The Editblog

If you haven’t visited the Editblog over on PVC lately then check it out. At the beginning of February we started the 2011 version of 28 Days of Quicktips. We did this back in 2009 and it seemed like 2011 was a good time to do it again. This time around we’re also taking reader submitted Quicktips and the best of the bunch will get their choice of a free book (there’s 4 to choose from) as well as some iOS software. We’ve had some good ones submitted thus far with a new one going up every day. All the details are available at the Editblog on PVC.

If you’re in and around Boston this Friday then you may want to make some time for the First Ever, First Annual Boston SuperMeet. As is the case with all SuperMeets there’s a great lineup for the even and lots of prizes for the world famous raffle.

A few of standouts IMHO: Mitch Jacobson will be discussing mulitcamera madness and discussing his new multicam book (which I had the pleasure of contributing to if only a bit), Avid will be  back onstage at a SuperMeet with a discussion with Erin Gallagher, editor on Discovery’s “Build It Bigger” show and, of course, you can’t have an event like this today without discussing DSLRs and DP Rodney Charters will be doing just that as well as talking about his impressive body of work.

As for the raffle: An AJA KiPro, two DaVinci Resolve for Mac licenses, an nVidia Quadro FX 4800 graphic card for Mac, hard drives, lighting and camera gear, software plug ins and the full spectrum of software from Avid, Apple and Adobe.

The doors to the event open at 4:30, Friday June 25 at the Back Bay Events Center, John Hancock Hall. Tickets are usually $10 in advance but you can get a ticket for free with our Discount Code. Here’s how:

1. Go to: http://supermeetbos10.eventbrite.com/

2. Click on the ENTER DISCOUNT CODE link.

3. Enter discount code: editblogvip

4. Fill out registration with legitimate email and address for EACH name.

Enjoy the Boston SuperMeet this coming Friday, it looks like another good show.

I just posted a piece over at the Editblog on PVC about one of my upcoming classes that I will be leading at this year’s NAB convention: Avid Media Composer for Final Cut Pro Editors. If you’re an FCP editor curious about the competition then this class is for you. It’s on Tuesday, 4/13/2010 from 10:00 AM - 01:00 PM. Get registered for the Post|Production World conference if you want to attend.

LAFCPUG Next Meeting: The Avid/FCP 2-Step

Oh man do I wish I’d be in LA on Wednesday, November 18 for the next Los Angeles Final Cut Pro user group meeting. It’s called “The Avid/FCP 2-Step.” It looks like it’s going to be an evening of frank and honest discussion about Avid in a Final Cut Pro world and vice versa.That’s right up my alley! From the LAFCPUP website:

The perception, (especially among FCP users) is that Final Cut Pro is slowly but surely taking over the post industry. While that maybe true in the “Indy” world, the reality is the Avid Media Composer is still firmly entrenched in Hollywood feature films and broadcast television. In order for you to compete in Hollywood it’s important to know BOTH tools. So lafcpug will devote the entire evening to the Avid/FCP 2-step.

What are the big differences between the Avid MC and FCP?
Is it hard to learn the Avid if I know just FCP?
Do I really need to learn the Avid?
And other FAQs

Join us as legendary film and sound editor Walter Murch returns to lafcpug to discuss “what is it like going from the Avid to FCP and back to the Avid.”
Also editor Steve Cohen will show us what is new in the Avid Media Composer 4.0.
Shane Ross will show off the new Mix & Match capability in MC4.0 which allows you to combine different formats, frame rates, and resolutions all in the same timeline.

Plus Stump The Gurus and World famous Raffle

Tickets go on sale Thursday, November 5 for $8.00. If you’re curious or unfamiliar with Avid then this might be 8 of the best bucks you’ve spent in a while.

This video has made the Twitter rounds today but if you don’t use Twitter then you may not have seen it. Avid has taken advantage of YouTube and posted Media Composer 4 — First Look at the World’s Most Advanced Film and Video Editing System. Nice, polished piece. I wonder if they mixed frame rates during this production just because you can?

I posted a while back that the Basics of Avid Media Composer for a Final Cut Pro Editor article was coming in the Pro Video Coalition Post | Pipeline newsletter. It has come and gone for those subscribers and is now posted in the Editblog on PVC for all the world to read. If you’ve only ever edited on Final Cut Pro and are curious about what some of the main differences in the two applications are then this is a good place to start. The Avid2FCP Changeover Challenge is another though going in the other direction (see, we’re fair and balanced at the Editblog!). And since Avid Media Composer is available as a free 14-day demo then you’ve got nothing to lose except some time. I hope you find the article useful.

