Avid Technology wins Oscar for digital film editing system

17 Jun 2002

The first Oscar of 1999 went to Avid Technology, Inc., whichreceived the award Feb. 27 at the Scientific and TechnicalAwards presentation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts andSciences.

The Academy presented 35 awards for scientific and technicalachievement. Avid received an Oscar statuette for anaccomplishment in the Academy Award of Merit classificationgranted for basic achievements which have a definite influenceupon the advancement of the industry. Academy plaques are givenfor the Scientific and Engineering Award, honoring achievementswhich exhibit a high level of engineering and are important tothe progress of the industry. The Technical Achievement Award,consisting of an Academy certificate, is given foraccomplishments which contribute to the progress of the industry.

Avid Technology earned its Oscar for the concept, systemdesign and engineering of the Avid Film Composer for motionpicture editing. The Avid Film Composer is a digital, non-linear24 frame per second editing machine which uses compressionalgorithms. Shots can be stored, recalled, manipulated andplayed back instantaneously, allowing the film editor to haveunprecedented creative freedom and the ability to realize a filmmore fully.

Unlike the Oscars for motion pictures, which require thatthe motion picture was first shown in a Los Angeles theaterduring the previous year, accomplishments earning Scientific andTechnical Awards need not have been invented during the previousyear. Achievements are considered only if they have proven theirexceptional merit through successful use.

Previous Oscars have established that distinction for Avid. The English Patient and Titanic, voted the best films of 1996 and1997, are among the more than 500 feature films which have beenedited on Avid's Film Composer and Media Composer systems.

Avid's family of products to streamline the film post-productionprocess include logging and telecine transfer, filmediting, effects creation, audio editing and mixing, and storageand networking solutions. The Avid Film Composer system whichearned the Tewksbury, Massachusetts, company an Oscar is based onthe same interface as the company's Media Composer system.

Avid notes that its Film Composer system allows the abilityto cut and paste film edits in the same way a writer can cut andpaste text in a memo. Its features and specifications includemedia capture, project management, editing features, audioediting, an optional intraframe toolset, digital video effects,compositing and color correction, integrated tilting, 16 x 9support, interoperability, and storage.

Editing features of Film Composer include an interactivetimeline, full screen editing and playback, and frame accuratetrimming. A script-based editing interface provides a directlink from the set to the cutting room with instant access toshots based upon lined scripts. Addition of the AvidDroidcontroller allows editing with a flatbed-style user interface.

Film Composer includes a range of real-time effects andtitles to allow previsualization of the final program, includingdissolves, superimpositions, wipes, flips, flops, resizes, chromakeys, rolling and crawling titles, and other effects on up to 24layers. The Intraframe editing option can allow previsualizationof complex digital effects such as matte creation, painting, andcloning. Because the Film Composer cutlist includes pixel-accurateinformation on the exact relationship of all elementsinvolved with the effect, the effects can be duplicated byoptical labs or effects houses.

Film Composer can be used in all types of NTSC or PAL-basedfeature film post production. The Film Composer databasecontains fields for keynumbers, Acmade Code, and preview codes,and up to seven timecode fields support 24, 25, and 30 drop-frameand non-drop-frame timecodes. All popular film gauges aresupported and may be mixed together for list generation,including 16 mm, 35 mm (3-perf, 4-perf and 8-perf), and allgauges of 65 mm up to the 15-perf format used in Imax films. Thelists generated can also be recalculated into any other gauge'sformat and a frame count can be generated for animation scenes.

In its announcement of the award of an Oscar to AvidTechnology, the Academy of Motion Pictures noted that Avid FilmComposer has revolutionized the art of film editing.

The Oscar was voted upon by the Academy's Board of Governorsand was based upon recommendations from the Scientific andTechnical Awards committee, which issued a call for informationto over 700 companies and individuals in the film-relatedscientific community and to past Academy Award winners.