14 Replies Latest reply: Sep 28, 2012 1:56 PM by SASSI RSS

    What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?

    PeteGould Community Member

      I've looked in vain for the answer to this question, which I'm sure is thoroughly documented SOMEWHERE - I just can't find it.  The few things I HAVE found online including at Lynda.com or other paid services involve CS5, which has a different workflow that involves OnLocation; this changed in CS5.5 but I don't see any on-point articles that incorporate the changes.

       

      We've been using Premiere CS5.5 since its release but have never worked with dialogue metadata.  At the moment we're working on a documentary with a number of lengthy interviews.  In each case the interview subject is talking to an off-camera producer.  Accurate transcriptions of the raw interviews have been prepared.  Only the interview subject's ANSWERS are transcribed; the producer's questions are not (and are also barely audible on the soundtrack).  So, typically, the producer will ask a question and then the subject will give an answer that could be ten seconds or a minute.  Then another question, then another answer, all in the one clip.

       

      So what I am looking for is a step-by-step workflow (for someone who has never so much as TOUCHED Adobe Story before) for importing the transcripts into the raw footage and then ultimately having Premiere match the transcript up with the spoken audio, and then maximizing the usefulness of this with the newly annotated clips as source footage.  Realizing that the interview answers are separated by barely-audible producer's questions, I assume that one challenge will be to let the software know that it should only be paying attention to the answers, and lining the text up appropriately, and not getting confused by the questions.  Perhaps the answers need to be subclipped?

       

      If there's a tutorial on this subject I would very much appreciate being pointed to it.  If not, if someone could do a step-by-step (beginning with an empty Premiere CS5.5 project and nothing in Story) I'm sure there must be a number of other folks in my position who would benefit from it.

       

      As a product suggestion: for documentary applications it seems to me that it would be much better to be able to cut and paste text directly from a text editor into Premiere and then let it fit it to the audio instead of going through Story.  While I understand it was even more cumbersome prior to CS5.5, I don't think interviews in a documentary need most of what Story offers (unless I'm missing something), so it seems like an unnecessary complication that could be eliminated.

       

      Thanks in advance for any help.

       

      Peter


        • 1. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
          AnubhavRohatgi Adobe Employee

          Peter.

           

          Can you tell me what format your video is in?

           

          Here is the sequence of steps(there is more than one way to do this):

           

          1.  Create a new Film script in Adobe Story

          2.  Create  scene heading – INT. LOCATION – Day

          3.  Hit enter, hit TAB

          4.  Enter the name of the speaker, hit TAB or ENTER

          5.  Copy over the transcribed text

          6.  Build your script this way

          7.  Number scenes from the production menu

          8.  Export ASTX file for your script : File->Export->.astx

          9.  Open Premiere Pro CS 5.5

          10. Create a new project, bring in media

          11. In the project pane, find the "Scene" column

          12. For the clip that contains the spoken text, assign the same scene number to the clip as you have in the story script (lets say both are scene 1)

          13. Click out of the scene box in the project panel in Ppro

          14. Right click on the scene that you just assigned a scene number to and select – attach Story script

          15. Select the .astx fle you exported in step 8

          16. Click ok

          17. You should now see the script data in the metadata panel for the clip in the metadata panel.

          18. You can now run speech to text based on "Embedded Script metadata" to time align spoken word to the script.

           

          --Anubhav

          • 2. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
            PeteGould Community Member

            Hello Anubhav,

             

            The footage is AVCHD created with a Panasonic AF100.

             

            So in this case there's a series of different clips, each with a different speaker.  In some cases one speaker spans multiple clips (sometimes they needed breaks).

             

            It sounds as though we can have one script that comprises all the spoken material.  Do I create a new scene for each clip, with the numbering of the scenes telling the software how to match print to spoken word?  What about the (sometimes lengthy) questions which are barely audible?  I would think that would confuse the software when it tried to align the spoken words with the text.

             

            Thanks for the help!

             

            Peter

            • 3. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
              AnubhavRohatgi Adobe Employee

              Having a separate scene for each clip will make it easier.

               

              Depending on the audio quality in the clips, the software will do just fine.

               

              --Anubhav

              • 4. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                PeteGould Community Member

                Well, I tried following your steps, and I'm going wrong somewhere.

                 

                I created the film script and four scenes (one for each of four clips), giving the speaker's name as a character name (it's actually the same character in a continuous interview broken into several five-to-ten minute clips).  I let Story number the scenes (1 through 4, as expected).  I then exported an .astx file.

                 

                Within Premiere, I located the four clips and in the Scene column numbered them 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively.

                 

                When I right-click on one of the clips, select "attach script file," and point to the exported .astx file, I get the following error message: "Failed to attach script file to the following clip: \MyProjectName.prproj\FolderNameWIthinProject\00019.mts [Matching scene number not found]" (of course I have replaced the path and folder names in this example with generic names since the actual names reveal my client company's name).

