In addition, I have included information on the private Avid instruction that I provide to individuals and companies in the Los Angeles area as well as across the country.

Benjamin Hershleder is an Avid Certified Instructor (ACI) who has been teaching film production and flatbed film editing since 1991 and teaching the Avid Media Composer software since 1995. Ben is familiar with Media Composer versions 5.x through Avid Adenaline, as well as Avid Xpress Pro, on both the Mac and NT platforms.

While Benjamin frequently teaches at Avid Authorized Education Centers, he is also available for private instruction in the Los Angeles area as well as at your facility anywhere in the country or abroad. Contact him by emailing him from the Contact Page for specific rates (depending on who supplies the computer system, the length of instruction, and other variables).

Private, tailored instruction can be personalized to include information that is most useful for your needs. Benjamin will discuss with you the areas in which you want to increase your knowledge, as well as a reasonable duration of instruction to accomplish your goals. While private instruction may include all or part of the information presented in a certified course, the information below will help guide you in determining the areas you would like to concentrate on, as well as providing an insight into how much time may be required. Do not underestimate the time required to have this information presented so that you will successfully retain it.

Benjamin is Certified by Avid Technology to teach the courses listed below (scroll down for complete descriptions).

Course #100 - “In-depth Avid Media Composer Workshop” (5 days)
Course #101 - “Introduction to Media Composer Editing” (3 days)
Course #110 - “Introduction to Media Composer Effects and 3D Tools” (2 days)
Course #117 - “Avid Xpress Editing” (3 days)
Course #119 - “Avid Xpress DV / Avid Xpress Pro Editing” (3 days)
Course #129 - “Avid Xpress DV / Avid Xpress Pro Effects” (2 days)
Course #201 - “Advanced Media Composer Techniques.” (2 days)

The durations listed for each class are the minimum recommended (and are the standard durations offered by Avid Authorized Education Centers).  Expanding class durations by one day or more allows for increased time for class exercises, additional practice time with an instructor present, and time to address questions that are specific to your post production needs. I recommend adding an additional day to the 101 and 201 courses. Expanded class durations are only available through private training.

For a complete list of all the Avid Certified courses available, visit Avid's site at http://www.avid.com/training/courses/index.asp

100 - Avid Media Composer Workshop – This five-day course is a combination of the 101 and 110 courses described below.

101 - Avid Media Composer Editing – This three-day course introduces the concepts of nonlinear editing and includes all basic features of the Media Composer system. Session time is divided between demonstration and hands-on practice, with ample time for experimentation with sample material. Students will use Media Composer to digitize and organize source footage, edit sync and non-sync material, trim sequences, edit audio, add effects, create titles, and output work. The final product will be a finished program. Prerequisites: Designed for the novice Media Composer editor, no familiarity with the system is necessary. Completion of a Macintosh introductory course or equivalent is required and a background in editing, production, or post-production is strongly suggested.

110 - Introduction to Avid Media Composer Effects – This two-day course is an introduction to basic effects and an introduction to the 3D options. This course is a prerequisite for the “305 Advanced Media Composer Effects” course and the “310 Creating Graphics and Mattes with Avid Media Composer and Adobe Photoshop” course. Class time is divided between demonstration and hands-on-practice. Topics include: creating multilayered effects, keyframing effects, creating effect templates, creating motion effects and timewarps, nesting layers, concepts of 3D space and implementing the Media Composer 3D Options. Prerequisites: Students should have completed the 101 Media Composer Editing course or have been working with the Avid Media Composer or Avid Xpress for at least six months. This course is also appropriate for Avid Symphony users.

117 - Avid Xpress Editing – This three-day course introduces the basic features of the Avid Xpress for Macintosh and Windows systems. Class time is divided between demonstration and hands-on practice, with ample time for experimentation on sample material. Participants will use Avid Xpress to: input source footage, create and trim sequences, edit audio, create titles, and output a finished program. The course is designed for experienced or novice editors, graphic designers, or interactive media developers. Experience with Avid Xpress or other Avid systems is not necessary. Completion of a Macintosh or Windows introductory course (depending on your system) or equivalent is recommended and a background in editing, production, or post production is strongly suggested.

119 - Avid Xpress DV / Avid Xpress Pro Editing – This three-day course is an in-depth introduction to the techniques of nonlinear editing on the Avid Xpress DV/ Avid Xpress Pro editing system. The class progresses through all the basic phases of creating a sequence, including inputting source footage, assembling and trimming sequences, editing audio, creating titles, and outputting a finished program. Class time is divided between demonstration and hands-on practice. Prerequisites: Experience with Avid Xpress or other Avid systems is not necessary. Completion of a Windows or Macintosh introductory course or equivalent experience is recommended.

