Avid Xpress Pro Power!

Here are some points to consider when using Boris FX with Avid Xpress Pro:

• If you're going to create a picture-in-picture effect, stay in the Avid Xpress Pro interface. Although Boris FX is a great software program, rendering can be a killer. Avid Xpress Pro's rendering capabilities are much quicker.

• If you need to use more than six tracks in your composite, export tracks out of Avid Xpress Pro independently as QuickTime movies, which Boris FX can import quite easily (see Figure A.10).

  Figure Figure A.10. In Boris FX it's easy to import QuickTime movies.

• If you're working with complex composites, turn off the Render-on-the-Fly option in Avid Xpress Pro. This way, you can navigate through the Timeline with ease.

• Keep in mind that Boris FX list tracks from top down. This is the opposite way that Avid Xpress Pro lists tracks. To avoid any confusion, some editors rename the tracks in Boris FX.

• Use the Add Edits command to divide clips into more manageable sizes when applying Boris FX layered effects.

• Boris FX doesn't adhere to the standard 720x480 frame size. Pictures and files of multiple resolutions can be imported and used in Boris FX.

• Although Avid Xpress Pro doesn't support certain After Effects filters, Boris FX does. This allows you to apply Boris FX filters to tracks in Avid Xpress Pro.

• Use the Preview to RAM feature in Boris FX to see your results before you render the effect in Avid Xpress Pro (see Figure A.11). Preview to RAM plays through the Timeline without rendering the effect. The system simply uses the RAM to play back the clip.

  Figure Figure A.11. You can use the Preview to RAM feature to watch your work in Boris FX before you decide to render the effect in Avid Xpress Pro.