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MillimeterEdit Review — Apple Final Cut Express 1.0.1
Jul 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Tom Patrick McAuliffe
Prosumer NLE provides Mac editors with maximum bang for the buck.
Final Cut Express, Apple's new “prosumer” video editor, is based on Apple's decidedly professional Final Cut Pro 3 (but distinctly different from the new Final Cut Pro 4).
 Apple's Final Cut Express editing software shares much with Final Cut Pro 3, including hot keys, video-editing tools, and workflow. |
Aimed at small business, education, and power users who want to edit video on a budget, Final Cut Express is a piece of software that Mac-based editors will want to have. Apple has come up with a program that is well-balanced in terms of price and features. For users who find Apple's free editor iMovie too limited and Final Cut Pro too expensive or intimidating, Final Cut Express represents a great middle way.
Despite its price ($299 MSRP), there's nothing halfway about this new software package. With Final Cut Express, Apple has set its product's sights directly on Adobe Premiere. But, as they say, the devil's in the details.
I worked with Final Cut Express 1.0.1 on a variety of platforms including a new Titanium PowerBook G4 on loan from Apple, complete with a 1GHz CPU, a gorgeous 17in. LCD display, and the DVD-recording SuperDrive. I also tested the software on an upgraded WallStreet PowerBook running a single 500MHz G4, and on a blue and white tower G3 at 450Mhz (with the “Sawtooth” 100MHz motherboard and 512MB of RAM). The older two machines had to be upgraded to Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar because FCE can only be used with this new operating system.
My project was to create a 3- to 5-minute promotional video for a regional entertainer. The final masterpiece needed to have slick titles and incorporate various 30- to 90-second highlight clips culled from footage shot worldwide in a variety of video formats (and with wide-ranging quality). There was also a ton of still pictures. Just for comparison's sake I also worked on this project with Apple's Final Cut Pro 2, iMovie 2, and iMovie 3. You can see the results on my website at www.tompatrick.com.
The Fast Lane
Right from the start you'll notice that this software looks and operates just like Final Cut Pro 3. Final Cut Express offers a less cluttered interface and faster performance for processing clips and files that are ultimately compatible with FCP (version 3 or 4). It's very noticeable: FCE is faster than its big brother FCP 3, faster than the new iMovie 3, and in my tests for productivity it was quicker than Adobe Premiere 6.0 as well. Keep in mind that it shares many hot keys, video-editing tools, and much of its workflow with FCP 3. Final Cut Express offers a great balance between the simplistic drag-and-drop editing of iMovie (which is great for some jobs) and the advanced toolset of FCP.
I digitized my footage, some of which had to be transferred to DV from Hi-8 and S-VHS, then transferred it to a 60GB, 7200rpm IDE hard drive via IEEE 1394 and a Sony DV deck (GDR-900). Even though I kept the signal path as clean as possible with short cable runs, etc., some of the footage fell apart and became too grainy when shown at full screen.
But when you get lemons, make lemonade! Online I found a picture of an old B&W TV set from the mid-1960s. I then took that image into Adobe Photoshop 7.0, cut out the picture tube, and saved it as an image with a transparent alpha channel, into which I could insert the video footage that didn't quite measure up. The results were effective, and with a flashback sequence to some older footage it all proved quite stylish.
Once I had used the Clip Trim function to get rid of the fat, I had about 200 realtime transitions to choose from and smooth playback of sharp-looking footage — a nice change from other applications. Everything was realtime except some of the filters and effects, in which case the background rendering was unobtrusive. But at the same time you really need to have a pad of paper to take copious notes on where you've put things, which clip is which, etc., as there's no Media Manager, nor is there a Tools menu.
In the plus column, you can edit any which way you want: slip, razor blade, and split edits are all ready to go. When I got into trouble, the 32-level Undo was handy. Although for more complex compositing, I missed the 99 levels of Undo that are available in FCP.
