Working With Media in the Media Menu

When you open Action, you load the front and matte clips for the first media. You can then load any additional media.

The clips you load for each media appear in the Media list. The back clip you selected to access Action appears in the first row of the Media list and is assigned the letter B in the # column. The second row in the Media list contains the first front and matte clips you selected when accessing Action. The length of each clip appears in parentheses beside the clip name. A new line is added to the Media list each time you add media. For stereoscopic projects, you can apply media to the left and right eye.

You can sort the Media list by list number, front clip name, or matte clip name. As you view clips, you can look at the original front, back, or matte clip individually, as well as the results of colour correcting and keying a matte.

To access the Media menu, click Media in the Action menu. To help identify media, Alt+click a surface in the schematic, result, or camera view to automatically select the media in the Media list. If the Media menu is not selected, press Alt and double-click the surface to switch to the Media menu, and automatically select the media in the Media list. Also, when you select multiple surfaces, you can press Alt to select all associated media in the Media list. In this case, the first item selected is framed in yellow in the Media list as the current selection.

The Media controls are described as follows.

New Media button

Click to open the area selected in the Media From box to add new media. See Adding Media.

Media List box

Select whether to add direct media (New Media) or indirect media (New Input) to the selected Batch Action node. Not shown in the example above - available when accessing Action in Batch only.

Media From box

Select the location to add media from.

Image Proxy

Displays a proxy of the currently selected media.

Apply button

Applies the selected media in the Media list to the selected surface in the scene.

Apply dropdown list

For stereoscopic clips, select how the selected media in the Media list is applied to the selected surface in the scene.

Copy button

Copies media and effects (for example, Blur and Crop settings) of the selected media in the Media list. Use the Paste options to decide how you want to use the copy/paste operation.

Clone button

Clones the selected media, or media and effects onto a new media entry in the Media list.

Clone dropdown list

Select whether the clone operation clones just selected media, or media and effects.

Paste button

Pastes the copied parameters onto the selected media or media entry in the Media list.

Paste dropdown list

Select how the paste operation is applied in the Media list.

Select:	To:
Paste Media Only	Paste the copied media onto a selected empty media entry, without any effects (such as Blur or Crop settings).
Paste FX/Media+FX	If pasting onto an existing media entry, pastes only the copied effects. If pasting on an empty media entry, pastes both the copied media and effects.

Delete button

Deletes the selected media from the Media list.

Replace button

Click to open the area selected in the Media From box to choose media to replace the selected media in the Media list.

Extract button

Click to convert the selected media in the Media list from direct to indirect media. Not shown in the example above - available when accessing Action in Batch only.

Front Clip box

Select an option to edit the front clip's visibility.

Select:	To:
Front On	Display the front clip for the selected media.
Front Off	Hide the front clip for the selected media.
Front Lock	Lock the selected front clip at the current frame in the timebar.

Back Clip box

Select an option to edit the back clip's visibility.

Select:	To:
Back On	Display the back clip.
Back Off	Hide the back clip.
Back Lock	Lock the back clip at the current frame in the timebar.

Matte Clip box

Select an option to edit the matte clip's visibility.

Select:	To:
Matte On	Display the matte clip for the selected media.
Matte Off	Hide the matte clip for the selected media.
Matte Invert	Invert a matte. Black areas will be made white, and white areas will become black. TipTo invert multiple matte clips, Ctrl-click the matte media and select Invert in the Matte Clip box.

Media Rendering box

Select a rendering option per media.

Reset Choice box

Select the Media list properties to reset.

Reset button

Resets the properties selected in the Reset Choice box.

Keyer (or Modular Keyer) field

Loads the back, front, and matte clips for the selected media into the Keyer or Modular Keyer. See Accessing the Colour Corrector and the Keyer from Action or Accessing the Modular Keyer from Action.

You can set the default keyer with the MK As Default button in the Action Setup menu.

CC fields

Loads the clip for the selected media into the Colour Corrector. See Accessing the Colour Corrector and the Keyer from Action.

Xblur and Yblur fields

Adjusts the amount of Gaussian or Box blur along the X and Y axes.

Slip fields

Slips the back, front, or matte clip. See Slipping Media.

Shadow fields

Adjusts the softness of a shadow. If the scene contains more than one shadow using the selected media, all shadows are softened by the same amount you specify in this field. See Adding Drop Shadows.

Gaussian fields

Uses Gaussian blur on a selected media. See Blurring a Clip.

Divide fields

Divides the front media by its associated matte media. See Eliminating Unwanted Black in Areas of Media Transparency.

Crop and Crop Softness fields

Crops a front clip or a matte clip for a selected media. Use the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right fields to crop the selected sides. You can also add crop softness. See Cropping a Clip.

Topics in this section

• Media Menu Shortcuts
• Adding Media