CAN YOU EDIT FROM AVID MEDIA COMPOSER MEDIA (MXFS) IN OTHER VIDEO EDITING APPS?
Yes, but you have to plan for it or know if those MXFs could be useful in your favorite editing app.
MXFs come in two varieties: OP-Atom and OP1a.
OP-Atom MXFs are the individual video and audio streams Media Composer then combines into one Clip inside a Bin.
If you use something like IINA or VLC to open an OP-Atom MXF:
- If that MXF contains a video stream, you’ll see video but won’t hear any audio.
- Conversely, if that MXF contains an audio stream, you’ll hear the audio recorded on that channel, but you won’t see any video.
Other video editing apps like Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro can play OP-Atom MXFs, but unlike Media Composer, those apps can’t combine OP-Atom MXFs and present them to you as one single Clip in their UI.
Enter OP1a MXFs.
Where you can liken OP-Atom MXFs to (yes) individual atoms – one MXF file equals one stream of video or audio – an OP1a MXF is All Inclusive. OP1a MXFs contain all the video and audio you recorded in one file. And yes, you can open OP1a MXFs in capable video player apps like IINA or VLC, and they’ll open just as you would expect when opening other media files, like MOVs and MP4s.
But is that really true?
Here’s a set of OP1a MXFs.
I transcoded one set of files to DNxHD (1920x1080 at 25 fps) and another to DNxHR (3840x2160 at 23.98 fps) using Hedge’s EditReady and this workflow article I wrote for EditReady.
Here’s Final Cut Pro 10.7.1, which can decode DNxHD and DNxHR MXFs.
I imported these OP1a MXFs into an Event, inserted them into a new Project, and – boom – I’m cutting with OP1a MXF media. That’s it. 👌🏽
You can follow the same steps in Premiere Pro and get the same results.
But you might say, “OK I hear ya Hot Sauce, but… why?”
We’re in an era when video editors expect interoperability. Projects like OpenTimelineIO (OTIO) are getting closer and closer to becoming a new standard for getting work in and out of your favorite video editor. Avid themselves are now publicly showing how Media Composer may support OTIO.
But how Media Composer generates and uses media – special files that must be placed in special folders – has always been a hurdle.
Using OP1a MXFs from Media Composer, you can take one step further toward working on the same set of media in whatever editing or finishing app you wish.
And if you think OP1a MXFs aren’t intended for editorial, you might check out these resources:
Made by TAIYAKI (https://www.youtube.com/@tnozaki4372).
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Also see the Making Of…, just phenomenal.
🍿
USING MIMIQ - BUT HOW DO YOU REALLY KNOW…?
Here’s something Avid Media Composer teams often ask me:
“OK… Mimiq says I’m supposed to have Bin Locking on these volumes, but how do I really know?”
The key is Media Composer recognizing a volume as an Avid NEXIS Drive.
But will Media Composer just… tell you which volumes are Avid NEXIS Drives? Yes indeed:
- macOS -
Avid Media Composer > About Avid Media Composer > Hardware > Avid NEXIS Drives - Windows -
Help > About Avid Media Composer > Hardware > Avid NEXIS Drives
Don’t believe the UI? You can double down on your skepticism using Media Composer’s Console with this command:
DumpVolumes
The result is a list of volumes Media Composer can see, plus this handy bit of info: the filesystem of each volume.
When you see:
- macOS -
fileSys: FILE_SYS_AVIDFS - Windows -
fileSys: FILE_SYS_AVIDFOS
That’s how you really know – you have Bin Locking (and now refreshing locked Bins!), thanks to Mimiq. 👌🏽
Hello! My contract with the amazing team at Hedge has come to an end, so it’s time I hang out my #OpenToWork shingle.
Do you know someone who could use someone like me?
- Workflow Architect / Strategist
- Solutions Consultant
- Technical Writer
Let’s talk! 🙂
Feel free to DM me, or: hey@isaact.co
It’s hard to talk about Formula 1 without spoiling a race. But today was another race where I have to say:
I really enjoy Formula 1.
