<<<ELX1 EDLMaker Docs>>>

When you click on the EDLMaker button in ELX1's main GUI, the EDLMaker window opens.

This is a subsystem of ELX1 to permit you to convert existing EDLs from various other devices, program, and formats into an LX1 EDL.

The EDL Maker *IS NOT* a text editor.  It is an *EDL CONVERTER*.  If you want to 'hand make' or hand edit EDL files for your LX1, open NotePad.  This tool is for converting EDLs you already have into the proper format for the LX1.

There are a number of nice features here to help make LX1 EDLs from your existing EDL files from other systems and formats.


>>> Types of EDLs You can Use:

ELX1's EDLMaker has been tested with 

CMX3400
CMX3600
GVG70
Evertz Keylog FTL file

files and should load and convert them properly to LX1 format EDLs.

In addition, EDLMaker can also load in EDL files created with the ELX1 Logger Window.


The EDLMaker Window is divided into to 'panes' - one for the source EDL and one for the LX1 EDL you are creating from the source.


>>> First Load a Source EDL

Load in a EDL file you wish to convert by clicking on the Load Source EDL button.  A file requester opens and you can browse around to find the EDL file you want.

After loading, the EDL file will display on the left pane of the EDLMaker window.



>>> About INI and FNL Lines in your LX1 EDL

The ELX1 program default settings will make the first line of your LX1 EDL always be INI and the last line will be FNL.  When you first open the EDLMaker window you'll see that the checkboxes for INI and FNL are already checked.

Use the checkboxes 'UseINI' and 'UseFNL' to set whether you want INI and/or FNL lines in your LX1 EDL.  When you change either checkbox, the LX1 EDL will be 'reset' to its starting condition.  When you click any checkbox, the 'AutoProcess' will immediately take place to completely re-create your LX1 EDL instantly using the new settings of the checkboxes.

You need to determine whether you need these based on the type of medium you're using for your LX1 recording (DVD-R, DVD-RW, or the LX1's hard drive).  

SEE THE LX1 EDL-Format documentation and the LX1 Manual to determine how you need to have these set for your particular use. 




>>> Processing Your EDL into LX1 Format (after you've loaded a source EDL)

a. The Process Line Button

You can process the source EDL one line at a time using the Process Line button.  Click it and each line of the source EDL will be displayed and, if appropriate, converted into a line of LX1 EDL (displayed in the right pane of the EDLMaker window).  Keep clicking the Process Line button until you reach the end of the source EDL.

When you process the EDL in this 'manual' fashion there are a number of options buttons under the LX1 EDL 'pane' that we'll cover in a moment.



b. The Auto Process EDL Button (after you've loaded a source EDL)

You can process the entire source EDL in one go by clicking this button once.

When your LX1 EDL is complete (maximum of 99 lines) or the source EDL is exhausted, the source EDL will again display itself fully in the left pane.  You can now save your LX1 EDL or load a new source EDL, or you can run the processing again if you need to.

Note also that the AutoProcess function happens *automatically* any time you click on any checkbox for UseINI, AllPS, UseFNL, AutoCH, etc.


3. Step Back

If you are processing line by line (using Process Line) then you can 'back up' one line on the source EDL if you need to.


4. Save LX1 EDL

If you have finished converting your EDL with manual or automatic methods described above, use this to open a file requester and go save your finixhed LX1 EDL product.  There is no set 'file extension' for LX1 EDLs, but it may be wise to use something like LX1EDL.txt as your file name (text files are easy to read in NotePad, and the LX1 EDL is really just a text file).



>>> Using the LX1-pane Options Buttons (ST, PS, CH, NEW TAPE, and DELETE)

1. ST, PS, and CH (STOP, PAUSE, and CHAPTER)

These buttons let you change between STOP (TITLE), PAUSE (Continue Title with Chapter), and CHP (Chapter mark only) lines on the LX1 EDL.  These are only really useful when you are processing your source EDL 'line by line' and wish to modify how the LX1 EDL is being created as you go.  If you use AutoProcess EDL, then these buttons aren't very helpful.

ST, PS, and CH work *on the last line created by Process Line*.

If you wish to follow with a real example, the sample lines shown here are taken from the CUTSCMX3400.edl file.  You may open and load this Source EDL and follow the process on your computer like a tutorial if you wish.


Normally your source EDL will look something like this:

TITLE:   CUTS 
FCM: NON-DROP FRAME 
001  007  AA/V  C         07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 01:00:00:00 01:00:14:25 
002  009  AA/V  C         09:05:57:25 09:06:01:24 01:00:14:25 01:00:18:24 
003  008  AA/V  C         08:37:39:04 08:37:54:28 01:00:18:24 01:00:34:18 
... (more possible lines of source EDL)

Click Process Line and you'll see that 'irrelevant' source EDL lines don't affect the creation of your LX1 EDL (the 'TITLE: CUTS' line gets displayed on the left, but ignored on the right).  The EDLMaker tries to look for 'real' timecode lines of your source EDL and ignore irrelevant other lines that might be in the source EDL and that don't really apply to the LX1.


If you have the AllPS checkbox 'unchecked', your first LX1 EDL line created from this source line will be a 'REC...STOP' line that looks like:

001 REC 07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 STOP

This tells the LX1 to record a time period from the first time code to the second time code, then perform a STOP.  That creates a TITLE on your DVD.


That may not always be what you want, if you click the PS button then the line will be changed to:

001 REC 07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 PAUSE

and the LX1 would keep the currently active TITLE 'open' and add a CHAPTER from this time period on your tape.  And also you'll see now that you don't need to click PS again for the next line either.  It'll also be a REC/PAUSE line, and so on until you click ST again or uncheck the AllPS checkbox to return to making REC/STOP lines.  


