Oakmozart
Forum Replies Created
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Boris Red/Graffiti have text presets available in the Library, but beware: most are pretty cheesy!
Other than that (and the basic Marquee presets that ship with the software), there’s no such thing that I can think of.
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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.aspAvid Resellers can be found here: https://www.avid.com/forms/locator.asp
Good luck.
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Go to the following link. Look at the first post, entitled “2 Free Plugins” for your freebie blur effect.
https://www.avid.com/exchange/forums/thread/4292.aspx
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Symphony Nitris is a GREAT system, that’s INSANELY overpriced! It should be half the price it is now. (Okay, maybe a little more than half, but you get the idea.) Since you’ve worked with Adrenaline, moving up to Symphony will be very similar, only with more RT performance, better conform options, more powerful color-correction, etc. Symphony Nitris is a bit behind the powercurve of the Media Composer/XPro products, since it doesn’t support some features currently available in those products (Studio Toolkit is one that comes to mind), though that which lacks in SN is being remedied as we speak.
I’d take it for a test-drive and see what you think. If you like it, can afford/justify the $90K price-tag (which my Avid Reseller quoted me more around $78K, so you might not pay that much), and feel it would be a good addition to your business, then heck yeah: buy one!
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Great software, HORRID upgrade policy!
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AdvantEdge is the best of the Ultimatte plugins out there, I think. It’s also slower than snot to render.
If using Avid Media Composer Adrenaline 2.0 or later, screw Ultimatte and use Avid’s built-in SpectraMatte keyer. Once you do, you’ll find yourself not using Ultimatte!
Take care.
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Symphony 4.0 won’t work with native HDV footage, or ANY HD footage, for that matter. You’ll have to transcode to an SD format to edit it, or use a more current Avid system (XPro 5.2 or later; Media Composer Adrenaline 2.2 or later, etc.). In fact, Symphony Nitris doesn’t even support HDV as of this time, if I recall correctly.
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Avid recently started a support line for unsupported systems, if you can believe that. I heartily congratulate them for doing so!
Be that as it may, you have too much RAM (Windows doesn’t really see/use anything above 3GB’s as of WinXP Pro…that will change with Vista). I back Jon’s opinion that if you’re doing this for a hobby, try using what you’ve got. Keep in mind that there’s an excellent chance you will run into problems when you add Mojo, since Mojo doesn’t seem to like most homebuilt systems. (Not all of them, since I know a few folks who are running homebuilt computers with Mojo and absolutely no problems at all, though those people are extremely rare.) Why is a long story.
If you are using this computer to make money, I suggest simply buying a certified system, as it will alleviate most of your issues, give you peace of mind, and keep you up and running (which means more profitable). You can get incredible deals on certified systems on Ebay to get you started, then upgrade to an even more current system in a year or so.
Some thoughts for you to consider.
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It’s as good as Ultimatte, in my opinion. It renders faster than Ultimatte. It’s included in the software. It’s easy to use.
Use it! 🙂
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A buddy of mine tried recently, on MC 12.0, as well as Symphony 5.x and said it’s not possible. I personally don’t know if it is or isn’t. Try it and see what happens, then post back!