Having now moved on from v2018 to v2022 , I've been working for a couple weeks on v2022 I have one large feedback note:
The new windows are really not very good. They are super cluttered (sidebar panel is un-removable) and have a tiny border to click on to move tehm with. They also have all sorts of problems where they get stuck behind each other, and I suspect this is related to how "custom built" they are instead of more standard OS windows.
But truly, from a design perspective I find them a huge step back. Why would I want to see my whole project (sidebar) on every bin? It's very frustrating to have so many little close buttons and be unable to easily and quickly move a window – because bins aren't windows anymore, they are inside containers.
I get the usefulness of containers perhaps, but a floated bin should just be a regular old window. I dont' see the big advantage of opening everything in a container. The old windows, which could be tabbed easily if desired, worked well. If you want to have an "open as container" option, that's fine by me –– but why create so much overhead by having every window essentially doubled? I fear that by trying to add so many bells and whistles, Media Composer will become irrevokably clunky/messy.
The difference between looking at a project in v2018 and v2022 is astounding:
• in v2018 I see my project: every bin shows me my clips and is focused on that information – Bin name and clip names. There is very little information except project information created by me and other editors/assistants.
• in v2022 I see "Media Composer Interface": There is so much unnecessary information, purple vertical bars everywhere with extra close buttons and names. Every bin has it's name on top (beneath the window bar, weird) and it has a container name – "Bins.1", "Bins.2", etc. I feel like my monitor has shrunk by 15% because there is so much interface dross (I work at at 2k resolution). What is the use of "Bins.9" on the side of my bin?
Please reconsider the presence of the sidebar panel on every bin window (I mean the purple bar that is there even when you "hide sidebar"). Please reconsider your decision to have 3 close boxes on every window. Just pause and think about the weirdness of that. If I open 2 floating bin windows, I get 4 names and six close buttons! SIX!
And if the answer is "you're doing it wront" I would tell you that if I wanted to work in a regimented panel-centric way, I would work on Adobe products. Don't kill one of your best features – flexibility.
I agree with a lot of what's been said.
I've tried to get along with the new interface ... I really have, but no matter how much I try to adapt, I really cannot say this is an improvement over the classic interface.
I tend to help students who are relatively new to MC and the comments about the amount of clutter really do have a big impact when you're working on their relatively small laptop screen sizes.
Things are better with dual (larger) monitors, but I still feel I'm doing a lot of unpinning/de-tabbing of various windows - all of which seems totally pointless when I can simply go back to the classic interface.
I'd like to add that I absolutely do enjoy some of the benefits of containers. I like being able to stack various window/tools (like Find, Effects Pallete, etc) into one window with vertical tabs. I do not want Avid's designers to think their efforts are totally un-noticed. And I appreciate greatly that any hotkey still pops the window "up" inside it's container – that has made organizing those items much easier.
My point is that when it comes to bins, there is no way I wil know how I want my bins organized any give day, or any given hour. It is with bins that I find the tabs and sidebars working against me in terms of information flow and ease of use.
Sincerely,
Ben
I agree, I have used Media Composer professionally for television since 1996 and really dislike the new version.
Generally it all looks a bit more cluttered and less refined, the space taken up around the edges of all windows is now so much larger, don't get me started on the bin containers, they are just plain ridiculous, it now takes more clicks to access the things I need. I still don't get how they work and have managed to get a project window with a settings window to behave like the old one but if I want to create a new workspace I have to go through the whole process of option clicking and opening and moving bins to keep the project and settings window where I need it, for God's sake that is just stupid.
As an online editor I need access to the desktop, I don't want to have to hide the application when I want to see scripts or documents and drag in graphics for example, so each session I have to resize the background panel!
Every time I restart the software I have to manually move the effect editor window to where I want it, my composer window and timeline are in a funny position until I choose a workspace and then throughout the session I find it has shrunk or moved.
The effects editor and tracking window always appear to the far left so I have to move them to where I 'saved' them.
