Mastering means, in part, making a tape that's levels are adjusted to certain set values thus creating a definitive version from which other copies can be made.  Doing this makes it easier for your work to be seen to the best possible quality but also helps determine a form of 'original' version.  This can help with preservation as it makes it clear what you're preserving and removes the doubt linked to the possibilities of numerous versions and copies.

The information below tells you the basic things you can do to make a good master.

Mastering Guidelines
It is a good idea to use a new cassette when you make a master or even a master dub.  This is especially advised with mini DV, though it is not advised to use this format for mastering.  The layering of recordings can cause problems with the time code and may lead to glitches on playback.  If you record onto a camera, you may have problems with playing the master in a different machine.  The chance of this also increases wit h mini DV.

You should allow at least two minutes of continuous time code before your work begins, and after it finishes.  You should note what the time codes are on the labels of your tape and box.  These gaps around the programme are good for reducing any initial problematic encounters between material and damaged tape heads, and allow for a good run out after the programme finishes.  When you set up the time code on your editing system, you should make sure your piece begins on the precise turning of a minute, or even an hour.  The professional standard for setting is 10:00 hours.  If you don't set it to a precise time, you may risk someone missing part of your work as they fast-forward through looking for its beginning.  This may sound unlikely, but it does happen. You should be especially aware of this if the sound begins before the image.

Within your two-minute introduction, it is recommended that you break this into one-and-a-half minutes of colour bars and a half-minute of silent black.  Most computer editing programmes have a means of putting on colour bars at beginning of your piece.  You can do this with a professional linear editing system too.

Colour bars and tone
Colour bars serve as a template for checking that the tape and the equipment are correlating correctly.  If these are correct, it means that the tones and colours of your work are seen the way you intend them.

More important than the colour bars, though, is the tone that accompanies them.  Sound levels are far more variable than the picture and also much more noticeable in their variety.  Watch the waveforms carefully: if the levels peak, the audio will distort.    For digital formats this means keeping below -8dBFs (these values are used in the digital editing programmes, such as Final Cut Pro). 

If you don't cross-compare the tone from the colour bars with the volume in your piece, there is virtually no point putting on the colour bars.  Thus, you should make sure that the sound throughout your piece is correct/consistent in relation to its different parts.  For work with a 'normal' sound level, you should then adjust the volume until the loudest sound is the same as the tone on the colour bar.  If the work should be seen particularly loud or quiet you can adjust it so that the colour bar tone becomes a normal level and the work's volume relates appropriately: i.e. much louder or quieter.  You should then make a note to go with the piece to indicate this  (- this is very important).  In this way you can use a standardising procedure to take control of your work.  These things are important not just for screenings today but for preservation and how your work is seen in the future.