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DITC Stylebook

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Regrading use of Lower Third's animation, follow
ex: CoachDv7 around 2:37 in timeline when applied in sequences that it may cover infomation, but when animation will not cover information, follow ex: creatDsgv1 around 1:20 in timeline

Table of Contents
A. Definitions and Notes to Editors
B. Global Font Characteristics
C. Slates and Titles
D. Standard Endings
E. End Questions
F. Big Timeline
G. Storing Files
I. Acrobat
J. Audio
K. Watermark and Copyright
L. Transcription Standards

A. Definitions and Notes to Editors
Definitions
"bigTimeline" – This is basically a rough cut review sequence of an entire day of shooting.
"compMovie" - compressed movie
"fullMovie" - uncompressed movie, made when all editing is completed
"refMovie" - referenced movie, made at a smaller size when the sequence is still undergoing editing

Notes To Editors
When you finish a job, do a refMovie (referenced movie) and compMovie (compressed movie) for work you've completed. During your next day's work, review the entire movie that you worked on. If the entire movie looks good to you, note this using a new line of italized text after the final line of edit requests that says "DONE compMovie", followed by your initials, and the date.

B. Global font characteristics
These variables do not change, with the exception of the end questions.
Font: Geneva
Tracking: 1.5 for italicized fonts, 2 for regular fonts
Leading: 0
Aspect: 1
Drop Shadow:
  • Offset: 1
  • Angle: 135
  • Softness: 20
  • Opacity: 80

    C. Slates and Titles
    A slate is typically something that is only seen by editors and the tv studio airing the reel. This will show the title of the entire piece, the running time, and usually a logo for the company that edited it. For our purposes, the slate will be the first thing the viewer sees and will contain our main title and a still (at 50%) from the particular sequence. The length of the slate will be determined by how much text is invloved: more text equals a longer "read-time" for our viewer. The slate will always be in italics.
    Titles occur within the sequence to mark certain sections. A title might happen right after the slate or any time from the beginning to end. Titles typically appear like this: the last clip fades to black, then 10 frames of black, then the title fades up to 100% in 10 frames. The first frame of the video to follow is made in to a still. That still fades up in 30 frames from 0% to 100% and then the video begins to play. The title fades out in 10 frames after the video begins to play. It may sound confusing, but check sWrkDay2 for examples. Titles will always be regular (not italics or bold).
    The spacing for slates will always be centered, though the vertical positioning (up and down) may change according to the still that is behind it. Do whatever looks best.
    The spacing for titles will always be centered on both the horizontal and vertical axis. You may have to play with is a bit to make it look centered if the title is 2 or 3 lines in length, just use your good eye.

    Opening Slate with 3 Main lines
    Model: Teach Day 3; S Work Day 2

    Opening Slate with 1-2 Main lines AND 1 Subtitle
    Example: Teaching Day 2; Student Work Day 2
    Size: 50 for the main line(s) and 40 for the subtitle
    Style: Italics

    Titles.
    Example: sWrkDay2
    Size: 40
    Style: Regular
    Length: 2 - 3 seconds, depending on line length.
    Aesthetic: Fade up from all black screen in 10 frames to white text on a black background. Then, 1 second before the first clip starts, begin to fade up a still from the first frame of the clip (0% - 100%) in 30 frames. After the clip begins to play, fade the title down (in 10 frames) to 0%.

    Super
    (a name tag in the lower portion of a screen that typically says something like "David Crismond - Learning by Design," short for "super-imposed.")
    Font: Geneva
    Alignment: Left
    Length: 3 seconds
    Person's Name text:
  • Size: 30
  • Style: plain
  • Tracking: 2
    Person's Title text:
  • Size: 22
  • Style: italics
  • Tracking: 1.5
    Drop Shadow:
  • Offset: 1
  • Angle: 135
  • Softness: 20
  • Opacity: 80

    Subtitles
    Subtitles should be framed at the center bottom of the frame unless they are placed to demarcate a particular speaker. They should always fade up in 5 frames and cut out.

    D. Standard Endings

    Poor Ending Frame
    Sample:
    1. 15 frame fade to black from clip
    2. 10 frame black only
    3. The next 15 frames are of a good still picture, being raised from 0%-50% in that time. 4. Leave at 50% for 15 frames (image will remain 50% for the rest of sequence).
    5. Use from 15 frames to 1 sec to bring text up from 0% to 100% opacity.
    6. Sequence ends with only 1 frame after the 100% of the final text.

    Good Ending Frame
    Sample:
    1.) Create a 1-second still
    2.) Fade from 100% to 50%

    E. End Questions

    Example: See last frame of EarlVar.mov.
    Font: Geneva
    Size: 26- 30 or adjust to fit
    Style: italics
    Alignment: Left
    Tracking: 1.5 for italics
    Leading: 3 or adjust to fit

    F. BIG Timeline

    Making a bigTimeline
    Creating an Excell Log
    Creating a bigTimeline begins with viewing the tapes that will become the bigTimeline and logging the tapes into an Excell file. This is necessary for later purposes of accessing clips and being able to know what clips hold what footage. Clips should be long, with segments averaging about 1-3 minutes (or shorter) in length. The Excell log should hold the following information:
    1.) The number of the clip. Clips should be numbered chronologically. This information is vital when naming the clip for Final Cut Pro
    2.) The In-Out time of the clip on the tape. This will be the information used for batch capture in Final Cut Pro
    3.) A short description of the clip. This information will be used in the slug that preceeds each clip

    Logging and Batch Capturing the Clips in FCP
    After the clips are logged into the Excell file, use the information to batch capture the clips in Final Cut Pro. Go to "Log and Capture" under the File menu and click "Log Clip", typing in the name of the clip to log it. Then click on "Media Start" and "Media End" and type in the In-Out information from the Excell log. Once this is complete, highlight all the clips to be captured and select "Batch Capture" from the File menu. Allow at least a 1 second handle on each clip and capture the clips.

