Going north to visit Avid

I am headed for Massachusetts tomorrow to spend a couple of days with the leaders of Avid. Avid is probably the largest provider of professional level video and audio recording and editing software. Our campus has used Media Composer their high end video editing product and Pro Tools, the audio recording and editing product for some time. They make a variety of creative tools, but these are the main tools that our students use.

I serve on their Education Customer Advisory Board. I feel a bit out of my league with people from the Berkeley School of Music, Yale, the USC School of Cinematography, Chapman University, and the LA Film School in attendance. I am the lone Chief Information Officer on the group. I guess this makes me sort of the token techy, but that's Ok. I contribute where I can on issues like data storage, security, licensing and other less creative stuff.

I do it because I believe that my University has the golden opportunity to be one of the leaders in the production of digital content on the east coast. I know, this is a bold statement. Salisbury University built a fantastic digital media center in 2008. We have two video studios (HD and SD) and an HD audio recording studio. Of course we also have over a dozen video editing suites and seven audio suites. Oh, we also have computer labs for digital photo and new media. Despite the nice facilities, we have a great deal to learn and almost all of the schools on this board have already reached the top of their fields.

Although, I still feel a bit out of my element it's always an exciting trip. This spring we are headed to Burlington, Mass. The new Avid HQ. The Avid leadership always comes out in force and the other board members are unassuming and extremely bright.

If you have a minute check out these short videos to see what is all about:

Media Composer 5
Pro Tools 9

It is really exciting to see the touring freshmen light up when they see the studios and watch students working. Genuine excitement cannot be hidden and it's very cool to watch.You can learn much more about both products by thumbing through the many YouTube videos.

BTW, don't forget that more and more digital media is being distributed through the web. A foundation in web design cannot hurt.