atools for storytellers™

Avid® NewsCutter®

Getting Started Guide

Release 1.5

for the Windows NT® Operating System

2

© 1998–1999 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.

Avid NewsCutter Getting Started Guide • Part 0130-04438-01 Rev. A • November1999

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Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction

About NewsCutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13NewsCutter Hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Starting Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Starting NewsCutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Electronic Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16How to Proceed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Using Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Finding Information with the Help Topics Dialog Box. . . . . . . 19Using the Contents Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Using the Index Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Using the Find Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Using Buttons in a Help Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Printing Help Topics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Adding a Note to a Help Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Using Online Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Chapter 2 About NewsCutter

Editing with NewsCutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Basic Editing Steps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Understanding the Pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Organizing Your Work with Projects and Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29How Media Is Stored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31The Attic Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

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Chapter 3 Starting Your Project

Starting NewsCutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Creating a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Creating a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Opening an Existing Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Understanding the Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Working with Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Creating a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40About Bin Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Frame View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Script View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Creating a Quick Effects Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45About Trash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Customizing Your Work Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Mapping Keys and Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Setting Up Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Chapter 4 Recording

Selecting Settings for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50The Record Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51The Audio Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53The Video Input Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Record Preparations Check List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Recording to the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Recording and Logging at the Same Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Recording On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Recording from an IN Point to an OUT Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Batch Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Rerecording a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

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Chapter 5 Getting Ready to Edit

Using the Command Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Using the Tool Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Mapping Buttons to the Tool Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Mapping Menu Options to the Tool Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Using the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Mapping Buttons to the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Mapping Menu Items to the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Using Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Modifying Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Controlling Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Using Position Bars and Position Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Using Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

The Play Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Step Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80J-K-L Keys (Three-Button Play) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Home, End, and Arrow Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Using the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Stepping with the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Shuttling with the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Marking IN and OUT Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Creating Subclips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Chapter 6 Creating a First Cut

Viewing Your Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Navigating in the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Using the Position Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Using the Scroll Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Using the A and S keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Displaying More or Less Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Using the Track Selector Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Selecting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

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Patching Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Monitoring Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Making the First Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Using Digital Audio Scrub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Splicing Versus Overwriting Audio and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Splicing or Overwriting an Audio Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Splicing or Overwriting Video into a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Marking Clips for Storyboarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Using the Go to IN and Go to OUT Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102Moving to the Head or Tail of a Shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Undoing an Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Redoing an Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Splicing a Shot into the Middle of a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Chapter 7 Refining the Edit

Editing in Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Guidelines for Editing in Segment Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Identifying Segment Mode Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Rearranging Footage with Extract/Splice-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Removing Footage with Extract/Splice-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Removing Footage with Lift/Overwrite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Overwriting Shots into a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Rearranging Shots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Overwriting with the Three-Point Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Removing Footage with Lift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Basic Trim Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Trim Using Top and Tail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Entering Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Selecting Between Trim Sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Sync Locking Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Performing a Basic Trim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

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Dual-Roller Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117Single-Roller Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118Exiting Trim Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Audio Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Adjusting Audio Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Adjusting Audio Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Chapter 8 Adding Effects

Effects Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Creating Motion Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Creating Freeze Frame Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Creating Variable Speed and Strobe Motion Effects . . . . . . . . 126

Displaying the Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127Effect Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Transition Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128Segment Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Applying Effects to a Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Working in Effect Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Adding Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Adding Fade In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131Dissolving Between Shots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Insufficient Footage for a Dissolve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Creating Audio Dissolves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Adding a Fade Within the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Creating Quick Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Adding Keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Adding a Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Repositioning the Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Adjusting a Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Dissolving the Picture-in-Picture On and Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Rendering an Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

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Chapter 9 Creating Titles

Working with Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Understanding the Title Tool Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Adding Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Formatting Text in the Title Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148Selecting Objects in the Title Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Choosing Colors and Setting Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Selecting a Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Creating a New Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Working with Title Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Creating a Title Template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153Using a Title Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Editing a Title Template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Removing a Title Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Repositioning Text and Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Applying a Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Applying a Shadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Saving a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157Editing the Title into the Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Editing an Existing Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Chapter 10 Output

Preparing for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Preparing Tapes for Frame-Accurate Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Previewing a Digital Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162Recording a Digital Cut to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163Enabling VTR Play Emulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Appendix A Using the NRCS Tool

Opening the NRCS Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168Understanding the NRCS Tool Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

9

Using the Directory Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Opening a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174Making a Shortcut to a Directory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175Removing a Shortcut to a Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175Deleting a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Editing a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176Editing Text in View Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177Entering Edit Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Formatting Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178Rearranging Text in a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178Marking Text as Normal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Marking Text as Presenter Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Marking Text as Closed Captioned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Adding a Production Cue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Deleting a Production Cue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Saving Changes to a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Finding the Read Time of a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183Building a Sequence from a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Sending Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Disconnecting from the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Index

10

Figures

Figure 1-1 NewsCutter Hardware Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Figure 2-1 Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Figure 2-2 Bin Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Figure 3-1 Project Window — Bin View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Figure 3-2 Project Window — Settings View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Figure 3-3 Project Window — Info View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Figure 3-4 Bin in Text View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Figure 3-5 Bin in Frame View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Figure 3-6 Bin in Script View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Figure 4-1 Record Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Figure 4-2 Audio Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Figure 4-3 Video Input Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Figure 5-1 Command Palette Move Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Figure 5-2 Command Palette Play Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Figure 5-3 Command Palette Edit Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Figure 5-4 Command Palette Trim Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Figure 5-5 Command Palette FX Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Figure 5-6 Command Palette Other Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Figure 5-7 Command Palette More Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Figure 5-8 Default Tool Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Figure 5-9 NewsCutter Default Keyboard Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Figure 5-10 Record Monitor Position Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Figure 5-11 Source Monitor Position Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Figure 5-12 Position Indicator in Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Figure 6-1 Source Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

11

Figure 6-2 Record Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Figure 6-3 Pop-up Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Figure 6-4 Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Figure 6-5 Timeline Track Selector Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Figure 7-1 Trim Mode Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Figure 8-1 Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Figure 8-2 Effect Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Figure 8-3 Insufficient Source Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Figure 8-4 Picture-in-Picture Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Figure 8-5 Picture-in-Picture Effect with Softness . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Figure 9-1 Title Tool Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Figure 9-2 Title Tool Color Picker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Figure A-1 NRCS Settings Dialog Box — NRCS Tab . . . . . . . . . . 168

Figure A-2 NRCS Settings Dialog Box — Avstar Tab. . . . . . . . . . 169

Figure A-3 NRCS Tool — Login Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Figure A-4 NRCS Tool Window (Edit Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Figure A-5 NRCS Tool — Directory Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Figure A-6 NRCS Tool — Production Cue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Figure A-7 NRCS Tool — Read Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Figure A-8 NRCS Tool — Send NRCS Mail Dialog Box . . . . . . . 186

12

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the NewsCutter system and the editing process. Understanding how the system organizes tapes, clips, sequences, and other media objects helps you to edit projects more effectively. This chapter contains the following sections:

• About NewsCutter

• NewsCutter Hardware

• Starting Your System

• Starting NewsCutter

• Electronic Licensing

• How to Proceed

• Using Help

• Using Online Documentation

13

About NewsCutter

NewsCutter is a nonlinear editing workstation specifically designed for editing news stories. It offers flexibility and speed to create compelling, up-to-the-minute news stories. You can edit a story several different ways and choose the best one, or you can quickly create different versions of a lead story for three different broadcasts.

NewsCutter allows you to quickly add transition effects, motion effects, and 2D digital video effects (DVEs) for added impact, with just a few keystrokes — even after a story is laid out.

With a linear system, you must lay down the first shot, make sure it ends at the right point, cue the second shot, make sure it starts at the right point, and then make the edit. You build the sequence by making sure each transition is correct before moving to the next edit.

NewsCutter lets you assemble a sequence in any order — you do not need to edit the first shot first and the last shot last. The system’s strength is that it lets you make changes without reassembling all the edits after the change. You can update breaking stories quickly and easily, save them, and then try different versions.

The system maintains frame-accurate links between each alteration of the objects you work with and the original media files. This allows you to experiment with every edit you make through multiple generations. When you play back your work, the system immediately accesses and plays the appropriate portions of the recorded video and audio.

You can start by editing a rough version of the entire sequence. You can see how long it runs and where it drags, adjust individual edits and transitions, replace or remove shots, and tighten or extend scenes.

Because the audio and video are stored on disk, they can be manipulated and used over and over again without duplication or degradation.

14

NewsCutter Hardware

The following hardware components make up NewsCutter, as shown in Figure 1-1.

n Your components might differ slightly, depending on the options you purchased.

• A PC running the Windows NT® operating system

• Meridien™ audio and video interface

• The User Interface (UI) and Playback monitors; recommended resolution 1024 x 768 with True Color or greater

• Keyboard and mouse

• Speakers

• Audio amplifier if you do not have powered speakers

• Decks or video source to input and output your work

• Storage disks, 9-GB or 18-GB MediaDrives, for storing your recorded video and audio

Figure 1-1 NewsCutter Hardware Components

VLX

SCSI IDSCSI ID

Slots

Act

Wide

Dualbus

Fans

Pwr 2Pwr 2

Pwr 1Pwr 1

l

O

44.1 kHz

48

PULL DOWNAUDIO SYNC

VIDEO SYNC POWER kHz

lO

Video Deck

UI Monitor

Keyboard

Mouse

Playback Monitor

SpeakerSpeaker

AmplifierV-LAN VLXi

Meridien

NewsCutter

MediaDock

I/O box

PC

15

Starting Your System

Begin your edit session by turning on the components of your NewsCutter system. If any part of your system fails to turn on, make sure its electrical cord is plugged snugly into an appropriate electrical outlet or power strip. See the Avid NewsCutter Setup Guide for information on setting up your system.

c If you fail to follow the proper sequence for starting up your system, you could damage your computer and storage drives and NewsCutter may not work properly.

Always turn on the devices as follows:

1. Fixed-storage drives: Turn on fixed-storage drives before starting the computer. Allow 10 to 15 seconds for the drives to spin up-to-speed before starting your computer.

2. Other peripheral hardware: Turn on all other peripheral units except the computer. This includes:

• Monitors and speakers

• Tape decks or video source

• Meridien I/O box

3. The computer: Turn on your computer according to your manufacturer’s instructions.

Once you have turned on your computer, the Avid splash screen appears and then your Windows NT desktop appears.

c To avoid damage, do not disconnect or turn off external hard disk drives while your computer is on.

16

Starting NewsCutter

To start the NewsCutter application:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Point to Programs.

3. Point to the NewsCutter folder.

4. Click NewsCutter.

n To start the application from a convenient location, Avid recommends that you create a shortcut and place it in a convenient location. For more information on making a shortcut, see your Windows NT documentation.

Electronic Licensing

To accept your NewsCutter product license electronically:

1. Read the License Agreement, and then click Accept or Decline at the bottom of the screen.

n If you click Decline, the application will not start.

The agreement appears the first several times you start the application. After you have started NewsCutter several times, a new button appears at the bottom of the screen.

2. If you do not want to see the license agreement again, click Accept and Don’t Show Again.

A dialog box appears.

3. Enter the name of your organization in the dialog box, and click OK.

The Open Project dialog box appears; from here you create a new user and a new project, as described in “Creating a User” on page 34.

17

How to Proceed

The following are a few tips for taking full advantage of the NewsCutter documentation and other resources:

• Begin learning about basic procedures by using the default settings. As your confidence increases, begin to explore additional procedures and settings.

• Instead of using the standard menus to find the command you need in a window, try using shortcut menus. Using the right mouse button, click in a window to bring up a shortcut menu that shows the most frequently used commands for that window.

• Keep the Avid NewsCutter Quick Reference available during editing sessions.

• Make a habit of reading Avid’s newsletters, mailings, and other trade publications.

• Make use of additional training resources provided by Avid whenever possible, such as classes and instructional videotapes.

• Check the Avid Web site for listings of courses, schedules, and locations:

www.avid.com/services/training/training.html

Using Help

This release supports Help for your NewsCutter system. The Help is automatically installed with the application.

n You must have the NewsCutter application running in order to access the Help. If you want to run the Help without having NewsCutter running, use the Avid NewsCutter Online Publications CD-ROM and run the Help from there.

18

You can access Help in three ways:

• From the Help menu on the NewsCutter main menu, choose NewsCutter Help.

• As context-sensitive Help:

a. Make sure your NewsCutter system is active.

b. Position the mouse pointer in the window or dialog box for which you want help.

c. Press the F1 key on the keyboard.

A window appears, representing the tool or feature for which you want help.

• By opening What’s This? Help:

a. Position the mouse pointer on a feature.

b. Right-click the mouse button.

c. Select What’s This? from the shortcut menu.

n If no specific help for the window or dialog box exists, the Help Topics dialog box appears.

Procedures are displayed in yellow How To windows; background information and illustrations are displayed in white Reference windows.

The following sections explain how to use the Help system. For more information, see “Online Help,overview” in the Help index.

19

Finding Information with the Help Topics Dialog Box

You see the Help Topics dialog box when you open Help from the Help menu. A topic is a single page of the Help system. The Help Topics dialog box includes three different methods for finding topics.

• Using the Contents Tab

• Using the Index Tab

• Using the Find Tab

Using the Contents Tab

The Contents tab provides a list of books that contain topics covering the entire Help system. Each book opens to display a list of topics.

To view the Contents, do one of the following:

• In NewsCutter, choose Avid NewsCutter Help from the Help menu. Click the Contents tab in the Help Topics dialog box.

• With a Help topic open, click the Contents button, which is located in the row of buttons along the top of the Help window.

To open a book and display a list of topics, select the book title and click Open, or double-click the book title.

To open a Help window, select the topic and click Display, or double-click the topic title.

20

Using the Index Tab

The Index tab provides an alphabetized list of entries, like the index of a printed book.

To find topics by using the Index tab:

1. From the Help menu, choose Avid NewsCutter Help and click the Index tab, or click the Index button in a Help topic.

2. In the text box at the top, type a keyword for the topic that you want to find (for example, type audio to jump to index entries listed under audio).

3. Open the topic in the list:

• If your typing brings you to the topic you are seeking, click the Display button, or double-click the index entry.

• If you do not immediately arrive at the topic, scroll through the list and double-click an entry that makes sense, or try an alternative keyword in the text box. When you find the subject you are looking for, click the Display button or double-click the entry to view the topic.

Using the Find Tab

The Find tab lets you search the entire Help system for words or phrases and then lists topics that include those words or phrases.

To search for topics by using the Find tab:

1. From the Help menu, choose Avid NewsCutter Help and click the Find tab, or click the Find button in a Help topic.

2. In the text box, type the word or phrase you want to find.

A list shows topics that contain the words you searched for. As you type additional words, the list updates.

n Do not type quotation marks or asterisks in the text box.

21

3. To change the way in which you search for a word or words, click the Options button and choose your preferences from the Find Options dialog box.

4. Select a topic in the list, and then click the Display button or double-click the topic.

The topic is displayed, and the words you searched for are highlighted.

5. Choose a topic in the list (if any were found), and click the Display button.

n Do not type quotation marks or asterisks in the text boxes.

Using Buttons in a Help Topic

Each Help topic contains buttons to help you navigate through the system and perform basic functions. Table 1-1 describes the Help topic buttons.

Table 1-1 Help Topic Buttons

Button Description

Contents Opens the Contents tab.

Index Opens the Index tab.

Find Opens the Find tab.

Back Returns to the topic previously displayed in the window.

Print Opens the Print dialog box, from which you can print the current topic.

Browse (<< or >>)

Click one of the two Browse buttons to cycle through a set sequence of topics (Reference windows only).

22

Printing Help Topics

You can print a single Help topic or a group of topics listed in the Contents.

To print a Help topic:

1. Open or click the topic to make it active.

2. Click the Print button in the topic window.

3. Select the print options.

4. Click OK.

Options Provides the following features:

Annotate Allows you to add a note to a topic.

Copy Allows you to copy information from a Help topic into another document.

Print Topic Allows you to print the current topic.

Font Allows you to change the font size of topics.

Keep Help on Top

Provides the option of displaying the Help window on top of other applications. The default is On Top.

Use System Colors

Allows you to change the colors for the display area of Help windows.

Glossary Opens a glossary of terms.

Table 1-1 Help Topic Buttons (Continued)

Button Description

23

To print a Help topic from the Contents tab:

1. Select the topic you want to print.

2. Click the Print button at the bottom of the tab.

To print a book of related topics from the Contents tab:

1. Select the book you want to print.

2. Click the Print button.

If you select a book, all topics within that book, and all topics in other books contained in that book, will be printed. The system sends each topic as a separate print job to the printer, so this method can take a long time to print. You can more easily print large sections of user information from the Avid NewsCutter Online Publications CD-ROM.

You can print a pop-up window by clicking the right mouse button and selecting Print.

Adding a Note to a Help Topic

To add a note to a Help topic:

1. In the Help topic window, click Options.

2. Select Annotate. A dialog box appears.

3. In the dialog box, type your note. When you are done, click Save.

A paper-clip icon appears at the top of the topic. Click this icon to see, edit, or delete your note.

24

Using Online Documentation

The Avid NewsCutter Online Publications CD-ROM includes:

• Avid NewsCutter Setup Guide

• Avid NewsCutter Getting Started Guide (this book)

• Avid NewsCutter Help

• Avid Products Collaboration Guide

• AvidNet Transfer Tool User’s Guide

• AvidNet Transfer Tool Help

The books are PDF files. You can view them with the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can install from the CD-ROM.

The online version of the books enables you to:

• Navigate through books by using bookmarks and hyperlinks.

• Speed up information retrieval by performing keyword searches.

• Annotate the books with your own notes.

• Zoom in on a page, enabling closer review of text and images.

• Print any or all pages.

• View the books with full-color graphics.

n Avid gives you permission to print up to three complete copies of each book.

25

CHAPTER 2

About NewsCutter

This chapter explains the basic concepts and terminology with which you need to be familiar to edit video with NewsCutter. This chapter contains the following sections:

• Editing with NewsCutter

• Basic Editing Steps

• Understanding the Pieces

• Organizing Your Work with Projects and Bins

• How Media Is Stored

• The Attic Folder

26

Editing with NewsCutter

NewsCutter is a nonlinear editing workstation specifically designed for editing news stories. It offers flexibility and speed to create compelling, up-to-the-minute news stories. You can edit a story several different ways and choose the best one, or you can quickly create different versions of a lead story for three different broadcasts.

NewsCutter allows you to quickly add transition effects, motion effects, and 2D digital video effects (DVEs) for added impact, with just a few keystrokes — even after a story is laid out.

With a linear system, you must lay down the first shot, make sure it ends at the right point, cue the second shot, make sure it starts at the right point, and then make the edit. You build the sequence by making sure each transition is correct before moving to the next edit.

NewsCutter lets you assemble a sequence in any order — you do not need to edit the first shot first and the last shot last. The system’s strength is that it lets you make changes without reassembling all the edits after the change. You can update breaking stories quickly and easily, save them, and then try different versions.

The system maintains frame-accurate links between each alteration of the objects you work with and the original media files. This allows you to experiment with every edit you make through multiple generations. When you play back your work, the system immediately accesses and plays the appropriate portions of the recorded video and audio.

You can start by editing a rough version of the entire sequence. You can see how long it runs and where it drags, adjust individual edits and transitions, replace or remove shots, and tighten or extend scenes.

Because the audio and video are stored on disk, they can be manipulated and used over and over again without duplication or degradation.

27

Basic Editing Steps

Creating a sequence can be as simple as stringing several shots together without sound for a voice-over, or it can be as complex as editing a series of shots together with sound bites, narration, music with dissolves, audio crossfades, and motion effects.

You create a sequence from raw footage in three simple stages:

1. Record the source video from tape or external feed onto an external drive. You can also record your raw footage while editing the story. This process is called Record to Timeline, as described in “Recording to the Timeline” on page 58.

2. Edit the sequence and fine-tune it by using various NewsCutter features and effects.

Use basic editing procedures to create a series of straight cuts. NewsCutter offers both film-style splice and video insert edits. Then trim the transitions between shots to create overlap cuts or to move transitions forward or backward in the sequence.

Add effects, such as dissolves, wipes, or digital video effects (DVEs). Edit multiple tracks of audio. Create or import graphic images and key them over video. Add titles and credits. Use other advanced features to create a complex sequence.

3. Output or play back your material.

NewsCutter allows you to view your sequence, broadcast directly to air, and, if necessary, record a finished copy to tape without returning to your source video.

28

Understanding the Pieces

Understanding what the objects are that you will be working with will help you work more effectively:

• Project — The job that results in one or more sequences; the Project window organizes all the clips, sequences, effects, bins, and media file pointers for a program or series of programs.

• Sequence — An edited composition that includes audio and video clips and rendered effects.

• Bin — The window in which you organize the material to be edited; bins reside in a project, and you may have multiple bins in a project.

• Source clip — The smallest media object that references your source footage.

• Master clip — An object that references the compressed media.

• Media file — Stored, compressed digital data representing the original video and audio.

• Source/Record mode — Two modes you switch between — the Source monitor displays source clips; the Record monitor displays the assembled sequence.

• Timeline — The graphical representation of every edit made to a sequence, including effects and titles.

