This summer’s Avid® Media Composer debut was heavily hyped in the months leading up to its release, promising that it would enable me to:
• Experience more creative storytelling with tons of new features and improvements?
• Work the way you want to work with a modern, intuitive, and customizable interface?
• Move through editing tasks faster with new workspaces that drive your creativity?
• Organize clips more easily, giving you a better view of your footage to shape stories?
• Connect with other audio and video creatives to get advice, get feedback, and get discovered?
Yeah, okay, that all sounded good.
In their weekly emails, Avid teased these features and regularly reminded me that the (re)imagined Media Composer was built for me—a maker (their term, not mine). The more emails I read with links to previews and other information, the more I looked forward to the release. But then again, marketing-speak typically does that—unless said marketer is terrible at their job.
So with the arrival of the new Media Composer, I’m pleased to say that Avid delivered on its promise to “make video editing more intuitive and efficient.” By all accounts, it seems that much of this success can be attributed to (drumroll, please) listening to their customers. What a novel concept! I should note that my sarcasm is in no way directed at Avid as I commend them for following this path. It’s something we do at BOXX every day. Anyway, if I wanted to heap sarcasm on this topic, it would be in the vicinity of Apple.
Before embarking on the Media Composer upgrade, the venerable NLE maker solicited opinions from Avid users worldwide about what features were missing and which needed to be improved. There are, of course, a number of new features, but for me, it boils down to customization. Film and video editing workflows vary from user to user, end product to end product. There are a strict set of features I need and a whole lot of things I simply don’t. In fact, often times these whiz bang features only serve to clutter up the interface. Also, customization allows me to organize my own workspace and when I’m comfortable in that, it becomes second nature and I can work faster and train my focus on story. As an editor, when that’s where your mind is at, creativity is enhanced. I highly recommend a visit to www.avid.com. If you’re new to Avid, watch the helpful tutorial videos, check out the webinar, and be sure to read the blog, “How Customers Shaped the New Media Composer” by Kate Ketcham. If you like what you see, download the free trial and see if Avid is right for you.