The following is a document I wrote for the E! Entertainment and Style Networks. It is targeted to P.A.'s and producers who have little or no understanding of Mac computers and/or of how the Avid works. Also, the instructions are for logging tapes manually – in other words, not using a deck that is controlled by the Media Log application.

Some of the information presented may be specific to E!/Style, and I have tried to point that out when and where it occurs. When in doubt, consult someone at your facility. This document is by no means all-inclusive, but is a good primer. Consult your Media Log documentation for more information. And lastly, I wrote this several years ago, so it applies to an older version of the software. However, the majority of information presented will still apply to later versions.

5 - Preparing to Log Clips (Creating Bins)

MEDIA LOG BASICS
by Benjamin Hershleder
www.hershleder.com

SETTING UP YOUR COMPUTER TO RUN MEDIA LOG

IMPORTANT NOTE: these memory settings may not be necessary depending on
the version of Media Log you are using and/or the computer you are using.
Check your documentation before changing any memory settings.

In the TOP LEFT CORNER of your computer screen you will see a little apple that looks like this (next to the FILE menu):

Click on the APPLE and hold down your mouse button. A menu appears.
Scroll down to CONTROL PANELS. Now, another menu appears.
Scroll down to MEMORY. With MEMORY highlighted, release your mouse button.
You have now opened a window that looks like this:

Under VIRTUAL MEMORY, make sure that the OFF button is selected as in the example above.
Close the window by clicking the box in the upper left corner of the window.
If you have changed the setting from On to Off, you must now shut down and restart your computer
for this setting to take effect. If Virtual Memory was already turned off when you opened the window,
then you are ready to begin.

 

LAUNCHING THE MEDIA LOG APPLICATION

On your hard drive you will find a folder called MEDIA LOG.
You may find it inside another folder, possibly called APPLICATIONS.
Once you have located the Media Log folder, open it to reveal the program.
The contents are these:

HELPFUL TIP: Instead of having to always dig around your computer to find Media Log (or any other program), you can create what Macintosh calls an ALIAS (you PC folks know them as Shortcuts) and put it right on your desktop. Here's how: 1 - Click ONCE on the Media Log icon in the folder to select it. 2 - Now go up to the FILE MENU. There you will find the selection MAKE ALIAS. Select it. 3 - Now you have a second little picture in the folder. Drag the one that says ALIAS at the end of it right onto your desktop. In the future, all you have to do is double click on the alias to start the program. --- Also, you can always tell when an an icon is an alias because the text is in italics.

Click TWICE on the Media Log icon to start the program (or the ALIAS if you created one as described in the Helpful Tip above).

If you get the a message like the one below, read the section titled
"Setting up your computer to run Media Log"

After starting the program, the first thing you will get is a window that looks like this:

1 — Click the NEW USER button. Enter your name and click OK.

2 — Click the NEW PROJECT button.
Enter the name of the project that you are going to work on.

3 — In the future your name will already be there to select and you will have many projects to choose from.
In that case, click to highlight your name, then highlight the project you want to work on, and click OK.

 

INSIDE THE PROJECT / THE PROJECT WINDOW

When a new project is created the window looks like this:                                        

----> Click in this box to close the current project and switch to another project or to quit the program entirely.

<---- Click & drag to resize

THE PROJECT WINDOW ELEMENTS:
The box in the top left corner of the Project Window is used to close out of the project. Just click on it.
You can resize the Project Window by clicking on the double squares icon in the bottom right corner and dragging.
The SETTINGS and NEW BIN buttons will be explained in more detail below (See "Before Logging" and "Preparing To Log Clips).

 

OVERVIEW

The Project (and Project window) can be thought of as a file drawer into which items are stored.
Each Project should represent only ONE show or project. You will be creating little storage
containers (called "Bins") for the pieces of video that you will be logging (called "Clips"), and
these will live inside the Project (and appear in the Project window).

 

BEFORE LOGGING (Using The Settings Button)

CHECK WITH AN AVID EDITOR OR OTHER PERSON TO SEE IF THIS APPLIES TO YOUR SITUATION

When you first create a new project you have one thing to configure before you dive in. Here’s what you do:

1 — Click on the SETTINGS button.
2 — A long list of settings will appear. Don’t sweat it. Ignore them all, and scroll down to the one called DECK PREFERENCES.

Click TWICE on the name DECK PREFERENCES to open the following dialogue box:

3 - Change the dialogue box to read: "When no tape in deck log as: DROP FRAME"
     (as pictured above), and click the OK button.

4 - Now, change from seeing all those settings and back to the other workspace by clicking on the BINS button.

 

PREPARING TO LOG CLIPS (Creating Bins)

BINS are the containers into which we will store CLIPS. If you think of your Project Window like a drawer of a filing cabinet,
you can then think of Bins to be like folders that we put items into. The items we will put in the bins are called CLIPS.

CLIPS contain the information about what you want to have digitized.
Each clip knows what tape it comes from as well as the time code numbers that mark its beginning and its end.

