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Avid Rookie needs a hand and can’t execute a simple cut and paste the way he does with Premiere and FCP
Hello guys
I’m an editor since 20 years now. I worked on D-Vision, then on Edit (from Discreet Logic), I even worked with Xpri (remember this? The HD software from Sony, complete flop!!!) then on FCP and now I’m working with Premiere. But … I’ll be working on a TV show and I’ll have to work on … Avid
I decided to practice and edit a short film on Avid to be ready for the big day ☺
Well, it was not too hard to understand the philosophy of the software but I still have a looooot of questions though!
For instance:
1) how can I easily cut a clip on the timeline and paste it somewhere else? Like I would do with the other softwares …
I tried with keyboard shortcuts: IN, OUT, Alt+X, move to the place I want, and CMd+V. But sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Instead of pasting the clip, it pastes something else, maybe a clip I cut earlier in the editing process.
I tried the tools: yellow arrow, select the clip, drag it and leave it where I want. Well, this works since I don’t have audio on a different track but if it’s the case, that audio will be out of sync (even if I checked all the little boxes with that kind of “slash” sign on the front of the timeline) For instance, I have video on V1 and audio sync on A1. I move them just before a clip that got audio on A2. Bam, out of sync on A2 …2) Is there a way to LIFT a clip that was selected with the red arrow or with a “lasso manipulation”. Every time I hit the backspace, the clip is extracted. So every time I do this, I loose my sync … I could use I and O then W, I know, but what if I have a long video on V1 and its sync sound on A1, and a small sound on A2 that I want to remove? I’d like to just select that small sound and delete it without having to deselect V1 and A1, put an in and out, and lift it with W …
3) Is there an easy way to navigate from edit to edit in the timeline without constantly selecting and deselecting Video and Audio tracks to tell to the playhead where to stop. A function that stops the playhead on every cut, independently of the video and audio tracks selection?
My questions could seem a little bit stupid but I’ve been working on Media Composer just for two days. And these three manipulations takes me so much time that I can’t concentrate on the editing
Thanx a lot for your help!
Marc
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5 Replies
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1) You don’t do it by marking IN and Out…you need to go into SELECT MODE and select the clip. Either lasso it from upper right to lower left (OPT mouse will draw a box around it), or CMD-S and then click on the clip, or keep your SMART TOOLS on so Avid acts more FCP/Premiere like…and then COPY and move the playhead to where you want, and paste. So just like FCP or Premiere, you need to click on the clip and then COPY and Paste it. The Avid timeline is designed so you can drag the mouse anywhere on it to go forward or back, but you need to go into a MODE in order to grab and move footage.
“Is there a way to LIFT a clip that was selected with the red arrow or with a “lasso manipulation””
SEE? You already know how to do that.
2) You need to Mark IN and Out and then LIFT. you CAN use the select tool and click on the clips and press DELETE (not backspace…delete) and that will remove the clips and leave the gap. BUT, if you have an effect on the clip, or have modified the audio, the delete will first remove those, so you will need to select them again. Best to learn the way Avid does it…it won’t replicate FCP/Premiere here…not exactly.
3) yes…go into the SETTINGS and under COMPOSER, click on the FF/REW tab, and check the option to IGNORE TRACK SELECTORS.
And these are very normal questions for someone transitioning.
Shane
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Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Rhaaaaaaa! You make my day Shane, thanx a lot
I’ll try all this in a second
May be, at least, I’ll survive that painfull experience. I’ll keep you inform ☺
Marc
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There is an excellent and extensive set of Avid videos by Kevin P McAuliffe on YouTube. Very informative, and they cover all aspects of editing with Avid. Well worth a look.
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Another thing I do quite a bit is a good old copy paste type workflow.
If you have a selection of clips on the timeline you want to copy, you can simply select the clip and hit ctrl C.
Now you could go to the new location and hit Ctrl V, or you could go to your source monitor right click and select clipboard contents. This will populate that copied clip to the monitor. Keep in mind that Avid will allow you to call up several previous items that have appeared in the source monitor…kind of a recent memory thing…so if there are several clips you want to use elsewhere, and you have already id’ them on your timeline, you can do a copy, clipboard contents, copy, clipboard contents, copy clipboard contents….and basically store the next few clips you want in your source monitors memory. Then go to your new spot in the timeline and call up the memory clips, one at a time and edit them into the show. Can be handy for montages where you have identified clips you want to use onto a timeline, but not really in the location yet.
Please remember the programs are different from each other, but the results can usually be achieved…maybe slightly differently, but the results are usually the same. Learn to embrace the differences and you will be flying in no time.
Glenn
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Thank U Glenn. It’s good to know.
And, indeed, it is only my fourth day but I must say that everything is now working perfectly for me. I just needed to find the way to do things right with that “new” software. I have not sworn once today 🙂
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