This tutorial series is designed for Premiere Editors to get a quick look at the important, fundamental differences in Avid Media Composer, so they can get up to speed editing quickly!

For me, this is probably the key lesson, with one key aspect in Lesson 1, in all of the five lessons in this tutorial series.  No matter what has happened for the entirety of your edit, this step is the most crucial, as if it’s not done correctly, your whole project is ruined.  Now, I did mention that there is a key component from the first lesson that goes hand in hand with this lesson, and that is setting up your project correctly.  Assuming that you did that step correctly, you’re almost all the way there.  You’ll remember from that lesson that I said that when you set up your project, set it up for the final, end product you’re looking to get.  Meaning that if you want a 1080p 23.98 clip to export when you’re done, set up your project that way.  If you did that, and have your project set currently to what you want to export, all you now need to do is tell Media Composer the type of file you need, and you’re all set to go!  As you’ll see in the lesson, there’s three different ways to export your files from Media Composer

Same As Source

This is fairly self explanatory.  If you’ve imported/captured/transcoded/consolidated your footage to an Avid Friendly codec (you can find a list of all Avid Friendly codecs here), you can do a “fast export” back to that same codec using this method.  Keep in mind, though, that Windows users cannot write back to a ProRes file (so don’t be getting any funny ideas!  LOL)

Recompressed

This is used, in most cases, if you’ve edited a sequence together either using a ton of footage with different codecs, or you’re working on a timeline that contains “Linked To” media.  In this case, you’re going to want to export to a friendly codec that will be the most user friendly, no matter where you send it.  ProRes is the easiest codec for Mac users, and DNxHD is the easiest codec for Windows users

AMA File Export (MXFOP1a)

This is probably my favorite way to export clips from my timelines.  Not only is it super simple to use (not many options in the export window), but the export supports multi-channel exports, and MXFOP1a files (even with the Avid codec) are a widely accepted delivery format for many stations at spot delivery services in North America.

This is a “Must Watch” episode for not only Premiere Pro editors looking to edit in Media Composer, but also for seasoned Media Composer editors, to give them a better understanding of exporting, and how to get the exact type of file you’re looking for, with as little trial and error as possible.  Enjoy!

Channel: www.youtube.com/letseditMC_avid
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Twitter: @kpmcauliffe
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