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──────────────────────────────── V : Log Professional Video Library Management ──────────────────────────────── ────── Program Operation ─────── Version 3 Copyright (C) 1988-1992 Sprenger Development All Rights Reserved ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── CONTENTS Topic Page ----- ---- Part I - BEFORE YOU START .......................... 2 Read The "README" File ...................... 2 Command Line Arguments ...................... 2 Configuration Files ......................... 3 Part II - STARTING THE PROGRAM ..................... 3 Startup ..................................... 3 The V:Log Screen ............................ 4-5 V:Log Files ................................. 5 Part III - THE EDITOR .............................. 5 Entering Scenes In The Editor ............... 5-7 Entry Mode .................................. 7 Tag and Auto Tag ............................ 7-8 Movement Keys (Editor) ...................... 8 Commands .................................... 8-9 Part IV - FILES and REEL INFO ...................... 10 The File Selection Window ................... 10-11 Loading A File .............................. 11 Marked Scenes ............................... 11 Reel Info ................................... 12 Part V - OTHER TOPICS .............................. 12 PIK Files ................................... 12-13 Text and Merge Output ....................... 13-14 Where To Go From Here ....................... 14 Page 1 - V:Log Operation ───────────────────────── Part I - BEFORE YOU START ───────────────────────── Read The "README" File ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── There may be a file titled "README" on the disk. A 'readme' file contains last-minute information and updates. Always read any 'readme' files before using a new or updated piece of software. Also take a few minutes to read the file "INTRO.DOC". This file has a brief description of the program and introductory material. There is also a listing of the files on the disk as well as an overview of the documentation files. Command Line Arguments ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── There are a number of characteristics of V:Log which you can control; for example, the display colors and printing options. There are two ways to control these characteristics: command line arguments and configuration files. A command line argument is information which alters, modifies, or supplies information to a computer program when you start up that program. For example, to use a monochrome monitor and line printer #2, type "VLOG MONO LP2" [ENTER] to start the program. (A batch file is a handy way to use regular command line arguments. See your DOS manual.) MONO .................. Forces monochrome display values. Intended for systems with a color display adapter but a monochrome monitor. It is also handy for running on a laptop with LCD screen. SNO_ON ................ Some older CGA display adapters are notorious SNO_OFF for showing "snow" when information is written to the screen. The methods used to minimize this effect, however, slow down the (apparent) speed of the program. LFOFF ................. Some printers automatically perform a line feed whenever a carriage return character is received. The result is that the standard CR/LF combination will cause TWO line feeds, leaving a blank line between every printed line. "LFOFF" cancels the additional line feed. HELP .................. Displays a help screen, showing the program name, version number, and all of the command line arguments which are available. Page 2 - V:Log Operation Configuration Files ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Another way to control characteristics of V:Log is with a configuration file. A configuration file is created with a separate program ("VLCONFIG.EXE"), provided on the disk which you received. A configuration file allows you control over many characteristics of V:Log, including some for which there are no command line equivalents. For more information on how to create and use configuration files, see the file "VLCONFIG.DOC". ─────────────────────────────── Part II - STARTING THE PROGRAM ─────────────────────────────── Startup ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── If you are using floppy drives, place the V:Log Work Disk into one of the drives and close the drive door. Be sure the DOS prompt is showing the letter of that drive ("A>" or "B>"). If you are using a hard drive, be sure that the drive letter of the hard drive is showing at the DOS prompt (probably "C>"). If the V:Log program is in a subdirectory, and that subdirectory is not the