Brian Mulligan, writing for PremiumBeat.com, has been listening to the many podcasts now covering new media and post production and has given his highest rating to Kanen Flowers’ “That Post Show.” I’m proud to be a participant. A new show just went live, featuring me and Mark Spencer from Ripple Training. If you’re looking for some thoughtful dialog about the current state of post production, check it out at iTunes.
Avid Agility — 3rd Edition — Available Now
Posted July 18, 2012 by SteveCategories: Avid, Avid Agility
Today, I’m excited to announce the release of the third edition of my book, Avid Agility. This version is bigger than ever, with almost 50 pages of new material, lots of important new tips and a brand new chapter covering Script Integration and ScriptSync. It now focuses on Media Composer 6, and all illustrations reflect Avid’s new design.
If you’re looking for ways to make the most out of MC6, you need this book. The reviews for the second edition were stellar. Newbies have raved about how it clearly and succinctly explains difficult concepts, and long-time Avid editors have discovered crucial shortcuts that they were unaware of. Many people have told me that it has changed the way they edit. The second edition is in use all over the world by prominent editors and at major film schools.
Here’s a sample of recent reviews (details here).
- Post Magazine: “Like having a seasoned pro sitting next to you, revealing his trade secrets. Avid Agility will make you a better editor, guaranteed.”
- Editors Guild Magazine: “Very much a definitive book about the Media Composer.”
- Lawrence Jordan: “The quickest path to becoming a Media Composer Jedi Master.”
- Norman Hollyn (USC): “An amazing work — for both new and old Media Composer users.”
You can buy Avid Agility today from CreateSpace. It will be available from Amazon in a few days, along with a new Kindle version. I encourage you to take a look at it. No matter how much you know about Media Composer, I’ll wager that it will help you work faster and with more facility.
To make it easy for early adopters to take the plunge I’m offering a 20% discount through CreateSpace. Just enter this code when you check out: HGDQXDTN. Standard shipping is inexpensive and will get you the book in about a week.
I hope you like the new edition, and I’m eager to hear your feedback. Add your comments to this post or write me directly at steve@splicenow.com
Avid Sells Its Consumer Divisions
Posted July 2, 2012 by SteveCategories: Avid
In a press release today, Avid announced the sale its consumer divisions along with a restructuring that together will result in a 20% staff reduction, and an intensified focus on professional markets. Consumer video (ie. Pinnacle) was sold to Corel and consumer audio (m-Audio) was sold to Akai. The consumer divisions were only responsible for about 13% of the company’s total revenues, but Avid’s stock rose more than 5% on the news. This couldn’t have been an easy decision for Avid management, and I hope that everybody who was let go finds new work quickly.
New Book for Assistant Editors
Posted June 18, 2012 by SteveCategories: Avid, Editors and Assistants, Workflow
Jonathan Moser has posted a stellar review of the new book “The Assistant Editor’s Handbook” for Post Magazine. Written by Kyra Coffie, the book seems to cover just about anything you might want to know if you’re looking for a job as an assistant editor in an Avid-based editing room. Check out Moser’s review on the Post Magazine site, or take a look at the book at Amazon. You can learn more about it and download a free chapter at Coffie’s site.
Apple Gives and Takes Away
Posted June 11, 2012 by SteveCategories: Apple, Avid
Those looking for a better Mac Pro at WWDC were likely disappointed today. Apple released a modestly refreshed model with faster, 4-core and 6-core processors, but without USB3, Thunderbolt, or the new Ivy Bridge CPUs. Macbook Pros were updated with Ivy Bridge, Nvidia graphics (in the 15″ models), Thunderbolt and USB3 and continue to include Firewire 800 and Ethernet. The top of the line machine is now a 15″ model with a retina display, no optical drive, 256 GB of SSD storage, but without Firewire and Ethernet. It’s thinner and lighter at just 4.5 pounds. (A Thunderbolt to Gig-E adapter is available now and a Thunderbolt to Firewire-800 adapter is promised for next month.) The company now no longer sells a 17″ laptop. The Macbook Air line got upgraded with Ivy Bridge chips and USB3, along with faster speeds, faster SSD drives and lower price tags.
For more about the Mac Pro check out this piece at ArsTechnica. Additional coverage is available on their Infinite Loop page. Macintouch’s summary of the keynote is here. For prices and marketing videos, check out the Apple site or the Apple store.
Mac Pro to Resurface at WWDC
Posted June 6, 2012 by SteveCategories: Apple, Avid
Posts have appeared on several rumor sites describing Apple’s expected hardware announcements at the World Wide Developer Conference next week. All the models will presumably sport USB3 ports, allowing us to use inexpensive USB3 drives at full speed. And a new Mac Pro will apparently be part of the lineup. This is welcome news for those of us who prefer to do our editing on Mac-based systems. Despite Tim Cook’s belief that we are now living in a post-PC world, if Apple had let the Mac Pro line lapse permanently, the professional content creation world would have probably begun a slow and inexorable march to Windows. New Macbook Pros are said to be thinner and lighter, with Intel’s Ivy Bridge chipsets, retina displays, no optical drives, and perhaps missing Ethernet and Firewire ports (yes, you read that right). We may also see some models with NVidia GPUs, which could improve real-time performance for editing and effects applications.
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