A/B Roll Edits - Videonics MXPro DV User Manual

150 MXP DV U G
RO SER UIDE
You can perform an A/A roll with an automatic editing system. Press
of one scene and wait for the editing system to start the next scene. While the con-
troller locates the next scene, set up the transition you want. When you see the edi-
tor release the recorder from the pause state, press
transition.
Limitations on Slide transitions, compresses, most zooms, and scaling effects automatically convert
A/A Roll to wipes. Other transitions might not produce the impact you want when the frozen
Transitions picture is similar to the incoming video. Experiment with various transitions to
determine which ones produce the results you want.

A/B Roll Edits

A/B roll editing involves editing scenes from multiple sources. When doing A/B roll
edits, you must manually synchronize the sources so that they are timed correctly.
Normally, you record a countdown before each scene so you know when it starts,
then back-time the transition accordingly.
Example...
Another method of A/B roll editing involves the use of working copies. You copy the
original footage to new tapes, placing every other scene on a different tape. The
result might look similar to this:
Accurate placement of the scenes (1 through 5 in this example) allow both tapes to
roll simultaneously so you can transition between scenes without having to start and
stop each VCR at the correct moment in time. When you want to use a transition
between scenes, you should overlap them by a couple of seconds to ensure the
proper effect.
The advantage to this method is that it makes it easy to get exactly what you want
on tape. It has two disadvantages, however — (1) it requires careful preparation and
planning, and (2) it requires an extra "generation" in the tapes (that is, productions
are a copy of a copy rather than a copy of the original). The extra generation is a
lesser concern if you are using DV sources and a DV recorder.
Scene 1 is playing on VCR A. You know it ends soon, so you start VCR B, and pause it at
a point 5 seconds before its action starts. When VCR A is 5 seconds from its end, you
release VCR B and let it roll. At this point, both VCR A and B are rolling. At the desired
moment, you perform the transition from VCR A to VCR B.
VCR A
1
VCR B
1
3 5
2 4
2 3 4 5
FREEZE
on the MXProDV to run the
PLAY
C 13
HAPTER
at the end