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NewTek Toaster [2]: TV Studio in a Box
 | | (Click for enlargement) ToasterEdit storyboard and timeline |
Speaking of ToasterEdit, take a peek into it, and you'll see an interface that looks decidedly uncomplicated -- not intimidating at all. You're presented with a file bin that works like it does in the other modules, and then there's the storyboard window. As with many editing apps, Control/click on clips in the order you want them to appear in your show, and when you drag them onto the storyboard area, you've done a rough cut. To add transitions, you go to your DVEs folder and drop transitions in between the clips, just like you used to do with the old NewTek Toaster Flyer. Building on that tradition is a convenient feature in the storyboard view, where you are able to quickly trim your clips where they sit. Move your cursor over a clip, and it starts playing. As you hold the Alt key, you can mark in and out points in storyboard mode by dragging the mouse. Mouse over to the right side of a clip's icon, and that trims the out point, and toward the left trims the in point. All the wile, the time code location is superimposed over the icon. If you'd rather do your trimming on the timeline, go to the timeline window, where you can set it in an Avid-like single line mode, where you overlap clips to default a dissolve, or set it in A/B line mode, like Premiere but without a transitions track.
When you want to layer shots, it's a matter of stacking them up on the timeline, with the higher items on the time line being toward the background on-screen. As hardware speeds up, it'll be possible to stack up more layers and have them play back in real time. As the layers get thick, Toaster lets you lasso everything on your timeline and then make that group into a sub-project. Then that grouping can show up as a single clip on the timeline. Another interesting feature in the time line is, if you want to stretch a clip by using slow motion, drag its edge while holding the Alt key, and your speed change is added so the shot's length will fit where you want it. And the slow motion looks great -- it's field-based, so it looks buttery-smooth.
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I tried enlarging the size of these icons in storyboard view, and they were quite easy and intuitive to work with. It's nice the way you're allowed to size the icons exactly the way you want rather than forced to choose between three pre-defined sizes. I was also impressed with Toaster's real time chromakey capabilities. Most impressive was Cross Key, named after ace NewTek developer Andrew Cross, Ph.D. It can choose among a range of colors or shades you want to key out, then smoothes edges of the key and adjusts tolerance. This all happens in real time. How does it work? "Cross Key works on the principle that it's not a good idea to choose a single color for a chromakey," explained Dr. Cross. "It tries to understand the full range of colors that comprise the background, and it can combine complicated ranges of colors," he added. It works. This could come in handy if you're stuck with an improperly lit chromakey wall -- as most seem to be -- and you're able to select gradients of color with such precision that you may be able to pull a chromakey where it wouldn't have been possible before.
 | | (Click image for enlargement) The Edit Panel shows anything you'd what to adjust in the clip |
After I placed the clips I planned to use, I clicked on the little "E" at the bottom left, and in the Edit Panel I was able to see the properties of each clip I selected in the time line or story board. This dialog box shows anything you'd what to adjust in the clip, whether it be color correction, lumakey, chromakey or PIP settings, and all are keyframeable. It also gives you a good way to create keyframes in audio. Here's where you composite, adjust positioning, motion, and adjust DVEs. You can put drop shadows behind your positioned clips here too, but too bad you can't have a soft edge on your drop shadows. NewTek engineers tell me this is because the ToasterEdit positioner uses 16 sub-samples per pixel and uses sub-pixel placement of video. Hopefully, we'll be seeing soft drop shadows soon in an update. For some reason, your DVEs can't have 3D rotation or 3D motion, either. This was the weakest part I saw of the Toaster, in this module. But if you want some really sophisticated effects, the Aura 2.5 module is the place to go.
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Related sites: • Creative Mac • Digital Post Production • Digital Producer • Digital Video Editing • DV Format
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