Non-Linear Editing for a Smaller College-Level Production Program, rev 3.0

David Tetzlaff
Assistant Prof. of Theater / Film Studies Program / Connecticut College


I wrote the original version of this document for the 2000 University Film and Video Association conference. I placed it online 9/1/00 in HTML form. I completed a substantial revision in the summer of 2001, and converted the document to .pdf format, for your reading and printing pleasure (Acrobat Reader required). I revised it again in the summer of 2002, creating the present version.

Main attractions:

Arguments, mostly pro but some con, on the use of non-linear editing technology in a non-professional / liberal arts curriculum. Discussion of the general type of system that suits such a purpose.

Lots of info about specific technical issues that figure into choosing / designing an appropiate system for student use.
Much new material added, plus key updates!

Descriptions of model systems, my recommendations built on my years of experience tinkering with this stuff.
Revised and improved from previous version!

Descriptions of viable if somewhat gonzo editing systems you can put together for very little money (if you really, really have to scrape.)
Revised and improved from previous version!

Descriptions and detailed instructions on methods for using low-cost IDE hard drives in 'mobile racks' as removable media storage devices on a Macintosh computer -- the perfect way to allow students to move their projects from one station to another in a multi-station lab.
New! New! New! Includes pictures!

Download /read the article: (908K, 111 pages)

A quick recap of some of the most important technological developments of the last two year, refelected in the revised paper compared to the original.

1. Firewire technology has improved.
Until 2001, Firewire drives were poor choices as capture and storage devices for NLE. Their speed was barely adequate to the task, and more importantly the driver software was still getting the bugs worked out. However, two important developments address the problem. First, Mac OS 9.1 brought rock solid Firewire support. Second, the new 'Oxford' bridge chip greatly increases the throughput of Firewire hard drives. When I originally tested Firewire devices, I found them inadequate as a base for the sort of removable drive system I prescribe in the paper. Not only do the new software and bridge chips make a removable system possible, but Granite Digital is marketing exactly such a system, prepackaged and ready to go. This greatly reduces the DIY time and effort in setting up a lab based on removable drives. We are using the Granite system at Connecticut College now, and so far it has performed flawlessly.

2. IDE-SCSI bridge boards now allow the creation of a more elegant removable drive solution for Mac G3 and G4 computers.
Once upon a time, the only reliable way to attach a mobile rack system to a Mac, allowing the use of low cost IDE mechanisms as removable hard drives, was to replace the internal CD drive with the mobile rack frame. Now, though, there are two means to use IDE mechanisms in external enclosures. The trick is the use of a bridge-board attached to the back of the IDE device which allows it to connect to another sort of (external) interface, either Firewire or SCSI. In addition to the Firewire option from Granite (by far the preferred method, if you can afford it), ACARD offers an IDE-SCSI-III bridgeboard that forms the base of a somewhat more cost effective alternative to the Granite system.

3. All- in-one editing appliance products are now much more usable in a multi-user lab setting.
Until 2001, these devices had neither the hardware nor software capabilities to handle multiple users well. However, the software for the Applied Magic Screenplay has been upgraded to address this issue. More importantly, as these devices are SCSI based, a mobile rack system based on the ACARD bridge-board can enable removable ATA drives to be used with them.

4. New versions of editing software have been released.
Premiere has moved to version 6, which is better suited to DV and more stable than version 5. Final Cut Pro has moved to version 3, which adds improved color correction, a new low-res mode for doing offline editing of DV source material, and the ability to display real time effects in the 'Canvas' window (but not on an external NTSC monitor) when used with newer G4 Macs (550MHz and up).