Media Logger

Reading time ~9 minutes

Media Logger is an easy-to-use instrument for associating a Roll with a script in RTF or TXT file format.

Interface

Media_Logger_icon

Media Logger can be launched with the MediaLogger.exe file or the "Media Logger" shortcut on the desktop. The following "Media Logger" window appears:
Media_Logger_window

The Media Logger interface consists of the following panels:

Media_Logger_window_panels

1 – The virtual clips panel displays the list of the virtual clips created according to the log file content.

2 – The logging panel is used for viewing and editing the script files. Each script file is displayed in a separate tab.

3 – The video player panel provides a video player for viewing and handling the entire master clip.

4 – The logging video panel displays the entire master clips of the selected Roll.

5 – The explorer tree panel provides access to Cinegy Archive, where Rolls can be selected for logging. Media Logger supports working with multiple databases.

File Menu

ML_button

Press this button located in the top left corner of the Media Logger window to get the "File" menu:
Media_Logger_menu

The commands available from the "File" menu are:

  • New – creates a new script.

  • Open – opens an existing script file.

  • Save – saves an active script file.

  • Save as – saves an existing script file with another name or in a different location.

  • Layout – defines the layout view ("Widescreen" 16:9 or "Normal" 4:3).

  • Print – previews or prints the current script file.

  • Close – closes the currently active script file.

In the "Recent Documents" field you can select the desired script file from the list of recently used scripts.

The "Media Logger Options" button opens the Media Logger setup menu.

Quick Access Toolbar

quick_access_menu

The quick access toolbar is located on the header of the Media Logger window and is used for quick access to the following functions:

New_button_2

This button creates a new script.

save_button2

This button saves an active script file.

Open_button_2

This button opens an existing script file.

Working with Media Logger

Creating a Script File

Creating a New Script File

New_button

Click the "New" button in the file menu to create a new script file (the same command is available from the quick access toolbar). A new script will be created in the logging panel.

Opening an Existing Script File

Open_button

Click the "Open…​" button in the file menu (the same command is available from the quick access toolbar). The "Open" dialog box appears:
Open_dialog

Browse for the desired location and select the file in *.rtf or *.txt file format.

The script file will be opened in the logging panel (2):

logging_panel

Media Logger allows the operator to use multiple script files simultaneously:

script_files

Click the caption of the desired script file to activate it or use the script_files_scroll_buttons buttons to navigate among script files.

Use the close_script_file_button button to close the currently selected script file.

Script File Formatting

You can change the formatting of the selected text in the script file using the controls from the script file toolbar:

script_file_toolbar

B_button

The "Bold" control applies bold formatting to the selected text.

I_button

The "Italic" control applies the italic formatting to the selected text.

U_button

The "Underline" control applies the underline formatting to the selected text.

ABC_button

The "strikethrough" control applies the strikethrough formatting to the selected text.

Font_button_2

The "Font" box allows you to change the font of the selected text.

size_button_2

The "Font size" box allows you to change the font size of the selected text.

Selecting a Roll and Making Clips

To select the Roll, navigate through the explorer tree and double-click the desired one.

When a Roll is selected, the available logging video panel shows all the entire master clips available within that Roll:

available_logging_video

Click the entire master clip to associate the script file with it.

When the video is successfully loaded, Media Logger parses the script file and recognizes the timecodes within the entire master clip. Any script timecode recognized as valid will become a hyperlink and will be displayed as 10:01:05:16.

Clicking the hyperlink will move the slider of the video player to the selected timecode. The timecode is editable in the script; however, if the edit renders the timecode invalid, the hyperlink indication will be removed. Similarly, if the timecode is outside the bounds of the entire (before the start of the entire or after the end of the entire), the timecode is no longer displayed as a hyperlink and appears as plain text.

You can type a timecode manually or use the shortcut Ctrl+T to insert the timecode of the current slider position in the video player. The virtual clip will be created according to the specified timecode and will immediately appear in the virtual clips panel:

virtual_clips_panel

make_clips_button

To create clips in the Roll, press the "Make Clips" button. You will be informed about the number of newly created clips with the following message:
message_successfully created

If a user attempts to make a clip(s) from the same timecode(s) with an already existing master clip(s), the following warning dialog box appears:

warning_dialog_clip_exists

Press the "Update Metadata" button to update an existing master clip.

Press the "Skip" button to ignore the creation of the master clip.

Press the "Create New Clip" to create a new master clip instead of updating an existing one.

Press the "Cancel" to cancel the operation.

