Video Editing Basics with Media Composer | First For Media Composer | First 2020.x Software Avid Technology, Inc. Copyright and Disclaimer Published by Rowman & Littlefield An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowman.com 6 Tinworth Street, London SE11 5AL, United Kingdom Copyright © 2021 by Avid Technology, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available ISBN 978-1-5381-4382-7 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-5381-4383-4 (e-book) The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences— Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America The media provided with this book, and any accompanying course material, is to be used only to complete the exercises and projects contained herein. Rights are not granted to use the footage/sound materials in any commercial or non-commercial production or video. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Trademarks Avid, the Avid logo, Avid Everywhere, Media Composer, Pro Tools, Avid NEXIS, MediaCentral, iNEWS, AirSpeed®, Sibelius, Avid VENUE, FastServe, and Maestro, and all related product names and logos, are registered or unregistered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. The Interplay name is used with the permission of the Interplay Entertainment Corp., which bears no responsibility for Avid products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For a full list of Avid trademarks, see: http://www.avid.com/US/about-avid/legal-notices/trademarks PremiumBeat License Statement The PremiumBeat music and sound effects included are licensed for use in the context of this Avid training only. If you wish to use the music or sound effects in other projects or applications, additional licensing must be purchased on PremiumBeat.com. Unlicensed use is unlawful and prohibited. The sale or distribution of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchase this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as “unsold and destroyed.” Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this “stripped” book. About Avid Avid delivers the most open and efficient media platform, connecting content creation with collaboration, asset protection, distribution, and consumption. Avid’s preeminent customer community uses Avid’s comprehensive tools and workflow solutions to create, distribute and monetize the most watched, loved and listened to media in the world—from prestigious and award-winning feature films to popular television shows, news programs and televised sporting events, and celebrated music recordings and live concerts. With the most flexible deployment and pricing options, Avid’s industry-leading solutions include For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com, connect with Avid on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, or subscribe to Avid Blogs. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Avid Learning Services would like to recognize the following contributors for the development of this book: Brad McCrystal, Bryan Castle, Jr., and Andy Hagerman. We would also like to recognize the immeasurable contributions of the worldwide community of Avid Certified Instructors for their ongoing suggestions and comments, based on their experience in the classroom and their professional expertise, which have resulted in the continued improvement of Avid’s curriculum. About the Author Brad McCrystal began his television career in 1975 as an Operator Trainee with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Color had just been introduced and the first-generation B&W quad format videotape machines were replaced by new colour VTR’s. While color was an obvious improvement, the new machines were equipped with perhaps a more revolutionary innovation. They introduced electronic control and editing to the videotape department. For a 3-year period in the early 1980’s, Brad moved to a production house where he learned the craft of electronic offline/online editing, a skill that equipped him for the television industry’s rapid transition from film to electronic postproduction. Back at the ABC, Brad began cutting documentaries on the DVision, an early non-linear system. By the late 1990’s Brad had trained on Avid’s Media Composer and became an Avid Certified Instructor. As the ABC transitioned completely away from linear tape-to-tape editing, he travelled to various ABC centers around the country training News and Production editors in Media Composer. Brad continued as a Senior Editor at the ABC, working on many of the broadcaster’s major documentary series. In 2009 he took up an appointment as Adjunct Teaching Fellow at Bond University on Queensland’s Gold Coast. Within the University’s Faculty of Society and Design he teaches film students the craft of editing using Avid’s Media Composer. Brad also continues as a freelance editor and instructor. ABOUT THE MEDIA Avid Learning Services would like to thank our partners for generously providing the media, music, and sound effects used in this course. EditStock In proud partnership with Avid, EditStock.com provided much of the footage in this course. Schools have the option to upgrade their footage packages, gaining the following features: • Un-watermarked footage • Usage rights for student demo reels • Additional footage for every project • Lined scripts and music • Higher resolutions such as ProRes and RED EditStock, footage worth Editing. For more information, visit http://www.editstock.com. PremiumBeat.com PremiumBeat.com is a curated royalty-free music website that provides high-quality tracks and sound effects for use in new and traditional media projects. The PremiumBeat.com library is sourced from the world’s leading producers with exclusive, pre-cleared music. This allows for a smooth licensing experience on popular video- sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo. With thousands of handpicked tracks in more than 30 styles, PremiumBeat.com music is ideal for online videos, mobile apps, television, radio, feature films, and other professional applications. Be sure to also check out the PremiumBeat.com blog for the latest news and tutorials on production and post-production. For more information, visit http://www.premiumbeat.com. CONTENTS Lesson 1: Introduction to Media Composer | First ..................................................1 About the Media Composer | First software ..............................................................................................1 About This Book ....................................................................................................................................................1 System Requirements ..........................................................................................................................................1 Accessing and Installing the Media Composer | First Software .........................................................2 Course Media .........................................................................................................................................................3 Creating a YouTube Account ..........................................................................................................................4 Becoming Avid Certified ...................................................................................................................................5 Avid Certified. Real skills. Proven. .................................................................................................................6 Exercise 1 ......................................................................................................................................7 Lesson 2: A Quick Start Guide ..................................................................................9 Launching Media Composer| First ...............................................................................................................10 Opening a Project ...............................................................................................................................................11 The Interface ........................................................................................................................................................12 Playing Media .......................................................................................................................................................18 Review/Discussion Questions ......................................................................................................................22 Exercise 2 ...................................................................................................................................23 Lesson 3: Getting Organized ..................................................................................25 Creating a new project ....................................................................................................................................26 