Back in the Movie Settings dialog, make sure that "Sound" is checked and that settings are correct for your export. Make sure that under "Encoding" you select "Faster Encode (Single-pass).Ħ. Select Custom, then select Format Options.ĥ. Select the sequence in the bin and from the File menu select Output>Export to file.Ģ. The multi-pass export takes four times longer to do and results in a file that doesn't look any different than the one created using "Faster encode (Single-pass)".ġ. Now that your timeline views are setup and you’ve mapped them to your keyboard, you can start shaving seconds off your day.When exporting H.264 files from Avid Media Composer, the progress bar appears to encode the file four times before finishing.Īvoid using the "Best quality (Multi-Pass)" option in the Quicktime compression settings dialog box. I tend to keep the Waveforms on for this but keep the keyboard shortcut at hand in case my sequence gets too long. Make these tracks larger than the Default tracks.
AVID MEDIA COMPOSER SETUP OFFLINE
Use this setup for your offline edit or simple projects where there are only a few tracks. Bring the track sizes down by at least half in order to squeeze in everything. This setting is used for complex sequences where you have many more than the usual amount of tracks. Source clip color and Dupe Detection are optional.
I like shift+w.įor the Audio timeline, I will shrink all the video tracks and enlarge A1-A8. You can add it as a keyboard shortcut for easy access. As for the Waveform, this should be turned off until you need it. For this timeline I like to keep the Source clip color and Dupe Detection on. Adjust the size of the tracks so that you have your standard amount of tracks showing with a little room to spare. My sequences are usually 10 video tracks and 4 audio tracks. Set the size of the tracks based on the amount of tracks you use in a standard sequence. The Default timeline is the timeline you’re going to be using for regular editing. There you’ll be able to add up to 8 different custom timeline views to your keyboard. Navigate to the Command Palette’s More tab. Once you’ve setup your timelines you can map them to your keyboard. Here you can choose to turn the Waveform on or off. The last item we need to find is the Waveform.
One more setting I like to turn on in the Fast Menu is Source located in Clip Color… If you colored a master clip in a bin, that color will now appear in your timeline. Hint: If you hold Alt/Opt and then select the Fast Menu, Track Color and a color, a custom color picker box will open and you will not be limited to the few colors available under the standard menu.ĭepending on your workflow you may want to choose to add Dupe Detection to your timeline. Select all the video tracks, click the Fast Menu and choose Track Color and select the color you want the tracks. I like to keep all the video tracks one color and all audio tracks another color. Adjust the heights of the tracks by using Ctrl/Cmd + l to make them larger (think “l” for larger) and Ctrl/Cmd + k to make them smaller. To add tracks quickly, use Ctrl/Cmd + y to add video tracks and Ctrl/Cmd + u for audio tracks. You will have to expand the size of your timeline window for the time being.
When setting up a timeline, first add every possible video and audio track. Note: When this name is in italics, it means there has been a change from the original settings you set for that setup. The name you typed would then appear at where Untitled was. If you have a timeline setup you want to save you would then type in the name of the timeline and hit Okay. Go ahead and click it and select Save As… If you’ve never saved your timeline settings before, you’ll see Untitled with a dropdown arrow on the bottom of your timeline.
AVID MEDIA COMPOSER SETUP HOW TO
Once we go over how to customize your timeline, I’ll show you the four basic setups I use that keep my fingers on the keyboard and the edits flowing. Over time these seconds will add up and ultimately make you a faster editor. Are you willing to spend ten minutes adjusting settings in order to save precious time? I have a feeling you are and customizing your Avid Media Composer timeline settings is simple to do and will cut seconds off your day.