• Segment mode — Editing controls for moving, deleting, marking, and editing segments in the Timeline.

• Trim mode — Controls for fine-tuning edits and transitions with various trim procedures.

• Effect mode — Controls in the Timeline and the Effect Editor to apply, render, and edit effects into the sequence.

• IN and OUT points — Starting and ending points of an edit.

Avid Project

29

• Subclip — Part of a master clip; a subclip references the master clip.

• Motion effect — A file in the bin that references effect media files generated when you create motion effects.

• Group clip — A file in the bin that combines two or more clips based on marks or tracking information synchronization points.

• Title — A clip that references a title that you created.

• Digital cut — A copy struck directly from disk to tape.

Organizing Your Work with Projects and Bins

All work on NewsCutter is stored in a project in NTSC or PAL video format.

A project contains all the work for a single job. You can organize projects to suit your needs. A project could contain a specific show, one reporter’s work, or an ongoing series.

For example, you begin working on a sequence about a bombing in Vermont and you create a project called Vermont Bombing. The name of the project appears in the Project window.

30

Figure 2-1 Project Window

Then, within the Vermont Bombing project, you can create multiple bins; for example, you could keep all your raw footage in one bin, a short sequence in another bin, and a more in-depth sequence in another bin. Use bins to store and organize master clips, subclips, sequences, and other media objects in a way that works best for your workflow. The bin contains information about each clip, such as name, start timecode, and end timecode.

Figure 2-2 Bin Window

Project name

Bin name

31

You can customize Bin views to suit your needs, such as showing more or less information about each media file. You can also sort clips by the information in any field, choosing to view only clips that meet specific criteria, such as a certain interview subject. You can view bins in Frame, Text, or Script view. For more information about bin views, refer to “About Bin Views” on page 41.

How Media Is Stored

When you record media, NewsCutter creates two types of files: media files and master clips. Media files contain the recorded media. Master clips contain information about the source material and the location of the media files on disk.

NewsCutter creates a media file for each track of video and audio. If you record a section of video with two tracks of audio, NewsCutter creates three separate media files.

The system creates one master clip for each shot captured, regardless of the number of tracks in the shot. When you edit the recorded material, you access the media files through the master clip. You do not edit the media files directly.

When you create dissolves or motion effects, or when you import graphic or animation files, NewsCutter creates additional media files.

Media files require substantial storage space on your disk drives. Master clips are stored on your internal hard drive and require very little storage space.

MediaDrives hold approximately 4 to 5 minutes of video per gigabyte. Therefore, an 18-GB MediaDrive holds approximately 90 minutes of video.

32

The Attic Folder

NewsCutter saves copies of your current project and its bins at regular intervals and whenever you save or close a project or bin. These auto-save files are stored in the Attic folder in the NewsCutter application folder. If at any time you lose work due to a power outage or system error, open the Attic folder and look for a project or bin of the same name with the file name extension .bak.xx, where xx is the version number. For example, the first backup file for the bin Rough Cut would be named Rough Cut.bak.1.avb. Later versions would be named Rough Cut.bak.2.avb, Rough Cut.bak.3.avb, and so on.

33

CHAPTER 3

Starting Your Project

This chapter gets you started with NewsCutter and presents the concept of projects and how you use them to organize your work. It contains the following sections:

• Starting NewsCutter

• Creating a User

• Creating a Project

• Opening an Existing Project

• Understanding the Project Window

• Working with Bins

• Creating a Quick Effects Bin

• About Trash

• Customizing Your Work Environment

34

Starting NewsCutter

To start the NewsCutter application:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Point to Programs.

3. Point to the NewsCutter folder.

4. Click NewsCutter.

n To start the application from a convenient location, Avid recommends that you create a shortcut and place it in a convenient location. For more information on making a shortcut, see your Windows NT documentation.

Creating a User

Before you can start working in NewsCutter, you need to create a user. Once you have started NewsCutter, the Open Project dialog box appears and you can create new users.

To create a new user:

1. Click New User in the Open Project dialog box.

The New User dialog box appears.

35

2. Type the name of the user you want to create and click OK.

The user name appears in the Avid Users list in the Open Project dialog box. You can create as many users as you need.

When you create a new user, NewsCutter creates a folder for the user and two files within the folder: a user profile file and a user settings file. The folder is stored in the Avid Users folder on your hard drive. If you want to delete a user, you must delete that person’s folder.

Creating a Project

When you start NewsCutter, the Open Project dialog box appears and from there you can open and create projects. It does not matter whether you create your project or your users first; they can be done in either order.

To create a new project:

1. Click New Project in the Open Project dialog box.

The New Project dialog box appears.

2. Type the name of the project you want to create.

NTSC is the default video format.

3. (PAL only) Select PAL 4:1:1 or PAL 4:2:0 from the Video Format menu.

36

4. Click OK.

The Project name appears in the Avid Projects list.

5. Click OK to open the Project window.

When you create a new project, NewsCutter creates a folder for the project and two files within the folder: a project file and a project settings file. The folder is stored in the Avid Projects folder on your hard drive. If you want to delete a project, you must delete its folder.

Opening an Existing Project

Every time you start NewsCutter, the Open Project dialog box appears; from there you open your existing project:

1. Click the name of the project you want to open in the Avid Projects list.

2. Click a user name in the list of Avid Users.

3. Click OK.

The Project window opens.

Understanding the Project Window

All your clips, sequences, bins, and subclips in NewsCutter are organized into projects. Once you create your project and open it, you will see the Project window.

37

Within the Project window, there are three buttons for displaying information. They include:

• Bins — Displays all the bins associated with this project; this is the default view as shown in Figure 3-1. The Bins display option is described more fully in “Working with Bins” on page 40.

n When you first create a project, there will not be any bins in it. You have to create the bins you need.

Figure 3-1 Project Window — Bin View

38

• Settings — Displays all the settings available for NewsCutter; the Settings scroll list and the Fast menu let you change the settings view to see specific types of settings, for example, Title Styles. To view the Settings scroll list, click the Settings button. For more information, see “Settings” in the Help index.

Figure 3-2 Project Window — Settings View

Settings menu

Settings Fast menu

39

• Info — Provides access to system information; use the Fast menu at the bottom of the Project window to display the Profile, Memory, or Hardware Info. To view the Info list, click the Info button.

- Profile — Displays the video format of the project, either NTSC or PAL

- Memory — Displays the computer’s memory usage

- Hardware — Displays the operating system version and disk usage

For more information on the Info display, see “Information Display Menu” in the Help index.

Figure 3-3 Project Window — Info View

Settings Fast menu

40

Working with Bins

Within a project, a bin is a way of organizing clips, subclips, and sequences. The concept of a bin comes from the world of film. Editors would store reels of film in bins. Logically, bins are still where you store material for a project.

The names of the bins belonging to a project are displayed in the Project window, as shown in Figure 3-1. The contents of a bin are displayed in the Bin window. Only one Bin window is displayed; to bring a different Bin window to the front, double-click the bin icon in the Project window.

n If you want to keep the Bin window and Project window attached, select Enable ‘Sticky’ Bins in the Bin Settings dialog box. When you select this option, NewsCutter remembers the position of the bins in the workspace.

Creating a Bin

Once you have created your project, you can create as many bins as you need to organize your work.

To create a bin:

1. With the Project window open, click the New Bin button.

A new bin with the project name is created in the Project window.

2. Type the name you want for the bin in the text field.

41

3. Double-click the bin icon, next to the bin name, to open the bin or to bring it to the front of the Bin window.

About Bin Views

There are three views for working with clips in a bin: Text view, Frame view, and Script view. You will probably use each of these views as you work with NewsCutter.

n In the examples shown in the next three sections, footage has already been recorded and that is why it appears in the bins. When you first start NewsCutter, you will not see anything in your bins until you begin recording footage.

Bin name text field

Open bin iconClosed bin icon

New Bin button

42

Text View

In Text view, clips are displayed in a text format using columns and rows, with icons representing the various objects. You can customize the view by adding, hiding, or rearranging column headings. To save the view, select Save As from the Bin View menu.

To choose column headings, select Headings from the Bin Fast menu (or from the Bin menu on the main NewsCutter menu bar).

To enter Text view, click the Text View button (labeled T) in the lower left corner of the Bin window. (See Figure 3-4.)

Figure 3-4 Bin in Text View

Column

Object icons

Bin View menuText view

Bin Fast menu

Frame viewScript view

Bin name

headings

43

Frame View

In Frame view, each clip is represented by a single picture frame, with the name of the clip. You can step through the footage forward and backward in each frame, enlarge or reduce the frame, and rearrange frames in any order within the bin.

To enter Frame view, click the Frame View button (labeled F) in the lower left corner of the Bin window. (See Figure 3-5.)

Figure 3-5 Bin in Frame View

Object icons

Frame of

Bin name

media object

Frame View button

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Script View

In Script view, the system combines the features of Text view with Frame view and adds space for typing notes or script. The frames are displayed vertically on the left side of your screen with a text box to the right of each clip. Clip data is displayed above the text box.

To enter Script view, click the Script View button (labeled S) in the lower left corner of the Bin window. (See Figure 3-6.)

To add text, click in the text box and begin typing.

Figure 3-6 Bin in Script View

Bin name

Object icons

media objectFrame of

Text box

Script View button

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Creating a Quick Effects Bin

NewsCutter contains a feature called Quick Effects, which allows you to save the parameters of an effect so that you can add the same effect many times in a sequence.

You save the parameters in a bin named Quick Effects. NewsCutter then provides access to the effects stored in the Quick Effects bin through the Quick Effects dialog box.

n If you want to use a Quick Effect in multiple projects, you must copy the bin to each project.

To create the Quick Effects bin and enable this feature:

1. With the Project window open, click the New Bin button.

A new bin with the project name is created in the Project window.

2. Type Quick Effects in the text field.

n You must name the bin Quick Effects. Otherwise, NewsCutter will not recognize it as a Quick Effects bin.

To learn how to create Quick Effects, see “Creating Quick Effects” on page 134.

About Trash

NewsCutter stores deleted bins in the Trash. The Trash icon is located in the Project window and appears only when you delete a bin. You can use the Trash to retrieve bins you deleted in error, or you can empty the Trash to create more disk space.

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To empty the contents of the Trash:

1. Click the Trash icon to display its contents.

2. Click the Fast Menu button in the Bin window.

3. Choose Empty Trash.

c Clips, subclips, and effects that are in a bin appear in the Trash after you delete the bin. However, if you select a clip, subclip, or effect directly and press the Delete key, the item does not appear in the Trash.

Trash icon

Fast Menu button

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Customizing Your Work Environment

NewsCutter lets you customize your work environment so you can work more quickly and more efficiently. You can map buttons to the Tool palette and the keyboard, and you can save an arrangement of windows in your NewsCutter workspace.

Mapping Keys and Buttons

NewsCutter lets you map buttons from the Command palette and menus options from the NewsCutter main menu to the Tool palette and keys on your keyboard. You can also remap buttons to other buttons. When you start NewsCutter, there are several assigned buttons in the Tool palette; the other blank spaces are available for mapping the buttons you use most frequently. You can also map menu items that you use frequently to the Tool palette.

If you are more comfortable working with the keyboard, you may want to map buttons to the keyboard where they are most accessible for you to reach. For instructions on mapping buttons from the Command palette, see “Mapping Buttons to the Tool Palette” on page 71. For instructions on mapping buttons from the Command palette to the keyboard, see “Mapping Buttons to the Keyboard” on page 73.

The ability to map buttons, keys, and menu items lets you tailor NewsCutter tools to your working style, making you more efficient. In addition, you can move these User settings between projects and systems, ensuring that you can set up your work environment quickly and easily. For information on moving User settings between projects and systems, see the Avid NewsCutter Help.

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Setting Up Workspaces

A workspace is the arrangement and size of tool windows displayed on your NewsCutter system. For example, during recording you might want to have the Record tool and Video Input tool display in specific locations. During effects editing, you might want to have the Effect Palette and Effect Editor appear in a particular location and size. NewsCutter comes with four workspaces set up for the basic functions of record, edit, effects, and audio. You can use these workspaces as is, or you can modify them to your liking.

Customizing your workspace lets you be prepared when you want to start working on a particular NewsCutter functional area, such as recording or effects editing.

For instructions on using and modifying the default workspaces, see “Using Workspaces” on page 75.

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CHAPTER 4

Recording

This chapter describes recording, the process of converting your analog video and audio to a digital format. This chapter includes the following sections:

• Selecting Settings for Recording

• The Record Tool

• The Audio Tool

• The Video Input Tool

• Record Preparations Check List

• Recording to the Timeline

• Recording and Logging at the Same Time

• Batch Recording

• Rerecording a Sequence

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Selecting Settings for Recording

A number of settings have a direct bearing on the recording process. Before recording, review the following options for General Settings, Deck Settings, and Digitize Settings.

• Drive Filtering Based on Resolution causes the system to dim all drives for which speed capabilities are unknown or untested. This setting is selected by default in the General Settings dialog box.

c NewsCutter does not prevent you from using non-Avid drives, but their reliability cannot be ensured.

• Deck Preferences contains various options, including drop-frame/non-drop-frame preference for NTSC decks, assemble edit for digital cut, stop key pauses deck, shuttle holds speed, and deck control.

• Deck Configuration Settings allow you to establish deck control parameters for a single deck or for multiple decks. You can manually configure the deck or use the Auto-configure option. You can also add channels.

• Digitize Settings include essential options for recording and batch recording, including general parameters for capture of the source material, tape naming, and special conditions such as recording across timecode breaks or capturing a single video frame.

For more information on Record and Digitize settings, see the Avid NewsCutter Help.

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The Record Tool

The Record tool provides controls for recording your footage. To open the Record tool, choose Record Tool from the Tools menu.

Figure 4-1 Record Tool

The Record tool has the following features:

• Channel Selection buttons let you choose which audio tracks you want to record from the source tape, whether you want to record video, and whether you want to record timecode. If you click and hold a Video Track button or Audio Track button, a menu appears where you can select another track to which to patch.

Channel Selection

Record

Subclipindicators

Deck controls

Message bar

Tape name

Digitize/

Voiceover

ToggleSource

Video

Drive time available

Splice-in Overwrite

Enable Timecode

Logging controls

Audio Source

Name text box

Comment text box

menu

Trash

One/TwoDisk Mode

Bin pop-up menu

InputTool

AudioTool

LogMode

Digitizeindicator

Deck Selectionpop-up menuSource Tapedisplay

Target drive pop-up menu

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• Bin pop-up menu lets you choose a target bin as the destination for the master clips created when you record on-the-fly. You can also choose a target bin containing the logged clips you will use to batch record your media.

• Digitize indicator flashes on and off while you are recording.

• Record button begins the recording process.

• Digitize/Log Mode button lets you switch between Record mode and Log mode.

• One/Two Disk Mode button lets you target a single or separate media drive volume for recording the audio and video for each clip.

• Target drive pop-up menu lets you choose the target drive volumes.

• Drive time available is displayed after you select a drive or drives for the recorded media.

• Trash button stops the recording process and deletes the recorded media.

• Message bar displays information on the current status of the tool.

• Subclip indicators displays a subclip IN mark, a subclip OUT mark, and a clip icon or number. It provides visual feedback when you create subclips on-the-fly while recording.

• Deck controls operate the deck.

• Source Tape display lets you choose the deck you want to play from or you can choose a satellite feed. It also lets you check and reset serial port connection to decks.

• Tape name shows the name of the source tape. If no tape is selected, NewsCutter automatically assigns the tape a name or prompts you for a name if you selected that option in the Digitize Settings dialog box.

• Audio Source menu displays the menu of audio source options.

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• Toggle Source lets you switch between sources. You choose satellite feed mode with this button.

• Name text box lets you add a name for the clip you are recording.

• Comment (Cmnt) text box lets you add comments about the clip.

• Video Input Tool button opens the Video Input tool. See “The Video Input Tool” on page 55.

• Audio Tool button opens the Audio tool. See “The Audio Tool” on page 53.

• Splice-in button lets you record footage directly from tape into a sequence loaded in the Timeline in one step. When you use Splice-in, everything else in the sequence is pushed forward to make room for the new clip.

• Overwrite button lets you record footage directly from tape into a sequence loaded in the Timeline in one step. When you use Overwrite, it replaces what was on the track to which you are recording with the material you just recorded.

• Voiceover lets you record a voice-over while viewing your already recorded footage.

• Logging controls allow you to mark IN and OUT points in your footage before you begin recording.

The Audio Tool

The Audio tool controls parameters for incoming audio.

To open the Audio tool, choose Audio Tool from the Tools menu or click the Audio Tool button in the Record tool. Click the Output, Input, and Setup buttons to display the full screen of the Audio tool (as shown below).

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Figure 4-2 Audio Tool

The Audio tool has the following options:

• Input button opens the Input display.

• Input display shows a panel that contains a single slider control for raising or lowering global audio input.

• Output button opens the Output display.

• Output display shows a panel that contains controls for raising or lowering global audio output.

• Setup button opens the Setup display.

• Setup display shows a panel that contains information and controls for adjusting various audio hardware parameters.

• Reset Peak button resets the current maximum peak measurements. It also stops the playback of the internal calibration tone.

Output

Reset Peak

Peak

In/Out toggle

Setup

Analog

Digital VU scale

OutputDisplay Display

Meters

ChannelSelector

InputDisplay

Setup

Input button

VU scale

pop-upmenus

Holdmenubuttonbutton

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• In/Out toggle switches the meter displays for each channel between input levels from a source device and output levels to the speakers and record devices. The letter I indicates Input, and O indicates Output.

• Peak Hold pop-up menu allows you to choose options for customizing the meter displays and for setting and playing back the internal calibration tone.

• Digital VU scale to the left of the meters displays a fixed range of values from 0 to –90 decibels (dB), according to common digital peak meter standards.

• Analog VU scale to the right of the meters displays a fixed range of values that you can conform to the headroom parameters of your source audio.

• Meters dynamically track audio levels for each channel as follows:

- Meters show green below the target reference level (the default reference level is –14 on the digital scale).

- Meters show yellow for the normal headroom range, above the reference level to approximately –3 dB.

- Meters show red for peaks approaching overload, between –3 dB and 0 (zero) dB.

- Thin green lines at the bottom indicate signals below the display range.

• Channel Selector pop-up menus let you map tracks in the sequence to output channels.

The Video Input Tool

The Video Input tool controls parameters for incoming video.

To open the Video Input tool, choose Video Input Tool from the Tools menu or click the Video Input Tool button in the Record tool.

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Figure 4-3 Video Input Tool

Click the Internal Waveform Monitor button to bring up the Waveform monitor. Click the Vectorscope Monitor button to bring up the Vectorscope monitor.

The Video Input tool has the following options:

• Input pop-up menu lets you choose Composite, Component, or S-VHS video input source.

• Sliders let you change the value for each setting.

• Preset buttons are highlighted when the factory preset levels are displayed. When you click a lit Preset button, it turns gray and the slider returns to the most recent manual level setting.

• Settings pop-up menu lets you save the Site settings for an individual tape each time you calibrate bars.

• Internal Waveform Monitor button opens the Internal Waveform monitor.

Input

VectorscopeVectorscopeMonitor

InternalWaveformmonitor

Settings

Presetbuttons

Slider

100% Bars

pop-up

pop-up

menu

menu

button

monitorbuttonInternal WaveformMonitor button

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• Internal Waveform monitor lets you adjust luminance values.

• Vectorscope Monitor button opens the Vectorscope monitor.

• Vectorscope monitor lets you adjust hue and saturation.

• 100% Bars button switches the 100% bars for calibration on and off.

Record Preparations Check List

1. Check your hardware configurations: power switches, cable connections, and remote switch on the source deck for deck control (see the Avid NewsCutter Setup Guide for hardware configurations).

2. In the Settings scroll list, make sure you have the options you want selected in the General Settings, Deck Preferences, Deck Configuration, and Digitize Settings dialog boxes.

Check the settings for Handle Length in the Digitize Settings dialog box. A handle is extra media on either side of your IN and OUT points that ensures you have enough extra footage to perform trims. The default setting is 2 seconds on each side. You want to keep the default or to increase it if you think you will need extra footage.

Select “Ask for name when a new tape is seen” in the Digitize Settings dialog box if you want NewsCutter to prompt you for a tape name. Otherwise, NewsCutter automatically names the tape in sequential order.

3. Label each of your external disk drives with a meaningful name. For information on naming drives, see “Naming Drives” in the Help index.

4. Insert a tape into the deck and set up the Record tool for track selection, target bin, target drives, source tape, and source deck.

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5. Use the Audio Input tool to set the audio input levels.

6. Use the Video Input tool to set the video input levels; save your video settings for future use.

Recording to the Timeline

You can record footage directly from tape into a sequence loaded in the Timeline in one step, without organizing and reviewing clips, marking edit points, or performing edits.

Before you begin recording, refer to the “Record Preparations Check List” on page 57.

n Make sure Audio Input in the Record tool is set to Microphone or Microphone with Power, depending on the type of microphone you are using.

