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How to build an #Avid Workflow for Independent Film Production

So for a while now, Avid Technology was the unchallenged leader in creative cinema production.  Along came Final Cut Pro and a lot of folks, especially independent producers, found that the less expensive software and open hardware packages available.  I've even heard of educators making a generalization about FCP being the future of film post production.

In my humble opinion, this is a total miss and dangerous for the next generation of filmmakers.

First of all, in the last several years, Avid has made major leaps in innovation from the original Avid Media Composer system.  The development of the software only editions of Media Composer combined with a massive price drop has helped continue to make Avid the best solution for nearly all production models.  In addition, Avid comes with "script sync" and a back-end media management model that has been tested and developed for over 20 years.  Avid AMA continues to expand to use new tapeless formats natively, like P2, XDCam, and I've even done some stuff with the new Canon cameras.  They're awesome.

The good news is that this year Avid was the major tool of choice for the success of a large portion of films being featured at festivals.  The high end jobs are still on Avid worldwide wide, meaning that art high schools and Universities need to take note.  The original trim tool still trumps FCP, innovations on collaboration including Avid Unity, and the rock solid platform gives independent editors and producers an edge through a great product.

And, if you look at the recent speed of the innovation and new quality feature releases coming from the company (Xpress Pro, MC 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0), Avid is no doubt the future of post production at this rate.

So how does an independent production get their hands on an Avid?

It's easy, here's some tips

First, map your workflow.  I literally draw it in word or pages with boxes and sometimes web links which later can appear in PDFs for producers.  You can connect charts to databases with financial data to help figure out the budget.  With indies, every penny counts and you need to be able to build the workflow perfectly.

Second, you get into the least expensive system the software can handle.  This can be as small as a certified laptop, iMac or a PC.  In fact, I've edited multiple features running Avid on a Mac Book Pro laptop.  It's fast, it's cake to use, it's not expensive.  Many producers are surprised when I tell them that Avid can run on a laptop.  It's doesn't just run, it screams.  You can easily hook up a second monitor and some basic speakers and boom you're editing on location.

Third, you get into the software which only runs around $2500 and a special note for students/educators, you can be running the software right now for only $299.  It's a great way to learn before your first professional project.  Now the bean counters out there are reading this saying, but Final Cut is less than a grand.  The deal is, that between time spent on managing metadata on thousands of clips, vfx, and audio file, interfacing with your mix house (which most likely is Pro-Tools, an Avid company), handling i/o for your visual effects, and perfectly clean edls with your DI (if you send out), Avid will save you massive amounts of money in the long run through labor and efficiency.  It's worth every penny, especially on features.  You can also rent, but these days, most editors have the latest and greatest at their finger tips and will cut you a deal, or you can buy a workstation for yourself and rent it to them.  Another note: Avid is available to help; in my experience over the last several years, they have been very supportive of Independent Filmmaking and keep an open line of communication with their customers which makes life a lot easier.  They're all over their forums and get back to you when you need support or advice.

Fourth, one of the biggest concerns for producers is the ingest workflow.  Time is money and so deck rentals, tape costs, dubs, and new technology can be scary.  A lot of FCP uses will say, "I can get a AJA card for super cheap".  I say, if you're dealing with expensive HD-SR decks on set where you need an AJA board to manage your media, grab a low cost XDCam or P2 recorder and attach it into your workflow.  Your ingest workflow will go tapeless and be faster then digitizing in realtime, and since Avid loves working with P2 and XDCam, you'll find you save a great deal of and money by cutting time ingesting and spending more time editing.  The cost saving can go to color correction where the audience experiences it on the screen.  You can also downconvert on set to a firewire compatible less expensive NTSC device and save money by not needing any extra hardware.

Fifth, combine Avid with new technology for digital dailies, web-based cut reviews, and digital delivery.  The reason is that it'll save you on hardware costs, dvds, and tape stock.  The more that reviews are done in a green way, the more money you'll save.  This should be a part of your workflow when you chart it.  Ultimately, you're using the Avid to make creative decisions and collaborate.  There are awesome low-cost services like dropbox.com or xprove.com that help with this collaboration.  You can program an Avid to export the appropriate media for your clients/producers/distributors and automate updates for them to pull the materials directly onto their computers for review.  It's an amazing way to work and allows you to spend more time on location, spend more time editing with precision, and less time rendering or ingesting.

