For most professionalfilmandtelevisioneditors , there ’s no substitute for an Avid editing system . Avid has been a groundbreaker in thenon - one-dimensional editingindustry since 1989 when the fledgling Massachusetts company introduced the first interlingual rendition of its Media Composer software . The original Avid organization , which let in the software , an Apple background computer , some external hard drives , monitor and a tape deck , cost between $ 50,000 and $ 80,000 [ source : Funding Universe ] .
Nearly 20 class after , Avid is still the industry leader in non - linear information processing system - basededitingsystems . From Oscar - winning films to realness TV shows , almost everything is delete on an Avid organisation . Avid itself gain an Oscar in 1998 for Scientific and technical achievement for the wallop that its Media Composer computer software ( then called Film Composer ) has had on thefilm industry[source : Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ] .
In recent years , the cost has come down on Avid software ( the newest version of Media Composer retail at $ 2,495 ) , which means that serious home users can now get at the same high - remnant tools as the Hollywood pro . Although the Avid interface has a great deal in coarse with other higher close video editing systems – like Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere – it take serious training and wad of drill to master the organisation ’s hundreds of specialised redaction and result tool .
Professional editors are so truehearted to Avid because the company has work intemperately to comprise the suggestion of work editor in chief into every new interpretation of its Avid software and hardware . The result is a continuously evolving system . For example , the latest interpretation of Media Composer software package and Avid hardware boxes include gobs of improved functionality for put to work with mellow - definition ( HD ) video , something that editors need now more than ever .
So what exactly is non - linear redaction ? How have computerise editing systems alter the editing profession ? What are all the different aspects of an Avid editing organization , and what are the latest tools that are regulate the time to come of film and TV redaction ? Read on to find out .
Basics of Non-Linear Avid Editing
The introduction of non - analog editing with computers in the early 1990s was nothing forgetful of subversive . To realise why non - additive redaction with a system like Avid is so powerful and efficient , first we take to interpret the differences between non - running and running editing .
Linear redaction mean that a projection is edit out and assembled in a linear fashion – from beginning to finish . Linear redaction is most common when working with videotape . Videotape , unlike film , ca n’t be physically cut into pieces and spliced together in a new order . Instead , the editor program mustdubor record each want video time onto amastertape .
Let ’s say you have threesourcetapes , labeled A , vitamin B complex and C. In linear redaction , the editor decides which source material he wants to apply first , second and third . In this vitrine , he need to use cloth from magnetic tape C first , then boron and A. He set off bycuing uptape nose candy to the source of the clip he need to apply . Then he plays tape C while at the same time recording the clip onto a maestro mag tape . When the desire clip from tape recording C is done , he stops recording . Then he has to do the same thing for the time on tapes B and A.
In non - one-dimensional redaction , however , the editor has the ability to edit out any segment of the task in any order he wants . He can cut , copy and paste magazine from one part of the project to another just like you’re able to cut , simulate and glue text with word processing computer software .
Interestingly , traditional pic editing was always non - linear . A filmmaker could thin his film up into pieces and wed it together in any edict he care . However , this cut - and - splicing process was painstakingly slow , greatly bound in transitions and effects and left a lot of room for computer error .
Modern non - linear editing is entirely digital . TV or film informant material isdigitizedinto media Indian file that can be stored on a hard drive . Using video redaction software system like the Avid Media Composer – or similar product like Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere – the source file can be organized into clips that are glue onto atimeline . Using the timeline , an editor program can garnish clips down to exclusive frames , add transitions , add together and edit sound , addeffects , and thenexportthe movie back to tape , videodisc , film or the WWW .
The main advantage of editing with a non - linear system like Avid is speed and flexibleness . Thedirectorcan change his idea a hundred times and the editor has the business leader to make those alteration inreal timewithout having to depart all over again . In one-dimensional editing , if you decided to replace a time with a Modern one , you ’d have tooverdubonto the existing clip and hope both clips are the same exact length . If the new magazine is too little , you ’ll leave the tail end of the old clip on the master . If it ’s too long , you ’ll roll into the next vista . Meanwhile , all that overdubbing degrades the image quality .
Avid has long been considered the industry standard for professional digital video editing . Read on to take more about the different components of an Avid system and how they operate together to make the editing operation not only quicker , but also more originative .
Layout of an Avid Editing Console
The heart of an Avid non - linear redaction system is the Media Composer software program . The software furnish the user interface through which an editor program accesses the creature and scheme functionality . The Media Composer interface is broken down into three canonical areas : thebin , themonitorand thetimeline . This three - part system has been adopted by pretty much every other video editing software package out there , from high - end products like Final Cut Pro to recreational software like Apple iMovie .
The bin is where the editor in chief stash away all the unlike project components . It not only holds digitized video clipping , but digital audio file , images and any other source stuff that ’ll be assembled into the last task . In thebin varan , the editor can adjust the properties of each item-by-item factor , trim down the length of clips , add personal effects , smoothing jittery video and adjusting audio levels .