129 - Introduction to Avid Xpress DV / Avid Xpress Pro Effects – This two-day course introduces basic effects. Topics include: creating multilayered effects, keyframing effects, creating effect templates, third-party plug-ins, and nesting layers. Class time is divided between demonstration and hands-on-practice. Prerequisites: Students should have completed the 119 Avid Xpress DV Editing course or have equivalent experience. This course is a prerequisite for the 329 Creating Graphics for Avid Xpress DV with Adobe Photoshop course.

201 - Advanced Techniques for Avid Media Composer – This two-day course is designed for experienced Media Composer editors who want to become more productive by mastering the system's sophisticated editing features and shortcuts. Students also learn advanced techniques to help streamline system, media, and project management. Sessions include instructor-led demonstration and hands-on practice. Topics include: editing features (such as Sync Point Editing and Replace Edit), advanced trimming techniques, editing and viewing options, sync audio methods, keyboard shortcuts, user settings, and digitizing and redigitizing tips. Project, media, and system management topics include: improving Media Composer performance and moving and deleting media. Prerequisites: Completion of the 101 Media Composer Editing course or the equivalent of a minimum of six months' experience editing on the system is required. A background as editor, assistant editor, director, or producer is necessary.

A WORD ON TAKING AN AVID COURSE

If you are considering taking a complete Avid Media Composer course at an Education Center, and have been using the Media Composer for some time, do not underestimate the amount and depth of information presented in the 101 course. All too frequently I am teaching an advanced course, and discover that several of the students could have really benefited from the 101 course. If you do NOT have a great familiarity with trimming (the most powerful/useful editing function), digitizing, or segment mode (to name just a very few things), then I highly suggest taking the 101 course (it's 3 days long, chock full of information). Courses such as the 110 and 201 presume that you have already taken the 101 or 102 course, or that you have a solid working knowledge of the Media Composer software and the Macintosh Operating System.

There are quite a few books available now on Avid Media Composer/Xpress editing and Xpress-DV editing. Here are two books that I can recommend without reservation: "Nonlinear 4" and "The Avid Handbook." Scroll down for more information about them.

Ben's opinion:
I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in editing. The 3rd edition was already a highly useful and informative resource. This 4th edition expands on this tradition, adding even more helpful topics and illustrations. Rubin's clear explanations and straightforward analogies make complex technical concepts easy to understand. This book is a MUST for those entering the world of editing, and a great resource for veterans looking to fill in the gaps.

I feel the name is a bit misleading since it covers a great deal of other useful information, like easy to understand explanations of Drop Frame and Non Drop Frame Time Code (including the the how's and whys); 3:2 Pulldown (wackiness ensues when transferring film to video tape. This book explains what's going on); and how to read an Edit Decision List (what is "C-Mode" anyway?).

Nonlinear 4's newly added information includes:
DTV, video on the Web, bandwidth, an overview of broadcasting & the economics of distribution, color sampling, square & nonsquare pixels, light, color space, OMF, DVD authoring, scene/take nomenclature, post-production workflows, balanced/unbalanced audio, aspect ratios, ergonomics, RT-11, electronic cinema, and a section on various "real world" editing topics.

Rubin's extremely helpful use of various analogies to help illustrate otherwise arcane topics now include stuff like "the kitchen sink" (to illustrate color space), a water cooler (to illustrate DVD bit budgeting), and "the one about the two guys in the bar" (to illustrate codecs), and more. This makes an otherwise dry read pretty enjoyable.

Visit the "Contents" page at www.nonlinear4.com for a complete list of all this wonderful book contains, as well as several Adobe Acrobat pages that illustrate the depth of the book.

Here's info on the book from other sources:

Booknews.com says (about Nonlinear3):
Written in non-technical language, this edition covers topics including SMPTE timecode, Election and 3:2 pulldown, digital storage, component and composite video, film edge numbers and electronic film editing, the post-production process, online and offline editing, Quicktime, and nonlinear editing.

www.Nonlinear4.com says:
This book covers virtually everything any normal individual would want to know about the new world of electronic post-production, without much of the geeky mumbo jumbo that characterizes most professional texts. The book has been so revolutionary, and so enjoyable, that it has not only fully penetrated the professional industry, but has expanded into consumer and prosumer markets. It is used in hundreds of colleges and universities, and thousands of professional organizations. More than 15,000 copies have been sold since its debut, making it the single best seller in the industry. It is designed not to go out of date every time a new software release comes out or a new product is introduced. It is about essentials. Fundamentals. Concepts. And language. It is an enjoyable romp through the often-dull business and technology of digital film and video making.

