Image Files Root Folder, enter the path for your DPX files. Once the folder is selected, it is immediately scanned. This process scans each DPX file on the video storage, collecting the metadata that it contains, so that Avid DS Nitris can associate each DPX file to each “tape” frame referenced in the EDL. In addition, the appropriate correspondence is made between the DPXtape frames so that the tape name, timecodes and/or key numbers are retained. n When trying to associate the EDL tape frames to the DPX frames, the following situations may occur: • the DPX files contain the tape source information (i.e. tape name and timecode). In this case a direct association can be made between the DPX files and the EDL tapes. • the DPX files only contain film source info (i.e. key number). In this case, you must also specify an ALE file to allow Avid DS Nitris to create the association between the DPX files and the EDL tapes, going through the ALE film sources. • the DPX files only contain timecodes. In this case, the folder in which the DPX file is located is used as the EDL “tape name”. After the scan is complete, the source information associated to each image file is displayed. If at least one file has a reference to a film source, the ALE File field is activated. 3. If you are conforming DPX files from a filmhouse (i.e. digitized from a Telecine), then you will need the corresponding ALE file to associate the DPX frames to timecodes. Under ALE File, enter the path where the ALE file is located. 69 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects n In the example shown above, you will notice that there is an * before the name ROGER. This is to indicate that the folder name is being used as the tape name. 4. Click the Match with EDL button. The bottom view will display a mapping of DPX frames to tape and corresponding timecode. 5. To view any missing/unmatched DPX frames, select Only View Missing Frames. 70 Conforming the Film Sequence from EDL and ALE If the bottom view is empty, then all frames in the EDL were found. If not, locate the necessary DPX files, place them in the same folder, and click Match with EDL again. Shows missing frames This process scans each DPX file, collecting the metadata that it contains, so that the software can associate each DPX file to each “tape” frame referenced in the EDL. In addition, the appropriate correspondence is made between the DPX tape frames so that the tape name, timecodes, and/or key numbers are retained. 6. Click OK to return to the Conform dialog. 7. Click the Conform button. The log files are created with the appropriate links to the DPX files. n Audio is ignored when digitizing DPX files from HDCAM-SR. If your DPX files are on a storage device connected to your Avid DS Nitris workstation, you will get realtime playback simply by being linked to the files. 71 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects If your files are on a shared storage, such as Avid Unity, you will have to capture the file into Avid DS Nitris to get realtime playback—see “Capturing DPX Files”. 72 Capturing DPX Files Capturing DPX Files DPX (Digital Picture eXchange) is an industry-standard, SMPTE file format that is used to transfer film-originated images to a series of digital files (also called scanned image files). The Cineon image file format is a subset of the DPX format. In Avid DS Nitris, the digital intermediate workflow allows you to either capture (import) or link to your DPX digital master and edit and add effects in realtime. Instead of importing the digital master into Avid DS Nitris, you can link directly to the file on your local storage and still get real-time playback. Linking to the file also allows you to mix resolutions and frame rates of different clips on your timeline while keeping the original pixels. n If you have linked to the DPX files, they will be real-time for all HD and film formats if: • The DPX files are on your local videostorage, that is large and fast enough to support high throughput. • The format of the DPX files exactly match the format of the current sequence. • The current sequence storage bit-depth is set to 8 or 10. • The data in the DPX files are correctly aligned. This should almost always be the case. If not, the FixDPX utility can fix any misaligned data DPX files—see “Aligning your DPX Files”. If you cannot get realtime playback, you can capture (import) the files into Avid DS Nitris. To import the DPX files: 1. In the Avid Explorer, navigate to the storage folder where you have your DPX files. 2. Select the DPX group folder or individual DPX files that you want to link/capture. n The scanned image files, which are consecutively numbered, are usually included by default in one or more Avid DS Nitris Group folders. 73 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects You can capture all the DPX files to a single clip. The tape name and timecode will be in encrypted in the header of each DPX file. 3. Right-click either on the group folder or the selected files, and select Capture Settings. 4. In the Capture Settings dialog box, select the settings that apply to the files to which you want to capture/link, including the following: n - Input Levels: Graphics - Pixel Ratio: Auto Since captured files are brought into Avid DS Nitris at their original resolutions, there is no need to convert them to the current sequence’s resolution. This also means that the Media Conversion modes are not applicable if you link the file. 5. Close the Capture Settings dialog box. 6. Right-click the selected files and select either Link or Capture. n If you selected a sequential list of still files of the same type (such as all .jpg or all .bmp), you are given the choice of combining the files into one master clip or capturing individual still frames. Choose Yes if you want to combine them. The DPX Import dialog box displays and the first file (first frame of the transfer) is displayed in the viewer. 74 Capturing DPX Files DPX and Cineon files usually store pixel values using a log representation. To be able to apply effects or simply visualize these images, a linearization pass using a look-up table (LUT) is usually preferable. This look-up table can be applied at time of capture, or you could apply it later directly to the clips on the timeline. You need to determine what LUT should be used. Your film house should provide you with the LUT for your digital master. You can import this LUT, or use a standard LUT provided by Avid DS Nitris. For more information on creating your own LUT, see “Linearizing Film-Based Material”. 7. To adjust the color values in the file, you can select one of the following for LUT Type: t If you do not want to apply an LUT at this time, select Linear and click the Reset button to ensure that Avid DS Nitris takes your color values exactly the way they are. 75 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects t If you want to apply a specific LUT that was provided with your DPX file, select From file. From the dialog box that opens, select the .lut file, and click Open. The name of the selected file will display in the box beneath. t If you want to apply industry-standard LUT settings, select Linear or Log -> Linear. Avid DS Nitris will apply either a linear transformation or a log-to-linear transformation. You can then adjust these values and save them in your own LUT file. a. By default, R, G, and B values are locked, even if you adjust one. If you want to adjust an individual R, G, or B value, clear the box in the Lock column for the parameter. b. Type the new values or use the sliders. The result of the new values are shown in the viewer and the respective curve displays. For a linear LUT, you can adjust only the White Point and the Black Point. For a log LUT, you can also adjust Gamma, Film Gamma, and Softclip. To return to the default values, click the Reset button. To save your values in a file, click the Export LUT button. A dialog box opens for you to name and save your file. n The inverse of your LUT is saved as well so that you can use it later when exporting your DPX file. 8. You can also choose to Import Timecode if you want to preserve the timecode from the digital master. When importing a DPX or Cineon file, 24-fps SMPTE timecode may be included in the clip information. If you import the timecode, the information is inserted in the header of each frame, and will be read and saved for later use in Avid DS Nitris. 9. When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK. As the material is linked/captured, the clip(s) appear in the target bin that you specified in the Capture Settings. For linked clips, the clip icons are underlined in red to indicate that no media has actually been captured. 10. Drag the master clips from the Avid Explorer to the timeline to build your sequence. 76 Capturing DPX Files Aligning your DPX Files If Avid DS Nitris gives you a message that your DPX files cannot be read, it may be due to misaligned sectors in the DPX files. This can easily be realigned using the FixDPX utility. To align your DPX files: n If the sequence using the DPX files is currently open, exit Avid DS Nitris, or switch to another project. 1. Click the Start button and select Programs > Avid Products > Avid DS > Tools > FixDPX. 2. In the FixDPX dialog, click the File... button to browse for a specific file that you want to fix. If you want to fix several files, then click the Folder... button to select the folder name. 3. Click Fix it! to begin. The FixDPX utility will display a summary of the files that were or were not fixed. 4. Click Done to exit. 77 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects Editing in Film Proxy Mode When editing the digital intermediate in film resolution sequences, you have a choice of displaying and processing either in full resolution or real-time proxy resolution. The proxy is a lower-sized resolution (actually HD resolution) that still provides excellent visual quality for editing and previewing your sequence in a video monitor. With proxy resolution, the correct aspect ratio is preserved in the Avid DS viewer as well as in the external HD monitor. Even an SD monitor can be used when working with 23.97, 29.97 and 25-fps sequences. In addition, color space is automatically taken into account by Avid DS Nitris to make the use of these proxies as transparent as possible. To work more quickly and efficiently, you can apply effects in the lower, realtime proxy resolution. In this mode, real-time effects do not need to be processed. If any effects do require processing, the resulting caches are also generated in real-time proxy resolution to save disk space. n If any effects were previously processed in full resolution, then Avid DS Nitris will use these caches instead of the proxy 4:2:2 caches. When in a shared collaborative environment using an Avid Unity, the Avid DNxHD proxies can easily be shared between Media Composer Adrenaline HD and Avid DS Nitris systems. Avid DNxHD compression ratios are also available to you when you use proxy mode. For a description of these ratios, see “Avid DNxHD Compressions”. When you are ready to output your final sequence, you can switch back to full resolution to process your effects. Processing in full resolution has the advantage of highly accurate processing using 4:4:4 RGB values. n When working in full resolution, the results of the processing can only be seen in the Avid DS Nitris viewer, as the external monitor is disabled. To set your sequence preferences to work in proxy mode: 1. Select File > Sequence Preferences. 2. Set the Resolution to Real-time Proxy so that you can edit and add effects in real-time. 78 Editing in Film Proxy Mode n Real-time proxy mode is only available on an Avid DS Nitris workstation. On other Avid DS systems, you can work in Full resolution. This still gives you real-time playback of your media in the viewer, but not the external monitor. 3. On Avid DS Nitris workstation, you can change the Compression to one of the Avid DNxHD compression formats. This will save you space on your storage device while you are editing your sequence. 4. Set Downconversion of HD/SD output to the appropriate setting so that you can feed your output to an external monitor and view the results. In the Avid DS Nitris viewer, the real-time proxy mode compensates for change in aspect ratio. For the external monitor output, you have the flexibility to either see a cropped version of the frames, or a centered and padded version. Internally, Avid DS Nitris still holds the entire frame. 5. Click OK to set the preferences. 6. Perform the necessary edits, color correction, and addition of effects to your sequence. n You can toggle from Proxy to full resolution to create mattes or keys and view them at the final resolution. Use the button with the green dot above the viewer to switch modes. 7. Any effects that you apply to your sequence will have to be processed in full resolution. 79 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects Outputting Film Sequences Avid DS Nitris supports output mastering of film-based projects to any of the original transfer formats. When you’ve finalized all your edits, make sure that: • your sequence preferences are set to the quality settings (resolution, compression, bit-depth) required for output. • although the maximum bit depth for output is 10-bit, you should process your sequence at a resolution higher than 10-bit to get the best quality for your processed effects. Topics Outputting DPX Files Outputting Film Sequences to Tape Outputting DPX Files In the case of a film out, it is possible to output a final series of DPX images for film recorder compatibility with the proper LUT (look up table). To output a sequence to file: 1. Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output Tool. 80 Outputting Film Sequences 2. Select the material to output. 3. Click the To File button. 4. Select the file format to which you want to export (DPX or Cineon if it’s the final for film mastering). The Still Image Export dialog box opens. 5. For DPX or Cineon formats only. If you want to apply an LUT to match the appropriate film settings, select Linear, Lin>Log or use a specific LUT file. If you don’t want to apply a LUT, then set the LUT Type to Linear and click the Reset button. n If you are using a specific LUT file, the settings should be the opposite of what was used when you imported the file into Avid DS Nitris. Use the inverted LUT file that was automatically created when you originally saved your custom LUT file. Otherwise, click the Invert LUT button. 81 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects 6. For DPX or Cineon formats only. If you want to save a timecode on each frame in the file, select Export Timecode, and set the appropriate timecode start time. 7. Click OK to save the settings. 8. Keep the frame size to the default. 9. For the Output Settings, select the appropriate Codec (if applicable). 10. Select the Preserve Alpha option if the sequence includes an alpha channel that you want to keep in the output file. This is useful if you plan to reuse the matte information in future compositing or graphics projects. Not all file formats support alpha channels. 11. Click the Output button to begin the export. 12. Select a folder in which to save your material, enter a name for the file, and click Save. The material is processed, if necessary, exported to file, and placed in the selected folder. 13. Close the Output Tool dialog box. Outputting Film Sequences to Tape The process for outputting a film sequence to tape is similar to the conventional output process. Topics Preparing for Output Outputting to Tape If you would like to use your final master for broadcast or to create tape copies for distribution, you need to first downconvert your film sequence to HD or SD—see “Downconverting a Film Sequence to HD or SD Format”. Downconverting a Film Sequence to HD or SD Format When working in real-time proxy resolution on Avid Nitris DNA workstations, the Output Tool lets you downconvert a film sequence into one of several high-definition (HD) or standard-definition (SD) formats. 82 Outputting Film Sequences To output to tape in SD or HD: 1. Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output Tool. 2. Select all/portions of the timeline that you want to output. 3. Click the To Tape button. 4. Set the appropriate tape and deck settings. For more information click the Help button. 5. Click the Downconvert button. 6. Select the required output formats. The options that are available depend on the current video format. For a list of the available formats, see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources”. 7. Click the Insert button to begin the output process. 83 Chapter 3 Using Digital Intermediates for Film-based Projects 84 Chapter 4 Conforming HDV Media This chapter describes how to do an offline edit with HDV media on an Avid editing system, such as Avid Media Composer, and how to finally conform an HDV sequence on an Avid DS workstation. • What is HDV Media? • Scenario: Conforming an HDV Sequence Chapter 4 Conforming HDV Media What is HDV Media? HDV is a low-cost prosumer format that allows you to record HD video onto standard DV videocassettes. This is achieved through the use of interframe compression, where a given frame in the video stream can be composed of information from adjacent frames. Frames are grouped into a sequence called a “Group of Pictures,” or GOP. Long-GOP (also known as IPB encoding) refers to the structure of HDV media. A GOP contains several different types of compressed frames: • I frames, which are compressed frames that do not depend on any frames around them. I frames anchor the beginning of the GOP. • P (predictive) frames and B (bidirectional) frames, which depend on the frames around them. Interframe compression is more efficient than frame-based schemes (such as DV 25), allowing high-bandwidth HD images to be contained on media designed for standard definition (SD). However, HDV is more difficult to edit since frames are not independent of one another. Avid provides a workflow that allows you to edit natively with HDV-compressed video without requiring a transcode to frame-based media, and without limiting where you make your cuts. The Avid editing system uses a technique called long-GOP splicing when encoding an HDV MPEG-2 sequence for export. For more information, see “Long-GOP Splicing for HDV Encoding”. HDV uses MPEG-2 video encoding and MPEG-1 audio encoding. 1080i records at about 25Mbps and 720p records at about 19Mbps. Sony provides HDV cameras that record at 1080i/59.94 and 1080i/50. JVC cameras record at 720p/29.97 and 720p/23.976. In the 1080i formats, the data rate of the video is reduced before compression by horizontally resizing the video display (raster) from 1920 x 1080 pixels to 1440 x 1080 pixels. In contrast, 720p HDV uses the standard raster size of 1280 x 720. A special resolution, DNxHD-TR (for Thin Raster), improves the performance of 1080i HDV editing. This resolution matches the 1080i HDV raster size, reducing artifacts that would come from repeated compressions when rendering effects and graphics. 86 What is HDV Media? Long-GOP Splicing for HDV Encoding The Avid editing system uses a technique called long-GOP splicing when encoding an HDV MPEG-2 sequence for export. When you export to an HDV device, the application uses splicing to reconstruct only the edited sections of the media, such as cut points, transitions, and segments that contain effects. Other areas of the sequence are copied intact. The result is faster encoding at higher quality. 87 Chapter 4 Conforming HDV Media Scenario: Conforming an HDV Sequence After HD material is captured and edited on Avid editing system, it can be exported to an Avid DS Nitris workstation for the post-production finishing. The following is a basic workflow for conforming an HDV sequence. ; Step Refer to On an Avid editing system: Create an offline project with the proper frame rate. “Conforming Workflow” in the Avid Media Composer Help. Select one of the following Avid project types depending on the format in which your HDV camera records: • 1080i/59.94 HDV • 1080i/50 HDV • 720p/29.97 HDV Capture HDV media. “Capturing and Importing HDV” in the Avid Media Composer Help. Build the sequence. “Conforming Workflow” in the Avid Media Composer Help. Transcode the media. This step will create new metadata and media. “Using the Transcode Command” in the Avid Media Composer Help. Select a video format that is valid for Avid DS Nitris: • DNxHD-TR 145 • DNxHD 220 • DNxHD 145 n 88 When offlining your project, transcoding to DNXHD-TR may lead to much better performance. Scenario: Conforming an HDV Sequence ; Step Refer to Export as an AFE file so that you can recreate the newly transcoded sequence on Avid DS Nitris. “Exporting Frames, Clips, and Sequences” in the Avid Media Composer Help. If you are sharing media, be sure to save it on a workspace that can be accessed by the Avid DS Nitris workstation. Depending on the version of your Avid editing system, you can also export your sequence through Avid MediaLog. On the Avid DS Nitris system: Create a sequence with a frame rate that matches that of the source tapes and is compatible with the AFE format. “Create a Sequence and Master Clips from an Imported AFE File” in the Help. Import the AFE file. “Importing AFE Files” in the Help. Open the AFE file from the DS Explorer and drag the sequence or master clips to the timeline. “Create a Sequence and Master Clips from an Imported AFE File” in the Help. n Avid DS will relink to the HDV media. (This is the case ONLY for MXF files.) Also refer to “Sharing Media” in the Help. Depending on the number and types of effects, you “AFE Effects Support Table” for may need to process or recreate effects. a list of supported effects. Also refer to the AAF/AFE Conform Log as you review the sequence. Finish and output the project. “Outputting Media” in the Help. 89 Chapter 4 Conforming HDV Media 90 Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment A workgroup that contains different Avid hardware and software applications is better managed by integrating it into the Avid Interplay environment. Avid Interplay Access is the component that allows you to manage, search, and browse captured material, AFE sequences, and AAF files in a shared storage environment. It must be installed on the Avid DS or the Avid DS Assist workstation. You can choose to install it on the Avid editing system or use the Interplay Window, which is a built-in lighter version of the Avid Interplay Access that allows you to work with clips and sequences in a shared storage environment. For more information on the Interplay Window, see “Working with the Interplay Window” in Avid Media Composer Help. This chapter provides a basic workflow for transferring and conforming media when Avid DS participates in an Avid Interplay workgroup environment. • Scenario: Conforming Projects with Avid DS in an Interplay Environment Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment Scenario: Conforming Projects with Avid DS in an Interplay Environment A typical scenario that would warrant the use of Avid DS in an Interplay environment is when media is captured by Avid AirSpeed, offlined and edited on an Avid editing system such as Avid Media Composer, and then finished on Avid DS. The finished sequence is finally sent to Avid AirSpeed for broadcast or playback. This last step requires the Avid Interplay Transfer application. The Avid Interplay Transfer server must be running on the Avid Unity ISIS, while the Avid Interplay Transfer client must be running on Avid Media Composer. This workflow assumes that the Avid Interplay database is set up properly and that Avid Unity ISIS has been configured with the necessary workspaces. It also assumes that all required media has been captured or ingested from Avid AirSpeed, and stored on Avid Unity ISIS so that it is available for offline editing and finishing. Finished media sent out for broadcast Avid AirSpeed Media files captured and stored on Avid Unity ISIS Avid Media Composer workstation Avid DS workstation Avid DS Media Indexer only indexes media in the DS workspace Avid Interplay Media Indexer indexes media in the Interplay and DS workspaces Avid Unity ISIS 94 Scenario: Conforming Media in an Interplay Environment You should follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to a topic within a Step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. (Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous link). ; Step Refer to Configure Avid DS in an Avid Interplay Environment. “Setting up Avid DS in an Interplay Environment” On the Avid Media Composer system: Offline edit your project. “Conforming Workflow” in the Avid Media Composer Help. Consolidate the sequence to the Avid DS workspace on the Avid Unity ISIS. “Consolidating a Sequence to an Avid DS Workspace” Export the AFE sequence to Avid DS “Exporting the Finished Sequence to Avid DS” On the Avid DS system: Import the AFE sequence and finish. “Opening the AFE and Finishing the Sequence” Export the AAF sequence to Avid Media Composer. “Exporting the AAF Sequence back to the Avid Editing System” On the Avid Media Composer system: Import the AAF sequence. “Importing the AAF in the Avid Editing System” Send the finished sequence to Avid AirSpeed for broadcast. “Sending Media to Avid AirSpeed” Subtopics Setting up Avid DS in an Interplay Environment 93 Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment Setting up Avid DS in an Interplay Environment For successful conforming and transfer of media between the different workstations, the administrator configuring the hardware and software components in the Interplay environment must follow these steps. Each time you link to a topic within a Step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. (Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous link). ; Step On the Avid Unity ISIS system, create a dedicated “Managing Workspaces” in the Avid DS workspace. This will ensure that the DS Avid Unity ISIS Help. media indexer only indexes files that are pertinent to Avid DS. This includes media consolidated from other Avid Editors as well as media captured and processed with Avid DS. Connect to the Avid Unity ISIS system. “Connecting to the Avid Unity ISIS Media Network” in the Avid Unity ISIS Help. Mount the workspace that you created. “Mounting and Unmounting Workspaces” in the Avid Unity ISIS Help. In the dedicated Avid DS workspace, organize your “Sharing MXF Media” Create one for each of the following media types: Refer to • DS generic audio • DS generic video • MXF audio (purgeable) — Read Only • MXF video (purgeable) — Read Only • MXF audio (non-purgeable) • MXF video (non-purgeable) Name each folder appropriately, e.g. DS_gen_video. n 94 The NON-purgeable folders do not need to be on the dedicated DS workspace. As long as they are indexed by the DS indexer, they can be stored on another workspace. Scenario: Conforming Media in an Interplay Environment ; Step Make sure that the Interplay Media Indexer has “Configuring a Media Indexer to been properly configured. It must be set up to index Monitor Shared Storage” in the the following: Avid Interplay Software Installation and Configuration • //Avid MediaFiles folder in the DS workspace Guide. • MXF audio (non-purgeable) • Refer to MXF video (non-purgeable) On Avid AirSpeed, define the destination for the captured media. “Send Tab” in the Avid AirSpeed Help. Install Avid Interplay Access on the Avid DS workstation. Avid Interplay Engine and Avid Interplay Installation Guide. Install Avid Interplay Access on the Avid Media Composer workstation. Avid Interplay Engine and Avid Interplay Installation Guide. Make sure that Avid Interplay Transfer server is running on a dedicated Transfer server machine. Avid Interplay Transfer Setup and User’s Guide. Make sure that Avid Interplay Transfer client is installed and running on Avid Media Composer. Avid Interplay Transfer Setup and User’s Guide. Connect the Avid editing system and the Avid DS workstation to the Interplay database. “Connecting to the Interplay Database” in the Avid Interplay Access Help. On Avid DS, make sure the DS Indexer has been properly configured. It must be set up to index the following: “Configuring the Avid DS Media Indexer in an Interplay Environment”. • //Avid MediaFiles folder in the DS workspace • DS generic audio folder • DS generic video folder • DS MXF audio folder • DS MXF video folder Subtopics Configuring the Avid DS Media Indexer in an Interplay Environment Related Topics Purging Media 93 Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment Configuring the Avid DS Media Indexer in an Interplay Environment The storage areas that hold your Avid DS media must be configured within your Avid DS workstation’s media indexing service. This service will index only the Avid DS storage areas rather than the entire Avid Unity ISIS storage. n By default, the media indexer sets any new storage areas to automatically have full read/write access by any user on the network. To restrict access to your media, you can change the share permissions through Windows—see “Sharing Folders and Setting Permissions”. To configure your media indexing service: 1. In Avid DS Nitris, select Data Management > Configure Storages. The Media Storage Configuration - Current Project dialog box displays the media indexing services that are configured for your workstation. Your workstation’s media indexing service is indicated by the computer name 2. Select your workstation’s media indexing service, and click the Change button. 94 Scenario: Conforming Media in an Interplay Environment The Media Indexing Service dialog box displays. 3. Leave the workstation name as it is and click the Change button. 4. To add a new storage, click the Add button. If you need to modify or delete a storage, click the Help button for instructions. 5. The Available Storage Types dialog box, select Avid Media Storage and click OK. You will need to add each of the folders that were created on the DS workspace on the Avid Unity ISIS for the different media types: generic audio, generic video, MXF audio, MXF video, and non-purgeable MXF audio and video. 6. Use the Browse (...) button to locate each folder. For example, \\Unity\allocation\workspace\folder_name. Do NOT use a drive letter. 93 Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment Make sure you select the correct media type for each storage folder 7. Select the media type that you will store in this folder. You will need to repeat steps 7 to 10 for each of the folders until you specify the information for the last media storage. For this storage folder Select these options DS generic audio Avid DS generic audio (.wav) DS generic video Avid DS generic video (.gen) MXF audio (purgeable) — Read Only MXF audio files (.mxf) MXF video (purgeable) — Read Only MXF video files (.mxf) MXF audio (non-purgeable) • MXF audio files (.mxf) • Prevent purge of media on this storage • MXF video files (.mxf) • Prevent purge of media on this storage MXF video (non-purgeable) When you select Prevent purge of media on this storage, then the media will not be purged when media from other Avid DS projects are purged. 94 Scenario: Conforming Media in an Interplay Environment 8. From the Disk Controller Type list, select the card that is installed in your workstation. 9. From the Disk Storage Type list, select Avid Unity ISIS. 10. Click OK. The storage area is added to the Media Storage Configuration list. Avid DS shared storage name Storage areas will be listed here as they get added Each storage area is uniquely identified by the workstation name and folder on which the media resides. These storages are accessed and indexed in the order in which they are listed. Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to change the order of priority. 93 Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment 11. Click Close and then OK to return to the Media Storage Configuration Workstation dialog box. Avid DS shared storage name 12. Click the Close button to save the configuration for the media indexing service. The first time that you configure your storage, the media indexer will need to index the media on your storage device. This may take a while depending on the amount of media that is already on your storage. Consolidating a Sequence to an Avid DS Workspace After you’ve done the offline editing on the Avid editing system, you must consolidate the sequence. This step copies only the portions of media files edited into the sequence and creates new master clips for each clip in the sequence. The file name extension .new is attached to the master clips, along with incremental numbering beginning with .01. The sequence is not renamed but is automatically relinked to the new media files. Consolidating the finished sequence will also gather any dispersed media and transfer it from the main Avid Unity worskpace to the Avid DS workspace. To consolidate the sequence: 1. On the Avid editing system, open the bin and select the finished sequence. 2. From the Clip menu, select Consolidate/Transcode. 94 Scenario: Conforming Media in an Interplay Environment The Consolidate/Transcode window opens. 3. Do the following: - Select the Consolidate option - Select Video and audio on the same drives - Select the DS Workspace. 4. Click Consolidate. A progress bar is displayed showing the status of the process. 93 Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment Exporting the Finished Sequence to Avid DS Avid DS cannot directly open projects from Media Composer or other Avid editing systems. To use the sequence in Avid DS, you must export it in an intermediate file format known as AFE. AFE files are based on the AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) technology and are designed especially for sharing information among Avid applications. AFE files let you transfer one or more bins, their contents, and information about the contents, including master clips, subclips, and sequences. AFE export Avid Media Composer workstation Interplay Database AFE import Use Avid Interplay Access to check in the AFE to the Interplay database Avid DS workstation To export the sequence as an AFE: 1. Select the finished sequence. 2. From the File menu, select Export. 3. In the Export window, navigate to the location where you want to save the AFE. 4. Select Avid DS for the Export Setting. 5. Click Save. 94 Scenario: Conforming Media in an Interplay Environment 6. Go to File > Export and select the AFE in the Export dialog box. 7. Launch Avid Interplay Access and drag the AFE to the appropriate destination folder. 8. Click OK. You can enter a comment for the file. The AFE is now checked in to the Access database. Opening the AFE and Finishing the Sequence After you have exported your AFE and media to a location where it can be accessed by Avid DS, you can import the AFE into your project. AFE export Avid Media Composer workstation Interplay Database AFE import Use Avid Interplay Access to check out the AFE from the Interplay database Avid DS workstation To import the AFE sequence: 1. Open an Avid DS project with the proper frame rate. 2. Launch Avid Interplay Access and navigate to the location of the AFE file. 3. Right-click the file and select Check out. 4. Click OK. 5. Drag the file from the Avid Interplay Access to the DS Explorer. 6. In the DS Explorer, double-click the AFE to open the bin. 93 Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment 7. Double-click the bin to display its contents. Master clips Sequence The contents will include master clips, subclips, and sequences. For a description of Avid editing system icons, see “AAF/AFE List”. 8. Drag the sequence to the first track of the timeline. Avid DS creates master clips in your project folder, and the sequence automatically links to the media on your storage device. All cuts, edits, and effects applied in the Avid editing system are visible on the timeline. 9. You can now finish the sequence in Avid DS. 94 Scenario: Conforming Media in an Interplay Environment Exporting the AAF Sequence back to the Avid Editing System Once you have finished the sequence, you must export the sequence to the Avid Media Composer using the Timeline to MC feature. It allows you to quickly generate an AAF and MXF file of a timeline selection that can be later imported directly into Avid Media Composer. All effects applied in Avid DS will automatically be processed during the export. AAF import Avid Media Composer workstation Interplay Database AAF export Use Avid Interplay Access to check in the AAE to the Interplay database Avid DS workstation To export a Avid DS sequence to the Avid editing system: 1. Select the timeline ribbon of the entire timeline. This way, all video and audio tracks including any timeline and track effects are included. Any unprocessed area in the timeline will be processed as the AAF is generated Timeline ribbon 2. From the NLE toolbar, select Generate > Timeline to MC. 93 Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment n When you export the sequence, the processed media will be stored in the non-purgeable MXF storage folder. You must have your MXF storage correctly configured to access this option—see “Configuring Storages for MXF Files”. The Timeline to Media Composer Options window is displayed. 3. In the Locations box, do the following: - Directory: Browse to the directory where the AAF will be export to and stored. If you save it to your project, then it will be archived when archiving your project. - 94 Filename: Enter a name for the AAF Scenario: Conforming Media in an Interplay Environment - AAF Export: Browse to the location where you want the AAF to be exported to and stored. - Make sure that the Video Storage and Audio Storage are pointing to the correct path on the Avid Unity ISIS. For more information on the options, see “Timeline to MC”. 4. Click OK. The AAF is displayed in the DS Explorer. 5. Launch Avid Interplay Access. 6. Check in the AAF file by dragging it from the DS Explorer to the designated folder on Avid Interplay Access 7. Click OK. You can enter a comment for the file. Importing the AAF in the Avid Editing System Now you must import the AAF back to Avid Media Composer so that you can send it to Avid Airspeed. AAF import Interplay Database AAF export Use Avid Interplay Access to check out the AAE from the Interplay database Avid Media Composer workstation Avid DS workstation To import the AAF: 1. On the Avid Media Composer workstation, launch Avid Interplay Access and navigate to the folder where you checked in the AAF file. 2. Right-click the file, and select Check Out. 93 Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment 3. Click OK. 4. Drag the file from Avid Interplay Access to the bin in Avid Media Composer. You are now ready to send the media for broadcast. 94 Scenario: Conforming Media in an Interplay Environment Sending Media to Avid AirSpeed When sequences are completed and ready for broadcast, they can be sent to Avid AirSpeed for broadcast. To send finished sequence to Avid AirSpeed: 1. On the Avid Media Composer, select the finished sequence. 2. Go to Transfer > Send to Playback. 3. Choose the Avid Airspeed device where you want to send the media. The sequence and associated media files are sent to the Avid Airpseed device ready for broadcast. A copy of these are also stored on the Avid Unity ISIS. 93 Chapter 5 Conforming in an Avid Interplay Environment 94 Getting Started This section includes information to help you get started with Avid DS Nitris. • Prerequisites • Starting a Project • Working on the Desktop • Capturing Material • Getting Ready to Edit • Creating a First Cut • Refining the Edit • Applying Effects • Working with Effects • Processing • Adding Graphics and 2D Titles • Compositing • Outputting a Sequence • Conforming 112 Prerequisites The Avid DS Nitris system lets you create broadcast-quality output, incorporating every possible production element—from full-speed, high-resolution footage, to multimedia artwork and animation, to computer-generated effects and titling. n The Avid DS Nitris documentation describes the features and hardware of all models. Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation. The Getting Started Guide consists of 13 chapters of the basic information you’ll need to get working in Avid DS Nitris. The following table lists the approximate amount of time needed to complete each chapter. Chapter Time to complete Chapter 1: Starting a Projectt 15 minutes Chapter 2: Working on the Desktop 30 minutes Chapter 3: Capturing Materiall 60 minutes Chapter 4: Getting Ready to Edit 30 minutes Chapter 5: Creating a First Cut 45 minutes Chapter 6: Refining the Edit 30 minutes Chapter 7: Applying Effects 90 minutes Chapter 8: Working with Effects 30 minutes Chapter 9: Processing 15 minutes Chapter 10: Adding Graphics and 2D Titles 30 minutes Prerequisites Chapter Time to complete Chapter 11: Compositing 60 minutes Chapter 12: Outputting a Sequence 20 minutes Chapter 13: Conforming 45 minutes Before you begin... Before using the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide, your Avid DS Nitris system should be properly configured with the appropriate hardware. You should also have a working knowledge of your computer and its operating system. You must know how to use the mouse or pen, standard menus and commands, as well as how to open, save, and close files. If you need to review these techniques, refer to Windows online help. Subtopics Installing the DivX Codec and QuickTime Installing the DivX Codec and QuickTime Before you can view or capture the media files for this guide, you will need to install the DivX codec and Apple QuickTime (if you do not already have them). • DivX codec: Install the free standard codec from: www.divx.com/divx/ • QuickTime: Install the latest version of QuickTime from www.apple.com/quicktime/ Using the Avid DS Training Edition If you are using the software-only Avid DS Training Edition, you should know that although it functions just like the software running on Avid DS Nitris systems, there are some notable exceptions: 114 • A license or hardware key (dongle) is not needed to run the Avid DS Training Edition. • You won’t be able to output to tape or file, nor export OMF, EDL, or AAF files. • There are no indexing services. • Any archives created within Avid DS Training Edition can only be used on other Avid DS Training Editions. • Archiving is limited to project data (media cannot be included). • Remote processing is not available. Accessing the Media • Captured and processed media, sequences, clips, and presets use a different format than the standard Avid DS Nitris software. Accessing the Media The media files that you’ll be using in this guide were installed along with the Avid DS Nitris software. You can find the media in the C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_vX\Media_GetStarted folder. In addition, you’ll need a videotape with some material on it to practice capturing material from tape and outputting to tape. Logging on to Your Workstation Before you start Avid DS Nitris, you must log on to your workstation with your Windows user name and password. Since many users can work on the same workstation at different times, Windows gives you security and a unique user profile, so as not to conflict with the settings of other users. Your Avid DS Nitris environment can be customized. If you set any personal or project preferences while logged on, Avid DS Nitris saves them to your user profile. The next time you log on to that workstation, it recalls your previous settings. To log on to your workstation: 1. When the Welcome to Windows dialog box is displayed, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete. 2. In the Log On to Windows dialog box, enter your user name and password. 3. Click OK. Once you have logged on to Windows, you can access your applications and files. Avid DS button To start Avid DS Nitris, do one of the following: t Double-click the Avid DS vX icon on the Windows desktop. t Select Start > Programs > Avid Products > Avid DS vX> Avid DS vX. The Open Project dialog box displays. 115 Prerequisites Later on, when you have created a project, here’s how you can exit Avid DS Nitris. For now, do not exit Avid DS Nitris. To exit Avid DS Nitris, do one of the following: t Select File > Exit. t Click the X (close) button at the top-right corner of the title bar. t Press Alt+F4. When you exit Avid DS Nitris, any changes that you made to the desktop layout or user preferences are saved with your user profile and recalled the next time you log on to the workstation. Accessing the Help System Avid DS Nitris comes with a comprehensive help system that contains information on all the interface elements, as well as task information. If you’re looking for information on a particular interface element or property page parameter, or need help performing a task, the online help is the place to look. The following topics explain how to use the Help system: • “Understanding the Help System” on page 117 • “Finding Information Within Help” on page 119 • “Printing Help Topics” on page 122 There are two ways to access the Help system: • From the Help menu • From windows and dialog boxes—see “Getting Context-Sensitive Help” on page 117. To open the Help system: t Select Help > Contents and Index or press F1. The Help window opens, and the Help splash screen displays. Related Topics Getting Context-Sensitive Help 116 Understanding the Help System Getting Context-Sensitive Help Help icon or button Tooltips Every view, property page, dialog box, and pop-up menu contains a Help icon or button which displays context-sensitive information when clicked. Avid DS Nitris uses small pop-ups called tooltips to display the name of desktop elements when they have no text label. Position the pointer over an interface element, such as an icon, and pause for a second. A tooltip with the name of the element appears. Avid DS Nitris provides you with a quick way to get Help for many views, dialog boxes, and property pages. Within these context-sensitive topics, you can view specific information about items, such as options and individual buttons, and link to related topics. To get help for a view, dialog box, or property page with a Help button: t Click the Help button (either a question mark or a button labeled Help, or How To...). The context-sensitive Help topic is displayed. Related Topics Understanding the Help System Understanding the Help System The Help system uses the following main display areas: • Help topics open in the right area of the Help window—see “Help Topics” on page 118. • Buttons for controlling the Help display and for printing Help topics appear in the top area of the Help window—see “Top Area Buttons” on page 118. • Navigation tools (Contents, Index, Search, and Favorites) open in the left area of the Help window—see “Finding Information Within Help” on page 119. Once the Help window is open, it behaves in much the same way as most other windows. You can resize it and reposition it to suit your screen layout and workflow. 117 Prerequisites Help Topics The information in the Help is displayed in the right area of the Help window. All topics have the following items above the main heading: • Hierarchy links These links display the location of the currently displayed topic within its book and chapter, and let you jump to relevant higher-level topics, including the Main Topics page. • Previous Topic and Next Topic buttons Use these buttons to browse through the topics in the order in which they appear in the Contents. Previous Topic Next Topic Hierarchy links Current topic The Help system includes task-oriented procedures as well as background and reference information. At the bottom of many topics are links to related topics. Showing and Hiding Additional Information Some Help topics include a link labeled “More Information.” Click this link or the turndown arrow to see conceptual or background information related to the procedure. This information is displayed with a colored border on top and bottom. To return to the original display, click the link or arrow again. Related Topics Top Area Buttons Top Area Buttons The top area of the Help window contains four buttons that allow you to change the Help display and print Help topics. The following table describes these buttons. 118 Finding Information Within Help Button Illustration Hide/Show Description Click the Hide button to hide the navigation area on the left and reduce the width of the Help window. The button changes to the Show button. Click the Show button to reveal the navigation area on the left and expand the width of the Help window. The button changes to the Hide button. Back and Forward These buttons work like the Back and Forward buttons in an Internet browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. Use the buttons to move among recently visited topics. Print Click this button to print one or more topics—see “Printing Help Topics” on page 122. Related Topics Help Topics Finding Information Within Help The left area of the Help window displays the Help system’s main navigation tools within a tabbed interface. For more information, see the following topics: • Using the Contents Tab • Using the Index Tab • Using the Search Tab • Advanced Search Options • Using the Favorites Tab Using the Contents Tab The Contents tab displays a complete hierarchical list of all topics in the Help system. You can expand and collapse the contents to view the logical organization of the Help system. Click on a topic to display the entry to the right. 119 Prerequisites Related Topics Using the Index Tab Using the Search Tab Advanced Search Options Using the Favorites Tab Using the Index Tab The Index tab provides an alphabetized list of entries similar to the index of a printed book. To find an index entry, type the first few letters of a keyword in the text box at the top of the tab. As you type, the index jumps to the range of entries that correspond to the letters you have typed. To view the topic associated with an index entry, either click the index entry and then click Display, or double-click the entry. Related Topics Using the Contents Tab Using the Search Tab Advanced Search Options Using the Favorites Tab Using the Search Tab The Search tab lets you search the entire text of the Help system for one or more words and then lists the topics that include those words. The list of results is ranked, placing the topics that the Search feature considers most likely to be relevant at the top of the list. Advanced Search Options Advanced search options let you control how the Search feature operates. If the Search feature does not produce useful results for a particular topic, you can often find the specific information you need by modifying the search. Search Syntax The following syntax rules control search queries: • 120 Searches are not case-sensitive, so you can type your search in uppercase or lowercase characters. Finding Information Within Help • You can search for any combination of letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9). • Punctuation marks, such as period, colon, semicolon, comma, and hyphen are ignored. • Search for a literal phrase by using quotation marks. • If you are searching for a filename with an extension, you should group the entire string in double quotes (“filename.ext"). Otherwise, the search will treat the period as an OR operator. • You can use wildcards such as ? or *. • You can use Boolean operators of AND, OR, and NOT. Searching Within Previous Search Results To narrow down a search that has produced too many results, select Search previous results to limit a search to the results of the previous search. Including Similar Words in Searches By default, searches include words similar to those you have typed. For example, if you type “light,” the search will also look for occurrences of the word “lights.” You can narrow a search by deselecting this option. Searching Topic Titles Only To limit your search to the words in topic titles only, select Search titles only. Related Topics Using the Contents Tab Using the Index Tab Using the Favorites Tab Using the Favorites Tab The Favorites tab allows you to keep a list of topics you want to access frequently. To add the currently displayed topic to your list: t Click Add. The topic name appears in the Topics list. To display a favorite topic, do one of the following: t In the Topics list, click the name of the topic, and then click Display. t In the Topics list, double-click the name of the topic. 121 Prerequisites The topic appears in the right area of the Help window. To remove a topic from the list of favorites: t In the Topics list, click the name of the topic, and then click Remove. Related Topics Using the Contents Tab Using the Index Tab Using the Search Tab Printing Help Topics The Help system gives you the option of printing either the currently displayed topic or all of the topics within the current chapter. Print button To print the currently displayed topic: 1. In the top button area, click Print. 2. In the Print Topics dialog box, select Print the selected topic, and then click OK. 3. In the Print dialog box, select any print options you want, and then click Print. n The printed version of the topic shows only the text that is currently displayed on screen. If the topic includes additional information and you want that information to appear in the printed version, make sure that the additional information appears onscreen. To print all topics in the current chapter: 1. In the top button area, click Print. 2. In the Print Topics dialog box, select Print the selected heading and all subtopics, and then click OK. 3. In the Print dialog box, select any print options you want, and then click Print. n 122 Topics that you print from the Help have limited page layout and formatting features. For a higher quality version of the information, print from the PDF version of the manuals included on the Avid DS Nitris Software and Drivers DVD. Finding Other Resources Finding Other Resources The Help is your one-stop source for answers to your questions. There are web links to the Avid DS community forums, training resources, Customer Service, and the Knowledge Center. We’re always looking for ways to provide you with better information. The Support Center web site has a feedback form, where you can send us requests for more information. Contacting Avid Customer Support Avid DS Customer Support offers assistance by phone, email, and the web. You are invited to send your support requests to any of these channels. For urgent issues that require immediate assistance, use your local phone support channel. If you are having trouble using your system: 1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide. It is especially important to check each step of your workflow. 2. Check the Avid DS Support Center at http://www.softimage.com/avidds for the latest information that might have become available. E-mail Support The e-mail address for Avid DS Customer Support is: dssupport@avid.com. You can use it for sending bug reports, usability questions, and avidds.cab audit reports for system analysis. All e-mails are logged in the support database and assigned a case number. Send one support request per e-mail. n It is mandatory that you include your SID number in the body of your email message for verification of your maintenance contract and case logging. Otherwise, response will be delayed. Web Support The Avid DS Support Center at http://www.softimage.com/avidds provides quick access to a wide range of resources from the Avid DS team—online documentation, tutorials, known limitations and other late-breaking information. All software and driver updates can be downloaded from the Avid Download Center http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/index.asp. 123 Prerequisites Upload Utility For troubleshooting purposes, you can upload your files for Avid Customer Support personnel to examine. You can upload a project's archive, media files, or other necessary data. Simply zip the files that you need to upload and use a short name (for easy retrieval), such as archive.zip or Case274877.zip. To upload your files: 1. Go to the Avid web site at http://www.softimage.com/avidds. 2. Select Support and Upload Tool from the left menu. Avid Community Forum Although the Avid DS community forum is frequently monitored by Avid employees, it is not part of the official support channels. The forum has proven to be quite useful for users, and there is a constant stream of new subscribers. To subscribe, join the Avid community forums on the Avid web site at http://www.avid.com. Select Support > Forums. Avid Training Services Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and convenient. Avid understands that the knowledge that you need to differentiate yourself is always changing, and Avid continually updates course content and offers new training delivery methods that accommodate your pressured and competitive work environment. To learn more about Avid’s new online learning environment, Avid Learning Excellerator (ALEX), visit http://learn.avid.com. For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and books, visit www.avid.com/training or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843). 124 Chapter 2 Starting a Project This chapter introduces you to the Avid DS Nitris post-production process. You will learn how to create a project in Avid DS Nitris. This chapter takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. • The Digital Post-Production Process • Working with Project Files and Media • Creating a New Project Chapter 2 Starting a Project The Digital Post-Production Process The Avid DS Nitris system is a digital post-production environment. Once you’ve acquired your footage in a digital format and put it on a storage device, Avid DS Nitris gives you complete, random access to the media with instant retrieval of clips and sequences. You also have quick, nonlinear access to any part of your sequence, as well as the ability to apply a wide variety of digital effects at any stage of your production. You can use the different tools and techniques available in Avid DS Nitris to complete your projects. You can build a production from start to finish, or you can import sequences “offlined” on other systems and proceed with your finishing tasks in Avid DS Nitris. After a project is complete, you can archive the media and files, making space for your next project. If you need to go back and re-edit a project, you can restore it at any time. The following illustration gives you an overview of the Avid DS Nitris production cycle. 126 The Digital Post-Production Process 2 “Offline” edit Create a rough cut of clips and decide on timing of cuts and transitions. If offlined externally, load *AAF, AFE, OMF files or EDLs, and digitize material from file, tape, or audio. Redigitize source material in full, uncompressed resolution from file or tape. 1 3 Capture material Fine-tune edit Digitize source material at low resolution directly from file or tape. Fine-tune timing of cuts, transitions, and other effects. 4 Apply effects - Create composites. - Add 2D and 3D effects. - Mix and sweeten audio. - Add titles and graphics. - Perform dust/scratch removal and color correction. 7 Archive the project - Archive project and/or media to tape. - Project and media can be restored at any time. Repeat if necessary 5 Process 6 Output media Output sequence to tape or file, such as .avi. Process all effects applied to clips and create new media files (source media remains untouched). *AAF: Advanced Authoring Format, AFE: Avid File Exchange, OMF: Open Media Framework, and EDL: Edit Decision List. 127 Chapter 2 Starting a Project Working with Project Files and Media It is important to understand how Avid DS Nitris handles your data, so that you can work efficiently when using large sizes of digitized video and audio files. When you capture material, the digitized media is placed on an external storage device, and the project files representing this media are stored in the DS Projects folder on your workstation’s local disk drive. The project files point Avid DS Nitris to the location of the corresponding digitized media on the storage device. Source material Clips refer to media on storage device. Captured video and/or audio are represented as master clips in Avid DS Nitris. Subtopics What is a Project? 128 Actual digitized material (media) is on storage device. Working with Project Files and Media What is a Project? A project contains all the clips and sequences required for your work in Avid DS Nitris. In Avid Explorer, which is a file browser similar to Windows Explorer, a project is represented as a folder that can contain many subfolders to organize all the elements related to your project. Projects contain master clips, sequences, and any special presets and/or scripts you create. Master clips are representations of the digitized source media. Sequences contain information about the edit decisions, composites, and effects you’ve applied to your clips. Master clips can be shared between sequences in the same project. A project also links and tracks master clips and sequences with their associated media, making file management easier. When you place clips on the timeline to build your sequence, they maintain pointers to the source media on the storage device. Any edits or effects that you apply to the clips are noted in the sequence when you save it. Clips, sequences, and presets (a customized set of properties saved for reuse on other projects) are all considered project files, and must be stored in the project folder. That way, you can easily archive, restore, and/or purge all files related to a project. When you archive a project, a copy of the media is saved to tape or disk and the project files are saved in the DS Archives folder on your local workstation. With the archived project files and associated media, you can reconstruct everything in your project when necessary. 129 Chapter 2 Starting a Project Creating a New Project As soon as you start Avid DS Nitris, you are prompted to open or create a project and sequence. When you create a project, you define the format for each sequence that you create in that particular project. You can change the video and audio quality settings during the course of your work according to the amount of storage space available. For example, if you want to conserve disk space, do a rough cut on material captured at low resolution or in compressed form. When the sequence is ready for finishing, redigitize the material you need, so you can work at the quality at which you will be outputting. n To change the default location of your project, select Add Project Root and follow the onscreen prompts. n Media Composer comparison: All sequences in a Media Composer project must use the same format. In Avid DS Nitris, a project can contain sequences with different formats. To create a project: 1 When you start Avid DS Nitris, the Open Project dialog box displays. Select the Local Projects Only option at the bottom-left. 2 Click the New Project button. 130 Creating a New Project 3 Give your project a name. We named ours My First Project. 4 Select the NTSC 4/3 video format. 5 Set the resolution, bit depth, and compression for capturing the video media. The frame details are usually set automatically. 6 Set the sample rate and bit depth for the audio media. 8 Save project preferences. 7 Get more information on each setting in this dialog box. A new sequence is opened and the Editing layout is displayed for you to start building a sequence. 9 Select File > Save. In the Save Sequence dialog box, name it Sequence1 and click OK. 131 Chapter 2 Starting a Project 132 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop In this chapter, you will be familiarizing yourself with some of the basic elements in Avid DS Nitris, such as the layouts, toolbars, dialog boxes, and menus. This chapter takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. • Restoring the Default Layout • Title Bar • Layouts • Using the Menus • Undoing and Redoing Actions • Status Bar • Accessing the Views • Using the Toolbars • Dialog Boxes • Entering Values • Using Keyboard Shortcuts Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop Restoring the Default Layout If your system was previously used by a different user, then you might not be viewing the default Editing layout. Before you start exploring the Avid DS Nitris desktop, you should restore the layout to its defaults. To restore the layout: 1. Select Layout > Restore Default Layout. A message window displays. 2. Click OK. 3. Close and restart Avid DS Nitris. In the Open Project dialog box, the name of your project is already highlighted. 4. Select Sequence1 and click the Open Sequence button on the right side of the dialog box. Name of last opened project is highlighted. Sequences available in this project. The layout is restored to its default settings. For more information, see “Layouts” on page 136 to see how the Editing layout should display. 134 Title Bar Title Bar The title bar at the top of the Avid DS Nitris window displays the name of the project and sequence, sequence video format, and buttons for minimizing, maximizing and closing the application window. Project name Sequence name Sequence settings Close/exit window Minimize window Maximize window 135 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop Layouts A layout contains tools for performing specialized tasks. Whether you’re digitizing media, editing, compositing, painting, or titling, there’s a corresponding layout for the job. The default layouts in Avid DS Nitris include: Editing, Effects, Graphics, Compositing, and 3D DVE. n n Tip: You can maximize any part of the desktop by selecting the section, for example, the Timeline or the Viewer, and hitting F12. If you want to maximize the viewer from anywhere on the desktop, hold down the Ctrl key and press F12. Media Composer comparison: Layouts are similar to Toolsets and Workspaces in Media Composer. Layouts contain views; some views are similar to tools, but others are collections of tools with options for customization. Layouts are customizable; you can add, remove, reposition, and resize most of the elements in a layout. You can also create custom layouts from scratch. You can rearrange the views on the desktop, or add new views and toolbars. 136 Layouts Toolbar contains commonly used tools grouped together to make certain tasks quicker and easier. All toolbars can be customized to accommodate your style of working. Menu bar contains commands, such as opening and saving projects and sequences, editing your layouts, and getting help. View is an area that contains a group of tools that are specific to the tasks you’ll perform in a layout. The Editing layout below shows the Avid Explorer view, a file management tool that is useful when handling files and editing. Taskbar is a navigational aid that lets you move between layouts that are optimized for particular tasks: editing, effects, graphics, compositing, or 3D DVE. Viewers display the output of your sequence at the position indicator. During a graphics session, they serve as an area to create and arrange titles and graphics objects. Status bar displays the timecodes of selected objects on the timeline, and provides toolbar, warning, error, and active command information. Transport controls let you preview media in the viewer or play sequences that have been edited on the timeline. Timeline is where you place and edit clips to build a sequence. It graphically displays the position of video and audio clips, transitions, and effects over time. View switcher lets you access different toolsets or views. Subtopics Accessing the Default Layouts Creating a New Layout Copying Layouts Saving Layouts Editing Existing Layouts Restoring Default Layouts 137 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop Importing a Layout Related Topics Avid Explorer Using the Menus Status Bar The Timeline Using the Toolbars Transport Controls Source and Record Viewers Accessing the Default Layouts Switching between the different layouts lets you access tools for particular tasks, such as editing, creating effects and graphics, compositing, and adding 3D DVE elements. When you click one of these buttons in the taskbar, its corresponding layout, views, and tools are displayed. n Tip: If you hover over active buttons on the desktop, such as the taskbar or transport controls, tooltips will appear to help you identify icons and provide keyboard shortcuts. Editing layout Taskbar Effects layout Graphics layout Compositing layout 3D DVE layout Compositing button Go to Top Timeline button Editing button 138 Layouts To switch layouts: 1. In the taskbar, click the Compositing button. The Compositing layout displays. Notice that the timeline and view have changed. You are now in a nested clip called a composite container clip. You’ll learn more about this later in “Compositing” on page 277. n Some of the layouts can’t be accessed unless a clip is selected on the timeline. 2. Return to the main timeline by clicking the Go to Top Timeline button at the lower end of the taskbar. A clip called Composite is created on the B1 background track on the timeline. This clip was automatically created when you switched to the Compositing layout. Background tracks are usually used for compositing. 3. Switch back to the Editing layout when you’re done. Creating a New Layout You can redesign the default layouts to best suit the tasks that you perform. You can create a completely new layout from scratch or base your layout on an existing one. To create a new layout: 1. In the taskbar, switch to the layout on which you want to base your blank one. 2. Select Layout > New Layout > Blank. 3. In the New Layout Name dialog box, enter a name for your layout and click OK. A new layout button is added to the taskbar. 4. Switch to the new layout by selecting the new layout button in the taskbar. The new, blank layout is displayed. 5. Select Layout > Edit Layout. To split the new layout into different sections, right-click and select one of the following: 139 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop Split Horizontally to split the layout horizontally. Split Vertically to split the layout vertically. Split Both Ways to split the layout horizontally and vertically. 6. Drag the split lines to the desired location and click to set the lines in place. 7. To add a view switcher, right-click the desired area of the new layout and select Add View Switcher. An empty view switcher is added to your layout. 8. To add a view, toolbar, or property editor, right-click and select Set View and one of the options from the menu. In this example, the animation editor is added to the layout. Its button appears in the view switcher. 9. Continue adding elements to your layout. When you’re done, turn off the Edit Layout mode by selecting Layout > Edit Layout. You are prompted to save your layout. 140 Layouts 10. Click the Save button. The changes are stored in your user profile. Each time you start Avid DS Nitris, these layouts are available. Copying Layouts Instead of creating a new, blank layout, it is sometimes more convenient to copy an existing layout from either the taskbar or the Layout menu, and then modify it to your liking. To copy a layout from the taskbar: 1. On the taskbar, right-click the button of the layout you want to copy and select Copy Layout. 2. In the New Layout Name dialog box, enter a name for your layout and click OK. A copy of the layout is displayed and a button is added to the taskbar. To copy a layout from the Layout menu: 1. From the Layout menu, select one of the following: t New Layout > Copy Layout and select a layout to copy. t New Layout > Copy Current Layout. 2. In the New Layout Name dialog box, enter a name for the layout. A copy of the layout you chose is displayed on the desktop. A button for the layout is added to the taskbar. 141 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop Saving Layouts When you save the changes you made to the layouts, they are stored in your user profile. Each time you start Avid DS Nitris, these layouts become available. To save a layout: 1. From the Layout menu, do one of the following: t Select Save Layouts. or t Deselect Edit Layout. A dialog box indicating the modified layouts is displayed. 2. To save changes to the layouts for future sessions, click Save. Editing Existing Layouts You can modify existing layouts by adding new tools or views, or resizing areas. To edit a layout: 1. Use the taskbar to switch to the layout that you want to modify. 2. Select Layout > Edit Layout. You can now edit your layout. 3. Deselect Layout > Edit Layout again to turn off the Edit Layout mode. Restoring Default Layouts If necessary, you can easily remove any modifications that you made to a specific layout by restoring its default settings. You can only restore the layout that you are currently in. So if you're in the Editing layout and restore it, only the Editing layout will be reverted to the default. You could, for example, revert the 3DDVE layout while keeping any customization for the Editing and Graphics layouts. To restore a layout: 1. Switch to the layout that you want to restore. 2. Select Layout > Restore Default Layout. You are prompted to restart Avid DS Nitris. 3. Exit and restart Avid DS Nitris. The layout is restored to its default settings. 142 Layouts Importing a Layout You can easily load an existing layout from another user or version of Avid DS Nitris. To use a personalized layout, you first have to export it before applying the following procedure. To import a layout: 1. Select Layout > Import/Export Preferences. 2. In the Preference Management dialog box, select the Import Preferences tab. 3. Do one of the following: - In the File Name text box, enter the name and location of the layout (preference set) that you want to import and press Enter. - Click Browse. In the Import Preferences file chooser, select a .AvidPrefs file to import and click OK. 4. Select the layout(s) that you want to import and click the Import button. You will be prompted to restart Avid DS Nitris when the import is complete. If you created your own layout, additional buttons appear in the taskbar. 143 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop Using the Menus Menus appear in different places to make it easy for you to access commands. • n The menu bar is displayed across the top of the desktop directly below the title bar. The commands in the menu bar include general operations related to opening and saving projects, as well as setting project preferences, customizing layouts, and accessing Help. When you open a menu, you will notice keyboard shortcuts to the right of some commands. Instead of opening a menu, you can use the keyboard shortcut. For example, to save a sequence, press Ctrl+S on the keyboard. Arrows indicate that additional commands are available. Keyboard shortcut • Pop-up menus are displayed by right-clicking individual elements or specific areas of the interface, such as the timeline, viewers, or tracks. These menus provide commands that are specific to the particular interface element you’ve chosen. Right-click an area of the desktop, such as the timeline. A pop-up menu displays with a list of commands that are related to that area. Click the Help button for detailed information on each command on this menu. 144 Undoing and Redoing Actions Undoing and Redoing Actions To correct errors while you’re working, you can undo and redo most operations. For example, you can recover the properties of an object that you recently edited by undoing the commands that you just applied to the object. You can undo commands as far back as the system memory can recall. This is limited by the number of undo levels that you have specified in your user preferences, and by the complexity of the operation you want to undo. An operation, such as purging media from a project, cannot be undone. For more information, see “User Preferences Dialog Box”. To undo a command or operation: t Select Edit > Undo or press Ctrl+Z. The command or operation is undone. You can keep using the Undo command until you recover the desired properties. To redo a command or operation: t Select Edit > Redo or press Ctrl+Y. The command or operation is redone. Status Bar The status bar at the bottom-right of the desktop displays the timecodes of selected objects on the timeline and provides status, warning, error, toolbar, and active command information, as well as the global animation controls. Avid DS Nitris Workgroup Status indicator shows the workgroup to which your workstation belongs. Timecode boxes display the timecodes of selected objects on the timeline. Hardware Sync Status indicator shows when external video and audio devices are synced. Audio Scrubbing button turns audio output on/off while scrubbing timeline. Viewer button turns viewer on/off. Global animation controls for recording keyframes and navigating between keyframes. Related Topics Animation Controls (Global in Status Bar) Timecode Boxes (Timeline Status Bar) 145 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop Accessing the Views Views contain groups of tools for creating, managing, and editing media. Clicking a button on the view switcher at the bottom-center of the desktop lets you switch to the different toolsets within a layout. In the Editing layout, Avid Explorer is the main view displayed on the left side of the desktop. View switcher Avid Explorer button To switch views: 1. Click any of the buttons in the view switcher to see each view. 2. Switch back to Avid Explorer view when you’re done. Subtopics Customizing the View Switcher Splitting Views Combo Views Customizing the View Switcher You can customize the view switcher by adding and removing views, as well as repositioning and resizing the buttons. You can also add a new customized view switcher to a layout. To add a view to the view switcher: 1. select Layout > Edit Layout. 2. Right-click the view switcher and select Add View. An empty button is added to the view switcher. 146 Accessing the Views 3. Right-click the area on the desktop where the new view will be located and select Set View. From the list, select a view, toolbar, or property editor for your new view. t To change the button in the view switcher, right-click a button in the view switcher and select Icon. 4. In the Change Icon dialog box, select an icon. 5. In the Name text box, enter a name for your icon and click OK. To customize the size and type of buttons in the view switcher: t Right-click the view switcher and select Text Buttons, Small Buttons, or Big Buttons. Text buttons Small buttons Big buttons To reposition the view switcher on the desktop: t Right-click the view switcher and select Position:Top, Position:Right, Position:Bottom, or Position:Left. The view switcher is repositioned at the top, right, bottom, or left of the view. To align the buttons: 1. Right-click the view switcher and select Align:Top, Align:Center, or Align:Bottom. 2. Select Layout > Edit Layout to exit the Edit Layout mode. 3. Save your new layout if desired. 147 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop To remove a view button from the view switcher: 1. Select Layout > Edit Layout. You are now in Edit Layout mode. 2. On the view switcher, right-click a button and select Remove View. To hide the view switcher: 1. Select Layout > Edit Layout. You are now in Edit Layout mode. 2. Right-click the view switcher and select Hide. 3. Select Layout > Edit Layout again to exit the Edit Layout mode. The view switcher is hidden. To add a view switcher to a view: 1. Select Layout > Edit Layout. 2. Right-click the area on the desktop where the new view switcher will be located and select Add View Switcher. An empty view is added to the layout. 3. Resize the view switcher by dragging the splitter bar to the desired position and click. To adjust the position of the splitter bar, drag it to a new position. 4. Select Layout > Edit Layout to exit the Edit Layout mode. 5. Save your new layout if desired. Splitting Views You can further customize your desktop by splitting a view. You can split views horizontally, vertically, or in both directions. To split a view: 1. Select Layout > Edit Layout. 2. In the area that you want to split (boundaries are highlighted in red), right-click and select one of the following: 148 - Split Horizontally - Split Vertically - Split Both Ways Accessing the Views Split Horizontally to split the view horizontally. Split Vertically to split the view vertically. Split Both Ways to split the view horizontally and vertically. 3. Select Layout > Edit Layout to exit the Edit Layout mode. You can display a view that’s not part of the current layout by opening it in a floating window. You can move floating views anywhere on the screen. If you switch layouts before closing a floating view, the view is hidden until you return to the layout in which you opened it. To open a view in a floating window: t Select View > Multi-Instance Views > view. If the view is not part of the current layout, it is displayed in a floating window. When you select a view that is part of the current layout, the view switcher updates and displays the tools of the view. Combo Views A combo view contains a group of tools for a particular task, such as the Graphics combo view. Unlike the fixed layouts, you can move the combo views around on the desktop. To open a combo view: 1. Select View > Default Combo Views > Graphics from the menu bar at the top of the application. The Graphics combo view displays. 149 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop This may be different than what you see in your version of Avid DS Nitris. It depends on what was last displayed. 2. Some of the tools in the Graphics combo view are dimmed for the moment. For now, move the combo view around on the desktop by dragging it by the title bar. 3. Close the combo view by clicking the close (X) button at the top-right corner. Later, you’ll learn more about the tools in this view—see “Adding Graphics and 2D Titles” on page 259. 150 Using the Toolbars Using the Toolbars The toolbars contain commonly used tools and effects. The buttons on the toolbar let you activate tools or commands, and apply effects. You’ll see one or more different types of toolbars in the layouts. The most common type of toolbar looks like this: NLE Tools toolbar Click a button to see additional commands. Other types of toolbars include the buttons above, beside, and below the viewers. Toolbars Subtopics Closing Toolbars Automatically Customizing Toolbars 151 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop Closing Toolbars Automatically Automatic closing of a toolbar lets you execute commands from any floating toolbar and then automatically closes the toolbar. This streamlines your desktop. n You can only auto-close floating toolbars. To set a toolbar to close automatically: t Right-click a floating toolbar and select Auto-Close Toolbar. To execute a command on a toolbar: 1. Select a clip, track, region, or node in an Effects Tree, and do one of the following: t Drag a preset from the floating toolbar to the timeline or an Effects Tree. t Click a preset button on the floating toolbar. The command is executed and the toolbar is automatically closed. To reopen a toolbar that closes automatically: t n Select View > Default Toolbar or User Toolbars, or use its keyboard shortcut. Tip: For quick access to a floating toolbar, assign a keyboard shortcut to it in the Command Mapping dialog box. Related Topics Command Mapping Dialog Box Customizing Toolbars Customizing the toolbars lets you personalize a toolbar with your favorite commands. You can also create a new toolbar and add commands, presets, and scripts to it. To show/hide the title bar: t Right-click a toolbar button and select or deselect Display Title bar. To customize the look of a toolbar: t To change the look of a toolbar, right-click a toolbar button, and select Button Theme > theme. There are eight different themes. To manipulate a toolbar: 152 t To copy a toolbar, right-click a toolbar and select Copy Toolbar. t To delete a toolbar, right-click a toolbar and select Delete Toolbar. Using the Toolbars To add presets to a toolbar: Presets let you preserve definitions for effects, transitions, graphics tools, etc. for later use. The default presets shipped with Avid DS are stored in the \DSPresets folder. Avid DS also creates a \DSPresets folder within each project folder, which lets you store presets specific to a particular project. 1. Drag or select a preset(s) from one of the following areas: - Avid Explorer or Windows Explorer. - A preset button on a toolbar. - The preset thumbnail in a property page. 2. Drop the preset(s) on one of the following: - An empty area of a toolbar. Buttons are created for each preset added to the toolbar. - A menu button on a toolbar. Each preset is added to the menu list. n Tip: A name is automatically given to the presets you add to a toolbar. To give the preset a name, press Shift while dropping the preset on a toolbar. In the Save Preset dialog box, type a name and description. To display hidden characters in a toolbar: t Right-click a button on a toolbar and select Show Hidden Items. The hidden characters in a toolbar are displayed in red. Subtopics Creating New Toolbars Customizing Toolbar Buttons Related Topics Saving Effects Creating New Toolbars To create a new toolbar: 1. To create a new toolbar, select Layout > New Toolbar. 2. Type in a name for the toolbar. 3. To add commands to your new toolbar, right-click the toolbar and select Customize Toolbar. 153 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop a. To add commands to the toolbar, select a category from the Command Categories list. b. From the Available Commands list, select a command and drag it to your toolbar. or a. To add a menu button to the toolbar, select Menu Button from the Available Commands list and drag it to your toolbar. You can add multiple commands to the menu button. or a. To add a preset to toolbar, open a property editor whose values you want to save as a preset. Drag the thumbnail from the property editor to a toolbar. b. In the Save Preset As dialog box, enter a name for the preset and add any comments. or a. To add a script to a toolbar, select View > Single-Instance Views > Script Editor. Drag a script from the Script Editor to a toolbar. Customizing Toolbar Buttons You can easily customize the size and look of toolbar buttons. To save space on the desktop, you can display them as long, thin buttons or display them larger for better visibility. You can also display the buttons in icon or text form, as well as choose from eight different “themes”. To customize toolbar buttons: t To change the buttons from text to icons or vice versa, right-click a toolbar and select Button Mode > mode. t To change the theme of the buttons, right-click a toolbar and select Button Theme > theme. t To change the size of the buttons, right-click a toolbar and select Button Size > size. t To move a button from one toolbar to another, press Shift and drag the button. t To copy a button, press Ctrl and drag the button to another toolbar. t To delete a button from a toolbar, right-click a button and select Remove Button. To add a button to a toolbar: t 154 Drag a button from another toolbar, the transport controls, or the viewer area to the desired toolbar and do one of the following: t Place the button on an empty area of a toolbar. t Place the button on a preset list button, which is indicated by a small triangle at the bottom-right of the button. Using the Toolbars The button is highlighted to indicate that you can add it to the list. To add a button to a toolbar using the Customize Toolbars window: 1. Right-click an empty area of a toolbar and select Customize Toolbars. 2. From the Command Categories, make a selection. 3. From the Available Commands list, select a command and drag it to the toolbar. To rearrange the items on a menu button: 1. Right-click a menu button (it has a small triangle at the bottom-right) and select Customize Menu Button. 2. Select an item on the left and use the Move Up, Move Down, and Remove Buttons. To rearrange toolbar buttons: 1. Right-click the toolbar and select Show Hidden Items to display all the hidden marks and line separators on the toolbar. This makes it easier to rearrange buttons. 2. Right-click and select Customize Toolbars. The Customize Toolbars windows is displayed. 3. From the Command Categories, select Toolbar. 4. From the Available Commands, drag any of the following to the toolbar, placing it where desired: Option Description Menu Button Creates a button from which you can access a pop-up menu Menu Separator Adds a line to the bottom of a pop-up menu. Drag it to a menu button. Preset List Button Creates a button from which you can access all the default effects Toolbar Empty Line Inserts a blank, horizontal space between buttons Toolbar Group Label Adds a label for a group of buttons Toolbar Horizontal Line Separator Inserts a horizontal line between buttons Toolbar Horizontal Space Separator Inserts an empty, horizontal space between buttons Toolbar Line Break Inserts a line break in a toolbar 5. When you’re done, right-click the toolbar and deselect Show Hidden Items. 155 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop Dialog Boxes A dialog box lets you set options and parameters. When you select a command in Avid DS Nitris, it often opens a dialog box, requiring you to provide input before the command can be executed. You cannot proceed with further operations while a dialog box is open. To open a dialog box: 1. Select File > User Preferences. To exit without applying changes, select the Cancel button or the close (X) button, or press the Esc or Alt+F4 keys. The changes you made are cancelled and the dialog box is closed. To apply any changes you made in this dialog box, click OK. 2. Keep the dialog box open for the next section on entering values. Entering Values The following example serves to illustrate one of several ways to enter numerical values in text boxes. You can choose the method that is the most convenient for you. There are also keyboard shortcuts available that let you quickly enter values and timecodes. To enter values in a text box: (The following example shows how to set the number of undo levels and the auto-save frequency.) 1. In the User Preferences dialog box (General property page), click in the Number of Undo Levels text box. 156 Dialog Boxes The contents of the text box is highlighted in blue. 2. Type in a new value for the number of times you can undo a task in Avid DS Nitris. The default is 50 and the maximum is 1000. 3. In the Autosave box, enter a new length of time to automatically save your sequence at regular intervals. 4. Click the Help button for detailed information on each parameter. You’ll find Help buttons or Help icons on all dialog boxes and property editors. 5. Click OK to apply the values and close the User Preferences dialog box. 157 Chapter 3 Working on the Desktop Using Keyboard Shortcuts Keyboard shortcuts let you quickly execute commands and access tools and views using a key or combination of keys on your keyboard. In Avid DS Nitris, you can define your own keyboard shortcuts. To customize keyboard shortcuts: 1 Select File > Command Mapping. In the Command Mapping dialog box, click 2 the New button. 3 Enter a name for the new template. A copy of the existing template is created and saved under the new name. You can customize it to optimize your work. 4 Select an item, depending on the shortcut you want to customize. 5 Select the command whose keyboard shortcut you want to change. Drag the command to a key on the onscreen keyboard. The key that you highlight will be your new shortcut. Tip: Press the Shift, Ctrl, or Alt keys to use them in a shortcut. 158 6 Click the Help button for detailed information on keyboard shortcuts. 7 Click OK when you’re done. Chapter 4 Capturing Material Capturing material is the process of creating media files from video or audio source material. This chapter describes how to capture material from different sources, such as videotape and file. This chapter takes approximately 60 minutes to complete. • Capturing Source Material • Configuring the External Device • Capturing from Tape • Capturing from File Chapter 4 Capturing Material Capturing Source Material Source material is the original, unaltered material from videotapes or digital recordings. This source material may come from a variety of sources, such as video, audio, animated sequences, graphics, and still images. When you capture material with Avid DS Nitris, you digitally transfer the source material to a format and storage disk that Avid DS Nitris can work with. During capture, Avid DS Nitris creates media files (in the form of master clips) based on parameters you set, such as in-points, out-points, and compression. Master clips contain information about the location of the media on your storage disk, the source data’s tape name, and the original in and out timecodes. With this information, you can recapture the material at any time. Master clips also include information about the video format, resolution, compression, audio format, and so on. Subtopics Avid Explorer Organizing your Project Files Changing the View Mode Identifying File Types in a Folder Avid Explorer Avid Explorer displays the hierarchical structure of files, folders, and drives on your workstation. When you select a project folder in Avid Explorer, it displays the related project files (clips, sequences, effects) in a window. This window is similar to the bin view in other Avid products like Media Composer and Film Composer. From Avid Explorer, you can capture clips, as well as organize sequences, clips and effects within your project. Avid Explorer (Main) button To access a bin: 1. Use the view switcher to switch to Avid Explorer if you are in a different view. 2. In the Project panel, double-click your project folder named My First Project. The contents of the folder are displayed on the right. 160 Capturing Source Material Avid Explorer tools let you control the content and arrangement of the folders and windows, and perform tasks. Windows display the contents of folders. You can display multiple windows. When a project is selected, this window displays master clips, sequences, and other project files. Panels display the contents of your system in a tree structure. Each panel can display one of three views: My System, Project, or Shortcuts. View modes include large icons, list, details, thumbnail, and script views. Folders usually contain source clips and other objects for use in your sequence. At the moment, the folders are empty because nothing has been captured. Avid Explorer tools let you navigate through and manage the contents of folders. The tools at the top of Avid Explorer let you navigate to different folders and change the display of information in a window. Show/Hide Panel 1 Cascade Capture Settings Show/Hide Panel 2 Tile Path Help 161 Chapter 4 Capturing Material Subtopics Organizing your Project Files Changing the View Mode Identifying File Types in a Folder Related Topics Avid Explorer Tools Bin Tools (Top) Organizing your Project Files Before capturing any material, you will create additional folders in your project folder to hold master clips. You may want to create separate folders for your video clips, audio clips, still images, and even one for custom presets. By organizing your project using a system of folders, you can locate files quickly and easily. To create a folder: 1. Make sure your project folder is selected in Avid Explorer. 2. Right-click an empty area of the window on the right and select New > Folder. A new folder is created within the project folder. 3. Type in a new name and press Enter. We created a folder called Master Clips for storing the master clips. 4. Continue adding as many folders as you need. You can create additional folders inside the new folders. Although it’s not necessary right now, here’s how you can delete any extra folders that are not needed. To delete a folder: t 162 Right-click a folder and select Delete. Capturing Source Material Changing the View Mode In a window, there are several views to help you locate clips for a sequence. The tools at the bottom of the window let you change the way the contents of the window are displayed. Go ahead and click any of the icons to see the various views. Large Icons view displays clips as large icons. List view displays clips as a list without details. List lets you select a customized view. Details view displays clips as a list with details. Script view displays both pictorial icons and clip information. Thumbnail view displays clips with pictorial icons. Related Topics Working with Bins Identifying File Types in a Folder Avid DS Nitris media files have their own icons, which appear on or beside clips. When an icon is highlighted in red, it means that Avid DS Nitris could not find any media associated with a clip. This clip must be recaptured before you can work with it. Icon File type Icon File type Audio clip Background or composite container clip Video clip Sequence Combined audio and video clip Still image Audio container clip Linked still image You may find it useful to see the extensions of file names. 163 Chapter 4 Capturing Material To see file name extensions on your system: 1. Open Windows Explorer. 2. Select Tools > Folder Options. 3. Select the View tab. Deselect this option. 4. Deselect the Hide extensions for known file types option and click OK. Configuring the External Device You’ll probably capture material from videotape or audiotape most of time. First, you’ll need to configure the device from which you will be capturing. To specify the settings for an external device, such as a videotape recorder (VTR) or deck, you’ll be using the Deck Configuration view. n Media Composer comparison: The Deck Configuration view combines the Deck Configuration and Deck Preference settings. Avid DS Nitris includes templates for many different types of devices. You can use the settings in the templates, or adjust them to suit your own requirements. You can also save the settings for your device as a preset, so that you don’t have to reconfigure the device each time you use it for capture or output. A preset is a customized set of properties that you save for reuse later on or for other projects. n 164 For the following procedure, you will need access to videotape material and a deck. Configuring the External Device To configure your tape deck: 1 Open the Deck Configuration view by selecting View > Multi-Instance Views > Deck Configuration. 2 Click the Fast Menu button and select Add New Deck Preset. Give the new preset a name. 3 Select the Thumbnails view. 4 Double-click the preset you created. A green checkmark indicates that it’s active. 6 Click the Help button for details on each parameter. 7 Click the Check Machine button. 5 Set the options for your device. 8 Click the Save button to save your deck preset. 9 Close the Deck Configuration view. Related Topics Configuring the External Device 165 Chapter 4 Capturing Material Capturing from Tape Although there are several ways to capture from tape, you’ll be using the Capture Tool to log and capture clips, so that you can later recapture them using frame-accurate timecode. To log and capture clips: 1 Open the Capture view by selecting View > Single-Instance Views > Capture Tool. 2 Click the Tape button. 3 Set the Log/Capture button to Capture. 4 Select your deck preset and click the Check button. 5 7 Enter number of extra frames to record before the in-point and after the out-point. Select a tape or name a new one. 6 Click the Target button and select a folder to hold the captured clips. If you created a folder for master clips, set this as the target folder. 9 Enter a base clip name to prefix all captured clips. The capture settings are displayed. Set the relevant options for your system. Do the same for the other four settings: Specify a storage location. Input Monitor 166 Select the channels you want to capture. 10 Click the Capture Settings button. 11 Set a compression level. 12 8 Audio Input Video Input Sync Source Capturing from Tape 13 On the transport controls in the Capture Tool, click the Play button to play the source material. Mark In In timecode Out timecode Play Duration timecode Mark Out Position indicator timecode 14 Click the Mark In button at the point at which you want to start the capture. The timecode of the in-point you selected is displayed in the In timecode box. 15 Use the transport controls in the Capture Tool to play or shuttle the tape to advance to the point at which you want to end the capture and click the Mark Out button. Tip: If you already know the in and out timecodes, you can type them in the In or Out timecode boxes. You can also enter a value for the duration and Avid DS Nitris will calculate the out-point, which is displayed in the Out timecode box. The Duration timecode box displays the length of material to be captured. 16 Click the Start Capture button in the upper-right corner of the Capture Tool. The clip appears in the folder you specified, according to the in and out times you set. Continue to capture clips. 17 In the Project panel of Avid Explorer, double-click your project name. A bin opens and displays its contents. 18 Double-click a clip in the bin. Click the Play button under the Source viewer (left side). The clip plays in the viewer, but is not loaded on the timeline. 19 Close the Capture Tool. Related Topics Logging and Capturing Material Capture Tool 167 Chapter 4 Capturing Material Capturing from File Avid DS Nitris lets you capture various file formats. Besides video, you can capture still and animated graphics files, and audio files. To capture from file, you will be using Avid Explorer in Avid DS Nitris. Logging and capturing from file is like capturing material from tape. That is, you can log the material without capturing, or log and capture at the same time. Logging creates information about the source material and in/out timecodes in a clip, so that you can perform a batch capture later on. Before you capture the files, you’ll need to specify the capture settings. 168 Capturing from File To log and capture from file: 1 At the top of Avid Explorer, click the Capture Settings button. Media Composer comparison: The Capture Settings view is similar to Import Options. There is no Import or Batch Import dialog box. 2 Set the video quality at which you want to capture material. You can choose a lower resolution, or use compression to save space on your storage device while you do a rough cut. 3 Click the Help button for more information on each parameter. 4 Select the storage folder for the media. 5 Keep the default setting for the audio quality. 6 Select the storage folder for the audio media. 7 Click the browse button (it has three dots) to select a folder to hold the master clips. We selected the Master Clips folder we created earlier. 8 Keep the default conversion settings. 9 Keep the default settings for the source files. 10 Close the Capture Settings view. 169 Chapter 4 Capturing Material After choosing your setup, go to Avid Explorer to capture the files. 11 In Avid Explorer, both Show/Hide Panel buttons should be highlighted. If they’re not, click both to make sure the two panels are displayed. 12 Click the arrow next to the first Show/Hide Panel button and select My System. The panel updates to display the folders on your system. 13 Click the arrow next to the second Show/Hide Panel button and set the second panel to Project. The Project panel updates to display the folders for the factory presets and the project folder. 14 Select your project folder to open the project bin 15 Type the following in the Address line: C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_vX\Media_GetStarted. Make sure to type in the exact path. The contents of the folder is displayed. 16 Click the Details button to see the details of the files. 17 Press Ctrl and select these file types: PICT images (.pic files), QuickTime movies (.mov files), .avi files and TIFF images (.tif files). Do not select the MXF folder or the Avid File Exchange (.afe) file. 170 Capturing from File 18 Right-click one of the selected files and select Capture. A progress bar appears to show you the status of the capture. Captured files are placed in the folder you specified in the Capture Settings view. 19 Repeat step 16 and capture the .wav file. 20 In the Project panel, click the name of your project: My First Project. Then click the folder that you created for the master clips. The clips you captured are displayed in the bin. 171 Chapter 4 Capturing Material 172 Chapter 5 Getting Ready to Edit Before starting an editing session, it’s important to understand how to organize and manipulate your clips. This chapter takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. • Editing Layout • Previewing Clips Chapter 5 Getting Ready to Edit Editing Layout The Editing layout is where you perform most editing tasks. Once you place clips on the timeline, you can apply transitions and effects, trim, move, slide, slip, and synchronize clips. The Editing layout consists of the Source and Record viewers, transport controls, timeline, NLE Tools toolbar, and timeline navigation bar. The buttons in the view switcher let you access Avid Explorer and several other views that are handy in the Editing layout. Editing button To access the Editing layout: t 174 If you are not in the Editing layout, click the Editing button in the taskbar. Editing Layout NLE Tools toolbar lets you perform general editing tasks, apply transitions and effects, find and add locators, navigate the timeline, work with container clips and reference clips, and process and purge material from the timeline. Taskbar lets you switch between layouts. Avid Explorer lets you explore and organize clips, sequences, and custom effects. Transport controls let you mark in/out-points, add locators, and control playback of sequences. Source Viewer displays the current source clip. Record Viewer displays the frame of the sequence at the position indicator. Timeline lets you build and edit a sequence. Timeline navigation bar lets you pan the timeline, zoom in and out on the timeline, step into and out of container clips, switch between the Source and Record timelines, select Source/Record, Color Correction, Trim, or Slip/Slide modes. Status bar displays the timecode of selected objects on the timeline and provides status, warning, error, toolbar, and active command information, as well as the global animation controls. 175 Chapter 5 Getting Ready to Edit Related Topics Working with the Avid Explorer Source and Record Viewers Timeline Transport Controls Timeline Navigation Bar Status Bar Accessing the Default Layouts NLE Tools Toolbar 176 Previewing Clips Previewing Clips The Source viewer lets you view and mark source clips before including them in your sequence. With a clip loaded in the Source viewer, you can review the clip to find and mark footage for use in your sequence. You can move through the clip using the navigation keys on the keyboard or use the transport controls below the Source viewer. n n If you have not yet captured the clips needed for the lessons, see Capturing from File. Media Composer comparison: If you are using the Media Composer keyboard template, you will not be able to move the video and audio separately. You must break the sync lock by pressing the Editing > Sync Lock button on the NLE Tools toolbar. To preview clips: 1. Drag the Man_Front clip from the bin to the Source viewer (left). 2. Drag the green position indicator under the Source viewer back and forth to preview the clip. Position indicator 3. Press Enter to begin playing the clip. 4. Press Enter again to stop playback. n Tip: Go to the start of the clip or sequence by pressing the Home key. You can use the Home, End, and arrow keys on the keyboard to move through footage when a clip is loaded in a viewer. 177 Chapter 5 Getting Ready to Edit Press this key To Home Go the beginning of a clip or sequence. End Go to the end of a sequence. Left Arrow Move the footage one frame backward. Right Arrow Move the footage one frame forward. Use the Step buttons under the viewer to play the clip backward or forward in 1-frame or 10frame increments. 1 frame backward 1 frame forward 10 frames backward 10 frames forward Related Topics Transport Controls Using J-K-L Keys for Three-Button Play The J-K-L keys on the keyboard let you play, step, and shuttle through footage at varying speeds. This feature, also referred to as three-button or variable-speed play, lets you use three fingers to manipulate the speed of playback for greater control. To shuttle through footage using the J-K-L keys: 1. Use the following keys to shuttle at varying speeds: - 178 Press the L key to move forward through the footage at normal speed. Press the L key To play footage at NTSC rate PAL rate 24p rate 2 times 2x normal speed 60 fps 50 fps 48 fps 3 times 3x normal speed 90 fps 75 fps 72 fps 4 times 5x normal speed 150 fps 125 fps 120 fps 5 times 8x normal speed 240 fps 200 fps 192 fps - Press the J key to move backward at the same shuttle speed increments as the L key. - Hold down the K+L keys for slow forward. Previewing Clips - Hold down the J+K keys for slow backward. 2. To stop shuttling, press the space bar. Marking In and Out-Points in the Source Viewer Marking the in and out-points of clips in the Source viewer gives you several advantages: • You can play back and mark clips in the bin before loading a single clip, saving several steps. • 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—see “Placing Multiple Clips on the Timeline”. Even if your marks are not accurate now, you can later trim the edit points and fine-tune the sequence on the timeline. Use the transport controls under the Source viewer to mark your clips: Position bar In-point Out-point In timecode Mark In Out timecode Mark Out Position indicator (green) Duration timecode Position timecode To mark a clip for use in your sequence: 1. Move the green position indicator under the Source viewer to the desired in-point. 2. Click the Mark In button. 3. An alternate method to move the position indicator to the desired out-point is by entering the timecode in the P (position) timecode box. 4. Click the Mark Out button. An in-point and out-point appear in the position bar. If you need to adjust these points, simply drag them to a new location. 179 Chapter 5 Getting Ready to Edit Creating Subclips Subclips break up longer master clips into smaller segments of selected footage. When you mark footage with in and out-points, you can either save over the existing clip along with the new marks, or you can create new subclips between the in and out-points that you set. The master clip maintains its original in and out-points. Unlike master clips, subclips do not directly reference the original media. Subclips remain linked to the master clips from which they were created. Instead of placing the marked clip on the timeline, you can first create a subclip from it. This leaves the original length of the master clip untouched, while a copy of the original clip with new in and out-points is saved. Update Thumbnail Create Subclip Create Subclip button To create a subclip: n Tip: Before creating a subclip, you may want to place the subclip you’re about to create in a different file window. To do this, click the Capture Settings button in Avid Explorer toolbar. In the Capture Settings dialog box, change the Capture Target (Media Capture section) settings. 1. After you’ve previewed a clip in the Source viewer and marked the in and out-points, click the Create Subclip button. 2. In the Create Subclip dialog box, type a name for the subclip. n You can use the default name, which is the original clip name appended with a number, such as Man_Front - 001. 3. Click OK. The new clip is created and saved in the same folder as the original clip. 180 Previewing Clips Related Topics Media Capture Settings Changing the Thumbnail of a Clip It is easier to identify clips in Avid Explorer if you set the thumbnail to display a particular frame in that clip. Thumbnails Update Thumbnail button To change a clip’s thumbnail frame in the bin: 1. At the bottom of the bin in Avid Explorer, click the Thumbnails button to display your files as thumbnails. 2. Move the green position indicator to the frame you want to display as the thumbnail frame. 3. Under the Source viewer, click the Update Thumbnail button to change the thumbnail frame of the clip. The thumbnail view of the master clip in the bin updates. 4. Save your sequence. Select File > Save. 181 Chapter 5 Getting Ready to Edit 182 Chapter 6 Creating a First Cut There are several ways to build a sequence. This chapter describes how to place clips on the timeline to create a sequence. This chapter takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. • The Timeline • Working with Tracks • Navigating the Timeline • Selecting Objects on the Timeline • Placing Clips on the Timeline Chapter 6 Creating a First Cut The Timeline The timeline is where you place and edit clips to build your sequence. The timeline displays all the elements that make up your sequence, such as video and audio clips, transitions, and effects. In-point indicates the starting point when adding clips to a sequence. Clip indicates the location of a clip in the sequence. Out-point indicates the ending point when adding clips to a sequence. Timeline ribbon displays locators, in/out-points, and loop markers. Activeness bar indicates the sections of the clip that will be used in the final sequence. Tracks contain the components of the sequence. Edit point lets you trim the clip. Position indicator (blue) shows your place in the sequence. Timeline navigation bar lets you pan the timeline, zoom in and out on the timeline, step into and out of container clips, switch between the Source and Record timelines, and select modes (Source/Record, Color Correction, Trim, or Slip/Slide). n Media Composer comparison: The concept of activeness is unique to Avid DS Nitris. Activeness refers to the sections of a clip used in the final sequence. Active frames are indicated by an activeness bar below a clip. Related Topics Timeline 184 Working with Tracks Working with Tracks There are three types of tracks on the timeline: • Audio tracks contain the audio clips and audio container clips of a sequence. • Video tracks contain the video clips and container clips that are composited over clips on the video and background tracks. • Background tracks contain the video clips and background/composite container clips of a sequence. Timeline controls Overview area: The white bar (called visible time span) can be shortened, lengthened, or moved. Ruler Timeline ribbon Timeline effect track Track selector Track button Audio track Video track Background track While working with multiple tracks, you can use the Track selector to select, manipulate, delete, ripple, and patch tracks, as well as scroll and adjust the heights of tracks. You can use multiple tracks to layer audio effects and sound, or to add video titles and other effects. n Media Composer comparison: The ripple feature is unique to Avid DS Nitris. You’ll learn more about it later on when trimming clips. You can change track properties, such as the track name or the level of detail at which the clips are displayed on a track. By default, tracks are numbered sequentially (V1, V2, A1, A2, and so on) as they are created on the timeline. 185 Chapter 6 Creating a First Cut To show or hide the Track selector: 1. Right-click the overview area and select Display > Display Control Area. The Track selector is hidden. 2. Make sure to turn the display of the Track selector back on. Subtopics Selecting Tracks and Regions of Tracks Adding, Reordering and Deleting Tracks Setting the Track Height Muting Audio and Video Tracks Setting Tracks to Solo Related Topics Track Selector Selecting Tracks and Regions of Tracks You can select one or more tracks at the same time. When you select a track, you can perform editing operations on the entire track. For example, you can select two tracks and apply a track-based effect by clicking Video Effect from the NLE Tools toolbar and choosing an effect from the pop-up menu. This effect will be applied over all the clips on the selected tracks. When you select a region, you can apply edits to a portion of a track. Track button To select a track: t Click the Track button of a track. The Track button for the selected track is highlighted. To deselect a track: t Click the Track button of a selected track. The unselected track button is dimmed. To select a region on a single track: t 186 On a video or audio track, drag right or left to select a region. Working with Tracks Selected region is highlighted To select a region on multiple tracks: 1. Drag over a section of the track to select a region. 2. Hold down the Ctrl key and click another track. The region is highlighted on all selected tracks. Adding, Reordering and Deleting Tracks You can add any number of audio, video, or background tracks to the timeline. Video tracks are grouped at the top of the timeline, and audio tracks are grouped at the bottom of the timeline. Background tracks are inserted between the audio and video tracks. You can change the order of the video, audio, and background tracks. You cannot, however, place a video track below a background track. Also, you can delete any tracks that are no longer required in the sequence. To insert a track on the timeline: t Right-click the overview area and select Create Video Track, Create Background Track, or Create Audio Track. An empty track is added to the timeline. n Tip: You can automatically insert a track when dragging a clip from the viewer or Avid Explorer to the timeline. Simply drag the clip to the timeline ribbon. Timeline ribbon 187 Chapter 6 Creating a First Cut Track button To reorder tracks: t Drag one Track button over another Track button. To remove a track from the timeline: t Right-click an empty area of a track and select Delete Track. The selected track is deleted from the timeline. Setting the Track Height You can enlarge or reduce the height of the tracks to improve visibility and display more information within the tracks. You can reduce the track height if you need more space on the timeline to view other tracks. Increasing the height of the video tracks lets you see larger thumbnails of your clips. n Reducing the track height may hide any effects you have applied on the timeline. To enlarge or reduce the height of tracks: t Press Ctrl and drag the bottom of a Track button to change the height of the track. Place pointer here Muting Audio and Video Tracks If there are several tracks on the timeline and you need to exclude clips from the preview, you can turn off the audio on selected audio tracks or turn off the video on a selected video track. When the sequence is played, any video or audio on the tracks that are ‘muted’ are not displayed or heard. The settings of the Mute and Solo buttons on each track are saved along with the sequence. n 188 Muted tracks do not contribute to the final sequence. Working with Tracks Mute button To mute a track: t Click the Mute button on an audio track to turn off the audio. t Click the Mute button on a video track to turn off the video. The Mute button turns red. Setting Tracks to Solo When you solo a track, it plays the contents of that track during the preview. Both active and inactive video clips are displayed in the viewer. With video, you can only solo one track at a time. With audio, however, you can solo more than one track. Any tracks that do not have the Solo button activated are not displayed or heard. Solo button To solo a track: t Click the Solo button of the tracks that you want to preview. The Solo button turns green. 189 Chapter 6 Creating a First Cut Navigating the Timeline The timeline has various controls to quickly move through a sequence and adjust your view of the tracks while editing. The position indicator (the vertical blue line) in the timeline shows your place in the sequence. Also, the Record viewer displays the frame of the sequence on which the position indicator is parked. Selection Mode button To view the timecode of a clip: 1. To select items on the timeline, you must be in Selection mode. Click the Selection Mode button just above the status bar. The button should be highlighted. 2. Drag the Composite clip towards the right on the timeline. Let go of the clip. The Start and End timecodes boxes on the status bar update. Position indicator End Start Duration In timecode Out timecode Duration between in and out 3. Right-click the Track button of the background track (B1) and select Delete Track. Track button Subtopics Using the Scale and Scroll Bars 190 Navigating the Timeline Using the Scale and Scroll Bars Depending on the length of your sequence, you might not be able to see the entire sequence on your timeline. Using the scale and scroll bars at the bottom of the timeline, you can pan the timeline, or zoom in and out to view the entire timeline. To scale or scroll the timeline: 1 Drag the scale bar to zoom in and out around the position indicator on the timeline. 2 Click the arrows or drag the timeline scroll bar to pan back and forth along the timeline. 191 Chapter 6 Creating a First Cut Selecting Objects on the Timeline By selecting objects on the timeline, you can move clips to different tracks, view the properties of a clip, and select a region of a track. The objects you can select include: clips, effect bars, edit points, regions, markers, and more. But before you can select anything from the timeline, you must be in Selection mode. If you’re not already in Selection mode, make sure to turn it on now. To turn on the Selection mode: t Click the Selection Mode button on the timeline navigation bar. The button is highlighted to indicate that you’re in Selection mode. 192 Placing Clips on the Timeline Placing Clips on the Timeline You can build a rough cut of your sequence by dragging, inserting, overwriting, and replacing clips on the timeline. You can only place video clips on video or background tracks, and audio clips on audio tracks. Subtopics Dragging and Dropping Clips Inserting Clips Overwriting Clips Replacing Clips Related Topics Workflow: Working with Sequences Dragging and Dropping Clips An easy way to place create a rough cut of your sequence is to simply drag clips from the Source viewer and drop them on an open area in a track on the timeline. If you drop a clip on the ribbon area, a new track is automatically created to accommodate the clip. n If you have not yet captured the clips needed for the lessons, see “Capturing from File”. 193 Chapter 6 Creating a First Cut To drag and drop a clip to the timeline: 1 From Avid Explorer, select the Basket clip and drag it to the Source viewer for previewing. 2 Mark appropriate in-point and out-points on the clip. 3 Drag the Basket clip from the Source viewer to the V1 video track on the timeline, and drop it at the beginning of the timeline. Name of clip Activeness bar Edit point 4 Repeat steps 1 to 3 using the Smell clip. Place the Smell clip beside the Basket clip on the timeline. 5 From the Most Recently Used Items list in the upper-left corner of the Source viewer, select the Man_Front clip. The clip is displayed in the Source viewer. Mark the in and out-points and then place the clip on the timeline. Most Recently-Used Items list Recent clips Visible time span (white area) 6 194 Drag the right edge of the visible time span towards the right to display more of the timeline. Placing Clips on the Timeline Inserting Clips You can also insert clips on the timeline between other clips. When you insert clips, it pushes forward any existing clips on the timeline. n If you have not yet captured the clips needed for the lessons, see Capturing from File. Insert Clip button To insert a clip: 1. Make sure that none of the clips are selected. If one or more clips are selected, a red border surrounds each clip. Click an empty area of the track to deselect clips on the video track. 2. Drag the Wake-Up clip to the Source viewer. 3. On the timeline, place the pointer over the ruler and drag the position indicator over the Smell clip. 4. Using the transport controls under the Record viewer (right), click the Mark In button or press I to set an in-point. An in-point maker is displayed on the timeline ribbon. 5. On the transport controls, click the yellow Insert Clip button. The Wake_Up clip is inserted on the timeline at the location of the in-point marker. n Tip: Adjust the visible time span or use the scale and scroll bars at the bottom of the desktop to adjust your view of the clips on the video track. Inserted clip n In-point Tip: To undo an insert or any other operation, press Ctrl+Z. The main Ripple button is deactivated by default. For more information, see “Rippling Clips”. 195 Chapter 6 Creating a First Cut Overwriting Clips You can place a clip on the timeline and overwrite a portion of an existing clip on the timeline using the Overwrite Clip button. This method is more precise than dragging and dropping clips on the timeline. Overwrite Clip button To overwrite a clip on the timeline: 1. On the timeline, drag the in-point marker to the middle of the Man_Front clip. 2. Click the red Overwrite Clip button to place the clip at the in-point and overwrite any existing clips over the section that it covers. A section of the Man_Front clip is overwritten by the Wake-Up clip. In-point Wake-Up clip overwrites a portion of the Man_Front clip. Replacing Clips Replacing is a way to place a clip on the timeline and delete a selected clip at the same time. Replace Clip button To replace a clip on the timeline: 1. Drag the Clouds clip to the Source viewer. 2. On the timeline, select the first Wake-Up clip. A red border surrounds the clip. 3. Click the blue Replace Clip button to overwrite the selected clip with the one that is currently in the Source viewer. 196 Placing Clips on the Timeline A gap is left because the Clouds clip is shorter than the clip it replaced. Clouds clip replaces Wake-Up clip. 4. Delete the Wake-Up clip as it is not needed. 5. Select File > Save to save your sequence. 197 Chapter 6 Creating a First Cut 198 Chapter 7 Refining the Edit After you create a rough sequence on the timeline, you can refine your edits to sharpen the look and improve the relationship between pictures and sound. This chapter describes how to rearrange, overwrite, and remove material in a sequence. You can also trim the edit points between clips to fine-tune transitions. This chapter takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. • Rearranging Clips • Trimming Clips Chapter 7 Refining the Edit Rearranging Clips After selecting one or more clips, you can rearrange them on the timeline by moving them along the same track or to a different track. When you move a clip to a new location, blank space or silence remains in the previous position. n If you have not yet captured the clips needed for the lessons, see Capturing from File. To rearrange clips on the same track: 1. Open Sequence1 if it is not already open. 2. Select the Clouds clip on the timeline. Drag it above the other clips on the timeline and drop it into its new position between the two Man_Front clips. You should see a gray shadow representing the clip as you move it. The Clouds clip is moved further in time on the same track. 3. To close the gap between the clips, select the second Smell clip, and drag left until the gap is closed. Do the same for the remaining clips. 4. Save your sequence. If Ripple mode is active on the track before you move the clip, then the selected clip is removed from its previous position and the gap is closed. Synchronized video and audio clips always move together. If you need to move them independently, you must unlock them first. Subtopics Copying Clips Removing Clips from the Timeline 200 Rearranging Clips Rippling Clips Synchronizing Clips Copying Clips You can easily make copies of clips on the timeline. When you copy a clip, you do not duplicate the media on the storage device. Both clips refer to the original media. To copy a clip: 1. Select one or more clips to copy. 2. Right-click one of the selected clips and select Copy Clip. 3. On the same track, move the position indicator to where you want to paste the clips. Right-click the track and select Paste. A copy of the clip appears at the location of the position indicator. The name of the copy is prefixed by “Copy of...”. 4. To paste the clips on a different track, right-click the desired track and select Paste. 5. To rename the clip, right-click the clip and select Properties. A property editor displays the properties of the clip. 6. In the Name text box, enter a new name for the clip and close the property editor by clicking the Close (X) button at the top-right corner. n You can use the standard cut (Ctrl+X), copy (Ctrl+C), and paste (Ctrl+V) shortcuts in Avid DS Nitris. Removing Clips from the Timeline You can remove any clip on the timeline. The master clip in Avid Explorer and its media are not deleted. To remove a clip: t Select one or more clips and press Delete. The clip(s) are removed from the timeline. 201 Chapter 7 Refining the Edit Trimming Clips Trimming is the process of fine-tuning the move from one clip to another. Each clip has two elements that you can select and edit: the trim handles and the edit points. Edit points are located at the ends of the activeness bar of a clip, or where it transitions to another clip. There are two ways to trim clips: by directly manipulating the clips on the timeline or by using the Trim mode. Trim-in handle changes the incoming frame on clip B Trim-out handle changes the outgoing frame on clip A Activeness bar Edit points change edit time without moving clips To trim a clip on the timeline: 1. Select the edit point between two clips on the timeline. 2. Select a trim handle and drag left or right. The clip is trimmed. 3. Select and then drag an edit point left or right to see the difference between showing the trim handle versus its edit point. The trim handles affect only the selected clip. The edit points affect the point of transition between the two clips. In either case, you cannot extend the trim or edit points beyond the length of the actual clip. Subtopics Using the Trim Mode Using Ripple Mode When Trimming Clips Using the Trim Mode The Trim mode provides a close-up view of a clip, so you can trim the clip on a frame-byframe basis. The results are the same as if you were dragging the clip’s trim handles or edit points on the timeline, except there are more tools to work with in Trim mode. 202 Trimming Clips Trim Mode button To enter Trim mode: 1. Select an edit point between two clips. If you do not select an edit point before entering Trim mode, the edit point closest to the position indicator is selected for trimming. 2. On the timeline navigation bar at the bottom of the timeline, click the Trim Mode button. The Source/Record viewers are replaced with the Outgoing and Incoming viewers and trim controls. Outgoing frame Trim Nudge buttons Incoming frame Transition buttons Frame Offset counters Transition Alignment button Transport controls Transition Duration timecode box To trim the edit point of a clip: t With the edit point selected, use the trim nudge buttons to move the edit point forward or backward, and trim frames at the selected edit point. As you trim the edit point, the frames of the clip are hidden or revealed to reflect the new incoming or outgoing frame. Nudge left 10 frames Nudge left 1 frame Nudge right 10 frames Nudge right 1 frame 203 Chapter 7 Refining the Edit These buttons appear dimmed when there are no more frames available at the head or tail of the clip. To review the most recent trim edit: t Click the Play Preview button below the Outgoing frame. A playback loop begins playing in the Incoming viewer. The loop begins several frames before the transition and ends several frames after, pausing briefly before beginning playback again. 3. Click the Play Preview button again to stop playing. To exit the Trim mode: t Click the Trim Mode button again. Related Topics Entering and Exiting Trim Mode Trimming Clips in Trim Mode Understanding Trim Mode Using Ripple Mode When Trimming Clips The Ripple mode lets you preserve the integrity of previous edits on the timeline as you continue making other edits. As you trim clips on the timeline, the Ripple mode allows clips that follow the edit point to move to accommodate the change. The following illustrations show how clips are affected when you trim an in-point with and without the Ripple mode. 204 Trimming Clips Trimming an in-point to the left Before Trimming to the left Ripple mode off After Edit point remains fixed on timeline Ripple mode on The following clip(s) ripple Edit point moves n When trimming a clip with the trim handles, to preserve the integrity of edit points on subsequent clips, activate the Ripple mode on the timeline. To enter the Ripple mode: Ripple button 1 Click the Ripple button to activate the Ripple mode. The main Ripple button and the Ripple buttons for each track are activated. You can deactivate the Ripple mode on individual tracks that you do not want to be affected. 3 Drag the trim handle to the right or left to trim the clip. 2 Select an edit point to trim. The trim handle can only be moved as far as there is extra material available on the clip. 4 Turn the Ripple mode off. 5 Do NOT save this sequence. 205 Chapter 7 Refining the Edit Related Topics Rippling Clips Trimming with the Trim Handles 206 Chapter 8 Applying Effects Avid DS Nitris offers a wide variety of effects that you can apply to media. This chapter describes the effects library, the different ways to apply effects, the Effects layout, and property editors. This chapter takes approximately 90 minutes to complete. • The Effects Library • Applying Effects • The Effects Layout Chapter 8 Applying Effects The Effects Library The term effect refers to a range of filters, DVEs, keyers, and transitions. Each effect has several properties that allow for unlimited variations. You can save custom property settings and use them on other projects. The effects are grouped into these categories: Effect categories Description 3D DVE Effects that let you create 2D/3D titles, as well as 3D DVEs.You can apply these effects to clips, tracks, or trees. Audio Effects that let you adjust the output signal of your audio clip. You can apply these effects to audio clips, tracks, or mixer strips in the Mixer view. DVE Effects that are either a transition from one clip to another clip or a 3D transformation between layers in a composite. You can apply these effects to clips, tracks, layers, or trees. Image filter Effects with single inputs that encompass a wide variety of effects that you can apply to video clips, tracks, layers, and trees. These include blur, fade-in, fade-out, and noise, to name a few. Image transition Effects with two inputs that let you transition from one clip to another, such as the dissolve, wipe, fade, DVE, or crossfade effects. You can apply these effects between two clips or to trees. Source generator Effects that create a clip for you, such as solid or gradient colors, 3D Warp effects, or patterns. This new clip is useful as the background for a compositing session or to create a fade-to-color transition. Subtopics Effect Bar Colors Using the Property Editors 208 The Effects Library Effect Bar Colors When you apply an effect, an effect bar appears on the timeline in various colors depending on the type of effect. This makes it easy to identify the different types of effects on the timeline. These are the colors you’ll see on the effect bars: Color Effect Blue Keyer Gray Color Correction Classic Green Edge and Blur Light blue Fade Light green Color Correction Orange AVX Host Purple Graphics Red Image and audio Yellow DVE and Picture-in-Picture 209 Chapter 8 Applying Effects Applying Effects There are basically two ways to apply effects: • On the timeline: All effects applied on the timeline are based on what you’ve currently selected, including clips, tracks, or portions of the timeline (called regions), transitions between clips, as well as the layers and the Effects Tree in the Compositing layout. • In the Effects layout: By switching to the Effects layout, you can begin an effects session with all the tools available in this layout. Although this layout is optimized for color correction, you can use it for all kinds of video effects. The following illustration shows the timeline with different effects on clips: Process button Track effects Transition effect Clip effect Generated effect After applying or creating effects, you might have to process an effect to play it in real time. When the Process button on the timeline turns red, it means that one or more effects on a section of the timeline require processing. The region that requires processing is highlighted on the timeline ribbon. For more information, see “Processing Overview” on page 254. n Tip: Press Ctrl-click to select multiple effect bars on the timeline. Subtopics Applying Effects to Clips Applying Effects to Tracks Applying Transition Effects Applying Audio Effects Creating a Stack of Effects 210 Applying Effects Related Topics Understanding Processing Working with Real-Time Effects Applying Effects to Clips Effects applied to individual clips are called clip effects. They are useful when you want to apply an effect only to one clip on the timeline. Clip effects are attached to the clip, so when you move or edit it, the effects travel with it. You can apply an unlimited number of clip effects to a clip; this is called a stack of effects. You can build complex effects by editing and stacking simple effects. As effects are added, effect bars are placed on top of one another on the timeline. The effect at the bottom is processed first, followed by each effect directly above it. To apply a clip effect: 1. Open Sequence1. 2. Select the first Man_Front clip on the timeline. You should still be in Selection mode. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button so you can select objects on the timeline. 3. From the NLE Tools toolbar beside the timeline, click Video Effects > Wipe. n Media Composer comparison: When applying effects in Media Composer, you must use the Effects Palette. In Avid DS Nitris, you can apply effects from different places, such as the toolbars, pop-up menus, or Avid Explorer. Alternatively, you can: t Drag an effect from a toolbar to the selected clip(s). t Drag an effect from Avid Explorer to the selected clip(s). or 211 Chapter 8 Applying Effects t Right-click the selected clip and select Add Clip Effect. The Load Preset dialog box displays the effects in the \Image Effects folder. Select the Wipe effect and click OK. n The address line in the dialog box should be: C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_vX\DSPresets\Image Effects. If it is not, navigate to the correct folder. Wipe effect The Wipe effect is applied to the clip you selected, an effect bar appears over the entire length of the clip, and the property editor displays. 212 Applying Effects Global controls Property pages contain additional properties. List of options. Click to turn an option on. If the box is already checked, click to turn it off. Dimmed options are not available. Click to display the calculator. Drag the scroll bars to view additional parameters on the property page. Animate a specific parameter. Text box Slider area Subtopics Using the Property Editors Using the Property Editors Whenever you use an effect, you’ll encounter its property editor. The property editor displays the properties of a selected object or tool, and can have one or more pages of properties. You can adjust these properties to achieve a desired effect using the text boxes, lists, options, and sliders. Any values that you change are immediately applied. There are also global controls for loading, saving, and viewing presets, processing, animating properties, and previewing clips. Different property editors have different global controls. To edit the effect: 1. To see how the Wipe effect looks on your clip, drag the position indicator slowly back and forth (scrub) on the timeline. 2. In the property editor, adjust the values of the effect by doing any of the following: t Click anywhere in the slider area and drag to the right to increase values, or to the left to decrease them. 213 Chapter 8 Applying Effects t Press Shift and drag the slider to adjust values slowly. t Press Ctrl and drag the slider to adjust values quickly. t Click in a numerical text box and circle clockwise with your mouse to increase values or circle counterclockwise to decrease values. Drag clockwise or counterclockwise to increase or decrease values. 3. Click the calculator next to a slider to make calculations. 4. Go ahead and adjust any of the parameters. Click the Help button for detailed information on each parameter. When you’re done, close the property editor to save the settings. 5. Save your sequence. Related Topics Property Editors Applying Effects to Tracks Effects applied to tracks on the timeline, such as the video and audio tracks, are known as track effects. Track effects are useful when you want to apply the same effect to several clips on the same track. You can apply effects to one or more tracks, or to a specific area of a track called a region. The region of the track that you select can be empty or it can contain one or more clips. Like clip effects, you can apply an unlimited number of track effects to a track or build a stack of effects one on top of another to create more complex effects. To apply an effect to a track: 1. Make sure that no clips are selected on the timeline. 2. Right-click the upper area of the V1 video track. The entire track is highlighted. 3. Select Add Track Effect from the menu. 214 Applying Effects Upper area of track The Load Preset dialog box displays the effects in the \Image Effects folder. 4. Select any effect, such as Blur, and click OK. The effect, in this case Blur, is applied to all the clips on the track and its property editor displays. Track effect 5. Close the property editor. n Tip: As you add multiple effects, you can insert a cache bar at any point. This lets you process all effects below the cache bar, so you don’t have to reprocess them as you add more effects. For more information, see “Creating Caches at Any Level”. Tip: When you want to change an effect within a stack of effects, be sure to bypass the effects that are above the effect on which you want to work. This will ensure that the changes are added before the other effects are applied. For more information, see “Bypassing Effects” To apply an effect to a portion (region) of a track: 1. Hold down the left mouse button and drag towards the right to select the region of the track on which you want the effect to be placed. Selected region 215 Chapter 8 Applying Effects 2. Do one of the following: t From the NLE Tools toolbar beside the timeline, click Video Effects > any effect. t Drag an effect from a toolbar to the selected region. t Drag an effect from Avid Explorer to the selected region. t Right-click the white selected region and select Add Track Effect. In the Load Preset dialog box, select an effect and click OK. An effect bar is applied to the region and its property editor displays. Effect applied to region 3. Close the property editor and save your sequence. Subtopics Applying Effects to the Timeline Effect Track Creating Clips with Source Generator Effects Applying Effects to the Timeline Effect Track The timeline effect track is a track that appears above all the other tracks on the timeline; this track can only accept track effects. When you apply an effect to the timeline effect track, it modifies the clips on all the tracks below it. This lets you, for example, place a graphics effect (such as a title) on the timeline effect track, so that it will be displayed over the resulting video sequence. You can apply effects to the timeline effect track in the same way that you apply track effects. Track effects 216 FX track Applying Effects To apply an effect on the timeline effect track: 1. On the timeline effect track, drag to select a region. Region highlighted for effect Timeline effect track 2. Do one of the following: t From the toolbar, click Video Effects > effect. t Drag an effect from a toolbar to the selected region. t Drag an effect from the Avid Explorer to the selected region. t Right-click the timeline effect track and select Add Timeline Effect. In the Load Preset dialog box, browse through the folders and select an effect. The effect is applied to the selected region. The effect’s property editor is displayed for you to make any adjustments. Effect bar n Tip: If you want the effect to move with the clips below it, click the Ripple button on the timeline effect track. For more information, see “Rippling Clips”. 217 Chapter 8 Applying Effects Creating Clips with Source Generator Effects You can create new clips based on a selected region of a track. When you create a new clip, you can choose from a list of effects (called source generator effects), such as the Solid Color or Wood Grain effect. These types of clips are useful as the background for a compositing session or to create a fade-to-color transition. To create a clip with effects: 1. Add a new video track to the timeline by right-clicking the overview area (directly above the ruler) and selecting Create Video Track. Overview area A new track, labeled V2, appears above the V1 track. 2. On the new track, drag to select a region at the end of the sequence. Selected region 3. From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Generate > Source Generator Clip. The Load Preset dialog box displays the available source generator effects. 4. Select an effect. We chose the Marble effect for our example. 218 Applying Effects A clip is created on the track and given the name of the effect, which is appended with the term “Generated”. The effect’s property editor displays. A clip created with the Marble effect. 5. Close the property editor. 6. Save your sequence. Applying Transition Effects Transition effects include dissolves, wipes, fades, Digital Video Effects (DVEs), or cuts that you can apply to or between clips on the timeline. You can apply transitions to the beginning or end of a single clip, or between two clips. Transitions on the timeline can be created only when there is extra material available on one of the clips to accommodate the transition. To apply a transition effect between two clips: 1. Start a new sequence by selecting File > New > DS Sequence. 2. Drag the Basket and Clouds clips to the video track on the timeline. Leave some space between the clips. n Tip: Use the overview area at the top of the timeline or the scroll bar at the bottom of the timeline to adjust the view of your clips. Edit point 3. Select the edit point at the end of the Basket clip. 219 Chapter 8 Applying Effects Trim-out handle 4. Drag the trim-out handle left to trim in by a few frames. Now you’ll have extra material for the transition. 5. Move the Clouds clip beside the Basket clip. 6. Select the edit point between the two clips. Edit point 7. From the NLE Tools toolbar, select Transition Effects > effect. We chose the Wipe effect. The transition’s property editor displays. The transition is represented as a gradient below the clip. Transition 8. Close the property editor. 9. Drag the position indicator back and forth (scrub) on the timeline to preview the transition. Related Topics Applying Transitions Applying Audio Effects There is a range of audio effects that you can apply to clips or tracks on the timeline, as well as on the mixer input strips in the Mixer view. 220 Applying Effects To apply an audio effect on the timeline: 1. Place the FinalMix clip on the audio track. 2. From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Audio Effects > effect. The Dynamics effect is a good one to try. 3. To view the effect’s waveform, place the pointer at the bottom of the Track button and press Ctrl. The pointer should now look like a double-pointed arrow. Drag downwards. The farther you drag, the larger the waveform becomes. It will take a second or two for Avid DS Nitris to generate the waveform. n Tip: You can also Ctrl-drag on the video tracks to see thumbnails of your clips. Place pointer here The clip’s waveform 4. Scrub the timeline or click the Play button to hear the result. 5. Close the property editor. Subtopics Applying Audio Effects in the Mixer Applying Audio Effects in the Mixer The mixer combines the audio signals coming from the audio tracks and routes them to the mixer output strips. You can assign the channels of an audio track to a specific output strip. When you add an effect to a mixer input strip, the effect is applied to an entire audio track. 221 Chapter 8 Applying Effects Master Mute button Solo indicator Routing View button Standard View button Mixer Configuration Animation controls Mixer input strips control volume from audio tracks. Mixer output strips control volume of sound being output. Mixer button To access the mixer: t From the view switcher, click the Mixer button. To add an effect to a mixer input strip: 1. Right-click the effects box of a mixer input strip and select Add Effect. The Load Preset dialog box displays. Effects box 222 Applying Effects 2. Select an effect from the \Audio Effects folder, such as the Reverb effect. The effect is applied to the input strip. 3. Double-click on the effect to open the property editor and experiment with the properties. Play the clip to hear the result. You can also add more audio effects. Click the Help button for details on all the parameters. 4. Close the property editor when you’re done. 5. Switch back to the viewer by clicking its button on the view switcher. 6. Save your sequence as Sequence2. Related Topics Mixer Creating a Stack of Effects A stack of effects is simply one effect piled on top of another, which altogether creates a more complex effect. You can apply an unlimited number of effects to individual clips, the timeline effect track, and regions on the timeline. Simply keep adding effects and experimenting with them until you’re satisfied. In the example below, there are stacks of effects on the video clip and audio clip, as well as on the timeline effect track and on regions of the video track. Video and audio clips Regions of timeline Audio track Timeline effect track 223 Chapter 8 Applying Effects The Effects Layout The Effects layout provides an efficient way of working with video effects. This layout is optimized for color correction and will automatically load the Color Correction effect when you first switch to the layout. You can easily change the Color Correction effect for another effect. Transport controls let you preview media in the viewer or play sequences that have been edited on the timeline. Avid Explorer lets you explore and organize clips, sequences, and custom effects within a hierarchy of folders. n View switcher let you access different toolsets or views. Viewers display three consecutive clips on the timeline at the location of the position indicator. Large property editor lets you adjust the properties of the selected effect. Timeline is where you place, edit, and apply effects. If you have not yet captured the clips needed for the lessons, see Capturing from File. Effects button To access the Effects layout: 1. Start a new sequence. 2. Place the following clips side-by-side on the video track on the timeline: Smell, Wake_Up, Clouds, and Basket. 224 The Effects Layout n Tip: Adjust the overview area so that all the clips are visible on the timeline. 3. Place the position indicator over the Wake_Up clip. 4. From the taskbar, select the Effects button. By default, the Color Correction effect, with its large property editor, is displayed. A gray effect bar above the Wake-Up clip on the timeline indicates that the Color Correction effect is loaded, but inactive. When you edit the values on the property editor, the effect bar changes to a light-green (active) color. n Tip: If there was already a video effect on the timeline that you wanted to edit, select the effect bar before switching to the Effects layout. Instead of the default Color Correction effect, the Effects layout will display the property editor of the selected effect. 5. Place the position indicator over the next clip, so you can view sequential clips in the viewers. 6. Save your sequence as Sequence3. 7. Now is a good time to restore the layout to ensure that you’re using the default settings in the Effects layout—see “Restoring the Default Layout” on page 134. 8. Restart Avid DS Nitris and open Sequence3. 9. Click the green effects bar to switch to open the effects property editor. Subtopics Using the Viewers Related Topics Property Editors Working with the Avid Explorer Timeline Transport Controls Using the Viewers By default, the viewers in the Effects layout let you see three consecutive clips on the timeline, making it easy to compare clips. The middle viewer displays the clip that the position indicator is on in the timeline. The transport controls beneath the viewers let you preview media in the viewer and play the clips. 225 Chapter 8 Applying Effects Previous clip Current clip Next clip Position indicator Next Clip 1 Frame Backward Previous Clip 10 Frames Backward Loop 10 Frames Forward 1 Frame Forward Play Editing button To configure the display in a viewer: 1. Move the position indicator over a clip on the timeline. The middle viewer updates, displaying the clip on which your position indicator is located. The other viewers also update to maintain the relationship between the displayed clips. 2. You can change the clip that is displayed on these viewers by selecting an option from the Source menu. 226 The Effects Layout Source menu 3. Save your sequence. 4. Switch to the Editing layout. Related Topics Configure Viewer Display Menu Transport Controls 227 Chapter 8 Applying Effects 228 Chapter 9 Working with Effects Now that you’ve experimented with applying effects and editing the parameters, you will learn how to select effects from the timeline, open the property editors of effects, and bypass, view, and animate effects. This chapter takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. • Editing Effects • Animating Effects • Mix Parameter for Effects Chapter 9 Working with Effects Editing Effects After you’ve applied an effect to a clip or track, you can manipulate it in many ways. You can copy, move, delete, and trim effects. You can also select multiple effect bars on the timeline to simultaneously perform such functions as cut, copy, paste, or delete. To select effect bars: 1. Select File > Open > Sequence and open Sequence1. 2. Click an effect bar. The selected effect becomes highlighted. 3. To select additional effect bars, hold down the Ctrl key and click the effect bars (if an effect was already selected, it becomes deselected). The selected effect becomes highlighted. 4. Copy the effects by pressing Ctrl+C. 5. To paste the effects, select a clip or region on the timeline and press Ctrl+V. 6. Cut the effects by pressing Ctrl+X. 7. To undo, press Ctrl+Z. 8. To deselect effect bars, click anywhere on the timeline. 9. Return to the original sequence by reopening Sequence1. Press Ctrl+O and select Sequence1. Opening an Effect’s Property Editor An effect’s property editor automatically opens when you first apply an effect. By default, you can only view one property editor at a time, but if you need to, you can view multiple property editors simultaneously. To access an effect’s property editor: 1. Do one of the following: t Double-click an effect bar. t Right-click an effect bar and select Effect Properties. The property editor of the effect displays. 230 Editing Effects 2. To view multiple property editors, click the Lock button at the top-right corner of the property editor. Lock button The property editor of the effect you opened will now stay open when you open other property editors. As you open each property editor, it appears on top of the previous property editor. 3. Move the property editor to a different location, so you can see all of them. Placing the property editors side-by-side lets you compare the values of each effect. 4. Open and “lock” each property editor that you want to view. n Tip: You can open the property editor of a transition effect by double-clicking the transition beneath a clip. 5. Click the Help button for detailed information on the parameters of each effect. 231 Chapter 9 Working with Effects 6. Close the property editors when you’re done. n If you were switched to a different layout when you opened an effect, then switch back to the Editing layout. Related Topics Title Bar Controls Moving Effects You can easily move effect bars to another location on the same clip or track. However, when you move a clip effect, the movement is restricted to the length of the clip. To move an effect on the timeline: 1. On the timeline, select a clip or track effect bar. 2. When you see the double-headed arrow, drag left or right along the track. Double-headed arrow Copying Effects If you like a certain effect and want to replicate it, you can copy and paste it to any track or clip on the timeline. Subtopics Copying Effects to Another Clip or Track Copying Effects to a Section of a Track Copying Multiple Effects Copying Effects to Another Clip or Track To copy an effect to another clip or track on the timeline: 1. On the timeline, select an effect bar and press Ctrl+C. The effect is copied to the Clipboard. 2. Do one of the following: 232 Editing Effects t Select a clip to paste the effect on the entire clip (clip effect). t Select a track to paste the effect at the location of the position indicator (track effect). t Select a region to paste the effect on the selected region (track effect). 3. Press Ctrl+V. The effect is pasted on the clip or at the selected point on the track. Copying Effects to a Section of a Track To copy an effect to a section of a track: 1. On the timeline, select an effect bar and press Ctrl+C. The effect is copied to the Clipboard. 2. On the timeline, drag to select a region. The selected region is highlighted. 3. Press Ctrl+V. The effect is pasted into the region you selected on the track. n When you paste an animated effect into a region that is shorter or longer than the original effect, the animation is either cropped or scaled depending on the Crop Curves option in the effect’s property editor. Related Topics Trimming Animation Copying Multiple Effects To copy and paste multiple effects on the timeline: 1. On the timeline, press and hold down Ctrl and click on each effect bar. The effect is copied to the Clipboard. 2. Do one of the following: t Select a clip to paste the effect on the entire clip (clip effect). t Select a region to paste the effect on the selected region (track effect). 3. Press Ctrl+V. The effects are pasted on the clip or at the selected point on the track. 233 Chapter 9 Working with Effects Reordering Effects As you add effects, effect bars are placed on top of one another. You can rearrange the order of clip, track, or timeline effects by using the commands from the pop-up menu of the effect. The effect at the bottom of the stack is processed first. n You can also reorder effects by using the Cut (Ctrl+X) and Paste commands (Ctrl+V). To change the order of an effect: 1. Right-click a clip or track effect bar, or an effect in the effects box of the mixer input strip. 2. From the menu, select one of the following: Command To Bring to Top Move the selected effect to the top of the stack. Raise Move the selected effect up one position in the stack. Lower Move the selected effect one position lower in the stack. Push to Bottom Move the selected effect to the bottom of the stack. Viewing Effects Outputting a selected effect to a viewer is useful for seeing how different effects look at the different stages of production. You can also use the floating viewer. You can open an unlimited number of floating viewers to see each effect—see Opening a Floating Viewer. Reconnect Viewer button (highlighted when selected) To view effects: 1. Select an effect bar on the timeline. 2. Click the Reconnect Viewer button above the Record viewer (right viewer) to turn on the view mode. 3. Right-click the Reconnect Viewer button and select an output mode. We chose Current Selection for our example. 234 Editing Effects 4. Move the position indicator to the frame you want to view. 5. Select an effect bar above the clip that you are viewing. The viewer displays the results of the effect and any other effects below it in the stack. 6. Select another effect to see a different result. Each effect you select is displayed in the viewer when the position indicator moves to the selected object. 7. Click the Reconnect Viewer button again to turn off the view mode. You are not limited to viewing the result of the current timeline in the viewer. Later, you will learn to work with containers (nested timelines). The Reconnect Viewer will let you select different levels of the timeline and display their output in the viewer—see “Reconnect Viewer Menu”. Bypassing Effects At times, you may want to see what your clips look or sound like without some of the effects you’ve applied to them. When you use the reconnect viewer feature and select an effect in a stack, you also see the results of any effects below it. You can isolate an effect for viewing by bypassing any effects under the selected effect. To bypass a clip or track effect: t On the timeline, right-click an effect bar and select Bypass. The effect bar turns a light-orange color. The effect is ignored when you play the track. To bypass an entire track: t Click the M (mute) button beside the track you want to bypass. The Mute button turns red, and the track is ignored when you play the sequence. Bypassed effect (light-orange) Mute button Muted track n Make sure you deselect the Bypass option before processing your effects or they will not be applied. For more information, see “Processing Overview” on page 254. 235 Chapter 9 Working with Effects To bypass a layer effect: t In the Layers view, deselect Effect Bypass beside the effect you want to bypass. Effect Bypass option The effect is ignored when you play the track. To bypass a strip effect: t In the mixer, right-click an effect in the effects box of the mixer input strip, and select Bypass. Effects box The effect is ignored when you play the track. n You can also select the Bypass option from the effect’s property editor. Related Topics Viewing Effects Trimming Effects You can trim clip and track effects interactively using the effect bars or timecodes. When there is animation associated with an effect, you can crop or rescale the animation. You can also interactively trim effects in much the same way as you trim clips. 236 Editing Effects To trim an effect using the trim handles: 1. On the timeline, select an effect bar and position the pointer at the left or right end of the bar. Trim-in and trim-out handles of a clip The pointer changes to the trim-in or trim-out handle. 2. Drag the trim-in or trim-out handle left or right, respectively, to trim the effect. n If you are trimming a clip effect, you cannot trim out past the length of the clip. Subtopics Trimming Effects Using Timecodes Trimming an Animated Effect Trimming Effects Using Timecodes You can change the duration of any effect on the timeline by entering new values directly in the timecode boxes on the status bar. This is useful when you know the exact position on the timeline where you want an effect to start or how long you want it to extend. Start End Duration Position In Out Duration To trim an effect using timecodes: 1. Select the effect bar that you want to trim. 2. From the status bar, do one of the following in the timecode boxes: t Enter the new timecode in the S (start) or E (end) timecode box. The effect is trimmed according to the new timecodes. t Enter the number of frames to trim, followed by a plus (+) or minus (-) sign. For example, if want to trim 10 frames from the start of an effect, then you can type 10+ in the S timecode box and the start of the effect bar will move forward 10 frames. 237 Chapter 9 Working with Effects Trimming an Animated Effect When you trim an animated effect, you can either rescale the function curves of the effect or crop them. To specify how the animation is trimmed: 1. Open the property editor of the effect that you want to trim. 2. In the property editor, do one of the following: t Deselect the Crop Curves option to rescale the function curves. When you trim the effect on the timeline, the function curves are rescaled in the animation editor. t Select the Crop Curves option. When you trim the effect bar on the timeline, the function curves are cropped in the animation editor. On the animation graph, the highlighted area of the function curve shows the new length of the animated effect. n Tip: In an Effects Tree, you can crop the curves of all effects simultaneously using the Crop Curves option on the Effects Tree property editor. Right-click an empty area of an Effects Tree, and select Properties to display the Effects Tree property editor. Related Topics Workflow: Animating Properties Adjusting Effect Lengths You can resize an effect from its beginning or end, such as when you want to adjust the length of a fade-out from the end of the effect instead of the beginning. To adjust an effect from the beginning: 1. From the timeline, select an effect bar. 2. On the status bar, click in the D (duration) box, and enter the value to which you want to resize the effect. To adjust an effect from the end: 1. From the timeline, select an effect bar. 2. On the status bar, click in the D (duration) box. 238 Editing Effects 3. Press the minus (–) key and enter the value to which you want to resize the effect. Saving Effects After editing the properties of an effect, you can save them as a preset for work on other clips, tracks, or regions on the timeline, or even other projects. You can also share presets with other Avid DS Nitris users. Presets are an efficient way to reuse the same effects or transitions on other sequences or projects. You can create presets by: • Saving from an effect property page, using the Save Preset dialog box, or • Dragging the thumbnail from an effect’s property editor to a toolbar or to Avid Explorer. Saving an effect to a toolbar gives you quick access any effects you use frequently. Save Preset button To save an effect through the Save Preset dialog box: 1. Open the property editor of an effect you want to save. 2. Customize the effect by adjusting the parameters. 3. From the property editor, click the Save Preset button in the top-right corner. The Save Preset dialog box displays. 4. Select the folder in which to store this effect. You can store the effect in the existing folder or create a folder for your own effects. 5. In the File Name text box, enter a name for your effect. 6. Add any comments to the Comments text box and click OK. The new effect is added to the folder. To save an effect to Avid Explorer: 1. Select your project in the Project panel. 2. Right-click an empty area of the bin and select New > Folder. 3. Name the new folder My Presets and open the folder. 239 Chapter 9 Working with Effects Project panel 4. Open the property editor of the effect you want to save. We opened the Wipe effect. 5. Customize the effect by adjusting the parameters. 6. In the property editor, drag the effect’s thumbnail to the folder view area in Avid Explorer. Drag the effect’s thumbnail to the folder view area. 240 Editing Effects 7. In the Save Preset dialog box, give the preset a name, add some comments, and click OK. The new effect is added to the folder. 8. Keep the property editor open for now. To save an effect to a toolbar: t In the property editor, drag the effect’s thumbnail to the empty User toolbar beside the Source viewer. Effect’s thumbnail User toolbar A button is created for your preset and automatically named. n Tip: If you want to give the preset a name, press Shift before dropping the effect’s thumbnail at the new location. To apply the preset you created: 1. From the timeline, do one of the following: t Select a clip or track. t Select a region of a track by dragging. 2. In the User toolbar, click the effect preset you created. The effect is applied to the clip or region you selected. 241 Chapter 9 Working with Effects If you’ve created a number of presets, such as when color correcting a sequence, you can quickly apply these presets to the current effect. n The effect that you select and the preset you apply to it must be the same effect. Otherwise, a new effect is created. To apply a preset to the same current effect: 1. Select an effect bar from the timeline or a node from the Effects Tree. 2. Press Ctrl and click the preset you want to apply. The preset is applied to the selected effect/node. To copy a preset/script text from Avid Explorer or Script Editor to a toolbar: 1. Do one of the following: t Select a preset from Avid Explorer t Select script text from the Script Editor. 2. Drag it to a toolbar. A button is created for the preset/script. Related Topics Using the Toolbars Substituting Effects After you apply an effect, you can substitute a different effect or a preset effect. For example, when you apply an image effect to your clip, such as a blur, its property editor is displayed. From the property editor, you can load a custom blur effect or modify any of its properties, and then save it as a new preset. n There are a wide variety of effects you can load. Occasionally, you might be restricted to a specific family of effects, depending on which type of effect you start with. Load Preset button To substitute an effect: 1. Open the Wipe property editor and click the Load Preset button. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 2. Select the Posterize effect. 242 Editing Effects The Posterize effect replaces the Wipe effect and the posterize property editor displays. Keep the property editor open. Replacing Effects Replacing or substituting one effect for another lets you experiment with effects until you’re satisfied with the look of an effect. You can replace effects on a toolbar, through an effect’s property editor or, if you’re working on a graphics session, through the graphics property tree. n If the thumbnail of an audio effect is dissimilar to the one you’re replacing it with, then the audio effect cannot be replaced. You must delete the effect and apply another one. Subtopics Replacing a Preset Effect on a Toolbar Replacing Effects Using the Property Editor Replacing Effects Using the Graphics Property Tree Replacing a Preset Effect on a Toolbar If you’ve saved a preset effect and placed it on a toolbar as a button, you can easily replace it by just selecting a new effect from the timeline or Effects Tree, or by dragging a thumbnail from a property editor. To replace a preset effect on a toolbar by selecting a new object: 1. Select one of the following: t On the timeline, select the effect bar, transition, or source generator t In the effects tree, select a node. 2. Press Alt and click the preset effect button. The button is updated with your selection and given a name. n Tip: If you want to give the preset a name, press Shift+Alt before clicking the button. To replace a preset effect on a toolbar by dragging a thumbnail from a property editor: 1. Do one of the following: t Timeline: Double-click an effect bar. t Effects Tree: Double-click a node. 2. In the property editor that is displayed, drag the effect’s thumbnail to a toolbar button. The toolbar button is updated. 243 Chapter 9 Working with Effects n Tip: If you want to give the preset a name, press Shift before dropping the effect’s thumbnail to the toolbar button. Replacing Effects Using the Property Editor You can replace effects through the property editor. For example, if you’ve applied the Blur effect to a clip, you can replace it by loading the Negative effect in its place. You can also replace an existing generated clip with another type of generated clip. For example, you can replace a generated color gradient clip with a marble clip. Load Preset button To replace an effect through its property editor: 1. On the timeline, double-click an effect bar to display its property editor. 2. From the property editor, click the Load Preset button. 3. From the Load Preset dialog box, select a different effect. The effect is replaced by the selected effect. The new effect’s property editor is displayed. To replace an effect through its property editor: 1. On the timeline, double-click an effect bar to display its property editor. 2. Drag an effect button from a toolbar and drop it on the thumbnail of a property editor. The effect in the property editor is replaced by the selected effect. The new effect’s property editor is displayed. Replacing Effects Using the Graphics Property Tree When working in the Graphics layout or the Graphics combo view, you can replace the following effects in the graphics property tree: Object Replaceable effects Shapes Brush, Brush Fx, Fill Fx Titles Titling Style: Face Fx, Edge Fx, Shadow Fx Titling Format: Layout, Paragraph, Font 244 Editing Effects To replace an effect in the graphics property tree: 1. In the Graphics property tree, right-click one of the following property buttons: t Shapes: Brush, Brush Fx, or Fill Fx Replaceable effects t Titles: Face Fx, Edge Fx, Shadow Fx, Layout, Paragraph, or Font Replaceable effects 2. From the menu, do one of the following: t Select an effect. t Select Load, browse through the folders, and select an effect. The effect you selected replaces the previous effect. Related Topics Adding Graphics and 2D Titles 245 Chapter 9 Working with Effects Deleting Effects If you decide that you no longer want an effect, you can delete it from the timeline. You can also delete audio strip effects from the effects box of the mixer input strip. n Although you can’t delete layer effects, you can bypass them by deselecting the Effect Bypass button next to the effect button. For more information on layered effects, see “Applying Effects to Layers”. To delete an effect on the timeline, do one of the following: t Right-click an effect bar and select Delete Effect. t Select an effect bar and press Delete. The effect bar is removed from the timeline. To delete an input strip effect: t In the Mixer view, right-click an effect in the effects box, and select Delete Effect. The effect is removed from the mixer input strip. Related Topics Bypassing Effects 246 Animating Effects Animating Effects Animation is the change of an object and/or its properties over time. By animating the properties of an effect, you can control how the effect changes over time. You can animate an effect, as well as access the animation editor from an effect’s property editor. The animation editor displays an animation graph from which you can add, delete, or modify the function curves of animated properties. Once animation is created, you can process the clip to view the animated frames in real time. You can adjust the animated properties or remove the animation at any time. Animation Key button To animate an effect: 1. Use the transport controls to move to the frame on which you want the animation to begin. 2. In the Posterize property editor, select the Unlock option. 3. Adjust one or more of the colors to obtain the desired effect. 4. Do one of the following: - Click the Animation Key button in the property editor to set a keyframe. - Click the Animation button of a specific parameter on the property editor. The button turns red to indicate that animation is present. 5. Use the transport controls to move the position indicator to the next frame on which you want to add keyframes. Make some more adjustments to the effect’s property editor, and set another keyframe. n Tip: Depending on the accuracy you need, you can move frame by frame or set larger intervals between animated points. 6. Continue adding as many keyframes as you need. 7. When you’re done, save your sequence and close the property editor. The next step is to process the animation to see the effect. You’ll be doing this in the next chapter. Related Topics Workflow: Animating Properties Creating Animation 247 Chapter 9 Working with Effects Using Presets A preset is a customized set of properties for an effect. You can use the presets that come with Avid DS Nitris, or you can create your own by saving the properties that you have already set and reusing them. Either way, presets let you work more efficiently. Most presets are in the \DSPresets folder. You can also use presets in the Graphics layout—see “Using Presets in Graphics”. Subtopics Loading and Saving Presets Loading and Saving Presets You can load and save presets through the property editors or toolbars. Load Preset button Save Preset button To load or save a preset using a property editor: 1. In the property editor, click the Load Preset or Save Preset button. 2. In the Load Preset dialog box, do one of the following: t To load a preset, select a preset. The property editor displays the properties of the preset you selected. t To save a preset, type a name for the preset you’re saving. The preset you saved appears in the folder in which you saved it. To load a preset using the toolbars: 1. Select a clip, track, or region to apply the preset. 2. Depending on where you saved your preset, from the NLE Tools toolbar, click Time Effects, Video Effects, Transition Effects, or Audio Effects, and then select your preset. The preset is applied to the clip, track, or region you selected. 248 Using Presets To save a preset using the toolbars: 1. In a property editor, drag the thumbnail to a toolbar. Thumbnail is dragged to toolbar. 2. In the Save Preset As dialog box, type a name and description for the preset in the corresponding text boxes. A toolbar button is created in the toolbar. 249 Chapter 9 Working with Effects Mix Parameter for Effects The Mix parameter gives you the ability to blend the result of the effect with the original input or with a color. You can use the animation editor to precisely control or modify the blend. Subtopics Mixing Effects to the Input Mixing Effects to Color Mixing Effects to the Input With mix to input you can control the intensity of the effect. It ranges from 100 (the effect is fully applied) to 0 (the effect is disabled). n Tip: You can avoid processing effects for certain time regions by setting the minimum value to 0 for those areas. To mix an effect to the input: 1. Apply an effect to a clip. 2. Use the effect’s property editor to edit the clip properties as necessary. 3. On the Masking property page, select Apply, and then in the Mix To box, Input. 4. Using the slider, adjust the Amount. 5. If desired, animate the mix by adjusting the curve on the Timing property page, as described in “To animate an effect:”. 6. Process the mix. Mixing Effects to Color Mixing effects to color lets you fade the result of the effect to any color. It ranges from 100 (only the effect is visible) to 0 (only the color is visible). To mix an effect to a color: 1. Apply an effect to a clip on the timeline. 2. Use the effect’s property editor to edit the clip properties as necessary. 3. On the Masking property page, select Color from the Mix To box. 250 Mix Parameter for Effects Color swatch 4. Click the color swatch. 5. Use the Color Picker and click anywhere on your screen to select a color. 6. If desired, animate the mix, as described in “To animate an effect:”. 7. Process the mix. Related Topics Workflow: Animating Properties Processing Effects 251 Chapter 9 Working with Effects 252 Chapter 10 Processing Some of the effects in your sequence will require processing. In this chapter, you will learn how to select an area or effect, and set the most appropriate options for it. This chapter takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. • Processing Overview • Processing Chapter 10 Processing Processing Overview Before you can play most of the effects, you will have to process them. When you process effects, a final image or sequence of images is created and stored in a new media file, called a cache, so that your source media remains unaltered. During playback, this new cache file is used instead of the source media. n Media Composer comparison: In Avid DS Nitris, rendering is referred to as processing. Clips without effects point directly to source media. Source media Clip with an effect that needs processing. Source media Cache media After processing, the generated cache file is used instead of source media. Processing is usually needed for video images and graphics. Some video effects do not need processing as Avid DS Nitris can compute the effects during playback. When you apply an effect to a clip, the timeline ribbon above it changes color to indicate that processing is needed. Before the effect is processed, there are three possible colors that may appear on the timeline ribbon: red, yellow, or green. 254 Processing Overview Red indicates that the effect cannot be played in real time and needs to be processed first. Yellow indicates that the clip can be played in real time and processing is optional. Green indicates that the clip is guaranteed to play in real time and processing is not required. Process button turns red or yellow. Timeline ribbon When the red highlighted area in the timeline ruler is played back, the viewer does not show the resulting image. You will see the “Processing Needed” message If you have the Avid DS Nitris DNA workstation, you get guaranteed real-time playback and output of some real-time effects because of the accelerated hardware in the workstation. These effects have a green color on the timeline ribbon where they are applied. If you are not using the Nitris DNA workstation, then all effects are processed with the Avid DS software. If your workstation has sufficient processing power, many effects can be computed in real time by the software, allowing you to view the results during playback. These effects are indicated by a yellow color on the timeline ribbon. Any effects that cannot be processed in real-time by the hardware or the software will have a red color on the timeline ribbon. When you play back areas where these effects are applied, you will see a “Processing Needed” message displayed in the viewer. The Process button also turns red or yellow to indicate when processing is needed. You can process effects even if they are real-time effects. When you process effects, a cache is created with the new processed media. This guarantees perfect playback and output of your sequence. (Once a cache is created for a given effect, the timeline ribbon above is cleared. That is, there will no longer be any colored sections.) Related Topics Working with Real-Time Effects 255 Chapter 10 Processing Processing You can process a specific effect, a specific region, or the entire sequence. To work more efficiently, you can process the more complex effects at different stages in your sequence. For example, if you have effects nested within a container clip, you can open the container and process the individual effect instead of processing the entire container clip. To process an effect: 1 Open Sequence1. 2 On the timeline, select a region or object to process. An object can be a clip, track, effect, or transition bar. 256 Processing 3 Click the red/yellow Process button on the timeline. If the button is not highlighted, open the property editor of the effect you want to process and click the All button in the property editor. The Processing Options dialog box displays. 4 Select what needs to be processed. Note: You can even process real-time effects. 5 Select Minimal for quicker processing. 7 Set the precision bit depth to optimize the processing quality of the video media. 6 Choose whether you want to process in fields or frames. 8 Set the resolution at which the caches are created. The lower the resolution, the faster the processing times and the less storage space used. 9 Select the storage areas for audio and video. 10 Click Help for more details on all the options in this dialog box. 11 If you have sufficient space on the storage device, click OK to begin processing. 12 Save your sequence. 257 Chapter 10 Processing A progress bar appears at the bottom of the desktop to show the status of the process. The progress bar shows the number of passes, frames, and the estimated time that Avid DS Nitris will take to process your selection. These passes are based on the number of container clips and the levels of processing required within the selected region. Related Topics Setting the Processing Options 258 Chapter 11 Adding Graphics and 2D Titles Avid DS Nitris provides you with a set of graphics tools and effects to create original images or to touch up existing clips without losing the original content. Using these tools, you can create graphics objects, such as paint strokes and titles. This chapter takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. • Starting a Graphics Session • The Graphics Combo View • The Graphics Layout • Displaying the Safe Action/Title Guides • Graphics Property Tree • Setting the Drawing Tool Properties • Defining Color • Creating Graphics and Titles • Finishing a Graphics Session Chapter 11 Adding Graphics and 2D Titles Starting a Graphics Session Before creating graphics or titles, you must first decide how the graphics will fit into your sequence. You can apply graphics as a clip effect or as a track effect, depending on how you want the graphics and/or titles to appear in your sequence. When you apply graphics to: • A clip: The graphics you create exist only on that clip. • A region of the timeline effect track: The graphics will appear over all the tracks on the timeline within that region, despite possible changes to the clips and/or sequences. • A region of a video track: The graphics will appear on the region and clips of the video track. The following illustration shows the timeline with different effects on clips: Clip effect n Timeline region effect Track region effect For more information, see “Global Controls”. Displaying the Safe Action/Title Guides The viewer serves as an area to create and arrange graphics and titles. The safe action/title guides ensure that the graphics you create will be visible on any broadcasting system. The outer frame defines the safe action area, while the inner frame defines the safe title area. Graphics button To display the safe action/title guides: t 260 Right-click the viewer and select Safe Action/Title. Starting a Graphics Session Safe action safe title guides To add graphics to a clip: 1. Open Sequence1. 2. Select the first Smell clip from the timeline and move the position indicator over this clip. Position indicator over selected Smell clip. 3. Do one of the following: t In the taskbar, click the Graphics button to open the Graphics layout. t Ctrl-click the Graphics button in the taskbar to open the Graphics combo view. A Graphics effect is applied to the selected clip and the Graphics layout or Graphics combo view displays. 4. Save the sequence and restore the layout to ensure that you’re using the default settings—see “Restoring the Default Layout” on page 134. 5. Reopen Sequence1 and double-click the purple effects bar over the Smell clip to return to the Graphics layout. Related Topics Applying Effects 261 Chapter 11 Adding Graphics and 2D Titles The Graphics Combo View The Graphics combo view is a floating view that you can access from many locations in Avid DS Nitris to perform painting and titling tasks. This view contains all the same tools as the Graphics layout; however, in the combo view the Editing layout timeline remains visible. Graphics property tree displays the properties of a selected tool or graphics object. Property editor lets you set and modify various graphics properties, such as brush options, paint style, color, and titling style. Toolbars contain tools for drawing and manipulating graphics objects. Graphics Object view (GOV) displays graphics objects and their time spans in the current graphics session. You can also select, trim, move, rename, and delete any of your graphics objects. 262 Starting a Graphics Session The Graphics Layout The Graphics layout is where you perform painting and titling tasks. You can create graphics objects, such as text and vector-based strokes, and apply colors, textures, and effects to them. Once created, you can edit and animate their properties. Graphics Object view (GOV) displays graphics objects and their time spans in the current graphics session. You can also select, trim, move, rename, and delete any of your graphics objects. Toolbar contains drawing tools for creating graphics and titles. Graphics property tree displays the properties of a selected tool or graphics object. View switchers let you access different toolsets or views. Viewer displays the output of your sequence at the location of the position indicator. During a graphics session, it also serves as an area to create and arrange titles and graphics objects. Toolbars contains tools for drawing and manipulating graphics objects. Property editor let you set and modify various graphics properties, such as brush options, paint style, color, and titling style. Transport controls let you preview media in the viewer or play sequences that have been edited on the timeline. 263 Chapter 11 Adding Graphics and 2D Titles Related Topics Graphics Object View (GOV) Graphics Property Tree Property Editors Source and Record Viewers Toolbars Transport Controls Displaying the Safe Action/Title Guides 264 Starting a Graphics Session Graphics Property Tree The graphics property tree displays the properties of a selected tool or graphics object (stroke or text). Using this tree, you can set the default properties of a drawing tool or edit the properties of selected graphics objects. Click the plus sign (+) to expand the tree. Additional properties are displayed. Collapsed view Expanded view Setting the Drawing Tool Properties Before you start drawing or creating titles, you should set the default properties of the drawing tool that you will use. The properties are immediately applied to any objects you subsequently create. Click the name of a graphic tool to see or modify its properties. Click the graphic tool icon, or right-click the name, to see other options. When you select a drawing tool, the “Current Tool” name appears above the graphics property editor. Any properties you now set will become your default drawing properties for that tool. If you select an existing graphics object from the viewer, “Selected Object” appears above the graphics property tree. Any properties you now set will apply only to the selected graphics object(s). 265 Chapter 11 Adding Graphics and 2D Titles To set the drawing tool properties: Drawing tools Text tool 1 Select a drawing tool for graphics or the text tool for titles. 2 At the top of the graphics property tree, click the name of the drawing tool you chose. 3 In the property editor that appears, set the properties for the tool. Note: Not all tools have an associated property editor. 266 Starting a Graphics Session Defining Color In Avid DS Nitris, color is considered to be an effect, called Color Blend, that you can apply to an image using the brush or fill properties of a stroke, or to the face, edge, or shadow properties of a title. To define colors, you can pick a color from the palette or the color wheel in a property page, or use the color picker to select a color from an existing image. For graphics... For titles... 1 Click one of these to open the Color Blend property editor. 2 Define a color by selecting one from the palette, or... Click the Pick button and select a color from the image in the viewer. 3 Select other properties from the property tree, and define their colors. 267 Chapter 11 Adding Graphics and 2D Titles Creating Graphics and Titles The graphics toolbar includes the following tools. Pick tool Freehand tool Rectangle tool Edit shape (Bezier) Text tool Rotate Skew Magic Wand Eraser/Scratch Removal Polyline tool (Bezier) Ellipse tool Reshaper (Points) Insert Cursor Scale Duplicate Tracker Reset All Properties When you first paint or create titles in the viewer, the graphics are displayed with the default properties. After creating graphics, you can select and edit them to change individual properties. To create graphics or titles: After selecting a drawing tool and adjusting its properties in the graphics property tree, use any of the following in the viewer: 268 t Polylines: click to create line segments. Press Esc to end the polyline or Ctrl to close the polyline. t Freehand strokes: drag to create a freehand stroke. Once you release the mouse or pen, the stroke is complete. t Rectangles and ellipses: Drag to create a rectangle or ellipse. To maintain the aspect ratio, press Shift and drag. t Titles: Click to create a text box and type in the text for your title. Press Esc when you’re done. Starting a Graphics Session Draw a stroke Type in text The graphics toolbar contains additional tools for editing graphic elements. In addition, the GFX1 through GFX4 toolbuttons open other graphic toolbars for editing and ordering graphics. GFX1 though GFX4 toolbuttons Subtopics Using the Graphics Object View (GOV) Changing the Properties of Objects 269 Chapter 11 Adding Graphics and 2D Titles Using the Graphics Object View (GOV) Each graphic in the viewer and its time span is represented by a corresponding object in the Graphics Object View (GOV). The most recently created object is on top. This lets you clearly see the timing relationships between all the objects in a graphics session and gives you the ability to manipulate them in the GOV. A graphics session is the time span over which graphics objects appear; it is created when you: • Switch to the Graphics layout or Graphics combo view. • Apply the Graphics effect to a clip or track. Once you’re created graphics objects, you can select, delete, move, and trim (in time) them in the GOV. To access the Graphics Object View: t Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Graphics Objects (GOV). The Graphics Object View and the current graphics session are displayed. Graphics Object View Dark gray area represents length of current graphics session. Click to select graphics objects. Objects are named by their shape and numbered sequentially. 270 Using the Graphics Object View (GOV) Related Topics Graphics Object View (GOV) Changing the Properties of Objects After creating a graphics object, you can edit any of its properties. However, you must first select an object before you can move it or edit its properties or shape. When you select an object, the graphics property editor displays the properties of that object. Select button To edit a graphics object: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button. The graphics object you last created is automatically selected. 2. To select a different object, click an object in the viewer or GOV. Press Shift to select multiple objects. In the viewer, a yellow bounding box surrounds each selected object. For a single object, or if all graphic objects have the same properties, the graphics property editor displays the properties. For multiple graphic objects that do not share properties, the editor remains blank. In the GOV, selected objects are highlighted in yellow. 3. Use the graphics property tree to edit the properties of the stroke or title. n When you edit titles using the graphics property tree, the changes you make are applied to the entire contents of the text body. To edit the individual letters in a text body, select the text body, click the Edit Text button in the Tools toolbar, and then select the letter(s) or word(s) you want to edit. 271 Chapter 11 Adding Graphics and 2D Titles Finishing a Graphics Session Once you’ve finished creating graphics and titles, you can process and then switch to any other layout. For more information, see “Processing Overview” on page 254. Timeline button To process graphics: 1. From the view switcher, click the Timeline button. In the Graphics layout, the view switcher is a vertical bar in the middle of the desktop. The timeline is displayed. Process button Highlighted section of timeline ribbon indicates unprocessed area of the sequence. 2. In the timeline controls, click the Process button. 3. In the Processing Options dialog box, select the appropriate options. 4. Click OK to begin processing. Once the effect is processed, you can scrub the clip to see the graphics or titles you created. 5. Save your sequence. Related Topics Processing Overview 272 Chapter 12 Outputting a Sequence Outputting a sequence is the process of converting the digital media of your sequence into one of several output formats. You can output a sequence to tape, to a single file, to a series of files, or as a QuickTime movie. This chapter takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. • Outputting to Tape • Outputting to File Chapter 12 Outputting a Sequence Outputting to Tape When outputting to tape, you’ll be using the Output tool to record a sequence to a videotape deck. Before you output to tape, do the following: • Make sure your deck and the Avid DS Nitris system are correctly connected. • To ensure fluid output, process all your effects, including any real-time effects. For more information, see “Processing” on page 256. To output to tape: 1 Open Sequence2. 2 Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output Tool. 3 Select the material to output. 4 Click the To Tape button. 5 Select the external device and click the Check button. 6 Set the Edit Mode to Auto. 7 Select the tracks you want to output. 8 Set the Timeline/Deck button to Deck. 9 Specify video output settings, downconvert parameters, and sync source. Related Topics Outputting to Tape 274 10 Use the transport controls to set the inpoint where you want to start recording. 11 Click the Insert/Auto button to start recording. Outputting to File Outputting to File The Output Tool also lets you output a sequence as a single file (such as a QuickTime movie) or as a series of files (such as a sequence of DPX files). Avid DS Nitris supports a wide range of video and audio file formats. Now you’ll output your composite image to a graphic file. To output a sequence to file: 1 Open Sequence4. 2 Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output Tool. 3 To output the sequence, select the Entire Sequence option. To output a frame or series of frames, set in and out-points on the timeline, and select the Sequence In/Out option. 4 Click the To File button. 5 Select the file format. 6 Select a standard frame size or specify a custom size. 7 Select the file compression (if applicable). 8 Select the Preserve Alpha option if the sequence includes an alpha channel that you want to keep and the format supports alpha. 275 Chapter 12 Outputting a Sequence 9 Click the Output button at the top-right corner to start the export. The Export to File dialog box displays. 10 Type a file name. Related Topics Output File Formats Outputting to File 276 11 Click the Save button. Chapter 13 Compositing This chapter describes the ways in which you can layer two or more images to create a new image. This is known as compositing. This chapter takes approximately 60 minutes to complete. • About Compositing • Compositing Methods • Creating a Basic Matte • Simple Track Compositing • Using Composite Container Clips Chapter 13 Compositing About Compositing Compositing is the layering of clips or images to create a new integrated image called a composite. The underlying layers in a composite are only visible if your clip has a matte; a grayscale image that lets you isolate and protect specific parts of an image. If an image already has a matte (called an internal matte), it is stored in its alpha channel. The alpha channel is one of the four components of an image: R (red), G (green), B (blue), and A (alpha). If an image does not have a matte, you can create one or use a matte from another image (called an external matte). n If a clip has a matte you want to use, you can simply import the alpha channel when capturing a clip. In Avid DS Nitris, foreground images are composited over a background image using a matte from the foreground image’s alpha channel. Foreground image + = Background image Matte in alpha channel of foreground image 278 Foreground image composited over background Compositing Methods Compositing Methods In Avid DS Nitris, there are three methods that you can use to create a composite, depending on how complicated your composite will be. Before you begin compositing, you should know which clips you want to use and how you want to composite them. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to create mattes, and perform composites using three different methods. Method 1: Simple track compositing lets you use the video and background tracks to composite images. You can add as many video tracks to the timeline as needed. Method 2: Composite container clips let you create multiple layers and composites that can contain tracking, external mattes, or animation. You can also apply effects, such as color correction, DVEs, graphics, and keyers to each layer and blend composite operations between layers and mattes. Clips on video tracks feed into layers in the Layers view. 279 Chapter 13 Compositing Method 3: Effects Trees are useful when you want to reuse the treatment of an element repeatedly within a composite. In an Effects Tree, you can apply any combination of image effects. This lets you combine multiple images on one layer, which serves as the input to the layer above it. Note: Effects Trees are an advanced topic that is discussed in detail in the Compositing and Graphics section—see “Using the Effects Tree to Composite”. Related Topics Using the Effects Tree to Composite 280 Creating a Basic Matte Creating a Basic Matte A matte is a grayscale image that defines the transparency of an image when it is composited over another image. In Avid DS Nitris, there are several ways to create mattes. Subtopics Viewing the Alpha Channel Keying out the Blue Background Viewing the Alpha Channel Before creating a composite, you should determine whether the clip already has a matte. A quick way to check whether a clip has a matte in its alpha channel is by using the Viewer Alpha Full button above the Record Viewer. The alpha channel is one of the four channels (or components) of information that is contained in each pixel of an image. This channel specifies the transparency of each pixel, allowing portions of the foreground image to reveal or block out the background image when two images are composited. n If you have not yet captured the clip needed for this lesson, see Capturing from File. To view the alpha channel of a clip: 1. Open a new sequence. 2. Place the Rectangle clip at the beginning of a video track on the timeline. 3. Move the position indicator over the clip, select the clip and click the Viewer Alpha Full button above the Record viewer. The matte is displayed in the alpha channel of the clip. It is displayed as a grayscale image. By default the viewer displays the matte opacity at 100%. You can select the percentage of the matte opacity by right-clicking the Viewer Alpha Full button. If a clip does not have a matte in its alpha channel, the entire channel would be white. 281 Chapter 13 Compositing 4. Click the Viewer Alpha Full button again. 5. Delete the Rectangle clip. Keying out the Blue Background Keying is an easy way to create a basic matte from a color in a foreground clip. You can create a key based on the HLS, YCbCr, or RGB color values, or on luminance values.In the following example, you’ll be using the Blue-Green Keyer effect to create a matte based on a blue background color. You’ll learn how to create a matte for a musician who was filmed against a blue screen. To create a basic matte: 1. Right-click the overview area of the timeline and select Create Background Track. Overview area A background track appears under the V1 video track. 2. Place the Musician clip at the beginning of the V1 video track. 3. Place the GiantWide-Bckg clip at the beginning of the B1 background track. 4. Select the Musician clip and view the alpha channel. Notice that the clip has no matte. Therefore, you cannot successfully composite this clip over the background clip. 282 Creating a Basic Matte 5. Click the Viewer Alpha button to see the musician in the viewer. 6. Apply the Blue-Green Keyer effect to the Musician clip. The Blue-Green Keyer property editor displays. 7. Click the Pick Key Color button. The cursor changes to an eyedropper cursor when you move it over the viewer. Eyedropper cursor 8. In the viewer, click the blue background color. Now you can see the background image in the viewer. In the property editor, the color you chose is displayed in the color swatch beside the Pick Key Color button. 9. In the property editor, select the Output Matte option to see the grayscale matte you created. Transparent area is keyed out. Opaque area is the foreground image that to be uses in the composite. 283 Chapter 13 Compositing To make sure that the white foreground is completely white and the black background is transparent, you must clean the matte. The following procedure shows you how to do a simple clean-up. To clean the matte: 1. Select the Matte property tab and make sure that the Output Matte option is still selected. 2. In the Map box, adjust the Pick BG (background) slider until you get a solid black color background in the viewer. This will make the background that you have keyed out completely transparent and ready for compositing over another clip. 3. Adjust the yellow Pick FG (foreground) slider until you get a solid white color in the foreground. This removes all semitransparent areas, ensuring that the foreground image is completely opaque. 4. To view the result, deselect the Output Matte option. n Tip: If you make a mistake, press Ctrl + Z to undo. If you’re not satisfied with the matte, you can redo the entire procedure by clicking the Reset button. To bypass the keyer and view the original clip, deselect the Output Matte and Apply Key options on the Key property page. 5. Delete the clips on the timeline. 6. Delete the B1 background track. Related Topics About Keying Using the Blue-Green Keyer Fine-tuning the Matte 284 Simple Track Compositing Simple Track Compositing Simple track compositing on the timeline lets you use an unlimited number of video tracks in the Editing layout to create quick and simple composites. As you add clips to the tracks, the result is displayed in the viewer. Remember, the overlaid clip must contain a matte in its alpha channel for the composite to display in the viewer. If your clip does not have a matte, you can create one. You will learn how to do this later in this chapter. Tracks are composited in the order in which they appear in the timeline. The topmost video track is the top layer in the composite. On the timeline, you can add, remove, or reorder video tracks, as well as hide one or more tracks to see the impact of each video track independently—see “Working with Tracks” on page 185. n If you have not yet captured the clips needed for this lesson, see Capturing from File. To create a composite on the timeline: 1. Place the Circle clip at the beginning of the video track. This will be the bottom-most layer of your composite. 2. Right-click the overview area of the timeline and select Create Video Track. 285 Chapter 13 Compositing Overview area Timeline ribbon A new video track appears on the timeline above all the other tracks. 3. Place the Rectangle clip at the beginning of the new video track. 4. Drag the Triangle clip to the beginning of the timeline ribbon. A track containing the Triangle clip is automatically created at the top of the timeline. The clip on this track is composited on top of the clips that fall within the same time span on the tracks below. The result of composite corresponds to the video tracks and the order of the layers. 5. Place the position indicator over the clips to view the result in the viewer. 6. Save as Sequence4. n Tip: If you have a clip on a video track and no clips on the video tracks below it, you can force the overlay to use the matte of the clip, so that it is composited over black. To do this, select the Force Premultiplied Output option from the Sequence Preferences dialog box. This behavior is similar to the Force Premultiplied Output command in the Layers view. Related Topics Working with Effects 286 Using Composite Container Clips Using Composite Container Clips Working with layers in the Compositing layout lets you create complex composites that can contain tracking, external mattes, or animation. It is where you organize multiple layers of video clips and images. When compositing with layers, you are actually working within a composite container clip as soon as you switch to the Compositing layout. Layouts are customizable; you can add, remove, reposition, and resize most of the elements in a layout. You can also create custom layouts from scratch. You can rearrange the views on the desktop, or add new views and toolbars. You can also create an Effects Tree in which you can add multiple clips for compositing and multi-input effects. Layers view is where you add clips and establish the order of clips that are placed on the composite container clip timeline. Avid Explorer is where you can drag and drop clips to the Layers view, the composite container clip timeline, and the Effects Tree. Viewer displays the output of your sequence at the location of the position indicator. Effects Tree is where you can drag and drop input images and effect nodes. It is mostly used for complex compositing operations. Composite container timeline holds all clips in your composite. You can also drag clips here. A composite container clip lets you focus on the clips that you want to composite. When you create a composite container clip, you get a new timeline for layering clips on the video tracks of the Compositing layout. When you close the composite container clip, the result is displayed as a single clip on the timeline in the Editing layout; this is the top timeline. 287 Chapter 13 Compositing You can reopen a container clip at any time to add, modify, or delete its contents. You can also apply effects on individual clips, as well as the entire composite container clip. Compositing button To create a composite container clip: 1. Make sure the position indicator is placed over the clips on the timeline. 2. From the taskbar, click the Compositing button. A composite container clip is automatically created and the Compositing layout is displayed. Two new buttons appear at the bottom of the taskbar; the top button lets you switch back to the top timeline in the Editing layout and the button beneath it represents the composite container clip that you are now working in. Go to Top Timeline Container clip 3. All three clips are now in your composite container clip. n The content of the composite container is based on where the position indicator is on the timeline when you switched to the Compositing layout. If it is over a clip(s) on the timeline, this clip becomes the first layer. If the position indicator is over a transition, both clips become part of the composite. To close a composite container clip: t From the taskbar, click the Go to Top Timeline button at the lower end of the taskbar. The current container clip is closed and the top timeline is displayed. All composited clips are represented as a single container clip on the top timeline. To make any changes to the composite, reopen the composite container clip. Composite container clip on the top timeline in the Editing layout. 288 Using Composite Container Clips To reopen a composite container clip, do one of the following: t Click the Container Clip button of the composite container clip on the timeline. Container Clip button t Double-click the container clip to open it. t Place the position indicator over the container clip and click the Compositing button on the taskbar. The composite container clip opens and the Compositing layout displays the contents of the container clip. n Tip: If you notice unexpected results with your composited images, such as dark areas around the edges, it may be due to the premultiplication setting. For more information, see “Compositing with Premultiplied Images”. Subtopics The Layers View Applying Effects to Layers Viewing the Results of Composited Layers Related Topics Working with the Layers View Using the Result Area Using Composite Container Clips Composite Container Property Editor Applying Effects to Layers Compositing with Premultiplied Images Simple Track Compositing Using Composite Container Clips Using the Effects Tree to Composite 289 Chapter 13 Compositing The Layers View The Layers view in the Compositing layout lets you apply animation, tracking, or external mattes to your layered clips. You can also change the order and appearance of the composited clips. You can do the following for each layer: • Apply the Color Correction, DVE, Graphics, and Keyer effects. • Apply one or more external mattes to individual layers. • Apply compositing and blend operations between the RGB and alpha components of adjacent layers. This is an advanced topic that is not covered in this guide. Layers view Result area Layers Animation controls In this example, the layers were automatically created from the clips on the top timeline. You can, however, drag and drop other clips for your composite from Avid Explorer to the timeline, or to the Layers view. n If you have not yet captured the clip needed for this lesson, see Capturing from File. To create and view layers: 1. Drag the Clouds clip from Avid Explorer to an empty area at the top of the Layers view. A layer is created and a track is automatically created on the timeline. The clouds, however, are obscuring the shapes. 2. To rearrange the layers, drag the Clouds layer and place it at the bottom of the layers. 290 Using Composite Container Clips Layer button Clouds appear behind the shapes. n Tip: If you notice unexpected results with your composited images, such as dark areas around the edges, it may be due to the premultiplication setting. For more information, see “Compositing with Premultiplied Images”. Related Topics Compositing Result Area Result Area Menu Working with the Layers View Using External Mattes in the Timeline and Layers View Applying Blending Operations in the Layers View Applying Effects to Layers When you apply an effect to a layer, it affects the duration of all material on its corresponding track on the timeline. You can bypass an effect to view the composite without the effect. For more information, see “Bypassing Effects” on page 235. You can apply four types of effects on each layer: Color Correction, DVE, Graphics and Keyer. Applied from bottom to top, the effects on each layer work on the original image and are independent of each other. Color correction DVE Graphics Keyer 291 Chapter 13 Compositing At processing time, the image is processed on the results of the preceding effect. To apply an effect to a layer: The final composite 1 Select the layer on which you want to apply an effect. Note: When you select a layer, an Effects Tree displays in the area below the layers. Each layer has its own Effects Tree. 2 To apply an effect, select one of the options and click the button beside it. The Key and DVE effects open a property editor. The CC and Gfx effects switch to the Effects and Graphics layouts respectively. Tip: You can also open the floating Graphics combo view by pressing Ctrl and clicking the Gfx button. 3 Use any open property editor to edit and animate the effect. If you were switched to another layout, switch back to the Compositing layout by clicking the Compositing button on the taskbar. 4 Close any property editors that were displayed. 5 Save your sequence. Viewing the Results of Composited Layers The viewer displays the resulting composite of all the layers. You can view each layer independently of the other layers by soloing or muting layers. When you solo a layer, only that layer is displayed in the viewer. Soloing a layer has no effect on the processed result, which is useful when you want to view one layer without seeing the effects from other layers. You can only solo one layer at a time. If there are several layers in your composite and you want to preview two or more layers and not the others, you can mute them. When these layers are muted, they are not displayed in the viewer. Muted layers are not included in the processed result either. 292 Using Composite Container Clips To mute or solo a layer in the Layers view: t Click the Mute or Solo button on a layer. Mute button Solo button Depending on your viewer’s settings, the corresponding layer’s RGB or alpha channels are displayed in the viewer. To solo a layer on the timeline: t n Click the Solo button on a video track on the timeline. Keep in mind that as you add layers when the Force Premultiplied Output option is ON, they are always composited on top of a black layer, which is under the bottommost layer. This is helpful when you want to composite one layer over black. For more information, see “Compositing Clips over a Black Background”. Related Topics Using the Result Area Using Composite Container Clips Working with the Avid Explorer Working with the Layers View Timeline Transport Controls Using the Result Area The result area at the top of the Layers view displays the final composite of all your layers and Effects Trees. There is a thumbnail for the RGB and alpha channels, so you can see the resulting image and matte separately. RGB thumbnail Result Alpha thumbnail 293 Chapter 13 Compositing You can hide the result area if you need more working space. As an option, you can view the output of the result area in a separate floating viewer. This lets you view the output of your effect. To use the result area: t 294 Right-click the result area and select one of the following: - Display Result Area to show or hide the result area. - Open Viewer to view the output of the result area in a separate, floating viewer that you can reposition anywhere on the desktop. Close the viewer when you’re done. Chapter 14 Conforming Avid DS Nitris provides you with additional tools to finish projects that were created on other Avid editing systems, such as Media Composer. If your original media is stored on a shared storage device, such as an Avid Unity MediaNetwork system, Avid DS Nitris links directly to the media, so that you have immediate real-time playback. You can use one of several file formats to transfer the sequence or project, and create logged clips. In Avid DS Nitris, you can later recapture the clips in an uncompressed or HD format, and you’re ready to add the final touches to complete the project. This chapter takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. • Methods for Conforming • Conforming a Project Chapter 14 Conforming Methods for Conforming Conforming is the process of bringing a project from an offline environment into Avid DS Nitris, so you can continue the editing process. Avid DS Nitris supports a variety of conforming file formats. Edit Decision Lists (EDLs) have long been the standard for conforming an offline session. An EDL is a detailed list of the edits contained in a sequence, including all the timecode and supported effects information. EDLs work well, but they are limited by the amount of effects information that can be transferred. Open Media Framework (OMF) was developed to allow users to transfer edit information, as well as many effects from the offline to the online session. Although OMF is more powerful than EDLs, it still has some limitations. As a result, a new format was developed called Advanced Authoring Format (AAF). AAF was built on the strengths of the OMF format and was designed to avoid its limitations. Avid DS Nitris supports the AAF format for conforming single clips or simple sequences. Avid File Exchange (AFE) files expand on the AAF technology to let you recreate complete projects, including all bins, edit information, and a wide variety of effects. You can use an AFE file to link to the media captured during an offline session. If your original media is stored on a shared storage device, such as an Avid Unity MediaNetwork system, Avid DS Nitris links directly to the media for immediate real-time playback. For the latest information on the conform process, such as which versions of Avid editing products are supported and the level of support for effects and titles, consult the Avid DS Nitris Conform Table, which is available on the Avid DS Support Center web site and the Avid Knowledge Center. 296 Conforming a Project Conforming a Project Projects offlined on an Avid editing system, such as Media Composer, can be totally recreated in Avid DS Nitris using the AFE file format. After exporting your Media Composer project as an AFE file, you can move the clips or sequences directly onto the Avid DS Nitris timeline. AFEs bring over a wide variety of effects. If your original media is stored on a shared storage device, such as an Avid Unity MediaNetwork system, Avid DS Nitris links directly to the media, so that you have immediate real-time playback. n Avid DS Nitris will link to source media in the original project only. You can practice the conform process by using the supplied sample project. The project includes a 7-second sequence, which is composed of three video clips, two audio tracks, a dissolve, and a picture-in-picture effect (DVE). The sequence was created on Avid Xpress Pro using DV25 MXF media. Information about the sequence was exported in an AFE file. The Material Exchange Format (MXF) is an industry-standard container format that encapsulates both media and production metadata into a single file. MXF is supported as a common file format on Avid DS Nitris and other Avid applications, making it easier to share projects and media. You’ll be copying the media files to your media storages. This is one way to perform a conform; other ways include sharing media over an Avid Unity system or importing an AFE file and recapturing. Defining Your Storages Before you conform the project, you’ll need to define the storages for the MXF files. To create folders for your MXF files: t Open a Microsoft Explorer window and create the following folders either on your local storage, or on an Avid Unity storage that you are sharing with other Avid systems: - \Avid MediaFiles\Video Storage - \Avid MediaFiles\Audio Storage 297 Chapter 14 Conforming To copy the MXF media: 1. Open another Microsoft Explorer window and navigate to this folder: C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_vX\Media_GetStarted\MXF. Audio files Video files 2. Copy the two audio files to the \Avid MediaFiles\Audio Storage folder. 3. Copy the four video files to the \Avid MediaFiles\Video Storage folder. 4. Close both Microsoft Explorer windows. Next, you will point your workstation to these folders by configuring a storage connection in Avid DS Nitris. To add MXF storage to your media indexing service: 1. In Avid DS Nitris, select Data Management > Configure Storages. The Media Storage Configuration - Current Project dialog box displays the media indexing services that are configured for your workstation. 298 Conforming a Project Select your workstation’s media indexing service. Click to add storage areas to the selected indexing service. 2. Select your workstation’s media indexing service, and click the Change button. The Media Indexing Service dialog box is displayed. 3. Leave the workstation name as is and click the Change button. The list of storage areas in this indexing service is displayed. 299 Chapter 14 Conforming 4. To add a new storage, click the Add button. The Available Storage Types dialog box displays. 5. Select Avid Media Storage and click OK. The Avid Media Storage dialog box displays. 6. For the video storage, enter the full Windows path name (drive:\folder_name or \\workstation_name\folder_name) where the storage area is located, or use the browse (...) button to find it. For example, D:\\Avid MediaFiles\Video Storage or \\DSStorage4\\Avid MediaFiles\Video Storage. 300 Conforming a Project If you are configuring a folder on an Avid Unity system, then click the browse (...) button and locate the Avid Unity workspace folder. For example, \\AvidUnity\allocation\workspace\mediafolder. Do NOT use a drive letter. 7. Select the Enable throttling for this storage option if you are working in a workgroup where an Avid DS RP is installed. The Avid Throttle Manager allows for more efficient bandwidth management between your workstation, storage areas, and the Avid DS RP workstation. 8. Select MXF video files (.mxf) as the media type. 9. From the Disk Controller Type list, select the card that is installed in your workstation. 10. From the Disk Storage Type list, select the storage type that you are using. The disk options set the appropriate bandwidth for the application to use when transferring data to the storage. You may choose Generic Adapter and Generic Storage but these settings may not fully utilize bandwidth available to you. Therefore, choose the options according to your storage device to obtain the best performance for real-time effects. Click the Help button for more information on these settings. 301 Chapter 14 Conforming 11. Click OK. The storage area is added to the Media Storage Configuration list. 12. To add the audio storage, click the Add button. 13. Select Avid Media Storage and click OK. 14. Enter the full Windows path name (drive:\folder_name or \\workstation_name\folder_name) where the storage area is located, or use the browse (...) button to find it. For example, D:\Avid MediaFiles\Audio Storage or \\DSStorage4\\Avid MediaFiles\Audio Storage. 15. Select the Enable throttling for this storage option if you are working in a workgroup where an Avid DS RP is installed. The Avid Throttle Manager allows for more efficient bandwidth management between your workstation, storage areas, and the Avid DS RP workstation. 16. Select MXF audio files (.mxf), as this is the media type. 17. From the Disk Controller Type list, select the card that is installed in your workstation. 18. From the Disk Storage Type list, select the storage type that you are using. 19. Click OK. The storage area is added to the Media Storage Configuration list. 302 Conforming a Project New storages n These storages will be accessed and indexed in the order in which they are listed. Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to move the MXF storage lower in the list. 20. Click Close and then OK to return to the Media Storage Configuration dialog box. 21. Click the Close button to save the configuration for the media indexing service. n By default, the media indexer sets any new storage areas to automatically have full read/write access by any user on the network. To restrict access to your media, you can change the share permissions through Windows. sharing folders and setting permissions$$ Conforming the Sequence Now that your storages are defined, you can conform the project. You’ll be starting a new project, and then opening the sequence created in Avid Xpress Pro. To conform the sequence: 1. In Avid DS Nitris, select File > New > Project and name it Special Delivery. 2. Select NTSC 4/3 as the video format. 3. Accept the other defaults. Make sure to select the Use the closest media format available option. 303 Chapter 14 Conforming 4. Click OK. 5. In Avid Explorer, use the My System panel to navigate to the C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_vX\Media_GetStarted folder. 304 Conforming a Project 6. Double-click the Special Delivery.afe file. The AAF/AFE View opens and displays a copy of the original folder, called “Special Delivery.” Bin icon 7. Drag the bin to a folder in the Avid Explorer. In this case, the sequence is already created. Note that the bin includes an offline clip for the dissolve effect. Avid DS Nitris does not use processed media during the conform process. 305 Chapter 14 Conforming Sequence 8. Double-click the Special Delivery bin icon to see the master clips and sequence inside it. 306 Conforming a Project Sequence 9. Leave the default settings as they are. 10. Drag the sequence to the first track on the timeline. Avid DS Nitris creates master clips in your project folder, and the sequence automatically links to the media on your storage device. 307 Chapter 14 Conforming You can now edit the sequence in the same way as you edit any other Avid DS Nitris sequence. 11. Double-click the yellow DVE effect bar on the CU chick clip to open its property editor. A yellow bounding box surrounds the image in the viewer. 12. Scale down the size of the chick image and place it in the middle of the rear view mirror by doing one of the following: t Select one of the interactive tools in the DVE property editor and transform the image interactively in the viewer by repositioning the image box or adjusting its handles to change the dimensions. t Enter the values in the DVE property editor. 13. Save your sequence as Special Delivery. n If there are red sections on the timeline ribbon, you will need to process the DVE effect before you can play the sequence. 14. Play the sequence. n 308 If you do not hear any audio, make sure the audio is set to 48 kHz in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. Select File > Sequence Preferences. Installation and Administration This section includes information for installation and administration. • Setting up your Avid DS Environment • Configuring Windows XP • Installing Avid DS Software and Services • Installing the Remote Processing Software • The Avid DMS Broker • Licensing Avid DS Software • Managing Your Storage Areas 310 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment The information in this section describes the various ways in which you can set up your post-production environment with Avid DS. Whether you are installing a new system or upgrading from an existing system, you must ensure that your workstation(s) is prepared with the proper operating system, drivers, and network and storage connections. The Avid DS Support Center web site http://www.softimage.com/avidds, has all the most recent software updates, hardware component and firmware drivers. • Recovery Procedures for Avid DS Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment Installation Scenarios Due to the various types of hardware platforms and Avid DS workgroup configurations, there are different installation checklists for upgrading your Avid DS workstation software. These checklists have specific steps that must be followed in the correct order. Each step will point you to an appropriate section with more detailed instructions. Return to the checklist each time that you complete a step. This section shows different ways to set up your Avid DS workgroup, and where each of the various Avid DS software components or services should be installed. Installing a Standalone Avid DS Workstation When you have a single Avid DS workstation that is running alone, you only need to install the Avid DS software. A single workstation is it’s own controller running the project and media indexing services. Setting up an Avid DS Workgroup When you have two or more Avid DS workstations (even if one of them is an Avid DS RP workstation), then it is possible to connect them together in an Avid DS workgroup. In a workgroup, you can share projects and media between workstations or offload the media management and processing services to a dedicated workstation. CONTROLLER CLIENT Avid DS Workstation Could run any one of the following: - Avid DS RP - Avid DMS Broker - Avid Throttle Manager 312 Installation Scenarios To optimize the operation of your workgroup, we recommend that you connect an ordinary machine (i.e. a non-Avid DS workstation) to your workgroup and designate it as the controller. The controller then manages all indexing and remote processing services, so that you can use your Avid DS workstations solely for editing tasks. n This workstation would have the same system requirements as an Avid DS RP—see “Minimal Requirements for Avid DS RP Workstation” on page 369. In a more elaborate environment, you may have more than one RP workstation to provide services to several Avid DS workstations. (You can’t run Avid DS RP and Avid DS simultaneously on a workstation.) ADDITIONAL RP WORKSTATION CONTROLLER Running: Running Avid DS RP - Avid DS RP Each RP workstation added to the workgroup should be configured the same as this one. - Avid DMS Broker - Avid Throttle Manager CLIENT 1 CLIENT 3 Avid DS Workstation Avid DS Workstation LOCAL AREA NETWORK Running Avid DS Running Avid DS Each Avid DS workstation added to the workgroup should be configured the same as this one. CLIENT 2 Avid DS Assist Workstation To properly configure an Avid DS workgroup, you should have a basic understanding of Windows user account management. All workstations should be connected to the same network so that they can access each other’s project files and media when necessary. You should also refer to “Planning your Storage Locations” on page 406, for the different ways that your media storage can be configured. If you are using Avid Unity MediaNetwork as your storage, you may use it in any one of these workgroup scenarios. 313 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment Installing New Avid DS Workstations Use the following checklists when installing new Avid DS workstations. 1. Checklist: Preparing a New Avid DS Workstation 2. Checklist: Installing a Standalone Workstation or Checklist: Installing Multiple Workstations Checklist: Preparing a New Avid DS Workstation Before you start to install the Avid DS software, you must prepare your workstation(s) with the proper operating system, drivers, and network and storage connections. n This checklist only applies to workstations on which you are installing Avid DS. It is not required if you are only installing Avid DS RP on the workstation—see “Install Avid DS RP on the appropriate Workstations” on page 321. Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to another topic within a step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous topic. ; Step Read the online release notes and pre-installation Go to http://www.softimage.com/avidds and instructions on the Avid DS Support Center web site. select Download > Software. Request an Avid DS license for each workstation on which you are going to install Avid DS. “Requesting a License File” on page 402. Make sure the workstation is properly connected to any necessary peripheral and storage devices. “Site Planning” in the Avid DS System Setup Guide. in the Help. Start the workstation. 314 Refer to this section Installing New Avid DS Workstations ; Step On new Avid DS systems, the Windows XP operating “Creating User Accounts” on page 345. system is already installed, but you may need to enter your Windows XP product ID for license confirmation. Refer to this section You will be asked to create a user account (other than Administrator). After setting up a user account, switch to the administrator account to install Avid DS. 1. Press Ctrl+Atl+Del twice to get the Windows login dialog. 2. Type administrator for the User ID and leave the Password field blank. 3. After you log in as administrator, add a password Microsoft Windows online help. Click Start > for the administrator, so that the Avid DS indexing Help and Support. services function properly. The workstation MUST have an unique IP address. Make sure that you have a valid network connection for your Avid DS workstation whether it is connected to a network or running alone. n “Configuring the Network Connection” on page 336. If you are running a standalone workstation, “Installing the Microsoft Loopback Adapter on and don’t have a valid network connection, you aStandalone Station” on page 338. need to simulate one by creating a loopback connection. Create user accounts for each person that will use the workstation. • If you are part of a Windows Workgroup... “Microsoft Windows Workgroups: Account Management” on page 340. • If you are part of a Windows Domain... “Microsoft Windows Domains: Account Management” on page 341. Name your workstation to uniquely identify it within “Naming your Workstation” on page 342. your Avid DS workgroup. 315 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment ; Step You must turn off ‘simple file sharing’, or other Avid DS software components will not be allowed to access the shared folders for data and media. Refer to this section From Windows Explorer, select Tools > Folder Options... > View. Under Advanced settings, deselect the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) option. Use some type of network timing software to maintain synchronization between the workstations within a workgroup. Install the necessary drivers for your workstation. When installing the drivers, reboot your workstation each time you are asked to do so. n If you purchased a new Avid DS Nitris system, the drivers and firmware needed to run Avid DS Nitris are already installed on your system. If the workstation has a local storage device, make sure the stripe volume has been created. You are now ready to install Avid DS on your workstation(s). Use the Avid DS Nitris Software & Drivers DVD, or download the the latest drivers from the Avid DS Support Center web site: http://www.softimage.com/avidds (see Download area). “Striping your Drives” on page 426. Use the appropriate checklist for installing: 316 • a single standalone Avid DS workstation “Checklist: Installing a Standalone Workstation” on page 317. • more than one Avid DS and/or Avid DS RP workstation(s) connected together “Checklist: Installing Multiple Workstations” on page 318. Installing New Avid DS Workstations Checklist: Installing a Standalone Workstation If you have a single Avid DS workstation that is running alone, you will only need to install Avid DS. Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to another topic within a step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous topic. ; Step Refer to Make sure that you have fully prepared your workstation(s) for the install. “Checklist: Preparing a New Avid DS Workstation” on page 314. Login to the workstation. Install Avid DS. “Installing Avid DS Software Components” on page 350. Use the Avid DS Nitris Software & Drivers DVD, or download the software from the Avid Download Center http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/index.as p Install the latest Avid DS upgrades and/or fixes (if Download the latest upgrades and/or fixes. any). Follow the online instructions to install software updates, and then reboot your workstation. Create the license file for this workstation. Any new storage areas automatically have full “Sharing Folders and Setting Permissions” on read/write access by any user on the network. To page 343. restrict access to your media, you can change the share permissions through Windows. Configure the media storage areas on each Avid DS workstation. “Installing the Registered License File” on page 403. “Configuring your Storage Locations” on page 415. By default, the Avid DS installation configures one audio and one video storage on each workstation. Check your storage device configuration to set the Disk Controller Type and Disk Storage Type correctly. Set the path to your projects folder. “Establishing the Project Folder” on page 424. 317 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment ; Step Refer to Test Avid DS by starting it and creating a new project. “Creating a New Project” in the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide. n If you receive a Project Indexer message when you create a new sequence, contact Avid DS Support Center immediately to resolve the problem. Checklist: Installing Multiple Workstations If you are upgrading an existing Avid DS workgroup, then follow the instructions in this section. The order in which you install the Avid DS software and services is critical, especially when configuring RP workstations. Install the Controller Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to another topic within a step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous topic. ; Step Refer to Determine the workgroup configuration that you are going to use. “Installation Scenarios” on page 312. In a workgroup, you must first install the controller. “Installing the Avid DS Controller” on page 356. Use the Avid DS Nitris Software & Drivers DVD, or download the software from the Avid Download Center http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/index.asp 318 If you installed the DMS Broker on this workstation: 1. Atttach the DMS dongle to the workstation. “Attaching the Dongle” on page 381. 2. Start the DMS Broker. “Starting the DMS Broker” on page 383. After the controller has been installed, you can Follow the checklist below on how to “Install Avid DS install and connect other workstations in the on the appropriate Workstations”. workgroup. Installing New Avid DS Workstations Install Avid DS on the appropriate Workstations Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to another topic within a step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous topic. ; Step Make sure you have fully prepared each Avid “Checklist: Preparing a New Avid DS Workstation” on DS workstation(s) for the install. page 314. Login to the workstation. Run the Avid DS Setup and install Avid DS. n Refer to In a workgroup environment, the controller must be installed before you install Avid DS on the workstations. “Installing Avid DS Software Components” on page 350. Use the Avid DS Nitris Software & Drivers DVD, or download the software from the Avid Download Center http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/index.asp Install the latest Avid DS updates and/or fixes Download the latest upgrades and/or fixes. (if any). Follow the online instructions to install these software updates, and then reboot your workstation. Create the license file on each workstation where Avid DS is installed. Any new storage areas automatically have full “Sharing Folders and Setting Permissions” on page 343. read/write access by any user on the network. To restrict access to your media, you can change the share permissions through Windows. Configure the media storage areas on each Avid DS workstation. “Installing the Registered License File” on page 403. “Configuring your Storage Locations” on page 415. By default, the Avid DS installation configures one audio and one video storage on each workstation. Check your storage device configuration to set the Disk Controller Type and Disk Storage Type correctly. Set the path to your projects folder. If you are using Avid Unity as your storage, “Checklist: Installing Avid DS with Avid Unity” on install the Avid Unity MediaNetwork software page 422. on each client workstation. “Establishing the Project Folder” on page 424. 319 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment ; Step Test Avid DS by starting it and creating a new “Creating a New Project” in the Avid DS Nitris Getting project. Started Guide. n Refer to If you receive a Project Indexer message when you create a new sequence, contact Avid DS Customer Service immediately to resolve the problem. Test remote processing on an Avid DS RP workstation (if you have one in your workgroup). 1. Start Avid DS RP on the controller, and check the messages in the interface to make sure that no error is displayed. 2. Start Avid DS on any workstation in the workgroup. 3. Create a sequence, apply an effect on a “Processing” in the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide. short clip and send the job to be processed Select the Process Remotely option in the remotely. After processing is complete, Processing dialog box. verify that the processed effect plays back correctly on the timeline. n 320 Installing New Avid DS Workstations Install Avid DS RP on the appropriate Workstations After the controller has been installed, you can install Avid DS RP on the workstations that will serve as remote processing workstations. Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to another topic within a step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous topic. ; Step Run the Avid DS Setup and install Avid DS RP. “Installing Avid DS RP” on page 372. Refer to Use the Avid DS Nitris Software & Drivers DVD, or download the software from the Avid Download Center http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/index.asp Test remote processing on the newly installed RP workstation. 1. Start Avid DS RP and check the messages in the interface, to make sure that no error is displayed. 2. Start Avid DS on any workstation in the workgroup. 3. Apply an effect on a short clip and send the “How Do I Process?” in the Avid DS Nitris Getting job to be processed remotely. After Started Guide. processing is complete, verify that the Select the Process Remotely option in the processed effect plays back correctly on the Processing dialog box. timeline. n n If you have more than one RP workstation in your workgroup, Avid DS will direct your request to the first available RP workstation. You can test individual RP workstations by closing Avid DS RP on the other RP workstations. 321 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment Upgrading Existing Avid DS workstations This section describes how to perform a software upgrade on either a Compaq EVO W8000, HP xw8000, or Avid Nitris DNA™ workstation. If you only need to reinstall hardware component drivers or system firmware, refer to the Avid DS Support Center web site at http://www.softimage.com/avidds for the most recent updates. n c If you are upgrading from a version earlier than v7.5, refer to the Avid DS Support Center web site for detailed instructions. If you have an Equinox HP xw8000, and would like to upgrade your hardware to an Avid Nitris DNA system, contact your Avid DS Customer Service respresentative for instructions on changing your hardware boards. You must perform the hardware upgrade before installing the Avid DS v8.x software. Use the following checklists when upgrading your Avid DS workstations. 1. Checklist: Preparing your Workstation for an Upgrade 2. Checklist: Upgrading a Standalone Avid DS Workstation or Checklist: Upgrading a Workgroup with Multiple Avid DS Workstations Checklist: Preparing your Workstation for an Upgrade Before you upgrade your software, it is very important to archive your existing projects and save your Avid DS user preferences. You can then update your system drivers and firmware, and lastly, upgrade your software. Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to another topic within a step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous topic. ; Step Refer to Read the online release notes and Readme instructions on the Avid DS Support Center web site. Go to http://www.softimage.com/avidds and select Download > Software. Request an Avid DS license for each workstation on which you are going to install Avid DS. “Requesting a License File” on page 402. 322 Upgrading Existing Avid DS workstations ; Step Refer to Archive your existing projects. “Archiving Projects” in the Help. You must NOT directly open projects from earlier versions of Avid DS without first archiving them. Once a sequence is opened in v8.0, it cannot be opened in a previous version. Therefore, it’s best to archive your projects before upgrading. All media from v7.x onwards is compatible with v8.x, so you don’t need to archive the media. Caches, however, are not compatible and will have to be reprocessed in v8.x. Save your current Avid DS layouts and preferences. “Saving your Avid DS Nitris System Settings” on page 364. Uninstall your previous version of Avid DS as well as any plug-ins. “Removing Avid DS” on page 328. All workstations must be upgraded to Windows XP Service http://www.softimage.com/avidds Home Pack 2, or Windows Professional x64 Edition and Service page Pack 1. Install the latest Windows XP hot fixes from the Microsoft web site. http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/e n/default.asp Download the latest drivers and firmware files for your workstations. Avid Download Center: http://www.avid.com/support/downloadce nter/index.asp Install these files as instructed on the web site. After the operating system and necessary hardware drivers have been updated, use the appropriate checklist below to install the software on: • a single standalone Avid DS workstation “Checklist: Upgrading a Standalone Avid DS Workstation” on page 324. • more than one Avid DS and/or Avid DS RP workstation(s) connected together “Checklist: Upgrading a Workgroup with Multiple Avid DS Workstations” on page 325. 323 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment Checklist: Upgrading a Standalone Avid DS Workstation If you have a single Avid DS workstation that is running alone, you will only need to install Avid DS. The Project Indexer and Media Indexer are automatically installed. Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to another topic within a step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous topic. ; Step Refer to Make sure that you have fully prepared your workstation for the install. “Checklist: Preparing your Workstation for an Upgrade” on page 322. Insert the Avid DS Software and Drivers DVD into your drive, OR Download the latest Avid DS software and updates from the web. Install the necessary Avid DS components on this workstation. Avid Download Center: http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/ index.asp “Installing Avid DS Software Components” on page 350. If there are any fixes for this version, install them as well. Create the license file for this workstation. Test Avid DS by starting it and creating a new project. “Creating a New Project” on page 130 of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide. If you receive a Project Indexer message when you create a new sequence, contact Avid DS Support Center immediately to resolve the problem. Configure the Media Storage. By default, the Avid DS installation configures one audio and one video storage on each workstation. If you had existing storage, you will notice that your storage areas are now shared using ds_media names (e.g. ds_media, ds_media_1, ds_media_2). Determine the physical storage devices/drives to which these correspond, and that you are capturing your media to the correct location. You should also check your storage device configuration to set the Disk Controller Type and Disk Storage Type correctly. 324 “Installing the Registered License File” on page 403. “Configuring your Storage Locations” on page 415. Upgrading Existing Avid DS workstations ; Step Refer to Restore your Avid DS layouts and preferences that you saved from your previous version. “Saving your Avid DS Nitris System Settings” on page 364. Checklist: Upgrading a Workgroup with Multiple Avid DS Workstations If you are upgrading an existing Avid DS workgroup, then follow the instructions in this section. The order in which you install the Avid DS software and services is critical, especially when configuring RP workstations. n n This checklist assumes that you are keeping your existing workgroup configuration. If you need to change the configuration of your workgroup (for instance, if you need to designate a different workstation as the controller), see “Managing a Workgroup” on page 331. If you want to keep one or more workstations running earlier versions of Avid DS, then you must create a separate workgroup for these workstations. Use these steps to upgrade each workstation. Follow the steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to another topic within a step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous topic. ; Step Refer to Make sure that you have fully prepared your workstation for the install. “Checklist: Preparing your Workstation for an Upgrade” on page 322. Insert the Avid DS Software and Drivers DVD into your drive, OR Download the latest Avid DS software and updates from the web. Avid Download Center: http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/ index.asp Install the Controller First, install the necessary Avid DS components on the “Installing the Avid DS Controller” on controller. page 356. If there are any fixes for this version, install them as well. If the DMS Broker is installed on this workstation: 325 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment ; Step Refer to Make sure the DMS dongle is attached to the workstation. “Attaching the Dongle” on page 381. Obtain a new license for the dongle. .“Updating the Dongle” on page 382 Start the DMS Broker. “Starting the DMS Broker” on page 383. Install the Other Workstations Install Avid DS on each workstation. Create the license file for each workstation. . Test Avid DS by starting it and creating a new project. “Creating a New Project” on page 130 of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide. If you receive a Project Indexer message when you create a new sequence, contact Avid DS Support Center immediately to resolve the problem. Configure the media storage areas on each Avid DS workstation. “Configuring your Storage Locations” on page 415. By default, the Avid DS installation configures one audio and one video storage on each workstation. Check your storage device configuration to set the Disk Controller Type and Disk Storage Type correctly. If you are using Avid Unity as your storage, install the Avid Unity MediaNetwork software on each client workstation. Test remote processing on an Avid DS RP workstation (if you have one in your workgroup). 1. Start Avid DS RP on the controller, and check the messages in the interface to make sure that no error is displayed. 2. Start Avid DS on any workstation in the workgroup. 326 “Checklist: Installing Avid DS with Avid Unity” on page 422. Upgrading Existing Avid DS workstations ; Step Refer to 3. Create a sequence, apply an effect on a short clip and send the job to be processed remotely. After processing is complete, verify that the processed effect plays back correctly on the timeline. “Processing” on page 256 of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide. n Select the Process Remotely option in the Processing dialog box. If you have more than one RP workstation in your workgroup, Avid DS will direct your request to the first available RP workstation. You can test individual RP workstations by closing Avid DS RP on the other RP workstations. Restore your Avid DS layouts and preferences that you “Saving your Avid DS Nitris System Settings” saved from your previous version. on page 364. 327 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment Removing Avid DS Checklist: Removing Avid DS If you need to uninstall the Avid DS software, you MUST first remove any plug-ins or codecs that were installed on your system. c If you uninstall Avid DS before uninstalling the plug-ins, the uninstall procedure will fail. Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to another topic within a step, make sure you return to the checklist after you have completed that procedure. Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous topic. ; Step Refer to Save your Avid DS layouts, presets, preferences, toolbars, and key command maps. “Saving your Avid DS Nitris System Settings” on page 364. Remove all the Avid DS plug-ins or codecs. http://www.avid.com/partners/avx/ displayPartners.html for a list of Avid DS plug-in vendors. 1. Click the Start button, and select Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs. 2. In the Currently Installed Programs list, check for any installed plugs-ins. 3. Select the plug-ins one at a time, and click the Change/Remove button. Repeat this step until they are all removed. n 328 If you cannot remove some plug-ins, continue with the next one until completion, and then manually delete the \Plug-in folder. Remove the necessary drivers and firmware via Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs. Removing Avid DS ; Step Remove Avid DS. Refer to 1. Click the Start button, and select Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs. 2. In the Currently Installed Programs list, select the Avid DS software that you want to remove. 3. When the setup program starts, select the Remove option, and click the Next button. 4. Select Yes to remove all components. 5. When all components are removed, click Yes to restart the workstation. 329 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment Recovery Procedures for Avid DS In the event of a complete system failure, the Avid DS Support Center web site provides details on the recovery process for your particular system. If you have an HP workstation, you can rebuild the C: partition of your Avid DS Nitris workstation using the HP Recovery Manager. The recovery manager will rebuild your workstation with the Windows XP operating system and drivers, as well as any project data from the last recovery point that you made. It will not install the Nitris board drivers and firmware. The first user to log on to the HP workstation will be prompted to create the necessary recovery CDs and a recovery point. Wait until after you have installed all the necessary Avid DS components, and then follow this checklist: ; Step Refer to this section Create an operating system CD. Go to http://www.softimage.com/avidds and select Documentation > Recovery Procedures. Create an HP Restore Plus CD. Create an HP Supplementals CD. Create a recovery point. This step should be done at key intervals during the year. In the event of a system or hard drive failure, refer to the HP recovery procedures to recover your operating system and data. The procedures are available on the HP CD as well as on the HP web site. 330 Managing a Workgroup Managing a Workgroup If, at any point, you need to change the controller of your workgroup, connect more workstations, or create a new workgroup, then you can refer to the following sections. Adding a Workstation to a Standalone Avid DS Workstation To connect new workstations (either Avid DS or Avid DS RP) to a standalone workstation, you need to set up an Avid DS workgroup. In a workgroup, at least one workstation must be designated as the controller. If you are connecting an RP workstation, we strongly recommend that you make your RP workstation the controller of the workgroup. This offloads the project indexing tasks from the Avid DS workstation onto a dedicated RP workstation. Follow the instructions in “Checklist: Installing Multiple Workstations” on page 318. Connecting Other Workstations in the Workgroup to the Controller If you are installing a new workstation in the workgroup, then follow the checklist for “Install Avid DS on the appropriate Workstations” on page 319. (Assuming that you have already installed the controller for the workgroup). If you already have an existing workstation with the necessary Avid DS components installed, and you simply want to connect it to the workgroup, then follow the instructions below. To connect a standalone workstation to a workgroup: 1. On the workstation that you want to connect to the workgroup, click the Start button and select All Programs > Avid > Avid DS 8 > Configure DS Workgroup. 2. Click Join workgroup. 3. Select Join a different DS Workgroup, and click the Next button. 4. In the left pane, select the name of the appropriate Avid DS Workgroup on the network and click the Next button. 5. Validate the User Account and Password to authenticate the Avid indexing services (These must match the Controller User Account and Password entries). Click Next. 6. Do these same steps for any other workstation that you want to connect to the workgroup. 331 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment Designating a New Controller for the Workgroup To designate a different workstation in the workgroup as the controller, you must first separate your existing controller from the workgroup. To designate a new controller: 1. Separate the existing controller from the workgroup by following the instructions for “Separating a Workstation from the Workgroup” on page 332. 2. On the workstation that will be the new controller, click the Start button and select All Programs > Avid > Avid DS 8 > Configure DS Workgroup. 3. Select Install Avid DS Workgroup Controller. n Depending on the type of workgroup you are configuring, you may need to select other options in this setup—see “Installation Scenarios” on page 312. 4. Enter the name of the workgroup. When the installation is complete, this workstation will be the new controller of the workgroup. 5. You can now connect the other workstations to this workgroup—see “Connecting Other Workstations in the Workgroup to the Controller” on page 331. Separating a Workstation from the Workgroup To separate a workstation from the workgroup: 1. On the workstation that is to be separated, click the Start button and select All Programs > Avid > Avid DS 8 > Configure DS Workgroup. 2. Click Work standalone and click the Next button. This workstation is now no longer part of the workgroup. Restarting a Workgroup When restarting all workstations in an Avid DS workgroup, it is always good practice to start the controller workstation first. Once it is running, then others may be started. If the controller is the only workstation that needs to be restarted, then one or more of the other client workstations may not remain connected to the Avid DS workgroup. As a result, access errors may occur. If this happens, restart the workstation in question. If you have the DMS Broker in your workgroup, you also need to restart the Avid DMS Broker—see “Starting the DMS Broker” on page 383. 332 Managing a Workgroup 333 Chapter 1 Setting up your Avid DS Environment 334 Chapter 2 Configuring Windows XP Avid DS Nitris is supported on both Windows XP Professional and Windows Professional x64 Edition. Chapter 2 Configuring Windows XP Configuring the Network Connection If you are installing a standalone Avid DS workstation with no network connection, then ignore this section, and see “Installing the Microsoft Loopback Adapter on aStandalone Station” on page 338. This simulates an active network connection. If you are on a Microsoft Windows domain, then do only steps 1 to 4 to set up network connections on each of the workstations. If you are part of a Microsoft Windows workgroup, follow all these steps to set up network connections on each of the workstations. n The Avid Project Indexer will not operate correctly if the network adapter or connection is not set properly. To configure the network connection on Windows XP: 1. On the Windows desktop, right-click the My Network Places icon and select Properties. The following window displays. 2. Right-click the Local Area Connection icon and select Properties. A dialog box similar to the following displays. 336 Configuring the Network Connection n The TCP/IP network protocol must always appear at the top of the list of protocols. 3. Double-click the TCP/IP protocol and click Properties. 4. Do one of the following: t Windows workgroup: select Use the following IP address. t Windows domain: select Obtain an IP address automatically. 5. On a private network, enter a valid IP address from your Internet Service Provider and the correct Subnet Mask. 6. Enter the Gateway address if required. Otherwise, leave it blank. 7. Click OK. 8. Repeat these steps for all workstations in the Windows workgroup. To confirm that all workstations are part of the workgroup: 1. On the Windows desktop, right-click the My Network Places icon. 2. Click Computers Near Me. You should see all the workstations that you just configured to be part of the workgroup. If not, restart the workstation to reinitialize the network adapter card. 337 Chapter 2 Configuring Windows XP Using Two Network Cards If any of the workstations are configured with two active network cards, the Avid indexing services require small modifications to work properly. 1. Open the C:\Winnt\slp.conf file with the Windows Notepad application. 2. Locate this line at the bottom of the file: net.slp.isBroadcastOnly = false 3. Change ‘false’ to ‘true’. 4. Save the file and restart the workstation to reset the indexing services. If the Avid DS RP workstation chooses the slower network adapter for processing, you can force Windows to use the fastest network adapter by doing the following: 1. Open the C:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file with the Windows Notepad application. 2. At the bottom of the file, under the default 127.0.0.1 localhost line, declare the fast network adapter IP Address and computer name (example: 200.200.200.1 DS1). 3. Save the file and restart the workstation. If that does not resolve the problem, open a Command Prompt window, type ROUTE PRINT and press Enter. The result should display your two network adapters’ IP addresses. If you see only one address returned, you have a networking conflict to resolve. Do not use the same IP class for both adapters. For example, the following is not valid: 100.100.100.1 and 100.100.100.2 The following is valid: 100.100.100.1 and 200.200.200.1 Installing the Microsoft Loopback Adapter on aStandalone Station If your Avid DS workstation will not be operating on a network, the Microsoft Loopback adapter must be installed and configured with a static IP address as directed here. Before you begin, make sure that your workstation is disconnected from any network: 338 • the Local Area connection must be disabled (click Network Connections desktop icon), and • the network cable must be disconnected. Configuring the Network Connection To install the Microsoft LoopBack adapter: 1. Go to the Control Panel and double-click the Add Hardware icon. The Welcome to the Add Hardware Wizard displays. 2. Click the Next button. The wizard searches for installed components. 3. Select Yes, I have already connected the hardware and click the Next button. 4. Select Add a new hardware device and click the Next button. 5. Select Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced) and click the Next button. 6. Select Network Adapters and click the Next button. 7. First select Microsoft in the list on the left, then select Microsoft loopback adapter, and click the Next button. 8. Click the Next button again, and click the Finish button. To test the Microsoft LoopBack adapter: t In a Command Prompt window, type PING "computername" (where computername is the name of the workstation). The result should be: Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128 n 127.0.0.1 is the default Microsoft XP loopback address. 339 Chapter 2 Configuring Windows XP Microsoft Windows Workgroups: Account Management A workgroup configuration is usually most appropriate for smaller facilities. The only difference is between a workgroup and a domain is that the Windows account management for a workgroup is decentralized and requires more complicated security configurations for the Avid DS software components. When an Avid DS workgroup operates within a Windows workgroup, do the following: • n When setting up accounts, log on with the local administrator account. For example: administrator or\administrator After you log on, you must set a password for the administrator account. • A user account must be created for each person on each Avid DS workstation. Each account must have the same username and password on all workstations. For example, if the Avid DS workgroup belongs to a Windows workgroup called POST, and if Alice, Bob, and Charlie are Avid DS operators, then the following accounts must be created: Alice Bob Charlie • Add the user account to the Administrators group, on each of the workstations in the Avid DS workgroup. For example: If a new Avid DS user, Mikayla, needs to be given access to the workgroup, then simply create a new account (Mikayla) on each workstation, and add this account to the Administrators group on each workstation. If an existing user, Bob, must be removed from the Avid DS workgroup, then remove Bob from the Administrators group on each workstation. 340 • Enter a unique name for each workstation in the workgroup—see “Naming your Workstation” on page 342. • Configure the network connection on each workstation—see “Configuring the Network Connection” on page 336. Microsoft Windows Domains: Account Management Microsoft Windows Domains: Account Management A domain configuration is usually most appropriate for larger facilities where the Avid DS workstations are part of an existing corporate network. In a domain, the Windows account management is centralized and simplifies security configuration of all the Avid DS software components. When an Avid DS workgroup operates within a Windows domain, do the following: • When setting up accounts, log on with a valid domain and user account with local administrative privileges ( \userid) • Each person that will use an Avid DS must be given a separate Windows user account within the domain. For example, if the Avid DS workgroup belongs to a domain called POST, and if Alice, Bob, and Charlie are Avid DS operators, then the following accounts must be created: POST\Alice POST\Bob POST\Charlie Domain accounts must be set up by your network administration personnel. Avid does not provide nor support domain networking issues, as network environments differ from one company to the next. • n Add each user account to the Administrators group, of all workstations in the Avid DS workgroup. By administrators group, we mean the local administrator of the workstation, not the Domain administrator. The Avid DS services and hardware require administrative privileges to run on Windows. For example: Once these accounts are properly configured, it becomes quite easy to add and remove new users from the workgroup. If a new Avid DS user, Mikayla, needs to be given access to the workgroup, then simply create a new account (POST\Mikayla) and add this account to the Administrators group. If an existing user, Bob, must be removed from the Avid DS workgroup, then simply remove POST\Bob from the Administrators group. • Make sure there is a proper network connection on each workstation. Your network administrator should perform this step. 341 Chapter 2 Configuring Windows XP Naming your Workstation If your workstations are members of a Windows workgroup, each workstation should be given a unique name. Also, it is better to give different names to the workstation, the Windows workgroup, and the Avid DS workgroup to avoid confusion. To set your workstation name on Windows XP: 1. Click the Start button and select Settings > Control Panel. 2. Double-click the System icon. 3. Select the Network Identification tab, and click the Properties button. 4. Under Computer Name, type in a unique name for this workstation. 5. Select Member of: Workgroup. 6. For the workgroup name, type Workgroup or the name of your company. n 342 The workgroup name must be the same on all workstations. Sharing Folders and Setting Permissions Sharing Folders and Setting Permissions The Avid DS Setup program creates folders to hold project data and media files. By default, these folders will inherit security permissions from the parent folder. In a default installation, these folders are automatically shared, and the default permissions give full access to everyone. These permissions may be changed as needed: Shared folder name Shared path Description \DS_Projects F:\DS Projects\DS_v8.x Avid DS Nitris project folder \ds_media D:\VideoStorage Avid DS Nitris media storage \ds_media_1 F:\AudioStorage Avid DS Nitris media storage If a user creates new media folders or stores project data in other folders, then Avid DS automatically shares those folders. The share permissions and security of these folders should also be verified. For media and project folders, if permissions are not set properly on the share or the folder, you will get an error message. Sharing Folders in a Windows Workgroup To disable simple file sharing: 1. Open an Explorer window and select Tools from the menu. 2. Select Folder Options. 3. Select the View tab. 4. Under Advanced Settings, deselect Use simple file sharing (Recommended). 5. Click Apply, and then OK to exit. Now you can share folders over the network. To set folder permissions: 1. Right-click the folder and select Properties. 2. On the Sharing tab, select the Share this folder option. 3. Enter the Share name. 343 Chapter 2 Configuring Windows XP 4. Enter a comment: ‘Avid DS project for shared projects; DS Media storage for shared media’. 5. Click Permissions. 6. Select Full Control, then click Apply and OK. c Do not store or create projects outside of an existing DS Projects folder. For example: F:\projectname is not valid However, F:\DS Projects\projectname is valid (where F:\DS Projects is shared) F:\DS Projects\DS_v8.x\projectname is valid (where F:\DS Projects\DS_v8.x is shared) n Additionally, the Avid Project Indexer does not allow a shared project folder to reside within another shared project folder. You will get an error message from the indexer if you do so. Sharing Folders in a Windows Domain To share folders and set permissions on a computer that is part of a Windows domain: 1. In Windows Explorer, right-click the folder and select Sharing and Security. 2. Select Share this folder, and click the Permissions button. 3. Select Full Control, then click Apply and OK. 4. Add the user that runs the Project Indexer and allow full control. 344 Creating User Accounts Creating User Accounts You can change your password, and create and modify user accounts by accessing the Windows XP Computer Management console, which lets you define security features, such as permissions, rights, accounts, user groups, and audit policies. Avid recommends that all users within the Avid DS Workgroup have accounts in the Administrators group on each workstation in the workgroup. When creating user accounts, make note of whether your workstation is part of a Windows workgroup or domain network. • n If it is part of a Windows workgroup, log on with the local administrator account. For example: administrator or computer_name\administrator The administrator account must have a password. • If it is part of a Windows domain, log on with a valid domain and user account with local administrative privileges. For example: domain_name\userid To create a user account: 1. On the Windows desktop, right-click the My Computer icon and select Manage. 2. Use the tree (left) to navigate to System Tools > Local Users and Groups > Users. 3. Select Action > New User. 345 Chapter 2 Configuring Windows XP 4. Enter the new user information and click the Create button. 5. Repeat step 4 until you’re finished adding new users and click the Close button. The new user accounts display in the Computer Management console. To modify an account: 1. In the Computer Management console, navigate to System Tools > Local Users and Groups > Users. 2. Double-click the user account you want to edit. The Properties dialog box for this user account displays. 346 Creating User Accounts 3. Select the General tab to specify password options. 4. Select the Member Of tab to add the user to groups. n All Avid DS users must be members of the Administrators group. 5. Click OK when you’re finished. 347 Chapter 2 Configuring Windows XP 348 Chapter 3 Installing Avid DS Software and Services This section describes how to install the various Avid DS products and services. w Before you begin installing Avid DS, all the operating system updates, required device drivers, and the stripe volume (for local storage), must be configured correctly—see “Setting up your Avid DS Environment” on page 311. Chapter 3 Installing Avid DS Software and Services Installing Avid DS Software Components To install Avid DS, you must log on with an account that has Administrator privileges. To install Avid DS software components: 1. Use the Avid DS Nitris Software & Drivers DVD, or download the Avid DS Nitris software from the Avid Download Center. n The installers for the software are also available from the Avid Download Center at http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/index.asp. 2. Double-click the Setup.exe file. You have the following choices: - Avid DS Software: to install Avid DS Nitris, Avid DS RP, Avid DMS Broker, the controller, and/or other services. - Drivers and Support Utilities: to install hardware drivers for your workstation. - Avid Codecs: to install Avid codecs, plug-ins, and other utilities. 3. Click the Avid DS Software button. 4. Select Avid DS 32-bit Edition or Avid DS 64-bit Edition. 5. Select Install Avid DS. 6. When the Avid DS Installation Wizard displays, click the Next button. Each time you run the Avid DS install program, it automatically detects your hardware and any previously installed Avid DS software. If you already have Avid DS installed, the following Welcome dialog will display to let you remove any unecessary components, or install additional components. 350 Installing Avid DS Software Components 7. Select one of the above options and click Next. 8. In the Select Main Components dialog box, select or deselect any component by clicking the checkbox beside it. Refer to the Legend for an explanation of the icons that appear beside each component. 351 Chapter 3 Installing Avid DS Software and Services With existing installations, note the following: - If you deselect a component, it will be uninstalled. - Components that are already installed, will not be reinstalled. If you need to reinstall any existing components, then choose the Repair option from the Welcome dialog. After you select the components, a summary is displayed of the software components that will be installed or removed. If you are satisfied with the choices, proceed with the installation. n If you are installing the workgroup controller, go to “Installing the Avid DS Controller” on page 356. 9. In the License Agreement dialog box, read the End User License Agreement and accept the terms of the agreement to continue the installation. 10. In the Customer Information dialog box, enter your name and company name, and click the Next button. 11. In the Reseller or Dealer Information dialog box, enter the requested information and click the Next button. 12. Choose the default destination location to install Avid DS and click Next. 13. If you are installing Avid DS on a client workstation, you will be asked if you want to Work Standalone or Join Workgroup. - Click Work Standalone if you only have one Avid DS workstation that will run on its own. - Click Join Workgroup if you want this workstation to be part of an Avid DS workgroup. You can then remain in the existing workgroup or join a different workgroup. If you decide to Join a Different Workgroup, then you will be asked to select the name of the workgroup that you want to join. 14. When the Service Configuration window displays, enter the login profile of the user account that will run the Avid DS services on this workstation. You must specify the computer name before the user id (that is, computer_name\userid). n If your workstation is part of a Windows domain, then you need to specify the domain name before the user id (domain_name\userid). 15. Click the Next button. The second Service Configuration window displays. t 352 If you are part of a Windows workgroup, then you only need the Administrator in this list. Installing Avid DS Software Components t If you are part of a Windows domain, then all user names must be configured with the domain name (domain_name\userid). If these user accounts are not configured correctly, then the services will not work. For more information on domain versus workgroup accounts, see “Microsoft Windows Workgroups: Account Management” on page 340 or “Microsoft Windows Domains: Account Management” on page 341. 16. Determine the users or group that you want to access the Avid DS workgroup. t To give everyone full read/write permissions, click Allow Everyone. t To add new users or a new group, do the following: - Click the Add button. - Add individual user IDs/group names in the Add Names box. - Select the Type of Access for each user/group. t To remove a user or group: - Select a name from the list, and click the Remove button. t To change user or group privileges: - Select a name from the list and click Change. - Select the Type of Access for the user. 17. Click the OK button to save the user access permissions. 18. Click the Next button. 19. When the Start Copying Files dialog box displays, review your installation settings and if you’re satisfied, click the Next button. n If you need to change options, use the Back button to go as far back as you need to change the options. A progress indicator displays while the Avid DS files are copied to your system. 20. The Storage Setup dialog box displays. 353 Chapter 3 Installing Avid DS Software and Services - n Video Storage: Select the actual drive letter for your video media. If you are connected to Avid Unity, select None even if it is available in this list. It will need to be added later via the Storage Configuration dialog in Avid DS (using the full UNC path name). - Audio Storage: Select the actual drive letter for your audio media. - Projects Storage: Select the actual drive letter for your projects and presets storage area. - Archives Storage: Select the actual drive letter for your archives storage area. - Interactive Cache: Select the actual drive letter for your interactive cache storage area. The interactive cache location must be either one of the local video storage drives, or a drive partition other than your local system partition (An RP workstation will also return processed media to this location). 21. Change the storage locations if necessary, and click the Next button. 22. Select any additional components that you need to install. 354 Installing Avid DS Software Components 23. When the Start Copying Files dialog box displays, review your installation settings and if you’re satisfied, click the Next button. n If you need to change options, use the Back button to go as far back as you need to change the options. A progress indicator displays while the Avid DS files are copied to your system. 24. Click the Finish button. 25. Close the Avid DS Setup window by clicking the close (X) button in the top-right corner. 26. Restart your workstation if prompted. n If you are installing any updates or fixes, you must restart your workstation. Avid DS must first register all its original files prior to a new addition. 355 Chapter 3 Installing Avid DS Software and Services Installing the Avid DS Controller Follow this procedure if you need to install the Avid DS workgroup controller. You must log on with an account that has Administrator privileges. To install the workgroup controller: 1. Use the Avid DS Nitris Software & Drivers DVD, or download the Avid DS Nitris software from the Avid Download Center. 2. Double-click the Setup.exe file and from the main menu, click Avid DS Software. 3. Select Avid DS 32-bit Edition or Avid DS 64-bit Edition. 4. Select Install Avid DS. 5. When the Avid DS Installation Wizard displays, click the Next button. The Avid DS install program allows you install, reinstall, and remove any Avid DS software components. If Avid DS is not installed on a workstation, the following dialog displays: 6. In the Select Main Components dialog box, select Workgroup Components and, if necessary, expand the tree to see all subcomponents that can be installed. 356 Installing the Avid DS Controller 7. Deselect Avid DS. We do not recommend that you install Avid DS on the controller as this workstation is designated to run the administrative services like Avid DS RP and Avid DMS Broker. Other software components that can be installed on the controller: - Avid DS RP—see “Installing Avid DS RP” on page 372. - Avid DMS Broker: If you have one or more RP workstations in your workgroup—see “About the Avid DMS Broker” on page 376. (The DMS Broker setup must be run separately.) - Avid Throttle Manager—The Throttle Manager is only required when you have an Avid DS RP workstation in your workgroup—see “Avid Throttle Manager” on page 374. 8. Click the Next button. 9. In the License Agreement dialog box, read the End User License Agreement and accept the terms of the agreement to continue the installation. 10. In the Customer Information dialog box, enter your name and company name, and click the Next button. 11. In the Reseller or Dealer Information dialog box, enter the requested information and click the Next button. 12. Choose the default destination location to install any Avid DS software and click Next. 13. Avid DS checks if this workstation was previously a controller. If it was a controller, then choose: - Keep existing workgroup configuration to keep the current workgroup settings. 357 Chapter 3 Installing Avid DS Software and Services - Create a different DS workgroup if you want to create a new workgroup with this controller. If this is the first time that you are installing the controller software on this workstation, then enter a unique workgroup name to which this controller will belong, and click the Next button. 14. If you have one or more RP workstations in your workgroup, you must install and start the Avid DMS Broker before installing Avid DS. For more information, see “Installing Avid DMS Broker” on page 378. You need to tell Avid DS where the DMS Broker resides: - Click Use local Avid DMS Broker if the broker is on this workstation. - Click Use remote Avid DMS Broker to use the broker that has been installed on another workstation in your workgroup. (You will be required to specify the workstation where it is installed.) - Click Do not use Avid DMS Broker if you do not need the broker. 15. When the Service Configuration window displays, enter the login profile of the user account that will run the Avid DS services on this workstation. You must specify the computer name before the user id (that is, computer_name\userid). n If your workstation is part of a Windows domain, then you need to specify the domain name before the user id (domain_name\userid). 16. Click the Next button. 358 Installing the Avid DS Controller The second Service Configuration window displays. t If you are part of a Windows workgroup, then you only need the Administrator in this list. t If you are part of a Windows domain, then all user names must be configured with the domain name (domain_name\userid). If these user accounts are not configured correctly, then the services will not work. For more information on domain versus workgroup accounts, see “Microsoft Windows Workgroups: Account Management” on page 340 or “Microsoft Windows Domains: Account Management” on page 341. 17. Determine the users or group that you want to access the Avid DS workgroup. t To give everyone full read/write permissions, click Allow Everyone. t To add new users or a new group, do the following: - Click the Add button. - Add individual user IDs/group names in the Add Names box. - Select the Type of Access for each user/group. t To remove a user or group: - Select a name from the list, and click the Remove button. t To change user or group privileges: - Select a name from the list and click Change. - Select the Type of Access for the user. 18. Click the OK button to save the user access permissions. 19. Click the Next button. 20. When the Storage Setup dialog box displays, accept the default settings and click Next. 21. When the Start Copying Files dialog box displays, review your installation settings and if you’re satisfied, click the Next button. n If you need to change options, use the Back button to go as far back as you need to change the options. A progress indicator displays while the Avid DS files are copied to your system. 22. If you want to install the DMS Broker, return to the main menu and select Avid DMS Broker. n Important: You MUST install and start the DMS Broker before setting up the other workstations in the workgroup. 359 Chapter 3 Installing Avid DS Software and Services Loading Plug-Ins Avid provides some plug-ins for use with Avid DS Nitris. These plug-ins are automatically installed whenever Avid DS Nitris is installed on your workstations. Should you remove these plug-ins and then need to reinstall them, follow the instructions below. To reinstall plug-ins: 1. Use the Avid DS Nitris Software & Drivers DVD, or download the Avid DS Nitris software from the Avid Download Center. 2. Double-click the Setup.exe file and from the main menu, click the Avid DS Nitris Software button. 3. Select Avid DS 32-bit Edition or Avid DS 64-bit Edition. 4. Select Install Avid DS. 5. From the Welcome dialog box, choose Modify. 6. In the Select Main Components dialog box, choose Avid DS and click the Next button. 7. Follow the online instructions until you see the Additional Components dialog. Select Plugins and click Next. 8. Complete the installation. n Important: Any plug-ins that you install on your client workstation should also be installed on the RP workstation to ensure compatibility. The same applies to any third-party plug-ins. Avid DS Nitris supports AVX 1.0 and native Avid DS plug-ins. For a list of compatible third-party plug-ins, refer to the Avid DS Support Center web site. Contact the vendor directly for compatibility with this version of Avid DS Nitris. Avid DS Nitris also supports VST audio plug-ins. For details contact Avid DS Customer Service. 360 Installing and Removing Fonts Installing and Removing Fonts Avid DS Nitris includes 500 fonts from the Bitstream typeface library in the \Fonts folder of the Avid DS Nitris Software and Drivers DVD. Avid DS Nitris supports the following typeface formats: • Type 1 • TrueType (PC-formatted) Avid DS Nitris does not require any additional software to access TrueType fonts, but does require Adobe Type Manager (ATM) software to access Type 1 fonts. n n Installing too many fonts on your workstation can noticeably degrade computing performance. Keep the number of fonts installed on your workstation to the minimum necessary to complete your projects. Important: Any fonts that you install on an Avid DS workstation should also be installed on the RP workstation to ensure consistency between processed results in titles and graphics. Installing and Removing Type 1 Fonts Type 1 font support in Avid DS Nitris is available only if you have the Adobe Type Manager or Adobe Type Manager Deluxe software (version 4.0 or later) installed and active. Consult the documentation that came with the Adobe Type Manager or Adobe Type Manager Deluxe software for instructions on how to install and remove Type 1 fonts. Installing and Removing TrueType Fonts TrueType font support in Avid DS Nitris does not require any additional software. To install TrueType fonts: 1. Click the Start button and select Settings > Control Panel > Fonts. The Fonts window displays. 2. From the File menu, select Install New Font. 3. Whe Add Fonts dialog box displays, use the Folders and Drives lists to navigate to the folder that contains the TrueType fonts you want to install. On the Avid DS Nitris CD, they’re in the \Fonts folder. The available TrueType fonts in the selected folder display in the List of Fonts list. 4. Select the fonts to install from the List of Fonts list, as follows: - To select a single font, click the name of the font. 361 Chapter 3 Installing Avid DS Software and Services - To select a range of fonts, click the name of the first font. Then Shift-click the last font in the range. - To select all fonts in the directory, click Select All. - To switch the selection of a font, press the Ctrl key and click a font name. 5. (Optional) You can use the selected fonts from their current folder by deselecting the Copy fonts to Fonts folder option. This will save disk space on your local workstation. By default, fonts will be added to your workstation’s local disk space. If you are adding several fonts, consider using the fonts from their current locations to save local disk space. 6. Click OK. The selected fonts are installed on your system. 7. If Avid DS Nitris is currently running on this workstation, restart it to access the newly installed fonts. To remove TrueType fonts: 1. Click the Start button and select Settings > Control Panel > Fonts. The Fonts window displays. 2. Select the fonts to remove. 3. Press Delete. You are prompted to confirm the deletion of the selected fonts. 4. Click Yes. 5. Close the Fonts and Control Panel windows. 6. If Avid DS Nitris is currently running, restart it to update the list of available fonts. Installing Non-European Fonts If you are working with a non-European, customized Windows operating system, such as Windows XP Japanese, you can use the DSFontSetting.exe application, which is distributed with Avid DS Nitris. You can use this application to change the default font used in Avid DS Nitris dialog boxes or reset it to default. The new font is used only in dialog boxes; menus and toolbar buttons are not affected by this new information. You can customize the menu font size through the Windows Appearance tab of the Desktop Properties. 362 Installing and Removing Fonts For non-European languages, Avid DS Nitris selects a font (by default) that comprises the European character set and is part of the character set of the foreign Windows system, such as Windows XP Japanese. However, the chosen font is very small and does not display properly, especially in dialog boxes. For regular systems, the default font for dialog boxes is Arial 11. This application does not ensure that the font will fit properly in the dialog box. Whenever the new selected font is too large for the various text contents of the dialog box, a smaller default font will be used as in previous versions. You must be careful to choose a font that still contains a European character set, since the displayed text is still English. This new feature is not restricted only to Asian systems; any customer of any country can change the Avid DS Nitris default font. However, layouts work best with the default font (Arial 11). Each time a new font is set or reset, you must restart Avid DS Nitris before it takes effect. To install non-European fonts 1. Browse to the C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_7.x folder. 2. Double-click the DSFontsettings.exe file. 3. From the Settings menu, you can select one of two options: - Reset Font to reset the fonts to their default setting. - Set DS Font to choose the Font and size you want to use in the dialog click. Click OK. Some Tips • For best results, use a font size between 8 and 14 points. • If the font selected is a little too big to be displayed in its designated area, it will be substituted by the default font size. 363 Chapter 3 Installing Avid DS Software and Services • If the font size is really too big, the layout will not appear correctly, and you may need to refresh the screen. Saving your Avid DS Nitris System Settings Before uninstalling Avid DS Nitris, save your preferences and presets by exporting them to a convenient folder. Then, after you’ve upgraded, you can import the presets into your new version of Avid DS Nitris. n Do not save your preferences to a network folder. Saving your Preferences The Preference Management dialog box in Avid DS Nitris lets you import and export preference sets. A preference set is a collection of Avid DS Nitris layouts, toolbars, combo views, and/or key maps. Importing and exporting preference sets lets you share customized controls with other users. When you import or export a preference set, its internal hierarchy is preserved. For example, if you export an entire layout, any toolbars contained in the layout are automatically exported with it. n Preference sets with the same name are appended with a number to differentiate them. When you export a preference set, you can only include the layouts and keymaps that you customized. You can export any toolbar. To export a preference set: 1. Select Layout > Import/Export Preferences. 2. In the Preference Management dialog box, select the Export Preferences tab. 3. Select the invidual controls that you want to export (or Select All). Use the Type list to switch between the layouts, toolbars, and keymaps in the preference sets. 4. Click Export to export the selected controls. 