American Cinematographer - November 2008 - (Page 76)

Post Focus for a new Intel dual-core CPU and monitor. Finally, Avid decided it was time to shake things up. It gave new CEO Gary Greenfield a clear mandate to get things fixed and come up with some “new thinking.” One of the company’s first moves was to cut the price of its software-only version of Media Composer by half. Now, Avid has introduced a speedy and relatively solid version 3.0 of its flagship software. Media Composer 3.0 is noticeably faster than its predecessor — it boots up like a racecar careening around a track — and those fortunate to have the latest dual- and quad-core Intelbased computers will be able to make the most of this. The speed improvements are particularly noticeable when you’re working with Avid’s DNxHD, Sony’s XDCam-EX and Panasonic’s DVCPro HD codecs. Latency, which I found particularly annoying when working in Adrenaline, is almost non-existent. The product now supports the latest versions of Mac OS X, as well as the latest 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. Avid has also added support for many of the latest HD codecs, including Panasonic’s AVC-I and JVC’s particular flavor of the HDV codec for 23.98p and 25p frame rates. Sony’s new XDCam-EX format is supported via Sony’s Clip Browser software, which can be downloaded for free from Sony’s XDCam Web site. (A caveat: as of this writing, the Mac version of Sony’s utility software does not provide a way to export in MXF, the required file format for import into Media Composer. Sony has promised an upgrade to the Mac version but has not yet delivered.) Working with the speedy new generation of CPUs, users will also notice significant improvements in Media Composer’s handling of real- Version 3.0 of Avid’s Media Composer boasts such features as MetaFuze (pictured above) for merging DPX and TIFF images into a single media file. The release also offers a timestamp export tool, the SubCap subtitling tool, and support for the ASC CDL. Product Review: Avid Media Composer 3.0 by Lawrence Jordan Avid’s Media Composer, the turnkey software and hardware editing solution that fundamentally changed the craft upon its release in 1989, has taken its knocks over the last several years. The release of Avid’s Adrenaline product line was lacking in feature improvements and problematic in performance. This was compounded by the fact that Avid had given the Mac versions of its software a back seat in its development efforts. But for the company from Tewksbury, Mass., the bad news was just beginning. Avid had been trying to figure out how to respond to the growing excitement surrounding Apple’s Final Cut Pro since that software was released in 1999. Priced at a fraction of Avid’s offerings, providing a means to work with the multitude of QuickTime native applications, and integrating seamlessly with Apple’s then-new OS X, Final Cut was warmly embraced. However, despite Apple’s intense marketing efforts aimed at studio-level filmmakers, the majority of professional editors stuck by their Media Composers. Unfortunately for Avid, many in the professional community avoided the upgrade to the bug-plagued Adrenaline, preferring the security and stability of its forerunner, Meridian, which was wedded to older — and consequently slower — PowerMac-based CPUs. As time passed, Apple continued to squeeze more features into every new release of Final Cut, and, after initially being dismissed as a “toy” by most professional editors, the software was embraced by independents on a budget. Shortly thereafter, several television series and feature films gave Final Cut a go. Avid needed to counteract, and after years of tying its software to its hardware, the company heeded customers’ cries and unbundled its offerings. This was a step in the right direction, but for most users, price was still a problem. For the $5,000 software-only version of Media Composer, editors could purchase a full version of Final Cut (priced at $1,000) and have cash left over 76 November 2008 Images courtesy of Avid Technology.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 2008

American Cinematographer - November 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Letters Short Takes Production Slate Forging a Bond The Making of a President Thunder Down Under Habitat for Inhumanity Saluting Television’s Top Talents Post Focus New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up

American Cinematographer - November 2008

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