Avid Media Composer Cert - MC110

From which menu can you open the Source Browser? The FILE menu (File--Input--Source Browser). In the Source Browser, how can you mark a folder as a Favorite? Navigate to the folder, then select it, then click the STAR button at the top of the Source Browser. How can you remove a folder from the Favorites list in the Source Browser? Simply click the STAR next to the folder in the directory tree. Name two settings that affect how files are imported in Media Composer? Import Settings Media Creation Settings Which setting will resize a large photograph during import to avoid distorting it? a. Resize Image to Fit Format Raster b. Crop/Pad for DV Scan Line Difference c. Do Not Resize Smaller Images d. Image Sized for Current Format A. Resize Image to Fit Format Raster Which functions will copy a media file, without recompressing it? Transcode or Consolidate? Consolidate Which function will convert a media file, modifying its codec and/or frame rate? Transcode or Consolidate? Transcode. Remember: Consolidate copies the media files without re-encoding the media; Transcode converts the media. Name three types of ingesting methods? Dragging Using the Source Browser Using Import Media Name three reasons you might want to consolidate or transcode camera native media to Avid native media. 1. Faster and better performance for editing and playback 2. For Special Effects 3. For better file tracking and management which allows the user greater control of media files What is indicated by the bold name on one of your drives listed in Consolidate/Transcode? It is the drive with the most available space. Remember: Consolidate/Transcode is available under the CLIP menu. See image. Why might you need to sync audio and video master clips? When the audio for the corresponding video is recorded separately, commonly called double-system sound. List the steps to sync audio and video master clips. What is the result of this process? 1 Decide on the Autosync method you’re using. If you’re using Timecode, be sure the timecode matches on each clip. Then select all the clips you want to sync. 2 If you’re using In or Out point, select the pair of clips to be synced (IN/Out points). Note that for video clips, the sync point is usually the first frame rate where the slate is fully closed. 3 Choose Clip→ AutoSync 4 Select the Method 5 Click OK What is a group clip? What is the advantage of working with group clips? It is a single set of master clips (merging multiple clips into one clip, so all can be synced). It gives the editor the convenience of being able to load a single item from the bin and have simultaneous access to both camera angles, and the freedom to switch between them on the fly. How do you display the start timecode of your clip? You can display the start timecode of your clip in the column entitled "Start" within the Text view of your bin. How do you add a custom column to a bin in Text view? Display the bin and select Add Custom Column. Type name and hit return. Then enter the information you wish to add in the data box beside the first clip in the bin. What is the shortcut to view a pop-up menu containing previously entered values in a custom column? Click CTRL/CMD on the cell you want the text to appear. What is the difference between duplicating and cloning a clip? Duplicating a clip allows you to add separate comments, modifications, and changes to that clip without affecting the original clip, while any changes made to a Cloned clip will carry over to all other versions. What is a circled take? In production terms, circled takes are the takes the director deems good and circled on the lined script by the script supervisor. You need to track rights releases for each man-on-the-street interview in a documentary. How could you do that in the bin? You could create a column (in text view) while calling it "Right Released?", filling the values with "Yes, No, Denied". Then by sorting you can keep track. You could also print it out as a hard-copy (File-Print Bin). You have audio and video master clips that do not have a common timecode reference. Is it possible to sync these clips? If so, how? Yes - by syncing based on audio cues such as a slate, or spoken words, or sound cues. This can be done while audio scrubbing or spotting it on the waveforms. From which bin view can you create a storyboard? What about a stringout? Frame view (storyboard), and text or List view for a stringout. If editing a group of clips to a sequence from the bin in Text view, what controls the order the clips will appear in the sequence? By Sorting the clips by the chosen column: ie, name, scene/take, quality rating, start timecode, etc. Then by selecting which clips to include. If editing a group of clips to the sequence from the bin in Frame view, what controls the order the clips will appear in the sequence? By arranging them in the order you want them to appear in the sequence: left to right, top to bottom. Which function is related to Top or Tail? a. Splice-In b. Overwrite c. Lift d. Extract e. Extend D. Extract How is Extend similar to Trim? Most specifically, what type of trim? Both perform split edits. Extend can be performed