Edit Suite: Linear Editing: Ten Tips for Success
A handful of helpful hints for tape-to-tape editors.Even in these glamorous digital days, a solid majority of video editors still work in traditional linear mode: assembling programs from original footage, shot-by-shot from start to finish. If that's how you edit video, then here are ten key procedures that you can use to smooth the process and spiff up the results.
1. Prep Your Tape(s)
Before you even shoot, prepare both your camera tapes and your assembly tape by "blacking" them: record the entire length of each tape with black, either by taping the output of a camera with the lens cap on, or with the actual color black from a mixer or color processor.
Blacking a tape does two things: first, it lays down time code and/or a control track throughout the tape. This means that any unrecorded sections between shots will still register on the counter of your VCR. On the assembly tape, it means that the sections preceding and following the program won't display as video snow and audio hash.
Also, by previewing part of a blacked tape, you verify that it will take a signal properly (yes, you'll occasionally find a defective …
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