Digital Video - September 2007 - (Page 30)

Q&A Post Modern Michael Horton, president of the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group, muses on the future of NLEs. I’m not sure if the pace of cutting has changed over the years due to the invention of the NLE. In fact, I’d argue that’s a myth. Richard Lester’s A Hard Day’s Night, the Monkees TV series, Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch and Adrian Lyne’s Flashdance are just a few examples of films made before the invention of the NLE. The story or genre dictates the pace of cutting—or at least it’s supposed to. How are the complex NLE systems on offer now from the Big Three—Apple, Avid and Adobe—the result of feedback from user organizations like the LAFCPUG? I’d say most if not all changes and additions to FCP were the direct result of vocal users. When LAFCPUG began in June of 2000, about a dozen of us met to bang out some sort of mission statement or purpose of this group. The night ended up being more of a bitch-and-moan fest of what Final Cut Pro 1.1 needed in order to justify the “Pro” in the name. It was clear we not only needed to be educational, but also needed to advocate change on behalf of the users. We knew Apple was listening as they had sent two representatives down to our first meeting. On three occasions we asked the world to give us their top 10 FCP feature requests. The majority of the top 10 results always found their way into new versions of FCP. I’m not going to be so arrogant as to think LAFCPUG was the sole reason for these changes and additions, but I do know Apple listens. I’d wager Adobe and Avid do too. It’s simply good business. Apple’s FCS2 is still fresh out of the box, but are there some changes that users already are calling for? I guarantee that when FCS10 ships there will be a 100 changes people will be calling for. Larry Jordan of larryjordan.biz, with a bit of help from LAFCPUG, just completed a survey asking for interface suggestions for FCP. (Not feature requests, but changes to an interface that has not changed much since version 1.) He complied the results and posted them on his Web site for all to see. There are hundreds of suggestions. VICTOR MALDONADO above: A veteran actor, Michael Horton founded the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group 7 years ago. The group now numbers over 4,000 members worldwide. INTERVIEW BY DAVID E. WILLIAMS S even years ago, producer-director-editor Michael Horton founded the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group (www.lafcpug.org), which brings together more than 4,000 members worldwide. The veteran actor, who found a new creative calling in the digital production realm, also serves as an administrator at www.2-pop.com and co-hosts Digital Production BuZZ (www.digitalproduction buzz.com), a lively Web-based talk show dedicated to production, post and distribution tech issues. DV recently caught up with Horton via e-mail on an array of topics, ranging from the power of such organizations as LAFCPUG, to the influx of new cutters seeking work. DV: As NLEs were introduced over the last decade, the first major change in editing came with “MTV-style” cut pacing. How has that evolved? Have audiences caught up, or has the cutting pace slowed down? Michael Horton: No doubt we are living in an era where most of us have ADD, but music married to film often dictates a fast-cuts style. So do action pictures. The NLE simply makes it easier to “play” with edits—so editors played, and the result was this style of editing which, quite frankly, seemed appropriate for the genre. 30 DV SEPTEMBER 2007 «« http://www.lafcpug.org http://www.2-pop.com http://www.productionbuzz.com http://www.productionbuzz.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Digital Video - September 2007

Contents News AG-HPX500 HD Camcorder First Look: Color V8000HD 8" LCD Monitor Shoulder Mount System Instant Expert Close-Ups Fest Cercuit Q&A Flight Plan Cutter's Way Imagination in Action Motion Graphics Production Diary

Digital Video - September 2007

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