Hello,

Please keep in mind reading these requests that I am first a sound designer and mixer that comes from the Pro Tools world but over the last year has started working in a hybrid way using Pro Tools for sound design but mix inside Media Composer to maintain a running 5.1 mix of the animated feature I work on (much like how Avid's promotional video with Bad Robot was showing how they kept a running 5.1 mix in their setup while working on Star Trek).

 

Here are some feature requests that I think could make Avid more functional when working with audio:

1. Render audio suite effects with handles 2. Make audio track names show in the mixer and on Artist Series Control Surfaces. 3. Fix the mixer window so that when you close a surround panner window, it doesn't rezise the whole mixer window. 4. Add a drop down menu in the surround panner window that will let you open other channel's panning windows without going back to the mixer window. This would be simaliar to plug-ins allowing you to view other plug-ins on other channels using the drop down Channel selector box. 5. Add a playback follows insertion preference. Add a no scrolling preference for the edit window. See Pro Tools. 6. Add a audio suite audition path preference so that you can audition sounds in the source window through your signal chain and through proper panning. 7. Make selected tracks show on control surface. 8. Allow the track selection on a control surface to auto-link or auto-patch to the source track like it does when you click on it in the edit window. 9. Make an audio suite "flip" plug-in. This would just flip the left channel to the right and vice versa. This would be handy when you had a sound panning one direction on a stereo file, but now new boards have come in that change the direction of the pan so the audio should reflect this without having to rewrite any panning information. Please also implement this in Pro Tools! 10. Add a modifier key for making finer keyframe adjustments. 11. When viewing panning information, make the grid on the audio clip read panning instead of staying on volume. This would ideally read the panning value in the bottom tool bar like it does with volume adjustments. It would also allow you to know what parameter you are looking at with a glance, instead of clicking on the button in the track to confirm what you are looking at. 12. Get rid of "Center Current". If I click on a plug-in, just open it, don't make me open it, and then go click center current. This is a huge waste of time.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this and consider these changes. If I've missed some of this functionality that may already exist in the software, please tell me!

 

TJ Callaway
Audio Editor / Sound Designer
Reel FX Creative Studios
214-979-0961
[email protected]
Nitris DX
Avid Artist Mix
Windows 7 Professional, SP1
HP Z400, Intel Xeon W3680 3.33GHZ, 12 GB RAM ​
Media Composer v8.5.1

All great ideas.

Given how long it takes (or the amount of work) for a single good idea to be introduced into MC (and Pro Tools) I think a better approach may be to explore how to get MC to run using Pro Tools for all the audio. Many of the various parts required to allow this have been available for years and we recently got the ability for BWF's to be placed in the timeline with sub-frame accuracy. (long time stumbling block).

Pro Tools already understands media (video and audio) in the MC media file structure.
MC (on a Mac) has for years been able to use dedicated Pro Tools IO's via (Core Audio) Currently sitting in front of MC 5.5 with audio out through Digi 96 10.   Sadly I have to turn core audio off for Pro Tools HD's hardware to see the IO.

MC and Pro Tools have been able to be slaved for years via Satellite. So same machine slaving should not be a huge obstacle. It would need faster internal communications than the current IP machine connection.

Adding the option (paid?) to have a Pro Tools session open and run MC's audio as well as having the option to have a MC project open and running a Pro Tools sessions video would IMO solve almost all the requests for MC audio improvements and would probably improve the AVE 's performance in Pro Tools.  Allow using Pro Tools templates be used to set up the audio tracks and track naming would allow Project / Sessions to be used far more reliably and seamlessly than AAF's.

After 20+ years or owning and running Avid and Pro Tools (starting with slaving uMatics to Pro Tools) the benefits suggested above barely scratch the surface of the advantages I can see for such an integration.

I agree, as an audio guy first I would love to work soley in Pro Tools as Media Composer is a disasater for audio editing and mixing. No sample based audio editing? Come on! It's 2016, Avid!

But, the workflow that I work within has me on a team of 2 editors, 2 assistants and myself. I have to conform to THEM and have everything as self-contained inside Media Composer as possible. Plus, my company won't spring for 4 more surround capable HD Native Pro Tools setups so that we can have system parity. The editors would fight against it anyways. They want their workflow as streamlined as possible. That's why I'm asking for the improvements inside Media Composer.

TJ Callaway:

That's why I'm asking for the improvements inside Media Composer.

I should have been clearer in my suggestion.

What I am talking about adding a selectable option inside MC to allow MC to switch its timeline audio setup from current MC format to a Pro Tools audio track set up. to include Pro Tools  tracks, Sends, Aux tracks, Sample based trimming, audio tracks not restricted by A1, A2, A3  track order  etc.  It would allow export of the timelines audio section as a Pro Tools session. it would allow your Pro Tools expert save his track layout as a template that each Editor and Assistant could import to set up their timelines. That is why I think it fits your "They want their workflow as streamlined as possible." like a glove. 

TJ Callaway:

my company won't spring for 4 more surround capable HD Native Pro Tools setups so that we can have system parity.

But would they spring for 4 PT Vanilla type priced options that gave each of their Editors a minimum of Pro Tools audio handling seamlessly built into MC?