Avid Editing : A Guide for Beginning and Intermediate Users

by Kauffmann

• ISBN13: 9780240805412
• ISBN10: 0240805410
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-03-17
• Publisher: FOCAL PRESS

Summary

Avid Editing is a comprehensive guide covering nonlinear editing on the Avid Xpress DV, Avid Media Composer, and Avid Xpress on both Windows and Macintosh platforms. Suitable for beginning or experienced editors new to Avid, the book provides step-by-step instructions for hundreds of editing tasks in jargon-free terms. The chapters are organized in a logical progression that will help the beginner to master the material, while providing the intermediate user with a thorough review of techniques as well as important new information. This new edition has been expanded and now includes a chapter on 16:9 Widescreen Editing, explaining how Avid can help the reader create material for current and future widescreen television formats. Also new is the chapter on Script Integration, a powerful tool now available on almost all of Avid's products. The accompanying DVD contains all the video and audio clips you'll need to edit two dramatic scenes: "Wanna Trade" and "Gaffer's Delight." The first is the easier of the two projects and is designed to get the reader editing by the first chapter. The second is a more complex scene, shot in the 16:9 widescreen format, and it gives the reader hands-on practice with widescreen editing and script integration. A shooting script is also included on the DVD. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Sam Kauffmann is a professor at Boston University's College of Communication, where he teaches digital editing and film production. He is an award-winning video and filmmaker with numerous credits as a cinematographer and editor. His work has aired on network and local television stations throughout America

Table of Contents

Preface	xxi
Introduction	xxiii
Getting Started	1	(34)
The Editor's Job	1	(1)
Avid's Roots	2	(2)
Film and Video: The Old Way	2	(1)
Working with Picture and Sound	3	(1)
The Editing Process	3	(1)
Avid's Digital Approach	4	(8)
The Many Parts of Your System	5	(4)
Avid Editing Workflow	9	(3)
Turning on Your Avid	12	(2)
The Avid Interface on Your Computer	14	(10)
Toolset Menu	14	(2)
Project Window	16	(1)
Bins	17	(1)
Clips	17	(1)
Bin Views	17	(1)
SuperBin	18	(1)
Source Monitor or Pop-up Monitor	18	(1)
Record Monitor	19	(1)
The Timeline	20	(1)
Commands	21	(1)
The Keyboard	21	(1)
Three-Button Play	22	(1)
The Spacebar	23	(1)
The I and O Keys	23	(1)
Other Important Commands	23	(1)
Active Window	23	(1)
Practice	24	(1)
Starting an Editing Session	25	(5)
Making Your First Cut	26	(2)
Adding Shots to Your Sequence	28	(2)
Ending an Editing Session	30	(5)
Script for ``Wanna Trade''	31	(4)
Basic Editing	35	(20)
Editing Rules	35	(1)
Starting Your Second Editing Session	36	(1)
Basic Editing Skills	36	(2)
Marking Clips	37	(1)
Splice and Overwrite	38	(1)
Source Monitor Menu	38	(1)
The Timeline	39	(8)
Selecting and Deselecting Tracks	39	(1)
Navigating the Timeline	40	(1)
Home and End	40	(1)
Moving with the Mouse	40	(1)
Snapping to Cut Points	41	(1)
The Timeline Fast Menu	42	(1)
Scaling and Scrolling the Timeline	42	(2)
