Avid Editing, Third Edition: A Guide for Beginning and Intermediate Users [Paperback]

Sam Kauffmann (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0240808169 | ISBN-13: 978-0240808161 | Publication Date: March 17, 2006 | Edition: 3

Avid Editing is a comprehensive guide covering Avid Xpress Pro, XPress Pro HD, and Xpress DV. Due to the similarity of Avid's interface across product lines, it is also relevant for Media Composer and other systems. Suitable for beginning editors or experienced editors new to the Avid, the book provides step-by-step instructions for hundreds of editing tasks in jargon-free terms. The chapters guide you through an editing project, while the accompanying DVD provides narrative footage to download for immediate, hands-on practice. The book can be read and studied at home, or while sitting in front of an Avid, following the book's step-by-step instructions.

More than a software manual, this book delves into general editing techniques, principles, and pitfalls. The author is an experienced teacher who will help you master the Avid as well as improve your overall editing skills.

This edition covers working with HD, the 16:9 widescreen, and the powerful Script Integration tool. In addition, there's new coverage of the issues facing indie filmmaker who is trying to decide how to go from the DV stage (shooting on mini-DV or DVCAM formats) to theatrical distribution. As well, there is new material on using Avid in PAL regions.

* Focuses on Avid Xpress Pro, Xpress Pro HD, Xpress DV, and Media Composer but relevant to all Avid systems
* Companion DVD includes footage to edit to provide the hands-on experience you need
* Teaches HD, HDV, and 24P workflows
* Over 500 images and screen captures clearly illustrate principles

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The guide is for beginner and intermediate users who wish to learn to use Avid's editing systems. The book is a textbook, workbook, and user manual rolled into one...The book is aimed at teaching the user so he can begin editing as quickly as possible...This clearly written book provides effective exercises throughout to help users learn the basics of Avid editing and can also be helpful to those who are intermediate users." - HiTech Review, July/Aug. 2006

"Avid Editing is a most comprehensive Avid guide, covering the second act of the digital revolution: the HD, HDV and 24P workflow. An important tool for the new and old generation of Avid editors." Film Ireland July/Aug. 2006

Book Description

The last edition sold over 10,000 copies!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 3 edition (March 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240808169
• ISBN-13: 978-0240808161
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #435,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sam Kauffmann was recently named a Guggenheim Fellow in Creative Arts--Film. He is a professor at Boston University, where he teaches film production and editing. His most recent film, Massacre at Murambi, was aired on the PBS series P.O.V. It won top prizes and screened at festivals all over the world, including the Seattle International Film Festival, Slamdance, Media That Matters, and the African World Documentary Film Festival. In 2006, he was selected as a Senior Fulbright Specialist and taught video production at the National University of Rwanda. In 2004, he was a Fulbright Scholar, teaching production at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Avid Editing: A Guide for Beginning and Intermediate Users, from Focal Press, has recently been translated into Spanish, Russian and Chinese editions. His films have been screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The White House and aired on network television, PBS, and local stations throughout America.

For more information, visit the website: www.samkauffmann.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing - A must buy, May 17, 2006

By 

kstycr - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avid Editing, Third Edition: A Guide for Beginning and Intermediate Users (Paperback)

I came across this book when I looked up Avid and bought it immediately. I had read all of the previous edition reviews before I purchased this book and bought it without reservation.I really felt like I grasped the concepts for each chapter before moving on. Mr. Kauffmann not only shows you the tools in the AVID system, but with every tool gives you the reason and purpose behind it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kauffmann combines straightforward style and cutting edge technology, May 31, 2006

By 

Ashley Kennedy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Avid Editing, Third Edition: A Guide for Beginning and Intermediate Users (Paperback)

Sam Kauffmann's third edition of his Avid Editing textbook is the culmination of his usual down-to-earth writing style and the most up-to-date Avid technology.

As the capabilities of digital editing continue to grow, Kauffmann accommodates these changes by incorporating some often-difficult concepts with very straightforward explanations and examples. In the past year, I have worked with both 24p and HD (720p), but sometimes I didn't fully comprehend Avid's role in dealing with each of these formats. Kauffmann has added several chapters to address issues like these--always with comprehensive clarity and unambiguous language (something that other software guides often lack). He also makes helpful revisions within pre-existing chapters to encompass changing software and hardware topics.

Kauffmann's up-to-date books have proven to be a great source of support and education for me for many years. Additionally, for the past year, I have had the chance to take Kauffmann's advanced digital editing course, as well as teach under him in several filmmaking and editing courses. I can therefore vouch that his innate ability to explain difficult concepts originates straight from the source; that is, reading his book is as close to being in the classroom with him as humanly possible.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Avid Editing a wonderful and necessary tool, September 14, 2006

By 

J. A. Grove (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Avid Editing, Third Edition: A Guide for Beginning and Intermediate Users (Paperback)

Avid Editing has been a useful tool for me both as a student and as a professional. As a film student, I first picked up Sam Kauffmann's second edition in a production class. Most of us had never touched an Avid before, and yet by the end of the semester, using Kauffmann's text as a go-to guide, my classmates and I were producing dynamic and adeptly edited pieces. Not only does the book provide simple exercises for the reader to try, it also includes a DVD with actual footage to work with. Avid Editing is carefully organized for the beginning editor, but I also use it as a reference now that I am out of college, working as an assistant editor. This new third edition not only expounds upon all the steps, shortcuts and settings covered in the previous editions, but also dedicates entire chapters to editing with 24p and HD footage, making this book invaluable to editors entering the professional world. I strongly recommend this guide for anyone who seeks to teach, learn, or refresh his or her memory.