Linear editing and non-linear editing. Linear or nonlinear

There are linear and non-linear editing.

Linear installation, those. recording frame by frame in the required sequence of footage or archival materials does not subject the original video information to additional processing, quality losses are determined only by copying losses, and digital cameras in combination with digital video recorders do not produce losses at all, even after repeated re-recording. With linear editing, a master cassette is gradually created fragment by fragment, that is, a video cassette with the first copy of the film, which is then replicated. For reliability, it is advisable to make at least two master cassettes simultaneously, preferably in a digital format that does not degrade the quality of the source materials after repeated re-recording. Linear editing requires certain qualifications from the author, and due to the widespread use of computers, it is becoming less and less in demand.

Non-linear editing involves digitizing, compressing (compressing) and entering source video data into a computer, arranging and editing it, then creating and delivering the output file to an archival medium (video disc or video cassette). At the editing stage, a small file is created containing information about the moments when sections of audio and video data were turned on, applied video effects, etc. Generating an output file can be a rather lengthy process, depending on the degree of frame processing (effects applied) and the speed of the computer. It is more convenient to consider linear (without additional transformation) editing on a computer as an intermediate medium of initially discrete information from digital video cameras as nonlinear. Many features of computer-assisted installation are discussed in Chapter 3.

When creating a DVD, each fragment of the film is converted into a compatible format and stored on the computer's hard drive, then the entire film is rendered; The MPEG-2 compression used here ensures relatively small file sizes of acceptable quality. A 4.7 GB DVD disc holds an hour and a half recording, that is, 2-4 parts of a home series.

Linear editing should not be neglected even if you have advanced digital equipment, since it gives the fastest final result, although it requires certain skills. Before returning from vacation, it is better to leave our relatives with a roughly edited film than rough footage, because when you are away from home, it is much easier to find a VCR than a computer with installed video capture equipment and your favorite video editing program. In addition, preliminary linear editing on your recording video camera will allow you to copy the missing source materials for the future film about the hike from your newly appeared friends, even if you have the last blank cassette at hand (musical arrangement at this stage is often premature). And if you and your travel companion have both digital cameras, then through certain re-recordings you can get rid of unnecessary takes and outright defects, freeing up space on both sets of tapes that has become scarce and without losing the original quality.

Each subsequent analog re-recording reduces the resolution by ten percent. If the camera produced 400 lines horizontally, then on the second copy (editing in two passes, that is, with two re-recordings) no more than 330 will remain, and on the third (replicating master tapes) the original S-Video quality will drop to the VHS level. Therefore, you should always strive for editing with a minimum number of re-recordings, and choose a video camera with a margin of resolution. The situation is similar with nonlinear editing - repeated compression and decompression of video data must be avoided, and all necessary video formats (DV, DVD, etc.) must be made from the original (originally digitized) materials.

If you have a single source of video signal (video camera) and a single recording device (video recorder), it is very difficult to make a film in one pass, even using auxiliary equipment for separate editing of the audio series (difficulties, first of all, are caused by obtaining continuous sound). The use of a VCR with a sound overlay function solves the problem only partially, since it does not achieve Hi-Fi quality, because the recording is carried out on the longitudinal tracks of the (S)-VHS tape recorder.

Digital video cameras allow you to overlay audio onto the finished video recording only at standard speed (SP) and provided that synchronous sound recording during filming was carried out in the mode of 4 channels of 12 bits, but not 2 channels of 16 bits. Rules for adding additional sound can be found in the video camera’s operating instructions; it also describes setting the volume ratio of the original and newly recorded sound during playback.

Linear editing in fragments with continuous sound can only be carried out if there are at least two switchable right time image sources. In the simplest case (Fig. 1.11), the output of a video camera (VC) is connected to the input of a video recorder for playback (VM playback) of archive materials, which is switched to the “AV” mode for receiving audio and video signals. The video output of the latter is connected to the video input of the recording VCR (VM recording) directly, and the audio output is connected through a mixer, to the second input of which a source of a pre-formed phonogram is connected.