To record to the Timeline:

1. Load a sequence into the Record monitor by selecting New Sequence from the Clip menu or by double-clicking an existing sequence icon in a bin.

2. Mark an IN point in the sequence or move the position indicator to the location where you want the edit to take place.

3. Mark the source material that you want to record by using the Record tool logging controls.

4. (Option) You can mark an OUT point based on the following:

• If you are recording to the middle of a sequence in the Timeline, mark both IN and OUT points for frame accuracy.

• If you are recording at the end of a sequence, you can mark just an IN point and then mark the OUT point later on-the-fly.

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5. Click the Splice-in button or the Overwrite button in the Record tool to choose the type of edit.

Splice-in will move everything in the sequence down to make room for the new clip. Overwrite replaces what is there; thus the sequence is not lengthened.

6. Click the Record button to begin recording.

7. If you did not mark the OUT point in advance, click the Record button again when the footage reaches the frame where you want to stop recording.

n If you already marked an OUT point, recording will stop automatically.

When recording ends, the clip appears in place in the sequence, and a master clip appears in the bin.

Recording and Logging at the Same Time

When you record without entering log information in a bin ahead of time, the system creates clips and associated media files while you record. Recording in this manner involves manually cueing source footage with an Avid-controlled deck, using the deck controls in the Record tool.

Ways to record and log at the same time include:

• Recording On-the-Fly

• Recording from an IN Point to an OUT Point

Recording On-the-Fly

This method is easier than setting marks, but it is more imprecise. It involves using the deck controls in the lower left corner of the Record

Splice-in

Overwrite

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tool to cue, play, and stop the source footage manually while recording.

Use the recording on-the-fly method in any of the following circumstances:

• If you are eager to begin editing immediately and no adequate logs exist for importing into the system or setting marks

• If you are recording from a source deck that cannot be controlled by the Record tool or a V-LAN® VLXi® unit (through NewsCutter)

• If your source tape does not have timecode

• If you are recording from a digital source such as a compact disc or DAT player

• If you are recording from a live source, such as a studio feed, or an in-house router

In some circumstances, the recorded material may exceed the logical file size allowed by NewsCutter. For example, the maximum size of a media file cannot exceed 2 gigabytes (GB). To make sure that recording does not stop if a file exceeds the limit, select “Digitize video to multiple files” in the Digitize Settings dialog box. Then if a file does exceed the limit, it will be split across multiple files and recording will continue.

Before you begin recording, refer to the “Record Preparations Check List” on page 57.

n There is a slight delay of several frames after you manually select a spot both to start and to stop recording. Therefore, use this method when you do not need precise beginning and end points in your clip.

To record on-the-fly:

1. Select the video and audio tracks to which you want to record in the Record tool.

2. Make sure the Digitize/Log Mode button in the Record tool is set to DIG.

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3. Use the deck controls in the bottom left corner of the Record tool to locate the position on the tape where you want to start recording.

4. Play the deck and when it gets up-to-speed, click the Record button.

n Make sure you have cleared any previous marks so that the deck does not begin cueing to the previous location.

5. While the system is recording, you can type a clip name in the Name text box.

Press the Tab key after typing a clip name to enter comments about the clip.

6. Click the Pause button at any time to pause play. You can also abort the record procedure by clicking the Trash button in the Record tool. The clip will be discarded.

7. To stop recording, click the Record button, or press the Esc key on the keyboard.

The system creates a new clip in the bin.

Recording from an IN Point to an OUT Point

This method lets you specify the exact timecode location to begin and end recording. You can also specify only an IN point or an OUT point, and enter the other mark on-the-fly.

Use this method in the following circumstances:

• If logs exist in written or printout form but not in the proper format for quick import into the system

• If the IN and OUT points are rough and need to be double-checked for accuracy

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• If you are familiar enough with the source material to estimate the timecode for the IN point, the OUT point, or both, quickly and accurately

Before you begin recording, refer to the “Record Preparations Check List” on page 57.

To record by specifying an IN point and an OUT point:

1. Cue the tape to the start of the clip you want to record and mark an IN point.

2. Cue the tape and mark the OUT point now, or set the OUT point on-the-fly while you are recording.

3. Click the Record button in the Record tool.

The Record tool automatically rewinds the tape to the preroll point before the IN point of the clip, and the tape begins to play. The Record button changes to bright red, the indicator next to the Record button flashes, and the Message bar displays the message that recording has begun.

4. While the system is recording, you can type a clip name or enter comments about the clip.

Recording stops, and the system creates a new clip in the bin when the tape reaches the clip’s OUT point or you press the Record button again.

Batch Recording

Once you have imported a log or have manually logged a group of clips to a bin, you can automate the record process by using the batch-recording capabilities of NewsCutter. In order to batch record, source tapes must have timecode.

If your media was analog (not digital) when it was recorded, you will need to reset the color bars in the Video Input tool before you batch

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record. For more information and procedures, see “Adjusting color bars” in the Help index.

You can also use the batch record process to rerecord existing clips.

n Before you batch record, make sure the source tapes have timecode.

Before you begin recording, refer to the “Record Preparations Check List” on page 57.

To batch record clips:

1. Open the bin that stores the logged clips.

2. Select the clips to batch record.

3. Choose Batch Record from the Bin menu.

4. Select options in the Batch Record dialog box:

• If the bin contains some clips that are already recorded and you do not want to rerecord those clips, select the option “Digitize only those items for which media is currently unavailable.”

• If your selections include a sequence for batch recording, the dialog box prompts you for handle length information.

5. Click OK.

If you have not loaded a tape, the system prompts you to insert the first tape.

6. Insert the tape into the tape deck, and click Mounted.

A message box appears.

7. Click OK to confirm the tape and deck entries and to begin the recording process.

The system records each clip from the tape, in start timecode order.

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Rerecording a Sequence

Rerecording is the process of capturing previously recorded source footage based on existing clips and sequences. Rerecording uses the batch record process and does not require extra logging time because the clip information for such things as source tracks and timecodes already exists in the bin.

There are several situations in which you might want to rerecord:

• You can quickly rerecord selected clips if you make an error while recording the first time.

• You can rerecord clips if you accidentally delete media files.

• You can rerecord a sequence after you transfer it to another system.

c Rerecording requires your original source footage. Do not delete the media files if the source footage is no longer available, unless you will not need the material again.

Before you begin recording, refer to the “Record Preparations Check List” on page 57.

n To streamline the rerecording process, select “Ask for name when a new tape is seen” in the Digitize Settings dialog box during the original recording.

To rerecord a sequence or clips:

1. Choose Record Tool from the Tools menu.

2. Open or activate the bin that contains the sequence or clips.

3. Select the sequences or clips you want to rerecord.

4. Choose Batch Record from the Bin menu.

The Batch Record dialog box appears.

5. To preserve clips that already have existing media, select “Digitize only those items for which media is currently unavailable.”

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6. Click the Handle Length text box, and type the number of additional frames you want to record at the heads and tails of the new master clips.

7. Click OK.

The system prompts you to insert the first tape.

8. Insert the tape into the tape deck if you have not already done so.

9. Click Mounted to indicate to the system that the correct tape is loaded and ready for recording.

A message box appears.

10. Click OK to confirm the tape and deck entries.

The system records each clip from the tape, in start timecode order. If another source tape is needed, the system prompts you for the tape.

You can stop the Batch Record process at any time by clicking the Trash button in the Record tool.

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CHAPTER 5

Getting Ready to Edit

This chapter describes the tools available to you for editing. It also describes methods for navigating within your clips or sequences and ways of marking your footage for inclusion in a sequence. It includes the following topics:

• Using the Command Palette

• Using the Tool Palette

• Using the Keyboard

• Using Workspaces

• Modifying Workspaces

• Controlling Playback

• Marking IN and OUT Points

• Creating Subclips

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Using the Command Palette

The Command palette, accessible from the Tools menu, provides a central location for all editing, playback, and navigational buttons. These buttons allow you to perform a wide range of commands with a single click. The Button to Button Reassignment option allows you to map buttons to the Tool palette or to reconfigure the keyboard. The Menu to Button Reassignment option allows you to map menu commands to various buttons and keys.

You can use the buttons directly from the Command palette without mapping them by selecting the Active Palette option at the bottom of the Command palette.

The Command palette groups buttons by function. Tabs are displayed for each function, and the buttons that perform those functions are displayed within each tab. The functions are Move, Play, Edit, Trim, FX, Other, and More.

You should familiarize yourself with the buttons on the Command palette. The more familiar you are, the faster you can edit. Once you know which buttons or menu commands you use most often, you can map them to the Tool palette on the keyboard.

All available buttons are displayed in the Command palette. If you cannot find a particular button, open the Command palette from the Tools menu and search for it there. For procedures on mapping buttons to the Tool palette, see “Mapping Buttons to the Tool Palette” on page 71. For procedures on mapping buttons to the keyboard, see “Mapping Buttons to the Keyboard” on page 73.

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Figure 5-1 Command Palette Move Tab

Figure 5-2 Command Palette Play Tab

Figure 5-3 Command Palette Edit Tab

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Figure 5-4 Command Palette Trim Tab

Figure 5-5 Command Palette FX Tab

Figure 5-6 Command Palette Other Tab

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Figure 5-7 Command Palette More Tab

Using the Tool Palette

The Tool palette is located in the Timeline. You can also view the Tool palette by clicking the Fast Menu button under the Source monitor.

The default Tool palette, shown in the Figure 5-8, provides buttons for editing and navigating. It has blank buttons where you can map the buttons or menu commands you use most frequently. The default Tool palette displays the buttons without names.

Figure 5-8 Default Tool Palette

To turn on the display of button names:

1. Click the Settings button in the Project window.

The Settings scroll list appears.

2. Double-click Interface.

The User Interface Settings dialog box appears.

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3. Select Show Labels in Tool Palette.

n You can enable ToolTips here as well to help you become familiar with the NewsCutter interface. ToolTips shows the name of each tool on the interface as you move the cursor over it.

4. Click OK.

5. Resize the Tool palette if necessary.

Mapping Buttons to the Tool Palette

You can map frequently used functions to the Tool palette for easy access. To map a button from the Command palette to the Tool palette:

1. Make sure the Source monitor is active; if it isn’t, click the Source/Record Toggle button to activate it.

When the Source monitor is active, it displays “NewsCutter Source” in the title bar.

2. Open the Timeline by choosing Timeline from the Tools menu.

3. Choose Command Palette from the Tools menu.

4. Click Button to Button Reassignment at the bottom of the Command palette if it’s not already selected.

5. Find the button you want to remap, click the button, and drag it to the Tool palette, placing it where you want it.

You can place the button over an existing button, in which case you can’t access the original button, or you can place it over one of the blank buttons.

If you want to remove the button you mapped, you can drag another button over it or drag the blank button over it. The blank button can be found in the Other tab of the Command palette.

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Mapping Menu Options to the Tool Palette

You can map frequently used functions to the Tool palette for easy access. To map a menu option to the Tool palette:

1. Open the Timeline by choosing Timeline from the Tools menu.

2. Choose Command Palette from the Tools menu.

3. Click Menu to Button Reassignment at the bottom of the Command palette if it’s not already selected.

4. Click the button on the Tool palette where you want the menu option to appear.

5. Find the menu option you want to remap and click it.

The menu option appears in the Tool palette.

You can place the menu option over an existing button, in which case you can’t access the original button, or you can place it over one of the blank buttons.

If you want to remove the menu option you mapped, you can drag another menu option or button over it or drag the blank button over it. The blank button can be found in the Other tab of the Command palette.

Using the Keyboard

The keyboard has many editing and navigational buttons. For faster editing, you can use the keyboard rather than the mouse. The default keyboard is configured as shown in Figure 5-9.

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Figure 5-9 NewsCutter Default Keyboard Settings

Mapping Buttons to the Keyboard

You can map buttons to the keyboard from the Command palette to help you work more quickly. You can map only to the light-colored keys shown in Figure 5-9; the dark-colored keys are reserved for system functions such as Shift, Ctrl, Alt.

To map a button from the Command palette to the keyboard:

1. Choose Command Palette from the Tools menu.

2. Click Button to Button Reassignment at the bottom of the Command palette.

3. Activate the Project window, and click the Settings button.

The Settings scroll list appears.

4. Double-click Keyboard.

The keyboard diagram appears.

5. Find the button you want to remap, click the button, and drag it to the keyboard, placing it on any of the light-colored keys.

Play button

Stop button

Play/Step/Shuttle buttonsStep buttons

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You can place the button over an existing key, in which case you can’t access the original key, or you can place it over one of the blank keys.

If you want to remove the button you mapped, you can drag another button over it or drag the blank button over it. The blank button can be found in the Other tab of the Command palette.

Mapping Menu Items to the Keyboard

You can map menu options that you use frequently to the keyboard from the Command palette. You can map only to the light-colored keys shown in Figure 5-9; the dark-colored keys are reserved for system functions such as Shift, Ctrl, Alt.

To map a menu option from the Command palette to the keyboard:

1. Choose Command Palette from the Tools menu.

2. Click Menu to Button Reassignment at the bottom of the Command palette.

3. Activate the Project window, and click the Settings button.

The Settings scroll list appears.

4. Double-click Keyboard.

The keyboard diagram appears.

5. Click the key where you want the menu option to appear.

6. Find the menu option you want to remap and click it.

The menu option appears on the keyboard diagram.

You can place the menu option over an existing key, in which case you can’t access the original key, or you can place it over one of the blank keys.

If you want to remove the menu option you mapped, you can drag another menu option or button over it or drag the blank button

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over it. The blank button can be found in the Other tab of the Command palette.

Using Workspaces

Workspaces let you have the tools you need to perform a specific function, such as recording, available to you with the press of a key. NewsCutter comes with four workspaces set up for the basic functions of record, edit, effects, and audio. These default workspaces are already mapped to the keyboard as follows:

You can use these workspaces as is, or you can modify them to your liking. To use a workspace, press the function key on the keyboard for the workspace you want.

Workspace Function Key

1 record F9

2 edit F10

3 effx (effects) F11

4 audio F12

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Modifying Workspaces

You can modify the default workspaces to make them more closely fit your style of working.

n To take advantage of the workspace shortcut buttons, you must remember that NewsCutter sorts the workspaces alphabetically. Therefore, the workspace button assignments may change if you add workspaces. To keep a designated order, name the workspaces with a number preceding the first letter (for example, 5 digital cut).

To modify an existing workspace:

1. Press the function key on the keyboard for the workspace you want to modify, for example, F9 for recording.

2. Make any changes — resize or reposition any windows.

3. Click the Settings button in the Project window.

The Settings scroll list appears.

4. Double-click the workspace you want to modify.

The Save Workspace dialog box appears.

5. Click OK.

The Workspace setting is modified.

n When you change workspaces, you see the arrangement you set when you left the workspace. If you close a window before you leave a workspace, the next time you open the workspace, the window will be closed. For bins, you must select Enable ‘Sticky’ Bins in the Bin Settings dialog box to save the position of the bins in your workspace.

You may also create four additional workspaces. For information on creating workspaces, see “Workspace” in the Help index.

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Controlling Playback

There are several ways to play, view, and cue clips:

• Instantly access frames or move through footage by using the position indicator within the position bar under the Source or Record monitor.

• Play, step (jog), or shuttle through footage using buttons.

• Play, step, or shuttle using keyboard equivalents.

• Step or shuttle using the mouse.

Using Position Bars and Position Indicators

You can quickly access frames within a clip loaded into a monitor or move through the footage by using the position indicators that appear in the position bars under the Source or Record monitor, and in the Timeline when you are viewing a sequence.

• You can move the position indicator within the position bar under the Source or Record monitor by clicking anywhere in the position bar or by dragging the position indicator to the left or right. The speed with which you drag the position indicator determines the speed at which you move through the footage.

Figure 5-10 Record Monitor Position Bar

Record monitorposition bar

Position indicator

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Figure 5-11 Source Monitor Position Bar

• In the Timeline, the position indicator shows your position within the sequence. It is always in the same position as the position indicator in the Record monitor’s position bar and works in the same way: you can click anywhere in the Timeline to relocate the position indicator, or you can drag the position indicator through footage at varying speeds.

Figure 5-12 Position Indicator in Timeline

• You can go directly to the beginning or end of a clip or sequence by clicking at the far left or far right of the clip or sequence.

Using Buttons

You can use the buttons that appear below the Source and Record monitors to play and step through your footage. You can also use the keyboard to manipulate footage.

Buttons can be remapped from the Command palette to the Tool palette and the keyboard in any configuration. See “Mapping Buttons

Source monitor position bar

Position indicator

Position indicator in Timeline

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to the Tool Palette” on page 71 and “Mapping Buttons to the Keyboard” on page 73.

The Play Button

The Play button is a toggle button. With a clip loaded in a monitor, the Play button plays your footage at a normal speed. When a clip is playing, the arrow on the button is lit. Clicking the Play button while your clip is playing stops play. The space bar also stops play.

In the Record monitor, you can play only video and audio tracks that are currently monitored in the Track Selector panel.

To play a clip:

1. Load a clip into the Source monitor or a sequence into the Record monitor by double-clicking a clip or sequence icon in a bin.

2. For sequences in the Record monitor, click the Video Track Monitor or Audio Track Monitor button in the Track Selector panel.

3. Go to the start of the clip or sequence by clicking at the start of the position bar under the monitor or by pressing the Home key.

4. To play the clip or sequence, click the Play button under the chosen monitor.

5. To stop playback, press the space bar or click the Play button again.

Video Track Monitor button

Audio Track Monitor button

Track Selector panel

with Monitor icon

with Speaker icon

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Step Buttons

You can also use the Step Forward and Step Backward buttons under the monitors to play the clip backward or forward in one-frame increments.

You can advance 10 frames forward or 10 frames backward by using the 10-step keys on the keyboard.

To step through footage:

1. Load a clip into the Source monitor or a sequence into the Record monitor.

2. Press the appropriate key to step 1 or 10 frames forward or backward.

J-K-L Keys (Three-Button Play)

The J-K-L keys on the keyboard allow you to play, step, and shuttle through footage at varying speeds. This feature, also referred to as three-button or variable-speed play, allows you to use three fingers to manipulate the speed of playback for greater control.

To shuttle through the footage using the J-K-L keys on the keyboard:

1. Do one of the following:

• Load a clip into the Source monitor or a sequence into the Record monitor.

• Select a clip in a bin in Frame view to play through the clip in the bin.

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2. Use the following keys to shuttle at varying speeds:

• Press the L key to move forward through the footage at normal speed. Press once to increase the forward speed two times, twice to increase it four times, and three times to increase it eight times normal speed.

• Press the J key to move backward at the same shuttle speed increments.

• Press and hold the K and L keys together for slow forward.

• Press and hold the K and J keys together for slow backward.

3. To pause the shuttling, press the K key.

4. To stop shuttling, press the space bar.

Home, End, and Arrow Keys

You can also use the Home, End, and arrow keys on the keyboard to move through footage when a clip is loaded in a monitor.

• The Home key takes you to the beginning of a clip or sequence.

• The End key takes you to the end of a clip or sequence.

• The Left Arrow key moves the footage one frame backward.

• The Right Arrow key moves the footage one frame forward.

Using the Mouse

You can also use the mouse for one-handed control of playback. You can either step or shuttle by using the mouse.

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Stepping with the Mouse

To step by using the mouse:

1. Load a clip into the Source monitor or a sequence into the Record monitor.

2. Activate the buttons in the Command palette by selecting Active Palette at the bottom of the palette and then clicking the Mouse Jog button in the Play tab of the Command palette.

You can map the Mouse Jog button to a button in the Tool palette (see “Using the Tool Palette” on page 70).

3. Move the mouse to the right to step forward or to the left to step backward.

4. To quit stepping with the mouse, press the space bar.

Shuttling with the Mouse

To shuttle by using the mouse:

1. Load a clip into the Source monitor or a sequence into the Record monitor.

2. Do one of the following:

• Activate the buttons in the Command palette by selecting Active Palette at the bottom of the palette and then clicking the Mouse Shuttle button in the Play tab of the Command palette.

• You can map the Mouse Shuttle button to a button in the Tool palette (see “Using the Tool Palette” on page 70).

3. Move the mouse to the right to increase the shuttle speed or to the left to decrease the shuttle speed.

4. To stop shuttling with the mouse, press the space bar or double-click the mouse button.

You can also use the keyboard in conjunction with the mouse to control shuttling. For example, if you’re shuttling with the mouse and

Mouse Shuttlebutton

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you press the L key, the playback speeds up to the next normal play rate (30, 60, 120, 240 fps for NTSC; and 25, 50, 100, 200 fps for PAL). You can continue to change the shuttle speed and direction with the mouse.

Marking IN and OUT Points

You can mark IN and OUT points for your clips in advance, which provides several advantages:

• You can quickly build a sequence by splicing the marked clips into place one after another.

• You can use the process of rough-cut or storyboard editing, which allows you to instantly splice several prepared clips into a sequence.

• You can play back and mark clips in the bin before loading a single clip, saving several steps.

Even if your marks are not accurate now, you can trim the edit points and fine-tune the sequence later without reediting the material.

