Edit to the Maxx - The Art of the Digital Cut - Part 15

by Steve Mullen

Published on Jan 23, 2007 11:00 AM
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Read Previous Columns:
Part 14 - Adding Transitions

Video and Audio Inserts
When the V1 and A1 tracks flow well—video cutaways, graphics, and additional audio clips can be “inserted” into a Timeline.
There are three common ways of inserting clips:
 
1.      Drag-and-drop—very simple to perform, but obviously not location precise and cannot be done using only the keyboard. To achieve precision requires subsequent fiddling in the Timeline. (Available in all products, including those from Avid.)
 
2.      2.   Drag-and-drop at Cursor—simple to perform, but only location precise at a single (either the beginning or end) point in the Timeline. To achieve full precision requires subsequent fiddling in the Timeline. (Available in Sony Vegas.)
 
      3.      3-point editing—more complex to perform, but 100-percent precise and can be done using only the keyboard. Instantly accomplished by a single command. (Typically not available in consumer editing products nor, unfortunately, in Sony Vegas—although through a multi-step procedure it can be simulated.)
 
Which Editing Mode?
If you are not going to drag a clip into a Timeline or remove a clip from a Timeline, you can continue to use Avid’s “film style” Extract/Splice-in mode.
 
 
Add a Video-only Clip
The most common video insert is to add a “cut-a-way” shot into a Sequence. For example, a shot of the interviewer while the interviewee continues to talk. Likewise, a close-up of the interviewee’s hands is common. When an interviewee talks about something—one, or more, shots can be inserted. These can be video or graphics clips.
 
·      Issue the Clip > New Video Track command. (You can only do this once in FreeDV.)
 
·      Drag—an arrow will appear—the Source (left) V1 Track icon to the V2 (right) Destination Track icon. This will auto-unselect V1 and auto-select V2.
 
·      When you have no video in V1, you can insert video clips into V1 and V2
 
·      Unselect A1 and A2 by clicking on their Destination Track icons.

 

 

 

·      Place In- and/or Out-points in the Timeline as shown below where two points have been set in the Timeline. By setting two points, you determine exactly where the added video clip will be placed. Moreover, you have automatically defined the length of the clip to be inserted.

 

   

   A purple zone will appear between the two Timeline marks as shown above. In this case, you will later place only a single In- or Out-mark in the Source Monitor. This single mark will determine either the start (defined by an In-mark) of the clip to be added or the end (defined by an Out-mark) of the clip to be added.

If you set only one point in the Timeline, it will determine either the start (defined by an In-mark) of where the clip will added or the end (defined by an Out-mark) of where the clip will added. In either case, you must define the clip’s duration using two points in the Source Monitor.
 
Set no more than 3 points, total, among Source and Record monitors
 
·      If the video clip you want to add is not already in a Bin, import it as described in Lesson 9.
 
·      Double-click into the Source Composer monitor, the clip to be inserted clip.
 
·      Set In- and/or Out-points in the Source Monitor as shown below—where one In-mark has been set.
 
When using one point, you can determine either the first (using an In-mark) or the last (using an Out-mark) frame of video for the clip to be added. The latter, is called a “back-timed” insert.
 
·      Click the red Overwrite button  between the two Monitors to precisely place a video clip into the Timeline.
 
Above, an “overwrite” by a video-clip. If you are wondering about the term “overwrite” you should know that if you insert a clip in a V1 (or V2) with existing clip(s), the inserted video clip will replace some, or all, of the existing video. This is a destructive video insert and should be avoided.
 
The most common audio insert is to add a sound effect, background music, or narration into a Sequence.
 
·      Issue the Clip > New Audio Track command. (You can only do this once in FreeDV.)
 
·      Drag—an arrow will appear—the Source (left) A1 Track icon to the A2 (right) Destination Track icon. This will auto-unselect A1 and auto-select A2.
 

·      When you have no audio in A1, you can also insert audio clips into A1: therefore, drag—an arrow will appear—the Source (left) A1 Track icon to the A1 (right) Destination Track icon.

 
·      When you have no audio in A1, you can insert stereo audio clips into A1 and A2: confirm the Source (left) A1 Track icon and the A1 (right) Destination Track icons are selected as well as the Source (left) A2 Track icon to the A2 (right) Destination Track icons are selected.
 
·      Unselect V1—and, if present, also V2 by clicking on their Destination Track icon(s).
 

                                                                                                                 

 
·      Place In- and/or Out-points in the Timeline as shown below where two points have been set in the Timeline. By setting two points, you determine exactly where the added audio clip will be placed. Moreover, you have automatically defined the length of the clip to be inserted.
 
                                          
 
A purple zone will appear between the two Timeline marks as shown above. In this case, you will later place only a single In- or Out-mark in the Source Monitor. This single mark will determine either the start (defined by an In-mark) of the clip to be added or the end (defined by an Out-mark) of the clip to be added.
 
·      If you set only one point, it will determine either the start (defined by an In-mark) of where the clip will added or the end (defined by an Out-mark) of where the clip will added. In either case, you must define the clip’s duration using two points.
Set no more than 3 points, total, among Source and Record monitors
 
·      If the audio clip is not in a Bin, import it as described in Lesson 10.
 
·      Double-click into the Source Composer monitor, the clip to be inserted clip.
 
·      Set In- and/or Out-points in the Source Monitor. When using one point, you can determine either the first (using an In-mark) or the last (using an Out-mark) sound from the audio clip to be added. The latter, is called a “backtimed” insert.
 
·      Click the red Overwrite button  between the two Monitors to precisely place the audio clip(s) into the Timeline.
 
Above, an “overwrite” by an audio clip. If you insert a clip in A1 (or A2) with existing clip(s), the inserted audio clip will replace some, or all, of the existing audio. This is a destructive audio insert and should be avoided.
 
In the next Lesson, you will learn how to remove (delete) clips from a Timeline in a way that does not disturb other clips.
 
*
Steve Mullen owns Digital Video Consulting that offers eBooks on HD production. Currently, DVC (www.mindspring.com/~d-v-c) offers two eBooks: the Sony HDV Handbook and the JVC ProHD Handbook. In January 2007, DVC will offer a new title: the Sony V1/FX7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $2599) Handbook. And, in March 2007, DVC will release an eBook on “Low-cost High-Definition DVD Creation.