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1996-01-17
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Video Toaster Flyer ReadMe 4.1B
(Documenting Changes from 4.0 to present)
(version 5 updated)
****************************************************************************
PRINT ME! ATTENTION PRINT ME!
****************************************************************************
This file is a compilation of changes that have since been incorporated into
the Flyer software. Each change/feature has been listed under a general
heading.
NEW INTRODUCTION/INSTALLATION, SWITCHER/SEQUENCER AND APPENDICES DOCS
These sections completely replace the old documentation. Please update your
manuals.
STARTUP REQUIREMENTS, TROUBLESHOOTING, LOW-MEMORY, AND TIPS:
See the System 4.1 Notes starting on page 32 of the Sequencer/Switcher manual
update.
THE INSTALL SET
There are 2 disks included with the Flyer 4.1 CD-ROM. They include software
updates made during the CD duplication period. Do not attempt to update a
Flyer system by just copying the CD. The files on the floppy are vital to
proper operation. The best bet is to do a complete install. For the quickest
installation, deselect all checkboxes on the screen that ask for the
portions of the software you would like to install (basically, this tells
the installer to ignore the "content" and install a basic set of software
that will run the Toaster/Flyer only). You SHOULD copy any FX you plan to
use in your sequences from the CD.
(EXCEPTION: The effects Flip Chrome Edge and Fly Over Chrome Edge [in the
Digital drawer] are very memory intensive. They do not work in a sequence
every time and are removed by the installer. They exist on the CD-ROM for
users who would like to use them in real time in Project/Switcher mode.)
CHANGES TO THE BUTTON BAR
Added Tools pop-up (this necessitated the change from "Duplicate" to
"Clone", and "Select All" to merely "All"). The Tools pop-up contains
all of the menu commands that we have been adding as keyboard shortcuts
only such as Edit to Audio, Lock Crouton, etc. Two new options appear here
as well, Setup (the Toaster Setup panel, or F10) and Options (a new options
panel, or Alt-F10). A divider separates the built-in tools and programs
from any custom added ones (up to 20 total) in both the Tools and Programs
popups.
INFO ABOUT THE PLAY BUTTON
The Play button is essentially a hard-wired "Play from the first crouton"
button. In most situations, this works correctly. However, if you have
split-audio positioned *before* the video in the project storyboard,
then the Play button will begin project playback at the video inpoint.
The audio will simply start with the video.
To avoid this, you can insert a Flyer still of video black to act as a
"video source" during which the audio can begin. In fact, you may prefer
to begin most projects with some amount of black or bars as a matter of
practice.
BETTER PLAYBACK CONTROL
When a project is ready to play, a dialog appears, waiting for you to start
the playback with a mouse click (or press the Return button).
TOOLS POP-UP MENU: HARDWARE SETUP
There's a new panel that can be displayed either from the Tools pop-up or
by F10. It contains options relating to the hardware setup of your system:
CONTROL MONITOR
Selects a 2-monitor (RGB monitor and Program monitor) or 3-monitor hardware
configuration.
VIDEO INPUT TERMINATION
Terminates (or loops thru) the video signal connected to the four Toaster
inputs. Unless the input has a T connector that splits the video signal
connected to a Toaster input (a loop-thru sitation), termination should be
on.
GPI REMOTE TRIGGER
This selects the GPI trigger setting for the GPI trigger (via mouse port 2).
FLYER OUT
This is a confusing setting at first glance. It selects whether inputs 3
and 4 are "passing video" from the external connection on the Toaster card
or from the Flyer. This feature is designed for the VT4000 hardware only
and should *not* be used on the Amiga 2000 or 3000 (the external video
connection will not pass legal video on the older card).
When these are on, video on inputs 3 and 4 comes from the Flyer. When they
are off, video on inputs 3 and 4 comes from the external connections on the
back of the Toaster card. (However, if you play a Flyer clip at any time
when these inputs are on, they will auto-switch back to "on" in order to
play the Flyer video, but they will *not* switch back. Flyer playback always
takes precedence over external input.)
ENABLE HIGH QUALITY 5 MODE***********************************************
A new recording mode, High Quality 5, has been added for greater recording
fidelity. This mode is not supported by all hard drives, however, since it
requires a higher *sustained* data rate than many drives can maintain.
To enable the High Quality 5 recording mode, make sure this checkbox is
activated. Once this option is active, you will have the High Quality 5
option available to you in the Quality pop-up on the Record New Clip panel.
The state of this button is remembered from session to session, so you do
not need to turn it on repeatedly. After activating HQ5 here, you may
select the High Quality 5 setting from the record panel.
Note:
Remember that you can sucessfully use HQ5 mode *only* if your drives support
it! The FHDTools utility program can help you and your dealer assess a
drive's compatibility with HQ5.
Note:
With HQ5 activated, LightWave will record better-quality clips as well.
**************************************************************************
TOOLS POP-UP MENU: OPTIONS
There's a new panel that can be displayed either from the Tools pop-up or
by Alt+F10. It contains options relating to the sequencer software:
EXPERIENCE LEVEL
Novice or Super Genius. This allows you to turn on or off the warning
messages that the software displays during a variety of operations. If you
want to be aware of everything before you or the Flyer do it, use Novice.
If you're comfortable with the software and do not wish to be
slowed down by to many messages, use Super Genius.
Note:
You will always see warnings if you attempt to delete a file from hard
drive or perform a destructive cut to a clip.
STOP RECORDING ON DROPPED FRAME:
A "dropped" frame count shows up on the record panel (above Length). If
the "Stop on Dropped Frame" option is turned on in the Setup panel, the
Flyer will stop recording when it drops a frame (and notify you of this).
At that moment, the dropped frame readout will reset itself.
However, if this option is not turned on, the Flyer will continue recording
even if it drops a frame. If so, the number of dropped frames will appear
here so that you will be aware of it. (This is useful for situations where
you do not want recording interrupted, even by missed frames, such as
when recording a live event.)
What causes dropped frames? Several possible causes include:
1) Video that is too complex for the drive at the current quality level
2) The drive reaches a portion of its platters with slower access so that it
cannot keep up
3) The drive performs a T-cal that makes it "play dead" for a length of time
that is longer than the Flyer buffering can cover.
In such cases, the software has to drop fields in order to keep recording.
If a lot of drops continue to occur, it's likely the drive is just too slow
for the compression quality selected and/or for the complexity of the
incoming video.
STOP SEQUENCE ON TIMING ERROR
This selects whether to stop playing a sequence or continue playing if a Flyer
clip "misses" or drops frames.
PREFER FINE TUNE PANELS
If you prefer to open control panels in their Fine Tune (expanded versions)
all the time, turn this on. Otherwise, panels will open in their short form
(unless you have opened it and expanded it previously).
THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN:
New arexx scripts written by Michael Holten (a.k.a. Aussie) are
included in this release. The OZ routines add 13 timesaving tools
to your edit suite. Documentation is included on disk. The files
are installed to your Toaster:Arexx/Editor/OZ path. The RXTools
directory tab is a shortcut to all the editor arexx scripts.
CD'S AND THE FLYER:
When mounting CD-ROM drives to be used with the Flyer SCSI
Controller do not place the CD6: driver in the Devs:Dosdrivers
directory. Instead, place the driver in the Sys:WBStartup
directory. This will keep the unwanted Fly:Fly icons from
cluttering your Workbench screen.
If you remove the CD-ROM drive from your system, remove the driver
from the WBStartup drawer. Failure to do so can result in the Flyer
SCSI system locking up. (Very easy to do when using Flyer HDTools.)
TOASTERPAINT TEXT COLOR
Text brushes are *always* made using the color white, no matter what
color you have selected when you generate the brush. To change the
color of a text brush:
1) Stamp the default "white" brush down on the screen where
you want it.
2) Press the right mouse button to bring back the control
panel.
3) Press the Tools button to go to the Tools control panel.
4) Change the Draw Mode pop-up from Normal to Colorize mode.
5) Choose a new color from the color wells on top of the
control panel.
