SF Cutters March 16: 11th Anniversary

SF Cutters is meeting March 16th -- the 11th Anniversary of the 1st ever FCPUG. Back then Sharon Franklin presented on the Option key in Final Cut; Adam Wilt was an audience member.

This meeting is planned for 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM at Adobe in San Francisco. Tickets available online; capacity is limited. Here's the current agenda:

• AE guru Matt Silverman of Bonfire Labs
• Jeff Way of AJA ( Ki Pro and Ki Pro Mini) and Michael Gee with the Panasonic AF100
• an Adobe presentation
• Raffle prizes
• 6:30 - 7:00, Pizza and Drinks
• Sponsor and vendor tables

Techcrunch: FCP 2011 is real and spectacular

Alexia Tsotsis of TechCrunch is reporting that the New Final Cut Pro Is Real, And It’s Spectacular (And It’s Expected Spring 2011):

'According our very own people familiar with the matter, a small group of video editors were on the Apple campus recently in order to preview the new version of video editing software, which is in the same space as Avid and Adobe Premier [sic]. Apparently Apple is still putting the finishing touches on “the biggest overhaul to Final Cut Pro since the original version was created over 10 years ago” and wanted pro user feedback. Emphasis on “pro.”

One source described the new release as encompassing everything from low level architectural changes to a complete redesign of the user interface. It’s safe to say the newest version will be 64 bit as that’s what users have clamored the most for.

Early reports from people who have demo’d the new Final Cut Pro (FCP 8?) say that the changes are “dramatic and ambitious” and should alleviate concerns that Apple has shifted its video editing focus from the professional to the consumer space, shutting down work on FCP . Apple plans on releasing the new product in Spring 2011 according to our source, in a launch possibly coinciding with the National Association of Broadcasters conference.'

Update: Larry Jordan went to this meeting and said, "I've Seen The New Version of Final Cut Pro… and it’s a jaw-dropper."

Later... Philip Hodgetts wrote A new 64 bit Final Cut Pro?, while an Apple Insider forum was abuzz with entertaining comments.

Freeze Frame Camera Flash in FCP + more

GeniusDV has transitioned from text tutorials to video, with a current emphasis on Final Cut and Avid. A good example tutorial (via Little Frog) is Freeze Frame Camera Flash Effect using Final Cut Pro and Apple Motion:

Wohl on Final Cut & the future of editing

@idustrialrev (the plug-in maker) notes 2 old videos from YAKTV where original Final Cut team member Michael Wohl discusses the development of Final Cut and the future of editing:

'In conclusion, Michael Wohl says "Final Cut will disappear" A must watch. http://vimeo.com/8665513'

It looks like Apple will need more of this because knee jerk reflex (this post included) about reports like Apple to delay FCP-8 till August 2011 “The writing is on the wall” (apparently referring to this). Meanwhile Adobe is running a full court press; see for example Is Premiere Pro outshining Final Cut Pro? and the Switch to Premiere Pro series from Chris Fenwick.

Update: Chris Fenwick's series is good, but does show the difficulties in switching between apps with only slightly different UI models; see comments to his video on mistakes in 3 Things Premiere Pro Can't Do.

Export AE project to Final Cut Studio with Premiere +Avid +switching

Transfers of projects between After Effects and Final Cut is usually a one-way affair, export to AE and render, so there's been plenty of solutions of various cost and effort from Automatic Duck, Boris XML Transfer, Popcorn Island, Dale Bradshaw, etc.

But what if you want to export an AE project to Final Cut? A quick answer, with more resources hopefully forthcoming, is to use Dynamic Link to Premiere Pro, then export a Final Cut Pro project XML file. The project could then be sent on to Apple Color too.

By the way, you can also export to Avid with AAF or export an edit decision list (EDL). Note that trial versions of AE and Premiere are not licensed to support some features, but the log file (FCP Translation Results) describes any translation issues. Some good news is that XML from Premiere Pro CS5 does import into Final Cut Express 4.0.1. [update: read about some bug fixes for XML in Premiere Pro CS5 (5.0.2) update: bug fixes and CUDA support; there may be some inconsistencies though.]

Joost van der Hoeven of Animotion posted a video overview of the new Premiere CS5 feature in Exchange between Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro CS5 (it's also on Adobe TV now):

Premiere Pro CS5 and Final Cut Pro Exchange from animotion on Vimeo.