Select the "Apply to All Clips" checkbox to apply the chosen option to all clips.

Adding Metadata to Virtual Clips

You can add metadata to a virtual clip by typing the relevant information after its timecode. This metadata immediately appears in the "Clip Metadata" field of the corresponding virtual clip.

Use the Ctrl+N shortcut to add a name tag to a virtual clip entering the desired name within the CLIPNAME tag in square brackets. The entered virtual clip name immediately appears in the "Start/Stop" field of the corresponding virtual clip:

metadata_virtual_clips
Note
 Please note that a CLIPNAME tag can be added anywhere in the metadata after the timecode value.

Handling the Video Player

The video player is used for viewing the Roll in the entire and specifying the In and Out timecodes for creating virtual clips.

You can drag the borders of the video player panel to scale the size of the preview display.

The video player will continue playing when the focus is on the text entry window. This enables the user to enter metadata in the text logger without having to stop the playback.

There are various ways to control video and audio playback in the video player.

Playback Control Using the Mouse

Play/Stop Button

play_button
stop_button

The "Play" button starts/stops the playback of the Roll.

There is a ruler below the frame in the player which allows you to navigate to any desired location of an entire. You can view any frame of the material by dragging the time slider:

time_slider
Jumping to Events

You can use the "Jump to Event" buttons to move from event to event. Events are the beginning and the end of a Roll and the In and Out points.

jump_left_button

Use the "Previous Event" button to jump to the previous event (the shortcut is A).

jump_right_button

Use the "Next Event" button to jump to the next event (the shortcut is S).
Shuttling Using the Mouse in the Video Player

Drag horizontally in the frame window on the viewer to shuttle through your material with the mouse. The playback speed and direction depend on the direction and intensity of your drag.

  • Drag to the right to play forward.

  • Drag to the left to play backward.

The mouse pointer will show you the current speed and direction of the playback.

player_dragged

Slow forward at 25% speed

You can use the mouse wheel to scroll frames in the video player.

Playback Control Using the Keyboard

Play/Stop Using the Keyboard

The following keys control the playback:

  • To toggle play/stop mode, press the Space bar (or use the Ctrl+Space shortcut when focused on the "Logging" panel).

  • To loop play from In to Out, press the 6 key.

J-K-L Shuttle

You can shuttle through your material by using the <J-K-L> keys on the keyboard. Use the following keys to shuttle at varying speeds:

  • Press the L key (or Ctrl+L shortcut when focused on the "Logging" panel) to move forward through the footage at normal speed.

  • Press the J key (or Ctrl+J shortcut when focused on the "Logging" panel) to move backward at normal speed.

  • Press the K key to pause the shuttling.

  • Press the Space bar to stop the shuttling.

  • Press the K+L keys together for slow forward.

  • Press the <K+J> keys together for slow backward.

  • Press the L or J key several times to increase the speed according to the following table:

Press the J or L key To play at speed PAL rate NTSC rate

2 times

2x normal speed

50 fps

54.94 fps

3 times

3x normal speed

75 fps

89.91 fps

4 times

5x normal speed

125 fps

149.85 fps

5 times

8x normal speed

200 fps

339.76 fps

6 times

12x normal speed

300 fps

359.64 fps

7 times

16x normal speed

400 fps

479.52 fps
Home, End, and Arrow Keys

In addition, you can use the following keys on your keyboard to navigate through the entire Roll:

  • The Home key takes you to the beginning of a Roll.

  • The End key takes you to the end of a Roll.

  • The ← or 3 key moves one frame backward.

  • Pressing Alt+← or 1 moves 10 frames backward.

  • The → or 4 key moves one frame forward.

  • Pressing Alt+→ or 2 moves 10 frames forward.

Working with In and Out points

You can use the following shortcuts to work on your In and Out points:

  • The I or E keys set up the In point.

  • The O or R keys set up the Out point.

  • The D key deletes the In point.

  • The F key deletes the Out point.

  • The G key deletes both In and Out points.

  • The 6 key loop plays from In to Out.

Audio VU Meter

VU meter

The VU meter is shown on the right of Clip Viewer.
It shows peak and integrated audio levels in the dB scale.
It shows the master output for all the enabled audio channels mixed together.
The audio_mute_VU meter buttons allow you to mute an individual left/right audio channel or both audio channels simultaneously.

Closing Media Logger

When logging is completed, you can save the script file with the "Save" button.

close_button

To close Media Logger, press the "Close" button on the window’s header.