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BBC Factual standardised on Final Cut Pro for HD content
Steve Jobs declared 2005 the 'Year of HD.' He was a little premature with his declaration, but now in 2007 HD is popping up all over the place. BBC Factual, the division of the BBC that is responsible for documentaries and and reality TV, has committed to delivering HD content to their viewers, and they are using Final Cut Pro to achieve this goal. They want to film everything in HD, tapelessly, by 2010. For more info check out this profile on Apple's UK site, it is a little old but it gives you a good idea of the equipment they are using.
Avid2FCP: making the switch to Apple's Final Cut Pro
Avid has been the standard, and long-established, non-linear editing software of choice in the film industry until Apple's Final Cut Pro began to challenge its dominance, and now many Avid editors are making "the switch" to FCP as it has picked up the pace. With that, the "Avid versus Final Cut Pro" debate has always reared its head wherever editors gather, on websites, forums, etc., but now, Avid2FCP, an official resource has launched that hopes to ease the user transition from Avid to Apple's own video editing application.Avid2FCP is run by a group of experienced editors who hope to shared their "Switcher Stories", and other beneficial resources and guides for editors from Avid backgrounds that now work with Final Cut Pro. Despite the name of the site, it is not intended to be a jab at Avid, but instead make easier the shift to FCP, in a friendly and responsible fashion. There is some interesting content up now, and I expect that this site has the potential to grow into a very valuable resource for all video editors.
Apple Online Seminar: Using FCP to Create a Rich Media Podcast
Apple is offering a free 47 minute online seminar on using Final Cut Pro to make a "rich media podcast." They say that you will learn: How to combine digital photos, audio, and video in Final Cut Pro How to create a universal master to deliver news in any format, from HD broadcast to podcast How to record sound to amplify a story How to use Final Cut Pro to create an immersive rich media experience The seminar is given by Brian Storm, president of MediaStorm, who "shows news professionals how to use Final Cut Pro to take digital storytelling to a whole new level with rich media podcasting." The seminar is free but you do have to register.[Via MacVolPlace]
Simple voice-over narration with Ishmael
Ishmael is a basic application for easily creating voice-over narration for still photos and images, and then exporting your final product as a QuickTime video. So if you need to whip up a quick presentation, or want to make up a little story about a recent trip this is the app for you.Ishmael supports images from iPhoto albums or PDF files as its source, which can then be dubbed over and encoded as an actual QuickTime file. You can then take that video output and include it in an iMovie or Final Cut Pro project, or even export it back to iPhoto. Ishmael supports most Core Audio-compatible input devices, and includes multiple video encoding formats, and it even features Apple Remote support. Note, however, that it requires iPhoto 6.0, QuickTime 7.0, and OS X 10.4. Give the free demo a go and it will cost you $30 for the full package. Unfortunately, I'm running 10.3.9 (shock!), so I can't give this guy a test spin, but there are video samples linked on the official Ishamel website.
Aperture to Final Cut Pro
Connected Flow, makers of the very cool FlickrExport, have just released a free Aperture plugin that some of you are bound to be crazy about. Aperture to Final Cut Pro, oddly enough, exports selected photos from Aperture toa Final Cut Pro video sequence. It allows you to choose the transition, how long you would like this photo montage to last, as well as what Codec you want it created it. Pretty nifty, and all for the low, low price of free (though it is provided as is, so if it burns down your house and drinks all the milk... that would be odd and Connected Flow could not be held responsible).Thanks, Nik.
