CompuServe Messages

As we anxiously await 4.05, why not do a little sharing of tips and tricks to get the most out of what we've got at the moment. Perhaps each post under this thread could begin with a short heading to describe the tip/trick, followed by a description that's detailed enough for others to replicate. So, here goes… Time Code Math Trick When entering time code numbers in the clip editing windows, you can enter a frame count larger than 30 and it will automatically subtract 30 from the number you enter and add the appropriate number of seconds to the existing number in the seconds column. Same thing for seconds. Enter a number greater than 60 and it automatically subtracts 60 and adds the appropriate number of minutes. I find this really useful when adding additional time to a an existing out point. Say you've got an out point of 14:24 and need to add another 5:14. Mentally add the 14 and 24 and enter 38 to the frame count. It will show as :08 with the 14 having been bumped up to 15. Now mentally add the 5 to the 15 and enter 20. The 20 will stick. Flyer Drive Backups This tip came to me from Russ Spencer. A neat, simple way of backing up an entire drive of clips is to create a "dummy" project of all the clips/stills on that one drive. That is, do a "select all" from the Flyer drive files window and drag them to the upper project window. Save the project as <ProjectName.FlyerA> or other meaningful name. Select "Backup.Rexx" from the Rexx folder and proceed to backup this dummy project. Of course, make sure you make a copy of your real project file containing the project sequence and clip in/out points etc. And ensure your framestores are similarly safely duplicated somewhere. But to quickly and easily backup drives to be able to temporarily shift to other projects, Russ' tip is handy. Butt Audio Clips Sequentially If you've cut a bunch of audio clips that are lined up in sequence and shouldn't overlap during playback, just use the ButtAudio.Rexx script in the Rexx folder. It will automatically force the appropriate time delays for each clip to avoid any overlap. Hope these are of use to others. And remember, some little trick you've stumbled on out there and that seems patently obvious is probably just the thing someone else could use to become more efficient and effective. So start turning those tricks! Regards Mark