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3d Rotation Fly-On
A Method Of Accurately Timing Video And Audio Inserts
A Method Of Repeat Playback
A Timeline "Tape Measure" For The Storyboard
Clip Bin Re-Naming
Copy Stand Techniques (1)
Copy Stand Techniques (2)
Correcting Colours
Creating Non-Moving Titles Faster
Exposure And Colour Correcting Source Tapes
Extending An Empty Scene Beyond 10 Sec’s
Getting Photos Into The Casablanca
Getting Rid Of "Trimmed" Material
Ground Level Shooting
Forcing A Save
Foreground clip?
How do you select the 'mask colour' for chroma-key if it isn't at the beginning of the
How The Insert Menu Buttons Work In V2.4 And Later Software
Making A Scene
Making Music Videos  
PIP On A Long Scene
Previewing Titles Quickly
Quickly Checking A Cut Edit At The End Of A Long Scene
Revising Previously Edited Material
Separators To Help Organize The Clip Bin
Short Summaries Of Videos (1)
Short Summaries Of Videos (2)
Snappy Promo
Syncing Two-Camera Shoots;(1)
Syncing Two-Camera Shoots;(2)
Undo / Soft Re-Boot
Using F/X Between 'Inserted' Video Scenes

PIP On A Long Scene
Here is a tip to put a pip on to a scene anywhere you want for the duration required. Normally the second clip on the storyboard will pip into the first clip, but no control on to where and how long on a long clip, so you have to split the clip and do it that way. 
But here is the easy way, I have just remembered. 
I need to put a pip in many years on a demo video and used the split and shunt as I say. After a couple hours of chewing it over it occurred to me I could insert the picture where I wanted the pip and then go to the transitions and use the pip function to cover the same length of the insert, and viola it works. 
Much easier and simpler.

Undo / Soft Re-Boot
If you accidentally delete something on the story board or make some other mistake, if you quickly push and hold the power button ( before the machine does a save) you can get back to where the project was at the last save.


Forcing A Save
To force a save go to the "Record" menu and then exit, this will force the machine into a save.  Also do this if you are recording a lot of small clips, because if the machine crahes before you have saved what you are doing you will lose all your recorded clips or any changes to the project you may have made.

Making a scene
 1.      Capture ten mins of footage (pref. different shots so you can see the effect better)

2.      Split the footage into five bits and place them on the storyboard.

3.      Go to the transitions edit screen and put a one second crossfade between each clip.

4.      Click on FINISH and render all. (you can use any effect, but for speedy rendering in this demo I have selected the crossfade)

5.      Once rendered go to the TITLE edit screen. (again you can go to either transition or effects edit screen but I find that when the scene is made Cassie names the scene "crossfade" etc. In the title edit screen it calls it S2 e.g.. After you have made lots of scenes it soon gets confusing reading the names in the clip bin)

6.      In the title screen put your first clip in the Grey edit window.

7.      Now click on the SCENE button.

8.      Now click the RANGE button.

9.      Click on the OUT button and scroll all the way through the footage to the end of your five clips.

10.  When you get to the very end click the LEFT mouse button.

11.  Now click OK and go to the edit screen. In the edit screen you will see a new clip in the bin, select it and press play. What you should see is your five clips all with the transitions attached and rendered. This allows you to place this clip back on the storyboard and add more transitions, PinP or to add as an insert so you can have transitions between incerts. The scene function is the most powerful of buttons on the Casablanca......master this and the only limitations you have are in your mind.

How do you select the 'mask colour' for chroma-key if it isn't at the beginning of the foreground clip?  
You have to make a copy of your clip, trim it to the point where the masking colour is visible, make a one second still of this point, then add it to the beginning of my original footage and make a scene of the two clips. I can then choose the masking colour from this still and trim it from my clip when I'm finished.

Syncing Two-Camera Shoots;(1)
I shoot weddings. Usually, the front cam is manned and the rear cam is unmanned. The unmanned camera records audio off the built-in mic (backup!). Immediately after rolling tape at the ceremony, I walk into both cameras' view and do a hand clap. If the photographer is allowed to use flash during the ceremony, I use the flash to sync the footage instead of a hand clap. Both cams roll nonstop until the end of the ceremony.

In post, I use the audio recorded on the manned camera. This requires the two angles be synchronized to allow lip-synching of the unmanned camera's footage to the manned camera's audio. After recording both angles to the HD, there are two scenes in the clip bin. We'll call one of the scenes "FRONT" and the other "REAR".