Before work, for each device used, it is necessary to measure the delays for turning on the playback and recording modes. (This is easy to do, for example, using a video clip showing a stopwatch with a time quantum of 1/25 of a second, created on a computer, or, at worst, using a video clip with a stopwatch filmed by a video camera.) Until the first VCR produces its own playback signal, it transmits data from the video camera and thus plays the role of a switch, controlled by the “play” and “stop” buttons (with pre-known delays).

Attention! The “pause” command does not switch the tape recorder to broadcast input signals.

Amateur equipment, unfortunately, does not allow general synchronization of video fields, and when switching signal sources, video frames may drop out (loss). Therefore, the moments of switching from one source of original video information to another should not require precise timing. It is better to choose these transitions in calm (non-dynamic) areas of the scene during pauses in the characters’ speech, when a delay or advance of even a full second will not be noticeable. At the moments of switching, it is better to gradually reduce the intensity of the sound from the original sources.

For more comfortable work, it is advisable to include in the equipment a switch for input video signals that quickly switch sources (video camera, VCR with archival materials, a computer with non-linear editing results) and a switch for audio signals. For example, you can use the sound card of any computer as an audio mixer and switch; such a computer is much easier to find on the road than one specially equipped for video editing. You can use the input selector, if available, of the recording VCR. There are video equipment control devices from a computer that automate the linear editing process.

Editing is a creative process in which individual fragments of source recordings are combined in a specific order to produce a single composition. Linear and non-linear editing used in cinema, television, and when creating commercials. Editing is also used by YouTube bloggers, Instagram users, Vine video creators, etc.

It may seem that installation is very easy and simple, but in reality, high-quality installation is long and painstaking work. The people who do this are editors. Every year, editing directors compete for the most prestigious award in their field - the Oscar for Best Editing. For example, this statuette was awarded to editors of such cult films as “Forrest Gump”, “Schindler’s List”, “Titanic”, “The Matrix”.

Characteristics of linear and non-linear editing

Linear video editing

Is historically the first type of installation. The traditional linear editing scheme assumes the presence of two VCRs. Frame-by-frame editing accuracy is ensured complex controller. The necessary information from the source tape on the first video recorder is re-recorded onto the resulting tape of the second video recorder in the required order, forming a “master tape”. Unsuccessful shots remain on the first tape recorder.

If it is necessary to add smooth transitions and splash screens, more complex installation scheme. The original fragments must be on different VCRs. Information from two sources enters the video mixer, where the fragments are glued together with the addition of effects. If two fragments are initially on the same tape, they must be separated, which can be time consuming. Dubbing long frames may take as much time as their duration.

When creating two transitions, you need to use three source VCRs, etc. Overlaying titles also requires dubbing the video.

Disadvantages of linear video editing

Linear installation significantly limits creativity editors primarily due to the difficulty of executing certain editing ideas. In addition, the devices provide limited set of effects. To find the necessary fragments, you need to rewind all the material many times.

Dubbing large amounts of footage can take hours or even days. Repeated copying results in deterioration in quality. The cost of the equipment is also a significant drawback and can reach several tens of thousands of dollars.

If, when creating material for a television show, it was discovered that some fragment was missing in the tenth minute of the film, the entire program will have to be re-written with the addition of the necessary frames.

Nonlinear video editing

Many people believe that non-linear editing is called this because the shots are edited in an indirect order. In fact, it got its name because the editors finally managed to avoid the lengthy back-and-forth (linear) rewind of the tape and got direct access to the required fragment straightaway.

Non-linear editing became possible thanks to the advent of computers. In this case, all source materials from the tape are recorded on HDD. This can be a lengthy process, but it depends on the degree of compression of the source material and the power of the computer. However, there are already video cameras that allow you to immediately download source material onto digital media or edit from the media.

In non-linear editing, video files are processed using video editors. These programs provide directors with endless possibilities for creating special effects and adding transitions. At the same time, you can easily make color correction and tonal adjustment of the image. Installation Solution Sheet, on which the editing work is performed, also contains audio tracks with the announcer's voice, dialogues and melodies. Titles and captions can be applied at any time to any frames of the video material.

