CompuServe Messages

Brian, I've never used a NLE. It sounds like you have. From the video tapes I've received from Avid and the one demonstration they gave me, it sounds like they use something called a "timeline". Am I correct that you start at some point on that line and move a scene to that point. Then if you want to insert another scene in the middle of the first scene, you just go to the place of the insert and bring down the proper scene and the first scene automatically opens to allow the new scene. Kind of like film editing. That was what I thought the Flyer was going to do, but what I was shown was that you had to duplicated the first scene. Now, I was told that the duplicated did not take up any additional space on the hard drive, so maybe, it is not really adding a second copy of the scene. The effects are done by placing in scene A then selecting an effect Icon and placing that at the location of scene A when the effect is to start. Then place in scene B. The overlap is done automatically. The unit that I saw in Orlando, did not have any sound attached. I wonder how they handle the sound. Years ago, I saw one of the first demonstrations of the CMX editing system for film. You used a light pen on a computer screen to select a scene number. It looked like a very fast way to edit film, by first transfering everything to large magnetic disks and then editing on a computer. However, all of the sound cuts were straight across with the picture. When I asked how you were suppose to lay in additional sound, I was told that the system was not designed for that. I hope the same is not going to be true with the Flyer. I get the feeling that I may be ending up transfering a finished program from the Flyer to tape and then doing an A/B roll mix of sound onto the finished video tape. Then putting that finished track back into the Flyer. I hope not. But, whatever the Flyer turns out to be, I'm going to have to live with it for a while. It is all my budget could afford right now. The next level was the $25,000 systems and they also have their short comings. I realize to do it right requires about $100,000, but that is a little out of my range.