I’ve been an Avid editor for the past 11 years and Media Composer is the only edit system I use on a day to day basis.  Being an editor for a full service production company, one day I’m cutting a sizzle reel for a pilot episode for a TV program, the next a 30 second commercial spot, and a few days after that it could be a 30 minute educational video.  There is a wide spectrum on content that I’m creating and Media Composer always gets me where I’m going, without me ever having to worry about my edit system letting me down.  When I got the news that I would be able to take Media Composer 5 for an extended demo, I couldn’t wait!

Avid Media Composer 5 Screenshot

Media Composer has come a long way in the past few years.

Edit workflows have been rapidly changing with the tapeless revolution and it seems to me like the post-production world has been really struggling to figure out how to best deal with this new way to handle media.  We’ve also seen a transition from the time when 1 resolution and framerate fit all, to a cornucopia of resolutions and framerates, sometimes all in the same project.  Previous versions of Media Composer have all always got the job done, keeping up with a lot of the changes, but the feature list on MC 5 seemed like a real step ahead.  If this new software does everything it promises, it may be the most complete and capable version of MC yet.

So what is Media Composer 5 promising?

There are many new additions to this version and I can’t comment on them all.  Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting to me.  First, it’s promising everything Media Composer did before that made it THE choice for serious film and television editors.  Then the newly enhanced AMA promises the best workflow available for formats like RED and the h.264 files that popular cameras like the Canon 5d mkii shoot, not to mention XD cam, P2 and even Apple ProRes.  There is a new Smart Tool Mode which makes the timeline a little more… well I guess its best described as ‘drag and drop’ friendly.  Last but certainly not least,  third party hardware support in the form of the Matrox MX02 Mini has been added.

AMA

Let’s take a look at what is quite possible the most powerful piece of Media Composer, the new AMA.  We saw AMA in previous versions of MC, and since I had previously been using the now deprecated IMPORT P2 function to manage my P2 imports, the AMA didn’t seem to be a big deal.  The problem was, I wasn’t as forward thinking as Avid was.  The new AMA not only lets you link to AMA volumes, like a P2 card or XDCAM card, but you can also use AMA to link to individual files. My first test was a 1080/24p, h.264 video file shot on a Canon 7d.  I was able to access the video file, through the AMA, directly on the CF card and it was edit ready instantly.  Of course, accessing the media through the card reader, combined with the complexity of the h.264 codec made playback drop a lot of frames, but the point is that the media is instantly available. As the hardware technology catches up to Avid’s software advances, you can expect this to be a powerful advantage.

I eventually need to get the media off the camera’s CF card and onto my local storage array. This is where Avid shines. I can quickly cut a sequence from video on the card (or if I wanted to, I can keep the entire clip) and then I  just consolidate it to my media drives while transcoding it to a much nicer DNxHD codec.  Actually, I chose DNxHD because of the quality vs size, but I could have also transcoded it to DVCPROHD, VC1, HDV, XDCAM, AVC Intro 100… The list goes on and on.  This is the beauty of Avid’s media management and it is second to none. As with many things, the great power to access all these formats in your project instantly, comes the great responsibility of the editor to keep it organized.  If you bring in a file through the AMA and don’t consolidate it, Avid’s top-notch media management system won’t save it to the Media Drives and keep track of it. So, if you imported a file off your desktop and then later deleted it without consolidating it, it’s gone and you’ll have a Media Offline situation. Get in the habit of consolidating your footage and you will be harnessing the power that Avid has to offer – the best media management around.

I also tested a video clip shot on JVC’s HM100.  The HM100, like its big brother the HM700, shoots an XDCAM type codec, wrapped in an .MOV that is specifically designed to work seamlessly with Final Cut Pro.  How about Avid, though?  Using the Avid AMA, it imported the .mov and it worked flawlessly.  ProRes files from the FCP edit station next to mine also entered the system through AMA without issue.  I should mention that the AMA will also handle REDCODE from the REDONE camera, but I didn’t have any footage to test this with.

The Smart Tool

Avid Smart Tool Toggle

Another new feature on MC5 is a new tool, called the Smart Tool.  The Smart Tool allows the mouse pointer’s position on the timeline to automatically activate the use of a tool upon a click.  For example if you hover over an edit, clicking creates a Trim Mode action.  Clicking on the top half of a clip in the timeline causes a Segment Mode Lift/Overwright action to be performed.  The Smart Tool is also coupled with a new Link Selection Toggle button.  With Link Selection activated, when you use the Smart Tool to move a video asset, the related audio tracks automatically move with it.  Using the Smart Tool saves you a keystroke when you want to perform a Trim Mode action or a Segment Mode operation.

I have mixed feelings about whether I like the new Smart Tool, but the great thing is that it is completely optional.  1 click to turn it on or off and you can choose to turn individual operations it can perform on or off independently.  So, for someone like me who likes to click around in the Timeline Window to set In/Out Points, it seems cumbersome since moving the playhead with Smart Tool on makes you click in the small timecode portion of the timeline to move the blue line.  Other editors who have migrated from Adobe Premier or FCP may find this very intuitive and enjoy this new mode.

Hardware options

Avid MX02 Video Output Settings

One of the most exciting new features of MC 5, for me, is the ability to use the relatively inexpensive Matrox MX02 Mini for video monitoring.  Correct me if I’m wrong (and I’m sure you will), but I believe this is the first time ever, that Media Composer has officially supported use of third party hardware.  You can get real HD output through the MX02 Mini via component or HDMI to your HD Monitor.  It also boasts 10 bit monitoring over HDMI with calibration tools to get your monitor setup and offers 10bit downconverting functionality on output.  I installed the MX02 Mini into my HP xw8400 using the PCIe host card (available for $99 at bhphotovideo.com).  Playback worked very nicely.  The video output section of the Avid settings allowed me to access the MX02’s output settings.  The output looked great, and the built in calibration tools let me get my monitor setup for color correction very quickly.

It should be noted that the project I initially chose to test the MX02 Mini with Media Composer with was shot in 720/24p and although the Matrox Mini does support 24p output, 720/24p and 1080/24p do not currently work with Media Composer 5.0.

Bottom line

After working with MC5 for 2 weeks now, I have to say that it really feels like this version is ahead of the curve.  Reliability, industry standard edit tools and new ideas all come together in MC5.  The AMA being able to handle so many file types, makes tapeless workflows faster and the latest camera codecs easy to work with.   The Smart Tool makes the Avid interface more friendly for users transitioning from other systems. For me, the ability to monitor video using a 10 bit capable hardware option that costs less than your smartphone is the real breakthrough for Media Composer users.

Remember, that being an editor is about making choices, being creative and telling a story.  Having the latest version of any edit software shouldn’t define what you can create, but it sure can make it easier, faster and less aggravating.  You can download and try Avid Media Composer 5 for free for 1 month at www.avid.com/forms/mctrial.