Apple - Final Cut Pro 4 review
powerful video editing for Macs
Review date: 04 November, 2003. Review by: Martyn Clayden
One glance at the four hefty manuals that come in weighty packaging should warn you that this software is clearly not designed for the non-technical user wanting to edit their holiday videos. Having said that, the first (slimmer) manual contains very clear and precise tutorials to get you started on acquiring media (i.e. transferring from your DV camera, etc.), basic editing techniques, learning compositing and effects, audio editing and then distributing media (either outputting to tape or saving as a QuickTime file to distribute on the Web).
Once you're off and running, you'll discover that both the improvements made since version 3 and the additional packages that come bundled with version 4 will add immeasurably to your creative possibilities.
The first change you'll notice is the arrival of RT Extreme, which will enable you to use multiple video streams for real-time compositing and effects, according to how fast your system configuration is. This means that you don't have to go through the rendering stage before you can see the results, which will significantly speed up the edit.
The interface has been made more user-friendly too, with a Custom Keyboard that will allow you to assign commands to specific keys and then save that configuration (or others, depending on the type of project you're working on) for when you log on again. Similarly, commands can be saved as icons for easier access and the size of individual timelines can be altered to suit.
There's a new onscreen mixing console, too, where you can alter levels via the faders during live playback, and playback speeds can be adjusted from real time to slow-mo. Trimming and timeline tools have been improved so you can edit using asymmetric trimming, master clips and merged clips. Finally, colour correction - which is always the bane of an editor's life when you have footage from different sources and locations - is simpler to perform now that there's a split-screen Frame Viewer so you can compare shots side by side.
For those of you who like gimmicks (but extremely handy ones), you can now operate the controls on your DV camera remotely when transferring the data over, which ends all that leaping up and down to line up the bit of footage you want to capture next. Also, a long overdue addition is the capability to preview your edit through an external TV monitor.
If that wasn't enough, there are four additional software bonuses to have you skipping round the room like a puppy with two tails. Soundtrack (which is now available to buy separately) contains over 4,000 loops and sound effects which can be synchronised to QuickTime video or simply exported as individual tracks to your FCP project, and all the tracks are automatically matched to your tempo and key settings. The beauty of this is that all the tracks are royalty-free.
LiveType is a sophisticated title generator which has scores of pre-rendered animation titles plus more than 150 animated effects that will really impress your clients. Once your project is complete, the new Compressor application will enable you to batch-encode your Final Cut or QuickTime video to other formats; MPEG-2 for DVD and MPEG-4 for streaming on the Net. And if you're still old-fashioned enough to insist on shooting only on film, Cinema Tools will permit you to edit at 24fps and then send the results back for negative cutting.
Allowing for the month you might need to inwardly digest all the manuals, this is video editor's heaven.
Verdict
For the serious-minded and professional film/video editor, this is without doubt the ultimate home system to use when creating your next award-winning movie, advert, promo or business presentation. Make sure you have a Mac with G4 capability and make good use of the tutorials, and you'll find that this is excellent value for money.
Company: Apple
Contact: 0800 783 4846
