For the lab's editing schedule, click here.

Instructions for Editing News Packages &VOs

Record Narration:
Narration is recorded in either OM 304 or 328.

Turn on the Panasonic DS545 VCR (on top of the TV Monitor on the left) and the Middle VCR (the Panasonic AG 5700 below the Computer Monitor)

Turn On Computer. To log on, type tvnews (userID) and mc3312 (password).

Double Click on FinalCut Express Icon (on desktop...look for the eyeball on the Menu Bar)

Shut the door and make sure all television monitors are OFF.
Hit Play on the Panasonic DS545 VCR (the one on the left). If the tape in the machine won't play, then rewind the tape to the beginning.

On the white box TwinPact 100, press the analog button (middle).

The Shure mixer should be on. Turn up the knob for the Microphone (third from the left). The Master knob (far right) should be set at 5.
Make sure the Middle VCR (the Panasonic 5700) is reacting to your voice. The VU meter should register some volume. If it doesn't, inform the instructor.

On the Computer, click on File & move cursor down to Capture, then click.

Notes:
Do not speak directly into microphone-speak to the side of it.
Preceding each narration block and before any retakes you have to make, say 3-2-1.

When ready to record narration click Now and begin speaking
When finished, push Esc on keyboard.
Turn the Microphone down to zero (using the third knob on the Shure mixer). You may leave the Master turned up to 5 and the Shure Mixer turned on.
Stop and turn off the Panasonic DS545 VCR on the left.

Close FinalCut Express. Click on the Documents Icon on the bottom Menu Bar (next to the trash can). Click on FinalCut Documents. Click on Capture Scratch. Click on Untitled Project. Confirm that the untitled file under Untitled Project is your narration by clicking on it and playing it in QuickTime Player. Once confirmed, rename the file yourlastnamenarration and then drag the file to the News23 icon to copy the file to the server.

Preparing Video Clips and Sound Bites
(Mini-DV) in Room 324:
Log on to the network by typing tvnews/mc3312.

Move your narration from the network server (News23) to the desktop.

Put your tape in the DV player attached to your computer or in the camera if you're using Firewire. Make sure the camera is in the Playback mode.

Click on Final Cut Express (look for the icon on the menu bar).
Click on File and then Capture.

Using the Viewer Controls you will be able to Play, Stop, Fast Forward or Rewind the tape as necessary from the computer desktop.

Find the video that you want to capture. As the video plays, hit Now to record the clip you want and then hit ESC to stop the recording.

In FinalCut Express, the video clips are automatically recorded in the Browser and are represented by a still image icon.
Record each clip you want using this method.

Find the exact IN and OUT points of the sound bites. Sound bites may not exceed 15 seconds. Do not clip words at the beginning or end of the sound bite. Choose coherent statements that flow well with the script. After the bites are chosen take note of their length and the last two words uttered.

Find the exact IN and OUT points of each B-roll clip and mark them. Marked clips of static scenes should be four seconds or less. Marked clips of action scenes should be limited to six seconds, including pans and zooms.

Working with the Timeline:
Move the Silence file from the Desktop or Browser to the Timeline, at the beginning of A1 & A2.

Move the Narration file from the Desktop or Browser to Timeline V1, A1 & A2. Silence and Narration will be next to each other with no gaps.

Open the Tools menu (Window > Tools).

Find all errors and unnecessary gaps on the narration track that lead up to your first sound bite. Remove the errors and gaps using the razors and selector in Tools.

Click your mouse at the top of the timeline for a yellow tip marker to appear and tap the space bar for your production-in-progress to play. (The space bar also stops the playback)

Find the exact IN and OUT points of the sound bite and mark them. Bites should be 15 seconds or less.

Move your first sound bite insert from browser to the timeline and place it on V2 at the spot where it fits the narration. Audio will automatically fall on A3 and A4.

Move what remains of the narration track on A1 and A2 to the right, to where the sound bite ends on V2, A3 & A4.

Click your mouse at the top of the timeline for the yellow tip marker to appear, then tap the space bar for your production-in-progress to play. Correct any problems.

Find all errors and unnecessary gaps on the narration track from the first sound bite to the second sound bite. Remove the errors and gaps using the razors and selector tools.

Move your second sound bite insert from browser to the timeline and place it on V2 at the spot where it fits the narration. Audio will automatically fall on A3 and A4.

Click your mouse at the top of the timeline for the yellow tip marker to appear, then tap the space bar for your production-in-progress to play. Correct any problems.

Find all errors and unnecessary gaps on the narration track from the second sound bite to the third, if applicable, or to the end. Remove the errors and gaps using the razors and selector.

When finished, lock the tracks for V2, A1, A2, A3 and A4 by clicking the small locks beside each track on the timeline.

Insert B-Roll clips onto the timeline using V3, A5 and A6. Match video to narration wherever possible.
When placing B-roll clips back-to-back, you should avoid flash frames of black. Observe the left screen of the canvas to know where the scenes overlap.
Check the audio levels of each B-roll clip to make sure they do not overwhelm the narration.

Click your mouse at the top of the timeline for a yellow tip marker to appear and tap the space bar for your production-in-progress to play. (The space bar also stops the playback)

If the ambient sound is too loud, double click the A5/A6 tracks and a wave audioform will appear. Adjust the level to -10, -15, -25 and test it.

