Do you have a tip you would like
to share about using the Avid Media Composer? It could
be some cool key command, a feature you have discovered
a new use for, a particular method of working, etc.? Share your tips and tricks by e-mailing
them to me at mailto:avidtricks@hershleder.com... I will post them here, and will include your e-mail
address or web-site, unless I am asked not to.
I will be posting a variety of tips
and tricks in the coming weeks. If you are hankering
for a substantial dose of them, check out “The
Avid Handbook” by Steve Bayes or Alan Stewart's
Technical Pages, or get some Avid instruction. All of
this information can be found on the Avid Education
page of this site.
Now, on to the tips. Just click on
the topic of your choice or scroll down the page.
* IMPORTANT NOTE: Here, as
well as in Avid documentation, what many call the "Apple
Key" will be referred to as the "Command Key."
SEGMENT
MODE:
Turning off the images for faster redraw
KEYBOARD EXCHANGE
Take a look at other editor's keyboard layouts and see
if any of their ways of working can help you or inspire
you to try out some time saving/labor saving key mapping.
FINDING SPECIFIC SHOTS IN THE TIMELINE
How can you find all the shots from a particular
tape used in a sequence? How can you quickly
detect offline media (including audio) in a
sequence? How can you find all the motion
effects and freeze frames in a sequence?
DEMYSTIFYING THE MYSTERIOUS BLUE ARROW
It's not the yellow "Splice-In" arrow button. It's not
the red "Overwrite" arrow button. Find out what the blue
"Replace Edit" arrow button is really good for.
NEW
TIP AS OF 1/31/01 USING RELINK TO REPLACE GRAPHICS & CLIPS
Relink is a mysterious command, its power often misunderstood.
Here you'll find a step-by-step show of how to use Relink
to automatically replace graphics that needed to be revised.
Expertly written by Wes Plate, this information is still valuable to those
using versions of the software that do not have the new
Batch Import feature (e.g. v7.x).
NEW
TIP AS OF 1/31/01 2
- 3 PULLDOWN EXPLAINED
Important base knowledge for those working in film on
any nonlinear system. This information is presented by
Alan Stewart at Zerocut.com. For additional
information on 2 - 3 Pulldown, check out the book "Nonlinear 4." A review
of this book can also be found on my Avid Education page.
SEGMENT
MODE: Turning off the images for faster redraw When you drag a segment, you
normally get what Avid calls "Four Image Display," or
"Segment Drag Quads." Sometimes these can slow you down
when you have a long sequence or many effects, since it
has to draw those images; and many times you could care
less about seeing images anyway (like when playing with
audio segments). So, how do you turn that function off?In
v7.x there is a new Timeline Settings dialogue box in
your settings menu. One of the choices is "Show Segment
Drag Quads." Simply de-select this option.But then what
do you do when you want to turn it back on? There are
two fast ways:
1) With your Timeline window active, type "COMMAND + ="
and the settings dialogue box will pop up, allowing you
to quickly check the box (by the way this will work for
Composer settings, Bin settings, and Digitize settings
as well; just make the appropriate windows active and
type "COMMAND + =". It's also a selection from the Special
Menu)
2) This one is a little tricky, but is fast once you get
it to work (and it works on earlier versions of Media
Composer that don't have any other way to turn the images
off). Here's the steps:
A - Select a segment with either flavor of segment mode
B - With the segment selected, continue to hold down the
mouse button
C - Hold down the Shift key
D - Move the segment and you should hear a beep from the
Mac. The images are now turned back on (presuming you
already turned them off in your settings). Drop the segment
and try the above steps again, and the images are turned
off. So, I usually leave them off in my settings and turn
them on only when I really want them. It makes moving
segments around super smooth and fast. [ BACK TO TOP ]
SEGMENT MODE SNAP
KEYS Try these key commands to
make segments do your bidding:
1 - COMMAND KEY -- Hold that key down and the HEAD of
your segment will magically snap to In/Out marks, transitions
on the track its on, transitions on any other track, and
it will even snap to the blue position indicator.
