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DEMYSTIFYING THE MYSTERIOUS BLUE ARROW – It's not the yellow "Splice-In" arrow button. It's not the red "Overwrite" arrow button. Find out what the blue "Replace Edit" arrow button is really good for.

CONVERTING CD AUDIO
A useful tip for those using Avid Media Composer v7.x and earlier. For those of you on v10.x and later (Medridian and Adrenaline), you'll want this tip instead.

Grant's Tips (opens in a new window)
Take a little trip downunder and take a look at some of the Avid tips posted by Grant from Sydney, Australia.

Back In Black
No, not an 80's rock song by AC/DC.
It's some tips on adding black to the end of your sequence.

SuperBin Secrets Revealed
The SuperBin feature is really useful for keeping bins organized, but many don't use it because it takes a little getting used to. Check this out, then give it a try.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUBMIT A TRICK, WORKING TIP, OR SITE RECOMMENDATION?

E-mail them to me at the address on my Contact Page.

SEGMENT MODE: Turning off the images for faster redraw

When you drag a segment, you normally get what Avid calls "Four Image Display," or "Segment Drag Quads." Sometimes these can slow you down when you have a long sequence or many effects, since it has to draw those images; and many times you could care less about seeing images anyway (like when playing with audio segments). So, how do you turn that function off?

In v7.x and later there is a Timeline Settings dialogue box in your settings menu. One of the choices is "Show Segment Drag Quads." Simply de-select this option.

But then what do you do when you want to turn it back on? There are two fast ways:
1) With your Timeline window active, type "COMMAND + =" and the settings dialogue box will pop up, allowing you to quickly check the box (by the way this will work for Composer settings, Bin settings, and Digitize settings as well; just make the appropriate windows active and type "COMMAND + =" – which is also a selection from the Special Menu.

2) This one is a little tricky, but is fast once you get it to work (and it works on earlier versions of Media Composer that don't have any other way to turn the images off). Here's the steps:
A - Select a segment with either flavor of segment mode
B - With the segment selected, continue to hold down the mouse button
C - Hold down the Shift key
D - Move the segment and you should hear a beep from the Mac. The images are now turned back on (presuming you already turned them off in your settings). Drop the segment and try the above steps again, and the images are turned off. So, I usually leave them off in my settings and turn them on only when I really want them. It makes moving segments around super smooth and fast.

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SEGMENT MODE SNAP KEYS

Try these key commands to make segments do your bidding:
1 - COMMAND KEY (Mac) / CONTROL KEY (PC) -- Hold that key down and the HEAD of your segment will magically snap to In/Out marks, transitions on the track its on, transitions on any other track, and it will even snap to the blue position indicator.
2 - OPTION + COMMAND (Mac) / ALT + CONTROL (PC) -- Same as above except the TAIL of the segment will snap.
3 - OPTION / ALT -- Will force the segment to be dragged one frame at a time (even when you are not zoomed way in).
4 - CONTROL (Mac) / CONTROL + SHIFT (PC) -- Makes the segment stay in it's position in time in your sequence, but allows you to move it to
     higher or lower tracks . . . without getting it out if sync!

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FANTASTIC FONTS

Straining to read the text in your bin? Would you like to be able to see the timecode above your Source and Record Monitors better? Hate Geneva (the font, not the city)? It's easy to change the font and/or point size of items in the following places:
- Bins – works one bin at a time unfortunately.
- Composer window
- Timeline
- Project window – version 11.x and later only.

Here's how: just make one of the previously mentioned windows active, then go to the EDIT MENU.
Scroll down the menu to SET FONT and play away.

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DON'T COPY ME

I am always adding locators in my source material, marking good shots, best v.o. takes, etc. But, I hate having the locators copy into the sequence after editing the stuff in. If you do too, this copying feature can be disabled by going to your COMPOSER SETTINGS and deselecting the check-box labeled "Copy Source Locators."

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SUPER SPACE BAR / TRIMMING TRICK

Test out mapping the SOLID PLAY button from the Command Palette (in earlier versions of MC you have to move the play that is on the "5" key) to your space bar. Now the bar becomes not just stop, but play as well while in Composer mode. Even cooler, and more useful: now when you are in Trim Mode and have finished a trim, just hit the space bar and it will loop play.