1. Trim the "In" point of FRONT to the exact frame where my hands meet (or flash occurs).

2. Trim the "Out" point of FRONT to the point where I want the ceremony footage to end.

3. Note the duration (minutes, seconds, & frames) of FRONT after performing the trims.

4. Trim the "In" point of REAR to the point where my hands meet (or flash occurs).

5. Trim the "Out" point of REAR so that its duration is equal to the duration of FRONT.

6. Re-trim the IN point of FRONT to the point where I want the ceremony footage to begin.

7. Note the revised duration of FRONT.

8. Re-trim the "In" point of REAR so that its duration is again equal to the duration of FRONT.

9. Use Casablanca's "Scene" function to create new scenes of both camera angles. These 2 new scenes (FRONT-2 and REAR-2) are synchronized at this point.

10. Delete the original trimmed scenes (FRONT and REAR) from the clip bin.

11. Place the entire FRONT-2 scene (has the audio I'll be using) into the storyboard.

12. Let's assume that I want to switch from the front angle to the rear angle at 15 seconds, 22 frames into the video. I want the rear angle to be visible for 8 seconds, 2 frames, then switch back to the front angle.

13. Trim the "In" point of REAR-2 to 15 seconds, 22 frames. Trim its "Out" point to 23 seconds, 24Fframes.

14. Insert the trimmed REAR-2 into FRONT-2 (in the storyboard), setting the "Start" point at 15 seconds, 22 frames. The "Start" point determines where the switch will occur in the storyboard. The time code of the "Start" point must always equal the trimmed "In" point of scene REAR-2 to maintain lip synch.

15. Repeat steps 12 & 13 to insert additional portions of REAR-2 into FRONT-2.

16. When the storyboard is played, the audio will be uninterrupted as the video switches back and forth between the two angles. Lip synch of the rear cam to the front cam's audio is 100% accurate.

I hope all this isn't too confusing. It's pretty difficult to explain this process, but it's really easy to do once you've been through it a couple of times on the Casablanca.

Syncing Two-Camera Shoots;(2)
If both cameras were running continuously for the entire service, the process is simple. Split your first cam scenes into 30 second + - pieces. This will make them easier to manage later. Add them to your storyboard. Split your second camera scenes into 30 second pieces. Trim the first scene of the second camera footage to cue on a word, movement, or if you have version 3, to the voice in the first cam footage on the storyboard. After you have lip-synced the inserted scene and adjusted using your START icon in the RANGE function, Insert the next of the following 2nd cam scene directly after the first insert. Repeat, repeat, repeat until all the 2nd cam scenes have all been inserted. Play storyboard to be certain you are holding sync throughout. If the cams were continuously running you should be synced.

Now, the fun part. Click to your first insert. Click to SEARCH and see if there is something in that insert you wish to keep on the storyboard. If yes, click to RANGE. You will see what is underneath the insert by moving the OUT point back and forth. When you trim with the out point, the end of the inserted piece will be removed to reveal the original footage. You may also trim from the IN point, but WARNING! If you trim from the IN point, you must move your insert, using the START, ahead on the storyboard the same amount forward as you trim from the front. i.e. trim 3seconds-7 frames from front move insert 3 seconds-7 frames forward. Visualize you have two paintings of the same thing and are peeling away the second layer. After you have completed this peeling process, look at the storyboard to be certain you have not lost sync.

Then you can add CROSSFADES to transition between shots

We do this all the time with four and five cameras and when you get the hang, it's painless.
If you wish to add more cameras, you need to make a scene of the finished storyboard and repeat the above process again.

Exposure And Colour Correcting Source Tapes  
This tip is pretty simple and generic if you think about it, but it helped me easily correct a colour balance problem between two camera source tapes.

I just finisher a 6-day shoot of an on-camera presenter using a Sony DSR-200A and VX-1000, each camera shooting the same scenes from a different angle, but "wild," i.e. no common connection to a mixer or other device. On the first day, due to circumstances well within our control, we were unable to colour balance the cameras as we usually due, and had to set the exposure by educated guess. Naturally, one camera was a little off and I had to correct it in post. The problem was how to display both clips of the same scene simultaneously and allow for real time adjustment and comparison of one of them.

Easy. Trim both scenes to 1-5 frames each and place them on the storyboard with the scene you want to correct on the right side. Then create a split screen transition using the two scenes (be sure to select "---" for border width and a vertical split). Make a scene of the two clips and replace the two clips on the storyboard with the one new scene.

Next (and you'll need version 3x to do this), go to the Image Processing screen and choose Control Image or Control Colour, depending on what you need to correct. Now, click on the Full Size button and make sure Display=Original & Effect. You'll see your two scenes and you'll be able to correct the scene on the right to match the one on the left using the adjustment sliders in the window, virtually in real time. Write down the final setting and apply them to your full-length clips. It worked for me.

