EDITING TIPS

“My edits are slippery, and the machine seems to wind or pre-roll forever.”

In order to get the most accurate edit possible, the record deck should be in TC mode.  TC stands for Time Code.  The TC indicator should be green on the right-hand side of the edit controller.  However, the TC indicator should not be lit on the left-hand side of the edit controller.  You can toggle the TC/CTL buttons on the edit controller to make sure the light is on or off for the appropriate side.

“I know I need to use time code, but I can’t clock scenes or shots!”

Normally, when doing control track-only editing, you would press the Reset button to start the counter at zero and then time out a scene.  With time code editing, you can’t do it the same way, but you can still do what you want to do.  Here’s how.  On the recorder, press MARK-IN, then shuttle to the out-point, then hold down ENTER + DUR to determine the duration of the scene.  This is called “backtiming.”  You can clock scenes on the player the old-fashioned way, since the player should not be in TC mode, whether there is time code on the tape or not.

“I’m doing everything right.  Why won’t the machine do an edit?”

This could be a problem with the time code.  For example, if you do a hard record (not an edit) somewhere in the tape you are editing, the time code will change to zero at that point.  Prior to this point, the time code counts up.  The time code can not skip numbers or re-start at zero.  The time code must start with one number and build consecutively throughout the entire length of the show (and, really, the whole tape).  Because of this, you can not reset the counter to zero at the beginning of the show while editing unless you use the less accurate control track-based editing.  We do not recommend this, as it will cause far more time-consuming problems for you down the road.  If inconsistent time code is not the problem, try clearing the machine.  To do this, hit EVENT, type “9999” on the keypad, and then hold down SHIFT while pressing ENTER, and release.

“How can I start a slow-motion (slo-mo) effect in the middle of an edit?”

Once the edit commences, the PLAY button becomes a toggle between 100% (normal play speed) and a pre-set variable speed.  Set this speed after marking your in-points but before hitting the Auto-Edit button.  Once you set the speed, do not touch the shuttle knob.  Just press Auto-Edit.  Remember, the STILL button is also active during the edit to create freeze frames. 

“I keep making mistakes when I edit.  Is there an easier way?”

The easiest way to prevent yourself from making mistakes is to record black on your tape until you run out of tape.  Do this while you are doing other things.  Set it and forget it, as they say.  It will be done before you know it.  Rewind the tape all the way, make sure the TC indicator is lit, and perform a hard record.  Ignore the counter number that you see on the machines when you rewind the tape to begin this process.  As soon as you perform the hard record from the beginning of the tape, the counter will automatically reset to zero and begin counting from there.  When the tape is finished blacking, do all editing on this tape in INSERT MODE and never, ever use the Assemble Mode.  By blacking the tape, you effectively guarantee that there will be no control track issues during the editing process.  For those individuals who have endless amounts of footage, a single control track issue can sideline your editing session for hours.  If this happens to you, consider blacking a tape with time code before using it.  When you re-use that tape, you don’t need to re-black it.  Just make sure you choose all 3 insert options to completely record over the old material on the tape.  It is normal to hear that old material from time to time when scanning the tape, even if you recorded over it.  When you play the tape in normal speed, you will hear the new material and not the old material.

“I want my audio to come in before the video does.  How do I do this?”

First, mark in your video in-points on both the player and recorder.  Second, hit the SPLIT button.  Third, “visually” set the player to the AUDIO in-point by shuffling the player to the beginning of the audio portion you want to use from the player (the play deck).  Fourth, hit SHIFT + MARK-IN, which sets the audio in-point.  Now complete the edit.  With this feature, you can do in ONE edit what used to require two separate and carefully timed and synchronized edits.  For old-time editors, the painstaking accuracy of matching audio to video on separate passes is no longer a part of this process.

“What is the easiest way to do a freeze frame?”

First, visually select the freeze frame by pausing P1 or P2 in the right place.  Second, put the player in the local setting by hitting SHIFT + PLAYER SOURCE, thereby putting the controller into Auxiliary Mode.  Press MARK-IN on the recorder.  Execute the edit with the Auto Edit button.  Instead of this, you could also simply capture the freeze frame once the edit commences by simply pressing STILL on the player while the recorder continues recording.  By the way, when you are using an edit controller to control a deck, the deck is in the remote setting.  Therefore, when it is impossible to control the deck with the controller, the reason for the failure is because the deck is in the local setting or because the remote cable has come loose.