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Avid workflow question…
Please understand, this email is to seek any advice on this workflow.
SCENERIO:
Right now, yes, apologies are in order, though learning Avid as much as I can, I’m still doing quite a bit of editing inside FCP7, and what would normally take an editor a week to edit, client turnaround is less than half that time, to be done in about 20-25 hours: tight deadlines and tons of raw media.
I know everyone has a different way of editing for ‘speed’, so I guess my question is more based on developing quicker and more navigational ways to access to edits, shots, more quickly than using bins. I often edit using time-lines to quickly navigate through media, also using previous edits and being able to copy from one time-line edit to another, the actual edited sections of the edit, stuff like that… I’m also aware that in Avid, you cannot have multiple time-lines open at the same time, so this has really got me thinking more, about how to accomplish what I need as fast as possible, now not being able to access multiple edits at the same time, or having like in Avid, how you have ‘tabbed’ bins, I really would like to see ‘tabbed’ time-lines as well, for future Avid updates.
WORKFLOW 1-4:
1.) I go through my media the first time, the raw interviews all go on to separate interview time-lines. So, we have a “RAW_Interview_Rick” time-line, “RAW_Interview_Sara” time-line, and a “RAW_Interview_Bob” time-line.
2.) I then very quickly fly through the first “RAW_Interview_Rick” time-line. I cut an ‘in’ and an ‘out’ point for every comment, and add text (a lower-third text) on top of the comment. So if the comment has to do with “surgery”, I type text ‘surgery’. So, I “tag” or “info-tag” all comments.
3.) Once that interview is done being ‘info-tagged’ for comments by topic, I then sort those comments by creating new sequences for ‘each topic’, which I sometimes do this sorting while I’m going through the interview for the first time. (So if I ever needed to search comment by topic, I can load up the “surgery comments” time-line, or the “healthcare” time-line”, or whatever. I then open my “surgery comments time-line”, and all of my sound-bites about ‘surgery’ are in there, that were copied and pasted from the “RAW_Interview_Rick” sequence that I did a quick first pass on.) This saves me hours of hunting for footage, by “info tagging” the interview once, I’m done.
4.) I then create a bin folder, call it “Act 1”, and take all of the topic sequences that I think could go well in Act 1, I put them in Act 1. I then begin actual editing, and I know what I need for Act 1, and create a new time-line called “Surgery Rough Cut 01”, and this is my time-line for my 1st rough cut starting point, and I then open all of the time-lines that are related to the topics that I want in Act 1, and only work within that Act 1 folder.
So, this is one of the ways I like to work in FCP, and would like to figure out what I can do to be fast like this in Avid.
After you have reviewed this 1-4, is there a comparable ways to translate kind of workflow into an Avid workflow? Or do you have any input on this, and how editors fly through edits quicker, with similar ways to organize in Avid?
I know there is not one single right or wrong way to edit and organize, but could any of you share your 1-2-3-4-5 of how you bring in and fly through media, in this or similar ways?
Thanks,
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Digital Chop House
Salt Lake City, Utah -
5 Replies
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My workflow really depends on what project I’m doing, so it’s hard to describe it here. But I did read your workflow and maybe have some usefull tips.
Having multiple sequences open like in FCP isn’t possible, but I think the same can be achieved with using bins and (sub) sequences. In avid you can load any sequence into the source monitor and cut into another sequence while maintaining full flexibility regarding track selection etc. I find this way faster than the ‘copy and paste’ method you’d use having multiple seq’s open in FCP. On the bottom of the timeline window is a little toggle that let’s you view your source monitor content as a timeline. This is helpfull for cutting from one complex timeline into another. Pressing a and s will move between cuts if a sequence is loaded in the source monitor.
I’ve never used titles to name my selections. I prefer working with locators as they ‘travel’ thru the process and you can use the locator tool to easily view and navigate between them.
Last little hint. Mark a selection on your timeline with an in and out point, hold down alt and drag the image from the record monitor to a bin will give you a sub sequence. It’s a fast way of organizing topics.
Editor/Colorist, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
http://www.pepijnklijs.nl -
[Pepijn Klijs] “Last little hint. Mark a selection on your timeline with an in and out point, hold down alt and drag the image from the record monitor to a bin will give you a sub sequence. It’s a fast way of organizing topics.”
Even faster – map Subclip to your keyboard and you can do it with a keystroke. When you Subclip a sequence it makes a subsequence.
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Michael Hancock
Editor -
[Michael Hancock] “Even faster – map Subclip to your keyboard and you can do it with a keystroke. When you Subclip a sequence it makes a subsequence.”
Definetily faster, but if you are organizng into several open bins the alt-drag way is faster cuz you drag it right into the right bin.
Editor/Colorist, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
http://www.pepijnklijs.nl -
I missed the bit about organizing into separate bins.
In that case, I’d just make one Subsequence bin, use the keyboard to subsequence into it (which highlights the subsequence in the bin), rename the subsequence, keyboard shortcut back to the timeline (Cmd+4, I think), repeat.
This would allow me to use the keyboard to break apart the entire sequence without the mouse. When that’s done I’d use the mouse to sort those subsequences to their individual bins.
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Michael Hancock
Editor -
Are there any others out there who are or have developed a 1-2-3 for their organizational workflow with high volumes of media, short turnarounds?
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Digital Chop House
Salt Lake City, Utah
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