Avid Releases Media Composer 2020.6 on June 24th.

For all the brave souls using Avid’s new optimized Media Composer software, you may want to check out the latest update! Make sure you read the latest Avid MC Readme file before installing.

The latest version mostly consists of fixes and patches. You can read all the new features in Avid Media Composer 2020.6 by visiting Avid’s website.

There are a couple of new features that seasoned Avid Editor’s will enjoy which include:

• The ability to Dock the ‘settings’ window to other interface windows. Hurray! another time saver! For those of you new to Avid’s new 2020 interface, the old ‘project’ window is called the ‘settings window’.

• It’s now much easier lasso multiple clips when you are in frame view. The bin will automatically scroll down if you have additional clips that don’t fit within the window size.

For upgrades like this, I recommend that you download updates directly from Avid’s Download Center instead of using Avid Link. Avid’s download center provides access to previous versions in case you need to uninstall and go back to a previous version.

If you’re interested in learning the new Avid Media Composer 2020.6 Interface, and/or becoming a certified Media Composer user, please give me a call directly at 866-566-1881. -John (Certified Avid Trainer for 25 years)

Check out this short tutorial on how to use Blend Modes within Avid Media Composer!

If you want to experiment with a graphic that has an Alpha Channel, you can download the GeniusDV logo.

If you are new to the concept of blending modes, there are some great websites that explain in great detail on how powerful blending modes can be.


Blending modes were traditionally geared towards working with still images. However, they provide some amazing capabilities when used with video clips.

For compositing modes to work, you need some cool backgrounds that will affect the blend of the two video layers. Footage of Fire, Water, Clouds, and Lights make for great composites as a base layer.

You can download a Free Media Composer AVX Blending Mode plug-in that provides real-time blending modes within Avid Media Composer. There are no strings attached. Click on the link above and install the plugin.

After you install the Blending Mode AVX plug-in, make sure you restart Avid Media Composer.

I’ve tested the plugin with several versions of Avid Media Composer, including up until the 2020.4 beta.In the Blending Mode Tutorial, I’m using a graphic with an Alpha Channel. However, you can use any graphic and/or foreground to blend with a layer below it.

 It’s easy to create dynamic effects using blending modes in Avid Media Composer.

Take a basic logo and turn it into something like this….. with just a few clicks.

A blending mode provides effect options for how a base layer,  is affected from a layer directly below it. Blending modes requires at least two video layers.

Edit any two clips directly on top of each other. Make sure the V2 sequence record track and the V2 Monitor Icon are both turned on in the timeline.

Next, drag the blend-x effect onto the V2 track. You can use either Blend X Generic, or Blend-X Alpha Advanced.

Use Blend-X Alpha Advanced if you are working with a graphic that contains an Alpha Channel. An Alpha channel means that your graphic or video clip contains areas that are transparent.

However, for this tutorial, DON’T worry, just edit ANY two clips directly on top of each other.

In General, Alpha Channels are shown as a checkerboard pattern that shows the transparent area.

If you’re not familiar with Alpha Channels, consider taking any Avid GeniusDV video editing course, and we will walk you through the process.

Navigate to the Tools menu and select the Effect Palette. Look for the Blend X category under the filters tab.

From the effect palette, drag the Blend-X Generic or Advanced plugin onto the clip segment that on V2.

Then click on the effect editor icon at the top of the timeline window. The icon looks like a pair of ‘seatbelts’.

This will launch the Effect Editor Window.

Within the Effect Editor Window, choose a blend mode. In this example, I chose Darken.

NOTE: If you are using a graphic with an alpha channel on V2, make sure you choose Alpha Matte from the Alpha Processing area.

That’s it! It’s that simple. Here’s a still from the final result.

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.

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‘.