Advantages of non-linear video editing

Today non-linear video editing is completely supplanted linear as outdated technology. Its main advantages are:

access to any fragment at any time;
no need to rewrite all material if you need to add or remove a frame;
no loss of quality with numerous rewriting (copying) of material;
instant playback mounted material;
endless possibilities for realizing the director's fantasy thanks to a large selection of special effects;
price necessary software an order of magnitude less than for linear installation.

Using non-linear video editing in advertising

Non-linear editing finds Widely used in creating commercials, since it allows you to significantly speed up the process of their creation. In addition, the prospects for using 3D animation are significantly expanded with the ability to add any transitions in real time.

Non-linear editing is more flexible and allows you to easily change the plot of the video during its development. For example, if at the first stage of creating an animated advertising video one specific course of events was chosen, it is easy to change it by simply changing the sequence of frames.

The development of non-linear editing technology has made it possible significantly reduce installation time. Today, almost any user who has modern computer and access to the Internet can edit your video material into a full-fledged film. However, for proper storyboarding, cutting fragments and gluing them together Professional installation skills are required.

Contact animation studio Kinesko! We can edit any kind of video with high quality, including advertising ones. Our managers will answer all your questions by phone.

Contact Information:

> When I was studying at the institute, one of the teachers said that “in the field of radio electronics, concepts and technology are updated by fifty percent in five years.” Later, already working in television, I realized that for television technology this period is reduced to a year or two, since it is developing at an unusually fast pace.

Today, depending on the equipment used, there are two types of installation: linear and nonlinear, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Linear editing is editing in which a video signal is transferred from one VCR to another, undergoing many changes along the way according to the director's intention. It is used by many directors who have been working in television for at least five years. And with non-linear editing, the video signal is recorded into a computer, where it is subsequently processed. What's better?

In linear editing, dubbing leads to deterioration in quality. The main source of interference is the recording of the signal on and playback from magnetic tape, as well as the many connections, contacts, devices, etc. through which the signal passes.

In non-linear editing, the signal is converted into digital form and is stored in the computer, without undergoing any changes (such as re-recordings) before the process of “driving” the edited material onto a cassette. This is very big advantage. However, there is also a problem in non-linear editing, since in many hardware the signal is digitized with compression, that is, compressed (an uncompressed signal takes up a lot of memory in the computer). Of course, there are hardware units that work with an uncompressed signal, but so far this is rare. And with compression, part of the signal is lost irretrievably. There are ways to restore the signal, but in practice it is impossible to restore it completely. Repeated compression further degrades the quality, which generally calls into question the feasibility of archiving compressed material. In linear installation this problem does not exist.

Now about other disadvantages of non-linear editing. “Downloading” material into the computer takes quite a long time. And the more, the more source material, since the signal is converted into digital form in real time. At first glance, it seems that it is being spent completely unproductively. In addition, you have to choose between the amount of material needed for work and the level of compression, which affects the quality of the recorded material, since the computer's memory capacity is limited. This problem will be solved when cameras with removable hard drives, replacing the camera's video recorder, are widely used. In the meantime, with a large number of sources, linear hardware is preferable.

Now let's get back to the rewrites. They are also necessary when creating any complex effect, when the equipment does not allow you to do it right away. In this case, you have to write down each component such an effect separately, as a result, overwrites occur that do not occur in non-linear editing. Digitally creating a complex effect is quite easy, even if done piecemeal, without losing quality.

Every director and editor is familiar with the problem of timing. It is very difficult to fit the transmission within a predetermined framework, since overrun or underrun of time is measured not even in tens of seconds, but in units (for example, plus or minus five seconds). In non-linear editing there is no such problem: at any moment and anywhere in the transmission you can insert or cut the desired piece. With the advent of new technologies, one can only regret that the time of professionals who came to editing with a ready-made editing sheet and source codes painted down to the frames is wasted. Nowadays, many directors think about timing only when there is a lack of time or (even worse) too much time. Then the frantic work begins on the entire program, looking for places that could be cut or expanded. And if such a place is found in the tenth minute of a fifty-minute broadcast, you should either rewrite everything that was recorded after this place (and this is very difficult), or take another cassette as a “master” (that is, the cassette on which the broadcast is collected) and rewrite mounted material on it, inserting or removing everything that is needed. And this is overwriting, that is, deterioration in quality. And if you consider that in non-linear editing there is no need to replace tapes when switching to another source and there is the possibility of instant access to any frame, then you will be in favor of non-linear editing.

