I’ve been reviewing products for years and editing videos for even longer (over a decade). This is the first time I have ever had the privilege of working with software that is nearly perfect in every way.
Now before you start thinking I’m one of those dyed-in-the-wool ‘Mac fanatics,’ you should know that I have four Microsoft Windows XP machines in my home. During my review with the Power Mac G5 running OS X, I came to realize that while there’s a lot more software available for PC’s, Apple is light years ahead in workflow, stability and performance. Today, it’s not even a fair comparison to put a PC up against Apple’s hardware and software combination with Final Cut Pro 5 (FCP).
So Easy to Use…
So many reviews of NLE’s [non-linear editors] focus on the special effects or render power of the software/hardware. What they fail to tell you is what it feels like to actually edit on the system. Final Cut 5 feels like a custom glove, as the interface is clean, simple and intuitive from the get-go. Apple kindly includes two huge manuals that walk the user through the program. And while I did use these on occasion, Final Cut 5 is so intuitive and easy to use I could figure out myself what I wanted it to do the majority of the time. And the help system is so powerful that I was able to find almost everything I needed in a single search.
One of the best features of the layout is the amount of flexibility in the workflow. If you prefer to move items on the screen or resize project boxes or video windows, you can do so with simple click-and-drag mouse movements. All screen layouts can be saved and recalled quickly, say, when editing changes from short promo spots to long-format church services. Moreover, the click-and-drag functionality is also part of moving audio, video and graphic clips, enabling the user to have unlimited control over the editing process.
Color-coded menus pop up when a clip is dragged onto the canvas video window, allowing for the most basic of users to choose insert, overwrite, replace, fit-to-fill or superimpose edits with the mouse.
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| Final Cut Pro 5’s interface is clean, simple and intuitive. While Apple includes two huge manuals to walk the user through the program, the Help System is so powerful we found everything we needed in a single search. |
Robustness
As with the previous version, Final Cut Pro allows you to edit high-definition video. There aren’t too many churches that have adopted HD as their video standard, but the software has a builtin clear upgrade path for every church that might do so in the future.
While I did have access to a very limited amount of HD footage, I spent the majority of my time editing in SD – standard definition. SD is the NTSC video standard we use today, the same standard that your typical TV, VCR and DVD provide here in the United States. As an aside, Apple does include the ability to capture, edit and export PAL and SECAM, the other two main formats for other parts of the world.
My experience on non-linear editors ranges from the high-end ($50K – $100,000+), down to the mid range and even down to the prosumer and consumer offerings. So, what I’m about to say next will be seen as over-the-top by some readers, but I simply believe it to be fact:
There is not a better editing system for churches than Final Cut 5 running on a dual processor G5 for under $40,000 – especially since a fully-loaded dual 2.5 GHz Power Mac G5 with a 23-inch HD flat panel monitor, four Gigs of RAM, a 128 Meg Video Card and two Serial ATA hard drives costs less than $7,000.
I know that $7,000 is a lot of money for most churches, but that’s a fully loaded system. It’s possible to spend under $4,000 and end up with a very nice system, minus the amazing 23-inch HD flat-panel monitor and with only one Gig of RAM. Heck, the Final Cut 5 software only costs $995 for churches that already own a fast G4 or G5 system. For that amount of money, you can’t find a better value, as your church video editor will spend less time waiting for renders or figuring out how to make an edit happen.
In fact, the second seemingly overthe- top statement I’m about to make will also raise some eyebrows: While more expensive (over $40,000) hardware-accelerated NLEs will render faster than the G5, the increase in editing workflow efficiency of Final Cut 5 more than makes up for a slight raw power increase. When you can edit faster and spend more time being creative, the payoffs are better content and a less-stressed editor.
I found that when I used the realtime editing features of Final Cut Pro 5 HD, the system would need to render small amounts of video when I was layering more than a few clips at a time, or when I was applying several effects simultaneously.
The dual 2.0 GHz G5 that Apple provided for the review is a very fast computer. It is made by the same people that make the software, so the performance is extremely optimized. However, these small renders became more frequent when complex layering of effects or video compositing was being accomplished. Most of the time, these renders lasted only a few seconds, while longer clips with a lot of compositing could take up to a few minutes.
Professional Features, Novice Control
The intuitive nature of the editing interface can’t be overstated. The learning curve to get started with basic editing is so low that professionals might first scoff at the software. But when you start using the various tools included in Final Cut 5, it becomes very apparent that this is not an immature program. From a beginner’s perspective, adding clips is as simple as dragging a clip from a window directly onto the timeline. A toolbar menu allows beginners to click a graphic for insert edits, roll edits, fit-to-fill edits and clip selection. Advanced users will like being able to stick with keyboard shortcuts and iconic representations directly on the timeline. For example, dragging a clip to a video track shows different arrows where the edit is to occur so that an insert or fit-to-fill edit is accomplished without any extra effort.
