NAB 2011 was all a-flurry when Apple announced it was finally releasing a new updated version of it’s Final Cut Pro editing software program, and the flurry hit a fervor when they announced it was going to be a completely new rewrite.  In fact, there was little left but standing room at the Final Cut Pro User Group’s Supermeet in April when Apple’s VP Randy Ubilos and Peter Steinhauer hit the stage.

Now, the excitement is back again with the announcement of Final Cut Pro X’s availability in the App Store today. If you’ve also used Apple’s motion graphic editor, Motion or Compressor in the past, they have new versions also available in the App Store for only $50 each. However the big news is that for only $300, you can digitally download Apple’s new program to see if all of the new features have been worth the wait.

Speaking of features, Apple’s got a laundry list of new one for their latest release. The new Final Cut Pro uses a “magnetic timeline” to allow editors to move clips around without losing audio or video tracks due to overlapping. It also has the ability to correct footage as it’s ingested for audio, color, and motion issues – features that were once part of different applications within the Final Cut Studio suite.

Final Cut Pro’s interface has also been majorly overhauled with only three real windows left: a preview area, a new media browser, and an editing timeline. In a way, this new “upgrade” makes the program feel a bit more like After Effects or iMovie than what people have come to expect from Final Cut Pro.

Apple has also added the ability to edit footage even before it’s been transferred and can categorize your footage based on people’s faces and what type of shot it is. A handy tool for sure. You can also assign all kinds of metadata and keywords to your footage in order to be able to find areas of your footage quickly and easily. Apple also included the ability to “audition” clips with different effects before applying them and claims to have more presets than ever before for their effect library. Lastly, there is now an option to group together audio, video, and transitions into single clips called a “Compound Clip.” This is very similar to nesting but allows for easier access to the elements inside of the group for easy tweaking.

One of the most applauded features of Apple’s presentation back in April was the ability for Final Cut Pro X to utilize the full power of Grand Central Dispatch and the 64 bit architecture. This means that Final Cut Pro X can render everything in the background all while utilizing multiple cores of power – something that no editing application does incredibly efficiently.

Though there are a lot of great new features to Final Cut Pro’s upgrade, there have been a few noticeable features that many users have already found to be missing. One of the biggest is the lack of support for projects from previous versions and the inability to import XML or EDL. Also, Apple got rid of support for tape based ingestion and export, making it difficult to use for the many editors that still need to use tape in their workflow. Lastly, Final Cut Pro has also lost the multicam feature that many live event videographers used to make editing a large amount of clips a little simpler.

Videomaker awarded Final Cut Pro X our “Best of NAB” award for editing software at this year’s National Association of Broadcasters tradeshow in Las Vegas. With its low price, faster renders, and complete redesign, Apple was a clear favorite in this field.

Of course, with all of these new features, almost every editor will want to find out if the software is worth the wait. Actually, we’ve been wondering the same thing ourselves. Thankfully, Videomaker reviewer Ben Balser has an advance copy of FCP X and is working on a review of the program for Videomaker as we we speak. Watch for that review coming soon to see if the new Final Cut Pro will be a game changer for Apple or simply game over.

http://www.videomaker.com/r/527

There is something about the raw emotion of fear that people find thrilling. So much so, that millions are spent every year at the box office in pursuit of heart-stopping, adrenaline-pumping, jump-out-of-your-seat entertainment. What makes horror flicks so effective at making us scream is the use of suspense.

Editing for suspense is a simple technique. It’s about understanding what the audience wants to see, and then not giving it to them right away. If you were editing a movie in which a group of friends decide to spend the night in a haunted mansion, you wouldn’t show the ghosts right away, you would build up to the moment of reveal.

For example, say Victim #1 gets separated from his group of friends. He anxiously walks down the corridors looking for a familiar face. He hears an eerie noise behind him and quickly turns to look. At this point, you could show the horrifying ghost that made the noise, but the lack of suspense will have the audience booing your movie before the next scene can start.

Instead of showing the ghost, cut to a shot of the vacant corridor behind him. Another eerie noise comes from off screen and Victim #1 snaps his head around the other direction to see what caused it. Again, there is nothing there. He shakes his head and laughs it off, which gives the audience a moment to let down their guard. Victim #1 then turns to walk back the way he came, and BAM! He’s face-to-face with a ghastly ghost will ill-intentions. The audience lets out a shriek, never knowing that they, themselves, fell victim to suspenseful editing.

Horror movies are built on suspense. Of all the movie genres, horror may be the one most reliant on successful post-production. The edits, the sound effects and chilling music, the special effects and the highly stylized treatment of the footage by altering the color and contrast are all crucial elements of horror, and can be achieved entirely within your editing suite.

If you own Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 or Final Cut Studio 2, you have all the tools you need to get professional level post-production results, but do you know how to utilize them to their greatest potential? Videomaker’s Complete Training for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 and Videomaker’s Basic Training for Final Cut Pro Studio 2 DVD-ROMs are designed to advance you quickly and easily from beginner to master editor.

Interested in more tips on Video Editing? Sign up for Videomaker’s free Video Editing Course. This free tip series is designed to help you improve your video production skills, fast. Learn More.

Our August workshop is off and out the door and what a workshop it was! 31 attendees spread out over 4 classes.

For those of you who have never attended a Videomaker Workshop the idea is to hunker down and drill as much knowledge into the brains of our readers that we can! Read the rest of this entry »