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Say you need to deliver video to your client for proofing. Sure, you could use iWeb and Quicktime -- but if your client doesn't have Quicktime installed (only 2/3 of web users do), your client can't see your work. And if you're running Avid on a Windows box, you're out of luck.Jeff's right - using iWeb on your Mac is the easiest way to publish your videos to the Web. But if you're lucky enough to own a copy of Adobe's Dreamweaver, the alternative process isn't as hard as you might think.
If you are a seasoned video editor, one of the first keyboard shortcuts that you'll look for is the 'Go to Previous Edit', and 'Go to Next Edit'. In Avid Media Composer and Avid Xpress it's a bit confusing, because the these shortcuts buttons don't seem to function as specified.
If you're using the standard default settings, these keys are mapped to the 'A' and 'S' keys on the keyboard.
Clicking on either of these buttons also sends the system into 'trim mode'. This can be a bit confusing at first. Yes, it's true the playhead indicator goes to the 'next/previous edit' but you'll constantly find yourself having to exit 'trim mode'.
Fortunately, there is a work around. The fix is to remap the 'Go to Previous Edit' and 'Go to Next Edit' buttons with the 'Fast Foward/Rewind Buttons'.
Navigate to the 'Tools Menu > Command Palette' and look for the 'Rewind and Fast Foward' buttons. Assign the 'Rewind and Fast Forward' buttons to the 'A' and 'S' keys. If you're unfamiliar with how to remap your keyboard, visit the Avid Media Composer Settings tutorial.
Next, you'll need to adjust one additional setting to configure how the 'Rewind and Fast Forward buttons' function. Find the Avid Project window and click on the Settings tab. Within the Avid project settings, double click on the 'composer settings'.
Click on the FF/REW tab. Check the 'Stop and Head Frames', and 'Ignore Track Selectors'.
That's it. The 'A' and 'S' keys should now function as you would expect them to.
The video production industry is incredibly diverse and it's expanding at an incredible rate. Anyone can now compete in the business. The technology has become very affordable. No longer do companies need to invest in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The playing field is now level, and there are more job opportunities than ever before.
That being said, new schools are popping up that specialize in the video production arena. In some cases, high schools and even middle schools have video production equipment that rivals professional production facilities. From the early stages, these schools are training kids while producing some amazing video content. Some schools even have their own television channel. It sounds crazy, but the competition is now becoming quite fierce. This is because of the volume of new candidates that understand the software.
So, if you're looking for work, what does this mean to you? Well, as ridiculous as it sounds, you may be competing with candidates that are fresh out of highschool. Not to long ago, It use to be that freelance video editors could easily demand $70.00 hr or more. This hourly rate is rapidbly disappearing, and is now limited to some of the larger markets. Now, in a medium size market, freelance video editors have been forced to bring their hourly rates down to $40.00 hr. In smaller markets, expect to earn less than that to remain competitive.
So, what are some key elements that employers are looking for? In the professional video editing business, there are three major players with a large host of other software manufacturers. These players are:
Apple (Final Cut Studio)
Avid Technology (Avid Media Composer)
Adobe (Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium)
First off, concentrate your energy on learning these software products. If you have to choose one to start with, take a good look at Final Cut Pro, which is included within Apple's Final Cut Studio bundle. If you don't own the software, consider purchasing an educational license. All the manufacturers have amazing educational pricing to help you get started.
Second, start a website and upload your video content and demo-reel. In this business, you might as well forget about a traditional resume. If someone asks for one, I wouldn't hesitate to simply point them to your website. If you do not have a website, consider purchasing a mobileme account from Apple. Even better, if you are Macintosh owner, you can use Apple's iWeb application to instantly create your website and upload your video content.
Third, you can dramatically increase your value by also learning Adobe Photoshop as it applies to video. Then, you can really hit a home run by learning After Effects , which is one of the world's leading visual effects software packages.
I realize all this sounds relatively simple, but mastering these software applications takes patience, dedication, and a lot of time. Don't expect to become a master overnight. Of course, GeniusDV offers training services to help you get up to speed relatively quickly. In particular, we offer training courses for Final Cut Studio and Avid Media Composer. In addition we offer an amazing After Effects training course. These courses can be taken in a classroom environment, or in an interactive online training environment.
It's well worth mentioning that the latest version of Avid Technology's Media Composer software now supports real-time processing based on CPU and GPU resources. This is a dramatic improvement over previous versions in terms of how the software processed effects. This ehancement has been introduced in version 3.05.
GPU stands for 'Graphics Processing unit', and was introduced by the NVIDIA corporation. By assigning tasks to a GPU, the Media Composer software can now process more effects in real-time.
I ran a quick test using NVIDIA's Quadro 3500 Graphics card with 256 megs of ram. I was able to run 10 layers of real-time without a performance hit. Of course, this card is classified under NVIDIA's High-End Products.
The minimum graphics card to run Avid Media Composer 3.05 is the Quadro FX 560. Bottom line, a faster graphics card with more video ram will give you an improvement in real-time processing.
For optimal performance, make sure you use the certified NVIDIA drivers for the Avid Media Composer software.
In case you missed it, Avid Xpress has been discontinued, and you can still upgrade to Media Composer from Avid Xpress. It is well worth the upgrade price. There is a downloadable upgrade, and an upgrade that ships on a DVD. It is best to order the upgrade that ships with a DVD because you'll also receive an additional suite of components.
The additional suite of components includes: Boris Continuum Complete, Sorenson Squeeze, Avid DVD, Avid FX, and Sonicfire Pro. Avid DVD is basically a bundled version of Roxio's DVDit 6 Pro., and Avid FX is equivalent to Boris FX Red 4.3. No doubt about it, this is an incredible deal.
For those of you who have upgraded from Avid Xpress Pro to Media Composer, Avid Technology has an incredible deal where you can add Avid FX, Boris Continuum, Sorenson Squeeze, and Avid DVD at a nominal cost.
This special bundle is labeled as 'Avid 3rd Party Application Bundle' on Avid's storefront. It is available to any Media Composer 3.0 customer who purchased their software 'via download'. It's an incredible value for only $195.00.
Avid FX is basically the equivalent of Boris FX, but it is licensed under Avid Technology's name.
