McAuliffe highlights key changes that bring Titler+ in line with other popular applications like Adobe Premiere and DaVinci Resolve. Unlike the legacy tools, Titler+ generates titles dynamically rather than creating physical media clips, requiring a shift in workflow for Avid editors. While this change brings advantages, such as cleaner scaling and consistent vector-based text, it also introduces drawbacks, such as the inability to add external effects like those from Continuum or Sapphire directly to titles. The article emphasizes the importance of adapting to this new system and provides practical advice for working effectively with Titler+.

The update includes a redesigned interface, improved functionality, and tools like the Anchor Point, which offers greater flexibility for text placement and animation. However, McAuliffe notes inconsistencies, such as how the Anchor Point behaves differently when adjusted dynamically versus through the Effect Editor. Despite these quirks, features like better text scaling and alignment with Media Composer’s coordinate system make Titler+ a more robust tool for title creation.

McAuliffe also examines the Foreground parameter, a new feature that simplifies animating multiple titles simultaneously. This tool enables editors to adjust opacity, crop titles, and apply uniform effects across all titles in a frame, though it lacks certain refinements like feathering for crop transitions. Additionally, the update introduces improved font support, streamlined rolls and crawls, and better cross-platform compatibility, further enhancing the overall user experience.

In conclusion, McAuliffe acknowledges Avid’s missteps with the initial release of Titler+ but asserts that the latest updates have significantly improved the tool. While not perfect, Titler+ now offers a compelling option for Media Composer users, especially those willing to adapt their workflows to leverage its modern features. McAuliffe encourages editors to set aside their past frustrations and embrace the new capabilities of Titler+.

Read the full article by Kevin P. McAuliffe for ProVideo Coalition HERE

Learn more about Avid Media Composer HERE

Learn more about Avid Media Composer HERE

Learn more about Avid HERE

Increased dealer margins for subscription licenses now available for all Authorized and Elite Avid Dealers. Call your Broadfield sales rep today or go to www.broadfield.com and login for your authorized pricing level.

Avid Media Composer Ultimate 1-Year NEW
SKU: MCUSUBESD
MPN: 9938-30116-00
$539.99 MSRP

1-Year RENEWAL
SKU: MCUSUBRENESD
MPN: 9938-30069-00
$539.99 MSRP

Avid Media Composer Ultimate 2-Year NEW
SKU: MCSUB2
MPN: 9938-30074-00
$1,025.99 MSRP

2-Year RENWAL
SKU: MCSUB2REN
MPN: 9938-30076-00
$1,025.99 MSRP

Avid Media Composer Ultimate 3-Year NEW
SKU: MCSUB3
MPN: 9938-30075-00
$1,457.99 MSRP

3-Year RENEWAL
SKU: MCSUB3REN
MPN: 9938-30077-00
$1,457.99 MSRP

Watch the full video from Adobe below:

Watch the video from Avid below:

Learn more about Avid Media Composer HERE

Historically, editors had to create timecoded transcripts, print them out, and manually highlight and annotate them. They would then go back into Premiere Pro to locate corresponding phrases in the footage, a labor-intensive process. However, Adobe’s Text-Based Editing feature changed the game, allowing editors to use transcribed text as the primary representation of audio or video content. This feature enabled them to see, edit, rearrange, add, or remove sentences in the transcript, with the text edits automatically synchronized with the audio or video.

This new approach, particularly beneficial for documentary editors, streamlined the workflow, making it easier to navigate interviews and restructure story elements quickly. Editors could use the Text panel to initiate Speech-to-Text transcription, and the transcript would sync with the audio and video. This synchronization allowed for real-time tracking of spoken words in the transcript, simplifying content navigation.

Editors could create sequences for sound bite selects and use Text-Based Editing to find, select, and insert phrases into these sequences. The selected phrases were added as multicam excerpts, making the process much more efficient.

Sandra shared her experience using this new workflow on a specific project and highlighted how it allowed her to work more creatively and imaginatively. She also discussed how it improved the process of creating a radio edit, a phase where the editor lays out all the audio components of the narrative. With Text-Based Editing, she could easily find alternatives for specific words and refine the intonation of dialogue to enhance the narrative flow.

Additionally, the feature made it easier to remove unnecessary sound bites or words, resulting in a stronger story with fewer words. Sandra emphasized the ability to create harmony between interview subjects’ answers and smoothly transition sound bites by adding keywords, ultimately improving the overall storytelling process.

