postPerspective Review: Avid Media Composer 8.5 and 8.6

Seasoned editor Brady Betzel digs into the latest version of Avid Media Composer and tells us why it's still the gold standard for nonlinear video editing.

PostPerspective by Brady Betzel

It seems that nonlinear editing systems, like Adobe Premiere, Apple FCP X, Lightworks, Vegas and Blackmagic Resolve are being updated almost weekly. At first, I was overjoyed with the frequent updates. It got to the point where I would see a new codec released on a Monday and by Friday you could edit with it (maybe a slight exaggeration, but pretty close to the truth). Unfortunately, this didn’t always mean the updates would work.

One thing that I have learned over the last decade is that reliable software is worth its weight in gold, and one NLE that has always been reliable in my work is Avid Media Composer. While Media Composer isn’t updated weekly, it has been picking up steam and has really given its competitors a run for their money.

With Avid Media Composer’s latest updates, including 8.5 and all the way through 8.6.1, we are seeing the true progression of THE gold standard in nonlinear editing software. From the changes that editors have been requesting for years, like the ability to add a new track to the timeline by simply dragging a clip, all the way to selecting all clips with the same source clip color in the timeline (an online editor’s dream — or maybe just mine), Media Composer is definitely heading in the right direction. Once they fix options, such as the Title Tool, I am sure many others will be in the same boat I am. Even with Adobe’s latest update news of Team Projects, I think Avid’s project sharing will remain on top, but don’t get me wrong, I love the competition and believe it’s healthy for the industry in general.

Digging In
So how great are the latest updates in Media Composer? Well, I am going to touch on a few that really make our lives as editors easier and more efficient, including the new Source Browser; custom-sized project creation Preset Manager; Audio Channel Grouping; grouping clips by audio waveform; and many more. read more...