current directory, type "CD\(subdirectory name)" [ENTER]. Type "VLOG" followed by any command line arguments you wish to use. Make sure that there is at least one space between each command line argument. Then press [ENTER]. After a few seconds, you'll see the V:Log startup screen, including the program name, version number and a copyright notice. Press any key on your keyboard. The screen will change to the V:Log screen. Page 3 - V:Log Operation The V:Log Screen ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ │File│ Editor Search Utilities ┌──────────────┐ │ New log │ │▒Load▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒│ │ Save │ │ Reel info │ │ Print queue │ │ Text output │ │ Merge output │ │ Quit Alt X │ └──────────────┘ 0 AutoHr + AutoTag + IN-OUT Trim + LOG: NOFILE.LOG F3-edit F5-set F6-entry F7-trim mode F8-print ALT X-quit ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Along the top row of your screen is the menu bar, which lists the main menus: "File", "Editor", "Search" and "Utilities". There are descriptions of each Menu command in the file "REFERNCE.DOC". When you start the program, the File Menu will be displayed. To see the other three main menus, use the [RIGHT ARROW] and [LEFT ARROW] keys. Another way to go to a main menu is to hold down the [ALT] key and press the first letter of the menu name. For example, the [ALT] [S] key combination will move you to the "Search" menu. There are two ways to make selections from the main menus. The first way is to move the highlight bar to the operation you want to perform, using the [UP ARROW] and [DOWN ARROW] keys. Then press [ENTER]. The second way is to simply type the capitalized letter in the command (usually the first letter) of the choice which you wish to make. When you do, the highlight bar will move to your selection and that operation will begin. Along the bottom of your screen are two lines of text: the upper of these is the Status Line. 0 AutoHr + AutoTag + IN-OUT Trim + LOG: NOFILE.LOG Page 4 - V:Log Operation The Status Line shows the total number of scenes in the Editor (none so far); the status of the Auto Hour, Entry Mode and Trim Mode (which we'll look at soon), and the active file. Since no files have been loaded, the default name "NOFILE.LOG" is shown. Below the Status Line is the Command Line. F3-edit F5-set F6-entry F7-trim mode F8-print ALT X-quit This line shows you most of the commands which are available at any given time. The command line commands change, depending on your current activity. Some commands are invoked using Function keys (F keys). Other commands use letter keys and key combinations. V:Log Files ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── There are two types of V:Log files: "LOG" files and "PIK" files. LOG files are logs of your source videotapes. LOG files contain information about each scene in the tape being logged, including start and stop time codes, the duration, a text description, and the Record Mode. In addition, LOG files contain information about how, when and where the tape was shot. This information is called the "Reel Info". The other V:Log file type is PIK files. PIK files ("pick files") contain scenes which you've selected from your LOG files, for an edit list or simply a list of "best takes". You will learn more about LOG files and PIK files as you proceed through this tutorial. ───────────────────── Part III - THE EDITOR ───────────────────── Entering Scenes In The Editor ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── From any of the Main Menus, push [F3]. You will see a blinking cursor on the top line of the Editor area. The Command Line on the bottom of the screen now shows the Editor commands: Append Insert Edit Block Mark Recmode Find Trim F5-F6-F7-F8 ESC Page 5 - V:Log Operation The Editor commands are activated by simply pressing the first letter of the command, or pressing a Function key. Each command is described in detail further below. Press the [A] key, for "Append". A blank time code (filled with zeroes) will appear: (Start Time Code) (Description) │ │ 00:00:00:00 00:00:00:00 -00:00:00:00- V A1 A2 │ │ │ (End Time Code) (Duration) (Record Mode) The cursor should be at the frames position in the Start time code. Type a number, say "15". When you do, the cursor will automatically move to the seconds position. Type "30" for the seconds. As you can see, Time Code entry is right-justified: frames, seconds, minutes, then hours. You can finish entering time code at any time by pressing [ENTER]. Assume that you don't need to enter a minutes number for this scene. Press the [ENTER] key. The cursor will drop to the End time code. Enter 20, 20, 02. You can push the [+] key