When the iPad first launched in early 2010, the device was criticized by some for being geared toward content consumption, rather than creation. To be sure, the iPad turns out to be a very effective way to read and watch videos, but the tablet form factor is well on its way to maturing into a full-fledged content creation tool.
Its not the first video-editing app for the iPad, but Avid Studio, which was released earlier today, stands out as one of the more sophisticated offerings out there. Its interface will be familiar to anybody who uses Avid’s desktop video-editing suite, or even products like iMovie or Final Cut Pro X.
When launched, the app starts by scanning your iPad’s media library for video clips, photos and audio files. Thus, if you want to work on a specific project, you’ll need to load that content onto your iPad first. From there, simple editing is a matter of touching elements, dragging them and then dropping them onto the storyboard. In addition to loading and sequencing media files, the app comes equipped with a few transitions, montage effects and text frames. Simple editing tasks like splitting a clip and reordering it are done with just a few taps and drags.
At the end of the day, any professional-quality video editing is going to be done on a desktop suite like Avid Pro or Final Cut Pro X. Avid realizes this and, in addition to Facebook, email and YouTube exports, it lets you push projects to their desktop application to take things to the next level.
But if you have basic or even somewhat sophisticated editing needs, this app will do it. For second generation iPads that come equipped with a camera, it offers a great way to shoot a few basic angles of video, cut it up and patch it all together on the go.
Very seldom is the raw video you shoot on an iOS or Android device ready for prime time once the record button stops. The ability to edit it directly on the iPad offers a nice middle ground between uploading junk and importing everything to the desktop for more extensive modifications.
At $4.99, Avid Studio for iPad is much more affordable than its desktop counterpart, although clearly Avid hopes you’ll spring for that too if you like the tablet version. The company plans on raising the iOS app’s price to $7.99 in a few weeks.