5. Do one of the following: t In the File Name text box, enter the path to the folder in which you want to save the preference sets. t Use the Avid Explorer to navigate to the folder in which you want to save the preference sets. 6. Enter a name for the preference set in the File Name text box and click OK. 364 Installing and Removing Fonts To import a preference set: When you import a preference set, you can import all of the controls in the set, or you can select only the controls that you need. n When you import an entire layout from an existing preference set, its components are automatically imported as well. Some types of layouts are unsupported and cannot be imported. Also, you cannot import preferences from a network drive. 1. Select Layout > Import/Export Preferences. 2. In the Preference Management dialog box, select the Import Preferences tab. 3. Do one of the following: t In the File Name text box, enter the name and location of the preference sets that you want to import. t Click Browse. The Import Preferences dialog box displays. 4. Locate the preference sets that you want to import and click OK. 5. Select the controls that you want to import. Use the Type list to switch between the layouts, toolbars, combo views, and keymaps preference sets. 6. Click the Select All button to select all controls. 7. Click the Import button to import the selected controls. You will be prompted to restart Avid DS Nitris when the import is complete. If you imported a layout, additional layout buttons appear in the taskbar. Saving your Avid DS Deck Presets To export deck presets: 1. In the top panel of the Deck Configuration view, right-click and select Export Deck Presets. 2. Select the folder into which you want to export the presets. 3. Click the Select button to begin the export. To import deck presets: 1. In the top panel of the Deck Configuration view, right-click and select Import Deck Presets. 2. Select the folder from which you want to import the presets. 365 Chapter 3 Installing Avid DS Software and Services 3. Click the Select button to begin the import. 366 Chapter 4 Installing the Remote Processing Software This chapter describes how to install software on an Avid DS Remote Processing workstation. Processing, or rendering, is a normal and necessary part of the Avid DS workflow, as with any system that handles complex compositing and effects. Unfortunately for editors, artists, and their clients, processing takes up time and resources on the workstation being used, and can present frequent and lengthy interruptions to the creative process. Instead of waiting for Avid DS to process your effects, you can send a processing job to a remote workstation that is running Avid DS RP and continue working on your sequence. You can install the remote processing software on any number of workstations in your workgroup. When you send a job to be processed remotely, your job is routed by the Avid DMS Broker to the first available RP workstation. Avid DS RP processes the effects, returns the cache media to the Avid DS client storages, and notifies the client workstation when the job is complete. n This version of Avid DS RP cannot accept processing requests from earlier versions of Avid DS. Chapter 4 Installing the Remote Processing Software Remote Processing Concepts Before you begin configuring your workstations for remote processing, there are a few terms you need to understand: Client Workstation: This is the workstation on which Avid DS is installed. The client workstation is where the processing request is initiated. The request is sent to the remote processing workstation, and the result is eventually returned to the client. Remote Processing Workstation: This is the workstation where Avid DS RP is installed. The RP workstation handles requests from client workstation(s) and updates the clients’ timeline as each request is processed. Each RP workstation keeps a log of the jobs that have been processed on that station. The log provides full details on each job sent to that station for processing. A shortcut to access this log (ds_server_log.txt) is available on the RP workstation desktop. 368 Minimal Requirements for Avid DS RP Workstation Minimal Requirements for Avid DS RP Workstation The remote processing workstation must meet the following requirements: n n • Supports Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Profession x64 Edition operating system. • Intel Pentium 4 (single or dual CPU; MMX enabled). AMD processors are now supported. • 1.5 GB RAM (x86) and 4 GB RAM (x64 Edition) • 1 GB of hard drive space • SVGA monitor with a recommended resolution of 1280×1024 • Network card with a minimum of Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) • Network protocol: All of the workstations being used for your workgroup must reside on a network that uses the TCP/IP protocol. Each workstation must be able to see the others over the network. • OpenGL for 3D DVE: In Avid DS Nitris, only the 3D DVE layout uses OpenGL. An Avid DS RP workstation does not require an OpenGL card to process OpenGL effects. However, these effects will process significantly faster if the RP workstation has an OpenGL card. It is recommended that you use the same type of OpenGL card in both the RP workstation and the client workstation. Network Hardware and Remote Processing Performance To optimize your network hardware and the performance of remote processing: • n The HP workstation uses an on-board Gigabit Ethernet adapter. • n The recommended minimum speed of your network card is Gigabit Ethernet and full duplex capability as this speed matches that of the client workstation. A network switch is the best way to isolate the remote processing traffic from a corporate network. We recommend a minimum bandwidth of Gigabit Ethernet and full duplex capability, however, a gigabit switch is preferable. For the highest quality components, purchase brand name products, such as 3Com, Cisco, etc. Hubs are not recommended. • Use 24AGW gauge network cable (category 5 and up). Connectors must be assembled properly, with a minimal length of unshielded wire on both ends. 369 Chapter 4 Installing the Remote Processing Software CPU Usage on Avid DS RP Workstations In some cases, you may find that the CPU usage on the RP workstation or the client workstation is low during processing. This may be more obvious when the RP workstation is a faster machine, and in some cases the CPU usage may be lower on the RP workstation than on the client workstation. This is a normal occurrence. CPU usage is an indicator of processor activity. The faster the processor, the faster it completes its job (processing the current frame). If the CPU has to wait for the next frame read from disk to start processing the frame, the CPU usage is lowered. This is normal, and it depends on the effect being processed. For simple light effects, such as color correction, the processing is fast enough that the CPU is actually idling most of the time. This appears as a low CPU usage value. These effects are said to be “I/O-bound”, meaning that the read/write operations for each processed frame are more significant than the actual processing. Because Avid DS is fully multi-threaded, the processing itself and the I/O operations are done in parallel. However, if the CPU is idling most of the time, a low CPU usage value is to be expected. Most native Avid DS effects support multi-threading and, in addition to this, processing jobs can be divided among the CPUs available in the workstation. For example, when a blur effect is processed on a dual-CPU workstation, half the frame is processed on one CPU while the other half is processed on the other. This dramatically improves the overall processing time. n Some third party effects (such as all AVX effects) do not support multi-threading. In these cases, because only one of the CPUs is being used, the CPU usage never goes above 50%. To verify if an effect is single or multi-threaded: 1. Click the Start button and select Run. 2. In the Run window, type perfmon to run the Performance Monitor. 3. Add one counter for each CPU Time. For multi-threaded effects, the two curves move together while processing. In singlethreaded effects, they move in opposite directions. CPU usage can be affected by the RP license (single or dual). An RP license for one processor will force the RP workstation into single-thread mode, and the CPU usage will never exceed 50%. 370 Minimal Requirements for Avid DS RP Workstation CPU usage usually appears higher on the client workstation (if it has the same processor type as the RP). This is because the read/write operations are faster on the client (local storage). As a result, the processor spends less time waiting for input frames before processing them. 371 Chapter 4 Installing the Remote Processing Software Installing Avid DS RP To install Avid DS RP, you must log on with an account that has Administrator privileges. c If you have one or more RP workstations in your workgroup, you must install and start the Avid DMS Broker before installing Avid DS—see “Installing Avid DMS Broker 5.0” on page 379. To install Avid DS RP: 1. Use the Avid DS Nitris Software & Drivers DVD, or download the Avid DS Nitris software from the Avid Download Center. 2. Double-click the Setup.exe file and from the main menu, click the Avid DS Software button. 3. When the Avid DS Installation Wizard displays, click the Next button. 4. In the Select Install Components dialog box, choose Avid DS RP as one of your options. 5. Click the Next button. 6. In the License Agreement dialog box, read the End User License Agreement and accept the terms of the agreement to continue the installation. 7. In the Customer Information dialog box, enter your name and company name, and click the Next button. 8. In the Reseller or Dealer Information dialog box, enter the requested information and click the Next button. 9. Choose the default destination location to install Avid DS and click Next. 10. If this is a client workstation, then you will need to choose the workgroup to which you want to join. If this workstation is the controller, then choose: - Keep existing workgroup configuration to keep the current workgroup settings. - Create a different DS workgroup if you want to create a new workgroup with this controller. 11. When the Service Configuration window displays, enter the login profile of the user account that will run the Avid DS services on this workstation. You must specify the computer name before the user id (that is, computer_name\userid). n 372 If your workstation is part of a Windows domain, then you need to specify the domain name before the user id (domain_name\userid). Installing Avid DS RP 12. The Storage Setup dialog box displays. On an RP workstation, set the Projects Storage to the actual drive letter where you will store your projects and presets. All other options (Video/ Audio Storage, Archives and Interactive Caches), can be set to None. n If you are connected to Unity, do not select the Unity storage to store your projects. The Unity is only for media storage. 13. Change the storage locations if necessary, and click the Next button. 14. Install any plug-ins and fonts that you may require for titling and graphics work on your Avid DS client workstation(s). The RP workstation also requires these fonts and plugins to process your Avid DS requests. 15. When the Start Copying Files dialog box is displayed, review your installation settings and if you’re satisfied, click the Next button. n If you need to change options, use the Back button to go as far back as you need to change the options. A progress indicator is displayed as the Avid DS RP files are copied to your system. 16. Click the Finish button. 373 Chapter 4 Installing the Remote Processing Software Avid Throttle Manager The Throttle Manager is only required when you have an Avid DS RP workstation in your workgroup. The Throttle Manager is part of the Avid DS Services options and can only be installed on the Avid DS RP or workstation that will be the controller for the DS Workgroup. n Do not install the Avid Throttle Manager on a workstation running the Avid DS software. On an Avid DS workstation, playback, capture, and output to tape are critical operations which require guaranteed bandwidth between the workstation and its storage. During these operations, the Throttle Manager will pause any RP workstations using the same storage for processing in order to maintain that bandwidth. Once the playback, capture, or output to tape operation is complete, the Throttle Manager restarts the processing on the RP workstations. For instance, if you want to play back your sequence on the timeline, the Avid Throttle Manager temporarily suspends any processing requests to an RP workstation, or capture or output from/to a deck, to allow for the full bandwidth to be used for real-time playback. Once the sequence playback is complete, the Avid Throttle Manager resumes the other processes. The Avid Throttle Manager also manages the bandwidth to shared storage locations for each workstation in the Avid DS workgroup. For example, since an Avid DS client workstation and an RP workstation can share the same storage, the Throttle Manager manages access to shared storages, so that the RP workstation doesn’t interfere with the client workstation during critical times such as playback, capture, and output to tape. n 374 The Throttle Manager can only be installed on a Windows XP workstation. Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker This chapter describes how to install, configure and use the Avid DMS Broker. If you have one or more RP workstations in your workgroup, you must install the Avid DMS Broker as this service is responsible for directing the remote processing requests within an Avid DS workgroup. Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker About the Avid DMS Broker Avid DS v8 uses the Avid DMS Broker to distribute and monitor any remote processing requests in the workgroup. When an Avid DS Nitris workstation submits a job for remote processing, the DMS Broker routes the processing job to the first available RP workstation. The RP workstation then starts to process the job, and reports the progress to the DMS Broker. When the job is complete, the RP workstation copies the processed media (caches) to the appropriate Avid DS client storage and notifies the DMS Broker that the job is complete (You can view the DMS Web page to monitor the RP jobs.). The caches generated from the processing are automatically linked back to your current project. The main DMS Broker window displays current information about the status of the Broker including the computer name for the system on which the Broker resides. The DMS Broker uses the computer name to identify itself on the network. Any RP workstations in the Avid DS workgroup are configured to use this computer name when sending out RP requests. The DMS Administration Tool is a Web-based application that is accessed through a browser. It communicates with the DMS Broker’s built-in Web server. This communication allows you to manage Distributed Media Services through a browser from anywhere using the Internet. The DMS Administration Tool performs two types of functions: • Provides detailed information based on lists of jobs, encoders, profiles, and users. • Provides controls for managing and canceling jobs, and creating or deleting users. System Requirements The DMS Broker software should not reside on the same computer as Avid DS. The DMS Broker software should be installed on a dual-processor machine if you are also using it as the RP workstation. The DMS Broker runs on Windows 2000 or Windows XP. n If you are using an Avid Unity shared storage in your workgroup, then the DMS Broker is only qualified to run on Windows 2000. The DMS Broker requires the following minimum specifications, running a Windows-based operating system: 376 • Pentium® III class processor 1.2 GHz or faster • 512 MB of RAM About the Avid DMS Broker • 800 x 600, 16-bit display • Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5.5 or later 377 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker Installing Avid DMS Broker If you are upgrading your Avid DS Workgroup from a previous release, you must first remove the previous version of the Avid DMS Broker before continuing—see “Removing Avid DMS Broker 2.1” on page 378. If you are installing the DMS Broker for the first time, go to “Installing Java v1.4” on page 378. Removing Avid DMS Broker 2.1 To install and use the Avid DMS Broker 5.0 with Avid DS 8.0, you must first remove Avid DMS Broker 2.1 and update the dongle (application key). To remove Avid DMS Broker: 1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel. (The Control Panel is located under Settings if you are using the Windows Classic menus). 2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs. 3. Select Avid DMS Broker and click the Change/Remove button. 4. When the Broker is removed, restart the workstation. c Remove the dongle (application key) and do not reconnect it to a USB port until you install the new DMS Broker. To remove residual Broker files: 1. Browse to the C:\Program Files\Avid folder. 2. Delete the ProEncode folder. To remove Java v1.2: Since Avid DMS Broker 5.0 requires Java v1.4, you can safely remove Java v1.2. n Important: Java v1.3 is required for the Avid Storage Manager application and you should keep this version. Installing Java v1.4 Avid DMS Broker 5.0 requires Java v1.4 to operate correctly. 378 Installing Avid DMS Broker To install Java 1.4: 1. Use the Avid DS Nitris Software & Drivers DVD, or download the Avid DS Nitris software from the Avid Download Center. 2. Run the Avid DS Setup program, and select Avid DMS Broker from the menu. 3. Select Java v1.4. 4. Select Run twice to launch the installer. 5. After its install, and if your workstation is connected to the internet, Java may prompt you for an update. We do not recommend that you install any updates as they have not been tested with Avid DMS Broker 5.0. Installing Avid DMS Broker 5.0 The latest Avid DMS Broker requires the installation of the Microsoft SQL database. This will automatically be installed during the Avid DMS Broker installation. Proceed with a default installation and do not change the default options. c Do not connect the dongle (application key) to a USB port until you install the DMS Broker. To install the Avid DMS Broker: 1. Double-click the Setup.exe file and from the main menu, click the Avid DS Software button. 2. When the Avid DS Installation Wizard displays, click the Next button. 3. In the Select Main Components dialog box, choose Avid DMS Broker. n You can check the state of the icon beside the DMS Broker to determine if it has already been installed on this workstation. 4. Click the Next button. 5. When the Service Configuration window displays, enter the login profile of the user account that will run the Avid DS services on this workstation. You must specify the computer name before the user id (that is, computer_name\userid). n If your workstation is part of a Windows domain, then you need to specify the domain name before the user id (domain_name\userid). 6. When the Start Copying Files dialog box displays, review your installation settings and if you’re satisfied, click the Next button. 379 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker n If you need to change options, use the Back button to go as far back as you need to change the options. 7. The DMS Broker install program will now run. 8. Choose United States for the country in which you purchased this product. 9. When the installation is complete, click Finish. After the install is complete, you MUST start the DMS Broker before setting up the other workstations in the workgroup. Configuring the Microsoft SQL Database Before you start the Avid DMS Broker, you must run two batch files to complete the Microsoft SQL database configuration. 1. From the Start menu, select All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt. If the Command Prompt does not open on the C: partition by default, type C: and press Enter. 2. Type cd "Program Files\Avid\DMS\Broker\DBScript" and press Enter. 3. Type DBInstall and press Enter. The registered information displays. 4. Next, type DBUpgrade and press Enter. The registered information displays. 380 Installing Avid DMS Broker The Microsoft SQL database is configured and ready to be used by the Avid DMS Broker. Attaching the Dongle The dongle, also known as the application key, allows the DMS Broker software to run on your system. It also lets you access only the number of RP workstations for which you have purchased licenses. w Make sure you install the DMS Broker before connecting the application key (dongle) to the USB port. To attach the application key: 1. On the workstation that will run the DMS Broker, locate an available USB port. 2. Connect the dongle to the USB port. 3. Windows automatically detects a “USB dongle SuperPro” device. The Found New Hardware Wizard displays. 4. Keep the Install the software automatically (Recommended) option, and click Next. “Rainbow USB SuperPro” is detected and installed by Windows. 5. When the Completing the Found New Hardware Wizard dialog box displays, click Finish. w Do not lose the application key. Your DMS software does not function without it. If you lose your application key, you must purchase another key from Avid. 6. If the dongle is programmed for Avid DMS Broker 2.1, you need to update the dongle for Avid DMS Broker 5.0—see “Updating the Dongle” on page 382. 381 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker Updating the Dongle If you were using a previous version of Avid DMS Broker, your USB dongle requires an update. 1. Run the Dongle Dumper (located in the /DMS_Broker/utility folder on the Avid DS Nitris Software and Drivers DVD) to extract the required information from your dongle. 2. Copy this information in the Avid DS License Request Form. The license form is available on http://www.softimage.com/licensing/request 3. Submit the license request. The dongle update package will be emailed to you from Avid. 4. When you receive the dongle update package, save it in a folder on the workstation where the dongle is attached. 5. Double-click the DongleUpdater.exe file. This reprograms the dongle for Avid DMS Broker 5.0. 6. Click the Update (DMS Broker) button. 7. Click Quit to exit the utility. 382 Starting the DMS Broker Starting the DMS Broker After the DMS Broker dongle is installed, you can start the service. n The installation process automatically creates an Administrator account and uses the computer name of this workstation as the DMS broker name. Any client workstations in the Avid DS workgroup use this computer name when sending or processing RP requests. Similarly, you do not need to add any Avid DS users to the DMS Broker configuration as these will automatically be created when a user sends a processing request. To start the DMS Broker: 1. Click the Start button, and select Programs > Avid > DMS Broker. The welcome dialog displays. 2. Click Ok. The Broker Settings dialog displays. For Avid DS, you do not have to fill out this dialog. 3. Click Ok. You will receive the following message: “The Broker is currently running.” 4. Leave the service running; you can minimize the interface. 383 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker Using the DMS Administration Tool The DMS Administration Tool performs two types of functions: • Provides detailed information about DMS, based on lists of jobs, encoders, and users • Provides controls for managing DMS such as canceling jobs, and creating or deleting users Administrators can perform the following tasks: • View details on any job • Delete jobs submitted by any user • Purge the jobs list of every user Regular users can only perform administrative tasks on their own jobs. The DMS Administration Tool may be used on any Windows-based computer that has an Internet connection to the workstation running the DMS Broker. To open the DMS Administration Tool: 1. Do one of the following: t In the DMS Broker window, click the Admin Tool button. t In Avid DS, click on the RP button in the bottom right of the status bar. t Open a Web browser, either on the computer running the DMS Broker or on another networked computer. You must use Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher. 2. Type a URL for the DMS Broker in the following form: http://computername:8080 The computername is the name of the computer where the DMS Broker software runs. For instance, a URL for the Broker may appear as follows: http://broadcastPE:8080 n The DMS Broker name is found in the Name field of the DMS Broker window. The numeric part of this URL following the colon (:) is the port number, 8080. n A firewall must allow connections to and from the system running the DMS Broker using port 8080 in order to run the DMS Administration Tool. 3. Press the Enter key. The DMS Administration Tool login screen displays. 4. Enter your User Name and Password. For more information, see “The Users Page” on page 397. 384 Using the DMS Administration Tool 5. Click the Login button. If the User Name and password are accepted, the DMS Jobs page will display. For more information, see “The Jobs Page” on page 388. Changing the Password The DMS Administration Tool is installed at the same time as the DMS Broker. The default login for the DMS Administration Tool is the login name Administrator, with a blank password. This account should be given a password after installing the Broker software. n Non-administrators can see and edit only their own user’s page. When using Media Browse, a user must be created which matches the Media Browse user designated for DMS. To change the Administration Tool password: 1. Open the DMS Broker (Select Start > Programs > Avid > DMS Broker), and click on the Admin Tool button in the DMS Broker dialog. The DMS Administration Tool login screen displays in the web browser. 2. Type Administrator in the User Name text box. You must login as an administrator to change the administrator password. The Password text box is blank by default. n User names and passwords are case sensitive. 3. Click the User Name link for the user you want to edit. The Edit User window displays. 4. Type a password in the Password text box. Then, type it again in the Retype Password text box. 385 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker n Passwords are case sensitive and can contain only letters, numbers, and underscores. They can be up to 255 characters. While passwords are optional, Avid recommends a password for the Administrator account. If you forget the Administration password, it must be reset. Contact Avid Customer Support. 5. Type a Real Name as you want it to appear on the Users page. 6. (Optional) You may enter an e-mail address and a phone number. 7. If the user you are editing is an administrator, select the Is Administrator check box. 8. Click Save. 9. Close the Users page by closing the browser window. Configuring Users in the DMS Broker The user profile on an Avid DS workstation is automatically added to the DMS Administration Tool the first time a remote processing job is sent from that user. You may create additional users from the DMS Users page. You must be logged in as an administrator to create users. When you login, the DMS Jobs page displays. To create users: 1. Click the Users tab. The Users page displays. 2. Click the Add button. The Create User window displays. 386 Using the DMS Administration Tool 3. Type in the user name. 4. Type a password in the Password text box. Then, type it again in the Retype Password text box. 5. Type a Real Name as you want it to appear on the Users page. 6. (Optional) You may enter an e-mail address and a phone number. 7. If the user you are editing is an administrator, select the Is Administrator option. 8. Click Save. For more information, see “The Users Page” on page 397. DMS Administration Tool User Interface The DMS Administration Tool user interface is made up of the following areas: Navigation Controls Control Frame Results Frame 387 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker Area Description Section Reference Jobs tab Displays the status and other information about jobs submitted to the DMS Broker. Lets you cancel or retry jobs, depending on your level of privilege. See “Customizing the Jobs List” on page 390. Providers tab Displays information about systems that are running Avid DS or Avid DS RP in the same Avid DS workgroup as the DMS Broker. See “The Providers Page” on page 394. Profiles tab Reserved for future use. Services tab Displays a list of services and service See “The Services Page” on information. Lets you install and delete services. page 396. Users tab Displays a list of user accounts. Lets you create See “The Users Page” on and delete accounts, depending on your level of page 397. privilege. Navigation Controls The navigation controls appear on the Jobs page See “Navigation Controls” on and determine what jobs are displayed. page 389. Control Frame The Control frame displays different options, depending on the mode in which you are working. Results Frame The Results Frame displays information based on the user’s login profile and the options selected in the Control Frame section. A user logged in as an Administrator is allowed to view all of the jobs in a queue, and other users are only allowed to view their own jobs. The Jobs Page The Jobs page displays information about jobs submitted to the DMS Broker, and allows the user to cancel, delete, and retry jobs. To open the Jobs page: t Open the DMS Administration Tool. The Jobs page displays by default after you log in to the DMS Administration Tool. 388 Using the DMS Administration Tool The following table describes the information displayed on the Jobs page. Jobs Page Column Description Status The colors and icons in the display indicate the status of the job: • Yellow bar with no icon = Job is processing. • Green bar with Check Mark icon = Job is completed. • Gray bar with Stop icon = Job has been canceled. • Caution icon = Job has failed with an error. • Gray bar with no icon = Job is pending or is in a queue. Service The name of the service to which the job was sent. Job The file name submitted by the client to DMS. This may have a suffix ( determined by the particular service) appended to it. User The name of the user who submitted the job. For instance, Proxy Transcode jobs display the Media Browse user name. Progress indicator (%) The percentage of the job completed. Start Time The date and time that the job was sent. End Time The date and time that the job was completed. Navigation Controls The navigation controls appear on the Jobs page and determine what jobs are displayed. The DMS Administration Tool displays jobs in blocks of fifteen jobs. It also organizes jobs into groups of 100. Use the navigation controls to view the list of jobs. To view the previous fifteen jobs or the next fifteen jobs: t Click the Previous or Next button. To view the previous group or the next group of 100 jobs: t Click the Previous Group or Next Group button. The DMS Administration Tool displays the first 15 jobs of the group. To view the beginning or the end of the entire list: t Click the First or Last button. The DMS Administration Tool displays the first 15 or the last 15 jobs of the list. 389 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker Customizing the Jobs List By default, the Jobs page displays all jobs that the DMS Broker is currently monitoring. You may customize your view to show only your jobs, to show jobs for a specific service, or to show only jobs in a selected state. To customize the Jobs list: 1. Open the DMS Administration Tool. For more information, see “Using the DMS Administration Tool” on page 384. The Jobs page displays by default after you log in to the DMS Administration Tool. 2. In the Control frame of the Jobs page, click the Service list, and select a service. 3. Click the User Name list, and select All Users or a specific user name. n Users with Administrator privileges are allowed to cancel or delete any job. Users not having administrator privileges may only cancel or delete jobs submitted by that user. 4. In the Control frame, click the Status pop-up menu, and select one of the following: - All States: Displays all jobs with their current status - Processing: Displays only jobs that are currently being processed - Completed: Displays only jobs that have been successfully processed - Canceled: Displays only jobs that have been canceled by a user with administrator privileges - Error: Displays only jobs that have stopped with an error - Pending: Displays only jobs that are waiting to be processed 5. Click the Filter button. In the Results frame, the Jobs page displays jobs that meet the criteria you selected. Updating the Jobs list The Jobs list is automatically updated to show the progress and status of a job. If any jobs have been added or deleted since opening the Jobs page, the Refresh button is enabled in the upper right portion of the interface. To update the Jobs list, do one of the following: 390 t Click the Refresh button, if available. t Click any navigation button. Using the DMS Administration Tool Purging the Jobs List The purge function is only available to users with administrator privileges. To purge the Jobs list: 1. Log on as a user with administrator privileges. 2. On the Jobs page, click the Purge button. The Purge Jobs dialog box displays. 3. Click the Service list, and select the applicable service. 4. Click the Submitted By list, and select a particular user or Any User, depending on the jobs you want to purge. 5. Select which States of jobs you want to purge. 6. Click the Purge button. The Jobs list no longer contains the jobs you selected. If a purge fails, a dialog box opens with a list of the jobs that failed to delete and a reason for the failure. Viewing Details About a Job To view details about a job: t On the Jobs page, click the hyperlinked job name that appears in the Job column. The Job Details window displays in a separate browser window. 391 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker n You must be logged in as the job owner or an administrator to see these details. The following table provides descriptions of the type of job information displayed in the Job Details window. Entry Description Job Information 392 Name The name of the file submitted by a client to DMS. It may include information appended to the file name, depending on the service requirements. Service The DMS service for which the job was submitted; for instance, Avid DS RP or ProEncode. State The current state of the job. Submitted By: The user name associated with the job, as submitted by the client. Priority The priority of the job, as submitted by the client. Provider (Not used by Avid DS) The name of the encoder, as registered with the DMS Broker. Using the DMS Administration Tool Entry Description Requested Provider (Not used by Avid DS) The name of the provider requested, if one was specified. Job ID A number automatically generated by the DMS Broker. Batch ID (Not used by Avid DS) The number of the batch containing the job. Submitted At The date and time the job was submitted by the client to the DMS Broker. Started At The date and time the DMS Broker picked up the job. Completed At The date and time the job was reported as complete. Progress The percentage of the job that has been processed. Notification (Not used by Avid DS) Displays whether notification of job completed or job error is enabled or disabled. Canceling a Job Jobs may be canceled during the Pending or the Processing state. A user may only cancel jobs that have been submitted under their DMS user name. An administrator may cancel any job. When a job is canceled, it may take a short time for the job to actually stop and the status change to be reflected. It is also possible that a job may finish before it can be canceled. In this case, you may receive a dialog stating that the DMS Broker was unable to cancel the job. To cancel a job: 1. Open the DMS Administration Tool. 2. On the Jobs page, click the hyperlinked job name that appears in the Job column. The Job Details window opens in a separate browser window. 3. Click the Cancel button. A dialog box displays and asks if you are sure you want to cancel the job. 4. Click OK to cancel the job. The job remains in the Jobs list but the state changes to canceled. 393 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker Deleting a Job To delete a specific job or all jobs on the Jobs page: 1. Open the Jobs page, select the specific job(s) to delete by clicking the checkbox next to the name of the job(s). You may select all of the jobs by clicking the Select All button. 2. Click the Delete button. Retrying a Job You may retry a job that is in the canceled state. To retry a job: 1. On the Jobs page, click the hyperlinked job name that appears in the Job column. The Job Details window opens in a separate browser window. 2. Click the Retry button. The DMS Broker changes the state to Pending and places the job in the queue for the next available RP workstation. The Providers Page The Providers page displays information about workstations that are running Avid DS RP and are registered with the DMS Broker. You may also view specific provider details and capabilities. To open the Providers page: t 394 In the mode selector, click Providers. The Providers page displays. Using the DMS Administration Tool The following table describes the information displayed on the DMS Providers page. Providers Page Description Provider Name The name of the workstation, as registered with the DMS Broker. Service The name of the DMS service that has been registered. Host Name The computer name of the provider. Application Name The name of the service provider application. Status Indicates whether or not the workstation is connected to the DMS Broker. 395 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker Customizing the Providers Display By default, the Providers page displays all Avid DS and Avid DS RP workstations that are registered with the DMS Broker (and within the same Avid DS workgroup as the DMS Broker). You can customize your view to show only the connected providers or providers of a particular service. To customize the Providers display: 1. In the mode selector, click Providers. The Providers page displays. 2. In the Control frame of the Providers page, click the Service list, and select the applicable service. 3. Click the Connection Status list, and select All Providers or Connected. 4. Click the Filter button. In the Results frame, the Providers page displays providers that match your selections. Deleting Providers If a workstation is connected to the DMS Broker, the workstation may not be deleted until it has been disconnected and all processing jobs are stopped. You must be logged in as an administrator to delete any workstations. To delete a Provider: 1. In the mode selector, click Providers. The Providers page displays. 2. Click the check box to the left of the provider’s name, and click Delete. A dialog box opens and asks if you are sure you want to delete the provider. 3. Click OK. The provider is no longer registered with the DMS Broker and needs to be reregistered. The Profiles Page The Profiles page is reserved for future use. The Services Page The Services page displays information about the Distributed Media Services that are installed and allows the user to install new services or delete services that were previously installed. 396 Using the DMS Administration Tool To display information about a specific service: 1. Click Services in the mode selector. The Services page displays. 2. In the Results frame of the Services page, click the name of the service about which you want information. The specific information displayed on the Service Details page differs for each installed service. The Users Page The Users page lets you create and manage user accounts.The default login for the DMS Administration Tool is the user name Administrator, without a password. Avid recommends assigning a password to this account after installing the DMS Broker. For more information, see “Changing the Password” on page 385. To open the DMS Users page: t In the mode selector, click Users. The Users page displays with user accounts listed in the User Name column. Setting Up User Accounts To set up a user account: 1. Click the Add button. The Create User window displays. 2. Type a user name in the User Name text box. 397 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker User names and passwords are case sensitive and can contain only letters, numbers, and underscores. They may be up to 255 characters. 3. (Optional) You may assign a password by typing a password in the Password text box. Then, type it again in the Retype Password text box. 4. Click the Save button. Deleting User Accounts You must be logged in as an administrator to delete user accounts. To delete a user account: 1. In the mode selector, click Users. The Users page displays. 2. Click the check box to the left of the User Name for each account you want to delete. 3. Click the Delete button. A dialog box opens and asks if you are sure you want to delete the user account. 4. Click OK. 398 Using the DMS Administration Tool Reassigning Passwords To reassign a user password: 1. Log on as an administrator. 2. Open the DMS Administration Tool and click Users. The Users page displays. 3. In the User Name column, click the link for the user you want to edit. The Edit User window displays. 4. Type a password in the Password text box. Then, type it again in the Retype Password text box. 5. Click the Save button. To delete and re-create all accounts: 1. On the Users page, click the Select All button. 2. Click the Delete button. A dialog box opens and asks if you are sure you want to delete the user accounts. 3. Click OK. The user accounts are deleted. To re-create user accounts, see “Setting Up User Accounts” on page 397. n The user “Administrator” cannot be deleted. If you try to delete Administrator, you will receive an error message. If a user forgets his or her password, a new one must be assigned. If you forget the Administration password, it must be reset. Contact Avid DS Customer Support. 399 Chapter 5 The Avid DMS Broker 400 Chapter 6 Licensing Avid DS Software You can install your Avid DS software before licensing the product. However, you will not be able to run an Avid DS product, until you have a registered license. Avid DS will only start if the dongle identification number matches the information in the license file. This chapter describes how to license an Avid DS, Avid DS Assist Station, or Avid DS RP workstation. Chapter 6 Licensing Avid DS Software Requesting a License File Avid DS uses a software license that is linked directly to the system where you have Avid DS installed. The license is an encoded string generated from the IDs of different hardware components on your system. Each workstation needs its own license file. n The licensing system allows you up to three hardware component changes. After you make the third hardware change, you will be notified that you need a new license. To generate your license ID: 1. Go to the Avid DS Support Center web site http://www.softimage.com/avidds and click Licensing. 2. Follow the online instructions to generate a Dongle ID, and submit a license request to Avid. n You must provide all the information requested in order to obtain your license in a timely manner. Avid DS Customer Service does not generate permanent licenses. However, if your license is incorrect or if you haven’t received it within 72 hours of your request, Customer Service can generate a limited one-week license. 3. If you have other workstations in your workgroup for which you need to install licenses, click the Back to License Request button, and repeat the licensing instructions. 402 Installing the Registered License File Installing the Registered License File 1. When you receive your registered license from Avid, you need to save it to a folder (C:\DSLicense) on the workstation where you generated the Dongle ID. 2. Click the Windows Start button and select All Programs > Avid > Avid DS v8 > Licensing Instructions. 3. Follow the online instructions to install your license for this workstation. 403 Chapter 6 Licensing Avid DS Software 404 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas This section contains information on the storage connected to your Avid DS workstation and/or workgroup. It provides guidelines on the configuration and maintenance of your storage areas. n In this information, the general term “Avid editing system” refers to Avid applications other than Avid DS Nitris, such as Symphony™, Media Composer®, Film Composer®, Avid Xpress®, and NewsCutter®. Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas Planning your Storage Locations Your Avid DS workstation typically includes a base tower with a storage device (disk array). The video media is stored on the drives in the storage device, while all software, projects, and audio media are stored on the local drive in the base unit. For more information on the software and project folders on your local disk, see “About your Local Storage Area” on page 430. If your Avid DS workstation is operating on its own, then the storage configuration is simple. You just need to configure the storage device(s) connected to your workstation. If your Avid DS workstations are connected in a workgroup, you can share media located on your storage device, and also use media on storage devices that belong to other workstations in your workgroup. Configure the appropriate storage devices for each workstation (local and remote). Later you will learn how Avid DS uses the indexing services to manage these storage areas more efficiently. Subtopics The Avid Indexing Services Workgroup with Private Projects and Storage Workgroup with Private Projects and Centralized Storage Workgroup with Shared Projects and Storage The Avid Indexing Services The Avid Media Indexer and the Avid Project Indexer manage your projects and media more efficiently. These services actively monitor and index the storage areas that you’ve defined to allow for improved performance, better sharing of media across a network, and better interaction between Avid DS and an Avid DS RP (remote processing) workstation. The Media Indexer can manage media of different formats, such as video, audio, source, cache, .gen files (the native Avid DS format), .omf files (the native Symphony and Media Composer format), and .mxf files (industry-standard format that encapsulates media and production metadata into a single file). Each workstation has its own media indexer which indexes the audio and video storage areas on that workstation. The media indexing service on a workstation contains a list of storage areas that the workstation requires. These storages are accessed and indexed in the order in which they are listed. 406 Planning your Storage Locations Actual path to storage area Workstation Name In a workgroup, the Project Indexer works with the media indexing service on each workstation and keeps an up-to-date index of the location of all media. So, for example, when the Purge command is executed from any workstation within the Avid DS workgroup, the correct media for the selected project is purged. The following sections show the different workgroup setups, and explain how your media indexing services should be configured in each situation. 407 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas Workgroup with Private Projects and Storage This scenario is best used when you do not anticipate much sharing of media between workstations. Each Avid DS workstation has its own local storage for project files and media. CONTROLLER Avid DS RP Workstation Controller indexes all projects in workgroup LOCAL AREA NETWORK CLIENT 1 CLIENT 2 Avid DS Workstation Avid DS Workstation Each workstation indexes its own media PROJECT DATA MEDIA MEDIA PROJECT DATA For each Avid DS workstation, configure a media indexing service with video and/or audio local storage. For example: • local video storage - d:\videostorage • local audio storage - f:\audiostorage An RP workstation does not need a media indexing service since it processes directly to the Avid DS client storage area. It just needs permission to access the storage devices on each Avid DS workstation so that it can return processing requests. 408 Planning your Storage Locations Workgroup with Private Projects and Centralized Storage This configuration is very similar to the one for “Workgroup with Private Projects and Storage” on page 408, except that workstations are using a shared central storage instead of their local storage. If you don’t anticipate much sharing of media, but would like all media for your workgroup to be on one storage device (that is an Avid Unity storage), then use this centralized storage scenario. CONTROLLER Avid DS RP workstation Controller indexes all projects in workgroup LOCAL AREA NETWORK CLIENT 1 CLIENT 2 Avid DS workstation Avid DS workstation Avid Unity PROJECT DATA Each workstation indexes its own media on Unity PROJECT DATA MEDIA CLIENT 1 workspace MEDIA CLIENT 2 workspace Should you require sequences or media from any other workstation, you can import the sequence/clip and link to media on that workstation’s Unity workspace. You will also need to change the share permissions on that workspace to access the media. n If the Avid DS workstations need to share projects and media on a more consistent basis, we recommend that you follow “Workgroup with Shared Projects and Storage” on page 411. 409 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas Before configuring the storage areas inside Avid DS, the Avid Unity storage needs to have a workspace for each Avid DS client (An RP workstation does not need a workspace since it processes directly to the Avid DS client workspace). The Avid Unity administrator can limit the permissions for each workspace to the client to which the media belongs. The RP workstation also needs permission to access the Unity workspaces for each Avid DS workstation (for remote processing requests). For more information, see “Checklist: Installing Avid DS with Avid Unity” on page 422. For each Avid DS workstation, configure a media indexing service with the client’s audio/video workspaces on Avid Unity. 410 • Unity video storage - \\Unity\allocation\workspace_name\videostorage • Unity audio storage - \\Unity\allocation\workspace_name\audiostorage Planning your Storage Locations Workgroup with Shared Projects and Storage In this scenario, media storage is also centralized on an Avid Unity storage. Use this scenario if you anticipate that there will be a large need to share projects and media between workstations. CONTROLLER Avid DS RP workstation Controller indexes all projects in workgroup LOCAL AREA NETWORK CLIENT 1 CLIENT 2 Avid DS workstation Avid DS workstation Avid Unity PROJECT DATA PROJECT DATA MEDIA Each workstation indexes its own media and any Unity workspaces to which it is connected CLIENT 1 workspace MEDIA Media Composer workspace Media Composer workstation MEDIA CLIENT 2 workspace MEDIA Symphony workspace Symphony workstation Before configuring the storage areas inside Avid DS, the Avid Unity storage needs to have a workspace for each Avid DS client (An RP workstation does not need a workspace since it processes directly to the Avid DS client workspace). The Avid Unity administrator can limit the permissions for each workspace to the client to which the media belongs. 411 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas The RP workstation also needs permission to access the Unity workspaces for each Avid DS workstation (for remote processing requests). For more information, see “Checklist: Installing Avid DS with Avid Unity” in the Installation and Administration section. The Avid DS workstations can also directly access media created on other Avid editing systems, and stored on an Avid Unity workspace. For each Avid DS workstation, configure a media indexing service with the client’s audio/video workspaces on Avid Unity. • Unity video storage - \\Unity\allocation\workspace_name\videostorage • Unity audio storage - \\Unity\allocation\workspace_name\audiostorage If you need media from another Avid DS client’s workspace, then add a similar storage connection to that client’s media indexing service. If you need media from another Avid editing system’s (Media Composer or Symphony) storage workspace on Avid Unity, then add a storage connection to its workspace. • n 412 Unity video storage - \\Unity\allocation\workspace_name\foldername On other Avid editing systems, audio and video are stored in the same folder. Sharing Media Sharing Media Sharing media saves you time and disk space as you only have to capture the media once. If other users in your workgroup want to use the media, they can import the sequence or master clip into their project. The clips will then link directly to the associated media. n Avid DS can also share compressed and uncompressed media with other Avid editing systems. For more information, see “Converting HD Formats” in the Help. In a workgroup environment, the location of your media and projects can make a big difference to your performance and processing times. For instance, if you are working in isolation on a project, then having the related media on your local storage gives you realtime playback of the sequences. On the other hand, if you are working on the same project with other Avid DS workstations that need access to the same media, then it would be more efficient to store the media in one location. You save on storage space as there is no redundancy of media on each workstation. n When sharing media on storage areas connected on a network, there may not be sufficient bandwidth to provide real-time playback of the media. An Avid Unity storage, however, does have enough bandwidth to handle real-time playback. Points to consider when sharing media: • One workstation, preferably the controller, should hold all projects and take care of the indexing and processing services. The Avid DS indexing services will be configured to index media on all connected storage devices (including workspaces on Unity). • If your workstations are sharing Avid Unity storage, then each workstation using this storage must have a fibre-optic cable connection to the Avid Unity system for optimal performance. • If many workstations are working on the same project and will be sharing the same media, then place all media on one storage device. • You cannot share media between a Unity and other type of storage device within the same sequence. Avid DS cannot play back media that resides simultaneously on an Unity workspace and a local storage. The media used in a given sequence must reside on only one storage at a time. Either on your local storage or on a Unity workspace. • If you are sharing media on an Avid Unity workspace, make sure that both the offline and the online systems have access to the workspace. Points to consider when sharing projects: • In a workgroup, a user can open a project from any Avid DS workstation in the workgroup. 413 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas • A project can only be opened by one user at a time. • If you need to work on a sequence within a project that is already open by another user, you can import the sequence and link to media (so that you are still sharing the media). This sequence can later be imported back into the original project. Related Topics • Sharing MXF Media • Sharing OMFI Media Sharing MXF Media MXF (Material Exchange Format) is an industry-standard container format that encapsulates media and production metadata into a single file. MXF is a common file format for direct media interchange among Avid applications, as well as with third-party MXF-compliant products. MXF supports both standard-definition and high-definition formats. n Avid DS Nitris can share HD projects and Avid DNxHD media with Media Composer Adrenaline HD systems. Avid Xpress Pro HD systems can also share this media, but cannot capture it. DNxHD media is compression format also used for MXF media so that you can deliver mastering-quality HD media at standard-definition data rates and file sizes. To share this media, you must be running Avid DS Nitris v7.5 QFE 3 or later, which is available from the Avid DS Support Center (www.softimage.com/avidds). For a list of shared DNxHD resolutions, see “Avid DNxHD Compressions” in the Help. To create the MXF folders: Avid DS Nitris requires separate storage areas (one for audio and one for video) to write MXF media. n Other Avid editing systems create a single folder for MXF media, named Avid MediaFiles\MXF, and can write both audio and video files to the same folder. t If you are only creating or linking to MXF media within Avid DS Nitris, create the following folders on your videostorage using the Windows Explorer: D:\Avid MediaFiles\MXF\ D:\Avid MediaFiles\MXF\Video D:\Avid MediaFiles\MXF\Audio t 414 If you are sharing media with other Avid editing systems on an Avid Unity, create the following folders: Sharing Media \\server_name\workspace_name\Avid MediaFiles\MXF \\server_name\workspace_name\Avid MediaFiles\VideoStorage \\server_name\workspace_name\Avid MediaFiles\AudioStorage Make sure to use the correct syntax: • Include a space between Avid and MediaFiles • Don’t include a space for MediaFiles, VideoStorage, and AudioStorage • Use the correct uppercase and lowercase letters. Sharing OMFI Media To create the OMFI folders: t t If you are linking to OMFI media within Avid DS Nitris, create the following folders on your videostorage using the Windows Explorer: - D:\OMFI MediaFiles\VideoStorage - D:\OMFI MediaFiles\AudioStorage If you are linking to OMFI media on an Avid Unity, create the following folders: \\server_name\workspace_name\OMFI MediaFiles\VideoStorage \\server_name\workspace_name\OMFI MediaFiles\AudioStorage Make sure to use the correct syntax: • Include a space between OMFI and MediaFiles • Don’t include a space for MediaFiles, VideoStorage, and AudioStorage • Use the correct uppercase and lowercase letters. 415 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas Configuring your Storage Locations After all workstations in your Avid DS workgroup have been set up and installed with the necessary software, you need to specify your storage areas so that they can be viewed or shared by other clients in the workgroup. This configuration of storage areas is done through the Media Storage Configuration tool in Avid DS. n Examples of different storage scenarios in a workgroup, and explicit storage configurations for each of these scenarios have been described earlier. Configuring the Media Indexing Service on your Workstation The storage areas for your media are configured within your workstation’s media indexing service. If you need to define additional storage areas, you must add them to your media indexing service. The media indexer will index all the storage areas defined in this service configuration. n If you need to access media on another workstation, you will need to add that workstation’s media indexing service to your storage configuration (rather than directly to its storage)—see “Accessing Storage on another Workstation” on page 419. To configure your media indexing service: 1. In Avid DS Nitris, select Data Management > Configure Storages. The Media Storage Configuration - Current Project dialog box displays the media indexing services that are configured for your workstation. Your workstation’s media indexing service is indicated by the computer name 2. Select your workstation’s media indexing service, and click the Change button. 416 Configuring your Storage Locations The Media Indexing Service dialog box displays. 3. Leave the workstation name as it is and click the Change button. The list of storage areas in this indexing service displays. Actual path to storage Avid DS shared storage name 4. Each storage area is uniquely identified by the workstation name and folder on which the media resides. These storages are accessed and indexed in the order in which they are listed. Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to change the order of priority. 5. To add a new storage, click the Add button. If you need to modify or delete a storage, click the Help button for instructions. 6. The Available Storage Types dialog box, select Avid Media Storage and click OK. 417 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas 7. Enter the full Windows path name (drive:\folder_name or \\workstation_name\folder_name) where the storage area is located, or use the browse (...) button to find it. For example, D:\VideoStorage or \\DSStorage4\VideoStorage. If you are connecting to a folder on an Avid Unity, then click the browse (...) button and locate the Avid Unity workspace folder. For example, \\Unity\allocation\workspace\folder_name. Do NOT use a drive letter. 8. If you are working in a workgroup where an Avid DS RP is installed, select the Enable throttling for this storage option. The Avid Throttle Manager allows for more efficient bandwidth management between your workstation, storage areas, and the Avid DS RP workstation. 9. Select the media type that you will store in this folder: audio or video. For regular Avid DS media, select generic audio (.wav) or generic video (.gen). 418 Configuring your Storage Locations For MXF media that can be exchanged with other Avid editing systems, select Read only or MXF video or MXF audio files—see “Configuring Storages for MXF Files”in the Help. Also, select Prevent purge of media on this storage so that this media is not purged when media from other Avid DS projects are purged. For OMFI media that can be exchanged with other Avid editing systems, select None. This is a read-only storage. You can also select None if you want media in this storage area to be viewed, but not overwritten. 10. From the Disk Controller Type list, select the card that is installed in your workstation. If you are configuring a remote storage on your network, then select CIFS Network. However, if the remote storage is a Unity, then select Atto. n A storage set to Generic or CIFS will be considered non-realtime. 11. From the Disk Storage Type list, select the storage type that you are using. The disk options set the appropriate bandwidth for Avid DS to use when transferring data to the storage. You may choose Generic Adapter and Generic Storage but these settings may not fully utilize bandwidth available to you. Therefore, choose the appropriate options for your storage device to obtain the best performance for real-time effects. n If your storage device does not appear in the list, it may be because it was installed after Avid DS was installed. To make sure that it appears in the list, restart Avid DS so that the software detects the device. 12. Click OK. The storage area is added to the Media Storage Configuration list. 13. Click Close and then OK to return to the Media Storage Configuration - Workstation dialog box. 14. Click the Close button to save the configuration for the media indexing service. n By default, the media indexer sets any new storage areas to automatically have full read/write access by any user on the network. To restrict access to your media, you can change the share permissions through Windows—see “Sharing Folders and Setting Permissions” on page 343. The first time that you configure your storage, the media indexer will need to index the media on your storage device. This may take a while depending on the amount of media on your storage. 419 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas Configuring Storages for MXF Files Using the Avid DS Nitris Media Storage Configuration tool, configure storage areas that point to the MXF folders that you created. Use the table below when following the steps as explained in “Configuring the Media Indexing Service on your Workstation” in the Help. Type of configuration in Media Storage Configuration tool Folder Description \Avid MediaFiles\MXF Where MXF video and audio files Read-only can be written so that Avid DS Nitris can link to them. \Avid MediaFiles\Video Storage Where Avid DS Nitris writes MXF MXF video files video files so that other Avid editing systems can link to them. \Avid MediaFiles\Audio Storage n Where Avid DS Nitris writes MXF MXF audio files audio files so that other Avid editing systems can link to them. Avid DS Nitris and other Avid editing systems can link to MXF media in the same shared folder but cannot create MXF media in the same shared folder. Accessing Storage on another Workstation A media indexing service is defined for every Avid DS workstation in the workgroup. To access media on another workstation, you need to add that workstation’s media indexing service to your own storage configuration. (It is more efficient to connect to the media indexing service on that workstation rather than directly to its storage area.) n When you import a sequence or clip from another project, Avid DS creates a connection to the media even if it resides on another workstation. If the storage where this media resides is not already configured on your workstation, Avid DS will automatically add a media indexing service for that storage in your workstation’s storage configuration. To access a media indexing service on another workstation: 1. Select Data Management > Configure Storages. The Media Storage Configuration - Current Project dialog box is displayed with a list of existing services. 420 Configuring your Storage Locations Your workstation’s media indexing service 2. To add a new service, click the Add button. The Available Storage Types dialog box is displayed. 3. Select Avid Media Indexing Service and click OK. Avid DS scans the network for all workstations in your workgroup that are running media indexing services. 421 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas 4. Select the workstation whose media indexing service you need to access, and click Change. 5. Click Close to accept this configuration. The other workstation’s service configuration is now added to your storage configuration. Your workstation’s media indexing service Other workstation’s media indexing service 6. Click the Close button to exit the Media Storage Configuration - Current Project dialog box. To remove a media indexing service: 1. In the Media Storage Configuration - Current Project dialog box, select the service that you want to delete. 2. Click the Remove button. The indexing service is no longer defined for the current project. 3. Click the Close button. 422 Checklist: Installing Avid DS with Avid Unity Checklist: Installing Avid DS with Avid Unity Each Avid DS workstation connected to Avid Unity™ MediaNetwork requires its own workspace. This workspace is then added to the storage configuration in each Avid DS workstation. For more information on configuring the workspaces and setting permissions on the Avid Unity, refer to your Avid Unity MediaNetwork documentation. c Do not install any Avid DS software components (such as the indexing services) directly on Avid Unity. ; Step Refer to Install all Avid DS client workstations. “Setting up your Avid DS Environment” on page 311. Install Avid Unity MediaNetwork client software on Avid Unity MediaNetwork documentation. each Avid DS workstation that is connected to Avid Unity. Install the latest updates for the Avid Unity MediaNetwork software (if any). Follow the online instructions to install this software update, and then reboot your workstation. Avid Download Center http://www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/inde x.asp On the Avid Unity, create a video workspace and an Avid Unity MediaNetwork documentation. audio workspace for each Avid DS workstation (the RP workstation does not need a workspace). Important: Do NOT use the Unity Connection Manager to connect the Unity workspaces for Avid DS. Use the Administration Tool to assign the permissions on each workspace. If some workstations need to share media, you can assign permissions for these workstations on the appropriate workspaces. (You should also give the RP workstations permission to each workspace). Avid Unity MediaNetwork documentation. 423 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas ; Step Refer to In Avid DS, use the Storage Configuration tool to add a Unity storage connection to your local indexing service. “Configuring the Media Indexing Service on your Workstation” on page 415. Important: Do NOT use a drive letter, instead browse the network to the Avid Unity server, using only a UNC path to access your media folder on Avid Unity. 424 Establishing the Project Folder Establishing the Project Folder If you upgrade to a new version of Avid DS or decide to change the location of the projects folder, you will need to reset your working projects location. To set the project location: 1. Start Avid DS. 2. If the Open Project dialog box does not automatically open, select File > Open New Project. 3. From the Open Project dialog box, select: - Display Projects on this workstation only, if you are working on a standalone workstation, or - Display All Projects in the Workgroup, if you are sharing projects with other workstations in a workgroup. 4. If your projects do not display in the list, then click the Add Project Root button. 5. Browse to the F:\Projects/Audio drive, and select the DS Projects folder. The new project location will appear in your project list. e.g. \\xw8200-DS\ds_projects. 6. Expand this folder to see all the projects. 425 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas s Maintaining Disk Space on your Drives To prevent problems, you should keep at least 10% of the disk space on each drive free at all times. When you run Avid DS, it creates two interactive cache files on the Video Storage drive. These two files (DS_interactive_cache.tmp and DS_interactive_cache.tmp.lowres) can use up as much as 500 megabytes of your video storage area, and are mandatory for Avid DS. If there isn’t enough available space for these files to be created, the system performance will drop dramatically. You may even experience a system failure. As a first step, you should purge unnecessary media files from the system to allow Avid DS to work properly. For more information, see Defragmenting Media in the help. If your disks are getting badly defragmented, you can also perform a defragmentation on the disk drives.You can use third-party software, or the Windows XP Disk Defragmenter utility (on XP workstations) to defragment your disk drives. n c Defragmentation on Unity drives is not possible. Also, the Unity file system has been designed to handle video media in the most efficient way, so that defragmentation of drives is not necessary. Do not defragment your drives while Avid DS is capturing, outputting, or processing media. You should not defragment your disks too often. Stopping defragmentation prior to completion can leave the storage media in a worse condition than before defragmentation. To defragment the drives on Windows XP workstations: 1. On the Windows desktop, right-click the My Computer icon and select Manage. The Computer Management console is displayed. 2. Use the tree (left) to navigate to Storage > Disk Defragmenter. 3. Right-click the disk you want to defragment and select Defragment. 426 Striping your Drives Striping your Drives Striping is the process of configuring hard drives to allow the system to see two or more drives as a single drive. When you transfer files to striped drives, the files are split between the drives, and the data transfer rate increases. Striping is required to work with uncompressed and high video resolutions. The capability for striping drives is built into the Windows XP operating system. n Refer to the Avid DS Support Center web site http://www.softimage.com/avidds for a list of supported drives. Keep the following in mind when striping drives: n • Avid DS requires at least eight drives (for SD) and twelve drives (for HD) striped together to sustain real-time performance. • Hard drives of different sizes cannot be striped. For example, you can stripe eight 73GB drives or eight 146-GB drives, but you cannot stripe six 73-GB drives and six 146GB drives together. • Striping drives deletes any material on them. • Striping is cumulative. For example, when you stripe twelve 146-GB drives, you can create an approximate 1.7 TB partition. • If one drive in a striped volume becomes damaged or inoperable, the data on the remaining drives will be lost. If you are using Avid Unity storage, it does provide backup security in case of drive failure. Creating a Stripe Volume With Windows XP, the disks in a stripe volume must be dynamic disks. Since drives are not usually shipped in this format, you may need to upgrade your drives before you can stripe them. The Disk Manager in the Computer Management console automatically detects whether your drives need to be upgraded to dynamic disks. n If you attempt to create a stripe volume from non-Avid drives, Avid makes no guarantee that the stripe volume will perform to Avid specifications for your application or sequence. Consequently, Avid DS Customer Service will not be able to support any system issues caused by the non-Avid drives or the stripe volume. Once the drives in your disk array have been upgraded to dynamic disks, you can create the stripe volume. 427 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas To create a stripe volume: 1. Log on to the system using the local administrator account and close any applications that are currently running. 2. Right-click the My Computer icon and select Manage. The Computer Management window opens. 3. Use the tree (left) to navigate to Storage > Disk Management. If the storage is new and unformatted, the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard is displayed, otherwise go to step 7. 4. Click the Next button. The Select Disks to Initialize window opens. 5. Select the disks that you want to initialize and click the Next button. The Select Disks to Convert window opens. 6. Select the disks that you want to convert to dynamic drives (mandatory to create the stripe volume) and click the Next button and then click the Finish button. If the storage was attached to a Windows computer, the drives may show up as Dynamic/Failed. If this happens, right-click the drive and select Delete Volume. You may also have a ‘missing’ disk in the window. If this appears, right-click and select Remove Disk. If the drive shows as Basic, right-click the drive icon on the left and select Convert to Dynamic Disk. The drive should show as Dynamic and Unallocated. 7. Right-click one of the unallocated drives and select New Volume. The New Volume Wizard is displayed. 8. At the Welcome window, click the Next button. The Select Volume Type window opens. 9. Select the Striped button and click the Next button. The Select Disks window opens. The original disk you selected is displayed on the Selected side of the window. 10. Select the other drives on the Available side of the window and click the Add button. When completed, click the Next button. The Assign Drive Letter or Path window opens. 11. You can leave the default drive letter or select a new drive letter from the pull-down menu. Click the Next button. The Format Volume window opens. 428 Striping your Drives 12. Format the volume as NTFS and Default Allocation unit size. You can also name the volume. 13. Select Perform a Quick Format. n Formatting without “Quick format” may take several hours or several days depending on the size of your storage device. 14. Do not enable compression. 15. Click the Next button and then click the Finish button. The Computer Management window opens and the drives should begin formatting. Let the system finish formatting the drives before you begin using any applications. Once complete, the drives will say NTFS, Healthy. You will also see the new volume when you double-click My Computer. The striped volume is ready to use. 429 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas Importing Foreign Disks If you have used a Recovery CD, or you have transferred a volume set from one Windows XP system to another, your stripe volume will not display all the disks. You will have to import the striped disks into your Disk Management configuration. To import the disk into the system 1. Right-click the My Computer icon and select Manage. 2. In the left pane, click Disk Management, and then highlight the foreign disk in the right pane. 3. From the Action menu, select All Tasks > Import Foreign Disks. 4. Follow the instructions that are displayed on the screen to recreate your stripe set. 430 About your Local Storage Area About your Local Storage Area Your Avid DS workstation includes a tower base unit and a storage device (disk array). All software, projects, and audio media are stored on the disk drive in the base unit, while the video media is stored on the drives in the storage device. External Storage Device Avid DS Workstation Base unit Storage device C: and D: drives F: drive Except for the (C:) system partition, the letters for the above drives are only suggestions. Depending on the storage choices that were made when your workstation was installed, several folders were created to hold various system files, project files, as well as media and cache files. Folder Description Location \DS_v8.x Contains the files required to run Avid DS C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_v8.x \DS Archives Contains information on archived projects D:\DS Archives \DS Projects Contains the projects, sequences, and clips that you create in Avid DS D:\DS Projects\DS_v8.x \VideoStorage Contains the video media and cache files F:\VideoStorage captured or processed in Avid DS \AudioStorage Contains the audio media and cache files D:\AudioStorage captured or processed in Avid DS \Services Containes the files required to run the Avid DS services C:\Program Files\Avid\Services 431 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas The DS_v8.x Folder The Avid DS executable and the various .DLL files required by the application are in the C:\Program files\Avid\DS_v8.x folder. c Do not move or modify any of the folders in the \DS_v8.x folder. Folder Description \Command Maps Contains the command maps for the different views and layouts in Avid DS \DSPresets Contains customized effects that you can use in Avid DS when creating graphics, transitions, compositing, etc. \Help Contains all the files required to use the online help, which provides task and reference information on Avid DS functions \Preferences Contains the user preferences and customized layouts, toolbars, and key maps \DSSystem Contains system files The DS Archives Folder The \DS Archives folder is used by Avid DS to keep track of archived projects. When you archive a project, an archive log file is saved in this folder, so that you can later restore your media. The archive log file also contains the Avid DS version number, so you know which version you were using when the archive was created. Video media is always archived to tape and an EDL is generated called ArchiveTape.log. Only Avid DS can read this EDL during the restore process. If this file is missing from the archived project folder, the media cannot be restored. Archived audio media or archived audio cached media is stored in this folder. Under each project archive folder, the audio (.wav) media files are stored in a folder called Archive Media Files\audio, which contains each audio storage ID, labelled #1, #2, and so on. When the project is restored, these folders are copied to their corresponding audio storages. 432 About your Local Storage Area The DS Projects Folder The \DS Projects folder must be shared (default at install). It contains the projects that you create with Avid DS. Each time you create a new project, you are prompted to select a location for the project folder. You must keep all your projects under the root \DS Projects folder. The project folder contains the clips and sequences associated with a project. Each project folder also contains the \System folder. n Note the following: • Do not move, delete, or modify the contents of the \System folder. • Never manually move a project between Avid DS workstations. Use the Archive/Restore feature of Avid DS instead. • Never duplicate a project within an Avid DS workgroup. The \System folder contains the following information: Source models: These data structures allow Avid DS to manage the relationship between clips, sequences, and their media. Each time you capture media from a new source, Avid DS creates a corresponding source model, which tracks the time span, quality, and location of the different media files captured from that source. When you play back a clip from that source, Avid DS consults the appropriate source model to locate the media. Dsprojectinfo: This file contains information about the project format and other project preference settings. For more information on project preferences, see Creating a New Project in the help. The DSPresets Folder The \DSPresets folder contains presets, which you can use to define effects, transitions, graphics tools, and so on. The presets that are shipped with Avid DS are stored in this folder by default. Avid DS also creates a \DSPresets folder in each project folder. This lets you store user presets that are specific to a particular project with that project. You can also specify, as part of your user preferences, locations for your own and shared workgroup presets. 433 Chapter 7 Managing Your Storage Areas The VideoStorage and AudioStorage Folders The \VideoStorage folder must be shared (default at install). It contains individual folders for each project. Each folder contains the video media and cache files for that project. Each folder's name is generated by the software and is based on a unique identification string (called a GUID) that identifies each project. The \AudioStorage folder must be shared (default at install). It contains individual folders for each project. Each folder contains the audio media files for that project. n Do not delete audio or video media files or folders using Windows Explorer. If you want to delete a media file, use the Purge or Delete command in Avid DS. For more information on deleting clips and/or purging media, see Managing Media in the help. The DSSystem Folder The C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_v8.x\DSSystem folder contains system files and several folders used by Avid DS. Folder Description \DSSystem\temp\user_account_name Contains the autosave files, viewer and test pattern bitmaps, some critical Avid DS system files, RP jobs log, and the crash log. Before modifying anything in this folder, contact Avid DS Customer Service. n 434 \Rsrc A resource folder for the 3D database \SoftDB Contains the 3D database used by the 3D Warp effect The Autosave files are saved under \Program Files\Avid\DS_v8.x\DSSystem\Temp.username and have four duplicates. Keep monitoring your sufficient disk space, otherwise the software and/or operating system may cease to operate. After the installation, the drive must have over 20% of free space at all times. Capture and Output This book provides information about capturing media, conforming sequences created on other systems, and outputting material. 436 Chapter 1 Capturing Material This chapter describes how to prepare to capture material, specify the capture quality, and capture and log material so that you can edit it in Avid DS Nitris. This chapter includes the following topics: • Workflow: Capturing Material • Preparing to Capture Material • Logging and Capturing Material • Capturing Material from File • Creating Linked Clips • Batch Capturing • Using Scripts to Capture Media • Managing Tapes • Using Tapeless Archive for Film Transfer Chapter 1 Capturing Material Workflow: Capturing Material You can capture material for your project from different sources, such as tape or file. The following illustration shows you the process of capturing material: 1 Configure inputs and quality settings. Configure the VTR or other external device. 2 Preview material. Monitor audio levels. Preview video. 3 Select video/audio input, quality, and storage. Log or capture material from... File Tape 4 438 AFE, AAF, OMF®, EDL, or ALE file. For logged clips, batch capture from the timeline or Avid Explorer. Preparing to Capture Material Preparing to Capture Material Before capturing media, you must configure settings for your workstation. Configuration includes specifying the external device and the input signals coming from the external device; selecting the capture quality, storage location for the captured media, and other settings; and monitoring audio levels. Use this checklist to help you prepare to capture. Preparing to capture ❏ Configure the external device ❏ Select the capture mode ❏ Select the capture target ❏ Specify the capture quality ❏ Specify audio input settings ❏ Specify video input settings ❏ Preview material These tasks are described in the following sections. c n Avid DS Nitris requires that the deck and the Avid Nitris DNA be genlocked to the same timing source when capturing. If you’re capturing a format that allows either tri-level or black burst sync (such as 1080i 59.94), you can use either sync source, so long as it is supported by the deck. For a list of sync options for each format, see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources” in the Help. If you are capturing material from file, configure the capture settings in advance through the Capture Settings view and capture through the Avid Explorer. For more information, see “Capturing Material from File” on page 471. 439 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Configuring the External Device Before capturing from an external device, such as a deck, you need to set options for the device.The first time you work with a new device, you need to set parameters in the Deck Configuration view. The Deck Configuration view lets you save your settings as a preset. You can then select the preset in the Deck Configuration view or select it from the Device pop-up menu in the Capture Tool. n If you are recording through a microphone, activate the Microphone Input preset, ignore the External Device settings, and accept the Audio settings (Input: Analog and Priority: Microphone). For more information, see “Capturing Audio through a Microphone” on page 469. To configure an external device: 1. Connect the external device to your Avid DS system, as described in the setup guide for your system. 2. Open the Deck Configuration view by doing one of the following: t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Deck Configuration. t In a project root bin, open the Views folder and click Deck Configuration. The Deck Configuration view opens. 440 Preparing to Capture Material Deck presets list For information about options in the Deck Configuration view, click the Help button . 3. In the top part of the Deck Configuration view, right-click and select Add New Deck Preset. An icon named Deck Preset is added to the Deck Presets list. The name is selected and ready to be renamed. 4. Type a name for the preset. 5. From the Manufacturer list, select the name of the manufacturer of the external device. 441 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 6. From the Model list, select the model number. Some models include a frame rate (23, 24, and so on). Make sure the template matches the playback rate of your deck. If the model of your deck is not listed, it has not been tested by Avid and its accuracy or usability is not guaranteed. In most cases, however, you can use the deck for capture. Select a similar model from the same manufacturer. After completing the configuration, check some basic operations, such as cueing to a specific timecode and checking the accuracy of the capture and output to tape. 7. From the COM Port list, select the COM port that connects the serial cable from the external device to your system. The serial cable should be connected to either COM1 or COM2. 8. From the TC Mode list, select the type of timecode you want to use for input: Auto, LTC, or VITC. For more information, click the Help button. Auto lets the external device determine which timecode to read. n If your external device cannot find a timecode when previewing material, your TC Mode setting may be incorrect. 9. When outputting to tape, you must specify the edit mode by selecting Auto or Assemble from the Edit Mode list—see “Configuring the External Device for Output” on page 517. 10. From the Edit Field list, select the field on which the output starts. Deck Settings uses the Edit Field setting that is set on the external device. 11. In the Preroll text box, enter the amount of time that you want the external device to play before Avid DS Nitris starts to capture or output. 12. If you’re experiencing an offset between the external device and your system, you can compensate by adding or subtracting frames in the Play Bias and Record Bias text boxes. The Play Bias option offsets the timeline whereas the Record Bias option offsets the VCR timecode entry point. n When you first connect the external device to your system, you should perform several capture and output tests to verify that the timecodes are accurate. 13. Make a selection from the Input and Priority lists. The input you select will depend on the audio hardware connected to your system. 442 Preparing to Capture Material 14. Use the Audio Physical Patching matrix to assign the audio outputs from the external device to the audio inputs on your workstation—see “Using the Physical Patching Matrix” on page 444. n The Input, Priority, and Audio Physical Patching settings are all saved with the device preset. 15. Click the Check button. If the communication between the external device and your system is operating properly, nothing happens. If there is a problem, a message box appears, stating the possible cause of the problem. You can also verify that the external device is operating within normal parameters by checking the five items in the External Device Status area, located beneath the transport controls. 16. Right-click the new preset and select Save or click the Save button. 17. Select a preset as the currently active external device—see “Activating a Device Preset” on page 445. n If you’re using a deck that can be addressed in a format different from its recording speed, four bin columns provide you with a quick way to find your clips on the source tape: • Avid DS Nitris Physical In • Avid DS Nitris Physical Out • Avid DS Nitris Physical Start • Avid DS Nitris Physical Stop These columns show timecodes in the same format as the deck faceplate. n Templates for output devices are located by default in the following folder: C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_v7.0\Edm\Supporting Files\Machine_Templates. The Supporting Files folder also contains the Backup_Machine_Templates folder, which holds older templates. To access additional templates in the Deck Configuration view, copy template files to the Machine_Templates folder. 443 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Using the Physical Patching Matrix The Physical Patching matrix lets you assign the audio outputs from the external device to the audio inputs on your workstation. If the material you want to capture has more audio tracks than the number of physical inputs on your workstation, you can capture the audio tracks in different passes. For each pass, you can re-assign the audio physical patching to capture the tracks you need. For example, assume you only have two physical inputs (I1 and I2), but have four tracks of audio to capture (A1, A2, A3, and A4). On the first pass, you can capture tracks A1 and A2. On the second pass, you can change the audio physical patching to A3 and A4, which lets you capture audio tracks 3 and 4. You can also use the patching to: • Rearrange the track destination • Import specific tracks from a device • Remove unwanted tracks Since the Audio Physical Patching is saved with the device preset, each device can have its own specific audio patching. 444 Preparing to Capture Material Editing and Deleting External Device Presets You can save the settings for your external device as a preset, so that you don’t have to reconfigure the device each time you use it for capture or output. To edit a preset: 1. Right-click the preset. 2. Select the options you want to change. 3. Click the Save button. To delete a preset from the device list: t n Right-click the preset and select Delete. You cannot delete the active preset. Activating a Device Preset You can select one of your presets as the currently active external device. The device you choose will be the default device for capture, recapture, and output. n You can choose a different device preset in the Capture Tool and Output view. To activate a device preset, do one of the following: t In the top part of the Deck Configuration view, right-click the preset and select Activate. t Double-click the preset. A green check mark appears on the preset’s icon. Exporting and Importing Device Presets You can share presets with other Avid DS Nitris systems by exporting and importing deck presets. To export deck presets: 1. In the Bin tools section of the Deck Configuration view, click the Fast Menu button and select Export Deck Presets. The Select Deck Presets Export Folder dialog box opens. 2. Select the folder into which you want to export the presets. 445 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 3. Click the Select button. All presets are exported to the folder you selected. To import deck presets: 1. In the Bin tools section of the Deck Configuration view, click the Fast Menu button and select Import Deck Presets. The Select Deck Presets Import Folder dialog box opens. 2. Select the folder from which you want to import the presets. 3. Click the Select button. All presets in the selected folder are imported to your system. Opening the Capture Tool The Capture Tool lets you configure the settings you need to capture media from an external device and perform the capture. To open the Capture Tool, do one of the following: 446 t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Capture Tool. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Capture Tool. Preparing to Capture Material Timeline/Deck Control Live Tape On-the-Fly Log/Capture Mode In and Out (On-the-Fly only) Start Capture Locators controls Sync Source Video/Audio Capture Settings Input Monitor Expand/Collapse Video Input Parameters Audio Input Settings Selecting the Capture Mode You can choose one of three different capture modes in the Capture Tool: 447 Chapter 1 Capturing Material • Live: Lets you specify settings for capturing material by simply starting and stopping the capture—see “Logging and Capturing Clips from Tape” on page 460. • Tape: Lets you specify settings for capturing material between in and outpoints or for logging empty master clips—see “Logging and Capturing Clips from Tape” on page 460. • On-the-fly: Lets you specify settings for capturing material between in and out-points that you set as the tape plays—see “Capturing Clips Onthe-Fly” on page 463. Selecting the Capture Target You can choose one of several capture targets in the Capture Tool. To select a capture target, do one of the following: t Select one of the following from the Target list: - Project Root: Creates master clips in the folder with the project name (the project folder). Main Explorer Location: Creates master clips in a bin you selected in the Avid Explorer. The most recently activated bin within the project root becomes the capture target. An icon in the title bar marks a bin as the capture target. t Auto-Source: Creates master clips in a folder with the same name as the tape name. Click the Target button, click once to select a folder, and then click OK. Avid DS Nitris creates master clips in the folder you select. You cannot create master clips outside the current project, so Avid DS Nitris checks the path to make sure the folder is within the project folder. 448 Preparing to Capture Material Specifying the Capture Quality You set the video and audio capture quality when you create your project or sequence. You can keep these default settings or adjust them for the material you are going to capture or recapture. For your video material, you can change the resolution, bit depth, compression, and storage device. For your audio material, you can change the sample rate, bit depth, and storage device. Specifying the Video Capture Quality Video capture settings let you define the resolution, bit depth, and compression ratio at which images are captured.You can save space on your disk array by capturing video material in compressed format. Typically, compressed material is used for a rough cut, where you capture large amounts of material at a lower quality. After that, you can recapture the edited material uncompressed before proceeding with a more detailed edit. To specify video capture quality: 1. Do one of the following: t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Capture Tool. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Capture Tool. 2. Click the Video/Audio Capture Settings button. The video and audio capture settings are displayed. 449 Chapter 1 Capturing Material For more information about video capture options, click the Help button. 3. In the Video panel, select a resolution from the Resolution list. The resolutions that are displayed depend on your Avid DS Nitris system hardware. 4. Set the Color Space to be used for your media. The options you have available depend on your video format and resolution. 5. From the Bit Depth list, select a bit depth, depending on what your hardware allows. 6. From the Compression list, select a compression or Uncompressed. The compressions that are displayed depend on the selected video format. For information about compressions, see “Avid DNxHD Compressions” and “JFIF Compressions” in the Help. 7. From the Capture To list, select the storage device on which your video media will be stored. The status of the storage device you selected is displayed. If the storage device is accessible in real time, the status marker is green. If the storage device is not accessible in real time, the status marker is red. The Time Available box indicates how much video material you can successfully capture based on your quality settings. If you have insufficient storage space, consider deleting any unused media on your disk array—see “Purging Media” on page 1087. Specifying the Audio Capture Quality The audio capture settings let you define the quality at which your audio material is captured. These settings depend on the audio hardware connected to your workstation.When you’re capturing material from a digital input, the audio input sample rate and protocol settings are set according to the input signal detected by your hardware. With digital input, such as AES/EBU or S/PDIF, the sample rate is determined and set by the external device (CD player, DAT, etc.). If the digital input cannot be detected (for example, the external device is turned off), the default sampling rate is set to 48 kHz. 450 Preparing to Capture Material To specify audio capture quality: 1. Do one of the following: t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Capture Tool. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Capture Tool. 2. Click the Video/Audio Capture Settings button. For information about audio capture options, click the Help button. 3. In the Audio panel, select a sample rate from the Sample Rate list. The higher the sample rate, the more accurate the capture process will be. 4. From the Bit Depth list, select a bit depth. The higher the value, the more precise the audio will be. 5. From the Capture To list, select the disk array on which your audio material will be stored. The status of the storage device you select is displayed. If the storage device is accessible in real time, the status marker is green. If the storage device is not accessible in real time, the status marker is red. The Time Available box indicates how much audio material you can successfully capture based on your quality settings. If you have insufficient storage space, consider deleting any unused media on your disk array. For more information, see “Purging Media” on page 1087. 451 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Specifying Audio Input Settings You can specify two types of audio input settings in the Capture Tool: • Audio format and channel routing • Settings for the external device Setting the Audio Format Your choices for audio format and available channels depend on the installed audio hardware. To set the audio format and assign audio channels: 1. In the Capture Tool, click the Input Monitor button. 2. Select the audio format from the Audio Format list. f For information about audio formats, click the Help button. 452 Preparing to Capture Material 3. Use the channel routing matrix to assign the incoming audio tracks to the desired audio channels of the clip. Click in the appropriate boxes to make the assignments. The number of available channels depends on the installed audio hardware and the selected audio format. You should know, in advance, to which tracks the audio has been recorded on the tape. n If you click on a square in the matrix and an empty circle appears, that particular assignment is not available due to limitations of the audio hardware. For example, to switch the settings for track A1 and A2 so that track A1 is assigned to Right (R) and track A2 is assigned to Left (L), click the R square in column A1 and the L square in column A2. Notice that you can have only one track assigned to one audio channel. Old assignment New assignment Specifying Audio Settings for the External Device Settings for the external device are determined by the selection you make from the device list. This list includes presets that you create in the Deck Configuration view. For more information, see “Configuring the External Device” on page 440. You can change the audio settings for the preset in the Capture Tool, but they are not saved with the preset. To specify audio parameters for the external device: 1. In the Capture Tool, click the Audio Input Settings button. 2. Select the type of audio input from the Input list. 3. Select the priority for the audio input from the Priority list. The options available depend on the Input selection. 4. Specify the audio output assignments in the physical patching matrix—see “Using the Physical Patching Matrix” on page 444. 453 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Specifying Video Input Settings If your system includes an Avid Nitris DNA, you must select the type of video input signal: Serial Digital, component, composite, or S-Video (Serial Digital is required for HD). For component, composite, and S-Video, you can calibrate video input by adjusting the video parameters. n You cannot adjust input parameters for Serial Digital. To select video input: 1. In the Capture Tool, click the Video Input Parameters button. 2. Select the input source from the Input Selection list. To adjust video input parameters: 1. Connect a waveform monitor, vectorscope, or other equipment for calibrating video input, depending on your production environment. 2. In the Capture Tool, click the Video Input Parameters button. 3. Select the input source from the Input Selection list. 4. Select Professional or Consumer, depending on the type of deck that is connected. 454 Preparing to Capture Material 5. Using color bars or a test pattern, adjust one or more video parameters by dragging the slider or by clicking the minus (-) or plus (+) button. For information about video parameters, click the Help button. 6. To save your settings, click the Save Parameters button. You can save one set of parameters for each type of video input. 7. To restore the default settings for all video inputs, click the Factory Settings button. Specifying the Sync Source For systems with an Avid Nitris DNA, you need to select the sync source for reference timing: either tri-level sync or black burst sync (NTSC or PAL). Avid DS Nitris requires that the deck and the Avid Nitris DNA be genlocked to the same timing source when capturing. HD formats whose frame rate aligns with 29.97 fps (NTSC) or 25 fps (PAL) can use either tri-level sync or black burst sync. If you are capturing one of these HD formats (such as 1080PsF 29.97 or 1080PsF 25), you can use either tri-level or black burst as the sync source. For a list of sync options for each format, see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources” in the Help. To specify the sync source: 1. In the Capture Tool, click the Sync button. - For HD sequences, the Expected Sync Source field displays the format of the sequence or its interlaced equivalent. - For SD sequences, the field displays NTSC or PAL Black Burst. 455 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 2. Select the sync source that is compatible with the sequence: Tri-Level, Black Burst, or Any. n You can also set the sync source in the Output Tool. Checking the Sync Source The Sync (S) light (located on the right of the toolbar below the timeline) indicates the sync source that is being used by the current sequence. Sync light • Green: Indicates that the sequence is receiving the correct sync for the frame rate. • Yellow: Indicates that the sequence is using internal sync from the Avid Nitris DNA. For professional production you should make sure to connect the correct external sync. • Red: Indicates that the sequence is not receiving the correct sync for the frame rate. You should correct this situation. Previewing Material Before capturing video or audio material from a tape or live capture session, you can preview it to decide how much preroll or post-roll to add, or to monitor the audio levels (see “Monitoring Audio Input” on page 457). When you preview audio material, you can use the Audio Input monitor to set incoming audio levels, depending on your hardware. To preview video or audio material: 1. In the Capture Tool, click either the Live button, the Tape button, or the On-the-Fly button. 2. Use the transport controls to play the video or audio material you want to preview. 456 Preparing to Capture Material Play button Monitoring Audio Input You can monitor your incoming audio in a panel in the Capture Tool or in the Audio Input Monitor view. Each input strip in the input monitor corresponds to channels that are recorded from the source Input monitor with mono tracks Input strips Peak indicator Level meter device. Strip name If you need to adjust the audio input signal, the method you use depends on your system hardware: • If your system includes an Avid Nitris DNA, you should adjust the audio level before it enters the Avid Nitris DNA. For example, you can adjust the audio output on a deck or use an external mixer. 457 Chapter 1 Capturing Material • If your system includes Equinox-Mykerinos hardware, you can lower the incoming signal through faders on the audio input strips. However, you cannot use the faders to boost the audio signal. Any audio level changes are saved with the audio clip.When you later recapture this material, Avid DS Nitris uses the levels that you set when you originally captured the material. You can adjust the audio after capturing by using the Avid DS Nitris Mixer—see “Understanding the Mixer” in the Help.To monitor the audio input levels: 1. In the Capture Tool, click the Live button, Tape button, or On-the-Fly button. 2. Open the audio monitor in one of the following ways: t In the Capture Tool, click the Input Monitor button. t Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Audio Input Monitor. 3. Set the audio format and assign the incoming audio tracks to the desired audio channels of your clip—see “Setting the Audio Format” on page 452. 4. Use the transport controls in the Capture tool to preview the audio. 458 Logging and Capturing Material Logging and Capturing Material Depending on the source from which you are capturing material, you can: • Log and capture the material at the same time • Log the material and batch capture it later • Log a clip that is linked to material on a network If you’re capturing material from a tape or other external device, you can log the clips needed for your sequence and then batch capture them later. Logging lets you specify the in and out-points for material on tape without actually capturing the material. As you log or capture your material, master clips are created in a bin in the Avid Explorer. These clips contain information about the original media on tape or file, as well as the source in and source out timecodes. n You can also create logged clips from the following sources: • AFE files (Avid Log Exchange) • AAF files (Advanced Authoring Format) • OMF files (Open Media Framework®) • EDLs (Edit Decision Lists) • ALEs (Avid Log Exchange) For more information on logging clips from these sources, see: • Conforming with AFE Files • Conforming with AAF Files • Conforming with OMF Files • Conforming with EDL Files • Conforming with ALE Files 459 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Logging and Capturing Clips from Tape The Capture Tool provides you with three modes in which to capture media from an external device: Live, Tape, and On-the-Fly. Tape mode lets you specify exact in-points and out-points, When capturing material using Tape mode, you can capture the media between the selected in and out-points or log empty master clips. The captured clips are displayed in a bin. Logged video clips display the Avid DS Nitris clapboard icon in the Thumbnails and Script view. Icons for the audio and video clips without media are red. You can place logged clips on the timeline to create a sequence and then edit them like any other master clip, even though they do not include media. Later, you can capture the media at any time directly from In the Thumbnails view of a bin, video and audio clips without media are displayed with red icons. In the Details view of a bin, video and audio clips without media are preceded by a red icon. the timeline. To log and capture clips from a tape: 1. Do one of the following: t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Capture Tool. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Capture Tool. 2. Configure the external device, specify the capture quality, and other perform other tasks listed in “Preparing to Capture Material” on page 439. 3. Click the Tape button. 460 Logging and Capturing Material 4. From the device list, select a deck preset. 5. (Optional) Set a custom preroll for the deck. This setting temporarily overrides the setting in the deck template but does not change it. 6. Click the Check button. If the communication between the external device and your system is operating properly, nothing happens. If there is a problem, a message box appears, stating the possible cause of the problem. You can also verify that the external device is operating within normal parameters by checking the five items in the External Device Status area, located beneath the transport controls—see “Transport Controls (Capture and Output Tools)” in the Help. 7. Make sure the Timeline/Deck Control button is set for Deck. 8. Click the Log/Capture Mode button to either capture or log material. 9. In the Clip Name text box, enter a name to prefix all captured clips. 10. From the source name list, select the tape’s name. If the tape is new, click the New Tape button and enter a name for the tape. The tape name is added to the Tape Library—see “Managing Tapes” on page 503. c It is very important to assign a unique name to every tape because Avid DS Nitris uses it to identify the captured media. 11. From the Target list, select a location to hold the clips—see “Selecting the Capture Target” on page 448. 12. Click the Video button to capture the video channel of the material. 13. Click the Audio button to capture one or more audio channels of the material. 14. To record additional material before the in-point and after the out-point, type the appropriate number of frames in the Heads and Tails text boxes. 15. Use the transport controls to play or shuttle the tape to the point where you want to start the capture and click the Mark In button. The timecode of the in-point you selected is displayed in the In timecode box. 461 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Mark In In timecode box Mark Out Out timecode box 16. Play or shuttle the tape to advance to the point where you want to end the capture and click the Mark Out button. The out-point is displayed in the Out timecode box. The Duration timecode box displays the length of material to be captured. n Tip: If you already know the in and out timecodes, you can type them directly in the In or Out timecode boxes. You can also enter a value for the duration and Avid DS Nitris will calculate the out-point. You can use the numeric keypad to enter in-points and out-points. Begin typing the timecode and an entry box is displayed. When you finish typing, press the I key to set an in-point or the O key to set an out-point. You can also type a duration and press the D key. To go to a particular location on the tape, type the timecode and press Enter. 17. Click the Start/Stop Capture button. As the material is logged, or logged and captured, clips appear in the Avid Explorer according to the in and out points that you specified. You can add locators with comments while capturing. For more information, see “Adding Locators While Capturing” on page 466. n n 462 If Avid DS Nitris is unable to capture the material on the first attempt, it will try again. If it fails again, Avid DS Nitris will attempt the capture a third time with an additional preroll of five seconds. If the capture fails again, an error message is displayed with a possible explanation for the problem. If you encounter problems capturing material from tape, you should deactivate the viewer using the Viewer button in the status bar and try capturing again. When capturing full resolution HD material at 29.97 and 30 frames per second, the viewer is automatically deactivated. Logging and Capturing Material Logged video clips appear with an image of the Avid DS Nitris clapboard icon, since they do not have any media. Both video and audio clip icons are also red to show that no media has been captured. You can later capture these clips in one batch directly from the Avid Explorer. c If any frames are skipped during the capture, the capture stops, and an error message is displayed. Clips are created for the material that was captured up to the point at which frames were dropped. If Avid DS Nitris detects any problems during capture, the Capture Error Log is displayed. The Capture Error Log dialog box displays the clip that could not be captured, including tape source name, in-point, and outpoint. It also gives you a brief description of the type of error that occurred. a. To save this log as an .html file, click the Save As button. b. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to an appropriate folder, type a name for the log and click the Save button. The log is saved as an .html file and can be viewed in any HTML browser. n Avid DS Nitris stops a capture session if it detects any timecode breaks on the source tape. It creates a master clip from the in-point to the timecode break. The capture session may stop a frame or two after the actual timecode break. If this happens, you may have to cut or trim some of the unusable frames from your clip. To resume capture, enter new in and out-points in the In/Out timecode boxes and click the Start/Stop Capture button. n If there is insufficient material for the deck to preroll before capturing, you will not be able to capture the material. In this case, use the Live capture option to capture the material. Capturing Clips On-the-Fly Capture on-the-fly mode lets you capture material from tape as it plays. You start the capture and then set in and out-points for the material you want to capture. After you stop the capture, clips are created in the Avid Explorer, based on the in and out-points you set during playback. In this way you can create multiple clips without having to start and stop playback. 463 Chapter 1 Capturing Material n Avid DS Nitris creates a temporary media file for the complete capture and then creates the individual clips. Make sure you have enough storage space for the temporary media file and the created clips. Avid DS Nitris deletes the temporary file after creating the clips. Capture on-the-fly is similar to live capture because in both cases you capture while the tape is playing. Capture on-the-fly, however, requires deck control through an RS-422 connection and a valid timecode signal. As a result, timecode is always accurately captured and clips can be recaptured. To log and capture clips on-the-fly: 1. Do one of the following: t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Capture Tool. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Capture Tool. 2. Configure the external device, specify the capture quality, and perform other tasks listed in “Preparing to Capture Material” on page 439. 3. Click the On-the-Fly button. 4. From the device list, select a deck preset. 5. Click the Check button. If the communication between the external device and your system is operating properly, nothing happens. If there is a problem, a message box appears, stating the possible cause of the problem. You can also verify that the external device is operating within normal parameters by checking the five items in the External Device Status area, located beneath the transport controls—see “Transport Controls (Capture and Output Tools)” in the Help. 6. Make sure the Timeline/Deck Control button is set for Deck. 7. Make sure the Log/Capture Mode button to set to Capture. 8. In the Clip Name text box, enter a name to prefix all captured clips. 9. From the source name list, select the tape’s name. If the tape is new, click the New Tape button and enter a name for the tape. The tape name is added to the Tape Library—see “Managing Tapes” on page 503. c 464 It is very important to assign a unique name to every tape because Avid DS Nitris uses it to identify the captured media. Logging and Capturing Material 10. From the Target list, select a location to hold the clips—see “Selecting the Capture Target” on page 448. 11. Click the Video button to capture the video channel of the material. 12. Click the Audio button to capture one or more audio channels of the material. 13. Click the Start/Stop Capture button. The tape begins playback. 14. To set an in-point and an outpoint, do one of the following: t Click in the viewer to set an in-point, and then right-click in the viewer to set an out-point. t In the Capture tool, click the In button and then the Out button. t On the keyboard, press the I key and then the O key. A clip will be created for each of the in and out-points that you set. Continue to set in and out-points on the material you want to capture. You can add locators with comments while capturing. For more information, see “Adding Locators While Capturing” on page 466. 15. To finish the capture session, do one of the following: t Click the Start/Stop Capture button. t Press the Esc key. The On the Fly Capture Time Spans dialog box appears. Start of session In point Out point End of session 16. Click OK. 465 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Clips appear in the folder you selected for each of the in and out-points that you set. The clips are named as follows: BaseClipName, BaseClipName-001, and so on. Each clip’s timecode matches that on the tape, making it possible for you to recapture the material at a different compression rate or resolution. n If you encounter problems capturing material from tape, you should turn off the viewer by deselecting the Viewer button in the status bar and try capturing again. When capturing full resolution HD material at 29.97 and 30 frames per second, the viewer is automatically deactivated. Adding Locators While Capturing You can add locators (markers) to the clips you are capturing from tape or onthe-fly. These markers are linked to a specific timecode and behave in the same way as Clip locators. You cannot add locators during Live capture. For complete information on locators, see “Using Locators” in the Help. To add a predefined locator: 1. Begin capturing from tape or on-the fly. 2. Do one of the following: t On the keyboard, press a locator button (F1 through F3). t In the Capture tool, click a locator button (F1 through F3). The comments for predefined locators are: n - F1: Needs color correction - F2: Needs scratch removal - F3: Start of good take Locators F4 through F8 include the comments “Comment 4,” “Comment 5,” and so on. You can change these comments on the Locator Properties property page. To add a locator with a custom comment: 1. Begin capturing from tape or on-the fly. 2. Type your comment. 466 Logging and Capturing Material 3. Press the A key or click the Add button. A red locator is added to the clip. To add scene and take numbers: 1. Begin capturing from tape or on-the fly. 2. Press one or both of the following keys: - S key (Scene button): Adds a locator with the title “Scene x, Take x.” Each time you click the Scene button, the Scene number is incremented and the Take number is reset to 1. You can add a custom message. - T key (Take button): Adds a locator with the title “Scene x, Take x.” Each time you click the Take button, the Take number is incremented. A red locator is added to the clip. Performing a Live Capture Live capture mode lets you capture a video stream from a deck, camera, or other source, without the need for deck control. It is a quick but less accurate way of capturing material.If there is a proper SMPTE or AES/EBU timecode signal, the material is assigned the incoming timecode and the resulting clip can be recaptured. If no timecode signal is present, Avid DS Nitris assigns an arbitrary timecode to the clip, starting at 00:00:00:00. Clips starting with this arbitrary timecode cannot be recaptured. n If the device you plan to use for recapture cannot be controlled with an RS-422 remote connection, Avid DS Nitris will let you recapture a clip, but it will most probably not find the correct timecode. Live capture is similar to capture on-the-fly because in both cases you capture while the tape is playing. Capture on-the-fly, however, requires deck control through an RS-422 connection and a valid timecode signal—see “Capturing Clips On-the-Fly” on page 463.To perform a live capture: 1. Do one of the following: t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Capture Tool. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Capture Tool. 2. Configure the external device, specify the capture quality, and perform other tasks listed in “Preparing to Capture Material” on page 439. 467 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 3. Click the Live button. 4. From the device list, select a deck preset. 5. Select the Timecode source: - VITC or LTC through the RS-422 serial connection on the computer - LTC through the LTC IN connection (XLR) on the Avid Nitris DNA 6. Click the Check button. If the communication between the external device and your system is operating properly, nothing happens. If there is a problem, a message box appears, stating the possible cause of the problem. You can also verify that the external device is operating within normal parameters by checking the five items in the External Device Status area, located beneath the transport controls—see “Transport Controls (Capture and Output Tools)” in the Help. 7. Make sure the Timeline/Deck Control button is set for Deck. 8. Make sure the Log/Capture Mode button is set for Capture. 9. In the Clip Name text box, enter a name to prefix all captured clips. 10. From the source name list, select the tape’s name. If the tape is new, click the New Tape button and enter a name for the tape. c It is very important to assign a unique name to every tape because Avid DS Nitris uses it to identify the captured media. 11. From the Target list, select a location to hold the clips—see “Selecting the Capture Target” on page 448. 12. Click the Video button to capture the video channel of the material. 13. Click the Audio button to capture one or more audio channels of the material. 14. If recording from tape, use the transport controls to play the tape. 15. Click the Start/Stop Capture button. The capture begins and the progress bar displays the number of seconds of material captured. This value updates while the capture is in progress. 468 Logging and Capturing Material n If you encounter problems capturing material from tape, you should deactivate the viewer using the Viewer button in the status bar and try capturing again. When capturing full resolution HD material at 29.97 or 30 frames per second, the viewer is automatically deactivated. 16. When you want to stop capturing, do one of the following: t Click the Stop button on the progress bar. t Click the Start/Stop Capture button. t Press the Esc key. The captured material is represented by a clip in the folder you selected. If the tape is playing, click Capture again to resume capturing. Capturing Audio through a Microphone You can create master clips for audio input by connecting a microphone to the Mic inputs on the back of the Avid Nitris DNA and using the Capture Tool to capture audio. You can use the following connectors: • Mic 1 or Mic 2 for a single microphone (mono) • Mic 1 and Mic 2 for two microphones (stereo) • Mic 1 and Mic 2 for two microphones (two mono channels) You might need to use an external mixer to adjust the input levels. To configure for microphone input: 1. On the Avid Nitris DNA, connect a microphone to the Mic 1 input or the Mic 2 input, or connect two microphones, one to each input. 2. Open the Capture tool and click the Live button. 3. Select Microphone Input as the input device. You can also activate the Microphone Input preset in the Deck Configuration tool. See “Configuring the External Device” on page 440. In this case ignore the External Device settings and accept the default Audio settings (Input: Analog, Priority: Microphone). 4. Click the Input Monitor button to open the audio input pane. 5. From the Audio Format list, select Mono or Stereo to match your inputs. 6. In the channel routing matrix, assign the incoming audio tracks to the desired audio channels of the clip. 469 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 7. Use the input level meters to view the audio levels. If you are using a mixer, adjust the input levels if necessary. 8. Select other capture settings. See “Logging and Capturing Clips from Tape” on page 460. 9. When you are ready to record, click the Start/Stop Capture button. 10. To stop recording, click the Stop button on the progress bar. 470 Capturing Material from File Capturing Material from File When capturing material from file, you can do any of the following: • Capture media from selected files • Log the selection as clips without capturing the media • Create linked clips, which act as pointers to source media located on a local disk or anywhere on the network You can capture material from video, audio, and image files. For a list of supported file types, see “Capture File Formats” in the Help.When you capture material from file, it’s important to select the correct media conversion mode, pixel ratio, and premultiplication setting. The media conversion modes let you determine how media of differing formats are converted when captured into Avid DS Nitris. Files coming from different formats, such as NTSC, PAL, and computer graphics, all have different file pixel ratios. If the pixel ratio of the source file is different than that of the current sequence, then the file’s pixels are scaled to match those of the current sequence. When you select the correct premultiplication setting, you can avoid incorrect compositing results. If you’re capturing still images, you can specify their duration on the Editing property page of the User Preferences dialog box. By default, the duration of captured still images is set to 1 second. n n You can capture from a single file or a series of files at the same time. You can import graphics without having to capture them. For more information, see “Importing Images” in the Help. To log and capture clips from file: Show/Hide Panel 1. In the Avid Explorer, click one of the Show/Hide Panel buttons to display a panel. Then click the arrow next to the button and select My System. 471 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 2. In the tree, click My Computer or My Network Places and navigate to the folder where the files that you want to capture are located. The files are displayed in a bin. 3. In the bin, select the file or files that you want to capture. To select a series of files, click the first file, hold down the Shift key, and click the last file. To select multiple files, hold down the Ctrl key and click each file name. n If you select a sequential list of still files of the same type, such as all .jpg or all .bmp, during capture you are given the choice of combining the files into one master clip or creating individual clips. 4. Right-click a file and select Capture Settings. The Capture Settings dialog box opens. 472 Capturing Material from File Help button For information about options in the Capture Settings dialog box, click the Help button. 473 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 5. In the Media Capture panel of the Capture Settings dialog box, select a location to hold the clips—see “Selecting the Capture Target” on page 448. If you select Auto-Source, master clips are created in a folder named File Source. 6. From the Media Conversion list, select one of the following modes: Mode To Center, Keep Original Size Center the media in the viewer along both the X and Y axes. Any portion of the image falling outside the viewer is cropped. This option does not modify the original size of the media. Scale to Fit Scale the media in both the X and Y axes to fit the sequence settings. This option may reduce image clarity. Scale, Keep Aspect Ratio Scale the media in both the X and Y axes to fit the image settings, but retain the ratio between width and height. Keep Original Size and Position 474 Display the media in the viewer without modifying its original size or position. Capturing Material from File The following illustrations show a 540x304 image captured using various media conversion modes. Center, Keep Original Size Scale to Fit Scale, Keep Aspect Ratio Keep Original Size and Position 7. If the source image contains an alpha channel that you want to capture with the clip, select the Keep Alpha option. Only image formats that support alpha channels are applicable. For example, .bmp images do not support alpha channels. 8. If you want to adjust the colors of the captured file to remove banding, select Auto-Dither. 9. If you want to convert the frame rate of the video file you are capturing to the same frame rate used by the sequence, select the Convert Video Frame Rate option. n This option does not apply to still images or audio files. If you capture an audio file with a sample rate different from than that currently set in the Audio Sample Rate list, a message box opens, asking you if you want to convert the audio file to the selected rate. 10. If you are sharing MXF audio files with other Avid applications, select Import audio files into separate mono tracks. 475 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 11. In the Source Description section, select the appropriate options for the files you are capturing. For information about these options, click the Help button, and then click on the link for Media Capture Settings. 12. Close the Capture Settings dialog box to save your settings. 13. Right-click on the selected files and select one of the following: Option Description Capture Creates master clips and captures the media. This option takes substantially longer because the media must be digitized. Log Creates master clips without capturing the media. n Link Logged clips appear with the message “Media Not Available” when they are placed in the viewer or timeline. You can later capture these clips in one batch directly from the Avid Explorer or the timeline. Creates linked clips, which act as pointers to source media located on a local disk or anywhere on the network—see “Creating Linked Clips” on page 481. As the material is logged or captured, clips appear in the target bin. n You can cancel the capture session at any time by clicking Cancel in the progress bar. A message box opens, asking you if you want to keep the material that was captured so far. If you click Yes, clips are created for the material that was captured until you clicked Cancel. Capturing from File by Dragging to a Bin You can capture media from file by right-clicking the source file and dragging it to the bin in which you want to create the master clip. To capture from file by dragging to a bin: 1. Check the Capture Settings view to make sure your settings are correct—see “Capturing Material from File” on page 471. You don’t need to specify the capture target. 2. Right-click the file or files you want to capture. 476 Capturing Material from File 3. Drag the files to the bin in which you want to create the master clips. 4. Release the mouse button, and select Capture Here. As the files are captured, master clips appear in the target bin. You can also use the menu to open the Capture Settings view, create a linked clip, or create a logged clip. Other options let you copy or move files and create shortcuts. Capturing from Layered Adobe Photoshop Files There are two ways to capture from Adobe Photoshop files into Avid DS Nitris: • Select the file or files in a bin, right-click and select Capture. • On the Editing toolbar, click Generate > Import Photoshop. The first option captures only the flattened Photoshop image as a still. If you want to preserve all the layer information, you should use the second option.When you capture from a layered Photoshop image into Avid DS Nitris using the Import Photoshop command, a Targa image file is created for each Photoshop layer. A sequence with one composite container clip is created in a new bin in the Avid Explorer, along with a master clip for each layer. These master clips are linked to the Targa files. Each layer in the Photoshop file is recreated in the composite container clip as a layer and corresponding clip on a composite track. Each layer is composited in the same order as the original Photoshop file. DVEs are applied to each clip to position them appropriately, and the opacity of each layer is adjusted to match the opacity levels in the original Photoshop file. An additional folder is created called Linked layers, which contains the source Targa files to which the master clips are linked. Having access to these source files makes it easier for you to delete them, if needed. The Photoshop images must be 8 bit RGBA or grayscale files. Only normal blending information is supported, and text and shape information are rasterized when captured. 477 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Example Every time you capture from a layered Photoshop file, a new bin is created in the Avid Explorer. The bin is named after the Photoshop file you captured. The sequence, master clips, and Linked layers folder are all stored in this new folder. The master clips are named after the layer they represent followed by the name of the Photoshop file in parentheses. For example, if you capture from a Photoshop file called Poster.psd that contains the following layers: • Sky • Sea • Boat A new bin called “Poster” is created in the Avid Explorer. Within that bin, a new sequence called “Poster” is created, a folder called “Linked layers” is created, as well as the following master clips: • Sky (Poster) • Sea (Poster) • Boat (Poster) The \Linked layers folder contains the following files: • Sky (Poster).tga • Sea (Poster).tga Boat (Poster).tgaTo capture from layered Photoshop files: 1. In the Avid Explorer, select the folder in which you want the new folder to be created. 2. If you are importing a file with a pixel ratio different from that of the current sequence, click the Capture Settings button in the Avid Explorer toolbar. In the Media Capture section, specify a custom pixel ratio. 3. In the Editing toolbar, click Generate > Import Photoshop. The Import Adobe Photoshop dialog box opens. 4. Select the Photoshop file and click OK. A message is displayed telling you that the clip was successfully saved. 5. Click OK. 478 Capturing Material from File A new folder is created in the Avid Explorer and named after the Photoshop file. Within that folder, a folder called Linked layers is created that contains the source Targa files. A sequence file with one composite container clip is also created, along with a master clip for each layer. In the composite container clip, each layer in the Photoshop file is recreated as a layer and corresponding clip on a composite track. The lower-left corner of the final composited image is placed in the lower-left corner of the viewer. Linked layers folder contains Targa files. A sequence file is created along with a master clip for each layer. New file created in Avid Explorer. All layers are visible. The lower-left corner of the final composited image is place in the lower-left corner of the viewer. DVE applied to each clip. Since the master clips are linked to the Targa files, the images maintain their original size. To view images that are larger than the sequence resolution, right-click in the result area of the layer view to turn off the Output Frame Size option. For more information, see “Working with Layered Photoshop Images” in the Help. Importing Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Files n You can import EPS files into Avid DS Nitris, but they are treated differently than other file imports. EPS files are imported from within the Graphics layout and no master clips are created for the EPS file. Instead, the EPS information is imported directly into your current graphics session. The color information 479 Chapter 1 Capturing Material in the EPS files is retained and each shape in the EPS file is a separate stroke in Avid DS Nitris.You can import solid colors, but not gradients. n Avid DS Nitris can import files created with Adobe Illustrator 8.0 or earlier versions. To work with Illustrator 9.0 files, save it as a version 8.0 file. You can also import EPS files as brush strokes. For more information, see “Creating Custom Brushes” in the Help.To import an EPS file: 1. With the position indicator over a clip in the timeline, switch to the Graphics layout. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Import > EPS File. The Open dialog box opens. 3. Select an EPS file and click the Open button. The EPS file is imported into your graphics session. 480 Creating Linked Clips Creating Linked Clips By creating links to media files that are not stored on your disk array, you can work with media files without having to capture them to your disk. These files, called linked clips, can reside on a local disk or anywhere on the network until you’re ready to output your sequence.Some projects may require you to work with images at varying resolutions (sizes). When you capture these files, you must convert the material to the working resolution of the current sequence. By linking to the material instead, you can keep the material at its original resolution regardless of the sequence’s frame size. Once you’ve completed your edits, you can process the linked material, which creates a cache file of the image area that is visible in the viewer. Linking clips can also be useful when more than one person needs access to the same file. You can capture the file as a linked clip, drop it into your sequence, and continue to use it as a reference while another person continues to work on the source media file. Changes made to the original file automatically appear in the linked clip, both in the Avid Explorer and on the timeline. n If another person tries to modify a file that’s linked to a clip in an open project, they will not be able to save that file due to a sharing violation. You must close the project that contains the linked clip for them to be able to save the original file. Once you’re ready to output the sequence, you can either capture the source file or simply process the clip on the timeline. If you process the material, a cache file is created. Once a cache is created, Avid DS Nitris no longer refers to the source media file, but uses this cache file during playback. Any further changes to the source file do not appear in the linked clip on the timeline. Like any other cache however, the cache for the linked clip can be purged, which relinks the clip to the source file. For more information, see “Purging Caches” in the Help. Linked clips appear in the Avid Explorer as regular clips, but their file type icons are underlined in red, indicating that no actual media has been captured. Some linked clips do not require processing and can be played back in real time (such as .gen, .omfi, .mxf, .dpx, or .cin files). 481 Chapter 1 Capturing Material If the “Media Not Found” message appears in the viewer when using linked clips, it’s possible that Avid DS Nitris has lost the connection to the linked file. All you have to do is re-establish the link. For more information, see “Relinking a Clip” on page 483.To create a linked clip: 1. In the Avid Explorer, open a bin and select the file (s) that you want to capture as linked clips. To select a series of files, click the first file, hold down the Shift key, and click the last file. To select multiple files, hold down the Ctrl key and click each file name. n If you select a sequential list of still files of the same type (such as all .jpg or all .bmp), you are given the choice of combining the files into one master clip or capturing individual clips. 2. Right-click a file and select Capture Settings. The Capture Settings dialog box opens. 3. Select the settings that apply to the files that you want to capture—see “Capturing Material from File” on page 471. n Since linked files are brought into Avid DS Nitris at their original resolutions, there is no need to convert them to the current sequence’s resolution. As a result, the Media Conversion modes are not applicable when the Link option is selected. 4. Close the Capture Settings dialog box. 5. Right-click the selected files and select Link. As the material is linked, clips appear in the selected bin. The clip icons are underlined in red to indicate that no media has actually been captured. 482 Creating Linked Clips Relinking a Clip If you move the media of a linked clip to a new location, you need to reestablish the link. Avid DS Nitris lets you relink more than one clip at a time. To relink a clip through the Media Properties dialog box: 1. Right-click the linked clip in a bin and select Properties. The Clip Properties dialog box opens. 2. Select the File Info tab. In the Status text box, the following message is displayed: “File is missing from expected location”. 3. Click the Relink File button. 4. In the Relink File dialog box, navigate to the new location of the media file, select it, and click OK. 5. Close the Clip Properties dialog box by clicking OK. The link is re-established. n If you go back into the Clip Properties dialog box, you will see that the status of the linked file has changed to “File is Present.” To relink one or more clips through the Avid Explorer: 1. Right-click one or more linked clips and select Relink. Avid DS Nitris tries to relink by using the most recent path used in a relink operation. If the media file is not found in that path, the Relink dialog box is displayed. If you want to force the Relink dialog box to be displayed, hold down the Control key while you select Relink. 2. In the Relink dialog box, navigate to the location of the media file, select it, and click OK. The link is re-established. If multiple clips are linked to media files in the same folder, all links are re-established. 483 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Linking to a Sequence of Files You can create a linked clip that represents a sequence of files based on the contents of a Group folder (see “Avid DS Nitris Group Folders” in the Help). For example, a Group folder that contains 117 files, named BottleFish1.pic through BottleFish117.pic, is labeled: BottleFish[1..117:117].pic The clip linked to this folder is named BottleFish1.Clip. Group folder Pattern-based linked clip This pattern-based linked clip is especially efficient when working with digital intermediate files (DPX) or other groups of sequential files (such as those created by Softimage® XSI®). Advantages to using a pattern-based linked clip are: • Improved memory usage: A pattern-based linked clip uses much less memory than a list-based linked clip. This is especially important for scanned film files, for which a sequence of 16,000 files is not unusual. 484 Creating Linked Clips • Creation of a complete master clip with an incomplete Group folder: A pattern-based linked clip can represent thousands of files without the need to have those files in a local directory.To create a linked clip you need only the first and last files in a series. This feature lets you create a master clip in advance of receiving all files. For example, if a 3D scene is being rendered overnight, you can create a master clip based on preliminary first and last files and begin to work with the clip immediately, while the rendered files are added to the folder. You can also link directly to a series of files, as described in “Creating Linked Clips” on page 481, but this list-based linked clip does not provide the advantages of a pattern-based linked clip. You can see the difference between the two types of linked clips on the File Info tab of the clip’s property page. Properties of a list-based linked clip Properties of a pattern-based linked clip 485 Chapter 1 Capturing Material To create a pattern-based linked clip: 1. In the Avid Explorer, navigate to an Avid DS Nitris group folder. 2. Right-click the Group folder and select Capture Settings. 3. Select the settings that apply to the files that you want to capture. For information about capture settings, click the Help button. 4. Close the Capture Settings dialog box. 5. Right-click the Group folder and select Link. The clip appears in the selected bin. The clip icon is underlined in red to indicate that no media has actually been captured. 486 Batch Capturing Batch Capturing In an offline/online workflow, you first create an offline sequence by using logged clips or compressed media. To create the final, online sequence, you need to capture media for the logged clips or recapture compressed media in uncompressed format. You can efficiently capture a group of clips from the Avid Explorer or timeline in one pass. This is called batch capturing. n You cannot recapture from the timeline clips that were captured at one frame rate and then converted to a different frame rate. You can recapture the original clips from a bin, or recapture the clips from a sequence that matches the original frame rate. Recapturing at a Different Quality If you have already captured clips with media, you can recapture media at a different quality. You can initially capture clips at a lower quality to save disk space and increase processing time, and then recapture at a higher quality for the final output. You can also recapture media for clips that have been partially or completely purged. If you recapture media at a different quality, Avid DS Nitris lets you keep the original media. In this case, the master clip represents two (or more) media files of different qualities. n To see if a clip has more than one capture quality, right-click the clip in a bin and select Properties. In the property dialog box, select the Media property page. When you place the clip in a sequence, Avid DS Nitris automatically uses the media which has the same resolution as the sequence.You can set a preference to display media that doesn’t exactly match the sequence settings. For more information, see “Understanding Video Quality Matching” in the Help. You can purge the original media at any time. For more information, see “Purging Media” on page 1087. 487 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Capturing Clips from the Avid Explorer When you log material, empty master clips (without media) are created in a bin in the Avid Explorer. You can then capture source material from tape or file. The master clips hold information about the in and out-points of material from tape or about the location of an original file.Avid DS Nitris stops the deck, rewinds and then prerolls before capturing material. If, however, it detects two or more clips on the same tape and they are separated by less than 5 seconds, it will skip the preroll and capture both pieces of media in one pass. This feature, known as streaming capture, can reduce the time to recapture media especially if your clips are lined up one right after the other on a single tape.To capture clips from Avid Explorer: 1. (Optional) If you want to view a list of clips to be captured, set a user preference—see “Creating a Batch Capture List” on page 494. 2. From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Deck Configuration. Check the settings and activate the deck preset for the connected deck—see “Configuring the External Device” on page 440. 3. In a bin, select the master clips that you want to recapture. 4. (Optional) To delete media associated with the clips, right-click the selected clips and select Purge Media—see “Purging Media” in the Help. 5. Right-click the selected clips and select Capture Settings to specify the video quality and audio quality settings—see “Specifying the Capture Quality” on page 449. 6. Right-click the selected clips and select one of the following: - Recapture with Options to open a dialog box that lets you select the video and audio tracks you want to recapture.You can choose not to recapture tracks that you originally captured, but you cannot capture new tracks. For example, if you created a clip by capturing video only, you cannot recapture the clip with video and audio. - Recapture to begin the recapture process, using the settings specified in the Recapture with Options dialog box. 7. If you selected Recapture with Options, the Explorer Recapture Options dialog box opens. 488 Batch Capturing a. Click the Video button to recapture the video portion of your media. b. Click the Audio button to recapture the audio portion of your media. c. Click the audio tracks (A1, A2, and so on) that you want to recapture. By default, all audio channels are active. The actual number of available channels depends on the installed audio hardware and the selected audio format, as configured in the Capture Tool or Deck Configuration. Configured channels are indicated by a filled-in square. d. If you want the capture to begin immediately, leave the Time Delay option deselected. If you want to capture certain files at a specific time in the future, select the Time Delay option. For more information about options in the Explorer Recapture Options dialog box, click the Help button. e. Click the Recapture button. 8. If you selected the Display Capture List option, the Batch Capture list is displayed. If you are satisfied with the list, click OK. If you’re capturing from a tape that is currently in the VTR, then capture starts automatically. As the clips are captured, the progress bar updates. n n If Avid DS Nitris is unable to capture the material on the first attempt, it will try again. If it fails again, Avid DS Nitris will attempt the capture a third time with an additional preroll of five seconds. If the capture fails again, the error is displayed in the Capture Error Log, with the possible cause of the problem. If you encounter problems recapturing material from tape, you should deactivate the viewer using the Viewer button in the status bar and try capturing again. When recapturing full resolution HD material at 29.97 and 30 frames per second, the viewer is automatically deactivated. 489 Chapter 1 Capturing Material If the tape is not in the VTR, the Insert Tape dialog box opens. For information about options in the Insert Tape dialog box, click the Help button. a. 490 Insert the specified tape. Click the Skip Tape button to bypass capturing all the clips with this tape’s source name. Batch Capturing b. (Optional) Change the external device by selecting a deck preset from the device list. To create a deck preset, see “Configuring the External Device” on page 440. c. Use the transport controls in the dialog box to cue the tape, if necessary. For example, in the case of repeated timecode, cue the tape so that the recapture starts at the correct position. d. Click OK. The capture begins. If you selected the Time Delay option, the Start Capture At dialog box opens. Enter the date and time at which you want the capture to begin and click OK. The progress bar appears with the current date and time, as well as the capture start date and time you specified. 9. If any problems are detected during recapture, the Capture Error Log dialog box is displayed. The Capture Error Log dialog box lists all the clips, including tape source name, in, and out-points, that could not be recaptured. It also gives you a brief description of the type of error that occurred. 10. To save this log as an .html file, click the Save As button. 491 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 11. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to an appropriate folder, enter a name for the log, and click the Save button. The log is saved as an .html file and can be viewed in any Web browser. Capturing Clips from the Timeline When you log clips from a tape or file, or conform using an ALE file, AAF file, OMF file, ALE file, or EDL, master clips without media are created in a bin, in the timeline, or in both. You can edit these clips into the timeline, and edit their in and out-points before capturing the media.You can also capture media from clips on the timeline when the clips have media and you want to use a different audio or video quality. When you capture clips from the timeline, the new clips retain the audio and video tracks used in the original clip. n When you capture from the timeline, all the frames in a clip are recaptured unless otherwise specified. Avid DS Nitris stops the deck, rewinds and then prerolls before capturing material. If, however, it detects two or more clips on the same tape and they are separated by less than 5 seconds, it will skip the preroll and capture both pieces of media in one pass. This feature, known as streaming capture, can reduce the time to recapture media especially if your clips are lined up one right after the other on a single tape.To recapture clips from the timeline: 1. (Optional) To view a list of clips to be captured, you need to set a user preference—see “Creating a Batch Capture List” on page 494. 2. From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Deck Configuration. Check the settings and activate the deck preset for the connected deck—see “Configuring the External Device” on page 440. 3. Click Media IO > Capture Settings and specify the video quality and audio quality settings—see “Specifying the Capture Quality” on page 449. 4. (Optional) To delete media associated with the sequence, select Data Management > Purge Media—see “Purging Media” in the Help. 5. If you do not want to recapture the entire sequence, select the tracks, clips, or time span that you want to recapture. 6. From the NLE Tools toolbar, click the Media IO button and select one of the following: 492 Batch Capturing - Recapture Entire Timeline with Options to open a dialog box that lets you change the heads and tails of the clip (handles) and set other options. - Recapture Entire Timeline to begin the recapture process, using the settings specified in the Recapture Entire Timeline with Options dialog box. - Recapture Selection with Options to open a dialog box that lets you set options. - Recapture Selection to begin the recapture process, using the settings specified in the Recapture Selection with Options dialog box. 7. If your selection lets you set options, Timeline Recapture Options dialog box opens. a. n You can only add heads and tails to the clip on the timeline up to the length of the original master clip. You cannot extend the clip beyond what was originally captured. b. n To record additional material before the in-point and after the outpoint, enter the appropriate number of frames in the Heads and Tails text boxes. To capture only the active frames of clips on the timeline, select the Recapture Only Active Material option. When you select this option, clips with time effects (Timewarp, Interlace, Deinterlace, 3:2 Expand, or 3:2 Contract) are recaptured in their entirety regardless of the active areas. For all other types of container clips, only the active portions of the container clips are recaptured. 493 Chapter 1 Capturing Material c. If you want the capture to begin immediately, leave the Time Delay option deselected. If you want to capture certain files at a specific time in the future, select the Time Delay option. For more information about options in the Explorer Recapture Options dialog box, click the Help button. d. Click the Recapture button. 8. If you selected the Display Capture List option, the Batch Capture list is displayed. If you are satisfied with the list, click OK. If you’re capturing from a tape that is currently in the VTR, then capture starts automatically. As the clips are captured, the progress bar updates. n n If Avid DS Nitris is unable to capture the material on the first attempt, it tries again. If it fails again, Avid DS Nitris will attempt the capture a third time with an additional preroll of five seconds. If the capture fails again, the error is displayed in the Capture Error Log, with the possible cause of the problem. If you encounter problems recapturing material from tape, you should deactivate the viewer using the Viewer button in the status bar and try capturing again. When recapturing full resolution HD material at 29.97 and 30 frames per second, the viewer is automatically deactivated. 9. If the tape is not in the VTR, the Insert Tape dialog box opens. a. Insert the specified tape. Click the Skip Tape button to bypass capturing all the clips with this tape’s source name. b. (Optional) Change the external device by selecting a deck preset from the device list. To create a deck preset, see “Configuring the External Device” on page 440. c. Use the transport controls in the dialog box to cue the tape, if necessary. For example, in the case of repeated timecode, cue the tape so that the recapture starts at the correct position. d. Click OK. The capture begins. If you selected the Time Delay option, the Start Capture At dialog box opens. Enter the date and time at which you want the capture to begin and click OK. The progress bar appears with the current date and time, as well as the capture start date and time you specified. 494 Batch Capturing For information about options in the Insert Tape dialog box, click the Help button. 10. If any problems are detected during recapture, the Capture Error Log is displayed. The Capture Error Log dialog box lists all the clips, including tape source name, in, and out-points, that could not be recaptured. It also gives you a brief description of the type of error that occurred. a. To save this log as an .html file, click the Save As button. b. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to an appropriate folder, enter a name for the log, and click the Save button. The log is saved as an .html file and can be viewed in any Web browser. Creating a Batch Capture List When you have many clips to recapture, you might want to generate a list to review what you’re recapturing. The capture list in Avid DS Nitris not only lets you review what you’re capturing, but also lets you prioritize items, as well as remove items from the list. To create a batch capture list: 1. Select File > User Preferences. 2. Select the Capture tab. 3. Select Display recapture list. 4. Follow the recapture process described in “Capturing Clips from the Avid Explorer” on page 487 or “Capturing Clips from the Timeline” on page 490. Before the recapture process begins, the Capture List dialog box opens. 495 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Clips with check marks beside them are part of the list and will be recaptured 5. Double-click an entry in the list to remove it from the list of clips to be recaptured. Double-click it again to add it back to the list. 6. Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to prioritize the capture list. Clips at the top of the list are captured first. 7. Click the Source Name or Clips column heading to sort the list according to the source name or the clip name. 8. Click OK to begin capturing. If you are capturing from a tape that is currently in the VTR, then capture starts automatically. As the clips are captured, the progress bar updates. If the tape is not in the VTR, the Insert Tape dialog box opens. For more information, see “Capturing Clips from the Avid Explorer” on page 487 or “Capturing Clips from the Timeline” on page 490. 496 Batch Capturing Batch Capturing Without Interaction You can set your user preferences so that a batch capture proceeds without your needing to interact with the application for each tape. To perform a batch capture without interacting with the application: 1. Select File > User Preferences and select the Capture tab. 2. Select the following options: - Eject the tape after digitize - No interaction when inserting new tape - Display recapture list. 3. Click OK. 4. When you are ready to start the batch capture, follow the recapture process described in “Capturing Clips from the Avid Explorer” on page 487 or “Capturing Clips from the Timeline” on page 490. Before the recapture process begins, the Capture List dialog box opens. 5. Note the order of the recapture, and arrange the physical tapes in the same order. 6. Click OK to begin recapturing. The Insert Tape dialog box opens and asks for the first tape. 7. Insert the first tape in the capture list. When all clips have been recaptured from the tape, the deck ejects it. 8. Insert the next tape. c Avid DS Nitris cannot distinguish between tapes so make sure you insert them in the same order that is used in the capture list. 497 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Using Scripts to Capture Media Avid DS Nitris lets you create scripts to automate the capture process. Instead of defining the capture properties each time you capture media, you can do it once, create a script based on what you did, and then run that script the next time you capture. Creating a script can be as simple as copying the contents of the History pane to the Editing pane of the Script Editor and then saving it. n You can use scripts to capture media from file only. A script is a set of commands that can be executed in sequence as if they were a single command. Simple scripts are a set of native Avid DS Nitris commands. More advanced scripts use a third-party scripting language as the glue that holds the commands together. With a scripting language, your scripts can use variables, constants, conditional statements, loops, and procedures. You can change the default scripting language in the User Preferences dialog box (Scripting/Logging property page). For more information, see “Choosing a Scripting Language” in the Help. n Tip: When using a script to capture media, make sure that the Start Capture command appears only once at the end of your script. If your script contains more than one Start Capture command, it will not work. Creating a Script for Capturing Media To create a script for capturing media: 1. Select View > Single-Instance Views > Script Editor. The Script Editor view opens. 498 Using Scripts to Capture Media Menu bar History pane Editing pane 2. Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Capture Settings. 3. Configure the video and audio input. Each command that you set is logged in the History pane of the Script Editor. 4. In the Avid Explorer, select a file, right-click, and select Capture, Log, or Link. 5. Once the capture is complete, select the contents of the History pane in the Script Editor. 6. From the menu bar, click Copy or press Ctrl+C. 7. Click in the Editing pane and then click Paste or press Ctrl+V. The contents of the History pane are displayed in the Editing pane. 499 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Copy contents from History pane to Editing pane to create a script. 8. Click the Save button. The Save As dialog box opens. 9. Type a name for your script in the File name text box and click the Save button. By default, all scripts are saved in the DSScripts folder. Running a Script for Capturing Media To run a script for capturing media: 1. From the Script Editor, select File > Open. The Open dialog box opens. 2. Browse through the folders to locate the script you want to run. Select the file and click the Open button. The contents of the script appear in the Editing pane of the Script Editor. 3. If you want to make changes to the script, you can modify the contents of the script by cutting, copying, or typing directly into the Editing pane. 4. Click the Run button. The script runs through each line and performs the associated commands. 500 Using Scripts to Capture Media c Once a script is running, the only way to terminate it is to exit Avid DS Nitris. Never test your script by running it on valuable unsaved data. To create a toolbar button for a script file: 1. Create a media input script and save it in the \DSScripts folder. 2. In the Avid Explorer, open the \DSScripts folder. 3. Select the script file you created, hold down the Ctrl key, and drag the file to a toolbar. The Add Script Command dialog box opens. n You can also create a toolbar button from one or more lines in the History or Editing pane of the Script Editor. Select the contents of the script and then drag them onto a toolbar. A toolbar button is created with the name Scriptnumber. 4. In the Command Name text box, enter a name for the toolbar button. By default, the Command Name is the name of the saved script file. 5. Specify a Command Name for Scripting. This is the name that is logged to the command history when you click the toolbar button. You can also use this name to invoke this script from within another script. The command name for scripting cannot use spaces or punctuation. 6. If necessary, select the scripting language from the Language list. The list contains the supported languages that are installed on your computer. If you dragged lines from the Script Editor onto the toolbar, then the default language is the one specified in your preferences—see “Scripting/Logging Property Page” in the Help. If you dragged a saved file, the default language is based on the file name extension: Scripting language File extension JScript .js 501 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Scripting language File extension PerlScript .pls Python Active X Scripting Engine .pys VB Script Language .vbs 7. Do one of the following: t If your script does not contain any procedures, there is nothing more to do. Click OK to close the Add Script Command dialog box and add the button to your toolbar. t If your script does contain procedures, continue with the following: 8. Click the Parse Script button. The script is parsed and the procedures and arguments are “found”. c Parsing a script may execute global code, that is, any code that is not within a defined procedure. In such cases, it will also run procedures that are called from global code. 9. If your script contains procedures, you can specify which one to execute when the button is clicked. Select a procedure from the Script Procedure box. If you do not specify a procedure, only global code will be executed, as well as any procedures that are called from global code. c Even when a procedure is specified, global code may be executed before the procedure is called. This is a side-effect of parsing the script with some scripting engines. To be certain that your script behaves predictably in all situations, do not mix global code and procedures. 10. If the selected procedure contains arguments, they are listed under Parameters. For each argument, specify the value to use when the script is run by doing one of the following: t Enter a value in the corresponding Value box. This value will be used whenever you click the button to run the script. t Click twice in the Value box, and select Prompt On Run from the list. With this option, when you click the button to run the script, a dialog box prompts you to enter a value. 11. Click OK. 502 Using Scripts to Capture Media The Add Script Command dialog box closes and the new button is added to the toolbar. n If you want to go back and edit the script, right-click on the toolbar button and select Edit Script. A dialog box opens and you are prompted to save your script. Click No. The contents of your script are displayed in the Editing pane of the Script Editor and are ready for editing. 503 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Managing Tapes The Tape Library view lets you add tapes to a project and manage the tapes associated with a project. To access the Tape Library view: t In an Avid Explorer panel, open the Views folder and click Tape Library. Bin toolbar Tapes list Bin tools Clips and sequences list Bin tools To view the clips and sequences associated with a tape: t Select one or more tapes. The Tape Library view consists of two sections. The top section lists the tapes in your project, and the bottom section lists the master clips and sequences that are associated with one or more selected tapes. If you import clips or sequences from another project, the associated tape is added to the Tape Library. The name of the original project appears in parentheses. 504 Managing Tapes You can perform the following tasks in the Tape Library: • Use Bin tools to change how tapes or clips and sequences are displayed. • Double-click a clip or sequence to display it in the Source viewer. • Right-click on a tape, clip, or sequence to perform tasks such as renaming, purging, and deleting. Adding a New Tape You can use the Tape Library view to add a new tape. To add a new tape: 1. Do one of the following: t t In the bin tools section of the Tapes list, click the Fast Menu button and select Add New Tape. In the bin toolbar, click the New button. The Add New Tape dialog box opens. n You can also add a new tape by clicking the New Tape button in the Capture Tool. 2. Enter a name for the tape. A tape name must be less than 64 characters and cannot contain the following characters: / \ : ; * ? “ < > | . ^ # 3. (Optional) Enter a comment. To display a comment, select the Details or Script view. 505 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 4. If the tape from which you are capturing material contains timecode that appears more than once, select the Manual Reel option. This option deactivates the streaming capture functionality, and allows you to manually cue the tape to the appropriate timecode. You can use this option for any type of problem that requires user interaction, such as short timecode breaks or other problem sections in a tape. You can also select or deselect this option by right-clicking a tape icon. c If you have flagged a tape with the Manual Reel option during capture, don’t deactivate it during recapture because it may cause recapture errors. 5. Click OK. The new tape appears in the top section of the Tape Library view. Renaming a Tape and Changing the Comment After adding a tape to a project, you can rename it or change the comment. n If you rename a tape that is shared between projects, the name is changed only in the current project. To rename a tape: 1. Right-click a tape and select Rename. The Set Tape Name dialog box opens. 2. Enter a new name. A tape name must be less than 64 characters and cannot contain the following characters: / \ : ; * ? “ < > | . ^ # 3. Click OK. To change a comment: 1. Right-click the tape and select Change Comment. The Set Tape Comment dialog box opens. 2. Enter a new comment. 3. Click OK. 506 Managing Tapes Purging Media from Tape You can purge media associated with a selected tape or tapes. Purging media retains the master clips and sequences, so that you can later recapture the media. To purge media from tape: t Select a tape or tapes, right-click, and select Purge. Recapturing from Tape If you have purged media for a tape, you can use the Tape Library view to recapture all master clips associated with the tape. To recapture all master clips associated with a tape: t Select a tape or tapes, right-click, and select Recapture. You can also recapture master clips from the Clips and Sequences List section of the Tape Library view. You cannot recapture sequences by selecting a tape. You must recapture from the bottom section of the Tape Library view, from a bin, or from the timeline. For more information, see “Batch Capturing” on page 486. Deleting a Tape You can delete one or more tapes from the Tape Library view. c Deleting a tape will delete all media, master clips, and sequences associated with that tape. Master clips and sequences shared with other projects are preserved, but their media is deleted. To delete a tape and its associated media, clips, and sequences: 1. Select one or more tapes, right-click, and select Delete. A dialog box displays the media, clips, and sequences to be deleted and asks for conformation. 2. Click OK. 507 Chapter 1 Capturing Material Using Tapeless Archive for Film Transfer Film-originated television shows use the telecine transfer process as part of the production workflow. The Tapeless Archive feature uses Avid DS Nitris archiving technology to make the telecine transfer process faster and more cost-efficient. Current methods of creating the final, best-light transfer use either negative cutting or film-to-tape, tape-to-tape transfer, both of which are time-consuming and expensive.A workflow that uses Tapeless Archive relies on a log file for creating a new best-light transfer tape. Because this log file (a “pseudo-archive”) is created in the same way as a Avid DS Nitris archive, it allows for handles, duplicated use of shots, and efficiently combines neighboring shots into single events. A telecine operator then uses the log (a tab delimited text file) to create a final transfer tape. This tape is almost identical to the over-length neg cut roll that would have resulted from the traditional method. The resulting cost-savings is significant, especially for high-definition footage. The final conform process on the Avid DS Nitris system is faster and more efficient because it can use streaming capture from a single tape, cutting HD VTR costs. In addition, the Avid DS Nitris editor does not need to modify the timecodes of the clips or edit the sequence for pulldown, as would be the case with the traditional methods. 508 Using Tapeless Archive for Film Transfer The following illustration shows two parts of a Tapeless Archive workflow. This workflow is described in the subsequent procedures. Part 1: Creating the tapeless archive Film sources One-light transfer to multiple tapes A A B B Offline Media Composer AFE file C C Avid DS Nitris archivetape. log Part 2: Finishing the project Best-light transfer to a single tape Film sources A archivetape. log B Avid DS Nitris A1 C CUT FInal cut To enable the Tapeless Archive feature: 1. Right-click on a toolbar, such as the NLE Tools toolbar. 2. Select Customize Toolbar. The Customize Toolbar window is displayed. 509 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 3. Select Editing from the Command Categories list, select Tapeless Archive from the Available Commands list, and drag it to an empty area of the toolbar. A button labeled Tapeless Archive is added to the toolbar. Alternatively, you can add the command to an existing button, such as the Editing button. To use the Tapeless Archive for film transfer: 1. Transfer the film rushes onto beta SP tapes synced with audio as a lowcost, one-light transfer. Each rushes roll corresponds to a punched negative roll. 2. On an offline system, capture from the transfer tapes, edit the sequence, and export an AFE file. You can also output a digital cut to use for reference. 3. On the Avid DS Nitris system, import the AFE file. Batch capture the video and audio with the desired handles. Capture the digital cut for reference. 4. Edit the sequence. Do not finish all effects, because you will be recapturing the final media. Select the Tapeless Archive command. The Source Tape List dialog box appears. 510 Using Tapeless Archive for Film Transfer 5. Select the tapes you want to include, add heads or tails, and select the inpoint to start the archive (in most cases 00:00:00:00). The archive list allows for duplicated use of shots and combines neighboring shots into single events, resulting an a list that minimizes the required footage. 6. Click OK. Avid DS Nitris creates the archive files. 7. Locate the archivetape.log file in the archive folder and send it to the telecine suite. Use a floppy drive or other removable media or the network to transfer the file. 8. The telecine operator opens the archivetape.log file in a spreadsheet program and uses the log to create a best-light transfer, in most cases to a single tape. 9. Restore the archived project, using the tape provided by the telecine operator—see “Restoring Projects” in the Help. 10. Complete the effects and titling to finish the show. Drag the clip handles to get more material if necessary. 11. Create the final master tape. If, during finishing, you need to retransfer a particular clip (perhaps to get longer handles), you can determine the original film and tape roll numbers and timecode by right-clicking the clip and selecting Properties. Then have a telecine transfer done on this clip, and recapture the clip. 511 Chapter 1 Capturing Material 512 Chapter 2 Outputting Media This chapter describes how to output your edited material to tape or file. It includes the following topics: • Workflow: Outputting Media • Preparing for Output • Outputting Material . Chapter 2 Outputting Media Workflow: Outputting Media After you have constructed your sequence and processed any non-real-time effects, you can output it to tape, file, EDL or OMF file (audio only). The following illustration shows the steps for outputting your media. 1 Select the area to output. Select the entire sequence. 2 or Select a specific region. Select the output destination, output tracks, and other output parameters. If you’re outputting to tape, select the external device for recording. 3 Output media. Output the sequence to tape. or Export it as a media or reference file. or Export it as an EDL or OMF file (audio only). 514 Preparing for Output Preparing for Output Before you output your sequence, you need to process some effects and select the area to output. If you are outputting to tape, you need to specify other output settings as well. When outputting media, Avid DS Nitris uses the video and audio quality settings that you specified in your sequence preferences. However, if you change these settings after capturing and processing media, you must recapture and reprocess the media before outputting. For more information, see “Working with Media of Different Qualities” in the Help. n If you are working in a sequence created in a custom format, you cannot capture from tape or output to tape. Avid DS Nitris hardware does not support custom formats. Processing Effects Before you output your sequence, make sure you process non-real-time effects and software real-time effects. This processing ensures that you get fluid output. For more information, see “Outputting Real-time Effects” in the Help. n During output to tape, the play button becomes red if any frames are skipped. The output stops and a message box appears, stating the possible cause of the problem. If this problem continues to occur, try decreasing the throughput on the system by creating audio container clips for your audio material. For more information, see “Creating an Audio Container Clip” in the Help. Selecting an Area to Output You don’t have to output your entire sequence at once.You can select a specific region, or only the contents of a container clip. You can also choose to output only video or audio tracks, or a combination of both. 515 Chapter 2 Outputting Media To select the output area: 1. Do one of the following: t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Output Tool. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output Tool. The Output Tool opens. 2. In the Source box, select one of the following options: - Entire Sequence to output the entire timeline. If you’re on the top timeline, the entire sequence is output. If you’re within a container clip, only the clips on the container timeline are output. - Sequence In/Out to output a section of the sequence marked by an in-point and an out-point in the timeline. The timecodes of the in-point and out-point are displayed in the In and Out text boxes. 516 Preparing for Output 3. If you want to record to tape using the timecodes specified in the timeline (including in-point and out-points), click the To Tape button and select the Use Timeline Timecodes for Edits option. For example, if the first clip in your sequence begins at 01:00:30:00, and you want to begin recording at 01:00:30:00 on a tape, select Entire Sequence and Use Timeline Timecodes for Edits. If you want to perform an insert edit for a specific region of a sequence, mark the inpoint and out-point, select Sequence In/Out, and select Use Timeline Timecodes for Edits. Monitoring Audio Output You can use the Audio Output Monitor to display level meters that give you a visual indication of the audio levels during playback and output. The number of level meters in the Audio Output Monitor reflects the number of output channels specified by your Avid DS Nitris mixer configuration. For more iniformation, see “Understanding the Mixer” in the Help. You can adjust how the meters are displayed through the User Preferences dialog box. For more information, click the Help button in the User Preferences dialog box. To access the Audio Output Monitor: t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Audio Output Monitor. Configuring the External Device for Output If you are outputting to tape, make sure that you have configured the external device. It is especially important to check the Edit Mode selection. You can select one of the following: • Auto: Select this option to record the sequence onto a prestriped tape (a tape with prerecorded control track and timecode) This option lets you add material to existing material on the tape. It also deactivates all channels during capture to prevent any interruption of signal between the deck and your system. The recording begins at the timecode that is set in 517 Chapter 2 Outputting Media the I field of the Output Tool. If you want to insert material at a particular timecode on the tape (known as an insert edit), make sure the in-point of the sequence matches the in-point that you set in the Output tool. • Assemble: Select this option to record the material onto a new tape (without control track or timecode) or completely record over all tracks of an existing tape. A blank tape must have enough stripe at the beginning to allow for preroll. The selected sequence is recorded from the in-point of the tape, which you must set in the Output Tool. If the Output Tool is set for Assemble mode, the Edit mode indicator flashes red to bring your attention to the selection. Edit mode indicator n Due to the nature of assemble mode editing, a small portion of the tape is erased beyond the end of your sequence, creating a series of garbage frames. To work around this inherent limitation, you can set an in-point at the beginning of your sequence, an out-point ten frames after the end of your sequence, and then output from in to out. This records a series of black frames between the end of your sequence and the garbage frames. To configure and select an external device: 1. Connect the external device to your Avid DS Nitris system. 2. Do one of the following: t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Deck Configuration. t In an Avid Explorer panel, open the Views folder and click Deck Configuration. The Deck Configuration view opens. n You can also select the output device and set the Edit Mode in the Output Tool. 3. In the top section of the view, select the preset you want to use. To configure and create a preset, see “Configuring the External Device” on page 440. 4. Check the Edit Mode and Edit Field settings. 518 Preparing for Output 5. If you made any changes, right-click the preset and select Save. 6. Right-click the preset and select Activate. For more information, click the Help button. Calibrating Video Output For systems with an Avid Nitris DNA, the Output Tool lets you calibrate output parameters for analog HD, component, composite, or S-Video signals. For Serial Digital, you can adjust only the H Phase and Subpixel H Phase. To adjust video output parameters: 1. Connect a waveform monitor, vectorscope, or other equipment for calibrating output parameters, depending on your production environment. 2. In the Output Tool, click the Video Output button. 3. Select the output signal from the Output list. 519 Chapter 2 Outputting Media 4. For Analog HD, select the color space: YUV (video) or RGB (graphics). 5. Using color bars or a test pattern and calibration equipment, adjust video parameters by dragging the slider or by clicking the minus (-) or plus (+) button. 6. Click the Save Parameters button to save your settings. You can save one set of parameters for each type of video output. 7. Click the Factory Settings button to restore the default settings for all video outputs. n For more information about video parameters, click the Help button. Specifying Downconvert Formats On an Avid Nitris DNA workstation, the Output Tool lets you downconvert a film or high-definition (HD) sequence into one of several standard-definition (SD) or high-definition formats, depending on the original format of your sequence. For example, if you are working with a 1080PsF 23.97 sequence, you can output the sequence as NTSC Letterbox, NTSC Center crop, or NTSC Anamorphic. In some cases, you can also convert to a different HD format. n If you select a downconvert format, you can output HD playback and SD downconvert simultaneously through the Avid Nitris DNA. As a result, you can monitor SD output or create an SD master at the same time you are outputting an HD master. However, the sequence timecode is not recorded with the downconverted output. To specify downconverted formats: 1. In the Output Tool, click the Downconvert button. 2. Select the required output formats. 520 Preparing for Output For HD Output, Native represents the current video format. The options that are available depend on the current video format. For a list of the available formats, see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources” in the Help. n You can also specify the Downconvert format in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. Specifying the Sync Source For systems with an Avid Nitris DNA, the Output Tool lets you select the sync source for reference timing: either tri-level sync or black burst sync (NTSC or PAL). HD formats whose frame rate aligns with 29.97 fps (NTSC) or 25 fps (PAL) can use either tri-level sync or black burst sync. If you are outputting one of these HD formats (such as 1080PsF 29.97 or 1080PsF 25), you can use either tri-level or black burst as the sync source. For a list of sync options for each format, see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources” in the Help. To specify the sync source: 1. In the Output Tool, click the Sync Source button. - For HD sequences, the Expected Sync Source field displays the format of the sequence or its interlaced equivalent. - For SD sequences, the field displays NTSC or PAL Black Burst. 2. Select the sync source that is compatible with the sequence: Tri-Level, Black Burst, or Any. n You can also set the sync source in the Capture Tool. 521 Chapter 2 Outputting Media You can use the Sync light to check the status of the sync source. For information, see “Checking the Sync Source” in the Help. 522 Outputting Material Outputting Material When you output a sequence from Avid DS Nitris, you’re taking all the information contained in a sequence file, such as timecode information, source media, and generated caches, and copying it to an external device or file. Outputting to Tape When you output to tape, the image size always matches the resolution set in your Sequence Preferences. To output to tape: 1. Do one of the following: t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Media IO > Output Tool. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output Tool. The Output Tool opens. For information about options in the Output Tool, click the Help button. 2. Configure the external device and perform other tasks, such as selecting the area to output—see “Preparing for Output” on page 515. 3. Click the To Tape button. 523 Chapter 2 Outputting Media 4. Select the output device. The currently active external device appears in the Device list. You can select a another device preset from the list. 5. Click the Check button. If the link between the external device and your system is operating properly, nothing occurs. If there is a problem, a message box appears, stating the possible cause of the problem. You can also verify that the external device is operating within normal parameters by checking the five items in the External Device Status area, located beneath the transport controls. A green or red light beside each item displays its status. Items that are grayed out are inactive. 6. Select the Edit Mode, either Auto (Insert) or Assemble. This setting temporarily overrides the setting in the deck template but does not change it. For more information about Edit Mode, see “Configuring the External Device for Output” on page 517. 7. (Optional) Set a custom preroll for the deck. Timeline/Deck button This setting also temporarily overrides the setting in the deck template but does not change it. 8. Make sure the Timeline/Deck button is set to Deck. 9. Click the track buttons (V, A1, A2, and so on) for the video and audio tracks you want to output. 10. (Optional) If you are recording LTC (longitudinal timecode) through the LTC Out (XLR) connector on the Avid Nitris DNA, select the desired LTC frame rate. - For 29.97 (NTSC) sequences, you can select 29.97 (non-drop-frame) or 29.97 DF (drop-frame). - For 23.97 HD sequences, you can select 23.97, 29.97 (non-drop-frame), or 29.97 DF (drop-frame). If you want to output NTSC timecode, make sure to select an SD Downconvert format (see “Specifying Downconvert Formats” on page 521) so that the converted timecode is displayed in the LTC menu. 11. If you are experiencing any frame delays in audio when you output your sequence to tape, enter the number of frames in the Audio Propagation Delay text box. 524 Outputting Material 12. If you have not selected the Use Timeline Timecodes for Edits option (see “Selecting an Area to Output” on page 515), specify the position on the tape where you want the program to start recording. Use the transport controls to locate the position or type a timecode in the I (In) field. n If you’re insert editing your material, make sure that your tape is properly striped with timecode before attempting to output your material. 13. (Optional) Click the Preview button to view your sequence before outputting to tape. 14. Click the Insert/Assemble button. The label on the button depends on the Edit mode you selected. The selected media in your sequence is output to tape. Outputting to File There are several options that you need to consider when outputting to file.These options include: n n • File type: You can output your media as a sequence or as single frames. Avid DS Nitris supports a wide range of video and audio file formats—see “Output File Formats” in the Help. • Frame size: Output resolution is independent of the sequence frame size or working resolution. By default, output resolution is set to the sequence frame size, but you can select a different output frame size. • Compression: When outputting to the .avi, .wmv, or .mov file formats, and some image formats, you can choose a compression codec (compressor/decompressor) directly from within Avid DS Nitris. Every codec installed on your workstation is available during output. You cannot export a file at a frame rate different from that of the current sequence. If you want to convert the frame rate of your file, you need to use an external media conversion tool or encoding software. AVI files have a size limit of 2 gigabytes. If you need to export a large sequence as an AVI file, consider dividing the sequence or using a reference movie (see “Exporting AVI or QuickTime Reference Movies” on page 536).Windows Media files and QuickTime files do not have a size limit. 525 Chapter 2 Outputting Media • n Audio: Avid DS Nitris can export both 16-bit and 24-bit audio. The exported bit rate is determined by the sequence preference. If you are exporting a 24-bit sequence through a codec that supports only 16-bit audio, Avid DS Nitris converts the audio to 16-bit during the export. If you have a problem playing audio in the output file, try changing the audio to 16-bit in the Sequence Preferences. Audio is not exported when the selected export format is an image format. Similarly, video is not exported when the selected export format is an audio format. When you output to file, Avid DS Nitris uses all tracks in a sequence. The Outsource effect lets you output an area of the timeline in the file format of your choice, while keeping a link to the exported files—see “Outsource Effect”in the Help.To output to file: 1. Process non-real-time effects and software real-time effects—see “Processing Effects” on page 515. 2. Select the area you want to output—see “Selecting an Area to Output” on page 515. 3. Select View > Single-Instance View > Output Tool. The Output Tool opens. 4. Click the To File button. 526 Outputting Material For information about options in the Output Tool, click the Help button. 5. From the File Type list, select a file type. For some image file types, a dialog box opens and provides format options. Options depend on the file type; for example, TIFF provides options for bit depth and compression. Choose your settings and click OK. The settings you selected are displayed in the Codec field. For a list of supported formats, see “Output File Formats” in the Help. 6. If you choose a file type that supports compression, a dialog box opens. Choose a compression codec, modify the settings to meet the quality you require, and click OK. 7. Select one of the following options to determine the resolution (frame size) of the output file: 527 Chapter 2 Outputting Media - Generic to pick a standard resolution from the list. - Custom to create a custom resolution. Create a custom resolution by entering pixel values for the width and height in the appropriate text boxes. 8. Select a Field Mode: Preserve, Invert, or Ignore. If you are working with progressive or low-motion media in an interlaced sequence, select Ignore to maximize the output quality. Otherwise select Preserve to keep the field dominance, or Invert to change the field dominance (from odd to even, or even to odd). The Preserve and Invert options preserve field motion and prevent any field artifacts. This option is automatically set to Ignore when you are working with a progressive sequence. For more information, see “About Field Dominance” in the Help. 9. Select the Output Levels. This option specifies the how Avid DS Nitris interprets the pixel values within a frame (Graphics or Video). Select Auto to export at the levels used in the sequence. For more information, see “Preserving SuperWhite and SuperBlack Values” on page 530. 10. Select the Preserve Alpha option to retain alpha channel information in the output file. This is useful if you plan to reuse the matte information in future compositing or graphics projects. Not all file formats support alpha channels, so check the list to make sure. 11. Select Use Advanced Settings to export a specific region of the frame. For more information, see “Using Advanced Settings to Crop and Resize” on page 531. 12. Click the Output button. 13. From the Export to File dialog box, select a folder in which to save your material, enter a name for the file, and click Save. The material is processed, if necessary, exported to file, and placed in the selected folder. For information, about exporting a seuqence in still image format, see “Outputting a Series of Image Files” on page 534. n 528 You can take a snapshot of the viewer and export it to file. For more information, see “Creating an Image File from a Snapshot” in the Help. Outputting Material Preserving SuperWhite and SuperBlack Values When outputting an image that has SuperWhite or SuperBlack information, you must make sure that the file format to which you are outputting is able to handle these “super” values. This will guarantee that the SuperBlack and SuperWhite information is preserved if you choose to reimport the image to Avid DS Nitris. The following options in the Output Tool must be taken into account: • File Type • File Type (additional options). For some file types, you will be required to enter additional options. For example, .tif, .tga, .jpg, and others • Output Level For some image file types, a dialog box opens and provides format options. Set one of following to make sure that the file format supports the SuperWhite and SuperBlack values: • Any file type can be used as long as the Output Level is set to Video. 529 Chapter 2 Outputting Media • Any YUV file type can be used regardless of the Output Level setting. YUV files include .gen, .omf, .yuv, and .yuv16 • Any file type with the Pixel Format set to Float, regardless of Output Level setting. For more information about SuperWhite and SuperBlack values, see “Media Capture Settings” in the Help. Using Advanced Settings to Crop and Resize The Advanced Settings in the Output tool let you crop and scale the source media and position it anywhere in the output file.These settings are based on a grid that is determined by the dimensions of the source frame and the output frame. For example, NTSC 720 x 486 video uses a grid with an X axis of 720 pixels (from pixel 0 to pixel 719) and a Y axis of 486 pixels (from pixel 0 to pixel 485). 485 400 300 200 100 0,0 200 400 600 719 A PAL grid has an X axis of 720 (pixels 0–719) and a Y axis of 576 (pixels 0–575). Both NTSC and PAL SD use non-square pixels, which you need to consider when outputting to file. A 1080i HD grid has an X axis of 1920 (pixels 0–1919) and a Y axis of 1080 (pixels 0–1079). HD resolutions use square pixels. 530 Outputting Material Note the following: • The Destination Region must be equal to or smaller than the output file. • If the Destination Region is smaller than the output file, black pixels are used for padding. • The Source Region can be any size, including larger than the current sequence frame. • If the Source Region is larger than the current sequence frame, black pixels are assumed outside of the frame. You can resize an image without using Advanced Settings. If the source resolution and the output resolution (as set in the Output Resolution options) are different, Avid DS Nitris automatically resizes the source media to the dimensions of the output file.To set a customized region for export: 1. Set the Output Resolution (Generic or Custom). This setting determines the dimensions of the output frame. 2. Select the Use Advanced Settings check box. 3. Set the source region by specifying the left-corner offset (X and Y positions) and size (pixel dimensions). These settings determine the region of the image to export. 4. Set the offset and size for the output region. These settings determine where the region specified by the Source Region settings should be positioned and resized in the output frame. Example For example, if you want to output a QuickTime movie for a DVD, you can use this feature to resize SD source material (720 x 486 lines) to fit DVD dimensions (720 x 480 lines). 531 Chapter 2 Outputting Media 1. Set a Custom Output Resolution of 720 x 480. 2. Set the source offset to X:0, Y:2 and the source size to 720 x 480. The resulting source region is shown in the following illustration. Two lines are cropped from the bottom, because you set the Y to 2 in the source region, and four lines are cropped from the top, because you set the source size to 480. 479 400 300 200 100 0,2 0,0 532 200 400 600 719 Outputting Material n These settings are preferable to cropping three lines from the bottom, because they prevent the need for Avid DS Nitris to perform field interpolation to preserve the field order. 3. Set the destination region to X=0, Y=0 and the destination size to 720 x 480. After outputting the file, the destination region (720 x 480) completely fills the dimensions of the output file (720 x 480). 479 400 300 200 100 0,0 200 400 600 719 Outputting a Series of Image Files When you export a sequence to a still image format, such as .bmp or .tiff, each frame is saved as a separate file. For example, if you export your sequence to a file named “MyPicture.bmp”, the output is saved as independent still image files. The files are numbered sequentially: for example, MyPicture.001.bmp, MyPicture.002.bmp, MyPicture.003.bmp, and so on. 533 Chapter 2 Outputting Media To output a sequence to a specified series of image files: t Enter the following in the File Name text box: prefix.[first..last;padding].extension Property Description prefix The shared part of the file name. first A number for the first file (frame) of the sequence. This number must be a positive integer and smaller than last. last (Optional) A number for the last frame of the sequence. If you do not include a number, Avid DS Nitris outputs all the frames you have selected. This number must be a positive integer and larger than first. padding The number of digits you want in the output file names. Avid DS Nitris uses zeroes as placeholders. For example, if you are exporting 1000 frames or more, your padding should be 4 because 1000 has a total of four digits. extension (Optional) The file name extension. For example, if you want to output a sequence to a series of image files starting with the name Alpha.0100.pic to Alpha.1000.pic, enter the following: Alpha.[100..1000;4].pic If you are not sure of the total number of frames, enter the following: Alpha.[100..;4].pic 534 Outputting Material Exporting AVI or QuickTime Reference Movies An AVI or QuickTime reference movie is a movie that contains only composition information. These files do not contain media. Instead, they point to the source media on your storage device. As a result, they are very quick to output and are very small in size. When you play back the reference movie, the movie references the source media files on your storage device. Any application that can read AVI or QuickTime files can read a reference movie, as long as the application can access the source media. Reference movies are useful when you want to process them in third-party encoding applications. Exporting a reference movie also lets you work around the 2-GB size limit of AVI files.Note the following: • Compressed media: Reference movies do not support compressed media. You can, however, output at lower resolutions, such as half or quarter resolution, if they are available on your system (Avid DS Nitris Editor only). You can output these files in either 4:3 or 16:9 format. • Windows Media: You can use AVI reference movies with the Microsoft Windows Media® Player and Windows Media Encoder. Windows Media 9 requires DirectX, which is approved for installation. • QuickTime: You must have the QuickTime player installed on your workstation in order to play back QuickTime reference movies. The Avid DS QuickTime codec is installed automatically. • Moving a Reference Movie to Another Workstation: To move a reference movie to another workstation: - Make sure that the media is located on a storage device that is shared between the two workstations. - For QuickTime movies, copy the Avid DS codec siddsuds.qtx from the C:\Windows\System32 folder of the Avid DS Nitris workstation to the same folder of the other workstation. - For AVI movies, use the Avid DS AVI Reference Codec installer, which is available from the Avid DS Support Center or on the Drivers CD-ROM. If you need to move a file to a workstation that does not have access to the source media, then you need to export it as a standard AVI or QuickTime file. 535 Chapter 2 Outputting Media Output Settings: Because reference movies point to the source media, the output settings are the same as the current sequence settings.To export a reference movie: 1. Process the entire sequence, including any real-time effects. 2. Select View > Single-Instance View > Output Tool. 3. In the Output Tool dialog box, click the To Ref Movie button. 4. Select QuickTime or AVI from the Reference Movie Type list. 5. For QuickTime movies, select or deselect the Include Scaling Matrix option. n For information about the QuickTime scaling matrix, click the Help button. 6. Click the Output button. 7. From the Export to File dialog box, select a folder in which to save the file, type in a name for the file, and click Save. The reference movie is created and placed in the selected folder. Since the reference movie points to the source media, the output settings will be the same as the current sequence settings. n A reference movie becomes invalid if the media to which it points is modified. Outputting a Sequence to Avid Media Composer Avid DS Nitris allows you to generate an AAF and MXF file of your timeline that can later be imported directly into Avid Media Composer. 536 Outputting Material Before you begin, you must configure the storage areas where the MXF media, as well as the generic Avid DS media, will be stored. To configure your storage: ; Step Create folders for your MXF files. “Configuring Storages for MXF Files” (see the Help). Configure storage areas that point “Configuring the Media Indexing Service on your to these MXF folders. Workstation” in the Help. Refer to n You must also have separate storage areas configured for generic audio and video. These storage areas are required for your caches. To output your timeline to Media Composer: 1. To export a sequence, you need to make sure that the entire timeline (from top to bottom) is selected. This way, corresponding audio tracks, as well as timeline and track effects, are also included. Make the timespan selection on the timeline effect track. (This is the topmost track on the timeline, named FX.) 2. From the NLE Tools toolbar, select Generate > Timeline to MC. 3. Select the appropriate options in the Timeline to Media Composer Options dialog box. For Track Types, select all the track types that you are using on the timeline (i.e. Video, Background, Audio). For detailed information on each of the fields, click the Help button. 4. Click OK. During the export, Avid DS Nitris will process any necessary effects to generate the MXF media. The MXF media will be saved in the MXF media storage that you set up via the Media Storage Configuration tool. Your AAF project file will be saved in the AAF Export directory location that you specified in the above dialog box. 537 Chapter 2 Outputting Media 538 Conform 540 Chapter 1 Conforming & Finishing Conforming is the process of bringing a project from an offline environment into Avid DS Nitris, so you can recapture the media in its final resolution, and continue with the editing and finishing process. Finishing is the process of bringing in a project from an online environment into Avid DS Nitris, with its media already in final resolution, and doing the final finishing. This section describes the conforming and finishing processes in Avid DS Nitris. n In this information, the general term “Avid editing system” refers to Avid applications other than Avid DS Nitris, such as Symphony™, Media Composer®, Film Composer®, Avid Xpress®, and NewsCutter®. Chapter 1 Conforming & Finishing Beginning the Conform Process Avid DS Nitris cannot directly open projects from other Avid editing systems. To transfer bins, clips, or sequences to Avid DS Nitris, you must use an intermediate file format. You can conform OMF, EDL, ALE, AFE, and AAF files. For the highest level of support when conforming sequences with effects and titles, use AFE (Avid File Exchange) files. To begin your conform, follow these steps: Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to a topic within a Step, come back to the checklist after completing the procedure. (Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous link). ; Step On the Avid editing system, prepare your “Conforming Workflow”in the Media sequence(s) for the conform process. Composer Help. Determine the best format to transfer your “Supported Conform Formats for sequences and media from the offline Avid DS Nitris” editing system to Avid DS Nitris. Once you have determined the format “Conforming with AFE Files” that you will use to transfer and conform “Conforming with EDL Files” your sequences, refer to the appropriate “Conforming with OMF Files” topic: Refer to this section “Conforming Audio” Before you actually start conforming your “Before you begin your Conform” sequences, read the notes relevant to specific factors that could be part of your project. Determine how you will share the media created on the Avid offline editing system. n 542 “Transferring or Sharing Media between Avid Systems” If you have used an AVX plug-in in the sequence you are conforming, you need to make sure the same plug-in is installed on the Avid DS Nitris system. See “Loading Plug-Ins”. The default path is drive:\Program Files\Avid\AVX_Plug-ins. Beginning the Conform Process For information about support for Avid AVX plug-ins see the “AFE Effects Support Table”. For information about third-party plug-ins, see the AVX web page at www.avid.com/partners/avx. Before you begin your Conform Proper planning results in a more efficient workflow. Ideally you can plan the project before the offline edit begins, but that’s not always possible. When preparing your project or sequence for conform, you will also need to refer to the appropriate sections to handle specific factors that could be part of your project. For example, you may want to know how to handle still graphics such as logos in your project. • Converting HD Formats • Notes on Conforming Graphics • Notes on Conforming Matte Keys and Alpha Channels • Notes on Conforming Titles • Notes on Conforming Effects 543 Chapter 1 Conforming & Finishing Supported Conform Formats for Avid DS Nitris When transferring files between systems, note the distinctions between the following: Bin: A collection of the source material for a project—master clips, subclips, effects, and sequences. (In Avid DS Nitris, the equivalent is the project folder.) Sequence: The actual arrangement of audio and video clips on the timeline, with information about edit decisions, and applied graphics and effects. Media: The files containing the digital audio and video data needed to play Avid clips and sequences. The table below shows the different types of formats available for exchange between systems. Log (Bin) Formats for Conform Sequence Formats for Conform Video Media Formats for Conform ALE AAF MXF AFE AFE OMFI EDL OMF n Avid DS Nitris creates media in GEN format (via capture or processing). This media format cannot be shared with other Avid editing systems. Subtopics Log (Bin) Formats for Conform Sequence Formats for Conform Video Media Formats for Conform Audio Media Formats for Conform 544 Supported Conform Formats for Avid DS Nitris Log (Bin) Formats for Conform Format ALE Description Refer to ALE (Avid Log Exchange) file is a format specifically designed to hold information about log files generated by other Avid systems. “Conforming ALE Files” ALE files only contain information about the source material, so that you can import a bin and its clips into a folder in Avid DS Nitris. You can’t import sequences, effects or other higher level information. Sequence Formats for Conform Avid DS Nitris accomodates many different sequence formats as described in the table below: Sequence Formats AAF Description Refer to AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) is an “Exporting AAF Files industry standard, multimedia file format from Avid DS Nitris” that allows interchange of media and composition information between AAFcompliant applications. 545 Chapter 1 Conforming & Finishing Sequence Formats Description Refer to AFE AFE (Avid File Exchange) files are the “Conforming with AFE preferred method of conforming Files” sequences created on other Avid editing systems as they offer the highest level of conform capability. AFE files are based on AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) technology. AFE files, however, are designed especially for sharing information among Avid applications. AFE files let you transfer one or more bins, their contents, and information about the contents, including master clips, subclips, and sequences. EDL An EDL (edit decision list) is organized “Conforming EDLs” into a series of chronological instructions called events, that are used to create clips or a sequence on the timeline. Avid DS Nitris accommodates EDLs from many different systems, as well as CMX and GVG formats. OMF OMF (Open Media Framework) files can “Conforming OMF contain both media and sequence Compositions” composition information. This format is only recommended when exporting audio sequences to Avid DS Nitris. Video Media Formats for Conform When transferring projects or sequences between editing systems, you can also transfer their associated media, instead of recapturing the media again. Avid DS Nitris can share compressed and uncompressed media with other Avid editing systems. You can share media on Avid Unity™ shared storage or by using removable SCSI drives. 546 Supported Conform Formats for Avid DS Nitris Avid editing systems can share two media formats: • n MXF: An industry-standard format that encapsulates media and production metadata into a single file. Avid DS Nitris can link to existing MXF files created on other Avid editing systems, and play them in realtime. Avid DS Nitris can also create or modify MXF files and share them with other Avid editing systems. See “Sharing MXF Media”. MXF media is conformed via an AFE file. • OMFI: Avid DS Nitris can link to OMFI files created on other Avid editing systems, and play them in real-time. Avid DS Nitris cannot create OMFI files, it can only read them. Due to the file size limitation with OMFI media, we recommend using OMF only for audio. Avid DS Nitris does not support the following formats: • *Progressive resolutions • Multicamera resolutions • AVR resolutions • You cannot share caches or precomputes between Avid DS Nitris and other Avid editing systems. The following tables list how Avid DS Nitris supports the shared media formats. Avid DS Nitris can relink to these formats through AFE files and play the media in real-time (RT). MXF Compression Capture Import Export (source) Relink & Playback DNxHD (all 8-bit and 10-bit compressions) RT Yes RT Yes For a list of shared DNxHD resolutions, see “Avid DNxHD Compressions”. 1:1 (uncompressed 8-bit and 10-bit) RT Yes Yes RT 2:1, 3:1, 10:1, 20:1 (JFIF interlaced) RT Yes Yes RT 547 Chapter 1 Conforming & Finishing MXF Compression Capture Import Export (source) Relink & Playback 2:1s, 4:1s, 15:1s (JFIF single-field) No Yes Yes RT DV 25 No Yes Yes RT DV 50 No Yes Yes RT DV 100 No No Yes RT DVCPRO HD No No No No MPEG2 IMX (30, 40, 50) No Yes Yes RT OMFI Compression Capture Import (source) Export Relink 1:1 (uncompressed) No Yes No RT 2:1, 3:1, 10:1, 20:1 (JFIF interlaced) No Yes No RT 2:1s, 4:1s, 15:1s (JFIF single-field) No Yes No RT DV25 No Yes No RT DV50 No Yes No RT MPEG2 IMX (30, 40, 50) No Yes No RT Audio Media Formats for Conform If you want to use audio from another Avid editing system in Avid DS Nitris, make sure the frame rates match. To transfer the audio, you can output your sequence in OMF. Some frame rates may not be supported in OMF, but you can still recapture the audio once the OMF sequence has been imported into Avid DS Nitris. n 548 You can also change the frame rate by using the Media Tool. Supported Conform Formats for Avid DS Nitris Refer to the following table for more specific information: OK to use OMF? Avid DS Nitris format 30i NTSC (29.97 fps frame rate) Standard NTSC Yes NTSC (29.97 fps) 25i PAL (25 fps frame rate) Standard PAL Yes PAL (25 fps) 24p NTSC (24 fps frame rate) 24 (NTSC) Destination TC rate depends on output device. Yes 1080 PsF, 24 fps 24p NTSC (24 fps frame rate) 23.976 (NTSC) Noa 1080 PsF, 23.97 fps 23.976p NTSCb 23.976 (NTSC) Yes 1080 PsF, 23.97 24p PAL 24 (PAL) Yes 1080 PsF, 24 fps Avid editor project Digital cut output format a. See the article “How to Reduce the Audio Play Rate from 24 fps to 23.976” in the Avid DS Nitris Support Knowledge Base (Previous Releases section) b. Requires Symphony 4.5 or later, Media Composer or Film Composer 11.5 or later, Media Composer Adrenaline 1.0 or later, Avid Xpress 5.5 or later, or Avid Xpress Pro 4.0 or later. Avid DS Nitris can also share the following audio formats: • 48k/16 bit, 48k/24 bit • 44.1k/16 bit, 44.1k/24 bit • 32k/16 bit, 32k/24 bit • 96k/16 bit, 96k/24 bit 549 Chapter 1 Conforming & Finishing Transferring or Sharing Media between Avid Systems Before transferring or making your media available to Avid DS Nitris for final editing, you should duplicate your sequence, and clean up unwanted frames and media. This is done using the decompose and consolidate commands in your Avid editing system. Decomposing your Sequence in Avid Media Composer Decompose allows you to create new, shorter master clips based only on the material you have edited and included in your sequence, which saves system disk space. Decompose your sequence when you have a project to conform in Avid DS. This is done when you are going to recapture the media once the sequence has been imported into Avid DS Nitris. To decompose your sequence: t n Duplicate the finished sequence, copy the duplicate into a new bin, and decompose the duplicate. Refer to “Saving Two Versions of a Sequence When Recapturing” in the Media Composer Help. The Avid editing system creates new master clips that use only the media in the sequence, plus any handles you specify. These new clips are not linked to media, but are intended for recapture. You can delete the decomposed clips from the bin, because Avid DS Nitris recreates the clips during the conform process. Consolidating your Media in Avid Media Composer Consolidating your sequence creates smaller source clips and media files, thereby saving time and disk space. Use the consolidate command when you want to finish a project in Avid DS Nitris. This is when you already have your media in its final resolution and will be transferrring along with the sequence to Avid DS Nitris. Refer to “Using the Consolidate Command” in the Media Composer Help 550 Transferring or Sharing Media between Avid Systems Transferring your Media To transfer your media: You have the following options when handling media created on different Avid systems. • If you are transferring files on a removable SCSI drive, make sure that you can correctly transfer the drive. - Disconnect the drive from the offline system and connect it to the Avid DS Nitris system. For information on disconnecting and connecting removable drives, refer to your system setup guide and operating system help. • If you are sharing media on an Avid Unity then you should first organize the source media in separate folders on your storage device—see “Sharing MXF Media” or “Sharing OMFI Media”. • If you are transferring media, rather than sharing in an Avid Unity environment, then do the following: - Copy the files to the local storage device of the Avid DS Nitris system. Place the video files in an appropriate folder under the \VideoStorage folder. For example: D:\VideoStorage\AVl\Corporate\... D:\VideoStorage\OMFI MediaFiles\ D:\VideoStorage\Avid MediaFiles\MXF\ - Place the audio files in a similar folder on the \AudioStorage\ folder. For example: F:\AudioStorage\AVI\Corporate\... F:\AudioStorage\OMFI MediaFiles\ F:\AudioStorage\Avid MediaFiles\MXF\ You will then need to configure these storage locations in Avid DS Nitris—see “Configuring the Media Indexing Service on your Workstation”. 551 Chapter 1 Conforming & Finishing 552 Chapter 2 Conforming with AFE Files Conforming is the process of bringing a project from an offline environment into Avid DS Nitris, so you can continue and finish the editing process. This chapter describes how to load an Avid File Exchange (AFE) file into Avid DS Nitris and recreate a sequence on which you can apply further edits and effects. You can also conform OMF, EDL, ALE, and AAF files, but AFE files have a higher level of support for effects and titles. n In this information, the general term “Avid editing system” refers to Avid applications other than Avid DS Nitris, such as Symphony™, Media Composer®, Film Composer®, Avid Xpress®, and NewsCutter®. This section includes the following topics: • Workflow: Conforming AFE Files • Exporting an AFE File from an Avid Editing System • Importing AFE Files Chapter 2 Conforming with AFE Files Workflow: Conforming AFE Files In this workflow, an Avid editing system creates an AFE project that you can conform in Avid DS Nitris. If your media has already been captured in its final resolution by the Avid editing system, then the corresponding MXF media can also be transferred to Avid DS Nitris. The following illustration shows the basic steps in the conform process using AFE files. 1 Export an AFE file directly from the Avid editing system or through Avid MediaLog. Consolidate media if you will be finishing in Avid DS MXF media stored on an Avid Unity shared storage On an Avid DS Nitris 2 system, open the AFE file in an Avid Explorer folder. 554 3 Drop the sequence to the timeline. 5 Finish and output the sequence. 4 Link to media on Avid Unity shared storage (for finishing) or recapture media from source tapes. Workflow: Conforming AFE Files To conform an AFE sequence in Avid DS Nitris, follow this basic workflow: Follow these steps in the order that they are listed. Each time you link to a topic within a Step, come back to the checklist after completing the procedure. (Use the Previous View button in your Adobe Reader to return to the previous link). ; Step Refer to On the Avid editing system, export your AFE. “Exporting an AFE File from an Avid Editing System”. See also “Exporting Projects and Bins Using AFE Files” in the Media Composer Help. “ On the Avid DS Nitris system: Create a sequence with a frame rate that matches that of the source tapes. Import the AFE file. “Importing AFE Files” (see the Help). Open the AFE file from DS Explorer and drag it to the timeline. “Create a Sequence and Master Clips from an Imported AFE File” (see the Help) Make sure any storage devices or Avid Unity workspaces are configured correctly. “Configuring the Media Indexing Service on your Workstation” (see the Help). Depending on the number and types of effects, you “AFE Effects Support Table” may need to process or recreate effects. Refer to the for a list of supported effects AAF/AFE Conform Log as you review the sequence. (see the Help) Finish and output the project. 555 Chapter 2 Conforming with AFE Files Exporting an AFE File from an Avid Editing System Avid DS Nitris cannot directly open projects from Media Composer or other Avid editing systems. To transfer bins, clips, or sequences to Avid DS Nitris, you must use an intermediate file format. AFE files are the preferred method of conforming sequences created on other Avid editing systems. AFE files are based on AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) technology. AFE files, however, are designed especially for sharing information among Avid applications. AFE files let you transfer one or more bins, their contents, and information about the contents, including master clips, subclips, and sequences. To export an AFE file from an Avid editing system: 1. On the Avid editing system, create a project and capture the source footage in MXF format at a supported resolution. Alternatively, you can capture in OMFI format and later use the Transcode feature to convert the media into MXF format. 2. Do one of the following: t 556 To create a file that includes all bins in a project, click the Project window and select File > Export. The Export Project As”” dialog box opens. Select Avid File Exchange. Select a location, name the file, and Save . Exporting an AFE File from an Avid Editing System Or, t To create a file that includes the contents of a single bin, open the bin, click the bin, and select File > Export. (Make sure no objects in the bin are selected.) The Export Bin As dialog box appears. Select Avid File Exchange (*.afe) from the “Export Bin As” list. Choose a location, name the file, and Save . Or, t To create a file that contains a clip or sequence, select the clip or sequence and then select File > Send To > Avid DS. 557 Chapter 2 Conforming with AFE Files You cannot change options for this export, so click OK. The resulting file includes the source bin as well as the object you chose, but does not include other objects that might be in the bin. 3. Transfer the AFE file to a location that you can access from the Avid DS Nitris workstation. You can use removable media, a network server, or an Avid Unity shared storage system—see “Transferring or Sharing Media between Avid Systems”. Exporting AFE Files Using MediaLog You can export AFE files only from the Windows version of MediaLog. You can run MediaLog on the Avid editing system or on the Avid DS Nitris system. n 558 MediaLog is shipped with your Avid DS Nitris system, and is also available in the Download area of the Avid DS Nitris Support Center web site (http://www.softimage.com/avidds). Exporting an AFE File from an Avid Editing System To export an AFE file from MediaLog v20.x or later: 1. On the Avid editing system, duplicate the finished sequence, copy the duplicate into a new bin, and decompose the duplicate. For more information on decomposing, see the documentation for your Avid editing system. 2. If you plan to run MediaLog on an Avid editing system, close the Avid editing application. 3. If you plan to run MediaLog on an Avid DS Nitris system, transfer the Avid editing project folder to the \MediaLog\Avid Projects folder on the Avid DS Nitris workstation or to an Avid Unity workspace. A project folder has the same name as the project, and is usually located in the Avid Projects folder on the Avid editing system. Alternatively, copy a single bin, then create a new project and add the bin. Bins are located in the project folder. For information about the location of project folders, see the documentation for your Avid editing system. 4. Open MediaLog by double-clicking the desktop icon or selecting Start > Programs > Avid > Avid MediaLog. c Do not share user settings between MediaLog and the Avid editing system. The settings might become corrupted. The Select Project dialog box opens. 559 Chapter 2 Conforming with AFE Files Browse button The user and user settings are determined by the system login. If the project does not appear in the project list, use the Browse button to navigate to the project you want to transfer. Select the project and click OK. 5. In the Select Project dialog box, select the project and click OK. The project opens. Project window 560 Bin Exporting an AFE File from an Avid Editing System 6. Do one of the following: - To create a file that includes all bins in a project, click the project window and select File > Export. The Export Project As dialog box opens. Select a location and click the Save button. - To create a file that includes the contents of a single bin, open the bin, click the bin (make sure no objects in the bin are selected), and select File > Export. Select AFE from the dialog box. In the Export Bin As dialog box, choose a location and click the Save button. - To create a file that includes selected objects, open the bin, select the objects you want to include in the file, and select File > Export. Select AFE from the dialog box. In the Export As dialog box, choose a location, name the file, and click the Save button. MediaLog creates an AFE file. c n Make sure to close MediaLog before opening Avid DS Nitris. If MediaLog and Avid DS Nitris are open at the same time, Avid DS Nitris performance is seriously affected. AFE export to a network drive takes much longer than export to a local drive. Avid recommends that you export to a local drive and then copy the exported file to a network location. 7. If you are running MediaLog on an Avid editing system, make sure the AFE file is in a location that you can access from the Avid DS Nitris workstation. You can use removable media, a network server, or an Avid Unity shared storage system. n If you open a project in an Avid editing system after you have created an AFE file from the project, the following message might appear: An incompatible (or damaged) setting has been skipped. The original project should not be affected. 561 Chapter 2 Conforming with AFE Files Importing AFE Files After you have exported your AFE and media to a location where it can be accessed by Avid DS Nitris, you can import the AFE into your project. To import an AFE file: 1. Open an Avid DS Nitris project with a frame rate that matches that of the source tapes. 2. Use the Avid Explorer to select the folder that holds the AAF or AFE file. The file opens in the AAF/AFE View. AFE file 3. Double-click the file, or drop the bin directly into the Avid Explorer. The imported bin(s) will display. 562 Importing AFE Files Imported bin 4. Double-click an imported bin to display its contents. Audio clip Master clips Sequence The contents can include master clips, subclips, and sequences. For a description of Avid editing system icons, see “AAF/AFE List” in the Help. The columns initially displayed match the columns displayed when the AFE file was created. You can show additional columns or hide selected columns, as described in “Customizing the Details and Script Views” in the Help. You can now create the sequence on the Avid DS Nitris timeline. 563 Chapter 2 Conforming with AFE Files Create a Sequence and Master Clips from an Imported AFE File After you have imported the AFE file, you can drag a sequence onto the timeline and create master clips that are associated with the sequence. You can also create master clips by dragging an imported clip or sequence to a bin or by dragging one or more bins to a folder. To create a sequence and master clips: 1. Select the AFE file in the Avid Explorer. 2. If the AAF/AFE settings are not displayed, click the AAF/AFE Settings button. AAF/AFE Settings button AAF/AFE settings 3. In the AAF/AFE settings, select the Create Associated Clips option. Select this option if you want to create master clips by dragging an imported clip or sequence to the timeline. Deselect this option if you have already created master clips and you want to avoid creating a duplicate set. Duplicate clips are marked by the addition of a sequential number (001, 002, and so on). 4. To append the original project name to the master clip source names when creating master clips, select the Force Creation of External Tape Sources option. This option distinguishes between clips that are created 564 Importing AFE Files from tapes associated with the conform and clips that are not. Selecting this option does not prevent you from linking to shared media files or recapturing from the source tape. For example, if you are conforming an AFE created on another Avid system and you want Avid DS Nitris to link to the media captured by that system, or recaptured media from the source tapes, select this option. If you are conforming an AFE and you want Avid DS Nitris to link to media that you have already captured (such as through an ALE file), do not select this option. 5. Specify the path for the folder in which you want to create the master clips after you drag a clip or sequence to the timeline. Click the browse (...) button to navigate to the folder. Avid DS Nitris checks the path to make sure the folder is within the project folder. 6. To keep the same folder for any new master clips you create, select the Lock Path option. Deselect this option to create master clips in folders that match the names of the imported bins. Deselecting this option lets you keep the original project structure when you conform with AFE files. 7. Open a new sequence in your project. Make sure the frame rate matches as the AFE that you imported. 8. Create or open a sequence with a timecode starting at 00:00:00:00 and drag a clip or sequence from the AAF/AFE View onto the timeline. - The timecode conversion in Avid DS is dependent on the type of sequence that you have opened. If you drag a Media Composer bin to the Avid DS Explorer that contains multiple sequences in both dropframe or non-drop-frame timecodes, they are automatically converted to the timecode mode of the currently open sequnece. This might not necessarily be the result that you want. Therefore, you should first open a drop-frame sequence in Avid DS and drag all the drop-frame sequences to a folder in the Avid DS Explorer. Then open a non-drop frame sequence, and drag in all the non-dropframe sequences to a separate folder. n You can also drag a sequence directly to the timeline. If you drag a drop-frame sequence into a non-drop-frame sequence, the sequence will be conformed as a non-drop frame sequence. You can then change the timeline display from NDF to DF or from DF to NDF. 565 Chapter 2 Conforming with AFE Files - Also, to make sure that the starting timecode on the Avid DS timeline matches that of the sequence you conformed from the Avid editing system, hold down the U key and drag the sequence to the timeline. The conform begins and a progress bar is displayed during the process. When the conform is complete, the sequence, its clips, and supported effects are recreated in Avid DS Nitris. Titles are recreated only if they are part of the sequence. If you are sharing media, the clips are automatically linked. If you are recapturing media, empty master clips are created in the folder that you have specified. When you open the folder in a bin, the clip icons are red since no media has been captured yet. n If you are linking to media that does not match the compression of the sequence (for example, if you are linking to DV25 in an uncompressed sequence), make sure to set the option “Use the Closest Media Available” in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. A message box displays a summary of the information contained in the AAF/AFE Conform Log and asks if you want to view the log. 9. To view the AAF/AFE Conform Log, click Yes. The AAF/AFE Conform Log window displays information about how the effects and parameters were supported. Use this information to finish the final sequence. 566 Importing AFE Files 10. To save the log as an .html file, click the Save button. 11. When the Save As dialog box displays, navigate to an appropriate folder, type in a name for the log, and click the Save button. Click OK to close the log window. 12. Save the sequence. 567 Chapter 2 Conforming with AFE Files 568 Chapter 3 Conforming with AAF Files AFE files are the preferred method for transferring projects that have been created on other Avid editing systems, to be conformed in Avid DS. However, when transferring projects from Avid DS to other editing systems, you should use the AAF format. Chapter 3 Conforming with AAF Files Exporting AAF Files from Avid DS Nitris Avid DS Nitris lets you create an AAF file from a master clip. The AAF file contains composition information in a format that can be shared with other applications, such as Avid Media Composer. These files contain the metadata for the master clip but not the media itself, so they need to be used through shared storage. For example, you might have finished an effects-intensive scene on Avid DS Nitris, created from MXF media (see “Sharing MXF Media”). If you need to send the sequence to Media Composer, first use the Timeline to Clip command to create a new master clip in a shared storage area. Then export the master clip as an AAF file, and import the AAF into Media Composer. On the Media Composer system, relink the master clip to the media generated by Avid DS Nitris. Because Avid DS Nitris creates AAF files from master clips only, you need to use the Timeline to Clip command to create an AAF file for a sequence. You can import an AAF file from Avid DS Nitris into the following products: • Media Composer Adrenaline v1.5 or later • Avid Xpress Pro v4.5 or later • Avid Xpress DV v4.5 or later • NewsCutter Adrenaline FX v5.5 or later • NewsCutter XP v5.5 or later To create an AAF file: 1. Right-click one or more master clips in a bin and select Export to AAF. A browse dialog box is displayed. You cannot change any options; the entire master clip is exported. 2. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the file or files and click Select. AAF files are created with the same names as the clips. 3. On the Avid editing system, import the AAF file and link to the media. 570 Chapter 4 Conforming with ALE Files This chapter describes how to load an Avid Log Exchange (ALE) file into Avid DS Nitris and recreate a bin in the Avid Explorer. Chapter 4 Conforming with ALE Files Workflow: Conforming an ALE The following illustration shows the basic steps in the conform process using an ALE. Import the ALE file. 1 Load the contents of the bin into Avid DS Nitris. 2 Log as clips in the Avid Explorer. 3 or Load directly onto timeline. Capture media. Recapture media from tape or file into Avid DS Nitris. 576 Conforming ALE Files Conforming ALE Files Avid DS Nitris supports ALE (Avid Log Exchange) files—a file format specifically designed to hold information about log files generated by other Avid systems. ALE files contain only information about the source material, so you can’t import sequences, effects or other higher level information. n Although the ALE file format was designed for log files generated by Avid editing systems, many other systems can output ALE files as well. Importing an ALE File ALE files can be imported and interpreted by Avid DS Nitris. To import an ALE file 1. Select View > Single-Instance Views > ALE Import. 2. In the ALE Import view, click the Load ALE File button. 3. In the Open dialog box, select a file. The selected ALE file appears in the ALE Import view. Load ALE Create Logs ALE Info For information about the ALE view, click the Help button. 577 Chapter 4 Conforming with ALE Files You can view the global properties of an ALE file, which includes the location of the file and the values of various global properties, such as video/audio format, fps, and more in the ALE Import view. To get information on an ALE file: t Click the Info button. Logging Clips from an ALE File After you’ve imported an ALE file into Avid DS Nitris, you can select the clips you want to log. However, before you can log master clips, the clips must have associated values for the following properties: • End • Name • Start • Tape (or a global tape property) • Tracks If any of these properties are missing an associated value, the Create Logs button appears dimmed and you need to supply the missing value. To log master clips from an ALE file: 1. Load an ALE file into the ALE Import view—see “Importing an ALE File” on page 577. 2. Select the clip(s) you want to log in a bin by clicking them. To select more than one clip at a time, select a clip, hold down the Ctrl key and click the others. n If no clips are selected in the ALE Import view, Avid DS Nitris creates logs for every clip. 3. In the ALE Import view, click the Create Logs button. The Create Logs dialog box opens. 578 Conforming ALE Files Routing matrix 4. Select the folder in which you want to create the logged clips. The default folder is displayed in the text box at the top of the dialog box. Click the browse (...) button to select a new folder. 5. To add material before the in-point and after the out-point of all tape sources, type the appropriate number of frames in the Heads and Tails text boxes. 6. If you need to reconfigure the audio tracks, select a tape name from the Tape Name list and assign the audio tracks to the audio channels of your clip by clicking in the audio channel routing matrix. n You can assign the audio tracks differently for each source name. 7. Click the Set button after you have assigned the audio tracks for each tape name to save the settings. 8. Click the Create Logs button to begin creating logs from the ALE file. In the Avid Explorer, master clips are created for each selected clip. Once the clips have been logged, you can capture the media at any time. n Only source material from tape can be recaptured from clips logged from an ALE file. 579 Chapter 4 Conforming with ALE Files Transferring ALE Files using MediaLog You can use ALE files to transfer information from MediaLog to Avid DS Nitris. MediaLog is a tool that helps you select and log footage before your editing session. Although you can log footage with Avid DS Nitris, using MediaLog can free up your Avid DS Nitris system for editing and effects. After logging shots, you can use Avid DS Nitris to digitize and edit the footage. n MediaLog is shipped with your Avid DS Nitris system. MediaLog is also available in the Download area of the Avid DS Nitris Support Center web site (http://www.softimage.com/avidds). MediaLog 20.x and 21.1 do not support 24p PAL and 25p PAL projects. For these projects, use MediaLog 21.3 or later, which is available for download. You can import bins created in MediaLog into Avid DS Nitris. To do this, either: • Export the bin as an ALE file. You can then load the ALE file into Avid DS Nitris and create logs. • Export the project and bins as an AFE file. For more information, refer to the Avid MediaLog User’s Guide or “Exporting AFE Files Using MediaLog” on page 558. n To import an ALE file into Avid DS Nitris, make sure the following columns are displayed in MediaLog: • End • Start • Tape • Tracks You can display other columns as well. Only columns that are displayed in MediaLog will be displayed in Avid DS Nitris. 580 Chapter 5 Conforming with OMF Files This chapter describes how to load an Open Media Framework (OMF) file into Avid DS Nitris and recreate a sequence on which you can apply further edits and effects. This chapter includes the following topics: • Conforming OMF Compositions Chapter 5 Conforming with OMF Files Conforming OMF Compositions OMF (Open Media Framework) files facilitate the transfer of digital media from one system to another. They can contain both media and composition information. An OMF composition is basically an advanced form of an EDL. It contains instructions for transitions, timewarps, keys, titling, and some other effects information. Avid DS Nitris preserves all the layering information from an OMF file, so that you can select events and layers that you want to recreate on the timeline. n Avid DS Nitris supports many types of Media Composer and Symphony effects. Avid DS Nitris can import only OMF 2.0 files. Support for OMF media is limited to the import and export of audio media only. Opening an OMF File You can import OMF files created on other systems. By using the OMF file format to transfer sequences from an offline system to Avid DS Nitris, you can quickly import sequences with most of the offline editing and effects work intact. To open an OMF file: 1. Do one of the following: t In the view switcher, click the OMF button. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > OMF. 2. From the OMF view, click the Load OMF button and select a file from the Open dialog box. The selected OMF file is displayed in the OMF view. 582 Conforming OMF Compositions OMF tools Record in-point OMF tree When you load an OMF file with more than one composition, you are prompted to select the composition to import. For more information about the OMF view, click the Help button. Conforming an OMF File You can log your clips in the Avid Explorer to create master clips that can be reused in other sequences, recreate your sequence in Avid DS Nitris by loading the OMF file onto the timeline, or both. It’s a good idea to do both, so that when a clip is deleted from the timeline, you always have the master clip in a folder. You also have the option of importing any audio media in the OMF file. Conforming an OMF File without Audio Media To conform an OMF file without audio media: 1. Open a new sequence in your project. 2. Load an OMF file into the OMF view. 583 Chapter 5 Conforming with OMF Files 3. In the OMF view, click the Conform OMF button. The OMF Conform dialog box opens. 4. If you want to log clips, select the folder in which you want to create the clips. The default folder is displayed in the text box at the top of the dialog box. Click the browse (...) button to select a new folder. 5. Select one of the following options: 584 Option To Create Logs Log the clips in the selected folder. Create Timeline Clips Recreate the sequence on the timeline based on the composition information in the OMF file. Create Both Log the clips in the selected folder and recreates the sequence based on the composition information in the OMF file. Conforming OMF Compositions 6. To add material before the in-point and after the out-point of all tape sources, type the appropriate number of frames in the Heads and Tails text boxes. 7. To add the project name from the OMF file to the tape sources for the master clips, select the Force creation of external tape sources option. 8. If you need to reconfigure the incoming audio tracks, select a tape name from the Tape Name list and assign the audio tracks to the audio channels of your clip by clicking in the audio channel routing matrix. n You can assign the audio tracks differently for each tape name. 9. Click the Set button after you have assigned the audio tracks for each tape name to save the settings. 10. Click the Conform button to begin conforming the OMF. The clips, transitions, and supported effects are recreated on the timeline using the composition information and empty master clips are created in the selected folder. When you open the folder in a bin, the clip icons are red since no media has been imported yet. Effects that are not supported by Avid DS Nitris are marked by effect bars that have been deactivated. These effect bars indicate where the effect was originally placed. 585 Chapter 5 Conforming with OMF Files If there are any unsupported effects, a message is displayed, asking if you would like to view the error log. If you click Yes, the list is generated and displayed in the Conform Error Log dialog box. The Conform Error Log dialog box displays the in and out-points of the effect, the name of the original effect, as well as a brief description of the type of error that occurred. 11. To save this log as an .html file, click the Save button. The Save As dialog box opens. 12. Navigate to an appropriate folder, type a name for the log and click Save. The log is saved as an .html file and can be viewed in any HTML browser. Conforming an OMF File with Audio Media To conform an OMF file with audio media: 1. Open a new sequence in your project. n OMF files that are exported at a frame rate must be conformed in the timeline. OMF files that are exported as sample-accurate must be conformed in an audio container. 2. Load an OMF file which contains audio media into the OMF view. 3. In the OMF view, click the Conform OMF button. The OMF Conform dialog box opens. 586 Conforming OMF Compositions 4. If you want to log clips, select the folder in which you want to create the clips. The default folder is displayed in the text box at the top of the dialog box. Click the browse (...) button to select a new folder. 5. Select one of the following options: Option To Create Logs Log the clips in the selected folder. Create Timeline Clips Recreate the sequence on the timeline based on the composition information in the OMF file. Create Both Log the clips in the selected folder and recreates the sequence based on the composition information in the OMF file. 587 Chapter 5 Conforming with OMF Files 6. To add material before the in-point and after the out-point of all tape sources, type the appropriate number of frames in the Heads and Tails text boxes. 7. If you need to reconfigure the audio tracks, select a tape name from the Tape Name list and assign the audio tracks to the audio channels of your clip by clicking in the audio channel routing matrix. n n You can assign the audio tracks differently for each source name. The audio media will be imported using the assignment specified in the audio channel routing matrix and not those originally set in the file. 8. Click Set after you have assigned the audio tracks for each source name to save the settings. 9. Select the Import Audio Data option. 10. Select one of the following options: - Import All Media to import all the audio media contained in the OMF file into the current project. - Only Import Used Media to import only the audio media used in the actual sequence into the current project. 11. From the Sample Rate list, select a sampling rate at which to convert your audio media. The higher the sampling rate, the more accurate the conversion will be. n n Make sure the sample rate you select matches the sample rate of your current sequence. If the sample rates do not match, no audio media will be available for playback. To play back the audio media, you would have to change the sample rate of the sequence in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. 12. From the Bit Depth list, select a bit depth value. The higher the value, the more precise the audio conversion will be. 13. From the Capture To list, select a storage area on which your audio media will be stored. 14. Click the Conform button to begin conforming the OMF. Depending on the settings you chose, any of the following will occur: 588 Conforming OMF Compositions - The clips, transitions, and supported effects are recreated on the timeline using the composition information. - Master clips are created in the selected folder. - The audio media is imported to your disk array. Since no video media was imported, the video clip icons that appear when you open the folder in a bin are red, indicating that no media has been captured yet. Effects that are not supported by Avid DS Nitris are marked by effect bars that have been deactivated. These effect bars act as markers to indicate where the effect was originally placed. n Although Avid DS Nitris may not be able to import certain effects, it will keep any keyframed information, which you can use as a reference to recreate the effect. If there are any unsupported effects, a user message is displayed that asks you if you would like to view the generated list. If you click Yes, the list is generated and displayed in the Conform Error Log dialog box. The Conform Error Log dialog box displays the in and out-points of the effect, the name of the original effect, as well as a brief description of the type of error that occurred. 15. To save this log as an .html file, click the Save button. The Save As dialog box opens. 16. Navigate to an appropriate folder, type a name for the log and click the Save button. The log is saved as an .html file and can be viewed in any browser. 589 Chapter 5 Conforming with OMF Files Exporting an OMF File from Avid DS Nitris If you need to do some audio finishing on another system such as Digi Pro Tools, you can create, save, and export OMF files for the audio portion of your sequence. When you create and save an OMF file from within Avid DS Nitris, both the audio media and its composition information can be included.You can then transfer the file to another system.Note the following: • Only the audio portion of your sequence can be exported to an OMF file. Any video clips on the timeline are ignored when you create an OMF file. • No audio effects are exported, but edit points are created to show where effects were originally placed. • You need DigiTranslator™, a Pro Tools option, to convert the OMF files into a format that Pro Tools can read. If DigiTranslator is not supplied with your Pro Tools application, you need to purchase and install it. See the Digidesign web site www.digidesign.com. • Avid DS Nitris exports only OMF 2.0 files. See “OMF Level of Support”. • OMF files have a size limit of 2 GB. If you are unable to export an OMF file for a large sequence, you need to divide the sequence into smaller segments. To create and save an OMF file with audio media: 1. From the OMF view, click the Timeline to OMF button to create an OMF file of the audio portion of the current sequence. The Export Composition dialog box opens. 590 Exporting an OMF File from Avid DS Nitris 2. Select the Embed Media option to include the media in the OMF file you are creating. 3. Select the Consolidate option to include only the media that is being used on the timeline. n If the Consolidate option is not selected, the entire audio clip will be included in the OMF file. 4. From the Bit Depth list, select 16 (16-bit audio) or 24 (24-bit audio). The higher the bit depth value, the more precise the audio conversion will be. 5. In the Handles Length box, do the following: - Add a number in the Heads text box if you want to add extra frames before the material used on the timeline. These additional frames will be included in the OMF file for source material coming from tape only. - Add a number in the Tails text box if you want to add extra frames of material after the end of the material used on the timeline. These additional frames will be included in the OMF file for source material coming from tape only. 6. Click OK. The Save As dialog box opens. 7. Navigate to an appropriate folder, type a name in the File Name text box, and then click the Save button. All the information obtained from the audio tracks on the timeline are saved as an OMF file in the location you specified. You can now transfer it to another system. 591 Chapter 5 Conforming with OMF Files 592 Chapter 6 Conforming with EDL Files This chapter describes how to load an Edit Decision List (EDL) into Avid DS Nitris and recreate a sequence on which you can apply further edits and effects. This chapter includes the following topics: Chapter 6 Conforming with EDL Files Conforming EDLs Avid DS Nitris supports the import of edit decision lists (EDLs). An EDL is a detailed list of the edits contained in a sequence, including all the timecode and supported effects information required to recreate the sequence in an online session. Avid DS Nitris accommodates EDLs from many different systems. It is compatible with the standard EDLs, as well as CMX, GVG, and OMF formats. The EDL file is organized into a series of chronological instructions called events. You can use these events to create clips or to completely recreate the sequence on the timeline. About the Avid EDL Processor About the Avid EDL Manager Avid EDL Manager is an application that lets you convert between different EDL formats, such as Sony, GVG, or CMX. You can also convert EDL files to OMF 1.0 files. Since Avid DS Nitris only supports OMF 2.0 files, you will need to further convert the OMF 1.0 files, so that they can be read by Avid DS Nitris. You can use the Avid EDL Manager to read EDL files from RT-11 disks and then save the files in CMX or GVG format for import into Avid DS Nitris. Avid DS Nitris cannot read RT-11 disks. You can also use the Avid EDL Manager to create an EDL that displays additional types of information, such as comments or patches. You can specify the different audio and video tracks in the sequence, as well as specify the assembly modes that the online edit controller uses when creating your sequence. For more information, refer to the Avid EDL Manager User’s Guide. The Avid EDL Manager application and guide are available on the Avid web site. 594 Conforming EDLs About the Avid EDL Processor The EDL Processor is an application that lets you modify and save EDL files. You can use the application to modify the EDL content in many different way, from changing its title to converting timecodes. One use of the application is conversion of a sequence’s timecode from 30 fps to 24 fps. The EDL Processor and Help file are available for download from the Utilties page of the Avid DS Support Center at http://www.softimage.com/avidds. Conforming an EDL File When conforming your EDL, you have the choice of logging the events in the Avid Explorer, recreating the list of events on the timeline, or both. Once the events are logged, you can capture the media at any time from either the Avid Explorer or the timeline. For more information, look up “Batch Capturing” in the Help. Before conforming your EDL, you should check if there are any layers to be composited. Offline editors often create multiple EDLs because the convention is to put separate layers into separate EDLs. Any audio or video events in the list are automatically loaded onto the appropriate tracks. During the conform process, you can set up the appropriate heads and tails values for each clip. This is important if you need additional material at the beginning and end of each clip to do minor changes during the final stage of the edit. You can also configure the audio channel patching for each tape. If you recreate your sequence on the timeline, you may want to process a rough cut and proof it against the original EDL. You can do this by reloading the EDL onto a new video track, adding a fade or crop effect to the video track and processing it, and then playing the sequence to make sure that the cuts and transitions on the two tracks occur in sync. If the proofing session is successful, you can then remove the video track you added and continue to add effects and finishing touches to the original sequence. To conform an EDL file: 1. Open a new sequence in your project. 2. Import or open an edit list in the EDL view. 595 Chapter 6 Conforming with EDL Files 3. From the EDL view, click the Conform EDL button. The EDL Conform dialog box opens. n You can capture all events in the edit list, or hold down the Ctrl key and click the EDL events associated with the source material you want to capture. 4. If you want to log clips, select the folder in which you want to create the clips. The default folder is displayed in the text box at the top of the dialog box. Click the browse (...) button to select a new folder. 5. Select one of the following options: 596 Option To Create Logs Create a log of events in the selected folder. Create Timeline Clips Recreate the events on the timeline. Create Both Create both a log of events in the selected folder and a sequence based on the events in the EDL. Conforming EDLs 6. Select the Overwrite Video Track option to overwrite clips on the timeline at the same timecodes. If this option is not selected, the clips will be added to a new video track. 7. To add material before the in-point and after the out-point of all tape sources, type the appropriate number of frames in the Heads and Tails text boxes. 8. If you need to reconfigure the audio tracks, select a tape name from the Tape Name list and assign the incoming audio tracks to the audio channels of your clip by clicking in the audio channel routing matrix. Audio channel routing matrix n You can assign the audio channels differently for each tape name or you can multi-select the tape names, and make the audio channel assignment the same for all of them. 9. Click the Set button after you’ve assigned the audio tracks for each tape name to save the settings. 10. Click the Conform button to begin conforming the EDL. The events are recreated on the timeline as empty clips, and master clips are created in the selected folder for each event. When you open the folder in a bin, the clip icons are red since they have no media yet. 597 Chapter 6 Conforming with EDL Files n Audio events in the edit list do not support stereo clips. When a stereo clip (two streams) is created on the timeline, it is split onto two mono tracks; each track holds one stream. Creating Layers from an EDL Receiving multiple EDLs for different levels in a composite occurs frequently. For example, there may be an EDL for the background and another for the foreground. When this happens, both layers must be in sync on the timeline. You can either place the layers on video tracks, which allows more than one layer to be active at a time, or you can place these two layers in a container clip.For more information, see . To create a layer from an EDL: 1. Open a new or existing sequence in your project. 2. Import or open an edit list in the EDL view. 3. From the EDL view, click the Conform EDL button. The EDL Conform dialog box opens. 4. Select one of the following: 598 - Create Timeline Clips to recreate the events on a video track. - Create Both to create both a log of events in the selected bin and a sequence based on the events in the EDL. Conforming EDLs 5. Deselect the Overwrite Video Track option, so that each EDL is recreated on an individual video track. 6. Set the Heads and Tails and configure the audio inputs as required—see “Conforming an EDL File”. 7. Click Conform to recreate the events on a video track on the timeline. n Avid DS Nitris ignores the current setting of the Ripple mode when performing an EDL to timeline. By default, all EDL conforms are performed with the Ripple mode off. Opening an EDL File The EDL view lets you import an EDL file produced on any external system, and capture material based on the edits in that EDL. When you import an EDL into Avid DS Nitris, it appears in the EDL view, where you can see the list of events. After importing your EDL into Avid DS Nitris, you can select the events that you want to recreate. To do this, you can either log the events as master clips in the Avid Explorer, or edit the list onto the timeline, or both. You can then capture media from either the clips in the Avid Explorer or on the timeline. n You can only recapture logged clips created from an EDL that originated on tape. Avid DS Nitris does not support recapture from file for logged clips created from an EDL. Clip names are created from the event number. If you have more than one EDL in a project, however, there will be at least two clips with the same name. To avoid the conflict, the name of the EDL is appended to the clip name. For example: 001 (NewYork1) 001 (NewYork2) After the clips are created, you can rename them at any time. For more information, see . To open an EDL: 1. Do one of the following: t In the view switcher, click the EDL button. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > EDL. 599 Chapter 6 Conforming with EDL Files The EDL view is displayed. 2. To load a new EDL, click the Load EDL button. The Open dialog box opens. 3. Select an EDL. If you know the system from which the EDL was generated, select the appropriate file type (DS, CMX, GVG). 4. In the Comment Placement box, indicate whether you want comments placed above or below the corresponding edit. 5. Click the Open button. The selected EDL is displayed in the EDL view. If you selected the wrong file type, you are prompted to convert the file to the appropriate type. 600 Conforming EDLs EDL name EDL tools Record in-point Edit list For more information about the EDL view, click the Help button. Setting EDL Properties You can specify options for the currently displayed EDL in the EDL Properties dialog box, such as displaying timecodes as drop frame and determining comment placement. To set EDL properties: 1. Right-click the main area of the EDL view and select Properties. The EDL Properties dialog box opens. 2. Use the controls in the EDL Properties dialog box to set the EDL properties. 601 Chapter 6 Conforming with EDL Files For information about the EDL Properties dialog box, click the Help button. Modifying an EDL File Avid DS Nitris lets you modify certain properties of the EDL after you’ve loaded it into the EDL view. You can change the name of the source tape, as well as ripple the source timecodes. Changing the Source Tape Name If your source tape name is too long, or the name of the tape has changed between the offline and the online, you can modify the name of your tape directly in Avid DS Nitris. Once you’ve loaded an EDL into the EDL view, you can modify the source name of any one of the sources. To change the source name of a tape in an EDL: 1. Load an EDL into the EDL view. 2. Right-click the main area of the EDL view and select Change Source Name. The Change Source Name dialog box opens. 3. From the Old Source Name list, select the name of the tape you want to change. 4. Type the new name in the New Source Name text box and click OK. The Source Name is changed in the EDL view. Rippling the Source Timecodes If there’s a time delay between your master tapes and the offline EDL list, or the time of an event has changed, you can push or ripple any one of the source timecodes forwards or backwards directly in Avid DS Nitris. To ripple all source timecodes in an EDL: 1. Load an EDL into the EDL view. 2. Right-click the main area of the EDL view and select Ripple Sources. The Ripple Sources dialog box opens. 3. In the Ripple By timecode box, type the amount by which you want the source timecodes to move. 602 Conforming EDLs n To ripple the source timecode backwards, type the amount preceded by a minus (–) sign in the Ripple By timecode box. 4. Click OK. The source timecodes of all your source tapes are modified by the amount you specified. To ripple the source timecode of one event in an EDL: 1. Load an EDL into the EDL view. 2. Select the event in the Edit list. 3. Right-click and select Ripple Sources. The Ripple Sources dialog box opens. 4. In the Ripple By timecode box, type the amount by which you want the source timecode to move. n To ripple the source timecode backwards, type the amount preceded by a minus (–) sign in the Ripple By timecode box. 5. Click OK. The source timecode of that one event is modified by the amount you specified. To ripple the timecodes of all events from one source: 1. Load an EDL into the EDL view. 2. Right-click the main area of the EDL view and select Ripple Sources. The Ripple Sources dialog box opens. 3. Select the Apply To All Edits From This Source option to modify the source timecode of one of your source tapes. 4. Select the name of the tape from the list. 5. Type the amount by which you want the source timecodes to move in the Ripple By timecode box and click OK. All the timecodes for that one source tape are modified by the amount you specified. 603 Chapter 6 Conforming with EDL Files Exporting an EDL File If you want to perform certain tasks on another system, you can create an EDL of your current sequence, save it to file, and then transfer it. Avid DS Nitris creates an EDL for each track of your current sequence and for some effects. Depending on the track, the EDL contains information about the timecode, transitions, and supported effects. Once you’ve created EDLs of the current sequence, you can save them and transfer the information to another system. To create and save EDLs of the current sequence: 1. From the EDL view, click the Timeline to EDL button to create one or more EDLs of the current sequence. 2. If Avid DS Nitris created more than one EDL, select the EDL that you want to display from the EDL name list. 3. Click the Save EDL button to save your EDL to file. The Save As dialog box opens. 4. Navigate to an appropriate folder, type a name in the File Name text box, and click the Save button. The EDL is saved in the location you specified. Printing an EDL File When you need a hard copy of your EDL for review or want to keep a hard copy as a reference, you can print one out from within the EDL view. You can set the number of copies to print, as well as the orientation of the page. To print an EDL file: 1. Load an EDL into the EDL view. 2. From the EDL view, click the Print button. The Print EDL dialog box opens. 3. In the Number of Copies text box, type the number of copies you want to print. 4. Select a page orientation for the EDL. 5. Click the Print button. The EDL is printed on your default printer. 604 Conforming EDLs n To change your default printer, modify the printer settings in Windows. Proofing an EDL If you recreated your sequence on the timeline, you may want to process the rough cut, and proof it against the original EDL to make sure that the timing is correct. To proof the EDL to timeline: 1. Reload the EDL onto a new video track. Make sure you deselect the Overwrite Video Track option. 2. Add a diagonal wipe or crop effect to the video track. 3. Process the effect. 4. Play the sequence to make sure that the cuts and transitions on the two tracks occur in sync. If the proofing session is successful, you can remove the video track and continue to add effects and finishing touches to the original sequence. 605 Chapter 6 Conforming with EDL Files 606 Chapter 7 Conforming Audio Instead of recapturing or linking to audio media, you can capture or import an audio mix. Possible workflows are: • Creating a digital cut of the final audio mix in Media Composer (or other Avid editing system) and capturing the audio in Avid DS Nitris. • Exporting an OMF file with embedded audio media from an Avid editing system and importing it into Avid DS Nitris. • Instead of recapturing or linking to audio media, you can capture or import an audio mix. For more information, see “Audio Media Formats for Conform”. This chapter includes the following topics: • Exporting and Importing OMF Audio • Capturing Audio as Separate Mono Tracks Chapter 7 Conforming Audio Exporting and Importing OMF Audio The following procedure outlines the workflow for exporting audio as an OMF file from an offline Avid editing system, transferring the audio to Avid DS Nitris, and importing the audio to Avid DS Nitris. To export and import audio as an OMF file: 1. Make sure the project frame rates match—see “Audio Media Formats for Conform”. 2. On Media Composer or another Avid editing system: t See “Preparing Audio for the Online Session” in the Avid Media Composer Help. t Export a sequence, project, or bins as an AFE file t Export the audio track as an OMF file (composition and audio media) If you are transferring the audio to Avid DS Nitris, embed the audio media and export it as OMF 2.0. For more information on creating an OMF file, see the Help or the documentation for the Avid editing system. 3. Transfer the OMF file to the Avid DS Nitris workstation and import. For more information, see “Conforming an OMF File” on page 583. 4. Create a new sequence and conform the OMF file. n n Conforming an OMF file requires a new sequence, so conform the OMF file before conforming the AFE file. OMF files that are exported at a frame rate must be conformed in the timeline. OMF files that are exported as sample-accurate must be conformed in an audio container. 5. Conform the AFE file by dragging the sequence from a bin to the timeline. 6. Batch capture the video media. Optionally, capture the audio if you want to use it for a scratch track. 7. Sync the sweetened sound. 8. (Optional) Delete the audio scratch track. 608 Capturing Audio as Separate Mono Tracks Capturing Audio as Separate Mono Tracks By default, Avid DS Nitris creates a single .wav or MXF file and track from a multi-stream audio file. This is the most efficient way to work with audio files in Avid DS Nitris. However, other Avid applications cannot link to a multistream file. If you are capturing multi-stream audio to share with other Avid editing applications, you need to select the “Import audio into separate audio tracks” option. Selecting this option causes Avid DS Nitris to create multiple single-stream files. You can set the option in the following dialog boxes: Capture Settings, New Sequence, New Project, and Sequence Preferences (Audio property page). 609 Chapter 7 Conforming Audio 610 Appendix: Conforming Notes When you start conforming sequences and projects, you should be aware of specific factors that could affect the conform process. Read the following sections if they pertain to your project: • Naming Conventions when Conforming • Notes on Conforming Titles • Notes on Conforming Graphics • Notes on Conforming Effects • Notes on Conforming Matte Keys and Alpha Channels • Notes on Conforming Audio Appendix: Conforming Notes Naming Conventions when Conforming To make it easier to move files between products and across platforms, use the following guidelines when naming files: 612 • Do not use the following characters in project, bin, or other file names: / \ :*?”<>| • The Windows system does not recognize these characters in file names and will substitute other characters, possibly making the file name unrecognizable or causing other problems. • Do not add spaces at the beginning or end of a file name. The Windows system will display such files, but might be unable to open them. • Do not use a period at the end of a file name. The Windows system will display such files, but might be unable to open them. • On Avid Macintosh systems, you can enable a setting that prevents you from using Windows restricted characters in file names and automatically adds the correct file name extensions to files for your project. When you select the Use Windows Compatible File Names setting, the file name extension .avp is added to project files and .avb is added to bin files when they are saved. These file name extensions are attached to existing files as well. • Media Composer Macintosh systems, and other Macintosh-based Avid editors, cannot use MXF media created by Avid DS Nitris, due to a 31character file name limit. This situation occurs when an Avid DS Nitris system creates a storage on a Unity volume to share with other Avid editing systems. This problem does not affect Windows systems. Notes on Conforming Titles Notes on Conforming Titles • Place titles in the original sequence before you create an AFE file so that the title is conformed as part of the sequence. Avid DS Nitris does not conform titles as master clips. Titles promoted to 3D are not supported. • Titles in downconverted projects: For HD projects offlined on a Media Composer or other Avid editing system, the preferred downconversion format is 16:9 anamorphic. Titles created in this 16:9 aspect ratio (created in the 16:9 viewer) conform correctly. However, if the sources were downconverted to 16:9 letterbox and titles were created in the 4:3 viewer, they do not conform correctly. There are two options to correct this problem: In the Avid editing system: In Avid DS Nitris: Create the titles in a 16:9 viewer. If the titles are centered near the bottom of the screen (such as subtitles), they will conform correctly. For more precise titles, use the Avid DS Nitris option. After importing the AFE file, adjust the titles individually. 1. In the graphics layout, select the title. 2. In the Object Properties list, click the Transformations button. 3. On the Transformations property page, change the Scale X value to 2.0. • If the project includes titles and you are moving between Macintosh and Windows systems, make sure you have the same font with exactly the same name (preferably from the same manufacturer) on both the Macintosh and Windows systems. Check the font carefully because the same font can have slightly different names. For example, Times New Roman on the Macintosh system is named Times New Roman Regular on the Windows system. In some cases, you might need to convert the Macintosh font to a Windows font by using a font conversion program. For information on how Avid DS Nitris substitutes title fonts, see “Font Substitution for Titles”. • For best results, use TrueType or PostScript fonts. Bitmap fonts can cause scaling problems. 613 Appendix: Conforming Notes • All fonts used must be made available for the online session. Copy them to a disk or a shared folder in the same path as the folder used in the offline editing session. As a best practice, you should always have a list of the fonts and foundry. Subtopics • Creating Real-Time Graphics from Conformed Titles • Font Substitution for Titles • AFE Titles Support Table • AFE Effects Support Table Creating Real-Time Graphics from Conformed Titles After you have conformed the sequence, you might need to adjust conformed titles, so that they play as real-time graphics. The basic guidelines for real-time play are: • All graphics objects must be applied on RGB channels (not on RGBA channels). • Apply the Graphics effect directly on the clips and remove the filler. In addition, make sure the graphics objects meet the following real-time conditions: • Only the Airbrush, Color Blend, and Cutout effects can be played in real time. Color Gradient cannot be played in real time. • Properties of the graphics objects must not be animated, except for the translation. Only translations in the X or Y axes can be played in real time. • Animation that moves at different speeds cannot be played in real time. Make sure all graphics objects move in the same direction (either X axis only or Y axis only) at the same speed. To create real-time graphics from conformed titles: 1. With the conformed titles on the timeline, double-click the corresponding Graphics effect. The Graphics layout is displayed. 2. Select all graphics objects. 3. On the Masks property editor, deselect the Alpha option in the Paint on Channel box. 614 Notes on Conforming Titles 4. Switch back to the Editing layout. 5. Select the Graphics effect and cut it by pressing Ctrl+X. 6. Select the clip below the Filler (if any) and paste the effect on it by pressing Ctrl+V. 7. Delete the Filler. For more information, see “Processing Graphics” in the Help. Font Substitution for Titles If there is no exact match for the font used in a title, Avid DS Nitris substitutes a similar font. If none of the specified fonts are available, Avid DS Nitris substitutes the Arial font. n Avid editing system font Avid DS Nitris font Chicago System or Mac Chicago Courier Courier New Geneva MS Sans Serif or System Helvetica Arial Monaco Terminal New York MS Serif Palatino Times New Roman Times Times New Roman In some cases, you might need to convert the Macintosh font to a Windows font by using a font conversion program. AFE Titles Support Table The following table lists the level of support for conforming titles created in the following Avid editing products: • Symphony 4.0 and later 615 Appendix: Conforming Notes • Media Composer and Film Composer 11.0 and later • Media Composer Adrenaline 1.0 and later • Avid Xpress 5.0 and later • Avid Xpress DV 3.0 and later • Avid Xpress Pro 4.0 and later Titles from previous versions might not have the same level of support. For detailed information, consult the AAF/AFE Conform Log that is displayed at the end of the conform process. n When conforming a title, Avid DS Nitris always uses the Scale to Fit setting, rather than the Conversion Mode setting in Sequence Preferences. For an explanation of the support level, see “Legend”. Support level Comment Video formats A 4:3, 16:9 (NTSC and PAL) supported. Format conversion A All formats supported. Crawling and rolling titles B Might appear different because of different interline and intercharacter metrics. See the Text section of this table. Marquee titles B The following attributes are not supported: Category General 616 • Edge effects (Profiles) • Enable Image Blur option • Use Main Surface Alpha shadow property 3D titles D Avid DS Nitris substitutes a 3D DVE effect. Title text and objects are not supported. Background A Color and video both supported Safe color NS Not supported Object locking A Supported Notes on Conforming Titles Category Object grouping Support level Comment NS Objects are imported as ungrouped. Blend color 8 directions B (gradient) Appears slightly different, especially with 4 diagonal directions. Low-pass filter B Avid DS Nitris applies antialiasing on individual graphics. Effect parameters B All supported except crop parameter (no equivalent in Avid DS Nitris). Position B Supported, but might appear different because Avid DS Nitris and other Avid editing systems use different metrics for interline spacing. Font B Supported, with substitution if necessary. Arial is the default font for substitution. Font size B Supported, but might appear different because Avid DS Nitris and other Avid editing systems use different font metrics. Font style A Supported Justification A Supported Pair kerning A Supported Global and per character kerning NS Not supported because Avid DS Nitris and other Avid editing systems use different metrics for intercharacter spacing. Leading B Supported, but might appear different because Avid DS Nitris and other Avid editing systems use different metrics for interline spacing. Fill B Supported, except for blend transparency (no equivalent in Avid DS Nitris). Text Video fill is not supported. Outline B Supported, except for blend transparency (no equivalent in Avid DS Nitris). Maximum outline width is 10. 617 Appendix: Conforming Notes Category Shadow Support level Comment B Supported, except for shadow type depth (no equivalent in Avid DS Nitris). Maximum offset of 200. Position and size A Supported Fill B Supported, except for blend transparency (no equivalent in Avid DS Nitris). Outline B Supported, except for blend transparency (no equivalent in Avid DS Nitris). Shadow NS No equivalent in Avid DS Nitris. Objects (line, rectangle, oval) 618 Notes on Conforming Graphics Notes on Conforming Graphics • If you are conforming a sequence that includes still graphics, the graphics will link automatically if you copy them to a folder in the same path as the folder used in the offline edit. For example, if the offline sequence includes graphics imported from a folder named Graphics at the top level of drive D (D:\Graphics), create a folder named D:\Graphics on the online editing system and copy the graphics to it. • Layered Photoshop graphics: Layered Photoshop graphics that have been imported as layers in the original sequence are not conformed correctly. You need to import the original layered graphic into Avid DS Nitris using the Generate > Import Photoshop command. • If the original sequence includes graphics that use video levels (ITU-R 601 levels, which include “SuperBlack” and “SuperWhite”), Avid DS Nitris preserves information about the video levels when creating master clips (through AFE files). When you recapture the graphics, Avid DS Nitris automatically recaptures them at the original levels. 619 Appendix: Conforming Notes Notes on Conforming Effects • Level of support: Be aware that not every effect in the original sequence will be completely conformed. For specific information, see “AFE Effects Support Table”, and “AFE Titles Support Table”, and the Avid DS Nitris release notes. Also, during the conform process, you can view a log which lists any effects and parameters that are not supported. • Multi-cam: Multi-cam groups are not conformed. Only the selected clip is conformed. • Soft Cuts and Short Transitions: Most Avid editing systems use a special interpolation for transitions to provide support for soft cuts and very short transitions (such as a four-frame dissolve). Avid DS Nitris does not yet support this type of interpolation, so these transitions will not conform totally and might require some adjustment after the conform process. • Color Correction: Color corrections made in Color Correction mode with the Symphony Color Correction tool are not conformed. For color corrections to be conformed, you must apply the Color Correction effect from the Effect Palette, as described in the Avid Symphony Color Correction Guide. This problem does not occur if you use the Avid Color Correction tool (available with Avid editing products other than Symphony). Secondary color correction is not conformed. In Avid Symphony, the gamma is applied in RGB space between the superblack and superwhite range while in Avid DS Nitris, the RGB gamma is applied between the black and white range. Therefore, there is a small discrepancy in conform when conforming color corrected sequences from Avid Symphony with applied HSL gamma, particularly for gamma values close to 0 or much larger than 1. 620 • On the Avid editing system, always apply effects directly to a clip or use nesting to apply an effect to multiple clips. • Foreground level and effects on V1: Avid DS Nitris always displays images on video track V1 as completely opaque and ignores any setting to Foreground Level (Opacity in Avid DS Nitris). On the Avid editing system, add Generated Black (created through the Title Tool or as an imported graphic) beneath any effects that use Level in this manner. Notes on Conforming Effects • Effects applied to filler: Color Correction and Pan and Scan applied to filler on the top track of the original sequence are conformed correctly in Avid DS Nitris, but other effects are not. Clips on lower tracks are not affected by the effect applied to the filler. For example, if a Color Effect is applied to filler on V2 and used to desaturate all the clips beneath it on V1, none of the clips will be desaturated when the sequence is conformed. On the Avid editing system, always apply effects directly to a clip or use nesting to apply an effect to multiple clips. • Motion effects: Like titles, source-side motion effects are conformed only as part of a sequence. The following points apply to Timewarp (record-side) motion effects: - Timewarp effects that use speed ramp adjustments require the anchor frame to be on the first key value in order to conform correctly. If this is not the case, then the AAF/AFE Conform Log displays a message. To fix the effect in Avid DS Nitris, you need to adjust the Base Frame property accordingly. - Timewarp effects with speed graphs from some older versions of Avid editing systems, such as Media Composer Adrenaline v1.5.1, do not conform. Timewarp effects from Media Composer Adrenaline HD 2.0 conform correctly. AFE Effects Support Table The following table lists the level of support for conforming effects through AFE files created in the following Avid editing products: • Symphony 4.0 and later • Media Composer and Film Composer 11.0 and later • Media Composer Adrenaline 1.0 and later • Avid Xpress 5.0 and later • Avid Xpress DV 3.0 and later • Avid Xpress Pro 4.0 and later Effects from previous versions might not have the same level of support. For information about special cases, see “Beginning the Conform Process”. 621 Appendix: Conforming Notes For information about effects that did not conform or did not conform completely, consult the AAF/AFE Conform Log that is displayed at the end of the conform process. n AAF files created in the following products do not support many of these effects: • Media Composer Adrenaline v1.5 or later • Avid Xpress Pro v4.5 or later • Avid Xpress DV v4.5 or later • NewsCutter Adrenaline FX v5.5 or later • NewsCutter XP v5.5 or later You can use AFE files instead. Legend 622 Support level Description A Effect supported. The effect is imported as a corresponding Avid DS Nitris effect. All parameters and keyframes are set to match, as much as possible, the original effect. B Imported with some parameters and keyframes. See the Comment field for information about each effect’s parameters. C Imported without parameters or keyframes. Avid DS Nitris loads a preset that matches the defaults of the imported effect. D Replaced when imported. Avid DS Nitris loads a similar effect without any parameters set. NS Not supported. The effect is ignored by Avid DS Nitris. Notes on Conforming Effects 623 Appendix: Conforming Notes Notes on Conforming Matte Keys and Alpha Channels • Matte Key clips: Place matte keys in the original sequence before you create an AFE file so that the matte key is conformed as part of the sequence. Avid DS Nitris does not conform matte keys as master clips. • If your sequence includes any three-layered matte keys, collapse the effect in the Avid editing system. Make sure that the foreground, background, and matte effect are in the collapsed effect. Any effects over a filler layer should be moved onto the video layer they are affecting. Only Blend Masks and Pan & Scan effects should be applied to a filler layer. • Traditional matte keys (Matte Key effect): On the Avid editing system, Foreground (fill) and Matte elements must be nested inside the Matte Key effect or the effect will not be conformed correctly. Use the Collapse function on the fill and matte before you apply the Matte Key effect. Then replace the Submaster effect with a Matte Key effect. • Matte Key effects are conformed as Matte containers. If the fill and matte were not nested on the Avid editing system, you can fix the problem in Avid DS Nitris by cutting the fill element and pasting it into the container. For more information, see Working with Mattes in the Help • Imported matte keys: Matte keys created from still graphics and imported to an Avid editing system are conformed as Matte containers with all parameters intact. However, imported graphics promoted to 3D Matte Keys are not conformed. Avid DS Nitris replaces the 3D Matte Key as a DVE within a Composite container without the original effect parameters. To set up the matte key correctly: 624 - Open the composite container. - In Layers View, marry the fill and matte by dragging the matte to the fill layer. - Invert the alpha channel. - Delete the old matte layer and the DVE effect on the alpha channel. - Apply a Layer DVE inside the container or a DVE clip to the outside and recreate any animation. Notes on Conforming Matte Keys and Alpha Channels • QuickTime movies: Imported QuickTime movies with alpha are not conformed correctly. You need to manually invert the alpha channel using the Avid DS Nitris Matte container properties. • Sequential file formats: Sequential file formats with alpha channels that have been imported to an Avid editing system are now conformed correctly. 625 Appendix: Conforming Notes Notes on Conforming Audio • Audio pan, Audio EQ, and AudioSuite plug-ins are not conformed. In the original sequence, you can mix down the areas that contain these adjustments or effects and then output an audio mix—see “Audio Media Formats for Conform”. • If you are conforming a clip or sequence captured from a BWF (Broadcast Wave Format) source, Avid DS Nitris marks the master clip as a tape source. As a result, you cannot recapture media from the source BWF file. To work around this problem, do one of the following: - Directly relink to the original media through shared storage - Import the media from an OMF file containing embedded media. - On the Avid editing system, transfer the media to tape. On the Avid DS Nitris system, recapture the media from that tape. However, you cannot relink to BWF .aif media nor can you import an OMF file containing BWF .aif or .mxf media captured in one of the following products: - Media Composer Adrenaline - Avid Xpress Pro - Avid Xpress DV - NewsCutter Adrenaline FX - NewsCutter XP For these products, relink to .wav or .mxf media, or import an OMF file with embedded .wav media. 626 Editing This book includes information about editing with Avid DS Nitris. For links to specific information. see the following topics: • Working with Projects • Working with Sequences • Opening a Film-based Project • Building a Rough Cut • Trimming Clips • Applying Image Transition Effects • Processing • Working with Effects and Transitions • Working with Time Effects • Animating Objects • Mixing Audio • Working with Audio Effects • Working with Effects and Transitions Related Topics Editing Reference 628 Chapter 1 Working with Projects This chapter describes how your project files and media are handled in Avid DS Nitris. Since project organization plays a key part in the editing process, you will learn how to create projects, and use the Avid Explorer to organize your media into folders. The following sections describe how to work with projects and media: • Starting a Work Session • Managing Files and Folders • Working with Bins • Viewing Events Chapter 1 Working with Projects Starting a Work Session When you start Avid DS Nitris, the Open Project dialog box is displayed, so that you can view and manage all projects anywhere on the network. Each project has its own associated sequences. When you open a sequence, you have access to all the master clips and custom presets in the project. Projects contain master clips, sequences, and any special presets and/or scripts you create. Sequence files contain information about your edit decisions, composites, and any effects you’ve applied to your clips. Master clips are representations of the digitized media stored on your storage device. Master clips can be shared between sequences within the same project. By default, all projects created with Avid DS Nitris are stored in their own folder under the DS Projects folder. It’s important that you keep all the files related to a project inside the project folder, so that they can be archived, restored, and/or purged. n If you’re running more than one version of Avid DS Nitris on your workstation, new projects will be classified by version and stored in a subfolder of the DS Projects folder. To filter the list of projects, you can: 630 • Hide individual projects using the appropriate button. • Refresh the list of projects by clicking the Refresh button. • Reveal all hidden projects by pressing Ctrl + Refresh button. Starting a Work Session To start Avid DS Nitris, do one of the following: n t Double-click the Avid DS Nitris icon on the Windows desktop. t Click Start > Programs > Avid Products > Avid DS Nitris > Avid DS Nitris vx.x. Tip: If you selected the Load Last Sequence at Startup option in the User Preferences dialog box and want to bypass this option, press Shift and double-click the Avid DS Nitris shortcut on the desktop. This starts the application and displays the Open Project dialog box from which you can select a different project. The Open Project dialog box is displayed. You can now create or open an existing project or sequence. Creating a New Project When you first start Avid DS Nitris or when you want to start a new project, you are prompted to name your project, designate a location for it, and set the project’s preferences. Once you’ve done this, a project folder is created at the specified location. By default, all sequences associated with this project are saved in this folder. 631 Chapter 1 Working with Projects To open a new project: 1. Do one of the following: t From the Open Project dialog box, click the New Project button. t Select File > New > Project. Browse button 2. In the New Project dialog box, enter a unique name for your project in the Project Name text box. 3. In the Location text box, type the path where you would like the project files to reside. You can also use the browse (...) button to locate the folder in which to save your project. 4. Set the appropriate preferences for your project. 632 Starting a Work Session Project preferences define the way your material is captured, processed, and output by Avid DS Nitris. Once you set the project preferences, they become the default settings for the sequences that you create in this project. Most of these preferences can be changed during the course of your work. For detailed information on setting these preferences, click the Help button. 5. Click OK to save the project preferences. The Editing layout is displayed for you to start building your sequence, and the Avid Explorer displays your project as the favorite. Opening an Existing Project Once you’ve created a project, it is available to all other users in your workgroup. Opening any sequence in the project gives you access to all master clips and presets used in that project. n A project can only be opened by one user at a time. To open an existing project on your workstation: 1. Select File > Open > Project. The Open Project dialog box is displayed. 