Avid Studio Review

Video editing is a slightly intimidating yet phenomonally creative field to delve into. Avid Technology is one of the big names behind many of the best desktop programs for performing such tasks. Now, such fine work has been transferred to the iPad with the release of Avid Studio, a great app that's useful for many experience levels, even if it is a little confusing at first.

Avid Studio offers all the tools needed in order to accurately edit video files or create videos out of a series of still images. Drag and drop controls ensure that it's designed perfectly for the iPad format. A storyboard section on the top half of the screen is used to add videos or photos, then it's just a matter of rearranging the order to suit the piece. Clips and transitional elements can then be added plus musical segments and sound effects.

At first, it is confusing to fully understand what each icon does. While help files exist, being guided through the basic steps as part of a tutorial would have helped in the early stages. Avid Studio is a powerful app when fully mastered but the time needs to be put in to truly see the benefits.

Placing items into the storyboard is simply done but the wealth of options is pretty impressive. Composite pieces can be created by dragging one item on top of another and timings can be adjusted accordingly. A trimming/razor tool can make precise cuts at any point, offering the user plenty of power over their creations.

Figuring out such arrangements is mostly laid out via the timeline feature covering the bottom half of the screen. It shows how the video is laid out and also offers the means in which to add audio files and adjust timings to one hundredth of a second accuracy.

Over a dozen different montage templates are available along with customizable titles to add the personal touch to any video creations. While some of the sound effects included sound a little low quality, it's a minor point given the price of the app.

In terms of limitations, Avid Studio does offer only two different transitional effects (dissolve and fade in/fade out). There's also no way of importing videos from Avid Studio Desktop Edition despite being able to do so the other way round.

Other than that though and Avid Studio is a pretty impressive tool. Problems with stability on the iPad 1 have been reported but with the iPad 2, I found it a speedy and stable experience. Mastering it might take some time for novice users but it'll be worth it. It's a great way of editing video while on the move.