6) Press the Redo key. The white text you stamped down will
be redrawn with the new color you just selected.
Note: You must choose the Colorize mode in step 4. Just choosing
a new color and then clicking Redo will not work.
TOASTERPAINT CLIP SAVING
The button "Save Clip" in the Save section of the Disk panel was
misleading so it has been renamed to "Clip Name". This button is
used to choose the name and location where any clips you that create
in ToasterPaint should be saved. Activating it does not save any data
to your drives (the manual is wrong on this point).
There are four ways to save fields to the clip that you name with the
Clip Name button. Step 1, of course, is to select Clip Name and provide
a clip name and drive location. Then...
Note:
A Flyer Still is made up of four fields. Repeated operation of the
following options will append fields to current clip.
1) Press the lower case (i) key to save a single field.
This will write the current ToasterPaint screen to
the clip named with Save:Clip Name button. Remember,
to make a proper Flyer Still you need to press (i) four
times.
2) In the Process control panel change the Process Screen
pop-up menu to "Write 2." When you then click the Process
button, this will write 2 fields to the current Flyer clip.
3) In the Process control panel change the Process Screen
pop-up menu to "Write 4." When you then click the Process
button, this will write 4 fields to the current Flyer clip.
4) In the Process control panel change the Process Screen
pop-up menu to "Write 8." When you then click the Process
button, this will write 8 fields to the current Flyer clip.
To make the current Toaster Paint screen the icon for the clip
named with the Clip Name button press Shift (I).
TOASTERPAINT SCREEN REDRAW
Toaster Paint's HAM display can be corrupted by the user or
unexpected events. The 24 bit data is intact and the HAM screen
can be redrawn by pressing shift plus the right bracket key (}).
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT USING FLYER CLIPS IN TOASTERPAINT OR LIGHTWAVE
Due to the design of the Flyer software, you must always use a drive's
*volume name* when loading or saving a clip. Do NOT use device names!
Device names cause confusion within the software. Device names (such as
FA0:, FA1:, FB0, etc.) should not be used. Instead, when you navigate to a
file's location, choose the drive by its volume name (FlyerA0:, FlyerA1:,
Flyerb0:, etc.) instead of its device name. This applies to ToasterPaint
(for example, when you select a clip for processing) and LightWave (when
you load a clip for rotoscoping, or when you select a drive that will hold
a rendered animation).
Many of the ARexx scripts have been rewritten to accommodate this
requirement. If you create any of your own, make sure that you consult
the ones that ship with the Flyer software. You will find examples there.
RECORD PANEL (NEW CLIP) CHANGES
The NEW CLIP button has been changed to read RECORD...
Audio Meters:
A2000 audio meter colors are black and grey. White is used for peaks.
A4000 audio meter colors are green and yellow. Red is used for peaks.
Meters also have a slight peak delay indicator.
When recording video footage with audio that you will *not* use, set the
audio gain sliders to 0 (to the far left). This turns audio off on the
clip(s) you record. The Flyer can cut raw footage into separate clips faster
when there is no audio track.
Note that this does not save "smaller" clips, in terms of their file
size -- the audio data remains a part of the clip with a 0 level of gain.
Reorganize Drive:
ReOrganize (from this panel) is now abortable. You will usually get at
least some benefit from the time spent up to that point. This is MUCH MUCH
safer than shutting the power off (as some have done in the past).
Project/Switcher view Recording:
Press the tilde (~) key to enter the Record Panel from the Project Switcher
view. You'll see a short version of the record panel. This allows you to
start a recording, then select different input sources from the Switcher
busses while still recording! You can use the Auto button to dissolve
between sources, or just cut among them. Note that the Length indicator
will stop updating itself when you click on the Switcher portion of the
screen, but the recording process has *not* stopped! Click again on a blank
part of the record panel and you'll see the readout update again.
Note:
You can pre-select a CG key page from the Project/Switcher view, open the
record panel, begin recording, and then trigger the key page to appear
(by dissolve or take). This allows you to record CG keys while you record
clips, which can be handy for flying the entire video image (with key)
around the screen in a project.
Note:
Do ***NOT*** press Stabilize or Save on the Switcher screen while the Record
panel is up. (These options will be ghosted out in future revisions of the
software.)
PREVIEWING AN EFFECT (WITHOUT WATCHING THE ENTIRE PRECEDING CLIP)
If you want to see how well an effect works between clips, but you don't
want to watch the entire first clip play just to get to the transition, do
this: Drop the effect between the two clips. Set its speed. Now, with the
effect still selected, click on Play-From. The Flyer will start playback
about 3 seconds before the transition (during the last 3 seconds of the
first clip), run the effect, then proceed into the next clip.
SPECIAL EFFECTS AND TRANSITIONS
Returned Special Effects (from previous releases)
Positionables have been split up and placed in the Digital and Wipe drawers.
Art Card is now in the Control drawer. And the following effects have been fixed:
Wipe Cross Out
Wipe Fly In 2
Wipe In Center
Wipe In Corner TL-BR
Wipe In Corner TR-BL
Wipe L-R
Wipe Out Center
Wipe R-L
Wipe T-B
Wipe 3 Slots In
WIPE 5 SLITS L-R
Wipe B-T
Wipe Blinds To Center
Dip to Matte
Positionable Shrink
Positionable Expand
Positionable Wipe In
Positionable Wipe Out
Special Effects Not Available
At this time, these older special effects do *not* work in 4.1. They may
not be salvageable. The install program will seek these effects out and
remove them from your system since there is no point in taking up otherwise
useful drive space.
Instant SMPTE Bars
Dissolve
Luma Key Fade
Luma Key Fade 2
Luma Key Dip to Matte
Squeeze Trails H
Squeeze Trails V
Take
Trails Fade
Trails Flipping
Trails Flying
Trails Squeeze Center
Trails Infinite White
Trails Infinite Black
Trails Noisy
Transporter Fade
Trails Expand
Note:
Do not attempt to copy the "working versions" of these effects from an
older release of Toaster software. They won't work.
OVERLAY EFFECTS
These now bring up the correct control panel. Also, they work in
sequencing. There are two kinds of overlays. Static overlays and
looping overlays. Neither type is a transition. Each is simply a graphic
that is overlaid atop a video source. Overlays may be keyed over *any* type
of video source as long as they begin and end during the master source's
duration. For overlays that span several video events, you can use Flyer
clips/stills only, and each video event must cut to the next (no
transitions are allowed while the key is up).
LOOPING OVERLAY EFFECTS
Looping overlays key a one-time-only image or animation over another video
source. They run once, and only once. Since this kind of effect is timed
relative to the source over which it is keyed, it can be locked to the
previous clip or its in point only (not to program time).
The control panel for looping effects has been expanded. It now contains
three additional gadgets: a "Lock" checkbox (to lock the crouton in
relation to its current program time location), a "Time" time code
readout (which displays the locked program time value) and, if the effect
utilizes a matte color, a color pop-up.
Note:
When running, these effects can be aborted by right-clicking.
STATIC OVERLAY EFFECTS
Looping overlays key an animation over another video source. This animation
can be made to repeat itself, whether there is apparent motion in it or
not; hence the term looping overlay.
The control panel for overlay effects has been expanded. For looping
overlays that can repeat, their Loop Time is shown (the time it takes for
one iteration to complete). A Length gadget specifies the exact time that
the overlay will be visible. There is also a "Lock" checkbox (to lock
the crouton in relation to its current program time location), a "Time"
time code readout (which displays the locked program time value) and, if
the effect utilizes a matte color, a color pop-up gadget.
Note:
When running one of these effects, abort it by right-clicking.
CUT CLIP and PROCESS CLIP PANEL CHANGES
CUT CLIPS PANEL:
ALERT STATUS CHANGES
When you begin cutting from the cutting room, the Flyer now warns that
this "Will destroy the original clip" if you're cutting an existing clip.
(This message means that, in the process of making the clip(s) you've
marked, the Flyer will remove the original "raw" clip.) Otherwise, if
entering here from the record panel after acquiring footage for the
first time, it will read "Are you sure you want to...".