Final Print
I'm just getting into video editing thanks to a video podcast I'm producing. This new world of digital video frightens and confuses me. I'm just a simple boy from Philadelphia with no prior cinematic experience. Despite the fact that I am a video neophyte I can still use the usefulness in Final Print, a cool little app from Digital Heaven.Final Print is an app that takes a Final Cut Pro project and lists all the markers and notes that are in the project (this information is stored in an XML file). This makes it easy to hand over a video project to someone else, or to get a quick overview of a project you're working on.Final Print costs $99 and there is a free demo available.[via DV Guru]
Apple releases details of Final Cut Pro 5.1.2
Apple has a presence at the IBC Trade Show that's taking place in Amsterdam this week, and they used the opportunity to announce some details on the upcoming release of Final Cut Pro (FCP), version 5.1.2. Most notably is that this update will allow FCP to use Motion's real-time plug-ins, including those that come bundled with Motion. According to DigitMag, other enhancements include: Enhanced support for the Sony XDCAM Support for the Panasonic P2 and HDV An enhanced P2 import tool [Via MacNN]
Found Footage: NAB 2006 Final Cut Studio demo reel
MacTV has posted Apple's NAB 2006 demo reel which shows off a number of movies and commercials that used Final Cut Studio in their production. This is very well put together, and really shows off the power of Final Cut Studio (as it was designed to do).Thanks, Cepheus.
Final Cut Pro Studio v5.1 Universal Binary Released
During the MWSF keynote address, Jobs said that Apple's goal was to have all its professional applications ported to universal binaries by the end of March of this year. Logic Pro was the first to be ported a few weeks back and today, Apple has released a crossgrade to a universal binary version of Final Cut Pro Studio 5.1, which is arguably the most important of the professional applications. The crossgrade to universal costs $49 (or $99. Both prices are listed and there's no clear indicator which is correct or whether it's $49 for FCP and $99 for the studio suite). Ah, that's just me being confused and not reading the site well-enough. The crossgrade is $49 for current FCS 5.x owners, where as the upgrade is $99 for FCP standalone owners, and $199 to upgrade for almost everyone else.
Straight from the Yak's mouth
Back in February, we posted about the infamous Bruce the Yak Easter Egg in Final Cut Pro. Since then, one of the members of the original FCP development team, Max Whirl, has left a great comment describing just how this particular Easter Egg was born. He writes:"Why a yak? Well, FCP was a long and arduous development process and we were nearly shut down several times. During one of the more miserable schedule meetings, we were each asked if we could meet the latest schedule...and one of the engineers remarked that 'if we can't make that schedule, we might as well give up and go herd yaks.'"Check out his full comment for an interesting story. Thanks, Max!
MacLive registration opens
MacLive is a 3-day conference and workshop for Mac-toting creative professionals everywhere. The more than sixty workshops focus on Photoshop, Motion & DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut Pro, Mac OS X, the iPod, After Effects and a lot more. This is the very first MacLive conference, and it's put on by the folks at Layers Magazine (which is the successor to Mac Design Magazine). Registration is $699US, but you can save yourself $100 if you sign up before April 17th. The event will take place at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC on May 11-13, 2006. Sounds like a great time.
Easter Egg in Final Cut Pro 4?
I don't have a copy of Final Cut Pro, so I can't confirm this. Resexcellence forum user BK (the king?) was poking around the STRL resources in Final Cut Pro.rsrc and found what appears to be the ramblings of an overworked programmer. It reads, in part:"If we can't ship this puppy by then, we might as well be herding yaks. I'm glad it's getting weird again. I didn't understand it when it wasn't weird. The little cartoon man is messing with my head! Many Yaks were exploited during the creation of this product. I'm concerned because the cow sounded pretty threatening. When you have a car that's that uncool, you just gotta drive stupid. Don't look at me. They're not my flying monkeys. The disco ball is spinning, but no one's home. Cows didn't have dynamite and steam shovels. There exists, but you can't get there from here."It goes on (and on, and on) from there. If anyone can confirm this for us, we'd appreciate it.Update: Reader djones has offered up this confirmation. Thanks!
Final Cut Pro v5.0.4 Update
Here's a quick one. Apple has once again updated Final Cut Pro, this time to version 5.0.4. Available via Software Update or from the Final Cut Pro downloads page, the details on the update are scarce, except to say that it "provides improved reliability." You can read about specific improvements to the program in this PDF file.
