FCE 3.5 HD
is a very powerful product, it delivers all the
main features and functions any serious video
editor could ever need even on an amateur level,
however what puzzles me is the steep learning curve
for an Apple iMovie user to use this application,
especially as the new iMovie 08 version has had
precision features taken out, and it seems Apple
our trying to move its present users off iMovie and
introduce them over to Final Cut Express. Sadly
there is no printed manual just an introductory
booklet, and their seems very little support for
using this package, even though this is quite an in
depth package, their is also quite a jump in price
compared to other competitive video editing
packages around.
However what you do get is the installation discs for the main editing application which also includes Live Type 2.0 and Soundtrack 1.5, this makes it a more inviting upgrade to previous users and first time buyers. Their are also provided video tutorials on a dvd to help you understand the basic rudiments of these applications to get you started. Still its a lot for an iMovie user to take in.
Live Type 2.0
I was very impressed with this application as it contains scores of animations and templates to use in your movie project, and certainly helps justify the cost of this package.
You have creative freedom to use as multiple tracks with precision control, and is surprisingly easy to use.
There are 60 brand new effects with the former 90 which makes 150 of them, also there are 400 brand new animation textures in this upgrade to. There is also a font maker, and this application contains what is known as Live Fonts, which brings text to live with some ingenious animations with alpha channel support which means they layer themselves over your video just like an object cut out of a background, these live fonts are designed by professional animators making this a most impressive feature. Their much more that could be said about this application, but anybody that enjoys making good video presentations will enjoy discovering the options available. It is well recommended to explore the tutorial dvd to give yourself a helping hand, but rest assured this is not too difficult to master.
Soundtrack 1.5
This application is where you can perform some music creativity with loops, it has the ability to feature some editing capabilities too, with more than 4,000 instrument loops and sound effects this should give the user enough boost to create 15, 30, 60 second audio insertions in his production work, although for time saving effort I wish Sonic Fire Pro’s flagship product was bundled “Smartsound” this would have made lighter work of an already time consuming pursuit. What is nice though is the fact that you can preview your video while you work on the audio music side of things, this helps to get a more accurate preview before you commit to exporting your work. I must admit, it is not difficult to jigsaw puzzle together a set of musical instruments, personally myself as a musician it really does not impress me that much, whereas Smartsound audio palettes contains Hollywood’s top musicians as music should be played, and gives a much better backdrop to your video productions. However one cannot argue that this will still be a popular choice among its fans.
The Editor
As far as I am concerned what makes this a must have is the fact that this is a multiple video track editor, and in the mac world there are not many of these around, unless you are prepared to shell out mega bucks for the software. As I have said before the interface will look daunting to an iMovie user, and particularly in the new version of iMovie there is no plugin support, so really this is forcing those more experienced iMovie users to consider this application.
However the question is would they feel happy using it ?
Well I guess this really depends on their desire to learn a new method of editing.
It is an accepted fact that many professionals working in the DV environment will find enough in Express to not need to spend a premium on Final Cut Pro. The interface is virtually identical to that of the Pro version. The core editing tools are excellent, accurate and very responsive.
This application begins by offering the user simple project templates based on media type, such as standard settings for full screen and anamorphic DV in PAL and NTSC standards, as well as basic HDV profiles, once this has been chosen then you are ready to begin your project. You have 99 video and audio tracks to use in your project which is more than enough for most projects.
You begin by capturing your video and organising them into bins, you can have audio and video bins etc, you can rearrange these around to suit your preferences. The next task is to drag a clip into the left hand window called the viewer window, its from there that you can begin to edit your first clip, by trimming unwanted footage. By dragging the playhead you can begin to preview and then set in and out markers to adjust the length of your first clip. The next task is to drag that footage into the right hand window which is known as the Canvas window, at that point an edit overlay window appears to give you the option of where you want to insert that clip. For instance do you want to insert it as a cut edit or would you like it inserted with a default transition that can be previewed in realtime, you now have the option of previewing the video either in the timeline or through the viewer windows just mentioned. These steps can be repeated for each video clip, transitions can be dragged on the timeline and can be previewed in realtime. To overlay another clip or to have more than one clip showing at the same time, just drag a clip above the previous clip and then in the canvas window resize that clip and position it where you want it.
My Final Thought
Conclusively I found this application a little bit daunting at first to consider using, but after devoting some quality time to this, I enjoyed the many features and benefits that comes from using this product. I am not a professional video editor and just an enthusiast that has been doing this sort of thing for a few years.