2. From the Select a Project list, select a project name. 3. From the Select a Sequence list, do one of the following: t Click New DS Sequence and then click New Sequence. t Double-click an existing sequence name. t Select a sequence and click Open. If you created a new sequence, the New Sequence dialog box is displayed for you to set the sequence preferences—see “Setting Sequence Preferences” on page 675. A new or existing sequence is opened. To open an existing project on another workstation in your workgroup: 1. Select File > Open > Project. The Open Project dialog box is displayed. 2. Select All Projects on workgroup_name. 633 Chapter 1 Working with Projects 3. From the Select a Project box, choose a project under the appropriate workstation. 4. From the Select a Sequence box, select a New DS Sequence or open an existing one. You will be notified if another user has this project opened. n If you need to work on a sequence within that project, but it is heavily used by other users, you should create a project on your own workstation and then import the sequence into your project. Avid DS will automatically link to the media. When you have completed the sequence, you can import it back to the original project—see “Importing Sequences and Master Clips from Another Project” on page 673. Setting User Preferences You can work more efficiently by setting some personal preferences, such as automatic saves, number of undo levels, animation preferences, and the number and type of tracks to display when you open a new sequence. You can also set editing preferences, such as pre-roll and post-roll frames. After setting the preferences, they become part of your user profile under your user name. The next time you start Avid DS Nitris, these preferences are used. c Do not customize the fonts, windows scheme, or taskbar properties on the Windows desktop or Avid DS Nitris may not function properly. To open the User Preferences dialog box: t 634 Select File > User Preferences. Starting a Work Session For information about the User Preferences options, click the Help button. Choosing a Scripting Language Avid DS Nitris supports several popular scripting languages. To use a scripting language with Avid DS Nitris, you must first install the scripting engine for that language. Although Avid DS Nitris logs commands in its History pane using VBScript syntax, you can write and run scripts using any language that is ActiveX-compliant. ActiveX is a technology for sharing data between programs. Some ActiveX-compliant scripting languages include: • ActivePerl • JScript • Python ActiveX Scripting • VBScript (default) To set a preferred scripting language: 1. From the User Preferences dialog box, select the Scripting/Logging tab. 2. From the Scripting Language list, select your preferred scripting language. 635 Chapter 1 Working with Projects n No matter what language you’ve specified in your preferences, Avid DS Nitris logs commands using the VBScript syntax. The Scripting Language list contains the ActiveX scripting languages whose engines are installed on your workstation. If you just installed an engine and it’s not listed, restart Avid DS Nitris. If it still isn’t listed, restart your computer. Setting Up the Command Log Avid DS Nitris not only creates a command log in the History pane of the Script Editor, but can also create a separate log file that is saved to disk for each Avid DS Nitris session. You have the option of setting a limit to the number of commands logged in the History pane. You can also save a log file to disk, containing all commands used in each Avid DS Nitris session. To set the command log size: 1. From the User Preferences dialog box, select the Scripting/Logging property page. 2. The number of commands kept in the History pane of the Script Editor by default is 200. To modify this number, click in the Lines text box and type a new number. To set no limit to the number, select the Unlimited option. To activate the log file: 1. On the Scripting/Logging property page, select the Log Commands to File option to create a command log file. A log file will be created the next time you start Avid DS Nitris. 2. To specify a location for the log file, type a path in the File Name text box. n Avid DS Nitris overwrites the existing command log file each time you start a new session. If you want to keep the log file, make sure you rename it before starting Avid DS Nitris. You can only use the logging and scripting tools to capture media. 636 Managing Files and Folders Managing Files and Folders After you start a project, you can organize your project files to suit your project’s needs. When you work with files, folders, and the windows that contain them, you are working in the Avid Explorer view. Working with the Avid Explorer The Avid Explorer is a view that opens by default when you start a project. By using the Avid Explorer, you can • Navigate and view the entire contents of your workstation • Organize a project’s clips, sequences, and effects in a tree structure of folders. • Capture from file and import clips from other projects 637 Chapter 1 Working with Projects Avid Explorer tools Help button Panel 1 Panel 2 Bins Bin tools Avid Explorer button View switcher Any files or applications that you can open on your Windows desktop you can also open in the Avid Explorer. For example, imagine that you are working on a commercial and the producer sends you a Microsoft® Word document that lists the latest changes. You can open the document within the Avid Explorer and refer to it while you are editing, without needing to switch back and forth between application windows. You can also open files associated with your Web browser through the Avid DS Nitris Web viewer, which you launch by selecting View Multi-instance Views > Web. 638 Managing Files and Folders When you select a folder, the folder’s contents are displayed in a bin. For more information, see “Working with Bins” on page 648. n You can include the Avid Explorer as a single-instance view or a multi-instance view in any views that you create. To access the Avid Explorer from another view: t From the view switcher, click the Avid Explorer (Main) button. Using the Avid Explorer Views The left side of the Avid Explorer includes two panels. Each panel can contain one of three views: My System, Shortcuts, or Project. The My System view shows the contents of your workstation in a hierarchical tree structure. The Shortcuts view shows shortcuts to files, folders, or applications. The Project view shows the folders for the current project. 639 Chapter 1 Working with Projects To show or hide a panel: t Click the Show/Hide Panel button. Show/Hide Panel buttons The Show/Hide Panel button is highlighted for the panel that is displayed. To choose a view to display in a panel: t Click the pop-up menu next to a Show/Hide Panel button and select My System, Shortcuts, or Project. A check mark indicates which view is displayed. Using the Shortcuts View The Shortcuts view lets you create and access shortcuts that suit your work requirements. For example, you can create a shortcut to a folder with your favorite presets or to a graphics application. Any shortcuts you can create in Windows can be created in the Shortcuts view. The Shortcuts view is divided into two tabs: System and Project. • Shortcuts that you create on the System tab are available in all projects. • Shortcuts that you create on the Project tab are available only when the project in which you created them is open. System tab Project tab 640 Managing Files and Folders To switch between tabs: t Click the System tab or the Project tab. To create a shortcut, do one of the following, depending on what is displayed in a bin: t Drag a folder or file from a bin to either tab in the Shortcuts view. t Drag the folder icon from a bin’s address bar to either tab in the Shortcuts view. t In either tab of the Shortcuts view, right-click an empty area and select New Shortcut. The Windows Shortcut Wizard is displayed. Follow the instructions to create a shortcut in the Shortcuts view. To delete a shortcut, do one of the following: t Right-click the shortcut and select Delete. t Select a shortcut and press Delete on the keyboard. To access the Shortcuts context menus: n t Right-click the background. Use this context menu to change the way shortcuts are displayed (large icons, list, thumbnail) and how they are sorted and arranged. t Right-click a shortcut. Use this context menu to cut, copy, paste, delete, and other system functions. The Create Shortcut command, which is displayed when you right-click an object, does not create a shortcut in the My System view or Project view. Organizing Your Project Folder Before you start capturing material and editing sequences, create subfolders in your project folder to hold master clips, sequences, and custom presets. You’ll find that creating subfolders helps organize your project, so that you can locate files quickly and easily. Also, when Avid DS Nitris archives a project, it gathers and archives all the files in the project folder. Therefore, it is important that you keep all the project files within the project folder. 641 Chapter 1 Working with Projects When you create a new project in Avid DS Nitris, a project folder is automatically created and displayed in the Avid Explorer. It also creates subfolders for DSPresets and scripts. This default structure can be customized, so that all projects you create are already organized. For more information, see “Creating a Standard Folder Structure” on page 644. There are ways to set up your folders that make tasks, such as recapturing, much easier. Here is an example of a simple but effective folder setup: Project view Show/Hide Panel Bin Project folder Subfolders n When capturing clips, you can select Auto-Source as the capture target. This automatically creates a folder for your master clips with the same name as the tape from which you are capturing material. Creating or Deleting Folders To create a folder: 1. In the Project view, select your project folder. The contents of the folder are displayed on the right in a bin. 2. Do one of the following: t In the bin toolbar, click the New button. t Right-click an empty area of the bin and select New > Folder. The new folder is displayed in the bin with the name New Folder highlighted. 642 Managing Files and Folders 3. Type in a new name and press Enter. 4. Continue adding as many folders as you need. You can create subfolders under your new folders. Simply click the new folder in the Project view and then right-click the bin to add a new folder. To delete a folder: t In the Project view or bin, right-click a folder and select Delete from the Windows section of the menu. Moving Files between Folders You can rearrange the files in your project folders by dragging them to a new folder. To move a file to another folder: t n Drag a file from a bin to a folder in the Project view or to another bin. The No Entry icon changes to a Move icon when you place the pointer over a folder in the Project view. You cannot move clips or sequences between projects, but you can import sequences and master clips into another project. For more information, see “Importing Sequences and Master Clips from Another Project” on page 673. To make a copy of a file: t Select the clip or sequence that you want to copy, press Ctrl and drag the clip to an empty area in the current folder, or to another folder in the tree. Renaming Project Files You can rename a master clip, sequence, or folder in your project. n You cannot change the name of a clip or sequence if it is open or when previewing it in the Source viewer. To rename a clip, sequence, or folder: 1. In a bin, click the name of a clip, sequence, or folder. 2. Type in a new name and press Enter. 643 Chapter 1 Working with Projects n When you rename a clip, sequence, or other Avid DS Nitris file, make sure to keep the file extension (.Clip, .Segment, and so on). Avid DS Nitris cannot manage the file properly without the extension. A file name can contain up to 255 characters and include spaces. It cannot contain any of the following characters: \ / : * ? " < > | Creating a Standard Folder Structure If you want Avid DS Nitris to create a standard folder structure for new projects, you can create an .ini file that will specify the folders that will appear in the Avid Explorer when a new project is created. The .ini file must be called folder.ini and must be stored in the \Preferences\username folder. You can have different .ini files for each Avid DS Nitris user. To create a standard folder structure for new projects: 1. Open a text file using a text editor. 2. On the first line of the file, type the following in uppercase letters: [FOLDERS]. 3. Type the names of the folders you want to appear in the Avid Explorer, one on each line. For example: Graphics Master Clips Sequences Trash n The order of the folders is not important, as they will be sorted in alphabetical order or according to the sorting method used in the Avid Explorer. 4. Save the file as folder.ini and save it in the following location: C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_vx.x\Preferences\username Any new projects that are created will contain the folders specified in the .ini file. 644 Managing Files and Folders n The DSPresets, Scripts, and Views folders are created by default. Avid DS Nitris Group Folders As part of a project’s workflow, you might need to work with groups of sequential files, such as a series of scanned image files or files from a graphics program. Typically these files share a file name that increments by a single digit, such as beach001.jpg, beach002.jpg, and so on. The Avid Explorer automatically combines these files into a special kind of folder, called an Avid DS Nitris Group folder, or virtual folder. You can then capture and manage the sequential files more easily. 645 Chapter 1 Working with Projects The following illustration shows a list of Avid DS Nitris Group folders. The folder is identified with the following syntax: filename[first..last:#files].extension For example, a folder that contains 66 files, named CatchFish1.pic through CatchFish66.pic, is labeled: CatchFish[1..66:66].pic To view the individual files: t Double-click the Avid DS Nitris Group folder. If a group does not include a complete series of numbers, a yellow circle and exclamation point is displayed over the icon. The folder name displays the total number of files, indicating that one or more files are missing. For example, if CatchFish30.pic is missing, the folder is labeled: CatchFish[1..66:67].pic n 646 Sequential Avid DS Nitris files (*.Clip, *.Segment, *.Preset) are not grouped in a folder. Managing Files and Folders n When a folder contains a file that does not conform to the pattern of the group, Avid DS Nitris isolates the file and the part of the group that is affected. To combine the files into a single folder again, remove or rename the nonconforming file. Grouping Files as Frames or Fields By default, Avid DS Nitris groups files as a series of frames. If, however, the file names of a group include field numbers (Frame01.1.jpg, Frame01.2.jpg, Frame02.1.jpg, and so on), you should deselect the default option. The folder name then includes the total number of files followed by the letter F (field). For example, Frame[01..06:12;F].jpg To group files as frames or fields: 1. Select File > User Preferences. 2. Select the Avid Explorer property page. 3. Select or deselect the Group files as frame option. 647 Chapter 1 Working with Projects Working with Bins A bin is a window that displays the contents of a folder or other object. Bins appear within the Avid Explorer view. You can minimize, maximize, resize, and close bins using standard Windows control methods. You can also cascade and tile bins. The following illustration shows three bins within the Avid Explorer view. Each bin displays its contents in a different view. Details view Storyboard view 648 Thumbnail view Working with Bins To open a bin: t Select a folder or other object in the tree. If a folder in the tree is already selected, double-click it. To open additional bins, do one of the following: t Press Shift and click a folder or other object in the tree. If a folder in the tree is already selected, press Shift and double-click it. t n Press Shift and double-click a folder in a bin. You can open one or more Avid Explorer windows that are not docked in the Avid Explorer view. From the View menu, select Multi-Instance Views > Avid Explorer. These windows include only bin tools. You can include this Avid Explorer window as a multi-instance view in any views that you create. Changing the Bin View You can display a bin in one of five different views: • Large icons: Displays files with large icons • List: Displays files with small icons in list format • Details: Displays files as a list with details, using columns. You can choose and save which columns to display—see “Customizing the Details and Script Views” on page 654. • Thumbnail: Displays the files as pictorial icons. This view is especially useful for media files. You can rearrange the thumbnails in any order within the bin by clicking and dragging. • Script: Displays the files as pictorial icons with an area for comments. Clip information is displayed above the text box. To change the bin view: t Click a button at the bottom of the bin. 649 Chapter 1 Working with Projects Large Icons List Details Script Bin view list Thumbnail Changing the Frame in Thumbnail and Script View By default the first frame of a clip is displayed in Thumbnail or Script view. Avid DS Nitris lets you select a different frame to display. To change the frame displayed in the Thumbnail or Script view: 1. Open the clip in the Source viewer. 2. Go to the frame you want to display. 3. Click the Update Thumbnail button, located below the Source viewer. Identifying File Types Each file in a bin is identified by an icon. Because a bin displays the same files as your workstation, you see the same icons that appear in your Windows Explorer. n Files that are specific to Avid DS Nitris display a generic icon when viewed in the Windows Explorer. Avid DS Nitris media files have their own icons, which appear on or beside clips in a bin. When an icon is highlighted in red, it means that Avid DS Nitris could not find any media associated with a clip. This clip must be recaptured before you can work with it. Icon File Type Audio clip 650 Icon File Type Background or composite container clip Working with Bins Icon File Type Icon File Type Video clip Sequence Combined audio and video clip Still image Audio container clip Linked still image Displaying File Properties Each master clip or sequence contains information about its location on the storage device, the name of the project to which it belongs, the start, end, and duration of the clip, as well as your own comments. In addition, master clips contain information on the clip type, quality, resolution, dominance, color space, bit depth, coverage, and location. For a description of these properties, click the Help button. To view master clip properties: 1. In a bin, right-click a master clip, and in the Avid DS Nitris section select Properties. The Properties dialog box is displayed. 2. Select the Media tab to view information about the media associated with the master clip. The Media property page displays information about the selected clip. Audio and video media files are listed separately. 651 Chapter 1 Working with Projects n The Media property page displays the types of media associated with the clip you selected in the Avid Explorer. Purged media is indicated by a red dot on the icon. It is possible to have one type of media indicated as purged and another not. 3. Select the General tab to view the file properties. The location of this file, its in and out times, and duration are displayed. You cannot edit these properties, but you can add notes for the file in the Comments text box, unless the clip is displayed in a viewer. 4. Select the File Info tab to view information about how the original file was captured. The original file location, resolution, capture settings, and file status are displayed. This information is read-only and cannot be modified, except to re-establish a link for a linked file that has been moved from its original location. 5. Select the Track Patching tab to view information about the audio format (such as mono or stereo) and the audio input assignment for master clips that were captured from tape. You can use this property page to reassign hardware inputs to different audio channels if necessary when recapturing audio media. 652 Working with Bins To view sequence properties: t In a bin, right-click a sequence, and in the Avid DS Nitris section select Properties. The Properties dialog box is displayed. These properties are read-only. 653 Chapter 1 Working with Projects Customizing the Details and Script Views Avid DS Nitris lets you customize the columns of information in Details and Scripts views by displaying and hiding file parameters. You can choose from Avid DS Nitris parameters, parameters from the Windows operating system, or parameters that have been added to your Windows system from other applications. You can also rearrange the order of columns, adjust the size of columns, and save the arrangement. You can select a preset bin view from the Bin View column at the bottom of the bin. These bin views display columns that are appropriate to a particular task and include Editing, Audio Management, Video Management, and Presets. You can also create and save your own bin view—see “Saving or Deleting a Bin View” on page 656. Bin view list n To display information specific to media files, such as Video Compression, you must have media files displayed in the bin. Use the Avid Explorer or Media Tool to display media files. To create a more compact display, Avid DS Nitris parameters do not include the product name in the column heading. Column headings for these parameters use a darker shading. To hide or display bin columns: 1. Do one of the following: t In the bin tools, click the Settings button. t Click the Fast Menu button and select Settings > Add/Remove Columns. A dialog box is displayed, either within the bin or separately. The currently displayed column headings are marked by colored bands. 654 Working with Bins For a description of the bin columns, click the Help button. 2. Do one or more of the following: t Select the columns that you want to display. Selected columns are highlighted by a colored band. t Deselect highlighted columns that you do not want to display. t Click the All/None button to select all columns. t Click the All/None button again to deselect all columns 3. Click the Apply button to apply your changes. 4. Click the Close button to close the dialog box. To display a preset bin view: t Select a preset view from the Bin View list. To rearrange columns: 1. Click the heading of the column that you want to move. The entire column is selected. 2. Drag the column to the desired position. 655 Chapter 1 Working with Projects The column is displayed in the new position. To change the width of a column: t Drag the border of a column heading. Saving or Deleting a Bin View If you change the bin view by adding columns, changing the order of columns, or other customization, an asterisk is displayed at the end of the bin view name. Avid DS Nitris lets you save and display this customized bin view. To save a bin view: 1. Click the Save Current Column Setting button. The Save As dialog box is displayed. 2. Accept the current name or type a new one, and click OK. The Bin View list includes the new bin view. To display a bin view: t From the Bin View list, select the view you want to display. To delete a bin view: 1. From the Bin View list, select the view you want to delete. 2. With the Bin View list displayed, press the Delete key. A confirmation box is displayed. 3. Click Yes. Sorting Files By default, clips in Details view are sorted by name, in ascending alphabetical order (from A to Z). You can change the way clips are sorted, using the information in any column or combination of columns. You can change the sorting for any files that you view through the Avid Explorer. 656 Working with Bins To change the way clips are sorted: 1. In Details view, click the column that you want to act as the primary sorting criterion. The clips are sorted according to the information in that column. The number zero (0) is displayed in the title bar of the column indicating the primary sorting status. An upward or downward pointing arrow is also displayed, specifying the direction in which the information is sorted (ascending or descending). 2. Press Ctrl and click a new column to act as the secondary sorting criterion. Any clips with the same criterion in the primary sort are now sorted according to the information in the second column. The number one (1) is displayed in the title bar of the column, indicating the secondary sorting status. An upward or downward pointing arrow is also displayed, specifying the direction in which the information is sorted. 3. Continue pressing Ctrl and clicking the columns to further refine your column sorting. n When performing a single-column sort, click the column a second time to change the direction in which the column is sorted. Click again to remove the sorting. When performing multi-column sort, press Ctrl and click a column a second time to change the sorting direction. Press Ctrl and click again to remove the sorting. 657 Chapter 1 Working with Projects Example In this example, clips are first sorted by channel. Notice that all video clips are grouped together. Since they are all the same, you can sort them further using another criterion. In this example, they are sorted further by duration. Clips sorted by channel in alphabetical order. (primary sort) Each channel type, such as Video, is further sorted according to duration (secondary sort). Sifting Files By sifting files, you can customize any window that you view through the Avid Explorer so that it displays only those files that meet a specific set of criteria. For example, in a bin that contains master clips, you can create a custom sift to display only clips from a particular tape or only clips with a name that contains the letters CU (for close-up). Sifting is not limited to clips; you can use it with any files that you view through the Avid Explorer. You can also use it to modify the files displayed in the Media Tool (see “Using the Media Tool” on page 1075). 658 Working with Bins The Custom Sift dialog box provides ten types of criteria (such as Equals or Contains) and lets you set up to six sets of criteria. n Tip: To view bin columns, click the D (Details) button in the bottom bar of the bin. To change the visible bin columns, click the Settings button in the Avid Explorer toolbar. To sift clips or sequences: 1. In an open bin, click the Fast Menu button and select Custom Sift. The Custom Sift dialog box is displayed. 2. From the Column list, select an Avid DS Nitris column heading to which you want to apply the criterion. t To view all column headings on your system, select the Show All Columns option. t To clear the Column entry, select None from the Column list. 3. From the Criterion list, select one of the sifting options. 659 Chapter 1 Working with Projects 4. In the Value text box, and type the text that you want to use as a sift criterion. Type the text exactly as it is displayed in the column. For example, to view clips with a duration of more than 5 seconds, select Greater Than as the criterion and type 00:00:05:00. An exception is size. For example, to view clips greater than 54 KB, select Greater Than as the criterion and type 54000. 5. Repeat these steps to add additional sift criteria (up to six sets). 6. To clear all data, click the Clear button. 7. To preview the results of your selections, click the Apply button. 8. To save your view: a. Click the Save button. The Save As dialog box is displayed. b. Type a name for the sifted view and click OK. 9. In the Custom Sift dialog box, click OK. Only the clips or sequences that meet your criteria are displayed in the bin. Displaying a Sifted or an Unsifted View After you have sifted the clips in a bin, you can switch between the unsifted view and the currently selected sifted view. To switch between a sifted and an unsifted view, do one of the following: t In a bin, click the Fast Menu button and select Show Sifted. t In the Avid Explorer toolbar, click the Sifting button. Loading and Deleting a Sifted View You can load or delete a saved set of criteria. To load a sifted view, do one of the following: t 660 In the Custom Sift dialog box, select the view that you want to load from the Load/Save list, and click Apply or OK. Working with Bins t Click the Fast Menu button, select Load Sift, and select the view you want to load. To delete a sifted view: 1. Select the view that you want to delete from the Load/Save list. 2. Keep the menu open and press the Delete key on your keyboard. 3. In the dialog box, click Yes. 661 Chapter 1 Working with Projects Viewing Events While working with Avid DS Nitris, you can track important processes, such as the start up and shut down of Avid DS Nitris applications, Avid DS Nitris RP processing messages, or errors when a folder cannot be accessed. This is done using the event logging service in Avid DS Nitris. The event-logging service stores events from various sources in a single collection called an event log. Notifications of events include informative messages, errors, and warnings. The event log records important software and hardware events to help you determine the conditions that caused the error and the context in which it occurred. By periodically viewing the event log, you may be able to identify problems before they cause damage. The event logging service does not replace direct messages that are displayed when an action is necessary. The event log simply lets you to view the results of any actions. A reasonable amount of disk space is reserved for the event log. When the log is full, older events are erased to make room for new ones. The following Avid applications log events in the event log: • Avid DS Nitris • Avid Media Indexer • Avid Project Indexer Viewing the Avid Event Log The event logging system consists of two parts, the viewer and the event log file. The Avid Event Log is a list of all previously logged events. To view the Avid event log, 1. Do one of the following: 662 t Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Avid Event Log. t In an Avid Explorer panel, select Avid Event Log in the Views folder. Viewing Events The Avid Event Log view is displayed in a bin, along with a list of software and hardware events that have occurred. If you open the log from the Views folder, bin tools are displayed at the top of the bin. For more information on the Avid Event Log, click the Avid Explorer Help button. 2. Double-click an event log entry to display additional information. 663 Chapter 1 Working with Projects Viewing the Windows Event Log If you cannot start Avid DS Nitris due to a fatal error, Windows also has an Event Viewer so that you can browse through the event logs. In the Windows Event Viewer, events from all open applications, the operating system, and other system services are logged. To view the Windows event log: 1. On the Windows desktop, right-click the My Computer icon and select Manage. 2. Click System Tools > Event Viewer. A list of event logs is displayed for different Windows applications. 664 Viewing Events 3. Double-click the Avid Event Log to view the Avid DS Nitris events. Sorting Columns and Events You can reorder the columns and events that are displayed. To set the column order: t Click on a column heading and drag it left or right to a new position. To sort the list of events: t n Click on the column heading to sort the contents below the column in ascending or descending order. You can perform secondary sorts on multiple columns for better grouping of events. For instance if you want to sort the events by type and then by time, click the Type column heading, press Ctrl and click the Date - Time heading. A (0) and a (1) appear in the respective columns. You can also sort the columns in the reverse order by pressing Ctrl and clicking the column heading again. An up or down arrow appears in the column heading to indicate the direction of the sort. 665 Chapter 1 Working with Projects 666 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences This chapter describes how to work with sequences, search for sequences, and set your video and audio preferences. • Workflow: Working with Sequences • Opening Sequences • Setting Sequence Preferences • Working with Media of Different Qualities • Saving Sequences • Searching for Sequences • Deleting Sequences Chapter 2 Working with Sequences Workflow: Working with Sequences Before you open a sequence, you must first select the project to which it belongs. The following illustration shows a simple editing scenario in Avid DS Nitris. 1 Open project and sequence. Select project Select sequence 2 3 Set sequence preferences. Construct sequence on timeline. Sequence preferences can be changed during the course of a project so that you can work with media at different qualities. 668 Opening Sequences Opening Sequences You can easily create, open, and manage the sequences in your project using the Open Project dialog box. A sequence is an arrangement of clips on the timeline; it contains information about edit decisions, applied graphics and effects, animation settings, and working preferences. When you open a sequence in the timeline, you can immediately begin audio/video editing, compositing, painting, titling, or audio mixing. Because the Avid DS Nitris environment is nonlinear, these tasks can be performed in any order, changed at any time, and moved to any location. Avid DS Nitris also gives you the flexibility to work with different media qualities within your sequence. For example, working with media at a higher resolution increases processing time, so initially, you may want to process your clips at lower resolution to obtain quicker results. When you’re ready to output the final sequence, you can recapture the media at a higher resolution, and reprocess the effects. Sequence Overview area Video tracks Audio track Sequences always belong to a particular project. To access your sequences, you must first select the project to which it belongs. To get a quick view of all the projects on any workstation in your workgroup, use the Open Project dialog box. To access the list of projects and sequences: 1. Select File > Open > Project. The Open Project dialog box is displayed. 669 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences Sequences within a selected project Projects on all workstations in workgroup 2. If you want to see all projects and sequences in your workgroup, select All Projects on workgroup_name. For detailed information on the Open Project dialog box, click the Help button. Creating a New Sequence You must create sequences from within a project. You can either select a project from the Open Project dialog box and then create a new sequence, or if your project is already open, you can create a new sequence directly from the File menu. To create a sequence: 1. Select File > Open > Project. The Open Project dialog box is displayed. 2. From the Select a Project box, select the project to which your sequence will belong. The Select a Sequence box opens any other sequences that belong to this project. 3. From the Select a Sequence box, select New DS Sequence from the list. 670 Opening Sequences 4. Click the New Sequence button. The New Sequence dialog box displays the sequence preferences. By default, the sequence preferences are inherited from the settings established when the project was created. These settings can be changed. For more information, see “Setting Sequence Preferences” on page 675. n Avid DS Nitris requires at least 10% of your system memory (RAM) to be free at all times. If not, you may not be able to create sequences with custom formats that have resolutions much greater than the standard video resolution, such as 2000×1500. 5. Click OK to accept the settings. A new sequence is opened and the Editing layout is displayed. To create another sequence within the current project: 1. Select File > New Sequence. If the sequence you’re currently working on has not been saved, you are prompted to do so. 2. Click Yes to save the sequence. A new sequence is opened in your current project with the same preferences as those of the project. n If you want to create a new sequence with preferences that are different from the project, select File > New > DS Sequence. For detailed information on these sequence preferences, click the Help button. Opening an Existing Sequence You can open a sequence in one of three ways: • From the File menu (if you want to open a sequence from the current project) • From the Open Project dialog box (if you want to open a sequence from another project) • By double-clicking the sequence in the Avid Explorer 671 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences n Each time you start Avid DS Nitris, you can automatically load the last sequence on which you were working by selecting the Load Last Sequence at Startup option in the User Preferences dialog box. For more information, see “Setting User Preferences” on page 634. To open a sequence from the File menu: 1. Select File > Open > Sequence. If the sequence you are currently working on has not been saved, you are prompted to do so. 2. Click Yes to save the current sequence. The Load Sequence dialog box is displayed. 3. Browse through the folders and select a sequence. (All sequences are indicated by the sequence icon.) 4. Click OK or double-click the sequence to open it. To open a sequence from the Open Project dialog box: 1. Select File > Open > Project. If the sequence you are currently working on has not been saved, you are prompted to do so. 2. Click Yes to save the current sequence. The Open Project dialog box is displayed. 3. From the Select a Project box, select the project to which your sequence will belong. The Select a Sequence box displays all sequences that belong to this project. 4. From the Select a Sequence box, select a sequence and click the Open Sequence button. To open a sequence from the Avid Explorer: t 672 Double-click the sequence in the Avid Explorer. Opening Sequences Importing Sequences and Master Clips from Another Project If you need to use the same sequence or master clips in more than one project, you can import the sequence and/or master clips from one project to another (as long as that project is on a workstation in your workgroup). You then have the option of linking to the existing media or creating copies of the media. By creating a link to the media, the media is shared between the two projects, which saves space on your storage device. n If you import a sequence or master clips from a workstation in another Avid DS workgroup, you cannot link to or copy the media. You will have to recapture this media once the sequence/clip has been imported to your project. Importing of sequences is useful when there are one or more users in the workgroup that need to work on the same project. A project can only be opened by one user at a time. Therefore, if you need to work on a sequence within a project that is heavily used by other users, you should create a project on your own workstation, and then import the sequence into your project. Avid DS will automatically link to the media. When you have completed the sequence, you can import it back to the original project. n A shared storage device can be a storage area on your local workstation or anywhere on the network. The limitation with media sharing is that, unless you are connected to an Avid Unity™ system, the storage device may not have sufficient bandwidth to provide real-time access to the media for more than one user at a time. If you are not getting real-time playback on effects, you can either reprocess your effects or copy the media from the shared storage to your local storage. For more information, see “Copying Media” on page 1084. To import a sequence or master clips from another project: 1. In the Avid Explorer, locate and open the folder that contains the sequence or master clips you want to import. 2. Right-click the sequence or master clips and select Import to Current Project. The Sequence and Master Clip Import dialog box is displayed. 673 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences 3. Select an option: - Link to original media links the new sequence or master clips to the original media - Make new copies of media creates copies of the media at the locations you specify for the new video and audio media. 4. Click OK. A new folder is displayed in the current project folder, entitled “Imported from project projectname”, containing the sequence and master clip files. 674 Setting Sequence Preferences Setting Sequence Preferences Sequence preferences define the format and quality of the audio and video clips in your sequence. By default, the sequence preferences are inherited from the settings you created for the current project. During the course of building your sequence, you can switch your sequence preferences to work with video at a lower resolution, or with compression. Working at a lower resolution is useful when producing a rough cut of your sequence, because your clips are processed at a much faster rate. Working with compressed media lets you save storage space on your storage device. For more information, see “Working with Media of Different Qualities” on page 679. 675 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences For descriptions of all the options in this dialog box, click the Help button. To set the sequence preferences: 1. In the Video Settings box, select a video format from the Format list. When you select a video format other than Custom, Avid DS Nitris automatically sets frame rate, frame size, field dominance, aspect ratio, and pixel ratio based on the format you chose—see “Understanding Video Settings” on page 681. c These settings cannot be changed after you save your sequence preferences. 2. Set the Precision at which you want to process the effects in this sequence—see “About Bit Depth” on page 692. n The precision applies to all effects in the sequence but can be changed when you process effects individually. 3. Set the Timecode Start if other than 00:00:00:00. n If you select a drop-frame video format, such as NTSC, you have the option of displaying timecode as either drop frame or non-drop frame. This option only affects the timecode display and not the sequence frame rate. For more information, see “About Video Format” on page 682. 4. Set the number of Video, Background, and Audio tracks you will require in your sequence. 5. In the Storage Settings box, make a selection from the Resolution list. Setting it at Full resolution results in large, high-quality media and cache files, while lower resolutions result in smaller, lower-quality media and cache files—see “About Video Quality” on page 684. n 676 For film-based formats (2K or 4K). Use the Real-time Proxy resolution to play your effects in real-time while you’re editing. The Real-time Proxy resolution is actually HD resolution which is an excellent visual quality for editing your sequences, while giving you the efficiency of using lower resolution media. In this mode, playback is supported in the Viewer, but not in the external monitor. In addition, any RT effects will need to be processed. Setting Sequence Preferences n For HD formats. On some workstations where the processing power and bandwidth does not allow you to work with HD media at full resolution, you can work in quarter resolution mode to play your effects in real-time. On these workstations, there will be additional options for Quarter Resolution working mode. 6. Set the Color Space to be used for your media. The options you have available depend on your video format and resolution. 7. Set the Bit Depth to be used for your media. This is the default setting that will be used when storing your processed media. The bit depth capacity list varies depending on your resolution and color space settings. 8. Select one of the following options: - Uncompressed to work with media that is not compressed. - Compressed to work with compressed media. From the Preferred Ratio list, select a compression ratio that best suits your needs. 9. Since Avid DS Nitris supports multiple qualities for your video material, you can select the version of the captured/processed media that you want to use. For more information, see “Understanding Video Quality Matching” on page 686. Select one of the following options: - Use the closest media format available if it is not crucial that you have an exact video media match with your sequence preferences. If Avid DS Nitris cannot find an exact match, it finds and displays the closest alternative. - Display a “media not available” message if you only want to work with video media of a specific quality. Avid DS Nitris uses only the media that matches the selected resolution and compression settings. If it cannot find an exact match for both, a “Media Not Available” message is displayed in the viewer as you playback your clips. This serves as a good indicator when you’ve captured video that does not conform to your sequence preferences. 10. Select a Sample Rate for the audio in your sequence. The higher the sampling rate, the more accurate the audio—see “Understanding Audio Quality Matching” on page 690. 677 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences Audio quality defines the sample rate and bit depth at which an audio signal is captured. You can set the sample rate conversion quality, so that Avid DS Nitris can convert audio material that has a different sample rate than the current sequence. The higher the sample rate, the more accurate the digital representation of the signal. A higher sample rate, however, does use more disk space. n When you place audio clips on the timeline that contain different sampling rates than the current sequence, you are prompted to convert the clip to match the current sequence sampling rate. If you do not convert the clip, you will not have access to the audio media unless you change the sequence preferences. 11. Select a Bit Depth value from the list. The higher the value, the more precise the audio will be. 12. Drag the SR Conversion Quality slider in the direction of one of the following: - Fast to convert the sample rate quickly, but at a low quality. - High to preserve quality, but this setting takes longer to convert the sample rates. 13. Select Import audio into separate audio tracks to import a multi-stream audio file into single-stream files.This is especially important if you are going to share the audio file with another Avid editing system. For more information, click the Help button. 14. Click OK to save your settings. n 678 When working with sequences of custom formats with resolutions that are much greater than the standard video resolution, such as 2000×1500, a minimal amount of system memory (RAM) must be kept available at all times. Otherwise, you may notice significant slowdown when working on your system. Working with Media of Different Qualities Working with Media of Different Qualities The resolution that you set for your sequence controls the default resolution at which your media is processed (for example, for effects, transitions, layers, etc.) and also affects how media is displayed in the viewer and/or external monitor. n The Nitris DNA workstation supports Full and Real-time Proxy resolution. Half or Quarter resolution is available when working in an HD sequence on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only. Depending on your hardware, you can work in different resolutions and with compressed media at different ratios. This multi-quality feature lets you balance image quality and system performance during the different phases of your work. The working video settings (compression and resolution) determine the quality in which your media is displayed in the viewer, as well as the quality at which it is processed by Avid DS Nitris. You can change the video settings at any time if you want to display or process media at a different quality. n The video format cannot be changed once you create the sequence. The quality you choose to work with at any given time depends on the task at hand. Media can use up large amounts of disk space, and the higher the quality of the media, the more disk space is consumed. If you want to conserve disk space, you can do your rough cut on material captured at low resolution or in compressed form. When your sequence is ready for finishing, you can redigitize a specific clip, so that you can work at the quality at which you will be outputting. When you’re ready to output the entire sequence, you only need to recapture the portions of the master clips actually used in the sequence at full, uncompressed resolution before you output to tape. If you’re working with only compressed media, you can mix different compression ratios within a sequence. If you’re working with both compressed and uncompressed media, you may encounter circumstances where both cannot be used at the same time within the same sequence. 679 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences To change the sequence preferences: 1. Select File > Sequence Preferences. The settings that you chose for this sequence are displayed. For descriptions of all the options in this dialog box, click the Help button. 2. In the Processing box, select the Type of processing. This selection depends on the type of source material that you have—see “Processing in Fields versus Frames” on page 693. 3. Set the Precision at which you will process the video effects. 4. From the Conversion Mode box, select a mode for Presets and Media. From now on, when you place clips or sequences on the timeline, they will be converted using the mode you selected—see “Understanding the Working Conversion Mode” on page 693. n 680 You can still change the conversion mode for an individual clip on the timeline by right-clicking the clip and selecting Properties. Working with Media of Different Qualities 5. Set the video resolution, bit depth, and compression at which you will be capturing your media—see “About Video Quality” on page 684. 6. To change the audio settings, select the Audio tab. 7. From the Sample Rate Conversion box, select the Conversion on Drop option if you want to convert all sample rates imported into your sequence to the sample rate of the current sequence. 8. Drag the SR Conversion Quality slider in the direction of one of the following: - Fast to convert the sample rate quickly, but at a low quality. - High to preserve quality, but this setting takes longer to convert the sample rates. 9. Click OK to save the new settings. Understanding Video Settings Although Avid DS Nitris automatically sets the industry-standard video size and frame settings for the video format you choose, you may want to read about the various video settings, especially if you intend to work on a custom format. 681 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences About Video Format Video format refers to the size or aspect ratio of a picture frame. Depending on your hardware configuration, you can work in a variety of video formats, such as PAL D1, NTSC D1, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, or other custom formats. When you select a video format (other than Custom), Avid DS Nitris automatically sets the industry-standard video size and frame settings. Drop Frame versus Non-Drop Frame Some formats such as NTSC (the standard North American video format), may require a timecode adjustment if you are making a video that has to fill an exact time slot. NTSC video runs at 29.97 frames per second, and since timecode counts at 30 frames per second, it means that the timecode will gain on actual time at a rate of about 3.6 seconds per hour. Using non-drop timecode (which runs at 30 frames per second), will gradually differ from actual time. If you use drop frame timecode, however, it will make slight adjustments by skipping frame numbers periodically to keep the timecode synchronized with real time. Depending on your purpose, you may either keep the timecode synced with real time or count the frames exactly. It is important to understand that no frames in the video are actually dropped when you choose drop frame. The video is identical in both cases with only the timecode counter being modified. About Frame Size The frame size is the dimensions of a picture frame in Avid DS Nitris. These measurements are based on pixels. 720 486 An NTSC D1 4:3 image by default has a frame size of 720×486 pixels. A PAL D1 4:3 image, however, has a default frame size of 720×576 pixels. A 16:9 HD image can have a variety of frame sizes, such as 1920×1080 pixels or 1280×720 pixels. 682 Working with Media of Different Qualities About Pixel Ratio Aspect ratio is the numerical ratio of picture width to height. The standard aspect ratio for NTSC and PAL video and television is 4:3. For material shot on film or HD, 16:9 is the standard aspect ratio. You can also create nonstandard aspect ratios. Pixel ratio refers to the shape of one pixel. Different video standards have different pixel ratios. NTSC and PAL pixels have ratios of 0.9 and 1.07 respectively, while computer-generated image, typically have square pixels with a ratio of 1.0. Avid DS Nitris can compensate for different pixel ratios so that a captured image does not appear distorted. When you capture material from file, you must set the file’s pixel ratio, which tells Avid DS Nitris the original state of the material. For example, if you are importing a computer-generated image, set the pixel ratio to 1.0. About Field Dominance Video images are displayed half a frame at a time, where each half, referred to as a field, is comprised of alternate lines of video information (odd and even). The two fields are combined (interlaced) to form one frame. Even fields Odd fields Two fields are interlaced to form one frame Frames The order in which odd and even fields occur over time is referred to as field order or field dominance. With even field dominance, even fields come first. In odd field dominance, odd fields come first. With NTSC, the first field contains 683 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences all the odd numbered scan lines and the second field contains all the even. PAL is the opposite of NTSC in terms of field dominance. That is, field 1 contains all the even-numbered scan lines and field 2 contains all the odd lines. NTSC, PAL, and HD video material can either be interlaced or progressive, such as 1080i or 1080p. Interlaced video contains two fields, which make up every frame. Progressive video, however, creates full frames by scanning each line sequentially. As a result, field dominance is not an issue. When you need to invert your fields, you can apply the Field Invert effect. This is useful when retouching clips or creating paint animation and field-based rotoscopy. n If you drop a clip of a different frame rate on the timeline, it might not have the same field dominance as the current sequence. You can either apply the Field Invert effect to the clip, or if you already have a time effect on this clip, you might need to select the Invert Fields option in the effect’s property editor to compensate for the difference in field dominance. About Color Space Color space determines how the color components of the video signal are stored in Avid DS Nitris. There are three pixel formats available in Avid DS Nitris: YCbCr 4:2:2 (601), YCbCr 4:2:2 (709), and RGBA. Avid DS Nitris converts all imported material to the color space of the sequence. All material imported in RGBA color space uses 32 bits per pixel, even if you did not import the alpha channel. YCbCr 4:2:2 uses 16 bits/pixel and YCbCrA (YCbCr with alpha) 4:2:2 uses 24 bits/pixel. Cache media, created from processed effects, transitions, or composites, is treated the same way as source media. Some effects, however, require an internal conversion to RGBA. As a result, some banding may occur when you’re working with a YCbCr sequence with these effects. To solve this problem, you can apply the RGB-YCbCr Dither effect. For more information, see “Color Space Adjustment Effect” in the Help. About Video Quality Video media quality is determined by three factors: • 684 Resolution, which is the amount and degree of detail in a video image, Working with Media of Different Qualities • Compression, which is a technique used to reduce the amount of space necessary to store video data, and • Bit depth, which is the number of bits per pixel, per channel. The resolution of an image depends on the number of pixels in the image, and the bit-depth of each of those pixels. Naturally, the larger your image format, the higher the clarity of the image, and the larger the number bytes required for storage. For example: Format Size (in pixels) SD 720 x 576 720-HD 1280 x 720 1080-HD 1920 x 1080 2K Film 2048 x 1536 The resolution quality that you set in Avid DS Nitris (Full, Proxy, Half or Quarter), affects the size of the captured or processed media. The higher the resolution, the larger the media. Setting the resolution to ‘Half’, reduces the pixels along the width and the height by half. For instance, for 720-HD media, half resolution would be 640 x 360 pixels. Similarly, the higher the bit depth, the more tones (grayscale or color) that are available for storage, and more accurate color representation in the digital image. Higher bit depth also increases file size. When you’re performing a rough cut, you can increase throughput and limit storage requirements by working at low resolution. Later on in the editing process, you can use high-resolution media to obtain better results. Compression is a technique used to reduce the amount of space necessary to store video information. Compression keeps the same amount of pixels in the original image, but uses some form of encoding to lower the byte size of the media. Compressed data can suffer some loss or degradation from the original source (depending on whether you choose lossy- or lossless-type compression). 685 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences You can compress material at capture time to reduce the size of the media file. High compression is useful when you capture media for your initial edit. This lets you store large amounts of material using the least amount of storage space. After you’ve done a rough cut, you can purge the compressed media, and recapture the edited material with less or no compression. For more information, see “Working with Media of Different Qualities” on page 679. Understanding Video Quality Matching When you set your video storage sequence preferences, such as the working resolution, bit depth, compression, or sample rate, you defined the quality at which clips are previewed and processed. If a video clip was captured at a different quality than the option set in your sequence preferences, Avid DS Nitris can either: n • Display no media, or • Use the media which best approximates the resolution, compression ratio, bit depth, or audio sample rate. Quality matching is different for audio than it is for video—see “Understanding Audio Quality Matching” on page 690. Working with Exact Media Matches If you choose to display only the media that matches your sequence preferences, Avid DS Nitris looks for an exact match when the position indicator passes over the clip on the timeline. 1. Resolution: Checks if there is media captured or processed at the specified resolution. 2. Precision: For caches only. Checks if there are caches processed with the same precision as the sequence settings. 3. Aspect ratio: Checks if the aspect ratio matches that of the current sequence. 4. Frame rates: Verifies that the frame rates are identical. n Linked clips use the frame rate of the sequence. 5. Compression ratio: Checks if there is media captured or processed at the specified compression. For the purposes of quality matching, uncompressed media has a compression ratio of 1.0. 686 Working with Media of Different Qualities 6. Field dominance: Checks if the field dominances are compatible. For this criteria, the match does not have to be exact, since some media files, such as stills, can be tagged as having a field dominance of None. The matching criteria works as follows: Media Quality Field Dominance Sequence preference None Even Odd None Yes Yes Yes Even Yes Yes No Odd Yes No Yes 7. Image formats: Verifies if the following are identical: - Color space - Frame size - Pixel ratio - Bits per Channel (Number of bits used to encode a channel) 8. Compatible Resolution: Checks if the current hardware settings support real-time effects in this resolution. 9. Compression type and ratio: Checks if there is media captured with the same cache and at the same ratio than the sequence settings. 10. Only caches generated in Exact match mode are accepted in exact match (This restriction does not apply to media). The checks are done sequentially. If it finds video media that meets all the criteria, then the media is displayed in the viewer. If any one of the criteria fails, then the “Media Not Available” message is displayed in the viewer. Working with Closest Media Matches If you choose to display media that is closest to your sequence preferences, Avid DS Nitris first verifies that you have media that matches your frame rate. 687 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences 1. Frame rate: Verifies if the frame rate is identical, except for linked clips. If, after this search, no candidates are found, the “Media Not Available” message is displayed in the viewer. If more than one candidate is found, Avid DS Nitris uses the following criteria to determine which media file is a closer match and will be displayed: 2. Captured versus linked media: Captured media is considered a closer match than linked media. 3. Conversion needs: Media with an image format, size, resolution, compression, bit depth, or field dominance that does not need to be converted to match the preferences of the current sequence is a closer match than media that needs to be converted. 4. Compression: If the compression type or ratio of the two qualities are different, then a quality match will be based on criteria in the following order: - its codec type and ratio exactly matches those of the sequence. - its codec type is the same as the sequence but not its ratio. - its codec type can be read in real-time by the hardware. 5. Resolution width: If none of the candidates match the resolution width of the current sequence, then the media with the greater resolution width is the closest match. 6. Resolution height: If none of the candidates match the resolution height of the current sequence, then the media with the greater resolution height is the closest match. 7. Image format: Uses the exact or closest match. 8. Aspect ratio: Uses the closest match. - Width in square pixels: If none of the candidates have the same width as the current sequence, then the media with the greater width is determined to be a closer match. - Height in square pixels: If none of the candidates have the same height as the current sequence, then the media with the greater height is determined to be a closer match. 9. Bit depth: If none of the candidates has the same bit depth as the current sequence, then the one with the greatest bit depth is the closest match. 688 Working with Media of Different Qualities 10. Processing precision: For caches only. If none of the candidates has the same precision as the current sequence, then the one with the higher precision is preferred. Once it finds the candidate that is the closest match, Avid DS Nitris determines if it needs to convert the media to fit into the current sequence. The conversion method is based on the following properties: 1. Image format: If the image format is different than the current sequence, it will need to be converted. 2. Image size: If the image size is different than the current sequence size, it will need to be converted. 3. Resolution: If the resolution is different than the current sequence, it will need to be converted. 4. Field Dominance: If the field dominance is set to None, then no conversion is needed. Odd and even are incompatible, so a field conversion is required. The following table shows where conversion is required: Media Quality Field Dominance Sequence preference None Even Odd None No No No Even No No Yes Odd No Yes No 5. Compression: If the compression type is not hardware real-time playable, a conversion is needed. Quality Matching Example Here’s an example of video quality matching. Your sequence preferences have been set to: • 4:3 aspect ratio • Full resolution 689 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences • 4:1 compression • Use the closest media format available You have the following media available on disk: • Quality 1 – 4:3 aspect ratio, Full resolution, uncompressed • Quality 2 – 4:3 aspect ratio, Full resolution, 2:1 compression • Quality 3 – 4:3 aspect ratio, Full resolution, 3:1 compression • Quality 4 – 16:9 aspect ratio, Full resolution, 3:1 compression Using the quality matching formula in Avid DS Nitris: Step Discards Reason Step 1 None All media segments are at the same resolution. Step 2 None No match for compression ratio. Keeps all but notes that the smallest compression ratio will be the closest. Step 3 Quality 4 Does not match the aspect ratio. Between Quality 1, 2 and 3, Quality 1 is chosen because it is the least compressed of the three. n Processed media (caches) are also created based on the video resolution and compression settings. The same quality matching method is used to select the quality of the cache during playback. Understanding Audio Quality Matching An audio clip can have media at multiple sample rates, just like a video clip can have media at multiple resolutions, compression ratios, or aspect ratios. With audio, Avid DS Nitris first tries to play media that matches the sample rate set in your audio sequence preferences. If it doesn’t find such media, the audio tracks turn red and you’re prompted to convert the audio media to the sample rate of the current sequence. 690 Working with Media of Different Qualities If an exact audio media match is found, then that audio media is used. If more than one candidate meets this match, then Avid DS Nitris looks at the following criteria: 1. Captured versus linked media: Captured media is considered a closer match than linked media. 2. Bit Depth: If none of the candidates match the bit depth, media with a greater bit depth is the closest match. 691 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences Understanding the Processing Settings The media resolution, bit depth, compression, or sample rate that you set in your Sequence preferences define the quality at which clips are captured. During processing, you can use these same settings, or you can change them to process the captured media at a different resolution, bit depth, or compression. This is useful if you want to process your effects at a lower quality for preview purposes, and save on processing time. When your sequence is ready for finishing, you can change the settings back to a higher quality and reprocess the effects. About Bit Depth Bit depth is used to describe the number of bits used to store information about each pixel of an image. The higher the depth, the more colors that are available for storage and more accurate color representation in the digital image. In Avid DS Nitris, this is known as the Storage format bit depth, and is used when storing captured media and processed media (caches). Avid DS Nitris supports 8 or 10-bit storage bit depth for SD or HD nonCustom sequences, and up to 16 and 32-bit for film or custom sequences. The bit depth is also dependent on your resolution and color space settings. Setting the Processing Bit Depth Effects can be processed at 16 or 32-bit depth. This is known as Precision. Avid DS Nitris supports 8, 10, 16 or 32-bit media and caches. This Precision can be set for the individual effects that support these levels, or it can be set in your sequence preferences and applied globally to all effects that support these levels. For a list of 16 bit/32 bit float effects, see “Effects Supporting 16 or 32 Bits (Float) Processing” in the Help. c 692 Although Avid DS Nitris can support higher bit depths during processing, the caches may be stored at a lower bit depth depending on your resolution and color space settings. Note that, using a higher precision bit depth generates smoother effects during processing, and still produces better quality output even though the quality may be downgraded when storing the cache at the lower bit depth. Working with Media of Different Qualities Processing in Fields versus Frames When applying effects, you must decide whether to apply the effect to each frame or each field. This will usually depend on the type of source material you’re using. Knowing how your source material was created will play a role in determining how to process your effects. If processed incorrectly, you may notice unwanted jittering or unusual artifacts. • Field to convert the image to fields, which processes each field of your effects and graphics separately (using different property values if there is animation), and then reconverts the video information to frames to display the results. This option is better for animated effects, such as dissolves, fades, and motion paths. • Frame processes the entire frame (both fields together) using the same property values. Use this option with frame-based source material. Static graphics images, 30 fps film, and 30 fps CGI (computer-generated images) are some examples of frame-based material. Understanding the Working Conversion Mode Since Avid DS Nitris is resolution independent, you can work with media and sequences with different size and resolutions, all within the same sequence. When dealing with media of different formats, you can specify how Avid DS Nitris should handle the conversion. There are different situations in which media is converted: • When media is imported • When linking to media from within a sequence • When using media of different formats than the current sequence When you digitize or import media, it is digitized according to the video sequence preferences or capture settings—see “Understanding Video Settings” on page 681. Since the scale/pan settings applied to the media are fixed, you cannot change these settings when you recapture the media. 693 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences In the second and third cases, you’re dealing with how clips are converted when they’re placed on the timeline. The conversion mode you select determines how clips and sequences of different resolutions are displayed when they’re placed on the timeline. You can set the conversion mode in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. n The clips that are already on the timeline will not be affected. Only clips placed on the timeline after the sequence preferences are changed will be converted. You can also set the conversion mode for each clip individually using the conversion mode settings in the Clip Properties property page. This overrides the conversion mode in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. As previously explained, when you place a clip on the timeline which has a different resolution than the current sequence, the image will be converted using the method you set in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. However, when you place a sequence on the timeline, the conversion becomes a little more complicated, since you may be dealing with various resolutions within that sequence. Avid DS Nitris treats the clips within that sequence as a single unit in order to preserve the relationship between the clips. By doing so, Avid DS Nitris ensures that the ratio between each clip remains the same. Once the clips are grouped together, Avid DS Nitris uses the conversion mode you set in the Sequence Preferences dialog box to convert all the clips as a single unit. n If your clip is converted more than once, it can’t be assigned one of the defined conversion modes. Instead, a separate conversion mode called “Multiple Conversions” is used to specify that the clip has been converted multiple times. When you insert a sequence within another sequence, you can always override the current sequence preference conversion mode by modifying each clip’s conversion mode individually in the Clip Properties property editor. Only the clip whose conversion mode you modified will be affected. All other clips will remain as they are. n 694 If you use a sequence that has processed effects within another sequence, the caches will remain valid as long as both sequences have the same settings. If, however, you change the conversion mode, you must process the effects again. Working with Media of Different Qualities The following table summarizes how each item is converted in Avid DS Nitris: Items Media conversion treatment Captured clip Frame size, at the time of capture, is scaled and panned to the current sequence size Linked clip Image size is scaled and panned to the current sequence size Sequence Sequence size is scaled and panned to the current sequence size Example The following is an example of how a sequence, which contains linked images of various resolutions, is converted when inserted into a sequence that has a different resolution. Sequence A is an NTSC D1 sequence at 720 × 486 resolution. It contains the following images: Image 1: 1440×972 linked image set to Scale to Fit. Image 2: 300×300 linked image set to Keep Original Size and Position. Image 3: 1000×1000 linked image set to Center, Keep Original Size. Sequence B is a custom sequence at 360 × 243 resolution. The conversion mode in the Sequence Preferences dialog box is set to Center, Keep Original Size. When you place sequence A into sequence B, the following occurs (the original frame size of sequence A is outlined in white): 695 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences The clips are grouped together and treated as a single unit. Since image 1 was centered in the original sequence, it will remain centered in the new sequence. Since sequence B has a smaller resolution, the image just fills up more of the viewer. This clip has been converted in both sequences, so its conversion mode will be set to Multiple Conversions. Image 2 was not centered in the original sequence, so in this sequence, the star gets cut out of the viewer. Since the original linked clip was set to Keep Original Size and Position, it has only been converted once and its conversion mode will be set to that of the current sequence. Since image 3 was centered in the original sequence, it remains centered. Because the circle is so large, it fills the entire viewer. This clip has been converted in both sequences, so its conversion mode will be set to Multiple Conversions. If you change the conversion mode in the Sequence Preferences to Scale to Fit, and place sequence A into sequence B again, the following occurs: If you compare these images with the images in the original sequence, they will be exactly the same, except smaller. Since the images are grouped together as a sequence, the individual images are not scaled to fit the resolution of the current sequence. Instead, the whole sequence is scaled down to fit the new sequence resolution, which, in this case, produces a smaller version of the original sequence. You can then go into the Clip Properties property page and change the conversion mode for each clip individually. 696 Working with Media of Different Qualities When applying a conversion mode to a clip individually, the original sequence settings are ignored and Avid DS Nitris refers back to the original image. For example, the conversion mode for image 1 was set to Keep Original Size and Position. Notice how the displayed image is the 1440×972 clip. If Avid DS Nitris had referred back to the original sequence, then the clip would have been displayed at 720×486 resolution. After changing the conversion mode of an individual clip, you can always change it back to its original setting. To change the conversion mode of individual clips: 1. Right-click a clip and select Properties. 2. In the property editor, change the Conversion Mode. n Tip: To change the conversion mode of multiple clips, press Ctrl and select additional clips. Now change the Conversion Mode in the property editor and it will apply to all the selected clips. 697 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences Saving Sequences When you save a sequence, you are saving the contents of the timeline. Any clips, container clips, transitions, caches, effects, and edit markers are saved with the sequence. It is good practice to save your sequences at regular intervals, or when you have completed an important part of your work. The first time you save a sequence, all information related to the sequence is saved. However, the next time you save the sequence, only the modifications to the sequence are saved, so it takes less time. n You can also create a crash recovery file for your current sequence at regular intervals. This lets you recover the latest work on your sequence in the event of a system failure. For more information, see “User Preferences Dialog Box” in the Help. To save a sequence for the first time: 1. Select File > Save. The Save Sequence dialog box is displayed. 2. Use the Avid Explorer tools to navigate to the folder in which you want to save the sequence. 3. Type in a name for your sequence in the File Name text box and click OK. The sequence is saved and a sequence icon with the sequence name is displayed in the Avid Explorer. You can now continue editing or close the current sequence, and begin work on a new sequence or project. To save an existing sequence: t Select File > Save. The existing sequence is overwritten. The sequence is saved and a sequence icon with the sequence name is displayed in the Avid Explorer. You can now continue editing or close the current sequence, and begin work on a new sequence or project. 698 Saving Sequences Creating a Copy of a Sequence You can save different versions of a sequence in a project folder. If, for example, you’ve been hired to create a series of spots for a client, you create a project that is completely contained in a single folder. Inside that folder, you create a number of subfolders to store elements, such as master clips, presets, mattes, and backgrounds. Inside that project, you create a sequence for the first spot by dragging clips to the timeline, and saving the sequence in your project folder. For the second spot, make a copy of the sequence calling it “Scene 2 (Take 2)”, and make the necessary adjustments. Continue to do the same for each of the spots. To save a copy of a sequence: 1. Select File > Save As. 2. Type a new name for the sequence. The sequence is saved. You can now make the necessary edits to this sequence. n Another way to create versions of your sequence is by selecting the sequence in the Avid Explorer, pressing the Ctrl key, and dragging the file to an empty area of the folder. Copying the sequence in the Avid Explorer takes less time than creating a copy with the Save As command. 699 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences Searching for Sequences Large projects can contain many sequences and even more master clips. Although you can use the Avid Explorer to find a particular sequence or clip, it can be more efficient to search for sequences and master clips using the Clip Search tool. The Clip Search tool lets you search for master clips or sequences within your current project. You can do searches by source, file name, or file properties. All clips found in the search appear in the clip tray. To search for sequences or master clips: 1. Select View > Single-Instance Views > Clip Search. The Clip Search dialog box is displayed. 2. Select the Master Clips and/or Sequences option(s) to search for one, the other, or both. 3. To search by: 700 Searching for Sequences - Source: Select a tape source name or file from the Referencing the Following Source list and click Go. - File name: Type the file name in the With Name Containing text box and click Go. - File property: Select an attribute from the list, either Contains or Equals, type the text you are searching for in the text box, and click Go. The clips and/or sequences found in your search are displayed in the clip tray. n You can only perform a clip or sequence search using one filter option at a time. For detailed information on the Clip Search dialog box, click Help. 701 Chapter 2 Working with Sequences Deleting Sequences If you no longer require a sequence, you can create an archive of the project in which it resides (see “Archiving Projects” on page 1093) or delete the sequence from the project. Be careful when you delete a sequence, because deleting a sequence can also delete media, depending on the option that you choose. To delete a sequence: t In an Avid Explorer bin, right-click a sequence that is not currently open and select one of the following: - Delete Clip & Unused Media: Deletes the selected sequence and its associated media if the media is not used by a master clip or another sequence. This option deletes cache media that is used only by the sequence. - Delete Clip & All Media: Deletes the selected sequence and its associated media even if the media is used elsewhere. Although this is a quick way to create more disk space on your drive, it can be risky. You should only do this when you’re absolutely sure that you no longer need the sequence’s cache media and master clips. A dialog box asks you to confirm the deletion. Click Yes. n 702 Selecting the Delete option under the Windows section of the menu or pressing the Delete key deletes the selected sequence but does not delete the associated media. Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut This chapter describes how to perform basic editing tasks, such as preparing source clips, arranging clips on the timeline, and synchronizing clips to create a rough cut. • Workflow: Editing Audio and Video • Creating Sequences • Marking In and Out-points on the Timeline • Displaying Timecodes • Viewing a Sequence as a Hieracharical Tree Structure • Playing Sequences • Manipulating Clips • Using Locators • Finding Frames, Clips, and Bins • Extracting Parts of a Sequence • Grabbing Frames • Rippling Clips • Synchronizing Clips • Referencing Sequences Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Workflow: Editing Audio and Video Editing is the process of assembling audio and video clips on the timeline, creating transitions between these clips, and synchronizing the sound with the images. Because the timeline is an integral part of the editing process, it is found in many of the layouts. The tasks in this chapter focus on the timeline and how to use it with other tools to edit your media. All editing tasks are based on what you select. Each time you make a selection on the timeline, the Record viewer, timecode boxes, and tool panels are updated to give you information on the selected object. The following illustration shows how you can build and edit a sequence in Avid DS Nitris. 704 Workflow: Editing Audio and Video 1 Locate and prepare media for editing. 2 Preview and trim your source media in the Source viewer. 3 Place clips on the timeline. Create a rough cut of your sequence by dragging clips to the timeline. 4 Manipulate clips. Move, trim, slip, slide, and nest clips on the timeline. 5 Apply transitions. Create cuts, wipes, dissolves, crossfades, and DVE-type transitions. 705 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut 6 Synchronize audio with video. Synchronize video or audio events by using locators. 7 Process the sequence. Process all transitions and container clips in the sequence to play the results in real time. Click Process button. 706 Creating Sequences Creating Sequences A sequence is an arrangement of clips on the timeline. It contains information about edit decisions, applied graphics and effects, animation settings, and working preferences. Before constructing your sequence, it’s important to realize that the edits you make to clips are non-destructive. That is, you’re not actually editing the source media. The clips that you see in the bin and on the timeline are simply references to the media on the storage device. Setting up your sequence involves previewing and editing source clips, and then placing them on the timeline. The quickest way to create your rough cut is to place clips directly on the timeline. You can, however, preview your source clips to set new in and out-points before placing them on the timeline. You may also want to bring in a project from an offline environment into Avid DS Nitris. You can import an AFE, AAF, Open Media Framework® (OMF®), or Edit Decision List (EDL) file into the Avid Explorer as logged clips, or onto the timeline as a sequence. For more information, see “Conforming AFE Files” and “Conforming OMF, EDL, and ALE Files” in the Help, or “Conforming with EDL Files”. Preparing Source Clips for Editing Before you place a clip on the timeline, you can prepare it in the Source viewer. If a single viewer is displayed, and you drag a clip to the viewer, it changes into a dual viewer that displays the Source and Record viewers. The Source viewer lets you view and edit source clips. To move a clip to the Source viewer: t Drag a clip from a bin to the Source viewer. 707 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Bin Source viewer Clip The source clip is displayed in the Source viewer. The Record viewer displays the frame (if any) at the current location of the position indicator on the timeline. This lets you compare a source clip with the clip on the timeline where it will be inserted. For more information, see “Source and Record Viewers” in the Help. Source viewer: Frame at position of position indicator on source clip. Transport controls 708 Record viewer: Frame at position of position indicator on timeline. Creating Sequences Each viewer has its own set of controls for manipulating the source clips, timeline clips, or material on an external device. The controls under the Source viewer help you prepare source clips before inserting them on the timeline. You can continuously cue and mark your source material without affecting the sequence. For an overview of all the controls in the Source viewer, see “Transport Controls” in the Help. After marking the appropriate in and out-points on the source clip, use the Record viewer to locate the frame (in your sequence) on which the new clip is to be inserted. You can also decide whether or not to use all the channels of the source clip, and on which track you want to place the clip. For more information, see “Patching Tracks” on page 718. After the clip has been placed on the timeline, you can continue working in dual viewer mode or use a single viewer to display only the clips on the timeline. Editing Source Clips You can place master clips, container clips, or sequences in the Source viewer for previewing. This lets you cue or mark new in and out-points on the source clip, and then insert, overwrite, replace, or fit-to-fill clips on the timeline with it. In-point Position indicator Out-point Position bar Timecode box Mark In-point Play Mark Out-point To edit a clip for use in your sequence: 1. Click Play below the Source viewer to play the source clip. 2. Click one of the following: 709 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut t t t Mark In button when the position indicator reaches the desired inpoint. Mark Out button at the desired out-point. Type a timecode in the I (in) or O (out) timecode box and click the I or O button. An in-point or out-point is displayed in the position bar. If you need to adjust these points, drag them to a new location. 3. Click Play again to stop playing the clip. 4. You can now place the clip directly on the timeline—see “Placing Preedited Clips on the Timeline” on page 715. Creating Subclips Instead of placing the marked clip on the timeline, you can first create a subclip from it. This leaves the original clip untouched while a copy of the original clip with new in and out-points is saved in a bin. The Capture Target option of the Capture Settings dialog box specifies the location for the new subclip, see “Media Capture Settings” in the Help. Unlike master clips, subclips do not directly reference the original media. Subclips remain linked to the master clips from which they were created, and the master clips in turn reference the digitized media files located on your storage drives. As a result, none of the original footage is lost. To create a subclip: 1. Verify the target location for the subclip, by doing the following: a. In the Avid Explorer toolbar, click the Capture Settings button. The Capture Settings dialog box is displayed. b. In the Media Capture panel, verify the Capture Target settings and modify if needed. 2. Load a clip in the Source viewer. 3. On the position bar below the Source viewer, reposition the in and/or outpoints of a clip. 4. Place the position indicator on the frame you want to display in the bin. 5. Click the Create Subclip button. 6. In the Create Subclip dialog box, type a name for the subclip. 710 Creating Sequences n You can use the default name, which is the parent clip name appended with a number, such as RealClip - 001. 7. Click OK. The new clip is created and saved in the target bin. n The source clip maintains its original in and out-points. To change the frame of the subclip displayed in the bin: 1. Open the subclip in the Source viewer. 2. Go to the frame you want to display. 3. Click the Update Thumbnail button to change the thumbnail frame of the subclip. Switching Between the Source and Record Timeline The Source timeline lets you see the timeline of the clip or sequence that is in the Source viewer. While viewing the Source timeline, you can place in and out-points, and zoom, pan and navigate the timeline. You cannot, however, do any editing on the Source timeline. To view the Source timeline: t With a clip or sequence in the Source viewer, click the Toggle Source/Record Timeline button on the timeline navigation bar. The Source timeline is displayed and the Toggle Source/Record Timeline button turns green, as well as the position indicator. To return to the Record timeline: t Click the Toggle Source/Record Timeline button again. To automatically switch between the Source and Record timeline: t Right-click the Toggle Source/Record Timeline button and select Auto. Selecting the Source viewer displays the Source timeline. Selecting the Record viewer displays the Record timeline. 711 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Placing Clips on the Timeline The timeline is where you place and edit clips to build a sequence. You can create any number of audio and video tracks on the timeline, and place clips anywhere on these tracks. While working with multiple tracks, you can use the Track selector to select, manipulate, delete, ripple, patch, and monitor your tracks. You can use multiple tracks to layer audio effects and sound, or to add video titles and other effects. n Before editing your clips, you can customize the timeline to suit your work by changing the settings to show, hide, or minimize some display areas. You can also change the ruler’s time scale to display other time formats, including drop frame, non-drop frame, and frame numbers. For more information, see “Timeline” in the Help. Dragging and dropping clips onto the timeline overwrites frames of existing clips. A clip cannot be placed on a track if the clip completely covers, or is completely covered by, another clip. However, if you activate the Ripple mode on the timeline, then clips are inserted at the timecode at which they are dropped. Existing clips are moved down the timeline to accommodate the inserted clip. n You can only place clips on selected tracks. When you drag a clip from a bin to the timeline, the move cursor is displayed. As you drag over the timeline, a shadow is displayed to indicate the section where the clip will be placed. The move cursor Clip shadow Clips assume activeness when you place them on the timeline. Activeness refers to the sections of a clip that can be used in the final sequence. These active frames are indicated by an activeness bar below a clip. Not all active 712 Creating Sequences clips in a sequence are included when you play the final sequence. Whether an active clip plays in a sequence or not depends on the position of the clip on the timeline and the track selector settings. The behavior of clip activeness varies between audio, video, and background tracks. • Background tracks: Only one video clip can be active at any given time. • Video tracks: Multiple video clips can be active at the same time. The clips on the top tracks play on top of clips on the lower tracks. The effects and video clips with full-screen alpha clips placed on top tracks are composited over the active clips on the lower tracks. • Audio tracks: All active audio clips play back. This lets you play multiple audio streams at the same time. For more information, see “Changing the Activeness of Clips” on page 769. Activeness bars Video clips can be placed only on video tracks and background tracks, and audio clips only on audio tracks. When a clip with synchronized video and audio components is placed on the timeline, the video and audio are placed as separate clips on the audio and video or background tracks. Same Track versus Multi-track Editing Although you can easily place all your video clips on a single video track, working on multiple video tracks gives you more flexibility when editing. You can use video tracks to layer effects. When clips are active, the clips on the top video tracks play over the clips on the lower tracks. Any effects and video clips with full-screen alpha clips placed on the top video tracks are composited over the active clips on the lower tracks. 713 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut The active frames and position on the timeline determine the sequence of events. For example, you can place shots taken with different cameras on separate tracks. You can then easily switch the view from one camera to another by activating and deactivating clips. For more information, see “Cutting to a Clip” on page 908. The following example shows how the same sequence is produced on one video track and on multiple video tracks. The activeness bars in both scenarios indicate which frames are used in the sequence. However, when working with multiple tracks, the activeness of clips on the top tracks indicate the frames used. In both scenarios, the same frames on the clips are used. Same-track editing: Clip is added to the same track. Before After Multi-track editing: Clip is added to a new track. Before New track After Frames not displayed during playback. When you place clips on multiple tracks, you can reveal extra frames while editing. This is especially useful when you want to see how many frames are available for slipping or sliding. For more information, see “Revealing Unused Material on Clips” on page 768. n 714 When working with audio, placing your audio clips on different tracks lets you play multiple audio streams simultaneously. Creating Sequences Placing Multiple Clips on the Timeline You can select multiple clips from a bin and drag them to the timeline or timeline ribbon for editing. This is a quick way to edit several clips together. For example, if you previously classified material by scene number, you can quickly sort clips by scene number and then drag them all to the timeline. Clips are placed on the timeline in the order in which you selected them. When you select all the clips in a bin, they appear in the order in which they were sorted. To place multiple clips on the timeline: 1. In a bin, do one of the following: t To select clips randomly, hold down the Ctrl key and click any clips that you want to select. t To select clips sequentially, click the first clip and hold down the Shift key and click the last clip that you want to select. t To select multiple clips, drag over a region in the bin. 2. Drag the selected clips to the timeline. Placing Pre-edited Clips on the Timeline If you’ve previewed and edited your source clip in the Source viewer, there are different ways to place the clip on the timeline. You can manually drag it to the timeline, or use the Overwrite, Insert, or Replace buttons. n The following instructions apply only when the Ripple button is deactivated on the tracks. For more information, see “Rippling Clips” on page 793. To drag a clip to the timeline: 1. Mark an in and/or out-point on the timeline—see “Marking In and Outpoints on the Timeline” on page 732. 2. Click the Source viewer and drag the clip to a track on the timeline, moving it close to the in-point. t To insert the clip, hold down the V key. t To overwrite the existing clips, hold down the B key. The magnetism of the in-point automatically draws the clip to the marked timecode. 715 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut t n To align the clip’s source timecode with the source timecode of a clip on the timeline, hold down the U key. The Autoswitch command on the Trim Mode menu must be deselected before you can drag a clip from the Source viewer to the timeline. When you drag a clip to a video or audio track, the clip becomes active. When you drag a clip to a background track, the clip becomes active only in areas where there are no other active clips. The following illustration shows a clip being dragged to a background track. Background tracks Inserted clip Before 716 After Creating Sequences If you want to perform three-point editing, set both an in-point and out-point on the timeline. As a general rule, the in-point and out-point on the timeline determine the amount of space inserted into the sequence. For example, if the clip is longer than the marked region on the timeline, the out-point of the clip is trimmed to fit the specified duration. If the clip is shorter than the marked region on the timeline, a gap is added in areas not covered by the inserted clip. The following illustration shows a clip being placed between marked points on the timeline. In-point Out-point To insert or overwrite a clip on the timeline: 1. Mark an in-point at the timecode where you want to place your clip. 2. If you want to edit source audio or video onto a track other than the parallel track displayed in the Track selector, see “Patching Tracks” on page 718. 3. Click one of the following buttons: t Overwrite Clip to place the clip at the in-point and overwrite any existing clips over the section that it covers. Inserted clip 717 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut t Insert Clip to place the clip at the in-point and ripple all subsequent clips on the timeline. The clip that is inserted on the timeline becomes active regardless of other active clips on the timeline. Inserted clip t n Fit to Fill to size the clip to fit perfectly between the marked in and out-points on the timeline. To use this option, you must also have specific in and out-points marked on the clip. If the clip is longer or shorter than the marked region on the timeline, the clip is placed in a timewarp container clip and stretched or shortened accordingly. This speeds up or slows down the action in the clip. To replace a clip on the timeline: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Select a clip on the timeline. 3. If you want to edit source audio or video onto a track other than the parallel track displayed in the Track selector, see “Patching Tracks” on page 718. 4. Click the Replace Clip button to overwrite the selected clip with the one that is currently in the Source viewer. Patching Tracks When working with multiple tracks, you can encounter a circumstance where you must edit source audio or video onto a track other than the parallel track displayed in the Track selector. To edit the source material onto another record track above or below it, you must patch the source track to the targeted record track. You can perform only one patch per edit, but there is no limit on the number of times you can patch from the same source track. Audio can patch only to audio tracks, and video only to video or background tracks. 718 Creating Sequences To perform a patch: t In the Track selector, drag from a source track (audio or video) to the targeted record track (a black line is displayed during the patch). Patching V1 source track to V2 record track. After patching tracks. The selected source track moves beside the record track to which it is patched. The patched track remains selected in preparation for your edit. Placing Video Clips on the Timeline A video clip can consist of live action, graphics, animation, or imported images. You can place video clips on video tracks or background tracks. Placing clips on the video tracks lets you composite over other clips on the tracks below it. Active clips on video tracks are composited in the order in which the video tracks appear on the timeline. For more information, see “Placing Clips on the Timeline” on page 712. As you drag video clips to background tracks, the clips detect areas that are occupied, so that you don’t overwrite clips that have already been positioned in time. To place a video clip on the timeline: 1. Mark an in and/or out-point on the timeline—see “Marking In and Outpoints on the Timeline” on page 732. 2. Drag a clip from a bin or Source viewer to the timeline ribbon, video track, or background track on the timeline, and align it close to the inpoint. A shadow is displayed on the timeline to indicate the area where your clip will be placed. The magnetism of the clip is attracted to other objects in close proximity. This helps you align clips with other clips, in-point, or out-points. 719 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut n To temporarily deactivate magnetism, hold down the Shift key as you drag an object. 3. If you’re satisfied with the location, release the clip. The clip is automatically placed on the timeline and becomes active. If the video clip is placed on a background track, then the video clip is only active on areas where there are no other active clips on background tracks. n You can also insert or overwrite clips on your tracks and specify the track on which to place a clip. To do this, right-click a clip and drag it from the bin to any video track. This opens the Track Router dialog box from which you can select a video or background track. When you place a clip on the timeline, the in-point moves to the end of the clip. The out-point (if any) is deleted. n You can display the unused frames of the clip by right-clicking on the overview area and selecting Display > Display Unused Material before placing the clip on the timeline. The following illustration shows the timeline after a video clip is added to a video track. The inserted clip shows unused material. Unused frames Active frames Inserted clip Placing Audio Clips on the Timeline Audio clips are the sound portion of your sequence. They contain material like sound effects, music, and dialogue. When you place an audio clip on an empty timeline, an activeness bar is automatically displayed under the audio clip. Multiple audio clips can be active at the same time span, as long as they’re on different tracks. 720 Creating Sequences n Audio clips that do not have the sample rate specified in the user preferences can still be placed on the timeline. However, you will not be able to hear the clips until you recapture the audio material at the proper sampling rate. For more information, see “Converting the Audio Sample Rate” on page 1051. The following table lists the audio clip types and the channels contained with each type of audio clip, depending on how many audio channels the audio clip has. This type of audio clip... Contains these audio channels Mono A single audio channel Stereo Two audio channels: Left and right Quadraphonic Four audio channels: Left, right, left rear, and right rear LCRS Four audio channels: Left, right, center, and surround 4 streams Four generic audio channels: Output 1, output 2, output 3, and output 4 5.1 Six audio channels: Left, right, center, LFE, left surround, and right surround 6.1 Seven audio channels: Left, right, center, LFE, surround center, side left, and side right 7.1 Eight audio channels: Left, right, center, LFE, left surround, right surround, left center, and right center 8 streams Eight generic audio channels: Output 1 to 8 When you place an audio clip on the timeline, it generates a waveform to display the audio channels. Each channel has a distinct waveform. For example, a mono clip has a single waveform, a stereo clip has two waveforms, and an 8-stream clip has eight. Each waveform has a zero line running through the middle. 721 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut A mono audio clip zero line A stereo audio clip Like audio clips, audio tracks can also be mono, stereo, quadraphonic, LCRS, 4 streams, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, or 8 streams. You can place any kind of audio clip on any kind of audio track. For information, see “Track Property Editor” in the Help. If the clip and the track are not the same type: t The clip is yellow to indicate that the clip and track formats do not match. t The clip’s audio channels are assigned to the track’s audio channels, as much as possible. For example, if you place a stereo clip on an 8-stream track, the stereo clip’s two audio channels will be assigned to the first two audio channels in the 8stream track. Conversely, if you place an 8-stream clip on a stereo track, the 8stream clip’s first two audio channels will be assigned to the stereo track’s two channels, while the other six channels in the 8-stream clip are ignored. You can adjust the way that a clip’s audio channels occupy a track’s audio channels in the mixer. For more information, see “Adjusting the Mixer Outputs” on page 1045. n 722 You can also mix different audio signals by creating an audio container clip. Audio container clips let you group several audio clips, mix them together, and treat them as a single clip on the top or parent timeline. For more information, see “Creating an Audio Container Clip” on page 920. Creating Sequences To place an audio clip on the timeline: 1. Optional. Mark an in and/or out-point on the timeline—see “Marking In and Out-points on the Timeline” on page 732. 2. Drag a clip from a bin or Source viewer to the timeline ribbon or audio track on the timeline, and align it close to the in-point. n If you want to select a specific track on which to place the clip, right-click the clip and drag it from a bin to any of the audio tracks on the timeline. This opens the Track Router dialog box from which you can select an audio track. A shadow is displayed on the timeline to indicate the area where your clip will be placed. The magnetism of the clip is attracted to other objects in close proximity. This helps you align clips with other clips, in-points, or out-points. n To temporarily deactivate magnetism, press Shift as you drag an object. 3. If you’re satisfied with the location, release the clip. The clip is automatically placed on an audio track on the timeline and becomes active even where there are existing audio clips because you can play multiple audio tracks simultaneously. When you place a clip on the timeline, the in-point moves to the end of the clip. The out-point (if any) is deleted. Audio clips can be active simultaneously. Placing Clips of Different Frame Rates on the Timeline You can drop a clip on the timeline even if it has a different frame rate than that of the current sequence. When you place the clip on the timeline, a red highlight appears in the timeline ribbon indicating that the clip must be processed. When you process the clip, new media is created at the frame rate of the current sequence. n You cannot recapture clips that were originally captured at one frame rate and then converted to a different frame rate. To place a video clip of a different frame rate on the timeline: t Drag the clip from a bin to the timeline ribbon, video track, or background track on the timeline. 723 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut - n If you press the F key while dragging the clip, it will force a frame to frame mapping to the current sequence frame rate. This does not convert the frame rate but it will result in a change of the clip’s duration. You can add a timewarp effect to regain the original duration. If you drop a clip of a different frame rate on the timeline, it might not have the same field dominance as the current sequence. Therefore, if you apply a time effect on this clip, you might need to invert the fields to compensate for the difference in field dominance. This can be done by clicking the Invert Fields button in the corresponding effect’s property editor. Placing Clips on the Timeline Using Sync Point Editing Sync point editing lets you overwrite or insert material onto your sequence in such a way that a particular point in the source material is in sync with a particular point in the sequence. For example, you can sync an action in the source video with an audio event such as a musical beat in the sequence, and then edit it so that the action occurs on the beat. Sync point editing uses the relative location of the position indicator in both the source and record material as the sync point. Sync point editing determines the duration of the new edit according to marks that you set. You can apply these marks across multiple tracks when marking a sequence. This lets you add overlap cuts. Sync point editing requires two pieces of information: • Sync points: These are the points where the synchronized relationship between the source and record material is established. • Duration of the relationship: This is determined by the positions of the head and tail frames (and sometimes by the position indicator). Both marks can be in one monitor, or one mark can be in one monitor and the other mark in the other monitor. The duration of the material being edited into the sequence must be sufficient for the size of the edit. To perform a sync point edit: 1. Load a clip or sequence into the Source viewer. 2. Load a sequence into the Record viewer. 3. Mark the material, do one of the following: 724 Creating Sequences t Mark in and out points in either the Source or Record viewer, leaving the opposite monitor clear of marks. t Mark an in or out-point in the Source viewer, or an in or out-point in the Record viewer. For example, if you marked an in-point in the Source viewer, mark the out-point in the Record viewer. 4. Move the source position indicator to the sync frame in the clip. This establishes the source sync point. 5. Move the record position indicator to the sync frame in the sequence. 6. Click the Sync Point Editing button to active sync point editing. 7. Select the source and record tracks for this edit. 8. Do one of the following: t Click the Overwrite Clip button to overwrite any existing marked material on the timeline. t Click the Insert Clip button to place the clip in the sequence an ripple all subsequent clips on the timeline. t Click the Replace Clip button to overwrite the selected clip on the timeline. The sync point edit is complete. To turn off sync point editing: t Click the Sync Point Editing button. Working on the Tracks There are three types of tracks on the timeline: • Audio tracks contain the audio clips and audio container clips of a sequence. • Video tracks contain the video clips and container clips that are composited over clips on the video and background tracks. • Background tracks contain the video clips and background/composite container clips of a sequence. While working with multiple tracks, you can use the Track selector to select, manipulate, delete, ripple, patch, and monitor the tracks. You can use multiple tracks to layer audio effects and sound, or to add video titles and other effects. 725 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut You can change track properties, such as the track name or the level of detail at which clips are displayed on a track. By default, tracks are numbered sequentially (V1, V2, A1, A2, and so on) as they are created on the timeline. You can also scroll and adjust the heights of tracks. Overview area Timeline controls Ruler Timeline ribbon Timeline effect track ripple Timeline effect track Video tracks Track selector Background track Audio track Timeline navigation bar Position Indicator Timecode boxes For more information, see “Track Selector” in the Help. To show or hide the Track selector: t Right-click the overview area and select Display > Display Control Area. Selecting Tracks You can select one or more tracks at the same time. When you select a track, you can perform editing operations on the entire track. For example, you can select two tracks and apply a track-based effect by clicking Video Effect from the toolbar and choosing an effect from the pop-up menu. This effect will be applied over all the clips on the selected tracks. To select a track: t Track button From the Track selector, click the Track button. The Track button for the selected track is highlighted. To deselect a track: t 726 From the Track selector, click the Track button of a selected track. Creating Sequences n You can also activate and deactivate tracks by right-clicking a track and selecting Live Track. To select a region on multiple tracks: 1. Drag over a section of the track to select a region. 2. Hold down the Ctrl key and click another track. The region is highlighted on all selected tracks. Adding and Deleting Tracks You can add any number of audio, video, or background tracks to the timeline. Video tracks are added to the top of the timeline, and audio tracks are added to the bottom of the timeline. Background tracks are inserted between the audio and video tracks. You can also delete tracks that are no longer required in the sequence. To insert a track on the timeline: t Right-click the overview area and select Create Audio Track, Create Video Track, or Create Background Track. An empty track is added to the timeline. n Tip: You can automatically insert a track when dragging a clip from a bin to the timeline. Simply drag the clip to the timeline ribbon. To remove a track from the timeline: t Right-click an empty area of the track and select Delete Track. The selected track and all the clips on it are deleted from the timeline. Reordering Tracks You can change the order of the video, audio, and background tracks. You cannot, however, place a video track below a background track. Track button To reorder tracks: t Drag the Track button to a new location. 727 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Setting the Track Height You can enlarge or reduce the height of the tracks to improve visibility and display more information within the tracks. You can reduce the track height if you need more space on the timeline to view other tracks. n Reducing the track height may hide any effects you have applied on the timeline. To enlarge or reduce the height of tracks: t Press Ctrl and drag the line between the Track buttons to change the height of the track above the line. Height adjustment Scrolling Tracks As you add more tracks, the tracks at the bottom of the timeline scroll off the desktop. Similarly as you add more clips to a track, they scroll to the right or left of the desktop. To scroll tracks vertically: 1. Place the pointer at the far left of the Track selector. Scroll area 728 Creating Sequences 2. When the hand icon is displayed, drag up or down to view additional tracks. n If you hide the Track selector, you can still scroll the tracks vertically by holding down the X key and dragging the timeline up and down. To scroll tracks horizontally, do one of the following: t Hold down the X key and drag left or right on the timeline. t Click the scroll bar on the timeline navigation bar and drag left or right. The timeline scrolls left or right. Muting Audio and Video Tracks If there are several tracks on the timeline and you need to exclude clips from the preview, you can turn off the audio signal on selected audio tracks or turn off the video on a selected video track. When the sequence is played, you do not hear clips on audio tracks that are muted and you do not see video clips in the viewer for video tracks that are muted. n Mute button Muted tracks do not contribute to the output sequence. To turn off the sound on an audio track: t Click the Mute button on an audio track. The Mute button turns red. To turn off the video playback on a video track: t Click the Mute button on a video track. The Mute button turns red. Setting Tracks to Solo When you solo a track, it plays the contents of that track during the preview. Both active and inactive video clips are displayed in the viewer. With video, you can only solo one track at a time. With audio, however, you can solo more than one track. Any tracks that do not have the Solo button activated are not viewed or heard. 729 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To solo a track: t Solo button n Click the Solo button of the tracks that you want to preview. The Solo button turns green. The status of the Solo button on each audio track is saved with the sequence. Changing Track Properties You can view track information, such as the start and end times, track type, and number of clips on the track. You can change the properties of any track, including the track name and level of detail that each clip displays. To access track properties: t Right-click an empty area of the track and select Track Properties. The Track property editor is displayed. For information about the Track properties, click the Help button. To set the level of detail on a track: 1. In the Track property editor, select the General tab. 2. From the Level of Detail list, select one of the following: n - Low to display clips or waveforms with the least amount of detail. - Medium to display the start and end thumbnails of clips. - High to display the thumbnails of clips at regular intervals and a detailed view of the audio waveform. You must increase the height of the track to see the waveform. Tip: You can also change the level of detail of each clip by right-clicking and selecting Properties. 3. From the Effect Size list, select one of the following: - Small to display the effect bar with no detail. - Large to display the name of the effect. To rename a track: 1. In the Track property editor, select the General tab. 2. In the Name text box, type a name. 730 Creating Sequences n Depending on the height of your track, you may not be able to view the full name. If you place the pointer over the track name, however, a tooltip with the full name is displayed. 731 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Marking In and Out-points on the Timeline When you create a new sequence, an in-point is automatically placed at the beginning of the timeline. If you want to place the clip at a specific timecode, you can mark the in-point on the timeline where you want to place the clip. After you place a clip at this in-point, the in-point moves to the last frame of the clip, ready for you to place the next clip in the sequence. In-points and out-points let you mark points on the timeline, where you can insert clips, or replace or overwrite existing clips. After the in-point and out-point are set on the timeline, the I (in) or O (out) timecode boxes display the exact timecodes. You can change the position of the in-point or out-point by typing a new timecode in the corresponding timecode box, or by dragging the marker along the timeline ribbon. For more information, see “Timeline Ribbon” in the Help. Using the Mark Buttons to Set In and Out-points The Mark In, Mark Out, and Mark In/Out buttons provide an easy way to set in-points and out-points on the timeline. To mark an in-point or out-point on the timeline: 1. Place the position indicator at the location where you want to place the inpoint or out-point. 2. Click the Mark In or Mark Out button below the Record viewer. An in-point or out-point is displayed on the timeline ribbon and in the position bar below the viewer. To place an in-point and out-point on a selected region: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, make sure the Selection Mode button is selected. 2. On the timeline, select a clip, effect, or activeness bar, or drag to define a region where you want to set the in-point and out-point. 3. On the timeline controls, click the Mark In/Out button. An in-point and an out-point are displayed on the timeline ribbon and on the position bar below the viewer. 732 Marking In and Out-points on the Timeline Using Timecode to Set In and Out-points You can set an in-point or out-point at an exact timecode by typing the timecode in a corresponding timecode box. For example, if you type 12:00:00:22 in the I (in) timecode box and press Enter, an in-point is marked at that timecode. You can also use the scratch pad control to set in and out-points to an exact timecode. To mark an in-point or out-point using the scratch pad control: 1. Click the viewer that is displaying a clip or sequence. 2. Press any number on the keyboard. A timecode box is displayed in the selected viewer. 3. Type the timecode of the frame you want to mark by using the keyboard, followed by one of the following: n When typing a timecode value you can skip fields by typing a dot (.). For example, type 12..22 for timecode 12:00:00:22. t Press the I key to mark the in-point. t Press the O key to mark the out-point. t Press the D key to set the duration. Positive timecode changes the outpoint and negative timecode changes the in-point. If you type in a positive timecode, and the in-point is undefined, it is treated as negative timecode. If you type in a negative timecode, and the out-point is undefined, it is treated as positive timecode. The in-point, out-point, or duration for the clip or sequence is set. n You can move the in-point, out-point, or position indicator a set number of frames. In the timecode box, type the number of frame followed by a + (plus sign) or - (minus sign). Then press I or O to move the appropriate marker. To close the timecode box: t Press the Esc key. 733 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To place an in-point and out-point on a portion of the sequence: 1. Do one of the following: t Mark an in-point on the timeline. t Mark an out-point on the timeline. 2. In the D timecode box, type the duration of the area you want to mark. The other marker (in-point or out-point) is displayed on the timeline to mark the area. 734 Displaying Timecodes Displaying Timecodes The timecode boxes on the status bar display timecodes for a selected object on the timeline. You can also use the timecode boxes to enter new values for the start, end, or duration of a selected object. The Clip and Timeline options refer to the source and sequence timecodes. The source timecodes are the actual times taken from the source tape. These timecodes are displayed when you select a clip that was captured from tape. The sequence timecodes reflect the current position of clips on the timeline. These timecodes are used when outputting media. When you select an object on the timeline, the Start, End, and Duration boxes display the timecodes of a clip, activeness bar, effect bar, region selection, transition, or edit point. The In, Out, and Duration boxes display the timecodes of in and out-points on the timeline ribbon and the duration between them. You can also use the Timecode view to display the timecodes for a selected object on the timeline. You can customize the Timecode view to display various timecodes. For more information, see “Displaying Timecodes in the Timecode View” on page 735. For more information, see “Timecode Boxes (Timeline Status Bar)” in the Help. Displaying Timecodes in the Timecode View The Timecode view displays the timecodes for a selected object on the timeline. You can choose which timecodes to display, show the name and comments of the clips, and further customize the view. Enlarging the size of the timecode display allows you to view the timecode from a distance. n The Timecode view is essentially a toolbar that you can customize. You can choose to display the frame counts of various timecodes with the main timecode being the time base of the timeline. For example, when you are working with a 24 frame project the timecode frame count is: 735 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Timecode a Frames 24 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 00 25 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25P 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 00 30 00 01 03 04 05 06 08 09 10 11 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 28 29 00 a. The timecodes are listed as 24 for 24 fps, 25 for 25 fps, 25P for 25 (PAL with pulldown), and 30 for 30 fps (the count skips six frames to fit 30 frames into 24 fps). In the example above for the 30 timecode, drop and non drop frame conventions are observed. The 02, 07, 12, 17, 22, and 27 frames are dropped because it is assumed that 01:00:00:00 is an “A” frame. When in a 30 timecode project, the main timecode is 30 (drop and non drop frame conventions observed, and the 24 frame timebase has duplicated timecodes to represent pulldown. To open the Timecode view: t 736 Select View > Single-Instance Views > Timecode View. Displaying Timecodes To add a timecode display to the Timecode view: 1. Right-click an empty area of the Timecode view. 2. Select Add Timecode Display. To customize the timecode displays: 1. Right-click any of the timecodes in the Timecode view. 2. Select options from the Timecode Display menu—see “Timecode Display Menu” in the Help. To customize the Timecode view: t Right-click on the Timecode view and use the Toolbar commands—see “Toolbars” in the Help. Displaying the Source Timecodes of a Clip You can display the source timecodes of a selected clip. You can also display the source timecode of a selected frame. If you want to display the source timecode of a frame between the start and end of the clip, you must place a reference locator at that frame. To display a clip’s start and end source timecodes: 1. On the timeline, select a clip. 2. On the status bar, select the Clip option. The clip’s start and end source timecodes are displayed on the status bar. Selected clip Timecode of clip Clip option selected 737 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To display the source timecode at a specific frame: 1. Place the position indicator on the frame where you want to display the source timecode. 2. On the timeline, select the corresponding clip and press M. A reference locator is placed on the clip at the position indicator. 3. Place the pointer over this locator. A tooltip displays the source timecode at that frame. Displaying the Sequence Timecodes of a Clip The sequence timecodes display the current position of an object on the timeline. You can display the start, end, and duration of a clip, activeness bar, effect bar, region selection, transition, or edit point. To display a clip’s timecode in relation to the timeline: 1. On the timeline, select a clip. 2. From the status bar, select the Timeline option. The clip’s start, end, and duration on the timeline are displayed in the timecode boxes. If you move the clip on the timeline, the timecode boxes automatically reflects its new position. Selected clip Timeline timecode of the clip. Timeline option selected. 738 Displaying Timecodes Moving or Trimming Objects Using the Timecode Boxes Instead of dragging a clip on the timeline or trimming its end times, you can type values in the timecode boxes to change the start, end, or duration of a clip. In addition, you can use relative input methods to change the timecode values. This lets you offset the current timecode by a given amount. The following table summarizes the various means of typing values in timecode boxes, assuming that the current timecode is 01:12:34:00. You type NTSC Result PAL Result Description Absolute Input Method 5223 00:00:52:23 00:00:52:23 Replaces the current timecode /5223 01:12:52:23 01:12:52:23 Replaces the rightmost portion of current timecode .40 00:00:01:10 00:00:01:15 Replaces the current timecode with this many frames (direct frame entry) 10:00.40 00:10:01:10 00:10:01:15 Combines timecode value with direct frame entry 3:::1 03:00:00:01 03:00:00:01 Skip fields by typing colons Relative Input Method 110+ 110- 01:12:35:10 01:12:32:20 01:12:35:10 01:12:32:15 Increases or decreases the current timecode by the value typed .110+ .110- 01:12:37:20 01:12:30:10 01:12:38:10 01:12:29:15 Increases or decreases the current timecode by the number of frames typed 1.10+ 1.10- 1:12:35:10 1:12:33:20 1:12:35:10 1:12:32:15 739 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut You type NTSC Result PAL Result Description ] or [ 01:12:34:01 01:12:33:29 01:12:34:01 01:12:33:24 Nudges the current timecode up or down by 1 frame Ctrl-] or Ctrl-[ 01:12:34:01 01:12:33:20 01:12:34:10 01:12:33:15 Nudges the current timecode up or down by 10 frames For example, to move a clip 10 frames forward, type 10+ in the Start timecode box to move the clip forward by 10 frames. If the Ripple button was activated when you typed the new start timecode, then the edit will ripple across the timeline. Similarly, to move a clip backwards by 10 frames, type 10- in the Start timecode box. Adjusting the Timeline Framing the media on the timeline lets you make better use of the overview area. This is particularly useful when media starts at a timecode other than 00:00:00:00. The Avid DS Nitris system considers the start time of the media and frames it according to the earliest timecode on which material is present, as opposed to 00:00:00:00. To trim the timeline to the media: t Right-click the overview area of the timeline and select Trim Timeline to Media. The overview area adjusts to show the full length of your sequence. Changing the Visible Time Span The visible time span represents the section of the sequence that is currently visible on the timeline. The visible time span is adjustable, so you can display individual frames in the sequence, another section of the sequence, or the entire sequence in the timeline. Any clip bars that are within the visible time span are displayed on the tracks in the timeline. You can stretch out the visible time span interactively to zoom in or out on the timeline. You can also use the timeline controls to adjust the length of the visible time span. 740 Displaying Timecodes Visible time span To move the visible time span: 1. Place the pointer over the visible time span. A double-headed arrow is displayed. Pointer in visible time span. 2. Drag the visible time span to the section of the timeline that you want to view. The timeline displays the clips within the visible time span. Framing the Timeline to View Selected Objects You can zoom the view of the timeline to show more detail of selected objects. To display selected objects on the timeline: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Click the objects you want to frame, such as clips or effect bars. 3. Click the Frame Selection button. The timeline zooms in to display the selected objects. 741 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut n The Frame Selection button is available from the Customize Toolbars window. For information about adding buttons to toolbars, see “Customizing Toolbars” in the Help. Panning and Zooming the Timeline To display a specific region on the timeline: Zoom In button 1. Drag over a section of the timeline to select a region. 2. From the timeline controls, click the Zoom In or Zoom to Frame button. Zoom to Frame button The timeline zooms in to display the selected region, while the visible time span in the overview area scales to highlight the selection. Using the Zoom Controls You can change the magnification of the timeline using the zoom controls. These controls let you zoom in or out to view more or less clip detail. The displayed region is always centered on the position indicator. As you move the position indicator, notice how the visible region adjusts to indicate the section of the sequence that is currently in view. To zoom the timeline interactively, do one of the following: t Hold down the Z key and drag left or right over the tracks. t In the timeline navigation bar, drag the scale bar left or right. To zoom in on a specific clip on the timeline: t In the overview area, press Ctrl+F and click a clip bar. The track of the selected clip immediately comes into view and the entire clip is displayed. To zoom in to display less frames: t From the timeline controls, click the Zoom In button. The timeline displays fewer frames, but in greater detail. To zoom out to display more frames: t From the timeline controls, click the Zoom Out button. The timeline displays more frames, but at less detail. 742 Displaying Timecodes To zoom in to one-frame intervals: t From the timeline controls, click the Zoom to Frame button. The timeline displays one-frame intervals between clip thumbnails. The position indicator splits to indicate a single frame, a solid blue line is displayed at the left of the frame, and a dotted blue line is displayed at the right of the frame. To return to the previous display, click the button again. Panning the Timeline If your sequence has several clips, they may not all be visible on the timeline. You can pan the timeline to focus on different sections of your sequence. To pan the timeline, do one of the following: t Hold down the X key and drag left or right over the tracks. t In the timeline navigation bar, drag the timeline scroll bar left or right. To zoom in or out using the visible time span: 1. Place the pointer over the left or right edge of the visible time span. An arrow pointing to the right or left is displayed. 2. Drag the edge of the visible time span left or right to zoom the timeline. The time span lengthens or shortens to display more or less clip detail in the timeline. To display all clips on the timeline: 1. In the overview area, place the pointer over the visible time span. 2. Double-click the visible time span. The visible time span stretches out over all clips on the timeline, so that you can see all clips in the sequence. 3. Double-click the visible time span to return to the previous zoom area. 743 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Changing the Ruler Display The ruler in the timeline displays the time scale for your sequence. When working with video, you can change the time scale to display in frames, timecode drop frames, timecode non-drop frames, or audio samples. These options differ between PAL and NTSC formats. To change the ruler’s time scale: t Right-click the ruler and select the appropriate time scale. The exact timecode at the position of the position indicator is displayed in the P timecode box on the status bar. Depending on the ruler time scale you select, the timecode is displayed in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames/audio samples. Ruler time scale Timecode display format SMPTE NTSC drop frame 23:59:59;29 SMPTE NTSC non-drop frame 23:59:59:29 25 fps (PAL only) 23:59:59:23 Audio samples 23:59:59.47999 Display as Frames 1234567 Displaying Different Rulers While working in a container clip, you can set the ruler to display the time scale of the current container clip, its parent container, or the top timeline. This is useful when you want to verify the location of a clip or effect in relation to the top timeline. 744 Displaying Timecodes n By default, a container clip’s timeline always starts at 00:00:00. This makes it easier to determine the duration of the container clip. To display a different ruler: t Right-click the ruler and select a ruler. 745 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Viewing a Sequence as a Hieracharical Tree Structure The Sequence view displays the timeline as a hierarcharical tree structure. The root of the hierarchy is your sequence, which you can expand to show individual video and audio clips, and container clips. Container clips can be further expanded to show their contents. Items that you select in the Sequence view are also selected on the timeline. There are two viewing modes in the Sequence view: Show All Content and Show Content at Time. You can select a viewing mode from the drop-down menu at the top. Sequence view list To access the Sequence view, do one of the following: t t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Sequence View. From the view switcher, click the Sequence view button. To view all the clips in your timeline: t From the Sequence view list, select Show all content. The Sequence view displays all the clips in your sequence, from the top timeline on down through all your container clips. To view all the clips at the current playback position: t 746 From the Sequence view list, select Show content at time. Viewing a Sequence as a Hieracharical Tree Structure The Sequence view displays all the clips in your sequence at the current playback position, from the top timeline on down through all your container clips. 747 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Playing Sequences You can use various Record viewer buttons, the position indicator, and keyboard keys to play and shuttle your sequence. Using the buttons below the Record viewer, you can play back your sequence in the Record viewer and on the external monitor. When you play the sequence, only its active frames are displayed in the Record viewer (or heard on the speakers), allowing you to view the sequence as it will appear in the final sequence. While previewing, however, you can play selected tracks of your sequence to isolate some sounds or images. For information, see “Working on the Tracks” on page 725. n You can use variable-speed play controls (J-K-L keys on the keyboard) to shuttle, step, or pause during playback. For more information, see “Varying the Playback Speed” on page 750. Go to End/Fast Forward Go to Start/Rewind Frame Backward Frame Forward Play/Stop Position indicator Skipped Frame indicator Position bar 10 Frames Backward 10 Frames Forward Play From In/Out-point Loop For more information, see “Transport Controls” in the Help. While playing a sequence, you might see one of the following messages display in the viewer: 748 Message Description Processing Needed Some clips, on which you’ve placed effects, need to be processed before you can see the results. Playing Sequences Message Description Media not Available There is no media for this clip at the quality (resolution and compression) that you have specified in your sequence preferences—see “Understanding Video Quality Matching” on page 686. Media not Found Avid DS Nitris could not find the media for this clip. The media may have been deleted or moved to another location, or the connection to your storage may be faulty. If the media has been deleted, you will need to recapture it at the quality specified in your sequence preferences. To play a sequence: 1. Deselect the Mute button on the Track selector for all tracks. n Muted tracks do not play back. 2. Click the Go to Start button below the Record viewer. The position indicator moves to the start of the sequence. 3. Click the Play button below the Record viewer. If you’re playing a video sequence, the Record viewer updates accordingly. n When playing your sequence, the Play button may turn amber if any frames are skipped during playback. Frame skipping may occur when it reaches a point where a frame cannot be computed before display time. For more information, see “Playing Real-Time Effects” on page 900. To stop playing a sequence during playback, do one of the following: t Click the Play button below the Record viewer. t Click the Record viewer. t Click the timeline ruler. t Press the space bar. The position indicator moves to the position you clicked and playback stops. To skip to a new position on the timeline and keep playing: t Press Shift and click the new position on the timeline ruler. 749 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To scrub clips on the timeline: t On the timeline ruler, drag right or left to play or rewind the clips at your own speed, or t Drag the position indicator in the position bar below the Record viewer. To isolate specific tracks when playing the sequence: Mute Solo 1. In the Track selector, do one of the following: t Click the Solo button on the video or audio tracks that you want to play. t Click the Mute button on the audio tracks that you do not want to play. 2. Click the Play button below the Record viewer. Only the images or sounds from the selected tracks are played. Varying the Playback Speed The J-K-L keys on the keyboard let you play back, step, and shuttle through footage at varying speeds. This feature, also referred to as three-button or variable-speed play, lets you use three fingers to manipulate the speed of playback for greater control. You can also use the J-K-L keys to perform smooth audio scrubbing of selected tracks. To shuttle through the footage using the J-K-L keys on the keyboard: 1. Deselect all objects in the timeline before shuttling through the footage. 2. Use the following keys to shuttle at varying speeds: t 750 Press the L key to move forward through the footage at normal speed. You can increase the speed by pressing the L key a number of times. Press the L key To play footage at NTSC rate PAL rate 24p rate 2 times 2x normal speed 60 fps 50 fps 48 fps 3 times 3x normal speed 90 fps 75 fps 72 fps 4 times 5x normal speed 150 fps 125 fps 120 fps 5 times 8x normal speed 240 fps 200 fps 192 fps Playing Sequences t Press the J key to move backward at the same shuttle speed increments. t Press the K and L keys together for slow forward (8 fps for NTSC, 6 fps for PAL, and 6 fps for 24p projects). t Press the K and J keys together for slow backward. t Hold down the K key and press the L or J key to step through footage one frame at a time. 3. Press the K key to pause the shuttling. 4. Press the spacebar to stop the shuttling. To shuttle clips using the position indicator do one of the following: t Drag the position indicator in the position bar right or left to fast forward or rewind the clips on the timeline. t On the timeline ruler, drag the position indicator left or right. The farther you drag, the faster the playback speed. Moving to Points on the Timeline There are several ways to move around on the timeline. You can move the position indicator manually to any frame in your sequence, use the buttons below the Record viewer, or type a timecode in a timecode box to quickly move to marked points on the timeline. To move the position indicator, do one of the following: t Click any point in the Timeline Ruler. t t Click any point in the position bar below the Record viewer. Deselect the Selection Mode button in the timeline navigation bar, and then click any point on the timeline. t The position indicator moves to this position and the Record viewer displays the frame at this timecode. Click the Go to In or Go to Out button if there is an in-point or out-point in the timeline ribbon. The position indicator moves to the specified point. 751 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To move the position indicator to a specific timecode do one of the following: t Drag the position indicator left or right while reading the timecode displayed in the P (position indicator) timecode box. The exact position of the position indicator is displayed. n t Type a value in the P (position indicator) timecode box. t Without selecting any timecode boxes, type a timecode value and press Enter. When typing a timecode value you can skip fields by typing a dot (.). For example, type 12..22 for timecode 12:00:00:22. t Select a reference locator from the Locator view. Moving to Edit Points on the Timeline You can move the position indicator to the next or previous edit point in the sequence. To move the position indicator to an edit point: 1. Right-click Trim Mode button and deselect Autoswitch. 2. Do one of the following: t Press the , (comma) key to move the position indicator to the previous edit point. t Press the . (period) key to move the position indicator to the next edit point. The position indicator moves to the specified point. Looping Clips You can play back a section of the timeline continuously by marking it with in and out loop markers. This is useful if you want to view a small section of the sequence while editing. To loop a clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Do one of the following: 752 Playing Sequences t Select a clip. t Select a region by dragging over a section of the timeline. The selected area or clip becomes highlighted. 3. Click the Loop button below the Record viewer. Loop markers are displayed on the timeline ribbon at the beginning and end of the selected region or clip including pre-roll and post-roll. n You can also select an effect bar, transition area, or activeness bar for looping. If no objects are selected on the timeline, then the loop markers surround the position indicator. 4. Adjust the loop markers by dragging them to the appropriate timecodes. Timeline ribbon Loop markers 5. Click Play to play the clips within the specified region. The marked section continues to play until you click Play again. 6. Click the Loop button again to deactivate loop mode. Viewing Unprocessed Frames While playing a sequence, the message “Processing Needed” is displayed in the Record viewer if clip effects in your sequence have not been processed. To view a clip before processing its effects, you can either play it frame by frame or preview it. Previewing an effect reduces the quality of the picture during playback in order to process each frame at an acceptable speed. To play a clip frame by frame: 1. Press Ctrl and click Play to play your video clip frame by frame. The playback is slow since each frame needs to be processed. Each processed frame is stored temporarily as an interactive cache, so the next time you visit that frame, the results appear instantly in the viewer. n In this mode, the video plays but the audio is muted. 753 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut 2. Click Play again to stop playing the clips. To preview a clip with an effect: 1. From the effect’s property editor, click the Preview button. The preview will loop until you stop it. The playback is choppy since Avid DS Nitris drops frames in order to display the effect. n In this mode, the video plays but the audio is muted. 2. Click the Preview button again to stop playing the clip. Using the Position Bar The position bar, below the Source and Record viewers, lets you view the location of the position indicator, locators, animation keys, and timecode as well as set an in-point and an out-point. You can rescale the position bar below the Record viewer to zoom the object selected in the timeline. The locators on the position bar correspond to the locators on the timeline ribbon. However, locators in the position bar cannot be moved, deleted, or edited. To do so, you’ll have to access them from the timeline ribbon. The animation keys in the position bar correspond to the animation keys in the animation editor. You can only view and reposition animation keys in the position bar. For any other type of editing of the animation keys, you will have to use the animation editor. Position indicator Position bar Out-point In-point Locator Animation key To move the position indicator and in/out-points: t 754 In the position bar, drag the position indicator or in/out-points and move it to a new location. Playing Sequences To delete in and out-points or animation keys: t In the position bar, select the in or out-point or an animation key, and press Delete. To show or hide locators, tick marks, animation keys, and timecode: t Right-click the position bar and select an option. To display the animation keys of a clip: t Select the clip from the timeline. To snap the position indicator to an animation key: t Press Ctrl and select the animation key in the position bar. To change the range of the position bar to the selected object: 1. Select an object on the timeline. 2. Right-click the position bar below the Record viewer and select Zoom to Selection. For more information, see “Position Bar Menu” in the Help. Switching Viewers At times, it is useful to enlarge either the Source or Record viewer, or both, for a better view of your clips. To switch between single and dual viewers: 1. Select the Source or Record viewer. 2. In the viewer tools, click the Single/Dual button above the selected viewer. The selected viewer and its transport controls are displayed. To enlarge or reduce both viewers: t Press F12 to enlarge or reduce the size of the viewers. The viewers are displayed full-screen. 755 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Setting True Video Display Since the ITU-R 601 standard specifies a higher horizontal than vertical resolution (or a 0.9 ratio), images appear stretched horizontally when displayed on your computer monitor. To get a more accurate view of your sequence as it will appear on a video monitor, you can set the viewer to display non-square pixels. To display non-square pixels: t Right-click the viewer and deselect Square Pixels. The viewer displays your image in non-square pixels. 756 Playing Sequences Zooming or Panning the Viewers You can zoom or pan the viewer by using the Viewer menu or the keyboard shortcuts, which allow you to work interactively with the viewer. The Viewer property editor provides settings for various zoom and pan controls. For example, you can set the options to automatically zoom and pan when you are using the interactive tools, such as graphics and paint tools, Shape tool in the Matte and Keyer effects, DVE tool, and Tracker tool. For more information, see “Viewer Property Editor” in the Help. n The keyboard shortcuts for zooming or panning the viewer also work on the timeline and animation editor. To zoom in the viewer, do one of the following: t Hold down the Z key and drag on the viewer using left mouse button to select a region to zoom or using right mouse button to zoom interactively. t Right-click the viewer and select Zoom > zoom level. t Position the pointer on the area of the viewer you want to zoom in on and press Alt+Q. t Press Alt+Z to zoom by steps set in the Viewer Properties property editor. To zoom out the viewer, do one of the following: t Right-click the viewer and select Zoom > zoom level. t Interactive zoom (X or Y axis): Hold down the Z key and right-drag on the viewer. t Press Alt+Q again to return to the previous zoom level. t Press Alt+X to zoom by steps set in the Viewer Properties property editor. To incrementally zoom the viewer: 1. Right-click the viewer and select Viewer Properties. 2. On the Display property page, set the following: - In the Steps text box, set the level to zoom quickly or slowly with Alt+Z (zoom in) and Alt+X (zoom out). - In the Quick Zoom Level text box, type your preferred zoom level. 3. Position the pointer on the area of the viewer you want to zoom in and press Alt+Z repeatedly until you reach the desired zoom level. 757 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To pan the viewer: t Hold down the X key and drag on the viewer. To reset zoom or pan, do one of the following: t Hold down the Z key and click the viewer to reset zoom. t Hold down the X key and click the viewer, or right-click the viewer and select Reset Pan & Zoom to reset pan. t Hold down the Z+X key and click a viewer to reset zoom and pan. Displaying Overlays While working with the viewers, visual indicators for the head, tail, in and out-points, and locators make editing quicker. A sawtooth pattern indicates the head and tail of a clip. Sawtooth pattern indicates head of clip. Locator To display the viewer overlays: 1. Select File > User Preferences. 2. On the Editing property page, select Show Overlays in Viewer. The visual indicators for the head, tail, in/out-points, and locators are displayed in the Source and Record viewers. 758 Manipulating Clips Manipulating Clips After placing all your clips on the timeline, you can begin arranging them to create a rough cut of your sequence. You can then adjust the edit points between clips, as well as move, copy, or delete them. n As you rearrange your clips, the impact on other clips and their activeness depends on what you select and whether or not the Ripple mode is activated. When the ripple mode is on, any change to the length of a clip propagates across the timeline to subsequent clips. For more information, see “Rippling Clips” on page 793. Selecting Clips All editing tasks are based on what you select on the timeline. The clips are associated with tracks, activeness bars, edit points, transition bars, effect bars, and regions. Selecting and manipulating any of these objects affects the position and appearance of the clip in the final output. When editing clips, you typically work on one clip at a time. Before you can select objects on the timeline you must click the Selection Mode button on the timeline navigation bar to enter Selection mode. The following illustration shows the selectable objects on the timeline. 759 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut In-point Clip Effect bar Selected region Tracks Activeness bar Transition Edit point To select clips on the timeline: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Do one of the following: t To select a single clip, click a clip. t To select multiple clips, click the first clip, press Ctrl, and click any other clips you want to select. t To select multiple clips within the track area, hold down the Shift key and drag right to left over the clips you want to select. The selected clip(s) are surrounded by a red border. When a single clip is selected the timecode boxes on the status bar reflect its start and end positions. The D (duration) timecode box specifies the length of time between the two points. You can adjust the in, out, and duration timecodes by typing values directly in the timecode boxes. This is useful when you know the exact timecode where you want to move a clip. 760 Manipulating Clips Clip start Clip end Clip duration Moving Clips You can drag clips along the same track to move them to a different point in time. You can also drag clips from one track to another. Synchronized video and audio clips always move together. If you need to move them independently, you must unlock them first. For more information, see “Synchronizing Clips” on page 798. Moving Objects on the Timeline You can use the J-K-L keys on the keyboard to move objects on the timeline to the timecode of the position indicator. To move objects using the JKL keys: 1. Select File > User Preferences. 2. On the Editing property page, select the Selectable Objects (J-K-L keys) options for the objects you want to move. 3. Select one or more objects on the timeline. These could be either locators, markers, clips, activeness bars, effect bars, or edit points. 4. Press the J key or the L key to start playing. 5. Press K when you are at the desired frame. The selected object(s) are automatically moved to this timecode. Moving Clips on the Same Track You can drag a clip anywhere along a track. If there are other clips in its path, it passes directly over these clips if the Ripple mode is activated. If it is not, then you must move it around these clips. 761 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To drag a clip horizontally: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Click a clip to select it. A red border surrounds the clip and the pointer changes to a move cursor. 3. Drag the clip right or left. To drag multiple clips horizontally: 1. On the timeline, select multiple clips. 2. Drag one of the clips in the selection right or left. To move a clip with its activeness: 1. Press Shift and click the clip to select it. A blue border surrounds the clip and the pointer changes to the Move with Activeness cursor. 2. Drag the clip right or left. The clip retains its activeness and changes the activeness of any clips with which it collides. To move multiple clips with their activeness on background tracks: 1. On the timeline, select multiple clips. 2. Press Shift and drag the clips in the selection right or left. The clips in the selection retain their activeness and change the activeness of any clips with which they collide. To move one clip past another on the same track: 1. Drag a clip to the timeline ribbon. A shadow is displayed on the timeline as you drag the clip. 2. Without releasing the mouse button, drag the clip back to the original track and drop it at the new location. 762 Manipulating Clips Moving Single Clips between Tracks When you move clips to a different track, clip shadows appear on the timeline where the clips will be placed. To move a clip to a different track: t Using the ruler as a guide, drag a clip to a different track. To move a clip to a different background track with its activeness: 1. Press Shift and click a clip to select it. 2. Using the ruler as a guide, drag the clip to the appropriate track. To move a clip to a different track and constrain it to the same timeline location: 1. Select the clip. 2. Press U and drag the clip to another track. Moving Multiple Clips between Tracks You can move multiple clips of different types between tracks simultaneously. The clips that you select do not have to be on the same track. To move multiple clips to different tracks: 1. On the timeline, select multiple clips. 2. Using the ruler as a guide, drag a clip to a different track. The Track Router dialog box is displayed. 763 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut 3. Specify the destination track for the material in each selected track, and click OK. The selected clips are moved to the specified destination tracks. To move multiple clips to different tracks with their activeness: 1. On the timeline, select multiple clips. 2. Drag the clips to a different track. The Track Router dialog box is displayed. 3. Specify the destination track for the material in each selected track, and click OK. The selected clips are moved to the specified destination tracks. To move multiple clips to different tracks and constrain them to the same timeline locations: 1. On the timeline, select multiple clips. 2. Press the U key, and drag a clip to a different track. The Track Router dialog box is displayed. 3. Specify the destination track for the material in each selected track, and click OK. The selected clips are moved to the same timeline locations on the specified destination tracks. Renaming and Adding Comments to Clips You can rename clips in a bin or on the timeline. Since clips on the timeline are copies of the clips in the bin, renaming a clip on the timeline has no effect on the name of the source clip in the bin. In the Clip property editor, you can also add comments to clips as notes or reminders for yourself. To rename a clip on the timeline: 1. Right-click a clip in the timeline and select Properties. 2. In the Name text box, edit the name of the clip and press Enter. The new name is displayed on the clip in the timeline. 764 Manipulating Clips To add comments to clips: 1. Right-click a clip in the timeline and select Properties. 2. In the Comments text box, type your notes and press Enter. When you reopen the clip properties dialog box, the comments are displayed in the Comments box. Cutting Clips Cutting a clip in two lets you manipulate the pieces independently of each other. To cut a clip: 1. Place the position indicator at the point where you want to apply the cut. 2. From the toolbar, click Editing > Add Edit. Although the clips appear to have been cut into two, you can still stretch them both out to their original size by revealing the extra frames. For more information, see “Revealing Unused Material on Clips” on page 768. n The Add Edit command duplicates the clip or container clip on the timeline. Although the duplicated clip or container clip doesn’t appear on the timeline, it does double the size of the information on the timeline and every element in the container clip. Copying Clips You can easily copy clips on the timeline. When you copy a clip, you do not duplicate the media stored on disk. Both clips still refer to the original media. When you make a copy of a clip on the timeline, the new clip’s name is prefixed by “Copy of...”. For example, if the original name of a clip is Car, and you copy the clip to a new track, the copied clip is now called Copy of Car. If you copy the same clip again to another track, the name of the new clip is Copy 2 of Car. This numbering scheme continues for each copy you create of the clip. To copy a clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Select one or more clips to copy. 765 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut 3. Select Edit > Copy. 4. Place the position indicator at the precise timecode that you want to place a copy of the clip, and click the Track button. 5. Select Edit > Paste. A copy of the clip is displayed at the location of the position indicator. You can stretch this new clip out to reveal the necessary frames. The name of the copy is prefixed by “Copy of...”. Deleting Clips from the Timeline You can delete any clip on the timeline. This removes the clip from the timeline. The master clip in the bin and its media are not affected. To delete a clip, do one of the following: t Select a clip or group of clips, and press Delete. t Right-click a clip or a multiple clip selection, and select Delete Clip. The clip or selection is removed from the timeline. n 766 If you created clips on the timeline from an AFE file, an AAF file, an EDL, or an OMF file without creating master clips in a bin, the clips on the timeline are the only instances of these clips. If you remove them from the sequence, they will no longer exist anywhere in your project. If there was media associated with these clips it will remain on your storage device, but you will not have access to it because it is no longer associated with any clip. The media will remain on your storage device until it is deleted when you purge unreferenced media. Manipulating Clips Lifting Material Lifting lets you remove selected material from a track in the sequence and leaves a gap. You can later move or fill this gap with other footage. When you lift material, the overall duration of the track (or sequence) remains the same. Material is placed in the Clipboard. Lifted Clip X Clip W Blank space Clip Y Clip Z To lift material: 1. Mark in and out-points at the start and end of the material in the sequence that you want to lift. 2. Select the tracks that contain the material. Material is lifted from the selected tracks only. 3. Click the Lift button to complete the edit. Extracting Material Extracting lets you remove selected material from a track in the sequence and closes the gap left by its removal. When you extract material, the duration of the track or sequence is shrunk. Extracted Clip Y Before extract After extract Clip X Clip Y Material is placed in the Clipboard. Clip Z Track is shortened Clip X Clip Z 767 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To extract material: 1. Mark in and out-points at the start and end of the material in the sequence that you want to extract. 2. Select the tracks that contain the material. Material is extracted from the selected tracks only. 3. Click the Extract button to complete the edit. n If the clip is sync-locked with another audio or video clip, the other clip remains on the timeline. You must delete it independently. n If Ripple mode is on, however, all the sync-locked elements are deleted. Revealing Unused Material on Clips When editing, you often need to see how much material is available at the head or tail of a clip. When you display unused material, the selected clip displays red handles on its top corners. These are the reveal handles; when stretched out, they show any extra frames in a clip. Reveal in handle Reveal out handle Shows extra frames at the head of Smell clip. Shows extra frames at the tail of Smell clip. Extra frames Activeness bar indicates active frames in clips. To display unused material: t 768 Right-click the overview area and select Display > Display Unused Material. Manipulating Clips To reveal or hide frames of unused material on a clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Select a clip. 3. Place the pointer over the reveal handle of a clip. An arrowhead pointing left or right is displayed. Reveal handles Extra material n You can view extra material only when there is empty space on the track. Editing on multiple tracks gives you this flexibility. 4. Drag the reveal handles left or right to show or hide unused material. - To reveal more frames on the clip, drag the handle outwards. You can only reveal as far as the last frame on the source clip. - To hide frames on the clip, drag the handle inwards. You can only hide frames up to the active area of the clip. Changing the Activeness of Clips Activeness refers to the sections of a clip that are available for the final sequence. The timeline uses a bottom-up hierarchy for video tracks when playing sequences. When active clips on the top tracks overlap active clips on lower tracks, the clips on top track are viewed on top of the clips on the lower tracks during playback. These active frames are indicated by the activeness bar below a clip. When you play a sequence, you can view and hear the active frames of a clip depending on the clip’s location on the timeline and the track selector settings. Inactive frames still appear in the timeline, but are not seen or heard when the sequence is played. 769 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Activeness bars indicate active clip frames. You can adjust the activeness bar to add or remove active frames at the head or tail of the clip. You can also activate or deactivate the entire length of the clip using the tools on the NLE Tools toolbar. Activating and Deactivating Clips In addition to adjusting the activeness bar to trim the heads or tails of clips, you can also activate or deactivate all the frames in a clip. This is useful when you have multiple layers of video effects and need to isolate clips on lower tracks for viewing. Activating a clip on a video track does not change the activeness of any other clips that overlap it. However, when you activate a clip on a background track, the overlapping areas of other clips become inactive. To activate or deactivate the full length of a clip: 1. Place the position indicator at the point where you want to apply the cut. Selected clip Before 770 Manipulating Clips 2. From the toolbar, click Editing and select one of the following: - Activate to make all the currently displayed frames in the selected clip active. Activated clip Video track After Activeness bar is added. Background track Activated clip After Overlapping areas of other clips become inactive. - Activeness bar is added. Deactivate to make all frames on the selected clip inactive. Deactivating a clip does not change the activeness of any other clips that overlap it. To activate or deactivate a region of a clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Drag over a section of a clip. The selected region is highlighted. 3. From the toolbar, click Editing and select one of the following: - Activate to make all the frames in the selected region active. - Deactivate to deactivate the selected region. The activeness bar is removed from the selected region. 771 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Selected region Before After Deactivated section n You can also right-click an activeness bar and select Delete Activeness. This removes its activeness bar. Activeness of clips on background tracks is not always recalculated when you deactivate clips or move them on the timeline. You can activate any section of a selected clip on a background track where it does not overlap other active clips on background tracks, by using the Fill Activeness command. To fill in the activeness of a clip: t Right-click the clip that needs to be activated and select Fill Activeness. The clip becomes active wherever there are no other active clips on background tracks. 772 Using Locators Using Locators The timeline ribbon displays locators, in-points, out-points, loop markers, and indicates the portions of your timeline that may require processing. Locators let you set reference points on the timeline, so that you can easily move to areas of interest. The locators can also be used to help synchronize clips. Locators display on the timeline ribbon and in the position bars. You can add locators to clips in the Source viewer to mark a specific timecode. n Tip: All locators on the timeline ribbon can also be accessed from the Locators view in the Avid Explorer. For information, see “Displaying Locator Information” on page 774. In-point Out-point Global locator Loop markers Timeline ribbon Local locator Clip locator Locators and markers have magnetism, which pulls a clip in when it is moved within close proximity to a locator or marker. n Tip: At times, it may be difficult to position a clip because there are too many locators nearby. You can override magnetism by holding down the Shift key while dragging the clip. There are two main types of locators: • Clip locators are for marking a reference point on a clip. • Reference locators are for marking a reference point on the timeline. You can use locators to synchronize clips on the timeline. Once you set a locator, you can drag it to a new location, rename it, or add comments to the locator. 773 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut You can place locators on the timeline ribbon or directly on a clip. A locator placed on the timeline ribbon remains fixed on the timeline. A locator placed on a clip is fixed to that point on the clip. When the clip moves, its locator moves with it. Displaying Locator Information The Locators view displays information on all the locators on the timeline, including the timecode and author comments. Locators are a type of electronic bookmark, which allow you to find and identify specific frames during editing. Using the Locators view as an outline for a show lets you easily jump to any position within a longer timeline without having to scroll through the timeline or zoom out and in. You can also sort on various criteria in the Locators view headings, such as position, comment, type (clip/timeline/global), video/audio tracks, review and approval, created by, time, and version. To access the Locators view: t In the My System panel of the Avid Explorer, double-click Views > Locators. The Locators view is displayed in a bin. Locators Bin tools Sorting Information in the Locators View Depending on how you like to view information, you can sort or reverse sort the locators. 774 Using Locators To sort the locators: t Click the column heading of the column that you want to sort. If the information in the column was in ascending order, then the information is changed to descending order, and vice versa. Name column in ascending order. Name column in descending order. Setting Reference Locators You can place reference locators on the timeline ribbon to mark a specific timecode at which you want to sync a clip or mark events for reference. Reference locators can be either global or local. Global locators are visible on the current timeline and within any container clips. Local locators are visible only on the current timeline. To place a local locator on the timeline, do one of the following: t Double-click the timeline ribbon where you want to set the locator. t Right-click the overview area and select Add Locator at Playback Position > color. A numbered locator is set on the timeline ribbon at the specified timecode. To place a global locator on the timeline: t Right-click the overview area and select Add Global Locator at Playback Position > color. A numbered locator is set on the timeline ribbon at the specified timecode. 775 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To place a locator on a clip in the Source viewer: 1. Move the position indicator located below the Source viewer, to the point at which you want the locator to be placed. 2. Click the Locator button on the toolbar. n Tip: To change the name or color of the locator, and add comments, open the locator’s property editor by right-clicking the locator and selecting Locator Properties. Placing Locators on Clips Locators are useful for synchronizing clips with other clips or specific points on the timeline. You can set locators at any point on a clip. n Clip locators do not move with the edit points. If you change activeness on a clip, you will have to re-mark the edit points. To place a locator on a clip: 1. Move the position indicator to the point at which you want the locator to be placed. 2. Right-click the clip, and select Add Locator > At Playback Position > color. A colored locator with a numbered label is set on the selected clip at the position indicator. Each time you add a locator to the clip, the number on the locator name increments. The numbering starts at 1 on each clip on which you place locators. Clip locator To set a locator at the start or end of a clip: 1. Right-click a clip, and select Add Locator and one of the following: 776 At Clip Start to add a locator at the in-point. Using Locators - At Clip End to add a locator at the out-point. 2. Select a color for the locator. To set locators at the edit points: t Right-click a clip and select Add Locator > At Edit Points > color. Moving Locators After you have set locators, you can move them to different positions. You can even move a locator from a clip to the timeline ribbon or vice versa. Clip locators have magnetism, which forces clips to snap to other timeline objects when they are in close proximity to each other. n If the Locator option is selected in the User Preferences dialog box (Editing property page), you can use the J-K-L keys to move locators in the timeline. To move a locator on a clip: 1. On the clip, place the pointer over the triangular portion of a locator. 2. When the double-headed arrow is displayed, drag the locator to a new location. Move Locator cursor To move a locator on the timeline ribbon: 1. On the timeline ribbon, place the pointer over a locator. 2. When the double-headed arrow is displayed, drag the locator to a new location. 777 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To move a clip with a locator: 1. On the clip, place the pointer over the square portion of a locator. 2. When the crosshair cursor is displayed, drag the locator left or right. The clip moves with the locator as you drag it to a new location. The locator keeps its position on the clip. Move Clip Locator cursor. To move a clip locator to the timeline ribbon: 1. On the clip, place the pointer over the triangular portion of a locator. 2. When the double-headed arrow is displayed, drag the locator up to a position on the timeline ribbon. The clip locator turns into a reference locator on the timeline ribbon. To move a clip locator to the timeline ribbon and constrain it to the same timeline location: t Hold down the U key and drag the locator up to a position on the timeline ribbon. The clip locator turns into a reference locator on the timeline ribbon in the same timeline location. To move a local locator to a clip: 1. On the timeline ribbon, place the pointer over a local locator. 2. Drag the locator to a position on a clip. The local locator turns into a clip locator. To move a local locator to a clip and constrain it to the same timeline location: t 778 Hold down the U key and drag the locator to a position on the clip. Using Locators The local locator turns into a clip locator at the same timeline location. 779 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Deleting Locators When locators are no longer needed, you can delete them through the Locators view or on the timeline. To delete locators using the Locators view: 1. In the Locators view, select one or more locators. 2. Do one of the following: t Press Delete. t Right-click one of the locators and select Delete Locator. The selected locators are removed. To delete a locator on the timeline: t On the timeline ribbon, right-click a locator and select Delete Locator. To delete multiple locators on the timeline: 1. On the timeline ribbon, press Ctrl and click the locators that you want to delete. The locator(s) are selected. n You can only select multiple locators of the same type. That is, clip locators must be selected separately from other types of locators on the timeline ribbon. 2. Press the Delete key. To delete all locators: t Right-click the timeline and select Delete All Locators. Moving to Locators Once you’ve placed locators on clips or the timeline, you can easily jump to these reference points. When you jump to a locator and there is an active frame at that point, it is displayed in the viewer. To jump to a locator, do one of the following: 780 t In the Locators view, double-click a locator. t In the Locators view, right-click a locator and select Go To Locator. Using Locators t On the timeline ribbon, select a locator. t On the timeline ribbon, right-click a locator and select Go to This Locator. The position indicator immediately moves to the selected timecode. t On the NLE Tools toolbar, click Navigation > Go to Next Locator or Go to Previous Locator. To move to an in or out-point: t If there are any in-points or out-points on the timeline ribbon, click the Go to In or Go to Out button on the transport controls to place the position indicator at the respective points. The position indicator immediately moves to the selected timecode. n In-points and out-points of clips on deactivated tracks are skipped when you move between edit points on the timeline. For more information, “Selecting Tracks” on page 726. Annotating Locators You can rename or add descriptions to your locators for future reference. Adding comments to locators is a convenient way of noting any specific frames that need color correcting, scratch removal, trimming, or review and approval by the client. To annotate a locator: 1. On the timeline ribbon, right-click a locator and select Locator Properties. 2. In the Name text box, type a name for the locator. This name is displayed next to the locator when you click it. 3. In the Comments text box, type a more detailed description for the locator. Changing the Color of Locators Identifying specific locators is easier with the use of color. With eight colors to choose from, you can, for example, use red to mark frames that contain scratches and blue for frames that need some color correction. Once you choose a color for a locator, it is used in the Locators view, timeline ribbon, and position bar. 781 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To change the color of a locator: 1. In the Locators view, right-click a locator and select Color. 2. Select a color from the menu. The color of the locator is changed in the Locators view, timeline ribbon, and position bar. 782 Finding Frames, Clips, and Bins Finding Frames, Clips, and Bins You can retrieve additional material from a master clip, a subclip, or subclip’s master clip, as well as locate the bin in which you saved your clip. When you perform a match frame, the master clip or subclip that corresponds to the currently selected frame is located, and the source master clip or subclip is loaded in the Source viewer. Performing a match bin is the same as performing a match frame, but it also selects the original clip and displays its location in a bin. Matching a Frame in a Master Clip or Subclip You can locate the source clip (a master clip or subclip) for the frame currently displayed in either the Record viewer or Source viewer. This feature is useful when you want to relocate and reedit source material, such as subclips and master clips. Match framing loads the source clip into the Source viewer for the frame currently displayed in the active viewer (Source viewer or Record viewer). It cues to the matching frame in the source clip and marks an in-point. Any original in-point or out-points are removed from the source clip. You can also use the Match Frame feature to locate clips quickly, based on media relatives, when you have forgotten their location. For example, you can matchframe a cut in the sequence to its original subclip, matchframe the subclip to the original master clip, and then locate the bin in which the master clip is saved. Match framing stops when you reach the master clip. n You can also locate frames in a sequence that match a selected source frame—see “Performing a Reverse Match Frame” on page 785. Match framing does not create a permanent sync relationship between clips but provides a convenient way of locating, marking, and editing matching material. 783 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut You cannot perform a match frame directly on a container clip, unless it is a timewarp container. You must first open the container clip and select the desired clip. For sync-locked master clips, select either the audio or video clip, and Avid DS Nitris will locate the corresponding video and audio components of the source media. To locate the source clip of a selected frame: 1. Load a sequence on the timeline or a subclip into the Source viewer. 2. Move the position indicator to the frame you want to match. 3. Do one of the following: t If matchframing from a sequence, click the clip to select it. t In the Track selector, select the track for the frame that you want to match—see “Track Selector” in the Help. 4. Click the Match Frame button below the viewer displaying the desired frame to match. The clip’s corresponding master or subclip is located and loaded into the Source viewer, and markers are added to indicate the source in and outpoints of the clip. The position indicator below the Source viewer is placed at the precise timecode to match the frame you selected for match framing. Length of parent/master clip Length of clip on timeline Position bar In-point Position indicator Out-point 5. (Option) Click the Match Frame button below the Source viewer to locate the next corresponding parent clip. 6. If necessary, you can replace frames at this point—see “Placing Pre-edited Clips on the Timeline” on page 715. 784 Finding Frames, Clips, and Bins Performing a Reverse Match Frame You can locate the frames in a sequence that match the frame selected in the Source viewer. If the frame exists in more than one place, the sequence cues to the first location of the match frame and continues through the sequence to subsequent locations each time you click the Reverse Match Frame button. You can perform reverse match frames on sequences that contain timewarp container and container clips. However, you might receive false-positives for position/speed timewarp container clips. For example, the timewarp is highlighted as containing the frame, but the frame is not present in the timewarp container clip. To perform a reverse match frame: 1. Load a sequence on the timeline. 2. Load the source clip in the Source viewer. 3. In the Track selector, select the tracks you want to search for the matching frame—see “Track Selector” in the Help. 4. Move the position indicator to the frame that you want to match. 5. Click the Reverse Match Frame button. The sequence is cued to the first matching frame. 6. Click the Reverse Match Frame button again to continue locating matching frames in the sequence. Finding the Bin for a Clip or Subclip You can locate the bin for any clip selected on the timeline or displayed in the Source viewer. You cannot do this directly on a container clip. You must first open the container clip and select the desired clip. For sync-locked clips, you can select either the audio or video clip to find the bin containing the selected clip’s master clip or subclip. To find the bin containing a clip or subclip: 1. Move the position indicator to the desired frame. 2. Click the Match Bin button below the active viewer. The bin containing the clip’s corresponding master or subclip is displayed with the master or subclip selected. The master or subclip is loaded into the Source viewer and markers are added to indicate the source in and out785 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut points of the clip on the timeline. The position indicator below the Source viewer is placed at the precise timecode to match the currently displayed frame on the timeline. 786 Extracting Parts of a Sequence Extracting Parts of a Sequence You can extract portions of your sequence to create new master clips. You can create master clips from selected regions on the timeline, or from selected objects. This is useful when you’re satisfied with the effects that you’ve applied to a clip, and you want to create a new master clip that includes the effects, or when you want to create a single master clip from the contents of a container clip. Combining effects or container contents in a single clip can help to reduce processing time. You can convert individual clips, multiple clips, or regions of the timeline to new master clips. If you’ve selected regions of the timeline or multiple timeline objects, you can create a single new master clip that combines all of the selected timeline material, or multiple new master clips; one for each selected object. You can automatically replace the existing timeline material with the new master clips. n If you create a single master clip from both audio and video material, the result is a combined audio and video clip. You can also specify what types of tracks to convert from the timeline, and configure processing options. Converted clips will include timeline material in different ways, depending on how you select material. If you select... The new master clip will include... One clip The clip and all of its effects. Multiple clips on one track All selected clips, all clip effects, and track effects. Frames in the new master clip are black for the duration of unselected material between clips. Multiple clips on multiple All selected clips, all clip effects, all track effects, and tracks timeline effects. Frames in the new master clip are black for the duration of unselected material between clips. 787 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut If you select... The new master clip will include... Time span on one track All material in the selected time span, including clips, clip effects, and track effects. Frames in the new master clip are black for the duration of unselected material between clips. Time span on multiple tracks All material in the selected time span, including clips, clip effects, track effects and timeline effects. Frames in the new master clip are black for the duration of unselected material between clips. Time span on the timeline All material in the selected time span. effect track Converting a Timeline Region or Object You can convert a portion of your timeline or an object on the timeline to a master clip. To convert a region of your timeline or a timeline object to a clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Do one of the following: t On the timeline effect track, drag to select a region. t Select one or more objects on the timeline. 3. From the toolbar, click Generate > Timeline to Clip. 4. In the Timeline to Clip Options dialog box, select the appropriate options. 5. Click OK. The new clip is processed and saved to the bin you specified. For detailed information on the Timeline to Clip properties, click the Help button. Creating Multiple Clips You can convert a timeline region or multiple selected clips into multiple master clips. 788 Extracting Parts of a Sequence To create multiple clips from objects on the timeline: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Do one of the following: t On the timeline effect track, drag to select a region. t Select one or more objects on the timeline. 3. From the toolbar, click Generate > Timeline to Clip. 4. In the Timeline to Clip Options dialog box, select the appropriate options, making sure to deselect Create one clip and click OK. For detailed information on the Timeline to Clip properties, click the Help button. The new clips are processed and saved to the bin you specified. n You cannot create multiple clips from a selected timeline region. To create multiple clips, you must multi-select objects on the timeline. 789 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Replacing Timeline Material Replacing the timeline material overwrites the Timeline to Clip source material with the new master clip. To replace material on the timeline with new master clips: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Do one of the following: t On the timeline effect track, drag to select a region. t Select one or more objects on the timeline. 3. From the toolbar, click Generate > Timeline to Clip. 4. In the Timeline to Clip Options dialog box, select the appropriate options, making sure to select Replace Selection. For detailed information on the Timeline to Clip properties, click Help. 5. Click OK. The new clip is processed and saved to the bin you specified. The Timeline to Clip Options dialog box is closed, and you are returned to the timeline. The new clips appear on the timeline in place of the selection. n 790 You cannot replace a region of the timeline with multiple clips, even if the region spans multiple clips. Instead, clips, or parts of clips in the selected region, will be replaced with a single clip. Grabbing Frames Grabbing Frames You can create master clips or image files from the frame currently displayed in the Record viewer. Creating a Master Clip from a Snapshot You can create a master clip from the image on which the position indicator is currently positioned. The master clip is automatically captured (logged and digitized) under the name and location you specify. The resulting master clip is identical to other master clips and lets you to recapture it at a different resolution or compression ratio. You can specify the length of a master clip. To create a master clip: 1. On the timeline, move the position indicator to the desired frame. 2. From the toolbar, click Generate > Snapshot to Clip. 3. In the Save Snapshot dialog box, specify the bin and file name, and click OK. n The Snapshot to Clip command works best with images that are set to uncompressed and full D1 resolution. A master clip is created in the bin you specified. Creating an Image File from a Snapshot You can export an image of the frame on which the position indicator is currently positioned. The image is exported as a bitmap image file in one of several formats and saved in a bin you specify. To create an image file: 1. On the timeline, move the position indicator to the desired frame. 2. From the toolbar, click Generate > Snapshot to File. 3. In the Export to File dialog box, specify the bin, file name, and file type and click OK. 4. Depending on the file type you select, a dialog box might display that lets you to set options, such as video levels, bit depth, and compression. 791 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut The image file is saved in the bin you specified. You can import the file into Avid DS Nitris or use it in other applications. 792 Rippling Clips Rippling Clips The Ripple mode lets you preserve the integrity of previous edits as you continue to perform other edits on the timeline. As you move, trim, insert, or delete clips on the timeline, you can decide if the clips that follow the edit point should move to accommodate the change. Inserting clips in Ripple mode. You can ripple all tracks (timeline effect, video, background, and audio) across the timeline or limit the rippling only to the video tracks or other selected tracks. For example, if you’ve already edited your video clips, and now want to work on the audio alone, simply activate the Ripple mode only for the audio tracks. n When you activate the Ripple mode on any background track, it is also activated on all background tracks. Only the audio and video tracks can be rippled on a per track basis. 793 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Working in Ripple mode is like working in insert mode. When you insert a clip anywhere along the timeline, any successive clips are automatically pushed later in time. Any clips that are sync-locked, such as the audio and video components of a clip, are rippled in sync. The edits of any preceding clips are not affected. When you’re not in Ripple mode, you’re in the default overwrite mode. Any clip that you place on the timeline occupies the space in which it was placed. It does not change the position or activeness of the other clips. To activate or deactivate Ripple mode: 1. From the timeline controls, click the main Ripple button. The Ripple mode is activated. By default, the Ripple buttons on all the tracks are also activated and highlighted in blue. This makes all clips in a sequence ripple across the timeline as you perform your edits. Activate Ripple mode Main Ripple button Activate timeline effect track ripple Activate track ripple 2. Deactivate the Ripple button on tracks that you do not want to ripple as you insert new clips on the timeline. 3. To deactivate the Ripple mode, click the main Ripple button. The Ripple mode is deactivated for all tracks on the timeline. Notice that the setting of the Ripple buttons on the tracks is preserved even after the Ripple mode is deactivated. Although the buttons are not highlighted in blue, they still appear activated. Active state is preserved 794 Rippling Clips This indicates that you’re inserting clips from the Source viewer to the timeline. The Insert button on the Source and Record viewer temporarily activates the Ripple mode, allowing you to ripple clips on tracks where this button is activated. For more information, see “Manipulating Clips” on page 759. Setting a Ripple End You can select a timecode beyond which you no longer want to work in Ripple mode. Setting the ripple end at this timecode leaves Ripple mode on for the preceding time span, and turns it off for the succeeding time span. When you place clips on the timeline before the ripple end, any successive clips will be pushed up to, but not beyond the ripple end timecode. Clips placed after the ripple simply occupy the space where they are placed, without changing the position or activeness of the other clips. To set the ripple end: 1. Move the position indicator to the timecode where you want to deactivate Ripple mode. 2. From the toolbar, click Editing > Set Ripple End. A light blue bar is displayed on the timeline, indicating the end of the ripple zone. To reactivate Ripple mode for the complete timeline: t Move the position indicator to the ripple end timecode and click Editing > Set Ripple End again. 795 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Inserting Clips in Ripple Mode You can insert clips at a specified point on the timeline by activating the Ripple mode. When the clip is inserted, all other clips from that point are pushed forward. To insert a clip on the timeline: Main Ripple button 1. From the timeline controls, click the Main Ripple button. 2. Click the Ripple button on the tracks that you want to ripple forward. 3. Drag a clip from a bin or Source viewer to the timeline. All other clips from that timecode forward are rippled on the tracks where the Ripple mode was activated. If you inserted the clip in the middle of another clip, that clip is split into two and the new clip is inserted between them. n Press the V (insert) or B (overwrite) keys while dragging clips to the timeline will override the current ripple setting. Inserting clip in Ripple mode. Before Insertion point Ripple mode on Ripple mode off Only clips on the tracks in Ripple mode are moved. Inserted clip Remainder of clip is rippled. After Clip not rippled. 796 Rippling Clips Editing Clips in Ripple Mode When moving, trimming, or deleting clips while in Ripple mode, it’s important to preserve the integrity of edit points on other clips. Any edits that you perform to one clip affects all successive clips on the timeline. Instead of rippling all clips on the timeline, you can select the tracks on which you want clips to ripple. This is useful, for instance, when you do not want the trimming of video clips to affect the audio clips. To edit a clip in Ripple mode: Main Ripple button 1. From the timeline controls, click the main Ripple button. 2. Click the Ripple button on the tracks that you want to ripple. 3. Adjust the clip’s edit points as necessary. All clips are moved left or right to accommodate the changes on the selected clip. If you delete a clip, all succeeding clips are moved together to close the gap where the clip was active. Position of clips before deletion. Clip to be deleted. Position of clips after deletion (in Ripple mode). Clips moved by amount of deleted clip’s activeness. 797 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Synchronizing Clips Synchronizing (syncing) clips refers to aligning points on different clips, so that they occur simultaneously. When you synchronize clips in Avid DS Nitris, you can sync-lock them together, so that they do not fall out of alignment. You can break the sync-lock on clips at any time to edit them independently of each other. A locked group of synchronized clips is called a sync group. Each sync group has a master clip and one or more slave clips. The master clip acts as the focal point for the sync group, and the position of slave clips is always relative to the master clip’s position. One of the most common synchronization tasks that you can perform is syncing audio clips with video clips, so that the sound in the audio clip matches the action in the video clip. Aligning Clips for Synchronization Using locators can help you synchronize video and audio clips. You can place reference locators on the timeline ribbon and then drag the clip locator to align it with the reference locators or with other clip locators. To align a clip at a specific timecode: 1. Move the position indicator to the timecode at which you want to synchronize the clips. 2. Right-click the timeline ribbon and select Add Locator at Playback Position > color. This places a local locator on the timeline ribbon to define the point at which to align your clips. 3. Right-click the clip and select Add Locator > location. A clip locator with a triangular head is displayed on the clip. 798 Synchronizing Clips Reference locator Clip locators 4. Place a locator on each of the other clips that are to be aligned. 5. Drag the head of the clip locator left or right to align it with the reference locator. The clip turns blue and moves with the locator as you drag it. When you get close to the reference locator, the magnetism between the locators helps align the clip. Audio and video clips aligned at position of reference locator. 799 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut 6. Align the other clips in the same way. Creating a Sync Group Once you’re satisfied with the way the clips are aligned, you can lock them together in a sync group. When you move one clip, the rest of the group moves with it. This is especially useful when trimming audio and video clips on multiple tracks, because the sound and accompanying images are trimmed in sync. You can have any number of video or audio clips synchronized together, but you must select at least two clips to apply a sync-lock. The master clip is the center of the sync group. If the position of any clip is offset, the offset will always be displayed as the number of frames from the master clip. When you create a sync group, the order in which you selected the clips is maintained. If you delete the master clip in the group, the second clip that you originally selected becomes the new master clip. n When a clip containing both audio and video is placed on the timeline, its audio and video components fall on separate tracks as individual clips. These clips remain sync-locked to each other. To lock clips in sync: 1. Align your clips on the timeline. 2. Do one of the following: t Press Ctrl and click at least two clips to lock together. t Place the position indicator on the clips you want to lock together. 3. From the toolbar, click Editing > Sync Lock. The name of the first clip that you selected ends with “Master” while the names of the other clips end with “Slave”. 800 Synchronizing Clips Master clip Slave clip n If the selected clips are already synchronized, when you click Editing > Sync Lock the synchronization is broken. The Sync Lock command can lock clips and unlock clips, depending on the synchronization status of the clips. Adding to an Existing Sync Group As you place clips on the timeline, you can add them to existing sync groups. If, for example, you have a sync group containing a video track and an audio track, you can align a second audio track with the sync group, and add it to the group when you’re satisfied with its position. To add clips to a sync group: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Select a clip from the sync group to which you want to add the clip. 3. Press Ctrl and select the clip that you want to add to the sync group. 4. From the toolbar, click Editing > Sync Lock. The clip is added to the sync group. Combining Two Sync Groups You can combine two or more sync groups to form a single group, containing all of the clips in the original groups. The clips in the second group that you select are appended, as slave clips, to the first group that you select. To combine existing sync groups: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Select a clip from the sync group that you want to combine with another group. 3. Press Ctrl and select a clip from the group that you want to add. 4. From the toolbar, click Editing > Sync Lock. 801 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut The groups are merged into a single sync group. The clips in the added group are all slaves and the master of the first group remains the master. Unlocking Synchronized Clips You can remove individual clips from a sync group without removing them from the timeline. When a clip is no longer synchronized, you can edit it independently of the other clips in the group. If you remove the master clip from a sync group, the next clip that you originally selected becomes the new master clip. n Applying the Timewarp, Interlace/Deinterlace, and 3:2 Expand/3:2 Contract effects automatically breaks the lock on synchronized clips. To break a sync-lock: 1. Do one of the following: t t Place the position indicator on the synchronized clips. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button, and select one or more synchronized clips. 2. From the toolbar, click Editing > Sync Lock. Only the selected clips are removed from the rest of the sync group, and can now be edited independently. Manipulating Synchronized Clips You can select and move synchronized clips the same way that you would with non-synchronized clips. There are, however, a few differences. When you select synchronized clips, they are surrounded by a red border. Other clips in the group are surrounded in yellow to indicate that they’re part of the same group, but were not directly selected. If you multi-select clips in a group or select an entire group, the selected clips will share the focus, and be surrounded in brown. When you move synchronized clips, the entire group moves together. You can, however, move single clips in a sync group independently of the other clips in the group. For more information, see “Manipulating Clips” on page 759. 802 Synchronizing Clips Selecting All Clips in a Sync Group You can select all of the clips in a sync group at the same time. This is useful if, for example, you want to delete an entire sync group. To select all clips in a sync group: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Click one clip from the group that you want to select. 3. From the toolbar, click Editing > Select Sync Peers. All clips in the sync group are selected. Selected clips have red handles and an orange outline. Moving Synchronized Clips Independently When Ripple mode is off, you can move one clip in the sync group independently of the other clips in the group. Moving synchronized clips independently creates an offset between the master clip and slave clips. When an offset occurs, the name of each offset slave clip turns red, and includes the number of frames by which it is offset from the master clip. n If you move a group’s master clip independently, all of the slave clips in the group will show an offset. To move a synchronized clip independently: 1. Make sure that the Main Ripple button is deselected. 2. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 3. On the timeline, select the clip that you want to move. 4. Press the W key, drag the clip along the timeline. The position of the other clips in the sync group will not change. Any resulting offsets will be displayed next to the names of the slave clips. Cutting Synchronized Clips You can cut one or more clips in a sync group in two. When you cut a single clip, the part that you cut off remains synchronized as a new clip. If you cut multiple clips in a group, the two new clips or group of clips become a new sync group with the same master/slave relationships as the original group. For more information, see “Cutting Clips” on page 765. 803 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Editing Synchronized Clips The same rules that apply to editing clips on the timeline apply to all synchronized clips. That is, you can still move, slide, or trim them. When you edit synchronized clips, red handles appear on the first selected edit point. You can use the trim handles to adjust the clip as necessary. If you want to trim multiple clips in the group simultaneously, you can select the edit points of all sync group members at the same timecode. To select all synced edit points at a specific timecode: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Select an edit point of a clip in the sync group. 3. From the toolbar, click Editing > Select Sync Peers. All of the sync group members’ edit points, at the same timecode, are selected. The clips can now be edited simultaneously. n When working with synced audio and video clips, it may be necessary to trim an edit point on one clip independently of the others. For example, if you want a synchronized audio clip to continue for a few seconds past the end of its video clip peers, you can perform a split edit. For more information, see “Selecting Trim Sides” on page 818. Resyncing Clips Offsets that were created by moving a synchronized clip independently of its peers can be corrected, partially or even completely, by resyncing the clip. Resyncing slips the offset clip until the offset is back to zero, or until the offset clip runs out of unused material. For more information, see “Understanding Slipping or Sliding Clips” on page 836. To resync an offset clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. On the timeline, select the offset clip. 3. From the toolbar, click Editing > Resync. The clip is slipped until the offset is corrected, or no unused material is left. 804 Synchronizing Clips Deleting Synchronized Clips When you delete a sync-locked clip, only the highlighted clip is deleted. The other clips that were synchronized with it remain synchronized. If you delete an entire group, none of the clips remain on the timeline. If you delete a group’s master clip, the second clip that you selected when you created the group becomes the new master clip. All subsequently selected clips remain as slave clips. If the group from which you deleted the clip contained only two clips, the other clip in the group will remain on the timeline as a single clip (neither master nor slave). To delete a synchronized clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. On the timeline, select a clip to delete. A red border surrounds the selected clip. 3. Press Delete to delete the clip. The selected clip is removed. If the group contained more than two clips, the next selected clip in the group becomes the new master clip. To delete a sync group: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Select one clip from the group that you want to delete. 3. From the toolbar, click Editing > Select Sync Peers. 4. Press Delete to delete the clip. The selected group is removed. 805 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut Referencing Sequences Referencing other sequences lets you add placeholders to other sequences on the timeline in the current sequence. These placeholders are called reference clips. A reference clip points to another sequence within the current project. Because reference clips only point to a sequence, they consume less memory and load faster than container clips. This improves performance on complex timelines. Using a reference clip also lets you work on that portion of your sequence separately. Once it’s updated, the changes are automatically reflected in sequences that contain this reference clip. n Sequences that reference other sequences might not reflect changes if the referenced sequence contains a reference clip to another sequence. For example, if sequence C references sequence B, and sequence B references sequence A; then any changes to sequence A will not appear in sequence C until you open and save sequence B. The reason for opening and saving sequence B is to update its information about sequence A, because sequence C only sees sequence A through sequence B. Creating Reference Clips You can create a reference to any sequence that exists within the current project. A reference clip cannot be placed on a track if it completely covers another clip. In this case, you must place the reference clip on a different track. To create a reference to an existing sequence: 1. Select a sequence from the Avid Explorer. 2. Press the Alt key and drag the sequence to the timeline. The sequence is displayed as a clip on the timeline. Converting a Container Clip to a Reference Clip You can lighten the load on your timeline and improve performance by converting complex container clips to reference clips. This saves the contents of the container clip to disk as a sequence. In the container clip’s place on the timeline a reference clip points to the saved sequence. 806 Referencing Sequences To convert a container clip to a reference clip: 1. Right-click the container clip and select Convert to Reference Clip. You are prompted to save your current sequence. 2. Click OK to save the current sequence and continue. The current sequence is saved, and the container clip is saved as a sequence with the same name as the container clip. To open a reference clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. Select the reference clip. 3. From the toolbar, click Editing > Expand Ref Clip. To close a reference clip: t From the toolbar, click Editing > Collapse Ref Clip. The reference clip is closed and the top timeline is displayed. Processing Reference Clips If a reference clip contains any unprocessed material, then the marker ribbon and/or clip is highlighted in red and a message “Referenced sequence needs processing” is displayed in the Record viewer during playback. n Processing a reference clip from a master sequence using the Process Reference command does not let you select processing options. The referenced sequence is processed according to the processing options of that sequence, except that it will change the mode to Minimal. To process a single reference clip: 1. Place the position indicator on a reference clip you want to process. 2. From the toolbar, click Processing > Process Reference Clip. You are prompted to save the current sequence. 3. Click OK to save the current sequence or click Cancel to bypass the save. Avid DS Nitris closes the current sequence, opens the referenced sequence, processes it, saves it, and then reloads the original sequence. 807 Chapter 3 Building a Rough Cut To process the entire timeline, including any reference clips: 1. From the toolbar, click Processing > Process Timeline and References. You are prompted to save the current sequence. 2. Click OK to save the current sequence or click Cancel to bypass the save. Avid DS Nitris processes the entire timeline, and also opens and processes any reference clips on the top timeline. 808 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips This chapter describes how to trim edit points after you create a rough cut sequence. • Workflow: Trimming Clips • Understanding Trimming • Methods of Trimming • Understanding Trim Mode • Selecting and Breaking Edit Points • Performing a Basic Trim • Creating Overlap Edits • Trimming Container Clips • Trimming Transition Effects • Understanding Slipping or Sliding Clips • Maintaining Sync While Trimming Chapter 4 Trimming Clips Workflow: Trimming Clips Trimming is the process of fine-tuning the transitions between clips to create smooth transitions for the final sequence. The following illustration shows how you can trim edit points. 1 Select either edit handles, trim handles, or clips. Trim handles 2 Perform a dual-roll trim or a single-roll trim. Drag the selected trim object right or left to trim the edit point. Clip Before ), Nudge Right 10 Frame (>>), Nudge Left 1 Frame (<), and Nudge Right 10 Frame (<<) buttons to move the clip/edit point forward or backward and trim frames at the selected edit point. As you trim the edit point, the frames of the clip are hidden or revealed to reflect the new incoming or outgoing frame. These buttons appear dimmed when there are no more frames available at the head or tail of the clip. 816 Understanding Trim Mode • Enter values in the Frame Offset Counter text box to move the edit point forward or backward. A positive number moves the edit point forward, and a negative number moves it backward. • Use the J-K-L keys to trim the selected edit point. As you trim clips in the Trim mode, the timeline updates to reflect the new edit points. Reviewing a Trim Edit or Transition in Trim Mode After you trim an edit point in Trim mode, you can review the trim edit to verify the trim. You can also play a transition in a loop to view the transition. There are two procedures for reviewing a trim edit or playing a transition while in Trim mode. To review the most recent trim edit or play the selected transition using the Play Preview button: t Click the Play Preview button. The Avid DS Nitris system enters a playback loop. This loop begins at a preroll point before the transition and ends at a postroll point, pausing briefly before beginning playback again. To review the most recent trim edit or to play the selected transition: 1. Click the Loop button. The Loop mode is activated and loop markers appear on the timeline ribbon. 2. Click the Play button. Avid DS Nitris enters a playback loop. This loop begins at a pre-roll point before the transition and ends at a post-roll point, pausing briefly before beginning playback again. n To make adjustments to the playback loop for preroll or postroll, see “Editing Property Page” in the Help. 3. Stop the playback loop by clicking the Play button again. 4. Click the Loop button again to deactivate the Loop mode and remove the loop markers. 817 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips Selecting and Breaking Edit Points Before you can trim a clip, you need to select an edit point. When you select an edit point on a clip, its trim handles and edit handles are displayed. Depending on the type of trim you want to perform, you can select and deselect the various trim handles and edit handles. When an edit point is selected, all other edit points at that timecode are also selected. You can break linked edit points to trim the clips independently of each other. n Before you can select edit point and trim handles on the timeline, you must click the Selection Mode button on the timeline navigation bar to enter the Selection mode. Selecting Trim Sides You can select and deselect the various trim handles and edit handles of a clips’s edit point. When you select an edit point you are selecting the clip’s in or out-point. With video clips, an edit point is shared when one clip intersects with another. If you adjust this edit point, you perform a dual-roller trim in which both clips are trimmed simultaneously. You can perform a single-roller trim by selecting either an in-point or out-point. You can also select edit points on multiple audio and video clips at the same timecode. This is useful when editing synchronized audio and video clips. When an edit point is selected, you can turn it on or off. This is especially useful if you want to break an edit point, so that you can trim clips independently of each other (or perform a split edit). To select an edit point, do one of the following: t On the activeness bar, click an edit point. t In Trim mode, click the Go to Previous Edit or Go to Next Edit button. By default, Avid DS Nitris selects the nearest transition in either direction of selected tracks for trimming. 818 Selecting and Breaking Edit Points To select edit points on multiple audio and video clips: t t t Press Shift and drag left to right on the timeline to surround the transitions you want to trim. This method is useful when you need to select multiple transitions staggered across parallel tracks (overlap cuts) for simultaneous trimming. Press Shift and click an edit point. All other edit points at the same timecode are selected regardless of the clip type. Press Ctrl and click an edit point to select or deselect the edit point or trim handles for single-roll trimming. Select an edit point. Both edit points on connected clips become selected. Video clips Audio clips Shift-click to select all edit points at that timecode. Ctrl-click to deselect an edit point. To deselect all edit points: t Click another location on the timeline. 819 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips To select the sides of a transition to trim, do one of the following: t In Trim mode, click the Outgoing (A-side) or Incoming (B-side) frame. A red border surrounds the incoming and outgoing frames to indicate which clip will be trimmed. t In Trim mode, click between the outgoing (A-side) or incoming (B-side) frame to select both sides of a transition. A red border surrounds both the incoming and outgoing frames. t Click the trim handles to select or deselect side A, side B, or both. The selected trim handle turns yellow and a red border surrounds the incoming and outgoing frames to indicate which clip will be trimmed. Select a trim handle. Breaking and Relinking Edit Points When an edit point is selected, all other edit points at that timecode are also selected. You can break edit points to independently trim clips. Since Avid DS Nitris preserves all edit points between clips in a sequence, you cannot break an edit point by dragging edit points apart. To break edit points, you must use the Break Links command on the NLE Tools toolbar. Linked edit points are highlighted in yellow. 820 Selecting and Breaking Edit Points Dragging an intersecting edit point right or left adjusts both points at that timecode. Ctrl-click an edit point to deselect it. You can now trim this edit point independently. To break an edit point: t Select the edit points of contiguous clips, and do one of the following: - Press Ctrl and deselect the edit point that you do not want to adjust. The deselected edit point is no longer highlighted. - From the toolbar, click Editing > Break Links. You can now trim the clips independently of each other. To relink edit points at the same timecode: 1. Select an unlinked edit point. 2. (Optional) Press Ctrl and click another edit point (of the same clip type) at the same timecode. Both edit points are highlighted. 3. From the toolbar, click Editing > Link Edits. Linked edit points are highlighted with yellow. 821 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips Performing a Basic Trim With transitions and trim sides selected, you can perform a basic trim by doing any of the following: n • In the Trim mode, use the Trim buttons to trim forwards or backwards by one or ten-frame increments—see “Understanding Trim Mode” on page 814. • Use the J-K-L keys to trim forwards or backwards in the sequence—see “Trimming On-the-Fly” on page 831. • Use the keyboard or numeric keypad to: - Move the transition a specific number of frames, type a plus sign (+) or minus sign (–) after you type the number of frames (from 1 to 99) that you want to move forward or backward. Then, press Enter. - If the number of frames is larger than 99, type a period (.) before you type the number of frames. For example, to enter 100 frames, type .100 and press Enter. The transition moves 3 seconds and 10 frames. - Move the transition to an exact point in the timecode, type a timecode number larger than 99, including frames. For example, type 102 to enter 1 second and 2 frames (1:02). When typing a timecode value, you can skip fields by typing a dot (.). For example, type 12..22 for timecode 12:00:00:22. • In Trim mode, to move the transition a specific number or frames, type the number of frames in the Frame Offset Counter box. Select an edit point, a trim-in handle, or a trim-out handle, and adjust the values in the timecode boxes on the status bar. This edits frames at the selected point more accurately. For selected object. Start 822 End Duration Position indicator For in/out markers. In Out Duration Performing a Basic Trim n • Drag the trim-in or trim-out handles left or right to change the incoming or outgoing frames of a clip. This does not change the recording timecode (unless in Ripple mode)—see “Trimming with the Trim Handles” on page 825. • Drag the edit handle left or right to change the start or end time at which a clip is recorded. This also changes the incoming or outgoing frame. When trimming with the edit handles, it does not matter if Ripple mode is on or off—see “Trimming the Edit Point” on page 823. If you want to trim synchronized audio and video clips, you must simultaneously select multiple edit points. For more information, see “Selecting Trim Sides” on page 818. As you trim, all selected transitions in the timeline move in unison. The Frame Offset counters display the frame count backward or forward for one or both trim sides, and the Trim viewer displays the new incoming or outgoing frames. Trimming the Edit Point When you move the edit handle at an edit point, you are changing the start or end recording time for the clip. This also changes the incoming or outgoing frame. n When trimming with the edit handles, it does not matter if Ripple mode is on or off. 823 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips The following illustration shows the different ways of trimming an edit point: Before Trimming edit point to the left. After More frames are available at beginning of clip. Before Trimming edit point to the right. After Frames are hidden from beginning of clip. Before Trimming intersecting edit point to the right. After Edit points can only be dragged as far as there is available material on the clip. To trim an edit point on a clip: 1. Select an edit point on a clip. The clip’s edit handles are displayed. 2. Drag the edit point left or right. Depending on the direction in which you drag the clip, more frames are made available or hidden. 824 Performing a Basic Trim To trim edit points between clips: 1. Select an edit point between two clips. The edit handles on both clips are displayed. 2. Drag the edit point left or right. As you move the edit point, it reveals more frames on one clip and hides frames on the other. n You can also adjust an edit point more precisely by selecting it and entering a value in the S (start) or E (end) timecode boxes on the status bar. Adjusting the in-point and out-point on clips Select one edit point between contiguous clips. Both points are automatically selected. Drag edit point right or left. Both edit points at that timecode are adjusted. Trimming with the Trim Handles The trim handles on a clip are used to change the incoming or outgoing frames of a clip. This does not change the recording timecode. When you move the trim-in handle of a clip, you change the incoming frame on a clip. Similarly, if you move the trim-out handle of a clip, you are changing its outgoing frame. Trim-in handle Trim-out handle 825 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips When Ripple mode is activated, trimming clips gives you different results than when it is deactivated. The following illustrations show how clips are affected when you trim them with and without the Ripple mode. The first scenario illustrates what happens when you trim an in-point. Trimming an in-point Ripple mode on Before Trimming to the left. After The following clip(s) ripple. Before Trimming to the right. After The following clip(s) ripple back. Ripple mode off Before Trimming to the left. After Edit point remains fixed on timeline. Before Trimming to the right. After 826 Performing a Basic Trim Trimming an out-point Ripple mode on Before Trimming to the left. After Following clip(s) ripple back. Before Trimming to the right. After The following clip(s) ripple. Ripple mode off Before Trimming to the left. After Second clip extends as long as there is more material available. Before End point of following clip remains fixed on timeline. Trimming to the right. After 827 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips To adjust the trim handles: 1. (Optional) Click the Ripple button in the timeline controls. If necessary, click the Track Ripple button for the individual tracks on which you want the clips to ripple. n You can only ripple individual audio and video tracks. 2. Select the edit point on the clip that you want to trim. The clip’s trim handles are displayed just above the edit point. 3. Drag the trim handle to the right or left. The trim handle can only be moved as far as there is extra material available on the clip. The following example shows the results of trimming a clip when you’re in Ripple mode and when you’re not. The clips are placed on multiple tracks, so that you can see the unused material on the clips. Trim-in handle when not in Ripple mode. Before Trim-in handle to the right. >> After: Ripple mode off. Clip is slipped to the left. Opposite end’s edit point remains fixed on timeline. 828 Incoming frame remains the same. Performing a Basic Trim Trim-in handle in Ripple mode Trim-in handle to the right. Before >> After: Ripple mode on. Clip is slipped to the left. >> Trim-in handle to the right. Successive clips are moved the same amount of trimmed frames. Trimming Audio Clips Using the trim handles to trim audio clips lets you hear the clips as you scrub over them. For example, in the following illustration, if you move the trim-in handle of the Drums clip, you’ll hear that clip being played. If however, you move the trim-out handle of the Bass clip, that’s the clip you’ll hear. 829 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips Backtiming Backtiming is a way of trimming a clip’s out-point without changing its activeness or position. Instead of overwriting or being overwritten by the following clip, the selected clip is slipped along its unused material. n When trimming backtime edits, it does not matter if Ripple mode is on or off. Backtime edits are performed as if Ripple mode is off. To perform a backtime edit on a clip: Main Ripple button 1. Make sure that the main Ripple button is deselected. 2. Select the out-point that you want to edit. 3. Press E and drag the out-point trim handle right or left. The clip is slipped along its unused material while maintaining its activeness and position. The previous and next clips in the sequence are not affected. Snapping Edit Points If you need to quickly fix a bad edit, instead of selecting the previous or next edit point and dragging it to the position indicator, you can locate the correct frame and then snap the edit point to that frame. Effects applied to the clip are also trimmed. To snap an edit point to the position indicator: 1. Move the position indicator to the desired position. The P timecode box indicates the timecode of the position indicator. 2. From the toolbar, click Editing and select one of the following: - Snap In to move the in-point to the new timecode. - Snap Out to move the out-point. The selected frame becomes the new in or out-point. n 830 You can also use the Snap In and Snap Out commands to trim synced clips (for example clips with audio and video content) as long as the clips are the same length. You should have enough unused material available to perform this operation. For more information see “Revealing Unused Material on Clips” on page 768. Performing a Basic Trim Trimming On-the-Fly In Trim mode, you can use the J-K-L keys on the keyboard to play outgoing or incoming material and mark trim points. For convenience, this method isolates the trim controls to just three keys. To trim on-the-fly: 1. Click either the outgoing (A-side) or incoming (B-side) frame to play in real time during the trim. 2. Select one or more transitions for single-roller or dual-roller trimming. 3. Use the J-K-L keys to step (jog), play, or shuttle through the footage at varying speeds: n - Hold down the K key while pressing the J or L key to step slowly backwards or forwards through the footage. When you find the frame where you want to relocate the transition, release the K key to complete the trim. - Press the J or L key once to play at normal speed, or press more than once to shuttle at higher speeds. When you see the frame where you want to relocate the transition, press the K key to complete the trim—see “Varying the Playback Speed” on page 750. If you press the spacebar while trimming with the J-K-L keys, the position indicator moves to the current location. No trim is performed. The Trim viewers and the timeline are updated to reflect the trim. n When trimming with the J-K-L keys, you cannot completely trim away a clip. The Avid DS Nitris system always leaves one frame. To remove the remaining frame, see “Performing a Basic Trim” on page 822. 831 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips Creating Overlap Edits You can use an overlap edit to smooth a transition by giving the illusion that the audio or video is shared between two separate but adjacent clips. Perform a dual-roller trim to create overlap edits. Audio overlap example Before trimming V1 A1 A2 Clip A Clip B Clip C After trimming V1 A1 A2 Clip A Clip B Clip C Clip B audio is extended. Clip C audio is trimmed in. To create an overlap edit: 1. Perform a straight-cut edit between two clips, including audio and video tracks: - If the timing of the video edit is crucial, mark edit points according to the video. - If the timing of the audio transition is crucial, mark edit points according to the audio. 2. Perform a dual-roller trim (edit point trim) on either the video track or the audio track, but not on both: 832 - If the video transition occurs at the correct place, but you want the audio from one clip to linger into the other (or the reverse), trim the audio tracks accordingly. - If the audio transition occurs at the correct place, but you want the video to transition either before or after the audio cut, trim the video track accordingly. Trimming Container Clips Trimming Container Clips You can trim a container clip just as you would trim any other clip on the timeline. You can drag the in-point out to the start of the material (that is, the in-point of the first clip in the container clip). The out-point of a container clip can be dragged to infinity. When you trim a container clip, it does not affect the length of the clips contained within it. If the clip in the container clip is longer than the container clip itself, the extra material is not visible in the final sequence. Top timeline Container clip timeline Container clip ends at 00:00:04:22, so this portion is not visible in final sequence 833 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips Trimming Transition Effects Transitions are displayed as part of the activeness bar. When you select a transition, it is highlighted in red. You can adjust the properties of the transition by right-clicking on this area and opening its property editor. The edit point between two clips indicates a transition from one clip to another. You can trim this edit point to change the timecodes at which the transition takes place. n You can also edit transitions by entering values in the timecode boxes on the status bar. Transition’s start point Selected transition Transition’s end point To change the duration of a transition effect: 1. Select the edit point of the transition effect. 2. Enter the new length for the transition in one of the following places: 834 - The Transition Duration timecode box in Trim mode. - The D (duration) timecode box on the status bar. Trimming Transition Effects To change the position of the transition effect: 1. In Trim mode, select the transition effect. 2. Right-click the Transition Alignment button and select one of the following: Command n Button Description Transition Start Starts the transition at the edit point. Transition Center Centers the transition on the edit point. Transition End Ends the transition at the edit point. In the Source and Record view, you can also change the position of a transition effect by manually moving the edit point. To trim the transition area, see “Selecting and Breaking Edit Points” on page 818. 835 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips Understanding Slipping or Sliding Clips In addition to fine-tuning your edits by trimming clips, you can also slip the contents of a clip, or slide the clip to a different location in the sequence. Slipping and sliding clips do not affect the overall duration of the sequence or the sync relationships between multiple tracks. The Slip/Slide mode lets you precisely manipulate a clip’s incoming and outgoing frames on a frame-by-frame basis. This mode also shows the incoming and/or outgoing frames of the previous and next clip (if any). You can slip or slide a clip by entering new in and out timecodes, or by using the trim nudge buttons to move the frames incrementally. After slipping or sliding a clip in the Slip/Slide mode, you can play the results in the viewer. Slip/Slide Mode Outgoing frame Head frame Tail frame Incoming frame Source timecodes Trim Nudge buttons For detailed information on the Slip/Slide controls, click the Help button. The Slip/Slide mode shows the frames in the selected clip and any clips to which it is connected. The Head frame and Tail frame show the start and end frames of the selected clip. If there are any clips before or after the selected clip, they’re displayed in the Incoming frame or Outgoing frame. 836 Understanding Slipping or Sliding Clips n In the special case where the Slip/Slide mode is used for manipulating audio clips within an audio container, the Trim Nudge buttons (<, <<, >, and >>) will affect the clip in units of time defined by the ruler's display (milliseconds, samples, drop frame, or non-drop frame). Slipping Clips Slipping refers to moving the contents of a clip while its edit points remain fixed. Imagine looking through a train window as the landscape slides by. The size of the window always remains the same, but the view keeps changing. Slipping a clip does not change the position or duration of the active area of a clip. You slip a clip when you are sure about the duration of a clip, but need to change the incoming frame. When you slip a clip, the edit points do not move, so any transitions that have been applied are maintained. However, the transition must be reprocessed. Active area Before After 1 2 Slip clip right or left 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 The frames that precede and follow the clip you are slipping are not effected. Surrounding material remains fixed Before Slip 1 frame to the right 1 2 3 4 4 5 Frames After 2 3 The active area in the illustration shows the active section of a clip. If you slip the clip, new frames appear in the active area. Any clips that precede or follow the slipped clip are not affected. 837 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips n When slipping clips, the selected clip must have extra material at the head or tail of the clip. There are two ways of slipping clips in the Slip/Slide mode: t Use the Nudge Right 1 Frame (>), Nudge Right 10 Frame (>>), Nudge Left 1 Frame (<), and Nudge Right 10 Frame (<<) buttons to move the selected clip’s content forward or backward. The activeness of the selected clip does not move, nor are the previous or next clips affected. These buttons appear dimmed when there are no more frames available for slipping. t n Enter values in the Offset text box to move the edit point forward or backward. A positive number moves the clip’s content forward, and a negative number moves it backward. As you edit clips in the Slip/Slide mode, the timeline also updates to reflect the new edit points. Sliding Clips Slide refers to moving a clip to change its location on the timeline, while retaining its duration and active frames. Sliding a clip moves it along the timeline with its activeness. As you slide a clip, it trims the activeness of the previous and next clip. You can only slide the clip as far as there is available material on the adjoining clips. For example, you would slide a clip when your shot has the correct action sequence but needs to be synced with its corresponding audio track. To do this, slide the clip along the timeline until it aligns with its audio clip. Active area A1 A2 A3 1 2 3 4 5 B1 B2 B3 3 4 5 B3 Slide clip right or left If rolled to the right... A1 A2 A3 A1 A4 A2 A5 A3 1 2 There are two ways of sliding clips in the Slip/Slide mode. 838 Understanding Slipping or Sliding Clips • Use the Nudge Right 1 Frame (>), Nudge Right 10 Frame (>>), Nudge Left 1 Frame (<), and Nudge Right 10 Frame (<<) buttons to move the selected clip with its activeness forward or backward, and trim frames off the previous and next clips. These buttons appear dimmed when there are no more frames available for sliding. • Enter values in the Offset text box to move the edit point forward or backward. A positive number moves the edit point forward, and a negative number moves it backward. Entering Slip/Slide Mode The Slip/Slide mode is based on clip selection. You must first select a clip on the timeline to see the incoming and outgoing frames in the Slip/Slide mode. To manually access the Slip/Slide mode: 1. From the taskbar, click the Editing button. 2. From the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button to select it. 3. Select a clip from the timeline. 4. From the timeline navigation bar, click the Trim Mode button. The four-frame Slip/Slide mode replaces the Source/Record viewers. To automatically access the Slip/Slide mode when you select a clip: 1. From the taskbar, click the Editing button. 2. Right-click the Trim Mode button and select Switch for Clip. 3. Right-click the Trim Mode button again and select Autoswitch. When you select a clip in the timeline, the Slip/Slide mode is displayed. Deselect Switch for Clip to access the Slip/Slide mode manually. To exit Slip/Slide mode: t From the timeline navigation bar, click the Source/Record view button. 839 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips Performing a Slip or Slide Trim In Slip/Slide mode, you can slip the contents of a clip or slide the clip to a different location in the sequence. To slip or slide a clip: 1. On the timeline, select the clip that you want to slip or slide. n You can slip audio and video clips together by sync-locking them. For more information, see “Maintaining Sync While Trimming” on page 842. 2. Access Slip/Slide mode—see “Entering Slip/Slide Mode” on page 839. The four-frame Slip/Slide mode replaces the Source/Record view. 3. Select one of the following options from the Slip/Slide mode: n - Slip to slip the selected clip - Slide to slide the selected clip You cannot perform both slipping and sliding functions simultaneously. 4. Click the Trim Nudge buttons to slip or slide the clip. Nudge Right/Left 10 frames Nudge Right/Left 1 frame n You can also type the number of frames that you want to slip or slide in the Offset text boxes. A positive number moves the clip forward and a negative number moves it backward. 5. Monitor the progress of the trim by using the Slip/Slide modes, the Frame Offset counters, and the timeline. When you reach the end of available material while slipping a shot, the trim stops. Similarly, when you reach the next transition while sliding a shot along a track, the trim stops. A red bracket at the transition indicates the limit. After completing the initial slide, you can perform another slide in the same direction. It’s useful to see how much extra material you have 840 Understanding Slipping or Sliding Clips by displaying the frames past the activeness bar. To do this, you must be in Display Unused Material mode—see “Revealing Unused Material on Clips” on page 768. 6. When you’re finished, exit the Slip mode or Slide mode by doing one of the following: t Deselect the clip and click the Trim Mode button. t Click the Source/Record View button. Reviewing a Slip or Slide Trim After you trim an edit point in Slip/Slide mode, you can review the trim edit to verify the trim. To review the most recent trim edit: t Click the Play Preview button. The Avid DS Nitris system enters a playback loop. This loop begins at a pre-roll point before the transition and ends at a post-roll point, pausing briefly before beginning playback again. 841 Chapter 4 Trimming Clips Maintaining Sync While Trimming Syncing clips is especially useful when trimming audio and video clips on multiple tracks, because the sound and accompanying images are trimmed in sync. Because single-roller (A-side or B-side) trims shorten or lengthen the duration of the track being trimmed, any relationships that exist with other tracks downstream of the trim will be thrown out of sync. Single-roller trims allow you to trim one side of an edit point, whereas, a dualroller trim will trim both sides of the edit point. There are three methods that ensure you do not break sync unintentionally between two or more video and audio tracks when performing single-roller trims: n • Creating a gap on the track while trimming. • Sync-locking clips to maintain their relative positions—see “Synchronizing Clips” on page 798. • Rippling tracks to maintain a synchronized relationship—see “Rippling Clips” on page 793. Because dual-roller trims do not cause sync breaks, you can only add gaps while performing single-roller trims. Creating a Gap When Trimming You can create a gap on either the A-side or the B-side of a transition while maintaining the overall duration of the track and sync relationships. When trimming a clip, a gap fills the duration of trimmed frames. After you create a gap on a track, you can replace the gap with footage. For more information, see “Placing Clips on the Timeline” on page 712. To add a gap while trimming: 1. Select the transition. 2. Hold the Alt key and drag the A-side or B-side trim handle. A gap fills the duration of the trim without changing the duration of sequence. 842 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects This chapter describes the image transitions effects and how to apply them. • Understanding Image Transition Effects • Applying a Dissolve Effect to a Transition • Applying a DVE Effect to a Transition • Understanding the Morph Effect • Applying a Picture-in-Picture Effect • Applying Wipe Effects Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects Understanding Image Transition Effects The image transition effects let you create transitions between clips on the same track, on different audio and video tracks, but not different background tracks. You can apply image transition effects on the timeline or to an Effects Tree. For more information, see “Applying Effects on the Timeline” on page 907. You can also create transitions between two nodes in an Effects Tree. For more information, see “Applying an Effects Tree as a Transition” in the Help. n 844 Transitions on the timeline can be created only when there is extra material available on one of the clips. Applying a Dissolve Effect to a Transition Applying a Dissolve Effect to a Transition The Dissolve effect lets you apply a transition between video clips in which the image from one clip gradually becomes less distinct as the image from the other clip replaces it. The Dissolve effect ensures that the alpha channel is multiplied into color channels before applying the dissolve. n You can use the Blend transition effect if you do not want the alpha channel to affect the color channels, or if you require channel masking services when dissolving. You can apply a dissolve at the start, center, or end of the transition. You can also adjust the amount of the dissolve if you want the frames of one clip to be more apparent than the other. You can apply a dissolve as an effect for singlesided transitions at the beginning or end of a clip. The Dissolve effect can only be applied on clips on the timeline or as a node in an Effects Tree. Since the Dissolve effect is a real-time effect, you can view the results upon playback without having to first process the effect. n First clip In some cases, real-time effects may require processing to ensure that no frames are skipped. For more information, see “Playing Real-Time Effects” on page 900. Dissolve at 25% Dissolve at 50% Dissolve at 75% Second clip To apply a dissolve on the timeline: 1. On the timeline, overlap the clips that you want to work with. They can be placed on the same or different tracks. Make sure the clips that receive the dissolve have extra material. 2. Select the intersecting edit point between the two clips on which you want to apply the dissolve. 845 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects The selected edit point turns red. 3. From the toolbar, click Transition Effects > Dissolve/Crossfade. On the timeline, the transition area is displayed as a gradient on the activeness bar. 4. On the Dissolve property editor, adjust the amount of the dissolve, and specify the start point and duration of the transition. n The start point and duration options are only available when you apply a dissolve on the timeline. For more information, click the Help button. To apply a dissolve in an Effects Tree: 1. Right-click an empty area of an Effects Tree and select Add Effect. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 2. From the \Image Transitions folder, select Dissolve and click OK. A Dissolve node is added to the Effects Tree. 3. In the Effects Tree, double-click the Dissolve node. The Dissolve property editor is displayed. 846 Applying a Dissolve Effect to a Transition 4. On the Timing property page, adjust the amount of the dissolve and the function curve to control the timing and percentage of the mix. 847 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects Applying a DVE Effect to a Transition The DVE effect lets you transform the size, position, and shape of images in three-dimensional space. Using DVEs, you can create effects such as “pushwipes”, “fly-bys”, or picture-in-picture. You can apply DVEs to clips, tracks, layers in the Layers view, or Effects Trees. On the timeline, you can use DVEs for transitions between two clips or for single-sided transitions at the beginning or end of a clip. For more information, see “Applying Transitions” on page 908. To apply a DVE to a transition on the timeline: 1. On the timeline, overlap the clips that you want to work with. They can be placed on the same or different tracks. Make sure that the clips to receive the DVE have extra material. 2. Select the intersecting edit point between the two video clips on which you want to apply the DVE. 3. From the toolbar, click Transition Effects > DVE. The transition area is displayed as a gradient on the activeness bar. 848 Applying a DVE Effect to a Transition 4. In the DVE property editor, modify the properties of the DVE to achieve the effect you want. For more information, click the Help button. To learn about applying DVEs on layers in a composite, see “Applying a DVE” in the Help. 849 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects Understanding the Morph Effect The Morph effect lets you transform one image or a sequence of images into another over a sequence of frames. You can morph between still or moving images. You can apply the Morph effect as a transition on the timeline or in an Effects Tree. When morphing a still image, you can, for example, show a change between two images, such as the progressive aging of a girl into a woman or the transformation of a woman into a man. Outgoing image with morph applied to face. Morph with 50% shape interpolation, 50% transparency. Incoming image with morph applied to face. When morphing a moving image, you can show a change between two sequences of images, such as a walking boy turning into a walking man. The Morph effect is comprised of a warp effect on an incoming image, a warp effect on an outgoing image, and a dissolve between them. For more information, see “Warp Effect” of the Help. The outgoing image is warped from its original shape to the shape of the incoming image. The incoming image is warped in the opposite direction, going from the shape of the outgoing image to its original shape. Manipulating the transparency value lets you control the dissolve between the two images. 850 Understanding the Morph Effect The Source shape morphs from the original image to a distorted image resembling the shape of the target. The target shape morphs in the opposite direction, from distorted image, resembling the shape of the source to the original target image. The basic workflow for creating a morph: 1. Select the images to morph together. 2. Create source and target shapes that describe the morph transformation. 3. Join the shapes and adjust the correspondence between them. 4. Track the shapes or adjust the shape positions over time with keyframes, if necessary. 5. Set the rendering options. 6. Process the morph. 851 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects Applying a Morph Transition Effect You apply the Morph transition effect in the same way as a simple dissolve or wipe. In an Effects Tree, you apply it like any other effect between two inputs. For more information, see “Working with the Effects Tree” in the Help. To create a morph transition between clips: 1. On the timeline, overlap the clips on which you want to apply the Morph effect. They can be placed on the same or different tracks. Make sure the clips that receive the effect have extra material. 2. Select the edit point between the two video clips. The selected edit point turns red. 3. From the toolbar, click Transition Effects > Dissolve/Crossfade or Wipe. The Dissolve or Wipe property editor is displayed, and the transition area is displayed as a gradient on the activeness bar. 4. In the Wipe or Dissolve property editor, click the Load Preset button. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 5. From the \Image Transitions folder, select the Morph effect. The Morph property page is displayed. For more information, click the Help button. Creating Shapes Shapes are Bézier curves that outline the parts of your image that you want to morph. The Morph effect uses these shapes as a guide to transition from one to the other. Shapes can be open-ended or closed. They can stand alone or be joined to another shape. The Morph Effect has four shape creation tools, available from the Shapes property page: 852 Freehand Ellipse Polyline Rectangle Understanding the Morph Effect To create a source and destination shape: 1. Double-click the transition area between the two clips to open the Morph property editor. 2. On the Shapes property page, select the Source option from the Output box. The outgoing image is displayed in the viewer. 3. From the Shape Creation box, select a drawing tool to create the source shape. 4. Create a rough shape around the object that you want to warp. The source shape is displayed in red. Source shape drawn with the Polyline tool on the outgoing image. n You can zoom and pan in the viewer to frame the portion of the image you want to trace. 5. From the Editing Tools box, click the Edit Shape tool. Control points along the source shape are displayed. n If you copy open shapes from the Morph effect into a keyer or Matte effect, the shapes will automatically be closed. 6. Drag the control points so that your shape outlines the part of the image you want to morph. 853 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects Control point To add an additional control point, hold down the A key and click the line on which you want the control point to appear. n If the source image is moving between frames, you should rotoscope or animate the source shape over the length of the transition. For more information, see “Creating Animation” on page 963. 7. From the Output box, select the Destination option. The incoming image is displayed in the viewer. 8. From the Shape Creation box, select a shape tool to create the target shape. n When you draw the shapes on the destination image, be sure to draw them in the same direction and order in which you created them on the source image. For example, if you started drawing the shape on the source image from the top and to the right, and also draw the shape on the destination image from the top and to the right. This will avoid unwanted deformations in the morphed image. However, if you want to create a deformation, you can create the shape on the destination image differently. 9. Create a shape on the destination image representing the target shape or the final image into which the source image will morph. The target shape is displayed in blue. 854 Understanding the Morph Effect Target shape drawn with the Polyline tool on the incoming image. n To close a shape created with the polyline tool, press Ctrl and click. 10. Use the following tools from the Transformations box to manipulate your shape: Select Rotate Scale Skew 11. From the Editing Tools box, click the Edit Shape tool. Control points along the target shape are displayed. 12. Drag the control points to modify the shape. n If the target image is moving between frames, you can track the target shape over the length of the transition. For more information, see “Tracking Morphed Shapes” on page 861. 13. On the Shapes property page, select the Apply option. The Morph effect is applied to the clips. For more information, click the Help button. 855 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects Joining Shapes After you have created your shapes, you can join them together to create a relationship between the beginning shape of the source image and the ending shape of the target image. The Morph effect automatically interpolates between the two shapes over the length of the transition. n You can only join open-ended shapes with other open-ended shapes and closed-ended shapes with other closed-ended shapes. When the two shapes are joined, you can match corresponding features on the two shapes. Each shape has four correspondence points that describe the location of key positions on a shape. You can place these points at key locations on a shape, such as where the Bézier curve changes direction. Correspondence point Move a correspondence point to this location. Correspondence points have some restrictions: • There must be at least four correspondence points per shape. • Shapes intended to be joined must have the same number of correspondence points. • Correspondence points on the ends of open-ended shapes cannot be moved or deleted. • Correspondence points cannot cross over each other. There is a limit as to how close they are allowed. To join the source and target shapes: 1. From the Output box, select the Mix option. Both images and shapes appear in the viewer. 2. From the Transformations box, click the Select button and select the source shape (red line). 856 Understanding the Morph Effect 3. From the Editing Tools box, click Join, and drag the source shape towards the target shape. A blue line is displayed as you drag the pointer from the source shape to the target shape. When the pointer touches the target shape, the two shapes momentarily turn yellow and are joined together by a correspondence vector. Source shape joined to target shape by a correspondence vector. Source shape in red Target shape in blue n To break the join between two shapes, click Join in the Editing Tools box and click one of the shapes. A dialog box is displayed asking you if you want to break the join, click OK. 4. From the Editing Tools box, select the Correspondence option. The source and target shapes are highlighted in yellow. Each shape contains four correspondence points. The correspondence points on each shape are connected with correspondence vectors. 5. Move the correspondence points on the source shape to key locations on the curve, such as where the curve changes directions. 6. Match the correspondence points of the target shape with those of the source shape. When you’re morphing between similar objects, such as between two faces, you should move the correspondence points to try and match up key features on the source image with those on the target. 857 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects Move the correspondence points so that key features on the source image match those of the target image. In this case, the features of the face (eyes, nose, and mouth). n To add additional correspondence points, press A and click the shape on which you want the point to appear. To delete correspondence points, select a point, and press Delete. To increase the precision of the shape during processing: t Increase the Density value. The number of correspondent vectors (yellow lines) between correspondence points increases as the Density value increases. Correspondence point Edge density Original shape Shape with edge density of 5. During processing, Avid DS Nitris does not use the actual shapes you created, but uses the edge densities of the shapes to create an approximation of the shapes. That is, a shape’s edge density defines how closely the form used in the morphing process matches the shape that is drawn. 858 Understanding the Morph Effect Shapes are subdivided between correspondence points based on the shape’s edge density. The higher the edge density, the more edges, and the more closely the shape is depicted by its edges. Thus, the more precise the transition between shapes. When you change the edge density, be careful not to use too high a density setting. There is no exact formula for selecting the best density for any given shape. Choose one that approximates the shape enough, but not too much. Setting a shape’s density unnecessarily high slows down processing time. For more information, click the Help button. Creating Barrier Shapes You may find that the area outside your source or target shapes also gets distorted when your image is morphed. To get rid of this unwanted distortion, you can create a barrier shape for either the source or target shapes, which prevents the distortion from spreading to the rest of the image. To create a barrier shape: 1. Create a third shape encompassing both the source and target shapes. The barrier shape is displayed in red or blue depending on which option you choose. 2. From the Editing Tools box, click the Copy and Join button. A copy of the shape is created directly on top of its original. By doing so, you are creating a static warp where the source and target shapes are the same. This static warp acts as a barrier, which prevents the original warp from spreading to other areas of the image. Warping the Morph After you create the morph between the two images, you can also apply a warp to the output of the morph. For example, you have two faces that morph from one to the other, and you want to change the length of the nose of both images. To do so, you can warp the noses from within the Morph effect. To warp the output of the morph: 1. On the Shapes property page, select the Mix option. Both the incoming and outgoing images are displayed in the viewer. 859 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects 2. Select the Apply option. 3. Draw the source and target shapes, and then join them. The warp source and target shapes are displayed in green. 4. Draw a barrier shape for the areas you don’t want to affect. The shape is animated using the same interpolation as the Morph effect. If you want to use a different interpolation than the Morph effect, you can apply individual warp effects to each clip before applying the Morph effect. For more information, click the Help button. Animating Shapes You can animate the interpolation between shapes or the shapes themselves when the objects are moving over time. For still images, the Morph effect automatically interpolates between the source and target shapes. You can add keyframes and modify the way the source morphs into the target. For moving images, you can animate the shapes frame-by-frame to match the movement in the clip. For more information, see “Creating Animation” on page 963. To animate the interpolation between shapes: 1. Double-click the transition area between the clips to open the Morph property editor. 2. Scrub slowly through the transition on the timeline. By default, the object moves from the source shape to the target shape in a linear manner, moving from 0% shape interpolation and 0% transparency at the beginning of the transition to 100% shape interpolation and 100% transparency at the end of the transition. 3. Place the position indicator anywhere within the transition area. 4. On the Shapes property page, modify the Shape Interpolation Amount. The amount of morphing changes as you modify the Shape Interpolation Amount. 5. Click the Animation Key button. A keyframe is added at that point in time, changing how the object moves from source to target shape. 6. Move the position indicator to another area of the clip, modify the Shape Interpolation Amount, and add another keyframe. 860 Understanding the Morph Effect 7. Animate the Transparency value in the same way as the Shape Interpolation Amount. 8. Select View > Single-Instance Views > Animation Editor. The animation editor is displayed. 9. Tweak the shape and transparency animation by modifying, adding, and deleting keyframes to both the Blend Shapes and Opacity function curves. n You can also modify the slope of the function curves from Linear to either Spline or Constant interpolation. For more information, click the Help button. Tracking Morphed Shapes If your image moves or scales, you’ll need to set up trackers to track the source, destination, and barrier shapes. To correctly track the shapes, you need to increase the trackers’ target area and search regions, and ensure that the Always Update option is selected. To track the shapes: 1. On the Shapes property page, select either Source or Destination in the Output box, depending on the image you want to track. 2. From the Transformations box, click the Select Shape button. 3. In the viewer, drag around all the shapes to select them. Since all the shapes, including the source, destination, and two barrier shapes move and scale, you need to track all the shapes. 4. On the Tracker property page, click Show. All four trackers are displayed. 5. Use the period (.) or comma (,) keys on the keyboard to cycle through each tracker and set the following for each tracker: t Increase the size of the search and target areas to consider the change in the size of the area on which the shape is drawn. t Click the Always Update button. Since the area of the image defined by the shapes scale and move, the tracker targets must be updated in each frame. 861 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects n This option makes the trackers compare the pixel pattern of the current frame to that of the previous frame, rather than the first frame at the tracking start point (or the set target). Use this option when the target area changes in appearance as the clip is played. This can cause cumulative tracking errors. When you select this option, the Set Target option becomes deselected and vice versa. t Set the Confidence level. If you find that the tracker stops frequently, try lowering the confidence level. n If you are tracking field-based material, you can select the Track in Fields option. A keyframe will be set on each tracked field. The target used is the contents of the target region in field 1 of the target frame. If you track in fields, you do not need to first deinterlace, track, and then reinterlace the clip. 6. Click the Track Forward (or Track Backward) button. 7. On the Shapes property page, deselect the Show Shapes option to see the final result without the drawn shapes and tracker boxes. 8. In the Output box, select Mix to see the resulting morph. For more information, click the Help button Setting the Rendering Options The final look of your morph depends largely on the render settings you choose. You can go from a quick low resolution test to a high resolution image for final output by simply changing a few of the settings in the Render property page. The render settings let you choose how the edges of your shapes are defined, how precise the transition is between shapes, how pixels are interpolated, and how soft or jagged the edges are. To set the rendering options: 1. In the Morph property editor, select the Render tab. 2. For the Edge Mode setting, select one of the following options: 862 Understanding the Morph Effect - Fixed to pin the border of the image in place. Be careful when using this option because it can cause distortion and shearing if your warped object moves or grows in size. - Sliding to move the image’s borders with the rest of the warped object. This option produces less distortion. Image before being warped or stretched. Image stretched upwards and processed with Edge mode set to Fixed. Notice how the borders of the image do not move, resulting in a distorted image. - Image stretched upwards and processed with Edge Mode set to Sliding. Notice how the borders of the image do not stay in place, but compensate for the stretched image, resulting in a less distorted image. Cookie Cutter to keep everything that falls within your closed shapes and remove everything else. This option is also useful for creating mattes. You cannot use this option with open-ended shapes. 863 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects n To close a shape, press Ctrl and click the viewer. With Edge Mode set to Cookie Cutter, the area outlined by the closed shapes is cut out. The rest of the image is ignored and set to black. A matte is automatically created based on the areas that were cut out. 3. For the Warp Precision setting, which affects transition quality, select one of the following: 864 - Linear to do a quick test. This option processes the morph at the lowest quality, but is very fast and uses the least amount of memory. - Low or Medium if you need slightly higher quality than the Linear option. The quality of the images improve with only slightly slower processing times. - High if you need a high-quality image that is processed in a reasonable amount of time. This option produces professional quality images. - Very High or Super High if you require an extremely smooth transition between shapes. Both of these options provide extremely high-quality images, but take considerable amounts of time to process. Understanding the Morph Effect 4. For the Interpolation setting, which effects pixel quality, select one of the following: - None if you want quick results. This option results in marginal pixel image quality, but the processing time is very quick. - Bilinear if you need reasonable image quality within a reasonable processing time. This is the default setting. - Bicubic if you go from a small source shape to a larger target shape. This option results in high pixel-quality, which is required when the morph enlarges parts of the image. - Scaling if your target shape is scaled down by more than 50%. This option results in the least amount of degradation, but also takes the longest time to process. 5. Select the Antialiasing option if you want the edges of the shapes or regions to be smooth. If you deselect this option, the edges are jagged. 6. Select the Soften Edges option if you want the pixels around the edges of the shapes to blend gradually with the pixels of the surrounding image. 7. Process the effect and then play it back on the timeline to view the results. For more information, click the Help button. 865 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects Applying a Picture-in-Picture Effect The Picture-in-Picture effect lets you transform the size and position of an image in three-dimensional space. You can apply the Picture-in-Picture effect to clips on the timeline or video tracks, or to an Effects Tree. On the timeline, you can use the Picture-in-Picture effect for transitions between two clips or for single-sided transitions at the beginning or end of a clip. For more information, see “Creating One-Sided Transitions” on page 909. Since the Picture-in-Picture effect is a real-time effect, you can view the results upon playback without having to first process the effect. For more information, see “Playing Real-Time Effects” on page 900. To apply a Picture-in-Picture effect as a transition: 1. On the timeline, overlap the clips that you want to work with. They can be placed on the same or different tracks. Make sure that the clips to receive the effect have extra material. 2. Select the intersecting edit point between the two video clips on which you want to apply the Picture-in-Picture effect. 3. From the toolbar, click Transition Effects > Dissolve/Crossfade. The Dissolve property editor is displayed, and the transition area is displayed as a gradient on the activeness bar. 866 Applying a Picture-in-Picture Effect 4. In the Dissolve property editor, click the Load Preset button. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 5. From the \Image Transitions folder, select the Picture-in-Picture effect and click OK. The transition area is displayed as a gradient on the activeness bar. 6. In the Picture-in-Picture effect property editor, modify the properties to achieve the effect you want. n When you apply the Picture-in-Picture effect as a transition or to an Effects Tree, the Source property page is also displayed, from which you can adjust the direction in which the Picture-in-Picture effect is applied and the source image’s opacity level. For more information, click the Help button. . To apply the Picture-in-Picture effect in an Effects Tree: 1. Drag a clip to the timeline and create a composite container clip from it—see “Creating a Composite Container Clip” on page 918. 2. From the Avid Explorer, drag a second clip into the Effects Tree. The clip is added to the timeline, but not to a layer. 867 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects 3. Add the Picture-in-Picture effect to the tree, and connect the inputs as shown here: The Input node that is connected to the Input 1 port of the Picture-inPicture effect, in this case the Racer clip, is used as the picture for the effect. To apply the Picture-in-Picture effect on the timeline: 1. Drag the clip to be used as the background clip to the timeline. 2. Add a video track to the timeline, above the track with the background clip. 3. Drag the clip on which you want to apply the effect to the new video track. 4. Apply the Picture-in-Picture effect to the clip on the new video track. 5. In the DVE (Picture-in-Picture) effect property editor, modify the properties of to achieve the effect you want. For more information, click the Help button. 868 Applying Wipe Effects Applying Wipe Effects The Wipe effect lets you create a transition between two overlapping clips, such that the second clip is revealed according to a specified pattern. You can also apply a border between the two clips by specifying the position, color, and edge softness. You can apply wipes to clips, tracks, or trees. On the timeline, you can also use wipes for transitions between two clips, or for single-sided transitions at the beginning or end of a clip. For more information, see “Creating One-Sided Transitions” on page 909. n You can apply a wipe to an Effects Tree in the same way that you apply a dissolve. For more information, see “Applying a Dissolve Effect to a Transition” on page 845. Since the Wipe effects are real-time effects, you can view the results upon playback without having to first process the effect. In some cases, real-time effects may require processing to ensure that no frames are skipped. For more information, see “Playing Real-Time Effects” on page 900. To apply a wipe between two clips: 1. On the timeline, overlap the clips that you want to work with. They can be placed on the same or different tracks. Make sure that the clips to receive the wipe have extra material. 2. Select the intersecting edit point between the two video clips on which you want to apply the wipe. The selected edit point turns red. 3. From the toolbar, click Transition Effects > Wipe. The transition area is displayed as a gradient on the activeness bar. 869 Chapter 5 Applying Image Transition Effects 4. In the Wipe property editor, adjust the amount of the wipe, and specify the start point and duration of the transition. n 870 The start point and duration options are only available when you apply a dissolve or wipe on the timeline. Chapter 6 Processing Effects This chapter describes how your effects are processed in Avid DS Nitris, and how to work with projects and media: • Understanding Processing • Workflow: Processing • Processing Areas of the Timeline • Processing a Single Effect • Setting the Processing Options • Creating Caches at Any Level • Understanding Processing Modes • Working with Real-Time Effects • Remote Processing Chapter 6 Processing Effects Understanding Processing Avid DS Nitris is built upon a powerful combination of the Nitris Digital Nonlinear Accelerator™ (DNA), which delivers hardware-guaranteed realtime performance, plus a software-based processing architecture, which computes effects using the processor of your workstation. Processing is the creation of a final image or sequence of images after a special effect has been applied. Depending on the power of your workstation, many effects can be computed in real time, allowing you to view the results during playback. More complex effects, however, may need to be processed before the results can be viewed. During processing, Avid DS Nitris steps through each clip frame by frame, calculating the various paint strokes, compositing layers, transitions, and other effects that you created, and writes the results to cache files so that your source media remains unaltered. Effect applied to a clip in the timeline generates new media when processed. Source media Source media is the material that you capture from tape or file. It is stored on the storage device. 872 Cache media Cache media is also stored on the storage device. When Avid DS Nitris encounters processed effects during playback, it points to the cache media instead of the original source media. Understanding Processing When you play your sequence over the processed frames, Avid DS Nitris points to this cache instead of the clips' source media. This support for nondestructive editing lets you continuously make changes and reprocess your clips without affecting your source media. n You can commit processed results to a master clip and use the cache media as source material in future sequences using the Timeline to Clip button. For more information, see “Extracting Parts of a Sequence” on page 787. When is Processing Needed? Processing is usually needed for video images and graphics. Some video effects do not need processing as Avid DS Nitris can compute the effects during playback. These are known as real-time effects. When you apply an effect to a clip, the timeline ribbon above it changes color to indicate the processing requirements. There are three possible color states on the timeline ribbon—green, yellow or red. Once the effect is processed (and a cache is created), the color of the timeline ribbon above it is clear. If you have the Avid DS Nitris DNA workstation, you can have real-time playback and output of real-time effects. If so, these effects will have a green color on the timeline ribbon in the area where they are applied. If you are not using the Nitris DNA hardware, then Avid DS Nitris will process all effects using the software. If your workstation has sufficient power, many effects can be computed in real time by the software, allowing you to view the results during playback without you having to process them. These real-time effects will be indicated by a yellow color on the timeline ribbon. A real-time effect with advanced settings, or a stack of multiple real-time effects may become too complex for your workstation to process. As a result, the calculated frame might be delivered to the video output late, so Avid DS Nitris skips to the next frame to keep in synchronization with corresponding audio clips. A red dot is displayed on the Play button when a frame can’t be delivered in time. This means that the real-time effect will require processing to a cache file before the final output. 873 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Any effects that cannot be processed in real-time by the hardware or the software will have a red color on the timeline ribbon. When you play back the areas where these effects are applied, you will see a “Processing Needed” message displayed in the viewer. The illustration below shows the different conditions of effects on the timeline (refer to this topic in the Help to see this in full color): Red indicates that the effect cannot be played in real time and needs to be processed first. Yellow indicates that the clip can be played in real time and processing is optional. Process button Green indicates that the clip is guaranteed to play in real time, and processing is not required. Timeline ribbon When the red highlighted area is played back, the viewer does not show the resulting image. The Process button also turns red or yellow to indicate that processing may be needed. During processing, Avid DS Nitris steps through each clip frame by frame, calculating the various paint strokes, compositing layers, transitions, or other effects that you created. The results of the computation are written to a cache file with the new processed media. This guarantees perfect playback and output of your sequence. Processing can be demanding on your system resources in terms of both time and storage space. For more information on processing your effects more efficiently, see “Understanding Processing Modes” on page 893. 874 Workflow: Processing Workflow: Processing 1 On the timeline, select a region or object to process (clip, track, layer, effect, or transition bar). or 2 Click the Process button. or 3 4 Select an applied effect and open its property editor. Click the all... button. Set the processing options. Process media for real-time playback. 875 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Processing Areas of the Timeline Processing on the timeline is based on selection. You can process a selected object or region, or all the clips on the current timeline. To work even more efficiently, you can process your more complex effects at different stages in your sequence. For example, if you have effects nested within a container clip, you can open the container and process the individual effect instead of processing the entire container clip. n The Process button turns red, yellow, or green even if the effect is nested within a container clip. When a section of the timeline requires processing, the timeline ribbon above the effect turns red, yellow, or green. Red means that the section must be processed, while yellow means that processing can be handled by Avid DS Nitris during playback, but you should still process it before final output. Green indicates that the clip is guaranteed to play in real time and processing is not required. You can, however, still process these effects. Process button turns red or yellow. Corresponding red or yellow highlights on timeline ribbon indicates sections that may require processing. Objects Portions of clip that will be processed to generate new media. 876 Processing Areas of the Timeline To select areas for processing: Selection Action Entire sequence On the timeline, click the Process button. Object Select a clip, effect bar, or transition bar and click the Process button, or • Double-click the effect or transition bar on the timeline to open the property editor. • Click the All... button. Timespan Highlight a region of the timeline, and click the Process button. Cache bar Select the cache bar and click the Process button, or Right-click the cache bar and select Process. • When you click the Process button, the Processing Options dialog box is displayed—for further instructions, see “Setting the Processing Options” on page 882. • After setting the appropriate options in the Processing Options dialog box, click OK to begin processing. After processing is complete, the timeline ribbon is updated to reflect the new state of the timeline. 877 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Processing a Single Effect If you are experimenting with an effect, you can process directly from the property editor as you make changes to the parameters. Even within a property editor, there are many options available when processing an effect. You can process the results on a single frame, a subregion of a frame, or all the frames in the clip on which you applied the effect. To process from a property editor: 1. Double-click on the effect or transition bar on the timeline. n For time-based and source-generated effects, right-click the clip and select Properties, and then select the effect from the menu. The property editor of the effect opens. Process controls 2. Select one of the following: 878 Processing a Single Effect Use this To Process the current frame. Enable the auto-process mode. Each time you adjust a property value, the frame is automatically processed and updated in the viewer. n Results may take time to display while Avid DS Nitris processes the effects. Process all frames on which this effect was applied. This option displays the Processing Options dialog box. Process the region selected in the viewer. 3. When you click the Process button, the Processing Options dialog box opens—see “Setting the Processing Options” on page 882 for further instructions. 4. After you set the processing options, click OK to begin processing. After processing is complete, you can play and view the results. You can quickly view the results from an effect’s property editor. n When previewing effects from within a property editor, the preview only is displayed in the viewer and not on the output monitor. To preview the results of an effect: t In the property editor, click the Preview button. On the timeline, loop markers are placed at the beginning and end of the effect. They include the number of pre-roll and post-roll frames that were set in the User Preferences dialog box. The selected area is played continuously between the marked region until you click the Stop button. 879 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Processing a Region of a Frame If you want to apply an effect on part of an image, you can process only the region of the frame on which the effect was applied. You can also use subregion processing to test an effect on part of the image before processing the effect on all the frames. To process the effect on a region of the current frame: 1. In the property editor, select Subregion. 2. In the viewer, drag diagonally across the image to form a selection box. 3. At the top of the property editor, click the frame button. The effect is computed for that frame within the selected box. n 880 If you are just using the Subregion option for testing, make sure you deselect it after you’ve seen the results. Otherwise, when you process all the frames, only the selected region will be processed. Processing a Single Effect Previewing Effects without Processing When you place the position indicator at a specific frame, Avid DS Nitris automatically processes all effects applied at this frame. This may not happen instantly as the number and complexity of the effects may require additional computation time. When the computation is complete, however, you can see the results on one frame before processing all the rest. These results are stored temporarily on disk and are known as interactive caches or memory caches. These results are only kept temporarily to improve your interaction time when viewing the results of effects on a frame-by-frame basis. This way, there is no need for Avid DS Nitris to recompute an effect when a frame is revisited. To view an effect on a series of frames: t Hold down the Ctrl key and click Play on the transport controls. Avid DS Nitris steps through each frame, creating interactive caches for each one. 881 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Setting the Processing Options Depending on the complexity of your effects, it may take time and system resources to process images. You can reduce processing time significantly by choosing the options that best suit the task you’re currently performing. For descriptions of all the options in this dialog box, click the Help button. 882 Setting the Processing Options To set the processing options: 1. In the Processing Options dialog box, select one of the following options: Option To Current Timeline Process a selected region on the timeline. Duration of Selection Process a selected region on the timeline. Selected Object Process just the objects that you have selected. Cache List Process the effects, composites, and/or transitions that have been added to the cache list. 2. Select Include Real-time Effects to process real-time effects that are too complex for your hardware to process, and play back in real time without skipping frames. Processing creates a cache on disk for the processed realtime effects, so that you can view them upon playback— for more information, see “Working with Real-Time Effects” on page 898. n All real-time effects are processed by Avid DS RP regardless of the Include Real-time Effects setting. 3. To make processing more efficient, select Minimal or Complete, depending on your particular scenario—for more information, see “Understanding Processing Modes” on page 893. 4. To optimize the processing quality of your video media, set the Options for Field or Frame Processing, and Precision—see “Understanding the Processing Settings” on page 692. n These settings can also be set specifically on an applied effect. Settings on the Option property page of the effect will take precedence—see “Setting the Processing Bit Depth” on page 692. 5. For the Storage Settings, set the Resolution and Bit-Depth at which you want to process your media. To decrease processing time or save on storage space, you may want to lower the resolution at which the caches are created. The lower the resolution, the faster the processing times and the less storage space used—see “Processing Media at Different Qualities” on page 885. 883 Chapter 6 Processing Effects 6. In the Location box, select Process Remotely if you have one or more Avid DS RP workstations in your workgroup where you can send your processing job—see “Remote Processing” on page 903. 7. Set the storage devices—Process Video To and Process Audio To, where your processed media will be stored. (These storage devices were configured when Avid DS Nitris was installed.) The Time Available indicates the time remaining on the storage devices for processing and saving video and/or audio caches based on the processing options you selected. 8. To receive an e-mail notification when processing is complete, select Send email to and type your e-mail address in the text box. n n Before you can use the e-mail Notification option, you must specify your SMTP server in the Data Management property page of the User Preferences dialog box. To receive email from a local process, you need to setup the email server on your workstation. To receive e-mail from an RP workstation, you need to setup the e-mail server on the workstation where the DMS Broker is installed. Refer to the Avid DS Installation and Administration Guide for details on configuring the DMS Broker to send email notifications. 9. To hear a sound when video processing is complete, select Play sound and select an 8-bit or 16-bit .wav file. 10. Select Update Viewer While Processing to display the frames in the viewer and monitor as they’re processed. This option has no effect on the processing time. 11. If you have sufficient space on the storage device, click OK to begin processing. A progress bar is displayed at the bottom of the desktop to show the status of the process. The progress bar shows the number of passes, frames, and the estimated time that Avid DS Nitris will take to process your selection. These passes are based on the number of container clips and the levels of processing required within the selected region. 884 Setting the Processing Options Here’s the information that is displayed on the progress bar during processing: Information field Description Processing (Minimal) The type of processing mode that was selected. You have the option of Minimal or Complete—see “Understanding Processing Modes” on page 893. 1/2 A running count of the number of passes required to process the selected area Frame: 57/139 A running count of the number of frames to be processed for the current pass Total: 57/442 A running count of the total number of frames to be processed Total time est: 5 min. The total time (min:secs) required for processing the selection After processing is complete, you can play and view the results of the processed area. If the processing job was sent to a remote station for processing, the cache bars turn blue to indicate that they have been sent to a remote machine for processing. When the area is processed, the caches are automatically imported into the current project. The cache bar turns green and the red highlights on the timeline ribbon disappear. n If a third-party plug-in effect has not been installed on the RP workstation, then the effect will not be processed. Processing Media at Different Qualities Since Avid DS Nitris is resolution-independent, you can process your clips at low resolution or in compressed form during the rough cuts of your work, and then reprocess at full resolution in uncompressed form before outputting to tape. Working with high-quality media increases processing time, so initially, you should process your clips at lower resolution to obtain quicker results. When you’re ready to output the final production, you can switch back to the higher quality media. 885 Chapter 6 Processing Effects When you set your working sequences preferences to a lower resolution, the clip in the Avid Explorer (or on the timeline) references the high-quality media on disk, but produces a cache file at lower quality on your workstation. You can change your working preferences at any time to reprocess the clip at a better quality. The clip maintains pointers to all these media files, so you can view the processed media at different qualities. Media and cache files can sometimes be very large, so once you’ve completed your edits, you can purge the clip to clear out this redundant media. For more information, see “Purging Media” on page 1087. Media processed at different working preferences Full resolution, 2:1 compression Source media Quarter resolution, 2:1 compression Full resolution, 2:1 compression Full resolution, no compression Each time you change your working qualities (such as switching to a different resolution), Avid DS Nitris automatically looks for media of that quality on your disk for you to work with. When you process your effects, a new cache file is created if no cache file exists at that quality. n n 886 When you use a lower resolution for processing, your sequence preferences are automatically set to that resolution, so that you can view the results. To change the resolution of the sequence back to full, open the Sequence Preferences dialog box and set the resolution to Full. For color correction effects, you may notice a slight shift of color between processed and unprocessed clips. To guarantee consistent output results, use a precision of 16-bit or higher. Creating Caches at Any Level Creating Caches at Any Level You can create caches at any points in your clip effect stack of effects hierarchy on the timeline, track, or clip. Cache bars are like effect bars; you can resize them and move them along the timeline. You can also add caches in the Effects Tree in the form of nodes. It is best to add a cache after an effect that has a long processing time or after effects that you are sure will not be modified. This saves time as once the cache is created, you will not need to reprocess the entire stack each time a new effect is added on top of it. Region on the timeline ribbon to be processed. The color of the cache indicates the process status or the playable status of the effects that are below it. It is the same color as the process bar on the timeline. Cache bar In this example, the Color Correction and Edge effects have not yet been process and therefore not real time playable. Clip on the timeline Cache Bar Colors Cache bars on the timeline and cache nodes in the Effects Tree have different colors depending on their status and whether the cache generated for the effects have been processed. Color Description Red The effect needs to be processed. Either no cache currently exists, or the effect properties were changed thus requiring the effect to be reprocessed. Yellow The effect is software real time playable. Green The effect is hardware real time playable. Gray A cache exists and the effects are real time playable. Blue The effect is currently being processed on an RP (Remote Processing) workstation. For more information, see “Remote Processing” on page 903. 887 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Even though Avid DS Nitris may be able to play back an effect or several effects in real time, caches bars will still be yellow if the effects have not been processed. The cache bar remains yellow because complex real-time effects are not always 100% real-time playable. Once you process your real-time effects, the cache bar will turn gray, ensuring playback without any frames being skipped. Using the Cache Bar in the Timeline If you have a stack of effects in the timeline, you can create caches at any point by adding a cache bar. They are also useful when you want to process the result on a part of an effects stack. If you have more than one effect on a clip without a cache, then only one cache will be generated. However, if you add a cache between clip-based effects, instead of generating once cache for the entire clip, a cache will be generated for each effect. The cache will turn gray to indicated that the effects have been processed. You can process the effects, composites, or transitions below the cache bar, which creates a separate cache file. You can also purge the contents of the cache bar or any redundant cache files below the cache bar. For more information, see “Purging Media” on page 1087. The following example uses the source generated clip to illustrate where adding cache bars on the timeline may be useful. Example: Working with Some Source Generated Clips You can add a cache bar between the generated clip and the effect bar Insert a cache bar between the generated clip and an effect bar. Red highlight indicates processing is required 888 The cache bar is yellow, indicating that the generated clip (with a clouds image) does not need to be processed as it’s software real time playable. Creating Caches at Any Level When you process in Complete mode, the cache bar turns gray and the red area on the timeline ribbon disappears. If you modify the effect’s properties, the red highlight returns in the timeline ribbon, but the cache bar remains green meaning that the effect is hardware real time playable. You should process the effect with the new modifications. Alternatively, you can add a cache bar on top of the modified effect and process. This is useful when you have a stack of effects on a clip. Indicates that processing is required Some properties for this effect have been modified To apply a cache bar on the timeline: 1. Do one of the following: t Select a clip. t Select a region on a track. t Select a region on the timeline effect track. 