If User Mode = Super Genius, it will now skip the "Are you sure" message
(but the original warning for existing clips will remain).
AUDIO AND VIDEO SWITCHES
If you turn audio OFF (down to 0) when recording at the Record Raw Footage
panel, the Cut Raw Clip panel no longer allows you to choose "audio" or
"video plus audio" options, since these options require raw footage that
has audio recorded with it.
CREATING NEW CLIPS
When you first arrive at the Cut Raw Clips panel, In and Out points on the
clip bar (in yellow on the A4000, white on the A2000/3000) define the entire
raw clip. You can shorten this to any length by dragging either the in or
the out pointers. After doing so, define a "new" clip by clicking in the
available cross-hatched area that appeared behind the yellow bar. When you
do this, the entire open area is automatically selected. To specify the
in-point and take the rest to the right (the way it used to work), click
while holding left Alt. To specify the out-point and take the rest to the
left, hold right Alt.
PROCESS CLIP PANELS:
DESTINATION DIRECTORY
A Destination drive popup has been added to the Process panel. It allows
you to save "processed out" pieces either to same place as original clip
(old way), or into the root of any other Flyer drive.
PROCESS CLIP/CUT CLIP PANELS:
NOTIFY MESSAGE
Requester now reads "Processing clips on drive xxx" if this panel was
spawned by the Process panel (instead, reads as "Cutting clips..." from
the Cutting panel).
PROCESS/CUT CLIPS, IN PROJECT OR IN FILES VIEW
Now you can cut/process a clip without dragging it into a project. Just
highlight the clip from a Files window, then select Process Clip or
Cut Clip option from Tools pop-up.
FILE NAME OPERATION
The file name field box can be used to generate new, unique names with each
clip. You can enter a specific naming convention and allow the panel to
increment each number automatically. Here's how it works:
The default naming system is NewClip.01, then NewClip.02, then NewClip.03,
etc. If you enter Afternoon.01, the Flyer will name the next clips you
define as Afternoon.02, Afternoon.03, etc.. You may use any number of
digits. The Flyer will attempt to increment using your numbering scheme.
If you wish to change the base name in the middle of a recording/cutting
session, you can. For example, Afternoon.06 will be followed by
Afternoon.07, but if you instead enter Evening.01, the next clip will
be Evening.02, and so forth.
If you enter a name (with no numeric extension) such as "Morning," the
Flyer will use the name and add .01 to the next clip, .02 to the next, and
so on.
The file name field box in the processing/cutting panels now auto-activates
when you first enter the panel. Each time a new default name is made for
you.
Also, you can now make names up to 28 characters in length.
AUDIO ONLY AND ICON SLIDER
Cut Clip/Process Clip panels no longer have an icon slider if the source
clip is just audio.
PANEL NAMES
Cut clip/process clip panels now include in their title the name of the
original clip being worked on (or "Raw clip" if coming from record panel).
NEW BUTTONS
1) A new button to remove the currently selected clip has been added. It's
labeled "Remove." The keyboard shortcut, x, to remove the currently
defined clip, is still valid.
2) New buttons Next and Previous for selecting among the defined clips in
the main yellow bar. On the keyboard, use n for next, and p for previous.
NEW KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS WHEN MARKING CLIPS.
x.....remove clip
n.....jump to next defined clip (also the plus key on the numeric keypad)
p.....jump to previous defined clip (also the minus key on the numeric
keypad)
s.....make Flyer still (the out-point jumps beside the in-point of current
clip)
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS FROM FILES OR PROJECT AREAS ADDED
Cut Clip
To cut a clip into smaller clips (and delete the original)............Alt+c
Process Clip
To copy smaller clips from a larger one (not delete the original).....Alt+p
ALL VIEWS
SAVING A PROJECT (DEFAULT DIRECTORY)
The Save button defaults to the original Projects directory (as created
within the main drawer where the Toaster software has been installed) when
you first select it. Of course, you can user the files navigator to save
the project elsewhere if you wish.
SAVING A PROJECT (ERROR MESSAGE)
If you go to save a project and an error occurs, the Flyer cannot explain
why the project failed to save. However, it can at least inform you that
an error occurred. In such cases, try saving the project to another drive.
Then go back and check the original drive to see if it's full (the most likely
cause of a save project error).
Reorganized "Views" popup & added divider line.
Reorganized "Tools" popup alphabetically.
PROJECT RELATED CHANGES (INCLUDING PROJECT, PROJECT/FILES, AND
PROJECT/PROJECT VIEWS)
PROJECT VIEW: INHERITANCE
Holding Alt while dropping a crouton onto another allows the new crouton
to "inherit" the old one's timing and duration settings, so you can replace
one shot in a carefully-timed sequence without affecting any other timing.
(You may still need to shift the in and out points of the replacement crouton
to select the best portion of the clip to use. If you hold the Shift key
while dragging either the in point or the out point, you will be able to
move the entire segment without altering its length. You'll see either edit
point, depending which you choose to drag with.)
Note:
See the Inheritance Exceptions (below) for help if you run into unexpected
results when using inheritance.
If you are using the Novice mode, the Flyer will request that you confirm
this action before committing to it. (You can avoid this message by
holding the Ctrl key along with the Alt key when you drag and drop the
replacement crouton. Or go to the Sequencer Options panel and select
the Super Genius mode.) In Super Genius mode, no such message will appear.
The Flyer will warn you if it encounters a problem doing this (i.e. the
new clip is too short to honor the in/out points, etc.).
INHERITANCE TIPS:
When you replace-and-inherit "same-type" croutons, the replacement crouton
will inherit *all* of the settings of the original crouton.
When you replace-and-inherit "related" croutons, the replacement crouton
will inherit only the Length value from the original crouton. Video Clips,
Flyer Stills, Framestores, and Audio clips are related croutons with
regard to Length. No other settings will "carry over" to the new crouton.
If you replace-and-inherit "dissimilar" croutons, the Flyer will simply
perform a replacement, as if you had just dropped the new crouton on top of
the old one. None of the original crouton's attributes will be applied to
the replacement crouton.
INHERITANCE EXCEPTIONS: In some cases, you may try to replace-and-inherit
same-type croutons that cannot truly inherit. For example, some effects run
at only one speed. You may replace-and-inherit a single-speed effect on top
of a multi-speed effect, however in reality only a replacement will occur.
No inheritance should take place, however, you can create an invalid effect
by replacing an effect with no Variable speed option with an effect that
has a Variable speed option. The result of this, when inherited, will be an
effect that can cause stuttering, a failure to play, or other sequencing
mishaps. Use caution and be aware of the possible errors when you inherit.
PROJECT VIEW AND CONTROL PANEL "PREVIEW" FEATURE
When you set the edit points of a clip, if there is a preceding clip in the
porject you will see the preceding clip's out point on your preview monitor
(as a reference).
PROJECT VIEW: "QUICK ADJUST" FEATURE
Control panels for both video clips and audio clips have both Quick Tune
and Fine Tune versions. We've added Quick Adjust for those times when you
want to adjust an in or out point quickly *without* entering a control
panel. This is an advanced feature (there is no cancel), and it required a
change in hotkeys that you may have recently learned! Please try it out
carefully before experimenting on an existing (and important) project.
In any view where the project is visible and its croutons may be edited
(Project/Switcher, Project/Files, or Project) select a crouton, hold down
the Ctrl key. As long as you hold the Ctrl key, the in and out points for
the clip appear at the top of the screen (just above the Project window).
Drag with the left mouse button to adjust the in point (you'll see the
video on the main output). Drag with the right mouse button to adjust the
out point. You'll also see the edit point highlight when you drag,
showing you which edit mark is being changed.
Therefore, the Ctrl key activates the Quick Adjust mode. The Spacebar
toggles between editing the video in/out points and the audio in/out points
(as long as audio exists, and is active for the clip). For fine tuning,
while holding Ctrl, you can tap the left/right arrow keys on the keyboard
to adjust the last-edited point one frame in the direction you press.
