Avid Training and Certification

[dcslacker]

I'm a Premiere CS6 user and am wanting to learn Avid Media Composer 6. Got some video tutorials and am slowly learning about the differences, but it seems they can't cover all the bases thoroughly.

There's training available for Avid called "Media Composer 101" and "MC 110" that'll prepare you to be a "Media Composer Certified User." The courses aren't cheap and I wanted to know if anyone out there has taken these courses and if they're worth the cost.

 

[boch82]

I'm a Premiere CS6 user and am wanting to learn Avid Media Composer 6. Got some video tutorials and am slowly learning about the differences, but it seems they can't cover all the bases thoroughly.

There's training available for Avid called "Media Composer 101" and "MC 110" that'll prepare you to be a "Media Composer Certified User." The courses aren't cheap and I wanted to know if anyone out there has taken these courses and if they're worth the cost.

The certification is not worth it....if you are skilled at one piece of editing software, there is no need to take a course on another. Pick up a book to use as a reference and just play around. Sit in on an edit session with someone you know that uses AVID. You will get a lot more out of that and it will be a lot cheaper...

I started out as an Avid guy and now work on Avid, FCP, Smoke and Avid DS systems...learned all the others from what I said above.

 

[2jaded2care]

I'll second boch82.

I took the 101 class over 10 years ago, when I knew next to nothing about editing. It was a good intro, covered basic concepts and some of the UI, but if you're already a Premiere user, I don't think it would be worth it for you. You already know the basics, you just need to learn the interface differences.

The 101 certificate is good for real newbs who need to learn the basics, and have an employer willing to pay for the instruction (that was most of the attendees). I guess it doesn't look bad on a resumé for a corporate media position, but I'm not sure most freelance pros would bother.

I haven't taken any further classes, just picked up things from books and trial-and-error(-and-more-error)... 😉

 

[mBox]

Certs are great if you are planning to teach.
Ive been instructing FCP/FCPX for over 10 years at local college.
No certs just experience got me there.
Its a part-time job.
I have cert for Alias|Wavefront PowerAnimator.
Yep thats right...what is that?
Something Ill never have to use.

 

[MrPlayer66]

You should buy the book Media Composer 6: Part 1-Editing Essentials. It's the same book they for the certification.

 

[dcslacker]

Thanks for all your input, everyone. I brought up the cert thing because I heard someone say that having the cert will give you an edge in getting work.

I've tried to do some work on MC6 but I find it so frustrating to work with so far. Like the very limited use of AMA!

I may have to get that book, but I hate reading books. Video tutorials work better, but being able to ask someone a lot of questions is best for me (maybe not for them!)

I guess I just gotta fiddle with it more.

 

[MrPlayer66]

Keep at it.

When I first started using MC6 it was my first time ever using any Avid product, coming from FCP7 it was definitely a challenge getting used to to the way things work, specially how trimming is handled in it, but after a while I got used to it and I enjoy working with it. The book came in handy because there's so much info in it and it's easy to read. Also check out Avid MC 6 essential training from lynda.com and also if you go to the Avid website you can find really nice tutorials that can have you up and running fairly quickly.

 

[Soho Editors]

Avid MC Training

We are Europe’s largest media training provider and also the world’s largest freelance post production talent agency, as such we are very well placed to assess the benefits of formal training verses self taught. That’s our background.

All the comments made so far have merit however only you can decide what method is best for you when trying to learn a new NLE. We have trained 1000's of people over the years on FCP, Avid, Premiere, Smoke and many more and one reoccurring thyme is those that are self taught do not usually have the full understanding of the software. Often self taught people learn what they need and once they feel confident with that they rarely explore deeper. There is always more than one way to achieve a result and a truly skilled editor can apply the best approach at the start of a project, if you only have one way of doing things that can limit your speed and the quality of the finished project, and ultimately the client’s satisfaction, time is money does really apply here. If you are already fully conversant with one editing solution a training course will quickly give you the knowledge to transfer those skills to a new tool set, often its more about the tool set and the different work flows that each NLE offers. If you are totally new to editing a course will give you the knowledge and confidence to explore further knowing you are doing it right.

A classroom experience will short cut the learning experience and get you on the right track, but there is no substitute for experience and this is up to the individual to apply the training as soon as possible to hone the skills and get faster.