Update: Todd Kopriva posted about Premiere Pro overview documents for Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer users. Users switching platforms at this point may only be about money at the lower end, since Premiere is still 3rd choice in the NLE hierarchy. For context, see Final Cut Studio 4: a double scoop.

There's really no secret about the kinds of things Adobe could do to improve usability and mindshare beside luring the lukewarm from the Apple camp -- assuming that there are goals in addition to short-term sales. There's plenty of advice aimed at Apple that Adobe could implement. Beyond constant drumbeats pleading for Avid-style media management and Trim Mode (see FCP-List for pro/cons), there are more examples in the feature request list at FCPro.TV and advice from Oliver Peters on Improving FCP and Media Composer, although it's the Avid features missing from Premiere that are important.

Best Vimeo settings + FCP tutorials +iPad video

Lafcpug has lots of good info and an especially good newsletter. Here's a sampling of the current one:

"So what are the best settings to use for uploading my video to Vimeo? Probably this: [vimeo settings from A Final Cut User's Blog; in a nutshell, the QT dialog settings are mp4, h.264, 1280×720, 7-9000 kbits/s, AAC 256 kbps 48kHz].

[update: iPad video encoding settings are similar, but at 3000 Kbps with audio at 128 kbp 44.1 kHz]

Shane Ross is busy. Here are four Tutorials for Final Cut Pro:
1) FCP: Export Multiple Channels of Audio
2) FCP: Tapeless Offline / Online Workflow
3) FCP: Add Visible Timecode to Quicktime Exports
4) How to Make Smooth Slow Motion with Cinema Tools

The FCP Shortcutter is a must bookmark site. All you need to know about the keyframing shortcut, Control + K.

Oliver Peters has some more Solutions to Improve FCP’s Media Management."

Update: Philip Bloom has more, "Framing wise for 2:35 to 1 you can either mark tape on the LCD or do what I do and guesstimate! That is where the very usual matte effect built into FCP comes in handy. The Widescreen matte is very cool as it lets you set the matte to what you want then simply shift the image within that matte to make the framing work for you. Watch the video to learn more."

XML workflow between Final Cut and Premiere CS5 + FCExpress

Joost van der Hoeven of Animotion posted a video overview of the new Premiere CS5 feature Exchange between Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro CS5.

"With CS4, Adobe added XML import capabilities in Premiere Pro. In CS5 they have now also added XML export, making basic round tripping possible between Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro [and Avid]. In this tutorial I give an overview of how to exchange projects between Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro. ... But the supported options for motion graphics are very limited."
Read more...

Exact information on supported effects, transitions, composite modes, etc. for FCP exchange can be found in Premiere Pro Help. Also, feature overviews on open workflows with Final Cut and Avid software are on the main product page (Avid exchange is with AAF sequences + OMF export). Here's Joost:

Premiere Pro CS5 and Final Cut Pro Exchange from animotion on Vimeo.

Update: in a Comment below the fold, Joost also found that XML from Premiere Pro CS5 imported into Final Cut Express 4.

The Ken Burns Effect — and beyond

ForaTV has Ken Burns in Conversation with Robert Stone from The New York Public Library. Burn talks about how Steve Jobs roped him into the association with the effect for iLife; see time 1:33:30 in the video embed. [see another interview at the Archive of Television]

For more, see Poynter Online's advice on Burns and His 'Effect' and background in Wikipedia.

By the way, Noise Industries is still offering a free FxPlug, Fxfactory pan and zoom plug-in (Mac). There are numerous tutorials for this effect if you don't have a plug-in. Shane Ross did a video tutorial for FCP at Creative Cow. In the Adobe world, this sort of pan & scan is done by Anchor Point animation; see Chris and Trish Meyer's article on pan & scan at Artbeats and More Motion, Less Control (on adding a human touch) at PVC for good results.

Examples of taking the effect to the next level are also numerous, especially after the movie The Kid Stays in the Picture, noted in another article by Trish & Chris at Artbeats. There's also Bob Donlon's example in Son of Ken Burns, a Richard Harrington video in 'Motion Control' with After Effects, and other AEP resources for multiplane animation.

Update: here's more on multiplane cameras from an old Disney show (filmed: Feb 13, 1957):

Update: Stu Maschwitz added a new product, Prolost Burns, an Animation Preset for After Effects CS6+ that automates the process of creating this type of animation.