If you hold the left Shift key while holding Ctrl, you will drag both the
in point and the out point together. This allows you to change which
portion of the clip is used, but not the length of the clip.
If you hold the left Alt key while holding Ctrl, you will snap the audio
point to the video point (for the mouse button that you dragÑleft for the
in point, right for the out point) as soon as you begin dragging with the
mouse.
If you hold the left Shift and the left Alt keys while holding Ctrl, you
will snap both audio points to both video points and move all in and out
points together when you drag. This allows you to realign the audio to the
video and change which portion of the clip is used, but not the length of
the clip.
You can also turn on Quick Adjust from the new Tools popup. It
automatically exits after one jog operation, or when you tap Ctrl.
***** SO HERE'S HOW YOU QUICK ADJUST A CLIP ************
To Quick Adjust a video clip (either the video portion or the
audio portion):
Hold the Ctrl key to enter video edit mode. Drag the mouse (left button to
adjust in point, right button to adjust out point). You will see the video
of the edit point as you adjust it.
To edit the audio in and out points, press the Spacebar. Press it again to
go back to editing video.
To shift both the in and out points together, hold the Shift key along with
the Ctrl key. This lets you preserve the length of the segment while
shifting the portion of the original full-length clip that is being used.
To re-align the audio and video in point, or the audio and video out point,
press Ctrl+Alt and then click either the left or right mouse button (left
for in point, right for out point). You can also drag at this time for
the pair of edit points to move together.
To re-synchronize the audio edit points with the video edit points *and*
shift both the in and out points together, hold Ctrl+Shift+Alt. Now you
can drag with the mouse to snap audio and video, and preserve the length of
the segment while changing which portion of it you use.
NOTE:
By default, when you select a video clip and press Ctrl to enter Quick
Adjust mode, the video is always pre-selected for editing. Tap the Spacebar
to toggle to and from audio editing. If you *always* edit clips where the
audio and video remain locked together, get in the habit of holding the
Ctrl key and the Alt key when quick adjusting. Otherwise, you can
inadvertantly create a split edit.
NOTE:
When using Ctrl+Shift or Ctrl+Shift+Alt, you can drag with either mouse
button. If you drag with the left button, you will view the changing in
point of the video segment. If you drag with the right button, you will
view the changing out point of the video segment.
TO QUICK ADJUST AN AUDIO CLIP:
Hold the Ctrl key to enter quick adjust mode. (There is no need to tap the
Spacebar to go to audio edit mode, since this is an audio-only clip.) Drag
the mouse (left button to adjust in point, right button to adjust out point).
You will hear the audio of the edit point as you adjust it.
NOTE:
By default, when you select an audio clip and press Ctrl to enter Quick
Adjust mode, the audio is always pre-selected for editing (since there is
no video portion to an audio clip).
GENERAL NOTES ABOUT QUICK ADJUST:
There is no OK or Cancel option for Quick Adjust. Once you change the
clip, you've changed it. This is an advanced feature and there is no way
to implement an "escape" option. Save your project often, as you can
always reload it to get back to the last-saved version.
Quick Adjust functions on one crouton only. If several are selected when
you engage the Quick Adjust mode, only the first clip can actually be
edited.
We chose the Ctrl key since its name, Control, is a mnemonic for the
Controls button that you select to open a control panel anyway. Ctrl+Shift
was chosen because you are *shifting* the entire segment in time, in
effect sliding in forward or backaward within the entire clip length.
The Alt key was added since audio and Alt begin with the letter a (and
it's about as good as we could get!).
Quick Adjust supports the left right arrow keys. Press either arrow key to
move one frame in that direction. Hold the arrow key to move in that
direction. The arrow keys affect the last point adjusted, whether this
was an in point or an out point. It defaults to the video in point
if no other was selected previously.
PROJECT VIEW:
Hold Alt and double-click on a crouton to bring up that crouton's control
panel. (This does not work if Caps Lock is active).
PROJECT VIEW: MESSAGE CHANGED
Changed message from "Delete crouton(s) from project" to "Remove crouton(s)
from project" to reflect that a crouton is only *removed* from a project
(as opposed to *deleted* from the hard drive).
PROJECT VIEW AND PROJECT/FILES VIEW
When dropping crouton(s) on top of a crouton in the project, a warning will
now appear that you are about to overwrite crouton named "xxxx". To avoid
this warning, hold Ctrl when dropping it, as a way to say ("don't warn me,
I'm intentionally overwriting"). There's no other way to prevent an
accidental drop, or to add an undo here.
PROJECT/FILES VIEW
Overwrite & Inherit verification requesters now also say "Press OK to
overwrite, CANCEL to insert"
PROJECT/FILES VIEW: LOADING A PROJECT WITH MISSING CROUTONS
Added panel for lost croutons that were part of a known project but have
since been moved or renamed (shows comment, type, name, original location)
See the FixProject script in the Sequencer/Switcher ARexx docs for info on
how to auto-replace missing croutons.
PROJECT/FILES VIEW: LOADING A PROJECT
Continuing loading despite failure will cause Switcher to create "Lost
croutons" for each crouton that cannot be loaded. Any tags saved in the
project for the crouton are applied to the "lost" one, so that inheriting
later will salvage as much info as possible.
PROJECT/FILES VIEW: LOADING A PROJECT
Current/Project times at the top of the editor now support "lost croutons"
correctly, although since default tag values are not always saved in a
project, these are not guaranteed 100% accurate if "lost" croutons are
present.
PROJECT/FILES VIEW: LOADING A PROJECT
Sequencer now tries to play project even if lost croutons are present. Will
fill the void with black. Gives a warning just before playing if lost
croutons are indeed present (and makes excuses for why the project may not
play perfectly). Note that lost FX may cause nearby "good" video sources
to seem to misbehave -- hence the disclaimer .
PROJECT VIEW AND PROJECT/FILES VIEW
Added special "inherit" function for replacing lost croutons (copies ALL
tags present to new crouton).
NOTE:
If "novice mode" is selected, doing an inherit (Alt-drop) will bring
up a requester that says "Are you sure you want to overwrite & inherit
info from FlyerB0:RatMeat." Selecting "OK" will do the overwrite/inherit.
Selecting "Cancel" will not inherit AND NOT OVERWRITE; the crouton will
instead be inserted after the crouton it was dropped onto.
This is new. Previously, when you cancelled an inherit, the dropped clip
simply replaced the original (without inheriting its settings either,
which was bad).
This new method is helpful if you were intending to overwrite/inherite
(Alt was held down), but you accidentally dropped it on the wrong crouton.
Cancel will now save your skin (crouton WILL be dropped, but inserted
safely after the saved crouton -- just pick it back up again and
you're off). Inherit works for same-type croutons only. Dropping an
audio crouton onto a lost framestore will not work, for example.
PROJECT VIEW AND PROJECT/FILES VIEW
You can now avoid the "Are you sure...?" requester on an inherit by
holding Ctrl (i.e. hold Ctrl+Alt to do an overwrite/inherit with no
query). Of course, as before, verification on both overwrites &
overwrites/inherits can be turned off by selecting "Super genius" mode.
PROJECT/SWITCHER VIEW: RECORD PANEL CHANGE
The Record panel in the Switcher view has been shortened. Since the Switcher
buttons are still active when this panel is up so you can choose other
sources (and even trigger pre-selected CG pages). See the earlier sections
of this ReadMe for information on how to do it.
PROJECT VIEW: TOGGLING AUDIO PLAYBACK
In any project view, press Alt-a to toggle the audio playback for selected
clips (or all clips, if none are selected).
VIDEO INSERT EDITING
Added automatic Video Insert function. This automatically matches the edit
points of a duplicated clip when video clips inserted between them are used
as video cutaways. This is akin to performing a Video Only Insert in a
standard tape-based editing situations.
A normal video insert is performed by recording a single video track onto
tape, then going back and replacing one or more sections of the video
*without* disturbing the continuous audio track from the original clip).
With the Flyer, it's easier.
To use...
