AVID

How AVID Editing Machines Work

 
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Inside this Article

1. Introduction to How Avid Editing Machines Work

2. Basics of Non-Linear Avid Editing
3. Layout of an Avid Editing Console

4. Recent Avid Editing Developments

5. Lots More Information
6. See all Movie Industry & Awards articles

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For most professional film and television editors, there's no substitute for an Avid editing
system. Avid has been a pioneer in the non-linear editing industry since 1989 when the
fledgling Massachusetts company introduced the first version of its Media Composer software.
The original Avid system, which included the software, an Apple desktop computer, some
external hard drives, monitors and a tape deck, cost between $50,000 and $80.

Image courtesy of Avid Technology, Inc.

Avid editing machines are the standard in non-linear editing.

Nearly 20 years later, Avid is still the industry leader in non-linear computer-based editing
systems. From Oscar-winning films to reality TV shows, almost everything is edited on an Avid
system. Avid itself won an Oscar in 1998 for Scientific and Technological achievement for the
impact that its Media Composer software (then called Film Composer) has had on the film
industry [source: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences].

In recent years, the price has come down on Avid software (the newest version of Media
Composer retails at $2,495), which means that serious home users can now access the same
high-end tools as the Hollywood pros. Although the Avid interface has a lot in common with
other higher end video editing systems -- like Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere -- it takes
serious training and lots of practice to master the system's hundreds of specialized editing and
effects tools.

Professional editors are so loyal to Avid because the company has worked hard to incorporate
the suggestions of working editors into every new version of its Avid software and hardware.
The result is a continuously evolving system. For example, the latest version of Media Composer
software and Avid hardware boxes include tons of improved functionality for working with high-
definition (HD) video, something that editors need now more than ever.

So what exactly is non-linear editing? How have computerized editing systems changed the
editing profession? What are all the different aspects of an Avid editing system, and what are the
latest tools that are shaping the future of film and TV editing? Read on to find out.

Layout of an Avid Editing Console

The heart of an Avid non-linear editing system is the Media Composer software. The software
provides the user interface through which an editor accesses the tools and system functionality.
The Media Composer interface is broken down into three basic areas: the bin, the monitor and
the timeline. This three-part system has been adopted by pretty much every other video editing
software out there, from high-end products like Final Cut Pro to amateur software like Apple
iMovie.

Image courtesy of Avid Technology, Inc.

Avid editing machines allow editors to lay down separate tracks for sound and film.

The bin is where the editor stores all the different project components. It not only holds digitized
video clips, but digital audio files, images and any other source material that'll be assembled into
the final project. In the bin monitor, the editor can adjust the properties of each individual
component, trimming the length of clips, adding effects, smoothing jittery video and adjusting
audio levels.

The monitor is actually composed of two small screens. The left screen shows a single source
video clip and the right screen shows the full project video. This split-screen view is useful for
trimming an individual clip before adding it to the project timeline. Once the clip has been
added, the editor can preview how it looks with the rest of the project in the right-hand screen.

The timeline area is organized by video and audio tracks. The process is similar to audio editing
with a multi-track digital audio workstation. An editor can lay down separate video tracks for
credits and subtitles, animated graphics and special transitions. Then he can create multiple audio
tracks for dialogue, music and sound effects. The timeline runs chronologically from left to right.
In the timeline, the editor can select chunks of video or audio (across multiple tracks if he wants)
and cut, copy or delete them with a click of the mouse.
For the home user, or a professional filmmaker on a tight budget, it's possible to run a perfectly
good Avid system with nothing more than the Media Composer software and a powerful desktop
PC or laptop. But Avid consoles for professional TV and film production typically include
additional Avid hardware and equipment.

Avid hardware's role is to make the Media Composer software run faster and for the whole
system to run more efficiently. The hardware box (smaller than a standard desktop PC tower)
works like an external video card, helping speed up the digitizing process and the rendering
process (for creating visual effects and transitions). The more expensive versions of the Avid
hardware allow an editor to use both standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) video
sources in the same project.

The hardware box also includes dozens of useful input and output connections for external
digital and analog equipment, both audio and video. In this way, the hardware box serves as a
hub between the host computer and external media sources like video cameras, tape decks,
memory card readers and DVD drives. The hardware not only imports media from these sources,
but can export finished video projects back onto tape, DVD, memory card or any digital file
format.

A typical Avid editing suite has at least two computer monitors, one which focuses on the bin
and another which shows the monitor and timeline. Professional Avid Editors also use a special
keyboard that's color-coded to highlight the short-cut keys. There's also usually a video playback
screen -- sometimes a large LCD display -- and plenty of high-capacity external hard drives to
hold those large video files.

Now let's look at some of the latest developments with Avid hardware and software and how
they're changing the way that editors do their job.

Recent Avid Editing Developments

The latest versions of Avid's video editing software and hardware, released in June 2008, include
new features that make it easier to edit HD video. With more and more TV networks
broadcasting in HD and more consumer HD video cameras on the market, editors need software
that can handle the large file sizes of HD video without compromising speed.
 © Andy Sotiriou/Photodisc/Getty Images
New Avid technology lets editors edit in HD
(high-definition) technology.

Avid has developed a new codec (short for compress/decompress) that compresses HD video
into a file size that retains the sharpness and image quality of HD without bogging down the
system. The codec, called DNxHD, runs in both the standalone Media Composer software and in
the hardware boxes. What this allows is for editors to edit their projects exactly how they will
look in full HD. It's no longer necessary to do an offline edit in lower quality and then finish the
project on an HD machine.

In the previous version of Media Composer, Avid introduced the concept of the Open Timeline.
This means that the timeline can handle clips with wildly different specifications. You can put
SD and HD clips side-by-side in the same project, as well as clips with different resolutions,
frame rates and aspect ratios. The timeline can also handle audio files with different sampling
speeds and file types. In the past, all these differences would have to be reconciled before you
could begin editing, which could mean hours of converting files. Now everything works together
in real time and is converted when it's time to export.

The newest Avid hardware boxes -- called Mojo DX, Nitris DX and Symphony DX -- are built
with the new DX effects architecture. This new system helps distribute the computing and
processing load between the host computer and the hardware box, making the system run more
efficiently when processing HD or effects-heavy projects. The hardware is connected to the host
computer using a PCIE connection that's 20 times faster than Firewire, ensuring lightening fast
data transfer.

One new Media Composer tool, called ScriptSync, has already changed the way editors work.
Say you're an editor working on a script-based TV drama, like "CSI." For every scene in the
show, you might shoot three or four different takes. And within those takes, you might shoot the
scene from two or three different angles simultaneously.
Before the editing process can begin, an assistant editor needs to take the script and match each
source video clip with its associated lines. They do this to streamline the editing process. When
it's time to start a new scene, the editor can quickly cue up the various takes and angles
associated with the scene to assemble the best final product. In the past, the job of logging tape
and cuing video was half the work of editing.

Now, with ScriptSync, Avid has created a tool that can upload the script as a text file, break the
words down into their phonetic parts, and then analyze the audio waveforms of video clips to
match them with the lines in the script. All the editor has to do is select the part of the script that
he wants to edit. ScriptSync will pull up all of the different takes and angles associated with that
part of the script. Then the editor can toggle from take to take and angle to angle to find the best
shot for each line of dialogue.

Incredibly, ScriptSync works in nine different languages, including Arabic and Mandarin
Chinese.