Apple in recent weeks has reached out to members of its professional video editing communities to help test a couple of updates to its Final Cut suite of video production tools: one major and one incremental.

The first is Final Cut Studio 3.0, the Cupertino-based firm’s second major overhaul to its professional video and audio production suite for Mac OS X bundling component applications Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack, DVD Studio Pro, Color, and Compressor…

Read the rest of the story at Appleinsider.com

As promised, at 12:01 AM, Jannard posted information about RED Rocket, a PCI-Express card for Mac, PC and Linux workstations. RED Rocket will enable those working with native RED R3D files to decode, debayer and playback high quality, 4K (at 30fps) and 5K (at 25fps) files in realtime. RED Rocket will also accelerate Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Assimilate Scratch, RED Alert! REDCINE, RED Rushes and any application using the REDCODE SDK. The card will sport Quad-DVI and Quad-HD-SDI and will sell for under $5,000.

Jannard and RED decided to skip the NAB conference in Las Vegas this year, opting to deliver this news about the company’s latest product directly to the faithful via the RED user community boards at REDUSER.net.

From Oddernod via Twitter

Motion Graphics artists now have access to bicubic distortion in After Effects that lets you manipulate a flat object into almost any shape using a mesh in 3D space. Digieffects FreeForm AE is an intuitive and robust plugin that takes After Effects 3D compositing to the next level.

Features and Benefits include:

3D Functionality: The same power and control of 3D applications right inside After Effects.

Control: All controls for manipulation are right inside the After Effects comp window.

Speed: Powered by a proprietary, full 3D rendering engine to provide beautiful, high-quality renders fast.

Never leave After Effects: Makes it easy to create 3D effects which previously required a dedicated 3D program or high-end workstation.

Depth, Dimensions, and Displacement: True 3D displacement mapping.

Picks up where After Effects ends: Bend, twist, distort, shape your layer any way you please right in the After Effects comp window.

Presets: Ships with dozens of presets to save you time.

For more info, visit the Digieffects website

Avid Press Release

LAS VEGAS, April 20, 2009 – As part of its continuing efforts to provide customers with flexible and open solutions, Avid® (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced that it has qualified Apple Final Cut Pro editing solutions to run on Avid Unity™ MediaNetwork and ISIS® shared storage systems.  Post facilities, broadcasters and other media content creation organizations using Final Cut Pro can now take advantage of the industry-leading shared storage and collaborative workflow capabilities of Avid Unity and ISIS, and benefit from simultaneously running Avid and Final Cut Pro….

Check out the entire press release here

Andrew Burke – Documentary Reel

I can’t remember how I came upon producer, cinematographer and editor Andrew Burke’s documentary demo reel, I just remember thinking it was extraordinary. No, it’s not an example of complex studio lighting techniques, just the opposite. But his visual style demonstrates a discerning and painterly eye for composition and a confident use of natural light. His editing style and choice of music show a natural instinct and sensitivity for rhythm, motion and flow.

Andrew started out with a strong interest in animation. After bouncing around a few schools including San Jose State and North Carolina he ended up at Chico State University in northern California, where he studied Communication Design. He won a top award at the student film show, and went on to organize the event for the next few years. He attended Film classes through the Communications Department and Fine Art Photography classes through the Art Department. I found it interesting that during his last semester he was actually able to earn his tuition fees “in-trade” for the production of web videos. “The school paid for the content, I paid them for tuition. It worked out nicely”.

He cut his teeth editing digitally in a rural high school class on Adobe Premiere 4.0, where he says his claim to fame was ‘figuring out’ they could Print to Tape without rendering. “It saved the class a LOT of time!”  He’s been working in Final Cut Pro since 2004. As aspiring freelancers we take work when we can get it and Andrew recently picked up some work on a commercial set as a workflow tech. (aka DIT or Digital Imaging Technician) He said the work of managing the P2 and CF card media was rock-solid using FCP.

In terms of his Gallery reel, Andrew explained to me that the majority of shots came from commission work for various television and web outlets. The subjects range from the cousin of revolutionary Che Guevara, to the fastest mountain biker in the world. “To be sure, I am still very “on the fringe” in regard to the TV and film industries. I mainly shoot and produce short-form content”. Call it ‘backpack journalism’ (though he believes that’s become a derogatory term) his demo reel includes projects that are made distinctly with a hybrid approach: not as in-depth as PBS is, but also more engaging than the evening news.

