The Truth About Video Editing Software in Hollywood - 7 Year Update!

Exactly what video editing software does Hollywood use for film and television? I have an update to our most popular episode from seven long years ago, and today we’ll reexamine the landscape and see how Hollywood has adapted since then, including a change from the big three solutions.

The original “The Truth About Video Editing Software” in 2017 got some attention.

Many years ago, I dissected the video editing landscape here in Hollywood and told you what most editors were using. But most importantly, why? Now, before we look at what’s changed, I do encourage you to check out the original The Truth About Video Editing Software in Hollywood from 2017, to see how we got to where we were…then.

Since 2017, desktop software has improved. New tools have now entered the market, and creating content on your phone now includes editing. There are just so many options out there, so I’ve reached out to various folks in the industry, both on the business and creative side. Some have been under FrieNDA (which is my favorite type of agreement) and some have been under the cloak of night in empty parking garages here in Southern California. But all have granular insight into the industry and where we are today.

1. Avid Media Composer

When we last left Avid in 2017, they were the undisputed software choice for film and TV picture editing here in Hollywood. Media Composer, their flagship product, had multiple versions for beginners, professionals, and enterprise users. And as a side note, they dominated the post-audio market with Pro Tools. Avid even had their own branded hardware.

Now you’ve got to consider the singularly unique place Avid was during 2017.

Media Composer looked…well, let’s face it, dated. It was designed using then-decades-old iconography and design, which was legacy from the days of helping film editors transition from analog editing to digital. Because most film and TV post-production pipelines within post facilities relied on Avid-centric workflows, updating the interface and workflows to attract new users and to grow Avid’s business heavily risked alienating existing users. As my grandmother used to say, “You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.”

However, in 2019, Avid completed a new look for Media Composer, although they eventually acquiesced and offered the “Classic” look several years later. Avid has also since introduced UME, their new “Universal Media Engine,” which replaces AMA and thus successfully dodges another unfortunate product name (*cough* Avid ISIS *cough*).

After 30 years, Media Composer and Pro Tools finally have direct interoperability.

And after 30 years, Avid finally made the round trip workflow from Avid Media Composer to Avid Pro Tools and back easy with a direct session import and export. No AAFs needed!

When the pandemic hit, the industry had to quickly adapt while working remotely, and while Avid had existing products for these distributed teams, they were either expensive or better suited for broadcast news, or they were still in beta like Avid’s cloud editing product, Edit on Demand, which was both expensive and in beta.

Despite t