2 - OPTION + COMMAND -- Same as above except the TAIL
of the segment will snap.
3 - OPTION -- Will force the segment to be dragged one
frame at a time (even when you are not zoomed way in).
4 - CONTROL -- Makes the segment stay in it's position
in time in your sequence, but allows you to move it to
higher or lower tracks . . .
without getting it out if sync![ BACK TO TOP ]
FANTASTIC FONTS Straining to read the text in
your bin? Would you like to be able to see the timecode
above your Source and Record Monitors better? Hate Geneva
(the font, not the city)? It's fun and easy to change
the font and/or point size of items in your bin (works
one bin at a time unfortunately), your composer window
(doesn't change the size of the "Center Duration" box
however), and your timeline text. Just make one of the
previously mentioned windows active, then go to the EDIT
MENU. Scroll down the menu to SET FONT and play away.
My preference for my bins is just to increase the point
size from 10 to 12, and 14 to 16 for my composer window
menus; see what works for you. [ BACK TO TOP ]
DON'T COPY ME I am always adding locators
in my source material, marking good shots, best v.o. takes,
etc. But, I hate having the locators copy into the sequence
after editing the stuff in. If you do too, this copying
feature can be disabled by going to your COMPOSER SETTINGS
and deselecting the check-box labeled "Copy Source Locators."[
BACK TO TOP ]
LOOPY SPACE BAR Test out mapping the SOLID PLAY
button from the Command Palette (in earlier versions of
MC you have to move the play that is on the "5" key) to
your space bar. Now the bar becomes not just stop, but
play as well while in Composer mode. Even cooler, and
more useful: now when you are in Trim Mode and have finished
a trim, just hit the space bar and it will loop play.
[ BACK TO TOP ]
THE MANY FACES OF J-K-L
The J, K, and L keys on the default keyboard are PLAY
REVERSE, PAUSE, and PLAY FORWARD respectively. They do
quite a bit more than that however, and can really get
you speeding through source material, zipping around your
sequence and, best of all, trimming faster and more intuitively.
Here's what they can do:
• By hitting "J" or "L" one time, the speed of play
is 30fps; press twice, it plays 60fps; three times: 90fps;
four
times:150fps; and five times: 240fps. The
sound will drop out above 90fps.
• While pressing the "K" key, ALSO PRESS either
the "J" or "K" key and you will be going at 8fps, and
for audio
you get a slow, rather analogue sounding scrub
(as opposed to the stuttering scrub you get using the
jog keys).
• Hold down the "K" key and TAP either the "J" or
"L" keys and you will be moving only one frame at a time.
• The additional beauty here is that all these
functions work in Trim Mode.
• The "K" and "L" keys (or wherever you have mapped
the corresponding default functions) also work to control
a deck. If you map the Fast Forward and Rewind
keys to your keyboard, you will find it fast and easy
to stop,
play and scan material. I am not a big fan
of the "Shuttle Holds Speed" setting, and I hate holding
down the
mouse button for an eternity, and I find that this
is a good solution. (Anyone else have another to pass
along?)
• If you are right-handed, experiment with moving
these functions from their default positions on J, K and
L over
to the left side of the keyboard (maybe on the
S, D and F keys). This puts the fingers on your left hand
closer to
the Shift, Control, Option, and Command keys and
makes the spacebar really easy to hit with your thumb
(see
"loopy spacebar" tip above). It also makes it faster/easier
to type when you need to since your left hand is
already there. [ BACK TO TOP ]
SHOW ME . . .
THE MEDIA FILE A cool new feature in v7.x.Did
you ever want to find a Media File in the Media Files
folder (to save or to move it)? This used to be a real
pain in the butt (remember that the media file names by
default are those crazy long strings of characters), but
now there is a feature called REVEAL FILE. Here's how
it works:
A - Select the MASTER CLIP for which you want to see the
media file (NOTE: this works ONLY one clip at a
time unfortunately).
