Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/13405
RTAS: up to five realtime audio suite filters can be dropped on eac h track with realtime playback. NEW FLEXIBILITY Another major development in MC5 — the ability to trim, ripple and roll now with- out being forced into trim mode. Final Cut users going to Media Composer especially found that inflexibility irritating. According to Avid’s Angus Mackay, who heads up the product’s marketing team,“This feature is designed to give editors more choice and flexibility to work the way they like to work.This was a result of feedback from a number of customers who often work in both Final Cut Pro and Media Composer.” It takes a little getting used to, with some changes made to Avid's venerable interface. But new “smart tools” selectors allows users to pick and choose how much new and old methodology they want to use.This is gen- erally the case throughout Media Composer 5. It does not force too much change on the Avid editor unless they want it.That said, some changes and omissions can be found, like a revamping of interface customization choices and “gasp!” ScriptSync in no longer a freebie, but a $995 add-on (for those not actively already using it in earlier versions). A WAKE-UP CALL Hundreds of system-wide changes, big and small, have been made throughout Media Composer 5’s code, things like: a “paging timeline” (once the timeline cursor goes off the right side, it automatically ad- vances the timeline to the left side), dupe detection that works on all video tracks, keyboard selection of new timeline views, a new track for ancillary data, a slew of effects have been updated to realtime, and a ton more, including a timecode window built into the timeline. Another revamp involves audio:Thanks to RTAS (with direct timeline access), up to five realtime audio suite filters can be dropped on each track with realtime playback, a boon for audio editing. Plus there are independent waveform track displays, new soloing and muting func- tions for all audio tracks, and you can link stereo pairs to show up as one track (saving screen space).With increased codec selec- tions through AMA, a new “reformat” selec- tion appears in bins, which allows you to se- lect how you want the clip to be displayed, conforming it to the current frame size and aspect ratio — it’s modifiable per-clip. In the “saving your sanity” column: renders are now more manageable. Avid engineers thoughtfully included render email notifica- tion... alerting you when renders are done.And it appears Avid engineers have left plenty of room for other notifiers in the future. As interesting as the changes the Avid en- gineers chose to address, it is equally as inter- esting to see what was untouched: The decade’s-old Title Tool and outdated Marquee remain the same as always.There was no up- dating or introduction of suite-centric prod- ucts paralleling Apple’s Motion, Color, Sound- track Pro and DVD Studio Pro evident. Now with so many other things addressed, these omissions just could be Media Composer’s biggest Achilles heel — but one they might be able to survive if they keep things up. Taking a long look at MC5, after years on Final Cut, editor and frequent blogger Tej Bebra doesn’t consider MC5 an upgrade: “It’s like they’ve rewritten the code.The abil- ity to leave segment mode and drag and drop [like FCP] is fantastic.” He also sees MC5 a boon for older editors who were forced to leave Avid to go to FCP. "Older [Avid] editors who were displaced when Final Cut came onto the scene can now step back up to the plate." WHAT ABOUT APPLE’S FCP? The bottom line is this is a monumental release...but there’s a bigger picture: where does this leave Avid and Apple? Though the in-the-trenches editor might know what these new changes mean to the marketplace, (and may woo FCP editors to Media Composer),Avid’s real work is still Jonathan Moser is an Emmy-winning editor. His infamous 2006 "Open Letter to Avid" can be found at www.jonathanmoser.net www.postmagazine.com July 2010 • Post 19 cut out for them in strategic marketing to post facilities, smaller boutiques and private corporations who have the bulk of Final Cut systems and the money.Avid must still ag- gressively challenge decades’ old perceptions and conceptions. Another area Avid must refocus is in reclaiming future editors and filmmakers — having lost years of ground to a younger and hipper Apple in schools. To that end, says Avid COO Kirk Arnold, “In addition to offering curriculum designed to teach students the art of editing, we’ve made it easier for students and institutions to purchase our solutions with aggressive pricing.” (See our full interview with Arnold on our Website:www.postmagazine.com) FINAL THOUGHTS With the integration of QuickTime AMA, a collaborative workflow between compet- ing systems could just make the perceived war between Media Composer and Final Cut moot. It now seems both MC5 and FCP could work side by side. People are excited at the prospects, and Avid has really raised the bar. Even more promising is that the in- cessant Internet bashing between the two camps seems to have been quelled...at least for now. Who knows what’s going to happen when FCS 8 is released? Any speculation of Apple’s next move is just that...speculation. Apple’s not talking, but they probably aren’t losing any sleep over Media Composer 5 ei- ther.Terrence Curren, editor, industry ob- server and owner of Burbank’s AlphaDogs, thinks Apple has bigger fish to fry based on its primary focus of controlling the distribu- tion pipeline of media to iPods, iPads and iPhones. “For Apple,” says Curren, “tape is dead, film is dead. For Apple, it’s all about files you post to the Internet.” If that turns out to be the case, the broad- cast game would be left primarily in Avid’s court... but somehow I don’t think you can count Final Cut out just yet. Neither can Adobe be ignored with a newly developed “Mercury Engine” in Premiere Pro, its pres- ence in the market is garnering more and more attention. Apple typically never com- ments on new products until after their introduction, so we were disappointed, but not surprised with the response, or lack thereof. Stay tuned. Adobe’s Premiere Pro CS5 also supports multiple formats, natively. Tej Bebra doesn’t see Media Composer 5 as just an upgrade: “It’s like they’ve re-written the code.”