Creating Subclips

When you mark footage with IN and OUT points, either you can save the entire clip along with the new marks, or you can create subclips to break up longer master clips into smaller segments of selected footage.

Subclips do not directly reference the original media. Subclips remain linked to the master clips from which they are created, and the master clips in turn reference the recorded media files located on your storage drives. As a result, none of the original footage is lost.

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You can also create subclips while recording as described in “Subclips,creating on-the-fly” in the Help index.

You can create subclips directly from the marked section of material in the monitors by using one of the following methods:

• Alt key: Press and hold the Alt key, and then drag the picture from the monitor to the bin in which you want to store the subclip.

• Make Subclip button: Click the Make Subclip button located on the Edit tab of the Command palette to create the subclip and place it in the active bin by default. If you press the Alt key while you click the Make Subclip button, a dialog box allows you to choose the destination bin for the subclip.

The new subclip will be listed in the bin, preceded by a subclip icon and identified with a numbered .Sub extension, as shown in the following illustration.

For more information on trimming, see “Trim Edits” in the Help index.

A new subclip shown in Text view

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CHAPTER 6

Creating a First Cut

This chapter describes how you begin to put your story together. It includes the following topics:

• Viewing Your Clips

• Navigating in the Timeline

• Using the Track Selector Panel

• Making the First Edit

• Splicing or Overwriting Video into a Sequence

• Marking Clips for Storyboarding

• Using the Go to IN and Go to OUT Buttons

• Moving to the Head or Tail of a Shot

• Undoing an Edit

• Redoing an Edit

• Splicing a Shot into the Middle of a Sequence

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Viewing Your Clips

You can work with clips and sequences in several different ways, depending upon your needs and preferences. Each method has its own uses and advantages, as follows.

• Viewing in bins: Frame view shows you pictorial images of the clips in your bins; Text view shows you the clips listed by name; Script view shows you pictorial images and provides a space for you to add text. See “Working with Bins” on page 40 for more information on displaying clips in bins.

• Viewing in the Timeline: Use the Timeline to view individual tracks for either a sequence or a source clip. You can drag a clip or group of clips into the Timeline to create a sequence.

• Viewing in full-screen: You can use a second, full-screen monitor to view your footage in a larger screen format.

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• Viewing in the Source monitor: You can load clips and sequences into the Source monitor (see Figure 6-1) to view and mark shots for use in a sequence that you build in the Record monitor. You load a clip into the Source monitor by double-clicking its icon in the bin.

Figure 6-1 Source Monitor

Clip icon

Source/Record Toggle button

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• Viewing in the Record monitor: You can load a sequence into the Record monitor (see Figure 6-2) to view, mark, or modify an existing sequence. You cannot load a clip into the Record monitor. You load a sequence into the Record monitor by double-clicking its icon in the bin.

Figure 6-2 Record Monitor

Sequence

Source/Record Toggle button

icon

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• Viewing in pop-up monitors: You can load clips into pop-up monitors (see Figure 6-3) to view and mark one or several clips simultaneously in smaller, movable windows. (Enable a pop-up monitor by pressing the Alt key while double-clicking the clip you want to open.) You can have multiple pop-up monitors open at one time.

Figure 6-3 Pop-up Monitor

Navigating in the Timeline

The Timeline window (see Figure 6-4) provides various controls for quickly moving through a sequence and adjusting your view of details displayed in the tracks while editing. You can make changes in the Timeline format by using the Timeline Fast menu or by double-clicking Timeline in the Settings scroll list in the Project window.

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Figure 6-4 Timeline

Using the Position Indicator

The position indicator, the vertical blue line in the Timeline, marks your place in the sequence. It also 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 if you haven’t marked an IN point. The position indicator can also be used as an OUT point if you haven’t marked an OUT point.

When you move the position indicator in the Timeline, the smaller position indicator within the Record monitor’s position bar also moves.

Scale box Scroll box

Timeline

Segment modeExtract/Splice-in

Segment modeLift/Overwrite

Track Selector panel Timeline track Position indicator

Timeline scroll bar

Fast menu

Scale bar

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Using the Scroll Bar

The scroll bar functions like any standard scroll bar. Click the arrows or drag the scroll box to scroll left or right.

Using the A and S keys

The Go to Previous Edit and Go to Next Edit buttons in the Command palette allow you to quickly move forward and backward through the Timeline. When you click the Go to Previous Edit button (A key on the default keyboard), the position indicator moves to the previous transition point in the sequence, ignoring tracks that are not active. When you click the Go to Next Edit button (S key on the default keyboard), the position indicator moves to the next transition point in the sequence and is also based on the track selection.

Displaying More or Less Detail

The scale bar stretches and contracts the Timeline area centered around the position indicator, allowing you to either zoom in to focus on a specific area of your sequence or zoom out to see your whole sequence. This is especially useful when you have a lengthy sequence with many edits.

The Timeline always expands or contracts proportionally on both sides of the position indicator.

Scroll box

Scroll bar

Scale box

Scale bar

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• To see more detail, click the scale box and drag it to the right.

As the Timeline expands, a second “shadow” position indicator appears next to the position indicator, showing the end of a single frame, and the two continue to move apart as you expand the Timeline.

The position indicator and its shadow mark the beginning and end of each frame. The solid line is the mark or edit point. You can click either the line or the shadow to move exactly one frame forward or backward.

In addition, if the Timeline is maximized for full-screen viewing, the Timeline will split in half (or thirds) as it wraps through the sequence for you to see all the clips.

• To contract an expanded Timeline to see less detail but more of the sequence, click the scale box and drag it to the left.

Using the Track Selector Panel

The Track Selector panel (see Figure 6-5) provides numerous controls for working effectively with multiple tracks. With this one resource, you can select, delete, monitor, enlarge, reduce, lock, patch, and move any video or audio track.

The Track Selector panel also provides a quick display of track information. You can see which tracks (on the source or the record side) are available, active, patched, monitored, or locked. The configuration shown below is just one example. The Track Selector panel might look very different, depending on the nature of the source material or the work under way in the sequence.

As the Timeline expands, a shadow position indicator appears.

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Figure 6-5 Timeline Track Selector Panel

The source side (left side) of the panel displays only those tracks available for the clip currently loaded and displayed in the Source monitor. For instance, a clip that has audio digitized for track A1 only does not display an A2 track in the Track Selector panel.

The record side of the panel displays only those tracks currently in use for the sequence. However, if you edit source material with a track selected that does not yet exist on the record side (A3 or V2, in the previous example), by default the track appears on the record side after the edit takes place.

A clip (or sequence) needs to be loaded in the Source and Record monitors to display both track panels.

Source Track Monitor buttonsSource Track buttons

Sync Lock and Lock buttonsRecord Track buttons

Record Track Monitor buttons

Timecode button

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Selecting Tracks

You can select tracks on either the record side or the source side as follows:

• You can edit selected tracks on the source side directly into the sequence, assuming you have selected parallel tracks on the record side.

• You cannot edit deselected tracks on the source side into the sequence, regardless of record track selections.

• You cannot edit deselected tracks on the record side, regardless of source track selections.

There are four methods for selecting tracks:

• Click any deactivated Track Selector button to select it. Click any activated Track Selector button to deselect it.

• Drag a lasso around multiple Track Selector buttons to select them at once. Make sure the cursor is displaying the lasso box.

• With the Timeline window active, choose Select All Tracks from the Edit menu or press Ctrl+A to select all tracks on the record side.

• With the Timeline window active, use the keys on the keyboard corresponding to each track to select and deselect tracks. To see the default Keyboard settings, double-click Keyboard in the Settings scroll list of the Project window.

For example, you might select the source and record tracks for V1, A1, and A2 to edit video and audio from the source clip into the sequence. Select only V1 source and record tracks to edit video without sound. Or, select only A1 and A2 to edit the sound without the video.

n Selected tracks change color.

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Patching Tracks

When working with multiple tracks, you occasionally encounter a circumstance where you must edit source audio or video onto a track other than the parallel track displayed in the Track Selector panel. 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 to the number of times you can patch from the same source track. Audio can patch only to audio, and video only to video.

To perform a patch, drag from a source track (audio or video) to the targeted record track (a white arrow appears during the patch).

The selected source track moves beside the record track to which it is patched as soon as you release the mouse. The patched track remains highlighted in preparation for your edit. You can proceed to select any other tracks required for the edit.

To undo a patch:

1. Click directly in the Record monitor.

2. Manually repatch to the previous track.

n When you are patching from one video track to another, the Monitor icon moves to the track to which you patch. Be sure to return the icon to the topmost track when necessary to play back and output all video tracks.

Monitoring Tracks

You determine the monitoring of tracks by clicking the monitor column of either the source- or record-side tracks to activate or deactivate the Monitor icons.

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The track monitor determines what you see and hear during playback. You can turn track monitors off at any time to monitor only audio or only video during editing. When there are multiple tracks, all tracks below the monitored track are active during playback.

When you edit with multiple tracks, you can activate the monitor on a lower track to monitor only that track. This is especially useful when you have multiple layers of video effects and need to see one track without the additional layers.

n If you reposition the Monitor icon, be sure to return it to the topmost track to view, render, or record all the tracks together. Unmonitored tracks are not included in playback.

Making the First Edit

As your first edit, lay down an audio clip, which can contain ambient sound, music, narration, or voice-over narration. First, you play the clip.

1. Double-click the audio clip, and play the clip in the Source monitor.

The clip displays as black because it is audio only.

2. Go to the head of the clip by pressing the Home key on your keyboard.

Now use digital audio scrub to find the specific frame you want to use in your sequence.

Video Track Monitor button

Audio Track Monitor Audio Track Monitor buttonwith hollow Speaker icon

with Monitor icon

button with blackSpeaker icon

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Using Digital Audio Scrub

Digital audio scrub is used to locate a specific frame of audio. Use it to locate the first frame of audio you want to include in your sequence.

1. Press the Caps Lock key to activate digital audio scrub.

Pressing and holding the Shift key while you play activates digital audio scrub temporarily.

n Keeping digital audio scrub on continuously can slow the performance of NewsCutter. When you are finished using audio scrub, you should take off the Caps Lock, deactivating audio scrub.

2. Play the clip again, and click the Play button to stop at the approximate place where the music begins.

3. Press the Step (jog) keys (1, 2, 3, 4 on the keyboard) to locate the first frame you want, and click the Mark IN button.

When you use the Step keys, a frame of music or speech sounds scratchy or buzzlike. You might want to increase the volume of your speakers to hear the first frame of music.

4. Use the Step keys again to find the last frame of audio you want.

5. Click the Mark OUT button.

6. Press the Caps Lock key again to exit digital audio scrub.

Splicing Versus Overwriting Audio and Video

When you are editing audio or video into a sequence, you can use either Splice-in or Overwrite to perform the edit. Understanding the difference between the two will make it easier for you to put together your sequence to your satisfaction. They work the same way for either video or audio edits.

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When you use Splice-in, everything from where you place your IN point forward shifts down to accommodate the clip you are splicing in. This lengthens your sequence and can cause other tracks to be out of sync.

When you use Overwrite, everything from where you place your IN point to the end of the clip you are overwriting is overwritten. This preserves the length of your sequence; you will overwrite whatever was already in the sequence for the duration of the new clip.

Splicing or Overwriting an Audio Clip

Click the Splice-in button or the Overwrite button under the Source monitor to edit the clip into the Record monitor.

To edit the audio clip you marked in “Using Digital Audio Scrub” on page 97 into your sequence:

1. Choose New Sequence from the Clip menu.

An untitled sequence appears in the bin, the Record monitor, and the Timeline.

2. Select the track into which you want to edit the audio by clicking the Track Selector button.

3. Activate the Source monitor by clicking the Source/Record Toggle button.

4. Press the Splice-in or Overwrite button under the Source monitor.

If no points are selected, the entire clip is edited into the Timeline.

The clip is edited onto the track you selected. The first frame is the IN point you marked in the clip; the last frame is the OUT point you marked in the clip.

The audio track appears in the Timeline. The sequence also appears in the Record monitor; it appears black because there is no video.

Now you are ready to add video to your sequence.

Splice-inbutton

Overwritebutton

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Splicing or Overwriting Video into a Sequence

You can start constructing your sequence by marking your clips and splicing or overwriting them into your sequence.

To splice or overwrite video into a sequence:

1. From one of your bins, double-click the clip with which you want to start your sequence.

Press and hold the Alt key while you double-click the clip to open the clip in a pop-up monitor.

Play the whole clip through once first to get a sense of the material.

2. Play through the clip, and decide where you want the clip to begin; mark an IN point.

You can use the Mark IN button under the monitor or press the E key on the keyboard.

n All keys referred to here are from the default keyboard configuration. If you remap your keyboard, your keys may not match those included in these instructions.

3. Mark an OUT point where you want the clip to end.

You can use the Mark OUT button under the monitor or press the R key on the keyboard.

n If you do not mark an IN point and an OUT point, the entire clip will be edited into the sequence.

4. Select only the track where you want this clip to be recorded.

For example, if you wanted only video, you would deselect the audio tracks. A track is gray when it is deselected; it changes color when it is selected.

5. Click the Splice-in or Overwrite button under the Source monitor, or press the V or B key on the keyboard.

Deselected

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The clip is edited onto the track you selected in the Timeline and the monitor switches to the Record monitor where the clip is displayed. The position indicator rests on the first frame of black following the splice.

When you want to bring an open bin or monitor to the foreground, you can click anywhere in it or choose its name from the Windows menu.

6. Do one of the following to move to the head of the sequence:

• Press the Home key on the keyboard.

• Click the beginning of the Timeline.

7. Click the Play button to play the clip in the sequence.

8. Continue adding clips to your sequence, following the steps above.

Marking Clips for Storyboarding

Another way of starting your sequence is to use storyboarding. Storyboarding lets you set up a group of clips in order and then load them into the Record monitor all at once. You can use storyboarding to start your sequence or to add clips to an already existing sequence. When you storyboard, you arrange clips in a bin in the order in which you want them to appear in the sequence. You then select the group of clips and drag them to the Timeline.

To add a group of clips to your sequence by using storyboarding:

1. Open the clips you are going to use by double-clicking their icons in the bin.

The clips appear in the Source monitor. Use the monitor menu next to the clip icon in the Source monitor to view each clip in turn.

2. Mark IN and OUT points in each clip.

If you are using the whole clip, you don’t need to mark IN and OUT points.

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3. Display the bin where the clips are in Frame view; click the lower right corner of the bin and drag to enlarge the window.

4. Choose Fill Window from the Bin menu to arrange the clips in the bin.

5. Arrange the clips in the order in which you want them to appear in two or three rows, from left to right, and top to bottom, to form the storyboard.

Make sure you maintain the order of clips.

Now you are ready to load the marked clips into the sequence.

6. Select only the record track where you want the clips to go.

7. Select the storyboarded clips all at once:

a. Position the mouse pointer in the bin in the blank area just to the left of the first clip.

b. Lasso the clips by dragging the pointer to the right and down, making sure to select all the storyboarded clips.

Frame view

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A box forms as you move the mouse, starting next to the first clip and ending at the last pointer position. All the names are highlighted.

8. Click one of the clips (on the image, not the name), and drag the group into the Timeline. Release the mouse when a red arrow appears in the Record monitor.

The shots are edited into the sequence in the order you specified.

9. Move the position indicator to the head of the sequence.

10. Click the Play button under the Record monitor.

Using the Go to IN and Go to OUT Buttons

NewsCutter provides a number of methods for snapping the position indicator to an IN or an OUT point.

To go to an IN point, do one of the following:

• Click the Go to IN button.

• Press the Q key on the default keyboard.

• Press and hold the Alt key, and click the Mark IN button under the Record monitor.

To go to an OUT point, do one of the following:

• Click the Go to OUT button.

• Press the W key on the default keyboard.

• Press and hold the Alt key, and click the Mark OUT button under the Record monitor.

Go to Go toOUTIN

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Moving to the Head or Tail of a Shot

Before splicing in a clip, make sure the position indicator is on the first frame of black after the last edit (head) or on the last frame of the previous clip (tail).

To move to the head of a shot:

1. Move the position indicator in the Timeline anywhere to the right of the transition where you want the edit to occur.

2. While pressing and holding the Ctrl key, click the mouse between the transition and the position indicator toward the head of the clip.

The position indicator snaps to the first frame of the shot.

To move to the tail of a shot:

1. Move the position indicator in the Timeline anywhere to the left of the transition where you want the edit to occur.

2. While pressing and holding the Alt and Ctrl keys, click the mouse between the position indicator and the transition toward the tail of the clip.

The position indicator snaps to the last frame of the shot.

Undoing an Edit

Use the Undo feature whenever you want to go back a step. You can undo or redo up to 32 previous actions listed in the Edit menu.

Choose Undo from the Edit menu, or press Ctrl+Z.

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Redoing an Edit

Use the Redo feature whenever you want to get back to what you had before you did an Undo. You can redo up to 32 previous undo actions listed in the Edit menu.

Choose Redo from the Edit menu, or press Ctrl+R.

Splicing a Shot into the Middle of a Sequence

With nonlinear editing, you can splice a shot anywhere in your sequence.

To splice a clip at a transition point between two clips:

1. Double-click the clip you want to splice into the sequence.

The clip opens in the Source monitor.

2. Mark the IN and OUT points.

3. Make sure the track(s) you want to splice the clip into is selected.

4. Move the position indicator anywhere in the clip to the right of the transition where you want to splice the clip.

5. While pressing the Ctrl key, click the mouse between the transition and the position indicator.

6. Click the Splice-in button, or press the V key on the keyboard.

Wherever you splice a shot into the middle of a sequence, the rest of the sequence moves down. Splicing lengthens the material on the track.

7. Play the sequence so far to see what you have done.

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CHAPTER 7

Refining the Edit

This chapter describes how to refine your story once you have completed your rough cut. Topics include:

• Editing in Segment Mode

• Overwriting Shots into a Sequence

• Basic Trim Procedures

• Audio Editing

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Editing in Segment Mode

Segment mode provides editing controls for moving, deleting, marking, and editing entire segments in the Timeline. A segment is a portion of the sequence that includes two or more transitions. There are two modes for editing segments or adding shots: Extract/Splice-in, indicated by a yellow arrow, and Lift/Overwrite, indicated by a red arrow.

Unlike traditional tape editing, Segment mode allows you to instantly reposition entire segments using visual controls as though you were physically “dragging” portions of your sequence around on a tape. You can move shots separately or together, on one track or across tracks.

Guidelines for Editing in Segment Mode

Observe the following guidelines when editing in Segment mode:

• Transition effects on either side of a moved selection are deleted. Transition effects inside the selection are preserved.

• You can track the audio while moving segments by pressing the Caps Lock key to enable audio scrub.

• When you are finished, Segment mode continues to affect your editing unless you click the active Segment Mode button to deactivate it.

• Once you have selected one or more segments and entered Segment mode, you can reposition the segments with the Segment Mode pointer.

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Identifying Segment Mode Buttons

In Chapter 6, you used the Splice-in or Overwrite button. The Splice-in and Overwrite buttons under the Source monitor take clips from the Source monitor and put them into the Timeline. The Segment Mode buttons, Extract/Splice-in and Lift/Overwrite in the Timeline, move segments around within the Timeline. Although the button names are similar, you use them for different purposes.

Rearranging Footage with Extract/Splice-in

Extract/Splice-in is a great tool for changing the order of shots in a sequence.

To reverse the position of two shots in a sequence:

1. Click the yellow Segment Mode (Extract/Splice-in) button below the Timeline.

When the button is activated, its background changes to light gray.

2. Select only the track on which you want to rearrange clips.

3. Drag the selected clip to its new location and release the mouse.

4. Click the Extract/Splice-in button again to deactivate it.

5. Click the Timeline in front of the two shots, and play the sequence to see how it looks now.

If you don’t like the change, press Ctrl+Z or use the Undo command from the Edit menu to go back to the way the sequence was before you made your change.

Extract/Splice-in

Lift/Overwrite

Segment Mode buttons

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Removing Footage with Extract/Splice-in

To remove a clip from the sequence and close up the sequence:

1. Click the yellow Segment Mode (Extract/Splice-in) button below the Timeline.

2. Click anywhere in the clip you want to remove, and then Shift+click any other track you want to remove as well.

The clip is highlighted on all tracks you selected.

3. Press the Delete key on the keyboard.

The selected shot is eliminated, and the surrounding shots close the gap.

4. Click the Extract/Splice-in button again to deselect it.

Removing Footage with Lift/Overwrite

Lift/Overwrite is a useful tool if you want to remove a clip while preserving the position of the rest of the clips in the sequence. For example, if you wanted to replace a clip in the sequence but leave the audio untouched, Lift/Overwrite would create a gap where you could just drop in the replacement clip.

To remove a clip from the sequence:

1. Click the red Segment Mode (Lift/Overwrite) button below the Timeline.

2. Click anywhere in the clip you want to remove, and then Shift+click any other track you want to remove as well.

The clip is highlighted on all tracks you selected.

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3. Press the Delete key on the keyboard.