B - Go to the FILE MENU
C - Select REVEAL FILE
D - After a moment or two the Media Files folder will
open and the media files will be highlighted and ready
for
you to move or copy. * * ADDITIONAL TIP: Quite often I find that only
one of the files is highlighted (even though there might
be two, three, or more linked to the Master Clip). In
this case I have found that by repeating the process as
needed, the additional files will become highlighted.
You may find it helpful to change the LABEL COLOR as you
do this so you don't lose track of the files. [ BACK TO TOP ]
USING THE "FIND"
FUNCTION Searching for a shot in your
sequence?
Trying to find all the freeze frames, motion effects or
offline items?
Here's a fast way. FINDING SHOTS:
A) with your timeline window active, type "COMMAND+F"
(which is the "Find" command from the Edit menu)
B) A dialogue box will appear. Type in a portion of the
clip name.
C) Hit Enter. Media Composer will now find the first match
to the right of where your blue line was just parked(so
you may want to begin your
search from the very beginning of the sequence).
D) To find the next instance, just press "COMMAND+G" ("Find
Again" from the Edit menu). Press it again and again
if you like. The blue line will cycle through your sequence
from beginning to end.
** WARNING: if you have an effect on a segment, this handy-dandy
deal doesn't work.FINDING MOTION EFFECTS: The key here
is to never remove the little designation that Media Composer
gives motion effect clips. Freeze frames always get "FF"
and slo-mo and fast-mo always get "FPS." Now, just use
the method described above to search for "FF" or "FPS."
** WARNING: if you have an effect on a segment, this doesn't
work.FINDING OFFLINE SEGMENTS: Here's two ways to help
you find segments that aren't linking correctly in your
sequence or are just plain offline. This trick is great
for finding offline audio, since you don't get a "Media
Offline" slide like you do with picture. The first way
is using the "Find" function as described above, added
with the following:
A) From the Fast Menu (hamburger) in your Timeline, select
"Clip Text"; and from the submenu that appears, select
"Media File Names" (segments
with any media not available will read "Media Offline").
B) Press "COMMAND+F."
C) In the dialogue box that appears, click the check-box
for "Timeline Text."
D) Type in "Offline" or "Media." Now you can quickly search
the entire sequence using the method described above
under the heading "FINDING SHOTS."SINCE WE ARE TALKING
ABOUT FINDING OFFLINE MEDIA, here's another method that
does not use the "Find" feature, but the decompose function
instead. The second way goes like this:
A) Make a bin and name it something like "offline check"
or whatever you want.
B) MAKE A DUPLICATE of your sequence (**VERY IMPORTANT**),
and name that sequence along the same lines
as your newly created bin.
C) Put the new sequence in the new bin.
D) From the "Clip Menu," select "Decompose"
E) In the dialogue box that appears, check the box that
states "Decompose only those items for which media is
currently unavailable."
F) Press "OK." Now you have a list of the shots that are
offline.FINDING SHOTS FROM SPECIFIC TAPES (great for color
correction):
A) From the Fast Menu (hamburger) in your Timeline, select
"Clip Text"; and from the submenu that appears, select
"SOURCE NAME" or "TAPE NAME"
(whichever appears).
B) Press "COMMAND+F."
C) In the dialogue box that appears, click the check-box
for "Timeline Text."
D) Type in the tape name (or a portion of the tape name).
Now you can quickly search the entire sequence using the
method described above under the heading "FINDING SHOTS."
[ BACK TO TOP ]
THE MYSTERIOUS
BLUE ARROW BUTTON <<
Updated 4/17/00>> The blue editing arrow
that lives in your fast menu (hamburger) by default, as
well as in the Command Palette, is called the Replace
Edit button, and is a pretty cool little guy. Here are
some uses:1 - Great for quick replacement of stills. The
Replace Edit button uses the existing in/outs of the shot
already in your sequence
to figure out duration. So, all you have to do is:
A) Put the blue position indicator somewhere in the segment/shot
you want to replace in your Sequence
B) Load the new shot you want to put in into the Source
Monitor
C) Park the Source Window's blue position indicator in
the middle of the clip (no in/out marks needed)
D) Configure your Source and Record Track Selector buttons
as required
E) Click the blue arrow to quickly replace the shot2 -
The other great quality of the Replace Edit function is
that IT SYNCS THINGS UP FOR YOU.