Additional Timeline Controls in the Media Composer	44	(1)
Enlarge or Reduce Tracks	45	(1)
Track Monitor Icons	45	(1)
Marking Clips in the Timeline	46	(1)
Duplicating a Sequence	47	(6)
Lift and Extract	47	(3)
Trim Shots Using Extract	50	(1)
It Takes Three Marks to Make an Edit	50	(1)
Like a Mantra	51	(1)
Using the Clipboard	51	(2)
Undo/Redo List	53	(1)
Suggested Assignments	53	(2)
The Project Window	55	(26)
Creating a Bin	55	(1)
All About Bins	56	(7)
Bin Views	56	(1)
Selecting Clips	57	(1)
Working in SuperBin Mode	57	(2)
Changing the Default View	59	(1)
Bin Headings	59	(2)
Moving Columns	61	(1)
Sorting	61	(1)
Frame View	62	(1)
Storyboard Technique	63	(2)
Starting a New Sequence	63	(1)
Creating a Storyboard	64	(1)
Drag-and-Drop Editing	64	(1)
Subclips	65	(1)
Deleting Sequences and Clips	66	(2)
Getting Folders	67	(1)
Settings: Have It Your Way	68	(11)
Kinds of Settings	68	(3)
Bin Settings	71	(1)
Interface	72	(2)
Keyboard Settings	74	(3)
Changing Command Buttons	77	(1)
The Media Composer's Composer Settings	78	(1)
Suggested Assignments	79	(1)
Command Palette Commands	79	(2)
Trimming	81	(22)
Trim Mode	82	(9)
Getting into Trim Mode	82	(1)
Media Composer Trim Modes	83	(1)
Lassoing the Transition	84	(1)
Leaving Trim Mode	84	(1)
Dual-Roller Trim Mode	85	(3)
Single-Roller Trim Mode	88	(3)
Trim Practice	91	(2)
Changing from Single-Roller to Dual-Roller Trim Mode	92	(1)
Media Composer Trim Keys	92	(1)
Adding Tracks for Trimming	92	(1)
Adding and Removing Rollers	93	(1)
Advanced Trim Mode Techniques	93	(6)
Trimming While Watching	93	(2)
Trim One Side, Then the Other	95	(1)
Using the Keyboard, Not the Mouse	96	(1)
Trim Settings	96	(1)
Dragging to a Mark	97	(1)
Picture and Sound Overlaps	97	(2)
Removing an Overlap	99	(1)
Sync Problems in Single-Roller Trim Mode	99	(1)
Enter Trim Mode on Selected Tracks	100	(1)
The Tilde Key	101	(1)
Trim Mode Review	101	(1)
Advanced Trim While Watching	102	(1)
Suggested Assignments	102	(1)
Menus	103	(34)
Screening a Work in Progress	103	(2)
Menus	105	(1)
Avid Xpress DV Menu	106	(1)
File Menu	106	(3)
Edit Menu	109	(2)
Bin Menu	111	(5)
Items Found in Media Composer Bin Menu and Not in Xpress Bin Menu	116	(1)
Clip Menu	117	(4)
Items Found in Media Composer Clip Menu and Not in Xpress Clip Menu	121	(1)
Output Menu (Media Composer Only)	122	(1)
Special Menu (Media Composer Only)	123	(2)
Tools Menu: Xpress and Media Composer	125	(4)
Toolset Menu	129	(2)
Windows Menu	131	(1)
Script Menu	132	(1)
Help Menu	132	(1)
Tracking and Monitor Menus	132	(3)
Tracking Menu	132	(2)
Monitor Menu	134	(1)
Mapping Menu Items	135	(1)
Suggested Assignments	136	(1)
Recording/Digitizing	137	(26)
Starting a New Project	137	(2)
Getting Your Tapes into the Computer	139	(1)
Tape Formats---Digital and Analog	139	(1)
The DV Format	140	(1)
Video Capture Boards	140	(1)
Connecting Your Equipment	141	(1)
Image Resolution	142	(2)
Digitizing Strategies	143	(1)
Xpress DV Storage Issues	144	(1)
Audio	144	(1)
Audio Sampling	144	(1)
Getting Organized	145	(2)
Remote/Local	146	(1)
Xpress DV---Connecting a Camera or Deck for the First Time	146	(1)
Organizing Your Bins	147	(1)
Opening the Record/Digitize Tool	147	(1)
Log or Digitize	147	(2)
Configuring the Record/Digitize Tool	149	(3)