2. Right-click the clip or area selected and select Add Cache. A cache bar is created over the clip or region you selected. The cache bar is green if the time span covered by the cache bar is playable in hardware real time. It is yellow if the effect is software real time playable. 889 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Cache bar (indicated in yellow) added to selected clip n You can add a cache bar to a clip, track, or to the timeline effect track. If you want to add a cache bar to several clips, you can’t multi-select the clips and then add a cache bar. You must do each one separately. For more information, see “Creating Caches at Any Level” on page 887. 3. Right-click each cache bar and select Add to Cache List. Each cache bar is added to the Cache List. 4. Click the Process icon. The Processing Options dialog box opens. 5. In the Processing Options dialog box, select the Cache List option to process all entries in the cache list. 6. Set the necessary options and click OK to begin processing. To process a cache bar: 1. Do one of the following: t Select the cache bar and click the Process icon in the timeline controls. t Right-click the cache bar and select Process. The Processing Options dialog box opens. n You can add a cache bar and process it in one step by right-clicking the selected clip or track and selecting Add Cache and Process. 2. In the Process box, select Include Real-time Effects. 890 Creating Caches at Any Level If you have real-time effects in the area covered by your cache bars, you should select this option to ensure real time playback for the entire time span covered by the cache bar. If you don’t, the cache bar will remain yellow. 3. Select the appropriate settings for the other options and click OK. Avid DS Nitris processes the effects below the cache bar, which turns gray to indicate that playable media exists for the entire time span covered by the cache bar. n You can also create a clip in the Avid Explorer from the cache you created. Simply right-click the cache bar and choose Cache to Clip from the menu. Using Cache Nodes in the Effects Tree The Effects Tree is part of the Compositing layout. For more information, see “Using Effects Trees” in the Help. If you have a complex Effects Tree, you may want to create caches at key points throughout the tree. By adding cache nodes, you can view the result of an effect or a combination of effects at any point in time. You can also save overall processing time. Cache nodes work like other nodes in the tree. The only difference is that the cache node does not contain any properties like other effect nodes, but is simply a marker, which indicates that a cache file exists up to that point in the tree. Cache nodes are either yellow, green, or gray. They are yellow if any part of the hierarchy up to the node is unprocessed. They are green if a cache exists, which means that they are playable in real time and gray if they do not require processing. n Cache nodes turn blue when they are sent to a remote machine for processing. For more information, see “Remote Processing” on page 903. You can process the effects, composites, or transitions below the cache node, which creates a separate cache file. You can also purge the contents of the cache node or any redundant cache files below the cache node. 891 Chapter 6 Processing Effects To apply a cache node to an effects tree: 1. Open an Effects Tree. 2. Right-click in the Effects Tree view and select Add Cache. and insert the cache node where you want. The cache node is added to the Effects Tree and inserted at the point where you want to create a cache. The cache node is yellow indicating that processing is required. n To view the results of the Effects Tree only up to the cache node, right-click the cache node and select View. The cached image is displayed in the viewer. To process a cache node: 1. Right-click a cache node in your tree and select Process. 2. In the Processing Options dialog box, select the appropriate settings and click OK. Once you’ve processed the effect(s) up to the cache node, it turns green. This indicates that all effects before the cache are playable in real time. n 892 Tip: You can also Ctrl + double-click the cache node to open the Processing Options dialog box. Understanding Processing Modes Understanding Processing Modes There are two modes of processing in Avid DS Nitris—Minimal and Complete. In both modes, Avid DS Nitris processes effects down to the deepest level necessary for playback of the current timeline. It also only reprocesses the effects properties that have changed since the last time the clips were processed. Minimal Processing The Minimal processing mode is the most efficient when you’re in the initial stages of editing. Minimal processing is faster since it processes just the effects, transitions, or layers that are necessary to ensure playback at the current level. It also creates only one cache which is saved at the level where the last effect was processed. The only drawback to this option is that if you make changes at a higher level, you must reprocess all the lower levels to regenerate the cache. Complete Processing The Complete processing mode processes all effects, transitions, or layers that are necessary for playback at the current level. It generates caches at each level of the timeline. Although this mode uses more disk space, subsequent processing is more efficient since it only regenerates caches for the changed effects or layers. When processing in Complete mode, caches are created in this order: clip, track, clips composited on video track, timeline effect track. This is the order in which caches are created on the timeline: 893 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Top timeline Timeline effect track Track effect Clips composited on video tracks Composited clip effect on Video track 1 Composited clip effect on Video track 2 5 Timeline effect track 3 Track effect 4 Clips composited on video tracks 1 Composited clip effect on Video track 1 2 Composited clip effect on Video track 2 In cases where you have nested or composite container clips on the timeline, the tracks are processed first from the foreground clip working to the background clip. If you have more than one effect on a clip without a cache, then only a single cache will be generated. However, if you add a cache between clip-based effects then a cache will be generated for each clip effect. The clip effect will change to gray indicating that the caches for that effect have been generated and the clip effect is processed. Example: Minimal versus Complete Processing The following example is a scenario in which a section of the timeline needs processing. The dissolve to be processed includes part of a container clip that has two effects. Within the container is a clip that also has an effect on it. 894 Understanding Processing Modes Processing a region of a container clip Top timeline Dissolve between clip and container clip Container clip with two effects on top of it Clip inside container clip with one clip effect In Case A, we’ll perform Minimal processing, and in Case B, we’ll use Complete processing. n During processing, Avid DS Nitris works frame by frame. It starts with the source image on the first frame, and dynamically computes the effects on that frame at each level of the timeline. This continues for each frame in the sequence where an effect is applied. Case A: Minimal Processing Since the region to be processed includes part of a container clip, Avid DS Nitris first processes the effect inside the container clip. Next, the dissolve between the two clips, and then the two track effects. The results of processing all the effects is saved in one cache at the top timeline level. 895 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Therefore, when you open the container clip and play its contents, you will not be able to view the results of the effect because the cache was saved at the top timeline. Top timeline Generate one and only cache for all effects at this level. Region to be processed. When changes are made here, cache must be added for all levels. 1 Process effect stack from bottom to top. Process transition inside container clip. Process clip effect. Inside the container clip. Case B: Complete Processing With the Complete processing mode, Avid DS Nitris creates caches at each cache level of the timeline where an effect is processed. Avid DS Nitris first processes the clip effect in the container clip. It generates a cache for this clip effect. Since there are no additional track or timeline effects applied, the track and container caches are left empty, but a cache is created for the dissolve. The clip effects above the container clip are then processed from the bottom of the stack to the top and stored as a clip cache. If you later make changes to the effects on the top timeline, Avid DS Nitris only needs to reprocess the cache at that level. The effect inside the container clip below it does not require processing as its cache is still valid. 896 Understanding Processing Modes Top timeline Region to be processed. Use cache #3. 3 Process effect stack from bottom to top and generate cache #3. 2 When changes made here, cache is simply added to existing caches at other levels (takes much less time). Process transition, cache #2 inside container. Process clip effect and generate cache #1. 1 Inside container clip. By processing caches at different levels, you can easily purge and reprocess effects without having to reprocess effects created at other levels. However, you may wonder why certain effects need to be reprocessed despite the fact that you processed in Complete mode. 897 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Working with Real-Time Effects A real-time effect is an effect that you can apply to your sequence and play without having to process it first. Depending on the power of your workstation, many effects can be computed in real time. This means that when you apply a real-time effect to a clip, track, layer, or Effects Tree, you can play the results immediately without having to process the effect. Real-time effects fall into two categories—hardware real-time effects and software real-time effects. When you apply a real-time effect to a clip, track, or layer, areas of the timeline ribbon turn green or yellow to indicate that the results of the effect(s) you applied can be played without processing. If you have the Avid DS Nitris DNA workstation, you get guaranteed real-time playback and output of some effects. These effects have a green color on the timeline ribbon in the area where they are applied. Green areas on timeline ribbon indicate effects that are guaranteed to be played and output in real time. n If you are working in a Custom sequence, real-time effects need to be processed regardless of whether they are software or hardware-based. If you are not using the Nitris DNA hardware, then Avid DS Nitris will attempt to process effects using the software. If your workstation has sufficient processing power, many effects can be computed in real time by the software, allowing you to view the results during playback. These effects will be indicated by a yellow color on the timeline ribbon. Yellow areas on timeline ribbon indicate effects that can be played in real time. 898 Working with Real-Time Effects Several effects, including dissolves, wipes, color correction, DVE, blue-green (chroma) keyer, titles, and audio effects (except Timewarp) can often be played in real time. Stacking multiple real-time effects or boosting some effect parameters, however, may require more bandwidth than your workstation can handle and thus require that you process the effects before final mastering. The real-time effect is shown in yellow. Timeline ribbon indicates sections that may require processing. Notice that when a second effect is applied over the real-time effect, that portion of the clip requires processing. Red indicates the region where the effect definitely needs to be processed. In some cases, the calculated frame might be delivered to the video output late. As a result, Avid DS Nitris skips to the next frame to keep in synchronization with corresponding audio clips. A red dot is displayed on the Play button when a frame can’t be delivered in time. n If you place the pointer over the Play button when the red dot is displayed, a tooltip indicates how many frames (audio and/or video) were skipped. The Play button is reset whenever you restart playing. For a complete list of real-time effects and the conditions under which these effects might cease to be real-time playable, see “Effects that are Playable in Real Time” in the Help. Examples • A single color correction will play in real time, but five color corrections require more bandwidth for processing and might skip frames during playback. • A keyer is a real-time effect, but if you choose to “grow” or “shrink” the matte, you will not be able to play the effect in real time. 899 Chapter 6 Processing Effects These effects can always be processed to cache if required. For more information, see “Creating Caches at Any Level” on page 887. Playing Real-Time Effects Avid DS Nitris will always try to play back effects in real time. When it reaches a point where a frame cannot be computed before display time, the system will repeat the previous frame to maintain progression along the timeline. Skipped frames will occur when a real-time effect sequence is very close to surpassing the processing resources of your workstation. A red dot will appear on the Play button as soon as a frame can’t be delivered in time. This means that the real-time effect should be processed to a cache file before the final output. If you place the pointer over the Play button when the red dot is displayed, it will indicate how many frames (audio and/or video) were skipped. The normal state of the Play button is reset whenever you restart playing. n Tip: Always use the Play button or press the Enter key for playback, and not the Up Arrow on the keyboard which is a 100% varispeed that can cause frames to skip (and hence, any corresponding audio to fall out of sync.) If you’re satisfied with the sequence preview in the output monitor and Avid DS Nitris can successfully play effects on the timeline without skipping frames, then you can output your sequence to tape without processing. n For progressive sequences, such as 1080p, and 720p, during play back, the real-time effects are processed on-the-fly in frames. For interlaced sequences, such as NTSC, PAL, and 1080i, real-time effects are processed on-the-fly in fields. When the position indicator is parked on a frame, the real-time effects are processed in frames. Before mastering, or at any point in your production, you can process realtime effects to a cache, so Avid DS Nitris can refer to this cache file when playing back the effects. By creating a cache, normal playback can take place and guarantee smooth output of your sequence. In general, it is good practice to process real-time effects before mastering. 900 Working with Real-Time Effects To force processing of your real-time effects, select Include Real-time Effects in the Processing Options dialog box. Each of the processed effects will then have a cache created on disk and Avid DS Nitris will no longer have to process these on-the-fly during playback. For more information see “Setting the Processing Options” on page 882. Working with Real-Time Effects in HD With the Avid Nitris DNA hardware capabilities, you can view real-time effects with HD media at full resolution. If you are using a non-Nitris DNA hardware platform, you can get the same real-time effects that are available with Nitris DNA if you work in quarter resolution mode. This way you can do all your work with quarter resolution HD media to view the real-time effects, and then recapture the media at full resolution to add the finishing touches to your project. To view real-time effects in quarter working resolution mode: 1. Select File > Sequence Preferences. The Sequence Preferences dialog box opens. 2. In the Working Video Settings box, set the resolution to Quarter. 3. Under Quarter resolution working mode, select Enable real-time effects. n This option is only available when working with an HD sequence on a nonNitris DNA workstation. 4. Recapture your clips at quarter resolution. 5. Play back your sequence to view the effects. With the real-time effects option enabled, you can only view clips that have been captured or processed in quarter resolution. You will not be able to play back full and half resolution media and caches. These clips will indicate that processing is needed (red highlight will display in the timeline ribbon). To view these clips, you will need to process them at quarter resolution. n Avid DS RP does not support the real-time effects option, therefore if you are sending your processing request to an RP workstation, it won’t recognize that it has to process full and half resolution media. 901 Chapter 6 Processing Effects Outputting Real-time Effects During an output-to-tape operation, Avid DS Nitris requires extra resources which may result in insufficient bandwidth during playback. When this happens, the Skipped Frames indicator is displayed on the transport controls. Avid DS Nitris will attempt to output again, starting immediately before the skipped frames occurred. n If your system is equipped with an Open G/L card, Avid DS Nitris might stop updating the software viewer to transfer bandwidth resources to the output monitor and prevent frames from skipping. If the output-to-tape operation fails after several attempts, you will be prompted to stop the operation. At that point, you must process that section of the sequence before restarting the output to tape. This operation is very fast due to the performance of the system. c 902 Be careful with sequences that contain audio. Retrying an output-to- tape operation does not guarantee that the audio will be perfectly synchronized. You should process your sequence or output the audio to tape in a separate pass. Remote Processing Remote Processing Instead of waiting while your workstation processes effects, you can send a processing job to a remote workstation running Avid DS RP, so that you continue working on your own workstation. The RP software can be installed on any number of workstations on your network, and the process requests are automatically dispatched to the first RP workstation that is available. If the RP workstation is already working on another job, your job will be added to its processing queue. For more information on setting up your RP workstation, see the Avid DS Nitris Installation and Administration Guide. Before you send a job for remote processing, make sure Avid DS RP is started on the remote processing workstations. n When in the Source Timeline mode, do not remote process clips on the timeline. You may be able to send the request but the processing will not be performed. To send a job to an RP workstation: t Follow the steps in “Setting the Processing Options” on page 882, and select the Process Remotely option. The Process Video to box indicates the folder where the processed media will be placed. You must make sure that the RP workstation(s) have permissions to write media to this folder. Once you send a processing job to a remote workstation, a blue cache bar is displayed above the clip where the effect was applied. The cache bar turns yellow while the effect is being processed, and eventually turns green when the processing is complete. n If you place your mouse cursor over the cache bar, it will display the processing status of the effect. As your effects are processed, the caches are automatically imported back into your current project. The highlights on the timeline ribbon will disappear as the process requests are completed. n If you abort the processing request, the cache bar turns red. 903 Chapter 6 Processing Effects If you change certain effects or composites in your sequence that were sent to a remote machine for processing, the caches for those effects or composites will be invalid when they are imported back into your project. The cache bar will turn red to indicate that processing is required. Monitoring Remote Processing Jobs with the Avid DMS Broker Avid Distributed Media Services (DMS) Broker lets you monitor and manage your remote processing jobs that have been dispatched to any RP workstation in your workgroup. To monitor a remote processing job: 1. Open a view of the Avid DMS by clicking the DMS button in the status bar in one of the following ways: - Ctrl-click the DMS button to open a view in the Avid DS Explorer. This lets you dock the view directly in the Explorer where it can be easily accessed - Click the DMS button to open a view in the Microsoft Internet Explorer - Ctrl+Shift-click the DMS button to open a view in the DS Web view 2. The DMS view opens and automatically logs you in as the user. The Jobs page displays the status and other information about jobs that you have submitted to the DMS Broker. From here you can cancel, delete or retry jobs, depending on your level of privilege. For more information on using the DMS Broker, refer to the Avid DMS System Installation and Operation Guide. n 904 When DMS is installed in an Avid DS workgroup, an Avid DS client functions as a ProEncode client, and an RP workstation as a ProEncode Provider. Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions This chapter describes how to apply effects and transitions, and how to nest clips on the timeline. • Displaying Guides • Applying Effects on the Timeline • Applying Transitions • Nesting Clips • Displaying Effects in a Viewer • Processing Sequences Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions Displaying Guides As you work with effects and graphics in the viewer, you can display horizontal and vertical guidelines to help you align them precisely. For more information, see “Displaying the Safe/Action Title Guides” in the Help. n 906 The guidelines are used for positioning purposes only. They are not visible in the final sequence. Applying Effects on the Timeline Applying Effects on the Timeline Any effects that you apply on the timeline are based on what you have currently selected. You can apply video and audio effects to the entire timeline, individual clips or tracks, or to a selected region of a clip or track. n Before you can select anything on the timeline, you must be in Selection mode. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. Effects applied to clips are called clip effects and effects applied to a track are called track effects. Clip effects are effects that are attached to a clip and move with the clip on the timeline. Clip effects affect only the clips on which you’ve applied them. Track effects can be placed on audio tracks, video tracks, background tracks, and the timeline effect track. Track effects modify only the clips on the track on which the effect is applied. An effect placed on the timeline effect track affects all the tracks in the timeline. For more information, see “Applying Effects” in the Help and “Understanding Image Transition Effects” on page 247. For advanced tasks on compositing and working with complex effects, see the Avid DS Nitris Compositing and Graphics Guide. 907 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions Applying Transitions Transitions are changes, like dissolves, wipes, fades, DVEs, or cuts that you can apply to or between clips on the timeline. You can apply transitions to the beginning or end of a single clip, or between two clips. For example, you can use a one-sided transition to fade into a clip at the beginning of your sequence. You can then apply wipes, cuts, and dissolves between other clips on the timeline to move smoothly from one clip to the next. The type of transition you apply depends on the media you’re working with. For instance, you can apply a dissolve, wipe, or DVE to video clips, while you can apply a crossfade, fade-in, or fade-out to audio clips. For more information, see “Understanding Image Transition Effects”. Cutting to a Clip A cut is a jump or sharp transition between two clips. The cut transfers activeness from one clip to another. The Cut To transition is especially useful for multi-camera editing when you need to constantly switch between different camera shots to create the desired edit. In this case, you must place each camera take on a separate track. You can then “cut on the fly” by switching the activeness from one take to another. n The behavior of a Cut To is the same for both audio and video clips. To cut to a clip: 1. Place the clips on different tracks and overlap the clips at the appropriate timecodes. Active clip from camera 1. Clip on camera 2 that you want to cut to. 2. Place the position indicator at the point, on the next clip, at which you want to make a cut. 908 Applying Transitions n If the clip you are cutting to is inactive or on a lower track, you cannot see its frames in the viewer. To view that clip’s frames, click the Solo button on the track on which the clip is located. 3. Select the clip that you want to cut to. 4. From the toolbar, click Editing > Cut To. The activeness is switched from the first clip to the selected clip at the position indicator. Cut between clips. Clip from camera 1 is active. 5. Continue to cut back and forth between the two cameras by placing the position indicator at the appropriate frame, selecting the clip you want to cut to, and then clicking Editing > Cut To from the toolbar. Cut to clip from camera 2. Creating One-Sided Transitions You can apply one-sided transitions to clips on the timeline. One-sided transitions are usually applied to the beginning or end of a single clip to transition into it or out of it. 909 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions To apply a one-sided transition to a clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button to select it. 2. On the timeline, select a clip’s in-point or out-point. 3. From the toolbar, do one of the following: - If you selected a video clip’s in-point or out-point, click Video Effect > effect. - If you selected an audio clip’s in-point or out-point, click Audio Effect > effect. The transition’s property editor is displayed, and the transition is displayed as a gradient on the clip’s activeness bar. n You can edit the duration of a one-sided transition the same way you would edit a transition between clips; simply drag the transition points. Creating Transitions Between Clips You can apply a transition between clips on the same track, or on different audio and background tracks. You can not apply transitions to different video tracks. Transitions can be created only when there is extra material available on one of the clips. To apply a transition between clips: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. On the timeline, overlap the clips that you need to work with. These clips can be on the same track, on different audio tracks, or on different background tracks. 3. Select the edit point between the two clips. 4. From the toolbar, click Transition Effects and select Dissolve/Crossfade, Wipe, or DVE. The transition’s property editor is displayed. 910 Applying Transitions The edit point can be set to be the start, end, or center of the transition. You can also change the type of transition that you’ve applied. All these options are available in the property editor. After a transition is applied between two clips, it is automatically shown as a gradient on the activeness bar. For more information, click the Help button. Same-track transition Transition area 911 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions A transition between two clips on different background tracks. Before Edit points Transition point at beginning of transition. After Transition area Transition point at end of transition. Transitions have their own properties with edit points that indicate the beginning, center, and end of the transition. These edit points become highlighted when you select them. Editing Transition Properties Once you’ve applied a transition between two clips, you can change the properties of the transition. To change the properties of a transition: 1. Do one of the following: t Right-click the transition edit point and select Properties. t Double-click the transition edit point. 2. Change the properties in the transition’s property editor. For more information, click the Help button. Aligning Transitions You can change the alignment of a transition to begin at the start, end, or center of the edit point. 912 Applying Transitions To change the alignment of a transition: 1. In Trim mode, click the transition’s edit point to select it. 2. Right-click the Transition Alignment button and select one of the following: - Transition Start to align the transition to the right of the edit point. Transition starts at edit point. - Transition Center to align the transition to center around the edit point. Transition is centered at edit point. - Transition End to align the transition to the left of the edit point. Transition ends at edit point. The icon on the Transition Alignment button represents your alignment selection for the transition. Removing Transitions You can easily remove a transition and restore the original clips. When you remove a transition, it becomes a cut from one clip to the next as the edit point remains the same. To remove a transition, do one of the following: t Select the transition’s edit point and press Delete. t Right-click the transition’s activeness bar and select Delete (transition type). 913 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions Using the Comparison Buffer The comparison buffer lets you take a snapshot of a frame in your sequence and temporarily save it to memory. You can then compare the snapshot to its source frame or to another frame in the sequence. The comparison buffer is useful when you want to: • See how an effect changes a frame. Take a snapshot and compare it to the frame in the viewer as you apply an effect to it and adjust its properties. Ripple effect applied to image. • Fine-tune an effect. Apply an effect and take a snapshot. Then compare it to the frame in the viewer as you adjust the effect’s properties. Ripple magnitude and size parameters are adjusted. • 914 Snapshot of original image. Snapshot of image with a Ripple effect applied to it. Compare one frame in your sequence to another. Take a snapshot of a frame, then move the position indicator to the next frame or different frame in the sequence. Applying Transitions Comparing the snapshot with a different frame. Snapshot of a frame. To use the comparison buffer: 1. Right-click the viewer and select Comparison Buffer > Use Compare Buffer. 2. Right-click the viewer again and select Comparison Buffer > Grab. A white box is displayed around the viewer to indicate the area that is currently saved in the buffer. 3. To manipulate the snapshot, do any of the following: t Drag the white lines around the snapshot to resize it. t Drag the snapshot to reposition it in the viewer. When you drag any portion of the snapshot outside of the viewer, it is cropped to the limits of the bounding box. The size of the snapshot is maintained while the content changes. t Press Shift and drag to move the snapshot. t Press Ctrl and drag to slide the snapshot inside the bounding box. t Press Alt and click the viewer to reset the pan. t Press Alt and double-click the viewer to reset the image crop and position. 4. Turn off the comparison buffer by right-clicking the viewer and selecting Comparison Buffer > Use Compare Buffer. 915 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions Nesting Clips You can break down complicated tasks into more manageable sections by nesting multiple clips in a container clip. This way, an entire special effects scene, for example, can be presented as one container clip on the timeline. Container clips behave just like any other clip on the timeline. The same rules of activeness, rippling, and other editing functions (trimming, slipping, sliding) apply. There are three basic types of container clips that you can use: • Composite container clips let you layer several video clips together on video tracks. The result is treated as a single clip. • Background container clips let you edit several video clips together on background tracks and treat the result as a single clip on the top or parent timeline. • Audio container clips let you group several audio clips, mix them together, and treat them as a single clip on the top or parent timeline. In addition, there are image processing utilities (such as Timewarp, Interlace/Deinterlace, and 3:2 Expand/3:2 Contract) that automatically create container clips to hold the original clip before the effect is applied. When you close a container clip, it is displayed as a single clip on the timeline. You can reopen a container clip at any time to add, modify, or delete its components. Creating Nested Clips When you open a sequence, you are always viewing the top timeline. Container clips provide you with a new timeline on which you can place clips. This lets you focus your tasks specifically on clips within the container clip. By default, the ruler inside the container clip starts at 00:00:00. This lets you build a subsequence that is independent of the final sequence on the top timeline. 916 Nesting Clips Create container from this clip. A container clip timeline is nested in the top or parent timeline. When you open a container clip, it displays its contents on this new timeline. When you close the container clip, however, the clip is displayed relative in time to all other clips on the parent timeline. New container clip timeline. A button is displayed on the taskbar to indicate that you’re in a container clip. You can add more clips to the container clip and layer or arrange them sequentially for compositing, audio mixing, or editing subsections of a larger project. You can even nest other container clips in this container clip. You can also set the ruler in the container clip to correspond to the one on the top timeline. This lets you view clips at the exact timecode that they will appear in the final sequence. By default, a container clip is named “Composite Container x”, “Background Container x”, or “Audio Container x”, where x is the next sequential number for that type of container clip. You can easily rename a container clip with a more suitable name by using the clip’s property editor. For more information, see “Renaming and Adding Comments to Clips” on page 764. 917 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions A closed container clip represented as a single clip on the top timeline. Creating a Composite Container Clip Composite container clips let you layer video clips and apply graphics, color correction, keyer, and DVE effects to each layer. Clips placed on video tracks are composited over each other, and when the container is closed, the result is displayed as a single clip on the top or parent timeline. n If you use background tracks within your composite container, they are combined into a single background container within the composite container. All video tracks are stacked on top of the background container within the composite container. You can also create a composite container clip to draw graphics or add titles to your clips. A composite container clip can contain a number of video clips, and is used primarily for compositing clips and treating the result as a single clip. For more information, see “Using the Effects Tree to Composite” in the Help. To create a composite container clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. On the timeline, select the video clips that you want to use in the container clip. Do one of the following: n 918 To select more than one clip at a time, press Ctrl while clicking clips. t t From the toolbar, click Containers > Composite Container Clip. From the taskbar, click the Create Container button and select Create Composite Container Clip. Nesting Clips A container clip timeline is displayed. You can now place additional clips on the tracks, add effects, and perform other editing tasks on the clips. Composite Container Clip button Also, a new container clip timeline button is displayed in the taskbar to indicate that you’re working in a composite container clip. 3. Do one of the following after you have finished editing the clips in this container clip: t t Container clip button From the toolbar, click Navigation > Go to Top Timeline. From the taskbar, click the Top Timeline button. The composite container clip is closed and the top timeline is displayed. All the clips are displayed as one clip on the timeline. You can reopen the container clip at any time by clicking the button in the title bar of the container clip. Creating a Background Container Clip Background container clips let you edit several video clips together on a background track, and treat the result as a single clip on the top or parent timeline. Any editing tasks that can be performed on the top timeline can also be done in a background container clip. For example, to perform a double dissolve (commonly known as a bi-pack), you first dissolve two clips in a container clip. On the top timeline, you then dissolve the container clip with a third clip. To create a background container clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. On the timeline, select the video clips that you want to use in the container clip. n To select more than one clip at a time, press Ctrl while clicking on clips. All these clips will be placed in the same container clip. 3. Do one of the following: t t From the toolbar, click Containers > Background Container. From the taskbar, click the Create Container button and select Create Background Container Clip. 919 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions A container clip timeline is displayed. You can now place additional clips on the background tracks, add effects or transitions, or perform other editing tasks on the clips. Also, a new container clip timeline button is displayed in the taskbar to indicate that you are working in a background container clip. 4. Do one of the following after you finish editing the clips in this container clip: Top Timeline button Background Container Clip button Container clip button n t From the toolbar, click Navigation > Go to Top Timeline. t From the taskbar, click the Top Timeline button. The background container clip is closed and the top timeline is displayed. All the clips are displayed as one clip on the timeline. You can reopen the container clip at any time by clicking the button in the title bar of the container clip. An option lets the container button appear on the clip. For more information, see “Editing Property Page” in the Help. Creating an Audio Container Clip Audio container clips let you group several audio clips, mix them together, and treat them as a single clip on the top or parent timeline. These audio container clips can be synchronized with corresponding video clips or mixed with other audio clips. You can create submixes by nesting audio container clips in other audio container clips. For example, you can create a container clip just to create a submix of all the drum sound tracks, while another container clip can be used for the guitar submix. These two container clips can then be mixed together to generate the final recording. For more information, see “Mixing Audio” on page 1017. To create an audio container clip: 1. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Selection Mode button. 2. On the timeline, select the audio clips that you want to use in the container clip. n 920 To select more than one clip at a time, press Ctrl while clicking on clips. Nesting Clips 3. Do one of the following: t From the toolbar, click Containers > Audio Container. t Audio Container Clip button From the taskbar, click the Create Container button and select Create Audio Container Clip. A container clip timeline is displayed. You can now place additional clips on the tracks, add effects and transitions, and perform other editing tasks on the clips. In the audio container clip, you can set your ruler to display frames or milliseconds for greater accuracy when editing audio clips. Also, a new container clip timeline button is displayed in the taskbar to indicate that you are working inside an audio container clip. 4. Do one of the following after you finish editing the clips in this container clip: t t Container clip button From the toolbar, click Navigation > Go to Top Timeline. From the taskbar, click the Top Timeline button. The audio container clip is closed and the top timeline is displayed. All the clips are displayed as one clip on the timeline. You can reopen the container clip at any time by clicking the button in the title bar of the container clip. A closed audio container clip represented as a single clip on the timeline. Navigating within Nested Clips When you first open a sequence, the top timeline is displayed. The top timeline is the topmost level of the timeline. This is where you can see all the clips that comprise your sequence. A container clip timeline is nested in the top or parent timeline. When you open a container clip, it displays the contents of the container clip on this new timeline. 921 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions You can also create container clips in container clips. A container clip that contains another is called the parent container clip. Each time you create or open a container clip, a corresponding button is displayed at the bottom of the taskbar. As you continue to nest container clips, the list of buttons on the taskbar continues to grow. These buttons provide a quick way of navigating between container clips. The timeline buttons in the taskbar indicate how deep the container clip is nested. Top Timeline Parent Timeline Current Timeline Container clip timelines that are currently open. Create new container clip You can identify container clips by the type of button that is displayed in the taskbar. This button Represents A composite container clip. A background container clip. An audio container clip. Opening Container Clips The button at the top of the timeline buttons in the taskbar represents the top timeline. As you create nested container clips, more timeline buttons appear on the taskbar. The type of timeline buttons that appear correspond to the opened container clips. 922 Nesting Clips Container clip button Step In To open a container clip, do one of the following: t Click the button in the container clip. t Double-click the container clip. t Select the container clip and click the Step In button on the timeline navigation bar. The container clip timeline is displayed. A new container clip button is displayed in the taskbar, representing the container clip in which you’re currently working. Closing Container Clips After you’ve made changes to the container clip, you can close your current container clip and go to the top or parent timeline by clicking the respective navigation button on the taskbar. When you click the Top Timeline button, it closes all of the container clips below it and displays the top timeline. Similarly, when you click a parent container clip button, it closes any nested container clips within it and displays only the contents of the selected container clip. Top Timeline button To close a container clip and return to the top timeline, do one of the following: Parent Timeline button t From the toolbar, click Navigation > Go to Top Timeline. t From the taskbar, click the Top Timeline button. This closes all open container clips and returns to the top timeline. To close a container clip and return to the parent timeline, do one of the following: Step Out t From the toolbar, click Navigation > Go to Parent Timeline. t In the taskbar, click any container clip button (Parent Timeline button) above the current container clip button. On the timeline navigation bar, click the Step Out button. t The current container clip is closed and the parent container clip’s timeline is displayed. 923 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions Deleting Nested Clips You can delete any container clip on the timeline. Deleting a container clip removes the container clip and its contents from the timeline. To delete a container clip and its contents, do one of the following: t Select a container clip and press Delete. t Right-click a container clip and select Delete Clip. The container clip is removed from the timeline. n If the container clip is sync-locked with another audio or video component, the other component remains on the timeline. You have to delete it as an independent clip. To delete a container clip but preserve its contents: 1. Open a container clip—see “Opening Container Clips” on page 922. 2. Press Ctrl and select all the clips in the container clip. 3. Press Ctrl+C to copy the clips. 4. Close the container clip—see “Closing Container Clips” on page 923. 5. Press Delete to delete the container clip. 6. Place the position indicator at the point on the timeline on which you want to place the clips you copied. 7. Press Ctrl+V to paste the clips back on the timeline. 924 Displaying Effects in a Viewer Displaying Effects in a Viewer You can display effects in a viewer, such as a floating viewer. Opening a Floating Viewer When working on several different effects simultaneously, you can open a floating viewer for each effect, as well as tree effects and container clips. This lets you view the output of individual effects, container clips, and whole timelines. You can also display the red, green, blue, and/or alpha component of an image, and use the transport controls to view the rest of your clip. For more information, see “Viewing Image Components” on page 928. n Unlike the transport controls in the Source and Record viewers, you cannot customize them by adding and removing buttons. You can also resize and move each floating viewer to a location where it won’t obstruct other views, and then pin it in place. Once a floating viewer is pinned, you can freely switch between the different layouts and the floating viewer will remain in place. When you modify an effect, the result is displayed in its floating viewer. A single floating viewer can display several outputs, see “Changing the Image Displayed in a Viewer” on page 926. n Objects cannot be edited or manipulated in a floating viewer. To open a floating viewer: t Right-click one of the following and select Open Viewer: - Clip - Clip, track, or timeline effect bar - Timeline effect track - Container clip - Layer effect - Result area in Layers view - Effect Tree node - Overview area of the timeline 925 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions To pin a floating viewer: t n Click the Pin button in the upper-right corner of a floating viewer. Tip: You can set the window size and position of floating viewers in the User Preferences dialog box (General property page). Changing the Image Displayed in a Viewer You can view various outputs in a single viewer. The Reconnect Viewer button lets you view the output of individual effects, container clips, or the whole timeline. This is useful when you want to display the full results of a composite in the Record viewer, and view one element at a time in a another viewer. To display the output of selected objects in a viewer: 1. Do one of the following: t Open a floating viewer—see “Opening a Floating Viewer” on page 925. t Select a viewer that has a Reconnect Viewer button—see “Customizing Toolbars” in the Help. 2. Click the Reconnect Viewer button for the selected viewer. n If the Reconnect Viewer button is not selected, you can still choose options from the pop-up menu, but they will not have any effect until you select the button. 3. Right-click the Reconnect Viewer button and select Current Selection. 4. Click an object on the timeline that you want to display in the viewer. The Reconnect Viewer button turns red, indicating that there is an alternate object you can view. Each object you select is displayed in the viewer when the position indicator moves to it. 5. (Option) If you want to continue displaying the output of the currently selected object, right-click the Reconnect Viewer button and select Lock Selection. 926 Displaying Effects in a Viewer The Reconnect Viewer pop-up menu sets the viewer’s connection points. You can choose from three preset options or choose a selection mode. Selection mode displays the output of objects you select on the timeline or in an Effects Tree. 927 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions To set a viewer’s output connection point: 1. Click the Reconnect Viewer button for the selected viewer. 2. Right-click the Reconnect Viewer button and select the desired connection—see “Reconnect Viewer Menu” in the Help. You can now click the Reconnect Viewer button to switch between displaying this object and the current object in the viewer. Viewing Image Components The viewer lets you display the red, green, blue, and/or alpha component of an image. During compositing, it’s particularly useful to display the alpha component, so that you can monitor the matte of a clip or layer. Viewer Red Viewer Green Viewer Alpha Viewer Blue To display the red, green, or blue component, do one of the following: t From the viewer tools, click the red, green, or blue button. t Right-click the viewer, and select Red, Green, or Blue Component. To display the alpha channel, do one of the following: t From the viewer tools, right-click the Viewer Alpha Channel button, select a degree of opacity, and click the button to display the alpha channel. t Right-click the viewer and select Alpha Component and a degree of opacity. The alpha channel displays the resulting composite, either on the top timeline or in a composite container clip. 928 Displaying Effects in a Viewer To display the matte, do one of the following: n t Right-click the viewer and select Alpha Component > Matte. t From the viewer tools, right-click the Viewer Alpha Channel button and select Viewer Alpha Full. t From a keyer property editor, select the Output Matte option to switch the keyer output between the RBG and alpha channels. When selected, the alpha channel (matte) is output as an RGB image. This is useful when a key is applied on a video track as you don’t have to solo the track before displaying the alpha channel. Before processing the effect, deselect the Output Matte option if you don’t want to output the alpha channel as an RGB image. The alpha channel displays the resulting composite, either on the top timeline or in a composite container clip. You can also view the mattes of individual layers. 929 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions Processing Sequences If you’ve applied transitions and effects to clips and then nested them in container clips, you must process them before playing them. Processing is not performed automatically, since it takes time and system resources to process your clips. You can process all or part of the timeline. You can also choose different levels at which to process your clips. For more information, see “Processing Effects” on page 871. n All audio and some video effects and transitions do not need to be processed as they are computed during real-time playback. To process a sequence: 1. Do one of the following: t From the toolbar, click Processing > Process. t In the timeline controls, click the Process button. Process button Highlighted timeline ribbon indicates unprocessed section of the sequence. 2. In the Processing Options dialog box, select the appropriate options. For detailed information on the processing options, click the Help button or see “Processing Effects” on page 871. 3. Click OK to begin processing. A progress indicator is displayed on the bottom of the desktop to show the status of the process. 4. Click Cancel to stop the process at any time. 930 Processing Sequences 931 Chapter 7 Working with Effects and Transitions 932 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects This chapter describes the time effects and how to apply them to clips: • Understanding the Time Effects • Applying a 3:2 Contract Effect • Applying a 3:2 Expand Effect • Applying a Deinterlace Effect • Applying an Interlace Effect • Working with the Timewarp Effect Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects Understanding the Time Effects The time effects let you process images by rearranging the fields and frames in a clip. Time effects include 3:2 Contract, 3:2 Expand, Deinterlace, Interlace, Timewarp, and Freeze. You can apply time effects only to clips. n These effects aren’t like other clip effects, in the sense that they create container clips. You can only apply them from the toolbar. When you apply a time effect, a container clip is created for holding the entire source clip, even if you only used part of it. First frame and end frame markers inside the container clip indicate the portion of the source clip that is actually used. Only that portion is visible on the top timeline. Unlike other effects, a time effect is not represented by an effect bar that you can move, copy, delete, or trim. You can, however, save a time effect as a preset and apply it to different clips. To apply a time effect: 1. From the timeline, select a clip. 2. From the toolbar, click Time Effects and select a time effect. A container clip is created. To modify a time effect: t On the timeline, right-click a container clip, select Properties, and then select the parameters that you want to modify. The effect’s property editor is displayed for you to make any adjustments. For more information, click the Help button. 934 Applying a 3:2 Contract Effect Applying a 3:2 Contract Effect The 3:2 Contract effect lets you process video fields to recreate the original film sequence at 24 (23.97) frames per second. This removes the duplicated fields introduced in the 3:2 pulldown process, so that you can work on clean frames. You can apply the 3:2 Contract effect only to video clips. n Because the 3:2 pulldown technique is not required with PAL video material, this effect is only used on sequences in NTSC format. AA BB BC CD DD EE FF FG GH HH Clip created from film transfer using 3:2 pulldown. Mixed fields that might contain artifacts. 3:2 Contract AA BB CC DD EE FF GG HH 3:2 Expand AA BB BC CD DD EE FF FG GH HH n When using these effects inside composite container clips, you should apply the 3:2 Contract effect inside the composite container clip, complete the graphics or compositing tasks, and then go to the parent timeline to apply the 3:2 Expand effect. To contract video fields: 1. From the timeline, select a clip. 2. Frames composed of mixed fields occur in pairs. Place the position indicator on the first frame in any pair of frames composed of mixed fields. 935 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects AA BB BC CD DD EE FF FG GH HH Place the position indicator on one of these frames. 3. From the toolbar, click Time Effects > 3:2 Contract. The clip is contracted to 24 frames per second. A container clip is created. 4. On the timeline, the length of the clip is updated. For more information, click the Help button. 936 Applying a 3:2 Expand Effect Applying a 3:2 Expand Effect The 3:2 Expand effect lets you expand the video fields to recreate a 30 (29.97) -frames-per-second clip. Once you’ve added effects to your 3:2 contracted clips, you need to reexpand the clip. You can apply the 3:2 Expand effect only to video clips. n Because the 3:2 pulldown technique is not required with PAL video material, this effect is only used on sequences in NTSC format. To expand video fields: 1. From the timeline, select a 3:2 Contract container clip. 2. From the toolbar, click Time Effects > 3:2 Expand. A 3:2 Expand container clip is created and the clip recovers its original length. 3. On the timeline, the length of the clip is updated. For more information, click the Help button. n During a 3:2 Expand, if a clip starts or ends with a frame composed of mixed fields, red frames are added at the beginning or end of the clip to ensure a fully recoverable operation. You can trim the clip to remove these frames. For more information, see “Understanding Trimming” on page 811. 937 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects Applying a Deinterlace Effect The Deinterlace effect lets you separate each frame of a clip into two fields: one containing even lines and the other containing odd lines. In the deinterlaced clip, each field appears as one frame and contains half the lines of video information of the original frame. For viewing purposes, the inbetween lines are replaced either by duplicates or by interpolation. As a result, the clip becomes twice as long on the timeline. You can apply the Deinterlace effect only to clips. Deinterlacing clips is useful for several tasks, including: • Working with clips originally shot with a video camera or field-based material. • Creating a field-based animated matte (rotoscopy) or paint animation: The camera captures 60 fields per second; when objects are moving very fast, individual fields might contain slightly different images. If you want your matte to accurately track the outlines of the moving object, you must create a different matte for each field. When you deinterlace the clip, each field is displayed separately. You can then use the graphics tools to create a matte which accurately tracks the moving object. • Retouching images: Artifacts on clips sometimes appear only on one field of a clip. The way to remove such artifacts is to deinterlace the clip, expose the corrupt field, retouch it, and then reinterlace the clip. • Tracking: Since individual fields can contain different images, you should deinterlace clips before tracking to more accurately track objects. After you’ve worked on the fields in a clip, you must recombine (interlace) them to display the resulting frames and recover the original playback speed. For more information, see “Applying an Interlace Effect” on page 940. To use the Deinterlace and Interlace effects in a composite container clip: 1. Apply the Deinterlace effect to a clip on the top timeline. 2. Apply the composite container clip to the deinterlace container clip. 3. Perform the graphics or compositing tasks inside the composite container clip. 4. Go to the top timeline to apply the Interlace effect. 938 Applying a Deinterlace Effect To preserve your edits on the top timeline, make sure that the Ripple mode is activated. To deinterlace a clip: 1. Apply the Deinterlace effect to a clip. A container clip is created and the Deinterlace property editor is displayed. 2. From the Interpolation box, select one type of interpolation. 3. Select the Invert Fields option to change the order in which odd and even fields occur in time. The duration of the clip is doubled. n If you deinterlace a clip that is part of a composite, the clip’s duration is doubled. To maintain synchronization, make sure that you deinterlace the other clips in the composite. For more information, click the Help button. 939 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects Applying an Interlace Effect The Interlace effect lets you shorten deinterlaced clips by half because every two consecutive frames are interleaved into a single frame. This interlaced frame contains both odd and even fields. You can use the Interlace effect after you’ve finished making the necessary modifications to a deinterlaced clip. You can apply the Interlace effect only to clips. To interlace a clip: 1. From the timeline, select a Deinterlace container clip. 2. From the toolbar, click Time Effects > Interlace. A container clip is created and the Interlace property editor is displayed. 3. Select the Invert Fields option to change the order in which odd and even fields occur in time. The duration of the clip is reduced by half. For more information, click the Help button. To use the Deinterlace and Interlace effects in a composite container clip: 1. Apply the Deinterlace effect to a clip on the top timeline. 2. Apply the composite container clip to the deinterlace container clip. 3. Perform the graphics or compositing tasks inside the composite container clip. 4. Go to the top timeline to apply the Interlace effect. To preserve your edits on the top timeline, make sure that the Ripple mode is activated. 940 Working with the Timewarp Effect Working with the Timewarp Effect The Timewarp effect is a powerful tool for creating and customizing motion effects. The Timewarp effect lets you change the speed of clips. You can speed them up, slow them down, or have them play in reverse. Applying a Timewarp effect creates a container clip in which frames are added, removed, or rearranged to create the pacing that you want. Slowing the action down increases the number of frames, while speeding the action up decreases it. The timewarp container clip holds the entire source clip, even if you only used part of it. First frame and end frame markers inside the container clip indicate the portion of the source clip that is actually used in the timewarp. You can use FluidMotion™ rendering as a method of interpolating motion in a video Timewarp effect. FluidMotion results in extremely smooth motion. The FluidMotion options allow you to refine the results of rendering effects. Applying an Audio Timewarp Effect The audio Timewarp effect lets you alter the length and speed of an audio clip without affecting the original pitch. There are two methods of changing the speed—by specifying a percentage of the original speed or by typing a new SMPTE duration. You can also adjust the pitch of any source audio with or without a change in its duration. This effect lets sounds to be transposed a maximum of two octaves up or down in pitch with or without altering playback speed. The audio timewarp has been optimized for human speech. n If your Avid DS Nitris system has a Merging Technologies audio card installed, you can use the audio Timewarp Timezone effect, from Merging Technologies. For more information, see “Applying Merging Audio Timezone Effects” on page 943. To apply the audio Timewarp effect: 1. From the timeline, select an audio clip. 2. From the toolbar, click Time Effects > Timewarp. 941 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects A timewarp container clip is created and the Timewarp property editor is displayed. 3. Do one of the following to define the new speed: - In the Speed (%) box, type a new speed as a percentage of the original speed. - In the Duration (SMPTE) box, type a new end timecode for the container clip. You can define the speed using either the speed or duration control. Because these properties are interdependent, when you change one, the other is updated automatically. For example, if you specify a new end timecode, the speed is adjusted so that the clip fills the new duration. 4. Adjust the length of the crossfade using the CrossFade control. 5. Adjust the Minimum Pitch control to set the minimum or lowest pitch used during the timewarp processing. 6. Do the following to adjust the pitch shift: - 942 In the Pitch Shift area, click Enable to active the pitch shift options. Working with the Timewarp Effect - Adjust the pitch by changing the values of the Coarse and Fine options. The Coarse option transposes in semitones (half steps) and the Fine option transposes in cents (hundredths of a semitone). - Adjust the Pitch Shift Ratio control to set the amount of transposition (pitch change). For more information, click the Help button. Applying Merging Audio Timezone Effects The audio Timewarp Timezone effect lets you alter the length and speed of an audio clip without affecting the original pitch. The audio timewarp has been optimized for human speech. n To use the audio Timewarp effect, Timezone from Merging Technologies, you must have a Merging Technologies audio card installed on your system. There are two methods of changing the speed: by specifying a percentage of the original speed or by entering a new SMPTE duration. To apply the audio Timewarp (timezone) effect: 1. From the timeline, select an audio clip. 2. From the toolbar, click Time Effects > Timewarp. A timewarp container clip is created and the Timewarp TimeZone property editor is displayed. We are so happy for you that you have reached such an important step in your life. Thank you for letting us share it with you. 3. Click the Load Preset button and select one of the Merging TimeZone presets. 4. Do one of the following to define the new speed: - In the Speed (%) box, type a new speed as a percentage of the original speed. - In the Duration (SMPTE) box, type a new end timecode for the container clip. You can define the speed using either the speed or duration control. Because these properties are interdependent, when you change one, the other is updated automatically. For example, if you specify a new end timecode, the speed is adjusted so that the clip fills the new duration. 943 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects 5. In the Quality box, specify how you want the processing to be done. The higher the quality setting, the more processing power, and therefore more time is required to complete the process. You can, for example, set the quality to Fast while you experiment with parameters. Once you’ve decided on your settings, set the quality to High to process the final result. 6. Click the Update Duration button to update the clip displayed on the timeline. 7. On the Advanced property page, set the following parameters: - Blocklength: Specify the size of the audio blocks used to perform the Timezone processing. As a general rule, percussive sounds, such as drums, piano, or clicks, should use shorter blocklengths, while instruments such as strings, wind, and flute, should use longer blocklengths. For clips that combine both percussive and tonal sounds, like music, you’ll need to experiment with this parameter for an optimal setting. - Cross Fading: Specify the length of the crossfade applied between each audio block during the Timezone processing. - Energy Detection (dB): Specify the energy threshold for processing audio blocks. When you select this option, only audio blocks that do not exceed the specified energy threshold are processed. This is particularly useful for percussive content or for speech applications. Do not select this option when an exact processed file size must be guaranteed. For more information, see “Timewarp (audio timezone) Property Editor” in the Help. Applying a Video Timewarp Effect The video Timewarp effect lets you speed up or slow down the action in a video clip. You can also reverse the action in a clip, freeze frames, or match the duration of two clips. You can adjust the quality of the effect using the settings in the Timewarp property editor. The FluidMotion rendering options provide a method of interpolating motion in a Timewarp effect to produce smooth motion. For more information about using FluidMotion rendering, see “Setting the Image Quality and Interpolation” on page 957. 944 Working with the Timewarp Effect You can control the warping of the interpolated images in a Timewarp effect using the Correction tools, as you would with the Warp effects. For information about creating shapes, see “Warp Effect” in the Help. For information about using the Correction tools, see “Fixing FluidMotion Rendering Problems” on page 958. The Timewarp effect has five modes: n Mode Description Constant Speeds up or slows down the action in a clip by giving it a new constant speed—see “Applying a Constant Speed” on page 947. Speed Applies a variable speed, so that the action speeds up and/or slows down progressively—see “Applying a Variable Speed” on page 949. Input Speed Applies a variable speed based on the source clip in the timewarp container clip, so that the action speeds up and/or slows down progressively—see “Applying a Variable Speed Based on the Source Clip” on page 951. Position Rearranges the action completely by changing the position of frames in time—see “Changing the Position of Frames” on page 953. Hold Freezes frames—see “Freezing Frames” on page 954. Inside a timewarp container clip, audio and video synchronization are not valid. Therefore, you cannot play the audio portion of a clip from inside a video timewarp container clip or from a clip that is a container clip of a timewarp container clip. To apply a video timewarp: 1. From the timeline, select a video clip. 2. From the toolbar, click Time Effects > Timewarp. A timewarp container clip is created and the Timewarp property editor is displayed. 945 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects This portion of the property editor varies according to the mode. 3. From the Mode list, select one of the following: n - Constant to apply a constant speed to the entire clip. - Speed to specify a speed that varies throughout the clip. - Input Speed to specify a speed based on the source clip. - Position to apply frame mapping. - Hold to freezes frames. To freeze frames in the selected clip, you can also go to the frame that you want to freeze and click Time Effects > Freeze in the toolbar. 4. Select the appropriate options on the General property page. The options vary depending on the mode you selected from the Mode list. 5. Select the Invert Fields option to reverse field dominance in a clip—see “Understanding Video Settings” on page 681. n If you selected the Frame Processing option in the Processing Options dialog box, then the Invert Fields option in the Timewarp property editor will have no effect when you process the timewarp. 6. On the Quality property page, select the Interpolation mode you want to use for the timewarp. 946 Working with the Timewarp Effect As frames are added or removed, the timewarp interpolates between frames (or fields in field processing mode) to create a smoother motion. 7. On the Correction property page, select the view and settings to correct any defects in the output. 8. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. 9. Click the Update Duration button to change the duration of the Timewarp effect to include the entire source effect. n If you have problems applying a timewarp to material that has been transferred from film using a 3:2 pulldown, you should first apply a 3:2 Contract effect, then apply a Timewarp, and then apply a 3:2 Expand effect on the timewarped results, using the Frames option in the Processing Options dialog box. For more information, see “Applying a 3:2 Contract Effect” on page 935 and “Applying a 3:2 Expand Effect” on page 937. For more information about the Timewarp property editor options, click the Help button. Applying a Constant Speed Using the Constant mode, you can assign a new apparent speed to a portion of a clip. For example, in a scene where a runner is crossing the finish line, you can set the speed to 50% to slow down the action. You can define the speed using any of the speed or duration controls. Because these properties are interdependent, when you change one, the others are updated automatically. For example, if you specify a new duration by changing the end timecode, the speed is adjusted so that the clip fills the new duration. Once you’ve applied a new constant speed to a clip, you can adjust the clip’s in and out-points and its duration. To apply a constant speed: 1. From the Timewarp property editor, select Constant from the Mode list. The Constant mode properties are displayed. 947 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects Constant mode properties 2. To define the new apparent speed, do one of the following: - Speed (%): Type a new speed as a percentage of the original speed. - Speed (Frames per Second): Type a new speed in frames per second (enter a negative value if you want to reverse the action in the clip). - Duration (SMPTE): Type a new duration for the container clip. - Duration (Frames): Type a new duration in frames. Frames are added or removed from the clip to change the apparent speed of action. Speed values are rounded, so that the number of frames is an integer. 3. Click the Update Duration button to update the container clip’s duration on the timeline. n 948 If the Interpolation option on the Quality property page is set to None and the new constant speed is slower than the original speed, the updated duration of the clip on the timeline may not match the updated duration in the property editor. This is because slowing down the clip without interpolation simply duplicates each full frame a fixed number of times. To remove the extra frames, you can simply trim them in the timeline. Working with the Timewarp Effect When Interpolation is selected, extra frames are not generated because some frames are mixed together. For more information about the Timewarp property editor options, click the Help button. To adjust the clip’s in and out-points on the source clip: 1. Select the timewarped clip that contains the in or out-points you want to change. 2. Do one of the following: - From the top timeline, select the clip’s in or out-point. Hold down the F key and drag the edit handle to move the in or out-point forward or backward in time. - From inside the timewarp container clip, select the First Frame or End Frame marker and drag it to the new in or out-point. The clip now uses more or less material, but its duration on the top timeline does not change. This will either speed up the action or slow it down, depending on whether you increased or decreased the number of frames being used. To adjust the clip’s duration: 1. Select the timewarped clip whose in or out-points you want to change. 2. From the top timeline, select the clip’s in or out-point. 3. Hold down the G key and drag the edit handle to move the in or out-point forward or backward in time. The clip’s duration is increased or decreased, but its in and out-points in the source material do not change. Applying a Variable Speed Using the Speed mode, you can assign different speeds to different parts of a clip without changing the clip’s duration on the timeline. For example, if you apply a timewarp to a clip in a basketball scene, you can slow the action down and then speed it up again to make the ball gradually slow down as it approaches the net, come to a stop above the net, and then fall through the net at full speed. 949 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects Changing the speed changes the portion of the source clip that is used, since more or less material is needed to maintain the clip’s duration. After each change, the first frame and end frame markers inside the timewarp container clip are updated accordingly. A base frame marker is set at the frame where you originally applied the timewarp. Animation Key button Apparent speed at timecode 00:00:04:07. Apparent speed at position indicator. 950 Working with the Timewarp Effect To apply a variable speed: 1. From the Timewarp property editor, select Speed from the Mode list. The Speed function curve is displayed. 2. Change the apparent speed of the clip by doing one of the following: - Edit the function curve—see “Working with the Animation Graph” on page 986. - Move the position indicator to a specific timecode and type a value in the Speed text box. If the Autokey mode is on, a keyframe is created on the function curve. If the Autokey mode is off, you can use the Set/Remove Key button in the Timewarp property editor to add or remove keyframes from the function curve. n You can also edit the function curve in the animation editor by right-clicking the Animation Key button and selecting Animation Editor. In the animation editor, you can work on a copy of the function curve and preserve the original until you’re ready to accept your changes. For more information, see “Making Temporary Copies of Function Curves” on page 1004. For more information about the Timewarp property editor options, click the Help button. Applying a Variable Speed Based on the Source Clip Using the Input Speed mode, you can assign different speeds to different parts of a clip, and update the clip’s duration accordingly. Changing the speed in the Input Speed mode does not affect the portion of the clip that is used because the changes are based on the source material. Instead, the clip’s duration is lengthened or shortened, depending on whether you slowed the clip down or sped it up. However you change it, the final timewarped clip will retain the first and end frames that you originally specified. 951 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects Apparent speed at timecode 00:00:02:10. Apparent speed at position indicator. To apply a variable speed based on the source clip: 1. From the Timewarp property editor, select Input Speed from the Mode list. The Input Speed function curve is displayed. 2. Select the Show Input Frames option. The Input Speed function curve is updated to represent the source material for the timewarp container clip. 3. Change the apparent speed of the clip by doing one of the following: - Move the position indicator to a specific timecode and type a value in the Speed text box. - Edit the function curve—see “Working with the Animation Graph” on page 986. If Autokey mode is activated, a keyframe is created on the function curve. If Autokey mode is deactivated, you can use the Set/Remove Key button in the Timewarp property editor to add or remove keyframes from the function curve. 4. Deselect the Show Input Frames option. 5. Click the Update Duration button to update the duration of the clip on the top timeline. 952 Working with the Timewarp Effect For more information about the Timewarp property editor options, click the Help button. Changing the Position of Frames Using the Position mode, you can move frames to different timecodes. For example, to reverse the action in a clip, you can place the last frame first and the first frame last. In Position mode, a position curve maps the frames’ original timecode inside the container clip (the vertical axis) versus their new timecode (on the horizontal axis). You can change this mapping by editing the function curve. In the following example, the clip plays backward slowly from the last frame to the first, then plays forward fast, from the first frame to the last. Animation Key button Original timecode of the frame at timecode 00:00:00:16. Original timecode of the frame at position indicator. To change the position of frames: 1. From the Timewarp property editor, select Position from the Mode list. The Position function curve is displayed. 2. Change the position of frames by doing one of the following: - Edit the function curve—see “Working with the Animation Graph” on page 986. 953 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects - Move the position indicator to a specific timecode. - In the Position box, type the original timecode of the frame that you want to move to the current location of the position indicator. If Autokey mode is activated, a keyframe is created on the function curve. n You can also edit the function curve in the animation editor by right-clicking the Animation Key button and selecting Animation Editor. In the animation editor, you can work on a copy of the function curve and preserve the original until you’re ready to accept your changes. For more information, see “Making Temporary Copies of Function Curves” on page 1004. To reverse the action in a clip: 1. From the timeline, select a clip. 2. From the toolbar, click Time Effects > Timewarp. A container clip is created and the Timewarp property editor is displayed. 3. Click the Load Preset button. 4. From the Load Preset dialog box, select the Reverse effect. In the Base Frame box, Last is selected. In the Speed (%) box, the value is -100, indicating that the clip will play in reverse. 5. Change the negative speed value to make the clip play backwards at a different speed. For more information about the Timewarp property editor options, click the Help button. Freezing Frames Using the Hold mode, you can freeze the action of a specified frame by giving it a speed of zero. Then you can specify whether to freeze a frame or field by using the Hold On options. Avid DS Nitris replaces frames in a specific part of the clip by using the frame or field you specified in the Timewarp property editor. Field-based holds require processing whereas frame-based holds do not. To freeze frames: 1. From the timeline, select a clip. 2. Using the transport controls, locate the frame you want to freeze. 954 Working with the Timewarp Effect 3. From the toolbar, click Time Effects > Freeze. A timewarp container clip is created and the Timewarp property editor is displayed. n You can also freeze frames by clicking Timewarp and selecting Hold from the Mode list in the Timewarp property editor. Notice that the Fix At text box contains the selected frame’s timecode in the timewarp container clip, and not on the top timeline. A base frame marker is set at this timecode on the timeline in the timewarp container clip. All subsequent frames in the clip are replaced by the current frame causing the action to freeze indefinitely. You also have the option of holding the first or last frame of the container clip. 4. Adjust the base frame by changing the Fix At value. n You can also adjust the base frame by moving the base frame marker in the timewarp container clip. 955 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects 5. By default, the Hold This Frame Indefinitely option is selected. If you want the action to slow down gradually, type a value in the Ease In text box. The action slows down over the specified number of frames. 6. If you want to convert the clip into a still image based on the specified frame, select the Replace Entire Clip With This Frame option. 7. If you want to freeze a frame and then let the action resume, select the Hold This Frame for a Fixed Duration option and set the following: - Duration: Type the number of frames during which the action is frozen. - Ease In: Type the number of frames during which the action slows down to a stop. - Ease Out: Type the number of frames during which the action recovers its original speed. 8. If you want to create a strobe effect do the following: - Select the Strobe option. - In the Frequency text box, type the number of frames that are repeated and then skipped. Starting with the first frame in the container clip, a specified number of frames is repeated and then the same number of frames is skipped. 9. To freeze either a frame or field, select one of the following from the Hold On boxes: n - Frame: Freezes both fields of the selected frame. - Field 1: Freezes the first field of the frame. - Field 2: Freezes the second field of the frame. Freeze frame timewarps do not require processing when you set the Hold On mode to Frame, and you’ve set the Ease In and Ease Out values to zero. Freeze frame timewarps do require processing when you set the Hold On mode to Field 1 or Field 2, or when you’ve specified an Ease In or Ease Out value. 10. Click Update Duration to update the clip’s duration. For more information about the Timewarp property editor options, click the Help button. 956 Working with the Timewarp Effect Giving One Clip the Duration of Another You can use the Timewarp effect to give one clip the same number of frames as a second clip. This is useful when you want to composite a clip that contains a single-frame image with another clip that contains action. To give one clip the duration of another: 1. Place two clips on the timeline. 2. Select the first clip (the clip whose duration you want to change). 3. Press Ctrl and click the second clip (the one whose duration you want to match). 4. From the toolbar, click Time Effects > Timewarp. A container clip is created over the first clip and the Timewarp property editor is displayed. On the timeline, the length of the first clip is updated to match the length of the second clip. For more information about the Timewarp property editor options, click the Help button. Setting the Image Quality and Interpolation You can choose the image quality and interpolation for a Timewarp effect. You can go from a fast low-quality test image to a slower higher-quality image for final output by simply changing a few of the settings in the Quality property page. The Interpolation settings let you choose how the actual pixels of the timewarped object are calculated. The FluidMotion option uses an interpolation algorithm that creates intermediate images by morphing the motion across the bracketing images. The application examines each pixel in the outgoing image, finds the corresponding pixel in the incoming image, and creates a motion path between the two that it uses to build the intermediate images necessary to fill out the effect. This results in extremely smooth motion. However, it can also introduce artifacts (distorted areas) into the effect, particularly when objects move in front of or behind other objects, move significantly from one frame to the next, or move into the image from outside the frame. The Timewarp property editor provides tools for correcting artifacts in a Timewarp effect. For more information about correcting artifacts, see “Fixing FluidMotion Rendering Problems” on page 958. 957 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects To create a smoother motion when playing the effect: 1. From the timeline, select a clip. 2. From the toolbar, click Time Effects > Timewarp. A container clip is created and the Timewarp property editor is displayed. 3. In the Timewarp property editor, select the Quality property page. 4. Select Interpolation > FluidMotion. 5. Adjust the intensity of the FluidMotion effect using the Amount setting. 6. Select the degree of quality you want versus the process time using the Method settings. 7. Define the width of the border using the Border settings. 8. Correct any artifacts introduced by FluidMotion rendering, see “Fixing FluidMotion Rendering Problems” on page 958. For more information about the Timewarp property editor options, click the Help button. Fixing FluidMotion Rendering Problems When you select FluidMotion to render the Timewarp effect, artifacts might appear in images particularly when objects: • Move in front of or behind other objects • Move significantly between one frame and the next frame • Move into the image from outside the frame The bracketing images, whether frames or fields of original material, do not have artifacts. Artifacts appear when the FluidMotion engine cannot determine the motion of an object between a pair of sequential input frames or fields. It incorrectly calculates the correspondence between an object in the first frame and the same object in its new position in the second frame. The Correction tools let you specify to the FluidMotion engine what the correct correspondences are to fix the artifacts. You can use the shape tools to draw a shape around an artifact object in the first input frame or field, and then move or edit the shape in the subsequent input frame or field to specify where that object is positioned in the second frame. 958 Working with the Timewarp Effect You can then select the style of adjustments that you want to use to fix the artifacts, either Hint, Correction, or Constraint. For full descriptions of the options available on the Correction property page, see “Correction Property Page (Video Timewarp)” in the Help. n Shapes span the length of the effect, but have an additional property for activeness which can be enabled or disabled independently for each pair of successive input frames or fields. A shape’s correction is applied only to timespans between two frames or two fields where the shape is active. Therefore, allowing a shape to correct a problem on a few frames of the effect without affecting any other part of the effect timespan. To correct artifacts introduced by FluidMotion rendering: 1. In the Timewarp property editor on the Quality property page, select Interpolation > FluidMotion. 2. Select the Correction property page. 3. Select a view from the View options to view the input frame or input field that displays the artifacts. For example, select View Frame and Previous Input Frame to view a frame. 4. Select Edit and Show Shapes. 5. Create a shape around the area you want to fix. 6. Use the Shape Behaviour tools to adjust how the artifacts in the selected shape area are corrected. - From the Type menu, select the style of adjustment that you want to apply to the shape area. Selecting Hint applies the least amount of change to the area, whereas, selecting Correction applies the most change to the area, and Constraint is a combination of Hint and Correction. The best choice is usually Hint, because it treats the shapes as an approximate area and will try to improve on the positioning. Whereas, Constraint and Correction use the exact positioning of the shape you created. Constraint is usually the second best choice. - Select Activeness to let the corrections apply to the area defined by the shape. Each shape you draw spans the length of the effect. However, only frames or fields where the shapes are active will the corrections to the shape area affect the output image. 959 Chapter 8 Working with Time Effects - Select Enable AutoBarrier if you want to restrict the correction to be within a certain distance of the shape. For example, use Enable AutoBarrier to prevent a strong correction in the lower left of an image from adversely affect the top right of the image. 7. View the subsequent frame or field by selecting Next Input Frame or Next Input Field. 8. Edit or move the shape to specify the new position of the image object that the shape is correcting. 9. Select Result to view the corrections. For more information about the Timewarp property editor options, click the Help button. 960 Chapter 9 Animating Objects This chapter describes the different ways you can animate an object’s properties. You can use the animation tools to create and adjust animation by setting keyframes and manipulating function curves. After you master the animation techniques, you can refer to specific chapters in this guide and the Avid DS Nitris Compositing and Graphics Guide to learn how to animate transitions, video and audio effects, composited layers, or graphics. • Workflow: Animating Properties • Creating Animation • Understanding the Animation Editor • Editing Animation • Processing Animation Chapter 9 Animating Objects Workflow: Animating Properties 1 Create animation. Display effect’s property editor. Place position indicator on a frame. Keyframing Process Adjust parameters. Set a keyframe manually or automatically (Autokey mode). 2 Edit animation. Move between keyframes, adjust parameters, and reset, add, and/or remove keyframes. 3 Process animation. In the final sequence, the effect’s properties change over time. 962 or Display animation editor and modify the function curve. Creating Animation Creating Animation Animation is the change of an object/image over time. To create animation, you record changes to an object’s properties. Using a process called keyframing, you specify the object’s properties at the first and last frame of each change. Properties are automatically calculated and set for the frames in between, producing a change in the object. You can add as many keyframes to an object as you need to create your animation. n Adding animation requires system resources that might impact your system’s performance. Objects and effects that you can animate include transitions, video and audio effects, layers, and graphics. For example, you can animate the blur on a video effect, the order of a layer in a composite, the rotation of a stroke, or the color of a title. There are several ways to create animation: • Use the Autokey mode to set keyframes automatically, as you adjust the object’s properties—see “Setting Keyframes Automatically” on page 964. • Use the Animation Key button and Animation button to set keyframes manually each time you adjust the object’s properties–see “Setting Keyframes Manually” on page 965. • Use the animation editor to manipulate the function curves of selected object properties—see “Understanding the Animation Editor” on page 981. • Use mathematical functions to drive the parameter(s) of one effect using a parameter(s) of another effect and to modify the relationship of those parameters—“Animating with Expressions” on page 969. • Create a motion path to animate a DVE. • Record audio animation in the mixer. When you create animation, the corresponding animation keys appear in the animation editor and in the position bar below the Record viewer. 963 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Setting Keyframes Automatically When you activate the Autokey mode, keyframes are automatically created each time you modify an object’s properties. Automatic keyframing only sets keyframes for the properties that you modify, which is useful when you want to adjust specific properties without adding or modifying the keyframes of the other properties. To set keyframes automatically: 1. When you’re ready to begin animating, do one of the following: t On the status bar, click the Autokey button. t From the File menu, select User Preferences to open the User Preferences dialog box. From the Animation property page, select the Set Keys When Changing Values option. t Right-click the Animation Key button in the property editor of the object that you want to animate, and select Autokey. t Click the auto button in the property editor. The Autokey mode is activated and the Animation Key button turns red whenever a keyframe is set. Keyframes will automatically be set for all property editors and animatable properties until Autokey is deselected. 2. Move the position indicator to the frame on which you want the animation to start. 3. Use the property editor to adjust the values of the properties that you want to animate. A keyframe is automatically set each time you adjust the properties. 4. Go to another frame and adjust the properties again. A new keyframe is set at the current timecode and property values are computed for all frames between the keyframes. 5. If necessary, go to different points in the clip and continue adding keyframes. 6. If you want to stop adding keyframes automatically, click the Autokey button again to deactivate the Autokey mode. 7. Do one of the following to view the animation: t 964 Process the effect and play the clip—see “Processing Animation” on page 1016. Creating Animation t In the property editor, click the Preview button. t Press Ctrl and click Play to play the clip frame by frame. When you play the clip, the keyframed properties change as the clip advances. n In the Autokey mode, keyframes are set only for the properties that you modify. To set a keyframe for all animatable properties, you should use the Animation Key button. For more information, see “Setting Keyframes Manually” on page 965. Setting Keyframes Manually You can create animation by adjusting properties and manually setting keyframes at different points in time. Manually setting keyframes lets you to preview your changes before you actually set any keyframes. This method is also useful when you want to set keyframes using the controls in the property editors or views, or interactively in the viewer. The Animation button at the left of numeric parameters on property editors lets you to set a keyframe for individual parameters at the current position of the position indicator. The animation controls change color depending on the status of the animation and keyframe. For example, the animation controls turn yellow when you modify the value of an animation parameter but do not set a keyframe. The yellow indicates a temporary value for the parameter. If you move the position indicator to another frame, the temporary value is removed and the curve is restored. If you want to set a keyframe for the temporary value of the parameter, click the Animation button for that parameter. When you click the Animation Key button, keyframes are set for all animation properties of the effect at the current position of the position indicator. However, when the Animation Key button is yellow (indicating there are temporary values) clicking the Animation Key button will set keyframes only for those properties that have temporary values. n When keyframes are set for all properties, clicking the Animation Key button removes all the keyframes. The following table describes the animation control status indicator colors. 965 Chapter 9 Animating Objects n Color Status description Gray No keyframes are set. You can preview adjustments to animation parameters. Green No keyframes are set at the current position of the animation. Red Keyframes are set at the current position of the animation. Yellow Temporary change to a parameter value at the current position of the animation. For the Color Correction and Color Correction Classic effects, clicking the Animation Key button does not set keyframes if all the parameters are set to their default settings. For more information, see “Returning to Default Values” in the Help. To set keyframes manually: 1. Click the Autokey button to turn off Autokey mode. 2. Open the property editor in which you want to create animation. 3. Move the position indicator to the frame in which you want the animation to start. 4. Adjust the properties that you want to animate. 5. Set keyframes by doing one the following: t To set a keyframe for an individual numeric parameter, click the Animation button beside the parameter. t To set keyframes for several properties that you modified, click the Animation Key button. t To set a keyframe for all properties in the property editor when there are temporary values, press Ctrl and click the Animation Key button. t To set a keyframe for all properties in the property editor when there are no temporary values set, click the Animation Key button. 6. If necessary, go to different points in the clip and continue adding keyframes. 7. To view the animation, do one of the following: t 966 Process the effect and play the clip—see “Processing Animation” on page 1016. Creating Animation t In the property editor, click the Preview button. t Press Ctrl and click Play to play the clip frame by frame. When you play the clip, the keyframed properties change as the clip advances. 967 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Viewing and Moving Animation Keys Once you’ve created animation, each animation key you set is displayed in the position bar below the Record viewer. Animation keys are represented as red bars. You can only view and reposition animation keys in the position bar. Animation key To view animation keys: t Select an effect from the timeline. If the effect has animation, its animation keys are displayed in the position bar. To reposition animation keys: t Select an animation key from the position bar and drag it to a new location. To show or hide the animation keys: t Right-click the position bar and select/deselect Show Animation Keys. To snap the position indicator to an animation key: 1. Press Ctrl and click an animation key. 2. Reposition the key in the position bar. The key moves with the position indicator and you can see, in the viewer, where you're moving it. 968 Creating Animation Animating with Expressions Expressions are mathematical formulas that you can use to control any parameter that can be animated, such as translation, rotation, blur radius, or hue. You can create almost any connection between parameters, from simple “A = B” relationships to very complex ones using predefined variables, standard math functions, random number generators, and more. Regardless of how you use expressions, you’ll find that they’re powerful because they allow you to animate precisely, right down to the parameter level. Using expressions, you can: n • Match the position and/or rotation of one DVE to the position of another DVE, • Match the settings of several Color Correction effects, or • “Lock” several properties that do not have a lock option. Expressions in Avid DS Nitris are built using the same expression language as Softimage®|XSI.® Creating Expressions You can create an expression in different ways, depending on the complexity. You can create simple expressions using an effect’s property editor or write more complex expressions using the expression editor. One way to create a simple expression is by dragging and dropping one parameter over another in a property editor. The parameter that you choose to originate the expression is referred to as the “input”. The input is the parameter that drives the parameter(s) that you constrain it with. Once you create an expression, you will see an arrow on the animation button of the parameter you are constraining. This indicates the presence of an expression. A single-headed arrow indicates that an expression present is unidirectional and a double-pointed arrow indicates that an expression is bidirectional. For more information, see “Editing Bidirectional and Unidirectional Expressions” on page 979. 969 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Unidirectional expression Bidirectional expression n If you create an expression on a parameter that already has animation, such as a function curve or another expression, the existing animation is overwritten by the expression. You can press Ctrl+Z to undo and bring back the animation/expression. To create a simple A = B (constraint) relationship: t In a property editor, drag parameter A’s animation icon onto parameter B’s animation icon. Parameter B’s animation icon shows an arrow and its value changes to that of parameter A. Arrow indicates an expression. Drag animation icon from one parameter to another. n Softness is now an expression; it takes its value from Opacity, which is the input. Tip: If you’re creating a constraint type expression, and need to switch property pages, start dragging the animation icon and then hover over the tab of the property page you want to switch to. This will let you access the other property pages. To open the expression editor and create a default expression: t In a property editor, right-click the animation icon of a parameter and select Create Expression. The expression editor displays, and you can write and edit expressions. 970 Creating Animation Expression was created on Softness parameter of Drop Shadow effect. If there was any animation for the parameter, it is replaced by an expression that is 0. This will be replaced when you create an expression. There are no inputs for this expression. n In Avid DS Nitris, expressions can have any number of inputs (including 0). For more information, see “Expression Editor” in the Help. 971 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Validating and Applying Expressions After creating an expression, you can validate and apply it. When you validate an expression, the syntax of the expression is checked but not applied. When you apply an expression, it is connected to the target parameters. Any changes you make to the expression do not take effect until you apply the expression. To validate an expression: t In the expression editor, click the Validate button. A message displays in the message pane, informing you of whether or not the expression is valid. To apply an expression: t In the expression editor, click the Apply button. The expression is automatically validated. If the expression is invalid, a message informs you and the expression is not applied. Bypassing Expressions When you want to deactivate, but not delete an expression, you can bypass it. When you bypass an expression, the resulting expression will either take the value from the first input or use the value of zero if there are no inputs. To bypass an expression: t In the expression editor, click the Bypass button. Writing Expressions Once you have the expression editor open, you can write an expression by typing it in the expression pane. When using mathematical operators, constants, and functions, it is inserted in the expression pane of the expression editor along with placeholder(s) for the parameter. For example, the Add operator will insert the following in the expression pane: + All you have to do is replace the placeholders “expr1” and “expr2” with values. 972 Creating Animation n Tip: To place only the mathematical operator, and not the accompanying placeholder(s), press Ctrl while selecting an operator to add to the expression pane. Here’s how to write an expression: 1. Select an input from the input pane and drag it to the expression pane. 2. In the expression pane, enter an expression by typing or choosing items from the Insert menu. 3. Validate and apply the expression. To add inputs to an expression, do one of the following: t Drag an input from the input pane and drop it in the appropriate location in the expression pane. t Position the cursor at the appropriate place in the expression pane, click Insert > Inputs and select an input. Reverting Expressions While writing or editing expressions in the expression editor, you can revert or go back to the text of the expression that is currently in use for the property. To revert an expression in the expression editor: t While writing an expression in the expression editor, click the Revert button. Resulting Value of an Expression The value of an expression is always a floating-point value (meaning it can be a number like 12.345 instead of an integer like 12). The expression editor always shows the mathematically correct value. However, some parameters can only accept integers or values in a specific range. In this case, the value returned by the expression is automatically rounded off. Using Inputs An input is the parameter that will drive the parameter(s) that you constrain it with in an expression. You can have multiple inputs in an expression, and they can be connected to other 973 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Connected and disconnected inputs are indicated in the expression editor by an icon. All inputs are listed in two places: the Insert menu (click Insert > Inputs) and the input pane at the bottom of the expression editor. You can undo (Ctrl+Z) any add, remove, connect, and disconnect operation when working with inputs. Connected input Disconnected input n You can only use animatable properties as expression inputs. These have an animation button beside them on a property page. List of inputs Connected inputs created by dragging animation butter of parameters on a property page. Disconnected inputs created using the Add button in the expression editor. To add inputs, do one of the following: t In the expression editor, click the Add button at the bottom of the property page. A numbered input is added to the bottom of the Inputs list. It is not connected to anything. t Drag the animation button of a property from a property editor to the Inputs list in the expression editor. You can place it anywhere in the list. An input is added to the Inputs list. It is automatically connected to the property from which it originated. To connect an existing input: t 974 Drag the animation button of a parameter and drop it on any input (disconnected or not) in the input pane. Creating Animation If the input was disconnected, it is now connected to the parameter. If the input was already connected to a property, it is replaced with the new property. t On a property page, right-drag the animation button of a parameter and drop it on a parameter that already has an expression (the animation button will have an arrow on it). A menu displays, giving you the option to connect to an existing input or to a new input. To remove inputs: t Select one or more inputs from the input pane, click the Remove button. To disconnect inputs: t Select one or more inputs from the input pane, click the Disconnect button. Expression Syntax Here are a few things to remember when creating expressions: • Parentheses must always be closed. • Spacing is irrelevant. Spaces, tabs, and carriage returns make an expression easier to read, but they are ignored by Avid DS Nitris. 975 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Syntax Colors As you start writing expressions, you’ll notice that the text is highlighted in different colors. Here’s what they mean: Color Description Purple • Connected inputs. • Disconnected inputs are purple, underlined in red. Blue Keywords, functions, and operators. Red Numbers, predefined constants, and syntax errors. Black User-defined variable and sub-expression names. Brown Strings Green Comments Syntax Errors When you validate or apply an expression, the message window updates to display the result. If the expression contains any syntax errors, it is highlighted along with the line and column number. Also, if one or more inputs used in the expression are not connected or do not exist, a warning message is displayed. Expression error Error message To identify syntax errors in an expression: t In the message pane, double-click the error. The error is highlighted in the message pane. 976 Creating Animation Removing Expressions Before you can remove an expression, you’ll need to recognize when an expression is present. When there is an expression on a property, you’ll see an arrow on the animation button. Arrow indicates that an expression is present on a property. To remove an expression: t Right-click an animation button that contains an expression and select Remove Expression. If other expressions were using this expression as an input, they are still connected to that property. Saving and Loading Expression Presets A preset is a customized set of properties for an effect. The expression's property page is similar to the property pages of effects. You can load and save presets through the property editors or toolbars. Loading a preset into an expression will only affect the text of the expression and its bypass state; it will not add, remove, reconnect, or disconnect inputs. When saving and loading an expression preset, only the inputs that are contained within a particular effect will be valid in the preset. If there are inputs connected to properties in other effects, they will still be saved with the preset, but will not be connected to anything when you load the preset. For more information, see “Using Presets” in the Help. Adding Comments to Expressions You can add comments to an expression by using the // notation. Anything from the // to the end of the line is considered to be a comment. It is displayed in green in the expression pane, and will be ignored when the expression is validated. For example: 977 Chapter 9 Animating Objects // Input1: Connect to X position of other object var Period = Fr; // Number of frames for 1 turn var Radius = 100; // Radius of circle Input1 + cos( Fc * 360 / Period ) * Radius Comments are handy when you want to: • Explain what should be connected to each input. This is useful for expression presets, so you know what to connect to the expression after loading the preset, • Explain what each variable means, and • Comment out lines. For example, you can comment out an expression and replace it by a different expression just to test something, and then return to the original expression. To add comments: t In the expression pane, type // and then your comments. Your comments appear in green. Editing Expressions After creating an expression, you can fine-tune it in the expression editor or by modifying parameters in the property editor. For example, in the Bubble effect, let’s create an expression on the Size parameter using the Hue Jitter parameter as the input. If you change the value of the Hue Jitter, the Size parameter will update to always be equal to the other parameter. Now let’s say you want the Size to be 12 times larger than Hue Jitter. Here’s how you would do it. In the expression pane, type *12 and click the Apply button. The expression is validated and applied. 978 Creating Animation Name of input Another way to edit an expression is to modify and set keyframes (in the property editor) from either the source property or on the expression in the expression editor. Editing Bidirectional and Unidirectional Expressions A bidirectional expression is an expression that you can modify and set keyframes on the property editor from either the input parameter or in the expression. For example, B = A is a simple bidirectional expression. B’s expression is drive by A. You can edit the expression by changing the value of either A or B. However, the more complicated an expression is, the less likely it is to be bidirectional. Unidirectional expression Bidirectional expression A unidirectional expression is indicated by a single-headed arrow; the expression goes in only one direction because there is no inverse. Some examples of unidirectional expressions include: • An expression with no inputs cannot be inverted, so it is unidirectional. 979 Chapter 9 Animating Objects • An expression with multiple inputs has an ambiguous inverse. For example, B = A + C is unidirectional. Why? Because if we change A, we know that B is also changes. If we change B, we don't know if it changes A or C. Also, you’ll notice that the slider and calculator icon are dimmed on the property page, since you can no longer edit the property. n Tip: You can eliminate the ambiguity of an expression by using the Read Only function found on the Insert menu (Value > Read Only) in the expression editor. For example, suppose B’s expression is: B= Input1 + Input2 If you change B, it’s unclear if it will change Input1 or Input2. However, if you make Input2 read only, then the ambiuity is gone. B= Input1 + Input2(readonly) 980 Understanding the Animation Editor Understanding the Animation Editor The animation editor is where you can display and control the animation of a selected object. An object’s animation is represented by a function curve on the animation graph. A function curve is a graphical representation of an object’s property changes over a period of time. All function curves can be edited. n Some property editors contain animation graphs, where you can view or manipulate function curves without opening the animation editor. Animation Editor Animation graph Animation tools Animation menus Animation tree To access the animation editor, do one of the following: t From the view switcher, select the Animation Editor button. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Animation Editor. t In a property editor with animation controls, right-click the Animation Key button and select Animation Editor. Using the Animation Tree The animation tree displays a hierarchy of animated objects, such as effects or layers. You can navigate this tree to locate individual animated properties. When you select an item in the tree, its function curve is highlighted in the animation graph. You can also hide individual curves, leaving only the ones that you want to edit. 981 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Control box Filter list Filter control Pin button Hidden parameter Object properties Visible parameter Option Description Control box Indicates properties where function curves exist Filter list Displays a list of filters for displaying function curves that meet a specific set of criteria Filter control Makes the tree display the contents of the filtered list Pin button Marks an object so that it remains in the animation editor when you select a different object Hidden parameter Represents a parameter that is not displayed in the graph Visible parameter Represent a parameter that is displayed in the graph. Object properties Represents the animated properties of an object Navigating the Animation Tree When you select an object, the animation property tree displays its properties. When you select a property from the tree, it highlights the corresponding function curve. You can expand and collapse the tree to show or hide properties. A plus sign (+) marks each property icon that has additional properties. After you click the plus sign to expand an item in the tree, it changes to a minus sign (-) to indicate that it can be collapsed. To expand or collapse the animation tree: t To expand the animation tree, click the plus sign (+) next to an object. The object’s animatable properties are listed below the expanded object, and the plus sign changes to a minus sign. 982 Understanding the Animation Editor t To collapse the animation tree, click the minus sign (-) next to an object. The object’s properties are no longer visible in the animation tree, and the minus sign changes to a plus sign. Displaying Function Curves When editing function curves, it is often useful to display several curves simultaneously, so that you can synchronize the animation of different properties. Conversely, it is useful to hide the function curves of properties that you do not want to animate. To show or hide a property’s function curve: t In the animation tree, click the control box next to the property whose function curves you want to hide or display. The control box is light-blue when the function curve is displayed. It is gray when the function curve is hidden. To hide or display all the function curves of an object: t In the animation tree, click the control box next to the object whose function curves you want to show or hide. A plus sign in the control box indicates that all of its function curves are displayed. The control box is gray when all the function curves are hidden. Displaying Function Curves of Different Objects You may want to view or edit several function curves simultaneously. For example, when applying color correction to two clips, you may want to see their animated properties simultaneously. You can do this by pinning (marking) the function curves of different objects, so that they can all be viewed in the animation editor at the same time. n If more than one object is selected in the 3D DVE layout, the animation editor does not display its function curves. To see the animation curves, select the first graphics object and view the desired animation parameters in the animation editor. Pin these parameters by clicking the pin icon to the left of each parameter (e.g. Transform, Surfaces ...) in the animation editor. The pin icon will turn red. Now, select the second graphics object and view the desired animation parameters in the animation editor. The animation curves for both objects should be displayed. 983 Chapter 9 Animating Objects To view the function curves of multiple objects: 1. Open the property editor of the first animated object. 2. Right-click the Animation Key button and select Animation Editor. The animation editor is displayed. In the animation tree, all the animatable properties are displayed. 3. Click the Pin button of the function curve that you want to keep displayed in the animation editor. Pin button 4. Leaving the animation editor open, select another object whose function curve you want to view. The animatable properties of the second object are displayed in the animation editor above the pinned properties. 5. Pin the properties of the new objects that you want to display. To unpin a function curve: t Click the Pin button to unpin the property. When you open a different object, the unpinned properties are no longer displayed in the animation editor. Filtering Function Curves By filtering function curves, you can customize the contents displayed in the animation tree and view only those files that meet a specific set of criteria. For example, you may want to view or edit only the function curves that begin with the letter “c” and have the opacity parameter. By displaying only the function curves that meet these criteria, you can easily locate and edit them. The animation filter is located at the top of the animation tree. By default, the animation filter list is displayed; you can hide it you need more room to display function curves in the animation tree.You can also turn the list on or off, but only if there is one or more filters present in the list. If there are no filters, then the entire tree is displayed. 984 Understanding the Animation Editor Animation filter list Filter control Object properties To show or hide the animation filter: t In the animation editor, select View > Filter. To turn the animation filter on or off: t Select the Filter control beside the filter list to turn it on. The function curves that meet the criteria of the selected filter are displayed. t Deselect the Filter control to turn it off. The entire animation tree is displayed. To create a filter: 1. In the animation editor, select View > Edit Filter. The Edit Filter dialog box opens and the last created filter is displayed. 2. Click the Clear button. 3. From the Criterion list, select a filter option. 4. In the Value text box, type the text or portion of text that you want to use as a filter criterion. For example, to view function curves that contain opacity, select Contains as the criterion and type “opacity” in the Value text box. 5. Repeat step 4 to add additional filter criteria. 6. To clear all data, click the Clear button. 7. Click the Save button and type a name for the filter. Click OK. 8. Click the Close button. The animation filter list is activated and your filter appears as an option in the list. 985 Chapter 9 Animating Objects To delete a filter: 1. In the Edit Filter dialog box, select a filter from the Filter Name list. 2. Click the Delete button. Working with the Animation Graph The animation graph is the area on the animation editor where you can manipulate the function curve or keyframe values of any animated property. You can edit the keyframed values by adjusting the key points on a selected function curve. The horizontal axis (X axis) displays the time scale in frames or milliseconds. The vertical axis (Y axis) displays the values of the animated property. In the animation graph, function curves are highlighted in light-blue over the duration of the animated effect. In addition, when you select a function curve, it is displayed in white over the duration of the effect and its keyframes are displayed in red. When you select a keyframe, its precise coordinates are reflected on the X and Y scales. Value scale Region of effect Time scale Time and value of selected keyframe Selected keyframe Customizing the Animation Graph By customizing the display of the animation graph, you can change the incremental values of the time and value scales, the spacing between grid lines, and show or hide other indicators on the graph. For example, the grid in the animation graph is useful when adding or moving keyframes. You can display or hide the vertical or horizontal grid lines independently. 986 Understanding the Animation Editor To customize the animation graph: 1. From the animation editor, click the Preferences button. 2. In the Animation Editor Preferences property editor, select the Editor tab. 3. To show or hide the grid, do one of the following: t In the Grids area, set the Display Grid options. t Press G. 4. To display the precise coordinates of a selected keyframe, select the Key Coordinates option, in the View box. Small indicators on the animation graph’s axes show the value and time of the selected keyframe. Changing the Time Scale Like the timeline, you can set the time scale on the X axis to display in frames or milliseconds. To change the time scale: t In the timeline, right-click the ruler and select Display As. The time scale on the ruler changes according to your selection. Zooming the Animation Graph You can enlarge or reduce the animation graph to view function curves at close range or view all the function curves in an animation. To zoom in and out: 1. To activate the zoom mode, do one of the following: t t Press Z. In the animation editor, click the Zoom button. 2. To zoom in on a specific rectangular area, drag on the animation graph. When you drag the pointer, a rectangle is displayed. When you release the mouse button, the display zooms into the rectangular area. 3. To perform a continuous zoom, right-drag on the animation graph. To reset the zoom: t Press Z and click the animation graph. 987 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Panning the Animation Graph You can scroll over the animation graph to view the full length of the function curves in an animation. To pan the animation graph, do one of the following: t t Press X and drag up/down to pan the Y axis, and drag left/right to pan the X axis. In the animation editor, click the Pan button to activate the pan mode. To reset the pan: t n 988 Press X and click the animation graph. Tip: To reset both the pan and the zoom, press the Z+X keys, and click the animation graph. Editing Animation Editing Animation Once you’ve animated an object, you can use the animation editor to view and modify its properties. The animation editor represents the animation as one or more function curves on the animation graph, where the values of the animated properties are plotted over time. Emboss effect changes over time Frame 0 Relief property gradually increases and then decreases rapidly. Frame 4 Frame 9 Frame 12 Keyframes Function curve of the Relief property You can use the animation editor to manipulate a function curve, or to finetune the animation frame-by-frame. You can also add, move, or delete function curves or keyframes, and trim, crop, or remove an entire animation. The animation editor can display function curves for multiple animations simultaneously. Pinning an animation to the animation editor keeps its function curves displayed while you work on other function curves. 989 Chapter 9 Animating Objects n Some effects, like fades or transitions, have an animation graph built into one of their property pages. You can add keyframes on this function curve the same way you add keyframes to function curves in the animation editor. When you want to adjust properties using the controls in property editors or layer controls on other views, you can edit animations with the Animation Key. For example, if you’re adding a graphics animation to a composite, you would typically create the graphics in the viewer and record keyframes using the Animation Key. Editing Keyframes Manually You can manually set or delete keyframes on a frame-by-frame basis using the object’s property editor. To edit keyframes manually: 1. Open the property editor in which you want to create animation. 2. In the property editor, right-click the Animation Key button and select First Key. The position indicator moves to the first keyframe in the animation. 3. If necessary, edit the settings and click the Animation Key button to set a keyframe. The new settings at this frame automatically override any previous settings. 4. Click the Next Key button to move to the next keyframe. 5. If you want to add a keyframe, use the Frame Backward and Frame Forward buttons on the transport controls to advance your clip to the appropriate timecode. Change the values and click the Animation Key button to add a keyframe. 6. Continue to edit keyframes until you reach the end of the animated sequence. To remove a keyframe: 1. In a property editor or view, click the Previous Key or Next Key buttons (located next to the Animation Key button) to go to a timecode where a keyframe has been set. The Animation Key button will be red to indicate that a keyframe is set on the current frame. 990 Editing Animation 2. Right-click the Animation Key button and select Remove Key. The current keyframe is removed. Editing Animation on the Animation Graph In the animation editor, each animatable property is represented by a different function curve on the animation graph. You can modify these curves to edit the animation. Pinned function curve Marked parameters Selected function curve Keyframes Selected keyframe When working in the animation graph, you can display the function curves of properties that you want to animate, or hide curves to isolate a specific property. Function curves on the graph appear in blue for the duration of an effect. When you select them, they’re highlighted in white and their keyframes are displayed. As you modify function curves, you can take snapshots that let you compare the results of a change to a function curve to the original curve. Snapshots appear in black on the graph. There are several ways of manipulating keyframes to change the result of an animation. You can add new keyframes, delete existing ones, move a keyframe to a new value or time, and control all of the keyframes at a specific timecode. 991 Chapter 9 Animating Objects You can also adjust a keyframe’s tangents to increase or decrease the slope of the function curve at that keyframe. For example, if you want a property to change rapidly at a specific time, you can increase the slope of the function curve at that keyframe. Once you’ve finished adjusting a curve, you can snap keyframes to the nearest point on the grid to precisely align keyframes with timecodes. n You can undo any operation performed on a function curve. From the Edit menu, select Undo or press Ctrl+Z. For more information, see “Animation Graph Menu” in the Help. Viewing Locators in the Animation Graph In the animation graph, you can display any locators that you placed on the timeline to help you align keyframes at specific points in your sequence. To display locators in the animation graph: t From the animation editor, select View > Locators. Selecting Keyframes in the Animation Graph Once animation has been created for an object, you can edit the individual keyframes that have been set. Before you can edit a keyframe, you must select it. To select a keyframe: 1. In the animation editor, click the Select button. 2. In the animation graph, click a keyframe. The selected keyframe is highlighted and its tangent handles are displayed. To select multiple keyframes: t Press Shift and click a keyframe. The selected keyframes are highlighted. To select a range of consecutive keyframes: t 992 Press V and drag over a section of the function curve. Editing Animation The selected region is highlighted in white. n Tip: To change the value of multiple keyframes, press Shift and click to select the keyframes and enter a new value in the Value text box. Adding, Moving and Deleting Keyframes Using the animation tools, you can add, move, and delete keyframes to edit an animation. On the animation graph, you can move keyframes to values that are out of a property’s range. However, the values that are actually processed are the maximum or minimum values displayed in the property editor. To add a keyframe: 1. In the animation tree, click a property to select its function curve. In the animation graph, the function curve is selected and the keyframes are displayed in red. 2. To add a keyframe, click the Add Key button and click the animation graph. The closest selected function curve updates to pass through the new keyframe. n You can use the Select tool to change the value of multiple keyframes. Press Shift and click keyframes to select them. Now enter a new value in the animation graph value box. To move a keyframe: 1. In the animation tree, click a property to select its function curve. In the animation graph, the function curve is selected, and the keyframes are displayed in red. 2. To move a keyframe, click the Select button and do one of the following: t Drag a keyframe to a new position. The value and/or frame of the selected keyframe is updated. t Click a keyframe and in the Frame and Value boxes, enter a new frame and/or value. The function curve is updated to pass through the modified keyframe. 993 Chapter 9 Animating Objects To delete a keyframe 1. In the animation tree, click a property to select its function curve. In the animation graph, the function curve is selected and the keyframes are displayed in red. 2. To delete a keyframe, click the Remove Key button, and click a keyframe. The keyframe is removed and the function curve is updated. 3. To remove all the keyframes on the selected function curve, right-click the Animation Key button and select Remove Animation. You will be prompted to confirm before all the keyframes are deleted. n Pressing the Delete key only deletes selected keyframes. Selecting Function Curves Before you can manipulate a function curve or edit specific keyframes, you must select it. Before you can cut, copy, or paste function curves, you must select a region. You can select individual keyframes, a region of the function curve, the entire function curve, or several function curves. To select function curves: 1. In the animation editor, click the Select button and do one of the following: t In the animation tree, click a property and select its function curve. Press Shift and click additional properties to select multiple function curves. Property t Press Shift and click a function curve to select it. Click additional function curves for multiple selection. t Drag the pointer to form a rectangle over the function curve(s) that you want to select. Any function curves that pass through the rectangle are selected. Using this method, you also select the individual keyframes. 994 Editing Animation In the animation graph, selected function curves are displayed in white over the duration of the effect, and keyframes are red. 2. Click the Frame button to view the entire selection. The selected function curve is framed, so that you can see it in full view. Framing is based on the duration and values of the keyframes on the function curve. To select a region of a function curve: 1. Select a function curve. 2. In the animation editor, click the Select Region button or press V to activate the Select Region mode. 3. In the animation graph, drag over a region to select it. Using this method, you also select the individual keyframes that are within the region and on the selected function curve. Manipulating Keyframes When you select a function curve, its keyframes are displayed in red. You can add new keyframes, as well as move or delete existing keyframes. In addition, you can change the value or frame of a keyframe. When you create a shape using tools, such as the ones in the Graphics layout or the Matte or keyer effects, you can edit the resulting shape keyframes by selecting the Shape curve in the animation editor and using the meta curve to adjust the keys. n Shapes are represented by keyframes in the meta curve region. There is no corresponding function curve in the animation editor. To add a keyframe: 1. From the animation graph, select a function curve. 2. Click the Add Key button or press A. 3. On the animation graph, click to add a keyframe. The closest selected function curve is updated to pass through the new keyframe. 995 Chapter 9 Animating Objects To move a keyframe: 1. From the animation graph, select a function curve. The function curve is highlighted and the keyframes are displayed in red. 2. Drag a keyframe to move it to a new position. The value and/or frame of the selected keyframe is updated. n On the animation graph, you can move keyframes to values that are out of a property’s range. However, the values that are actually processed are the minimum or maximum values displayed in the property editor. To remove a keyframe: 1. From the animation graph, select a function curve. The keyframes are displayed in red. 2. Do one of the following: t Click the Remove Keyframe button. t Press D. 3. Click the keyframes that you want to remove. n Tip: To remove a keyframe, you can also select it and press Delete. To remove all the keyframes on a function curve: 1. From the animation graph, select a function curve. The keyframes are displayed in red. 2. Press the Backspace key. You are asked to confirm the deletion. Click OK to delete all the keyframes on the selected curve. n Pressing the Delete key only deletes selected keyframes. To change the value or frame of a keyframe: 1. In the animation graph, select a keyframe. 2. In the Frame and Value text boxes, enter a new frame and/or value. The function curve is updated to pass through the modified keyframe. 996 Editing Animation Manipulating Keyframes on Multiple Function Curves The meta curve region is a powerful tool that lets you add, move, and remove keyframes on every visible function curve in the animation graph. When you display the meta curve region, red locators appear below the animation graph at every timecode at which a keyframe is placed on a function curve. If several function curves have keyframes at the same timecode, all of those keyframes are represented by a single locator. n Although locators in the meta curve region can represent and control multiple keyframes, those keyframes are not locked together. If you move a keyframe out of alignment with other keyframes, a new locator will appear in the meta curve to represent the keyframe’s new location. Adding keyframes in the meta curve region places a keyframe on every visible curve, at the current timecode. Moving a locator in the meta curve region moves all of the keyframes at that timecode. Deleting keyframes from the meta curve region removes any keyframes on any function curves at the current timecode. Corresponding keyframes Meta curve locator Meta curve region 997 Chapter 9 Animating Objects To display the meta curve region, do one of the following: t To display all curves, select View > Meta Curve Region > Display for all curves. The meta curve region is displayed below the animation graph. The locators for all function curves are displayed. t To display selected curves only, select View > Meta Curve Region > Display for selected curves only. The meta curve region is displayed below the animation graph. The locators for the selected function are displayed. To display the locators for a selected function curve: 1. From the animation tree, select a function curve. 2. Click the button beside the meta curve region. The button appears pressed, and the locators for the selected function curve are displayed. To display the locators for all function curves: t Click the button beside the meta curve region. The button appears unpressed and the locators for the selected function curve are displayed. To hide the meta curve region: t From the animation editor, select View > Meta Curve Region > Hide Meta Curve Region. The meta curve region is hidden. To add a keyframe to all visible function curves: 1. From the animation editor, click the Add Key button. 2. Click anywhere in the meta curve region. A keyframe is added to every visible function curve in the animation editor at the current timecode. To move all keyframes at a specific timecode: 1. From the animation editor, click the Select button. 2. Drag a locator in the meta curve region. All keyframes represented by the locator are moved to the new timecode. 998 Editing Animation To delete a keyframe from all visible function curves: 1. From the animation editor, click the Remove Key button. 2. Click a locator in the meta curve region. All keyframes represented by the locator are deleted. Synchronizing Animation You can synchronize keyframes in the animation editor by dragging their locators in the meta curve region. Moving one locator to the same timecode as another synchronizes their respective keyframes at the current timecode. This is useful when, for example, you want to coordinate changes to several of an object’s properties at the same time. To synchronize keyframes: 1. In the animation graph, select a function curve and add a keyframe to it. A locator is displayed in the meta curve region, representing the first keyframe. 2. Select a different function curve, and add a keyframe to it. A locator is displayed in the meta curve region, representing the second keyframe. 3. In the meta curve region, click the second keyframe’s locator and drag it on top of the first keyframe’s locator. The keyframes are now synchronized, and represented by a single locator in the meta curve region. Moving the locator moves both of the keyframes. Modifying Regions In Avid DS Nitris, you can select and modify a region of the animation graph. Keyframes in a selected region are automatically selected, and can be moved simultaneously. You can also stretch or shrink a selected region horizontally or vertically. To modify a region of the animation graph: 1. Click the Select Region button, and select the region of the function curve that you want to copy. The selected region is highlighted, and edit controls appear along on all four sides. 999 Chapter 9 Animating Objects 2. Drag the edit controls to stretch or compress the region. Changing the Slope of a Function Curve The slope of a function curve determines how a property changes between keyframes. For example, in a scene where an actor moves from artificial lighting to sunlight, you can animate the color correction, so that it changes at the same rate as the light changes, as illustrated in the following examples: • If the actor is walking through an open door, the color correction should increase rapidly along a spline curve. Spline 1000 Editing Animation • If the actor steadily approaches the end of a tunnel, the color correction should increase linearly. Linear • If the actor is suddenly exposed to sunlight, the color correction should be constant, and then change in one step. Constant When you select a keyframe, its tangent handles are displayed, allowing you to change the slope of the function curve at that keyframe. To change the slope of a function curve: 1. Select a keyframe. The tangent handles are displayed. 2. Select a tangent handle and drag it to a new position. If the tangent handle is close to the key point, press Ctrl to give priority to the tangent handle. Tangent handles 1001 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Changing the Type of Function Curve There are three types of function curves: linear, constant, and spline. • Linear: A type of curve that consists of straight line segments between control points. Use this type of curve when you want a property to change at a constant rate between two keyframes. • Constant: A type of curve where a property’s value changes only at keyframes; between keyframes, the value is constant. • Spline: A type of curve that lets you fine-tune the animation by changing the slope of the curve at each keyframe. Linear Constant Spline To change the type of curve for selected keys: 1. From the animation editor, select a function curve. 2. Click the Animation Editor Preferences button. 1002 Editing Animation For detailed information, click the Help button. 3. From the Animation Editor Preferences property editor, select the Keys tab. 4. From the Interpolation box, select a curve type. Option Description Constant Creates a curve with constant values that change in steps. Linear Creates a curve where keyframes are joined by straight lines. Spline Creates a smooth curve whose slope you can modify at any point. The function curve is updated between the keys that you selected. To change the type of curve for selected curves: 1. From the animation graph, select a function curve. 2. Do one of the following: t From the animation editor menu, select Curves > Constant Interpolation, Linear Interpolation, or Spline Interpolation. 1003 Chapter 9 Animating Objects t Right-click the curve, and select Constant Interpolation, Linear Interpolation, or Spline Interpolation. t From the animation editor, click one of the interpolation buttons. The function curve is updated according to the option you selected. To set the tangent slope options: 1. From the animation editor, select a function curve. 2. Click the Animation Editor Preferences button. 3. On the Keys property page, select one of the following options from the Slope box: - Unified to keep the slopes together as they move, keeping a constant angle between them. - Broken to let the slopes move freely as you drag each handle individually. Click Help for detailed information on the Animation Editor Preferences. To change the slope of a spline at a keyframe: 1. On a spline function curve, select a keyframe. The tangent handles are displayed at the selected keyframe. 2. Click a tangent handle to select it and drag it to a new position. The slope of the function curve changes at the keyframe. n If the tangent handle and the keyframe are close together, hold down the H key and drag. This lets you manipulate the tangent handle. Making Temporary Copies of Function Curves Snapshot curves are temporary copies of function curves that stay in the animation graph after you edit the original curves. Using the snapshot curves, you can edit function curves, compare the edited curve to the temporary copy of the original, and revert to the original if you’re not satisfied with the change. When you’re ready to accept your changes, you can update the snapshot curve to reflect the edits that you made. 1004 Editing Animation To use snapshot curves: 1. From the animation editor, select a function curve. 2. Click the Animation Editor Preferences button. 3. On the Editor property page, select the Snapshot Curve option from the View box. A snapshot curve is created and hidden behind the original function curve. 4. Edit the selected function curve. The snapshot curve is displayed in black. 5. If you want to revert to the snapshot curve, click the Swap button. The original curve is highlighted and you can edit it. 6. When you’re satisfied with the edits, click the Snap button. The black snapshot curve is updated to match the white function curve. For detailed information, click the Help button. Snapping Keys to Grids and Frames You can make keyframes snap to the nearest frame on the grid’s X axis or to the nearest frame on the grid’s X axis. Snapping keyframes to the grid lets you position them at precise timecodes. To snap a keyframe to the grid: t Select Edit > Snap to Grid. To snap a keyframe to its nearest frame: t Select Edit > Snap to Frame. Click Help for detailed information on the Edit menu commands. Locking Keyframe Positions You can freeze a keyframe’s values, as well as its location in time by locking the key’s position on the X or Y axis. If the function curve uses a spline interpolation to transition action to the next keyframe, you can also freeze the keyframe’s speed of transition and influence on the function curve by using the animation editor’s tangent handle locking controls. 1005 Chapter 9 Animating Objects To lock a keyframe’s position on the animation graph: 1. From the animation graph, select a keyframe. 2. Do one or both of the following: t Click Keys and select Lock in X (Time) to lock the key’s location in time on the X axis. t Click Keys and select Lock in Y (Value) to lock the key’s value on the Y axis. The keyframe is frozen in place on the graph and cannot move until Lock in X or Lock in Y is deselected. You can still manipulate the keyframe tangent handles to change the shape of the slope. Offsetting Animation You can offset an animation by moving an entire function curve. If, for example, you’re satisfied with a function curve’s slope, but want the corresponding change in properties to occur later in the animation, you can move the entire curve farther down the timeline. To offset an animation: 1. From the animation editor, select a function curve. 2. Hold down the R key, and drag the curve to reposition it on the timeline. To offset multiple function curves: 1. Hold down the Shift key, and click each function curve to select it. 2. Hold down the R key, and drag the curve to reposition it on the timeline. Copying Animation You can copy the animation of one property to another by copying the function curve. For example, you can animate the Z position of an object, so that it appears to move away from the viewer. You can then copy the animation to a blur effect, so that the blur increases as the objects move away from the viewer. You can then adjust the blur function curve according to the scale of the blur parameter. 1006 Editing Animation To copy an animation, you simply copy a property’s function curve and paste it onto the function curve of another property. You can copy the entire curve or a region of a curve. When pasting the animation, you can do one of the following: • Insert the copy at a selected timecode. • Replace a portion of the function curve at a selected timecode. • Paste the copy over a selected region. To copy an entire animation: 1. In the animation tree, click a property. In the animation graph, the property’s function curve is highlighted. Copy from this curve. 2. Press Ctrl+C. The animation is copied. 3. In the animation tree, click a property to receive the animation. In the animation graph, its function curve is highlighted. Copy to this curve. 4. Press Ctrl+V. 1007 Chapter 9 Animating Objects The animation is pasted. In the animation graph, the function curves for both properties are identical and appear as only one curve. Two identical curves appear as one. To copy a region of a function curve: 1. In the animation graph, do one of the following to specify the region that you want to copy: t t Select contiguous keyframes. The region to be copied is between the first and last selected keyframes. Click the Select Region button and select the region of the function curve that you want to copy. Region to be copied 2. Press Ctrl+C. The animation is copied. 1008 Editing Animation 3. If you want to paste the animation to a different property, select a function curve. 4. Specify where to paste the animation by clicking the Select Region button and doing one of the following: t Clicking a timecode. When the animation is copied, it starts at the specified timecode. t Selecting a region. When the animation is copied, it fits into this region. If you copy an animation to a region of a different size, the animation is automatically scaled in time. n If you do not specify where to paste the animation, it’s pasted at its original timecode on the selected curve. 5. Press Ctrl+V. The animation is pasted, replacing the selected function curve over the specified region. Animation pasted to second curve at selected timecode. Animation pasted to selected region of second curve. To insert a copied region of a function curve: 1. In the animation graph, do one of the following to specify the region that you want to copy: t t Select contiguous keyframes. The region to be copied is between the first and last selected keyframes. Click the Select Region button and select the region of the function curve that you want to copy. 1009 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Region to be copied. 2. Press Ctrl+C. The animation is copied. 3. If you want to paste the animation to a different property, select a function curve. 4. Click the Animation Editor Preferences button. 5. On Paste Options property page, select the Insert option from the Paste Options box. 6. To specify where to insert the animation, click the Select Region button, and click a timecode. n If you do not specify where to paste the animation, it’s pasted at its original timecode on the selected curve. 7. Press Ctrl+V. The animation is pasted at the selected timecode on the selected curve. Copied animation inserted in second curve. 1010 Editing Animation Repeating Animation Cycling animation lets you to repeat a function curve for the duration of an animation. By applying different types of cycles, you can quickly create repetitive animations like blurring in and out. When you create cycles, the repeated information is not added to the function curve. It’s based on the original keyframes, but does not contain any keyframes. When you adjust the original keyframes, changes are reflected throughout the cycle. Creating a Basic Cycle A basic cycle repeats the shape and pattern of a function curve, as defined by the keyframes, for the duration of the animation. For example, you can use a basic cycle to animate a blur in and out of a clip. To create a basic cycle: 1. In the animation graph, select the function curve whose shape you want to repeat. 2. Click Curves and select Cycle. The pattern is repeated along the X axis of the animation. Original curve with keyframes. Curve cycled along X axis without keyframes. 1011 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Creating a Relative Cycle A relative cycle repeats the shape and pattern of the function curve by starting each cycle at the value of the last key in the preceding cycle. The result is a progressive offset that creates a gradual overall change in the animation while repeating the basic pattern. For example, you can use a relative cycle to blur in and out of a clip, while gradually sharpening the overall focus. To create a relative cycle: 1. In the animation graph, select the function curve whose shape you want to repeat. 2. Click Curves and select Relative Cycle. Last point of one cycle becomes start point of next cycle. Freezing a Cycle Freezing a cycle applies it to the time span between two specified timecodes in the animation. When the cycle is frozen, the keys in the cycled part of the function curve are sampled and applied to each cycle in the frozen part of the curve. You can then edit the function curve. If the cycle is not frozen to the entire length of the animation, it will be removed from any leading or trailing frames. Freezing cycles is useful when you only want to repeat a cycle for part of an animation, or when you want to make slight modifications to the same basic curve throughout the animation. 1012 Editing Animation To freeze a cycle: 1. In the animation graph, select the function curve whose shape you want to repeat. 2. Click Curves and select Freeze Cycle. The Freeze Cycle dialog box is displayed. 3. Enter a start and end timecode. The cycle is applied between the start and end timecodes, and the repeated information is added to the function curve. Original cycled curve. Cycle removed from trailing frames. Cycle removed from leading frames. Cycle is frozen to this interval. Deleting a Cycle Since the repeated information is not added to the function curve, you can delete the cycle while preserving the original keyframes. To delete a cycle: t Click Curves and select Constant Extrapolation or Gradient Extrapolation. Trimming Animation When you want to trim animation, you should trim the animated effect by rescaling the function curves or cropping them. 1013 Chapter 9 Animating Objects To specify how the animation is trimmed: 1. Open the property editor of the effect that you want to trim. 2. In the property editor, do one of the following: t Deselect the Crop Curves option to rescale the function curves. When you trim the effect on the timeline, the function curves are rescaled in the animation editor. t Select the Crop Curves option. When you trim the effect bar on the timeline, the function curves are cropped in the animation editor. On the animation graph, the highlighted area of the function curve shows the new length of the animated effect. For more information, see “Saving Effects” in the Help. Rescaled function curve Cropped function curve Trimmed effect Removing Animation An object’s animation can be composed of more than one function curve.A separate function curve exists for each animatable property of an object. When removing animation, you can choose whether you want to remove the entire animation or just selected animated properties within the animation. Removing the Entire Animation When you remove an animation, you’re deleting the function curves for all the animated properties of the selected object. n 1014 When you remove animation, locked keys will also be deleted. Editing Animation To remove the entire animation: 1. Open the property editor or view for the property whose animation you want to remove. 2. Right-click the Animation Key button and select Remove Animation. All keyframes on all functions curves are deleted. The function curves become straight lines. Removing the Animation of a Single Property You can remove the animation of a single property by removing all the keyframes from the property’s function curve. To remove all the keyframes on a function curve: 1. Select an animated object. 2. In the animation editor, select View > Animation Editor. The animation tree is displayed. 3. From the animation tree, click the property whose function curve you want to remove. In the animation graph, the corresponding function curve is highlighted. 4. Press the Backspace key. All keyframes on the function curve are deleted and the function curve becomes a straight line. 1015 Chapter 9 Animating Objects Processing Animation You can view the evolution of your animation by stepping through the animation frame by frame. Before you can play the clip, you must first process the animation. To process animation: 1. Do one of the following: t From the toolbar, click Processing > Process. t In the timeline controls, click the Process button. 2. In the Processing Options Dialog Box dialog box, select the appropriate options. 3. Click OK to begin processing. A progress bar is displayed on the bottom of the desktop to show the status of the process. 4. Click Cancel to stop the process at any time. For more information, click the Help button or see “Understanding Processing” on page 872. 1016 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio This chapter describes how to mix audio, as well as how to create mixes and submixes using audio container clips and effects. You will also learn how to animate your audio mixes. • Workflow: Mixing Audio • Working in Audio Container Clips • Audio Clips and Tracks • Understanding the Mixer • Using an External Controller • Building an Audio Mix • Fine-tuning the Mix • Animating the Audio Mix • Audio Media Conversion • Processing the Mix Chapter 10 Mixing Audio Workflow: Mixing Audio Audio mixes are best created in an audio container clip. The following illustration shows how the audio tracks are created and fed into the mixer. 1 Create an audio container clip. Create an audio container clip to hold all the clips that will be mixed. 2 Apply audio effects. Apply effects on the timeline tracks. Left Right Apply effects on the mixer input strips. Mixer 3 4 Process the mix. Close the audio container clip to automatically process the mix. 1018 Fine-tune the mix. Adjust the volume and balance of the audio streams. Working in Audio Container Clips Working in Audio Container Clips Audio container clips let you compress multiple audio tracks with up to 64 tracks of audio down to a single audio clip on one track, leaving you with more audio streams and tracks to work with. You can have any combination of audio clips and tracks in an audio container clip. The format of the container clip itself, however, depends on the mixer configuration specified inside the container clip. This illustration shows a group of audio clips that have been mixed down to a single clip on the timeline. A closed audio container clip is represented as a single clip on the timeline. An open audio container clip. Here are other reasons for using audio container clips: • Animating (automating) your mix: If you need to boost or lower the signal at different points in time, it’s more efficient to animate the mix in a container clip. This way, if you move the container clip, its animation moves with it. • Submixing: You can edit specific sounds more efficiently by creating submixes of common track types. For example, mix hard sound effects like creaking floors and footsteps in one container clip, vocal tracks in another, and instrumentals in yet another container clip. Then, premix all of the clips in their respective container clips and play them simultaneously on the parent timeline. 1019 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio • Sample Accurate Editing: Within an audio container clip, you can do your editing in terms of audio samples as opposed to the video frames used on the top timeline. • Processing: When you close an audio container clip, the tracks and any effects are automatically processed and represented as a single clip on the parent timeline. For more information, see “Creating Nested Clips” on page 916. 1020 Audio Clips and Tracks Audio Clips and Tracks Audio clips and tracks can have up to eight channels of audio in any of the following formats: Format Description Mono Single channel of audio Stereo Two audio channels: Left and right Quadraphonic Four audio channels: Left, right, left rear, right rear LCRS Four audio channels: Left, center, right, surround 4 Stream Four audio channels: Output 1 to 4 5.1 Six audio channels: Left, right, center, Low Frequency Emitter (LFE), left surround, right surround 6.1 Seven audio channels: Left, right, center, Low Frequency Emitter (LFE), surround center, side left, side right 7.1 Eight audio channels: Left, right, center, Low Frequency Emitter (LFE), left surround, right surround, left center, right center 8 Stream Eight audio channels: Output 1 to 8 Since the clip and track formats are independent of each other, you can place any kind of audio clip on any audio track. You can also place different format clips on the same track. For example, you can place a mono and a stereo clip on the same stereo track. n You can manipulate audio clips in much the same way as video clips. You can play them in the viewer, drag and drop them from the Avid Explorer to the timeline, trim, copy, and delete clips, and add effects to them. 1021 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio Stereo clip with two channels of audio. Mono clip with one channel of audio. When you place an audio clip on a track with a different format, it turns orange. This does not prevent you from playing it back. 1022 Understanding the Mixer Understanding the Mixer Although you can perform some mixing by applying effects to the audio clips on the timeline, the mixer gives you greater flexibility and control over your overall audio mix. The mixer combines the audio signals coming from the audio tracks and routes them to the output strips. You can assign the channels of an audio track to a specific output strip. Depending on your audio hardware configuration, you can have up to eight audio output channels available. For more information, see “Assigning a Mixer Input Strip to an Output Channel” on page 1030. The mixer has two views: Standard view The standard view is the default view of the mixer. In this view you can add audio effects, adjust the volume levels, pan the signals, and mute or solo the various tracks. You can also animate most of the controls on the mixer. Routing view The Routing view contains the Matrix Routing panel for the input strips, which lets you assign the input strips to audio output channels. Also, in this view, the number of level meters on the input strips matches the number of audio channels on the track. For example, 5.1 tracks have six level meters and eight stream tracks have eight level meters. n If you’ve activated the pan on a mono track, the number of level meters on the input strip matches the number of output channels. This is because the mono signal has been split to allow for the positioning of the sound with the pan control. To access the mixer: t From the view switcher, click the Mixer button. To access the routing view: t Click the Routing View button. 1023 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio To access the standard view: t Click the Standard View button. For information about the mixer controls, click the Help button. Changing the Mixer Configuration You can capture and output up to eight channels of audio in various formats. For more information, see “Mixer Configuration Formats” in the Help. To change the mixer configuration: t Click the Mixer Config list box and select a configuration. Using the Input Strips Input strips appear on the mixer as you add audio tracks to the timeline. On each input strip, you can control the sound of all the clips on its corresponding audio track. You can use the strip controls to adjust the overall volume, add effects to the whole track, and pan the signal to the output strips. The results of the adjustments on the input strips are mixed and passed to the output strips, which let you adjust the output volume of the audio signals. The signal from the output strips is then directed to an external device. An input strip corresponds to an audio track on the timeline. The strip controls let you add effects and adjust the overall volume and balance of each track. The signals from all strips are then mixed and routed to the output strips. For more information, see “Mixer Input Strips” in the Help. 1024 Understanding the Mixer Adding Effects on a Mixer Input Strip Adding an effect on the mixer strip is equivalent to applying an effect to the entire audio track. When you apply an effect to a mixer strip, the effect is displayed in the mixer strip’s effects box. Effects on the mixer strips are processed from top to bottom. These effects are also applied before you make any adjustments to the volume and pan controls. You can apply an effect to a mixer input strip by selecting one from the Load Preset dialog box or by dragging an effect preset from a toolbar. Effects box Mixer Strip To add an effect using the Load Preset dialog box: 1. Right-click the effects box and select Add Effect. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 2. Select an effect and click OK. The effect is applied to the strip and displayed in the effects box. To add an effect using a toolbar: t From a toolbar, drag an audio effect or preset to the effects box. The effect is applied to the strip and displayed in the effects box. 1025 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio Adjusting the Volume The level meter lets you monitor the level of incoming and outgoing audio signals (in decibels). There are level meters on the input and output strips. The fader is used to control the volume on the mixer strips. It simulates an audio taper fader, except the scale is more precise (between +5 and -5 dB). To adjust the volume on the mixer strips: t n Drag the fader up or down to set the volume at the appropriate decibel level. The fader levels do not correspond to the level meter. The fader levels range from 20.0 dB to -inf dB, while the level meter shows the energy level of the signal from 0 dB to -inf dB. By default, the level meters on the input strips are post-effects and pre-fader. This means that they display the energy levels according to the strip effects that have been applied. When you adjust the volume, the change is only shown on the output strips. However, it is possible to make the level meters on the input strips post-fader. To make the level meters of an input strip post-fader: t n Click the Post button on the mixer input strip. Tip: Double-clicking the fader returns it to the zero position. Adjusting the Audio Balance The pan control lets you adjust the balance of the signal to the output strips. Dragging the slider left or right determines the percentage distribution. You can only change the balance of the signal if the mixer is configured as stereo. If the mixer is configured in one of the surround formats (LCRS, Quadraphonic, 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1) you must use the Surround Panner. If you move the pan control all the way to the left or right, then 100% of the signal is routed either to the left or right output strip. On mono tracks, the pan control at the center position splits the signal 50/50. For stereo tracks, however, 70.7% of the signal is routed to each of the output strips when the pan control is at the center. 1026 Understanding the Mixer The following example illustrates the distribution of the signals on a stereo track with the pan activated and deactivated. Pan is deactivated. 100% of signal routed to the left output strip; 0% to the right output. 70.7% of signal routed to both output strips. 100% of signal routed to both output strips. Pan is activated (center position). Pan to the left. To pan the signal on the input strips: 1. Right-click the pan control and select Enable Pan. The pan control is activated; you can now adjust the balance. A check mark is displayed beside the selection indicating that pan has been activated. 2. Drag the pan control to the left or right. n Tip: Double-clicking the pan control returns it to the center position 3. To deactivate the pan control, right-click it and select Enable Pan. c If you leave the pan control enabled at the center position, there will be a 3 dB loss in your signal. 1027 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio Using the Mute and Solo Buttons You can listen to individual audio tracks by isolating their signals or muting them. The Solo buttons let you monitor track signals and do not affect the recording. You can also use the Mute buttons on the input strips when listening to tracks, but it actually prevents the signal from being routed to the outputs. To listen to a single track: t Click the Solo button of a strip. You can activate the Solo button on more than one input strip at a time. Solo the input strips that you want to hear during playback. Also, you can activate both the Mute and Solo buttons at the same time. In this case, mute always overrides solo. For example, first solo the strips you want to hear. During playback, click the Mute button on those same strips to hear the various combinations of the signals. 1028 Understanding the Mixer Mute the strips that you do not want to hear. For example, if you are working on background noise effects for a voice dialogue, solo the voice track and the different background noise tracks. You can then selectively mute the various background tracks to listen to their combined effects against the voice track. To mute a mixer strip: t Click the Mute button on the strips that you do not want to hear. To mute all of the mixer strips: t Click the Master mute button on the mixer. To isolate a mixer strip: t Click the Solo button on the strips that you do want to hear. Naming a Mixer Input Strip You can change the default name of any mixer input strip. This name is on its corresponding audio track in the timeline. If you change the audio track name, the mixer input strip name is updated accordingly. To change the name of an input strip: t Click in a strip name text box, type a new name, and press Enter. 1029 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio n Tip: Since the strip name corresponds to the track name, you can also change the name from the Track property editor. Reordering the Mixer Input Strips The input strips appear in the order that their corresponding audio tracks appear on the timeline. Therefore, reordering the tracks changes the order of the input strips. To reorder the input strips: t From the Track selector, drag the audio Track button to a new location. The track is moved to the new location and the order of the input strips changes to match the tracks. Track button Move cursor Cursor indicates invalid location. Assigning a Mixer Input Strip to an Output Channel You can specify which output channels are used by the audio channels of each input strip during playback and recording using the Matrix Routing panel. The Matrix Routing panel is available in the Routing view of the mixer and is located at the top of each input strip. 1030 Understanding the Mixer Matrix routing panel Output channels Input channels The Matrix Routing panel has a tabular format where each column represents an audio channel of the input strip and each row represents one of the output strips or output channels. Using this panel, you can route each input channel to one or more output channels. n If you’ve enabled the pan on a mono track, the number of input channels on the input strip matches the number of output channels. This is because the mono signal has been split to allow for the positioning of the sound with the pan control. To assign an input strip to an output channel: t For each input channel, click each cell that corresponds to the output channel to which you want to assign it. A black dot is displayed in the cell to indicate the assignment. You can assign an input channel to more than one output channel. Using the Output Strips The results of the refinements on all the input strips are mixed and passed to the output strips. Output strips let you adjust the output volume of the audio signals. The number of output strips on the mixer depends on the mixer configuration selected. The signal from the output strips is then directed to an external device. 1031 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio n If you are working within a container clip, the signal is routed to the parent container clip. For more information, see “Mixer Output Strips” in the Help. Muting the Output Strips The Mute button on the mixer output strip activates or deactivates the sound of a selected output strip. When mute is activated for a mixer output strip that is on the top timeline, it prevents the signal from being directed to the output device. n When mute is activated on a mixer output strip in a container clip, it prevents the signal from being directed to the parent container clip. To mute an output strip: t 1032 On an output strip, click the Mute button. Using an External Controller Using an External Controller An external controller is a hardware device that’s connected to your Avid DS Nitris workstation. It lets you access commands in the software through controls on the device. You can, for example, use the fader on a controller to move the fader in an audio strip or, vice versa, use the position indicator to move the jog wheel. The only restriction is that specific control types, such as faders, rotary knobs, or switches should be assigned to appropriate commands in Avid DS Nitris. For example, assigning a fader on the external controller to a button in Avid DS Nitris is not possible. The External Controller Setup view lets you assign the controls on the external controller to any of the hundreds of commands available in Avid DS Nitris. To access the External Controller Setup view: t Select View > Single-Instance Views > External Controller Setup. For more information, see “External Controller Setup View” in the Help. Mapping External Controls to Avid DS Nitris Commands When reassigning a command or control, you should first check for assigned items. To view the status of controls and commands: t In the Display box of the External Controller Setup view, use the options to filter the controls and commands. When both options are selected, all controls and commands are displayed. Slider01 is assigned to Gain in Strip 1 (Audio Functions). 1033 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio Slider01 is unassigned. To assign a control to a command: 1. In the External Controller Setup view, select the Unassigned option from the Display box to display unassigned controls and commands. n You can only map unassigned controls to unassigned commands. 2. From the Commands list, select a command and drag it to a control in the Controls list on the left. Audio gain on Output1 is assigned to Encoder5 on the external controller. 3. Continue to drag items from the Commands list to items in the Controls list. 4. When you are satisfied with the new mapping, click the Apply button. 1034 Using an External Controller To unassign a control or command: 1. In the External Controller Setup view, click an assigned control or command in the Controls or Commands list. The name is highlighted. 2. Click Delete. The item becomes unassigned. If only the Assigned option is selected, this item disappears from the list and appears in the unassigned list. n Tip: You can undo a mapping operation by choosing Undo from the Edit menu. 3. When you are satisfied with the mappings, click the Apply button. Creating a Command Mapping Set You can configure the command mapping of the external controller to suit the type of work you do and your particular work habits. To create a command mapping preset: 1. In the External Controller Setup view, click the Save button. The Save Preset dialog box is displayed. 2. Select a folder in which to save the preset, and enter a name in the File Name text box. You can also add a comment in the Comments text box. 3. Click OK. Loading a Command Mapping Set You can load the default command mapping set or one that you created with your personal preferences. To load a command mapping set: 1. In the External Controller Setup view, click the Load button. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 2. Select a command mapping preset. 3. Click OK. 1035 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio Building an Audio Mix You can use the Editing layout to create mixes and add audio effects to your clips at different stages. You can start your mixing session by overlapping audio clips on the timeline, and then fine-tune the signal on the mixer by adding audio effects, and adjusting the volume and balance of the signal before output. Avid DS Nitris supports up to 64 tracks of audio on a timeline. This capability also depends on the overall throughput of your system. For example, the number of video tracks, compression settings, disk fragmentation, or audio effects can all affect the system throughput. Instead of relying solely on the throughput, you can give yourself more flexibility by creating mixes using audio container clips. Audio container clips let you compress as many as 64 tracks down to one, leaving you more audio tracks to work with. Here are some other reasons to use container clips: • Grouping sound tracks: If you want to edit specific sounds more efficiently, you can group sound tracks and create submixes of common track types in an audio container clip. For example, you can mix hard sound effects like creaking floors and footsteps in one container clip, vocal tracks in another, and instrumentals in yet another container clip. All of these clips can be premixed in their respective container clips, and then played simultaneously on the top timeline. • Animating (automating) your mixes: If you need to boost or lower the signal at different points in time, it’s more efficient to animate the necessary controls in a container clip. This way, if you move the container clip, its animation moves with it. • Sample accurate editing: Inside an audio container, the timeline ruler is displayed in terms of audio samples, as opposed to video frames. This lets you have greater control over the placement of your audio clips. When you close the audio container clip, the tracks are automatically processed and represented as a single clip on the top timeline. You can now play the mix in real time. n 1036 Before doing your mixes, make sure you’ve already edited your sound tracks (music and dialogue). Building an Audio Mix Creating Audio Tracks Whether you’re building a mix in an audio container clip or not, you need to add audio tracks to the timeline. Audio clips and tracks in Avid DS Nitris can have up to eight channels of audio in any of the following formats: Format Description Mono Single channel of audio Stereo Two audio channels: Left and right Quadraphonic Four audio channels: Left, right, left rear, right rear LCRS Four audio channels: Left, center, right, surround 4 Stream Four audio channels: Output 1 to 4 5.1 Six audio channels: Left, right, center, Low Frequency Emitter (LFE), left surround, right surround 6.1 Seven audio channels: Left, right, center, Low Frequency Emitter (LFE), surround center, Side left, Side right 7.1 Eight audio channels: Left, right, center, Low Frequency Emitter (LFE), left surround, right surround, left center, right center 8 Stream Eight audio channels: Output 1 to 8 To create an audio track, do one of the following: t Right-click in the overview area, and select Create Audio Track and a track format. 1037 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio t Drag an audio clip from the Avid Explorer to the timeline ribbon. Tracks created this way adopt the format of the audio clip. To determine a clip’s audio format: t Right-click a clip on the timeline and select Properties. The Clip property editor is displayed, and the audio format is shown in the Type box. To determine a track’s audio format: t Right-click a track and select Track Properties. The Track property editor is displayed, and the audio format is shown in the Format list box. To change a track’s audio format: 1. Right-click a track and select Track Properties. The Track property editor is displayed. 2. In the Format list box, select the format you want. n 1038 Audio clips appear yellow if their format does not match the audio track format, such as when a stereo clip is placed on a mono track. Building an Audio Mix Using the Surround Panner The Surround Panner lets you specify the positioning and movement of the sound elements in your sequence. You can, for example, use it to create the effect of footsteps crossing a room, or simulate the sound of a door closing behind your listening audience. You can only use the Surround Panner on mono tracks and if the mixer configuration is set to one of the surround output configurations, namely LCRS, Quadrophonic, 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1. For more information, click the Help button or see “Surround Panner” in the Help. Panning area Track list Mute, solo and animation buttons Divergence Pan control Gain and LFE faders To access the Surround Panner: t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Surround Panner. To specify the location of a sound: t Drag the pan control to the location you want in the panning area. To specify the size of a sound source: t Adjust the Divergence value. 1039 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio Mixing Clips There are several ways of mixing audio on the timeline. You can: • Place audio clips on different tracks on the timeline, but within the same region. Unlike video clips on background tracks, audio clips do not lose their activeness when placed at the same timecodes as other audio clips. This lets you play several clips simultaneously. Mixing audio tracks. Both clips are active. • Overlap clips on the timeline to create a crossfade from one audio clip to another. The two audio clips can be on the same track or different tracks. For more information, see “Applying Crossfade Effects” on page 1061. Crossfade between two audio clips. Crossfade transition • Create a submix in an audio container clip. Place multiple audio clips in a container clip and mix them down to a single clip on the top timeline. Creating a Submix The mixer can support up to 64 input tracks. If you notice frames skipping during playback (indicated by a red light on the transport controls), you should mix your audio tracks in container clips instead. 1040 Building an Audio Mix In a container clip, you can mix 64 tracks of audio down to one, giving you more tracks to work with. An audio container clip can also contain other container clips, letting you create many more submixes. For example, create a container clip to hold different dialogue, foley, and background music tracks, and mix them down to a single track in preparation for a scene. When the audio container clip is closed, these tracks appear as a single clip, which you can mix with other audio clips and/or synchronize with corresponding video clips. Audio container clips also lets you display the timeline ruler in samples, frames, or milliseconds, giving you greater accuracy when editing audio clips. The initial format of your audio container clip depends on the clip selected. That is, if the audio container is created from a stereo clip, then the container will be stereo. You can, however, change the format of an audio container clip by changing the mixer configuration within the container. For more information, see “Changing the Mixer Configuration” on page 1024. To create an audio container clip: 1. Place a clip on the track where the container clip will be created. 2. Right-click the clip and select Create Audio Container Clip. n You can select more than one clip on a track by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the clips that you want to select. These clips all become part of the new container clip. A new timeline is opened, and the selected audio clip is placed on the first track. You can now insert additional audio tracks on which to place other audio clips that form the mix. Audio container clip button Also, notice that a new container clip button is displayed in the taskbar. This button indicates that you’re working in an audio container clip. n Inside an audio container clip, the ruler time scale is set to samples by default. You can change the time scale by right-clicking on the ruler and choosing a different time scale. 1041 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio An open audio container clip. Stereo audio clip 4 stream audio clip Mono audio clip Taskbar 3. When you’ve finished editing the clips in this container clip, click the Top Timeline button in the taskbar to close the audio container clip and return to the top timeline. A closed audio container clip is represented as a single clip on the timeline Taskbar When you close the container clip, Avid DS Nitris automatically processes the mix and displays a single clip on the parent audio track. While processing, a progress bar indicates the status of the process. The number of passes that Avid DS Nitris processes is based on the number of nested container clips in the current container clip. After processing, you can mix the resulting clip with other audio clips on the timeline. You can reopen the container clip by clicking the icon on the container clip. 1042 Fine-tuning the Mix Container clip icon Fine-tuning the Mix After you’ve placed and edited your audio clips on the timeline, you can finetune the signal using the mixer. Each input strip in the mixer corresponds to an audio track on the timeline. The strip controls let you add effects and adjust the overall volume and balance of each track. The signals from all the strips are then mixed and routed to the output strips. A strip’s volume level is displayed in decibels on the level meter. The level meters resemble a plasma display, which shows the level of energy for an audio signal at a specific point in time. Stereo tracks have a dual level meter to indicate the strengths of each stream. Mono tracks only have a single level meter. The signal that results from the adjustments on the input strips are then fed into the mixer, where all the audio signals are combined into a single composite signal. The mixed audio signals are then directed to the output strips. Here, again, you have the option to adjust the volume before outputting it to a parent container clip or external device. For more information, see “Understanding the Mixer” on page 1023. 1043 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio Input strips Output strips Adjust levels after the mix Adjust levels before all the strips are mixed. Adjusting the Mixer Inputs As you add audio tracks to the timeline, the input strips appear on the mixer, which always reflects the appearance of the audio tracks on the timeline. If you reorder the audio tracks on the currently-displayed timeline, the mixer is updated accordingly. The quality of an audio mix depends on the volume and pan levels on each input strip. You should set the levels, so that the mix is well balanced. The controls on the input strips let you manipulate the signal coming from each audio track on the timeline. You can adjust the volume and pan levels of each strip before the signal is fed into the mixer. You can also use the Mute and Solo buttons to listen to the signals coming from individual tracks. n The Solo buttons are for monitoring purposes only and do not stop the signal from going into the mixer. The fader is used to control the volume on the mixer strips. It simulates an audio taper fader, except that the scale is more precise between the +5 dB and -5 dB range. 1044 Fine-tuning the Mix The level meter ranges from 20.0 dB to -∞ dB. On the input strip, the level meter maintains the energy levels even if the volume is adjusted or the strip is muted. This lets you view the signal as it comes from the audio tracks. The volume change is only shown on the output strip level meters. n Click Post on the mixer input strip to have the level meter reflect the volume change. You can also add effects to the signal before it’s processed in the mixer. For more information, see “Fine-tuning the Mix” on page 1043. To fine-tune the sound on an input strip: 1. Click the Solo button on the input strip that you want to tune. Only the sound from this input strip can be heard. 2. Move the position indicator to the beginning of the first audio clip on the respective track. 3. On the transport controls, click Play. 4. During playback, click the Solo button to hear the effect of the track in and out of the mix. Click the Solo button again to turn off the effect. 5. As the sequence is played back, drag the fader up or down. n Double-clicking the fader button returns it to the 0 dB position. 6. For mono tracks, you can also activate the pan control if you want to change the routing of the signal. The pan control lets you adjust the balance among the output strips. Moving the pan control determines the distribution of the audio signals among the output strips—see “Adjusting the Audio Balance” on page 1026. 7. After you’ve completed the fine-tuning for this strip, deselect the Solo button, and repeat this procedure for all the other input strips. Adjusting the Mixer Outputs The results of the adjustments on all the input strips are mixed and passed to the output strips. Output strips let you adjust the output volume of the audio signals. The number of output strips on the mixer depends on the selected mixer configuration. The signal from the output strips is then directed to an external device. 1045 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio n If you’re working in an audio container clip, the signals are directed to the parent container clip. To adjust the volume on the output strip: 1. On the output strip you want to listen to, click the Solo button. This lets you focus on the sounds from this strip alone. 2. Move the position indicator to the beginning of the sequence. 3. On the transport controls, click Play. 4. As the sequence is playing, monitor the output levels on the level meter and drag the fader up or down to adjust the volume of this strip. 5. Repeat this procedure for the other output strip(s). 6. After you’ve fine-tuned each output strip, make sure you deselect any Solo buttons to listen to the combined results of the output strips. 1046 Animating the Audio Mix Animating the Audio Mix When you want to adjust the volume or balance at different stages of the sequence, you can use the animation capabilities of the mixer to automate the volume and balance of your audio signals. You can animate the fader, mute, and pan controls on the input strips before the signal is processed in the mixer. You can also choose the strips that you want to animate. When you animate the pan control, fader, and mute settings during real-time playback, the adjustments are graphed as function curves. You can easily modify these function curves in the animation graph after the recording is complete. c All animation is track-based. Therefore, if you move the audio clips to a different track, you will lose the associated animation. If you want to keep the associated animation, then drag and drop the previously saved sequence on the timeline. New audio tracks will contain the audio animation. Animating the Input Strip Controls The Animation button lets you record any adjustments you make to the pan, mute, and fader controls on the mixer strip in real time. The Solo button cannot be animated because it’s a tool that lets you listen to the sounds of the different tracks. To activate animation on the strips: 1. On the strip that you want to animate, click the Animation button. Animation button By default, all the controls on this strip are animated when you begin the keyframing process. You can, however, select the controls that you want to animate. 2. Right-click the Animation button and select a command from the menu. 1047 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio n Pan can only be animated if the pan control is activated. Right-click the pan control and select Enable Pan. 3. Deselect the controls that you do not want to participate in the animation. To animate the controls: 1. Click the Animation button on the input strips that will participate in the animation. 2. On the transport controls, click Play. 3. Adjust the controls on the input strip as the sequence is playing. Any actions that you perform with the previously activated controls are automatically recorded. 4. To stop playing the sequence, click Play again. 5. Click the Animation button on the input strip to deactivate it. n If you leave the Animation button activated, you can record over the animation simply by replaying the sequence and redoing the control movements at the appropriate times. The previous animation’s function curve is overwritten until you stop the recording. 6. Go to the beginning of the sequence and click Play to see the results of the recorded animation. If you open the animation editor, you can see your animated movements graphed on the function curve. 1048 Animating the Audio Mix Function curve Keyframes at frames 0,4,9 and 12. The animation editor displays the function curve that you generated. n You can also use the Animation Key button to manually animate your controls. For more information, see “Setting Keyframes Manually” on page 965. Bypassing the Animation When you play a sequence that’s been animated, all the controls that were animated will automatically play back. If you want to monitor certain sounds, you can bypass the animated movements of some or all of the controls. This lets you fine-tune your audio signal. Any animated controls that are bypassed are still processed and sent to the outputs. To bypass the animation during playback: 1. On an input strip, right-click the Animation button and select a command to bypass from the menu. A check mark beside the command indicates that it will be bypassed. 1049 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio 2. Select any other items that you want to bypass during playback. When you replay the sequence, the controls that you selected for bypass do not participate in the animation. Editing the Animation All animated movements can be modified by adjusting the keyframes that were set for the animated controls. To edit the animation: 1. Right-click the Animation Key button and select Animation Editor. 2. In the animation tree, select the name of the strip on which the animation was created. 3. Click the plus sign (+) to expand the tree, and then select a property or control whose keyframe, values need to be adjusted. The corresponding function curve is displayed in the animation graph. 4. Adjust the key points on the function curve at the appropriate timecode settings. For more information, see “Editing Animation on the Animation Graph” on page 991. Deleting Animation You can delete all or part of the animation on the mixer input strips. To delete all animation on the mixer: t Right-click the Animation Key button and select Remove Animation Curves. The function curves for the pan, gain, and mute of each input strip in Animation Key button To delete animation on individual strip controls: t Animation button 1050 On an input strip, right-click the Animation button and select one of the following: - Any of the Delete options from the bottom of the menu. - Delete All Animation to remove all animation on this input strip. Audio Media Conversion Audio Media Conversion You can mix audio clips of different sample rates within a sequence. However, if an audio clip’s sample rate doesn’t match that of the sequence, or if it is not supported by your audio hardware, you will not be able to hear it when you play the sequence. To hear the clip, you need to convert it to the sample rate of your sequence, and/or a sample rate that is supported by your hardware. You can also convert audio clips that are already in a sequence to match the sequence video frame rate. For example, if you want to convert a sequence from NTSC to PAL. Any audio clips can be converted so that their sample rate remains the same, except that they will be timed to keep in sync with the sequence’s new video frame rate. Converting the Audio Sample Rate When you place an audio clip on the timeline, its sample rate is converted according to the settings in the Sequence Preferences dialog box (Audio property page). You can have the sample rate of a clip automatically converted when it is dropped into a sequence of a different frame rate. You can also choose to manually convert it later. To set up automatic conversion a clip’s sample rate: 1. Select File > Sequence Preferences. 2. In the Sequence Preferences dialog box, select the Audio tab. 1051 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio 3. In the Sample Rate Conversion box, select Conversion on Drop to automatically convert the sample rate of all audio clips when a sequence is dropped on the timeline. 4. Use the Conversion Quality controls to specify a conversion quality. For more information, click the Help button. To convert a sequence’s sample rate: 1. Open a new sequence and set the new sample rate that you want to use. 2. From the Explorer, drag the former sequence onto the timeline. 3. You will be asked if you want to convert the sample rate of all the clips to the new sequence sample rate. 4. Click Yes. All audio clips will automatically be converted. A new media file is created for each of these clips. Converting the Audio Sample Rate Manually You can place clips on the timeline without having their sample rate automatically converted to match that of the sequence. However, if an audio clip’s sample rate doesn’t match that of the sequence, you will not be able to hear it when you play the sequence. You can change the sampling rate of clips to conform to the rest of the sequence. 1052 Audio Media Conversion n When an audio clip’s sample rate does not match the sequence’s sample rate, the clip appears red on the timeline. To manually convert the sample rate of a clip: t Right-click a clip on the timeline and select Convert to Current Sample Rate. To manually convert the sample rate of a track: t Right-click an audio track and select Convert to Current Sample Rate. To convert the sample rate of an audio container clip: 1. Right-click the track holding the audio container clip, and select Convert to Current Sample Rate. 2. Double-click the container clip to open it. 3. Right-click on each track within the container, and select Convert to Current Sample Rate. The red highlight will appear on the timeline ribbon to indicate that the clips need processing. 4. Process the clips to generate new media at the current sequence frame rate. Converting the Reference Frame Rate of Audio Clips If you are changing the frame rate of a sequence, you will need to adjust the audio clips accordingly, so that they remain in sync with the video. To change the reference frame rate in the audio clips, you can do an audio pull up/down using the Media Tool or Tape Tool. The sample rate of the audio clips remains the same but they become slightly longer or shorter to remain in sync with the video. The audio must already be captured from tape or file, and exist as media in Avid DS Nitris. The pull up/down can also be performed on .wav or .mxf files. To convert the reference frame rate of audio clips: 1. Select Data Management > Media Tool. 2. Drag the audio clip from the Explorer over the Media button in the Media Tool. 1053 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio Media button All media that exists for that clip is displayed in the view. 3. To view the captured video frame rate and sample rate: a. Right-click the view and select Settings > Add/remove Columns. b. Select Avid DS Audio Captured at Video fps and Avid DS Audio Sample Rate. c. Click Apply. This adds two columns to the Media Tool that let you view the sample rate and frame rate of the media. 4. Right-click the media file that you want to convert and select up/down convert audio. n You can also access the Audio Media Conversion dialog box from the Tape Tool. Select an audio clip in the Tape Tool timeline. Then right-click the clip and select Audio Up/Down Convert. For more information about the Tape Tool, see “Tape Tool” in the Help. The Audio Media Conversion dialog box shows you the frame rate conversion settings. 1054 Audio Media Conversion For more information, click the Help button. 5. In the Video Reference box, select Conversion Includes Reference Change. In most cases, keep the Use Default Reference Conversion Parameters option selected. Avid DS Nitris will use the most appropriate drop frame conversion for your media. If you are converting more than one clip, such as batch conversion, you must use the default parameters. If you want to manually select the conversion parameters, de-select Use Default Reference Conversion Parameters and select the desired conversion parameters. For Drop Frame Conversion, 1001/1000 is dropframe to non-drop frame, and 1000/1001 is non-drop frame to drop-frame. 6. Click Yes, or Yes to All (if you are converting more than one clip). The conversion will take a few seconds to complete. New media is created for your current sequence frame rate, and displayed in the Media Tool. 1055 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio Processing the Mix Unlike video clips, all audio clip, track, and strip effects (as well as any animation) are processed in real time, so that no caches need to be created. The only exception is when you create audio container clips. These container clips are processed automatically when you close them. n You can process clip-based audio effects to reduce your workstation’s memory usage. For more information, see “Processing Clip-based Audio Effects” on page 1058. The following illustration shows how audio effects are processed from the tracks on the timeline to the strips on the mixer. 1056 Processing the Mix Clip effects processed 1 Clip effects are processed first, in order from bottom to top. 2 Track effects processed Track effects are processed next, also in order from bottom to top. Audio signal passed to input strips Left 3 Right The signals from the audio tracks are passed to the corresponding mixer input strip. Strip effects processed 5 Mixer Effects on the mixer input strip are processed in order from top to bottom. Adjust the volume and balance 4 On the input strips you can adjust the volume and balance of the audio signal. 6 Audio signal passed to output strips The signals from the input strips are combined and passed to the output strips. Audio clip effects are processed before track effects. If the effects are stacked, then they’re processed from bottom to top. The signal from the audio track is then passed to the corresponding mixer input strip, where you can adjust the volume and balance of the incoming signal. If you’re still not satisfied with the results, you can add more effects to the strip. These strip effects are processed from top to bottom. The signals from all the input strips are then mixed together and distributed to the output strips based on the pan levels set on the input strips. On the output strips, you can make the final adjustments to the volume level using the fader. 1057 Chapter 10 Mixing Audio The resulting signal is recorded on your external device. If you’re currently working in a container clip, then the resulting signal is sent to the parent container clip. When you close an audio container clip, Avid DS Nitris automatically processes the mix and displays a single clip on the parent audio track. While processing, it will indicate the progress. The number of passes that Avid DS Nitris processes are based on the number of nested container clips in the current container clip. If you haven’t made any changes to the clips in the container clip, then processing is not necessary. Processing Clip-based Audio Effects All audio clip, track, and strip effects (as well as any animation) are processed in real time. However, you might want to process clip-based audio effects to reduce your workstation’s memory usage. To process a specific audio clip effect on the timeline: 1. Right-click the audio clip and select Clip Cache. 2. Apply an audio effect to the audio clip. The clip area on the timeline changes to yellow, indicating the effect is real-time but can also be processed. 3. Click the Process button. 4. In the Processing Options dialog box, select the following options: n 1058 - Selected Object - Include Real-time Effect to force processing and create a cache on disk for the real-time effects You can process several audio clip effects by selecting Current Timeline on the Processing Options dialog box. Chapter 11 Working with Audio Effects This chapter describes the audio effects and how to apply them: • Understanding Audio Effects • Applying Crossfade Effects • Applying Dynamics Effects • Working with Equalizer (EQ) Effects • Applying Fade Effects • Applying a Gain Effect • Applying Reverb Effect • Applying a VST Host Effect Chapter 11 Working with Audio Effects Understanding Audio Effects The audio effects are used to adjust the output signal of your audio clip. You can apply audio effects to clips, tracks, or mixer input strips. For information, see “Working with Effects and Transitions” on page 905. Since all of the audio effects are real-time effects, except for the Timewarp effect, you can hear the results upon playback without having to first process the effect. For information about Timewarp effects, see “Applying an Audio Timewarp Effect” on page 941. n In some cases, real-time effects may require processing to ensure that no frames are skipped. For more information, see “Playing Real-Time Effects” on page 900. If you are adjusting parameters in an audio property editor during playback, you may notice a slight time lapse before you hear the results of the change. This will not affect the quality of the final output to tape or file. 1060 Applying Crossfade Effects Applying Crossfade Effects A crossfade is an audio transition between two clips over a specified number of frames. The sound of the outgoing clip gradually becomes less audible as the incoming sound increases to the desired volume. To create a crossfade between two clips: 1. On the timeline, overlap the clips that you want to work with. They can be placed on the same or different tracks. Make sure that the clips to receive the crossfade have extra material. 2. Select the edit point between the two audio clips on which you want to apply the crossfade. 3. From the toolbar, click Transition Effects > Dissolve/Crossfade. The transition area is displayed as a gradient on the activeness bar. 4. In the Crossfade property editor, adjust the amount of the crossfade and specify the start point and duration of the transition. For more information, click the Help button. 1061 Chapter 11 Working with Audio Effects Applying Dynamics Effects The Dynamics effects let you control the dynamic range of the audio signal. You can apply audio effects to clips or tracks, or on the mixer input strips. There are five dynamics processes available in the Dynamics property editor: Gate, Expander, Compressor 1, Compressor 2, and Limiter. For a list of the Dynamics effects, see “Dynamics Effects” in the Help. To apply a dynamics effect: 1. Apply a dynamics effect to a clip, track, or mixer input strip. The Dynamics property editor is displayed. 2. On the General property page, set the Attack and Release times. 3. On the Threshold property page, set the ratios. 4. Adjust the thresholds for the required processes. For more information, click the Help button. 1062 Working with Equalizer (EQ) Effects Working with Equalizer (EQ) Effects The Equalizer (EQ) effects let you boost or cut the output signal at certain frequencies. You can apply audio effects to clips or tracks, or on the mixer input strips. Applying the 3 Band Tone Control Effect The 3 Band Tone Control effect lets you adjust the decibel level of the bass, middle, and treble frequencies, and the overall audio signal. You can boost or cut the signal in a decibel range of -15 dB to +15 dB. To boost or cut the frequency ranges of the audio signal: 1. Apply the 3 Band Tone Control effect to a clip, track, or mixer input strip. 2. In the 3 Band Tone Control property editor, specify the amount of gain (in decibels) to be added to or cut from each of the frequency ranges. To boost or cut the overall gain of the input signal: t In the Input Gain text box, specify the amount of gain (in decibels) to be added to or cut from the whole signal. For more information, click the Help button. Applying the 4 Band Parametric EQ Effect The 4 Band Parametric EQ effect lets you boost or cut the audio signal at four different frequencies. You can boost or cut the signal in a decibel range of -24 dB to +24 dB. You can also boost the overall gain of the audio clip’s input signal. To boost or cut the overall gain of the input signal: 1. Apply the 4 Band Parametric EQ effect to a clip, track, or mixer input strip. The 4 Band Parametric EQ property editor is displayed. 2. On the Band 1 property page, specify the amount of gain (in decibels) to be added to or cut from the whole signal. 1063 Chapter 11 Working with Audio Effects To boost or cut the frequency ranges of the audio signal: 1. In the Frequency text box, enter the frequency at which you want the effect to be applied. 2. In the Gain text box, enter the amount of gain (in decibels) to be added to or cut from the audio signal at the selected frequency. 3. In the Q text box, enter the Q factor (resonance). 4. Specify the curve type: Peaking, LF (low frequency) Shelving, or HF (high frequency) Shelving. For more information, click the Help button. Applying the 10 Band Graphic EQ Effect The 10 Band Graphic EQ effect lets you boost or cut the audio signal at preset frequencies ranging from 31 Hz to 16 kHz. The bands are separated by exactly one octave, and each band has a bandwidth of one octave. You can also boost or cut the overall gain of the audio clip’s input signal. To boost or cut the overall gain of the input signal: 1. Apply the 10 Band Graphic EQ effect to a clip, track, or mixer input strip. The 10 Band Graphic EQ property editor is displayed. 2. On the Bands 1 - 5 property page, specify the amount of gain (in decibels) to be added to or cut from the whole signal in the Input Gain text box. To boost or cut the frequency ranges of the signal: t Specify the amount of gain (in decibels) to be added to or cut from each of the frequency ranges. For more information, click the Help button or see “10 Band Graphic EQ Property Editor” in the Help. 1064 Applying Fade Effects Applying Fade Effects The fade effects let you animate the volume of your audio clip over time. You can apply audio effects to clips or tracks, or on the mixer input strips. To apply the Fade effect: t Apply a fade effect to a clip, track, or mixer input strip. The Fade property editor is displayed. It consists of a single property page which contains a function curve to control the volume of your audio clip. Adjust the curve to set an increase or decrease in volume. For more information, click the Help button. 1065 Chapter 11 Working with Audio Effects Applying a Gain Effect The Gain effect lets you boost or cut the output gain of an audio signal. This is done by increasing or decreasing the decibel level. You can apply audio effects to clips or tracks, or on the mixer input strips. To adjust the output gain of an audio clip: 1. Apply the Gain effect to a clip, track, or mixer input strip. The Gain property editor is displayed. 2. In the Level text box, enter the desired decibel level of the audio clip. To invert the output signal: t Select the Invert phase option. To reset the decibel level to the default value (0): t Click Unity. For more information, click the Help button. 1066 Applying Reverb Effect Applying Reverb Effect The Reverb property editor lets you apply a reverberation effect to your clip. The reverberation effect simulates the many reflections of sound that can occur within a room and can be used to add depth to a sound. You can apply audio effects to clips, tracks, or mixer input strips. To apply the Reverb effect: t Apply the Reverb effect to a clip, track, or mixer input strip. The Reverb property editor is displayed. For more information, click the Help button. 1067 Chapter 11 Working with Audio Effects Applying a VST Host Effect The VST Host effect lets you load and use VST plug-in effects in Avid DS Nitris. You must have VST plug-in effects installed before you can use them in Avid DS Nitris. n Avid DS Nitris implements version 1.0 of the VST Host and works with any VST plug-in effects that support this version of the VST Host. During the installation of Avid DS Nitris, a \VSTPlugIns folder is created in the Avid DS Nitris installation folder. In a default installation the full path to the folder would be: C:\Program Files\Avid\DS_v7.x\VSTPlugins. Avid DS Nitris recognizes any VST plug-ins installed in the \VSTPlugIns folder and any of its subfolders or installed with Cubase VST. You can apply audio effects to clips or tracks, or on the mixer input strips. n Consult the vendor’s documentation on how to install and uninstall a VST plug-in effect. To apply a VST plug-in effect: 1. Install a VST plug-in effect on your system. 2. Apply the VST Host effect to a clip, track, or mixer input strip. The VST Host property editor is displayed. 3. From the Effect list, select the plug-in effect you want to use. To use a VST plug-in effect bank or program: 1. Apply the VST Host effect to a clip, track, or mixer input strip. The VST Host property editor is displayed. 2. From the Effect list, select the plug-in effect you want to use. 3. Click Load and navigate to the folder where the VST effect bank (.fxb files) or program (.fxp files) are installed. By default, Avid DS Nitris looks in the folder in which the VST plug-in is located. 4. Select the file you want and click OK. 5. From the Program list, select the effect preset you want to use. 1068 Applying a VST Host Effect For more information, click the Help button. 1069 Chapter 11 Working with Audio Effects 1070 Chapter 12 Media Management This chapter describes how to manage your project files and media in Avid DS Nitris and how to use your disk space efficiently by purging, deleting, and archiving. This chapter includes the following sections: • Understanding Media • Managing Media • Archiving Projects • Restoring Projects • Moving Projects to Another Workstation • Deleting Projects • Deleting Clips • Viewing Information about Storage Devices For details on setting up your storage areas, see “Planning your Storage Locations” in the Avid DS Nitris Installation and Administration Guide or the Help. Chapter 12 Media Management Understanding Media Media in Avid DS Nitris exists in one of two forms: source media or caches. Media is the digitized form of source material after it has been captured or imported from tape or file into Avid DS Nitris. A cache is a media file that is generated when you process an effect, transition, or composite created in your sequence. During playback, Avid DS Nitris refers to this cache file instead of the source media. Both source media and cache media are stored on high-performance storage devices. The following illustration shows the relationship between source and cache media. 1072 Understanding Media Master clips in the Avid Explorer. Effect applied to a clip in the timeline. Source media Cache media Cache media is created when effects and transitions applied to your clips are processed. It is also stored on the storage device. When Avid DS Nitris encounters processed effects during playback, it points to the cache media instead of the original source media. Source media is the material that you capture from tape or file. It is stored on the storage device and referenced by master clips. Storage device 1073 Chapter 12 Media Management Like captured media, you can process your clips at different resolutions and compression ratios. Each time you change your working qualities (resolution, compression ratio, or bit depth), and process your clips, a separate cache file is created. To keep track of different media qualities and avoid data redundancy, the time, quality, and channel information is used to store the coordinates of the media. • Time: The source timecode or timeline timecode of your media. • Quality: The quality aspects of an image (resolution, compression, format). • Channel: The number of video and/or audio components in the media file. To handle caches even more efficiently, the Media Indexer uses information or metadata to create a unique reference for each cache file. If this same clip and effect are reused anywhere else in your sequence or project, then the Media Indexer reuses the same cache. This lets you automatically view the results of an effect as soon as it is placed on the timeline. For this same reason, however, you may notice that purging caches does not necessarily free up storage space. If a cache is used by another part of the sequence or project, it will not be purged. Changing the duration of the clip, or its properties, or stacking another effect on the clip, will require a new cache. However, the Media Indexer still tries to use any existing caches for the parts of the clip that have not changed. The Media Indexer also manages the creation of caches at different stages in your sequence to ease the reprocessing and purging of caches. For more information, see “Creating Caches at Any Level” on page 887. 1074 Managing Media Managing Media When working on big projects, you can easily accumulate large amounts of media captured from different sources in different formats, resolutions, and compression ratios. To organize your work and use disk space efficiently, you need to find, purge, move, and delete media. When you are working with projects and sequences that share media, you need to determine how the media is shared. Using the Media Tool The Media Tool lets you view media files and the clips, sequences, or projects with which they are associated. It provides a comprehensive way of looking at your assets (projects, sequences, clips, and media) and how they relate to each other. You can use the Media Tool to display your files in a variety of combinations. For example, you can display the media associated with a single clip or the media associated with all clips in a project. You can display all media contained in two projects, display only the media that is shared, and then display only the media that is not shared. The Media Tool lets you view more than just media files: you can also view associations between projects, sequences, and master clips. You can display all projects in your workgroup, and then all sequences in those projects. Then select two of these sequences and display all master clips in these sequences. And you can perform various media management tasks on the files that are displayed, such as recapturing, purging, defragmenting, copying, moving, and deleting. You can also edit from the Media Tool by opening clips and sequences in a viewer or by dragging them to the timeline. To access the Media Tool, do one of the following: t Select Data Management > Media Tool. The Media Tool opens with two empty panels. 1075 Chapter 12 Media Management Tape Tool Sequences Master clips Projects Media Processor Panel A Panel B Bin tools Media tools The two panels of the Media Tool represent the association between the files in the panels. For example, if master clips are displayed in the left panel (panel A), all media files for the clips are displayed in the right panel (panel B). Also, if you select objects in one panel, the related objects in the other panel are also selected. 1076 Managing Media Displaying Project and Media Files The Media Tool icons, at the top of the view, let you display project and media files. After the files are displayed, you can rearrange them to display their associations. To display project and media files by using the Media Tool icons: t Drag an icon from the top part of the Media Tool to one of the panels. The results are described in the following table: Drag this to a panel To display Projects icon All projects defined in your project root. Sequences icon All sequences in the current project. Clips icon All master clips in the current project. Media icon All media in the current project. Displaying Tapes Associated with a Project You can display a list of the tapes associated with a project using the Tape Tool. For information about the Tape Tool, see ”Tape Tool” in the Help. To display the tape(s) associated with a project: 1. Click the Tape Tool button at the top-left corner. 2. Drag the Projects icon to panel A to display your projects. 3. Select a project from the list and drag it to the Clips icon. A list of master clips associated with this project displays. 4. Select a master clip. A list appears on the left side of the Tape Tool view. At the top of the tree is the name of the tape from which the master clips were digitized. On the right side is a timeline that displays the digitized media available on the tape and the portions of the media that is used and unused in the project. 1077 Chapter 12 Media Management Tape associated with selected project Tape Tool view Displaying Associations between Files There are several ways to display the associations between projects, sequences, master clips, and media files. To display associations by dragging to a panel, do one of the following: 1078 t Drag one or more project folders, sequences, master clips, or media files from an open bin to one of the panels. t Drag one or more items from one panel to another. Managing Media The results of these actions are described in the following table: Drag this To To display Project Panel A All sequences in the project in panel B. Sequence Panel A All master clips in the sequence in panel B. Panel B All projects using that sequence in panel A. Panel A Media used by the master clip in panel B. Panel B All sequences that use the master clip in panel A. Panel B All master clips that use the media file in panel A. Master clip Media file To display associations by dragging within a panel: t From a list of items, select one or more items and drag them to an empty part of the same panel. For example, if you drop the Media Tool sequence icon to panel A, all sequences in the current project are displayed. Select a sequence, drag it to an empty part of panel A, and panel B displays all master clips in the selected sequence. To display associations by dragging to a Media Tool icon: t Drag an object from one panel to an icon in the top part of the dialog box. Use this action if you want to “hop” to a different association. For example, if a sequence is listed in panel A, by default its master clips are listed in panel B. To view media for the sequence, drag the sequence from panel A to the Media icon. 1079 Chapter 12 Media Management Modifying the Media Tool Display After you have displayed your choice of objects, you can use the Media Tool tools to modify the display. Some of these tools let you show additional associations between project files and media. To modify the Media Tool display: t Click one of the following Media Tool tools: Click this To Union Display all items contained in the contents of Panel A in Panel B (default). Intersection Display only the items shared by the contents of Panel A in Panel B Intersection Complement Display only the items not shared by the contents of Panel A. Include Cache Files Display cache media as well as source media. After you click the button, reprocess the sequence to display the media. Clear All Remove objects from both panels. History Back Show the previous display in the Media Tool history list. History Forward Show the next display in the Media Tool history list. Cancel Cancel Media Tool processing. You can also use the standard bin tools and procedures to modify the display: 1080 • Bin tools: Click a bin tool button to change the way the files are displayed—see “Bin Tools (Bottom)” in the Help. • Bin views: Select a bin view to change the information displayed in Details and Script views—see “Saving or Deleting a Bin View” on page 656. The Video Management and Audio Management views are designed especially for media files. Managing Media You can edit the bin display and create a customized view by clicking the Fast Menu button and selecting Settings > Add/Remove Columns. n • Sorting: You can sort by using the information in any column or combination of columns—see “Sorting Files” on page 656. For example, to sort your media files by storage, click the Location column. • Sifting: Select a Custom Sift to display only files that meet specific criteria—see “Sifting Files” on page 658. Tip: If you don’t see any files or media in the Media Tool, make sure the Union button is selected. Viewing Media Files You can view media files as thumbnails, making it easier to identify and locate particular media. You can also step through the media files by changing the frame that’s displayed on the thumbnail. This gives you a basic idea of what is included in each media file. To change the frame displayed on the thumbnail: 1. In the Media Tool or in a storage folder, click the Thumbnail button. 2. Right-click a media file and select View Frame and one of the following: - First Frame to display the first frame of the media file. - Middle Frame to display the middle frame of the media file. - Last Frame to display the last frame of the media file. - Advanced to open a dialog box that lets you enter a particular frame number to be displayed. The thumbnail displays the frame number you chose. The setting is used for all media files in the bin or the Media Tool. This setting does not affect master clips or sequences. 1081 Chapter 12 Media Management Defragmenting Media The more you capture, delete, and purge media from your system, the more likely that your media files will become fragmented on your storage device. A certain level of fragmentation is normal, because files need to be spread across multiple drives in order to play efficiently. However, excessively fragmented media may slow down your system or cause playback problems, such as skipped frames. If playback problems become serious, you can use the Windows Disk Defragmenter or other defragmenting application. This can be very lengthy process. In many cases it is more efficient to defragment individual files. To defragment media files: 1. In a bin, right-click a clip or clips that you think might be fragmented and select Show Media. The Media Tool opens with the associated media files in the right panel. If you select Audio Management or Video Management from the Bin View list, you can view a column headed Fragments.This column lists the number of fragments into which the media file is divided. 2. Right-click one of the selected files and select Defragment. A progress bar appears, and the selected media files are defragmented. The following illustrations show media files before and after defragmenting. 1082 Managing Media Media files before defragmenting Media files after defragmenting Verifying Media If you encounter problems while playing back your sequences, there may be corrupted media on your storage device. Verifying your media will ensure that you sequence plays properly. Also, you might want to verify your media before archiving. To verify your media: 1. In a bin, right-click a clip or sequence and select Show Media. The Media Tool opens with the associated media files in the right panel. 2. Select one or more files, right-click, and select Verify Media and one of the following: t Verify only last frame or sample t Verify every frame or sample 1083 Chapter 12 Media Management If you have any corrupted files, you are prompted to delete them. Media that you delete must be recaptured or reprocessed. Copying Media You can copy media from one storage area to another. You can copy one file at a time, a selection of files, or an entire folder of media files. n Do not copy or move media files by dragging and dropping. Use the Copy to Storage and Move to Storage commands instead. To copy a media file: 1. In the Media Tool or in a storage folder, right-click one or more media files and select Copy to Storage. To copy more than one file, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting files, and then right-click one of the selected files to select the Copy option. 2. In the Copy Media dialog box, select the video or audio storage area to which you want to copy your media. Any projects using this media are automatically linked to your local drive. This is because, by default, the Media Indexer is configured to look at your local storage area first. You can verify this by opening the Media Indexer and verifying that your local storage is the first one in your list. For more information, see “Managing Your Storage Areas” in the Avid DS Nitris Installation and Administration Guide. Moving Media If you add or remove a storage device from your system, you may have to move some media files from one storage area to another. You can move one file at a time, a selection of files, or an entire folder of media files. n 1084 Do not copy or move media files by dragging and dropping. Use the “Copy to Storage” and “Move to Storage” commands instead. Managing Media To move a media file: 1. In the Media Tool or in a storage folder, right-click one or more media files and select Move to Storage. To move more than one file, hold down the Ctrl key and click the necessary files, and then right-click one of the selected files to display the menu. 2. In the Move Media dialog box, select the video and audio storage area to which you want to move your media. Deleting Media If you’re sure that you no longer need certain media files, you can manually delete them from your storage area. When media is deleted, the clips that refer to that media are maintained, but indicate that no media is attached to them. Since the master clips are not deleted, it is possible to recapture this media later. n The Purge dialog box provides additional features that make it easier to determine which media files to delete. For more information, see “Purging Media” on page 1087. To delete media files: 1. In the Media Tool or in a storage folder, right-click a media file and select Delete. You are prompted to confirm your decision. 2. Click Yes to delete the media. 1085 Chapter 12 Media Management To delete entire projects and their associated media files, see “Deleting Projects” on page 1115, “Viewing Information about Storage Devices” on page 1119, and “Deleting Clips” on page 1117. 1086 Managing Media Purging Media Media files often contain large amounts of information that can quickly use up your system storage space. It is good practice to purge unused media, especially if you have captured different qualities of media from the same source. There are two types of media generated in Avid DS Nitris: • Source media is created when you capture or import files. • Processed media (cache) is generated when you process effects, graphics, or composites in your sequence. You can purge your source media and cache files without losing vital information about the edits you made. Since a clip is a representation of the digitized media stored on your storage device, you can delete your media without deleting the clip and sequence files. This is called purging your media. You can later use the clip or sequence files to recapture the source material or reprocess the effects. Purging source media requires you to recapture the original media, while purging caches requires you to reprocess the sequence before it can be played back in real time. When a clip’s source media is deleted, the clip icon in the Avid Explorer turns red. When caches are purged, the icon does not change color, but areas of the timeline that rely on this processed media are highlighted in red. n To check what type of media is associated with a clip, right-click the clip and select Properties. For more information, see “Displaying File Properties” on page 651. It is possible to purge only the video or audio portion of a clip. In this case, the icon in the Avid Explorer does not turn red, as there is still media associated with the clip. You can only purge media from the current project. If you want to purge media in another project, you must open that project and then purge the media. 1087 Chapter 12 Media Management There are several ways to purge source media or cache files in Avid DS Nitris. Purge from To do this Avid Explorer bin Delete media of selected clips and sequences. Cache bar menu Delete the caches associated with the cache bar, the cache files below the cache bar, or both. Tape Tool Delete media of the selected channel in the Tape Tool timeline. Right-click a channel and select Purge. Toolbar Delete all cache files from the current sequence, all interactive memory caches, or a cache file associated with a particular clip, effect, or area on the timeline. Purge dialog box Delete source and cache media of specific clips, sequences, or projects. This option gives you more control over what types of media are deleted and from what source they will be deleted. Purging Source Media Source media is the digitized form of source material after it has been captured and imported from tape or file into Avid DS Nitris. You can select the type of media you want to delete. You can purge media at the clip, sequence, or folder level: • Purging a clip deletes media that was captured for that clip. • Purging a sequence deletes media for all clips in the sequence. • Purging a folder deletes media of the master clips contained in that folder. To purge a file or folder from the Avid Explorer: 1. In the Avid Explorer, right-click a clip, sequence, or folder, and select Purge Media. The Purge dialog box is displayed. The media for your selection will be purged unless you change the option under the Display Associated Media For list. n 1088 To purge everything but the clips selected in the Avid Explorer, select the Except For option in the Display Associated Media list. Managing Media 2. Select the other options as necessary. For detailed information on the options in the Purge dialog box, click the Help button . n To remove the largest number of unused media files and gain storage space, select the Unreferenced Media option and the Optimize For Maximum Storage Space Recovery option. Note that this is a time-consuming process. You should keep media used in other project files unless you are absolutely sure that they are not required. 1089 Chapter 12 Media Management You can delete cache media and reprocess it later. For more information, see “Purging Caches” on page 1090. 3. Click the Refresh Purge List button. A list of media that meets all the criteria that you selected is displayed in the Purge list. By default, all the files in the list are selected, but you can select any number of media files from the list to purge. 4. Click the Purge button to begin deleting the media. After you purge source media and it is deleted from your storage device, the clips that reference this media have a red icon beside them in the Avid Explorer. Clips on the timeline that have no associated media, display the “Media Not Available” message in the viewer when you play back the sequence. Purging Caches When you process effects, graphics, or a composite in your sequence, a cache file is generated on your storage device, so that you can play back the newlycreated media. If you need storage space, you can delete this cache media and reprocess it at a later time. When you delete a sequence’s caches, the Process button on the timeline turns red, and the unprocessed regions are highlighted on the timeline ribbon. If you’re using cache bars to generate caches, you can purge the caches at the different levels at which they were created. The cache bar’s color indicates if playable media exists for the entire region covered by the cache bar. If any part under the cache bar is unprocessed, the cache bar will be yellow. If the entire region has been processed and playable media exists, the cache bar is green. For more information, see “Understanding Processing” on page 872. To purge the cache of selected objects on the timeline: 1. Select one or more clips, effect bars, container clips, or tracks. 2. From the NLE Tools toolbar, select Purge > Purge Cache. To purge caches for all objects on the current timeline: t 1090 From the NLE Tools toolbar, select Purge > Purge All Caches. Managing Media To purge caches generated with cache bars: t Right-click a cache bar and select one of the following: - Purge Selected to purge only the cache media associated with the selected cache bar. - Purge Below to purge any unnecessary cache media that lies below the cache bar, while keeping the cache real time playable. (This option is useful if you processed using the Complete option and no longer need the caches at each level anymore.) - Purge to purge the cache media associated with the cache bar, as well as any cache media that lies below it. 1091 Chapter 12 Media Management Example: Purging versus Deleting Media Purge master clip from sequence A. Result: The master clip is never deleted. Master clip If the Keep Media Used in Other Sequences option is selected, and the master clip is used in another sequence, then the media is not deleted. If the Keep Media Used in Other Sequences option is not selected, then the media is deleted. Sequence Sequence Once the media is deleted, when you play back a sequence that uses this master clip, the “Media Not Available” message is displayed in the viewer whenever it encounters this clip. Because the master clip was not removed, it’s easy to recapture the media from the Avid Explorer or timeline. Media Delete Clip and Unused Media for master clip from sequence A. Master clip Result: Deletes the master clip in the Avid Explorer. Avid DS Nitris checks to see if this clips media is used elsewhere. If it is, then the media is not removed. Although the master clip is deleted, the clips remain on the timeline in sequence A and B, and still refer to the original media. Sequence Sequence Media Delete Clip and All Media for master clip from sequence A. Result: Deletes the master clip in the Avid Explorer, as well as its associated media regardless of whether this clip is used in another sequence. Master clip Although the master clip is deleted, the clips on sequence A and B remain on the timeline. When you play back either of your sequences, the “Media Not Available” message is displayed in the viewer whenever it encounters this clip in your sequence. Sequence Sequence General Note Purge always keeps the master clip; it removes the media depending on the setting. Delete always removes the master clip; it removes the media depending on the command selected. 1092 Media Archiving Projects Archiving Projects Archiving is a way to create backups of your project, move a project to another workstation, or free up space on your local disk. You can restore archived projects later, if necessary. You might need to archive and restore a project when you upgrade to a new version of Avid DS Nitris; check the release notes for more information. You can archive both the project files and their related media. If you choose to archive only the project files, you can recapture the media easily once the project is restored. Archive all files related to project. Project files Sequences and clips refer to media on disk. Archived project files and media. Only media related to clips and sequences in project are archived. Source and cache media n You can archive or restore media only if its format (frame rate, resolution, or quality) is compatible with the current sequence format. For example, you cannot restore an NTSC archive while you are working in a PAL sequence. Similarly, you cannot restore an HD archive in an NTSC sequence. 1093 Chapter 12 Media Management A complete Avid DS Nitris archive consists of two parts: n • Project archive: A single folder that is created on a disk. This folder contains complete information about recreating a product (bins, clips, sequences, presets, and so on). It includes any folders and files stored in the project root, such as source images for linked files or documents with notes about the project. The archive also includes audio media and audio caches, if you decide to include them (currently, audio media can only be archived to disk, not to tape). • Media archive: A videotape on which video media and video caches are recorded. You can save video media on a single tape or, if necessary, on multiple tapes. A video archive is limited to one tape for video media and one tape for video caches, unless you are archiving more than one video compression or resolution. For more information, see “Creating a Complete Archive on Multiple Tapes” on page 1099. Archiving caches is optional, because you can reprocess them after you restore the project. Also, you might need to reprocess caches after restoring a project in an upgraded version of Avid DS Nitris. Check the release notes for the upgrade. Creating a Project Archive Only The following procedure describes how to archive the project information only. If you need to, you can restore the project and then recapture the media. To create a project archive: 1. Select Data Management > Project Manager. 2. Select the Archive tab. 3. Select a project to archive by selecting it from the list of displayed projects. You can archive projects from anywhere on the network. Click the Refresh button to get an up-to-date list of the projects you can access. 4. By default, all projects are archived in the \DS Archives folder. You can select a different destination folder for the project files by doing one of the following: t 1094 Type the path in the Project Archive Destination text box. Archiving Projects t n Click the Browse button to search for the appropriate folder. Avid DS Nitris does not let you archive a project at the root of a drive, such as F:\. The archive must be within a folder. For example, F:\DS Archives\ is a valid location for a project archive. 5. Click the Archive button. c After you’ve archived your project, make sure that there is an archivetape.log file in the archive folder. Without this log file, you cannot restore your media. Creating a Device Preset Before Archiving If you are going to archive media to tape, create an external device preset, so that it is available from the Device list when you start to create the archive. To create a device preset: 1. Connect the external device to your Avid DS Nitris system. 2. Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Deck Configuration. 3. Set the Edit Mode to Assemble in your preset to avoid having to stripe the entire tape before archiving your media to tape. Even when outputting in Assemble mode, you must stripe the first few seconds of the tape. For more information on creating an external device preset, see “Configuring the External Device” in the Help. n Tip: Test the external device by outputting a segment of a sequence before creating an archive. Creating a Complete Archive for a Project The following procedure describes how to archive a project and all its media to a single tape. If your project is too large to fit on a single tape, see “Creating a Complete Archive on Multiple Tapes” on page 1099. 1095 Chapter 12 Media Management To archive a project: 1. Check the device that you want to use to create the archive—see “Creating a Device Preset Before Archiving” on page 1095. 2. Select Data Management > Project Manager. 3. Select the Archive tab. Projects 4. Select a project to archive by selecting it from the list of displayed projects. You can archive projects from anywhere on the network. Click the Refresh button to get an up-to-date list of the projects you can access. 5. If you want to archive the media associated with your project, select the type of media you want to archive from the Media Archive Options box. 1096 Archiving Projects For video media and video cache media, you must specify a compression rate, resolution, and bit depth for the media you want to archive. For audio media and audio cache media, you must specify a sample rate. n n If you want to archive cache media, you must also archive the master media. You cannot archive only cache media. If you archive a project with media that is shared between projects, the media will be archived with both projects. When it is restored, Avid DS Nitris checks to see if the media is still in its original location. If it is, the link is recreated. If not, the media is restored to its original location. Video is always archived to tape, and audio is always archived to the specified media location on disk. The status area displays the amount of time required on tape to archive your video media. It also displays the amount of disk space that the project files, including the audio media (if any) will consume. If the media archive is longer than the length of your tape, you need to split the media onto two tapes. For more information, see “Creating a Complete Archive on Multiple Tapes” on page 1099. 6. By default, all projects are archived in the \DS Archives folder. You can select a different destination folder for the project files by doing one of the following: n t Type the path in the Project Archive Destination text box. t Click the Browse button to search for the appropriate folder. Avid DS Nitris does not let you archive a project at the root of a drive, such as F:\. The archive must be within a folder. For example, F:\DS Archives\ is a valid location for a project archive. 7. Click the Archive button to begin archiving your project. If your project contains linked clips that are not stored in the project folder, a message is displayed, warning you that linked clips cannot be archived as the media does not reside within the current project. You should back up these files separately. If you are archiving video media to tape, after the project archive is created (and the audio is archived), the Creating Media Archive dialog box opens. 1097 Chapter 12 Media Management 8. In the Archive Tape Options box, select a device to which you want to archive the media files. 9. In the Archive Tape Options box, type a value in the In-point timecode box to set the starting timecode of the archive on the tape. By default, the in-point timecode is set to 00:00:00:00. 10. Click the Continue button. Your media files are archived to tape. For detailed information on the Creating Media Archive dialog box, click the Help button. After you’ve archived your project, make sure that there is an archivetape.log file in the archive folder. Without this log file, you cannot restore your media. It is also a good idea to compare the timecodes in the archivetape.log file with those on the archive tape. If they’re the same, you shouldn’t have any problems restoring your project. If they’re different, however, archive the project again. n 1098 The archive.log file contains the Avid DS Nitris version number, so you know which version you were using when the archive was created. Archiving Projects Once the archive is complete and you have checked the log file, you can delete your project to make space on your disk. For more information, see “Deleting Projects” on page 1115. n If you want to archive a project with a non-standard video format, you can create an archive of the project files only (do not include the media), and then back up the folder that contains the media for your project on another medium, such as CD-ROM or DLT. When restoring this project, all you have to do is make sure you copy the folder containing the media files back to its original location. All the media will be linked back to the original master clips inside the project. See “Archiving on Other Media” on page 1104. Creating a Complete Archive on Multiple Tapes If you archive a large project and its media, you may find that one tape is not enough to hold all your media. You can create an archive with two tapes, with each one containing different types of media, such as: Archive Contents Project Project data, audio media, audio cache Tape 1 Project data and video media Tape 2 Project data and video cache It’s very important that the project data for both archives are identical for you to be able to restore the project accurately at a later date. It’s also important that you archive video caches on tape 2. Then when you restore the project, make sure to restore tape 1 before tape 2, so that the video caches link to the master clips. If you want to archive video media at more than one compression or resolution, you can create additional tapes for the media and its caches. However, for a single media type, an archive is limited to one tape for video media and one tape for video caches. 1099 Chapter 12 Media Management n Be sure to keep track of which projects were archived using the multiple archive method as Avid DS Nitris does not remind you when it comes time to restore the project. It is also important to name your tapes appropriately, so that you can easily distinguish the media on the tapes. To create multiple archives of the same project: 1. Check the device that you want to use to create the archive—see “Creating a Device Preset Before Archiving” on page 1095. 2. Select Data Management > Project Manager. 3. From the Project Manager, select the Archive tab. 4. Select a project to archive. 5. Select the following media archive options: - Archive video media files to tape - Archive audio media files to disk - Archive audio cache media to disk 6. For the video media, select a compression rate, resolution, and bit depth of the media you want archived. For the audio media and audio cache media, select a sample rate. 7. Type a path in the Project Archive Destination text box where you want the project archive to reside. 8. Click the Archive button to begin archiving the first part of your project. The project files and audio media are archived to disk and the Creating Media Archive dialog box is displayed before it starts to archive any video media. 9. In the Archive Tape Options box, select the device to which you want to archive the media files. 10. Type a value in the In point timecode box to set the starting timecode of the archive on the tape. By default, the in-point timecode is set to 00:00:00:00. 11. Click the Continue button. Avid DS Nitris archives your video media to tape. 12. Without making any changes to your project folder, select the same project to archive by selecting it from the list of displayed projects. 13. From the Media Archive Options box, select the Archive video cache files to tape option. 1100 Archiving Projects 14. Select the compression rate, resolution, and bit depth of the media you want to archive. 15. Click the Archive button to begin archiving the cache media. The project data is archived to disk again and the Creating Media Archive dialog box is displayed. 16. From the Archive Tape Options box, select the device to which you want to archive the media files. 17. Type a value in the In point timecode box to set the starting timecode of the archive on the tape. By default, the in-point timecode is set to 00:00:00:00. 18. Click the Continue button. Avid DS Nitris archives your cache media to tape. After you’ve archived your project, make sure that there is an archivetape.log file in the archive folder. Without this log file, you cannot restore your media. It’s also a good idea to compare the timecodes in the archivetape.log file with those on the archive tape. Archiving a Project with Different Frame Rates If you have project that contains sequence of different frame rates, such as NTSC and PAL, you can archive the video and audio media of both sequences. When archiving a project with different frame rates, the project that you’re archiving must be open. To archive a project with different frame rates: 1. Open the project to archive and open an NTSC sequence. 2. Connect Avid DS Nitris to an NTSC deck and insert a tape in it. 3. Open the Project manager and select the Archive tab. 4. Select the following media archive options: - Archive video media files to tape - Archive video cache files to tape - Archive audio media files to disk - Archive audio cache media to disk 1101 Chapter 12 Media Management 5. For the video media, select a compression rate, resolution, and bit depth of the media you want archived. For the audio media and audio cache media, select a sample rate. 6. By default, all projects are archived in the \DS Archives folder. You can select a different destination folder for the project files by doing one of the following: n t Type the path in the Project Archive Destination text box. t Click the Browse button to search for the appropriate folder. Avid DS Nitris does not let you archive a project at the root of a drive, such as F:\. The archive must be within a folder. For example, F:\DS Archives\ is a valid location for a project archive. 7. Click the Archive button to begin archiving your project. If your project contains linked clips that are not stored in the project folder, a message is displayed, warning you that linked clips cannot be archived as the media does not reside within the current project. You should back up these files separately. If you are archiving video media to tape, after the project archive is created (and the audio is archived), the Creating Media Archive dialog box opens. 1102 Archiving Projects 8. In the Archive Tape Options box, select a device to which you want to archive the media files. 9. In the Archive Tape Options box, type a value in the In-point timecode box to set the starting timecode of the archive on the tape. By default, the in-point timecode is set to 00:00:00:00. 10. Click the Continue button. Your NTSC media files are archived to tape and the audio media is archived to disc. 11. When the archive is finished, do not modify anything in the project. 12. Open a PAL sequence. 13. Connect Avid DS Nitris to a PAL deck and insert a tape in it. 14. Open the Project manager and select the Archive tab. 15. Repeat steps 5 to 10, archiving only the PAL video media and video caches of the project. The audio media was already archived and does not need to be done again. After you’ve archived your project, make sure that there is an archivetape.log file in the archive folder. Without this log file, you cannot restore your media. It is also a good idea to compare the timecodes in the archivetape.log file with 1103 Chapter 12 Media Management those on the archive tape. If they’re the same, you shouldn’t have any problems restoring your project. If they’re different, however, archive the project again. n The archive.log file contains the Avid DS Nitris version number, so you know which version you were using when the archive was created. Once the archive is complete and you have checked the log file, you can delete your project to make space on your disk. For more information, see “Deleting Projects” on page 1115. n If you want to archive a project with a non-standard video format, you can create an archive of the project files only (do not include the media), and then back up the folder that contains the media for your project on another medium, such as CD-ROM or DLT. When restoring this project, all you have to do is make sure you copy the folder containing the media files back to its original location. All the media will be linked back to the original master clips inside the project. See “Archiving on Other Media” on page 1104. For detailed information on the Creating Media Archive dialog box, click the Help button. Archiving on Other Media You cannot create archives directly on removable media (aside from videotape). However, you can back up an archive and its media in the following ways: • Compress a project archive and copy it to another medium. For example, create a Zip archive and copy it to a CD-ROM, CD-RW, or DLT. • Directly copy media files from a media files folder to a folder on another medium. When restoring this project, make sure you copy the folder containing the media files back to its original location. All the media will be linked back to the original master clips inside the project. Refer to the archive.log file in the archive folder for the alphanumerical folder name and path in which to restore the project media location. For information about restoring projects, see the next section. 1104 Restoring Projects Restoring Projects Projects are archived when a job is completed, to create backups of your project files, or to move a project to another workstation. If you need to work on the project again, you simply have to restore it. You can restore the project files, as well as any video and/or audio media that was archived with it. If you only want to work on a small portion of an archived project, you can select the parts of the project you want to restore. Information about archived files can be found in text files in the project’s archive folder. The archive.log file records the dates of all archive and restore operations for a selected archive, and the archivetape.log file keeps a list of all its archived media files. You can use this file to determine the compression ratios and resolutions at which the media was archived. Note the following: • You can restore media only if its frame rate and video format are compatible with the current sequence format. For example, you cannot restore an NTSC archive while you are working in a PAL sequence. Similarly, you cannot restore an HD archive in an NTSC sequence. • Avid DS Nitris restores video media in the first video storage that is defined in the Installed Media Storages list, and restores audio media in the first audio storage defined. If there is not enough room on the first storage, Avid DS Nitris restores the remaining media on the next appropriate storage (video or audio). If you want the media created in a particular storage, use the Move Up button to move the storage to the top of the list. For more information, see “Maintaining your Storage Locations” in the Help. • If you restore a project that contains third-party plug-in effects onto a machine that does not have the plug-ins installed, the effects will appear over the clips they were applied to, but they will be empty. They will be editable after you install the plug-ins. • Video and audio cache files cannot be restored from archives created in a version earlier than Avid|DS 6.0. When restoring this type of archive, a message is displayed, and the options for restoring cache files are not available. 1105 Chapter 12 Media Management • Video and audio media archives from versions earlier than Avid|DS 6.0 can only be restored to GEN storages. They cannot be restored to an MXF storage. • If you are restoring from an archive in which one or more video compressions (codecs) are no longer supported, a dialog box is displayed. Use this dialog box to substitute a supported codec. • You can restore an archive only from a drive or device that supports both read and write operations. For example, you cannot restore an archive directly from a read-only CD-ROM. To restore from a CD-ROM, copy the archive to a local drive and clear the read-only option on the main folder and all subfolders. • When restoring a project and opening sequences of that project, missing Graphics titling fonts are logged in the Avid Event Log. By checking the log, you’ll see exactly which fonts are missing on your system. Restoring a Complete Project From the Project Manager, you can restore the project files and corresponding media. If you’re restoring a project whose media was archived on more than one tape, see “Restoring a Project Archived on Multiple Tapes” on page 1111. To restore a complete project: 1. Select Data Management > Project Manager. 2. Select the Restore tab. 1106 Restoring Projects 3. In the Archive Folder text box, type the location of the archived project file that you want to restore, or click the Browse button to search for the file. 1107 Chapter 12 Media Management 4. In the Project Name text box, specify the folder in which you want to place the restored files. 5. If you want to restore the project’s media, select the Select media to restore option from the Options box. The Media Options (1/2) dialog box lets you select specific clips or sequences for which you want the media to be restored. 6. Since you want to restore the complete project, leave this dialog box inactive and click OK.The Media Options (2/2) dialog box is displayed. 7. Select the type of media you want to restore and its corresponding compression ratio, resolution, bit depth, or sample rate, and click OK. If you have video material archived on tape, you will be prompted to insert the tape into the deck. If you have audio material on disk, it will automatically be restored from your archive. 8. Click the Restore button. If you’re restoring material from videotape, Avid DS Nitris controls the deck, searches for the appropriate footage on the tape, and then captures it. n If you encounter problems restoring material from tape, you should disable the viewer using the Viewer button in the status bar and try capturing again. When restoring full resolution HD material at 29.97 and 30 frames per second, the viewer is automatically disabled. Avid DS Nitris usually stops the deck, rewinds, and then pre-rolls before capturing material. With an archive, however, the media should be stored on tape one right after the other. As a result, the pre-roll is skipped and all the media is captured in one pass. This feature, known as streaming capture, greatly reduces the time to restore an archive. 1108 Restoring Projects n If the restoration is not entirely successful, that is, some clips were not restored, click Restore to recapture the missing clips. 9. After a project is restored, open the project through the Open Project dialog box or by selecting File > Open Project. 10. To complete the restore, save the project and its sequences. Restoring Parts of a Project Archive At times, you may only want to restore part of a project, some of its clips, or one particular sequence. Avid DS Nitris lets you select the project files and associated media files to restore. To restore parts of a project archive: 1. Select Data Management > Project Manager. 2. Select the Restore tab. 3. In the Archive Folder text box, type the location of the archived project file that you want to restore, or click the Browse button to search for the file. 4. In the Project Name text box, specify the folder in which you want to place the restored files. 5. To restore the media of a selected part of your project archive, click Select Media to Restore from the Options box. The Media Options (1/2) dialog box lets you select specific clips or sequences for which you want the media to be restored. 1109 Chapter 12 Media Management 6. Select the Only Restore media referenced by the following files option to activate the selective restore function. 7. Click one of the following: t Add Clip to select individual clips for which you want the media to be restored. t Add Sequence to select individual clips for which you want the media to be restored. 8. In the Avid Explorer, select the clips or sequences for which you want media to be restored and click OK. The selected clips or sequences are displayed in the Media Options (1/2) dialog box. n To remove items from the list, select the items and click Delete. 9. When you have all the clips and/or sequences you want, click OK. The Media Options (2/2) dialog box is displayed. 10. Select the type of media you want to restore and its corresponding compression ratio, resolution, bit depth, or sample rate, and click OK. If you have video material archived on tape, you are prompted to insert the tape into the deck. If you have audio material on disk, it is automatically restored from your archive. 11. Click Restore. If you’re restoring material from videotape, Avid DS Nitris controls the deck, searches for the appropriate footage on the tape, and then digitizes it. 1110 Restoring Projects Restoring a Project Archived on Multiple Tapes You can restore a project whose media was archived on multiple tapes. As the project files are archived with each tape, you must be careful not to overwrite your project files. n In order for cache media to be recognized, master clip media must be present. Thus, to make sure the video caches link properly, restore tape 1 (master clip media) before you restore tape 2 (video caches). For information about archiving a project on multiple tapes, see “Creating a Complete Archive on Multiple Tapes” on page 1099. To restore a project archived on multiple tapes: 1. Select Data Management > Project Manager. 2. Select the Restore tab. 3. In the Archive Folder text box, type the location of the archived project file that you want to restore, or click Browse to search for the file. 4. In the Project Name text box, specify the folder in which you want to place the restored files. 5. From the Options box, select the Select media to restore option to restore the audio media files. The Media Options (1/2) dialog box is displayed. 6. Since you want to restore the complete project, leave this dialog box inactive and click OK. The Media Options (2/2) dialog box is displayed. 7. Select the audio media and audio cache file options, and then click OK. 8. Click the Restore button. After the project data and audio media files are restored, you can begin restoring the video and cache files. 9. Repeat steps 2 to 8, but this time restore your video media files. When Avid DS Nitris asks you if you would like to skip the restoration of the project information, click Yes. By choosing Yes, you are only restoring the video media files and not overwriting the project data. 1111 Chapter 12 Media Management 10. Repeat steps 1 to 7 again, but this time restore the video cache files. Your entire project with media and cache files are now restored. You can open the project from the Project Manager and work with your sequences. Restoring a Project with Different Frame Rates You can restore projects that contain sequences of different frame rates, such as NTSC and PAL. To restore a project with different frame rates: 1. Open a new NTSC sequence. 2. Connect Avid DS Nitris to an NTSC deck. 3. Insert the tape with the project you want to restore. 4. Open the Project manager and select the Restore tab. 1112 Restoring Projects 5. In the Archive Folder text box, type the location of the archived project file that you want to restore, or click the Browse button to search for the file. 6. Click the Select media to restore button. 7. In the dialog box that opens, select the options for restoring the video media and video caches, as well as the audio media and audio caches. 8. Click the Restore button. The NTSC media is restored. 9. To restore the PAL sequences in your project, start a new PAL sequence. 10. Connect Avid DS Nitris to a PAL deck. 11. Repeat steps 3 to 8. The restoration is complete. All PAL and NTSC media and caches should be present in the project. 1113 Chapter 12 Media Management Moving Projects to Another Workstation You can easily move your project files to another Avid DS Nitris workstation. Simply archive your files with or without the associated media, copy them to a folder on the new workstation, configure the media storages so that they match those of the machine on which the project was archived, and then restore the project. You cannot restore a project if it already exists in an Avid DS Nitris workgroup. You restore the project only on a system that belongs to a different workgroup or if the original project was deleted after archiving. n If you want to move individual media files, see “Moving Media” on page 1084. To move a project to another workstation: 1. Archive your project to a location on the network—see “Archiving Projects” on page 1093. n Make a note of your current storage paths, so that you can easily configure the storages on the new workstation where you will be restoring your project. 2. On the new workstation, make sure that you’ve configured the same storage areas as the machine on which you archived your project—see the “Maintaining your Storage Locations” of the Avid DS Nitris Installation and Administration Guide. 3. Restore your project from the network location—see “Restoring Projects” on page 1105. 1114 Deleting Projects Deleting Projects When you no longer need a project, archive it first and then delete it from your system. For more information, see “Archiving Projects” on page 1093. When you delete a project, the project folder, project files, and all media associated with the project are deleted. To delete a project: 1. Close the project that you want to delete. 2. Select Data Management > Project Manager. 3. From the Project Manager, select the Delete tab. 4. Select a project to delete by selecting it from the list of displayed projects. 5. Click Delete. 1115 Chapter 12 Media Management You are prompted to confirm your decision. 6. Click Yes to delete the project and its media. 1116 Deleting Clips Deleting Clips When you first capture media into Avid DS Nitris, a master clip is created in a bin in the Avid Explorer to represent the digitized media on your storage device. If you no longer require the master clip, you can delete the clip from the project. Be careful when you delete a master clip, because deleting a clip can also delete its associated media, depending on the option that you choose. Since master clips and their media are stored separately, you can delete the media, but keep the clip so that you can later recapture the media. For more information, see “Purging Media” on page 1087. For a comparison of deleting and purging, see “Example: Purging versus Deleting Media” on page 1092. You delete subclips the same way you delete master clips. n For information on deleting a sequence, see “Deleting Sequences” on page 702. To delete a clip from a bin: 1. In an Avid Explorer bin, select the clip or clips that you want to delete. You cannot delete a clip while it is displayed in the Source viewer 2. Right-click a selected clip, and select one of the following: t Delete Clip & Unused Media: Deletes the clip. Also deletes the media for the clip if the media is not used in a sequence or in another master clip in the current project. If the media is being used, then only the clip is deleted and not the media. t Delete Clip & All Media: Deletes the clip and associated media even if this clip or its media is used elsewhere. Although this is a quick way to create more disk space on your drive, it can be risky. You should only do this when you’re absolutely sure that you no longer need the media associated with this clip. A dialog box asks you to confirm the deletion. Click Yes. n Selecting the Delete option under the Windows section of the menu or pressing the Delete key deletes the selected master clips, but does not delete the associated media. 1117 Chapter 12 Media Management A progress bar is displayed, showing that the delete is in progress. You can click Cancel to stop the delete process. n 1118 You can also delete clips by using the Media Tool—see “Using the Media Tool” on page 1075. Viewing Information about Storage Devices Viewing Information about Storage Devices The Media property page of the Project Manager gives you detailed information on your storage devices. You can find out the exact location and size of your storage, the free disk space available, and the percentage that is full. It provides information on which projects have associated media on the device and lets you delete media folders. To view information about storage devices: 1. Select Data Management > Project Manager. 2. From the Project Manager, select the Media tab. 1119 Chapter 12 Media Management 1120 Compositing and Graphics This book provides information about compositing and effects. For links to specific sections, see the following topics: • Compositing • Using Effects Trees • Keying • Color Correcting Images • Transforming Images • Tracking • Paint Effects • Workflow: Painting and 2D Titling • 3D DVE and 3D Titling • Image Effects Related Topics Compositing Reference Color Correction Reference Image Effects Reference Paint & Titling Reference 1122 Chapter 1 Compositing The Compositing chapter of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide introduces you to the basics of compositing, compositing methods, and the compositing layout. It also covers basic compositing concepts such as the composite container clip and layer effects. It is important that you read and understand the Compositing chapter of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide and complete the provided tutorials before working on the procedures in this chapter. This chapter introduces the Effects Tree as a compositing method and covers advanced compositing topics such as premultiplication, working with Photoshop files, and processing. Chapter 1 Compositing Quick Recap: Compositing Here is a quick recapitulation of the Compositing chapter of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide. Below are answers to basic questions, which you should know by now, that will help you understand the material presented in this chapter. Question Answer What is Compositing? The layering of two or more images together to form one new integrated image. What is a matte? A grayscale image that defines the transparency of an image when it is composited over another. It lets you isolate and protect specific parts of the image while compositing. What is the difference between An internal matte is part of the image that is stored in the alpha channel. An an internal matte and an external matte can either be created from scratch by using an effect such as the external matte? keyer, provided as a separate clip, or come from another image. For more information, see “Working with Mattes” on page 1136. What is a composite container clip? A clip on the timeline that lets you layer video clips. An opened container clip displays the video clips on multiple tracks and the result is a single clip on the top timeline of the Editing layout. You can apply effects on individual clips inside the container or on the entire composite container clip. Remember that when compositing with layers, you are working within a composite container clip as soon as you switch to the Compositing layout. What is the Layers view? The Layers view is part of the Compositing layout. It displays the content of the composite container clip in a layer format and lets you reorder layers, animate, add effects, and apply blending operations. For more information, see “Working with the Layers View” on page 1129. What are the 4 effects that you • can apply to a layer? • What is the result area? 1124 Color Correction DV • Graphics • Keyer The result area is the part of the Layers view that displays the final composite of all layers both for RGB and alpha channels. Using the Effects Tree to Composite Using the Effects Tree to Composite In the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide you learned about two methods of compositing. • Simple track compositing which lets you composite in the Editing layout by adding video tracks to the timeline and placing clips on the video tracks. An advantage of using this method is that when compositing you can see your clips in context of the timeline. • Compositing using layers which lets you work in the Compositing layout with composite container clips and the Layers view. The Layers view has a great advantage in that it provides a visual interface when layering your clips. It is also useful when importing Photoshop files as each “Photoshop” layer occupies its own layer in the Layers view as a linked image file in Avid DS Nitris. For more information, see “Working with Layered Photoshop Images” on page 1163 and “Working with the Layers View” on page 1129. The third method is compositing with the Effects Tree. The Effects Tree in the Compositing layout is a powerful tool that lets you create and manage complex multi-layered effects and composites. It shows the relationship between effects and images in a pictorial format. It is made up of nodes: the graphical representation of the input images, and the resulting output. Nodes are joined by connectors, which connect input and output ports. Input node Connector Effects nodes Port Output node • Input nodes represent the source image from a track in the Layers view or from a clip and its effects on the timeline. • Effects nodes represent each effect applied or added to the Effects Tree. Each effect node reads an input image, processes the image, and gives a specific output image as the result. • Output nodes represent the output image of the Effects Tree. The result of all the nodes is fed to the output node which is displayed in the viewer. 1125 Chapter 1 Compositing n You can build and apply an Effects Tree to a clip, track, layer, or as a transition. Each method has its advantages. For more information. see “Using Effects Trees” on page 1171. There are a number of advantages for using the Effects Tree: n • You can have complex interactions between layers • Ability to add multi-input effects. You can apply any combination of image effects in the Effects Tree. • You can reuse the treatment of an element repeatedly within a composite • You can apply blending operations by using the Composite node—see “Applying Blending Operations in the Effects Tree” on page 1211. Tip: To work more quickly in the Effects Tree, use the keyboard shortcuts. Select Help > Keyboard Shortcuts. You can also set the default preferences for your Effects Tree in the User Preferences dialog box. Select File > User Preferences (Effects Tree property page). For more information, see “Using Effects Trees” on page 1171. 1126 Relationship within the Compositing Layout Relationship within the Compositing Layout It is important that you understand the relationship between the different elements of the Compositing layout in order to work efficiently without getting lost within the layout. It is made up of 3 significant parts that interact with each other: • The composite container timeline • The Layers view • The Effects Tree The result area and the viewer displays the final composite of all your layers and Effects Trees The order the images appear in the Layers view corresponds to the order of the images on the timeline of the composite container Adding an image to the Layers view or to the Effects Tree as input, adds a new track in the timeline of the composite container You can build an Effects Tree per layer letting you combine multiple images on one layer, which serves as the input to the layer above it. 1127 Chapter 1 Compositing n 1128 Adding layers to the Layers view adds a new track on the timeline, but not in the Effects Tree and vice versa. Similarly, adding an image as input in the Effects tree adds a new track on the timeline. For more information, see “Adding Layers” on page 1129 and “Adding or Removing Inputs To and From an Effect Node” on page 1179. Working with the Layers View Working with the Layers View In the Layers view, you can work with video images independently of each other. For example, you can animate, track, apply effects, or apply opacity per layer. For more information on the Effects Tree, see “Working with the Effects Tree” on page 1178. Adding Layers When you create a composite container clip for compositing, the clips that you select are automatically added as layers in the Layers view. You can create additional layers by placing clips on new tracks on the timeline. To add layers, do one of the following: t Drag a clip from a bin to the Layers view. The clip forms a new layer in the composite and is placed on a track. Any other clips that you add to this track on the timeline are also part of that layer. t From a bin, drag a clip to the timeline ribbon of the timeline. Timeline ribbon The track forms a new layer in the composite. Any other clips that you add to this track on the timeline are also part of that layer. n If you don’t want to immediately add a clip to a layer, right-click while dragging a clip from a bin to the timeline ribbon. This will create a track on the timeline. This is especially useful if you want to create mattes on the timeline and assign them later as external mattes to layers in the Layers view. 1129 Chapter 1 Compositing Reordering Layers Layers are composited from the bottom to the top. You can change the order of the layers at any time during the compositing session. You can also change the resulting matte by reordering the external mattes of a layer. To reorder layers, do one of the following: Layer button n t Drag the Layer button to a new position on the Layers view. t Right-click a layer and select one of the following: - First to move the matte to the left most position. - Left to move the matte one position to the left. - Right to move the matte one position to the right. - Last to move the matte to the right most position. If you don't want to animate layers when you reorder them, deselect the Autokey button before changing the order of your layers. Renaming Layers Layers and tracks are named according to the name of the first clip on the track. Layers are also named consecutively as you add them, beginning with L1 (layer). Each layer RGB thumbnail contains the name of the layer, as well as the name of its corresponding track on the timeline. As you add tracks or layers, you can rename them. If you rename a track, its new name will also be updated in the Layer RGB thumbnail. n Although the track name is displayed in the Layer RGB thumbnail, you can only rename it from the Track or Layer Name property editors. For more information, see “Changing Track Properties” on page 730 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. Layer name 1130 Track name Working with the Layers View To rename a layer: 1. Right-click an empty area of a layer and select Layer Name. 2. In the Layer Name dialog box, type a new name, and click OK. Scrolling Layers As you add more layers to your composite, the layers at the bottom of the timeline scroll off the bottom of the Layers view. Similarly, as you add more matte functions to a layer, they scroll to the right or left of the screen. You can scroll the layers vertically and horizontally to display any layers or mattes that may be hidden from view. Vertical scroll bar Horizontal scroll bar To scroll layers vertically: 1. Click the textured gray area (vertical scroll bar) to the left of the layer controls. 2. When the hand button appears, drag up or down to view additional layers. To scroll layers horizontally: 1. Click the textured gray area (horizontal scroll bar) above the view switcher. 2. When the hand button appears, drag left or right to view additional mattes on the layer. Navigating Through Layers When working with multiple layers in the Layers view, you can navigate through the layers. This is handy when you have an Effects Tree per layer that you want to edit. 1131 Chapter 1 Compositing To navigate through layers: 1. Click a layer in the Layers view. 2. Do one of the following: t Shift + Right Arrow (>) to move to the next layer. t Shift + Left Arrow (<) to move to the previous layer. Loading a Layer Effect in the Layers View When working in the Layers view, you can replace the Key effect by loading an effect from the Keyer property editor. To load a new layer effect: 1. Click a layer in the Layers view. 2. Click the Key effect. 3. In the Blue-Green Keyer property editor, click the Load Preset button. 4. In the Load Preset dialog box, select an effect and click OK. The Key effect in the Layers view is replaced with the loaded effect. The Key button is also replaced with an Fx button. 5. Click the layer effect button to edit the properties of the effect. 1132 Working with the Layers View Animating Layers When compositing clips in a container clip, you can animate the order of the layers in the composite, as well as the transparency of each layer. Once the animation is created, you can process the clip to view the animated frames in real time. You can adjust the animated properties or remove the animation at any time, and animate the process of creating animation using the Autokey button. For more information, see “Editing Animation” on page 989 and “Setting Keyframes Automatically” on page 964 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. Animating the Order of Layers The Autokey button at the bottom of the Layers view lets you change the order of the layers over time. When the layer ordering has been animated, this button turns red. To animate the order or appearance of the layers: 1. Use the transport controls to advance the clip to a frame in which you want the animation to begin. 2. Reorder your layers by dragging the track button of a layer to a new position. 3. Click the Autokey button at the bottom of the Layers view to set a keyframe. When a keyframe is set, the Autokey button turns red. If the position indicator is on a frame that is not a keyframe, the button turns green. 4. Advance to the next frame in which you want to change the layer order and change the layer’s order. Once an initial keyframe has been set, you no longer need to click the Autokey button as keyframes are created automatically when you change the layer’s order (simulating Autokey behavior). 5. Continue adding as many keyframes as needed. 1133 Chapter 1 Compositing Adjusting the Opacity of a Layer There are two ways available for adjusting the opacity of a layer: Opacity, the default, which is applied before a composite and Mix, which is applied after the composite. Right-click the Layer menu and select either option. For more information, see “Layer Menu” in the Help. Use the opacity controls to decrease or increase the opacity of a layer to make it more or less transparent when composited over other layers. To adjust the opacity: 1. Do one of the following: t Drag the opacity slider up or down. t Click in the Opacity Level indicator, type a value and press Enter. Opacity level Opacity slider 2. Select the check box to the left of the Opacity Level indicator to apply the opacity to a layer. Animating the Transparency of a Layer The Autokey button at the bottom of the Layers view lets you animate the transparency levels of a matte over time. When a layer has been animated, this button turns red. To animate the transparency of a layer: 1. Use the transport controls to advance the clip to a frame in which you want the animation to begin. 2. Click the Autokey button at the bottom of the Layers view to set a keyframe. When a keyframe is set, the Autokey button turns red. If the position indicator is on a frame that is not a keyframe, the button turns green. 3. Adjust the opacity control on one or more of the layers by moving the slider or entering a value in the Opacity text box. 1134 Working with the Layers View 4. Click the Autokey button again. Depending on the accuracy you need, you can move frame by frame or set larger intervals between animated points. You can also adjust the opacity of a layer in the Effects Tree using the Composite effect node. For more information, see “Compositing Two Layers” on page 1198. Removing Layers and External Mattes If you want to remove a layer from the composite, you can easily delete it from the Layers view without deleting the clips on the tracks. You can also remove any external mattes that you no longer want, but you cannot remove the original matte. To remove a layer from the composite: t On the Layers view, right-click a layer and select Remove Layer. To remove external mattes: t Right-click the external matte of a layer and select Delete. The external matte is removed from the layer. 1135 Chapter 1 Compositing Working with Mattes The information in each pixel of an image is comprised of four channels (or components): R, G, B, and A (the alpha channel). When compositing, the alpha channel is very important. It specifies the transparency of each pixel, allowing portions of the foreground image to reveal or block out the background image when two images are overlaid. There are three instances: • The clip already has a matte in its alpha channel which is preserved when capturing. • The clip does not have a matte and in order to use it for compositing you are required to create one in its alpha channel. • You are provided with a matte clip to use for compositing. This clip is known as an external matte. Using Clips with Internal Mattes When you capture material, you can preserve the clip’s matte in the alpha channel and immediately use it for compositing. In the example shown here, the simple compositing method has been used to layer two video tracks in the Editing layout. The video track that is being used as the foreground in the composite has a clip with an internal matte. Clip with matte in alpha channel. Video track used as the foreground Video track used as the background 1136 The result in the viewer. The composite is possible because the overlaid clip contains a matte in its alpha channel. Working with Mattes When compositing using the video tracks in the Editing layout (simple track compositing) and you apply a DVE or Picture-in-Picture effect to a clip, a matte is automatically created using the parameters you specify in the DVE property editor. DVE effect Foreground video track Once you create the composite, you can enhance it by adding effects, such as color correction, blurs, graphics, and so on. n On video tracks, you cannot apply a Matte Composite operation with external mattes nor can you adjust the transparency or animate the order of the layers. If you need to perform any of these tasks, build your composite within a composite container clip. For more information, see “Using Composite Container Clips” on page 287 of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started. Using Clips without Mattes in the Alpha Channel Every foreground clip must have a matte in its alpha channel to form a composite. When you import or capture clips in Avid DS Nitris, each clip will have an alpha channel. If the captured clip does not have a matte in its alpha channel, you must create one using a number of effects such as the keyer, matte, or graphics effect, in order to use it in a composite. Clips that do not have a matte will have a full (white) alpha channel when you view the alpha channel. For more information, see “Viewing Mattes” on page 1140. You can create a matte on the timeline or the Layers view. 1137 Chapter 1 Compositing Creating a Matte by Using a Keyer Keying creates a matte by keying a matte on the foreground clip based on the RGB, HSL, or YCbCr color values. You can then composite the foreground clip over a background clip, as shown here: Blue-Green keyer effect. Video track with foreground clip The result in the viewer Video track with background clip For more information, see “Keying” on page 1217. Using the Shapes Tools By using the shapes tools in the Matte effect property editor, you can create mattes on material that do not have mattes. You can also further use it to cleanup the alpha channel of a matte. Foreground clip with a matte effect Foreground clip Resulting composite Background clip Matte created with the shapes tool 1138 Working with Mattes To use the shapes tool to create a matte: 1. Apply a matte effect to the clip. 2. Select the Shapes tab. 3. In the Shapes Creations, select a tool. 4. Draw the shape. 5. To view the matte that you created, right-click the viewer and select Alpha Component > Matte. The layer’s matte is displayed as a grayscale image. For more information, see “Creating Mattes” on page 1467. Creating a Matte on the Timeline When you want to composite an image on a video track and the image does not have a matte in its alpha channel, you can create one using a keyer, matte, or graphics effect. To create a matte on the timeline: 1. Right-click a clip and select Add Clip Effect. 2. From the Load Preset dialog box, select a keyer, the Matte effect, or the Graphics effect. t Keyer effects such as the Luminance or Chroma keyers extract the alpha component based on the luminance or color thresholds in an image—see “About Keying” on page 1218. t The Matte effect lets you touch up an existing matte, or create one from scratch—see “Matte Effect” in the Help. t The Graphics effect lets you create your own matte—see “Painting and 2D Titling” on page 1383. 3. To view the matte that you created, right-click the viewer and select Alpha Component > Matte. The layer’s matte is displayed as a grayscale image. 1139 Chapter 1 Compositing Creating a Matte on a Layer You can create use the Layers view to create mattes on each layer which are combine to produce a final composite. You can further use the matte blending operations, see “Applying Blending Operations in the Layers View” on page 1150. To create a matte on a layer: 1. On a layer in the Layers view, click the Key button. The Blue-Green Keyer property editor is displayed by default. n Tip: To load a different keyer, click the Load Preset button and select a different keyer from the \Keyer folder. 2. Create your matte by keying out specific luminance or chrominance values. The matte is displayed in the Layer Alpha thumbnail. Layer Alpha thumbnail Key button on the layer A checkmark beside the Key button indicates that the key is activated. When the key is deselected, it is not used in the overall composite until you select it again. Viewing Mattes While creating your matte, it is a good idea to view the matte from time to time. To view the matte, do one of the following: t In the Viewer tools, click the Viewer Alpha (Full) button. t Right-click the viewer and select Alpha Component > Matte. t When using any keyer effect, go to the Key property page and select the Output Matte option. The layer’s matte is displayed as a grayscale image. 1140 Working with Mattes n Tip: You can also combine mattes and change how layers are composited using blend and matte operations. For more information, see“Applying Blending Operations in the Layers View” on page 1150 Using External Mattes in the Timeline and Layers View An external matte is a matte taken from one clip and applied to another. External mattes may already exist with a clip or you can create one by adding a keyer effect on the clip. You can also use the alpha or RGB component of another clip as the external matte. In the example for “Using the Shapes Tools” on page 1138, the matte created can be applied to another clip as an external matte. Sometimes, you may be provided with a matte clip that you use for compositing. There are three methods for adding external mattes: using matte containers, using the Layers view, and using the Effects Tree. For the Effects Tree method, see “Using External Mattes in the Effects Tree” on page 1197. RGB clip without a matte Composite result Background clip External matte clip Using Matte Containers on the Timeline The greatest advantage of using this method is that you can work entirely in the Editing layout. The matte container lets you layer video clips on two fixed tracks: the Fill and Matte tracks. It allows you to combine separate RGB channels of an image with an alpha channel that was created from channels of another image. It has the following properties: 1141 Chapter 1 Compositing • The two tracks labeled Fill and Matte are fixed • Tracks cannot be added or deleted • Although the tracks can be renamed and recorded, they way they are connected cannot be changed • Matte containers are real-time and hardware real-time • Like the composite container, when it is closed, the result is displayed as a single clip on the top timeline. To add an external matte using the matte container: 1. Right-click a clip in the Avid Explorer that you want to use as the background and drag it to a video track in the timeline. 2. Create another video track. 3. Right-click the clip without a matte in its alpha channel that you want use as the foreground to the second video track. 4. Create a matte composite using one of the following methods: n t Right-click the clip that you want to use in the matte container and select Create Matte Container. t Click the Container button in the Toolbar and select Matte Container You can only create a matte container from a single clip selection. 5. Click the Viewer Alpha (Full) button to see the alpha channel of the clip. Notice that there is not matte on the alpha. 6. Right-click the external matte clip in the Avid Explorer and drag it to the Matte track of the matte container. 