Avid Tip

Altering Logged Information

by Tod Modisett and Scott Burnette

The general routine of importing logs into the Avid is familiar to most users. While it's expected that the logged information for each transferred take will be continuous, in some instances that doesn't happen.

A recent TV MoW included one take (about one minute in duration) that had been transferred to tape from flash to flash, but through an error in telecine had a logged duration of just the first three seconds. When imported, there was KeyKode information for those three seconds only. It was easy enough to catch the short duration while digitizing - I simply logged a clip for the proper duration and digitized it. But the new clip did not have KeyKode for the full duration of the take and, at this point, lacked information for a cut list.

The first idea for fixing this problem is to simply re-type the KeyKode for the clip. The Avid will ask if you really want to change the KeyKode and, when you OK the change, it will update the clip information for the whole take. However, this clip had another problem. In telecine, the take had been laid down in two parts: the first part for three seconds, and the second part for the remainder of the take. This should have been a seamless insert. However, judging by the burn-in window, four film frames were skipped. After confirming with the telecine house that the windows should be accurate (the window is reliable if the numbers are read by a bar code reader, but other options are susceptible to error) I decided to modify my log information.

Since the original log did not provide KeyKode information for the full length of the take, I thought that perhaps a new, logged clip providing the proper information could be imported and that the Avid would accept the information - even for previously digitized footage.

First, I subclipped the portion of the take that was missing KeyKode. With my bin in text view, displaying the columns usually in a log, I exported the sub-clip as an ALE. Next I used SimpleText to open the ALE, which I had saved on the desktop. I entered the proper KeyKode information into the KeyKode column, saved the changes, quit out of Simple Text, and imported my newly revised clip as a log. Remember that subclips import into the Avid as master clips.

The Avid accepted the information. My pre-existing master clip now had accurate KeyKode for the entire take. Even as one continuous master clip, the KeyKode now jumped ahead four frames within the shot at the point the jump occurred in telecine. Once updated, the Avid created a cut list.

Ideally, the telecine facility would have re-transferred the footage to provide a proper, complete take. However, time restrictions often take precedence and, in this instance, the problem was a manageable one.

Whether it's KeyKode, or sound timecode, the Avid will define that information by videotape timecode (and tape name) for every log that is imported. This seems obvious, we see it on every master clip, but in fact a master clip can span discontinuities in film or sound if a log provides updated information at those breaks. When imported as logs, videotape timecode in and out times serve as "boundaries" for all other code information. Of course, when modifications based on burn-in windows are to be made, confirm with the telecine facility that all burn-in windows are accurate. Here are a few instances when these modifications can be helpful.

It's common for several opticals to be transferred at once, and most of these are transferred as one long take, regardless of the camera rolls involved. Using the above method, I'll digitize the footage as logged, then modify the info later. It's faster to log the footage in the Avid, and more convenient, if someone is in a hurry to see the new material cut in. Also, this method can be used to update sound timecode. Wild tracks are often logged as a single event without regard to discontinuous timecode. Using the continuous burn-in window you can identify the timecode breaks and update your Avid.

This process is one option available to modify information, especially footage already cut into a sequence. It seems particularly helpful for changing several takes at once and it's faster than any alternative that requires the post house to retransfer footage. Of course, there are other options for modifying information in the Avid. Another approach to fixing clips where breaks occur is to subclip and consolidate the footage, updating the information in the new master clips.

Feedback

In the last issue we discussed telecine sync and a method for resyncing footage in the Avid. Basil Pappas, Dirk Westervelt and Todd Busch all wrote in to say that they prefer to sync the clip in a sequence of its own and then "AutoSync" the sequence itself. This automatically produces a synchronized subclip. You can keep your original, out-of-sync master clip in its daily tape bin to check logs against your burn-in windows, and drop your new, in-sync subclip into a scene bin for editing. The suggested relink method of syncing can be valuable, for example, on a show with a lot of B-camera work. By separating the video media from the audio media to sync, I was able to delete redundant files, saving drive space, and sync the same audio to both the A and B camera shots. Thanks to everyone who sent in the tip.