Thinking about going AVID

Yeah I don't think the audio card really matters, I have the one that came installed with it... (it's generic)...
Sorry for the sundance comment... jajajaja ... Of course it wasn't anything personal... I guess what I was trying to say is that it is very hard to get into sundance and that they're not going to reject you if they suspect you edit with Vegas... Although you might be a shoe-in for Cinevegas (???) jajajaja

As soon as you take the plunge let us know... AND PM me if you ever need any help...
 
I did... I allready dove in... but it seems the pool was filled with concrete... all I see is little buttons with little graphics that make no sense at all!

I opened it, then I went to AVID.com and I couldn't even really browse the forum, lol!

What are the sites I should check out, forums threads, and is there any free tutorials anywhere?
 
There's always the manual that explains each button, toolset, and function. That's a great help.
 
Just my two cents:

I switched from Vegas (6.0) to Avid some years ago. This was a hard decision for me but I got some problems importing Vegas AAF´s into Nuendo (at this time it was impossible for me to get this to work) so I switched over to avid (also a little impressed by this "industry standard" thing).

With Avid Xpress Pro I bought the Desktop Images Learning DVD´s and two books (e.g. Xpress Pro on the Spot - very recommandable) and then it was a hard learning time (about 2 Month of reading and watching and trying ;-) ).
What looks so simple by the first look of Avid free (I tested this first) was kind of confusing after doing a lot more within projects. Vegas was very intuitiv and there were many ways you could go. In the avid the workflow is very rigid and you simply have to learn how the things have to be done.

Anyway I got used to the application and now I still like the way it works but I didn´t touch the audio part within Xpress Pro up today - Vegas rocks the house regarding audio work - Avid is not even close to that. If you want to do your audio work within the editing application, you should better calculate at least ProTools LE or something like that (it´s a different application but it works well together).

Now MY cons of the whole Avid thing:

Avid has a huge lack of supported HD formats especially here in europe. There is still no 720p25p, the JVC HD format is not supported and regarding the consumer formats (european version of the HV20 e.g.) it is more problematically than any other application (even Avid Liquid is more powerful regarding HD).

Color Correction is ok, but there is still no secondary CC (even the $5k MC doesn´t have SCC) and comparing to Apple´s Color it is simply a joke when it comes to create a final look. It is cool to have a powerfuel CC within the interface (color is another application) but in these days I think scc have to be implemented (but they don´t do this to save the $$expensive Nitris and Symphony systems). Of course you can buy third party plugins but this much more expensive.

Meanwhile I am on a Mac Pro and I also bought the FCP package: if I had to make the decission today again which application to choose I probably would go with FCP from the beginning. The whole package is really sweet and here in europe it seems to be more and more jobs are FCP jobs (on some universities they teach FCP only, no Avid in editing at all. The only avid there are some ProTools HD systems but that is another story).

Shure, Avid is still No1 but the quesiton is: how long will that be the case ? They got a great application with MC software only but this package is simply to expensive to compete with FCP. If they would lower the price and drop Xpress Pro (I don´t see any reason to make this artificial division - it´s only marketing both are on the same code base) then it would be a real competition but so Apple is catching more and more ground of avid´s territory - at least in the indy market and small business (maybe there is still a different situation in Hollywood and the big business). FCP is not perfect but it can handle the new HD formats really nice (

Maybe something is going on inside avid (CEO went away, stock price keeps droping down and maybe with a new management something happens and they wake up) but right now I would not spent $1600 for Xpress Pro. Buy a Mac and check out FCP - you have the possibility to work with avid on this machine too.

Building a PC by your own and work with avid is in my opinion also not the best idea (at least for professionals): there is a final list on the avid HP where the tested systems are listed. Even if you try to build a system with the same parts as an HP workstation this PC is not a real workstation.
Probably it works but if not you will get no support from avid at all (they will tell you: only qualified systems gets support).

I had a lot of strange crashes on my old, selfbuilt machine (P4 with quadro FX and Asus Boards). With the Mac it works like it should: stable and rock solid and when they finally wake up and rethink their market strategy (especially here in europe regarding the "25" workflow) I would probably fall in love with avid on this machine again.

Right now I am a little pi**ed with this solution and its workarounds and no go´s. If avid wants to be the marketleader and industry standard they should at first catch up with the competitors and do it better. Don´t do anything and rest on their reputation could not be the right way.

Just my opinion.
 
