Results tagged “avid xpress” from Final Cut Studio, Avid, Adobe, and Video Streaming

Head's up for those who upgraded from Avid Xpress Pro to Media Composer.  If you are lucky enough to own one of those fancy Avid Xpress Pro keyboards with the colorful keys, you may notice that some of the keys don't translate perfectly to the Media Composer default keyboard layout.

Fortunately, a company called 'logickeyboard', provides an upgrade path by providing a whole new set of  keycaps that you can simply pop out and replace. Replacing the keycaps is much cheaper than purchasing a new keyboard.

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. 

What if I told you, that it's possible to edit an entire sequence without having to mark any IN or OUT points? You probably would think I'm crazy.

One of the most useful editing features within Avid Media Composer / Avid Xpress, is the replace command. Unfortunately, it is probably one of the most under utilized features.

This is because the function most be mapped to the keyboard or Avid interface. Most Avid users are familiar with the red overwrite command. I urge editors to learn how to use the replace function instead of always using the red overwrite command.

The replace command is a blue sideways arrow. In some ways it functions like the overwrite command, but provides additional control of the content. You can find the 'blue replace arrow by navigating to the Tools / Command Pallete menu.You'll need to map it to either a blank space within the Media Composer interface, or to a key.

This Avid Media Comopser training tutorial for Avid Marquee demonstrates how to create simple but yet stunning looking titles that include 3D extrusion, beveled edges, and textures with lighting effects.

Avid Marquee is an incredibly powerful 3D titling package that is included with the latest version of Avid Media Composer.  The lastest version of Avid Xpress also includes Marquee.

Have you ever run into a situation where you can't seem to find a particular clip within an Avid sequence?  Well, you can assign various colors to clips as a nifty way to quickly find cips within an Avid sequence.

To do this: click on the 'text' tab within an Avid bin.  Then navigate to the bin menu and select 'headings'.  Activate the 'color' heading. 

Now, click underneath the 'color' heading within your Avid bin and assign individual clips their own unique color.  You can also asign a group of clips a specific color by highlighting them and using the 'edit' menu.

After you've assigned colors to individual clips, you can tell Media Composer to display those same colors for matching clips within an Avid sequence.  To do this:  Navigate to the timeline menu and choose:  clip color > source.

This provides a great method of tracking down and finding cilps within an Avid sequence.

With Avid technology's recent annoucement of discontinuing Avid Xpress, users should read the latest Media Composer Upgrade fact about upgrading their software.

Avid is offering a one time upgrade option for Avid Xpress users to upgrade to Media Composer for only $495.00.  List price of Media Composer is $2495.00 so it's deffinately worth the upgrade price.

In case your wondering about the funtionality differences between Avid Xpress and Media Composer, here is a short list of some of the major items:

• Improved Chroma Keyer using Specta-matte
• Vector based paint system with keyframing capability
• Motion Tracking
• Customizable time warp (variable slow motion) controls
• 9 camera multicam support

There are certain things about Avid Xpress or Media Composer that may drive you nuts.  One of those things is Media Composer does not allow you to add filler at an end of a sequence.  Wouldn't it be nice if you could tell Media Composer to always display 30 seconds of filler, even if you are zoomed all the way out?  This would give you an idea of how much additional content you need to fill.

Well, here is a fantastic trick on how to configure your timeline when you are doing spot work so you are always dealing with a fixed timeline. 

Did you know it's possible to add clip comments directly to clips within the Avid Timeline?  This is important for a few reasons.

#1 The comments will stay embedded within the clip, so if you move the clip, the comments will stay with it.

#2 If you edit a title directly from the timeline, the clip name doesn't change.  You can add a clip comment to reflect the real-name of the title template, instead of having to deal with a generic name.

To add comments to clips within Avid Xpress or Avid Media Composer follow these steps:

When adding multiple effects with Avid Xpress or Media Composer it is important to understand how nesting works.  It is a common mistake to auto-nest effects in a backwards fashion. Many Avid novice's use the alt-key when stacking multiple effects on top of each other.  Using this method may produce undesirable results.

Remember, with Avid, any effect placed on a layer will affect all the layers below it.  Therefore, it is important to nest items in the correct order to avoid potential problems.  Here is a typical problem many Avid users encounter:

Creating a black and white picture-in-picture effect often produces these results.  What if you only want the pip to be black-and-white without affecting the background layer?

Here are the steps to produce a black and white picture in picture effect without affecting the background layer.

Avid Technology announces today that it is merging Avid Xpress Pro with Media Composer.  Existing Avid Xpress owners will be able to upgrade to Media Composer.  Avid Xpress Pro will still be available until the end of the quarter, with continued support until March 2013.  This represents Avid Technology's "New Thinking" for 2008.

Existing Avid Xpress customers will have the opportunity to upgrade for $495.00. 

