This documentation is organized around the software and online resources you will be using to process digital media for THL. The following instructions document the steps to produce a title in our Audio-Video Database according to THL standards. For more information about the logging and editing process, please see the documentation Final Cut Pro.
Throughout this documentation you will find various “TIPS” and sections labeled “IMPORTANT”. “TIPS” are instructions that offer suggestions and techniques that may simplify the process or save you some time. “IMPORTANT” are steps that require special attention.
TIP: The following websites have some great tutorials for Final Cut Pro:
There are several terms and abbreviations unique to THL’s Audio-Video Database and the media compression process. A grasp of these concepts is important to follow the documentation.
Autosave: FCP must be set to Autosave to a destination, such as your harddrive or external harddrive, where it will save your FCP project (but not the media or capture scratch associated with that file).
AVDB: Audio-Video Database.
Capture: The process of extracting the source footage from the physical media and depositing it on your local hard drive for more detailed editing. Digital audio/video data that exists on a hard drive is more easily manipulated than the same data on a tape.
Capture Scratch: The actual capture footage is saved to a capture scratch disk. This disk is usually set to one of the external harddrives and must be changed if you unplug or switch harddrives. FCP will ask you where you want to set Capture Scratch disks at startup if not already specified.
Clip: A discrete portion of footage designated during the logging process as useful footage. A title may consist of one or several clips.
Compression: Since the original audio-video information recorded to a tape is so dense with data, compression is necessary to reduce the size of files to make them manageable in computers (unfortunately this also reduces visual quality). In this guide, a compression is the final product of the logging, editing and compression process.
Logging file: The logging file or project file is the file generated by the editing software that contains all the timecodes, logging and editing information of your project. The logging file along with the source media is one of the two key elements of the media creation process. Logging files are backed up by uploading them to their associated tape’s entry in THL’s Physical Media Database.
NTSC: The video format adopted by North America, Japan, Taiwan, Myanmar, and the Philippines. NTSC delivers 525 scan lines at 30 frames per second.
PAL: The dominant video format in Europe, Africa and Asia. PAL delivers 625 scan lines at 25 frames per second.
Physical media: any medium containing source footage such as DV tapes, DVDs, CDs, etc. In general, this documentation will assume you are processing footage from MiniDV or HDV tapes.
Source media: The tape, CD, DVD, or other media used to record the original footage OR and exact copy.
Timecode: A marker on a tape that is associated with a particular frame of footage. Timecodes are used in logging and editing to designate source footage for capture and editing. Final cut pro displays timecodes in HH:MM:SS;FF format (HH: hours, MM: months, SS: seconds, FF: frames). For example, 00:50:24;10 designates the fifty minute, twenty four seconds and ten frame point.
Title: objects in our online audio/video collection are referred to as titles. A completed title consists of a catalog entry, a media file (audio/video), and a transcript including translation and grammatical analysis.
Before you start, you should make sure you have the following components necessary to produce standard THL compressions:
- A Macintosh computer with OSX installed (make sure the operating system, Final Cut Pro and QuickTime are fully updated by using the “Software Update” feature).
- Final Cut Pro 4.5 (or higher).
- A DV deck capable of playing back MiniDV cassettes.
- After setting up your computer and peripherals according to the manufacturer’s documentation, you can begin entering your project’s information into THL’s Audio-Video Database.
Provided for unrestricted use by the Tibetan and Himalayan Library