This IS the Avid L2: Re: [Avid-L2] My take on NAB

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Re: [Avid-L2] My take on NAB

In 2014 I think the reality is that edit systems are much like word processors. You might havens preference for the software you know best but any of them get the job done.

In that reality avid and smoke are the odd ones out. Yes they both have unique features and both have more power in some regards but if you are hacking together a school project ;or 99% of tv for that matter) it makes zero difference which one you use.

Microsoft has taken a beating from free open office tools so it is in our sphere, it's hard to compete with free. I expect everyone to be cutting in resolve in the very near future. It will take FEATURES to win mindshare.

Autodesk has reshuffled the deck on smoke to have another go by changing to a subscription model and a new even simpler version of smoke in the future but in a world where premiere is free (everyone has to get photoshop anyway) resolve is free, and lightworks is free, even fcpx starts to look like an expensive luxury item.

So I think no matter what avid or Autodesk does they can kiss the education market goodbye.

In simple terms editing used to be a hard specialized job for clients that had respect for the craft skills it entailed, now it's just seen as shuffling pictures on a laptop. Not a bad thing, everyone CAN edit just as everyone can use a 4k camera for 1000 bucks. And the longer they do it the better they will get. I started editing at 10 or so on a couple of umatics my son started at 8 on mcomposer 1000, the next generation are starting at 5 in iMovie. It's actually pretty awesome. But don't expect people to use expensive software that isn't intuitive.

To win you have to offer something more. I've said it before FEATURES sell boxes. Version handling, media organization, phrase find etc are useful but not exciting. Effects are exciting. Bundles plugins - all of them and add 200 bucks to the cost of every media composer and you'll attract the kids. Integrate fusion as a tab in the effects editor and you'll attract the kids. Don't and hitfilm wins.

Shake and nuke both attracted people primarily because of the bundled keyers, there's no excuse to not have primatte key light and advantedge as standard in every media composer.

If you really want to win do an apple and buy those companies and drop support for all other host applications :)

Best regards

Mike

On 24 Apr, 2014, at 12:45 am, Ronald Loneker <rloneker@cse.edu> wrote:

We are just starting to get some of our student employees using MC in my department at my institution - I've asked my staff to start training them to use MC so they can help initially as assistant editors and later editing projects fully themselves. Some of these students are in our Communication major so hopefully this will start to grow the students' use here.

I agree that the penetration level of student knowledge of Avid MC coming into here from high schools is low. If students (or some candidates for staff positions in recent years) are aware of Avid, they know more Avid Studio and not Avid Media Composer.

And regarding someone from Avid ever visiting us, that's never happened.

Ron Loneker, Jr.
Director of Media Services
College of Saint Elizabeth
Mahoney Library
2 Convent Road
Morristown, NJ 07960

Phone: 973-290-4229

On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 8:18 PM, Scott Carmichael <sacarmic@indiana.edu> wrote:

It has been several years since I've had any students that have ever heard of AVID before they took my class. Which makes me a little sad. We now use FCPX & Premiere. Our University signed a contract with adobe so that every student gets the full CS for free while they are in school, plus the university has a blanket license to install their products on any machine in campus. It is tough for us to recommend buying software when they have access to a pretty decent editor for free. We are using a lot of FCPX because. OF the three it impresses me the most for what way it is growing. Plus a LOT of students are starting to use it in high school, which helps us by not having to spend so much time teach the basic operation of the app. We can just right into concepts and theory.

Our professional production department still uses MC, but that is about it. We get a rep in every 2-3 years talking about how serious they are but that is about it. I've heard that serious about education talk many times before….

Scott

On Apr 18, 2014, at 7:20 AM, switthaus@mac.com wrote:

Same here, Roger. And they all (200) have FCPX and a few Premiere. Not one has Media Composer. Granted, we are not a film/journalism school, but a graduate advertising program. But still. Not one. How does Avid get back into the conversation with these folks and schools like ours that are doing visual projects every day, usually more complex than the average 1:15 minute news story?