Some avid questions. I'm new here.

G

galeninjapan

New member
I recently got hired by a really really small company that does some editing. I'm replacing a guy who had the workflow set in in kind of a strange way. I figured this would be a good time to streamline it.

We shoot things to beta and then use a deck that is connected to the Avid machine to capture. The guy who is training me doesn't know very much at all about avid (me either) and he told me that after he uses avid to capture off of the beta deck he then converts them to .mov files to use on a different machine where FCP is loaded. I would be okay with this, but the time it takes to export the files is ridiculous. I spent a good 2 hours (maybe more) exporting a single 30 minute clip. Which then failed because one of the avid drives ran out of space. The guy who is training me has only been able to find about 2-3 hours over the past few days to tell me how everything is set up.


The Avid system itself is running on an old Mac OS, I think it's 10.2. I would LOVE to learn Avid and use this as a learning opportunity, but I really think that the system is so janky that It's going to slow down the editing itself.

I guess my question is, is there a better way? Can Avid export them any faster? Is there a better way to manage this whole process?



In addition to all of this I've had a few digitization problems too, but that pales in comparison to the amount of time and the huge inconvenience it is to export these clips for FCP.
 
I dont know much about your particular system....but I've made a living off of cutting from Avid's from the past 10 years. I liked the Avid so much at a facility I used to cut at I bought one of my own. Later I upgraded that Xpress system to Media Composer, later I bought a second Media Composer. Its a great, complete, way to cut video.

You weren't specific on what your system software was, or what capture tool you were using (meridian, mojo, mojo sdi, Adrenaline, DX, etc...). However, my inital thoughts are you're spending way more time exporting from Avid (and re-importing into FCP) than its worth. We rip thru 'cable spots' in less than 4 hours cutting on our Avid's (whether its off Beta SP tape, DVCPro or P2). I could be done in the time you're prepping files. Just cut the video on the Avid and quit wasting time.

I really dont get the 'transfer to FCP' portion...you could do most anything on an Avid. I doubt its an ancient Avid with poor quality (AVR 77 anyone?), if it were, why would you import it into FCP?

I once needed to send a Beta SP tape to the ABC Affiliate here in Chicago. He called and asked if I had the clients logo over a blue background so they could use it at the end of the newscast...."closed captioning sponsored by xyz company". I asked him what he used to edit the clip reels and he responded Avid. I asked him why he didnt export a .jpg himself.... and he was incredulous, he had no idea this could be done. An editor, at an O&O, in the nations 3rd largest market--- mind blowing! He did what he did, because someone told him to do it that way. Point being, they guy who had the gig before you might be doing what he was doing because he didnt know a better way, or didnt know what he was doing. It is smart of you to ask, "is there a better way"?.
 
MikeyP said:
I dont know much about your particular system....but I've made a living off of cutting from Avid's from the past 10 years. I liked the Avid so much at a facility I used to cut at I bought one of my own. Later I upgraded that Xpress system to Media Composer, later I bought a second Media Composer. Its a great, complete, way to cut video.

You weren't specific on what your system software was, or what capture tool you were using (meridian, mojo, mojo sdi, Adrenaline, DX, etc...). However, my inital thoughts are you're spending way more time exporting from Avid (and re-importing into FCP) than its worth. We rip thru 'cable spots' in less than 4 hours cutting on our Avid's (whether its off Beta SP tape, DVCPro or P2). I could be done in the time you're prepping files. Just cut the video on the Avid and quit wasting time.
Click to expand...

For someone who hasn't used avid can I just dive in?
 
What Avid system are you using ($85,000.00 media composer with a Targa 2000 and a Pinnacle Geni Board, Zoran Chip set, ha ha ha ) Get a Windows 95 system with a $90.00 Pinnacle DC 10 plus card or an AV master ($99.00). They all use the Zoran MJPEG chip set. My guess is that it is MJPEG and you have no MJPEG codec on the Mac (FCP) system.

I am willing to bet Adobe Premiere could edit the codec. If it is an old Media Composer it is MJPEG. Are you converting MJPEG to Apple Pro Res?
 
Galeninjapan follow Butchers advice and link and just dive in. The first job I did many years ago, I had no idea what I was doing - no reading, no training, nothing. By the end of the project, I had a good idea how to cut on one, and as I've said, can't imagine cutting without one.
 
Go for it. There are so many resources out there now. I taught myself avid in the late 90s and there were not resources like Avid.com community or DVXuser. I still could fuss through a promo after sitting down with it for a few hours. I learned to do things better and more efficient over time but to just start cutting, audio mixing, and adding transitions its fairly intuitive.