Other great independent tricks and benefits...

World-wide collaboration with industry's most acclaimed editors-  I've had editors approach me from international locations needing help on their project and vise-versa.  We mailed a copy of the dailies or sent files over the net, then we emailed Avid bins back and forth to help get their edit done.  Since Avid bins live independently from your project, it's easier to manage in this sort of collaboration.  If someone recorded a temp line, Avid's Media Management made finding the files easy, and iChat, Dropbox, or FTP did the trick.  Files can be sent at the speed of light around the globe.  I even did one project with a friend while I was traveling.  You can make a change at an airport and the collaborator has the revision almost immediately.

Clean EDL's - Speed changes, pull-down and cadence, precision edits always come out perfect via Avid.  I did a project where specific frames were selected for an action sequence and edited one frame at a time.  There is no doubt that sending a clean edit decision list to a conform facilities comes in handy and when you're editing, you want to know that the frames you chose are the same one's the audience sees, every time.  Avid has been doing this for 20+ years and plays well with others.

Use Quicktime Reference for faster delivery - Avid has a function called "export Quicktime reference".  Basically you export the quicktime reference at the native resolution which links to your Avid media or linked files from AMA.  It's real fast.  From their you can use quicktime pro or another app to re-compress for the web, digital delivery, or use the file to burn a DVD.  On a Mac, those processes can happen in the background while you continue your work editing.  It's a huge time and money saver.

Well that's all for now.  Look forward to hearing your thoughts.  And please let me know if I can help any of you on your projects.  Always helps to have someone to bounce workflow ideas off.

-D

Top Ten Reasons Avid Beats Final Cut Pro

I just left an event in Burbank hosted by Key Code Media and Avid where they showcased the new Avid Media Composer 4.0 software.

It's amazing!  With a ton of new features but for now, here's my list:

TOP TEN REASONS AVID BEATS FINAL CUT PRO...

1. Avid's AMA allows for Real-Time linking of XDCam and P2 workflows.  No transcoding needed so you save time and MONEY on the digitizing/assistant editor side.  If you save one week of work time ($1500) you'll save enough money to rationalize the difference in purchase price between a Media Composer 4.0 software ($2495.00) and FCP studio ($999.00).  Imagine saving multiple WEEKS on a large project because your workflow is cleaner and faster.  And if you're a student Avid only runs you $295!

2. The new Avid system allows for multiple frame rates in a single timeline, in Real-Time.  Not only that, you can fix and adjust cadence which is a huge deal.  Why?  Normally you'd have to rent or purchase a $10,000 frame rate converter or go to a dub house, run it through a software solution, or take your reel to a facility.  Now you can do it from home and it looks amazing.

3. Script Sync!  This tool allows for scripted editors or reality/documentary teams to work from transcripts or scripts and edit using voice recognition.  It makes assistant editor life easier, which equals faster, and then accelerates the edit.  This tool allows for a searchable script and saves time during editing by finding materials using text searches.  Also helps on dialogue editing because every line is at your fingertips.

4. EDLs for multiple frame rate timelines.  Avid has had EDLs down for years but now you can export the timeline with frame rate adjustments.

5. 3D - Avid allows for multiple options for 3D editors.  Side by side, above and below, left eye, right eye, or 3d variants like checkerboard, anaglyph.

6. Avid Unity - The best networking/media solution out there for editors.  FCP is now approved for use on it too.  Multiple editors working on a single project, multiple bays using the same media to accelerate workflow.

7. Color correction in the system.  FCP requires Color or another application for advanced color work, Avid's is built right inside.

8. Bins and Project are separate in Avid.  If there is a problem with any corruption, each bin is backed up separate from the project.  In FCP, all materials are a part of one file.  Loose this and the whole edit breaks down.