About a month or so ago we recorded a new That Post Show which was a 30 day follow-up to an earlier show about Avid’s Media Composer 3.5 announcements. A number of us on the show had been using the new MC version for a while and we had a great discussion that included two people from Avid there to chime in on the discussion and answer questions. The show is now online. Listen at that link or subscribe via iTunes (iTunes link).

There’s a new That Post Show up and online where we discussed the new Avid announcements, including Media Composer 3.5. In addition to myself and host John Flowers the guests included:

Norman Hollyn (normanhollyn.com, twitter.com/schnittman)
Jim Geduldick (www.finalcutuser.com, twitter.com/filmbot)
Jason Diamond (www.mbsproductions.com,twitter.com/jasondiamond)

It’s a good discussion if you are an Avid user or are thinking of becoming one. And since Media Composer is available as a 14 day free trial then why not give it a try! A complete set of show notes is available on the site as well.

It was a crazy, busy month of February at the Editblog on PVC where we attempted one QuickTip a day (as well as all the other tasks of editing) for the entire month. They all went up (usually before noonish), some for Avid, some for Final Cut Pro with a few others thrown in the mix as well. Here are links to them all:

Quicktip Day 01: Use that CAPS LOCK! – FCP

Quicktip Day 02: Map your 9-split exactly to the keypad – FCP

Quicktip Day 03: Project folders in the Finder sidebar – Mac OS

Quicktip Day 04: Tear off the Avid tool palette

Quicktip Day 05: FCP Keyboard changes are viewable in the menus

Quicktip Day 06: Edit FCP Column Heading

Quicktip Day 07:  Custom Avid bin column headings

Quicktip Day 08: Play Base Layer Only – FCP

Quicktip Day 09: Save FCP Column Layouts

Quicktip Day 10: Save Avid Column Layouts

Quicktip Day 11: turn on settings in User Preferences – FCP

Quicktip Day 12: Expos̩ to the function keys РMac OS

Quicktip Day 13: Check Your FCP AV Devices

Quicktip Valentine’s Day 14: Insert a ? or a ? – Mac OS

Quicktip Day 15: Option click to select a file name …. or not? – Mac OS

Quicktip Day 16: Expand all FCP tracks via mouse

Quicktip Day 17: Add Avid filler at start

Quicktip Day 18: Determine total Avid bin duration

Quicktip Day 19: Try the option and shift modifier keys under the Finder menus – Mac OS

Quicktip Day 20: Annotate pictures with Preview – Mac OS

Quicktip Day 21: Set the FCP Logging Bin

Quicktip Day 22: slate buttons to increment numbers – FCP

Quicktip Day 23: Saving a Custom Avid Effect

Quicktip Day 24: Apply Saved Avid Effect to Multiple Clips

Quicktip Day 25: Access Custom Avid Effect

Quicktip Day 26: Saving EDL Comments in Avid

Quicktip Day 27: Promote to Avid Advanced Keyframes

Quicktip Day 28: Turn off Video Scopes Playback – FCP

There’s a new That Post Show up and online and it’s a familiar subject that we all love to discuss but with an unfamiliar twist. On this episode I sat in on a discussion about Avid and Final Cut Pro but it wasn’t the usual which is better, which is best battle but instead we discussed the software apps based around this idea: marketshare. Guests on the show included myself,  Jason Diamond, Jim Geduldick, Shane Ross and host John Flowers. I think this was an important discussion to have since we tried to stay away from the question of which application is better. As I’ve always said, they are both equal tools and capable of doing equally great work. The question of marketshare for any product is often hard to pin down, especially when you don’t have sales figures. I think our panel was able to bring interesting opinions since we all work in a variety of different markets.

Questions asked include:

1. Is Avid “losing market share?”
2. Is Avid behind Final Cut in features?
3. Has Avid’s market share actually increased?
4. Is Avid or Final Cut the “Industry Standard” today?
5. Can Avid or Final Cut “gain market share” in the industry?
6. Hollywood vs. Indie Film – who owns each market?
7. Can you make more money with one NLE or the other?
8. What about the lagging editor systems, like Adobe Premiere?

You can get the audio file directly here or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here.