1142 Working with Mattes 7. Click the Viewer Alpha (Full) button to see the alpha channel of the clip. Notice that there is a matte on the alpha channel which has been derived from the external matte clip. 8. Step out of the container to return to the Editing layout and to see the final composite. n Tip: From inside the matte container, use the Reconnect Viewer button in the Viewer Tools to connect to the top timeline. For more information, see “Reconnect Viewer Menu” in the Help. 9. To set matte’s properties, right-click the matte container and select Matte Properties. This option is also available when working inside the matte container. select this option when inside the container. n If you get a halo or black outline after compositing, you should check the premultiplication settings. For more information, see “Compositing with Premultiplied Images” on page 1153. Using External Mattes on Layers You can add as many external mattes as you wish to each layer in the composite. You can also combine or blend them using matte blending operations to produce the desire effect. The mattes are blended in the order in which the appear. For more information, see “Applying Blending Operations in the Layers View” on page 1150. n Tip: You can also combine mattes in an Effects Tree by using the Matte Composite or Key Combiner effect. For more information, see “Compositing Multiple Mattes” on page 1209 and “Key Combiner (Alpha or Luma)”. To add an external matte to a layer: 1. If you are in the Editing layout, make sure that the background clip on the timeline is selected and switch to the Compositing layout. This clips forms a layer in the Layers view. 2. From the Avid Explorer, drag the clip without a matte in its alpha that you want to use as the foreground to the Layers view. 1143 Chapter 1 Compositing The result of the composite does not show background because the foreground clip does not have a matte A new layer is formed in the Layers view and a new track is created with the clip in the timeline. 3. Right-click the external matte clip in the Avid Explorer and drag it to the timeline ribbon of the timeline. When you see a shadow over the timeline ribbon, release the clip. The clip is automatically placed on a new track on the timeline, but does not form a layer in the Layers view. 4. Click the track button of the external matte and drag it to the Layer Alpha thumbnail. Composite result External alpha Track button 1144 Working with Mattes The clip’s matte is added to the right of the layer’s existing matte. The two mattes are combined with the default matte composite operation (Min.) and the results are displayed in the Layer Alpha thumbnail. A layer with an external matte Matte Expand Layer Alpha Matte controls Original Alpha External Matte 5. To change the matte operation between the mattes, right-click the Matte control and select an operation—see “Applying Blending Operations in the Layers View” on page 1150. n Tip: If the mattes are partially obscured by the viewer, use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the Layers view to see the external mattes. 6. Right-click the External Matte thumbnail (of this newly added matte) and select one of the following: - Alpha to use the external clip’s alpha component as a matte. - RGB to create a matte based on the RGB components of the external clip. Combining Mattes You can add an unlimited number of external mattes to a layer, and then combine them to produce the desired result. When you add several mattes to a layer, the mattes are combined using Boolean logic. To combine mattes on the same layer: 1. On the layer, make sure the two mattes to be combined are arranged next to each other. 2. Right-click the Matte Controls button between the two mattes and select a blend operation. The combined matte appears in the Layer Matte thumbnail. 1145 Chapter 1 Compositing Matte expand Layer matte Matte controls Original matte External matte For more information, see “Matte Controls Menu” in the Help. 1146 Working with Masks Working with Masks A powerful feature when compositing is the ability to apply an effect to certain channels (channel masking) or to certain pixels using a mask (pixel masking). Masks are an image, portion, or component of an image that defines where an effect will be applied. They can come from the current image’s alpha channel, or from an external clip’s R,G,B, luma, or alpha channel. For example, on the Masking property page of an effect, if you select the red channel in the Process box, and the alpha channel in the Mask box, then the effect will only be applied to the red channel using the alpha channel of the input clip as a mask. Applying Channel or Pixel Masking When using channel or pixel masking when 8-bit precision is used, SuperBlack and SuperWhite information (full YCbCr range) is not preserved: Effects are set to 8-bit precision when: • In the Options property page, the Precision has been set to Auto with the sequence’s preference Precision set to 8-bit • In the Options property page, the Precision has been set to 8-bit • Using some DS effects that do not support 16-bit or 32-bit/Float precision (such as Impressionist or Painterly effects). • Using some third-party effects that do not support 16-bit or 32-bit/Float precision. 1147 Chapter 1 Compositing The following example shows you the results using a combination of channel and pixel masking: Original image 1148 Blur applied to RGB channels (channel masking) Blur applied to red channel only (channel masking) Blur applied to RGB channels, using alpha as a mask (channel & pixel masking) Image’s alpha channel Working with Masks To apply channel or pixel masking: 1. On the Masking property page of an effect, select the channels on which you want the effect to be applied from the Process box. Pixel masking options Channel masking options 2. From the Mask box, select one of the following: - None to apply the effect to the entire image. - Alpha to apply the effect using the clip’s alpha channel as a mask. - Mask Input to apply the effect using a matte from another image or effect in an Effects Tree only. 3. From the Process box, select the channels on which to apply the effect. Using Alpha and Luma as Mask When compositing images in the Layers view or the Effects tree, you can apply a number of blending operations. For more information, see “Applying Blending Operations in the Layers View” on page 1150. You can use the alpha or luma in the foreground image to mask the blending operation against the background. To use the Alpha or Luma as Mask: 1. In the Layers view, right-click the blending operation under the Layer RGB thumbnail. 2. Select Use Alpha as Mask or Use Luma as Mask. n If you are working with a Composite effect node in the Effects Tree, use the alpha or luma as a mask options by right-clicking the blending operation. 1149 Chapter 1 Compositing Applying Blending Operations in the Layers View When compositing clips using the Layers view or the Effects Tree, you can apply blending operations between the RGB and alpha components of the image or the matte. You can also apply blending operations to external mattes on a layer. The operations differ between the RGB and alpha channels. Most RGB operations that you select are automatically applied to the alpha channel. You can, however, change the alpha operation separately. On a layer, the two images or mattes are combined with the default operation (Over) and displayed in the result area. For more information, see “Interlayer Alpha Menu and Interlayer RGB Menu” in the Help. Result area Layer operations for RGB and alpha channels. n In the Effects Tree, the blending operations are available in the Composite node. To combine multiple mattes in an Effects Tree, use the Matte Composite effect. For more information see “Compositing Multiple Mattes” on page 1209. To apply blend operations on a layer: t Right-click the RGB or alpha operator between the two layers on which you want to apply the operation, and select an operator from the menu. The results of the composite appear in the result area at the top of the Layers view. 1150 Applying Blending Operations in the Layers View Blend Operations To apply external matte operations on a layer: 1. Right-click the matte controls between the mattes and select an operator. Matte controls 2. Right-click the External Matte thumbnail and select RGB or Alpha. 1151 Chapter 1 Compositing External matte set to Alpha 1152 External matte set to RGB Compositing with Premultiplied Images Compositing with Premultiplied Images Images that contain an alpha channel could be either premultiplied or not. Premultiplication is a mathematical process where the RGB channels of an image are multiplied with their corresponding alpha channel values. How can you tell if an image has already been premultiplied? It’s best to check with the artist if the image was premultiplied or not. But if you cannot do this, you may be able to tell by looking at the RGB and alpha channels of the image, or the results after the image is composited with another. A premultiplied source is one which the RGB channels have been multiplied by the alpha channel. If both the RGB and alpha channels contain black in the same areas, it’s a good indication that the image is premultiplied. RGB channels Alpha channel A non-premultiplied source is one which the RGB channels are independent from the alpha channel. If the black areas of the alpha channel and the same areas of the RGB channel are different, it’s a good indication that the image is not premultiplied. RGB channels Alpha channel 1153 Chapter 1 Compositing The Science behind Premultiplication Having premultiplied images simplifies the compositing process as it avoids the additional operation of multiplying the RGB channels with the alpha channel. If Avid DS Nitris is given the correct indication about a premultiplied image, then the proper result is obtained when it is placed over the background. The soft edges blend well with the background and there are no noticeable artifacts. If the incorrect indication is given, then Avid DS Nitris either applies the premultiplication operation again on an image that is already premultiplied, or does not apply it at all on an image that should be premultiplied. The following table shows the results of composited images with different premultiplication settings. Keep in mind that the actual compositing operation, called Over, is as follows: (RGB Foreground × α) + (1 -α) × RGB Background = Result Type of material Set to Result Premultiplied Premultiplied Correct. Since you informed Avid DS Nitris that the RGB channel has been multiplied with the alpha channel, it will not perform the premultiplication. Operation: [Foreground x α] + (1 -α) × Background Premultiplied Not premultiplied Incorrect. These results may cause a black line to appear around the edge of your image where it should be transparent and antialiased. Operation: [Foreground × α] × α + (1 - α) × Background The alpha channel is multiplied twice. Not premultiplied Not premultiplied Correct. Since you informed Avid DS Nitris that the RGB channel has not been multiplied with the alpha channel, Avid DS Nitris will do the premultiplication. Operation: [Foreground] × α + (1 - α) × Background 1154 Compositing with Premultiplied Images Type of material Set to Result Not premultiplied Premultiplied Incorrect. These results can cause transparent areas of the foreground to be displayed much brighter than they should. This happens because you informed Avid DS Nitris that the image is already premultiplied when in fact it is not, causing the entire foreground to be added to the background rather than just areas specified by the alpha channel. Operation: [Foreground] + (1 - α) × Background The RGB channel is not multiplied by alpha channel. Therefore the foreground gets “ADDed” to the background. n You can force a multiplication between alpha and RGB channels for those effects or clips that have an unpremultiplied alpha on video tracks. You must select the Force Premultiplication Output option in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. If you select this option, all effects will no longer be real-time playable. For more information see “Video Property Page (Sequence Preferences)” in the Help. 1155 Chapter 1 Compositing Importing Source Files with an Alpha Channel When using computer-generated images or sequences in your composites, it’s important to indicate if the source has been premultiplied or not when you import the source file into Avid DS Nitris. You can set and change the premultiplication The alpha channel of the circle has a matte that has softness around the edges (transparency). If the premultiplication setting is If the premultiplication setting is incorrect, dark areas appear around correct, there is no dark halo. the edges of the circle when composited over a background image. Setting the Premultiplication Option You can always set the option before importing to avoid getting unexpected results or artifacts in your composite. To set the appropriate premultiplied option: 1. Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Capture Settings. 2. In the Media Capture panel, select the Keep Alpha option. 3. If the source is premultiplied, select the Premultiplied Alpha option. 4. If the source is not premultiplied, deselect Premultiplied Alpha. Changing the Premultiplication Setting If you get unexpected results after compositing an imported image, such as a halo or black outline, it may be because the premultiplication setting is incorrect. You can change the premultiplication setting after you import the file. 1156 Compositing with Premultiplied Images To check the premultiplication setting: 1. In the Avid Explorer, right-click the clip and select Properties from the Avid DS Nitris menu. 2. On the File Info tab, check if the Premultiplied Alpha option is selected. To change the premultiplication setting in the Layers view: 1. If you are compositing in the Layers view, right-click the layer that contains the image whose premultiplication setting you want to change. By default Auto is selected. This indicates that the material will be composited according to the clip’s premultiplication setting. 2. Select Premultiplied or Not Premultiplied from the menu. n Tip: If you are compositing directly on the top timeline, you can apply the Premultiplication effect on the clip to change the setting. In the Premultiplication effect, the Modify Image option will change the outgoing image's RGB pixels by premultiplying or unpremultiplying the image as necessary. For more information, see “Applying the Premultiplication Effect” on page 1157. To change the premultiplication setting in an Effects Tree: 1. If you are using the Composite node in an Effect Tree, select the Premultiply tab. 2. Select the input that corresponds to the source file that you want to change and change the Premultiplication setting. Applying the Premultiplication Effect The Premultiplication effect lets you change a clip’s premultiplication setting. When you import material into Avid DS Nitris, you should specify whether the material is premultiplied or not. However, if you didn’t set the premultiplication when you imported the material or a clip’s premultiplication was incorrectly set, you can use the Premultiplication effect to change the clip’s setting. It also lets you change a clip’s premultiplication without having to first create a composite container clip. You can use this effect to change an outgoing image’s RGB pixels by premultiplying or undoing the premultiply in the image as necessary. 1157 Chapter 1 Compositing You can apply the Premultiplication effect to clips, tracks, or trees. To apply the Premultiplication effect: 1. Apply the Premultiplication effect to a clip, track, or tree. 2. From the effect’s property editor, select one of the following: - Premultiplied to flag the clip as premultiplied. - Not Premultiplied to flag the clip as not premultiplied. - Auto to maintain the clip’s current premultiplication state. Original image (note line around balloon) Premultiplication effect 3. Select the Modify Image option if you want to change the outgoing image’s RGB pixels by premultiplying or unpremultiplying the image as necessary. For example, if you choose Premultiplied in the Premultiplication State box, as well as the Modify Image option, then the RGB channel values will be multiplied by the alpha channel values to produce a premultiplied outgoing image. This option is useful when you work with unpremultiplied images and you need to add premultiplied information, such as antialiased text. When undoing the premultiplication, Avid DS Nitris attempts to remove the influence of the alpha channel from the RGB channels. This option is useful when working with a premultiplied image and you need to modify the alpha channel information separately from the RGB channels. 4. On the Masking property page, indicate whether or not you are using a mask for the effect. By default, the effect is applied to the RGB channels. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 5. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. 1158 Compositing with Premultiplied Images Click the Help button for detailed information on the Premultiplication properties. Automatic Changes to the Premultiplication Setting An image is no longer premultiplied after you modify the RGB or alpha channels separately. When dealing with a premultiplied source, you may have to perform the operations specified in the following table: Scenario Solution Applying an effect to a clip that modifies the alpha channel only (by selecting the Process Alpha option and deselecting the Process RGB options on the Masking property page) • Make sure the effect processed the RGBA channels by checking Masking property page • “Unpremultiply” the image using the procedure below Applying a graphics effect to a clip or layer, and “Unpremultiply” the image before applying the Graphics apply strokes only to the alpha or only to the effect RGB channels Applying a key (with the Keep Original Alpha Select the Force Premultiplication option from the Key option on) or matte effect to a clip property editor (Matte property page) Applying an external matte to a premultiplied source in the Layers view Before you apply the external matte, change the Premultiplication setting to Non-premultiplied To “unpremultiply” an image: 1. Apply the Premultiplication effect to the source clip—see “Applying the Premultiplication Effect” on page 1157. 2. On the General property page, select the Not Premultiplied option. 3. Click the Modify Image button. Compositing Clips over a Black Background You can composite a single layer or several layers over a black background. Whether you are using one or several layers, the bottommost layer will always be composited over black when the Force Premultiplied Output option is selected. Avid DS Nitris provides a simple method in which you can achieve this without having to first create a black background clip. 1159 Chapter 1 Compositing n Tip: If you want to composite against black in the video track, select the Force Premultiplied Output option in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. If you want to composite against black using the Composite effect node, double-click the node and in the Composite property editor, select the Force Premultiplied Output option. To composite clips over a black background using layers: 1. From the timeline, select a clip. 2. From the taskbar, click the Compositing button. A composite container clip is created and the Compositing layout is displayed. A layer is also created from the clip. 3. If the clip doesn’t have a matte, create one using a keyer, DVE, matte, or graphics effect. 4. Add more clips and layers to your composite. 5. Right-click an empty area of the Layers view deselect the Force Premultiplied Output option, if it’s not already deselected. The bottommost layer is composited over a black background. Force Premultiplied Output is deselected. Force Premultiplied Output is selected. Unpremultiplying with Color Often you will use clips that have been created in other applications such as Adobe Photoshop or Adobe After Effects. If the captured clip consists of a foreground image (and its matte in the alpha channel), which has been composited and premultiplied with a color background, you can apply the Unpremultiply with Color effect. It recovers the original foreground image 1160 Compositing with Premultiplied Images colors, especially in the semi-transparent and motion blur regions, keys out the background color and premultiplies it with a black background color, so you can use the clip for other compositing operations. This effect can also be applied to the Effects Tree. For more information, see “Unpremultiplying with Color in the Effects Tree” on page 1206. To unpremultiply with color on the timeline: 1. Using the simple track compositing method, composite the background and foreground clip on the timeline. The foreground image with a matte in its alpha channel Background image The composited result is displayed in the viewer.You’ll notice that dark areas appear around the edges of the text. When you view the matte, you will notice the softness around its edges. 1161 Chapter 1 Compositing A halo around the text indicates unwanted artifact The alpha channel of the text has a matte that has softness around the edges. 2. Click the track’s Solo button to only view the foreground image. Track Solo button 3. Apply an Unpremultiply with Color effect to the foreground image. The Unpremultiply with Color property editor is displayed. 4. From the Effects List, select Original Color. The Original Color property editor is displayed. 5. Click the Color Picker button. The cursor changes to the eyedropper cursor. 6. In the viewer, select the color that you want to remove and replace with black. 7. Click the track’s Solo button off to see the result in the viewer. 1162 Working with Layered Photoshop Images Working with Layered Photoshop Images When you capture a layered Photoshop image into Avid DS Nitris, each layer is an individual linked image file, and the layered result is imported as a sequence in the Avid Explorer. All applied blending or layer operations in Photoshop are maintained in the new Avid DS Nitris sequence. For more information, see “Capturing from Layered Adobe Photoshop Files” on page 477 of the Avid DS Nitris Capture and Output Guide. When you place a Photoshop sequence on the timeline, the composite is recreated in a composite container clip. When you open the container clip, layers are displayed in the Layers view and on the timeline. DVEs are applied to each clip to position them according to the original Photoshop image, and the opacity of each layer is adjusted to match the opacity levels in the original Photoshop image. n Tip: Layers that were hidden in the original Photoshop file will be displayed as part of the composite in Avid DS Nitris. After importing the file, you can mute the layers that you don’t want to use in the composite. Layers in Photoshop Opacity settings are matched in Avid DS Nitris. Text layers are rasterized. Layer effects are ignored in Avid DS Nitris. 1163 Chapter 1 Compositing Photoshop layers in Avid DS Nitris Opacity settings are matched All layers are visible DVE applied to each clip Outer glow layer effects are ignored In Avid DS Nitris, the following Photoshop features are supported: 1164 Feature Support in Avid DS Nitris Color spaces RGBA 8, 16-bit and grayscale (converted to RGBA 8-bit images) Text layers Text is rasterized on import Shape layers Shapes are rasterized on import Blending modes Normal only Working with Layered Photoshop Images Photoshop Layer Notes and Tips When you work with Photoshop layers in Avid DS Nitris, there may be times when you don’t get the same results as those in Photoshop. Try the following: • Import only RGB or grayscale images. • In Avid DS Nitris, try unmuting the background if it contains transparent areas and/or export the alpha channel. • In Photoshop, apply layer masks to the layer before you import them into Avid DS Nitris. Here are some points to consider when working with Photoshop layers. • Remember that text or shape layers are rasterized when you import them into Avid DS Nitris. • When the layered Photoshop file is recreated in Avid DS Nitris, the Output Frame Size option for each DVE is turned off by default to minimize the size of the sequence. This may create some hard edges on blur and drop shadow effects. To remove these hard edges, open the DVE property editor for that clip and select the Output Frame Size option. • Remember that effects are applied in a specific order. The order will affect the outcome of your shot. For layered Photoshop images, you should always apply effects after the DVE if you don’t want your material to suffer from hard edge cropping. For more information, see “Processing Composites” on page 1167. Using Photoshop Images Once you have imported the layered photoshop images, you can apply effects to each layer. To start using the Photoshop image: 1. Drag the Photoshop sequence to the timeline, and click the Container Clip button. Container clip button 1165 Chapter 1 Compositing The composite container clip is displayed in the Compositing layout. On each clip, a DVE is applied, positioning them according to their position in the Photoshop file. 2. Mute the layers that you don’t want to appear in the composite. 3. You can blend operations between layers and create effects on each layer. Deleting Imported Photoshop Files If you no longer need the sequence and master clips associated with the Photoshop file, you can delete them along with the corresponding media at any time. To delete the imported Photoshop file: 1. Select the folder that was created when you imported the file. 2. Right-click the folder and select Delete Clip & Unused Media. A message box is displayed, prompting you to confirm deletion of the Targa files in the \Linked Layers folder. 3. Click Yes to free up the maximum amount of disk space. The sequence, master clips, and Targa files are deleted. 1166 Processing Composites Processing Composites Most of the composites, effects, and effect nodes that you apply must be processed to see the results during a real-time playback. Avid DS Nitris processes each layer independently. It then combines the results from all layers to process the final composited image for each frame in your sequence. Processing is done by selection. You can process the entire sequence or a specific object in the sequence. Processing can also occur at different stages in your sequence. When you process a sequence with complex effects, Avid DS Nitris creates caches at incremental levels. This allows you to make changes to your effects at any level without having to reprocess the entire sequence. When processing the DVE effect, you may notice a slight difference in the quality of the realtime and the processed DVE. The difference may be more pronounced for DVEs that are partially processed (part of the clip is realtime, part is processed). In these cases, it is strongly recommended that you process the entire effect in order to remove the boundary between the realtime portion and the processed portion of the effect. 1167 Chapter 1 Compositing The operations in the Compositing layout are processed in the following order: 1 An effect applied to a clip inside the container clip. 2 Effects Tree Effect nodes applied to the Effects Tree 3 External mattes are processed from right to left. 4 Layer effects are processed from bottom to top 5 Composite and blend operations are processed between layers from bottom to top. The opacity of the matte is factored into the process. 1168 Processing Composites Processing Layered Clips on the Timeline When you layer clips on the timeline, whether it’s on the Editing layout or inside a container in the Compositing layout, the timeline ribbon will change color to indicate that processing is required. If the color is red, then you must process the clips in order to play them in real time. For more information, see “When is Processing Needed?” on page 873 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. n Tip: You can preview the resulting composite before processing all frames in the sequence. To view the sequence frame by frame, press Ctrl and click Play in the transport controls. To process the composite: 1. Select an object or specific time span on the timeline. 2. In the timeline controls, click the Process button. Process button Highlighted areas of timeline ribbon indicate unprocessed section of the sequence. 3. Select the appropriate options from the Processing Options dialog box. 4. Click OK to begin processing. A progress indicator appears at the bottom of your desktop to show the status of the process. A progress indicator appears at the bottom of your desktop to show the status of the process. You can Cancel the process at any time, or press the spacebar on your keyboard. n You can process the container clip while it is open or closed. 1169 Chapter 1 Compositing Processing Effect Nodes As you add effect nodes to the Effects Tree, you will notice that the timeline ribbon is highlighted indicating whether processing is required. One of the methods of processing quickly in the Effects Tree is by adding a cache before processing the entire or a section of the tree. When working with large trees, it is a good idea to add cache nodes between effect nodes to process the effects. This will let you play the effects up to the cache node in real time. For more information, see “Using Cache Nodes in the Effects Tree” on page 891 and “Creating Caches at Any Level” on page 887 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. To process a node: 1. Right-click a connector between two nodes and select Add Cache and Process. A cache node is added to the tree and the Processing Options dialog box is displayed. Cache node (indicated in yellow) added in Effects Tree 2. In the Processing Options dialog box, select the appropriate options. n To process more than one cache node at a time, add the cache nodes to the cache list and then select the Cache List option from the Processing Options dialog box. 3. Click OK to begin processing. 4. A progress indicator appears on the bottom of the desktop to show the status of the process. 1170 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Effects Trees are useful in creating and managing complex composites. This chapter describes how to apply and use effects trees to composite. Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Applying Effects Trees You can apply an Effects Tree on a clip or track on the timeline or on a Layer. You can also apply an Effects Tree as a transition on the timeline. You can also work directly in the Effects Tree of the Compositing layout. For more information, see “Working with the Effects Tree” on page 1178. Applying an Effects Tree on a Clip or Track You can build a quick Effects Tree on a clip or track when you want to apply an unlimited number of effects on a single clip or track. To apply an Effects Tree to a clip or track: 1. Apply a clip or track effect to a clip or track—see “Applying Effects” on page 210 of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started. 2. From the effect’s property editor, click the Load Preset button. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 3. From the Load Preset dialog box, select Effects Tree. An Effects Tree is applied to the clip or track, and the Effects Tree property editor is displayed. 4. From the Effects Tree property editor, click the Expand button. The Effects Tree view is displayed with the input as the clip or track on which you have applied the effects tree. You can now add effect nodes to the tree. For more information, “Working with the Effects Tree” on page 1178. Effects Tree applied to clip Effects applied in tree Input from clip 1172 Applying Effects Trees Applying an Effects Tree as a Transition With Effects Trees you can apply a transition between two clips that is composed of multiple effects. n If you build an Effects Tree on the top timeline, you can only have one image input when it is applied as a clip effect or a single-sided transition. You can have two image inputs when they are applied as a two-sided transition. To apply an Effects Tree as a transition: 1. On the timeline, select the edit point between two overlapping clips. 2. Apply a transition, such as a dissolve or wipe—see “Understanding Image Transition Effects” on page 844 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. 3. From the transition’s property editor, click the Load Preset button. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 4. From the \Image Transitions folder, select Effects Tree Transition. An Effects Tree is applied as a transition and the Effects Tree property editor is displayed. 5. From the Effects Tree property editor, click the Expand button. The Effects Tree view is displayed. 6. Add effects to the tree by right-clicking on an empty area of the view and selecting Add Effect. 7. From the \Image Transitions folder, select a transition effect. In the following example, a Morph transition was added as the transition in the Effects Tree. 8. Connect the inputs to the effect—see “Connecting Nodes” on page 1179. 1173 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Effects Tree applied as transition Clip inputs Transition effect Converting a Stack of Effects to an Effects Tree When working on the timeline, you may find yourself with stacks of effects on clips, track, or the timeline. To save on screen real estate, you can convert these stacks to an Effects Tree. Another advantage for converting a stack of effects to an Effects tree is that you can save the entire stack as a preset, which you can load to another Effects Tree. You can also select effects on clips, track, and the timeline that you want to be in an Effects Tree. To convert a stack of effects on a clip to an Effects Tree: 1. Select the clip or move. 2. Right-click the clip and select Convert Effects Stack to Tree. The stack of effects is replaced by one effect bar: the Effects Tree bar. 1174 Applying Effects Trees n Tip: To convert the stack of effects of more than one clip, select the clips and press Ctrl+9. An Effects Tree bar will replace the stacks on all selected clips. 3. Double-click the Effects Tree bar to open its property editor. 4. Click the Expand button. The Effects Tree view is displayed. 5. Optional: Save the effects in the Effects Tree as a preset. For more information, see “Loading and Saving Presets” on page 1393. To convert a selection of effects to an Effects Tree 1. Holding down the Ctrl key and select the effects that you want to be convert to an Effects Tree. n The effects need not be of one type; you can select clip, track or timeline effects for conversion. 2. With the Ctrl key is still pressed, right-click and select Effects to Tree. The selected effects are replaced by one effect bar: the Effects Tree bar. n Tip: After you make the selection, press Ctrl+9 to convert only the selected effects to an Effects Tree. 3. Double-click the Effects Tree bar to open its property editor. 1175 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees 4. Click the Expand button. The Effects Tree view is displayed. n The new Effects Tree bar occupies the total duration of the stack of effects. If there is an effect in the stack that has a Mix to Color effect before the conversion to the Effects Tree and has a shorter duration than that of the new Effects tree bar, the Mix to color effect will not be preserved. As seen in the effect’s property editor, the Mix to Color will be changed to Mix to Input so as to preserve its duration. Applying an Effects Tree on a Layer With Effects Trees, you can composite multiple inputs on a layer, and add an unlimited number of effects to these inputs. You can even add Effects Trees to more than one layer. n When you combine an Effects Tree with other effects on a layer, the tree acts as an input to the other effects. For example, if you create an Effects Tree and also use the Color Correction effect on the layer, then the Effects Tree acts as the input to the Color Correction effect and so on, working upwards through the effects on the layer. To apply an Effects Tree to a layer: 1. Select a clip on the timeline and click the Compositing button in the taskbar. 2. In the Compositing layout, select a layer in the Layers view. The Effects Tree view for the selected layer is displayed. Within the Effects Tree you can now add inputs and effects to the Effects Tree. For more information, see “Adding or Removing Inputs To and From an Effect Node” on page 1179 and “Adding Effect Nodes to a Tree” on page 1178. 1176 Applying Effects Trees Green button indicates an Effects Tree on a layer Timeline tracks input into Effects Tree n Tip: Each layer can have its own Effects Tree. To view the Effects Tree on a layer, right-click the layer and select Effects Tree (layer). Opening the Effects Tree View You can open an Effects Tree view for any effect on the timeline or on a layer. To open the Effects Tree view, do one of the following: t On a clip or track, press Ctrl while you double-click the effect bar above a clip/track. t On a layer, right-click the layer and select Effects Tree (layer). 1177 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Working with the Effects Tree In the Effects Tree, you can add unlimited effects, switch one input for another, delete effects, fold nodes, copy trees, and save tree presets. You can also save tree presets which you can apply to other clips or Effects Trees. Adding Effect Nodes to a Tree After you have accessed the Effects Tree view and decided where to apply your Effects Tree (on a clip, track, or layer), you can begin adding effects to it. Effects are represented as nodes in the Effects Tree view. To add effects to the Effects Tree, do one of the following: t Right-click an empty area of the Effects Tree view, and select Add Effect. In the Load Preset dialog box, select an effect. t From a toolbar, drag a preset and place it in an Effects Tree view. When you drag a preset from a toolbar or the Avid Explorer and place it on top of a highlighted connector, the preset is automatically inserted between the connected nodes. t From the Avid Explorer, navigate to the \FactoryPresets folder. Select one or more presets and drag them to an Effects Tree view. The effects are placed in the tree in the order in which you selected them. n Tip: You can select multiple effects in the Avid Explorer (Ctrl-click) and then press Ctrl while you drag them to the Effects Tree. The effects are added to the tree already connected to one another, and in the order in which you selected them. After you have added nodes to an effects tree, you can connect them together. For more information, see “Connecting Nodes” on page 1179. Adding Clips to the Effects Tree When you add clips to the Effects Tree, you are essentially adding input nodes that represent the image. Note that you will not be able to view the input node unless it is connected to the output node. When adding more than one clip, you can composite them using the Composite effect node which you must in turn connect to the output node—see “Compositing Multiple Images” on page 1199. 1178 Working with the Effects Tree Input nodes representing clips or images Effect Node To add an input node, do one of the following: t From the Avid Explorer, select a clip and drag it to the Effects Tree view. To select more than one clip, use the Ctrl or Shift keys to select. New inputs are added to the Effects Tree and new tracks are added to the timeline. t From the timeline of the Compositing layout, drag a track to the Effects Tree view. The new input node is added to the Effects Tree view. Although you can add multiple inputs to the Effects Tree, they won’t be visible in the viewer until connected to the output node. Adding or Removing Inputs To and From an Effect Node You can add or show inputs (ports) in the effect node. You can also remove or hide any input. For example, the DVE effect node shows the Foreground and Background ports by default. You can add or show the Local and Transform inputs when you want to use them. n When working with dynamic effect nodes such as the composite container or the 3D DVE node, you can add multiple inputs (or ports) to the node. To add or remove inputs or ports to an effect node: 1. Right-click the effect node and select Add/Remove Inputs. 2. Select the input or port that you want to show or hide. Connecting Nodes When you want to connect nodes, you can use kissing, twanging, sticky connection, or dragging from an output port. 1179 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees To connect nodes, do one of the following: t Starting position Kissing: Drag a node’s input port over the output port of another node, so it “kisses” the edge of the second node, and hold for a fraction of a second. Button turns blue when connected While holding the mouse button down, you can drag the newly connected node to another node and connect it to that one as well. “Kissing” second node t Final result Twanging: Drag a node over an existing connector. The existing connector snaps or “twangs” to the input and output ports of the node. 1180 Working with the Effects Tree n Tip: If you don’t release the mouse button, you can move the node away from the connector and no connection will take place. Even though you haven’t made a permanent connection, the results are displayed in the viewer. This is handy to quickly see how an effect may affect your tree. If the node has multiple ports, you can drag the node through the connector until it connects to the desired input. t Sticky connection: Click a node’s output port and release the mouse button. The connector becomes “stuck” to the pointer. You can move the pointer over another node’s input port and click to connect it. Click node’s output port t Release mouse button and move away from node. The connector is “stuck” to the pointer. Click node’s input port Dragging from an output port: Drag a node’s output port towards the input port of another node. A connector is displayed from the output port and turns blue to indicate the output is connected. As you get close to the input node, the connector snaps to it. If it doesn’t, it is probably because the input node is invalid. Click output node Drag to input node Disconnecting Nodes To disconnect nodes, you can rip, click a connector, click and drag a connector from an input port, or drag the input port. To disconnect nodes, do one of the following: t Ripping: Click a node and “shake” or “rip” it away from the other nodes, or press R and drag a node away from another node or connector. 1181 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees The selected node is placed where you release the mouse button. If there were other nodes connected to the selected node, then the connector will be joined between the two. t Click anywhere on a connector. The selected connector turns white. When you release the mouse button, the connector is removed. t Click and drag connector: Click the connector that is attached to the input port and drag it away from the node. The connector is removed. To switch one input for another, do one of the following: t Disconnect the current input node and connect the new input node to the effect. t Click a track button and drag it over an input node. If the image contributes to the composite, the viewer and layer thumbnails are updated. n You cannot switch the primary input. Selecting Nodes There are many ways to select nodes in an Effects Tree. To select a node: t Click a node’s title bar. The selected node becomes highlighted. To select multiple nodes, do one of the following: 1182 t Right-click an empty area of the view and select Select All. t Hold down the Ctrl key and click the nodes (if a node was already selected, it becomes deselected). Working with the Effects Tree t Drag a selection rectangle around several nodes. t Right-click a node and select Select Proceeding Nodes or Select Subsequent Nodes to highlight all nodes before or after the selected node. Collapsing and Expanding Nodes You can collapse nodes if you want to hide the inputs and effects associated with them. View of nodes when collapsed. View of nodes when expanded. To collapse a node: t Right-click a node and select Collapse. The selected node is collapsed, which is useful when a node contains several inputs and you want hide them to maintain as much space as possible in the view. To expand a node: t Right-click a node and select Expand. The selected node is expanded. Removing Nodes You can only delete input nodes when an Effects Tree is applied on a layer. Also, you cannot delete the primary input node (usually input 1). n Tip: You can also replace effect nodes with another. However, an effect node can only be replaced with an effect that has the same number of inputs. 1183 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees To remove a node: t Right-click a node(s), and select Delete. The node(s) are removed from the Effects Tree. Any connections to other nodes are also deleted. To reset an Effects Tree: t Right-click an empty area of the view and select Reset All. All nodes and effects are removed except for the input and output nodes. Editing an Effect Node When you open an effect’s property editor from an Effects Tree, you can edit any effect in the tree. If you have multiple effects in your Effects Tree, you can select which property editor you want to view. To edit an effect in an Effects Tree: t Double-click an effects node in the tree. The effect’s property editor is displayed. You can now edit the effect using the parameters in the property editor. You can also select other effect nodes in the tree directly from this property editor’s Effect list: Effect list 1184 Working with the Effects Tree n Effects Trees of folded nodes are not displayed in the Effects list. However, once you expand the Effects Tree view, you can see them in the tree. Doubleclick the expanded node to display its property editor. To add an effect to the Effect list: t Right-click an effect and select Expose. The effect is displayed in the Effect list. This is useful if you build a complex tree, but don’t want to expose its properties in the Effect list. If you don’t want to expose the properties, deselect this option. Viewing and Bypassing Nodes When your Effects Tree grows, it is handy to view or bypass certain nodes in the tree. For example, you may want to view the output of your tree without a certain effect. In this case, you can bypass the effect node that you don’t want to see. Another example is when you apply several effects and you want to see the result up to a certain point. In this case, you can view the node previous to that point. You can only view one node at a time. You can also select to view nodes in separate viewers. This is handy, for example, if you want to match the colors in one clip with those of another. To bypass a node: 1. Select the effects that you want to bypass. 2. Right-click a node and select Bypass. You can also hit B on your keyboard. The node’s output port turns orange, and the viewer updates to display the tree without the effect that you bypassed. Bypassed nodes will not be processed. To view a node: 1. Select the node whose output you want to view. 2. Right-click a node and select View. The output of the selected node is displayed in the viewer and the effect’s output port turns green. 1185 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees n Tip: If your Effects Tree starts getting large, it’s a good idea to add a cache node between some of the effects and process them. This will save you time and let you play the effects up to the cache node in real time. For more information, see “Creating Caches at Any Level” on page 887 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. To view an effect in a floating viewer: t Right-click a node and select Open Viewer. The output of the node (with any applied effects) is displayed in its own viewer. Folding Nodes When working with large Effects Trees, it can be difficult to navigate the tree and locate your effects. “Folding” nodes into a new Effects Tree node can help organize your view. All output connections for folded nodes can’t be reconnected when: • You select effects that have their output ports connected to two different nodes and try to fold them. Since a folded node only has one output port, only one of the output ports of the effects inside the folded tree will be connected to the output. • You select nodes that aren’t in a series (for example, you have three effects and you select 1 and 3) and fold them; connection to the input node will be lost. In these situations, you will be prompted to undo the folding to regain all connections. n 1186 Tip: In your user preferences, you can make new nodes automatically fold and group when they’re added to the Effects Tree, and automatically expand existing nodes when you position the pointer over them. Select File > User Preferences (Effects Tree property page). Working with the Effects Tree To fold nodes: 1. In an Effects Tree, select the nodes you want to fold or group. Selected nodes 2. Right-click one of the selected nodes and select one of the following: - Fold Minimal - Fold All The selected nodes are placed in a new Effects Tree with a red border, which only displays the inputs that are directly connected to the effect that feeds the new Effects Tree. Fold Minimal 1187 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees The selected nodes are placed in a new Effects Tree with a red border, which displays all inputs, both connected and unconnected, from each effect. Fold All To unfold nodes: t Right-click the folded Effects Tree and select one of the following: - Unfold The nodes are placed in the parent Effects Tree. - Unfold and Repel The nodes are placed in the parent Effects Tree. Any nodes that were close to the folded are repelled away from the nodes as they are unfolded. Attracting or Repelling Nodes When you have many nodes in an Effects Tree, sometimes it’s easier to focus on a group of nodes by pushing other nodes away from the group. You can repel or attract nodes to/from selected nodes. Nodes are attracted or repelled by an amount that is a factor of the size of the selection. If you select a bigger node, then nodes will be repelled or attracted farther than if you select a smaller node. n 1188 Tip: You can set the amount at which nodes are repelled in the User Preferences dialog box. Select File > User Preferences (Effects Tree property page). Working with the Effects Tree To repel nodes: 1. In the Effects Tree, select the nodes that you want to remain stationary. 2. On your keyboard, press the equal (=) key. All nodes in the tree are pushed away from the selected nodes. n Keep in mind that when you select nodes, they must fall together within a square region to be repelled/attracted. For example, if you have four nodes positioned in two rows and you select two nodes diagonally, then attracting and repelling will not work. To attract nodes: 1. In the Effects Tree, select the nodes that you want to remain stationary. 2. On the keyboard, press the minus (–) key. All nodes in the tree are pulled closer to the selected nodes. 1189 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Organizing Nodes When creating complex effects using the Effects Tree, you may end up with a large number of nodes all over the Effects Trees workspace. To work more efficiently and to have a clear idea of which node is connected to which, it’s best to organize your Effect Tree as you work. There are two ways of organizing nodes: • Arranging all nodes in the Effects Tree in a more coherent or structured manner displaying all the input, effect, and output nodes. • Sorting a selected number of nodes, or a branch of the Effects Tree, to display how they are connected. If you have not selected any node(s), then organizing the branch will rearrange itself around the output node. Unlike the Organize All Nodes option, you will notice that the nodes are not framed. Instead, the focus is on the selected nodes. To frame the Effects Tree, select the Frame All option. n Tip: To save vertical space in the Effects Tree, you can use the Densely Organize All Nodes or Densely Organize Branch options. For more information, see “Effects Tree Menu” in the Help. To organize nodes in the Effects Tree: t 1190 Right-click the Effects Tree and select one of the following: Working with the Effects Tree Command Shortcut Organize Branch Shift + ] Organize All Nodes Shift + [ Densely Organize Branch [ Densely Organize All Nodes ] Renaming Nodes When you add several similar effects, such as color correction, it may become difficult to differentiate between each effect. Renaming the effect nodes makes it easier for you to locate them in a tree. n You cannot rename input or output nodes. However, since the second part of an input port’s name in an Effects Tree is derived from a track, you can rename the track. The name will be propagated to the input node. To rename an effect node: 1. Do one of the following: t Right-click the node and select Rename Effect. t Alt + click the name. 2. Enter a new name for the node. Renaming Input Ports You can rename an input port’s name using the input’s name to help you determine the node from which an input originates. To rename node input ports, do one of the following: t Right-click a node’s input port name, and select Rename Input. t Alt + click the input port name. t Right-click a node and select Use Input Names. 1191 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees The name of the node connected to the input port is appended to the input port’s name and number. For example, if a Blue-Green keyer is connected to Input 1 of a Composite node, then the input port’s name will be displayed as Input 1 - Blue Green Keyer when you select this option from the Effects Node menu. n Tip: You can set the Use Input Names option as the default in the User Preferences dialog box. Select File > User Preferences (Effects Tree property page). Displaying Tooltips Tooltips are handy when you’re working with a zoomed-out tree and the node or input names are difficult to see. You can display tooltips on nodes, node input names, and connectors. You can also determine how quickly tooltips are displayed when you position the pointer over these objects. To display tooltips on nodes, connectors, and node inputs: 1. Select File > User Preferences. 2. On the Effects Tree property page, select one or more options from the Tooltip Settings box. Zooming the Effects Tree Zooming the Effects Tree lets you focus on one part of your tree, which may be useful in complex trees with many effects. To zoom the Effects Tree: t Position the pointer over a node from which you want the Effects Tree to zoom in or out and do one of the following: - Press Z+right-click the Effects Tree and drag right or left. - Press Z and drag a selection around the nodes you want to zoom in. Press Z and click in the Effects Tree to go back to the original size. - Press Alt+Z to zoom in on the Effects Tree or press Alt+X to zoom out. The Effects Tree incrementally zooms in or out each time you press the key commands. 1192 Working with the Effects Tree n n Tip: You can set the amount at which the incremental zoom takes place by selecting the Steps option in the Mouse Zoom box in the User Preferences dialog box. Select File > User Preferences (Effects Tree property page). When you apply an Effects Tree to a clip or track, it can only use one input: from the clip or track. If you want to create a multi-input effect, apply an Effects Tree on a layer. Using the Birds Eye View The Birds Eye view lets you interactively move an Effects Tree to see nodes or effects that are outside the current view. To use the Birds Eye View: 1. Right-click an empty area in the Effects Tree view and select Birds Eye View. Close view Darker region indicates there are more nodes and/or effects outside the Effects Tree view. 1 2 2. Drag your cursor over the light-colored region in the Birds Eye View to reveal more nodes and effects. The open hand changes to a closed hand to show that you’re dragging the view. The Effects Tree moves accordingly to display more nodes and effects. 3. To close the view, click the Close button in the top-right hand corner. 1193 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Saving and Loading Trees Once you create a complex tree, you can save it as a preset and reuse it in an existing tree or apply it as a clip or track effect. When you save a tree, all the nodes that comprise the tree including the source (input), effects, and output are saved with the tree. You can also add an Effects Tree preset to an existing tree or replace the tree with a preset. Saving an Effects Tree After creating an effects tree, you can save it as a preset. If you want to apply an Effects Tree preset to a clip or track, it can only have one input. To save an Effects Tree as a preset: 1. Do one of the following: t On a clip, track, or transition, double-click the Effects Tree effect bar. t In an Effects Tree view, right-click an empty area and select Properties. The Effects Tree property editor is displayed. 2. In the Effects Tree property editor, click the Save Preset button. 3. In the Save Preset dialog box, select a folder, type a name and description for your preset, and click OK. The preset is saved in the folder you selected. n If you try to save an Effects Tree from an effect’s property editor, only the current effect will be saved as a preset. Make sure you select General from the Effect list before you save the Effects Tree. Loading an Effects Tree Before loading an Effects Tree, you may want to view it first. To view an Effects Tree: 1. Double-click the Effects Tree preset node. The Effects Tree Preset property editor is displayed. 1194 Working with the Effects Tree 2. In the Effects Tree property editor, click the Expand button. The Effects Tree view is displayed in a floating window. To load an Effects Tree: 1. Right-click an empty area of an Effects Tree view and select Add Effect. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 2. Browse through the folders and select a preset. The Effects Tree preset is added to the current Effects Tree view. It looks like any other effect node. 3. Connect the preset node to the tree. 1195 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Effects Tree preset 1196 Using the Effects Tree to Composite Using the Effects Tree to Composite The Effects Tree can be used to composite multiple images and combine multiple effects. Some artists prefer this method because it visually maps out the nodes of the tree. This section includes examples of how the Effects Tree can be used to composite images. Using External Mattes in the Effects Tree An external matte is a matte taken from one clip and applied to another. External mattes may already exist with a clip or you can create one by adding a keyer effect on the clip. You can also use the alpha or RGB component of another clip as the external matte. In the example for “Using the Shapes Tools” on page 1138, the matte created can be applied to another clip as an external matte. Sometimes, you may be provided with a matte clip that you use for compositing. There are three methods for adding external mattes: using the Effects Tree, using the Layers view, and using matte containers. For the Layers view and matte container methods, see “Using External Mattes in the Timeline and Layers View” on page 1141. RGB clip without a matte Composite result Background clip External matte clip 1197 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees To add an external matte to the Effects Tree: 1. In the Effects Tree, add Composite effect node and connect it to the background as shown here: 2. Drag the clip that you want to use as the foreground to the Effects Tree. 3. Drag the external matte clip to the Effects Tree. 4. Add the Key Combiner - Luma effect (\Tree Effects folder) to the tree and connect the nodes as shown here: You are using the Luma channel of your external matte as a source for the alpha and combining this alpha channel with RGB channels of the clip (TextRGB) n If you want to combine the alpha channel with the RGB channels of the clip using the alpha channel of the matte as the source for the alpha, use the Key Combiner - Alpha effect. You can also open the Key Combiner property editor and select the source from which to map the output image’s alpha channel. Compositing Two Layers The Over effect is a real-time effect which lets you composite two images. 1198 Using the Effects Tree to Composite To composite two layers: 1. In the Layers view, click a layer to display its Effects Tree. 2. Right-click in the Effects Tree and select Add Effect. 3. From the \Tree Effects\Blending Operations folder, select Over. 4. Connect the input nodes to the Over node as follows: 5. In the Options property page, select the appropriate options. 6. Click OK to begin processing. 7. A progress indicator appears on the bottom of the desktop to show the status of the process. Compositing Multiple Images In an Effects Tree, the Composite effect node lets you composite upto 64 images. Open the Composite node's property editor to get a visual interface of the input images, which is similar to the Layer’s view. Compositing is from bottom to top, so the order the images appear in the Composite effect property corresponds to the order of the images on the timeline of the composite container represent the output image of the Effects Tree. The result of all the nodes is fed to the output node which is displayed in the viewer. 1199 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Output shows the result of the composite L1 input corresponds to the bottommost layer Blending Operations In the composite effect node, you can mix and apply blending operations between images. You can also ensure that the result of the composite has valid RGBA colors. This is very useful when the inputs you are using are derived from a .psd file. You should select the Clamp to Valid Color option to maintain any blending operations that were originally performed in Photoshop. You can also set the premultiplication state for each input. For more information on premultiplication, see “Compositing with Premultiplied Images” on page 1153. When you use several Composite effects or use a Composite effect with a layer or other effects in the same tree, you may need to export the effect’s alpha channel in order for it to be correctly composited. To apply the Composite effect: 1. In the Layers view, click a layer to display its Effects Tree. 2. From the \Tree Effects folder, select the Composite effect. 1200 Using the Effects Tree to Composite 3. Connect the input nodes to the Composite node, and the output node from the Composite node to the Output node. If your inputs already have mattes, then you’ll see the composited result in the viewer. If they don’t have mattes, you can create them using any of the keyer, matte, or graphics effects. You can also add an external matte to an input using the Matte Composite effect. For more information, see “Working with Mattes” on page 1136. n Tip: By default, the Composite effect node opens with only two inputs. To automatically create new inputs ports in the Composite node, hold down the S key when connecting input nodes to the Composite node. To quickly add input ports to the Composite node, press down the A key and the D key to delete input ports. 4. Double-click the Composite node to display the Composite property editor. 5. On the General property page, set the following properties: - Output premultiplication settings - Opacity and mix settings - Required inputs to the correct premultiplication setting. By default, all clips are set to Auto, which will maintain the clip’s current premultiplication setting. - n blending operations between inputs If the output does not display the results you expect, the premultiplication setting of the image was probably incorrectly set when it was imported. On the General property page change the input’s premultiplication setting. For more information, see “Changing the Premultiplication Setting” on page 1156. 6. On the Masking property page, specify whether or not to use a mask for the effect. By default, the effect is applied to the RGB and alpha channels. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 7. On the Masking property page, set the Mix Parameter to blend the result of the effect with the original input or a color. 8. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Processing options. 1201 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Uncompositing Foreground from the Background You can recover the original foreground from the background image by applying the Uncomposite from Bgnd effect in the Effects Tree. You can then use the clip for other compositing operations. You must have a matte in your alpha channel and the clean plate of the original background. In the following example shows you how the foreground image, the text is uncomposited from the original background and then composited over a different background. Original image The foreground composited over a new background To uncomposite the foreground image from the background: 1. Drag the clip that you want to use to the timeline and switch to the Compositing layout. 2. If the matte is available as an separate clip, you will need to combine it with the color channels using the Uncomposite with Bgnd effect. To do this, add the matte clip to the tree and connect using a Key Combiner Luma effect. 3. Add the original background to the Effects Tree. 4. Add the Uncomposite From Bgnd effect and connect as shown here: 1202 Using the Effects Tree to Composite The result is shown in the viewer. The foreground image is now uncomposited from the gradient background 5. Add a new background image to the Effects Tree. 6. To composite the foreground image on the new background, add the Over effect in the Tree Effects\Blending Operations folder. The result is shown in the viewer. 1203 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Combining Separate RGB and Alpha Channels You can combine separate RGB channels of an image with an alpha channel that was created from the channels of another image. The Key Combiner (Alpha or Luma) effect is useful for this operation when you: • Want to use an external matte as a clip’s alpha channel, or • Produce a logo or text in another application in which the RGB and alpha channels have been exported separately and you want to combine them in Avid DS Nitris. When applied as a clip or track effect, only the RGB input is used. The Key Combiner effect is useful when you want to invert an image’s alpha channel or fill the alpha channel so that it’s opaque. Filling the alpha channel reduces processing time and disk space. n With Avid DS Nitris Editor, you can apply this effect as a tree effect, however, you will not be able to view the nodes within the Effects Tree. To combine separate RGB and alpha channels: 1. Create an Effects Tree on a layer. 2. Add the image that you want to use as the alpha channel’s source. 3. Add the image that contains the RGB channels that you want to combine with an alpha channel. 1204 Using the Effects Tree to Composite RGB Key Combiner RGB image (Input 1) Alpha Key Combiner result (RGBA image) RGBA image (Input 2) 4. Add the Key Combiner effect to the tree and connect it as shown here: Composited result Background image RGB Alpha Key Combiner result 1205 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees The RGB image is combined with the alpha channel. You can apply more effects to the RGBA image or composite it over another image as shown in this example. 5. Open the Key Combiner - Luma property editor. n If you use the Key Combiner effect as an input to a Composite node and the output does not display the results you expect, change the input’s premultiplication setting in the Composite property editor. For more information, see “Changing the Premultiplication Setting” on page 1156. 6. On the Alpha property page, map the output image’s alpha channel to one of the following: alpha, luma, red, green, fill or clear. 7. On the Masking property page, select an option if you want the Key Combiner to use a mask. You can also set the Mix Parameter to blend the result of the effect with the original input or a color. 8. In the Options property page, select the appropriate options. 9. Click OK to begin processing. 10. A progress indicator appears on the bottom of the desktop to show the status of the process. Unpremultiplying with Color in the Effects Tree Often you will use clips that have been created in other applications such as Adobe Photoshop or Adobe After Effects. If the captured clip consists of a foreground image (and its matte in the alpha channel), which has been composited and premultiplied with a color background, you can apply the Unpremultiply with Color effect. It recovers the original foreground image colors, especially in the semitransparent and motion blur regions, keys out the background color and premultiplies it with a black background color, so you can use the clip for other compositing operations. For more information on premultiplication, see “Compositing with Premultiplied Images” on page 1153. 1206 Using the Effects Tree to Composite To unpremultiply with color in the Effects Tree: 1. Drag the background clip to the timeline and switch to the Compositing layout. 2. Add the foreground clip to the Effects Tree. If you are using an external matte, add the matte clip and connect both clips to a Key Combiner effect node. 3. Add a Composite effect node and connect as shown here: The composited result is displayed in the viewer. You’ll notice that dark areas appear around the edges of the text containing the colors from the original background. When you view the matte, you will notice the softness around its edges. 4. Double-click the Composite node to open its property editor. 5. Select the foreground image and click its Solo button. This will enable you to work with the Unpremultiply with Color effect on the foreground image displayed in the viewer. 1207 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees 6. Add the Unpremultiply with Color effect between the foreground image and the Composite effect node. 7. Double-click the Unpremultiply with Color effect. The Unpremultiply with Color property editor is displayed. 8. From the Effects List, select Original Color. The Original Color property editor is displayed. 1208 Using the Effects Tree to Composite 9. Click Color Picker. The cursor changes to the eyedropper cursor. 10. In the viewer, select the color that you want to remove and replace with black. 11. In the Composite property editor, click the Solo button of the foreground image off to see the result. Compositing Multiple Mattes The Matte Composite effect lets you composite multiple mattes together. These mattes are combined in the order in which they appear using various matte compositing operations. You can use the R, G, B or alpha channel from an image or effect as the inputs to the Matte Composite effect. In the example below, two RGB images are composited together using the Matte Composite effect. The alpha output of this effect is then combined with the RGB channels of the sky using the Key Combiner effect, and then composited over the car image. You can also choose to use a separate matte as a mask for the composited mattes. The Matte Composite effect behaves in the same manner as when you apply an external matte to a layer. For more information, see “Using External Mattes in the Timeline and Layers View” on page 1141. n With Avid DS Nitris Editor, you can apply this effect as a tree effect, however, you will not be able to view the nodes within the Effects Tree. The following example shows you how external mattes are added to an Effects Tree. 1209 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees External mattes (input from timeline tracks) Input external mattes using Matte Composite effect External mattes added to layer To composite multiple mattes: 1. Apply the Matte Composite effect to an Effects Tree. The effect’s node is added to the tree. 2. Add the images that you want to use as mattes to the Effects Tree. Each image is displayed as an input node in the tree. 3. Connect each input to the Matte Composite node. 4. On the General property page, select the channel that you want to use in the composite, as well as the matte compositing operation you want to apply between each input. The default operation is Min. You can also use an invert of the RGB or alpha channels. 5. On the Masking property page, select one of the following from the Mask box: 1210 None to not use any external matte. Using the Effects Tree to Composite - Alpha to use the alpha channel from the background (input 1). The composited mattes are applied using the alpha channel from the background as a mask. - Mask Input to use the matte from an external source when you connect it to the Mask Input of an effect in the Effects Tree. The composited mattes are applied using the matte from another image or effect. You can also use the alpha, the luminance of the RGB, the separate red, green, or blue channels, or an invert of any of these as the input for the external matte. 6. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. 7. Connect the output of the Matte Composite effect to the input of another image or effect. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Processing options. Applying Blending Operations in the Effects Tree The Composite effect node lets you apply blending operations between input images. By default, the blending operations are set to Over and the result is displayed in the Output area. You can apply the operations independently on the RGB and alpha components of each input. Most operations that you select for the RGB channels are automatically applied to the alpha channel. You can, however, change the alpha operation separately. These operations are the same as those found on each layer. For more information, see “Interlayer Alpha Menu and Interlayer RGB Menu” in the Help. 1211 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Output area Blending operations for RGB and alpha channels. To apply blending operations in the Effects Tree do one of the following: t Right-click the RGB or alpha operator between the two layers on which you want to apply the operation, and select an operator from the menu. The results of the composite is displayed in the Output area. t From the \Tree Effects\Blending Operations folder, drag a blending operation preset to the Effects Tree. The blending operation is automatically applied between the layer, and the result is displayed in the Output area. n 1212 You can use the alpha or luma in the foreground image to mask the blending operation against the background. Select Use Alpha as Mask or Use Luma as Mask from the Interlayer RGB menu. Using the Effects Tree to Composite Blending operation in the Effects Tree Result in the Output area Blending operation automatically applied Mapping Luminance Variations between Clips The flicker effect lets you map the variations in the luminance of one clip to another clip. This effect is useful if, for example, you have a background clip with flickering fire and you want to composite another clip (a man) on top that doesn’t have the flickering. You can map the luminance variations from the fire to the man. n With Avid DS Nitris Editor, you can apply this effect as a tree effect, however, you will not be able to view the nodes within the Effects Tree. 1213 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees Original Luminance in face changes to match luminance in fire To use the Flicker effect: 1. Place the clip you want to use as a reference on the timeline. This is the clip (fire) whose luminance values you want to map to another clip. 2. Create a composite container clip. The Compositing layout is displayed. 3. Click the layer to display the Effects Tree. 4. From the Avid Explorer, drag the clip (man) to which you want to apply the luminance values to the Effects Tree. The clip is added as an input node in the Effects Tree. 5. Add the Flicker and Composite effects to the Effects Tree. 6. Connect the nodes as follows: 7. Double-click the Flicker node. The Flicker property editor is displayed and a small selection rectangle (the luminance box) is displayed in the viewer. Since you want to map the luminance values of the background clip to the man clip, only the background clip is displayed. To view the man clip separately, deselect the Output Reference option. 1214 Using the Effects Tree to Composite 8. On the Black property page, position the luminance box over an area containing the level of black to which you want to choose as a reference. n Tip: You can also draw a new luminance box in the viewer by clicking in the viewer and dragging over an area. 9. Click Set as Reference Frame. The black luminance is set and the property editor displays the reference luminance swatch, as well as the timecode for the chosen frame. 10. Verify each frame in the clip to determine if the luminance box is in the correct position. If the area you set for the reference frame moves from frame to frame, you need to move the luminance box in each frame so that it covers the same area. 11. Set a keyframe on the frames on which you reposition the luminance box. 12. Repeat steps 8 to 11 for the White property page, if required. 13. On the Masking property page, select the channels on which you want to apply the effect. The effect is applied only to areas of the image where the alpha channel is not black. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 14. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. 1215 Chapter 2 Using Effects Trees 1216 Chapter 3 Keying Keying lets you combine a foreground image over a background image using a matte. This chapter describes how to use Avid DS Nitris keyers. Chapter 3 Keying About Keying Applying the keyer as a clip or track effect on a video track lets you composite clip over another clip on a background track underneath it. Applying the keyer to layers or trees lets you create a more complex composite, such as multiple keys on multiple layers. When keying, you can use a matte that is already combined with the foreground image, or create your own using any of the Avid DS Nitris keyers. You can create a key based on HSL, YCbCr, or RGB color values or on luminance values. 1218 Using the Blue-Green Keyer Using the Blue-Green Keyer The Blue-Green Keyer effect lets you create a matte based on a blue or green background color. Once the matte is created, you can composite the clip over another one. If you want to key out a background color other than blue or green, use the HSL or Chroma keyer. The following example shows you how a matte is created for a woman who is filmed against a green screen and composited over a medieval glowing background. Creating a Basic Matte Once you apply the keyer, you can create a basic matte and then fine-tune it using the Blue-Green Keyer property editor. To create a basic matte: 1. Apply the Blue-Green Keyer effect to a clip, track, or layer, or in an Effects Tree. The Blue-Green Keyer property editor is displayed. 2. On the Key property page, select the Keep Original Alpha option if your image has an existing matte that you want to keep. 3. Right-click the viewer and select Comparison Buffer > Use Comparison Buffer or press Alt+1 (one). Using the comparison buffer, you can view a snapshot of the image as it is currently and then compare the results to the key as it progresses—see “Using the Comparison Buffer” on page 914 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. 1219 Chapter 3 Keying 4. Right-click the viewer and select Comparison Buffer > Grab or press Alt+2. 5. Resize the comparison buffer, so you can view the edge of the lady’s dress. The image is saved. This lets you view the current image with an image later in the key process. 6. Press Alt+1 to turn off the comparison buffer for now. 7. Click Pick Key Color. The cursor changes to the eyedropper cursor when you move it over the viewer. Pick cursor 8. In the viewer, click the color that you want to key out. A matte based on the selected color is created. This color is displayed in the color swatch beside the Pick Key Color button. 9. Click the Output Matte button to see the initial matte created by the keyer. 1220 Using the Blue-Green Keyer 10. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Processing options. Fine-tuning the Matte The Blue-Green Keyer property editor contains several property pages from which you can fine-tune your matte, crop the image, create a garbage matte, track the garbage matte, create a spill matte, and apply spill correction. To fine-tune the matte: 1. In the Blue-Green Keyer property editor, select the Key tab. 2. Adjust the Cleanup controls to increase or decrease the threshold between the foreground and background. Higher values remove more foreground. 3. Adjust the Foreground Presence controls. Higher values remove semitransparency from the foreground image. Semitransparent areas are removed. 4. On the Matte property page, select the Output Matte option to display the matte in the viewer. 1221 Chapter 3 Keying Since all the changes you make are applied to the matte and not the RGB channels, you should display the matte while you work. 5. Adjust the opaque and transparent areas of the matte by doing the following: t Click the Pick BG button and then click the background areas of the matte in the viewer. Semitransparent areas of the background become transparent. You can continue clicking the viewer to force more areas to become transparent. t Click the Pick FG button and then click the foreground areas of the matte in the viewer. Semitransparent areas of the foreground become opaque. You can continue clicking in the viewer to force more areas to become opaque. Many times it is necessary to switch between picking the foreground and background, so some areas that should be transparent don’t become opaque and opaque areas don’t become transparent. n Tip: Use the sliders to adjust semitransparent areas making them transparent or opaque. 6. Deselect the Output Matte option to view the progression of the key. 7. Press Alt+1 to turn on the comparison buffer. Now you can see the edges and compare them to the original image. As you can see, there’s some softness around the edges that need to be removed. 1222 Using the Blue-Green Keyer 8. In the Size box, click the Apply button. 9. Shrink the size of the matte until there is no more green around the edge of the lady’s dress. 10. Turn off the comparison buffer. 11. On the Shapes property page, select the Output Matte option. 12. Use the graphics tools on this property page to create a garbage matte. You can also apply a blur to the shape, or fill the inside or outside of the shape. In this example, two rectangles were drawn with Fill Inside set to 0. These rectangles cover the garbage on both sides of the lady. You can also animate the shapes on this property page if the garbage matte obscures your image at any point. 13. If the image moves or scales, you may need to animate the shapes in the garbage matte. You can do this by tracking the shapes to the object or other objects—see “Using the Shape Tracker” on page 1363. 1223 Chapter 3 Keying Creating a Spill Matte The spill matte is derived from a selected key color. Any areas of the foreground image that contain black or gray are replaced by the spill replace color. For example, if an area has black, then 100% spill replace color is applied. If an area has 50% gray, then 50% spill replace color is applied. To create a spill matte: 1. In the Blue-Green Keyer property editor, select the Spill Matte 1 tab. 2. Make sure the Apply option is selected (by default it is selected) to apply the spill matte to the image. 3. Select the Output Spill Matte option to view the spill matte. n Make sure that the Output Matte option is deselected on the Matte property page or you won’t see the spill matte. 4. Use the Softness and Threshold controls to adjust the spill matte. 1224 Using the Blue-Green Keyer The Softness slider adjusts the range between transparent and opaque areas of the spill matte. The Threshold slider adjusts the spill correction area. 5. On the Spill Matte 2 property page, use the controls to further adjust the matte. 6. On the Spill Replace property page, use the controls to adjust the amount and hue of spill color in an image’s RGB channels. 7. Deselect the Output Spill Matte option to see how the image is composited and to view the spill. In this example, there is green spill around the edges of the woman, as well as in her dress. Green spill Enlarged area showing spill. 8. To select a hue to replace the spill hue, do one of the following: t Click the Pick Hue button and click a color in the viewer. t Drag the color selector in the color wheel to the hue and saturation that will replace the current spill hue and saturation. 9. Fine-tune the replacement color using the Hue and Saturation controls. 10. Use the Luma Gain controls to multiply the original luminance by the value you select. A value of 100 represents the original luminance. 11. Use the Luma Brightness controls to add to the original luminance by the value you select. A value of 0 represents the original luminance. 1225 Chapter 3 Keying 1226 Spill Subtraction Spill Subtraction After keying out a color background with any Keyer effect, a colored fringe may remain around the foreground image. To quickly remove this “leftover”, you can apply the Spill Subtract effect. It lets you “subtract” the contribution of the background color from the spill areas to recover the original foreground color once an initial key matte has been extracted. Note the following: • You can only use the Spill Subtract effect directly after applying a Keyer effect and if there are unwanted artifacts around the foreground image. • The clip on which you are applying the Spill Subtract effect must have a matte; an internal or external matte. • You cannot use the Spill Subtract effect if Spill Correction or Spill Replacement stages have already been applied. If any of the color channels of the foreground image have been manipulated with other techniques, you will not achieve the best results. • If you are working with a Blue-Green Keyer or Chroma Keyer effect, make sure that the Apply option in the Spill Replace property page and the Force Premultiplied option in the Matte property page are not selected. The following example shows you how the Spill Subtract effect is applied on the timeline and Effects Tree to remove the green area left behind after a BlueGreen Keyer is applied to the foreground image. 1227 Chapter 3 Keying Applying a Spill Subtract on the Timeline You can apply the Spill Subtract as a clip, track, or timeline effect. To apply the Spill Subtract effect on the timeline: 1. On the timeline, select the foreground clip on which a Keyer effect has been applied. 2. From the toolbar, select Video Effects > Spill Subtract. The Spill Subtract effect is applied on top of the Keyer effect and its property editor is displayed. 3. Click the track’s Solo button to only view the foreground image. 4. From the Effect’s List, select Original Color. The Original Color property editor is displayed. 5. Click Color Picker. The cursor changes to the eyedropper cursor. 6. In the viewer, select the color that you want to subtract. This color is the original background color you picked to generate the initial key matte. 1228 Spill Subtraction 7. Click the track’s Solo button off to see the result in the viewer. Applying a Spill Subtract in the Effects Tree You can apply the Spill Subtract effect as an effect node in the Effects Tree. To apply a Spill Subtract effect in the Effects Tree: 1. On the timeline, select the clip to be used as the background image. 2. From the taskbar, click the Compositing button. A composite container clip is created from the clip, which is placed in the Layers view. 3. From the Avid Explorer, select the foreground clip and drag it to the Effects Tree. 4. From the \Tree Effects folder, add the Composite effect and composite the foreground over the background image. 5. Apply the Blue-Green Keyer effect to key out the background color. 6. From the \Image Effects folder, add the Spill Subtract effect and connect after the Blue-Green Keyer effect as shown here: 1229 Chapter 3 Keying 7. Double-click the Spill Subtract effect to open its property editor. 8. Do one of the following: t Click the track’s Solo button in the timeline to only view the foreground image t Open the Composite property editor, select the foreground image, and click its Solo button. 9. From the Effect’s List, select Original Color. The Original Color property editor is displayed. 10. Click Color Picker. The cursor changes to the eyedropper cursor. 11. In the viewer, select the color that you want to subtract. 12. Deselect the Solo button to see the result in the viewer. 1230 Using the Chroma Keyer Using the Chroma Keyer The Chroma Keyer effect lets you create a matte based on color. If you want to create a matte based on a blue or green background color, use the Blue-Green Keyer effect. In the following example, the Chroma Keyer effect was used to create a matte, which in turn was used to change the color of the sky from bright blue to aqua using the Color Correction effect. Before After Creating a Basic Matte Once you apply the keyer, you can create a basic matte and then fine-tune it using the Chroma Keyer property editor. To create a basic matte: 1. Apply the Chroma Keyer effect to a clip, track, layer, or tree. The Chroma Keyer property editor is displayed. 2. On the Key property page, select the Keep Original Alpha option if your image has an existing matte that you want to keep. 3. Click the Pick Key Color button. 4. In the viewer, click the color that you want to key out. A matte based on the selected color is created. This color is displayed in the color swatch beside the Pick Key Color button. 5. Click the Output Matte button to see the matte. 1231 Chapter 3 Keying Since all changes you make are applied to the matte and not the RGB channels, you should display the matte while you work. 6. On the Masking property page, specify whether you’re using a mask for the effect or not. By default, the effect is applied to the RGB and alpha channels. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 7. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Processing options. Fine-tuning the Matte The Chroma Keyer property editor contains several property pages from which you can fine-tune your matte, crop the image, create a garbage matte, track the garbage matte, create a spill matte, and apply spill correction. To fine-tune the matte: 1. In the Chroma Keyer property editor, select the Key tab. 2. From the Tune box, adjust the Chroma Tolerance controls. Lower values add more foreground; higher values remove more foreground. 3. Adjust the Gain and Lift controls. Gain lets you add more opacity to the matte, and Lift adds more transparency to the matte. 4. On the Matte property page adjust the opaque and transparent areas of the matte by doing one of the following: t 1232 Click Pick BG or Pick FG, and then click background and foreground areas of the matte in the viewer. Using the Chroma Keyer t Use the controls to adjust semitransparent areas, making them transparent or opaque. 5. Use the Size controls to increase or decrease the size of the matte. 6. Use the Blur controls to adjust the softness of the blur and the degree to which it is applied to your matte. n Tip: If you want to force the outgoing image to be premultiplied, select the Force Premultiplied option. This option is useful when you need to touch up an existing premultiplied image’s alpha channel and keep the image premultiplied, or when you want to see the results of the keyer effect without first compositing it. 7. On the Crop property page, use the controls to crop the image from the top, bottom, left, or right edges. The crop is applied to the R, G, B, and alpha components. 8. On the Shapes property page, use the graphics tools to create a garbage matte. You can also apply a blur to the shape, or fill the inside or outside of the shape. n Tip: If the image moves or scales, you may need to animate the shapes in the garbage matte. You can do this by tracking the shapes to the object or other objects. For more information, see “Using the Shape Tracker” on page 1363. 9. On the Matte property page, select the Invert Matte option. Since the sky requires color correcting, you need to invert the matte. 1233 Chapter 3 Keying Creating a Spill Matte The spill matte is derived from a selected key color. Any areas of the foreground image that contain black or gray are replaced by the spill replace color. For example, if an area has black, then 100% spill replace color is applied. If an area has 50% gray, then 50% spill replace color is applied. To create a spill matte: 1. In the Chroma Keyer property editor, select the Matte tab. 2. Deselect the Output Matte option. To see the spill matte, you must turn off the matte. 3. On the Spill Matte 1 property page, select the Apply option (by default it is selected) to apply the spill matte to the image. 4. Select the Output Spill Matte option to view the spill matte. The spill matte is derived from the selected key color. Any areas of the foreground image that contain black or gray will be replaced by the spill replace color. For example, if an area has black, then 100% spill replace color is applied. If an area has 50% gray, then 50% spill replace color is applied. 5. From the Tune box, adjust the Chroma Tolerance controls. Lower values add more foreground; higher values remove more foreground. 6. Adjust the Gain and Lift controls. Gain lets you add more opacity to the matte, while Lift adds more transparency to the matte. 7. On the Spill Matte 2 property page, adjust the following controls to finetune the spill matte: - 1234 Map to apply post-process mapping to the spill matte, so that the semitransparent areas fully opaque or fully transparent. Using the Chroma Keyer - Size to increase or decrease the size of the matte. - Blur to apply a post-process blur to the spill matte. 8. Deselect the Output Spill Matte option. Since the next steps are to adjust the amount and hue of spill color, you need to view the RGB channels. 9. On the Spill Replace property page, use the controls to adjust the amount and hue of spill color in an image’s RGB channels. To select a hue to replace the spill hue, do one of the following: t Click the Pick Hue button and select a color from the viewer. t Drag the color selector in the color wheel to the hue and saturation that will replace the current spill hue and saturation. 10. Fine-tune the replacement color using the Hue and Saturation controls. 11. Adjust the Luma Gain controls to multiply the original luminance by the value you select. A value of 100 represents the original luminance. 12. Adjust the Luma Brightness controls to add to the original luminance by the value you select. A value of 0 represents the original luminance. To color correct the sky: 1. Deselect the Output Spill Matte option, so you can view the changes you make to the RGB channels. 2. Apply a color correction effect on top of the Chroma Keyer effect. The Color Correction property editor is displayed. 3. On the Masking property page, do the following: t In the Mask box, click the Alpha button. t In the Process box, make sure that the R, G, and B options are selected. The effect is applied only to areas of the image where the alpha channel is not black. If the matte is not adjusted properly, you can go back to the Chroma Keyer effect and adjust it further. 4. On the Basic property page, adjust the Hue to select a new color for the sky. 1235 Chapter 3 Keying Using the Difference Keyer Effect The Difference Keyer effect lets you create a matte based on the difference between the foreground and reference clips. The foreground clip contains an image that you want to isolate, while the reference clip contains a background similar to the foreground clip. When you apply the Difference Keyer effect, only the isolated image in the clip is retained. When you apply the Difference Keyer as a layer effect, you must first set up the composite by placing the clips on tracks and layers. Once you set up the composite, you can apply the Difference Keyer effect to the foreground clip and then create a basic matte. You can fine-tune the matte using the Difference Keyer property editor. In an Effects Tree, you connect the foreground and reference clips to the Difference Keyer node, and then use a Composite node to composite the output of the Difference Keyer node with the background clip. The property editor has the same property pages as when you apply the Difference Keyer to a layer, but without the Reference property page. This is because the Difference Keyer node has two inputs, so the Reference property page isn’t required. It contains several pages from which you can fine-tune your matte. You can, for example, fine-tune the key by adjusting the Spill Correction and Pre-blur values. You can also apply a post-process blur and adjust the matte's function curve values. In the following examples, the Difference Keyer effect is used to create a matte for the hands, so that they can be composited over the flowers background. 1236 Using the Difference Keyer Effect Applying the Difference Keyer on Layers In this example, the Difference Keyer was used to create a matte for the hands by applying the effect on a layer. To apply the Difference Keyer effect on layers: 1. On the timeline, select the clip to used as the background image. 2. From the taskbar, click the Compositing button. A composite container clip is created from the clip, which is placed in the Layers view. 3. Drag the clip to be used as your foreground clip from the Avid Explorer to an empty area of the Layers view. A track on the timeline and a layer in the Layers view is created for the clip. 4. From the Avid Explorer, right-drag the clip to be used as your reference clip to the timeline ribbon. The clip on the timeline is placed above the foreground clip without adding it as a layer. 1237 Chapter 3 Keying 5. In the Layers view, select the foreground layer and click Key. The Blue-Green Keyer property editor is displayed by default. 6. Click the Load Preset button. 7. From the Load Preset dialog box, select the Difference Keyer from the \Keyer folder. 8. Select the Reference property page. 9. From the timeline, drag the track that contains the reference clip to the reference thumbnail. The reference clip is displayed in the reference thumbnail. The Difference keyer computes the difference between the reference clip and the selected layer, and creates a matte on the layer. Composite after the Difference Keyer effect is applied. Reference clip in reference thumbnail. Background clip Foreground clip Reference clip 10. Fine tune the matte further to create the results you want—see “Finetuning the Matte” on page 1240. 1238 Using the Difference Keyer Effect Applying the Difference Keyer to an Effects Tree In this example, the Difference Keyer was used to create a matte for the hands by applying the effect to an Effects Tree. To apply the Difference Keyer effect to an Effects Tree: 1. On the timeline, select the clip to used as the background image. 2. From the taskbar, click the Compositing button. A composite container clip is created from the clip, which is placed in the Layers view. 3. Click the layer to make sure it’s active. The Effects Tree for the layer also becomes active. 4. In the Avid Explorer, press Ctrl and click the clips to be used as your foreground and reference clips, and drag them to an empty area of the Effects Tree view. Tracks on the timeline and nodes in the Effects Tree view are created for the clips. 1239 Chapter 3 Keying Foreground clip Reference clip 5. Right-click an empty area of the Effects Tree view and select Add Effect. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 6. From the \Keyer Effects folder, select the Difference Keyer effect. The effect is added as a node in the Effects Tree view. 7. Connect the foreground clip to Input 1 on the Difference Keyer node, and the reference clip to Input 2. 8. Add a Composite node, located in the \Tree Effects folder, to the tree and connect the nodes as follows: The Difference Keyer effect computes the difference between the reference clip and the selected layer, and creates a matte on the layer. Fine-tuning the Matte The Difference Keyer property editor contains several property pages from which you can fine-tune your matte, crop the image, create a garbage matte, track the garbage matte, create a spill matte, and apply spill correction. 1240 Using the Difference Keyer Effect To fine-tune the matte: 1. In the Difference Keyer property editor, select the General tab. 2. Select the Keep Original Alpha option if your image has an existing matte that you want to preserve. 3. Select the Output Matte option to output the matte as an RGB image. This option also lets you switch the viewer’s display between the matte and the RGB channels. 4. From the Pre-blur box, select the Apply option and use the controls to adjust the amount of blur to be applied. By default, a Fast (uniform) blur is applied. This type of blur decreases the amount of time required to process the effect. n When you use the Pre-blur controls on the General property page, make sure the Same as Processing option on the Options property page is selected. This will ensure that the pre-blur is applied to individual fields. 5. On the Map property page, make sure the Apply option is selected, so that changes are applied to the matte. 6. Adjust the opaque and transparent areas of the matte by doing one of the following: t Adjust the Clip Low and Clip High controls. Clip Low forces semitransparent areas of the background to become more transparent. Clip High forces semitransparent areas of the foreground to become more opaque. t Click Force (Opaque or Transparent) and select an alpha value from the viewer. 7. Adjust the function curve further by interactively manipulating it on the function curve graph. 8. On the Matte property page, select the Apply options from the Blur box to apply a blur to the matte. 9. Use the Radius and Amount controls to adjust the blur. 10. From the Size box, select the Apply option to apply the Shrink/Grow effect to the matte. n When you use the Size controls on the Matte property page, make sure the Same as Processing option on the Options property page is selected. This will ensure that the shrink/grow effect is applied to individual fields. 1241 Chapter 3 Keying 11. Use the Shrink/Grow controls to adjust the size of the matte. 12. Deselect the Output Matte option. Since you will work on the spill color correction, you no longer need to see the matte. 13. On the Spill property page, click Pick Spill Color, then select the spill color in the viewer. 14. To select a hue to replace the spill hue, do one of the following: t Click Pick Replace Hue and click a color in the viewer. t Drag the color selector in the color wheel to the hue and saturation that will replace the current spill hue and saturation. 15. Fine-tune the replacement color using the Hue and Saturation controls. 16. Use the Luminance Offset and Threshold controls to add or subtract luminance to or from the original luminance value and to adjust the spill correction area. 17. Use the Softness controls to create a softer transition between the replacement color and adjacent colors in the RGB image. n Spill correction in the Difference Keyer is only effective if you are keying out blue or green screen shots. 18. On the Masking property page, specify whether you’re using a mask for the effect or not. By default, the effect is applied to the RGB and alpha channels. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 19. On the Options Property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Processing options. 1242 Using the HSL Keyer Effect Using the HSL Keyer Effect The HSL Keyer effect lets you create a matte based on the hue, saturation, and luminance (HSL) values of an image. Once the matte is created, you can composite the clip over another one. You can also use the HSL Keyer effect to key out specific areas of an image. Creating a Basic Key Once you apply the HSL Keyer effect to a clip, track, layer or tree, you can create a basic key and then fine-tune it. Regardless of how you applied the keyer, the steps required to create a key are the same. However, if you applied the keyer using a graphics effect, you’ll need to perform a few preliminary steps before you can create the key. To create a basic key: 1. Apply the HSL Keyer effect to a clip, track, layer, or Effects Tree. The HSL Keyer property editor is displayed. 2. In the viewer, press Shift and drag over the portion of the image that you want to key out. The specified color range is removed from the image. Selecting an area to be keyed. Use the following shortcuts when keying out mattes: 1243 Chapter 3 Keying To Do this Select pixels Click and drag Make a rectangular selection Hold down Shift and drag Select the pixels in roll area (fall-off regions) Hold down Ctrl and drag You can also enter values in the HSL Keyer property editor. 3. View the output of the matte by right-clicking the viewer and selecting Alpha Component. n Tip: Select the 75% transparency to view both the matte and the image as you extract color ranges. If you applied the keyer on a video track, be sure to solo the track, so you only see the output of the matte for the keyer. 4. Continue making rectangular selections over areas that are still not transparent. Each time you drag over the color to be keyed, the current frame is processed and the viewer immediately displays the results. 5. To view the final matte, right-click the viewer and select Alpha Component > Matte. The resulting matte is shown in the viewer. 1244 Using the HSL Keyer Effect 6. To display the RGB image, turn off the alpha component by right-clicking the viewer again and select Alpha Component > Off. You can now see any underlying layers in the composite. n Tip: If you applied the keyer on a video track, be sure to deselect the Solo button on the track. Fine-tuning the Key The HSL Keyer property editor contains several property pages from which you can fine-tune your matte, crop the image, create a garbage matte, track the garbage matte, create a spill matte, and apply spill correction. To fine-tune the key: 1. In the HSL Keyer property editor, select the Matte tab. 2. Select the Apply option from the Blur box to apply a blur to the matte. 3. Use the Radius and Amount controls to adjust the blur. 4. From the Size box, select the Apply option to apply the Shrink/Grow effect to the matte. n Tip: When you use the Size controls on the Matte property page, make sure the Same as Processing option on the Options property page is selected. This will ensure that the shrink/grow effect is applied to individual fields. 5. Use the Shrink/Grow controls to adjust the size of the matte. 1245 Chapter 3 Keying 6. On the Map property page, select the Apply option. This property page lets you apply post-process mapping to the matte generated by the HSL keyer. By modifying the function curve, you can adjust areas of the matte according to their degree of transparency. 7. On the Masking property page, specify whether you’re using a mask for the effect or not. By default, the effect is applied to the RGB and alpha channels. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 8. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Processing options. 1246 Using the Linear Luma Keyer Effect Using the Linear Luma Keyer Effect The Linear Luma Keyer effect lets you create a matte based on the luminance values of an image. If the background you want to key out does not contain chrominance information but only luminance information (such as white, blacks and grays), then use the Linear Luma keyer to create the matte. The Linear Luma keyer is simpler to use and faster than the Luma keyer. In the following example, the Linear Luma keyer was used to create a matte for the man on a white background in order to composite him over the medieval background. Creating a Basic Key Once you apply the Linear Luma keyer, you can create a basic key and then fine-tune it. Whether you applied the keyer to a clip, track, layer, or tree, the steps required to create a key are the same To create a basic key: 1. Apply the Linear Luma Keyer effect to a clip, track, layer, or Effects Tree. 2. On the Key property page, select the Keep Original Alpha option if your image has an existing matte that you want to preserve. 3. Select the Output Matte option to output the matte as an RGB image. This option also lets you switch the viewer’s display between the matte and the RGB channels. 1247 Chapter 3 Keying 4. Click the Reverse FG/BG button. Since the key is based on the brightness of the luminance, a white background produces a high score in the keyer making the alpha white. You can reverse the foreground and background to create the correct matte, so the foreground is white and the background is black. 5. Use the Gain and Brightness controls to adjust the matte. The Gain control lets you add to or remove opacity from areas that are semitransparent. The Brightness control lets you add brightness to all areas of the matte. 6. From the Pre-blur box, select the Apply option and use the controls to adjust the amount of blur to be applied. By default, a fast uniform (box) blur is applied. This type of blur decreases the amount of time required to process the effect. n 1248 When you use the Pre-blur controls on the General property page, make sure the Same as Processing option on the Options property page is selected. This will ensure that the pre-blur is applied to individual fields. Using the Linear Luma Keyer Effect Fine-tuning the Matte The Linear Luma Keyer property editor contains several property pages from which you can fine-tune your matte, crop the image, create a garbage matte, track the garbage matte, create a spill matte, and apply spill correction. To fine-tune the matte: 1. From the Linear Luma Keyer property editor, select the Matte tab. 2. Adjust the opaque and transparent areas of the matte by doing one of the following: t Click Pick BG or Pick FG, and then click the background and foreground areas of the matte in the viewer. t Use the sliders to adjust semitransparent areas, making them transparent or opaque. 3. Use the Size controls to increase or decrease the size of the matte. n When you use the Size controls on the Matte property page, make sure the Same as Processing option on the Options property page is selected. This will ensure that the shrink/grow effect is applied to individual fields. 4. Use the Blur controls to adjust the softness of the blur and the degree to which it is applied to your matte. n Tip: If you want to force the outgoing image to be premultiplied, select the Force Premultiplied option. This option is useful when you need to touch up an existing premultiplied image’s alpha channel and keep the image premultiplied, or when you want to see the results of the keyer effect without first compositing it. 1249 Chapter 3 Keying 5. Use the controls on the Crop and Shapes property pages to crop the matte or remove garbage from the matte respectively. You can also track shapes in your garbage matte using the controls on the Tracker property page. 6. Deselect the Output Matte option to view the results of the composite. 7. On the Masking property page, specify whether you’re using a mask for the effect or not. By default, the effect is applied to the RGB and alpha channels. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 8. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Processing options. 1250 Using the Luma Keyer Effect Using the Luma Keyer Effect The Luma Keyer effect lets you create a matte based on the luminance values of an image. Luminance is the portion of a video signal that contains the brightness (black and white) information. If you want additional control over a luma key, use the Linear Luma keyer instead of the Luma keyer. Creating a Basic Matte Once you apply the Luma Keyer effect, you can create a basic key and then fine-tune it. Regardless of how you applied the keyer, the steps required to create a key are the same. To create a basic matte: 1. Apply the Luma Keyer effect to a clip, track, layer, or Effects Tree. 2. In the viewer, press Shift and drag over the portion of the image that you want to key out. The luminance range you selected is removed from the image. Selecting an area to be keyed. Use the following shortcuts when keying out mattes: 1251 Chapter 3 Keying To Do this Select pixels Click and drag Make a rectangular selection Hold down Shift and drag Select the pixels in roll area (fall-off regions) Click a pixel, press Ctrl, and drag You can also enter values in the Luma Keyer property editor. 3. View the outline of the matte by right-clicking the viewer and selecting Alpha Component. n Tip: Select the 75% transparency, so that you view both the matte and the image as you extract color ranges. If your clip is on a video track, solo it before you view the alpha channel. 4. Continue making rectangular selections over areas that are still not transparent. Each time you drag over the color to be keyed, the current frame is processed and the viewer immediately displays the results. n Tip: You can zoom in on the viewer to find pixel values that need to be keyed out. 5. To view the final matte, right-click the viewer and select Alpha Component > Matte. The resulting matte is displayed in the viewer. 1252 Using the Luma Keyer Effect 6. To display the RGB image, turn off the alpha component by right-clicking the viewer again and selecting Alpha Component > Off. You can now see any underlying layers in the composite. n Tip: If you applied the keyer on a video track, be sure to deselect the Solo button on the track. Results of a composite using the luminance keyer effect 1253 Chapter 3 Keying Fine-tuning the Matte The Luma Keyer property editor contains several property pages from which you can fine-tune your matte, crop the image, create a garbage matte, track the garbage matte, create a spill matte, and apply spill correction. To fine-tune the matte: 1. On the Luma Keyer property editor, select the Matte tab. 2. Select the Apply option from the Blur box to apply a blur to the matte. 3. Use the Radius and Amount controls to adjust the blur. 4. From the Size box, select the Apply option to apply the Shrink/Grow effect to the matte. n When you use the Size controls on the Matte property page, make sure the Same as Processing option on the Options property page is selected. This will ensure that the shrink/grow effect is applied to individual fields. 5. Use the Shrink/Grow controls to adjust the size of the matte. 6. On the Map property page, modify the function curve to adjust areas of the matte according to their degree of transparency. 7. On the Masking property page, specify whether you’re using a mask for the effect or not. By default, the effect is applied to the RGB and alpha channels. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 8. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Processing options. 1254 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images This chapter introduces you to the concepts of color correction and describes the different tools that you can use to color correct your images. Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Setting Up the Color Correction Environment It is important that the environment in which you will be color correcting images does not affect your perception of color. A proper environment gives you the tools you need to properly color correct an image. It also provides a neutral colorscape so that your eye will not mislead and deceive you as you manipulate color. Remember that although the camera eye does not lie, the human eye (integrated with the brain) does “lie” all the time. It corrects for lighting and color qualities created by various types of light, such as fluorescent lighting, that alter the hue of the visual object. Your environment should have the following elements: • Properly calibrated broadcast monitor: At a bare minimum, the monitor should be calibrated, so that the setup, gain, chroma, and hue (if applicable) are properly adjusted. In a professional color correction suite, additional calibrations are often performed. Most critical to these are setting the color temperature and normalizing the gray scale of the monitor. The color temperature determines the color of gray. The desired color temperature is 6500 Kelvin, or the color temperature of natural daylight. Most monitors have a much higher color temperature out of the box and as a result have a much bluer gray than is desired for color correction. A normal gray scale implies that the color of gray does not vary across the gray scale. On most monitors, the color of gray shifts as the image transitions from black to white, usually getting bluer in bright regions. Color temperature calibration and normalization require special measurement equipment that reads the color of gray off the monitor. 1256 • Proper lighting: The lighting in the room should be set to 6500 Kelvin. (This color temperature is often referred to as D65.) The light should be on dimmers as bright lighting is undesirable. • Neutral gray wall behind the monitor: Since your eyes are sensitive to any light in the room, the wall should be a neutral color as well. A neutral gray wall is the best solution, but a white wall is fine as long as bright lights do not shine directly on it. Workflow: Color Correcting Images Workflow: Color Correcting Images 1 2 Apply a Color Correction effect Set black and white points Black point White point 3 Correct tonal and contrast ranges Be sure to analyze the footage before you begin color correcting Use HSL controls Use levels 4 Use the Hue Offset tab to correct hue or color cast problems 5 Other color correction tasks such as channel blending or matching clips The Levels property page is a specialized version of the HSL controls Use the Match Color Tool to retain color consistency between two or more clips that are shot in the same environment 6 Use the Luma, Chroma, or RGB clipping properties on the HSL property page to make sure that your adjustments are within legal limits 1257 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Color Correction in Avid DS Nitris The Avid DS Nitris Color Correction tools let you: • Restore or alter the original look of a scene so that it can be more realistic and well-balanced • Correct shots taken in the same environment, so that your scene remains consistent • Fix white or black balance problems that are caused when shooting • Create special effects In Avid DS Nitris, there are two types of color correction effects from which you can select the one that works best for your project or most suitable for your working method. You should always define what the overall goals of your color correcting process. n • Color Correction Classic effect: Provides a very basic Color Correction toolset. It lets you adjust the various aspects of an image’s color such as the hue, saturation, contrast, and brightness. You can adjust the color in each of the user-defined ranges of shadows, highlights, and midtones. • Color Correction effect: With a more advanced property page, this effect offers a broader tool set that allows you to perform additional tasks, such as color channel blending, analysis of video images using histograms, and color correction using a match color tool. Most of the procedures in this chapter use the Color Correction effect. There are also several preset Color Correction effects in the Color Correction folder (\Image Effects\Color Corrections) that you can apply to your image. These include Blue Duotone, Old Photo, and Saturated. It is important that you always make sure that the clip that you want to color correct is selected on the timeline or the position indicator is on the clip. Once you apply the Color Correction effect, you can modify parameters to color correct your image. The adjustments you make to parameters in the Color Correction property editor are cumulative and applied on top of parameters on subsequent property pages. 1258 Working with Source Effects Working with Source Effects It is always a good idea to decide beforehand whether to color correct all your footage at the source, on an entire sequence, or on a per clip basis. Your decision depends entirely on your footage. Applying source effects will solve problems that are present in your source material, such as color inconsistencies or imbalances, or when you want to achieve a common look and feel to all your media. Source effects are not limited to color correction. You can also apply image effects, such as the noise effect directly at the source to eliminate a visible scratch on your material. Other effects include graphics effects. A great example is when you want to apply a logo to the material from the source tape. Use the Graphics combo view to edit the graphic. Source effects should be applied before any sequence dependant processes such as frame rate conversion, media conversion or mix and match. There are three levels where you can apply and edit source effects: • Tape: It is common to color correct after you have captured your material from the source tape when you want to maintain color and lighting consistency on your tape. This may be the case when you have material on the same tape that was shot at two different locations at the same time of day. Color correction or other effect settings at this level will be reflected on all clips and subclips that derive from the same source tape. • Master clips: After you have captured from tape, you can apply source effects on a master clip. Master clips always reference captured media files that are located on your storage drives. Color correction settings on the clip will be inherited by the subclips created from it. • Subclips: You can also apply source effects directly on subclips, which have been created from master clips. Remember that subclips do not directly reference the original media and remain linked to the master clip from which they were created. All subclips created from a master clip that has a source effect will inherit the new settings. 1259 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Clips on the timeline will have a green icon on the clip indicating that a source effect has been applied. You can edit effects to the result of the source effect or composite without applying a certain effect to each clip or subclip created from your source material. Remember that additional effects on the clip or sequence are cumulative; it’s similar to working with new clips on the timeline or in the Effects Tree. n Tip: To bypass the applied source effect on a clip, apply a mix. If you set the mix value to 0 on the portion of the effect that you want, the source effect will not be applied. In the Animation Editor, you can add keyframes and bring the curve down to 0 for the area that you want to bypass. For more information, see “Editing Animation on the Animation Graph” on page 991 in the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. Applying and Editing Tape Source Effects Once you have captured material from tape, you can apply source effects using any of the following methods: • Using the Tape Tool to Apply Source Effects • Using the Avid Explorer to Apply Source Effects • Applying Tape Source Effects on the Timeline • Applying Tape Source Effects in the Effects Layout Using the Tape Tool to Apply Source Effects The Tape Tool view lets you see the media on one or more tapes, their qualities, and the parts of the media that are used in a selected clip or sequence. For more information, see Tape Tool in the Help. 1260 Working with Source Effects To apply and edit source effects on tape using the tape tool: 1. Do one of the following: t In the Avid Explorer, click the Tape Tool button. t From the Data Management menu, select Media Tool. In the Media Tool view, click the Tape Tool button The bottom portion of the view/bin displays a timecode box on the right side and a timeline on the left. 2. Right-click the gray area as shown below and select Insert Tape Effect. The Load Preset dialog box appears. 3. Select an effect and enter the settings in its property editor. n To bypass source side effects, use the Bypass option in the property editor of the effect. For more information, see “Bypassing Effects” on page 235 of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide. 1261 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Using the Avid Explorer to Apply Source Effects All captured material from tape are stored in the folder, within a specific project, that you selected as the capture target. You can apply source effects at this level. To apply and edit tape source effects in the Avid Explorer: 1. In the Avid Explorer, navigate to the folder containing the capture clips from tape. 2. Right click the clip, select Source Effects > Edit Tape Effect. 3. Do one of the following depending on the task: t If you are applying an effect for the first time, select an effect from the Load Preset dialog box and enter the settings in the effect’s property editor. t If you are editing the source effect, modify the values in the property editor. Applying Tape Source Effects on the Timeline Applying and editing source effects on the timeline is useful when you want to pre-apply some effects. To apply and edit tape source effects on the timeline: 1. Drag and drop the clip captured from tape to the timeline. 2. Do one of the following: t Right-click the clip and select Source Effects > Edit Tape Effect. t From the NLE Toolbar, click Editing and select Source Effects > Edit Tape Effect. 3. Do one of the following depending on the task: 1262 t If you are applying an effect for the first time, select an effect from the Load Preset dialog box and enter the settings in the effect’s property editor. t If you are editing the source effect, modify the values in the property editor. Working with Source Effects Applying Tape Source Effects in the Effects Layout If you are already working in the Effects layout, you can apply at tape source effect on a clip from the transport controls of the viewer. Click the Tape Effect Mode button to apply a tape source effect on the selected clip on the timeline. A green icon appears on the clip. You can toggle between the Tape Effect Mode button and the Masterclip Effect Mode button. Editing Masterclip and Subclip Source Effects You can edit the properties or values of the source effects on the master clip or subclip you are using. If you make any adjustment on a master clip, subclips created from it will reflect the changes. To edit source effects on a master clip or subclip: 1. Do one of the following: t In the Avid Explorer, right click the clip, select Source Effects > Edit Master clip Effect or Edit Subclip Effect t Right-click a clip on the timeline, select Source Effects > Edit Master clip Effect or Edit Subclip Effect The Load Preset dialog box opens. 1263 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images 2. Do one of the following depending on the task: t If you are applying an effect for the first time, select an effect from the Load Preset dialog box and enter the settings in the effect’s property editor. t If you are editing the source effect, modify the values in the property editor. Editing Masterclip Source Effects in the Effects Layout If you are already working in the Effects layout, you can apply at tape source effect on a clip from the transport controls of the viewer. Click the Masterclip Effect Mode button to apply a masterclip source effect on the selected clip on the timeline. A green icon appears on the clip. You can toggle between the Tape Effect Mode button and the Masterclip Effect Mode button. Removing Source Effects You can delete the source effect applied on the tape, master clip or subclip on the timeline. To remove source effects on tape: 1. Select the master clip either in the Avid Explorer or on the timeline. 2. Right-click and select Source Effects > Remove Tape Effect. 1264 Working with Source Effects All values that were set to the master clip or subclips created from the master clip are now removed. To remove source effects on a master clip or subclip: 1. Select the master clip either in the Avid Explorer or on the timeline. 2. Right-click and select Source Effects > Remove Master clip Effect or Source Effects > Remove Subclip Effect. All values that were set to the master clip or subclips created from the master clip are now removed. Loading Source Effects You can load any effect that you want to use on a clip that already has source effect on it. To load a source effect’s property editor: 1. Right-click the clip either on the timeline or in the Avid Explorer and select Source Effects > Edit Master clip Effect or Edit Subclip Effect. 2. In the effect’s property editor, click the Load Preset button. 3. In the Load Preset dialog box, select an effect. 4. Set the desired values. Subclips previously created or subclips newly created from this material will inherit the new values. 1265 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Applying a Color Correction Effect There are several ways that you can apply the Color Correction effects: • You can apply both the Color Correction Classic and Color Correction effects to a clip, track, timeline, or Effects Tree—see “Applying Effects” on page 210 of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide. • You can add them as effect nodes to the Effects Tree—see “Adding Effect Nodes to a Tree” on page 1178. From the timeline navigation bar, you can switch to the Color Correction mode by clicking the Color Correction button. From the taskbar, click the Effects button. By default, the Color Correction effect with its large property editor is displayed. • • A gray effect bar appears on the timeline indicating that a default Color Correction effect has been applied. When you edit the values on the Color Correction property editor, the effect bar automatically changes to light green. n 1266 Tip: When working in the Editing and Compositing layouts, Ctrl Click the Effects button in the taskbar to open a floating Color Correction property editor. A Color Correction effect is applied on the clip the position indicator is on. Setting the Color Correction Mode Setting the Color Correction Mode When working with the Color Correction effect, you can set the color correction mode depending on the task at hand. To set the color correction mode: 1. In the Color Correction property editor, select HSL > Controls > Master. 2. Select a correction mode: - Normal: Displays the correction in the viewer as expected - Preserve Luma: Displays the corrected image where the hue values of the image are replaced with new output values without distorting the luminance values - Natural Correction: Displays the corrected image where the hue values of the image are replaced with new output values without distorting the luminance and saturation in the image 1267 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Analyzing Footage You should always analyze the footage to check that the black and white points of the image are properly set, for luminance and color problems. This will help you determine how to proceed with color correcting your images and whether you need to set the black and white points. Analyzing Images using Histograms One of the ways to analyze images is by using the histogram, which provides an easily understood summary of the color or tonal range (from shadows to highlights) of an image. It is on the Levels property page of the Color Correction effect property editor. % or proportional number of pixels Here is an illustration of the properties of the histogram. White point controls Black point controls Gray point controls Dark Light Luminance of the pixels A histogram is a graph of information about the color values of all the pixels in an image. Color values are plotted on the horizontal axis of the graph; the percentage or proportional number of pixels is plotted on the vertical axis. n 1268 Right-click the histogram to turn ON or OFF a filled curve. Analyzing Footage If an image is mostly dark, the bars of its histogram are concentrated at the low end. If an image contains only a small number of discrete color values, its histogram shows discrete spikes for each of those values. A typical setup in the histogram will show the following values on both the input and output side (Normalized %): Black Point Gray Point White Point 0 50 100 The black and white point values represent normal safe limits for video broadcast. Any value below 0 is considered SuperBlack while any value above 100 is considered SuperWhite. 1269 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images The following examples illustrate some histogram patterns: Example 1 This image has large areas that are very dark and a relatively even distribution of values in the rest of the brightness range. The histogram shows a sharp spike at the very low end, a concentration of values in the lowest 25% of the range, and a relatively even distribution in the rest of the range. Example 2 This image, like the last one, has more dark values than light. But the distribution of values is less extreme. This is reflected in the histogram, which shows a more rounded peak at the low end, fewer extremely low values, and relatively more midtone values. Example 3 This image has very large highlight areas in the background and on the chicks. Most of the rest of the image is relatively, but not extremely dark. The histogram shows sharp spikes at the high end, relative concentration in the low to middle range, and few values in the middle to high range. Once you determine the quality of the color and tonal range of the footage, then you can begin to color correct it accordingly. 1270 Analyzing Footage Setting Black and White Points of an Image When analyzing footage, it is important to make sure that the black and white points are properly set. Always play the segment you want to adjust and check the following using the vectorscope or the viewer: • The black point is at 7.5IRE for NTSC or 0 mV for PAL. • The white point is at 100IRE for NTSC or 700 mV for PAL. If they are not, then you will need to set the black and white points. Setting the black point and the white point is often straightforward. Using a vectorscope, you simply look for what should be the darkest area of the image and adjust controls until it becomes as dark as possible and then repeat the same process for the white point of the image. When capturing DPX files, you can quickly set the black and white points by adjusting the color values of the output. For more information, see “Capturing DPX Files” of the Avid DS Nitris Capture and Output Guide. Also see “Linearizing Film-Based Material”. Displaying Pixel Information in the Viewer You can also quickly check the pixel ratios of the darkest and lightest areas of your image using the viewer properties in Avid DS Nitris by displaying the pixel information. To display pixel IRE information in the viewer: 1. Right-click the viewer and select Viewer Properties. The Viewer Properties dialog box is displayed. 2. Select the Guides tab. 1271 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images 3. Select Display Pixel Info. 4. Click the Color Space button and select YCC 601 > Y IRE > CC Normalized (%). In the viewer, the location (X,Y) coordinates and the RGB IRE color information of the pixel that the cursor is hovering over. Here is an example showing the black IRE values of a test pattern in the viewer: The black point reads 7.5IRE 1272 Analyzing Footage Setting the Black and White Points There are two methods: - Using the HSL Controls - Using the Levels Controls The method you choose depends on how you prefer to work. To set the black and white points using the HSL Controls: 1. Switch to the Effects layout or add a Color Correction effect to access the Effects layout. 2. Move the position indicator to the segment of the clip you want to correct. 3. Click HSL > Controls > Master. 4. In the Luma box, do the following: n - Black point: Adjust the Brightness control until the waveform or the pixel ratio in the viewer reads 7.5IRE for NTSC or 0 mV for PAL. To attain a richer or deeper black, adjust the Setup control in the Shadows tab - White point: Adjust the Gain control until the waveform or the pixel ratio in the viewer reads 100IRE for NTSC or 700 mV for PAL. If the black point of the image is already set or does not require any setting, adjusting the black point using the Brightness control will alter its value. To set the black and white points using the Levels property page: 1. In the Levels property page, click the Master tab. 2. Use the input histogram to analyze the image. 3. To set the black point, do one of the following: t Drag the black slider to the right until you get a good black. The waveform or the pixel ration reads 7.5IRE for NTSC or 0 mV for PAL. t Type a numerical value in the appropriate text box and press Enter. 4. Set the white point. 5. If you need to, you can adjust the gray slider to get a nice histogram in the output side—see “Input and Output Adjustments” on page 1279 to understand the relationship between input and output in the Levels page. 1273 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Color Correcting Tonal Ranges in Images After using the histogram to analyze footage, you may find that an image lacks a full range or contrast. This problem can be corrected by adjusting the tonal range to improve sharpness, contrast, and detail. When color correcting the overall tonal range of an image, either brightening or darkening an image, you are essentially remapping the highlights and shadows of an image to provide a new output. A good place to start is by using the HSL controls. You can also use the Levels property page, which is a more advanced and specialized version of the HSL controls, to control the highlights and shadows by defining the white, gray, and black point of an image. One of the advantages of using Levels property page over the HSL controls is that you can control the highlights and shadows for a specific color channel (Red, Green or Blue), the luminance range, and the composite signal. Be careful when adjusting the highlights and shadows of an image. You should determine whether: • The scene was meant to be shot in either darkness or lightness. In the case of a shot at sunset, expand the range as much as possible without making the image unrealistically dark. • The contrast and details and a good balance between light (highlights) and dark (shadows) tones. You may want to adjust the range of tone or contrast of an image: • When it lacks a full range of one color channel or across all color channels. • To deliberately reduce detail in one part of the range. • To deliberately expand another part of the range that is more important in the image. • To adjust the gray point in respect to the black and white points in order to rebalance the midtones without significantly affecting the shadows and highlights. This is also known as making a gamma correction. • Rebalance the color or luma range. Working with the HSL Controls The HSL controls can be divided into three groups: 1274 Color Correcting Tonal Ranges in Images n • Hue and Saturation controls, which when adjusted do not affect the luminance of the image. • Brightness, Gain, Setup, and Contrast controls, which when adjusted affect the luminance of the image. • The Gamma control, which is applied to the result of the entire image. You can control the color contrast in the Chroma box. To lock the Luma and Chroma Contrast sliders so their values are identical, select Lock. Hue and Saturation These controls are useful when you want to alter the entire color cast or tint of the image or the intensity of the colors in the image. In addition to the hue and saturation controls in the Controls tab, you can specify the hue and saturation of an image by using the color wheels in the Hue Offset tab. The hue changes as you move around the wheel, while Saturation increases from the center Match color tool Color chip Click one of the icons to switch the color display: Color Wheel, Vectorscope, Hue, Saturation, Value. Hue Offset controls: Adjusts the tint of an image. The Color Wheel: Displays the entire spectrum of colors. Drag the color selector to a new color. If an object of an image that should be a neutral gray appears tinged with color, you can use the offset to restore the correct gray color. You can also use the hue and saturation controls to create a specific look and feel to your footage. For example. you may want to add a blue tinge to create a perception of dusk. n When experimenting, do use the vectorscope to make sure that you are working within legal limits. 1275 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Gain, Brightness, Setup, and Contrast Brightness and the Contrast controls always interact with each other, while Gain and Setup controls work together. If you have made an adjustment using either the Luma or Chroma Contrast control, you should adjust the luminance of your image by using the Brightness control. If you have made a Gain adjustment, use the Setup control to adjust the luma of your image. n To customize the luminance ranges for the highlights, midtones, and shadows of the image, use the curves in the Luma Ranges tab. For more information, see “Luma Ranges Tab” in the Help. • Gain is a multiplication factor and makes adjustments to the luminance of your image based on a percentage of the original luminance. To “brighten” or “darken” an image, you may choose to use the Gain control instead of Brightness because it makes proportional adjustments, whereas Brightness continues to add even when you have already set your Black point and therefore, lightening or darkening the Black point further. Output Output 1 1 Input 0 1 Gain > 100% n Input 0 1 Gain < 100% You can lock the Luma Gain and Chroma Saturation sliders so their values are identical by selecting Lock. • Setup, like Brightness, is an additive factor and adds luminance to the image. Although it’s similar to the Brightness control, Brightness is applied before the Contrast and Gain operations while Setup is applied after the Contrast and Gain operations. 1276 Color Correcting Tonal Ranges in Images Output Output 1 1 Input 0 1 Brightness or Setup > 0 • Input 0 1 Brightness or Setup < 0 Contrast increases or decreases the contrast in an image. Output Output 1 1 Input 0 1 Input 0 Contrast > 0% 1 Contrast < 0% Gamma Corrections After correcting the shadows and highlights of your image, you may still find that it may still be slightly darker or lighter. A gamma correction using the Gamma control solves this problem because it is applied to the result of the image without altering the shadows and highlights. It uses the following formula: Output = Input ^ (1/gamma). Output Output 1 1 Input 0 1 Gamma > 1 Input 0 1 Gamma < 1 1277 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images You can define the remapping of the midtones by using the Gamma slider: • on the Master, Highlights, Midtones, and Shadows tabs of the HSL property page • on the RGB tab of the HSL property page. You can adjust the Gamma value for each color channel • of the RGB Gamma slider on any of the tabs on Controls (except Alpha). All RGB Gamma slider is dynamically linked. Adjusting the value automatically changes the value across the property page. • on the Levels property page. It is available in the Red, Green, Blue, and Master tabs. Increasing the value lightens the selected color channel of that image. The Curve graph provides a visual feedback of the change. Increasing the Gamma value on the Controls tab of the HSL property page, for example, in the Master tab brightens the entire image. Increasing the value in the Highlights tab brightens the highlights of the image. Large adjustments of the gamma can sometimes be useless. It is better to make small adjustments without the whole image becoming either too dark or too light. Smaller gamma adjustments are more useful when fine-tuning the relative weight of the darks and lights. Using a gamma correction also improves the contrast and detail of the image. n When using the Color Correction Classic effect, use the gamma on the luminance channel in the Adjust property page. The relationship on this property page is Gamma, Gain, and Setup. Using Levels to Correct Tonal Ranges All the controls in the Levels property page are dynamically linked. When you make one adjustment on this property page, all the controls reflect that change. 1278 Color Correcting Tonal Ranges in Images Sub-dividing tabs Input text boxes Input histogram Curve graph Output histogram Output text boxes Input and Output Adjustments Adjusting tonal and contrast ranges means that you are changing the relationship between the input and output values for your image. If you change the values on the input side by using the text boxes or sliders, then the range of the input values are mapped to the same range of the output values on the output histogram. The input histogram always shows the distribution of values for the uncorrected image. After an adjustment, the output histogram updates according to the changes being made. The Curve graph also updates to show the relationship between the input values (x axis) and the output values (y axis). It is important to understand the differences between the input and output sides. Input Side Output Side Defines the black, white, and gray point of the uncorrected image Defines how the corrected image is displayed n The Composite and Luma tabs only have black and white points. Lets you increase the tonal range of an image Lets you decrease the tonal range of an image 1279 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images 1280 Input Side Output Side Changes made on the input side makes the system clip the values Changes made on the output side, remap the values Set the input values to approximate the camera’s view when the footage was shot. When you color correct an image, you typically want to maximize the tonal range. Set the output values to add a stylistic look to the image. To be set first To be set after the input values Color Correcting Tonal Ranges in Images Working with the Composite and Luma Tabs The Composite tab displays histograms that represent the levels in the composite image before and after correction. The Luma tab shows histograms that represent the luminance levels in the image before and after correction. They are useful for checking whether your color-corrected images are within the composite and luminance limits you need to meet and for adjusting levels to meet those limits, if necessary. The Composite and Luma tabs display unit information in normalized units. You can make only black point and white point adjustments in the Composite and Luma tabs. By adjusting these two points, if necessary, you can bring any values that exceed your composite or luminance limits back into an acceptable range. 1281 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Linearizing Film-Based Material When film-based media are scanned, a series of frames are produced in DPX or Cineon file format, which could be logarithmic-based. Avid DS Nitris provides the option to convert logarithmic-based media to linear-based media prior to applying effects. This conversion is known as linearizing. If you are only editing (trimming or cutting) log-based media, linearizing the files is not necessary. There are three ways to linearize film-based material: • Directly at import—see “Capturing from DPX Files” in the Help. • By using the LogLin Remapping effect that has two presets: lin2log and log2lin—see “Linearizing Log-based Media” on page 1284 and “Log2Lin” in the Help. • By using the color correction effect—see “Linearizing Log-based Media” on page 1284. Working with LUTs The Lookup Table (LUT) is a file that contains the conversion of pixel values. The number of entry in the file represents the number of possible pixel values on a per channel basis. The value of each entry represents the mapped pixel value. Before you import the files, you need to determine what look-up table (LUT) should be used to convert the pixel values from a log to a linear representation. You can import an LUT specific to the files, or use a standard LUT. If you use a standard LUT, you can choose either a linear transformation or a log-tolinear transformation. The “Linear” option preserves the log-based representation during import. Within Avid DS Nitris these log-based images can be used for many actions where linearizing (conversion from log to linear) may not be important, such as cuts-only editing or some basic effects. For applying complicated effects and combining the media with other non-log representation images, Avid recommends linearizing the pixel values by applying one of the following: 1282 • an LUT modified by the controls in the DPX Import dialog box • an LUT imported from file Linearizing Film-Based Material You can export DPX or Cineon files through similar controls. When exporting, you can convert from linear to log or invert the file used for import. For more information, click the Help button in the DPX Export dialog box. Exporting LUTs You can export a LUT by saving the input and output’s bit depth, black and white levels. To export a LUT: 1. In the Color Correction property editor, select the Levels property page. 2. Select a color tab (Red, Green, Blue). 3. Click the Export LUT button. The LUT properties dialog box is displayed. 4. For Input and/or Output, set the following: - Bit depth: Specifies the number of bits used to store information about each pixel of the image - Black Level: Sets a new default value for what you want to use as black level. - White Level: Sets a new default value for what you want to use as white level. The system remaps the new Black Level and White Level default values. 5. Click OK. 6. Specify the location, give the filename, and click OK. 1283 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Loading LUTs When you have a series of varying shots that belong to one film project, you can load an existing LUT and apply it to the shots to create consistency between them. Once you have loaded the LUT, you cannot modify its properties or adjust the Display Gamma value. However, you can invert the values to apply the inverse settings if necessary. To load a LUT: 1. In the Color Correction property editor or the LogLin Remapping property editor, select the Levels property page. 2. Select a color tab (Red, Green, Blue). 3. From the Type drop-down list, select File LUT. The Open LUT file dialog box is displayed. 4. Select the file and click OK. The LUT properties dialog box is displayed. You can change the bit depth of the output, as well as the in/out levels. The system remaps the new default values and the changes can be seen in the curve graph.s Linearizing Log-based Media After capturing DPX or Cineon files, you can use the color correction effect or the LinLog Remapping effect to linearize log-based media. Both of these effects are real-time. To linearize a DPX image: 1. Drag and drop the image from the bin to the timeline. 2. Do one of the following: t Apply a color correction effect t Apply the Log2Lin effect (\Image Effects folder) 3. Select the Levels property page. 1284 Linearizing Film-Based Material 4. Select a color tab (Red, Green, Blue). To apply the same values for all three curves, select Lock RGB. You can leave the Normalized % setting for the Units, unless you want to display using different units. 5. Adjust the Display Gamma control to make a gamma correction or set the gamma value between the set reference black and white. 6. Set the Film Gamma, only if you have determined the film gamma for your footage. n If you don’t know the Film Gamma setting, visit the Kodak website to find out how to compute the film's gamma based on the graphics provided for stock films. Otherwise, you can leave the default value and adjust the Display Gamma. 7. Adjust the Softclip value—see “About Softclipping” on page 1285. The image is now linearized. Proceed to edit and apply effects. About Softclipping When you linearize film-based material, any color information beyond the reference white value is cut off. Slightly adjusting the softclip value softens the hardness. If your image is too white, you can softclip the whites slightly to add details to the image. You should softclip when you are sure that there’s significant and useful information in the highlights that are clipped. 1285 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images This curve shows that any information above 100% is clipped. 1286 The softclip value is adjusted here. The curve is softer allowing some of the highlight color information that was previously clipped to be part of the image. Color Correcting a Dark Image Color Correcting a Dark Image The following example illustrates how to adjust the tonal range of a clip that is too dark because of insufficient light while shooting. The aim of color correcting the image is to give it a daylight effect without losing too much saturation or contrast. One of the solutions is to increase the proportion of the tonal range that lies between gray and white, enhancing detail in the image. Either the HSL controls or the Level property page can be employed. This example uses the Color Correction effect as opposed to the Color Correction Classic effect, which can also be applied to achieve the same results. There are two advantages of using the Color Correction effect: n • The HSL controls are laid out for you in fewer property pages. You can also control the settings per color channel. • By using the Levels property page, you can quickly analyze your image using the histogram, set black and white points, and tweak the color channels in only a few steps. Tip: If you want to start all over again, you can restore the default values. For more information, see “Returning to Default Values” on page 1307. Uncorrected image The image has too much blue color in the midtones and the color cast is dark and unsaturated. Corrected image The image is brighter with better contrast. 1287 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images To color correct a dark image using the HSL controls: 1. Making sure that the position indicator is on the clip, apply a color correction effect. 2. In the Color Correction property editor, select HSL > Controls > Master and adjust the Brightness until you get a good and acceptable black. 3. Adjust the Gain value to set the white point of the image. n Tip: Display the pixel ratio in the viewer. 4. If your image looks flat, adjust the saturation to give it more depth until you are satisfied. n Tip: Select Lock to lock the Saturation and Gain controls. 5. Use the Gamma control to make a gamma correction. This will make adjustments to the midtones of the image without affecting the highlights and shadows. 1288 Color Correcting a Dark Image 6. If necessary, continue to make any other adjustments: - Highlights: to adjust the brighter parts of the image - Midtones: to adjust the midrange part of the image - Shadows: to adjust the darker parts of the image - RGB: to adjust individual color channels and the RGB value of the image - Apha: to adjust the alpha channel of the image 7. To correct the hue or color cast problems, click the Hue Offset tab. 8. Drag the color selector of the a color wheel towards the warm yellows and reds. In this example, an adjustment is being made in the 1289 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images While you drag the color selector in the wheel, the image updates. n You can also use the color picker and pick a blue section of the image which will be applied to the image. You can then subtract the blue hue and then adjust the Hue and Gain values. 9. Fine-tune the changes until you are satisfied with the result. To color correct a dark image using the Levels property page: 1. Click the Master subdividing tab. 2. Use the histogram of the input side to analyze the image. 3. Set the black and white point of the image—“Setting Black and White Points of an Image” on page 1271. 4. In the Histogram of the Input side, do one of the following: t Drag the gray slider slightly to the left to increase the general whiteness of the image t Type a numerical value in the appropriate text box and press Enter. The system maps a new range of input values to a single output value. The changes can be seen in the output histogram. 5. Continue tweaking other tabs until you are satisfied with both the output histogram and the look and feel of the output. 1290 Color Correcting a Dark Image 6. On the Masking property page, select the channels on which you want to apply the effect. n If the alpha channel is used as mask, the effect is applied only to areas of the image where the alpha channel is not black. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 7. (Optional) Set the Mix parameter—see “Mix Parameter For Effects” in the Help. 1291 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Color Correction by Matching Clips When you have two clips shot in the same environment at different times, it is important that the color in both remain consistent. For example, if you have two adjacent clips on your timeline, one with the perfect blue sky tone and the other one with a not-so-perfect blue sky tone because it was shot on a different day or time of day, you can use the Match Color Tool to correct the shots. The Match Color Tool lets you quickly make a color correction by selecting input and output colors from your images. Arrow indicates the direction of application Input Color Chip: The color you want to change from Output Color Chip: The color you want to change to Match Color Type Match Color button Only the Controls and Hue Offset tabs of the HSL property page and the Curves property page include a Match Color Tool. You can use the Match Color Tool when you have material from a multi-cam shoot; the cameras are shooting the same subject, but the color may be different between the two angles. The system matches the input color value with the output color value and adjusts all the other color values in the image proportionally. It automatically adjusts selected controls in the group to make the change. You can set the combination of color components the system will use to determine the match from the menu. n 1292 Tip: You can also use the Match Color Tool as an information palette for checking the exact RGB value of a sample area in an image. Color Correction by Matching Clips Using the Match Color Chip You can use the Match color chip to select a color from anywhere on your desktop or from the mini color editor. To load the mini color editor: 1. Do one of the following: t Double-click either the input or output color chip. The color editor is displayed. Slider Color selector Color Area menu Color swatches RGBA text boxes t Shift + double-click either the input or output color chip. The color editor is displayed. 1293 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Slider Color wheel Click an icon to switch the color display. 2. Make the changes in the color editor. 3. Click the Edit or OK button, depending on which color editor you are using. n Tip: To change the display mode of the color chips, right-click the Match Color Tool chip and select from the menu. The Natural Match Feature The Match Color Tool in the Curves property page includes the NaturalMatch™ feature, which allows you to replace the hue values in an image with new output values without distorting the saturation and luminance values in the image. In many situations, when you are correcting on a shot-to-shot basis, color matching is complicated by differences in lighting between one shot and another. NaturalMatch is particularly useful for adjusting skin tone, even when the reference image shows a significant difference in lighting. In the following example, the skin tone in clip A has a blue-green tint and is mostly in shadow while clip B is perfect and natural looking in the brightly lit environment. If these clips are presented one after the other on the timeline, 1294 Color Correction by Matching Clips then their color characteristics must match. To achieve a natural-looking correction, you can replace the hue of clip A while preserving the original luminance and saturation characteristics by using the NaturalMatch feature. Clip A: Uncorrected clip. Clip B: Clip to be used for reference. This clip has a blue-green tint showing very poor skin tone. This clip shows a better skin tone which will be used to color correct Clip A. Before you begin to use the Match Color Tool to determine which range you want to correct (highlights, midtones, shadows or the master image) and the property page that is best to use to achieve your result. Be sure that your position indicator is on the clip that you want to color correct. Since the clips are on the timeline and being presented one after the other, we must color correct them so the hue, saturation and luminance remain consistent. This example will also use the NaturalMatch to color correct the skin tone of the fisherman in the second clip by automatically generating the Curves adjustments for all three color channels when matching the skin tones. 1295 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images In this first clip, the skin tone of the fisherman looks more natural than the second clip. The fisherman’s skin tone in this clip has a blue-green cast. It should match the preceding and following clips. The skin tone in this clip will be used to match the fisherman’s skin tone in the second clip without losing its luminance and saturation. To color correct using the Match Color Tool: 1. Select the Curves property page. 2. In the Match Color box, click the input color chip (left) to select the color that you want to correct or replace. Arrow indicating the direction of application Input Color Chip: The color you want to change Output Color chip: The color you want to change to Match Color Type Natural Match option Match Color button 3. Using the Color Picker, point over the color of the image that you want to change and click. 1296 Color Correction by Matching Clips Color picker The input color chip changes to the color that is selected and the system updates it with the new color values visible in the left chip. n Tip: You can change the type of color values displayed by right-clicking inside the Match Color Chip. For example, if you want to display your color in normalized RGB units select RGB Normalized from the context menu. 4. Now select the output color chip (right) and select the color that you want to use for the matching. Color Picker The output color chip changes to the color that is selected and the system updates it with the new color values visible in the right chip. n n You should select the output color from an image other than the current clip, such as the next clip or a reference clip. Tip: If you want to refine the color in the chip, double-click inside either the input or output color chip to display a dialog box with a spectrum of colors that you can use or manually type values in the text box. 5. (Optional) Select a Match Color Type from the pop-up menu to determine the exact nature of the match the system makes. 6. Select the Natural Match box. 1297 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images n If you are in the Curves property page, use the Natural Match feature to automatically generate the Curves adjustments for the color channels to compensate for luminance. 7. Click the Match Color button to make the color correction. The corrected image is displayed in the viewer. Uncorrected image Corrected image The system adjusts the current clip and resets the controls in the property pages to reflect the adjustment. The Curve graph is updated to reflect the changes made. 8. Continue to tweak the image by using the graph and the three keys in the animation graph. Click the Help button in the Property Editor for detailed information on the Color Correction properties. n 1298 Tip: If there are other clips on the timeline that will need to be corrected using the same adjustments, you can save the properties as preset. For more information, see “Using Presets in Graphics” on page 1393. Correcting Inaccurate or Deficient Color Channels Correcting Inaccurate or Deficient Color Channels When analyzing footage, you may find that there are parts of the image that have inaccurate or deficient color channels or that an image lacks contrast or is too noisy. You may also have a color channel that is clipped to white, therefore not containing enough information to contribute much detail to the image. These problems are usually solved by channel blending, where the color channel is repaired by “borrowing” from another color channel to improve the appearance of the image. Channel blending lets you work with components from both the RGB (red, green, blue) and the YCrCb (luminance, red chroma, blue chroma) color spaces. It gives you very precise control over the final composition of each color channel by letting you create a formula that you can use to correct the inaccurate or deficient color channel. The Channels property page of the Color Correction property editor, also allows you to preview the individual uncorrected color channels in monochrome in order to check the amount of contrast or noise in each channel. If, for example, the image lacks contrast, you can use the channel blending properties to adjust other channel values to add contrast to the image. The following is a typical workflow for channel blending. 1 5 Preview the input and output if you want to compare. Decide which Channel Type you want to blend. 2 In the Channel text boxes, type the Percentage value that will be added to the channel. 3 Select a component type from the list. 4 Add the percentage of the next channel blend. 1299 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Channel Blending Considerations 1. When you find that one of your color channels has a problem that you want to correct by blending, you need to look for another color component that can correct the problem while minimizing any unwanted changes. In general, you should look for a component that exhibits less of the specific problem you want to correct, but otherwise looks similar to the problem channel. 2. You do not have to restrict your component choices to the same color space (RGB or YCrCb). In fact, it is common practice when performing advanced color correction to borrow from a different color space. For example, if you have a green channel that is noisy in the highlight range, you might find that the Cb (blue chroma) component has less highlight noise. but is otherwise similar in its brightness distribution to the green channel. Blending a percentage of Cb into the green channel will reduce the noise without greatly disturbing other aspects of the channel. 3. You can preview the full range of color components available by temporarily redefining one of the existing channels. For example, if you want to see what the Cb component looks like in comparison to your problem green channel, you can redefine the red channel as 100% Cb. Then you can switch back and forth between the Red Input and Green Input previews to compare the two. n The total of the percentages you set for a channel does not need to be 100. The percentage values simply indicate relative proportions of one component as opposed to others. The following example, shows how an individual color channel is altered by blending. The preview of the Master input channels shows an acceptable overall contrast, however the Blue Input monochrome preview shows that the blue channel lacks contrast. In this example, the best solution is to blend a percentage of the green channel into the blue channel to reintroduce contrast and detail. 1300 Correcting Inaccurate or Deficient Color Channels To correct a deficient color channel in an image: 1. Select the Channels property page. 2. Select the Blue Input option to preview the blue channel in monochrome. n Uncorrected image Corrected image The preview of the master input does not provide much information on the contrast. The preview of the blue input shows a lack of contrast at the lower half of the image. Tip: Select Master to preview the complete uncorrected image in color. While correcting color channels, use the Output in the Preview panel to see how your image looks while you blend color channels. 3. In the Channel Blending box set the %Blended Blue to 75. 4. Click the plus (+) button and add 25% Green. 5. Preview the output image. 1301 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images The preview of the blue channel output shows more detail in the lower half of the image. Although the preview of the Master output is less dramatic, it improves the look of the sky and reduces the strength of the yellow color. 6. Continue tweaking the percentage values until you are satisfied with the output. 1302 Adjusting Curves to Color Correct Adjusting Curves to Color Correct Complex tasks, such as color and luminance adjustments, are easily achieved by adjusting the curves in the Curves property page without having to use many controls. The same task can be achieved by adjusting more than one control and the color wheels in the HSL property page. However, in the Curves property page, the same task can be accomplished by fewer steps. Adjustments in this page are made by manipulating the keys. You can add as many keyframes as you want to control color with great precision, since you can make detailed adjustments to many different subdivisions of the brightness range. The following example illustrates how to use curves to make a simple adjustment. You will learn how curves can be used to control color across different parts of the brightness image. This example will adjust the Red curve. Original image To adjust curves: 1. Select the Curves property page. 2. From the Channels box, select the Red option to show the curve in the graph. 3. Select the first keyframe of the curve and drag the keyframe downwards to reduce it slightly. 1303 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images n Tip: You can type the input and output values for the position of the keyframe in the X and Y text boxes below the graph. Press Enter. This will reduce the darker parts of your image as seen here. If you want to make these parts darker, then you must increase the output value (Y axis). The curve is adjusted Notice how much of the red tone is lost from the background grass, the shirt, and the lower red sign post, which loses much of its detail. The higher red sign post is relatively less desaturated, however, and some of the reddish tinge is retained in the cloud highlights in the top right. n Tip: To compare the results with the original image, you can toggle the Enable button on and off. 4. Select the next keyframe and adjust it until there’s more detail and contrast in the image. Adjusting this keyframe will reduce the lighter parts of the image. To make them lighter, increase the output value. 1304 Adjusting Curves to Color Correct 5. You can add more keyframes as needed. Hold down the A key and click the middle of the curve to add a keyframe. 6. Select the keyframe and adjust it. 7. Continue adding and/or tweaking the curve until you are satisfied with the result. 1305 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images Setting Legal Luma, Chroma, and RGB Values One of the frustrating things that can happen to a colorist after completing a color correcting task is to have material returned because the output is not within legal broadcasting limits. Especially when you are being creative or experimenting with cool color effects, you must always maintain legal values or levels. If the waveform monitor reports illegal values or shows that the levels are beyond safe color limits, you must enable the luma, chroma, and RGB clipping options in the HSL property page of the Color Correction effect. If you are using the Color Correction Classic effect, be sure to select the Clamp to Video option. This will preserve the full pixel range and comply with transmission standards. n Colors are clipped first in RGB color space and then in Luma/Chroma color space at the Luma/Chroma clip levels. Therefore, when you set luma and chroma clipping values, then these settings will override those of the RGB clipping value. Also note that if you are working in either the Natural Correction or Preserve Luma Correction mode, previously set RGB clippings values may be invalidated. To set legal luma and chroma values: t Color Correction Effect: On the Master tab of the HSL property page, use the Luma and Chroma clipping sliders or text boxes to set the legal limits and then make sure the values are enabled. t Color Correction Classic Effect: On the Basic property page, select Clamp to Video Levels. To set legal RGB values: t n 1306 In the RGB property page, use Red, Green, or Blue clipping sliders or text boxes to set the desired RGB limits and them make sure the values are enabled. Tip: Select Lock RGB Clipping in the RGB box to lock all RGB channel limits to the same values while making further adjustments. Returning to Default Values Returning to Default Values In the process of color correcting images, you may feel that you are not achieving the effect you had in mind. You can use the Use Default Value (UDV) button located next to every adjustable parameter to return to the default value of that parameter. It is also located on the subdividing tab where the parameter belongs and all property pages that have adjustable parameters. After adjusting a value, you will notice that the UDV button turns blue, as well as the UDV button of the subdividing tab and the associated property page turns blue. n On the Curves property page, although there is no specific UDV button for the graph or even the options for the channels, changing the curve or color correcting the image using the Match Color Tool, adjusts the default values. The change is indicated by the UDV button on the Curves property page. It is important to differentiate between the user value and the default value. The user value is simply the new set value that replaces the default value. n UDV buttons on indicating that a value in the HSL property page has been changed. The UDV button is only available in the Color Correction and Color Correction Classic property editors. The Brightness value has been adjusted. The default UDV button. You can also use the UDV button if you want to see the effect of your changes by temporarily deactivating the adjustments made to other values. For example, if you adjust the hue and saturation properties of the Master image in the HSL property page and you want to adjust the hue and saturation of the highlights, you can use the UDV button to temporarily deactivate the Master hue and saturation by returning to their default values. You can go ahead and change the hue and saturation properties of the highlights without the influence of the previously adjusted values. 1307 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images To return to the default value: Do this To Click Return to the default value and temporarily use the default value to see the effect of parameters on your image without the influence of modified parameters. The UDV button works as a toggle; it turns light blue the system is using the default value for the affected property. When you turn it off, it returns to the blue color indicating that the set user value will be used when the system processes the image. Ctrl-click Return to the default value. You have now erased the user value previously set. You can adjust as many values as you want and restore the default values. The UDV button returns to the default gray and the slider returns to its default position. Shift-click Restore the user values of all properties at once. It is useful to restore all user values of a property page or subdividing page. It is similar to clicking the UDV button for each parameter for that property page or subdividing page. Ctrl + Shift-click n Reset the default values at specific keyframes—see “Animating with the Color Correction Effect” on page 1308. Tip: To restore the default values of the entire property page, Ctrl-click the UDV button of the property page. Animating with the Color Correction Effect When creating animations using the Color Correction effects, you can use the UDV button to reset the default values for a specific keyframe that you want to use in your animation without restoring the default values for the entire clip or erasing the animation on the clip. For more information, see “Creating Animation” on page 963 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. 1308 Returning to Default Values To restore default values at a keyframe: 1. Move the position indicator to the frame on which you want the animation to start. 2. Adjust the properties that you want to animate. 3. Set a keyframe. 4. Move to a different position in the clip where you want to set a keyframe using the default values. 5. Ctrl + Shift-click the UDV buttons of the properties that you made changes to. The Set/Remove button for the properties change to yellow, indicating that a temporary key has been set. 6. Click the yellow Set/Remove button to set a keyframe at this position. 7. In the property editor, click Preview to view the animation. 1309 Chapter 4 Color Correcting Images 1310 Chapter 5 Transforming Images Avid DS Nitris allows you to transform images by scaling, translating, rotating, cropping, or changing the perspective. Chapter 5 Transforming Images Applying a DVE You can apply DVEs to clips using one of the following ways: t Timeline: You can apply the DVE effect on the timeline as you would with any other effect—see “Applying Effects to the Timeline Effect Track” on page 216 of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide. t Layers: You can apply a DVE on each layer of the composite—see “Applying a DVE to a Layer” on page 1312. You can also apply a global DVE to transform several layers—see “Applying a Global DVE in the Layers View” on page 1319. t Effects Trees: You can apply a DVE in the Effects Tree as would with any other effect—see “Adding Effect Nodes to a Tree” on page 1178. You can also transform several images in the Effects Tree by adding a Transform node—see “Transform Trees” on page 1320. n Tip: When processing the DVE effect, you may notice a slight difference in the quality of the realtime and the processed DVE. The difference may be more pronounced for DVEs that are partially processed (one part of the clip is realtime and another is processed). In these cases, it is strongly recommended that you process the entire effect in order to remove the boundary between the realtime portion and the processed portion of the effect. Applying a DVE to a Layer The most common way to apply a DVE is through the Layers view. To apply a DVE to a layer: 1. In the Compositing layout, create a composite with your clips. 2. In the Layers view, click the DVE button on the layer on which you want to apply the transformation. The DVE is applied to all clips on that layer and a yellow bounding box surrounds the image in the viewer. The DVE property editor is displayed. 1312 Applying a DVE Image box Handles You can transform the image interactively in the viewer by repositioning the image box or adjusting its handles to change the dimensions. The direction of the transformation is based on the X, Y, and Z axes (Cartesian 3D space). n Tip: You can also animate the position of an image over time. For more information, see “Creating a Motion Path” on page 1332. 3. Select one of the interactive tools in the DVE property editor before adjusting the image in the viewer. You can select these tools from the DVE toolbar or use the keyboard shortcuts to activate the Scale, Rotate, or Crop tools. The complete list of keyboard shortcuts is available from the Help menu in Avid DS Nitris. Any transformations that you apply in the viewer are reflected in numeric values in the property editor, where they can be adjusted to fine-tune the position of the image. 1313 Chapter 5 Transforming Images Interactive Tools n Tip: By default, an image rotates around its center and its image offset is 0. You can shift the center of rotation by entering different X, Y, and Z values for the image offset. 4. You can now translate, scale, rotate, or crop the image—see “Translating an Image” on page 1316, “Scaling an Image” on page 1316, “Rotating an Image” on page 1317, and “Cropping an Image” on page 1318. 5. After applying the transformation, you can set other options on the General property page, such as the quality settings, transform channels, and motion blur. 6. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Processing options. 1314 Applying a DVE Locking DVEs When you want to focus on one particular DVE, you can lock it so that all manipulations are only applied to a selected DVE. This helps you avoid accidentally selecting another DVE while you’re manipulating the locked DVE. When you click the Lock button on the DVE toolbar, the selected layer becomes locked. If you want to work on another layer while in Lock mode, simply select another layer in the Layers view. To lock a DVE: 1. On the Layers view, select a layer containing a DVE. 2. Select View > Default toolbars > DVE tools. 3. From the DVE toolbar, click the Lock button. The selected DVE is locked. 1315 Chapter 5 Transforming Images Transforming an Image After applying a DVE to the image, you can transform it by translating, scaling, or rotating it. Using the DVE property editor, you can also crop the image or adjust the border. Translating an Image You can move an image in any of the X, Y, or Z axes. When you translate in the X direction, the image moves from left to right; in the Y axis, the image moves up or down; in the Z axis, it moves from front to back. n Tip: You can constrain the tool to move only along the X axis or only along the Y axis. First, press the Shift key to constrain the movement and then move the image in the desired direction. To translate an image: 1. In the DVE property editor, select the DVE property page. 2. In the viewer, move the image unattractively by dragging the image box. The pointer changes to the translate cursor. You can also type the exact X, Y and Z coordinates in the respective text boxes or use keyboard shortcuts to interactively move the image in different planes. The complete list of keyboard shortcuts is available from the Help menu in Avid DS Nitris. n Tip: You can offset the image without changing the Translation values in the DVE property editor by holding down the Ctrl key and moving the image interactively in the viewer. Scaling an Image You can scale an image to size by changing its height and width. To scale an image: 1. In the DVE property editor, select the DVE property page. 2. In the viewer, position the pointer over a handle on the image box. The pointer changes to the scale cursor. 1316 Transforming an Image To Do this Scale the image proportionally Drag one of the corner handles inwards or outwards Scale without maintaining the image proportions Press Shift and drag one of the corner handles Adjust the height or width of the image Drag one of the side handles Rotating an Image You can rotate an image around any of its three axes by using the pointer to turn the image and define the rotation visually in the viewer. To rotate an image: 1. In the DVE property editor, select the DVE tab. 2. Select the Rotate tool. 3. In the viewer, position the pointer over a handle on the image box. The pointer changes to the rotate cursor. n To Do this Rotate the image around the image’s Z axis Drag one of the corner handle Rotate the image around the image’s X axis Drag the middle top or bottom handles Rotate the image around the image’s Y axis Drag one of the middle side handles Tip: To translate a rotated image in its own plane, first hold down the I key and then translate your image interactively in the viewer. 1317 Chapter 5 Transforming Images Cropping an Image Cropping lets you cut away portions of an image. You can crop an image on either the X or Y axis using the handles in the viewer. You can also select the part of the image that you want to keep by drawing a rectangle around it. To crop an image: 1. In the DVE property editor, select the DVE tab. 2. Select the Crop tool. 3. In the viewer, position the pointer over a handle on the image box. The pointer changes to the crop cursor. Any area outside the box is cropped. 1318 To Do this Crop two adjacent sides Drag a corner handle Crop the selected side of the image Drag a middle handle Draw a rectangle around the image Press R and drag the mouse Transformation in Layers View and Effects Tree Transformation in Layers View and Effects Tree Local and global transformations can be achieved from the Layers view or the Effects Tree. In the Layers View, a global DVE is used to specify a global transformation that is optionally used by the DVE effect present on each layer for the transformation. In the Effects Tree, transform trees are built by using Transform nodes and Rasterization effect nodes. Applying a Global DVE in the Layers View The global DVE in the Layers view applies a common transformation around a global axis to all participating layers after a local transform, such as through a DVE effect, has been applied. To apply a global DVE: 1. Right-click an empty area of the Layers view and select Global DVE Controls. A purple bounding box surrounds all the DVEs. It lets you interactively manipulate all participating DVEs in the viewer. The global DVE property editor is displayed. Although no handles are displayed on the purple bounding box, the pointer changes to indicate the transformation mode (scale, rotate, or translate) when you position it inside the bounding box. Viewer displayed in wireframe mode. Global DVE bounding box (purple). DVE bounding box (green) on one layer. DVE bounding box (green) on the background layer. 1319 Chapter 5 Transforming Images Green bounding boxes surround each layer affected by the DVE. If you select one of the green bounding boxes, its color changes to yellow indicating the selected layer. You can interactively make changes just to that layer. You can also select it by clicking the corresponding layer in the Layers view. 2. Scale, rotate, or translate the image the same way as with the DVE tool by interactively manipulating the global DVE wireframe in the viewer or by using the global DVE property editor. n Tip: If you do not want the global DVE to affect a specific layer, open its DVE property editor and deselect the Global option. Transform Trees Transformation hierarchies in the Effects Tree are achieved by using the Transform nodes and Rasterization effect nodes that process the images according to a specified transformation. The same input and output connection mechanism used when building Effects Trees is also employed. For more information, see “Using Effects Trees” on page 1171. What are Transform Nodes? Transform nodes are used only to specify the actual transformation. They solve problems faced when you add one DVE effect node after another to transform images. For example, when performing a series of transformations using concatenated DVEs, you risk losing the quality of the image or clipping the images. To add a Transform node to the Effects Tree: t 1320 Do one of the following: - In an empty area of the Effects Tree, right-click and select Add Transform. - In an empty area of the Effects Tree, press T on the keyboard. - From the Avid Explorer, drag the Transform preset from either the \DVE or \Tree Effects folder. Transformation in Layers View and Effects Tree Transform nodes Transform nodes have the following features: • Specify their own local transformation using properties in the property editor • Concatenate their own transformation with the transformation supplied through their local and global input. • The output of the Transform node can be connected to the input of another Transform node or a Rasterization effect node. • Has fully animated properties just like any other effect node. • Has interactive transformation tools. • Can be bypassed. Bypassing disables the transformation of that particular node. • The connection between a transform node to another transform node or to a Local or Global Transform port in the DVE effect node are gray. Notice that when connecting the ports, the color of the connector as you drag it is orange. What are Rasterization Effect Nodes? Rasterization effect nodes, such as the DVE, 3D DVE, and Tracker, are responsible for manipulating input images according to transformations supplied as inputs. They have the following features: • Specify their own local transformation using properties in the property editor or the interactive tool. • Concantenate their own transformation with the transformation supplied through their local and global input. 1321 Chapter 5 Transforming Images • The local or global inputs of the Rasterization nodes can only be connected to the output of a Transform node. However, the output of the Rasterization node cannot be connected to a local or global input of any other node. • Provide camera perspective controls. What is the Difference between Local and Global Inputs? The local input for a particular node is used to specify a transformation that is applied before the transformation supplied by the node. In the example below using the local input in each node, the image is first rotated, then scaled, and finally rotated back before being rasterized in the DVE node. The transformation is applied around the local axis of the image or images. 3 2 1 The global input for a particular node is used to specify a transformation that is applied after the transformation supplied by the node. In the following example, the global input is used to connect the Transform nodes after being rasterized in the DVE node. The transformation is applied around the global axis corresponding to the transform node connected to the input. 1 2 3 If both local and global inputs of a node are connected and a local transformation is specified using the properties of the node, then the local is applied first, followed by the local transformation, and finally the global. 1322 Transformation in Layers View and Effects Tree n The local and global inputs work the same way in both the Transform node and Rasterization effect nodes. In Rasterization nodes, such as the DVE, the camera properties such as the Perspective are applied after the local and global transformations. 1323 Chapter 5 Transforming Images Working with Transform Trees By using the flexible connection mechanism of the Effects Tree and the ability to order the transformations according to the local and global inputs, transform trees can be used to solve multiple problems. This section will present solutions to some of these problems. Visualization of Sequential DVE Transformations Problem: Visualizing a series of transformations before they are actually applied to an image. It is important to visualize the transformations before they are applied to the image. To accomplish this, you can add as many Transform nodes as needed in your Effects Tree, connecting them to each other and the Rasterization effect nodes using local inputs. The last result can then be connected to a Rasterization node to finally transform the image. You should plan before hand which transform should come first, next and so on. The Transform nodes are connected to each other through the local input. The task is to translate the image in z, then rotate around the z axis, and finally scale it up. 1 The image is first translated. 1324 2 Then it is rotated. 3 Finally, the image is scaled up. Working with Transform Trees Globally Transforming Multiple Images Problem: Applying a common transform around a global axis on multiple images. The following example uses multiple images which have been used to create a video wall. The video wall was created by applying a DVE effect on each image. Each image is scaled and translated to one of the four corners using the local transform of each DVE node. The DVE property editor. The Effects Tree built and used to create the video wall. To globally transform multiple images in the Effects Tree: 1. Add the Transform Node. 2. Connect it to the global input of each of the DVE nodes. 1325 Chapter 5 Transforming Images Each DVE node has its own local transformation (scale and translation). The transformations supplied through this transform node are applied after each local transformation as it’s connected to the global input. Handles This image’s local axis DVE bounding box (yellow) 3. Open the Transform Node property editor. A purple bounding box surrounds all the DVEs that the Transform node has been connected to. 1326 Working with Transform Trees Global axis for all four images Purple bounding box 4. You can interactively manipulate the purple bounding box in the viewer. Since all nodes are connected to the same Transform node, all images will be transformed by the same values around a global axis. In the following example, the Transform node is used to rotate all four images using the global axis. Multi-Level Global DVE in the Effects Tree Problem: Applying transformation around multiple global axis. Using the example of the video wall, the following example illustrates how you can transform a set of images around two separate global axes and then finally transform the result around a single common global axis. 1327 Chapter 5 Transforming Images n Tip: Rename the Transform nodes to differentiate them. For more information, see “Renaming Nodes” on page 1191. To apply a multi-level global transformation: 1 Add a Transform node and connect it to the global input of the first two DVE nodes. 2 Open the Transform node’s property editor and interactively transform the image. In this example, the images on the right were rotated. 3 4 Add another Transform node and connect it to the global input of the next two DVE nodes. 5 Open its property editor and transform the image. In this example, the images on the left were rotated. 6 1328 Add another Transform node to the Effects Tree and connect it to the global inputs of the two Transform nodes. Open the Transform node and transform the images. Notice that the entire image is transformed around a common global axis. Working with Transform Trees Common Transformation Around a Local Axis Problem: When you have multiple images and you want to apply the exact same transformation around the local axis of each image. The following example builds upon the video wall case and illustrates how to rotate and scale all the images by the same amount around their own local axis. To globally and locally transform images: 1. Add a Transform node for each DVE node and connect them using the local input. 2. Open the Transform node’s property editor and scale, rotate, or translate the image. In this example, the entire videowall was rotated around its local X axis. 1329 Chapter 5 Transforming Images 3. Open the Transform node and scale, rotate, or translate the entire video wall. n 1330 Remember that the Transform node is fully animated which you can use to create very interesting effects. Corner Pinning Corner Pinning By repositioning the four corners of an image, you can create any four-sided shape. This is known as corner pinning. n Tip: The corner pin effect is also available as a clip effect in the \Image Effects folder. To apply 4-point corner pinning: 1. In the DVE property editor, deselect the Global and SRT options to turn off any other transformations while you work on corner pinning your image. 2. Select the Track option. Corner pins are displayed in the four corners of the image. 3. Drag each corner to reshape the image. 4. Select the Global DVE and SRT DVE options. 1331 Chapter 5 Transforming Images Working with Motion Paths Motion paths are useful for applying transformations between two clips, such as push-wipes, fly-bys, or picture-in-picture effects. Creating a Motion Path By animating the position of an image, you can create effects, such as fly-bys. You can also create a motion path by moving the image from one frame to the next and setting keyframes. This animation is represented by a motion path, a trajectory that the image follows when you play the animation. Once you create the motion path, you can edit it in the viewer. For more information, see “Editing a Motion Path” on page 1333. Also, all of the animated properties are represented by function curves which plot the property’s values over time. For more information, see “Creating Animation” and “Understanding the Animation Editor” in the Help. Translated image Motion path Control point of starting position 1332 Working with Motion Paths To create a motion path: 1. On the timeline, place the position indicator on the frame on which the animation will start. 2. In the DVE property editor, select the Use Motion Path option. 3. Click the Autokey button to set the Autokey mode. 4. Click the Animation Key button to set the first keyframe. A yellow circle is displayed on the center of the object to indicate that a keyframe is set and motion path recording has started. All subsequent keyframes are created automatically when you move to another frame and move the image. 5. Go to the next frame on which you want to change the DVE properties, and make the necessary changes. The first control point in the motion path is displayed in the viewer. 6. Repeat step 5 for subsequent frames. Each time the motion path is extended, new controls points are added to it. Editing a Motion Path The motion path is indicated by black and white dotted lines with control points that represent the new position of the image at a given frame. Control point To edit the animation, you can modify the motion path by adding, moving or removing control points. You can also change the curvature of the motion path, as well as the speed at which the image travels along the path. To move a control point: t In the viewer, drag a control point to a new location. The control point moves to a new position, while maintaining the same timecode. 1333 Chapter 5 Transforming Images To add a control point: t Press A and click the motion path where you want to position the image. A control point is added at the corresponding timecode. To move control points: t Do one of the following in the viewer: - Click the control point(s) that you want to select, and then drag them in the viewer. To lock the X and Y translation, press Shift. - Press Shift+R and drag to form a rectangle around the control points that you want to select, and then drag them in the viewer. The selected control points are moved to new positions, while maintaining their timecodes. n Tip: If you want to lock the layer that contains the motion path, press Ctrl+L (one). To unlock the layer, press Ctrl+L (one) again. To remove the motion path: t In the DVE property editor, right-click the Animation Key button and select Remove Animation. All control points are removed and the image maintains its position on the current frame. To change the curvature of the motion path: 1. In the viewer, select a control point. The tangent handles are displayed. 2. Drag the tangent handles. The curvature of the motion path changes at the selected control point. n 1334 Tip: If the tangent handle is very close to the control point, press H and drag to give priority to the tangent handle. Working with Motion Paths Tangent handles 3. To break the tangent, press B and drag a tangent handle. 4. To unify a broken tangent handle, press U and drag a tangent handle. The opposite tangent handle is aligned with the selected tangent handle. Broken Unified 5. To change the curvature while maintaining the ratio between the tangent handles, press R and drag a handle. 6. To convert an interval between two keyframes to a linear curve, press the semicolon (;) key and, on the motion path, click the interval that you want to convert. 7. To convert an interval between two keyframes to a Bézier curve, press the apostrophe (’) key and, on the motion path, click the interval that you want to convert. Linear segment Bézier segment 1335 Chapter 5 Transforming Images 8. To convert the entire motion path to a different type of curve, in the animation editor, right-click the Animation Key button and select one of the following: - Bézier to create a smooth spline curve that you can edit using the tangent handles at keyframes. - Linear to create a straight line between keyframes. Bézier motion path Linear motion path Changing the Speed of the Motion Path The speed at which the image moves in the viewer depends on the distance and number of frames between keyframes. If the image moves across the viewer in a single frame, the speed of translation is high. If it takes 30 frames for the image to move across the viewer, the speed is slower. On the motion path, this speed is represented by a series of black and white segments. Each segment represents the distance that the image travels from one frame to the next. If the segments are long, the image is moving fast; if they are short the image is moving slowly. Slow speed Position in frame 2 Position in frame 1 Position in frame 0 1336 Fast speed Working with Motion Paths By default, the image moves smoothly along the entire motion path. Depending on the type of motion that you want to create, you can set the speed type at each keyframe. To change the speed of translation, do one of the following: t To slow down the motion, move the keyframes closer together. t To speed up the motion, move the keyframes farther apart. To adjust the speed between keyframes: t In the viewer, right-click a keyframe and select one of the following: Option To Stay Until Next Key Maintain the image’s current position until the next keyframe. Constant Speed Move the image at a constant speed from the current keyframe to the next. Smooth Speed Adjust the speed of the image before and after the keyframe to create a smooth motion. Ease In/Ease Out Slow down the image, stop at the current keyframe, and then speed up again. Previewing an Animated DVE You can preview the DVE animation in the viewer in real time using the Wireframe Preview button on the DVE toolbar. Although you cannot see the image moving in the viewer until you process the effect, the wireframe mode lets you verify the position of the image. To preview an animated DVE in wireframe mode: 1. To display the DVE toolbar, select View > Default Toolbars > DVE tools. 2. From the DVE toolbar, click the Show All Wireframes button. All layers with DVEs are displayed with bounding boxes. 3. Select the layer with the animated DVE by clicking on its bounding box or clicking the corresponding layer in the Layers view. 4. Click the Wireframe Preview button. 1337 Chapter 5 Transforming Images The animation starts playing. 5. Click the button again to stop the preview. n 1338 To access the wireframe preview mode from the top timeline, you must display the DVE toolbar, and leave the DVE property editor open. Chapter 6 Tracking This chapter describes how to use Avid DS Nitris to track and stabilize images. Chapter 6 Tracking Motion Tracking Motion tracking lets you follow the motion of up to four points in an image sequence. You can use the resulting motion paths to paste one object onto another moving object, or stabilize a sequence with camera shake or other undesired motion. Motion tracking is also useful for creating a motion path to apply to external images or for tracking shapes, such as a garbage matte or paint stroke. Before you can do any motion tracking, you’ll need to understand the following terms: n 1340 • Reference is the clip that is tracked to construct a motion path. In the following example, four-point tracking is applied to the bus in order to paste a banner onto its side. • Layer is the clip that follows the motion path extracted from the reference clip. In this case, it’s the banner that will be pasted onto the bus. • Result is the composite of the moving layer above a background. Once a motion path is constructed, it is applied as a DVE to the layer. In the example below, the result is the banner pasted onto the side of the bus. Tip: The reference does not necessarily have to be the background. You can composite the layer with any other clip. Motion Tracking Reference Layer Result There are several scenarios in which you can use motion tracking: • Compositing: Movement in one image is tracked and applied to another. A point (or set of points) in one layer follows the motion of a point (or set of points) in a reference layer—see “Tracking Composited Clips” on page 1348. • Stabilizing: A single clip is stabilized to remove unwanted movement. In this case, a point in the reference clip tracks an arbitrary static point within the same clip—see “Stabilizing Clips” on page 1370. • Creating motion paths: A path is created by tracking a reference point (or set of points), then saved and applied later as a preset to other layers or clips. • Shape Tracking: Create a garbage matte and then use a tracker to track motion in the sequence and then apply it to the garbage matte, or draw a shape and use the tracker to apply motion from one image to the shape—see “Tracking Shapes” on page 1363 or “Tracking Graphics Objects” on page 1461. 1341 Chapter 6 Tracking Choosing a Tracking Method Whether you want to stabilize an image or track motion, using a tracker effect lets you perform both. Depending on how you prefer to work, you can apply tracking/stabilizing to a layer or an Effects Tree. The main differences between these methods are workflow and an extra property page in the Effects Tree tracker. Also, to aid in your workflow, separate presets of the tracker effect are available for stabilization. Stabilizing Clips There are several ways in which you can stabilize a clip: • Apply the Stabilize tree effect to a clip This lets you stabilize a clip without having to first create a composite container clip. You can apply this effect to a clip on the timeline. This tree effect is a preset effect of the Tracker tree effect—see “Using the Stabilizer in the Effects Tree” on page 1371. • Apply the Stabilize tree effect to an Effects Tree If you prefer to work with an Effects Tree, this method lets you stabilize a clip inside an Effects Tree. This tree effect is a preset effect of the Tracker tree effect—see “Using the Stabilizer in the Effects Tree” on page 1371. • Apply a Tracker effect to a layer Once you create a composite container clip, you can use the layer DVE’s tracker to stabilize a clip. If you prefer to create a composite using layers, use this tracker to stabilize a clip on a layer—see “Using the Stabilizer in the Layers View” on page 1374. Tracking There are two ways to track the motion in a clip: • Apply a Tracker tree effect to an Effects Tree Since motion tracking typically requires more than one input, you can only apply a Tracker tree effect inside an Effects Tree—see “Using the Tracker in an Effects Tree” on page 1351. 1342 Choosing a Tracking Method • Apply a Tracker effect to a layer Once you create a composite container clip, you can use the layer DVE’s tracker to track motion in a clip. If you prefer to create a composite using layers, use this tracker to track motion in a clip on a layer—see “Using the Tracker in the Layers View” on page 1349. 1343 Chapter 6 Tracking Using the Trackers Before you actually start tracking or stabilizing anything, there are a few things you should know about the trackers. The reference point that you select for tracking and the way you position the trackers affect the overall success of your tracking. With every tracking scenario, there are trackers on both the reference and the layer. The tracker(s) on the reference must be positioned on the point(s) that will create the motion path. The tracker(s) on the layer should be positioned on the point(s) that will follow the motion path. Layer trackers Reference trackers A tracker is composed of two concentric rectangles representing the target area and the search region. The target area is the pixel pattern that the tracker looks for in each frame, and the search region is the vicinity in which the tracker looks for its target. Center of target Target area Search region Tracker number 1344 Using the Trackers The motion tracker takes a snapshot of the pixel patterns in the target area and then looks for that pattern in subsequent frames. For this reason, you must select the target carefully in the first frame, so the tracker has a unique pattern to follow. Using Multiple Trackers To define the region for tracking, you must determine the number of trackers to use. You can use one, two, or four trackers: Use To 1-point tracking Track an object that moves in a particular direction but does not scale or rotate. 2-point tracking Track an object that is being scaled and/or rotated from one frame to the next. 4-point tracking Track the surface of any four-sided object, such as a window, television screen, or rectangular sign.This technique is sometimes referred to as four-point corner pinning. Selecting a Suitable Reference Point for Tracking The key to successful tracking is selecting a good reference point. When tracking is started, the individual trackers (R1-R4, L1-L4) sample a target area of the reference clip at the target frame. In each subsequent frame, the motion tracker searches for the target image within the tracker's search region. When the target is found, a keyframe is set. The resulting motion path controls the tracker DVE, and the layer image is moved accordingly. In order for the search region of the tracker to recognize the target area and its motion against its surroundings, you should choose a region with good contrast and detail. You can also change the color space in which the tracker searches to find a channel with the most contrast. When placing the reference tracker, choose an area that: • Has a clear pattern with high contrast. You can also change the color space to select a channel with the most contrast. 1345 Chapter 6 Tracking • Appears in all frames of the sequence being tracked. That is, make sure it does not disappear or fall outside the viewer area. If the image does move outside the viewer area, you can offset the trackers—see “Offsetting the Tracker” on page 1380. • Has a pattern that remains constant in all frames. That is, make sure that the background is not constantly changing. Target area Search region Correct placement of target. Incorrect placement of target. Incorrect placement of target. When tracking, you will often encounter an area you would like to follow but can’t be tracked directly. For example, you might want to track something that goes behind a tree for part of the sequence. Offsetting lets you position the target area on something you can track temporarily, while keeping the target on its original reference point. For more information, see “Offsetting the Tracker” on page 1380. n If the material that you want to track is field-based, you should either select the Track in Fields option on the Advanced property page of the tracker or deinterlace the clip before positioning the reference trackers. Setting the Search Region The search region determines how much of the image is analyzed when searching for the target area. 1346 Using the Trackers Here are some points to remember when setting the search region: • The time required to analyze the search region is proportional to the size of the search region. Avoid unnecessarily large search regions unless you use Translation Only option, which decreases this time. • A very large area also increases the chance of a false match with some completely different part of the image. 1347 Chapter 6 Tracking Tracking Composited Clips n Not available in Avid DS Nitris Editor. Most of the time, when you composite images together, you need one image to follow the motion in another image. For example, you want to composite a banner on the side of a bus and make the banner follow four points on the bus. The motion of the banner layer needs to follow the motion of the bus reference layer, so you can “pin” the banner to the bus. Depending on how you prefer to work, there are two ways that you can apply motion tracking to composited clips: using a DVE tracker on a layer or using a tracker in the Effects Tree. You can pin a moving object in a layer image to a moving object in a reference image. To do this, track an object in the layer image and then separately track an object in the reference image. Avid DS Nitris then applies a transformation to the layer image, so that the trackers in both images stay aligned. Reference Bus sequence Layer Banner to be pinned onto side of bus. Result: composited sequence after tracking is applied 1348 Tracking Composited Clips Using the Tracker in the Layers View If you prefer to composite images together using layers, use the DVE on a layer. To set up tracker in the Layers view: 1. From the timeline, select a clip (the bus). 2. Move the position indicator over any frame in this clip. 3. From the taskbar, click the Compositing button. A composite container clip is created in which you can layer your clips. The clip automatically becomes the first layer in the composite. 4. From the view switcher, click the Avid Explorer button. 5. In the Avid Explorer, select the other clip in the composite (the banner), and drag it to the timeline ribbon. The clip is automatically added as the topmost layer in the Layers view. n Tip: The reference image does not have to be used in a layer in the composite. For example, you may need to simulate a motion path created by an object in a clip that is not going to be used in the composite. 6. On the Layers view, click the DVE button of the layer (the banner) that will follow the path created by the tracker (that is, not the reference layer). 7. In the DVE property editor, click the Track button to open the Motion Tracker property editor. 8. In the Edit box, select the Reference option. 9. From the timeline, click the Track Selector of the track that is used as the reference, and drag it to the Start Frame box in the Reference property page. 1349 Chapter 6 Tracking Motion Tracker property editor Drag reference clip to Start Frame box in the tracker The bus image is now displayed in the Start and End Frame boxes. Since this is the image that will be tracked, make sure that it is displayed as the reference image. 1350 Tracking Composited Clips 10. You can adjust the length of the clip to be used for motion tracking by doing one of the following: t Enter a timecode in the Start Frame and End Frame timecode boxes. t Set in and out markers on the timeline. The Start Frame and End Frame timecodes are updated in the property editor. 11. Proceed to “Positioning the Reference Tracker” on page 1353. Using the Tracker in an Effects Tree If you prefer to work with an Effects Tree, you can use the Tracker tree effect. To set up the Tracker in the Effects Tree: 1. From the timeline, select a clip (the bus). 2. Place the position indicator over any frame in this clip. 3. From the taskbar, click the Compositing button. 1351 Chapter 6 Tracking A container clip is created and the clip automatically becomes the first layer in the composite. 4. Click the layer (the bus) to activate its Effects Tree. Input 1 (the bus) is connected to the output node. 5. From the Avid Explorer, drag the other clip (the banner) to the Effects Tree view. The clip is added to the Effects Tree, and is placed on a new track on the timeline. No layer is created for the clip. 6. Right-click an empty area of the Effects Tree and select Add Effect. 7. In the Load Preset dialog box, select the Tracker effect (\Tree Effects folder). A Tracker Effect node is added to the Effects Tree view. Tracker added to Effects Tree. 8. Connect the node to be used as a reference (the bus) to Reference. 9. Connect the node to be used a a layer (the banner) to Layer. 10. Connect the output of the Tracker node to the input of the Output node. 11. Double-click the Tracker Effect node. The Tracker Effect’s property editor is displayed. 12. In the Edit list, select In 2 - ref. 1352 Tracking Composited Clips Mode list Edit list The reference (input 2) is displayed in the viewer. n When you switch between In 1-layer and In 2-ref, the General property page’s name changes to Input 1 or Input 2. 13. From the Mode list, select 4-pnt. Four trackers are displayed in each corner of the viewer. 14. Add the Composite effect to the tree. Since the tracker does not composite images together, you need to add a Composite node in order to composite the banner over the bus image. 15. Connect the nodes as follows: - Output of the bus node to L1 on the Composite node. - Output of the tracker node to L2 on the Composite node. 16. Proceed to “Positioning the Reference Tracker” on page 1353. Positioning the Reference Tracker You need to place the reference tracker(s) in the first frame of the clip that is to be tracked. The tracker will then follow the reference point(s) as it moves through the sequence. 1353 Chapter 6 Tracking n At any time, you can replace the reference clip with another by dragging a new reference clip from the timeline to the Effects Tree and connecting it to Input 2. If you’re using the DVE tracker, simply replace the clip on the timeline. To position the Reference Tracker: 1. On the timeline, scrub through the clip to select the best point to track—see “Selecting a Suitable Reference Point for Tracking” on page 1345. 2. From the Tracker property editor, do one of the following: t In the DVE tracker, select Reference from the Edit box. t In the Tracker tree effect, select In 2 - ref from the Edit list. 3. In the Mode box, do one of the following: t In the DVE tracker, select the 1, 2, or 4-point option from the Mode box. t In the Tracker tree effect, select the 1-pnt, 2-pnt, or 4-pnt option. Depending on your selection, one, two, or four trackers are displayed in the viewer. By default, they are located in the corners of the frames in both the reference and layer images, and corresponding property pages for each tracker are displayed in the property editor. In 4-point mode, the trackers must always form a convex shape. In a convex shape, one tracker can never be inside the triangle formed by the other three. If you try to drag a tracker inside the triangle, it will stop at the intersection. Valid tracker positions. n 1354 Invalid tracker positions. Tip: When you apply 4-point tracking, crop options become available for cropping the layer image to its tracker polygon, and applying a blur to the cropped image. For more information, see “Cropping Unwanted Parts of Images” on page 1360. Tracking Composited Clips 4. In the viewer, drag the center of a tracker(s) over the object that you want to track. The tracker changes to a magnifying glass when you drag it across the viewer. You can change the magnification on the Advanced property page. As you select a tracker, its property page is displayed in the property editor. The tracker displays the magnification in luminance mode, except when you select RGB, so that you can view the contrast when selecting a target. You can change the tracker to read the luminance from a single channel or to display RGB combined, on each tracker’s property page. n Tip: Press Ctrl and drag a tracker to move both the reference and layer trackers simultaneously. Reference trackers 5. You can adjust the size of the target and the search region to increase the sampling size of the target area and/or make the search region larger. In the viewer, click the inner and/or outer boxes of the tracker and drag the resize handles to modify the target and/or search region. 1355 Chapter 6 Tracking n Be sure that the target is completely inside the image. If the target is partly over a gray area of the viewer, the following message will appear: “The tracker’s target is not completely inside the image.” When this happens, resize or reposition the target. Resize handles Resizing the target. Resizing the search region. 6. On each tracker property page (R1-R4), adjust Threshold in the Confidence box to define how closely the tracked image must match the target. By default this value is set to 85%. 7. In the If Below Threshold box, select one of the following: - Update Target to update each time the target falls below the threshold. - Continue to continue tracking even if the target falls below the threshold. - Stop to stop tracking if target falls below threshold. - Predict to predict the motion path of the target until it comes back into view. Positioning the Layer Tracker The position in which you place layer trackers depends on what kind of tracking you want to do. For example, if you want to track four points, as in the case of the banner on the bus, you can position the trackers on the four corners of the image. The four corners are “pinned” and the banner is scaled to match the trackers on the reference layer. You could also crop the banner by placing the four points inside the edges of it. For more information, see “Cropping Unwanted Parts of Images” on page 1360. 1356 Tracking Composited Clips When you perform 1-point tracking, you can move the layer’s target area to the exact position that will follow the reference tracker, usually the center of the image. When the motion tracking is processed, the layer tracker is mapped directly to the reference tracker. However, if you want to offset the layer, you can move the layer tracker to another position. This lets you perform a DVE transformation directly within the tracker. To position the layer tracker: 1. In the Tracker property editor, do one of the following: t In the DVE tracker, select the Layer option from the Edit box. t In the Tracker tree effect, select the In 1 - layer option from the Edit list. The layer image is displayed in the Start and End Frame boxes. 2. Drag the tracker(s) over the portions of the image that you want to follow the motion path that is created in the reference image. In this example, the four points at the edge of the banner will be the points that follow the motion path. 3. To see the appearance of the composite, do one of the following: t In the DVE tracker, select the Result option from the Mode box. t In the Tracker tree effect, select the Output option from the Mode list. 1357 Chapter 6 Tracking Starting the Tracking Process Once you’ve set up the reference and layer clips in the motion tracker, and positioned and adjusted the trackers, you can start tracking. The reference image on which tracking takes place depends on how the Set Target and Update Always options are set on each tracker’s property page: Set Target Update Always Reference image tracked No No The first frame on which tracking is started (forward or backward) Yes No The target time selected No Yes The previous frame tracked To start tracking: 1. In the Tracker property editor, do one of the following: t In the DVE tracker, select the Reference option in the Edit box. t In the Tracker tree effect, select the In 2 - ref option in the Edit list. The reference image, where the tracking takes place, is displayed in the viewer and in the property editor viewer boxes. 2. Go to the first frame in the clip where the tracking is to begin. 3. In the Motion Tracker property editor, select the Update View option to update the viewer as the tracker advances from frame to frame. Be aware, however, that this option will slow down tracking. 4. Select the Show Path option to display the tracker’s motion path after the tracking is complete. 1358 Tracking Composited Clips 5. If you’re tracking field-based material, select the Track in Fields option on the Advanced property page. n Tip: To decrease the time required to track, you can select both the Bypass and View options. 6. Click the Track Forward button to begin tracking the reference clip. You can click Stop at any time to stop tracking. You can also click the Track Backward button if you want to start tracking from the end of a clip. The tracking generates a motion path. Since this is an animation sequence, you can adjust points manually. To remove the tracking, simply delete the animation. n Tip: You can also reapply the animation created with the motion tracker on another image by saving the layer DVE as a preset, and then applying it to another clip. 7. If the tracker fails to locate the target, the tracking may stop depending on the Confidence options you have set for the tracker(s). For tips on correcting errors during tracking, see “Correcting Tracker Errors” on page 1382. 8. If the tracking was successful, you can view the result by doing the following: t In the DVE tracker, select the Result option from the Edit box. t In the Tracker tree effect, select the Output option from the Edit list. The composite is displayed at the current frame. n Tip: If you’re using the DVE tracker and the reference image is part of the composite, use the Opacity sliders in the Layers view to see both the layer and reference images simultaneously. In the Tracker tree effect, you can adjust the opacity on the General property page. You can also press Ctrl and click Play on the transport controls to display the composite frame by frame. The object that you tracked in the layer image follows the motion of the object you tracked in the reference image. 9. If you’re satisfied with the results, process the sequence to view the results in real time. 1359 Chapter 6 Tracking Avid DS Nitris records the motion path of the reference image and applies a DVE transformation to the layer image based on that motion path. n Tip: When you need to pin a moving object in a layer image to a moving object in a reference image, you must first track an object in the layer image, and then separately track an object in the reference image. (both the Reference and Layer property pages each have their own Track button). Avid DS Nitris then maps the motion path created from the layer to the motion path created from the reference. Cropping Unwanted Parts of Images When you apply 4-point tracking to an image, you can crop the unwanted parts of the image to an area on the reference clip. When you do this, any part of the image outside of the polygon is removed from the resulting composite. To crop a layer to a reference image: 1. From the Motion Tracker property editor, do one of the following: t In the DVE tracker, select the Layer option from the Edit box. t In the Tracker tree effect, select the In 1 - layer option from the Edit list. 2. In the Mode box, select one of the following: - In the DVE tracker, select the 4-point option. - In the Tracker tree effect, select the 4-pnt option. The trackers appear in the four corners of the viewer. 3. In the viewer, position the trackers over the area that you want to keep. 4. On the Advanced property page, select the Apply Crop option. 1360 Tracking Composited Clips 5. Select the Crop RGB option if you want to the RGB channels to be cropped. Otherwise, only the alpha channel is cropped. 6. In the Edit box, select one of the following: - In the DVE tracker, select the Result option. - In the Tracker tree effect, select the Output option. Verify that this is how you want the composite to look. The layer image is adjusted, so that its tracker polygon aligns with the reference image’s tracker polygon, and the resulting composite is displayed in the viewer. 1361 Chapter 6 Tracking Combining Tracking with Other DVEs n Not available in Avid DS Nitris Editor. You can combine a motion tracker with other DVE transformations on the same layer or in an Effects Tree. For example, you can apply motion tracking to an image and then scale the image to match the perspective in the reference image. n Tip: DVEs are applied in this order: motion tracking, SRT/DVE, and global. For more information, see “Applying a Global DVE in the Layers View” on page 1319. DVEs are always applied after the tracker, therefore you will not see the results of a scaled, rotated, or translated image when you perform tracking. If you want to see the image as it will appear after the DVE has been applied, you must select To apply DVEs on a layer: 1. Close the Motion tracker property editor. 2. To open the DVE property editor, do one of the following: t Select a layer to participate in the transformation and click DVE to open the tool for that layer. t If the DVE is applied on the timeline, double-click the DVE effect bar. 3. Interactively transform the DVE in the viewer. 4. To view the results, click Track in the Global Controls. The Motion Tracker property editor is displayed. 5. In the Edit box, select the Result option. To apply a DVE to an Effects Tree: 1. In the Tracker property editor, select the Output option. DVEs are always applied to the result of the tracker. 2. Interactively transform the DVE in the viewer. 1362 Tracking Shapes Tracking Shapes Shape tracking is a method of tracking that helps decrease the time required to perform rotoscopy tasks. In the keyers and Matte effect, you can create shapes using the shape creation tools and then track them. You can track shapes as a whole or track individual control points on a shape. For example, if you want to create a key for an image that scales and moves and contains objects that are difficult to key out, shape tracking lets you create a garbage matte for these shapes and track them to the objects that are difficult to key out. Objects difficult to key. Image after scaling. The shape tracker will track the region for the duration of the stroke. For more information, see “Motion Tracking” on page 1340. Using the Shape Tracker When you want to use the shape tracker, you must decide if you want to track a shape or track control points. For example, if you’re tracking a simple shape (like one of the circles in the previous illustration), you can draw a circle over the shape and then track two points. Since these objects both scale and move, they require 2-point tracking. If you draw a complex shape, around a person for example, then you should track individual control points. 1363 Chapter 6 Tracking Tracking a Shape You can draw multiple shapes using the shape creation tools and then track them all at the same time. n When you draw a mix of shapes and decide to track some using shape tracking and others using control point tracking, you need to track all shape trackers in one pass and then all control point trackers in another pass (or vice versa). To track a shape: 1. Apply a keyer or the Matte effect to a clip—see “Keying” on page 1217. n The shape tracker is not available in the HSL or Luma keyers. 2. Create a matte for the clip. 3. On the Shape property page, select a shape creation tool and draw a shape(s) in the viewer. Shapes drawn in viewer. n Tip: You can select the Force Premultiplied option to verify that your shape(s) covers the entire object you are drawing. For more information, see “Changing the Premultiplication Setting” on page 1156. 4. From the Shape Transformations box, click the Select Shape tool, and then select the shape in the viewer. 1364 Tracking Shapes Selected shape A yellow box with handles is displayed around the selected shape. 5. Deselect the Output Matte option. Since the shape tracker performs tracking on the RGB channels, you need to position the trackers while viewing them in RGB. 6. On the Tracker property page, select the 1-point or 2-point option in the Tracking Mode box. Depending on your choice, one or two trackers are displayed on the shape. If you don’t see the trackers, click the Show button. 7. Position the tracker(s) on the shape. To switch between the trackers, press the comma (,) or period (.) key on your keyboard. You can also click another area in the viewer to deselect both trackers and then reselect one or the other. Two trackers displayed on a shape. n Tip: When you position the trackers, be sure to look for an area that contains good contrast. You can change the color space to find a channel that contains the most luminance. For more information, see “Selecting a Suitable Reference Point for Tracking” on page 1345. 8. Repeat steps 4 to 7 to position the trackers on each shape. 9. Press Shift and click each shape to select it. Each shape that you want to track must be selected. 10. Click the Show button. The trackers for each shape must be displayed in the viewer in order to track them. 1365 Chapter 6 Tracking 11. If you’re tracking field-based material, select the Track in Fields option on the Advanced property page. 12. Click the Track Forward or Track Backward button. The tracking is started. n If any tracker fails, a warning box is displayed and tracking. The failed tracker(s) turn red. You can reposition the tracker and continue tracking forwards or backwards. 13. Once the tracking is complete, you can process the effect and play it in real time. Tracking Control Points You can draw multiple shapes using the shape creation tools and then track multiple control points on each shape in one pass. To track control points: 1. Apply a keyer or the Matte effect to a clip—see “Keying” on page 1217. n The shape tracker is not available in the HSL or Luma keyers. 2. Create a matte for the clip. 3. On the Shape property page, select a shape creation tool and draw a shape(s) in the viewer. You can draw multiple shapes and then track control points on each shape at the same time. n 1366 If you draw a mix of shapes and then decide to track some of them using shape tracking and others using control point tracking, you need to track shape trackers and control point trackers in separate passes. Tracking Shapes n Tip: You can switch between the RGB and alpha channel views to ensure that your shape entirely covers the object you are drawing. 4. Click the Edit Shapes button. The control points of the last shape you drew are displayed. To select the control points of another shape, click the shape in the viewer. Polyline shape drawn in viewer. 5. Deselect the Output Matte option. Since the shape tracker performs tracking on the RGB channels, you need to position the trackers while viewing them in RGB. 6. Select the Tracker tab. 7. In the viewer, press Shift and click the control points that you want to track. 8. Click the Show button to display each control point in the viewer, so you can track them. The trackers are displayed on the control points. 9. Position the tracker(s) on the shape. 1367 Chapter 6 Tracking Sometimes, when you draw a freehand shape, you may want to track a point that’s not in the shape. In this case, you can offset the tracker by pressing Shift+right-click and drag the tracker to another point that you want to track. Trackers offset from control points. n n Tip: When you position the trackers, be sure to look for an area that contains good contrast. You can change the color space to find a channel that contains the most luminance. For more information, see “Selecting a Suitable Reference Point for Tracking” on page 1345. To switch between the trackers, press the comma (,) or period (.) key on your keyboard. You can also click another area in the viewer to deselect both trackers and then reselect one or the other. 10. Repeat steps 4 to 9 to position the trackers on multiple shapes. 11. Press Shift and click each control point that you want to track. Each shape that you want to track must be selected. 12. Click the Show button to display each control point in the viewer, so you can track them. The trackers are displayed on the control points. 13. If you’re tracking field-based material, select the Track in Fields option on the Advanced property page. 14. Click the Track Forward or Track Backward button. The tracking starts. If the tracker fails at any point, the tracker will stop. Simply reposition a tracker and continue to track forwards or backwards. 15. Once the tracking is complete, you can process the effect and play it in real time. 1368 Tracking Shapes Setting an Offset for the Tracker It is not always possible to find reference points that appear in every frame, such as when an object moves out of the viewer area. In such cases, you can set an offset for the tracker to follow in frames where the object disappears from view. The Transform Offset option applies the tracked transformation or scaling to the offset keeping the offset point in the correct position relative to the reference point. To set an offset point: 1. Go to the frame where the object becomes occluded. 2. Press Shift+right-click and drag the tracker to another point that you want to track. This creates an offset point for the tracker to work with. 3. Click the Track button to start or continue tracking. Correcting Tracker Errors when Tracking Shapes Objects At times, a tracker may not find its target in a frame. If this occurs, an error message is displayed and the tracker that failed is highlighted in red in the viewer. You can correct the error by fine-tuning the tracker’s properties. To correct errors when tracking shapes objects: 1. Using the transport controls, go to the frame where an error occurred (the frame that contains the red tracker). This is usually the current frame, since the tracker will stop when it cannot find its target. 2. Do one of the following: t In the viewer, adjust the tracker position, target and search region, and resume tracking (to move the tracker and target press Shift+left-click and drag). t In the Tracker property page, adjust the tracker’s properties, and resume tracking. 1369 Chapter 6 Tracking Stabilizing Clips Stabilizing is a technique that lets you remove unwanted movement, such as camera jitter, from a sequence of images. When stabilizing, a target object in a layer image is forced to remain in the same position, stabilizing the image. Because of camera jitter, the pyramid appears to move up and down. Stabilizing moves the frames up or down in the opposite direction, so that the pyramid appears stable. Gaps created after image is displaced. To stabilize an image, Avid DS Nitris tracks a point that appears in each frame. The tracker creates a path from the movement of the object; this motion path represents the jittering motion in the sequence. To remove this unwanted movement, Avid DS Nitris uses a DVE transformation to move each frame in the opposite direction of the unwanted movement. Due to the displacement of the image, this may result in a gap around some parts of the image. To correct this, you can scale or crop the image using the SRT DVE (the tracker’s “parent” DVE) if you use the DVE tracker, or from the DVE property page of the Tracker tree effect. Depending on how you prefer to work, you can stabilize a clip by: 1370 • Using the Stabilizer tree effect on a clip or Effects Tree • Using a DVE tracker on a layer Stabilizing Clips Using the Stabilizer in the Effects Tree You can apply a Stabilizer tree effect to a clip on the timeline or to an Effects Tree. This effect is a preset of the Tracker tree effect. To stabilize an image using the Stabilizer effect in the Effects Tree: 1. From the timeline, select a clip. 2. Right-click the clip and select Add Clip Effect. 3. In the Load Preset dialog box, select Stabilizer from the \Image Effects folder. The Stabilizer effect is applied to the clip and the Effects Tree (Stabilizer) dialog box is displayed. Effects list 4. From the Effects list, select Stabilizer. The Stabilizer property pages are displayed. 1371 Chapter 6 Tracking 5. From the Edit list, select In 2-ref. Mode list Edit list When stabilizing clips, both the reference and layer clips are the same. However, stabilizing/tracking is always performed on the reference layer (input 2). 6. From the Mode list, select the number of trackers you want to use. n Tip: Typically 1-point tracking is adequate, but if you need to remove unwanted rotational movement, use 2-point tracking. 7. Press Ctrl and drag the reference tracker in the viewer to the point(s) you want to remain stable. 1372 Stabilizing Clips Both the reference and layer trackers are positioned at the same point—see “Positioning the Reference Tracker” on page 1353. When you select a tracker, its property page is also displayed in the dialog box. 8. On the tracker (R1-R4) property page, select the color space with which you want the stabilizer to follow. Experiment with the color spaces until you find one that has the most contrast. n Tip: You can change the size of the tracker’s magnification on the Advanced property page. 9. From the Confidence box, select the settings for the tracker—see “Positioning the Reference Tracker” on page 1353. 10. On the Options property page, specify if your source media is frame or field-based. 11. If you’re tracking field-based material, select the Track in Fields option on the Advanced property page. 12. Before you begin tracking, make sure the position indicator is on the first frame where the tracking should begin and click the Track Forward button—see “Starting the Tracking Process” on page 1358. The motion path of the static object is recorded. A DVE transformation is then applied to the image to compensate for the motion path and to stabilize the image. n Tip: Due to displacement of the image during stabilizing, you may notice gaps around some parts of the image. To correct this, scale or crop the image using a DVE. For more information, see “Combining Tracking with Other DVEs” on page 1362. 13. To view the results of the tracking, do one of the following: t Select the Output option. The composite is displayed at the current frame. t Press Ctrl and click the position indicator. The composite is displayed frame by frame. The object that you tracked in the layer image follows the motion of the object that you tracked in the reference image. 1373 Chapter 6 Tracking n Tip: To increase the quality of the tracked image, you can adjust the parameters on the Quality property page 14. If you’re satisfied with the results, process the sequence to view the results in real time. Using the Stabilizer in the Layers View If you prefer working with layers, use the Stabilizer in the DVE effect. To stabilize an image in the Layers view: 1. From the timeline, select a clip. 2. Place the position indicator over any frame of the clip. 3. From the taskbar, click the Compositing button. A composite container clip is created and the clip is placed in the Layers view as the first layer. For more information see “Using Composite Container Clips” on page 287 of the Avid DS Nitris Getting Started Guide. 4. Click the DVE button on the layer that you want to stabilize. The DVE property editor is displayed. 5. In the DVE property editor, click the Track button. The Motion Tracker property editor is displayed. 1374 Stabilizing Clips 6. From the Edit box, select the Reference option. 7. On the Reference property page, select the Stabilize option. The Reference viewers display the start and end of clip that you want to stabilize. n In stabilizing mode, the reference image and the layer image are the same. 8. From the Mode box, select the number of trackers you want to use. n Tip: Typically 1-point tracking is adequate, but if you need to remove unwanted rotational movement, use 2-point tracking. 9. Press Ctrl and drag the reference tracker in the viewer to the point(s) you want to remain stable. Both the reference and layer trackers are positioned at the same point—see “Positioning the Reference Tracker” on page 1353 and “Positioning the Layer Tracker” on page 1356. 10. On the Options property page, specify if your source media is frame or field-based. 1375 Chapter 6 Tracking 11. If you’re tracking field-based material, select the Track in Fields option on the Advanced property page. 12. Before you begin tracking, make sure the position indicator is on the first frame where the tracking should begin and click the Track Forward button—see “Starting the Tracking Process” on page 1358. The motion path of the static object is recorded. A DVE transformation is then applied to the image to compensate for the motion path and stabilize the image. n Tip: Due to displacement of the image during stabilizing, you may notice gaps around some parts of the image. To correct this, scale or crop the image using a DVE. For more information, see “Combining Tracking with Other DVEs” on page 1362. 13. To view the results of the tracking, do one of the following: t From the Edit box, select the Result option. The composite is displayed at the current frame. If you want to view the layer and reference images concurrently, you can use the Opacity slider in the Layers view. t Press Ctrl and click the position indicator. The composite is displayed frame by frame. The object that you tracked in the layer image follows the motion of the object that you tracked in the reference image. n Tip: To increase the quality of the tracked image, adjust the parameters on the Quality property page. 14. If you’re satisfied with the results, process the sequence to view the results in real time. 1376 4-Point Corner Pinning 4-Point Corner Pinning 4-point corner pinning refers to pinning the four corners of one static (usually) image onto another static image. A common example is to pin an image to a TV screen. In Avid DS Nitris, there are several ways to perform 4-point corner pinning. The method you choose depends on how you prefer to work. You can: • Use a DVE on a layer to pin one layer to another, or • Use a Corner Pin Effects Tree to pin a clip on a video track to an image below it, or pin one input in an Effects Tree to another. This preset lets you concentrate on corner pinning only. Since it only requires one input, you can apply it to a clip or in an Effects Tree. To perform 4-point corner pinning in the Effects Tree: 1. Apply the Corner Pin preset (\Image Effects folder) to a clip or Effects Tree. The Corner Pin property editor is displayed. n To see the composited result, you’ll also have to add a Composite effect and connect the output of the Corner Pin effect to input 2 on the Composite effect, and connect the other input node to input 1 of the Composite effect. Lastly, connect the output of the Composite effect to the input of the Output node. 2. From the Effects list, select Corner Pin. The Corner Pin property pages are displayed, and the corner pins are displayed in the viewer. 3. Position the pins on the image. To perform 4-point corner pinning on a layer: 1. Apply a DVE on a layer. The DVE property editor is displayed. 2. From the DVE property editor, deselect the SRT option. Since you don’t need to scale, rotate, or translate the image, you don’t need to select this option. This option must be deselected in order to perform corner pinning. 3. Select the Track option beside the Track button. The trackers are displayed. 1377 Chapter 6 Tracking 4. From the Mode box, select 4-point. 5. From the Edit box, select Result. The corner pins are displayed. 6. Ensure that Track is selected from the Transformation box. 7. Position the pins on the image. 1378 Tracking Difficult Shots Tracking Difficult Shots When performing tracking, a common question you’ll ask yourself is “Why did my tracker fail?” Sometimes it’s difficult to determine what went wrong when you tracked an image. There can be several reasons why a tracker fails. For example, a tracker will fail if an object becomes occluded, or if a search region doesn’t contain enough contrast. To help determine how to fix tracking problems, ask yourself the following: Question Answer Did the tracker become If yes, offset the tracker or set the tracker to “predict” a occluded? path—see “Offsetting the Tracker” on page 1380 and step 6 in “Positioning the Reference Tracker” on page 1353. Is the reference point outside of the viewer? If yes, offset the tracker—see “Offsetting the Tracker” on page 1380. Is there too little If yes, change the tracker to a different color space—see contrast in the tracker? “Selecting a Suitable Reference Point for Tracking” on page 1345. If your image has little contrast, you can apply a Color Correction clip effect to it, so you can increase the gain and decrease the brightness—see “Workflow: Color Correcting Images” on page 1257. If you only want to affect a certain area in an image, you can also use the Selective Color Correction clip effect—see “Using the Selective Color Correction Preset” in the Help. Once tracking is complete, you can remove the Color Correction or Selective Color Correction effect. Did the object move outside the search region? If yes, increase the search region or manually move a target— see step 4 in “Positioning the Reference Tracker” on page 1353 Does the object scale or If yes, deselect the Translation Only option. rotate? Did the tracker slowly degrade? If yes, manually correct the tracker.—see “Correcting Tracker Errors” on page 1382. Is the object moving quickly? If yes, deinterlace the clip before you stabilize it or track in fields. 1379 Chapter 6 Tracking Question Answer Is my material full resolution and compressed? If yes, recapture the clips using full resolution and no compression. Does the background change? If yes, use the Update Target option in the Confidence box of the tracker—see step 6 in “Positioning the Reference Tracker” on page 1353. Why do I get the message “The tracker’s target is not completely inside the image”? Part or all of the tracker’s target is not positioned in the image on the target frame. It may be just outside the image in an area of the viewer. Resize the target or move it and then try tracking again—see “Positioning the Reference Tracker” on page 1353. Why do I get the message “Can’t track target of uniform color”? The object you are trying to track contains no contrast. Try finding an object that has more contrast, or change the color space—see “Selecting a Suitable Reference Point for Tracking” on page 1345. Offsetting the Tracker At times, it’s not possible to find a reference point that appears in every frame. The object, for example, may move out of the viewer area or disappear temporarily behind another object. When this happens, you can set an offset point for the tracker to follow in the frames in which the object disappears from view. Offsetting can occur when you change your choice of target halfway through the tracking. For example, if the target goes behind a tree for a few frames, you can: • Track normally until just before it goes behind the tree. • Find some other part of the object you are following that isn’t obscured by the tree, and move the target area to follow that. • Continue tracking using this offset target until the tree is no longer in the way, and then move the target back to the original object and continue tracking. Avid DS Nitris automatically adjusts for all offsets of the target to produce a single unbroken motion path. 1380 Tracking Difficult Shots To set an offset point: 1. Go to the frame where the object becomes occluded. Man’s hand disappears behind car. Motion path 2. Press Shift+right-click and drag the tracker to another point that you want to track. This creates an offset point for the tracker to work with. Notice that the Set Target option in the Motion Tracker property editor shows the timecode where the offset has been set. Offset the target to man’s head. 3. Click the Track Forward or Track Backward button to continue the tracking. A keyframe is set on the offset curve at the start and end frame. You can adjust the curve using the animation editor. 1381 Chapter 6 Tracking Correcting Tracker Errors At times, a tracker may not find its target in a frame. If this occurs, an error message is displayed and the tracker that failed is highlighted in red in the viewer. You can correct the error by fine-tuning the tracker’s properties and then tracking backward until you reach a frame in which the tracker doesn’t fail. To correct a tracker error: 1. Using the transport controls, go to the frame in which the error occurred (that is, the frame that contains the red tracker). 2. In the Tracker property editor, do one of the following: t In the DVE tracker, select the Reference option from the Edit box. t In the Tracker tree effect, select the In 2 - ref option from the Edit list. 3. Select the tracker that you want to adjust and change its properties. You can also reposition the tracker manually in the viewer, and set a keyframe by clicking the Animation Key button to confirm the change. 4. Continue tracking forward. n 1382 Tip: If you used the Continue or Predict options (Confidence box), you can select the Remove Keys Below Threshold option after the tracking is complete. This will remove the incorrect tracker points and interpolate the gaps in the motion path, where necessary, to create a smoother path. Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Using the vector drawing tools, you can create images or touch up existing clips without losing the original content. You can also retouch images, remove scratches, animate titles, and import images. Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Workflow: Painting and 2D Titling All graphics creation are done in the Graphics layout and Graphics combo view. Avid DS Nitris has two toolsets for creating graphics: paint and titling. They share the same animatable edit tools, color browsers, and paint effects editors. These toolsets let you touch up and add graphics elements to layers, as well as create mattes. All strokes and their properties are vector-based and fully editable, except for when you’re working in the raster paint mode. 1384 Workflow: Painting and 2D Titling 1 Choose a method to apply graphics. or Create a composite container clip and apply graphics to a layer. Apply the Graphics effect to a clip. or Apply graphics as a node in an Effects Tree. or Select a region on the timeline and create a source-generated clip for graphics or titles. 2 Select a drawing tool. Select a drawing tool. Define the tool properties. 1385 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling 3 Create graphics object. Draw a stroke or add a title. 4 Edit individual graphics objects. 5 Process the graphics objects. Process the frames where the graphics objects were applied. 1386 Select object and edit its properties. Applying Graphics Applying Graphics When creating graphics or titles, you’ll be working in a graphics session. A graphics session is the time span over which graphics objects, such as strokes or titles, appear. You can create a graphics session by applying the Graphics effect to a clip or track, a layer inside a composite container clip, or as a node in an Effects Tree. n If you are using the Avid DS Nitris Editor, the floating Graphics combo view is displayed instead of the Graphics layout. For more information, see ”Graphics Combo View” in the Help. Before you begin a graphics session, you’ll have to set up the environment in which you’re going to create graphics. This includes setting the working resolution and deciding whether you want to apply graphics as an effect, on a layer in a composite, or as a node in an Effects Tree. Applying graphics as an effect lets you add graphics to a: • Single clip, • Video, background, or timeline effect track, or • Node in the Effects Tree. You can also paint on a layer in a composite or on a node in the Effects Tree when you want to use graphics as one effect among many. The method you choose depends on the type and complexity of the graphics that you plan to use. n When you apply a Graphics effect to a clip on the video track, the Graphics layout is displayed. In this layout, the viewer displays the graphics you apply to the clip on the video track, but it will not display the final composite. To view the final composite, you must switch back to the Editing layout. You can also use the Reconnect Viewer button or open a floating viewer on the top timeline. 1387 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Setting the Working Resolution Resolution is the amount and degree of detail in a video image. The working resolution that you choose affects the processing speed of your graphics session, as well as the interactivity of the painting and titling process. You can set the working resolution of your graphics session in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. To set the working resolution: 1. Select File > Sequence Preferences. 2. In the Sequence Preferences dialog box, select the Video tab. 3. In the Working Video Settings box, set the working resolution. Click the Help button for detailed information on Sequence Preferences. Applying Graphics on the Video or Background Tracks On a video track, you can apply graphics over all or part of a clip, as well as a series of clips on the same track. A background track is where you can apply graphics over all the video tracks on the timeline. You can apply a graphics effect to a clip or track. To apply the graphics to a video track: 1. Select the clip or track on which you want to apply graphics. 2. Right-click your selection and select one of the following: - Add Clip Effect if you selected a clip. - Add Track Effect if you selected a track. 3. In the Load Preset dialog box, browse through the folders and select the Graphics effect from the \Image Effects folder. The Graphics effect is applied to the selected clip or track, the position indicator moves to the first frame of the clip or track, and the Graphics layout is displayed. 4. You can now paint or create titles in the viewer. 1388 Applying Graphics To apply the Graphics effect on the background track: 1. Right-click the timeline ribbon and select Create Background Track. 2. A background track is created between the audio and video tracks.Select the background track or a clip on the background track, and do one of the following: t Right-click the clip and select Add Clip Effect. t Right-click the upper area of the track and select Add Track Effect. Upper area of background track 3. In the Load Preset dialog box, select the Graphics effect from the \Image Effects folder. The Graphics effect is applied to the selected clip or track, the position indicator moves to the beginning of the track/clip, and the Graphics layout is displayed. 4. You can now paint or create titles in the viewer. Applying Graphics as a Source-Generated Effect On a selected region of a video track, you can create a new clip for applying graphics. When you create a new clip, you can choose Graphics as an effect. This type of effect is called a source generator effect. Other source-generated effects include Solid Color, Wood Grain, and others. Applying graphics as a source-generated effect is useful when you want to apply graphics or titles on a black background. To create a source-generated clip for graphics: 1. Select a region of a video track. 2. Do one of the following: t Press Ctrl+G. 1389 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling t From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Generate > Source Generator Clip. 3. From the Load Preset dialog box, select Graphics on Black. A clip is created in the region of the track you selected. The Graphics layout is displayed. The Masks property is set to RGBA and the Time Span is set to Start to End. To create a source-generated clip for titling: 1. Select a region of a video track. 2. From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Editing > Simple Titling on Black. A clip is created in the region of the track you selected. The Graphics combo view is displayed. The Masks property is set to RGBA, the Time Span property is set to Start to End, and the Text tool is active. To edit a graphics or titling source-generated clip: t Double-click source-generated clip on the timeline. Applying Graphics on the Timeline Effect Track The timeline effect track is used to apply effects on top of all other effects on the video and background tracks. This track is useful for applying graphics without creating a composite container clip. For example, a title that was created as a graphics effect in the timeline effect track can be moved, scaled, and overlapped with other titles without modifying the underlying tracks. To apply the Graphics effect on the timeline effect track: 1. On the timeline effect track, drag to select a region. 2. Right-click the highlighted area and select Add Timeline Effect. Timeline effect track 3. In the Load Preset dialog box, select the Graphics effect from the \Image Effects folder. 1390 Applying Graphics The Graphics effect is applied to the selected region, the position indicator moves to the beginning of the region, and the Graphics layout is displayed. 4. You can now paint or create titles on the viewer. Applying Graphics on a Layer Painting on a layer is useful when you want to create complex effects where paint is used with other tools, and then apply the effects to several layers independently. Here are some of the effects you can apply to a layer: • Color correction effects, • DVEs for creating effects, such as transformations, • Graphics for creating travelling mattes, and • Keyers for creating a matte to reveal underlying layers. Before you can apply graphics to a layer of a composite, you must first create a composite container clip, which is created from the selected clip on which the position indicator is located. To apply graphics on a layer: 1. Place the position indicator over the clip that you want to use in the composite. 2. Do one of the following: t From the taskbar, click the Compositing button. t Select the clip and from the taskbar, click the Create Container Clip button and select Create Composite Container Clip. t Right-click the clip and select Create Composite Container. A composite container clip is opened and the Compositing layout is displayed. The selected clip is automatically placed in a layer in the Layers view. 3. If desired, you can add more clips to the composite. 4. Click the Gfx button of the layer on which you want to paint. 1391 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Gfx button The Graphics layout displays. 5. You can now paint or create titles in the viewer. Applying Graphics in an Effects Tree Applying graphics in an Effects Tree is similar to applying graphics on a layer. However, with an Effects Tree you can add multiple graphics effects to any input or effect node. To apply graphics in an Effects Tree: 1. Right-click a layer in the Compositing layout and select Effects Tree (layer). The Effects Tree view for the layer is displayed. 2. Right-click an empty area of the Effects Tree and select Add Effect. 3. From the Load Preset dialog box, select the Graphics effect from the \Image Effects folder. A Graphics effect node is added to the Effects Tree. 4. Connect the Graphics effect nodes. 5. Double-click the Graphics effect. The Graphics layout displays. You can now create graphics—see “Working with Graphics” on page 1411. 1392 Using Presets in Graphics Using Presets in Graphics A preset is a customized set of properties for a graphics session, drawing tool, property, stroke, text body, or group. You can use the presets that come with Avid DS Nitris, or you can create your own by saving the properties that you have already set and reusing them in other graphics sessions. Either way, presets let you work more efficiently. Most graphics-related presets are in the \Dspresets\Paint folder. Graphics session presets are in the \Dspresets\Image Effects\Graphics Sessions folder. In the Graphics layout, there are presets for: • Graphics sessions • Drawing tools (Freehand, Polyline, Rectangle, Ellipse, Magic Wand, and Text) • Graphics (strokes, text bodies, and groups) • Paint Style (Brush, Brush Fx, and Fill Fx) • Titling Style (Face Fx, Edge Fx, and Shadow Fx) • Masks • Time Span • Transformations Loading and Saving Presets There are several ways to load and save presets. You can use the property editors, toolbars, Graphics property editor, or the Stroke Preset, Text Preset, or Group Preset button in the Tools toolbar. You can also load a preset by using the pop-up menu in the graphics property tree. To load or save a preset using a property editor: 1. In the graphics property tree, click a property button. 2. In the property editor, click the Load Preset or Save Preset button. 3. In the Load Preset dialog box, do one of the following: t To load a preset, select a preset. The graphics property tree displays the properties of the preset you selected. 1393 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling t To save a preset, type a name for the preset you’re saving. The preset you saved appears in the folder in which you saved it. To load a preset using the toolbars: 1. Do one of the following: t From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select an object on which to apply the preset. t From the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool to set the preset as the default properties before painting. 2. In the Tools toolbar, click Tools > Import and one of the following: t Stroke Preset to load a stroke preset. t Text Preset to load a text preset. t Group Preset to load a group preset. If you selected a graphics object, the preset is applied to it. If you selected a drawing tool, the preset’s properties are loaded into the graphics property tree. When you paint on the viewer, these preset properties will be applied to the graphics you create. To save a preset using the toolbars: 1. In a property editor, drag the thumbnail to a toolbar. Thumbnail Thumbnail is is dragged to dragged toolbar.to toolbar. 2. In the Save Preset As dialog box, type a name and description for the preset in the corresponding text boxes. A toolbar button is created in the toolbar. 1394 Using Presets in Graphics To load a preset using the pop-up menu: t From the graphics property tree, click a property button and select one of the following: - A preset from the menu. - Load and browse through the folders and select a preset. The preset is loaded into the graphics property tree. Using Stroke, Text, or Group Presets A stroke, text, or group preset is a stroke, title, or group that you saved along with all of its properties. Using a preset lets you instantly apply the settings of a stroke, title, or group of any complexity to the current image without having to define any of its properties. Once applied, the stroke, title, or group behaves as a regular graphics object; you can select and edit its properties. To load a stroke, text, or group preset: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click Import > Stroke Preset, Text Preset, or Group Preset. 2. In the Load Stroke Preset dialog box, browse through the folders and select a preset. The preset is applied to the current frame in the viewer. 1395 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling To save a stroke, text, or group preset: 1. In the viewer, select an object. 2. In the graphics property tree, do one of the following: t Click Stroke if you selected a stroke. t Click Titling Body if you selected a text body. t Click Group if you selected a group. 3. In the property editor, click the Save Preset button. 4. In the File Name text box, type a name. 5. In the Comments text box, type a description. The preset is saved with the file name you specified, and can be accessed at any time by clicking the Stroke Preset, Text Preset, or Group Preset button in the Tools or General toolbars. Stroke presets are saved in the \Strokes folder, titling body presets are saved in the \Bodies folder, and group presets are saved in the \Groups folder. 1396 Setting Drawing Tool Properties Setting Drawing Tool Properties Before you create graphics or titles, you must define how the brush strokes or titles will appear. Using the property editors in the graphics property tree, you can set individual brush or text properties. Each time you select a drawing tool from the General or Tools toolbar, its properties are displayed in the graphics property tree. When you click any of the property buttons in the graphics property tree, its corresponding property editor is displayed. You can set the default properties of the drawing tool before creating an object. When you do this, the new settings become the default properties that are applied to the objects you create. These properties remain in effect until you change the properties of any of the drawing tools. If you decide to create an object before setting its properties, you can select the object you created and then modify its properties. When you do this, only the properties of the selected object are modified. Properties of the Freehand tool. Properties of the Text tool. Graphics property tree Setting the Paint Style The paint style properties let you define the artistic style of the graphics you create. In the Paint Style property editor, you can specify whether to paint with a brush or a fill, or both. 1397 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Brush only Brush and fill You can also set the fill opacity and appearance of its boundary. If you’re using a pen and graphic tablet, you can vary the amount of pressure you apply to the pen. This affects the brush opacity and size. n Make sure your pen is adjusted for pressure sensitivity. For more information, refer to your graphics tablet documentation. To define the paint style: 1. From the Tools toolbar, select one of the following drawing tools: Freehand, Polyline, Rectangle, Ellipse, or Magic Wand. 2. From the graphics property tree, click Paint Style. 3. On the Paint Style property editor, select the Use option from the Brush box to create strokes and apply effects to them. 1398 Setting Drawing Tool Properties 4. Select the Antialiased option to smooth the jagged edges along the lines and curves of strokes. 5. If you’re using a pen, select the Size and/or Opacity options from the Pressure box. The opacity and width of strokes respond to the amount of pressure you apply to the pen. 6. In the Fill box, select the Use option to fill the object with the effects you specify. Freehand and polyline strokes are automatically closed and filled. If you deselect the Fill option, the curve is open. 7. Select the Below Brush option to place the fill behind the stroke edge. If you deselect this option, the fill is superimposed over the inside edge of the stroke. 8. Select the Invert option to invert the fill. When creating a stroke, the area outside of the stroke is filled. 9. Use the Opacity controls to adjust the fill transparency. 10. In the Feathering box, select the Use option to feather the edges of the fill. 11. Select the Crop option to confine the feathered area within the stroke. 12. Adjust the Soft Radius controls to define how far inside and outside the stroke edge the feathered area extends. 13. Adjust the Soft Profile controls to adjust the fall off rate for the fill. 14. Adjust the Blur X and Y Radius controls to adjust the blur in the horizontal and vertical directions. 15. You can now paint or create titles on the viewer. The strokes you create are displayed with the properties you specified. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Paint Style properties. Setting Brush Properties The brush properties define the brush’s size, shape, smoothness, softness, and opacity. For example, you can simulate a calligraphic stylus by specifying a rectangular brush shape with a slight angle. Or you can simulate an airbrush using the opacity controls to create a round brush with a solid center and a transparent edge. 1399 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling To define the brush properties: 1. From the Tools toolbar, select one of the following drawing tools: Freehand, Polyline, Rectangle, Ellipse, or Magic Wand. 2. From the graphics property tree, click Brush. 3. In the Brush property editor, select a brush shape from the Shape box. The brush shape is displayed in the preview box. 4. Use the X and Y controls to set the width and height of the brush. n Tip: When using the Freehand tool, you can interactively resize the brush by pressing Ctrl and dragging in the viewer. 5. Select the Lock Aspect Ratio option to link the X and Y controls, so that when you adjust one, the other increases or decreases proportionally. 6. Select the Soft Edge option for a soft brush edge. Deselecting this option gives you a hard brush edge. 7. Use the Hardness Diameter controls to adjust the proportion of the brush diameter that is solid. 8. Use the Softness Profile controls to adjust the gradient fall-off rate. 9. Use the Opacity controls to define the transparency of the brush. 1400 Setting Drawing Tool Properties 10. Use the Sampling Ratio controls to set the distance between each brush stamp in a stroke. The default sampling ratio is 25 for optimum interaction speed. n If you deselect the Continuous Interpolation option in the Freehand Tool property editor, the sampling ratio has no impact on the stroke. 11. Use the Angle controls to adjust the rotational angle of the brush. The brush’s new angle of rotation is displayed in the preview box. 12. You can now paint in the viewer. Any strokes that you create use the properties you specified. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Brush properties. Creating Custom Brushes You can create custom brushes using a closed stroke or an Adobe Illustrator EPS file (created with version 8.0 or earlier). You can also save your custom brush as a preset and then reuse it. For more information, see “Importing Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Files” on page 1475. To create a custom brush using a stroke: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select a stroke or group of strokes from the viewer. n Tip: To create a custom brush, the stroke must be a closed shape. You can do this by holding down the C key while drawing the stroke. For more information, see “Drawing Freehand Strokes” on page 1414. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Objects > Make Brush. The brush is loaded with the custom shape. Using one of the drawing tools, you can begin creating strokes in the viewer. n To see the shape of the brush, select a drawing tool and look in the Brush property editor. For more information, see “Setting Brush Properties” on page 1399. 1401 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling To create a custom brush with an EPS shape: 1. From the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool. 2. From the graphics property tree, click Brush. 3. From the General toolbar, click Import > Import EPS. In the Open dialog box, select an EPS file to use as your brush. The brush is loaded with the EPS shape. Using one of the drawing tools, you can begin creating strokes in the viewer. n Not all versions of EPS files are supported. Setting the Titling Style The titling style properties let you define the artistic style of graphics. By adjusting these properties, you can define the appearance of a character’s face, edge, and shadow. You can also apply numerous visual effects including softcolored edges, cloned faces, inverted shadows, and more. Certain properties apply to the entire text body, and others apply only to the words or characters that you select in a text body. You can define the character edge, face, and shadow, and then use masks on the titles you create. A variety of fonts and text formats lets you enhance the appearance of titles. Many of the properties you assign to text can be animated. Edge Face Shadow To define the titling style: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Text button. 2. From the graphics property tree, click Titling Style. 1402 Setting Drawing Tool Properties 3. In the Titling Style property editor, set the face, edge, and shadow properties. 4. You can now create a title on the viewer. The face, edge, and shadow of each character in the text body changes according to the properties you specified. Setting the Font Properties The font properties define the font, style, and size of individual text characters and text in a text body, as well as set the kerning and hinting options. Avid DS Nitris comes with a selection of TrueType fonts. Other fonts, in the \Fonts folder of your operating system, are also available for use. For more information, see the Avid DS Nitris Installation and Administration Guide. n If you notice any missing fonts after restoring a project and opening sequences of that project, check the Avid Event Log for any missing Graphics titling fonts. By checking the log, you’ll see exactly which fonts are missing on your system. To access the Avid Event Log, select View > Multi-Instance Views > Avid Event Log. Missing Graphics titling fonts are logged when you open a sequence, and when you load a Graphics effect preset, Titling Body preset, or Titling Font preset. 1403 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling When a Graphics Titling Body uses a font that is not installed on the computer, the text will be rendered using a default font. However, in the Graphics Titling Font property editor, the missing font is still specified even if it's not selected in the font list. To define the font properties: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Text button. 2. From the graphics property tree, click Font. 3. In the Font property editor, select a font, style, and size. 4. Select the Kern Pairs option to move a character closer to the previous character in the same word to improve the appearance of the text. (This applies only to certain font types.) 5. Select the Font Hinting option to control the display of artifacts, such as blurry edges, when processing. When this option is selected, redraw information is provided to prevent these artifacts from appearing in the viewer and rendered output. This option is not recommended when animating the text. 1404 Setting Drawing Tool Properties 6. In the Kerning box, you can set the amount of horizontal space between characters, expressed as a percentage of the current font size. You can select individual characters or part of the text body and set the kerning individually. The default value is 1. 7. You can now create a title in the viewer. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Font properties. Setting the Masks Properties The masks properties let you create graphics using a matte (stencil) or a paper grain effect, and choose the channel(s) on which you will create graphics. You can use any of the R, G, B, and alpha channels. If you select only the red channel, for example, only the red component of the image is modified when you paint on it. By using only the alpha channel, you can create a matte, which is a grayscale image that defines the transparency of an image when it’s composited over another. You may want to use a mask when applying graphics to clips. A mask is an image, portion, or component of an image. A matte is defined by the alpha component of an image, and is used differently in the Graphics and Compositing layouts: • In the Graphics layout, a matte is used as a stencil to protect portions of the image. Where alpha is 0, no paint is applied. • In the Compositing layout, a matte determines the transparent portions of a layer. Wherever alpha is 0, the image is transparent. Wherever alpha is 100 the image is opaque. For example, if an object from one clip must appear over a background from another clip, you place the clips on two different layers in the Compositing layout, and then draw a matte on the top layer. The matte defines an opaque object on an otherwise transparent layer. For more information, see “Working with Mattes” on page 1136. To define the masks properties: 1. From the Tools toolbar, select one of the following drawing tools: Freehand, Polyline, Rectangle, Ellipse, Magic Wand, or Text. 2. From the graphics property tree, click Masks. 1405 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling 3. On the General property page, select the channels on which you want to paint from the Paint on Channel box. 4. In the Mask box, select the Use Alpha Channel option to use the alpha channel as a matte. n The Alpha and Use Alpha Channel options cannot be used simultaneously. 5. Select the Invert option to invert the alpha channel. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Masks properties. Setting the Time Span Properties The time span properties define the duration of graphics. You can define the start and end time of an object before you create it. This duration becomes the default time span and is applied to all subsequent objects you create. Or you can create graphics using the default time span, and then change its start, end, or duration time later on. In the Time Span property editor, the timecode refers to the graphics session time. That is, 00:00:00:00 is the beginning of the graphics session regardless of its position on the timeline. 1406 Setting Drawing Tool Properties To define the time span properties: 1. From the Tools toolbar, select one of the following drawing tools: Freehand, Polyline, Rectangle, Ellipse, Magic Wand, or Text. 2. From the graphics property tree, click Time Span. 3. In the Time Span property editor, specify the duration by clicking one of the following: Button To This Frame Only Make the time span one frame. This Frame to End Make the time span start at the current frame and end at the last frame of the graphics session. Start to End Make the time span start at the first frame and end at the last frame of the graphics session. Start to this Frame Make the time span start at the first frame and end at the current frame of the graphics session. Custom Specify a custom time span in the Out and Duration timecode boxes. All values must be expressed in SMPTE timecode. 1407 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling n If you’re setting the default time span, the In text box is dimmed because Avid DS Nitris defines the start time. If you’re editing the time span of a selected object, the Custom button is always highlighted. 4. If you’re editing the time span of a selected object, you can select the Lock option to lock the duration. n If you’re defining the default time span properties before creating an object, the Lock option is deselected. You must select an object before using this option. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Time Span properties. 1408 Defining Color Defining Color In Avid DS Nitris, color is considered to be an effect that you can apply to an image using the brush or fill properties of a stroke, or the face, edge, or shadow properties of a title. Like any other effect, the Color Blend effect can be substituted for other effects, such as Noise or Smear. To define colors, you can pick a color from the default palette or from the color wheel, use the color picker to select a color from an existing image, or use other color palettes that are available in the \Palettes folder. If a color is not displayed on the color palette, you can create it by adjusting the RGB values of another color to obtain the exact color you want. You can also create your own color palettes and save them for use on other projects. You can apply color to selected strokes or you can define the color properties before you draw a stroke. These properties then apply to all the subsequent strokes you create. To open the Color Blend property editor: 1. From the Tools toolbar, do one of the following: t Click the Select button and select an object from the viewer. t Select a drawing tool to create a new object. 2. From the graphics property tree, right-click one of the following property buttons and select Color Blend: t For paint strokes: Brush Fx or Fill Fx. t For text bodies: Edge Effect, Face Effect, or Shadow Effect The Color Blend effect is loaded in the property button that you selected from the graphics property tree. Color Blend effect loaded as Brush Fx 1409 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling 3. From the graphics property tree, click Color Blend. Preview box Striped boxes contain no color Color channels n Tip: A quick way to apply color is with the Pick Color tool. Once you have chosen your drawing tool, hold down the 6 key. The pointer turns into an eyedropper. Pick a color from the image in the viewer. You can now paint with this color until you decide to load another color. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Color Blend properties. 1410 Working with Graphics Working with Graphics The drawing tools from the Tools toolbar let you create different kinds of graphics objects including freehand, polylines, rectangles, ellipses, and Magic Wand strokes. You can then edit the graphics you create. You can control the appearance of graphics by using the property editors in the graphics property tree. Property editors let you define characteristics, such as the brush, fill, edge, face, and shadow. When you start to paint in the viewer, the graphics you create are displayed with the default properties. n Tip: If the edges of graphics appear jagged, right-click the viewer and select Square Pixels to make them appear smooth. Checking the Premultiplication Setting Depending on how you have chosen to apply graphics, it’s a good idea to verify the premultiplication setting before creating any graphics. This will ensure that you get the appropriate results. Premultiplication is a mathematical process where the RGB channels of an image are multiplied with their corresponding alpha channel values. To check the premultiplication setting: 1. From the General toolbar, click the Graphics Properties button. 2. Select the Options tab. 3. From the Alpha box, select one of the following options: Auto, Premultiplied, or Not Premultiplied. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Option properties. Wireframe Mode While painting, you can activate the wireframe mode to easily see the outline of the strokes you create. This lets you precisely edit and manipulate strokes without being distracted by any of the effects defined for it. Working in wireframe mode also increases the speed of interaction because wireframe objects are not processed. 1411 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Freehand object Freehand object in wireframe mode To activate or deactivate wireframe mode: t From the Tools toolbar, click the Wireframe button or press Ctrl+W. Strokes in the viewer appear in wireframe mode. n Text bodies cannot be displayed in wireframe mode. Wireframe Preview When you work with animated graphics objects, you may want to preview the results of the animation without having to process the sequence. This lets you work more quickly and eliminates processing time. When previewing graphics animation, the clip plays back and graphics objects are processed in wireframe over a black background. To view animated objects in wireframe mode: t From the Tools toolbar, click the Wireframe Preview button or press Ctrl+Shift+W. The sequence plays back and the animated graphics objects appear in wireframe mode. When the clip is finished, the position indicator moves to the first frame at which the preview started. Drawing Polylines The Polyline tool lets you draw straight lines, Bézier curves, or a combination of the two. 1412 Working with Graphics To draw a polyline: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Polyline button or press Q. 2. In the graphics property tree, use the property editors to define the characteristics of the polyline—see “Setting Drawing Tool Properties” on page 1397. 3. Depending on the type of curve you want, do one of the following: t Click the viewer as many times as needed to add straight line segments to the polyline. t Constrain a polyline to a 45 degree angle by holding down the V key. t Drag a vertex to display and adjust the tangent handles. End point Tangent handle 4. When you’re done, do one of the following: t Press Esc to end the polyline. t Press Ctrl and click to close the polyline. A polyline is displayed in the viewer with the properties you specified. n Once a polyline is ended, you cannot undo polyline segments. You can undo segments only as you are creating the polyline. 5. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button. The stroke is selected. 6. Press Enter or click the Edit Shape button to edit the stroke geometry—see “Editing the Shape of a Stroke” on page 1429. The stroke’s control points are displayed. n Tip: To constrain polyline segments to a 45 degree angle, hold down the Alt key. 1413 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Drawing Freehand Strokes The Freehand tool lets you draw open or close freeform strokes, and simulates the feeling of drawing with a pencil on paper. Use this tool when you want to create a hand-drawn look or quickly sketch on your image. 1414 Working with Graphics As you draw freehand strokes, you’re imprinting a series of stamps onto your image. By defining the appearance of the brush stamps, you can create a continuous stroke or a stroke with discrete brush stamps. To draw a freehand stroke: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Freehand button or press W. 2. In the graphics property tree, use the property editors to define the characteristics of the freehand stroke—see “Setting Drawing Tool Properties” on page 1397. 3. From the property tree, click Freehand. 4. In the Freehand property editor, select the Close option if you want to create a closed freehand stroke. n Tip: To create a closed freehand stroke quickly, hold down the C key before beginning to draw the stroke. 5. Select the Continuous Interpolation option to draw a continuous path. The number of brush stamps is based on the sampling ratio defined in the Brush property editor. 6. Select the Fast Feedback option to view an outline of the stroke as you draw it, instead of applying the specified effect. This also increases the interaction speed. 7. In the Curve Fitting box, select the Fit Curve option to create a freehand stroke with the minimum number of control points. 8. Use the Tolerance controls to specify the number of control points the redrawn curve will retain from the original curve. 1415 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling n The Curve Fit option is usually used after the stroke is drawn by selecting the stroke, editing the shape, and selecting the Curve Fit option in the Edit Shape property editor. 9. Select the Overlay Brush option to show or hide the outline of the brush while you paint. 10. Create a stroke in the viewer by dragging on the viewer. Once you release the mouse or pen, the stroke is complete. The freehand stroke is displayed in the viewer with the properties you specified. If you selected the Fill option in the Paint Style property editor, the freehand stroke is closed and filled. A stroke with continuous interpolation. A stroke without continuous interpolation. Slow drawing motion. Fast drawing motion. 11. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button to select the stroke. 12. Press Enter or click the Edit Shape button to edit the stroke—see “Editing the Shape of a Stroke” on page 1429. The stroke’s control points are displayed. 1416 Working with Graphics Using the Express Tools The Express tools let you access a set of freehand tool brush effects quickly and easily. By holding down a key that has been assigned to a freehand tool brush effect, you can erase or paint with one keystroke. When you release the key, the previous tool is reactivated. By default, the Express tools represent the Erase, Blur, and Color Blend effects, but you can assign your favorite freehand tool brush effects as well. This is very useful when cleaning up a matte, since you can access the Erase tool without having to change your current tool. The keys assigned to the Express tools are the numbers 1 through 5 on the upper-left of your keyboard. To use the Express tools: 1. In the Graphics layout, hold down the key assigned to the Express tool you want to activate. A freehand tool brush effect is loaded. 2. While continuing to hold down the key, work in your graphics session. 3. Release the key. The tool you were using previous to the Express tool is reactivated. To customize the Express tools: 1. In the Graphics layout, hold down one of the keys on the upper-left of the keyboard (numbers 1 to 5). 2. Right-click Brush Fx in the graphics property tree and load a paint effect, such as Color Blend or Erase. 3. Release the key. The key is assigned to the selected freehand tool brush effect. Drawing Rectangles and Ellipses The Rectangle tool lets you create rectangular and square shapes, as well as rectangles with rounded corners. The Ellipse tool lets you create oval and circular shapes. After creating a square or round shape, you can edit them to create unique shapes. 1417 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling To draw a rectangle or ellipse: 1. From the Tools toolbar, do one of the following: t Click the Rectangle button or press R. t Click the Ellipse button or press E. 2. In the graphics property tree, use the property editors to define the characteristics of the rectangle or ellipse—see “Setting Drawing Tool Properties” on page 1397. 3. To create one of the following: - Rectangle or ellipse: Create a stroke in the viewer by dragging in the viewer. To maintain the aspect ratio, press Shift and drag. A rectangle or ellipse is displayed in the viewer with the properties you specified. - Rectangle with rounded corners: From the graphics property tree, click Rectangle and set the corner radius in the Rectangle property editor. Drag in the viewer to create a rectangle with rounded corners. - Rectangle with rounded corners: Hold down the Close Bracket (]) to increase the corner radius or the Open Bracket ([) key to decrease corner radius, and drag in the viewer. When you reach the desired corner radius, release the key. 4. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button. The rectangle or ellipse is selected. 5. Press Enter or click the Edit Shape button to edit the stroke—see “Editing the Shape of a Stroke” on page 1429 and “Reshaping a Stroke” on page 1434. The stroke’s control points are displayed. n Tip: To view and move the tangent handles on the control points of a rectangle, press the H key while selecting the control point in Edit Shape mode. Filling Shapes You can determine which areas of a shape are filled or become holes, letting you adjust the appearance of a compound path or a self-intersecting path. 1418 Working with Graphics A single graphics object. The path of the object intersects itself. Two combined graphics objects overlapping each other Objects using the Non-Zero Winding option Objects using the Even-Odd option To create self-intersecting shapes that are filled or have holes: 1. From the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool. 2. In the Paint Style property editor, select the Fill option and one of the following Fill Rule options at the bottom of property page: t Even-Odd to create shapes with holes. t Non-Zero Winding to create filled shapes. 3. Create one or more shapes. The shapes can intersect themselves. n When combining two filled strokes together, the Fill Rule property can be used to determine which areas of a shape are filled or become holes. When you use the Non-Zero Winding option to fill the intersections, the path direction of both strokes needs to be the same. If not, then you need to reverse the path direction of one of the two strokes; separate the compound stroke, reverse the path direction of one stroke, and then combine the two strokes together. Using the Magic Wand Tool With the Magic Wand tool, you can create a stroke that has the same shape as a selected area of an image. The selection is based on RGBA or HLSA values of an image. Once created, you can edit the stroke. 1419 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling A shape based on RGB values To define a stroke: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Magic Wand button or press Y. 2. In the graphics property tree, use the property editors to define the characteristics of the shape—see “Setting Drawing Tool Properties” on page 1397. 3. Click the viewer. A shape is created corresponding to the selected area. Control points are visible along the shape. 4. From the graphics property tree, click Magic Wand. 1420 Working with Graphics 5. In the Magic Wand property editor, select a color model from the Color Model list. 6. In the Color Tolerance controls, select the channels that you want to use to control the range of pixel values included in the selected area. 7. Adjust the Color Tolerance controls to set the range of color values for each channel. Continue refining the settings until the desired shape is obtained. The shape changes according to the new settings. 8. Use the Fit Tolerance controls to adjust the way the edges of the selection are determined. 