For CG work, Final Cut Express relies on Calligraphy from Boris FX. While it is nice, it's a little too much for just straight, simple titles. Additionally, you can't really animate titles or graphic elements, as there's no keyframing. But you can create extruded 3D text and do credit rolls. I like using the titling from iMovie 3, which I can then import into FCE for further editing.
Audio is always important. I had to do some audio tweaking, as some of my footage was too loud or soft and some had too much treble. The audio tools, though not as sophisticated as those in FCP, are more than adequate. You can mix up to 99 tracks of audio, with eight in realtime. While the skimpy three-band equalizer is way too limited, you can use crossfades, reverb, echo, and a noise gate to enhance the sound of your video. Like in FCP and iMovie, there's a handy VoiceOver tool that, with some trial and error, I was able to match to the audio levels of the digitized video.
All in all, editing with FCE was exactly like working in Final Cut Pro 3.0, so there is a learning curve. But with the included tutorial, I was able to get up and running fairly quickly. Once I was done and ready for output, recording my first DVD was also just a few clicks away, as you can encode an iDVD file automatically from the Output menu. The process was simply foolproof, and as finished products DVDs impress prospective clients and save on postage. The video also looks and sounds better.
A Balancing Act
I really enjoyed this software. It's fast and stable and has hundreds of effects that are realtime without the need for additional specialized hardware. FCE also offers easy delivery to DVD or, via Quicktime 6.0, clean video for the Web. I'll still use iMovie for some things. But one of the nice things is that FCE is compatible with iMovie (version 3 only) and its more advanced cousin Final Cut Pro (version 3 or 4). You can conceivably take a project from Final Cut Express and then output it through the FCP version to the format of your choice, even high-definition video.
But you can't have everything; otherwise, why even offer a pro version? Final Cut Express does not have any tape logging features at all, so if you want to do those three-hour documentaries, FCP is a better way to go. Nor is there keyframing for animation or custom transitions. Also missing from the feature set are any media management features, support for SMPTE timecode (although it is captured with your footage), and machine control (RS-422, RS-232, or Sony LANC).
If there's one thing I'd wish for, it would be that I could open my movies created with iMovie 2 or even iMovie 1. While Apple must limit the feature set of FCE or risk going out of business, file/project cross-compatibility within a family of programs is a small request. A final complaint: perhaps FCE is too much like the pro version. One could argue that more work could have gone into creating more innovative, user-friendly computability.
At first I ran the application with the minimum 256MB of RAM and had trouble getting some of the transitions to work, but then I upgraded to 512MB and solved that problem. As you'd imagine, the faster the Mac, the better the performance. It really was that simple. The PowerBook at 1GHz was truly a dream to work with. No waiting for rendering, with smooth and sharp footage playback — this really helped the creative process. That's the one thing that really stood out: FCE is fast on both the older machines and the new G4s. If you're serious about getting into video editing and have reached the limits of iMovie, at $299 Final Cut Express offers midrange magic at an affordable price.
FCE is somewhat of a polarizing piece of software. On one side there are those who believe the new product is evidence that Apple agrees Final Cut Pro (MSRP $999) is priced too high for the majority of editors. On the other side, there are those who say Apple is just trying to help democratize video creation by putting affordable tools in the hands of thousands.
Count me in the second camp. The one thing you have to admit — even those who are die-hard Windows fans — is that Apple has truly made pro-quality visual media production idiot-proof. Final Cut Express software offers professional-level tools at a low cost. Now the rest of us are invited to the party!
Tom Patrick McAuliffe is a journalist and entertainer living on Maui. Reach him at reelcom1@comcast.net.
BOTTOM LINE
Company: Apple Cupertino, Calif.; (408) 996-1010 www.apple.com
Product: Final Cut Express 1.01
Assets: Optimized for the DV format and Mac OS X 10.2; easy delivery to DVD; hundreds of realtime filters, transitions, and color correction; projects are compatible with Final Cut Pro.
Caveats: Steep learning curve; limited number of realtime effects.
Demographic: Mac editors who have pushed the limits of iMovie and need more functionality.
Price: $299
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.
