Working with Analog Source Material

The last few sections described the process of working with DV source material. But Premiere does not work with only DV sources. It can work with any type of video source. Depending on the analog format you shot your footage in and the type of decks you have, you have several options to choose from as to how to get your source material into Premiere and the quality of your images as to how they will be digitized.

Choosing Resolution, Compression, and Quality Settings for Analog Sources

Depending on the type of source footage and your equipment, DV might not be ideal for you. The difference between digital sources and analog sources is that analog material must be digitized (converted) into a format that the computer system can utilize. Most systems cannot handle the file size associated with uncompressed digitized video footage. Therefore, when you add analog video capture cards, several compression formats might be available, depending on the type of card installed in your system. Your video capture card might offer some of the following control features found on my Pinnacle miroVIDEO DC50 board (or others not listed here):

  • The main Video for Windows Capture Options window, shown in Figure 2.8, allows you to select additional settings, such as Video Format, Video Input, Video Display, and Compression.

    Figure 2.8. Each manufacturer of capture cards offers slightly different ways to access input controls.

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  • The Video Format window, shown in Figure 2.9, allows you to set the Capture resolution (frame size and pixel type) along with overall quality settings (Compression ratios and Data Rates).

    Figure 2.9. The DC50's Video Format window sets the overall look and feel of incoming footage.

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  • The Video Input window, shown in Figure 2.10, is where you determine which input connection is being used to capture the video signal (Composite, Component, S-Video, and so on) and its format standard (NTSC is the one used in the U.S.). You also have controls to adjust the signal's brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, and hue.

    Figure 2.10. Different capture cards allow you to choose between different input connections.

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  • Each input type might have some advanced settings, as shown in Figure 2.11. These controls greatly affect how the image looks as it is captured into your system.

    Figure 2.11. High-quality clips are a result of low compression ratios (2:1) and higher data rates. Low-quality images result from the opposite settings.

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  • High-quality capture boards should have an area where you can test your system's performance, as shown in Figure 2.12. This screen shows a great deal of useful information, helping you determine if your system can achieve the quality and quantity of source material. The test results should indicate the amount of free hard disk space, the speed at which your system can read and write files, and an overview of the other settings that determine your system's input and playback capabilities.

    Figure 2.12. Testing your system's capabilities.

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tip

If you do not see a signal coming into your Capture Monitor, check the video input selection to make sure you are reading from the right connection. Think of this as a mini-patch bay so that you can minimize the number of times you have to physically switch wires and connectors.


The greater the amount of compression, the lower the image's quality after it is digitized. Therefore, an image compressed at 50:1 produces a very pixelated, low-quality image, as shown in Figure 2.13. The file size, however, is relatively small due to the amount of compression. You would use this amount of compression if you were trying to edit a rough cut, focusing on conserving hard drive space. If you are working with timecoded material and you have control over your source decks through Premiere, you can go back and redigitize the portions of the clips used in your timeline at a lower compression ratio (for a higher-quality image). Using a compression ratio of 2:1 produces a very clean, high-quality image, as shown in Figure 2.14. Because the computer barely compresses the footage and records the image's fine details, the file size increases astronomically. These high-quality, low-compression images are usually used as your finishing resolutions for online quality.

Figure 2.13. A highly compressed, low-resolution image.

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Figure 2.14. A minimally compressed, high-quality image.

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Think of it this way: When you start editing, you typically have a lot more footage than what your edited piece will eventually contain. For a 5-minute video, for instance, you might have shot 20 or 30 minutes or even an hour of footage. Digitizing at high compression allows you to have all the footage available, letting you make selections and whittling shots down to what you want. As soon as you've got a rough cut, you've generally decided which one out of ten shots you will use in the edit. At this point, you can delete all the low-resolution clips and redigitize the master video at the final online resolution.

note

Uncompressed video files (1:1) have absolutely no compression applied. The image quality is superb, but a high-end computer system is required to store and play back files of that caliber.


Capturing Analog Source Material Without Deck Control

After you have set the general properties of your project (as discussed in Chapter 1, "Starting and Maintaining a Project,"), it's time to start bringing your source material into Premiere. If your system is not equipped with remote capture and playback controls from your source decks, you must manually control them, pressing Play, Stop, Fast-forward and Rewind to cue up the desired shots. You still can watch the incoming video source footage in the Movie Capture window to verify that the video signal is coming through your system properly. The following procedure is a basic overview of the process of setting up your system for digitizing media without source deck control:

  1. Connect your source deck to your capture card. See the setup instructions for your particular capture card or other related hardware for more details on properly connecting audio and video equipment to your system.

  2. Open the New Project Settings window, shown in Figure 2.15.

    Figure 2.15. The New Project Settings window.

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  3. Select the desired capture format. Depending on which capture card you have installed, the capture formats available to you might vary.

  4. Click the Capture Video check box if you want to digitize the video source connected to your capture card. Unclick this box when you're digitizing just audio.

  5. Click the Capture Audio check box if you want to digitize the audio source connected to your capture card. Unclick this box when you're digitizing just video.

  6. Adjust the remaining settings to customize the properties of the video and audio files that you are digitizing into Premiere.

  7. Select File > Capture.

  8. Select Movie Capture from the pop-up menu.

  9. Press Play on your source deck (because the controls in Premiere will not function).

  10. Click the Record button in the Movie Capture window.

  11. Click the mouse or press the Esc key to stop digitizing. Again, allow a few extra seconds after your desired out point. These extra source clip handles might be beneficial for trimming and transitions later during the editing process.

