AVID Adrenaline

[Michael Hancock]

I guess the most important questions should be, why are you considering changing anything? If your 3 FCP systems are working well for you, do you really need another editing system? If you do, do you have the time to dedicate to learning a brand new system (assuming no one at your shop had Avid experience)? Avid is very different from FCP, and some editors have a hard time switching from one to the other. Just because other post houses in your area have Avid and/or Smoke shouldn’t influence your decision here, unless you plan on working with them and need rock solid compatibility. Otherwise, you could call your local Avid reseller and request a demonstration. That way you can get some hands on experience.

If you definitely do want to go to Avid, the system you gets depends on how deep your pockets are and what you want to do with it. If you plan on doing a lot of HD work, you need secondary color correction, multiple streams of real-time video with effects, then go with the Symphony. This, however, will set you back quite a bit–I think about 60K.

The Media Composer is a beautiful system, especially since it now operates with Mojo/MojoSDI or as software only. It’s capable of realtime color correction, multiple streams of 1:1 realtime video playback (with the Adrenaline box or Mojo, and depending on what effects are used), has lots of great features like Animatte, Spectramatte (the best keyer I’ve ever used), keyframeable motion effects with FluidMotion (beautiful slow motion), and you can mix resolutions in the timeline without have to render just to view your video. Plus, you can get the HD card at any time (for a seperate chunk of change) to do your HD editing, if you need it. Plus, Avid Adrenaline comes with Boris plug-ins, many of which are very useful.

Avid Xpress Pro 5.5 is a great system, but is limited on realtime playback, requires a Mojo for full screen playback to a client monitor (I think), and is limited on the effects (no Animatte, no secondary color correction, no Spectramatte, motion effects are not keyframeable, doesn’t come with Boris Continuum Complete). It is a very powerful editing system, though, and it’s very affordable.

Again, the biggest question is “Do I need another editing seat?”, “Is there something I need to do that FCP can’t but Avid can?” and “Do we have time to learn a new system?”.

I love Avid. I recommend Avid. But definitely get some hands on time before you decide to buy.

Hope this helps.

Mike.

[Grinner Hester]

Unless you have clients passing up on you cuz you don’t have the buzzword of an Avid, I just don’t see any reason to do it. You already have bells, whistles, quality and stability. You’d just be gaining a monthly note, imo.

[Oakmozart]

If FCP is filling your needs, stick with it. FCP Studio is a pretty suite setup, and I’m a die-hard Avid user!

XPro is good software, but very limited. If you’ve got the money, I’d consider Media Composer software at the very least. Adrenaline with DNxcel (the add-in HD board) is around $23K, though the Avid Resellers around here are quoting me around $18K for it. Can you justify that kind of money? I’d also add on the Studio Toolkit option, which costs around another $2200 or so. That adds Avid FX (Boris Red), Avid 3D, and Avid DVD (which is NOT a well-liked program). Studio Toolkit will give you enhanced creative flexibility, though the tools in Media Composer itself are often times all I need to get my work done.

Any version of Media Composer–be it software only, all the way up to Adrenaline–includes Boris Continuum Complete AVX bundled. XPro doesn’t feature this.

Symphony Nitris is $90,000…NOT $60,000. The local reseller here quoted me around $80K, but that’s not guaranteed, and I don’t care who you are, that’s a LOT of money!

Find your local Avid Reseller, and get a demo. Make sure they give you some time to play with the Avid yourself and get a feel for it. Also, don’t just buy on a whim…make sure you know what you’re buying and for what reason. A free copy of Avid FreeDV can give you a bit of a head-start on learning the Avid interface…which is COMPLETELY different than FCP’s. It will take you a few months to really get comfy with it. FreeDV is ULTRA-limited, but will give you something to play with. Once you can use FreeDV, you can use anything from Xpress DV to Symphony.

FreeDV is available here: https://www.avid.com/freedv/index.asp
FreeDV tutorials are here: https://www.avid.com/freedv/tutorials/index.asp

Avid Resellers can be found here: https://www.avid.com/forms/locator.asp

Good luck.

[Michael Hancock]

Wow. I was way off on my Symphony price. Thanks for the correction.

Mike.

[Joe Feng]

We have a new suite with an Avid Media Composer Adrenaline here running a G5. It is not very stable and Avid tech support has not been as helpful as they should be.

I’m on an Avid right now, but boy, do I miss FCP.

If you’re Mac-based, and already running FCP, I simply don’t see why you’d want to make the switch. If you really, really feel the need to upgrade, upgrade to the new Intel Macs and get the Universal Version of FCP Studio 5.1 upgrade for as little as $99, depending on what version you currently have.

Next time your clients ask you about Avid vs. FCP, tell them that Oscar-winning feature editors are starting to learn Final Cut. And I’m not making this up.