Creating the Final Video Clip:
When you finish editing the story, ask for Dr. England's review. If there are no modifications necessary, then the final rendering will be made. This rendering will be the version we put on the air.

Click on File, then Export, Using QuickTime Conversion.

The format must be changed from QuickTime Movie to .AVI. Other settings must be changed as well:
Click on OPTIONS, then Settings for Video.
The default for Video Compression is Cinepak, but this must be changed to DV/DVCPro-NTSC.
The frame rate must be changed from Best to 29.97.
The quality must be changed from Medium to Best.
Leave the Interlaced and 4:3 settings as they are. OK
Click on Settings for Audio.
The Audio Settings must also be changed from 22 kHz to 48 kHz,
and from mono to stereo.

Once the settings have been properly configured, SAVE your movie to the desktop. Using the same name as your SLUG.

After the movie has been rendered, click on the desktop icon News23 to open the server files. Click on Alkek and then click on Newscast. Move your movie file (.avi) to either Wednesday or Thursday in the Alkek/Newscast folder.

Posting to YouTube
Click on the News23 icon.
Open the "txt for prompter"
Click on the story that matches the video to be uploaded.
Highlight the story's lead-in/anchor-toss only.
Click on Edit/Copy (Apple C)
On the Menu Bar, click on the Safari web browser.
On the Bobcat Update website, click on "YouTube/BobcatUpdate."
In the upper right corner of the web page, click on "Sign In."
On the page that opens, enter the User Name: BobcatUpdate (keep the words together)
                                                   Password: mc3312
Click on Upload
Click on Upload Video
Select
Desktop > highlight video > Choose
Click Upload Video
Title will be Slug Name
Add the following:
      Description: (Apple V)
      Tag: Bobcat Update
      Category: Education
Save Changes
The YouTube posting is finished. It'll take about one-half hour for the video to process.

From Digital to Tape, if necessary
Put your File Tape (4001-4012 and stored in Rm 304) into the right VCR.
Cue the tape to 3-5 seconds after end of last story (see index card on tape box for reference to archived material)
Click File and scroll down to Print to Video
Click on the box next to Countdown. Choose File (as opposed to Built In). Find the Countdown under News 23, Storage, Countdown.
Click the box for Trailer (if it isn't already). Set it at 5.
Start Video
Click OK
Hit Play/Record on the right VCR.
Complete project will play in 15-20 seconds, starting with Bars/Tones/Countdown.
When recording is finished, hit STOP on VCR and rewind it to beginning of your report.
Ask Dr. England to review the tape.

Put adhesive label on tape box with information about slug, reporter, photographer.
For archiving purposes, add information to the index card on the other side of the tape box.

Recue the tape to the Countdown #5, then eject and place it in the blue box in the computer lab.

VOICEOVERS
(for PACKAGES)

Preparing B-Roll Clips Using SVHS Tape in Rooms 304 and 328
Turn On Computer
Double Click on Final Cut Express Icon (on desktop)

Rewind the tape in the middle VCR (the Panasonic AG 5700). At the beginning of scene 1, reset the tape counter to 0000.

Cue tape to 4-5 seconds before the first scene.
Tape will be held in place in the Pause mode.

Click on File & move cursor down to Capture and click.
Bars will appear on a small screen on the left; controls on the right.

Hit Pause on the VCR, and then click Now on computer to start digitizing your video
Push ESC on keyboard to stop recording
Hit Pause on VCR

Click File and scroll down to Save Clip As (name it S1, S2, S3 etc.)

Repeat above steps for each video clip, using Pause on VCR...Now and ESC on computer.

When finished, hit Stop on VCR and close Capture on the computer.

Find the folder on the desktop called Capture Scratch and open it. Find Untitled Project 1 and open it.
Move the B-Roll clips from the folder to the Browser. (Hold mouse on each file and drag each one to Browser.)
Click File and Save Project. Don't change the name of the project...leave it as Untitled Project 1.

Find the exact IN and OUT points of each B-roll clip and mark them. Marked clips of static scenes should be four seconds or less. Marked clips of action scenes should be limited to six seconds, including pans and zooms.

Insert B-Roll clips onto the timeline using V1, A1 and A2.
When placing B-roll clips back-to-back, you should avoid flash frames of black. Observe the left screen of the canvas to know where the scenes overlap.

Click your mouse at the top of the timeline for a yellow tip marker to appear and tap the space bar for your production-in-progress to play. (The space bar also stops the playback)

Lay down about 40 seconds of video.

Click on File, then Export, Using QuickTime Conversion.

The format must be changed from QuickTime Movie to .AVI. Other settings must be changed as well:
The default for Video Compression is Cinepak, but this must be changed to DV/DVCPro-NTSC.
The frame rate must be changed from Best to 29.97.
The quality must be changed from Medium to Best.
Leave the Interlaced and 4:3 settings as they are.
The Audio Settings must also be changed from 22 kHz to 48 kHz,
and from mono to stereo.

Once the settings have been properly configured, SAVE your movie to the desktop. Using the same name as your SLUG.

After the movie has been rendered, click on the desktop icon News23 to open the server files. Click on Alkek and then click on Newscast. Move your movie file (.avi) to the Alkek/Newscast folder.

Put adhesive label on tape box with information about slug, reporter, photographer.
For archiving purposes, add information to the index card on the other side of the tape box.

Recue the tape to the Countdown #5, then eject and place it in the blue box in the computer lab.