I don't really have many positive comments, yes it feels a bit more faster but the icons on the timeline during scrolling for example aren't there until you pause! Final Cut Pro has had that feature for years. Overall it feels the same but looks and behaves slightly different but for all the wrong reasons.
I could go on and on about the things I hate about it but for our post facility it's what we shall always use, even though I wish we could have stayed on 2018.
Sharney A: ... if I want to create a new workspace I have to go through the whole process of option clicking and opening and moving bins to keep the project and settings windower where I need it, for God's sake that is just stupid..
... if I want to create a new workspace I have to go through the whole process of option clicking and opening and moving bins to keep the project and settings windower where I need it, for God's sake that is just stupid..
That doesn't seem right. Which version? Two monitors? I just tried using "New Workspace" from top menu on my Single monitor, main custom workspace, and it kept everything in place (which had been 100% docked, with zero Floating bins/tools). No change except for the workspace name...which I called "New". This on PC v2022.4
Workaround: Have you ever gone into Settings >> Workspaces and duplicated, then renamed an existing (good, custom) workspace and then made & saved variations on that? That is workable for me. My main workspace uses Project Tool with Settings panelled on its vertical bar.
-Telegram!
Hi Telegram
I think maybe because I am on two monitors and have all my bins/tools floating, I tried to dock them all but it just doesn't work when changing workspaces or entering the effect editor, they refused to stay where they were set up, opening a bin created a bin container between the composer window and the effect palette, I gave up. Floating has worked for me on all previous versions very well.
I haven't tried duplicating a workspace within settings, that seems like a genius idea, I'll try it Monday.
We are using version MC Ultimate v2020.12.5, possibly due to Nexis support, remote access via Jump and Mac OS Big Sur.
Sharney A: As an online editor I need access to the desktop, I don't want to have to hide the application when I want to see scripts or documents and drag in graphics for example, so each session I have to resize the background panel! Every time I restart the software I have to manually move the effect editor window to where I want it, my composer window and timeline are in a funny position until I choose a workspace and then throughout the session I find it has shrunk or moved.
Hi, I have access to the same version as you, minus Nexis, with 2 monitors, but on PC. I am not disputing what you say is happening upon your Mac restarts... but I thought I would let you know what my set-up is like on PC... what follows becomes a bit of a real-time diary ... both for your benefit and for mine... so I remember the fix.
I'm currently happy as it stays put after closing MC and also after a restart.
When I launch MC, I choose my Project instead of it just opening the previously closed one. ( a Setting?)
While it is true that I cannot see my Desktop, MC returns to the state that I left it- with my right-side monitor showing fully-docked Composer, Timeline, Project Tool, Audio Tool, Mixer and a lone Bin Container holding all tabbed bins...with the familiar top drop-down menus above it all.
When I mouse to Windows >> Host Panels, I see Display 1 in bright white and below it, Display 2 Main which is not only ghosted, but has a ghosted checkmark to the left of the D in Display.
The left side monitor has the Effects Editor open and is Floating (wanted to test that). Not only that, it is floating above a browser window and that could easily be any other app like AE or Word. They overlap and if I make Effects Editor active it floats above again. All that is great for me, as I use scripts, etc. too.
Here's the interesting thing: if I go back to Windows>> Host Panels and SELECT Display 1, those left side apps suddenly minimize to the PC task bar. Then if I launch one of the apps that had overlapped the Effects Editor, it returns floating above Effects Editor.
However, unlike before, when I click on Effects Editor, the browser app minmizes again. At which point, I go back to Windows >> Host Panels and see a change: there is now a checkmark to the left of the bright white Display 1. Below it, the ghosted Display 2 Main continues to show its checkmark.
So, once I click on Display 1, that web browser app instantly re-appears floating behind Effects Editor on the left side monitor, and I am back to where I want to be.
If there really is "parity" between Mac and PC regarding how MC works, perhaps all this is useful for you on the Mac. I don't know.
I got my main custom editing workspace set up, then duped it to create my custom Effects workspace, including the Effects Editor open on the left side monitor, floating.