However the question is if iMovie is for the beginner and Final Cut Pro is for the professional, then who is the Final Cut Express meant for ?
To some extent even after evaluating this software package, I really still do not know the answer. It is a fantastic product, but admittedly there is quite a steep learning curve with a heavier price to match. Maybe one day Apple may answer these questions and issues.
However what you do get is the installation discs for the main editing application which also includes Live Type 2.0 and Soundtrack 1.5, this makes it a more inviting upgrade to previous users and first time buyers. Their are also provided video tutorials on a dvd to help you understand the basic rudiments of these applications to get you started. Still its a lot for an iMovie user to take in.
Live Type 2.0
I was very impressed with this application as it contains scores of animations and templates to use in your movie project, and certainly helps justify the cost of this package.
You have creative freedom to use as multiple tracks with precision control, and is surprisingly easy to use.
There are 60 brand new effects with the former 90 which makes 150 of them, also there are 400 brand new animation textures in this upgrade to. There is also a font maker, and this application contains what is known as Live Fonts, which brings text to live with some ingenious animations with alpha channel support which means they layer themselves over your video just like an object cut out of a background, these live fonts are designed by professional animators making this a most impressive feature. Their much more that could be said about this application, but anybody that enjoys making good video presentations will enjoy discovering the options available. It is well recommended to explore the tutorial dvd to give yourself a helping hand, but rest assured this is not too difficult to master.
Soundtrack 1.5
This application is where you can perform some music creativity with loops, it has the ability to feature some editing capabilities too, with more than 4,000 instrument loops and sound effects this should give the user enough boost to create 15, 30, 60 second audio insertions in his production work, although for time saving effort I wish Sonic Fire Pro’s flagship product was bundled “Smartsound” this would have made lighter work of an already time consuming pursuit. What is nice though is the fact that you can preview your video while you work on the audio music side of things, this helps to get a more accurate preview before you commit to exporting your work. I must admit, it is not difficult to jigsaw puzzle together a set of musical instruments, personally myself as a musician it really does not impress me that much, whereas Smartsound audio palettes contains Hollywood’s top musicians as music should be played, and gives a much better backdrop to your video productions. However one cannot argue that this will still be a popular choice among its fans.
The Editor
As far as I am concerned what makes this a must have is the fact that this is a multiple video track editor, and in the mac world there are not many of these around, unless you are prepared to shell out mega bucks for the software. As I have said before the interface will look daunting to an iMovie user, and particularly in the new version of iMovie there is no plugin support, so really this is forcing those more experienced iMovie users to consider this application.
However the question is would they feel happy using it ?
Well I guess this really depends on their desire to learn a new method of editing.
It is an accepted fact that many professionals working in the DV environment will find enough in Express to not need to spend a premium on Final Cut Pro. The interface is virtually identical to that of the Pro version. The core editing tools are excellent, accurate and very responsive.
This application begins by offering the user simple project templates based on media type, such as standard settings for full screen and anamorphic DV in PAL and NTSC standards, as well as basic HDV profiles, once this has been chosen then you are ready to begin your project. You have 99 video and audio tracks to use in your project which is more than enough for most projects.
You begin by capturing your video and organising them into bins, you can have audio and video bins etc, you can rearrange these around to suit your preferences. The next task is to drag a clip into the left hand window called the viewer window, its from there that you can begin to edit your first clip, by trimming unwanted footage. By dragging the playhead you can begin to preview and then set in and out markers to adjust the length of your first clip. The next task is to drag that footage into the right hand window which is known as the Canvas window, at that point an edit overlay window appears to give you the option of where you want to insert that clip. For instance do you want to insert it as a cut edit or would you like it inserted with a default transition that can be previewed in realtime, you now have the option of previewing the video either in the timeline or through the viewer windows just mentioned. These steps can be repeated for each video clip, transitions can be dragged on the timeline and can be previewed in realtime. To overlay another clip or to have more than one clip showing at the same time, just drag a clip above the previous clip and then in the canvas window resize that clip and position it where you want it.
My Final Thought
Conclusively I found this application a little bit daunting at first to consider using, but after devoting some quality time to this, I enjoyed the many features and benefits that comes from using this product. I am not a professional video editor and just an enthusiast that has been doing this sort of thing for a few years.
However the question is if iMovie is for the beginner and Final Cut Pro is for the professional, then who is the Final Cut Express meant for ?
To some extent even after evaluating this software package, I really still do not know the answer. It is a fantastic product, but admittedly there is quite a steep learning curve with a heavier price to match. Maybe one day Apple may answer these questions and issues.
