The Avid Handbook: Techniques for the Avid Media Composer and Avid Xpress, Third Edition (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: consolidating master clips, file color levels, redigitizing process, Media Composer, Media Tool, Avid Xpress (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Avid Media Composer, Avid Xpress and Avid Symphony are the most widely used nonlinear editing systems by professionals in the film and video industries. Based on his experience teaching countless seminars around the world on the Avid Media Composer, Avid Symphony and Avid Xpress, Steve Bayes has written the most comprehensive manual for nonlinear digital editing on these Avid editing systems. This handbook is now revised throughout to reflect recent upgrades to these systems and the third edition covers Symphony 2.1, Media Composer 9.1 and Avid Xpress 3.1, as well as earlier versions.

Written for the reader who already has a basic knowledge of the editing systems, this book moves beyond an introduction to the professional Avid editing systems and focuses on strategies, techniques, and troubleshooting. The Avid Handbook covers the basics of working with effects, rendering, and graphics and discusses the more abstract issues of workflow and organization of different types of editing projects. The book discusses frequently made mistakes, common technical problems,and how they can be avoided. In addition, there is an in depth explanation of Symphony color correction, 24 p and other new features and efficiencies in the latest software versions from Avid. The Avid Handbook discusses techniques for Windows NT users, including the most complete description of the offline to online workflow using Avid systems.



Includes techniques for using Windows NT with Avid systems
Revised throughout to reflect system upgrades
A guide to strategies, common problems, and techniques while editing nonlinear digital video or film

From the Publisher

Written for the reader who already has a basic knowledge of the editing systems, this book moves beyond an introduction to the Media Composer and Avid Xpress and focuses on strategies, techniques, and troubleshooting. The Avid Handbook covers the basics of working with effects, rendering, and graphics. It also discusses the more abstract issues of workflow and organization of different types of editing projects. The book discusses frequently made mistakes, common technical problems and how they can be avoided. The past two editions of The Avid Handbook have reflected the Mac orientation of Avid's editing systems. In addition to information on Avid systems upgrades, the latest edition examines the cross-platform capabilities afforded by Avid Unity MediaNet Version 1.1, and discusses techniques for Windows NT users, including the transfer of edits that have been performed on Mac

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Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 3 edition (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 024080404X
• ISBN-13: 978-0240804040
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #948,627 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book for clarification & explanation. Poor organization, May 17, 1999

By	[e-mail] "jonedit" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Avid Handbook: Basic and Intermediate Techniques for the Media Composer and the Avid Xpress (Paperback)

This is a great book for the beginner or intermediate Avid user. It may fill in pertinent details for those that are stumbling around and trying to understand concepts about technical issues with the Avid and video.

While this book is a good companion and reference book it IS poorly organized and could improve the general layout. No summaries, few headings and sometimes cursory information on points which need exta-clarification. It presents a large amount of information without a clean and thoughtful approach to breaking that information up and making it digestible.

The handbook, however, is the only book which presents a large amount of information on subjects which concern an Avid editor.

I recommend buying it. I learned some things I didn't know and the beginning/intermediate user could benefit from the information on interface and technical issues

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Authoritative and Up-to-Date Manual on Avid Editing, August 9, 2000

By	Joe Beirne "Joe B." (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an always useful, comprehensive, interestingly opinionated and well-written guide to Avid's industry-dominant editing products. Steve Bayes was a venerated Avid editing instructor and is now one of the people closest to Media Composer/MCX/Symphony's design and their future within the company. Bayes gives insider-quality instruction on the applications themselves as well as good rule-of-thumb advice about the editing process. If you buy one Avid book as an editor make it this one.

Note: I have seen this book prove surprising helpful for long-time Avid editors.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Avid Handbook, March 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Avid Handbook, Techniques for the Avid Media Composer and Avid Xpress (Paperback)

Fanstastic book for a learning AVID user who understands the basics involved in how to make the machine work, but is ready to broaden thier understanding of what it is capable of. Easy to look up or index specific issues, and also up to date.