1) Drag two copies of the first clip into the project. (Or duplicate
this clip)
2) Set the out-point of first clip to the moment where the inserted video
should begin.
3) Drop the video clips to be "inserted" between them. Adjust them to the
length you want. (The inserted clips should last for a period of time
that is less than the full unedited length of the first clip.)
4) Highlight the first and last clip in the segment (these would be the
first clip and its duplicate) and press Alt-i.
This makes an audio split edit where you will see and hear the first clip,
then see one or more other clips while still hearing the first clip's
audio, then return to the original clip (still with its audio). Of course,
if you wish, you can choose to "use" or "not use" the audio from the
cutaway clips along with the continuous audio from the first clip.
KEY PAGES
1) Key pages now work in sequencing. However, remember that you cannot use
keys with effects. They can only appear over video, i.e., live video,
Flyer clips, Flyer stills.
2) New checkboxes for Fade In and Fade Out have been added to the control
panel for key pages.
TOASTERCG NOTES
Rotating and Shearing PS Text Brushes
The rotate and shear options in the PostScript Text Brush panel work in the
following ways.
Rotate Values from 0 to 360 degrees are valid. Text is rotated around its
centerpoint, in a counterclockwise direction. (0 and 360 degrees are
effectively "no rotation" values. Values above 360 are also treated as
"no rotation." Negative numbers are not valid.)
Shear Values from 0 to 90 are valid. Values above 60 tend to look more and
more squashed as you approach 90 degrees. At 90 degrees, with its baseline
locked and the text sheared far over, you create a plain line, so 90 is
not really a useful number to use. Also, negative numbers are not valid.
OVERLAYS OVER MULTIPLE CLIPS
You can now run scrolls, crawls, keys, overlays, and non-transitional
effects over multiple clips (as long as these croutons are Flyer clips or
Flyer stills, and there are no effects in use while the overlays are on
display. See the limitations note below.
LIMITATIONS OF USING OVERLAYS ON MULTIPLE CLIPS:
Framestores will *not* work. (You can convert them into Flyer stills
using the BatchStill ARexx script for the Sequencer/Switcher.)
Effects (such as Smooth Fade, or a Digital effect) will not work.
BACKING UP A PROJECT
Tape backup will work from any Flyer SCSI chain (A, B, or C).
FILES/FILES VIEW CHANGES
FILES VIEW: INFO PANEL CHANGES
When you display the Info panel for a clip (by selecting a crouton and
clicking on Controls), the file name field is auto-activated in case you
wish to rename the file. Also, you can now make names up to 28 characters
in length.
Note:
This means that you cannot simply press Return to close the panel, since
the you must "exit" the file name field first. Simply press Return twice
the first time to exit the file name field, the second time to exit the
panel. As long as you have not changed the name of the file, the Flyer will
not rename it (the system will not attempt to rename a file with the same
name, since this is silly).
FILES/FILES VIEW: COPY
Copying files from Flyer drive to Flyer drive is now abortable! Any portion
of the clip that has been copied up to this point will be removed from the
destination drive.
CONTROL PANEL CHANGES (INCLUDING VIDEO CLIPS, AUDIO CLIPS, ETC.)
AUDIO CHANNEL CONTROL
The mono and stereo channel control is not meant to be adjusted while
audio is playing. You must stop the playback, change the channel setting,
then play the clip again to hear the changes.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS: SLIDER CONTROLS
Anywhere you see an in/out slider control bar, you can use Shift plus the
up and down arrow keys to jump the currently active slider (either the in
or the out) to its minimum or maximum value on the bar.
For example, the in slider defaults to being active when you open a video
control panel. If you hold Shift and press the up arrow, the in slider will
snap into position right beside the out slider. This is just another
shortcut/navigation tool you can use when in a control panel.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS: AUDIO "STUTTER"
The occasional stutters that occur when you rapidly start/stop, or adjust
balance and volume, is normal. The Editor will do a stuttery "jog in place"
as it resamples the current four-field frame (in point or out point) if
you adjust balance or volume while the clip is NOT playing.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS: DELAY
Left/Right arrows, when the left mouse button is released, now go silent
after a short delay.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS: HOTKEY ASSIGNMENTS
1) Help key now toggles between quick/fine tune displays.
2) Shift+mouse drag now keeps duration constant
3) Alt+mouse drag snaps A/V points together
4) Shift and Alt were changed to be made consistent with the Quick Adjust
function (from any Project view).
5) Shift up/down in control panels jumps to max position.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS: QUICK TUNE/FINE TUNE MOVED
Quick/Fine tune buttons have been moved into upper right corner of panels.
Now all the buttons along the bottom of any panel serve to exit the panel
by one method or another.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS: LENGTH INDICATOR MOVED
The Duration readout has been moved between in/out slider time boxes.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS: AUDIO LENGTH INDICATOR ADDED
Audio duration also appears for audio dual-slider. This is handy for
split-audio clips.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS: PLAY/STOP BUTTONS
Play/Stop buttons now appear on all video and audio panels. The play
button remains lit as long as the clip is playing now. The ability to
click on the icon of the clip in video panels has been removed. You can
still click there, but it does nothing.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS: NUMERIC VOLUME FIXED
Numeric Volume value now updates as you drag. If the clip is playing, you
will hear audio changes as you drag. If it is not playing, the last-edited
point (in or out) will repeat itself as you drag.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS: AUDIO FEATURE ADDED
The balance control now updates as you drag (while a clip is playing).
You'll hear the volume rise or fall as you drag, or shift from left to
right channels. You can also do it when they're not playing and the
current audio in/out point will loop so you can hear the change. This
works in audio and video panels.
AUDIO CONTROL PANELS
Audio looping automatically mutes after clicking the time code arrow
buttons or entering time string. This is one better than 4.07 in that
you DO hear the audio (one time), then silence.
AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL PANELS (HOTKEYS AND FUNCTIONS)
Several special functions have been added to audio and video control
panels). If you've already read about the "Quick Adjust" feature, these
will be familiar to you (they are the same functions implemented within
audio and video control panels).
To use them, hold down the appropriate key on the keyboard
while dragging a slider with the mouse.
1) SHIFT MODE...
If you want to change which portion of a recorded clip you are using without
changing the duration that you are using, you can. This allows you to shift
*both* the in and out sliders forward or backward in one step, while they
remain the same distance apart. In Fine Tune mode, hold Shift and drag
either video or audio slider. Both sliders (in and out) will move
together. The duration for the clip remains constant, you are simply
moving the entire duration forward or backward in time within the full
length of the recorded clip. (You will see and hear the material associated
with the slider you are moving. In other words, if you drag the left video
slider with Shift, both sliders move but you view the in-point. If you drag
the right audio slider, both slll move but you hear the out-point.)
This also works when you hold Shift and drag on the jog/shuttle arrows for
either the in-point or the out-point.
2) ALT MODE
You can re-synchronize the video and audio sliders after you've separated
them within a video clip control panel. This is useful in case you
separated them accidentally, or intentionally, and you wish to re-align
them.
To do so, in Fine Tune mode hold Alt and click on either video-in slider.
The corresponding audio slider will jmup into alignment with the video slider.
Continue holding Alt and drag the video slider and the video and audio
sliders will now move in unison.
This also works when you hold Alt and drag on the jog/shuttle arrow for
either the in-point or the out-point..
3) SHIFT+ALT MODE...
To maintain the length of the video portion of a clip *and* re-synchronize
the audio sliders to the video, in Fine Tune mode hold both Shift and Alt
and drag either video slider. Both audio sliders will jump into alignment
with the video sliders, and all four sliders will move in unison (video-in,
video-out, audio-in, audio-out). This allows you to change the content of
the edited segment without changing its length.
FILES VIEW CHANGES
DRIVE INFO PANEL
Added "Reorganize" button to drive info panel. This is a useful addition,
since this panel also displays information about the drive's available
space (both its current space and the amount available after a ReOrg).
STARTUP CHANGES
New custom Startup icons can be found in the Custom Startups drawer.
These take you directly to the Toaster application you want to work in.
