I'm just starting out on the Avid DS and in my market, no one really uses them, except for the occasional promo and for finishing. I was wondering how many people on this board are using the DS for the entire workflow, from digitizing to delivery and how many people were still cutting long form projects on Media Composer and the like and then bringing the project to the DS for finishing?

90% of our work is start to finish in DS. That includes corporate, commercial, long form. 

 

It's just so very convenient to be able to dig at low res, create your cut - with effects, keys, mattes, tracks, all of it and then for your conform, all you are doing is recapturing at high-res. Done. Our clients are seeing the value of an incredibly fast online time and the ability to change something at the last second and not have an issue because all of the footage is on the other system. The creative guy is doing the conform, so nothing gets lost in the translation.  (5 rooms like this)

I find the editing side of DS to be every bit as fast as a seasoned MC editor. I dread having to cut on a MC because I feel like my hands are tied. not so on DS.

Hope that helps,

Tom

Hey Producer, don't let the lack of replies lead you to believe the numbers are low. I just think you might get a better response on the googlegroups DS-List. 

I've been using DS for soup-to-nuts post since version 2.0. It's a fabulous tool for small shops needing to do big work. I started in a post house in Tennessee and moved to an agency in Alabama. I know people in post houses, TV stations, motor homes even, who use DS for start-to-finish projects. It's editing tools are tremendous and fast, and I love being able to create nearly-finished or finished elements as the creative edit progresses. 

We're close to upgrading to v10.5 (this year Lord willing) and I'm looking forward to charging into the future with a stylus in my hand.

John

Same thing here - Start to Finish on the DS.  Mostly long form, but some shorter pieces too.  I prefer creative editing on the DS and I also try to avoid the offline/online scenario as much as possible.  Unfortunately, that does mean that I sometimes have to "finish" on FCP or MC.

John, glad to hear you're at least cautiously optimistic about the upgrade this year.  I'll be listening for a big sigh of relief coming from down south when it happens.

producer1302:

I was wondering how many people
on this board are using the DS for the entire workflow...

Of course it all depends on what you're doing but I've been
using the DS as an offline/online system from day 1. 
And "day 1" happend sometime in the autumn of 2001.

So I mostly work in short-form, like DVD/BluRay-releases,
CD/music-releases and promos for cinema opening nights.

And of course that might be one key factor for working
this way. But even as a "simple cutter" and audio-editor
I'd still prefer the DS over "some other systems".

//mike