Here's the scenario: The
shot in your sequence is of someone landing a punch. You
want to put a punch sound effect
in. Here's a fast way to not only edit the sound effect
in, but to have it be in sync on the first try:
A) In your Sequence, put Add Edits in the desired track
roughly around the area that you want the
sound effect to go.
B) In your Sequence, park your blue position indicator
on the first frame where the sound should occur.
C) In the Source Window, park your blue line on the frame
where the sound begins (no in/out needed).
** So, now you have the Blue Position Indicator telling
the Avid the two points that should be aligned in sync.
D) Configure your Source and Record Track Selector buttons
as required.
E) Click the blue arrow, and in goes your sound effect,
and it's in sync. You can trim the in/out as needed.
** This all works in reverse too, for instances like when
you have a downbeat in the music and you want a visual
to correspond with
it.
** For another method of synching material, check the
AVID HELP for "Sync Point Editing," (but basically its
like using the Replace Edit button, except that instead
of using Add Edits to determine the region material will
go into you use In and Out marks). [ BACK TO TOP ]
MODIFYING MADNESS
/ UNVEILING THE UNLINK COMMAND Using the MODIFY command to
save your sanity, plus unveiling the Unlink command.
SCENARIO 1: You just spent 45 minutes LOGGING a tape
(there are no Flex Files or Media Logs, you have done
all the work yourself!) and you have a billion nice new
Master Clips in your bin screaming to be batch digitized.
Now you sit back, sip your coffee, admire your work and
you notice: THE DIGITIZE TOOL HAS THE WRONG TRACKS SELECTED
(maybe you left on too many tracks of audio, or forgot
to turn on the Video , etc.). Ahhhhhh! Do you have to
re-log? Naw. Would Avid do that to you? It's an easy fix.
1 - First, select the Master Clip(s) you want to fix.
2 - Next, go to the CLIP MENU and select MODIFY.
* As you peek through the menu of things you can modify,
there are a couple that are useful in these situations:
A - SET TIMECODE DROP/NON-DROP.
Good if you yourself logged the clips incorrectly (just
logging from notes
as opposed to a tape) or you got the clips logged this
way from someone who used MEDIA LOG. You
will know you have a problem because you are getting a
MIS-MATCH error when trying to batch digitize. Just
select this option, choose the correct timecode flavor
and all will be well with the world. (NOTE: you can set
your default timecode
flavor for logging by going to the DECK SETTINGS and choosing
the desired flavor from
the "When no tape in deck log as:" pop-up-menu).
B - SET SOURCE. This allows you to change
the TAPE that the clip references.
C - SET TRACKS. (Finally, here's the
solution to our dilemma described above).
1 - Select this option and select the tracks you WANT
to be digitized. Selected tracks appear with a double
line around them. Hit "OK" and you are back in business.
SCENARIO 2: You just spent two hours LOGGING and BATCH
DIGITIZING a tape (there are no Flex Files or Media Logs)
and you have a zillion beautiful new Master Clips in your
bin dying to be edited with. Now you sit back, sip your
coffee, admire your work, and you notice that YOU DIGITIZED
THE WRONG TRACKS (oh, maybe 50 minutes worth of avr 75
video when all you really need is just the audio; or maybe
you digitized four tracks of audio instead of just one
. . .you get the idea). Ahhhh! What now?
A - Open the MEDIA TOOL.
B - In your bin, select the Master Clip(s) that are problematic.
C - Using the "Fast Menu" ("Hamburger") that is attached
to the bottom left part of your BIN, choose SELECT MEDIA
RELATIVES. The corresponding Master Clips in the Media
Tool will become highlighted.
