Digital Video - September 2007 - (Page 43)

Choosing an NLE is no longer the high-stakes activity it was 10 years ago, but outfitting an editing suite remains a several thousand-dollar investment. a 220 Mbps high-definition mastering codec that’s visually lossless (to these eyes). The only downside is that the codec can only be installed with Final Cut Pro, so it doesn’t do Windows. FCP 6 also features an open timeline that allows mixing of multiple video formats and frame rates in a single sequence—something that’s becoming handier by the week as more projects want to mix newly acquired 24p material with legacy 30i content. SmoothCam, a utility for steadying shaky shots, also has been added. Motion 3 Apple avoided the obvious cliché, opting not to call this motion graphics tool Motion 3D. But that’s how most users will think of it. Without a doubt, Motion 3 features the easiest to use 3D navigation tools in a 2.5D application. Those who have been frustrated getting the camera to point the right way in 3D space in After Effects will love Motion. Though I can still do a lot more intricate motion graphics work in After Effects, it is possible to create impressive, professional-looking motion graphics in Motion in very short order. To be successful with Motion, spend the time upfront learning the tool, and don’t try to make it behave like Boris Red or After Effects. Apple boasts that you may never have to set a keyframe in Motion. For a beginner, that’s great news. For more experienced users, Motion’s interface takes a little getting used to. Compressor 3 This is the sleeper of the suite. I always wanted to love Compressor—now I almost can. Apple developers totally redid the interface, allowing for much more streamlined workflows. And finally, Compressor includes MP3 encoding. In this age of “everything’s a podcast,” I had grown weary of having to go to a third-party application to create MP3s. The greatest remaining shortcoming is that you have to purchase third party plug-ins for Flash Video (.flv) and Windows Media (.wmv) encoding. DVD Studio Pro 4 This application remains unchanged from the original Final Cut Studio. I assume an update will coincide with the release of affordable next-generation disk burners for Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Like Adobe’s Encore and the bundled Sonic DVD authoring tool in the Avid suite, DVD Studio Pro is easy to use, delivering professional-caliber DVDs without a steep learning curve. For what it’s worth, I prefer Encore’s pre-built templates to DVDSP’s—but that’s a minor quibble, as it doesn’t take long to learn the application well enough to go beyond using templates. Soundtrack Pro 2 A very solid upgrade offers a similar feature set to Soundbooth. I find Soundbooth’s visual spectrum editing tools to be somewhat more intuitive than Soundtrack Pro’s, and Soundbooth’s scoring is easier to master for musical dunces like me. But from a common task workflow point of view, Soundtrack’s new picture change and take management tools are a pretty significant breakthrough. The nightmare of the picture editor making changes while the mix is already in progress is now just a pretty bad dream. Soundtrack actually can make intelligent guesses at how the audio should be rearranged in the event the original sequence is re-edited in Final Cut Pro. Of course the software doesn’t always guess right, but I’ve been surprised by how often it has. Color Apple’s acquisition of Final Touch has been quickly integrated into Final Cut Studio. Color tops the color correction tools available in the three suites, but it’s still a little rough around the edges. Sequences need to be “sent” to Color. You can’t just double click a clip in the timeline and work in Color. Once your sequence is in Color, you lose the ability to monitor audio—something I’m surprised I miss as much as I do. Color reminds me a lot of the old tape-to-tape below: With a solid library of models and textures, Avid 3D makes it fairly easy to create photorealistic animations. WWW.DV.COM DV SEPTEMBER 2007 «« http://www.dv.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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