Death of the Dongle

Avid Introduces Media Composer, Symphony v3.5

Avid Technology says it has addressed customer requests for native support of the Sony XDCam format, a ground breaking 3D Stereoscopic workflow and the “death of the dongle,” with the release of Avid Media Composer and Symphony v3.5.

In addition to an innovative new architecture designed to make these Avid solutions more open, the latest version of the software delivers a variety of new features that enable customers to take advantage of including more streamlined and efficient HD audio and video workflows; a number of offline editorial effects enhancements like Keyframeable Color Correction and a new Fluid Stabilizer.

“This new release of Media Composer will greatly improve the speed and efficiency of our workflow here at Discovery," says Mark Miller, producer/director at Discovery Channel Canada’s West Coast office “By having the ability to natively ingest in the field, my producers, directors, and editors can start working with the media right away, and not waste time traveling back to the office to get a cut completed. Also, the Keyframeable Color Correction features are invaluable. We've been able to save a lot of time and money in the production process by being able to make color changes on the fly in run-and-gun situations where lighting can change and affect color over the course of a single shot. Previously, that could only be fixed in the online color correction."
 

Editor Michael Tronick and assistant editor Aaron Brock have worked on a number of 3D films including the newly released Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, and are very excited about the possibilities of Avid's Stereoscopic capabilities. “It would be so useful to see how the 2D material I am cutting would translate to 3D and be able to show that to the director on the spot, while making changes on the fly. Avid has created the most innovative 3D workflow I’ve seen,” Tronick says.
 

Brock estimates that the benefits of using Media Composer 3D capabilities for offline editorial will save thousands of dollars. “If we could use this new feature, it would save the studio an unbelievable amount of money. Instead of having the online system running for five months straight, we could just conform complete reels for full screenings like on a normal feature. It would be much more efficient than doing conforms on a daily basis.” 
 


Avid Media Composer and Symphony v3.5 are available now.  

For a complete list of new features, supported devices and operating systems, visit: Avid film and video solutions.

Avid is also offering a 14-day trial of the new Media Composer software.

Avid www.avid.com