As I mentioned in our previous post, Final Cut Studio 3 Released!, the upgrade news seemed to come from nowhere, and it was something we had to take notice of. A new release of Final Cut Studio is big news for us
See, we’ve built our career on Apple Products, including Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Compressor, Soundtrack Pro, and LiveType. (In fact, all of these were used on VH1’s Scream Queens.) Apple Motion is a product we haven’t used a whole lot (being an After Effects guy myself) but it’s a program I’ve wanted a closer look at for a while. So the idea of a brand new release… Final Cut Studio 3 …is something we, as a company, have to pay attention to.
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Is The New Final Cut Studio 3 A Let Down?
I have to admit, the initial rush of excitement was like eating a giant Final Cut Pro candy bar: a huge high followed by a bit of a crash. As someone who produces a lot of documentary and reality television, some things about Final Cut Pro that caught my eye immediately:
1. Add Markers to Multi-Clips
The ability to add markers to multi-clips really should have been in the last version of Final Cut Pro. On our bigger reality shows like Scream Queens, we have between two and twenty camera angles, all synced into multi-clips. Right now, you have to use a crazy workaround to add markers to multi-clips, a huge pain. So this fix excited me.
2. Edit While Exporting
This is a big deal not only on slower computers, but on tight deadlines. Often times we need to output a scene or full episode for numerous reasons: a press cut, a network exec, a VO session…you name it. If an editor is on a roll, you hate to ask them to stop editing just to do a quick output. As a producer-editor myself, I know even a 5 minute delay breaks my concentration, and takes me out of the zone. Now, after the two clicks it takes for File→Export Quicktime Movie to commence, editors can keep on going. Brilliant.
3. There was no 3 for me.
And herein lies the sugar crash I was talking about. Yes, there are lots of small enhancements to Final Cut Pro, but coming from the point of view of a producer-editor working mainly in documentary and reality television, I can’t say I’m rushing out to upgrade right now.
Tell Me What I’m Missing
So what do you think? Is there more to this Final Cut Studio upgrade that I should be excited about? Am I being too much of a Debbie Downer? Are there other enhancements in Final Cut Pro 7 that will make editing docs and competition-elimination reality shows easier? Let us know! We’d love to hear from you!