Avid & Media Composer 7 at NAB 2013: What it *really* means to you

Michael Kammes

New features were sparse for Media Composer 7 at NAB this year, but the announcements made do impact quite a few post workflows. Let’s examine a handful of them:

“Reframe” and “Pan and Scan” are synonymous with one big feature in v7 – the ‘handling’ of resolutions above HD. By handling, I mean the scaling and shifting of video frame sizes over HD into a smaller HD frame size. In other words, a selective crop of your raw frame size into a 1920×1080 or 1280×720 frame size.

Previously, Media Composer could only work this mojo with RED footage – however, now the feature has been expanded to address the growing number of cameras that shoot above HD. What this dances around is the continued lack of resolution independence within the Media Composer product line. This necessitates a traditional offline / online workflow for anyone wishing to finish at HD+ resolutions.

Truth be told, the need to finish at HD+ resolutions is often overrated – most web and broadcast outlets aren’t accepting it, most home players and TVs can’t handle it, and unless there is some substantial money for a larger theatrical release, most festival theaters or projectors can’t show it natively. That being said, future proofing is always a consideration – finish larger for a better product in the future. So, weigh the pros and cons – do you really *need* to finish above HD?

That PSA aside, it’s disappointing that the undisputed leader in digital editing for Hollywood’s biggest films is still locked at HD. Wouldn’t it be great if Avid already had software that supported resolutions over HD natively? read more...

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