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Avid Newby questions
Hi all,
I’ve just begun to cut my teeth on an Adrenaline system. My previous experience has been on PremierePro and I’m trying to convert and have a couple of questions that I hope someone with more experience can answer for me.
I have a PSD file , (photo1.PSD), that was imported into Adrenaline. The system created a file called photo1.psd123455.omf.
The question is, is this a copy of the PSD file or is it a pointer to the origonal file?
The other question is, can I set markers in the timeline? I usually edited to the audio track in Premiere. It would allow me to open the audio file in the source or monitor window where I could set markers that are visible on the timeline. Everything I read about markers in Avid refer to in-out points.
Can I set just a plain old mark for purely visual reference?
Thanks.
JB -
8 Replies
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When you import or capture anything into an Avid, you create OMF or MXF media. That is the native format of Avid media, and that is what happened to your Photoshop file — Avid turned it into media that you can now edit with.
There are timeline markers for your use. If none of your buttons are set to markers, open
+3 (the command pallette — the source of all buttons in Avidland) and you will find at least 8 colors of markers (they look like buttons with a colored dot). Reassign the buttons as desired. To use, just scroll to the desired position on the timline. You can even put text notes into the markers. Bill Stephan
Senior Editor/DVD Author
USA Studios
New York City -
Of course, your original photoshop file is unchanged. Avid creates a new media file in the OMF folder upon import, and subsequently works with that new file.
If you move your photoshop file offline after import the Avid OMF file remains for you to work with. -
[John Baumchen] “It would allow me to open the audio file in the source or monitor window where I could set markers that are visible on the timeline”
Also, unless something has changed in the last six months, I don’t believe Avid allows a viewable waveform in the source viewer (unlike PPro, FCP, Liquid, etc.).
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Well, an Avid won’t show a waveform in the source viewer, but you can always switch your timeline to show the source (the little two tv icon near the lower left side of the timeline. ) Then show your waveforms in the timeline (from the Fast Menu aka the “Hamburger”) in the timeline. AFAIK all current Avids allow this.
HTH,
eda -
Thanks for all your help. It looks like I’m either going to have to get used to Avid or convince my boss to switch to PPro.
Cheers.
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[eda] “AFAIK all current Avids allow this.”
Yes they do. However it is a VERY meager substitute for the more powerful (and foolishly neglected by Avid) feature of a viewer waveform that scrolls to follow a playhead indicator, and which allows for more accurate audio editing.
Much like Avid’s knucklebrained approach to handling alpha imports, this lack of implimentation (that most other NLEs now offer) is another one that defies logic.
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[Les Kaye] “Yes they do. However it is a VERY meager substitute for the more powerful (and foolishly neglected by Avid) feature of a viewer waveform that scrolls to follow a playhead indicator, and which allows for more accurate audio editing.
Much like Avid’s knucklebrained approach to handling alpha imports, this lack of implimentation (that most other NLEs now offer) is another one that defies logic”
An Avid WILL scroll the waveform in the timeline to follow the playhead indicator, if you have that option turned on. Frankly, hitting the button to turn the timeline into a source viewer is no different to me than FCP’s way of clicking on a tab to reveal the waveform. As far as “more accurate audio editing”, I do very complicated dialog and music editing on Avid’s all the time, so I’m not quite sure what your concerns about
the accuracy are.As for Avid’s approach to alpha channels, if you had worked in film first and dealt with mattes, Avid’s approach makes perfect since. Avid was, originally, a film assist tool, not a video makers tool, and many of
it’s ways of doing things reflect that. Photoshops “backward” way of doing alpha channels was criticized widely when it came out. Eventually, Adobe’s mind set won out, and Avid editors just had to make sure to remember to invert. -
[eda] “An Avid WILL scroll the waveform in the timeline to follow the playhead indicator, if you have that option turned on”
First, I’m aware of what Avid will and will not do. The method you mention is NOT a substitute for a waveform in the source viewer – it is a workaround.
Second, don/t be so defensive. Just because a feature exists in another NLE and not in Avid doesn’t mean I’m suggesting Avid is terrible. It just means that just possibly a specified feature might be useful in Avid as well.
Third, I like Avid, but it is getting long in the tooth by not incorporating some long needed features.
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