November 2011 Archives
Whether you are a Final Cut Pro user, Avid Media Composer user, or Premiere user, we'd like to introduce you to Adobe On Location. In our opinion, this is an incredible application that is sometimes overlooked in the professional video industry.
It ships with the Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium. Trust us on this one, this software is really a nice addition to any video production professional.
Do you own a HDV camera which records to MiniDV cassette tapes,
and have wondered what to do about it? I have given my Canon XHA1S the evil eye
for some time now, but have not decided to upgrade to another model. The
technological advances come so fast that it is difficult to make a reasonable
choice, and waiting a few months may be priceless. 
Adobe On Location may be the tool that helps you improve your footage until you are certain of what to do after HDV.
UPDATE: I've got some bad news for Windows fans who were hoping Final Cut Pro would run on a Windows operating system. With the introduction of Final Cut Pro X, it's unlikely you will ever see a version that will run natively in Windows. Apple has rewritten FCP using more than just modern coding techniques like 64-bit programming. The new Final Cut Pro X is built on technologies exclusive to Apple's Mac OS X operating system.
If you're committed to editing on a Windows machine, Adobe Premiere is the most direct alternative to Final Cut Pro. Avid Media Composer also runs on Windows. It's popular in high-end workflows, but more expensive and more difficult to learn. We teach Adobe Premiere and Media Composer classes for both Windows and Mac.
The
good news is that moving to the most popular editing software in the
industry is cheaper and easier than ever. Even an entry-level MacBook Air
($999 at time of writing) will run FCPX, albeit slowly—and the price of
Final Cut Pro has plummeted to just $299 for a license good on every Mac you
own or use. There's even a free, full-featured trial available for your Mac if you want to test drive Mac OS and Final Cut.
- Select two or more clips that you want to try out in an Audition.
- Right click either clip and select Create Audition (or press Command+Y).
- A new clip appears in the Event Browser, with a spotlight icon in the top left corner. This icon always represents an Audition clip type. Edit this clip like a normal clip. For example, we've edited the Audition clip into the Timeline between two other shots in this sequence.
- To activate the Audition, click the spotlight icon at the top right corner of the shot in the Timeline. An Audition window appears, with each of the takes side by side in a Cover Flow arrangement. Click on any shot to swap it out in the Timeline. Notice that the neighboring clips slide down in the Timeline to make room for timing differences between Audition shots. Also, the name of the clip in the Timeline changes to reflect the shot that's currently selected from the Audition.
- You can also swap between Audition clips using Control+Left Arrow and Control+Right Arrow while the clip is selected in the Timeline.
Avid has done a great job in modernizing the interface, while maintaining the look and feel of previous versions of Media Composer.
The BIG changes in Media Composer 6.0 are:
Written for 64 bit
Support for third party video hardware such as: AJA, BlackMagic, and Matrox.
Modern Interface with tabbed window functionality.
Support for Color Correction Control Surfaces
Real-time AVCHD playback via Avid AMA (Avid Media Access)
5.1 and 7.1 Surround sound mixing capabilities
Complete 3D Stereoscopic Toolset.
If you're new to Media Composer, or if you are looking to upgrade your editing skills, be sure to check out GeniusDV's 5 Day certified Media Composer training class.