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THE MANY FACES OF J-K-L

The J, K, and L keys on the default keyboard are PLAY REVERSE, PAUSE, and PLAY FORWARD respectively. They do quite a bit more than that however, and can really get you speeding through source material, zipping around your sequence and, best of all, trimming faster and more intuitively. Here's what they can do:

By hitting "J" or "L" one time, the speed of play is 30fps; press twice, it plays 60fps; three times: 90fps; four times: 150fps; and five times: 240fps. The sound will drop out above 90fps.

While pressing the "K" key, ALSO PRESS either the "J" or "K" key and you will be going at 8fps, and for audio you get a slow, rather analogue sounding scrub (as opposed to the stuttering scrub you get using the jog keys).

Hold down the "K" key and TAP either the "J" or "L" keys and you will be moving only one frame at a time.

The additional beauty here is that all these functions work in Trim Mode (This does *not* work in Xpress DV 3.5.  In Xpress DV Pro, this feature must be enabled. Here's the path to turn this feature on: Project Window > Settings tab > Trim Settings > Functions tab > Check the box to enable "JKL Trimming).

The "J", "K" and "L" keys (or wherever you have mapped the corresponding default functions) also work to control a deck.

If you are right-handed, experiment with moving these functions from their default positions on J, K and L over to the left side of the keyboard (maybe on the S, D and F keys). This puts the fingers on your left hand closer to the Shift, Control, Option, and Command keys and makes the spacebar really easy to hit with your thumb (see "Super Spacebar / Trimming Trick" tip above). It also makes it faster/easier to type when you need to since your left hand is already there.

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SHOW ME . . . THE MEDIA FILE
A cool new feature in v7.x.

Did you ever want to find a Media File in the Media Files folder (to save or to move it)? This used to be a real pain in the butt (remember that the media file names by default are those crazy long strings of characters), but now there is a feature called REVEAL FILE. Here's how it works:

A - Select the MASTER CLIP for which you want to see the media file (NOTE: this works ONLY one clip at a time)
B - Go to the FILE MENU
C - Select REVEAL FILE
D - After a moment or two the Media Files folder will open and the media files will be highlighted and ready for you to move or copy.

* * ADDITIONAL TIP: Quite often I find that only one of the files is highlighted (even though there might be two, three, or more linked to the Master Clip). In this case I have found that by repeating the process as needed, the additional files will become highlighted. You may find it helpful to change the LABEL COLOR as you do this so you don't lose track of the files.

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USING THE "FIND" FUNCTION & METHODS OF FINDING OFFLINE CLIPS IN A SEQUENCE
Searching for a shot in your sequence?
Trying to find all the freeze frames, motion effects or offline items?
Need to know if a clip in a sequence is offline?
Here's some ways to deal with these tasks.

FINDING SHOTS:
A) with your timeline window active, type "COMMAND+F" (which is the "Find" command from the Edit menu)
B) A dialogue box will appear. Type in a portion of the clip name.
C) Hit Enter. Media Composer will now find the first match to the right of where your blue line was just parked (so you may want to begin your search from the very beginning of the sequence).
D) To find the next instance, just press "COMMAND+G" ("Find Again" from the Edit menu). Press it again and again if you like. The blue line will cycle through your sequence from beginning to end.
** WARNING: if you have an effect on a segment, this handy-dandy deal may not work.

FINDING MOTION EFFECTS:
The key here is to never remove the little designation that Media Composer gives motion effect clips. Freeze frames always get "FF" and slo-mo and fast-mo always get "FPS." Now, just use the method described above to search for "FF" or "FPS."
** WARNING: if you have an effect on a segment, this may not work.

FINDING SHOTS FROM SPECIFIC TAPES (great for color correction):
A) From the Fast Menu (hamburger) in your Timeline, select "Clip Text"; and from the submenu that appears, select "SOURCE NAME" or "TAPE NAME" (whichever appears).
B) Press "COMMAND+F."
C) In the dialogue box that appears, click the check-box for "Timeline Text."
D) Type in the tape name (or a portion of the tape name). Now you can quickly search the entire sequence using the method described above under the heading "FINDING SHOTS."

FINDING OFFLINE SEGMENTS:
Here's three ways to help you find segments that aren't linking correctly in your sequence or are just plain offline. This trick is great for finding offline audio, since you don't get a "Media Offline" slide like you do with picture. Three methods are presented here for users on the many versions of the software in the field.

