Script-based editing with Avid ScriptSync AI and PhraseFind AI

 

I began utilizing script-based editing in 2004, and with the introduction of script sync in 2007, my entire workflow underwent a significant transformation. This feature from Avid is arguably one of the most effective editing solutions to date. 

 

How to memorize the footage and quotes?

I worked on the production "The Cranes Call," which involved about 700 hours of video and audio footage, 141 transcripts, and some of them were up to 70 pages long. This brings up an interesting question: how much effort and time doesi take to find specific quotes?

 

I use ScriptSync or PhraseFind to search for specific words or quotes and I get the result in the form of clips and scripts in seconds straight to the point. Scripts are more useful because I can read and mark the content of the transcript before and after the word or quote I was looking for. If I need to, I can even cut directly from the transcript into my timeline. There's no need to search by clip name and timecode and listen to the video or audio files, set markers and write content into them.

 

 Here are some thoughts from AVID:

 

Work faster and easier with new features

leveraging robust and powerful AI technology, you can now create scripts from clips and automatically align your media with text in the script window. You can also undo and redo tasks, view clips in their native frame format (including 4x3 and 16x9), and gain access to a larger colour palette, giving you more colour choices for richer organization and script markup. Plus, ScriptSync AI also provides a new transcription management tool and automatic multi-lingual language detection. And you can even export transcripts to text files.

 

Sync and edit text:

Simply save any script or transcript as a text (.txt) file, and ScriptSync AI automatically goes to work, indexing and syncing all text and dialogue in your project—no matter where the clips are stored—with incredible speed and accuracy. Plus, you can also edit text in the script to match what was said in the synced clip.

 

Supported languages:

ScriptSync AI supports a wide variety of languages and dialects.

• English (American, Australian, and UK)

• Arabic

• Dutch

• Flemish

• French (Canadian and European)

• German

• Hebrew

• Hindi

• Indonesian

• Italian

• Japanese

• Korean

• Mandarin 

• Chinese

• Polish, 

• Portuguese (Brazilian)

• Russian

• Spanish (Castilian and Latin American)

• Swedish

• Tagalog

• Thai

• Turkish

This enables you to work on projects and locate clips in a multitude of languages.

 

Or have a look at the AVID website.

 

This tool can be used in a variety of contexts beyond the feature film industry. It offers numerous opportunities for script integration in different types of documentaries. The following examples illustrate how I incorporate this feature into my daily editing process.