Andrew shot most of the images with Panasonic’s HVX200 P2 based HD camera. He told me “I like to get the color dialed in the camera, so only a few of the shots have any color grading or correction”. The opening shot, with streaky lights, was shot in Buenos Aires, Argentina and is an in-camera technique that he’s been working on for a few years, which will be displayed in an upcoming project.

The animation handiwork is care of the comic artist. Burke shot the material in 24p mode on the HVX200 and gave the artist 12p QuickTime files to draw on top of. He then composited the the images in Final Cut Pro.  He cut the reel together using FCP 6 and Photoshop.

The bike sequence where the rider ends up as a bunch of images in the frame was shot on a 35mm Canon RT SLR, which he describes as “a pretty neat toy!” and has the ability to shoot 7 fps without blacking out the viewfinder. He accidentally brought those still photos into a DVCPRO-HD sequence at their full resolution. “To Final Cut Pro’s credit, I basically had 4k photos, 1080, 720, and DV all living in the same sequence. Normally I’d have to optimize the photos first.”

I asked him about the amazing shot of the bike jumper, which starts with a bee in the foreground. He told me, “I would say the bee was one-in-a-million, but it’s closer to 36-in-a-million  I’ve had many insects “ruin” shots but in this instance the bee seemed to make that shot. Nevertheless, he told me he always carries some Cutter brand insect repellant in his gear bag.

Andrew has several projects currently in progress. One is a 25 minute documentary on the making of the largest mural in North America at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, commissioned by Urban Greenspaces Institute, and a promotional piece for photographer Bryant Austin who uses a 50 Megapixel Hasselblad camera to photograph marine mammals underwater. Andrew is excited to be based in Portland, Oregon where he is now a member of Oregon Media Production Assn (OMPA).

Finally, the mesmerizing, soothing music is by Lali Puna, a band from Germany and it was used with permission. He recommends you check them out at: http://www.last.fm/music/Lali+Puna

Andrew can be reached at his website http://www.bikefilms.tv

From Digitalfilms.com

Ever since the RED Digital Cinema Camera Company started to ship its innovative RED One camera, producers have been challenged with the best way to post produce its footage. Detractors have slammed RED for a supposed lack of post workflows. This is in wrong, since there are a number of solid ways to post RED footage. The trouble is…

Many folks learned FCP and then began to call themselves and market themselves as an editor. But what I am consistently seeing from a lot of editors, “younger generation,” “next generation,” “sons” whatever you want to call them, is a real lack of some basic post production knowledge. There’s almost a total lack of knowledge about the offline/online workflow and almost an aversion to doing an online at all.

It’s an insightful commentary on the brave new world of digital post production. However, I must agree with some of the reader comments stating that we can’t just point fingers at “younger” editors. Sloppy post production work habits come in all ages and sizes. As strange as it might sound, some of the most talented editors out there have no interest in the technical side of the equation, but they’re smart enought to supplant this shortcoming by surrounding themselves with people who do.

While Apple won’t be attending NAB, those familiar with the company’s plans say it holds ambitions of debuting a new version of Final Cut Studio, currently late in its development stage, at or around the same time the conference kicks off during the third week of April. Further details weren’t provided.

Final Cut Pro will be 10 years old this year and it and its offspring, Final Cut Studio haven’t seen a major upgrade in about 2 years. Other applications anticipated for new versions are the company’s video asset management software, Final Cut Server, compositing software Shake and Apple’s pro audio suite Logic Studio.

Final Cut Server initially generated much excitement and held real promise in the professional realm, particularly because of the lack of comprehensive media management tools in Final Cut Pro. Unfortunately, the software’s instability, unintuitive interface and underwhelming media workflow options have impeded it’s widespread adoption.

An exciting prospect is a seriously revamped or even entirely new version of Shake. The high-end compositing software has not seen an update since 2006 and Apple has been chided in the professional community for the products embarrassingly lackluster support.