9. Total Synergy through Post, Audio, and VFX - Avid encompasses Media Composer, Digidesign (Protools), M-Audio, Pinnacle, and Sibellius.  In a nutshell, your EDLs work with almost every major editing system in the world, perfectly.  That is if you don't want to finish on a Symphony Nitris or DS (though many users finish broadcast quality in HD right from a laptop).  Your OMFs transfer to Protools for audio mixing easily since it's the same company.  It makes sense.

10.  Avid is for editors, by editors.  The top films and television shows have been edited on Avid.  Everything from Star Trek, to Transformers, to Academy Award Winners like Slumdog Millionaire.  They say editors mature like fine wine.  If that's the case, hiring people with lots of experience will only make your project better, and most of those folks use Avid.

Dead Harvey Interview with yours truly

The website deadharvey.com just published an interview with yours truly about the making of "Splinter"  please check it out and comment!  Lots of detailed post information for those of you who are interested.

Cheers.

-David Michael Maurer

Editing Tip of the Day: Breaking down dailies in Non-Fiction

For the beginning filmmaker, finding the best take can be a reel challenge.  Here's some tips on how to simplify your editorial process.

1. View your dailies and pulls relevant selects.

Start by creating two sequences.  One sequence is for story beats.  The second sequence is for reaction shots.

In your first sequence, pull any language that contains words or actions of conflict, or story set-up.  This could be any behavior that says "No", it could be passive aggressive behavior, this could be dialogue of concern or dissent, this could be bites or interviews that support conflict for the scene.  Also pull any specific emotional moments, crying, shouting, laughter etc.  You'll also need any basic setup and point of view.

In your second scene, pull reaction shots, every reaction shot.  Any shot where a person isn't talking, you'll edit it into this sequence.  You want everything because you'll take this sequence and organize it later by character.  When it comes time for a close-up, you'll go to this sequence and find the absolute best reaction to the moment at hand.  It's a tool box.

2. After you've formed your sequences, start to structure your story.

Every scene requires a beginning, a turn, and an end.  Start your scene by starting us in the middle of the real life action, not the beginning.  If your first sequence contains hours of entrances into a room, and lots of formal "how do you dos", duplicate your sequence and cut them out.  Start the scene someone where the action has already begun.  We the audience are "entering the meeting" late.  Let the people involved state their case, these are opposing views and conflict based behavior which you should have already saved in sequence one.

In non-fiction, you are using your selects to create a "radio cut" initially.  The pictures are almost irrelevant as long as the dialogue we're hearing represents the actual events in an honest and dramatic way, you should be able to turn off the picture track and understand most of the story.  Later, you can fix the picture to be finished, but in the early stages of non-fiction editing, you are writing the story with the audio.

3. Use bites to comment, not direct the story.

A very talented editor and friend of mine once said that the interview bite is the window to the soul of a non-fiction character.  Your first instinct should be to resist the temptation to lead with an interview bite.  If anything, the bite should comment or provide point of view on what is already happening dramatically in the vérité footage.  When the bites lead, there are no surprises.  Use your bites to provide information to what we don't already clearly understand from your documentary footage.  A bite can reveal far more exposition in an interesting way if it is delayed in scene.  Wait for the last possible second to comment on a scene with a bite.  The more you do this, you'll start to notice that you don't really need very many bites to clearly tell the story, and because a great deal of the story is being told through vérité, the audience will be far more actively engaged in your story.  Take a look at the highest rated reality shows on television.  The very top tier networks programs all use this structure.  Their ratings reflect a deeply connected audience based on scenes that reveal vs. guide.

4. Cover for drama.

Once you have structured your narrative properly, your timeline may sound pretty but will likely have picture that looks like a mess.  Look through your second sequence and pull appropriate close-up shots to engage the audience further based on the style of your project.  You'll notice that you likely have some awesome choices for looks, perhaps from other scenes even.  Remember that if a person is outside, they can generally be anywhere and have a close-up that will work.  If a person is in an office building, as long as the clothing matches, you can use a shot from any office building, anywhere during production, a white wall is a white wall is a white wall, offices all look the same to the general audience member.  Find the absolute best moment/reaction based on your radio cut, use this opportunity to enhance your scene.  It's not just about covering bad edits.  Reactions can make the difference between and average audience experience and something unforgettable.  This part of the process is really something that comes from the world of traditional scripted filmmaking.  You can tell so much about a character through their eyes and reactions.  You have the power in editorial to focus your characters and clearly demonstrate their desires, even with just a look.  It's magic when it all works together.