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USLatinContent said:
I did... I allready dove in... but it seems the pool was filled with concrete... all I see is little buttons with little graphics that make no sense at all!

I opened it, then I went to AVID.com and I couldn't even really browse the forum, lol!

What are the sites I should check out, forums threads, and is there any free tutorials anywhere?
Click to expand...

Hi,

You can cruise the Avid website,

http://www.avid.com/community/tutorials/resources.asp

has some good resources listed.

But as far as Avid goes, there's no free lunch.

I tend to agree with another poster that if you are a lone producer, Vegas actually is a better tool if you can only afford one editing tool, but if you want to work for a production company Avid might be more marketable. But in that field, you'll need to get educated by professionals, and Avid tells you what you have to do to do that.

http://www.avid.com/training/725.asp

The costs are pretty fixed, the plan fairly rigid within the the confines of the plan you wish to execute.

If you plan to work in your area as an editor, I wouldn't scrimp on training. I would want to be as knowledgeable as I could be.

I posted earlier that DV West usually had Avid training, but this year it seems that only Apple is training FCP.

Avid does have an on-line option. And I'm sure that there are some certified options locally in LA.

Good luck!
 
wow thanks guys...

I am getting into Avid because they are still number one, and every DP Director and editor here in LA seems to think that there is only two NLE's... Avid and then FCP is on and gaining acceptance.... but Avid is #1... I find it funny how people that can hardly text keep telling me "just try it, you'll love it"

I will never uninstall Vegas, cause Vegas rules and I can cut on it, right now... and I won't be able to cut in Avid like I do in Vegas for a month or two... maybe longer.
Also, I don't know what I will do about the audio... but I think I might just get a final cut and render it, then drop it in Vegas and work the audio in there.... though it would be a nightmare not having the clips with their audio tracks... maybe I need to consider Pro Tools? I dunno what to do... I don't even HAVE sound now... lol!!!


some progress:
I was able to drop some clips on the timeline... but I have no audio and I can't even figure out how to have two tracks going at the same time, lol...
I was sitting next to an editor for E at their house but this was before a party we had for the screening of our short "A Walk in the Dark" which was directed by her husband, so we didn't have too much time... but I did get a bit of a sense of where the main stuff is and a bit of an idea of how bins work.

So now I have to figure out why my X-Fi XtremeMusic doesn't get recognized and I might have to get that GTX and flash it to an FX4500 to be able to use my 1080p LCD full screen...

The preview screen seems to be locked at like 720 x 480 or something close to that.

Wow... I am so in over my head... lol
 
Could you guys tell me what sound card you are using? Or other recommended sound cards?
should I try the on-board audio?
 
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Well guys I have a DVD tutorial, just got it today and I have been up all night watching it :D

I am seeing that AVID is not intuitive... BUT, it seems it will be a real treat to cut with it once I get those main buttons and functions and so forth embedded in my head... also with someone explaining it like in the tutorial it seems I might be cutting right away!!! :D

I will watch the second part of this tutorial mañana, I need sleep so I can absorb it like I hope I absorbed the first part :)


Oh... also, it seems flashing a Geforce to a Quadro might not be possible at all but I have barely looked into it... but I am wondering and thinking about the cheaper Quadros... I am wondering how fast something like a 1500 might be and if it might hold up a full screen 1080p preview?
 
Ohh how I hate Avid...

Ive been working with avid for 6 months now and i would have say its complete crap. Nothing makes any sense so expect to be learning the software for 2 months. I am one to believe that the only reason this smithsonian piece of software is even still around is because of old school editors who's ideas and workflow are so out of date they know no better.

My advice is to take the 2 months you saved and learn After effects, Illustrator or photoshop. Then use a simple interfaced NLE such as FCP, PP, or Vegas to put it all together.

I could go on but its really just not worth it anymore, this software is done for (has been for a long time now).
 
I think that's being a bit harsh... I learned how to edit on Avid in two weeks using just the sample footage they supply with the software. It is timeline based editing, just like other NLE software. The interface is more geared towards people who actually know how film used to be edited, so yes it may be "old school" in that respect, but I hardly think it is outdated.

After Effects, in my opinion, has a learning curve somewhate steeper than Avid does, simply because of the entire issue of expressions. You don't need to learn a coding language to use Avid efficiently.
 
IN RESPONSE TO CHULO:

Wow, that's the most uninformed and biased opinion I've read in a while. So what you're saying is, because you're struggling to learn Avid, it's crap software and will disappear from the face of the earth?

