For more than a decade, Mad River Post has been one of the model Avid houses in the commercial industry. And its founder, editor Michael Elliot, has never stopped keeping himself up to date about new technology and its impact on the creative editorial process. So when Elliot recently made the decision to convert Mad River’s operations in New York, Detroit, San Francisco and Santa Monica (the company’s fifth site, in Dallas, has not changed) to a new infrastructure that is not reliant on any one manufacturer, SHOOT moved to find out not just what he did, but why he did it.
Elliot succinctly described what he did as “unhooking” Mad River’s Avid infrastructure. But it should be emphasized that he is still–and plans to continue–using a familiar Avid editing system, which he has “never been unhappy with.”
“But for years we’ve been tied to this Avid upgrade path with the computer, operating systems, software, storage– and upgrading this is horrendously expensive,” he explained. “So I’m forced to innovate– And what was once a very expensive upgrade path isn’t like that anymore. You can almost constantly upgrade as you go.
“We unhooked Avid so it is just software,” Elliot continued. “We took off-the-shelf technology with some clever engineering to get around the limitations of the [Avid] Mojo.”
Mad River’s editorial rooms are now centered on Avid Xpress Pro–which offers the familiar Avid interface–running on Apple G5 computers. Each facility has a centralized file share.
Elliot also emphasized he wanted creative choices built in to the new environment, so his suite currently runs multiple versions of Xpress Pro, allowing him to simultaneously run third-party software systems such as Imagineer’s monet for rotoscoping, Avid’s Digidesign Pro Tools for sound design, and the likes of Boris FX and Apple’s Motion for 2D effects. To monitor the multiple programs, he keeps up to six monitors running at once in his suite. This sort of flexibility means that Elliot can hand off part of a job (rotoscoping, for instance) to an assistant while he continues to cut. One could also digitize material while cutting.
“What this means is now I have two Avids in the room and Avid is a $1,600 piece of software,” he said. “By using hardware from other manufacturers, we are able to attach a lot more screening space, networking capabilities, and interconnectivity that we didn’t have before.”
BIG PICTURE
This transformation at Mad River underscores Elliot’s views on the competitive nature of today’s business. “Avid is in ferocious competition with [Apple’s] Final Cut Pro,” he related. “And the economics and flexibility are driving the market because the capabilities are very much on par. I hope that Avid takes the challenge from Final Cut seriously.
“We want to remain with the Avid interface, and we really believe strongly in the quality of Xpress Pro,” Elliot emphasized. “But Avid needs to realize the flexibility that Final Cut offers is substantial, and needs to be addressed in the Xpress Pro product. Ultimately, Avid is going to have to pour the level of flexibility in Adrenaline, into Xpress Pro. Otherwise they are going to lose ground to Final Cut.”
When asked about the potential impact of HD, Elliot said, “I don’t want to feel like I have to learn a new interface; I have a system in Avid that I like — But Avid is forcing us into a corner. If we have to move into HD [with something] that works in our environment, then Final Cut is a real, viable alternative.
“And HD is where the market is going,” he acknowledged, noting that Mad River had already had some recent HD requests. “The desire to execute work in HD is ramping up very quickly.”