Apple Final Cut Pro 5 is an essential pro editing upgrade for all
serious users. For starters, there are performance enhancements in
almost all areas of the program, as well as many vital new features
internally. But what’s equally as important are the fluid workflow
improvements that make it integrate even better with its companion
programs in Final Cut Studio-the video production package offered by
Apple that also includes Motion 2, DVD Studio Pro 4 and Soundtrack
Pro-each of which are also dramatically improved. In addition, the
Studio bundle is now the only way you can get FCP 5, as the program, as
of late January, is no longer available as a stand-alone. But for a
marginal difference in price ($999 for FCP 5 and $1,299 for Final Cut
Studio), it’s well worth the additional $300 investment. When you run
FCP 5 on a powerful G5 workstation, you’ve got a real post-production
suite that is simply a powerhouse.

I’ve worked on a lot of different editing systems, from high-end to
low-end and from tape-to-tape to nonlinear. Each system, regardless of
technology, had its strengths and weaknesses. Final Cut systems have
been getting better with each new version. It has always been one of
the least expensive solutions, but in earlier versions that also meant
some serious compromises to your workflow. Even in version 4.5, the
audio features were extremely limited; there were frequent stops for
rendering; motion graphics were limited; and media management was, to
say the least, problematic. I’ve always thought of FCP as highly
capable and ultimately workable, but it could be cumbersome, especially
when compared to some other, more expensive systems. For many, the
trade-off was just too great and the performance offered by the more
expensive solution usually outweighed the additional expense. That was
also my position-until now.

This version, running on the new Apple dual or quad G5 hardware, with
excellent third-party video board and software plug-in support, has, in
my view, reached the critical mass necessary to take on the toughest
jobs, regardless of resolution or format. With the notable exception of
the Media Manager, this system rocks.

The native formats available in FCP 5 include DV, DVCAM DVCPRO, HDV,
Sony IMX, and Panasonic’s DVCPRO 50 and DVCPRO HD. All of these are
accessible via FireWire. Add a third-party video capture card and
you’ve got access to many additional formats. The AJA Kona 2 card, for
example, gives you codecs for all forms of serial-digital video from SD
to HDSR. Cards from AJA, Blackmagic Design, and others provide A to D
conversion and deck control for a wide variety of formats.

The addition of native HDV is very exciting to many users. Regardless
of the limitations of the format, it is so much less expensive than
other HD formats that it is already the gateway to HD for many users.
Native HDV editing in FCP 5 involves changing the GOP structure of the
video. While you are editing, the system temporarily stores the
position of new edits and processes the changes to the video’s GOP
structure when you are ready to output. Depending on the length of the
sequence and the number of edits, this can be a time-consuming process.
The more powerful the computer system, the smoother the whole process
will seem.

The multicam editing feature in Final Cut Pro 5 has garnered a lot of
attention-even early on in these pages (see
www.studiomonthly.com/5218.html).
It works by a dialog that lets the user combine clips into a multiclip
so you can sync up multiple camera angles and quickly switch between
them. However, multiclips don’t have to be synced camera angles; they
can be any clips you have, which I think really opens up the potential
uses of this feature.

Instead of having to render complex multilayered effects before viewing
them, Dynamic RT makes the system lower the resolution or frame-rate on
playback so you can view effects prior to rendering. This greatly
speeds up the workflow when there are many layers and effects.

Before this release, FCP was limited to two channels of audio capture.
Now it can handle up to 24 channels of 24-bit digital audio (with a
multi-channel audio interface). It also now supports an external MIDI
control surface (like models from Mackie, Tascam, and Yamaha) for
tactile control of the software’s track faders and pan sliders.
Finally, real mixing is possible.

The new "Send To" command, clips can be sent to other Apple pro
applications, including Soundtrack Pro, Motion 2 or Shake. For many
types of operations, the changes made in the external program are
automatically updated in FCP 5. For other types of operations, the
resulting changes must be exported from the other program and imported
back into Final Cut. But even this is relatively simple. You can easily
play back Motion and Livetype projects using Dynamic RT. There is also
a direct export path to Compressor, making it simple to batch process
files for DVD authoring and then importing them into DVD Studio Pro.

Cinema Tools 3, while still a separate application, is well integrated
in FCP 5. Many operations, including inverse telecine and importing of
telecine log files, can be done from within Final Cut. You can also
view film keycode directly in Final Cut.

Media Manager can now manage HDV and DVCPRO HD media. There is also now
a way to specify and limit where to search for media to be reconnected.
While these are improvements, I found that the media management system
still mishandles some types of clips and operations, which can lead to
larger problems.

This is a nearly hot product, but it’s still not perfect. I’ve already
heard rumblings, though, about upgrades coming in a few months at NAB,
and Apple is definitely on a roll.

A major addition to this version of Final Cut is multicam editing,
which gives you much more flexibility when mixing camera angles. (For
more on this particular feature, see www.studiomonthly.com/5218.html.)

Final Cut Pro 5 can import most video formats. With Telestream’s
Flip4Mac plug-in, XDCAM files can be ingested directly from the camera
or deck via Ethernet.

Dynamic RT enables the system to lower playback resolution and/or frame
rates in order to view multilayer effects prior to rendering.