The selected shot is eliminated, and the surrounding shots stay where they were. You now have a gap the length of the clip you just removed.

4. Click the Lift/Overwrite button again to deselect it.

Overwriting Shots into a Sequence

In addition to splicing, you can overwrite shots into a sequence. An overwrite edit replaces a section of a sequence with other source footage. An overwrite edit does not affect the length of the sequence.

To overwrite a clip into your sequence:

1. Make sure the Record monitor is active.

2. Move the position indicator in the Timeline to where you want the overwrite to begin.

3. Mark an IN point.

4. Open the clip you want to edit into the sequence.

5. Mark IN and OUT points in the clip.

6. Click the Overwrite button under the Source monitor, or press the B key on the keyboard.

The shot overwrites the existing clip for the duration that you set with your IN and OUT points.

IN point

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Rearranging Shots

You can rearrange shots by overwriting material, lifting material, or removing material. Overwriting material doesn’t change the length of the sequence. Lifting material leaves filler and does not affect the length of the sequence. Removing material shortens the length of the sequence.

Overwriting with the Three-Point Edit

The three-point edit is an excellent way to replace a shot in a sequence. Use the Mark Clip button to select the shot in the sequence (or mark an IN point and OUT point for a segment that is not a single shot), and mark either the IN or OUT point in the source clip. The system calculates the exact duration of the source clip to insert.

To overwrite a clip with a three-point edit:

1. Move the position indicator to the clip you want to replace.

2. Select only the record tracks you want to replace.

You could replace just the audio by deselecting the video tracks before you mark the clip, or you could replace just the video tracks by deselecting the audio tracks.

3. Click the Mark Clip button under the Record monitor, or press the T key on the keyboard.

The IN and OUT points appear at the head and tail of the clip in the TC1 track in the Timeline; the marked segment changes to purple.

The IN and OUT points also appear in the Record monitor’s position bar.

4. Open the clip you want to edit into the sequence and mark an IN point where you want the edit to begin.

5. Clear any OUT marks.

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6. Click the red Overwrite button, or press the B key on the keyboard to make the three-point edit.

The new clip replaces the existing shot.

n The length of the clip you are editing in must be long enough to replace what you are overwriting.

7. Play the sequence to see how the new clip works.

Removing Footage with Lift

Lift retains the gap after lifting footage from the sequence. Use Lift if you want to maintain the rhythm of a sequence or the synchronization of the video and audio tracks.

If you have a shot that plays for too long, but you want the next shot to remain in sync with the audio, use Lift to shorten the clip. Using Lift maintains the same entrance point for the next shot. You can then go back and put something in its place.

To remove footage by using Lift:

1. Select only the track where you want to lift a clip.

2. Mark an IN point in the sequence where you want the lift to begin.

3. Mark an OUT point where you want the lift to end.

You must mark IN and OUT points in the sequence.

4. Click the Lift button in the Command palette, or press the Lift key (Z key) on the keyboard to remove the segment.

The selected segment lifts out and leaves black filler in its place.

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Basic Trim Procedures

Trimming allows you to adjust incoming and outgoing frames of your clip. There are three types of trims: Top and Tail, dual-roller, and single-roller.

Trim Using Top and Tail

Once you have recorded footage to the Timeline, use the Top and Tail buttons to perform quick trims. Trimming using Top and Tail is the fastest way to trim. To use Top and Tail, it is not necessary to enter Trim mode.

To quickly trim footage from the beginning of a clip:

1. Move the position indicator to where you want the clip to start.

2. Press the Y key on the keyboard, or click the Top button.

The footage from the position indicator to the beginning of the clip is trimmed.

To quickly trim footage from the end of a clip:

1. Move the position indicator to where you want the clip to end.

2. Press the U key on the keyboard, or click the Tail button.

The footage from the position indicator to the end of the clip is trimmed.

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Entering Trim Mode

You can enter Trim mode in several different ways, depending on the type of trim you expect to perform. Once in Trim mode, you can:

• Select additional tracks

• Switch between trim sides

• Perform and play back the trim

There are two methods for entering Trim mode:

• Clicking the Trim Mode button in the Other tab of the Command palette. The system enters Trim mode and selects the tracks nearest the position indicator for dual-roller trimming. This method is useful for selecting straight-cut transitions on one track or across video and audio tracks.

n You can map the Trim Mode button to the Tool palette for easier access.

When you deselect one or more tracks in the Track Selector panel, by default only the transitions in the highlighted tracks are selected for trimming. If the transitions are not straight cuts (overlap cuts or L-edits), the system highlights the topmost track nearest the position indicator.

Transition selectedfor trimming

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• Using the Play Loop button in the Play tab of the Command palette. This is useful if you like to trim quickly as you edit, going back and forth between Trim mode and other edit modes.

Once you are in Trim mode, the Record monitor changes to allow you to perform trim functions. The Trim Mode window is shown in Figure 7-1.

Figure 7-1 Trim Mode Window

Transition effectplacement

Outgoing video Incoming video

B-side framecounter

Trim frame buttonsbuttonPlay Loop

A-side framecounter

and duration

Pre- & Post-rollfor Play Loop

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Selecting Between Trim Sides

To select sides of a transition to trim:

• Click the outgoing (A-side) or incoming (B-side) monitor to define which side of the transition to trim. Notice that the pointer changes to a single-roller A-side, single-roller B-side, or double-roller icon, depending on position.

The selected parts of the transition are highlighted, and the corresponding rollers appear in the Timeline. Also, one or both of the frame counter indicators below the monitors are highlighted to reflect the active trim sides: A-side, B-side, or both. The number indicates how many frames have been added or subtracted (–) from the transition.

Sync Locking Tracks

The sync lock feature allows you to maintain sync among several tracks while adding or removing frames in Trim mode. For example, if you insert an edit into one track that is sync locked to a second track, the system automatically inserts filler in the second track to maintain sync between the two.

The middle row of the Track Selector panel displays a Sync Lock icon for sync-locked tracks.

There are several unique aspects to sync locking:

• Sync locking is a Trim mode feature only. Edits performed in Source/Record, Segment, or Effect mode will override sync-locked tracks.

• Sync locking applies to single-roller trims only, because dual-roller trims do not break sync.

• You can sync lock any number of tracks in any combination. In other words, the tracks do not require matching timecode or

Highlight indicates

A-side B-side

active sides

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common sources and can include multiple video tracks as well as audio tracks.

• Sync locking affects entire tracks. This means that parallel segments in other sync-locked tracks are affected when you trim anywhere in the sequence.

Performing a Basic Trim

With your transitions and trim sides selected, you can perform a basic trim by using one of the following procedures:

• Use the Trim buttons to trim forward or backward by 1- or 10-frame increments.

• Use the numeric keypad at the right side of the keyboard, as follows:

- To move the transition a specific number of frames, type a plus sign (+) or minus sign (–) and the number of frames (from 1 to 99) you want to move forward or backward. Then press Enter. If the number of frames is larger than 99, type an F after the number to indicate frame count. For example, to enter 200 frames, type 200F and press Enter.

- To move the transition to an exact timecode, type a timecode number larger than 99, including frames. For example, type 102 to enter 1 second and 2 frames.

• Use controls in the Timeline by clicking a roller at the selected transition and dragging forward or backward in the sequence.

Trim Left10 Frames

Trim Right10 Frames

Trim Left1 Frame

Trim Right1 Frame

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As you trim, all selected transitions in the Timeline move in unison. The frame counter displays the frame count backward or forward for one or both trim sides, and the monitors display the new incoming or outgoing frames.

Dual-Roller Trimming

Use a dual-roller trim to adjust both sides of a transition simultaneously, adding frames to one shot while subtracting frames from the adjacent shot. The total duration of the sequence does not change.

To perform a dual-roller trim:

1. Select the record track you want to trim.

2. Move the position indicator near the transition you want to trim, and click the Trim Mode button.

The position indicator snaps to the transition.

3. Play the transition by clicking the Play Loop button.

The transition plays repeatedly.

4. To stop the playback loop, click the Play Loop button again.

5. If you’re trimming an audio track, press the Caps Lock key on the keyboard so you can hear the audio as you trim.

Click and drag the roller to perform your trim.

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To use digital audio scrub, make sure the speaker icon for the record track you want to trim is hollow. Alt+click the Speaker icon to change it to hollow. Increase the speaker volume if necessary.

6. Perform your trim by using one of the following methods:

• Use the Trim buttons to trim forward or backward by 1- or 10-frame increments.

• Use the numeric keypad at the right side of the keyboard to enter a plus sign (+) or minus sign (–) and the number of frames (from 1 to 99) you want to move forward or backward. Then press Enter. To move the transition to an exact timecode, type a timecode number larger than 99, including frames.

• Use controls in the Timeline by clicking a roller at the selected transition and dragging forward or backward in the sequence.

7. Play the transition again by using the Play Loop button.

Single-Roller Trimming

In single-roller trimming, you trim only one side. Since you are not compensating by adding to the other side, you shorten the sequence.

1. Select the record track you want to trim.

2. Enter Trim mode and click the frame counter on the side you want to trim.

The frame counter on the side you selected remains purple, while the other side is gray. Trimming the A-side shortens the outgoing clip; trimming the B-side shortens the incoming clip.

3. If you’re trimming an audio track, press the Caps Lock key on the keyboard so you can hear the audio as you trim.

To use digital audio scrub, make sure the Speaker icon for the record track you want to trim is hollow. Alt+click the Speaker icon to change it to hollow. Increase the speaker volume if necessary.

A-side

Frame counters

B-side

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4. Perform your trim by using one of the following methods:

• Use the Trim buttons to trim forward or backward by 1- or 10-frame increments.

• Use the numeric keypad at the right side of the keyboard to enter a plus sign (+) or minus sign (–) and the number of frames (from 1 to 99) you want to move forward or backward. Then press Enter. To move the transition to an exact timecode, type a timecode number larger than 99, including frames.

• Use controls in the Timeline by clicking a roller at the selected transition and dragging forward or backward in the sequence.

5. Play the transition again by using the Play Loop button.

Exiting Trim Mode

You can exit Trim mode at any time in one of several ways:

• Click the Step buttons under the Trim monitor.

• Press the Esc key on the keyboard.

• Click a specific location in the Timecode (TC1) track at the bottom of the Timeline. The position indicator moves to that location.

Audio Editing

NewsCutter provides audio scrub features and waveform plots specifically designed for frame-accurate cueing, marking, and editing of audio. You can use these features at any time during editing or while making adjustments with the audio tools.

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Adjusting Audio Level

You can make the audio in a clip louder or softer as needed. For example, to make the audio clip on A2 louder:

1. Select record track A2, and deselect track A1.

2. Move the position indicator anywhere on the audio clip you want to adjust.

3. Choose Audio Mix from the Tools menu.

4. In the A2 area, move the A2 Audio Level slider to level +6 by doing one of the following:

• Drag the slider to level +6.

• Click the Volume Level display box, and type 6.

• Click the Volume Level display box, and press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key on the keyboard to reach level +6.

Volume Leveldisplay box

Volume Leveldisplay

Play Loop button

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5. Play a portion of the shot, or use the Play Loop button in the Audio Mix tool.

6. If the volume is still too low, activate the Audio Mix tool by clicking in it, and move the slider up, trying level +10.

Continue to adjust the level until it sounds right.

Adjusting Audio Pan

You may have audio for a sequence that plays only out of the left speaker or only out of the right speaker. You can adjust the audio pan (balance) so the sound plays equally from both speakers.

To adjust audio pan:

1. Clear any IN or OUT points from the sequence by clicking the Clear Both Marks button in the Edit tab of the Command palette or by pressing the G key on the keyboard.

2. Select record tracks A1 and A2.

3. Choose Audio Mix from the Tools menu.

4. Click the Timeline’s position indicator at a point that has audio on track A1.

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5. Drag the Pan slider to the middle of the scale until it reads MID.

To make the slider snap to MID, press the Alt key and click the Pan slider.

6. Pull down the Pan Value display for track A2, and drag the Pan slider until it reads MID.

7. Play a portion of the sequence to check speaker balance.

8. Click the Close button to close the Audio Mix tool.

Pan slider

Pan Value display

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CHAPTER 8

Adding Effects

Adding an effect to a clip enhances your sequence by fading in or out of a scene or adding video or a graphic on top of a clip. The effects that are available for your NewsCutter system depend on the model and options that you purchased. This chapter explains effects editing in the following sections:

• Effects Editing

• Creating Motion Effects

• Displaying the Effect Palette

• Effect Types

• Applying Effects to a Sequence

• Working in Effect Mode

• Adding Transition Effects

• Creating Quick Effects

• Adding Keyframes

• Adding a Picture-in-Picture Effect

• Rendering an Effect

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Effects Editing

NewsCutter offers many effects that you can apply to your sequences. This chapter explains how to create motion effects and how to apply effects from the Effect Palette to transitions or segments (clips) in your sequence. After you have selected and applied the effect, you can adjust the effect parameters to meet your requirements.

Effects, with the exception of some motion effects, are not real-time, which means you must render them before you play them. You can preview effects that are not real-time before rendering. Rendering an effect creates a media file that plays with the sequence. When an effect is rendered, the system stores the effect and its media file as a precomputed master clip (often referred to as a precompute). The system uses the precompute to play the effect at its normal speed.

After you create an effect, you can save it as an effect template and reapply the template to other transitions or segments in your sequence. Some effects can be applied only to transitions, other effects can be applied only to segments, and some effects can be applied to both transitions and segments. In addition, some effects can be applied to a single video layer and others to multiple video layers.

You can also save certain effects, such as dissolves, in a Quick Effects bin and access the effect parameters later through the Quick Effects dialog box. With the Quick Effects bin, you apply the effects quickly and easily as many times as you want while you edit your story.

You access the majority of effects through the Effect Palette, but creating motion effects requires a slightly different procedure. Therefore, motion effects editing, which is available for all models of NewsCutter, is described in its own section.

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Creating Motion Effects

A motion effect controls the rate at which NewsCutter plays the video channel and is applied to clips in the Source monitor. When you use a motion effect to slow down a clip, the effect is real-time. When you speed up a clip, however, you must render the effect. Motion effects include:

• Freeze Frame

• Variable Speed and Strobe Motion

Creating Freeze Frame Effects

When you create a Freeze Frame effect, NewsCutter creates a new clip in the Source monitor and in the current bin. The new clip has the same name as the original clip, but is followed by the letters FF. In addition, a Motion Effect icon appears next to the clip in the bin.

To create a Freeze Frame effect:

1. Load the frame that you want to freeze into the Source monitor.

2. Choose Freeze Frame from the Clip menu.

A pop-up menu appears.

3. Select or specify the Duration.

4. (Option) Select a Two-Field Freeze Frame parameter. For more information, see “Freeze Frame effect,two-field parameter” in the Help index.

5. Click OK.

After NewsCutter creates the new Freeze Frame clip, you can edit the clip into your sequence.

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Creating Variable Speed and Strobe Motion Effects

As with Freeze Frame effects, when you create Variable Speed and Strobe Motion effects, NewsCutter creates a new clip in the Source monitor and in the current bin. The new clip has the same name as the original clip but is followed by the frame rate in parentheses. A Motion Effect icon appears next to the clip in the bin.

To create a Variable Speed or Strobe Motion effect:

1. Load the clip into the Source monitor.

2. Mark the IN and OUT points.

3. From the Fast menu below the Source menu, click the Motion Effect button.

4. Choose the appropriate options. For more information, see “Motion effects,Variable Speed options” in the Help index.

5. Click Create and Render.

After NewsCutter renders the new clip, you can edit it into your sequence.

Motion Effect button

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Displaying the Effect Palette

See “Creating Motion Effects” on page 125 and Chapter 10 “Output” for more information on these options.

You select most effects from the Effect Palette in the Tools menu (see Figure 8-1). The exceptions are motion effects and titles that you create with the Title tool.

Figure 8-1 Effect Palette

The effects in the Effect Palette are grouped by effect category:

• Blend

• Box Wipe

• Conceal

• Edge Wipe

• Image

• Key

• L-Conceal

• Matrix Wipe

• Peel

• Push

• Sawtooth Wipe

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• Shape Wipe

• Spin

• Squeeze

Each of these effect categories contains multiple effects.

Effect Types

There are two primary types of effects that are defined by where you use them in a sequence:

• Transition effects

• Segment effects (single-layer and multilayer)

Transition Effects

A transition is the point where two clips meet. You apply a transition effect to the cut point between two clips on the same video track. After you apply a transition effect, you can adjust its relative position and duration. Depending on the specific effect, other effect parameters may apply.

Transition effects are included in all effect categories in the Effect Palette, except the Image effect category.

n You can save transition effects as Quick Effects to speed up the editing process. For more information, see “Creating Quick Effects” on page 134.

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Segment Effects

You apply a segment effect to an entire clip or a group of clips. There are two types of segment effects:

• A single-layer segment effect, such as a Mask effect, is applied to a segment on one video track.

• A multilayer segment effect, such as a Picture-in-Picture effect, is applied to the top layer of segments that contain two video tracks that will be played simultaneously.

Applying Effects to a Sequence

This section explains how to apply an effect to a sequence in the Record monitor. You can apply an effect:

• To one transition or segment on a single video layer

• To multiple transitions or segments on a single video layer

• To multiple transitions or segments on multiple video layers

The effect type (transition or segment) determines where you can place the effect in the sequence. For an explanation of the types of effects, see “Effects,types of” in the Help index.

After you apply an effect, the next step is to adjust the effect’s parameters. To understand how to adjust the effect parameters, see “Effect mode,adjusting parameters in” in the Help index.

Working in Effect Mode

After you have created an effect and applied it to a transition or segment in your sequence, you can adjust its appearance and operation by changing its effect parameters in the Effect Editor.

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To open the Effect Editor, choose Effect Editor from the Tools menu. Not all effect parameters apply to all effects. Parameters that do not apply to an effect do not appear in the Effect Editor. The Effect Editor is shown in Figure 8-2.

Figure 8-2 Effect Editor

Adding Transition Effects

Transition effects are added between two clips. Effects you can use include Blend, Box Wipe, Conceal, Edge Wipe, Key, L-Conceal, Matrix Wipe, Peel, Push, Sawtooth Wipe, Shape Wipe, Spin, and Squeeze.

Effect icon

Reduce

Enlarge

Play Loop

Play

Transition EffectDuration

Grid

PlayPreview

AddKey-frame

RenderEffect

Outline/Path

TransitionEffectAlignment

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Adding Fade In

To add a fade-in effect to a transition:

1. Select the record track where you want the fade in.

2. Move the position indicator to where you want the effect.

3. Click the Quick Effect button in the Tool palette.

The Quick Effect dialog box appears.

4. Create a dissolve (fade in):

a. Choose Dissolve from the Add pop-up menu.

b. Type the duration of the dissolve in the Duration text box.

For example, typing 20 would create a 20-frame fade in.

c. Choose Starting at Cut from the Position pop-up menu.

5. Choose the disk drive on which the effect media file should be stored from the Target Disk pop-up menu.

The default disk drive is Effect Source Disk.

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6. Click Add and Render to render the effect.

The system creates the media file of the video effect during the rendering process. It also places a Dissolve icon in the Timeline where you added the effect.

7. Play the effect. Press the space bar to stop playback.

Dissolving Between Shots

The most common effect is dissolving between two shots in the sequence.

To dissolve between shots:

1. Select the record track where you want the Dissolve effect to occur.

2. Move the position indicator to where you want the effect.

3. Click the Quick Effect button in the Tool palette.

The Quick Effect dialog box appears.

4. Create a Dissolve effect, centered on the cut:

a. Choose Dissolve from the Add pop-up menu.

b. Type the duration of the dissolve in the Duration text box.

c. Choose Centered on Cut from the Position pop-up menu.

5. Choose the disk drive on which the effect media file should be stored.

6. Click Add and Render.

7. Play the effect. Press the space bar to stop playback.

You can continue to add Dissolve effects to transitions where you want them throughout the sequence. The last parameters that you set stay in the Quick Effect dialog box, so you can quickly create Dissolve effects with the same parameters. Alternately, save the parameters as a Quick Effect. You can then access the effect parameters whenever you want. See “Creating Quick Effects” on page 134 for more information.

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Insufficient Footage for a Dissolve

It can happen that when you attempt to apply a dissolve, you get an error message telling you there is not enough footage to create the dissolve (see Figure 8-3). It means there is no source footage, or “handle,” left for the dissolve to use.

To fix the error, you can trim back each side of the dissolve, shorten the duration, or change the placement of the dissolve, for example, from Centered on Cut to Starting at Cut. You can have NewsCutter make the adjustment for you by clicking Size to Fit in the Insufficient Source dialog box.

Figure 8-3 Insufficient Source Dialog Box

Creating Audio Dissolves

It is just as easy to add audio dissolves, and the procedure is the same as adding video dissolves. Be sure to select only the audio track and deselect other tracks.

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Adding a Fade Within the Sequence

You can also create a fade to black within a sequence:

1. Select only the track where you want the fade to occur.

2. Move the position indicator to where you want the fade to black to occur.

3. Without moving the position indicator, mark both an IN point and an OUT point on that frame.

n Do not use the Mark Clip button.