To create complex effects, especially effects associated with changing the video signal (color correction, brightness, defocus, etc.), you need very powerful processor, which could process huge amounts of data. In this regard, many effects in non-linear editing are not done in real time (while equipment designed for linear editing allows this to be done in real time and even very simply). But this is a temporary drawback, because a new, more powerful processor may soon appear. But there is the convenience of compatibility, which allows you to transfer information from one computer to another (for example, from an editing computer to video graphics equipment and back). In general, with the transition to digital form, the problem of information transmission ceases to be relevant. For example, in the Betacam SX format, digital information can be transmitted four times faster than in real time.

Nowadays, the computer has ceased to be exotic. Now it is difficult to find a person who would not have anything to do with him. And children sometimes understand computers even better than adults, so it is now easier for the younger generation to learn non-linear editing. And to become a good editor or, as they say now, an editing director, it is not enough to know the equipment, you need to study the theory of editing and be able to feel it.

To determine what type of installation is needed for a particular case, you should correctly set the task for yourself, answering, for example, the following questions: what needs to be obtained in the end, what means are available for this and how much time, what quality should be, etc. I have compiled a comparative table of the advantages and disadvantages of linear and non-linear editing hardware (average characteristics), which, I hope, will help you in your choice.

Computer science, cybernetics and programming

A shot or shooting frame that is slightly longer than the one that will be visible on the screen after editing the film is called an editing frame. The plan is drawn up after carefully reviewing all the filmed material and determining the basic concept of film editing, hence the name: film editing plan. it is only an element that organizes the finished but still raw material, first of all in the process of film editing. The working material may be long for viewing or storing in an archive, but the film should be short, laconic and brief...

1. Video film making technology

The technology of creating a video film is a holistic creative process, divided into certain stages and aimed at achieving the main result - the creation of a video film. Each stage is characterized by special tasks and means to solve these problems.

Stage 1: choosing a theme for the video.

This stage is informational and motivational in nature. If you are involved in the creation of a video film, then at this stage you act as the author of the script and, first of all, you must determine for yourself what you want to shoot and why.

We can safely say that good film- this is, first of all, a well-chosen topic, and secondly, an interesting, well-developed script.

Stage 2: Decide on sound and music.

Sound can be synchronous or asynchronous.

Synchronized sound is usually used when filming event videos, when filming monologues, to convey the atmosphere of the scene.

This, naturally, is the human voice, and other sounds involved in the action (recorded both synchronously and superimposed on the video after filming). Non-synchronous sounds can create a certain emotional mood, explain the actions of the characters, enhance the sound characteristics of the characters, etc.

Stage 3: When all this work is done, you can sit down to write the script.

The film consists of frames, scenes and episodes.

The frame is the smallest dynamic unit of film. The frame being filmed or filmed is slightly longer than the one that will be visible on the screen after editing the film (this frame is called an editing frame). For each frame, you need to choose the most suitable shot (shooting scale). Decisive in this is the expressiveness of the frame and the need to convey any information contained in it. An episode is a relatively complete part of a film, not requiring unity of place, but possessing unity of action and theme. The scene is an element of action, which is also characterized by the unity of place. Recommended stages for creating a script: 1. Episodes are planned. 2. The task of each episode is determined. 3. The dramatic sequence of episodes is determined. 4. Episodes are divided sequentially into scenes. 5. Objectives are set for these scenes. 6. The nature of the action is clarified. 7. The roles of the actors are determined. Stage 4: video filming. When the script has been written, the appropriate plots have been chosen, the location for filming has been chosen, the music has been decided and, most importantly, there is a video camera, you can start shooting the film.