                 

                Opening and inspecting the .astx file in a text editor I confirm that it does in fact contain scene numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, for the numbered scenes.  Likewise I confirm the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, in the Scene number column for the four relevant clips.

                 

                Any idea what the problem is?

                 

                Peter

                • 5. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                  Rashi-Story Team Adobe Employee

                  Although this should be happening automatically but can you also confirm that the assigned scene number (to the clip) is also seen at the following places in Premiere :

                  1) Select a clip -> Go to 'Metadata' pane -> Open the 'Clip' twirly in it -> Go to 'Scene' field. (Assigned scene number should be present here.)

                  2) In the same pane open the 'File' twirly now and again go to 'Scene' field.

                   

                  If the scene number is not present in any of these places please assign the respective number and try importing again.

                  Do let us know if this workd for you.

                   

                  Thanks

                  Rashi

                  • 6. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                    guideShelly

                    This still is not working for me. I have the same problem and followed your advise. I still get the same error message. Do you have anymore suggestions?

                     

                    I also check the scrit file in wordpad and found that the sene numbers were there. Sadly, I still can't attach the script and keep getting the same error message about there are no matching scene numbers.

                    • 7. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                      -Subbi Adobe Employee

                      Hi,

                      I am sure you must have tried this, but still want to confirm it before we move ahead with any suggestions or comments.

                       

                      1) Please ensure that the Scene numbering is the same in the Script and in Premiere pro metadata field

                      2) Also in Story, please ensure that the Scene heading is actually a 'Scene element'. To check this, keep your cursor on the scene heading and ensure that the Elements dropdown (on the top right corner of the script panel displays 'Scene Heading')

                      3) Also ensure that the Scene number is entered in the 'file's' metadata as well as the 'clip's' metadata in Premiere Pro.

                       

                      Please do try this and revert back if still gives the error message.

                       

                       

                      Thanks

                      -Subbi

                      • 8. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                        valicon

                        Hello,

                         

                        I'm currently attempting the following as well: working on a documentary with interview transcripts and trying to have them attached to the metadata of the clips with the speech aligned with the transcribed text. I've followed the instructions above and have reached the step:

                         

                        18. You can now run speech to text based on "Embedded Script metadata" to time align spoken word to the script.

                         

                        Upon doing so, Adobe Premiere CS6 will open Media Encoder but then proceed to crash each time. I'm wondering whether or not this has to do with the fact that I'm editing from native XDCam files (shot on Sony's F3) and that the Speech to Text requires a transcoded file to work properly. Has this speech to text function shown to work with this particular native file?

                         


                         


                        • 9. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                          -Subbi Adobe Employee

                          Hello,

                           

                          I have not read about issues with the camera files that you have mentioned in the Post. I tried searching on the AME (Adobe Media Encoder) forum to check if there are any discussion happening, but couldn't find anything relevent.

                           

                          I am not sure if we can safely assume that the crash is not related to the attached script metadata. To ensure that we are looking in the right direction, could you please try rendering/export the file from PPro and check if it just outputs fine (without involving any speech analysis).

                           

                          Also, using a smaller clip (i am assuming here that the clip that crashes is a large one) and check it the crash still happens.

                           

                          Once we try and find the core issue, it would help us explore more in detail.

                           

                          -Subbi

                          • 10. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                            valicon Community Member

                            Without involving speech analysis the file exported fine from PPro.

                             

                            I tried using a smaller clip (a subclip of the original full interview clip) with the attached adobe script, and when I click analyze, PPro gives me the serious error message and shuts down.

                            • 11. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                              -Subbi Adobe Employee

                              Hi,

                              Sorry for the delay in responding to the last reply of yours.

                               

                              I tried to explore other forums (PPro and Speech Analysis related) to check if we can get any FAQs about this issues, but couldnt find any.

                               

                              Is it possible for you to send us the 'Script' file and the smaller video clip (if its ok for you to share), so that we can try and reproduce this issue at our end.

                               

                              You can email me the data at  subbiah<at>adobe<dot>com

                               

                              -Subbi

                              • 12. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                                SASSI

                                I had the same trouble.  For some reason i wondered what would happen if i went back into Story and create a character, then went into the script and added the character right after each scene heading.  That worked!  However I had one scene that was still giving me a problem.  So I deleted the scene heading in Story, and remade it, made sure the character was there too.  viola!  all worked.

                                • 13. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                                  -Subbi Adobe Employee

                                  Hi SASSI,

                                   

                                  Thanks for your inputs here. Were you facing a similar crash as encountered by 'valicon'?

                                  Good to hear that you isolated this issue to the missing 'character' name. Would like to hear more from you about the whole Story+Premiere Pro workflow.

                                   

                                  -Subbi

                                  • 14. Re: What is the documetary interview workflow for Story/Premiere CS5.5?
                                    SASSI Community Member

                                    I am curious to figure out if there is a way to make the Metadata from Story converted to closed captioning.

                                     

                                    Thanks,

                                    Brandon