TECH TIPS
Post Script
Accelerating Your Editing with ScriptSync
by Robert Bramwell
Introduced in 1996, Avid’s script-based editing brought the marriage of feature film and TV drama editing and the script supervisor’s script into the world of nonlinear editing, and enabled the editor to essentially reconstruct the physically “lined” script in the editing system (see Figure 1). With this paradigm, editors had a powerful new way to find and access various takes.
 Fig. 1: An example of how a script supervisor will physically "line" a script for an Avid editor. |
In Media Composer, a script can be imported and each take represented by a small picture tile matched to the script with a line that runs the length of the take––with location marks that indicate where text is synched with media. The locators, or nodes, can later be double-clicked to load a particular take at that specified line in the script into the source monitor.
If you have a lot of takes to manage, there is no better way to handle them than to work from the original script (see Figure 2). The down side comes in setting up the sync points, which can be labor-intensive––something an assistant editor could tackle, but typically too time-consuming for an editor.
 Fig. 2: How Media Composer lines a shooting script. Note picture tiles matched to the script with location marks. |
This all changed with Avid’s new ScriptSync feature in Media Composer version 2.7. ScriptSync will take the imported shooting script, “listen” to the take, and then automatically line the script accordingly. This is an important revolution for our craft, because it allows you to link text and media in a matter of minutes (Avid claims 25 to 30 times faster than real time), and then compare different line readings or performances without searching for those performances in bins and then within the clips themselves.
For editors, directors and producers, this feature saves significant time by streamlining the review and comparison of clips and takes for the final edit. By automating the process, ScriptSync brings script-based editing to the forefront.
I am currently an editor on the series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and a longtime user of script-based editing. For our last three episodes, we’ve been mirroring our Avid Meridiens with the new Media Composer 2.7 on an Intel-Mac system––and using ScriptSync. Here’s how:
On Sunny, we shoot with one to two cameras, depending on the scene. The two cameras are usually for cross-coverage between actors so we don’t miss moments. We shoot maybe four or five “master” takes; and within each take there may be a series of takes. The Mini-DV tapes we shoot are transferred to DigiBeta and our post house makes DV-CAM tapes, which we digitize into our Avids. Our assistants keep track of all the tapes, tape names and sound roll information during the shoot. After the tapes are digitized, the assistants sub-clip and group-clip the takes so we can see a two-camera playback.
Importing the Script
To begin script-based editing with ScriptSync, first import the script by
making the Project window active, select File -> New Script,
locate the file and double-click to open the Script. A Script appears in the
Bin list in the Project Window. (You can change the name of the script by
clicking the script title in the Bin list and typing a new name.) We usually
get the final shooting draft created in Final Draft, but you can use any word
processor; just save the file as a text file.
First, define or highlight in the script the start and end of the take. Do this by dragging or clicking on the mouse and scrolling down in the script to where the take stops; then let go of the mouse. You now have an area in the script that is highlighted.
For the first example, use only single-camera takes (see Figure 3). There is no way at the moment for ScriptSync to handle restarts within a take. You must sub-clip any restarted takes. I just add an R1 or R2 to the end of a take to handle the re-starts within a take. So 1/1R1 is scene 1, take 1, restart 1. The next one would be 1/1R2 for restart 2, etc. When done, we sort the bin by name; this puts them in numerical order.
 Fig. 3: Avid Media Composer 2.7 Bin showing all grouped takes and restarts. |
Next, select all the takes of the same set-up, ie, 1/1, 1/1R1 1/1R2, 1/2, 1/2R1, 1/3, etc. Then, drag the takes over to your highlighted script. This will make a group of the first camera set-up or your master shots in the script. Continue with the other camera set-ups until you are done, ie, the ‘A’ set-up, the ’B’ set-up, etc.
Script Lining with ScriptSync
Now comes the fun part. Highlight all the takes in the master group
and select ScriptSync. A dialogue window pops up
asking you to select a language; select North American English
(see Figure 4). Tell ScriptSync that the dialogue is just on track
1 by checking the audio track box to select track A1.