Stage 5: drawing up an installation plan. An editing plan is a list of shots compiled in the order in which these shots should be located in the film. Such a plan speeds up the editing work, protects against mistakes, allows you to navigate the shape of the future picture, and facilitates writing text and dubbing. The plan is drawn up after carefully reviewing all the filmed material and determining the basic concept of film editing (hence the name: film editing plan).

Stage 6: film editing. Development of a structure that combines content into a single whole. The purpose of the design is to keep everything in balance and harmony. The main role here is given to the systematization of video material in a certain logical order in accordance with the requirements of dramaturgy and cinematic photogenicity. Design, as opposed to concept, can sometimes be a creative device, i.e. it is only an element that organizes ready-made but still raw material, first of all in the process of film editing. The general compositional patterns of film construction are refracted in their own way in the microcosm of the film - the episode. It should be taken into account that in cinema, as in any art, form plays an extremely important role, but it should not dominate the content. Only the unity of content and form, the balance between them and the community can give the necessary result. The working material for viewing or storing in an archive can be long, but the film must be short, laconic, brief in content, “sparse”, but expressive and accurately correspond to its purpose. main task- why was he filming?

There are 2 types of editing: linear and nonlinear. The next chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

2. Linear and non-linear editing

Today, depending on the equipment used, there are three types of installation:linear, nonlinear and combined, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Linear editing involves dubbing video material from two or more video sources onto a video recording device, cutting out unnecessary and “gluing” necessary video scenes and adding effects. This method has been used since the very beginning of video production and involves the use of at least two devices - a camera or VCR with source material and a recorder - a VCR with a blank tape.

Non-linear editing is carried out on the basis computer systems. In this case, the source materials are first entered into the computer, and then installation procedures are carried out on them.

Combined editing combines the advantages of linear and non-linear editing. In this case, the nonlinear video editing system acts as a video source. Disadvantage is, as a rule, a higher price.

What's better?

In non-linear editing, the signal is converted into digital form and is located in the computer, without undergoing any changes (such as re-recordings) until the process of “editing”, in practice it is impossible to restore it completely. Repeated compression further degrades the quality, which generally calls into question the feasibility of archiving compressed material. In linear installation this problem does not exist.

Now about other disadvantages of non-linear editing. “Downloading” material into the computer takes quite a long time. And the more, the more source material, since the signal is converted into digital form in real time. At first glance, it seems that it is being spent completely unproductively. In addition, you have to choose between the amount of material needed for work and the level of compression, which affects the quality of the recorded material, since the computer's memory capacity is limited. This problem will be solved when cameras with removable hard drives, replacing the camera's video recorder, are widely used. In the meantime, at large quantities source codes, linear hardware is preferable.

Now let's get back to the rewrites. They are also necessary when creating any complex effect, when the equipment does not allow you to do it right away. In this case, you have to record each component of such an effect separately, which results in overwrites that do not happen in non-linear editing. Digitally creating a complex effect is quite easy, even if done piecemeal, without losing quality.

Every director and editor is familiar with the problem of timing. It is very difficult to fit the transmission within a predetermined framework, since overrun or underrun of time is measured not even in tens of seconds, but in units (for example, plus or minus five seconds). In non-linear editing there is no such problem: at any moment and anywhere in the transmission you can insert or cut the desired piece. With the advent of new technologies, one can only regret that the time of professionals who came to editing with a ready-made editing sheet and source codes painted down to the frames is wasted. Nowadays, many directors think about timing only when there is a lack of time or (even worse) too much time. Then the frantic work begins on the entire program, looking for places that could be cut or expanded. And if such a place is found in the tenth minute of a fifty-minute broadcast, you should either rewrite everything that was recorded after this place (and this is very difficult), or take another cassette as a “master” (that is, the tape on which the program is collected) and rewrite mounted material on it, inserting or removing everything that is needed. And this is overwriting, that is, deterioration in quality. And if you consider that in non-linear editing there is no need to replace tapes when switching to another source and there is the possibility of instant access to any frame, then you will be in favor of non-linear editing.

