avid media composer blog Archives – Page 3 of 6

Making the Jump to Freelance

July 19, 2019May 12, 2016 by Josh Short

Hey there! In this vlog I talk about making the jump to becoming a freelance video editor. I talk about what’s going through my mind, how scary it is to become a freelancer and why I’m making this leap. If you’re an editor, freelancer or not, I’d love to get your thoughts on this topic! … Read more

Catching Up

July 19, 2019April 22, 2016 by Josh Short

It’s been one of those weeks for me when it feels like the deck is stacked against you. Literally every move you make is countered with one that puts you an extra step backwards. Phew. Since this is the case I’d like to just write about what’s on my mind instead of getting into … Read more

The Fundamental Flaw in the Profession of Video Editing

July 18, 2019March 16, 2016 by Josh Short

Fundamental Flaw in the Profession of Video Editing

There’s a fundamental flaw in the profession of video editing.

When a carpenter goes to work they have their tools – a hammer, a saw, a drill, a screwdriver and a pickup truck filled with a hundred other tools. Each tool has it own job and does it’s own little thing when the carpenter is building something. Every once in awhile a new tool will come around that’ll make things easier for the carpenter. He or she can decide whether or not to learn how to use that tool and whether it should be added to their tool belt.

Editors face a similar situation except that the growth of new tools is out of control. Don’t get me wrong; this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Anything that’ll make our lives easier as editors is awesome. However there’s a point where we physically cannot keep up with the rate of new tools available to us. Then we get docked for not knowing this one random piece of software and might lose out on a job or gig over it.

Mastering Avid Media Composer’s Keyboard Shortcuts Exam

October 22, 2016February 13, 2016 by Josh Short

I want you to become a keyboard shortcut master. If you know the keyboard shortcuts and understand their functions, you’ll be a faster video editor. That means you finish projects sooner, get paid faster and make your bosses and clients happier. When I was learning Media Composer I wish I had a way to check my progress. I didn’t. … Read more

Keyboard Shortcuts Exam Pre-Sale!

February 18, 2016January 15, 2016 by Josh Short

Please note the pre-sale is now over. Please visit this page for more information on the exam. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been creating a bunch of lessons about Media Composer’s keyboard shortcuts and their related functions. This is because I want you to become a keyboard shortcut master. If you know the keyboard shortcuts … Read more

Mastering Avid Media Composer’s Keyboard Shortcuts – Lesson 5: Modes, Trimming and Slipping

July 22, 2020December 15, 2015 by Josh Short

Mastering Media Composers Keyboard Shortcuts – Lesson 5 on Modes, Trimming and Slipping

This is the fifth lesson in a series on mastering Avid Media Composer’s keyboard shortcuts on modes, trimming, and slipping. Each lesson tackles a handful of shortcuts. By the end of all the lessons you should be flying through your editing sessions.

This isn’t just any old list of shortcuts. For many of them I explain exactly how they work and how I use them everyday as a professional editor.

If you’re just getting started, no worries. You can take this lesson and circle back to the previous lessons. You can find all the lessons here.

This lesson focuses on modes, trimming and slipping.

Lesson 5 Keyboard Shortcuts in Avid — Lesson 5 Shortcuts — Modes, Trimming and Slipping

Modes and Trimming Keyboard Shortcuts in Avid

Source/Record Mode

Shortcut: Y

Source/Record Mode is the mode you’re going to be in for the most part. This shortcut doesn’t do much unless you are not in Source/Record Mode. This shortcut will leave whatever mode you’re in and put you into Source/Record Mode.

Trim Mode

Shortcut: U

The first of the Trimming keyboard shortcuts in Avid is Trim Mode. Hitting U will enter you into Trim Mode putting rollers around the nearest edit point to the Time Position Indicator on the selected tracks (did you follow that?). By default you’ll have the double pink rollers. This means when you add to one side you subtract from the other.

Another way to think about the double pink rollers is that you are not adding any time to the track and/or sequence (see Lesson 4’s section on Locked vs. Unlocked tracks).

Note that hitting U again will exit you from Trim Mode.

Mastering Avid Media Composer’s Keyboard Shortcuts – Lesson 3: Moving

July 4, 2020November 4, 2015 by Josh Short

Mastering Media Composers Keyboard Shortcuts – Lesson 3 on Moving

This is the third lesson in a series on mastering Avid Media Composer’s keyboard shortcuts and it’s on moving inside of Media Composer. Each lesson tackles a handful of shortcuts. Those shortcuts should be practiced until the next lesson in a few days. By the end of the lessons you should be flying through your editing sessions.