Before you can create clips, first you need a place to store your them.
Create a new bin by clicking on the NEW BIN button. You will see something similar to this:

Notice that the newly created bin has the same name as your project.
CHANGE the name of the bin to something that accurately describes the material that you will be putting in there:

In the example above one bin is open and the other is closed. To open a bin, click TWICE on the little green square icon.
To RENAME a bin, click on the TEXT. To close a bin, click inside the box in the top left corner of the bin.

 

LOGGING CLIPS

Now that you have a place to store your clips, you can begin logging.
From the TOOLS MENU at the top of your screen, select LOGGING. This tool will appear:

TRACK SELECTOR BUTTONS ----> ----> BIN SELECTION MENU (in this picture it states "Please Open A Bin") TAPE SELECTION BUTTON (in this picture it asks, "Tape Name?") ---->

<---- TIME CODE ENTRY BOXES (white boxes) See "Entering Time Code" below. QUICKLY ERASE ENTRIES: by clicking the buttons to the far RIGHT of the white entry boxes.

TRACK SELECTION BUTTONS:
Turning these on or off determines which tracks will be logged and later digitized.

BIN SELECTION MENU (in the picture it states "Please Open A Bin"):
If you have more than one bin open at a time, you can use this menu to select which bin the clips you create will go into.

TAPE SELECTION BUTTON (at bottom of picture it asks, "Tape Name?"):
Click here to add a tape name or to select from a list of tapes you added earlier.

TIME CODE ENTRY BOXES (white boxes in bottom right of picture above):
1st Box: enter the starting time code number.
2nd Box: enter ending time code number.
3rd Box: displays the duration of the clip.

QUICKLY ERASE ENTRIES:
Click the button to the far RIGHT of the white entry boxes
that look a bit like a gray thumbnail against a black background.

 

SELECTING A TAPE

In the previous picture you will see a little button at the bottom left labeled, "Tape Name?"
Click on it to reveal this dialogue box:

ENTER A TAPE NAME: Click the NEW button, and you will get the result pictured here. Type-in the tape name or number. Hit the ENTER or RETURN key on your keyboard. Click OK if the tape is named correctly. If not, you can change the name by clicking on it and retyping it. MAKE SURE that each tape has a UNIQUE tape name (you should NEVER have two tapes that have the same name). Be sure to CLEARLY LABEL the tape itself and the tape case with the name you have entered.

 

If you want to log from an existing tape, then select it by clicking TWICE on the little picture
of a tape that appears to the left of the tape name:

AN IMPORTANT NOTE THAT BEARS REPEATING:

A TAPE SHOULD HAVE ONLY ONE NAME.

TWO TAPES SHOULD NEVER HAVE THE SAME NAME.

YOU MUST MAKE SURE THAT ALL TAPES ARE LABELED WITH THE SAME NAME THAT YOU ENTER WHEN LOGGING!!!

MAKE SURE THAT THE TAPE NAME IS CLEARLY VISIBLE ON THE TAPE ITSELF,
ON THE FRONT OF THE TAPE BOX
AND ON THE TAPE BOX SPINE.

 

Now that you have selected a tape to log, the button that previously asked "Tape Name?"
will display the name of the tape you will now log, as in the example below:

 

SELECTING TRACKS

For each clip you log, you will select what tracks to have digitized.

When a button is highlighted, it indicates the selected track or tracks. Select or deselect tracks just by clicking on them. ALWAYS LEAVE THE TC (time code) BUTTON SELECTED.

CHECK WITH SOMEONE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES APPLY TO YOUR SITUATION:

• If the material you are logging is an interview, then you will select VIDEO (the "V" button) and TWO tracks of AUDIO (the A1 and A2 buttons). This track selection is pictured above.

• If the material you are logging has NO AUDIO, like old black and white archive footage for example, then SELECT ONLY VIDEO. If you are logging a tape of stills from Paintbox or the Motion Control Camera, then SELECT ONLY VIDEO. If you are logging a DAT with music or voice-over, then DO NOT SELECT VIDEO.

• DO NOT select tracks that are not needed or do not exist. For example, there will be virtually no time in which you will select all 8 audio tracks. For the majority of you, the most audio tracks you will ever have to worry about is 2 (A1 and A2). There will be certain shows that will require logging A1, A2, A3 and A4. Only log in this fashion if instructed to do so.

• Logging unnecessary tracks wastes valuable storage space on the Avid drives, and can cause confusion for the Producer and Editor.

 

ENTERING TIME CODE

As you watch the source tape you will enter the time code numbers for the beginning and end of the clip.
HOWEVER, always add about 5 seconds extra time BEFORE and AFTER the portion of the tape you want.
This additional time is called "PAD."

You simply type the time code numbers as detailed below:

<---- QUICKLY ERASE ENTRIES: Click the button to the far RIGHT of the white entry boxes that look a bit like a gray thumbnail against a black background.

TIME CODE ENTRY BOXES (white boxes in picture above):
1st Box: enter the starting time code number.
2nd Box: enter ending time code number.
3rd Box: displays the duration of the clip.