To create complex effects, especially effects related to changes in the video signal (color correction, brightness, defocus, etc.), you need a very powerful processor that can process a huge amount of data. In this regard, many effects in non-linear editing are not done in real time (while equipment designed for linear editing allows this to be done in real time and even very simply). But this is a temporary drawback, because a new, more powerful processor may soon appear. But there is the convenience of compatibility, which allows you to transfer information from one computer to another (for example, from an editing computer to video graphics equipment and back). In general, with the transition to digital form, the problem of information transmission ceases to be relevant. For example, in the Betacam SX format, digital information can be transmitted four times faster than in real time.

Table 1

Advantages

Flaws

Linear editing room

For any action - a full video signal. High efficiency, especially with a large number of subordinates. Ease of working with big amount takes.

Creation of complex effects in real time. Greater reliability of the equipment.

Great dependence of quality on the number of rewrites. Cumbersome equipment.

With any subsequent adjustment, it is necessary to erase and record the signal again. Difficulty in training maintenance personnel. The need to first convert the composite signal to component.

Nonlinear editing room

Saving information in case of equipment failure. Does not require re-recording. Instant access to any frame. Compatible with many digital and non-linear systems. Low price compared to analog equipment. Ability to change the mounted material at any time and in any place. Ability to work with a large amount audio tracks.

Any “gluing” occurs in real time. Compression. Requires a lot of time to input the signal into the computer. Requires conversion to analog form for broadcasting.

Great care is required when preparing for editing. The difficulty of alternating two or more programs when working on one computer. The more source material is recorded, the worse the equipment works.

In general, the difference between linear and non-linear editing systems is exactly the same as between a typewriter and a word processor, the latter giving you creative freedom and allowing you to work at a style and pace that suits you. You can easily outline the key points of the film first, and then work everything else around them.

Having decided on editing, all that remains is to choose a program for creating a video.

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This article is for those who are trying to understand the difference between linear and non-linear editing and the associated advantages and disadvantages, without having much knowledge in this area. Therefore, I will explain with my fingers.

Linear and non-linear editing are terms that can only be applied to electronic video. There is no such division in filmmaking.

At first it was just installation...

Film editing meant working with the medium itself. The film could be cut and glued anywhere. The director could run into the editing room with a better-shot take at any time: the film was rewound to the desired fragment, the low-quality take was cut out and a new one was pasted in. Everything is simple here. So simple that film in cinematography has only recently begun to be replaced by digital.

Linear installation

Line editing appeared with VCRs and electronically recording video and audio signals. Because the signal is recorded in a tricky way: you cannot cut out an unsuccessful take from the tape and paste in a new one - interference will appear. Therefore, all scenes were recorded on tape sequentially - linearly. However, no one called linear editing linear until the advent of non-linear editing. Just like no one will call the first part of the film the first until the second appears.

But let's start with the music...

You've probably already done this!

Perhaps you didn't have two VCRs at once. But many people probably saw the era of two-cassette tape recorders and music centers, which means they were engaged in linear editing.

Imagine: you have a cassette on which you need to record a collection of your favorite songs - this is a master. And there is a CD or cassette from which these songs need to be rewritten - this is the source. The catch is that there are a lot of songs on the source, but you only like some, not all of them.

And here's what you do: put one cassette on record, another on the beginning of your first favorite song and at the same time press the pause buttons, starting playback and recording. Your favorite song is over, you pause the recording and look for the next worthy song on the source. Found it - pause the source before the song, then simultaneously release the pauses and record the second song. Sequential recording from source to master is linear editing. You could record songs from different discs or cassettes onto one cassette, consistently changing the source and turning on the recording in a timely manner.

And now - video!

Owners of video cameras did something similar, copying not everything from the source tape, but selected fragments onto a master tape in a VCR. Some relatives needed to record several recordings from different cassettes on one tape at once - this is also a kind of linear editing.