I rarely use the stock Color workspace or color-correct. I do not believe we have any way to avoid using it, though. I just switched to it and now see that my MC top menu shifted over to the left side monitor. This is NOT what I want. Looking at Windows>> Host Panels, I now see that Display 1 Main is ghosted including its checkmark; and Display 2 is bright white including its checkmark.
When I click on Display 2, the browser app appears on the left side monitor, but the MC top menu is nowhere to be found...huh? ...until I resize the Floating Effects Palette and Composer tools on the very top of the right side monitor.
This is in the Color workspace. To make sure it is indeed the stock Color workspace, I select Workspace >>Color >> Reset Current to Default.
Upon clicking yes to the "Are you sure you want to Restore... your Settings will be lost?" Message (paraphrased), I receive a Crash Report "An error occurred..." box, plus yellow triangle/exclamation point Exception: Structured Exception....blah blah blah...Violation...etc. etc.dmp
Attempting to open other workspaces does nothing... time to reboot...
...upon reboot, MC opens with the Color Correction tool only, floating on left-side monitor. Nothing else visible except full screen Bin Container. Top menu on left monitor shows that my main custom workspace is Active. I switch to my custom Effects workspace and everything is back to normal, with top menu back on the right-side monitor and all tools as expected, including Effects Editor on keft side monitor. Upon switching back to my main custom workspace, it now appears normal (whew).
I repeat the steps that caused the first crash and sure enough, I cause it again. Reboot to a new plan, which succeeds:
I open stock Color workspace and duplicate it. It has Top menu on left-side monitor, with Floating Color correction tool plus 3-monitor Composer tool on right, plus Timeline. My goal was to get the top menu on tbe right-side without crashing, then set up my custom Color workspace as non-floating, i.e. docked.
I pulled both of the Color tools that opened on the right side over to the left side monitor, where they float; closed everything else. Then I "saved Current';
then I used Windows >> Host Panels and with fingers crossed, once again clicked on Display 2; this time, no crash (yeah) and now I position the MC top menu on the Right-side monitor, to match my other custom workspaces;
next, I add a Blank Window tool and make it full screen, it fills the entire Right side monitor;
then I dock the Color correction tool, the Composer 3-monitor tool, and add back Timeline, Project Tool, Bin Container, etc.
Just for kicks, I add Effects Editor floating on left-side monitor; finally I press "Save Current" on my custom Color workspace and see that I can swap workspaces freely between all 3 custom workspaces.
I add Keyboard shortcuts, since I do not use the new workspace toolbar. Now all 3 custom workspaces are swapping quickly with custom function keys... all good with both monitors, including ability to float browsers and other apps on left monitor, without minimizing. Windows >>Host Panels shows an un-checked bright white Display 1, with checked ghosted Display 2 Main below it. Last step: Save All Settings; see if all these saved custom workspaces etc. stay put, after shutting down power and a restart....
...it did.
A comprehensive note, thank you.
I've gone through it and yes I can confirm the workspace saved and the composer / timeline etc docked to the right worked brilliantly, I had the project window and settings on the right floating with all my online bins / GFX, FX etc floating with no problems. Restarted the software, brilliant still works. Until this morning, loaded the project and all looked great apart from the desktop is no longer visible even though the host panel is on the right side where the composer / timeline etc sit. If I click in the space between the floating bins on the left everything disappears, I just get a dark screen screen! The effect editor and tracking window still open up somewhere far left, that just won't act like 2018, so for the time being I'll just manually move everything each time I start.
Well, best of luck with it all. I learned that, on PC, there were two Host Panels that I could see listed in MC. Do you have two as well? It's been ages since I had a Mac 9600... so you need better suggestions... hope you get some help from support or forum mods on this. Sounds like you are going to be on that version for a while...
An update, I managed to get the workspace to behave and have the source record, timeline and effect palette to dock to the right side on top of the 'host' panel, however dialogue boxes and file options now open on the right side, which is a small price to pay.
As for all the other issues I have yet to find solutions for those.
© Copyright 2011 Avid Technology, Inc. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Site Map | Find a Reseller