9. Select the Invert option to invert the selection. 10. Select the Similar option to select all of the pixels in the color range of the specified range. 11. Select or click one of the following: - Autocreate to automatically create the stroke when you click the viewer. - Confirm to create the stroke defined by the shape. A stroke is created with the desired shape, and is displayed using the properties you specified. 1421 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling 12. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button. The stroke is selected. 13. Press Enter or click the Edit Shape button to edit the stroke—see “Editing the Shape of a Stroke” on page 1429. The shape’s control points are displayed. Selecting Graphics Objects You must select an object before you can move it or edit its properties or shape. You can move an object around in the viewer, as well as select single or multiple graphics objects. When you select an object, the graphics property tree displays the properties of that object. To select graphics objects: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button. The graphics object you last created is automatically selected. 2. In the viewer or the Graphics Object View (GOV), click an object to select it. A yellow bounding box surrounds each selected object, and the graphics property tree displays its properties. n When working with many graphics objects, you can hide their bounding boxes by clicking the Show/Hide Bounding Box button or by pressing Ctrl+H. The object is still selected and you can edit the properties of the graphics object. 3. Do one of the following: t Press the comma (,) key to select the previous graphics object. t Press the period (.) key to select the next object. t Press Shift and click each additional object. t Press Shift+comma (,) and keep pressing the comma to select multiple objects in descending order. t Press Shift+period (.) and keep pressing the period to select multiple objects in ascending order. By default, a yellow bounding box surrounds each selected object. n 1422 Tip: Drag on the viewer to make a rectangular selection. All graphics within the rectangle are selected. Working with Graphics To select all objects, do one of the following: t From the Tools toolbar, click the Select All button. t From the menu bar, select Edit > Select All or Graphics > Select All. t Press Ctrl+A. In the viewer, all objects are selected. Objects whose time span do not cover the current frame will not be selected. n The Select All command in the Edit menu is not available when using the Edit Text tool. To select objects in Edit Shape mode: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Edit Shape button. 2. Press Alt and click a stroke to select or deselect it. Grouping Graphics Objects By grouping several graphics objects, you can select, manipulate, and edit many objects simultaneously. You can then transform or animate the group as a whole. You can also select a group and temporarily ungroup it, as well as reselect ungrouped objects and regroup them. Like strokes and text, you can create presets for groups that you want to reuse in other graphics sessions. For more information, see “Using Stroke, Text, or Group Presets” on page 1395. To group selected objects: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button. 2. Select any number of objects from the viewer or GOV. 3. From the Tools toolbar, click Group > Group. The selected objects are grouped. To group all objects in a graphics session: t From the Tools toolbar, click Group > Group All - Session. All objects in the graphics session are grouped. 1423 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling To ungroup a group of objects: 1. Select a group from the viewer or GOV. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Group > Ungroup. The selected group is ungrouped. The ungrouped objects temporarily lose the properties of the group until you regroup them. Regrouping Objects If you have just ungrouped a group of objects, you can always regroup it immediately and retain the properties of the group. To regroup objects: 1. Select one or more objects that were in the group. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Group > Regroup. Selecting Objects in a Group You can select an object inside a group by holding down the Alt key when clicking an object in the viewer. Or you can select an object by clicking the corresponding bar in the GOV. To select an object in a group in the viewer: To Press this Select an object inside a group. Alt+click Add an object, which belongs to a group, to the current selection. Alt+Shift+click Select only the objects that belong to a group and intersect the rectangle. Alt+Rectangle Selection Add objects, which belong to a group and intersect the selection rectangle, to the current selection. Alt+ Shift+Rectangle Selection Select only the objects that belong to a group and are Alt+Ctrl+Rectangle Selection totally contained in the rectangle. Add objects, which belong to a group and are totally within the rectangle, to the current selection. 1424 Alt+Shift+Ctrl+Rectangle Selection Working with Graphics n Tip: You can also select objects inside a group by using these standard shortcuts: Select Next Object: Period (.) Select Previous Object: Comma (,) Multi-select Next Object: Shift+Period (.) Multi-select Previous Object: Shift+Comma (,) Cutting and Pasting Objects in a Group To cut an object from a group: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button. 2. From the viewer or GOV, select one or more objects. n You cannot select all of the objects in a group. 3. From the Tools toolbar, click Group > Cut from Group. The selected objects are removed from the group and placed on the Clipboard. To paste an object to a group: 1. Select the group to which the object will be pasted. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Group > Paste to Group. The objects on the Clipboard are pasted in the selected group and have the same time span as the group. Locking Graphics Objects When you’re working with overlapping graphics objects, it’s useful to lock some of the graphics objects on which you don’t need to work. Once an object is locked, you can’t select or modify it in any way. Locked objects remain locked when a sequence is closed and reopened. Also, locked objects cannot be selected or edited in the GOV—you can only unlock them. When a graphics object is locked, its bar in the GOV changes to a light gray color. n Tip: To see a wireframe outline of locked objects, position the pointer over the graphics bars in the GOV and the shape of the locked objects will be displayed in wireframe in the viewer. 1425 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling n You can also lock/unlock a graphics object by right-clicking on its corresponding bar in the GOV and choosing a menu command. To lock graphics objects: t Select the graphics objects that you want to lock and do one of the following: - From the Tools toolbar, click the Lock button. - Right-click the graphics object in the GOV and select Lock. - Select Graphics > Objects > Lock. Locked objects are now represented by a light gray bar in the GOV and are automatically deselected. n Tip: You can multi-select graphics objects by holding down the Shift key. To unlock graphics objects, do one of the following: t To unlock all graphics objects on the current frame, select Graphics > Objects > Unlock All - Frame or click the Unlock All - Frame button in the toolbar. t To unlock all graphics objects in the current graphics session, click Graphics > Objects > Unlock All - Session in the Tools toolbar. All locked graphics objects are unlocked. Hiding Graphics Objects When you’re working with overlapping graphics objects that clutter the viewer, you can hide some of the graphics objects on which you don’t want to work. This makes objects temporarily invisible and may improve performance when working on large or complex projects. Once an object is hidden, you cannot select or modify it in any way, except for trimming. Hidden objects remain hidden when sequences are closed and reopened. When a graphics object is hidden, its bar in the GOV changes to a light purple color. n 1426 Tip: To see a wireframe outline of hidden objects, position the pointer over the graphics bars in the GOV and the shape of the hidden objects will be displayed in wireframe in the viewer. Working with Graphics You can also hide/show graphics objects by right-clicking on its corresponding bar in the GOV and choosing a menu command. To hide graphics objects: t Select the graphics objects that you want to hide and do one of the following: - From the Tools toolbar, click the Hide button. - Right-click the graphics object in the GOV and select Hide. - From the menu bar, select Graphics > Objects > Hide. Hidden objects are represented by a light purple bar in the GOV and are automatically deselected. To show graphics objects, do one of the following: t To show all graphics objects on the current frame, select Graphics > Objects > Show All - Frame or click the Show All - Frame button in the toolbar. t To show all graphics objects in the current graphics session, select Graphics > Objects > Show All - Session from the Tools toolbar. All hidden graphics objects are shown and selected. Any previously selected objects are deselected. Hiding Bounding Boxes Hiding the bounding boxes of graphics objects makes it easy for you to see the effect of any adjustments you make to its parameters. You can still select and edit the graphics objects after hiding the bounding boxes. To show/hide bounding boxes: t From the Tools toolbar, click the Show/Hide Bounding Box button or press Ctrl+H. Creating Clusters of Graphics Objects and Vertices Multiselecting graphics objects or vertices can be very convenient when you want to reuse a specific selection. You can build presets of one or more selected graphics objects or vertices. 1427 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling To create a cluster of graphics objects: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select the graphics objects you want to add to the cluster. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Shapes > Build Vertex Cluster button. The graphics objects are assigned to a cluster button. To recall a graphics object cluster: t From the Tools toolbar, click Shapes > Select Vertex Cluster. The graphics objects assigned to this cluster number are selected in the viewer. To build a cluster of vertices: 1. In Edit Shape mode, select the vertices you want to add to the cluster. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Shapes and one of the Build Vertex Cluster buttons. The group of vertices is assigned to the cluster button. To recall a vertex cluster: t From the Tools toolbar, click Shapes and the corresponding Select Vertex Cluster button. The vertices assigned to this cluster number are selected in the viewer. Aligning Graphics Objects Graphics alignment tools allow you to align graphics objects with respect to other graphics objects or the safe action/title area. Absolute alignment tools allow you to align graphics using the safe action/title area as a reference. Relative alignment tools allow you to align graphics object using other selected graphics objects as a reference. n Tip: When using the alignment tools, it’s useful to display the guides. Rightclick the viewer and select Viewer Properties. On the Guides property page, select the Safe Action/Title option. To align graphics objects: 1. In the viewer, select the objects you want to align. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Align > alignment tool. The selected objects are aligned in the viewer. 1428 Working with Graphics Editing the Shape of a Stroke The shapes of all the strokes created by the Freehand, Polyline, Rectangle, Ellipse, and Magic Wand tools are determined by line segments and vertices that indicate a change in line direction. Each vertex in an object has a control point, which you can use to alter its shape. Before you can edit the shape of a stroke, you must select it. To edit the shape of a stroke: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and click a stroke in the viewer. The selected stroke is surrounded by a yellow bounding box, and the graphics property tree displays the stroke’s properties. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Edit Shape button or press Enter. The stroke’s contour and control points are displayed, and the Edit Shape tool is activated. n Tip: To select or deselect a shape while in Edit Shape mode, press Alt and click a stroke. 3. From the graphics property tree, click Edit Shape. 4. In the Path box, click one of the following: - Open to open a closed curve. - Closed to close an open curve. 5. In the Curve Fitting box: t Click the Fit Curve button to sample all the control points of the original curve. t Use the Tolerance controls to set the number of controls points that the redrawn curve retains from the original. 6. In the Animation box, use the buttons to set, delete, and navigate between keyframes. Selecting Control Points When you select control points on a stroke, they remain selected between frames. You can edit the shape of single or multiple strokes by dragging the control points. 1429 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling To select control points: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button, and click a stroke in the viewer. The selected stroke is surrounded by a yellow bounding box, and the graphics property tree displays the stroke’s properties. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Edit Shape button or press Enter. The stroke’s contour and control points are displayed, and the Edit Shape tool is activated. 3. Do one of the following: t Click a control point to select a single control point. t Hold down the Shift key and click a control point, and then click each subsequent control point. t Drag to make a rectangular selection in the viewer, and select multiple points simultaneously. The selected control points are highlighted in yellow. Control point To edit a control point: t Press A and click the line or curve segment between two control points to add a control point. t Click a control point to select it and drag to move it. t Click a control point and press Delete to delete control points. To move a control point: 1430 t To move 1 pixel: Press an arrow key on the keyboard number pad. t To move 10 pixels: Hold down the Ctrl key and press an arrow key on the keyboard number pad. Working with Graphics Breaking and Unifying Strokes A stroke’s path can be broken into any number of subpaths, which you can later reunify. Subpaths remain part of the stroke and cannot be unified with the subpaths of other strokes. Stroke path Subpaths of a stroke To break or unify a stroke: t Hold down the K key and drag a control point. The stroke path is broken and a subpath is created. t Hold down the U key and drag one control point and drop it over another. The subpaths are unified. Combining and Separating Strokes You can combine multiple strokes to create a single compound stroke. Similarly, you can separate compound strokes into individual strokes. To combine strokes: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button, and select the strokes you want to combine. The selected strokes are surrounded by yellow bounding boxes and highlighted in yellow in the GOV. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Objects > Combine Strokes. The selected strokes are combined and surrounded by one bounding box, and are shown in the GOV as one compound stroke. n When strokes are combined, they’re assigned the properties of the first selected stroke. If you want to retrieve the properties of an individual stroke before it was combined, use the undo operation. 1431 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling To separate a stroke: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button, and select the stroke you want to separate. The selected stroke is surrounded by yellow bounding boxes and is highlighted in yellow in the GOV. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Objects > Separate Strokes. The combined stroke is separated into individual strokes. Morphing Strokes You can select strokes which exist at different frames and automatically interpolate between them to create interesting effects. n Tip: You can also copy shapes and paste them between the start and end frames of the morph. For more information, see “Copying and Pasting Shapes” on page 1453. To morph strokes: 1. Using the transport controls, go to the first frame that contains the stroke you want to use at the beginning of the morph. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select the stroke that you want to morph. 3. From the General 2 toolbar, click the Morph Start button to begin the morph. 4. Using the transport controls, advance to the frame that contains the next stroke you want to add to your morph. 5. Select the stroke. 6. From the General 2 toolbar, click the Morph Add button. The stroke is added to your morph. 7. Continue adding selected strokes to your morph using the Morph Add command. 8. When you’re about to add the last stroke, click the Morph End button in the General 2 toolbar to end your morph. The resulting morphed stroke has an animated shape. 1432 Working with Graphics Changing the Slope of a Curve At any control point, you can change the slope of a curve by changing the length and direction of its tangent handle. You can also create discontinuity in a curve by breaking the tangent handle at a control point. To change the slope of a curve: 1. Drag a control point or press H to give selection priority to the handles instead of the control point. The tangent handles may sometimes lie under the control point. 2. Drag the tangent handle. The shape of the curve changes on both sides of the control point. Tangent handles To create a discontinuous curve: 1. Click a control point to display its tangent handles. 2. Hold down the B or Alt key and drag a tangent handle. The tangent handle breaks in the center, and the slope of the curve changes on one side of the control point. Discontinuous curve 1433 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Changing the Direction of a Stroke The path of a stroke has a start point and an end point. By reversing the direction of that path, the start point becomes the end point and vice versa. Reversing the direction of a path is useful when working with Handwriting animation. For more information, see “Creating Handwritten and Type-On Animation” on page 1448. To change the direction of a stroke: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and click a stroke in the viewer. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Edit Shape button or press Enter. n Tip: To select or deselect a shape while in Edit Shape mode, press Alt and click a stroke. 3. From the graphics property tree, click Edit Shape. 4. In the Path box, click the Reverse Direction button. Reshaping a Stroke There may be times when you want to edit the shape of a stroke using a “freehand” approach. This is especially useful for rotoscoping and animating shapes. With the Reshaper tool, you can modify the geometry of a stroke without being constrained to the shape’s control points. By tracing the edge of a shape, you can interactively reshape a stroke. In addition, you can chop, scale, rotate, skew, stretch, and move a shape, as well as adjust its opacity. When reshaping a stroke, keyframes are automatically set. n 1434 Tip: Since it’s difficult to reshape overlapping strokes, you can hide or lock graphics objects that clutter the viewer. For more information, see “Locking Graphics Objects” on page 1425 and “Hiding Graphics Objects” on page 1426. Working with Graphics Edge of shape To trace a shape: 1. Do one of the following: t From the Tools toolbar, click the Reshaper button or press P. t From the menu bar, select Graphics > Tools > Reshaper. 2. To trace, do any of the following: n t Drag along the edge of the stroke. t To trace a straight line, hold down the Alt key and trace along the edge of the shape. t To trace without moving existing control points, hold down the Shift key while you trace. Tip: To trace more quickly, make sure the shape has a minimum of control points. To reduce the number of control points, use the Fit Curve option in the Edit Shape property editor. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Reshaper properties. 3. Press Esc to exit the Reshaper tool. Chopping Control Points If a shape contains a segment that you’d like to eliminate, you can always chop out the unwanted control points. 1435 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Before After: A finger is chopped off. To chop control points: t Hold down C and drag along the edge of the shape that you want to chop. The area is chopped from the shape. Moving a Shape You can move the entire shape to a new location. To move a shape: t Hold down A and drag the shape to a new location. Scaling, Rotating, and Skewing a Shape When scaling, rotating and skewing a shape, you must first position the point of origin, which is represented by a small red circle in the viewer. To position the origin: 1. Hold down one of the following keys: t S to scale t D to rotate t F to skew 2. Drag the origin to a new location. 3. To center the origin, right-click the shape. The origin is positioned at the center of the stroke’s geometry. To scale a shape: t n 1436 Hold down S and drag the shape to scale it. To scale proportionally, press Shift+S. Working with Graphics To rotate a shape: t Hold down D and drag the shape to rotate it. To skew a shape: t Hold down F and drag the shape to skew it. Stretching a Shape Stretching lets you extend portions of a shape, while maintaining the rest of it. When stretching a shape, you must first position the stretch limits on the edge of a shape. The stretch limits are represented by two small gray squares in the viewer. Leg is stretched Stretch limits To stretch a shape: 1. Hold down G to access the stretch tool. 2. Place each stretch limit at the desired location along the edge of the stroke. 3. Drag the edge of the shape between the stretch limits. The segment between the two stretch limits is stretched. The other parts of the shape remain unchanged. Changing the Opacity of a Stroke When performing rotoscoping, it’s sometimes helpful to see what's in the image underneath the stroke. This makes it easier to reshape the stroke from one frame to the next. 1437 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling To change the opacity of a stroke: t n 1438 Hold down O and drag the stroke in the viewer. When changing the opacity, the stroke fill and brush opacity is changed, if they were used. If the opacity is animated, a temporary value is set. If the opacity is not animated, a value is set but a key is not created. Working with Titles Working with Titles A text body is a graphics object that consists of a group of words, lines, and paragraphs. You create, edit, and select titles using text bodies in the Edit Text mode. By default, word wrapping is on when using the Text tool. When the edge of a text body is reached, the text continues on to the next row. However, for crawls, you can fit all the text fit into one long line. There is no automatic word hyphenation. Line breaks always occur at the end of a word. If a word is longer than the text body, the word breaks at the edge. To prevent the word from breaking, increase the width of the text body. To create a title: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Text button or press T. 2. In the graphics property tree, use the property editors to define the properties of the title—see “Setting Drawing Tool Properties” on page 1397. 3. Click the viewer. A text box is displayed. 4. Begin typing text in the text body. 5. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button. The text body is selected and displays the title with the properties you specified. 6. Press Enter or click the Edit Text button to return to Edit Text mode. The text body in Edit Text mode is displayed. To make text fit on one line: 1. Select the text body. 2. From the graphics property tree, click Titling Body. 3. From the Titling Body property editor, click the Fit Text on One Line button. All of the text in the text body fits in one horizontal text body, instead of wrapping to the next line. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Titling Body properties. 1439 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Using Text from Other Applications You can cut, copy, and paste text to and from any text generation application that uses the Windows Clipboard. Because Avid DS Nitris uses a Rich Text Format (RTF) compatible text engine, you can exchange text with an application, such as Microsoft Word. Without having to select any of the tools in the Graphics layout, you can directly paste the copied text into a graphics session. The text and much of its formatting will be pasted into a text body. Not all formatting, however, remains intact when you use text from external applications. n Graphics, such as strokes or clip art, cannot be imported or exported. To use text from an external application: 1. In the external application, cut or copy the text. The text is copied to the Clipboard. 2. In the Graphics layout, press Ctrl+V. The text and most of its formatting is pasted in a text body. To copy text to an external application: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Edit Text button. 2. In a text body, select the text to be copied and press Ctrl+C. The text is copied to the Clipboard. 3. In the external application, place the pointer at the insertion point and press Ctrl+V. The text is pasted in the external application. Importing HTML Text You can import an HTML file and convert it into a text body. As many text properties as possible are retained, such as font, size, and color. This is very useful when setting up rolls and crawls with different styles for headers and names, since you can set up the text before working in Avid DS Nitris. To import HTML text: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click Import > Import HTML. The Open dialog box is displayed. 2. Select a file to import and click OK. 1440 Working with Titles The text is imported as a text body. Selecting and Editing Text While you are creating titles, you can select and edit the text it contains, as well as its format properties. You can edit the properties of the entire text body or individual characters within the text body. To select a text body: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select a text body. The selected text body is surrounded by a yellow bounding box. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Edit Text button. You can now edit the text body properties. Selected text body To move a text body: t Do one of the following: - While using the Edit Text tool, press Alt and move the text body to a new location. - From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select a text body and move it to a new location. To edit a text body: t While using the Edit Text tool, do any of the following: - Press Alt and click the text body you want to edit. - Press Alt+. (period) to edit the next text body. - Press Alt+, (comma) to edit the previous text body. To select individual text characters: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select a text body. The selected text body is surrounded by a yellow bounding box. 1441 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Edit Text button. 3. In the text body, select the character that you want to edit by clicking and dragging over it. “D” selected only A selection bar appears at the bottom of the selected character. 4. You can now edit the properties of the individual characters. To select text characters with the same fonts or styles: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button, and select a text body. The selected text body is surrounded by a yellow bounding box. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Edit Text button. 3. Hold down the Ctrl key, drag over a character possessing the style or font you want to select. n Tip: You can set your user preferences for titling selection in the User Preferences dialog box. You can select characters that share the same titling style, titling font, or both when you hold down the Ctrl key and select. 4. You can now edit the properties of the selected text. To edit the font and kerning: 1. In Edit Text mode, select the text body or individual text. 2. In the graphics property tree, click Font. 3. In the Font property editor, select the Font, Style, and Size you want to apply to your text. 4. Select the Kern Pairs option to move a character pair closer to each other. This applies to certain fonts only. 5. Select the Font Hinting option to prevent blurry artifacts from appearing after processing. This option is not recommended for animated titling sequences. 1442 Working with Titles 6. To adjust the horizontal spacing between characters, type a value in the Kerning box. The default value is 1. 7. Select the Filtering option to reduce the flickering perceived when the text is viewed on an interlaced screen. 8. Adjust the Character Transform controls to transform characters in X and Y. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Font properties. To increase and decrease the font size: t Select some characters and do any of the following: To do this Press Increase the font size • Alt+Up Arrow (normal increment) • Alt+Shift+Up Arrow (minor increment) • Alt+Ctrl+Up Arrow (major increment) • Alt+Down Arrow (normal increment) • Alt+Shift+Down Arrow (minor increment) • Alt+Ctrl+Down Arrow (major increment) Decrease the font size To increase and decrease the kerning: t Place the cursor between two characters or select several characters and do any of the following: To do this Press Kern left • Alt+Left Arrow (normal increment) • Alt+Shift+Left Arrow (minor increment) • Alt+Ctrl+Left Arrow (major increment) • Alt+Right Arrow (normal increment) • Alt+Shift+Right Arrow (minor increment) • Alt+Ctrl+Right Arrow (major increment) Kern right 1443 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Aligning Text You can specify a justification for a selected text body. By adding character tabs, you can also justify character tabs within a text body. To justify a text body: t With the text body selected in Edit Text mode, right-click the left margin of the text body and select a justification from the list. Right-click the left margin to justify text body. The text body is aligned as specified. To add a character tab to the text body: 1. With the text body selected in Edit Text mode, hold down the Ctrl key and double-click inside the text body at the point where you want to insert a tab. A tab is inserted in the text body. 2. To move the tab around, drag it to a new location. 3. To remove the tabs, right-click and select Remove. To justify a character tab: t With the text body or individual text selected in Edit Text mode, rightclick the character tab, and select a justification from the menu. Right-click the character tab to justify 1444 Working with Titles Converting Text to Strokes You can convert a text body into individual strokes that you can then edit individually. You can animate the strokes, edit the characters to create a custom “font”, or use the stroke to create a custom brush. To convert strokes to text: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select a text body. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Objects > Text to Strokes. Each character is surrounded by a yellow bounding box and appears as a separate stroke in the GOV. Searching for Text When working with large text files, such as credit rolls, it may be difficult to locate text. You can search through a text body for keywords. To search for a keyword in a text body: 1. With the text body selected in Edit Text mode, click in the text body at the position where you want to begin the text search. 2. Press Ctrl+F. 3. In the Find dialog box, enter a keyword in the String to Find text box. The keyword is located and underlined with a selection bar. Creating Rolls and Crawls A roll or crawl typically contains the titles or credits of a program. You can create a traditional roll in which a title moves from the bottom of the screen to the top, or a traditional crawl in which a title moves from the right of the screen to the left. Single or multiple titles can be used for a roll or crawl. You create rolls or crawls by using the Graphics property editor. This lets you quickly and easily create standard rolls or crawls that involve few titles. When you do this, the time span of the titles change to match the duration of the graphics session. 1445 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling You can also create the animation manually by using the Animation Key button to set individual keyframes. This lets you create a complex roll or crawl that involves many titles that start and end in different locations. You can also include paint strokes in a roll or crawl. n When you create a roll or crawl using the Graphics property editor, the entire duration of the clip is used. Also, rolls and crawls are real-time effects so you can view the results upon playback without having to first process them. n In rare cases, real-time effects may require processing to ensure that no frames are skipped. For more information, see “Working with Real-Time Effects” on page 898. To create a roll or crawl: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Text button to create a text body. 2. From the graphics property tree, open the Font property editor and specify the font type, style, and size. 3. Click the viewer and type in some text. 4. When you’re done, select the text body. 5. From the Tools toolbar, click the Graphics Properties button. 6. In the Graphics property editor, select one of the following from the Motion box: - Roll to create a roll. - Crawl to create a crawl. 7. In the Start Position box, select one of the following: - Onscreen to start the roll or crawl on the screen. - Offscreen to start the roll or crawl off the screen. 8. In the End Position box, select one of the following: - Onscreen to end the roll or crawl on the screen. - Offscreen to end the roll or crawl off the screen. 9. To guarantee optimal quality when building rolls/crawls, select the Standard Speed option. 10. Click the Build Motion button. 1446 Working with Titles The title’s transformation is animated. 11. To apply an automatic fade, roll, and crawl animation to selected graphics objects only, select the Apply to Selection option. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Graphics properties. 12. To modify the transformation properties of the title, select the title, and do one of the following: t From the graphics property tree, open the Transformations property editor, and modify the values. t Select View > Views > Animation Editor. Select the Transformation property and adjust the function curve. Creating a Fade You can automatically create fades by using the Graphics property editor. When you apply a fade to a graphics object, its time span changes to match the duration of the graphics session. In addition, the existing opacity settings for a stroke (brush and fill) and text body (edge, face, shadow) are overwritten with the new fade values. To fade an object: 1. From the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool. 2. In the graphics property tree, define the properties for your tool—see “Setting Drawing Tool Properties” on page 1397. 3. Create an object in the viewer. 4. Move the object to the desired fade-in position. 5. From the Tools toolbar, click the Graphics Properties button. 6. In the Fade box of the Graphics property editor, set the In and Out values in frames. 7. Click the Build Fade button. The object’s opacity properties are animated. 8. To modify the opacity properties of the object, select the object and adjust the Opacity controls on the Paint Style, Brush, and Titling Style property editors. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Graphics properties. 1447 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Creating Handwritten and Type-On Animation You can create animated, scrolling text effects that simulates handwriting or a typewritten effect. You can generate a handwritten type of animation on a single or combined stroke, which is useful for simulating the look of a pen writing across the screen. You can also generate an animated typewritten effect based on a selected text body, giving it the appearance of a typewriter typing each character. You can specify the direction, beginning, and end of the animation, as well as adjust the spacing of the text body. To create a handwritten animation: 1. In the Tools toolbar, select one of the following drawing tools: Freehand, Polyline, Rectangle, or Ellipse. Create the graphics object on which you want to apply the handwriting animation. 2. Draw a single stroke or multiple strokes in the viewer. Make sure you’re using the brush. n Tip: Use the Objects > Combine Strokes command in the Tools toolbar to combine multiple strokes. For more information on combining strokes, see “Combining and Separating Strokes” on page 1431. 3. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select the stroke to which you want to apply the handwritten animation. The stroke is selected and surrounded by a yellow bounding box. 4. In the graphics property tree, set the time span. n You can only create handwritten animation for strokes that have a duration that’s longer than one frame. 5. Do one of the following: t From the Tools toolbar, click the Objects > Handwriting button. t In the graphics property tree, click the Stroke button. 6. In the Handwriting property editor, click one of the following: 1448 Working with Titles Parameter Description Forward To begin the handwriting animation with the first brush stamp and move towards the last. Backward To begin the handwriting animation with the last brush stamp and move towards the first. Center To begin the handwriting animation in the center of the stroke and move outwards towards the first and last brush stamps. 7. Use the Custom Settings if you want the animation to begin or end at a specific point. The default is 0 for the head setting and 100 for the tail. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Handwriting properties. To create a type-on animation: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select the text body to which you want to apply the type-on animation. The text body is selected and surrounded by a yellow bounding box. 2. Do one of the following: t From the Tools toolbar, click the Objects > Type-On button. t From the graphics property tree, click the Titling Body button. 3. In the Type-On box, click one of the following: Parameter Description Forward Begin the type-on animation with the first text character entered and move towards the last. Backward Begin the type on animation with the last text character and move towards the first. Center Begin the type on animation in the center of the text body and move outwards towards the first and last characters drawn. 1449 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling 4. Use the Head and Tail settings if you want the animation to begin or end at a specific point. The default is 0 for the Head setting and 100 for the Tail. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Titling Body properties. 1450 Manipulating Graphics Manipulating Graphics Before you can edit an object, you must select it. Then you can use the transformation tools to change the rotational angle, size, and skew of a graphics object. The shape of individual strokes and the contents of a text body can also be modified. Other tools let you reorder selected objects by moving them in front of or behind other objects. Selection tools speed up the editing process since you can simultaneously select, deselect, and delete multiple objects. Editing Graphics Properties After you’ve created graphics, you can edit any of its properties. You can edit the properties of a single object or multiple objects simultaneously. When you edit the properties of a selected object(s), only its properties are changed. The default properties for the drawing tools are not changed. To change the properties of a single object: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and click an object in the viewer. The graphics property tree displays the object’s properties. 2. From the graphics property tree, click a property button. The property editor is displayed. 3. Adjust the desired properties. In the viewer, the object displays the properties you specified. To change the properties of multiple objects: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and click an object in the viewer. The graphics property tree displays the object’s properties. 2. Hold down the Shift key and click the objects you want to select. The graphics property tree displays the properties of the selected objects. 1451 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Properties common to all selected objects Stroke properties Text body properties 3. In the graphics property tree, click a property button. n t If you clicked the Masks, Time Span, or Transformations property button, its property editor displays the properties that are common to the selected objects. t If you clicked a stroke property, its property editor displays the properties that are common to the selected strokes. t If you clicked a text body property, its property editor displays the properties that are common to the selected text bodies. When you open additional property editors, they’re displayed one on top of the other. Drag the property editor to another location to view multiple property editors simultaneously. 4. In the property editor, modify the properties. The selected objects display the properties you specified. Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Graphics You can cut or copy objects in the viewer and paste them on the same frame or on another frame. Cut or copied objects are placed on the Clipboard in the system memory and remain there until you perform another cut, copy, or paste operation. 1452 Manipulating Graphics To cut, copy, or paste an object: 1. From the viewer, select an object. The object is surrounded by a yellow bounding box. 2. From the Edit menu, select one of the following: - Cut or press Ctrl+X to cut an object. - Copy or press Ctrl+C to copy an object. - Paste or press Ctrl+V to paste an object. Copying and Pasting Shapes You can copy the shape of a stroke and apply it to another stroke. The new stroke is deformed into the new shape, but retains its original properties, such as color and time span information. You can only copy and paste one stroke shape at a time. To copy a stroke’s shape: 1. Select the stroke with the shape you want to copy. 2. Do one of the following: t From the Tools toolbar, click the Shapes > Copy Shape button. t Open the Edit Shape property editor and, click the Shapes > Copy Shape button. t Press Alt+C. 3. Select the stroke to receive the shape. 4. Do one of the following: t To paste the shape on top of the first selected stroke, click the Shapes > Paste at Origin button from the Tools toolbar. The shape of the first stroke is applied to the second stroke and is positioned over the first stroke. t To paste the shape on top of the second selected stroke, click the Shapes > Paste in Place button from the Tools toolbar. The shape of the first stroke is applied to the second stroke and is positioned over the second stroke. 1453 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Original strokes After the Paste at Origin command is applied, the rectangle takes the shape of the circle, but retains its color information. The new shape is pasted on top of the first circle. After the Paste in Place command is applied, the rectangle takes the shape of the circle, but retains its color information. Note that the new shape is pasted on top of the rectangle. Duplicating Graphics Duplicating an object lets you copy an object and its associated properties, including the time span. Duplicating an object differs from copying an object in that duplicating takes place within the same graphics session, whereas copying an object lets you copy and paste objects between different graphics sessions or layers. A duplicate of the object is pasted on the viewer, whereas a copy of an object remains in the system memory until you paste it on a frame. To duplicate an object: 1. From the viewer, select an object. The selected object is highlighted by a yellow bounding box. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Duplicate button or press Ctrl+K. The selected object is duplicated and placed on top of the original object. To see the two objects, you must select the duplicate and move it. 1454 Manipulating Graphics Original object Duplicate object (surrounded by a yellow bounding box) Deleting Graphics You can delete graphics objects one at a time or delete them all simultaneously. Objects are deleted over their entire duration. For example, if an object in the current frame has a duration of 5 frames, all 5 frames are deleted. n Once an object is deleted, it cannot be retrieved except by choosing the Undo command from the Edit menu. To delete an object: 1. From the viewer, select an object. The object is surrounded by a yellow bounding box. 2. Do one of the following: t Press Delete. t From the menu bar, select Edit > Clear. The object is deleted. To delete all objects that intersect on the current frame: t In the Tools toolbar, click Objects > Delete All - Frame or press Ctrl+Delete. All objects in the current frame are deleted. To delete all objects in a graphics session: t In the Tools toolbar, click Objects > Delete All - Session. 1455 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Changing the Order of Graphics Each time you create a graphics object, it’s added to the existing graphics session. You can change the order of objects by using the Front, Raise, Lower, and Back tools. The last object you create is placed on top of all other objects. n Graphics applied on layers in a container clip are all part of the same compositing layer. Reordering three strokes To reorder objects: 1. From the viewer, select an object. The object is surrounded by a yellow bounding box. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click Order and do one of the following: t Bring to Front or press Shift+Pg Up (number pad) to move the object in front of all other objects. t Raise or press Pg Up (number pad) to move the object up by one level. t Lower or press Pg Dn (number pad) to move the object down by one level. t Send to Back or press Shift+Pg Dn (number pad) to move the object to the back of all other objects. Transforming Graphics You can transform an object by moving, scaling, rotating, or skewing it. When you do this, objects are surrounded by a yellow bounding box and handles are displayed at its corner and sides. You can manipulate these handles to transform objects. 1456 Manipulating Graphics n Tip: For interactive updates while moving, scaling, rotating and skewing graphics objects, press Ctrl while you drag a handle. Moving Objects To move graphics objects, you must use the Select tool. To move an object: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button. 2. In the viewer, click an object to select it. A yellow bounding box surrounds the selected graphics object and the graphics property tree displays its properties. 3. Do one of the following: t Drag to move the selected object. t Use the arrows on the number pad to move the object by 1 pixel. t Hold down the Ctrl key and use the arrow keys on the number pad to move the object by 10 pixels. Scaling Objects You can modify the height and width of strokes and titles using the Scale tool. The height and width are scalable as independent values or proportionally. To scale an object: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Scale button. 2. In the viewer, click an object. A bounding box with handles surrounds the object, and a red circle marks the object’s center. 3. Drag one of the handles. n Tip: Press Shift and drag to increase or decrease the height and width of the object proportionally. n Press Ctrl and drag. One or more of the opposite handles are pinned in place while you drag. 1457 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling By default the object is scaled according to its center and its transformation properties are set in the Transformations property editor, where you can edit them. Object center Bounding box handles Scaled object Original object Rotating Objects You can rotate selected objects around their rotation point. The Rotate tool lets you modify the rotational angle of an object. By default, an object rotates around its center. You can move this center to any position in two-dimensional space. This lets you rotate an object around its corner or around another object in the image. To rotate an object: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Rotate button. 2. In the viewer, click an object. A bounding box with handles appears at each corner of the bounding box, and a red circle marks the object’s center. 3. Drag a handle clockwise or counterclockwise. The object rotates around its center and its transformation properties are set in the Transformations property editor, where you can edit them. To move an object’s center: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button. 2. In the viewer, click an object to select it. A yellow bounding box surrounds the selected graphics object and the graphics property tree displays its properties. The object’s center is displayed as a small red circle. 3. Press Shift and drag the center to a new location. 1458 Manipulating Graphics Bounding box handles Object center Object center is moved Skewing Objects The Skew tool lets you slant an object according to the angle you specify. To skew an object: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Skew button. 2. In the viewer, click an object. A bounding box with handles surrounds the object. 3. Drag the handles left or right until the required slant is reached. The bounding box handles for skewing appear on each edge of the bounding box. The object is skewed and its transformation properties are set in the Transformations property editor, where you can edit them. Setting the Transformation Properties The transformations properties let you apply transformations, such as translating, scaling, skewing, rotating, and centering the objects you create. The transformation properties appear in the graphics property tree when you select an object. To define the transformations properties: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button, and select an object from the viewer. 2. From the graphics property tree, click Transformations. 1459 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling 3. In the Transformations property editor, set the Center, Translation, Dimensions, Rotation, and Skew properties. The selected object is transformed according to the transformation properties you defined. 1460 Tracking Graphics Objects Tracking Graphics Objects Tracking graphics objects can be very useful in rotoscopy tasks. You can track the transformation of a graphics objects over time, as well as track the deformation of shapes. To select an appropriate tracking method, you’ll have to decide if it’s more effective to track an entire graphics object or its vertices. For more information, see “Tracking” on page 1339. Transformation Tracking You can transform a stroke or a text body by applying one or two trackers directly to the entire stroke or text body. When applying only one tracker, the stroke or text body will only translate over time. When applying two trackers, the stroke or text body can undergo translation, rotation, and scaling. To transform a graphics object using the tracker: 1. From the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool. 2. Draw a shape that defines the region you want to track. 3. Select the graphics object. 4. From the Tools toolbar, click the Tracker button. The Select (Tracker) property editor is displayed. 5. You are now ready to position the trackers, set the tracker options, and begin tracking—see “Using the Shape Tracker” on page 1363. n Tip: To help you position and view the trackers, click the Hide Gfx button to hide the graphics object. Tracking Vertices You can deform the shape of a stroke by applying trackers to vertices. To deform a shape using the tracker: 1. From the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool. 2. Draw a shape defining the region you want to track. 1461 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling n Tip: You can use any drawing tool, but the Polyline tool gives you distinct control points. When using other drawing tools, select the Curve Fit option in the Edit Shape property page to reduce the number of control points. 3. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and select the graphics object. 4. From the Tools toolbar, click the Edit Shape button. 5. In the Edit Shape property editor, select the Tracker tab. 6. You are now ready to position the trackers, set the tracker options, and begin tracking—see “Using the Shape Tracker” on page 1363. 1462 Working in Raster Mode Working in Raster Mode Raster mode (also known as destructive mode) lets you perform tedious tasks, such as rotoscoping quickly and effectively. Since this mode is not vectorbased, processing is not required. The time required to load and save graphics objects is also dramatically reduced. As you paint frame-by-frame, the finished (burned) frames are placed in a cache and the original graphics objects are deleted. Working in Raster mode deactivates the recording of graphics objects in the Graphics Objects View (GOV), flattens them, and stores the resulting images on individual frames directly to a cache. You can choose to have the frame you’re currently working on automatically “burned” or you can choose to burn frames later when you’re satisfied with the results. When burning frames, keep in mind that clip effects previously applied to a sequence will be no longer be editable. If you want to apply clip effects to your sequence, it’s best to use the raster mode to burn your frames first. n Raster mode only works for graphics objects with a duration of one frame. Also, the files generated by raster paint (.gen files) will not be seen in the Media Tool or Purge dialog box. They will be deleted when the project is deleted and archived when the project is archived. Effect in which Raster mode is used Clip effects that will be uneditable after frames are burned When working in raster mode, you cannot undo an operation on a frame that has been burned. You can use the Delete Burned command from the Raster Paint toolbar to undo your work on that frame entirely and start over. To use the raster mode: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Graphics Properties button. 2. On the Raster Mode property page, click the Start button. 1463 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling A message box is displayed to warn you that the operation you’re about to attempt cannot be reverted. 3. Click OK to proceed in the Raster mode. 4. Do one of the following: t To automatically burn or “destroy” frames as you advance frames, select the Burn on Frame Change option. t To burn frames manually, deselect the Burn on Frame Change option. Click the Burn Frame button in the General 2 toolbar when you’re satisfied with your work. 5. To create a copy of the rastered strokes when advancing frames, select the Copy Burned Strokes option. 6. If you don’t want to work in real time, select the Non Real-time option. 7. To deactivate the warning message that appears concerning undo/redo operations when you change frames, select the Remove Warning When Burning option. 8. To easily retrieve work done in the raster mode, enter a file name in the Base Cache File Name text box. It should not exceed ten alphanumeric characters. If you do not enter a file name, one will be entered by default based on the sequence name. For more information on working with caches, see “Raster Mode Caches” on page 1465. 9. Use the transport controls to advance the clip to a frame where you want to begin using the raster mode. 10. Apply paint strokes to the first frame. n Tip: When you’ve completed the first frame, you can advance to the next one by using the right arrow key on the keyboard. 11. Advance to the next frame. If you selected the Burn on Frame Change option, when advancing to a new frame, the graphics objects applied to the previous frame are burned and saved to a cache. A small white box appears under the timeline in the GOV to indicate that the frame has been burned. In the GOV, white boxes indicate burned frames 1464 Working in Raster Mode While you’re painting frame-by-frame, you may decide to redo a rastered frame. To do this, you must still be in the current graphics session in order to delete the rastered strokes. To delete burned, rastered strokes: 1. Using the transport controls, advance the clip to the frame on which you want to delete the rastered strokes. 2. From the General 2 toolbar, click the Delete Burned button. The strokes created before burning the frame are now deleted and the white box disappears for that frame in the GOV. Raster Mode Caches When working with paint in raster mode, the finished (burned) frames are placed in a cache and any vector-based paint strokes or graphics objects are “flattened” and saved with the image. These caches are saved with your project on the disk array, and Avid DS Nitris refers to these caches when playing back your clips. n • The .gen files generated when burning frames are managed on a per project basis, so deleting or not saving sequences that contain burned frames may leave orphaned .gen files. To help track and delete these files, enter a name in the Base Cache File Name text box in the Graphics property page, use the rastered frames tooltips in the Graphic Object View (GOV), or use the Save option when right-clicking on the rastered frames in the GOV. Deleting a project will also destroy all associated burned frames. • Presets of graphics sessions that contain burned frames cannot be reloaded in sequences that have a different resolution or frame rate. • The burned frames of graphics sessions become opaque. Changes to any effect underneath a graphics session will be ignored for those frames. • Burned frames are not visible when a paint sequence is used as a reference clip (Alt-drop from Avid Explorer). To work around this, select the Non Real-Time option on the Graphics property editor and process. When working in raster mode, you cannot undo an operation once a frame has been burned. You can, however, delete its cache file, but this will also delete any paint strokes that you created on that frame. 1465 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Using the GOV in Raster Mode The GOV provides useful information when working in the Raster Paint mode. The Raster Paint log lets you save a list of the rastered frames in a text file. It provides you with information about the rastered frames, so that you can easily locate them in the cache. The GOV also provides tooltips of the rastered framed, so that you can locate a frame if you want to delete or redo it. To create and save a Raster Paint log: 1. In the GOV, right-click a small white box and select Save Raster Paint Log. Right-click a white box A dialog box is displayed, prompting you to save the log. 2. Select the folder in which you want to save the Raster Paint Log information. You may want to save your work for different graphics sessions in separate folders. 3. Click the Save button. A text file is created. Date the file was created Name of rastered frame n 1466 Base cache file name Tip: To see the file name of a rastered frame, place the pointer over the frame’s white box and a tooltip appears indicating the file name. Creating Mattes Creating Mattes A matte is a grayscale image that defines the transparency of an image when it is composited over another. An image can have a matte in its alpha channel (internal matte) or use a matte derived from another image (external matte). When you use the graphics tools to create a matte, it is created in the alpha channel of the clip or layer that will be composited. A garbage matte can be used on images in which portions of an image are difficult to key out. This occurs when colors in the foreground image are similar to the background colors that you want to key out. A garbage matte lets you block out areas that cannot be properly keyed. Creating a Travelling Matte A travelling matte is used for compositing a part of a foreground image onto the background image. You can then animate the geometry of the shape so that it matches the outline of the object in every frame of the sequence. n Tip: When the element you want to rotoscope is a fast moving object, such as a car, you should apply the Deinterlace effect inside the composite container clip, perform the graphics or compositing tasks and then go to the parent timeline to apply the Interlace effect. For more information, see ”Applying a Deinterlace Effect” in the Help. To create a travelling matte: 1. From the Avid Explorer, drag the background clip to a video track on the timeline. 2. Click the Compositing button in the taskbar. A composite container clip is created and the Compositing layout is displayed. 3. Right-click the timeline effect track and select Create Background Track. 4. From the Avid Explorer, drag the foreground clip to the new background track. 5. Drag the track button for the new video track to the Layers view. A layer is created in the Layers view. 1467 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling 6. Make sure the Autokey button is deactivated. 7. On the top layer, click the Gfx button. The Graphics layout is displayed. 8. From the Tools toolbar, click the Polyline button. 9. In the graphics property tree, load the Fill Fx property with the Color Blend or Reveal effect. 10. In the graphics property tree, set the following properties: - Paint Style: Select the Fill option and deselect the Brush option. - Fill Fx: If you’re using the Color Blend effect, set the Alpha value to 0. - Masks: On the General property page, select the Alpha option, and deselect the R, G, and B options in the Paint on Channels box. - Time Span: Set a stroke duration. 11. In the viewer, draw an outline of your subject. 12. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button and then click the Edit Shape button. Polyline stroke reveals the background image (sky) 13. Edit the object’s shape. 14. Open the Edit Shape property editor, and click the Set Key button. A keyframe is set at the current timecode. 15. Advance to the next frame, edit the object’s shape, and set another keyframe. Repeat these steps until you’re done. 1468 Creating Mattes 16. When you’re done, press Esc to exit Edit Shape tool. 17. Process the graphics session—see “Processing Graphics” on page 1483. Use the transport controls to play the clip. 18. To view the matte, click the Layers button on the view switcher beside the GOV. 1469 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Scratch Removal Avid DS Nitris includes tools for fixing flaws, such as dropouts in video frames or defects in film-originated footage. If the flaw is on one frame, you can isolate it and create a two-frame region using the Scratch Removal tool. The frame that precedes the flawed frame must contain clean material. When using the Scratch Removal tool, a Graphics (Scratch Removal) effect is applied to the clip you select. If more than one frame is scratched, you can trim the Graphics effect on the timeline, or apply the Scratch Removal preset on the clip. n You cannot access frames outside of the region you have marked when you are removing scratches. When using a clip that contains an in-point and out-point, scratch removal will start at the frame before the in-point and end at the frame before the out-point if: • Both the in-point and out-point intersect the selected clip, and • The position indicator intersects the in/out time span or is located at the frame immediately before the in-point. To remove scratches: 1. In the Editing layout, select the clip that contains the flaw(s) that you want to remove. 2. Locate the flawed frame and place the position indicator on that frame. n The frame that precedes the flawed frame must contain clean material. 3. From the toolbar, click Editing > Scratch Removal. A Graphics (Scratch Removal) effect, with a duration of two frames, is applied to the selected clip on the timeline and the Graphics combo view is displayed. The default scratch removal properties are: t Tool: Freehand with Clone as the brush effect t Source Frame: Type is Relative and Frame is -1. t Time span: This Frame Only 4. In the viewer, paint away any scratches or flaws. 1470 Scratch Removal Scratch You can also use the Noise effect to remove flaws from images. For more information, see “Clone Effect” and “Noise Effect” in the Help. 1471 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Blending Frames When you want to see how a title or graphics object moves from one frame to the next, you can blend the current frames with proceeding and/or successive frames at a specified percentage. You can also specify the number of frames to blend, as well as the opacity of the current frame, the frames before it, and the frames after it. To blend frames: 1. Right-click the viewer and select Onion Skin. The specified number of frames, before and after the current frame, are blended with the current frame in the viewer. 2. When you’re finished, right-click the viewer again and select Onion Skin. Only the current frame is visible in the viewer. n 1472 Tip: The onion skin options are also available from the Viewer Properties property editor. Right-click the viewer and select Viewer Properties. Blending Graphics Objects or Titles Blending Graphics Objects or Titles When creating graphics objects or titles using the Color Blend paint effect, you can control the way they combine with the background image by using blending modes. These are the same blending operations as those available for blending layers in the Compositing layout. To blend strokes or titles: 1. In the graphics property tree, do one of the following: t Strokes: Set the Brush Fx and/or Fill Fx to the Color Blend effect. t Titles: Set the Face Fx, Edge Fx, and/or Shadow Fx to the Color Blend effect. For more information, see “Setting Drawing Tool Properties” on page 1397. 2. Create a stroke or title in the viewer. 3. Select the stroke or title you created. 4. Display the Color Blend property editor of the stroke/title attribute you want to blend with the background. 5. Select the Blending property page. 6. Select the Color Blend option and then select an operation from the Blending Modes list. 1473 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Importing Images Importing images in your graphics session lets you use images of any size without having to capture them. You can also import images that were created in other paint applications, as well as use the image’s alpha. For example, you can import a logo created in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, and use it in your graphics session. When you import an image in Avid DS Nitris, a rectangular stroke is created in the viewer and filled with the image you imported. The original size of the imported image is retained. That is, the image is not scaled or cropped. You can treat the imported image as a graphics object, which means you can edit any of its properties, as well as animate and transform it. You can also import video sequences. For more information, see “Importing Clips” on page 1477. n The pixel ratio of the image comes from the setting in the”Capture Setting” in the Help. To import images: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click Import > Import Image. 2. From the Import Image dialog box, select an image to import. The image, in its original size, is imported and appears in the lower-left corner of the viewer. The default time span is one frame. If the imported image is small, you can see the entire image in the viewer. If the imported image is large, part of the image will lie outside the viewer. The imported image, a small logo, is actually a rectangular stroke that is filled with the image you imported. The stroke was scaled and moved to the uppercenter of the viewer. 3. To use an image’s alpha, select the stroke, open the Fill Fx (Cutout) property editor, and select the Use Alpha option. 1474 Importing Images n Tip: If you can’t see the entire stroke, zoom out of the viewer by pressing Shift+Z and dragging. A zoomed out view of a large imported image. Because of its size, only the map portion of the image is displayed in the viewer. The rest of the image lies outside the viewer. Importing Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Files If you have EPS files that you want to use in your current graphics session, you can import them directly into your graphics session. The color information in the EPS files is retained. Once imported, each shape in the EPS file is a separate stroke in Avid DS Nitris. n You can import solid colors, but not gradients. Avid DS Nitris can import files created with Adobe Illustrator 8.0 or earlier versions. To work with Illustrator 9.0 files, save it as a version 8.0 file. You can also import EPS files as brushes. For more information, see “Creating Custom Brushes” on page 1401. To import an EPS file: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Import > Import EPS button. The Open dialog box is displayed. 2. Select an EPS file and click the Open button. The EPS file is imported into your graphics session. If your EPS file contained closed characters, such as a, b, d, o, p, 6, 8, 9, or 0, their shapes may not appear as expected. That’s because each character consists of several strokes. Avid DS Nitris imports each stroke separately and then fills it. For example, the letter “O” consists of two strokes, the 1475 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling inner and outer shapes; both are filled. To “knock out” the inner shape, select the inner and outer stroke of the character and click the Combine Strokes button. After import, both inner and outer shapes are filled 1476 Combined inner and outer shapes. Inner shape is “knocked out”. Importing Clips Importing Clips If you have video clips that you want to use in a current graphics session, you can import them without having to capture them. When you import a video clip in the Graphics layout, a rectangular stroke is created in the viewer and filled with the clip you imported. The original size of the imported clip is retained. That is, the clip is not scaled or cropped. You can treat the imported clip as a graphics object, which means you can edit any of its properties, as well as animate and transform it. You can import clips of any size and resolution. You can also import images. For more information, see “Importing Images” on page 1474. n The pixel ratio of the clip comes from the setting in the Capture Settings dialog box. To import a video clip: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click Import > Import Clip. 2. From the Import Clip dialog box, select a video clip to import. The clip is imported and appears as a rectangular stroke in the lower-left corner of the viewer. The time span of the imported clip is maintained. To replace a video clip: 1. Select the stroke. 2. From the graphics property tree, click Fill Fx (Clip Holder). 3. Click the Import Clip button and select a video clip. The video clip is replaced by the one you selected. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Clip Holder properties. 1477 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Importing Subtitles You can import hundreds of subtitles including international characters, such as Japanese and Chinese, in the current sequence as Graphics On Black generated clips on a new track. Once imported, each subtitle is represented as a titling body that is positioned at the bottom of the safe title area. The DS Subtitles File Before you can import subtitles in Avid DS Nitris, you must create a DS Subtitles file that contains all your subtitles along with their respective time spans. This file must be a Unicode-encoded text file. You can use Notepad to create the subtitles file and save it with the Unicode encoding. The DS Subtitles file contains two distinct sections: • The header section is optional; it defines general information and rendering properties that are applicable to all subtitles, such as the font, font size, face color, alignment, and so on. • The subtitles section is mandatory and defines each subtitle and its time span. To quickly format subtitles, you can use a titling body preset. Just be sure to create the preset before importing the subtitles, and place the preset in the factory default folder for titling presets: \Program Files\Avid\DS_vX.X\DSPresets\Titling\Bodies. n When a line in the DS Subtitles file starts with the @ character, it is considered to be a comment. To create the DS Subtitles file: 1. Click Start > Programs > Accessories > Notepad. 2. If you want to use specific properties, create a header section by typing the desired keywords along with their values—see “The Header Section of the DS Subtitles File” on page 1479. 3. Type: 4. Add each subtitle along with its time span. 5. Type: 6. Save the DS Subtitles file. 1478 Importing Subtitles To import subtitles: 1. From the NLE Tools toolbar, click Generate > Import Subtitles. 2. In the Import Subtitles dialog box, select a DS Subtitles file and click OK. A Graphics On Black clip is created for each subtitle in the DS Subtitles file. To view subtitles: t To go to the next subtitle, press Shift+Period (.). t To go to the previous subtitle, press Shift+Comma (,). The Header Section of the DS Subtitles File In the header section, the general information and the rendering properties are specified using keywords and values. Each keyword begins with the < character and ends with the > character. A keyword is followed by one or more spaces or tabs, and then by a value. Each keyword must begin on a new line. Keywords are not case sensitive. Most values following the keywords are not case sensitive, except for the values of the following keywords: , and . If a DS Subtitles file doesn't have a header, default values will be used. n Tip: Instead of specifying keywords to define the rendering properties of subtitles, you can use the keyword followed by the name of a Graphics Titling Body preset. For the complete of keywords that can be used in the header section, see “Header Section Keywords” in the Help. The Subtitles Section of the DS Subtitles File The subtitles section defines each subtitle along with its time span. The subtitles section begins with the keyword , followed by all subtitles, and ends with the keyword . To define a subtitle, write the start timecode (or in timecode) on a new line, followed by one or more spaces, followed by its stop timecode (or out timecode). Then, write the actual text on the following lines. A maximum of four lines of text is allowed. 1479 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Subtitles must be sorted ascendantly according to their time span. Subtitles must be contiguous, that is, they must not overlap. Examples of DS Subtitles Files Example 1: No header section Subtitle section 1480 Importing Subtitles Example 2: Simple header section Header section Subtitle section Example 3: Simple header section using a preset Preset name 1481 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling Example 4: Full header section Header section Subtitles section 1482 Processing Graphics Processing Graphics Avid DS Nitris lets you play some graphics effects in real time without having to manually process them: • Airbrush • Color Blend • Cutout • Animations, such as rolls and crawls, when using the above effects Others cannot be played in real time due to effect properties that demand processing requirements that exceed the system’s ability to complete processing on the fly. For example, if there are large graphics objects that cover most of a frame, the system will slow down during playback. In such cases, you need to process the effects before final output. n n A message is displayed at the bottom of the Graphics property editor to indicate why your session can’t be played in real time. Also, you can select the non-real-time configuration from the Graphics Properties property editor if you do not want your system to play back realtime effects. You can process all or part of the timeline, as well as choose different levels at which to process your clips. You can process graphics you have created in full resolution, and view them on playback. The results of the processing is stored in a new media file (cache), so that your source media remains unaltered. For more information on processing, see “Processing Effects” on page 871 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. 1483 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling To process graphics: 1. In the timeline controls, click the Process button. Process button Highlighted timeline ribbon indicates unprocessed section of the sequence. 2. In the Processing Options dialog box, select the appropriate options. 1484 Processing Graphics 3. Click OK to begin processing. A progress indicator appears on the bottom of the desktop to show the status of the process. 4. Click the Cancel button to stop the process at any time. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Processing Options properties. 1485 Chapter 7 Painting and 2D Titling 1486 Chapter 8 Paint Effects The paint effects let you apply effects to the brush or fill of paint strokes or text bodies. Paint effects modify the pixels of the image covered by the paint stroke. Some effects, such as Edge or Color Blend, define the appearance of the paint stroke. Other effects, such as Smear and Noise, define how the paint stroke changes the underlying image. Chapter 8 Paint Effects Clone Effect The Clone effect lets you remove scratches or wires from images by cloning parts of the same image or parts of other images. The frame that contains the image that you want to clone is called the source. The source image can be taken from the current frame, another frame from the same clip, or you can set a source frame offset to clone from. You can apply the Clone effect as the brush or fill of a stroke. n n The Clone effect is, by default, part of the Graphics combo view (Scratch Removal command). For more information, see “Scratch Removal” on page 1470. You can also use the Noise and Reveal effects to remove scratches. For more information, see “Noise Effect” on page 1501 and “Reveal Effect” on page 1507. To apply the Clone effect: 1. From the taskbar, click the Graphics button. Make sure the position indicator is over the media on the timeline, otherwise you cannot switch to the Graphics layout. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Freehand button. 3. In the Paint Style property editor, select the Use option from the Brush box. 4. In the graphics property tree, do the following: t Right-click Masks and select RGB Only. t Right-click Brush Fx and select Clone. The Clone effect is loaded as a Brush Fx. n You can also use the fill of a stroke to clone an image. In the graphics property tree, load Fill Fx with the Clone effect. 5. In the graphics property tree, click the Brush Fx (Clone) property button. The Brush Fx (Clone) property editor displays. 1488 Clone Effect To clone using the current frame as the source: 1. In the Brush Fx (Clone) property editor, select a type of source point to use to define the area of the source image: Source point type To Relative Define the offset position at a specific distance from the stroke. Absolute Define the offset position at an absolute position in the frame. In-Place Define the offset at a position under the stroke. 2. From the Source Frame Type list, select In Place. 3. To pick an area of the source to clone, do one of the following depending on the type of cloning you selected: t Relative: Click the Pick button and drag the pointer to a distance representing the desired offset. Successive strokes are applied using this offset. 1489 Chapter 8 Paint Effects t Absolute: Click the Pick button and click the area of the image that you want to clone. Successive strokes apply the originally picked area of the source image. t In-place: No picking is necessary since the source is determined by the current position of the pointer. 4. Use the Amount controls to adjust the transparency of the clone. 5. You can now paint with the Clone tool. To clone using a different frame as the source: 1. In the Brush Fx (Clone) property editor, do the following: t From the Source Point list, select In Place. t From the Source Frame list, select Absolute. t Use the Amount controls to adjust the transparency of the clone. 2. Do one of the following: t Type the timecode that corresponds to the frame from which you want to clone in the Frame box. t Use the transport controls to locate the source frame from which you want to clone and click the Make Source button. The timing of the current frame is saved and becomes the source for subsequent clone operations. 3. To switch between the current frame and the frame you’ve chosen to clone from, click the Go To and Go Back buttons. 4. You can now paint with the Clone tool. n Tip: When cloning from another frame, select the Use Onion Skinning option in the Viewer Properties property editor. This lets you see the source frame at the same time. To clone using an offset frame as the source: 1. Load the Clone effect. 2. In the Brush Fx (Clone) property editor, do the following: 1490 t From the Source Frame box, select Relative from the Type list. t Type a value in the Frame box corresponding to the number of frames for the offset. t This value can be either a positive or negative value. Clone Effect t Use the Amount controls to adjust the transparency of the clone. 3. You can now paint with the Clone tool. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Clone properties. 1491 Chapter 8 Paint Effects Color Blend Effect The Color Blend effect lets you apply color to your graphics objects. Once you select a color, you can apply it to a graphics object as a color blend or as a tint. You can also set the transparency of the color. You can apply the Color Blend effect as the brush or fill of a stroke. Since the Color Blend effect is a real-time effect, you can view the results upon playback without having to first process the effect. In some cases, realtime effects may require processing to ensure that no frames are skipped. For more information, see “Working with Real-Time Effects” on page 898 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. To select a color: 1. From the taskbar, click the Graphics button. n Make sure the position indicator is over the media on the timeline, otherwise you cannot switch to the Graphics layout. 2. On the graphics property tree, right-click Brush Fx or Fill Fx and select Color Blend. 3. From the Color Blend property editor, select the Color tab. 4. Do one of the following: t Click a color from the palette. t Click a striped box on the bottom row of the palette, and use the R, G, B, and A controls to define a color. t Click one of the Color Views and select a color from the displayed color wheel. The color is displayed in the Color swatch box, and is either applied to the selected object or becomes the default color which is applied to subsequent objects you create. To tint an image: 1. In the Color Blend property editor, select the Type tab. 2. In the Type box, select the Tint option. 1492 Color Blend Effect 3. Select a combination of Hue, Luminance, and Saturation options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Color Blend properties. Setting the Opacity of a Color The transparency of a stroke is determined by the combination of opacity settings in the Paint Style and Brush property editors. The transparency of a title is determined by the combination of the opacity settings in the Titling Style property editor. If a Color Blend effect is used, its opacity setting also contributes to the transparency of graphics objects. To change the opacity of a color: 1. In the Color Blend property editor, select the Type tab. 2. Use the Opacity controls to adjust the transparency of the color displayed in the color swatch of the Color property page. If you selected an object from the viewer, the object is displayed with the new opacity value. If you selected a drawing tool, the opacity value becomes the default property for objects that you subsequently create. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Color Blend properties. Defining Color You can select colors based on the RGB, CMYK, or HLS color models, or by picking a color from the image in the viewer. You can create an entire range of colors in the palette, as well as customize the currently-displayed color palette by selecting a color and modifying its color values. 1493 Chapter 8 Paint Effects To define a color using channel controls: 1. In the Color Blend property editor, select the Color tab. Color swatch Color wheel Slider Color views Color model 2. From the Color Model list, select a color model. 3. Set the color values of each channel by adjusting the R, G, B, and A controls for each channel. The color swatch displays the color as you adjust the channels. Picking a Color from an Image If the color you want already exists in an image, you can select this color and add it to your color palette. To pick a color from an image: 1. In the Color Blend property editor, select the Color tab. 2. Select a color from the color palette. This color will be replaced by the color you select from your image. 3. Click the Pick button. The pointer changes to the eyedropper cursor. 4. In the viewer, click the color that you want to add to the palette. In the palette, the color you picked from the viewer replaces the color you selected from the palette. 1494 Color Blend Effect n Tip: A very quick way to apply color is with the Pick Color tool. Once you have chosen your drawing tool, hold down the 6 key. The pointer changes to the eyedropper cursor. Pick a color from the image in the viewer. You can now paint with this color until you decide to load another color. To define a range of colors: 1. In the Color Blend property editor, select the Color tab. 2. From the color palette, select a color for the start of the color range. 3. Press Shift and click a color for the end of the color range. 4. Click the Spread button. The color palette changes to a color gradient displaying colors across the range defined by the selected colors. Loading and Saving a Color Palette Once you select or create a range of colors, you can save the colors in your own color palette. You can then use this palette on any graphics object you create. When you finish a project, the palette is available for use on other projects. To load a color palette: 1. In the Color Blend property editor, click the Load button. 2. In the Load Preset dialog box, select a palette. The selected palette is displayed in the Color Blend property editor. To save a color palette: 1. In the Color Blend property editor, click the Save button. The Save Preset dialog box displays. 2. In the File Name text box, type a name for your palette. 3. In the Comments text box, give the palette a brief description and click OK. 1495 Chapter 8 Paint Effects Cutout Effect The Cutout effect lets you create a cutout using the drawing tools. The cutout is a bitmap that you can treat as a graphics object; you can cut, copy, and paste it anywhere in your graphics session. It is usually used as a fill effect, but you can apply the effect to the brush of a shape or to the face of titles. You can also save the graphics object as a stroke or text preset, and use it in a different project. This is particularly useful for elements, such as logos, that must look consistent from project to project. n Tip: The Cutout effect is resolution independent if the original cutout was created in full resolution. If you want your cutout to be resolution independent but you originally created it in a lower resolution, switch back to full resolution, select the stroke, and reload the Cutout effect to the cutout you created. Since the Cutout effect is a real-time effect, you can view the results upon playback without having to process the effect. In some cases, real-time effects may require processing to ensure that no frames are skipped. For more information, see “Working with Real-Time Effects” on page 898 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. To create a shape cutout: 1. From the taskbar, click the Graphics button. n Make sure the position indicator is over the media on the timeline, otherwise you cannot switch to the Graphics layout. 2. From the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool (Polyline, Freehand, Ellipse, Rectangle, or Magic Wand). 3. From the graphics property tree, click Paint Style. 4. In the Paint Style property editor, do the following: t Deselect the Use Brush option. t Select the Use Fill option. 5. Use the graphics property tree to set up the rest of the drawing tool properties—see “Setting Drawing Tool Properties” on page 1397. 6. From the graphics property tree, right-click Fill Fx and select Load. 1496 Cutout Effect 7. From the Load Preset dialog box, select Cutout from the \Paint\Effects folder. 8. From the graphics property tree, right-click Fill Fx (Cutout). 9. In the Cutout property editor, do one of the following: t Select the Transform Image option to transform the cutout when you transform the stroke. t Deselect the Transform Image option to reveal the underlying image as you move your cutout on the viewer. Transform Image option selected. Transform Image option deselected. 10. In the Transformation Quality box, select one of the following: - Unfiltered to apply no filter to the image. - Bilinear to apply a fast, medium-quality filter to the image. - Filtered to apply a strong filter to the image. 11. Draw on the viewer to create a shape. A graphics object is created in the viewer. Since the cutout is placed on top of the area you just cut out, you cannot see it. 1497 Chapter 8 Paint Effects A polyline, drawn around the android, defines the shape of the cutout. 12. From the Tools toolbar, click the Select button, and move the object in the viewer. The cutout is now visible. You can edit your cutout and save it as a stroke preset if desired. For more information, see “Manipulating Graphics” on page 1451 and “Using Stroke, Text, or Group Presets” on page 1395. The cutout of the android is selected and moved. The cutout is pasted, scaled, and skewed in a different graphics session. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Cutout properties. 1498 Cutout Effect Using the Cutout Effect in a Stack You can use the Cutout effect in a stack just like any other paint effect in Avid DS Nitris. But before you create a stack effect, remember that when you create a stroke that contains a Stack effect as well as the Cutout effect, any property changes you make to the effects preceding the Cutout effect will not be applied to your cutout. n Tip: Make sure the Cutout effect is the first effect in your stack or reload the Cutout effect by right-clicking the Cutout effect on the graphics property tree and selecting Load. For more information, see “Stack Effects” on page 1508. Comparing the Cutout and Clone Effects If the Cutout and Clone effects seem similar, be aware that they are quite different. The Cutout effect is used for creating a cutout from an image, whereas the Clone effect is used primarily for touching up images and removing scratches. These are the differences between the Cutout and Clone effects: Cutout effect Clone Effect A cutout image can be transformed. A cloned image can be translated, but not rotated, skewed, or scaled. Since a cutout retains a copy of the entire image from which it was created, a stroke created with the Cutout effect can be saved as a preset for use in other graphics sessions. The source frame image used by the Clone effect as its source is actually a timecode reference to an image that exists within a graphics session. Because it is only a timecode reference, it is confined to the time span of the graphics session and cannot be used in other graphics sessions. The Cutout effect does not have image touch-up properties. The Clone effect has properties (source point and source frame) for quickly touching up or repairing an image. 1499 Chapter 8 Paint Effects Dodge and Burn Effect The Dodge and Burn effect lets you lighten or darken areas of an image by controlling the exposure on specific areas. Exposure is decreased to lighten an area on the image (dodging) or the exposure is increased to darken areas on a image (burning). To use the Dodge and Burn effect: 1. From the taskbar, click the Graphics button. 2. From the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool. 3. From the graphics property tree, right-click Fill Fx and select Dodge and Burn. 4. From the Effect list, select the desired effect as follows: Effect To Dodge Increase the luminosity. Burn Decrease the luminosity of the image. This has the inverse effect of the dodging effect. Saturate Increase the weight of colors of the image. Desaturate Decrease the weight of colors, ultimately yielding a black and white image. 5. Paint on the viewer. As you paint on the viewer, the effect you chose from the Effect list is applied. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Dodge and Burn properties. 1500 Noise Effect Noise Effect The Noise effect lets you add noise to an image. You can also use this effect to remove noise, such as scratches or wires. While not always useful for large imperfections, the Noise effect can be used to remove small wires. In the Noise property editor, the Median Rank and Selective Rank options are particularly useful for reducing the noise in an image. You can apply the Noise effect as the brush or fill of a stroke. n You can also use the Clone and Reveal effects to remove scratches. For more information, see “Reveal Effect” on page 1507. 1501 Chapter 8 Paint Effects To use the Noise effect: 1. From the taskbar, click the Graphics button. n Make sure the position indicator is over the media on the timeline, otherwise you cannot switch to the Graphics layout. 2. From the Tools toolbar, click the Freehand button. 3. In the Paint Style property editor, select the Use option from the Brush box. 4. In the graphics property tree, right-click Brush Fx and select Load. 5. From the Load Preset dialog box, select the Noise effect. 6. In the graphics property tree, right-click Brush Fx (Noise). 7. In the Noise property editor, select Median Rank or Selective Rank. 8. From the graphics property tree, right-click Masks and select RGB. 9. Use the transport controls to locate the frame on which the scratches or wires start, and move the position indicator over it. 10. Paint on the viewer. Adjust the Threshold and Radius controls in the Noise property editor while you paint. As you paint on the viewer, the scratch or wire is removed. 1502 Noise Effect Scratch Selected stroke with the Noise effect applied to the brush and fill Click the Help button for detailed information on the Noise properties. 1503 Chapter 8 Paint Effects Paper Grain Images The paper grain images let you apply texture to a stroke, fill, or text body to simulate the effect of painting on a textured canvas. You can apply paper grain images to the brush or fill of a stroke, or to a text body. Burlap paper grain applied to a stroke. To apply a paper grain image: 1. From the Masks property editor, select the Paper Grain tab. Browse buttons Preview box 2. Do one of the following: t Click the Browse button to select a paper grain image. The Load Paper Grain Image dialog box displays. 1504 Paper Grain Images t Click the browse (...) button to select a paper grain in any other supported file format. The Load Paper Grain Image dialog box displays. 3. In the Load Paper Grain Image dialog box, select a paper grain from the \DSPresets\Paper Grain folder. The selected paper grain is displayed in the preview box. 1505 Chapter 8 Paint Effects 4. On the Paper Grain property page, select the Use option to apply the paper grain. 5. Select the Invert option to invert the paper grain. 6. Use the Absorption controls to set the opacity of the paper grain texture. 7. You can now paint or create titles on the viewer. The objects you create are displayed with the properties you specified. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Masks properties. 1506 Reveal Effect Reveal Effect The Reveal effect lets you “paint away” the unwanted portions of a composited image and replace them with another image on an underlying layer. When you paint with the Reveal effect, the opaque areas of the alpha channel become transparent (black), revealing the underlying layer. n You can also use the Clone and Noise effects to remove imperfections and scratches. For more information, see “Clone Effect” on page 1488 and “Noise Effect” on page 1501. To apply a Reveal effect: 1. Create a composite. The Compositing layout displays. 2. In the Layers view, click the Gfx button of the layer on which you want to paint. The Graphics layout displays. 3. From the Tools toolbar, click the Freehand button. 4. From the graphics property tree, do the following: t From the Paint Style property editor, select the Use option from the Brush box. t Right-click Brush Fx and select Load. 5. From the Load Preset dialog box, select the Reveal effect. 6. In the Brush Fx (Reveal) property editor, adjust the Amount controls to control how much of the underlying image is revealed. 7. From the graphics property tree, right-click Masks and select Alpha Only. 8. Paint on the viewer. As you paint, the underlying layer is revealed. n You can also use the fill of a stroke to reveal an image. In the graphics property tree, load Fill Fx with the Reveal effect. 1507 Chapter 8 Paint Effects Stack Effects The stack effects let you replace a brush, fill, face, edge, or shadow effect by a “stack” of any combination of effects. Stack effects let you build complex effects by editing, rearranging, and stacking effects. The effects are processed from the bottom of the stack to the top. To apply a stack effect: 1. From the taskbar, click the Graphics button. n Make sure the position indicator is over the media on the timeline, otherwise you cannot switch to the Graphics layout. 2. From the graphics property tree, right-click one of the following and select Load: t Brush Fx or Fill Fx. t Face Fx, Edge Fx, or Shadow Fx The Load Preset dialog box displays. 3. From the Load Preset dialog box, select an effect from the \Paint\Stack Effects folder. The effect replaces the property you selected in the graphics property tree. Stack effect loaded into Brush Fx property. Effects comprising the effect stack. 1508 Stack Effects 4. From the graphics property tree, click the Stack Effect property button. Effects that comprise the Stack effect are displayed as subproperties in the graphics property tree. Click any of the effects’ property buttons to edit the properties. To customize the effect stack: 1. In the Stack Effect property editor, click the Add button. 2. In the Load Preset dialog box, select an effect. The effect is added to the Effect Stack list. 3. To remove effects from the effect stack, select an effect, and click the Remove button. 4. To rearrange the order of effects, select an effect and click one of the following buttons: t Move Up to move the effect up by one level. t Move Down to move the effect down by one level. 5. To save the effect stack as a preset, click the Save Preset button. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Stack Effect properties. 1509 Chapter 8 Paint Effects 1510 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling This chapter describes how to create and edit 3D DVEs, 3D graphics, and 3D text. You’ll also learn how to work with surfaces, materials, lights, and shadows, as well as import and export projects. Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Workflow: Creating 3D DVEs You can create and manipulate 3D DVEs in the 3D DVE layout. The following illustration shows the typical workflow of a 3D DVE session. 1 Choose a method for creating 3D DVE. or Select a clip to use as the DVE. Select a region to apply 3D DVE as a source-generated effect. Set properties in 3D DVE on Black property page. or Apply 3D DVE as nodes in an Effects Tree. 2 Decide whether you want to work in Direct View mode. 3 Manipulate the 3D DVE in the viewer. 1512 4 Add effects to the 3D DVE. Workflow: 3D Titling Workflow: 3D Titling You can create and manipulate 2D and 3D titles in the 3D DVE layout. The following illustration shows the typical workflow of a 3D titling session. Decide whether you want to create a 2D or 3D title. Apply the 2D Titling or 3D Titling effect to your clip. 1 Clip is used as background for titles. Depending on the effect you selected, either a 2D layer or 3D layer is automatically created in the 3D DVE Layers view. Decide whether you want to work in Direct View mode. 2 Select the Text tool and set its properties. 3 Text tool 4 Create a title in the viewer. 5 Select the title and edit its properties. The word “Venice” was kerned to match the length of the words above it. 1513 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Working in the 3D World Before you create 3D DVEs, graphics, or titles, you should be aware of some basic 3D concepts, such as three-dimensional space, materials, and lights. Three-Dimensional Space It’s essential to understand the notion of working within a virtual threedimensional space using a two-dimensional user interface. To represent the geometry of an object, Avid DS Nitris uses the classical Euclidean/Cartesian mathematical representation of space. It is based on three perpendicular axes X, Y, and Z, intersecting at one point called the origin. XYZ Axes To remember the direction of the X, Y, and Z axes, use the “right-hand” rule: hold up your right hand so that your palm is facing you, then extend your thumb to the right, hold your index finger up, and point your middle finger towards you. Your thumb is pointing in positive X, your index finger in positive Y, and your middle finger in positive Z. The point of origin is 0, 0, 0. The opposite directions represent negative X, Y, and Z. XYZ Coordinates With the Cartesian coordinate system, you can locate any point in space using three coordinates. For example, if X = +6, Y = –6, Z = +6, a point would be located to the right of, below, and in front of the origin. 1514 Working in the 3D World XZ, XY, YZ Planes Since you’re working with a two-dimensional interface, spatial planes are used to locate points in three-dimensional space. The perpendicular axes extend as spatial planes: XZ, XY, and YZ. Imagine that the XZ, XY, and YZ planes are folded together like the top, front, and right side of a box. This helps you keep a sense of orientation when you’re working. Global and Local Coordinate Systems The XYZ coordinate system can be global or local. When you place an object in 3D space, it is inside a world with the origin at (0, 0, 0) of the ground plane in the viewer. Accordingly, the XYZ coordinates that locate the object in relation to the origin are called global coordinates. A local coordinate system is thought of in terms of an object’s own point of reference, which is its own center. This center also has three axes: X, Y, and Z. The center of an object is only a reference—it is not necessarily in the middle of the object because it can be moved (as well as rotated and scaled). Materials Once you’ve created an object, you can apply materials to define its surfaces’ appearance. A surface is an area of an object. You can control its visibility and appearance of each surface by applying a set of properties called a material. 1515 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling You can modify the appearance of the various surfaces of an object. For example, you can apply a brick texture to a rectangle to give the appearance of a brick wall, a gradient to a wavy shape that runs along the left edge of the view to enhance a scene, or a reflective texture to the edges of the characters in a word to simulate a chrome outline. For more information, see “Working with Surfaces and Materials” on page 1588. Lights Another basic element you will work with is light. Light sources are points in three-dimensional space that emit light, causing objects (with materials that can be affected by light) to appear illuminated. There are three kinds of light sources: infinite, local, and spot. You specify the location of light sources relative to objects in the scene by using light source objects, which exist above all other objects in the scene. For more information, see “Working with Lights and Shadows” on page 1601. 1516 Setting Preferences Setting Preferences When setting up an animation or creating text, you don’t really need to see all the other layers and effects in your sequence. When working with 3D DVEs, there are many ways to improve the responsiveness of Avid DS Nitris. You can use the features you really need and turn off the rest, such as the following: • Working in Direct View mode—see “Working in Direct View Mode” on page 1519. • Viewing the background—see “Using a Background” on page 1517. • Suspending output to the output monitor—see “Suspending Output to the Output Monitor” on page 1520. • Working in wireframe mode—see “Working in Wireframe Mode” on page 1523. • Viewing preferences and quality level—see “Setting the Viewer Quality Level” on page 1524. All of your choices depend on the complexity of the objects you plan on creating in the 3D DVE layout, as well as how responsive you want Avid DS Nitris to be. Just keep in mind that in a typical scenario, Avid DS Nitris processes one entire frame before displaying the output in the viewer and output monitor. As a result, this slows down the responsiveness of Avid DS Nitris. Using a Background You’ll have to decide whether you want to composite your graphics onto the background inside the 3D DVE or outside. We recommend that you do so within the 3D DVE, so you can see the background while working in the Direct View mode. The background lets you easily place titles or graphics, so that they appear in the correct location relative to the background. However, if your background is large, it is probably better to leave it outside the 3D DVE. For more information, see “Working in Direct View Mode” on page 1519. There are two ways to include a background in your 3D DVE session: • Use a clip on the timeline or • Select a background image from the 3D DVE/Options property editor. 1517 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Using a clip as the background. Using an image as the background. To use a clip on the timeline as the background: 1. On the timeline, select a clip and place the position indicator over it. 2. From the toolbar, click Video Effects and select one of the following: - 2D Titling to create 2D titles. The 3D DVE layout is displayed, the selected clip is used as the background, and a 2D layer is created in the 3D DVE Layers view. - 3D Titling to create 3D titles. The 3D DVE layout is displayed, the selected clip is used as the background, and a 3D layer is created in the 3D DVE Layers view. To use a background image: 1. On the timeline, select a clip and place the position indicator over it, and click the 3D DVE button on the taskbar. n Tip: You can also access the 3D DVE layout in a floating combo view by pressing Ctrl and clicking the 3D DVE button in the taskbar. The 3D DVE layout is displayed. 2. From the 3D DVE/Options property editor, select the Preferences tab. 3. Select the Background option and then select an image from the list: The selected image is centered behind all objects in the viewer and scaled down (if larger than the pixel dimensions of the scene) or padded with a black border (if smaller than the pixel dimensions of the scene). n 1518 You can also select an input (from the list) to use the clip on the timeline as the background. Setting Preferences To show or hide the background: 1. From the 3D DVE/Options property editor, select the Direct View tab. 2. Select the View Background option. For quicker previews of your sequence, hide the background. n The View Background option is for viewing purposes only and does not affect the processed output. Working in Direct View Mode Like all other effects in Avid DS Nitris, the 3D DVE layout, by default, displays the results of one entire frame in the viewer. While this may be convenient for viewing the results of your sequence, including the output of the 3D DVE effect, it can be quite slow, reducing the responsiveness of Avid DS Nitris and some or all of the effects before you can see them in the viewer. If you have a complex sequence, such as the following: • A 3D DVE effect on the background track that contains a picture-inpicture effect with a spotlight, • A large blur effect on top of the 3D DVE effect, and • A background clip in the timeline, It would be faster not to view all of this while you’re working on the 3D DVE portion of the sequence, especially the large blur, which takes time to process. This is where the Direct View mode comes in handy; it lets you focus exclusively on your 3D DVE session without being slowed down by the processing of other clips or effects in the frame. This improves the performance of Avid DS Nitris, especially when working with text. The Direct View mode is for viewing purposes only and does not affect the output. 1519 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Default mode show the results of your entire sequence in the viewer. Direct View mode shows only the results of your 3D DVE session. To work in Direct View mode: t From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Direct View button. The viewer displays only the contents of your 3D DVE session. Suspending Output to the Output Monitor By suspending (or not sending) the output of your scene to the output monitor, you can increase the interaction speed when working in the 3D DVE layout. n You can only suspend output to the output monitor when working in the Direct View mode. To suspend output to the output monitor: t From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Suspend Output button. The output of your scene is not displayed on the output monitor. Displaying Guides You can display various guides or hide parts of objects in the viewer to position objects relative to each other and to the edges of the viewable area. Guides are not visible in the final sequence. 1520 Setting Preferences Showing the Safe Action/Title Areas The safe action area is the central area of the viewer where action can occur without having noticeable distortion. The safe title area, also in the central area of the viewer, is where you can safely place graphics and titles without having any of its edges cut off. These areas delineate where action and titles should occur to be fully visible on a television set. Safe action guide Safe title guide To show or hide the safe action/title areas, do one of the following: t t Right-click the viewer and select Safe Action/Title. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Safe Action/Title button. The safe action/title guides are displayed. When you move objects near the safe action/title guides, they snap to it. You can, however, still move the objects outside the safe action/title areas. Showing Construction Lines Construction lines define the boundaries of objects, such as text and the scene itself. By showing construction lines, you can identify the location and sizes of these types of objects, as well as any that are empty. Construction lines also display the shadow plane for projected shadows. For more information, see “Changing a Shadow’s Location” on page 1607. 1521 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Construction line To show or hide construction lines: t From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Construction Lines button. Construction lines appear as dashes around the borders of objects. Showing the Grid The grid consists of evenly spaced points that you can use to align objects to each other or to the sides of a scene. The grid uses a standard 16×12 layout. When you show the grid while in the 3D DVE layout, by default, it’s in Snap to Grid mode. For more information, see “Positioning Objects at Specific Locations” on page 1539 and “Aligning Objects Relative to Each Other” on page 1540. n The grid is not visible in the final sequence. To show or hide the grid: t From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Grid button. The grid appears as points at the intersections of the grid lines. Showing Objects Viewable Within the Frame The frame of a project is the dimensions of the scene, which represent the output resolution. If there are objects moving in or out of a frame over time, you may want to show or hide those parts of the objects that are “outside the frame”. Viewing only the visible portions of objects may make previewing the project less distracting. However, when you’re editing objects, you will usually want to see all the objects. 1522 Setting Preferences n Objects outside of the viewable frame will be hidden only if you have not tumbled the scene. Although objects may be hidden from view, you can still select them. Clip to Frame: Selected Clip to Frame: Deselected To show or hide all objects within a frame: t From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Clip to Frame button. Working in Wireframe Mode Working in wireframe mode lets you easily see the outline of all the objects in your scene, making it easier to select and edit them. This can be useful when there are objects hidden behind other objects. You can also precisely edit and manipulate objects without being distracted by any of the effects defined for it. The wireframe mode increases the speed of interaction because wireframe objects are not processed. To work in wireframe mode: 1. In the 3D DVE/Options property editor, select the Direct View tab. 2. Select the View as Wireframe option. All objects in the viewer appear in wireframe. n Tip: For fast animation playback, suspend the output (to output monitor) and press Ctrl-play. The sequence will play back and animated objects appear in wireframe mode. 1523 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Rendering Objects as a Wireframe You can draw select objects as a wireframe to help you focus on the placement of objects in a scene, and not on how the objects appear. To render objects in wireframe: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the Effect property editor, select the Render as Wireframe option. n The Render as Wireframe option affects the final sequence. Rendered normally. Rendered as a wireframe. The wireframe is drawn using the object’s main material. Setting the Viewer Quality Level You can change the processed on-screen quality of objects in the viewer by adjusting the quality level. Increasing the quality level improves the visual accuracy of objects, but at the expense of system responsiveness. Decreasing the quality level makes it faster for you to move and edit objects, but at the expense of visual accuracy and detail. The quality setting does not affect the processing quality. To set the quality level: 1. From the 3D DVE/Options property editor, select the Direct View tab. 2. Adjust any of the following properties that affect the quality of objects rendered in the viewer: 3. From the Antialiasing list, select one of the following: 1524 Setting Preferences - None to apply no antialiasing. This setting produces jagged or aliased edges. - Fast 2D to draw flat objects. - Texturing controls the quality of textured surfaces in proportion to the time required to render the texture onto the surface. - Lighting controls the quality of lit surfaces. - Tessellation controls the smoothness or approximation of curved edges on characters and shapes. - Shadowing controls the quality of soft shadows. - Motion Blur applies a motion blur on fast moving objects. 1525 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Working with the Camera The camera in Avid DS Nitris is similar to a real camera, letting you view objects in the scene from different angles and perspectives. You can create interesting effects, such as camera fly throughs, by animating the camera’s parameters. The camera shows you what the scene will look like when you render it. The main camera in the viewer has two arrows. The blue arrow indicates where the camera is “looking”, that is, the direction the lens is facing. This is called the interest. The camera is always constrained to the interest. The green arrow indicates the camera’s up direction. You can change the camera’s direction by rolling the camera. n You can only see the main camera while you’re viewing through the alternate camera. For more information, see “Viewing Through the Alternate Camera” on page 1526. Green arrow shows up direction. Blue arrow points towards interest. To select the camera, do one of the following: t In the 3D DVE Object View, click the bar that corresponds to the camera. t In the 3D DVE Layers view, click the Camera layer. t Click the camera in the viewer. Viewing Through the Alternate Camera In addition to the main camera, there’s also an alternate camera. In many ways, the main and alternate cameras are similar, except that the alternate camera is not an actual object. It’s only a tool for viewing and navigating through your scene; it is not displayed in the viewer and does not have any properties for you to edit. 1526 Working with the Camera When viewing through the alternate camera, you can see the main camera, and the background, if any, is not visible. You cannot select or animate the alternate camera. Viewing through the main camera, which is not visible as you are looking through it. Viewing through the alternate camera. The main camera is visible. Zoomed out view through the alternate camera. Snapping the Camera By snapping the main camera to the alternate camera or vice versa, you can get a different view of your scene. To snap one camera to the other: t Click one of the following buttons in the 3D DVE toolbar: - Snap Alternate Camera to Main Camera. - Snap Main Camera to Alternate Camera. To toggle the current camera: t In the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Toggle Camera button. If you were using the main camera, the view is switched to the alternate camera and vice versa. 1527 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Viewing a Scene from Different Angles Using the alternate camera, you can view the objects in your scene from different angles. This is useful when positioning or animating objects. n Viewing the scene through the alternate camera does not affect the final output of your scene. To view the scene from different angles: t From the 3D DVE toolbar, click one of the following: - View Top to display the scene from above. - View Left to display the scene from the left. - View Front to display the scene from the front. - View Right to display the scene from the right. If you were using the main camera, the view is switched to the alternate camera and you can see your scene from different angles. To tumble the scene: t From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Tumble button and drag on the viewer. A light-colored orientation grid and axis appear in the viewer as you tumble the scene. The X, Y, and Z axes identify the orientation of the frame with Y identifying the top of the frame, and Z identifying the front of the frame. Manipulating the Camera It’s easier to view your scene when you manipulate the camera by zooming, panning, dollying, or rolling it. To zoom the camera: 1. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Zoom button. 2. In the viewer, drag down/left to zoom in or drag up/right to zoom out. To pan the camera: t 1528 From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Pan button and drag in the viewer. Working with the Camera To dolly the camera: t Click the Dolly button in the 3D DVE toolbar and drag in the viewer. To roll the camera, do one of the following: t From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Roll button. In the viewer, drag down/left to roll clockwise or drag up/right to roll counterclockwise. t In the Camera property editor, set the Roll angle. Negative values make the camera roll left and positive values make the camera roll right. Resetting the Camera If you’ve zoomed in and out too much and the perspective on your camera is in need of a refresh, you can always reset it. To reset the camera, do one of the following: t In the Camera property editor, click Reset. The properties of the main camera are reset to the default values. t In the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Reset Current Camera button. The properties of the current camera (main or alternate) are reset to the default values. Setting the Camera Position The camera’s position defines the location of the camera in the scene. These coordinates are local and are not affected when a transformation is applied to the camera. To set the camera position, do one of the following: t t In the viewer, select the camera and drag it to a new location. In the Camera property editor, type values in the Position box. Defining the Camera Interest The interest, what the camera is always looking at, is at the center of the interest plane. The interest plane is defined as the area visible through the camera. It is represented by a cross, which you can view through the alternate camera. 1529 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling You can translate and animate the position of the interest as you would any other parameter. By animating the interest, you can keep a certain object in the scene in every frame. Viewing the interest and interest plane through the alternate camera Interest Interest plane To define the camera interest: t In the Camera property editor, type values in the Interest box. Setting the Clipping Planes Clipping planes is useful when you want to show or hide specific objects. You can use clipping planes to set the minimum and maximum viewable distances from the camera. Objects outside these planes are not visible. By default, the near plane is very close to the camera and the far plane is very far away, so most objects are usually visible. To set clipping planes, set the following in the Camera property editor: n 1530 t Near Plane to set the minimum viewable distance from camera. Objects in front of this plane will not be visible. t Far Plane to set the maximum viewable distance camera. Objects behind this plane will not be visible. You can reduce processing time by choosing appropriate clipping planes. Smaller ranges of clipping planes take less time to process. Working with the Camera Selecting a Projection Method When you rotate an object around the X or Y axis or move the object away from the center of the scene, you can control the amount of perspective distortion applied to the object. The perspective distortion simulates the realworld appearance of a rotated or far-away object, where points on the object farther away look smaller than points closer to you. Depending on the look you want to achieve, you can change the view from an orthographic to a perspective projection. When you select an orthographic projection, objects do not change size as they change distance from the camera. A perspective projection simulates depth and is useful for simulating a real camera. Orthographic projection Perspective projection To set the perspective: t From the Camera property editor, select one of the following from the Projection box: - Orthographic perspective in which all camera rays are parallel and objects do not change size as they change distance from the camera. - Perspective perspective to simulate depth. This projection simulates a real camera. You can also adjust the Vertical Field of View value. Higher values produce exaggerated distortions, and lower values produce subtle distortions. Setting the Field of View The field of view is the angular measurement of how much the camera can see at any one time. By changing the field of view, you can distort the perspective to give a narrow, peephole effect or a wide, fish-eye effect. 1531 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To set the field of view: 1. From the Camera property editor, set the Angle in the Field of View box. Small angles are equivalent to a telephoto lens and large angles are equivalent to a wide angle lens. 2. Select one of the following: 1532 - Horizontal to apply the angle to the horizontal field of view. - Vertical to apply the angle to the vertical field of view. About Objects About Objects Objects are the building blocks in your 3D DVE session. An object is anything that you can create or manipulate in the viewer while working in the 3D DVE layout. For example, text, two-dimensional graphics (rectangles and circles), and even the background itself are objects. Some objects can contain subobjects, such as the characters you type in a text body. The 3D DVE session contains all the objects you create while working in the 3D DVE layout. You can modify subobjects separately. You can create and modify the following types of objects: • DVE objects whose appearances you can deform based on an effect or image you apply to them. For example, you can create spheres, page curls, and ripples—see “Working with Surfaces and Materials” on page 1588. • Text objects contain characters (letters, numbers, and other symbols) that you type. The characters in a text object can be static, move vertically (rolling text), or move horizontally (crawling text). You create text objects using the Text tool—see “Working with 3D DVEs” on page 1548. • Graphics objects are geometric shapes, such as rectangles and ellipses. You create graphics objects by using the Shape, Rectangle, and Ellipse tools—see “Working with Surfaces and Materials” on page 1588 • Path objects or paths are shapes onto which you can place or crawl text. You can convert shapes into paths or paths into shapes—see “Placing and Moving Text on a Path” on page 1582. • Layers allow you to create simple two-dimensional effects or more complex three-dimensional effects in which objects can intersect. Object (text object) Subobject (characters) 1533 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling About Drawing Tool Properties The 3D DVE layout is similar to the Graphics layout. That is, before you create titles or DVEs, you must define how the titles or DVE will appear. Using the property editors, you can set the object’s properties, such as the color or font. Each time you select a tool, its properties are displayed in the property editors. You can set the default properties of the drawing tool before creating an object. When you do this, the new settings become the default properties that are applied to the objects you create. These properties remain in effect until you change the properties in any of the drawing tools. If you decide to create an object before setting its properties, you can select the object you created and then modify its properties. When you do this, only the properties of the selected object are modified. 1534 Manipulating Objects Manipulating Objects You can select, deselect, arrange, modify, and identify objects. You can copy and move objects around in the scene, and align objects relative to the scene or each other. You can also remove objects you no longer need. Selecting and Deselecting Objects Before you can edit an object, you must first select it with the Edit tool. You can select multiple objects and perform the same operation on them, such as changing the color of all the letters in a title. When you select an object, its bounding box appears, displaying the bounds or extent of the selected object. Bounding box Bounding box handle To select a single object using the Edit tool, do one of the following: t In the viewer, click an object or drag a selection box around an object. t In the 3D DVE Object View or 3D DVE Layers view, click an object’s name. To select multiple objects using the Edit tool, do one of the following: t In the viewer, press Shift and click the objects. t In the viewer, drag to make a rectangular selection box around the objects. t In the 3D DVE Object View or 3D DVE Layers view, press Shift and click the objects. To select all visible objects in the current frame: t Using the Edit tool, click the Select All button in the 3D DVE Layer toolbar. 1535 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To select characters or a grouped object using the Edit or Rotate tool: t Alt-click the character or grouped object. To deselect all objects using the Edit tool, do one of the following: t t Click away from any object in the viewer. From the 3D DVE Layer toolbar, click the Deselect All button. Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Objects You can cut or copy objects in the viewer, and paste them to the same frame or to another frame. Cut or copied objects are placed on the Clipboard and remain there until you perform another cut, copy, or paste operation. At the end of your 3D DVE session, all objects that were cut or copied from the viewer are permanently deleted. To copy an object to a different location or page: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. Select Edit > Copy or press Ctrl+C. A copy of the selected object is placed on the Clipboard. 3. Pan or zoom to the location in the scene or the time in the project in which you want to copy the objects. 4. Click in the page to activate it. 5. Select Edit > Paste or press Ctrl+V. The selected objects are pasted in the new location or page. If the original object was locked, the copy of the object is also locked. To move an object to a different location or page: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. Select Edit > Cut. The selected object is placed on the Clipboard. 3. Move to the location in the scene in which you want to move the object. 4. Select Edit > Paste or press Ctrl+V. A copy of the Clipboard’s contents is pasted. 1536 Manipulating Objects To remove an object from the scene: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. Do one of the following: t Press Delete. t Select Edit > Cut. When you use Cut, you can paste the object in another location. t Right-click the object in the 3D DVE Layers view and select Delete. Moving Objects You can move objects freely within the scene, constrained horizontally or constrained vertically. For rotated objects, you can move an object along the local or global axes. You can also prevent objects from being moved accidentally when clicking objects. If the safe title guide is currently displayed, moving an object near this guide automatically snaps the sides and corners of an object’s bounding box to the guide. Subobjects within objects, such as characters in a text body, do not snap to the safe title guide. For more information, see “Showing the Safe Action/Title Areas” on page 1521. To move an object freely: t Drag a selected object to a different location. To move an object horizontally or vertically: t Hold down the Shift key and drag a selected object. The direction in which you first drag becomes the constrained axis of movement. To move a selected object by one pixel: t Hold down the Ctrl key and press one of the arrow keys. To move a selected object by one-quarter of a pixel: t Hold down the Ctrl+Alt keys and press one of the arrow keys. To move a rotated object freely within its rotated, local plane: t Hold down the Ctrl+Alt keys and drag a selected object. 1537 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To move a rotated object horizontally or vertically along its local axes: t Hold down the Ctrl+Alt+Shift keys and drag a selected object. The direction in which you first drag becomes the constrained axis of movement. Locking and Unlocking Objects Locking objects prevents you from moving them accidently when you’re working with multiple objects. Once you’ve locked an object, you can still modify the object’s properties using the property editors. To lock an object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the 3D DVE Layer toolbar, click the Lock button. To unlock an object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a locked object. 2. From the 3D DVE Layer toolbar, click the Unlock button. Reordering Objects If you want an object to appear in front of or behind another object, such as moving a gradient oval behind some text, or want to draw an object before or after another object, you can reorder them in the viewer or 3D DVE Layers view. n Although objects in a 3D layer are positioned based on their locations along the Z axis, the stacking order of an object still affects perspective and overlap effects. Also, you cannot reorder characters in a text object. 1538 Manipulating Objects To reorder objects in the viewer: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. Click one of the following buttons in the 3D DVE Layer toolbar: n t Bring to Front to move the object to the front of all other objects. t Raise to move the object up one level. t Lower to move the object back one level. t Send to Back to move the object behind all other objects. You cannot move an object between layers using these buttons. Positioning Objects at Specific Locations You can move objects to specific locations within the scene. Each object has nine common locations (the four corners, four sides, and center) where you can quickly position other objects. If the safe title guide is displayed, you can quickly position objects within it instead of the scene. To position an object within its boundaries (layer or group): 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click a position button. Upper center Upper left Upper right Middle left Middle right Lower left Lower right Lower center n Center Use the Lower Left, Lower Center, or Lower Right buttons for lower-third titles. Each selected object moves to the selected position within the safe title area. However, note the following behavior: 1539 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling - If an object is extruded, the object’s front face determines how to position the object. - If an object is rotated, the object is positioned based on the front face of the object. - If your effect uses perspective projection, objects may appear positioned incorrectly. This is a side effect of perspective projection. Switching to orthographic projection will show the correct positioning of objects—see “Selecting a Projection Method” on page 1531. - If an object’s position on the Z axis is not 0, the object may not be positioned properly. Aligning Objects Relative to Each Other You can align the edges or centers of multiple objects relative to each other to ensure a consistent layout in a scene. You can align objects to their bounding box edges or centers. Objects will align to the safe title guide if it’s displayed. To align objects relative to another object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select the objects to align. 2. Hold down the Shift key and select the object to which all other selected objects will be aligned. This is the reference object, as its bounding box handles are solid instead of hollow. n If you drag on the viewer or use the Select All button to select the objects, the reference object is the frontmost object. 3. To select a different object alignment, click a different Align button. Align horizontally Align left edges Align right edges Align bottom edges Align top edges Align vertically The selected objects align themselves relative to the reference object. Object alignment has the same limitations as object positioning. For more information, see “Positioning Objects at Specific Locations” on page 1539. 1540 Manipulating Objects Grouping and Ungrouping Objects If you want to scale or rotate several objects as if they were part of a larger object, you can group the objects together. To group objects together: 1. Using the Edit tool, select the objects to group. 2. From the 3D DVE Layer toolbar, click the Group button. The grouped objects appear within a single bounding box. n Tip: Hold down the Alt key and click an object in a group to modify the object separately. To ungroup grouped objects: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a grouped object. 2. From the 3D DVE Layer toolbar, click the Ungroup button. n If you group an animated collection of objects, animate the group, and then ungroup the objects, some of the animation may be lost. Showing and Hiding Objects By showing or hiding objects, you can isolate the effect of certain objects or focus your work on specific parts of the scene. Mute Solo To hide a single object: t In the 3D DVE Layers view, click the Mute button for the object. To show a single object and hide all others: t In the 3D DVE Layers view, click the Solo button for the object. You can solo multiple objects. 1541 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To show all hidden objects: t From the 3D DVE Layer toolbar, click the Unhide All button. To show or hide objects: 1. Using the Edit tool, select one or more objects. 2. From the Render property editor, do one of the following: t Select the Show Object option to show the object. t Deselect the Show Object option to hide the object. Changing the Visibility of Objects By controlling the visibility of objects, you can blend or mix objects in a scene to produce subtle effects, such as having objects fade in and out over time. n An object with an opacity of zero still requires rendering. To change the opacity of an object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the Surfaces property editor, adjust the Master Opacity value. Unlike the opacity settings for each material on an object, this master opacity control determines the appearance of the entire object, including its shadow (if one exists). Modifying Objects When you scale and rotate objects, they occur relative to the anchor point, a location on the selected object from which the operation is based. n If you scale or rotate multiple objects, each object is modified independently. To modify a collection of objects as a single entity, you should group them first. For more information, see “Grouping and Ungrouping Objects” on page 1541. For graphics objects, you can also deform the object. For more information, see “Editing Shapes and Paths” on page 1555. 1542 Manipulating Objects Adjusting the Anchor Point When you scale or rotate objects, the objects change based on a point in threedimensional space called the anchor point. Scaling and rotation operations use the same anchor point. To adjust the anchor point, do one of the following: t Using the Rotate tool, drag the small crosshairs at the intersections of the axes on the rotation sphere to the intended location. The anchor point moves along the plane of the crosshair. t n From the Transform property editor, adjust the Anchor Point values (X, Y, and Z). You can adjust the Z value of the anchor point only if the object is extruded. To reset the anchor point, do one of the following: t Using the Rotate tool, select an object, right-click and select Reset Anchor Point. t In the Anchor Point box of the Transform property editor, type 0 in the X, Y, and Z boxes. Scaling Objects Although you can draw an object at a specific size, you can still make the object larger or smaller by scaling it. You can scale an object either independent of or constrained to its original aspect ratio. Also, you can scale an object relative to the opposite bounding box handle or to its anchor point. For more information, see “Adjusting the Anchor Point” on page 1543. Original object Scaled down (unconstrained) Scaled down (constrained) 1543 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To scale an object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. To scale the object, do one of the following: t Drag one of the bounding box handles. The object scales relative to the bounding box handle on the opposite side or corner of the object’s bounding box. t To constrain scaling to the object’s aspect ratio, press Shift and drag one of the object’s bounding box handles. t To constrain scaling relative to an object’s anchor point, hold down the Shift+Ctrl keys and drag one of the object’s bounding box handles—see “Adjusting the Anchor Point” on page 1543. t To scale an object in all directions, press Ctrl and drag one of the object’s bounding box corner handles. Resizing Objects Text boxes and groups are objects that have width, depth, and height dimensions. You can resize an object to any dimensions or fit it exactly around its contents’ bounding box. Unlike scaling a object, which scales the contents, resizing an object does not affect the size of its contents. To resize a text box: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. Hold down the Alt key and drag one of the object’s bounding box handles. n When resizing a text box, the bounding box changes size, but its contents do not. Rotating Objects Rotation occurs in three-dimensional space around the X, Y, and Z axes. Angles of rotation increase in the counterclockwise direction around an axis, whereas they decrease going clockwise. Rotation adjustments are applied to objects in the following order: X, Y, and then Z. 1544 Manipulating Objects y 90° x 180° z 0°/360° 270° Positive X rotation Positive Y rotation Positive Z rotation To rotate an object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Rotate button. A rotation sphere appears around the selected object. 3. Use the controls on the sphere to adjust the anchor point—see “Adjusting the Anchor Point” on page 1543. Default rotation anchor point. Object rotated 45 degrees. Rotation anchor point moved off center. Object rotated 45 degrees. 4. Rotate the object by doing one of the following: t To rotate around a single axis, drag the circle on the rotation sphere corresponding to the axis. t To constrain rotations to 15-degree increments, hold down the Shift key and drag an axis circle. 1545 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To reset the rotation of a selected object: 1. In the Rotation box of the Transform property editor, type 0 in the X, Y, and Z boxes. 2. Using the Rotate tool, select an object, right-click and select Reset Rotation. Renaming Objects Each object has a name and optional comment you can assign to it. The layers in the 3D DVE Layers view display these object names. Using unique names will help you differentiate similar objects in a scene, and using comments will remind you of information about an object, such as its purpose in the scene. To change the name of an object: 1. Select an object in the 3D DVE Layers view or use the Edit tool to select an object in the viewer. 2. Do one of the following: t From the Info property editor, type a new name in the Name text box. t In the 3D DVE Layers view, right-click and select Rename, and then type a new name. To add a comment to an object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the Info property editor, type a description in the Comment text box. Setting the Time Span The time span defines the duration of 3D DVE objects. By default, the time span is from the start of the 3D DVE session to the end. You can make an object appear on one frame only, from the current frame to the end of the session, from the beginning of the session to the end, or from the first frame to the current frame. You can also set custom time spans for specific objects. In the Time Span property editor, the timecode refers to the 3D DVE session time. That is, 00:00:00:00 is the beginning of the 3D DVE session regardless of its position on the timeline. 1546 Manipulating Objects To define the time span: 1. Select an object from the viewer or 3D DVE Layers view. The corresponding bar in the 3D DVE Object View (3D OV) turns yellow. 2. In the Time Span property editor, specify the duration by clicking one of the following: Option Description This Frame Only Makes the time span one frame. This Frame to End Makes the time span start at the current frame and end at the last frame of the 3D DVE session. Start to End Makes the time span start at the first frame and end at the last frame of the 3D DVE session. Start to this Frame Makes the time span start at the first frame and end at the current frame of the 3D DVE session. 3. To specify a custom time span, use the In, Out, and Duration timecode boxes. All values must be expressed in SMPTE timecode. n Tip: While you’re editing the time span of a selected object, you can select the Lock option to lock the duration. 1547 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Working with 3D DVEs A 3D DVE is an object whose appearance you can deform based on an effect or image you apply to it. Some examples of DVEs are spheres, page curls, and ripples. For some DVEs, you can simulate a displaced surface by applying a grayscale texture known as a displacement map. What’s the difference between using a 3D DVE and a simple rectangle? You can extrude rectangles, but not the DVE and you can apply effects to a DVE, such as displacement maps. You can modify DVEs like other objects, with the following exceptions: • Editing using the Shape tool • Profile effects • Extrusion • Wireframe rendering • Converting to a path • Combining with other shapes or DVEs Creating DVEs You can create multiple DVEs within a scene, as well as delete DVEs that you no longer need. DVEs have properties common to all DVE types, as well as properties specific to the effect you’re using. To create a DVE: 1. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Add DVE Node button. A rectangle appears within the current layer and covers the entire scene. 2. Using the Edit tool, select the DVE. 3. To change the effect, open the DVE property editor and select an effect from the Effect list. A list of effect-specific properties appears in the Options box next to the Effect list. 1548 Working with 3D DVEs To delete a DVE: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a DVE. 2. Press Delete. Simulating a Textured Surface Using a Displacement Map In addition to the deformation of an object produced by a DVE, you can also use a texture to define convex and concave areas on its surface. The luminance values of the color in the texture (the alpha channel is ignored) define the convex (raised) and concave (lowered) areas on the surface. n A displacement map cannot be used on the Border DVE. To use a displacement map on a DVE: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a DVE. 2. From the Surfaces property editor, select the Enable Lighting option for the Main surface. 3. From the DVE property editor, adjust the following in the Displacement box: Option Description Texture Lets you select an image whose grayscale version defines the contour on the surface. Scale Sets the magnitude of the displacement. Offset Sets the grayscale level in the texture that represents no displacement of the surface. Softness Adjusts the smoothness of the surface. You can soften a displacement map to hide irregularities in grayscale levels in the texture. 4. To adjust the detail of the DVE’s appearance, adjust the X and Y values in the Detail box. Lower values produce a less accurate appearance, but rendering is faster and vice versa. For displacement maps, increase the detail of the DVE. 1549 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To remove a displacement map from a DVE: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a DVE. 2. From the DVE property editor, select Default from the Texture list. Applying Profile Effects The outline of characters or shapes is known as its profile. You can set the profile to one of the predefined profile effects, such as Bevel, Ridge, or Tube, in one of three thicknesses. To apply a profile effect to objects: 1. Using the Edit tool, select the objects. 2. From the Effect property editor, select a profile from the Profile list. n An object that uses a profile effect will not have antialiased edges in the viewer. To view antialiased edges, render a preview on screen or output to disk. For a glow effect, use a colored shadow. For more information, see “Using Shadows to Simulate Glows” on page 1611. Extruding an Object By default, new objects are two dimensional. You can change the depth or thickness of an object by extruding it. The extruded surface can use its own material. To extrude an object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the Effect property editor, adjust the Extrude Depth value. n 1550 For objects that have a profile, adjusting the extrude depth does not affect the profile. Working with 3D DVEs Blurring Moving Objects In real life, an object that moves quickly appears blurred. Imagine a camera taking a picture of the moving object. The object in the picture appears blurred because the object moved during the short time that the camera’s shutter was open. If the shutter was open for a shorter time, the object would appear sharper. To apply motion blur: 1. From the 3D DVE/Options property editor, select the Output tab. 2. Select the Enable Motion Blur option. 3. Adjust the Exposure value. The blurriness of a moving object depends on how long the camera’s shutter is open. The longer the shutter is open, the blurrier the object appears, and vice versa. The exposure time, measured in seconds, represents the duration that the shutter is open. n Motion blur is a very time-intensive effect, especially when you use a long exposure time. 4. If desired, change the quality of the blurred motion by adjusting the Custom Quality parameters. Motion blur (deselected) Motion blur (selected) The motion blur effect applies to all objects in the 3D DVE session, over the duration of the session. Also, if the object changes materials, such as its color or visibility over its duration, these changes will appear faded or smoothed out as a result of the motion blur effect. n Although you can set a maximum quality for blurred objects, objects that move very fast will not simulate blurred motion as well as slower moving objects. You may need to experiment with exposure time and quality settings to get the desired results. 1551 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Working with Graphics A graphics object is made up of control points and tangent handles that define a shape. The portion of a shape between control points is called a segment. You can modify the shape of an object at any time. Tangent handle Control point Creating Graphics You can use the following tools to create shapes: Rectangle, Ellipse, and Shape. When you create new shapes, they become the frontmost objects in the scene. n You cannot create a shape if a shape is currently selected. Creating Squares and Rectangles The Rectangle tool lets you create square and rectangular shapes. For example, you can use this tool to create the basis for a textured backdrop or gradient fill onto which you add text objects. To create a rectangle or square shape: 1. Click the Rectangle button in the 3D DVE toolbar. 2. Do one of the following: t To create a rectangular shape, drag diagonally from left to right. t To create a square shape, hold down the Shift key and drag diagonally from left to right. Rectangle 1552 Square Working with Graphics t To create a rectangular or square shape from the center, hold down the Ctrl key and drag (rectangle), or hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys and drag (square) from the intended center of the shape. Rectangle Square Creating Circles and Ovals The Ellipse tool lets you create circular and elliptical (oval) shapes. To create an ellipse or circle shape: 1. Click the Ellipse button in the 3D DVE toolbar. 2. Do one of the following: t To create an ellipse, drag diagonally from left to right. t To create a circle shape, hold down the Shift key and drag diagonally from left to right. Ellipse t Circle To create an ellipse or circle from the center, hold down the Ctrl key and drag (ellipse), or hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys and drag (circle) from the intended center of the bounding box. Ellipse Circle 1553 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Creating Polylines and Curved Shapes The Shape tool lets you create polyline shapes, such as polygons and curves. To create a freehand shape with the Shape tool: 1. Click the Shape button in the 3D DVE toolbar. 2. Do one of the following: t To create a polyline shape, click at the location where you want to place the starting control point. t To start a curved shape, drag from the location of the starting point in the direction you want the curve to point. 3. Place subsequent control points, as follows: t To create a straight-line segment, click at the location for the next control point. t To create a curved-line segment with a smooth point, drag from the location of the next control point. t To create a curved-line segment with a corner (angular) point, drag from the location of the next control point. Then, hold down the Alt key and drag the tangent handle. Alt-drag Drag Cusp Smooth Corner 4. To create a closed shape, click the first control point you created. 5. To create an open shape, do one of the following: 1554 t Press Esc. t Click the right mouse button. t Click a different tool. Working with Graphics Closed shapes are filled with the default main material. Open shapes cannot be filled. Editing Shapes and Paths For shapes and paths, you can modify the actual Bézier points and curves that define the form of the shape. Selecting and Deselecting Control Points For many shape-editing operations, you must select a control point first. You can select multiple control points to adjust them at the same time, or deselect control points that you do not want to modify. You cannot select control points on multiple shapes at the same time. Selected control point and tangent handles. Unselected control point. To select a control point: t Using the Shape tool, click a control point. To select multiple control points: 1. Using the Shape tool, select a shape. 2. Do one of the following: t Hold down the Shift key and click the control points. t Drag to select the control points. To select all control points on a shape: 1. Select a shape. 2. Right-click the shape and select Select All Points. 1555 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To deselect all control points, do one of the following: t Click away from a shape. t Right-click the shape and select Deselect All Points. Editing a Shape The location of control points and curvature near control points determine the form of a shape. You can add, delete, and move control points, as well as adjust a control point’s tangent handles to change a shape’s form. n You can modify all selected control points if the pointer is not above a control point at the time you select the command. Simply right-click the shape and select a command. Not all commands apply to multiple control points. To add a control point, do one of the following: t Hold down the Alt key and click along a shape’s outline. t Move the pointer above the area of a shape to add a control point, rightclick and select Insert Point. To delete a control point, do one of the following: t Select a control point and press Delete. t Move the pointer above a control point, right-click and select Delete Points. To move a control point: t Drag the control point to a new location. To move a control point on a rotated object: t Hold down the Shift key and drag the control point. The direction in which you begin dragging becomes the constrained axis of movement. To move a control point horizontally or vertically: t Hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys and drag the control point. The direction in which you begin dragging becomes the constrained axis of movement. To change the curvature of a shape near a control point: t 1556 Right-click a shape and select a command. Working with Graphics t Hold down the Ctrl or Alt key and drag a tangent handle. This affects the control point under the pointer. The following table describes the various operations you can perform on control points. To make a Do the following Cusp point With the pointer above a control point, rightclick and select Make Cusp Points. Smooth point Press Ctrl and drag a tangent handle away from a control point or, with the pointer above a control point, right-click and select Make Smooth Points. Corner point Press Alt and drag a tangent handle away from a control point. To extend the length of a single tangent handle: t Hold down the Shift key and drag the tangent handle. The length of the tangent handle is extended and its orientation does not change. Opening and Closing Shapes Another way to edit the form of shapes is to open, split, close, or connect them. n Tip: To thicken an open shape, use a Frame, Round, or Tube profile effect. To open a closed shape or split an open shape in two: t Position the pointer above the control point at which you want to open or split the shape, right-click and select Break Point. Before After Opening a closed shape. Before After Splitting an open shape in two. 1557 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling The fill of a closed shape is lost when the shape is opened. Also, if you split an open path in two, the text on the path moves to one of the new paths. To close an open shape or connect two open shapes: t Drag an end point onto another end point on the same shape (to close a shape) or onto another shape (to connect the shapes). Before After Closing an open shape. Before After Connecting two open shapes as one. Filling Shapes You can control the appearance of the interior of closed shapes by specifying whether the shape is filled or not. n Only closed shapes can be filled. When you close an open shape that was not filled, the closed shape is not automatically filled. To fill a shape: t Right-click the edge of a shape, and select or deselect Fill Curve. Filled Not filled Removing Segments Another way to open a shape or split a shape in two is to remove a segment from the shape. To remove a segment from a shape: t 1558 With the pointer above a segment, right-click and select Delete Segment. Working with Graphics Before After removing a segment. After removing a second segment. If you remove a segment from a closed path, the text on the path adjusts to the new length of the path. If you remove a segment from an open path (splitting the path in two), the text on the path moves to one of the paths. n If a shape has only one segment, such as a line, removing the segment produces two single-point shapes. Working with Compound Shapes You can combine multiple shapes into a single compound shape to create interesting effects. A compound shape is a single object composed of multiple, individually editable shapes. For example, if you want to create a custom version of a letter, such as a stylized letter A for a company logo, you can define the various pieces of the letter and determine how they’re combined. Compound shapes Compound shapes are not the same as a group of shapes. All the shapes within a compound shape exist at the same Z position in three-dimensional space. Also, the entire compound shape uses the same surface materials. You cannot modify the material of each shape within the compound shape. Creating and Separating Compound Shapes You can combine shapes into a compound shape, make a copy of a shape that is part of a compound shape, and separate all the shapes within a compound shape. 1559 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Before combining shapes After combining and repositioning shapes. To create a compound shape: 1. Select the shapes. The properties of the last shape you select will be used for the combined shape. 2. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Combine Shapes button. By default, a shape within another shape inverts or “cuts out” the outer shape. If you select a path to combine with other shapes, the text on the path is removed. To copy a shape that is part of a compound shape: t With the pointer above a shape, right-click and select Copy As Shape. The copied shape appears above the original shape. n Any transformations (translation, scaling, and rotation) or animation applied to the compound shape will not be applied to the copied shape. To separate a compound shape into its individual shapes: 1. Select a compound shape. 2. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Separate Shapes button. The properties of the separated shapes will be the same as those of the original compound shape. However, material properties, such as how a texture is applied to the object, may be altered. Combining Shapes within a Compound Shape The way you drew the shapes within a compound shape can affect the appearance of the compound shape. When the shapes of a compound shape do not overlap each other, both shapes appear in the compound shape. However, when shapes of a compound shape overlap, the inner shape “cuts out” or subtracts from the outer shape. However, you can add the overlapping shape to the compound shape instead of subtracting from it. 1560 Working with Graphics To control how one shape affects another within a compound shape: t With the pointer above a shape, right-click and select Combine Mode and one of the following: - Subtract to remove the area where the shapes overlap. - Add to fill in the area where the shapes overlap. Reversing the Direction of a Shape Control points on a shape are numbered sequentially, starting at the first control point on the shape. The route, through sequentially numbered control points, determines the shape’s direction. This direction controls how the shape is drawn when it’s part of a compound shape, how the profile of the shape is drawn, and how the text on a path is laid out. You can change the default direction for a shape or path. To reverse the direction of a shape or path: t With the pointer above a shape or path, right-click and select Reverse Direction. 1561 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Working with Text A text object contains characters and appears as a text body. There are four types of text objects: static, rolling, crawling, and path text. Each type of text object can be stationary (static) or have motion over time. You can also control whether the text moves outside the dimensions of the text body. For more information, see “Controlling Rolling, Crawling, and Path Text” on page 1579. • Static text does not move (scroll) within its text body. The text can still move around if you manually move each character. Static text is the default text object. • Rolling text moves vertically within a text object over its duration, starting and ending with no text visible, such as the list of credits that usually appear at the end of television movies and feature films. You can create rolling text that moves up and down within a text body. If you enter more text than can fit on one line, the extra words and characters appear on a new line. The lines of text word wrap. 1562 • Crawling text is a single line of text that moves horizontally, usually from right to left. A stock price ticker or weather warning messages along the bottom of a television screen are common types of crawling text that you see on television or websites. • Path text (or text along a path) is a single line of text that fits to or moves along a straight or curved path, such as letters that follow the contour of a car or words that seem to float in the sky. You can create path text that moves along the path or is fixed on it. Working with Text Creating a Text Object When you want to add text, you create a text object, a box into which you type the text or import an ASCII text file. The box can either expand to fit the text you type or remain a fixed size into which the text word-wraps to fill it. To create a text object: 1. Using the Text tool, do one of the following: t n Click the viewer. If the text cursor is active in an existing text object, click away from the text object. You cannot create a new text object while you’re editing the text in an existing text object. t Drag on the viewer to define a text body. The cursor or insertion point (a vertical bar) appears in the upper-left corner of the text body. 1563 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling 2. Type in some text. By default, text aligns along the left edge of the text body and uses the current text properties in the Text property editor. For more information, see “Aligning Text into Columns” on page 1572. The new text object becomes the frontmost object in the scene. Clicking outside the text body or clicking another tool finishes the creation of the text object and allows you to modify the text object or the characters within it. To enter text along a path: 1. Create a path—see “Creating and Deleting a Path” on page 1582. 2. Using the Text tool, click the path and type in some text. Using Special or Unicode Characters You can type a special (extended) character, such as a copyright symbol (©) or any Unicode character into a text body if the font supports the actual character. TrueType fonts work better than Type 1 fonts. n Pasted characters do not take on the font that is displayed in the Font list. You will have to select the character after pasting in a text body and set the appropriate font. Determining a Character’s Unicode Value Before you can enter special or Unicode characters, you must determine their value. For example, the registered trademark symbol (®) has a Unicode value of 00AE. You can look up the value in the Character Map utility in Windows. To determine the Unicode value using the Character Map utility: 1. On the Windows desktop, select Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map. The Unicode Character Map window is displayed. 1564 Working with Text Selected character Unicode value 2. From the Font list, select the font that you intend to use in Avid DS Nitris. 3. Click the character you want to use. The Unicode value appears in the lower-left corner of the Character Map window. Use this four-character value in Avid DS Nitris. Entering Special and Unicode Characters Once you know the special or Unicode value of the character, you can enter it in a text body in Avid DS Nitris. The hexadecimal Unicode value is used to identify special or Unicode characters; this value appears in the Info property editor. To enter a Unicode value: 1. Click in a text body. 2. Hold down the Alt key and type the value on the numeric keypad. For example, the registered trademark (®) symbol in the Times New Roman font uses the Alt+0174 key sequence. 3. Release the Alt key. The special or Unicode character appears in the text body and its hexadecimal value appears in the Info property editor. 1565 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Importing Text You can import text from an ASCII text file. For example, you can import a previously created text file containing the names in a credit roll. n Only the first 6,000 characters of a text file are imported. Also, if the text file contains binary characters, only the text up to the first binary character is imported. To import text: 1. Create a text body or place the cursor in an existing text body. If a text body is not currently active, the imported text appears in a new text body that is half the width and height of the current text body. 2. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Import Text button. 3. In the Import Text dialog box, select the ASCII text file to import. The text in the selected text file appears in the current text body, using the current object properties. Text Overflow When a text object contains more characters than can appear at one time, the text object appears differently when the cursor is active in the text object. When the insertion point is in a text object, a scroll bar appears along the left edge (for rolling text) or bottom edge (for crawling text) of the text object. The scroll bar allows you to view and edit any part of the text in the text object. A scroll bar does not appear for path text. n Tip: If you’re currently editing text, press Esc to adjust the scroll bar. Rolling text Scroll bar 1566 Crawling text Scroll bar Working with Text When the cursor is not in a text object, a scroll bar appears along the left edge (for rolling text) or along the bottom edge (for crawling text and path text) of text objects. The scroll position arrow controls the section of text that is visible at the current point in time, letting you create rolling or crawling text. Also, for rolling and crawling text, small arrows appear along the sides of the text object as you drag the scroll position arrow. The scroll bar appears when you’re editing text, whereas the scroll position slider appears when you’re animating the section of text visible over time. Rolling text Crawling text Scroll position slider Scroll position arrow More text indicators Path text Scroll position arrow n To edit the scroll position property of a text body, select the text body with the Edit tool and adjust the Scroll Position control in the Text property editor. For more information, see “Controlling Rolling, Crawling, and Path Text” on page 1579. Placing the Insertion Point To specify the location where you want to type new text in a text object, place the insertion point (displayed as a vertical bar) at the desired location in the block of text. The following table describes the different ways that you can move the insertion point within the text. 1567 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To move to Press this key Previous character Left Arrow Next character Right Arrow Previous line Up Arrow Next line Down Arrow Resizing a Text Object If you resize a text object, you can reformat the text by: n • Scaling the text along with the text object or • Resizing the text object only, keeping the font size(s) of the text the same. This is not available for text on a path. To scale the text as you resize the text object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a text object. 2. Drag one of the object’s bounding box handles. Before After To resize the text object but not the text within it: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a text object. 2. Hold down the Alt key and drag one of the object’s bounding box handles. 1568 Working with Text Al t-d rag Before After The text within the text object reformats to the new dimensions. For rolling text, the text wraps to fit the text object. For crawling text, you see more or less of the text. Selecting and Deselecting Text Before you can modify a block of text (change its font, size, style, or other attribute), you must select the text. You can select text directly in the viewer or in the 3D DVE Layers view if the text is difficult to edit because it’s rotated or not visible. To select a block of text, do one of the following: t Drag across a block of text. t With the insertion point at one end of a text block, hold down the Shift key and click at the other end of the text block. The selected text is highlighted in pink. To select all the text in a text object: t With the cursor in a text object, click the Select All button in the 3D DVE Layers toolbar. 1569 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To select individual letters: t Using the Edit tool, hold down the Alt key and click a letter at the same time. Now release the Alt key and you can still continue selecting individual letters. To select multiple letters: t Using the Edit tool, hold down the Shift key and click the letters you want to select. A red bounding box surrounds the selected letter(s), which you can now edit individually. They are, however, still part of the text object. To deselect selected text, do one of the following: t t Click anywhere in a text object. From the 3D DVE Layers toolbar, click the Deselect All button. Editing Text You can use common cut, copy, or paste operations on text. To cut, copy, or paste text: 1. From the viewer, select some text. 2. From the Edit menu, select one of the following: - Cut or press Ctrl+X to cut the text. - Copy or press Ctrl+C to copy the text. - Paste or press Ctrl+V to paste the text. Formatting Text You can format blocks and columns of text, such as changing the font, font size, as well as adjusting column width and alignment. 1570 Working with Text Changing Fonts and Font Sizes Traditionally, a font is a specific typeface (type family) at a specific font size (height), and with specific font styles (visual enhancements). In Avid DS Nitris, a font is defined as a specific typeface. The size and styles are specified separately. To change the font and font size of text: 1. Using the Text tool, select a block of text. 2. From the Text property editor, select a font from the Font list. n Tip: To try different fonts, display the font list and press the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard. 3. Set the Size value. You can also change the font size of the text in a text object by scaling the text object itself using the Edit tool—see “Scaling Objects” on page 1543. Changing the Direction of Text As you type new characters into a text object, the text cursor moves from left to right by default. You can switch the direction if you’re typing in a language that is read from right to left, such as Hebrew. You can switch the direction of a text object at any time. To change the direction of text in a text object: t Using the Text tool, right-click in a text object, and select Direction and one of the following: - Left-to-Right to add each new character to the right of the previous character. This is the default direction. - Right-to-Left to add each new character to the left of the previous character. 1571 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling n The text in a text object that uses the Right-to-Left direction does not automatically switch to right-aligned text. Aligning Text into Columns By default, a text object contains a single column of left-aligned text. You can create columns of text, change the width and alignment of text within a column, and remove columns. Columns are useful for tabular information or to save vertical space, such as when using a three-column layout for names in a credit roll. The text within each column should fit within the width of the column. n You cannot animate the number of columns, the width of columns, or the alignment of text within columns over the duration of a text object. Text alignment does not work for crawling text, including text crawling along a path. However, you can align static text on a path. Adding a Column You can add a column to a text body to break a line of text into two separate sections, each of which can have its own text alignment. For example, you can use a two-column layout for ending credits, where the actresses’s name is right-aligned in the first column and the character she portrays is left-aligned in the second column. Before After adding a column and typing text into it. To add a column: 1. Using the Text tool, place the insertion point in the paragraph that contains the column. 2. From the Paragraph property editor, select the row that corresponds to the column. Each column defined in the current paragraph of the text body appears as a row of the following values: 1572 Working with Text - Left: The left edge of the column. - Right: The right edge of the column. - Alignment: The alignment of the text within the column. The Left and Right values are numbers between 0 (left edge of the text body) and 100 (right edge). The distance between the Left and Right values defines the width of a column. 3. Select the Update All Selected Paragraphs option to apply changes to selected paragraphs only. 4. Click the Add button. You can create up to ten columns in a paragraph. The existing column’s width is split in half. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each new column that you add. 6. To type in the next column, press Tab. Tab characters are interpreted as a jump to the next column in a paragraph. Removing a Column You can remove a column when you no longer need to separate the text alignment for sections of text. 1573 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Before (two columns) After removing the right column and resizing one column to its full width To remove a column: 1. Using the Text tool, place the insertion point in a text body. 2. From the Paragraph property editor, select the entry that corresponds to the column you want to remove. n You cannot remove the last column of text. Each text object must contain at least one column. 3. Click the Remove button. 4. If you want the remaining columns to occupy the space left by the removed column, adjust their widths. n The remaining columns do not automatically widen to occupy the space left by the removed column. For more information, see “Changing a Column’s Width” on page 1574. The text in the removed column moves to the previous column, separated from the previous column’s contents by a space. If you remove the first column, the text moves to the next column. If you change from two columns to one column, the text word-wraps. However, if you start with three or more columns, the text does not word-wrap. Changing a Column’s Width You can change the width of a column to adjust the positioning of text within the column. You can adjust the position of adjacent columns by creating a gap, called a gutter, between them. If you’re using justified or equally spaced columns, gutters are important to help differentiate the contents in each column. By default, there is no gap between columns. 1574 Working with Text To change the width of a column: 1. Using the Text tool, place the insertion point in the paragraph that contains the column. 2. From the Paragraph property editor, select the row that corresponds to the column whose width you want to change. 3. To change the left edge of a column, click the Left column value, and then change the value in the text body. Press Enter. The width of a column is relative to the width of the column’s text body, where 0 is the left edge of the text body and 100 is the right edge. Columns cannot overlap. Column 1 0 Column 2 45 55 100 Gutter (10%) 4. To change the right edge of a column, click the Right column value and then change the value in the text body. Press Enter. The text in the current column adjusts to the new column width, but long lines of text do not word wrap. By changing the left and right sides of adjacent columns, you change the gutter between the columns. Setting All Columns to the Same Width Balancing the columns is another way to adjust the positioning of text in multiple columns, so that they use the same width for all the columns on a line. You can also adjust columns after removing a column to make the widths of each column the same. 1575 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To set all the columns in a paragraph to the same width: 1. Using the Text tool, place the insertion point in the paragraph that contains the column. 2. From the Paragraph property editor, click the Balance button. Changing a Column’s Text Alignment You can change the alignment or positioning of text within a column to make the text more readable or to produce a specific type of effect, such as text that is right-aligned and next to the left edge of a graphic in a scene. Each column of text can be aligned to either the left or right sides of the column, centered within the column, or aligned to both sides of the column, with extra spacing added either between words or characters. To change the text alignment in a column: 1. Using the Text tool, place the insertion point in a text body. 2. Right-click in the column of text, select Align and one of the following: Left, Center, Right, Justify, or Equally Space. The text in the selected column uses the selected alignment. Center Left Justify 1576 Right Equally Space Working with Text Adjusting the Kerning Kerning or character spacing is the horizontal space between characters in a text object. When you adjust character spacing, you’re adjusting the space after each selected character, except the last selected character on a line within a justified or equally spaced column. By default, characters are automatically kerned, based on the information in the character’s font. n Tip: You can create text that expands from the center by using an unclipped text body with Equally Spaced justification and then adjusting the kerning. To adjust kerning: 1. Using the Text tool, select a block of characters or place the cursor between two characters to adjust the kerning between them. 2. From the Text property editor, adjust the Kerning value. Kerning = 0 Kerning = 3 Kerning = 6 Adjusting the Leading Leading or line spacing is the vertical space between the lines of a wordwrapped paragraph. When you adjust the leading, you’re adjusting the space after each selected line, except the last selected line in a paragraph. Leading = 100 Leading = 150 Leading = 200 To adjust leading: 1. Using the Text tool, select or place the cursor in the lines of text you want to adjust. 2. From the Paragraph property editor, change the Leading value. 1577 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling The leading changes in increments of 10 percent of the font size. n Tip: A common setting for leading is 120 percent of the font size (that is, the Leading value is set to 120). Adjusting the Paragraph Spacing Paragraph spacing is the vertical space between the last line of one paragraph and the first line of the next paragraph. When you adjust paragraph spacing, you’re adjusting the space after each selected paragraph. Space after first paragraph = 50 Space after first paragraph = 100 Space after first paragraph = 200 To adjust paragraph spacing: 1. Using the Text tool, either select or place the cursor in the paragraphs you want to adjust. 2. From the Paragraph property editor, change the Space After value. Paragraph spacing changes in increments of 10 percent of the font size. Adjusting the Text Margins By default, the characters in a text body can appear anywhere within the text body’s dimensions. However, if you’re using a background material and want to offset the text from the sides of the text body and edge of the background material, increase the side’s margin. You can specify a margin along the top and bottom of a text body and simulate a margin along the left and right sides by adjusting the text column settings. 1578 Working with Text Top margin Height of text body Bottom margin To adjust the top and bottom margins of a text body: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a text body. 2. From the Text property editor, adjust the Top Margin and Bottom Margin values. Adjusting the Top margin moves the text downward. Adjusting the Bottom margin (for rolling text only) crops the text from the bottom of the text body. The Bottom margin value has no effect on static and crawling text. To simulate the left or right margin: From the Paragraph property editor, do the following: t Adjust the Left value for the leftmost column in the text body. t Adjust the Right value for the rightmost column in the text body. For more information, see “Changing a Column’s Width” on page 1574. Controlling Rolling, Crawling, and Path Text For rolling, crawling, and path text, the text scrolls within the text object over time. The text in a text object is not visible at the start and end of a text object’s duration. For example, you may see five lines of text roll by per second or 10 characters crawl by per second. Creating Rolling or Crawling Text Creating rolling, crawling, and path text is as simple as selecting an option from the Text pop-up menu. Path text is a variation of crawling text. To make the text roll or crawl within the text object: Using the Text tool, right-click in the text body, and select Motion and one of the following: 1579 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling - n Roll to make the text roll. The Roll option is not available for text on a path. The text body’s Scroll Position property is automatically set up for a rolling motion from the bottom to the top of the text body. - Crawl to make the text crawl. A crawling motion is created from right to left (for nonpath text) or from the start to the end of the path (for path text). You can change the speed and direction of the motion by adjusting the Scroll Position property or using the scroll position arrow. For more information, see “Controlling Crawling Speed and Direction” on page 1580. For nonpath text, a scroll position slider appears along the side of the text body. Along the slider is a scroll position arrow that controls the portion of the text visible at the current time. If you change from Roll to Crawl, the text appears on a single line and word-wrapped lines or paragraphs are ignored but preserved. You may want to shorten the text body to fit the single line of text. If you change from Crawl to Roll, paragraphs are word-wrapped. n If you click the text object or click away from the text body and are at the start or end of the text body’s duration, no text appears in the text boxes. This is because, by default, the text in rolling or crawling text bodies moves across the text body over its duration, starting and ending with the text just out of view. Controlling Crawling Speed and Direction For rolling and crawling text, you can adjust the speed and direction of the roll or crawl by using the Text property editor (the scroll position does not apply to static text) or the Text tool. 1580 Working with Text Scroll position = 33 Scroll position = 50 Scroll position = 66 Rolling text Crawling text Path text To adjust a text object’s scroll speed and direction with the Edit tool: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a text object. 2. From the Text property editor, adjust the Scroll Position. Higher values move the text upward (for rolling text) or to the left (for crawling text). Lower values move the text downward or to the right. To adjust a text object’s scroll speed and direction with the Text tool: 1. Using the Text tool, click in a text body. 2. Press Esc. A scroll position slider and arrow appear for each text object. 3. Drag the scroll position arrow to specify the section of text visible in the text body at the current time. The scroll position arrow’s location in the slider represents the Scroll Position value in the Text property editor. Clipping Text The characters in a rolling or crawling text body are, by default, visible only within the dimensions of the text body; characters (or portions of them) are clipped to these dimensions. 1581 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Turning off clipping allows characters to appear and move outside of the text body. Unclipped text is useful if you want characters to fly off the screen, or if the text has a shadow that you do not want clipped. n Text that moves along a path is always clipped between characters. The character either appears or does not appear; you will not see a partial character at the ends of a path. Static text Clipped Unclipped Rolling text Clipped Unclipped To clip text to the dimensions of the text body: t n Using the Text tool, right-click in the text body and select Clip to Text Box. Clipped rolling text boxes are not clipped on their left and right sides. Clipped crawling text boxes are not clipped on their top and bottom sides. Placing and Moving Text on a Path You can place text on and scroll text along straight or curved paths. A path is an object that uses a curved path as the baseline for text, which can crawl along the path. You create and edit paths using the shape drawing tools. Like other objects, you can move, scale, and rotate the path in three-dimensional space. Creating and Deleting a Path You can create a path from a shape, convert a path into a shape, and delete a path. 1582 Working with Text n Closed paths are not filled. Also, paths are not drawn when you process the project. To create a path: 1. Draw a path using any of the shape drawing tools—see “Creating Graphics” on page 1552. 2. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Shape to Path button. The selected shape becomes a path. If you convert a compound shape, the first shape within the compound shape becomes the path. A small square along the path indicates the start of the path and, for leftaligned text, the start of the first character. To convert a path to a shape: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a path. 2. From the Commands toolbar, click the Path to Shape button. To delete a path: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a path. 2. Press Delete. Any text that was on the path is deleted. Adding Text to a Path After you create a path, you can use the Text tool to add text to it. Before typing text After typing text To add text to a path: 1. Using the Text tool, click above a path. The pointer changes to indicate that you can enter text on the path. 2. Type in your text. 1583 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling By default, text on a path is static and left aligned. That is, the text starts at the beginning of the path, but does not scroll along the path. Removing Text from a Path Like other text objects, you can remove sections of text from a path. You can also delete the path to remove both the path and the text on it. To remove text from a path: t Using the Text tool, delete the text as you normally would for any text object. The remaining text readjusts accordingly. n Deleting all the text on a path does not delete the path. The path is empty. Positioning Text on a Path Like static and crawling text, you can adjust the position of text on a path. You can also reverse the direction of the text on the path and offset the text from the path. To position text on a path: t Left-aligned Center-aligned t 1584 If the text is static on the path, right-click the path, and use the text alignment commands in the menu or the Align buttons on the 3D DVE toolbar—see “Changing a Column’s Text Alignment” on page 1576. Right-aligned Justified Equally-spaced If the text scrolls along the path, adjust the Scroll Position value in the Text property editor—see “Controlling Crawling Speed and Direction” on page 1580. Working with Text Scroll Position = 10 Scroll Position = 50 Scroll Position = 80 For rectangular paths, the start of the path is the upper-left corner. For elliptical paths, the start of the path is the top of the ellipse. For all other shapes, the start of the path is the first control point you created for the shape. To reverse the motion of the text on a path, do one of the following: t From the Text property editor, adjust the Scroll Position value. t Right-click above the shape and select Reverse Direction. To offset the text from a path: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a path. Make sure you do not select the text on the path. 2. From the Path property editor, adjust the Baseline Offset value. A value of zero means that the baseline of the text is exactly on the path. Values greater than zero shift the text above the path, whereas values less than zero push the text below the path. Baseline offset = 0 Baseline offset = 5 Baseline offset = –5 Orienting Text on a Path By default, characters point in the direction perpendicular to their location on a path. For example, if the text moves along a circular path, the characters point away from the center of the circle. If you prefer to keep the characters upright all the time, adjust the path’s orientation. 1585 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To adjust the orientation of the text on a path: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a path and make sure you do not select the text on the path. 2. From the Path property editor, set the Orientation to one of the following: - Upright to make the characters stay vertical (to the local Y axis) all the time. - Follow to make the characters point perpendicular to their locations along the path. This is the default setting. Orientation = Upright Orientation = Follow You can further control the orientation of text on a path by adjusting the individual character’s Rotation properties. So, a path that uses Upright orientation, but whose characters have Rotation values other than zero, produces text that is not upright. Controlling Object Properties Based on Path Position By default, the properties of characters on a path are dependent on time like all other properties. For example, to change the size of a character over time, you modify the Font Size function curve. However, you can also control the font size (or any property) of a character based on its position along its path. For example, you can easily create characters that gradually increase and then decrease in size as they scroll along their path. To animate character properties based on their positions along a path: 1. Using the Text tool, click a path. 2. With the pointer above the path, right-click and select Property Mode and one of the following: - 1586 Time to base the property values of each character on the current time in the 3D DVE session. This is the default mode. Working with Text - n Position to base the property values of each character on the character’s position along the path. The text is left justified while in this mode. When using the Position mode in text along a path, you must be in Autokey mode. Position property mode Font size changes based on the character’s position along the path. Time property mode All characters use the same font size. 3. Select the characters on the path that you want to modify. In most cases, you will want to select all the characters on the path. 4. Adjust one or more properties of the selected characters at different points in time. n If the text is crawling along the path and the path is in Position property mode, the text may not scroll completely off the path. To ensure that the text scrolls off the path, adjust the Scroll Position value at the end of the path’s duration. 1587 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Working with Surfaces and Materials A surface is an area of an object. You can control the visibility and appearance of each surface by applying a set of properties to it called a material. You can modify the appearance of the various surfaces of an object. For example, you can apply a brick texture to a rectangle to give the appearance of a brick wall, a gradient to a wavy shape that runs along the left edge of the view to enhance a scene, or a reflective texture to the edges of the characters in a word to simulate a chrome outline. You can apply a material to the following surfaces: • Main: The front and back sides of an object. • Profile: The surface created by the profile effect of an object—see “Applying Profile Effects” on page 1550. • Extrude: The surface created by the extruded sides of an object—see “Extruding an Object” on page 1550. • Background: The area behind all objects in text objects or the reverse side of DVEs—see “Using a Background” on page 1517. Main material Profile material Extrude material Background material Each material can be one of the following types: • n Although you can import Avid Marquee® projects that use gradient materials, you cannot create or edit them. • 1588 Solid color: A single color. Texture: An image or an input. Working with Surfaces and Materials In addition, a material can be lit by light sources. For more information, see “Working with Lights and Shadows” on page 1601. You do not need to create a material to change the appearance of an object. A material is simply a definition or a shortcut way of setting an object’s material properties to specific values. Applying Materials to Objects You can apply materials to an object or one of its properties to change the object’s appearance. You can apply different materials to the front, back, profile, and extruded materials of an object. All objects have front and back faces, but only extruded objects have an extruded face, and only objects with a profile effect have a profile face. You can specify a material for the background of text objects. For more information, see “Applying Profile Effects” on page 1550. n By default, when the main surface of an object has a material on it, the material appears on the front and back surfaces of the object. By default, an object uses the main material for the profile and extrude effects. When you apply a texture to a text body, each character in the text body uses a copy of that texture. If, instead, you want the texture to appear across all the characters in the text body, you must change the texture mapping setting. For more information, see “Editing Materials” on page 1590. To apply a material to the surface of an object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the Surfaces property editor, select a surface from the Surface list, and adjust the material properties. Using a Custom Material for an Object’s Surface By default, the profile and extrude surfaces of an object use the main surface’s material. However, you can set each surface to use a different material. 1589 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling To enable a surface to use a custom material: 1. From the Surfaces property editor, select the Enable Surface option. 2. Adjust the material properties. Skipping the Drawing of the Back Faces If you do not intend to show the back faces of an object (for example, you do not intend to rotate the object around the X or Y axis), you can skip the drawing of the back faces. As a result, you can decrease processing time and improve the appearance of transparent three-dimensional objects that are rotated. To skip drawing of the back faces of an object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the Render property editor, select the Cull Back Faces option. The back faces of the object become transparent. Editing Materials A material consists of properties (characteristics) that describe its appearance. For example, you can modify a material’s type, color, opacity, and whether it’s affected by light sources in the scene. You can modify the material properties of a surface of an object. To edit a material used by an object: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the Surfaces property editor, select a surface to edit from the Surface list. 3. Adjust the material properties. Changing the Type of Material Materials can be solid colors or textures. You can change a material’s type at any time. To change a material’s type: t 1590 From the Surfaces property editor, select a type from the Type list. Working with Surfaces and Materials Changing a Material’s Base Color For solid-color materials, the base color is the color of the material. If textures are tinted, the base color is the tint color of the material. For more information, see “Tinting a Texture” on page 1599. To change a material’s base color: t From the Surfaces property editor, click the Base color swatch and select a color from anywhere on the desktop. Double-click the color swatch to open the Mini Color editor. Changing a Material’s Opacity A material’s opacity controls how much of the material and the object surface on which it’s applied, is visible. Also, if you’re saving a matte, the opacity level controls the object’s participation in the generation of the matte. Opacity = 10 Opacity = 40 Opacity = 70 Opacity = 100 To change a material’s opacity: t From the Surfaces property editor, adjust the Opacity value. To use an object’s opacity setting to create a matte: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the Render property editor, select the Generate Matte option. Allowing Material to be Affected by Light Sources Materials can have two types of finishes: • Flat: A matte finish, which is not affected by light sources. The material appears the same, regardless of the lighting of the scene or the position and orientation of the surface on which the material is applied. • Lit: A glossy finish that is affected by light sources. The material changes appearance depending on the lighting of the scene and the position and orientation of the surface on which the material is applied. 1591 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Flat material Lit material Lit materials are useful for objects that have depth, such as objects that use beveled or extruded profiles. For more information, see “Applying Profile Effects” on page 1550. When a material is lit, you can adjust the specular highlight and emissive colors of the material, as well as its shininess. For more information, see “Working with Lights and Shadows” on page 1601. To allow a material to be affected by light sources: 1. From the Surfaces property editor, select the Enable Lighting option. 2. For textures, select the Tint option. Textures use the specular and emissive color settings and shininess controls only when the Tint option is selected. Adjusting the Specular Highlight Color When a light source shines on a lit material, the region of the surface that reflects the light directly to the observer (a specular highlight) appears brighter. You can control the size of the specular highlight by adjusting the shininess of the material. For more information, see “Adjusting the Shininess of a Material” on page 1594. 1592 Working with Surfaces and Materials Low specular High specular To adjust the specular highlight color of a lit material: t From the Surfaces property editor, click the Specular color swatch and select a color from anywhere on the desktop. Double-click the color swatch to open the Mini Color editor. Adjusting the Emissive Color When a light source does not shine on a lit material, the material can emit or glow with a specific color, known as its emissive color. By adjusting the emissive color, an object can appear red when lit and green when not lit. Low emissive High emissive To adjust the emissive color of a material: t From the Surfaces property editor, click the Emissive color swatch and select a color from anywhere on the desktop. Double-click the color swatch to open the Mini Color editor. 1593 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Adjusting the Shininess of a Material When a light source shines on a lit material, you can control the material’s shininess. Low shininess High shininess To adjust the shininess of a lit material: t n From the Surfaces property editor, adjust the Shininess value. Values closer to 0 simulate a very dull surface (specular highlight area is larger and the light is less focused), whereas values closer to 100 simulate a very shiny surface (specular highlight area is smaller and the light is more focused). The Shininess value has no effect if the specular color of the material is black. For more information, see “Adjusting the Specular Highlight Color” on page 1592. Simulating a Reflective Surface Using an Environment Map When a surface is lit, the specular color appears on the areas of the surface closer to a light source to simulate a highlight. You can also show a texture, called an environment map, in the specular highlight areas of the surface. An environment map is similar to a texture in Reflection mapping mode, except that an environment map lets you show a reflection of a texture on an existing texture. To use an environment map for a material: t 1594 From the Surfaces property editor, select a texture from the Texture list. Working with Surfaces and Materials To remove an environment map: t From the Surfaces property editor, click the R (reset) button. Controlling the Appearance of Overlapping Surfaces When two surfaces of the same object or different objects overlap, the material on one surface does not affect the material on the other surface. However, you can change the appearance of overlapping surfaces by using Boolean operations. For example, you can create two different colored shapes whose intersection or overlapping areas appear in a different color. When you use Boolean operations, note the following: • Shadows affect surfaces that use Boolean operations, which may not produce the effect you want. • Boolean operations do not affect the alpha channel of a scene. • If an object intersects another object at a higher position, the Boolean operation will not be apparent. Although objects in a 3D layer are positioned in three-dimensional space, their relative depths affect the order in which they are drawn in the scene. • Boolean operations do not produce results that appear correct when you’re viewing the current layer only or when you tumble the scene. To control how a surface’s material is affected by the materials of other surfaces: t n From the Surfaces property editor, select an effect from the Overlap list. When you use a Boolean operation on an object, the object does not appear antialiased in the viewer. Also, semitransparent surfaces appear opaque. Boolean operation Normal Example Description The surface is not affected by other surfaces under it. This is the default setting. 1595 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Boolean operation Example Description Invert The color of each pixel under the surface is reversed or inverted. Changes to the surface’s opacity and type do not affect the result. You can achieve the best results by using this effect on a solid surface. And The color of each pixel under the surface appears tinted. Changes to the surface’s type affect the result. A solid white surface does not produce any change to the underlying surfaces. You can achieve good results using opaque solid colors, but not as good as when combining gradients or textures with other gradients or textures or using semitransparent solid colors. Exclusive Or The color of each pixel under the surface is reversed or inverted in a way similar to the Invert overlap effect, except that the surface’s appearance affects the result. Changes to the surface’s type affect the result. You can achieve good results using opaque solid colors. Results are not as good when you combine textures. 1596 Working with Surfaces and Materials Boolean operation Example Not Or Description The color of each pixel under the surface is reversed or inverted in some combinations and tinted in other combinations. Changes to the surface’s type affect the result. A solid white surface produces black. A solid black surface produces an effect similar to the Invert overlap effect. You can achieve good results using opaque solid colors. Results are not as good when you combine gradients or textures with other gradients or textures. Positioning and Tiling a Texture on a Surface When you first apply a texture to a surface, the texture is centered on the surface. You can, however, position (offset) the texture. To position a texture on a surface: t From the Surfaces property editor, adjust the X and Y values in the Offset box. A texture is offset from its original mapping on a surface. Texture offsets are not based on the scene’s dimensions. To tile a texture on a surface: 1. From the Surfaces property editor, select the Tile option. 2. From the 3D DVE/Options property editor, select the Preferences tab. Select the Allow Tiling For DS Inputs option. n If a material is tiled, the texture is repeated on all sides. Otherwise, the texture appears only once. 1597 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Scaling a Texture on a Surface When you first apply a texture to a surface, the texture covers the entire surface. However, you can scale the texture up or down by using the controls in the Surfaces property editor. To scale a texture on a surface: t From the Surfaces property editor, adjust the X and Y values in the Scale box. A texture is scaled based on its original size, as mapped onto a surface. Texture scale factors are not based on the scene’s dimensions. n Tip: If you reduce a texture on a surface, you can see another copy of the texture next to it if you use the Tile option. Cropping a Texture on a Surface If you want to use only a region of a texture, you can crop the edges of the texture before it’s mapped to the surface. Cropping is useful for removing black lines at the borders of textures captured from a video source. Cropping is equivalent to a combined action of offsetting and scaling a texture. You can do one or the other, but not both. To crop a texture on a surface: 1. From the Surfaces property editor, click the Texture Crop button. The Crop controls are displayed. 2. In the Texture Crop box, adjust the top, left, right, and bottom values. The Crop values show the equivalent Offset and Scale values, and vice versa. Rotating a Texture on a Surface When you first apply a texture to a surface, the texture is oriented upright on the surface, based on the object’s original orientation. However, you can rotate the texture around the Z axis by using the control in the Surfaces property editor. To rotate a texture on a surface: t 1598 From the Surfaces property editor, adjust the Z value in the Rotation box. Working with Surfaces and Materials A texture is rotated based on its original orientation (no rotation), as mapped onto a surface. Controlling How a Texture is Mapped onto a Surface The mapping of a texture onto a surface controls how the texture is used. By changing the texture mapping, you can produce interesting effects. To control how a texture is mapped onto a surface: 1. From the Surfaces property editor, select one of the following from the Mapping list: Option To Local Apply the texture to each object as if it were a decal Container Apply the texture based on the dimensions of the object. For example, you can apply a texture to a shape, but make the texture relative to the scene’s dimensions. This option also allows you to apply a texture to the contents of an object, such as the characters in a text body. Reflection Use the surface of the object as if it were a mirror reflecting the texture (reflection map). Reflection maps are mainly used as “ambient” textures. 2. When you change a texture into a reflection map, the texture is enlarged to produce less detail in the reflection. If you want more detail from the texture in the reflection, scale down the texture using the controls in the Scale box. Tinting a Texture If you want to change the tone of a texture to enhance the texture or to create an interesting effect, use the tint controls in the Surfaces property editor. When a material is tinted, the base color is used as the tint color. Solid colored materials cannot be tinted. To tint a texture: 1. From the Surfaces property editor, select the Tint option. 2. Select the base color. 1599 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling n 1600 Tip: Use a brown Base color to simulate sepia-toned surfaces. Working with Lights and Shadows Working with Lights and Shadows Light sources are points in three-dimensional space that emit light, causing objects (with materials that can be affected by light) to appear illuminated. You specify the location of light sources relative to objects in the scene. Light sources exist above all other objects in the scene. Different types of light illuminate a scene in different ways. • Infinite: Light source is very far away, so that the light rays are essentially parallel to each other. The sun is an example of an infinite light source; this type of light source is also known as a directional light. • Local: The light rays extend from a single point evenly in all directions. A candle is an example of a local light source. This type of light source is also known as a point or omni-directional light. • Spot: The light rays extend from a single point in a cone shape, casting light on a specific oval or circular area of an object or scene. For local and spot lights, the intensity of the light decreases in proportion to the distance from its location. Infinite Local Spot Lights in Avid DS Nitris, just as in real life, help illuminate a scene, and give objects a particular look. Improper placement or adjustment of lights can cause unwanted effects and distract from the content in the scene. To use lights effectively, place as few lights in a scene as necessary to avoid a bleached or washed-out appearance. Also, use appropriate light settings for the material you use. For example, if you use a concrete-looking material, do not make the material shiny or have a bright specular color. Concrete is not usually shiny in real life. 1601 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Adding, Moving, and Deleting Light Sources You can add, move, and remove light sources. You can have up to eight light sources. Each light source is numbered in the viewer. To add a light source to a scene: 1. Click the Light button in the 3D DVE toolbar. The current light sources appear in the viewer. 2. Do one of the following: t Hold down the Alt key and click to add a new light source. t Right-click above the location for a new light source, and select Add Light. A new light source appears at the pointer location. By default, the light source is a white local light. n A bright or focused spot light shining on a material may produce distinct triangular patterns on the surface of objects, known as undertessellation. To reduce this problem, change the light type, widen the size of the spot light, decrease the intensity of the light, or increase tessellation. To move a light source: 1. Using the Light tool, select a light source. 2. Do one of the following: t t Drag the light source to a different location. From the Transform property editor, adjust the Position values. The lighting of the scene changes accordingly. However, shadows on objects do not change their offsets from their objects. You must modify the shadow offsets manually if you want to create more realistic shadow effects. To delete a light source: 1. Using the Light tool, select a light source. 2. Right-click and select Delete Lights or press Delete. 1602 Working with Lights and Shadows Editing Light Sources Each light source has a specific visibility, type, and color. You can change these properties and animate them over time. You can change light source properties in the Info, Transform, and Light property editors. You can adjust a light source’s function curve in the animation editor. To edit a light source: 1. Using the Light tool, select the light sources to edit by doing one of the following: t To select a single light source, click it. t To select multiple light sources, hold down the Shift key and click them. t To switch the selection of a light source, hold down the Ctrl key and click it. 2. From the Info, Transform, or Light property editor, adjust the light source properties. These property editors contain different sets of light source properties. All selected light sources use the modified properties. Turning Light Sources On or Off You can turn light sources on or off to make them affect or not affect the objects in the scene. Turning off a light source is the equivalent of a nonexistent light source. To turn a light source on/off: 1. Using the Light tool, select a light source. 2. Do one of the following: t From the Light property editor, select/deselect the Enable Lights option. t Right-click the light source and select Enable Lights or Disable Lights. 1603 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Changing the Light Type A light source’s type affects how it illuminates the scene. A light source can be an infinite, local, or spot light. For more information, see “Working with Lights and Shadows” on page 1601. To change a light source’s type: 1. Using the Light tool, select a light source. 2. Do one of the following: t From the Light property editor, select a light type from the Type list. t Right-click a light source and select a light type from the menu. Using Colored Lights By default, light sources emit a white light. However, you can change the color of the light to give lit objects a colored tint. To change the color emitted from a light source: 1. Using the Light tool, select a light source. 2. From the Light property page, click the color swatch and select a color from anywhere on the desktop. Double-click the color swatch to open the Mini Color editor. Changing the Intensity of a Light Source The intensity of a light source controls how brightly it illuminates the scene. To change the intensity of a light source: 1. Using the Light tool, select a light source. 2. From the Light property editor, adjust the Intensity value. A value of 0 produces no intensity and light is effectively disabled. A value of 100 is normal intensity. You can set the intensity to values above 100 for highly intense lights or below 0 for “negative light,” where light is absent. 1604 Working with Lights and Shadows Positioning a Light Source Light sources, like other objects in the scene, can exist at different locations in the scene. To position a light source in the scene: 1. Using the Light tool, select a light source. 2. Do one of the following: t From the Light property editor, select Spot as the type and adjust the Spot Target values. t From the Transform property editor, adjust the Position values. Adjusting Spot Light Properties Spot lights have additional properties that you can control. To position the target of a spot light: 1. Using the Light tool, select the spot light source. 2. From the Light property editor, adjust the Spot Target values. When you place the target of a spot light near or at the same position as the spot light itself, the light focuses on a specific area of the scene, which can cause lit materials to appear with triangular patterns on them. This problem is known as undertessellation and is caused by the object using the lit material not being adequately generated (subdivided into polygons) to properly create a smooth illuminated surface. For more information, see “Displaying Guides” on page 1520. To adjust the size of the area lit by a spot light: 1. Using the Light tool, select the spot light source. 2. From the Light property editor, adjust the Spot Size values. Smaller values focus the spot light onto a small area, whereas larger values lighten a larger area. To adjust the amount of falloff: 1. Using the Light tool, select a light source. 2. From the Light property editor, adjust the Spot Falloff values. 1605 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Smaller values produce little falloff, resulting in a larger, intense light region. Larger values produce a large falloff with a softer light spread. Identifying Light Sources By default, new light sources are assigned a generic name of “Light.” Like other objects in the scene, you can change the name and attach a comment to light sources. To change the name of a light source: 1. Using the Light tool, select a light source. 2. From the Info property editor, change the description in the Name text box. You can describe a light by its color, type, behavior, or other characteristics. 3. Change the description in the Comment text box. Adding Shadows to Objects Each object in a scene can include a shadow. You can control the shadow’s location relative to the object and the shadow’s appearance. n The location of an object’s shadow in a 3D layer is controlled by the object’s stacking order in the 3D DVE Layers view, not by its position along the Z axis. A shadow is the projection of an object’s outline onto a flat surface called the shadow plane. Shadows can be a solid color or a texture (also known as a shadow map). An object’s shadow can be one of the following types: 1606 • Drop shadows are on the shadow plane, which is parallel to and always behind the object. Drop shadows are not affected by light sources in the scene. • Local shadows are located on the shadow plane, which is either hinged to a side of the object’s bounding box or parallel to the object. • Projected shadows are cast from one of the light sources in the scene onto the shadow plane. By default, the shadow plane is hinged to the bottom of the scene. Working with Lights and Shadows Drop Local Projected (shadow plane and light shown) Showing and Hiding Object Shadows By default, objects do not cast shadows. When you use an object’s shadow, you can simulate the effect of casting a shadow onto a simple plane. You do not have to light an object’s surface for the object to cast a shadow. n Tip: Objects and text objects do not cast shadows. To cast shadows behind these objects, create a transparent shape the same size as the object, place it behind the object, and turn on the shape’s shadow. If all you want is the shadow, turn off the Main material for the shape. To show/hide a object’s shadow: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. You can use shadows for more than one object at a time. 2. From the Shadow property editor, select/deselect the Show Shadow option. By default, the object’s shadow appears gray (black shadow with a 50 percent opacity) and, for drop shadows, is positioned to the lower-right of the object. If the characters in a static text body are casting a shadow, you may want to unclip the text body to keep the shadow from being clipped. For more information, see “Clipping Text” on page 1581. Changing a Shadow’s Location You can easily adjust the location of an object’s shadow. For drop shadows, you can adjust the offset of the shadow from the object. For local and projected shadows, you can adjust the location and orientation of the shadow plane. 1607 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling n Shadows and objects cannot intersect, even if they’re in a 3D layer. To change the offset of a drop shadow: 1. Using the Edit tool, select the object that is casting a drop shadow. 2. From the Shadow property editor, adjust the X Offset and Y Offset values. Negative offsets move the shadow toward the left and bottom sides of the object. Positive offsets move the shadow toward the right and top sides of the object. n Tip: To create a drop shadow larger than an object, make a larger copy of the object whose main material is hidden, add a shadow to the copy, and move the copy behind the original. X offset = –1 Y offset = 1 X offset = 1 Y offset = 1 X offset = –1 Y offset = –1 X offset = 1 Y offset = –1 To change the location and orientation of local and projected shadows: 1. Using the Edit tool, select the object that’s casting the local or projected shadow. 2. In the Shadow property editor, select a light source from the Projected From list. Although all possible light sources are in the list, only those light sources actually available in the scene will produce a shadow. For example, if a scene contains three lights and you select a fourth light source, no shadow will appear. This behavior is equivalent to turning off a light source. n Light sources that are turned off still produce and affect projected shadows. When the Light tool is active, the light sources in the scene are numbered. These numbers correspond to the light numbers in the Projected From list. 1608 Working with Lights and Shadows 3. From the Hinge box, adjust the location and orientation of the shadow plane relative to the object by using the following controls: - Side to specify if the shadow plane is attached (hinged) to a side (left, right, bottom, top) of the object’s bounding box or parallel to (back) the object. Left-side hinge - Right-side Bottomhinge side hinge Top-side hinge Back-side hinge Angle to orient the shadow plane a certain number of degrees away from the object plane. 0 degrees 20 degrees 45 degrees 60 degrees 90 degrees If you set the shadow side to Back, the angle rotates the shadow around the Z axis. - Offset to position the shadow plane away from the object. For local shadows, the offset controls the distance of the shadow plane away from the hinge point. For projected shadows, the offset controls the movement of the shadow plane along global axes. -0.01 - 0.00 0.02 0.07 0.11 Skew to slant the shadow plane along its local X axis. Only local shadows can be skewed. 1609 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling 0.60 0.30 0.00 0.45 0.90 Changing a Shadow’s Appearance You can adjust the opacity, softness, color, and texture of an object’s shadow. To change the opacity of a shadow: 1. Using the Edit tool, select the object that is casting a shadow. 2. From the Shadow property editor, adjust the Opacity value. An opacity of 0 produces a completely transparent shadow, which is not very useful. An opacity of 100 produces a completely opaque shadow. Opacity = 0 Opacity = 30 Opacity = 70 Opacity = 100 To change the softness of a shadow: 1. Using the Edit tool, select the object that is casting a shadow. 2. From the Shadow property editor, adjust the Softness value. A shadow can range from very sharp edges and corners (values closer to 0) to very soft edges and corners (values closer to 250). The softer a corner, the more rounded it appears. Softness = 0 n 1610 Softness = 70 Softness = 150 Softness = 230 Tip: Soft shadows of large objects take longer to render than they do for small objects. If you’re working in the viewer, decrease the Shadowing quality setting to improve performance. For more information, see “Displaying Guides” on page 1520. Working with Lights and Shadows To change the color of a shadow: 1. Using the Edit tool, select the object that is casting a shadow. 2. From the Shadow property editor, click the color swatch and select a color from anywhere on the desktop. Double-click the color swatch to open the Mini Color editor. The selected object’s shadow color changes to the color you selected. Using Shadows to Simulate Glows Although Avid DS Nitris does not have a glow profile effect, you can use a shadow to simulate a colored glow. To simulate a colored glow: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. From the Shadow property editor, set the shadow properties to the following: t Show shadow: selected t Type: Drop t X offset: 0 t Y offset: 0 t Opacity: 50 or higher. Shadow opacity depends on the shadow color you use. t Softness: 50 or higher. The higher the softness, the longer the shadow takes to render. Use the highest level of softness required for a particular effect to reduce the rendering time. t Shadow color: Glow color. Shadow-based glows do not work well for semitransparent objects because you can see the shadow behind the semitransparent areas. 1611 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Importing and Exporting Projects If you have projects that were created using Avid Marquee, you can import them for use in Avid DS Nitris. You can import projects that contain decks, edit objects within pages, and delete decks. You cannot, however, trim or remove pages within decks, or adjust the timing. n n Projects containing decks and pages can only be imported from the standalone Marquee application. Before you can import or export Marquee projects, you’ll have to add the Import Project and Export Project buttons to the 3D DVE toolbar as they are not included in the toolbar by default. For more information, see “Customizing Toolbar Buttons” in the Help. To import a Marquee project: 1. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Import Project button. 2. From the Load Project File dialog box, select a Marquee project, and click OK. The project is loaded in Avid DS Nitris. To export a project: 1. From the 3D DVE toolbar, click the Export Project button. 2. From the Save Project File dialog box, select a folder in which to save your project, and give it a name. 3. Click OK. Working with Decks and Pages A page object lets you create transitions between different objects or collections of objects. For example, you can use page objects to cycle through several sports box scores. You can also use pages to encapsulate or group objects for easier placement in the scene or to create hierarchical behaviors, such as an object rotating in a page that also rotates. A collection or sequence of pages is called a deck. 1612 Importing and Exporting Projects A deck object defines the position, size, and overall duration of the pages within it. Each page within the deck exists for a specific part of the overall duration. As you adjust a deck object, by default, its pages and their contents scale accordingly. If you press Alt and drag the deck object, the deck’s contents stay the same size. You can create gaps between pages to let the objects in lower tracks show through. n You can import projects that contain decks, edit objects within pages, and delete decks. You cannot, however, trim or remove pages within decks, or adjust the timing. Deleting Decks You can delete decks of pages if you no longer need them. To delete a deck: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a deck object by clicking along its border. n Tip: Displaying the construction lines lets you see the borders of a deck. For more information, see “Showing Construction Lines” on page 1521. 2. Press Delete. Moving between Pages When you want to create objects in a page or view a page in a deck, move to the page by changing the current time. Objects within a page exist for the duration of the page. If you intend to animate object properties over the duration of their page, be sure to move to the start or end of the page’s duration to set the starting and ending points for the animation. To move between pages of a deck, do one of the following: t In the transport controls, type a timecode in the Timecode Locator box and press Enter. t Move the position indicator on the timeline. 1613 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Adding Objects to a Page When you want to add objects to a page, you can either create them within the page’s dimensions directly, or copy or move them from another page. You can also move deck objects within other page objects. n An object is not considered to be in a page unless the upper-left corner of its bounding box lies within the dimensions of the page. If an object is not moving along with its page, you must move the object to the page. When you copy or move objects between pages, their locations, sizes, and orientations are retained. You can create hierarchical behaviors by placing a deck in a page of another deck (by cutting or copying the deck into the page of another deck). For example, as a deck rotates, a shape can rotate in a page of a deck. To copy or move an object between pages: 1. Using the Edit tool, select an object. 2. Select Edit and one of the following: - Copy to copy the object. - Cut to move the object. 3. Click in the page on which you want to place the object. 4. Select Edit > Paste. Editing Objects within a Page You can edit a page’s objects as you would any other object in the viewer. You may need to move to the page’s position in time or zoom in to make it easier to edit objects. Resizing a Deck When you want to change the size of a page, you can modify the dimensions of the page’s deck. All pages in the deck use the same dimensions. You can either scale the deck and its contents, or resize the deck to keep the contents. 1614 Importing and Exporting Projects To scale a deck and its contents: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a deck. 2. Drag one of the deck’s bounding box handles. The deck and its pages change to the new dimensions. Original deck Scaled-down deck To resize a deck, keeping the deck’s contents the same size: 1. Using the Edit tool, select a deck. 2. Hold down the Alt key and drag one of the deck’s bounding box handles. The deck changes to the new dimensions, but the contents stay centered in the deck. 1615 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling Setting the Output Options The rendering process usually involves a trade-off between rendering speed and image quality. This section provides some useful tips to consider when rendering. Here is a suggested workflow for you to consider: 1. While working in a 3D DVE session, work in the Direct View mode if you don’t need to see all the others effects in your sequence. This eliminates the need to process all the effects in your sequence. Also, use low quality viewer settings and suspend output to the output monitor when creating a scene in the Direct View mode—see “Working in Direct View Mode” on page 1519. n The Low quality setting for the viewer produces aliased results. However, Low quality for rendering produces antialiased results. To work more quickly, suspend output to the output monitor. 2. Once you’re ready to preview your work, use low quality settings to preview animation or text. 3. Next, preview a high-quality single frame by outputting. 4. And finally, when you’re ready to do the final output, set the quality options to high. To set the quality level: 1. From the 3D DVE/Options property editor, select the Direct View tab. 2. Adjust any of the following properties that affect the quality of objects rendered in the viewer: 1616 t From the Antialiasing list, select one of the following: - None to apply no antialiasing. This setting produces jagged or aliased edges. - Fast 2D to draw flat objects. t Texturing to control the quality of textured surfaces in proportion to the time required to render the texture onto the surface. t Lighting to control the quality of lit surfaces. t Tessellation to control the smoothness or approximation of curved edges on characters and shapes. t Shadowing to control the quality of soft shadows. Setting the Output Options t Motion Blur to apply a motion blur on fast moving objects. Dampening Jittery Text At certain speeds, small text that scrolls vertically can sometimes appear to jitter. This is noticeable along the top and bottom edges of the scrolling characters. To dampen the effect of jittery text that scrolls vertically: 1. From the 3D DVE/Options property editor, select the Output tab. 2. Select the Suppress Vertical Jitter option. A one-pixel blur is applied to the text to soften the jitter. n If the text is not moving vertically or if no jitter exists, you should not use the jitter suppression option. 1617 Chapter 9 3D DVE and 3D Titling 1618 Chapter 10 Image Effects Image effects encompass a wide variety of effects that you can apply to video clips, tracks, layers, and trees. These include blur, fade-in, fade-out, and noise, to name a few. For descriptions of all other image effects, see “Image Effects Reference” in the Help. An image effect is a type of effect that you can apply to video clips, tracks, or Effects Trees. Image effects also include the Impressionist, Painterly, and source generator effects. Chapter 10 Image Effects 3D Warp Effect The 3D Warp effect lets you create your own 3D scenes in SOFTIMAGE®|3D and load them into Avid DS Nitris. You can apply the 3D Warp effect to clips, tracks, transitions, trees, or as a source generator. Avid DS Nitris provides a set of 3D animated scenes, such as page turns and a melting screen. Depending on how you created your 3D scene in SOFTIMAGE|3D, you can adjust some scene properties from within Avid DS Nitris. Adjustable parameters are displayed on the Generic property page of the 3D Warp effect. Applying a 3D Warp effect to clips or tracks lets you composite clips together, so that you can display an image over a specified duration using a warp effect, such as a shatter or folding sphere. If you are creating a simple composite, you can create the 3D Warp effect on a background track in the Editing layout. Applying a 3D Warp effect as a transition lets you change from one clip to another using a warp effect, such as a page turn. When you process the 3D Warp effect in Avid DS Nitris, you create the final aspect of the 3D scene’s material definition by processing objects’ surfaces with respect to the light source. This creates a visible surface that is shaded according to the parameters set for material and texture attributes. n 1620 Tip: To increase performance, work in a lower resolution. 3D Warp Effect To use the 3D Warp effect: 1. Apply the 3D Warp effect to a clip, track, tree, as a transition, or generate a clip using this effect—see “Generating a 3D Warp Clip” on page 1623. n If you applied 3D Warp as a transition, the Source property page appears in the property editor. 2. On the General property page, select an effect from the Select Effect list. 3. In the Rendering Switches box, select a rendering switch. The rendering switches provide a quick method to turn on/off the global parameters used in your 3D scene. 4. In the Preview Mode box, select the following: - Active while scrubbing to see the results in the viewer as you scrub the position indicator on the timeline. - Wireframe to see the outline of the 3D Warp effect. - Shaded to see the shaded view of the 3D Warp effect. 1621 Chapter 10 Image Effects 5. If you applied the effect as a transition, set the edit point to the Start, End, or Center of the transition at the top of the property editor. You can also specify the exact number of frames for the Dur (duration) of the transition. 6. On the Timing property page, adjust the In and Out values. On occasion, the rendered 3D scene may not have the same quality as the original image in Avid DS Nitris. This can be due to different lighting, antialiasing, etc., applied to the 3D scene in SOFTIMAGE|3D. To compensate for the quality change, you can dissolve the first and last frames of the original image into the 3D scene in Avid DS Nitris over a duration of frames. You can use the In and Out controls. This creates a smoother transition between the original image and the 3D scene. Adjusting the In and Out values modifies the value in the Amount box, as well as the function curve. 7. On the Generic property page, adjust the 3D scene properties as required. 8. If you applied the 3D Warp effect as a transition, select the Source tab and do the following: t Use the Opacity controls to adjust the opacity of the effect. Lower values create a transparent effect and higher values create an opaque effect. t From the Source box, select one of the following: - To to apply the effect to the clip in which the transition is coming from. For example, if you apply the Shatter effect as a transition, the clip that you are coming from will shatter into the clip that you are going to, leaving the clip that you are going to at the end of the effect. 1622 3D Warp Effect Effect applied to this clip Results in viewer - From to apply the effect to the clip to which the transition is going. The clip that you are going will shatter into the clip that you are coming from, leaving the clip that you are coming from at the end of the effect. Effect applied to this clip Results in viewer Click the Help button for detailed information on the 3D Warp properties. Generating a 3D Warp Clip You can generate a clip with a 3D scene using the 3D Warp effect. To generate a clip with the 3D Warp effect: 1. On the timeline, select the region on which to generate a clip. 2. From the toolbar, click Generate > Source Generator Clip. The Load Preset dialog box is displayed. 3. From the \Source Generators folder, select the 3D Warp effect. A 3D Warp clip is generated on the timeline and the 3D Warp property editor is displayed. 1623 Chapter 10 Image Effects 4. On the General property page, click New to load a 3D scene as a source generator—see “Loading a New 3D Warp Effect” on page 1624. 5. In the New Effect dialog box, load a new 3D Warp effect. Loading a New 3D Warp Effect Once you apply the 3D Warp effect, you can load a new 3D scene that was created in SOFTIMAGE|3D to be used as a 3D Warp effect. To load a 3D scene: 1. In the 3D Warp property editor, select the General tab. 2. Click the New button. The New Effect dialog box is displayed. 3. Select an Effect Category. You can select Transition, Effect, Source, or all three categories, depending on how the 3D scene was created in SOFTIMAGE|3D. Selecting multiple categories will add the effect as multiple entries in the warpnames.lst file in the \Program Files\Avid\DS_v7.x\DSSystem\effectsfiles folder. This folder is on the drive on which you installed Avid DS Nitris. For example, if you selected Transition and Effect, you can load the new effect from the Select Effect list when you apply the 3D Warp effect as a transition or effect. However, the new effect name will not appear in the Select Effect list if you apply the 3D Warp effect as a source generator because this option was not selected. 4. Click the Browse button. 5. In the Open dialog box, locate the folder that contains the 3D scene and select it. 6. Click the Open button. The Path Name and Scene Name fields in the New Effect dialog box are updated to reflect your selection. 7. Type a name in the Effect Name box. 8. In the New Effect dialog box, click OK. The new 3D Warp effect is applied. The next time you apply a 3D Warp effect, this new effect will be available in the Select Effect list. 1624 3D Warp Effect Creating 3D Warp Effects in SOFTIMAGE|3D You can create your own 3D warp effects in SOFTIMAGE|3D and load them into Avid DS Nitris to be used as a clip/track effect, source generator, or transition. Two scene templates, template-grid.1-0.dsc and template-lights.10.dsc, are included on the Avid DS Nitris CD that form the basis of most of your 3D warp effects. A third template, tutorial-grid.1-0.dsc, demonstrates how to create expressions that control an object’s size from within Avid DS Nitris. While you don’t have to use these templates together, you will always use the grid template, as this is the starting point for your 3D scene. With these templates, you can easily adjust parameters to create your own effects. Template-grid.1-0.dsc As its name implies, this is a grid template that you use to create a 3D scene. It was created using very specific parameters to correctly match the 3D scene to the image in Avid DS Nitris. Using this template, you can create three kinds of effects for Avid DS Nitris: • Clip or track effects 1625 Chapter 10 Image Effects These types of effects only require one video input in Avid DS Nitris. The 3D scene is keyed over the clip that is used as the background. When you create the 3D scene for these types of effects, use one grid with a texture. • Source generators This type of effect requires no video input in Avid DS Nitris, as the clip you generate is considered the video input. When you create the 3D scene for this type of effect, use one grid with a texture. However, if you simply want to import a 3D scene into Avid DS Nitris, you don’t need a grid or a texture. • Transition effects This type of effect requires two video inputs in Avid DS Nitris: the foreground and background. When you create the 3D scene for this type of effect, make sure you copy the grid and apply two individual textures, one to each grid. Both the foreground and background planes are rendered in SOFTIMAGE|3D. 1626 3D Warp Effect To preserve the alignment at the start of the effect between the 3D scene and the image in Avid DS Nitris, you should not adjust the following: • Camera • Grid size or position • Animation applied to the ambient and diffuse properties of the first frame Template-lights.1-0.dsc The template-lights.1-0.dsc template shows you how to expose parameters used in SOFTIMAGE|3D from within Avid DS Nitris. You don’t have to use this template, but it provides a good example of how to expose light position parameters in Avid DS Nitris. You can use the template to position key and fill lights for your scene, and to see how the expressions were created. Each expression you create provides access to those parameters in Avid DS Nitris. You can add your own expressions to control anything in SOFTIMAGE|3D that can be controlled by an expression. 1627 Chapter 10 Image Effects Tutorial-grid.1-0.dsc The tutorial-grid.1-0.dsc template provides a simple example of how to expose controls in Avid DS Nitris that control an object’s size. You can explore how local variables in an expression interact with the model note. Linking the Database In order to work with the scenes included with the Avid DS Nitris CD, you should link to the database in the \Profiles\Avid\DS_v7.x\DSSystem\SoftDB folder (on the drive on which Avid DS Nitris is installed). Before linking the database, you must share the database from your Avid DS Nitris system. This will prevent potential problems which may arise in SOFTIMAGE|3D because of spaces in the names of the SoftDB parent directories. To link to the SoftDB database: 1. Locate the SoftDB database in the \Program Files\Avid\DS_v7.x\DSSystem\SoftDB folder and share it. 2. In SOFTIMAGE|3D, open DB Manager. 3. Click the Link DB button. The Set Database dialog box is displayed. 4. Click Path Browser and navigate to the SoftDB database on your Avid DS Nitris system. 1628 3D Warp Effect 5. Click OK to return to the Set Database dialog box. The path of the database is displayed in the Path text box and the name “SoftDB” is displayed in the name box. 6. Click the Link button. You can now open the scene in SOFTIMAGE|3D and create your own 3D Warp effects. Using the Grid Template Since the grid template was designed to be used as a transition, animation has been applied to the grid texture’s ambient and diffuse properties on the first frame. This creates the effect of a 3D transition into another clip, without requiring animation on the last frame. If you want to use this scene as a clip or track effect, add animation to the last frame. To create a 3D scene for a warp effect: 1. In SOFTIMAGE|3D, select Get > Scene and open template-grid.1-0.dsc. This scene sets the proper size, lighting, and material for the effect. The grid also consists of a single texture that has been animated as a fade. n Tip: You can only use the standard SOFTIMAGE|3D renderer to process the animated grid. 2. If you are creating a scene that requires two video inputs in Avid DS Nitris, such as a transition, copy the grid. The grid is duplicated and DSTexture1 is applied to the grid. 3. Open the Texture Editor. 4. Replace DSTexture1 with DSTexture2. 5. Create your 3D scene. n Tip: Do not adjust the camera settings as they’ve already been set so the 3D scene and the image in Avid DS Nitris align correctly. 6. The grid’s texture has been animated as a fade. If you are creating the 3D scene for use as a clip or track effect, copy the animation on the first frame and apply it, reversed, to the last frame. 1629 Chapter 10 Image Effects The grid’s texture properties change the way that the texture is displayed. It starts as a flat 2D image and changes to one with 3D highlights. You can extend this animation to create different effects. These are the current settings: Texture’s animation Flat (before) Grid texture Texture’s animation 1630 3D shiny (after) 3D Warp Effect Using the Light Template The light template contains four main objects: • An input light source (input4light). • Two nulls with expressions (Key Light and Fill Light). You can interactively reposition the lights in the Z axis, but you must edit the expression controlling the lights to edit their position in the X or Y axis. The current position is simply a starting point for you. Each null contains an expression that defines properties that you can control from within Avid DS Nitris. • A null that has a model note (WARP_PROPERTIES). The model note lets you define the properties you can change from within Avid DS Nitris. The main purpose of this template is to show you how to create a model note. To use the light template: 1. Open a 3D scene. 2. Select Get > Scene and open template-lights.1-0.dsc. 3. Edit or add your own expressions. For more information on editing and creating expressions, refer to the SOFTIMAGE|3D documentation. 1631 Chapter 10 Image Effects Expression Editor 4. Edit the model note. n Tip: Each time you create a new WARP_PROPERTIES null, be sure to add a unique prefix. If you try to save a second null with the same name, SOFTIMAGE|3D adds “_1” to the end of the name. If the name has been appended, then the variables will not be accessible from within Avid DS Nitris. Editing the Model Note The WARP_PROPERTIES null holds the properties that Avid DS Nitris will expose to the user. As you add expressions to your scene, you need to add its corresponding text string in the model note file. Each text string you create will be exposed as a control in Avid DS Nitris. n Tip: It is imperative that you do not change the name of the model note. When Avid DS Nitris loads the scene, it looks for a model note on an object named “WARP_PROPERTIES”. You should, however, add a descriptive prefix to the name, such as “LIGHTS”. To open the model note: t 1632 Select Model > Info > Model Note, and left-click the null WARP_PROPERTIES. 3D Warp Effect The model note text file is displayed. The file can contain many text strings, depending on the type of expressions you create. Each string must begin with WARP_PROPERTY and end with END_PROPERTY. Everything in between are variables that depend on the type of expression you create. For example, the model note for the light template only required one string to expose the lighting position control in Avid DS Nitris: WARP_PROPERTY,"LIGHTPOSITION",INPUT4,LIGHT,ETRNX,A,FLOAT, 1,9,END_PROPERTY n Tip: When editing and appending the model note, make sure you don’t inadvertently add spaces where there should not be any. Otherwise the variables will not be accessible from within Avid DS Nitris. The following table describes each parameter of the string above: Variable Description WARP_PROPERTY Each text string must begin with this tag. LIGHTPOSITION The name of the scene variable as it appears in Avid DS Nitris. INPUT4 Prefix name of the object being affected by the expression. LIGHT Name of the object being affected. ETRNX The variable being affected. A Local variable in the expression. FLOAT, BOOL, INT Lets you define the type of numbering that will control the variable. FLOAT: Defines a range from 1 to 9 including decimals. In the light template, these numbers correspond to the numeric keypad on your keyboard. Each number defines a new position for the light source. BOOL: Defines an on or off type of variable (1 or 0). INT: Defines an integer range from 1 to 9 excluding decimals. 1 The lowest number that controls the variable. 1633 Chapter 10 Image Effects Variable Description 9 The highest number that controls the variable. END_PROPERTY Each text string must end with this tag. You can also open the tutorial-grid.1-0.dsc file and view the model note for this scene. It contains text strings for two controls that will be accessible from Avid DS Nitris (scaling for X and scaling for Y). n Tip: Avid DS Nitris can only access the local variables of an expression (A, B, C, or D). Therefore, only the variables that you want the Avid DS Nitris user to have control over must be controlled by the local variables in the expression. Saving Your 3D Scene Once you complete your 3D scene, be sure to save it in the SoftDB database installed with your Avid DS Nitris system. n Tip: Before you save the scene in the database, you should simplify it by removing shaders and unnecessary objects to improve performance in Avid DS Nitris. You should also plot the animation (trajectory, rotation, shade, and other properties) from the Motion module, and then remove any Persistent effects developed with the Softimage Advanced API for Relations and Elements (SAPPHIRE), such as Ambulate, Multiped, Kaboom, as well as any other custom effects. To save a 3D scene into the Avid DS Nitris database: 1. Select Save > Scene. 2. In the Save Scene dialog box, click the DB List button. 3. Navigate to the database on your Avid DS Nitris system. 4. Name the scene (use a different name than that of the scene template). Be sure to rename both the prefix and the scene name. 5. Click the Save button. The scene is saved in the SoftDB database. 1634 AVX Host Effect AVX Host Effect The AVX™ Host effect lets you load AVX plug-in effects and adjust the effect’s parameters. Depending on the type of plug-in effect, you can also choose to animate various parameters. You can apply an AVX Host effect to clips, tracks, trees, or as a transition. Depending on how you apply it, only certain effects may be available. For example, if you apply the AVX Host effect as a transition, only transition effects are available. If you haven’t installed any AVX plug-in effects, then the Group/Category and Effect lists on the Generic property page are blank. n Tip: Consult the vendor’s documentation on how to install and uninstall an AVX plug-in effect. If you are uninstalling Avid DS Nitris, be sure to uninstall all AVX plug-ins first. To apply an AVX plug-in effect: 1. Apply the AVX Host effect to a clip, track, tree, or as a transition. The AVX Host property editor is displayed. 2. On the Generic property page, choose a Group/Category and an Effect. The Group/Category box displays the list of AVX plug-in effects, by vendor or group name, that are currently installed. The Effects box displays the names of the effects available for the selected group. 1635 Chapter 10 Image Effects Show/Hide plug-in list Show/Hide effect parameters Animated parameter After you choose an effect from the list, its parameters are displayed in the property editor. When you see a green box beside a parameter, it means that you can animate the parameter. Simply set the parameter, press the green animation button, move to the next keyframe and change the parameter, and then press the button again. The button turns red to indicate that the parameter was animated. In some cases, the effect’s property page may also contain an Open Effect UI button, which lets you open a new interface for the effect. 1636 AVX Host Effect New Interface is displayed. Select the Open Effect UI option. 3. On the Masking property page, select the channels on which you want to apply the effect. The effect is applied only to areas of the image on which the alpha channel is not black. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 4. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the AVX properties. 1637 Chapter 10 Image Effects Channel Switcher Effect The Channel Switcher effect lets you map the selected source channels (components) of an image to other (destination) channels. This effect is useful, for example, if you want to output the alpha channel of an image as an RGB image, or if you simply want to switch one channel to another. n Tip: If the RGB destination channels all have the same source channel, the result is a grayscale image. To apply the Channel Switcher effect: 1. Apply the Channel Switcher effect to a clip, track, layer, or tree. 2. On the General property page, select the source channels you want to map to the destination red, green, blue, and/or alpha channels. 3. On the Masking property page, select the channels on which you want to apply the effect. The effect is applied only to areas of the image where the alpha channel is not black. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 4. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Channel Switcher properties. 1638 Color Space Adjustment Effect Color Space Adjustment Effect The Color Space Adjustment effect lets you convert areas of a clip from YCbCr to RGB color space by adjusting the difference in color levels that can occur due to YCbCr to RGB conversion. When you import clips into Avid DS Nitris, they are imported in YCbCr color space. However, when you apply some effects or transitions, all or part of the clip may be converted to RGB color space. If only part of the clip is converted to RGB and the rest remains as YCbCr, it can cause a difference in the clip’s levels (luminance or saturation) in areas that have the effect, compared to areas that don’t. This is due to the color space clipping that occurs when converting from the YCbCr to the smaller RGB color space. If you notice a difference in the clip’s levels, apply the Color Space Adjustment effect to the area of the clip that requires RGB conversion. To adjust a clip’s color space: 1. Apply the Color Space Adjustment effect to a clip, track, or tree. 2. On the General property page, select one of the following: - Clip to adjust the Y, U, and V channels. - Adjust to change the brightness and gain of the Y channel. Use the slider to adjust the chrominance or luminance of colors that are out of range. Higher values affect more chrominance and less luminance and vice versa. 3. Select the Highlight option to view the pixels that are out of range: t Red areas indicate pixels that are over the RGB limit. t Green areas indicate pixels that are under the RGB limit. t Blue areas indicate pixels that contain illegal YCbCr values. 4. On the Masking property page, select the channels on which you want to apply the effect. The effect is applied only to areas of the image where the alpha channel is not black. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 5. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. 1639 Chapter 10 Image Effects Defield Effect The Defield effect lets you remove the field motion of an input in order to create a frame-based output. You can apply the Defield effect to clips, tracks, or trees. Since the Defield effect is a real-time effect, you can view the results upon playback without having to first process the effect. For more information, see “Working with Real-Time Effects” on page 898. To use the Defield effect: 1. Apply the Defield effect to a clip, track, or tree. 2. On the General property page, select a mode in which to remove field motion. 3. On the Masking property page, decide whether you want to use a mask for the effect or not—see “Working with Masks” on page 1147. n Tip: Channel masking is not available for this effect. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Defield properties. 1640 Deflicker Effect Deflicker Effect The Deflicker effect lets you correct the luminance variations in a clip, which can vary between frames, producing undesirable flickering. You can balance the flickering by normalizing either the black or white luminance levels or both. In the following example, you can see the difference in the luminance levels between the two images. Using the Deflicker effect, you can choose a frame in which the luminance levels are correct and apply the levels to the rest of the frames in the clip. Original images: Lighter luminance levels in the left image and darker luminance levels in the middle image. Deflicker effect To use the Deflicker effect: 1. Apply the Deflicker effect to a clip, track, or tree. A small selection rectangle (the luminance box) appears on the lower-left side of the viewer. 2. Scrub through the clip and select a frame that has the desired luminance levels. 3. On the Black property page, position the luminance box over an area that contains the level of black to which you want to normalize the clip. n Tip: You can also draw a new luminance box in the viewer by clicking the viewer and dragging over an area. 1641 Chapter 10 Image Effects Selected black region 4. Click the Set as Reference Frame button. The black luminance is set, and the property editor displays the reference luminance swatch, as well as the timecode for the chosen frame. 5. Verify each frame in the clip to determine if the luminance box is in the correct position. If the area you set for the reference frame moves from frame to frame, you need to move the luminance box in each frame, so it covers the same area. 6. Set a keyframe on the frames on which you reposition the luminance box. n Tip: You can also use the Autokey button when you adjust the luminance box on various frames, which automatically adds a keyframe on the frame on which you reposition the box. 7. Repeat steps 2 to 6 for the White property page, if required. 8. On the Masking property page, select the channels on which you want to apply the effect. The effect is applied only to areas of the image where the alpha channel is not black. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 9. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Deflicker properties. 1642 Depth of Field Effect Depth of Field Effect The Depth of Field effect lets you simulate the effect of a camera lens using the Z-depth information contained in files rendered in SOFTIMAGE|3D or mental ray®. In an actual camera, the focal length of the lens defines the distance at which objects appear perfectly focused. Points that are closer or farther away from this distance plane will be out of focus. This effect lets you create a scene where objects appear in focus in the foreground and blurred in the background. You can also animate the effect to simulate a change in the focus. Original image Depth of Field effect. The background is blurred. To use the Depth of Field effect: 1. Render your sequence in SOFTIMAGE|3D, making sure that you select the Render Z Channel option in Render Setup > Options. n Tip: Render the sequence in the same resolution of the Avid DS Nitris project in which you’ll import the sequence. 2. Capture the .pic file sequence in Avid DS Nitris. The .Zpic files are loaded through the effects, so you can only capture the .pic files. 3. Apply the Depth of Field effect to a clip, track, or tree. The Depth of Field property editor is displayed. 1643 Chapter 10 Image Effects 4. On the External Data property page, click the Browse button, and doubleclick one of the .Zpic files. The file name is displayed in the File Path field. 5. In the Frame Range boxes, type in the start and end frames of your sequence. The message “External Data Loaded” is displayed on the property page. n Tip: If you don’t enter the start and end frames, an error message is displayed on the property page. 6. In the Resolution boxes, type the resolution that matches that of the working project. The status line at the bottom of the property page confirms that the external data has been loaded correctly. If the external data does not load correctly, one of the following messages appears in the status line: Message Description External Data Loaded All data has been loaded successfully for this frame. No External Data Loaded No file name has been entered and no data has been loaded. Error - Data File incorrect The resolution of the data file does not match the size resolution specified in the property page. Error - File not found; Avid DS Nitris is unable to load the data file. The file cannot be found. 7. On the Depth of Field property page, click the Pick button and then click an object in the viewer. This lets you choose an area that should be in focus. The Focus Plane parameter updates to display your selection. You can also adjust the Focus Plane manually. 1644 Depth of Field Effect Area in focus 8. Set the Focal Length. The focal length represents the length of the simulated lens. A lens with a short focal length will give more depth of field than one with a longer length. 9. Set the Aperture (F-stop), the relative aperture size of the simulated camera. A low aperture value produces a shallow depth of field where a plane appears sharply in focus and all other planes appear blurred. A high value gives a greater depth of field and objects in both the foreground and background appear in focus. 10. Adjust the Strength to set the scaling factor of the pixel size of the Circle of Confusion. 11. Adjust the Antialiasing define the level of smoothing of jagged edges along lines and curves. This parameter is useful when you have two or more objects that have large differences in depth and jagged edges appear where the object intersect. 12. Adjust the Circle of Confusion to define the maximum value that any pixel will be blurred into the surrounding pixels (for out of focus planes). 13. On the Masking property page, select the channels on which you want to apply the effect. The effect is applied only to areas of the image where the alpha channel is not black. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 14. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Depth of Field properties. 1645 Chapter 10 Image Effects Drop Shadow Effect The Drop Shadow effect lets you place a shadow behind an image wherever the alpha value is greater than 1, as well as create a drop shadow for any image or text that contains alpha information. The shape of the drop shadow comes from the alpha information, or matte, in your image. If required, you can generate or modify the matte using graphics or keyers. You can move, scale, and rotate the shadow using standard DVE tools. This is useful when you want to cast a shadow on a surface that is not parallel to the image, such as when you want to cast a shadow on a side wall. You can also change its color and transparency, as well as modify its softness to give it a more realistic appearance. Drop shadows Drop Shadow effect Because the Drop Shadow effect simulates a shadow cast on a background, you should apply it to an image on the background track or an image in a composite. You can also animate the drop shadow to create the impression of a changing light source. For example, if you want the price of a product to jump towards you, first, create the text and then animate it. You can then create a drop shadow of the text and animate its softness, position, and scale so that the shadow becomes blurred and distant as the clip advances and the text jumps off the screen. 1646 Drop Shadow Effect For more information, see “About Keying” on page 1218 and “Creating a Matte on the Timeline” on page 1139. To create a drop shadow: 1. Apply the Drop Shadow effect to a clip, track, or tree. A drop shadow is created and the Drop Shadow property editor is displayed. In the viewer, a yellow DVE image box lets you transform the drop shadow interactively. 2. From the Output box, select the Shadow Only option from the output box if you want to hide the foreground and reveal the shadow in the viewer. n Tip: By default, the Shadow + Foreground option is selected, allowing you to view the image and its shadow. 3. Use the Opacity controls to adjust the transparency of the shadow. 4. From the Softness box, use the Amount controls to adjust the strength of the blur applied to the shadow. 5. Select the Fast option for faster interaction speed. Drop shadow without the foreground image 6. From the Output box, select the Shadow + Foreground option, so you can see the foreground while you adjust the shadow further. 7. On the DVE property page, use the DVE controls to position, scale and rotate the shadow. You can work interactively with the image, by moving your pointer over the viewer. n Tip: In some cases, you may want to “pin” the shadow to a particular point, so that when you rotate the shadow, it rotates around a fixed position. For example, when a shadow is cast from a person, you may want to pin the shadow to the person’s feet. To do this, simply move the center of rotation (red 1647 Chapter 10 Image Effects circle) to the area (feet) on which you want to pin the shadow. Any image scaling will also be performed around the new position of the center of rotation. In the viewer, the shadow is transformed while the original foreground remains intact. Drop shadow DVE image box Foreground Drop shadow 8. If you rotate the shadow around the Y axis, use the Perspective controls to adjust the field of view. 9. On the Color property page, adjust the color of the shadow. You can select a color from the palette or use the controls. 10. On the Crop property page, use the controls to crop the shadow. The shadow image is cropped while the original foreground remains intact. n Tip: You can also drag the yellow box in the viewer to crop the shadow. 11. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Drop Shadow properties. 1648 Field Invert Effect Field Invert Effect The Field Invert effect lets you invert an input’s fields, so that even lines become odd and vice versa. You can also preserve the line order when you invert the fields. You can apply the Field Invert effect to clips, tracks, or trees. Since the Field Invert effect is a real-time effect, you can view the results upon playback without having to first process the effect. In some cases, real-time effects may require processing to ensure that no frames are skipped. For more information, see “Working with Real-Time Effects” on page 898. To use the Field Invert effect: 1. Apply the Field Invert effect to a clip, track, or tree. 2. On the General property page, select the Preserve Line Order option if you want to preserve the order of the lines. When you select this option, the order of the lines is preserved, but the fields are swapped by applying a one-line translation. When this option is not selected (default), the lines are simply swapped, inverting the fields as well as the lines. 3. On the Masking property page, decide whether you want to use a mask for the effect—see “Working with Masks” on page 1147. n Tip: Channel masking is not available for this effect. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Field Invert properties. 1649 Chapter 10 Image Effects Fog Effect The Fog effect lets you add atmospheric fog to an animated scene. You can specify a gradual onset of the fog, so that objects in the foreground appear less obscured than those in the background. You can also specify the distance at which the fog begins, as well as its intensity. The Fog effect applies the simulated fog by using the Z-depth information contained in .Zpic files rendered in SOFTIMAGE|3D or mental ray. Original image Fog effect To use the Fog effect: 1. Render your sequence in SOFTIMAGE|3D, making sure that you select the Render Z Channel option in Render Setup > Options. n Tip: Render the sequence in the same resolution as the Avid DS Nitris project in which you’ll import the sequence. 2. Capture the .pic file sequence in Avid DS Nitris. The .Zpic files are loaded through the effects, so you can only capture the .pic files. 3. Apply the Fog effect to a clip, track, or tree. The Fog property editor is displayed. 4. On the External Data property page, click the Browse button and doubleclick one of the .Zpic files. The file name is displayed in the File Path field. 5. In the Frame Range boxes, type the start and end frames of your sequence. The message “External Data Loaded” is displayed on the property page. 1650 Fog Effect n Tip: If you don’t enter the start and end frames, an error message is displayed on the property page. 6. In the Resolution boxes, type the resolution that matches the working project. The status line at the bottom of the property page confirms that the external data has been loaded correctly. If the external data does not load correctly, one of the following messages appears in the status line: Message Description External Data Loaded All data has been loaded successfully for this frame. No External Data Loaded No file name has been entered and no data has been loaded. Error - Data File incorrect The resolution of the data file does not match the size resolution specified in the property page. Error - File not found; Avid DS Nitris is unable to load the data file. The file cannot be found. 7. On the Fog Effect property page, create a color for the fog by adjusting the Red, Green, and Blue parameters. By default Red, Green, and Blue are set to 100 creating a white fog color. 8. Set the Maximum Depth. You can set the depth at which the fog reaches maximum intensity. The intensity of the fog increases linearly from the Start Distance to the Maximum Depth. 9. Set the Start Distance. This lets you specify the distance from the simulated camera at which the fog begins. 10. Adjust the opacity of the fog using the Opacity controls. This lets you control the thickness of the fog. A value of 1 represents total opacity and a value of 0 represents total transparency. 11. On the Masking property page, select the channels on which you want to apply the effect. The effect is applied only to areas of the image where the alpha channel is not black. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 12. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Fog properties. 1651 Chapter 10 Image Effects Frame Average Effect The Frame Average effect lets you create trails, motion blurs, and perform noise removal on video clips. You can set the number of previous and next frames to combine to create a new frame. For example, if you select one previous frame and one next frame, then the current frame will become an average of the current frame plus the previous and next frames. This effect is applied to all frames in the clip. To use the Frame Average effect: 1. Apply the Frame Average effect to a clip, track, or tree. 2. On the General property page, set the number of Previous and Next frames to be combined with the current frame. 3. From the Compositing Mode list, select a mode. For example, when you select Average, the previous and next frames are averaged into the current frame. If you set a value of 1 for previous and next, then three images are displayed at the current frame. Previous = 0 Next = 0 Previous = 1 Next = 0 Previous = 1 Next = 1 4. Select one of the following: - Repeat the first/last frame to use the value set in Next (for the first frame), since there is no first frame and Previous (on the last frame). - Use a solid color to use a solid color to combine with the first/last frames. 5. On the Masking property page, select the channels on which you want to apply the effect. The effect is applied only to areas of the image where the alpha channel is not black. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 6. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Frame Average properties. 1652 Graphics Effect Graphics Effect The Graphics effect lets you access the Graphics layout and create graphics or titles. You can then use any of the tools or effects in the Graphics layout. To apply the Graphics effect on a clip: t n Select a clip from the timeline and do one of the following: t From the toolbar, click Video Effects > Graphics. t From the taskbar, click the Graphics layout button. t Press Ctrl and click the Graphics layout button in the taskbar to open the floating Graphics combo view. Tip: Make sure the position indicator is over the clip or you cannot switch to the Graphics layout. The Graphics effect is applied to the clip and the Graphics layout or Graphics combo view is displayed. To apply the Graphics effect on a track: t Select a region of a track and do one of the following: - From the toolbar, click Video Effects > Graphics. - From the toolbar, click Generate > Source Generator Clip. From the Load Preset dialog box, select Graphics. Creating Rolls and Crawls A roll or crawl typically contains the titles or credits of a program. You can create a traditional roll in which a title moves from the bottom of the screen to the top, or a traditional crawl in which a title moves from the right of the screen to the left. Single or multiple titles can be used for a roll or crawl. You create rolls or crawls by using the Graphics property editor. This lets you quickly and easily create standard rolls or crawls that involve few titles. When you do this, the time span of the titles change to match the duration of the graphics session. 1653 Chapter 10 Image Effects You can also create the animation manually by using the Set/Remove Key button to set individual keyframes. This lets you create a complex roll or crawl that involves many titles that start and end in different locations. You can also include paint strokes in a roll or crawl. n Tip: When you create a roll or crawl, the entire duration of the clip is used. To create a roll or crawl: 1. From the Tools toolbar, click the Text button to create a text body. 2. Click the viewer and type in some text. 3. When you’re done, select the text body. 4. From the General toolbar, click Graphics Properties. 5. In the Motion box, select one of the following: - Roll to create a roll. - Crawl to create a crawl. 6. In the Start Position box, select one of the following: 1654 - Onscreen to start the roll or crawl on the screen. - Offscreen to start the roll or crawl off the screen. - In the End Position box, select one of the following: - Onscreen to end the roll or crawl on the screen. Graphics Effect - Offscreen to end the roll or crawl off the screen. 7. To guarantee optimal quality when building rolls/crawls, select Standard Speed. 8. Click Build Motion. The title’s transformation is animated. 9. To apply roll and crawl animation only on selected graphics objects, select Apply to Selection. 10. To modify the transformation properties of the title, select the title, and do one of the following: t From the graphics property tree, open the Transformations property editor, and modify the values. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Animation Editor. Select the Transformation property and adjust the function curve. Creating a Fade You can also automatically apply fades to a graphics object. When you apply a fade, its time span changes to match the duration of the graphics session. In addition, the existing opacity settings for a stroke (brush and fill) and text body (edge, face, shadow) are overwritten with the new fade values. To fade an object: 1. From the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool. 2. In the graphics property tree, define the properties for your tool. 3. Create an object in the viewer. 4. Move the object to the desired fade-in position. 5. From the General toolbar, click Graphics Properties. 6. In the Fade box, set the In and Out values in frames. 7. Click the Build Fade button. The object’s opacity properties are animated. 8. To modify the opacity properties of the object, select the object and adjust the Opacity controls on the Paint Style, Brush, and Titling Style property editors. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Graphics properties. 1655 Chapter 10 Image Effects Optical Glow Effect The Optical Glow effect lets you define different lighting effects for images, which is useful when you want to give an object the appearance that it’s radiating light or heat. You can apply this effect to clips, tracks, or trees. Original image Optical Glow effect is applied (note diffused areas) To create an optical glow effect: 1. Apply the Optical Glow effect to a clip, track, or tree. The Optical Glow property editor is displayed. 2. On the General property page, use the Level controls to set the amount of overall diffusion. The level of overall diffusion is applied to the entire image. 3. Use the Mix controls to set the percentage of overall diffusion. The mix determines the percentage of diffusion (specified in the Level controls) added to the entire image. 4. Use the controls in the Color Correction box to adjust the amount of gain and brightness applied to the entire image. 5. Use the Amount controls to adjust the percentage of the original image that is added to the diffused image. 6. On the Black Diffusion property page, use the controls to specify the black diffusion parameters. 7. On the White Diffusion property page, use the controls to specify the white diffusion parameters. 1656 Optical Glow Effect 8. On the Masking property page, select the channels on which you want to apply the effect. The effect is applied only to areas of the image where the alpha channel is not black. You can derive masks from the alpha of the input clip or an external matte from another clip. 9. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Optical Glow properties. 1657 Chapter 10 Image Effects Outsource Effect Certain shots in your sequence may require specific touch ups in another application. The Outsource effect lets you output an area of the timeline in the file format of your choice, while keeping a link to the exported files. This makes it easy to bring the files back into Avid DS Nitris when the work in the external application is complete. All you have to do is apply the Outsource effect, specify a file format, and then export the file. When the work is complete, you can update the link to these files from within the Outsource property editor. Any changes made to the file(s) are displayed in the viewer. Just like any other linked file, you have to process the effect to play the area on the timeline in real time. When you apply the Outsource effect in a stack of effects or as part of an Effects Tree, the image, including the effects below the Outsource effect, will be output to file. You can apply this effect to clips, tracks, or trees. To use the Outsource effect: 1. Apply the Outsource effect to a clip or track. 2. On the General property page, click the Add button to create an application preset. The Add New Application dialog box is displayed. 3. Type the name of the external application you plan to use in the Application Name text box. 4. Assign a file type to the external application by selecting a file format from the Default Export Format list. 5. Click OK to save the preset. 1658 Outsource Effect The application preset is now available from the 3rd Party Application list. Preset available from 3rd Party Application list 6. Type a name for your file in the File Name text box. 7. A location for the file is created by default. You can change the default location by clicking the browse (...) button and selecting a new folder. 8. Click the Export button to output the area on the timeline to file. If you are exporting a series of frames, several files are created. The files are named as follows: Filename0.psd, Filename1.psd, and so on. 9. Touch up the file or series of files in the external application. n Tip: You can use the Open in Explorer button to open the Windows Explorer directly to the location where the file(s) is located. 10. When the work is done, click the Update button to update the link to the file(s). Any changes made to the file(s) are displayed in the viewer. 11. On the Options property page, select the appropriate options. 1659 Chapter 10 Image Effects 12. Process the effect to generate a cache, so you can play the area on the timeline in real time. Click the Help button for detailed information on the Outsource properties. 1660 Source Generator Effects Source Generator Effects Avid DS Nitris lets you generate your own clips using effects, such as solid or gradient colors, 3D Warp effects, Graphics effects, or patterns. You can use this new clip as a background for a compositing session or to create a fade-tocolor transition. Since the Timecode and Solid Color effects are real-time effects, you can view the results upon playback without having to first process the effect. For more information, see “Working with Real-Time Effects” on page 898 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. You can apply the source generator effects to tracks or trees. To generate a clip on the timeline: 1. Drag on a track to select a region. 2. From the toolbar, click Generate > Source Generator Clip. 3. From the Load Preset dialog box, select an effect from the \Source Generators folder. A clip containing the selected effect is created on the track and the effect’s property editor is displayed for you to make any adjustments. The clip name is appended with the term “Generated” in parentheses. A clip generated with the Wood effect. To generate a clip in an Effects Tree: 1. Right-click an empty area of an Effects Tree and select Add Effect. 2. From the Load Preset dialog box, select an effect from the \Source Generators folder. A new input node is added to the Effects Tree. You can composite the generated clip as you would any other clip. 1661 Chapter 10 Image Effects A clip (node) generated with the Cloud effect. n Some source generated clips, such as a gradient, timecode, or 3D Warp, require an input. Add a black source generated clip as the input to these effects. To create a Fade-to-Color transition: 1. Drag on a track to select a region. 2. From the toolbar, click Generate > Source Generator Clip. 3. From the Load Preset dialog box, select Solid Color from the \Source Generators folder. A clip containing a solid color is displayed on the track and the effect’s property editor is displayed for you to make any adjustments. 4. Select a color for the generated clip. 5. On the timeline, position the generated clip at the timecode where the transition should start. 6. Select the edit point. 7. From the toolbar, click Transition Effects > Dissolve/Crossfade or Wipe. 8. Adjust the transition properties. Dissolve to solid color Click the Help button for detailed information on the transition properties. 1662 Warp Effect Warp Effect The Warp effect lets you transform an image or part of an image from one shape to another over time. You can warp still or moving images, and apply the Warp effect to clips, tracks, or trees. When warping a still image, you can, for example, add a caricature to a person’s face, giving their face a surprised look by enlarging the eyes or deforming an object to a specific form. Original image Eyes and lips warped at 50% shape interpolation. Eyes and lips warped at 100% shape interpolation. When warping a moving image, you can, adjust the position or form of an object moving across an image over a sequence of frames, such as a man shrinking in size as he walks. The general steps to create a warp are: 1. Select an image or section of an image. 2. Create shapes that describe the source and destination of the warp transformation. 3. Join the shapes together and adjust the correspondence between the two. 4. Animate the shape positions over time. 5. Track the warped shapes if necessary. 6. Set the rendering options. 7. Process the warp. 1663 Chapter 10 Image Effects Creating Shapes Shapes are the Bézier curves that outline the portions of the image that you want to warp. The Warp effect uses these shapes to specify whether these parts of the image move or if they should be stationary. Shapes can be open-ended or closed. They can stand alone or be joined to another shape. n Tip: To close a shape drawn with the Freehand tool, hold down the Ctrl key while you draw the shape. Once you release the mouse button, the shape is closed. To close a shape drawn with the Polyline tool, press Ctrl after you draw the last line segment. The Warp effect has four shape-creation tools: • Freehand • Polyline • Ellipse • Rectangle To create a source and destination shape: 1. Apply the Warp effect to a clip. 2. On the Shapes property page, select the Apply option. 3. From the Shape Creation box, select a drawing tool to create the source shape. n Tip: If you copy open shapes from the Warp effect into a keyer or Matte effect, the shapes will automatically be closed. 4. Create a rough shape around the object you want to warp. The source shape is displayed in red. 1664 Warp Effect Source shape drawn with the Ellipse tool. n Tip: You can zoom and pan in the viewer to frame the portion of the image you want to trace. 5. From the Editing Tools box, click the Edit Shape button. The control points of the source shape are displayed. 6. Drag the control points, so that your shape outlines the part of the image you want to warp. Control point To add an additional control point, hold down the A key and click the line where you want the control point to appear. n Tip: If the image is moving between frames, you should rotoscope or animate the source shape over the length of the clip. For more information, see “Creating Animation” on page 963 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. 1665 Chapter 10 Image Effects 7. From the Shape Creation box, select a shape to create the destination shape. n Tip: Instead of drawing a target shape from scratch, you can click the Copy and Join button in the Editing Tools box. This tool creates a copy of the source shape and joins the two shapes together. Simply edit or transform the target shape to interactively warp the chosen object. 8. Create a second shape to represent the destination shape of the warped object. The destination shape is displayed in red. Destination shape drawn with the Ellipse tool. n Tip: To close a shape created with the polyline tool, press Ctrl and click. 9. Use the following tools from in the Transformations box to manipulate your shape: - Select - Scale - Rotate - Skew 10. From the Editing Tools box, click Edit Shape. Control points along the target shape are displayed. 11. Drag the control points to modify the shape. 1666 Warp Effect n Tip: If the image is moving between frames, you should rotoscope or animate the target shape over the length of the clip. For more information, see “Applying Graphics” on page 1387. Joining Shapes Once the shapes are created, you can join them together to create a relationship between the beginning and ending shape of the object. The order in which you join shapes gives the direction to a warp. For example, if you join a small shape to a large shape, the object will warp over time from small to large. If you join a large shape to a small shape, then the object will warp from large to small. n Tip: You can only join open-ended shapes with other open-ended shapes and closed-ended shapes with other closed-ended shapes. When the two shapes are joined, you can match corresponding features on the two shapes. Each shape contains four or more correspondence points (four initially), which describe the location of key positions on a shape. You can place these correspondence points at key locations on a shape, such as where the Bézier curve changes direction. Correspondence point Correspondence points have some restrictions: • There must be at least four correspondence points per shape. • Shapes intended to be joined must have the same number of correspondence points. • Correspondence points on the ends of open-ended shapes cannot be moved or deleted. • Correspondence points cannot cross over each other. There is a limit as to how close they can be to each other. 1667 Chapter 10 Image Effects To join the source and destination shapes: 1. From the Editing Tools box, click the Join button and drag the source shape towards the target shape. A blue line appears as you drag the pointer from the source to the target shape. When the pointer comes in contact with the target shape, the two shapes momentarily turn yellow and are joined together by a correspondence vector. Target shape Source shape joined to target shape by a correspondence vector. Source shape. n Tip: To break the join between two shapes, click Join in the Editing Tools box and click one of the shapes. A dialog box appears, prompting you to break the join, click OK. 2. In the Editing Tools box, click the Correspondence button. The source and target shapes are highlighted in yellow. Each shape contains four correspondence points, which are connected with correspondence vectors. 3. Move the correspondence points on the source shape to key locations on the curve, such as where the curve changes directions. 4. Match the correspondence points on the target shape to those on the source shape. 1668 Warp Effect Correspondent points are moved to key locations on the curve. Correspondent points on the target match those of the source. n Tip: To add additional correspondence points, hold down the A key and click the shapes on which you want the point to appear. To delete correspondence points, select a point and press Delete. 5. To increase the precision of the shape during processing, increase the Density value. The number of correspondence vectors (yellow lines) between correspondence points increases as the Density value increases. Correspondence point Edge density Original shape Shape with edge density of 5. n Tip: During processing, Avid DS Nitris does not use the actual shapes you created, but uses the edge densities of the shapes to create an approximation of the shapes. That is, a shape’s edge density defines how closely the form used in the warping process matches the shape that is drawn. 1669 Chapter 10 Image Effects n n Shapes are subdivided between correspondence points based on the shape’s edge density. The higher the edge density, the more edges, and the more closely the shape is depicted by its edges. Thus, the more precise the transition between shapes. When you change the edge density, be careful not to use too high a density setting. There is no exact formula for selecting the best density for any given shape. Choose one that approximates the shape enough, but not too much. Setting a shape’s density unnecessarily high slows down processing time. Creating Barrier Shapes You may find that the area outside your source or target shapes also gets distorted when your object is warped. To get rid of this unwanted distortion, you can create a barrier shape which prevents the distortion from spreading to the rest of the image. To create a barrier shape: 1. Create a third shape encompassing both the source and target shapes. The barrier shape is displayed in red. Barrier shape Source shape Target shape 2. From the Editing Tools box, click Copy and Join. A copy of the shape is created on top of its original. By doing so, you are creating a static warp in which the source and target shapes are the same. This static warp acts as a barrier, which prevents the original warp from spreading to other areas of the image. 1670 Warp Effect Animating Shapes You can animate the interpolation between shapes or the shapes themselves on both still images or when the object is moving over time. You can add keyframes and modify the way the source shape warps into the target. For moving images, you can use the tracker to track the shapes to match the movement in a clip, or animate the shapes frame by frame. For more information, see “Tracking Shapes” on page 1363 of this guide and “Creating Animation” on page 963 of the Avid DS Nitris Editing Guide. To animate the interpolation between shapes: 1. On the timeline, double-click the Warp effect bar above your clip. The Warp property editor is displayed. 2. Place the position indicator anywhere in the clip. 3. On the Shapes property page, modify the Shape Interpolation Amount. The image changes shape as you modify the Shape Interpolation Amount. 4. Click the Animation Key button. A keyframe is added at that point in time, changing how the object moves from source to target shape. 5. Move the position indicator to another frame, modify the Shape Interpolation Amount, and add another keyframe. 6. Select View > Single-Instance Views > Animation Editor. The animation editor is displayed. 7. Tweak the shape animation by modifying, adding, and deleting keyframes. n Tip: You can also modify the slope of the interpolation from Linear to either Spline or Constant Interpolation. Tracking Warped Shapes If your image moves or scales, you’ll need to set up trackers to track the source, destination and barrier shapes. In the following example, the man’s face both scales and moves as his eye is warped. To correctly track the eye, you need to increase the trackers’ target area and search regions, and ensure that the Always Update option is selected. 1671 Chapter 10 Image Effects To track the shapes: 1. On the Shapes property page, deselect the Apply option. Since you need to track the input image rather than the warping image, turn off the Warp effect so you can see what you want to track. 2. From the Transformations box, click the Select Shape button. 3. In the viewer, draw a selection box around all the shapes to select them. Since all the shapes including the source, destination, and two barrier shapes move and scale, you need to track all the shapes. 4. On the Tracker property page, click the Show button. 1672 Warp Effect Trackers for source, destination, and two barrier shapes All four trackers are displayed. 5. Use the period (.) or comma (,) keys on the keyboard to cycle through each tracker and set the following for each tracker: - Increase the size of the search and target areas to consider the change in the shape’s size. Target area Search region - In the Target box, select the Always Update option. Since the shapes scale and move, you need the tracker targets to update in each frame. n Tip: This option makes the trackers compare the pixel pattern of the current frame to that of the previous frame, rather than the first frame at the tracking start point (or the set target). Use this option when the target area changes in appearance as the clip is played. Note that this can cause cumulative tracking errors. When you select this option, the Set Target option becomes deselected and vice versa. - Set the Confidence level. 1673 Chapter 10 Image Effects If you find that the tracker stops frequently, try lowering the confidence level. n Tip: If you are tracking field-based material, you can select the Track in Fields option. A keyframe will be set on each tracked field. The target used is the contents of the target region in field 1 of the target frame. If you track in fields, you do not need to first deinterlace, track, and then reinterlace the clip. 6. Click the Track Forward or Track Backward buttons. 