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Using FCP Trim mode like Avid Trim mode + Premiere

Paul Del Vecchio has a post and some video on Using FCP's trim mode like Avid's trim mode (sorta), plus an Overview of Avid Media Composer and Avid Trim Mode. Adobe Premiere Pro also gets some attention and a couple of useful feature suggestions. Read the post for details not in the videos, and to give Paul feedback:






Update: in The Zen of Trim Steve Cohen explains the power of Avid’s trim model,

"My point was this: Most of my cuts are overlapped. When I adjust picture, I usually want to adjust sound somewhere else to stay in sync. With MC, I can trim all parts of an overlap while playing and watching any one of them. When I stop, I’m done.

The ability to see realtime video while the cut is made, and to observe what’s happening at any part of the cut, audio or video, a-side or b-side, while keeping everything else in sync, is something I can’t get anywhere else. Not to mention the ability to do asymmetrical trimming, or trim two heads or tails, slip or slide, etc., all while watching, or listening to, any portion of the cut."

Lone Twitter: Apple lays off 40 of Final Cut team

Only one report so far (not double counting):

"Apple laid off 40 of my old Final Cut team yesterday, lots of good people, despite high profits."

By the way, Pete Warden, who once released free AE filters, was featured on ReadWriteWeb a few days ago in The Man Who Looked Into Facebook's Soul.

Update: The post isn't wrong -- it just reported a Twitter item. And while it doesn't mean that Final Cut is doomed, it is interesting that Pro App teams in LA and Austin seems to have been cut confidently before NAB. Then again Adobe laid off about 600 workers in 2008 and another 680 in 2009 (about 9% of its workforce each time).

By the way Pete Warden's filters haven't worked in recent versions of AE (they were released before he worked at Apple), but they are open source so someone can build on them.

Transcriptize: CS4 transcriptions to Media Composer, Excel, and Final Cut

Assisted Editing has a new product it seems to make Adobe speech transcriptions more useful for users of other software. Transcriptize takes transcriptions from Adobe CS4 Production Premium to Media Composer, Excel and Final Cut Pro.

San Francisco FCP SuperMeet: 100 tickets left

The Final Cut Pro user groups are holding their annual party a a few days earlier than Macworld this year. The 9th Annual San Francisco SuperMeet is only 11 days away and will once again be held at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center on Friday, February 5, 2010.

There are less than 100 tickets left according to the organizers.

Here are the highlights so far:

• Free workshops sponsored by Adobe, Autodesk, Canon, and Red Giant.
• A vendor area, SuperMeet Digital Showcase opening 3:30 pm, with 35 software and hardware developers including AJA, Autodesk, Canon, Avid, Blackmagic Design Footagehead, G-Tech, Matrox, Maxon, Noise Industries, Red Giant, and others.
• Free food beginning at 5 pm and cash bars available.
• The spectacle of the World Famous Raffle -- prizes include a Canon EOS 5D Mark II HDSLR, AJA KiPro, NLE software, plug-ins, and more valued over $40,000.
• Smoke on Mac OS X
• AJA KiPro
• Music video "Destroy Me" - Jordan Livingston
• The New Speed Tools in FCP - Kevin Monahan
• Best Workflow for Canon File-Based Cameras - Joe Bogacz
• Motion 4 Does 3D - Mark Spencer
• Hand Held Hollywood - Taz Goldstein
• The Idea behind IDEO's LivingClimateChange - Matt Silverman

Our Invitation To You from IDEO on Vimeo.

Peter Wiggins on FCP & PictureReady

The Apple Store's Meet The Expert series has an interview with video editor Peter Wiggins, who discussed working on the Tour de France along with some tips and techniques (via Oliver Peters). There's more on his blog, along with his templates through Idustrial Revolution.

One cool thing mentioned was PictureReady, which offers the ability to record a QuickTime movie which is available immediately for editing.

Blu-ray Templates for Final Cut Studio

FCP World announced FCP World Blu-ray Templates for Final Cut Studio, a collection of 60 Blu-ray Templates for Final Cut Studio 2009 designed by Kevin Monahan, author of Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro.

Monahan says, "Final Cut Studio 2009 ships with a total of 5 templates. That’s not nearly enough! I’ve designed 60 new templates that give video makers a lot more options for creating a Blu-ray or AVCHD disc. These are fully animated, high-quality looping backgrounds, not just stills. Also, I’ve designed many of the templates with Motion content, so that users could create, say, a title sequence or lower-third, that could match a particular template.

