Avid

Last weekend I attended the Avid workshop that was offered by an Ithaca graduate.  I had no prior Avid experience and I was really interested in learning the program this semester. The workshop was 10am to 4pm with a free hour for lunch. In those five hours I learned the very basics of Avid. They focused a lot of attention on organization. So much in fact, that we didn't work on actual editing until 1pm. Although slightly annoyed with how little editing I learned, I did finally realize the importance of organization when editing. With Final Cut it is easy to just import and drag files around the timeline. Avid does not allow this. You have to be organized and every edit you do has to have  a purpose, that is just how the program works. Although annoying to get used to, it forces you to be organized which is good when working on a project with multiple editors. The program is set up so it is easy to transfer projects, add comments to edits (a director can give his editor notes without having to meet with them face to face), and the program allows you to manipulate settings to your own preferred look that you can access each time you log into the program.

A really awesome aspect of the program is that it has a script recognition option. This is an expensive plug in, but if you want just one sentence from the hours of video you shot, you can search for it in the script, and it will find the audio/video clip for you. It really is an amazing program. The basic editing that I learned was how to import and convert clips to the avid format so that editing is easy and quick. I also learned how to move clips, trim them, add transitions, effects, and manipulate volume levels. I got daring and began to play with green screen, but that didn't go so well. I would like to learn more about the program, but know it will take time. I think if I were to edit a small project on the program, it would help me to get a better grasp of the program.

For anyone interested in learning Avid,  here is a useful tool to use when editing.

http://www.avid.com/static/resources/common/documents/f-r_poster_chnl_11x17_print.pdf