#MonacoGP
Phil Rosenthal and his family and team are good people. Thoroughly enjoy their show.
Been a massive fan of Carrtoons for so long. Their Tiny Desk is just… so right.
Congratulations, Ben, Joanna, et al. I still remember seeing y’all at The Rosendale Street Festival back in 2013.
(Seriously, who can help them get on The Tonight Show?)
Right on.
I’m at an outdoor market with one soundtrack, but the beer garden across the street has its own.
I’m enjoying this accidental house remix of The Temptations.
I read bringing Moonlighting to streaming was tricky due to sorting out music rights.
This scene from S02:E06 (Knowing Her) originally aired with a legendary Isley Brothers track…
…but they replaced it with a Wesley Bright track. You know… it works! (And it’s better!)
📺
I just discovered Jason Allard’s YouTube channel.
Not only are his subjects up my alley, this piece on the now defunct Rocky Point Amusement Park is well written, well executed, and lots of fun.
There’s expediency versus expeditiousness, but how about use versus utilize?
Example:
You use a bat to play baseball, but someone may utilize a bat for self-defense.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/is-utilize-a-word-worth-using
Sometimes I think my little corner of the social media sphere is too quiet.
Then I get wind of a video that was made about a certain software’s lack of updates and the creator released it anyway after the team addressed those core concerns, and now I’m OK with being in my little quiet place again.
ISAAC T.’S POST-NAB 2024 HIGHLIGHTS
I’m fresh off the NAB boat.
First, a big Thank You to everyone who stopped by the Hedge booth this year. 🙏🏽
PostLab 2.0? We showed it, and we think you’ll agree with Michael: you’ll love it.
Mimiq with Bin Refresh and NEXIS co-existence? We showed it, and message received: we’ll take it out of the oven as soon as it’s ready.
Then there’s Arctic. If you’re at NAB you might feel like you’re in the minority as a Final Cut Pro user. Don’t believe the hype. Your response to Arctic proves what we knew all along: FCP’s alive and well.
I would’ve written something more comprehensive in years past, but you can read or see what Hedge unveiled at NAB this year from some more choice places.
Provideo Coalition
Ripple Training
▶️ (Scrub to 3:09)
Larry Jordan
Joey /// VP Land
CineD
Article – https://www.cined.com/hedge-offshoot-and-canister-updates-postlab-2-0-explained/
And if you want the nitty gritty, from the Hedge Blog: Press Release: Improve your creative workflow with Hedge at NAB 2024
PostLab 2.0 demo media provided by:
- Footage: EditStock
- 3D: Joseph Terronez (Artstation, Instagram: @joseph.terronez)
As for non-Hedge news, I think there’s one company you should keep an eye on – MTI Film: https://mtifilm.com. I heard about MTI while watching this year’s Pre-NAB Editors Lounge.
If you want to see a proper application of AI in action, MTI are doing it with their DRS Nova restoration platform. After the demo, my jaw was on the floor. They had a modest booth in 2024, but I think you’ll see a slightly larger booth from them next year.
Shout out to Shahrzad, Edwin, and Brian for showing me some amazing work.
Restaurant Recommendations
La Vecindad - legit Mexican food. The restaurant’s theme took the team by surprise until Colin and I showed them where it came from. 😄
Arawan Thai Bistro - they ask if you want it spicy from one to ten. I asked for a nine. It was a nine. 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Yukon Pizza - six different pies, zero disappointment.
See you at IBC! 🇳🇱
SUPPORT A NICE BUSINESS - RETRO ISLAND GAMING
I stumbled upon this vlog for a new shop in Long Island - Retro Island Gaming:
They’re putting a lot of care into their brick and mortar location and their webstore feels quite nice. They even have a Quality Standards article so you can buy with confidence.
I don’t know these people, but I want to support people like them.
