Active Content Manager (ACM) has been developed to be the turnkey solution that Avid broadcast users have been waiting for. Because now, you can write in iNEWS and edit in NewsCutter, and everything will automatically link together for the web.
Let's take a look at how it all works:
A journalist creates a script in iNEWS for a story, as part of a normal newscast. The script may contain device instructions for graphics, video servers and prompters. The script becomes available in NewsCutter via the NRCS tool. The NRCS tool offers a full view of the script as it was created in iNEWS.
From the NRCS tool, the editor creates a timeline and a bin, which are automatically named the same as the script to which it is linked. The editor now creates the media, which will be aired with the script during the newscast. When the clip is finished, the editor will post the media on the Avid Airspeed clip server. This will also report back to iNEWS that the clip is available and online.
At this point, the editor will press the Post to Web button in th NRCS tool, which will launch a window that offers the ability to modify the script to match the look used on the website. All machine instructions have at this point already been removed.
Assigned Video and Images
Under the template tab, there are two options.
- Text Fields: Allows you to add more information about the story (i.e., Abstract, Sub-headline, Keywords)
- Video Fields: Allows you to add media to your story (i.e., Sequence and Images to be used on the website)
Now the editor decides what sequence he or she wants to be assocated with this story and drags it form the local bin to the Post to Web window.
To associate an image, the editor follows the same procedure, making sure to choose the image first in Frame View. Whatever image is displayed as the head frame in the bin is the image sent to ACM.
Sending to NewsPoller
When all the data has been entered and the package is ready to send, the editor will go to the Post tab and select the export method.
In ACM
As soon as the encoding process has finalized, a notification will be sent to ACM. The system will now automatically import all assets related to the story. This means that the video files and the images are imported in the assets database and the script will be included in the story database. All links between video, images and scripts are maintained.
The story is now searchable in ACM with the assets linked and the story ready for approal.
Post by James Cooper
Broadcast Field Instructor, Avid Training Services