5. Polish, polish, polish.

In non-fiction, the images and sound were not necessarily shot to work together in a natural way.  When you're done with your story structure and reaction pass, go into your sequence and finish it out.  Make sure you've filled your audio with room tone.  Pan your audio tracks as needed, don't just let the editing system randomly drop the sound in for you, it's never right.  Look out for eye blinks (if you don't know what I'm referring to, you should read Walter Murch's book "In the Blink of an Eye").  The polish in the offline editorial makes all of the difference in the world.

Hope that helps.  Please comment or ask questions if you'd like.

5 Scene Tips for Screenwriters

Here's today's 5 tips for screenwriters on scene structure.  When rewriting your scenes, ask yourself the following questions...

1. What is this scene about?

When two people have a conflict in real life, they're rarely fighting about what they're actually talking about.  Are your characters fighting for power?  Respect?  Are they trying to convince someone of something?  Are they seeking approval?  Or lust or love?  Seduction or avoidance?  As a screenwriter, if you don't know what the scene is about thematically, think it over.  If you can't find something specific and active, you probably don't have a strong scene.  Try rewriting through a simple theme and see how a scene changes.  You might discover something stronger.

2. What do the characters want?

Characters should have clear, simple, opposing desires.  That's the basis of conflict for a screenwriter.  They don't have to be earth shattering, just opposing.  Characters who know each other well like family members or close friends likely have expectations for how the other behaves.  Those expectations can be used to create conflict.  So and so "always" does this.  Those expectations can be debunked for a nice surprise.  They can feed a conflict if one character does what they always do.  If characters have clear wants, clear desires, singular desires, they fight for their position based on that and you have a good scene.  If not, you should figure out what they want and rewrite to sharpen these positions.  Without it, your scene will likely be quite flat.

3. What is the "turn"?

If two characters go into a scene expecting something, when we leave the scene something should change for them.  A good scene starts one way, and exits exactly opposite.  Take a simple example, Johnny wants to buy milk for his kid but he has no money.  Carol has money but in the past, Johnny has borrowed from her and spent it on a bad gambling habit.  Johnny expects to get money from Carol since she's been helpful in the past, Carol expects to Johnny to ask, perhaps lie and say no.  If the scene is written from Johnny's perspective the turn could be Carol saying no; he expects her to say yes, she says no.  If it's written from Carol's perspective, Johnny would need to ask, Carol likely says no, but Johnny convinces her- the turn would be the moment she accepts his plea and hands him the money.  EVERY SCENE REQUIRES A TURN.  If you don't have a solid turn, it is not a scene.  It's an idea, a moment, a slice of life.  It's not a scene.  You the screenwriter must have a turn, or create a turn in every scene.  Even if the turn is as slight as a character changing their perspective, like in a drama, that's enough of a turn to hold up.  You must have a turn in every scene or it's not a scene.  Also remember, we the audience love a good surprise.

4. What does this scene contrast?

In theory, your scenes should stack in contrast, the existing scene could end big, the start of a new scene starts small and quiet or vise versa.  By building contrast, your script will develop peaks and valleys.  The valleys provide relief, the peaks build the tension.  We love the roller-coaster of a great movie.  An action movie might have high level, life or death, peaks and valleys.  A drama might focus its moments on character transitions.  Someone's frustration might build and cause them to act in a way that causes conflict that builds then resolves.  Build contrast between your characters, build contrast between your emotional moments.  It's the pulse of your movies.  The beat keeps us engaged.