For those on version 10.x and later and on Xpress DV and Xpress DV Pro:
A) Select the Timeline to make that window active.
B) Go to the Timeline Fast menu – the menu in the bottom left of the timeline that looks like this:
     
C) Choose Clip Color, and then choose Offline from the submenu. Offline clips are displayed in red in the Timeline.

Another method is using the "Find" function as described above under "Finding Shots," added with the following:
A) From the Fast Menu (hamburger) in your Timeline, select "Clip Text"; and from the submenu that appears, select "Media File Names" (segments with any media not available will read "Media Offline").
B) Press "COMMAND+F."
C) In the dialogue box that appears, click the check-box for "Timeline Text."
D) Type in "Offline" or "Media." Now you can quickly search the entire sequence using the method described above under the heading "FINDING SHOTS."

And for those on older systems, here's and OLD method that does not use the "Find" feature, but the decompose function instead. This way goes like this:
A) Make a bin and name it something like "offline check" or whatever you want.
B) MAKE A DUPLICATE of your sequence (**VERY IMPORTANT** -- MAKE A DUPLICATE OF YOUR SEQUENCE BEFORE DOING THIS), and name that sequence along the same lines as your newly created bin.
C) Put the new sequence in the new bin.
D) Click on the DUPLICATED sequence to select it.
E) From the "Clip Menu," select "Decompose"
F) In the dialogue box that appears, check the box that states "Decompose only those items for which media is currently unavailable."
G) Press "OK." Now you have a list of the shots that are offline.

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THE MYSTERIOUS BLUE ARROW BUTTON  
The blue editing arrow that lives in your fast menu (hamburger) by default, as well as in the Command Palette, is called the Replace Edit button, and is a pretty cool little guy. Here are some uses:

1 - Great for quick replacement of stills. The Replace Edit button uses the existing in/outs of the shot already in your sequence to figure out duration. So, all you have to do is:
A) Put the blue position indicator somewhere in the segment/shot you want to replace in your Sequence
B) Load the new shot you want to put in into the Source Monitor
C) Park the Source Window's blue position indicator in the middle of the clip (no in/out marks needed)
D) Configure your Source and Record Track Selector buttons as required
E) Click the blue arrow to quickly replace the shot

2 - The other great quality of the Replace Edit function is that IT SYNCS THINGS UP FOR YOU.
Here's the scenario: The shot in your sequence is of someone landing a punch. You want to put a punch sound effect in. Here's a fast way to not only edit the sound effect in, but to have it be in sync on the first try:
A) In your SEQUENCE, mark in and out around the area that you want the sound effect to go.
B) In your Sequence, park your blue position indicator on the first frame where the sound should occur.
C) In the Source Window, park your blue line on the frame where the sound begins (no in/out needed).
** So, now you have the Blue Position Indicators telling the Avid the two points that should be aligned in sync.
D) Configure your Source and Record Track Selector buttons as required.
E) Click the blue arrow, and in goes your sound effect, and it's in sync. You can trim the in/out as needed.
** For another method of synching material, check the AVID HELP for "Sync Point Editing."

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MODIFYING MADNESS / UNVEILING THE UNLINK COMMAND
Using the MODIFY command to save your sanity, plus unveiling the Unlink command.

SCENARIO 1: You just spent 45 minutes LOGGING a tape (there are no Flex Files or Media Logs, you have done all the work yourself!) and you have a billion nice new Master Clips in your bin screaming to be batch digitized. Now you sit back, sip your coffee, admire your work and you notice: THE DIGITIZE TOOL HAS THE WRONG TRACKS SELECTED (maybe you left on too many tracks of audio, or forgot to turn on the Video , etc.). Ahhhhhh! Do you have to re-log? Naw. Would Avid do that to you? It's an easy fix.

1 - First, select the Master Clip(s) you want to fix.
2 - Next, go to the CLIP MENU and select MODIFY.
* As you peek through the menu of things you can modify, there are a couple that are useful in these situations:
A - SET TIMECODE DROP/NON-DROP. Good if you yourself logged the clips incorrectly (just logging from notes as opposed to a tape) or you got the clips logged this way from someone who used MEDIA LOG. You will know you have a problem because you are getting a MIS-MATCH error when trying to batch digitize. Just select this option, choose the correct timecode flavor and all will be well with the world. (NOTE: you can set your default timecode flavor for logging by going to the DECK SETTINGS and choosing the desired flavor from the "When no tape in deck log as:" pop-up-menu).
B - SET SOURCE. This allows you to change the TAPE that the clip references.
C - SET TRACKS. (Finally, here's the solution to our dilemma described above):
Select this option and select the tracks you WANT to be digitized. Selected tracks appear with a double line around them. Hit "OK" and you are back in business.