Extending An Empty Scene Beyond 10 Sec’s
I wanted to put my vertical roll on a blank scene - so I created one (it allows maximum 10 seconds)...then I used Special-Slow Motion to convert the blank scene to slow motion with the length I wanted...then I added my vertical roll and it filled the time I created.

Making Music Videos
To make a music video here's a trick you can use.

1. Have the tape player or CD player feed to a mixer then to the audio input of the Casablanca.
2. Hook up a video camera to the video input of the Casablanca and aim the video camera at the audio levels of the mixer.
3. Begin recording the signal from the video camera.
4. Start the music whenever you want. You should now "see" your music by the audio level meters being viewed with the video camera.
5. Record the music again as an audio-only recording via the audio record screen.
6. Place the music on the com or bkg track and adjust its Start range until you until there is only one song.

Now the two audio tracks are in sync. Make a video log of your music video based on the audio level peaks and valleys. Make a note of exactly what the time code is where the music starts and this is where you will start the video for your music video.
Now delete your video track and replace it with the scenes for your music video with the audio you placed in the background track still there. It should line up with all the transition exactly where you want them.

Snappy Promo
To make a 15-30 second snappy promo for your video.

1. Make a 2 frame copy of every shot in your film. (Search for more pieces  that are discrete within shots if your film is short.) Get enough clips  for 15 or 30 seconds.
2. Put them all on the Sb and render them as one scene.
3. Add a final still shot of a 3 second shot of your main title shot and  then create a fade or blackout whatever.

4. Music. Can support the image or run contrapuntal. Trial and error is  good. The music from the org, bkg, or com tracks may not work. I put steel drum music under my last clip but anything is interesting. Trance
music is just as good as using classical type stuff.

Play the piece and watch your film fly until the last shot. Doing so many 2 frame clips is time consuming but very worth it.

5v) VARIANT: You can also add a few "significant clips" of 4 frames or 8 frames (periodically) and your montage will sail along, just hesitating enough for those clips to reverberate and really be "seen" by the
watcher. The rhythms you can create with these slight variations is quite trippy.

A Timeline "Tape Measure" For The Storyboard
Go to the IMAGE PROCESSING screen and select some effect (which one doesn't matter). Press the RANGE button. Set the IN point to the start of where you want the measurement to start and set the OUT point to where you want the measurement to end. The time between the start and end (tape measure length) is shown in the top center window. 

At this point you have a choice:
1. If you don't want the audio from that section of video between the IN and OUT points, press the RIGHT mouse button. This will cancel the creation of the scene and keep you edit area free from excess scene stamps, 
or
2. If you want the audio from that section of video between the IN and OUT points you can select the OK button. It will create a new scene from which you can use the SCENE->SAMPLE button in the SPECIAL window. Once the sample has been created you can DELETE the scene from the edit area; the audio sample will remain in the samples list window.

A Method Of Accurately Timing Video And Audio Inserts
Here's a way to read project time-code numbers accurately during your project. This method will be useful for accurately timing audio and video inserts.

1. Create an empty 1-frame scene. Choosing a colour other than black is best.
2. INSERT this empty scene into storyboard at the approximate location where you want to know the timing.
3. Select RANGE. Click START. You can now scroll freely through the Sb. Note the timecode numbers for the insert start (and if you wish, end) times.
4. After noting the times, delete the empty scene.

You can also use this method to determine storyboard playback time location anywhere in the project

Previewing Titles Quickly
 To quickly check the layout (which is hard to do with the PREVIEW function) of a non-moving title render the title on a 1-frame scene. It well render much quicker.


Creating Non-Moving Titles Faster
Use the preceding technique to create a 1-frame title then use the SPECIAL/STILL function to create a title scene of any desired length.

Correcting Colours
You probably already know this but I'll say it in case others haven't thought of it. When I'm correcting colour, I only correct one frame, so it renders in about 2 seconds. I then press the scene button and then the range button. I can then see one frame full screen. click the right side of the mouse to go back and change the correction, if its OK, choose a range and apply it.

A Method Of Repeat Playback
I just finished editing a very complex, fast-paced promotion piece for display on a "point-of-purchase" TV at a convention. The finished piece was only two minutes long but the client wanted it repeated on a two-hour
videocassette for continuous play at his booth. Well, the Casablanca let me take a long walk while doing the dub. All I did was duplicate the finished scene in the storyboard 60 times and played it to tape.

Quickly Checking A Cut Edit At The End Of A Long Scene
A quick way to check a CUT edit in the storyboard without playing the whole scene: 1) Note current S1 in-point value; 2) Trim the start point of S1 to ~2 seconds from the end point; 3) Replace current S1 with the trimmed scene and playback to check out the cut; 4) if OK, restore trimmed S1 back to original in-point and replace onto storyboard.