D - Click on the TOP BAR of the Media Tool window to make
that window active (and this will leave those clips highlighted).
E - Hit the DELETE KEY on your keyboard.
F - A dialogue box will appear. You can now select the
tracks you want to delete.
** REMEMBER: Any box that that has an "X" in it means
that track WILL BE DELETED.
G - Delete the tracks . . . bye, bye you troublesome tracks!Ok,
all is well and good; but you still have clips that say
that they have some extra tracks (even though the MEDIA
has been trashed, the MASTER CLIPS say that they have
audio tracks (or video tracks, or whatever your dilemma).
This can be confusing or frustrating to edit with. So,
what we will do now is to Modify them. HOWEVER, if you
select the clips and choose Modify now, you will get a
long-winded dialogue box that tells you that you can't
modify them unless they are "Undigitized." This may lead
you to think that you need to delete ALL the media. This
is NOT the case. Even if you deleted all the media and
then tried to modify the clips you would still get the
same message.So what's the deal? Basically, Media Composer
is protecting you from yourself, as there are times (especially
with very large projects) that you unmount some drives
to help increase system response (and that media would
appear offline). Essentially, the clip knows that at some
point in its life it was digitized, and doesn't want you
to muck things up. So, what do you have to do? You have
to convince Media Composer that the clip(s) have never
been digitized (basically that no LINKS had ever been
established between the master clip and media files).
So, here's the trick.
A - After performing steps A through G above, do this:
B - Select the Master Clips you want to modify.
C - Hold down the SHIFT AND CONTROL KEYS.
D - Go to the CLIP MENU.
E - You will notice that the selection that once said
Relink, now says UNLINK. Select it.
F - All these clips will now be offline. You have intentionally
broken the link between the Master Clip and the Media
Files. As far as Media Composer
knows, it was never digitized. Woo-Hoo!
G - Now, MODIFY the clips to INCLUDE ONLY THE TRACKS YOU
STILL HAVE MEDIA FOR.
H - With the clips still selected, go back to the CLIP
MENU and choose RELINK.
I - Bing, bang, boom . . . there ya go.In the previous
example we were deleting tracks. This process also works
if you have to modify previously digitized clips to include
tracks you forgot to log. Then you can go back and digitize
the tracks you need, or as Media Composer puts it, "tracks
that are unavailable." This is a great time and work-saver
if you logged all the clips by hand.[ BACK TO TOP ]
GETTING YOUR COMPUTER
TO RESPOND BETTER AND FASTER It can be frustrating when you
press PLAY and you have to wait what seems like forever
before the sequence will actually play. Here's several
ways to get the pep back in your system: The quickest
way to get better system response (especially once you
have strung the whole show together or when you have an
effects-intensive sequence) is to enable PLAYLENGTH. The
PLAYLENGTH TOGGLE button (found in the Command Palette
under the PLAY tab) can be mapped to your keyboard or
interface. Here's how and why it works: Normally, when
you press play, the ENTIRE sequence is loaded into RAM.
When you have a long sequence, or one with lots of layers/effects,
that's a lot of information to load in. That's why the
system chugs along before beginning to play. But, when
you use PLAYLENGTH TOGGLE, by default, it loads up 30
seconds of information before the blue position indicator
and 30 seconds after*. This totals one minute (yes, I KNOW you know
that! But, you will see in a moment why I point that out).
With less information to load in, the system responds
faster. The downside is that after 30 seconds (in this
case) it will stop playing, and you must press pause or
stop, and then press play to get it on it's way again.
Also, be aware of Playlength being enabled during an OUTPUT
as it will stop during playback. HOWEVER, if you have
opened the DIGITAL CUT TOOL to make your output you have
nothing to worry about, as this tool automatically ensures
that the entire sequence is loaded into RAM before making
the output. You can also change the amount of time loaded
into RAM by using the CONSOLE**.