Apple also has a replacement for its Shake high-end compositing software under development. It acquired that software in 2002 from NothingReal and last released a major update for it in 2006, when the company announced “Apple will no longer be selling maintenance for Shake and no further software updates are planned as we begin work on the next generation of Shake compositing software.” Apple was rumored to be working on a new replacement title under the code name Phenomenon, based on Motion code and expected for delivery in 2008, making its belated delivery appearing to be imminent.

Logic Studio is also overdue for a new release. The product has not been updated since its initial release in 2007 when Apple packaged Logic Pro with the other components which make up Logic Studio.

Final Cut Studio users and digital filmmakers from around the world will gather together once again for the 8th Annual FCPUG “SuperMeet” to be held Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco, CA. Doors open at 4:30pm with an FCP tradeshow; Presentations begin at 7pm and continue until 11pm. This SuperMeet promises to be the single largest gathering of Final Cut Pro users and Gurus during Macworld Conference and Expo SF.

“We’ve been doing these SuperMeets for eight years now and it all started in San Francisco,” states Michael Horton, founder of the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group (LAFCPUG) and co-producer of the SuperMeet. “We call them SuperMeets because that is exactly what they are; a “super” gathering of Final Cut Pro Users, digital video filmmakers and like-minded people who get together to learn, network and just have a good time.”

Once again this year’s SuperMeet will be held in the state of the art Robertson Auditorium inside the Mission Bay Conference Center on the UCSF campus.

“We held last year’s SuperMeet in this venue for the very first time, having outgrown every other venue we have used since we began holding SuperMeets back in 2001. Everyone loved it and the feedback was great,” states Daniel Berube, founder of the Boston Final Cut Pro User Group and SuperMeet co-producer. “It’s a beautiful facility with room to grow and this year we are using every square inch we can. In fact demand was so great from our exhibiting sponsors we were forced to buy out the Pub area to accommodate more exhibitors,” Berube notes.

“The economy might be struggling, but this year’s SuperMeet will be the largest in our history with over twenty four companies showing off their wares. That says something about this community.”

“This will be a Mini Macworld devoted entirely to Digital Video filmmakers, editors and content creators,” added Claudia Crask, head of SF Cutters, the local FCPUG. “This is the party of the year in San Francisco for those who wish to learn more about digital moviemaking with Final Cut Studio. It’s also the best place on the planet to meet fellow filmmakers who know more than you do.”

Scheduled to appear on stage, (subject to change) will be presenters from Apple, who are expected to give the latest news on Final Cut Studio 2, JVC and BlackMagic Design. Editor and filmmaker Christine Steele will show off valuable FCP tips and tricks. DVD Guru Bruce Nazarian will show how to create and burn a Blu-Ray DVD to a standard DVD-R. Independent filmmaker Eric Escobar will present “Color Correction and Getting that Right Look.” And, filmmaker Yun Suh will show clips from the documentary film “City of Borders,” scheduled for release in 2009.

Rounding out the evening will be the always raucous “World Famous Raffle” with over $40,000.00 worth of prizes to be handed out to several lucky winners. 300 “SuperBag” Goodie Bags filled with over $200.00 worth of learning resources will be handed to the first 300 people through the door. Food (snacks) and drinks will be available throughout the evening.

Tickets are now on sale and it is expected this SuperMeet will sell out. Historically every SuperMeet sells out. For complete details on the SuperMeet including driving and transit directions and instructions, a current list of raffle prizes and a link to where to buy tickets, visit the SuperMeet ticket page at:

www.sfsupermeet09.eventbrite.com

Christine Steele:
www.steelecuts.com

Bruce Nazarian:
www.recipe4dvd.com

Eric Escobar:
www.kontentfilms.com

About the Final Cut Pro User Group Network:
The Final Cut Pro User Group Network is a worldwide community of over fifty Final Cut Pro User Groups and professional editing organizations. The FCPUG Network builds connections between Final Cut Pro editors, filmmakers and broadcast professionals who wish to lead the Digital Filmmaking revolution. The FCPUG Network provides both advocacy and education about Digital Filmmaking on the Macintosh and membership opportunities for learning and professional growth. For more information, visit:

www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/resources/communities.html