Apple
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APPLE RETURNS FINAL CUT STUDIO TO MARKET
Macrumors reported today that Apple is now selling again Final Cut Studio, the “old” version of its desktop editing software that was retired upon the launch of its new Final Cut Pro X. The software is not available in stores or even via online sale; customers must call 1-800-MY-APPLE to order the software. As has been reported here and elsewhere, the Final Cut Pro X release has been a controversial one. Although many editors applauded its rethought paradigm and powerful tools, just as many pointed to missing features and declared it not suitable for professional use. Final Cut Pro X […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 2, 2011 -
FESTIVAL FILM WATCHING AND THE DEATH OF THE DVD
I always feel odd holed up in my hotel room watching DVDs while at a film festival. After all, a film festival is supposed to be festive, and that means audiences, excitement, buzz. But invariably, once you’ve missed a screening those DVD screeners that weren’t available pre-fest are suddenly pressed into your hands by anxious publicists. Or, maybe you just meet a cool filmmaker on the shuttle bus and agree to watch HIS short that night. If you’re doing your job as a journalist, at least some of your festival stay will be spent watching DVDs in your room, perhaps […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 29, 2011 -
Apple Releases New Final Cut Pro X; Our Review To Follow
UPDATE: Read David Leitner’s first take on Final Cut Pro X here. This morning Apple released its long awaited, ground-up rethink of its professional editing software, Final Cut Pro. Available for $299 from the Apple Store, the new FCP is both drastically lower in price than the previous version and contains numerous improvements, including, wrote David Leitner at NAB this Spring, a “dramatically revamped interface, 64-bit processor capability, no more RAM ceiling of 4GB, and continual background rendering by means of unused CPU cycles.” Leitner’s takeaway then: With FCP X, Apple is returning to the one-size-fits-all ethos of the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 21, 2011 -
David Leitner Reports Form Rge Final Cut pro X Unveiling
While I was following the premiere of the new Final Cut Pro X at the Las Vegas FCPUG Super Meet Up at NAB Tuesday night via Twitter (and posting some of the best tweets below), David Leitner, d.p. and editor who is reporting for us from the conference, was in the room. I got him on the phone as he left the presentation, and in this audio interview he talks about native editing, the changes in the UI, the “magic” of Apple, the price, the shortcuts built into the app, the new capabilities of the timeline, the color matching, the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 13, 2011 -
Apple Announces New Final Cut Pro At NAB
“Something as revolutionary as the first version of Final Cut Pro when introduced in 1999.” That’s how the new version of Apple’s editing software was announced at the Final Cut Pro User Group Super Meet Up at NAB tonight. The new version of FCP has been hinted at for months, and after several prominent editors were shown a demo — and made to sign NDA’s that apparently only allowed them to leak words like “awesome” — the post production community has been awaiting its official unveiling. Many thought it would appear this summer alongside the release of the new OS, Lion, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 12, 2011 -
Final Cut Pro and The Road To NAB
Okay, I’m not on the road to NAB… but David Leitner is, and he’ll be filing reports from the conference here at Filmmaker. Look for his pieces beginning tomorrow or Monday. There are other sites to follow as well. Koo will be attending NAB for the first time and posting interviews, write-ups and news over at No Film School. Phillip Bloom will be attending as wIll Vincent Laforet. For many, the big news will be (the rumored) announcement by Apple of the new Final Cut Pro. If you’re not following all the tech blogs, here’s the low-down: at the last […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 9, 2011 -
CAMERAS AND GEAR AT SXSW
I used my iPod Touch to shoot some short interviews at the SXSW trade show and Screenburn exhibits. (It’s the first time I used the iPod Touch instead of the Flip. The quality definitely isn’t as high, and there’s some drop-out and stuttering going on here. But the new iMovie, released to coincide with the iPad2, works on the iPod Touch, and while it’s not amazing it’s still pretty cool — despite occasional crashing and some difficulty scrubbing clips.) Below are comments on the Panasonic AG-AF100 and Red Rock Micro’s DSLR rigs.
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 16, 2011 -
SXSW SNAPS, DAY ONE
The first day at SXSW, the 4th floor. “What’s this line for?” I asked the woman standing next to me. “No idea,” she said. But it wasn’t a line for anything. The crowd was just there. And as I pushed my way through, it slowly started to dissipate. It was like one of those highway slowdowns, where the memory of congestion lingers after whatever caused it. If you’re going to sponsor a festival, at least do something useful, like this rolling Samsung display of panel times, schedule changes and social media activity. When you check into SXSW, you’re given three […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 12, 2011 -
DETAILS ON APPLE’S NEW IMOVIE FOR IPAD2
Apple announced the new iPad 2 today, and with the announcement came a new iMovie for iPad. The iPad itself is thinner, has a faster processor, has both front and rear-facing cameras (although the still camera is not of iPhone 4 quality), and can be outfitted with a new and very cool protective covering that snaps on via magnets and can be folded for use as a stand. As for iMovie, Jobs said at the keynote that with its precision editor and touchscreen interface multi-track audio “you can really edit a movie on this thing.” I’m not sure I’d go […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 2, 2011 -
WHAT’S IN MY INSTAPAPER: SUNDAY MORNING LINKS, 2/20/11
Here are a few things in my Instapaper this week. In GQ, Mark Harris looks back at “The Day the Movies Died” and the preeminence of easy marketing over original ideas. An excerpt: Such an unrelenting focus on the sell rather than the goods may be why so many of the dispiritingly awful movies that studios throw at us look as if they were planned from the poster backward rather than from the good idea forward. Marketers revere the idea of brands, because a brand means that somebody, somewhere, once bought the thing they’re now trying to sell. YouTube has […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 20, 2011