If the Avid Says ``No Deck''	152	(1)
What Should Happen	152	(1)
Two Common Problems	153	(1)
Xpress DV Editors---Go to the Recording Process	153	(1)
Setting Video and Audio Levels	153	(3)
Audio Levels	154	(1)
Video Settings	155	(1)
The Recording Process	156	(4)
Logging	157	(1)
Batch Digitizing Your Logged Clips	158	(1)
Recording/Digitizing Each Clip As You Mark It	158	(1)
Recording/Digitizing ``On-the-Fly''	159	(1)
Digitizing Material without Timecode	160	(1)
Some Useful Settings	161	(1)
Suggested Assignments	162	(1)
Sound	163	(26)
The Importance of Sound	163	(1)
Track Monitors	164	(1)
Monitoring Only One Track	164	(1)
The Hollow Speaker Icon	165	(1)
Audio Scrub	165	(1)
Selecting the Tracks for Scrubbing	166	(1)
Adding Audio Tracks	166	(1)
Scrolling Your Tracks	166	(1)
Patching Audio Tracks	166	(2)
Deleting Tracks	168	(1)
Changing Audio Levels	168	(1)
Audio Mix Tool	169	(5)
Mixing Tool with Audio Tool	170	(1)
Speed Tips	171	(1)
Panning	171	(1)
Audio Clip Gain	171	(2)
Changing Volume and Panning on Multiple Clips	173	(1)
Audio Automation Gain	174	(3)
Placing Key Frames Manually	174	(2)
Placing Key Frames Automatically	176	(1)
Equalization	177	(4)
Setting the EQ	178	(1)
EQ Templates	178	(1)
Saving Your EQ Effect	179	(1)
When to Use the Different Audio Tools	180	(1)
What Level is Correct?	181	(1)
Waveforms	181	(1)
Using Trim Mode to Fine-Tune the Audio	182	(1)
Other Audio Techniques to Fix Problems	183	(2)
Using the Clipboard to Fix Audio	184	(1)
Add Edits	184	(1)
Timeline Views	185	(1)
Media Composer: Rearrange Tracks	186	(1)
Setting Up Your Tracks	186	(1)
Suggested Assignments	187	(2)
Advanced Editing	189	(20)
Segment Mode Editing	189	(8)
Extract/Splice Segment Mode Button	190	(2)
Lift/Overwrite Segment Mode Button	192	(2)
Moving Sound to Different Tracks	194	(1)
Lassoing to Get into Segment Mode	195	(1)
Delete Segments with Segment Mode	196	(1)
Trimming in Two Directions	197	(3)
Watch Point	199	(1)
Match Frame	200	(1)
Slipping and Sliding	200	(4)
Slip	200	(2)
Slide	202	(2)
Media Composer and Xpress	204	(3)
J-K-L Trimming	204	(1)
Replace	205	(2)
Suggested Assignments	207	(2)
Media Composer and Xpress Users	208	(1)
Titles	209	(22)
Opening the Title Tool	209	(1)
Choosing a Background	210	(1)
Creating Your First Title	211	(1)
Selection Tool	211	(1)
Shadows	212	(1)
Saving Titles	213	(1)
Cutting Titles into Your Sequence	213	(6)
Xpress DV RealTime Effects Button	215	(2)
Rendering Your Titles	217	(1)
Adjusting Your Title's Length	217	(1)
Adding Fades to Your Title	218	(1)
Colored Titles	219	(1)
Blending a Title	220	(1)
Creating Title Style Sheets	221	(1)
Soft Shadows	222	(1)
Glowing Titles	223	(1)
Drawing Objects	224	(1)
Delete Key	225	(1)
Titles with Objects	225	(1)
Grouping and Locking	226	(1)
Transparency	227	(1)
Alignment Menu	227	(1)
Lines and Arrows	227	(1)
Other Buttons	228	(1)
Rolling Titles	228	(1)
Cutting in Rolling Titles	229	(1)
Crawling Titles	229	(1)
Advanced Titles	230	(1)
Suggested Assignments	230	(1)
Effects	231	(24)
Kinds of Effects	232	(1)
Effect Palette	232	(1)
Applying an Effect	233	(3)
Xpress DV RealTime Effects Button	235	(1)
Applying More Effects	235	(1)
Colored Dots	236	(1)
Third-Party Plug-In Effects	236	(1)
Effect Editor	237	(7)
Opening the Effect Editor	238	(2)