SCENARIO 2: You just spent two hours LOGGING and BATCH DIGITIZING a tape (there are no Flex Files or Media Logs) and you have a zillion beautiful new Master Clips in your bin dying to be edited with. Now you sit back, sip your coffee, admire your work, and you notice that YOU DIGITIZED THE WRONG TRACKS (oh, maybe 50 minutes worth of avr 75 video when all you really need is just the audio; or maybe you digitized four tracks of audio instead of just one . . .you get the idea). Ahhhh! What now?

A - Open the MEDIA TOOL.
B - In your bin, select the Master Clip(s) that are problematic.
C - Using the "Fast Menu" ("Hamburger") that is attached to the bottom left part of your BIN, choose SELECT MEDIA RELATIVES. The corresponding Master Clips in the Media Tool will become highlighted.
D - Click on the TOP BAR of the Media Tool window to make that window active (and this will leave those clips highlighted).
E - Hit the DELETE KEY on your keyboard.
F - A dialogue box will appear. You can now select the tracks you want to delete.
** REMEMBER: Any box that that has an "X" in it means that track WILL BE DELETED.
G - Delete the tracks . . . bye, bye you troublesome tracks!

Ok, all is well and good; but you still have clips that say that they have some extra tracks (even though the MEDIA has been trashed, the MASTER CLIPS say that they have audio tracks (or video tracks, or whatever your dilemma). This can be confusing or frustrating to edit with. So, what we will do now is to Modify them. HOWEVER, if you select the clips and choose Modify now, you will get a long-winded dialogue box that tells you that you can't modify them unless they are "Undigitized." This may lead you to think that you need to delete ALL the media. This is NOT the case. Even if you deleted all the media and then tried to modify the clips you would still get the same message.

So what's the deal? Basically, Media Composer is protecting you from yourself, as there are times (especially with very large projects) that you unmount some drives to help increase system response (and that media would appear offline). Essentially, the clip knows that at some point in its life it was digitized, and doesn't want you to muck things up. So, what do you have to do? You have to convince Media Composer that the clip(s) have never been digitized (basically that no LINKS had ever been established between the master clip and media files). So, here's the trick.
A - After performing steps A through G above, do this:
B - Select the Master Clips you want to modify.
C - Hold down the SHIFT AND CONTROL KEYS.
D - Go to the CLIP MENU.
E - You will notice that the selection that once said Relink, now says UNLINK. Select it.
F - All these clips will now be offline. You have intentionally broken the link between the Master Clip and the Media Files. As far as Media Composer knows, it was never digitized. Woo-Hoo!
G - Now, MODIFY the clips to INCLUDE ONLY THE TRACKS YOU STILL HAVE MEDIA FOR.
H - With the clips still selected, go back to the CLIP MENU and choose RELINK.
I - Bing, bang, boom . . . there ya go.

In the previous example we were deleting tracks. This process also works if you have to modify previously digitized clips to include tracks you forgot to log. Then you can go back and digitize the tracks you need, or as Media Composer puts it, "tracks that are unavailable." This is a great time and work-saver if you logged all the clips by hand.

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GETTING YOUR COMPUTER TO RESPOND BETTER AND FASTER
It can be frustrating when you press PLAY and you have to wait what seems like forever before the sequence will actually play. Here's several ways to get the pep back in your system:

The quickest way to get better system response (especially once you have strung the whole show together or when you have an effects-intensive sequence) is to enable PLAYLENGTH. The PLAYLENGTH TOGGLE button (found in the Command Palette under the PLAY tab) can be mapped to your keyboard or interface. Here's how and why it works: Normally, when you press play, the ENTIRE sequence is loaded into RAM. When you have a long sequence, or one with lots of layers/effects, that's a lot of information to load in. That's why the system chugs along before beginning to play. But, when you use PLAYLENGTH TOGGLE, by default, it loads up 30 seconds of information before the blue position indicator and 30 seconds after*. This totals one minute (yes, I KNOW you know that! But, you will see in a moment why I point that out). With less information to load in, the system responds faster. The downside is that after 30 seconds (in this case) it will stop playing, and you must press pause or stop, and then press play to get it on it's way again. Also, be aware of Playlength being enabled during an OUTPUT as it will stop during playback. HOWEVER, if you have opened the DIGITAL CUT TOOL to make your output you have nothing to worry about, as this tool automatically ensures that the entire sequence is loaded into RAM before making the output.