on the fly, without entering Trim mode, but does not allow you to see the incoming/outgoing frames as Trim mode. Name three uses of markers. Marking location cues to add music, sound effects, inserts and other shots. Including notes for other production staff- sound mixer, colorist, effects editor, etc. Notes for remaining tasks to be done later Which two windows must be open to change the keyboard settings? Keyboard Settings (In the Project Window) and Command Palette (Command-3). True or False? Using the Top button to extract is equivalent of pressing T-R-X keys: Mark clips, Mark out, and Extract? True. The Tail button is similar to the T-E-X keys: Mark clips, Mark In, and Extract. What shortcut key clears marks in the timeline? G What is this image key that will remove the shot from the beginning of the segment to the position indicator? Top button What is this image key that will remove the shot from the position indicator to the current end of the segment? Tail button What button is this that will allow you to adjust the end point of one shot and the beginning of the next shot without going into trim mode? Extend How many edit points are required to define an edit when adding a shot to the sequence? a. 0 b. 1 c. 2 d. 3 e. 4 D. 3 [two points to mark a duration (Source), one point for location (timeline). True or False: Media Composer will not allow you to make an edit with no marks. FALSE: If you don’t add In and Out marks to the Source clip or the Timeline, the system will use the entire clip and place it in the blue position indicator. How can Filler help maintain sync? By adding the blank space (filler) when a cip that is being added has no audio, thereby keeping sync in the timeline. Making sure the track is selected, filler is added to the empty audio track. It prevents snapping for editing. True or False: To load a sequence into the Source monitor, you should double-click the icon in the bin. FALSE. You should drag the sequence icon from the bin to the Source monitor. What is a sub-sequence? What can it be used for? It is a shorter section of the sequence that you can store in your bin. (and drag from the source monitor). It is especially useful for sub-sequences that will be used on multiple scenes or episodes, or to isolate it for further work or experimentation without distorting the full/real sequence. It is also useful for a storyboard edit. Which function loads the source clip for a segment in the sequence into the Source monitor? C. Match Frame What does Find Bin do? Finds the original bin where the clip or sequence is stored. (By clicking Find Bin, Media Composer finds the bin, opens it, and highlights the clip or sequence within the bin). What is the difference between Find, Find Bin, and Match Frame? The Find tool searches across all metadata in the project, across all bins, whereas Find Bin locates the source clip of a sequence within a bin. Match Frame locates the clip of the Frame currently displayed in the Record monitor and loads the full clip into the Source monitor for viewing. What is the difference between using Find and the Search field in the bin? Find searches across all metadata in the entire project, across all bins while Search function only searches within the bin. What value would you type to advance the position indicator 2 seconds? +200 How do you type to jump the position indicator to a specific timecode? By typing the hours, minutes, seconds, and frame (ex: 1230200= 1:23:02:00). What is the difference between Fast Forward/Rewind and J-K-L? FF/RW jumps the next/previous edit points, whereas J-K-L can move forward/backwards in fast/slow motion. List each of these shortcut keys: a. Fast Menu b. Find Bin c. Match Frame d. Add Edit e. Link Selection Toggle What does Reverse Match Frame do? Takes you to the frame on the timeline. List two ways to enter Trim mode? Click the Trim Mode button or press the U key. What keyboard shortcuts enable Ripple and Overwrite single-roller trim modes? Shift+D for Ripple Trim; Shift+F for Overwrite trim. True or False: Having the audio and video change at different moments is called a split edit? TRUE. True or False: Split Edits are commonly referred to as L and J- cuts? TRUE. Dual-roller trim on either the video track, or the audio track (but never both), helps create J and L cuts? TRUE. True or False: Slip and Slide are forms of dual-roller trimming, where two consecutive transitions are trimmed simultaneously? True. Slip lets you change the contents of a segment. Also... it has pink rollers. True or False: Sliding is essentially a dual-roller trim, with one or more segments between the trim rollers? True. Slide lets you move the segment, but not change its content. True or False: Segment mode is using the Lift/Overwrite tools? True. Name two ways to enter Trim mode without using the Smart Tool. Shortcut key ‘U’ on the keyboard Pressing the Trime mode button You can also enter Trim mode by lassoing an edit point in the Timeline! (p154). Go to Previous/Next Trim buttons also activate Trim mode (p 155). Name the keys on the keyboard associated with choosing the A side, B side, or dual-roller trim. (P.156) A side trim = "P" B side trim = "]" Dual-roller