Effect Editing Tools	240	(4)
Manipulating Key Frames	244	(1)
Effect Quick Review	244	(1)
Deleting Effects	244	(1)
Adding Dissolves	245	(1)
Saving an Effect as a Template	245	(1)
Freeze Frames	246	(1)
Motion Effects	246	(2)
Slow Motion/Fast Motion	247	(1)
Reverse Motion	248	(1)
Strobe	248	(1)
Rendering	248	(1)
Rendering Single Effects	249	(1)
Rendering Multiple Effects	249	(1)
Waiting for Effects to Render	249	(1)
Nesting	250	(2)
Color Correction	252	(2)
A World of Effect	254	(1)
Suggested Assignments	254	(1)
Saving Your Work	255	(10)
If It's a Computer, It Will Crash	255	(1)
Backing Up	256	(2)
After the Crash	258	(1)
Saving User Settings	258	(1)
Copy User Settings to a CD or Zip Disk	258	(1)
The Attic	259	(1)
Retrieving a File from the Attic	260	(1)
Deleting Bins	261	(1)
Backing Up Media Files	261	(2)
Batch Recording Offline Material	262	(1)
Back Up Daily	263	(1)
Suggested Assignments	263	(2)
Keeping in Sync	265	(14)
Sync Problems	265	(1)
The Source of Your Problems	266	(1)
Sync Break Indicators	266	(1)
Many Tracks Mean Many Sync Problems	267	(1)
Locators	268	(2)
Locator Information	269	(1)
Deleting Locators	270	(1)
Editing Tricks to Stay in Sync	270	(3)
Trimming in Two Directions: A Review	270	(2)
Add Edits in Black Fill	272	(1)
Deleting Add Edits	273	(1)
Sync Locks	273	(4)
Locking Tracks	277	(1)
Suggested Assignments	278	(1)
Importing and Exporting	279	(26)
Types of Files	279	(1)
Importing	280	(1)
Importing a Picture File	281	(2)
Computer versus Television	283	(1)
Aspect Ratio	283	(1)
DV Aspect Ratio and Pixels	284	(1)
Color	284	(1)
Import Options	284	(3)
File Field Order	285	(1)
Color Levels	286	(1)
Alpha	286	(1)
Single Frame	286	(1)
Import Practice	287	(4)
Creating a Photoshop File	287	(2)
Importing Audio from a CD	289	(1)
Importing Color Bars	290	(1)
Importing Other File Types	291	(1)
Exporting	292	(1)
Preparing to Export	293	(1)
Export Dialog Box	293	(3)
Exporting a Graphic Image	295	(1)
Exporting a QuickTime Movie	296	(8)
Custom Settings	298	(2)
Exporting Audio to a Digital Audio Work Station	300	(2)
Exporting Other File Types	302	(2)
Suggested Assignments	304	(1)
16:9 Widescreen Television	305	(16)
Where the Numbers Come From	305	(1)
Standard NTSC Video---Not Big Enough	305	(1)
The Root of the Format Problem	306	(1)
Your Widescreen Choices	307	(2)
Expensive	307	(1)
Less Expensive	308	(1)
Least Expensive	308	(1)
Anamorphic Photography	309	(3)
Anamorphic DV	309	(1)
Super-16	310	(1)
Anamorphic Film-to-Tape Transfer	310	(1)
Super-16mm to HDTV	311	(1)
Practice Footage	312	(1)
16:9 Avid Editing	312	(2)
16:9 Titles	313	(1)
Your Finished Project	313	(1)
Multiple Formats	314	(5)
Creating a 4:3 Letterbox Version (Media Composer Only)	314	(1)
Creating a 4:3 Letterbox Version (Xpress and Xpress DV)	315	(1)
Creating a 4:3 Pan & Scan Version for a Standard TV	316	(1)
Using the Resize Effect	316	(2)
Pan & Scan Effect	318	(1)
Go Wide	319	(1)
Suggested Assignments	319	(2)
Script Integration	321	(26)
Hollywood-Style Editing	321	(1)
An Example	322	(1)
Using Two Monitors	322	(1)
Naming Clips	323	(1)
Getting the Script	323	(2)
Getting Started	325	(1)
Linking Clips to the Script	325	(1)
Adding Takes	326	(2)
Changing the Slate	328	(1)
Review	329	(1)