You can also change the amount of time loaded into RAM by using the CONSOLE**. In the the console, type the following (then press RETURN -- Enter does not work) and you will get the results in the chart below
( <space> means just press one space with the spacebar):

playlength<space>0 = this is like turning Playlength off. It loads the entire sequence into RAM.
playlength<space>1 = same as using the Playlength Toggle button, it loads a total of one minute into RAM.
playlength<space>2 = loads 2 minutes into RAM (1 min. before the blue line and 1 min. after).
playlength<space>3 = loads 3 minutes into RAM.

These commands are good to know if you ever cut on v6.x or earlier, because there is no playlength toggle button. You HAVE to use the console. The cool thing is that if you type in your own duration into the Console, the playlength toggle button will then toggle between YOUR setting and loading up the entire sequence (though quitting Media Composer resets the defaults).

You can see the playlength being toggled on and off if you leave the Console open (though it does not have to be open to work) The next question is: If I don't have my Console open, then how do I know if Playlength is enabled of not? While it is sometime difficult to tell (in earlier versions of the software), it IS possible. If you pay CLOSE attention to the PLAY BUTTON under the RECORD monitor, you will see that when Playlength is enabled, the Play button is SLIGHTLY gray (as opposed to black). Press the Playlength Toggle button on and off a few times to see the change in the Play button. In version 10.x and higher, the Play button will turn white when Playlength Toggle is enabled.

Here are some other ways to keep your system frisky:
- Limit items in a bin to a total of 75 (master clips, subclips, effects clips, etc.)
- Close unused bins
- Limit the total running time of sequences in a bin to 2 hours. You may even want to create a "working" bin to store ONLY the segment of the show you are currently working on and close the main "cuts" bin.
- Delete unused precomputes.
- Take any unneeded partitions and/or drives offline. This is because the Media Composer software tracks or "looks at" all media on all drives, whether it is needed immediately or not, or even if it is part of the current project or not.

* In v8.x and later, Playlength Toggle loads 1 minute before and after the blue line by default.
** SAFETY NOTE: be careful what you type into the Console. It is a direct line to the Media Composer   software code and Avid will not support problems caused by typing nonsense into the Console.

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ENSURING THE SMOOTHEST MOTION EFFECTS

Ever see a stuttery slo-mo? Sometimes it is unavoidable. But, here is the best way to make sure you have done all you can to keep those slo-mo's and fast-mo's as smooth as possible.

Essentially, its just math. The key is to make your frame rates EVEN multiples and divisors of the frame rate you are using (which in our case here in the US is 30fps, and for you PAL folks its 25fps). So, for slo-mo, make them EVEN divisors: 15, 10, 5, and 3 frames per second. For fast-mo, make them EVEN multiples: 60, 90, 120, 150, etc.

You can still use the FIT TO FILL function, but just use it as a way to determine the approximate fps. Then, when possible, defer to the closest EVEN frame rate. This does not mean you can't use other frame rates or fit to fill. This is just the way to make them as smooth as possible.

Also, the "Duplicated" field rendering choice is the least desirable. If there is movement in the shot (which means there is "inter-field motion"), then generally "Interpolated" is the best choice. If you are on a system with VTR Style rendering, you can try that too and see if it gives you a better result than interpolated. Realize that these choices for rendering will only be noticeable if you are at high resolution (meaning with two fields).

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DIGITIZING TIPS
While you are digitizing (but not Batch Digitizing), here are several useful things you can do (on both the Mac and NT platforms):

1 - Pressing the F1 key will create the MARK IN for a subclip. If you hit the F1 key again, it updates the Mark In point to the newly selected time code. Pressing the F2 key creates the MARK OUT for a subclip, and as before, If you hit the F2 key again, it updates the Mark Out point to the newly selected time code.