7. On the Shapes property page, deselect the Show Shapes option to see the final result without the drawn shapes and tracker boxes. You also need to select the Apply option to turn the Warp effect back on. Setting the Rendering Options The final look of your warp depends largely on the render settings you choose. You can go from a fast low-quality test image to a slower higher-quality image for final output by simply changing a few of the settings in the Render property page. The render settings let you choose how the edges of your shapes are defined, how precise the transition is between shapes, how pixels are interpolated, and how soft or jagged the edges are. To set the rendering options: 1. In the Warp property editor, select the Render property page. 2. For the Edge Mode, select one of the following: 1674 - Fixed to pin the border of the image in place. Be careful using this option because it can cause shearing or ripping if your warped object moves or grows in size. - Sliding to make the image’s borders move with the rest of the warped object. Warp Effect Original image Image stretched upwards and processed with the edge set to Fixed. Notice how the borders of the image do not move, resulting in a distorted image. - Image stretched upwards and processed with the edge set to Sliding. Notice how the borders of the image do not stay in place, but compensate for the stretched image, resulting in a less distorted image. Cookie Cutter to keep everything that falls within your closed shapes and remove everything else. This option is also useful for creating mattes. You cannot use this option with open-ended shapes. 1675 Chapter 10 Image Effects With the edge set to Cookie Cutter, the area outlined by the closed shapes is cut out. The rest of the image is ignored and set to black. A matte is automatically created based on the areas that were cut out. 3. To set the transition quality, select one of the following from the Warp Precision list: Option Description Linear If you want to do a quick test. This option processes the warp at the lowest quality, but is very fast and uses the least amount of memory. Low or Medium If you need slightly higher quality than the Linear option. The quality of the images improve with only slightly slower processing times. High If you need a high-quality image that is processed in a reasonable amount of time. This option produces professional quality images. Very High or Super High If you require an extremely smooth transition between shapes. Both of these options provide extremely highquality images, but take considerable amounts of time to process. 1676 None For quick results. This results in marginal pixel image quality, but the processing time is very quick. Bilinear For a reasonable image quality within a reasonable processing time. This is the default setting. Warp Effect Option Description Scaling If your target shape is scaled down by more than 50%. This results in the least amount of degradation, but also takes the longest time to process. 4. For the Interpolation setting, which affects pixel quality, select one of the following: Option Description None For quick results. This results in marginal pixel image quality, but the processing time is very quick. Bilinear For a reasonable image quality within a reasonable processing time. This is the default setting. Scaling If your target shape is scaled down by more than 50%. This results in the least amount of degradation, but also takes the longest time to process. 5. Select the Antialiasing option if you want the edges of the shapes or regions to be smooth. If you deselect this option, the edges are jagged. 6. Select the Soften Edges option if you want the pixels around the edges of the shapes to blend gradually with the pixels of the surrounding image. 7. Process the effect and then play it back on the timeline to view the results. 1677 Chapter 10 Image Effects 1678 Reference This book contains reference information for Avid DS Nitris. • Desktop Reference • Capture and Output Reference • Editing Reference • Paint Effects • 3D DVE and 3D Titling Reference • Compositing Reference • Image Effects • Color Correction Reference • Common Property Pages Reference 1680 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference This chapter contains reference information about the desktop. • Using the Mouse, Pen, and Keyboard • Property Editors • Toolbars • Command Mapping Dialog Box • Edit Layout Dialog Box • Load Preset Dialog Box • Preference Management Dialog Box • Save Preset Dialog Box • User Preferences Dialog Box • Help Menu • Layout Menu • Slider Menu • Splitter Menu • Taskbar Menu • Text Box Menu • View Menu • View Switcher Menu • Viewer Property Editor Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Using the Mouse, Pen, and Keyboard In Avid DS Nitris, you can use a two-button mouse (with wheel) or a pen and tablet. The left and right mouse buttons perform different operations. Unless otherwise stated, use the left mouse button. The mouse and pen operate slightly differently. All the procedures in this guide are documented for the mouse. You can, however, easily use a pen or the keyboard. The following table shows the terms relating to the mouse, pen, and keyboard. This Term Means This with a Mouse Means This with a Pen Click Quickly click and release the Tap the tablet once with the tip of left mouse button. Always use the pen, or touch the pen to the tablet the left mouse button unless with enough pressure to click. otherwise stated. Double-click Click the left mouse button twice rapidly. Quickly tap the tablet twice in the same screen pixel or press the F5 key to go from single to doubleclick. Right-click Quickly click and release the right mouse button. Press the top portion of the switch on the side of the pen or press the F6 key to go from left to right-click. Drag Click and hold the left mouse button or the wheel while you move the mouse. Press the pen to the tablet while moving the pen. Alt+key, Press and hold the first key while you press the second key. For Ctrl+key, example, “Press Alt+F1” means to press and hold the Alt key while Shift+key, etc. you press the F1 key. By customizing the pen, you can adjust the click pressure, switch functions, and other features. For information on customizing the pen, refer to the documentation provided with your Avid DS Nitris system. You can also customize the mouse. For example, you can select left-handed configuration or change the double-click speed. 1682 Property Editors Property Editors Property editors display the properties of a selected object or tool. You can adjust the values of properties using the text boxes, lists, options, and sliders, as well as set animation keyframes. Any values that you change are immediately applied to the object. Property editors contain global controls for loading, saving, and viewing presets, processing, animating properties, selecting effects, and previewing clips. Different property editors have different global controls. Property editors come in two sizes: default and large. Most of the time, you will see the default-sized property editors. But if you’re in the Effects layout, you’ll see the large ones. n n Unlike the default-sized property editors, the large ones in the Effects layout do not recycle. Instead, they display what is currently selected. Tip: If you have used a Color Correction effect and you are not in the Effects layout, you can open its property editor in two different sizes: default or large. Press Ctrl+Shift to open a default size property editor and press Ctrl to open a large property editor. To open a property editor, do one of the following: t Right-click an object and select Properties. t Double-click an object. Global Controls The global controls let you determine how parameters are displayed in a property editor window, create animation, process effects, save and load presets, specify transitions, track DVEs, and set animation keyframes. These controls are displayed on most property editors. 1683 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Title bar controls Global controls Title Bar Controls The title bar controls let you focus, recycle, lock, and close property editors as you select different objects. Title bar controls 1684 Property Editors Option Focus Description In Focus mode, a property editor displays only one specific type of property, regardless of which object is selected. For example, if you open the Brush FX property editor in the Graphics layout and set it to Focus mode, the Fill FX properties will appear in the same property editor window, but the Time Span properties will open in a new property editor window. Recycle In Recycle mode, the same property editor is reused whenever you select an object that has an associated property editor. For example, if you open a video effect’s property editor, then select an audio effect, the audio clip’s properties replace the video clip’s properties in the same property editor window. Lock In Lock mode, the property editor always displays the properties of the object on which it’s locked. For example, if you open a video effect’s property editor, set it to Lock mode, and then select an audio effect, the audio effect’s properties will be displayed in a new property editor window. Close Closes the property editor Tab Controls The tab controls let you view additional tabs on a property editor. This is useful for property editors that contains many property pages, such as the keyers. Tab controls 1685 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description Display Previous Tab Displays previous tab(s) on this property page Display Next Tab Displays next tab(s) on this property page Animation Controls The animation controls let you turn auto animation on or off, move between keyframes, and set keyframes. Animation controls Option Description Auto Automatically creates a keyframe when you make any adjustments to properties. That is, you do not have to click the Animation Key button each time you change a property. < (previous key) Moves the position indicator to the previous keyframe > (next key) Moves the position indicator to the next keyframe Animation Key Sets a keyframe at the current frame with the current property settings. Right-click this button to display the Animation Key menu—see Animation Key Menu. Animating Parameters In the property editors, an animation button appears beside numeric parameters that you can animate. This lets you set keyframes after you adjust the parameter’s value. Also, you can easily access the animation editor from the Animation pop-up menu. 1686 Property Editors Animation button To animate a parameter: t Click the Animation button beside the parameter you want to animate. The Animation button turns red to indicate that a keyframe was set. To reset an animated parameter: t Right-click an Animation button and select Remove Animation. To access the Animation menu: t Right-click an Animation button—see Animation Menu. Animation Menu The Animation pop-up menu lets you open the animation editor, create an expression, locate and remove keyframes, and set keyframes automatically for the selected parameter. To access the Animation pop-up menu: t Right-click the Animation button in any property editor. 1687 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description Animation Editor Displays the animation editor—see “Understanding the Animation Editor” in the Help. Create Expression Opens the Expression Editor. If there was any exisiting animation for the parameter, it is replaced by an expression that is “0”. This will be replaced when you create an expression—see “Animating with Expressions”. Remove Key Removes keyframes for the parameter at the current position indicator location Remove Animation Removes all keyframes for the parameter in the function curve First Key Moves the position indicator to the first keyframe set for the parameter in the function curve Last Key Moves the position indicator to the last keyframe set for the parameter in the function curve Previous Key Moves the position indicator to the previous keyframe set for the parameter Next Key Moves the position indicator to the next keyframe set for the parameter Autokey Turns Autokey mode on or off. Automatically creates keyframes as you adjust the settings. n Tip: You can activate this mode by clicking the Autokey button at the bottom-right of the desktop. Constant Changes the function curve to a constant curve. This option has no effect on a motion path. Linear Changes the function curve to a linear curve Bézier Changes the function curve to a Bézier curve Effect Controls The effect controls let you preview effects, limit processing to a selected region in the viewer, bypass effects, crop function curves in the animation editor, and select effects. 1688 Property Editors Preview Select Effect Effect controls Option Description Preview Plays the output of the current effect in the viewer Activate Switches the context to the interactive tool of the effect associated with the property editor. For example, when switching between effects, such as a DVE and a Tracker, you must activate the tool before you can use the interactive tools in the viewer. Subregion Limits processing to a specified region in the viewer. Drag a rectangular area to specify the region. Bypass Turns off the effect. When you use multiple input effects, such as a Composite effect, the first input is passed through directly as the output. Crop Curves Crops the selected effect’s function curve in the animation editor when the effect is resized on the timeline Select Effect Selects the current effect on the timeline, in an Effects tree or in the Layers view, and displays its property editor. This is most useful if you are using many effects and want to quickly identify property editors with their corresponding clips. Open a property editor, lock it, and click the Select Effect button to highlight the clip in the timeline, Effects Tree, or Layers view. n Not available in the Graphics and 3D DVE layouts. 1689 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description Previous Effect/Next Effect Selects the previous/next effect on the timeline, Effects Tree, or Layers view, and displays its property editor. The display of effects depends on the effect type. If you are using multiple, different types of effects, such as four Color Correction and two Channel Switcher (image effect) effects, then the current effect type is sequentially displayed each time you click the Previous Effect or Next Effect button. To display other effect types used on the timeline, press Ctrl to display them. For more information, see The Effects Library. n Not available in the Graphics and 3D DVE layouts. Effects Tree Controls The Effects Tree controls let you view or bypass an effect, expand an Effects Tree, or display another effect’s property editor. Effects Tree controls Effects list n 1690 Depending on which effect you apply, these controls may be arranged differently on the property page. Property Editors Option Description View Displays the output of the current effect in the viewer. n n n Expand When you want to change an effect and you’ve added more effects after it, you can view the effect if you want to focus only on the current effect. You can only view one node at a time. If several nodes are selected, the V key and the toolbar button are not available. Tip: On the Shape and Paint trackers, it’s useful to select both the View and Bypass options to improve tracking speed. Expands the current Effects Tree. For example, if you apply a Selective Color Correction effect in an Effects Tree and click Expand, the tree expands to display the effects that comprise this effect. n Effects List This option is only applicable when you use Effects Tree effects, such as the Selective Color Correction effect or if you fold nodes. Lets you choose the effect to display in the current property editor. This is useful when you have many effects in an Effects Tree and want to quickly switch to display the properties of another effect. n Only effects on which the Expose command is selected are displayed in this list. Process Controls The process controls let you choose what to process and how it will be processed. Process controls 1691 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description Frame Processes effects in the current frame and creates a cache file. Makes the effect viewable on the selected frame. Auto-process Turns the Frame option on or off. When selected, each time you change a parameter, the frame is automatically reprocessed. All Processes all frames with the applied effect and creates a cache file. Makes the effect playable in real time. Preview For real-time playable effects, plays back the current effect. For unprocessed non-real-time playable effects, plays back a lower quality preview version of the effect, with dropped frames, in Loop mode. DVE-Tracker Controls Available only in the 2D DVE property editor, the tracker controls let you set specific options for tracking images using the 2D DVE. Tracker controls 1692 Option Description Global Applies a transformation (scale, rotation, or translation) to participating layers in the composite. The DVE property editor for each layer must also have its Global DVE option activated. SRT Turns on/off any DVE transformation (scaling, rotation, or translation) that has been applied to the current layer Track Turns on/off any motion tracking that has been applied to the current layer. Clicking the Tracker button opens the Motion Tracker property editor. Property Editors Option Description Activate When you are using more than one interactive tool at the same time (in the Compositing layout), such as a Luma keyer and DVE, clicking the Activate button gives priority to the property editor on which this button was pressed. For example, if you scaled an image using the DVE, and then click the Activate button in the Luma keyer property editor, the image appears in full size to let you concentrate on areas in the image that you want to key out. Preset Controls The preset controls let you save and load presets. A thumbnail of the current effect is displayed with the preset controls. Preset controls Option Save Preset Load Preset Description Saves presets by opening the Save Preset dialog box, where you can save the current parameter settings as a preset. You can choose the folder to save it in or create a new folder in which to store your customized presets. Loads and displays presets by opening the Load Preset dialog box, where you can select a preset file to load into the property editor. Displays the thumbnail of the selected effect Thumbnail Transition Controls The transition controls let you specify the type and duration of a transition. 1693 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Transition controls Option Description Dur (duration) Specifies the duration, in frames, of a transition Select Transition Lets you choose between the Dissolve, DVE, and Wipe transitions Transition location Specifies whether the selected edit point is the start, center, or end of the transition Recycling, Locking, and Focusing Property Editors The title bar buttons let you recycle, lock, and focus property editors. This lets you work more efficiently with property editors. You can display the same property editor, compare the parameter values of two different objects by locking and displaying their property editors, and view several different property editors for the same object simultaneously. This is especially useful when working with graphics because many graphics objects have similar properties. By combining some of the modes in a property editor, you can control exactly how you want the property editor to behave when displaying objects. By default, most property editors are set to Recycle mode when you first display them. Using the Recycle Mode In the Recycle mode, the same property editor window is reused whenever you select an object. For example, if you open one effect’s property editor, and then select a different effect, the properties of the first effect are replaced by the properties of the second effect. 1694 Property Editors To use the Recycle mode: 1. Double-click an effect bar on the timeline. 2. In the title bar of the property editor, click the Recycle button. By default, most property editors are set to the Recycle mode. Property editor in Recycle mode Property editor displays properties of selected effect 3. Select a different object, such as a clip or a different effect. The same property editor window updates to display the properties of the newly selected object. 1695 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Property editor in Recycle mode Same property editor window is used to display properties of the newly selected object, the Clouds clip. Using the Lock Mode In the Lock mode, the property editor continues to display the properties of the object on which it is locked. That is, it does not react to any subsequent selections you make. You can, for example, lock the property editor of one graphics object and open another property editor for a different graphics object. This lets you compare the parameter values between the two graphics objects. n 1696 Property editors accessed from the Layers view are automatically set to Focus mode instead of the default Recycle mode. Property Editors To use the Lock mode: 1. Select an object and open its property editor. 2. In the title bar of the property editor, click the Lock button. The property editor is locked to the selected object. Property editor in Lock mode Selected object 3. If desired, select another object and open its property editor. A second property editor (in Recycle mode) opens on top of the first property editor. 1697 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Property editor in Recycle mode Second selected object and its property editor in Recycle mode 4. Drag the second property editor to another location to view both property editors, so that you can compare the values of both graphics objects. Property editor of second selected object in recycle mode. Property editor of first selected object in lock mode. Viewing the two property editors side-by-side lets you compare and adjust values. 1698 Property Editors Using the Focus Mode In the Focus mode, a property editor displays the properties of a specific type of property. The Focus and Lock modes differ in that the Lock mode links a property editor with a specific object, such as a stroke or text body, whereas the Focus mode links a property editor with a type of property, such as brush or fill. Property editors in Focus mode will continue to update as the selection changes—as long as the type of object doesn’t change. Property editors in Lock mode ignore selection changes. This mode is most useful in the Graphics layout, where there are many different types of properties, such as the brush or fill properties of a stroke, or the face, edge, or shadow properties of a title. Setting a property editor to Focus mode ensures that a property editor of a particular type, such as brush properties, is always available in a layout. To use the Focus mode: 1. Select an object and open its property editor. The graphics property tree displays the properties of the selected object. 2. From the graphics property tree, click a property button. The property editor is in the default Recycle mode. 3. In the title bar of the property editor, click the Focus button. The property editor is focused on the specific type of property you selected. 1699 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Property editor in Focus mode Selected object and its property editor in Focus mode 4. From the graphics property tree, click a different property button. t If the property you selected was the same type as the first, then the same property editor window is used to display its properties. t If the property is of a different type than the first, then a second property editor (in Recycle mode) is opened to display its properties. The first property editor continues to display the properties of the object on which it is focused. 5. Drag the second property editor to another location to view both property editors at the same time. 1700 Property Editors Brush stroke properties of selected object Brush Fx properties of selected object Property editors of both selected property buttons Combining Modes By combining some of the modes in a property editor, you can control exactly how you want the property editor to behave when displaying objects. n Only two modes can be active at any given time. The Recycle and Focus modes cannot be active simultaneously. Here are all the possibilities for combining modes: To focus and lock property editors: 1. Click the Focus button. 2. Press Ctrl and click the Lock button. To recycle and lock property editors: 1. Click the Recycle button. 2. Press Ctrl and click the Lock button. To undo a mode combination: t Do one of the following: 1701 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference - Click the button of the mode you want to keep. - Press Ctrl and click the button of the mode you want to remove. Entering Values There are several ways to enter numerical values and timecode information in Avid DS Nitris. You can choose the method that is the most convenient for you. There are also keyboard shortcuts available that let you quickly enter values and timecodes. Using Text Boxes Text boxes are located beside or below a property name in a dialog box or property editor. To increase or decrease values in a text box, you can enter new values directly in the box, or use a number of different keyboard and mouse operations. Text box Slider Drag clockwise or counterclockwise to increase or decrease values To enter and adjust values in a text box: 1. Click in a text box. The contents of the text box is selected and an insertion point (flashing vertical bar) appears. 2. Do one of the following: 1702 t Type in the numerical values and press Enter. t Use any of the following shortcuts. Property Editors To enter value Do this Increase value by 1/10 of • a unit • • Decrease value by 1/10 of • a unit • • Press Shift+] Hold down the Shift key and drag clockwise around the text box Hold down the Shift key and roll the mouse wheel forward Press Shift+[ Hold down the Shift key and drag counterclockwise around the text box Hold down the Shift key and roll the mouse wheel backward Increase value by 1 unit Press ] or roll the mouse wheel forward Decrease value by 1 unit Press [ or roll the mouse wheel backward Increase value by 10 units • Decrease value by 10 units Press Ctrl+] • Hold down the Ctrl key and drag clockwise around the text box • Hold down the Ctrl key and roll the mouse wheel forward • Press Ctrl+[ • Hold down the Ctrl key and drag counterclockwise around the text box • Hold down the Ctrl key and roll the mouse wheel backward Cancel command and close a dialog box Press Esc Set value to minimum Press Ctrl+Home Set value to maximum Press Ctrl+End To replace the contents of a text box: 1. Click in a text box. The contents of the text box is highlighted in blue. 1703 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference 2. Type in new values and press Enter. Using Sliders Sliders are located beside a text box in property editors and dialog boxes. There are two modes in which you can use the sliders: Classic mode and Relative mode. In the Classic mode, the sliders behave in the standard Avid DS Nitris fashion. In the Relative mode, the slider’s movement corresponds to the amount or distance that you move the mouse. It also uses the entire slider range, from the beginning of the text box to the end of the slider itself. Relative mode is the default slider mode. To change the slider mode: t Right-click the slider and select one of the following: - Classic Mode - Relative Mode and then select the level of sensitivity when dragging the mouse (Low, Medium, or High) To adjust values using the slider: t Click anywhere on the slider and drag to increase or decrease the value. t Hold down the Shift key and drag to change value by 1/10 of a unit. t Hold down the Ctrl key and drag to change value by 10 units. t If you want the relative slider to behave temporarily as it does in classic mode, press the Ctrl+Shift keys and click the slider to jump to the new location. To show/hide the calculator: t Do one of the following: - Press R and click a slider. - Right-click the calculator and select/deselect Show Calculator. Adjusting the Slider Outside the Slider Area In both Relative and Classic modes, you can use the slider to adjust the values of a property without having to be in the slider area. That is, the pointer can be anywhere on the desktop. 1704 Property Editors To adjust the slider while outside the slider area: 1. Press C and click the slider. The pointer turns into a double-pointed arrow. 2. You can now move the pointer anywhere on the desktop and click-drag the pointer to adjust the values of the property. n You can also use the Shift key (to change value by 1/10 of a unit) and the Ctrl key (to change value by 10 units) while working in this new mode. Using the Calculator The calculator button is located at the far-right of a text box. You can show or hide the calculator. To enter values using the calculator: 1. Click the Calculator button next to the slider. The calculator is displayed. 2. Do one of the following: t Use the keyboard to enter numbers. t Use your pointer to select numbers on the calculator. 3. If you performed mathematical operations, click the Equal button. 4. Click OK. The calculator closes and the value is added to the text box. Using Timecode Boxes There are SMPTE timecode boxes in several places in the Avid DS Nitris interface, such as in the status bar, on the transport controls, and in property editors. Entering values in timecode boxes is similar to entering values in text boxes except that you can also use absolute or relative input methods. The absolute input method replaces the current value with the value you enter. The relative input method offsets the current timecode by the value you specify. The following table summarizes the various means of entering values in timecode boxes assuming that the current timecode is 01:12:34:00. 1705 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference You enter NTSC result PAL result Description Absolute Input Method 5223 00:00:52:23 00:00:52:23 Replaces the current timecode /5223 01:12:52:23 01:12:52:23 Replaces the rightmost portion of current timecode .40 00:00:01:10 00:00:01:15 Replaces the current timecode with this many frames (direct frame entry) 10:00.40 00:10:01:10 00:10:01:15 Combines timecode value with direct frame entry 3:::1 03:00:00:01 03:00:00:01 Skip fields by entering colons (:) Relative Input Method 1706 110+ 110- 01:12:35:10 01:12:32:20 01:12:35:10 01:12:32:15 Increases or decreases the current timecode by the value entered .110+ .110- 01:12:37:20 01:12:30:10 01:12:38:10 01:12:29:15 Increases or decreases the current timecode by the number of frames entered 1.10+ 1.10- 1:12:35:10 1:12:32:20 1:12:35:10 1:12:32:15 Use the period (.) to separate seconds and frames. ] or [ 01:12:34:01 01:12:33:29 01:12:34:01 01:12:33:24 Nudges the current timecode up or down by 1 frame Shift+] or Shift+[ 01:12:34:01 01:12:33:20 01:12:34:10 01:12:33:15 Nudges the current timecode up or down by 10 frames Toolbars Toolbars The toolbars contain commonly used tools, as well as presets which are specially customized effects, transitions, or tools. Toolbar buttons let you activate tools or commands and apply presets. For example, you can save a color correction preset and then apply it to other clips in a sequence. Or you can save a titling style as a preset and use it to quickly create new titles. Toolbar Menu The Toolbar pop-up menu lets you create new toolbars, delete and copy toolbars, display toolbar buttons as text or icons, show or hide the toolbars’ title bars, customize existing toolbars, and more. To access the Toolbar menu: t Right-click a button on a toolbar. Option Description Customize Menu Button For menus, lets you rename the button on the toolbar and reorder the commands and presets in the list. For preset list buttons, lets you rename the button on the toolbar, set the path to the preset folder, and turn on/off the display of submenus. Toolbar Group Separator Changes the name of the group Remove Item from Toolbar Deletes a selected item from the toolbar Customize Toolbars Displays the Customize Toolbars window, which lets you add buttons for the following to a selected toolbar: commands, menus, property editors, floating toolbars, transports controls (viewer area only), timecode boxes, and more. Show Hidden Items Displays the space separators (in red) which are usually invisible in the toolbar, such as the vertical and horizontal spacing between buttons, line breaks, and empty lines. This is very useful when customizing toolbars. 1707 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description New Toolbar Creates a new toolbar Copy Toolbar Copies the current toolbar and displays it on the desktop Delete Toolbar Deletes the selected floating toolbar. Display Titlebar n You cannot delete the fixed, default toolbars. Displays the title bar of a selected toolbar. Does not apply to the floating toolbars. Auto-Close Toolbar Automatically closes a floating toolbar after executing a command Button Theme Lets you select a different style for the look of the buttons on the toolbar. There are eight themes: 3rdFloor, Alpha, Alumina, Carboneum, Evo (default), Evo1, Lamellae, and Pane. Button Mode Lets you display buttons as icons or text Button Size Lets you display buttons in various sizes: thin, default, or large Command Mapping Dialog Box The Command Mapping dialog box lets you associate commands with keys or key combinations that, when pressed, provide quick access to the commands, tools, views, or property editors you most frequently use. You can choose one of several default command maps, or create your own. 1708 Command Mapping Dialog Box Templates let you save a set of command maps. Default templates include the Avid DS Nitris default keys. You can also create your own template. When you select a group, a list of commands is displayed in the Command list. If a command is mapped to a modifier key, the Ctrl, Shift, or Alt options will be selected when you select a command from the list. The keymap shows the keys that are mapped to the current group, the currently selected command, and global keys, which exist in all contexts and views. To access the Command Mapping dialog box: t Select File > Command Mapping. Option Description Template Lists the available templates New Adds a new template Remove Removes currently selected template View in Explorer Lets you view the command maps in the current template in Internet Explorer Group Lists the available groups which contain tools and views 1709 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description Command Lists the commands under the currently selected group and the key to which they are mapped Description Shows a description of the currently selected command, and the key to which it is bound. Clear Context Removes the binding between the selected key and its command n You cannot clear bindings in a default template. Defines a collection of tools, key mappings, and views dedicated to a type of work View Lists the views with which you may be working. When selected, this option will show if conflicts exist between command maps within the current context. Modifier Keys Changes the command normally associated with a key, if held down when the command key is pressed. Modifier keys include Ctrl, Shift, and Alt. Ctrl Shows the command maps controlled by the Ctrl modifier Shift Shows the command maps controlled by the Shift modifier Alt Shows the command maps controlled by the Alt modifier Using Templates for Command Maps Templates allow you to save a set of command maps. Default templates include the Avid DS Nitris default keys, as well as templates based on other popular, standard keyboard templates. You can use a default template or customize one. Default templates cannot be edited. To use an existing template: t From the Template list, select a template. A list of default and custom keyboard templates is displayed. To create a new template: t 1710 Click the New button and Enter a name for the new template. Command Mapping Dialog Box To remove a template: t n Click the Remove button. You cannot delete a default template or any of its commands. Customizing the Command Map The default shortcuts are read-only. To define your own keys, you’ll need to create a new template. Before assigning a key to a command, you can verify if that key is already used in other layouts. You can map commands using specific keys of your preference. Or you can choose an existing template to work with and customize the key commands. The keyboard mapping in Avid DS Nitris is layered. That is, each layout, or context, has its own collection of tools, key mappings, and views dedicated to a specific type of work. To see if a given key is being used or not, you need to specify the context and the view you will be working in. For example, if you are working in the Graphics layout, which is considered the graphics context, and you open the animation editor. The animation editor now takes priority. Now, if you press A, the Add Keys command from the animation editor would take priority instead of the Select tool, which also has its shortcut mapped to A in the Graphics layout. To create a new template: 1. In the Command Mapping dialog box, click the New button. 2. Enter a name for the new template. A copy of the existing template is created and saved under another name. You can customize it to optimize your work. To assign a key to a command: 1. In the Command Mapping dialog box, select a template from the Template list. 2. Select a group from the Group list. 3. Drag a command from the Command list to a key on the keyboard displayed in the Command Mapping dialog box. The key mapped to this command is shown in red on the on-screen keyboard, and its associated key binding appears in the Current Binding box. 1711 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference For combination keys, such as Alt+key, Ctrl+key, Shift+key, Alt+Shift+key, drag a command to a key on the keyboard while pressing the modifier keys. n If you map a command to key that is already assigned, it will take priority. The command that was previously mapped to that key will no longer be mapped to any key; it will be unassigned. Viewing the Mapped Commands You can use command maps as a reference for keyboard shortcuts during your work sessions, or to check whether a key has already been mapped to another command. Viewing command maps in a browser window gives you a printable list that you can use as an offline reference. To view the mapped commands: 1. Select a template from the Template list. A list of groups associated with this template is displayed. 2. From the Group list, select a group. A list of commands in this group is displayed in the Command list, and the keys that are mapped to the current group are shown in a tan color on the keyboard. Commands that are global and exist in all contexts are shown in beige. 3. From the Command list, select a command. The key mapped to this command is displayed in red on the keyboard. If a command is mapped to a modifier key, then the Ctrl, Shift, and/or Alt options are selected when you choose the command in the list. To view the mapped commands in a browser: 1. Select a template from the Template list. 2. Click the View in Explorer button. Checking to See if a Key is Free To know if a given key is currently unassigned, you must specify the context and the view you will be working in. A context is a collection of tools, key mappings, and views dedicated to a type of work. 1712 Command Mapping Dialog Box Specifying the context and view will reveal any conflicts with commands mapped to the same key, but in different contexts. These conflicts are shown in dark brown. For example, suppose you’re working in the Graphics layout, which is also considered the graphics context, and you open the animation editor. If you press A, the Add Keys command from the animation editor would take priority and you would not be able to activate the command that you would usually get in the Graphics layout, which is the Select tool To see if the key is used in another context: 1. Select a template from the Template list. 2. From the Context list, select the context that most closely reflects the work you will be doing. 3. From the View list, select the view in which you will be working. By selecting and deselecting the View option, you can see if a conflict exists between two commands when you are working in the chosen context and view. These conflicts are indicated by displaying a dark brown key. This information will help you to create your own custom command map or template. Key color Description White Keys that are free and not mapped to any command in the current context or view Beige Keys that are global and exist in all contexts and views Tan Keys that are mapped to commands grouped under the currently selected group Red Key that is currently selected in the command list Dark Brown Keys that are also being used currently by another view or context that are of higher priority. The keys will continue to work as expected within the group until you enter a view or context with a higher priority. 1713 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Edit Layout Dialog Box The Edit Layout dialog box lets you specify whether changes that you make to layouts are saved for future sessions, or used for the current session only. If you do not save your edits, they will be lost when you close Avid DS Nitris. Option Description Layouts Lists the Avid DS Nitris layouts.Layouts that you edited are automatically selected. Deselect layouts if you do not want to save the edits that you made. Save Saves changes to selected layouts for future sessions Don’t Save Applies changes to edited layouts for the current session without saving them for future sessions Load Preset Dialog Box The Load Preset dialog box lets you load a preset into a property page. Option Description Avid Explorer Tools Lets you navigate through and manage the contents of your bins. Blend Property Editor Changes the way the contents of the bin are displayed. These tools appear for all bin contents. File Name Lets you enter a name for your preset. File Types Lets you select a file type for your preset. Preference Management Dialog Box The Preference Management dialog box lets you import and export preference sets. A preference set is a collection of Avid DS Nitrislayouts, toolbars, combo views, and/or key maps. Importing and exporting preference sets lets you share customized controls with other users. 1714 Preference Management Dialog Box When you import or export a preference set, its internal hierarchy is preserved. For example, if you export an entire layout, any toolbars contained in the layout are automatically exported with it. n Preference sets with the same name are appended with a number to differentiate them. To access the Preference Management dialog box: t Select Layout > Import/Export Preferences. Export Preferences Property Page The Export Preferences property page lists all of the components of the current preference set (layouts, toolbars, combo view, and keymaps), and lets you export some or all of them as a new preference set. n Option Description Preference Set to Export Lets you select specific components of the current preference set to export as a new preference set Type Specifies whether you are exporting entire layouts, toolbars, combo views, or keymaps Select All Selects all available components Select None Deselects all available components Export Displays the Export Preferences dialog box When you export existing layout to a new preference set, its components are automatically exported as well. When you export a preference set, you can only include the layouts and keymaps you customized. You can export any toolbar. To export a preference set: 1. In the Preference Management dialog box, select the Export Preferences tab. 2. Select the controls that you want to export. Use the Type list to switch between the layouts, toolbars, and keymaps in the preference sets. 1715 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference 3. Click the Select All button to select all controls. 4. Click Export to export the selected controls. 5. Do one of the following: t In the File Name text box, enter the path to the folder in which you want to save the preference sets. t Click Paths to select a default or project path. t Use the Avid Explorer to navigate to the folder in which you want to save the preference sets. 6. Enter a name for the preference set in the File Name text box and click OK. Import Preferences Property Page The Import Preferences property page lets you select a preference set from which import components (layouts, toolbars, combo views, and keymaps). For example, you can import a custom layout that another user has designed and exported. Option Description Filename Specifies the name of the preference set from which you are importing components Browse... Preference Set to Import 1716 Displays the Import Preferences dialog box, where you can select a preference set to import Lets you select specific components from the preference set Type Specifies whether you are importing entire layouts, toolbars, combo views, or keymaps Select All Selects all of the components in the preference set Select None Deselects all of the components in the preference set Import Imports all of the selected components from the preference set Save Preset Dialog Box n When you import an entire layout from an existing preference set, its components are automatically imported as well. Some types of layouts are unsupported and can not be imported. When you import a preference set, you can import all of the controls in the set, or you can select only the controls that you need. To import a preference set: 1. In the Preference Management dialog box, select the Import Preferences tab. 2. Do one of the following: t In the File Name text box, enter the name and location of the preference sets that you want to import. t Click Browse. The Import Preferences dialog box is displayed. 3. Locate the preference sets that you want to import and click OK. 4. Select the controls that you want to import. Use the Type list to switch between the layouts, toolbars, combo views, and keymaps preference sets. 5. Click the Select All button to select all controls. 6. Click the Import button to import the selected controls. You will be prompted to restart Avid DS Nitriswhen the import is complete. If you imported a layout, additional layout buttons appear in the taskbar. Save Preset Dialog Box The Save Preset dialog box lets you save the settings of your property editor as a preset in a desired location. Option Description Avid Explorer Tools Lets you navigate through and manage the contents of your bins. Blend Property Editor Changes the way the contents of the bin are displayed. These tools appear for all bin contents. 1717 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description File Name Lets you enter a name for your preset. File Types Lets you select a file type for your preset. User Preferences Dialog Box The User Preferences dialog box lets you adjust the settings that affect the way you work with Avid DS Nitris. For example, you can set preferences, such as automatic saves, number of undo levels, animation preferences, and the number of type of tracks to display when you open a new sequence. You can also set editing preferences, such as pre-roll and post-roll frames. After setting the preferences, they become part of your user profile under your user name. The next time you start Avid DS Nitris, these preferences are used. n Do not customize the fonts, windows scheme, or taskbar properties on the Windows 2000 desktop or Avid DS Nitris may not function properly. To open the User Preferences dialog box: t 1718 Select File > User Preferences. User Preferences Dialog Box General Property Page The General property page lets you set preferences, such as automating the loading of the current sequence, setting the number of undo levels, and autosaving preferences. For example, if you know that you will be working on the same sequence for several sessions, you can set Avid DS Nitris to automatically open that sequence each time you start the application. You can also set Avid DS Nitris to automatically save your work at regular intervals. Option Description Window Management Sets preferences for window management Highlight the Window with Shows you which view has focus by displaying Focus small red brackets at the view’s corners Give Windows Focus When the Mouse Enters Them Update Default Window Size/Position Gives focus to an area by rolling the mouse over it Lets you choose the default window size and position based on the last resized window, the last closed window, or the last moved window. On Resizing Sets the default window size and position based on the last resized window On Closing Sets the default window size and position based on the last closed window On Moving Sets the default window size and position based on the last moved window Autosave Sets autosave preferences Save Automatically Every Saves the current sequence at regular intervals. This X Minutes option can protect you from losing work in the event of a power failure or system failure. Miscellaneous Sets user preferences, such as number of undo levels and loading last sequence at startup 1719 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Load Last Sequence at Startup Description Loads the last saved sequence each time you start. Tip: If you need to override this setting, hold down the Shift key when you double-click the Avid DS Nitris icon when starting the application. This is useful when you want to start a new sequence. Single Click on Container Icon Opens Container Opens a container clip with a single click. Usually, you have to double-click on the container clip to open it. Number of Undo Levels Sets the number of commands or actions that you can undo and redo. The default number is 50; maximum is 1000. The higher the number of levels you set, the more memory is required (which can slow down performance), but the further you can backtrack. n Scrubbing Play Audio When Scrubbing Tip: You can access the Undo and Redo commands from the Edit menu. The keyboard shortcuts are Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y, respectively. Sets scrubbing preferences When selected, lets you hear the audio tracks when scrubbing on the timeline Animation Property Page The Animation property page lets you set preferences, such as the default interpolation and slope mode for inserted keys. If you frequently animate objects or parameters, you can set Avid DS Nitris to automatically set keyframes as you adjust an object’s properties or a parameter’s values. Instead of clicking the Animation Key button each time you want to add a keyframe, the Autokey mode automatically records any adjustments that you make. 1720 User Preferences Dialog Box Option Description Default Interpolation for Inserted Keys Sets the default interpolation type for inserted keys Automatic (From Neighboring Keys) Repeats the value of a key point. The movement is characterized by sudden changes at keyframes and static positions between keyframes. Constant Repeats the value of a key point until the next one. The movement is characterized by sudden changes at keyframes and static positions between keyframes. Linear Connects key points by straight line segments. The movement is characterized by sudden changes at each keyframe. Spline Results in a smooth transition. When selected, spline interpolation accelerates and decelerates to ease into and out of each keyframe. The degree of acceleration and deceleration before and after the keyframe is determined by the key point’s tangent handles. Default Slope Constraint for Inserted Keys Sets the default slope type for inserted keys None (DS - Use Neighboring Slopes) Sets the slope of an inserted key automatically using the slopes of neighboring keys. This mode does not affect the slope of these neighboring keys. Automatic (3D - Use & Affect Neighboring Slopes) Sets the slope of an inserted key automatically to the slopes of neighboring keys. This mode affects the slope of neighboring keys. Plateau (Horizontal for Local Min & Max) Sets the slope of an inserted key automatically to zero if the next key has the same value, or if that key is a local minima or maxima. A local minima/maxima is a key point where both previous and next keys have either smaller (minima) or larger (maxima) values. This is useful for holding key point values to prevent the automatic interpolation from going above or below your keyframed values. 1721 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Zero (All Horizontal) Autokey Set Keys When Changing Values (Autokey) Description Constrains the slope of key points to zero. The tangent handles remain horizontal, so that only the slope tension can be modified. Toggles the Autokey button on or off Automatically sets keyframes as you adjust an object’s properties or a parameter’s values. Instead of clicking the Animation Key each time you want to add a keyframe, the Autokey button automatically records any adjustment that you make. Editing Property Page The Editing property page lets you change various default settings, such as the preferred track type, transition duration, still image duration, and the number of pre-roll and post-roll frames. Option Description Extra Material Lets you change the number of pre-roll and post-roll frames Pre-roll (frames) Specifies the default number of pre-roll frames before a transition (or timeline selection). When you play back the processed frames, the pre-roll frames are added to the in-point. Post-roll (frames) Specifies the default number of post-roll frames after a transition (or timeline selection). When you play back the processed frames, the postroll frames are added to the out-point. Selectable Objects (J-K-L keys) 1722 Lets you select the type of object that moves on the timeline when you use the J-K-L keys Edit Points and Clip Handles Lets you to move these objects with the J-K-L keys Clips Lets you move clips with the J-K-L keys Effect bars Lets you move effect bars with the J-K-L keys User Preferences Dialog Box Option Description Activeness Lets you move activeness bars with the J-K-L keys Markers and Locators Lets you move locators, in-points, and outpoints with the J-K-L keys Preferred video track type Lets you select the type of track when you create new tracks inside of a sequence Transitions Lets you specify default values for transition duration and position Default Duration (frames) Specifies the default length, in frames, of transitions Default Position Specifies the default position of a transition with respect to the selected edit point. Start: The transition begins at the edit point Center: The transition is centered over the edit point End: The transition ends at the edit point Default Still Image Duration (frames) Specifies the number of frames you want to be created when you capture a still image Show Overlays in Viewer Displays locators (global, local/clip), in/outpoints, start/end of clip, and start/end of available material Always update clips in source viewer Automatically updates the clip in the bin when the in-point or out-point of a clip in the source viewer is changed Titling Property Page The Titling property page lets you set preferences that allow you to see or hide text outside the output area, as well as control the way text is selected. Option Description Disable Text Overlay Allows you to see text existing outside the output area 1723 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description Selection Criteria Controls the way text is selected when you hold down the Ctrl key (Ctrl+mouse) and drag Titling Font Only Lets you select text characters with like fonts when you hold down the Ctrl key and drag Titling Style Only Lets you select text characters with like style attributes, such as bold, italic, etc., when you hold down the Ctrl key and drag Both Lets you select all text characters when you hold down the Ctrl key and drag Effects Tree Property Page The Effects Tree property page lets you set preferences that affect how nodes in the Effects Tree are connected and disconnected, how tooltips are displayed, the speed in which the Effects Tree pans, how names are displayed on nodes and ports, and how new nodes are place in Effects Trees. 1724 Option Description Interaction Sets preferences for connecting and disconnecting nodes in the Effects Tree Enable Enhanced Interaction Enables enhanced features such as “kissing”, “ripping”, “twanging” and sticky connections. Connecting Nodes (1=slow, 10=fast) Lets you increase or decrease the response time when connecting nodes. For example, a value of 1 means that when you drag a node to touch another node (“kissing”), you have to hold it there for a longer period of time before a connection is made. Disconnecting Nodes (1=slow, 10=fast) Lets you increase or decrease the response when disconnecting nodes. For example, a value of 1 means that you can easily “rip” a node away from another node to disconnect it. User Preferences Dialog Box Option Description Minimum Node Drag for Interaction (in pixels) Lets you set the distance in which you must drag a node (in pixels) before interaction will take place. For example, the default setting of 20 means that you must drag a node at least 20 pixels before it will be connected (twangs) to another node. Values range from 0 to 500. If this option is set to 0, then automatic connection twanging will take place if you click or double-click a node. Allow Connection Replacement Lets you turn connection replacement on or off. When selected, you can replace a connection using enhanced interactivity such as “kissing” or “twanging”. When this option is deselected, a node will only twang to a connection if there is currently nothing attached to its input port. Pan Speed (0=None, 10=Fast) Lets you set the speed at which the Effects Tree pans when you drag nodes around. Values range from 0 (no panning) to 10 (fastest). Node Attract/Repel Spacing (1=Small, 10=Large) Let you set the spacing in which nodes are pushed/pulled towards or away from each other. Values range from 1 to 10. A larger value attracts/repels nodes a larger distance. Auto-expand Collapsed Nodes Lets you automatically expand a collapsed node when you position the pointer over it. When you move the pointer away from the node, it automatically collapses again. n Tooltip Settings Tip: If you want a node to remain expanded while this option is selected, deselect Collapse from the menu when you right click on a node. Sets preferences for tooltips. This is helpful, for example, when you zoom out an Effects Tree and it’s difficult to see a node’s name. You can display tooltips on nodes, node inputs, and connectors, and specify the speed at which the tooltips are displayed. Enable Tooltips on Nodes Displays tooltips on nodes Enable Tooltips on Node Inputs Displays tooltips on node inputs 1725 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description Enable Tooltips on Connectors Displays tooltips on connectors between nodes Tooltip Delay (in milliseconds) Lets you specify how quickly (in milliseconds) tooltips are displayed when you position the cursor over a node, node input, or connector. New Nodes Collapse Lets you set how new nodes are displayed in an Effects Tree. Automatically collapses all new nodes that you add to an Effects Tree. This feature is useful to conserve space in your Effects Tree. n Use Input Names Tip: You can also select the Auto-expand Collapsed Nodes option so that nodes will automatically expand when you position the cursor over them. Lets you append the input port’s name with the input’s name instead of just Input 1, Input 2, etc. Node names are only displayed on nodes when this option is selected or if you choose “Use Input Names” from the menu when you right-click a node. For example, if a Blue Green keyer is connected to Input 1 of a Composite node, then the Composite node’s input port name will be displayed as “Input 1Blue Green Keyer” when you select this option from the Composite node. All input port names will update to reflect the input’s name. Mouse Zoom x Steps (1=Small, 10=Large) Lets you set the distance at which the Effects Tree zooms in or out when you use the commands Alt+Z (zoom in) and Alt+X (zoom out). A larger value increases the amount of the zoom. Capture Property Page The Capture property page lets you set options for controlling a deck during the capture process. 1726 User Preferences Dialog Box Option Description Recapture Options that affect recapture (batch capture) Rewind the tape after After all clips from a single tape are recaptured, sends a capture signal to the deck to rewind the tape. Eject the tape after capture After all clips from a single tape are recaptured, sends a signal to the deck to eject the tape. No interaction when inserting new tape Prevents Avid DS Nitris from displaying dialog boxes that would interrupt a batch capture. If you select this option and “Eject the tape after capture,” and you know the order of tapes, you can batch capture without interacting with the Avid DS Nitris application—see Batch Capturing Without Interaction. Display recapture list Displays a list of clips to be recaptured, which you can sort and select clips to be recaptured—see Capture List Dialog Box. Stop the deck after capture After capturing from tape, puts the deck into stop mode, rather than stand-by mode. Live Capture Options that affect live capture Verify capture Lets you turn the Avid DS Nitris verification codec on or off when capturing in Live mode only. The verification codec uses an error-checking feature that, if it detects a bad frame, might stop the capture. To prevent the codec from stopping a live capture, deselect this option. Data Management Property Page The Data Management property page lets you delete the unreferenced media of the current project when you quit Avid DS Nitris. You can also specify the number of frames that separate each clip that is archived to tape as well as the padding for generated subclip names. You can also specify your SMTP server so that you can receive email when your processing jobs are complete. Option Description Archive Lets you set a gap between clips on your archive tape. 1727 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description Gap between Clips in Archive (Frames) Specifies the number of frames that separate each clip that is archived to tape. The number must be an integer value between 1 and 50. n Padding for Generated Subclip Names The gap between your archived clips must be at least one frame to make sure that the whole archive is performed correctly and accurately. Lets you specify whether you want padding or zeroes added to subclip names. No padding to subclip suffix Specifies that no padding or no zeroes will be added to subclip names. Padded suffix Specifies that you want padding or zeroes added to subclip names. Maximum number of zeroes to use Specifies the number of zeroes to add to subclip names. Email Notification SMTP Server Lets you specify your SMTP server so that email messages can be sent. Lets you enter the name of your SMTP (Simple Mail Internet Protocol) email server, which lets Avid DS Nitris send an email message when a processing job is complete. Level Meters Property Page The Level Meters property page lets you adjust the settings for the Mixer, the Audio Input Monitor, and the Audio Output Monitor meters. 1728 Option Description Peak Specifies the level that you expect to be the maximum. Range: 0 to -24 dB Minimum Specifies the minimum level displayed on the Level meter. Range: -144.5 to -24 dB HeadRoom Specifies the expected dynamic range. Range: 0 to 24 dB User Preferences Dialog Box Option Description Alignment Specifies the level of the visual alignment indicator. Range: 0 to 24 dB less than the headroom level Graduations Specifies the space, in decibels, between the markings on the level meter. Range: 1 to 24 dB. A value of 0 turns off the level meter markings. Peak Hold Indicates whether the decibel level went above that of the specified peak level at any time during playback Max Hold Indicates the maximum decibel level achieved during playback Scale Waveform Display to Peak Level (Mixer only) Scales the waveform display on the timeline so that the edge of the display represents the peak level specified above. Any audio above the peak level is clipped. Scripting/Logging Property Page The Scripting/Logging property page lets you determine the scripting language for your scripts, the command log size, and whether a log file is created. Option Description Scripting Language Determines the scripting language used to create and run scripts Command Log Size Determines the number of command lines retained in the History pane of the Script Editor Lines Specifies the maximum number of command lines retained in the History pane of the Script Editor Unlimited Specifies that there is no limit to the number of command lines retained in the History pane of the Script Editor Log File Log Commands to File Lets you create a command log file for each Avid DS Nitris session Creates a command log file for each Avid DS Nitris session 1729 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description File Name Specifies the location where the log file is saved and its name ... Displays the Log File Path dialog box Avid Explorer Property Page The Avid Explorer property page lets you set options for how paths are displayed in a bin and whether to keep the Views menu open. Option Description Options Expand Views folder Keeps the Views folder open when the My System view is displayed in the Avid Explorer. The Views folder includes the Avid Event Log, Deck Configuration, Locators, Media Tool, Media Manager, and Tape Library views. Display the full path in the address bar Shows the complete system path in the address bar of any folder displayed through Avid Explorer. If this option is not selected, only the folder name is displayed. Display the full path in the title bar Shows the complete system path in the title bar of any folder displayed through Avid Explorer. If this option is not selected, only the folder name is displayed. File Grouping 1730 Available Shows the file formats available for grouping. These are all the formats that you can capture. Non-groupable formats, such asaiff, avi, gen, mov, mxf, omf, qt, wav, wma, wmv, etc., are not displayed in the list. Selected Shows the file formats selected for grouping. Add > Moves the selected file format(s) from the Available box to the Selected box for grouping. < Remove Moves the selected file format(s) from the Selected box to the Available box, so that it is not selected for grouping. Add All >> Moves all file formats to the Selected box for grouping. User Preferences Dialog Box Option Description << Remove All Moves all file formats to the Available box, so that nothing is selected for grouping. You can also do this by deselecting the File Grouping option. Group files as frame Sets the Avid DS Nitrisgroup folder to interpret sequential file names as frames. Deselect this option to interpret sequential file names as fields—see Grouping Files as Frames or Fields. Time Display Property Page The Time Display property page lets you specify how time is displayed on the timeline. Option Description Time Display Format Specifies which format is used to display time on the timecode scale. The available choices vary, depending on whether you are working on a PAL or NTSC sequence. Use Default Format Uses SMPTE NTSC drop frame for NTSC sequences, and EBU PAL (25 fps) for PAL sequences Use (other) Specifies whether to use the audio sample rate (NTSC and PAL) or SMPTE NTSC non-drop frame (NTSC only) Display as Frames Displays time in terms of frames only, as opposed to hours:minutes:seconds:frames Time Base Show Time in Top Time Specifies which timecode scale is displayed on the timeline (Container clips only) Displays the timecode scale of the top timeline. Show Time in Parent Time (Container clips only) Displays the timecode scale of the parent timeline. Show Time in Sequence Time Displays the timecode scale of the current sequence 1731 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Favorites Property Page The Favorites property page lets you set the paths or locations where presets for various groups are saved. You can also determine the folder in which preset families are classified. Option Description User Path The location where your own personal presets are saved Workgroup Path The location where presets for the group of people with whom you work are saved Factory Path Displays the default location of the original presets shipped with Avid DS Nitris Project Path Displays the default location of the current project’s presets Preset Family Locations Displays the folder in which preset families are located Path Displays the folder in which you can find the selected preset family Family Displays the family name of the presets Help Menu The Help menu lets you access the Avid DS Nitris help system to quickly retrieve reference information. You can also access other useful information, as described in the following table. To access the Help menu: t 1732 Select Help. Option Description Contents and Index Opens the online help, which includes a list of topics, an index, and a search feature Quick Starts Opens a submenu of help topics that provide basic information on how to create a project from start to finish Layout Menu Option Description Release Notes Opens the release notes, which include descriptions and movies of new features Keyboard Shortcuts Opens a PDF file that displays all the keyboards shortcuts Online Library If installed on your system, opens the Online Library for online viewing of the Avid DS documentation. Contacting Customer Support Opens a page that lists various ways of contacting customer support, including direct links for Web support. Online Avid Support Center Opens the Web site for the Avid Support Center. About Avid DS or Avid DS Nitris Displays the program’s build number and version along with the product serial number Layout Menu The Layout menu lets you customize the views in the current layout, or create your own layouts. To access the Layout menu: t Select Layout. Option Description Editing Displays the Editing layout Graphics Displays the Graphics layout Compositing Displays the Compositing layout 3D DVE Displays the 3D DVE layout Media Input/Output Displays the Media Input/Output layout Classic Layouts Displays the default layouts Xtra Layouts Displays alternate layouts 1733 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference 1734 Option Description New Layout Lets you create a custom layout. When a layout is created, a new layout button is added to the taskbar. Blank Lets you name and create a custom layout from scratch. Creates an empty layout to which you add the various layout components that you want to work with. To build your layout, use the components under New Layout > Copy Layout. Copy Current Layout Creates a custom layout based on the current layout Copy Layout Lets you create a custom layout based on a copy of an existing layout Edit Layout Turns edit mode on or off. In this mode, all the windows and views in the current layout are highlighted so that you can move or resize them. When you turn off the edit mode, your changes are automatically saved for the current session. Save Layouts Saves all edits made to your custom layout Restore Default Layout Restores the default configuration of the current layout New Combo View Creates a new combo view and puts you in Edit Combo View mode Edit Combo View Lets you customize a combo view Delete Combo View Deletes the currently active combo view New Toolbar Displays the toolbar dialog box in which you enter a name to create a custom toolbar. Customize Toolbars Displays the Customize Toolbars window, where you select from a category of tools to display their associated commands. These commands can be dragged to your custom toolbar for easy access while working. Import/Export Preferences Displays the Preference Management dialog box Slider Menu Slider Menu The Slider menu lets you set the slide mode, sensitivity of the mouse when dragging, and show or hide the calculator. To access the Slider menu: t Right-click a slider in a property page. Option Description Classic Mode Changes the behavior of all the sliders on this property page to the standard Windows behavior. Relative Mode Changes the behavior of all the sliders on this property page, so that values change according to how much you move the mouse. It also uses the entire slider range, from the beginning of the text box to the end of the slider itself. Relative mode is the default slider mode. To adjust values using the slider: • Click anywhere on the slider and drag to increase or decrease the value. • Hold down the Shift key and drag to change value by 1/10 of a unit. • Hold down the Ctrl key and drag to change value by 10 units. n Sensitivity Show Calculator Tip: If you want the relative slider to behave temporarily as it does in classic mode, press the Ctrl+Shift keys and click the slider to jump to the new location. Sets sensitivity of mouse when dragging (Low, Medium, or High) Shows or hides the calculator. 1735 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Splitter Menu The Splitter pop-up menu lets you remove horizontal and vertical splitter bars from a layout in Edit Layout mode. Removing splitter bars allows you to reduce the number of available views. To access the Splitter menu: 1. Select Layout > Edit Layout. 2. Position the pointer over a splitter bar, until you see the directional arrow, and right-click the splitter bar. Option Description Remove Splitter Bar Removes the selected splitter bar from the layout Taskbar Menu The Taskbar pop-up menu lets you add, remove, copy, and rename layouts. To access the Taskbar menu: t n 1736 Right-click a layout button in the taskbar. Option Description New Layout Creates an empty layout. You will be prompted to name the new layout. Copy Layout Copies the selected layout. You will be prompted to name the new layout. Rename Layout Displays the Rename Layout dialog box, where you can specify a new name for the selected layout Remove Layout Removes the selected layout from the taskbar Default layouts cannot be renamed or removed. These commands are not available when you right-click on a default layout’s button, in the taskbar. Text Box Menu Text Box Menu The Text Box menu lets you cut, copy, paste, delete, undo, and select all values. To access the Text Box menu: t In a property editor or dialog box, right-click a numerical text box. Option Description Undo Cancels the last action that you performed. You can perform multiple undos. n You can set the number of steps you can undo in the User Preferences dialog box (General property page). Cut Removes the current selection and places it on the Clipboard Copy Duplicates the current selection and places it on the clipboard Paste Replaces the current selection with the contents of the clipboard Delete Deletes the current selection Select All Selects all elements on the active window View Menu The View menu lets you customize your toolbars and select views. If you select a view that is not accessible from a view switcher in the current layout, the view is displayed in a new window, which you can resize and position. To access the View menu: t Select View. 1737 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description Single-Instance Views Displays the views that you can only once in a layout or view Multi-Instance Views Displays the views that you can use more than once in a layout or view Default Combo Views Displays the default combo views User Combo Views Displays the combo views that you have created Default Toolbars Displays the default toolbars User Toolbars Displays the toolbars you created Taskbar Shows or hides the taskbar at the far left of the desktop View Switcher Menu The View Switcher menu lets you add, remove and manipulate views from the view switcher, manipulate and hide the view switcher, and display the buttons as text, small, or large buttons. To access the View Switcher menu: 1. Select Layout > Edit Layout. 2. Right-click the view switcher. 3. When you’re done, select Layout > Edit Layout again. 1738 Option Description Add View Adds a placeholder for a view Remove View Removes the selected view Icon Lets you select an icon for the view Position: Top Moves the view switcher to the top of the view Position: Right Moves the view switcher to the right of the view and displays it vertically Viewer Property Editor Option Description Position: Bottom Moves the view switcher to the bottom of the view Position: Left Moves the view switcher to the left of the view and displays it vertically Alignment: Left Left aligns the buttons in the view switcher Alignment: Center Centers all the buttons in the view switcher Alignment: Right Right aligns the buttons in the view switcher Text Buttons Displays text on the buttons Small Buttons Displays small buttons Big Buttons Displays large buttons Hide Hides the view switcher Viewer Property Editor The Viewer property editor lets you control all aspects of the viewer. You can save presets of your viewer settings to a toolbar and use them to quickly and easily switch between display resolutions, zoom levels, alpha levels, and the display of guidelines. You can also perform onion-skinning in the viewer, which allows you to blend the current frame with preceding and/or successive frames at a certain percentage. To open the Viewer Properties: t Right-click on a viewer and select Viewer Properties. Display Property Page The Display property page lets you change the viewer display mode. Option Description Channels Displays specified combination of image’s red, green, and blue channels 1739 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description Resolution Specifies display resolution (full, half, or quarter) of viewer image Fields Specifies which field (first, second, or both) is shown in viewer Alpha Controls display of image’s alpha channel Display Turns display of image’s alpha channel on or off Full, 25%, 75% Specifies level of intensity at which image’s alpha channel is displayed Zoom & Pan Controls size and position of image in viewer. You can scale image from 1% to 10,000%. n Only the view of the image is affected, not its actual size. Zoom Level Specifies size of image in viewer X and Y Pan Specifies location of image in viewer Reset Resets X/Y Pan and Zoom Level to the default values Quick/Mouse Zoom Specifies zoom level of image Steps Specifies number of times to press Alt+Z to reach Quick Zoom Level Quick Zoom Level Specifies size of image in viewer. n Tip: Press Alt+Q to switch between zooming the viewer to the Quick Zoom Level and the previous zoom level. Press Alt+Z to zoom to the Quick Zoom Level. Use Current Zoom Auto 1740 Sets Quick Zoom Level to value set in Zoom Level Automatically pans and/or zooms the viewer when using these interactive tools: graphics/paint tools, Shape tool in the Matte and Keyer effects, DVE tool, and Tracker tool. Pan Automatically pans the viewer Zoom Automatically zooms the viewer Viewer Property Editor Option Description Zone Defines the area around the pointer. A small zone means that the pointer must be close to the edge of the viewer before an auto-pan occurs. A large zone causes an autopan when the pointer is farther away from the edge of the viewer. Default zone is 1. Values: 0 to 30. Speed Determines the speed at which an auto-zoom or auto-pan occurs. A speed of 0 turns off auto-pan and auto-zoom. Default speed is 4. Values: 0 to 10. Indicate if Viewer is Scaled Displays an exclamation mark (!) when the viewer scales the image in a way that may introduce unwanted artifacts in the image. This warns you when the correspondence between source and display pixels is not 1:1. Square pixels Turns display of square pixels on or off. Since the ITU-R 601 standard specifies a higher horizontal than vertical resolution (or a 0.9 ratio), the image appears stretched horizontally when displayed on a computer monitor (which has square pixels). When selected, this command displays the image in square pixels as it would appear on a computer monitor. When deselected, this command displays the image in non-square pixels as it would appear on a video monitor. Guides Property Page The Guides property page lets you control the display and use of guidelines and grids in the viewer. Option Description Grid Controls display of grid Display Turns display of grid on or off Horizontal spacing Specifies horizontal distance, in pixels, between points on grid Vertical spacing Specifies vertical distance, in pixels, between points on grid 1741 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Description X offset Adjusts positioning of grid along X axis Y offset Adjusts positioning of grid along Y axis Display outside output area Displays grid outside viewable area Snap Aligns graphics objects to grid Guidelines Controls display of guidelines Display Turns display of guidelines on or off Lock Locks guidelines in place, so you don’t accidentally move while aligning graphics objects Snap Aligns graphics/paint objects to guidelines Clear All Deletes guidelines from the viewer Safe Action/Title Displays safe action and safe title guides in viewer Display Turns display of safe action/title guides on or off Aspect Ratio Displays guide for 4x3 or 16x9 aspect ratios Action Displays safe action guide Title Displays safe titles guide Crosshair Turns display of crosshair on or off Outside Displays guides outside viewable area Display Pixel Info Displays location (X,Y) coordinates and RGB color information on the pixel in the viewer that the cursor is hovering over Guide Color Specifies color used to display guidelines and grid Color swatch Displays selected or default color. Click the color swatch to display the Mini Color Editor. Image Grabber Property Page The Image Grabber property page lets you control the comparison buffer. 1742 Viewer Property Editor Option Description Use Compare Buffer Turns comparison buffer on or off Compared Image Displays the name of the grabbed image Clear All Deletes all grabbed images from the Comparison Images folder Root Opens the Comparison Images folder, where all grabbed images are stored Opacity Level Controls transparency of color. Values: 0 (completely transparent) to 100 (completely opaque). Grab Image Takes snapshot of image currently displayed in viewer Reset Compare Crop Resets crop marks to display entire image Reset Compare Position Resets comparison image to its original position Onion Skinning Property Page The Onion Skinning property page lets you blend the current frame with preceding and/or successive frames at a certain percentage. This is useful for rotoscopy work. Option Description Use Onion Skinning Enables onion skinning in viewer Frames Before Sets the frames visible before the current frame Number of Frames Sets opacity of first onion skin frame before current frame Step Specifies frame interval between current and previous frames Starting Opacity Sets opacity of first onion skin frame before current frame Opacity Fade Sets opacity percentage in which blending decreases between each frame Position Defines position of onion skin in viewer 1743 Chapter 1 Desktop Reference Option Above Places onion skin on top of current frame Below Places onion skin under current frame Current Frame Controls parameters for current frame Opacity Frames After 1744 Description Defines opacity of current frame Sets the frames visible after the current frame Number of Frames Sets opacity of first onion skin frame after current frame Step Specifies frame interval between current frame and the frames after Starting Opacity Sets opacity of first onion skin frame after current frame Opacity Fade Sets opacity percentage in which blending decreases between each frame Position Defines position of onion skin in viewer Above Places onion skin on top of current frame Below Places onion skin underneath current frame Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference This chapter contains reference information about the capture and output processes. AAF/AFE View The AAF/AFE view lets you transfer information from an offline system, such as an Avid Media Composer, to an Avid DS Nitris system for conforming and finishing. AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) files contain a single sequence and its associated clips. AFE (Avid File Exchange) files contain Avid editing system bins and the objects in those bins. The top section of the view displays AAF/AFE settings and the bottom section displays a list of the bins, sequences, and clips that are included in the AAF or AFE file. Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Bin tools AAF/AFE settings Browse button AAF/AFE list To access the AAF/AFE view: t In the Avid Explorer, double-click an AAF or AFE file. AAF/AFE Settings AAF/AFE settings let you create Avid DS Nitris master clips from the AAF or AFE file. You can hide or display these settings by clicking the AAF/AFE Settings button in the bin tools. To show or hide the AAF/AFE settings: t 1746 In the bin tools at the top of the AAF/AFE View, click the AAF/AFE Settings button. Use this To Create Associated Clips Create master clips from a sequence or clips that you drag onto the timeline. Deselect this option to avoid creating another set of master clips. AAF/AFE View Use this To Force Creation of External Tape Sources Append the AAF or AFE project name to the master clip source names when creating master clips. Select this option to distinguish between clips that are created from tapes asssociated with the conform and clips that are not. For example, if you are conforming an AFE created on another Avid system and you want Avid DS Nitris to link to the media captured by that system, select this option. If you are conforming an AFE and you want Avid DS Nitris to link to media that you have already captured (such as through an ALE file), do not select this option. Create Linked Clips Create linked master clips from a sequence or set of for File Sources clips. Timeline Drop Settings Create Displays the path for the folder that will hold the associated clips master clips when you drop a clip or sequence on the in the following timeline. folder Browse button Browse within your project folder to specify a folder to hold the new master clips. Lock Path Keep the same folder for any new master clips you create. Deselect this option to create master clips in folders that match the names of the bins. Deselecting this option keeps the original project structure when conforming with AFE files. AAF/AFE List The bottom section of the view displays the bins, sequences, and clips that are included in the AAF or AFE file. For AFE files, the columns initially displayed in a bin match the columns that were displayed when the AFE file was created in the Avid editing system. You can show additional columns or hide selected columns. 1747 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference To show or hide columns: 1. In the bin tools at the top of the AAF/AFE View, click the Settings button. 2. Select the columns you want to display or hide. n Columns and information from Avid editing systems transferred through AAF and AFE files are not associated with the new Avid DS Nitris master clips. Media icons in the AAF/AFE list are different from those used for Avid DS Nitris media. These icons represent media from other Avid editing systems. Icon Avid editing system object Bin Master clip (video and graphics) Master clip (audio) Subclip Avid editing system sequence Effect or title Motion effect Group clip To change the objects displayed in the view: 1. Do one of the following: t Click the Fast Menu button in the bin tools. t Right-click the background of a bin. The Set Bin Display dialog box opens. 1748 ALE (Avid Log Exchange) Import View 2. Select or deselect the objects you want to display and click OK. n Tip: The clips and sequences in the AAF/AFE list are references for creating Avid DS Nitris clips and sequences. Use the Avid DS Nitris clips that are created to edit and finish the sequence. ALE (Avid Log Exchange) Import View The ALE Import view lets you create master clips from a log generated in Avid Media Composer or any other system that outputs ALE log files. The ALE file contains source information only. No sequences or effects are imported. To access the ALE Import view: t Select View > Single-Instance Views > ALE Import. 1749 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference ALE import tools ALE list ALE Import Tools The ALE import tools let you import ALE files, log clips, and get information on the global properties of a file. Get information on global properties Load ALE File Create Logs 1750 Use this To Load ALE File Import an ALE file. ALE (Avid Log Exchange) Import View Use this To Create Logs Create a master clip in a bin for each clip described in the ALE Import view. If no events are selected, master clips for all events are created. If one or more events are selected, master clips are created only for those events. n Info The following columns must be present before you can create logs from the ALE file: Tape, Name, Start, End, and Tracks. If any one of these columns is not present, the Create Logs button is not available. Display information about the global properties, such as the video/audio format or fps of the current ALE file. ALE List The ALE list contains the detailed information that is in your ALE file. The ALE list must contain associated values for the following columns in order for the Create Logs button to be active. n Column Description Tape Name of the tape that contains the source material Name Name of the clip Start Starting timecode of the clip End Ending timecode of the clip Tracks The video and audio tracks used by each clip The list can include any other columns that were displayed in the original bin. ALE Create Logs Dialog Box The ALE Create Logs dialog box lets you set the heads and tails for each clip and assign the physical inputs to the audio channels on a per tape basis. 1751 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference To access the ALE Create Logs dialog box: t Click the Create Logs button in the ALE Import view. Option Description Create Master Clips Indicates the path of the folder in which you want to in the Following create logged master clips Folder Browse (...) Lets you navigate the file system and select a folder for logged master clips. Avid DS Nitris limits your selection to a folder within the project folder. Tapes Sets the heads and tails for each clip Heads Specifies the number of extra frames to add before the clip’s in-point Tails Specifies the number of extra frames to add after the clip’s out-point Audio Input Configuration Displays a list of tape and/or file names referenced in the ALE and the corresponding number of inputs Tape Name Displays a list of tape and/or file names referenced in the ALE Clip Name Displays the list of clips associated with the selected tape Audio Channels Lets you assign the physical audio inputs to specific audio channels for the recapture process. n Set Create Logs 1752 Clips imported from an ALE file only support audio channels in mono format. Saves the audio input assignments for each source tape name Creates master clips in the browser using the information in the ALE file Audio Input Monitor Audio Input Monitor The Audio Input Monitor lets you monitor the incoming audio signal and adjust the volume before you capture audio material. n You cannot boost the signal with the Audio Input Monitor, but you can lower it. Use your external device to boost the incoming signal. The ability to adjust volume depends on your Avid DS Nitris system hardware. To access the Audio Input Monitor: t n Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Audio Input Monitor. You can also access the Audio Input Monitor by clicking the Audio Input button in the Capture Tool—see Capture Tool. Input strips Audio Input Monitor with mono tracks Fader Peak indicator Level meter Strip name Use this To Input strips Monitor the incoming signal from the source device. Each input strip corresponds to an audio channel. Fader Adjust the incoming volume before you capture the audio signal. Faders appear only if your hardware supports audio volume adjustment. 1753 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To Peak indicator Monitor the level of the incoming audio signal. If a red light appears on the indicator, you should lower the volume on the strip. Level meter Monitor and adjust the level of the incoming signals before they are captured. Strip name View the name of the monitor strip. Each strip corresponds to a channel on the source device. Audio Output Monitor The Audio Output Monitor is a level meter display that gives you a visual indication of the audio levels during playback and output. The number of level meters in the Audio Output Monitor reflects the number of output channels specified by your mixer configuration. A system configured for 7.1, for example, displays eight level meters while a system configured for stereo displays only two. To access the Audio Output Monitor: t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Audio Output Monitor. You can adjust the parameters for display through the User Preferences dialog box—see “Level Meters Property Page” on page 1728. Capture Error Log Dialog Box The Capture Error Log dialog box is displayed at the end of the capture process and lists any errors encountered during capture or recapture. You can save this log as an .html file and view it in your browser or print it out. 1754 Option Description Clip Name of the clip that couldn’t be captured Capture List Dialog Box Option Description Tape Name of tape that contains the clip that couldn’t be captured In In-point on the tape of the clip that couldn’t be captured Out Out-point on the tape of the clip that couldn’t be captured Error Possible cause of error OK Closes the dialog box Save As Opens a dialog box that lets you name the log and choose the location where you want to save it Capture List Dialog Box The Capture List dialog box displays the list of clips that you’ve chosen to recapture. You can sort the list by source or clip name, as well as activate or deactivate each clip by double-clicking them. This determines whether they will be recaptured or not. You can also move clips up or down on the capture list. Clips at the top of the list are captured first. To display the Capture List dialog box: 1. Select File > User Preferences. 2. Click the Capture tab and select Display capture list. 3. In a bin or the timeline, select the clips that you want to recapture. 4. Right-click and select Capture. n The Capture List dialog box is displayed only when the selected clips were originally captured from tape. 1755 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Description Source Name Displays the source name of the original source media Clips Displays the clip name and the type of media contained in the clip (V or A). Each clip is separated by the | key. Move Up Moves the clip up one in the list Move Down Moves the clip down one in the list Capture Settings View The Capture Settings view lets you set parameters for capturing from file or tape. To access the Capture Settings view, do one of the following: t t 1756 Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Capture Settings. Click the Capture Settings button in the Avid Explorer toolbar. Capture Settings View Pin button Help button Bars Video panel Audio panel Media Capture panel To expand or collapse a panel: t Click the Video, Audio, or Media Capture bar. Video Capture Settings The Video panel lets you set capture parameters for the video material you are capturing. These settings also appear in the Capture Tool. 1757 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Description Format Displays the video format that was specified for the sequence when it was first created Input Displays the type of video signal selected in the Capture Tool. Resolution Specifies the resolution at which you want to capture the video material: Full, Half, or Quarter. Half or Quarter resolution is available when working in an HD sequence on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only. Color Space Determines how the color components of the video signal are stored on disk when the media is captured. There are two formats available depending on your hardware, and your video format and color space settings: YCbCr 4:2:2 and RGB 4:4:4. Bit Depth Specifies the bit depth at which the video media files are captured and stored: 8-bit or 10-bit, depending on your hardware, and your video format and color space settings. Compression Specifies the compression at which you want to create media—see “Avid DNxHD Compressions” on page 2021 and “JFIF Compressions” on page 2022. You can also select Uncompressed. Capture To Specifies a destination storage device for the video media. The status of the storage device is displayed when you select it. The status can be either: Time Available • Green: Accessible in real time. • Red: Not accessible in real time. Displays the available recording time on the storage device for video media captured at the currently selected resolution and compression Audio Capture Settings The Audio panel lets you set capture parameters for the audio material you are capturing. These settings also appear in the Capture Tool. 1758 Capture Settings View Option Description Format Displays the audio format specified as input in the Deck Configuration View. Priority Displays the priority set for the audio format specified in the Deck Configuration view. Sample Rate Sets the sample rate at which you want to capture the audio material. Bit Depth Displays the bit depth for one audio sample. The more bits you have, the more accurately you can represent the amplitude at that point in time. Capture To Specifies a destination storage device for the audio media. The status of the storage device is displayed when you select it. The status can be either: Time Available • Green: accessible in real time • Red: not accessible in real time. Displays the time remaining on the storage device for audio media captured at the specified sample rate Media Capture Settings The Media Capture panel lets you set parameters for the media you are capturing. These parameters, except for the Capture Target, are applicable only to media that you capture from files. Option Description Capture Target Lets you set the location for storing the master clips. The location remains set in the project until you change it. The list can include up to four user-defined folders. Project Root Sets the capture target as the project folder Main Explorer Location Sets the capture target as a bin you selected in the Avid Explorer 1759 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Description Auto Source Sets the capture target as a folder named after the source of the capture. For file-based capture, the folder uses the name File Source. Browse button (...) Lets you navigate and select a folder as the capture target. You cannot create master clips outside the current project, so Avid DS Nitris checks the path to make sure the folder is within the project folder. Media Conversion Determines how the media is converted when importing from one format to another Center, Keep Original Centers the media in the viewer along both the X and Y Size axes. Any portion of the image falling outside the viewer is cropped. This option does not modify the original size of the media. Scale to Fit Scales the media in both the X and Y axes to fit the sequence settings Scale, Keep Aspect Ratio Scales the media in both the X and Y axes to fit the image settings, but retains the ratio between width and height. It takes the larger axis of the image and scales it to fit in the viewer. Then it centers the image on the other axis, creating black bands on both sides. An example of this conversion mode would be the Letterbox format, which converts film to video. Keep Original Size and Position Displays the media in the viewer without modifying its original size or position Keep Alpha Keeps the alpha channel of the captured material. When this option is not selected, the alpha channel is ignored. Auto-Dither Adjusts the colors of the imported file to remove banding. This banding might appear in images that contain smooth luminance or chrominance transitions (such as gradients) as a result of the conversion of RGB images to the YUV color space. Because the dithering process adds a small noise factor to the pixels, the noise might become visible on images containing large regions of constant color. In these cases, deselect the Auto-Dither option. 1760 Capture Settings View Option Description Convert Video Frame Rate Converts the frame rate of the material being captured to the sequence’s frame rate. When not selected, the original playback speed is retained. n n This option does not apply to still images or audio files. The sequence frame rate is specified when the sequence is created, and is displayed in the Video property page of the Sequence Preferences dialog box (accessed from the File menu). Import audio files into separate mono tracks When capturing an audio file, creates separate files and separate tracks for each audio stream. Select this option if you are sharing MXF media other Avid editing applications. By default, Avid DS Nitris creates a single .wav or MXF file and track from a multi-stream audio file. This is the most efficient way to work with audio files in Avid DS Nitris. However, because other Avid applications cannot link to a multi-stream file, you need to select this option so that Avid DS Nitris creates multiple singlestream files. Source Description Contains options for the files you are capturing 1761 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Description Premultiplied Alpha Indicates that the source file is already premultiplied, which means that the RGB values were multiplied with the alpha channel. When compositing this image with another, Avid DS Nitris will not apply the premultiplication algorithm. Premultiplication is a mathematical process whereby the RGB channels of an image are multiplied by their corresponding alpha channels. When compositing two or more images, Avid DS Nitris automatically premultiplies your images unless they were already set as premultiplied when you captured them. If the premultiplication setting is incorrect, undesirable results, such as a halo or black outline, may appear in your image. If you know how an image was created using an external graphics application, you should set the premultiplication accordingly. In general, rendered 3D images are already premultiplied. However, other computer-generated images may not be. For example, in Adobe Photoshop the alpha channel is created as a separate layer and is not premultiplied with the RGB channels. Therefore, when you capture from a Photoshop image into Avid DS Nitris, do not select the Premultiplied Alpha option. Refer to “Compositing with Premultiplied Images” in the Help. Input Levels Specifies how Avid DS Nitris interprets the pixel values within a frame. This interpretation depends on whether you are working in a custom sequence or a non-custom sequence. In non-custom sequences, the captured material is stored on disk in the YCbCr color space (YUV or Video Levels). Video black is mapped to 16 and video white is mapped to 235. This mapping allows headroom and footroom for capturing SuperWhite or SuperBlack (subblack) values. In custom sequences, the captured material is stored on disk in the RGBA color space (Graphics Levels). Video black is mapped to 0 and video white is mapped to 255. This mapping does not allow capturing of SuperWhite or SuperBlack values. 1762 Capture Settings View Option Description Graphics (Default) Use this option for importing most graphics created in a graphics application. This option maps RGB 0, 0, 0 to video black (NTSC 7.5 IRE, PAL 0 mV) and RGB 255, 255, 255 to video white (NTSC 100 IRE, PAL 700 mV) and limits the clip to legal YCbCr values. Video Use this option for importing video or graphics that were created using ITU-R 601or ITU-R 709 video levels, such as a lumakey graphic where SuperBlack (subblack) levels are used for the key black. This option maps RGB 16, 16, 16 to video black and RGB 235, 235, 235 to video white and allows the clip to use the full YCbCr range. n Auto Field Dominance SuperBlack and SuperWhite information (full YCbCr range) is not preserved: - When using Pixel/Channel Masking (Masking PPG) on effects when 8-bit precision is used. Effects are set to 8-bit precision when (a) setting the precision to Auto (Options PPG) with the Precision sequence preference set to 8-bit, and (b) setting the Precision to 8-bit (Options PPG) - When using some DS effects with 8-bit precision (such as Impressionist or Painterly effects). - When using some third-party effects that do not support 16-bit or 32-bit precision Use this option to import or export at the levels used for the sequence. Custom sequences (RGBA) use Graphics levels. Non-custom sequences (YCbCr) use Video levels. Specifies the field dominance of the file to be captured Auto Uses the field dominance of the source file. If the source file’s field dominance can’t be determined, the sequence's setting will be used. Odd Flags the media as interlaced or field-based, and that the media begins with the odd field Even Flags the media as interlaced or field based, and that the media begins with the even field None Flags the media as progressive or frame-based, which means that the odd and even fields are the same Pixel Ratio Specifies the pixel ratio of the file you want to import. 1763 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Description Auto Specifies that Avid DS Nitris should use the pixel ratio specified in the source graphics file. If Avid DS Nitris can’t determine the pixel ratio, it uses the Standard or Custom setting. Standard Lets you choose from a list of standard pixel ratios. The options available are: NTSC (0.9), PAL (1.07), NTSC 16×9 (1.2), PAL 16×9 (1.42), Computer Graphics (Square), and Current Sequence. Current Sequence specifies the pixel ratio that is associated with the sequence. This option is especially useful for custom sequences that use a non-standard aspect ratio. Custom Lets you specify a non-standard file pixel ratio. Pixel ratios below 1.0 will have pixels that are taller than they are wide. Pixel ratios above 1.0 will have pixels that are wider than they are tall. Custom pixel ratios can be specified to four decimal places. Conform Error Log The Conform Error Log dialog box displays any errors encountered or elements that did not conform properly during the OMF to timeline process. Items that appear in this log include: • Effects that are not reproduced in Avid DS Nitris, such as 3D DVEs • Effects that cannot be totally reproduced, such as matte effects • Errors encountered during AVX processing You can save this log as an .html file and view it in your browser or print it out. 1764 Option Description Track Displays the track number on which the error occurred Clip Displays the name of the clip on which the error occurred In Displays the timecode where the effect was supposed to start Capture Tool Option Description Out Displays the timecode where the effect was supposed to end Effect Displays the name of the effect that caused the error Detail Describes why the error occurred OK Closes the dialog box Save Saves the error log as an .html file Capture Tool Use the Capture Tool to capture footage from an external device. The Capture Tool lets you configure and control your audio and video inputs and other settings. n To capture media from a file, right-click the file and select Capture. To set capture parameters, see “Capture Settings View” on page 1756. To access the Capture Tool: t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Capture Tool. 1765 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Live Tape On-the-Fly Start Capture Timeline/Deck Control In and Out Log/Capture Mode (On-the-Fly only) Status bar Locators controls Sync Source Video/Audio Capture Settings Input Monitor 1766 Expand/Collapse Video Input Parameters Deck Configuration Audio Parameters Use this To Live button Specify settings for capturing material by simply starting and stopping the capture—see “Logging and Capturing Clips from Tape” in the Help. Capture Tool Use this To Tape button Specify settings for capturing material between in and outpoints or for logging empty master clips—see “Logging and Capturing Clips from Tape” in the Help. On-the-Fly button Specify settings for capturing material between in and outpoints that you set as the tape plays—see “Capturing Clips Onthe-Fly” in the Help. n In and Out buttons Unlike the Live capture option, On-the-fly always records accurate timecode of the source material, letting you recapture the material at any time. Set an in-point and out-point for a clip captured on-the-fly. Switch transport controls from the external device to the record viewer timeline. Deck Control/Timeline button Switch from capture mode to logging mode Capture/Log Mode button Start the capture or log process. Start/Stop Capture/Log button Status bar View status messages and a progress bar when capturing Live, Tape, or On-the-Fly. Locators controls Create locators during the capture process—see “Adding Locators While Capturing” in the Help, Deck Display the external device that you selected as a Deck preset. You can select a different device from the device list—see “Configuring the External Device” in the Help. Check button Verify proper communication between Avid DS Nitris and the external device. 1767 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To Eject button Eject the tape from the external device Preroll Indicate a custom preroll. This setting temporarily overrides the setting in the Deck template but does not change it. TC Source Select the Timecode source (Live capture only): • VITC or LTC through the RS-422 serial connection on the computer • LTC through the LTC IN connection (XLR) on the Avid Nitris DNA Heads Specify the number of extra frames (sometimes called a handle) to add before the clip’s in-point (Tape only) Tails Specify the number of extra frames to add before a clip’s outpoint (tape only) Video button Specify that you want to capture the video channel of the material Audio button Specify that you want to capture the audio channel of the material New Tape button Add a source tape to the list of sources belonging to the current project—see “Add New Tape Dialog Box” on page 1823. This source name is added to the Tape Library view (see “Tape Library View” on page 1821). Tape list Select a tape from the list of sources belonging to the current project Target button Navigate and select a folder as the capture target. You cannot create master clips outside the current project, so Avid DS Nitris checks the path to make sure the folder is within the project folder. Clip Name Specify a name for the master clip you are creating. n Target list 1768 If you don’t change the name each time you capture a new clip, Avid DS Nitris uses the previous name and appends a number to it, such as shot.001, shot.002, and so on. Set the location for storing the master clips. The location remains set in the project until you change it. The list can include up to four user-defined folders Capture Tool Use this To Main Explorer Location Sets the capture target as a bin you selected in the Avid Explorer Project Root Sets the capture target as the project folder Auto Source Set the capture target as a folder named after the source of the capture. For tape-based capture, the folder uses the tape name. Transport controls Video/Audio Capture Settings button Control the external device or the sequence in the record viewer—see “Transport Controls (Capture and Output Tools)” on page 1770. Open the video and audio capture settings. These settings are also available in the Capture Settings view—see “Video Capture Settings” on page 1757 and “Audio Capture Settings” on page 1758. Open the Audio Input Monitor and other audio settings—see “Setting the Audio Format” and “Formats for Audio Tracks” in the Help. Audio Input Monitor Open the audio parameters settings for the deck. These settings are also available in the Deck Configuration view—see “Deck Configuration View” on page 1776. Audio Input Settings button Display controls to adjust video input parameters—see “Video Input Parameters” on page 1772. Video Input Parameters button Specify the sync source for reference and timing: either tri-level sync or black burst sync (NTSC or PAL). Avid DS Nitris requires that the deck and the Avid Nitris DNA be genlocked to Sync Source button the same timing source when capturing. For a list of sync options for each format, see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources” in the Help. 1769 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To Expand or collapse the window Expand/Collapse button Formats for Audio Tracks Audio clips and tracks in Avid DS Nitris can have up to eight channels of audio in any of the following formats: Format Description Mono Single channel of audio Stereo Two audio channels: Left and right Quadraphonic Four audio channels: Left, right, left rear, right rear LCRS Four audio channels: Left, center, right, surround 4 Stream Four audio channels: Output 1 to 4 5.1 Six audio channels: Left, right, center, Low Frequency Emitter (LFE), left surround, right surround 6.1 Seven audio channels: Left, right, center, Low Frequency Emitter (LFE), surround center, Side left, Side right 7.1 Eight audio channels: Left, right, center, Low Frequency Emitter (LFE), left surround, right surround, left center, right center 8 Stream Eight audio channels: Output 1 to 8 You can select these formats in the Input Monitor tab of the Capture Tool. Transport Controls (Capture and Output Tools) Transport controls let you remotely control an external device, such as a tape deck. You can also click a button to use these transports to control a sequence in the Record view. The following views include transport controls: 1770 Capture Tool • Capture Tool • Output Tool Frame backward Frame forward Fast forward Rewind Shuttle slider Play/Stop Mark In Mark Out Timecode boxes External device status area In Out Duration Position indicator Use this To Shuttle Slider Jog or shuttle forward or backward on the tape Fast Forward Fast forward through the tape Rewind Rewind the tape quickly Frame Forward Move ahead one frame Frame Backward Move back one frame Mark In Mark an in-point. Play/Stop Play or stop the tape Mark Out Mark an out-point Timecode boxes Display timecode for in-point, out-point, duration, and position indicator. You can enter a timecode and display the specified frame in a viewer. For more information, see “Timecode Boxes (Timeline Status Bar)” on page 1967. External Device Status Area Give you feedback on the external device connected to your system Remote Specifies if the external device is in Remote mode. When Remote is enabled, it turns green, otherwise it is grayed out. 1771 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To Record Lock Specifies if the Record Inhibit tab is enabled on the tape. When Record Inhibit is enabled, it turns red, otherwise it is grayed out. VTR Reference Specifies if the external device receives proper video reference or external sync. When the external device is receiving proper video reference or sync, it turns green, otherwise it is red. Servo Specifies if the deck has reached servo lock state. When Servo Lock is enabled, it turns green, otherwise it is grayed out. If this option does not turn green during capture or output pre-roll, you must increase the pre-roll time. Media Inserted Specifies if a tape is inserted in the external device. When a tape is inserted, it turns green, otherwise it is grayed out. Video Input Parameters The Video Input Parameters panel lets you adjust the video signal for capture from an external device. 1772 Capture Tool Option Description Input Selection Lets you select the input source you want to use for capturing video media. For systems with an Avid Nitris DNA, you can select and adjust video parameters for the following input signals: • Component • Composite • S-Video n HD sequences require Serial Digital input. You cannot adjust video input for Serial Digital. Input Type Sets the Avid Nitris DNA to capture material at the best quality, depending on the type of input device: consumer or professional. Save Parameters Saves the current settings. You can save one set of parameters for each video signal. Factory Settings Resets the sliders to the default settings for your hardware 1773 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Description Black level A measurement of luminance in the video signal that is referenced to the blackest point in the visible picture Gain (Composite and S-Video) A measurement of luma (Y) in the video signal that is the whitest point in the visible picture. For this release, the slider adjusts both the white and black levels simultaneously (contrast). Use this slider along with the Black level slider to set the correct white and black levels. Y Gain (Component) R-Y Gain (Component) The red (R) minus luminance (Y) color-difference signal of an analog component system in the SMPTE NTSC video standard B-Y Gain (Component) The blue (B) minus luminance (Y) color-difference signal of an analog component system in the SMPTE NTSC video standard Hue (Composite and S-Video) An attribution of color perception based on varying proportions of red, green, and blue in the video signal. Also known as color phase. Saturation (Composite and S-Video) A measurement of chrominance or the intensity of color in the video signal Capture File Formats Avid DS Nitris supports a wide range of video and audio file formats. You can capture from any of the following formats: 1774 File format File extension Supports alpha Supports compression AIFF (uncompressed) .aif, .aiff, .aifc - - Alias .als No No AVI .avi Yes Yes Avid DS (Video Hal) .gen,.omf No No Bitmap (Windows) .bmp No Yes Capture File Formats Supports alpha Supports compression Broadcast WAVE (BWF) .wav (Windows) - - Chyron .chr Yes No DPX .dpx Yes No CINEON .fido No Yes JFIF (JPEG) .jpeg, .jfif, .jpg No No MAP .map No No Meridien™ .gen,.omf No No Microsoft Windows Paintbrush .pcx No No File format File extension MXF(Material Exchange .mxf Format) Yes MP3 .mp3 - - PGM .pgm No Yes Photoshop .psd Yes Yes PICT .pict, .pct Yes Yes PNG .png Yes Yes PPM .ppm No Yes QuickTime .mov, .qt Yes Yes SGI .sgi, .rgb Yes Yes SOFTIMAGE® (3D & XSI®) .pic Yes Yes TIFF .tif,.tiff Yes Yes Targa .tga Yes Yes WAV .wav - - Wavefront .rla Yes No 1775 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference File format File extension Supports alpha Supports compression Windows Media .wmv, .wma, .asf No Yes YUV .yuv No Yes YUV 16 .yuv16 No Yes Deck Configuration View The Deck Configuration view lets you configure the external device. You can select the manufacturer and model number of your device, where it is connected to your system, and other settings that affect both capture and output. You can save any configuration as a preset, so that you can easily switch from one device to another. To access the Deck Configuration view: t 1776 In an Avid Explorer panel, open the Views folder and click Deck Configuration. Deck Configuration View Deck presets Bin tools Deck settings Option Description Deck presets Each preset represents an external device configuration. You can select a preset from the list. For information about the Microphone preset, see “Capturing Audio through a Microphone” in the Help. Bin Tools Lets you change the view—see “Blend Property Editor” in the Help. Click the Fast Menu button to add, import, or export deck presets. External Device Manufacturer Settings to configure the deck or other external device. Lets you select the manufacturer of the external device that you want to configure 1777 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Model Description Lets you select the model number of the external device that you want to configure. If the model of your deck is not listed, it has not been tested by Avid and its accuracy or usability is not guaranteed. In most cases, however, you can use the deck for capture. Select a similar model from the same manufacturer. After completing the configuration, check some basic operations, such as cueing to a specific timecode and checking the accuracy of the capture and output to tape. COM Port Lets you select either COM 1 or COM 2, depending on which COM port connects the deck to your system TC Mode Determines the mode at which your device reads timecode. • Auto: Allows the deck or external device to decide which timecode to read. • LTC: Sets the external device to read only LTC (Longitudinal Timecode). Your device may experience some difficulty reading LTC when the tape is not moving or moving very slowly. • VITC: Sets the external device to read only VITC (Vertical Interval Timecode). Unlike LTC, your device can read VITC when the tape is moving very slowly or not moving at all. Audio devices do not read VITC timecode. If you are capturing from a DAT machine, select the LTC option. 1778 Deck Configuration View Option Edit Mode Description Determines how the external device records the material to tape. • Auto: Select this option to record the sequence onto a prestriped tape (a tape with prerecorded control track and timecode) This option lets you add material to existing material on the tape. It also deactivates all channels during capture to prevent any interruption of signal between the deck and your system. The recording begins at the timecode that is set in the I field of the Output Tool. If you want to insert material at a particular timecode on the tape (known as an insert edit), make sure the in-point of the sequence matches the inpoint that you set in the Output tool. • Assemble: Select this option to record the material onto a new tape (without control track or timecode) or completely record over all tracks of an existing tape. A blank tape must have enough stripe at the beginning to allow for preroll. The selected sequence is recorded from the in-point of the tape, which you must set in the Output Tool. If the Output Tool is set for Assemble mode, the Edit mode indicator flashes red to bring your attention to the selection. n Edit Field Preroll Assemble edit results in several garbage frames appearing at the end of your edit. To work around this inherent limitation, you can set an in-point at the beginning of your sequence, an out-point ten frames after the end of your sequence, and then output from in to out. This records a series of black frames between the end of your sequence and the garbage frames. Determines the field on which the edit begins. • Deck Setting: Uses the Edit Field setting that is set on the external device. • F1: Begins the edit on field 1. • F2: Begins the edit on field 2. • F1/F2: Begins the edit by recording the same information on fields 1 and 2. Specifies the amount of time the external device plays before it starts to capture or output. You should have enough pre-roll to ensure that the external device is playing at a fast enough speed to reach servo lock state. 1779 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Play Bias Description Specifies the number of frames needed to compensate for any signal delay from the external device to your system when capturing material. Play bias can be either positive or negative. The Play Bias option offsets the timeline whereas the Record Bias option offsets the VCR timecode entry point. Record Bias Specifies the number of frames needed to compensate for any signal delay from your system to the external device when outputting material. Record bias can be either positive or negative. External Device Status Area Give you feedback on the external device connected to your system Remote Specifies if the external device is in Remote mode. When Remote is enabled, it turns green, otherwise it is grayed out. Media Inserted Specifies if a tape is inserted in the external device. When a tape is inserted, it turns green, otherwise it is grayed out. Record Inhibit Specifies if the Record Inhibit tab is enabled on the tape. When Record Inhibit is enabled, it turns red, otherwise it is grayed out. VTR Reference Specifies if the external device receives proper video reference or external sync. When the external device is receiving proper video reference or sync, it turns green, otherwise it is red. Save button Saves the settings as a deck preset. Check Machine button Re-establishes the remote connection and verifies that the external device is communicating properly with your workstation. Every time you change the external device configuration, you should use the Check Machine command. Audio Settings for configuring the audio input signal. Input Lets you select an audio input format that is supported by the installed audio hardware. The selected format may change the number of channels available in the track patching matrix in the Deck Configuration view, the number of channels in the Output Tool, as well as the number of output channels on the mixer in the top timeline. Avid DS Nitris hardware includes support for AES/EBU, ADAT, S/PDIF, Analog, and SDI Embedded. n 1780 For a list of decks from which you can capture SDI embedded audio, see the Avid DS Support Center. Deck Configuration View Option Description Priority Sets the audio input format priority for audio hardware supporting several formats. This controls which input plug is checked first for the presence of an audio device. Audio Physical Patching Deck Notes Reflects how the physical audio inputs coming from the external device are connected to your workstation. The assignment can be changed by clicking in the appropriate square in the matrix—see “Using the Physical Patching Matrix” in the Help. Displays information about the selected template (read-only). Not all templates include notes. Deck Menu To access the Deck menu: t In the top section of the Deck Configuration view, right-click a preset. Option Description Activate Sets the selected deck as the device for capture. A green check mark indicates the active deck. Save Saves the options as a deck preset Rename Lets you rename the deck preset Delete Deletes the deck preset The Fast menu in the Deck Configuration view includes the following options: Option Description Add New Deck Preset Adds a deck preset icon to the top section of the view Import Deck Presets Opens a dialog box that lets you select a folder of presets to import Export Deck Presets Opens a dialog box that lets you select a folder of presets to export 1781 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference EDL View The EDL view is where you import and conform an EDL (Edit Decision List) that was created on another system, or where you create an EDL from a Avid DS Nitris sequence. To access the EDL view: • Select View > Single-Instance Views > EDL. EDL tools EDL name Record in-point Edit list Use this To EDL name Select an EDL that has been imported into the EDL view. EDL Tools Load or save the EDL. Record in-point (First Edit at) Set the record in timecode for the first edit. Edit List View the list of events in an EDL. EDL Tools The EDL tools let you import or export an EDL, load an EDL onto the timeline, log EDL events as clips in a bin, print an EDL, and manipulate the view of the EDL list. 1782 EDL View Move Up Conform EDL Hide Comments Load EDL Print EDL Save EDL Timeline to EDL Clear EDL Use this To Load EDL Import an EDL file into the EDL view. Save EDL Save the EDL to file. Move Up Move up a level in the EDL list. A master EDL and submaster EDLs are created when you have container clips in your sequence. You can quickly move between the sub and master EDLs using the Move Up button. Timeline to EDL Create an EDL from clips on the timeline. Conform EDL Create a master clip in a bin and/or create clips and transitions on the timeline for each selected EDL event. When you click the Conform button, the EDL conform dialog box is displayed. Hide comments Show or hide any comments in the EDL list. EDL to Background Create clips on the background tracks for each EDL event. Clear EDL Clear the current EDL. Print EDL Prints the current EDL. The Print EDL dialog box is displayed, which lets you determine the number of copies to print and the page orientation. Edit List The EDL list contains information about each edit in your sequence. Each entry in the list is referred to as an event. 1783 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Event icons Events Use this To Events Correspond to clips in the sequence. Event icons Identify the type of edit being performed. Blue squares are comments in the original EDL. These can be hidden from view using the Hide comments tool. Green circles are edits. Red diamonds are specific Avid DS Nitris comments. Ev # (event number) Identify the number of this event. Source Tape name for this event. Mode Identify the channels. V refers to video and A to audio. There can be up to eight audio channels. Tran Specify the transition type that has been applied. C is a cut, D a dissolve, W a wipe, KI a key in, KO a key out, and KB a key background. Dur 1784 Indicate the length of the transition in frames. This only applies to dissolves and keys. For other transitions, it remains blank. EDL View Use this To Source In View the timecode at the in-point of the source media. Source Out View the timecode at the out-point of the source media. Record In View the timecode at the in-point of the recording. Record Out View the timecode at the out-point of the recording. Ripple Sources Dialog Box The Ripple Sources dialog box lets you specify an amount by which the source timecodes of your EDL are shifted positively or negatively. To access the Ripple Source dialog box: t Right-click the main area of the EDL view and select Ripple Sources. Use this To Enter the amount to ripple source timecodes by Enter a timecode, either positive or negative, by which the EDL’s source timecodes will be shifted. Ripple Effect Apply the ripple effect to a particular source. Apply to All Edits from This Source Select a source from the list for which to apply the ripple. EDL Conform Dialog Box The EDL Conform dialog box lets you determine which procedures are performed during a conform. You can also set the heads and tails of each clip and view the names of the source tapes used by the clips in the EDL. To access the EDL Conform dialog box: t In the EDL view, click the Conform EDL button. 1785 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Description Create Master Clips Indicates the folder in which you want to create in the Following logged master clips Folder Browse (...) Lets you navigate the file system and select a folder for logged master clips. Avid DS Nitris limits your selection to a folder within the project folder. Settings Lets you specify whether logs are created, clips are loaded onto the timeline, or both Create Logs Creates logs of the clips from information contained in the EDL Create Timeline Creates clips, and transitions on the timeline from Clips information contained in the EDL Create Both Creates logs of the clips in the Avid Explorer and loads them with transitions on the timeline Overwrite Overlay Tracks Overwrites the clips on the timeline at the same timecodes. If this option is not selected, the clips will be edited to a new video track. Tapes Sets the heads and tails for each clip Heads Specifies the number of extra frames to add before the clip’s in-point Tails Specifies the number of extra frames to add after the clip’s out-point Audio Input Configuration Displays a list of tape and/or file names referenced in the EDL and the corresponding number of inputs Tape Name Displays a list of tape and/or file names referenced in the EDL Event Number Displays the event numbers that contain media from the selected tape Audio Channels Lets you assign the physical audio inputs to specific audio channels for the recapture process. Clips imported from an EDL only support audio channels in mono format. 1786 EDL View Option Set Conform Description Saves the audio input assignments for each source tape name Loads the EDL onto the timeline and/or creates corresponding master clips in the Avid Explorer EDL Properties Dialog Box The EDL Properties dialog box lets you specify options for the currently displayed EDL. To access the EDL Properties dialog box: t Right-click the main area of the EDL view and select Properties. Use this To EDL Title Display the name of the current EDL. Heal Unnecessary Edits Create a single master clip for any source events that contain connected timecodes. When you deselect this option, separate clips are created. Display the EDL in drop-frame timecode. Show Record Timecodes As Drop The option is inactive when a PAL list is Frame displayed. n Print EDL Dialog Box The Print EDL dialog box displays the current default printer and lets you specify the number of copies to print as well as the orientation of the page. To access the Print EDL dialog box: t In the EDL view, click the Print button. 1787 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Description Current default printer Displays the name of your default printer Number of copies Specifies how many copies of the EDL will be printed Page Orientation Specifies the page orientation of the printed EDL Portrait Prints the EDL in portrait format Landscape Prints the EDL in landscape format Print Prints the EDL on the default printer EDL Menu The EDL menu lets you choose a mode by which to sort the edit list. It also opens dialog boxes that let you change the source name, ripple sources, and modify properties of the edit list. To access the EDL menu: t 1788 Right-click the main area of the EDL view. Command Description Sort Displays a list of modes by which you can sort your edit list A-mode Sorts the contents of the edit list by record in timecode B-mode Sorts the contents of the edit list by source in timecode C-mode Sorts the contents of the edit list by source name and then by source in timecode Event Number Sorts the contents of the edit list by event number Source Name Sorts the contents of the edit list by source name Mode Sorts the contents of the edit list by mode Transition Sorts the contents of the edit list by transition type Explorer Recapture Options Dialog Box Command Description Duration Sorts the contents of the edit list by duration Source In Sorts the contents of the edit list by source in timecode Source Out Sorts the contents of the edit list by source out timecode Record In Sorts the contents of the edit list by record in timecode Record Out Sorts the contents of the edit list by record out timecode Do Not Sort Sorts the contents based on the original order of events in the edit list. This is the default setting. Change Source Name Opens the Change Source name dialog box Ripple Sources Opens the Ripple Sources dialog box Properties Opens the EDL property editor Explorer Recapture Options Dialog Box The Explorer Recapture Options dialog box lets you set options before you recapture media from logged clips. By default, all audio channels are active. The actual number of available channels depends on the installed audio hardware and the selected audio format, as configured in the Capture Tool or Deck Configuration. Configured channels are indicated by a filled-in square. You can select the video and audio tracks you want to recapture.You can choose not to recapture tracks that you originally captured, but you cannot capture new tracks. For example, if you created a clip by capturing video only, you cannot recapture the clip with video and audio. To access the Explorer Recapture Options dialog box: t In a bin, right-click a clip and select Recapture with Options. 1789 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To Video Recapture video footage Audio Recapture audio footage Track strip Click each audio track that you want to capture. You can recapture only tracks that were logged or captured with the original clip; you cannot capture new tracks. Time Delay Recapture master clips from the Avid Explorer at a specific date and time. This is useful when you’re using 3D rendered image files in your sequence. You can render the 3D image files at night, set the Time Delay option to begin capture after the render is complete and have everything captured by the next morning. The Time Delay option is only valid for media that was originally imported from file. The date/time properties on your computer determine when to start and end your recapture. Make sure your clock is accurate, so that the recapture occurs at the desired time. Export Preferences Dialog Box The Export Preferences dialog box lets you save a customized preference set in a desired location. Use this To Bin Tools (Top) Navigate through and manage the contents of your bins. Bin Tools (Bottom) Change the way the contents of the bin are displayed. These tools appear for all bin contents. 1790 File Name Enter a name for your preset. File Types Choose a file type for your preset. Export to File Dialog Box Export to File Dialog Box The Export to File dialog box lets you export an image of the frame on which the position indicator is currently located. Use this To Bin Tools (Top) Navigate through and manage the contents of your bins. Bin Tools (Bottom) Change the way the contents of the bin are displayed. These tools appear for all bin contents. File Name Enter a name for your preset. File Types Choose a file type for your preset. External Controller Setup View The External Controller Setup view lets you assign the controls on the external controller to any of the hundreds of commands available in Avid DS Nitris. To access the External Controller Setup view t Select View > Single-Instance Views > External Controller Setup. Use this To External Controllers Select the controller that’s connected to your system. Several controllers can be connected at the same time. Controls View all the controls on the selected controller. When a control is mapped to a command in Avid DS Nitris, the command name is displayed next to the control in the Controls list. Command Categories View categories of commands in Avid DS Nitris. Commands belonging to the selected category appear in the Commands list. You can view all commands at the same time. 1791 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To Commands View all the Avid DS Nitris commands in the selected category. When a command is mapped to an external control, the control name is displayed next to the command in the Commands list. Display Specify whether to show the assigned items, unassigned items, or both. Assigned Filter the Controls or Commands list to display items that are currently assigned. Unassigned Filter the Controls or Commands list to display items that are currently unassigned. Load To load a command mapping preset. Save To save a command mapping preset. Apply Apply the current mapping. This button is available only when you change the command mapping. Import Preferences Dialog Box The Import Preferences dialog box lets you import a preference set from a desired location. Use this To Bin Tools (Top) Navigate through and manage the contents of your bins. Bin Tools (Bottom) Change the way the contents of the bin are displayed. These tools appear for all bin contents. 1792 File Name Enter a name for your preset. File Types Choose a file type for your preset. Insert Tape Dialog Box Insert Tape Dialog Box The Insert Tape dialog box displays the names of the tapes required for batch capture, the master clip to be recaptured, and the settings of the external device. You can also control the external device from within this dialog box. It is displayed during the batch capture process—see “Batch Capturing” in the Help. 1793 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference 1794 Option Description Please insert tape Displays the name of the tape to be inserted into the deck so the clip can be recaptured Next tape Displays the name of the next tape to be inserted into the deck Current tape Displays the name of the tape currently inserted in the deck. Master clip name Displays the name of the clip to be recaptured Current Device Displays the current device preset selected Device Displays the current External Device configuration preset. Select a different device from the Device list—see “Configuring the External Device” in the Help. Manufacturer Displays the manufacturer name of the external device that you want to input from or output to Model Displays the model number of the external device that you want to input from or output to Pre-roll Specifies the number of frames the external device plays before it starts to capture or output. You should have enough pre-roll to ensure that the external device is playing at a fast enough speed to reach servo lock state. Input Displays the audio input format that is supported by the installed audio hardware. The selected format may change the number of channels available in the track patching matrix in the Audio Input panel of the Capture Tool, the number of channels in the Output Tool, as well as the number of output channels on the mixer in the top timeline. Avid DS Nitris hardware includes support for AES/EBU, ADAT, S/PDIF, Analog, and SDI Embedded. Priority Displays the audio format priority for audio hardware supporting several formats. This controls which input plug is checked first for the presence of an audio device. Insert Tape Dialog Box Option Description Check Machine Re-establishes the remote connection and verifies that button the external device is communicating properly with your workstation. Every time you change the external device configuration, you should use the Check Machine command. Repeated timecodes Notifies the system that the tape from which you are capturing material may contain timecode that appears more than once. This option disables the streaming capture functionality, and allows you to manually cue the tape to the appropriate timecode. Audio Physical Patching Reflects how the physical audio inputs coming from the external device are connected to your workstation Transport control Lets you remote-control external devices so you can cue it up before recapturing Shuttle Slider Lets you jog or shuttle forward or backward on the tape Frame Forward Lets you move ahead one frame Frame Backward Lets you move back one frame Rewind Lets you rewind the tape quickly Play/Stop Lets you play or stop the tape Fast Forward Lets you fast forward through the tape In Displays the point at which the recapture begins Out Displays the point at which the recapture stops Servo Lock Specifies if the deck has reached servo lock state. When Servo Lock is enabled, it turns green, otherwise it is greyed out. If this option does not turn green during capture or output pre-roll, you must increase the pre-roll time. Remote Specifies if the external device is in Remote mode. When Remote is enabled, it turns green, otherwise it is dimmed. 1795 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Description Media Inserted Specifies if a tape is inserted in the external device. When a tape is inserted, it turns green, otherwise it is dimmed. Record Inhibit Specifies if the Record Inhibit tab is enabled on the tape. When Record Inhibit is enabled, it turns red, otherwise it is dimmed. VTR Reference Specifies if the external device receives proper video reference or external sync. When the external device is receiving proper video reference or sync, it turns green, otherwise it is red. Eject Tape button Ejects the tape from the external device Skip Tape button Ignores the clips on the current tape and moves on to the next tape in the capture list MediaManager Setup View The MediaManager Setup view lets you select a MediaManager host or add a new host. To access the MediaManager Setup view: t In an Avid Explorer panel, open the Views folder and click MediaManager. To access a MediaManager host: t Double-click the icon for your MediaManager host. To add a MediaManager host: t 1796 Double-click the Add MediaManager icon and supply the host name. MediaManager View MediaManager View The MediaManager view displays the main window of the MediaManager application, from which you can conform a sequence checked in to MediaManager. For more information on using MediaManager, see the MediaManager Help. MediaManager Settings MediaManager settings let you create Avid DS Nitris master clips from a sequence stored on a MediaManager server. To show or hide the MediaManager settings: • In the bin tools, click the AAF/AFE Settings button. Option Description Create Associated Clips Creates Avid DS Nitris master clips from a sequence or clips that you drag onto the timeline or onto a folder in the Avid Explorer. Deselect this option to avoid creating another set of master clips. Force Creation of External Tape Sources Appends the MediaManager project name to the master clip source names when creating master clips. Select this option to distinguish between clips that are created from tapes associated with the conform and clips that are not. Timeline Drop Settings Create Displays the folder that will hold the Avid DS Nitris associated clips master clips when you drop a clip or sequence on the in the following timeline folder Browse button Browses your project folder to specify a folder to hold the new master clips 1797 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Lock Path Description Keeps the same folder for any new master clips you create. Deselect this option to create master clips in folders that match the names of the bins. Deselecting this option keeps the original project structure when conforming with AFE files. OMF (Open Media Framework) View The OMF view lets you import OMF compositions created on other systems or export parts of your sequence in the OMF file format. To access the OMF view: • Select View >Single-Instance Views > OMF. OMF tools Record in-point OMF tree 1798 Use this To OMF tools Load, save, and create OMF files. Record in-point (First edit at) Set the timecode where the first edit will be recorded. OMF tree View the contents of the OMF file. OMF (Open Media Framework) View OMF Tools The OMF tools let you import or export an OMF file, load an OMF file on the timeline, create an OMF file from clips on the timeline, log OMF clips in a bin, and get information about the OMF file. n When you export an OMF file, only the audio portion of your timeline gets exported. Any video information is ignored. The OMF file that you export, will always include both the compositional information as well as the audio media. Conform OMF Load OMF Get Information Timeline to OMF Use this To Load OMF Import an OMF file into the OMF view. Conform OMF Create clips, transitions, and supported effects on the timeline and/or create logs in a bin from information contained in the OMF file. Timeline to OMF Create and save an OMF file from the audio clips on the timeline. The OMF file will contain both the compositional information as well as the audio media. The contents of the OMF file are also displayed in the OMF view. n Info The Timeline to OMF command only exports the audio tracks. All video tracks are ignored. Display extra information about the selected object in the OMF list. OMF Conform Dialog Box The OMF Conform dialog box lets you determine which procedures are performed during a conform, as well as the type of audio media that will be imported with the OMF file. 1799 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference To access the OMF Conform dialog box: t Click the Conform OMF button in the OMF view. Option Description Create Master Clips Indicates the path of the folder in which you want to in the Following create logged master clips Folder Browse (...) Lets you navigate the file system and select a folder for logged master clips. Avid DS Nitris limits your selection to a folder within the project folder. Settings Lets you specify whether logs are created, the clips are loaded onto the timeline, or both Create Logs Creates logs of the clips in the Avid Explorer from information contained in the OMF file Create Timeline Creates clips, transitions, and supported effects on the Clips timeline from information contained in the OMF file Create Both Force Creation of External Tape Sources Appends the OMF project name to the master clip source names when creating master clips. Select this option to distinguish between clips that are created from tapes associated with the conform and clips that are not. Tapes Sets the heads and tails to each of the imported clips Heads Specifies the number of extra frames to add before the clip’s in-point Tails Specifies the number of extra frames to add after the clip’s out-point Import Audio Data Activates the import of audio into the current project Audio Determines which type of media is imported with the OMF file and where it will be stored Import All Media 1800 Creates logs of the clips in the Avid Explorer and loads them with transitions and supported effects on the timeline Imports all the media contained in the OMF file into the current project OMF (Open Media Framework) View Option Description Only Import Used Media Imports only the media used in the actual sequence into the current project Sample Rate Sets the sample rate at which you want to import the audio material. The higher the sampling rate, the more accurate the conversion will be. Bit Depth Sets the bit depth of the audio media to be imported. The bit depth determines the number of bits used to represent an audio sample. The higher the bit depth, the more precise the conversion will be. Capture To Specifies a destination storage device for the audio media Audio Input Configuration Displays a list of tape and/or file names referenced in the OMF file and the corresponding number of inputs Tape Name Displays a list of tape and/or file names referenced in the OMF file Clip Name Displays the list of clips associated with the selected tape Audio Channels Lets you re-assign the physical audio inputs to specific audio channels for the recapture process. Audio channels loaded from an OMF are only available in mono format. Set Saves the audio input assignments for each source tape name Export Composition Dialog Box The Export Composition dialog box lets you specify whether or not audio media will be embedded in the OMF file. You can also specify the amount of the clip to export using clip handles. n You can only consolidate and add heads and tails to audio media that originates from tape. If you conform master clips that originate from file, you have two options: you can either disregard the media or export the clip’s entire media to the OMF file. 1801 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To Audio Tracks Specify whether to include audio media in the OMF file you are exporting Embed Media Include the audio media in the OMF file you are exporting Consolidate Specify how much of the audio clip to include in the OMF file you are exporting. If not selected, the entire span of the master clip is included in the OMF file. If selected, only the material used on the timeline plus any additional frames specified in the heads and tails section will be included in the OMF file. Bit Depth Specify the bit depth for the audio:16 or 24. Handles Length Specify the number of frames before and after the clip you want to include in the OMF file Heads Specify the number of frames before the material used on the timeline to be included in the OMF file Tails Specify the number of frames after the material used on the timeline to be included in the OMF file Output Tool The Output Tool lets you specify settings for outputting your media. You need to specify the material to be output and its destination, as well as options such as the output resolution and compression factor. To access the Output Tool: t 1802 Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output. Output Tool Output Tool (Output to Tape) Use these options to output a sequence to tape. To access the Output to Tape controls: 1. Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output. 2. Click the Output to Tape button. 1803 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To Source Specify the material you want to output Entire Sequence Output the entire timeline. Within a container clip, only the clips on the the container timeline are output. Sequence In/Out Output a section of the sequence marked by in-points and out-points in the timeline. The timecodes of the in-point and out-point are displayed in the In and Out text boxes. Use Tineline Timecodes for Edits To record to tape using the timecodes specified in the timeline (including in-point and out-points). For example, if you want to perform an insert edit for a specific region of a sequence, mark the in-point and outpoint, select Sequence In/Out, and select Use Timeline Timecodes for Edits. 1804 Output Tool Use this To Insert/Assemble button Begin the output process. The label indicates the selected Edit mode. Preview button View the sequence before outputting. Deck Display the current External Device configuration preset. You can select a different device from the device list—see “Configuring the External Device” in the Help. Edit Mode Specify how the external device records the material to tape. • Auto: Select this option to record the sequence onto a prestriped tape (a tape with prerecorded control track and timecode) This option lets you add material to existing material on the tape. It also deactivates all channels during capture to prevent any interruption of signal between the deck and your system. The recording begins at the timecode that is set in the I field of the Output Tool. If you want to insert material at a particular timecode on the tape (known as an insert edit), make sure the in-point of the sequence matches the in-point that you set in the Output tool. • Assemble: Select this option to record the material onto a new tape (without control track or timecode) or completely record over all tracks of an existing tape. A blank tape must have enough stripe at the beginning to allow for preroll. The selected sequence is recorded from the in-point of the tape, which you must set in the Output Tool. If the Output Tool is set for Assemble mode, the Edit mode indicator flashes red to bring your attention to the selection. n Assemble edit results in several garbage frames appearing at the end of your edit. To work around this inherent limitation, you can set an in-point at the beginning of your sequence, an out-point ten frames after the end of your sequence, and then output from in to out. This records a series of black frames between the end of your sequence and the garbage frames. This setting temporarily overrides the setting in the deck template but does not change it—see “Configuring the External Device for Output” in the Help. 1805 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To Preroll Set a custom preroll for the deck. This setting temporarily overrides the setting in the deck template but does not change it. LTC rate To record LTC (longitudinal timecode) through the LTC Out connector on the Avid Nitris DNA. The LTC frame rate matches the sequence frame rate. For 29.97 (NTSC) you can select 29.97 (non-drop-frame) or 29.97 DF (dropframe). LTC is output at the sequence timecode. Eject button Eject the tape from the external device. Check button Re-establish the remote connection and verify that the external device is communicating properly with your workstation. Before outputting, you should click the Check command. V Output the video channel to the external device or file. A1 to A8 Output the selected audio channel(s) to the external device. Click the buttons corresponding to the channels you want to output. The number of available audio channels depends on the installed audio hardware and the configuration to which it is set. Audio Propagation Delay Correct any frame delays in audio when you output your sequence to tape. Enter the number of frames that will compensate for this delay. n This problem usually occurs when there are a number of audio devices connected between your Avid DS Nitris workstation and the output deck. Switch transport controls from the external device to the record viewer Timeline/Deck Control button 1806 Transport controls Control the external device or the sequence in the record viewer—see “Transport Controls (Capture and Output Tools)” on page 1770. Video Output button Select the output signal. For systems with an Avid Nitris DNA, you can adjust the video parameters—see “Video Output Parameters” on page 1811. Output Tool Use this To Downconvert button Select options for downconverting HD sequences to SD or converting HD sequences to another HD format—see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources” on page 1814. Sync Source button For systems with an Avid Nitris DNA, select the type of sync signal for output: Tri-Level for HD and NTSC Black Burst or PAL Black Burst for SD—see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources” on page 1814.. Output Tool (Output to File) Use these options to output a sequence to one or more graphics files or a single movie file. To access the Output to File controls: 1. Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output. 2. Click the Output to File button. 1807 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference 1808 Use this To Source Specify the material you want to output. Entire Sequence Output the entire timeline. Within a container clip, only the clips on the the container timeline are output. Sequence In/Out Output a section of the sequence marked by in-points and out-points in the timeline. The timecodes of the in-point and out-point are displayed in the In and Out text boxes. Output button Begin the output process. File Type Specify the format of the file to be output—see Output File Formats. Output Resolution Set parameters for the size and field mode of the outputl. Output Tool Use this To Generic Select a standard resolution for the output. Custom Specify a custom output resolution. Field Mode Specify the field dominance of the exported media. If you are working with progressive or low-motion media in an interlaced sequence, select Ignore to maximize the output quality. Otherwise select Preserve to keep the field dominance, or Invert to change the field dominance (from odd to even, or even to odd). The Preserve and Invert options preserve field motion and prevent any field artifacts. This option is automatically set to Ignore when you are working with a progressive sequence. For more information, see “About Field Dominance” in the Help. Output Options Set additonal parameters for output. Codec Specify the codec to be used in the compression of the output file. You can choose any codec that is already installed on your machine. This option is available only when generating files in formats that support compression. Output Levels Specify how Avid DS Nitris interprets the pixel values within a frame. Graphics: Use this option when exporting media to be used in print or on the web. Video: Use this option when exporting video that must not be clipped, such as a portion of a video clip that is being sent to a video paint system for cleanup or repair. Auto: Use this option to export at the levels used for the sequence. For more information, see “Media Capture Settings” on page 1759. Preserve Alpha Advanced Settings Preserve the alpha channel in the generated file. This option can be used only when generating files in formats that support the alpha channel. Specify the size and the specific area to be exported—see Using Advanced Settings to Crop and Resize in the Help. 1809 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To Source Region Specify the left-corner offset (X and Y positions) of the region and the size of the region (pixel dimensions) in the source image. Destination Region Specify the left-corner offset and the size of the region in the exported image. Output Tool (Output to Reference) Use these options to output a sequence as an AVI or QuickTime reference movie. To access the Output to Reference controls: 1. Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output. 2. Click the Output to Reference button. 1810 Use this To Reference Movie Type Select an AVI or QuickTime reference movie Output Tool Use this To Include Scaling Matrix (QuickTime only) Add QuickTime scaling to the exported file. This scaling sets a display size for the movie that can result in problems. By default, this option is not selected. QuickTime uses 720x540 pixels for a 4:3 sequence and 720x405 pixels for a 16:9 sequence. Although these sizes display the correct aspect ratio on the computer monitor, they result in a vertical scaling that can create artifacts and interlace problems. To discard the scaling matrix and avoid these problems, do not select this option. Video Output Parameters The Video Output Parameters panel lets you calibrate the video signal for output to an external device (Avid Nitris DNA only). To access the Video Output Parameters panel: 1. Select View > Single-Instance Views > Output. 2. Click the Video Output button. 1811 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Option Description Video list Lets you select the video signal you want to calibrate: Composite, HD Analog Out and HD H Phase, SD Component, SD Serial Digital, or S-Video. Save Parameters Saves the settings. as the default. You can save one set of parameters for each type of signal. Factory Settings Resets the sliders to all the default settings for your hardware Color Space (HD Analog Out) Lets you select the color space for the output signal: YUV (video) or RGB (graphics) Subpixel H Phase The horizontal blanking interval used to synchronize the timing of two or more video signals below the pixel level 1812 Output Tool Option Description H Phase The horizontal blanking interval used to synchronize the timing of two or more video signals HD H Phase Black level A measurement of luminance in the video signal that is referenced to the blackest point in the visible picture Gain (Composite and S-Video) A measurement of luma (Y) in the video signal that is the whitest point in the visible picture Y Gain (Component) Y PbPr Overall Gain (HD Analog YUV) GBR Overall Gain (HD Analog RGB) R-Y Gain (Component) Pr Gain (HD Analog YUV) R Gain (HD Analog RGB) The red (R) minus luminance (Y) color-difference signal of an analog component system in the SMPTE NTSC video standard B-Y Gain (Component) Pb Gain (HD Analog YUV) B Gain (HD Analog RGB) The blue (B) minus luminance (Y) color-difference signal of an analog component system in the SMPTE NTSC video standard Hue (Composite and S-Video) An attribution of color perception based on varying proportions of red, green, and blue in the video signal. Also known as color phase. Saturation (Composite and S-Video) A measurement of chrominance or the intensity of color in the video signal SC Phase A control for timing two or more signals based on the color burst portion of a composite or S-Video signal 1813 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources The Output Tool lets you convert or downconvert a high-definition (HD or film) sequence in one of several HD or standard-definition (SD) formats, depending on the original format of your sequence (Avid Nitris DNA workstation only). The following illustrations show the SD format options for HD material. High Definition SD - Letterbox SD - Anamorphic SD - Center Cut Sequence Format Converted HD Output Converted SD Output Compatible Sync Source 1080PsF 23.97 1080i 59.94 NTSC Letterbox NTSC Center Crop NTSC Anamorphic Tri-Level 1080PsF 24 1080i 60 — Tri-Level 1080PsF 25 — PAL Letterbox PAL Center Crop PAL Anamorphic Tri-Level PAL Black Burst 1814 Output Tool Sequence Format Converted HD Output Converted SD Output Compatible Sync Source 1080PsF 29.97 — NTSC Letterbox NTSC Center Crop NTSC Anamorphic Tri-Level NTSC Black Burst 1080PsF 30 — — Tri-Level PAL Letterbox PAL Center Crop PAL Anamorphic Tri-Level PAL Black Burst 1080i 50 1080i 59.94 720p 59.94 NTSC Letterbox NTSC Center Crop NTSC Anamorphic Tri-Level NTSC Black Burst 1080i 60 720p 60 — Tri-Level 720p 59.94 1080i 59.94 NTSC Letterbox NTSC Center Crop NTSC Anamorphic Tri-Level NTSC Black Burst 720p 60 1080i 60 — Tri-Level 2k and 4k Film 23.97 fpsa 1080p Center Crop 1080p Padding 1080i 59.94 NTSC Letterbox NTSC Center Crop NTSC Anamorphic NTSC Padding Tri-Level 2k and 4k Film 24 fpsa 1080p Center Crop 1080p Padding 1080i Center Crop 1080i Padding 1080i 60 — Tri-Level 2k and 4k Film 25 fpsa 1080p Center Crop 1080p Padding PAL Letterbox PAL Center Crop PAL Anamorphic PAL Padding Tri-Level PAL Black Burst 2k and 4k Film 29.97 fpsa 1080p Center Crop 1080p Padding NTSC Letterbox NTSC Center Crop NTSC Anamorphic NTSC Padding Tri-Level NTSC Black Burst 2k and 4k Film 30 fpsa — Tri-Level 1080p Center Crop 1080p Padding 1815 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference a. The converted formats available depend on the specific film format: Full Aperture, Academy, Widescreen, Cinemascope, or Spirit. Output File Formats Avid DS Nitris supports a wide range of video and audio file formats. When you export your media as a sequence or as single frames, choose from any of the following formats: 1816 File format File extension Supports alpha Supports compression AIFF (uncompressed) .aif, .aiff, .aifc - - Alias .als No No AVI .avi Yes Yes Avid DS (Video Hal) .gen,.omf No Yes (8-bit video only) BMP (Windows Bitmap) .bmp No Yes Chyron .chr Yes No Cineon .fido No Yes DPX .dpx No No JFIF (JPEG) .jpg, .jpeg, .jfif No No MAP .map No No MXF (Material Exchange Format) .mxf No Yes (8-bit video only) PCX (Microsoft Windows .pcx Paintbrush) No No PGM .pgm No Yes Photoshop .psd Yes Yes PICT .pct, .pict Yes Yes PNG .png Yes Yes Output Tool File format File extension Supports alpha Supports compression PPM .ppm No Yes QuickTime .mov, .qt Yes Yes SGI .sgi, .rgb Yes Yes Softimage PIC .pic Yes Yes Targa .tga Yes Yes TIFF .tif,.tiff Yes Yes WAV .wav - - Wavefront .rla Yes No Windows Media .wmv, .wma, .asf No Yes YUV .yuv No No YUV16 .yuv16 No No DPX Export Dialog Box (Still Image Export) If you select Cineon or DPX as a file format for output, a dialog box lets you select the look-up table (LUT) and adjust color values. Use this To Pixel format View the pixel format of the sequence which you are outputting. Compression View the compression of the sequence which you are outputting. 1817 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this To LUT Type Select the look-up table (LUT) for the export: • Linear: maintains the log values and lets you adjust the white point and black point • Linear>Log: converts the values from linear to log and lets you adjust all RGB controls • From File: Lets you select a file, which determines which controls you can adjust. A dialog box gives you the option of inverting the LUT. RGB Controls Adjust the color values of the output. You can type new values or use the sliders. By default, RGB values are equivalent. If you want to adjust an individual R, G, or B value, clear the box in the Lock column for the parameter. Big Endian Byte Ordering Write the DPX file so that it can be imported correctly into graphics programs, such as Adobe After Effects® and Avid Media Illusion. Export Timecode Specify the starting timecode at which your sequence will be output. Reset LUT Return to the default RGB values. Inverse LUT Set the opposite values of the current RGB settings, so that you can reverse the LUT settings that were used when the original DPX file was imported. Script Editor View The Script Editor view is a text editor within Avid DS Nitris that lets you create, modify, run, and manage scripts for both batch capturing and processing. You can easily write a script to automate a commonly performed series of tasks that can save you a great deal of time. n The scripting capability in Avid DS Nitris is limited to capturing media from file. To access the Script Editor: • 1818 Select View > Single-Instance Views > Script Editor. Script Editor View Script editing menu History pane Splitter bar Editing pane Use this To Script editing menus Load, save, edit, cut, copy, or paste scripts. History pane View the most recently used commands in the current Avid DS Nitris session. You cannot edit the text in the History pane, but you can use it as a source for pasting into the Editing pane. By default, the History pane keeps the last 200 commands, but you can change this number. Editing pane Create scripts by typing directly into the pane or cut, copy, or paste information from other sources. This pane retains its contents even after you quit Avid DS Nitris. To clear it click the New button. Script Editor Menus The Script Editor menus let you create, edit, save, cut, copy, and paste commands or entire scripts. Use this To File Display commands that let you open and save scripts. 1819 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Use this New Open a new script file. Open Open an existing script file. Save Save a script to file. Save As Save a script file with a different name. Edit 1820 To Display commands that let you modify the text in the script editor. Undo Undo your last action. Cut Remove a portion of text. Copy Copy a portion of text. Paste Paste a portion of text that was copied from elsewhere. Clear Selection Remove text that has been selected in the Editing pane of the Script Editor. Select All Select all text. Clear History Log Remove all text from the History pane of the Script Editor. Clear Script Editor Remove all text from the Editing pane of the Script Editor. Run Start the script. New Clear the Script Editor. Save Save the contents of the Editing pane to a file. Cut Remove a portion of text with the intent of moving it elsewhere. Copy Copy a portion of text with the intent of placing it elsewhere. Paste Paste a portion of text that was copied from elsewhere. Run Start the script. Tape Library View Tape Library View The Tape Library view lets you name, view, and manage the tapes used in your current project. You can perform basic operations, such as deleting, purging, and recapturing clips based on their source. To access the Tape Library view: t In the My System or Project panel of the Avid Explorer, click Views > Tape Library. Bin toolbar Tapes list Bin tools For information about the Tape Tool, see . To view the clips and sequences associated with a tape: t Select one or more tapes, and click the Clip Tray button: The top part of the Tape Library view lists the tapes in your project, and the bottom part lists the master clips and sequences that are associated with the selected tape. Double-click a clip or sequence to display it in the Source viewer. 1821 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Sequence associated with selected tape. n You can view the Tape Tool and Clip Tray views at the same time. Tapes Menu The Tapes menu lets you perform operations on the selected tape. To access the Tapes menu: t 1822 Right-click a tape icon. Option Description Delete Deletes the selected tape and all associated master clips Rename Lets you renames the selected tape. A tape name must be less than 32 characters and cannot contain the following characters: / \ : ; * ? “ < > | . ^ # Change Comment Lets you change the comment for the selected tape Purge Purges media for all master clips associated with the tape Tape Library View Option Description Recapture Recaptures all master clips associated with the tape Manual Reel A check mark indicates that the tape has been marked for user interaction. You can set the Manual Reel option when you create a new tape, or select the option in the context menu. This option disables the streaming capture functionality, and allows you to manually cue the tape to the appropriate timecode. Use this option for tapes that contain repeated timecode, timecode breaks, or other problems. Add New Tape Dialog Box The Add New Tape dialog box lets you add a new tape to the project. To access the Add New Tape dialog box, do one of the following: t In the Bin Tools section of the Tapes list, click the Fast Menu button or right-click in the background and select Add New Tape. t In the Capture Tool, click the New Tape button. Option Description Name The name associated with the tape. A tape name must be less than 32 characters and cannot contain the following characters: / \ : ; * ? “ < > | . ^ #. Comment A comment about the tape. This comment is displayed in a bin when you select the Details or Script view. Manual Reel Marks the tape for user interaction. This option disables the streaming capture functionality, and allows you to manually cue the tape to the appropriate timecode. Use this option for tapes that contain repeated timecode, timecode breaks, or other problems. You can also select or deselect this option by right-clicking a tape icon. you flag a tape with the Manual Reel option c Ifduring capture, don’t deactivate it during recapture because it may cause recapture errors. 1823 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Tape Tool The Tape Tool view lets you see the media on one or more tapes, their qualities, and the parts of the media that are used in a selected clip or sequence. The Tape Tool view contains a list of audio and video media, and a 24-hour timeline that shows you where the media is situated. In this view, you can also upconvert and downconvert audio, and purge media. You can access the Tape Tool view from three different locations: the Media Tool, Tape Library, and your project bin in Avid Explorer. To access the Tape Tool: 1. Do one of the following: t Select Data Management > Media Tool. t In the My System or Project panel of the Avid Explorer, click Views > Tape Library. t In Project panel of the Avid Explorer, select your project to display the project bin. 2. In the respective view or bin, click the Tape Tool button. The bottom portion of the view/bin displays a timecode box on the right side and a timeline on the left. 1824 Tape Tool Tape Tool button Tape Tool view Viewing Media Regardless of how you access the Tape Tool, you can view the media of a selected clip, sequence, or tape, as well as their qualities. Also, you can view the media available on the tape(s) associated with your sequence, and the time span of the media that’s actually used in a selected sequence. n You can only select tapes in the Tape Library view. To view a tape’s media: t In the Tape Library, select one or more tapes, and click the Tape Tool button. The top part of the Tape Tool view lists the tapes in your project, and the bottom part displays a list of audio and video channels on the selected tape(s). 1825 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Selected tapes Audio and video channels of one of the tapes. To view a clip or sequence’s media: t In the Tape Tool view, select a clip or sequence. Selected sequence Name of tape associated with sequence. Video and audio channels available on tape. The name of the tape from associated with the selected sequence is displayed at the top of the list in the left panel. The audio and video channels on the tape are displayed at the bottom of the panel. 1826 Tape Tool Viewing the Format and Qualities of Media The format and quality of media is automatically displayed beside each audio or video channel in the left panel of the Tape Tool view. You can, however, view additional information on a video channel. To view additional information on a video channel: t In the bottom-left panel of the Tape Tool view, select a video channel. Additional video information is displayed at the bottom of the panel. Identifying Media in the Tape Tool Timeline The media on the Tape Tool timeline is identified by different colors. Green indicates media available on the storage device. Gray indicates spans that have been logged or used in other sequences. White indicates media used in the selected clip or sequence. Using the Tape Tool Timeline The Tape Tool timeline is a 24-hour timeline that’s similar to the main timeline; there is a timescale and position indicator to show the location of media in a selected sequence. If your sequence has many clips, they may not all be visible on the timeline. You can pan the timeline to view different sections of your sequence. You can also view the sequence in the Source viewer. 1827 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference Using the Tape Tool timeline, you can also add source effects. For more information, see Working with Source Effects. To pan the Tape Tool timeline, do one of the following: t At the bottom of the left or right panel, drag the timeline scroll bar left or right. t In the left panel, click the arrows to pan left or right. To switch between the Tape Tool timeline and the record timeline: 1. In the timeline navigation bar, click the Source/Record Timeline button. The button turns green and the media that’s used in the selected sequence is displayed on the main timeline. 2. Click the Source/Record Timeline button again to switch back to the main timeline. To view a video channel in the Source viewer: t In the Tape Tool timeline, click the small box beside a video channel. Click to view this in the Source viewer. The media in the video channel is displayed in the Source viewer. 1828 Timeline Recapture Dialog Box Timeline Recapture Dialog Box The Timeline Recapture dialog box lets you set options before you recapture clips from the timeline. To access the Timeline Recapture dialog box: t In the editing toolbar, right-click the Media IO button and select one of the following: - Recapture Entire Timeline with Options - Recapture Selection with Options Option Description Heads Specifies the number of frames before the clips to be recaptured Tails Specifies the number of frames after the clips to be recaptured Recapture Only Active Material Recapture material marked as active. Time Delay Recapture master clips from the timeline at a specific date and time . This is useful when you’re using 3D rendered image files in your sequence. You can render the 3D image files at night, set the Time Delay option to begin capture after the render is complete and have everything captured by the next morning. When you select this option, clips with time effects (Timewarp, Interlace, Deinterlace, 3:2 Expand, or 3:2 Contract) are recaptured in their entirety regardless of the active areas. For all other types of container clips, only the active portions of the container clips are recaptured. The Time Delay option is only valid for media that was originally imported from file. The date/time properties on your computer determine when to start and end your recapture. Make sure your clock is accurate, so that the recapture occurs at the desired time. 1829 Chapter 2 Capture and Output Reference 1830 Chapter 3 Editing Reference This chapter includes reference information on features you use during editing. Animation Controls (Global in Status Bar) The global animation controls in the status bar let you turn automatic keyframing on or off, set a keyframe manually, and move between keyframes. Previous Key Next Key Last Key First Key Animation Key Autokey Use this To |< (First Key) Move the position indicator to the first keyframe < (Previous Key) Move the position indicator to the previous keyframe Animation Key Set a keyframe at the current frame with the current property settings. Right-click this button to display the Animation Key menu—see “Animation Key Menu” on page 1832. Autokey Automatically create a keyframe when you make any adjustments to properties. That is, you do not have to click the Animation Key button each time you change a property. > (Next Key) Move the position indicator to the next keyframe Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To >| (Last Key) Move the position indicator to the last keyframe Animation Key Menu The Animation Key menu lets you create and edit animation, as well as change the curve interpolation type. To access the Animation Key menu, do one of the following: t Right-click the Animation Key button in any property editor. t Right-click the global animation key in the status bar. Use this To Animation Editor Display the animation editor—see “Understanding the Animation Editor” in the Help. Remove Key Remove every available keyframe at the current position indicator location Remove Animation Remove all function curves in this animation First Key Move the position indicator to the first keyframe in the function curve Last Key Move to the position indicator to the last keyframe in the function curve Cut Key Cut every available keyframe at the current position indicator location Copy Key Copy every available keyframe at the current position indicator location Paste Key Paste every available keyframe, at the current position indicator location, to their respective curve n 1832 You can only paste to effects of the same type as the effects copied to the Clipboard. Animation Tools Use this To Autokey Turn Autokey mode on or off. Automatically creates keyframes as you adjust the settings. n Tip: You can activate this mode by clicking the Autokey button at the bottom-right of the desktop. Constant Change the function curve to a constant curve. This option has no effect on a motion path. Linear Change the function curve to a linear curve Bézier Change the function curve to a Bézier curve Animation Tools The animation tools are represented as buttons in the animation editor. These tools let you move within the animation graph, and adjust the values or time of the keyframes of a function curve. To access the animation editor, do one of the following: Keyframe timecode Prev Key/Next Key t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Animation Editor. t In a property editor with animation controls, right-click the Animation Key button and select Animation Editor. Keyframe value Zoom Pan Select Select Region Edit Key Add Key Remove Key Frame Ripple Preferences Interpolations Snap Swap Use this To Select (mode) Select a function curve or keyframe. Select Region Select a region of the function curve. You can use this tool when cutting, copying, or pasting function curves. 1833 Chapter 3 Editing Reference 1834 Use this To Edit Key (mode) Enter Edit Key mode. When you are in this mode: leftclick to select/translate keys, middle-click to add keys, and right-click to delete keys. Zoom (mode) Zoom in or out on the animation graph. Pan (mode) Pan the animation graph. Frame Frame the currently selected curves. Add Key (mode) Add a keyframe when you click the animation graph. Remove Key (mode) Delete any keyframes that you select. Ripple When selected before pasting, moves key points to accommodate the inserted region. Linear Interpolation Repeat the value of a key point. The movement is characterized by sudden changes at keyframes and static positions between keyframes. Spline Interpolation Spline interpolation accelerates and decelerates to ease into and out of each keyframe, resulting in a smooth transition. The degree of acceleration and deceleration before and after the keyframe is determined by the tangent handles of the key point. Snap Snap the ghost curve to the currently selected function curve. Swap Swap the currently selected function curve with the ghost function curve. Preferences Display the Animation Editor Preferences property editor to adjust the graph properties. Prev Key/Next Key Navigate between keyframes in an animation Keyframe timecode Display the timecode of the selected keyframe. You can type a new timecode to edit the selected keyframe. If more than one keyframe is selected, no timecode is displayed. Keyframe value Display the value of the selected keyframe. You can type a new value to edit the selected keyframe(s). If more than one keyframe is selected, no value is displayed. Animation Editor Menus Animation Editor Menus The animation editor menus let you create, edit, and view a selected property’s function curve. For information about the animation editor, see “Understanding the Animation Editor” in the Help. File Menu (Animation Editor) The File menu lets you open, save, and import your files, and access the Curve Editor to set your user preferences. Use this To Open Open a saved function curve Save Save a function curve as a raw function curve file Import (.fraw) Import raw function curves Export (.fraw) Export raw function curves Preferences Display the Animation Editor Preferences property page Edit Menu (Animation Editor) The Edit menu lets you cut, paste, and select keys, regions, or curves, and access advanced snapping and swapping features. Use this To Cut Cut a selected region, function curve, or key Copy Copy a selected region, function curve, or key Paste Paste a selected region, function curve, or key Select Tool Select a function curve or keyframe Select Region Tool Select a 2D region of the animation graph. The curve region edit controls let you move, stretch, or compress all the key points within the selected region as a group. 1835 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Select All Keys Select all keys on all selected function curves Select All Curves Select all function curves currently displayed in the animation graph Deselect All Deselect all keys and function curves Snapshot Snap the ghost curve to the currently selected function curve Swap w. Snapshot Swap the selected function curve with the ghost function curve Snap to Grid Snap the key point to the nearest X (time) and Y (value) coordinates Snap to Frame Snap the key point to the nearest frame on the animation graph’s X axis Move Keys to Nearest Frame Move existing floating keys to the nearest frame Discrete Time Keep keys on keyframes when stretching or scaling function curves Interactive Update Simultaneously update the image in the viewer as you modify the function curve of the animation, when selected. n When deselected, each modification must be completed before the image is updated. View Menu (Animation Editor) The View menu lets you view function curves, show/hide features such as key coordinates and labels, and display snapshot curves. You can also pan and zoom, frame, and display rulers and grid lines. 1836 Use this To All Parameters View the function curves for all the animatable parameters in the animation graph Animation Editor Menus Use this To Animated Parameters Display only the animated parameters in the animation graph Marked Parameters Display only the marked parameters in the animation graph Clear All Curves Hide all function curves in the animation graph until you select one of the other available view commands Filter Shows or hides the Animation Filter list at the top of the animation tree. Edit Filter Opens the Edit Filter dialog box for setting criteria for displaying function curves. Keys on Unselected Curves Show or hides key points on all unselected function curves in the animation graph Slopes on Unselected Keys Show or hides the slopes of all unselected keys on a selected function curve Curve and Axis Labels Show or hides the labels on selected function curves and the X and Y axes in the animation graph Keys Coordinates Show or hides the time and value of a selected key Snapshot Curve Display a temporary copy of the original function curve. When moving a key point or part of a curve, it creates a “snapshot” of the curve’s original location. Normalized in Y (Value) View and compare multiple curves that have a broad range of values. Normalizing the Y axis lets you view the full range of each function curve. Pan Tool Pan the animation graph Zoom Tool Zoom in or out on the animation graph Automatic Pan Pan the animation graph during playback Automatic Framing Automatically set the animation graph view around the selected object (timeline or elsewhere). If this option is not selected, then the animation graph retains the last zoom setting. 1837 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Frame Selection Frame the selected curves and keys by resetting the pan and zoom, so they fit in the animation graph within a specified range Frame Region Frame the selected region by resetting the pan and zoom, so they fit in the animation graph within a specified range Frame Selected Curves Frame the selected curves by resetting the pan and zoom, so they fit in the animation graph within a specified range Frame All Curves Frame all the function curves by resetting the pan and zoom, so they fit in the animation graph within a specified range Frame to Timeline Frame all the function curves by resetting the graph view to the time span specified in the timeline controls Grid Turn the grid lines on or off Rulers Turn the X and Y axis rulers on or off Locators Display any locators, in the selected time span, on the timeline ruler Meta Curve Region Mark the timecode of keyframes, or groups of keyframes, with a red locator below the animation graph Display for selected curves only Display the Meta Curve region for selected curves only Display for all curves Display the Meta Curve region for all curves Hide Meta Curve region Hide the Meta Curve region Keys Menu (Animation Editor) The Keys menu lets you control the selected keyframe’s key and tangent handles. You can lock key values, break and unify tangent handles, as well as control the slope of inserted keys. 1838 Animation Editor Menus Use this To Lock in X (Time) Lock the key’s location in time on the X axis, allowing movement only in the Y direction Lock in Y (Value) Lock the key’s value on the Y axis, allowing movement only in the X direction Lock Slope Orientation Lock the angle of the tangent handles of the selected key points Lock Slope Length Keep the length of the tangent handles constant Unlock All Keys Unlock all keys that were previously locked in X and Y values Unlock All Slopes Unlock all tangent handles that were previously locked in slope length and angle Unify Slope Lock the slope together at 180 degrees to each other Break Slope Freely move slopes as you drag each tangent handle individually Automatic Slope Automatically set the slope of an inserted key to the slopes of neighboring keys Zero Slope Constrain key points to a slope of zero. The tangent handles remain horizontal, so that only the slope tension can be modified Plateau Slope Set the slope of an inserted key automatically to zero if the next key has the same value, or if that key is a local minima or maxima. This is useful to hold key point values to prevent the automatic interpolation from going above or below your keyframed values. Remove Animation Remove all keyframes from selected curves Remove Key Remove selected keyframes Insert Key at Current Time Insert key points for all selected curves at a given frame Delete Key at Current Time Delete key points for all selected curves at a given frame 1839 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Edit Key Tool Turn Edit Key mode on or off. In this mode, left-click to select/translate keys, middle-click to add keys, and right-click to delete keys. Add Key Tool Turn Add Key mode on or off Remove Key Tool Turn Remove Key mode on or off Curves Menu (Animation Editor) The Curves menu lets you control the appearance of function curves. You can choose the interpolation and extrapolation modes, introduce cycles, as well as adjust the function curve using resampling, smoothing, and fitting tools. Use this To Constant Interpolation Repeat the value of a keyframe until the next one. The movement is characterized by sudden changes and then static positions. Linear Interpolation Connect key points by straight line segments. The movements are characterized by sudden changes at each key point. Spline Interpolation Result in a smooth transition. Uses a curved spline interpolation. The interpolation accelerates and decelerates to ease into and out of each keyframe. 1840 Constant Extrapolation Extrapolate the value of the Y axis from the first frame to the first keyframe and the value of the Y axis from the last keyframe to the last frame. This results in a hold of motion before and after the movement. Gradient Extrapolation Extrapolate the increment calculated between the first and second key points and applies it from the first frame to the first keyframe Cycle Repeat the function curve shape/pattern defined by key points. This results in the cycling of that pattern from the first keyframe to the last. Relative Cycle Repeat the selected function curve such that the next cycle begins at the same value as the end of the previous cycle Animation Editor Preferences Use this To Freeze Cycle Freeze the selected function curve to a selected time span Flip X (Time) Flip the values of the X (Time) coordinates about the average value of the time of all selected keyframes Flip Y (Value) Flip the values of the Y (Value) coordinates about the average value of the Value of all selected keyframes Resample Generate a key every ‘x’ time step units. The time step units can be set in the Curve Editor property editor (Curve Processing property page). Smooth Remove sharp spikes and jags from a function curve by averaging between keyframes. You can adjust the filter size in the Curve Editor property editor (Curve Processing property page). A high filter size will give you a much straighter curve. Fit Remove redundant keyframing while preserving the original shape of a function curve Make Rotations Continuous Recalculate the rotation values to avoid flipping. Creates a continuous rotation function curve. Animation Editor Preferences The Animation Editor Preferences property editor lets you set your viewing and displaying preferences, as well as curve processing and pasting options. To access the Animation Editor Preferences property editor: t From the Animation Editor, select File > Preferences. Editor Property Page (Animation Editor Preferences) The Editor property page lets you control various settings of the animation editor, including how the grid is displayed and how the viewer is updated. 1841 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Grids Controls the properties of the grid displayed in the animation editor. You can set the properties for the horizontal and vertical directions separately. Display Grid Turns grid display on or off Snap Grid Turns grid snapping on or off Rulers Controls properties of the ruler displayed along axes of animation editor. You can set the properties for the horizontal and vertical directions separately. X or Y value Sets spacing between ruler increments Show Turns ruler display on or off View Keys Coordinates Lets you control display of keys, key coordinates, slopes, snapshot curves, and playback cursor. Shows or hides time and value of a selected key Slopes on Unselected Shows or hides key points on all unselected keys on a Keys selected curve Keys on Unselected Curves Turns between showing and hiding key points on all unselected curves in the animation graph Snapshot Curve Displays temporary copy of original function curve. When moving a key point or part of a curve, a “snapshot” of the curve’s original location is taken. Pan & Zoom tool by Activates the Pan & Zoom tool whenever you select the default Pan tools from the animation editor Interactive Update 1842 Simultaneously updates the image in the viewer as you drag the function curve of the animation. When deselected, you must drag and release before the image updates. Active Turns Interactive Update on or off Speed Sets the Interactive Update speed. The higher the speed, the faster the update will occur as you drag the function curve. Animation Editor Preferences Keys Property Page (Animation Editor Preferences) The Key property page contains information about selected keyframes in the animation editor and contains controls for setting the interpolation between keyframes. Option Description Frame Specifies frame number of selected key. To move a keyframe, type a frame number and press Enter. Value Specifies value of selected key. To change it, type a new value and press Enter. Previous Key Lets you go to previous keyframe Next Key Lets you go to next keyframe Interpolation Controls how values are calculated for frames between keyframes on the selected function curves Constant Repeats value of a keyframe until the next one. The movement is characterized by sudden changes and then static positions. Linear Uses linear interpolation by connecting keyframes with straight line segments. The movement is characterized by sudden changes at each key point. Spline Results in a smooth transition. Uses a curved spline interpolation. The interpolation accelerates and decelerates to ease into and out of each keyframe. Slope Controls how slope moves Unified Keeps slopes together as they move, keeping a constant angle between them Broken Lets slopes move freely as you drag each handle individually Curve Processing (Animation Editor Preferences) The Curve Processing property page lets you define the smoothing, fitting, and resampling of function curves. 1843 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Smoothing Removes sharp spikes and jags from a function curve by averaging between keyframes Average Filter Smooths function curve by applying a moving average. The weights of the average are uniformly distributed. Filter Size Defines number of keys that comprise the filter. The higher the filter size, the straighter the curve. Gaussian Filter Smooths function curve by applying a moving average. The weights of the average are distributed as a bell curve. This usually gives better results than the average filter. Variance Controls degree of smoothing. The higher the variance, the smoother the function curve. n Fitting Tolerance Resampling 1844 This option applies to the Gaussian filter only. Removes redundant keyframes while preserving original shape of a function curve Adjusts closeness of fit. Smaller values will maintain the original shape of the curve better by using more keys, while larger values will use less keys and will result in a fit that deviates from the original curve. Generates a key every “x” time step units on the function curve Time Step Specifies interval at which keys are inserted when using resampling option Keep Existing Keys Keeps keys that existed before adding keys through resampling option Smooth Removes sharp spikes and jags from a function curve by averaging between keyframes Fit Removes redundant keyframing while preserving original shape of a function curve Resample Generates key every “x” time step units. The time step units can be set in the Curve Editor property editor (Curve Processing property page). Animation Editor Preferences Paste Options (Animation Editor Preferences) The Paste Options property page lets you control how key points, function curves, and curve segments are pasted, as well as set continuity options for pasted regions. Option Description Paste Options Controls how key points, function curves, and curve segments are pasted from the system memory Insert Inserts key points on system memory before current selection when pasting from system memory. The current selection is moved to the right. Replace Replaces current selection with key points on Clipboard when pasting from the system memory Absolute Inserts key at the value it was cut Relative Inserts key on the curve, creating a “Y” offset Continuity Options Controls how key point values are integrated into the pasted area Left Key Specifies the value to be used in calculating the key point to be inserted at the left of the paste region Use Average Inserts a key to the left of the paste region by taking an average of the values of the pasted and original curves at that point Use Left Value Inserts a key to the left of the paste region by using the value of the original curve at that point Use Right Value Inserts a key to the left of the paste region by using the value of the pasted curve at that point Right Key Specifies value used in calculating the key point to be inserted at the right of the paste region Use Average Inserts a key at the right of the paste region by taking an average of the values of the pasted and original curves at that point Use Left Value Inserts a key to the right of the paste region by using the value of the pasted curve at that point 1845 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Use Right Value Description Inserts a key to the right of the paste region by using the value of the original curve at that point Animation Graph Menu The animation graph menu lets you create, edit, and view a selected property’s function curve. To access the animation graph menu: t Right-click an empty area of the animation graph. Use this To File Open, save, and import your files, and access the Curve Editor to set user preferences Open Open a saved function curve Save Save a function curve as a raw function curve file Edit 1846 Cut, paste, and select keys, regions, or curves, and access snapping and swapping features Cut Cut a selected region, function curve, or key Copy Copy a selected region, function curve, or key Paste Paste a selected region, function curve, or key Select All Keys Select all keys on all the currently selected curves Select All Curves Select all function curves currently displayed in the animation graph Deselect All Deselect all keys and function curves Snapshot Snap the ghost curve to the selected function curve Swap w. Snapshot Swap the selected function curve with the ghost function curve Snap to Grid Snap the key point to the nearest X (time) and Y (value) coordinates Animation Graph Menu Use this Snap to Frame To Snap the key point to the nearest frame on the animation graph’s X axis Move Keys to Nearest Move existing floating keys to the nearest frame Frame Discrete Time Keep keys on keyframes when stretching or scaling function curves Interactive Update Simultaneously updates the image in the viewer as you modify the function curve of the animation, when selected. n View Keys on Unselected Curves When deselected, each modification must be completed before the image is updated. Let you view function curves, show/hide features, such as key coordinates and labels, and display snapshot curves. It also contains commands for framing and displaying rulers and grid lines. Show or hides key points on all unselected function curves in the animation graph Slopes on Unselected Show or hides the slopes of all unselected keys on a Keys selected function curve Curve and Axis Labels Show or hides the labels on selected function curves and the X and Y axes in the animation graph Keys Coordinates Show or hides the time and value of a selected key Snapshot Curve Display a temporary copy of the original function curve. Moving a key point or part of a curve creates a “snapshot” of the curve’s original location. Normalized in Y (Value) View and compare multiple curves that have a broad range of values. Normalizing the Y axis lets you view the full range of each function curve. Frame Selection Frame the currently selected curves and keys by resetting the pan and zoom, so they fit in the animation graph within a specified range Frame Region Frame the selected region by resetting the pan and zoom, so they fit in the animation graph within a specified range 1847 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this Frame Selected Keys Frame the selected keys by resetting the pan and zoom, so they fit in the animation graph within a specified range Frame Selected Curves Frame the selected curves by resetting the pan and zoom, so they fit in the animation graph within a specified range Frame All Curves Frame all the function curves by resetting the pan and zoom, so they fit in the animation graph within a specified range Grid Turn the grid lines on or off Rulers Turn the X and Y axis rulers on or off Locators Display any locators, in the selected time span, on the timeline ruler Meta Curve Region Mark the timecode of keyframes, or groups of keyframes, with a red locator below the animation graph Keys 1848 To Control key and tangent handle options. You can lock key values, break and unify tangent handles, as well as control the slope of inserted keys. Lock in X (Time) Lock the key’s location in time on the X axis, allowing movement only in the Y direction Lock in Y (Value) Lock the key’s value on the Y axis, allowing movement only in the X direction Lock Slope Orientation Lock the angle of the tangent handles of the selected key points Lock Slope Length Keep the length of the tangent handles constant Unlock All Keys Unlock all keys that were previously locked in X and Y values Unlock All Slopes Unlock all slopes whose tangent handles were previously locked Unify Slope Lock the slope together at 180 degrees to each other Break Slope Freely move the slopes as you drag each tangent handle individually Animation Graph Menu Use this To Automatic Slope Automatically set the slope of an inserted key to the slopes of neighboring keys Zero Slope Constrain key points to a slope of zero. The tangent handles remain horizontal, so that only the slope tension can be modified Plateau Slope Set the slope of an inserted key automatically to zero if the next key has the same value, or if that key is a local minima or maxima. This is useful for holding key point values to prevent the automatic interpolation from going above or below your keyframed values. Remove Animation Remove all keyframes from selected curves Remove Key Remove selected keyframes Edit Key Tool Turn Edit Key mode on or off. In this mode, left-click to select/translate keys, middle-click to add keys, and rightclick to delete keys. Curves Control the appearance of function curves. You can choose the interpolation and extrapolation modes, introduce cycles, as well as adjust the function curve using resampling, smoothing, and fitting tools. Constant Interpolation Repeat the value of a keyframe until the next one. The movement is characterized by sudden changes and then static positions. Linear Interpolation Connect key points by straight line segments. The movements are characterized by sudden changes at each key point. Spline Interpolation Result in a smooth transition. Uses a curved spline interpolation. The interpolation accelerates and decelerates to ease into and out of each keyframe. Constant Extrapolation Extrapolate the value of the Y axis from the first frame to the first keyframe and the value of the Y axis from the last keyframe to the last frame. This results in a hold of motion before and after the movement. Gradient Extrapolation Extrapolate the increment calculated between the first and second key points and applies it from the first frame to the first keyframe 1849 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Cycle Repeat the function curve shape/pattern defined by key points. This results in the cycling of that pattern from the first keyframe to the last. Relative Cycle Repeat the selected function curve such that the next cycle begins at the same value as the end of the previous cycle Freeze Cycle Freeze the selected function curve to a selected time span Flip X (Time) Flip the values of the X (Time) coordinates about the average value of the time of all selected keyframes Flip Y (Value) Flip the values of the Y (Value) coordinates about the average value of the Value of all selected keyframes Resample Generate a key every ‘x’ time step units. The time step units can be set in the Curve Editor property editor (Curve Processing property page). Smooth Remove sharp spikes and jags from a function curve by averaging between keyframes. You can adjust the filter size in the Curve Editor property editor (Curve Processing property page). A high filter size will give you a much straighter curve. Fit Remove redundant keyframing while preserving the original shape of a function curve Animation Tree Menu The Animation Tree pop-up menu lets you import and export a selected property’s function curve. For information about the animation tree, see “Using the Animation Tree” in the Help. To access the Animation Tree menu: t 1850 Right-click a property in the animation tree. Use this To Import Choose a function curve to import Edit Animation Menu Use this To Export Save the selected property’s function curve Edit Animation Menu The Edit Animation pop-up menu lets you open the animation editor, locate and remove keyframes, and set keyframes automatically. To access the Edit Animation menu: 1. From the taskbar, click the Compositing button. 2. In the Layers view, right-click the Animation Key button. Command Description Animation Editor Displays the animation editor Remove Keyframe Removes the selected keyframe from the function curve Remove Animation Removes all function curves from this animation First Key Moves to the first keyframe in the function curve Last Key Moves to the last keyframe in the function curve Autokey Turns Autokey mode on or off. Automatically creates keyframes as you adjust the settings. n Tip: You can activate this mode by clicking the Autokey button at the bottom-right of the desktop. Edit Filter Dialog Box The Edit Filter dialog box lets you customize the animation tree to display only those parameters that meet a specific set of criteria. To access the Edit Filter dialog box: t In the animation editor, select View > Edit Filter. 1851 Chapter 3 Editing Reference 1852 Command Description Criterion Contains six different criterion for filtering parameters including: Contains, Does Not Contain, Equal, Does Not Equal, Begins With, and Ends With. Value The field in which you enter the specific criteria used to filter the display of parameters in the animation tree. Filter Name Displays a list of filters. Clear Clears all the fields. Delete Deletes the selected filter from the Filter Name list. Save Saves the criteria specified for a filter. The saved filter appears in the Filter Name list in this dialog box and in the Filter list at the top of the animation (when enabled). Expression Editor Expression Editor The expression editor is where you write, edit, validate, and apply expressions, as well as create, connect, and disconnect inputs for an expression. An input is the parameter(s) that you choose to use in an expression. For example, if you want the amount of blur to be related to a DVE’s X and Y, then you’ll need to have two inputs. Also, by using the preset controls, you can save your expression for use on other parameters. Shows the parameter that is controlled by the expression. Bypass expression Preset controls Expression pane Message pane Inputs pane Option Description Bypass Bypasses the expression, so that it is not applied to the parameter. Expression 1853 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Expression pane A text editor where you enter an expression by typing or choosing items from the menu. Insert Lets you add a mathematical function. Revert Undoes any changes made to the expression text in the property page. Validate Checks if the expression is valid, but does not apply it. Apply Applies the expression. Message pane An area that updates as you work, indicating whether an expression is valid or not. Inputs Inputs pane Displays a list of inputs, properties, and their connection status. Add Adds an input. Remove Removes an input. Disconnect Disconnects an input. Select Selects the effect to which the input is associated. Insert Menu The Insert menu provides a complete list of inputs, operators, functions, and constants to use when creating expressions. Operators are like a+b, functions like sin( a), and constants like TRUE. When adding mathematical operators, the token and accompanying text are inserted as tokens in the expression pane of the expression editor. For example, the Add operator puts the following in the expression pane: + All you have to do is replace “expr1” and “expr2” with values. 1854 Insert Menu All trigonometric functions are in degrees. Option Description Input Lists the current inputs. Constants True TRUE: Used in Boolean expressions and is equivalent to 1.0. False FALSE: Used in Boolean expressions and is equivalent to 0.0. PI PI: Equivalent to 3.142. E E: Equivalent to 2.718. Frame Size in X Fx: Represents the size (in pixels) of the image frame’s X axis. Frame Size in Y Fy: Represents the size (in pixels) of the image frame’s Y axis. Time Current Frame Fc: Represents the current frame number. Current Time (seconds) T: Represents the current time in seconds. This value depends on the current frame and the frame rate defined for the scene. Frame Rate Fr: Represents the current frame rate. This token is useful for writing an expression that would produce the same numeric results no matter what the frame rate is. Convert from seconds to frames seconds_to_frames( ): Converts the expression to frames for the current frame rate. Convert from SMPTE to frames smpte_to_frames( “HH:MM:SS:FF” ): Converts the SMPTE time to frames for the current frame rate. Time Modifier at_frame( , ): Evaluates the first expression at the specified time of the current timeline. Arithmetic n Operators follow the standard of precedence. Items are enclosed in brackets first, then * and /, followed by + and -. Plus + : Math operator + (plus). Minus - : Math operator - (minus). 1855 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Negation - : Math operator - (negation). Multiply * : Math operator * (multiply). Divide / : Math operator / (divide). Comparison Comparison operators compare the values on both sides of an equation. Equal To = = : Boolean operator = = (equal to). This equation is true if they have the same value and false if they do not. Less than < : Boolean operator < (less than). This equation is true if the value of the expression on the left is smaller than the value on the right. Otherwise, the equation is false. Less than or Equal <= : Boolean operator <= (less than or equal). The equation is true if the value of the expression on the left is smaller than or equal to the value on the right. Otherwise, the equation is false. Greater than > : Boolean operator > (greater than). The equation is true if the value of the expression on the left is greater than the value on the right. Otherwise, the equation is false. Greater than or Equal >= : Boolean operator >= (greater than or equal). The equation is true if the value of the expression on the left is greater than or equal to the value on the right. Otherwise, the equation is false. Not Equal to != : Boolean operator != (not equal to) in the expression pane. The equation is true if the values on both sides of the equation are not equal. If they are equal, the equation is false. Logical 1856 And && : Boolean operator && (And). This equation is true if both sides of the equation are true. Or || : Boolean operator || (Or). This equation is true if one side of the equation or the other is true. Insert Menu Option Not Assignment Description ! : Boolean operator ! (Not). This token negates the expression that follows the token. = : The assignment operator = (equal). Assigns the value of the right side of the equation to the variable on the left. Trigonometry Sine sin( ): Evaluates the sine of an expression. Cosine cos( ): Evaluates the cosine of an expression. Tangent tan( ): Evaluates the tangent of an expression. ArcSine asin( ): Evaluates the arcsine function (the inverse of sine) of an expression. n ArcCosine acos( ): Evaluates the arccosine function (the inverse of cosine) of an expression. n ArcTangent The input argument of the arcsine function should be between -1 and 1. Outside this range, the arcsine is undefined and the asin token returns 0. The output of the asin token is in degrees. The input argument of the arccosine function should be between -1 and 1. Outside this range, the arccosine is undefined and the acos token returns 0. The output of the acos token is in degrees. atan( ): Evaluates the arctangent function (the inverse of tangent) of an expression. The output of the atan token is a value in degrees between -90 and 90. Exponent Logarithm log( ): Evaluates the natural (base e or Napierian) logarithm of an expression. Exponential exp( ): Evaluates the value of e raised to the power of the expression, where e is the natural (Napierian) base of logarithms, or approximately 2.718. 1857 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Power Description pow( , ): Evaluates the value of expr1 raised to the power of expr2. You can use this function to calculate roots other than the square root, which you can get more simply with square root (below). For example: pow( Input1, 1/3) Returns the cubic root of the value of Input1. Square Root sqrt( ): Evaluates the square root of an expression. Value Absolute abs( ): Returns the absolute (positive) value of an expression. Floor floor( ): Returns a value that is rounded down. Ceiling ceil( ): Returns a value that is rounded up. Round round( ): Returns a value that is rounded up to the closest integer. Minimum min( , ): Evaluates two expressions and returns the lower value. You can add more expressions separated by commas, and the function will return the minimum value of all of them. For example: min( , min( , min( , ) ) ) Maximum max( , ): Evaluates two expressions and returns the higher value. You can add more expressions separated by commas, and the function will return the maximum value of all of them. For example: max( , max( , max( , ) ) ) Modulo 1858 fmod( , ): Returns the remainder when expr1 is divided by expr2. Insert Menu Option Read Only Description readonly( ): Makes the expression non-reversible. You can also use this function to make a non-reversible expression reversible. For example: Non-reversible: Input1 + Input2 Reversible: Input1 + readonly( Input2) Conditions Condition cond( , , ): Returns one of two values, depending on whether a specified condition is true. • is the expression defining the condition (its value is logical and is considered to be false if it's equal to 0, and true otherwise). • is the expression that will be evaluated if the condition is true. • is the expression that will be evaluated if the condition is false. For example: cond( Fc < 50, Input1 * 2, 10 ) Returns the value of Input1 multiplied by 2 if the current frame number is less than 50; otherwise, returns 10. The following operators can be used to create a condition expression, including: Equal to, Not Equal to, Less than, Less than or Equal to, Greater than, Greater than or Equal, Or, And, and Not. Random These functions generate random values in various ways. The seed value can vary over time. The seed range can be between 0 and 32768. Random: 0 or 1 randBool( ): Generates 0 or 1 randomly at each frame. You can use these random values with Boolean expressions, where 0 = false and 1 = true. Random: 0.0 to 1.0 rand_0_1( ): Generates a random number between 0 and 1 at each frame. 1859 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Random Custom RAND( , , ): Generates a random number at each frame between the minimum and maximum values you specify. Noise noise( , , ): Generates random but continuous values between 0 and 1 at each frame. You can then multiply and add to the result to obtain noise patterns in any value range. Replace the dummy arguments as follows: • , , : Replace each argument with an expression. Different combinations result in different noise patterns. At least one argument should be an expression that varies over time; for example, Fc or T. You can multiply or divide the variable expression to change the frequency of the noise. Declarations Variable var = : Creates a variable of the given name and initializes the starting value with the expression on the right. Sub-Expression sub = ;: Creates a sub-expression of the given name. When the sub-expression name is used, the sub is replaced with , and evaluated at the time. For example, if the current frame is 0 and Input1’s value at frame 0 is 10 and at frame 50 is 30, consider the following: var VarName = Input1; sub SubName = Input1; var VarResult = at_frame( VarName, 50 ); var SubResult = at_frame( SubName, 50 ); The two results would not have the same value. VarName was assigned a value when it was created, so VarResult will be 10. On the other hand, SubName is reevaluated every time it is used, so SubResult will have a value of 30. 1860 Audio Media Conversion Audio Media Conversion When you change the frame rate of a sequence, you need to adjust the audio clips so they stay in sync with the video. To access the Audio Media Conversion dialog box, do one of the following: t In the Media Tool, right-click an audio media file and select up/down convert audio. t In the Tape Tool, right-click an audio media file and select Audio Up/Down Convert. 1861 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Source File The audio clip you are converting. Source pane The parameters of the source clip. You cannot edit these parameters. Sample Rate The sample rate at which the clip was captured. Video Frame Rate The video rate at which the clip was captured. Target pane The parameters of the current sequence. You cannot edit these parameters. Sample Rate The sample rate of the current sequence. Video Frame Rate The video rate of the current sequence Video Reference pane Conversion includes Reference Change The controls that enable audio conversion Converts the video frame rate of the selected clip. Use Default Reference Conversion Lets Avid DS Nitris make the most Parameters appropriate conversion for the audio clip. Drop Frame Conversion pane If the “Use Default Reference Conversion Parameters” option is not selected, lets you select the appropriate conversion: • None • 1001/1000: drop-frame to non-dropframe • 1000/1001: non-drop-frame to dropframe Frame Rate Reference Conversion pane Lets you select the appropriate frame rate conversion. 1862 Audio Effects Audio Effects The audio effects let you adjust the output signal of an audio clip. You can apply audio effects to clips, tracks, or mixer input strips. Since all audio effects are real-time effects, except for the Timewarp effect, you can hear the results upon playback without having to process the effect. n If you are adjusting parameters in an audio property editor during playback, you may notice a slight time lapse before you hear the results of the change. This will not affect the quality of the final output to tape or file. Effect name Description Crossfade Applies an audio transition between two clips so that the sound of the outgoing clip fades out as the sound of the incoming clip fades in—see “Crossfade Property Editor” on page 1897. Dynamics Controls the dynamic range of the audio signal—see “Dynamics Property Editor” on page 1868. Equalizers (EQ) Boosts or cuts a specific band of frequencies in the audio signal—see • “Parametric EQ Property Editor” on page 1873 • “3 Band Tone Control Property Editor” on page 1864, • “4 Band Parametric EQ Property Editor” on page 1864 • “10 Band Graphic EQ Property Editor” on page 1866 Fade Animates the volume of the audio signal over time—see “Fade Property Editor (Audio Effect)” on page 1872 Gain Boosts or cuts the decibel level of the audio output signal—see “Gain Property Editor” on page 1872 Reverb Simulates the many reflections of a sound that can be heard within a room—see “Reverb Property Editor” on page 1873 Timewarp Alters the length and speed of an audio clip without affecting the original pitch—see “Timewarp (audio) Property Editor” on page 1874 and “Timewarp (audio timezone) Property Editor” on page 1875 1863 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Effect name Description VST™ Host Lets you apply VST plug-in effects to your clip—see “VST Host Property Editor” on page 1876 3 Band Tone Control Property Editor The 3 Band Tone Control effect lets you boost or cut the bass, middle, and treble frequency ranges in the audio clip’s spectrum of signals. You can boost or cut the signal in a decibel range of –15 dB to +15 dB. You can also boost the overall gain. Option Description Input Gain (dB) Specifies amount of gain (in decibels) to be added to or cut from the whole signal spectrum Bass (dB) Boosts or cuts bass frequency range. Bass uses a shelving EQ with a slope of 6 dB/octave and a corner frequency of 100 Hz. Type a positive number to boost the signal strength and a negative number to cut it. Middle (dB) Boosts or cuts middle frequency range. Middle uses a Q factor of 0.8 and a center frequency of 2 kHz. Type a positive number to boost the signal strength and a negative number to cut it. Treble (dB) Boosts or cuts treble frequency range. Treble uses a highpass shelving EQ with a slope of 6dB/octave and a corner frequency of 8 kHz. Type a positive number to boost the signal strength and a negative number to cut it. 4 Band Parametric EQ Property Editor The 4 Band Parametric EQ effect lets you boost or cut a specific band of frequencies in an audio clip. For example, you can increase the bass or compensate for high frequency loss. You can also boost the overall output gain. You can apply this effect to a maximum of four different frequency bands. 1864 Audio Effects Each of the property pages (1 to 4) lets you boost or cut a specific band of frequencies in an audio clip. Band 1 Property Page (4 Band Parametric EQ) The Band 1 property page lets you boost or cut a specific band of frequencies in an audio clip, as well as boost or cut the overall output gain. Option Description Input Gain Specifies amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from the overall signal Gain (dB) Specifies number of decibels to boost or cut the band of selected frequencies. Range of boost and cut is ± 24 dB. Frequency (Hz) Specifies center frequency at which you want the effect to be applied Q Enters a Q factor (resonance). The higher the Q factor, the wider the bandwidth affected. This factor applies only to the Peaking gain curve type. Peaking Uses Peaking gain curve type. The effect occurs at the frequency specified for the Frequency (Hz) parameter and falls off according to the specified Q factor. LF Shelving Uses Low Frequency Shelving gain curve type. The effect starts at the low end of the frequency spectrum and continues up to the frequency specified for the Frequency (Hz) parameter. The Q factor is fixed. HF Shelving Uses High Frequency Shelving gain curve type. The effect starts at the high end of the frequency spectrum and continues up to the frequency specified for the Frequency (Hz) parameter. The Q factor is fixed. Bands 2 - 4 Property Page (4 Band Parametric EQ) Each of the Bands 2 - 4 property pages let you boost or cut a specific band of frequencies in an audio clip. 1865 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Gain (dB) Specifies number of decibels to boost or cut the band of selected frequencies. Range of boost and cut is ± 24 dB. Frequency (Hz) Specifies center frequency at which you want the effect to be applied Q Enters a Q factor (resonance). The higher the Q factor, the wider the bandwidth affected. This factor applies only to the Peaking gain curve type. Peaking Uses Peaking gain curve type. The effect occurs at the frequency specified for the Frequency (Hz) parameter and falls off according to the specified Q factor. LF Shelving Uses Low Frequency Shelving gain curve type. The effect starts at the low end of the frequency spectrum and continues up to the frequency specified for the Frequency (Hz) parameter. The Q factor is fixed. HF Shelving Uses High Frequency Shelving gain curve type. The effect starts at the high end of the frequency spectrum and continues up to the frequency specified for the Frequency (Hz) parameter. The Q factor is fixed. 10 Band Graphic EQ Property Editor The 10 Band Graphic EQ effect lets you boost or cut the output signal at preset frequencies with preset bandwidths ranging from 31 Hz to 16 kHz. The bands are separated by exactly one octave, and each band has a bandwidth of one octave. You can boost or cut the signal in a decibel range of –15 dB to +15 dB. Bands 1 - 4 Property Page (10 Band Graphic EQ) The Bands 1–4 property page let you boost or cut the output signal at the following frequencies: 31 Hz, 67 Hz, 125 Hz, and 250 Hz. 1866 Option Description Input Gain (dB) Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from overall signal Audio Effects Option Description 31 Hz Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from a one-octave bandwidth at 31 Hz. Values: -15 to +15 dB. 67 Hz Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from a one-octave bandwidth at 67 Hz. Values: -15 to +15 dB. 125Hz Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from a one-octave bandwidth at 125 Hz. Values: -15 to +15 dB 250 Hz Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from a one-octave bandwidth at 250 Hz. Values: -15 to +15 dB. Bands 5 - 10 Property Page (10 Band Graphic EQ) The Bands 5-10 property page lets you boost or cut the output signal at the following frequencies: 0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 4 kHz, 8 kHz, and 16 kHz. Option Description 0.5 kHz Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from a one-octave bandwidth at 0.5 kHz. Values: -15 to +15 dB. 1 kHz Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from a one-octave bandwidth at 1 kHz. Values: -15 to +15 dB. 2 kHz Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from a one-octave bandwidth at 2 kHz. Values: -15 to +15 dB. 4 kHz Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from a one-octave bandwidth at 4 kHz. Values: -15 to +15 dB. 8 kHz Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from a one-octave bandwidth at 8 kHz. Values: -15 to +15 dB. 16 kHz Controls amount of gain (in decibels) to add to or cut from a one-octave bandwidth at 16 kHz. Values: -15 to +15 dB. Dynamics Effects The following table lists the various Dynamics effects. 1867 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Effect name Description Dynamics Controls the dynamic range of the audio signal 2-1 Compression at -18 dB Reduces the signal strength of the portion of the audio signal above -18 dB by a ratio of 2-1 3-1 Compression at -18 dB Reduces the signal strength of the portion of the audio signal above -18 dB by a ratio of 3-1 Hard Limiter at -6 dB Keeps the audio signal strength from exceeding a maximum of -6 dB Hard Noise Gate at -35 dB Cuts off the sound when the audio signal strength drops below -35 dB Soft Limiter at -6 dB Reduces the signal strength of the portion of the audio signal above -6 dB by a ratio of 5-1 and keeps the maximum to -4 dB Soft Knee Reduces the signal strength of the portion of the audio signal above -20 dB and keeps the maximum to -8 dB Dynamics Property Editor The Dynamics effect lets you adjust the dynamic range of an audio clip. General Property Page (Dynamics) The General property page lets you set parameters for the five dynamics processes available in the Dynamics property editor: Gate, Expander, Compressor 1, Compressor 2, and Limiter. The operations of each of these effects are interrelated. You apply these processes by specifying a threshold above which (or in some cases below which) they take effect. A general method of proceeding is to: 1. Set the parameters in the General property page. 2. Set the ratios (as needed) in the Threshold property page. 1868 Audio Effects 3. Adjust the process thresholds in the Threshold property page. n Option Description Attack Time (msec) Controls how quickly Dynamics effect responds when a signal exceeds the threshold level for the process. Values: 0.02 to 300 milliseconds. Release Time (msec) Controls how quickly the dynamic response recovers to normal operation when the signal falls below the threshold for a process. Values: 1 millisecond to 5 seconds. The attack and release times affect the speed at which the dynamics processors respond when signals go above or below any of the threshold settings. By carefully setting these parameters, you can make the results of the dynamics processing subtler and less obtrusive. Threshold Property Page (Dynamics) The Threshold property page lets you control the thresholds for the five available dynamics processes. When you set the threshold, you are specifying the signal strength at which the process begins functioning. You can use one or more of these processes to adjust the sound level in your audio clips. Avid DS Nitris implements these processes from the bottom of the parameter list upwards: Gate, Expander, Compressor 1, Compressor 2, and Limiter. n Compressors 1 and 2 perform the same process: By specifying different ratios and thresholds, you can use each to accomplish a different objective. The Ratio controls let you set input versus output level ratios for the Expander, Compressor 1, and Compressor 2 dynamics processes. These ratios control the degree of compression or expansion on the output signal. That is, the degree to which the dynamic range of the signal is restricted or increased. 1869 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Limiter Threshold (dB) Cuts signal strength of all sounds above specified signal strength threshold down to the threshold itself. It does this by using an almost infinite compression ratio (99:1). Values: -90 to 0 dB. Use this process when recording signals to a medium that has a particular dynamic saturation point above which the signal will be distorted. n Compressor 2 Threshold (dB) The Limiter threshold cannot be set lower than the Compressor 2 threshold. Reduces signal strength of sounds above the specified signal strength threshold, according to the ratio you set for Compressor 1 in the Ratio property page. By pushing higher levels down, the overall dynamic range is reduced or “compressed”. Values: -90 to 0 dB. Use this process to make an overall mix comply with the more limited dynamic range of a particular broadcast or recording medium. n Ratio Sets input side of input/output level ratio for Compressor 2. Values: 1:1 to 20:1. For example, if you set the ratio to 4:1 (an input value of 4), sounds that are 4 dB over the threshold are reduced to 1 dB over the threshold. Sounds that are 2 dB over the threshold are reduced to 0.5 dB over the threshold, and so on. Compressor 1 Threshold (dB) Reduces signal strength of sounds above specified signal strength threshold, according to the ratio you set for Compressor 1 in the Ratio property page. By pushing higher levels down, the overall dynamic range is reduced or “compressed”. Values: -90 to 0 dB. Use this process to make an overall mix comply with the more limited dynamic range of a particular broadcast or recording medium. n 1870 The Compressor 2 threshold cannot be set higher than the Limiter threshold or lower than the Compressor 1 threshold. The Compressor 1 threshold cannot be set higher than the Compressor 2 threshold or lower than the Expander threshold. Audio Effects Option Description Ratio Sets input side of input/output level ratio for Compressor 1. Values: 1:1 to 20:1. For example, if you set the ratio to 2:1 (an input value of 2), sounds that are 10 dB over the threshold are reduced to 5 dB over the threshold. Sounds that are 4 dB over the threshold are reduced to 2 dB over the threshold, and so on. Expander Threshold (dB) Reduces signal strength of sounds that fall below specified signal strength threshold, according to the ratio you set for the Expander in the Ratio property page. By pushing low levels signals even lower, the overall dynamic range of the output is expanded, relative to the input signal. Values: -90 to 0 dB. This option is typically used to reduce low level noise. It gives a smoother result than the Gate Threshold. n The Expander threshold cannot be set higher than the Compressor 1 threshold or lower than the Gate threshold. Ratio Sets output side of input/output level ratio for the Expander. Values: 1:1 to 1:20. For example, if you set the ratio to 1:4 (an output value of 4), an input signal that is 1 dB below the threshold is reduced to 4 dB below the threshold in the output. A sound that is 2 dB below the threshold is reduced to 8 dB below the threshold, and so on. Gate Threshold (dB) Turns off the output signal (completely blocks the sound) of signals that fall below the specified threshold. A threshold of –144.5 lets all sound through and a threshold of 0 cuts out all sound. To deactivate Gate, set the threshold to –144.5. Values: –144.5 to 0 dB. n Gain Make-up (dB) The Gate threshold cannot be set higher than the Expander threshold. Applies an overall gain to the audio clip after all processes have been applied. Values: –40 to +40 dB. Ratio Property Page (Dynamics) The Ratio property page provides a graphical representation of your dynamics settings and is for display only. The graph shown on the property page is a larger version of the one displayed on the Threshold property page. Use the Threshold property page to adjust the dynamics settings shown here. 1871 Chapter 3 Editing Reference The red line represents the dynamics function. The horizontal (X) axis of the graph shows the decibel level of the audio input signal, and the vertical (Y) axis of the graph represents the resulting level of the audio output signal. Fade Property Editor (Audio Effect) The Fade effect lets you control the fade-in or fade-out volume of the clip. By adjusting the function curve, you can increase or decrease the volume. You can make the fade gradual, sharp, or vary it in any number of ways. The Fade property editor has the following presets: • Dip—Animates the volume of the audio signal over time • Fade In Linear—Animates the fade-in volume of an audio clip • Fade In—Animates the fade-in volume of an audio clip • Fade Out Linear—Animates the fade-out volume of an audio clip • Fade Out—Animates the fade-out volume of an audio clip Option Description Y direction Sets volume X direction Sets keyframes. The length of the effect bar determines the duration of the effect. Curve Uses curve to define the way volume varies in the fade. Move points up to increase volume and down to decrease it. Hold down the A key and click the curve to add more keys. Use the handles to move and control the shape of the curve. Position indicator Shows current location of position indicator Amount Shows volume of clip at a given time (value of the Y axis). Move the position indicator to view the value at a specific frame. Gain Property Editor The Gain effect lets you boost or cut the output gain of an audio clip, by increasing or decreasing the decibel level. 1872 Audio Effects Option Description Level (dB) Controls decibel level of audio clip Invert Phase Inverts output signal Unity Returns decibel level to default value (0) Parametric EQ Property Editor The Parametric EQ effect lets you boost or cut a specific band of frequencies in an audio clip. For example, you can increase the bass or compensate for high frequency loss. You can also boost the overall output gain. Option Description Filter Type: Peaking Uses the Peaking gain curve type. The effect occurs at the frequency specified for the Frequency (Hz) parameter and falls off according to the specified Q factor. Boost/Cut (dB) Controls number of decibels by which band of frequencies is boosted or cut. Type a positive number to boost the signal strength and a negative number to cut it. Frequency (Hz) Controls frequency at which effect is applied Q Specifies Q factor (resonance). The higher the Q factor, the wider the bandwidth affected. Output Gain (dB) Controls amount of gain (in decibels) added to or cut from the overall signal Reverb Property Editor The Reverb effect lets you apply a reverberation effect to your clip. The reverberation effect simulates the many reflections of sound that can occur within a room and can be used to add depth to a sound. To expand and collapse the list of parameters: t Click the Reverb title in the property editor. 1873 Chapter 3 Editing Reference To set a keyframe at the current frame with the current parameter value: t Click the box next to each parameter. Option Description Room Size Specifies relative size of room you want to simulate Wet Level Specifies amount of effect signal mixed into final output Dry Level Specifies amount of original signal mixed into final output Damping Specifies amount of sound energy absorbed by room Pre-Delay Specifies delay (maximum 50 milliseconds) between dry and wet level signals Timewarp (audio) Property Editor The audio Timewarp effect lets you alter the length and speed of an audio clip without affecting the original pitch. You can also adjust the pitch of any source audio with or without a change in its duration. n 1874 If your Avid system has a Merging Technologies audio card installed you can use the audio Timewarp effect, Timezone from Merging Technologies—see “Timewarp (audio timezone) Property Editor” on page 1875. Option Description Speed (%) Specifies resulting playback speed as a percentage of the original speed (may have a positive or negative value) Duration (SMPTE) Specifies final duration of the clip in SMPTE timecode (may have a positive or negative value) CrossFade (ms) Adjusts the crossfade length in milliseconds, optimizing the performance of the timewarp according to the type of audio material. Minimum Pitch (Hz) Sets the minimum or lowest pitch used during the timewarp processing Audio Effects Option Description Pitch Shift The pitch shift options adjusts the amount of pitch shift and pitch change. Enable Actives the pitch shift options when selected Coarse (semitones) Adjusts amount of pitch shift. Coarse slider transposes in semitones (half steps) Fine (cents) Adjusts the amount of pitch shift. Fine slider transposes in cents (hundredths of a semitone) Pitch Shift Ratio Adjusts the amount of transposition (pitch change) Timewarp (audio timezone) Property Editor The audio Timewarp effect lets you alter the length and speed of an audio clip without affecting the original pitch. The audio timewarp has been optimized for human speech. n To use the audio Timewarp effect, Timezone from Merging Technologies, you must have a Merging Technologies audio card installed on your system. General Property Page (Timewarp audio timezone) The General property page lets you modify the playback speed of an audio clip without affecting the original pitch. There are two methods of changing the speed—by specifying a percentage of the original speed or by typing a new SMPTE duration. Option Description Speed (%) Specifies resulting playback speed as a percentage of the original speed (may have a positive or negative value) Duration (SMPTE) Specifies final duration of the clip in SMPTE timecode (may have a positive or negative value) 1875 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Quality Specifies how you want the clip to be processed. The higher the quality setting, the more processing power, and therefore more time is required to complete the process. For example, set the quality to Fast while you experiment with parameters. Once you’ve decided on your settings, set the quality to High to process the final result. Advanced Property Page (Timewarp audio timezone) The Advanced property page lets you control audio blocks. The audio Timewarp effect is a time domain function; it takes the selected audio clip and slices it into a series of joined blocks. Option Description Blocklength Specifies size of the audio blocks used to perform the TimeZone processing. In general, percussive sounds, such as drums, piano, and clicks, should use smaller blocklengths, while instruments, such as strings, wind, and flute, should use longer blocklengths. For clips that combine both percussive and tonal sounds, such as music, you will need to experiment with this parameter for the optimal setting. Crossfading Specify length of crossfade applied between each audio block during the TimeZone processing Energy Detection (dB) Specify energy threshold for processing audio blocks. When this option is selected, only audio blocks that do not exceed the specified energy threshold are processed. This is particularly useful for percussive content or for speech applications. Do not apply Energy Detection when an exact processed file size must be guaranteed. Apply Specify whether or not to use Energy Detection VST Host Property Editor The VST Host effect lets you use VST plug-in effects to create your audio mix. 1876 Avid Explorer Menu n Avid DS Nitris implements version 1.0 of the VST Host and works with any VST plug-in effects that support this version of the VST Host. General Property Page (VST Host) The General property page lets you select and apply a VST plug-in effect to your audio mix using the Avid DS Nitris interface. Option Description Effect Specifies plug-in effect you want to use Program Lets you select VST format preset for current effect Load button Lets you select VST effect program (.fxp) or effect bank (.fxb) file to load. These files contain VST format presets for the current effect. Editor Property Page (VST Host) The Editor property page lets you adjust the VST plug-in effect in your audio mix using the effect’s own custom interface. This property page is only available if there is a custom interface for the effect. Avid Explorer Menu The Avid Explorer menu lets you delete, purge, and show media files, as well as display the properties of the media associated with the selected clip. You can also edit and remove source side effects. It includes both Avid DS Nitris commands and Windows systems commands. To access the Avid Explorer menu, do one of the following: t In a bin, right-click an Avid DS Nitris media file or an Avid DS Nitris folder that contains media. t In a bin, select an Avid DS Nitris media file or an Avid DS Nitris folder that contains media and click the Fast Menu button. t In an Avid Explorer panel, right-click an Avid DS Nitris folder that contains media. 1877 Chapter 3 Editing Reference The contents of the menu depend on the object selected. Command Description Import to Current Project Imports the selected clip or sequence into the project in which you are currently working. You have the option of linking to existing media or copying media. Links are kept to the media in the original project to save space on your storage device. n To be able to create a link to media, it must reside on a shared storage device. Purge Media Displays the Purge dialog box, which lets you remove different types of media from your system. Delete Clip & Unused Media Removes the master clip and its media from your system. This command verifies if the media is being used by another sequence. If it is, only the master clip is deleted. The media remains on your disk array until you delete the last sequence that uses the media. Delete Clip & All Media Removes the sequence, master clip, and media files from your system. n This is a quick way to remove unwanted media, but it can be risky as it does not check to see if the media is being used by other sequences. Capture Settings Displays the Capture Settings dialog box, which lets you set parameters for capturing from file. Capture Captures media from the selected file Recapture Recapture media for the selected clip. Recapture with Options Displays a dialog box that lets you set options for recapturing from tape—see “Explorer Recapture Options Dialog Box” in the Help. 1878 Link Creates a linked clip from the selected file Relink Re-creates links for selected linked clips. Log Create a logged clip from the selected file Show Media Displays the Media Tool, with selected clips or sequences in the left panel and associated files in the right panel Avid Explorer Menu Command Description Properties Displays the Media Properties dialog box, which contains information about the available media, as well as the original media file Source Effects Lets you edit, bypass, or remove applied source effects Edit Tape Effect Edits the tape source effect using the effect’s property editor Edit Masterclip Effect Edits the masterclip source effect using the effect’s property editor Edit Subclip Effect Edits the subclip source effect using the effect’s property editor Remove Tape Effect Deletes the source effects properties applied on the tape Remove Masterclip Deletes the source effects for this masterclip Effect Remove Subclip Effect Deletes the source effects for this subclip Delete Deletes the selected media file. Copy to Storage Opens the Copy Media dialog box, which lets you copy media files between folders on your storage device Move to Storage Opens the Move Media dialog box, which lets you move media files between folders on your storage device Defragment Defragments the video media file or files. With the daily process of capturing, deleting, and purging, video files on the video storage are not guaranteed to be contiguous. This fragmentation may result in the skipping of frames during playback. To fix this problem, you can defragment the file or series of files that are causing the problem. Verify Media Search the selected media files for corrupted files. View Frame Displays various ways to change the video frame that is displayed for media files in the Thumbnails view First Frame Displays the first frame of the media file Middle Frame Displays the middle frame of the media file 1879 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Command Description Last Frame Displays the last frame of the media file Advanced Opens the Display Frame Number dialog box, which lets you choose the frame that is displayed in the Thumbnails view Avid Explorer Tools Avid Explorer tools let you manage the display of the Avid Explorer view. The following tools appear at the top of the Avid Explorer: Show/Hide Panel 2 Show/Hide Panel 1 1880 Cascade Tile Capture Settings Path Use this To Show/Hide Panel 1 Show or hide the contents of panel 1. Show/Hide Panel 2 Show or hide the contents of panel 2. Tile Arrange displayed bins in a tile pattern. Cascade Arrange displayed bins one behind the other with the title bars displayed. Path Display a specific bin by selecting a path from the Path menu. You can set the User and Workgroup paths in the User Preferences dialog box (Favorites Property page). The paths that appear in the Local and Remote sections are the same as those that appear in the Open Project dialog box, so adding and removing roots in the Open Project dialog box affects this menu. Bin Tools (Top) Use this To Capture Settings Display the Capture Settings dialog box, which lets you set parameters to capture material—see “Capture Settings View” in the Help. Bin Tools (Top) The following tools are available at the top of a bin: Locate Path Back Forward Up Cut Copy Paste New Delete Settings Sift The tools available vary, according to the type of bin. For example, the Tape Library view does not include the Cut, Copy, and Paste buttons. Use this To Path Display a specific bin by selecting a path from the Path menu. You can set the User and Workgroup paths in the User Preferences dialog box (Favorites Property page). The paths that appear in the Local and Remote sections are the same as those that appear in the Open Project dialog box, so adding and removing roots in the Open Project dialog box affects this menu. Back Show the previous bin Forward Show the next bin Up Move up one level in the tree 1881 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Locate Set how the bin is highlighted in the tree. When you select the icon and use the Back, Forward, or Up buttons to change the bin display, the folder displayed is highlighted in the tree. When you deselect the icon, the folder you originally opened remains highlighted in the tree, even when you change the bin display. New Create a new object, depending on the bin. In most cases, use it to create a new folder. Cut Cut objects from a bin to the clipboard. Copy Copy objects from a bin to the clipboard. Paste Paste objects from the clipboard to a bin. Delete Delete objects from a bin. Settings Select the column headings that you want to display—see “Bin Columns” in the Help. Sift Display objects the match the selected sift criteria—see “Sifting Files” in the Help. Bin Tools (Bottom) The tools at the bottom of the bin let you change the way the contents of the bin are displayed. These tools appear for all bin contents. Large Icons Fast menu Bin view list List Details Script Thumbnail 1882 Save Current Column Setting Bin Columns Use this To Fast menu Display a menu of commands. If no object is selected, the Avid Explorer System menu is displayed. This menu is similar to the Windows context menu. If an object is selected, the Avid Explorer menu is displayed. The exact contents depend on the type of object selected. The same menus appear if you rightclick in the background of a bin or on an object in the bin. For information on options in the Avid Explorer menu, select the Help option. Large Icons Display the files in the bin with large icons. List Display the files in the bin with small icons in list format. Details Display the files in the bin as a list with details, using columns. You can choose which columns to display, in what order, choose a sorting methods, and save your display as a customized view. Thumbnail Display the files in the bin as pictorial icons. This view is especially useful for media files. You can rearrange the thumbnails in any order within the bin by clicking and dragging. Script Display the files in the bin as pictorial icons with an area for comments. Clip information is displayed above the text box. This view is especially useful for media files. Bin View list Display a customized view of the bin. Save Current Column Setting Name and save the selection of columns as a preset. Bin Columns You can specify the types of information you want to display in a bin. 1883 Chapter 3 Editing Reference To view available bin columns: 1. Display a bin in Details or Script view. 2. Do one of the following: t In the Avid Explorer tool bar, click the Settings button. t Click the Fast Menu button and select Settings > Add/Remove Columns. The following table lists the Avid DS parameters that you can display as columns in a bin. Option Description Avid DS Audio Bit Depth Displays the audio bit depth of a media file Avid DS Audio Captured at Video fps Displays the video frame rate at which an audio media file was captured. This information is useful when working in a project that uses a different video frame rate. 1884 Avid DS Audio Channels Displays the number of audio channels in a media file Avid DS Audio Format Displays the Avid DS audio format of a media file. Avid DS audio is captured and stored in WAV (PCM) audio format. Avid DS Audio Sample Rate Displays the audio sample rate of a media file Avid DS Channels Displays the audio or video channel with which the clip is associated: V (video), MN (monaural audio), ST (stereo audio) Avid DS Class Name Displays the class of the Avid DS Nitris preset (Blur, DVE, and so on) Avid DS Comments Displays any comments describing the clip or sequence Avid DS Duration Displays the length or duration of the media file, clip, or sequence. Duration of audio file is shown in seconds; others are shown in frames. Avid DS In Displays the in-point of the clip in timecode Avid DS Out Displays the out-point of the clip in timecode Bin Columns Option Description Avid DS Physical In If you are using a deck that can be addressed in a format different from its recording speed, displays the in-point of the clip in timecode as it appears on the deck faceplate Avid DS Physical Out Displays the out-point of the clip in timecode as it appears on the deck faceplate Avid DS Physical Start Displays the starting timecode of the clip as it appears on the deck faceplate Avid DS Physical Stop Displays the ending timecode of the clip as it appears on the deck faceplate Avid DS Source Name Displays the original tape name or the word “File” Avid DS Start Displays the starting timecode of the media file, clip, or sequence as captured by Avid DS Nitris Avid DS Stop Displays the ending timecode of the media file, clip, or sequence as captured by Avid DS Nitris Avid DS Storage For media files, displays the name of the storage on which the media is located. Avid DS Video Bit Depth Displays the video bit depth of a media file Avid DS Video Color Space Displays the color model used to describe the color components of the media file Avid DS Video Compression Displays the video compression and the ratio or data rate of the media file Avid DS Field Dominance For interlaced media, displays which field (odd of even) occurs first in time Avid DS Video Format Displays the video format of a media file, as specified in the sequence preferences Avid DS Video Fragments Displays the number of file fragments for a video media file (not available for remote storage, other than Avid Unity) Avid DS Video Frame Size Displays the dimensions of the video image of a media file as pixels (width x height) 1885 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Avid DS Video Pixel Ratio Displays the dimensions of the video image of a media file as a ratio (width:height) Avid DS Video Rendering Precision Displays the bit depth at which a cache media file was rendered The following table lists some the major file system parameters: Option Description Attributes Displays the file attributes. Available attributes include normal, read-only, hidden, system, volume, directory, and archive. n Tip: You can modify these attributes by rightclicking a file in Windows Explorer, choosing Properties, and changing the status of the attributes. Created Displays the date on which the clip or sequence was created Type Identifies the type of file Modified Displays the date on which the clip or sequence was last modified Name Displays the clip name or sequence name Owner Displays the owner of the file at the Windows level Size Displays the size of the file Blend Property Editor The Blend effect lets you apply a blend transition between two clips. The color and alpha channels are blended independently and channel masking is enabled. 1886 Cache List View Timing Property Page (Blend) The Timing property page lets you create a blend transition between two overlapping clips. The function curve lets you control the timing (rate and duration) of the blend. By modifying the shape of the function curve, you control the timing and percentage of the mix. Adding keyframes to the function curve creates more complex blends. Option Description X axis Represents SMPTE timecode of the timeline ruler Y axis Represents relative transparency of incoming and outgoing clips. The area below the curve represents the transparency of the incoming clip and the area above the curve represents the transparency of the outgoing clip. For example, when the curve is at 50 (half of Y), the frames of the incoming and outgoing clips are each 50% visible. At 0, the incoming clip is 100% visible; at 100, the outgoing clip is 100% visible. Curve Defines how the mix varies in the dissolve. Move the key points up to increase the proportion of the original clip, and down to decrease it. You can add or remove key points to vary the mix. n To change the curve type from Bézier to constant or linear, right-click the Animation Key button and select it from the menu. Position indicator Moves position indicator across the function curve graph to view the result of the blend in different parts of the clip. The position indicator in the graph matches the one on the timeline. Amount Represents proportion of original clip in the mix at a given time (value of the Y axis). Move the position indicator to view the value at a specific frame. Cache List View The Cache List view lets you create a batch list of unprocessed cache files to be sent to Avid DS RP. You can add and remove caches from the list. 1887 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Clip Menu The Clip pop-up menu lets you manipulate individual clips on the timeline. To access the Clip menu: t On the timeline, right-click a clip. Use this To Activate Activate the entire clip, and removes activeness from other clips within the clip's time span Deactivate Deactivate the entire clip Fill Activeness Within the clip's time span, activate parts of the clip where other clips are not active Cut Clip Remove the selected clip and copies it to the Clipboard Copy Clip Copy the selected clip to the Clipboard Delete Clip Remove the selected clip Convert Effect Stack to Tree Convert the stack of effects on the selected clip to an Effects Tree Convert to Reference Clip (Video clips only) Convert the selected clip to a reference clip 1888 Save Clip as Sequence Save the current clip as a separate sequence. The saved clip will contain all effects applied to it. If the clip is processed, the cache will also be saved. Add Clip Effect Open the Load Preset dialog box Clip Cache (Audio clips only) Process audio clip based effects. Add Cache (Video clips only) Add a cache bar to the selected clip on the timeline Add Cache and Process (Video clips only) Add a cache bar to the selected clip on the timeline, adds the cache bar to the Cache List view, and displays the Processing Options dialog box—see “Processing Options Dialog Box” in the Help. Source Effects Lets you edit, bypass, or remove applied source effects Clip Menu Use this Edit Tape Effect To Edits the tape source effect using the effect’s property editor Edit Masterclip Effect Edits the masterclip source effect using the effect’s property editor Edit Subclip Effect Edits the subclip source effect using the effect’s property editor Remove Tape Effect Deletes the source effects properties applied on the tape Remove Masterclip Effect Deletes the source effects for this masterclip Remove Subclip Effect Deletes the source effect for this subclip Add Locator Add locators to the selected clip At Playback Position Add a locator at the position indicator At Clip Start Add a locator at the start of the selected clip At Clip End Add a locator at the end of the selected clip At Edit Points Add locators at the position of edit points Delete All Locators on Clip Remove all locators from the selected clip Frame This Clip Reset timeline zoom and pan to frame the selected clip. The clip will cover the entire visible time span. Create Background Container (Video clips only) Create and open a background container clip holding the selected clip. The Editing layout is displayed. Create Composite Container (Video clips only) Create and open a one-layer composite container clip holding the selected clip. The Compositing layout is displayed. Create Matte Container Video clips only) Create and open a matte container clip holding the selected clip and using it as the fill. The Editing layout is displayed. Create Audio Container (Audio clips only) Create and open an audio container clip holding the selected clip. The Editing layout is displayed. 1889 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Purge Container (Audio clips only) Purge only the cache media associated with the selected container. Purge Below (Audio clips only) Purge any unnecessary cache media that lies below the clip, while keeping the cache real time playable. Purge (Audio clips only) Purge the cache media associated with the selected clip. Convert to Current Sample (Audio clips only) Convert the sample rate of the Rate selected clip to the sequence's sample rate, as defined in the sequence preferences. Timewarp Properties Open the Timewarp on Clip property editor. Clip Properties Open the Clip property editor when a time effect is applied. Composite Properties Open the Composite property editor Matte Properties Open the Matte property editor Open Viewer (Video clips only) Display the output of the selected clip in a floating viewer Clip Activeness Menu The Clip Activeness pop-up menu lets you delete the clip’s activeness. To access the Clip Activeness menu: t On the timeline, right-click the clip’s activeness bar. Use this To Delete Activeness Remove the clip’s activeness Clip Property Editor The Clip property editor lets you view and modify the properties of a clip. 1890 Clip Property Editor General Property Page (Clip) The General property page lets you view and modify the properties of a clip, such as changing its name, adding comments, and so on. Option Description Name Changes name of clip n When renamed, the parent clip in Avid Explorer remains unchanged. Comments Adds comments about clip Type Displays clip type: video or audio Conversion Mode Determines how presets and media are converted from one video format to another Center, Keep Original Size Centers media in viewer along both X and Y axes. This option does not modify the original size of the media. Scale to Fit Scales media in both X and Y axes to fit sequence settings Scale, Keep Aspect Ratio Scales media in both X and Y axes to fit sequence settings, but retains ratio between width and height. It takes the larger axis of the image and scales it to fit in the viewer. Then it centers the image on the other axis, creating black bands on both sides. An example of this conversion mode would be the Letterbox format which converts film to video. Keep Original Size and Position Displays media in viewer without modifying original size or position of the media. The lower-left corner of the image is placed at the coordinates (0,0) in the viewer. Fit X-axis, Keep Aspect Ratio Scales media in X axis to fit sequence settings, then scales image along Y axis to keep the ratio between width and height intact. If the resulting image is larger or smaller than the sequence settings, it is centered along the Y-axis. Fit Y-axis, Keep Aspect Ratio Scales media in Y axis to fit sequence settings, then scales the image along X axis to keep the ratio between width and height intact. If resulting image is larger or smaller than the sequence settings, it is centered along the X axis. 1891 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Multiple Conversions Level of Detail Description Specifies that a clip has been converted more than once. Since Avid DS can’t specify more than one conversion mode, the Multiple Conversions mode is used to let you know that the clip has been converted multiple times. Sets level of display detail for selected clip. To view clip details, increase the track height by clicking the triangular button in the upper-right corner of the track control area. You can view frames at three levels of detail: High, Medium, and Low. High Video: Displays clip frames at regular intervals along the ruler scale Audio: Displays waveform at high resolution Medium (Video only) Displays start frames for each clip in timeline Low Video: Displays blank clip, no frame is visible Audio: Displays blank clip, no waveform is visible Source Property Page (Clip) The Source property page displays timecode information on a clip, in clip time (the timecodes on the original material). Option Description Available Material (clip time) Displays in and out-points of original media Start The timecode at the in-point of the master clip, including unused material End The timecode at the out-point of the original media, including unused material Used in This Timeline (clip time) 1892 Displays in-point and out-point of the active material actually used on the timeline First In Timecode at first active edit point of the clip Last Out Timecode at last active edit point of the clip Clip Transition Menu Option Description Source Indicates source of the clip (from file or tape) Position Property Page (Clip) The Position property page lets you view timecode information on a clip. This information is shown using the timeline timecodes. Option Description Position in Timeline (timeline time) Lets you view in-point and out-point of the original media Start Timecode at in-point on the original media (this includes unused material) End Timecode at out-point on the original media (this includes unused material) Active Span (timeline time) Lets you view first and last active edit point First In Timecode at first active edit point of the clip Last Out Timecode at last active edit point of the clip Clip Transition Menu The Clip Transition pop-up menu lets you delete a transition or access the property editor of the applied transition. To access the Clip Transition menu: t On the timeline, right-click the transition area between the two clips. Use this To Delete Remove the selected transition. The different transition types are: Dissolve, Wipe, DVE, Fade, and Morph. 1893 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Properties Open the transition property editor CmdLine The CmdLine view lets you record commands as you execute them. The CmdLine view stores a maximum of 25 commands at a time. You can start the Script Editor from the CmdLine view by clicking the Script Editor button. You can also copy and paste commands from the Command list to the Script Editor. n Only Capture commands are scriptable in Avid DS Nitris—see “Using Scripts to Capture Media” in the Help. To access the CmdLine view: 1. Select Layout > Edit Layout. 2. Right-click the view switcher and select Add View. 3. Right-click anywhere in the new view and select Set View > CmdLine. The Cmdline button is added to the view switcher. 4. Select Layout > Edit Layout. The Edit Layout dialog box is displayed. 5. To save the changes to the layout, click Save. 6. Click the CmdLine button to display the CmdLine view. Command list Script Editor button 1894 Container Clip Menu Container Clip Menu The Container Clip menu lets you create a video, audio, or composite container clip. Container clips represent a group of clips as a single clip on the top timeline. You can create new container clips using one or more clips of the same type. To access the Container Clip menu: t On the taskbar, click the Create Container button. Use this To Create Background Container Create and open a background container clip holding the selected clip(s). The Editing layout is displayed. Create Audio Container (Audio clips only) Create and open an audio container clip holding the selected clip(s). The Editing layout is displayed. Create Composite Container Create and open a composite container clip holding the selected clip(s). The Compositing layout is displayed. Image Transition Effects The image transition effects let you create transitions between two overlapping clips on the timeline or between two nodes in an Effects Tree. Dissolve Property Editor The Dissolve effect lets you apply a dissolve transition between two clips, or as a filter to a single edit point or a clip. This effect lets you dissolve in a clip, making it gradually more visible, or dissolve out a clip, making it gradually disappear. The Dissolve effect ensures that the alpha channel is multiplied into color channels before doing the dissolve. If you do not want the alpha channel to affect the color channels, or if you require channel masking services when dissolving, you can use the Blend effect. 1895 Chapter 3 Editing Reference You can set keyframes to specify the rate and duration of the dissolve. For example, you can apply a dissolve-out effect to a clip by animating the Dissolve Amount from 100 at a given frame to 0 at the last frame. The frames between the first and last frames gradually fade to black. To define a complicated dissolve profile, you must add keyframes to the function curve to attain the desired results. Timing Property Page (Dissolve) The Timing property page lets you control the timing (rate and duration) of the dissolve. The horizontal (X axis) represents the SMPTE timecode. The vertical (Y axis) indicates the amount of the mix. By modifying the slope of the curve you control the timing and percentage of the mix. Adding keyframes to the function curve creates more complex dissolves. Option Description X axis Represents SMPTE timecode of the timeline ruler Y axis Represents relative transparency of incoming and outgoing clips. The area below the curve represents the transparency of the incoming clip and the area above the curve represents the transparency of the outgoing clip. For example, when the curve is at 50 (half of Y), the frames of the incoming and outgoing clips are each 50% visible. At 0, the incoming clip is 100% visible; at 100, the outgoing clip is 100% visible. Curve Defines how the mix varies in the dissolve. Move the key points up to increase the proportion of the original clip, and down to decrease it. You can add or remove key points to vary the mix. n 1896 To change the curve type from Bézier to constant or linear, right-click the Animation Key button and select it from the menu. Position indicator Moves position indicator across the function curve graph to view the result of the dissolve in different parts of the clip. The position indicator in the graph matches the one on the timeline. Amount Represents proportion of original clip in the mix at a given time (value of the Y axis). Move the position indicator to view the value at a specific frame. Image Transition Effects Crossfade Property Editor The Crossfade effect lets you apply a crossfade to the volume of two overlapping audio clips. The default crossfade evenly fades out the volume of the first clip while fading in the second clip. You can adjust the two curves to make the fade in or out more gradual, sharp, or to vary it in different ways. n The Crossfade effect is not suitable for entire tracks since the length of a track is virtually infinite. Crossfade Function Curve The crossfade function curve lets you control the rate of progression and the duration of the crossfade. The horizontal (X axis) represents the SMPTE timecode, and the vertical (Y axis) represents the crossfade value. Option Description Y direction Sets volume X direction Sets keyframes. The length of the effect bar determines the duration of the effect. Curves Uses curves to define the way the volume of the two clips varies in the crossfade. Move points in the curve up to increase volume and down to decrease it. Hold down the A key and click the curve to add more keys. Use the handles to move and control the shape of the curve. Position indicator Shows current location of position indicator Wipe Property Editor The Wipe effect lets you create a transition between two overlapping clips, so that the incoming clip is revealed as the outgoing clip moves off the screen according to a specified pattern. You can also apply a border between the two clips by specifying the position, color, and edge softness. You can also apply a wipe as a timeline, clip, or track effect, in which case the selected clip disappears according to the specified pattern. 1897 Chapter 3 Editing Reference n Preset Wipe effects from previous version of Avid DS are identified by a V1 (red) located on the thumbnail. Wipe Property Page (Wipe) The Wipe property page lets you adjust the wipe style, direction, center offset, and border width and softness. Option Description Wipe Style Lets you select wipe style—see “Wipes Styles” on page 1901 Direction Specifies direction of wipe Forward Applies wipe in default (defined) direction Backward Reverses direction of wipe Center Offset Specifies how far the wipe’s center is displaced from its original center. The Center Offset is not available for all wipes. X Specifies center offset along X axis Y Specifies center offset along Y axis Aspect Ratio Specifies height to width ratio for Circle wipe Number of Blocks Specifies the number of blocks the image is segmented into for the specific wipe effect. The Number of Blocks is not available for all wipes. X Specifies the number of blocks along X axis. Values range from 2 to 40. Y Specifies the number of blocks along Y axis. Values range from 2 to 30. 1898 Image Transition Effects Option Description Border Specifies the width of border in pixels. Values range from 0 (no border) to X axis (widest border). For example, NTSC value range is 0 to 720. You can specify the color of the border using the Color property page. n Horizontal and vertical borders remain proportional to each other on wipes such as Box wipes. Softness Controls the softness of outer edges of the border in pixels. Values range from 0 (no softness) to X axis (maximum softness). For example, NTSC value range is 0 to 720. Amount Displays wipe at a particular point. For example, setting the position to 50 shows you how the wipe looks at the half-way point. In the default wipe animation, the amount starts at 0 and ends at 100. Timing Property Page (Wipe) The Timing property page lets you create a wipe transition. The function curve lets you control the timing (rate and duration) of the wipe. By modifying the shape of the function curve, you control the timing and percentage of the mix. Adding keyframes to the function curve creates more complex wipes. Option Description X axis Represents SMPTE timecode Y axis Represents proportion of wipe that has been completed Curve Defines how mix varies in wipe. Move key points up to increase proportion of original clip and down to decrease it. You can add or remove key points to vary the mix. n To change the curve type from Bézier to constant or linear, right-click the Animation Key button and select it from the menu. 1899 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Position indicator Moves position indicator across animation graph to view the result of the dissolve in different parts of the clip. The position of the position indicator in the graph matches the one on the timeline. Amount Represents proportion of original clip in the mix at a given time (value of the Y axis). Move the position indicator to view the value at a specific frame. Color Property Page (Wipe) The Color property page contains controls to pick colors or create new colors for effect’s borders. To create new colors, you can pick them from the image in the viewer or you can specify their RGB, YUV, or HSL color model values. You can select from several basic colors and save new colors to the custom color palette. 1900 Option Description Color picker Picks a color from any part of the screen. Click Color Picker button and move the pointer (now an eyedropper) to a color on the screen. The color swatch updates and the current color values are displayed. Click to select a color. You can also replace a newly chosen color in the palette by clicking an existing palette color before you pick the new one. Color swatch Displays selected or default (black) color. RGB Specifies colors using the RGB (red, green, blue) additive color model. The intensity of each color is represented by a number from 0 to 100. 0 represents no light (black) in a channel and 100 represents maximum light (white) intensity in a channel. For example, 0,0,50 represents a dark blue, while 0,0,100 represents a bright blue. To produce a shade of gray set all three of the RGB colors to the same level. Alpha Specify the amount of alpha on a scale of 0 to 100. 0 represents no alpha and 100 represents full alpha. Image Transition Effects Wipes Styles Wipe pattern Description Wipe 001 Vertical left to right Wipe 002 Horizontal top to bottom Wipe 003 From top left Wipe 004 From top right Wipe 005 From bottom right Wipe 006 From bottom left Wipe 007 In from four corners Wipe 008 From four centers Wipe 021 Barn doors Wipe 022 Vertical barn doors Wipe 023 From top center Wipe 024 From right center Wipe 025 From bottom center Wipe 026 From left center 1901 Chapter 3 Editing Reference 1902 Wipe pattern Description Wipe 041 Diagonal from top left Wipe 042 Diagonal from top right Wipe 045 Double diagonal bottom left to top right Wipe 046 Double diagonal top left to bottom right Wipe 061 Triangle from top center Wipe 071 Ragged edge from left to right Wipe 072 Ragged edge top to bottom Wipe 073 Ragged barn doors Wipe 074 Ragged vertical barn doors Wipe 101 Center Box Wipe 102 Diamond Wipe 119 Circle Wipe 120 Ellipse Wipe 203 Radial Locator Menu Wipe pattern Description Wipe 234 Radial from left Wipe 901 Horizontal Bands Wipe 902 Horizontal Blinds Wipe 903 Vertical Blinds Wipe 999 Plasma Locator Menu The Locator pop-up menu lets you remove and jump to locators, and change locator properties. To access the Locator menu: t On the timeline ribbon, right-click a locator. Use this To Delete Locator Remove the selected locator Go to This Locator Move the position indicator to the selected locator Locator Properties Display the Locator property editor Locator Property Editor The Locator property editor lets you view and edit locator properties. 1903 Chapter 3 Editing Reference General Property Page (Locator) The General property page lets you view and change locator properties. Option Description Name Changes name of locator Comments Lets you add a notation or description to the current locator Color Lets you change the color of the current locator Go to This Locator Moves position indicator to current locator. This is useful when updating the description of several locators. Position Property Page (Locator) The Position property page lets you view the position of locators on the timeline. Option Description Position in Timeline Time Displays position of locator on timeline Time Position in Clip Time Lets you view current timeline position of locator Displays position of locator on the clip. This parameter is only available when a clip-based locator is selected. Clip Name Lets you view the name of the clip at the position of the locator Time Lets you view the timecode of the locator in clip time Go to This Locator Moves position indicator to current locator Locator View Menu The Locator View pop-up menu lets you remove and jump to locators, and change locator properties. 1904 Media Storage Configuration Dialog Box To access the Locator View menu: t In the Locator view, right-click a locator. Use this To Color Change the color of the current locator Delete Remove the selected locator Go to Locator Move the position indicator to the selected locator Locator Properties Display the Locator property editor Media Storage Configuration Dialog Box The Media Storage Configuration dialog box displays all video and audio storages and Avid media indexing services that are defined for the current project. It also lets you add new storage types, and modify or delete existing storage types. Each storage type is identified by its unique Windows share name. Option Description Installed Media Storages Lists the storage areas or media indexing services defined for the current project. You can define different storage areas for different projects. Name Displays the unique Windows storage area name or service. When you upgrade to a new version of Avid DS, any previously configured storages are automatically detected by the media indexer. Status Displays the status of the storage area or service and the local path or location of the storage area. The status should be Normal. If there is a problem with a storage area or service, a descriptive message is displayed in this column. Description Specifies the type of storage area or service, such as Avid DS Nitris Audio or Avid Media Indexing Service. 1905 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Version Description Displays the version number of the storage area or service indexer. Each type of storage and/or service uses a different indexer. Add Defines a new storage area or service for the current project. Remove Removes a selected storage area or service from the current project. Note that the media is not deleted, and you can connect to this storage area again. Change Lets you change the path of the existing storage area or service. Move Up Moves the storage area or service up a level in the hierarchy n Avid DS Nitris searches for media files starting from the top of the storage list. It uses the first instance of a media file it finds, so if you have more than one copy of a media file, make sure that the one you want to use is located on the topmost storage area in the list. The order is only important within a given media type, that is, audio or video. For example, if you’re using media files that are on a shared storage system, such as Avid MediaNetwork, and several people are accessing the media files at the same time, the system might not be able to guarantee real-time playback. In this case, you can define a local storage and place it above the shared storage in the hierarchy. You can copy the media files from the shared storage to the local one, so that you have sole access to the media. When Avid DS Nitris searches for the media files, it will search the local storage first since it is higher in the hierarchy, which virtually guarantees real-time playback. 1906 Move Down Moves the storage area or service down a level in the hierarchy Refresh Ensures that the list of configured storages or indexers is up to date Close Closes the Media Storage Configuration dialog box Media Storage Information Dialog Box Media Storage Information Dialog Box The Media Storage Information dialog box lets you specify information about the storage you are adding. Use this To Enter the full network path to Enter the machine name and folder where the media is the Avid DS media folder to stored. e.g. \\W8000-UE\ds_media\video. manage For Avid Unity, use the browse (...) button to locate the Unity workspace folder e.g., \\Unity\allocation\workspace\mediafolder. Enable throttling for this storage Select this option only if you have Avid DS RP installed and running in your workgroup, and you want this storage area to be managed by the Avid Throttle Manager. The Throttle Manager allows for more efficient bandwidth management between your workstation, storage areas, and an Avid DS RP workstation. Avid DS will index all supported media file types found in this folder, but will only write media of type: Select the type of media that can be stored in this folder. For media captured in Avid DS, select the Avid DS generic audio or Avid DS generic video. You will need to create separate storage areas for each. For MXF media, select either MXF audio or MXF video. You will need to create separate storage areas for each. For OMFI media files, select None. If you select None, the Avid DS services will still index the media, but no one will be able to capture or process to this folder. i.e. this storage location will not appear in the list of storages in the Processing Options dialog box. 1907 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Disk Controller Type The type of card connected to your storage. Avid DS Nitris automatically detects the cards that are installed in your workstation and displays them in the list. n Disk Storage Type If you are connecting to a remote storage area on your network, then you must choose CIFS Network. The type of storage device connected to your workstation. Avid DS Nitris automatically detects the storages that are connected to your workstation and displays them in the list. You may choose Generic Adapter and Generic Storage but these settings may not fully utilize bandwidth available to you. Therefore, choose the options according to your storage device to obtain the best performance for real-time effects. Media Options (1/2) Dialog Box The Media Options (1/2) dialog box lets you select specific clips or sequences for which associated media will be restored. 1908 Use this To Only restore media referenced by the following files Activate the selective restore tool. To restore the entire project, deselect this option, and click OK. Selective Restore List Display a list of master clips and/or sequences for which associated media will be restored. Delete Remove the selected master clip or sequence from the list. Add Clip Add a master clip to the list of items you want to restore. Add Sequence Add a sequence to the list of items you want to restore. Media Options (2/2) Dialog Box Media Options (2/2) Dialog Box The Media Options (2/2) dialog box lets you select the compression, resolution, or sample rate of the clips that you want to restore. Use this To Media restore options Choose the type of media and media quality that is to be restored. You can choose media with a specific compression, resolution, or sample rate. When you select a project, Avid DS Nitris automatically detects the type of media used in the project and gives you the appropriate media quality choices. Restore video media files from tape Copies the video media from tape to the storage device. All Compressions: Restore media at all compressions. Uncompressed Only: Restore only the uncompressed media. Compressed Only: Restore only the compressed media. X:1 Only: Restore only the media with the specified compression ratio. All Resolutions: Restore media at all resolutions. XxY Only: Restore only the media with the specified resolution All Bit Depths: Restore media at all bit depths. x Bits Only: Restore only the media with the specified bit depth Restore video cache files from tape Copies the project’s cached video media from tape to the storage device. Select from the same options as “Restore video media files from tape.” Restore audio media files from disk Copies the audio media files from disk. All Sample Rates: Restore media of all sample rates. x KHz media only: Restore only media at the specified sample rate. Restore audio cache files from disk Copies the project’s cached audio files from disk. Select from the same options as “Restore audio media files from disk.” 1909 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Media Properties Dialog Box The Media Properties dialog box lets you view information about available audio and video media and individual files. n If you are trying to see the properties of media that have not been imported into your project, the Media Properties dialog box will only list attributes of the media such as; file size, file type, date created, last modified, and so on. No property pages will be displayed in this dialog box. For sequences, only the General Property Page is displayed. To access the Media Properties dialog box: t Right-click a clip or sequence in a bin and select Properties. Media Property Page (Media Properties) The Media property page displays information about the various types of media currently available to the master clip. Option Description Type Displays the type of media Quality Identifies the following quality characteristics of the media: Sample rate Identifies the audio sample rate Bit rate Identifies the audio bit rate Compression Identifies uncompressed media or its video compression type and rate 1910 Resolution Identifies the physical dimensions of the image in pixels. In this case, pixels are considered to be square. Aspect ratio Describes the width over height ratio of the image, generally 4:3 or 16:9. This value is expressed in a decimal format for nonstandard values. Color Space Identifies the color space or pixel format. The color space determines how the color components of the video signal are represented on screen. Media Properties Dialog Box Option Still Description Identifies a still image. Frame rate or Identifies the frame rate or field rate (number of frames or fields field rate per second). For standard NTSC and PAL formats, the rate is replaced by a format descriptor: NTSC or PAL. n Because stills are composed of only one frame and have no field dominance, they are always identified by a frame rate instead of a field rate. For example, stills captured in HD 1080i 59.94 fields/sec are identified as 29.97 frames/s, 60 fields/sec are identified as 30 frames/sec, and so on. Dominance Identifies the field dominance of the captured media. Field dominance determines the order in which odd and even fields occur over time. The field dominance of the media can be odd, even, or none. Bit depth Identifies the video storage bit depth. This information is not available for source media. Coverage Identifies whether the available media spans the entire clip or just a portion of the clip Location Displays the storage area where the clip was captured. If a clip was imported from file, the path to the original file is displayed. General Property Page (Media Properties) The General property page displays information on the selected file and lets you add comments. Option Description Name Displays the name of the selected file Comments Lets you type brief comments that describe the clip or sequence. This helps you manage your media. Project Displays the name of the project that contains the selected object Source Displays the name of the tape from which this object was captured. You can modify the source name by selecting a new tape name from the list. If a clip was imported from file instead of Source, this parameter is named File. 1911 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Created By Displays the user name of the person who created this clip Created Displays the date the file was created Modified By Displays the user name of the person who modified this clip Modified Displays the date that the information in this file was last changed Start Clip: Displays the starting timecode of the selected clip Sequence: Displays the starting timecode of the selected sequence End Clip: Displays the ending timecode of the selected clip Sequence: Displays the ending timecode of the selected sequence Duration Displays the length of clip in timecode Physical Start Displays the starting timecode as it appears on the deck’s faceplate (for a deck that can be addressed in a format different from its recording speed) Physical End Displays the ending timecode as it appears on the deck’s faceplate File Info Property Page (Media Properties) The File Info property page displays information on the selected file. It provides you with the original location of the file, the file’s original video resolution, frame rate, audio sample rate and bit depth, the video settings at which you captured the file, as well as the current status of the original file. Option Description Clip was logged from the Displays the location from where the file was captured following file 1912 Resolution Displays the resolution of the original video media file Frame Rate Displays the frame rate of the original video media file Audio Displays the sample rate and bit depth of the original audio file Media Properties Dialog Box Option Description Settings Displays the video settings at which the video media file was captured: Fit to Frame Centered Image Keep Alpha Preserve Aspect Ratio Convert Video Frame Rate Premultiplied Alpha Auto-Dither Video Levels Pixel Ratio Format-Specific For master clips imported from DPX or Cineon files, opens the DPX Import dialog box, in which you can modify the parameters of the lookup table (LUT)—see “Capturing from DPX Files” in the Help. Status Indicates whether the file is still located in the folder from which it was captured Relink file Lets you re-establish the link for a linked file that has been moved from its original location Track Patching Property Page (Media Properties) The Track Patching property page displays information on the audio format and audio input assignment. It also lets you reassign the hardware inputs to different audio channels that may be necessary when recapturing audio media. Option Description Audio Format Displays the audio format of the clip Physical Assignments Lets you reassign the physical audio inputs to specific audio channels for the recapture process 1913 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Mixer The mixer combines the audio signals coming from the audio tracks and routes them to the output strips. You can assign the channels of an audio track to a specific output strip. The mixer has two views, the standard view and the routing view. To access the mixer: t From the view switcher, click the Mixer button. Mixer: Standard View The standard view is the default view of the mixer. In this view you can add audio effects, adjust the volume levels, pan the signals, and mute or solo the various tracks. You can also animate most of the controls on the mixer. To access the standard view: t 1914 Click the Standard View button. Mixer Mixer: Standard view Mixer output strips Mixer input strips Master Mute button Solo indicator Routing View button Standard View button Mixer Configuration Animation controls Use this To Mixer Input strips Monitor or control the volume of the sound coming from the corresponding audio tracks. You can also add effects to the strip before it is mixed with other strips. Mixer Output strips Monitor and control the volume of the sound being output. Master Mute button Turn off the audio output. Solo Indicator Indicate if any of the mixer strips is soloed. Standard View button Displays the standard mixer view with the mixer effects box and the gain control on the mixer input strips. Routing View button Displays the mixer routing view that shows the matrix routing panel. Mixer Configuration Specify the Mixer output configuration you want to use. 1915 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Animation controls Automate the controls on the input strips. The animation controls let you manually set or delete keyframes. The appearance of the color green on this button indicates the presence of animation in the mixer. From here, you can also remove all animation from the mixer input strips. Mixer: Routing View The Routing view contains the Matrix Routing panel for the input strips, which lets you assign the input strips to audio output channels. Also, in this view, the number of level meters on the input strips matches the number of audio channels on the track. For example, 5.1 tracks have six level meters and 8 stream tracks have eight level meters. n If you’ve enabled the pan on a mono track, the number of level meters on the input strip matches the number of output channels. This is because the mono signal has been split to allow for the positioning of the sound with the pan control. To access the routing view: t 1916 Click the Routing View button. Mixer Input strips Output strips Matrix routing panels Master Mute button Solo indicator Routing View button Standard View button Mixer Configuration Animation controls Mixer Configuration Formats You can capture and output up to eight channels of audio in the following formats. To change the mixer configuration: t Click the Mixer Config list box and select a configuration. 