trim = "[" Which keys trim left or right, either 8 or 10 frames at a time? (P.156) The TRIM keys: M and / What can be done in Trim Mode when using J-K-L? Will simultaneously play and trim the footage, and allows you to scrub audio as you trim. (p. 159). This is called dynamic trimming. What function is associated with the Play button when in Trim mode? Play Loop (p.156) If you hear a pop in the audio at an edit point, but can't tell which side contains the problem, what can you do to find out? Analyze the audio by playing just the incoming or outgoing side, using keyboard shortcuts Q (outgoing) or W (incoming side). (p. 158) What is a split edit? What is the benefit of creating split edits in the sequence? Commonly referred to L and J cuts, split edits are the process of creating edits at different moments on the audio and video tracks, but maintaining sync. It is inteweiving audio & video into a cohesive whole. The benefit is that the edits become more organic, drawing less attention from the audience. What is the process of creating a split edit? A dual-roller trim on either the video or audio track (but not both) creates a split edit. (Enter Trim Mode(A,S,U)--Drag transition point left/right--Command drag to snap In/Out points). Note that Extend also creates a split edit. What is the radio-edit technique? (p.152) The idea is to focus on the pacing of the audio in the scene, by turning off the video and performing ripple trims to only the audio tracks. Then you would flip the video back on and perform dual-roller trims on the video only while keeping the newly adjusted audio edits. So... 1. Turn off Video Track 2. Ripple Trim Audio 3. Turn video back on a split edit (j-l cut) the video only. How can you ensure that you maintain sync while using Ripple Trim? Make sure you add/subtract the same number of frames from all other tracks. Work with Sync locks turned on. Use filler as empty space. Describe the process to restore broken sync? In Trim Mode, select the tracks (out of sync) Click the A side monitor and using the single-roller Tim: add/subtract the corresponding # of frames until the out-of-synch digits disappear Confirm tracks are in sync by playing them. This process is also called slip editing. How can you use filler to maintain sync when trimming with multiple tracks of audio or video? By adding edits to filler, you ensure that you're either adding/removing the same # of frames from all tracks, keeping everything in sync. Filler = Match Frame Edit From where do you open the Audio EQ window? (p. 191) Select Tools→ Audio EQ The Audio EQ tool is which of the following? )p. 192) a. A midrange band EQ b. A four-band EQ c. A three-band EQ C. A three-band equalizer (bass, treble, midrange). How can you change the clip gain for all segments in a track? (p 187-188) 1. Park playhead in the clip. Mark In/Out on your selected tracks. 2. Select clip/gain volume on 3. Open audio mixer 4. Adjust the gain while in "clip" mode. 4. Set Fast Menu to track level on Track - In/out. What is the Audio Tool used for? (p 185) Provides an objective display of all audio levels of the the combined mix on digital and analog scales. Why is it important that you use the Audio Tool while mixing? (p 185) To ensure that the dynamic range of all audio levels align within the levels of your specific distribution (film/tv/etc.) What is the decibel range that is recommended for most projects? (p 185) Between -26 and -8db on digital scale [note popular practice is -6 to -12, but use - 26 to -8 for exam]. Which EQ control would be most effective in addressing the rumble of a truck in the background? (p 192) a. Low shelf b. Midrange Parametric c. High shelf Low Shelf to low midrange. In what range of frequencies will an EQ adjustment have the greatest impact on the sound of a person's voice? (p 192) a. 100-300 Hz b. 500-800 Hz c. 800-1000 Hz d. Hz e. Hz D. Hz (same as 1-3 "kHz") How do you drag a keyframe earler or later in time? Option-drag left/right. True or False: The audio ducking tool automatically reduces the volume of music below a certain level? TRUE. It "ducks" the volume of music below a certain level. What Audio Mixer Mode enables manual audio keyframing? (p 195) Volume Automation (sometimes called Audio rubberbanding) [Note that Auto means volume in the mixer]. Which type of adjustment is most similar to Audio Ducking? (p 197) a. Clip Gain b. Pan c. EQ d. Volume Keyframing e. Pan keyframing Volume Keyframing (which is abbreviated as "Volume" in the Timeline Control Panel). True or False: In order to create rubberband keyframes, volume and clip gain must both be selected? False: Volume must be on, clip gain must be de-selected. True or Flase: The small pink triangles at the base of a segment indicates the presence of hidden volume keyframes? True. These will appear once Volume is selected. True or False: An octave is a doubling of the sound frequency. True. From 60 Hz to 120 Hz is one octave. What is checkerboarding? Separating the individual character audios onto separate tracks. This is useful when audio levels are different for each character and require the audio mixer to adjust the levels. What is the name of the function used to