In the the console, type the following (then press RETURN
-- Enter does not work) and you will get the results in
the chart below
( <space> means just press one space with
the spacebar): playlength<space>0 = this
is like turning Playlength off. It loads the entire sequence
into RAM.
playlength<space>1 = same as using the Playlength
Toggle button, it loads a total of one minute into RAM.
playlength<space>2 = loads 2 minutes into
RAM (1 min. before the blue line and 1 min. after).
playlength<space>3 = loads 3 minutes into
RAM. These commands are good to know if you ever cut on
v6.x or earlier, because there is no playlength toggle
button. You HAVE to use the console. The cool thing is
that if you type in your own duration into the Console,
the playlength toggle button will then toggle between
YOUR setting and loading up the entire sequence (though
quitting Media Composer resets the defaults). You can
see the playlength being toggled on and off if you leave
the Console open (though it does not have to be open to
work) The next question is: If I don't have my Console
open, then how do I know if Playlength is enabled of not?
While it is sometime difficult to tell, it IS possible.
If you pay CLOSE attention to the PLAY BUTTON under the
RECORD monitor, you will see that when Playlength is enabled,
the Play button is SLIGHTLY gray (as opposed to black).
Press the Playlength Toggle button on and off a few times
to see the change in the Play button.Here are some other
ways to keep your system frisky:
- Limit items in a bin to a total of 75 (master clips,
subclips, effects clips, etc.)
- Close unused bins
- Limit the total running time of sequences in a bin to
2 hours. You may even want to create a "working" bin to
store ONLY the segment of the show you
are currently working on and close the main "cuts" bin.
- Delete unused precomputes.
- Take any unneeded partitions and/or drives offline.
This is because the Media Composer software tracks or
"looks at" all media on all drives,
whether it is needed immediately or not, or even if it
is part of the current project or not.
* I think in v8 and higher, Playlength Toggle loads 1
minute before and after the blue line by default. ** SAFETY NOTE: be careful what you type into the Console.
It is a direct line to the Media Composer software
code and Avid will not support problems caused by typing
nonsense into the Console.[ BACK TO TOP ]
ENSURING THE SMOOTHEST
MOTION EFFECTS Ever see a stuttery slo-mo? Sometimes
it is unavoidable. But, here is the best way to make sure
you have done all you can to keep those slo-mo's and fast-mo's
as smooth as possible. Essentially, its just math. The
key is to make your frame rates EVEN multiples and divisors
of the frame rate you are using (which in our case here
in the US is 30fps, and for you PAL folks its 25fps).
So, for slo-mo, make them EVEN divisors: 15, 10, 5, and
3 frames per second. For fast-mo, make them EVEN multiples:
60, 90, 120, 150, etc. You can still use the FIT TO FILL
function, but just use it as a way to determine the approximate
fps. Then, when possible, defer to the closest EVEN frame
rate. This does not mean you can't use other frame rates
or fit to fill. This is just the way to make them as smooth
as possible.[ BACK TO TOP ]
DIGITIZING TIPS While you are digitizing (but
not Batch Digitizing), here are several useful things
you can do (on both the Mac and NT platforms):1 - Pressing
the F1 key will create the MARK IN for a subclip. If you
hit the F1 key again, it updates the Mark In point to
the newly selected time code. Pressing the F2 key creates
the MARK OUT for a subclip, and as before, If you hit
the F2 key again, it updates the Mark Out point to the
newly selected time code.
On the right side of the Digitize Tool you will see this
icon: . As you create the subclips, the number will be be
displayed here. The subclips will appear in your bin after
you stop digitizing. 2 - Press the F3 Key while digitizing
to add a locator to the Clip you are creating. On versions
8.0 and higher you can even add locators other than red:
F8 - Cyan
F9 - Magenta
F10 - Yellow
F11 - Black
F12 - White3 - On versions 5.x, 6.x, and 7.x, if you want
to name the clip while digitizing (NOT while Batch Digitizing),
simply begin typing. You can even use the Delete key to
backup and make corrections. If you hit the TAB KEY, and
then begin typing you are now adding a COMMENT to the
clip. You will see what you are typing appear in the Digitize
Tool. When you stop digitizing the clip Name will be there
and the Comment will appear in a newly created Comments
Column in your bin. On versions 8.0 and higher, this feature
works, except you have to "turn down" the triangle to
reveal the Name and Comment boxes BEFORE beginning to
digitize. Here's a picture of the "open" Name and Comment
box (note the white triangle in the upper left corner):
Here's one use for these
features as an example, and I am sure you will find many
other uses: When I get a DAT of music, and I am short
on time, I will simply create one large Master Clip of
the music and subclip each song as it is digitizing, plus
I can name each song and even use the locator function
to mark good sections of each cut. This is a great time-saver.