4. Click the Segment Mode (Lift/Overwrite) button below the Timeline.

5. Press the Z key.

A single frame is lifted from the sequence, leaving one frame of black.

6. Deselect the Lift/Overwrite button.

7. Add a Dissolve effect, ending at the cut.

8. Select the disk drive and click Add and Render to add and render the Dissolve effect.

9. Play the effect.

Creating Quick Effects

If you plan to use a particular transition effect many times in a sequence, you can save it as a Quick Effect, which allows you to quickly add the effect to your sequence.

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To create a Quick Effect:

1. Create a bin with the name Quick Effects in the current project. For more information, see “Creating a Quick Effects Bin” on page 45.

n If you want to use a Quick Effect in multiple projects, you must copy the bin to each project.

2. Apply a transition effect to your sequence.

3. Use the Effect Editor to adjust the effect parameters.

4. Render the effect.

5. Drag the effect icon from the Effect Editor into the Quick Effects bin.

6. Rename the effect.

7. In the Timeline, move the position indicator to where you want the Quick Effect.

8. Click the Quick Effect button in the Tool palette.

The Quick Effect dialog box appears.

9. Choose the Quick Effect you created earlier from the Add pop-up menu.

10. Click Add and Render to render the effect.

Adding Keyframes

You can add keyframes to an effect, giving you more control over the effect’s parameters. At each keyframe, you can change parameters for things like position, opacity, or border softness. Adding keyframes lets you create a motion path for an effect by changing the effect’s position at each keyframe.

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To add keyframes:

1. Apply an effect where you want one to occur.

2. Move the position indicator to the location within the Effect Preview monitor position bar where you want the keyframe.

3. Click the Add Keyframe button under the Effect Preview monitor, or press the N key.

In a Picture-in-Picture effect, you can add an unlimited number of keyframes. In any other type of effect, you can add as many as four keyframes.

Adding a Picture-in-Picture Effect

You can add a Picture-in-Picture effect to create a window with one image, while another image plays in the background. When you use a Picture-in-Picture effect, you must have video on tracks 1 and 2.

To create the Picture-in-Picture effect:

1. Select track V2 and its monitor.

2. Choose Effect Palette from the Tools menu.

The Blend effects, including Picture-in-Picture, are displayed in a list on the right side of the Effect Palette.

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3. Move the position indicator to the clip where you want the Picture-in-Picture effect.

4. Click the Picture-in-Picture Effect icon in the Effect Palette, and drag it to the clip.

The effect icon appears in the Timeline and the clip with the Picture-in-Picture effect appears in a box in the middle of the monitor (see Figure 8-4).

5. Render the effect or continue to modify the Picture-in-Picture effect as described in the sections that follow.

To render the effect, see “Rendering an Effect” on page 142.

Effect icon

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Figure 8-4 Picture-in-Picture Effect

Repositioning the Image

You can move Picture-in-Picture images anywhere on the screen.

To move a Picture-in-Picture image:

1. Click the Effect Mode button in the Other tab of the Command palette, or choose Effect Editor from the Tools menu to enter Effect mode.

Parameters for the Picture-in-Picture effect appear in the Effect Editor.

2. In the Timeline, move the position indicator directly over the effect icon.

Foregroundimage (V2)

Backgroundfiller (V1)

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3. Make sure the track with the effect is selected.

4. If there aren’t drag handles on the Picture-in-Picture image, click the Outline/Path button, and then click the image.

Drag handles (the dots at the edges and in the middle of the box) appear, and a white hand appears when the mouse is over a handle.

5. Click in the image, and drag the image to where you want it to appear.

n The center dot corresponds to the active keyframe, so when you reposition the image by using the center dot handle, you change the position of the image at the active keyframe.

6. Render the effect or continue to modify the Picture-in-Picture effect as described in the sections that follow.

To render the effect, see “Rendering an Effect” on page 142.

By adding additional keyframes and changing the position of the Picture-in-Picture image at each keyframe, you can create a motion path for your effect. For more information on creating a motion path, see “Motion paths,defining” in the Help index.

Adjusting a Parameter

There are many parameters you can use to adjust the way an effect appears. For example, you can add a border, soften the edges, and adjust opacity.

To soften the edges of the Picture-in-Picture image so that it blends into the background image, adjust the softness:

1. Click the Soft slider in the Border parameter category in the Effect Editor.

2. Drag the Soft slider to the right, or enter a numeric value by using the keypad.

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You may need to play with the values to get the effect that you want.

3. Click the Play Preview button in the Effect Editor to view the effect.

4. Render the effect when you are finished adjusting parameters. See “Rendering an Effect” on page 142.

Figure 8-5 shows the same image as Figure 8-4 on page 138 but with the edges softened and the position slightly changed.

Soft slider

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Figure 8-5 Picture-in-Picture Effect with Softness

Dissolving the Picture-in-Picture On and Off

You can create the effect of having the Picture-in-Picture dissolve on and off by adding keyframes. These let the system know where the dissolve should start and end.

To dissolve the Picture-in-Picture on and off:

1. In the Timeline, move the position indicator directly over the effect icon.

2. Click the Effect Mode button if you’re not already in Effect mode.

3. In the Record monitor, click the first keyframe so it is the only keyframe highlighted.

4. Drag the Level slider in the Effect Editor all the way to the left to display 0.

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5. With the Record monitor active, type +1:00 on the numeric keypad and press Enter.

This moves the position indicator one second after the first keyframe.

6. Click the Add Keyframe button beneath the Effect Preview monitor.

7. Drag the Level slider all the way to the right to display 100.

8. Click the mouse button on the last keyframe.

9. Drag the Level slider all the way to the left to display 0.

10. With the Record monitor active, type -15 on the numeric keypad and press Enter.

This moves the position indicator 15 frames before the last keyframe.

11. Click the Add Keyframe button.

12. Drag the Level slider all the way to the left to display 100.

13. Render the effect. See “Rendering an Effect” on page 142.

Rendering an Effect

You must render a non-real-time effect before it can be played. When an effect is rendered, the system stores the effect and its media file as a precomputed master clip (often referred to as a precompute). The system uses the precompute to play the effect at its normal speed.

Last keyframe First keyframe

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To render an effect:

1. Move the position indicator to the effect icon.

2. Select the track where the effect is located.

3. Click the Render Effect button in the Tool palette.

The Choose Volume dialog box appears.

4. Select a target disk drive from the pop-up menu and click OK.

The Effect Source Disk is the default disk for storing the rendered effect.

5. (Option) Press the T key to display the render time or the P key to see the render percentage time in the Render status box.

6. After the effect is rendered, close the Effect Palette.

7. To save your work, choose Save All Bins from the File menu.

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CHAPTER 9

Creating Titles

You can create a new title with the Title tool and save the title in a bin, or add a new video track to the Timeline if you want the title to appear over video. This is described in the following sections:

• Working with Titles

• Understanding the Title Tool Window

• Adding Text

• Formatting Text in the Title Tool

• Selecting Objects in the Title Tool

• Choosing Colors and Setting Transparency

• Selecting a Color

• Creating a New Title

• Working with Title Templates

• Repositioning Text and Objects

• Applying a Color

• Applying a Shadow

• Saving a Title

• Editing the Title into the Sequence

• Editing an Existing Title

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Working with Titles

You can create a new title with or without a sequence in the Timeline. However, if you want to create a title with a video background, you can load a video clip into the Source monitor to use as a reference frame while you create the title. The video reference frame you select appears in the background of the Title tool while you create the title. The reference frame makes it easier to position text and objects exactly where you want them and to select colors from the frame to use in the text and objects.

There are three basic ways to work with titles:

• Create a new title by choosing New Title from the Clip menu.

• Edit an existing title by pressing and holding the Ctrl key and double-clicking a Title Effect icon in a bin or by dragging the existing title from a bin into the open Title tool.

• Edit an existing title that is in a sequence.

The main difference between the three methods is that you can use Save As for the first two, but you cannot use Save As for the third method.

Because NewsCutter automatically loads the new title into the Source monitor, you can immediately use standard editing procedures to edit the title into your sequence. If you create multiple titles in the same Title tool session, the system loads the last title you create into the Source monitor.

n After you create a title with a particular video format (PAL or NTSC), if you want to create a title for a project using the other video format, you must exit and restart NewsCutter.

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NewsCutter saves each title you create to a bin. You can load a title into the Source monitor at any time or drag the Title Effect icon from the bin to a segment in the Timeline. You can also drag a title from the bin onto an existing title in the Timeline; this replaces the existing title.

n The procedures described in this section use a video reference frame to create a title.

Understanding the Title Tool Window

It is helpful to understand the components of the Title tool so you know what options you have for working with text, graphic objects, color, and shadows.

To open the Title tool, choose New Title from the Clip menu. The Title tool window has several major components (see Figure 9-1):

• The toolbar at the bottom of the screen

• A video or color background

• The title that you create

• The safe title and safe action area guidelines

For more information, see “Safe Title/Action Area” in the Help index.

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The following illustration shows a title over a video background:

Figure 9-1 Title Tool Window

Adding Text

By default, the Text tool is active when you open the Title tool. Click in the Title tool at the position where you want to begin entering text.

Title

Safe actionarea

Safe titlearea

Toolbar

Text tool

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To use the Text tool at any other time, click the Text tool, click anywhere within the title frame, and begin typing. A blinking vertical bar indicates your cursor position in the frame.

The Text tool remains selected until you select another tool.

n If you press the Alt key and click anywhere in the Title tool, you switch between the Selection tool and the Text tool.

Formatting Text in the Title Tool

The text formatting tools control the appearance of text. If a text object is selected when you change an attribute, NewsCutter automatically applies the attribute to the object.

The text formatting tools allow you to change the following text characteristics:

• Font

• Bold and italic

• Point size

• Justification

• Kerning

• Leading

Text formatting tools

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This section describes how to change these characteristics on a text string basis. You can also change these attributes on a character-by-character basis by editing the text string. For more information, see “Text for titles,working with” in the Help index.

You can also modify the following text attributes on a text string basis:

• Color

• Transparency

• Drop and depth shadows

• Outlines surrounding text

While you type text, only the text color is apparent. Shadows, outlines, and other color attributes appear when you finish typing the text and click the Selection tool.

n If you have multiple text elements in a title, and you want to give each element a different appearance, create separate text strings.

Selecting Objects in the Title Tool

The Selection tool lets you select objects, including text, which you can then move, assign color and transparency to, and align in the Title tool.

The Selection tool remains selected until you select another tool.

n If you press the Alt key and click anywhere in the Title tool window, you switch between the Selection tool and the Text tool.

Selection tool

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Choosing Colors and Setting Transparency

You can select the color and transparency for objects, shadows, and borders.

The following illustration shows the boxes associated with color and transparency.

• The Color Selection boxes control the fill (Fill), shadow (Shad), and border (Bord) colors.

• The Transparency Level boxes control the fill, shadow, and border transparency.

• The Color and Transparency Blend tools appear when you select a Fill or Border Color Selection box.

If you select a Color Selection box, the top boxes show the two colors that are used to create the blend. The bottom box shows the blended color and allows you to control the direction of the blend or transparency by clicking and dragging in the direction you want the blend.

If you select a Transparency Level box, the top boxes show the two transparency values that are used to create the blend. The bottom box allows you to control the direction of the transparency blend.

Color and Transparency Blend tools

Transparency Level boxesColor Selection boxes

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Selecting a Color

To select a color from the Title Tool Color Picker, use the eyedropper to select a color from any open application on your computer, or use the Color dialog box to select a color. All these features are available through the Title Tool Color Picker (see Figure 9-2).

Figure 9-2 Title Tool Color Picker

The Title Tool Color Picker allows you to select an object fill, shadow, or border color. The box you use controls whether the color applies to an object, creates a colored shadow, or places a colored border around the selected object.

You can “tear-off” the color picker by clicking the color picker and dragging it where you want it.

Creating a New Title

Once you create and add a title to your sequence, you can reposition it, change the text color, adjust the font and point size, add a shadow or border, adjust levels and kerning, and make it bold or italic.

Grayscaleselection bar

Eyedropper

Color dialog box button

Shade selection palette

Original Color window

New Color window

Color selection bar

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To create a new title:

1. In the Record monitor, move the position indicator to a clip in the sequence you want to use as a background.

You don’t have to use a video background; you can create your title over a color background.

2. Choose New Title from the Clip menu.

The Title tool opens.

3. Click the Text tool. If it is already selected in the toolbar, the cursor becomes an I-beam when you click in the Title tool.

4. Click in the Title tool where you want to position the text.

An insertion point appears.

5. Type your title.

6. Click the Selection tool in the toolbar.

Object selection handles surround the title.

7. Change the point size if you want the text to be larger or smaller.

8. Change the font if you want to.

9. Click B for bold if it’s not already selected and you want your title bold.

n You might want to drag the right side of the text selection box to eliminate any unused space, especially if you want to use the Alignment menu commands. To drag the right side, click the middle handle on the right side of the text selection box and drag it to the left until it is closer to the text.

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Working with Title Templates

A template is useful for setting up text and graphics that you use regularly in many titles. You can set up the position, font, and color and then save that as a template. When you want to use the template, you can just edit the text and your title is finished.

Creating a Title Template

To create a title template:

1. Choose New Title from the Clip menu to open the Title tool.

2. Create your text and/or graphic elements that you want to include in the template.

3. Click Templates in the toolbar.

4. Click Save Template.

The Save Template As dialog box appears.

5. Type the name you want for your template.

6. Choose Save.

The default is to save the template in the Title_Templates folder, but you can save it somewhere else if you need to.

7. Close the Title tool, selecting Don’t Save from the Save Title dialog box.

Templates pop-up menu

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Using a Title Template

When you use a title template, you can edit the text, but you cannot change the colors, shadows, or graphics.

n You can change the position of the template elements by selecting Moveable Templates in the Templates menu.

To use a title template:

1. Choose New Title from the Clip menu to open the Title tool.

2. Click Templates in the toolbar.

3. Choose Include Template.

The Open dialog box appears.

4. Select the template you want to use.

5. Click Open.

The template text or graphics appears in your title.

6. Make any edits you need to the text.

7. Close the Title tool, selecting Save from the Save Title dialog box.

Editing a Title Template

You can make changes to a title template whenever you need to update it. Whenever you re-edit a title that uses the template, the title will be updated automatically to reflect the template changes.

To edit a title template:

1. Choose New Title from the Clip menu to open the Title tool.

2. Click Templates in the toolbar.

3. Choose Edit Template.

4. Select the template to edit.

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5. Make your changes.

6. Choose Save Template.

The default is to save the template in the Title_Templates folder, but you can save it somewhere else if you need to.

7. Close the Title tool, selecting Don’t Save from the Save Title dialog box.

Removing a Title Template

You can remove a title template from a title if you no longer need it.

To remove a title template:

1. With the title open, click Templates in the toolbar.

2. Choose Remove Template.

Repositioning Text and Objects

You can move text and objects anywhere you want in the Title tool window. You can use the safe action area or safe title area grid to make sure your text falls within those areas. Refer to Figure 9-1 on page 147 for an illustration of the safe action area and safe title area grid.

1. With the Selection tool active, click the title or object and drag to reposition it.

2. Use the arrow keys to move the title more precisely.

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Applying a Color

To apply a color to text or objects:

1. Select the text or object to which you want to apply color by using the Selection tool.

2. Click and hold the Fill Color Selection box.

The Title Tool Color Picker appears. From here you can pick a color from the color bar, use the eyedropper to select a color from the video, or open the Color dialog box and select a color from there. See Figure 9-2 on page 151.

3. Click a color.

The color is applied to the title.

Applying a Shadow

There are two types of shadows you can use — drop and depth — depending on the effect you want to create.

To apply a shadow to text or objects:

1. Select the text or object to which you want to apply a shadow by using the Selection tool.

2. Click the Shadow text box.

3. Type a value in the Shadow Depth text box.

Drop is the default shadow.

4. Optionally, for a depth shadow, click the Drop and Depth Shadow button.

When you use a depth shadow, the icon changes to green.

5. Drag the shadow in the Shadow Depth and Direction button to the position you want.

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You can also change the size by dragging the shadow further away from the white center.

6. Click the Shadow Color Selection box to open the Title Tool Color Picker to add a color to the shadow.

See “Selecting a Color” on page 151 for a description of the Title Tool Color Picker.

Saving a Title

To save your title:

1. Choose Save Title from the File menu.

The Bin Parameters dialog box appears.

2. Type the title name in the name text box.

3. Choose the bin where you want the title to reside and a target disk to store your title.

4. Click OK.

5. Click the Close button in the Title tool.

The title appears in the Source monitor and in the bin where you chose to save it.

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Editing the Title into the Sequence

After you have created a title with the Title tool, use one of the following two methods to edit the title into your sequence:

• Method 1: Add a new video track, load the title into the Source monitor, mark an IN point and an OUT point, and splice/overwrite the title into the sequence.

• Method 2: In Segment mode, drag the Title Effect clip from the bin to an existing segment in the Timeline between the edit points.

You edit titles into a sequence by using the same editing procedures you use for video clips. The only difference is that if you want to key the title over video, you must add a new video track.

To add a title to track V2 of your sequence:

1. Select track V2 and deselect tracks V1, A1, and A2.

2. Patch the title source to the video track in the sequence by clicking the Source Track button for track V1 in the Track Selector panel and dragging it to the Record Track button for track V2.

3. With the title clip loaded in the Source monitor, mark an IN point at the beginning of the clip and an OUT point where you want the title to end.

If you want to use the whole clip, you don’t need to mark IN and OUT points.

4. In the Timeline, move the position indicator to where you want the title.

5. Click the Overwrite button under the Source monitor.

This adds the title to track V2.

6. Render the title by moving the position indicator to the effect and clicking the Render Effect button in the Tool palette.

7. Play the sequence to see your title.

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Editing an Existing Title

To edit an existing title:

1. In the bin, press and hold the Ctrl key and double-click the title clip to open it in the Title tool.

2. Make whatever edits you want.

3. Do one of the following:

• To overwrite the existing title, choose Save Title from the File menu.

The original title is overwritten and the new title is saved with the original title name.

• To save the existing title and create an additional one:

a. Choose Save Title as from the File menu.

The Bin Parameters dialog box appears. See “Saving a Title” on page 157.

b. Choose a bin and a drive or leave the defaults.

c. Click OK.

A new title is created with a number appended to the original title name, for example, Title.01.

d. Click the Close button if you are finished working in the Title tool.

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CHAPTER 10

Output

NewsCutter provides tools for generating output for individual tracks or entire sequences to various videotape or audiotape formats. You can also use VTR emulation for direct playback of sequences by using an edit controller in an analog editing suite. This is described in the following sections:

• Preparing for Output

• Preparing Tapes for Frame-Accurate Recording

• Previewing a Digital Cut

• Recording a Digital Cut to Tape

• Enabling VTR Play Emulation

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Preparing for Output

Preparing for video output involves the following procedures:

• Render all non-real-time effects, as described in “Rendering an Effect” on page 142.

• Calibrate and adjust video output levels (see “Video,calibrating (basic)” in the Help index).

• Calibrate and adjust audio output levels (see “Audio output,preparing for” in the Help index).

• Decide whether you want to generate stereo or mono audio.

• Mix down multiple audio tracks if necessary. Systems equipped with a two-channel audio board can generate a maximum of two channels. For more information on mixing down audio tracks, see “Audio tracks, mixing down” in the Help index.

• (Option) Select settings for direct two-channel audio output (see “Two-channel audio,adjusting output in” in the Help index).

• Prepare the record tapes.

• (Option) Record reference bars and tone to tape.

Preparing Tapes for Frame-Accurate Recording

Frame-accurate recording involves using the Digital Cut tool to record your sequence onto a prestriped tape (a tape with prerecorded control track and timecode) or a partially striped tape.

Before you can record a frame-accurate digital cut, you must prepare the record tapes in advance by using one of the following options.

To perform insert edit recording, stripe the record tapes (record black and timecode for the entire duration of the tape) in advance (prestriped tape).

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To perform assemble edit recording, record black with timecode onto the tape. Include the necessary preroll prior to the IN point plus at least 10 seconds (partially striped tape).

n Select “Allow assemble edit for digital cut” in the Deck Preferences dialog box.

Previewing a Digital Cut

You can preview a digital cut before recording it to tape to make sure your preparations and output settings are correct or for screening purposes.

To preview a digital cut:

1. Choose Digital Cut from the Clip menu.

The Digital Cut tool opens.

2. Deselect the Record to Tape option.

The With Countdown option is enabled.

3. Select the With Countdown option to preview the digital cut using the default computer-generated countdown containing the Avid logo.

4. Select the With Countdown and Custom Screen options to preview the digital cut using a customized countdown screen that you create.

See “Creating a Custom Countdown Display” in the Help index.

5. Select the audio and video tracks you want represented in the digital cut preview.

The display of tracks in the Digital Cut tool varies according to the tracks existing in the sequence.