Adjusting Take Lines	329	(1)
Selecting Multiple Takes	330	(1)
Moving Slates	330	(1)
Deleting Takes and Slates	330	(1)
Loading and Playing Takes	331	(1)
The Tab Key	331	(2)
Placing Script Marks	333	(2)
Playing Marked Takes	335	(1)
A Faster Way to Place Script Marks	336	(1)
The Fastest Way	337	(1)
Moving Script Marks	337	(1)
Looking at Your Coverage	337	(1)
Page and Scene Numbers	338	(1)
Find Script	339	(1)
Off-Screen Dialog	339	(1)
One Take Line Only	340	(1)
Color Lines	341	(1)
Identifying the Preferred Take	341	(1)
Other Menu Items	342	(1)
Left Margin	342	(1)
Interpolate Position	342	(1)
Hold Slates Onscreen	342	(1)
A Select Few	343	(4)
Script for ``Gaffer's Delight''	343	(4)
Finishing	347	(26)
Paths to the Finish Line	347	(1)
Room on the Media Drives	348	(3)
Deleting Unreferenced Precomputes	348	(2)
Checking for Space	350	(1)
Xpress DV Users Can Skip Ahead	351	(1)
Blowing It All Away	351	(1)
Deleting Your Low-Resolution Media	351	(2)
Preparing to Redigitize Your Sequence	353	(1)
Redigitizing Your Sequence	353	(1)
Timecode Breaks	354	(1)
Decompose	354	(1)
Replacing Your Audio Tracks	355	(1)
Recreating Title Media	355	(1)
Rendering Your Effects	355	(1)
Checking Audio Levels	356	(1)
Checking For Offline Media	356	(1)
Outputting to Tape	356	(2)
Connecting the Avid Cables to the Tape Deck	358	(1)
Manual Recording or Crash Recording to Tape	358	(2)
Manual Record to a DV Deck or DV Camera	359	(1)
Manual Record to an Analog Deck (Beta SP or VHS) or Digital Deck	359	(1)
Digital Cut	360	(2)
Starting Sequence Timecode	361	(1)
Insert Editing	362	(1)
Edit Decision List (EDL)	363	(6)
What Exactly Is an EDL?	364	(1)
Talk to Your Online Facility	365	(1)
Getting Started	366	(1)
Finding the EDL Manager	366	(2)
Saving the EDL to a Disk	368	(1)
EDL and Audio	369	(1)
Visual Effects	369	(1)
Output to DVD	369	(2)
DVD on Windows	370	(1)
DVD on Mac	370	(1)
Suggested Assignments	371	(2)
Finishing on Film	373	(24)
Why Film?	373	(1)
Film and the Avid	373	(1)
The Film-to-Tape Transfer	374	(1)
Finishing on Film or Finishing on Tape	374	(1)
Hire a Negative Cutter First	374	(1)
The $64,000 Question	375	(1)
The 2-3 Pull-Down	375	(1)
It's Really 29.97	376	(1)
Keycode and Timecode	376	(2)
Problems with the Transfer	378	(1)
Identifying the First Frame with a Punch	379	(1)
Checking the Numbers	379	(1)
Types of Timecode	379	(1)
Work Order to Your Lab	380	(1)
Clean Video Copy	381	(1)
The Cut List	381	(1)
Telecine Log File	382	(1)
Setting Up Your Avid	383	(2)
Logging Keycode by Hand	385	(1)
Phantom Master Clip	385	(1)
Sound and the Avid	386	(1)
Nagra 4.2	387	(1)
Field Recording with a Timecode DAT	387	(1)
Slowing Down the DAT during Digitizing	387	(1)
One Bin Per Audio Tape	388	(1)
Syncing Rushes	388	(1)
Dupe Detection	389	(1)
Effects	390	(1)
Add Edits	390	(1)
SMPTE Leader and Beep	390	(1)
Opening the Cut List Tool	391	(3)
``Matchback Shortened the Tail of the Clip by 1 Frame''	394	(1)
Mix and Optical Sound Track	394	(1)
Checking Sync	395	(1)
It Works	395	(1)
Next Stop, Cannes	395	(2)
Present and Future	397	(4)
Where Do You Go From Here?	397	(1)
Information on the Internet	398	(1)
Getting a Job as an Avid Editor	398	(1)
Other Avid Products	399	(1)
Avid's Future	400	(1)
Index	401	(6)
DVD-ROM Instructions	407