Custom startups include:
1) STARTTOASTER_PROJ-FILES
This startup script loads the Toaster and goes to the Project/Files view.
You should probably use this script *all* of the time, since you will want
to fire up the program and begin editing right away. You can leave this
icon out on your Workbench by selecting it and choosing the Icons menu,
"Leave Out" option. This will place the icon on your Workbench in an easily
accessible location..
2) STARTTOASTER_FILES-FILES
This startup script loads the Toaster and goes to the Files/Files view.
3) LWSTART
This startup script goes directly LightWave Layout. (The Toaster Switcher
software is loaded, but not the Sequencer software. This saves a fair
amount of chip RAM, leaving more for LightWave's use. You can still load
and save Flyer clips, too.)
If you exit LightWave and return to the Switcher, the only way to return
to LightWave is to reload the Sequencer (press F8) so that you can select
LightWave from the Views pop-up.
SEQUENCING (PLAYBACK) CHANGES
SEQUENCING AND AUDIO
New option in video Fine Tune panel to make audio fade in/out with video
automatically during transition effects.
SEQUENCE PROCESSING CAN BE CANCELLED
Sequence processing is now abortable! During the time that the Flyer is
processing a sequence (just before it can play), the system displays a
dialog that allows you to cancel processing.
SEQUENCING AND TRANSITION EFFECT CONTROL PANELS
Improved gadgets in FX fine tune panel: they now update properly as
different FX speeds are selected. Added "Take Frame" control.
Some effects like KikiBell actually require that there be enough
overlapping video from the outgoing clip and the incoming clip to last the
entire duration of the effect. Even though the actual moment of transition
(from one clip to the next) occurs near the very end of the KikiBell effect,
there has to be enough "excess footage" for *each* clip to last the
*entire* length of the effect. Now the effect panel shows how much of
each clip (outgoing and incoming) is needed, plus the actual moment for
the switch from once source to another.
SEQUENCING ERROR MESSAGE: "BAD A/V TEMP DATA FOUND"
There are several things you need to know about this new error message:
When drives have been added, removed, or changed around on a system, excess
data that the Flyer requires for proper sequencing can be left "lying
around" on your drives. The result is that projects that once played fine
now have difficulties.
You may get this error message when you attempt to play sequences created
on versions of Flyer software prior to 4.07. Your clips are actually fine,
and they will play back properly when you double-click on them, but the
Flyer will not sequence them properly. (Since 4.07, the process of cleaning
up these temp files is automatic and does not require notification or
permission.) Read on for the solution.
When the Flyer discovers such a condition, it will present this message and
offer to clean up the bad data. Select OK to do so. There is no danger of
losing data with this option. It can take from a few seconds to several
minutes, depending on the number of drives you have and their size.
If this message continues to occur even after a cleanup, the Flyer is
unable to delete all of the bad temp files in one try. It is probably
removing only one and leaving the others. (Each time you run it, it will
delete the next, and the next, and so on.) You may continue to process
the project and remove the temp files one at a time. Or, if you have
additional drive and space available, you can back up the project to a
backup device (or another drive), reformat the video drive(s) that the
footage was on, then restore the project. Reformatting the drive returns
it to a cleaner operational state.
The Flyer is now much smarter about drive swapping, provided that you make
such changes when the system is *not* up and running. Upon bootup,
shutdown, and drive reorganization, the Flyer will perform an auto-cleanup.
However, it is still possible that you can confuse the system by hooking up
drives while powered up, or by warm rebooting the machine after doing so.
The bottom line is, don't connect/disconnect, or power up/down drives while
the Flyer is running. Turn off the system and swap drives while powered
off.
VIDEO PLAYING FROM AN AUDIO DRIVE...NOT!
Flyer now refuses to play video clips from audio drive. (Note: You can
still use an audio drive to *store* or move video clips. You can even
double-click on a video clip that resides on an audio drive and it may play
back if the drive can do so; but you cannot use that clip in sequencing. An
error message will result. If you copy a clip to an audio drive [for
whatever reason], then copy it back to a video drive, it will play just fine.)
AUDIO CROUTONS LIBERATED
Audio croutons may now be placed in a project and played from there
*without* having to link the crouton to a video crouton (by placing the
audio clip immediately after the video clip on the storyboard). In order
to do so, after placing an audio crouton in the storyboard window, enter
the control panel for the audio clip and change its Lock To setting to
Program. This locks the crouton to the program time, and makes it
independent, so you can begin any project with an audio clip.
LOCKING CROUTONS IN PLACE
Croutons may now be "locked" in place (in relation to program time) so that
their current position in the project cannot be changed. The keyboard
command for this is Alt+l. You'll also find the lock command on the Tools
pop-up.
For example, here's how the Flyer used to work in previous releases. Place
four croutons in a row. Assume that each one lasts for one second, and that
you timed them so that each one occurs at a key moment in relation to an
audio track. Now suppose you change the first crouton to one-half second's
length, all of the timing for the croutons that follow has also been
shifted. They effectively shuffle forward one-half second. If the project
has been edited to music, or narration, all succeeding croutons now occur
too soon. Their timing has been messed up. Using the lock function,
you can lock croutons to the program time. Changes made to croutons
"in front of" any other croutons will not affect their occurrence in the
project, which is now based their location in relation to program time at
the moment they were locked.
Audio and video crouton control panels now contain a "Lock" checkbox along
with the "Time" time code readout. The lock checkbox indicates whether the
crouton has been locked to the program time, while the time code readout
displays the program time that it has been locked to. With the checkbox
activated and a time value present, the crouton will play at that moment
during playback. (Locked croutons also show a tiny padlock icon in the
editor.)
NEW ICON APPEARANCE IN PROJECT WINDOWS
When a crouton has been locked to the program time, its icon (in the
project window display) will show a tiny padlock in the upper left-hand
corner. This serves as a visual indication that it has been locked.
(Within its panel, you'll also find a "Lock" checkbox that indicates this.)
From the keyboard, you can lock and unlock the selected crouton(s) by
holding Alt and pressing l. This keyboard shortcut, Alt+l, toggles the
lock on and off.
Also, when a crouton has active audio (its audio will be heard during
sequence playback) its icon will now show a tiny audio speaker in the
upper right-hand corner. This serves as a visual indication that its audio
is active.
From the keyboard, you can activate and deactivate audio for the selected
crouton(s) by holding Alt and pressing a. This keyboard shortcut, Alt+a,
toggles audio on and off. This is particularly handy for turning off the audio
playback of a large group of croutons in one operation.
SINGLE DRIVE SYSTEMS
Single drive systems will work for cuts-only editing (and LightWave
recording and playback). (You will not be able to use effects or audio,
but you will be able to create projects with cuts-only edits.)
CLIP LENGTH (MINIMUM)
Sequencer can now play clips as short as 2 frames (4 fields).
NEW KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
F9.....open control panel for selected clip
Delete.....delete currently highlighted crouton(s), with confirmation
EDITING VIDEO TO AN AUDIO TRACK
It's now possible to edit your video segments so that edits fall on the
appropriate music (or narration) cues.
For example, suppose you have a music track with a strong beat and you want
to make every edit fall on the beat. If you can keep a beat (or at least be
close to the beat), you can edit your video the music. Here's how.
Select the audio crouton, hold Alt, and click on Play-From. The first video
clip that follows the audio clip will highlight, and the audio clip will
begin playing. As the music track plays, press the Spacebar every time you
want an edit to occur on a beat. With each tap of the Spacebar, each crouton
will be "locked" in time (based on the Program time) and the crouton next
to it will be highlighted. Continue pressing Spacebar as desired to lock
a group of video croutons to the audio track.
When done, click the Stop button (or press Esc). The Flyer will ask if you
wish for it to automatically adjust the out-points of the locked-down clips
(when editing to audio, you are setting only the in-point for each clip).
In most cases, you will want to click OK. After a moment, all adjustments
will have been made and you can play the project.
Other controls are also available when editing to audio:
1) Press Enter (instead of Spacebar) to lock a crouton but not move to the
next crouton.