Back to the Future

Double-cassette players, stereo systems and amateur video cameras with VCRs are what people in our country could find in the late 80s and later. And the first “video recorders” for television broadcasting worked from the mid-50s to the mid-80s in the World and from the 60s to the early 2000s in this country. At the same time, linear editing appeared and successfully developed (which no one called linear at that time).

The advantage of linear editing is live editing

Linear editing can be considered the undisputed leader in the production of television programs of various types. Typically, several cameras are placed on the set, and the live editing director records a master tape, switching sources and creating dynamics. This type of editing allows you to create a master tape without pauses, “on the fly.” All kinds of talk shows, sporting events, and live broadcasts are simply impossible without linear editing. And do not forget that a video camera was crossed with a recording device relatively recently, and before that time, each camera was connected to a separate tape recorder, or - through the linear editing director's console - several cameras were recorded on one tape recorder.

Techniques standard for linear live video editing were practically impossible in conventional cinematography. Imagine that a sports broadcast is being recorded on film. As a result, you receive material for editing only after the event (with a delay), and from each camera - kilometers of film. Uncomfortable.

On-the-fly linear editing is the best thing ever, but...

There was also a need to edit with pauses. And this is also linear editing. Don't think that non-linear and linear are the same as offline and online - live and not. Don’t think about non-linear editing at all yet - it doesn’t exist yet.

In general, the greatest hemorrhoids of the lineman were all kinds of inserts, overlays and transitions. Today you simply insert a frame change script between two clips through “flipping”, but previously this required three professional video recorders and a video remote control - this is the minimum. Two tape recorders were used as sources: on one video “before”, on the second “after” the frame change. The video remote ensures a smooth transition. The finished result is written to the third tape recorder. And all this equipment had to be synchronized with each other.

This is what a typical “interface” of a tape recorder looks like. All this bunch of buttons and lights was really needed. There were not much fewer of them on non-recording tape recorders. And if you think this is a complete paragraph, then let me show you what was going on behind each such tape recorder.

Unlike ordinary household video cameras, where only two “tulips” were needed for sound and video, professional solutions had two connectors for audio, several connectors for video and a bunch of service connections for connecting control panels, video remotes, synchronization signals and other things. I didn’t go into detail, but the video signal there was transmitted not as a composite tulip signal, but as a component one. You can see something similar in modern DVD players and receivers, where video is transmitted in three or four “tulips” instead of one.

Uh-uh, what are “tulips”?

A tulip is an RCA type connection (both a socket and a plug now). The first plugs were produced not with a solid ring, but with a petal ring and in shape they actually somewhat resembled a tulip. Today, plugs with a solid ring are ubiquitous (it’s cheaper), but the name has remained and extended not only to the plugs, but also to the connector itself.

The obvious disadvantage of linear installation

Imagine: the master tape is ready, but then the director runs in with a cassette and demands to replace one take with another. The master tape immediately becomes the normal source, the director's tape becomes the second source, and the new blank tape is declared the master. And everything from the previous master is written on it, then a new take, then the rest of the material from the former master. Constant re-recordings, of course, affected the final quality, although manufacturers took every conceivable and unimaginable step to reduce film degradation. If you try to repeat this trick on home equipment with VHS tapes, you will see a drastic deterioration in the quality of the final recording.

So when did non-linear editing appear?!

Formally, the term itself was popularized in 1991, along with the publication of a book by Michael Ruben. And the first non-linear editing system appeared in 1971, worked with black and white video, took up a lot of space and cost as much as a platinum spaceship. It was very expensive to edit a talk show on such equipment, so non-linear editing actually appeared in the nineties, when several companies made computer programs for installation.

Computer programs for editing: the beginning

At first, all computer programs for installation only simplified the work of linemen. In fact, it was an advanced editing console that could remember all editing transitions and splices in order to reduce the amount of work. Some computers were used to add titles and special effects (but their memory was only enough for a couple of minutes of video at best). Then it became possible to load simplified video (of obviously lower quality) into these programs and work with it. Thus, the original film needed to be spun only twice: the first time to input video into the system, and the second time at the time of recording to the master.