For example, a basic video highlighting a missions trip or recapping a youth retreat will be mostly comprised of editing video to music right on the timeline. This is made even easier by the ability to tap a marker along with the beat of the song. These visual representations are helpful when adding video clips, as they can quickly be lined up with the beat of the music for precise edits with minimal effort. Advanced editors can then assign parameters to a marker, and even save notes along with the clip for future edits in another editing session – a huge time saver.
Total control over every aspect of a video, still image or audio clip is included. I was impressed with the advanced color correction tools, frameby- frame spline animation controls and layering options for compositing effects on audio and video alike. In fact, it’s fair to say that Final Cut 5 is a solid compositing program for layered network-quality effects. In project after project, I was able to achieve results that surpassed my expectations and even drew “oohs” and “aahs” from attendees at a Church Production Magazine’s T3 Technical Training Tour where I taught non-linear editing on Final Cut 4.5. The motion control interface allowed me to animate text in a special opener I created for T3 that matched the motion of a Digital Juice JumpBacks video. By turning on and adjusting motion blur, size, position, rotation and skew, the text seamlessly fit in, as if it were part of the original animation.
These tools are available for every clip or graphic that is assigned to a video track. Additional effects are available from a large menu that can be opened in its own window.
The color correction tools, for example, allowed me to create much richer videos with powerful yet easy-to-use controls. I even added color correction on composited text clips to give animated graphics color-matching tones to fit the video backgrounds by sampling the colors from the background animation.
This kind of power for real-time changes is tremendous. It’s possible to use the built-in text editor for basic graphics; however, Final Cut 5 also ships with LiveType, an amazing text animation software package that integrates seamlessly. In fact, changes made to text in LiveType show up instantly on the timeline! The ability to have custom animated text and effects were showcased when I spent my first 30 minutes in the program making a 23-layer text composite on top of a video animation. The result was a DVD-moviequality opener that had my students at T3 saying “no way”.
For churches using multiple cameras on a shoot (in the field or in the sanctuary), the new addition of multicamera editing means you can have up to 128 sources with real-time playback of up to 16 angles (video files). You click, it’s edited. Just sync up the video timecode and you’ve got multi-camera editing in real time. It even creates a new single video track of the edited content for you. Don’t like an edit you did? No problem, you can still open up the whole timeline – even from the new single track version. I can’t tell you the hours – no, strike that – days this would have saved me in editing.
Precise Audio & Video Editing
Audio editing was also simple, with both tools right on the timeline or available in a separate video window with a waveform graph to visually represent the audio. A handy audio mixing window shows faders, pan controls and gain adjustments, just like those that are found on a mixing console. Additional effects, such as EQ control, reverb, delay and even notch filtering are all easily adjustable via an effects menu.
In fact, adding advanced effects to clips is astonishingly easy: simply click-and-drag the effect you want right onto the clip. But that’s not all – you can instantly apply it to clips on the timeline, or preview an effect by opening the clip in a viewer window, tweak the effect and try it out before sending it to the timeline. With unlimited “undo,” you can’t really make a huge mistake.
Perhaps the coolest feature for audio is the inclusion of Soundtrack Pro, standalone software that, similar to LiveType, works in real-time between its editor interface and the timeline. No importing/ exporting, just real-time performance. I really dug the “Intelligent Find-and-Fix” feature. You have a bad spot of audio? No problem, give it a sample of good audio and it fixes the problem.
Perfect Software?
As you can tell, my experience with Final Cut 5 was nothing short of fantastic. But is this the ultimate, perfect software? For the vast majority of churches, there’s not a better, more robust or affordable solution. That doesn’t mean it’s perfect, though, as was evidenced when I found a very minor bug in the software during my review. When I called the tech support line to ask about it, they were very helpful and even set up a new bug report to be addressed by their engineering department. In addition to getting great hardware and software, this kind of support also provides great peace of mind. The features and performance of Final Cut Pro 5 easily compares to NLEs costing $20,000 to $40,000. For churches looking to maximize their investment in the purchase or lease of a non-linear editing system, they should make the easy decision to use Final Cut Pro 5.
Anthony Coppedge provides consulting to churches for developing and growing a Media Ministry, building teams, casting vision and even choosing the right equipment. He lives in Bedford, Texas with his wife and two daughters and can be reached at anthony@anthonycoppedge.com.