Avid is also dropping the price of Media Composer to $2495.00 US MSRP.

Media Composer contains some key enhancments over Avid Xpress that many users will now be able to appreciate.

If you are a Final Cut Pro or Avid user, you may be wondering about which software provides the best video encoding options.  If you are serious about encoding videos for the web, you'll want to invest in some video compression software.  Some of the more popular video encoders include: Apple Compressor, Sorenson Squeeze, Episode, and Procoder.

Derrick Freeman, from GeniusDV provides an exlcusive interview with Web Video Universe on how the pros and cons of these compression products.

Here is an excellent time saving feature with Avid Media Composer / Avid Xpress which allows you to mark multiple in/out points for multiple clips at the same time.

This is an incredible time-saving feature when you need to create a quick montage or slideshow that requires many clips with the same exact duration.  This trick also allows you to add handles to all your clips, so you can easily place transitions between all your clips once they have been edited to the timeline.

Make sure all of your clips are in piled up into one single Avid bin.

This trick only works in while in Script view. When you are in script view.

Select all the clips within the Bin window using (CTRL A - PC) or (Command A - Mac)

Use the (advance frame arrow keys) to move foward/backward 1 or 10 frames at a time.

The 1,2 keys move foward/backward 10 frames a time.

The 3,4 keys move forward/backward 1 frame at a time.

Use the keyboard Shortcuts for making your in-out points.

I = In Point.

O = Out Point.

You may want to verify the IN-OUT duration of all your clips by turnning on the IN-OUT column heading.

Column headings can be turned on using the Bin Menu in the lower right corner of the Bin window.

*The IN-OUT column heading can only be turned on within the Text tab.  You'll need to flip back to the Script tab after you turn on the heading.

You can then drag all of your clips directly to an empty timeline, and they will all have the same exact duration.

One last note:  If you plan on placing dissolves or transitions between all your clips once you've edited them to the Avid timeline, make sure you leave sufficient handles at the front of each clip.  Therefore, you'll want to advance a few frames before making your in point, to make sure you have enough room to transition into the next clip.  

To review: The basic strategy for a bunch of 2 second clips with 1 second dissolves would be:

• Load all your clips into an Avid Bin (CTRL A) to select them all
• Press the 2 key twice to advance 20 frames (Mark In - using the I Key)
• Press the 2 key 6 times to advanced 60 frames (Mark Out - using the O Key)
• Drag all the clips to the Avid timeline
• Place transitions between all your cilps  

Here is a great product from TubeTape.com that manufacturers a portable green screen. A green screen is a necessary element of video production for changing out a background.  Another huge plus is the portability.  You can set up your portable green screen outside which will provide excellent lighting conditions for a good chroma key.

Most professional non-linear editing systems such as Avid Xpress and Final Cut Pro support chroma keying.

Here is a great trick that uses the Avid Console to rename your media files so they appear as real names instead of cryptic hexadecimal values.  Go to the tools > console menu and type the command 'renamemediafiles'.

New clips will be created based on their bin names and tracks.

For all of you 'hackers' out there who wish to experiment with other Avid console commands, you can type 'help commands'  in the console window to list all the available commands.  Of course, this comes with a big giant warning if you decide to change anything.

Apple's LiveType is an amazing title tool that is bundled with Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Express.  A lot of users are missing out on LiveType's amazing functionality.  Now granted, you can use Apple Motion for similar effects, but sometimes it's actually easier to build your composite directly in LiveType. This sample animation was done entirely in LiveType.

LiveType is so easy to use and powerful, that I've seen Avid editors use LiveType to increased functionality within their Media Composer or Avid Xpress software.

LiveType supports 5 different tracks.  This track types include: Titles, Graphics, Objects, Textures and Video. You can even integrate Digital Juice backgrounds directly into LiveType for access to additional textures or ojbects.  You can also purchase additional LiveFonts, objects or backgrounds from LiveTypeCentral.com. Or, you can hire GeniusDV to show you how to create your own effects.

Each track is assigned it's own color within the Timeline window for easy reference.

Interested in Learning more about LiveType?  Check out these short tutorials:

LiveType Tutorial for Creating an Animated Mask

Creating an Animated Glow through a title with LiveType

LiveType training is included as part of GeniusDV's 5 Day Final Cut Studio course.  You can also hire a personal GeniusDV for a customized LiveType course.

Using the Pan and Zoom with Media Composer or Avid Xpress is often a big mystery for Avid users.  Here are the basic steps on how it works.  The Pan and Scan effect produces a similar effect used by the famous director 'Ken Burns'.  The effect can simulate a motion control camera effect that is used for zoom into still images to produce smooth motion.

Click on these images to see the difference between using the Pan and Zoom feature, compared to importing the image directly into an Avid bin.

Pan and Zoom applied

 Standard Import into Avid Bin