  12. Name the clip.

tip

Always allow extra time for your tape sources and hard drives to get up to speed when you're capturing footage. If you start playing your source material right from the portion you want to capture, you might wind up missing the first few seconds of the clip while the system changes to capture mode.


note

Depending on your capture hardware, settings might appear under various windows.


Capturing Analog Source Material with Deck Control

There are many advantages to working on a system when you can control your source deck from your computer within Premiere. Several different software and hardware applications are available to control your decks that work with Premiere. Many even come with the capture card you purchase. My capture card came with a software-based plug-in application that allows you to control professional remote-controlled decks from Premiere.

note

Premiere works with third-party plug-ins and hardware that allow you to control most professional tape decks that have remote-control capability.


To digitize audio and video from a remote-controlled source deck, do the following:

  1. Select File > Preferences.

  2. Select Scratch Disk/Device Control from the pop-up menu.

  3. Under Device Control, select the desired control option installed on your system from the pull-down menu.

  4. Click OK.

  5. Select File > Capture.

  6. Select Movie Capture from the pop-up menu.

  7. Enter the name of the tape that is in your source deck. You will use this name when identifying which tape a clip came from when batch digitizing your footage.

    tip

    Always clearly name each tape. Create a system to help you (or other editors working on your project) easily locate and identify any tape associated with a clip you digitized in Premiere, as shown in Figure 2.16. This makes batch digitizing headache-free.

    Figure 2.16. Always enter a unique name for each tape you use in a project that is clearly labeled on each tape. Create your own naming structure if necessary.

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  8. Use the Control Interface to locate the in points and out points of the clip you want to digitize.

  9. Click Capture In/Out.

  10. Save and name the clip.

Premiere can control the deck, find the desired starting position, and record the exact duration of the clip you marked. You will see your deck rewind to a spot a few seconds before your clip's marked in point. This function, known as preroll, gives the deck enough time to get up to speed for Premiere to frame-accurately capture your clip.

note

It is important to save each clip after Premiere completes the capture process. Digitized clips exist as unsaved temporary files in the capture disk you selected in your Preferences > Scratch Disk/Device Control window.


Batch Capture: Letting the Computer Work for You

The last section covered digitizing media from device-controlled decks. There are a few advantages to using decks that can be controlled via timecode from Premiere. The most commonly used situation is for a process called batch capture the ability to have the computer control the deck based on your timecode numbers and digitize all the clips at once. You would choose to use batch capture in one of two situations:

  • You logged your clips and timecode numbers (without any media associated with the files) and you want to have Premiere digitize all the source material

  • You originally digitized your material at a lower resolution, and you want Premiere to recapture those shots at a higher resolution

All you have to do is put in the correct tape when Premiere prompts you to insert it. Depending on your editing style and where you are in the process, see either of the following two sections.

tip

Batch capture digitizes media from the source tape names via device-controlled decks. Premiere prompts you to insert one tape at a time. This is why I stressed the importance of properly naming and labeling your source footage tapes.


Digitizing from a Batch List

You can use the device control to view and mark your clips, or you can enter the information manually. This is referred to as logging your clips or creating a batch list (or timecode list). To log your shots and create a batch list, do the following:

  1. Select File > Capture.

  2. Select Batch Capture from the pop-up menu. The Batch Capture window appears, as shown in Figure 2.17.

    Figure 2.17. The Batch Capture window.

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  3. Click the Add button in the lower-right corner of the window. The Clip Capture Parameters window appears, as shown in Figure 2.18.

    Figure 2.18. The Clip Capture Parameters window.

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  4. Type the information for each field. Again, remember to give each of your source tapes a unique name.

  5. Click OK.

  6. Repeat Steps 3 through 5 for each clip you want to add to the list.

  7. Save the list when you have finished entering all your clips. After it is saved, you do not have to capture the footage right then. You can open it at any other time when you choose to digitize your footage.

After you've logged all your clips into the Batch Capture window, you can still independently select which clips will get digitized. The far-left column has a check mark. This column indicates each clip's capture status (see Figure 2.19). If the column is empty, it means that the clip has not been captured. A check mark indicates that the clip has been digitized. A diamond indicates that the clip is marked to be digitized when you click the Capture button in the lower-right portion of the window. Finally, an X indicates that there was an error during capture mode and the clip was not digitized properly.

Figure 2.19. Various symbols indicate the status of clips, whether they have been digitized or not.

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Redigitizing the Chosen Few

If you have timecoded source material coming from a device-controlled deck, you might want to consider rough-cutting your video in a low (offline) resolution first (see the earlier section "Online Versus Offline"). A typical project usually entails digitizing in your timeline more source material than what is used in your edited sequence. Therefore, there is little reason to redigitize any footage at a higher (online) resolution other than the selected footage used in the timeline. This maximizes the amount of hard drive space that is available for other projects.

note

When redigitizing only the portions used in the timeline, Premiere creates a new project with the redigitized higher-resolution footage. It does not replace what currently exists on your system.


To automatically redigitize clips from your edited batch list, do the following:

  1. Open a project (if one isn't already open).

  2. Select File > Utilities.

  3. Select Project Trimmer from the pop-up menu.

  4. Uncheck Create Trimmed Batch List.

  5. Make sure Copy Trimmed Source Files is not checked.

  6. Enter the number of frames to add as handles during the recapture.

  7. Click Create Project.

  8. Save the new project when prompted.

  9. Save the batch list file when prompted.

  10. Click the Capture button in the Batch Capture window.

tip

For best results, make sure that you have the source deck and tapes properly set up and connected before clicking the Capture button.




Premiere 6. 5 Fundamentals
Premiere 6.5 Fundamentals
ISBN: B000H2MVO4
EAN: N/A
Year: 2006
Pages: 219

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