(And if they’re reading this, store those DS titles in some sort of three-ring binder; you’ll be re-sorting those bins daily.)
👾🎮🕹️
STORMY VS. SPOOKY
I heard this song Stormy used on a TV show recently.
I was instantly back in my CRX – no-A/C, windows down, bobbin' my head.
Then I thought, “This song sounds a lot like that other song Spooky, doesn’t it?”
TIL: same group, same chord progression. I ain’t even mad tho.
Also, the group’s name is Classics IV. I thought that was the title of a compilation.
Do I know anyone who worked for AlphaTauri (https://alphatauri.com)?
If AlphaTauri published a look book (or even brand guidelines) for their work during the 2022 and 2023 F1 seasons, I would absolutely buy it. Extraordinary design work.
Algoriddim’s djay – now with Apple Music… 🔥🔥🔥
(Wouldn’t mind trying this with a Vision Pro.)
MY (RE-)DEFINITION OF SUMMER MADNESS
I listened to this QLS episode recently featuring George Brown of Kool & the Gang.
Wow, what an education.
For years, I thought Jeff Townes (AKA DJ Jazzy Jeff) sampled Roy Ayers' Everybody Loves the Sunshine for Summertime.
Nope.
That would be Kool & the Gang’s Summer Madness.
Oh yeah, did you know Kool & the Gang is the Number 1 sampled band of all time?
Figure 1. ⤵️
And that’s why Will Smith ends their seminal track:
And this is the Fresh Prince’s new definition of summer maaaadness.
🎤🫳🏽
Bonus Track
Today marks 4 years of D-Nice on the ones and the twos at Club Quarantine.
Thank you, D.
More of these three together, please.
YouTube algorithm got me again. 😆
Fred Armisen at his best.
How big of a Bad Robot fan am I? This is my third watch of Felicity and I can spot a few more easter eggs this go-round (Michael Peña as Bryan Burk AKA “Burkie” 😄).
THANK YOU, MR. SAKAMOTO.
As I was watching The GRAMMYs this year, the In Memoriam… section hit when…
…
How did I miss that? 😔
Now I’m watching the Oscars. The In Memoriam… section just happened, and there he is again. It feels like the right time to say… something.
Let’s start here:
Yeah, he made that.
But that’s not my first memory of his music.
I fell in love with a score he did for a little movie from 1987. No, not that film from 1987. This one:
That was 1999. After that, I dove headlong into his music. Well….I tried.
You see, back in 1999, you had to buy music from a store. Those stores broke out music into categories. One of these was labeled “World Music”, a bit of a catch-all where you could find Mr. Sakamoto’s albums. At the time, his albums were imported from Japan, so… they were a bit out of my price range.
After downloading as many tracks as I could from ✌🏽the Internet✌🏽, eventually I came into a bit of money.
That’s when Mr. Sakamoto collaborated with a brilliant couple – the Morelenbaum’s – and made this: Casa.
Then I found Tango, Opus, Risky… how did all of this come from the same mind?
Cut to: 2020
Japan understood the pandemic, so there were no in-person concerts or performances. That’s when Mr. Sakamoto did this:
And then, something I never thought possible. On December 12, 2020, I saw Mr. Sakamoto perform live (via livestream). It felt like a gift made just for me for enduring the pandemic. I woke up at four in the morning to experience it, and it was absolutely worth it.
As of this writing, Mr. Sakamoto’s work is easily accessible on every major streaming platform. I use Apple Music, and their collection of his works seems complete, so, here you go – https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ryuichi-sakamoto/271593168.
After taking in all that goodness, look up other greatness that was in Mr. Sakamoto’s orbit like his other work in video games, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Akiko Yano. (Especially Akiko Yano.)
I could go on and on, but it’s time I say good-bye and… thank you. Thank you, Sakamoto-san.
This song hits me in the chest every time. It’s even better when Billie and Finneas perform it live.