The admonisher is really composed of two small concealment . The remaining screen shows a single reference video clip and the veracious screen door shows the full task telecasting . This split - screen view is useful for trimming an item-by-item clip before tote up it to the projection timeline . Once the snip has been tot up , the editor can preview how it looks with the rest of the labor in the right - hand screen .
The timeline field is organized by picture and audio tracks . The process is similar toaudio editingwith a multi - track digital audio workstation . An editor can dwell down separate video racetrack for credit and subtitles , inspire graphics and especial transitions . Then he can make multiple audio track for dialogue , music andsound effect . The timeline run chronologically from leave to right field . In the timeline , the editor can pick out ball of TV or sound recording ( across multiple tracks if he wants ) and cut back , copy or erase them with a clink of the mouse .
For the house user , or a professional film producer on a tight budget , it ’s possible to run a perfectly good Avid system with nothing more than the Media Composer software and a sinewy desktop PC or laptop . But Avid soothe for professional television andfilm productiontypically include extra Avid hardware and equipment .
Avid computer hardware ’s function is to make the Media Composer software course faster and for the whole system to execute more efficiently . The ironware boxful ( smaller than a standard desktop PC pillar ) works like an external video card , helping speed up the digitizing process and therenderingprocess ( for creating visual outcome and transitions ) . The more expensive versions of the Avid hardware allow an editor to use bothstandard definition(SD)andhigh definition ( HD)video sources in the same project .
The computer hardware box also include lashings of useful input and output connections for external digital and parallel equipment , both sound and video . In this room , the hardware boxful serves as a hub between the master of ceremonies computer and external medium sources like video cameras , tape decks , memory card reader and DVD drives . The ironware not only imports media from these seed , but can export finished picture projects back onto tape , DVD , retentiveness card or any digital file formatting .
Now allow ’s seem at some of the late developments with Avid hardware and software package and how they ’re change the way that editors do their chore .
Recent Avid Editing Developments
The latest translation of Avid ’s video editing software and computer hardware , released in June 2008 , include raw features that make it easier to edit HD video . With more and moreTVnetworks broadcasting in HD and more consumer HD video cameras on the market , editors need package that can handle the large file size of HD video without compromising speed .
Avid has develop a newcodec(short forcompress / decompress ) that compact HD picture into a file size that retains the bite and image quality of HD without bogging down the system . The codec , called DNxHD , runs in both the standalone Media Composer software and in the hardware boxes . What this allow is for editors to edit their projects exactly how they will expect in full HD . It ’s no longer necessary to do anofflineedit in depleted character and thenfinishthe labor on an HD automobile .
In the former version of Media Composer , Avid introduced the concept of the Open Timeline . This means that the timeline can handle time with wildly different specification . you’re able to put SD and HD clips side - by - side in the same projection , as well as clips with dissimilar resolutions , build rate and aspect ratios . The timeline can also treat audio file with unlike sampling speeds and file types . In the past , all these differences would have to be harmonize before you could commence editing , which could mean hour of converting files . Now everything works together in real time and is converted when it ’s time to export .
The New Avid hardware boxes – called Mojo DX , Nitris DX and Symphony DX – are ramp up with the new DX core architecture . This new system of rules helps hand out the computation and processing load between the host computer and the hardware box , making the organisation run more efficiently when process HD or core - heavy projects . The hardware is connected to the master of ceremonies computer using a PCIE connexion that ’s 20 times faster than Firewire , assure lightening firm data point transferee .
One unexampled Media Composer tool , call ScriptSync , has already change the way editor program work . Say you ’re an editor program working on a script - based television receiver dramatic event , like " CSI . " For every scene in the show , you might charge three or four different takes . And within those takes , you might take the scene from two or three different Angle simultaneously .
Before the redaction outgrowth can begin , an adjunct editor needs to take the script and match each origin TV clip with its associated lines . They do this to streamline the redaction process . When it ’s time to start a new view , the editor can apace remind up the various payoff and angles link up with the scene to set up the good final product . In the yesteryear , the task of logging tape recording and remind video was half the piece of work of editing .
Now , with ScriptSync , Avid has created a tool that can upload the script as a text file , break the words down into their phonetic voice , and then analyze the audio waveforms of video clips to match them with the cable in the hand . All the editor in chief has to do is choice the part of the script that he wants to edit . ScriptSync will pull out up all of the different take and angles associated with that part of the book . Then the editor program can toggle from take to take and weight to slant to find the better shot for each argumentation of dialogue .
implausibly , ScriptSync works in nine unlike voice communication , include Arabic and Mandarin Chinese .
We desire this has been a helpful introduction to Avid . For more information on redaction and video production , view the link on the next pageboy .
