Any tips for a newbie?

[dasonras]

I've read through all the manuals and watched many dvd's on avid xpress pro. The information in the manual is very technical and basically just facts on how to do things. Me being a newbie, i am more interested in knowing what kind of procedure i should go about when starting a movie project. So are there any experts out there who can tell me how they like to start a project and setup avid? I am filming a short 3 minute movie next week and I want to be sure I use avid effectively and simply.

[dillonculp]

Avid isn't something that you can just load video into and cut and paste. I suggest something with a very low learning curve like Ulead. Avid probably has the steepest learning curve when it comes to NLE's.

[krestofre]

My tip is to get in there and cut some footage. So what if Avid has a steep learning curve (and it's not *that* steep). You will be rewarded time and time again for knowing Avid. It's arguably the best NLE out there, and it's the defacto standard for the majority of post houses in the United States. Avid didn't get to be industry standard just because they have a steep learning curve, there must be something else there, right?

I learned Avid by book only, so we are kind of coming from the same place. Now I work as an editor on an Avid. It is possible.

As far as setup goes, there's a different setup for each editor. I always start by making two bins: One called "Video," one called "Seq" The Video bin is where I capture everything (unless it's a horrendously long project) and the Seq bin is where I keep my sequences. I then create more bins as the project dictates.

I go back to my recommendation to just go cut something. Your workflow will present itself as you practice the application.

Good luck.

Chris

[bilgami]

I agree avid may have its learning curve but its like anything else you only learn by doing. the best thing to do is be organized picture what you want your final outcome to look like it shouldnt be hard since you shot it. put everything in the bin and sequence and do some practive edits.

good luck