TEWKSBURY, Mass.­-(Jan. 24, 2001 )-- Avid Technology, Inc. has announced that ten Avid Media Composer nonlinear editing systems are being used to produce the second edition of the CBS hit series, "Survivor." Six systems were shipped to Australia and were used to digitize and edit footage onsite in the Outback, and four additional systems have been added to complete post-production work in Los Angeles.

"In a reality-based program, such as `Survivor,' the story really unfolds in the cutting room," said Michael Duffy, post production producer for "Survivor: The Australian Outback." "Therefore, it is critical that our editors use best-of-breed post production tools. Avid Media Composer provides the speed and flexibility required to produce high quality, compelling content under tight deadlines. The Avid systems are also extremely reliable - a key factor when working in the Australian Outback, far away from any technical support."

The six Avid Media Composer systems arrived in the Outback shortly before the 16 contestants embarked on their 42-day quest for a million dollars. The systems were housed on location in air-conditioned trailers, as the staff was careful to protect them from the high levels of dust and 110(degree) heat. The on-site post production team consisted of 23 people, including six dedicated Avid editors, who worked around the clock to manage the large quantities of footage.

Mark Burnett Productions, the production company responsible for the "Survivor" series, used 16 camera crews and up to 24 cameras to capture the necessary material to craft the story. The contestants were separated into two tribes, each of which was tracked by two camera crews day and night. During the "games," all 16 camera crews were employed, and up to eight additional un-manned DV cameras were used.

At the end of each day, the raw footage was delivered to the Avid Media Composer trailers. In order to maximize time in the editing suites, the footage was logged and digitized overnight. That way, editors could use the systems exclusively for editing during the day. According to Duffy, the ability of the Avid Media Composer systems to handle multiple tracks of audio and video was particularly useful during this process, as editors had such large volumes of material with which to work. For example, the "immunity challenges," in which all the contestants participate, sometimes resulted in up to 11 hours of footage from 24 different camera angles. By laying down the footage in multiple tracks on the Avid timeline, editors were able to quickly and clearly identify the best shots. This technique was also helpful during the cutting of the "Tribal Councils."

While in the Australian Outback, the editors focused primarily on the first three episodes, with the premiere episode taking approximately 11 weeks to complete. "The first episode is the most critical because the contestants' identities are shaped and the storyline starts to form," said Duffy. "Every subsequent episode builds on the first."

Even now, with the premiere episode days away, the "Survivor: The Australian Outback" editors have not even started to work on the finale. They are now working day and night at Survivor Entertainment Group's LA facility and have already added three more Media Composer systems to their workflow. A tenth Media Composer system with the Meridien hardware is being used for uncompressed online finishing.

Looking ahead to "Survivor III," Duffy wants to incorporate an Avid Unity system into his post-production workflow. "The combination of Avid Unity's storage and asset management capabilities would be the perfect complement to our workflow needs, as we could speed up the editing process by being able to easily organize, retrieve and review media."

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