[Ben Holmes]

Well, I guess we’ll be proved right or wrong later. I’m guessing everyone will find something to dislike in change.

One thing I cannot get past is this: If Apple is not releasing a ‘pro’ app, why the hell would they do it at Supermeet? In front of the professional media users of the world? If they were quietly dumbing down FCP, you’d just see a new release on the Apple homepage. This all smells to me of pro.

However, I think the software will be far easier to operate. This might alarm some old-guard (I’ve seen a lot of them bristle already) and delight new users. And a solid base of new users is what FCP needs to survive as an industry standard in a dinosaur-run TV industry.

Less than a day until we know.

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/casestudies/detail.asp?case=therydercup

[Ben Holmes]

When I stop using Final Cut, I’ll use the new Final Cut.

Everyone chill out and wait a day. If you honestly think all the signs point to iMovie Pro you’re reading them wrong. You don’t think Blackmagic et al have seen the new version?

And ‘that panel’ is mostly a bunch of people bemoaning a process that’s been occurring since 1999: Editing software is getting easier to operate and cheaper to buy. Good. I already charge a lot more for my time than I do for my edit gear. Cheaper software makes my life easier.

My money is still with Apple – but then I generally agree with ‘skating to where the puck is’ in business as well. Avid have taken 10 years to implement features that have been in FCP since it launched. It’s time to move the game on – touch surfaces, lower costs, faster renders, tapeless.

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/casestudies/detail.asp?case=therydercup

[Ben Holmes]

And the important point here is to go to an independent consultant. Not a reseller – most of whom have any idea what a suite should contain, and all of whom will try to sell you whatever crap they get good margins on.

So what questions should you ask him/her?

1. You need a good desk – the ergonomic edit desks are a boon, but don’t get carried away, beyond it having space for monitors etc at the right height. Some of the expensive ones are a waste of money. As others have said – get the best chair the budget allows.

2. You will need an enclosure for the edit gear – a ‘hush box’ for the Mac and video array are a big plus when you have to be around the gear all the time. There are a good number of enclosed racks on the market. Clients will thank you for it too. If you have tape machines in there, you may need to think about a full height enclosure which can be expensive.

3. You need a good video monitor – don’t skimp, but don’t get suckered into a $30000 Barco either, unless you are a colorist. A well calibrated $3000 monitor is more than enough. For the office next door, get a pro plasma.

4. Good audio monitoring is important and doesn’t cost much these days. As others have said, if the walls are especially shiny, you might want to clad them – but it’s not essential with decent nearfield monitors.

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/casestudies/detail.asp?case=therydercup

[Ben Holmes]

[Pat DeFilippo] “And, of course, whatever the announcement is, I won’t be buying it until X.1 or even X.2 comes out!!!”

I’ve got a feeling I’m going to be getting this on the day of release, bugs or no, and onto a system with a brand new GPU straight away if this is 10 percent as good as I think it will be.

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/casestudies/detail.asp?case=therydercup

[Ben Holmes]

It would be foolish to look at hardware requirements now with a new version of FCP only a week away – it may be that realtime capabilities in this and workflow changes will change your mind. I’d also expect to see Thunderbolt rolled out quickly to other machines (iMacs and Mac Pros).

IMHO – now is NOT a good time to buy, unless you want a Macbook Pro, which have been recently updated.

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/casestudies/detail.asp?case=therydercup

[Ben Holmes]

And the Atamos Samurai gives a similar choice for ProRes records at $1500.

So why do camera manufacturers still give us AVCHD….?

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/casestudies/detail.asp?case=therydercup

[Ben Holmes]

It’s relatively easy to export your audio as a multitrack file (OMF) to Soundtrack Pro. You can then make each track a surround track and use the surround panning controls to send your effects etc. to the relevant speakers. As a rule, dialogue comes out of the front centre, music to the left/right front (as per normal stereo) and effects as required (ambient effects are great at the back where relevant).

You can either export this to discrete 5.1 channels or make an ac3 file that can be burnt with your video to a Blu-Ray or DVD.

Have a read of the Soundtrack Pro manual – I found it reasonably clear and useable.

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/casestudies/detail.asp?case=therydercup

[Ben Holmes]

Not to be funny (or snarky for the sake of it) but doesn’t anyone learn anything technical any more?

How can you expect to deliver for broadcast television if you don’t understand title safe areas?

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/casestudies/detail.asp?case=therydercup

[Ben Holmes]

Others have noted the XDCAM issues with FCP before. I’ve argued that this is common on all projects in FCP with large numbers of media items – so this can happen with P2, XDCam, or even converted ProRes files. Large project files also cause instability.

To me – this is a clear indication that FCP has a problem managing a lot of individual media items in a single project. Previously, when people imported tape reels, rather than 200 individual items, this was less of an issue.

I would suggest you cut your timeline up into individual sections, and manage the media as best you can into smaller blocks – ‘reels’ if you see what I mean, as individual projects. This should cure the problem.

Ben

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/casestudies/detail.asp?case=therydercup

[Ben Holmes]

Thanks Mike – that’s very useful. I know AVID Unity and Interplay is an option – good to see Editshare working as well. Of course, with ethernet, it’s just another piece of IP addressed storage.

Ben

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/casestudies/detail.asp?case=therydercup