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Filed under: Editing •Post Production •Software •Tips •

A tour around Avid Media Composer 5.0’s interface changes

Some Settings get updated too

Check the Settings tab and you’ll notice a few things that are new to version 5.0.

Email will allow the application to email you a message when a render is complete. This is a nice addition that might bring you a piece of mind when you set those long overnight renders. If you’ll notice Render Complete is the only thing listed under the big, empty Send Email Events window. Let’s hope there’s more email notifications to come in future versions; like when a tape is done capturing or a batch is done importing to name two!

That’s a lot of empty space in the new Email settings. Let’s hope Avid adds more notifications in future updates

The Interface setting has changed a bit as well. There’s a new Interface Brightness slider that can change overall darkness or lightness of the application’s interface:

The Interface settings have gotten an overhaul

This should make happy those that think a very dark interface makes for a more pro application. There’s also a new option to toggle the default timeline color of the video, audio and timecode tracks. This is a nice to have if you’ve ever changed the timeline track colors beyond recognition. If these Default Timeline Tracks are checked then they become unchecked once you change a track color in the timeline. To restore the default just return to the Interface setting and check the appropriate box. Curiously, gone are the options to really customize the interface and change the buttons shapes, depth and shading. Not that I’ve ever seen many people make extreme customizations to the appearance of the buttons but it is interesting to see a simple feature removed that was once there.

And finally, in the Effect Palette there’s whole new list of the RTAS audio plugins:

The new Real Time Audio Suite effects appear in the Effects Palette

To apply just drag the effect into one of the RTAS wells in the Track Control panel of an audio track in the Timeline. You can also open the new RTAS tool from the Tools menu (it opens automatically when you drag an RTAS effect to a well in the timeline) and apply the effects from there. In the RTAS Tool you’ll see all the cool audio plugin interfaces.

In addition to tweaking the RTAS effects with the RTAS Tool you can also apply the effects as well via the drop down menu at the top of the tool

That’s a quick tour around some of the bigger visual changes an Avid editor will be faced with when they open Media Composer 5.0. While these are certainly not all of the visual changes these are some of the more notable ones that I encountered as I’ve been kicking the tires on the new application. There’s certainly a lot more to learn and explore as I begin using the software on regular jobs. In fact some of these visual changes noted above I haven’t even had time to use as of yet, they just caught my eye as being visually new and noteworthy. For an early review of Media Composer 5 check out PC user Dylan Reeve’s review for a more in-depth look at overall functionality. There’s a lot more to come as this is a big, exciting update.

The software ships this Thursday, June 10 and there will be a fully functional demo of 5.0 as well so try it out. And students, don’t forget the amazing educational pricing of Media Composer for the educational market at $295 with 4 years of free upgrades. That’s quite the bargain.

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