2) Use the arrow keys to navigate up, down, and across the rows of the
project during playback. This way you can "jump" to any crouton to lock
it in time with the audio.
Tip: It may be best to preset the in point of the video clips that will be
locked to the beat, so that you can be sure that the moment each clip is
locked to is a moment where there's appropriate action in the video
content. Of course, you can always go back and edit the portion of each
locked crouton using the Shift key, which keeps the duration the same while
adjusting which portion of the clip is used.
Note:
You can lock an audio crouton to another audio crouton using this technique.
This allows you to combine sound effects with changes in the audio material.
For example, you may want an explosion sound effect to occur when the music
crashes. Select the music track and click Alt+Play-From, then lock the sound
effect to the moment during the playback when the music peaks.
Note:
This method allows you to lock croutons to a single audio track. If you
wish to play an entire project and lock a number of croutons to a number
of audio tracks, hold Alt and click Play. The Play button always plays
projects from the first crouton. As each audio track occurs (at its
normal time in the project) you can lock other croutons to the program
time.
EDITING VIDEO TO MULTIPLE AUDIO TRACKS (ENTIRE PROJECT)
If you have a large project with several audio tracks and hundreds of video
clips, it may be easier to perform the "edit to audio" technique for the
entire project in one operation. To do so, hold Alt and click on Play.
The entire project will play, in real time, with the audio tracks
occurring as they should.
While they play, you can lock various video clips to the program time. When
you are finished, click Stop (or press Esc) to exit this edit mode.
The same instructions and controls as used in "Editing to an Audio Track"
apply, except that you should hold Alt and click on Play.
EDITING AUDIO TO A VIDEO CLIP
It's now possible to edit audio events so that they occur at specific
moments during a video clip. This is a variation of editing to audio.
Rather than selecting an audio clip and locking video events to it, you
select a video clip and lock audio events to it.
The same instructions and controls as used in "Editing to an Audio Track"
apply, except that you should highlight a video crouton before you hold Alt
and click on Play-From.
SEQUENCING WITH BLACK
When sequencing, if you leave a transition crouton at either the beginning
or the end of the project, the Flyer will assume that you
wish to start with "video black" as the first source, then transition into
the first actual video event crouton on the storyboard. For example, you
mistakenly leave a Smooth Fade icon at the end of your project; the
Flyer will just fade to black at the end of playback.
AFTER YOU FINISH A PROJECT...
After removing files from the Flyer drives (at the completion of a project),
you can go ahead and begin recording new material for your next project.
You do *not* need to reformat the Flyer video and audio drives for each
project.
If, when you enter the Record panel, you find that a given drive shows
less than the full amount of space available (due to file fragmentation),
you can simply click the Reorganize button. On an empty drive,
reorganization usually takes under a minute (a simple quick check of
the drive to confirm that it is, in fact, empty). Then you can begin
recording again.
UTILITIES:
NEW CLI COMMANDS
DumpProject should be placed in your Amiga's c: directory.
DumpProject will display data about an entire project. Essentially, this is
a list of each crouton in the project.
If you open a shell, then type in the command (followed by a project name),
the entire project's contents will be displayed in the shell window.
EXAMPLE: Dumpproject Toaster:Projects/Test
If you wish to redirect this list to a file that you can edit or read in a
text editor, use the AmigaDOS redirection command. The first command
example, below,creates a file in RAM: called Test. The second command
sends the file to a printer.
EXAMPLE: Dumpproject Toaster:Projects/TestProject >RAM:Test
EXAMPLE: Dumpproject Toaster:Projects/TestProject >PRT:
FREEZING VIDEO FROM SWITCHER
The Freeze/Live buttons now work consistently. The "old way" of capturing,
by selecting an input and the two framebuffers, then clicking Freeze, is
now restored. When you capture via this method, the Toaster captures a
four-field image into each framebuffer (DV1 and DV2). The new quick-and-easy
way to capture an image, by clicking on the 1, 2, 3 or 4 button, now works.
When you capture via this method, the Toaster *always* captures a
four-field color frame into DV1 only. DV2 will retain its original
contents. This was necessary in order to make the panel operate correctly.
CONFIGURING LIGHTWAVE PLUG-INS
LightWave includes a set of plug-ins that must be configured for your
system before you can use them. See the note, below, about "Saving
LightWave Animations as Flyer Clips" for an example that explains how to
do this.
For any other plug-ins that you find in the appropriate plug-ins
directory, install them in the same manner. Each plug-in will be added
to LightWave's config file so that it will be available each time you run
LightWave.
Saving LightWave Animations as Flyer Clips
You can now save a LightWave animation as a clip to a Flyer drive. The
technique has been implemented as a LightWave plug-in.
Note:
LightWave animation clips are saved in the quality mode that has been set
from the Hardware Options panel. If your drives support HQ5, and HQ5 is
turned on from the Hardware Options panel, the animation will be saved as
if it were recorded as an HQ5 quality clip.
In order to use the plug-in, you must first add it to LightWave. (Once it
has been added, it will remain available in all future LightWave sessions.)
Follow the steps below.
1) Enter LightWave.
2) Go to the Options panel.
3) Click on Add Plug-ins.
4) Navigate to the Plug-ins directory (inside the main NewTek directory).
Select and load the file clipsav.p. This automatically installs the
plug-in and modifies LightWave's config file so that the plug-in will
be available each time you run the program.
5) Go to the Record panel and drag the pointer over the Animation Type
pop-up. Notice that you have two new options: FlyerClip and FlyerFilm.
You can use these to save clips to the Flyer when rendering animations.
FlyerClip saves a standard Flyer clip. FlyerFilm saves frames as if they
had been transferred from film to video using the 3/2 pull-down technique.
The result is that fields are written at a 3:2 ratio (rather than writing
all images at the rate of two fields, every other image is written
into 3 fields, then 2, then 3, then 2, and so on, emulating the 3/2
pulldown technique of film-to-video transfer).
Note:
If you wish to update or remove an existing plug-in, you will need to
remove its command line from the LightWave config file. Use a text editor
to delete the line from the config file so that the plug-in is not loaded
when LightWave starts. You may also wish to delete the actual plug-in
executable from your hard disk. This is of course optional.
TRANSLATOR 3D
A new object translation utility is provided for use with the
LightWave Modeler. Translator3D delivers fast, accurate and
easy conversions of your 3DStudio, DXF and Wavefront objects.
Loading objects is easy. In modeler, press the "Load" button
in the objects panel. If the object is not an .lwo file Tran3D
will convert it.
To export as one of the supported formats follow these steps...
1) Make sure the object is in the foreground layer.
2) Enter the Tools panel.
3) Press the Custom pop-up and select the Translator3D-Export option.
4) Select the object format then click OK.
5) A file requester will appear. Enter the object name and drive path.
Press the OK button.
To change the configuration options do the following...
1) Enter the Objects panel.
2) Press the Custom pop-up and select the Translator3D-Options entry.
3) On the configuration panel, select the Object format
whose options will be modified then click the OK button.
4) On the individual option panel, make changes to
the options. Click OK to keep the changes.
5) When finished making changes, select the Done button and
then select the OK button to save the changes or CANCEL
to forget the changes.
The configuration options are:
3D Studio
1) Object Color From - This will decide where the color
data is taken from the 3D Studio object to be imported.
There are three options, Amibent, Diffuse and Specular.
Diffuse is the default.
2) Material Mode - Some 3D Studio objects may be imported
with their RGB color values set to black (0, 0, 0).
The Original option will leave these colors alone. The
White option will convert the black colors to a white
RGB value of (200, 200, 200). The default is Original.
DXF
1) Convert Blocks - This will toggle on or off whether the
Blocks section of a DXF object is converted. The
default is Blocks active.
2) Arc Segments - This entry varies the number segments for
the conversion of CIRCLE and ARC entities. This value
can be no less than 4 and no greater than 1000.
the default is 12.
WAVEFRONT
1) There are no options for Wavefront.
NEW FOR AMIGA LIGHTWAVE 4.0
- 3D Glow has been added. Glow per/surface toggle is located in surface
panel. Glow values and envelope controls are located in 'Effects' panel.