to add 1 to the number you are entering, or press [-] to subtract 1. The cursor will move to the description area and wait for you to type in a scene description. Type in a description of an imaginary scene, up to 57 characters. Then press [ENTER]. The Duration time code, below the description, will be automatically calculated. When you are done, your scene should look something like this: 00:00:30:15 Your scene description is here. 00:02:20:20 -00:01:50:05- V A1 A2 Below, there will be another blank time code, ready for the next scene. Let's type in one more scene. This time, for the minutes, type "65". Obviously, there can't be 65 minutes in an hour. The computer will beep and the cursor will back up and wait for you to enter an appropriate number of minutes. You can enter minutes and seconds up to 59, and frames up to 29. This time type in "10". Page 6 - V:Log Operation You will also receive an error message if you try to enter a negative duration: if the End time is earlier (a lower number) than the Start time. As you enter time codes, you can use the left and right arrow keys to move to any of the time code positions (except the hour position; we'll deal with that exception shortly). The cursor will go to the description area when you press [ENTER] or when you enter a valid number of minutes or hours. Finish entering a scene and press [ENTER]. This time, when the next blank time code appears, press the [ESC] key. Entry Mode ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Each scene has three time code numbers: Start, End, and Duration. So far, you have entered the Start and End, and the Duration was automatically calculated. However, you can enter ANY TWO of the three numbers, and the third will be calculated for you. The Entry Mode determines which two of the three numbers you must enter. The Entry Mode is changed by pushing the F6 Function key. Push F6 now. On the Status Line at the bottom of the screen, where it says "IN-OUT", will change to "IN-DURATION". Push again and it will show "DURATION-OUT". To try this out, push [E] to edit the scene where the cursor is located. The cursor will move to the Duration time code number. Edit this number if you wish, or press [ENTER]. The cursor will then move to the End time code. Edit the number or push [ENTER], push [ENTER] again to confirm the description. When you finish, the Start time code will be re- calculated and displayed. Push F6 once more and the original Entry Mode will be restored. Tag and Auto Tag ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Any time while entering Time Codes you can use the Tag function. 'Tag' pulls the numbers from the preceding Time Code and puts them into the Time Code that you are editing. [F2] is the Tag key. If you are entering or editing a Start Time Code, the Tag function inserts the numbers from the End Time Code from the previous scene. 20:45:30:00 Your scene description. ┌─ 20:46:00:00 -00:00:30:00- V A1 A2 │ └─> 20:46:00:00 00:00:00:00 -00:00:00:00- V A1 A2 Page 7 - V:Log Operation If you are entering an End Time Code, Tag will insert the numbers from the Start Time Code from that scene. ┌─ 20:46:10:00 Another scene. └─> 20:46:10:00 -00:00:00:00- V A1 A2 The Auto Tag setting can automatically tag time code numbers. The current Auto Tag setting is shown on the Status Line at the bottom of the screen: either AutoTag + or AutoTag -. When Auto Tag is in use (the setting is '+') all time code numbers will be tagged, when you are appending or inserting new scenes. Editing of existing scenes will not be tagged automatically. (The manual tag - F2 - is still available.) Operation of the Auto Tag function is as described above. Movement Keys (Editor) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── [UP ARROW] ............ Moves the cursor up one line. If already at the top of the Editor area, the list of scenes will scroll down. [DN ARROW] ............ Moves the cursor down one line. If already at the bottom of the Editor, the scenes will scroll up. [PG UP] ............... Moves the cursor to the top of the Editor area. If already at the top, the preceding "page" of scenes will be displayed. [PG DN] ............... Moves the cursor to the bottom of the Editor area. If already at the bottom, the following "page" of scenes will be displayed. [HOME] ................ Moves to the beginning of the list (Scene #1). [END] ................. Moves to the end of the list. Commands ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── (NOTE: A more detailed description of each command is given in the "REFERNCE.DOC" documentation file.) Append ................ Adds a scene to the Editor at the end of the existing scenes. Insert ................ Adds a scene to the Editor at the current cursor location. All following scenes are renumbered. Page 8 - V:Log Operation Edit .................. Change the information in the scene where the cursor is located. Block ................. Select a group of 1 or more consecutive scenes to perform further operations. Once a block is selected, the Block Menu will show up at the bottom of the screen. BLOCK: Copy Move Delete Save F5-set F8-print ESC F5 pops up the "Set" menu, which is used to Mark, Unmark, change the Record Mode, change the time code Hour, to sort the block, or to get the duration of all the scenes in the block. Mark .................. Marks the scene at the cursor location. [ENTER] If already marked, the scene is unmarked. Recmode ............... Used to change the record mode of the scene (Record Mode) where the cursor is located. Find .................. Find scenes containing a word or phrase. Set case sensitivity and whole-word matching using the window that pops up. Trim .................. Add to or subtract from a Time Code number in the scene where the cursor is located. Quick Save ............ Save the current list to disk. [CTRL] [S] F5 .................... Pops up the "Set" menu, used to Mark, Unmark, change the Record Mode, change the time code Hour, sort the scenes, or get the duration of the scenes in the Editor or in the selected Block. F6 .................... Changes the "Entry Mode". Choices are IN-OUT, IN-DURATION, and DURATION-OUT. F7 .................... Changes the "Trim Mode" from '+' to '-' or '-' to '+'. F8 .................... Prints the entire Editor list. [ALT] [F] ............. Go directly to the File Menu. [ALT] [E] ............. Go directly to the Editor Menu. [ALT] [S] ............. Go directly to the Search Menu. [ALT] [U] ............. Go directly to the Utilities Menu. [ALT] [X] ............. Quit V:Log and return to DOS. Page 9 - V:Log Operation ───────────────────────────── Part IV - FILES and REEL INFO ───────────────────────────── The File Selection Window ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Press [ALT][F] to return to the File Menu. The next operation that we will perform is to load a sample file. Select the "Load" command in the File Menu. You will be asked whether you wish to save your current work, named "NOFILE.LOG". Press [N], for "no". The File Selection window will appear. The File Selection window is used whenever you need to select a file or directory. In the window are listed the files located in your current directory, sorted alphabetically. ┌─Files─────A:─┐ │▒FILE1.LOG▒▒▒▒│ │ FILE2.PIK │ │ FILE3.LOG │ │ FILE4.BAK │ │ FILE4.PIK │ │ REEL1.LOG │ │ REEL2.LOG │ │ REEL9.LOG │ │ VLOG.EXE │ │ \SAMPLES │ └──────────────┘ To select a file, use the [UP ARROW] and [DOWN ARROW] keys to place the highlight bar over the file name. If there are too many file names to fit in the window, the list will scroll up or down when the highlight bar is at the top or bottom. You can also use [PG UP] and [PG DN] to "page" through the list. Directories also appear in the File Selection window. All directory names are preceded by the 'backslash' (\) character. Also, directory names are shown in a different color than file names, to make them easy to find. Page 10 - V:Log Operation ┌─Files─────A:─┐ │▒FILE1.LOG▒▒▒▒│ │ FILE2.PIK │ │ FILE3.LOG │ │ FILE4.BAK │ │ FILE4.PIK │ │ REEL1.LOG │ │ REEL2.LOG │ │ REEL9.LOG │ ==> │ \SUBDIR1 │ ==> │ \.. │ └──────────────┘ Notice the line named "\..". This is a special name, which is available whenever you are looking at the contents of a subdirectory. Selecting "\.." will return you to the next higher (parent) directory. If the file you want to select is located on a different disk drive, push the [D] key, for "change Drive". A flashing cursor will appear at the top of the File Selection window. Push the letter key of the drive you want to use. You can change the 'wildcard mask' by pushing [M]. Change the file mask - for example, change from "*.LOG" to "*.PIK" - and the files which are displayed will change to reflect the new mask. Loading A File ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Use the File Selection window, described above, to select the file "CATS.LOG" on the V:Log work disk. With the hilite bar on that file name, press [ENTER]. In a few seconds, the file will appear on your screen. You will automatically be taken back to the Editor. Marked Scenes ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Notice that some of the scenes in the sample file are displayed as either high-intensity or a different color, depending on whether you have a monochrome or color monitor. These scenes are Marked. Marking scenes allows you to select them for certain operations, such as printing, saving to a special file, or importing into an edit list. When a PIK or LOG list is saved as a file, the information on Marked scenes is also saved. You can try out the "Mark" Editor command; press either [M] or [ENTER]. The scene where the cursor is located will become either Marked or Unmarked. Page 11 - V:Log Operation Reel Info ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Once again, push [ALT][F] to return to the File Menu. This time, select "Reel info" in the File Menu. The Reel Info window will appear on your screen. ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │▒ID#:▒▒▒▒▒▒ │ │ Code: │ │ Project: │ │ Producer: │ │ Location: │ │ Client: │ │ Date: 00/00/00 │ └──────────────────────────────────┘ The Reel Info is used when searching your LOG files and creating Log Reports. Reel Info allows you to control the search process. The two top items, "ID#" (I.D. number) and "Code", are also used as you create PIK files, to make edit lists from your source tape files. Entering Reel Info is simple. Use the [UP ARROW] and [DOWN ARROW] keys to move the highlight bar to a category, such as Location. Press [ENTER]. A flashing cursor will appear to the right of the category, and you can start typing in the information you wish to use. When you are done, press [ENTER]. As you enter the "Date" (usually the date that the videotape was shot), you can use the [RIGHT ARROW] and [LEFT ARROW] keys to move among the date categories. Make a habit of entering the Reel Info in each log file, just like you always label your tapes. Be consistent as you enter the Reel Info. Always use the same name for a particular project and your personnel; be accurate in your spelling. When you are done, push [ESC] to return to the File Menu. ───────────────────── Part V - OTHER TOPICS ───────────────────── PIK Files ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Before you proceed to "VLSEARCH.DOC", to learn about searching your log files, you need to know what PIK files are. Page 12 - V:Log Operation PIK files are used to create lists from your source LOG files, for EDL's, "best take" lists, etc. When you search your log files, the scenes from the log files which meet the search criteria are imported into a PIK file. Because PIK files consist of scenes from multiple source tapes, some means must be used to identify the reel for each scene. The "ID#" and "Code" categories, in the Reel Info, are used to do this. When a PIK file is created - by searching, file merging, etc. - the ID number and Code are kept with each scene. This allows you to easily determine the source reel for each scene in the PIK list. An example scene from a PIK file is shown below. 00:45:00:00 This is an example of a LOG scene. 00:46:00:00 -00:01:00:00- V A1 A2 00:45:00:00 This is an example of a PIK scene. 00:46:00:00 -00:01:00:00- V A1 A2 014 CatPrj │ │ ID Number Code Text and Merge Output ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── It is often useful to have the information from your log files available for other computer programs, such as word processing or database applications. The information in V:Log LOG and PIK files can be output to either a text file, to read into a word processor document; or as a mail merge file, which can be imported into most database management programs. There is a menu selection in the File Menu to create either of these output files. Select "Text output" or "Merge output". You will be asked whether to output All the scenes in the Editor, or only the Marked scenes. Then you will be asked for the output path and filename. As soon as you enter this information, the output file will be created. (There is more detailed information on Text output and Merge output in the file "REFERNCE.DOC".) Page 13 - V:Log Operation 7 04:05:01:10 WS Elizabeth getting cat food from shelf. 04:05:30:00 -00:00:28:20- V A2 EXAMPLE: "Text output" of a LOG file. "04","05","01","10","04","05","30","00","00","00","28","20", "WS Elizabeth getting cat food from shelf.","V A2 ","","" EXAMPLE: "Merge output" of a LOG file. (Shown in two lines; actual output is a single line terminated with Carriage Return/Line Feed.) Where To Go From Here ... ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── To learn about Search Operations (after all, logs of your tapes aren't much good unless you can easily access the information!), go through the Search tutorial in "VLSEARCH.DOC". If you'd like to find more detailed descriptions of the program menus and operations, read the file "REFERNCE.DOC". If your most pressing need is to change V:Log with a configuration file, see "VLCONFIG.DOC". Page 14 - V:Log Operation