Select the two scenes, put in a dissolve 2 frames long, render (the render time is kind of short), review, delete the f/x.

Use the SCENE/RANGE function on the TRANSITION or IMAGE PROCESSING screens to center a new scene around the cut; play the new scene for effect and delete.

When you want to check a transition on a long scene, it's useful to break it into three parts, using SPLIT.

In an example 1 minute long clip, go into split, run split position out to two seconds(**see below), click use, then run position out to 2 seconds from the end of the clip (56 seconds), click use, then run out to the end
(the last 2 seconds), click use.
This facilitates trying various transitions, while not having to watch the entire 58 second scene.
Split the front part of the scene because the long scene could just as well FOLLOW the transition as precessed it.
** If you've previously TRIMMED the long scene - as is likely - and then entering SPLIT, it will be necessary to DROP the video that was trimmed at the beginning/end of your originally trimmed scene:

Example: "Original" digitised clip is 12 seconds in length. Then:

IN point is trimmed 1/2 second forward into the clip.
OUT point is trimmed 1 second back into the clip.

Desired clip is now 10:15 in length.
When you go into SPLIT, you will find that that the clip is again 12 seconds in length, so click split position, scroll forward to 1/2 second, click drop, then scroll forward 2 seconds, click use, then scroll forward
6:15, click use, scroll forward 2 seconds, click use, scroll forward to end of clip, click DROP.

You've now got 2 seconds front, 6:15 seconds middle, and 2 seconds end.

Using F/X Between 'Inserted' Video Scenes

Currently you cannot use f/x between INSERT scenes on the Casablanca Sb. The work around is very simple, and perhaps preferable.

1. Do a series of scenes on the Sb and dissolve them as you wish. Make a new scene out of the series. Remove the originals on the Sb since you will not need them later.

2. Make an audio dub using "Scene--Sample" from the original video you want to INSERT into. Place it on one of the other tracks, starting at the beginning of the original scene.

3. INSERT the new scene you created, which includes all of the f/x into the original scene.

4. Fade in and out to the inserted scene.

This takes little time but is easy to do.

With the Casablanca it seems that most things are possible; just that some are easier than others. To do a dissolve, (aka CROSSFADE), between two sections of video that you want to INSERT over existing video is not too difficult even though you can't do it directly. Here's how:

1. Move to the end of the Sb and ADD the two video segments that you want to do a CROSSFADE or dissolve.

1a. Leave an extra second or so of video at the START of the first clip but do trim the END of the first clip to where you want it.

1b. Leave an extra second or so of video at the END of the second clip, but do trim the START of the second video clip to where you want it.

2. In the TRANSITIONS screen select CROSSFADE and set to desired length and RENDER.

3. Select SCENE and set the RANGE to include 'EFFECTS + SCENE(S)'.

4. INSERT this new scene over the original video scene. Set the RANGE to START where desired, set the IN and OUT points to trim as needed. (Which is why we left extra video at the start of the first clip and extra video
at the end of the second clip - so we could trim it here. If you play it back and don't like the trim you can always retrim the START, IN and OUT points provided you left enough material to work with in steps 1a and 1b.)

5. DELETE the two scenes used to create the insert from the end of the timeline.

You will note that steps 1a, 1b, 2, and 4 would have needed to be done anyway; with some slight variations. Steps 1, 3, and 5 are all single button steps but they do make up a few extra mouse clicks.

Getting Rid Of "Trimmed" Material
Sometimes you may want to eliminate the trimmed head and tail of a trimmed clip. To do so, place the trimmed clip into the storyboard and make a SCENE of it. Voila! The new scene is the duration of the previously trimmed scene, without head or tail.
This technique is very useful when SPLITting long scenes - for SPLIT ignores TRIMs.


Clip Bin Re-Naming
I don't know how people are naming clips. I know there was a problem with some long names causing crashes.
To avoid this and keep my clip bin tidy in the record screen after capturing a piece of video I re-name it "A". I capture the next piece and re-name it "B". I do this all the way through the alphabet as I build my video (if you get to Z start again from "a" in small font). The good thing about doing it this way is now when you go to "split" your "A" footage when split up will be named A1, A2, A3 and so on. I keep a pad by my mouse and write "A" brides house, "B" wedding car, "C" groom arriving etc this saves hours of naming each scene and makes searching for shots easier.Sounds a bit basic but it works for me, how are you all naming your scenes/clips?


Separators To Help Organize The Clip Bin
I currently create a 1-frame scene of some strange color and use that as a with the colored clips.