    Placing the Clips into a bigTimeline
    Once the clips are captured, start placing them into a sequence. Each clip should be preceeded with a 2 second slug that gives the clip file name, the In-Out time and a short description of the clip. First show camera 1 of that time of shooting, followed by camera 2, if useful. In order to aid with navigation, make each timeline between 15 and 20 min. long. (You can export sections of a timeline by placing the slider where you want it to begin and hitting "i" and then placing the slider where you want the segment to end and hitting "o") End each timeline with a slug that says "End of Timeline".

    G. Storing Files

    Where to save refMovies, compMovies and fullMovies - Save all of these movies on the designated external harddisk (the Firewire drive). Name and send in a the main folders called “refMovies ƒ", compMovies ƒ" and "fullMovies ƒ" 7.xx.02 folder” Put the compressed and referenced movies in within these main folders in their own daily folder with name like “compMovies 7.xx.02”, with the correct dates.

    MIND YOUR SCRATCH DISKS. Every time you render a transition or the like, you are writing to the scratch disk that is noted in edit>preferences>scratch disks. These scratch disks should be "Goldman Scratch" that is located on the top level of Macintosh HD 2 or 3. There has been a problem in the past with people not checking their scratch disks and capturing important footage in to a folder imbedded deep within the drive. When someone needs to make some room on the drives and tries to throw out some old render files, they could be tossing valuable captured footage. Just be mindful of your media and everything should work out all right.


    I. Acrobat

    Scanning documents for inclusion as PDF docs


    J. Audio

    Make a note to keep the peaks of the audio levels between -12 and -3 decibels. If you think that the levels are too high in any completed movie, check the 7-bar scale in the lower right hand corner of the Quicktime viewer. A peak at bar 4 (counting down from the top) is equivalent to -12 decibels, a peak a bar 3 equals -9 decibels, and a peak at bar 2 equals -3 decibels. If the audio peaks at the top bar, the levels should be changed and the movie re-rendered.

    K. Watermark & Copyright
    Put timecodes with a gray background and a 50% opacity DITC watermark on all videos. The Watermark should be visible AT ALL TIMES. The sequence containing the Watermark has already been set to 50%, so there is no need to adjust the opacity within the sequence you are working on. Simply drag ". watermark" in to the sequence you are working on and trim the length to fit the sequence.
    The timecode should fade up at the same time as the first movie clip appears and disappear along with the final clip. Be sure that the timecode does not start with the beginning of the movie, but with the first movie clip. The timecode will have a gray background and will be placed below the watermark in the lower right hand corner of the action-safe area — both should remain visible during any fade to black between the movie’s first and final clips. One second after the final clip has been viewed and fades either to black or to a 50% freeze frame, the End each sequence with appearing along with the final textblock. Add a timestamp and DITC watermark to sequences that have been stamped DONE in my listing of movies. If such a movie gets put back to the editing cutting room, then the timecode and watermark track should be turned off (by clicking the green light to the left of the tracks) to save rendering time, until it is ready for final rendering.

    Regarding the watermark, we will be using a still image instead of a movie file. The still image is in a sequence named ". watermark" The entire sequence should be used as the watermark. In this way, if we need to alter the watermark, we can do so to the ". watermark" sequence and it will update all of the sequences in the project that contain ". watermark." Using the still instead of a movie file gives us real time playback and quicker render times. Just turn off the track containing the timecode and you should be able to view the sequence in real time. Then turn it back on for the render. Note: the opacity of the water mark is controlled INSIDE of the "watermark" sequence, therefore you DO NOT need to adjust the opacity of the watermark by using the level meter in the timeline.

    Transcriptions Standards

    When creating or editing transcriptions, abide by the following standards:

    1. TEXT - Text is 12 point Times New Roman font. Time code times are underlined. Titles (defined as all text in the video (except subtitles) that appears to differentiate scenes) is italicized. The name of the sequence as it appears on the web site should be the title at the top of the transcript and it should appear in bold, at 16 point font, Times New Roman.

    The footer to every transcrip should have the following layout:
    First line: Left justified: Transcript Center Justified: Title of the Movie Right Justified: Page Number
    Second Line: Left Justified: Design In The Classroom Right Justified: (c) Georgia Tech Research Corp.

    2. IMAGES - Images should be taken directly from the movie file (using shift+apple+4) and can be imported directly into the transcription through a simple drop and drag. Double-click on the image and, under the "Layout" tab, change it from "In line with text" to "Square". This will allow the text to wrap around the image. Next, go to the "Size" tab and, making sure the "Lock aspect ratio" box is checked, change the height to "1.15"". This should automatically change the Width to about 1.50".

    In placing the naming initials on the picture, you can find them on the lab machine in Macintosh HD3/Transcription Files/Image Files/. The files for S1 - S11 are already there as are files for PB (Paul Black), RK (Richard Kimbell), and EG (Ed Goldman). In order to create new initial pictures, go into Adobe Photoshop and create a new image. For a single or double character initial, make your new image 55 pixels wide and 44 pixels high. For a triple character inital, make your image 80 x 44 pixels. Using 10 point Geneva font, type the initals in black against a white background. Save as a BMP to avoid any difficulties importing it into Word.

    Once the Initals image is imported into Word, change the layout to "Square" and drag it to the most appropriate point.

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