Avid FX
by Harry B. Miller III, A.C.E.
Opening up Avid FX, the added module to the Media Composer 3 which was until recently available only in Express Pro, one is faced with an intimidating palette of screens. But, how do I make a title? How do I make a transition? What is all this stuff?
There aren't many sources of information on how to use Avid FX. The Help file is a start. I wanted to read it on my Mac laptop, so I copied the file 'AvidFxHelp.chm' from the Avid FX Documentation folder. Mac's can't natively read a '.chm' file, but I was able to find CHMOX (chmox.sourceforge.net/), a program that enables a Mac to open a .chm file.
But reading a Help file to learn how to use a program is like reading an encyclopedia from page one to learn how to make beer. There is a lot of information, but not very well organized for a beginning user. And all you really are after is a beer.
Amazon sells the book 'Instant Boris Effects' by Chris Vadnais (also available as a Kindle Book). Howard Smith, A.C.E. found this to be a good primer on FX, as it is adapted from Boris' Red program.
Another excellent resource is on an Avid UK page, http://www.avid.co.uk/uk/video/fx/transitions.shtml. Available here are some outstanding tutorials. Very informative.
Finally, Boris offers tutorials on many of its plugins at http://www.borisfx.com/tutorials/.
This looks to be a great program, that seems to have tight integration with the MC. I was really impressed with it after seeing the 3D modeling and titling tutorials on the Avid site. I won't be able to use all of it, but it looks to be a fun learning experience.
Opening up Avid FX, the added module to the Media Composer 3 which was until recently available only in Express Pro, one is faced with an intimidating palette of screens. But, how do I make a title? How do I make a transition? What is all this stuff?
There aren't many sources of information on how to use Avid FX. The Help file is a start. I wanted to read it on my Mac laptop, so I copied the file 'AvidFxHelp.chm' from the Avid FX Documentation folder. Mac's can't natively read a '.chm' file, but I was able to find CHMOX (chmox.sourceforge.net/), a program that enables a Mac to open a .chm file.
But reading a Help file to learn how to use a program is like reading an encyclopedia from page one to learn how to make beer. There is a lot of information, but not very well organized for a beginning user. And all you really are after is a beer.
Amazon sells the book 'Instant Boris Effects' by Chris Vadnais (also available as a Kindle Book). Howard Smith, A.C.E. found this to be a good primer on FX, as it is adapted from Boris' Red program.
Another excellent resource is on an Avid UK page, http://www.avid.co.uk/uk/video/fx/transitions.shtml. Available here are some outstanding tutorials. Very informative.
Finally, Boris offers tutorials on many of its plugins at http://www.borisfx.com/tutorials/.
This looks to be a great program, that seems to have tight integration with the MC. I was really impressed with it after seeing the 3D modeling and titling tutorials on the Avid site. I won't be able to use all of it, but it looks to be a fun learning experience.
posted by ACE Admin at 4:04 PM
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