On the right side of the Digitize Tool you will see this icon:
.  

As you create the subclips, the number will be be displayed here. The subclips will appear in your bin after you stop digitizing.

2 - Press the F3 Key while digitizing to add a locator to the Clip you are creating. On versions 8.x and higher you can even add locators other than red:
F5   - Red (repeated)
F6   - Green
F7   - Blue
F8   - Cyan
F9   - Magenta
F10 - Yellow
F11 - Black
F12 - White

3 - On versions 5.x, 6.x, and 7.x, if you want to name the clip while digitizing (NOT while Batch Digitizing), simply begin typing. You can even use the Delete key to backup and make corrections. If you hit the TAB KEY, and then begin typing you are now adding a COMMENT to the clip. You will see what you are typing appear in the Digitize Tool. When you stop digitizing the clip Name will be there and the Comment will appear in a newly created Comments Column in your bin. On versions 8.0 and higher, this feature works, except you have to "turn down" the triangle to reveal the Name and Comment boxes BEFORE beginning to digitize. Here's a picture of the "open" Name and Comment box (note the white triangle in the upper left corner):

Here's one use for these features as an example, and I am sure you will find many other uses: When I get a DAT of music, and I am short on time, I will simply create one large Master Clip of the music and subclip each song as it is digitizing, plus I can name each song and even use the locator function to mark good sections of each cut. This is a great time-saver.

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SNAP TO IT
You can make your "Blue Position Indicator" (often simply called the "Blue Line") in the timeline SNAP to head or tail frames quickly and easily. Just before you want the "Blue Line" to snap to the HEAD FRAME of a specific transition, hold down the "Command" key (the "Apple" key) and then simultaneously click near the transition you want to snap to. If it's a TAIL FRAME you want to snap to, then hold down BOTH the "Command" key and the "Option" key at the same time before simultaneously clicking near the desired transition.

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GRAB THAT GLITCH
Have you ever been trimming along and encountered a "blip" of audio that makes the cut not work? Often it's so quick that it's difficult to tell whether the problem is on the outgoing shot or the incoming shot. Here's a quick way to find out, and avoid all the trial and error:

1 - Enter TRIM MODE at the transition you want to fix.

2 - Click the "Play Loop" button   (previously known as the "Play Transition" button)

3 - WHILE the looping is happening:
      A - ON YOUR KEYBOARD, press the "Go To Mark In" button 
            Now, the looping will continue, but only over the OUTGOING shot.

      B - ON YOUR KEYBOARD, press the "Go To Mark Out" button  
            Now, the looping will continue, but only over the INCOMING shot.

Using one or both of these will help you to easily determine where the problem frame or frames of audio are.

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QUICK SOURCE LIST
When preparing for an online session or an upres, there is the need to determine what tapes are required. One method for this is to use the EDL Manager (Output menu > EDL), and then printing out a "Source" list. Nothing wrong with this, though it can be time consuming with long and/or complex sequences – not to mention the all too frequent crashes that occur when creating an EDL. Well, here is another way that is FAST and will NEVER CRASH:

1 - Put the final sequence into a bin all by itself. If your long format show is still broken into "acts" or "show segments," be sure they are all in that same bin.

2 - At the bottom of that bin, click on the "Bin Fast Menu" button 

3 - From the Bin Menu, select "SET BIN DISPLAY."

4 - From the dialogue box, select only the SOURCES check box,
     and the SHOW REFERENCE CLIPS check box, as pictured below.

5 - Click "OK."
6 - Now your bin will be filled with all the sources for your project (including PICT files, Titles, etc.).
7 - Use the SORT function (also found in the Bin Menu) to organize this data.
8 - PRINT it out and you are on your way.
9 - After printing, simply go back to the Set Bin Display menu and set the display
     back to it's original configuration.

*** The "Set Bin Display" menu is useful for a variety of things. Check out your Avid Documentation or Avid Help for more information on "Reference Clips."

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Tip #17 has been removed.
It was outdated and the application it talked about is no longer available.
I'll stick something in here to replace it one day.....

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FREELANCING FOR FUN AND PROFIT

AvidProNet offered this two part series on freelancing. AvidProNet has now been absorbed into the Avid Technology web site, and as far as I know this article is no longer available through Avid. However, I have posted it here. If there are any copyright problems, please contact me at the address on the Contact Page.

