Hand Cut Films Film/Video Editing and Post-production Services in Vancouver, BC

Once Upon an Avid

'Twas a dark and stormy night. The wind bit violently and howled like wolves. In the thick of the downpour, an ambiguous figure darted through the streets, dodging squealing taxicabs, leaping over swallowing puddles, and glancing over his shoulder every few seconds, watchful of the countless junkies and thugs who own the night in these slums.

He hurried along like a shadow, until he reached an iron gate, so thick it could guard the finest of jewels or sickest of criminals. He fumbled his keys, drawing too much attention from the beggars nearby, and hurried in, slamming the doors behind with a reverberating rattle. Up the stairs he ran, and found a dark, lonely room where he sat himself in front of a strange machine with an ominous glow that only a crazed individual would choose to operate for long hours, days on end. There he found the world of Omni Post, in the heart of Gastown, Vancouver.

I am a tv/film editor, Avid by day, Final Cut Pro by night... actually sometimes I work night shifts on Avid, so it could go either way. When I started at Omni, I hadn't cut on the Avid for about two years. I was looking forward to getting back on that bronco. Oddly just before I reverted, fellow editor Shane Ross went through the same transition and posted about his experience making the switch. I enjoyed his comparisons, switching vicariously at the time. I knew I was a bit rusty, so before starting, I installed Avid Free DV on my system at home, and brushed away all the cobwebs. That really made the difference, and I hit the ground running, working on a lifestyle series called She's Crafty.

For a little background info, I learned Avid in school without prior knowledge of Final Cut Pro, and I really worked hard to learn how to edit quickly and efficiently, to know the system inside and out. When I graduated, I thought I better learn FCP, or have difficulty finding work. It took about 15 minutes to figure out the basics, and within a couple days I felt like I was equally strong on both systems. They are each great in their own right, but Avid is far more unruly when it comes to media management, I find, mainly because all media has to be in one place and file names are in Greek, whereas Final Cut Pro you can keep media separated per project and easily identify files just by looking at them. That's when it's invaluable to have a great Assistant Editor, and that we did!

This is kind of a random entry, so I can't think of any valuable conclusion, but I will say this: love your work, live your life. They go together, but need a separation. I am currently on vacation, and it is so nice to have some time off.