Only those tracks beside and beneath the Speaker icon and the Monitor icon are included in the digital cut.

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6. Click the Play button in the Digital Cut tool.

The system plays the digital cut in the Record monitor.

7. To stop the playback at any time, press the space bar.

Recording a Digital Cut to Tape

The Digital Cut tool provides frame-accurate control when recording a sequence to tape and provides several options for managing the recording of your sequence. For example, you can:

• Record using either assemble or insert edits

• Record a selected portion of the sequence or selected tracks

• Record according to different timecode parameters

You can also preview the digital cut before recording it to tape.

To record a digital cut to tape:

1. Load a sequence into the Record monitor. (You cannot access digital cut options without a sequence loaded.)

2. Choose Digital Cut from the Clip menu.

The Digital Cut tool opens.

3. Use the deck controls in the Digital Cut tool to cue and control the record tape during digital cut recording.

4. Select Record to Tape.

5. (Option) Choose either Insert Edit or Assemble Edit from the pop-up menu.

This menu appears only if you selected “Allow assemble edit for digital cut” in the Deck Preferences dialog box. See “Enabling Assemble-Edit Recording” in the Help index.

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6. Select or deselect the Entire Sequence option, based upon the following:

• Select this option if you want the system to ignore any IN or OUT points and play the entire sequence from start to finish.

• Deselect this option if you have established IN or OUT points for recording a portion of the sequence.

7. Choose an option from the Record to Tape pop-up menu as follows:

• Choose Sequence Time to start the recording at a timecode existing on tape that matches the start timecode of the sequence. To record several sequences to tape one after another, reset the start timecode on each sequence to match appropriate IN points on the tape.

• Choose Record Deck Time to ignore the timecode of the sequence and start the recording wherever the record deck is currently cued.

• Choose Mark In Time to ignore the sequence timecode. Establish an IN point on the record tape by cueing and marking with the Deck Controller.

8. Select the audio and video tracks you want represented in the digital cut preview.

Only those tracks beside and beneath the Speaker icon and the Monitor icon are included in the digital cut. The display of tracks in the Digital Cut tool varies according to the tracks existing in the sequence.

9. Select the audio and video tracks you want represented in the digital cut.

Only those tracks beside and beneath the Speaker icon and the Monitor icon are included in the digital cut. The display of tracks in the Digital Cut tool varies according to the tracks existing in the sequence.

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10. Select the Audio Out Mode.

n Changing the Audio Out Mode in the Digital Cut tool also changes the audio out in the Audio Mix tool.

11. Press Play.

The system cues the record deck and then plays and records the digital cut. The playback appears in the Playback monitor.

12. To stop the recording at any time, press the space bar.

n After assemble-edit recording, a freeze frame is usually added after the OUT point for one or more seconds, depending upon the record deck model. This provides several frames of overlap for the next IN point, before control track and timecode break up.

n NewsCutter allows you to choose a different format when creating a digital cut to tape. For example, if your sequence is non-drop-frame and you choose to make the digital cut drop-frame, an error message will appear, indicating the mismatch. If you choose to continue, the duration of the digital cut will not match the duration of your sequence.

Enabling VTR Play Emulation

VTR play emulation allows you to control a sequence loaded in the Record monitor from an edit controller for playback in the edit room along with other sources.

n To use VTR play emulation, connect a supported controller to the PC by using the serial adapter included with NewsCutter. See the Avid NewsCutter Setup Guide.

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VTR play emulation allows you to control the sequence with the edit controller as follows:

• You can shuttle, step (jog), play, cue, and mark points based on master sequence timecode for editing onto another master.

• Your control of the NewsCutter system is for play only. For example, you cannot apply IN and OUT points, arm tracks, or send record commands to the NewsCutter system itself.

• Smooth audio scrub is enabled by default, emulating analog audio scrub on a VTR.

To enable VTR play emulation:

1. Connect a supported controller (any controller that uses Sony® serial control protocol) by using a 9-pin to serial cable.

2. Choose Serial (COM) Ports from the Tools menu to open the Serial (COM) Ports tool.

3. Select the appropriate port (COM1 or COM2) from the VTR Emulation pop-up menu.

4. Close the Serial (COM) Ports tool. The system saves the setting as a Site setting, effective for all projects.

5. Choose VTR Emulation from the Clip menu when you are ready to use the system for playback.

A check mark appears next to the command to indicate that the system is ready. A yellow outline appears around the Play button in the Record monitor to indicate that VTR emulation is active.

n This command behaves like a Local/Remote switch on a playback device, with VTR play emulation disabled (in Local mode) by default when you start the system.

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APPENDIX A

Using the NRCS Tool

You use the NRCS tool to connect to an Avstar server, access stories from the server, and edit them on your NewsCutter. When you open a story in the NRCS tool, you can make formatting and content changes to the story instead of opening an Avstar workstation to do the editing. After you have made changes to the story, you can save the changes, which will be available to others using the same server. Using the NRCS tool, you can send mail to other Avstar server users to communicate what changes you made.

Using the duration of the story, you can also build a sequence in NewsCutter. Once you have the duration of the story in the Timeline, you can add footage to match the scripted story. After some quick video editing, the story is ready to go to air.

This appendix describes how to use the NRCS tool in the following sections:

• Opening the NRCS Tool

• Understanding the NRCS Tool Window

• Using the Directory Panel

• Editing a Story

• Saving Changes to a Story

• Finding the Read Time of a Story

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• Building a Sequence from a Story

• Sending Mail

• Disconnecting from the Server

n Your Avstar user permissions define how many of these procedures you can perform. If you are unsure of your permissions, consult your system administrator.

Opening the NRCS Tool

The first time you open the NRCS tool, the NRCS Settings dialog box appears. You must configure the NRCS settings before you can connect to the Avstar server.

To configure the NRCS settings and connect to the server:

1. Choose NRCS Tool from the Tools menu.

The NRCS Settings dialog box appears (Figure A-1).

Figure A-1 NRCS Settings Dialog Box — NRCS Tab

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n You can also access the NRCS Settings dialog box through the Settings scroll list of the Project window.

2. Type the name of the server and, if you want, a default user name.

3. (Option) Select “Logout when NRCS Tool is closed” if you want to terminate the connection to the server every time you close the NRCS tool.

4. Click the Avstar tab to make additional changes to the NRCS settings (Figure A-2).

Figure A-2 NRCS Settings Dialog Box — Avstar Tab

5. Configure the Message-of-the-Day (MOTD) settings and Mail Directory as follows:

• If you want the MOTD to have a different file name, type the new name in the Message-of-the-Day text box.

• Decide if you want to view the MOTD on every connection to the Avstar server, only the first connection to the Avstar server, or not at all, and then select the appropriate option.

• If you want the Mail Directory to have a different name, type the new name in the Mail Directory text box.

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c Consult your system administrator to ensure that the Mail Directory name is appropriate for use in your newsroom environment.

6. Click OK to accept the NRCS settings.

The NRCS Login dialog box appears (Figure A-3).

Figure A-3 NRCS Tool — Login Dialog Box

7. Type a login name if you did not set a default name in the NRCS Settings dialog box.

8. Type the password.

9. Click OK.

The NRCS tool connects to the Avstar server. When the connection is established, the list of directories appears in the Directory panel.

Avstar server name

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Understanding the NRCS Tool Window

The NRCS tool window contains many parts, as shown in Figure A-4.

Figure A-4 NRCS Tool Window (Edit Mode)

FormattingBuild

button Save Storybutton

Story panelDirectory panel

Disconnectbutton

Send Mailbutton

Story Story Sequencetoolbar

WPMrate

EditModebutton

Readtime

ProductionCue text box

nameform

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Use Table A-1 to learn more about each element.

Table A-1 NRCS Tool Elements

Name Description

Disconnect button Releases the connection to the Avstar server.

Send Mail button Opens a dialog box for sending mail to others.

Directory panel Lists the contents of the news database you are accessing.

Story form Contains summary information about the story in predefined headings. You can alter the information if it does not have a gray background. Appears in Edit mode only.

Story name Shows the directory path and name of the story.

Formatting toolbar Contains buttons used to change the appearance of story text.

Build Sequence button Builds a sequence in NewsCutter by using the tape time of the story. If the story contains no tape time, the sequence defaults to 30 seconds.

Save Story button Saves changes made to the story by either modifying the original story or creating a new story.

Edit Mode button Provides access to editing functions.

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Using the Directory Panel

In the Directory panel, you move through the directories on the Avstar server. In this panel, you perform the following functions:

• Open a story.

• Make a shortcut to a directory.

• Remove a shortcut to a directory.

• Delete a file.

WPM rate Displays the rate at which the read time was calculated. This may change, depending on the presenter for the story. The default is 180 words per minute (wpm).

Read time Displays the amount of time to read a story on air, based on the wpm rate.

Story panel Displays the text of a story and the story form of unscripted stories. When the story is scripted, the panel contains production cues on the left and text on the right.

Production Cue text box Displays production cues that have been scripted into a story.

Table A-1 NRCS Tool Elements (Continued)

Name Description

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Opening a Story

After establishing a connection to the Avstar server, the NRCS tool remains blank until you open a story.

To open a story:

1. Navigate through the directories, and find the file you want to open.

In the Directory panel (see Figure A-5), all triangles point right when you first log in, which indicates closed directories. Triangles that point down indicate open directories. Directories or files within a directory are indented below that directory. Files without a triangle next to them are stories.

Figure A-5 NRCS Tool — Directory Panel

2. Double-click the story name.

The story’s text appears in the Story panel.

Story

Opendirectory

Closeddirectory

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Making a Shortcut to a Directory

To save time accessing a directory you use often, create a shortcut to the directory:

1. Navigate to the directory.

2. Click the directory name so that it is highlighted.

3. Right-click the directory name.

A shortcut menu appears.

4. Choose Make Shortcut.

NewsCutter creates the shortcut, which is placed above the server name in the Directory panel.

Removing a Shortcut to a Directory

If you want to remove a shortcut to a directory:

1. Click the name of the shortcut you want to remove so that it is highlighted.

2. Right-click the directory name.

A shortcut menu appears.

3. Choose Remove Shortcut.

NewsCutter removes the shortcut.

ShortcutServer name

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Deleting a Story

The NRCS tool allows you to delete a story without having to go through the Avstar Workstation, if your Avstar User settings have the necessary permissions. See your system administrator if you are unsure of your settings.

To delete a story:

1. In the Directory panel, highlight the story you want to delete.

2. Right-click the story.

A shortcut menu appears.

3. Choose Delete File from the menu.

A message box appears.

4. Click Delete to complete the process, or click Cancel to abort the delete.

Editing a Story

You can perform basic editing functions on your stories by using the NRCS tool, eliminating the need to do the work on the Avstar workstation and saving valuable time in the editing process. You can

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edit stories without entering Edit mode, or you can do more complex editing by entering Edit mode.

Editing Text in View Mode

You can change the screen display of the entire text of a story without entering Edit mode. The shortcut menu that appears when you right-click in the Story panel allows you to change the font or to make the text bold, italic, or underlined.

To alter the appearance of the text in your story:

1. Right-click in the Story panel.

A shortcut menu appears.

2. Choose the appropriate menu item.

Entering Edit Mode

You enter Edit mode by clicking the Edit button. Edit mode allows you to do the following editing to your story:

• Format the text

• Rearrange text

• Mark text as Presenter Instructions

• Mark text as Closed Captioned

• Mark text as Normal

• Add a production cue

• Delete a production cue

n You can mark text as Machine Control instructions only in a Production Cue text box. See “Adding a Production Cue” on page 180.

178

Formatting Text

You use a combination of the formatting buttons and the shortcut menu to change the format of story text.

To format text:

1. Highlight the text you want to format.

2. (Option) Click a button in the Formatting toolbar to make the text bold, italic, or underlined.

Alternately, right-click the text and choose Bold, Italic, or Underline from the shortcut menu.

3. (Option) Right-click the text and choose Font from the shortcut menu to alter the font and point size.

Rearranging Text in a Story

The shortcut menu provides commands for cutting, copying, pasting, and deleting text.

To rearrange the text in a story:

1. Highlight the text you want to cut, copy, or delete.

2. Right-click the text and choose the appropriate command.

3. (Option) To paste cut or copied text, position the cursor in the story where you want to paste the text.

Right-click and choose Paste from the shortcut menu.

179

Marking Text as Normal

If you have applied formatting to text, you can remove the formatting by marking the text as Normal.

To mark text as Normal:

1. Highlight the text from which you want to remove the formatting.

2. Click the Normal button in the Formatting toolbar.

Alternately, right-click the text, and choose Normal from the shortcut menu.

The text changes to black, indicating that the text contains no formatting.

Marking Text as Presenter Instructions

Presenter Instructions appear in red, allowing the presenter who reads the story on camera to differentiate the instructions from the actual script. Using this formatting option, you might tell the presenter that the following lines are a voice-over to accompany footage.

To mark text as Presenter Instructions:

1. Highlight the text you want to mark.

2. Click the Presenter Instructions button in the Formatting toolbar.

Alternately, right-click the text, and choose Presenter Instructions from the shortcut menu.

The text changes to red, indicating Presenter Instructions.

180

Marking Text as Closed Captioned

Your story can also contain text marked for Closed Captioning. Like Presenter Instructions, the presenter does not read this text on camera.

Text marked as Closed Captioned is not included in the read time of a story. For more information, see “Finding the Read Time of a Story” on page 183.

To mark text as Closed Captioned:

1. Highlight the text you want to mark.

2. Click the Closed Captioned button in the Formatting toolbar.

Alternately, right-click the text, and choose Closed Captioned from the shortcut menu.

The text changes to light green, indicating that the text is Closed Captioned.

Adding a Production Cue

Production cues are playback instructions for devices such as video machines, still stores, and character generators. When you insert production cues, they appear in the area to the left of the text in the Story panel. In addition, a production cue marker appears in the story text to indicate where each production cue belongs in the story (Figure A-6).

181

Figure A-6 NRCS Tool — Production Cue

To insert a production cue into your scripted story:

1. In the Story panel, move the cursor next to or within the text where you want to place the production cue.

2. Right-click and choose Insert Production Cue from the shortcut menu.

A blue production cue anchor appears within the Story panel, and a blank box appears in the left side of the Story panel.

3. Type the cue information in the text box.

4. (Option) Highlight the text and mark as Machine Control, bold, italic, or underlined by using the Formatting toolbar.

ProductionCuetext box

Production cueanchor

182

Deleting a Production Cue

If you want to delete a production cue, you must delete the cue anchor, not just the text within the Production Cue text box.

To delete a production cue:

1. Highlight the cue anchor in the Story panel.

2. Press the Delete key.

Alternately, right-click the anchor, and choose Delete from the shortcut menu.

Saving Changes to a Story

After you edit a story, you can save the changes by modifying the original story or by creating a new story. It is important to remember, however, that when you modify a story in the NRCS tool, the story also changes on the Avstar server. Therefore, you should use caution when saving a story because you cannot undo the changes once you have modified the story.

If more than one person accesses a story at the same time, only the first person to access the story will be able to save changes to the story.

n Your Avstar user permissions define whether you can save changes to a story. If you are unsure of your permissions, consult your system administrator.

183

To save changes:

1. In Edit mode, click the Save button.

A message box appears.

2. Click Modify to save the changes to the original story, or click New to save the changes to a new story.

n If you click New, the NRCS tool creates a new story with the same name as the original story. You should rename the story in the NRCS tool and save it again to avoid confusion.

Finding the Read Time of a Story

One of the unique features of the NRCS tool is its ability to determine the read time of a story. This words per minute (wpm) count defaults to 180 wpm but can change according to your Avstar User settings. For example, if the presenter listed for the story has a reading rate of 150 wpm, the NRCS tool will calculate the read time based on that reading rate.

If you want to change the wpm count for the presenter or if you want to change the presenter for the story, you must make the changes through the Avstar workstation so that the NRCS tool can register the changes.

184

To calculate the read time of a story:

1. Move the cursor to the Story panel.

2. Right-click and choose Select All from the shortcut menu.

Alternately, highlight a portion of the text with the mouse.

The read time appears in the upper right corner of the NRCS tool. The wpm rate used in the calculation appears next to the read time (Figure A-7).

Figure A-7 NRCS Tool — Read Time

n The NRCS tool does not include Closed Captioned or Presenter Instructions text in the read time. Only text marked as Normal (including bold, italic, or underlined text) is calculated.

Building a Sequence from a Story

The NRCS tool allows you to use the duration of a story to build a sequence in NewsCutter. This feature makes it very easy to edit in shots and to create a sequence quickly according to the duration of the story.

n You can build a sequence only from entire stories, not from portions of a story.

WPM rate

Read time

185

To build a sequence from a story, do one of the following:

• Highlight the story in the Directory panel, right-click, and choose Build Sequence from Story.

• Click the Build Sequence button.

• Highlight the story in the Directory panel, and drag the story to an open bin.

If your story does not have tape time, NewsCutter will automatically assign the sequence a duration of 30 seconds. Otherwise, the duration of the sequence will match the tape time of the story.

Sending Mail

The NRCS tool contains a mail application that allows you to send mail to other Avstar users on the network. You can also send mail to external addresses if your system administrator has configured your system for this functionality.

To send mail from within the NRCS tool:

1. Click the Send Mail button.

The Send NRCS Mail dialog box appears (see Figure A-8).

186

Figure A-8 NRCS Tool — Send NRCS Mail Dialog Box

2. Type an address in the To text box.

3. (Option) Type a subject in the Subject text box.

4. Type your message in the message area.

5. Click Send to send the message, or click Cancel to close the dialog box without sending the message.

Disconnecting from the Server

When you have finished using the NRCS tool, you should disconnect from the Avstar server. To release the connection, click the Disconnect button.

n If you selected the “Logout when NRCS Tool is closed” option in the NRCS Settings dialog box, simply close the NRCS tool. The NRCS tool will automatically disconnect from the server.

n You can also disconnect from the server by switching to a workspace that does not contain the NRCS tool.