Ben's opinion:
This is an awesome book, full of a ton of useful information for those who have been using the Media Composer for some time and want to get better acquainted with the complexities of the Media Composer software. Here's some information on this book from other sources:

Amazon.com says:
* Revised throughout to reflect system upgrades, including a new chapter on Symphony.
* For those with some experience with the Avid Media Composer or Avid Xpress who
   want to expand their knowledge.
* A guide to strategies, common problems, and techniques while editing nonlinear digital video or film.

The Avid Media Composer and Avid Xpress are the most widely used nonlinear editing systems by professionals in the film and video industries. Based on his [Steve Bayes] experience teaching countless seminars around the world on the Avid Media Composer and Avid Xpress, Steve Bayes has written the most comprehensive manual for nonlinear digital editing on these Avid editing systems. This handbook has been revised throughout to reflect recent upgrades to these systems.

The Publisher says:
Written for the reader who already has a basic knowledge of the editing systems, this book moves beyond an introduction to the Media Composer and Avid Xpress and focuses on strategies, techniques, and troubleshooting. The Avid Handbook covers the basics of working with effects, rendering, and graphics and discusses the more abstract issues of workflow and organization of different types of editing projects. The book also discusses frequently made mistakes, common technical problems and how they can be avoided. The new edition also discusses Symphony (1.0), Mac and NT collaboration and Meridian video board features.

Steve Bayes, author of The Avid Handbook and
former Senior Designer of the Avid Media Composer says:
This book is going into the fourth printing. It is recommended by many Avid training centers and I would suggest that it is helpful to anyone wanting to learn Avid editing systems whether you take a course or not. It is a reference for intermediate techniques and an overall discussion of nonlinear issues on Avid editing systems. It is the most complete treatment of finishing on Avid that has been printed.

Background on the Avid Handbook: This book is culmination of presentations given over the last 4 years at Avid User Groups and Master Workshops. They have consistently gotten the highest marks for student feedback of any presentations Avid has sponsored. The material is based on courseware taught at 42 Avid Certified Education Centers worldwide and taught by 100's of trained instructors. This was the only book to sellout at NAB and has almost sold out the first printing of 2500 in 4 months although it is only sold on the Internet. It is the most up to date and in depth treatment of editing on the Avid Media Composer and Avid Xpress on the market today.

• For more books on Avid Media Composer, Avid Xpress DV, and Editing in general, visit my Resources Page.

TOPICS AT THIS SITE (New topics may have been added. Check for additions):

AVID 24p And HDTV – This document offers an overview of Avid 24p, HDTV and MPEG compression Pulldown Explained. This document will walk you through the concepts of 2-3 pulldown in the film-to-tape telecine process, as well as synching audio to the video.

DNL AUDIO ISSUES – This document discusses audio pulldown and sync issues.

MATCHBACK EXPLAINED – See how a film cut list is derived from a 30 frame per second Avid edit
or Edit Decision List (EDL).

PAL FILM DNL POST PRODUCTION – Avid DNL editing of film in a PAL environment.

OPEN MEDIA FRAMEWORK INTERCHANGE – OMF Interchange allows the exchange of media files and sequence/clip compositions between various OMF compliant applications. Open Media Framework Interchange technology makes it possible to move projects through various steps more efficiently by reducing the work that must be recreated at each stage. OMFI is what allows Pro Tools and AudioVision to utilize a sequence from Avid Media or Film Composer, automatically linking to the existing audio media. OMFI is also used extensively in moving work from CGI workstations, like Media Illusion, to composer.

AVID MEDIA STATION TELECINE – A guide to general setup and operations of Avid's Media Station Telecine direct-to-disc transfer system.

VIDEO FOR A FILM RELEASE – Explores the considerations and variables when shooting and/or posting video for a film release.

CAPTURING 30 fps IN AN AVID FILM PROJECT – Explains how to digitize 30 fps material into a 24 fps film project. This procedure is particularly useful for those producing 24 fps images in a graphics application which have to be recorded to DDR or video at 30 fps and then cut into a 24 fps Avid project. Written by Michael Phillips.

IMPORTING AN EDL INTO AN AVID 30 fps PROJECT – This document explains how to successfully import an EDL into an Avid System, specifically how to move an Avid Film Project into a 30 fps project for redigitizing at higher, two-field resolutions (AVR's 70, 71, 75 & 77).

COMPUTER TERMS – This document clarifies most common computer terms (especially Mac). Film and Editing Terms. This document defines many terms used in film production and editing.

MOTION PICTURE FORMATS – This document illustrates the scale of large film formats.