The templates work with FCP 7 and Motion 4 through the 'Share' protocol, while Compressor 3.5 accesses them via 'Job Actions.' The templates are localized for Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish."

Final Cut is catching up to Premiere (sorta)

Michael Wohl, who was on the teams that created Premiere, KeyGrip, and Final Cut, demonstarates some of the key features of Final Cut Pro 7 in What You NEED to Know About FCP 7 (part 1) at MacVideo.

Among the many features that Final Cut has borrowed from Premiere are new additions like timeline zooms around the timemarker and a shortcut for direct manipulation of the speed of a clip in the timeline. Of course, Premiere stills lags behind on features like codecs and reliability on larger complex projects (despite a big installed base).

Also, check out the reviews of The new Final Cut Studio and Avid Media Composer 2009 by Oliver Peters at DigitalFilms.

Compressor’s BluRay Disc Open XML template format + free Swish Pan FCP transition [updated]

Andy Mees noted that Compressor’s BluRay Disc Open XML template format revealed... by Apple in a PDF guide to Compressor 3.5 in the Final Cut Studio 2009 bundle. For background see Jan Ozer on Blu-ray Creation with the New Apple Final Cut Studio at Millimeter, and Burn Blu-ray playable standard DVD-R discs on a Mac SuperDrive by Ken Stone.

Andy also has a free Swish Pan transition as well as other filters and resources for Final Cut.

Update: via lafcpug, Apple has released free add-ons for the new Final Cut Studio, Compressor Droplets, Color Looks (90 of them!), and 700 MB of Alpha Transitions.

FCP ShrinkRay: free Mac tilt-shift effect

CrumplePop and Toolfarm and are making CrumplePop ShrinkRay, a Mac-only "tilt-shift miniaturization" effect for Final Cut, free through August 19, 2009. CrumplePop effects seem to be based on Master Templates (FCP 6+); you drag and drop a template onto your timeline, fiddle with a few controls, and the template does the rest.

Resources for doing tilt-shift effects in After Effects were mention in these previous posts. Here's the demo:

SF Cutters Aug 18: FCS3, Matrox, monitor-scope

The SF Cutters are meeting August 18 in San Bruno at the SFO Airport Business Center. The agenda includes a look at Final Cut Studio 3, Matrox solutions for video, and Ted Langdell with a 'How-to' on the use a waveform monitor and vector scope with FCP and Color.

Motion 4 will load LiveType projects?

LiveType is not included with FCS3 but word of mouth says that its functions have been made part of Motion 4. Motion 4 will load LiveType projects, which is good for those who invested in the quirky app that others barely touched. While LiveType remains and launches after an FCS3 install, full functionality in the new suite is an unknown.

Apparently LiveType content appears in the Motion Library and the QuickTime component is also still included, so .ipr files in older sequences still work. LiveType features missing from Motion 4 were not confirmed yet in online e-mail lists and forums, or in the comprehensive documentation for the Pro Apps at Apple's Help Library.

Update: Mark Spencer posted some clarification on Cutter-Talk:

'Yes, you can import a LiveType project into Motion 4 - but you could do that in Motion 3, no new news there. Once there, if you want to make changes to it, you need to open it in LiveType. LiveFonts are available in Motion's Library in Motion 4 - just as they were in Motion 3.

Motion has a new text tool, the Adjust Glyph Tool, that allows for the individual manipulation of glyphs, much as you would do in LiveType - thus giving it more of LiveType's functionality, but not, IMHO, "making it's functions part of Motion 4".

Motion does not include any of LiveType's Textures, Objects, or text animation presets - although it does have plenty of its own content.'

On FinalCutPro-L, Philip Hodgetts mentioned that one missing feature is "about changing the color of the font independent of any shadow, ouline or glow. In Motion they change together, in LT they change independently."

Apple's Pro Apps web Help Library

Apple is providing web access to comprehensive documentation for the Pro Apps at Help Library. It seems similar to Adobe Help (formerly known as LiveDocs).

Update: Owen’s Photolog has some humor in How to Install Final Cut Studio 3.

Update 2: whoops, Owen was right -- "Rendering PAL material to ProRes 4444 in Color introduces a gamma shift."

Update 3: In Final Cut Pro 7: Create your own manual Alex Gollner explains how to convert the Final Cut Pro 7 html-based help system to a single document manual.

Update 4: Apple posted the FCS manuals in the Help Library under View as PDF.