SNAP TO IT You can make your "Blue Position
Indicator" (often simply called the "Blue Line") in the
timeline SNAP to head or tail frames quickly and easily.
Just before you want the "Blue Line" to snap to the HEAD
FRAME of a specific transition, hold down the "Command"
key (the "Apple" key) and then simultaneously click near
the transition you want to snap to. If it's a TAIL FRAME
you want to snap to, then hold down BOTH the "Command"
key and the "Option" key at the same time before simultaneously
clicking near the desired transition.
[ BACK TO TOP ]
GRAB THAT GLITCH
Have you ever been trimming
along and encountered a "blip" of audio that makes the
cut not work? Often it's so quick that it's difficult
to tell whether the problem is on the outgoing shot or
the incoming shot. Here's a quick way to find out, and
avoid all the trial and error:1 - Enter TRIM MODE at the
transition you want to fix.
2 - Click the "Play Loop" button (previously known as
the "Play Transition" button)3 - WHILE the looping is
happening:
A - ON YOUR KEYBOARD,
press the "Go To Mark In" button
Now,
the looping will continue, but only over the OUTGOING
shot. B - ON YOUR KEYBOARD,
press the "Go To Mark Out" button
Now,
the looping will continue, but only over the INCOMING
shot.Using one or both of these will help you to easily
determine where the problem frame or frames of audio are.
[ BACK TO TOP ]
QUICK SOURCE
LIST When preparing for an online
session or an upres, there is the need to determine what
tapes are required. One method for this is to use the
EDL Manager (Output menu > EDL), and then printing
out a "Source" list. Nothing wrong with this, though it
can be time consuming with long and/or complex sequences
– not to mention the all too frequent crashes
that occur when creating an EDL. Well, here is another
way that is FAST and will NEVER CRASH:1 - Put the final
sequence into a bin all by itself. If your long format
show is still broken into "acts" or "show segments,"
be sure they are all in that same bin.2 - At the bottom
of that bin, click on the "Bin Fast Menu" button
3 - From the Bin Menu, select "SET BIN DISPLAY."
4 - From the dialogue box, select only the SOURCES check
box,
and the SHOW REFERENCE CLIPS
check box, as pictured below.
5 - Click "OK."
6 - Now your bin will be filled with all the sources for
your project (including PICT files, Titles, etc.).
7 - Use the SORT function (also found in the Bin Menu)
to organize this data.
8 - PRINT it out and you are on your way.
9 - After printing, simply go back to the Set Bin Display
menu and set the display
back to it's original configuration. *** The "Set Bin Display"
menu is useful for a variety of things. Check out your
Avid Documentation or Avid Help for more information on
"Reference Clips."
film & t.v.
print & journalism
music & audio
advertising
mediaibc 
. As you create the subclips, the number will be be
displayed here. The subclips will appear in your bin after
you stop digitizing. 2 - Press the F3 Key while digitizing
to add a locator to the Clip you are creating. On versions
8.0 and higher you can even add locators other than red:
Here's one use for these
features as an example, and I am sure you will find many
other uses: When I get a DAT of music, and I am short
on time, I will simply create one large Master Clip of
the music and subclip each song as it is digitizing, plus
I can name each song and even use the locator function
to mark good sections of each cut. This is a great time-saver.
(previously known as
the "Play Transition" button)3 - WHILE the looping is
happening:
