Embedded Files
Webclip Edition with Powerdirector
November 27, 2011 version
Official guide of Power-Director-9 (PDF)
WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL VERSION
The photo desks are editing what is called internally an "international version".
This version is an all purpose archive version of raw footage and is validated to Videoforum.
It should be edited in a way that serves all possible uses, broadcast and multimedia.
The international version is edited in a technical format that allows AFPTV to validate directly to its english broadcast clients if the edit is OK with only one click.
The desk should make sure that:
- The order of the sequences is coherent
- The dopesheet (and especially the shotlist field) is properly filled up
- No shaky or blured images are left
- Too long shots are shortened
- The sound level is in conformity with AFPTV standards
- A text story is given to clients when possible
ACKNOWELDGING RECEPTION
When receiving a webclip transmission mail from a journalist the photo desk should check that the video has correctly landed with a complete dopesheet and inform the producer if this is the case. If not, the desk should ask a refile, independently of the fact that it can edit it or not.
The desk should make sure that the webclip has been actually approved following the usual process. In case of doubt the desk should check with the producer and the regional redchef. If not the webclip should not be edited.
LOOKING FOR ANOTHER EDITING SOLUTION
If a regional photo desk is overwhelmed or has no webclip editor available, it is its responsibility to look for another editing solution.
The regional AFPTV journalists can also help in taking care of the international version of a webclip if the photo desk cannot take it immediately.
If no solution can be found in the region, the photo desk should ask for help from another regional photo desk.
It is important that the producers are not copied of the mails regarding the search of an editing solution between the different desks. Although this is a normal process, it can have a negative impact on the producers.
PREPARING THE WEBCLIP FOR EDITION
Open AFP reporter -- Mediaviewer. Different channels are displayed. Among them is your local webclips channel.
Desks can also have access to the central server in order to edit a webclip from another region, but the channel should not be activated (except in Paris).
Launch Power Director and reduce it (or put it on another screen: Attention this operation can sometimes bug if the video card is not the proper one)
Select the webclip from the webclip channel, drag it into power director main window next to AFP intro. If you work on 1 screen you need to roll your mouse over Power director icon in the tool bar at the bottom, to call Power Director main window.
Click right on the webclip: on the scroll menu choose "detect scenes" (this opens a new window).
On the new window opened by this action, click on "detect scenes" and once the operation is finished click on OK (this creates a folder with the scenes split - click on blue arrow to return to window with AFP intro - the webclip appears now with a little folder logo. By clicking on it you have access to the split scenes.
Drag and drop the AFP intro.
Select the scenes, drag and drop them onto the timeline
EDITING THE WEBCLIP
Have a first general look of the webclip and make mental notes of the different interventions it requires from your part.
Sound is an essential element of editing. Always edit using your headphones and the VUMeter
Never hesitate in showing your final edit to an AFPTV journalist when available.
A few editorial tips
• A good webclip is not a mere succession of well framed scenes with no link between them.There has to be a form of continuity and storytelling. Editors should therefore not hesitate in changing the order of the scenes to improve coherence.
• Try to create small sequences of 3-4 scenes describing the same action, person or moment from different angles and with different frames.
• Video is about movement: when editing a scene always give preference to the moment where a movement takes place, even a small one
• Shots should not last less than three seconds except cut away shots (generally close ups of details) which can be between two and three seconds long. This does not apply to scenes where an important action is taking place. In that case the editorial interest determines the length.
• Try to establish transitions between scenes.
• The first shot should be a shot establishing the situation. Do not start with a close up. Use a wide shot rather.
• Close ups always should be accompanied by a medium or wide shot allowing to understand the situation. If you just have a close up on one action or person and no other shot just do not use it.
• Last scene should generally not ber a close up. There are typical finishing scenes: a man or a car going away from the camera
• Do not cut a scene in the middle of a movement. Start the scene half a second before the beginning of the movement and cut it when a movement is finished.
• Let people or cars get out of the frame. Do not cut a scene when a person or a car has started to get out of the frame but is still visible.
Main PowerDirector features for editing:
To play the video use the space bar (stop and go)
To go frame by frame use < > at the bottom of the on the keyboard (qwerty)
To cut an entire scene, click on it, this highlights it in blue and then click ‘delete’
To split a scene use CTRL+T : place the cursor on a highlighted (blue) part, ctrl T (cuts the scene), then you highlight again the part that you want to delete and presse on delete or move it (ctrl Z to undo)
To insert a scene : drag a scene onto the next one and click right insert
To remove a gap between two scenes: click right and select ‘remove gap and close space’
EDITING THE SOUND
This is an essential part of the editing job.
Sound level should be in average around -18db for ambiance sound
Webclips will often have a too loud sound in all their duration.
A few editorial tips
• Do not interrupt a scene while a person is speaking in the middle of a word. Let the sentence be finished or at least wait for a respiration.
• When dealing with music, try to giver longer shots with full musical phrases.
• Webclips filmed with a D3s have often a quarter of a second without any sound at the beginning and end of the shot. Do not forget to cut those parts.
Power Director features:
To correct a general sound problem go to the Audio Mixing Zone (symbolised by two music notes) and the round grey button to the left. This will lower the sound for the whole webclip.
If only the sound of one shot needs to be changed highlight it and move the the blue cursor until the sound level is ok.
IMPROVING STABILITY, WHITE BALANCE...
Webclips can sometimes have stability problems especially when filmed with a zoom or white balance problems. This problems can sometimes be fixed using PD9 Fix/Enhance programs. But on a general level, those corrections should be minimal as they degrade the technical quality of the images. If no technical solution can help, these shots should be purely and simply deleted.
Stability:
In order to correct a scene you sould:
- Select the scene (This highlights it in blue and makes appear a number of menus on top of the timeline)
- Click on Fix/Enhance
- Click on the stabilizer tick box
- Move the cursor that appears on the right to the minimum level
- Apply between 5 and 10 corrections points by clicking on + (but never more than that as the stabilizer crops into the video and provokes a loss of quality)
- If despite those minimal corrections the stability is not improved enough, just delete the scene
Sharpening:
Stabilizing the image might also mean a loss of sharpness. This can also be corrected by PowerDirector with Fix/Enhance:
- Click on Video correction (a menu with several curors appears)
- Move the sharpness cursor to the minimal point and apply a correction of no more than 25 points.
White balance
White balance can also be improved with Fix/Enhance. This can be necessary for footage filmed at night with Lumix type cameras in full auto.
- Select the scene (This highlights it in blue and makes appear a number of menus on top of the timeline)
- Click on Fix/Enhance
- Click on the white balance tick box (this will open a new window)
- Click on the white sample with the cursor and then find something in the left image that should be white (a shirt for instance)
- Click on it and check in the control image that the change has improved the image
- If yes, click on OK
SENDING THE WEBCLIP TO SYMPHONIA HD
Once the webclip has been edited
Click on PRODUCE and then on MPEG-4
Go to Profile type : CUSTOM
Profile name/Quality : AFP MP4
In the output folder on the right hand side, remove produce and write date yearmonthday-initials instead eg : 20110607-SD.mp4
Click on START : encoding is automatic
Return to the Media viewer
Click on the original webclip,
Click right and "copy editorial field" (ctrl + shift + C)
Click on your edited webclip
Click right paste editorial field (ctrl + shift + V). If you are in pending mode, the video disappears, press the T filter to make it appear again. Or go in ALL mode.
Enter edited webclip caption and fill it
FILLING UP THE METADATA
Metadata are an essential part of the webclip edition as they help ensuring a better use of the footage by clients. Sending the right metadata is the responsibility of the producer, especially the shotlist. Except if the producer is confronted to exceptional circumstances, the desk should make sure that the producer sends a full dopesheet.
A number of fields differ from the usual photo caption and are a source of mistakes. A special attention should be given to them:
- Caption
- Or. Ref,
- Headline,
- Object name
- Shotlist and text story
- Caption: Two sentences. One with background (a second one if needed) and the other describing the images content. Add “Images” at the end. Contrary to photo captions, the name of the photographer should not be added at the end.
- Or Ref (in CAPS): you should write WEBCLIP in that field (this will help recognize them in Symphonia although the field does not appear in Videoforum)
- Headline (small letters): this field is often forgotten by photo editors as they do not use it for captions. A proper text headline should be written here. Editors can copy and paste the AFP text story headline if there is a relevant one directly linked to the actual footage.
- Object name (in CAPS): You have always to write the word RAW at the beginning and then add the text story slugs.
Example: RAW-EGYPT-TROUBLES
- Shotlist and text story:
- The shotlist is the description of the different scenes of the webclip. Each scene or group of scenes is described in one sentence. It has to include the relevant informations allowing to better understand the action or recognizing the people who are in it.
- Ideally each sentence it has to be preceded by the name of the framing used in it (WS, MS or CU : Wide, medium or close up shots). VAR can also be used to regroup shots of the same action
- No numbers or letters should be used to order the shots
- The AFP text story should be as much as possible in direct link with the images of the webclip
- Here is an example presentation of shotlist and text story field:
SHOTLIST
CAIRO, NOVEMBER 24, 2011, (SOURCE: AFPTV)
- WS of Tahrir square
- VAR of people sleeping at the square
- VAR of protestors eating at the square
- MS of protesters burning leaflets
- MS of protester rousing the crowd
- MS of a young boy draped in flag shouting slogans
- MS of female protestors looking up at male protestor standing on the shoulders of his peers.
- MS of protester rousing the crowd
- MS of protesters shouting slogans
///
---------------------------------------------
AFP TEXT STORY:
Egypt-politics-unrest,SCENE
Uneasy truce in Tahrir Square as protesters regroup
by Samer al-Atrush
=(GRAPHIC+PICTURE)=
CAIRO, Nov 24, 2011 (AFP) - Just south of Cairo's Tahrir Square, down a pockmarked and rock-strewn street, a military crane builds a concrete wall to staunch the flood of deaths on the frontline of a renewed battle for democracy.
More than 30 people were killed on Mohammed Mahmud street over five days in clashes marking the bloodiest challenge to the country's military rulers since they took charge after an uprising ousted Hosni Mubarak in February.
The riot police guns, which sent thousands of rubber and birdshot bullets down the street, fell silent on Thursday as did the wailing of sirens from ambulances that careered up the street to evacuate the dead and wounded.
The police, who set off the clashes on Saturday when they dispersed a sit-in by protesters wounded during the uprising that ousted Mubarak, have withdrawn to the nearby interior ministry headquarters.
se/bpz
SNAPSHOTS
Choosing the right snapshot is an important aspect in the webclip edition process. This thumbnail will be the one that clients will see in Videoforum and should be as teasing and representative of the webclip content as possible.
To change the snapshot select an image in video played via the blue arrow button in the shot list section. Press pause on the image you want and click on the little camera at the top of the page to create a new photo. You can also do that in the Media Viewer after the video has been produced.
SENDING TO SYMPHONIA
Once done, validate (alt V) to ARCHIVER in the validation’s options
Send using Webclip-Photo validation profile
OPEN SYMPHONIA HD
Retrieve webclip in System (3) or Web (4)
Send it to VIDEOFORUM and MAIL WEBCLIP via your validation grid
ATTENTION
Only for webclips in FRANCE : if the dopesheet has been filed up in French, the webclip should NOT be validated to Videoforum, ONLY to MAIL WEBCLIP
Webclip Edition with PowerDirector
December 9, 2011 version
INDEX
WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL VERSION?
ACKNOWLEDGING RECEPTION
LOOKING FOR ANOTHER EDITING SOLUTION
PREPARING THE WEBCLIP FOR EDITION
EDITING THE WEBCLIP
SOUND ISSUES
IMPROVING THE IMAGES
Stability
Sharpness
White balance
SENDING THE WEBCLIP TO SYMPHONIA HD
FILLING UP THE METADATA
SNAPSHOTS
SENDING TO SYMPHONIA
VALIDATION FROM SYMPHONIA HD-
HELPING WEBCLIPERS TO IMPROVE
WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL VERSION?
The photo desks are editing what is called internally an "international version" of webclips shot by text reporters or photographers.
This version is an all purpose archive version of raw footage and is validated to Videoforum where it is available for download by clients.
The photo desk does not send the video directly in our different AFPTV feeds.
The international version should be edited in a way that serves all possible uses, broadcast and multimedia.
It is edited in a technical format that allows AFPTV to validate directly to its english broadcast clients if the edit is OK with only one click.
The desk should make sure that:
- The order of the sequences is coherent
- The dopesheet (and especially the shotlist field) is properly filled up
- No shaky or blured images are left
- Too long shots are shortened
- No ghost frames are left
- The sound level is in conformity with AFPTV standards
- A text story is given to clients when possible
If the quality of the images is not good enough, the desk should not send it to Videoforum.
ACKNOWLEDGING RECEPTION
When receiving a webclip transmission mail from a journalist the photo desk should check that the video has correctly landed with a complete dopesheet and inform the producer if this is the case. If not, the desk should ask a refile, independently of the fact that it can edit it or not.
The desk should make sure that the webclip has been actually approved following the usual process. In case of doubt the desk should check with the producer and the regional redchef. If not the webclip should not be edited.
LOOKING FOR ANOTHER EDITING SOLUTION
If a regional photo desk is overwhelmed or has no webclip editor available, it is its responsibility to look for another editing solution.
The regional AFPTV journalists can also help in taking care of the international version of a webclip if the photo desk cannot take it immediately.
If no solution can be found in the region, the photo desk should ask for help from another regional photo desk.
It is important that the producers are not copied of the mails regarding the search of an editing solution between the different desks. Although this is a normal process, it can have a negative impact on the producers.
Regional webclip addresses:
Webclip.hkg@afp.com : Hong-Kong
Webclip.moy@afp.com : Nicosia
Webclip.euraf@afp.com: Paris inter
Webclip.wash@afp.com: Washington
Webclip.Amlat@afp.com: Montevideo
Webclip.France@afp.com : Paris
PREPARING THE WEBCLIP FOR EDITION
Open AFP reporter -- Mediaviewer. Different channels are displayed. Among them is your local webclips channel.
Desks can also have access to the central server in order to edit a webclip from another region.
Launch Power Director and reduce it (or put it on another screen: Attention this operation can sometimes bug if the video card is not the proper one)
Select the webclip from the webclip channel, drag it into power director main window next to AFP intro. If you work on 1 screen you need to roll your mouse over Power director icon in the tool bar at the bottom, to call Power Director main window.
Click right on the webclip: on the scroll menu choose "detect scenes" (this opens a new window).
On the new window opened by this action, click on "detect scenes" and once the operation is finished click on OK (this creates a folder with the scenes split - click on blue arrow to return to window with AFP intro - the webclip appears now with a little folder logo. By clicking on it you have access to the split scenes.
Drag and drop the AFP intro. Select the scenes, drag and drop them onto the timeline
EDITING THE WEBCLIP
Have a first general look of the webclip and make mental notes of the different interventions it requires from your part.
Sound is an essential element of editing. Always edit using your headphones and the VUMeter
There is no maximum length criterium for webclips when editing. Producers are told to try and stick to a minute as this is what appears compatible with their main job on most circumstances, especially if they are not experienced. But if a producer sends more, the only criterium that has to be used when editing the webclip for the International version has to be the editorial interest of the images.
Never hesitate in showing your final edit to an AFPTV journalist when available. This will help ensuring that no further edition work is needed by AFPTV to send the video to its clients.
A few editorial tips:
- A good webclip is not a mere succession of well framed scenes with no link between them. There has to be a form of continuity and storytelling. Editors should therefore not hesitate in changing the order of the scenes to improve coherence.
- Try to create small sequences of 3-4 scenes describing the same action, person or moment from different angles and with different frames.
- Video is about movement: when editing a scene always give preference to the moment where a movement takes place, even a small one
- Shots should not last less than three seconds except cut away shots (generally close ups of details) which can be between two and three seconds long. This does not apply to scenes where an important action is taking place. In that case the editorial interest determines the length.
- Try to establish transitions between scenes.
- The first shot should be a shot establishing the situation. Do not start with a close up. Use a wide shot rather.
- Close ups always should be accompanied by a medium or wide shot allowing to understand the situation. If you just have a close up on one action or person and no other shot just do not use it.
- Last scene should generally not ber a close up. There are typical finishing scenes: a man or a car going away from the camera
- Do not cut a scene in the middle of a movement. Start the scene half a second before the beginning of the movement and cut it when a movement is finished.
- Let people or cars get out of the frame. Do not cut a scene when a person or a car has started to get out of the frame but is still visible.
- Pay a special attention to ghost frames
Main PowerDirector features for editing:
To play the video use the space bar (stop and go)
To go frame by frame use < > at the bottom of the on the keyboard (qwerty)
To cut an entire scene, click on it, this highlights it in blue and then click ‘delete’
To split a scene use CTRL+T : place the cursor on a highlighted (blue) part, ctrl T (cuts the scene), then you highlight again the part that you want to delete and presse on delete or move it (ctrl Z to undo)
To insert a scene : drag a scene onto the next one and click right insert
To remove a gap between two scenes: click right and select ‘remove gap and close space’
EDITING THE SOUND
This is an essential part of the editing job.
Always use headphones and the VUMeter
Webclips will often have a too loud sound in all their duration.
Sound level should be around -24 db for ambiance sound and -12 for soundbites
A few editorial tips
- Do not interrupt a scene while a person is speaking in the middle of a word. Let the sentence be finished or at least wait for a respiration.
- When dealing with music, try to giver longer shots with full musical phrases.
- Webclips filmed with a D3s have often a quarter of a second without any sound at the beginning and end of the shot. Do not forget to cut those parts.
Power Director features for sound:
- To correct a general sound problem
- Go to the Audio Mixing Zone (symbolised by two music notes
- Move the round grey button to the left
- This will lower the sound for the whole webclip.
- If only the sound of one shot needs to be changed :
- highlight it
- move the the blue cursor until the sound level is ok.
IMPROVING THE IMAGES
Webclips can sometimes have stability problems especially when filmed with a zoom or white balance problems. This problems can sometimes be fixed using PD9 Fix/Enhance programs (Corriger/Améliorer). But on a general level, those corrections should be minimal as they degrade the technical quality of the images. If no technical solution can help, these shots should be purely and simply deleted.
Stability:
In order to correct the stability of a scene you sould:
- Select the scene (This highlights it in blue and makes appear a number of menus on top of the timeline among which Fix/Enhance)
- Click on Fix/Enhance and then on the stabilizer tick box
- Move the cursor that appears on the right to the minimum level
- Apply between 5 and 10 corrections points by clicking on + (but never more than that as the stabilizer crops into the video and provokes a loss of quality)
- If despite those minimal corrections the stability is not improved enough, just delete the scene
Sharpness
Stabilizing the image might also mean a loss of sharpness. This can also be corrected by PowerDirector with Fix/Enhance:
- Click on Colors correction (a menu with several curors appears)
- Move the sharpness cursor to the minimal point and apply a correction of no more than 25 points
White balance
White balance can also be improved with Fix/Enhance. This can be necessary for footage filmed at night with Lumix type cameras in full auto.
