If you’re new to Media Composer 2019.X, there is a new feature where you can adjust fonts and font sizes for each individual primary Media Composer Windows.

You can now adjust the font type and size for The Composer Window, The Timeline Window, and the Bin Container Window.

So for example, I recently upgraded Avid Media Composer System, and the fonts were too small to read within timeline window.

• Select a primary Media Composer Window.
• Navigate to the Windows Menu and Select Sent Font
• Choose a new Font (i.e, Arial) and a Font Size

Thanks to Avid for implementing features like this that don’t seem like much. But believe me, some time the most simple features go a long way in terms of improving efficiency.

Learn the basics of using Bin Containers within Avid Media Composer.

This tutorial video is a super basic introduction to using a bin container with Media Composer.

Here are a a couple of key features that may be foreign to even the most seasoned Avid user that hasn’t had the opportunity to upgrade to MC 2019

• The is no longer a project window within Avid Media Composer
  
• The Bin container is now the heart of of the software. You must always have at least one bin container open.
  
• You can have multiple bin containers, but they are essentially clones of each other. This concept may seem odd. However, multiple bin containers may be useful for different container ‘views’
  
• Also, it’s critical to understand the difference between dragging a floating window into the main interface panel, vs another window that already has a tab. So, that’s why I’ve reinforced the concept of holding down the alt/option key when dragging a floating panel into another window.

Hold down the ALT/OPTION key to attach multiple tabs to the same window. You will end up with something like this:

If you don’t hold down the ALT/OPTION key when re-attaching to windows that already have a tab. You end up with something like this:

I’ve been using Avid Media Composer full time since 1992. I can see how this new interface will take seasoned Avid Editors awhile to get used to. The new Avid 2019 interface now looks more like DaVinci Resolve and Premiere.

https://youtu.be/Z9Wlqqir6RM

This is a VERY basic introduction to the new interface of Media Composer 2019.X.

For Avid users who haven’t experience the new interface design, DON’T worry, All your favorite Media Composer editing techniques haven’t changed.

I anticipate this new interface will take a year or more to eventually be adopted by mainstream editors.

In the near future, look for many more tutorials that cover the critical fundamentals for learning Avid Media Composer 2019.X

For seasoned Avid Media Composer users that aren’t used to the new interface, you will notice there is no longer a Project Window.

The bin container is the new heart of Media Composer. The old Project Window settings can be found under the File Menu / Preferences.

When running software products such as Avid Media Composer,  if you receive an error that says No Media can be written to any mounted drive.

In attempting to correct the problem, you may encounter a Mac OS X message that says  ‘The Operation can’t be completed because you don’t have the necessary permission’.

This error flag results from your software attempting to write files to the root level of your system drive.  Apple purposely protects files on the system drive to avoid viruses and other vicious programs that may compromise the operating system.

Please Note:   It’s not normally recommended that you write media to the system drive.  However, there are several scenarios where you may not have external storage.

#1-  First Step :  Right click (or control click) on your system drive and choose get info.

Click on the orange lock in the bottom right corner of the Mac HD Info dialogue box. (see graphic below). Then type in your Mac OS X user password.

Change the permissions for the internal system drive to Read & Write for the wheel and everyone.

*Side note: If your Mac OS system user does not have an assigned password, Mac OS X may prevent you from changing the permissions.  If this is the case, go to your system preferences and assign yourself a password.

Now, you may encounter that dreaded message that says ‘The Operation can’t be completed because you don’t have the necessary permission. Super frustrating!

If this happens, here’s the fix:

#2- Second Step: Reboot the Mac, and immediately hold down Command + R. Wait for the the Mac OS to boot into recovery mode.

After it boots into recovery mode, navigate to the utilities menu and choose terminal.

From the terminal prompt:  Type: ‘ csrutil disable‘  within the terminal window.

Then reboot the machine.  Then you will be able to adjust the permissions for the ‘wheel’ and ‘everyone’ so certain third party software products can access the root level of the system drive.

Please note:  I recommend re-enabling the System Integrity Protection to prevent accidental or vicious attacks against the Mac OS X operating system.

To do that:  Repeat the same process of booting into Recovery Mode (Command = R) and type ‘csrutil enable‘.