Final Cut Pro Moving into the Mainstream Is it a viable alternative for film production or just wishful thinking among tightfisted producers? by Daniel Fort There’s been plenty of talk around town about Final Cut Pro. Some people love it – others hate it. But despite some resistance, the program is rapidly making its way into some mainstream production. It has already been proven on independent features and documentaries, is being used for most Showtime cable movies, and Boston public television station, WGBH, has switched to It offers terrific bang for the buck in certain professional environments. it almost entirely. Perhaps the highest profile production to use the program so far is a Columbia/Tristar MOW for CBS called, 'Dancing at the Harvest Moon'. Director Bobby Roth and post-production manager Tony Pinker agreed to use Final Cut Pro to save money. Editor Margaret Guinee and assistant Sue Demskey had not used the program before but found it easy to learn. The key to using FCP for film-originated projects is a program called FilmLogic (see article). Demskey used it to translate telecine flex files into batch capture lists and to build an electronic codebook that will eventually create lists for a film finish. She works on an iMacDV, which despite its low cost, runs both FCP and FilmLogic and can do most of the things that Guinee’s G4-based system can do. Though it’s now possible to have two systems share media, the production didn’t choose to do so. When Guinee needs media, it is compressed to a Firewire drive and walked over to her system. The setup allows her to do more than could be accomplished in a conventional single-Avid cutting room. This editor/assistant editor configuration evolved at Showtime on six cable movies and a mini-series. The editors who have cut these films give the system mixed reviews, but the shows are being completed on schedule, on budget and without creative compromises. A year before Showtime discovered Final Cut Pro, the system had already proven itself on the independent feature, 'George Washington', created by a group of North Carolina filmmakers headed by writer/director David Gordon Green. The film was recently picked up for distribution after receiving critical acclaim at festivals. The editors, Steven Gonzales and Zene Baker, were probably the first people to finish a feature with Final Cut Pro. 'George Washington', all the Showtime pictures and 'Dancing at the Harvest Moon' were set up as 29.97 video projects and the film lists were produced via matchback and created with FilmLogic and other programs. Ideally, film should be cut at 24-fps, just as we do on an Avid or Lightworks. This is now possible in Final Cut, but there are still problems. Pulldown can be removed either through an additional software process after digitization, or during digitization, using a new video card called the Aurora Igniter Studio. Just like an Avid, it can remove the 3:2 telecine sequence during input (now commonly called ‘reverse telecine’) and can put it back for output. The system supports several resolutions and allows mixed resolutions in a sequence. It utilizes the standard Apple codec, which means that any stock Macintosh can play back the Igniter’s QuickTime files. Cyber3, located in Westlake Vil-lage, has worked with Aurora to package FCP-based film editing systems. They’ve also integrated E-MU’s PARIS 24-bit digital audio hardware and are using the combined system to edit a small independent feature. There are several other new video cards supported by Final Cut Pro. Some of the most anticipated are real-time systems from Matrox, Promax and other vendors, which will play two streams of video, so fades, dissolves and some other effects do not require rendering. Other hardware that works with FCP includes the Digital Voodoo and Pinnacle Cinéwave cards, which can handle uncompressed D1 video. There are also configurations of these cards that will handle high-definition material, but be prepared to deal with large amounts of very high-performance storage. One facility using FCP with the Cinéwave card is Salami Studios. Rather than purchase an Avid Symphony, they chose to buy two FCP/Cinéwave systems. Editors Steven Nevius and Steven Siracuse, operate the systems to produce Saturday morning cartoons at full D1 resolution. "It performed admirably once we figured out the settings," according to Nevius. They also use Commotion Pro and Photoshop to clean up their video and create titles. This is simplified because FCP can accept Photoshop and Quicktime files directly without translation. What are the problems with Final Cut? The system has almost no film-specific features, doesn’t track key or Acmade numbers or even count in footage. It relies on outboard software to make all lists except standard picture EDLs. Some basic operations, like generating optical lists for reverse-printed shots and most video filters, are not working properly in FilmLogic. One of the biggest handicaps is that there is no way to generate change lists. Editors familiar with the Avid find the FCP interface somewhat lacking. Trim functions take getting used to, especially slip and slide. The ‘viewer’ or source window can handle only two tracks of audio and one track of video and there’s no patch panel. To put two sequences together you must use the standard Mac cut and paste functions. A stock system can only output two tracks of audio at a time and video running on an outboard NTSC monitor won’t remain in sync with what’s playing on the FCP screen, but both problems can be addressed with extra hardware. Is Final Cut Pro the best tool for your next show? Perhaps. It offers terrific bang for the buck and can function in certain professional environments, as long as you understand its limitations. Apple is continuing to improve the product, which is still in its first release. Just how far FCP and FilmLogic will move into the mainstream now depends on the effort the company puts into satisfying the demands of professional editors. The product offers much of what Guild members need. But as software engineers sometimes say, "the last 1% is 99% of the work."   Daniel Fort is an assistant editor. He has assisted on several of the early shows to use Final Cut Pro and is working on a book about the program. He can be reached via email   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Magazine Vol. 22, No. 1 - March/April 2001   Guild Home | Magazine Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 2001, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700