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A change in the editing brought about by the move to digital processes has allowed different methods of taking advantage of those digital systems. Not only has the equipment used to edit visuals, audio, and graphics become much less expensive, but also, and more important, it is less complicated to use, allowing a wider range of people to learn to use the applications to edit their own and others’ projects. The two major factors have been the tremendous increase in available memory at reasonable cost and the ability to move data rapidly and over multi-access routes. Such a system also protects against loss of important data and frees creative staff to concentrate on production content instead of production processes.
Planning
Any plan must be made with the knowledge that the plan may be modified as alterations become obvious, but the more thoughtful the plan is to begin with, the fewer occasions you will need to make changes as the process moves forward. A thorough study of the script as well as carefully considered modifications made in the script while shooting, recording, or during preliminary storyboarding will lay the groundwork for a viable and practical plan.
Acquisition
Data may be accumulated as raw digital data, from either digital or analog videotape or audio tape, film, computer output, or from computer drive, solid-state, optical, or magnetic storage devices. Hand-drawn art, graphics, or photographs also may be acquired as analog inputs.
With the capabilities of converting any visual or audio source to a usable digital format, no restriction should be placed on the possible source of items to be used in a project.
Ingest
The terms ingest and capture often are used interchangeably. Ingest usually means the clip has been processed within the camera via a specific code and then stored on a cad such as P2 or SxS in a computer-readable form ready to be copied direct to a computer for editing. Capturing means the computer program must process video from a camera before it can be imported to an editing program.
Once all other material is gathered, then the next step in regard to the source, level of quality, or type of electronic or physical format is to preview and accurately log all material. It is important to determine the usability of each take, each frame, and each sequence, and precisely log the length, in and out cues, and location of the material on which the media are stored. Using timecode to accurately determine the location of such material is important.
Editing Log
A production’s editing log can be kept by either the director or production continuity clerk. The log indicates the precise location of takes, the description of the shot, and a judgment or notation of the take so that the editor will have some guidance as to which takes to consider using during the editing process, regardless of what technology and techniques are used to perform visual editing.
Timecode
A timecode is a series of digit that provides an exact reference for each frame. One of the most widely used timecodes has been standardized as the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE) timecode. It is sometimes added to one of the tracks of the originally recorded videotape, or it is recorded during the vertical intervals between video fields. It consists of an eight-digit series of numbers beginning either with zero (called zero start) or with actual clock time in hours, minutes, seconds, and fields (60 per second). Thus, 01:00:00:01 indicates a point one hour and one field into the recording. Separate cassettes or reels of videotape can be differentiated by hours:01, 02, and so on. The SMPTE time code system requires a special generator and reader. The timecode can actually be viewed in the video image as a “burn-in” timecode which can be helpful during off-line editing to make editing notations, especially when using machines that cannot otherwise read the code, because the code is actually recorded in the picture area of the video tape.
Compression
The conversion should be accomplished without using any (or an absolute minimum amount of ) compression. Although these files will not be the final files used (the one in the server will be used), to be able to make judgments on the quality of the material used, avoid compression wherever possible. This is especially true when moving the original files to the storage server; always avoid compression in any stage unless absolutely necessary especially if there are going to be several stages where compression may be required for distribution. Compression is necessary because of the large amount of band width needed, especially for HD video files.
Editing
As in organizing the entire workflow by reviewing scripts and written material before actually cutting and assembling clips in the editing project, a written equivalent of what the expected project will be will make the process more efficient and more creative in the long run.
Digital nonlinear editing software offers several advantages over conventional means of editing film, audiotape, and videotape, including increased flexibility or creativity, as well as potential time and cost savings. A common cliché is that digital nonlinear editing is the equivalent of the word processing and desktop publishing for audio, film, graphics and video postproduction. The analogy holds for many aspects of editing that are shared by word processing and various digital nonlinear editing software programs.
A clip is usually the smallest unit of digital video (or audio) information that can be stored and manipulated during editing. It can range frame to an entire movie in duration, nut it often consists of a single shot, that is, a continuous camera recording or take. Digitized clips are usually imported (or copied) into a particular editing project file, where they are edited along a timeline with other images and sounds.
Finishing
In both video and film productions, the precise color balance within and between shots is completed after the fine cut has been made. The process is called color correction and is performed by a skilled technician on specialized digital equipment. Color correction may be done by the editor during the editing process while she or he is selecting and assembling shots, but it is better done after the program has reached a finished stage-the final audio equalization, level correction and preparation for synchronizing with the visual if that is part of the project.
Output
The final stage of workflow is sending the signal to intended destination. That may be a live broadcast on television, cable, satellite or as a streaming signal on the web. More commonly the signal will be stored on a medium for later use. It may be stored as a raw digital data, as a high-quality video and audio signal on a digital tape deck like D-1, on a lower-quality and higher-compression medium like a DAT, on disc, or on a hard drive solid-state storage medium.
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