Check the box “skip lines that only contain ‘Capital Letters.’”
Next, check the boxes for “skip text in parentheses ‘()’
or brackets ‘{}’”; then “skip text before
colon ‘:’” and “skip lines indented less than
dialogue.”
 Fig. 4: Avid ScriptSync Tool and Settings Box. |
Set the Dialogue indent (characters) to 25 (Final Draft default for start of dialogue). Next, click on and select where your dialogue starts in the script. Skip or don’t check the box that says “overwrite existing marks.” Check the last box, “sync between first and last marks.” At the bottom of the ScriptSync dialogue window, select OK.
Script Sync now begins to very quickly “listen” to the takes and compare the phonetics of what was said in the take to the written words in the script. It does this by reading the audio waveforms from the digitized clips and making phonetic associations from what is written in the script. It does the same phonetic representation of the text in the script to link the lines with the dialogue in the takes.
Within what seems like seconds, you now have location markers on every line of dialog that ScriptSync recognizes (see Figure 5). Then do a clean-up pass to reduce the number of location markers, as you don’t need a mark on every line of dialogue in a speech. This is quickly done by “lassoing” an area of marks and then pressing Delete. I only leave key markers such as the beginning and middle of a speech.
 Fig. 5: Screen shot of ScriptSync showing takes and restarts from Bin in figure 3 now applied to the actual script. |
Editing with ScriptSync
Begin watching all the takes and marking the script as you go, finding
the performances that you like by choosing a color and “Applying”
it to a take in the area of the script that it relates to. I usually
have two or three performances that I like when viewing the scene
(see Figure 6).
 Fig. 6: An example of color coding in ScriptSync. Green lines indicate director's preferred takes. |
Narrow down the performances and choose the one you like best. Because you can do this quickly, it allows you to concentrate more on how your edits will flow together, rather than spending time looking for another take with a clearer line reading. You can also edit directly from the script to build a “best of” selects. By holding down Control and Option, and then clicking on a line of dialogue in the script, you get the yellow arrow and it makes an edit of that line of dialogue wherever the blue bar is placed in the timeline.
As you play back your edited scene, you may want to use the script to check for an alternative line reading or performance. Just “match frame” on the record side, which pops up a take on the source monitor. Have the Find Script icon mapped under your source monitor. Click on the Find Script icon, and your Avid matches to that particular line and span in the script.
Another handy feature is that you can search for a word or phrase in the script. Under Edit, pull down the menu and select Find––or Control-F (Windows XP) or Control-F (Mac OS X)––and the ‘Find Dialog’ window pops up. Type in the word or phrase that you want to find and then select OK. That word or phrase is then highlighted in the script. You can also select Find––or Control-G (Windows XP) or Command-G (Mac OS X)––again to find another alternative.
Group clips for cross-coverage are handled almost the same way. Group the clips, then drag them to the highlighted area of the Script and select ScriptSync. Then select the appropriate boxes and within a minute your grouped takes have location markers on them. Do a clean-up pass and you’re ready to edit.
Conclusion
It would be hard to go back to the bin, when you can use the script and concentrate
more on the flow of your scene, rather than spending your time looking for
takes. Why wouldn’t you want the ability to bring any line of dialogue
in a script to life with the click of a mouse––or compare different
performances directly from the script?
With the lined script, you can lasso any line or area and click on the play button in the script. Your Media Composer will automatically play all the takes for the defined area so that you can compare readings for your director or producer at lightning speed. You can also mark up the script with a different color for the director and another color for the producer.
The bottom line is that ScriptSync changes everything––and it
should go a long way toward overcoming any misconceptions that script-based
editing is too hard to learn or too complicated to set up.
Robert Bramwell has been a television editor for more than 20 years, with
credits that include It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Arrested
Development, Designing Women and Providence. He won
an Emmy Award in 1993 for his work on Cheers.
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