We normally use a 4-6 second voice over before each 'cut' to let the audience know what's coming. As for the sound effect, I find a gunshot, clap or finger snap works well.

Consider the render time before making heavy use of cuts.

Now, you mentionned no dips to black, can I flash to white ???

Also, for treatment, since we are going retro, can I use smear ? How about sparkles on logos ??? What about large drop shadows and page turns ???? I am so confused.....thankfully I can still use 60 frame dissolves.

Thanks for the tips on cuts....I hadn't even thought of using them as I wasn't sure how....I did try them, but found that the color on the two clips didn't match....would a flip from one to the other hide this color match ?

Outlawing dissolves is probably next - think about it as similar to what would happen if the powers that be declared that sugar and caffeine are now controlled substances. Now THERE'S a scary thought!

ianeditz:

Park up between 2 segments on your timeline and then from the effects pallette drag and drop any transitional effect to the junction and then change the duration to 0 frames and voila you have a cut. If you set the duration to 1 frame you can get a cut reminiscent of a sticky tape steenbeck join.

I tried this, and I couldn't get it to work AT ALL.  I wound up just putting the two clips together one right after the other without any effects.  It looks like crap, but my producer (he's really old; like 26 or 28 or something) thought it looked "retro enough, with a nice organic feel to it" so we left it. 

Anyway, I CAN'T BELIEVE that Avid, which is supposed to be the WORLD'S GREATEST EDITOR doesn't have the cut effect included with it.  Maybe it's one of those plug ins that you have to pay extra for, but this just shows that Avid IS NOT LISTENING to the creative talent in the independent, educational, broadcast or post markets, and is obviously NOT INTERESTED in keeping these markets, and only cares about the CCTV market.  If this is NEW THINKING, I am not impressed, and I'm giving serious SERIOUS thought to abandoning Avid forever and editing with whatever nonlinear editing software came with my cell phone.

Unless they promise to keep the dongle.  Then I'll stay.

adios,
Carl

I will fall back on inserting random shots of car chases and explosions instead of using any of these transitions.

Car chases and explosions make all videos better, anyway.

camoscato:

I looked through the whole effect palette and I couldn't find any "cuts" anywhere.

Sorry Carl, you have to use BCC for that, at least it comes free with MC. It is buried in their transitions folder. I never understood why Avid wouldn't include this natively so we didn't have to render them all. Maybe if the broadcasters asked for it....

Well, the true pros use Quicktime Pro to cut, you nO0bs! That's why it's called PRO!!! GET IT? And its from APPLE!!! They are the creative leader since 1968! Simply drop QT-files into Quicktime (that's why they are called QUICKTIME-MOVS!!! Not AVID-MOVS), one after another, in the order you want to cut it like a pro, and there you go! No "add cut" needed, no plugz and so on. OMG, so easy and you don't get it...

To help my cuts I use some pre-recorded profanities that I keep in a bin. I drop the level down to -OO though so that they are effectively silent.

No one can hear them but I know they are there, wo betide the dubbing mixer who strips them off and dilutes my sequences.

Ian

What I really wanted to say for a long time now: HAVE A NICE WEEKEND, DEAR COLLEAGUES!  

camoscato:

I'm giving serious SERIOUS thought to abandoning Avid forever

 I tried the cut, got it to work, and I didn't like it at all! HOW DO I GET RID OF IT? When I remove the "cut" effect, it still looks the same! You woulld think they'd get it right in Final CUT Pro, but Nooooooo.

Have you mapped the "remove cut" function to your keyboard?

If not perhaps this is where you are going wrong.

Ian

I use an edge wipe and shorten it down to zero frames for a cut.  That's better than the BCC approach, because you can make the edges soft!

And g-f, just try and do that with your crappy QUICKTIME-MOVs!!!  Apple just call it PRO because it's a good brand name!  Real professionals know that already!!!

if you export at a lower resolution from QT PRO (!!!) you get a softer 'look', too, smarty.

jwrl:

Apple just call it PRO because it's a good brand name!

If it is 'just' a good brand-name: why doesn't Avid call its MC MC PRO? He?

general_failure:

If it is 'just' a good brand-name: why doesn't Avid call its MC MC PRO? He?

Avid once had a professional product, Xpress Pro. There aren't enough professionals using Avid products to drive sales, seems they all settle for Avid's other lower end products like MC and DS.