create pan-and-zoom effects, described in this lesson (working with high level images) ? Frameflex How do you access the Source Settings dialogue box? (p. 222) Select clip(s) in the bin Right-click, choose→ Source Settings and/or Clip-- Source Settings. Name two source settings: (p. 222) FrameFlex Tab (Reformat high-resolution clips) Color Encoding Tab (manage color conversion from the camera). How can you tell that a Source Setting is acting on a segment in the Timeline? (p 222-3) By the icon/display adaptors within the green square on a clip. (with 1 to 3 characters: T, S, C) What is the difference between modifying FrameFlex as a Source Settings rather than in the Timeline using the Effect Editor? In Source Settings, adjustments are applied to the entire clips whereas using Effect Editors allow keyframe animations (motion- panning, zooming, etc.). Clips in the timeline do not effect the actual clips, while Frameflex applies the effects to the clips in the bin. If you reframe a shot using FrameFlex on a clip in a bin, after placing it in the sequence, how can you update the segment in the Timeline to show the change? (p 224) Refresh the timeline by selecting the sequence in the bin, then Clip- Refresh Sequence→ Aspect Ratio and Reformatting options. True or False: Using FrameFlex is a one-time option. Once you apply the reframing, a file is created, and you can no longer reframe the native highresolution clip. FALSE What is the name of the animation mode (keyframe interpolation) that creates an ease-in / ease-out behavior around the keyframes? Spline (Page 228 and 252 - next chapter!). Remember, spline adds easing around keyframes. What do the three source adapter icons represent: T-S-C? Temporal (speed/rate) Special (Size) Color adapters What are the three types of motion effects? (p 240) Freeze Frames ("freezing" the image on screen for a period of time) Motion Effects: (speed up or slow down) Timewarp: speed ramping How are freeze frames created? (p 240) They are generated from a source clip. By using a master clip/sub clip in the Source monitor: Right-click → Freeze Frame→ (duration) Select Drive→ click OK How are motion effects created? (p 241) They are generated from a source clip. Load clip into Source Monitor Choose Motion Effect (from Fast menu) Options→ Motion Effect→ Create and Render→ Select Bin and Drive Edit clip in Timeline How does creating a motion effect via the Fit to Fill command differ from creating one via the Motion Effect command? Fit to Fill effects render a new clip (using four marks, instead of traditional three) that fits exactly within the marked duration in the Timeline, whereas the Motion Effects command will change the length/duration of the clips in the TImeline depending on the parameters chosen. [[Fit to fill warps clip, motion effects crops it.]] How are Timewarp effects created? (p246-) Drag the Timewarp effect (from Effects palette) to the segment on the Timeline Click Effect Mode (button) or the Motion Effect Editor Button Make your selections in the Motion Effects editor using Keyframes in the Speed graphs, etc. Then select a render method (four types-D-B-I-V). What are the four different types of keyframe interpolations? (p 251-253) Linear (creates a direct path between two keyframe values) Spline (Creates a path with a natural ease-in/ease-out at every keyframe) Curves are automatically calculated. Bezier (Also creates a path with natural ease-in/ease-out at every keyframe - curves can be manually adjusted.) Shelf (Holds a keyframe’s value until the next keyframe) True or False: When the Blur effect is applied to a segment, the blur is immediately visible? (p 277) FALSE. Visually it does nothing to the image by default. Requires rendering. When applying a Blur effect, how do you control where the blur affects the image? ( 276) By either Keyframing the effect (laborious), or by Tracking (the preferred method and far more efficient). Refer to the toolbar display to the right (p.277-278) Which button can be used to create a rectangle? Which is used to select and move shapes? Which button is used to reshape an existing shape? Which button opens the Tracking tool? When using tracking with a Blur effect, how do you attach a tracker to the shape you created? (290 #16) Open the Tracking parameters in the Effect Editor. Select the shape then enable the box next to the First Tracker. Change from No Tracker to T1 Point A. What characteristics should you look for when picking a tracking target? (p 279) Ideally, a well-defined, high-contrast region that remains onscreen and unobstructed for the duration of the shot. What is the inner box in a tracker called? How is it used? This is called the Reference pattern that defines the pixels that will be followed and tracked from frame to frame. What is the outer box in a tracker called? How is it used? The Search Region is the area that the reference pattern searches for the snapshot, after it advances frames. How does Feathering affect the appearance of your shape? By softening the edges of the shape. What effect palette category are the disguising/blur tools (Blur, paint, mosaic, scratch removal, spot color effect) located? The IMAGE category.