Have you had an Avid editor sit down to show you the ropes? Have you bought any books that teach Avid? I suggest anything by Jamie Fowler, Steve Hullfish, or Steve Julin, for a start. Also, go to the Avid website and look for ALEX, their online tutorials and classes. They offer many for free now, and if you're serious about wanting to learn this "crap" software you can always buy the entire course.

Otherwise, have you asked for help? The Avid interface is not intuitive (a word I detest, by the way), but if you know the theory behind it you'll find it's hands down the fastest editor on the planet. You just have to learn to use it like it's meant to be used, and not try to use it like it's a FCP, Premiere, Media 100, Edius, Vegas, etc...NLE.

Furthermore, you suggest the poster take 2 months to learn After Effects, Photoshop, or Illustrator. Are you serious? 2 months to learn any one of those programs is hardly enough time to unlock their potential. Especially After Effects. You're looking at 1 year minimum and working with it daily in addition to watching/reading as many tutorials as you can to get close to understanding just how powerful that app is.

Before you give up on some software, find some resources to teach you the right way to use it. Avid is unbelievably powerful and more than competant for editing. You just have to know how to use it.

That said, is there something you're struggling with that you need to know how to do? Just ask. We'll help if possible.

Michael.
 
Can people tell me? Im in the UK, 90% of all editing here is AVID. Now when i go to tru-production companies to apply for a job, they all ask for avid, if you say you no FCP etc, they just laugh at you.

Now ive got hold of Avid Free DV. Is the editing in this, a bit like Avid Express Pro?

Cheers
 
The editing in FreeDV is exactly like Xpress Pro and Media Composer and Symphony, but it's severely limited, as it's designed to get you used to the interface.

As you progress up the ranks you get more and more tools to work with--going from FreeDV to Xpress Pro gives you 24 video and audio tracks, unlocks all the menus and settings, more effects, more resolutions, and much more.

Move from XPress to Media Composer and you get even more resolutions, more effects and compositing tools, more information displayed about your clips and timeline, etc...

Move up to Symphony and you get more resolutions again, secondary color correction, the ability to color correct source clips, etc...

The odd man out is Avid DS. It wasn't originally an Avid product (SoftImage, I think), so the interface and how things operate is much different. You can download a training version of that to familiarize yourself with the interface as well.

Basically, if you can navigate the FreeDV timeline, make 3 point edits, trim, etc...you'll be right at home on Xpress Pro and up. The interface is the same, the options are what Avid limits.

Michael.
 
Butcher said:
The editing in FreeDV is exactly like Xpress Pro and Media Composer and Symphony, but it's severely limited, as it's designed to get you used to the interface.

As you progress up the ranks you get more and more tools to work with--going from FreeDV to Xpress Pro gives you 24 video and audio tracks, unlocks all the menus and settings, more effects, more resolutions, and much more.

Move from XPress to Media Composer and you get even more resolutions, more effects and compositing tools, more information displayed about your clips and timeline, etc...

Move up to Symphony and you get more resolutions again, secondary color correction, the ability to color correct source clips, etc...

The odd man out is Avid DS. It wasn't originally an Avid product (SoftImage, I think), so the interface and how things operate is much different. You can download a training version of that to familiarize yourself with the interface as well.

Basically, if you can navigate the FreeDV timeline, make 3 point edits, trim, etc...you'll be right at home on Xpress Pro and up. The interface is the same, the options are what Avid limits.

Michael.
Click to expand...

Now why couldn't someone just say that!

lol.... thanks!
I was all confused about all the AVID levels and stuff. but put that way it makes sense... it sucks how you are so limited on XpressPro! But that's the price to pay for getting into the big leagues... plus all the important ones for me are there... I do wish I had secondary CC... and I think I might complain about only 24 tracks soon... I had like 10 tracks going on Vegas and with the added power of AVID I think I might want to explore my vertical timeline benefits! 24 is plenty! :)
 
Avid Liquid is the "non-Avid" Avid NLE. It was originally developed by Pinnacle. Avid bought Pinnacle then slapped on their own name while continuing Liquid's development.
 
I work w/both Avid and FCP and while my personal preference is FCP, both NLE's have their ups and downs. The key, and this isn't always easy until you get a few projects under your belt, is to chose the NLE that best works for you and your workflow.


-A
 
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