Its a great skill set to have. I got hired at house that ran media 100, and a house that ran final cut. Even though I had never touched those NLEs They both said if he can run an Avid he can do this.
Now is a good time to hook up with Avid they are focused and innovating again.
 
yes, you can just dive in. That's what they hired ya to do, right?
have fun. You will greatly increase your marketability by doing this.
 
I absolutely want to learn avid for exactly that reason. Unfortunatly the guy who worked here before me rigged the workflow up so he could edit on FCP. So I'm trying to learn everything he did first.

The system is

OSX 10.2.6
Memory: 1.25 GB
1.2 Ghz Power PC G4



Running avid Express 5.8
 
There is a youtube channel for avid, it has some training videos. On the Avid site there is a guy who made about 130 short little training videos, just pick the topic you want to learn, they are all about 3 minutes. They are free.
 
Either learn Avid...which is a great thing to do. Or have these guys get a CAPTURE CARD for FCP. I mean, wow, what a stupid workaround. Got the Avid, just use the Avid.
 
I know it's been a while since your post. However, I have the same system (I think) running on a Mac G4 with dual 1ghz processors, OSX 10.2.6 and Avid 12.0.5 software. It is a Meridian
system and is high quality, but elderly. I still use it because the Adrenaline systems were buggy and crashed. The newer systems require new hardware that would cost <$3,000 if compatible with AJA or Blackmagic outboard converters, but Avid refuses to comply. So, one must spend $9,000 on Avid DX Nitris hardware to get full, uncompressed import of HD footage. I cut mainly Standard Def, so it works fine. I also run FCP, but prefer Avid for speed. FCP is a compromise and is cheap. Avid is built for professionals who need to work fast, i.e. lots of keyboard shortcuts and trimming is super fast when compared to FCP. Learn the Avid.
 
FCP is hardly a compromise...althought it is less expensive. I find I edit much FASTER on FCP than Avid. And trim editing is one style of editing, and if you know it, you can be fast. But I am much faster doing it the FCP way, of dragging things and moving them around...expanding them and all sorts of things with the mouse. FCP is ALSO built for professionals...it is not a "hobbyists" setup.

To each their own.

But I still love Avid. I like both...I don't slam either one. The both have strengths and weaknesses...pure and simple. As does Premiere and Vegas...
 
editorforhire said:
I know it's been a while since your post. However, I have the same system (I think) running on a Mac G4 with dual 1ghz processors, OSX 10.2.6 and Avid 12.0.5 software. It is a Meridian
system and is high quality, but elderly. I still use it because the Adrenaline systems were buggy and crashed. The newer systems require new hardware that would cost <$3,000 if compatible with AJA or Blackmagic outboard converters, but Avid refuses to comply. So, one must spend $9,000 on Avid DX Nitris hardware to get full, uncompressed import of HD footage. I cut mainly Standard Def, so it works fine. I also run FCP, but prefer Avid for speed. FCP is a compromise and is cheap. Avid is built for professionals who need to work fast, i.e. lots of keyboard shortcuts and trimming is super fast when compared to FCP. Learn the Avid.
Click to expand...
I guess David Fincher isn't a professional cause he uses final cut for his movies.
 
galeninjapan said:
I recently got hired by a really really small company that does some editing. I'm replacing a guy who had the workflow set in in kind of a strange way. I figured this would be a good time to streamline it.

We shoot things to beta and then use a deck that is connected to the Avid machine to capture. The guy who is training me doesn't know very much at all about avid (me either) and he told me that after he uses avid to capture off of the beta deck he then converts them to .mov files to use on a different machine where FCP is loaded. I would be okay with this, but the time it takes to export the files is ridiculous. I spent a good 2 hours (maybe more) exporting a single 30 minute clip. Which then failed because one of the avid drives ran out of space. The guy who is training me has only been able to find about 2-3 hours over the past few days to tell me how everything is set up.


The Avid system itself is running on an old Mac OS, I think it's 10.2. I would LOVE to learn Avid and use this as a learning opportunity, but I really think that the system is so janky that It's going to slow down the editing itself.

I guess my question is, is there a better way? Can Avid export them any faster? Is there a better way to manage this whole process?



In addition to all of this I've had a few digitization problems too, but that pales in comparison to the amount of time and the huge inconvenience it is to export these clips for FCP.
Click to expand...

I don't really get the move of going through Avid in the first place, if you're going to cut in FCP? Couldn't you just digitize into FCP directly, with a I/O card? But I guess those would be questions to the original editor on way they decide to work that way.
 
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