1917 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Format Description Mono Single channel of audio Stereo Two audio channels: Left and Right Quadraphonic Four audio channels: Left, Right, Left rear, Right rear LCRS Four audio channels: Left, Center, Right, Surround 4 Stream Four audio channels: Outputs 1 to 4 5.1 Six audio channels: Left, Right, Center, Low Frequency Emitter, Left surround, Right surround 6.1 Seven audio channels: Left, Right, Center, Low Frequency Emitter, Surround Center, Side Left, Side Right 7.1 Eight audio channels: Left, Right, Center, Low Frequency Emitter, Left surround, Right surround, Left center, Right center 8 Stream Eight audio channels: Outputs 1 to 8 Mixer Input Strips An input strip corresponds to an audio track on the timeline. The strip controls let you add effects and adjust the overall volume and balance of each track. The signals from all strips are then mixed and routed to the output strips. 1918 Mixer Matrix Routing panel Effects box Surround Panner Mute Animation button Pan Solo Peak indicator Fader Level meters Fader level Post button Strip name Mono Input strip with surround panner enabled Stereo input strip in the default mixer view Alternate Track view showing Matrix Routing panel Use this To Matrix Routing panel Specify the output strip to which the audio channels are routed. Effects box Apply audio effects to the entire track before it is sent into the mixer. These effects are applied before you make any adjustments using volume and pan controls. Mute Turn the sound on or off. Solo Isolate the sound so that you hear it on playback. When a strip is soloed, you cannot hear the sounds on the other strips. Animation button Activate the controls that you want to animate. Pan Adjust the balance to direct the output signal to the proper speaker in a stereo configuration. Surround Panner Adjust the balance to direct the output signal to the proper speaker in a surround configuration. 1919 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Peak indicator Monitor the level of the signal coming from the audio track. If a red light appears on the indicator, you should lower the volume on the strip. Fader Adjust the volume on the strip before it is sent to the mixer. The fader markings are displayed in decibels and range from 20 dB to -inf dB. Level meter Monitor the level of the signal coming from the audio tracks before they are mixed. The level meters range from 0 dB to -inf dB. Post button Switch the level meters between a pre-fader and a post-fader display of the audio signal levels. By default the level meters show the pre-fader levels. Strip name View or change the name of the input strip. This name is automatically changed on the corresponding audio track on the timeline. Mixer Animation Menu The Mixer Animation menu lets you automate the movement of controls on the mixer input strip. You can select the controls that you want to animate from the Mixer Animation menu. To access the Mixer Animation menu: t 1920 Right-click the animation button on the mixer input strip. Command Description Record Fader Animation Records the movements of the fader Record Pan Animation Records the movements of the pan slider Record Mute Animation Records the state of the Mute button Bypass Fader Animation Ignores any adjustments made to the fader Mixer Command Description Bypass Pan Animation Ignores any adjustments made to the pan slider Bypass Mute Animation Ignores any adjustments made to the Mute button Delete Fader Animation Deletes the animation of the fader Delete Pan Animation Deletes the animation of the pan slider Delete Mute Animation Deletes the animation of the Mute button Delete All Animation Deletes the animation of all the mixer controls Effects Box Menu (Mixer) The Effects Box pop-up menu lets you add, remove, and edit effects on the mixer input strip. To access the Effects Box menu: t In the Mixer view, right-click the effects box. Command Description Add Effect Adds a new effect to the mixer strip Delete Effect Deletes the selected effect Delete All Deletes all the effects in the effects box Bring to Top Moves the selected effect to the top of the stack Raise Moves the selected effect up one position in the stack Lower Moves the selected effect down one position in the stack Push to Bottom Moves the selected effect to the bottom of the stack Effect Properties Opens the selected effect’s property editor 1921 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Command Description Bypass Bypasses the selected effect Pan Menu (Mixer) The Pan pop-up menu lets you turn panning on or off on the specified track. To access the Pan menu: t In the Mixer, right-click the pan control on the mixer input strips. Command Description Enable Pan Turns panning on or off on this track Mixer Output Strips The results of the refinements on all the input strips are mixed and passed to the output strips. Output strips let you adjust the output volume of the audio signals. The number of output strips on the mixer depends on the mixer configuration selected. The signal from the output strips is then directed to an external device. n If you are working within a container clip, the signal is routed to the parent container clip. Mute Peak indicator Fader Level meter Strip name 1922 Navigation Menu Use this To Mute Turn the signal on or off. This prevents the signal from being sent to the output device or parent container clip. Peak indicator Monitor the level of the output signal. If a red light appears on the indicator, you should adjust volume on the strip. Level meter Monitor the level of the mixed signals before they are sent to the output device. Fader Adjust the volume before it is output. Strip name View the name of the output strip. Navigation Menu The Navigation menu lets you navigate between container clip timelines or the top timeline. The top timeline displays all clips, effects, transitions, and edits within your sequence, while the container clip timeline only shows the clips of which it is comprised. To access the Navigation menu: t Select Navigation. Command Description Go to Parent Timeline Opens the parent timeline Go to Top Timeline Opens the topmost level of the timeline. It lets you view and edit all clips in the sequences. 1923 Chapter 3 Editing Reference NLE Tools Toolbar The NLE Tools toolbar lets you perform general editing tasks, apply transitions and effects, find and add locators, navigate the timeline, work with container clips and reference clips, process timeline material, purge material, and add cache nodes. This toolbar is in the Editing Layout. Option Description Editing Create Video Track Adds a video track to the timeline. n Create Audio Track Adds an audio track to the timeline. n 1924 This command is not available in audio or background container clips. This command is not available in background and composite container clips. Magnetism Turns magnetism on or off on the timeline Activate Makes a clip active Deactivate Removes a clip’s activeness Cut To Switches activeness to the selected clip Add Edit Slices the selected clip in two, at the position indicator position Sync Lock Locks two or more clips together so that their relative positions remain the same. This command sets the sync lock, but also removes it, depending on the selection. Resync Resets the synchronization between a slave clip and the master clip when they are offset Select Sync Peers Selects all clips in the sync group Snap In Trims the selected clip’s in-point and applied effects to the location of the position indicator Snap Out Trims the selected clip’s out-point and applied effects to the location of the position indicator Select Edit Points Displays edit handles on in and out-points of selected clips NLE Tools Toolbar Option Description Link Edits Links both sides of a broken edit point Break Link Breaks the link between two clips at an edit point Set Ripple End Sets the end of the ripple at the current position indicator Match Frame Locates the master clip or subclip that corresponds to the currently selected clip on the timeline and drops it into the dual viewer Reverse Match Frame Locates the frames in a sequence that match the frame selected in the Source viewer. Match Bin Performs a match frame and displays the location in the Explorer Scratch Removal Applies a Graphics (Scratch Removal) effect with a duration of two frames on the selected clip. By default, the Graphics combo view is displayed with these Scratch Removal properties: Freehand tool with Clone as the brush effect, source frame (relative, -1), and time span (this frame only). Simple Titling Applies a Graphics (Simple Titling) effect on selected clip, track, or region. By default, the Graphics combo view is displayed with these Text tool properties: white text, face only, Arial (regular, 36), RGB, and time span (start to end). Simple Titling on Black Applies a Simple Titling On Black (Generated) clip on the selected region of a video track. By default, the Graphics combo view is displayed with these Text tool properties: white text, face only, Arial (regular, 36), RGBA, and time span (start to end). Expand Ref Clip Opens the selected reference clip Collapse Ref Clip Closes the open reference clip and returns to the top timeline Clip Effect Applies a clip effect to a selected clip Track Effect Applies a track effect to the selected region of a track or the whole track Timeline Effect Applies a timeline effect to the selected region of the timeline track or the whole track Bring Filter to Top Move the selected effect to the top Raise Filter Move the selected effect up one level Containers Composite Container Lets you create different types of container clips Creates a composite container clip and opens the Compositing layout 1925 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Audio Container Creates an audio container clip Background Container Creates a background container clip Navigation Next Edit Goes to the next edit point Previous Edit Goes to the previous edit point Go to Next Locator Moves the position indicator to the next locator Go to Previous Locator Moves the position indicator to the previous locator Go to Start of Selection Moves the position indicator to the beginning of the selected clip, track, or region Go to End of Selection Moves the position indicator to the end of the selected clip, track, or region Go to Top Timeline Opens the topmost level of the timeline, which lets you view and edit all clips in the sequences Go to Parent Timeline Opens the parent timeline Purge Purge Cache Purges the cache for the current selection(s) Purge All Caches Deletes all cache files in the current sequence Purge Memory Caches Deletes all interactive memory caches Time Effects 1926 3:2 Contract Recreates the original film sequence at 24 frames per second 3:2 Expand Produces the proper field sequence for converting a 24-fps clip to a videocompatible 30-fps clip Deinterlace Separates the odd and even fields in a video clip Interlace Combines the odd and even fields in a video clip Timewarp Applies the Timewarp effect to a clip to change its playback rate Freeze Freezes the frame at the position indicator NLE Tools Toolbar Option Description Video Effects Displays the list of video effects you can apply to the selected clip, track, or region Transition Effects Displays the list of transition effects you can apply between two overlapping clips. An edit point must be selected to apply a transition effect. Generate Source Generator Clip Black Creates a clip with an effect applied as a background over the selected track region Create a clip with a black background over the selected track region White Create a clip with a white background over the selected track region Test Pattern Create a clip with a test pattern over the selected track region Snapshot to Clip Creates a master clip from the current frame Snapshot to File Saves the current frame as an image file Timeline to Clip Converts the selected portion of the timeline to a master clip Import Photoshop... Imports layered Photoshop files. This tool lets you import the Photoshop files while preserving all the layer information. A sequence file, with one composite container, is created in the Avid Explorer along with a master clip for each layer. Each layer in the Photoshop file is recreated in the composite container as a layer and corresponding clip on a composite track. Import Subtitles Imports subtitles in the current sequence as Graphics On Black generated clips on a new track. Once imported, each subtitle is represented as a titling body that is positioned at the bottom of the safe title area—see “Importing Subtitles”. Audio Effects Displays a list of audio effects you can apply to the selected clip, track, or region Processing Process Displays the Processing Options dialog box—see “Processing Options Dialog Box” in the Help. Add Cache Bar Adds a cache bar to the selected clip, track, or timeline Process Reference Clip Processes the reference clips 1927 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Process Timeline and References Processes the entire timeline, including reference clips Delete RP Cache Bars Deletes cache bars created automatically when you send effects to a remote processing station—see “Remote Processing” in the Help. This option does not delete the remote processing jobs associated with the cache bars. Delete RP Cache Bars and their Deletes cache bars and their associated DMS jobs DMS Jobs Delete Successfully Completed Deletes jobs managed by DMS that have been successfully completed, but DMS Jobs leaves cache bars on the timeline Delete All DMS Jobs Deletes all jobs managed by DMS, but leaves cache bars on the timeline Reconnect to DMS Broker If the cache bars are not displaying the job status correctly, select this option to reestablish the link to the DMS Broker. Media IO Capture Tool Opens the Capture Tool. Output Tool Opens the Output Tool—see “Output Tool” in the Help. Capture Settings Opens the Capture Settings View. Deck Configuration Opens the Deck Configuration View. Capture Only Active Material When selected, recaptures only active clips on the timeline. Recapture Entire Timeline Begins the recapture process, using the settings specified in the Recapture Entire Timeline with Options dialog box—see “Batch Capturing” in the Help. Recapture Entire Timeline with Opens a dialog box that lets you change the heads and tails of the clip Options (handles) and set other options. 1928 Recapture Timeline Selection Begins the recapture process for a selected portion of the timeline, using the settings specified in the Recapture Timeline Selection with Options dialog box. Recapture Timeline Selection with Options Opens a dialog box that lets you set options for recapturing a selected portion of the timeline. Project Manager Project Manager The Project Manager displays all the projects on your workstation, and lets you archive, restore, or delete these project files and their media. To access the Project Manager, do one of the following: t From the view switcher, click the Project Manager button. t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Project Manager. t Select Data Management > Project Manager. Archive Property Page (Project Manager) The Archive property page lets you archive any project to tape or disk. You can also select the compression, resolution, or sample rate at which the video or audio media is archived. Use this To Choose a project to archive View the list of projects on your workstation. Select Project Directory Search the specified directory for Avid DS Nitris projects and create a list. Media archive options Select the type of media and media quality to be archived. You can choose media with a specific compression, resolution, or sample rate. When you select a project, Avid DS Nitris automatically detects the type of media used in the project and gives you the appropriate media quality choices. n Video files can only be archived to tape, and audio files only archived to disk. 1929 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Archive video media files to tape Copy the video media to tape. All Compressions: Archive media at all compressions. Uncompressed Only: Archive only the uncompressed media. Compressed Only: Archive only the compressed media. X:1 Only: Archive only the media with the specified compression ratio. All Resolutions: Archive media at all resolutions. XxY Only: Archive only the media with the specified resolution All Bit Depths: Archive media at all bit depths. x Bits Only: Archive only the media with the specified bit depth Archive video cache files to tape Copy the project’s cached video media to tape. Select from the same options as “Archive video media files to tape.” Archive audio media files to disk Copy the audio media to disk. All Sample Rates: Archive media of all sample rates. x KHz media only: Archive only media at all specified sample rate. Archive audio cache files to disk Copy the project’s cached audio media to disk. Select from the same options as “Archive audio media files to disk.” Project archive destination Specify where the project data and audio media, if any, are to be stored. By default, the path is set to \DS Archives\name and date\. Archive Begin the archive process. Restore Property Page (Project Manager) The Restore property page lets you restore any archived projects back to the local disk on your workstation. You can choose whether you want to restore only the audio media, video media, or both. 1930 Use this To Select an archive to restore from Choose an archive to restore. Project Manager Use this Archive folder To Type a path or use the Browse button to locate the folder where the archived project is stored. By default, archives are stored under \DS Archives\name and date\. Select a destination to restore to Select a folder from which the archive will be restored. Project name Type a path or use the Browse button to specify the folder and project name for the restored project data. By default, projects are restored to the DS Projects folder. Options Select media to restore Restore Select which types of media to restore. Display a dialog box where you can choose the type of media that you want restored. This option is only active when you are restoring a project that contains media. Begin restoring the selected archive. Delete Property Page (Project Manager) The Delete property page lets you delete any projects on your local workstation and display the size of the project files and their media, as well as the date that it was last modified. Option Description Choose a project to delete Lets you choose a project to delete Project Name of the project Size Size of the project files Video Media Size of the video media associated to the project Audio Media Size of the audio media associated to the project Last Modified The last date that any changes were made to the project Location The path where the project is located ID The identification number given to the project by Avid DS Nitris 1931 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Refresh Updates the list of projects Delete Removes the selected project files and their media Media Property Page (Project Manager) The Media property page gives you detailed information on your storage devices. You can find out the exact location and size of your storage, the free disk space available, and the percentage that is full. It also provides information on each of the projects that reside on the storage device. Use this To Selected Storage Select a storage device. Description View the name and location of the storage device, the total disk size, the amount of free space on your disk, and the percentage that is full. Details of Storage Use View a list of the projects located on the selected storage device. The list gives you the item or project name, project size, percentage of space taken by each project, and project location. Delete Begin deleting media from the selected storage device and project folder. Refresh Update the Details of Storage Use list. Info View the location of the project selected in the Details of Storage Use list. Slip/Slide Mode The Slip/Slide mode lets you slip or slide clips. The Slip option lets you change a clip’s contents without affecting its position and duration on the timeline. The Slide option lets you change a clip’s location on the timeline without affecting its content. Instead, the previous and next clips are trimmed to accommodate the operation. 1932 Slip/Slide Mode Head frame Outgoing frame Tail frame Incoming frame Source timecodes Trim Nudge buttons Use this To Slide Move a clip to a new timecode without changing its in-points, out-points, or contents. When working with other clips, the activeness of the selected clip remains intact, while the previous and next clips is trimmed or extended to accommodate the operation. Slip Keep the selected clip fixed on the timeline while moving the clip’s contents. Outgoing frame (first viewer) View the frame at the out-point of the previous clip. Head frame (second viewer) View the frame at the in-point of the selected clip. Tail frame (third viewer) View the frame at the out-point of the selected clip. Incoming frame (last viewer) View the frame at the in-point of the next clip. Source timecodes View the timecode (for the source media) at the selected edit point. The timecode is displayed for all views. Available Frames View the number of frames available for slipping or sliding the selected clip. Offset View or set the number of frames to be slipped or slid on the current clip. It shows the number of frames currently slipped/slid for the specified clip/edit point. This number can be changed by typing a new value. 1933 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Play Preview Play the transition area with the pre-roll and post-roll frames in Loop mode. Trim Nudge buttons Slip or slide the selected clip by one or ten frames. < or > Slip or slide the selected clip forwards or backwards by one frame. << or >> Slip or slide the selected clip forwards or backward by ten frames. Previous Clip/Next Clip Move to the previous or next clip in the sequence. This updates the views and timecodes, and resets the offset frame count. Surround Panner The Surround Panner lets you specify the positioning and movement of the sound elements in your sequence. To access the Surround Panner: t Select View > Single-Instance Views > Surround Panner. Panning area Track list Mute, solo and animation buttons Divergence Pan control 1934 Gain and LFE faders Test Pattern Use this To Panning area Define the boundaries of the room. Pan control Specifies the location of the sound within the panning area Track Select the track that the Surround Panner will be applied. Mute Turn the sound on or off for a particular track. Solo Isolate the sound for a particular track. Animation button Record animation for the surround panner controls. Divergence Specify the size of the sound source. Gain fader Adjust the volume on the track. The fader markings are displayed in decibels. LFE fader Adjust the volume on the Low Frequency Emitter (LFE). Test Pattern The Test Pattern effect generates a clip using a number of different test patterns. Option Description Pattern Displays list of different test patterns Preview Displays preview of selected pattern Timecode Display Menu The Timecode Display menu lets you customize the display of the Timecode view, as well as access the Customize Toolbars window. 1935 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Source Displays the timecode and duration of various selections on the timeline, such as clips and markers. Information Lets you customize the type of information displayed in the Timecode view. Clip Info Displays the name and/or comments of the clip. Clip Timecode Displays the timecode format of the ruler or displays timecode in frames. Timeline Timecode Displays other timecode formats from 24 to 60fps. Aesthetic Form Lets you customize the look of the information displayed in the Timecode view. Text Size Specifies size of the timecode in points. Source Label Turns the name of the source on or off. Time Format Label Turns the display of the timecode on or off. Add Timecode Display Adds a timecode display to the Timecode view. Time Effects The time effects let you process images by rearranging the fields and frames in a clip. n 1936 If you drop a clip of a different frame rate on the timeline, it might not have the same field dominance as the current sequence. Therefore, if you apply a time effect on this clip, you might need to invert the fileds to compensate for the difference in field dominance. This can be done by clicking the Invert Fields button. Time Effects 3:2 Contract Property Editor The 3:2 Contract property page lets you remove field artifacts in a clip that was converted from a 24 fps file to a 30 fps video. This property page does not contain any specific parameters for you to set. 3:2 Expand Property Editor The 3:2 Expand property page lets you produce the proper field sequence for converting a 24 fps clip to a video-compatible 30 fps clip. To return the clip to its original speed and frame rate, apply a 3:2 Expand after a 3:2 Contract. This property page does not contain any specific parameters for you to set. n You can also drop a clip on the timeline that has a different frame rate than that of the current sequence. For more information, see Placing Clips of Different Frame Rates on the Timeline. Deinterlace Property Editor The Deinterlace property page lets you separate frames into odd and even fields. A deinterlaced clip is twice the length of a regular clip. To update the clip’s length on the top timeline: t In the Deinterlace property editor, click Update Duration. This is done automatically when you create a deinterlace container clip. After you’ve finished your modifications on the deinterlaced clip, you can use the Interlace effect to reinterlace your clip. Option Description Interpolation Specifies if and how to interpolate contents of added frames None Performs no interpolation. The added frames are exact duplicates of the adjacent frames. This option is best for clips containing static images. 1937 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Linear Interpolates entire clip. This option is best for clips containing moving images. Adaptive Interpolates moving areas of clip only. This option is best for clips that have both a static and moving component. Motion Thresholds Specifies how to treat static and moving areas of the clip No Motion Affects static areas of image. 0% means deinterlace (this reduces the quality of static images); 100% means no deinterlacing is performed on static areas. n Fast Motion Affects moving areas of the image. 0% means it will be deinterlaced; 100% means no deinterlacing is performed on moving areas. Higher values remove more interfield artifacts. The effect must be processed in order to see the changes. n Default Invert Field Dominance The No Motion Value cannot be higher than the Fast Motion value. The Fast Motion Value cannot be lower than the No Motion value. Resets Motion Threshold parameters to the default values Changes order in which odd and even fields are deinterlaced Interlace Property Editor The Interlace property page lets you recombine frames in a clip that were separated into odd and even fields using the Deinterlace effect (or were separate prior to capture). An interlaced clip is half the length of a regular clip. To update the clip’s length on the top timeline: t In the Interlace property editor, click Update Duration. This is done automatically when you create an Interlace container clip. 1938 Time Effects Option Description Invert Field Dominance Changes order in which odd and even fields are interlaced 1939 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Timewarp (video) Property Editor The video Timewarp property editor lets you speed up, slow down, or freeze the action in a clip. You can apply a strobe effect, and change the apparent speed of a clip to a constant speed by modifying its speed or duration. You can also make the clip gradually slow down, speed up or reverse by adjusting the associated speed or duration function curves. When you increase the duration, the timewarp effect adds duplicates of frames; when you decrease the duration, it removes frames. This gives the appearance of an increase or decrease in speed. General Property Page (Video Timewarp) The General property page lets you specify the timewarp mode, the speed and duration of the timewarp, and the frames affected. You can use the different timewarp modes to apply different changes to the action in a clip. The video timewarp modes are: • Constant mode speeds up or slows down the action in a clip by giving it a new constant speed. • Speed mode applies a variable speed, so that the action speeds up or slows down progressively. • Input Speed mode applies a variable speed based on the source clip in the timewarp container clip. • Position mode rearranges the action completely by changing the position of frames. • Hold mode freezes frames. The modes are mutually exclusive, meaning that you can select only one at a time. Only the speed controls in the selected mode affect the speed of action. The Invert Fields option changes the order in which odd and even fields are processed when Field Processing is set in the Processing Options dialog box. The default field dominance setting is determined when you first define your sequence video format as being NTSC or PAL (odd fields first for NTSC, even fields first for PAL). By selecting the Invert Fields option, you invert field dominance. 1940 Time Effects When you apply a timewarp effect to a clip, the effect modifies the number of frames in the clip. You must click the Update Duration button to update the clip to its new length. When using the Position or Speed mode, the container clip has an infinite duration by default. When you use Update Duration in either of these modes, it has no effect. Constant Mode (Video Timewarp) The Constant mode maintains a constant speed throughout the timewarp. There are two methods of changing the speed—as a percentage of the original speed, or by typing a new speed in frames per second. There are also two ways of changing the duration—by changing the end timecode or the total number of frames. When you change the speed, you are changing the apparent speed of action. The corresponding duration is calculated, and frames are added or removed as needed. Since these controls are interrelated, changing one of them, updates the other three accordingly. Option Description Base Frame The first frame to which the speed changes are applied. The base frame always uses the source timecode, not the master timecode. Fix At Specifies timecode of base frame First The first frame of the container clip Last The last frame of the container clip Speed (%) From Applies a new constant speed that you specify as a percentage of the original speed Specifies original speed of action, always equal to 100%. n To Speed (Frames Per Second) This value is based on the source material inside the timewarp container clip, and is not editable. Specifies new speed of action Applies a new constant speed that you specify in frames per second 1941 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option From Description Specifies original speed in frames per second. n To Duration (SMPTE) From Specifies new speed of action in frames per second Change duration of the clip by typing the desired duration in SMPTE timecode Specifies original duration in SMPTE timecode. n To Duration (Frames) From 1942 This value is based on the source material inside the timewarp container clip, and is not editable. Specifies new duration in SMPTE timecode Change duration by typing the desired number of frames Specifies original duration in frames. n To This value is based on the source material inside the timewarp container clip, and is not editable. This value is based on the source material inside the timewarp container clip, and is not editable. Specifies new duration in frames Time Effects Speed Mode (Video Timewarp) The Speed mode lets you vary the rate of playback over time. Option Description Base Frame The first frame to which the speed changes are applied. The base frame always uses the source timecode, not the master timecode. Fix At Specifies timecode of base frame. This frame identifies where the start frame for a reversal will begin. First The first frame of the container clip Last The last frame of the container clip X axis Timecode on the top timeline ruler Y axis Apparent speed of action as a percentage of the original speed Curve Modifies the curve to adjust the apparent speed at different parts of the clip. Ctrl-click the curve to add more points with handles that you can move to further control the shape of the curve. n Moving a portion of the curve below zero makes the clip play backward. Position indicator Move the position indicator across the graph to view different parts of the clip Speed Specifies speed of function curve at the current position indicator position 1943 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Input Speed Mode (Video Timewarp) The Input Speed mode lets you set the speed of the timewarp based on the source clip. 1944 Option Description Base Frame The first frame to which the speed changes are applied. The base frame always uses the source timecode, not the master timecode. Fix At Specifies timecode of base frame First The first frame of the container clip Last The last frame of the container clip X axis Timecode inside the timewarp container Y axis Apparent speed of action as a percentage of the original speed Curve Modifies curve to adjust the apparent speed at different parts of the clip Position indicator Move position indicator across the graph to view different parts of the clip Speed Specifies speed of curve at the position indicator Show Input Frames Displays current frames of source clip Time Effects Position Mode (Video Timewarp) The Position mode lets you vary the speed of the clip by changing the position of frames on the container clip’s timeline. The Position function curve lets you change the apparent speed graphically by adjusting the position of frames at different key points. For example, to start the clip at the fifth frame, play to the tenth frame, and then end on the first frame, you move key points on the function curve. You can vary the slope of the curve to adjust the apparent speed. Option Description Base Frame The first frame to which the speed changes are applied. The base frame always uses the source timecode, not the master timecode. Fix At Specifies timecode of base frame First The first frame of the container clip Last The last frame of the container clip X axis Represents timecode on the top timeline ruler Y axis Represents original timecode of each frame inside the timewarp container clip Curve Modifies the curve to adjust the position of frames at different parts of the clip. Press Ctrl and click the curve to add more points with handles that you can move to further control the shape of the curve. Position indicator Moves position indicator across the graph to view different parts of the clip Position Specifies apparent speed at the position indicator 1945 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Hold Mode (Video Timewarp) The Hold mode gives part of the clip a speed of zero by freezing a specific frame. You can replace the entire clip with this frame, hold the frame for the rest of the clip, or hold the frame for a specific duration. You can also apply a strobe effect to the clip. Option Description Hold Frame Indicates frame that you want to hold Fix At Specifies timecode of the frame to hold, using the source timecode First Holds first frame in timewarp container clip Last Holds last frame in timewarp container clip Mode 1946 Specify length of time to hold frame Replace Entire Clip with this Frame Replaces every frame in the container clip with the Hold Frame Hold this Frame Indefinitely Changes apparent speed to 0 from the Hold Frame to the end of the clip Ease In Gradually reduces apparent speed for the specified number of frames before the Hold Frame Hold This Frame for a Fixed Duration Changes apparent speed to 0 for part of the clip by freezing one frame Duration Specifies the number of frames during which the specified frame is frozen Ease In Gradually reduces the apparent speed for the specified number of frames before the Hold Frame. The speed is reduced from the original speed to 0. Ease Out Gradually increases the apparent speed for the specified number of frames after the Hold Frame. The speed increases from 0 to the clip’s original speed. Strobe Repeats a number of frame(s) and then skips forward by the same number. Strobe is applied to the entire container clip. Time Effects Option Frequency Hold On Description Specifies number of frames to be repeated and then skipped. If the frequency value is 1, the clip plays normally. If the frequency value is 2, the first frame plays twice, the second is skipped, the third plays twice, the fourth is skipped, and so on. Specifies whether to freeze a frame or field. The field option is useful when you have fast moving objects in a clip. By freezing a single field, you can alleviate undesirable stuttering effects. Frame Freezes full frame. When selected, Avid DS Nitris does not need to process the frame. This setting overrides the processing setting in the sequence preferences dialog box. Field 1 Freezes first field Field 2 Freezes second field 1947 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Quality Property Page (Video Timewarp) The Quality property page lets you select an interpolation mode and control the speed and quality of the timewarp effect. Option Description Interpolation Determines how the actual pixels of the timewarped object are calculated. The option impacts quality and processing time. None Results in marginal image quality, but processing time is very fast. Added frames are exact duplicates of adjacent frames. Linear Results in better image quality than None option, but processing is slower. This option is very useful for quick tests. FluidMotion Results in best image quality, but processing requires more time. Creates intermediate images by morphing the motion across the bracketing images. The system examines each pixel in the outgoing image, finds the corresponding pixel in the incoming image, and creates a motion path between the two that it uses to build the intermediate images necessary to fill out the effect to create a smoother motion. Amount (FluidMotion) Adjusts the intensity of the FluidMotion effect. Values: 0 to 100. An amount of 0 signifies that the effect is simply not applied and linear interpolation is used. Controls the amount of FluidMotion interpolation applied to the effect. Method (FluidMotion) Lets you chose the image quality of the timewarp effect. These three options provide a trade off between processing time and quality. For example, select Derivative while you experiment with parameters. Once you’ve decided on your settings, select Full Grid to process the final result. Derivative 1948 Results in average quality with less amount of processing time. Time Effects Option Description Half Grid Default setting. Better quality then the Derivative option, but requires more processing time. Full Grid Best quality and most processing time. Border Left Border Right Border Bottom Border Top These four border options define the width of a border region around an image, within which region motion is constrained to be zero. Adjust the borders to eliminate artifacts on the edge of an image caused by the black borders that are often present around the edges of NTSC and PAL images. These border options are usually set to match the video blanking in the media. 1949 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Correction Property Page (Video Timewarp) The Correction property page lets you create and edit shapes that define the part(s) of the image that you want to adjust after rendering a Timewarp effect using FluidMotion. Option Description Apply Turns Timewarp effect on or off, letting you compare the appearance with or without the timewarp effect View The options in the View area let you enable shape editing and enable viewing of input frames, input fields, and output results. Edit Enables the shape editing interface and input viewing mode. If Show Shapes option is selected, lets you edit shapes and view the previous and next frames or fields that contribute to the current output frame or field. Show Shapes Determines whether shapes appear in viewer or not. View Frame Lets you view the result or input frames for the output frame at the current time. Also sets shape editing to occur on input frame boundaries. Use this option for frame-based material. View Field 1 Lets you view the result or input fields for the first output field at the current time. Also sets shape editing to occur on input field boundaries. Use this option for field-based material. View Field 2 Lets you view the result or input fields for the second output field at the current time. Also sets shape editing to occur on input field boundaries. Use this option for field-based material. Previous Input Frame If View Frame is selected, this option displays the previous input frame for the currently selected output. Previous Input Field 1950 If View Field 1 or View Field 2 is selected, this option displays the previous field for the currently selected output. Time Effects Option Description Next Input Frame If View Frame is selected, this option displays the next input frame for the currently selected output. Next Input Field If View Field 1 or View Field 2 is selected, this option displays next input field for the currently selected output. Result Displays the result frame or field for the currently selected output. Shape Creation Lets you create different kinds of open or closed shapes. These shapes define areas of correspondence between successive frames of input. This lets you define the motion between frames that can be used as a hint or a correction to the motion computed by the FluidMotion engine. Freehand Creates open or closed freeform shapes, and simulates the feeling of drawing with a pencil on paper Polyline Creates straight lines, Bézier curves, or combination of the two Ellipse Creates oval and circular shapes Rectangle Creates rectangular and square shapes Transformations A collection of tools that let you pick, move, scale, rotate, and skew your shapes Select Lets you pick a shape. Once a shape is selected, you can drag it to place it in the correct location. Scale Increases or decreases size of shape Rotate Modifies rotational angle of shape Skew Slants a shape Editing Tools A collection of tools that let you pick, edit, and connect the shapes you created Edit Shape Manipulates control points of selected shape Density Increases precision of shape during processing by adding correspondence vectors between the two shapes Shape Behaviour 1951 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Type Description Type of shape indicates how the shape correspondence between successive frames affects the FluidMotion calculation. Hint Indicates that the FluidMotion should use the shape correspondence as an initial calculation, and is allowed to fine-tune this correspondence if possible. Correction Indicates that the FluidMotion should compute the motion between the frames then correct the motion to match the shape correspondence exactly. Use this option when Constraint and Hint methods fail to produce good results. Constraint Combination of Hint and Correction. The FluidMotion computation uses the shapes as an initial calculation, computes the motion correspondence, then adjusts any areas where the shape correspondence is no longer correct. Use this option when the Hint method fails to produce good results. Activeness Lets the selected shapes be active for each pair of input frames or fields. For example, you can set the activeness of selected shapes between the previous and next input frames or fields. A shape only affects the output image on output frames or fields when the shape is active on the corresponding previous and next input frames or fields. This option lets you use a shape to correct the few frames where the problem occurs without it changing the rest of the timespan where no correction is required. Enable AutoBarrier Indicates whether the motion warp defined by the shape should be restricted to within a specified distance from the shape. AutoBarrier Radius When Enable AutoBarrier is active, this option defines the region that the shape warp affects. Any pixels between the previous and next shape positions and any within the specified radius of these pixels are affected. Previous Active 1952 Moves the position indicator to the nearest previous frame that contains an active shape. Frames without shape corrections applied are skipped. Time Effects Option Description Next Active Moves the position indicator to the next frame that contains an active shape. Frames without shape corrections applied are skipped. Options Property Page (Video Timewarp) The Options property page lets you specify if your source material is frame or field-based. Static graphics images, 30fps film, and 30fps CGI (computer generated images) are some examples of frame-based material. The Source Material options inform the effect if your source material is frame or field-based. Be sure to select the correct option depending on the type of source material you are using. The Source Material options work in tandem with the processing type options in the Processing Options dialog box. The processing type options let you specify if the animation should be processed in field or frames. Processing in fields provides smoother animation as the animation is interpolated over each field. For example, if your source material is a static logo on which you apply an animated DVE effect, you should set the Source Material options to Frame, and the Fields Processing option of the Processing Options dialog box. This will ensure the best quality of image because the entire frame will be used by the DVE to perform the interpolation, instead of a single field. Since the processing is set to Fields, the animation itself will be field-based, creating a smoother animation. 1953 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Type Auto If you select Auto, Avid DS Nitris will use the global processing setting in the sequence preferences. Frame Processing Processing, including animation, is frame-based. Both fields in each frame are processed together using the same property values. Field Processing Processing, including animation, is field-based. Odd and even fields are processed separately using different property values based on the animation. This option is better for animated effects, such as dissolves, fades, and motion paths. Source Material Frame Lets you specify if the source material is frame-based, or is the same as the Processing Type setting. Lets you indicate that the image on which an effect is applied is frame-based. If the image on which an effect is applied is a frame-based image, then select this option. n Same As Processing Still images are always frame-based. Lets you specify that the source material is the same as the Processing Type setting. This is the default option. If the image on which an effect is applied is field-based, then select this option, and make sure that the Type setting is set to Field Processing as well. Precision Choose the bit depth at which your effects will be processed. Some effects are capable of 16 and 32-bit float precision. The drop-down list shows the supported bit depths for this effect. If you select Auto, Avid DS Nitris will use the global precision setting in the sequence preferences, unless a different setting is propagated by a previous input effect. Use Same Precision for Inputs 1954 All effects that are input to this effect will use the above Precision setting if their Precision is set to Auto. Time Effects Option Output Frame Size Description Forces the effect to output pixels an image of the frame size. If the image is larger, it will be cropped. If smaller, it will be padded with black transparent pixels. For example, if you have a PAL sequence that is 720×576 and you process an image larger than the PAL frame (2000×2000), then only the pixels that fall within the PAL frame will be output from this effect. The rest will be cropped out. Deinterlacing Adaptive Deinterlacing Interpolates the moving areas of the image only Motion Thresholds Specifies how to treat static and moving areas of the image No Motion Affects static areas of the image. 0% means deinterlace (this reduces the quality of static images). 100% means no deinterlacing is performed on static areas. Fast Motion Affects moving areas of image. 0% means it will be deinterlaced. 100% means no deinterlacing is performed on moving areas. n Default Higher values remove more interfield artifacts. The effect must be rendered in order to see the changes. Resets Motion Threshold parameters to the default values 1955 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Timeline Before you can begin building a rough cut of your sequence, you need to understand the components of the timeline. The timeline is where you place and edit clips to build a sequence. It graphically displays the position of video and audio clips, container clips, transitions, and effects over time. Similar to a storyboard, the timeline lets you view clips and their position in time. You can edit a clip's in and out-points, add transitions, and apply effects. The timeline can support any number of tracks or clips. New video tracks are added to the top of the timeline, while audio tracks are added to the bottom. New background tracks are added between the video tracks and audio tracks. As you place clips on the tracks, the timeline stretches to accommodate them. You can zoom in and out on the timeline, or scroll the tracks up or down. The timeline uses a bottom-up hierarchy when playing sequences. This hierarchy lets you use the video tracks to layer effects. Depending on the Track selector settings (such as track selection, solo, and mute), the effects and video clips with full-screen alpha clips placed on top tracks are composited over the clips on the lower tracks. However, only active clips playback. n When active video clips on top tracks overlap active video clips on lower tracks, the clips on the top tracks are viewed during playback. The activeness of the clips on the lower tracks does not matter. Overview area Timeline controls Ruler Timeline ribbon Timeline effect track ripple Timeline effect track Video tracks Track selector Background track Audio track Timeline navigation bar Position Indicator 1956 Timecode boxes Timeline Use this To Timeline controls Perform operations such as zooming, global rippling, and setting locators on the timeline. Track selector Perform operations such as selecting, muting, soloing, and rippling tracks. Overview area View all the clips and tracks in a sequence. Ruler Display the timecode scale for your sequence. Timeline ribbon Place edit or reference locators. This area also displays areas of the sequence that need processing. For a description of each of the color states, see “When is Processing Needed?” in the Help. Timeline effect track Place effects on top of all other effects on the video and background tracks. The effects modify the output of all images on the tracks below. Timeline effect track ripple Activate or deactivate the Ripple mode for the timeline effect track. Video tracks Place video clips that are to be composited over clips on background tracks and lower video tracks. Background track Place video clips, graphics, and effects for your sequence. Audio tracks Place audio clips and effects for your sequence. Position indicator Display a frame in the sequence or scrub the timeline. Timeline navigation bar Perform operations such as zooming and panning the timeline, stepping into and out of containers, switch between the source and record timelines, select the Source/Record, Color Correction, Trim, or Slip/Slide modes. Timecode boxes Displays timecodes for a selected object and lets you type new values for the start, end, or duration of a selected object. 1957 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Overview Area of the Timeline The overview area provides a view of all the clips and tracks on the timeline that is currently displayed. As you add video and audio tracks to the timeline, the overview area expands vertically to display these new tracks. The clip bars in the overview area represent the clips on the audio, video, or background tracks, and their relative positions in time. n When you are in a container clip, the overview area only displays the clips within that container clip. Show/hide overview area Visible time span Process button Clip bars Use this Position indicator To Show/hide overview area Show or hide the overview area. Visible time span Display a section of the sequence on the timeline—see “Changing the Visible Time Span” in the Help. Process button Process all or a part of the sequence. Position indicator Go to a specific timecode or scrub the clips on the timeline. Clip bars Represent clips on the current timeline. Position Indicator The position indicator in the timeline marks your place in the sequence. The Record viewer displays the frame of the sequence where the position indicator is located. You can click anywhere in the timeline to relocate the position indicator, or you can drag the position indicator through footage at varying speeds. When you move the position indicator in the timeline, the smaller position indicator within the Record viewer’s position bar also moves. 1958 Timeline The position indicator determines how some of your commands are interpreted. For example, when you perform an edit, the system takes the location of the position indicator as the in-point in the absence of established marks. When you expand the timeline the position indicator splits to indicate a single frame, a solid blue line appears at the left of the frame and a dotted blue line appears at the right of the frame. Position indicator Timeline Controls The timeline controls let you perform global operations on the timeline. You can use them to zoom, ripple, or process clips on the timeline. Other controls let you quickly set locators, mark in-points and out-points, or select a region on the timeline. Zoom to Frame (single frame) Zoom In Zoom Out Main Ripple button Process button Select Marked Region Mark In/Out These are the controls available in the timeline controls: 1959 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Zoom to Frame (single frame) Zoom in on the timeline to display clips at single frames. Click this button again to zoom out to the timeline’s previous display. Zoom In Increase magnification of the timeline. Zoom Out Decrease magnification of the timeline. Ripple Activate or deactivate the Ripple mode on the entire timeline. Select marked region Select a region previously marked with in and outpoints. Mark In/Out Mark in and out-points to a selected clip or region on the timeline. Process button Open the Processing Options dialog box and select the appropriate options—see “Processing Options Dialog Box” in the Help. Ruler Menu The Ruler pop-up menu lets you set the time scale for your sequence. When working with video, you can change the time scale to display in frames, timecode drop frames, timecode non-drop frames, or audio samples. These options differ between PAL and NTSC formats. To access the Ruler menu: t 1960 On the timeline, right-click the ruler. Command Description Show Time in Top Time If you are currently within a container clip, displays the timescale of the top timeline Show Time in Parent Time If you are currently within a container clip, displays the timescale of the parent timeline Show Time in Sequence Time If you are currently in the top timeline, displays the timescale starting from 00:00:00:00 Timeline Command Description Show Time in Container Time If you are currently within a container clip, displays a timescale for this timeline starting from 00:00:00:00 Display as Frames Sets the timescale to display in frames Use Default Format xxxx: (drop frame) Uses the frame rate of the video format xxxx (NTSC/PAL/other) that you specified in the sequence preferences Use xxxx (non-drop frame) Uses the non-drop frame format of your current video format xxxx (NTSC/other) Use Audio Samples Displays the timescale in audio samples These are the different display modes available: Ruler time scale Timecode display format SMPTE NTSC drop frame 23:59:59:29 SMPTE NTSC non-drop frame 23:59:59;29 25 fps (PAL only) 23:59:59:23 Audio samples 23:59:59.47999 Frames 1234567 Timeline Ribbon The timeline ribbon displays locators, in-points, out-points, loop markers, and indicates the portions of your timeline that may require processing. Locators let you set reference points on the timeline, so that you can easily move to areas of interest. The locators can also be used to help synchronize clips. n Tip: All locators on the timeline ribbon can also be accessed from the Locators view in the Avid Explorer. 1961 Chapter 3 Editing Reference In-point Global locator Out-point Loop markers Timeline ribbon Local locator Clip locator For more information about using locators, see “Using Locators” in the Help. Track Selector Timeline effect track Ripple button Mute Solo Track button Track selector Source Track Monitor buttons Source Track buttons Track Ripple buttons Record Track buttons Record Track Monitor buttons 1962 Use this To Timeline effect track Ripple button Activate or deactivate the Ripple mode for the timeline effect track. Track selector Select or deselect tracks, mute, solo, or ripple clips on a selected track. You can also scroll and adjust the heights of tracks. Timeline Use this To Track button Select and deselect the track. Mute Turn off the sound of clips on an audio track while playing the sequence. Turn off monitoring the playback of clips on the video track while playing the sequence. When mute is enabled the Mute button changes to red indicating the track is not monitored. Background tracks do not have Mute buttons. Solo Play only the selected track(s). On audio tracks, you can solo more than one track at a time. When solo is enabled the Solo button changes to green. Track ripple Activate or deactivate the ripple mode for a track. If you require more working space on the timeline, you can hide the Track selector. Track Menu The Track pop-up menu lets you add an effect or a cache bar to a track, paste clips, delete tracks, and display the Track property editor. To access the Track menu do one of the following: t Right-click a track button. t On the timeline, right-click the upper area of a track. Command Description Paste Inserts any clips that have been copied to the Clipboard Delete Track Removes the selected track from the timeline Add Track Effect Displays the Load Preset dialog box Add Cache Adds a cache bar to the track 1963 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Command Description Add Cache and Process Adds a cache bar to the track, adds the cache bar to the Cache List view, and displays the Processing Options dialog box—see “Processing Options Dialog Box” on page 2016. Track Properties Displays the Track property editor Live Track Specifies whether or not the selected track is live. When deselected, the track is locked, and nothing can be placed on it. Track Property Editor The Track property editor lets you view and modify the properties of a track. General Property Page (Track) The General property page lets you view and modify some of the properties of a track. Option Description Name Changes name of selected track Type Lets you view type of track: video or audio Level of Detail Sets level of display detail for the selected track. Video: Displays thumbnails. There are three levels of detail at which frames can be displayed: High, Medium, and Low. Audio: Displays the waveform. High Video: Shows thumbnails at regular intervals of the ruler scale. As you zoom in closer to the timeline, you see more thumbnails per second. Audio: Displays waveform at high resolution Medium Video: Shows beginning and end thumbnails of the clip Audio: Option not available for audio clips Low Video: Shows no clip thumbnails Audio: Shows no waveform 1964 Timeline Option Description Effect Size Controls the size of the effects bar on the selected track Format (Audio only) Lets you set the type of audio. Autoname (Composite containers only) When selected, tracks adopt the name of the first clip placed on them. When deselected, lets you change the name of the track manually. Media Property Page (Track) The Media property page lets you view information about the media on a track. Option Description Number of Clips Number of clips on the track Start Timecode of in-point of the first clip on the track End Timecode of out-point of the last clip on the track Timeline Navigation Bar The timeline navigation bar, located at the bottom of the timeline and to the left of the status bar, lets you pan the timeline, zoom in and out on the timeline, step into and out of container clips, switch between the Source and Record timelines, select the Source/Record, Color Correction, Trim, or Slip/Slide modes. Color Correction Mode Source/Record Timeline Trim Mode Selection Mode Timeline scroll bar Scale bar Source/Record view Step In Step Out 1965 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Source/Record Timeline Switch between the Source and Record timeline. When using the Tape Tool, switches between the Record timeline and the Source timeline that’s displayed in the Tape Tool—see Tape Tool. Right-click to access the Auto command for automatically switching between the Source and Record timelines. Source/Record view Switch from Trim or Slip/Slide mode to Source/Record mode Trim Mode Open the Trim or Slip/Slide mode, depending on what you selected on the timeline—see “Entering and Exiting Trim Mode” and “Entering Slip/Slide Mode” in the Help. Trim Mode menu Automatically switch to the Trim or Slip/Slide modes. • Switch for Edits: Displays the Trim mode when you select an edit point and the Autoswitch command is selected. • Switch for Clips: Displays the Slip/Slide mode when you select a clip and the Autoswitch command is selected. • Autoswitch: With the Switch for Edits command selected, switches to Trim mode when you select an edit point. If the Switch for Clips command is selected, switches to Slip/Slide mode when you select a clip. Color Correction Mode Open Color Correction mode—see “Color Correction in Avid DS Nitris” in the Help. Selection Mode (Selected) You can select objects on the timeline using the mouse. The position indicator does not move when you select objects on the timeline. (Deselected) You can only select objects by using the buttons in the layout and keyboard shortcuts, and by lassoing (clips/edit points). The position indicator moves to where you click the timeline. By default, Selection mode is off. Step In Open the selected container clip at the position indicator Step Out Close the current container clip and return to the timeline of the parent clip Scale bar Zoom in and out around the position indicator on the timeline Timeline scroll bar Pan back and forth along the timeline 1966 Timeline Timecode Boxes (Timeline Status Bar) The timecode boxes on the status bar display timecodes for a selected object on the timeline. You can also use the timecode boxes to type new values for the start, end, or duration of a selected object. Start End Duration Position indicator In Out Duration Use this To Timeline Display a selected object’s sequence timecodes. You can view or modify an object’s start, end, or duration on the timeline. Clip Display a selected clip’s source timecodes. You can view the source timecode at the beginning or end of a clip. You can also type the new source timecode for the in or out-point of a clip. Start View or modify the start time of a clip, activeness bar, effect bar, region, transition, or edit point. End View or modify the end point of a clip, activeness bar, effect bar, region, transition, or edit point. Duration View or modify the duration of a clip, activeness bar, effect bar, region, transition, or edit point. Position indicator View or modify the location of the position indicator. In View the timecode at the position of the in-point. You can also move the in-point to this timecode. Out View the timecode at the position of the out-point. You can also move the out-point to this timecode. Duration View or modify the duration between in and out-points. Effect Menu The Effect pop-up menu lets you delete an effect, rearrange effects, and display the property editor of an effect. 1967 Chapter 3 Editing Reference n You can map the commands for rearrange effects to a toolbar, see “Using the Toolbars” in the Help. To access the Effect menu: t 1968 On the timeline, right-click an effect bar. Command Description Delete Effect Deletes the selected effect Effects to Tree Converts the selected effect(s) to an Effects Tree effect Bring to Top Moves the selected effect to the top of the stack Raise Moves the selected effect up one position in the stack Lower Moves the selected effect down one position in the stack Push to Bottom Moves the selected effect to the bottom of the stack Lock in Time Locks the effect at the current timecode Process Lets you specify the objects you want to process. Processing computes any effect, transition, layer, composite, or container clip in your sequence, so that it can be viewed in real time during playback. The results of the processing is stored in a new media file (cache) so that your source media remains unaltered. Purge Selected Purges only the cache media associated with the selected cache node Purge Below Purges any unnecessary cache media that lies below the cache bar, while keeping the cache bar real-time playable. This option is useful if you processed your effects using the Complete option and no longer need the caches at each level any more. Purge Purges the cache media associated with the cache bar as well as any cache media that lies below it Effect Properties Opens the selected effect’s property editor Bypass Bypasses the selected effect Open Viewer Displays the output of the selected effect in a floating viewer Timeline Timeline Effect Menu The Timeline Effect pop-up menu lets you add an effect or a cache bar to a timeline. To access the Timeline Effect menu: t On the timeline, right-click the timeline effect track. Command Description Add Timeline Effect Displays the Load Preset dialog box Add Cache Adds a cache bar to the timeline Add Cache and Process Adds a cache bar to the timeline, adds the cache bar to the Cache List view, and displays the Processing Options dialog box—see “Processing Options Dialog Box” on page 2016. Timeline Menu The Timeline pop-up menu lets you insert tracks, add and delete locators, trim the timeline and set display options. You can also display the timeline’s property editor. To access the Timeline menu: t Right-click the overview area of the timeline. Command Description Create Video Track Adds a video track to the timeline Create Background Track Adds a background track to the timeline. Create Audio Track n Adds an audio track to the timeline. n Mono This command is not available in the video, audio, or composite container clip. This command is not available in non-audio container clips (video, composite). Add a track with a single channel of audio 1969 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Command Description Stereo Add a track with two audio channels: Left and Right 4 Streams Add a track with four audio channels: Outputs 1 to 4 LCRS Add a track with four audio channels: Left, Center, Right, Surround Quadraphonic Add a track with four audio channels: Left, Right, Left rear, Right rear 5.1 Add a track with six audio channels: Left, Right, Center, Low Frequency Emitter, Left surround, Right surround 6.1 Add a track with seven audio channels: Left, Right, Center, Low Frequency Emitter, Surround Center, Side Left, Side Right 7.1 Add a track with eight audio channels: Left, Right, Center, Low Frequency Emitter, Left surround, Right surround, Left center, Right center 8 Streams Add a track with eight audio channels: Outputs 1 to 8 Add Locator at Playback Adds a colored locator at the playback position. Local Position locators are visible only on the current timeline. Add Global Locator at Playback Position Adds a colored global locator at the playback position. Global locators are visible on the current timeline and within any container clips. Delete All Locators Deletes all locators on the timeline Loop on Active Media Loops playback for all active media Trim Timeline to Media Resets the zoom to frame media on timeline, changing the start time to match the first clip Display Display Control Area Toggles the display of the timeline controls and track control areas Display Unused Material Toggles the display of unused material on the timeline Composite Properties 1970 Controls the display of the timeline controls, track control areas, and unused material on the timeline Opens the Composite property editor Timeline Command Description Matte Properties Opens the Matte property editor Timeline Properties Opens the Timeline property editor Open Viewer Displays the output of the timeline at the position indicator in a floating viewer—see “Opening a Floating Viewer” on page 925. Output Opens the Output Tool—see “Output Tool” in the Help. Timeline Property Editor The Timeline property page lists the types of tracks and the number of tracks and clips that are currently on the timeline. Option Description Type of Track Background Specifies number of background tracks and number of clips on those tracks Audio Specifies number of audio tracks and number of clips on those tracks Video Specifies number of video tracks and number of clips on those tracks Enable/Disable Locator Lets you turn on/off the display of locators by color Timeline Effect Size Controls the size of the timeline effect bars on the timeline effect track. 1971 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Timeline to MC This function allows you to quickly generate an AAF and MXF file of a timeline selection that can be later imported directly into Avid Media Composer. To access the Timeline to MC dialog box: 1. To export a sequence, you need to make sure that the entire timeline (from top to bottom) is selected. This way corresponding audio tracks, as well as timeline and track effects, are also included. Make a timespan selection on the timeline effect track. (This is the topmost track on the timeline, named FX.) 2. From the NLE Tools toolbar, select Generate > Timeline to MC. n You must have your MXF storage correctly configured to access this option—see “Configuring Storages for MXF Files”. Option Description Track Types Lets you specify the material to be included in the new clip. Include Video Includes material from video tracks in the new clip. Include Backgrounds Includes material from background tracks in the new clip. Include Audio Timeline Options These options do not apply to the Timeline to MC function. Replace Selection Not available. Create one Clip Not available. Options 1972 Includes material from audio tracks in the new clip. Timeline to MC Option Type Description Lets you select the detail level of processing. Clips can be processed by frames or fields, depending on the type of effect you want to process. Use frame-based processing for effects that are applied to individual pixels. Use fieldbased processing for motion paths (animated movements) because it produces smoother motion. Frame Processing All processing, including animation, is frame-based. This option processes the entire frame (both fields together) and should be used with frame-based material. This is faster than field-based processing, but gives lower quality results. n Field Processing Precision You can attain good processing results for effects applied to pixels, such as blur and color correction. All processing, including animation, is field-based. This option processes odd and even fields separately. This is slower than frame-based processing, but gives higherquality results. Use field-based processing for animated effects, such as dissolves, fades, and motion paths. Choose the bit depth at which your effects will be processed. Some effects are capable of up to 32-bit precision. Those that are not capable of the precision level that you set, will be processed at the bit depth at which they were captured. Dither when creating Adds dithering (at each cache level) before converting video caches of lower processed images to a lower bit depth. e.g. when you set precision the precision at 16-bit but the media was captured at 10bit. n Storage Settings When outputting images processed in real-time, the dithering will be done only once at the very last level. Specifies the working video resolution and whether the sequence uses uncompressed or compressed material. You can change these settings at any time to switch between available qualities. settings affect only the working resolution c These and what is shown while you work. They have no effect on the capture resolution. 1973 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Resolution Description Sets the working resolution; Full, Half, or Quarter. This controls the default resolution at which your media is processed (for example, for effects, transitions, layers, etc.) and also affects how media is displayed in the viewer. To speed up processing time, use a low resolution setting. n The Nitris DNA workstation only supports Full resolution. Color Space Determines how the color components of the video signal are stored on disk. There are two formats available depending on your video format and resolution: YCbCr 4:2:2 and RGB 4:4:4. Bit-Depth Sets the bit depth at which the video media files will be stored on disk. The bit depth choices depend on your hardware, and your resolution and color space settings. Location Lets you specify the project file location and media storage. Directory Specifies the destination directory of the clip(s) that you are exporting from the timeline. ... (browse) Allows you to browse for a folder. Filename Specifies the name of the clip that you are exporting from the timeline. AAF Export Specifies the destination directory for the AAF file. The AAF file contains all the metadata for the selected clip(s) on your timeline. During export of the timeline, the corresponding MXF media is also generated. When the AAF file is imported into Avid Media Composer, the clips can be relinked to the MXF media. 1974 Video Storage Specifies a destination storage device for the processed video media (cache). You can choose from a list of designated video storage devices. The storage devices are specified via the Media Storage Configuration tool. Time Available Displays the time remaining on the storage device for processing and saving video cache files with the specified resolution. Timeline to Clip Dialog Box Option Description Audio Storage Specifies a destination storage device for the processed audio media (cache). You can choose from a list of designated audio storage devices. The storage devices are specified via the Media Storage Configuration tool. Time Available Displays the time remaining on the storage device for processing and saving audio cache files. Timeline to Clip Dialog Box The Timeline to Clip dialog box lets you save the selected portion of the timeline as a new clip. You can save the clip with or without audio, video, or background tracks. You can also use the new clip to replace material on the selected portion of the timeline. To access the Timeline to Clip dialog box: 1. Select a portion of the timeline. n If you want to include all objects on the timeline, you need to make sure that the entire timeline (from top to bottom) is selected. This way corresponding audio tracks, as well as timeline and track effects, are also included. To do this, make a timespan selection on the timeline effect track. (This is the topmost track on the timeline, named FX.) 2. From the NLE Tools toolbar, select Generate > Timeline to Clip. Option Description Track Types Lets you specify the material to be included in the new clip Include Video Includes material from video tracks in the new clip Include Backgrounds Includes material from background tracks in the new clip Include Audio Timeline Options Includes material from audio tracks in the new clip Lets you specify whether or not the new clip will be included in the timeline, and if so, how it will be included 1975 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Replace Selection Replaces all of the material on the selected portion of the timeline with a single new clip Create one Clip Saves material from multiple clips or tracks as a single new clip Options Type Lets you select the detail level of processing. Clips can be processed by frames or fields, depending on the type of effect you want to process. Use frame-based processing for effects that are applied to individual pixels. Use fieldbased processing for motion paths (animated movements) because it produces smoother motion. Frame Processing All processing, including animation, is frame-based. This option processes the entire frame (both fields together) and should be used with frame-based material. This is faster than field-based processing, but gives lower quality results. n Field Processing Precision You can attain good processing results for effects applied to pixels, such as blur and color correction. All processing, including animation, is field-based. This option processes odd and even fields separately. This is slower than frame-based processing, but gives higherquality results. Use field-based processing for animated effects, such as dissolves, fades, and motion paths. Choose the bit depth at which your effects will be processed. Some effects are capable of up to 32-bit precision. Those that are not capable of the precision level that you set, will be processed at the bit depth at which they were captured. Dither when creating Adds dithering (at each cache level) before converting video caches of lower processed images to a lower bit depth. e.g. when you set precision the precision at 16-bit but the media was captured at 10bit. n 1976 When outputting images processed in real-time, the dithering will be done only once at the very last level (top level?) Timeline to Clip Dialog Box Option Description Storage Settings Specifies the working video resolution and whether the sequence uses uncompressed or compressed material. You can change these settings at any time to switch between available qualities. settings affect only the working resolution c These and what is shown while you work. They have no effect on the capture resolution. Resolution Sets the working resolution; Full, Half, or Quarter. This controls the default resolution at which your media is processed (for example, for effects, transitions, layers, etc.) and also affects how media is displayed in the viewer. To speed up processing time, use a low resolution setting. n The Nitris DNA workstation only supports Full resolution. Color Space Determines how the color components of the video signal are stored on disk. There are two formats available depending on your video format and resolution: YCbCr 4:2:2 and RGB 4:4:4. Bit-Depth Sets the bit depth at which the video media files will be stored on disk. The bit depth choices depend on your hardware, and your resolution and color space settings. Location Lets you specify the location and available disk space of your media storage Directory Specifies the destination directory of the clip that you are exporting from the timeline ... (browse) Displays the Timeline to Clip Destination dialog box Filename Specifies the name of the clip that you are exporting from the timeline Video Storage Specifies a destination storage device for the processed video media (cache). You can choose from a list of designated video storage devices. The storage devices are specified when you set up your workgroup environment. Time Available Displays the time remaining on the storage device for processing and saving video cache files with the specified resolution 1977 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Audio Storage Specifies a destination storage device for the processed audio media (cache). You can choose from a list of designated audio storage devices. The storage devices are specified when you set up your workgroup environment. Time Available Displays the time remaining on the storage device for processing and saving audio cache files Transport Controls The transport controls let you mark in/out-points and locators on the source clip, timeline, or source material. You can also: • Control the playback of a sequence on the timeline or a tape in the VTR • Remote-control external devices, such as VTRs, so that you can play, capture, and record material Record controls Source controls Mark In-point Create Subclip Frame Backward Frame Forward Update Thumbnail Insert Clip Position bar Go to End Position indicator Mark Out-point Mark In/Out Add Edit Lift Go to Start Match Bin Match Frame 10 Frames Backward Go to In 10 Frames Forward Play from In to Out Go to Out Timecode box Clear In/Out Replace Clip Overwrite Clip Fit to Fill Play/Stop Loop Extract Insert Locator Insert Global Locator Sync Point Editing The controls under the Source viewer let you edit the in and out-points of a source clip before placing it on the timeline. While working with the Source viewer and timeline, you can perform tasks, such as overwriting, inserting, and replacing clips on the timeline, and fit-to-fill. The controls under the Record viewer provide similar capabilities for marking in and out-points on the timeline or an external device. 1978 Transport Controls Use this To Source controls Manipulate in and out-points, insert locators, move the position indicator to various frames, and perform a Match Bin and Match Frame in the Source viewer. Record controls Manipulate in and out-points, insert locators, move the position indicator to various frames, and perform an Add Edit, Lift, and Extract in the Record viewer. Position bar Display the position indicator and locators, and manipulate in and out-points in both viewers. The Position bar can also display timecode and tick marks. Position indicator Show your position in a sequence. Go to Start Go to the first frame of the sequence. Go to End Go to the last frame of the sequence. Frame Backward Move one frame backward. Frame Forward Move one frame forward. Mark In Set an in-point on the timeline. When capturing or outputting material, this sets the in-point on the external device. Play/Stop Play/stop the sequence or tape. During playback, this button turns amber when video and/or audio frames are skipped during playback. The tooltip indicates the number of skipped frames/seconds. Mark Out Set an out-point on the timeline. When capturing or outputting material, this sets the out-point on the external device. Mark In/Out Set in and out-points on the selected clip. Clear In and Out Remove the in and out-points. Insert Locator Add a locator at the position indicator. Right-click this button to select a color. Insert Global Locator Add a global locator at the position indicator. Right-click this button to select a color. 1979 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Update Thumbnail The clip's thumbnail updates to show the frame on which the position indicator is currently placed—see“Changing the Frame in Thumbnail and Script View” in the Help. Create Subclip Create a new source clip in a bin from the clip currently in the Source viewer, using any new in or out-point settings—see “Creating Subclips” in the Help. Insert Clip Insert the source clip on the selected track as specified by the in, out, or duration timecodes. All clips after the insertion point are rippled for tracks that have the Ripple mode activated. Overwrite Clip Place the source clip on the selected track according to the in, out, or duration timecodes. Activeness is applied to the new clip on the timeline, effectively deleting the existing clip(s). No clips are rippled. 1980 Replace Clip Replace the selected clip on the timeline with the source clip. If the source clip does not have the same duration as the selected clip, then subsequent clips on the timeline are rippled for tracks that have the Ripple mode activated. Sync Point Editing Creates a sync point between the frame at the Source position indicator and the frame at the Record position indicator—see “Placing Clips on the Timeline Using Sync Point Editing” in the Help. Add Edit Place an artificial edit point between frames of a clip. Lift Remove marked material from the timeline and leave a gap in its place. Extract Remove marked material from the timeline and ripple the timeline to close the gap. Match Bin Find the bin to which the selected clip on the timeline or viewer belongs and display it in the Avid Explorer. Load the selected clip in the Source viewer and Source timeline. Match Frame Find the master clip or subclip that corresponds to the selected clip on the timeline and load it in the Source viewer and Source timeline. Transport Controls Use this To Reverse Match Frame Locates the frames in a sequence that match the frame selected in the Source viewer. 10 Frames Backward Move ten frames backward. 10 Frames Forward Move ten frames forward. Go to In Go to the in-point. Play From In to Out Play the sequence from the in-point to the out-point. Go to Out Go to the out-point. Fit to Fill Fit the source clip to the region specified on the timeline. If the clip duration is different, a timewarp is applied to the clip to make it fit within the selected region. Loop Turn the loop mode on or off. The Loop mode is automatically enabled when previewing from a property editor and when in the Trim or Slip/Slide modes. You can also loop/play around a selected object (clips, effects, edit points, and regions) on the timeline by pressing the Play button. Timecode box Go to a particular timecode on the Source and Record viewer or external device. n Press Tab to move to the next timecode box. Shuttle slider When you open the Capture Tool or Output view, a shuttle slider is displayed in placed of the position bar above the transport controls. The shuttle slider lets you control a deck during the capture or output process. Position Bar Menu The Position Bar pop-up menu lets you display locators, timecode, animation keys, and tick marks in the position bar below the Source and Record viewers. 1981 Chapter 3 Editing Reference To access the position bar menu: t Right-click the position bar. Command Description Show Animation Keys (Record viewer only) Displays animation keys of the selected clip. Show Locators Displays locators in the position bar Show Ticks Displays tick marks in the position bar. Tick marks are indication of time represented in the position bar. Show Timecode Displays timecode in the position bar Zoom to Selection (Record viewer only) Rescales the position bar to the object selected on the timeline. Timecode Boxes (Transport Controls) The timecode boxes on the transport controls display timecodes in the Source and Record viewers. By typing values for the in, out, and duration, you can quickly move the position indicator to various points in the sequence. The timecode boxes in the transport controls let you type a timecode and display the specified frame in a viewer. To go to a specific timecode: t Click in a timecode box, type a new timecode and press the button on the left of the box or press Enter. In the timeline and position bar, the position indicator moves to the timecode you specified. To change the display of a timecode box: t Right-click the button on the left side of a timecode box and select an option. To move to the next timecode box: t 1982 With the cursor in a timecode box, press Tab. Transport Controls Timecode Menu The Timecode pop-up menu lets you view and jump to timecode for clips displayed in the Source and Record viewers, as well as access the Customize Toolbars window. To access the Timecode menu: t In the toolbar, right-click the button on the left side of a timecode box. Option Description In Displays the timecode of the in-point Out Displays the timecode of the out-point In/Out Duration Displays the duration between the in and out-point Position Indicator Displays the timecode of the position indicator Locate Lets you type a timecode and move the position indicator to that timecode Loop In Displays the timecode of the Loop In marker Loop Out Displays the timecode of the Loop Out marker Loop Duration Displays the duration between the Loop In and Out markers Start of Selection Displays the start timecode of a clip, activeness bar, effect bar, region selection, transition, or edit point End of Selection Displays the end timecode of a clip, activeness bar, effect bar, region selection, transition, or edit point Duration of Selection Displays the duration between the start and end of the selection Start of Selection (Clip Time) Displays the start timecode of a source clip, activeness bar, or effect bar End of Selection (Clip Time) Displays the end timecode of a source clip, activeness bar, or effect bar Position Indicator (Clip Time) Displays the timecode of the position indicator in a source clip 1983 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Sequence Duration (Read-Only) Displays the duration of the sequence Remaining Duration (Read- Displays the duration that remains between the position Only) indicator and end of sequence XLR LTC Timecode (Avid Nitris DNA only) Displays the LTC (longitudinal timecode) of the signal from the LTC IN connection (XLR). If there is no timecode at the LTC input, then --:--:--:-- is displayed. Customizing the Transport Controls You can customize the transport controls by adding your favorite commands to them, as well as removing the ones you use infrequently. To add or replace a button on the transport controls: 1. Do one of the following in the transport controls: t Right-click an empty area and select Customize Toolbars to add a button. t Right-click an existing button and select Customize Toolbars to replace the button. The Customize Toolbars window opens. 2. From the Command Categories list, select a category. 3. From the Available Commands list, select a tool and drag it to a toolbar. A button is added to the transport controls. To remove a button from the transport controls: t Right-click a button and select Remove Item From Toolbar. Trim Mode Controls The Trim mode lets you precisely trim the incoming and outgoing frames at the selected edit point of clips on the timeline. You can adjust frames at an edit point by typing new in and out times or by using the trim buttons to move the frames incrementally. 1984 Trim Mode Controls Outgoing frame Incoming frame Transition buttons Transport controls Trim Nudge buttons Frame Offset Counters Transition Alignment Transition Duration Timecode box Use this To Outgoing Frame view Select the out-point of a clip for trimming. This view displays the frame at the out-point. Incoming Frame view Select the in-point of a clip for trimming. This view displays the frame at the in-point. Frame Offset counters View or set the number of frames to be trimmed. It shows the number of frames currently trimmed for the specified clip/edit point. This number can be changed by typing a new value. Trim Nudge buttons Trim the selected clip or edit point by one or ten frames. < or > Trim the selected clip or edit point one frame forward or backward. << or >> Trim the selected clip or edit point ten frames forward or backward. Previous Edit Next Edit Move to the previous or next edit point in the sequence. This updates the Outgoing and Incoming views and timecodes, and resets the offset value. 1985 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Play Preview Play the transition area with the pre-roll and post-roll frames in Loop mode. Dissolve/Crossfade Wipe Add a transition effect to the selected edit point. Transition Alignment Align the selected transition, either left, center, right of the edit point. See “Trimming Transition Effects” in the Help. Transition Duration Timecode box View and change the number of frames in the selected dissolve/crossfade or wipe transition. Transition Duration is not available if no transition effect is selected. Video Effects The video effects let you create effects on video clips on the timeline. Fade Property Editor (Video Effect) The Fade effect lets you fade in a clip, making it gradually more visible, or fade out a clip, making it gradually disappear. You can also specify the color from which the image fades in and out. You can set keyframes to specify the rate and duration of the fade. For example, you can apply a fade-out effect to a clip by animating the Fade Amount from 100 at a given frame to 0 at the last frame. The frames between the first and last frames gradually fade to black (or the selected color). To define a complicated fade profile, you must add keyframes to the function curve to attain the desired results. Timing Property Page (Fade) The Timing property page lets you control the timing (rate and duration) of the fade. The horizontal (X axis) represents the SMPTE timecode. The vertical (Y axis) indicates the amount of the mix. By modifying the slope of the curve you control the timing and percentage of the mix. 1986 Video Effects Option Description X axis Represents the SMPTE timecode Y axis Represents proportion (in percentage) of clip in mix. Values: 0 (no original clip) to 100 (full original clip). Curve Use curve to define how the mix varies in your fade. Move the key points up to increase the proportion of the original clip, and down to decrease it. You can add or remove key points to vary the mix. n To change the curve type from Bézier to constant or linear, rightclick the Animation Key button and select it from the menu. Position indicator Moves red position indicator across graph to view result of the fade in different parts of the clip. The position indicator in the animation graph matches that of the timeline. Amount Represents proportion of original clip in mix at a given time (value of the Y axis). Move the position indicator to view the value at a specific frame. Warp Property Editor The Warp effect lets you transform an image or part of an image from one shape to another over time. You can warp still or moving images. Shapes Property Page (Warp) The Shapes property page lets you create, edit, and join shapes that define the part(s) of the image that you want to deform. Option Description Shape Creation Tools that let you create different kinds of open or closed shapes, which define the source and target areas of the image that you want to warp. Freehand Creates open or closed free form shapes, and simulates the feeling of drawing with a pencil on paper Polyline Creates straight lines, Bézier curves, or a combination of the two 1987 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Ellipse Creates oval and circular shapes Rectangle Creates rectangular and square shapes Apply Turns Warp effect on or off Show Shapes Shows or hides shapes in viewer Transformations Tools for picking, moving, scaling, rotating, and skewing shapes Select Lets you pick a shape. Once a shape is selected, you can drag it to place it in the correct location. Scale Increases or decreases the size of the shape Rotate Modifies the rotational angle of the shape Skew Slants a shape Editing Tools Tools for picking, editing, and connecting shapes you created Join Connect shapes together creating a relationship between them Copy and Join Copies an existing shape and connects the two shapes together in one step Edit Shape Manipulates control points of selected shape Correspondence Modifies points on curves so you can match key features on source shape with those on target shape Density Increases precision of shape during processing by adding correspondence vectors between the two shapes Shape Interpolation Amount Determines amount by which source shape has transformed or warped into target shape Render Property Page (Warp) The Render property page lets you modify the quality of the warp images and the time it takes to process the effect. 1988 Video Effects Option Description Edge Mode Determines method by which Avid DS Nitris interprets shapes you created. Depending on option you choose, outer edges and area outside closed shapes are handled differently. Fixed Fixes borders of the image in place. Can cause some ripping or shearing of the image near the borders. Sliding Lets borders of an image slide or move with the rest of the warped image to avoid shearing of the image near the borders Cookie Cutter Lets you keep everything that falls within your closed shapes and removes everything else. Useful for creating mattes. n This option cannot be used with open-ended shapes. Warp Precision Governs mathematical precision of warp effect. The option you choose directly affects quality of the processed images and time required for processing. Linear Results in low-quality images. This option operates the fastest, uses the least amount of memory, and is very useful for quick tests. Low Results in reasonable-quality images with slightly longer processing times than Linear option Medium Results in good-quality images with slightly longer processing times than Low option High Results in professional-quality images with reasonable processing times Very High Results in very smooth transitions between shapes, but processing time is long. Use this option only if the High setting does not produce satisfactory results. Super High Results in extremely smooth transitions between shapes, but processing time is extremely long. This option is not recommended unless you require the highest-quality image. 1989 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Interpolation Determines how the actual pixels of the warped object are calculated. This option impacts quality and processing time. None Results in marginal image quality, but processing time is very fast Bilinear Results in better image quality than the None option, but processing time is slower Scaling Results in least amount of degradation when the target shape is scaled down by more than 50% of the source shape. This option takes the longest time to process. Antialiasing Determines whether edges of the warped image are smooth or jagged. When this option is selected, edges are smoother, but processing time increases. Soften Edges Determines how edges of the warped image blend into the rest of the image. When this option is selected, the transition between the edge of the warped image and rest of the image is smoother. Viewers There are several tools available for the viewers. Source and Record Viewers The Source and Record viewers have their own set of transport controls for marking in and out-points, and editing source clips, timeline clips, or material on an external device. During a graphics session, the viewer serves as an area to create and arrange graphics for your images. You can also open separate, floating viewers to view each of your effects as you work on them. 1990 Viewers The Record viewer displays the output of your sequence at the location of the position indicator on the timeline. When capturing clips from an external device, the viewer displays the material you are viewing. Source viewer Record viewer Viewer tools Transport controls These are the main elements of the viewers: Use this To Viewer tools Access commands that change the display of the viewer, create subclips, view the name of the source sequence and list of most recently used source sequences. Source viewer View the source clip or sequence. Record viewer View the clips in your sequence or the material on your external device. Transport controls Locate, mark, and edit the in and out-points on the source clip, timeline, or source material. Play the source clip or the material on the timeline or external device. 1991 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Viewer Tools The tools above the Source and Record viewers let you view clips and sequences on the timeline, create subclips, display the RGB or alpha channels, switch between the viewers, change the resolution and fields, and view a list of the most recently used clips and sequences. Resolution Reconnect Viewer List of recently used items RT Proxy Single/Dual Viewer 1992 RGB Fields Sequence Alpha Use this To Recently used items View a list of the most recently used video and audio clips and sequences. RT Proxy For film resolutions, switches the display to a lower resolution, so you can play back effects in real time. You can convert back to the native resolution when editing and compositing are complete. The RT Proxy button is located above the viewers. Resolution Display the image at full, half, or quarter resolution. Standard frame sizes are set to 320×240 for half resolution and 160×120 for quarter resolution. This differs if you’re using a special frame size. Reconnect Viewer View the output of individual effects, container clips, or the whole timeline. This is useful when you want to display the full results of a composite in the Record viewer, and view one element at a time in a another viewer. Single/Dual Viewer Switch the selected viewer between single and dual viewer mode—see Switching Viewers“Switching Viewers” in the Help. Fields Display field 1 only, field 2 only, or both fields. RGB Displays or removes the image’s red, green, or blue channel—see “Viewing Image Components” in the Help. Viewers Use this To Alpha Display the alpha channel, on top of the image, at varying percentages of opacity—see “Viewing Image Components” in the Help. Sequence View the name of the current sequence on the Record timeline. Viewer Menu The Viewer pop-up menu lets you control all aspects of the viewers. To access the Viewer menu: t Right-click a viewer. Command Description Reset Pan & Zoom Resets the image display in the viewer to the default setting Zoom Controls the size of the image in the viewer. You can rescale the image from 25% to 800%. n Square Pixels You are affecting only the view of the image, not its actual size Turns the display of square pixels on or off. Since the ITUR 601 standard specifies a higher horizontal than vertical resolution (or a 0.9 ratio), the image appears stretched horizontally when displayed on a computer monitor (which has square pixels). When selected, this command displays the image in square pixels as it would appear on a computer monitor. When deselected, this command displays the image in non-square pixels as it would appear on a video monitor. By default, this command is set to square pixels. n An icon that resembles an exclamation mark (!) is displayed in the bottom-right corner of the viewer when the viewer scales the image in a way that may introduce unwanted artifacts in the image. This warns you when the correspondence between the source and display pixels is not 1:1. 1993 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Command Description Safe Action/Title Displays the borders of the safe action/title area. All graphics or text that falls within the safe action/title area will be visible on any broadcasting system. Display Grid Turns the display of the grid on or off Snap to Grid Snaps graphics objects in the viewer to the intersection of the X and Y grid lines Display Guidelines Turns display of guidelines on or off Clear All Guidelines Deletes all guidelines from the viewer Comparison Buffer Controls the comparison buffer and image grabber tools Use Compare Buffer Lets you take a snapshot of all or part of the current frame and compare it with another frame in the sequence. The image is temporarily stored in the comparison buffer while you need to use it. To exit this mode, deselect the Use Compare Buffer option from the menu. Grab Saves the image currently displayed in the viewer to the comparison buffer. The buffered image can be cropped and positioned anywhere in the viewer. To manipulate the image: Reset Crop • Drag the white lines around the image to resize it. • Drag the image to reposition it in the viewer. When you drag any portion of the image outside of the viewer, the image is cropped to the limits of the bounding box. • Press Shift and drag to move the image. • Press Ctrl and drag to slide the image inside the bounding box. • Press Alt and double-click the viewer to reset the image crop and position. Displays the entire buffered image in the viewer. To reset the image crop and position, press Alt and doubleclick. Reset Pan Resets the position of the buffered image in the viewer. To reset the image position, press Alt and click. 1994 Viewers Command Description Onion Skin Blends the current frame with preceding and successive frames at a specified ratio. Auto-Pan Automatically pans the viewer when using these interactive tools: graphics/paint tools, Shape tool in the Matte and Keyer effects, DVE tool, and Tracker tool. Auto-Zoom Automatically zooms the viewer when using these interactive tools: graphics/paint tools, Shape tool in the Matte and Keyer effects, DVE tool, and Tracker tool. Red Component Displays only the image’s red channel Green Component Displays only the image’s green channel Blue Component Displays only the image’s blue channel Alpha Component Turns the image’s alpha channel on or off 25%, 50%, 75%,100% Displays the alpha channel in red, on top of the image, at different levels of intensity Matte Displays only the image’s alpha component Viewer Properties Displays the Viewer property editor Toolbars Turns the display of the following on or off: viewer tools, position bar, transport controls, and timecode boxes. Turning Off Interactive Tools By turning off the current interactive tool in the viewer, you can safeguard the position of objects in the viewer, so you don’t accidently move them. The Disable Interactive Tool command is available from the Customize Toolbar window. You will need to add this command to a toolbar in order to use it. To add the Disable Interactive Tools command to a toolbar: 1. Right-click the toolbar on which you want to add the Disable Interactive Tools command. 2. Select Customize Toolbars from the menu. 1995 Chapter 3 Editing Reference 3. In the Available Commands list, select Disable Interactive Tools (Viewer) and drag it to the toolbar. To turn off interactive tools: t Click the Disable Interactive Tools button. Interactive tools are off until you turn them back on. A red lock icon appears beside the pointer when you are in the viewer. Reconnect Viewer Menu The Reconnect Viewer pop-up menu provides a list of preset connection points for displaying images in the viewer. You can also select an object of your choice to display in the viewer. n If the Reconnect Viewer button is not selected, you can still choose options from the pop-up menu, but they will not have any effect until you select the button. To access the Reconnect Viewer pop-up menu: t Right-click the Reconnect Viewer button. By default the Reconnect Viewer button appears on the top toolbar of a floating viewer. 1996 Option Description Top Timeline Displays the output of topmost level of the timeline Parent Timeline Displays the parent timeline output Current Timeline Displays the output of the current visible timeline Current Selection Lets you select an object in the timeline or from a node in the Effects Tree to display in the viewer. The display changes when you select another object. Lock Selection Continues to display the object selected at the time this option is set Viewers Configure Viewer Display Menu By default, the viewer in the Effects layout displays images from three adjacent clips on the timeline. The Current monitor displays the clip that the position indicator is on in the timeline. To configure the display in a viewer: t Click the monitor’s Source menu and choose from the drop-down menu. Option Description Current Displays the current clip. If you have more than one track, the current clip is the selected one. If you have not selected a clip, the viewer will display the clip on the topmost layer. Next Displays the clip immediately after the current clip. Previous Displays the clip immediately before the current clip. Second Next Displays the clip two clips after the current clip. Second Previous Displays the clip two clips before the current clip. Reference Locks the current frame, where the position indicator is on, in the monitor. When the other monitors update as you navigate, this frame continues to display as a reference. This is useful if you want to use a specific place in your sequence as a reference against which to compare all other shots, for example, a shot that contains optimal skin tones. Empty Displays no image (black). 1997 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Creating Media Archive Dialog Box The Creating Media Archive dialog box lets you choose a device to which the media is archived and set an in-point on the tape at which the media will begin. The dialog box also displays the archive tape name, as well as archive statistics, such as archive tape length and archive log location. Use this To Archive tape options Choose a device and in-point for the archive. Device Select the device to which the media is archived. In point Set an in-point at which the media begins archiving the media to tape. Archive Tape Name Display the name of the tape on which the media is archived. The tape is automatically assigned the same name as the archive. Archive Statistics Required tape length Display the minimum tape length in minutes and seconds required to archive the media. Number of passes Display the number of passes required to archive the media to tape. Archive log location Display the location on the network where the archive log is saved. Transport Control 1998 View information about the archive. The transport controls let you remote-control external devices, such as VTRs, so that you can cue up the tape before archiving the media. Shuttle Slider Lets you jog or shuttle forward or backward on the tape Frame Forward Lets you move ahead one frame Frame Backward Lets you move back one frame Rewind Lets you rewind the tape quickly Play/Stop Lets you play or stop the tape New Project Dialog Box Use this Fast Forward To Lets you fast forward through the tape Servo Lock Specifies if the deck has reached servo lock state. When Servo Lock is enabled, it turns green, otherwise it is dimmed. If this option does not turn green during capture or output pre-roll, you must increase the pre-roll time. Remote Specifies if the external device is in Remote mode. When Remote is enabled, it turns green, otherwise it is dimmed. Media Inserted Specifies if a tape is inserted in the external device. When a tape is inserted, it turns green, otherwise it is dimmed. Record Inhibit Specifies if the Record Inhibit tab is enabled on the tape. When Record Inhibit is enabled, it turns red, otherwise it is dimmed. VTR Reference Specifies if the external device receives proper video reference or external sync. When the external device is receiving proper video reference or sync, it turns green, otherwise it is red. Continue Accept the settings and archive the media to tape. Cancel Cancel the media archive. Check Machine Re-establishes the remote connection and verifies that the external device is communicating properly with your workstation. New Project Dialog Box The New Project dialog box lets you create new projects. You can specify the project’s name and location, and define the video, audio, and working video settings for the first sequence, and subsequent sequences that are part of the project. For example, when you set a project preference of 44.1 kHz, any subsequent sequences created inside that project inherits the 44.1 kHz setting by default. You can also specify the timecode at which the timeline will start, as well as the number of tracks that are displayed when you create a new sequence. When you create a new project, a sequence is automatically created. 1999 Chapter 3 Editing Reference To access the New Project dialog box: t Select File > New > Project. Options Description Project Name Lets you give a name to the new project Location Lets you specify a location for the new project ... (browse) Video Settings Format Lets you select a location for the new project Defines the video preferences for the project. Once you choose a format, the video settings are automatically set and you cannot adjust them, unless you have chosen a Custom format. Sets the video format for the new sequence. If the format you select is not hardware supported, it will have a dot in front of the name. format cannot be changed after you create c The the sequence. Custom sequences you will have to specify the n Inframe size, field dominance, frame rate or aspect ratio. For HD sequences, you can use 720p, 1080p, 1080i video formats. 2000 Frame Rate Displays the number of frames per second for the specified video format. Frame Size Displays the frame size for the specified video format. Frame size refers to the dimensions of a digital image in Avid DS Nitris. It is measured in pixels. Field Dominance Displays the field dominance setting for the specified video format. Field dominance determines the order in which odd and even fields occur in time. New Project Dialog Box Options Description Color Model Indicates the color model used to describe the color components of your images. The color model is dependent on the selected video format. Levels Displays the levels for the specified format:video or graphics. For more information, see the Input Levels option in “Media Capture Settings” on page 1759. Aspect Ratio Displays the aspect ratio of the specified video format. Aspect ratio is the numerical ratio of picture width to height. The standard aspect ratio for standard video and television is 4:3 and is 16:9 for HD n Pixel Ratio The aspect ratio is only adjustable when the Format is set to Custom. Displays the pixel ratio for the specified video format. Pixel ratio refers to the numerical ratio of pixel width to height. The standard pixel ratio for an NTSC 4/3 image is 0.9 and a PAL 4/3 image is 1.07, and for an HD image is 1.0. Processing Precision Timecode Choose the bit depth at which your effects will be processed. Some effects are capable of up to 32-bit precision. Those that are not capable of the precision level that you set, will be processed at the closest bit depth supported for that effect. Lets you specify the starting timecode of the timeline and set the timecode format. Timeline Start Specifies the starting timecode of the timeline. Timecode Format Certain video formats let you display timecode in drop frame or non-drop frame format. Drop frame timecode eliminates two frames every minute (except for the tenth minute) of SMPTE timecode. This option does not affect the actual frame rate of the sequence; it only modifies the timecode display. DF (drop frame) Displays the timecode in drop frame format NDF (non drop frame) Displays the timecode in non-drop frame format 2001 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Options Description Tracks Lets you specify the number of tracks and type of tracks to be displayed in the timeline when you create a new sequence. Video Specifies the default number of video tracks to display when you create a new sequence. Background Specifies the default number of background tracks to display when you create a new sequence. Audio Specifies the default number of audio tracks to display when you create a new sequence and the default format for audio tracks. Force Premultiplied Output (Video tracks only) When this option is selected, the bottommost layer of your composite is composited over black. This option should not be selected if you are using the bottommost layer as your background. n Downconversion HD Output Specifies the HD and SD output formats through the Avid Nitris DNA. The HD format you want to output in the Avid DS viewer. Native represents the video format of the current sequence. n SD Output Storage Settings 2002 If you select this option, some effects could no longer be real-time playable. When working with a film sequence in Real-time Proxy resolution, this format can also be output to the external monitor. The SD format you want to output in the Avid DS viewer—see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources” in the Help. Specifies the working video resolution and whether the sequence uses uncompressed or compressed material. You can change these settings at any time to switch between available qualities. New Project Dialog Box Options Resolution Description Sets the working resolution; Full, Half, Quarter, or Realtime Proxy. This controls the default resolution at which your media is processed (for example, for effects, transitions, layers, etc.) and also affects how media is displayed in the viewer and/or external monitor. To speed up processing time, use a low resolution setting. n The Nitris DNA workstation supports Full and Realtime Proxy resolution. Half or Quarter resolution is available when working in an HD sequence on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only. For a full explanation of Resolution, Bit-depth and Compression, see About Video Quality. Full Processes and displays effects at full resolution. Real-Time Proxy Only available on Avid Nitris DNA workstations when working with film-based formats. Processes and displays effects in real-time but at a slightly lower resolution (actually HD resolution). Half Only available on non-Avid DS Nitris DNA workstations when working in HD format. Processes and displays effects at half resolution. Quarter Only available on non-Avid DS Nitris DNA workstations when working in HD format. Processes and displays effects at quarter resolution. Color Space Determines how the color components of the video signal are stored on disk after processing. There are two formats available depending on your video format and resolution: YCbCr 4:2:2 and RGB 4:4:4. n For RGB, realtime playback is only available in the Avid DS viewer. However, you can downgrade to YCC to view your media and effects in real-time on the external monitor. 2003 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Options Description Bit-Depth Sets the bit depth at which the video media files will be stored on disk after processing. The bit depth choices depend on your hardware, and your resolution and color space settings. Compression Sets the compression ratio used to generate cache files at various compression ratios—see “Avid DNxHD Compressions” on page 2021 and “JFIF Compressions” on page 2022. You can also select Uncompressed. Uncompressed No compression DNxHD Various compression ratios available. DV DV compression available during processing and output to tfile. (Not available during capture). JFIF Compressions used in Avid editing products MPEG2IMX MPEG compression available during processing and output to tfile. (Not available during capture). If a clip has no media with the above settings: Display a “Media not available” message Displays the message “Media not available” in the viewer when the clips in the current sequence do not match the current settings. Use the closest media format available Uses any available media when the clips in the current sequence do not match these settings. Quarter resolution working mode (Available on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only) On workstations with lower processing speeds, you can work with HD media at quarter resolution so that you can play back real-time effects in Quarter resolution without processing them first. This option is not available on Avid Nitris DNA workstations since you can work at Full resolution with HD media. 2004 New Project Dialog Box Options Enable real-time effects Description (Available on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only) Lets you play back real-time effects when working with quarter resolution HD media. n Enable playback of mixed resolution media/caches You will not be able to play back any full and half resolution media and caches unless you process them at quarter resolution. (Available on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only) When working in quarter resolution mode, lets you play back full, half, or quarter resolution media and caches at the same time. If this option is selected, however, you cannot play back real-time effects. Audio Settings Sample Rate Lets you define the audio preferences for the project. Lets you set the desired sample rate for the sequence. By default, it is set to the highest sample rate supported by your hardware. The more bits you have, the more precisely you can represent the sample amplitude. Audio material captured at this rate can be used directly in the new sequence. Material with a different sample rate must undergo a sample rate conversion. Bit Depth Sets the number of bits per audio sample. The more bits you have, the more accurately you can represent the amplitude at that point in time. Mixer Configuration Determines the number and type of outputs displayed on the mixer Mono Displays one output strip Stereo Displays two output strips: left and right Quadraphonic Displays four output strips: left, right, left rear, and right rear LCRS Displays four output strips: left, center, right, and surround 4 Stream Displays four output strips 5.1 Displays six surround sound output strips: left, right, center, LFE, left surround, and right surround 2005 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Options Description 6.1 Displays seven surround sound output strips: left, right, center, LFE, surround center, side left, and side right 7.1 Displays eight surround sound output strips: left, right, center, LFE, left surround, right surround, left center, and right center 8 Stream Displays eight output strips SR Conversion Quality Determines the quality at which the audio sample rate is converted. When set closer to Fast, the conversion speeds up, but quality is compromised. When set closer to High, the quality increases, but conversion takes longer. Import audio into separate mono tracks When capturing an audio file, creates separate files and separate tracks for each audio stream. Select this option if you are sharing MXF media with other Avid editing applications. By default, Avid DS Nitris creates a single .wav or MXF file and track from a multi-stream audio file. This is the most efficient way to work with audio files in Avid DS Nitris. However, because other Avid applications cannot link to a multi-stream file, you need to select this option so that Avid DS Nitris creates multiple single-stream files. Default DVE Quality Sets the default DVE quality mode. Nearest Applies no filter to the image (this is the fastest mode). Pixels are skipped when scaling down and duplicated when scaling up. Bilinear Applies bilinear interpolation when scaling up and some filtering when scaling down. It is useful when you scale an image up, which improves the scaled image’s quality. This is the default setting. Bicubic Applies bicubic interpolation when scaling up and no filtering when scaling down. Produces a higher quality image than the Bilinear option when you scale an image up. Multi Tap 2006 Applies a larger filter than the other options to provide good interpolation and anti-aliasing quality. Open Sequence Dialog Box Options Description Max. Depth of Software RT Processing Sets the depth level of stacked software real-time effects that you want Avid DS to process. The default of -1 indicates that no software real-time effects will be processed. Open Sequence Dialog Box The Open Sequence dialog box lets you open a previously saved sequence. To access the Open Sequence dialog box: t Select File > Open > Sequence. Use this To Avid Explorer Tools Navigate through your bins to locate the desired sequence to open. Bin Tools Change the way the contents of the bin are displayed. These tools appear for all bin contents. File Name Type the name of the desired sequence File Types Select Sequence Files (*.segment) New Sequence Dialog Box The New Sequence dialog box lets you define the video, audio, and working video settings for your new sequence. You can also specify the timecode at which the timeline will start, as well as the number of tracks that are displayed when you create a new sequence. To access the New Sequence dialog box: t Select File > New > DS Sequence. These settings are based on project settings. 2007 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Video Settings Lets you set the video settings for the new sequence Format Sets the format for the new sequence. When you select a video format other than Custom, Avid DS Nitris automatically sets frame rate, frame size, field dominance, aspect ratio, and pixel ratio based on the format you chose—see Understanding Video Settings. If the format you select is not hardware supported, it will have a dot in front of the name. format cannot be changed after you c The create the sequence. HD sequences, you can use 720p, 1080p, n For 1080i video formats. Frame Rate Displays the number of frames per second for the specified video format. n Frame Size Displays the frame size for the specified video format. Frame size refers to the dimensions of a digital image in Avid DS Nitris. It is measured in Avid DS Nitris units (DSU). n Field Dominance The frame size is only adjustable when the Format is set to Custom. Displays the field dominance setting for the specified video format. Field dominance determines the order in which odd and even fields occur in time. n 2008 The frame rate is only adjustable when the Format is set to Custom. The field dominance is only adjustable when the Format is set to Custom. New Sequence Dialog Box Option Description Color Model Indicates the color model used to describe the color components of your images. The color model is dependent on the selected video format. Default Levels Displays the levels for the specified format:video or graphics. For more information, see the Input Levels option in Media Capture Settings. Aspect Ratio Displays the aspect ratio of the specified video format. Aspect ratio is the numerical ratio of picture width to height. The standard aspect ratio for video and television is 4:3. n Pixel Ratio The aspect ratio is only adjustable when the Format is set to Custom. Displays the pixel ratio for the specified video format. Pixel ratio refers to the numerical ratio of pixel width to height. The standard pixel ratio for an NTSC 4/3 image is 0.9 and a PAL 4/3 image is 1.07. Processing Precision Timecode Choose the bit depth at which your effects will be processed. Some effects are capable of up to 32-bit precision. Those that are not capable of the precision level that you set, will be processed at the closest supported bit depth for that effect. Lets you change the starting timecode of the timeline and set the timecode format Timeline Start Specifies the starting timecode of the timeline Timecode Format Certain video formats let you display timecode in drop frame or non-drop frame format. Drop frame timecode eliminates two frames every minute (except for the tenth minute) of SMPTE timecode. This option does not affect the actual frame rate of the sequence; it only modifies the timecode display. DF (drop frame) Displays the timecode in drop frame format NDF (non drop frame) Displays the timecode in non-drop frame format 2009 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Tracks Lets you specify the number of tracks and type of tracks to be displayed on the timeline when you create a new sequence Video Specifies the default number of video tracks to display when you create a new sequence Background Specifies the default number of background tracks to display when you create a new sequence Audio Specifies the default number of audio tracks to display when you create a new sequence and the default format for audio tracks Force Premultiplied Output (Video tracks only) When this option is selected, the bottommost layer of your composite is premultiplied. Premultiplication multiplies the RGB channels with the alpha channel. This option should not be selected if you are using the bottommost layer as your background. n Downconversion Specifies output for HD playback and SD downconvert simultaneously through the Avid Nitris DNA. HD Output The HD format you want to output. Native represents the video format of the current sequence. SD Output The SD format you want to output—see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources” in the Help. Storage Settings 2010 If you select this option, all effects will no longer be real-time playable. Lets you specify the working video resolution, color space, and bit depth, and whether the sequence uses uncompressed or compressed material. You can change these settings at any time to switch between available media qualities. New Sequence Dialog Box Option Resolution Description Sets the working resolution; Full, Half, Quarter, or Real-time Proxy. This controls the default resolution at which your media is processed (for example, for effects, transitions, layers, etc.) and also affects how media is displayed in the viewer and/or external monitor. To speed up processing time, use a low resolution setting. n The Nitris DNA workstation supports Full and Real-time Proxy resolution. Half or Quarter resolution is available when working in an HD sequence on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only. For a full explanation of Resolution, Bit-depth and Compression, see About Video Quality. Full Processes and displays effects at full resolution. Real-Time Proxy Only available on Avid Nitris DNA workstations when working with film-based formats. Processes and displays effects in real-time but at a slightly lower resolution (actually HD resolution). Half Only available on non-Avid DS Nitris DNA workstations when working in HD format. Processes and displays effects at half resolution. Quarter Only available on non-Avid DS Nitris DNA workstations when working in HD format. Processes and displays effects at quarter resolution. Color Space Determines how the color components of the video signal are stored on disk after processing. There are two formats available depending on your video format and resolution: YCbCr 4:2:2 and RGB 4:4:4. Bit-Depth Sets the bit depth at which the video media files will be stored on disk after processing. The bit depth choices depend on your hardware, and your resolution and color space settings. 2011 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Compression Description Sets the compression ratio used to generate cache files at various compression ratios—see “Avid DNxHD Compressions” on page 2021 and “JFIF Compressions” on page 2022. You can also select Uncompressed. Uncompressed No compression DNxHD Various compression ratios available. DV DV compression available during processing and output to tfile. (Not available during capture). JFIF Compressions used in Avid editing products MPEG2IMX MPEG compression available during processing and output to tfile. (Not available during capture). If a clip has no media with the above settings: Display a “Media not available” message Displays the message “Media not available” in the viewer when the clips in the current sequence do not match the current settings, or when the media is not present. If the media is not present, you must recapture the media using the Capture Settings view. Use the closest media format available Uses any available media when the clips in the current sequence do not match these settings. n Quarter resolution working mode You can mix different resolutions, but you cannot mix compressed and uncompressed video. (Available on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only) On workstations with lower processing speeds, you can work with HD media at quarter resolution so that you can play back real-time effects in Quarter resolution without processing them first. This option is not available on Avid Nitris DNA workstations since you can work at Full resolution with HD media. 2012 New Sequence Dialog Box Option Description Enable real-time effects (Available on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only) Lets you play back real-time effects when working with quarter resolution HD media. n Enable playback of mixed resolution media/caches You will not be able to play back any full and half resolution media and caches unless you process them at quarter resolution. (Available on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only) When working in quarter resolution mode, lets you play back full, half, or quarter resolution media and caches at the same time. If this option is selected, however, you cannot play back real-time effects. Audio Settings Sample Rate Lets you define the audio settings for the new sequence. Lets you set the desired sample rate for the sequence. By default, it is set to the highest sample rate supported by your hardware. The more bits you have, the more precisely you can represent the sample amplitude. Audio material captured at this rate can be used directly in the new sequence. Material with a different sample rate must undergo a sample rate conversion. Bit Depth Sets the number of bits per audio sample. The more bits you have, the more accurately you can represent the amplitude at that point in time. Mixer Configuration Determines the number and type of outputs displayed on the mixer. Mono Displays one output strip. Stereo Displays two output strips: left and right. Quadraphonic Displays four output strips: left, right, left rear, and right rear. LCRS Displays four output strips: left, center, right, and surround. 4 Stream Displays four output strips. 5.1 Displays six surround sound output strips: left, right, center, LFE, left surround, and right surround. 2013 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description 6.1 Displays seven surround sound output strips: left, right, center, LFE, surround center, side left, and side right. 7.1 Displays eight surround sound output strips: left, right, center, LFE, left surround, right surround, left center, and right center. 8 Stream Displays eight output strips. SR Conversion Quality Determines the quality at which the audio sample rate is converted. When set closer to Fast, the conversion speeds up, but quality is compromised. When set closer to High, the quality increases, but conversion takes longer. Import audio into separate mono tracks When capturing an audio file, creates separate files and separate tracks for each audio stream. Select this option if you are sharing MXF media with other Avid editing applications. By default, Avid DS Nitris creates a single .wav or MXF file and track from a multi-stream audio file. This is the most efficient way to work with audio files in Avid DS Nitris. However, because other Avid applications cannot link to a multi-stream file, you need to select this option so that Avid DS Nitris creates multiple single-stream files. Default DVE Quality Sets the default DVE quality mode. Max. Depth of Software RT Sets the depth level of stacked software real-time Processing effects that you want Avid DS to process. The default of -1 indicates that no software real-time effects will be processed. Open Project Dialog Box The Open Project dialog box lets you open existing projects, create new sequences or projects, delete projects, and manage your project list. This dialog box opens by default when you start Avid DS Nitris, but you can open it any time. To access the Open Project dialog box: t 2014 Select File > Open > Project. Open Project Dialog Box Option Description Select a Project Displays the paths and names of existing projects New Project Opens the New Project dialog box where you can create a new project Project List Tools that let you manage your list of projects Add Project Root Opens a dialog box that lets you add a folder in which you can create projects. The folder is displayed as a network path. You can also select an existing folder where projects are located. All projects in this folder are added to the project list. Remove Project Root Removes the selected project root from the list Hide Project Hides the selected project. Show the project again by using the Add Project button to restore the project root. Refresh Refreshes the project list. This is useful if your list displays projects in your workgroup, and someone in your workgroup on another system has created or deleted a project. Change Workgroup Lets you select a project from another workgroup and add it to your workgroup. The project is removed from the original workgroup, because it cannot belong to more than one workgroup at a time. (This is also required if you change your workgroup name). Delete Project Deletes the selected project files and associated media from your disk Select a Sequence Displays the sequences of the selected project New Sequence Opens the New Sequence dialog box, where you can create a new sequence Open Sequence Opens the selected project and sequence Delete Sequence Deletes the selected sequence from your disk Display projects on this workstation only Displays only the projects on your workstation 2015 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Display projects on all Displays projects on all workstations in your workstations in this workgroup workgroup workgroup_name Processing Options Dialog Box The Processing Options dialog box lets you specify how Avid DS Nitris should process the current timeline or selected objects on the timeline. You can set the mode, granularity, and resolution at which the effects are to be processed. To access the Processing Options dialog box, do one of the following: t On the NLE Tools toolbar in the Editing layout, select Processing > Process t In the timeline controls, click the Process button (The Process button is only accessible if there are any effects on the timeline that need processing). Option Description Process Lets you specify the objects you want to process. Processing computes any effect, transition, layer, composite, or container clip in your sequence, so that it can be viewed in real time during playback. The results of the processing is stored in a new media file (cache) so that your source media remains unaltered. Current Timeline Processes all objects on the current timeline. This ensures real-time playback. Duration of Selection Processes selected areas on the timeline, including clips, effect bars, tracks, track effects, track regions, timeline effects, and transitions. Processing takes place from the current timeline down to the deepest level necessary for playback. This ensures real-time playback of the selected regions of the timeline. 2016 Processing Options Dialog Box Option Selected Object Description Processes only the selected objects, including clips, effect bars, tracks (when the track button is selected), layers, and transitions. Useful when working on composites because you can limit processing to a specific clip or container clip on the timeline. n Since this option limits processing to the selected object, real-time playback is not always possible. To view the processed result of a clip or container clip in real time, solo the corresponding track. Cache List Processes only the selected cache node(s). Only the objects below the cache node(s) will be processed. Include Real-Time Effects Processes real-time effects that may be too complex for your hardware to process and play back in real time. Processing creates a cache on disk for the effects. If you are not using a Nitris DNA workstation, you should always select this option before the final output of your sequence to guarantee that no frames will be skipped. Potentially Real-time Effects (Yellow) Process effects even if they have the potential to be played in real-time. Guaranteed Real-time Effects (Green) Process effects even if they are guaranteed to be played in real-time. n Process Mode Hardware-based real-time effects are only available on Nitris DNA workstations. Lets you select the processing mode. In both Minimal and Complete mode, effects are processed down to the deepest level necessary for real-time playback of the current timeline. Reprocessing occurs only on the effect properties that have changed since the last time you processed the clips. 2017 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Minimal Description Selectively processes any effect, transition, container clip, or layer at the current level. Creates only one cache at the current level, so that disk space is conserved. n Complete When this option is selected, any subsequent processing at other levels may take longer. The system must regenerate caches at this level and for any changed effects, transitions, or layers that this option precludes. Processes any effect, transition, or layer at all levels. This creates and preserves the caches at each level. Use this option after you’ve done a significant amount of work. Any subsequent changes you make require less processing time because only the changed effects or layers are reprocessed. This option initially takes more time and disk space, but is more efficient when making changes. n When compositing, a cache is created for each layer in the composite. Use this option to optimize subsequent processing time and speed. Options Type Frame Processing Lets you select the detail level of processing. Clips can be processed by frames or fields, depending on the type of effect you want to process. Use frame-based processing for effects that are applied to individual pixels. Use field-based processing for motion paths (animated movements) because it produces smoother motion. All processing, including animation, is frame-based. This option processes the entire frame (both fields together) and should be used with frame-based material. This is faster than field-based processing, but gives lower quality results. n 2018 You can attain good processing results for effects applied to pixels, such as blur and color correction. Processing Options Dialog Box Option Field Processing Description All processing, including animation, is field-based. This option processes odd and even fields separately. This is slower than frame-based processing, but gives higher-quality results. Use field-based processing for animated effects, such as dissolves, fades, and motion paths. Precision Choose the bit depth at which your effects will be processed. Some effects are capable of up to 32-bit float precision. Those that are not capable of the precision level that you set, will be processed at the closest available bit depth. Dither when creating video caches of lower precision Adds dithering (at each cache level) before converting processed images to a lower bit depth. e.g. when you set the precision at 16-bit but the media was captured at 10-bit. n Storage Settings Resolution When outputting images processed in real-time, the dithering will be done only once at the very last level (top level?) The quality at which your processed video caches will be stored. Sets the resolution to be used during processing. This controls the default resolution at which your media is processed (for example, for effects, transitions, layers, etc.) and also affects how media is displayed in the viewer. n Tip: To speed up processing time, use a low resolution setting. Color Space Determines how the color components of the video signal are stored on disk after processing. There are two formats available depending on your video format and resolution: YCbCr 4:2:2 and RGB 4:4:4. Bit-Depth Sets the bit depth at which the video media files will be stored on disk after processing. The bit depth choices depend on your hardware, and your resolution and color space settings. Location Lets you specify the location and available disk space of your media storage 2019 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Process Remotely Description Lets you process your effects, transitions, and/or composites on an RP workstation in your workgroup environment. Note that when in the you are in the Source Timeline mode, do not remote process clips on the timeline. You may be able to send the request but the processing will not be performed. n Process Video To Specifies a destination storage device for the processed video media (cache). You can choose from a list of designated video storage devices. The storage devices are specified when you set up your workgroup environment. Time Available Displays the time remaining on the storage device for processing and saving video cache files with the specified resolution and compression factor. Process Audio To Specifies a destination storage device for the processed audio media (cache). You can choose from a list of designated audio storage devices. The storage devices are specified when you set up your workgroup environment. Time Available (per stream) Displays the time remaining on the storage device for processing and saving audio cache files with the specified resolution and compression factor Notification 2020 Avid DS Nitris automatically routes you processing request to the first available RP workstation in your workgroup. Options for receiving notification that processing is complete. Send email to Tells the system to send an email notification when a remote processing job is complete. Specify the email address to which the notification is sent. Play sound Lets you specify a sound when video processing is complete. You can specify any 8-bit or 16-bit .wav file on your system. Processing Options Dialog Box Option Description Update Viewer While Processing When selected, displays the frames in the viewer as they are processed n This option has no effect on the processing time. Avid DNxHD Compressions Avid DNxHD™ is a 10- and 8-bit HD encoding technology that delivers mastering-quality HD media with storage bandwidth and capacity requirements similar to those of uncompressed standard-definition (SD) files. n These compression rates are also available when working in a film sequence using Real-Time Proxy resolution. Unlike uncompressed HD media, which has bandwidth requirements of nearly 1.2 gigabits per second (Gbps), Avid DNxHD operates in a 4:2:2 color space at much lower, more efficient data rates. You can select from the following compressions when capturing HD media: • • • For 1080i/60, 1080i/59.94, 1080PsF/30, 1080PsF/29.97, 720p/60, 720p/59.94: - DNxHD 220 10-bit (data rate approximately 220 Mbits/sec) - DNxHD 220 8-bit (data rate approximately220 Mbits/sec) - DNxHD 145 8-bit (data rate approximately145 Mbits/sec) For 1080i/50, 1080PsF/25: - DNxHD 18510-bit (data rate approximately185 Mbits/sec) - DNxHD 185 8-bit (data rate approximately185 Mbits/sec) - DNxHD 120 8-bit (data rate approximately120 Mbits/sec For 1080PsF/24, 1080PsF/23.97: - DNxHD 17510-bit (data rate approximately175 Mbits/sec) - DNxHD 175 8-bit (data rate approximately175 Mbits/sec) - DNxHD 115 8-bit (data rate approximately115 Mbits/sec) 2021 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Like uncompressed HD, these formats let you play multiple streams of fullresolution effects, such as color correction, DVEs, transitions, and titles, in real time. Avid DNxHD encoding creates either .gen files or Material Exchange Format (MXF) files. For more information, see “Sharing MXF Media” in the Help. JFIF Compressions Avid DS Nitris uses JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format) technology to create compressed, standard-definition media. JFIF compressions comply with the ISO-JPEG interchange format and the ITU-R 601 standard. The compressions are similar to those used in other Avid editing products: Single-field Two-field Uncompressed 15:1s 20:1 1:1 4:1s 10:1 2:1s 3:1 2:1 JFIF encoding creates either .gen files or Material Exchange Format (MXF) files. For more information, see “Sharing MXF Media” in the Help. Purge Dialog Box The Purge dialog box lets you specify the types of media you can delete. You can delete unused media, source and/or cache media, as well as maximize storage space on disk. To access the Purge dialog box, do one of the following: n 2022 t Select Data Management > Purge Media. t Right-click a clip in a bin and select Purge Media. Tip: To remove the largest number of unused media files and gain storage space, select the Unreferenced Media option and the Optimize For Maximum Storage Space Recovery option. Note that this is a time-consuming process. Purge Dialog Box Option Description Display Associated Media For Lets you choose the area from which media will be purged Current Sequence Purges media files that are referenced by the current sequence Current Project Purges media files that are referenced by the current project Unreferenced Media Purges media files that are not referenced by any clips. This occurs in cases where the clip has been deleted, but its media file is still on disk. Items Selected in the Avid Explorer Purges media files that are referenced by clips or sequences selected in the Avid Explorer Items Selected in the Clip Tray Purges media files that are referenced by clips or sequences selected in the clip tray Display Associated Media Except For Lets you choose an area from which media will be kept Current Sequence Purges media files that are not referenced by the current sequence Items Selected in the Avid Explorer Purges media files that are not referenced by clips or sequences selected in the Avid Explorer Items Selected in the Clip Tray Purges media files that are not referenced by clips or sequences selected in the clip tray Consider Following Media Types Lets you choose which type of video files to purge Uncompressed Video Purges video media files that were captured with no compression Compressed Video Purges video media files that were captured using compression Video Caches Purges video media files that were generated when you processed effects, graphics, or composites Audio (all sampling rates) Purges all captured audio media files regardless of the sampling rate 2023 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Audio Caches Keep Media Used In Description Purges processed audio media files Lets you specify whether you want to keep media used elsewhere Other Master Clips Preserves media that is used in other master clips Other Sequences Preserves media that is used in other sequences Other Projects Preserves media that is used in other project sequences Optimize For Lets you choose the level of detail for the purge search Quick Storage Recovery Performs a high-level surface pass that deletes only the media that is not referenced by any of the selected clips or sequences. n Maximum Storage Recovery This option is quick and does not split up media files to get rid of unused portions of clips. Performs a deep, low-level pass that splits up media files and keeps only the portions of media being used. It also maximizes the available storage space on the disk, but increases the amount of time the system uses to purge media. Use this option only when you have little disk space left. Also Keep X Frames Heads and Tails with Preserved Media Refresh Purge List 2024 Lets you create a buffer at the head and tail of each clip. When you use the Except For option from the Display Associated Media list, you are actually preserving certain clips. This option lets you specify the number of frames you want to keep before and after each clip. By default, 15 frames are kept. Displays the media files to be purged Sample Rate Conversion Options Option Description Purge List A list of the media files to be purged that contains the following headings: Name, Type, Quality, Creation Date, Duration to Purge, and Size. Individual files can be selected from the list to be purged. For an explanation of the quality information, see “Media Property Page (Media Properties)” on page 1910. The Quality description for Purge includes the precision at which a cache was processed (8 Bits, 16 Bits, 32 Bits Float). Exact Precision indicates that the cache was processed in Exact Match mode (with the “Display a 'media not available' message” option selected in the Sequence Preferences) and that all caches at the current level and below were processed with this same exact precision. Video Disk Space Available Displays the amount of space left on your video storage device before and after the items are purged Audio Disk Space Available Displays the amount of space left on your audio storage device before and after the items are purged Purge Begins purging the selected media Sample Rate Conversion Options The Sample Rate Conversion Options dialog box lets you convert the audio sample rate of the current timeline or selected objects on the timeline to the sample rate of the current sequence. Option Description Process Lets you specify the objects you want to convert. Processing converts any audio clips in your sequence to the current sample rate. The result of the processing is stored in a cache file, so that your source media remains unaltered. Current Timeline Converts the entire timeline 2025 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Selected Object Description Converts only the selected objects. Objects include clips, container clips, and tracks (when the track button is selected). This is useful when you want to process a specific clip or container clip on the timeline. n Process Mode Since this option limits processing to the selected objects, a playable sequence is not always produced. To hear the processed result of a clip, container clip, or track, solo the corresponding track. There are two processing modes in Avid DS Nitris: Minimal and Complete. In both modes, audio clips are processed down to the deepest level necessary for audio playback on the current timeline. Minimal: Only What Is Selectively processes any audio clip, container clip, or Necessary to Play track at the current level. This option creates only one cache at the current level, so that disk space is conserved. Complete: Everything at All Levels Processes any audio clip, container clip, or track at all levels. This option also creates and preserves the caches at each level. Save Sequence Dialog Box The Save Sequence dialog box lets you save your sequence in a desired location. 2026 Use this To Bin Tools (File System) Navigate through and manage the contents of your bins. Bin Tools (Bottom Bar) Change the way the contents of the bin are displayed. These tools appear for all bin contents. File Name Type a name for your preset. File Types Select a file type for your preset. Save Snapshot Dialog Box Save Snapshot Dialog Box The Save Snapshot dialog box lets you save what is currently displayed in the viewer as a clip in a desired location. To access the Save Snapshot dialog box: t From the NLE Tools toolbar, select Generate > Snapshot to Clip. Use this To Avid Explorer Tools Navigate through and manage the contents of your bins. Blend Property Editor Change the way the contents of the bin are displayed. These tools appear for all bin contents. File Name Type a name for your preset. File Types Choose a file type for your preset. Sequence Preferences Dialog Box The Sequence Preferences dialog box lets you determine how the files in a project are recorded and output to tape for your program. The types of properties you can set include the resolution, compression, frame, and sample rate. n The properties you set in the Sequence Preferences dialog box may differ from the property settings of the originally captured media. To access the Sequence Preferences dialog box: t Select File > Sequence Preferences. Video Property Page (Sequence Preferences) The Video property page displays the video preferences for the sequence when it was created, and lets you set the working video resolution, the compression ratio, and the processing mode. 2027 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Video Settings Displays the video format, frame rate, frame size, pixel ratio, field dominance, and pixel format of your sequence Format Displays the video format that was specified when the sequence was first created Frame Rate Displays the number of frames per second for the specified video format Frame Size Displays the frame size for the specified video format. Frame size is the dimensions of a digital image in Avid DS Nitris. It is measured in Avid DS Nitris units (DSU). Pixel Ratio Displays the pixel ratio for the specified video format. Pixel ratio refers to the numerical ratio of pixel height to width. The standard pixel ratio for an NTSC 4/3 image is 0.9 and PAL 4/3 is 1.07. Field Dominance Displays the field dominance setting for the specified video format. Field dominance determines the order in which odd and even fields occur in time. Color Model Indicates the color model used to describe the color components of your images. The color model is dependent on the selected video format. Levels Displays the levels for the specified format:video or graphics. For more information, see the Input Levels option in Media Capture Settings. Processing 2028 Type Determines the way Avid DS Nitris processes material. Lets you select either field or frame-based processing. You can also choose how you want Avid DS Nitris to handle unprocessed effects during playback. Field Processing All processing, including animation, is field-based. This option processes odd and even fields separately. This is slower than frame-based processing, but gives higherquality results. Use field-based processing for animated effects, such as dissolves, fades, and motion paths. Sequence Preferences Dialog Box Option Frame Processing Description All processing, including animation, is frame-based. This option processes the entire frame (both fields together) and should be used with frame-based material. This is faster than field-based processing, but gives lower quality results. n You can attain good processing results for effects applied to pixels, such as blur and color correction. Precision Choose the bit depth at which your effects will be processed. Some effects are capable of up to 32-bit precision. Those that are not capable of the precision level that you set, will be processed at the closest supported bit depth for that effect. Dither when converting to lower precision Adds dithering (at each cache level) before converting processed images to a lower bit depth. e.g. when you set the precision at 16-bit but the media was captured at 10bit. n Display source material when processing is needed Displays source material when it encounters unprocessed effects during playback. By default, this option is not selected and Avid DS Nitris displays the message “Needs processing” in the viewer. n Conversion Mode Presets Scale to Fit When outputting images processed in real-time, the dithering will be done only once at the very last level (top level?) This option is not available when working in an HD sequence. Determines how presets and media are converted from one video format to another Determines how presets are converted from one video format to another. These settings can be changed at any time. Scales the preset in both the X and Y axes to fit the sequence settings, such as 16:9 and 4:3. This option does not retain the aspect ratio of the original preset. 2029 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Scale, Keep Aspect Ratio Scales the preset in both the X and Y axes to fit the sequence settings, but retains the ratio between width and height. It takes the larger axis of the preset and scales it to fit in the viewer. Then it centers the preset on the other axis. Center, Keep Original Size Centers the preset in the viewer along both the X and Y axes. This option does not modify the original size of the preset. Fit X-axis, Keep Aspect Ratio Scales the preset in the X-axis to fit the sequence settings, then scales the preset along the Y-axis to keep the ratio between width and height intact. If the resulting preset is larger or smaller than the sequence settings, it is centered along the Y-axis. Fit Y-axis, Keep Aspect Ratio Scales the preset in the Y-axis to fit the sequence settings, then scales the preset along the X-axis to keep the ratio between width and height intact. If the resulting preset is larger or smaller than the sequence settings, it is centered along the X-axis. Media 2030 Description Determines how media is converted from one video format to another. These settings can be changed at any time. Once you choose a setting, it is applied to all subsequent master clips that are added to the timeline. Scale To Fit Scales the media in both the X and Y axes to fit the sequence settings, such as 16:9 and 4:3. This option does not maintain the aspect ratio of the original media. Scale, Keep Aspect Ratio Scales the media in both the X and Y axes to fit the sequence settings, but retains the ratio between width and height. It takes the larger axis of the image and scales it to fit in the viewer. Then it centers the image on the other axis, creating black bands on both sides. An example of this conversion mode would be the Letterbox format which converts film to video. Center, Keep Original Size Centers the media in the viewer along both the X and Y axes. This option does not modify the original size of the media. Keep Original Size & Position Displays the media in the viewer without modifying the original size or position of the media Sequence Preferences Dialog Box Option Description Fit X-axis, Keep Aspect Ratio Scales the media in the X-axis to fit the sequence settings, then scales the image along the Y-axis to keep the ratio between width and height intact. If the resulting image is larger or smaller than the sequence settings, it is centered along the Y-axis. Fit Y-axis, Keep Aspect Ratio Scales the media in the Y-axis to fit the sequence settings, then scales the image along the X-axis to keep the ratio between width and height intact. If the resulting image is larger or smaller than the sequence settings, it is centered along the X-axis. Downconversion Specifies output for HD playback and SD downconvert simultaneously through the Avid Nitris DNA. HD Output The HD format you want to output. Native represents the video format of the current sequence. SD Output The SD format you want to output—see “Downconverted Output Formats and Sync Sources” in the Help. Storage Settings The quality at which your processed video caches will be stored. settings affect only the working w These resolution and what is shown while you work. They have no effect on the capture resolution. Resolution Sets the working resolution; Full, Half, Quarter, or Realtime Proxy. This controls the default resolution at which your media is processed (for example, for effects, transitions, layers, etc.) and also affects how media is displayed in the viewer and/or external monitor. To speed up processing time, use a low resolution setting. n The Nitris DNA workstation supports Full and Real-time Proxy resolution. Half or Quarter resolution is available when working in an HD sequence on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only. For a full explanation of Resolution, Bit-depth and Compression, see About Video Quality. 2031 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Full Processes and displays effects at full resolution. Real-Time Proxy Only available on Avid Nitris DNA workstations when working with film-based formats. Processes and displays effects in real-time but at a slightly lower resolution (actually HD resolution). Half Only available on non-Avid DS Nitris DNA workstations when working in HD format. Processes and displays effects at half resolution. Quarter Only available on non-Avid DS Nitris DNA workstations when working in HD format. Processes and displays effects at quarter resolution. Color Space Determines how the color components of the video signal are stored on disk after processing. There are two formats available depending on your video format and resolution: YCbCr 4:2:2 and RGB 4:4:4. Bit-Depth Sets the bit depth at which the video media files will be stored on disk after processing. The bit depth choices depend on your hardware, and your resolution and color space settings. Quarter resolution working mode (Available on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only) On workstations with lower processing speeds, you can work with HD media at quarter resolution so that you can play back real-time effects in Quarter resolution without processing them first. This option is not available on Avid Nitris DNA workstations since you can work at Full resolution with HD media. Enable real-time effects (Available on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only) Lets you play back real-time effects when working with quarter resolution HD media. n 2032 You will not be able to play back any full and half resolution media and caches unless you process them at quarter resolution. Sequence Preferences Dialog Box Option Enable playback of mixed resolution media/caches Description (Available on non-Avid Nitris DNA workstations only) When working in quarter resolution mode, lets you play back full, half, or quarter resolution media and caches at the same time. If this option is selected, however, you cannot play back real-time effects. Compression Sets the compression ratio used to generate cache files at various compression ratios—see “Avid DNxHD Compressions” on page 2021 and “JFIF Compressions” on page 2022. You can also select Uncompressed. Uncompressed No compression DNxHD Various compression ratios available. DV DV compression available during processing and output to tfile. (Not available during capture). JFIF Compressions used in Avid editing products MPEG2IMX MPEG compression available during processing and output to tfile. (Not available during capture). If a clip has no media with the above settings: Display a “Media not available” message Displays the message “Media not available” in the viewer when the clips in the current sequence do not match these settings, or when the media is not present. If the media is not present, you must recapture the media using the Capture Settings view. Use the closest media format available Uses whatever media is available when the clips in the current sequence do not match the current settings. n You can mix different resolutions, but you cannot mix compressed and uncompressed video. 2033 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Force Premultiplied Output (Video tracks only) When this option is selected, the bottommost layer of your composite is premultiplied. Premultiplication multiplies the RGB channels with the alpha channel. This option should not be selected if you are using the bottommost layer as your background. n If you select this option, all effects will no longer be real-time playable. Default DVE Quality Sets the default DVE quality mode. Max. Depth of Software RT Processing Sets the depth level of stacked software real-time effects that you want Avid DS to process. The default of -1 indicates that no software real-time effects will be processed. Audio Property Page (Sequence Preferences) The Audio property page displays information on the installed audio hardware and the audio preferences that were set when the sequence was created. Option Description Audio Hardware Displays the type of audio hardware installed Manufacturer Manufacturer name of the hardware installed Driver Version Current version of the audio hardware driver Audio Preferences Sample Rate Sample rate of the currently opened sequence. This value is set when the sequence is first created. Bit Depth Sets the number of bits per audio sample. The more bits you have, the more accurately you can represent the amplitude at that point in time. Sample Rate Conversion 2034 Displays the audio sample rate and bit depth, and lets you set the audio conversion method Lets you determine if and how audio clips with sample rates different than the current sequence are converted when dropped on the timeline Sequence View Menu Option Conversion On Drop Description When an audio clip is placed on the timeline, automatic sample rate conversion is performed if the clip's sample rate differs from the sequence's sample rate. Confirm Each Time If sample rate conversion is required, a dialog box is displayed asking you to confirm the process. Deselect this option if you don’t want a confirmation dialog box to appear every time you import an audio file with a different sample rate into the current sequence. Conversion Quality Determines the quality at which your audio sample rate is converted. If you set the Sample Rate Conversion Quality closer to Fast, the conversion will speed up, but you will be compromising on the quality. As you get closer to High, the quality will increase, but the conversion process will take longer. Import audio into separate mono tracks When capturing an audio file, creates separate files and separate tracks for each audio stream. Select this option if you are sharing MXF media with other Avid editing applications. By default, Avid DS Nitris creates a single .wav or MXF file and track from a multi-stream audio file. This is the most efficient way to work with audio files in Avid DS Nitris. However, because other Avid applications cannot link to a multi-stream file, you need to select this option so that Avid DS Nitris creates multiple singlestream files. Sequence View Menu The Sequence View pop-up menu lets you cut, copy, delete, and save a clip. You can also create container clips and view the properties of the selected clip. To access the Sequence View menu: t In the Sequence View, right-click an empty area. 2035 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Use this To Cut Clip Remove the selected clip from the sequence and copies it to the Clipboard Copy Clip Copy the selected clip to the Clipboard Delete Clip Remove the selected clip Save Clip As Sequence Save the current clip as a separate sequence. The saved clip will contain all effects applied to it. If the clip is processed, the cache will also be saved. Create Background Container Create and open a background container clip holding the selected clip. The Editing layout is displayed. Create Composite Container Create and open a one-layer composite container clip holding the selected clip. The Compositing layout is displayed. Create Audio Container (Audio clips only) Create and open an audio container clip holding the selected clip. The Editing layout is displayed. Properties Open the Clip property editor. Throttle Manager Service The Avid Throttle Manager is always installed on a workstation that is not already running Avid DS Nitris. Typically, it is installed on the same workstation as Avid DS Nitris RP. To start the Throttle Manager: t On the workstation where the Throttle Manager has been installed, select Start > Programs > Avid Products > Services > Avid Throttle Manager. After the Avid Throttle Manager is started, you can use it to manage your storage areas and media more efficiently. 2036 Cache Menu To use the Throttle Manager: 1. Select Data Management > Configure Storages. 2. Select a Media Indexing service from the list and click the Change button. 3. Click the Change button again. 4. When the list of storages in the selected Media Indexing service displays, select the storage area that you want the Throttle Manager to manage, and click the Change button. 5. In the storage dialog box, select the Enabling throttling for this Storage option. All media on this storage area will now be managed by the Throttle Manager. Do the same for other storage areas that require this service. When you play any clips on your timeline where the media is on a storage area that is managed by the Throttle Manager, a light for the Throttle Manager will appear on the status bar (position the pointer over the light to view a tooltip with more information). Red Service is stopped. Throttle Service (undefined) Green Service is started and in use by the current clip. Throttle Service (connected) Amber Service is started but not in use by the current clip. Throttle Service (not required) Cache Menu The Cache pop-up menu lets you delete a cache bar, move it up or down, process, purge, and save it. Cache bars change color, depending on their status. They’re yellow if any part of the time span needs processing, they’re blue when they are sent off for remote processing, and they’re green if they have an associated cache and are real time playable. 2037 Chapter 3 Editing Reference To access the Cache menu: t 2038 On the timeline, right-click a cache bar. Option Description Delete Deletes the selected cache bar Bring to Top Moves the selected cache bar to the top of the stack Raise Moves the selected cache bar up one position in the stack Lower Moves the selected cache bar down one position in the stack Push to Bottom Moves the selected cache bar to the bottom of the stack Lock in Time Locks the cache bar at the current timecode Process Displays the Processing Options dialog box, which lets you process everything up to the cache bar—see “Processing Options Dialog Box” on page 2016. Cache to Clip Displays the Timeline to Clip options dialog box, which lets you create a clip from the cache. This option creates a new clip in the Avid Explorer, but does not automatically replace the cache effect with the new clip. Add to Cache List Adds the cache bar to the Cache List view Purge Selected Purges only the cache media associated with the selected cache node Purge Below Purges any unnecessary cache media that lies below the cache bar, while keeping the cache bar real-time playable. This option is useful if you processed your effects using the Complete option and no longer need the caches at each level any more. Purge Purges the cache media associated with the cache bar as well as any cache media that lies below it Cache Node Menu Cache Node Menu The Cache Node pop-up menu lets you delete the cache, process, purge, and save it. Cache nodes change color, depending on their status. They’re yellow if they need processing, they’re blue when they are sent off for remote processing, and they’re green if they have an associated cache and are realtime playable. To access the Cache Node menu: t In the Effects Tree view, right-click a cache node. Option Description Process Displays the Processing Options dialog box, which lets you process everything up to the cache effect—see “Processing Options Dialog Box” on page 2016. Cache to Clip Displays the Timeline to Clip options dialog box, which lets you create a clip from the cache. This option creates a new clip in the Avid Explorer. Purge Selected Purges only the cache media associated with the selected cache node Purge Below Purges any unnecessary cache media that lies below the cache node, while keeping the cache real-time playable. This option is useful if you processed your effects using the Complete option and no longer need the caches at each level anymore. Purge Purges the cache media associated with the cache node as well as any cache media that lies below it Add to Cache List Adds cache node to Cache List view Rename Cache Renames the cache node. This is useful in differentiating several cache nodes in the Effects Tree Cache Properties Opens the cache properties dialog box where you can set the processing options. Cut Cuts the selected node and places it on the Clipboard 2039 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Option Description Copy Copies the selected node and places it on the Clipboard. From the Clipboard, it can be pasted into the same or another tree. Delete Removes the selected node Select Preceding Nodes Selects all nodes connected before currently selected node. Useful for viewing all nodes that contribute up to the selected node. Select Subsequent Nodes Selects all nodes connected after currently selected node. Useful for viewing path defined by nodes that are modifying the output of the selected node. Fold Minimal Places selected nodes in a new Effects Tree. The new Effects Tree node only displays the inputs that are directly connected to the effect feeding the new Effects Tree. Fold All Places selected nodes in a new Effects Tree. The new Effects Tree node displays all inputs from each effect. Attract Pulls all nodes closer to the currently selected node(s). The amount they are pulled depends on the size of the selected node(s). Repel Pushes all nodes away from the currently selected node(s). The amount they are pushed depends on the size of the selected node(s). Use Input Names Appends the input port’s name with the input’s name instead of just Input 1, Input 2, etc. For example, if a Blue Green keyer is connected to Input 1 of a Composite node, then the input port name will be displayed as “Input 1- Blue Green Keyer” when you select this option from the Composite node. All input port names will update to reflect the input’s name. n View 2040 You can also select the Use Input Names in the New Nodes box on the Effects Tree page of the User Preferences dialog box if you want all new effects you add to a tree to use the input node’s name. Lets you view the result of the effects up to the cache node Cache Processing Property Page Option Description Open Viewer Displays the output of the selected node in a floating viewer. Cache Processing Property Page The Cache property page lets you set the cache’s processing options. Caches are best used when you have effects that have long processing times, a stack of effects on the timeline, or when working with large Effects Trees. Options Description Type Lets you select the detail level of processing. Processing can be performed by frames or fields depending on the type of results you want to achieve. Frame Processing produces frame-based results while Field Processing produces field-based results. Auto The “Processing Options” setting will be used. Frame Processing All processing, including animation, is frame-based producing frame-based results. This option processes the entire frame (both fields) all together. It should be used with frame-based material. Field Processing All processing, including animation, is field-based. This option processes each field separately. Use field-based processing for animated effects, such as dissolves, fades, and motion paths. Precision Select the bit depth at which your effects will be processed. If you select Auto, “Processing Options” will be used. Related Topics Creating Caches at Any Level Using Cache Nodes in the Effects Tree 2041 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Data Management Menu The Data Management menu lets you display the Project Manager, Purge dialog box, or Configure Storages. To access the Data Management menu: t Select Data Management. Option Description Media Tool Displays the Media Tool. The Media Tool provides tools for viewing and managing the media files of your current project. Project Manager Displays the Project Manager view. The Project Manager displays all the projects on your workstation, and lets you archive, restore, or delete these project files and their media. Purge Media Displays the Purge dialog box. The Purge dialog box lets you specify the types of media you can delete. Configure Storages Displays the Media Storage Configuration dialog box. The Media Storage Configuration dialog box displays all video and audio storages, and Avid Media Indexing Services, that are currently defined for your workstation. Optimize File Sources Optimizes the size of the source model file. Edit View Menu The Edit View pop-up menu lets you customize the views in a layout. To access the Edit View menu: t In Edit Layout mode, right-click any existing or empty view in the layout. Option Description Split Horizontally Splits the selected view, horizontally, into two separate parts 2042 Edit Menu Option Description Split Vertically Splits the selected view, vertically, into two separate parts Split Both Ways Splits the selected view into four separate parts Add View Switcher Adds a view switcher to the selected view Set View Adds a toolset to the selected view Single-Instance Views Adds a view to the selected view that you can only use once in a layout. This command is not available when accessed from a combo view. Multi-Instance Views Adds a view to the selected view that you can use multiple times in a layout Default Combo Views Adds a default combo view to the selected view. This command is not available when accessed from a combo view. User Combo Views Add a combo view that you created to the selected view. This command is not available when accessed from a combo view. Default Toolbars Adds a default toolbar to the selected view User Toolbars Adds a User toolbar to the selected view Property Editor Adds a property editor to the selected view Large Property Editor Adds a large property editor to the selected view Edit Menu The Edit menu lets you retrace your steps and perform common project-based tasks. To access the Edit menu: t Select Edit. Option Description Undo Cancels the last action that you performed. You can perform multiple undos. n You can set the number of steps you can undo in the User Preferences dialog box (General property page). 2043 Chapter 3 Editing Reference n Option Description Redo Reapplies the action you previously cancelled with the Undo command Repeat Repeats the last action that was performed Cut Removes the current selection and places it on the Clipboard Copy Duplicates the current selection and places it on the clipboard Paste Replaces the current selection with the contents of the clipboard Clear Deletes the current selection Select All Selects all elements on the active window The Cut, Copy, and Paste commands are only available when an object is selected in the timeline or viewer. File Menu The File menu lets you create a new project, and open, close, or save an existing project. You can also set properties associated with the project, and exit the application. To access the File menu: t Select File. Option Description New Sequence Opens a new sequence for this project based on the working properties that you set for the project. New Lets you create a new DS sequence or project folder DS Sequence 2044 Creates a new sequence and lets you set new audio and video settings. File Menu Option Project Open Description Creates a new project folder by displaying the New Project dialog box in which you can set a name and location for your project folder and set preferences for your project. By default, the project is named “Untitled”. Lets you load an existing sequence or project Sequence Displays all existing sequences for you to select the sequence you want to load. If you currently have another sequence open, you will be prompted to save it before opening another sequence. Project Lets you select the project that you want to load from a list of all existing projects. If you currently have another project open, you will be prompted to save it before opening another project. Save Saves your project to the current project folder, using the current project file name. If you have not previously saved your project, a browser will be displayed where you can specify a project name and location. A project is saved with an .sff extension. Save As Displays a browser where you can save your project to a different name and location. A project is saved with an .sff extension. Sequence Preferences Displays the Sequence Preferences dialog box where you can change your working properties for the current sequence. User Preferences Lets you set preferences for the current user profile, such as autosave, autokeying, and undo levels. Command Mapping Displays the Command Mapping dialog box, in which you can choose an existing command map template, or create a new one. Command maps show you which commands are mapped to the keys on the keyboard. Exit Closes Avid DS Nitris. You are prompted to save any changes in the open sequence. 2045 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Swift Menu The swift menu is a circular pop-up menu that lets you activate the transport control commands by pressing the H key and holding down the left mouse button over the timeline. Swift menus don't need to be displayed to work. Once you've learned the commands and where they are located, you can execute commands without waiting for the menu to appear. To select a command from the swift menu: 1. Hold down the H key and the left mouse button for a few seconds on the timeline. The swift menu opens. 2. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse in the appropriate direction. 3. Release the mouse button to choose the command. n 2046 There are additional commands under the Go to command. To access them, drag the mouse in the direction of the submenu, then in the direction of the command. Release the mouse button. Option Description Play Plays the sequence, beginning at the current timecode Play Back Plays the sequence in reverse Stop Stops playback Web Viewer Option Description Preview Loops playback around the current selection Frame > Moves the position indicator one frame forward < Frame Moves the position indicator one frame backward Go to (left) Moves the position indicator to the specified position Head Moves to the beginning of the sequence < Locator Moves to the previous locator < Edit Moves to the previous edit point In Moves to the in-point Go to (right) Moves the position indicator to the specified position Tail Moves to the end of the sequence Locator > Moves to the next locator Edit > Moves to the next edit point Out Moves to the out-point Web Viewer The Web viewer that lets you view URL locations, HTML files, and other files associated with your default Web browser without leaving Avid DS Nitris. To open an Avid DS Nitris Web viewer from a bin: t Double-click a file associated with your default Web browser. An Avid DS Nitris Web viewer opens inside the Avid Explorer view. Web viewer tools appear at the top of the Avid Explorer window. To open an Avid DS Nitris Web viewer independently from a bin: t Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Web. An Avid DS Nitris Web viewer opens as a floating window. Tools appear at the top of the Avid DS Nitris Web viewer. 2047 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Stop Forward Refresh Back Home Use this To Back Show the previously displayed page. Forward Show the next displayed page. Stop Stop the process of opening a page. Refresh Show an updated version of the same page. Home Show the home page of the default browser. Avid Event Log The Avid event-logging service stores events from various sources in a single collection called an event log. Notifications of events include informative messages, errors, and warnings. The event logging service does not replace direct messages that are displayed when an action is necessary. The event log simply lets you view the results of any actions. A reasonable amount of disk space is reserved for the event log. When the log is full, older events are erased to make room for new ones. To access the Avid Event Log view: t 2048 Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Avid Event Log. Avid Event Log Avid Event Log Menu The Avid Event Log pop-up menu lets you view the properties of an event, delete events, and adjust the settings of the event log. Option Description Properties Displays information about an event Clear All Events Deletes all the events in the Avid Event Log. (This option also appears in the Fast menu.) Event Log Settings Opens a dialog box in which you can set preferences, such as automatically update the log when there are new events, minimum intervals between updates, and the maximum log size. (This option also appears in the Fast menu.) Event Types There are four types of events that can be logged. All event classifications have well-defined common data and can include event-specific data. The application indicates the event type when it reports an event. The following table describes the event types that are logged. 2049 Chapter 3 Editing Reference Event type Icon Description Information Indicates successful operations. For example, when Avid DS Nitris starts, it will log an information event stating that “Avid DS Nitris has started.” Warning Indicates problems that are not immediately significant, but may indicate conditions that could cause future problems. For example, an application can log a warning event if disk space is low. Error Indicates significant problems that you should know about. Error events usually indicate a loss of functionality or data. For example, a function that cannot be carried out due to an invalid action or data entry would be an error event. Success Success audit events are security events that occur when an audited access attempt is successful. For example, a successful logon attempt is a success audit event. Avid Event Log Settings Dialog Box The Avid Event Log Settings dialog box lets you set preferences, such as automatically updating the log when there are new events, minimum intervals between updates, and the maximum log size. Option Description Automatic Update Lets you turn on automatic updates in the log and set the interval between updates Enable automatic update when new events are logged Automatically updates the log when new events are logged Minimum interval between updates The minimum number of seconds between updates Log Size 2050 Lets you set the size of logs Avid DS RP Option Description Maximum log size Species the maximum size of the log in kilobytes Avid DS RP Avid DS RP (remote processor) is a dedicated processing application that you can install on any workstation on your network. Avid DS RP runs separately from Avid DS, but communication between the two applications is established using a mail-type system. The main benefit of Avid DS RP is that you can send processing jobs to the remote processing station and continue to work on your sequence. Avid DS RP notifies you when the job is complete. As the caches are created, they are automatically linked into your current sequence. To start Avid DS RP: t Double-click the Avid DS RP icon on your desktop. Option Description Status Displays state of Avid DS RP: Idle: Waiting for processing requests. Busy: Currently processing a request sent from another workstation. Error: An error occurred during processing. Status window Displays events that are being performed by Avid DS RP Administration Lets you perform some basic administrative tasks, so that Avid DS RP works at peak efficiency Reset Reinitializes Avid DS RP. If you’re experiencing some problems with Avid DS RP, reinitialize it and resend your request. Project Management Displays dialog box that lets you remove projects that were created during remote processing Pending Requests Displays number of requests that remain to be processed 2051 Chapter 3 Editing Reference 2052 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference This chapter contains reference information about paint and titling. • Graphics Layout • Graphics Property Tree • Graphics Combo View • Graphics Object View (GOV) • Graphics Toolbars • Graphics Properties • Group • Magic Wand • Reshaper • Color Editor Dialog Box • Import Image Dialog Box • Import Subtitles Dialog Box Graphics Layout The Graphics layout is where you perform painting and titling tasks. In this layout, you can create graphics objects, such as text and vector-based strokes, and apply colors, textures, and effects to them. Once created, you can edit and animate objects and their properties. You can also touch-up clips using the graphics tools. The Graphics and Compositing layouts are closely integrated, as the graphics tools can be used independently on each layer of a composite image. Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference To access the Graphics layout: 1. Drag a clip from the Avid Explorer to the timeline. 2. Place the position indicator over the clip. 3. From the taskbar, click the Graphics button. n 2054 You can also access the floating Graphics Combo View by pressing Ctrl and clicking the Graphics button in the taskbar. Graphics Layout The Graphics Combo View The Graphics combo view is a floating view that you can access from many locations in Avid DS Nitris to perform painting and titling tasks. This view contains all the same tools as the Graphics layout. Graphics property tree Property editors let you set and modify displays the properties of a various graphics properties, such as brush selected tool or graphics object. options, paint style, color, and titling style. Toolbars contains tools for drawing and manipulating graphics objects. Graphics Object view (GOV) displays graphics objects and their time spans in the current graphics session. You can also select, trim, move, rename, and delete any of your graphics objects. 2055 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Graphics Property Tree The graphics property tree displays the properties of a selected tool or graphics object (stroke or text body). Using this tree, you can set the default properties of a drawing tool or edit the properties of selected graphics objects. When you select a drawing tool, “Current Tool” appears above the graphics property tree. Any properties you set now will become your default drawing tool properties. When you select a graphics object from the viewer, “Selected Object” appears above the graphics property tree. Any properties you set now will apply only to the selected graphics object(s). Navigating the Graphics Property Tree When you select a drawing tool or graphics object, the graphics property tree displays its properties. When you select a property button from the tree, it displays the corresponding property editor. The property tree lets you specify properties, such as the size, shape, and transparency of a brush. When you create text, the property tree lets you specify the format and style of a text body. To expand or collapse the graphics property tree: t Click the plus (+) sign next to a property button to expand it. The subproperties are listed below the expanded properties, and the plus sign changes to a minus sign. t Click the minus (-) sign next to a property button to collapse it. The contents of the collapsed property tree are no longer visible in the tree, and the minus sign changes to a plus sign. 2056 Graphics Combo View Using the Pop-up Menu Pop-up menus let you quickly load and use different presets by clicking a property button in the graphics property tree. To use the pop-up menu: 1. From the property tree, click a property button. 2. From the menu, select a preset. The preset you selected is applied to a selected object or becomes the new default property. Paint Menu The paint pop-up menus let you quickly load and use different presets and effects by right-clicking a property button in the graphics property tree. To access the paint menus: 1. From the graphics property tree, right-click a property button. Brush pop-up menu 2. From the menu, select a preset or effect. The preset you selected is applied to a selected object or becomes the new default property. Graphics Combo View The Graphics combo view is a floating view that you can access from many locations in Avid DS Nitris to perform painting and titling tasks. Like the Graphics layout, you can create graphics objects, such as text and vector-based 2057 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference strokes, and apply colors, textures, and effects to them. Once created, you can edit and animate objects and their properties. You can also touch-up clips using the graphics tools. To access the Graphics combo view: Hold down the Ctrl key and do one of the following: t In the taskbar, click the Graphics button. t In the Layers view, click the Gfx button. t On the timeline, double-click the Graphics effect bar. t In an Effects Tree, double-click the Graphics node. Graphics property tree Property editor Tools toolbar Navigation buttons Graphics Object View (GOV) 2058 Graphics Object View (GOV) Graphics Object View (GOV) The Graphics Object View (GOV) displays graphics objects and their time spans in the current graphics session. This lets you clearly see the timing relationships between all the objects in a graphics session and gives you the ability to manipulate them in the GOV. A graphics session is the time span over which graphics objects appear. You can create a graphics session by applying the Graphics effect to a clip or track, or by applying graphics on a layer inside a composite container clip. Once created, you can select, delete, move, and trim (in time) graphics objects. 2059 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference When you create a stroke in the viewer: n • A yellow graphics bar, representing the stroke, appears at the bottom of the view. The length of the bar indicates the duration or time span of the object. As you create more objects, they are placed on top of each other, starting from the bottom. That means the last object you created is the top one in the GOV. In the viewer, the last created object is placed in front of all other objects. • Each graphics object is given a default name that corresponds with the drawing tool you used to create it. For example, if you used the Rectangle tool to draw on the viewer, the corresponding graphics bar in the GOV will be named “Rectangle0”. As you create more rectangles, the number beside the name increments. You can also rename any graphics objects you create. By default, the GOV is part of the Graphics Combo view and Graphics layout. If you close the GOV and want to reopen it, you can access it from the View menu. To access the Graphics Object View: t Select View > Views > Graphics Object View. The Graphics Object View and the current graphics session are displayed. 2060 Graphics Object View (GOV) Dark gray area represents length of current graphics session To go to the next or previous edited frame: t Click the << Edited Frame or >> Edited Frame button. To go to the start or end of the graphics session: t Click the Go to Start or Go to End button. Changing the Time Scale The ruler in the GOV displays the time scale for your graphics session or the timeline on which it resides. This lets you know where your graphics objects are located in relation to the current graphics session and the timeline. To change the time scale: n t Right-click the ruler at the bottom of the GOV and select one of the following: t Show as Local Time to display the graphics session time. t Show as Parent Time to display the time of the timeline that contains the current graphics session. Unlike the ruler on the timeline, this command doesn’t show the time of the top timeline. 2061 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Viewing Graphics Objects At times, there may be so many objects in your graphics session that you can’t see them all in the GOV. When this happens, you can interactively pan the GOV to focus on specific areas or objects in your graphics session. By zooming the GOV interactively, you can control the amount of detail that’s displayed. Groups of objects are indicated by a plus (+) sign when the group is not expanded and a minus (-) sign when it is. Also, the graphics bar is also highlighted in a darker yellow than ungrouped objects. Expand/collapse group n Tip: To frame objects in the GOV, right-click the ruler at the bottom of the GOV and select Show Objects on Current Frame. This lets you see the objects on the current frame without having to pan the GOV. To zoom the GOV: t Hold down the Z or F2 key, and drag left or right on the GOV. To pan the GOV: t Hold down the X or F3 key, and drag left or right on the GOV. To reset zoom or pan: t Press Z and click the GOV to reset zoom. t Press X and click the GOV to reset pan. t Press Z+X and click the GOV to reset zoom and pan. The GOV is reset to display the current graphics session. To expand or collapse groups of objects: t 2062 Click the plus (+) or minus (-) sign next to a graphics bar in the GOV. Graphics Object View (GOV) n When a group is expanded, you can select/hide/lock the objects inside the group. Manipulating Graphics Objects In the Graphics Object View (GOV), you can select, trim, move, rename, delete, lock, and hide any of your graphics objects. Selecting Graphics Objects If there are many objects in your graphics session, you may find it easier to select objects from the GOV than from the viewer. n You can also select graphics objects by using the keyboard shortcuts. To select a graphics object: t In the GOV, click a graphics bar. In the viewer, a yellow bounding box surrounds the selected graphics object and you are now in Select mode. The graphics property tree displays the properties of the selected object. To multi-select graphics objects, do one of the following: t Hold down the Shift key and click all the graphics bars in the GOV representing the graphics objects you want to select. t Press Alt and click the graphics bars in the GOV. t Press Alt and drag to select multiple graphics objects. t Press Alt and drag to deselect all objects and select only the objects that intersect the rectangle selection. t Press Alt+Shift and drag to add objects that intersect the rectangle selection to the current selection. t Press Alt+Ctrl and drag to inverse the selection. To hide the bounding box when selecting graphics objects: t Press Ctrl+H or select the Hide Bounding Box command from the Graphics menu to enter a mode where the bounding box is hidden, but the object is still selected. 2063 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Trimming Graphics Objects Trimming a graphics object is a simple matter in the GOV—just drag the beginning or end of a graphics bar. To trim a graphics object: t In the GOV, position your pointer at the beginning or end of a graphics bar and drag it right or left. The graphics object is trimmed in time. Trim the graphics bar by dragging n Tip: To crop function curves when trimming an object that contains animation, press C. To scale function curves when trimming an object, press V. Otherwise, the object’s function curves are cropped or scaled according to the setting in the Time Span property editor of the selected object. Moving Graphics Objects You can experiment with the placement of graphics objects within a graphics session by moving them in the GOV. To move a graphics object: t In the GOV, drag a graphics bar (by the middle) to a new timecode. To move a graphics bar between frames, hold down the 1 (one) key as you drag the graphics bar. Middle of graphics bar n 2064 If you drag the beginning or end of a graphics bar, you will trim the graphics object instead of moving it. Graphics Object View (GOV) Hiding Graphics Objects When you’re working with overlapping graphics objects that clutter the viewer, you can hide some of the graphics objects on which you don’t want to work. This makes objects temporarily invisible and may improve performance when working on large or complex projects. Once an object is hidden, you cannot select or modify it in any way, except for trimming. Hidden objects remain hidden when sequences are closed and reopened. When a graphics object is hidden, its bar in the GOV changes to a light blue color and the object remains visible if the wireframe mode is on. n n Tip: To see a wireframe outline of hidden objects, position the pointer over the graphics bars in the GOV and the shape of the hidden objects will be displayed in wireframe in the viewer. You can also hide/show graphics objects by right-clicking its corresponding bar in the GOV and selecting an option from the menu. To hide graphics objects: Select the graphics objects that you want to hide and do one of the following: t Select Objects > Hide. t Right-click the graphics object in the GOV and select Hide. Hidden objects are represented by a light blue bar in the GOV and are automatically deselected. To show graphics objects, do one of the following: t To show all graphics objects on the current frame, select Objects > Show All - Frame. t To show all graphics objects in the current graphics session, select Objects > Show All - Session. All hidden graphics objects are shown and selected. Any previously selected objects are deselected. 2065 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Renaming Graphics Objects By renaming the graphics objects you create, it will be much easier to locate specific objects in the GOV. To rename a graphics object: 1. In the GOV, click the name beside a graphics bar. The name is highlighted in blue. 2. Type in a new name and press Enter. Deleting Graphics Objects When you delete a graphics object from the GOV, it is deleted over its entire duration. For example, if an object is 10 frames long, it is deleted over all 10 frames. To delete a graphics object: t From the GOV, select a graphics object, and press Delete. Graphics Bar Menu The Graphics Bar menu lets you lock or hide graphics objects. Once you lock or hide an object, you cannot select or modify it in any way. Locked and/or hidden objects remain locked/hidden when a sequence is closed and reopened. To access the Graphics Bar menu: t 2066 In the Graphics Object View, right-click a graphics bar. Command Description Lock Locks the graphics objects on which you don’t want to work. Once an object is locked, you can’t select or modify it in any way. Locked objects are represented by a light gray bar in the Graphics Object View (GOV). Hide Hides the graphics objects on which you don’t want to work. Once an object is hidden, you can’t select or modify it in any way, except for trimming. Hidden objects are represented by a light purple bar in the GOV. Graphics Object View (GOV) Graphics Object View Menu The Graphics Object View pop-up menu lets you display the time scale of your graphics session or the timeline on which it resides. To access the Graphics Object View menu: t In the Graphics Object View, right-click the ruler. Command Description Show as Local Time Displays the graphics session time Show as Parent Time Displays the time of the timeline that contains the current graphics session Show Objects on Current Displays all graphics objects existing on the current frame Frame shown in the timecode box Save Raster Paint Log Menu The Save Raster Paint Log pop-up menu lets you assign a name to the raster cache file. It provides you with information about the rastered frames, so that you can locate them more easily in the cache. If you do not assign a name, a default name is assigned to the raster cache files based on the sequence name. 2067 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference To access the Save Raster Paint Log menu: t In the GOV, right-click the white boxes above the timeline. Right-click on the GOV timeline n Tip: To see the file name of a rastered frame, place the pointer over a rastered frame’s white box and a tooltip appears indicating the file name. Graphics Toolbars There are three toolbars, General, General 2, and Tools, that appear in the Graphics layout. General (graphics) Toolbar 2068 Tool Description Select Selects and moves objects Select All Selects all objects in the viewer Deselect All - Frame Deselects all selected objects in the current frame Deselect All - Session Deselects all selected objects in the current graphics session Scale Selects, moves, and scales objects Rotate Selects, moves, and rotates objects Skew Selects, moves, and skews objects Cut Cuts a selected object Copy Copies a selected object Paste Pastes an object Duplicate Duplicates an object and its time span Delete Deletes a selected object Graphics Toolbars Tool Description Delete All - Frame Deletes all objects intersecting with the current frame Delete All - Session Deletes all objects from the current graphics session Group Group Groups the selected objects Ungroup Ungroups the selected groups Regroup Regroups the selected ungrouped objects Ungroup - Keep Properties Ungroups the selected groups. Objects retain the transformation set while part of the group. Group All - Session Groups all objects in the current graphics session Cut from Group Cuts selected object from a group and places it on the Clipboard Paste to Group Pastes object that is on the Clipboard to a selected group Order Bring to Front Brings a selected object to the front of all other objects Raise Raises a selected object by one level Lower Lowers a selected object by one level Send to Back Sends a selected object to the back of all other objects Align Absolute Align Horizontal Center Aligns the horizontal center of selected graphics objects to the horizontal center of the safe action/title area. Absolute Align Vertical Center Aligns the vertical center of selected graphics objects to the vertical center of the safe action/title area. Absolute Align Top Aligns the topmost edge of the bounding box of selected graphics objects to the topmost edge of the safe title/action area. Absolute Align Bottom Aligns the bottommost edge of the bounding box of selected graphics objects to the bottommost edge of the safe action/title area. 2069 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Tool Absolute Align Left Description Aligns the leftmost edge of the bounding box of selected graphics objects to the leftmost edge of the safe action/title area. Absolute Align Right Aligns the rightmost edge of the bounding box of selected graphics objects to the rightmost edge of the safe action/title area. Relative Align Horizontal Center Aligns all selected graphics objects relative to the horizontal center of the collective bounding box of all the selected objects Relative Align Vertical Center Aligns all selected graphics objects relative to the vertical center of the collective bounding boxes of all the selected objects Relative Align Top Aligns all selected graphics objects relative to the topmost edge of the bounding box of the topmostselected graphics object Relative Align Bottom Aligns all selected graphics objects relative to the bottommost edge of the bounding box of the bottommostselected graphics object Relative Align Left Aligns all selected graphics objects relative to the leftmost edge of the bounding box of the leftmostselected graphics object Relative Align Right Aligns all selected graphics objects relative to the rightmost edge of the bounding box of the rightmost selected graphics object Edit Shape Edits the shape of strokes Reshaper Reshapes existing strokes with a freehand approach Copy/Paste Shape 2070 Copy Shape Copies the shape of the selected stroke at the current time to the Clipboard Paste in Place Pastes the shape from the Clipboard onto the selected stroke at the current time. The pasted shape is translated over the stroke’s shape. Graphics Toolbars Tool Paste at Origin Description Pastes the shape from the Clipboard onto the selected stroke at the current time. The pasted shape keeps its fixed position. Text Creates titles Edit Text Edits the contents of text bodies Tracker Opens the Paint Tracker property page Import Import Image Imports an image of any size without having to capture it Import Clip Imports a clip of any size without having to capture it Import EPS Imports an EPS file (shape and color information only) Import HTML Imports an HTML text file Stroke Preset Applies a stroke preset Text Preset Applies a text preset Group Preset Applies a group preset Graphics Properties Opens the Graphics property editor Refresh Processes objects in the viewer at the current frame General 2 Toolbar Tool Description Combine Strokes Combines all selected strokes into one compound stroke Separate Strokes Lets you separate a selected compound stroke into individual strokes Handwriting Opens the Handwriting property editor and allows you to create an animated, scrolling handwritten effect 2071 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Tool Description Type On Opens the Type-On property editor and allows you to create an animated, scrolling typed effect Text to Strokes Converts each individual text character into individual strokes Make Brush Lets you create a custom brush using a closed stroke Morph Start Begins a morph session Morph Add Adds a stroke to be morphed into the current morph session Morph End Ends the current morph session Burn Frame Places the frame in a cache and deletes the original graphics object n Delete Burned Once a frame is burned, you cannot undo it. Deletes the current burned frame Tools Toolbar Button 2072 Tool Description Select Selects and moves objects Freehand Draws in freehand Polyline Draws polylines Ellipse Draws ellipses Rectangle Draws rectangles Edit Shape Edits the shape of strokes Reshaper Reshapes existing strokes with a freehand approach Text Creates titles Graphics Toolbars Button Tool Description Edit Text Edits the contents of text bodies Rotate Selects, moves, and rotates objects Scale Selects, moves, and scales objects Skew Selects, moves, and skews objects Duplicate Duplicates an object and its time span Magic Wand Selects an area based on color values and creates a stroke Tracker Opens the Paint Tracker property page Reset to Scratch Removal Resets the scratch removal (clone) properties to their default values Reset All Resets all paint and titling properties to their default values Graphics Properties Opens the Graphics property editor Lock Locks selected objects Unlock All - Frame Unlocks all locked objects on the current frame Hide Hides selected objects Show All - Frame Shows all hidden objects on the current frame Hide Bounding Box Hide the bounding box of the selected object(s) Refresh Processes objects in the viewer at the current frame Wireframe Views objects in wireframe mode Wireframe Preview Shows a wireframe preview of graphics objects 2073 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Bas Relief Brush The Bas Relief Brush property page lets you create puffy metallic-looking 3D text and brush strokes. The effect appears as if the image has been carved in low relief and lit to show the surface modulations. Option Description Smoothness Increases or decreases smoothness of image Detail Adjusts level of detail in image Light Direction Lets you select position from which to illuminate image. Different light positions enhance different areas of the image. Brush Color Method Lets you determine color of brush strokes Underlying Image Uses the color from the image being painted Selected Color Uses the color selected from the color swatch Color swatch n Displays selected or default color. Click the swatch to select a color or double-click to display the Mini Color Editor. This effect is designed for use on text. As an ordinary brush effect in paint, the result may be a solid black color in flat areas of the brush. You can create metallic-looking 3D text. After typing the text, deselect the text, then select the individual characters with the Magic Wand tool, and apply the Bas Relief effect. Brush The Brush property page lets you customize the shape, size, angle, and other qualities of a brush stroke. 2074 Chrome Brush Option Description Ellipse Creates circular or elliptical brush Rectangle Creates square or rectangular brush Custom Creates brush with custom shape Import EPS Imports .eps file (shape information only) Interactive Update Allows you to immediately see any changes to selected strokes in the viewer Opacity Controls transparency of brush stroke. Values: 0 (transparent) to 100 (opaque). n X and Y If you’re using a stylus and tablet, you can select the Opacity option from the Paint Style property page. When you apply pressure to the stylus, it will affect the stroke’s opacity. Sets width (X) and height (Y) of brush. You can set the width to any pixel size between 1 and 800. n If you’re using a stylus and tablet, you can select the Size option from the Paint Style property page. When you apply pressure to the stylus, it will affect the stroke’s size. Lock Aspect Ratio Links width and height of brush, so that if you change one dimension, the other varies proportionally Sampling Ratio Sets sampling ratio that determines distance between each brush stamp. When you draw a stroke, it is made up of a series of stamps in the shape of the brush. Angle Controls angle of brush shape. Unless the brush is a circle, changing the angle of the brush changes the appearance of the brush stroke. Chrome Brush The Chrome Brush effect lets you create a highly-polished, smooth and shiny brush stroke. 2075 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Smoothness Increases or decreases smoothness of image Shininess Controls shininess of highlights. Higher values produce sharper highlights and lower values produce smoother highlights. Brush Color Method Lets you determine color of brush strokes Underlying Image Uses color from image being painted Selected Color Uses color selected from color swatch Color swatch Displays selected or default color. Click the color swatch to select a color or double-click to display Mini Color Editor. n This effect is designed for use on text. As an ordinary brush effect in paint, the result may be a solid black in flat areas of the brush. n To vary the effect, increase the brightness and contrast after applying the Chrome Brush effect. Clip Holder The Clip Holder property page lets you use a clip of any size or resolution (including its alpha information) in your graphics session, as well as clips that were created in other applications. After importing a clip, you can treat it as a graphics object, which means you can edit any of its properties, as well as animate and transform it. The Clip Holder property page lets you select the shape and duration of the imported clip, set the transformation quality, and provide clip information. 2076 Option Description Import Lets you import a clip and specify whether the imported clip will take the frame size of the clip and/or the duration Clip Holder Option Description Import Clip Imports clip/sequence of any size or resolution Fit to Clip Size When importing a clip, automatically changes the shape of the stroke to fit the frame size of the clip Fit to Clip Duration When importing a clip, automatically changes the duration of the stroke to fit the duration of the clip Fit to Clip Size After a clip is imported, changes the shape of the stroke to fit the frame size of the clip Fit to Clip Duration After a clip is imported, changes the duration of the stroke to fit the duration of the clip Transformation Quality Controls image quality of a transformed Clip Holder stroke. When you scale, skew, or rotate a Clip Holder stroke, its quality can deteriorate—small jagged lines can appear on the oblique edges or sometimes within the image. Unfiltered Applies no filter to clip. This is the fastest mode. Bilinear Applies fast, medium quality filter. This is the default setting. n Filtered Applies strong filter to clip. Useful when transforming hard edges and when the transformed clip (either scaled or rotated) is smaller than the original clip. This is the slowest mode. n Bicubic Tip: For better transformation quality, use this setting when you scale down a Clip Holder stroke. Produces sharper image than Bilinear option when the transformed clip is larger than the original clip. n Filtering Level Tip: For better transformation quality, use this setting when you animate the translation of a Clip Holder stroke. Tip: For better transformation quality, use this setting when you scale up a Clip Holder stroke. Determines strength of filter when in Filtered mode. Higher settings result in a stronger filter and longer processing time. 2077 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Clip Info The clip’s name, duration in frames, and frame size in pixels Use Alpha as Mask Lets you use original alpha channel of imported clip as a mask Clone The Clone effect lets you remove scratches from images by cloning parts of the same image or parts of other images. Option Description Source Point Lets you define the source point (or sample), that is, the location from which the image is duplicated, as you paint. Type Relative Defines a source point located at a specific distance from the pointer. The sample will follow the position of the pointer, but at a specified offset. Absolute Defines a source point located at an absolute position in the frame. The sample will always be taken from the same position. In Place Defines a source point located underneath the pointer X Specifies distance, on X axis, of source point used in Relative Source Point. Specifies position, on X axis, of source point used in Absolute Source Point. This parameter can be animated. Y Specifies distance, on Y axis, of source point used in Relative Source Point. Specifies position, on Y axis, of source point used in Absolute Source Point. This parameter can be animated. Pick Defines distance or position values using the viewer Source Frame 2078 Defines the type of source point Lets you define the source frame from which you will clone Color Blend Option Description Type Defines the type of the source frame Relative Defines a source frame located at a relative offset from the current frame Absolute Defines a source frame located at an absolute frame number (in graphics local time) In Place Defines a source frame as being the current frame Frame Specifies frame offset used in relative source frame. Specifies frame number used in absolute source frame. Make Source Lets you create an absolute source frame in another frame Go To Takes you to the absolute source frame Amount Specifies amount of the source to be cloned. A high value creates an opaque clone and a low value creates a transparent clone. Color Blend The Color Blend effect lets you pick a color from the default palette or the color wheel, use the color picker to select a color from an existing image in the viewer, or use other color palettes that are available in the Palettes folder. If a color is not displayed on the color palette, you can create it by adjusting the RGB values of another color to obtain the exact color you want. You can also create your own color palettes and save them for use on other projects. Blending Property Page The Blending property page lets you define the way color is applied to a graphics object. You can select a stroke or title, and adjust the color type, tint effect, or opacity. Option Description Type Defines type and level of opacity of color or tint 2079 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Color Blend Applies a color blend to strokes, fills, or titles by modifying the RGB component of the pixel Blending Modes Lets you select an operation to perform on the graphics object and the background. n Matte-based operations n The following matte-based operations are the only operations in which the alpha channels of the stroke and the background play a role in the computation of the color channels (RGB or YCbCr). These operations perform a premultiplication of the Alpha with the RGB channels if required. The operations that do not clamp the input or output pixel values to the legal color gamut can be applied to images that have blacker than black or whiter than white values, and produce images that have blacker than black or whiter than white values. Also note that values outside the legal color ranges can be present in16-bit and float images. Normal Performs a normal color blend operation Over Places the foreground over the background according to the foreground’s alpha In Places the foreground image inside the alpha of the background image Out Places the foreground image outside the alpha of the background image Atop Places the foreground image inside the alpha of the background image and the background image outside the foreground alpha Xor Places the foreground image outside the alpha of the background image and the background image outside the alpha of the foreground image Blending operations 2080 Graphics objects are treated as the foreground image in the Graphics layout. The following blending operations are applied independently to each channel. The color channels are not affected by the alpha. Unless otherwise noted, the input and output of the following operations are not clamped to the valid color ranges. Color Blend Option n Description In 16 bit and float, unlcamped operations can be used to create more complex mathematical expressions. Add Adds the foreground to the background. This may sometimes cause the image to appear overexposed. Add No Clipping (Screen) Adds the foreground and the background in such a way that legal pixel values will not cause the image to look overexposed. Exclusion Subtracts RGB values of the background image from the foreground. For values between black and white, the result has a more gentle, even contrast than you would get with the difference operation. Dark Add Adds the foreground to the background and then reduces all the pixel values. The result may look underexposed. Negative Sum This mode is similar to Difference for dark and light pixel values, but produces a lighter image for values in between Difference Takes the absolute difference between the foreground and background image Subtract Subtracts the background from the foreground Multiply Multiplies the foreground with the background. For legal color values, the result is a darker image. Divide Divides the foreground by the background. For legal color values, the result is a brighter image, which may look overexposed. Linear Interpolation Interpolates between the foreground and the background by taking the average of the two images Smooth Interpolation Interpolates between the foreground and the background using a smooth curve. The result slightly favors the darkest and lightest pixels in the image. The result is similar to Linear Interpolation but with more contrast. n Steep Interpolation The input and output images are clamped. This mode is a linear interpolation that has been stretched below black and above white values. Only medium pixel values will stay within the valid color range. 2081 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Non-Linear Blending Operations The following are non-linear functions of the foreground and the background. These operations have the input and output values clamped. Overlay Based on the brightness of the background pixels, this operation is a combination of Add No Clipping and a Multiply. The result image is darker than Add No Clipping, but brighter than a multiply. The contrast (highlight/shadows) of the background is preserved and the image takes the color and pattern of the foreground. This is useful when adding film grain to a shot. Hard Light The inverse of Overlay, this operation is based on the brightness of the foreground pixel and combines Add No Clipping and Multiply. The result looks like the bright regions of Add No Clipping and the dark regions of Multiply. The blend shows the lightness or darkness of the original color, providing an effect that is similar to shining a harsh light on the image. Soft Light A gentle blend lightening or darkening the background according to the foreground. The effect as a whole tends to brighten images, much like a soft light being shone on an image. Color Dodge Brightens the background by dividing by the inverse of the foreground. Dark pixels in the foreground will leave the background almost unchanged. Bright pixels in the foreground will significantly brighten background. Color Burn Darkens the background by the darkness of the background. Dark pixels in the foreground will darken the background. Bright pixels in the foreground will leave background almost unchanged. Dodge Inverted Burn This is a softer version of Color dodge. When foreground and background pixels are bright, a darkened version of Color Dodge is used. When foreground and background are dark, a brightened version of Color Burn is used. 2082 Color Blend Option Description Burn Inverted Dodge This mode is the reverse of Dodge Inverted Burn and produces a result that is lighter than Color Burn. When foreground and background pixels are bright, a darkened inverse of Color Dodge is used. When foreground and background pixels are dark, a lightened inverse of Color Burn is used. Dark Dodge This operation is similar to Color Dodge, but produces a darker, more evenly lit image. The background pixels show through more clearly and are not brightened as significantly by the foreground. Bright Burn This operation is similar to Color Burn, but produces a brighter, more evenly lit image. The background pixels show through more clearly and are not darkened as significantly by the foreground. Comparison operations The following operations use a comparison between the foreground and background channels. The input and output for these operations are not clamped to legal values. Lighter Takes the higher pixel value between the foreground and the background for each the RGBA channels Darker Takes the lower pixel value between the foreground and the background for each of the RGBA channels Non-additive Mix Takes the pixel from the foreground or background based on which has the higher luminance value Inverted Non-additive Takes the pixel from the foreground or background based Mix on which has the lower luminance value Color routing operations The following operations route certain color channels form one of the two inputs. This is not a channel switching type of operation. The input and output for these operations are not clamped to legal values. These operations cannot be used on the alpha channel. By default, the alpha operation is set to Over. Lightness Combines the luminance values of the foreground image to the saturation and hue of the background. Color Combines the saturation and hue values of the foreground image to the luminance of the background. 2083 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Luma Combines the luma channel (Y) of the foreground with the chroma channels (CbCr) of the background Chroma Combines the chroma channels (CbCr) of the foreground with the luma channel (Y) of the background. Tint Applies tint effect to strokes, fills, or titles by modifying the hue and/or luminance and/or saturation of the pixels Hue Affects tint hue Luminance Affects tint luminance Saturation Affects tint saturation Opacity Controls transparency. Values: 0 (completely transparent) to 100 (completely opaque). Cutout The Cutout effect lets you attach or detach an image to a cutout. It also contains settings for applying filters to improve the quality of a transformed image, and determine whether the image’s alpha channel is used or not. Option Description Transform Image Attaches cutout to image from which it was created. When you move the cutout, its image follows the cutout. Deselect this option to detach the cutout from its image. When you move the cutout, the underlying image remains in place. Transformation Quality 2084 Controls image quality of a transformed cutout. When you scale, skew, or rotate a cutout, its quality can deteriorate—small jagged lines can appear on oblique edges of objects or sometimes within the image. Unfiltered Applies no filter to image. This is the fastest mode. Bilinear Applies fast, medium quality filter. This is the default setting. Dodge and Burn Option Description Filtered Applies strong filter to image. Useful when transforming hard edges and when the transformed image (either scaled or rotated) is smaller than the original image. This is the slowest mode. Level Determines strength of filter using Filtered mode. Higher settings result in a stronger filter and longer processing time. Use Alpha Lets you use alpha channel of image. By default, this option is off. Dodge and Burn The Dodge and Burn effect lets you lighten or darken areas of an image by controlling the exposure on specific areas. Exposure is decreased to lighten an area on the image (dodging) or the exposure is increased to darken areas of an image (burning). Main Property Page The Main property page lets you select the type of effect to apply, as well as the luminance range to target. Option Description Effect Lets you select type of effect to be applied Dodge Increases luminosity of areas of image Burn Decreases luminosity of image. This has the inverse effect of the dodging effect. Saturate Increases weight of colors of image Desaturate Decreases weight of colors, yielding a black and white image. This has the inverse effect of the Saturate effect. Target Specifies colors from original image on which to apply the effect 2085 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Shadows Description Lets you select shadow luminance range. When selected, you can adjust the color balance of shadow areas. Midtones Lets you select midtones luminance range. When selected, you can adjust the color balance of midtone areas. Highlights Lets you select highlight luminance range. When selected, you can adjust the color balance of highlight areas. Amount Adjusts the intensity of the effect. Values: 0 to 100. An amount of 0 signifies that the effect is simply not applied. Range Property Page The Range property page displays function curves that represent the luminance values of shadows, midtones, and highlights. The function curves are represented by the following colors in the function curve graph: gray=shadows, green=midtones, white=highlights. You can adjust the curves to specify how strong the effect will be applied on a pixel depending on its original luminance value. The X axis of the grid represents the original luminance value of the pixel and the Y axis represents how much the effect will be applied on that pixel if its luminosity corresponds to the X value. To see the function curve more clearly, you can turn each curve on or off on the curve editor. Turning off a curve on the curve page will not affect the result of the effect. However, pressing the reset button will restore default values for all three curves. Note that the curves are disabled when the current effect is a saturation or a desaturation effect. 2086 Option Description Shadows Lets you select shadow luminance range. When selected, you can adjust the color balance of shadow areas. The function curve for shadows is gray. Edit Shape Option Description Midtones Lets you select midtones luminance range. When selected, you can adjust the color balance of midtone areas. The function curve for midtones is green. Highlights Lets you select highlight luminance range. When selected, you can adjust the color balance of highlight areas. The function curve for highlights is white. Reset Resets the parameters of the selected option Edit Shape The Edit Shape property editor lets you control the shape of an object’s geometry. General Property Page The General property page lets you control the shape of an object’s geometry. It also allows you to manually set and remove keyframes on strokes, and navigate from one keyframe to the next. The property page indicates whether keyframes have been set. To edit the control points of an object, click the Select button on the General Toolbar. In the viewer, select an object and press Enter to activate the Edit Shape mode. Option Description Path Determines whether stroke is open or closed, and the number of control points along its length Open Opens path of a closed stroke. The last control point of the stroke is disconnected from the first. You can open any stroke drawn with the Freehand (when its Close option is selected), Ellipse, Rectangle, or Polyline tools. 2087 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Closed Closes path of an open stroke. By default, the Freehand and Polyline tools create open strokes. You can reset the Freehand default to a closed stroke by selecting the Close option in the Freehand property page. To close a polyline stroke, press the Ctrl key and click. Reverse Direction Reverses path direction of a stroke. The start point of a stroke becomes the end point and vice versa. Curve Fitting Lets you redraw curve using fewer control points and specify the number of these control points Fit Curve Samples all control points of original curve and redraws it with fewer control points. The redrawn curve’s likeness to the original depends on the Tolerance level. Tolerance Controls number of control points the redrawn curve maintains from the original curve. A high level removes many points from the curve, which results in less similarity to the original curve. A low level removes few control points, which maintains a closer likeness to the original curve. Animation 2088 Description Lets you set and delete keyframes, and navigate between them First Moves position indicator to first keyframe Prev Moves position indicator to previous keyframe Set Key Sets keyframe at current position indicator. When a keyframe is set for the current frame, a “K” is displayed above this option. When animation has been set for the stroke, but a keyframe does not exist on the current frame, an “A” is displayed. Next Moves position indicator to next keyframe Last Moves position indicator to last keyframe Del Current Deletes keyframe at current frame Del All Deletes all keyframes for entire length of stroke. You can modify the stroke length in the Time Span property editor. Del From Start Deletes all keys from beginning of stroke to current frame, excluding the current frame Edit Shape Option Description Del To End Deletes all keys from the current frame to the end of the stroke, excluding the current frame Copy Shape Copies shape of currently selected stroke to Clipboard Paste In Place Pastes shape currently saved to Clipboard on currently selected stroke. The pasted shape will be translated over the stroke’s shape. Paste At Origin Pastes shape currently saved to the Clipboard on currently selected stroke. The pasted shape will keep its fixed position. Tracker Property Page The Tracker property page lets you track a moving object in a sequence, and apply the transformation to the control point of a stroke. Paint tracking can be used to track graphics objects, such as replacing a color in a moving object, or tracking an imperfection and applying a blur or clone effect. When using the paint tracker, you must define the region that will undergo tracking using a drawing tool. The paint tracker will track for the duration of the stroke. Option Description Show Displays the tracks of selected control points Hide Hides all trackers Hide Selected Hides selected trackers Delete Selected Deletes selected trackers Delete All Deletes all trackers < (track backward) Lets you track backwards from current frame. Useful when accuracy degrades over a number of frames. You can stop the tracker, reselect the tracking point, and then track backwards to correct the inaccurate track time span. 2089 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description > (track forward) Starts forward tracking Fast Tracking Increases tracking speed. This option may produce lower quality results, but is much faster. Update View Turns Update View on or off. When selected, the viewer updates during tracking. Deselect this option for faster processing. Magnification Sets magnification factor to help you position the trackers Color Space Lets you choose color space in which tracking will be performed: luma, RGB, R, G, or B Tracker ID A number is assigned, in sequence, to all the trackers that represent control points on the graphics object being tracked Confidence The tracker always looks for the highest level of similarity between the target area and the search area. The default value of 70 may cause the tracker to stop tracking, unless it finds at least 70% similarity between its target area and the search region. If the tracker cannot find a match based on your confidence criteria, the tracking will stop. Minimum Specifies minimum percentage of similarity the tracker will look for between the pixel pattern in its target area and the search area before it creates a motion path between frames. You can turn off this option by specifying a value of 0. n Current Target 2090 A low or nonexistent confidence value may cause the tracker to “lose” its way by tracking a region whose pixel pattern resembles that of the actual object. Shows default or confidence level currently used by tracker Lets you change original target position Edit Text Option Description Set If tracker is moved to new position during tracking, a timecode is set to indicate the last position of the tracker. By default the timecode is set to the start frame on which the tracking started. Always Update Makes trackers compare the pixel pattern of the current frame to that of the previous frame, rather than the first frame at the tracking start point. Use this option when the target area changes in appearance as the clip is played. This can cause cumulative tracking errors. Show Gfx When selected, shows the graphics object Hide Gfx When selected, hides the graphics object and shows it in wireframe mode. Useful if graphics object is obtrusive and making the positioning of the trackers difficult. Edit Text The Edit Text Tool and Insert Text Tool property pages let you load and save Text Tool presets. By modifying the Text tool properties, you can create customized text tools. Once saved, you can quickly retrieve each customized text tool for future use by clicking the Load Preset button in the property editor. These property pages do not contain any specific parameters for you to set. Ellipse The Ellipse Tool property page lets you load and save Ellipse tool presets. By modifying the Ellipse tool properties (Paint Style, Brush, Fx, Masks, and Time Span), you can create customized drawing tools. Once saved, you can quickly retrieve each customized Ellipse tool for future use by clicking the Load button in the property editor. This property page does not contain any specific parameters for you to set. 2091 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Erase The Erase effect lets you erase graphics objects (brush strokes, fills, and text bodies). You can use Erase as a brush, fill, or titling style effect. Option Description Amount Controls amount of stroke or fill that is erased. A value of 100 completely erases the stroke or fill. Lower values erase part of it, so that the portion remaining is partially transparent, allowing you to see the underlying image. Font The Font property page lets you specify the font family, type style, and point size of characters within a text body. All of the fonts that are present on your operating system and in the system registry are available for use. Option Description Font Specifies font type from a list of those available on your system Style Specifies font style, such as bold, italic, etc. Size (Pts) Specifies font size in points. n Antialiasing 2092 Tip: You can also enter the font name in the text box. Lets you set antialiasing options Use Turns antialiasing option on or off. Most of the time, characters must be antialiased. But you might want to turn off antialiasing on very small characters. Extra Filtering Provides subpixel control of extra filtering applied to the antialiasing. This allows a tradeoff between image sharpness and smoothness of the antialiasing. Supersampling Lets you choose the precision of the antialiasing; a value of 8x8 provides higher precision than 4x4. Freehand Option Description Kern Pairs Moves a character closer to the previous character in the same word to improve the appearance of text in certain fonts Font Hinting The TrueType vector fonts used in Avid DS Nitris are scalable to any point size. Because the screen redraws the text in pixels, certain point sizes can display artifacts, such as blurry edges. When this option is selected, redraw information is provided to prevent these artifacts from appearing in the viewer and output monitor. Filtering Applies a 1x2 box deinterlace filter to the text. This helps reduce the flicker perceived when the text is viewed on an interlaced screen. The option is provided as the detail removed by the filter can make text with small fonts unreadable. Subpixel Positioning Gives soft edges to static and animated text (rolls). For sharper edges on static text, turn this option off. Kerning Controls amount of horizontal space between characters. The kerning value is expressed as a percentage of the current font size. The kerned space appears after each character. Character Transform (XY) Lets you transform characters in X and Y. This parameter can be animated. Freehand The Freehand property page lets you define the general characteristics of a freehand stroke. Option Description Path Determines whether stroke is open or closed, and number of control points along its length Close Closes path of an open stroke. By default, Freehand is an open stroke. A straight line joins the two end points of the stroke. 2093 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Continuous Interpolation Creates continuous path. Freehand strokes consist of a series of brush stamps. When this option is selected, the area between brush stamps is interpolated and drawn by Avid DS Nitris. To set the quality of the interpolation, specify a value for the Sampling Ratio on the Brush property page. Fast Feedback Provides a faster display of the stroke as you are drawing it. The effect itself is not apparent as you are painting, but appears after the stroke has been created. Curve Fitting Contains settings for controlling the use and number of control points of the redrawn curve Fit Curve Turns Tolerance parameter on or off Tolerance Controls number of control points the redrawn curve maintains from the original curve. High values remove many points from the curve, which results in less similarity to the original curve. Low values remove few control points, which maintains a closer likeness to the original curve. Overlay Brush Turns brush overlay on or off. Overlay refers to the outline of your brush in the viewer. This display option does not affect the result of the output of effects. Glass Brush The Glass Brush effect distorts an image as if it is being viewed through a refracting glass surface. 2094 Option Description Smoothness Increases or decreases smoothness of image Shininess Controls shininess of highlights. Higher values produce sharper highlights. Lower values produce smoother highlights. Graphics Properties n This effect is designed for use on text. As an ordinary brush effect in paint, the result may be a solid black color in flat areas of the brush. Graphics Properties The Graphics Properties property editor provides a quick method for fading graphics objects, creating rolls and crawls, and working in raster mode. There are options for animating the position of objects, setting the premultiplication options, as well as a list of the messages that may appear while you’re working in a graphics session. You can also perform tedious tasks, such as rotoscoping, quickly using the raster mode. General Property Page The General property page lets you adjust certain graphics properties. You can create fades, rolls and crawls. You can also specify the start and end positions, change your system to a non-real-time configuration, as well as set premultiplication options. Option Description Roll/Crawl Specifies parameters for rolls and crawls Motion Specifies type of motion to apply to selected object None Applies no motion to selected object Roll Applies vertical motion to selected object (from bottom screen to top) Crawl Applies horizontal motion to selected object (from left to right across the screen) Start Position Specifies start position for roll or crawl Onscreen Starts roll or crawl on screen Offscreen Starts roll or crawl off screen End Position Specifies end position of roll or crawl Onscreen Ends roll or crawl on screen Offscreen Ends roll or crawl off screen 2095 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Standard Speed When selected, guarantees optimal quality when building rolls/crawls Build Starts creating the roll/crawl Fade Controls duration of fade. When you apply a fade to graphics objects, the time span is reset to match the duration of the graphics session. The existing opacity settings for a stroke (brush and fill) and text (edge, face, shadow) are overwritten with the new fade values. In Specifies fade-in duration in frames Out Specifies fade-out duration in frames Build Starts creating the fade animation. To reset the opacity to 100%, enter a duration of 0 in both the In and Out text boxes, and click the Build Fade button. Apply to Selection Lets you apply automatic fade, roll, and crawl animation only on selected graphics objects Non Real-Time Lets you change your system to a non-real-time configuration Messages These messages may appear in the Graphics property editor while you’re working in a graphics session. If any of the following conditions are in effect, a graphics session can’t be played in real time: Option Description The non-real-time option You have switched Avid DS Nitris to a non-real-time is selected. configuration for this graphics session. All real-time graphics will require processing before output. The graphics session has Objects in the graphics session contain effects that can’t be objects with complex played in real time. Only the Airbrush, Color Blend, and effects. Cutout effects can be played in real time. 2096 Graphics Properties Option Description The graphics session has Animation that moves at different speeds can’t be played objects with complex in real time. Make sure all objects move in the same transformations. direction (either X axis only or Y axis only) at the same speed or not at all. The graphics session has Objects in the session contain animation, such as an objects with complex animated brush size, that can’t be played in real time. Only animations. translations in the X or Y axis can be played in real time. The graphics session has Objects in the session with varying time spans can’t be objects with complex played in real time. Make sure all objects span the length time spans. of the graphics session, from start to end. The graphics session has objects that require an alpha channel or that are not applied on the RGB channels. Objects that use the alpha channel or that are not applied on the RGB channels can't be played in real time. In the Masks property editor, make sure the Use Alpha Channel option is deselected and the Painted on Channel (Red, Green, and Blue options) are selected. The graphics session has Graphics sessions that contain strokes with inverted fill objects with inverted fill. can’t be played in real time. The graphics session has Single-frame graphics sessions can’t be played in real a single frame duration. time. The graphics session has Avid DS Nitris is using the real-time capabilities of your a real-time configuration. system in this session. Raster Mode Property Page The Raster Mode property page lets you perform tedious tasks, such as rotoscoping quickly and effectively. Since this mode is not vector-based, processing is not required. The time required to load and save graphics objects is also dramatically reduced. As you paint each frame, the finished or burned, frames are placed in a cache and the original graphics objects are deleted. The recording of graphics objects is deactivated in the Graphics Object View (GOV), they are flattened, and the resulting images are stored on individual frames directly to a cache. You can have the frame you are currently working on automatically “burned” or you can burn the frames later when you’re satisfied with the results. You can work in Raster mode for graphics objects that have a duration of one frame. 2097 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference n When burning frames, keep in mind that the clip effects in a sequence will no longer be editable. If you want to apply clip effects to your sequence, it is best to use the Raster mode to burn your frames first . Option Description Start Lets you begin working in raster mode Burn on Frame Change Automatically burns frames as you advance to next frame Copy Burned Strokes When advancing frames, automatically creates same strokes as in previous frame Non Real-Time Lets you work in non-real-time Remove Warning When Burning Deactivates warning message that appears when you change frames Base Cache File Name Lets you easily retrieve work performed in Raster mode. A default name based on the sequence name is automatically added to the Base Cache File Name text box when the sequence is saved. Options Property Page The Options property page lets you specify precise processing options for the selected effect. These settings override those in the Sequence Preferences dialog box. Option Description Type Auto If you select Auto, Avid DS Nitris will use the global processing setting in the sequence preferences. Frame Processing Processing, including animation, is frame-based. Both fields in each frame are processed together using the same property values. Source Material 2098 Lets you specify if the source material is frame-based, or is the same as the Type setting. Graphics Properties Option Frame Same As Processing Description Lets you indicate that the image on which an effect is applied is frame-based. If the image on which an effect is applied is a frame-based image, then select this option. n Still images are always frame-based. Lets you specify that the source material is the same as the Type setting. This is the default option. If the image on which an effect is applied is field-based, then select this option, and make sure that the Type setting is set to Field Processing as well. Precision Choose the bit depth at which your effects will be processed. Some effects are capable of 16 and 32-bit float precision. The drop-down list shows the supported bit depths for this effect. If you select Auto, Avid DS Nitris will use the global precision setting in the sequence preferences, unless a different setting is propagated by a previous input effect. Use Same Precision for Inputs All effects that are input to this effect will use the above Precision setting if their Precision is set to Auto. Output Frame Size Forces the effect to output pixels an image of the frame size. If the image is larger, it will be cropped. If smaller, it will be padded with black transparent pixels. For example, if you have a PAL sequence that is 720×576 and you process an image larger than the PAL frame (2000×2000), then only the pixels that fall within the PAL frame will be output from this effect. The rest will be cropped out. Alpha Affects premultiplication parameter of images in a graphics session. By default, the premultiplication option is set to Auto. This does not affect the pixels themselves, but simply changes the parameters that indicate how the pixel should be interpreted by effects subsequent to the Graphics effect. Auto Automatically changes the premultiplication parameter of images to Not Premultiplied when painting on at least one channel but not all of them. Otherwise, the premultiplication parameter is left at its original setting. 2099 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Premultiplied Changes the premultiplication parameter of images to Premultiplied Not Premultiplied Changes the premultiplication parameter of images to Not Premultiplied Group The Group property editor displays the number of strokes, titling bodies, and subgroups at the current level and at all levels. Option Description Statistics Displays information at the current level and all levels At this level Displays the number of strokes, titling bodies, and subgroups at the current level At all levels Displays the number of strokes, titling bodies, and subgroups at all levels Magic Wand The Magic Wand tool lets you choose the color models and tolerance, as well as the fit and size of the tolerance. You can create a stroke that has the same shape as a selected area of an image. The selection is based on RGBA or HLSA values of an image. Once created, the stroke can be edited. 2100 Option Description Color Model Specifies color range or tolerance based on two color models: RGB (red, green, blue) or HLS (hue, luminance, saturation) Magic Wand Option Description Color Tolerance Sets range of acceptable color values for each channel. This range of values is compared to the color value of the pixels adjacent to the pixel you select to determine whether it falls within the specified range. If it does, the pixel is included in the selection and the pixels surrounding all the included pixels are analyzed, and so on. When you select the Similar option, it checks all the pixels in the image regardless of their location, so several separate areas can be included in the selection. RGBA/HLSA Sets range of acceptable color values for the selection for each channel. The greater the color tolerance value, the more color values are included in the selection. Use Specifies channels you want to use to control the range of pixel values to be included in the selection. For each channel you want to include, select the Use option beside it. Fit Tolerance Controls number of control points the redrawn curve maintains from the original curve. High values remove many points from the curve, which results in less similarity to the original curve. Low values remove few control points, which maintains a closer likeness to the original curve. Feature Size Tolerance Controls number of subregions that are selected from the image. A high value selects fewer subregions, resulting in a less intricate shape. A low value selects more subregions, resulting in a more intricate shape. Invert Inverts selection, so that all values outside the specified range are included, instead of all values within the range Similar Selects all color values within specified range wherever they are located in the image (rather than just those that are adjacent to the selected pixel) Reset All Resets all RGBA values Autocreate Automatically applies effect to selection right after you’ve clicked the image with the Magic Wand 2101 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Confirm Displays selection before applying effect. You can adjust selection parameters and/or click a different place in the image. The selection updates to the new values. Click this button or press Esc to accept the selection. n This option is only available when the Autocreate option is deselected. Masks The Masks property editor lets you apply effects to one or more of the RGBA channels instead of the entire image. It also lets you apply the effect to an existing matte. General Property Page The General property page lets you apply various types of masks to strokes, fills, and titles. Masks identify which channel of the image to apply the current effect. You can use the paper grain images to modify the appearance of graphics objects. When applying strokes, paper grain masks let you simulate the effect of painting on a textured canvas. Option Description Paint on Channel Selects channels on which you want to apply paint Red, Green, and Blue Applies paint strokes, fill, and titling to red, green, or blue component of image Alpha Applies paint strokes, fill, and titling to alpha component of image. To create a matte with the Color Blend effect, select the alpha channel. n Mask 2102 When creating a matte, set the alpha component value in the appropriate Color Blend property editor. For complete transparency, set it to 0; for 50% transparency, set it to 50, and so on. Activates mask options Paint Style Option Description Use Alpha Channel Uses alpha channel of image you’re painting on as a mask. When you paint, masked areas do not accept the stroke. Invert Inverts the alpha channel, so that you paint on the masked areas, but not on the rest of the image Paper Grain Property Page The Paper Grain property page lets you apply a paper grain texture to a stroke, fill, or text. This simulates the effect of painting on a textured canvas. Option Description Source Image Lets you choose source for paper grain image Preview window Displays selected paper grain texture Browse Lets you view and select paper grain images (...) Lets you select paper grain images in any supported file format Use Uses paper grain displayed in preview window. This option is automatically selected when you load a paper grain image. Invert Uses inverted version of selected paper grain displayed in preview window Absorption Sets opacity of paper grain texture. A high value makes the textured object fade or appear to be absorbed into the background image. A low value makes the textured objects more distinct. Paint Style The Paint Style property page lets you define the general characteristics of the brush and fill of a stroke. 2103 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Brush Lets you set brush options Use Turns Brush options on or off. When deselected, no brush stroke appears. You can further define the appearance of the brush stroke using the Brush and Brush Fx property editors. Antialiased Turns the Antialiased option on or off. Smooths the jagged lines that can occur when drawing diagonal or curved strokes Pressure Makes stroke’s width and degree of opacity respond to amount of pressure you apply to the stylus on the graphic tablet Size Turns Size option on or off. When selected, the pressure you apply to the stylus affects the size of the stroke. Opacity Turns Opacity option on or off. When selected, the pressure you apply to the stylus affects only the opacity of the stroke. Fill 2104 Lets you set fill options Use Turns Fill option on or off. When selected, closed objects, such as ellipses and rectangles, are filled with the specified fill effect. This option automatically closes freehand and polyline strokes, and adds the defined fill. Antialiasing Lets you set antialiasing options Use Turns antialiasing option on or off. Smooths the jagged lines that can occur when drawing diagonal or curved strokes. Extra Filtering Provides subpixel control of extra filtering applied to the antialiasing. This property allows a tradeoff between image sharpness and smoothness of the antialiasing. Supersampling Lets you choose the precision of the antialiasing; a value of 8x8 provides higher precision than 4x4. Below Brush When this option is selected, the fill is placed behind the edge of the brush stroke. When deselected, the fill is superimposed over the inside edge of the brush stroke. Paint Style Option Description Invert When creating a stroke, fills the area outside of a stroke. The difference between the output area frame and the stroke is filled. If the stroke is totally out of the output area frame, the frame is completely filled (necessary for animating the stroke). By default, this option is off. Opacity Controls transparency of brush stroke. Values: 0 (completely transparent) to 100 (completely opaque). Fill Rule Determines which areas of a shape are filled or become holes. Even-Odd Lets you create shapes with holes. Non-Zero Winding Lets you create filled shapes. Feathering Sets feathering options Use Turns Feathering option on or off. When selected, gives the fill a soft boundary where the fill approaches the stroke edge. Crop Confines the soft boundary to within the stroke geometry Soft Creates feathering using a soft fill algorithm Radius Sets radius of the soft boundary Profile Sets rate at which the fill dissolves. A high value creates a rapid fall off, where the fill boundary dissolves quickly. A low value creates a linear fall-off effect, where the fill boundary dissolves outward at a constant rate. Blur Creates feathering using a blur fill algorithm. You can blur in X and Y independently. X Radius Lets you change the radius of horizontal directions. The greater the radius, the softer the blur. Y Radius Lets you change the radius of vertical directions. The greater the radius, the softer the blur. Lock Links width and height of blur radius. if you change one dimension, the other will vary proportionally. 2105 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Polyline The Polyline property page lets you load and save Polyline tool presets. By modifying the Polyline tool properties (Paint Style, Brush, Fx, Masks, and Time Span), you can create customized drawing tools. Once saved, you can quickly retrieve each customized Polyline tool for future use by clicking the Load Preset button in the property editor. n n Tip: When creating strokes using the Polyline tool, segments of the polyline can be constrained to a 45 degree angle by holding down the Alt key. This is useful when you want to create straight lines. To close a polyline, press Ctrl and click in the viewer. This property page does not contain any specific parameters for you to set. Rectangle The Rectangle property page lets you load and save Rectangle tool presets, and set the corner radius of rectangles. By modifying the Rectangle tool properties (Paint Style, Brush, Fx, Masks, and Time Span), you can create customized drawing tools. Once saved, you can quickly retrieve each customized Rectangle tool for future use by clicking the Load Preset button in the property editor. Parameter Description Rounded Corners Lets you create a rectangle with rounded corners Corner Radius Lets you set the radius for the corner of the rectangle you are about to create Reshaper The Reshaper property page lets you reshape existing strokes using a freehand approach. You can modify the geometry of a stroke without being constrained to the shape’s control points. The Reshaper tool is useful for rotoscoping and animating shapes. 2106 Reshaper Reshaper Tool Shortcuts Tool name Shortcut Reshaper Tool P Trace Drag shape edge Trace Straight Line Alt-drag Trace Without Moving Existing Control Points Shift-drag Chop Control Points C-drag Move Shape A Rotate Shape D Scale Shape S Scale Shape Proportionally Shift+S Skew Shape F Move Origin S, D, or F-drag Center Origin S, D, or F and right-click shape Position Stretch Limits G-drag stretch limits Stretch Shape G-drag edge of shape Change Shape Opacity O-drag Exit Reshaper Tool Esc Reshaper Property Page Option Description Wireframe Displays geometry of stroke in wireframe mode 2107 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Style Description Lets you select wireframe style. Styles: None, Dotted, White, Black, and Negative. Default is Dotted. n Width Trace Smooth Curve Tip: To turn wireframe mode off, select None from the Wireframe Style list. Selects wireframe width in pixels Automatically smooths a traced curve Sets amount of smoothing on a traced curve. Values: 0 to 100; default is 20. For no curve smoothing, set value to 0. For the most curve smoothing, set value to 100. Trace Cursor Lets you choose cursor style for trace tool Keep Curve Aspect When Stretching Lets you specify if stretched curve segments maintain their aspect ratio. That is, you can specify that tangents maintain their length and angle ratios. When stretching a shape, its control points (that are not visible) are moved proportionally to their distance from the stretch limits. Scale Speed Sets speed for scaling a shape interactively in viewer. When scaling a shape interactively in the viewer, it's sometimes useful to speed up or down interactivity. Skew Speed Sets speed for skewing a shape interactively in viewer. When skewing a shape interactively in the viewer, it's sometimes useful to speed up or down interactivity. How To Provides keyboard shortcuts and tips related to the Reshaper tool Reshaping a Stroke There may be times when you want to edit the shape of a stroke using a “freehand” approach. This is especially useful for rotoscoping and animating shapes. With the Reshaper tool, you can modify the geometry of a stroke without being constrained to the shape’s control points. By tracing the edge of a shape, you can interactively reshape a stroke. 2108 Reshaper In addition, you can chop, scale, rotate, skew, stretch, and move a shape, as well as adjust its opacity. When reshaping a stroke, keyframes are automatically set. n Tip: Since it’s difficult to reshape overlapping strokes, you can hide or lock graphics objects that clutter the viewer. Edge of shape To trace a shape: 1. Do one of the following: t In the General toolbar, click Reshaper or press P. t From the Graphics menu, select Tool > Reshaper. 2. To trace, do any of the following: n t Drag along the edge of the stroke. t To trace a straight line, hold down the Alt key and trace along the edge of the shape. t To trace without moving existing control points, hold down the Shift key while you trace. Tip: To trace more quickly, make sure the shape has a minimum of control points. To reduce the number of control points, use the Fit Curve option in the Edit Shape property editor. 3. Press Esc to exit the Reshaper tool. 2109 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Chopping Control Points If a shape contains a segment that you’d like to eliminate, you can chop the unwanted control points. Before After: A finger is chopped off. To chop control points: t Hold down the C key and drag along the edge of the shape that you want to chop. The area is chopped from the shape. Moving a Shape You can move the entire shape to a new location. To move a shape: t Hold down the A key and drag the shape to a new location. Scaling, Rotating, and Skewing a Shape When scaling, rotating and skewing a shape, you must first position the point of origin, which is represented by a small red circle in the viewer. To position the origin: 1. Hold down one of the following keys: t S to scale t D to rotate t F to skew 2. Drag the origin to a new location. 3. To center the origin, right-click the shape. The origin is positioned at the center of the stroke’s geometry. To scale a shape: t 2110 Hold down the S key and drag the shape to scale it. Reshaper n To scale proportionally, press Shift+S. To rotate a shape: t Hold down the D key and drag the shape to rotate it. To skew a shape: t Hold down the F key and drag the shape to skew it. Stretching a Shape Stretching lets you extend portions of a shape, while maintaining the rest of it. When stretching a shape, you must first position the stretch limits on the edge of a shape. The stretch limits are represented by two small gray squares in the viewer. Leg is stretched Stretch limits To stretch a shape: 1. Hold down the G key to access the stretch tool. 2. Place each stretch limit at the desired location along the edge of the stroke. 3. Drag the edge of the shape between the stretch limits. The segment between the two stretch limits is stretched. The other parts of the shape remain unchanged. 2111 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Changing the Opacity of a Stroke When performing rotoscoping, it’s sometimes helpful to see what's in the image underneath the stroke. This makes it easier to reshape the stroke from one frame to the next. To change the opacity of a stroke: t n Hold down the O key and drag the stroke in the viewer. When changing the opacity, the stroke fill and brush opacity is changed, if they were used. If the opacity is animated, a temporary value is set. If the opacity is not animated, a value is set but a key is not created. Reveal The Reveal effect lets you “paint away” the alpha channel. That is, when you paint on the alpha channel with this tool, white areas change to black (transparent). This effect is useful for adjusting or creating mattes. n Make sure the Alpha option is selected in the Masks property editor. You do not need to display the alpha channel to work with the Reveal effect. You can paint in RGB mode and see the underlying layer appear as you paint. Option Description Amount Controls amount of underlying image revealed. A low value partially reveals the underlying layer (by changing the white to gray). A high value changes the white to black, revealing the underlying layer. Smear The Smear effect lets you apply a smear to an existing image. You can apply it as a brush stroke, but not as a fill. It works by shifting pixel values in the direction of the brush stroke, and blurring them together at the same time. 2112 Special Effect You can make dramatically different smear effects by changing the brush parameters. Your results will depend on the way you set up the brush, and how you paint with it. n n This effect does not work on text. To see the effect, you must have an underlying image. Option Description Melting Controls amount by which pixels are shifted in direction of brush stroke Wetness Controls amount by which pixels are blurred together. For better quality, Smear looks best with a lower brush sampling ratio (below 20). You can set this ratio in the Brush property page. Special Effect The Special Filter effect lets you define a filter that creates a bubbly effect. The filter calculates either the minimum or the maximum brightness value in a specified area around a pixel and applies this value to the pixel. This operation is applied to every pixel in the image. Stack Effect The Stack effect lets you load multiple effects as a brush stroke or fill effect. Option Description Effect Stack Displays list of currently-selected effects Add Lets you add an effect Remove Removes highlighted effect Move Up Raises highlighted effect up one level in list 2113 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Move Down Lowers highlighted effect down one level in list Stroke The Stroke property page lets you create an animated, scrolling, handwritten effect, which gives the appearance of writing on your clip. You can specify the direction, beginning, and end frames of the animation. Option Description Handwriting Lets you create an animated, scrolling handwritten effect Forward Creates an animated, scrolling, handwritten effect, beginning with the first point of the stroke path to the last Backward Creates an animated scrolling handwritten effect, beginning with the last point of the stroke path to the first Center Creates an animated scrolling handwritten effect, beginning with the center point of the stroke path and moving outwards Custom settings Lets you control where the handwritten effect begins and ends its animation Head Specifies the head distance (in percentage) from the beginning of the stroke path Tail Specifies the tail distance (in percentage) from the beginning of the stroke path Reset Resets Head and Tail settings to the default values Text The Text property editor lets you define the attributes of text objects. 2114 Textured Brush Option Description Font Lets you select font family name (for example, Times, Helvetica, Courier). Default font is Times New Roman. Size Controls the font size, based on the current unit of measure. Default size is 10. Kerning Controls the amount of horizontal space between characters; expressed as a percentage of the current font size. The space appears after each character. Default is 0%. Scroll Position Rolling, crawling, path text. Controls the position of the rolling or crawling text within a container. For path text, the position of the text along the path. This property does not apply to static text objects. Default is 0%. Top Margin Controls the amount of vertical space along the top of the text body, which is also the space above the first line in the text body. Default is 0%. Bottom Margin Controls the amount of vertical space along the bottom of the text body. Default is 0%. Textured Brush The Textured Brush effect lets you apply a variety of textured effects to brush strokes. This lets you achieve “embossed” brush or “poker chip” texture effects. Option Description Light Position Lets you select position from which to illuminate image. Different light positions enhance different areas of the image. Gain Increases or decreases “height” of texture Invert Texture Pushes texture into image instead of popping it out 2115 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Brush Color Method Lets you determine color of brush strokes Underlying Image Uses color from image being painted Grayscale Image Colors the stroke based on the grayscale values of the image being painted Sepia Image Colors the stroke based on a sepia colorization of the image being painted Mono Colors the stroke based on the monochromatic values of the image being painted Tonal Colors the stroke based on the tonality of the image being painted Selected Color Uses the color selected from the color swatch Center Pixel Samples image being painted directly beneath the brush to select the color for the entire brush Color swatch n Displays selected or default color. Click the color swatch to select a color or double-click to display Mini Color Editor. This effect is designed for use on text. As an ordinary brush effect in paint, the result may be a solid black color in flat areas of the brush. Time Span (Graphics) The Time Span property page lets you define the number of frames in which a graphics object appears. You can specify a time span before drawing a stroke (the time span is then applied to all subsequent strokes until changed) or you can select a stroke and modify its time span. You can apply time span properties to strokes and text bodies. 2116 Option Description This Frame Only Specifies that the in timecode corresponds to the current frame and the out timecode correspond to the frame that follows the current frame, for a duration of one frame. Time Span (Graphics) Option Description This Frame to End Specifies that the in timecode corresponds to the current frame and the out timecode corresponds to the frame that follows the last frame where the Graphics effect was applied. Start to End Specifies that the in timecode corresponds to 00:00:00:00 (local, Graphics effect time) and the out timecode corresponds to the frame that follows the last frame of the graphics session. n The last frame of a graphics session is identified in one of two ways: 1) when painting on a clip, it is the last frame on which the Graphics effect was applied, or 2) when painting on a layer in a composite, it is the last frame of the longest layer that contains the latest clip in time. Start to This Frame Specifies that the in timecode corresponds to 00:00:00:00 and the out timecode corresponds to the current frame Custom Specifies a custom time span In Specifies timecode of the first frame in which you want the stroke or title to appear Out Specifies timecode of the frame that follows the last frame in which you want the stroke or title to appear Duration Specifies total number of frames during which you want the stroke or title to appear (used with the In or Out text box) Lock Keeps the stroke’s duration, but slides it in time by changing the in or out timecode. n Crop animation curves when changing object time span This option is available only when modifying the time span of a selected stroke. Determines whether the stroke’s animation curves are cropped or scaled when the stroke’s time span is changed 2117 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Titling Body The Titling Body property page lets you create an animated typewritten effect, which gives the appearance of a typewriter typing each character. You can specify the direction, beginning, and end of the animation, as well as adjust the spacing of the text body. Option Description Type-On Lets you specify where the animation of the typewritten effect begins and ends Forward Creates animated typewritten effect beginning with the first character entered to the last Backward Creates animated typewritten effect beginning with the last character entered to the first. Center Creates animated typewritten effect beginning with the centermost character entered and then moving outwards Head Specifies first frame for which the typewritten animation begins Tail Specifies frame on which the typewritten animation ends Reset Resets Head and Tail settings Spacing 2118 Controls amount and type of spacing between characters Kerning Moves a character closer to the previous character in the same word to improve the appearance of the text Leading Determines amount of vertical space between lines of text. This parameter can be animated. Leading Mode Lets you control spacing between baselines Minimum Leading Calculates line spacing by adding largest ascender and descender of all characters on a line to the leading. This is the default mode, and is selected when old presets or projects are loaded. Full Line Leading Calculates line spacing by adding largest ascender and descender of all fonts for each line to the leading Titling Style Option Fixed Leading Fit Text on One Line Description Takes only leading into consideration when calculating line spacing. It can be used to allow two bodies to have exactly the same line spacing. Makes all the text, regardless of length, fit in one horizontal text body Titling Style The Titling Style property editor lets you control the entire text body. You can specify whether you want the text to have a face (the front of a character), edges (an outline of the character), or a shadow (an offset of the character to give it a three-dimensional look). Each character can have any combination of these properties along with a unique color, opacity, or softness setting. Option Description Face Lets you control opacity and softness of the front of a character Use Turns face of characters on or off Opacity Controls transparency of characters’ faces. Values: 0 (completely transparent) to 100 (completely opaque). Blur X Controls softness of face in the horizontal (X) direction. Blur Y Controls softness of face in the vertical (Y) direction. Lock Links the blur of the X and Y directions, so they are identical Edge Lets you control opacity, softness, and width of the outline of a character Use Turns edge of characters on or off Face Cut When selected, performs a cookie cut on the edge using the shape of the face. This option allows a partially transparent face to show through the image from the background. 2119 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Width Sets width, in pixels, of edge. This property can be animated. Opacity Controls transparency of edges. Values: 0 (completely transparent) to 100 (completely opaque). Blur X Controls softness of edge in the horizontal (X) direction. Blur Y Controls softness of edge in the vertical (Y) direction. Lock Links the blur of the X and Y directions, so they are identical Shadow 2120 Description Lets you control opacity, softness, as well as giving you the option of removing the outline of the shadow from the face. Use Turns shadow of characters on or off Face Cut When selected, performs a cookie cut on the shadow using the shape of the face. This option allows for a partially transparent face to show through the image from the background. Opacity Controls transparency of shadows. Values: 0 (completely transparent) to 100 (completely opaque). Angle Sets angle, in degrees, of shadow relative to text. A value of 0, places the shadow directly to the right of the character by the number of pixels defined in the Offset option. A value of 315 (or -45) places the shadow to the right and slightly below the character. Offset Sets distance (in pixels) between text and shadow. Blur X Controls softness of shadow in the horizontal (X) direction. Blur Y Controls softness of shadow in the vertical (Y) direction. Lock Links the blur of the X and Y directions, so they are identical Transformations Transformations The Transformations property page lets you apply transformations on graphics objects. You can transform graphics objects along the horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) axes. n You cannot transform graphics objects along the Z axis and you cannot rotate along the Y axis. The Transformations property editor is only available after you’ve created a graphics object. Option Description Center Lets you specify location of object’s center along X and Y axes Center X Specifies center of the object along X axis in Avid DS Nitris units (DSUs) Center Y Specifies center of the object along Y axis in Avid DS Nitris units (DSUs) Reset Resets center parameters to the default values Translation Lets you specify how far the object is displaced from its initial position along the X and Y axes Offset X Specifies object’s offset position along X axis Offset Y Specifies object’s offset position along Y axis Reset Resets Translation parameters to the default values Dimensions Lets you resize an object by entering a percentage value or specifying a new size in pixels along the X and Y axes. When you enter a Scale value, the Size value is dynamically updated to reflect the new scale size. Scale X Scales object in X direction. A value of 100 is its original scaling. Units are percentages, for example a percentage of 200 doubles the scaling and 50 halves it. To scale proportionally, assign identical values to X and Y. Scale Y Scales object in Y direction 2121 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description Size X Specifies number of pixels along X axis Size Y Specifies number of pixels along Y axis Reset Resets Scale and Size parameters to the default values Lock Aspect Turns Lock Aspect option on or off. When selected, a change to the X direction updates the corresponding Scale and Size values for Y to maintain the aspect ratio. When deselected, you can vary X and Y dimensions independently. Rotation Lets you rotate an object from 0° to 360º Angle Controls object’s angle of rotation in degrees Reset Resets Rotation parameters to the default value Skew Lets you slant a stroke or text Factor Controls degree to which the stroke or text is skewed in 360º Reset Resets Skew parameters to the default value Reset All Resets all parameters to the default values Color Editor Dialog Box The Color Editor dialog box lets you pick colors from a palette or create new colors. To create new colors, you can pick them from the image in the viewer or from anywhere on the screen, or you can specify the RGB, HSV, or CMYK color model values. The Color Editor dialog box appears in property editors, where you can select and modify color. To access the Color Editor dialog box: t 2122 From the property editor, double-click the color swatch. Color Editor Dialog Box Color area Slider Color picker Color views Color preview Option Description Color area Displays a color area based on the color view you selected Slider Represents the color view you selected. For example, if you selected the Saturation view, then the slider represents the saturation component. Color views Displays different views of color and color components Color wheel Displays a color wheel for you to select a color Hue Displays a view of the hue component of the HSV color model Saturation Displays a view of the saturation component of the HSV color model Value Displays a view of the value component of the HSV color model Color palette Displays a color palette for you to select a color Color picker Lets you select a color from the image in the viewer Color preview Displays the previously selected color (left) and the color you are currently selecting (right). The bottom arrow resets the color preview to the previously selected color. The top arrow makes the color you selected (right) the current color. 2123 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option Description RGB The RGB (red, green, blue) additive color model. The intensity of each color is represented by a number from 0 to 255. A value of 0 represents no light (black) in a channel and 255 represents maximum light intensity (white) in a channel. For example, (0,0,50) represents a dark blue, while (0,0,255) represents a bright blue. To produce a shade of gray, set all three RGB colors to the same level. HSV The HSV (hue, saturation, value) color model. Hue refers to the position of a color measured in degrees on the color wheel (red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, or magenta) and the various shades between them. For example, red is 0, cyan is 180, and magenta is 300. Saturation refers to the purity of color or the amount of gray in the color. Values: 0 (most-saturated color) to 100 (least-saturated color). Value refers to the total amount of light in a color. A value of 0 gives the darkest result (black) and 100 gives the lightest result (white). CMYK The CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow) color model. This model simulates the four-color (CMYK) process used in printing. Mini Color Editor The Mini Color editor lets you pick colors from a palette or create new colors. To create new colors, you can pick them from the image in the viewer, from anywhere on the screen, or you can specify the HLS, HSV, or RGB color model values. To access the Mini Color editor: t 2124 From the property editor, double-click the color swatch. Mini Color Editor Slider Color area Options menu Color preview Palette Color picker Option Description Color area Displays a color area based on what you selected from the Options menu Slider Represents what you’ve selected from the Options menu. For example, if you selected HSV Saturation, then the slider represents the saturation. Color preview Displays the previously selected color (left) and the color you are currently selecting (right) Palette Lets you select a solid color from a pop-up menu > (Options menu) Displays different views of the HSV color model Color Wheel Displays a color wheel for you to select a color Vectorscope Displays an outline color wheel that resembles a vectorscope. This is useful for assessing colors in images without interference from other colored onscreen elements. HSV Hue Displays a view of the hue component of the HSV color model HSV Saturation Displays a view of the saturation component of the HSV color model HSV Value Displays a view of the value component of the HSV color model 2125 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Option HLS Description Specifies colors using the HLS (hue, luminance, and saturation) model. Hue refers to the position of a color measured in degrees on the color wheel (red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, or magenta) and the various shades between them. For example, red is 0, cyan is 180, and magenta is 300. Luminance refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a color. A value of 0 gives the darkest result (black) and 100 gives the lightest result (white). Saturation refers to the purity of color or the amount of gray in the color. The values range from 0 (most saturated color) to 100 (least saturated color). HSV Specifies colors using the HSV (hue, saturation, value) color model. Hue refers to the position of a color measured in degrees on the color wheel (red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, or magenta) and the various shades between them. For example, red is 0, cyan is 180, and magenta is 300. Saturation refers to the purity of color or the amount of gray in the color. The values range from 0 (most saturated color) to 100 (least saturated color). Value refers to the total amount of light in a color. A value of 0 gives the darkest result (black), and 100 gives the lightest result (white). RGB Specifies colors using the RGB (red, green, blue) additive color model. The intensity of each color is represented by a number from 0 to 255. A value of 0 represents no light (black) in a channel, and a value of 255 represents maximum light intensity (white) in a channel. For example, (0,0,50) represents a dark blue, while (0,0,255) represents a bright blue. To produce a shade of gray, set all three RGB colors to the same level. Normalized 2126 Normalizes the values so that they range from 0 to 1 Color picker Lets you select a color from the viewer Edit Opens the Color Editor dialog box Import Image Dialog Box Import Image Dialog Box The Import Image dialog box lets you locate the image files that you want to import into your graphics session. Option Description Avid Explorer Tools Lets you navigate through and manage the contents of your bins. Blend Property Editor Changes the way the contents of the bin are displayed. These tools appear for all bin contents. File Name Lets you enter a name for your preset. File Types Lets you select a file type for your preset. Import Subtitles Dialog Box The Import Subtitles dialog box lets you locate the subtitles files that you want to import into your graphics session. Option Description Avid Explorer Tools Lets you navigate through and manage the contents of your bins. File Name Lets you enter a name for your preset. File Types Lets you select a file type for your preset. Header Section Keywords The following table describes the different keywords used in the header section of a DS Subtitles file. 2127 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Keyword Value Description on or off Lets you specify if Graphics On Black clips will be generated for subtitles. If is on, a new track is added to the top of the timeline, Graphics On Black clips are generated on that track, the premultiplication setting of the Graphics On Black generated clips is set to on, subtitle text is applied on all RGBA channels, and all Graphics On Black generated clips on the new track are processed. If is off, Graphics timeline effects are created instead. Default is on. on or off Lets you specify if a single Graphics effect will contain all subtitles, or if a separate Graphics effect will be created for each subtitle. Default is off. on or off Lets you specify if the Graphics effects will be forced to be non-realtime. Default is off. A SMPTE timecode, such as 01:00:00:00 or -02:00:00:00 Lets you specify the timecode offset (positive or negative) that will be applied to each subtitle’s timecode. Default value is 00:00:00:00. 2128 Import Subtitles Dialog Box Keyword Value Description The name of a titling body preset Lets you specify the name of a titling body preset to be used as a template. All subtitles will use most of the properties of that preset. • Properties that won't be used from the preset: Transformation, Masks, and Time Span. • The Titling Body preset must not be animated. • The Face, Edge and Shadow effects must all be Color Blends. • There must be only one tab (the default one) in the titling body preset. • All characters must use the same Titling Font and the same Titling Style. In a DS Subtitles file, the rendering properties that appear before the keyword “ ” will be ignored (because they will be overwritten by the preset), and the properties that appear after the keyword “ ” will be used (because they will overwrite the ones defined in the preset). n A font name, such as Arial The font name in the Titling Font property editor. Default font is Arial. n A font style, such as Regular If you want all subtitles to be centered horizontally, set the default alignment to Center before saving your titling body preset. The capitalization of a font name must be respected. The font style in the Titling Font property editor. Default style is Regular. n The capitalization of a font style must be respected. A font size, such as 36 The font size in the Titling Font property editor. Values: 2 to 1024. Default size is 30. on or off The Antialiasing option in the Titling Font property editor. Default is on. Extra filtering value The Antialiasing Extra Filtering in the Titling Font property editor. Values: 0 to 8. Default is 0. 4x4 or 8x8 The Antialiasing Supersampling option in the Titling Font property editor. Values: 4x4 or 8x8. Default is 4x4. 2129 Chapter 4 Paint & Titling Reference Keyword Value Description on or off The Kern Pairs option in the Titling Font property editor. Default is off. on or off The Font Hinting option in the Titling Font property editor. Default is off. on or off The Filtering option in the Titling Font property editor. Default is on. on or off The Subpixel Positioning option in the Titling Font property editor. Default is on. Offset value The Character Transform X in the Titling Font property editor. Values: -1000 to 1000. Default: is 0. Offset value The Character Transform Y in the Titling Font property editor. Values: -1000 to 1000. Default: is 0.
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