Freelancing Article, Part 1  (by Beth-Ann Marchese)

Freelancing Article, Part 2  (by Beth-Ann Marchese)

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CONVERTING CD AUDIO FOR AVID

**** For those using v10.x and above or Avid Xpress Pro, you'll want to skip this tip and visit this tip instead.

This tip is definitely pertinent for those using version 7.2 or earlier. Versions 10.x and above have new features that alow you to simply drag a CD file/s right from the CD to an open bin and it will do the conversion and import (based on your previously set Import Settings).

For versions 7.x and earlier, when you want to use music or sound effects from CD, you will have to convert it into a format that the Avid can import (AIFF). One method is to use a great FREE application called SoundApp. You will find a link to download it earlier on this page. But, there will be times when you don’t have SoundApp with you (oops), or when SoundApp does not like the file you are trying to convert for some reason (uh oh). In these cases, you can actually use SimpleText, which is on every Mac. Here's how:

1 – Insert CD
2 – Launch SimpleText
3 – Go to the FILE MENU and select OPEN.
4– Navigate to the desktop and select the CD:

5 – Open the CD and select the track you want to convert:

6 – Click the CONVERT button.
7 – Click the OPTIONS button, and you’ll get this window:

Be sure to select the sample rate as 44.1, 16 bit, and stereo. While it is possible to alter the starting and ending point, it is best not to change that. This makes it possible for future importing and relinking if necessary.

Now, there are at least two obvious downsides to using SimpleText rather than SoundApp. The first is that it does not convert sample rates as SoundApp is able to do. Converting sample rates is helpful when the audio in the sequence is 48kHz and you need to convert the 44.1kHz audio from the CD. The other limitation of SimpleText is that you can only convert one file at a time, while SoundApp allows you to convert many files in one "Batch Session" (which means you can take a coffee break!)

There are other programs out there that will do this type of conversion, but I mention SimpleText and SoundApp here because they are FREE. If you have a favorite sound utility that you would like to share with the other visitors to this site, email me at the address on the Contact Page.

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SEGMENT MODE TRIVIA
Selecting multiple segments while in Source-Record Mode (a.k.a. Composer Mode):

1 – Hold down the SHIFT key. While Shift is held down, you can click on and select, or deselect, both audio and video segments anywhere in the timeline.

2 – Another method of selecting segments is to lasso them. Click and hold down the mouse button OUTSIDE the timeline. It is generally easiest to start above the timeline, but it works starting from either above or below the timeline. Now drag the lasso across the segments you want to select, making sure to move from LEFT TO RIGHT (see below for what happens when lassoing Right to Left). Once you release the mouse button, the segment/s will be selected. Specifically, you will be in the type of "Segment Mode" that was last used.

Nudge segments in the timeline:

1 – Select one or more segments in the Timeline using the red "Overwrite-Lift" mode of Segment Mode. If you select more than one segment, be aware that all the segments must be touching. If there is Filler between segments, be sure to select it/them too.

2 – Now you can nudge segments earlier or later using the Trim Keys on your keyboard (by default on the keys "M", comma, period, and "/"). This is great for a variety of things, including nudging sound effects around.

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LASSOING AND LASSOING INSIDE THE TIMELINE
Lassoing is a very fast method of selecting segments in both Source-Record Mode as well as Effects Mode. It is also a great way of entering Trim Mode. Beginning while in Source-Record Mode, here’s how:

1 – Click OUTSIDE the Timeline and continue to hold down the mouse button. It is generally easiest to start above the timeline, but it works starting from either above or below the timeline.

2 – Drag the cursor and the lasso (the square dotted line) will appear. If you lasso around ONLY A TRANSITION (the black line between two segments), and then release the mouse button, you will automatically enter Trim Mode (fast eh!). And you can lasso multiple transitions across both video and audio tracks.

3 – If you lasso over one or more ENTIRE SEGMENTS while moving your mouse FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, you will go into Segment Mode. Specifically, you will enter the type of Segment Mode you used last.

4 – If you lasso over ONE SEGMENT in the direction of RIGHT TO LEFT, you will be put into SLIP MODE. If you hold down the OPTION/ALT key while lassoing over one segment from RIGHT TO LEFT, you will be put into SLIDE MODE.

