Avid Studio on Ipad. The revolution has arrived

“Avid has beaten Apple to the punch,” said Gary Greenfield, CEO of Avid, last week in Tusbury, USA, at the presentation of the brand’s revolutionary new product: the Avid on iPad.

“At the last edition of Nab we could see the revolution that the launch of FCPX meant, Apple developed from the apparently minor IMovie what would be the editor of the future, but they made a mistake: they based it on the obsolete personal computer platform. Following their example, we decided to pause the development of Media Composer and Symphony software and create from our old Studio the ultimate tool: Avid Studio on iPad” concluded Mr. Greenfield.

You already know my opinion about Apple’s supposed revolution with FCPX and I must confess that I was not pleased to hear these words from Avid either. I thought that the Studio for Ipad would be another “professional” tool aimed at the “nouvelle vague” of editors who think that “three-point editing” is a new Mattel game.

But the truth is that reading the specifications of the software I begin to believe that Avid have created a revolution. These are some of the features of the new Avid Studio (on Ipad 2, on Ipad 1 the performance is much lower)

• Powerful file management system based on metadata that allows the creation of bins (now called “Pubs”) according to the type of project generated. Thus, if when opening the project we indicate that it is a documentary, “pubs” called interviews, voice over, TV version (with predefined 50 minutes long sequences) etc. are automatically generated. If we indicate that it is an advertising project, “pubs” are generated by versions: director cut, client cut, artist cut, etc.
• Possibility to connect to Unity ISIS 7000 to share media or Media Composer or Symphony projects (requires connection via Wifi or 3G) Up to 500 Ipad can be connected simultaneously
• Full S3D editing and compositing without the need for glasses
• Multi-camera up to 237 sources, being able to mix frame rates, resolutions or media Raw with RGB (from 128 cameras the timeline view disappears from the Ipad and only cameras appear until the sequence is finished).
• 7.1 surround sound through Apple headphones (the white ones people wear in the Metro)
• Support for ALL current professional video codecs: including Arri Raw (.ari frame streams) or DPX
• Real-time Red Epic 5K development (including HDRX images)
• Maximum resolution 8K and possibility to work 4:4:4 16b without compression (only one video track).
• Avid Studio for iPad is the first editor to support Sony F65 files with an approximate file size of 1GB/frame. Although due to the agreement reached by Apple and Sony the media from this camera can only be stored and managed through the ICloud service.
• Possibility of professional connection via an intuitive I/O Box system (optional)
• Effects creation system based on touch control and intelligent image recognition. If we point a finger at a cable it will be automatically erased (unless we are in a documentary project) or if we select a child’s face a blur mask will be automatically applied.
• Although the entire tool can be governed through voice control, it is particularly handy in color correction mode. It is capable of responding to complex commands in English such as “give me a little more blacks” or “make it look like Saving Private Ryan ©”.
• Simple and practical “Send to DCP” export command that allows the creation of the digital cinema package and its checking in the screening room (Internet connection and generation of a licensed encrypted DCP in the screening room are required).

Avid Studio for Ipad is now available on the App Store for only 3,99€, you can buy it here