Book Review The Avid Digital Editing Room Handbook, Second Edition Written by Tony Solomons, Silmen-James Press, 1999, 250 pages Review by Danny Rafic Working as an assistant editor for the past five years, I have seen many changes in the working practices of the cutting room, most notably with the widespread acceptance of the Avid and other digital technologies. Maintaining efficiency and keeping downtime to a minimum in this demanding environment is essential, so I have found it necessary to reference technical manuals for keeping abreast of the latest technological advances. One valuable and useful book I have come to rely upon is "The Avid Digital Editing Room Handbook", written by Tony Solomons. The book supplied me with much needed answers to the many questions I had as a young Avid assistant. Yet, in the two years since its release, a lot has changed in the cutting room, including the development of fibre-channel technology and introduction of new software upgrades. So, you can imagine my delight when Tony Solomons updated and expanded his book into a second edition, published last month by Silman-James Press. The new "Avid Digital Editing Room Handbook" is more than a revamp of the first edition. In many ways it is a brand new book, with new chapters devoted to software upgrades, third-party applications and hardware. Some of the new sections focus on fibre channel, the Tascam DA-88 audio recorder, Media Composer 7.2 and Film Composer 8.0. Solomons has also expanded the first edition to integrate more information on cutting-room chores, such as prepping for telecine, daily roll breakdown and coding. These and other organizational tips give the reader step-by-step insight into the active cutting room, from principal photography to final cut. I was also happy to see that the second edition - much like the first - is written in plain English and includes a comprehensive index for quick reference. Illustrations are provided to better assist you in visualizing the editorial process. Solomons knows exactly what information is helpful to workers in a film or digital cutting room. His book deals not only with the Avid, but also with the third-party products that integrate into the editing system. The reader is guided through some of the most complicated procedures a cutting room encounters, including telecine and the 3-2 pulldown, media management and shared storage, sound turnover, digitizing, cut lists, change lists, outputs and film conforming, temp dubs and preventive maintenance. The "Digital Editing Room Handbook" is endorsed by several notable editors. It is now available at Samuel French, (323) 876-0570, and amazon.com.   Danny Rafic is an assistant editor, and can be contacted via email   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter Vol. 20, No. 6 - Sep/Oct 1999   Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 1999, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700