Using an image over video - Avid - Part 2

This post follows on from the first post Using an image over video. This post will deal with working with the image in Avid and adding the image to the sequence. In Part 3 I will look at adding text along side the arrow image.

So we have created an arrow shape in Photoshop and saved it. Move the image on to the Avid network using the Transfer PC in room 0.13. With your bin open and active (the top part of the bin window is blue) go to the File menu and choose Import.

Before importing you must check a few settings. Firstly the video drive must be F:\Broadcast. Then click on the Options button. In the Image tab the follows settings must be selected

• Aspect Ratio, Pixel Aspect -601, non square
  
• File Field Order -Non-interlaced
• Colour Levels -RGB
• Alpha -Use existing
  
• Single Frame Import -10 seconds
  

Click OK, then browse to and select the image file, clicking Open to start the import process. Once complete you should see you image file in your Avid bin.

With the image open in the Source Monitor, it should display with a black background. Don't worry, if all goes according to plan the black background should disappear.

I will assume you already have your video spliced onto a sequence. To add the image over the video you must add a second video track for the image. Go to the Clip menu and choose New Video Track. With the image open in the Source Monitor now patch the Source Track V1 to the Record Track V2 by dragging from V1 to V2. The two track selectors should now sit side by side.

Switch ON the V2 track and switch OFF all other tracks. Place Mark In and Out points on the sequence to select the area where the image will go. Remember there is 10 seconds of image to edit with. If the selection is more than 10 seconds the image must be edited onto the sequence a number of times.

All that remains is for the image to be Overwritten on to the sequence. The result should be an arrow with the background video behind.

So we have created an arrow image and now its edited onto our video. Part 3 of this guide will show you how to add text beside the arrow image with the Text Tool.