Splice Now

Avid is releasing Media Composer 3.5 today (with parallel updates to Symphony and Newscutter). It’s a big release and should have something for everybody.

Here’s an overview, based on an Avid conference call, Friday. There are some revolutionary changes, and some more pedestrian improvements, as well.

• The End of the Dongle. Yes, it’s true. 3.5 will allow you to license your software over the net and get rid of that pesky little piece of plastic. (You can still use your dongle with this version if you prefer, but over time Avid plans to phase it out.) The software will give you 14 days to register, which results in a 14-day free trial period.
• Avid Media Access (AMA). This is Avid’s new plug-in architecture for diverse media types. Initially it will support Sony XDCAM and Panasonic P2 flash media, allowing editors to work with these files on the flash card or on any drive that they’re copied to. You won’t have to import any longer — the MC will work the media in it’s native form. And you can store and work with this media anywhere you like — no need to keep it in a MediaFiles folder. This breaks one of our longest standing traditions, namely that your Media Composer takes care of organizing your media. The new approach is easier and faster, but it makes it easier to lose your media. Avid will encourage camera manufacturers to write plug-ins for AMA themselves, speeding development and improving compatibility with new media types.
• Support for 3D Cinema. Avid is now offering simultaneous tracking of both cameras. You can work on either one or see them displayed together, one over the other.
• Keyframeable Color Correction. You’ll finally be able to ramp corrections within a shot.
• Fluid Stabilizer. A new, more intelligent motion tracker.
• Media Composer and Pro Tools on the same workstation. You won’t be able to run them at the same time, but you can put them on the same CPU without problems.
• 12 Channels of audio I/O via HD-SDI.
• Simultaneous output of SD and HD. In Symphony, with frame accuracy.
• Audio Improvements. The ability to set clip gain on import, and to change clip gain on a group of clips all at once, which should save a lot of keystrokes for some people. And the inclusion of several new AudioSuite plug-ins.
• Improvements to the Timecode Burn-In Tool. You’ll now be able to display the contents of any bin column, live over video, without rendering. Clipname, ink number, audio timecode, whatever you like.

That represents a whole lotta work for Avid’s engineers and I applaud them for it. It modernizes the application in some important ways. Dumping the dongle is a big win in my book. The little thing is a hassle and I’m always afraid of losing it. AMA is a big win for people in documentaries and reality TV, and over time it will probably affect all of us. The same is true of the new tools for 3D — you probably don’t need it now, but you might in the future. The Fluid Stabilizer and keyframable color correction are nice features that I’ll be happy to use from time to time.

For details, see Avid’s press release, or the Media Composer product pages. Strangely, the home page just offers a small link to the press release.