Read the full story by Sandra Lucille for Frame.io Insider HERE

To address these issues and help fellow editors navigate Avid’s potential for increased efficiency, Simmons shares a series of invaluable tips and keyboard shortcuts. He emphasizes the power of keyboard shortcuts in achieving tasks that typically require the use of a mouse. This not only helps in saving time but also enhances the overall editing experience. A standout tip in the blog post is the “Restore Default Patch” command, which enables editors to reset source patching setups for audio clips and complex sequence-to-sequence edits to a default state. Even more compelling, Simmons encourages readers to customize keyboard shortcuts for this command, streamlining the process further.

Simmons goes on to discuss the importance of efficiently managing audio elements within Avid Media Composer. He highlights that Avid does not automatically adjust the size of an audio waveform when modifying volume or gain settings. However, editors can utilize the keyboard shortcut COMMAND + OPTION + K/L to manually scale the waveform, making it easier to visualize audio levels within clips. This knowledge, while not widely known, can significantly enhance the editing experience.

Moreover, Simmons provides insights into enabling waveforms and adjusting audio levels in Avid, emphasizing the buried location of these commands within the timeline Hamburger/Fast menu. However, he suggests a solution: mapping these actions to keyboard shortcuts through the Command Palette. This not only saves time but also reduces the need to navigate through deep menu structures, allowing editors to maintain a more streamlined workflow.

Simmons doesn’t stop there. He unveils an ingenious shortcut for editing clip gain using the keyboard—SHIFT+OPTION+UP/DOWN ARROW, a technique that proves to be much faster than using the Audio Tool. The catch is ensuring that Clip Gain is turned on, either from the Fast Menu or on a per-track basis. With this knowledge, editors can fine-tune audio levels without the need for menu navigation or mouse actions, offering a significant boost in efficiency.

Moving on, Simmons touches on timeline management, which is a fundamental aspect of video editing. He suggests mapping timeline zoom keys to F11 and F12, eliminating the need for modifier keys like Command + [ and ]. By customizing this aspect, editors can save countless keystrokes over time, especially if they work with multiple non-linear editing systems (NLEs).

Furthermore, Simmons reminds readers of the keyboard shortcut COMMAND (CTRL on PC) K and L, which allows for convenient scaling of track heights. This tip ensures that editors are well-equipped to optimize their timeline view, further enhancing their efficiency.

Avid’s media viewing features are also addressed. Simmons introduces a one-key solution for loading and playing source media in the Source monitor by utilizing the “Clip > Loop Selected Clips” command. This convenient method is particularly handy for music and selects sequences and provides an alternative to the traditional double-click approach, reducing reliance on the mouse.

In conclusion, the blog post by Scott Simmons offers a comprehensive exploration of techniques and tips to expedite the editing process within Avid Media Composer. It addresses various pain points and provides practical solutions for editors looking to overcome the software’s perceived limitations. Simmons underscores that while these tips may require some time to master, they are a worthwhile investment for editors seeking to optimize their workflow, save time, and improve their overall editing experience. With these newfound insights, video editors can embrace Avid Media Composer with confidence and maximize their productivity.

Read the full article by Scott Simmons for ProVideoCoalition HERE

Learn more about Avid Media Composer HERE

Learn more about Avid HERE

The article highlights the uncertainty regarding Avid’s future plans following the acquisition, suggesting that more details may emerge between IBC and the next NAB conference in April 2024.

It emphasizes that Avid’s product portfolio extends beyond Media Composer and Pro Tools, including Sibelius music notation software, cloud services, storage solutions, centralized facility workflow systems, graphics, and associated hardware. The author also notes that Pro Tools, primarily on the audio side of Avid, contributes significantly to the company’s revenue.

The article speculates about the possibility of spinning off the Pro Tools portion of the company as a separate entity, but acknowledges the complexity of such a move and its potential impact on Avid’s market position and integration between Media Composer and Pro Tools.

Despite the acquisition, the article asserts that Avid products remain deeply ingrained in various enterprise operations, large-scale rental suppliers, and professional recording studios worldwide. It emphasizes that Avid’s dominance among professional users in the film and TV post-production industry is unlikely to change without drastic issues, given the challenges of switching to alternative products and workflows.

The article concludes by discussing the uncertainty surrounding Avid’s future under STG’s private ownership, highlighting STG’s focus on data and software tech companies and the potential challenges of investing in a mature company like Avid in the media and entertainment sector. It also raises the possibility of cost-cutting measures and a shift towards subscription-based products and services.

The author encourages both young professionals and established editors or mixers to continue using and learning Avid’s tools, emphasizing their continued relevance in post-production workflows for the foreseeable future.

Read the full article by Oliver Peters for digitalfilms HERE

Learn more about Avid Media Composer HERE

Learn more about Avid HERE

Watch the full video HERE:

Learn which version of Avid Media Composer is right for you HERE

Learn more about Avid HERE