The Bins ................................................................................................................................................................26 Inputting Media ..................................................................................................................................................32 Saving a Project .................................................................................................................................................35 Review/Discussion Questions ......................................................................................................................36 Exercise 3 ...................................................................................................................................37 viii Contents Lesson 4: Ingest ........................................................................................................39 Getting Started .................................................................................................................................................40 How to Ingest Video Clips ............................................................................................................................40 Ingesting Audio Media ....................................................................................................................................49 Ingesting from Camera Cards ......................................................................................................................54 Media Management ..........................................................................................................................................56 Review/Discussion Questions  .....................................................................................................................59 Exercise 4 ..................................................................................................................................60 Lesson 5: Drag and Drop Editing ...........................................................................63 Deciding Which Part of a Clip to Use ........................................................................................................64 Getting Started ..................................................................................................................................................64 Performing the First Edit ................................................................................................................................66 Overwriting a Clip Onto the Timeline ........................................................................................................68 Splicing a Shot Onto the Timeline ..............................................................................................................69 Replacing a Shot in the Timeline .................................................................................................................70 Adding Voice Over ...........................................................................................................................................72 Review/Discussion Questions ......................................................................................................................73 Exercise 5 ...................................................................................................................................74 Lesson 6: Refining the Sequence ...........................................................................77 Moving Segments in the Timeline ...............................................................................................................78 Deleting Segments From the Timeline Using Extract/Splice-in .....................................................84 Automatic Selection of Segment Modes .................................................................................................86 Review/Discussion Questions ......................................................................................................................87 Exercise 6 ..................................................................................................................................88 Lesson 7: Music and Audio .......................................................................................91 Locating Audio Cues .......................................................................................................................................92 Adjusting Audio in the Sequence ...............................................................................................................95 Review/Discussion Questions ....................................................................................................................100 Exercise 7 ..................................................................................................................................101 Contents ix Lesson 8: Introduction to Transition Effects ...................................................... 105 Creating Visual Transition Effects .............................................................................................................106 Accessing effects from the Effects Palette .............................................................................................113 Modifying Effects in the Effect Editor ......................................................................................................114 Review/Discussion Questions .....................................................................................................................119 Exercise 8 .................................................................................................................................120 Lesson 9: Using 3-Point Editing .............................................................................121 Building Your Sequence with Splice-In ....................................................................................................122 Editing with Overwrite ...................................................................................................................................125 Removing Material From a Sequence .....................................................................................................126 Review/Discussion Questions ....................................................................................................................129 Exercise 9 .................................................................................................................................130 Lesson 10: Using Multiple Tracks ..........................................................................133 Overview .............................................................................................................................................................134 Working with Tracks .......................................................................................................................................135 Review/Discussion Questions ....................................................................................................................144 Exercise 10 ...............................................................................................................................145 Lesson 11: Assembling a Dialogue Scene .............................................................147 The Unscripted Documentary ....................................................................................................................148 The Scripted Drama .......................................................................................................................................148 Review/Discussion Questions ....................................................................................................................158 Exercise 11 .................................................................................................................................159 Lesson 12: Trimming Dialogue Scenes ................................................................. 161 Understanding Trim ........................................................................................................................................162 Using Overwrite Trim to Clean up Audio ...............................................................................................169 Using Ripple Trim to Adjust Pacing .........................................................................................................170 Creating Split Edits ..........................................................................................................................................172 Maintaining Sync ..............................................................................................................................................173