Themis
Forum Replies Created
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[Bouke Vahl] “I’ve made the choice it’s nonsense to spend a few days on a DVD project, have the final product be compromised due to a cheap encoder, as the encoder is (although Cinemacraft is one of the most expensive ones) just a fraction of the total cost.”
I’m sure you know better after all these years, or at least you know certainly more than me when it comes to Avid. I’d suggest you take a look at the new Adobe’s Creative Suite, though, especially when combined with Matrox’s Axio video card and the appropriate workstation. When it comes to encoding, you’ll find out the export capabilities have a lot to say. Again, no comparison to the expensive Avid suites, that I admit…
[Bouke Vahl] “So, where you’re from?”
I was born and reside in Greece. It doesn’t have to do with my country but with the general attitude of many professionals in the business here. I’m proud to say what I’ve learned so far comes from endless years of reading and practising and not from someone else showing me what to do. There’s a general idea that any kind of knowledge should be protected as a dark secret, thus leaving out of the business young people who are thirsty to offer their skills and talent. It happens, believe me. I, on the other hand, feel that each professional keeps his “seat” by working hard and making himself better with each day that passes by.
Anyway, sorry for the prolonged… “whining”. It’s just a complaint for a system whose main target is to divert people from their dreams and turn them into office employees. I just wouldn’t stand for a minute to be like that…
Thanks for hearing out, Bouke 🙂
Themis
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[Bouke Vahl] “All fancy bells and whistles in other programs are nice, but fact is, i spent 95% on an average job just on ingesting, cutting, audio levelling and spitting it out to tape/DVD”
Well, Bouke, if that’s the case you are quite right to keep your trust in Avid. I would, too, now that I’ve seen how easier these things are in that application. But in my case we’re talking about full production from capturing to mastering a DVD, done by one man alone (me, who else?). In that case I believe software integration is a great tool and I’m sure you’ll agree on that.
[Bouke Vahl] “we do not like to test every upgrade, and we have so many projects going on at the same time that it is impossible for us to upgrade between projects”
Also a different case. While I totally second your opinion, try for a moment to put aside what you or even I like and figure out what would work in a case like the one I mentioned before. For a limited budget studio that was built from scratch Avid only (or mainly) does the editing work (aside from the fact that it does it really good and trouble-free!). On the other hand, a Premiere-based platform made our lives much easier, especially when we could jump from, say Premiere to After Effects and then to Encore DVD or Photoshop to make changes and those changes were also present in each of these apps.
Anyway, apart from all that, I am trully enthusiasted with Media Composer and, as soon as I can get the money 🙂 I intend to go for a qualified workstation. I’m sure it’s worth it and, finally, I’ll be using what most pros are so crazy about…
Finally, a big thanks to all of you for your immediate replies. You may find this hard to believe, but in my country it’s a rare thing to be able to share knowledge with experienced professionals, so for me it is a great pleasure that you all find time to deal with me.
Thanks again. Looking forward to come back
Themis
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Michael
I can’t thank you enough for your immediate and honest answer. What you said is absolutely true. Once you start with a certain software, you stick with it, only because you know it so well. The truth is that integration is a great help, especially for a freelancer like me. Adobe’s package came in very handy when I started cutting material for a company that offers a DVD with each one of its three monthly magazines. As you can understand, the workflow was endless. As such, when I was asked what kind of editing studio they could set up with their rather limited budget, I instantly thought a Matrox RT.x 2 workstation with Adobe’s Creative Suite would be the best solution, considering I was extremely familiar with it and it would provide a fully authored master DVD from scratch.
As it turned out, my choice was fully justified by the outcome. However, lately a new job offer came along, in a local broadcast studio that only has Avid Media Composer suites. I had to turn it down ’cause I was not familiar with that work environment, but I don’t want to do so in the future. It’s not the money at all, it’s just that I was really amazed by exactly what you said: the software works like no other and frankly some things are done in an instant. So I think it’s a pity to miss out on a trully professional workflow that would open a new world to me and I’m determined to go for it. I really like it, too. I just had to take a second opinion because I don’t like professionals who stand up for Avid without really justifying their point of view and don’t even begin to listen when it comes to other software, calling it “non-professional” (something like the “war” between the PC and the Mac users). I’m really glad your answer was so objective, Michael.
One last question. Xpress Pro or Media Composer? What’s the difference. Also any other opinions on Avid would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot in advance
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You’re probably right, my friend. I hear this from every editor in the business and I think sooner or later I’ll have to deal with Xpress Pro deeper. So far I have no complaint, I’ve made serious cash as a free-lancer using PPro and mainly FCP, but I have to say real pro work is Avid and its “peripherals”. Holywood edits with it, that says it all. On the other hand, if objectivity is the case, I must tell you I hear from a lot of Avid editors that the company failed the competition on products such as AJA’s new I/O, that does the same things as Nitris for almost 1/3 of the money.
Anyway, I’ll try Xpress Pro once again, although I don’t think it will play real-time in HD if it is software only even on a Dual Core PC at 2.66. I have to start from somewhere, don’t I?
Thanks a lot
Themis
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Hello again
Sorry it took me so long to reply but I have been working like crazy. You are right about the fact that I shouldn’t try to make Avid work like Premiere. Apart from that, isn’t it true that rendering takes place in case of every different format that I import into Avid (e.g. avi, jpg, tga or mpeg files?) Also, what happens when creating masks or importing transparent objects for keying? How do all these work? For sure thethousands of editors who use Avid must know better but it seems I?m missing something here… Maybe it is just because I?m only a newbie 🙂
By the way, is there any site or pdf with avid basics or avid learning in general?
Thanks for your response and advices
Themis
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Avid has issued a post regarding a well known problem with deck control and Xpress Pro HD. All you have to do is register the DVBuffers. Click Start and then Run. In the command line, type: regsvr32 DVBuffers.ax. If typed correctly you will get a display message “DLLRegisterServer in DVBuffers.ax succeeded”. That might solve your problem.
Themis
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Premiere Pro is by itself a great software that works prefectly on a properly set up P4 desktop pc equipped with a good video card, such as a Matrox or AXIO. Since the issue is not only stability but real-time performance as well, my experience tells that a “naked” laptop is usually rather hard to meet those needs. On the other hand, as long as Mac G4 editing stations are famous for doing uniquelly well in the above two sections, I think the answer to your question is probable.
Themis
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The Matrox RT.x 100 xtreme pro is a great and absolutely reliable video card at about 900 $. It offers great real-time performance, plenty of capabilities when working with Premiere Pro plus the company has great support. If you are looking for something more professional but much more expensive, you should check out Matrox AXIO and you will be absolutely amazing. In both cases “feed” your machine with RAM, fast hard disks and pay attention to proper ventilation and cooling of the system.
Themis