5. Is it a duplicate?

Look at your scenes, is this scene a duplicate scene?  Do you have two scenes about convincing someone to do something?  It's extremely common.  Every scene must be unique and necessary.  If there is a duplicate scene or a similar scene in your script, you must cut one of them out.  When I say duplicate, I don't mean literally duplicate.  A duplicate scene could have completely different characters involved, in a different location, saying different things, but if the scenes thematically are similar, the audience will feel it and get bored.  A lot of folks can't put their finger on this phenomenon but when you feel it, that's what is happening.  Know what your scenes are about, not what happens in the scene, but thematically what the scenes are about, and what makes them different.  Screenwriters, you must edit out your duplicate scenes or rewrite them to be about something unique to make them necessary and you'll have a stronger script.  If you don't cut them out on the page, I promise a good editor will do it in post when large quantities of money have been spend on shooting them.  Cut them out on the page, and you'll have more time making necessary scenes shine in production.

Happy writing.

Avid Releases Software Updates

Avid has releases new Software Updates...

Avid is pleased to announce the immediate availability of the following Customer Patch Releases (CPRs):
Avid® Media Composer® version 2.8.3
Avid NewsCutter® version 6.8.3
Avid Symphony™ version 1.8.3
Avid Xpress® Pro version 5.8.3
These releases are for software-only, Avid Adrenaline™-, Avid Mojo®- and Avid Mojo SDI-based systems running on Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs and PCs.

Customer Patch Releases are available from...

Avid Delivers Ultimate HD Editing Experience With Release

Read up, this is a major release folks and a great time to get into Avid systems, especially for students on the amazing pricepoints they're offering. -Dave

Avid Delivers Ultimate HD Editing Experience With Release
Company responds to customer demand for editing systems that offer greater speed, reliability, price-performance and creative freedom

LAS VEGAS, April 14, 2008 – Avid Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVID) today unveiled a new family of professional digital video editing systems that offer greater speed, responsiveness, reliability and price-performance – delivering an exceptional HD editing experience to media professionals. The new lineup, which includes next-generation versions of Avid® Media Composer® (v3.0), NewsCutter® (v7.0), and Symphony™ (v3.0) software, as well as new hardware configurations, Mojo DX and Nitris® DX, maximizes real-time performance for customers by intelligently using all available computing bandwidth to evenly disperse the processing of video and effects across the entire system. The result is an extremely fast and responsive HD editing experience that provides greater creative freedom and flexibility to end-users.

Avid Unveils "New Thinking" for 2008

Pretty awesome news from Avid Technology. Time to invest in some new gear editors! Keep your ears open...

First phase of multi-tiered campaign includes simplification of product line, new software pricing, updated support services and new online community resources

TEWKSBURY, Mass., March 17, 2008 – Avid Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVID) today announced that its Video division has unveiled “New Thinking” – a customer-focused campaign designed to improve the way the company connects with all of its users and prospects. Shaped by extensive customer feedback, New Thinking underscores the company’s more than 20-year commitment of empowering film and video professionals with tools that enable them to work more efficiently, productively and creatively. The new campaign revolves around four main objectives: increasing the value of Avid’s products, workflows, and services; advancing technical and customer support programs; investing in the community of media professionals; and fostering an open, two-way dialogue with customers. With a wide range of initiatives planned to roll out throughout the year, the company has today announced the following:

TECHNICAL ARTICLE: Digital Post Production Workflow "Four Sheets to the Wind"

TECHNICAL ARTICLE: Digital Post Production Workflow “Four Sheets to the Wind”
By David Michael Maurer
Article Courtesy of Project1982.com
Originally Published on StudioDaily.com

Sundance 2007 Dramatic Competition feature film “Four Sheets to the Wind” is a beautiful story of a family in Oklahoma, dealing with the suicide of their father and finding hope during tragedy. It’s a very simple, intimate story about humanity and Writer/Director Sterlin Harjo’s love letter to home.

When considering a story like this, visual effects, post-production mobility and titling would seem far from anyone’s mind, but it was a huge decision for my department in post. Producers are always looking to lower costs and there was a push to go with Final Cut Pro. I did extensive research, cost analysis, projections and determined that the most cost effective workflow for our production was to use...