Getting My wife a present for Valentine’s Day

[Grinner Hester]

[Steve Guillaume] “1.Is the media industry really trending away from Avid?

It’s growing at a different speed than Avid is.

2.Is there a benefit to Avid over Final Cut Pro?
If so what?

clout. This is what is rapidly changing but is still the most honest one-word answer.

3.Why do you like Avid?

That same clout. At the time that I purchased it, I could not bill a FCP suite at the same price. This too is what is changing.

4.What kind of surprise await me using the Avid?

a primative DVE, brutally creative advertising and the feeling of paying to beta-test for Avid.

5.Do I need to by the Mojo?
What are the benefits to the Mojo hardware?

IOs. Depends on what ya wanna hook up/what ya wanna do with it.

6.Where can I get a good Price on the Avid software?

my vendor is midwestmediagroup.com
They are very good people.

7.Any other advice or opinions you might have?

If you get software for a chick on valantines day, you better write a poem too, man.

Thanks in advance for your help”

[Erik Pontius]

The Questions:

Is the media industry really trending away from Avid?
Possibly. Avid is behind the curve in adopting new formats. It is pretty bare bones in terms of what it offers compared to FCP. This forces you to spend money on other apps for motion graphics, audio and such that are include or bundled with other NLE’s for a cheaper price. System requirements can be pretty strict. There still are a lot of commercials, television, films and news cut on Avid. Probably a lot more Avid’s in use in professional environments that FCP, probably due to the fact that Avid’s been around a lot longer in those environments than FCP.

Is there a benefit to Avid over Final Cut Pro? Perhaps
If so what?
Speed. Good media management. Backward compatibility. Cross platform. If your wife is using Avid at work on a PC, she can move that project to a Mac and open it up.

Why do you like Avid?
I didn’t at first and I still have a bit of a Love/Hate for it. If you are used to FCP/Premiere type NLE’s, learning/using Avid can be tricky since the vast majority of editing is done with keyboard shortcuts rather than mouse drag-n-drop. After using it for a while I got used to it, found it really fast to edit with. I enjoyed the customization that I could do. The software can be installed on as many systems that you want that can support it, since your software license is a hardware USB dongle. So if you have a more powerful desktop connected to mojo and decks and a notebook, you can edit on the go on the notebook, then transfer the project to the desktop for onlining or output to tape.

What kind of surprise await me using the Avid?
Price. Compared to other other NLE’s you really don’t get much in the box. Plan on spending some extra cash on other applications to fill in the gaps where Avid is short (motion graphics, 3d, Audio, etc..)

Do I need to by the Mojo?
Depends on your needs. If she needs to deliver on beta/digibeta or other pro tape format that isn’t firewire you’ll need one.
What are the benefits to the Mojo hardware?
Analog or SDI input/output.

Where can I get a good Price on the Avid software?
Look around. Some folks like VideoGuys.com, there maybe local resellers in your area as well. You can check out a list on Avid’s site: https://www.avid.com/products/howtobuy/index.asp

Any other advice or opinions you might have?
If you’re wife is used to using Avid, you’re not going to have much choice. She would get used to FCP after a while, but she’s going to miss a lot of things she is used to on the Avid. Both are good NLE’s and are both perfectly capable of creating professional work.

erik

[Bob Zelin]

I am an insensitive, good for nothing, but even I know that getting a girl an AVID for Valentines day is not going to go over big. How about a hammer drill, or some grease remover when she cleans your car’s transmission ?

Rethink your gift quickly.

Bob Zelin

[Jess George]

As a married female editor, I’d be pretty psyched if my husband bought me such an thoughful present for Valentines Day. And expensive! I normally think of Valentines Day as more of $20 present kind of holiday. Hmmmm… maybe I need to email this to my husband. But then I’d have to get him something big too – never mind.

Other people have answered your questions really well, but I just wanted to add that as a freelance editor I find it a huge benefit to be proficient on both AVID and FCP. My work is split down the middle, and I’ve heard from people hiring FCP editors that they sometimes have a hard time finding good editors. If she’s considering a freelance career I’d personally recommend spending the time to learn FCP (although I certainly know a lot of successful freelance editors that only do one or the other). And, on the romance side, getting her a program she already knows and likes will probably get you more points.

Anyway, I think it sounds like a very thoughtful gift. It wouldn’t hurt to also give her flowers, though.

-Jess

[Grinner Hester]

[Jess George] “It wouldn’t hurt to also give her flowers, though.”

lol
disclaimer of the day.