Now the question arises: What if you want to lasso a segment/s or a transition/s that is/are in the middle of all the tracks in the timeline. In these cases, hold down the CONTROL key (Mac) or the ALT key (Windows). When you do this, notice that a small, black box (called the "Bounding Box" for you trivia buffs) appears at the tip of your cursor. Now, while continuing to press down the Control key, you can lasso right in the middle of your timeline!

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EFFECTS TRICKS
Tips for saving, using, and applying "Effect Templates."
This set of tips is inspired by some tips submitted by
Hershleder.com visitor Ido Angel who is an editor in Israel.
Follow Ido's lead and submit your trick or working tip today at the address on the Contact Page.

1. Saving Effect Templates to a bin for future use:

After spending a good deal of time setting parameters and keyframes for an effect, you can save it for future use. It's quick and simple. In the top right hand corner of the Effect Editor you will see the icon for the type of effect you have applied (circled in red):

"Effect Icon" is circled in red

Place your cursor over the Effect Icon (circled in red above) and hold down the mouse button. Continue to hold down the mouse button and drag the Effect Template to any open bin. My suggestion is to create a bin labeled "Effect Templates." This will make them easier to find. Not only will they be in a logical location (the Effects Templates bin), but you'll find that ANY bin that contains effects will appear as a selection in your Effect Palette (see below). In addition, you can also save that bin and take it with you from job to job, project to project.

	A bin created just to hold "Effect Templates." Name them whatever you want.
	Notice that the bin called "Effect Templates" appears as a selection in your Effect Palette, and all the effect templates in that bin appear in the right hand column of the Effect Palette.

2. Applying an Effect or an Effect Template to one segment or one transition:

To apply an effect from either the Effect Palette or from your personal Effect Templates bin to one segment or one transition, you can:

A – Drag the icon from the Palette or your Effect Templates bin and drop it in the timeline on the desired segment or transition. Note that transition effects placed directly from the Effects Palette will have a default duration of 1 second.

B – Using either the Segment Mode yellow or red arrow, you can select a segment and then simply "double-click" on the effect icon in the Effect Palette or your Effect Templates bin and the effect will be applied.

3. Applying an Effect or an Effect Template to multiple segments or transitions:

A – You can hold down the Shift Key to select (or de-select) multiple segments or you can also lasso them (see the previous tip "LASSOING AND LASSOING INSIDE THE TIMELINE" above). After selecting the multiple segments, then simply "double-click" on the effect icon in the Effect Palette or your Effect Templates bin and the effect will be applied.

B – Enter Effect Mode. While in Effect Mode you can hold down the Shift key and then select (or de-select) multiple segments or transitions. Once the desired segments or transitions are highlighted, simply "double-click" on the effect icon in the Effect Palette or your effect templates bin and the effect will be applied.

C – You can also lasso while in Effect Mode. Lasso left to right and get Segments. Lasso right to left and get Transitions.

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USING SETTINGS FILES TO BACKUP AND RESTORE YOUR USER SETTINGS
This Avid Tip was submitted by Hershleder.com visitor Brandon Bussinger who works in New York, where he's the Senior Technician at The Tools, a feature film post facility. Follow Brandon's lead and submit your favorite tip today at the address on the Contact Page.

In addtion to taking a screen snap shot (see the Keyboard Exchange for directions) to backup the settings of your keyboard, interface, timeline, and/or fast menu, the following method is a great way to back-up your settings as well as a way to easily share your settings with other users.

* IMPORTANT NOTE: it is always a good idea to have separate user settings for each version of software that you use. User settings become corrupted relatively easily, and one way that this can happen is when they are promoted from one version to another (e.g. v7.1 user settings opened on a v10 system); and even more so when demoted (e.g. v10 user settings opened on a v7.1 system).

CREATING THE SETTINGS FILE:

1 – At the top of your Project Window, click the Settings Button:
      

2 – Go to the FILE MENU and select "New Setting File":
      

3 – A window will open that looks like this:
      

4 – In your Project Window, select the setting or settings you want to back-up:
      

5 – Drag the selected setting(s) into the open window:
      

6 – Close the window and save the Settings File. You may want to date this file as well as indicate what version of
      software it was created from.

7 – A Settings File is created, with the name you gave it, that looks like this:
      

OPENING THE SETTINGS FILE:

1 – Click the Settings Button:

     

2 – Go to the FILE MENU and select "Open Setting File":

     &nbs