There are numerous ways to learn, online tutorials, DVD’s, online training forums, learn from your peers and classroom training, each has its place and everyone is different so there’s no right or wrong way, possibly a combination of methods can work, you also should never be satisfied with what you know and there’s always something else you can learn, if of course you want to be the best at what you do.

The cost of a training course can be quite high but when you factor in the extra work you could apply for it’s only a few days work and it’s paid for its self.

As for certification, gaining a certificate doesn’t make you a great editor, what it does is give you and future employers a yard stick on your competence and knowledge of a particular subject, only experience will make you a better editor. You can often take a certified exam without taking a course, so if you are self taught it’s a good way to confirm what you do know.

 

[mBox]

It goes without saying but Ill say it anyway, learning is gold.
Whether you do it on your own or focused online you will benefit.
SOHO stated a few things that I've used over the years teaching at local college.
Its all great when you can have 24/7 access to training but you cant replace that class-room experience.
The interaction and how you feed off each other is priceless let alone the local networking (uggh did I just use that ugly word 😛).
Learning solo is not for everyone since its not structured.
Sure the site your on or DVD you have running can be but without a third person there, you can easily stray and take on a whole different topic that could confuse your learning.
Now back to Avid.
I had to learn Avid the hard way.
Having years of Premiere/FCP both version 1 (yes Im that old), Avid was hell at first.
But just as SOHO stated, when you have training experience you tend to learn software faster than self-taught, in my case I learned 3D this way from class-room to Alias Power Animator cert.
With that learning Max, EIAS, formZ, Maya and even Softimage was a breeze thanks to manuals (or manpages on unix).
I love manuals, I still have all of them from day one in my basement 🙂
Now the Avid manuals have small bags of tricks and will help you work the kinks out.
The parts that dont come in the manual are the troubleshooting ones e.g. XDCAM not mounting or AMA Transcode wont recognize my newly purchased RAID and more.
That stuff can be found at creativecow.net, the avid forum and heck even here 🙂

Good luck, it'll be fun ride 😉

 

[WRP]

I brought up the cert thing because I heard someone say that having the cert will give you an edge in getting work.

Your reel and who you know gets you work. No one gives a damn if you took a class. You know how many times my college degree has come up in my professional career? 1 time getting my first internship. Then never again.

 

[mBox]

Your reel and who you know gets you work. No one gives a damn if you took a class. You know how many times my college degree has come up in my professional career? 1 time getting my first internship. Then never again.

Sometimes thats due to your professional attitude and if you are in the mix of the reliable ones.
Ive been in this business for a long time and yes we still have to look at where they come from.
The ones that dont need a degree/cert are usually the "reliable" ones 🙂

 

[GoreVidal]

Your reel and who you know gets you work. No one gives a damn if you took a class. You know how many times my college degree has come up in my professional career? 1 time getting my first internship. Then never again.

Exactly.

 

[joshualee90]

I didn't take the official Avid course but my college has it and my Avid class part of my diploma is taught by the same professor and says its the exact same thing without the official piece of paper. I would say its not hard to learn how to cut in Avid but you definitely learn how to do things way faster and customizing a user profile for yourself to make your editing way more efficient. You can of course if you know someone ask them how they have it set up and learn how to do things like that. I would also try and get your hands on MC5.5 as most places I've worked still use 5.5.(UI is different)

 

[Kevin Monahan]

I started on Avid back in the mid 90's, and was trained at Video Symphony in Burbank, CA. Self-training is fine, but nothing beats getting the gray areas filled in from the ground up. Learning from industry pros gives you a leg up over others trying to train in editing. You get inside info that you could no way get from a book.

Taking the training in the LA area was a great move, as there are many contacts you can make in the class. Many are from post houses, tv shows, and movie sets. You also get access to job leads that you could not get on your own.

Even if you're great on FCP, I would still recommend a few classes at the higher level, and do so in LA if you can. I can recommend Video Symphony, as I not only trained there, but I taught there.

And don't count out learning Premiere Pro too! ;-)

 

[LethalWolfe]

The cert itself isn't worth much unless you are planning on being a trainer yourself and/or are looking for an in-house corporate gig where an HR person is doing the hiring (as others have said). The training itself though will allow you to get up to speed faster and that can be worth a lot.