Here's an example where we make a series of chapters from widely scattered times on the tape (based on the 3 lines of EDL shown above), but they all wind up as part of one TITLE on the DVD:


(using the 3-line source EDL above)

Clicking Process Line once makes:

001  REC 07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 STOP

Then we click PS to change it to a PAUSE line:


001 REC 07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 PAUSE

Then click Process Line again and we get:

002 REC 09:05:57:25 09:06:01:24 PAUSE 


Then click Process Line one more time:

003 REC 08:37:39:04 08:37:54:28 PAUSE

The last 'REC' line of an LX1 EDL has to be a STOP (to assure that at least one TITLE gets created - see the Pioneer PVR-LX1 EDL Format Documentation). 


So we just click ST to change the last line to a STOP line:

003  REC 08:37:39:04 08:37:54:28 STOP

and the LX1 EDL looks like this:

(INI line may be here)
001 REC 07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 PAUSE
002 REC 09:05:57:25 09:06:01:24 PAUSE 
003 REC 08:37:39:04 08:37:54:28 STOP
(FNL line may be here)

As you can see, the Process Line starts off making STOP lines, but if you click PS or check the AllPS checkbox, then it moves alone making PAUSE lines until you click STOP again.


If you merely want a line you've just created with Process Line to be a CHAPTER MARK, then if you have a line like:

001  REC 07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 PAUSE

the CH button will change that to:

001 CHP 07:16:20:03


You may use ST, PS, and CH *ONLY* on the *last line you've just made with Process Line*.  Once you move on by clicking Process Line again, you can only 'go back' by using DELETE (which will remove the last line).  



>>> USING the NEW TAPE Button

If you click on NEW TAPE, the EDLMaker will add a WAI line to your LX1.  See the LX1's EDL Documentation for more details, but WAI means the LX1 will wait for you to change tapes on your VCR when it encounters a WAI and you must manually continue the batch capture.  We don't expect folks to use this very much, but it's here for the completeness of handling all the options the LX1 EDL format offers.

If you have

001 REC 07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 PAUSE

in your LX1 EDL and you click on NEW TAPE, you'll get

001 REC 07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 PAUSE
002 WAI



>>> More Info About AutoProcessEDL

This is actually a very handy thing, though it does preclude you using the ST, PS, CH, and New TAPE buttons to modify your LX1 EDL as you make it.  AutoProcessEDL will fly through your entire source EDL in one go and make either a series of REC/STOP or REC/PAUSE lines (and it'll check to make sure the last one is a REC/STOP automatically).  This is often just what you want to do.  But it's up to you if you want to do things line-by-line, then use Process Line instead.


If you have the earlier example EDL loaded, and you click on AutoProcessEDL, you'll get this:

(INI line may be here)
001 REC 07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 STOP
002 REC 09:05:57:25 09:06:01:24 STOP 
003 REC 08:37:39:04 08:37:54:28 STOP
(FNL line may be here)



>>> How to Make AutoProcessEDL make all PAUSE Lines

Use the AllPS checkbox - simple.  Or if you click the PS button once prior to using AutoProcessEDL it will also set the checkbox.

YOu'll now find that now if you load the same source EDL and click on AutoProcessEDL you get this:

(INI line may be here)
001 REC 07:16:20:03 07:16:34:28 PAUSE
002 REC 09:05:57:25 09:06:01:24 PAUSE 
003 REC 08:37:39:04 08:37:54:28 PAUSE
(FNL line may be here)

and the EDLMaker will automatically change the last PAUSE to a STOP to make sure you get a TITLE created by your LX1 EDL.



>>> Using the AutoChap Checkbox (AutoChapter an LX1 EDL from a source EDL)

This is a very special thing and you won't want use it unless you also have the right kind of source EDL for it to be sensible for you.

You can always try it without harming anything - it may be interesting to see how it works.

a. The first line of your LX1 EDL will be a REC...STOP
b. All subsequent lines will the CHP (chapter mark only) lines

ELX1's EDLMaker will intelligently process your source EDL in a very special way - 

a.  the first 'inpoint' of the first line of your source EDL will become the inpoint of the first line of your LX1 EDL (the REC/STOP line)
2.  the *last* 'outpoint' of the *last* line of your source EDL will become the outpoint of the first line of your LX1 EDL (the REC/STOP line).

Why would you want to do this?  Here's why: if your source EDL has a series of clips that basically comprise a whole tape, with each timecode 'line' being a new clip, the the AutoChapter function can intelligently tell the LX1 to record the whole tape as *one Title* and put chapter marks for each clip.  This is a *great* thing for setting up a 'whole tape' capture where you have logged the footage timecodes for chapters from the tape to begin with - as in making a DVD from a telecine 'daily' tape. 

There's an example EDL file (Evertz_FilmDailyReel.ftl) you can load into the EDLMaker to see how useful the AutoChapter process can be for this one particular type of use.

Some production studio 'dailies' work this way.  They want to transfer the entire tape to the EDL as one title and insert a bunch of chapter marks without stopping/starting or performing a bunch of REC/PAUSE operations.  

That makes AutoChapter operation very special but, for this one situation, creates an enormously efficient LX1 EDL all in one single mouse-click.  


NOTES:

THE DEMO VERSION IS LIMITED TO ABOUT 6 LINES OF LX1 EDL.

The DEMO VERSION RUNS FOR 3 MINUTES ONLY.

ST, CH, and PS buttons only will apply changes to the last-created EDL line

When the EDL is finished (either the source is completely converted or you reach the 99-element limit of the LX1 EDL) you'll see your full source EDL displayed again and you can repeat the whole process if you wish.

