By Jonathan Moser

I have a confession, one that could get me thrown out of the editor’s union (if I still belonged to it). I’m embarrassed to say it… totally ashamed… but here goes: I love color-coded and mapped keyboards! There, I said it, and I feel better for it.

I’ve been editing a very long time, using CMX, Grass Valley, ISC, Calloway and others, all the way to Avid Media Composer.  I know, I know… you younger editors laugh in the face of these keyboards. Many of you love your plain-vanilla, sometimes even blank keyboards. You don’t need graphics on your keys because your muscle memory lands you right on the correct key every time. But I’m older. My memory has no muscles left… and I like the bright colors and symbols. They help cue my fingers where to go and find the right command, and my brain doesn’t have to work so hard. That’s why Logickeyboard products have always been my go-to. I’m happy to say the company has a new offering, and it’s great.

Remember all those buried shortcuts in Media Composer that could take you to secret places in your editing system that you might not have known even existed? (Things like creation settings or your calculator or timeline settings with a press of your control or shift key, no mousing around?) Well, while most keyboards let you see these hidden shortcuts on their keys, usually it was just one level deep. This new Pro version  lets you see three levels deep, getting you to workflow heaven with faster speed in fewer steps.

Besides the solid keystroke action of the Logickeyboard brand and the bright, backlit keys with their vivid colors (fun fact: Logickeyboard was the first to bring back the Liftman icon after years of his mysterious disappearance.), the keyboard follows standard Avid keyboard shortcut architecture and displays these hidden shortcuts in a vibrant and eye-catching way. The keys’ graphics are split, clearly displaying what the shortcut is. One half of the key’s display is the standard alphanumeric letter and overall key function (mark in, mark out, place marker, insert, etc.) as on most of today’s keyboards, but the upper half of the key shows you where the shift, control and alt key functions to the shortcuts go. They do this with colored dots (purple, violet, red and blue) indicating what function they perform. Sound confusing? It’s really not, and it becomes intuitive quickly.

I’ve been on the keyboard for a while and have discovered this arrangement does indeed speed me up — maybe not by light speed, but enough to make the workflow go a bit smoother. And since I was never a big shortcut guy in the first place, I’ve learned over the past few weeks to indeed become more efficient, finding those speedy secrets that stop all the mousing I’m used to doing. I’m sure younger, less stodgy editors will have a field day with this keyboard.

I don’t really know the effect the keyboard will have on us kinda-stuck-in-our-ways editors, but I imagine for those rookies brave enough to start on Media Composer, it can really ease their learning curve and allow them to rely on memory and use the visual cues this gives them.

You can see over 135 shortcuts on these keys, up from 62 in the previous iterations of Logickeyboard’s product line — a 135% increase.

The solid feel of the keyboard, with its quiet push action, has great tactile feedback and smooth travel without requiring a lot of effort, and the sculptured keys make touch location precise and easy.  The keyboard’s durable scissor switch mechanism will provide a lifetime of durability (my Logickeyboard has lasted over five years so far). The mechanism has been beefed up from the previous Astra builds.

In addition, there is now a more robust USB 3 SuperSpeed port offering enough power to drive peripherals like SSD drives or keyboard lights and other accessories. The impressive, heavy-duty, color-coded (and long) cabling from the keyboard (which ends in two USB A connectors — one to power the keyboard and lighting and the second to power the previously mentioned USB 3.0 port) is durable and can weather a lot of abuse. You can actuate five levels of brightness with the press of a button on the numeric keypad, which can also control audio volume.

As for keyboard height and angle, the Pro is the same as the previous Astra2. It has a fixed, low-profile design at an 8-degree tilt.

Final Thoughts
Is it worth upgrading your older keyboard to the Pro? If you’re a seasoned veteran, perhaps. It’s an attractive replacement if it’s time to update. If you’re an editor who wants to up your performance level, take in new methodology and speed up your game and your workflow, it’s definitely worth it.

Logickeyboard has taken a lot of time to create something both highly functional and attractive — a lot of thought went into efficiency and the needs of editors. It’s a beautiful and ultimately useful addition to an editor’s toolkit, especially with the lights out.

Summary of Highlights:

• • New split key design offers 135 shortcuts, up from the original 62.
  • Shortcuts are Avid default; no remapping needed.
  • Color-coded modifiers delineate easily defined shortcuts in an innovative, easily readable dot legend.
  • Strong build using the time-tested Astra2 keyboard assembly.
  • Powerful USB 3 port can handle SSDs, webcams, most any peripheral.
  • Dimensions 17.6” X 6.0” X 1.2,” weight 2.1lbs
  • Available for both PC and Mac.
  • MSRP $149.90

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Jonathan Moser is a six-time Emmy winning editor/producer working in NY. He can be reached for work at flashcutter@gmail.com. His website is www.remoteediting.tv.