- Select the scene (This highlights it in blue and makes appear a number of menus on top of the timeline)
- Click on Fix/Enhance
- Click on the white balance tick box
- Click on the white sample pipette with the cursor (this will open a new window with two parts)
- Find something in the left image that should be white (a shirt for instance)
- Click on it and check in the control image that the change has improved the image
- If yes, click on OK
SENDING THE WEBCLIP TO SYMPHONIA HD
Once the webclip has been edited
Click on PRODUCE and then on MPEG-4
Go to Profile type : CUSTOM
Profile name/Quality : AFP MP4
In the output folder on the right hand side, remove produce and write date yearmonthday-initials instead eg : 20110607-SD.mp4
Click on START : encoding is automatic
Return to the Media viewer
Click on the original webclip,
Click right and "copy editorial field" (ctrl + shift + C)
Click on your edited webclip
Click right paste editorial field (ctrl + shift + V). If you are in pending mode, the video disappears, press the T filter to make it appear again. Or go in ALL mode.
Enter edited webclip caption and fill it
FILLING UP THE METADATA
Metadata are an essential part of the webclip edition as they help ensuring a better use of the footage by clients.
Sending the right metadata is firstly the responsibility of the producer, especially the shotlist. Except if the producer is confronted to exceptional circumstances, the desk should make sure that the producer sends a as complete as possible dopesheet.
But editors need to make sure that no mistake has been made in the metadata, or to adapt the shotlist if they have changed the order of scenes or cut some of them.
Very often they will be in a better position than the producer to add the latest and most relevant AFP text story, especially for news.
A number of fields differ from the usual photo caption and are a source of mistakes. A special attention should be given to them:
- Caption
- Or. Ref,
- Headline,
- Object name
- Shotlist and text story
- Caption: Two sentences. One with background (a second one if needed) and the other describing the images content. Add “Images” at the end. Contrary to photo captions, the name of the photographer should not be added at the end.
- Or Ref (in CAPS): you should write WEBCLIP in that field (this will help recognize them in Symphonia although the field does not appear in Videoforum)
- Headline (small letters): this field is often forgotten by photo editors as they do not use it for captions. A proper text headline should be written here. Editors can copy and paste the AFP text story headline if there is a relevant one directly linked to the actual footage.
- Object name (in CAPS): You have always to write the word RAW at the beginning and then add the text story slugs. Example: RAW-EGYPT-TROUBLES
- Shotlist and text story:
- The shotlist is the description of the different scenes of the webclip. Each scene or group of scenes is described in one sentence. It has to include the relevant informations allowing to better understand the action or recognizing the people who are in it.
- Ideally each sentence it has to be preceded by the name of the framing used in it (WS, MS or CU : Wide, medium or close up shots). VAR can also be used to regroup shots of the same action
- No numbers or letters should be used to order the shots
- The AFP text story should be as much as possible in direct link with the images of the webclip
- Here is an example presentation of shotlist and text story field:
SNAPSHOTS
Choosing the right snapshot is an important aspect in the webclip edition process. This thumbnail will be the one that clients will see in Videoforum and should be as teasing and representative of the webclip content as possible.
To change the snapshot select an image in video played via the blue arrow button in the shot list section.
Press pause on the image you want and click on the little camera at the top of the page to create a new photo. You can also do that in the Media Viewer after the video has been produced
SENDING TO SYMPHONIA
Once done, validate (alt V) to ARCHIVER in the validation’s options
This should open FTP-AFP from where you should send the webclip to Symphonia using the Webclip-Photo validation profile
VALIDATION FROM SYMPHONIA HD
Retrieve webclip in System (3) or Web (4)
Send it to VIDEOFORUM and MAIL WEBCLIP via your validation grid
Attention desk France
Only for webclips in FRANCE : if the dopesheet has been filed up in French, the webclip should NOT be validated to Videoforum, ONLY to MAIL WEBCLIP
HELPING WEBCLIPERS TO IMPROVE
As much as possible feedback should be given to producers in order to help them improve their webclips. The feedback should be made by the usual management channels.
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