QUICKLY ERASE ENTRIES:
Click the button to the far RIGHT of the white entry boxes

HELPFUL TIPS:
• You do NOT need to type a semicolon or colon between the time code numbers.
   They will automatically be inserted for you as you type.
• Pressing the DECIMAL key on the numeric keypad (on the far right of the keyboard) will type two zeros.
• The TAB key will cycle you through the entry boxes.
• BE AWARE OF TIME CODE BREAKS. See "Important Information below."

CREATING THE CLIPS

After having entered the time code as described above, create the clip in one of these two ways:

1 — click on the pencil-icon button: or

2 — press the "B" key on your keyboard

Either of these methods will create a clip that now resides in the bin you selected:

     ^ "HAMBURGER" MENU -- find out about what it's good for
           in the section "Viewing Information About Your Clips" below.

The new clip is created and by default carries the name of the bin.

You will rename the clip to something useful and descriptive.

 

VIEWING INFORMATION ABOUT CLIPS (Creating Headings)

In the menu bar at the top of your screen is a menu called BIN.
This same menu also appears by clicking on the small Fast Menu icon (looks like a "hamburger")
in the bottom left of any bin (see illustration above).

In this menu you will find a selection called HEADINGS. Select this and you will be presented with a long list of possible headings to be displayed. Some of the ones you will most likely find useful include: TAPE, START, END, TRACKS, DURATION and CREATION DATE. Choose these and any others you want displayed. Illustrated below is a bin with several clips and some headings:

HELPFUL HINTS:
Save different heading configurations by clicking the box in the bottom of the picture above labeled "Untitled" and using
the "Save As" command to name them. Once saved, these saved views are accessible in any bin that you create or open.
Also, you can rearrange the headings by clicking the heading name and dragging them left or right.

 

OOOOOPS!!! (Fixing Common Errors)

OK, so you just logged a bunch of clips and upon looking over your headings you discover that you have logged the wrong tracks, or mistakenly used the wrong tape name. Not to worry, to alter these things:

1 - Select the clips you want to fix.

2 - Go to the SPECIAL menu, and select MODIFY. You will get the following window:

TRACKS — The tracks that have TWO squares around them denote selected tracks. Click on them to select or deselect tracks until the correct ones are "double-squared," then click the OK button. If you have your "Tracks" heading displayed in your bin you will see the change appear there.

TAPE NAME — To change the tape name, select SOURCE. Now you will be able to choose a tape from the list or enter a brand new tape name. After clicking on "OK" you will get a warning that is making sure you know that the tape name and time code had better match up. Since you have been thorough, just hit "OK." **BE CAREFUL: incorrect tape names can cause the wrong material to be digitized or no material at all. It is VITAL that correct tape names be used or numerous problems can occur.

 

TRANSFERRING BINS TO FLOPPY DISK

Once you have logged all the clips, you will need to copy the bin to a floppy disk for the Digitizers.

1 — Inside your hard drive will be a folder called COMPOSER PROJECTS.
Inside that folder will be a folder with the name of the project you are working on.
Here is an open Composer Projects folder (in "icon" view), containing one project (THS — Bill Clinton):

 

2 — Open the PROJECT folder. Inside you will see something like this (when in "ICON" view):

 

3 – The BINS are the two files at the top of the illustration (labeled "Hollywood B-roll"
and "Segment 1 Interview bites"). All the other files MUST remain inside the folder and should be left alone.

4 — Insert your floppy disk into the computer.
Now, simply drag these bins to the floppy disk icon that will appear on the desktop of your computer.

5 — You should see a status bar appear that will indicate that the bin is being copied.

6 — After copying is complete, double-click the icon of the disk to open it and make sure that the bins have indeed been copied over.

7 — IMPORTANT: NEVER enter new clips into a bin that has already been digitized. Instead, create a NEW bin. For example: Yesterday you logged a bunch of clips into a bin called "Hollywood B-roll" and that bin was digitized last night. Now you have been given another tape containing some new Hollywood B-roll. You MUST create a NEW bin for the new clips; name the new bin something logical like "Hollywood B-roll #2". Not doing this creates duplicate bins inside a project on the Avid, which cause problems and confusion.

 

• IMPORTANT • IMPORTANT • IMPORTANT • IMPORTANT •

— Be SURE to change the TAPE NUMBER to the tape you are logging BEFORE beginning to log a new tape. If the tape number is incorrect you will end up with either the wrong material digitized or no material at all.

— Be aware of TIME CODE BREAKS. These will often appear as gray flashes between two different shots (though not always). Very often you will find time code breaks between interviews and B-roll on the same tape. DO NOT log time code either before or after a time code break. In other words, DO NOT allow a time code break to be a part of any clip you log. These clips can not be digitized. Also, BE SURE THAT following a time code break, the "IN" time code number should be at least THREE seconds AFTER the break.

— There is no time code after the last shot on a tape. Do not add padding at the end.

— NEVER enter new clips into a bin that has already been digitized. Instead, create a NEW bin. For example: Yesterday you logged a bunch of clips into a bin called "Hollywood B-roll" and that bin was digitized last night. Now you have been given another tape containing some new Hollywood B-roll. You MUST create a NEW bin for the new clips; name the new bin something logical like "Hollywood B-roll #2". Not doing this creates duplicate bins inside a project on the Avid, which cause problems and confusion.