- 'Flyer Clip' support has been added for Video Toaster Flyer users. Image panel
contains a 'Load Flyer Clip' button. LightWave compensates for
SMPTE Drop-Frame when calculating Flyer clips as image sequences.
- 'Clipsaver.p' plug-in allows for LightWave animations to be rendered out as
Flyer Clips. Plug-in must be loaded into Layout.
- New 'Dithered Motion Blur' renders a film/temporal quality motion blur.
(please note that Dithered Blur cannot be combined with Field Rendering, due
to the inherent need for the two fields to share the same blur)
- Surface sample preview: From surface panel, keyboard shortcut is "s". To
alter the sphere diameter, keyboard shortcut is "Shift-s"
(note: as of press time, background option was not implemented on Amiga,
it's still a cool feature though)
- Image Compositing pop-ups have been replaced with a separate panel accessed
via the 'Image Compositing' button from the 'Effects Panel'
- New 'Content Directory' (located under options panel) allows for LW to access
scene items from any directory and/or drive on system.
- 'Show Field Chart' under 'options' panel allows for true rotoscoping from
35/65/70mm Film plates
- Minisliders have been added for all angular parameters.
- There is now a button on the Options panel to allow users to add plug-ins
to the database. Plug-ins added in this way will be recorded in the
config file when LightWave exits, so they will already be listed next time
the program is run.
- The Starting Position edit field on the record panel has been replaced
with a requester (activated by the "s" keyboard shortcut) to make room for
the new serial port name field.
- Keyboard controls for adjusting tension ("t"), continuity ("c"),
bias ("b"), toggles to "hold-downs". Angular values are now displayed with
degree symbols in the envelope graph editor.
- A keyboard shortcut ("i") has been added for I K Options.
- The "Selected Item and Descendants" option that has been available when
creating or deleting keyframes for objects is now available for bones too.
- Hitting the "=" key now adds a child bone to the current bone
MODELER:
- Added option to "new" command to clear only data and view or data only.
- Added weld shortcut: Ctrl-w
- Added drag shortcut: Ctrl-t
- Added "triangle fan" and "triangle strip" built-in custom tools
- Added screen mode and color interface mode selector to display options panel
***POWERVIEW**
For LightWave 3D Version 4.0
copyright NewTek, Inc. 1995
PowerView is a plug-in for Modeler Version 4.0 that allows
selected layers to be viewed in a solid shaded view.
For Amiga Owners:
1) copy "pviewami.p" to your plug-ins\Modeler directory
2) load the plug-in into Modeler
3) activate it through the tools\custom menu
Function Keys:
AMIGA
right mouse button - toggles between wireframe and faceted
s - sets left mouse button for spinning on any axis
spacebar - clears all mouse actions
Tips:
-As with any plug-in, you can assign "Powerview" to a function
key for easier accessibility.
VIDEO TOASTER FLYER AREXX SCRIPTS
AREXX ADDITIONS FOR PROGRAMMERS
Added ARexx commands to let users add to the new Tools popup: AddTool,
RemTool, ToolName, ToolCmd, ToolNum. New functions: Requester w/ 1-4
buttons, ProjectUpdate() to recalc total running time.
Timing Errors due to Too Many ARexx Scripts in a Project
At this time, we do not recommend that you place ARexx scripts within a
video project where timing is critical (except for the Replay.rexx script,
which simply serves to cause a project to play repeatedly).
The presence of multiple ARexx scripts can cause timing errors during
playback. Since ARexx scripts cannot be run reliably during project
playback, this should not be an issue.
ABSTRACT
The ARexx scripts add a variety of powerful must-have features to the Video
Toaster and Video Toaster Flyer. Here are just a few examples of what they
can do from the Flyer sequencer:
· Adjust the volume level of all selected clips (or all clips) in a
project
· Process video clips to create slow-motion, strobe, or fast-motion
effects
· Change the icon for a video clip
· Capture time lapse clips
· Record your own stop-motion clips
OVERVIEW
Most ARexx scripts have been written to fill a need that went unanticipated
in the original software spec, or to add a cool feature that someone thought
would be fun. Some scripts perform the same function in one application as
they do in another.
USING THE SCRIPTS
There are ARexx scripts for each of the Toaster's video graphic
applications. The scripts are started by each program in a different
manner. Below is a short description of the ARexx-access within these
programs. For further information than is offered here, see the manual for
each application.
AREXX SCRIPTS FOR TOASTERPAINT
Select and start ARexx scripts from the Process panel. There are two types:
those that affect the current screen only, and those that can operate on
video clips.
AREXX SCRIPTS FOR LIGHTWAVE
Modeler has two pop-up menus labeled Custom, one on the Objects panel and
one on the Tools panel. You'll find a variety of ARexx scripts within each
button. Layout does not use ARexx at this time.
AREXX SCRIPTS FOR SEQUENCER/SWITCHER
All scripts are started by one of two means:
In a files view, navigate to the ARexx directory, enter the Editor
subdirectory, and double-click on any ARexx script there.
Or, if you have dragged any ARexx scripts into the Startup subdirectory
there, you can simply select them from the Tools pop-up on the main button
bar.
Note: When started from the ARexx directory on the hard drive, scripts will
affect all of the croutons in the current project. However, if scripts are
run from the Tools pop-up menu instead, they can affect either (a) the
currently selected croutons, or (b) all croutons in the project. These
scripts are noted below.
Special Note: None of the ARexx scripts (with the exception of FixProject)
will affect any "Lost Croutons" in a project. The Lost Crouton contains
information about a crouton that is missing from a loaded project. Since
Lost Croutons are not valid croutons for sequencing or editing, they cannot
be altered (therefore, the croutons they represent, when restored, will
retain their original settings).
AREXX SCRIPTS FOR TOASTERCG
All scripts are started by one of two means:
Press Alt+F1 to call up a file requester (preset to the CG ARexx scripts
directory), then select the script you wish to run by double-clicking on it.
If you know the function key that is assigned to the script you want to
run, simply press Alt+(that Fkey), or Shift+Alt+(that Fkey). Function keys
can be assigned for both the Alt and Shift+Alt settings (for a total of 20
key assignments in all).
Note:
Do *NOT* use spaces in the names of any CG Arexx scripts. The Alt+F1
launcher cannot start a script with spaces.
Note:
If there is no response from ToasterCG when you invoke an ARexx
hotkey, it is possible that the ARexx server (Rexxmast) is not active. You
may need to return to the Workbench, locate and start its icon (it's in
the System drawer of your startup hard drive). If Rexxmast will
not run, or ARexx still will not run, then you may need to reinstall
the Workbench or Toaster software.
TOASTERCG KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
These can be altered if you wish to reorganize them. You need to know how
to use a text editor to open the config file, make the correct changes, and
save it once again. The file is called cg-config. Its full pathname
is Toaster:Programs/CG_Support/cg-config.
Alt+F1 RexxLauncher
Alt+F2 SaveTextFile
Alt+F3 SaveState
Alt+F4 SavePage
Alt+F5 SaveAttrib
Alt+F6 BumpLines
Alt+F7 SpellCheck
Alt+F8 DOSCommand
Alt+F9 SizeUp
Alt+F10 CopyAttrib
Shift+Alt+F1 Import
Shift+Alt+F2 RmWord
Shift+Alt+F3 SaveState
Shift+Alt+F4 EPSLoad
Shift+Alt+F5 CGHaiku
Shift+Alt+F6 unused
Shift+Alt+F7 unused
Shift+Alt+F8 unused
Shift+Alt+F9 SizeDown
Shift+Alt+F10 PasteAttrib
HOW TO CHECK FOR THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF VOLTAGE GOING TO THE FLYER
There is a barrel shaped Ferrite B power supply line filter just to the right
of the Flyer logo. Using a meter the voltage should read between 4.7 - 5.0
volts. Anything lower than that can cause the Flyer to malfunction. Look into
replacing the Amiga power supply if you have this problem.