This isn’t just any old list of keyboard shortcuts in Avid. For many of them I explain how they work and how I use them everyday as a professional editor.

If you’re just getting started, no worries. You can take this lesson and circle back to the previous lessons. You can find all the lessons here.

This lesson focuses on the moving keyboard shortcuts in Avid. By moving I mean having the Time Position Indicator (the blue bar in the timeline) go from one frame to another frame. There are a bunch of different keyboard shortcuts that do this for us faster and more accurately than clicking the mouse around the screen. Let’s get started!

Lesson 3 Keyboard Shortcuts - Moving in Avid — Lesson 3 Shortcuts – Moving

Number pad with keys highlighted that are used for moving in Avid — Like my coffee-stained number pad?

Time Position Indicator...this is what we're moving in Avid — Time Position Indicator…this is what we’re moving

Mastering Avid Media Composer’s Keyboard Shortcuts – Lesson 2: Marking and Playing

May 14, 2022October 28, 2015 by Josh Short

Mastering Media Composers Keyboard Shortcuts – Lesson 2 on Marking and Playing

This is the second lesson in a series on mastering Avid Media Composer’s keyboard shortcuts and the topic is Marking and Playing. In each lesson we tackle a handful of shortcuts that should be learned and practiced until the next lesson in a few days. This isn’t just any list of shortcuts. For many of them I’ll explain how they work and how I use them everyday as an editor.

Lesson 1 was on Media Composer’s Tools. This lesson is on the keyboard shortcuts in Avid for Marking and Playing. These are some of the most primary shortcuts I think you should learn. Some other shortcuts (Z, X, V, B, etc.) you can do damage to your timeline by accidentally doing something you weren’t expecting. With these shortcuts the worst thing you can do is clear an In or Out Point. Let’s get started!

Lesson 2 Keyboard Shortcuts - Marking and Playing in Avid — Lesson 2 Shortcuts – Marking and Playing

Marking Keyboard Shortcuts in Avid

Mark In Point

Shortcut: E or I

Marking an In Point is one of the must learn keyboard shortcuts. Media Composer works on three-point editing. Basically you need two In Points and an Out Point or vice versa. Put an In and Out Point on the clip in the Source Monitor then an In Point on the Timeline then hit Splice-In or Overwrite Edit and the clip from the Source Monitor gets edited onto the Timeline. Kind of make sense? There’s a bit of a hierarchy when it comes to In and Out Points and three-point editing but that’s for another lesson.

Even though I stand up here on my soapbox preaching about how important keyboard shortcuts are you will still use the mouse. It’s inevitable. So if you’re right-handed you will generally have your left hand on the keyboard. If so you’ll find you use “E” way more than “I” to mark an In Point. I however am I lefty so my right hand is always on the keyboard. That means I use the “I” key to mark an In Point more often. The same goes with our next shortcut.

Mastering Avid Media Composer’s Keyboard Shortcuts – Lesson 1: Tools

June 13, 2020October 15, 2015 by Josh Short

Hey! This is the first lesson in a series on mastering Avid Media Composer’s keyboard shortcuts and it’s on Tools. We’ll go through pretty much every keyboard shortcut in Media Composer in this series.

If you’ve taken either of my quizzes (Quiz 1 and Quiz 2) and/or you are interested in becoming a faster, more efficient editor than this series is for you. Each lesson we’ll tackle a handful of shortcuts. We’ll go through what the shortcut is and for some I’ll comment on the tool, function or whatever the keyboard shortcut does based on my experience using Avid Media Composer hour after hour over the past decade.

Okay, enough talking. Let’s get into our first lesson!

Avid Media Composer Keyboard Shortcuts for Tools Recap

There are a bunch of tools in Media Composer. There’s the Audio Mixer, Audio EQ, Composer, Effect Editor, Media Tool and more. Ten (10!) of them have simple shortcuts. In this lesson we’ll cover them.

Audio Tool

Cmd+1 (Mac) | Ctrl+1 (PC)

The Audio Tool shows the audio levels (how loud or soft it is) in visual form. Once you hit play the Audio Tool goes up and down based on the audio that’s being played at that frame. There’s a small sideways Audio Tool at the top of the Timeline. However the normal Audio Tool makes it much easier to see. I tend to always have this tool open.

Calculator Tool

Cmd+2 (Mac) | Ctrl+2 (PC)

Did you know Media Composer had a calculator? This isn’t your ordinary calculator either. This calculator counts timecode!

Free Avid Media Composer Quiz

July 13, 2020September 28, 2015 by Josh Short

This is a free quiz on the keyboard shortcuts for Avid Media Composer. It is part of the free Master Avid Media Composer’s Keyboard Shortcuts Series.