Flyer Tips & Tricks
12 messages in this thread
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
Mark,
Tips and Tricks is a great idea (instead of us all bitching about NT all the
time!).
Here's an obvious one that I didn't know about till I read it in a magazine:
You can -copy- and -paste- time code numbers by clicking on anywhere in TC
window, and hitting <c> on the keyboard,
Then go to another clip's control window, click on anywhere in the window, and
hit <v> on the keyboard. The TC number will copy.
Let's hear more of 'em…
Mark,
Here is one I used the other day. Split edits give me problems, so I made an
audio clip of the video clip that I would have extended the audio on. Then I
just turned off the audio on the video clip.
Placed the audio clip right after the first video clip and set the length.
I've done this a number of times within a project and it seems to be 100% more
stable than using the split edit.
The problems I have been having with split edits is an occassional pop on the
track and some studdering.
Fred
Fred,
I too have been using your split audio work around. It increases the time
required to do a split edit by a factor of 5 or more but is necessary to avoid
the inevitable audio pops.
Regards
Mark
Mark,
Someone's going to make a fortune writing a book with all these helpful hints.
That is if there is anybody new who is going to buy a Flyer.
We are kind of like those first astronauts who just flew around the earth a few
times and then came back. It took a little while until NASA actually went
anywhere.
I see us all in the circling stage. Waiting for NewTek to produce the engines
that will take us to the next stage.
Fred
Fred:
Unfortunitly 20 years later NASA is Still Just circling…..
Brad Hayes
Hayes Visual Communication
Brad,
Just remembered. About 30 years ago and the Worlds Fair in Canada, I signed up
for a trip to the moon. So far, I've never been offered tickets. Maybe someday
we'll get past the moon. A maned craft that is.
Fred
Sam,
Thanks for the tip. This is just the kind of thing I had in mind. Not lengthy
tutorials, just quick little tricks/workarounds etc. Some time back, Frank
Vanella posted a number of "avoids" and workarounds that I found really
helpful at the time. I thought it was time to generate some more, given how
expert we're getting at making a wounded duck fly.
BTW, I was also unaware of your tip until the recent VTU article. And not
everyone reads VTU so keep 'em coming.
Regards
Mark
Mark,
I'll pass 'em along (tips) as soon as I discover 'em…
Great Idea Mark,
Here's a rather obvious one. After you have used the Flyer for a month or so,
go back and read the manual in detail. Typically when I get a new piece of
equipment or software, I read just enough to get going and then refer back only
when I have a problem.
There are features, shortcuts and hints buried in the Flyer manual that are not
real obvious, and it takes careful reading to find them. Sam's post about
using "c" and "v" to cut and paste timecode is one I just found a couple of
days ago. It's a real timesaver and the documentation is hidden on the bottom
of page 17 in the Switcher/Sequencer section.
So while I'm waiting for 4.05, I'm gonna read the manual again.
Mark Karney
Norwest Communications Inc.
Mark,
Good idea — re-reading the manual. I never saw the c & V feature in the
manual, but read it in a VTU tutorial about insert editing. It was last month's
article about sound on the Flyer.
The new Flyer column this month was a bit disappointing. Much of it was spent
on compatability problems with the Personal TBC IV, which is of interest only
to people with that unit.
Mark
Thanks for the tip about buried treasure in manuals.
Regards
Mark