Simple problem with timeline manipulation
by Steve Johnson (sjohnson)
on
Jun 21, 2008 at 4:28:15 pm
Hello All,
I'm a recent convert to Avid Media Composer. Trying to learn it because I'm really getting frustrated with Adobe Premier. I've made the decision to jump with both feet into Avid because I need something better.
I didn't annotate the video, but the gist is, I cannot get the video from the source monitor to take a new track on the timeline. The first try is with source tracks linked to V1 and A1 and A2. The behavior is as expected. The second try is with source monitor linked to V2 and A3 and A4. It is my understanding that this should insert the marked clip into V2/A3/A4. But it doesn't. It puts it in V1 the same as before. So what net effect did the linking have ??
The last try is by clicking the insert button. At which I get an error message saying that there is insufficient source material to make the edit.
What Gives?? There must be some very basic element I'm misunderstanding here.....
Re: Simple problem with timeline manipulation by Michael Hancock on Jun 21, 2008 at 5:51:29 pm
Ok, couple of things. Don't drag and drop in Avid. It's really not designed to workt his way, as you've found out. You really need to get used to using the Insert and Overwrite edit buttons (V and B on your keyboard by default). If you drag and drop in Avid, it defaults to V1 and A1 and A2, and I don't know that that can be changed.
2nd. Notice that your timeline is all purple on the tracks you selected? That indicated the section between your In and Out points. In the case of your video, you have an In and Out marked at the beginning and end of your sequence. The In and Out marks on your sequence will always override the In and Out marks of your Source--it will start at the In point of your source monitor and try to use that video to fill the In and Out duraction marked on your timeline. You're getting the "Insufficient Media" warning because your source clip isn't long enough to fill the duration you have marked in your timeline.
Click on your timeline and clear the out point, then set the In point where you want your source clip to start. Now click Insert to insert your source clip, or click Overwrite to overwrite edit the clip.
I hope this makes sense. Avid is based on 3 point editing--and In and Out point in your source clip and an In or Out point in your timeline, or an In and Out point in your timeline and an In or Out point in your source clip. If you have an In and Out in your timeline and an In and Out in your source clip, it will use the In point of your source clip and will try to fill the In to Out duration of your timeline. If you don't have an In or Out point in your timeline, it will use the position indicator as your In point.
If you're coming from Premiere you'll notice a lot of differences in the way Avid works. Avid works best using Keyboard shortcuts, and the software will let you remap your keyboard however you want to assist you in this. I'd learn the default keyboard layout first, then start customizing it once you get comfortable with it.
Let us know if you have more questions, and welcome to Avid! It's a great program, and once you get the hang of it I think you'll be surpsied how fast you can cut with it.
Re: Simple problem with timeline manipulation by Steve Johnson on Jun 21, 2008 at 7:40:53 pm
I was wondering why the tracks were all pink. I do have an outpoint set on the timeline. It's there because I wanted to export only that range of my timeline to a .mov. But I guess using 3point editing rules, I have to change that a bit once I'm done with that. I'll try removing the outpoint on the timeline and click the insert(v key) and make my first edit.
This makes a lot of sense. So far, I'm liking Avid MC. I can tell it's more powerful than Premier, and the effects are 10x better than what I can do in Adobe. But the GUI is just a bit laborious. I'm used to the snap-to in Adobe, makes lining up beginning and ends of clips easy. Haven't seen that yet in MC, but I'll find it I'm sure.
I bought an Avid MC keyboard cover, so I'm going to start trying to use it. The whole "try not to drag/drop" is like loosing a limb for me, so I'm going to need some help! I've been a mac user for ages and in Mac world, you drag/drop! I've got a few Avid books coming from amazon, and watching the online training at Lynda. So hopefully I can get up to speed soon!
Thanks for the help! I think I'm going to get to know you guys in this forum pretty well.... >:) I'm still working on getting keyframing audio/video and effects basics..
Re: Simple problem with timeline manipulation by Michael Hancock on Jun 21, 2008 at 7:55:42 pm
[Steve Johnson]" I'm used to the snap-to in Adobe, makes lining up beginning and ends of clips easy."
To snap to the head of a clip, hold Ctrl and click somewhere near it. Doesn't have to be very close it it either--Ctrl+Click in the first half of a clip and it will snap to the head. Ctrl+Alt+Click will snap to the last frame of your clip.