187

AAdding

keyframes 135notes to Help topics 23Picture-in-Picture effect 136Production cues (NRCS tool) 180transition effects 130

Analog media, recording 62Analog VU scale (Audio tool) 55Annotations, adding to Help topics 23Arrow keys, navigating with 81A-side (outgoing frames), in trims 115Assemble edit

preparing for 162recording 163setting preference for recording 50

Audioadjusting levels 120adjusting pan 121analog VU scale, displaying 55balancing 121clips, splicing-in 98digital audio scrub, using 97digital VU scale, displaying 55dissolves, creating 133editing, described 119hardware, adjusting 54

input and output levels, switching between (Audio tool) 55

input display, accessing 54input, adjusting 54internal calibration tone, setting 55locating specific frame 97making louder or softer 120maximum peak measurements, resetting 54meter displays, customizing 55opening Audio tool 53output display, accessing 54output, adjusting 54scrubbing 97setting up 54Setup display, accessing 54source menu (Record tool) 52tracking levels 55tracks, mapping to output channels 55tracks, monitoring 95

Audio Mix tooladjusting pan 121adjusting volume levels 120

Audio toolAnalog VU scale 55Channel Selector menu 55Digital VU scale 55Input button 53, 54input display 54

Index

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z

188

Meters display 55opening from Record tool 53Output button 53, 54output display 54Peak Hold menu, described 55Reset Peak button 54Setup button 53Setup display 54switching between input and output levels

55tracking audio levels in 55

Audio Track Monitor buttons (Track Selector panel) 79

Avid Projects folder 36Avid Users folder 35Avid, Web site address 17Avstar server

configuring (NRCS tool) 169disconnecting from (NRCS tool) 186setting up (NRCS tool) 169

BBatch recording

choosing target bin 52described 62settings 50, 63

Bin pop-up menu (Record tool) 52Bins

adding text to (Script view) 44choosing column headings 42choosing target for recording 52creating 40creating for Quick Effects 45, 134defined 28display views in 41 to 44displaying in Project window 37emptying trash from 45enabling Sticky bins 40organizing a project with 40

showing Frames 43showing Scripts 44Text view headings 42Text view, described 86viewing clips 86working with 40

Black, fading to in a sequence 134Blue bar See Position indicatorBorders

adjusting softness with keyframes 135choosing color (Title tool) 150controlling transparency (Title tool) 150

B-side (incoming frames), in trims 115Buttons

Add Keyframe 135Audio Track Monitor (Track Selector panel)

79Build Sequence (NRCS tool) 172, 184Digitize/Log mode (Record tool) 60Disconnect (NRCS tool) 172Edit mode (NRCS tool) 172, 177Extract/Splice-in 108Frame view (Bin window) 43Go to IN (Command palette) 102Go to OUT (Command palette) 102In/Out (Audio tool) 55Input (Audio tool) 54Internal Waveform monitor (Video Input

tool) 57Lift 111Lift/Overwrite 108mapping to keyboard 73mapping to Tool palette 71Mouse Shuttle (Command palette) 82Mouse Step (Command palette) 82One/Two Disk Mode (Record tool) 52Output (Audio tool) 54Overwrite 109Overwrite (Record tool) 53Play Loop (Command palette) 114Quick Effect (Tool palette) 131

189

Record (Record tool) 52remapping 74Reset Peak (Audio tool) 54Save Story (NRCS tool) 172Script view (Bin window) 44Send Mail (NRCS tool) 172Setup (Audio tool) 54Splice-in 98Splice-in (Record tool) 53Step 80Subclip (Source monitor) 84Text View (Bin window) 41Tool palette 70Trash (Record tool) 52Trim Mode 113using to control playback 78Vectorscope Monitor (Video Input tool) 57Video Track Monitor (Track Selector panel)

79Voiceover (Record tool) 53

CCalibration

in Video Input tool 57tone, setting and playing back (Audio tool)

55tone, stopping playback 54

Channel Selection buttons (Record tool) 51Channels

adding to deck configuration 50tracking audio levels of 55

Clipsadding comments to in Record tool 53applying segment effects to 129applying transition effects to 128controlling playback of 77 to 83dissolving between 132making first edit 96moving through with arrow keys 81

moving to beginning 81moving to end 81moving to head or tail 103naming (Record tool) 53playing 79rearranging, in Segment mode 106, 107recording, directly to the Timeline 53shuttling through with the mouse 82splicing 98stepping through with step buttons 80stepping through with the mouse 82viewing in monitors 87 to 89

Closed Captioned, marking text as (NRCS tool) 180

Colorapplying to text or objects (Title tool) 156blending (Title tool) 150Color Selection box (Title tool) 150selecting (Title tool) 150

Color Picker, Title Tool 151Column headings, choosing for bins 42Command palette

Active Palette, described 67Active Palette, using 82Button to Button Reassignment, described

67Button to Button Reassignment, using 71, 73described 67Edit tab 68FX tab 69Go to Next Edit button 91Go to Previous Edit button 91mapping buttons to keyboard 73mapping buttons to Tool palette 71mapping menu options to keyboard 74mapping menu options to Tool palette 72Menu to Button Reassignment, described 67Menu to Button Reassignment, using 72, 74More tab 70Mouse shuttle button 82Move tab 68

190

Other tab 69Play Loop button 114Play tab 68removing mapped buttons from keyboard

74removing mapped menu options 74tabs 67Trim Mode button 113Trim tab 69

Comments, adding during recording 53Component video, choosing as input source 56Composite video, choosing as input source 56Contents (Help system), opening 19Controlling playback 77Creating

audio dissolves 133bins 40new projects 35new users 34Strobe Motion effects 126subclips 84title templates 153titles 151

DDeck Configuration settings 50Deck controls, setting (Record tool) 52Decks

adding channels 50Auto-configure option 50choosing (Record tool) 52configuration settings 50configuring multiple 50configuring single 50controlling (Record tool) 52, 59setting preferences for recording 50

DeletingProduction cues (NRCS tool) 182recorded media 52stories (NRCS tool) 176

Digital audio scrub 118Digital cuts

defined 29preparing frame-accurate tapes 161previewing 162recording 163using countdowns with 162

Digital video editing, described 13Digital VU scale (Audio tool) 55Digitize settings 50, 52Digitize/Log Mode button (Record tool) 52Digitizing See RecordingDirectory panel

deleting stories 176making shortcuts 175opening a story 174removing shortcuts 175using 173

Disconnecting from the Avstar server (NRCS tool) 186

Dissolveschoosing duration 132choosing position 132creating for audio 133creating for video 131fading to black 134insufficient footage message 133sizing to fit 133using between shots 132using with Picture-in-Picture effects 141

Drivesfinding drive time available (Record tool) 52targeting single or separate during

recording 52Drop-frame, setting preference for recording 50Dual-roller trim 117

191

EEdit mode, entering (NRCS tool) 177Editing

described 13existing titles 159guidelines for (Segment mode) 106making the first edit 96redoing an edit 104stories (NRCS tool) 176three-point overwrite edits 110title templates 154titles into sequence 158trim basics 112undoing an edit 103

Effect Editordescribed 130opening 129

Effect modedefined 28working in 129

Effect Palettecategories 127opening 127

Effectsaccessing parameters 129adding keyframes 135applying to a sequence 129Blend effect 130border softness, adjusting with keyframes

135Box Wipe effect 130categories 127choosing target drive 131creating dissolves 131creating Freeze Frame effects 125creating motion effects 125creating Strobe Motion effects 126creating Variable Speed effects 126dissolving between shots 132Edge Wipe effect 130

editing, overview 124fading to black 134Key effect 130L-Conceal effect 130Mask effect 129Matrix Wipe effect 130opacity, adjusting with keyframes 135Peel effect 130Picture-in-Picture effect 129, 136position of, adjusting with keyframes 135Push effect 130Quick Effects, creating bin for 45Quick Effects, described 124rendering 142resolving insufficient footage error 133saving parameters in Quick Effects bin 45Sawtooth Wipe effect 130Segment effects 128Shape Wipe effect 130Sizing to Fit media available 133Spin effect 130Squeeze effect 130transition effects, adding 130transition effects, described 128types of 128

Electronic license, accepting 16Enabling

Sticky bins 40VTR play emulation 166

End key 81Extract, described for Segment mode 106Extract/Splice-in button 108Eyedropper (Title tool) 151

FFade to black, adding to a sequence 134Fade-in effect, adding 131Files, maximum size 59

192

Fillchoosing color (Title tool) 150controlling transparency (Title tool) 150selecting color for objects 151

Find tab (Help system), opening 20Fixed-storage drive, turning on 15Folders

Avid Projects 36Avid Users 35settings 36

Font, changing (NRCS tool) 178Footage

insufficient source for effects 133marking IN and OUT points 83marking subclips 84moving through with position indicator 77rearranging 107stepping through 80viewing and playing 77 to 83

Formattingtext in titles 148

Frame viewbutton (Bin window) 43in bins 86

Frame-accurate recording, preparing for 161Frames

capturing during recording 50locating with digital audio scrub 97showing in bins 43title background in 146trimming 115

Freeze Frame effectscreating 125optional parameters for 125specifiying duration of 125

GGo to IN button (Command palette) 102Go to OUT button (Command palette) 102

HHandle length

setting 65Hardware

components 14displaying in Project window 39setting up for audio 54starting 15

Help systemaccessing 18adding notes to 23annotating 23buttons in 21finding topics in 20Help Topics dialog box 19How To windows 18navigating topics 21opening context-sensitive Help 18opening from Help menu 18opening What’s This? Help 18printing a topic 22Reference windows 18using 17using the Contents tab 19using the Find tab 20using the Index tab 20window types 18

Home key 81Hue, adjusting 57

IIN and OUT points

defined 28marking 83recording from 61

In/Out buttons (Audio tool) 55Index tab (Help system), opening 20Input button (Audio tool) 54

193

Input pop-up menu (Video Input tool) 56Insert edit

preparing for 161recording 163

Internal Waveform monitor (Video Input tool) 57

JJ-K-L keys (three-button play) 80Jogging See Stepping

KKeyboard

default settings 72mapping buttons 73mapping menu options 74navigating the Timeline 81removing mapped buttons 74removing mapped menu options 74using the Arrow keys 81using the End key 81using the Home key 81using to control playback 80

Keyframesadding 135adjusting effect parameters 135using in Picture-in-Picture effect 139

LL-edits, trimming 113Left Arrow key 81License agreement, accepting 16Lift button 111Lift, described for Segment mode 106Lift/Overwrite button 108

Locating audio frames 97Logging

and recording at once 59controlling during record 53

Luminance, adjusting 57

MMail

configuring directory for NRCS tool 169sending (NRCS tool) 185

Mappingbuttons to keyboard 73buttons to Tool palette 71keys and buttons, overview 47menu options to keyboard 74menu options to Tool palette 72

MarkingIN and OUT points 83subclips 84text as Closed Captioned (NRCS tool) 180text as normal (NRCS tool) 179text as Presenter Instructions (NRCS tool)

179Master clips, defined 28Media files

defined 28deleting 52rerecording 64

Memory, displaying in Project window 39Menu items, mapping 47Message-of-the-Day options, configuring

(NRCS tool) 169Meters (Audio tool) 55Monitor icons 95Monitors

pop-up 89Record 88Source 87viewing in 87 to 89

194

Motion effectscreating Freeze Frame effects 125creating Strobe Motion effects 126creating Variable Speed effects 126

Motion path, monitoring with keyframes 135Mouse buttons

Shuttle (Command palette) 82Step (Command palette) 82

Multiple layer effects, defined 129

NNaming clips in Record tool 53NewsCutter

electronic licensing 16hardware 14overview 13starting the application 34starting the system 15tips for getting started 17

Non-drop-frame, setting preference for recording 50

Nonlinear editing, defined 13, 26Notes, adding to Help topics 23NRCS tool

adding production cues 180building a sequence from a story 184deleting a story 176deleting production cues 182disconnecting from the server 186editing stories 176elements of, described 172entering Edit mode 177finding read time of a story 183formatting text 178logging in 170Logging out option 169Mail Directory options 169making shortcuts to directories 175marking text as Closed Captioned 180

marking text as normal 179marking text as Presenter Instructions 179Message-of-the-Day options 169opening 168opening a story 174overview 167rearranging text 178removing shortcuts to directories 175sending mail 185understanding the NRCS tool 171using the Directory panel 173WPM rate 183

NTSC format 35

OObjects

applying color to (Title tool) 156applying shadows to (Title tool) 156

One/Two Disk Mode (Record tool) 52Online Publications CD-ROM

Help system 17using 24

Opacity, adjusting with keyframes 135Opening

Audio tool from Record tool 53existing project 36NRCS tool 168stories (NRCS tool) 174Video Input tool 55Video Input tool from Record tool 53

Outputpreparing for 161recording a digital cut 163

Output button (Audio tool) 54Overlap edits, trimming 113Overwrite

button 109defined 98described for Segment mode 106

195

from Record tool 53recording directly to the Timeline with 59using in Segment mode 109using three-point edit 110

Overwriting shots 109

PPAL format 35Pan, adjusting for audio 121Patching

tracks 95undoing 95

PDF files, opening from Online Publications CD-ROM 24

Peak Hold pop-up menu (Audio tool) 55Peripheral hardware, turning on 15Picture tracks, monitoring 95Picture-in-Picture effect

adding 136adjusting softness 139dissolving on and off 141

Play Loop button (Command palette) 114Playback

controlling with buttons 78controlling with position bars and indicator

77controlling with the keyboard 80increasing playback speed of 83

Playback monitor 14Pop-up monitor, viewing in 89Position bar 77Position indicator

in Record monitor 77in Source monitor 78in Timeline 78shadow of in Timeline 92snapping to IN point 102

snapping to OUT point 102using in Timeline 90using to move to head or tail of a shot 103

Precomputesoverview 142

Preparingfor Frame-accurate recording 161for insert edit 161for video output 161to record 57

Presenter Instructions, marking text as (NRCS tool) 179

Previewing digital cuts 162Printing Help topics 22Production cues

adding (NRCS tool) 180deleting (NRCS tool) 182

Profile, displaying in Project window 39Project window

Bin view 37creating new bin from 40enabling Sticky bins option 40Info view 39Settings view 38understanding 36

Projectscreating 35defined 29opening existing 36organizing with bins 40understanding Project window 36using NTSC format 35using PAL format 35

QQuick Effect button (Tool palette) 131Quick Effects

creating 128, 134creating bin for 45

196

overview 124using Quick Effect dialog box 131using to add Fade-in effect 131using to dissolve between shots 132

RRead time, finding (NRCS tool) 183Real-time effects, overview of 124Rearranging footage in sequences 110Record button (Record tool) 52Record monitor

moving through footage 77viewing clips 88

Record tooladding comments about clips 53audio source menu 52Audio Tool button 53batch recording 62Bin pop-up menu 52Channel Selection buttons 51checking serial port connection 52choosing deck 52choosing satellite feed mode 52deck controller, described 52Digitize indicator 52Digitize/Log mode button 52drive time available display 52illustration of 51logging controls in 53naming clips in 53One/Two Disk Mode button 52opening Audio tool from 53opening Video Input tool from 55Overwrite button 53preparing to use 57Record button 52recording from IN to OUT point 61recording on-the-fly 59recording to the Timeline 58

rerecording footage 64resetting serial port connection 52Source Tape display 52Splice-in button 53status bar 52subclip indicator 52target drive menu 52Toggle Source button 53Video Input Tool button 53Voiceover button 53

Recordingand logging at once 59assemble edits 162batch 62choosing target bins for 52creating subclips on-the-fly during 52digital cuts 163Digitize settings for 50directly to the Timeline 53, 58file size limit for 60from compact disc player 59from DAT player 59from IN point to OUT point 61insert edits 161marking IN and OUT points before 53on-the-fly 59preparing for 57preparing frame-accurate tapes 161previewing digital cut before 162selecting channels 51selecting settings 50selecting source tracks 51status bar display 52stopping during record process 52switching between record mode and log

mode 52to multiple files 59voice-overs 53

Redoing an edit 104

197

Removingfootage, using Extract/Splice-in 108title templates 155

Renderingchoosing target drive 131effects, described 142overview 124

Repositioning title text 155Rerecording

described 64setting handle length for 65

Reset Peak button (Audio tool) 54Right Arrow key 81Rollers See Trim mode

SSafe title and safe action area 146Satellite feed, choosing in Record tool 52Saturation, adjusting 57Saving

settings for video input 56title templates 153titles 157

Scale bar, in Timeline 91Screen resolution, recommended 14Script view button (Bin window) 44Script view, in bins 86Scroll bar (Timeline), using 91Scrubbing audio 97, 118Segment effects

accessing parameters 129applying 129creating a Picture-in-Picture effect 136multilayer 129single-layer 129types of 129

Segment modedefined 28Extract/Splice-in 106, 107

guidelines for editing 106Lift/Overwrite 106overwriting shots into a sequence 109rearranging clips 106removing footage 108using 106

Selectingall tracks 94color for titles 151tracks for recording 51tracks in the Timeline 94transitions for trimming 113trim sides 115

Sending mail (NRCS tool) 185Sequences

adding shots to 104applying effects 129building from a story (NRCS tool) 184controlling with a VTR 165defined 28editing a title into 158fading to black in 134moving through with arrow keys 81moving to beginning 81moving to end 81playing 79preparing for output 161rearranging footage in 110shuttling through with the mouse 82splicing audio into 98splicing clips into 99splicing-in video 99stepping through with Step buttons 80stepping through with the mouse 82storyboarding 100using three-point overwrite edits 110

Serial portschecking connection in Record tool 52resetting in Record tool 52

Serial Ports tool and VTR play emulation 166

198

SettingsBin 76Deck 50Digitize 50, 52for recording 50General 50Interface 70Keyboard 72NRCS tool 168opening in Project window 38

Settings Fast menu, using 39Settings pop-up menu (Video Input tool) 56Setup display (Audio tool) 54Shadows

adjusting depth 156adjusting direction 156applying to text or objects (Title tool) 156choosing color (Title tool) 150controlling transparency (Title tool) 150selecting color for objects 151

Shortcutsmaking (NRCS tool) 175removing (NRCS tool) 175

Shots, dissolving between 132Shuttling

controlling playback speed during 83through footage with the mouse 82with J-K-L keys 80

Single-layer effects, defined 129Single-roller trim 118Softness, adjusting for Picture-in-Picture effect

139Source clips, defined 28Source monitor

marking edit points in 83playing clips in 78viewing clips in 87

Source tape display (Record tool) 52Source/Record mode, defined 28Splice-in

defined 98

described for Segment mode 106from Record tool 53recording directly to the Timeline with 59

Splice-in button 98Splicing-in

audio clips 98shots into a sequence 104video clips 99

Starting NewsCutter 16, 34Status bar (Record tool) 52Step buttons 80Stepping

through footage with the mouse 82with buttons 80with the keyboard 80

Sticky bins, enabling 40, 76Storage drive, turning on 15Stories

building a sequence (NRCS tool) 184deleting (NRCS tool) 176editing (NRCS tool) 176finding read time (NRCS tool) 183

Story panel, adding production cues (NRCS tool) 180

Storyboard editingadding group of clips to sequence 100described 83, 100

Strobe Motion effectscreating 126optional parameters 126

Subclip button (Source monitor) 84Subclip indicator (Record tool) 52Subclips

creating 84creating on-the-fly during recording 52defined 29using Make Subclip button 84

S-VHS video, choosing as input source 56Switching between record mode and log mode

52Sync locking tracks 115

199

TTail trimming 112Tape Name display (Record tool) 52Tapes

naming 52naming automatically 57naming for rerecording 64settings for naming 50

Target Drive pop-up menus (Record tool) 52Templates

creating for titles 153editing for titles 154removing 155saving 153using 154

Textapplying color to (Title tool) 156applying shadows to (Title tool) 156copying (NRCS tool) 178cutting (NRCS tool) 178deleting (NRCS tool) 178formatting (NRCS tool) 178formatting (Title tool) 148marking as Closed Captioned (NRCS tool)

180marking as normal (NRCS tool) 179marking as Presenter Instructions (NRCS

tool) 179pasting (NRCS tool) 178rearranging (NRCS tool) 178repositioning for titles 155

Text tool, working with (Title tool) 147Text View button (Bin window) 41Text view, showing in bins 86Three-button play See J-K-L keysThree-point edit, using to overwrite 110Timecode

recording across breaks 50recording source tapes without 59

Timelinecustomizing 89defined 28expanding and contracting 91making changes to format 89monitoring tracks 95moving through with A and S keys 91patching tracks 95recording directly to 58recording to 53segment editing of titles in 158selecting tracks in 94showing position in 78showing shadow position indicator in 92Track Selector panel 92using position indicator in 78, 90using scale bar in 91using the scroll bar in 91viewing individual tracks in 86zooming in and out of 91

Title toolSee also Titlesapplying color to text and objects in 156applying shadows to text or objects in 156choosing colors in 150Color Picker 151creating templates in 153described 146editing existing titles with 159editing title templates in 154formatting text in 148removing templates from titles with 155repositioning text and objects in 155saving titles from 157setting transparency with 150text formatting tools 148understanding tools in 146 to 151using templates in 154using the Selection tool 149working with text in 147

200

TitlesSee also Title tooladding text to 147applying shadows to 156bold text 148changing font 148changing kerning 148changing leading 148changing point size 148choosing colors 150creating 145, 151creating templates for 153editing existing 159editing into a sequence 158editing templates 154eliminating unused space 152italic text 148justifying text 148overview 145removing templates from 155repositioning 151repositioning text 155saving 157selecting color for 151selecting objects and text 149setting transparency 150using templates on 154working with 145working with templates 153

Toggle Source button (Record tool) 53Tool palette

displaying button names 70displaying button names in 70enabling ToolTips 71mapping buttons 47, 71, 113mapping keys 47mapping menu options 47, 72removing mapped buttons 71removing mapped menu options 72using 70

ToolTips, enabling in Tool palette 70

Top and Tail trimming 112Track Selector panel

described 92patching tracks 95using 92

Tracking audio levels 55Tracks

mapping to output channels (Audio tool) 55methods for selecting 94monitoring 95patching 95selecting 94selecting all 94sync locking 115viewing one track only 96

Transition effectsaccessing parameters 129adding 130adding fade-in 131applying 128creating Quick Effect 128, 134described 128

Transitionsapplying effects 128L-edits 113moving to in Timeline 91overlap edits 113selecting for trimming 113trimming 116trimming incoming frames 115trimming outgoing frames 115

Transparencyblending (Title tool) 150setting (Title tool) 150

Trash button (Record tool) 52Trash, emptying from bin 45Trim buttons 116Trim mode

basic procedures 113defined 28dual-roller 117

201

entering 113exiting 119performing basic trim 116Play Loop button 114selecting single transitions 113selecting trim sides 115single-roller 118sync locking tracks 115

Trim Mode button 113Trimming

basics 112dual-roller 117performing basic 116selecting sides 115single-roller 118using Top and Tail 112with sync lock 115

Turning on the system 15

UUI monitor 14Undoing an edit 103Users, creating 34

VVariable Speed effects

creating 126optional parameters 126

Variable-speed play See J-K-L keysVectorscope Monitor button (Video Input tool)

57Video Input tool

choosing Component input 56choosing Composite input 56choosing S-VHS input 56displaying factory presets 56Input pop-up menu 56

Internal Waveform monitor 57opening 55opening from Record tool 53Preset button 56saving Site settings for 56Vectorscope monitor 57

Video output, preparing for 161Video Track Monitor buttons (Track Selector

panel) 79Video tracks, monitoring 95View mode (NRCS tool), editing in 177Viewing

clips in bins 86clips in monitors 87clips in pop-up monitors 89clips in Record monitor 88source tape name (Record tool) 52

Voice-overs, recording 53VTR Play Emulation

defined 165enabling 166

VU scaleanalog 55digital 55

WWorkspaces

customizing 47described 48enabling Sticky bins 76modifying default 76setting up 48using default 75using Sticky bins 40

WPM rate, finding (NRCS tool) 183

202

ZZooming, focus in the Timeline 91